“Problematic students” defined and described by their teachers, Oulu Region 1968–1991

Authors

• Anne Koskela Oulun yliopisto

Abstract

The author looks at how deviance was produced in school practices by analysing how teachers described and defined students seen by them as “problematic”. Data consists of so-called teachers’ statements written using a ready-made form and sent to the Child Guidance Clinic of Oulu Region in 1968–1991. Analysis shows that teachers wrote the most about students’ behaviour, family and background and learning abilities. Teachers’ reasoning regarding students’ problematic nature was often mundane; the teachers used descriptive language and wrote about everyday situations, while psycho-medical conceptualisation was rare. Problems were attributed to individual students and their families, and the statements were missing teachers’ reflections on their own actions and the impact of the school environment. What affected the statement content and the ways teachers wrote about the student was the practice itself: the use of the statement form, the purpose of the statement and to whom it was addressed.