No Grammar Schools, Lots of Play:The Secrets of Europe’s Top Education System

By

（譯者單位：華中科技大學）

It’s a warm September afternoon in the Kallio district of Helsinki. Out in the Franzenia daycare centre playground, groups of four- and five-yearolds roam contentedly. “Would you like an ice-cream?” asks one, having set up her elaborate “stall” on the edge of the sandpit. Kindergarten staff move among the children, chatting, observing and making written notes.

在芬蘭赫爾辛基市，9月的一個溫暖下午，卡里奧地區弗蘭冊尼亞日托中心的操場上，一群四五歲的小孩子在自由自在地活動。“你想吃冰激凌嗎?”一個小女孩在沙坑旁精心擺好了她的“小攤”后問道。幼兒園的工作人員在孩子中間走動，他們一邊聊天，一邊觀察，然后記下筆記。

[2] There is nothing outwardly distinctive about the centre, though with 200 children, it is the city’s largest. It is a tall, somewhat dour former university building, built in the 1930s and converted to its present role last year. Walls are plastered with children’s art and piles of play paraphernalia. Yet it is in such places that the Finnish education“miracle” starts to take shape.

[2]這個日托中心接納了200個兒童，是該市規模最大的一個，從外面看上去它似乎并沒有什么與眾不同。這座去年才被日托中心接管使用的建筑物是20世紀30年代建成的大學建筑物，高大，但略顯呆板。現在這里的墻上已經滿是孩子們的涂鴉，墻邊堆滿了孩子們的玩具。正是這樣一些地方，卻孕育了芬蘭教育的“奇跡”。

In Finland children don’t start school until they are seven, but what happens before that is even more important.芬蘭兒童在七歲前不必上學，但是實際上他們的學前階段更加重要。

[3] In Finland, whose comprehensive school system has sat at the top of Europe’s rankings for the past 16 years,the debates on school governance and structure that obsess the UK—free schools, academies, grammars—do not exist. Schools ultimately deliver academic success, the Finns would agree—and there has been intense worldwide interest in how they manage it—but they would also argue that groundwork for good school performance begins earlier, long before children enter formal school, and arguably while their future pupils are still in nappies.

[3]過去的16年中，芬蘭的綜合學校體系在歐洲一直獨占鰲頭。至于英國社會關注的免費學校、慈善學校和文法學校的教學管理和教育結構之爭，芬蘭并沒有類似煩惱。他們也認同學校最后應該在學術方面交出滿意答卷，世界各國對芬蘭人如何做到這一點抱有濃厚的興趣。但是同時芬蘭人也會堅持認為，想要在學校里有優異表現，需要提早打好基礎，這在孩子正式接受學校教育之前就應該早早起步，甚至在襁褓里時就應該開始。

[4] Central to early years education in Finland is a “late” start to schooling.At Franzenia, as in all Finnish daycare centres, the emphasis is not on maths,reading or writing (children receive no formal instruction in these until they are seven and in primary school) but creative play. This may surprise UK parents, assailed as they are by the notion of education as a competitive race. In Finland, they are more relaxed: “We believe children under seven are not ready to start school,” says Tiina Marjoniemi,the head of the centre. “They need time to play and be physically active. It’s a time for creativity.”

[4]不過，芬蘭學前教育的核心其實恰恰在于受學校教育時間的“晚”。弗蘭冊尼亞日托中心與全芬蘭的日托中心一樣，其教育重心不在數學、閱讀或寫作（孩子們在7歲進入小學之后，才會接受這些方面的正規訓練），而在于“創造性游戲”上。這可能會讓為教育苦惱的英國家長們覺得驚奇，畢竟他們把教育看得和賽跑似的。相比之下，芬蘭的孩子們顯然更悠閑，弗蘭冊尼亞日托中心的負責人蒂納·馬里奧涅米表示：“我們覺得對于7歲以下的孩子來說，學校教育還為時過早。他們得有玩的時間，需要多運動，因為他們正值培養創造力的年齡。”

[5] Indeed the main aim of early years education is not explicitly “education”in the formal sense but the promotion of the health and wellbeing of every child.Daycare is to help them develop good social habits: to learn how to make friends and respect others, for example,or to dress themselves competently.Official guidance also emphasises the importance in preschool of the “joy of learning”, language enrichment and communication. There is an emphasis on physical activity (at least 90 minutes outdoor play a day). “Kindergarten in Finland doesn’t focus on preparing children for school academically,” writes the Finnish educational expert Pasi Sahlberg. “Instead the main goal is to make sure that the children are happy and responsible individuals.”

