Browsing by Subject "markkinoituminen"
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(2019)The subject of this Master's thesis is the changes in education policy, such as the recent marketization and privatization of education. I explore these extensive structural changes in education at micro level by analyzing the impact of the privatization of immigrant integration training for both employees and students. Based on the data, I try to interpret the practices of integration training from the employees’ point of view. In addition, I consider what kind of subject positions are available for immigrants in the prevailing situation, where the aim is to integrate immigrants into Finnish society through integration policy measures, but where the main goal of education policy is to harness newcomers to the economy as resources. The research data consist of interviews of two teachers and two students and observing the immigration training during a week in a private company in southern Finland. In addition, I interviewed a training manager in another company. The methodological approach of the study is discursive. In recent years, the integration of immigrants has faced strong privatization, which, according to my material, has far-reaching consequences for the lives of both employees and students. The tendering procedure made the training fragmented and weakened teachers' working conditions and resources. Students felt the training useful but, for example, Finnish language teaching had to be improved in order to support the learning of the students' language and terminology in their own field and hence quicken access to vocational studies and work after integration training. The difficulty and lack of recognition of qualifications were also low. Based on the data, the presence of economically motivated speech in education was noticeable, whereby subject positions were conditional to the requirements of cost-effectiveness and marketization. In a market-oriented society, integration practices are at risk of isolating newcomers from society rather than supporting their integration. When designing and developing integration training practices, these should be taken into account in order for immigrants to have the opportunity to be an equal part of Finnish society.
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(2023)This master’s thesis examines the Finnish education brand constructed through the marketing communications of Finnish education export companies, and the discursive strategies that companies use to legitimize their activities. The aim of the thesis is to examine, what are the attractiveness factors and justifications that Finnish education export companies rely on in marketing and branding their education in the early 2020s. Since topping the PISA-rankings in the early 2000s, Finland has gained international recognition for its education system. Since then, the Finnish government has strategically tried to capitalize the “PISA-miracle” and turn education into a new significant area for export. However, in the current context, excessive reliance on PISA success can be seen as problematic, as Finland's PISA results have been on a downward trend for a long time. Therefore, it is relevant to examine what other factors have become essential components of the Finnish education brand and how companies are adapting to a scenario where PISA-success cannot be relied upon as heavily as before. The research data was collected from the websites of 11 Finnish education export companies, operating in the field of primary education, as well as from the web page of the Education Finland project, coordinated by the Finnish National Agency for Education, aimed at boosting Finnish education exports. The analysis was conducted in two parts: firstly, a thematic analysis was done to identify the themes describing the Finnish education brand. Secondly, using critical discourse analysis, the data were examined to identify the discourses that legitimize education exports, and these discourses were then analysed in relation to Van Leeuwen's (2007) theory of legitimation strategies. The thematic analysis identified four main themes of the Finnish education brand: well-being, equality, creative thinking, and expertise. The legitimation of the Finnish education export was built around the discourses of societal development, evolving expertise, and professionalism. Hence, Finnish educational competence was presented as a tool for social development, raising the level of competence and responding to current and future needs of competence.
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(2023)The subject of this thesis is the privatization of education for young people. The topic is based on the marketization of society and the neoliberal values brought by international trends in education policy. I explore the topic by examining the websites of private companies that focus on youth education. In an era in which education is seen as a response to the future needs of society and a market platform for companies, I will use the data to examine the content that private companies bring to the education of young people and how they justify the need for their activities as part of education. I have carried out this pro-graduate thesis as part of the Interrupting Future Trajectories of Precision Education Governance (FuturEd) research project. I have limited the research data to the data collected by the research team in spring 2021, which included 56 EdTech companies and other providers of services for young adults. From the original data, I selected 11 private companies with a focus on youth education. I have used netnography to read and analyze the data. According to the results of the thesis, the rationale for private enterprise in youth education is related to increasing efficiency, improving the well-being of young people and strengthening future employability skills. They report that they make learning easy, smooth, and cost- effective. Learning and well-being are made measurable through data collection so that they can be addressed, and educational resources targeted more effectively. At the same time, the teacher's job description is changing more towards that of a business coach. Companies also justify their actions in terms of strengthening the future employability skills that young people lack, so that they become flexible and effective individuals who are ready to enter the labour market. The thesis raises questions about the role of private companies in the education of young people in society and in young people's lives: the content of the education seems, in comparison to previous research, to increase the self-responsibility of young people in education and in their transition to work.
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(2021)In this study, my aim is to examine how the profitability of private early childhood education is defined and how the status of the child is determined in the news related to the corporate restructuring of a private Touhula kindergarten company. The ethos of neoliberalism influences early childhood education, and its marketization, bringing with goals related to competition, freedom of choice, and requirements of efficiency. The privatization of early childhood education is part of the marketization development. Previous research has shown that the marketization and privatization of early childhood education affects the child, families, teachers, leadership, and learning in general. In Finland, the privatization of early childhood education is on the rise. Previous studies in Finland have highlighted the unequal status of the child in private early childhood education, as there have been variations in the implementation of support and quality. The research material consisted of eighty (80) media reports related to the corporate restructuring of Touhula. In the analysis of the research material, I utilized critical discourse analysis and discursive-deconstructive reading to search for answers to my research questions. I used ATLAS.ti-software as a tool when doing the analysis. Based on my analysis, the profitability of private early childhood education and the status of the child in private early childhood education were determined in many ways. The discourses were polyphonic, overlapping, parallel, and partly contradictory. Both the profitability of private early childhood education and the status of the child reflected an economic perspective, and discourses based on measurement and quantity were on display. The discourses highlighted both the municipality's responsibility for organizing early childhood education and the profitability of private early childhood education from the municipality's point of view. The status of the child was determined to be silent and passive. The child's right to early childhood education was also raised. The research reveals the importance of language in describing reality and the power of the media in constructing this reality. The results of the study can be viewed as one picture of private early childhood education and the status of the child, but more research on the marketization and privatization of early childhood education is needed in the Finnish context.
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