Keywords

7.1 Introduction

This chapter provides insights into how young people living in small communities or rural areas in Finnish Lapland delineate their educational transitions from primary to secondary school and further to upper secondary school and vocational education and training. Smooth educational transitions have the potential to build up transition capital, which can be exploited later during one’s life span in case of changes in personal and working lives (West et al., 2010). Negative experiences during transition can have the opposite effects. Additionally, educational transitions are part of young people’s choices in life, which are made in relation to families, communities, culture and societal conditions (Anderson et al., 2000). This all means that children and young people navigating their transitions need support, some more so than others.

In remote rural areas with small communities, added to the challenges related to transition itself and changes in young people’s lives, they also have to deal with socio-cultural differences. During their transition process, young people often move from their communities to localities where further education is provided. This includes usually moving to larger localities away from home. All this has the potential to cause homesickness with lack of support (Mander et al., 2015). The study presented in this chapter aims to seek answers to what kinds of experiences are gained by young people living in and coming from remote rural areas during their educational transitions.

7.2 Context: Finnish Education System

The study’s setting is the Finnish far-north geographical area called Lapland. Finland is a geographically long and fairly large country in North Europe. The majority of the inhabitants live in southern parts of the country, and especially in Lapland, the population density is very low, with only 1,9 persons per square kilometre (StatFin, 2021).

The Finnish education system consists of pre-primary, basic and upper secondary education, as illustrated in Fig. 7.1.

Fig. 7.1
A framework depicts the system of education. Pre-primary and basic education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Matriculation exams and vocational qualifications are carried on upper secondary schools.

Finnish system of education

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In the autumn of 2021, Finnish compulsory education changed from the 10-year to the 12- year system. Children start their pre-primary education during the calendar year when they reach the age of six. The following year, they advance to comprehensive school, which is organised as a single-structure education (integrated primary and lower secondary education) (Eurydice, n.d.). In the first six grades of primary education (ages 7–12), classroom teachers teach most of the subjects. In lower secondary education (ages 13–16), teaching is organised according to different subjects, taught by subject teachers.

The upper secondary education lines – both general and vocational – follow a nine-year comprehensive education. In Finland, general upper secondary schools (i.e., gymnasiums) educate students for approximately three years in preparation for higher education. In turn, Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifies students for the labour market and also offers eligibility for higher education. Some students qualify from both general and vocational upper secondary schools at the same time, completing broader general studies than those receiving vocational education only. In these cases, studies usually require four years.

7.3 Educational Transitions

All children and young people experience multiple educational transitions, such as starting nursery, attending pre-school, starting primary school and advancing to secondary school. These can be regarded as normative, ecological transitions; they represent institutionalised transitions established by laws and educational policies (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Elder & Shanahan, 2006). The normative transitions also form an important part of children’s and young people’s growing up and taking increasing agency of their career paths and future choices (Marttinen et al., 2018). Previous studies have indicated that transitions present both opportunities and challenges. Some children and young people make successful transitions, enjoy school and demonstrate good academic achievement, while others struggle with their well-being and school performance (de Bruyn, 2005; Kiuru et al., 2020).

Educational transitions can be understood as rites of passage (see, e.g., Turner et al., 1992; van Gennep, 2013), with changing communities, roles and contexts. Children and young people enter a new learning environment, which is often larger and includes more people than the previous one. During the transition, children’s and young people’s roles change, and they are often the youngest in the new setting. At the same time, they are expected to take more responsibilities than before (Jindal-Snape, 2010). Young people who have good coping and life management skills are able to move on by taking responsibilities in their studies and are more likely to experience successful educational transitions (Jindal-Snape & Foggie, 2008; Marttinen et al., 2018).

During young people’s transitions, the family is usually the resource that provides continuity in their life in the midst of changes (Turunen & Kearney, 2016). Previous research supports the notion that an encouraging and supportive family environment has a positive impact on successful transitions (Elffers & Oort, 2012; McGee et al., 2003). Young people’s parents, siblings and peers have experiential knowledge and know-how, originating from previous experiences, that help the youngsters navigate through their transitions (Turunen, 2014). Siblings, friends and other informal networks can be helpful and provide a sense of safety in giving advice based on their own experiences (Benner, 2011). According to previous research, parents, siblings and friends play a significant role as informants and navigators through the transition to secondary school (Goff, 2017; Turunen & Kearney, 2016).

