International Education News

In this two-part interview, Melanie Ehren talks with Thomas Hatch about how the Dutch education system responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what has happened since. Ehren is Professor and Director of Research of LEARN! at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This interview is one in a series exploring what can change in schools after the pandemic? Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Italy, Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam. Other IEN blog posts from Melanie Ehren include A view from the Netherlands: Melanie Ehren on school closures and the pandemic; Lead the Change Interview with Melanie Ehren; A call to action in the Netherlands: Addressing rising inequality in a decentralized system.

Thomas Hatch (TH): Can you give us an overview what happened in schools in the Netherlands after the COVID-19 outbreak? When did schools close and how long were they closed?

Melanie Ehren (ME): The national government closed schools three times. The first national closure lasted from March 16 to 10 May 2020 (for primary schools) and until the 2^nd of June (for secondary schools). Teaching and learning was fully online during that time. The second national closure went from the 16^th of December 2020 until the 8^th of February 2021 and then the third national closure went from 14 December 2021 until 10 January 2022, although this was more of an extended Christmas break. All the closures were in response to a rise in cases, but around the time of the second closure there was also a discussion about whether closing schools was the best measure to prevent virus spread. The argument for closing schools included that it would help enforce the working from home policy. Too many people were still going into work and by closing schools, parents had to stay home with their children.

Melanie Ehren

When schools reopened after the first and second closures, schools had to ensure social distancing of 1.5 metres between people inside and ensure good hygiene. Schools were allowed to decide on how to meet these guidelines, with support and proposed models by the national councils for primary and secondary education. In response, schools did things like splitting classes in half with some students attending during the first part of the week and the rest attending at the end of the week. Even though the periods of national school closure were relatively short in comparison to some other countries, the disruption lasted much longer. For example, even when schools were technically open, many teachers and classes had to quarantine for periods of time. Since the beginning of the school closures, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, & Science has monitored the reduction in lesson hours due to COVID over the pandemic in a series of monthly reports. The Dutch Inspectorate of Education also documented the timeline of COVID-related decisions in 2020 (including the start of the second closure in December of 2021) and then again in 2021 in their annual reports on the state of education.

TH: What was the initial response from policymakers and others in terms of support?

ME: In the Netherlands, there was a coordinated approach by the national councils for primary and secondary education, the ministries for education and economic affairs and a national association of school boards. That approach focused on ensuring that all students had access to online learning when schools were closed. These organisations collectively investigated how many students and teachers did not have internet connections or laptops at home. Based on this information, telecom providers searched for the best solutions together with the parties involved. Those solutions included issuing hotspots and creating public Wi-Fi networks and arranging laptops for children who needed them. In addition, NPO Z@ppelin, a national broadcaster, initially offered instruction on television for children without a laptop/tablet.  But I also saw schools where teachers would just hop on their bicycle and tour around the city to check in with families and have conversations on the doorstep.

A lot was left up to the initiative of the boards of each school and the networks responsible for ensuring inclusive education in each region. Honestly, because the Dutch school system is so decentralized, we just don’t know what happened at the school level in a lot of communities. All this raises a really interesting question: are highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems are best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?  To me, the examples of teachers going door to door to check in with kids really speaks to teacher agency and how teachers understand their role and responsibility.  That agency is a really important thing to have during a pandemic, but also when thinking about school quality in general. My colleagues and I wrote about some of these issues of teacher agency from the perspective of several different education systems (Teaching in the COVID-19 Era: Understanding the Opportunities and Barriers for Teacher Agency).

[A]re highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?

Overall, though, there was not much focus on internet access because the entire country has good coverage and good broadband access. At the same time, the Dutch government created some exceptions to online learning so that children from parents in key professions like health, education, police, public transport and the fire department could go to school. Local schools could also make exceptions so that children from what the government called “vulnerable populations” could come to school. That included children who were living in confined spaces, did not have access to devices, or who were experiencing other problems at home that might be preventing them from accessing online education.

TH: What happened with exams and testing at the end of the 2019-2020 school years?

