Finnish Education: The Core Capabilities Taught
Finland’s curriculum centers on seven transversal competencies—meta-skills like thinking, multiliteracy, and sustainability—that future-proof learning and align education with life.
Education is no longer just about transmitting information. In a world where knowledge becomes obsolete at unprecedented speed, the ability to adapt, think critically, and create new solutions has become far more important than memorizing facts. This reality forms the foundation of Finland’s decision to embed seven transversal competencies—often called capabilities—at the heart of its curriculum. These are not optional add-ons; they are meta-skills designed to equip students with the intellectual and social agility needed for an uncertain future.
The logic behind these capabilities is rooted in future-readiness rather than past assumptions. Traditional education systems were optimized for an industrial economy, where standardized skills and compliance were valued. Today, the economy and society reward problem-solving, collaboration, ethical judgment, and digital fluency. These capabilities anticipate the demands of knowledge work, civic participation, and sustainability in a globalized, digital age.
Another reason these capabilities are critical is their integrative nature. Rather than creating new standalone subjects, Finland embeds them across all disciplines. Why? Because thinking skills, cultural competence, and ICT literacy are relevant to every context, whether interpreting literature or analyzing scientific data. This transversal approach ensures students experience these skills as interconnected rather than compartmentalized—a reflection of how problems manifest in real life.
Equally important is the human-centered logic behind their selection. The seven capabilities go beyond academic performance; they embrace well-being, agency, and democratic engagement as core educational goals. By including areas like self-care, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, the Finnish curriculum acknowledges that education should prepare students for life, not just exams. It aligns school learning with the competencies needed for personal happiness, societal stability, and planetary survival.
These capabilities were also chosen for their transferability and resilience. Unlike narrow technical skills that expire quickly, these meta-capabilities—such as learning to learn, multiliteracy, and cultural competence—remain relevant regardless of technological or economic shifts. They provide the cognitive and emotional scaffolding that allows students to continuously learn and reinvent themselves over a lifetime.
From a systemic perspective, the seven capabilities create coherence between values, pedagogy, and assessment. They operationalize Finland’s long-standing emphasis on trust, equity, and holistic education. Teachers are encouraged to design learning experiences that develop these competencies rather than chase short-term performance metrics. This makes the entire education system adaptive rather than brittle—capable of evolving without losing its core mission.
Ultimately, these capabilities represent a philosophy of education as empowerment. They shift the purpose of schooling from producing test-takers to nurturing thinkers, creators, and citizens who can influence their own lives and shape the world responsibly. In doing so, Finland addresses the central question facing all modern education systems: not “What should students know?” but “What should they be able to do—and who should they become—in a world that never stops changing?”
Summary
✅ 1. Thinking and Learning to Learn (Ajattelu ja oppimaan oppiminen)
Definition:
Developing critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and metacognitive skills to manage one’s own learning process.
Why It Matters:
This capability enables students to question, reflect, and innovate rather than memorize. It builds independence and resilience for future challenges.
Practical Integration in Schools:
Inquiry-based projects where students generate their own research questions.
Reflection journals to track learning strategies and improvement.
✅ 2. Cultural Competence, Interaction, and Expression (Kulttuurinen osaaminen, vuorovaikutus ja ilmaisu)
Definition:
Ability to understand cultural diversity, express ideas creatively, and interact respectfully in different social contexts.
Why It Matters:
Promotes tolerance, empathy, and collaboration in a globalized world.
Practical Integration:
Art, drama, and music projects focused on cultural themes.
Multilingual learning environments and intercultural activities.
✅ 3. Taking Care of Oneself and Managing Daily Life (Itsestä huolehtiminen ja arjen taidot)
Definition:
Skills for physical and mental well-being, health, and everyday problem-solving.
Why It Matters:
Supports holistic education, teaching life skills such as nutrition, time management, and emotional regulation.
Practical Integration:
School meals combined with nutrition education.
Lessons on stress management, physical exercise, and personal finance basics.
✅ 4. Multiliteracy (Monilukutaito)
Definition:
Ability to interpret and produce different forms of communication—texts, visuals, digital media—in multiple contexts.
