Nina Eskola
Programme ManagerInternationalisation services for general education and adult education, EDUFI
Finland
Sirpa Holmström
Head of Unit
Internationalisation services for general education and adult education, EDUFI
Finland
The focus of the article is on fostering collaboration that increases the opportunities of young people to learn about life and society in the US and Finland. Examples of cooperation in general upper secondary education are discussed.
The US has been a popular hosting country for Finnish upper secondary students since the 1950’s. In 1948, United States Information and Exchange Act was introduced, and it laid the ground for educational exchanges. It opened Finnish students the opportunity to study a school year in the US. The political leaders in the US and Europe believed that the programs contributed to world peace, which is still one of the basic underlaying purposes of exchange programs. The exchange programs were targeting individuals but can be seen pioneering the transatlantic cooperation between schools. US has been the priority as a host country, but the North Americans rarely choose Finland.
The ASLA Program was created to initiate Finnish American academic exchanges. The program was funded by a loan that Finland had received from the US after World War I. Opportunities for educational and cultural exchange were further broadened in 1961 as Senator J.W. Fulbright initiated a law Mutual Educational and Culture Exchange Act which resulted in several cooperation agreements between countries. The Fulbright Finland Foundation mission is to expand Finnish-North American collaboration and exchange of expertise on academic, professional and leadership level. For example, Fulbright teachers explore mutually topical subjects working with academic mentors at universities and collaborating with schools. The contacts grow strong by well-organized alumni-networks which strengthen the impacts after the actual stays. This year, the theme Reimagining Schools and Support for Immigrant and Refugee Students is on the agenda for the Finnish school leaders travelling to the US. Also, a group of US school leaders will come to Finland in 2024.
Transatlantic cooperation between students has been further supported in the Senators Program, Young Ambassadors and Future Leaders. The summer exchange programs were financed by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and U.S. state government. Close cooperation between Finnish National Agency for Education EDUFI (former Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) and the US Embassy in the area of education and young people started in 2010.
Participating in such programs supports the objectives of the Finnish Act on General Upper Secondary Education (714/2018). It states that it must be possible for students to develop their capacities for further studies, international competence and skills for working life and entrepreneurship. Key transversal competences supporting international competence are interaction, societal, global and cultural competence. In addition, a global citizen’s attitude, cultural skills and language proficiency, cooperation and teamwork skills as well as curiosity are underlined. All of the above are skills that the participants say have strengthened as a result of the summer exchange programs.
In 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Finland and EDUFI introduced the Transatlantic Classroom program. Also, the possibilities of virtual cooperation are emphasized, and this offers opportunities for wider participation. The program is bilateral. Global issues are common, and school projects are often derived from the UN Sustainable development Agenda2030 goals.
We made a survey to Finnish schools that participate in the Transatlantic Classroom program. The school were asked about the importance of collaboration between Finnish and US schools. 13 out of 14 respondents think that it would be important to strengthen educational collaboration. Several reasons were given for this. Respondents pointed out that collaboration nurtures cultural understanding and linguistic competence that are of utmost importance in today´s interdependent world. Many said that the perception of the US among young Finns may be distorted and influenced by information received from only limited media, films and tv. Personal contacts and the opportunity to become exposed to another culture will broaden the mindset. The role of US as Finland´s important trading partner as well as cooperation in defense and security were mentioned, too. Finland´s recent NATO membership and its influence in the discussion and interest towards the US relationship was visible. Teacher exchange cooperation is considered fruitful, as teachers share more or less the same interests on both sides of the Atlantic. Transatlantic Classroom has raised high interest in schools. However, at the moment funding of the program is rather limited.
We are confident that in the future transatlantic school-cooperation will flourish side by side with European cooperation – certainly the distance regarding transatlantic will become shorter.