5 Questions with Pasi Sahlberg

The Finnish Institute's fourth ‘5 Questions with...' video interview features the internationally reputed Finnish education expert Dr Pasi Sahlberg.

We were able to get Dr Sahlberg seated for a little interview when he was visiting London to give a lecture on a topic ‘Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from the educational change in Finland?' at the Houses of Parliament.

Finland is one of the few countries which has successfully built an education system in which children learn without tough competition, long school days, and large amount of tests and homework. Dr Pasi Sahlberg, the Director General of CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation based in Helsinki) revealed in his lecture how the Finnish way of developing education differs from the global predominant trend, which aims to increase evaluation and competition, and what England could learn from the Finnish experience.

Dr Sahlberg used his book Finnish Lessons (2011) as the background for the lecture. It is an introduction to the development of Finnish education system, to the role of teachers, and to the education reform's connection to other sectors of the society.

Dr Pasi Sahlberg has previously worked as a teacher and policy adviser, and also in teacher education. He has served the World Bank in Washington and the European Commission in Torino as an education expert.

Watch the interview here.