Investing in high-quality education enables true change in your local community. An investment in the youth is an investment in future professionals who possess the ability to work in international, multicultural and vibrant environment and adapt to megatrends or global challenges.
There is a clear correlation between invested costs and added value when establishing a school based on Finnish International School (FIS) standards or developing your school with Finnish education methods. When investing to high-quality education model and to the growth of human capital, measuring the return on investment (ROI) in education can be divided into five key areas: impact for students, management, teachers, marketing, and the general public. In this post, we will look at each of the areas and consider both market aspects as well as the impact of Finnish education model inside your school.
1) Students – Well-being improves learning results
Developing your school with Finnish education methods with a long-term commitment or becoming a Finnish International School (FIS) school is a great way for increasing interest to your school. As an internationally known and respected brand, with skill-based curriculum and student-centered learning, Finnish education is sure to increase enrolment rates and bring in more tuition income.
The introduction of Finnish education is also a great way for increasing overall student satisfaction. The Finnish education model and Polar school concept focus on overall student well-being in multiple ways for example providing healthy daily lunch, recognizing and supporting learning difficulties and enhancing positive pedagogy in the classroom. All of these activities have a positive impact on the well-being of your students and most often activities lead to improved learning results. There is tremendous research done about the fact that there is a time-proven correlation between student satisfaction and school performance – Finland has been the top country in this.
2) Management – Creating value for local stakeholders
Investing in Finnish education is a strong indicator of future-oriented leadership and long-term collaboration that is guaranteed to create value for other stakeholders in your region. Managing and developing a modern school with internationally recognized quality standards and in a collaboration with teachers and other staff of the school creates a sustainable culture for your school. School with a inspiring and strong vision attracts new partnerships and collaboration possibilities in the local market.
The comprehensive Polar Partners school concept’s operational methods and best practices enable lower operational costs that translate to better profit. Pedagogical leadership, systemic thinking, financial and academic planning, and school branding are just some of the important topics you can use to streamline your operations and allocate teacher resources more efficiently. Management’s role is guide the way, support the school community and enable teachers’ to do their best.
3) Teachers – Educational quality attracts top talent
The job market for teachers is highly competitive in every country. Developing your school with Finnish education methods or establishing a Finnish International school helps you stand out from the competition and increase interest among local teachers. Introducing a new level of educational quality or ways of working in Finnish-style school is sure to attract applicants locally and even internationally – your school will be able to select the best talents for your students.
Something we have seen in several of our school projects is the impact our model has on teacher motivation. Teacher training is one of the most important aspects when developing a school and it will need financial resources. On the other hand the positive results can be seen right away – teacher training will equip teachers will pedagogical skills and practical tools, it tightens the collaboration between teachers, gives them more freedom to make choices in teaching and support their professional growth. Teacher training opens new career paths and options for your staff e.g. specialize to arts or special education. It is likely that more motivated and inspired teachers remain in your school for longer periods. It should be seen as leverage to train your staff as a lower turnover rate saves recruitment and training costs significantly.
4) Marketing – Media coverage is free advertising
Becoming a Finnish International school is a valuable marketing asset and it helps to attract more students, teachers and partners. Finnish-style schools are still quite rare option and becoming a pioneer in the local education market is sure to attract interest also from media such as local newspapers, radio, TV, and social media influencers. Internationally recognized education concept makes it easy to find partners and gain media coverage that, in effect, is free advertising for your school.
School’s marketing and promotional activities should not be forgotten, as they are a part of creating the school brand. School should annually allocate time and resources to plan marketing and PR activities with the focus to provide interesting content to the local community or national media. These activities are a part of the long-term development and our team can help in defining the key message about the benefits and added value of Finnish education (what to highlight), as well as in designing visual image or planning promotional events. This means that your school will remain locally interesting and generate new media angles even after the school’s launch.
5) General public – Flagship school serves the local community
High-quality education is a universal value with a lasting impact on the local community. Finnish-style school development projects are viewed by governments and local actors as appealing, making them inclined to engage with your project one way or another – people want to be affiliated with Finnish education’s good reputation. Establishing a Finnish school means establishing a flagship school that can serve the surrounding community in multiple way.
This kind of local attention helps to create business models that generate additional revenue on top of collecting tuition fees. With high-quality infrastructure and multi-purpose facilities, you can e.g., rent your premises outside of school hours, organize events at your school, and train other teachers in the region. Becoming a Flagship school needs long-term collaboration and partnerships, but at it’s best it will define a more sustainable and attractive purpose for your school.
Summary
In all, the investment in developing your school with Finnish education methods is returned in many ways – apart from your revenues being likely to increase, Finnish education is proven to improve students’ and staffs’ well-being, motivation and learning results. It will also help you to generate new partnerships and streamline your business operations, and put your school on the map as a regional center of educational excellence.