ABSTRACT
Most people have heard about Finnish school students excelling in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests. Perhaps fewer are aware that the Finnish education system also produces a higher proportion of workers and professionals qualified in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of education than most western nations do. Finland would therefore seem to be a country to emulate: do what the Finns do in order to improve the stock of highly trained STEM workers at all levels. The other side of the coin is that Finland has a rapidly ageing population and labour force, and low rates of birth and immigration. Further, its higher education students are among the oldest in Europe, a situation produced by a range of inefficiencies related to university admissions and relatively ‘relaxed’ academic progress by many students (Dobson 2010).
