Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p17817"

This research is focused on the schooling experiences of non-binary transgender people. The aim of the study is to produce information on how gender variation has been taken into consideration while the 1994 and 2004 reforms of the Finnish national core curriculums for basic education were in effect. Based on these data, the aim is to speculate how gender variation is considered in schools today. The analysis was focused on how interviewees created subjectivity in their narratives and how (gender normative forms of) the hidden curriculum appears in these narratives. The results can be used to help develop the school institution into a more sensitive direction, and to be aware of different genders and the dynamics between them. The theoretical base examines the concepts of non-binary transgender and gender variation. Secondly it provides an overview of the power of gender norms. Thirdly the theoretical base introduces some of the relevant topics of the Finnish national core curriculums for basic education established in the years 1994 and 2004. It then offers some information on the invisible power of the hidden curriculum. The final section of the theoreti-cal base addresses discourses, discursive practices and subjectivities, which are essential in the analysis of gender norms, the hidden curriculum and the interviews. The research was conducted by interviewing seven non-binary transgender adults. They had attended basic education while the 1994 and/or 2004 Finnish national core curriculums were in effect. The interviews were conducted using an adaptation of the autobiographical narrative interview method. The data were analyzed with a data-based discourse analysis. The results were construed using a critical feminist perspective. The analysis produced three hegemonic discourses: outsider, gender normative school, and non-normative gender. Based on these discourses, the results showed six strong subjectivity positions: an outsider and different, an illegitimate woman or a man, nonexistent, agender or feminine-masculine, an agonist against norms, and a victim. The presence of the (gender normative) hidden curriculum occurred especially when the interviewees spoke about the support and safety of school, school control and teaching/learning situations, students’ responsibilities, and school environmental issues. The findings of this research indicate that non-binary transgender people must form a self-image mostly with-out any existing discourses. They become positioned as oppressed or as agonists against oppression. The control of the hidden curriculum was proved strong and very gender normative. Based on that, there is a major paradox between actual school policies and the national core curriculums. The findings would imply that the situation may not be any better nowadays despite the core curriculum reforms. The knowledge of gender variations and gender sensitivity must increase in the future. It is also necessary to offer teachers support and information on how they should meet and treat students of any gender.

Finland has changed towards plurilingualism in recent years. However most people still speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Even though there are multiple languages spoken in the country, only a few language has an official status. In this study I research linguistic choices among plurilingual youth, language discourses and hierarchies between languages. The purpose of this study is to understand how plurilingual people create their plurilinguistic identity in a rather monolingual country. Previous researches have proposed that language is an important part of identity and and they cannot be separated. In this study I also research how plurilingual youth speak about languages and do they find hierarchies between languages and how different languages are treated in society. In previous studies it is shown that languages are not equal and there are hierarchies between languages. My data consists of two focus group interviews. The analysis is divided in two parts. With critical discourse analysis I research plurilinguistic discourses of how informants represent and identify themselves as language users. Language, in this study, is seen as a socially constructed and is seen heteroglossic. Plurilingualism is seen as a natural part of language. Discourse is seen as a limited source of socially constructed entities. With a content analysis I have researched interviewees knowledge of linguistic equality and hierarchies between languages. Reasons behind linguistic choices among youth are also viewed. According to this study linguistic identity is created among social context and linguistic group. Data showed different discourses through which plurilingual youth created their plurilinguistic identity. Language is seen as a vital part of linguistic group. Interviewees constructed their identities reflecting themselves in their social circumstances and linguistic groups. Their sense of appreciation and status of their language depended on the status of their language in society. The data showed hierarchies between languages. Plurilingualism is all in all seen as a positive resource. It is seen as an important part of ones identity.