Inter-ethnic Relations and Bounding Agency : The Social Space of Study Guidance and Counselling

European countries are being urged to reform their educational systems to enhance the integration of migrant populations. In many respects, migrant-origin pupils still lack equal educational opportunities in Finland despite the targeted practices and support. This article concerns the inter-ethnic interaction taking place in study guidance and counselling in the final year of Finnish comprehensive school. It poses a question 'how do young people construct their educational identities in classroom-level interactions in a multi-ethnic class'? The mixed methods research setting offers two sets of data: selective observation (two events) and life-span interviews (n = 8). The outcomes portray how multi-ethnic school classes open opportunities and supportive bridges for the pupils to contact other ethnicities. Nevertheless, the inter-ethnic interaction was also layered with societal hierarchies which constructed and bounded pupils' ethnic and educational identities. Finally, the article emphasises the opportunities that the locality offers to the schools.Peer reviewe

Transitions in Primary Education (Finland)

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Access to Secondary Education (Finland)

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On the Pathway to an Unforeseeable Future : An Actantial Analysis of Career Designs of Young People

The process of life design in contemporary adolescence is of increasing interest in times of lifelong learning and the knowledge society. The aim of this article was to increase the comprehension of career designs by analysing the two-phase interviews of 31 young people at the ages of 15 and 18. Drawing on actantial analysis, we modelled the plurality of the career designs, analysed who the main actors are in those career designs, and how young people express, exercise, and adjust their designs. We conclude that both the subjects and the objects of the young people’s career designs included multiple actors. People, issues, and circumstances are integral components of the narratives on the career designs of young people. These components bound their agency and are integrated with their orientations to education and work.The process of life design in contemporary adolescence is of increasing interest in times of lifelong learning and the knowledge society. The aim of this article was to increase the comprehension of career designs by analysing the two-phase interviews of 31 young people at the ages of 15 and 18. Drawing on actantial analysis, we modelled the plurality of the career designs, analysed who the main actors are in those career designs, and how young people express, exercise, and adjust their designs. We conclude that both the subjects and the objects of the young people’s career designs included multiple actors. People, issues, and circumstances are integral components of the narratives on the career designs of young people. These components bound their agency and are integrated with their orientations to education and work.Peer reviewe

Revisiting universalism in the Finnish education system

The aim of the article is to revisit the principle of universalism and analyze how it has changed in the legislation on compulsory education by asking: how are different characteristics of universalism emphasized in the basic education legislation and parliamentary discussion (in 1968, 1982 and 1997)? The analysis portrays the varieties of universalism within the comprehensive school, produced by the four instruments used to govern education (legislation, economy, ideology and evaluatory). According to the analysis, the foundation of the comprehensive school system in the 1960s was laid on uniform content and aims at the ideological level, emphasizing equality of education. The 1980s was a transition phase between 'old' and 'new' universalism, when instruments of legal and economic governance enabled the expansion of universalism and increased costs. Simultaneously, the aims of the comprehensive system and its contents were increasingly set at the local level. We conclude that the 'new' comprehension of universalism in the 1990s entailed issues such as the rise of the evaluation of education, local economy of education and individualism.Peer reviewe

Changes in equality of educational opportunity : social hierarchies and school achievement of the young

