Browsing by Subject "kouluvalinta"

Aims. There are only a few studies of values concerning school choice and educational policy in Finland. In this study school choice is being considered as an example of "commons problems". It was hypothesized that conflicts between values regarding public and private interest would be found in the speech of parents discussing their child's choice. According to recent studies, the school choice policy is found to bring about segregation of schools' student base and differentiation of schools' reputations and learning outcomes in big cities, even so that the Finnish comprehensive school is being sectioned into unequalizing parallel school tracks. Studies concerning Finnish values show a growing tension in Finnish value structure from the 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century. The tension applies to positioning of oneself with respect to others. Since it is common to speak about "rationality" regarding school choice, the notion of rationality and its connection to values as well as global epistemic governance is discussed, using Max Weber's concepts of rationality. Methods. The research material consisted of 10 semi-structured theme interviews, which were collected in the year 2011 as a part of wider PASC (Parents and School Choice) research project by a sociology and politics of education research team at the University of Helsinki and Turku. The method used was the discourse analysis of transcribed interviews. The value content was analysed with the help of the circular typology of values, which Shalom Schwartz (1992) has presented in his theory of basic human values. The typology allowed more diverse scrutinizing of values and their conflicts than before, especially regarding the dimension of public and private interest. Results and conclusions. Five discourses with different value content were found in the study: the wellbeing, security, success, self-actualization and equality discourses. Different representations of the nearby community, the Finnish school system and good parenting were constructed in each of them. The tension between values regarding public and private interest was found between the equality and success discourses, the latter often combined with the security discourse where some residential areas and schools were represented as restless and thus to be avoided. As a whole, the parents supported the retaining of the comprehensive school, hence the values found in wellbeing, self-actualization and equality discourses emerged as the most harmonious basis for educational policy in the future.

Since the 1980s, neo-liberal tendencies have had a marked influence on Finnish education policy. In 1994, legislative amendments made it possible for families to choose a school other than the neighbourhood school assigned to them. In recent years, the differentiation between schools and the differences in the social composition of pupils and school achievement have increased in particular in the metropolitan area. With increased polarization in the social composition of pupils, the more challenging pupils will concentrate in certain schools and the less challenging ones in other schools. Previous research indicates that the differences between pupil populations increase even faster than the differences between areas of residence. The purpose of this study was to describe, analyse and interpret the views regarding school choice held by the local education authorities in the metropolitan area. The aim was to investigate how the authorities recognise the phenomenon of school choice and its externalities. The externalities were named and recognised on the basis of the interview data and evaluated as positive, negative or neutral. The authorities' views on the politicization of the issue and its potential for politicization were investigated. The data comes from the interviews made in the project School markets and segregation – the social costs of school choice. Nine local education authorities from the metropolitan area were interviewed. Three participants were higher municipal officials, three were municipal officials and three belonged to local education committees. The data was analysed using theory-directed content analysis. The local authorities recognised the externalities and their practical consequences well and considered them mainly as negative. It was felt that there is potential for politicization in the question of school choice but for the time being it was not felt to have happened. School choice appeared as a complex phenomenon strongly influenced by housing and social policy. The study presents the authorities' angle into the discussion on school choice, which in previous research has played a minor role than, for example, regional policy.

Objectives. The aim of this research was to address the possible connections between school choice and school segregation. The study covered three countries that were Finland, Sweden and England. The theoretical background of this research was based on the most relevant concepts for this research. These concepts were neoliberalism, New Public Management, school choice, educational markets and segregation. Method. I conducted this research as a systematic literature review which means that the data consisted of other researches. The collection of the material was conducted systematically from three different databases. The final material consists of 17 articles, 7 of them from Sweden and 5 from Finland and 5 from England. After the search I analysed all the articles from the point of my research question. From those results I formed a synthesis about each country. Results and conclusion. According to the results there were segregation between schools and in many cases, it was the result of school choice. In some cases, school segregation was explained to be the cause of residential segregation and the cause of residential segregation and school choice combined. In Finland and Sweden school choice explained school segregation more often than it did in England.

