Bill Text: HI SCR78 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Department of Education; Finland's Education Model

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-16 - Referred to EDU, WAM. [SCR78 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SCR78-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	78
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Encouraging the department of education to review finland's education model and incorporate major attributes of the model into hawaii's educational system.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Finland was not succeeding educationally in the 1970s; and

 

     WHEREAS, Finland rebuilt its education system and, since 2000, has consistently ranked high in the Programme for International Student Assessment study, which compares national educational systems internationally; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Finnish National Board of Education states that the main objective of Finnish education policy is to offer all citizens equal opportunities to receive education; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Finnish system focuses on learning rather than testing; therefore, there are no national tests for students in basic education and, instead, teachers are responsible for assessment in their respective subjects on the basis of the objectives included in the curriculum; and

 

     WHEREAS, teachers in Finland are highly trained and required to have obtained a Master's degree, which is provided as free higher education; and

 

     WHEREAS, the only national examination in Finland, the matriculation examination, is held at the end of general upper secondary education and its results are commonly used in determining admission to higher education; and

 

     WHEREAS, Finland has focused governance based on the principle of decentralization since the early 1990s by allowing education providers to be responsible for practical teaching arrangements, as well as the effectiveness and quality of the education provided, and allowing local authorities to determine how much autonomy is passed on to schools, including budget management, acquisitions, and recruitment; and

 

     WHEREAS, most education and training in Finland is publically funded, there are no tuition fees at any level of education, and basic education school materials, school meals, and commuting are provided free of charge; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States has consistently ranked lower than Finland in the Programme for International Student Assessment study; and

 

     WHEREAS, the average National Assessment of Educational Progress score of students in Hawaii has been consistently below the national average; and

 

     WHEREAS, an improved education system in Hawaii will lead to improved careers and opportunities for the children and youth of Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is encouraged to review Finland's education model and incorporate, to the greatest extent possible, the major attributes of the system into Hawaii's educational system; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Department of Education; Finland's Education Model