Finnish Way Research Articles

Vertailututkimus opetussuunnitelmien ja opetusmäärien vaikutuksesta ruotsin kielen oppimiseen

The Declaration on a Nordic Language Policy (2006) announces that all permanent residents in the Nordic countries have the right to learn the majority language and develop as users of one’s mother tongue. It is generally accepted that proficiency in two languages leads to good learning results. This article examines timely basic education policy documents about linguistic support for multilingual first and second generation immigrant students in Finland, Sweden and Norway: what premises do they offer to positive bilingualism and double identity construction? We illustrate school paths for newcomers’ support in the study language (L2), and in the students’ mother tongue. The policy documents are open for discussion in all examined countries. The findings show that no ideal system has yet been established. The Finnish way of organizing L2 instruction reminds both of Swedish and Norwegian structures. Critical views on a systemic level are needed for a better modeling of multilingual school.

Kahden vahvan kielen mallia päivittämässä: maahanmuuttotaustaisten monikielisten peruskoululaisten koulupolku Suomessa, Ruotsissa ja Norjassa

The Declaration on a Nordic Language Policy (2006) announces that all permanent residents in the Nordic countries have the right to learn the majority language and develop as users of one’s mother tongue. It is generally accepted that proficiency in two languages leads to good learning results. This article examines timely basic education policy documents about linguistic support for multilingual first and second generation immigrant students in Finland, Sweden and Norway: what premises do they offer to positive bilingualism and double identity construction? We illustrate school paths for newcomers’ support in the study language (L2), and in the students’ mother tongue. The policy documents are open for discussion in all examined countries. The findings show that no ideal system has yet been established. The Finnish way of organizing L2 instruction reminds both of Swedish and Norwegian structures. Critical views on a systemic level are needed for a better modeling of multilingual school.

Developing together: the Finnish way of promoting sustainable public procurement

PurposePublic procurement is a major driving force that can be used to advance societal goals such as sustainability. The lack of strategic management and top-level commitment have been found to be major hindrances to the promotion of sustainable public procurement (SPP). This study aims to examine the functioning of a successful Finnish SPP development programme, the KEINO Academy (2019–2020), that tackled these challenges in a holistic way.Design/methodology/approachThe article is mainly based on qualitative analysis of interviews with 24 municipal representatives.FindingsThe KEINO Academy advanced SPP management through the following functions: legitimising SPP development work, structuring SPP development work, offering expert support and facilitating peer support. The functions were mainly able to meet the key challenges experienced by the participating municipalities. However, some challenges cannot be directly solved by an intermediary such as the KEINO Academy. These challenges include, for example, a lack of resources.Social implicationsOn the basis of the study, SPP development programmes should: build a holistic working model; respect the versatility of the participating organisations; involve all the key people in the organisations, including the directors; and sustain change.Originality/valueThe main theoretical contribution is the combination of two streams of literature, those of SPP management and intermediary functions. Further, the article makes an empirical contribution by studying the KEINO Academy as a pioneering SPP development case.

The Finnish way of CLLD: place-based or half-hearted implementation?

ABSTRACT The European Commission proposed the community-led local development (CLLD) approach as a specific tool for place-based local development, offering a unique chance for an integrative use of European Structural and Investment Funds on a sub-regional level. But in Finland, as in most countries of the EU, the adoption of CLLD has so far been limited. Providing an insight into the rationales and the ways of reconfiguring the ‘original’ CLLD concept in Finland, this paper contributes to debates concerning a place-based approach to local development in the context of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy. It particularly addresses the persistent questions of what is gained and what is lost through adjusting a top-down policy instrument to diverse national and local situations? Despite its emphasis on a multi-scalar and cooperative application, the Finnish approach is by design mono-funded, remaining administratively and geographically distinct, and thus cannot serve as a truly integrated local development tool as envisioned by the EU. However, across governance scales and cross-cutting networks, processes of learning and policy negotiation have taken place, which are crucial in the creation of ‘place-based’ variants of the ‘European’ place-based approach.

