Browsing by Subject "tytöt"

This master’s thesis focuses on the experiences of girls with immigrant background in general upper secondary school and preparatory programme for general upper secondary school focusing on foreign languages, support practices and study counselling. Previous research suggest that students with im-migrant background apply for upper secondary schools with lower grades and have a higher probability of dropping out of education than the majority (eg. Kilpi-Jakonen 2011, Valtiontalouden tarkastusvi-rasto 2015). Also in spite of academic orientation young people with immigrant backgrounds have been guided to vocational schools instead of general schools - especially girls with immigrant back-grounds (e.g. Kurki 2008a & 2008b, Souto 2016, Kurki & Brunila 2014). Finnish education system and the current educational policy discourses creates the frame of reference for this study. This study aims at producing fresh data and findings from the field about support practices and education of girls with immigrant backgrounds in the upper secondary school. This study is educational ethnography contextualized to the current educational policies (Troman, Jeffrey & Beach 2006). The analytical interest is in the structural factors defining general upper secondary schools as well as in the everyday life and how people make sense of it. The data for this study has been produced in one general upper secondary school and in one group of preparatory programme for general upper secondary education in the spring term of 2017. Data consists of field notes, interviews (n=23) and educational policy documents. The study is part of EMED-research project. The structure of Finnish school system, support practices and study counselling were important factors that affected student’s educational choice making. Experiences of given counselling, need of support and language proficiency varied. The current educational policy discourse highlights freedom of choice and possibilities. This was also emphasized in the girl’s narratives. In reality educational educational transitions constructs in relation to given counselling, Finnish language proficiency and in relation to structures of the school system and what seems realistic.

The research analyses how the impression of gender is corporally produced in the everyday life of a primary school sixth grade class. The work is based on Judith Butler’s notion of gender as a construct that is produced and reproduced through a work of constant repetition. The research investigates the gestures, styles, and bodily signifiers that produce an impression of gender, and especially that of girlhood, in the everyday orders of school. An additional focus is on the touching that takes place between students during school day and how touch becomes gendered in school. Methodologically, the study is framed on feminist ethnography. Feminist research is critical research in which the central importance is on a critical analysis of power relations, a strong ethical commitment, a political and emancipatory knowledge interest, and an understanding of knowledge as situated. The research data was produced through ethnographic observation while participating in the everyday life of a primary school sixth grade class in Helsinki, Finland. The observation took place during 10 school days in May 2018. The data consists of approximately 100 pages of field notes written at the time. The research observes the school days of students, including lessons, recesses, lunch breaks, swimming lessons, and movements between these. Observational data is enhanced by seven student pair or group interviews in which 15 sixth graders took part, and an interview of the class teacher. The research concludes that the impression of girlhood is produced through corporal stances such as hip curvature or outstretched ankles. Material objects, such as cosmetics or jewellery, and clothes that leave girls’ bodies more visible than boys’ bodies, are also associated with girl corporality. Girls also took advantage of a specific strategy for claiming space, in which (some of) the girls used their physically skilful bodies to claim space through dashing postures and movements such as stretching or cartwheels. There was a line between the genders in the class and the impression of gender was produced through touching, among other things: friends of the same gender were most in contact with each other. The girls more commonly used gentle and caring touching, the boys more raucous touching and play fighting. However, the gender line was habitually transgressed in many ways and also all the different ways of touching were used by students of different genders. The research found that gender categories are not consistent and the ways of corporally producing gender is influenced by several overlapping factors which the research analyses through the concept of corporal style.