Browsing by Subject "Media"

The movement of people has increased globally. This increases the need to consider multilingual students in Finland also. Finnish-as-a-second-language and Literature curriculum can be offered for students who do not speak Finnish or Swedish, or who have a multilingual background. The purpose of this study is to map the discussions in Helsingin Sanomat regarding the teaching of this curriculum. The goal is to identify the themes and perceptions that emerge from the material, as well as the proposed solutions to the problems in Finnish-as-a-second-language (S2) education. The research was conducted by using qualitative thematic analysis. The research material consisted of 27 texts from Helsingin Sanomat. The data was collected in January-March 2023. The starting point for collecting the texts was a news article about a study by the National Education Evaluation Center; the article reported that students studying Finnish-as-a-second-language lag behind in learning outcomes compared to those studying Finnish as their first language. The texts commented on this news directly or reflected on S2 education or students in other ways. The texts were grouped according to themes, and seven themes were identified. The categorized material was analyzed using content analysis. The seven themes of the material were named: Concerns about the performance of S2 students; The impact of S2 education on future opportunities; Selection for S2 education; negative perceptions of S2 students and teaching; Experiences of S2 education; Explanations for S2 learning outcomes; and Proposed solutions for supporting S2 students and improving education. The research results revealed that S2 education involves challenges and issues that are not straightforward. The study provides a comprehensive picture of concerns, experiences, and proposed solutions related to S2 education. The observations indicate the need for comprehensive development in S2 education, considering the diverse needs of students.