Ee o Ropo & Rii a Jaa inen (eds),
Subjec Teache Educa ion in T ansi ion: Educa ing Teache s o he Fu u e
Tampe e: Tampe e Uni e si y P ess, 259–288.
h p://u n. i/URN:ISBN:978-952-359-016-8
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
Educa ing eache s wi h immig an backg ounds
o se e as specialis s and aluable esou ces
in inc easingly mul icul u al Finnish schools
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
In oduc ion
The pu pose o his chap e is o in oduce he implemen a ion
and impac o he Kuulumisia p ojec ca ied ou a he School o
Educa ion1 a he Uni e si y o Tampe e in Finland. This is an ongoing
p ojec unde which he School o Educa ion p o ides educa ion and
aining owa ds eache quali ica ion o s uden s wi h an immig an
backg ound. In pa icula , we will explain he backg ound and
possibili ies o such educa ion as well as h ow ligh on he challenges
1 Name o he Facul y o Educa ion was School o Educa ion om 2013 o 2019.
260
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
and oppo uni ies aced by eache s wi h an immig an backg ound.
Fu he mo e, selec ed indings o he backg ound esea ch conduc ed
by Jaakko Vuo io (2015) o his mas e ’s hesis a e in e wo en in his
chap e .
A b ie accoun o he e minology employed in his chap e is in
place he e. Fi s , ega ding he i le o he p ojec , he Finnish wo d
Kuulumisia is a plu al o m ha may be unde s ood in wo ways,
depending on he con ex . In e e yday con e sa ion, i o en means
‘news’ o ‘g ee ings’ whe eas in he p esen con ex his wo d may be
unde s ood as he gene ic plu al o he singula wo d kuuluminen
‘a sense o belonging’ o ‘in eg a ion’. Thus, he i le o he p ojec
may li e a ily be unde s ood in English as ‘senses o belonging’ o
‘in eg a ions’. In he p esen discussion, we will o cou se be e e ing
o he p ojec in i s o iginal Finnish o m, bu may, when easible in
English, use i as a modi ie o a noun, e.g., he Kuulumisia s uden s.
Second, he e ms ‘immig an ’ and ‘indi idual wi h an immig an
backg ound’ a e mul i- ace ed and hei use is no unp oblema ic.
E en so, he p esen pu pose is no o con empla e on he scope o
hese e ms no a gue o whom hey may igh ully be employed
o e e . Ins ead, we use hese e ms o desc ibe he s uden s in he
Kuulumisia p ojec ; in i s selec ion c i e ia, he e m ‘indi idual
wi h an immig an backg ound’ is de ined as an indi idual who
has comple ed (o ecei ed he minimum o wo yea s o ) his o he
school educa ion ou side Finland in a language o he han Finnish,
Swedish, o Saami.
Kuulumisia: Unde lying a ionale
Kuuluminen, a sense o belonging […] is a basic ac o in he
build-up o communi ies and in he s a us o hei people.
A sense o belonging de elops h ough wo ways. Fi s , i
g ows h ough discou se, ha is, how we and o he s a e
p esen ed. Second, i g ows in socie al in e ac ion, in o he
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
261Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
wo ds in si ua ions in ol ing ac ions and ope a ions ha
po ay belonging. (Leh onen & Löy y 2003, 14. T ansla ed
om Finnish by he au ho s.)
Besides he o egoing de ini ion, one may p esume ha he i le o
he Kuulumisia p ojec e e s o Da id Mo ley’s a icle (2003) en i led
Kuulumisia – aika, ila ja iden i ee i medioi uneessa maailmassa
[Belongings – ime, space, and iden i y in he mediacen ed wo ld].
In he a icle, he w i e seeks an answe o he ques ion o how we
should in e p e he a ia ions o hinking ega ding he concep o
‘home’ ha ha e esul ed om he ex ensi e changes in he pa e ns
o communica ion and om he physical mobili y in ou cu en
“uns able” (o e en de e i o ialized) wo ld. When alking abou
home, Mo ley has in mind he symbolic aspec s o home bo h in he
na ow sense, as a physical place (household) and in a wide spa ial
sense (Heima ). These o m, on di e en geog aphical scales, di e se
‘s a uses o belonging’ o ‘s a uses o iden i y’, such as local, na ional
o ansna ional communi ies in which people eel ‘a home’ (Mo ley
2003, 155). Mo ley’s ex is hough -p o oking, because he idea o
he locali y o con inuing educa ion a ge ed a eache s wi h an
immig an backg ound o eache candida es wi h an immig an
backg ound ap ly desc ibes he philosophy behind he Kuulumisia
eache quali ica ion aining and educa ion p og amme.
