No Grammar Schools, Lots of Play:The Secrets of Europe’s Top Education System

By

（译者单位：华中科技大学）

It’s a warm September afternoon in the Kallio district of Helsinki. Out in the Franzenia daycare centre playground, groups of four- and five-yearolds roam contentedly. “Would you like an ice-cream?” asks one, having set up her elaborate “stall” on the edge of the sandpit. Kindergarten staff move among the children, chatting, observing and making written notes.

在芬兰赫尔辛基市，9月的一个温暖下午，卡里奥地区弗兰册尼亚日托中心的操场上，一群四五岁的小孩子在自由自在地活动。“你想吃冰激凌吗?”一个小女孩在沙坑旁精心摆好了她的“小摊”后问道。幼儿园的工作人员在孩子中间走动，他们一边聊天，一边观察，然后记下笔记。

[2] There is nothing outwardly distinctive about the centre, though with 200 children, it is the city’s largest. It is a tall, somewhat dour former university building, built in the 1930s and converted to its present role last year. Walls are plastered with children’s art and piles of play paraphernalia. Yet it is in such places that the Finnish education“miracle” starts to take shape.

[2]这个日托中心接纳了200个儿童，是该市规模最大的一个，从外面看上去它似乎并没有什么与众不同。这座去年才被日托中心接管使用的建筑物是20世纪30年代建成的大学建筑物，高大，但略显呆板。现在这里的墙上已经满是孩子们的涂鸦，墙边堆满了孩子们的玩具。正是这样一些地方，却孕育了芬兰教育的“奇迹”。

In Finland children don’t start school until they are seven, but what happens before that is even more important.芬兰儿童在七岁前不必上学，但是实际上他们的学前阶段更加重要。

[3] In Finland, whose comprehensive school system has sat at the top of Europe’s rankings for the past 16 years,the debates on school governance and structure that obsess the UK—free schools, academies, grammars—do not exist. Schools ultimately deliver academic success, the Finns would agree—and there has been intense worldwide interest in how they manage it—but they would also argue that groundwork for good school performance begins earlier, long before children enter formal school, and arguably while their future pupils are still in nappies.

[3]过去的16年中，芬兰的综合学校体系在欧洲一直独占鳌头。至于英国社会关注的免费学校、慈善学校和文法学校的教学管理和教育结构之争，芬兰并没有类似烦恼。他们也认同学校最后应该在学术方面交出满意答卷，世界各国对芬兰人如何做到这一点抱有浓厚的兴趣。但是同时芬兰人也会坚持认为，想要在学校里有优异表现，需要提早打好基础，这在孩子正式接受学校教育之前就应该早早起步，甚至在襁褓里时就应该开始。

[4] Central to early years education in Finland is a “late” start to schooling.At Franzenia, as in all Finnish daycare centres, the emphasis is not on maths,reading or writing (children receive no formal instruction in these until they are seven and in primary school) but creative play. This may surprise UK parents, assailed as they are by the notion of education as a competitive race. In Finland, they are more relaxed: “We believe children under seven are not ready to start school,” says Tiina Marjoniemi,the head of the centre. “They need time to play and be physically active. It’s a time for creativity.”

[4]不过，芬兰学前教育的核心其实恰恰在于受学校教育时间的“晚”。弗兰册尼亚日托中心与全芬兰的日托中心一样，其教育重心不在数学、阅读或写作（孩子们在7岁进入小学之后，才会接受这些方面的正规训练），而在于“创造性游戏”上。这可能会让为教育苦恼的英国家长们觉得惊奇，毕竟他们把教育看得和赛跑似的。相比之下，芬兰的孩子们显然更悠闲，弗兰册尼亚日托中心的负责人蒂纳·马里奥涅米表示：“我们觉得对于7岁以下的孩子来说，学校教育还为时过早。他们得有玩的时间，需要多运动，因为他们正值培养创造力的年龄。”

[5] Indeed the main aim of early years education is not explicitly “education”in the formal sense but the promotion of the health and wellbeing of every child.Daycare is to help them develop good social habits: to learn how to make friends and respect others, for example,or to dress themselves competently.Official guidance also emphasises the importance in preschool of the “joy of learning”, language enrichment and communication. There is an emphasis on physical activity (at least 90 minutes outdoor play a day). “Kindergarten in Finland doesn’t focus on preparing children for school academically,” writes the Finnish educational expert Pasi Sahlberg. “Instead the main goal is to make sure that the children are happy and responsible individuals.”

