The first of the six sections in this description of the national educational system in Finland discusses the system's goals, its structure and size, the curriculum in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools, and studies in higher education and at the post-graduate level. The second section describes the organization and funding of educational research, noting the roles of the Ministry of Education, institutes of higher education, and permanent research units. Teacher education is the focus of the third section, which provides information on the different groups of teachers in the country, eligibility for a teaching position, and the education of teachers for the kindergarten, comprehensive school, and upper secondary school levels. Major problems in the educational system are outlined in the fourth section. Computer education is described in the fifth section as a separate subject in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools, and information is provided on the state of computer education in 1987-1988, hardware and software configurations in the schools, and the current state of computer education in upper level and upper secondary schools and in the lower level of the comprehensive school. The final section makes projections about the state of computer education in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools in 1995. (8 references) (GL)