It’s a clear attack on Finnish education and maybe it’s just one voice in a sea of positive news. Still it’s a surprising stance as a provocative new book by teacher Maarit Korhonen calls for urgent action in Finland’s classrooms to stop children being marginalised by what she sees as outdated and uninspiring teaching. The outspoken Korhonen says Finland’s high scores in the PISA international rankings have spread complacency among the educational establishment.

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Korhonen’s straight-talking attack on Finland’s prized school system will come as a surprise to many who are familiar with the widely perpetuated idea that Finnish education is one of the most progressive and effective in the world, as evidenced by the country’s regular high scores in the international PISA study.

However PISA’s detractors, Korhonen included, claim this one measure of educational success cannot possibly give a full picture. Korhonen insists that PISA does not give any indication of how well schools are inspiring children to fulfill their potential, or to think for themselves. As a result, she does not subscribe to the often-repeated idea that Finnish schools are world leaders.

“I think the only thing we are best at is that the teacher still can keep the classes calm, the classes are mainly quiet when the teacher’s here so the kids are listening and learning,” Korhonen says. “But we don’t teach them to discuss or express their own opinion, we teach them to keep quiet, and we are good at that,” she adds.