[5]因而，芬兰学前教育的主要目标并不是正式意义上的“教育”，它的目标其实是让孩子们能够更加健康幸福。日托中心会帮助他们养成良好的社交习惯，比如怎样结交朋友，学会尊重他人，或者如何打扮得体。官方的教育文件还明确强调了学前教育阶段“快乐学习”、丰富语言表达和交流的重要性。此外体育活动也很受重视（户外活动时间每日不少于90分钟）。“芬兰幼儿园教育的重心并不在于为儿童今后的学业做准备，” 芬兰教育专家帕西·萨尔贝里写道，“相反，它们的主要目标是保证孩子成为快乐和有责任心的人。”

[6] Play, nonetheless, is a serious business, at least for the teachers, because it gives children vital skills in how to learn. Franzenia has 44 staff working with children, of whom 16 are kindergarten teachers (who have each completed a three-year specialist degree), and 28 nursery nurses (who have a two-year vocational qualification).The staff-child ratio is 1:4 for underthrees and 1:7 for the older children.Great care is taken to plan not just what kind of play takes place—there is a mix of “free play” and teacher-directed play—but to assess how children play.The children’s development is constantly evaluated. “It’s not just random play, it’s learning through play,” says Marjoniemi.

[6]不过至少对于老师们来说，“创造性游戏”是很重要的，因为孩子们会从游戏中获得学习的方法。弗兰册尼亚日托中心有44名在职员工，其中有16名受过3年专业训练的幼儿教师和28名具有两年以上专业资质的保育员。在3岁以下的阶段，员工与孩子的比例为1∶4；对3岁以上的儿童，该比例则为1∶7。他们不仅重视规划游戏种类（“自主游戏”混合了“教师引导游戏”），还要对儿童们玩游戏的过程进行认真评估，儿童的发展也会经常性地得出相应评价。马里奥涅米对此表示：“并不只是要他们随便玩玩，而是要他们从游戏中学到东西。”

[7] Play at this stage of child development can successfully engage them in the process of learning, says David Whitebread, a researcher from the University of Cambridge. Once engaged in a task they enjoy, whether acting out a story or constructing a building, children become motivated to constantly ref i ne and improve on their task and to increase the challenge. “From a psychological point of view you can see how play can help children become powerful learners,” he says.

[7]大卫·怀特布莱德是剑桥大学一位研究人员，他强调，对于这个阶段的孩子来说，很容易通过“玩”投入学习。不管是故事表演还是建筑游戏，一旦孩子们全身心地投入到喜欢的游戏里，他们就会不断地改进自己的任务，自觉地增加任务的挑战性。“从心理学的角度，你能认识到游戏到底是怎么让孩子变得非常擅长学习的。”

[8] Carefully organised play helps develop qualities such as attention span, perseverance, concentration and problem solving, which at the age of four are stronger predictors of academic success than the age at which a child learns to read, says Whitebread. There is evidence that high-quality early years play-based learning not only enriches educational development but boosts attainment in children from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not possess the cultural capital enjoyed by their wealthier peers. Says Whitebread: “The better the quality of preschool, the better the outcomes, both emotionally and socially and in terms of academic achievement.”

[8]怀特布莱德同时表示，精心策划的游戏有助于培养孩子们的诸多品质，比如帮助孩子延长注意力，锻炼毅力，集中注意力和形成解决问题的能力。这些品质对于4岁的孩子日后学习的影响，比何时开始阅读更重要。有证据表明，基于游戏的高质量早期学习不仅有助于孩子的发展，同时还可以帮助享有文化资本较少的贫困家庭的孩子获得与同龄人相同的成就。“学前教育的质量越高，其意义就会越发深远，无论是对情商、社交能力还是学习成绩都是有益的。”

[9] Importantly, early years care in Finland is designed and funded to ensure high take-up: every child has a legal right to high-quality preschool care. In Franzenia, as in all daycare centres, there are children from a mix of backgrounds. Fees, subsidised by the state, are capped at a maximum of €290(£250) a month (free for those on low incomes) for fi ve-day, 40 hours a week care. About 40% of 1-3-year-olds are in daycare and 75% of 3-5-year-olds. Optional preschool at the age of six has a 98% take-up. Initially envisaged in the 70s as a way of getting mothers back into the workplace, daycare has also become, Marjoniemi says, about “lifelong learning and how we prepare young children”.

