Toisen asteen koulutuspolitiikka murtautuu ulos marginaalista 1990-luvun Suomessa

Authors

• Raija Meriläinen Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö

Keywords:

education policy, government program, education reform, welfare state

Abstract

Refereed article

This article describes Finnish upper secon­dary education policy from the 1970s until to 1990s when many complicated and dis­putable reforms were made. At 1970s the new generation of the policy-makers ente­red into political arena. The reformists sup­ported the idea of comprehensive school and their impact and voice was clearly ap­parent in the executed reform which con­sidered both upper secondary school and vocational school. Post Second World War the Finnish educational policy was main­ly done by political committees which we­re empowered by Minister of Education. However, at 1980s the political power was delegated from the government to local politicians and authorities. At 1990s wor­king groups were typical phenomena. Tho­se were nominated by Minister of Educa­tion and they were following the political guidance. Shift from committees towards working groups narrowed down the num­ber of people who were involved to deci­sion making. The Finnish education po­licy has been strongly linked into natio­nal economy and social policy because it was seen as a remedy for youth unemp­loyment. The article is based to thesis: “The clash between equality and indivi­dualism” by Raija Meriläinen.