Objectives. The aim of this research was to address the school choices that are made during the comprehensive education and the parents who make the choices. I am going to clarify the parents’ reasons to apply for another school for their kids than the allocated and nearest school. I am also going to examine the features and possible similarities of the parents. The theoretical background of this study is based on the most relevant concepts for this research. Method. I conducted this research as a systematic literature review. The collecting of the material was conducted systematically from three different databases. The final material consists of 10 articles on school choice in Finland. After the search I organized the material based on the reasons for school choice. I also collected the describing features of the parents and then formed a synthesis according to the research questions. Results and conclusions. According to my results the main reasons for school choice were the weighted-curriculum and reputation of the school. Surprisingly, weighted-curriculum was used as an evasion strategy. The expected reputation of the schools was constructed mainly socially between the parents. Other reasons for school choice were the social structure of the school, as well as the children’s post-graduate studies and future. The parents who made a school choice were mainly middle- and upper-class parents that have cultural and social resources. The parents took advantage of these resources when acting on the school choice field. Cultural and social resources appeared as the ability to get information about the school choice procedure and as a possibility to use social networks. As a conclusion, it looks like the social class is somehow connected to making a school choice.

This study is an article-type master's thesis, and its purpose was to describe the discussion about the school choice on a Finnish online discussion forum. The research questions were: How is school choice discussed in an online discussion forum? What kind of reasons for school choice are there on online discussion forums? In this study, school choice refers to choices away from a local school. Previous studies have shown that school choice is associated with educational differentiation. In Finland, research of the school selection has been carried out using interview and questionnaire form, statistical data and official documents. The material in this study complements Finnish school choice research, bringing a new perspective into it. The study contributes to the debate about school choice and the differentiation and specialization of primary schools, and also aims to increase understanding of school choice. The material of the study consists of a discussion of school choice, which took place on a dis-cussion forum called Vauva, produced by Sanoma media Finland. The data was collected by using keywords (school * AND selection OR school selection). The material consists of 79 threads where school choice was discussed. The discussion took place in 2005-2015. Quali-tative content analysis and thematic design were used as research methods. The study showed that the school choice debate is multidimensional. In the forum, the authors sought information and shared views and experiences. The material included talk of schools considered to be good or weak and indications of the importance of the school’s reputation. Ethnic and socio-economic criteria were linked to the choice of school, ie factors related to the students' family background, well-being and safety, as well as criteria related to teaching. The criteria for school choice were combined with a discussion of different residential areas, and the quality of schools was seen to be related to the characteristics of the residential area. In the study, school choice is also linked to housing policy issues. The article was published in 2018 in Finnish Yearbook of Sociology of Education vol. 2: Promises of and Faith in Education. Valkendorff, T. 2018. Discussion of School Choice and the “problem” of local school. In. Silvennoinen, H., Kalalahti, M. & Varjo, J. (eds.) Promises of and Faith in Education. Research in Educational Sciences 79. Jyväskylä: Finnish Educational Research Association FERA. [In Finnish]

Finnish school choice policy is primarily an urban phenomenon. In practice, it is only possible in a few municipalities that have sufficient infrastructure for school markets. The municipalities in the capital region in particular face challenges of growing segregation manifested in socio-economic disparities, residential areas, and schools. The municipalities in the capital region have ended up with very different solutions when evaluating the most suitable school choice environment for their respective municipalities. One significant recent factor in shaping the current state of Finnish school choice policy is the Basic Education Act of 1999, which has partly enabled the development of various school choice environments between municipalities. The focus of the study is on the types of solutions that have been made in the municipalities of the capital region regarding the school choice environment, the desired future of the school choice environment in the municipalities, and how these goals are justified. For my Master's thesis, I used interview data collected in the School Markets and Segregation - The Societal Cost of School Choice research project. The data is the most recent interview material available, and it includes interviews with educational policy actors in the capital region. A total of nine educational policy actors from the capital region were interviewed for the study. Of the interviewees, three hold senior positions in metropolitan municipalities, three are in administrative positions in different municipalities, and three are members of municipal education boards. In analyzing the interview data, I employed two concepts by Kenneth Burke: "the Idea of the Negative" and the "Dramatistic Pentad" as analytical tools. Overall, the school choice environments in the examined municipalities differed from each other, and the current school choice environment seemed to be linked to the desired future school choice environments in the municipalities. The new frameworks for school choice environments formulated by the interviewees in the interview data varied to some extent based on the current school choice environment in the municipalities. The new frameworks for school choice environments outlined by the municipalities differed from each other. However, despite the current frameworks for school choice environments, there were a few common aspects that connected all municipalities regarding the new frameworks as well. None of the municipalities desired the public disclosure of school-specific learning outcomes or a completely unrestricted and unregulated new school choice environment.

