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In Finland, We Make Each Schoolchild a Scientist
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Issues in Science and Technology
Posted: March 14th, 2026
https://issues.org/finland-education-misinformation-social-r...
Just type a keyword into a search engine, and you'll get thousands of answers in the blink of an eye, with little sense of who is behind them or what their intentions are. The challenge of modern life, then, is to navigate through these choices while filtering out misleading information, which has risen exponentially. A new Finnish curriculum was launched in 2016 with an element called “multiliteracy,” which involved making sure children could competently navigate online media and social platforms. We realized quite quickly that fact-checking concepts and methods could be adapted to the school environment to support the new curriculum. The teachers building the curriculum boiled down complex fact-checking methods into three fundamental questions: Who's behind the information? What's the evidence? What do other sources say? These questions are folded throughout the curriculum, across subjects, and there is continuity from year to year. In addition, Finland's education system reflects deep cultural values. In early childhood education, pupils spend nearly half of the day outdoors, in the school yard or in the nearby forest, exploring and having fun. According to the Finnish national curriculum for early childhood education, children have the right to play, to learn through play, to enjoy what they learn, and to build a sense of themselves, their identity, and the world according to their own starting points.
Note: Explore more positive stories like this on reimagining education.
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