“How Far Can We Learn Anything Practical from the Study of Foreign Systems of Education? Finland and the Pisa Model”
Reijo Raivola
Page 11-23
Abstract
Following Michael Sadler’s interpretation of education as a complex cultural institution, this paper attempts to offer some thoughts on the success of the Finnish educational system in PISA, but also for its average standing in the IEA examinations. It focuses on the scale of reading comprehension and provides a pedagogical and cultural account for the outstanding performance of Finnish school, while it also examines the role of school autonomy and community support as a factor of achieving better learning outcomes.In its final section the paper puts forward an overall critique of PISA methodology and rationale from a comparative perspective arguing for its political rather than pedagogical character.