The Kuulumisia p ojec was launched in 2009 a he Facul y
o Educa ion a he Uni e si y o Tampe e, Finland, hanks o he
special unding unde he Specima p og amme g an ed by he
Finnish Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e. The p ojec has om he
s a been buil a ound eache quali ica ion aining and educa ion
p og amme o eache candida es wi h an immig an backg ound
and o indi iduals wi h an immig an backg ound who a e al eady
employed in eaching and educa ion. Besides pu suing o s eng hen
he pa icipan s’ comp ehensi e eache and educa o iden i ies,
he Kuulumisia p ojec p o ides hem wi h a means o quali y as a
262
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
eache in he changing ope a ional en i onmen s o he Finnish
school sys em.
The Kuulumisia p ojec is a signi ican o e unne in e ms o
in e nal e o m and he socie al impac o he uni e si y. Indeed,
he p ojec add esses a numbe o demands placed on uni e si ies
oday, such as socie al in luence and esponsibili y, esea ch-based
eache educa ion, in eg a ion o immig an s, and me hods o
encoun e ing he g ea challenges o e o m in Finnish ci il socie y.
Thanks o i s na u e as an in e na ional educa ion p og amme pe se,
Kuulumisia b ings abou no el imp essions o wha being a eache in
a mul icul u al socie y en ails. A e all, he social dimension is in he
o eg ound in being a eache .
When designing he con en s and o ms o he aining and
educa ion p og amme, we ha e aken se iously he ac ha socie al
change is a eali y and academic eache educa ion needs o mee new
ypes o equi emen s. We ha e ied o ind lexible and case-speci ic
solu ions o help s uden s ob ain eache quali ica ion, wi hou
comp omising he academic le el and high quali y o he p og amme.
As Luukkainen (2004, 79) poin s ou , in ying o mee he challenges
b ough abou by changes in socie y, eache educa ion needs o
p o ide a p ocessing basis o eache s and eache communi ies.
Such challenges apply o basic and con inua ion educa ion alike
(Luukkainen 2004, 79). Thus, he pu pose o he Kuulumisia p ojec
is o p o ide p o essional quali ica ion o immig an s who ha e
academic educa ion bu who in Finland ind i di icul o ind jobs
o ma ch hei educa ion and compe ence. The p ojec add esses he
inc easing need o ein o ce mul icul u al educa ion and specialis
knowledge o immig an -o ien ed ma e s in basic and gene al
educa ion as well as in educa ion a la ge, all he way o he mul iple
o ms o adul educa ion, including libe al adul educa ion.
The backg ound ideas o he Kuulumisia p ojec d aw on he iews
p esen ed by Luukkainen (2006, 206−207) and Mi ja-Ty i Talib
(2005, 23−24). They claim ha being a eache inco po a es he alues
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
263Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
o he su ounding socie y and ha a eache epea s hese h ough
he ope a ions o he school. Because eache ship is also cul u e-
speci ic, i a ies in di e en socie ies and he e o e i is no easy o
make compa isons. Ne e heless, i seems ha socie al expec a ions
owa ds wha eache ship en ails ha e inc eased. Simila ly, socie y’s
expec a ions owa ds a eache ca y a hea ie con en load compa ed
o an indi idual eache ’s own no ion o he expec a ions ha socie y
places on him o he .
The Kuulumisia p ojec pu sues o enew he no ions o eache ship,
o eache iden i y and o he s a us o immig an s in socie y. A
he same ime – and no leas because o he p ominen public and
cul u al oles o eache s – i makes a signi ican con ibu ion owa ds
upda ing he no ions o wha being Finnish en ails. This is how one o
he s uden s el abou he p og amme:
One me hod o achie e many good esul s is o be able
o employ immig an s in he ype o wo k ha ma ches
hei p e ious educa ion. An ou s anding example o his
is employing eache s wi h an immig an backg ound o
each in he s uden ’s o s uden s’ na i e language and o
each he s uden ’s o s uden s’ na i e language. I has had
a e y posi i e e ec when eache s wi h an immig an
backg ound ha e been gi en he chance o wo k as links
be ween cul u es, as eache s, educa o s, and de elope s o
coope a ion be ween school and home.
I da e say ha among he impo an measu es
in oduced o he bene i o immig an s, his ype o
aining p ojec s ands ou as he mos impo an . The
signi icance o he ma e can be app oached om se e al
di ec ions: The p ojec has helped he immig an eache s
o be mo e con iden wi h hei own skills and knowledge,
and wi h he possibili y o con inued employmen , hei
immig an pupils will iew hei own u u e p ospec s mo e
posi i ely because hey see ha educa ion and achie ing
a deg ee make a di e ence no ma e whe e in he wo ld

264
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
you li e. A he same ime, he e is a posi i e u n in he
a i ude o he school pe sonnel owa ds eache s wi h an
immig an backg ound. (Kuulumisia s uden 2012−15;
s uden ’s/s uden s’na i e language eache ; basic educa ion.
T ansla ed om Finnish by he au ho s).
