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Estonia
Estonia in a nutshell
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Its territory covers only 45,227 km² and is divided into 15 counties. Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn. Estonia was a member of the League of Nations from 1921, has been a member of the United Nations since 1991, of the European Union since 2004 and of NATO since 2004. With only 1.4 million inhabitants, Estonia comprises one of the smallest populations of the EU countries.
In 1918, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued, to be followed by the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920), which resulted in the Tartu Peace Treaty recognizing Estonian independence in perpetuity. During World War II, Estonia was occupied and annexed first by the Soviet Union and subsequently by the Third Reich, only to be re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944. Estonia regained its independence in 1991 and it has since embarked on a rapid program of social and economic reform. Today, the country has gained recognition for its economic freedom, its adaptation of new technologies and as one of the world's fastest growing economies.
The official language in Estonia is Estonian, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family and is closely related to Finnish. Along with Finnish, English, Russian and German are also widely spoken and understood. The major minority language is Russian with its speakers making up about 30 % of the population. Russian-language education is provided in public and also in private schools at all levels: pre-school, basic and secondary schools, as well as vocational schools higher education institutions. About 24 % of all Estonian school children attend Russian-language basic and secondary schools. Some 10 % of higher education students study in Russian.
Estonian education policy
The Estonian Constitution states that everybody has the right to an education. Attending school is compulsory for all school-age children to the extent established by law, and is free in general education schools established by state and local governments. In order to make education accessible, the state and local governments are financially responsible for maintaining the necessary number of educational institutions. The law allows the establishment and operation of other types of educational institutions, including private schools.
Everybody has the right to an education in the Estonian language. In an educational institution in which minority students predominate, the language is chosen by the educational institution. Education is under the supervision of the state.
The Education Act has established that the objective of education is:
- creating favorable conditions for the development of individuals, family, the Estonian nation, national minorities and Estonian economic, political and cultural life in the context of the world economy and culture;
- developing a law-abiding citizenry;
- providing conditions for continuing education.
A wide network of schools and supporting educational institutions has been established in Estonia. The Estonian educational system consists of state, municipal, public and private educational institutions. The Education Act states that in accordance with the UNESCO international standard of education classification, education has the following levels: pre-primary education, basic education, secondary education and higher education.
Each level has its established requirements, which are called the state educational standards and are presented together with state curricula. The curricula contain the mandatory study programs, time scheduled to cover the programs, and descriptions of compulsory knowledge, skills, experience and behavioral norms.
Estonian education system
Basic education is established by a national curriculum of basic and secondary education. On the basis of the national curriculum, schools compile their own curricula. Basic education covers grades from one to nine. Basic education in Estonia is compulsory. Basic education is mainly taught at municipal schools (basic school classes at primary, basic and secondary schools). Local governments determine a service area for each school where it is obliged to guarantee all school-age children the opportunity to study.
Secondary education is voluntary and free at state and municipal educational institutions. General secondary education is acquired at upper-secondary schools (grades 10-12), and vocational education at vocational education institutions. Secondary education is governed by a national curriculum of basic and secondary education (general secondary education) or by a national vocational education curriculum and national curricula of vocations (vocational secondary education).
In order to continue studies at a higher education institution, everybody has to pass the state exams, which are organized by the Exam and Qualification Centre at the Ministry of Education. The student chooses state exams according to his plans for higher education and the desired area of study at university or a professional higher school. An essay in the Estonian language is compulsory for all. The graduate of a secondary school receives a diploma and certificates of the state exams. Some universities and professional higher schools accept students on the basis of the state exam results, while others require additional tests.
Vocational schools offer vocational education in vocational, special and professional areas, on the basis of the school’s curriculum and in accordance with the national curriculum. The duration of studies for those who have acquired basic education is at least three years and for those who have secondary education at least a year.
Higher education is divided into vocational higher education, education with diploma, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Doctor’s degree studies. Vocational higher education is acquired only at a vocational educational institution which functions on the basis of secondary education, or at a professional higher school. Academic education consists of three levels, attained within a period of 4 to 10 years (4 years for Bachelor’s degree, 2 additional years for Master’s degree and 4 for Doctor’s degree). The requirements set for higher education have been determined by the general standards of higher education; the state has established a system of accreditation. Some curricula have been assessed by international commissions.
