Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

Outcomes Summary63As a set, these merge into the singular guiding principleof moving from ‘Good to Great.’ 1 The goal is to replace “I’mdoing well in school” with “I love school and I’m doing great.”Towards this goal, a set of three action areas were identified.1—A term borrowed from the book of the samename by Jim Collins.1. Open Public DiscourseEducation is highly valued within Finnish culture, butthe motivations for pursuing education are not always clear.More voices need to be included in the public discourse, andwith them a broader set of priorities. In particular, children’sown needs and desires are absent from this discourse, as is ashared understanding of the value of arts and athletics withinthe school establishment.2. Strengthen International Networks and CollaborationAt a cultural level, Finnish society needs to develop amore active international presence. Within the educationarena, Finland has a unique opportunity to use its Programmefor International Student Assessment (PISA) statusto take a leading international role by developing symposia,conferences and joint research that is multi-lateral. Exposureto other cultures and lifestyles builds awareness of other waysof living. This strengthens the personal and cultural core,enabling students and teachers to appreciate, promote andpreserve their own culture.3. The New Suomi Schoolfor the 21st CenturyThe Studio further sketched out the prototypeof a new learning environment that couldbecome the model for new schools in Finland.The emphasis was on experiential learning, collaboration,cultural skills and problem solvingenabling children to grow into agile thinkerswho can deftly handle new situations. Successin this area involves rethinking pedagogy, rolesand infrastructure but also a proper frameworkfor the pilot so that it offers a clear pathway tobroader adoption if successful, thereby avoidingprototype paralysis.The studio proposed a way of thinking aboutthe education system as being shaped by—andneeding to respond to—a variety of pressuresboth global and national.