Work

Shared places, separate spaces: constructing cultural spaces through two national languages in Finland

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Finland is a bilingual country with 2 national languages, Finnish and Swedish. The Swedish-speaking school institution aims to protect the minority language by maintaining a monolingual school space. In this article, the construction of linguistic and ethnic difference in educational discourse and practice related to the national languages in Finland is analyzed by using discourse analysis, feminist and post-structural theories. By analyzing ethnographic data and public debate, we argue that discursive and material practices related to spatiality have a significant role in constructing difference and otherness in the Finnish school context. Essentialist categories are produced but also contested from the positions within the cultural spaces at school and in society at large.

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2016.1147074

Authors: Tuuli From, Fritjof Sahlström

Institution: University of Helsinki

Language: English

Topic: Multilingual Education and Policy

Subfield: Linguistics and Language

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funder: Svenska Kulturfonden