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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice

Finland

Key features of the education system

Equity in education

A key feature of the national education culture is to ensure equal opportunities for all. Individual support measures are in place to guarantee that every pupil and student can reach their full potential.  Differences between schools are small and the quality of teaching is high all around the country. The education system does not have any dead-ends which would affect an individual’s learning career.

Aikuislukio

General upper secondary schools for adults (in Finnish: aikuislukio) are either separate schools or separate sections in normal upper secondary schools. Besides a complete general upper secondary degree, these institutions offer individual courses in different subjects, and preparatory instruction and lower secondary education for adults.

General legislation

Act on Public Officials in Central Government 750/1994 / Valtion virkamieslaki 750/1994. The Act provides for state civil service. The aim is to ensure that state duties are performed effectively, appropriately and in a manner that meets legal requirements, and to ensure that civil servants have a fair position in relation to their employers.

2025

Teacher education 2050 : Vision for Finnish Teacher Education

The Finnish Teacher Education Forum, a collaborative body tasked with strengthening Finland's research-based teacher education, has released a new vision for Finnish teacher education, "Teacher Education 2050."  

2025

Finland: English-language general upper secondary education starting from 2026

In Finland, general upper secondary education (ISCED 34) can be completed in English, in addition to Finnish and Swedish, starting from August 2026. Local education providers need to apply for permission from the Ministry of Education and Culture to offer English-language instruction.

2025

National Core Curriculum for ECEC to be updated

In response to the changes to the ECEC Act (540/2018) effective from January 2025, which removes the obligation for local ECEC providers to draft their own curricula, Finnish National Agency for Education has initiated an update of the National Core Curriculum for ECEC. This update will encompass all sections of the current core curriculum and is designed to provide more precise national guidance for local practices. 

Structure of the chapter

This chapter provides a thematic and chronological overview of national reforms and policy developments since 2022. The web pages that follow group reforms in the following broad thematic areas:

• Early childhood education and care

• General school education

• Vocational education and training

• Higher education

• Adult education and training.

Inside each thematic area, reforms are organised chronologically. The most recent reforms are described first. 

Finland has many cooperation agreements, programmes and Memorandums of Understanding (MoU). These agreements are bilateral treaties and cover the following fields of competence: