Educational Inequality in Early 20th Century Finland

Heidi Hirvonen, University of Helsinki

The Finnish education system has gained global admiration in the past decades, but less is known of its historical roots. Finland was one of the last western countries to get compulsory education in 1921. The roll-out of both primary and secondary education in the first half of the 20th century was unequal. Yet, the precise magnitude of these differences and their causes and outcomes have not been analyzed in detail due to data limitations. My paper utilizes a new and unique panel data to unveil previously hidden educational inequalities in early 20th century Finland. I will use regression models to analyze the effect of local development on the spread of education. How did local characteristics affect the founding of schools? How did the quality of schooling differ regionally? Were there differences in regional enrollment rates by gender and social class? The main source material is a new municipal level panel data on health, education and livelihood collected at University of Helsinki by the working group of Sakari Saaritsa. It covers about 25 000 observations and includes schooling, demographic, economic and social variables for each municipality and each year for the period 1880 to 1938. Most of the variables have been extracted from the tables published in the Official Statistics of Finland. Unfolding the history behind Finnish educational development in its social and economic context also provides perspectives for discussions on the current state and future of education in Finland as well as globally. The global learning crisis in primary education is one of the biggest development challenges of today. Regional, socio-economic and gender differences are still topical issues also in many wealthy countries.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 70. The Happiest Country in the World Under Construction: New Historical Economics on Finnish Development