Positioned between social and public policy, sociology of education and educational sciences, this doctoral thesis focuses on the boundaries and limits that society, families and schools set for educational achievements. The thesis consists of four scientific articles and a summary that also contains supplementary analysis. The following two research questions are examined: (1) How do definitions of equality of opportunities change with time? and (2) How are school achievements connected to social position and experiences of social security in homes and schools? The youth study dimension of the thesis relies on the Health and Well-being in Youth − Comparison of 15-year-olds in Helsinki and Glasgow (HelGla) research project and the data that has been collected during the years 1998, 2004 and 2010. The questionnaire-based survey was targeted at 9th grade pupils (n ~ 2500 / data). This data is the main empirical corpus, where social position, school achievements and school experiences were analysed with statistical methods. The thesis is also part of the research project Parents and School Choice. Family Strategies, Segregation and School Policies in Chilean and Finnish Basic Schooling (PASC). The sociology of education dimension is framed using documentary data collected for this project by analysing discourses and practices concerning equality of educational opportunities. Changes in the opportunity structures in the thesis were uncovered by analysing the empirical and conceptual changes in the possibilities to choose schools. The analysis comes to the conclusion that there are two distinctive liberal interpretations of individual freedom of choice. Viewed from the comprehensive school choice policies, the education systems simultaneously promote educational rights and equal possibilities within the welfare liberalism and neoliberalism traditions. The associations between school achievements and family background are examined through the lens of school achievement. School achievement is analysed as a unity of educational orientation and habits that are emergent in school grades and attitudes towards school, and is associated with social position. First, in Pierre Bourdieu s conceptual terms, the associations between cultural capital ‒ the educational level of the parents in the thesis ‒ and school achievements is analysed. Second, the social position is analysed as social capital, especially following James Coleman s theory of social trust. The thesis concludes that school achievements associate with social hierarchies in many ways. Good achievement at school intertwines with both forms of capital. The odds of a young person having good school grades is tightly linked to the education level of his/her family, but a positive attitude towards school requires or can be also explained by strong social resources; i.e., a socially safe position to grow and develop.Yhteiskuntapolitiikan, koulutussosiologian ja kasvatustieteen rajapinnoilla kulkevan väitöstutkimuksen tutkimuskohteena ovat koulumenestyksen yhteiskunnalliset, perheeseen ja kouluun kytkeytyvät kannusteet ja rajoitteet. Tutkimus koostuu neljästä tieteellisestä artikkelista ja yhteenvedosta, joka myös täydentää artikkeleiden analyysia. Tutkimuksessa kysytään: (1) Miten mahdollisuuksien tasa-arvoa koskevat määrittelyt muuntuvat ajassa sekä (2) miten nuoren koulumenestys yhdistyy sosiaaliseen asemaan ja koettuun sosiaaliseen turvallisuuteen kodissa ja koulussa? Tutkimuksen nuorisotutkimuksellinen perusta on hankkeessa Health and Well-being in Youth − Comparison of 15-year-olds in Helsinki and Glasgow (HelGla) ja sen vuosina 1998, 2004 sekä 2010 kerätyissä kyselylomakeaineistoissa (n ~ 2500 / aineisto). Aineisto muodostaa väitöstutkimuksen pääasiallisen empiirisen ytimen. Aineistoista analysoidaan tilastollisin menetelmin yhdeksäsluokkalaisten sosiaalisen aseman, koulumenestyksen ja koulukokemusten yhteyksiä. Väitöstutkimus on myös osa tutkimushanketta Parents and School Choice. Family Strategies, Segregation and School Policies in Chilean and Finnish Basic Schooling (PASC). Hankkeeseen kerättyjen dokumenttiaineistojen kautta analysoidaan koulutusmahdollisuuksia koskevia diskursseja ja käytäntöjä. Mahdollisuuksien tasa-arvoa tutkitaan kouluvalintamahdollisuuksissa ilmenevien empiiristen ja käsitteellisten muutosten kautta. Tuloksissa todetaan koulutuksellisen tasa-arvon käsityksen eriytyminen kahteen liberalistiseen tulkintaan yksilöllisistä vapauksista. Peruskouluvalinnan kautta valaistuna koulutusjärjestelmä sisältää sekä hyvinvointi- että uusliberalistisia tulkintoja koulutuksellisista oikeuksista ja tasa-arvoisista mahdollisuuksista. Koulumenestyksen ja perhetaustan yhteyksiä etsitään tulkitsemalla koulumyönteisyyttä ja kouluarvosanoja eräänlaisena koulumenestyksen dispositiona, yhteiskuntaluokkasidonnaisena toimintamuotona ja orientaationa. Tarkastelu aloitetaan Pierre Bourdieun käsitteillä kulttuurisen pääoman ¬‒ tutkimuksessa vanhempien koulutusasteen ¬‒ yhteydestä nuorten koulumenestykseen. Sosiaalisen aseman analyysi laajennetaan lisäksi sosiaalisen turvallisuuden ja erityisesti James Colemanin käsittein sosiaalisen luottamuksen alueille. Tutkimuksessa osoitetaan peruskoulun yläluokkaisten koulumenetyksen yhdistyvän nuoria ympäröiviin yhteiskunnallisiin ja yhteisöllisiin hierarkioihin. Hyvä koulumenestys kietoutuu nuorten perhetaustaan ja kouluun molemmissa tutkituissa pääoman muodoissa. Kouluarvosanojen saavuttaminen yhdistyy erityisesti perheen koulutustasoon, mutta myönteinen kouluasenne edellyttää myös vahvaa sosiaalista pääomaa: sosiaalisesti turvattua tilaa kasvaa ja kehittyä