Why It Matters:
Empowers students to navigate an information-rich world critically and creatively.
Practical Integration:
Media analysis projects to identify misinformation.
Creating blogs, videos, or podcasts as part of assignments.
✅ 5. ICT Competence (Tieto- ja viestintäteknologinen osaaminen)
Definition:
Practical and ethical use of technology for learning, communication, and problem-solving.
Why It Matters:
Ensures students are not just consumers of technology but also competent, responsible digital citizens.
Practical Integration:
Coding introduced from early grades.
Using digital collaboration platforms for group projects.
✅ 6. Working Life Competence and Entrepreneurship (Työelämätaidot ja yrittäjyys)
Definition:
Understanding of work culture, entrepreneurial thinking, and skills for adaptability in the labor market.
Why It Matters:
Prepares students for uncertain job markets by fostering creativity, initiative, and problem-solving.
Practical Integration:
School-based mini-companies where students run small businesses.
Project-based learning simulating real-world problem-solving for companies.
✅ 7. Participation, Involvement, and Building a Sustainable Future (Osallistuminen, vaikuttaminen ja kestävän tulevaisuuden rakentaminen)
Definition:
Active citizenship and commitment to sustainability at local, national, and global levels.
Why It Matters:
Empowers students to be changemakers and responsible citizens in a democracy.
Practical Integration:
Student councils influencing school decisions.
Environmental projects like energy audits and recycling programs.
The Core Capabilities Taught
1. Thinking and Learning to Learn (Ajattelu ja oppimaan oppiminen)
✅ Focus
The goal is to develop students’ ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and regulate their own learning. This includes critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and metacognition (thinking about thinking). It equips students with the capacity to adapt and thrive in uncertain and dynamic environments.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
Knowledge is no longer static; students need skills to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Cognitive science shows that active thinking processes enhance retention and understanding.
Preparing for the future requires learners to generate solutions, not memorize answers.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Thinking is not subject-specific—it is a meta-skill underpinning success in all domains.
Embedding it in every subject ensures students apply thinking strategies contextually (e.g., questioning historical narratives, analyzing mathematical logic, evaluating scientific claims).
Creates lifelong learners who can self-assess and adjust strategies in real time.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Mathematics: Instead of giving formulas, students explore patterns in real-world data (e.g., climate statistics), develop hypotheses, and choose appropriate models to validate their thinking.
Science: Students conduct open-ended experiments where failure is part of the process. They track how their hypothesis evolved and write a reflection on why they changed their approach.
History & Social Studies: Students critically evaluate two conflicting historical accounts, identify bias, and discuss how evidence shapes interpretation, building both critical and creative thinking.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Teach Thinking Routines: Use methods like “Claim–Support–Question” or “What Makes You Say That?” to structure reasoning.
Model Metacognition: Teachers verbalize their thought process while solving problems.
Use Open-Ended Questions: Replace “What is the answer?” with “What strategies could solve this problem?”
Encourage Reflection Logs: Students regularly write about what worked in their learning process and what could improve.
Integrate Choice: Give students multiple problem-solving paths to develop independence and decision-making.
2. Cultural Competence, Interaction, and Expression (Kulttuurinen osaaminen, vuorovaikutus ja ilmaisu)
✅ Focus
This capability fosters students’ ability to understand cultural diversity, communicate effectively, and express ideas creatively through various media. It promotes empathy, respect, and innovation in a multicultural, interconnected world.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
In an era of globalization, cultural literacy and communication skills are essential for collaboration.
Exposure to multiple forms of expression enhances creativity and cognitive flexibility.
Social cohesion depends on empathy and cultural awareness, especially in democratic societies.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Cultural competence strengthens social studies and arts, but also STEM, as diversity drives innovation.
Interdisciplinary integration builds students’ ability to interpret ideas in different forms and contexts, from visual data to literary narratives.
Enhances global citizenship education, a cornerstone for sustainability and peace.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Literature + Visual Arts: Students reinterpret a classic novel through digital art installations exploring cultural themes, combining literary analysis with visual storytelling.
