According to wikipedia only around 500 children are homeschooled in the entire country.

"In Finland homeschooling is legal[42] but unusual (400–600 children[43]). The parents are responsible for the child getting the compulsory education and the advancements are supervised by the home municipality.[42] The parents have the same freedom to make up their own curriculum as the municipalities have regarding the school, only national guiding principles of the curriculum have to be followed.

Choosing homeschooling means that the municipality is not obliged to offer school books, health care at school, free lunches or other privileges prescribed by the law on primary education, but the ministry of education reminds they may be offered. The parents should be informed of the consequences of the choice and the arrangements should be discussed.[44]"

That means that home-schooling is around 1/4 as prevalent per capita as it is in Australia, where around 15,000 children are home-schooled, according once again to Wikipedia.

Somehow lost the first sentence in the post immediately preceding, which expressed my surprise that Poirot champions the Finnish model when she is an advocate of home-schooling.

Anti,

It's not surprising that homeschooling is rare in that country with a far superior system of education.

Is it really surprising that I have a view on education models, especially those which show up the failings of our own.

I'll just add that the homeschooling requirements and responsibilities in Finland seem pretty much parallel with those in my state.

Perhaps, Poirot, but the Finns seem generally far more socially compliant and homogenous than Australians. In a society such as ours, where false dichotomies are deliberately created, or worse, false congruencies are assumed as part of policy, I suspect a Finnish educational model would produce far more home-schooling, whatever the claimed benefits that model may possess.

Let's face it, a large number of those who home-school here are well able to afford a very expensive education for their children, unarguably as good as anything available anywhere except on particular and narrow metrics that are often more about religion or social issues than imparting knowledge.

According to the ABC some 50,000 children are being home-schooled, not the 15,000 that wikipedia cites, most of them illegally...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008

However, all that is somewhat irrelevant to the article, I was just interested by your bringing it up.

Antsceptic,
The difference in Finland is the peoples' mentality not their education system. even if you were to bring that system here it would still be run by Australians.

Finland has very cold bitter winters, where the indoors are routinely preferred?
One imagines this would be times where small children are introduced to books, home schooling, home computers, and a basic literary vocabulary?
One is in favour of fully investigating and completely understanding the Finnish education model!
And if there is something there that could improve our education outcomes, well let's look at it.
One of the aspects seem to be a very different and much more egalitarian funding model, and few if any private schools?
The previously referred to US study, is worth examining, for the same reasons?
Reportedly, WA spends more on public education per student than any other state.
One suspects their compulsory pre-schooling is part of the reason for the additional outlay?
One also expects this factor and general education spend, will improve general literacy, numeracy, high school graduation rates, and consequent improved, whole of adult life, productivity outcomes etc.
Rhrosty.