The ield o educa ion o e s employmen o he mos educa ed
immig an s, because a mas e ’s deg ee is a equi emen o a
pe manen eache ’s posi ion in Finland. When eache s wi h
an immig an backg ound do no ha e o mal quali ica ion o
eaching in Finland, hei sense o de achmen and empo a iness
may easily be ein o ced. Howe e , e en i hey ha e duly comple ed
he equi ed s udies and achie ed o mal quali ica ion in hei
own espec i e coun ies, addi ional s udies a e compulso y be o e
ob aining o mal quali ica ion in Finland. (Fo sande 2002, 156−157.)
Indeed, in Finland he p o ession o a eache is s ic ly egula ed and
moni o ed h ough legisla i e measu es, including o e educa ional
equi emen s. Fo example, he pos s o p ima y school and subjec
eache s a e in Finland classi ied as egula ed p o essions, which
means ha a ce ain academic deg ee o ce ain academic s udies
a e a p e equisi e o o mal quali ica ions o such pos s. Regula ed
p o essions include public sec o pos s, du ies, and p o essions
subjec ed o ob aining and holding p o essional p ac ice igh s. The
Finnish Na ional Agency o Educa ion is he compe en au ho i y
esponsible o g an ing p o essional p ac ice igh s o p ospec i e
p ima y school and subjec eache s.
Ou main coope a ion pa ne s and in e es g oups include, in
addi ion o he Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e, he Uni e si ies
o Jy äskylä and Tu ku, specialis s in o he Schools a he Uni e si y
o Tampe e, especially he School o Communica ion, Media and
Thea e, he School o Social Sciences and Humani ies, and he
School o Language, T ansla ion and Li e a y S udies. The la ge-
scale objec i e o he p og amme is o ha e he pa icipan s achie e,
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
265Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
h ough a long- e m and goal-o ien ed p ocess, p o essional equali y
and compe ence bo h in he labou ma ke and in he school
s a ooms. Ou immedia e poin o depa u e is he e o o expand
and acili a e he s uden s’ chances o ob ain quali ica ion h ough
an educa ion p ocess in which hei p io knowledge is iden i ied
and ecognized. In a wo d, he goal o his aining p og amme is
o p o ide he s uden s wi h wide-s e ched pedagogical compe ence
o wo k as eache s in a mul icul u al socie y wi h changing and
di e si ying need o wo k o ce.
By Augus 2015, a o al o 138 indi iduals wi h an immig an
backg ound a ended he Kuulumisia eache quali ica ion aining
and educa ion p og amme. On he whole, he coun ies o o igin
o ou Kuulumisia s uden s a y conside ably, as he ollowing lis
shows: Albania/Koso o, Alge ia, A gen ina, Aus ia, Aze baijan,
Belo ussia, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Es onia, F ance,
Ge many, Ghana, Hunga y, India, I an, I aq, Is ael, I aly, Japan,
Kazakhs an, Libya, Mexico, Molda ia, Poland, Russia, Somalia, Spain,
Swi ze land, Sy ia, Thailand, Tunisia, Uk aine, and Uzbekis an. Mos
o he pa icipan s come om coun ies ou side he EU o ETA.
When en e ing he p og amme he s uden s minimally hold a
lowe uni e si y deg ee (bachelo ).2 F equen ly, he main subjec
o he deg ee is he same as he subjec ha he indi idual pu sues
o each (hence o h subjec o ins uc ion). In basic educa ion, he
minimum equi emen o subjec eache quali ica ion is 60 ECTS
c edi s. As a ule, he s uden mus al eady ha e comple ed hese
be o e s a ing he Kuulumisia s udies. The subjec s o ins uc ion
ange be ween language s udies and science, and be ween e hics
and a is ic o p ac ical subjec s. A la ge numbe o s uden s ha e
2 Howe e , since 2015, he minimum equi emen o his eache quali ica ion
aining and educa ion p og amme is an uppe uni e si y deg ee, i.e. mas e ’s
deg ee, as ou lined by he Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e, which p o ides
he unding o he p og amme. This equi emen sc eens ou a la ge numbe o
applican s om coun ies in A ica and he Middle Eas , because hei academic
deg ee is equen ly aken o be a synonym o a lowe uni e si y deg ee.
266
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
a deg ee in a language; he mos common o hese a e English,
F ench, Russian, and Spanish. The ensuing lis gi es an example
o he di e se quali ica ions p e iously ob ained by ou s uden s.
Language eache (English), Bachelo o Music, Teache o Finnish,
Teache o Ma hema ics and Physics, Bachelo o A s (A ), Biologis
and Teache o Biology, Nu se, Mas e o English T ansla ion and
In e p e ing, Mas e o A s (F ench Language and Li e a u e),
Psychology, S udy o Finno-Ug ic Languages and People, Chinese
Language and Li e a u e, Teache o Russian.
