Finland’s failure to adequately support its most gifted students is contributing to the country’s falling international education rankings, according to Kirsi Tirri, Professor of Education at the University of Helsinki.
Speaking to Yle, Tirri noted that while Finnish law and school curricula require teachers to support all students, high-achieving pupils are often left without the tailored instruction they need.
“Equality does not mean levelling everyone down. It means responding individually to the needs of every student, whether weak or gifted,” she said.
Tirri argued that the principle of equality in Finland’s comprehensive school system has sometimes been interpreted in ways that disadvantage the most able. She added that the needs of gifted students are occasionally dismissed as elitist, despite such pupils coming from all social backgrounds.
Gifted students are defined as the top 10 percent of their age group in any field academic, artistic, or social. Misconceptions persist, Tirri noted, including the belief that such students excel across all subjects or require no additional support.
“Too often, the gifted student has been used as a teacher’s assistant. Helping peers is fine, but they too have the right to learn new things at school. Their time cannot go only to teaching their friends,” she said.
Tirri linked the neglect of high-achieving pupils to Finland’s declining scores in the OECD’s PISA tests, noting that even gifted students have seen their performance drop. Teachers’ focus on struggling pupils leaves little time to provide challenging material for the most able, which can result in boredom, loss of motivation, and underachievement.
“If everyone studies exactly the same content and does the same tasks, the weakest fall behind and the most gifted get bored,” she explained.
She stressed that supporting gifted pupils benefits society as a whole, citing global challenges such as climate change and security policy.
“By supporting gifted students, we can find the resources to make the world a better place,” Tirri said.
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