School autonomy, leadership and student achievement: reflections from Finland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide national information on school autonomy, leadership and student achievements in Finland. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a literature review on Finnish studies focusing on school autonomy, leadership and student achievement. The studies have been reviewed on the basis of a content analysis. Findings There exists a shortage of studies connecting school leadership to student achievements. School leadership in Finland has been investigated in previous research, especially from the perspective of shared or pedagogical leadership, but vast majority of the studies have focused on teachers and educational staff, not directly on students. An evident reason for this is inaccessible information on school-based data and the nature of education being a “public good”, which is supposed to meet the same standards across the country. Originality/value This review will provide the international audience a deeper understanding in the school autonomy and leadership development in Finland.