ME: The school closures in 2019-2020 meant that standardized tests at the end of primary education (8^th grade; age 11/12) and in secondary education were cancelled. The cancellations of the exams at the end of primary education had a particularly significant impact because, in the Netherlands, students are tracked into different types of secondary schools according to tested ability level. Only those students in the highest track in secondary school will get access to a university. Getting into a higher secondary school type is therefore a defining point in a child’s life. In a normal school year, students are placed into secondary school types on the basis of their primary school teacher’s advice. This can be adjusted upwards (never downwards) on the basis of the national standardised test at the end of primary education. However, estimates from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that in the year 2019-2020 when the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

[W]hen the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

Due to these results, the Minister of Education sent out a letter to secondary schools, asking them to implement a range of formative assessments in year 1 to target the students who might have been mis-placed and to put in place transition arrangements to enable them to move upwards if warranted. The next year, in 2020-2021, primary schools were advised to give children the benefit of the doubt in their recommendations for secondary education and err towards a higher track. However, for the most part, this does not seem to have happened.

In contrast, the cancellation of standardized secondary school exams had a more positive effect for students in the Netherlands who wanted to enter university because their final grades were based only on their school-based assessments with no information from the cancelled national exams. Normally, at the end of secondary school, students receive a mark for each subject where 50% is based on school-based exams and 50% on a standardized national exams. The Government decides on which content should be included in the school-based exams and which will be assessed in the national exams. The school decides when and how it assesses the school-based component and can spread this over multiple months and even school years. The only requirement is that the assessments are finalized before the national exams and that the organisation of the school-based assessments (including how it is marked and how the assessment is quality assured) is included in a formal programme of assessment which is approved by the school’s exam board. The exam board decided on the adaptations so this would vary by school (for the official description see School Examens 2023).

For the 2019-20 school year, when the national exams were cancelled, estimates by from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that 8% of secondary students would have received a different outcome if they had sat the national exam. To mitigate negative consequences and to give everyone a fair chance to pass, the Dutch Ministry of Education offered all students additional re-tests of their school-based assessments in up to three subjects. This resulted in an overall pass rate above 98%, with almost 7% higher than in preceding years.

Then in 2020-21, standardized tests in primary education returned as normal. However, exams in secondary education were adapted in two ways.  First, following a formal in-school consultation process and including adaptations in the formal ‘programme of assessment’ which is scrutinized by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education during regular inspections, schools were allowed to make their own adaptations to the school-based assessments.

Second, national exams were adapted by having an additional opportunity to sit for the exam, so if you failed twice, you were given a third try.  Schools were also allowed an extended timeframe in which students could sit exams in their various subjects, and students could choose one subject that wouldn’t count towards their final pass/fail decision.

(To be continued in October…)

The final post in IEN’s 2023 Back-to-School series features some of the latest issues – like the use of AI – that many teachers and students are dealing with and surveys some of the education-related topics that are in the headlines in different states and cities in the US. Part 1 of the series shares headlines highlights some of the critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 focuses on the stories that covered the natural disasters and climate-change related heat that many schools have had to deal with this year as well. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

Even as the school year continues for many students in the southern hemisphere, the end of summer vacation and the start of school in many northern school systems provides an opportunity to see what education issues are being covered and highlighted. Among them, the impact of AI – and how to prepare for it – as well as the consequences of the end of COVID relief funding are common topics in the US.

Take a round-the-world tour of the return to school, Education Week

From left to right: “1.) Schoolchildren attend a ceremony for the first day of school in a safe place in an underground subway station, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 1, 2023; 2.) A teacher adjusts the posture of a little boy as children attend a school opening ceremony in Ghergani, Romania, on Sept. 11, 2023. 3.) A classroom sits empty at the closed National School of Republique des Etats-Unis d’Amerique, a public school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sept. 11, 2023, on what should have been the first day back to school after summer break. According to a few teachers and a parent on site, classes did not resume due to parents’ inability to afford tuition, uniforms and school supplies, as well as families being afraid to go out amid gang violence.”

New Year, New AI?

How widespread will AI be in classrooms this year? Teachers offer some clues, Education Week

A version of OpenAI’s GPT-4 will be ‘teaching’ thousands of kids this fall, Popular Science

“The education nonprofit service Khan Academy, is expanding its Khanmigo AI access to over 8,000 educators and K-12 students as part of its ongoing pilot program for the new technology.”

Beyond ChatGPT: The other AI tools teachers are using, Education Week

Instructors rush to do ‘assignment makeovers’ to respond to ChatGPT, EdSurge

How can educators respond to students presenting AI-generated content as their own?, Open AI

Issues in the Education News around the US

5 signs a district will be at risk when elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund runs out, Education Week

“Once federal relief funds expire, districts nationwide stand to lose an average of $1,200 for each student… That’s an 8 percent reduction in the average amount spent per K-12 pupil nationwide. In some states where per-pupil spending is lower than the average, that $1,200-per-student loss will account for an even larger share. In Arizona, for instance, the end of federal relief funds will translate into a 12 percent loss.”