[5]因而，芬蘭學前教育的主要目標并不是正式意義上的“教育”，它的目標其實是讓孩子們能夠更加健康幸福。日托中心會幫助他們養成良好的社交習慣，比如怎樣結交朋友，學會尊重他人，或者如何打扮得體。官方的教育文件還明確強調了學前教育階段“快樂學習”、豐富語言表達和交流的重要性。此外體育活動也很受重視（戶外活動時間每日不少于90分鐘）。“芬蘭幼兒園教育的重心并不在于為兒童今后的學業做準備，” 芬蘭教育專家帕西·薩爾貝里寫道，“相反，它們的主要目標是保證孩子成為快樂和有責任心的人。”

[6] Play, nonetheless, is a serious business, at least for the teachers, because it gives children vital skills in how to learn. Franzenia has 44 staff working with children, of whom 16 are kindergarten teachers (who have each completed a three-year specialist degree), and 28 nursery nurses (who have a two-year vocational qualification).The staff-child ratio is 1:4 for underthrees and 1:7 for the older children.Great care is taken to plan not just what kind of play takes place—there is a mix of “free play” and teacher-directed play—but to assess how children play.The children’s development is constantly evaluated. “It’s not just random play, it’s learning through play,” says Marjoniemi.

[6]不過至少對于老師們來說，“創造性游戲”是很重要的，因為孩子們會從游戲中獲得學習的方法。弗蘭冊尼亞日托中心有44名在職員工，其中有16名受過3年專業訓練的幼兒教師和28名具有兩年以上專業資質的保育員。在3歲以下的階段，員工與孩子的比例為1∶4；對3歲以上的兒童，該比例則為1∶7。他們不僅重視規劃游戲種類（“自主游戲”混合了“教師引導游戲”），還要對兒童們玩游戲的過程進行認真評估，兒童的發展也會經常性地得出相應評價。馬里奧涅米對此表示：“并不只是要他們隨便玩玩，而是要他們從游戲中學到東西。”

[7] Play at this stage of child development can successfully engage them in the process of learning, says David Whitebread, a researcher from the University of Cambridge. Once engaged in a task they enjoy, whether acting out a story or constructing a building, children become motivated to constantly ref i ne and improve on their task and to increase the challenge. “From a psychological point of view you can see how play can help children become powerful learners,” he says.

[7]大衛·懷特布萊德是劍橋大學一位研究人員，他強調，對于這個階段的孩子來說，很容易通過“玩”投入學習。不管是故事表演還是建筑游戲，一旦孩子們全身心地投入到喜歡的游戲里，他們就會不斷地改進自己的任務，自覺地增加任務的挑戰性。“從心理學的角度，你能認識到游戲到底是怎么讓孩子變得非常擅長學習的。”

[8] Carefully organised play helps develop qualities such as attention span, perseverance, concentration and problem solving, which at the age of four are stronger predictors of academic success than the age at which a child learns to read, says Whitebread. There is evidence that high-quality early years play-based learning not only enriches educational development but boosts attainment in children from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not possess the cultural capital enjoyed by their wealthier peers. Says Whitebread: “The better the quality of preschool, the better the outcomes, both emotionally and socially and in terms of academic achievement.”

[8]懷特布萊德同時表示，精心策劃的游戲有助于培養孩子們的諸多品質，比如幫助孩子延長注意力，鍛煉毅力，集中注意力和形成解決問題的能力。這些品質對于4歲的孩子日后學習的影響，比何時開始閱讀更重要。有證據表明，基于游戲的高質量早期學習不僅有助于孩子的發展，同時還可以幫助享有文化資本較少的貧困家庭的孩子獲得與同齡人相同的成就。“學前教育的質量越高，其意義就會越發深遠，無論是對情商、社交能力還是學習成績都是有益的。”

[9] Importantly, early years care in Finland is designed and funded to ensure high take-up: every child has a legal right to high-quality preschool care. In Franzenia, as in all daycare centres, there are children from a mix of backgrounds. Fees, subsidised by the state, are capped at a maximum of €290(￡250) a month (free for those on low incomes) for fi ve-day, 40 hours a week care. About 40% of 1-3-year-olds are in daycare and 75% of 3-5-year-olds. Optional preschool at the age of six has a 98% take-up. Initially envisaged in the 70s as a way of getting mothers back into the workplace, daycare has also become, Marjoniemi says, about “lifelong learning and how we prepare young children”.