Higher education in Estonia
The Estonian higher education system can be described as relatively heterogeneous. The reason for this is based on the concept of limited state administration of economic affairs – the dominant paradigm after the regaining of independence in 1991. In broad terms, state intervention was minimized as much as possible as a reaction against the strong state involvement during the Soviet period. As a result, the major developments during the last 15 years in higher education that have designed the face of Estonian higher education today are often the result of decisions made at institutional level and limited ministerial interference.
There are three types of educational institutions that provide higher education:
- Universities – institutions of research, development, study and culture at all higher education levels in several fields of study;
- Professional Higher Education Institutions – educational institutions of professional higher education and Magister-study.
- Vocational Education Schools – institutions of secondary vocational.
There are three different legal forms for HEIs: public, state and private. Private institutions can be owned by a public limited company or private limited company entered in the commercial register or by a foundation or non-profit association entered into the non-profit associations and foundations register.
In academic year 2005 – 2006, there were 39 HEIs in Estonia. Although the number of institutions seems high for a country the size of Estonia, this number has already been reduced due to the increase of quality and financial requirements in the legislation. The highest number of HEIs that the country has had was 49 in academic years 2001 – 2002 and 2002 – 2003. The number of students in academic year 2005 – 2006 was some 68,200.
Table I: Number of institutions and students in academic year 2005 - 2006 (subunits of institutions in regions are not considered separately)
| Number of institutions | Number of students | |
|---|---|---|
| Public universities | 6 | 42,867 |
| Private universities | 5 | 6,467 |
| State professional HEIs | 8 | 7,142 |
| Private professional HEIs | 13 | 7,452 |
| State VET schools providing HE | 6 | 4,058 |
| Private VET schools providing HE | 1 | 301 |
The governance of HEIs is under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Research with three exceptions – The Estonian National Defense College (Ministry of Defense) and the Public Service Academy (Ministry of Interior Affairs). The Baltic Defense College (situating in Tartu) is operating under the agreement of three Baltic Ministers of Defense and is not part of the formal higher education system.
Higher education reform
Most of the changes in recent years are connected with the developments of the European Higher Education Area, since Estonia was among the countries that signed the Bologna Declaration in 1999. The Bologna process was seen as a continuation of the earlier reform developments; as an opportunity to increase competitiveness internationally (especially regarding the comparable degree structure) and broadening students' choices in terms of national and international mobility. Another major change was a transfer to the performance based funding model (commissioning the graduates in certain broad study groups instead of financing the intake on a program basis).
In order to implement changes in connection to the Bologna process, a reform plan was approved by the Government in June 2001 – the first of its type. The earlier policy changes had been prepared by task forces that focused mostly on legislation and did not tackle the overall policy context in a comprehensive manner. So this was the initial step to this direction. The new development plan of higher education for 2006 – 2015 was approved by the Government in June 2006. (Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. 2006)
Administration and finance
The public universities and state professional higher schools are fully funded by the state budget. The schools can find additional sources of income elsewhere. The basis for funding is the number of students which is multiplied by a coefficient according to the specialty and level of education. The public universities are somewhat freer in spending money than professional higher schools. The number of places at school to be funded by the state budget is commissioned by state. Higher schools have the right to accept fee-paying students. Private schools of higher education also charge fees.
Quality assurance
Similarly to other Central and Eastern European countries, Estonia started to build up its national quality assurance system on the mid-1990s in answer to the rapid expansion of the higher education sector, and due to the need to create a transparency instrument for society and a support for the academic community in self-improvement. Given the rather large autonomy of HEIs, an accreditation system was created as the main vehicle for accomplishing these goals. According to the Law on Universities (1995), accreditation is voluntary. However, it is strongly recommended for getting state funding.
The costs related to accreditation are covered from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Education and Research or, at the request of the university, through the budget of the university. The annual cost for the Accreditation Center provided by Ministry of Education and Research was 4.9 million Estonian kroons (€ 314 000) in 2005.
Estonian HEIs in the information society
- NB: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
When regaining independence in August 1991, Estonia was a relatively backward country technologically. State infrastructure (institutions and people) was absent and had to be built up from scratch, monetary reform in 1992 established the stable currency. Heavy industry machinery and infrastructure established during the Soviet era found almost no use after the privatization and technological upgrading by the new owners. The access to Russian market was increasingly more difficult due to the politically set trade barriers by the Russian Federation, and the quality of Estonian products was not good enough to compete in the Western markets.
