Finland’s education system and its continued resistance to Global Education Reform Movement (GERM)

The advent of PISA in conjunction with GERM has fortified and strengthened countries’ neoliberal education policies, including early childhood education in England, the US and Australia. PISA, in essence, has created an "educational Olympics" with the publication of "international league tables", naming and shaming countries’ educational performances.

The Education Reform Act of 1988 in England marks the catalyst of GERM, with the emphasis on competition, school choice, and league tables. The now-ubiquitous terminology of 'standards', Test Based Accountability (TBA) and managerial accounting feed neoliberal policies. GERM, therefore, has infected many education systems around the world.

In this webinar, Guy and Jennifer will discuss how Finland appears relatively resistant to infection by utilising the high level of trust in teachers and a democratic accountability. A paradox of "pedagogical conservatism", along with the aforementioned trust in Finnish education allow for a continuing GERM resistance.