A la ge numbe o ou s uden s will e en ually be employed as
language eache s, p ima ily eaching s uden s’ na i e language, i.e.
i s language. Hence o h, we will be using he e m MAI eache o
such language eache s.3 I is occasionally he case ha indi iduals
wi h an immig an backg ound end up as MAI eache s whe eas
hei uni e si y deg ee migh o iginally be comple ed in a di e en
ield al oge he . This is because i is p ac ically impossible o ob ain
quali ica ion in Finland o ce ain languages o ins uc ion, such
as Somali, Ku dish, Vie namese, and Albanian, le alone smalle
MAI languages, because Finnish uni e si ies do no o e s udies in
hem. Thus, some Kuulumisia s uden s wo k as bo h MAI eache s
and o eign language na i e eache s, while some each an addi ional
o eign language, such as English as i s o eign language, Russian
as second o eign language, o Russian as a na i e language (MAI).
We also ha e a ela i ely la ge numbe o s uden s wi h an immig an
backg ound who cu en ly wo k as eache s o Finnish bu hey end
o be employed in in eg a ion aining o immig an s a he han
in basic educa ion; a pos in he la e equi es a deg ee in Finnish
ob ained in a Finnish uni e si y. In p ac ice his means na i e le el
skills in Finnish.
3 The e m de i es om he Finnish maahanmuu ajan äidinkieli ‘immig an ’s
na i e language’, which is used when e e ing o he subjec o ins uc ion. In
English, he e ms he i age language and communi y language exis , bu hey a e
somewha p oblema ic and will no be used he e.
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
267Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
A u he employmen oppo uni y o Kuulumisia s uden s,
bu no widely known, lies in na i e language ( emedial) eaching.
Recei ing na i e language suppo in hei s udies ends o be
pa icula ly bene icial among he pupils who ha e ecen ly a i ed in
he coun y and a e being ans e ed om p epa a o y ins uc ion
o basic educa ion. Ma hema ics, na u al sciences, and humani ies,
especially, al eady con ain demanding subs ance ma e on he uppe
le els o p ima y school and lowe seconda y school, and he e o e i
is wo hwhile o imp o e immig an pupils’ lea ning p ocess o hese
subjec s by gi ing emedial and complemen a y na i e language
ins uc ion. Besides helping he pupils o lea n he subjec ma e ,
such ins uc ion enhances he de elopmen o bo h Finnish and he
pupil’s na i e language. The e a e no o mal quali ica ions o na i e
language eache s. Ye , on op o hei pedagogical s udies con ained
in he p og amme, se e al Kuulumisia s uden s who wo k as na i e
language eache s also comple e he mul i-disciplina y s udies
equi ed o p ima y school eache quali ica ion.
Mo eo e , Kuulumisia s uden s may be employed in gi ing
eligious educa ion o denomina ional mino i ies, such as Islam.
Also, se e al indi iduals complemen hei Muslim educa ion a
he Uni e si y o Helsinki ei he simul aneously wi h o a e hei
Kuulumisia s udies. On he whole, Kuulumisia s uden s ha e a highly
posi i e a i ude o hei educa ion and a e con inuously s i ing o
complemen hei s udies.
Flexible solu ions and ope a ing models
The Kuulumisia p ojec is aimed a indi iduals who ha e al eady
comple ed a uni e si y deg ee. Since many o he Kuulumisia
s uden s ha e ei he s udies in educa ion o conside able expe ience
in eaching – some o hem ha e bo h – we ha e concluded ha he
skills and compe ence al eady accumula ed need o be ecognized.
274
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
In my opinion, his ask was well chosen. The s uden s
o S2 eaching we e able o expe ience wha i is like o lea n
a language in a language o he han he s uden ’s na i e
language. They we e also able o eel he insecu i y ha
S2 lea ne s ha e o ace e e y single day. The s uden s in
ou g oup we e able o show hei pedagogical know-how
and y eaching pe haps a subjec o he han hei own.
I am su e ha his is one o hose elemen s con ained in
his academic yea ha s ays in mind long a e he cou se
is comple ed. (Lea ning jou nal 2015; Kuulumisia s uden
2014−2015; eache o Finnish. T ansla ed om Finnish by
he au ho s).
On he o he hand, I ound i use ul o assume he ole
o a pupil. The ole was much mo e di icul . S udying in
he Russian language made me no ice how di icul i is
when you ha e o si s ill and lea n in a o eign language
and lis en o a o eign language o se e al hou s and how
us a ing i is when you do no unde s and any hing. I
ied o emembe a ew wo ds a e he eaching session
bu did no manage o emembe any hing. This expe ience
ein o ced he no ion ha when you a e lea ning a new
language, cons an epe i ion and p ac ice is necessa y.
I you lea n some hing new wi hou any oppo uni y o
p ac ise, i is di icul o emembe any hing o wha was
augh . This applies o egula eaching as well. When he
eache eaches some hing new, i is impo an o emembe
ha s uden s need epe i ion and p ac ice, o he wise hey
do no emembe any hing.