When can schools consider race in classrooms and events? Biden officials have guidance, ChalkBeat

K-12 teachers shift away from textbooks, K-12 Dive

“Use of printed textbooks has declined in K-12 classrooms by 9% and a slight increase in digital-only textbook usage by 2% during the past school year, according to a survey by Bay View Analytics. The findings indicate a growing utilization of digital and teacher-created materials, with 77% of teachers saying they are supplementing or replacing textbooks with their own content and 78% saying they are sourcing supplemental materials online.”

For teachers, a new year — and new book bans — means more work, Rolling Stone

Issues to watch in States and Cities

California

Gov. Newsom poised to sign legislation to counter book bans and school boards’ censorship, EdSource

“The bill, authored by first-term Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Perris, in Riverside County, would expand existing state law, including the 2011 FAIR Act, which requires instructional materials to accurately portray the history, viewpoints and experiences of California’s diverse and underrepresented racial, ethnic, and other groups, including LGBTQ+ Californians.”

Temecula Valley Unified School District anti-CRT resolution prompts lawsuit from parents and teachers, Education Week

Florida

New laws make teachers anxious about school year, Axios Miami

“[Teacher] Hernandez-Mats says the first couple weeks of school are typically filled with excitement, but this year feels different… She says teachers are confused about what they’re allowed to teach in the classroom. Some have removed literary or historical posters from their walls and others have blocked access to their bookshelves.”

Florida’s new rules for classrooms could get teachers in trouble, Tampa Bay Times

Iowa

An Iowa district used AI to figure out which books to ban, Education Week

“While book bans have proliferated across the country over the past two years, this is the first time a district has relied on artificial intelligence to determine which books should be removed from school libraries, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.”

How Des Moines Metro Schools are applying anti-LGBTQ law, Iowa Starting Line

Massachusetts

School meals in Massachusetts will remain free next school year, Axios Boston

“Massachusetts lawmakers passed a budget agreement, allocating $172 million to continue the pandemic-era program that offers free school meals to all K-12 students, ensuring access to essential nutrition and removing social stigma. Governor Maura Healey is expected to sign the budget, freeing up funds for schools as they prepare to reopen in the upcoming weeks.”

Montana

Montana scores rare federal testing waiver in favor of through-year assessment, K-12 Dive

“Montana has been granted approval by the US Department of Education to field test a revamped through-year assessment system in reading/language arts and math for third-through eighth-grade, replacing the existing annual assessment. The move is expected to offer timely insights into student progress while allowing participating schools some waivers from federal assessment and accountability requirements for the 2023-24 school year.”

New York

As NYC’s school year kicks off, here are 5 issues to watch, ChalkBeat

Enrollment drop and fiscal cliff loom as NYC starts school year, The City

NYC school year set to begin with thousands of new migrant students, Gothamist

“Schools Chancellor David Banks said in a briefing on the asylum seeker crisis that… ‘Our focus remains undeterred on the education, well-being and holistic development of every student that steps into a New York City public school, regardless of where they come from or the language that they speak at home.’”

New York City Schools preparing for influx of children of asylum seekers: “We are very confident that the students will be ready“, CBS News

Some migrant families still waiting for school placements, ChalkBeat

“Some families have waited weeks for school placements or don’t have seats at all yet, sparking concerns that some kids won’t have their school plans finalized by the start of classes on September 7.”

Ohio

The Great Recession offers insight about the impact the impending fiscal cliff will have on Ohio school districts, The Fordham Institute

Pennsylvania

All Philadelphia schools set to open in September amid asbestos challenges, ABC

Texas

State takeover ushers in changes to Houston schools, The New York Times

“A state takeover of the Houston Independent School District in Texas, one of the nation’s largest, has sparked contentious changes, including firing librarians and repurposing school libraries for discipline and computer rooms. The takeover, imposed by Governor Greg Abbott, aims to improve reading and math scores in struggling schools, but critics argue the changes are disenfranchising and may further divide the district’s predominantly Black and Hispanic students.”

