Perusidea

Perusidea is a Finnish term that translates roughly as "basic idea" or "fundamental concept." The word combines perus meaning "base" or "basic" with idea, and it is used in educational and planning contexts to denote the central concept that underpins a topic or activity.

In Finnish education, the perusidea serves as the teacher's guiding nucleus for a lesson, unit, or curriculum segment. It identifies the core concept students should understand and be able to apply, and it informs the selection of learning objectives, activities, and assessment tasks. The perusidea is intended to be stable across different activities and materials, providing coherence as topics expand.

Outside formal education, the term can appear in discussions of project planning or design as the essential premise or value proposition of an idea. In English-language usage, speakers may translate it as "basic idea" or "central idea," but the nuance is closer to a guiding principle rather than a stated objective.

Limitations and variations: The term is primarily used in Finnish-language contexts, and its precise meaning can vary depending on the teacher, program, or discipline. When translating, care is needed to preserve the sense of a single, overarching concept rather than a collection of separate aims.

See also: central idea, big idea, essential question, core concept.