Teaching and s uden eaching simila o his expe imen
is good o all eache s om ime o ime. The expe ience
opens up esh iews and eminds us o how di icul i is
o concen a e when you a e lea ning some hing new and
how dull and bo ing i is i you ha e o si s ill o a long
ime when lea ning. (Lea ning jou nal 2015; Kuulumisia
s uden 2015−2016; p ima y school eache . T ansla ed
om Finnish by he au ho s).

Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
275Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
Ou pu pose is o con inue his ui ul coope a ion and, i possible,
s eng hen he collabo a ion and collec i e lea ning be ween
mains eam Finnish s uden s and s uden s wi h an immig an
backg ound. I is impo an o inc ease dialogue and he eby c ea e
eache s’ encoun e ing skills o mee he needs o di e se ope a ing
en i onmen s. Mo eo e , Kuulumisia s uden s equen ly possess
use ul in o ma ion and a ious skills ha would en ich he iews o
o he s uden s lea ning o be eache s. (See, e.g., Koskinen-Sinisalo
2015, 213.) The e is, howe e , a mino p ac ical p oblem o such
collabo a ion, i.e. Kuulumisia classes a e p ima ily held on F iday
e enings and Sa u days, in o he wo ds a a poin o ime when o he
s uden s end o be in places o he han he uni e si y.
A new quo a has been in oduced a he Uni e si y o Tampe e
pe aining o he in ake o s uden s wi h an immig an backg ound
who ha e ca ied ou pa o all o hei s udies ab oad. This is a
welcome ini ia i e o b ing mul icul u al compe ence o schools.
Secondly, he quo a is bound o ha e a g ea impac on eache aining
i sel . Finnish s uden eache s will be accompanied by s uden s who
ha e expe ience and isions o o he cul u es, languages, and modes o
ope a ion, which will undoub edly en ich educa ion and discussions
a ound i . This does no , o cou se, abolish he need in u u e o
con inuing educa ion such as Kuulumisia, since i is a ge ed owa ds
eache quali ica ion aining and educa ion o uni e si y g adua es
wi h an immig an backg ound. Con inuing educa ion such as he
Kuulumisia p ojec is a cos -e ec i e and as me hod o employ
eache s wi h an immig an backg ound and he eby ill in he oid
exis ing in educa ion and eaching.
276
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
Socie al esponsibili y
Th oughou i s his o y, he Uni e si y o Tampe e has assumed a s ong
socie al e hos. The Kuulumisia eache quali ica ion aining and
educa ion p og amme has, on i s pa , aken he uni e si y’s socie al
unc ion se iously by making an e o o ex ensi ely bene i bo h
indi idual and socie y. Recen poli ical discussion on immig a ion
and in eg a ion, as well as news epo s o he poo e school esul s
achie ed by pupils wi h an immig an backg ound han he es o
he pupils in hei age g oups (see, e.g., HS 2015) clea ly indica e ha
immig an s need inc eased a en ion in ou socie y.
The Kuulumisia p og amme makes i a poin o mee wo old
needs. Fi s , i aims o mee he immig an s’ need o ind hei place
and ob ain employmen in Finnish socie y. Second, i aims o mee
he socie al and educa ional needs o p o ide all child en and young
people he skills and knowledge hey need. Fu u e gene a ions a e
in special ocus he e om he socie al poin o iew. Speci ically
speaking, a conce n has eme ged ega ding he pola ized academic
pe o mance in schools and he below- hei -pee s pe o mance by
pupils wi h an immig an backg ound. The e a e ce ainly se e al
easons o such poo pe o mance, bu a majo eason lies in poo
na i e language skills (see, e.g., Ope aja 2015; KARVI 2015, 10−13,
19−21). Ou aims a he School o Educa ion and in he Kuulumisia
p ojec include imp o ing his eg e able si ua ion by aining and
educa ing compe en and quali ied mul i-lingual eache s who ha e
ex ensi e knowledge o schooling and educa ion, who can wo k
as na i e language eache s and also each in he na i e language
conce ned, and who a e able o se e as linguis ic and cul u al
in e p e e s be ween school and immig an amilies. A he same
ime, wi h hei own pe sonali ies, hey a e bound o c ea e a posi i e
pic u e o di e en cul u es and he eby inc ease unde s anding
be ween people. Finally, a eache wi h an immig an backg ound also
se es as a ole model o many pupils wi h an immig an backg ound,
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
277Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
wi h whom hese young people, and occasionally indeed child en,
can easily iden i y and see how ob aining an educa ion is possible
and how s udying pu pose ully is wo hwhile no ma e whe e in he
wo ld you li e, as Koskinen-Sinisalo (2015, 180) also poin s ou .