First day of school comes with mixed student emotions after Texas took over Houston ISD, The New York Times

Part 2 of IEN’S Back-to-School series shares headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change-related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. This three part series highlights some of the key issues that the education sources we follow are talking about as school resumes in many parts of the Northern hemisphere. Part 1 pulled together headlines that highlight some of the other critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

This fall, a number of the back-to-school headlines have shifted focus from the COVID crisis to the many climate change related concerns and disasters like the intense heat in many parts of the world and the tragic fires in Hawaii. As Alexander Russo and colleagues with The Grade, who regularly document and summarize the latest education-related journalism in the US, noted, the big education story of the first week of school “was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets. Reporters covered schools closing, kids sent home early, canceled recess time, and the lack of AC in many buildings” (Heat wave welcome: The big story of the week).

“The big education story of the first week of school ‘was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets.’”

Hawaii wildfires thrust educators into disaster response roles, Education Week

“Schools across Maui closed Wednesday—days after the start of a new school year—after a wildfire ravaged a historic region of the Hawaiian island”

Are the challenges of Puerto Rico’s schools a taste of what other districts will face? The Hechinger Report

“Sweltering classrooms due to inadequate cooling systems are hindering student learning and causing health concerns among educators in several US states. Budgetary constraints and the increasing frequency of heat waves are exacerbating the issue, prompting educators to call for better classroom conditions and investments in upgraded cooling systems.” 

Hot classrooms are impairing student learning and health amid record-hot year, teachers say, NBC News

Are heat days the new snow days? Schools are canceling class as temperatures soar, CNN

“Schools really need to be thinking about how climate change is going to impact them and how they can develop and build plans in place to adequately respond…”

As classes resume in sweltering heat, many schools lack air conditioning, NPR

“Heat days:” More than a dozen Denver schools releasing students early Tuesday, ChalkBeat

“With outdoor temperatures soaring into the high 90s, some Denver schools without air conditioning are releasing students early Tuesday. Roughly one-fifth of Denver schools lack cooling systems.”

Chicago public schools teachers adjust to keep classrooms cool as extreme heat bakes city, ChalkBeat

“Teachers, parents and union organizers said they are managing the tough conditions, but it’s time for the district to commit to long-term upgrades instead of “quick fixes and bandaids.”

Philly school dismissals: How extreme heat impacts families, NPR

“What we’re seeing is that climate change is boosting heat not only in Philadelphia, but all over the world.”

Seattle-area teachers brace for sweltering classrooms during heat waves, Seattle Times

“Heat waves have historically fallen outside of the school year, sparing kids and educators. But not so over the past six or seven years.”

What educators need to know about schools and hot weather, Education Week

“With record-setting high temperatures, schools struggle to keep their students cool.”

To get a sense of some of the key issues people are talking about as the new school year begins in many parts of the Northern hemisphere, we’re scanning the back-to-school related headlines of the education sources we follow. Part 1 of 2023’s Back-to-School Series pulls together headlines that collectively show many of the different problems that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 will share the many headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools.

For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

If it’s not one crisis it’s another. That sentiment seems to sum up many of the 2023 back-to-school headlines. Around the world, those crises included the:

• Impact of warfare and conflict in Ukraine and Ethiopia ( Ukrainian children brave bombs to return to school;  Kharkiv’s subways are now classrooms as school starts under Russian attacks; In Ethiopia strife in Amrha region threatens to disrupt academic year, University World News)
• Challenges of continuing teacher shortages in places like the Netherlands, Canada and elsewhere (“One in nine children will not have a teacher after the holiday; Principals in Ontario face daily staffing challenges)
• Closures and fallout from England’s failure to deal with the crumbling concrete used in some school buildings (School is back in session … so long as your classroom hasn’t collapsed, The Guardian; ‘An absolute nightmare’: teachers and parents shocked by concrete closures in England’s schools, The Guardian)

In the US, along with the threats from heat and natural disasters, reporters chronicled start of the year challenges for students, teachers, and schools like continuing concerns about COVID-19; lack of funding and supplies; the need to support the many immigrant students who arrived in in cities like New York this year; shortages of teachers, bus drivers, and other personnel;

Under these circumstances, perhaps it’s no surprise that one Washington Post headline declares “In some schools, dread over the new year: ‘We’re scared to teach’.  At the same time, some articles try to set a happier tone even as they chronicle the challenges: “For many students,” Chalkbeat NYC reported, “Thursday marked a joyous return to school. But a possible bus strike and air conditioning issues dimmed some of the good vibes (“First day of school for NYC’s nearly 900,000 kids: Smiles, sweat, and bus strike concerns.”)