[9]重要的是，芬蘭的早期托管都有規劃和投資，以保證覆蓋到盡量多的孩子，如法律規定所有孩子都有權利接受高質量的學前托管。在弗蘭冊尼亞，和芬蘭所有的日托機構一樣，學生們的家庭背景都是多元化的。在政府補助后，按每個星期5天計算，一周40個小時的托管,每月最高費用為290歐元（約合250英鎊），而對于低收入家庭這些都是免費的。1—3歲的芬蘭兒童中，有40%被托付給日托機構，3—5歲的兒童的托管率則達到75%。6歲孩子中選擇學前教育的人數達到了98%。在上世紀70年代，設立日托機構的初衷是想讓孩子們的母親們重返工作崗位。現在的日托機構，如馬里奧涅米所言，“事關孩子一生的學習，事關如何為他們打下基礎”。

[10] The time children spend in preschool, with its emphasis on play and socialisation, are “the most important years”, says Jaakko Salo, special adviser to the OAJ, the Finnish teachers’union. Finnish education is undergoing the biggest fi nancial cuts in its history,with the latest round lopping €2bn, or 8%, off the budget, but early years and primary schools—the bedrock of the system and the point where learning skills can be most successfully embedded—have been relatively protected,according to the OAJ.

[10]來自芬蘭教育聯盟的特別顧問亞科·薩洛表示，兒童們在學前機構度過的時光，重心會放在游戲和社交上，這是“最為重要的幾年時光”。芬蘭的教育正遭遇史上最嚴重的預算削減，最新一輪削減從預算中減去了20億歐元，占全部預算的8%。不過芬蘭教育聯盟表示，因為學前教育和小學教育是整個教育體系的基石，也是培養孩子們學習技能的最佳時機，所以它在本輪預算削減中受到相對保護。

[11] Daycare is not the only factor underpinning academic success. Hardwired into Finland’s educational mission is the idea that equality is vital to economic success and societal wellbeing, as well as the belief that a small nation, reliant on creativity, ingenuity and solidarity to compete in the global economy, cannot afford inequality or segregation in schooling or health.Behind its stellar education ranking is a comprehensive social security and public health system that ensures one of the lowest child poverty rates in Europe, and some of the highest levels of wellbeing. Gunilla Holm, professor of education at the University of Helsinki,says: “The goal is that we should all progress together.”

[11]日托并不是支撐芬蘭學術成功的唯一因素。與芬蘭的教育使命相連的因素還有很多，比如相信平等對于經濟成功和社會福祉的重要性，比如認識到芬蘭作為一個依靠創新、巧思、團結來立足于全球經濟的小國家，萬萬不可在教育和衛生上出現歧視或不公平現象。芬蘭教育水平一流背后原因在于：芬蘭的綜合社會治安和公共衛生體系保證了它是歐洲兒童貧困率最低的國家之一，同時也是幾個幸福度最高的國家之一。赫爾辛基的教育學教授格尼拉·霍爾姆表示：“我們的目標是共同進步。”

How it works

教育系統的運作機制

[12] The success of Finland’s comprehensive school system is a story now well-told. At the turn of the century,much to the surprise of the Finns, let alone the rest of the world, it emerged as a global leader in education. Pisa tests revealed Finnish pupils produced some of the world’s highest scores in maths, science and reading. In the three subsequent reports, the last in 2012, the country’s performance dropped slightly but it remains the highest-ranked in Europe.

[12]芬蘭的綜合學校體系的成功人盡皆知。在世紀之交，芬蘭一躍成為全球教育中的領頭羊，就連芬蘭本國人民也沒想到，更別說其他國家了。國際學生評估項目考試的結果表明，芬蘭學生在數學、科學和閱讀方面的分數雄踞世界第一。隨后還有過三次國際學生評估項目考試，最后一次是在2012年，雖然當時芬蘭成績的世界排名輕微下滑，但在歐洲地區仍獨占鰲頭。

[13] Its success came under a system built resolutely against the grain of prevailing education fashions adopted by developed countries, including the UK, in the 1980s and 90s. In Finland,children do not start formal academic learning until seven. Driven by a commitment to equality (on both moral and economic grounds), it outlaws school selection, formal examinations (until the age of 18) and streaming by ability.Competition, choice, privatisation and league tables do not exist. “Teaching to the test” is an alien concept. Grammar schools, the UK government’s current obsession, were abolished decades ago.Free school meals, tentatively endorsed for younger pupils only in the UK, are universally provided.

