Students at the end of basic education were asked why learning outcomes are declining – segregation development is visible in the responses
Views on the declining learning outcomes and ways to reverse this trend were collected from 9th-grade students as part of the work of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s working group on learning outcomes. As part of the EDUCA Flagship, researchers from the Universities of Jyväskylä and Helsinki conducted workshop-style student hearings with students in late 2025.
Three 9th-grade general education classes and one special education class from across Finland participated. The goal was to gather as diverse a range of views as possible on the decline in learning outcomes and solutions to improve them from students nearing the end of their comprehensive school journey.
Mental well-being is a prerequisite for learning
Based on the student hearings the results highlighted the importance of overall well-being, particularly mental well-being, for learning, as well as schools’ role as part of a broader support network.
“The students called for improvements to youth mental health services and hoped that ways to strengthen mental well-being would also be found in everyday school life,” says postdoctoral researcher Anne-Elina Salo from the University of Jyväskylä. “If there are too many things on your mind, it becomes difficult or even impossible to focus on and engage with learning.”
Teachers’ role as encouraging supporters
According to the students, encouraging and fair teachers who ensure that every student stays on track and maintain a peaceful learning environment make learning more meaningful.
“Students feel that a warm relationship with their teacher, as well as opportunities to study together with friends, for example, make learning more fun and ensure that they can get support and help when they are struggling,” Salo says.
School is not an isolated island
In the students’ descriptions, school is not a separate island that could single-handedly solve the challenges related to young people’s learning and overall well-being. For example, the fact that parents have the time, willingness, and ability to help, that friends are also interested in school, and that leisure activities support well-being all contribute to a smoother school experience and better learning.
The students were also aware of their own responsibility in maintaining their well-being and study habits.
“If you have trouble finding a study method that works for you, don’t get enough sleep and spend too much time on social media in your free time, students felt that their motivation and engagement in learning were compromised,” says postdoctoral researcher Olli-Pekka Heinimäki from the University of Helsinki.
Motivation is strengthened when basic psychological needs are addressed
Based on the students’ responses, attention should be paid to strengthening basic psychological needs - autonomy, competence and relatedness - as research shows that they support students’ motivation and school engagement.
In practice, this means investing in students’ opportunities for choice and actions, collaborative approaches, and encouraging feedback that supports their sense of capability, competence and involvement.
"It is important that every student experiences success and receives sufficient support and reassurance that they can develop their own skills,” Heinimäki says. “It is also essential to find personal meaning in learning basic skills so that students are motivated to actively develop them.”
Space for every child and young person to dream about the future
Based on the hearings, the students’ experiences were, in part, strongly divergent.
“Young people can live in very different ‘bubbles’ from one another,” says Salo. “While some have access to plenty of support and secure relationships, others may face very challenging and stressful circumstances, which inevitably affects their learning as well.
“The students also described the future in very different ways: while some emphasised fear and worry, others looked forward to their future working lives.”
To ensure that every young person has room to dream about the future, the students emphasized the need to improve young people’s access to employment and to ensure that everyone receives support, assistance, and guidance in shaping their own dreams for the future. In addition, young people need support in planning the paths and actions required to realize these dreams, as well as in putting those plans into practice.
The future is built together with children and young people
“Although declining learning outcomes have long been a major concern in the Finnish educational discussion, the voices of young people have previously gone unheard,” notes Professor Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, the director of the EDUCA Flagship.
She emphasises that children and youth have the right to be heard on matters that concern them and to have their views taken into account in decision-making. Children and young people, moreover, are experts in their own learning and daily live.
“The valuable insights from students highlighted here, as part of the discussion on the causes of declining learning outcomes, should be taken into account both in everyday practice and in decisions affecting the lives of children and young people,” Lerkkanen concludes. “From the perspective of learning and the well-being closely linked to it, a better future can only be built together with children and young people.”
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