Country Report

General Information about Finland and its Educational SystemFinland is socio-culturally part of the Nordic region and adheres to a welfare state model committed to public services, equality, and social security.The Finnish education system is publicly funded and free of charge (with only very limited private schooling) and is grounded in the principles of equality and accessibility.Pre-primary education is compulsory for all sixyear-old children, followed by basic education covering grades 1-9 for children aged approximately 7 to 16. Basic education is comprehensive and non-selective: all students attend the same type of school without streaming and follow a common national curriculum (some optional subjects and specialized classes are available).After basic education, students choose between two pathways: general upper secondary education (in Finnish lukio, in Swedish gymnasium) or vocational education and training.Under legislation introduced in 2021, upper secondary education is compulsory until the age of 18.Philosophy is taught in the general upper secondary school (hereafter referred to as gymnasium).Finnish gymnasium is comparable to other European forms of general upper secondary education (e.g.lycée, bachillerato) and has traditionally functioned as the academic track designed to prepare students for higher education.Currently, about half of students enter gymnasium, which is free of tuition fees and typically lasts three years (ages 16-19).The curriculum includes Finnish, Swedish (as the second national language), foreign languages, mathematics, sciences, humanities, arts, and physical education.Students tailor their studies by selecting additional courses beyond the mandatory minimum.As in many European countries, graduation from gymnasium requires passing the Matriculation Examination, a national exam that also serves as the primary criterion for university admission.The Finnish National Core Curriculum for General Upper Secondary Education (2019), translated into English in 2025 (Finnish National Agency of Education, 2025), sets out the underlying values and general principles of school education, as well as the main objectives, content, and assessment guidelines for each subject.All national curricula in Finland are developed through a process coordinated by the Finnish National Agency for Education (FNAE), with working groups composed of subject specialists and experienced teachers.Consequently, in philosophy, as in all subjects, subject-specific didactic research and curriculum development are closely interconnected.