The Classed Parental Attitudes Towards the School Choice and Equality of Opportunity in Finnish Comprehensive School

Recent international comparisons and rankings have highlighted the equality and quality of Finnish education system. Throughout the whole 2000s, PISA-test results have demonstrated that Finnish pupils score high; the percentage of pupils reaching only the lowest proficiency levels is small; the variation between schools is low; and, finally, the impact of pupils’ socio-economic background to learning outcomes is small.

Traditionally, Finnish comprehensive school system has been built on principle of equality, and the provision of basic education has been governed through school districts. Since the 1990s, reforms, based on principles of decentralisation and deregulation, have reduced direct state control. As a result, local education authorities have developed distinctive policies concerning local models of selection and admission with diverse possibilities to exercise parental choice.

Our aim is to discuss the ways in which social class intertwines with parental values towards universal and selective features of comprehensive school within the political, social and educational context of Finland. Based on our previous studies we are especially focusing on 1) the changing emphasis on equality of opportunities, and 2) the new cleavages within social classes, in relation to school choice. We describe classed educational strategies by combining our empirical findings of school choice, attitudes towards comprehensive school system and social class (based on family survey, conducted in 5 Finnish cities, n=2617).

Our interpretation is that the lower classes are relatively excluded from the Finnish version of school choice, which grounds on aptitude tests, and urge for more open enrolment in general. Whereas middle classes on one hand, more commonly exercise parental choice in practice, and, on the other hand, are more aware of the segregative effects of free parental choice. Nevertheless, new cleavages, based on occupational status within the middle class have emerged with different emphases on freedom to choose and universal education system.