COVID-19 & Health Concerns

A new school year, a new COVID-19 variant. What are schools to do?, Education Week

Cleaner air could keep schools open, The New York Times

Some US schools return to face mask requirements, The Washington Post

“Cases of COVID-19 have risen in some areas of the US, and some schools have reinstated face mask mandates, rekindling debate about whether the requirement is necessary or an impingement on personal freedoms. COVID-19 hospitalizations are well below what they were a year ago, but some experts have expressed concern about the fall season as most Americans have not yet gotten the latest updated booster vaccines that are due out soon.”

As children return to school, parents fret over shortage of ADHD meds, KFF Health News

Colorado launches free school lunch, mental health support, CBS Colorado

“The Cherry Creek School District in Colorado is welcoming students back with the launch of “Healthy School Meals for All,” a free school lunch program funded by Prop FF, aiming to support learning. Superintendent Christopher Smith also highlights partnerships with Hazel Health, offering free virtual mental health sessions, and the upcoming opening of Traverse Academy, a unique facility for students dealing with serious mental health challenges.”

Concerns about costs and funding

Enrollment, funding, supply chain issues throw wrench into school construction projects, K-12 Dive

Schools’ insurance costs are soaring—and climate change isn’t the only reason, Education Week

“Districts are seeing higher premiums thanks to a surge in natural disasters and other challenges.”

Cost of school supplies is at an all-time high, NPR

As back-to-school costs soar, more parents & teachers turn to charities for help, The 74

Most teachers spend their own money on school supplies. Should they?, Education Week

School supply funding varies widely across US, Education Week

‘Food is the biggest expense’: Mass. families welcome permanent free school meals for students, WBUR

School lunch prices rise amid challenges, USA Today

“As the new school year approaches, schools nationwide face the challenge of increasing lunch and breakfast costs due to inflation, the end of federal subsidies and potential new regulations — causing the School Nutrition Association to urge federal action. “School meal programs need permanent reimbursement-rate increases to cope with long-term, higher labor costs — especially as many schools still struggle with labor shortages and need to raise wages to fully staff their kitchens,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, SNA’s director of media relations.”

More students eating for free as growing number of states offer universal school meals, Chalkbeat

Shortages

From ‘crisis’ to ‘catastrophe,’ schools scramble once again to find teachers, NBC News

To fight teacher shortages, schools turn to custodians, bus drivers and aides, Hechinger Report

West Virginia schools facing staffing problems amid new teaching assistant law, The 74

Districts aim to address teacher housing crisis, Axios

“School districts in the US are turning to homebuilding to address the chronic teacher shortage and housing affordability challenges. The move aims to improve teachers’ quality of life and educational outcomes, as many educators struggle to afford living near their schools, potentially leading to increased burnout and reduced time spent with students.”

The shortage in school bus drivers is getting worse, The New York Times

Wake County school bus driver shortage affecting 2,000 students, ABC 11

Severe bus driver shortage in Baton Rouge leads to an emergency school board meeting, WAFB

A district’s bus ‘disaster’ highlights a nationwide driver shortage, Education Week

GOP lawmakers call for special session after school bus debacle, canceled classes, The 74

“After a disastrous first week of school, when some buses didn’t get students home until 10 p.m. and classes were subsequently canceled for two days, Jefferson County Republican lawmakers want to call a special legislative session to enact changes — including a school choice amendment and the possible splitting up of the district. In our latest partnership with the Kentucky Lantern, McKenna Horsley reports that 12 lawmakers signed an open letter last week, saying the district failed to “keep our kids safe” and that structural changes are needed.” 

Why is there a shortage of school bus drivers? Problem worsened by COVID reaches crisis level, USA Today

We’re off until the beginning of September, but we will be back with new posts about the start of the 2023-24 school year, an interview about the COVID response and “catch-up” efforts in the Netherlands, and virtual visits to schools in Chile. In the meantime, please revisit some of our back-to-school posts from previous years and be sure to check out our twitter feed for the latest international education news.

Hope and trepidation in 2022: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US

 Going Back to School Has Never Been Quite Like This (Part 1): Pandemic Effects in the US

Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning the headlines from around the world

What does it look like to go back to school in 2020? It’s different all around the world…

Headlines Around the World: Back to School 2019 Edition

IEN is on vacation, but we will be back in two weeks with new posts about the start of the 2023-24 school year, an interview about the COVID response and “catch-up” efforts in the Netherlands, and virtual visits to schools in Chile. In the meantime, please revisit some of the interviews we did over the past school year and be sure to check out our twitter feed for the latest international education news.

