Mari Roostik, an Estonian high school head, without any familiarity with computer programming or coding, recently committed 10 weeks to a budding tech firm. “I spent my time there understanding how they lead, how they oversee the growth of their staff, and ensure their wellbeing, preventing burnout,” Roostik shared.
Her innovative leadership style plays a significant role in Estonia’s educational excellence, particularly in terms of maths and science achievements among students. Indeed, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranks Estonia’s 15-year-olds as the top performers in Europe.
Upon returning to her role at Jaan Poska Gymnasium, Roostik utilised her new-found knowledge within her work. “Leading in a team-based manner is something I staunchly endorse. The pivotal lesson I learned is to assign the right tasks to the right people and allow them to do their work efficaciously,” commented Roostik.
Delegation has allowed Roostik to concentrate on managing the school’s financial aspects, while leaving educational responsibilities to the teachers. In Estonia, schools have the liberty to design their own curriculum. Roostik added, “The school’s management decides 20% of the curriculum”.
For instance, at Jaan Poska Gymnasium, this freedom has been used to develop a programme that accommodates teenage learning approaches. Roostik and her team find it crucial to emphasize the way teenagers are educated and the reasons it can occasionally be challenging.
Roostik further explained, “We educate them about the functioning of their brain, making them understand it is normal for them to require more sleep. We’ve seen an improvement in our students’ results after introducing this mentorship curriculum because they are aware of the purpose of their learning.”
Professional development is another area in which schools are granted autonomy. “A popular trend is the formation of study groups within schools, offering additional leisure time for teacher collaboration. In my school, we implemented them on Tuesday mornings, allowing students to retake tests if necessary or simply sleep a bit longer,” commented Kai Koort, Project Manager of the Estonian Education and Youth Board and a former educator.
Schools customise their programs based on their specific needs, with the timing of their circles being flexible, according to Koort. Universities can offer additional support by sharing educational theories with staff. Furthermore, educational institutions exchange knowledge and expertise freely, with many Estonian schools opening up about their most successful strategies.
Teachers in Estonia are equipped with high-level qualifications, yet principal of Gustav Adolf Grammar School, Henrik Salum, believes that ongoing professional growth is crucial. Salum stresses that in our contemporary world, teachers need to continuously evolve and learn. He notes that each school is given a budget specifically for teacher development and training, although it could be considerably higher.
Various methods are implemented by Salum for teacher capacity building, from standard training sessions to bespoke in-house training. They do not hesitate to adopt innovative strategies when necessary, sometimes even allowing pupils to conduct a training session. Salum points out the importance of recognising the younger generation’s superior technological fluency, arguing that teachers don’t always have to be the most knowledgeable ones in the room.
Salum articulates that autonomy is key to educational success, and this philosophy is enshrined within the culture at Gustav Adolf Grammar School. He supports the notion that educators should have considerable autonomy as teaching is an inherently creative profession. He mentions that there is a mix of teachers in his school, some of whom have a keen interest in technology, whilst others prefer more traditional methods – yet both cohorts are highly valued by students.
Audits conducted upon Estonian educational institutions are not focussed on the pedagogy or learning outcomes but primarily on the financial and administrative aspects. Salum mentions that teachers appreciate not being continually scrutinised by the school’s governing body, endorsing a philosophy of trusting educators.
Despite the absence of regular school-wide audits, the Estonian education system regularly collates data from schools. This helps track the success of current strategies and detect necessary alterations.
The Estonian education system is fundamentally guided by evidence-based practices, according to Sandra Fomotskin, the lead analyst at the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. Utilising data to scrutinise the potential impacts of proposed alterations aids in unearthing optimal solutions. In addition to this, schools have the opportunity to partake in surveys that evaluate the well-being of both staff and students.
Education institutions such as schools and kindergartens that participate in such surveys get a comprehensive understanding of their performance, which guides their strategies to enhance the well-being of students and staff and boost the quality of teaching and learning, adds Fomotskin.
A key aspect that potentially augments success in the Estonian education system could be the age of beginning school. A massive chunk of parents prefer enrolling their children in kindergartens, typically between the ages of three and six, with official schooling kicked off at the age of seven.
Primarily used as a kindergarten, The Meelespea in Tallinn balances the 12-hour day between active and resting periods and even offers swimming lessons to kids as young as two or three, courtesy of their inbuilt pool, shares Kristina Marks, the director.
In Salum’s view, kindergarten provides children with priceless social skills. “It allows them to experience interaction with other children”, he elucidates, noting this as a significant advantage.
Another perk of attending kindergarten is the availability of assessments and therapies, including speech and language, before the start of compulsory schooling. Teachers can spot students who could profit from an evaluation. If parents agree, the children can then utilise a program named Pathfinder to access recommended therapy.
Applications made through Pathfinder typically require a maximum of 70 days for the preliminary assessment. “This is directly linked to the education system, eliminating the need to visit a doctor. As the process is intimately associated with education and individual special needs, it moves at a faster pace,” explains Kroot.
If the Pathfinder endorses therapy, the school will secure the necessary funds to facilitate therapy during school hours. Nonetheless, schools and students lose this supportive feature in instances where parents opt not to take part, posing issues for both students and educators in larger classrooms.
It is irrefutable that Estonia has mastered the art of providing a comprehensive and fruitful education to their students. However, concerns are raised regarding the possibility of the country sustaining this achievement. Kroot indicates a deficiency of teachers in the nation and refers to intrinsic hindrances they are battling. The absence of a career progression, stagnant wages, and the propensity of the more aspirational individuals to abandon the profession are among them.
The escalating responsibilities teamed with the widening chasm between educators’ earnings and the soaring cost of living could pose difficulties in retaining teaching staff. Roostik expresses concern that the current expectations towards teachers demand an intolerably high workload. The unavailability of compensatory wages further complicates matters. He asserts that the pressing challenge they are facing at present is ensuring that competent, skilled, and qualified teachers remain in the nation’s schools.