Which education philosophy fits your child?
Answer eight quick questions about your child and your family. We match you with one of seven approaches from around the world and show you where to start on MiniAtlas.
Finland: play first, school later
Finnish children start school at seven. Early childhood education puts play, time outdoors and well-being first, and teachers are highly trained and trusted.
Try this at home
- Go outside every day, in any weather.
- Give your child long stretches of free play.
- Read aloud together every evening.
Japan: everyday skills and the group
Japanese kindergartens and schools focus on everyday life skills and the group: children serve lunch, clean their classroom together and learn to keep going when something is hard.
Try this at home
- Give your child a real job at home, like setting the table.
- Praise effort, not only results.
- Try origami: patience and precision in one sheet of paper.
Singapore: understand maths, step by step
Singapore maths moves from the concrete to the pictorial to the abstract: children handle real objects, then draw bar models, then use numbers. Singapore had the highest PISA 2022 maths score.
Try this at home
- Use coins, blocks or pasta before written sums.
- Draw a bar model for word problems.
- Practise a little every day instead of a lot once a week.
Estonia: curious, digital and independent
Estonia is one of Europe’s strongest PISA performers and a digital pioneer: the Tiger Leap programme brought computers and the internet into schools from 1996, and coding and robotics are common in classrooms.
Try this at home
- Play an unplugged coding game: give step-by-step arrow commands.
- Let your child make something with technology, not only watch.
- Keep reading in your home language strong.
Waldorf (Germany): rhythm, imagination and handwork
Waldorf education began in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. It values rhythm, imagination, art, music and handwork, and early-years settings usually avoid screens and formal lessons.
Try this at home
- Keep a steady daily and weekly rhythm.
- Choose a few simple toys made from natural materials.
- Sing, paint and tell stories together.
Montessori: hands-on and independent
Maria Montessori opened her first Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1907. Children choose hands-on activities in a prepared environment and work at their own pace, while the adult observes and guides.
Try this at home
- Put a few toys on low shelves and rotate them every week.
- Let your child do real tasks: pouring, dressing, cooking.
- Watch for a moment before you help.
Reggio Emilia: projects that follow your child’s questions
This approach grew in the town of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy after 1945, shaped by Loris Malaguzzi. It sees children as capable researchers: learning grows from projects that follow their questions, documented with drawings and photos.
Try this at home
- Pick one question your child asks and explore it for a week.
- Offer open-ended materials: clay, paper, light and loose parts.
- Display your child’s work and talk about it together.
This quiz is a friendly starting point, not a psychological test. Every child is different, and most families mix ideas from several approaches.