Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

In recent years, the management of school autonomy in Finland has become a central issue for the improvement of students learning outcomes. Most studies in the field have only focused on case studies in primary schools that carried out few innovative practices sporadically. Little is known about how school autonomy is managed in large teacher and principal samples and it is not clear what factors guarantee the students success. This study aims to analyze the percentages, means and correlations among the variables that affect the management of pedagogical autonomy at schools in Finland. The results of PISA school and general teacher questionnaires from the 2015 data collection were analyzed with the statistical analysis program SPSS. The findings of this study show a significant and positive relationship between the capacity of the principal for ensuring teachers involvement in decisión making and the level of teachers satisfaction with their performance in the school. Findings also suggest that the type of school (public/private) where principals are working is related to their responsibility for providing staff with opportunities to participate in school decision-making. The conclusions of this research support the idea that the school autonomy in Finland plays a vital role in the quality of education. The study ends with the explanation of key success factors that improve the school autonomy at schools in Finland.