Finland’s upper secondary and vocational school students are set to return to classrooms at the start of the new academic year in autumn. However education officials are warning that the situation might change unexpectedly depending on the coronavirus situation.
The National Agency for Education (EDUFI) has recommended that students and their parents closely follow updates on school websites and other communication channels. If education officials decide on new arrangements, they may be limited to specific municipalities or even certain schools, it noted.
"Situations may change suddenly. If there is an outbreak at the start of the school year, we may have to make decisions on a regional basis. It will be impossible to provide detailed national guidelines because the environment is changing so much," EDUFI education counsellor Teijo Koljonen said.
For many schools, buildings or even layouts may affect how they can operate in the current situation. Koljonen said that the experience gained providing distance learning during the spring was a positive development. He noted this would be beneficial if needed in the autumn.
"It would be especially important to plan in advance for different situations. It would also be good for municipalities to consider a wider range of options," he added.
€17m support for high schoolers
The government has reserved 17 million euros to address the impact of last spring's state of emergency on upper secondary school students.
The education official said that when school resumes in August it would be important to determine what kind of assistance students might need after months of distance learning. He suggested organising remedial courses, teaching support or student counselling.
"We especially want to plug these gaps with this money to support those who may have possibly slipped behind in their studies during the spring," Koljonen noted.
In June, the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) published a report indicating that nearly half of upper secondary school students said their motivation suffered during the state of emergency.
Juho Leskelä, vice chair of the Union of Upper Secondary School Students (SLL), said that students found distance learning to be extremely burdensome. The transition from classroom to online lessons was done on short notice and students felt they were saddled with too many independent assignments. Leskelä added that students need to be taught and should not be left to their own devices to learn.
"Schools need to take into consideration that upper secondary school students have not been in classrooms for five months. Distance learning has been tough and it could well be that some students have been left behind," he noted.
According to Statistics Finland, roughly 105,000 students were in upper secondary schools last year.
Uncertainty to also affect vocational schools
Meanwhile students in vocational education are also expected to begin the new school year in classrooms and workplaces. However institution- or municipal-specific changes may also be introduced depending on the coronavirus situation.
The FINEEC report revealed that last spring, vocational school students experienced problems with on-the-job training and getting support during distance learning. It also indicated that there was insufficient career counselling as well as guidance for further education.
Statistics Finland data show that roughly 220,000 people were studying at the undergraduate level at vocational institutions.
EDUFI department manager Kati Lounema said that vocational students should also brace for abrupt changes to their study programmes.
"For example there were recent exposures [to coronavirus] in Rovaniemi. In the current coronavirus situation, these kinds of changes could easily affect on-the-job learning," she added.
At the beginning of July a temporary legal change took effect to make it easier for authorities to ensure that students can study and earn their qualifications during the pandemic. For example, some company-related coursework projects can be completed as other practical exercises that correspond as far as possible to an authentic work situation
Jutta Vihonen is the deputy chair of the association for vocational school students, SAKKI. She noted that many businesses face an uncertain future despite the rollback of the springtime state of emergency.
"Across all fields not all companies’ employees have gone back to work, for example in the restaurant industry. How will on-the-job training happen in practice?" she asked.
Alternate live and distance learning
Chair of the teachers’ union (OAJ) Olli Luukkainen said that the main message coming from teachers at upper secondary and vocational schools is that the workload during distance education was heavy. As a result, many are anxious about what autumn may bring.
Luukkainen noted that it is likely that during the next academic year teachers and students will alternate between contact and distance learning in some institutions.
He pointed out that especially in small municipalities, many teachers still work in both primary and secondary schools. He wondered how to organise teaching in areas where primary school students are offered contact learning while upper secondary school students are in distance learning and teachers have to work in both systems.
"Teachers are talking about their concerns over pulling that off," he added.
Schools may end up having to alternate between contact and distance education if the coronavirus pandemic becomes a recurring global event or if there continue to be local outbreaks from time to time.
"No doubt everyone hopes that we can move on from this epidemic situation as quickly as possible, but we really can’t say. That’s why we have to be ready to ensure that different forms of education will be the new normal in the future. This means that we must pay attention to support systems," EDUFI director Jorma Kauppinen concluded.