Democracy as Othering Within Finnish Education

Abstract

The word democracy is frequently uttered by academics, politicians, and, generally within society. Phrases such as ‘democratic education', ‘democracy education' and ‘(student) participation' are often referred to within national curricula, policy briefings, and, teacher education/training and resources. Little critical attention has been given to the word within the context of Finnish education. In recent years the educational system of Finland has been described as a ‘miracle' and commentators have noted its ‘successes.' This article offers a deeper gaze within Finnish education by looking at the ways democracy discourses are uttered by practitioners. For the purposes of this article the author analyses two in-depth conversation extracts, one was from a youth participation conference in Helsinki in 2015, the other is a conversation from a conference held in February 2016. This article focuses on the uses and functions of discourse to uncover cultural stereotyping and othering in terms of how democracy is discussed and expressed within the context of Finland.