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Finland Adult Education
Finland had a long tradition of adult education, and by
the
1980s nearly one million Finns were receiving some kind of
instruction each year. Forty percent of them did so for
professional reasons. Adult education appeared in a number
of
forms, such as secondary evening schools, civic and
workers'
institutes, study centers, vocational course centers, and
folk
high schools. Study centers allowed groups to follow study
plans
of their own making, with educational and financial
assistance
provided by the state. Folk high schools were a distinctly
Nordic
institution. Originating in Denmark in the nineteenth
century,
folk high schools became common throughout the region.
Adults of
all ages could stay at them for several weeks and take
courses in
subjects that ranged from handicrafts to economics.
Data as of December 1988
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