Friday, October 7, 2011

Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg

Pasi Sahlberg is leading Finnish educator who has written a book that is scheduled for release in October/November 2011. It is titled Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?

Here is some notable advance praise for the book:

"The story of Finland's extraordinary educational reforms is one that should inform policymakers and educators around the world. No one tells this story more clearly and engagingly than Pasi Sahlberg, who has lived and studied these reforms for decades. This book is a must read."

—Linda Darling-Hammond

“A terrific synthesis by a native Finn, a teacher, a researcher and a policy analyst all rolled up into one excellent writer. Pasi Sahlberg teaches us a great deal about what we need to know before engaging in national educational reforms.”

— David Berliner

A brief summary:

In his new book, Pasi Sahlberg presents ideas to help teachers, policymakers, and educational leaders
understand the complexity of educational change. By explaining the history and culture of Finland and the role of education therein, the author examines the success of the Finnish educational system and how it differs from the global educational reform movement and the North American educational policies and systems. Finnish Lessons is based on Sahlberg’s personal experience as a teacher, researcher and policy advisor both in Finland and abroad. He explores the role of teachers and teacher education in Finland in educational transformation and the link between education reform and good performance in other public sectors and the national economy. Rather than simply proposing that North America follow Finland’s model, Sahlberg advocates that it be used as an example of hope and the capacity for change and encourage other nations to find their own way to enact change that works.

You can check out Pasi Sahlberg's blog here and his website here. You can follow him on Twitter here.

And here is a post I wrote about Finland and Sahlberg: The Paradoxes of the Finland Phenomenon 

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