Objectives. The purpose of this research was to examine if there was difference in motivation between classes emphasizing a subject and regular classes. Motivation is the basis of every action and remarkable factor in learning (Jang et. al., 2015; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2008, p. 2–3). Motivation was observed by achievement goal theory and the differences between genders were included. The relation of education of parents’ and children’s academic achievements and placing in different classes were also examined. Parents’ education and school choice has been related to these variables. High educated parents’ children participate more often to classes emphasizing a subject and get better grades. Because of social-economical differences, children concentrate in specific schools and remain in lower position. (Bernelius, 2013; Kosunen, 2012; Kalalahti et. al., 2015). Methodology. This study was a quantitative research. The data was collected randomly as a part of a national learning to learn research from Finnish comprehensive schools. Sample size was 6354 students, out of which 3147 girls and 3207 boys. The data was analyzed by variance analysis and x^2-test. Results and conclusions. There was difference in different classes on academic achievements and motivation. Students in classes emphasizing a subject had little better means in theoretical subjects and expressed more desirable achievement goal variables than students in regular classes. There was also difference in motivation separated by gender. Students in classes emphasizing a subject had bigger proportion of high educated parents than in regular classes.

Educational equality has long been the aim of the Finnish education policy. In the early days of the welfare state, education was considered, as far as possible, as an independent right, unbound by socio-economic status. A key element in promoting equality was the creation of a cohesive primary school. With the advance of the neoliberalist view, educational equality was defined as an individual's possibility to pursue their own endeavors. School market and school choice enabled t to support the students' talent and interest. While controlling education, municipalities have played a key role in promoting educational equality. Earlier research suggests that individual equality is more supported by the right-wing parties and the Greens, while supporters of social equality have been more common in the left and center groups. Less researched is, what the city's decision-makers refer to as equality. I examine which views of social and individual equality, in connection with the school choice, are seen in the voting advice application answers of elected Helsinki City Council Members. I analyze the Council Members' justifications for their perceptions of educational equality and their opinion on the matter. In addition, I review which measures Council Members propose to promote educational equality. The data for the study was the answers of the elected Helsinki City Council on the issue of school election in the Helsingin Sanomat VAA. I collected the answers from the electoral machine after the final municipal election result in spring 2017. I analyzed the material with a theory-driven content analysis method. Educational equality appeared to be a complex phenomenon. High quality was striven for all schools, but at the same time the answerers tried to meet the demands for individual services and different life situations. The answers focused on the view of individual equality, but the concepts of equality did not comply with previous studies of party division in all respects. Actions to promote equality was most strongly linked to social equality. My research specifies the meaning of educational equality in a situation where the coming regional reform puts primary education in the center of the city council's responsibility.

Aims: This thesis examines how working-class mothers speak about their children's education, educational choices and their future. The aim of the study is to research discourses and subject positions that enable parents' agency. This thesis can be contextualized in the fields of sociology of education, cultural studies and the so-called new class studies. The theoretical background of the thesis draws from Pierre Bourdieu's studies on class and agency and from the feministic reformulations of his studies. Methods: The research data consisted of 9 theme interviews, which were collected in 2010 and 2011 as a part of Parents and School Choice- research project. The method used in the study was semiotic sociology analysis of transcribed interviews. The agency content was analysed with the help of Jyrki Jyrkämä's (2008) theory concerning modalities and Mustafa Emirbayer's & Ann Mische's concept of agency as a temporally embedded process of social engagement. Results: In Education as the basis for work life -discourse, working class mother hoped that basic education would help her child to acquire basic skills of citizenship and (work)life. School choices were based on practical matters. The purpose of education and examination was seen as a key to the work life. This discourse enabled the subject to position herself as an employee-citizen trusting Finnish elementary school. In Child's secure growth -discourse, the mother expected the basic education to support the child's socioemotional growth, and the school choices were made in order to preserve the familiar environment for the child. The child was hoped to continue their studies after the basic education and to be able to transition safely into the adulthood. This discourse offered for the user a protective mother –subject position. In Child's individual and autonomous choices -discourse, the mother expected the basic education to be individualized and correspond to the interests of the child. Child-centred school choice was based on the wish of the child. Education was seen as a way to create an individual career and a happy life. This discourse enabled the subject to position herself as a supporting parent and mother, who respects her child's self-determination. In Better for a child -discourse, the mother hoped that her child would receive challenging basic education and would be placed in a class with a motivated and positive learning environment. School choices were ambitious. Education was expected to provide a better life for the child than what their mother had had. This discourse enabled the subject to position herself as an ambitious mother and as a customer of education options. Conclusions: This study supports past observations according to which parents' school choices and young people's career choices are class-based phenomena. Nevertheless, the study also indicated how workingclass mothers' agency was multifaceted: they demonstrated both class-based habits and the ability to act differently from earlier models and to embrace influences from outside their own class. Working class mothers exploited three different and simultaneous agentic orientations: Ensuring the continuity of life oriented toward the past, An open view to enable oriented toward the present and Pursuing better oriented toward the future.