[9]重要的是，芬兰的早期托管都有规划和投资，以保证覆盖到尽量多的孩子，如法律规定所有孩子都有权利接受高质量的学前托管。在弗兰册尼亚，和芬兰所有的日托机构一样，学生们的家庭背景都是多元化的。在政府补助后，按每个星期5天计算，一周40个小时的托管,每月最高费用为290欧元（约合250英镑），而对于低收入家庭这些都是免费的。1—3岁的芬兰儿童中，有40%被托付给日托机构，3—5岁的儿童的托管率则达到75%。6岁孩子中选择学前教育的人数达到了98%。在上世纪70年代，设立日托机构的初衷是想让孩子们的母亲们重返工作岗位。现在的日托机构，如马里奥涅米所言，“事关孩子一生的学习，事关如何为他们打下基础”。

[10] The time children spend in preschool, with its emphasis on play and socialisation, are “the most important years”, says Jaakko Salo, special adviser to the OAJ, the Finnish teachers’union. Finnish education is undergoing the biggest fi nancial cuts in its history,with the latest round lopping €2bn, or 8%, off the budget, but early years and primary schools—the bedrock of the system and the point where learning skills can be most successfully embedded—have been relatively protected,according to the OAJ.

[10]来自芬兰教育联盟的特别顾问亚科·萨洛表示，儿童们在学前机构度过的时光，重心会放在游戏和社交上，这是“最为重要的几年时光”。芬兰的教育正遭遇史上最严重的预算削减，最新一轮削减从预算中减去了20亿欧元，占全部预算的8%。不过芬兰教育联盟表示，因为学前教育和小学教育是整个教育体系的基石，也是培养孩子们学习技能的最佳时机，所以它在本轮预算削减中受到相对保护。

[11] Daycare is not the only factor underpinning academic success. Hardwired into Finland’s educational mission is the idea that equality is vital to economic success and societal wellbeing, as well as the belief that a small nation, reliant on creativity, ingenuity and solidarity to compete in the global economy, cannot afford inequality or segregation in schooling or health.Behind its stellar education ranking is a comprehensive social security and public health system that ensures one of the lowest child poverty rates in Europe, and some of the highest levels of wellbeing. Gunilla Holm, professor of education at the University of Helsinki,says: “The goal is that we should all progress together.”

[11]日托并不是支撑芬兰学术成功的唯一因素。与芬兰的教育使命相连的因素还有很多，比如相信平等对于经济成功和社会福祉的重要性，比如认识到芬兰作为一个依靠创新、巧思、团结来立足于全球经济的小国家，万万不可在教育和卫生上出现歧视或不公平现象。芬兰教育水平一流背后原因在于：芬兰的综合社会治安和公共卫生体系保证了它是欧洲儿童贫困率最低的国家之一，同时也是几个幸福度最高的国家之一。赫尔辛基的教育学教授格尼拉·霍尔姆表示：“我们的目标是共同进步。”

How it works

教育系统的运作机制

[12] The success of Finland’s comprehensive school system is a story now well-told. At the turn of the century,much to the surprise of the Finns, let alone the rest of the world, it emerged as a global leader in education. Pisa tests revealed Finnish pupils produced some of the world’s highest scores in maths, science and reading. In the three subsequent reports, the last in 2012, the country’s performance dropped slightly but it remains the highest-ranked in Europe.

[12]芬兰的综合学校体系的成功人尽皆知。在世纪之交，芬兰一跃成为全球教育中的领头羊，就连芬兰本国人民也没想到，更别说其他国家了。国际学生评估项目考试的结果表明，芬兰学生在数学、科学和阅读方面的分数雄踞世界第一。随后还有过三次国际学生评估项目考试，最后一次是在2012年，虽然当时芬兰成绩的世界排名轻微下滑，但在欧洲地区仍独占鳌头。

[13] Its success came under a system built resolutely against the grain of prevailing education fashions adopted by developed countries, including the UK, in the 1980s and 90s. In Finland,children do not start formal academic learning until seven. Driven by a commitment to equality (on both moral and economic grounds), it outlaws school selection, formal examinations (until the age of 18) and streaming by ability.Competition, choice, privatisation and league tables do not exist. “Teaching to the test” is an alien concept. Grammar schools, the UK government’s current obsession, were abolished decades ago.Free school meals, tentatively endorsed for younger pupils only in the UK, are universally provided.