In spite of these unfavorable conditions, Estonian industrial structure started to depart from the factor-driven stage into the investment-driven economy in the early 1990s. The main reasons behind this development most probably were (1) the proximity of technologically advanced Finland and Sweden, (2) large amount of foreign direct investments into Estonian companies, (3) a population with high level of technical education (in the Soviet era, only hard sciences were ideologically free), and (4) a large part of the population ready to consume and adopt modern technology as a part of one’s lifestyle. Additionally, the number of computer and Internet users in Estonia was growing heavily. In recent years, also ICT equipment and services have become much more affordable.
So in light of all these developments, what have been the crucial factors supporting the development of Estonian information society and the growth of ICT centered activities both in public and private sector? According to Krull, 1) building up modern infrastructure; 2) Tiger’s Leap Project in computerizing schools and universities; 3) adopting regulations for information society; 4) government IT-programs; 5) collaboration between the government, private sector and non-governmental initiatives; and last but not least 6) luck have been these main drivers.
In the educational sector, the Tiger Leap program has played an important role in the virtuous circle of making IT popular first among children and through them among the whole society. Almost all children (93 %) have access to the Internet either at school, in the neighborhood or at home. Pupils use the Internet mainly at school (79%). In 2000, there were no basic or upper secondary schools without computers in Estonia, 75% of schools also had online Internet connections.
Additionally, the overall impact of governmental actions has been crucial in the development of Estonian information society. From creating favorable legal environment and leading the way with computerizing the whole public administration, some of the major e-services for the public sector were also developed. Principles for the development of the information society in Estonia were first set out in 1998. However, the first strategic document was established only in 2006.
In Estonia, the development of the information society is, indeed, based on the Principles of Estonian Information Policy, adopted by the Estonian Parliament in 1998. A follow-up to the document, the Principles of Estonian Information Policy 2004 – 2006, was elaborated and approved by the Government of the Republic in 2004. The Estonian Information Society Strategy 2013, in turn, entered into force in January 2007. It is a sectoral development plan, setting out the general framework, objectives and respective action fields for the broad employment of ICT in the development of knowledge-based economy and society in Estonia in 2007 – 2013.
Estonian developments to the direction of information society have been adequate concerning the initiatives started by the public sector. The level and quality of ICT infrastructure and the access to it has gone through a major improvement during the last decade. The role of ICT in the society and Internet’s growing role in providing information, business transactions, interaction between the state and citizens allows to assume that the e-readiness of Estonia is improving with every essential application and service delivered through the Internet. An emphasis made on computerizing the schools and providing vocational education to grownups has been essential.
Virtual initiatives in HE
Tiger Leap
- NB: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
In 1996, Estonia initiated a program of computerization in their education system called ‘Tiger Leap’. General aims of the program were to provide teachers with computer skills and to train upper grade students to become assistant computer teachers, to create a structure of distance schools and continuous education for teachers and students, and to connect the Estonian education system with an international information database. Another aim of the program was to start producing Estonian language multimedia study software, introducing the most widely-used educational software in the world and translating it into Estonian. With the help of Phare Information Systems in Education (ISE) Program it was planned to establish a local computer centre in every county in Estonia.
The Tiger Leap program is primarily focused on general education, including preprimary, vocational and higher education, and continuing education for teachers. It is a national specific program launched by the Estonian Government and funded from the national budget via Ministry of Education. The realization of the Tiger Leap program is evident in the share of state budget allocated to buy information technology, which by 1998 was 15 times larger than in 1992. By the end of 1997, about half of the secondary and vocational schools also had access to Internet. Twenty-five schools had direct access to Internet.
By today, the Tiger Leap program 1997 – 2000 and Tiger Leap Plus development plan 2001 – 2005 are put into practice. The objective of the Tiger Leap program (1997 – 2000) was to modernize the ICT infrastructure of educational establishments, but the next program Tiger Leap Plus already highlighted the ICT competency assurance for all students and teachers. Both program supported innovative e-learning initiatives of schools, universities and other institutions. Focus of the Learning Tiger development plan 2006 – 2009, in turn, is mainly on e-learning and various e-learning related content services development. Main objective of this development plan is to increase curriculum quality and effectiveness utilizing ICT and introducing e-learning as a part of daily curriculum.