Science: Students create a science communication campaign explaining climate change impacts across cultures, using multilingual messaging and visual metaphors.
Mathematics: Students design data visualizations about global inequality, blending math skills with socio-cultural analysis to present compelling narratives.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Cultural Lens in Every Lesson: Ask how a topic looks from different cultural or historical perspectives.
Collaborative Projects Across Disciplines: Pair language arts with music, science with visual design, etc.
Role-Play and Simulations: Use debates and mock negotiations to teach empathy and perspective-taking.
Integrate Media Literacy: Teach students to critically evaluate cultural messages in advertising, films, and social media.
Encourage Multimodal Expression: Allow students to present work through videos, podcasts, visual art, or performance, not just text.
3. Taking Care of Oneself and Managing Daily Life (Itsestä huolehtiminen ja arjen taidot)
✅ Focus
This capability emphasizes personal well-being, health literacy, safety, and practical life skills, enabling students to make informed decisions about their physical, mental, and social health. It includes time management, financial literacy, nutrition, and coping with stress.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
Well-being is a precondition for learning—stress and poor health reduce cognitive performance.
Rapid societal change means students need adaptive life skills for resilience and independence.
Schools must prepare students for responsible citizenship and self-care, not just academic performance.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Health and resilience influence learning outcomes across subjects.
Embedding self-care in all disciplines ensures that students connect academic concepts with real-life applications.
Builds autonomy and personal responsibility, essential for adulthood and sustainable lifestyles.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Mathematics: Students calculate personal budgets, linking percentages, interest rates, and savings goals to financial well-being.
Science: Lessons on biological stress responses, followed by mindfulness exercises, connect theory to personal stress management.
Technology & Crafts: Students design eco-friendly meal plans using locally sourced foods, combining nutrition science and sustainability.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Embed Health Topics Across Subjects: E.g., link physical activity with physics of movement.
Teach Stress-Management Strategies: Include short mindfulness or breathing practices in class routines.
Simulate Real-Life Scenarios: Financial planning exercises, home management projects.
Collaborate with Community Services: Involve health professionals in workshops.
Personal Goal-Setting: Students track habits (sleep, exercise) and reflect on their impact on focus and learning.
4. Multiliteracy (Monilukutaito)
✅ Focus
Multiliteracy is the ability to interpret, evaluate, and produce content across multiple formats—textual, visual, digital, symbolic—within various cultural and media contexts. It is essential for navigating complex information landscapes.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
Information is now multimodal: charts, infographics, social media, and interactive content dominate.
Critical interpretation skills protect students from misinformation and manipulation.
Multiliteracy fosters creativity and communication across disciplines and professions.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Every subject involves information representation—math uses graphs, science uses models, arts use visuals.
Embedding multiliteracy creates transferable analytical skills, strengthening both comprehension and expression.
Prepares students for knowledge work, where interpretation and synthesis matter more than memorization.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
History: Students analyze propaganda posters and digital memes to discuss how narratives shape perception in different eras.
Science: Learners critique climate infographics from media sources, evaluating data validity and representation.
Math + Language: Students create a data storytelling project, turning statistical findings into an infographic-supported narrative.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Use Authentic Media Texts: Incorporate news articles, social media content, and advertisements for analysis.
Teach Critical Questioning: Who created this? For what purpose? What perspective is missing?
Combine Formats in Assignments: Encourage mixing text, visuals, audio, and interactive elements in student work.
Practice Source Verification: Teach how to trace original data and evaluate credibility.
Integrate Design Thinking: Teach principles of visual communication alongside content creation.
5. ICT Competence (Tieto- ja viestintäteknologinen osaaminen)
✅ Focus
ICT competence means the ability to use digital technologies confidently, creatively, and responsibly for learning, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. It includes technical proficiency, ethical awareness, and critical evaluation of digital information.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
Digital literacy is essential in a world where knowledge work, social life, and innovation depend on technology.
Students must move from being passive consumers to active creators of digital content.
Ethics and online safety are critical as digital interactions shape citizenship and privacy.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Technology is a tool for all disciplines, not a separate subject.
