The objective of immigrant education is to provide people moving to Finland with opportunities to function as equal members of Finnish society and guarantee immigrants the same educational opportunities as other citizens.
The aims of immigrant education, for both children and adults, include equality, functional bilingualism and multiculturalism. The objective of immigrant education provided by different educational institutions is to prepare immigrants for integration into the Finnish education system and society, to support their cultural identity and to provide them with as well-functioning bilingualism as possible so that, in addition to Finnish (or Swedish), they will also have a command of their own native language.
A young immigrant of compulsory school age (aged 7–17) permanently residing in Finland has the right to the same basic education as Finns. The objective is to ensure that adult immigrants receive the education needed for working life and that they maintain their existing vocational skills, and for foreign qualifications, studies and work experience to act as the basis of the design and completion of education in Finland.
Instruction in the Finnish or Swedish language is organised for immigrants of all ages. At the same time, they are also encouraged to maintain their own mother tongue and cultural identity. Immigrants may mean refugees, migrants, remigrants and other foreigners and, in some cases, asylum seekers as well.
Brochures on Immigrant Education in Finland can be obtained in English, Russian, German, Swedish and Finnish can be downloaded here.
Pre-primary
Education for immigrant children of pre-primary age (6 years) may be organised in conjunction with other pre-primary education, in the form of preparatory instruction for basic education or as a combination of these. Government funds based on the number of participants and unit cost set by the Government are made available to education providers (municipal and private) for arranging preparatory instruction.
Instruction follows the general educational and learning objectives of pre-primary education (as outlined in the Core Curriculum for Pre-school Education 2000), while taking into account children’s backgrounds. Instruction aims to support development of the Finnish (or Swedish) language and also that of children’s own native language and to provide immigrant children with the opportunity to grow into two cultures. Immigrant pupils of pre-primary age can be integrated into basic education groups teaching their respective native languages or Finnish (or Swedish) as a second language.
Morning and afternoon activities
Before and after school activities are provided to eliminate risk factors arising among children through lack of adult supervision and excessive time spent alone.
Download the brochure in pdf format here.
Basic education
The law dictates that local authorities are obliged to organise basic education free of charge for school aged children living within their respective areas. In addition to instruction, other school services, including learning materials, daily meals and school health care, are provided free of charge. Pupils of immigrant origin have equal access to these services.
Instruction for immigrant children who have recently arrived in Finland may be arranged in preparatory teaching groups, if possible, or integrated into mainstream education, with support provided according to the children’s needs. Such support usually requires flexibility in the organisation of instruction, and the law allows special arrangements for instruction in religion and the other national language as well as for pupil assessment.
Immigrant pupils in basic education may study their own native language as their first language within the school’s normal curriculum. However, this form of instruction is only available in a few schools at the moment.
The Basic Education Act also allows education to be carried out, wholly or in part, in the native language of the immigrant pupil. Some local authorities have offered either bilingual or own-language education in Arabic, Somali, Russian, Vietnamese and Estonian.
Instruction in religion is arranged in accordance with the religion of the majority of the pupils. Pupils not belonging to this religious community are entitled to instruction in their own religion if their parents/guardians so wish, and if there are three or more pupils of the same religion to form a group. If instruction in a pupil’s own religion is not available, the pupil must be provided with some other form of instruction or supervised activities.
The background of the pupil and his/her improving command of Finnish/Swedish are taken into account in assessment of other subjects. Versatile and flexible methods of assessment are used to reduce the impact of possible deficiencies in the Finnish/Swedish language. Assessment of immigrant pupils may be verbal throughout basic education, with the exception of the final assessment.