The idea of Tiger Leap Foundation dates back to 1996 when the former Estonian Ambassador in the United States Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Minister of Education Jaak Aaviksoo exchanged views regarding new information and communication technology that changes not only the way of life but the whole educational paradigm. Symbolizing the designed radical changes and technological leap, the program was named Tiger Leap as an allusion to the East Asian Tigers, the countries whose economy boomed, partially as a result of information technology use. Finally, in February 1996, the president of Estonia Lennart Meri, also the Patron of the Tiger Leap program, announced in the Estonian State Television broadcast the Tiger Leap project officially open. Actual activities began in 1997 when the Tiger Leap Foundation started working with the 35.5 MEEK funded from the national budget.
Since 2005 the Tiger Leap Foundation has also represented Estonia in the European Schoolnet as a collaboration partner and go-between in many education innovation projects. The aim of this activity is to provide additional information and funding for supporting ICT use in curricula and to make Estonian teachers meet teachers from other European countries.
Estonian e-University
- NB: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The Estonian e-University (EeU) was officially founded in February 2003. The EeU is a consortium of universities and applied universities and it consists of':
- Estonian Ministry of Education and Research
- Estonian Information Technology Foundation
- University of Tartu
- Tallinn Technical University
- Tallinn University
- Estonian University of Life Sciences
- Estonian Business School
- Estonian Information Technology College
- University Nord
Other Estonian HEIs can also apply for the e-University membership. There are associated and full members, former having no right in e-university decision processes. An associated member can become a full member after a one-year membership in the e-University. All decisions (including questions of membership, strategy, budget, allocating of tasks to board) are done by the e-University council that consists of representatives of all full members. The board of e-University is the body that fulfils the tasks set up by the e-University council.
The Estonian e-University is a member of EADTU, EIfEL, EFQUEL, EDEN and Baltic Sea Virtual Campus. Its functions are:
- of profound studies,
- increasing the availability of quality education for students and other people willing to learn, for example adults, handicapped people, Estonians abroad and foreign students,
- educating lecturers of universities to compile and practice quality and efficient e-courses,
- providing lecturers with necessary technical equipment, as well as improving the reputation of university education in Estonia and creating contacts for cooperation between foreign universities and business circles.
The history of Estonian e-University dates back to the beginning of 1990s when first enthusiastic people in universities started using email and web-pages as the first e-learning initiatives. Videoconferences over ISDN and web-based courses in a specially designed environment followed in 1998. However, there can be seen three main reasons for the actual establishment of Estonian e-University. Firstly, e-learning had been rather widely used in Estonian universities, but in most cases it was a low financed and not well coordinated initiative of a few enthusiastic people in a few faculties and open universities. Secondly, need for coordinated and institutionalized interuniversity cooperation in the field of open and distance learning had been perceived and discussed for years. And thirdly, similar initiatives in neighboring countries (Finland and Sweden) a few years earlier had given good examples.
The cooperation between universities needs, perhaps, an explanation on a slightly wider background. Estonian universities are very independent institutions, and there are very few initiatives or procedures in the area of HE coordinated by the state. The limited state control and liberal rules in HE resulted in the emergence of numerous private universities and applied HEIs in the 1990s when also the student numbers increased rapidly. The rapid growth in student numbers was by large due to the increasing number of adult students.
There were several reasons for vastly increasing interest for HE among adults. The reasons could simply be classified into two groups. Firstly, great need for new skills arising from enormous changes in the labor market and society – many people did not manage with ‘an old education’ obtained in the 1960 – 1980s in ‘the new society’. The second group of reasons why more adult students came to universities was most likely related to opportunities, i.e., increasing openness of the HE system and curricula. Besides the increased number of different HE providers, public universities adopted a third mission of providing services to the society – they considerably diversified their forms of tuition, opened numerous new (mainly master-level) curricula oriented to adult students, made major efforts in regional development by opening colleges in regions far distant from the two biggest cities Tallinn and Tartu.
Thus, rather than relying on state-coordinated program to bring in more adults to the universities, universities themselves independently and also slightly differently responded to the needs of the changing society and introduced flexible, part-time adult education curricula for training and retraining of adults. Many of them did it under the name of open university that included all kind of university level Lifelong Learning activities ranging from special initiatives and courses for secondary school students, university continuing education, summer schools, part-time degree education or degree education given in the form of distance learning, public lectures, regional development initiatives, etc. As a rule, the open universities were also responsible for the development of ICT-based teaching in universities.
