Finnish System of Education (2cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After course completion students should be able to demonstrate knowledge about similarities and differences regarding the Finnish and students’ native system with reference to the general structure of education and specific aspects. The specific aspects include special education, early years education, adult education and media education .Students should be able to understand how societal and cultural factors relate to the specific national educational systems under investigation.

Execution methods

The course is based on lectures, seminars, and self-conducted research.
Lectures (10 h) and 43 h of independent work (self-conducted research, comparative essay).

Accomplishment methods

Active participation and successful completion of a written assignment (a comparative essay).
Assessment: 5-1/fail.
The following is a breakdown of credits students earn for the course, for administrative purposes only. So, please note that the course is for 2ects/op. Therefore one cannot just attend the course for 0.5 ects or only write an essay for 1.5 ects.

Active participation in lectures and seminars 0.5 ects Pass/fail
An essay 1.5 ects 5-1/fail

Content

Students will be familiarized with the Finnish system of education in general and some aspects of special education, early years education, adult education and media education in particular. They will carry out a comparative study focusing on the Finnish and the students´ native systems and possible professional applications.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Fail / returned for revision (0):
The text is copied (and pasted) from the reference material. This is plagiarism and leads to further consequences.
The author only lists the ideas from the reference materials. The author’s point of view is not revealed. The content does not relate to the assignment. The essay is poorly structured. The author uses only web sites and lecture notes as reference materials. Writing lacks coherence and logic. The language is incomprehensible. The in-text and end-of text references acknowledge less than 40% of the sources or are missing altogether. The format of the references is not consistent with a chosen referencing style. The essay is shorter than a minimum required length (1800 words).

Sufficient (1): The author only lists the ideas from the reference materials. The author’s point of view is not revealed. The essay is poorly structured. The author uses only web sites and lecture notes, occasionally a book chapter or governmental documents but no research. Writing lacks coherence and logic. The in-text and end-of text references acknowledge only 40%-50% of the sources. Some references are not relevant or outdated. The format of the references is not consistent with a chosen referencing style. The length of the essay is 1800 - 2000 words.

Satisfactory (2): The author occasionally summarizes but mostly only lists the ideas from the reference materials. The author’s point of view can come out occasionally. The essay is poorly structured. The author uses only a few of the following materials: journal articles, book chapters, governmental documents, or uses predominantly only web sites or lecture notes. Writing lacks coherence. The author uses in-text and end-of-text references to acknowledge at least 50%- 60% of the sources (e.g. journal articles, governmental documents, Internet sites). The references are relevant and less relevant. Recent and less recent references are used. The format of the references is not consistent with a chosen referencing style. The length of the essay is 2000 - 2500 words.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good (3): The points of comparison show that the author understands the main issues of the topic. The author’s point of view is presented. The author summarizes well the ideas of the reference materials but the writing lacks extensive analysis of the content in the reference materials. The structure of the essay is quite clear and understandable. The author uses some of the following materials: journal articles, book chapters, governmental documents. Writing is quite accurate. The author uses in-text and end-of-text references to acknowledge at least 80% of the sources (e.g. journal articles, governmental documents, Internet sites). The references are relevant and mostly recent. The format of the references is mostly consistent with a chosen referencing style. The length of the essay is appropriate (2500 - 3000 words; maximum 3500 words)

Very good (4): The comparison of education systems shows that the author understands the topic. The author’s point of view is well formulated from the reference materials. The author uses a variety of materials, e.g. journal articles, book chapters, governmental documents. Writing is accurate and ideas are well formulated. The structure of the essay is clear and understandable. The author uses in-text and end-of-text references to acknowledge at least 90% of the sources (e.g. journal articles, governmental documents, Internet sites). The references are relevant and recent. The format of the references is consistent with a chosen referencing style. The length of the essay is appropriate (3000 words; maximum 3500 words)

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent (5): The author has selected relevant and well-justified points of comparison for the essay. The author’s point of view shows an excellent understanding of how education systems are constructed and how they work. The ideas from the reference materials have been critically and thoughtfully used for the author’s thinking and reflection. The author uses a variety of materials, e.g. journal articles, book chapters, governmental documents. Writing is precise, logical and convincing. The structure of the essay is clear and understandable. The author uses in-text and end-of-text references to acknowledge ALL the sources (e.g. journal articles, governmental documents, Internet sites). The references are relevant and recent. The format of the references is consistent with a chosen referencing style. The length of the essay is appropriate (3000 words; maximum 3500 words)

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

approved / pass
Active participation: the student attends at least 8 h of contact teaching (out of 12 h), demonstrates cognitive involvement, asks questions, gives comments and participates in group discussions.
fail
Active participation: the student attends less than 8 h of contact teaching (out of 12 h), does not engage in learning, does not participate in group discussions.

Qualifications

No previous studies are required but CEFR level B2 of English is recommended to follow lectures and write the essay. A very general assessment of one’s CEFR level can be found at
http://kaares.ulapland.fi/home/hkunta/ealssen/exss/CEFR.html