Across Europe, the protection of national minorities is anchored in the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1998), which emphasises the right of minorities to maintain and develop their culture, language, and identity, as well as the responsibility of states to promote knowledge about national minorities in education. Situating the paper within this international framework, we critically discuss how to advance education about and for the Forest Finnish national minority in mainstream education in Norway. Drawing on in-depth interviews with ten Forest Finnish teachers, the study explores their experiences and perspectives on teaching Forest Finnish topics in schools. In the analysis, we distinguish between learning about, from, to, and for (Andreassen & Olsen, 2020; Engebretson, 2009; Kumashiro, 2000), examining what knowledge teachers believe students should acquire about the Forest Finns, what attitudes and actions they consider this knowledge should foster, and how such teaching can benefit the national minority. The research question guiding the paper is: What knowledge, attitudes, and actions do Forest Finnish teachers consider essential in teaching about the Forest Finns, and how do they understand the role of such teaching for the national minority?

The paper derives from a larger study funded by the Norwegian Research Council: “Sustaining National Minorities in Education: Kven/Norwegian Finnish and Forest Finnish Experiences and Needs in Mainstream Schools (NAMED)”. The background for both the project and the paper is the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (2023) documentation of the devastating consequences of harsh assimilatory policies towards the Indigenous Sámi people and national minorities such as Kvens/Norwegian Finns and Forest Finns in Norway. Today, being on of Norway’s five national minorities, the Commission (2023) notes that Forest Finns still face discrimination and prejudice in their everyday lives, including in school. According to the Commission, this discrimination is partly due to a lack of knowledge about national minorities, influencing Forest Finns’ sense of belonging, self-esteem and safety, and continuing an invisibility and silence around their national minority group in mainstream education (p. 442).

Previous research on the Forest Finns in education has primarily focused on textbook analyses, identifying a hierarchy among national minorities in Norwegian textbooks, with the Forest Finns among those receiving the least attention (Midtbøen et al., 2014). Furthermore, textbook analyses suggest that content related to the Forest Finns is mainly associated with their historical immigration from Finland to Norway, and slash-and-burn agriculture, even though this form of agriculture has not been practiced by Forest Finns for several centuries (Andreassen & Olsen, 2020). Consequently, teachers who are required to teach about national minorities, including the Forest Finns, in their classrooms (Ministry of Education, 2017) have an urgent need for more knowledge about how to represent and teach about and for the Forest Finns as a national minority in diverse classrooms.

Inspired by Andreassen and Olsen’s (2020) work on education for Indigenous peoples and national minorities, the paper draws on a theoretical framework based on four distinct yet partly overlapping educational aims: learning about, learning from, learning to, and learning for (see also Engebretson, 2009; Kumashiro, 2000; Skrefsrud, 2022). As Andreassen and Olsen (2020) emphasize, critical and constructive reflection on such aims can help make visible some of the paradoxes, dilemmas, and possibilities inherent in education where perspectives on the history, culture, and social life of national minorities are integrated into and developed as part of mainstream pedagogical practice.

The study is grounded in an interpretive paradigm, aiming to understand how teachers experience and make sense of teaching Forest Finnish culture and history (Alvesson, 2011). Participants were recruited in collaboration with the Norwegian Forest Finnish Association and through several Forest Finnish Facebook groups. The sample consists of ten teachers of Forest Finnish background who currently teach or have previously taught in public primary, lower secondary, or upper secondary education. All participants were assigned pseudonyms to ensure anonymity. Two of the researchers were present together during four of the interviews, which were based on a semi-structured interview guide covering three main themes: what it means to be Forest Finnish, which aspects of Forest Finnish culture the participants wish to pass on to the next generation, and how schools can teach Forest Finnish topics in line with the Knowledge Promotion Reform 2020 (Ministry of Education and Research, 2017). The interviews were transcribed using a verbatim transcription approach to ensure that participants’ perspectives and nuances in meaning were preserved. The study follows the research ethics guidelines of NESH (2021). As participants belong to a national minority, the data material was classified as sensitive. Recordings were made using the Nettskjema Dictaphone app and stored in Educloud Research. The study was conducted in close dialogue with representatives from the Forest Finnish community to ensure ethical integrity and cultural sensitivity (Barryman et al., 2013; Haugen & Skilbrei, 2021). In line with the principle of conducting research with, and not only on or about, participants were later invited to read and comment on a draft of the analysis. The transcribed interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022), a method that emphasizes identifying, analysing, and interpreting patterns of meaning in qualitative data. The analysis was conducted collaboratively by all three authors and followed six phases: familiarisation with the data, coding, development of initial themes, reviewing and refining themes, defining and naming themes, and finally writing. This was an abductive process, involving continuous movement between empirical data and theory. Reflexive thematic analysis allows space for the researcher’s active role in interpretation and prioritises analytical depth over mechanical categorisation (Braun & Clarke, 2022, p. 6).

