Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish author, educator and speaker. He has spent his entire life around education, living in both the US and Australia. We discuss his early life, the Finnish education model, standardised testing, supporting schools in low income areas, the importance of play, mental health in children and much more.

Pasi Sahlberg is Finnish educator, teacher, and author. He has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, academic, and policymaker in Finland, and he has advised schools and education system leaders around the world. He served as a senior education specialist at the World Bank (Washington, DC), lead education specialist at the European Training Foundation (Torino, Italy), director general at the Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture (CIMO), and visiting professor of Practice at Harvard University.

He is a recipient of several awards for his lifelong service in education, including the 2012 Education Award (Finland), the 2014 Robert Owen Award (Scotland), the 2016 Lego Prize (Denmark), Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Resident Fellowship in 2017, and Dr Paul Brock Memorial Medal in 2021. In 2013 his book “Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland” won the Grawemeyer Award (U.S.) for an idea that has potential to change the world.

His most recent books include "Let the Children Play: How more play will save our schools and help children thrive" (2019, with William Doyle), "Finnish Lessons 3.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland” (2021), and "In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish way to world-class schools" (2021, with Tim Walker). He is currently Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Pasi lives in South Melbourne with his wife and two sons.