The aim of this paper is to analyse how the sense-making of diversity by Finnish primary school teachers in relation to aims of inclusion and social justice links to pedagogical choices they make. Finland, as part of the Nordic countries, is often referred to as a country of educational equality. The ‘Nordic model’ for education has emphasized equal education for all in order to erase societal inequalities and equalise opportunities also for higher education for all (Frønes et al., 2020). The Finnish national curriculum strongly supports diversity and support of each pupil to attain their full potential (FNBE, 2014). The ‘education for all’ in Finland has among other things contained a local school principle’ since the introduction of the compulsory school in the 1970’s, where every child goes to their neighbourhood school; as well as inclusion of all pupils in the same schools and classrooms (Finnish basic education act, 2010; see also UNESCO, 1994). However, recent results from different angles of social (in)justice in education, challenge the success story of the Nordic and Finnish model (Corral-Granados et al., 2023; Frønes et al., 2020). In many European cities (Musterd et al., 2017), there is an increased socio-economic segregation, which in turn creates segregation between schools (see e.g. Maloutas & Lobato, 2015). School segregation takes place also in Finland (Bernelius & Vilkama, 2019), as well as segregation between classes in the same school, based intersectingly on both socio-economic status and race (Kosunen et al., 2020; Peltola, 2020). The “local school” principle is strongly challenged by school choice policies in urban areas (e.g. Seppänen et al. 2015). Finland has also received criticism for differences in educational outcomes based on gender and immigrant status (OECD, 2019) and on equal learning opportunities for pupils with special education needs (SEN) (Corral-Granados et al., 2023; Lempinen, 2017). In their review article on the research on exclusion of different minoritized groups in education in the Nordic countries, Corral-Granados et al. (2023) argue that there is a need to analyse these areas of exclusion together. They (p. 19) also emphasize both the importance and challenge for the school staff to strive for social justice. In line with this, there is also an ongoing debate on Finnish education and goals of inclusion, where teachers often claim the task of including an increasing diversity of pupils as too demanding with the resources provided.

With this study we wish to contribute to both the Finnish, and international dialogue on inclusion, diversity and social justice, by analysing teachers’ meaning-making on these issues from the perspective of critical multicultural education and social justice education (Ayers et al., 2008; Nieto, 2018). The principles for social justice in education outlined by Ayers et al. (2008, p. xiv) are both equal access and outcomes in education, full participation for all pupils, together with a critical resistance to inequal societal power relations. The aim of critical multicultural and social justice education is to strive towards social justice by critically examining and acting on inequalities (e.g. Nieto, 2018). We approach diversity through intersectionality, taking into account both class, race, ability, language, gender, sexuality, religion, and other social categories that emerge as relevant in the specific context, and their relations to power (Collins, 2019).

Our research questions are:  

1. How do teachers talk about diversity in relation to inclusion and social justice?   

2. How are the pedagogical choices teachers make related to their understandings of diversity?  

The data consists of interviews of 17 primary school teachers and four principals in Finnish schools in three different municipalities in Southern Finland. The interviews were semi-structured and done during 2022. All schools are Swedish-language public schools provided for the approximately 5,2% Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. In regard to linguistic and ethnic diversity the Swedish schools in Southern Finland are in general more homogenous and have less experience of pupils with immigrant backgrounds than the Finnish language schools, whereas segregation by class exists in both contexts (see Mikander & Mansikka, forthcoming). The schools are situated in different neighbourhoods with regard to both social class, ethnicity and language, some of which are situated in areas with an income above average and thus consisting of particularly many students from high SES backgrounds and with very few children with immigrant background or Swedish as a second language. The interview data is analysed through discourse theory analysis (DTA) (Laclau & Mouffe, 2001). Within DTA, the interest lies in deconstructing what has been established as a seemingly natural, objective truth, through analysing discourse. DTA is particularly interested in political conflict and in deconstructing hegemony, and has been used also for analysing educational policies and interviews with educators (Hummelstedt, 2021). According to Laclau and Mouffe (2001), everything, also subjects, are constructed within discourses through articulations, and thus neither concepts nor subjects have fixed meanings or identities. When an element gets established with a certain meaning in one discourse it is called ‘moment’, and when a moment is established as the centre of a discourse it is called ‘nodal point’. Nodal points that many actors attempt to fill with different, competing, meanings, and that are particularly far from closure, are called ‘floating’ and ‘empty signifiers’ (Laclau & Mouffe, 2001). In this study we are interested in how the floating signifiers ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘social justice’ are filled with meaning by teachers, as well as what kind of subject positions are given to those involved: teachers, pupils, families, and other actors in education.

