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A Comparative Study on Teachers’ Perspective of Education Systems in Finland and the UAEFinal projectInstructor:Dr. Ali IbrahimDone by:Hind Ghufli 200560191ND TUAIB GHUFLIHIND TUAIB GHUFLIHIND TUAIB GHUFLIKasila Al Darai 20054031925th June , 2016AbstractIt has always been a struggle to find appropriate pedagogical methods to improve students’ achievement. A remarkable educational system has the power to drive a country forward, as much as an inconspicuous system can lead it to the bottom. Recently, many educators follow the rise of the quality of the educational system in Finland, because of the rapid progress in reading, math and science literacy CITATION Han11 \l 1033 (Hancock, 2011). In the new millennium, Finland has gained a reputation for having one of the best education systems in the world CITATION Mor14 \l 1033 (Morgan, 2014). Such rise raised many questions. In his study on the Secret to Finland’s Success; searching education system and teacher training systemSahlberg (2010) introduced the selection of highly qualified teachers as the essential feature of the successful education system in Finland. Not just that, but he found that society pays great respect and support to teaching as a profession which was stated as the most desired career especially in primary school CITATION Sah10 \l 1033 (Sahlberg P. , 2010). Many factors, including a well-educated teaching force, contribute to Finland’s success, but some aspects of the country’s educational policies and practices may be surprising to those living elsewhere, like the assessment measurements and the time teacher spend teaching in classrooms. The ways Finland has reformed its education system have significant implications for reformers in other countries, especially those facing the same problems Finland had before its remarkable success CITATION Mor14 \l 1033 (Morgan, 2014).Yet, for another country to follow the same path, how far it is from reaching the peak of the same mountain to start with? And if teachers are one of the main factors that shaped the new era of the outstanding Finnish education system, then what is the Finnish teachers’ perspective of their education system compared to our teachers’ towards our education system in the United Arab Emirate. IntroductionIn this report the researchers compare two different education systems from the teachers’ perspective. Based on a report published by Elsevier Ltd, entitled “An insight perspective of Finland’s educational system” a survey was developed to measure the main aspects intended to be discussed in the report CITATION Pop15 \l 1033 (Popaa, Laurianb, & Fitzgerald, 2015). The adapted report discussed how far, or close, is the reality of the Finnish education system from all charming stories spreading around the world. It focused mainly on what educators in Finland think about their educational system and if the opinions of the educators aligned with the information they have reviewed in journals and through other media. For the purpose of this report, the survey some questions were eliminated and only 26 out of 46 were used to serve some specific areas of comparison like the teacher’s role, qualifications, and position in school and society. Literature reviewOne of the reasons students in Finland do very well on international tests, when compared with pupils in other countries, has to do with the way teachers are chosen; Finland only selects the best (Morgan, 2014). Such a fact is just a result that accompanied an opposing goal. Educators in Finland do not believe that frequent testing and stronger accountability will increase student learning, but could create opportunities for biased teaching, which may raise test scores with little learning CITATION Sah11 \l 1033 (Sahlberg P. , 2011). That’s why Finland does not emphasize standardized testing, and as a result there is no competition among schools and thus no unnecessary stress on students and teachers. Teachers guide students to discover their own ways of accomplishing curricular goals without fear; for most students, this type of environment encourages creativity and excellence CITATION Mor14 \l 1033 (Morgan, 2014). That explains the high academic achievement of the Finnish students compared to students from other countries. On the other hand, in Finland, teachers go through a whole program to prepare them for teaching and they need to finish a 5-year master’s degree to complete the program CITATION Han11 \l 1033 (Hancock, 2011) as only the elites are to be chosen to lead the nation. In addition, the teaching profession is highly respected, to the degree that young students hoping to enter this field often perceive it as more important than medicine or law CITATION Sah11 \l 1033 (Sahlberg P. , 2011).One of the main factors that helped feed the growing success of the educational system in Finland is “Trust”. The teacher there is accountable and “there is no need for layers and levels of bureaucracy when the basic teaching force can be trusted and can produce quality learning in each and every locality” CITATION Har121 \l 1033 (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012).Compared to the education system in the United Arab Emirates, the Finnish education system is on the opposite end of the pole, long way apart yet connected. When it comes to the teachers, they hold no accountability at all. They are monitored and evaluated by the supervisor and the school principal according to specific criteria. These supervisors use an instrument to evaluate teachers. The instrument is a 100-point system which is divided between different variables CITATION Gaa06 \l 1033 (Gaad, Arif, & Scott, 2006). According to a study concerning the Education system in the UAE, on analysis, it was found that there is poor alignment among what the system was developed for, how it was delivered, and what was evaluated. In order to align this system significant efforts are needed to ensure that extensive documentation in terms of teachers’ guides; training sessions for teachers and supervisors, and relevant evaluation instruments must be designed with systems thinking as the guide CITATION Gaa06 \l 1033 (Gaad, Arif, & Scott, 2006).Data Collecting:As mentioned earlier, the report findings are based on a survey adapted from a previous study concerning the education system in Finland. It is targeting the teachers’ perspective of the system. As a matter of fact, only 26 questions were selected out of the 46 presented in the original report (26 Likert scale questions, including three demographic questions, and a final open ended question). Each set of questions serves a purpose while the open question might provide any valuable piece of information that can