On an indi idual le el, i may be challenging o a eache wi h
an immig an backg ound o ind his o he own place in he
wo k en i onmen . Acco ding o Koskinen-Sinisalo (2015, 28), he
di icul ies aced by eache s wi h an immig an backg ound in
in eg a ing in o wo king li e include ha ing exis ing compe ence
ecognized, inding employmen , dealing wi h bu eauc acy,
in eg a ing in o he new cul u e, lea ning he language, mas e ing he
wo king me hods and eaching p ocedu es o he school, and aking
con ol o he class oom, all his on op o becoming an accep ed
membe o he wo kplace. This, o cou se, does no only conce n
immig an s in Finland, bu simila si ua ions occu in se e al o he
coun ies as well. The Kuulumisia educa o s ha e made and a e
making an e o o add ess hese challenges no only h ough he
AHOT p ocess and s uden eaching in he ield bu also by opening
up he explici and implici no ms and alues o Finnish schools and
Finnish socie y. Mo eo e , we ha e been success ul in s eng hening
he posi ion o eache s wi h an immig an backg ound in he labou
ma ke , as also clea ly shown by he s udy o he impac o he
Kuulumisia p og amme (Kuulumisia 2014).
Among he mos impo an asks o p esen -day eache educa ion
in Finland is he de elopmen o ope a ion p ac ices ha enhance
he unde s anding o mul icul u alism. Schooling a la ge is buil on
he p inciple o eache educa ion ha acknowledges di e si y and
equali y, in line wi h he ongoing educa ional e o m. To an ex en ,
mul icul u al eaching d aws on c i ical pedagogy, which aims a
ques ioning he “ u hs” ha a e aken o g an ed in di e en cul u es,
and changing hem when possible. I eaching lacks c i icism, i may
emain on a oman ic o an exo ic le el wi hou ou no icing i a all. I
we canno iew ou own cul u al expe iences wi h a c i ical app oach,
278
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
we will no be able o unde s and he c i icism ou cul u e ecei es.
(Talib 2005, 21−22.) An in e es ing con ibu ion o he discussion
on mul icul u al eache ship is a ailable in Hannula (2000), based
on a sys ema ic analysis o Paulo F ei e’s classical ea ise en i led
Pedagogia do Op imido [Pedagogy o he Opp essed, ansla ed by
My a Ramas; So e ujen pedagogiikka, ansla ed by Joel Kuo i].
I is poin ed ou ha h ough educa ion we con ey knowledge abou
he wo ld in he o m o ac s, agmen a y and limi ed. I is u he
a gued ha by con eying knowledge abou he wo ld as gi en, we also
con ey an idea o such eali y ha canno be in luenced and o which
humans mus adap . In con as , wha is called “a libe a ing a i ude”
comp ises an unde s anding o eali y ha unde goes changes plus a
con ic ion ha humans ha e an ac i e ole in he changing p ocess
such ha e e y human being’s igh s a e highligh ed in his p ocess.
(Hannula 2000, 77−78.) I eache ship and educa ion a e limi ed o
con eying only one his o ical and cul u al s o y, o he possibili ies
and ways o iew he wo ld emain igno ed. The e o e, one solid
u u e a ge o us is o in eg a e pa o immig an educa ion in he
basic educa ion gi en a he School o Educa ion. This is bound o
esul in u he syne gy be ween di e en educa ional g oups (see,
e.g., Vi a 2015, 84−93).
A eache ’s mul icul u al p o essionalism calls o mo e ex ensi e
compe ence han p e iously. A eache ’s p o essional compe ence
is ied o his o he iden i y and no ion o sel , and he encoun e s
be ween di e en cul u es p esuppose a mul icul u al eache (Talib,
Lö s öm & Me i 2004, 150). Wi h ega d o e hnic iden i y, i is
likely ha educa ional ins i u ions will ha e an inc easing numbe
o eache s wi h di e en e hnic o igins. Each o hem has his o
he indi idual cul u al amewo k and li e expe ience; knowledge
o hese inc eases unde s anding and helps in communica i e
si ua ions. Ac ually, eache s should iew hei own cul u al iden i y
om he ou side as i we e, and hey should ha e he cou age o
assess he ex en o which i is modi ied by, say, Wes e n cul u e(s).
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
279Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
Fu he mo e, mul icul u al p o essionalism p esupposes awa eness
o o he and di e en human being as a modi ie o an indi idual’s
socie al eali y. C i ical p o essional e lec ion helps unde s and
indi idual expe iences mo e ully, as explana ions o hem a e
a ailable in cul u al and educa ional heo ies. Fu he , o enhance
his o he p o essionalism, he eache should be awa e o he powe
and use o powe embedded in eaching. Socie al ac i i y and social
in luence a e ela ed o he opic o he socie al na u e o eache ship
discussed ea lie in his sec ion, bu as Talib (2005) en isions, he
eache is a change-o ien ed, ebellious in ellec ual, who is conce ned
wi h social ac i i y ou side he school as well. This is ela ed o he
idea o eache s as a public p o essional g oup capable o c ossing
a ious bounda ies, such as cul u al, e hnic, social, and gende -
o ien ed, among o he s. (Talib 2005, 47−52.)
