1 April 2025
This report examines the results of a municipal survey on cultural education plans conducted in January–February 2025 by the Finnish Children’s Culture Association (Suomen lastenkulttuuriliitto). The survey mapped existing plans’ coordination, budgeting, contents, and municipalities’ possible needs for assistance. It also explored reasons behind the absence or incomplete implementation of plans. This was the third national data collection conducted for municipalities.
With the annual municipal survey on cultural education plans, the current national state and content of such plans are charted, along with municipalities’ experiences related to them — or to their absence. The goal of the survey is to produce up‑to‑date information about cultural education plans, raise awareness of them in municipalities, and provide data to support municipal and national decision making.
The Association of Children’s Culture in Finland carried out the survey. The questionnaire was sent electronically to all municipalities in both official languages. A total of 195 municipal officials from 142 different municipalities responded.
Plans are actively updated
According to the survey, cultural education plans in municipalities are relatively well maintained or, at least, municipalities are very aware of potential updating needs. In some municipalities, the update process is already complete, though the new version is not yet publicly available. In others, implementation varies year to year depending on available resources; not all content can be produced or all goals reached, but the plan is still not updated.
As one municipality put it: “There is always room for improvement.”
The notion of ‘mandatory’ raises questions
About half of municipalities reported the cultural education plan being a mandatory part of their local curriculum. However, the survey suggests that for some municipalities it is unclear what ‘mandatory’ really means. Many answers noted that the cultural education plan is an ‘attachment to the core curriculum’ or that ‘the educational board has approved it as a supplement to the curriculum.’
These remarks suggest that the plan is in practice part of the local curriculum, but for some reason the municipality did not select ‘Yes’ in the survey. Similarly, in many municipalities the cultural education plan has been adapted to the local curriculum but has not been formally approved by the board, and therefore is not officially part of it.
The use of the term ‘mandatory’ may have caused uncertainty in how municipalities responded. Here, by ‘mandatory’ is meant that the municipality’s education administration obliges all schools and classes to participate in planned cultural education activities.
Coordination and reach of the plans
Coordination of the plan is most often the responsibility of the cultural services sector, either independently or jointly with another sector. Common coordinating sectors include education and welfare services. Other mentioned sectors include leisure services, library services, vitality services, and future services.
In municipalities with cultural education plans, the plan is almost always in use in basic education (98 %). In early childhood education, the plan may cover both municipal and private units, or only municipal ones. Variability arises because in some municipalities early childhood education does not have its own plan; instead, content is drawn from the basic education plan.
In the municipalities that responded (N = 142), the cultural education plans reach a total of 479,489 children across various school levels. It is currently estimated that around 600,000 children are covered by cultural education plans nationwide.
Contents of cultural education plans
Cultural education plans diversify the cultural education offered by schools and enhance its quality. On average, plans contained 9 different art forms or cultural destinations. The most common were library (95 %), music (94 %), museum (93 %), and visual arts (90 %). The least common were circus and site/environmental art (about one third of municipalities).
The most common content type is visits to cultural venues (99 %), followed by performances (91 %). Workshops, which encourage active participation, are offered by 79 % of municipalities. The least used contents are digital/online formats (34 %).
Art Testers as part of cultural education plans
Taidetestaajat is the only national cultural education programme; by offering a free and externally coordinated model, it helps provide a high-quality art experience to all 8th graders, regardless of municipality size, location or the plan’s budget.
Most (70 %) of municipalities have included Taidetestaajat as part of their cultural education plan — either as the sole content for 8th graders or alongside other content.
Funding and resources
There are large differences between municipalities in the size of budgets for cultural education plans. The median budget among responding municipalities was €10,000/year, but the range exceeded €600,000. The smallest declared annual budget was €0, the largest €615,000.
On average, municipalities invested €13 per pupil in cultural education plans. The main expense items are external services, transportation, and personnel costs.
Benefits of Cultural Education Plans
The most important benefits identified were:
1. Equal opportunities for pupils to experience art and culture (94 %).
2. Pupils becoming acquainted with local culture (83 %).
3. More systematic and continuous cultural education (78 %).
Challenges related to Cultural Education Plans
The most central challenge identified was lack of resources (64 %). Resource scarcity may manifest as insufficient coordination time, elimination of content, or cuts to transportation.
Another major challenge is lack of awareness about cultural education plans inside municipalities, which may cause weak cross-sector cooperation.
Municipal needs for assistance
Municipalities desired ready-made materials for developing plan content, opportunities for training, ready content packages, networking, statistical support, and advocacy to strengthen the position of cultural education plans.
Municipalities without a Cultural Education Plan
The majority (67 %) of municipalities without a plan intend to develop or are already developing one. Even 80 % of municipalities lacking a plan believed that one should be made.
The most common reasons for needing a plan were equality and systematic planning. The most common reasons for not having a plan were lack of time, too many competing plans, and lack of resources.
The survey results were analyzed and the report was written by doctoral researcher Eeva Laitinen.
Questions regarding the report and the municipal survey:
Henna Kojo-Nieminen, organizational manager, Association of Children’s Culture in Finland
henna.kojo-nieminen@lastenkultturi.fi
+358 40 800 7296
