[dirtyaura]

I'm quite sure that it's not because it's easier to get rid off of bad teachers in Finland. My mother is an elementary school teacher here in Finland, and if I recall correctly, I've never heard that somebody was sacked because of bad teaching. Sometimes teachers take long sick-leaves due to psychological stress, when they have problems with their class, but that's an another topic of it's own.

Maybe it's more controlled in Finland who can end up as a full-time teacher. Teaching is still pretty popular career choice (esp. for women) and not everybody who wants to be a teacher gets into university to study for a degree. What is the situation in US, is it popular choice anymore?

[shaggyfrog]

Finland, according to the article, hires the top 10% of graduates, who also require master's degree in education. So they're starting off with a highly skilled base of top candidates. On this side of the pond, there are decades of poor teachers ensconced in the system.

"You can't have good schools without good teachers"