A lack of support from the informal network represents discontinuity and may therefore cause stress to the young (Galton, 2003). Families’ and communities’ social, cultural and economic backgrounds and families’ abilities to support their youngsters’ transition are diverse (Goff, 2017). The families are the original contributors to children’s and young people’s learning and development. Families can provide a supporting academic-oriented home environment and also foster happiness and a sense of belonging (Swartz, 2008). The lack of family support is not always about the problems or negligence causing stress or difficulties for the youngsters (e.g., Roderick & Camburn, 1999). It can also be related to families’ possibilities to share everyday life with their underaged children, for example, if the children are obliged to move to another town to study. Accordingly, this means less parental communication and support (Elffers, 2012).

Another aspect of the informal network comes from the meaning of the peer social system and young people’s position in it. The sense of belonging is crucial for successful studies (Hymel et al., 1996). In a large Dutch study (N = 1438), Elffers (2012) found that the young students’ social capital and support from community and peers were interconnected or combined with other factors, such as parents’ education, economic status and previous school experiences in the family (see also Turunen & Perry, 2017). Sometimes, the lack of support is not due to missing friends but the anti-school attitudes of the student’s social network. For example, the young people’s cultural environment may be based on a value system other than education, especially if educating themselves means permanently leaving their home region, or the young people’s contribution may be needed at home. Thus, the effect of informal networks appears as a complex phenomenon connected with various factors that may either enhance or hinder young students’ sense of belonging, engagement and agency during and after their transition (Elffers, 2012; Marttinen et al., 2018).

The places where people are born or live during their childhood give them roots, a sense of home (Louhela, 2016). Communities are affected by the broader societal circumstances and policies, but they also have their own cultural habits and norms that shape the community members’ identity (Lehtinen, 2006). In Finland, several historical courses of events, definitions of cultural policy and public narrations have affected the experiences and affordances available for young people living in small communities in rural areas (Hartikainen, 2016). In terms of children and young people, the cross-generational community and local culture, as well as the home, the family and the peer network, are crucial determinants of their experiences (Alasuutari, 2003; Turunen & Perry, 2017).

In Finland, small village communities are usually located in rural areas and differ from urban localities in both size and location. Additionally, remote communities are mainly regressive in their economic, cultural and social development (Louhela, 2016). Public services and for example, possibilities to participate in guided hobbies are scarce. For this reason, especially the remote northern rural areas may appear as peripheral places and urban localities present the central and ‘real-life’ environments (Ollila, 2008). However, some young people want to stay in their home regions and do not find urban life attractive. Nature and close human relationships are important factors in young people’s attachment to their homeland and enjoyment of their home region (Kiilakoski, 2016). These young persons have a dual role: they need to learn to value their own environment and to accept the fact of leaving (Kiilakoski, 2016).

In rural areas, young people transitioning from basic education to further studies undergo the same elements of transition as their peers in urban settlements. Primary education is often available also in small communities, but lower secondary education is offered in larger municipal centres. Regarding upper secondary education, the municipal centres usually have general upper secondary schools, but VET is offered only on a regional basis. This means that those young people who choose the vocational education path are forced to move to regional centres and lodge in dormitories, rent private apartments or live with their family members or relatives in those regional cities. In the far north, this might mean several hundred kilometres’ move from home for vocational education.

7.4 Research Design and Settings

In this study, the prime methodological commitment was the perspective of young people’s experiential expertise, in which their knowledge formed during the transitional experiences was appreciated. As such, the research philosophy relied on the phenomenological approach. In phenomenology, experiences and their meanings to young people are considered intrinsically valuable. The narrated experiences collected via group interviews were the young people’s expressions and conceptualisations of their experiences and ways of sharing these with others (Perttula, 2000). The young participants of this study were given the opportunity to describe their experiences about their transition to a new school. The data were collected via focus group interviews with young people (N = 27) from one northern municipality in Finnish Lapland. The municipality covers a large geographical area with a low population density. The municipality is located in the Sámi homeland and organises teaching in both Finnish and Sámi languages. It has a few village schools, comprising one very small single-structure comprehensive school (with approximately 12 students) in a distant village, a larger single-structure comprehensive school (with approximately 200 students) and a small gymnasium (with approximately 15 students) in the municipal centre.