be of use.The survey was developed and distributed through a website specialized in surveys and data collecting, “”, and the recipients received the survey online through their social media accounts. The participants are from, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain, distributed in no particular ratio but due to availability. Findings:With a majority of more-than-10-years of experience teachers non holds a PhD degree. While less than 7% are Master’s degree holders. Surprisingly 9% achieved no higher level of education than diploma. In contrary, in Finland the majority of teachers hold Master’s degree or higher. When compared the teachers’ feelings in terms of respect and appreciation both sides, from the UAE and Finland, mostly agreed that they feel respected by the school administration, community and parents. Though there is still around 3.5% of teachers from the UAE participants who strongly disagree as they don’t feel respected specially by the administration and the parents. When it comes to teacher preparation programs in the UAE, about 56% believe the programs prepared them to be teachers while the rest varied between neutral and strongly disagree. Around 60% agreed they have the autonomy to decide the teaching method while this percentage drops down with it comes to modifying the schedule or the curriculum to match the student’s needs. About 53% are unsatisfied with the salary while 35% believe they receive a professional salary. Regardless to the unsatisfying payment 66% are still welling to seek professional development whenever it is offered and almost the same number agreed that the school and the educational zone promote professional development. But when asked if they ever required earning a higher degree beyond bachelor’s the majority disagreed. As they weren’t asked to seek a higher level of education nor the school or the educational zone suggested or offered any opportunities or financial support. According to the survey, the main goal of the standardized tests is to compare student’s achievement as answered by 46% of the participants. Another comparison to consider is the time students spend at school. In the UAE an average school day is 6~7 hours as answered by 82% compared to Finland where the school day is 5~6 hours as answered by the majority. During that time an average teacher from the UAE would teach 4~5 classes a day which is somehow close to the number of classes a Finnish teacher would teach per day.Discussion:Looking at the results from both parties it is noticeable that Finnish education system reputation is based more on the attitude of those who are involved. When comparing the circumstances, there were some similarities yet with different results. Both sides mostly believe they are respected and appreciated yet teachers in the UAE are working under the stress of monitoring and evaluation which is emotionally draining while teachers in Finland live the liberty of making decisions and take responsibilities which took them to a high level of accountability. Such a feeling of autonomy resulted in higher performance and a healthier atmosphere. According to both surveys, both sides agreed they receive professional salary but only the teachers from the UAE left comments demanding less working hours and less classes while in Finland no participants demanded less working hour yet they mentioned a significant piece of information that some classes are 75 minutes and after the calculations it is clear that less classes didn’t mean less time which means both sides teach almost the same amount of time regardless to the number of classes they teach.A third point to consider is the level of education. Compared to Finland that requires higher level of education from teachers, in the UAE there are still some teacher who have not even earned bachelor’s degree but still working with a diploma while nor the school neither the educational zone support teachers to earn higher level of education. Conclusion To sum up and reach a solid conclusion, it is found that the differences between the two systems are based on the selection and training of the teachers along with the work conditions. It is acknowledged that teachers need to be trusted and involved in decision making regarding curriculum and means of assessment. As stated by a number of participants, the evaluation period creates an unbearable pressure on the teacher which leads to the teachers moving their focus from learning and teaching to finding the ways to satisfy the supervisors and deliver whatever paperwork or portfolio files required. Also teachers need to have the autonomy to choose how to work with their students. On the other hand, if we want to eliminate the need for evaluation for teachers, if we want to involve teachers in decision making and curriculum development, if we want to trust teachers and get support from community, we need to select the right people to educate students and lead the learning process. Those selected teachers should be knowledgeable and able to choose what’s best for students. They must start from the teacher preparation program. Starting with enhancing or even reforming then evaluating on a regular basis. Not to forget, the programs that prepare principals to become school leaders not just a boss of orders and commands. As only when it is fixed from the roots the outcome will grow higher into the perfect shape desired. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaad, E., Arif, M., & Scott, F. (2006). Systems analysis of the UAE education system. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(4), 291-303. doi:10.1108/09513540610665405Hancock, L. (2011, september). innovation . Retrieved from smithsonian: , & Shirley. (2012). The Global Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence. california: corwin. Retrieved from , A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school. New York: Teachers College Press.Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2013). The power of professional capital. Learning Forward’s Annual Conference 2012. 34 , pp. 36-39. Boston: keynote address. Retrieved from , H. (2014). The education system in finland: A success story other countries can emulate. Childhood Education, 90(6), 453-457.Popaa, C., Laurianb, S., & Fitzgerald, C. (2015). Carmen Popaa, Simona Laurianb, Carlton Fitzgerald, 2014. An An insight perspective of Finland’s educational system. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 104 – 112.Sahlberg, P. (2010). The Secret to Finland’s Success:Educating Teachers. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. Retrieved from , P. (2011). Lessons from Finland. The professional Educator, 34-38. 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