[lg policy] Finland has failed in integration

[Harold Schiffman]

“Finland has failed in integration,” states education policy chief at OAJ
<http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/16245-finland-has-failed-in-integration-states-education-policy-chief-at-oaj.html>
FINLAND
<http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/149-finland.html> 08
MARCH 2019
[image: Children of immigrant backgrounds lag considerably behind their
native-born peers in learning outcomes in most key subjects, highlights the
Trade Union of Education (OAJ). (Sari Gustafsson – Lehtikuva)]
<http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/16245-finland-has-failed-in-integration-states-education-policy-chief-at-oaj.html>

Children of immigrant backgrounds lag considerably behind their native-born
peers in learning outcomes in most key subjects, highlights the Trade Union
of Education (OAJ). (Sari Gustafsson – Lehtikuva)
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*THE TRADE UNION* of Education (OAJ) has expressed its deep concern about
the learning outcomes of children of immigrant backgrounds in Finland.

OAJ on Thursday highlighted that immigrant children are twice more likely
to drop out of school than their native-born peers and trail their peers by
roughly two years in learning outcomes in all key subjects, according to
the latest country report published by the OECD.

“You could say Finland has failed in integration,” stated
<https://www.oaj.fi/ajankohtaista/uutiset-ja-tiedotteet/2019/suomi-on-epaonnistunut-maahanmuuttajien-kotouttamisessa/>
Heljä
Misukka, the head of education policy at OAJ.

Misukka drew attention to the importance of both providing information
about early-childhood education to the parents of immigrant children and
ensuring benefits such as the child home care allowance do not reduce
participation in early-childhood education, which – she highlighted – is
key in preventing social exclusion and improving student achievement.

OAJ demanded that first-language teaching be increased for children of
immigrant backgrounds at all levels of education, starting from
early-childhood all the way to upper-secondary education.

The teaching of Finnish or Swedish as a second language should similarly be
increased, as such teaching is currently not available to almost a half of
children of immigrant backgrounds participating in early-childhood
education.

“The teaching of Finnish or Swedish as a second language must be
state-funded for eight years instead of the current six years. That way it
can be utilised also at the upper-secondary level,” underlined Päivi
Lyhykäinen, a special advisor at OAJ. “The legislation must also be amended
to state that pupils have a subjective right to instruction preparing for
basic education.”

OAJ reminded that the struggles of immigrants to find employment are
problematic particularly in light of the ongoing shrinking of the
working-age population in Finland.

Another demand tabled by the trade union is that the decision to tender the
provision of integration services to private service providers be
overturned.

“When you are talking about education, private service production is a big
question. As long as integration training is tendered with the objective to
reduce production costs as much as possible, the quality will suffer,”
stressed Lyhykäinen.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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