ESTONIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM INSTEAD OF INTRODUCTION

Education –Latin educare (with a short u): "to raise", "to bring up", "to train“; educere (with a long u): "to lead out" or "to lead forth".

Education is the process by which an individual through teaching and learning acquires and develops knowledge, beliefs, and skills. Education (ed.) Formal Informal Pre-primary ed. (a network Family members, of creches and nursery schools), peers, books, basic or primary ed. (basic school), general mass media, secondary ed. (secondary hobby education school or ), (a network of sports, vacational secondary music and art schools) ed. (vacational school), higher ed. () • The enterprise of civil society depends on educating young people to become responsible, thoughtful and enterprising citizens

• Education is a means to fostering the individual's, society's, and humanity's future development and prosperity.

• Education can attempt to give a firm foundation for the achievement of personal fulfillment. The better the foundation that is built, the more successful the child will be. Simple basics in education can carry a child far. ESTONIAN EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE

• THE PAST (The history of Estonian education ) • THE PRESENT (Estonian Educational System) • THE FUTURE (Estonian Educational Scenarios) World Tree or Tree of Life or Tree of Knowledge...

WORLD TREE

The wish of the forest people to maintain good relations with all worlds, expressed in the relief of the half-pagan World Tree in a wall of one of the oldest churches in has an impact on the way of thinking of even today The history of Estonian education — the story of the intellectual liberation of a nation THE POPULATION OF ESTONIA: • The turn of the 12th – 13th centuries (when the crusaders occupied Estonia): 200 000 people • By the early 17th century

(as a result of wars and the plague): 100 000 people

• The population now (13 June 2006) : 1.345 million

Throughout history, Estonians have been compelled to be highly adaptable in their various survival and renewal strategies, and education has played its part in these processes History of the Estonian education system

•The 13th century is a starting point of school education. The first monastic and cathedral schools were established in the largest towns.

• In 1632 - the predecessor of the University of , Academia Gustaviana, was established.

• In 1802 the was re-opened, and during the 19th century many outstanding scholars received their education there, including the first native Estonians. • The Republic of Estonia (1918-1940): In 1919 – as a language of instruction at the University, In 1918 - Technical University was established, In 1919 -Estonian Academy of Music, In 1919 - Tallinn Pedagogical University History of the Estonian education system

• In 1940 - the introduction of the Soviet education system began

• From the 1970s and 1980s, Estonia was permitted gradually to develop more independent . Textbooks were written in Estonian by Estonian authors, was acquired in 11 years compared to 10 years in most Soviet republics.

• Today, the Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia is continuously working to shape the conditions for an education system. The principal objective of Estonian educational system is to develop Estonian society into an open learning environment, where every person can be considered as a life-long learner. The general goals of education: • to promote the development of personality, family and the Estonian nation;

• to promote the development of national minorities, the Estonian economic, political and cultural life and the preservation of nature in the global economic and cultural context;

• to teach the values of citizenship;

• to set up the prerequisites for creating a tradition of life long learning nation-wide. The Estonian educational system covers:

: • Pre-school (or preprimary) education •Basic (or primary) education •Secondary education • : on the basis of basic education

on the basis of secondary education. • • The majority of schools are funded by the state or local governments, although there are some schools are funded by private capital.

The Rocca Al Mare School in Tallinn’s green belt is one of the most prominent Estonian secondary schools founded on private capital.

Rocca Al Mare School Photo/Illustration: Peeter Langovits & EMF The most relevant trend in recent years is the continuous growth in the number of students pursuing higher education Number of Students by educational level 2000/ 2001/ 2002/ 2003/ 2004/ 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Basic education 179230 173060 165405 156968 147172

Secondary education 32954 34552 35073 35600 36779

Vocational education on 17714 18132 16543 17396 19153 the basis of basic educ Vocational education on 13158 11681 11552 10787 10762 the basis of secondary educ. Higher education 56437 60409 63625 65659 67760

Source: The Ministry of Education and Research PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION is provided in child care institutions:

• Nursery (up to 3-year-olds) • (up to 7-year-olds); • Special kindergarten (up to 7-year-olds, children with handicaps); • Kindergarten-elementary school (combined school).

The class size is as follows: Nursery class 14 • Compound group 18 (2-7-year-olds) • Kindergarten class 20

Participation is voluntary; a child may start school straight from home as well. Pre-primary education teaches the child how to cope at school and in life

The following special groups exist in order to fill special educational needs:

• Levelling groups • Children with physical handicaps • Sight-impaired groups • Hearing-impaired • Development groups • Multiple disabilities children’s groups •Adjustment groups Compulsory schooling begins at the age of seven.

