BACKGROUND

The national core curriculum is a legal norm comparable to law and education providers may not fail to comply with it on any grounds. This norm contributes to guaranteeing the achievement of the fundamental educational rights, equality, educational cohesion, quality and legal protection as well as nationally uniform vocational skills. The role of the national core curriculum for vocational education and training is to convey education policy objectives and to indicate the requirements for nationally uniform vocational skills, core skills, including learning to learn, as well as for functioning as a citizen. In addition, the national core curriculum forms the basis of assessment.

SUMMARY OF THE PAPER

The aim of this paper is to study the implementation of the Finnish curriculum reform in vocational education during 2001-2003. All the vocational education qualifications and curriculum have been reformed twice during 1990s. The purpose of vocational education is to give students the vocational skills they will need in working life and the skills required to earn a living on a self-employed basis. The initial vocational qualification takes three years and it also qualifies students for further studies in higher education. Vocational education institutions generally choose how to implement the national reforms. National core curriculum leaves room for local variations and providers of education. The municipalities have been given the responsibility for organising and implementing curriculum activities. The national interest is secured through evaluation and the assessment of the national core curriculum. The results of the ongoing evaluation are suggesting that the reform of the curriculum has not been very well adapted, whereas many providers of education in many areas and in many vocational qualifications for a long time have invested in national core curriculum and local curriculum. Educational research and research of the educational policy recognises various approaches in curriculum. We suggest that the aspects of the curriculum system in VET is still vague. It is argued that the two levels of curriculum, the national and the local, display differences that result from different approaches to the problem of educational governance. Our theoretical view is to use the framework of educational governance. for explaining different implementations of curriculum. It considers the educational rationalities behind a policy of curriculum.

The providers of education in Finland are much aware of the importance of the curriculum reform in VET. More problematic is the implementation of the reform. The evaluation of the reform leaves many questions to open. Obviously the decision making process at municipal level cannot be ignored, but we state they should operate more on the basis of applying curriculum to local variations. Local authorities and colleges can then form their own curricular regulations that are sensitive to the national framework.