The findings indicate that teachers considered the knowledge dimension of teaching (learning about) to be important, emphasising that knowledge of Forest Finnish history and traditions should be an essential part of students’ learning about the national minority. Several participants, however, stressed that students must also understand that the Forest Finns continue to have a living and dynamic culture. For these teachers, it was crucial that students engage with contemporary cultural expressions, such as music, literature, and other present-day artistic and social practices. In this way, the findings challenge a predominantly historical framing of the Forest Finns in educational materials. Previous research suggests that textbooks often emphasise Forest Finnish history at the expense of contemporary culture (Andreassen & Olsen, 2020; Slettebø, 2020), whereas the teachers in this study advocate a more balanced and present-oriented approach. Participants also highlighted the attitudinal dimension of education (learning from and learning to), arguing that teaching Forest Finnish topics can foster understanding of minority and migration experiences, insight into the complexity of identity formation, and awareness of sustainable development. Knowledge and attitudinal dimensions are closely interconnected (Biesta, 2019), as students require thorough knowledge of Forest Finnish history, traditions, and culture in order to learn from these experiences and develop intercultural competence grounded in Forest Finnish perspectives (Banik, 2024). Finally, the findings indicate that teaching about Forest Finnish topics should support the national minority and strengthen its position in society (learning for). Experiences from Sámi education show the importance of presenting a diversity of identities and cultural expressions (Stenseth, 2023). By highlighting diversity within Forest Finnish identity and culture, teachers can avoid essentialising or stereotyping, while providing Forest Finnish students with opportunities to develop a sense of belonging and a personal Forest Finnish identity.

Alvesson, M. (2011). Interpreting Interviews. Sage. Andreassen B. & Olsen, T. A. (2020). Urfolk og nasjonale minoriteter i skole og lærerutdanning. Fagbokforlaget. Banik, V. K. (2024). Nasjonale minoriteter: Kunnskap, inkludering og forebygging. Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, (3), 238–249. Barryman, M., SooHoo, S., & Nevin, A. (2013). Culturally responsive methodologies. Emerald. Biesta, G. (2019). Obstinate education. Reconnecting school and society. Brill. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage. Council of Europe. (1998). Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. European Treaty Series- No. 157. Council of Europe. Engebretson, K. (2009). Learning About and Learning from Religion. The Pedagogical Theory of Michael Grimmitt. In M. de Souza, G. Durka, K. Engebretson, R. Jackson & A. McGrady (Eds.), International Handbook of the Religious, Moral and Spiritual Dimensions in Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 1. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5246-4_47 Haugen, H. Ø., & Skilbrei, M.-E. (2021). Håndbok i forskningsetikk og databehandling. Fagbokforlaget. Kumashiro, K. K. (2000). Toward a theory of anti-oppressive education. Review of Educational Research, 70(1), 25–53. Midtbøen, A. H., Orupabo, J., & Røthing, Å. (2014). Beskrivelser av etniske og religiøse minoriteter i læremidler. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Ministry of Education. (2017). Overordnet del for Kunnskapsløftet 2020. Ministry of Education. NESH (Den nasjonale forskningsetiske komité for samfunnsvitenskap og humaniora). (2021). https://www.forskningsetikk.no/retningslinjer/hum-sam/forskningsetiske-retningslinjer-for-samfunnsvitenskap-og-humaniora/ Slettebø, T. D. (2020). Skogfinner i Norge. In T. A. Olsen (Ed.), Urfolk og nasjonale minoriteter i skole og lærerutdanning (pp. 129–140). Fagbokforlaget. Skrefsrud, T.-A. (2022). A proposal to incorporate experiential education in non-confessional, intercultural religious education: Reflections from and on the Norwegian context. Religions, 13(8), 1–13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13080727 Stenseth, A-M. (2023). ‘I am Sámi, but I am not a Sámi’: coastal Sámi students’ articulations of identity in a colonial-blind Norwegian state. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education, 7(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.5036