Browsing by Subject "koulutussiirtymät"

The aim of this study was to examine and describe how principles, student counsellors and other school administrators in comprehensive school represent the school paths of immi-grant children in Finland. The aim is to analyse the challenges described by authorities that immigrant students face in the transition between comprehensive school and upper second-ary level, and to contemplate how immigrant backgrounds and class positions are connect-ed to each other. In addition, the aim is to consider how social mobility of immigrants should be improved through different ways of support and guidance. Previous studies show that people with immigration backgrounds are still often excluded from secondary education and especially from high school in Finland. The expansion of compulsory school age obliges every child to move on to the secondary level, but especially with poor Finnish knowledge and weak social and cultural capital it is challenging coping with secondary level studies. In the centre of the theoretical framework of this study are Pierre Bourdieau’s forms of capital. The study was conducted as a qualitative content analysis and the data for the study con-sisted of interviews with eight authorities working in Finnish primary schools with pupils with immigration backgrounds. The data was analyzed and classified by means of thematic con-tent analysis. According to the findings, the challenges of school paths and transitions among students with immigration backgrounds include the extensive lack of cultural and social capital in fami-lies in relation to the context of the Finnish middle-class school system. Furthermore, the views of the families and of the school on realistic school options often differ. The joint appli-cation system does not encourage the student to change school after the first choice and experiment, and therefore people with immigration backgrounds are particularly challenged by choice and unknown educational opportunities. According to the results, Finland does not yet have a clear tailored system for immigrant children who move to Finland and who have passed the primary school age. They are ex-pected a quicker takeover of language and syllabus than other children. In addition, high school education appears to be inaccessible to many people with immigration backgrounds, according to authorities. In vocational training, resources for specific language and integra-tion support are insufficient, leading to the fact that after finishing vocational studies, they are moving to employment with low capacity.

Yhteiskunnan pyrkimyksenä on sujuvoittaa nuorten jatkokoulutukseen siirtymistä ja edistää mahdollisuuksien tasa-arvoa koulutuksessa. Viimeaikaiset korkeakouluja koskevat uudistukset, kuten ensikertalaiskiintiöiden käyttöönotto, saattavat asettaa aikaisempaa suurempaa painetta nuorille, jotka tekevät alavalintaansa. Nuorten koulutuspäätökset linkittyvät kasvu- ja elinympäristön sosiaalisiin suhteisiin ja niiden kautta saataviin resursseihin. Erilaisia resursseja omaavien nuorten mahdollisuudet tehdä mielekkäitä päätöksiä urapolulla voivat vaihdella. Tutkielmassa selvitetään nuorten tarinoiden kautta, millä tavoin nuorten sosiaaliset verkostot tukevat heitä urapolulla ja millaisia eroja nuorten jatko-opintojen suunnittelussa on. Tutkielmassa käytetään laadullista aineistoa, joka pitää sisällään kuuden 20–26-vuotiaan ylioppilaan haastattelut vuosilta 2018 ja 2019. Se on kerätty jo ennen tämän tutkielman toteuttamista osana Ohjaamoista työelämään -tutkimushanketta. Haastattelut on toteutettu puolistrukturoituina yksilöhaastatteluina. Analyysimenetelminä käytetään kerronnallista analyysiä, teemoittelua ja tyypittelyä. Analyysissä huomio keskitetään nuorten urapolkuja ja jatko-opintojen suunnittelua kuvaaviin tarinoihin ja niissä esiintyviin henkilöihin. Aineistosta etsitään teemoittelun keinoin erilaisia sosiaalisten verkostojen tarjoamia tuen muotoja, ja sen jälkeen jokaisen nuoren tarina luokitellaan sitä kuvaavaan tyyppiin. Analyysin perusteella nuoret saivat urapolullaan tukea perheeltään, kavereiltaan, Ohjaamoista, Dominosta ja työ- ja elinkeinotoimistojen palveluista. Nuorten saamat keskustelumahdollisuudet, käytännön apu ja tieto sekä henkinen tuki näyttivät auttavan heitä tekemään päätöksiä työelämän ja koulutuksen suhteen. Tarinoista löytyi eroja siinä, kuinka päämäärätietoisia nuoret olivat jatkokoulutuksen suunnittelussa, kuinka he suhtautuivat työntekoon ja koulutukseen ja millaisia voimavaroja he saivat sosiaalisilta verkostoiltaan. Kolmessa tarinassa jatko-opintojen suunnittelu eteni osatavoitteiden kautta, kahdessa se jäi taka-alalle työnteon tärkeyden korostuessa ja yhdessä se näyttäytyi vaikeana päämäärien pohtimisesta huolimatta. Keskeinen johtopäätös tuloksista on, että nopea siirtymä jatko-opintoihin ja mielekkään koulutuksen löytäminen ovat joillekin nuorille rinnakkaisia tavoitteita, joiden yhteensovittaminen voi olla haastavaa. Kaiken kaikkiaan nuorten polut jatkokoulutukseen ovat moninaisia. Sosiaaliset verkostot näyttävät olevan nuorille tärkeitä siksi, että niiden kautta nuorille voi avautua lisää vaihtoehtoja ja keinoja tehdä itselleen sopivia ratkaisuja koulutuspolitiisten ja taloudellisten reunaehtojen puitteissa. Ohjaamoilla voi olla tärkeä rooli niiden nuorten elämässä, jotka epäröivät omissa koulutuspäätöksissään.

