Goldfields School principal Anna Harrison joined a group of 20 educators from New Zealand and Australia on a professional tour of Finland last October, taking part in lectures, classroom visits and preschool observations.
The trip was sparked after Finnish education expert Pasi Sahlberg spoke at the New Zealand Principals Federation Conference.
"They’ve obviously done very well in [the] Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) and Pisa studies and other international measures of quality of education," Mrs Harrison said.
"So we thought that would be an interesting place to go and look at, seeing as there was a lot of reform and change just about to happen in the New Zealand education system."
Mrs Harrison found touring schools in Finland to be an eye-opening experience.
"Playgrounds were quite different to our playgrounds, classrooms were more formal probably than our classroom settings," she said.
By formal, she meant teachers typically stood at the front of the room and used a camera to model activities, while students followed along and received support as needed.
One key takeaway was the emphasis on play — something she wanted to apply at her own school.
"I think the things that I’ve reflected on the most have been about ensuring those times for play and making sure that children get those break times, and trying to make sure that we put in the supports early when we recognise that children need some support," she said.
She also noted smaller class sizes and dedicated teacher aides in every classroom as standout features of the Finnish model.
"A move to reduce class sizes would be a really significant thing that would make a big difference to teachers and children," she said.
Better funding and improved facilities were other areas she hoped New Zealand could prioritise. In Finland, she saw primary schools with fully equipped music and technology rooms, and commercial kitchens serving meals to students.
Outside the classroom, the trip included some cultural highlights.
"We all really enjoyed the sauna — it was a really fun, outside-of-your-comfort-zone type activity," she said.
The group also visited Helsinki and attended a local derby ice hockey game, choosing to support the home team, Tampere Tappara (battle axe), "and they won, so that was really exciting".
Looking ahead, Mrs Harrison hoped to visit other countries to explore more educational approaches.
"The group that I went with — we’ve been talking about Japan as another place that might be really interesting," she said.
