Quality Matters in Early Childhood Education and Care: Finland 2012
This report reviews quality in childhood education and care in Finland. It suggest strengths and point to areas for further reflection on current policy initiatives.
Where does Finland stand regarding policy outcomes and inputs?
In general, Finland performs above the OECD average with most of the ECEC outcome indicators. On socio-demographic and labour market outcomes, the fertility rates are slightly higher than the average countries; and maternal employment rates are in line with the average or above. On child outcome indicators, there is very little child poverty; Finnish students at the age of 15 perform well on PISA assessments for reading, mathematics and science; school survival rates are high; and young people (15 to 19 years) are most often either in school or work. Areas for reflection on possible policy change with an international comparative perspective include: improving gender equality in earnings for women; increasing ECEC enrolment rates for children at ages three and five; and improving health outcomes for students at age 15.