Browsing by Subject "järjestys"

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study disorder in the everyday life of primary school. As an institution, primary school aims at order and the maintaining of order which can be perceived as compulsory education, regulated grade levels and teacher leadership. The formal side of Finnish comprehensive school and its orders have been studied widely in Finland. Instead, disorder in schools and the informal side of the school system have received less attention. Order and disorder are often viewed as a pair of counterparts, with former being desirable and latter avoidable. By looking into disorder, the aim is to understand disorder as a phenomenon that takes place in the everyday life of primary school. This master’s thesis draws its theoretical background from feminist studies, critical education, and sociology. This piece of research is a qualitative study and was conducted through an ethnographic method. The data collected consists of field notes that were produced at a primary school in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The field work lasted from the beginning of August until the end of October 2020. The observation took place in the physical setting of the school. The observational focus was first on calling attention to and naming disorder. In addition, attention was drawn to the power relations of various agents of the school. Also, the relationship between power and disorder was observed. In the examination of the collected data, the events where order and disorder appeared as counterparts were pointed out. Also, the events where order was named were also the situations which indicated disorder. As a result of this research, three main themes were found. First, disorder can be seen to be tangled in the everyday life of primary school and its spaces and time. Second, in the everyday life of primary school disorder and order are constantly being redefined. Third, by the repetitions of different actions, power was accumulated to certain agents of the school. These agents held the power to name disorder. In the everyday life of primary school, disorder can be viewed in multiple ways. This research identifies some of them.