Ammattitaiteilijuus ja kirjailijana olemisen ehdot muunkielisten kirjailijoiden näkökulmasta

In this article I describe the results of a questionnaire survey done on non-dominant language writers in Finland, and reflect this on the criteria by which a professional artist has been traditionally defined in Finland. The background data consists of reports and studies on artists' social standing conducted by Arts Promotion Center Finland, Cupore and the Finnish Writers' Union.
 There were 31 responses to the study from non-dominant language residents of Finland who identify themselves as writers. Among these writers, the most often mentioned factor to define a professional writer were published works. Published works have also been central when a professional artist / writer has been defined in the Finnish art support system since its beginning in the late 1960's and early 1970's, and indirectly they are important also when professionalism is defined through memberships of trade unions, grants, main income source etc. as in all these evaluation in based on work that has been approved as part of the art world, i. e published by a publishing house. 
 According to this reflection, the Finnish way of defining a professional writer to a great extent excludes writers who are unable to publish their work on paper through commercial publishing houses, let alone in Finnish or Swedish. This is the case with most writers with refugee, assylum seeker or voluntary exile background, or writers who come from countries with a different publishing industry from the Finnish model, or whose audiences are spread in all parts of the globe; instead, they publish online for political, financial, or practical reasons.
 My article strengthens the argument that the Finnish institutionalist way of defining a professional artist needs to be modified, especially on the level of institutional practises, to meet the reality of a quickly multilingualized society.

How has Finland Formed its Own Educational Policies‘in the Finnish Way’?: With Reference to Quality Assurance Evaluation and School Choice

[연구목적] 이 연구는 어떻게 하여 핀란드는 1990년대 이후 글로벌 교육개혁 흐름과 별도로 자신만의 독특한 경로를 밟았는가에 대해 알아보기 위한 것이다. 이를 위해 이 연구는 핀란드 교육의 역사적, 정치적, 문화적, 우연적 요인을 종합적 으로 알아 본 뒤, 핀란드의 주요 교육정책 형성과정에서 이러한 맥락적 요인이 어떤 식으로 작용하였는가를 파악해 보고자 하였다. [연구방법] 이 연구는 주로 문헌 조사방법을 활용하였다. 그리고 핀란드의 질보증 평가와 학교선택제를 문헌조사의 주 대상으로 하였다. 이 두 정책은 1990년대 이후 글로벌 교육개혁이 핀란드에도 영향을 준 대표적인 정책이지만 논쟁에 비해 실제 그 영향력은 매우 미미하였다. [연구결과] 주요 연구결과는 첫째, 핀란드는 역사적으로 볼 때, 중앙정부의 권위 주의적 리더십을 중시하는 전통에서 시장형 책무성평가를 도입하지 않았다. 둘째, 정치적으로, 사회민주당을 중심으로 한 연정으로 종합학교, 즉 뻬루스꼬울루 정신이 강해 매우 제한적인 학교선택제만을 실시하였다. 셋째, 우연적 요소로서, PISA에서의 높은 성취도와 교육전반에 걸쳐 나타난 모범적인 성과는 기존의 경로 의존성을 강화시켰다. [결론] 핀란드는 글로벌 거버넌스의 영향을 받았으나 국내 요인과 상호작용하면 ‘핀란드식’ 정책을 조형했다고 볼 수 있다. 이는 정책차용에서 로컬의 맥락적 요소가 간과되어져서는 안 되며, 글로벌 교육정책이 일방향으로 전파된다기 보다 일국의 역사, 정치, 문화적 요인과 상호작용하면서 변형되어 나타난다는 정책차용론과 관련이 있다.[Purpose] This study examines the way Finland has formed its own unique way with little influences from global education reform movement in 1990s. This research uses the framework with historical, cultural, and contingent components to investigate how these contextual elements have an affect on the formation of major educational policies. [Methods] Literature review method was used to identify relevant studies and materials that author targeted on two major educational policies: quality assurance assessment and school choice. These policies are thought of as crucial parts of global educational reform movement influencing on the Finnish education in 1990s. [Results] First, Finnish education did not actively introduced the market-based accountability tests because the Finnish are likely to respect the leadership of central government and the authority of National Board of Education. Second, only ‘soft’ school choice was implemented under the political environment in which the spirit of ‘Peruskoulu’ in comprehensive school reform has long been rooted partly by grand coalition around Social Democratic Party. Third, as a part of contingent elements, the Finnish PISA success in both students achievement and other overall positive outcomes has reinforced the path dependency of Finnish education. [Conclusion] Finland has also been influenced by global governance but has formed the applicable educational policies on its own way, so called ‘in the Finnish way’, by interacting with historical condition, political environment and factors of contingency such as PISA success. The research findings imply that complex phenomena of local context in policy borrowing should not be overlooked in that global educational policies are transformed and diversely implemented when they come to local particularities of history, politics, and culture of a nation-state rather than globally spreading in one direction.

Keen on Massage: The Finnish Way to Olympic Success in the Twentieth Century

In Finland masseurs have had an appreciated role in sports even if there has not been affirmative evidence on the benefits of massage on sports performance. Traditionally in the Finnish countryside massage had a role as a healing method which was connected to sauna and bathing. In the late nineteenth century it was spreading into cities owing to improvements in healthcare education and the establishment of masseurs’ societies. Top athletes began to use massage and they had close friends as masseurs. Witnessing the example set by the best, lower level athletes also wanted to have high standard massage. Thus, the demand for massage rose and at the same time massage treatments were included in the systematized preparation for the Olympic Games. Scientists, coaches, and athletes debated whether the benefits of massage were scientifically supported or not, and the individual reasoning altered from physiological to psychological effects.

Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismo praktikos statusas nacionalinėje teisinėje praktikoje – klausimas apie vietinę teisinę kultūrą? Rytų-Skandinavijos palyginimai

Too often it has been taken for granted that East-Scandinavian countries, Finland and Sweden share similar societies, similar culture and even legal mentality. Very often there is a shared or similar jurisprudence, sometimes even identical single legal rules in Finland and Sweden due to the historical background, deep co-operation of Nordic legislators especially before the EU-memberships and because Finland has often copied the Swedish legislation. However, the interpretations and therefore the way of legal thinking varies between Finland and Sweden, in the other words, the legal culture in the neighboring countries are not identical. Swedish legislative culture is much more dialogic compared with the Finnish one. The Finnish way to “run things” instead of to discuss and reflect is the main difference between the Finnish and Swedish cultures of realizing things. This might be one reason to the current difference that ECHR and case law based on it, is lively discussed by academics in Finland and easily followed by courts too, whereas this common law –based way of interpretation (the contents of the convention is developed by case-law and not amending the text) is not that familiar way to make legal changes in Sweden. Formally, the convention is valid and binding in both countries and that history is much longer in Sweden since 1959 whereas – mainly thanks to political reasons – Finland could join in the convention in the beginning of 90´s but the factual effects at least into the Finnish procedural law has been really enormous and very fundamental whereas in Sweden the ECHR and its article 6 are not the main factors in the procedural law. In this article, the status of the case-law from the European court of human rights is compared with East-Scandinavian countries.

At the Interface of National and Transnational: The Development of Finnish Policies against Domestic Violence in Terms of Gender Equality

Although gender inequalities are the main social mechanisms behind the (re)production of domestic violence, policy responses to domestic violence as a gender-related problem vary at both the national and transnational levels. This article examines the interaction between national and transnational policies against domestic violence, focusing on how domestic violence is constructed as a gender-related problem in Finland, a Nordic welfare state that is often cited as a role model in gender equality. Using the conception of policies as historically changing and culturally specific discourses, this article offers an overview of the ways in which the perspective on domestic violence of the transnational feminist movement has been engaged and transformed in the Finnish context over the five last decades. It is shown that transnational pressure has played a critical role in pushing Finland towards a stronger recognition of domestic violence as a gender issue. However, this transformation has taken place rather within the framework of more neutral “women-friendly” welfare policies than within a feminist framework. The article concludes that the Finnish way of translating transnational norms to the national level is characterized by a tendency to modify the transformative meanings underpinning the transnational feminist discourses to a more gender-neutral form.

The Finnish way

As for the educators they ‘have always been the candles for the people’ in Finland, so nowadays, they also share increased responsibility and duty in shaping the future of the country by coaching and guiding the next generations towards the highways of success endowing them with the vital skills, competences and lexis to meet the demands of the 21st century.

The influences of an exemplary ballet teacher on students’ motivation: ‘The Finnish Way’

This ethnographic case story aims to illuminate the instructional practices and decisions of an exemplary ballet teacher, Minna Stenvall at the Finnish National Opera Ballet School. Minna is considered to be exemplary in her field because she received the Best Ballet Pedagogue Award in 2014. Spurred on by the literature on the significant role played by ballet teachers in the talent development of dance students and dancers, the main research question is ‘What does a successful teacher do to motivate gifted students to excel?’ The data – gathered via in-depth interviews with Minna, classroom observations and attendance at the school and company performances over a school semester – were intended to clarify our understanding of the complex but understudied practices and processes of teaching gifted children in ballet. For the research finding report, I used creative writing as a medium to narrow the spaces and attitudes between researcher vs. researched, description vs. interpretation and theory and fiction vs. nonfiction. The conceptual framework of social, pedagogical and cognitive dimensions of exemplary teaching frames the discussion. I conclude with a discussion of (a) the methodological approaches to address the contexts and transparency of research, and (b) the notion of putting the research into use.

The Finnish Way of Governance: Something New on the Horizon?

The Finnish political system is based on representative forms of governance. The electoral system is proportional within the constraints of areal representation secured by largely independent districts. Partly in response to declining turnout in elections, occasional initiatives have been presented to increase the proportionality of the system, thus far to no avail. At the same time and presumably at least partly for similar reasons, calls to introduce electronic voting have been raised. Deliberative institutions have also been mentioned as ways of improving the quality of Finnish democracy. In this brief note, we shall deal with these initiatives, their motivations and problems related to them.