[13]芬蘭這一成功的教育體系，其實是對20世紀八九十年代英國等發達國家廣泛采用的教育方法的一種反叛。芬蘭的孩子們在7歲之前不接受正規教育。本著平等的原則（包括道德與經濟上的雙重考慮），芬蘭禁止擇校，禁止18歲以下孩子參加正規考試，還禁止了根據能力給孩子分組。學業競爭、擇校、教育市場化，以及成績排名等現象在芬蘭不復存在。“為應試而學習”的理念也漸漸被芬蘭人遺忘。早在幾十年以前，芬蘭就廢止了當今英國政府關注的文法學校。現在，當免費校餐制度在英國還僅僅是在小學試行時，芬蘭早已將其在整個教育系統中普及。

[14] Those elements of British schooling that cause most parental anxiety—will my child get into a “good school”,will they get into a top set, will they get a good Sats score—are largely absent in Finland. Differences in educational outcomes between individual schools in most areas are relatively trivial, meaning parents rarely send their children farther af i eld than the local comprehensive. Pupils are generally more content too: a quality-not-quantity approach means school hours are shorter and homework duties are light. After-school tutoring is rare. Finnish children are happier and less stressed than their British contemporaries.

[14]英國的教育中，最讓家長擔憂的問題是：我的孩子能上個“好學校”嗎？成績能名列前茅嗎？標準成績考試能考出個好成績嗎？ 而這些擔憂在芬蘭基本是不存在的。芬蘭大多數地區不同學校之間教育質量相差無幾，這樣一來芬蘭的父母一般都把孩子送到當地的綜合學校，而基本不會把孩子送到很遠的地方去。學生們大都也更滿意這樣的選擇，“求質不求量”的理念讓他們在校學習的時間更短，家庭作業的負擔輕，校外輔導也很少見。相比英國的同齡人，芬蘭的孩子們更快樂、更輕松。

[15] As UK educational policy becomes more narrow and centrally prescribed, Finland devolves more power to teachers and pupils to design and direct learning. Teachers are well paid,well-trained (they must complete a five-year specialist degree), respected by parents and vued and trusted by politicians. There is no Ofsted-style inspection of schools and teachers, but a system of self-assessment. Educational policy and teaching is heavily researchbased.

[15]英國教育政策的路子正越走越窄，政策決策權也越來越集中，而芬蘭則將更多的權力下放給教師與學生，讓他們自己設計和指導學習過程。芬蘭教師薪資可觀，訓練有素（他們都必須完成為期5年的專業學位的學習），同時他們也受到家長的尊敬、政客們的重視與信任。英國的學校和教師需要接受英國教育標準局的檢查，而在芬蘭，他們更多的是進行自我評估。芬蘭的教育政策與教學都建立在堅實的研究基礎上。

[16] Worried that its sliding Pisa scores reflected a complacency in its schools, national curriculum changes were introduced this year: these now devote more time to art and crafts.Creativity is the watchword. Core competences include “learning-to-learn”,multiliteracy, digital skills and entrepreneurship. At the heart of the new curriculum, the National Board of Education says unashamedly, is the “joy of learning.” ■

[16]在國際學生評估項目考試中的排名下滑后，芬蘭開始擔心他們在教育方面是否有些自負，所以芬蘭今年在國民教育課程規劃上進行了一些改革，藝術和工藝的課程受到了更多重視。“創造力”是改革的關鍵詞。核心能力包括“學會學習的能力”、多模態識讀能力、數字信息技術和創業精神。至于新課程規劃的關鍵，芬蘭全國教育委員會公開表示是“快樂學習”。

Recommended Books for Preschoolers

Beatrix Potter the Complete Tales

Even people who never read Beatrix Potter as a child know of Peter Rabbit, her most famous creation. Those that did, and those that are eager to share her stories with their own children, know how remarkably charming her tales of clothes-wearing animals can be. The treasure that lay at the heart of tales such asThe Tale of Peter Rabbit,The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, andThe Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duckis that they are deliberately plotted along, which makes them a welcome respite in an era where things aimed at preschoolers are geared toward speed and fl ash. When this pace is coupled with the book’s beautiful artwork and unmistakably proper British sensibilities, the book becomes something almost otherworldly sweet. It is a sweetness that a child will recognize with a great measure of happiness.