The Alberta Teachers’ Association

In 2010, the Alberta Teachers’ Association initiated a strategic international partnership with Finland. Called FINAL, the project sprang from the idea that educators could improve on the exchange of information that typically occurs when members of different education systems come together — producing interesting events but few changes in practice.

Over the course of the project’s life to date, five Alberta high schools and seven Finnish high schools have taken part in the partnership, which has included nine leadership summits, 11 student exchanges and numerous student initiatives and projects. With a focus on equity, excellence and performance, participating schools have worked to share knowledge and advance the mutual interests of both parties.

Success Through Exploration

Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) students and staff who witnessed Finland’s educational system recognized the importance of multiple opportunities for students to discover their weaknesses, strengths and interests. This process of exploration allowed students to define what success looks like for themselves and may help to inform career and life pathway decisions.

Stigma appeared to be a major factor limiting the exploration process of our students in Alberta. Our team recognized the significance of early guidance counseling, which is available to students in the Finnish system, as a positive, proactive approach to supporting students to become successful. Through the FINAL partnership we are able to pursue excellence through equity by creating opportunities for innovative schools in EPSB and Finland to learn from one another. The result is the creation of multiple action research projects to enhance opportunities for success for our students and to advance international education policy.
–Edmonton Public School Board

FINAL helped me to better understand people; the effects of cultural differences on upbringing and worldview both through learning the perspectives of Finnish people and the further understanding of myself. We experienced the influence of language barriers but also how humans can relate and care about people we have never met before or share a language with. These are the understandings that help us to evolve our perspectives on humanity and possibly even politics.
–Graysen Morency, Grade 12 student, Crowsnest Consolidated High School, Coleman

The Finland-Alberta partnership is an important project. It has encouraged students to grow in so many ways, expanding horizons and gaining experience, becoming responsible, deliberate, considerate young adults. Further, they understand that learning is not only gained through traditional means, but also in seeing new sights, meeting new friends, making new memories and moving beyond their comfort zones, even if “beyond” means halfway across the world.
–Krysta MacDonald, English teacher, Crowsnest Consolidated High School, Coleman

FINAL provided the opportunity to find ways to engage students and our whole community in meaningful global education projects that could build their understanding of international relations through first-hand experience.
–Ian Baxter, principal, Crowsnest Consolidated High School, Coleman

Being twinned with the Kirkkojärven koulu School in Espoo, Finland is an excellent opportunity to observe their practices with new immigrant students. While I know that we cannot emulate the Finnish societal reverence of the education profession, as a school leader, I believe that we can adapt and adopt some of the successful practices that assist with the successful integration of these students.

I have so many questions that I hope to answer through first-hand observation at the Kirkkojärven koulu School.
–Laurie Kardynal-Bahri, principal, St. Theresa Catholic School, Sherwood Park

My purpose was not to find the key to success in their school system, and duplicate it in my own, nor to recognize critical elements that are similar. I believe my involvement was more for me to identify the elements of my own school culture and practice that were contributing to, or detracting from, our success, and to capitalize on those aspects going forward; to use the effectiveness of our combined observations and experiences to inform our own work.
–Dale Skoreyko, principal, Argyll Centre, Edmonton

The FINAL partnership provided endless opportunities to work with others within the province, Finland as well as the ATA, university professors and researchers, to reflect on our work and improve our practice.
–Matt Christenson, principal, Robert Thirsk High School, Calgary

The biggest thing I took away from the Finns was the amount of student involvement in their school. Since it’s the students who are the ones going to school and receiving the services that the school provides, it’s logical to have students involved in making those decisions. The Finns seemed to have figured that out. Getting to see this involvement from the outside, it was also interesting how this voice made the students and teachers closer; as a whole and not two separate groups. With their increased interactions, members of the entire school community knew each other at a very comfortable level.
–Desmond Young, Grade 10 student, Canmore Collegiate High School

Finland is known to be one of the best education systems in the world. My daughter Amanda was able to experience that education system for a very short time and, given the choice, she would have gladly stayed there to continue on. This is not to say that our own education system is not good. It is to say that there are other ways of learning that are just as effective or better than ours, and it is our duty to ensure our students get the best. FINAL is the best. Students deserve this opportunity and we owe it to them. We are in a position to make it possible. This program is already started. Let’s not lose the ground we have gained by not continuing on with such a great learning opportunity for our children and our students.
–Lorraine Reno, parent of FINAL participant, Coleman

I will be forever grateful to the FINAL partnership and the Sallinen family for teaching me that the world is a beautiful place filled with interesting and fiercely intelligent societies. They have taught me that borders and languages are not barriers to generosity and understanding and that Canada is only a small piece of a greater global community. Alberta’s students have so much to offer and receive from the world, as long as we continue to reach out and engage.
–Kathryn Pundyk, former student of Crowsnest Consolidated High School, Coleman

As a result of our participation in the FINAL project, we are hoping to train some of our students this year in facilitating student-led conversations with cross-spectrum focus groups and have them truly be the drivers of that process. With students being given a seat at the table in their educational experience, I believe it goes a long way toward creating a supportive school culture, which was the central theme that continually came out in our student forums in both Canada and in Finland.
–Lee Luders, teacher, Banff Community High School

We are excited about the opportunities for growth that the FINAL provides. It is more than simply a window into the Finnish system, it is also a mirror through which we can examine our practice and discover new avenues for growth.
–Alanna Chambers, teacher, Canmore Collegiate High School

Before leaving on our FINAL exchange, we had the opportunity to meet some Alberta school leaders who are already doing the work and knee-deep in the FinAl partnerships, and one of the experienced participants mentioned that the biggest learning while being away was about themselves. It is ironic, isn’t it, that we have to go away to make some of the biggest discoveries about who we are and how we function, and go away to learn about things that we have right in front of us? But it is true. One of the reasons this work is so impactful is because it also makes us see ourselves so clearly. It helps us reflect and learn, not just about “the other,” but about ourselves.
–Annette Young, project coordinator and coordinator of Canadian Rockies Public Schools International Student Program