Countries

Finnish education compared with East Asia

Finland was once the standard reference point for global education rankings; recent PISA cycles put several East Asian systems ahead of it. Here is what actually differs between the two approaches in the primary years.

In brief

In PISA 2022, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, Macao and Hong Kong all placed above Finland in mathematics, with far higher shares of top-performing students than Finland's 9 percent.
Finland still scores strongly and well above the OECD average, but East Asian systems have overtaken it on several PISA measures since the 2000s.
East Asian systems generally use more structured, teacher-directed instruction and more frequent testing from an earlier age than Finland does.
Research on student motivation suggests teacher strictness is associated differently with engagement in Western versus East Asian classrooms, positively in the latter, negatively in the former, reflecting different cultural expectations around teaching style.

Two very different routes to strong PISA results

Finland's approach in the primary years favours play, phenomenon-based projects and delayed formal testing, built on the idea that reducing pressure and standardising less actually improves long-run outcomes. Many East Asian systems take close to the opposite approach: more structured, teacher-directed lessons, earlier and more frequent assessment, and in several countries, extensive after-school tutoring that supplements the school day.

Why East Asian systems have overtaken Finland on some measures

Part of the shift is that more East Asian systems and cities, such as Singapore, Macao and Chinese Taipei, have entered PISA rankings since 2000 and performed strongly from the start, rather than Finland's own results declining sharply. It also reflects genuinely different priorities: East Asian systems tend to optimise directly for the kind of structured problem-solving PISA measures, while Finland's system was designed around broader goals, wellbeing, equity and reducing the gap between the strongest and weakest students, that PISA only partly captures.

What this means for choosing between the two for a young child

For K-5 specifically, the practical difference a parent will notice is workload and pressure: East Asian-style systems typically introduce more homework, testing and, outside school, tutoring earlier, while Finnish-pedagogy classrooms keep the early years lower-stakes and play-heavy. Neither approach is simply "better"; they reflect different trade-offs between short-term measurable performance and other outcomes such as stress, curiosity and equity between students.

Frequently asked questions

Does Finland still perform well internationally?

Yes, Finland remains well above the OECD average on PISA, but several East Asian systems now score higher on specific measures, particularly mathematics.

Why do East Asian systems test more than Finland?

Many East Asian education cultures place a strong emphasis on structured assessment and effort-based achievement from an early age, alongside significant after-school tutoring, a different underlying philosophy from Finland's lower-pressure, play-based early years.

Is Finnish pedagogy less rigorous than East Asian teaching methods?

Not necessarily less rigorous, but differently structured: Finnish pedagogy delays formal testing and leans on phenomenon-based, inquiry-driven learning rather than repeated practice and frequent assessment.

Bring Finnish pedagogy to your school

OPPI affiliates a selective cohort of schools each year for its K-5 Finnish-pedagogy programme, backed by Education Finland. Tell us about your school and our team will reach out.

Backed by Education Finland. Over 20 schools have already affiliated, including DPS, Radcliffe and Sanctus. Places in each cohort are limited.

Apply to the affiliation cohort →