Un sistema escolar modelo. Finlandia demuestra que la equidad y la excelencia pueden coexistir en la educación

Finland’s education story is important because it brings hope to all those worried about whether improving their educational systems is at all possible. Finland has a unique educational system because it has progressed from mediocrity to being a model educational system and «strong performer» over the past three decades. If Chile intends to follow the Finnish Way and listen to successful international experience from other countries, there is no better lesson than investing systematically and wisely in enhancing equity in education. This conference paper offers a discussion to all those worried about whether improving their educational systems is at all possible. The United States, England, Sweden, Germany, and Chile, to mention just a few, are among those where public education is increasingly challenged because of endemic failure to provide adequate learning opportunities to all children

The Finnish Way

Once an also-ran in international comparisons, Finland has soared to the top by building a system based on trust and responsibility.

Public expenditures on drug-related harms in Finland in 2006

Aims: There is an over 10-year tradition of calculating drug and alcohol costs in Finland. The Finnish calculation framework was developed by Ritva Hein and Jukka Salomaa (Salomaa 1995; 1996; Hein & Salomaa 1998; 1999) in the 1990s. The idea of calculating drug and alcohol-related costs was generated by the fact that in Finland there were, and still are, very few public expenditures which are labelled. The Finnish way to calculate drug-related costs is more a study of budgetary impacts of drug-related harm on government and local authorities as well as pension and insurance companies, rather than a traditional cost of illness study.

The Finnish way to the information society: Expanding engineer education

In a European context Finland is, measured in many dimensions, the most developed information society. In Finnish exports the share of the IT sector is onethird. In the 1990s the number of Internet-connected computers grew to be the highest in Europe and now half of the population uses a mobile phone. One of the most important factors behind this massive change is the activity and flexibility of engineer education. The number of student places in education in information and telecommunication (IT) technology was, in 1999, five times higher than in the middle of the decade. The success of the IT sector has assumed and implied the extension of higher education as a whole. At the end of the 20th century there were student places at universities and polytechnics for four-fifths of that age group in Finland. Engineering education also has an important role in ensuring the preconditions of the production of IT industry,and in generating the demand for IT equipment. In education Finns have become familiar with the IT equipment and technologies.

Speech communication the Finnish way: Fifteen years of university degrees of speech communication in Jyväskylä, Finland

The academic degree program in Speech Communication at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, is described. The program was founded in 1982. It encompasses both master's and doctoral education, and it is the only one in the Nordic countries to cover a wide range of human interaction.

New pathfinders to impact structures: The Finnish way

New pathfinders to impact structures: The Finnish way

Old Rune Singers of Finland

KALEVALA, the national epic of Finland, is well known in most civilized countries. Many references are still made to it, as if it were the main source for the study of ancient Finnish mythology and way of life. The fact is, however, that the primary sources for this kind of study are to be found in the original poems from which Kalevala, a compilation by Elias Ldnnrot, was put together because it is in most cases almost impossible for foreign scholars to reach this primary source, there is perhaps reason to give here some kind of picture of its background and, above all, of some of the people from whom Ldnnrot and after him numerous other folkiorists collected their material.

A Christmas letter∗

With the passing of the Christmas Season and the coming of a New Year we find ourselves at the half way mark of our assignment in Finland. It has been for all of us a genuinely rich and rewarding experience. One finds it a difficult task indeed to communicate to our friends-within the limitations of a single letter or an air mail sheetthe myriad of everyday happenings, events, and occurrences which have been ours to share. And yet, meager and altogether too brief as our letters are, we want to continue passing along to you some of our impressions gained and a summary of our newly acquired Finnish way of life. The Finnish Christmas was a delight. In many respects it was similar to our own: trees were bought and sold (our beautiful spruce cost less than fifty cents), lighted decorations adorned many of the city streets, gayly and specially arranged shop windows bespoke the Yuletide Season, and vast throngs of people searched the many stores for suitable presents. But there was much to make the observance of Christmas here uniquely different. Trees, bought before hand, awaited Christmas Eve to receive-at the hands of the entire family-their elegant attire of fruit, cookies, lighted candles, and various assortments of ornaments. On Christmas Eve too the family gathers at the traditional Christmas meal, after which the arrival of the Joulupukki is eagerly awaited by children and parents alike. This man of Christmas, resembling our Santa Claus only with his long white beard, comes to Finnish homes in person, talking with wide-eyed children (and one wide-eyed little American girl this year) and dispensing gifts to all present. Usually before the Joulupukki's arrival it is customary to visit the cemetery where lighted candles mark snow covered graves commemorating the memory of those, particularly the war dead, who have