EMMA DAVIES spoke with Finnish educator and author Pasi Sahlberg who has worked as school teacher, teacher educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland and advised education reforms around the world about the importance of bilingualism. Originally published on 2 November 2018 on The Australia Education Reporter. Q. Why do you think recommendation 24 of Gonski 2.0 should be about learning a foreign language? There are 300…
read more“The time has come to ban cellphones in the classroom”. Wait, wait, but “A blanket ban on cellphones in class would not be smart”. These were the headlines of two op-eds published in Canadian daily newspapers in early September. This debate has already reached an international scale: Since 2012 most teenagers in rich countries have had access to smartphones. In Kerry, Ireland, one school has restricted children’s use…
read moreOne of the biggest questions parents face is when to send their child to school. There are many factors to consider in Australia: is the child ready, will he/she be the youngest in the class, what kind of school, can we afford high child care fees, what are other mothers and fathers doing, and so on. As an education expert soon to be moving to Sydney from Finland with my family, with two boys aged 3 and 6, these are the sorts…
read moreThis is an interview by Fábio Takahashi in Folha de Sao Paulo (in Portuguese) on 23 April 2018 Fábio: You mention in your book that Finland learned a lot with other countries in order to build its educational system. How Finland could inspire Brazil, even with so many differences (such as income, area, and population)? Pasi: First of all, I think you ask the right question when you use the word ‘inspire’. This is exactly…
read moreIn December 2017, at the Online Education Berlin, I sat down for coffee with Zoey Zhang. Zhuoying (Zoey) Zheng is a young Chinese journalist from JMDedu studying master of marketing in Germany. Having studied in Europe for two years and doing global projects in Asia, Latin America and Europe, she wants to drive intercultural communication through business and education innovation. Currently, her research focus is on the education…
read moreShould kids use their smart phones in schools? This question divides not only teachers and pupils but also educators and parents outside schools. Those in favour of free or politely restricted use of these gadgets argue that technology is part of youngsters' lives and learning and they should therefore be allowed to have them in schools. Those who would like ban or heavily restrict smart phones in schools say that malpractices,…
read moreWhat are the key things the Finnish education system can teach the world, and Australian education systems in particular? Pasi: Finland has become one of the most investigated school systems in the world. At the same time, however, there are many myths about Finnish schools around the world. A rather common mistake is to think that Finland’s education system can be exported to other countries, or that copying elements of it…
read moreInterview in the DELPHI for the Great Conference of Ideas, 1 February 2018, Vilnius “What can Lithuania learn from Finland’s education system?” What, in your opinion, contributes the most to the quality of the primary, secondary and higher education? Pasi: It depends what do you mean by ‘quality’ of education. In daily conversations about the quality of education we often mix ‘the quality of a school or a university’…
read moreThe World Development report 2018 (WDR2018) is right about the global learning crisis: many children not in school, educational inequity, and low quality of learning outcomes. But it often misses the point when trying to use available evidence to realize education’s promise. The problem is that there are so many ‘facts’ now available about how to fix education, that anyone – including the Bank – can easily gravitate…
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