English in Finland : a case study of globalization's impact on higher education

Abstract

This paper looks at how the process of globalization, via the Bologna Process has changed higher education in Finland. It examines how legislation was changed, altering the structure of the degree programs, which led to the creation of international degree programs. These programs brought international staff and students to the universities. Many universities have since adopted a language policy to ensure the language rights of all staff and students at the universities.

This research explores the effectiveness of the language policy, an important element to the framework for international master’s degree programs. First, interviews were conducted with members of the universities’ administration. The interviews hope to determine the motivation of the universities to undergo the significant changes to their programs after adopting English as an additional language of instruction and administrative services.

Questionnaires from the teaching staff and students provide insight to how the adoption of English has impacted the teaching and educational aspects of the universities. The questionnaires were specifically written to gather data from staff and students who teach or study in English in the social science master’s degree programs. This data was then analyzed through a comparison of the universities as well as from the responses of Finnish staff and students versus those classified as internationals. While the sample size from both groups was inadequate to postulate any definitive conclusions, it concludes with the belief that the language policy is mostly effective, but has some flaws and more research is needed.