A view from Poland (Part 1) – Jacek Pyżalski discusses the impact of school closures and the COVID-19 Pandemic on students and teachers

The Recent Development of Innovative Schools in China – An Interview with Zhe Zhang (Part 1)

← The Evolution and Scaling of the Whole Child Model (Part 1): An Interview with Cynthia Robinson Rivers

School Closures, Internet Access and Remote Instruction in Vietnam:  A Conversation with Chi Hieu Nguyen (Part 1)

In case you missed it, earlier this summer, Sam Abrams shared some of his latest reflections on what he’s learned about vocational education in Finland. Abrams is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. At Teachers College, he also serves as Director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education. During the 22-23 academic year, Abrams was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Turku in Finland. This post was originally published on June 15th, 2023, by the Fulbright Finland News Magazine.

In studying Finnish primary and lower-secondary schooling for a book I was writing on comparative education policy early in my academic career, I took a detour in 2010 to visit an upper-secondary vocational school in Lohja called Luksia. The late Matti Saarinen, a Social Democratic MP from Lohja I had come to know, told me that to understand Finnish education, I had to spend time at a school like Luksia, which he knew well as a former administrator there.

Esa Karvinen, the head of Luksia, hosted me for breakfast at the start of the day and then showed me one sparkling program after another, from cosmetology and culinary arts to auto maintenance, before returning to the cafeteria for lunch prepared by students in the culinary arts program. Karvinen afterward gave me a tour of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program and then drove me around Lohja to visit businesses where students were doing apprenticeships.

The final stop was a serpentine drive from the center of town. Karvinen didn’t tell me where we were heading. He merely said that he was now going to show me something truly special. He pulled the car over at the edge of a flooded former stone quarry. For a minute, I thought this was the end. I had entered a chapter in an unwritten Stieg Larsson novel.

Karvinen beamed, “This is our diving program!” Karvinen explained that students dive in this former quarry 365 days a year and learn how to do underwater ship and pipeline repair and much more. The visibility is unparalleled, he added.

“The world has as much to learn from Finland’s robust vocational system as it does from the country’s progressive pedagogical philosophy and rigorous approach to teacher preparation.“

With that introduction to Finnish vocational education, I knew Saarinen was right. In particular, it was clear that all the attention to Finland’s impressive results on the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) had obscured an equally if not more important story. The world has as much to learn from Finland’s robust vocational system as it does from the country’s progressive pedagogical philosophy and rigorous approach to teacher preparation. I resolved after that visit to someday write a comparative analysis of vocational education. To that end, I applied in 2022 for a Fulbright to study the evolution of vocational education in Finland.

With the University of Turku as my base, I have been shadowing teachers at the Turku Vocational Institute as well as visiting similar programs in Raisio and Jyväskylä and interviewing apprenticeship counselors.

Differences Between Systems

U.S. vocational education does not compare to the Finnish version. While 40 to 45 percent of students at the upper-secondary level in Finland attend vocational schools, only 5 percent do so in the U.S. While Finland spends 1 percent of GDP on job training, the U.S. spends only 0.1 percent.

The consequences of these distinctions for the U.S. are grim. So many students at the upper-secondary level in the U.S. miss out on working with their hands as well as their minds. In addition, while passage of a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill in 2021 marked an important victory for President Joe Biden, we don’t have the skilled labor to meet the bill’s goals to build solar and wind farms, expand broadband, and upgrade mass transit. More fundamentally, without a strong vocational school system, we don’t have the foundation for a healthy middle class.

Replicating the Finnish model, however, represents a daunting task because the success of the system has as much to do with the country’s social contract as it does with teaching methods and facilities. The wage and benefit penalties for someone in the U.S. with a diploma in auto maintenance or culinary arts, for example, can be severe. Not so in Finland. Because of income compression, the salary of a garage mechanic or baker will not, as in the U.S., be dwarfed by that of a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Because of everyday equity, the garage mechanic or baker will not, as in the U.S., have to worry about maternity/paternity leave, solid health-care coverage, affordable daycare, paid vacation, and decent retirement funding.

The challenge to improving vocational education in the U.S. is accordingly steep. Conceding that is the necessary first step to making progress.