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Scotland and Finland
18/03/2010
Finnish national trust and confidence in the professional skills of teachers, and the broad educational consensus were two areas from which Scotland could learn.
Following his visit to Finland and Sweden the Education Secretary said that he believed the Scottish education system has real strengths and international best practice can help make sure we build on and improve Scottish education.
Mr Russell said:
"I am in no doubt that there are some very real strengths in the current Scottish system of Education. Indeed it was very heartening to hear that both Finland and Sweden are interested in our Curriculum for Excellence and our work on developing the ability of schools to carry out self assessment.
"However, I am also aware that there are areas that we need to improve, so it is interesting to see how other countries are educating their pupils and how they are tackling any weakness within their own system.
"I firmly believe that there are lessons that Scotland can learn, particularly from the Finnish system. The depth of national trust and confidence in teachers is impressive and something that Scotland needs to aspire to. Graham Donaldson's review of teacher education will help us do that, as will the Curriculum for Excellence which places a new emphasis on the skills of our teachers and their ability to teach.
"I was also impressed by the level of consensus around a long term direction for education, which again is something I think Scotland can learn from. This is not about importing a model from another country, this is about taking the best of what is happening in international education, looking at it carefully and learning any lessons that can help improve Scottish Education.
"That's why I want to build consensus around the international developments and best practice we can learn from and build trust and confidence in our teachers. If we can do this, we have an opportunity to ensure that, through Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland has one of the best education systems in the world. We all owe it to our young people to do just that."
Mr Russell visited Finland and Sweden from March 15 to 17, 2010. He undertook a series of meetings and visits relating to the education system in both countries.