Facing Uncertainty yet Feeling Confident: : Teenage Migrant Girls’ Agencies in Upper Secondary School Transitions

This article concentrates on the transition from comprehensive school to the upper secondary level from the viewpoint of migrant background girls. Emphasis is on understanding the bounded agency and the ways in which gender and family background are expressed in the modalities of the agency. Previous studies show that ethnic minorities have more difficulties in school, and they continue to higher education less frequently than the majority of students. We are interested in the aspirations of migrant background girls (n = 34) concerning their post-comprehensive transition. Our focus is on the experienced agency during the last year of comprehensive school. Our research questions are: What kinds of modalities do migrant background girls use when considering their educational choices? How do these modalities reflect their bounded agency? The study shows that although the experienced agency is universal among the age group, there are specific ethnic and gender connotations.Peer reviewe

Family background, gender and school attendance

Finnish education policy has aimed at providing equal educational pathways that level educational opportunities and aims at the equity of participation. Combined with the Finnish welfare state it has succeeded in sustaining social mobility. Yet the adolescents do not necessarily have equal possibilities to achieve these educational positions. Socio-economic differences in Finland are persistent and both education and poverty are still partly inherited. This thesis concentrated on prevailing socio-economic differences on school attendance and on studying the associations between family backgrounds, gender and school attendance. The key question for this thesis was formulated as: What kind of differences in school attendance there can be found among 9th graders from Helsinki according to their family background and their gender? The core data was a school-based survey carried on in Helsinki in 2004. There were two thirds of the schools of Helsinki and 2381 respondents. The questionnaire included questions on young people's school-related experiences, school attendance, school performance and their family. The analysis had three steps: after describing the respondents the associations between school attendance and family background were analyzed using MCA (Multiple Classification Analysis). Finally the associations between school attendance, family and school environment were studied using logistic regression analysis. The results showed that schooling (school attendance) was a variety of attitudes and experiences. The analysis showed also that all the family background factors had an effect on school attendance. From the family background measurements, it seems that the perceived parental support varied most with school attendance. Apart from the school environment factors, each family-related factor is statistically significantly related to two or more school attendance factors, even when adjusted with the school environment factors. There was also a gender-related difference in school attendance. Girls seem to like school attendance more than boys; they do better at school, but are also more worried about school work. Especially the expected associations with the parental educational level, but also with perceived parental support, gender and school attendance, are important results. When they are combined with the support pupils get from firm family structure and employment status it is possible to point out some factors that are relevant when discussing the ways educational achievements are moved to next generations in good and worse.Suomalainen koulutuspolitiikka on korostanut tasa-arvoisuutta ja rakentanut koulutuspolkuja, joiden avulla on tasoitettu epätasa-arvoisia lähtökohtia ja avattu yksilöllisiä mahdollisuuksia. Suomalaiseen hyvinvointivaltioon liitettynä Suomessa, kuten muissa Pohjoismaissa koulutuksen periytyvyys onkin ollut suurien luokkaerojen maita vaatimattomampaa. Kuitenkin sosiaalisella taustalla on yhä merkittävä rooli sosiaalisen aseman saavuttamiselle. Tasa-arvoon tähtäävästä koulutuspolitiikasta riippumatta oppilaan perhetausta on edelleen yhteydessä koulutukselliseen menestykseen, kouluvalintoihin ja koulutuksellisiin asenteisiin. Tutkielman tavoitteena oli tarkastella teoreettisesti ja empiirisesti koulunkäynnin yhteiskunnallisia eroja ja yhteiskunnallisia merkityksiä. Tutkimuksessa arvioitiin koulunkäynnin vaihtelua ja yhteyksiä sukupuoleen sekä perhetaustaan, ja keskusteltiin siitä, miten lapsuuden aikainen sosioekonominen asema näkyy peruskoulun päättöluokkalaisten koulunkäynnissä. Tutkielma vastasi kysymykseen miten oppilaan perhetausta, sukupuoli ja koulu ovat yhteydessä koulunkäyntiin. Tutkimusaineisto koostui otoksena toteutetusta kyselylomakeaineistosta vuodelta 2004. Kysely oli suunnattu helsinkiläiskouluille, joista poimittiin otokseen kaksi kolmasosaa. Aineistossa oli 2381 peruskoulun 9.-luokkalaista. Aineisto kerättiin Kouluterveyskyselyn ohessa ja se oli osa Helsinki-Glasgow nuorisotutkimushankkeen aineistonkeruuta. Aineistoa tiivistettiin korrelaatiotarkasteluilla, faktorianalyysilla ja ryhmittelyanalyysilla. Muuttujien välisiä yhteyksiä analysoitiin ristiintaulukointien, moniluokitteluanalyysin ja askeltavan logistisen regressioanalyysin avulla. Tutkielman toistuvaksi teemaksi nousi koulunkäynnin moniulotteisuus. Mantra suomalaisnuorten huonosta kouluviihtyvyydestä purkautui analyyseissa auki moneksi koulunkäyntitekijän summaksi. Peruskoululaisten koulunkäynti koostui analyyseissa paitsi koulumyönteisyydestä tai -kielteisyydestä, myös erilaisista yhdistelmistä kokemuksia, asenteita ja menestystä. Myös koulunkäynnin yhteydet perhetaustaan ja sukupuoleen osoittautuivat merkitseviksi ja monitasoisiksi. Äidin koulutustason lisäksi koulunkäyntiin olivat yhteydessä vanhemmilta saatava tuki, perheen työttömyys ja perhemuoto. Analyysit osoittivat myös koulunkäynnin olevan sukupuolittunut useammalla tavalla. Tulokset sukupuolten välisistä koulunkäyntieroista ja perhetaustan vaikutuksesta koulunkäyntiin tuovat esiin tekijöitä, joista voidaan keskustella kun etsitään muotoja, joilla koulutuksellisia saavutuksia siirretään sukupolvelta toiselle