The preliminary findings show that discourse of accepting diversity is dominant among the teachers, although the norm of (upper)middle class, white and Swedish language is still reproduced as an advantage in teachers’ discourses, particularly in schools mainly homogenous regarding home culture, social class and language. These norms become particularly visible through articulations of the newly arrived refugee pupils not fitting into these norms and making the teachers question their possibilities to support these pupils’ participation and reaching of the same outcomes. However, teachers working in schools in more diverse areas regarding ethnicity, language and social class, describe diversity as a richness and emphasize to see everyone’s strengths. Inclusion is viewed from a minority language perspective relevant in several European countries. The pedagogical practices the teachers choose in relation to diversity and inclusion are mainly focused on two aims related to both full participation as well as equal access and outcomes (Ayers et al., 2008): creating an inclusive classroom culture where diversity and is accepted, as well as supporting everyone’s individualised learning development towards curricula goals. The individualised support such as differentiation seems to be focused more on ability and language than e.g. social class and varying possibilities for support at home. The realisation of the individualised support depends both on factors on the institutional and municipal level such as special education resources and group divisions, as well as the teacher’s autonomous choices in the classroom. Our findings suggest a need for a critical discussion on a national level about what the equality aims for education should consist of and how the distribution of resources and organization of teaching need to be done accordingly. They also show a need for critical reflection among teachers on how social class norms intersect with other aspects of diversity, affecting inclusion on the classroom level.

Ayers, W., Quinn, T., & Stovall, D. (2008). Preface. In W. Ayers, T. Quinn, & D. Stovall (Eds.), Handbook of Social Justice in Education (pp. xiii–xv). Routledge. Bernelius, V., & Vilkama, K. (2019). Pupils on the move: School catchment area segregation and residential mobility of urban families. Urban Studies, 56(15), 3095–3116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019848999 Collins, P. H. (2019). Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory. Duke University Press. Corral-Granados, A., Rapp, A. C. & Smeplass, E. (2023) Nordic challenges related to exclusion and local responses in Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian urban compulsory education, Education Inquiry, DOI: 10.1080/20004508.2022.2163002 Finnish Basic Education Act, 642. (2010). Finlex. FNBE [Finnish National board of Education]. (2014). Core curriculum for basic education. Frønes, T. S., Pettersen, A., Radišić, J., & Buchholtz, N (Eds.). (2020). Equity, equality and diversity in the Nordic model of education. Springer. Hummelstedt, I, Holm, G., Sahlström, F. Zilliacus, H. (2021). Diversity as the new normal and persistent constructions of the immigrant other – Discourses on multicultural education among teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 108, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103510 Kosunen S., Bernelius, V., Seppänen, P. & Porkka, M. (2020). 'School Choice to Lower Secondary Schools and Mechanisms of Segregation in Urban Finland', Urban Education , vol. 55, no. 10, pp. 1461-1488. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916666933 Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (2001). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics Second Edition. Verso. Maloutas, T., & Ramos Lobato, I. (2015). Education and social reproduction: Educational mechanisms and residential segregation in Athens and Dortmund. Local Economy, 30(7), 800–817. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094215601817 Musterd, S., Marcińczak, S., van Ham, M. & Tammaru, T. (2017) Socioeconomic segregation in European capital cities. Increasing separation between poor and rich, Urban Geography, 38:7, 1062-1083, https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1228371 Nieto, S. (2018). Defining multicultural education for school reform. In S. Nieto & P. Bode (Eds.), Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Pearson. OECD. (2019). PISA 2018 Results (Volume II): Where all students can succeed. https://doi.org/https://doi: 10.1787/b5fd1b8f-en Peltola, M. (2020). Everyday consequences of selectiveness. Borderwork in the informal sphere of a lower secondary school in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Finland. British Journal of sociology of Education, 42(1), 97-112. UNESCO. 1994. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. P. Seppänen, M. Kalalahti, R. Rinne, & H. Simola (Eds.). (2015). Lohkoutuva peruskoulu – Perheiden kouluvalinnat, yhteiskuntaluokat ja koulutuspolitiikka [Segmenting comprehensive school – Parental school choice, social classes and education policies] (pp. 325–370). Finnish Educational Research Association.