Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors?
Abstract. Finland is internationally valorised for its education system, quality of life and high-tech, innovative, competitiveness. However, a critical focus on institutional dynamics and trajectories of higher education careers illuminates questions about the reproduction of global inequities,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universitat de Barcelona
2015-12-01
|
| Series: | Coolabah |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ub.edu/dpfilsa/Coolabahissues.html |
| _version_ | 1818777590320594944 |
|---|---|
| author | David M. Hoffman Thomas Babila Sama Driss Habti Carine Cools Sari Pöyhönen MSc Taru Siekkinen Anatoly Stikhin |
| author_facet | David M. Hoffman Thomas Babila Sama Driss Habti Carine Cools Sari Pöyhönen MSc Taru Siekkinen Anatoly Stikhin |
| author_sort | David M. Hoffman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract. Finland is internationally valorised for its education system, quality of life and
high-tech, innovative, competitiveness. However, a critical focus on institutional dynamics
and trajectories of higher education careers illuminates questions about the reproduction of
global inequities, rather than the societal transformation Finland’s education system was once
noted for. The purpose of this self-ethnography of career trajectories within Finnish higher
education is designed to call attention to institutional social dynamics that have escaped the
attention of scholarly literature and contemporary debates about academic work and practice
within highly situated research groups, departments and institutes. Our analysis illuminates
emergent stratification, in a country and institution previously characterized by the absence
of stratification and the ways in which this reinforces - and is reinforced by – the tension
between transnational academic capitalism, methodological nationalism and the resulting
global division of academic labour that now cuts across societies, manifesting within the one
institution Finland’s general population trusts to explain, engage and ameliorate stratification:
Higher Education. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T11:31:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b0958cd8524493183870e416c620676 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1988-5946 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T11:31:15Z |
| publishDate | 2015-12-01 |
| publisher | Universitat de Barcelona |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Coolabah |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b0958cd8524493183870e416c6206762022-12-21T21:09:36ZengUniversitat de BarcelonaCoolabah1988-59462015-12-0117175Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors?David M. Hoffman0Thomas Babila Sama1Driss Habti2Carine Cools3Sari Pöyhönen4MSc Taru Siekkinen5Anatoly Stikhin6Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of JyväskyläSocial Policy Institute, University of HelsinkiKarelian Institute, University of Eastern FinlandIndependent scholarCentre for Applied Language Studies, University of JyvaskylaUniversity of JyväskyläDepartment of Teacher Education, University of JyväskyläAbstract. Finland is internationally valorised for its education system, quality of life and high-tech, innovative, competitiveness. However, a critical focus on institutional dynamics and trajectories of higher education careers illuminates questions about the reproduction of global inequities, rather than the societal transformation Finland’s education system was once noted for. The purpose of this self-ethnography of career trajectories within Finnish higher education is designed to call attention to institutional social dynamics that have escaped the attention of scholarly literature and contemporary debates about academic work and practice within highly situated research groups, departments and institutes. Our analysis illuminates emergent stratification, in a country and institution previously characterized by the absence of stratification and the ways in which this reinforces - and is reinforced by – the tension between transnational academic capitalism, methodological nationalism and the resulting global division of academic labour that now cuts across societies, manifesting within the one institution Finland’s general population trusts to explain, engage and ameliorate stratification: Higher Education.http://www.ub.edu/dpfilsa/Coolabahissues.htmlAcademic WorkMobilityTransnational scholarly precariousnessStratificationSelf-Ethnography |
| spellingShingle | David M. Hoffman Thomas Babila Sama Driss Habti Carine Cools Sari Pöyhönen MSc Taru Siekkinen Anatoly Stikhin Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? Coolabah Academic Work Mobility Transnational scholarly precariousness Stratification Self-Ethnography |
| title | Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? |
| title_full | Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? |
| title_fullStr | Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? |
| title_short | Aspiration, Achievement and Abandonment in ‘The World’s Best Country’: Merit and Equity or Smoke and Mirrors? |
| title_sort | aspiration achievement and abandonment in the world s best country merit and equity or smoke and mirrors |
| topic | Academic Work Mobility Transnational scholarly precariousness Stratification Self-Ethnography |
| url | http://www.ub.edu/dpfilsa/Coolabahissues.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidmhoffman aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT thomasbabilasama aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT drisshabti aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT carinecools aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT saripoyhonen aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT msctarusiekkinen aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors AT anatolystikhin aspirationachievementandabandonmentintheworldsbestcountrymeritandequityorsmokeandmirrors |