The research data were collected from two educational transition phases. The data from the first transition phase (Transition 1) were gathered from sixteen 12–13-year-old seventh graders, pondering their previous year’s experiences about their transition from primary to lower secondary school in four focus groups. Six of those students moved from the small village school to the municipal centre for lower secondary school, and ten students were able to continue their studies in the same building in the municipal centre, as the primary and the lower secondary schools formed a single-structure comprehensive school.

The data from the second transition phase (Transition 2) were obtained from eleven 16–17-year-old students attending gymnasiums and VET, who reflected on their transition from comprehensive school to upper secondary education in three focus groups. Six students had moved to the nearest city for their studies, and five of them stayed in their home municipality where there was a small gymnasium. The quantitative data about the informants are presented in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1 Participants’ target school
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The focus group interviews were conducted during the autumn terms in October and November 2015 and in January 2017. The timing was important because during the interviews, the participants were in the middle of their transition processes. The number of the focus groups, the duration of the interviews and the number of transcribed pages are presented in Table 7.2. The data were collected in Finnish, and the transcriptions were translated into English by the authors.

Table 7.2 Number of focus group interviews and their duration
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The data extracts refer to Transition 1 or Transition 2. The 12–13-year-old students are referred to as one group – ‘Transition 1, students in lower secondary education’. In turn, the students in Transition 2 are separated into two groups – ‘Transition 2a, moved to city’ and ‘Transition 2b, stayed in rural centre’ – because the authors are interested in whether and how the young people’s experiences differ from one another.

The data analyses were conducted by using the theory-led thematic analysis approach (e.g., Bengtsson, 2016). First, the authors divided the data among themselves and individually performed a preliminary analysis. Next, they held a meeting where they discussed their observations and the main themes emerging from the data. The tentative themes were living environment and culture, social relationships and support network, roles and responsibilities, learning environment, and wishes and fears concerning educational transition. Again, the authors divided their work and searched the literature based on their themes, abducting the relevant conceptual terminology and writing about the themes. Then, they met again and polished the themes, combining some and reducing them into three thematic categories: (1) roles and responsibilities, (2) social relationships and supporting networks, and (3) living environment and culture. This kind of approach, with several researchers examining the data individually and together, provided a firm basis for triangulation by multiple analysts with deep insights into consistencies and inconsistencies in the analysis process (Patton, 2015). In the following section, the results are presented via the final three thematic categories.

Throughout the research process, the ethical guidelines of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK, 2019) were followed. To begin with, the municipal educational administrative authorities were asked for their informed consent to complete the study in their region. Next, the same was requested from the schools. All young participants of the focus group interviews gave their informed consent orally before the interviews started. The consent included relevant information about the research goals and the ways of publication, as well as the possibility to withdraw from the research at any point (Cohen et al., 2011).

7.5 Results

7.5.1 Roles and Responsibilities

The data highlighted how the transition demanded strong agency from the young people. It was presented as new roles, duties and responsibilities in the new life situation, environmental context and relationships. The experiences were narrated through differences between the past and the present.

For example, if you live alone, if something happens, there is no one who will help you. (Transition 2a).

Well, it was a bit like… when you are used to living at home. Always everything is ready and... Well, cooking was… One can cook, but at home, it was much easier when you did not have to do everything yourself. (Transition 2a).

The changing role from that of a child, who was looked after by the parents, to that of an independent young person, was strongly present in the data. This indicated that the process and acquired new skills served as the evidence of a successfully completed rite of passage, moving from the previous phase of life to the new one (see van Gennep, 2013). After this, they could speak authoritatively about matters such as food and transportation expenses, gaining more independence and doing well in their studies:

The bus transportation to the city is so damn expensive. (Transition 2a).

Yes, I also had the expectation that it would be much more difficult, but I have done well here. (Transition 2b).

These kinds of statements emphasised that after the transition, the participants acquired new knowledge and skills and had taken new responsibilities. Therefore, they were more able to look after themselves and felt competent with their new skills after taking an active role in the transition (Jindal-Snape, 2010; Marttinen et al., 2018).

Although the young people felt that family support was important, they perceived the transition to upper secondary studies as a passage towards adulthood:

I somehow had a really enthusiastic feeling that now I can get to a school where there are more freedoms for myself. (Transition 2b).

The participants wanted to assume more responsibility for their own choices.

They [the parents] have said that I can do what I want [in choosing the school], but they maybe felt more okay when I decided to start upper secondary school here and stay at home (Transition 2b).

