Does it work in Finland? School psychological services within a successful system of basic education

Abstract

The Finnish educational system has become a subject of wide interest during the 2000s due to the country’s success in the OECD’s PISA surveys. One might expect that the challenges of school psychology would also have been solved successfully. However, in reality, Finnish school psychology is suffering from the same types of problems as in many other countries: No large-scale shift from reactive work to active promotion and prevention has taken place, and the number of school psychologists is insufficient. In the present article we delineate critical factors that have hindered the more adequate and effective use of psychological expertise in Finnish educational system. Necessary actions for future development are outlined.

Motives emanating from personality associated with achievement in a Finnish senior high school: Physical activity, curiosity, and family motives

“…This study will examine whether the physical activity and family motives help to explain achievement among high school students in Finland, which is internationally known for promoting excellence in high school reading, mathematics, and science achievement (Ahtola & Niemi, 2014). Whereas many studies have found that adolescent students who enjoy learning and are intellectually curious have higher achievement (Froiland & Oros, 2014;Reiss, 2004;Vansteenkiste et al, 2005) this is the first to examine whether the physical activity motive interacts with intellectual curiosity in contributing to achievement.…”

“…Froiland, 2011;Froiland, 2014;Froiland, 2015;Solomon et al, 2000). Indeed, researchers in Finland have called for more preventive programs to be delivered by school psychologists to families and schools (Ahtola & Niemi, 2014). Programs that promote intrinsic motivation to learn have been found to support the development of positive emotions, reductions in anxiety, and decreases in psychosomatic complaints (e.g.…”

Check in–check out intervention for supporting pupils’ behaviour: effectiveness and feasibility in Finnish schools

“…Schools' multi-professional pedagogical teams determine the support pupils need in reviews, without the requirement for psychological evaluations or medical diagnosis, although these are still often used (Björn et al 2016). The use of behavioural expertise when planning preventive support for pupils with severe behavioural problems is rare in mainstream schools, as psychological assessment is seen as the major task of school psychologists (Ahtola and Niemi 2014). Behaviour management also receives very little attention in teacher education (see Honkasilta et al 2014), and this is reflected in schools' lack of experience in using evidencebased interventions for behavioural problems.…”

What Do Schools Need? School Professionals' Perceptions of School Psychology

“…Finland's success in PISA surveys makes it an interesting target also for studying the school psychological tradition. This is especially intriguing, because the psychosocial well-being of Finnish children and adolescents has lately been of concern in Finland (see Ahtola & Niemi, 2014). Future studies on Finnish school psychologists' functions may yield different results.…”

“…Naturally there are several other factors that define and affect school psychologist's work. Financial and societal factors as well as intrinsic factors of psychology are worth mentioning (see Ahtola & Niemi, 2014).…”