[13]芬兰这一成功的教育体系，其实是对20世纪八九十年代英国等发达国家广泛采用的教育方法的一种反叛。芬兰的孩子们在7岁之前不接受正规教育。本着平等的原则（包括道德与经济上的双重考虑），芬兰禁止择校，禁止18岁以下孩子参加正规考试，还禁止了根据能力给孩子分组。学业竞争、择校、教育市场化，以及成绩排名等现象在芬兰不复存在。“为应试而学习”的理念也渐渐被芬兰人遗忘。早在几十年以前，芬兰就废止了当今英国政府关注的文法学校。现在，当免费校餐制度在英国还仅仅是在小学试行时，芬兰早已将其在整个教育系统中普及。

[14] Those elements of British schooling that cause most parental anxiety—will my child get into a “good school”,will they get into a top set, will they get a good Sats score—are largely absent in Finland. Differences in educational outcomes between individual schools in most areas are relatively trivial, meaning parents rarely send their children farther af i eld than the local comprehensive. Pupils are generally more content too: a quality-not-quantity approach means school hours are shorter and homework duties are light. After-school tutoring is rare. Finnish children are happier and less stressed than their British contemporaries.

[14]英国的教育中，最让家长担忧的问题是：我的孩子能上个“好学校”吗？成绩能名列前茅吗？标准成绩考试能考出个好成绩吗？ 而这些担忧在芬兰基本是不存在的。芬兰大多数地区不同学校之间教育质量相差无几，这样一来芬兰的父母一般都把孩子送到当地的综合学校，而基本不会把孩子送到很远的地方去。学生们大都也更满意这样的选择，“求质不求量”的理念让他们在校学习的时间更短，家庭作业的负担轻，校外辅导也很少见。相比英国的同龄人，芬兰的孩子们更快乐、更轻松。

[15] As UK educational policy becomes more narrow and centrally prescribed, Finland devolves more power to teachers and pupils to design and direct learning. Teachers are well paid,well-trained (they must complete a five-year specialist degree), respected by parents and vued and trusted by politicians. There is no Ofsted-style inspection of schools and teachers, but a system of self-assessment. Educational policy and teaching is heavily researchbased.

[15]英国教育政策的路子正越走越窄，政策决策权也越来越集中，而芬兰则将更多的权力下放给教师与学生，让他们自己设计和指导学习过程。芬兰教师薪资可观，训练有素（他们都必须完成为期5年的专业学位的学习），同时他们也受到家长的尊敬、政客们的重视与信任。英国的学校和教师需要接受英国教育标准局的检查，而在芬兰，他们更多的是进行自我评估。芬兰的教育政策与教学都建立在坚实的研究基础上。

[16] Worried that its sliding Pisa scores reflected a complacency in its schools, national curriculum changes were introduced this year: these now devote more time to art and crafts.Creativity is the watchword. Core competences include “learning-to-learn”,multiliteracy, digital skills and entrepreneurship. At the heart of the new curriculum, the National Board of Education says unashamedly, is the “joy of learning.” ■

[16]在国际学生评估项目考试中的排名下滑后，芬兰开始担心他们在教育方面是否有些自负，所以芬兰今年在国民教育课程规划上进行了一些改革，艺术和工艺的课程受到了更多重视。“创造力”是改革的关键词。核心能力包括“学会学习的能力”、多模态识读能力、数字信息技术和创业精神。至于新课程规划的关键，芬兰全国教育委员会公开表示是“快乐学习”。

Recommended Books for Preschoolers

Beatrix Potter the Complete Tales

Even people who never read Beatrix Potter as a child know of Peter Rabbit, her most famous creation. Those that did, and those that are eager to share her stories with their own children, know how remarkably charming her tales of clothes-wearing animals can be. The treasure that lay at the heart of tales such asThe Tale of Peter Rabbit,The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, andThe Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duckis that they are deliberately plotted along, which makes them a welcome respite in an era where things aimed at preschoolers are geared toward speed and fl ash. When this pace is coupled with the book’s beautiful artwork and unmistakably proper British sensibilities, the book becomes something almost otherworldly sweet. It is a sweetness that a child will recognize with a great measure of happiness.