As exemplified in the preceding data extract, the parents’ role weakened and narrowed, and they allowed their children to make their own choices, especially regarding their studies. However, the interviews also indicated that staying at home for upper secondary school was many parents’ priority.

The transition also pushed young people to take a more active role in their studies and in planning their everyday lives. The transition provided both new freedom and responsibilities:

I thought that there would be quite much homework and learning would be more difficult, and that is how it has been. I expected that, too, but I have done well. One must admit that this is quite hard (studies). (Transition 2b).

However, when you have come here (to school) a long way, then it is worth completing your education. Not worth just lying there in the dormitory. (Transition 2a).

As presented in this chapter, the changing roles and responsibilities included both positive and negative aspects. Young people were happy and enthusiastic about the new phase of their life with more independence and agency. At the same time, they were worried about how they would be able to take care of themselves and pursue their studies alone. The positive tone and feeling in making a successful transition indicated that the rites of passage from childhood to more independence were successfully managed and the constructive experiences provided positive transition capital.

7.5.2 Social Relationships and Supporting Networks

Positive and supporting social relationships and networks form a crucial part of a smooth educational transition (Elffers & Oort, 2012; McGee et al., 2003). They were also important themes in the interviews, and the young people had mixed feelings about the relationships and support available for them in their new situation.

The families had resolved the issue of lack of support in different ways obviously according to their resources. Some families had decided to move to the city in order to support their children’s everyday life and studies. It was a major decision for each family, while they would have to acquire a new apartment and perhaps find jobs, among other things.

  • S: I live with my mom and sister here [in the city], so I don’t have to deal with everything myself.

  • R: So, your family moved here, too?

  • S: Yes, because of my studies. We still have the house in Xxx. We rented a smaller flat here. (Transition 2a).

Some young people came from reindeer herder families. These families often work together, and teenagers, especially boys, might have a fairly large role in reindeer herding tasks. Doing these tasks with their fathers and extended family is also an important part of growing towards adulthood (Kuokkanen, 2009). This was reflected in the interviews, for example:

Of course, they [the parents] thought that it would be a good thing [to go to school in a city], but there is much work to do at home, so they worried whether they would manage to do all the reindeer husbandry needed when I would not be there. (Transition 2a).

Some young people found it stressful when they left behind their familiar social network. They were worried whether they would manage to make new friends in the new environment:

Of course, [coming to the city and the new school] was of concern. I have some acquaintances [in the city] from my home area but still, not so many. I was worried whether I would make any friends and live on my own, too, although I live in a dormitory. (Transition 2a).

Especially the fact that you are coming from a school with 12 students to a school with 800 students. (Transition 2a).

The importance of peers during the educational transition is well researched (e.g., Evangelou et al., 2008; Turunen & Kearney, 2016). Friends provide a social network, supporting the transition process as they give informal information about the new phase. The worry about making new friends, as expressed in the previous extract, is also a common theme in prior research (Evangelou et al., 2008).

The supporting network was especially important for those young people who had to leave home for their studies. Some students had family and relatives in their new environment. This provided a good basis for their sense of safety. Moreover, many young people from the same locality had already moved to the city, which helped establish new social networks.

  • R: So, you feel safe having your big brother here already?

  • S: Yes, he lives in the dormitory, too. Naturally, that helps a lot.

  • (Transition 2a)

I have lots of acquaintances here. Relatives and friends. Actually, more here than at home. Everybody has come here already. ... I knew that in my free time, I will have friends. (Transition 2a).

These results confirm the findings of previous studies. The informal networks, such as family members and existing friends, support a successful transition process, including the growing sense of belonging, engagement and agency (Elffers, 2012; Marttinen et al., 2018).

7.5.3 Living Environment and Culture

On one hand, some students who live or had lived in small villages had nice and warm feelings about the atmosphere in the community. They brought up the safety and the sense of community in the small place. This supported their studies and built up their transition capital.

All communication was easier, flexible [in the village school]. For example, if I didn’t manage to take an exam on a certain date, I could do so the next day. Everything was negotiable. (Transition 2a).

Small circles, easy living. ... Cosy, everybody knows one another [in the small village school]. (Transition 2a).

On the other hand, due to the small community where everybody knew one another, the young people were worried about their privacy and had a fear of stigmatisation in school and in the village when they had some kinds of problems or simply due to their origin or family background.

But my parents are friends with my study counsellor and with my teacher. And my big sister had all the same teachers. And then they got to know everything about me even two years ago [well before the transition started]. (Transition 1).

