Turvallinen koulu : suomalaisten näkemyksiä koulutuspalvelujen kansallisesta ja kunnallisesta priorisoinnista

Abstract

Veikko Vilmi tarkasteli tutkimuksessaan kuntalaisten arvostuksia koulutuspalveluja kohtaan ja sitä, kuinka tyytyväisiä he ovat palvelu- ja rahoitusjärjestelyihin. Koulutuspolitiikan suunnittelun ja päätöksenteon menettelyillä on merkitystä kuntalaisten koulutuspalveluja kohtaan tuntemaan arvostukseen, esimerkiksi miten turvallisena koulu nähdään hyvinvoinnin kannalta. Veikko Vilmin tutkimus käsittelee koulutuspalveluja peruskoulun ala-asteelta aikuiskoulutukseen saakka. Kansallisella tasolla Vilmi tarkasteli koulutuspalveluja tuottamisen ja rahoittamisen näkökulmasta, jossa yhteydessä maksukyvyllä on merkitystä suunnattaessa koulutuspolitiikkaa hyvinvointia edistävästi.

The aim of this study is to establish what views people have as to the priorities of Finland’s general and vocational education services, proceeding from compulsory primary school education through to adult education. The results describe Finnish educational services in the 1980s and 1990s. The number of returned questionnaires was 73,6 %, or 1030 persons, and 62 %, or 2106 persons.As a theoretical basis, the roles of the municipality are examined, with services seen as a component of the system of municipal operations. Educational systems, in addition to the infrastructure and economy, can be seen as one part of the social system which interacts directly with those needing the service. For this reason, educational systems first and foremost are part of public welfare. The welfare theory is taken as a starting point for the provision and financing of services on a value basis. For their part, these services are integrated into the educational system and at the same time have a preventive effect on the development of exclusion.In the study the satisfaction-dissatisfaction dimension describes people’s expectations of the educational network. If the educational network does not function in its capacity as a service network, then societal development may to some degree take a negative turn, i.e. towards exclusion. These research results are in part along the same lines as ideas which have been presented in the mass media. This especially applies to compulsory secondary schools, in which attention should be paid, for example, to preventing disruptive behaviour and exclusion as well as, in general, to issues concerning subcultures. Enjoyment of tasks is one of the factors conducive to regular school attendance and good learning outcomes.According to the research conducted in the 1990s, for example, the populations of different regions place different emphases on the provision and funding of vocational educational services in Finland. People living in Southern Finland, for example, have greater expectations regarding general provision of services and organisation of resources by the municipality than those living in Eastern Finland. Differences can also be found in the altitude to adult vocational educational services, which in this study refers to education which promotes the finding of employment. Those living in Eastern Finland have greater expectations of the municipality than those in Southern Finland as regards the provision and financing of educational services where residents contribute a share of the costs. The analysis of special educational services also shows differing points of view, as does the examination of upper secondary educational services, specialised upper secondary educational services and school ancillary services.Those resident in Northern Finland more often than their counterparts in Uusimaa (Southern Finland) expect the municipality to take responsibility for the upkeep of special educational services. More often than those living in Eastern Finland, residents of Northern Finland expect more upper secondary educational services to be organised by the municipality. The residents of Eastern Finland more than those living in Uusimaa expect part of the costs of specialised upper secondary educational services to be paid by those using the services. The people in Northern Finland support the idea that it is the municipality’s responsibility to take care of school ancillary services more than do their counterparts in Uusimaa. Views on the provision and financing of educational services are of an ideological nature, or they are viewed in connection with the concept of security. The latter also emerges in relation to acceptance for education and integration into the resulting educational society.In addition, the decisions which are made at school level in the education of students to meet the requirements of working life are also linked to security. In this case, it is a question of suitability for future vocational tasks, i.e. integration into working life.