Compulsory school attendance generally begins at the age of 7 and lasts until they acquire basic education or attain 17 years of age.

BASIC EDUCATION is acquired in basic schools: Grades 1-4 (primary school) + Grades 5-9

The school year lasts for 175 days and including holidays, it lasts from September 1st until June Estonian Formal Education structure Teacher of the Year Photo/Illustration: Ove Maidla & EMF

There are many ways to recognise and promote the work done by teachers. In this photograph we see chemistry teacher Eha Paabo of the Hugo Treffner gymnasium, elected Teacher of the Year in 2001. The acquisition of SECONDARY EDUCATION is required to continue studies in institutions of higher education.

HIGHER EDUCATION LABOUR MARKET

VOCATIONAL EDUC on the basis of secondary ed.

VOCATIONAL EDUC GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION on the basis of basic ed. (the grades 10-12)

BASIC EDUCATION (the grades 1-9) Like basic education, secondary education is funded by the state. The education provided by private schools must correspond to the education standards demanded by the state curriculum. The state curriculum requirements are compulsory for all schools.

Besides standardised curricula and compulsory school, there is room for enthusiastic undertakings that bring smiles to the faces of both teachers and students. The picture shows the winners of the mental arithmetic competition with their trophy cup.

The mental arithmetic competition Photo/Illustration: Toomas Huik & EMF A student must pass three state examinations, in order to receive a secondary education certificate.

Students at the end of their last year of school writing the final Photo/Illustration: Ove Maidla & EMF

Estonia is one of the few European countries where pupils still have to write a 3-page final essay on a given topic. Plans to substitute the 6-hour essay writing with a complex test have aroused both approval and criticism. The tests are pupil-friendlier and enable more precise marking, but won’t young people’s skills to express themselves in their mother tongue suffer as a result? VOCATIONAL EDUCATION may be acquired either after graduation from basic school or after graduation from VOCATIONAL HIGHER ED (4 YEARS LEVEL)

VOCATIONAL ED ON BASIS SECONDARY ED (1-2.5 YEARS)

GENERAL SECONDARY VOCATIONAL ED EDUCATION (3 YEARS) ON BASIS BASIC ED (3 YEARS)

BASIC EDUCATION (9 YEARS) HIGHER EDUCATION

professional academic higher education higher education (3-4 years, 120-160 cp) (5-6 years, 200- 240 cp)

There are 47 post-secondary education institutions in Estonia of which 25 are based on private capital. There are 11 , including 5 private universities.

HIGHER EDUCATION at a university: Bachelor's Study is three to four years, 120–160 credit points, Master's study one to two years, 40–80 credit points Doctoral study three to four years, 120-160 credit points. .

HOBBY EDUCATIONAL SCHOOLS • allow children the opportunity to acquire extracurricular skills and experience in areas of interest to them, such as art, handicraft, music, dance, technology, sport, nature and languages;

• are a good beginning to choosing a career for young people;

• provide an opportunity for students of different social backgrounds to learn together;

•are voluntary;

• hold concerts, exhibitions, competitions, promotional events and family days that introduce the public to the learning opportunities;

• hold summer camps in the city Lifelong Learning as Principle in ADULT EDUCATION in Estonia ADULT EDUCATION formal education informal education (the adult education (self-directed learning system, professional education and training)

• General adult education • Job-related adult education • Popular adult education RUSSIAN – moving towards bilingual teaching in Russian-language schools:

• Language immersion program Early immersion in 9 Early immersion in 7 schools Late immersion in 4 schools

• 2007 Reform in Estonia Four visions of Estonian education in 2015 Lifelong learning defines education in Estonia. Learning is integrated into nearly all social activities. Estonia's learning communities serve as pathfinders for the rest of the world. Estonia is striving to develop all young people so that, by the time they leave secondary school, they will be able to learn independently and to take full responsibility for their continued study. Teenagers are considerable generators of new ideas and play a critical role in the development of their local communities. Older students work as tutors for younger students and help them in the use of new technologies. Crime among young people is rare. Adult education is widespread and interlaced with the professional and everyday activities of workers, covering individuals of all ages. There is much choice in opportunities of study and the main problem facing people is how best to navigate the multiplicity of choices. A career consulting system helps citizens make well-informed decisions about what is best for their own learning needs. Teachers and professors are held in high regard. Teachers are reflective practitioners and their ongoing learning is inseparable from their work as teachers. Teachers are creative, innovative and free to implement the newest findings into the nature of effective learning into their courses.