Integration and education of migrant youth is a growing issue everywhere in European societies as well as in Finland (e.g. Cebolla Boado, 2011; Kilpi-Jakonen, 2011).  For a long time, the amount of immigrants used to be considerably lower in Finland than in other European countries, however, this fact is changing quickly: In Helsinki metro area, as well as in some other major cities, some schools are having more than half of the students coming from non-native families.

Finland as a society, and in particular the Finnish education system, is considered as an example of high equality in general. This truth is mainly based on the results from PISA studies covering the last grade of Finnish compulsory education only. It is evident that during the Finnish basic education, the safety net is working well, the standard deviation is small between students and only a tiny amount of the young people will drop-out without completing the compulsory education. However, hardly any interest has been paid on analyzing the educational situation of the growing immigrant youth population. A simple cross-tabulation using the PISA-database (e.g. http://pisa2009.acer.edu.au) will show that the non-native children in Finland are performing considerable worse than the non-native children in many other countries comparing to the native population (e.g. Itkonen & Jahnukainen, 2007). This is true in particular when comparing to countries with a long tradition of dealing with ethnic minorities like in Canada and Australia. However, at the same time a recent study shows that the immigrant children actually enjoy the schooling more than their Finnish counterparts (Kivirauma, Rinne & Tuittu, 2012) – at least during the compulsory schooling. 

In Finnish school system the first major transition happens after the 9-years lasting compulsory schooling. The young people are expected to apply to secondary education; either in academic or vocational upper secondary school. This transition period has been found out to be problematic for any Finnish students, but in particular for young people with any kind of learning and/or behavioural difficulties (e.g. Jahnukainen, 1999, Kivirauma & Jahnukainen, 2001) as well as for immigrant youth (e.g. Järvinen & Jahnukainen, 2008, Kilpi-Jakonen 2011). The hidden curriculum is that if you have any kinds of difficulties related to learning you are expected to apply to vocational education. The Finnish academic upper secondary school offers limited support services for students with any kind of problems in learning.

Cebolla Boado, H. (2011) Primary and secondary effects in the explanation of disadvantage in education: the children of immigrant families in France. British Journal of Sociology of Education 32 (3), 407 – 430. Itkonen, T. & Jahnukainen, M. (2007). ‘An Analysis of Accountability Policies in Finland and the United States.’ International Journal of Disability, Development and Education 54 (1): 5–23. Jahnukainen, M. (1999) Winners or Losers? A ten year follow-up of twenty-three former students from special classes for the maladjusted in Finland. Young – Nordic Journal of Youth Research 7 (1), 36-49. Järvinen, T. & Jahnukainen, M. (2008) ’Koulutus, polarisaatio ja tasa-arvo: hyvä- ja huono-osaistuminen perus- ja keskiasteen koulutuksessa.’. In Nuoret ja polarisaatio. nuorten elinolot vuosikirja [Polarized Youth? The Young People’s Living Conditions’ Yearbooks], edited by.Minna Autio, Kirsi Eräranta, and Sami Myllyniemi, 72–81. Helsinki: Council Of Youth Affairs, The Youth Research Network, and Finland’s National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health. Kalalahti, M., Varjo, J., Zacheus, T., Kivirauma, J., Mäkelä, M-L., Saarinen, M. & Jahnukainen, M. (2015) ‘Maahanmuuttajataustaisten nuorten toisen asteen koulutusvalinnat’ [‘Transition of The Youth With Immigrant Background to Upper Secondary Education’]. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka [Social and Public Policy]. Submitted. Kilpi-Jakonen, E. (2011) Continuation to upper secondary education in Finland: Children of immigrnats and the majority compared. Acta Sociologica 54 (1), 77 – 106. Kivirauma, J. & Jahnukainen, M. (2001) Ten years after special education. Socially maladjusted boys on the labor market. Behavioral Disorders 26, (3), 243–255. Kivirauma, J., Rinne, R. & Tuittu, A. (2012) Vähemmistönä koulussa. Maahanmuuttajalasten ja –vanhempien kokemuksia suomalaisesta koulusta (As a minority at school. Immigrant children’s and their parents experiences of Finnish school). In M. Jahnukainen (Ed.) Lasten erityishuolto ja –opetus Suomessa. 13th Ed. Central League of Child Welfare. Tampere: Vastapaino, 249–274.