Teache s wi h an immig an backg ound a e a ela i ely ecen
phenomenon in Finland owing o he sho his o y o immig a ion
in his coun y. The e o e, we do no ha e ex ensi e knowledge o
such eache s, he e is li le esea ch on hem, and hei numbe
in Finnish schools on he whole is ela i ely small. The si ua ion is
pa adoxical, howe e , since Finland has in a sho pe iod o ime
ecei ed an inc easing numbe o immig an s and, oday, he schools
in he me opoli an a ea a ound Helsinki, he capi al ci y o Finland,
al eady p o ide educa ion o a conside able numbe o pupils wi h an
immig an backg ound. Simila de elopmen is aking place in o he
la ge ci ies in Finland. Ye , schools ha e no been able o ully espond
o his socie al change, de ac o o he inc ease in immig a ion.
Social and socie al changes in socie y ha e inc eased he
esponsibili y o schools in p e en ing ma ginaliza ion and social
exclusion. This unde lines he ole o eache s as execu o s o social
and socie al democ acy. A u he challenge o he indi idual and
socie y, alike, esides in second-gene a ion immig an pupils: I hei
academic pe o mance is no up o expec a ions, mo e and mo e
people may hink ha di e en hei language and cul u e, oge he

280
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
wi h he socio-economic s a us o hei pa en s and he a i ude by
he school ha e educed he equal chances o immig an pupils o
pe o m success ully a school. F om his, i easily ollows ha being
an immig an oge he wi h a deg ee o aliena ion pa ly de i ing
om me ely being an immig an may wo k as a model which passes
om one gene a ion o he o he and may ha ch suspicion whe eby
immig an s on he whole may ha e a educed chance o success in
his wo ld. (Talib e al. 2004, 13.)
The apid g ow h in immig a ion has also made demands o he
e o ma ion and imp o emen o eache educa ion. The mo emen
o employees and la ge numbe s o e ugees ha e an impac on he
s uden body o schools. A he same ime, Finnish amilies mo e
ab oad and back o Finland o employmen easons. This means ha
in u u e he e will be an inc eased need o eache s who can ope a e
in he pupils’ na i e language. Mo eo e , eache s ace a quali a i e
challenge in how o ecei e new pupils and help hem adjus in a new
coun y. Likewise, i would pe haps be in place o gi e suppo o
depa ing pupils in hei new li e si ua ion. Such challenges equi e
new p og ammes o eache educa ion ha enable s uden s wi h an
immig an backg ound o s udy o become eache s. (Minis y o
Educa ion and Cul u e 2007, 18.)
Finally, i is impo an o know he eache candida e’s coun y o
o igin and heed o his in educa ion and in oduc ion o wo king li e.
A e all, he mul icul u al expe iences and backg ounds o eache s
wi h an immig an backg ound p o ide a ich esou ce ega dless o
he s a e o mul icul u alism o he school, because eache s can make
use o hei mul icul u al backg ound in he schools and communi ies
in which hey wo k. Teache s wi h an immig an backg ound may
also se e as all-a ound specialis s in cul u e and language. They a e
able o inspi e ich in e cul u al discussion and deba e in schools and
inc ease unde s anding be ween di e en cul u es.
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
281Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
Resea ch pe spec i es
As indica ed in he o egoing passages, he Kuulumisia p ojec
p o ides educa ion o mul icul u al eache s who ha e a ma ked ole
in en iching Finnish socie y. This poin o iew has d awn a en ion
and in e es among schola s in educa ion. An example o esea ch
on his opic is Ki si-Liisa Koskinen-Sinisalo’s Doc o al Thesis (2015)
en i led Pi kä ie – Maahanmuu ajas a ope ajaksi Suomeen [A
Long Road: F om immig an o eache in Finland]. In he hesis, he
au ho examines he a ied educa ional pa hs o indi iduals wi h an
immig an backg ound who wo k as eache s in Finland. She has he
indi iduals desc ibe hei own walks o li e and in e wines his wi h
hei educa ional pa hs.
A su ey o s uden s’ iews o he impac o he Kuulumisia aining
and educa ion on hei posi ion in wo king li e is a ailable in Jaakko
Vuo io’s mas e ’s hesis (2015). In wha ollows, we will highligh
selec ed indings o his su ey. Acco ding o he s uden s’ eplies,
his educa ion had imp o ed hei employmen oppo uni ies, as 63
o he o al o 65 esponden s ully o pa ly ag eed wi h his claim.
As epo ed by he esponden s, imp o ed employmen oppo uni ies
p ima ily mean being able o en e he labou ma ke and becoming
employed, bu also he imp o emen o one’s posi ion, hanks o he
comple ed educa ion. In con as , a small ac ion o he esponden s
disag eed wi h his claim. This seems o indica e ha a small sha e
o he esponden s ound no imp o emen in hei employmen
oppo uni ies du ing he pe iod o ime ha he collec ion o da a
co e ed.