The aim of this study was to examine the experiences and thoughts relating to secondary education choices of students receiving special support. According to previous research, transitions among students receiving special support are more precarious than other students and special education students are dropping out of upper secondary education more often than others. The study examined what kind of capacity students receiving special support have to make educational choices, as well as what issues cause them concern. In order to carry out the study, five students with special support and their student counsellor were interviewed. The data was analysed using methods of data-based content analysis. The capacity of special education students to make educational choices was accompanied by the following concepts: informational capacity, motivation and social support. According to the results of the study, students' informational capabilities are not sufficient and a large proportion of pupils did not have the capacity for independent information retrieval; instead, pupils relied heavily on the guidance and support received. Students felt that they received information through guidance, visitations to schools and from adults acting as professional prequels. Choices that were made independently and based on their own desires appeared as motivating factor. Support from family was important. Students receiving special support were concerned by the realisation of their own choice, the achievement of goals in primary school, and their own skills to study at secondary level. For students, finding an alternative education sector appeared challenging and they were concerned with the possibility of failure of their first choice. This is also coupled with the fact that students were concerned about whether they would manage to meet their target for a final assessment. In addition, the level of coping with learning disabilities in upper secondary education and the contents of education concerned pupils and did not feel they had been adequately informed about these.

According to prior research and public discourse, students of immigrant back-ground and students who receive support for learning are increasingly at a disadvantaged position in every level of education in Finland. The purpose of this study is to view the school transition from elementary school to middle school through the perspective of students of immigrant background who get special educational support. Through analyzing their experiences, the aim is to find out the role of the Finnish learning and school attendance system in a student’s transition to middle school and to examine how educational equity is achieved during this transition. This study is qualitative in nature. The research material has been collected through six semi-structured interviews, which have been analyzed with a narrative method. The results of this study show that the interviewed students, who are of immigrant background and receive special educational support, experience the shifts in their peer groups, teachers, the requirements for Finnish language and the learning and school attendance system as especially significant when transitioning to middle school. According to the students, learning Finnish becomes progressively more difficult in middle school. The interviewees experience that they do not receive enough support in getting sufficient resources to increase their Finnish language competence to the required level. However, they feel that special educational support has a major role in supporting their learning in middle school. Additionally, most of the interviewees explain how they face more prejudice and racism specifically from teachers after transitioning to middle school. Despite facing an increasing amount of prejudice and their studies becoming more challenging, the interviewed students appreciate middle school and find it an essential part of their educational path.