Student's Diary

To become a student in Finland, at the one of  Jyväskylä´s University of Applied Sciences  International Degree Programs, Nursing, was for me, first of all, an extraordinary introduction into powerful learning environments. Those are   concentrated mainly on general influences on students’ engagement and learning. I found some  inter-related concepts that are  associated with student learning in higher education and those  include  conceptions of knowledge and learning, learning orientations, students’ perceptions of, and preferences for, different kinds of learning environments one of those being computer supported collaborative learning , the  interrelationships between them. The  emphasis of the importance of physical factors for schoolwork , creating  innovative and inspiring learning environments,and what kinds of demands does fast-developing information technology pose.  All of those related to study success. And to not forget mentioning the  school library which was  noted as an important element in the Finnish school as the central learning resource.

I felt really proud and honoured to be a student in Finland. And I have a very good reason for saying that. So, hold on   : Several international studies, including the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), have rated Finland among the world’s highest in student achievement, raising international interest in the Finnish school system.

The National Board of Education believes that Finland’s exemplary performance is largely due to the country’s main principles for comprehensive education: equal opportunities; regional accessibility of education; education totally free of charge; a supportive and flexible administration; individual support for the student learning and welfare; development-oriented evaluation and student assessments – no testing or ranking lists; highly qualified teachers; and quality learning environments.

Last year, when I started my studies, I just felt so great, so lucky and so enriched to be in an international program. We were a group of 30 students and we belong to 12 different  foreign backgrounds: Finland, England, Romania, India, Filipins, Nepal, Eritrea, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenia, Burundi, Zimbabwe. And for few months we also had an exchange student from Germany.

I believe strongly that multiculturalism affects social trust. Discussions and descriptions of  each of our cultures,in order to get deeper understanding of  diferences in cultural backgrounds and  to smooth down  Finland  cultural shock. We had many get togethers,we had launch, coffee, parties,out goings.

The Finnish students were very opened minded and well welcoming for the foreign students and I was very impressed by the motivation of students from Africa and Asia to understand Finnish society, to learn the Finnish language,  to bravely face the next coming Finnish winter.

I was impressed by their positivism, and enjoyable uplifting simplity and happy attitude towards life. They brought among us so much laughing. We had so much fun.  And was thinking how much needed the laughts are, when dark and gloomy up Finnish autumn coveres to town and peoples spirit.

In nursing field, becomming  multicultural sensitive is the  core of being professional, as multiculturalism is understood as a modern movement in social , political, educational level. Multicultural sensitivity is a gradually subjective process of learning cultural diversity and  refers to changes in a person´s behavior, feelings and knowledge.