Embedding ICT in every subject ensures it is used for meaningful learning, not just technical skills.
Builds future-ready capabilities for an economy driven by digitalization and AI.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Language Arts: Students produce multimedia essays or podcasts on literary analysis using audio editing tools.
Science: Simulate climate models or chemical reactions through interactive software to deepen conceptual understanding.
History + Geography: Create interactive digital maps tracing migration patterns and geopolitical changes with GIS tools.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Start with Creation, Not Consumption: Use tools like Canva, Scratch, or podcast platforms for student projects.
Teach Digital Ethics: Cover privacy, data protection, and responsible social media behavior.
Use Technology to Differentiate: Employ adaptive learning tools for personalized support.
Integrate Collaboration Tools: Encourage teamwork on platforms like Google Workspace or Teams.
Blend Analog and Digital: Combine physical experiments with virtual simulations to enhance learning depth.
6. Working Life Competence and Entrepreneurship (Työelämätaidot ja yrittäjyys)
✅ Focus
This capability prepares students with skills, attitudes, and behaviors essential for employability and entrepreneurial thinking—initiative, resilience, financial literacy, and the ability to innovate and collaborate in diverse work environments.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
The future of work is unpredictable; students need adaptability and problem-solving rather than rigid role-based skills.
Entrepreneurial thinking fosters creativity and resilience, not just business knowledge.
Early exposure to work-life skills builds confidence and bridges the gap between school and real-world demands.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Entrepreneurship is not limited to business—it’s about innovation in any context.
Embedding work-life skills across subjects ensures they are practical and contextual, not abstract theory.
Prepares students for non-linear career paths, where self-direction and initiative are key.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Mathematics: Students run mini-companies, calculating pricing, profit margins, and taxes using real-world data.
Social Studies: Simulate policy-making for startups, integrating economics, ethics, and digital marketing strategies.
STEM: Students prototype solutions for environmental issues, applying design thinking and pitching ideas to local businesses.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Organize Student Enterprises: Run small-scale ventures to teach budgeting, marketing, and teamwork.
Use Real-World Challenges: Partner with local businesses for authentic projects.
Teach Financial Literacy Early: Include budgeting, taxes, and savings in math lessons.
Integrate Design Thinking: Apply creative problem-solving in science, arts, and tech classes.
Encourage Role Flexibility: Assign rotating team roles (leader, analyst, presenter) in group work.
7. Participation, Involvement, and Building a Sustainable Future (Osallistuminen, vaikuttaminen ja kestävän tulevaisuuden rakentaminen)
✅ Focus
This capability aims to develop active citizenship, democratic participation, and responsibility for sustainability. It teaches students how to influence decisions, engage in social dialogue, and act for environmental and social well-being—both locally and globally.
✅ Reasoning Behind It
Societies need informed, proactive citizens to sustain democracy and social trust.
Environmental crises demand that sustainability becomes a core civic competence, not an elective topic.
Students must learn agency and advocacy skills to shape their communities and future.
✅ Why It Must Be Integrated Everywhere
Civic engagement is not just for social studies—it applies to science (climate action), technology (ethics), economics (fairness), and arts (cultural dialogue).
Building participation across subjects ensures students see their role in real systems, not in isolated exercises.
Links personal responsibility to global challenges, fostering systemic thinking.
✅ Three Complex Practical Integration Examples
Science: Students design local energy-saving projects, calculate impact, and present proposals to city councils.
Economics + Social Studies: Students analyze income inequality, simulate budget allocations, and debate public policy trade-offs.
Arts + ICT: Students create a digital campaign for environmental sustainability, combining design, storytelling, and advocacy.
✅ Five Practical Tips for Implementation
Student Councils with Real Power: Give councils authority in shaping school policies, budgets, or sustainability programs.
Community-Based Projects: Partner with NGOs and local government for real-world problem-solving.
Use Service Learning: Integrate volunteering into academic credit (e.g., environmental restoration linked to biology).
Model Participatory Decision-Making in Class: Regularly involve students in designing learning experiences.
Teach Advocacy Skills: Train students to write petitions, craft persuasive arguments, and use digital media for civic engagement.
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