Vocational schooling has a certain stigma with it in the US. There is this view of it being a dumping ground for those students who fail in the traditional schooling system. It is a way to provide some narrow and basic skills that the students can hopefully use to get a job since the academic route didn’t work out. Vocational school is looked at as something lesser, something that the low achieving kids can maybe get through. I’m sure vocational teachers out there would push back on this description, but that doesn’t change the societal view of the system. These beliefs ultimately affect the programs, who enters them, the type of funding they get and so on.
Coming to Finland I was intrigued by the vocational schools here and knew that I wanted to spend time better understanding the system. Vocational education here plays a much more significant role in the greater educational system compared to the US. Finnish students are required to go to compulsory schooling through 9th grade (equivalent of US 10th grade) and then they have a choice to make. They can either go the academic route and go to a high school (lukio) or they can go to a vocational school (ammattikoulu). The split is right about 50/50, with a slight more preference for lukios over vocational schools. This distinction continues through higher education. If students choose to continue their education beyond upper-secondary then lukios lead to academic/theory heavy universities (yliopisto) while vocational schools lead to universities of applied sciences (ammattikorkeakoulu). It is important to note that Finns prides themselves in that the system allows mobility back and forth through both routes. Deciding to go to a lukio does not mean that a Polytechnic school or vocational training is out of reach, and vice versa. . . in theory.
After spending some time in Finnish vocational schools there are some things that strike me.
High | I visited a metal working program where first year students are using heavy duty tools such as mills and lathes to create complex parts. By the time they are in the 3rd year they are using industrial level CNC machines that require programming and computer aided design to mass produce parts efficiently and without waste. Students in vocational schools learn all aspects of the industry allowing them to have more choices for employment when completed. |
On-the-Job Training | At my school in the US we have a required one month internship program that all Juniors must go through to graduate. In vocational schools in Finland students are required to take about two months of full time employment each year for a total of about 6 months of work experience. This is a significant part of vocational programs that allows students to apply what they are learning in a real work environment. |
Self Regulation and Personalized Learning | Many vocational schools here leave it up to the student to decide how they will meet the requirements of the program. In one business school I visited, students sit down with a counselor/coach and look over the learning outcomes for the program. Students can use past work experience to show competence in the goals and then tailor their classes and on-the-job placements to meet the other outcomes. |
Traditional Academic Content | Students are required to take classes in math, native tongue and English. Some students take dual degrees where they go even deeper into the academic subjects at the lukio, but then they take the applied courses at the vocational school. By holding onto some of the traditional academic subjects, vocational school students still have pathways into universities. Unfortunately, these academic classes remain separated from the vocational classes. |
Authentic Work | Students are creating products for real clients. Students are learning from hands on experiences that apply their theoretical learning in collaborative teams. The work is also applicable to the student’s goals. The question of “why are we learning this” is non-existent in these vocational schools. |
Although I have seen some amazing work being done, there are wonderings that I have and areas that I think Finland could work on:
Teaching of 21st Century Competencies
Vocational schools, with their hands on collaborative work, are the perfect places to nurture the development of 21st century competencies. I have seen little of this explicitly being taught though. Students are doing the type of work that requires these skills, especially during their on-the-job working periods, but teachers do little to bring this learning to the surface. The schools are focused on the field specific skills. It is great that these field specific skills are diverse and high level, but there is a missed opportunity to reinforce the broad competencies that are so important and under the surface in all the work we do.
Connecting Mind and Hands
In both lukios and vocational schools I have seen missed opportunities for connecting academic learning with applied work. Lukio students are stuck in books and lectures while vocational school students focus on doing hands-on work without unpacking the theoretical underpinnings. I understand that the system is designed to be specialized, but I think there is so much value in integrating both forms of learning into the classroom. It is a mistake to view the hands and mind as isolated entities.
Dumping Grounds
After talking with many students, teachers and administrators here in Finland, it is clear that the preferred course for students is to go to a lukio and onto university. Vocational schools, despite the rich learning and career opportunities they provide, are still seen as the track for students who don’t do well in a traditional school system. Few students I talked to chose vocational school due to their life goals and career aspirations. What 16 year old really knows what they want to be when they grow up? Although the Finnish vocational school system is doing some great work with supporting students for the 21st century work life and to create pathways to higher education, I fear that it still plays the role of the dumping ground for students that struggle in the traditional school environment. The idea that students have mobility between systems doesn’t quite play out in practice where it is rare that students move between the academic and vocational tracks. The schools then unwittingly decide the future of the student before they really have a chance to discover it themselves.
Teaching of 21st Century Competencies
Vocational schools, with their hands on collaborative work, are the perfect places to nurture the development of 21st century competencies. I have seen little of this explicitly being taught though. Students are doing the type of work that requires these skills, especially during their on-the-job working periods, but teachers do little to bring this learning to the surface. The schools are focused on the field specific skills. It is great that these field specific skills are diverse and high level, but there is a missed opportunity to reinforce the broad competencies that are so important and under the surface in all the work we do.
Connecting Mind and Hands
In both lukios and vocational schools I have seen missed opportunities for connecting academic learning with applied work. Lukio students are stuck in books and lectures while vocational school students focus on doing hands-on work without unpacking the theoretical underpinnings. I understand that the system is designed to be specialized, but I think there is so much value in integrating both forms of learning into the classroom. It is a mistake to view the hands and mind as isolated entities.
Dumping Grounds
After talking with many students, teachers and administrators here in Finland, it is clear that the preferred course for students is to go to a lukio and onto university. Vocational schools, despite the rich learning and career opportunities they provide, are still seen as the track for students who don’t do well in a traditional school system. Few students I talked to chose vocational school due to their life goals and career aspirations. What 16 year old really knows what they want to be when they grow up? Although the Finnish vocational school system is doing some great work with supporting students for the 21st century work life and to create pathways to higher education, I fear that it still plays the role of the dumping ground for students that struggle in the traditional school environment. The idea that students have mobility between systems doesn’t quite play out in practice where it is rare that students move between the academic and vocational tracks. The schools then unwittingly decide the future of the student before they really have a chance to discover it themselves.
It is clear that the vocational education system in Finland is doing some great things. They are providing an education for students that is hands on, engaging, authentic and valuable. It provides an alternative to the traditional school system that does not always provide the type of learning that allows all students to thrive. My hope is that these programs don’t continue to become dumping grounds for struggling students though. There are so many opportunities to keep the learning rigorous and respected by society as a whole. I have the same hopes for the US vocational system, especially with the resurgence of Career Technical Training (CTE) in high schools. Like the Finnish programs, many CTE courses teach high level skills in an applied, authentic environment and provide pathways into universities and well paid high skills jobs. I’m not content though with moving schools in a purely vocational direction. It is important that we don’t forget that the role of education is not merely to create a workforce to serve the state, but to nurture free thinking citizens to drive our democracy. This requires learning that involved both the hands and the mind, not either/or.