One of the more thoughtful education and psychology writers on Twitter is Dr. Laura Kauffman, who has a link today to a fascinating BBC report on why Finland’s more relaxed approach to elementary and secondary school works.

The story explores the general approach of the Finnish school system, which includes teaching both struggling and advanced students in the same class, and how it gets incredible results.

“Children here (at the featured school) do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world and get the best results.” – Finland’s Education Success, BBC, 4/6/10. “The first lesson about school in Finland is relax, take your shoes off when you arrive. And when you get into the classroom call your teachers by their first name.”

These results are found throughout the Finnish school system, according to the BBC.

The report adds that unlike publicly-supported schools in the United States and United Kingdom, Finnish schools are not based on competition.

“There is no such thing as a failing Finnish school.” – BBC.

Students also do not start formal school until age seven.

Dr. Kauffman also highlighted findings from researchers in the United Kingdom about why play matters in early childhood education. In a study released this week, researchers found that adults who engaged in more active play as kids were more likely to have healthier diets and engage in regular exercise, according to the British Psychological Society.

"Having the freedom and opportunity to play is important for all aspects of child development and is a right that is often overlooked. It is something that most children want to do, and do naturally, but its importance is not always recognised by adults, particularly policy makers,” Tony Cassidy, one of the researchers and a professor at the University of Ulster, said in a statement.

The research was scheduled to be presented today at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference.

Check out Dr. Kauffman’s Tweets under the name @ChildPsych.