The applicants have slightly higher than average grades in their upper secondary education and above average scores on the matriculation examinations. Besides the grades the personality, moral purpose and interpersonal skills of each applicant is considered. A career choice of teaching places candidates in a very competitive area. The teachers of Finland are required to hold a Masters degree in education for primary teaching or a Masters degree in the subjects they are going to teach in secondary levels rather than completing a certification test like those required in the United States. This competitive career area as of 2012 in Finland boasts teaching careers which lasts approximately 40 years, while the average time in the teaching career is currently about 16 years …show more content…
The Finnish students are found to be doing less homework than their counterparts in the United States but are achieving much higher ranks in math, reading, science and critical thinking. Interestingly enough these higher achievement outcomes show very little change from one school to another or even between social status within Finland as a whole (Tung, 2012).
In comparison both the United States and Finland United States and Finland have free education available to all students with funding for this coming from the government. However, while Finland’s parliament makes all decisions regarding general principles and funding, in the US it is up to each state to make these same decisions. With the different states making the decisions for students it can vary greatly from state to state while in contrast Finland has on centralized goal and all main areas are run in the same manner across the board. (Siurua,