Russian-Speaking Immigrants in Finnish Schools
Keywords:
suomalaiset koulut, venäjänkieliset maahanmuuttajaoppilaatAbstract
This article looks at the views of Russian-speaking immigrant families about Finnish and Russian school and education culture. The article is based on a longitudinal case-study on young Russianspeaking adolescent immigrants’ integration into Finnish society through language and education. This is a qualitative study, the data of which consist of thematic interviews with Russian-speaking adolescents and their parents. Sixteen immigrant families with school-age children living in Central Finland were chosen as the target group. Parents (n=18) were interviewed on two occasions, in 2002 and 2005, whereas the interviews of adolescents (n=15) took place in 2008. Principles of qualitative content analysis were applied to analyzing the data. The main focus in the article is on the Russian-speaking immigrants’ attitudes towards and experiences about the Russian and Finnish school and the instruction they offer. In addition, their understanding of the ways the Russian and Finnish school works and how their views reflect this issue will be described.