First open universities were launched in 1996, and in 1998, the first project tackling the need for interuniversity cooperation in this field initiated (Tempus project for ‘Developing Open University Infrastructure in Estonia’ 1998 – 2001) with three biggest public universities as partners. Another cooperation initiative started by the universities was the establishment of the Estonian Network for University Continuing Education (ENUCE) in January 2001. Several seminars discussing different open university models culminated in January 2002 where conference titled ‘Estonian Open University – interuniversity cooperation for the development of open distance learning in Estonia’ was held with representatives from seven universities and the Ministry of Education and Research. This conference decided to make a concrete action plan for further development of the idea.
In summer 2002, Rectors’ Council approved the general idea, already called Estonian e-University at that time. In autumn 2002, the Minister of Education and Research summoned a working group for agreeing on activities and financing principles of the e-University. The process culminated in February 2003 when the Estonian e-University was officially launched by signing the Protocol of Good Will by the rectors of six universities, the Minister of Education and Research and the chair of the board of the Estonian Information Technology Foundation. By that time, plenty of work had already been done including e.g. submitting the first international project of Estonian e-University (the UNIVe) to Socrates Minerva program.
The target groups of Estonian e-University can be identified at different levels:
Students
The final target group for all activities is, of course, the current and potential students and learners of the universities of e-university members, both full-time and part-time students, learners at retraining programs and shorter continuing education courses. However, as widening access to high quality education is one of the main aims, the main target group among all students is adult students who live outside of bigger centers or who due to work obligations cannot participate in ordinary university studies. E-university also aims its activities at disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities, for whom e-learning can make higher education more accessible. E-university also aims its activities at foreign students, thus, supporting the strategic aim of internationalization of several universities. Most e-University activities are not directly aimed at students but rather at teachers and universities. An e-course database is directly aimed at students that should become (1) a gateway to Estonian universities e-learning opportunities.
Universities
Although students are the final target group of the e-University activities, the latter does not offer tuition itself. Therefore, its activities are mainly aimed at helping universities, i.e. supporting and facilitating them in e-learning initiatives. This said, it does not mean that the e-University has a passive role in relation to universities. E-university is, and aims also to be in the future, the initiator and developer of e-learning initiatives taking into account the interests of the state, universities and students. Initiating and supporting interuniversity cooperation in e-learning initiatives is one of the strategic aims of e-University. From the HEIs’ perspective, e-University is (2) the developer and provider of a necessary technological environment needed for e-learning:
- portal (including a database for courses and learning objects),
- learning environment,
- exchange system for courses,
- necessary infrastructure for e-learning (incl. regional centers);
(3) support and development centre for e-learning (The UNIVe Project):
- initiation of research,
- innovation and development activities,
- initiation and management of projects,
- financial etc. support for realising e-learning initiatives,
- international marketer of e-courses/curricula in the future.
Academic staff
Besides developing infrastructure and procedures, plenty of e-University activities are directly or via support to universities aimed at academic staff support and development. From the university teachers’ point of view, e-University is primarily (4) an e-learning support centre:
- information and training to conduct e-courses,
- database for learning objects,
- contests and grants for developing e-learning.
State
Better usage of limited financial and intellectual HE resources, better and more equal access to higher education, better cooperation between universities, clear and unified trademark of Estonian higher e-education initiatives at international arena, competence when realizing state initiatives in e-learning etc. are, of course, of value for each particular university, but these can firstly be seen as the benefits of e-University for the state and society.
The Estonian e-University is financed by the membership fees, projects, and direct funding. The budget for the first year was nearly 4.5 million EEK (€ 300,000), whereas the budget for year 2004 was over 6 million EEK (€ 400,000). Every member covers its costs related to e-University initiatives within its own university by itself. Membership fee is divided to fixed and proportional parts. The last is calculated on the basis of full-time equivalent student numbers.
In year 2004, the e-University database included some 250 courses. Approximately, 9,000 people participated in different e-courses, most of them being university students. Most courses were in Estonian, with the exception of a few English courses. There are no curricula that one could study fully via the internet.
References
- Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (2006)
- OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for Estonia.
- Krull Andre (2003)
- ICT Infrastructure and E-readiness Assessment Report: ESTONIA
- Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (2003)
- Estonian Information Society Strategy 2013
Relevant websites
- Estonian e-University
- Estonian Information Society in Facts and Figures
- The Estonia Page
- Tiger Leap Foundation
- The UNIVe Project
- Wikipedia