A BRIGHTER GENERATION IN A NEW LIGHT
10. In conclusion
This paper set out to explore the Finnish education culture, using the Bronfenbrenner bio- ecological framework, and to briefly discuss whether there are characteristics similarly relevant to the Indonesian education culture.
Clearly many aspects of the Finnish system could have been elaborated on in the comparison with Indonesia. However, the teaching culture was considered to be of utmost importance.
In the McKinsey report it is stated that ―the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of
its teachers‖ (Barber & Mourshed, 2007, p. 13).
Further, the belief that changes in the organisation could instigate improved achievement outcomes was branded naive. It was argued that regardless of what changes are made to curricula, governance or funding, there would be no significant improvement if the teachers were not highly proficient (Barber &
Mourshed, 2007). Thus, it is suggested, great effort should be put into pre-service training as well as in- service teacher development, for Indonesian teachers to adopt a professional identity as expert educators rather than generic public servants. That would be the starting point for a transformation of the education culture. Then the government‘s visions could be implemented in the classroom, systems alignment would be obtained and education standards would consequently be raised for the benefit of a brighter generation.
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