The majo i y o he esponden s o his su ey el ha he
educa ion hey had ecei ed had succeeded in p o iding hem
capabili ies o wo k in eaching posi ions in Finnish schools. Mo e
han hal o he esponden s ully ag eed and nea ly one hi d pa ly
ag eed wi h he claim. Acco ding o hese esul s and he esponses o
open ques ions, se e al esponden s had ecei ed om he educa ion
282
Maija Yli-Jokipii and Jaakko Vuo io
ee o opo & ii a jaa inen (Eds)
ele an and use ul ools o apply in hei eaching as well as in
inding hei espec i e places as membe s in he school communi y.
Ye , a small mino i y o he esponden s epo ed ha hey would
ha e wan ed o be gi en ce ain ypes o eadiness ha he p esen
educa ion had no managed o p o ide.
As a as p o essional ne wo king is conce ned, he educa ion gi en
unde he Kuulumisia p og amme, p ac ically all he esponden s (65)
el ha educa ion had ema kably o o some ex en enhanced hei
p o essional ne wo king ac i i ies. They had ound new colleagues
om among hei ellow s uden s o among he uni e si y s a who
wo ked wi h he p ojec . New colleagues we e consul ed o help, o
compa ison o p ac ices and opinions conce ning schools, and o
discussions on a ious p oblems and issues po en ially eme ging in
wo king li e. I seems ha educa ion b ings s uden s in o a common
space in which new con ac s a e made and new ela ions a e bo n.
The claim abou p o essional equali y ecei ed p ima ily posi i e
esponses in he su ey, bu also nega i e eac ions we e eco ded
bo h quan i a i ely and in he open esponses. Reg e ully, he open
esponses did no p o ide desc ip ions o non-equal si ua ions, and
he e o e i is no possible o pu a inge on how p ecisely he lack o
equali y mani es ed in he wo kplaces. On he whole hough, mos
esponden s howe e el ha he si ua ion ega ding equali y was
good.
Fu he mo e, i was epo ed ha he aining had c ea ed new
ne wo ks and enhanced indi idual g ow h owa ds he eaching
p o ession. In his espec , he Kuulumisia p ojec had succeeded in
i s goal o s eng hen he s uden s’ pe sonal g ow h owa ds being
a p o essional eache and educa o (Pan za , Me a & S übe 2013,
292). The esponden s ound i aluable ha he p og amme was no
limi ed o enabling he s uden s o ob ain ma e ial quali ica ions
and angible skills bu managed o con ibu e o he esponden s’
indi idual g ow h owa ds eache ship. Mo eo e , he esponden s
highligh ed ne wo king as a signi ican con ibu o o hei pe sonal
Mul icul u alism as a esou ce
283Subjec eache educa ion in ansi ion
g ow h. In addi ion, he p og amme had p o ided he esponden s
wi h he knowledge o a eache ’s job in Finnish schools as well as
wi h he skills and a ious abili ies hey had el hey needed. This
came abou bo h in he quan i a i e esponses and h ough hemed
ques ions.
The esponden s el ha he con en s o he Kuulumisia eache
aining and educa ion p og amme, oge he wi h he compe ences
connec ed o he job o a eache hey had acqui ed du ing he aining,
we e o high quali y and a ge ed co ec ly. They we e con iden
ha hese compe ences would help hem succeed in u u e asks as
well. E en i he esponden s may ha e had a eache ’s ce i ica e o
diploma in hei espec i e coun ies o o igin, he educa ion hey
had ecei ed in Finland had managed o gi e hem new in o ma ion
abou eaching and especially abou he na u e o he Finnish school.
This, in u n, had helped he eache s wi h an immig an backg ound
o be e unde s and he wo k p o ile o he Finnish eache and
he s uc u al basis o he Finnish school sys em oge he wi h
he eaching philosophy inco po a ed in i . As a as hei Finnish
language skills a e conce ned, he esponden s we e pleased wi h he
imp o emen o hei ield-speci ic skills as pa o hei educa ion
and el an inc ease in hei cou age o use he Finnish language.
Ne e heless, we s ill ha e only li le esea ch on eache s wi h
an immig an backg ound, on hei oles and possibili ies, and on
he ope a ion o schools, as Koskinen-Sinisalo (2015, 26) poin s ou .
Indeed, hose o us who a e in ol ed in he Kuulumisia p ojec hope
ha i will be possible in u u e o expand i s eaching ocus owa ds
a mo e esea ch-o ien ed app oach han hus a . In pa icula , i
would be socie ally meaning ul o expand ou unde s anding o
he ole and impac o eache s wi h an immig an backg ound in
Finnish schools.
So, we ha e he e a esh and up- o-da e ield o esea ch wai ing
o be u gen ly explo ed. This ield is ap o schola s o educa ion,
o schola s o mul icul u alism, and o ep esen a i es o o he