Overview of Primary Education (Finland)

Basic education encompasses nine years of universalist basic education and caters for all those between 7 and 16 years. Every student is allocated a place in a nearby school, but they can also choose another school with some restrictions. All school follow a national core curriculum, which includes the objectives and core contents of different subjects. The education providers, usually the local education authorities and the schools themselves draw up their own curricula within the framework of the national core curriculum. (Kalalahti, Silvennoinen, Varjo & Rinne 2015.) A key feature of the national education culture is to ensure equal opportunities for all. Individual support measures are in place to guarantee that every pupil and student can reach their full potential. Differences between schools are small and the quality of teaching is high all around the country. The education system does not have any dead-ends which would affect an individual’s learning career.Peer reviewe

Why Fix something that is not Broken? : The Implementation of School Choice Policy and Parental Attitudes towards Equality and Uniformity of Comprehensive School System in Finland

In Finland, the pupil bodies of schools consisting of children living in the nearby area (school district) has been a central principle ever since the founding of the ‘folk school’ network in the 1890s. Children were allocated to schools on the basis of residence. This policy was changed in the mid 1990’s and the free school choice was introduced in Finland. Although a major change in the school policy the opening of the school choice was not much discussed in the public or in the parliament. It was introduced by a promise to give parents more freedom, to better respond to the needs of the talented pupils, and to bring forth more high quality schools. The evaluation of possible unintended consequences on equality was neglected. In this article we ask: How the socio-economic position of the family is related to the school choice of the child? What is the role of socio-economic status and educational level of parents in explaining the differences in attitudes towards the uniformity of comprehensive school system, and what, in turn, is the role of parental attitudes in explaining the school choice? To answer these questions we analyse large survey data collected in five biggest cities in Finland in spring 2012 (n=2 617). We conclude that school choice in Finland is particularly exercised by highly educated families whose children do well in school. Of the single factors the most predictive indicator of exercising the choice is the child’s average of latest report card, but also variables indicating socio-economic background strongly predict the parental choice.Peer reviewe