And the downside is that, for example, you cannot hang out in the evening in the village centre. Some of the teachers always come and say, “Shouldn’t you be at home already?” [chuckle]. (Transition 1).

The atmosphere is a bit narrow-minded here. People like certain families, and they always ask, “What’s your family name?” I’m like, “You don’t know me although I will tell you my family name. I am not the same as my family.” That is not nice. (Transition 2b).

These findings resonate with Turunen and Kearney’s (2016) study, whose results indicate that the previous informally transferred knowledge of young people and their siblings might have a strong effect on how new acquaintances during the transition perceive them. This might lead to a situation where the young people are not recognised as individuals with their own needs.

Well, at least my mother and my teacher are best friends. So, they get along well. And, at the same time, she [the teacher] knows me, too, and my brother. (Transition 2b).

For those who stayed in their home locality for further studies, it was evident that continuing their education there had both positive and negative impacts. In these communities, everybody knows one another, and information flows through informal channels. The teachers are members of the community and connected to the students’ families.

The students who moved from their local communities to the city had very different experiences. They told the interviewers about their feelings of culture shock in the beginning of their studies. The transition from a small community to an urban locality made them feel fear and anxiety:

It was very frightening indeed [to move to the urban locality and start new studies]. In a way, it was a bit distressing to go there. I was all alone there. I did not know anyone. It is quite a big change when you don’t know any teachers or anyone. (Transition 2a).

In the evening, being a girl, especially in the centre of the city. That you watch out all the time. Usually, friends take me to my apartment, or if I walk home, they say, “Send a message when you get home.” (Transition 2a).

Although moving from a small community made young people feel fear and even anxiety, there were also mixed, positive experiences:

... I’m not sure if it was negative excitement. I was quite glad; I knew one of my new classmates. I had met him earlier in aptitude tests. It was nice to know one person there. (Transition 2a).

These results indicate that the context of the transition process plays a large role. In their life course theory, Elder and Shanahan (2006) argue that individual lives are lived interdependently, with shared relationships in social contexts and structured by transition points. These linked lives create the local community history and culture, which have the potential to influence how young people manage their transitions (Benner, 2011).

7.6 Conclusions

The title of this chapter asks if it matters where one lives during the educational transitions. Despite some anxiety, the young people in this study were eager to move forward in their lives and take more responsibilities. Changing roles and social networks were present despite the place of residence after the transition. The changes were both positively exciting and distressing. The results show that educational transitions are significant milestones where the meaning of friendships and the sense of belonging become visible.

Notwithstanding the similarities, there were also differences in the students’ experiences, depending on their place of residence. Such differences were due to the VET institutions’ locations almost entirely in towns or cities, meaning that those young people from small communities who chose vocational paths had to leave home at a very young age. This triggered a variety of goals and fears concerning educational transition. They were both practical considerations, such as how to manage one’s own finances, the possibilities to continue hobbies (related to nature, e.g., hunting), cooking and cleaning, and more general and broader concerns related to a new, more demanding curriculum, making new friends or settling down in the new environment.

Small communities in far-north Finland have a nature-based lifestyle and firm social networks. Their family backgrounds can either uplift young people or set limits in making their successful transition. This calls for a firm professional approach by teachers, school counsellors, healthcare workers and others who work with young people in these communities. The practitioners should be aware of the possible halo effect in their perceptions and reflect on them.

Those young people leaving their community encounter somewhat diverse challenges. They come from an environment where everybody knows one another to a much larger place where they comprise a small group, and their challenges during the transition may go unnoticed. Therefore, these young people need special attention during the transition process. People who work with them should be responsive to their needs, which might vary in the different phases of transition. Before the transition, the young people need all possible information about their new school and the trade they have chosen. Situations such as living in a dormitory and managing one’s everyday life need preparation. In the actual transition, these youngsters need specific information about the people who are there to support them and how they would have access to the services they might need.

To conclude, based on the results, it can be suggested that in educational transitions in the Arctic areas, supporting young people comprehensively and considering both their academic achievements and socio-emotional wellbeing are highly important. This implies that young people need versatile support services during their transition period and early, preventive educational and social interventions. It is essential to recognise the diversity of students and not regard the urban lifestyle as mainstream. It might also be worth exploring whether some parts of upper secondary education could be organised online so that young people could stay more at home during their studies.