Searching For Finland's Education Entrepreneurs

What's to solve when your education system is supposedly perfect?

Last week, Annie Murphy Paul’s review of Amanda Ripley’s book, The Smartest Kids in the World, began with Ripley’s quote: “If you want the American dream, go to Finland.”

Tony WanIt just so happened that I was there last week for a CICERO conference on digital learning. (Editor’s note: Tony spoke at the conference and his travel costs were covered by the conference.) In addition to grokking with academics, I had another quest in mind: are there edtech entrepreneurs in Finland? And if so, what problems in this seemingly idyllic education environment are they trying to solve?

The media has a tendency to fawn over Finland as the Holy Grail of education. The reasons have been repeated many, many times. Among them: the Finnish education philosophy is designed around inclusion, equality and the growth and well-being of the group rather than the individual. There are no tests. Teachers are rigorously trained and held in high esteem. There is a two-track education system that treats vocational education as something equally valued as “traditional” university education.