If there are any students or former students who may have studied in Finland and in the United States and who can tell me of the differences between the two. If not possible, if there are Finnish students, (either current or former,) who could tell me what their course work was like in high school in Finland
Primary & Secondary Education - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There's a lot of info here: http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/english/subjects/teaching_and_education/education_and_educational_institutions/index.html Look for "Upper secondary schools". Some links in that section are not working yet.
2 :
Most Finns start high school at the age of 16 and spend 3 years there. Many Finnish high schools call themselves upper secondary schools (the Finnish word is lukio). One course consists of 38 lessons and you have to take at least 75 courses to graduate. This is the basic curriculum: Äidinkieli ja kirjallisuus (Mother tongue: Finnish/Swedish) 6 compulsory + 3 optional Toinen kotimainen kieli (Finnish/Swedish, both are official languages in Finland so we have to learn both) 5 + 2 Vieras A-kieli (A language, advaced foreign language. Most Finns learn English) 6 + 2 Matematiikka (Math) 10 +3 (advaced) OR 6 / 2 (ordinary) Fysiikka (Physics) 1 + 7 Kemia (Chemistry) 1 + 4 Biologia (Biology) 2 + 3 Maantiede (Geography) 2 + 2 Historia (History) 4+2 Yhteiskuntaoppi (Social science) 2 +2 Uskonto tai elämänkatsomustieto (Religion or ethics) 3 + 2 Filosofia (Philosophy) 1 + 3 Psykologia (Psychology) 1 + 4 Musiikki ja Kuvataide (Music & Arts) 3 compulsory (1 art + 2 music or vice versa) + 3 optional Liikunta (PE) 2 + 3 Terveystieto (Healt and hygiene) 1 + 2 Opinto-ohjaus (Career conselling) 1 + 1 Compulsory courses are pretty much the same but optional courses vary between schools. Big schools usually have a large number of optional courses. French, German, Italian, Spanish, Data processing, Global studies and Driving are typical examples of optional courses. Here are links to websites of Finnish schools: http://www.eschool.edu.hel.fi/4_highschool/Program_1.html http://kouluweb.vaala.fi/lukio/english/valmis/curriculumeng.htm I went to this school: http://beeblebrox.edu.hel.fi/ressu/index_en.jsp More information: Wikipedia: Education in Finland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Finland Upper Secondary Education in Finland: http://www.edu.fi/english/pageLast.asp?path=500,4699,4840,4845 http://www.edu.fi/english/page.asp?path=500,4699,4840 http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25819 http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/Opetusvirasto_en/EducationForForeigners_en?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/en/Education+Department/Education+for+Foreigners/The+Finnish+Education+System/Upper+Secondary+School Finnish matriculation exam (the test you take after high school): http://www.ylioppilastutkinto.fi/english.html
