Twenty-three South Carolina education stakeholders will visit Finland\u2019s public schools this month to gain insight into critical challenges in public education in South Carolina. The field study will be led by Public Education Partners, Furman University\u2019s Department of Education, and the Riley Institute at Furman.<\/p>\n
The trip, which will be documented by South Carolina ETV, will take place Oct. 14-21. A complete list of the participants in the field study is available online<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Three of the stakeholders traveling to Finland will share takeaways from the field study at the Riley Institute\u2019s WhatWorksSC celebration on Tuesday, Oct.\u00a0 30 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. They are Russell Booker, superintendent of Spartanburg School District Seven; Rep. Neal Collins (R-Pickens); and Susie Shannon, president and CEO of the S.C. Council on Competitiveness.<\/p>\n The WhatWorksSC event is open to the public. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we face South Carolina’s education challenges, such as our teacher shortage, we must learn from others who have worked to address similar challenges,\u201d said Ansel Sanders,\u00a0president and CEO of Public Education\u00a0Partners. \u201cThough\u00a0Finland is\u00a0different from South Carolina in that it is\u00a0a\u00a0relatively homogeneous\u00a0country with\u00a0little poverty, the Finnish approach\u00a0to education, as well as how the Finns developed this system,\u00a0offers\u00a0some useful examples that\u00a0are applicable\u00a0in and transferrable to\u00a0South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Svec, professor of education at Furman, said Finland\u2019s approach to teacher education is relevant in South Carolina, where public schools face a growing teacher shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cFurman has offered a five-year program for teachers in training since 2000, an approach that significantly reduces the rate at which teachers leave the profession during their first five years in the classroom,\u201d Svec said.<\/p>\n Svec said that Finnish teachers and schools have a lot of autonomy, and the national curriculum guidelines allow room for creativity. Every child has access to early childhood education, and children start first grade at age seven. There are far fewer standardized tests, and those that are administered are not tied to accountability. Schools have shorter school days and 90 minutes of recess each day.<\/p>\n Finland\u2019s public education system consistently performs at the top of international rankings, with the great majority of students going on to either academic or vocational post-secondary education.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sharing of information will not be one-sided,\u201d said Don Gordon, executive director of the Riley Institute at Furman. \u201cSouth Carolina\u2019s growing success in community schools that support rural communities will be of interest to Finnish educators. They\u2019ll also be interested in our growing network of project-based learning schools because they are transitioning to similar methods of teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n The field study will take place over seven days in Helsinki and Oulu. The group will meet with policymakers, university faculty responsible for teacher preparation, school leaders, teachers, students and family members.<\/p>\n Furman University\u2019s Department of Education<\/a> <\/strong>is committed to preparing educators who are scholars and leaders. The department\u2019s comprehensive bachelor\u2019s degree (with optional M.A.) teacher preparation programs equip students to be dynamic educators and leaders. Students receive unmatched experiences, starting freshman year, in local classrooms under the mentorship of Furman faculty members and veteran teachers.<\/p>\n