Browsing by Subject "toisen asteen koulutussiirtymä"

The educational transitions of immigrant youth are seen as challenging and young immigrants complete the upper secondary education less frequently than their native counterparts in Finland. The aim of this study was to examine how the school officials, such as student counselors, principals and education administration officials, consider the specific features of the upper secondary transitions of immigrant youth and their own possibilities in supporting these transitions. The theoretical setting consists of the concepts of transitions system and transitions regimes. The data included 10 semi-structured interviews with school officials from the Helsinki metropolitan area. The interviews were analyzed using phenomenography. According to the school officials the specific features of the transitions of immigrant youth are educational choices and the assessment of competences in the comprehensive school; abilities and educational background in the upper secondary school; and the importance of language skills and social groups in both school levels. The specific features become challenging because they operate in a specific context: the Finnish education and transition system. Transition to the upper secondary school is above all institutional and in order to receive a place of study one must comply with the rules of the system. Instead of a short phase the transition is a longer process that should be supported in the long term. The school officials considered their own possibilities in supporting immigrant youth relatively good but the possibilities were restricted by resources and structural practices. The guidance of the youth could be done with more and deeper cooperation between various parties. The different preparatory educations are characteristic for immigrants but the present quantity and forms of the educations do not meet the requirements of the diverse groups of youth. The potential discontinuities and prolongations of the transitions on an individual level are in a conflicting relation to the macro level objectives of fluent transitions. The role of education in equalizing the positions of different groups in the society is increasingly important as the population becomes more diverse. The multiple needs of the immigrant youth have to be taken into consideration more consistently. The thesis is a part of the research project "Transitions and educational trajectories of immigrant youth" (Transit) of the Research Unit focusing on the Sociology and Politics of Education in the University of Helsinki.