European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 2020
Peerness is a common approach to learning, especially in Nordic adult education, but is increasin... more Peerness is a common approach to learning, especially in Nordic adult education, but is increasingly adopted by European Union (EU)-funded projects that aim to improve migrants’ employability. This article discusses action research that evaluated an ESF-funded project, run by a Finnish popular adult education association in collaboration with vocational adult education institutes, NGOs, and a trade union. The project trained migrants to become peer group guides and empower migrant-background participants for employment. The training prepared guides to become experiential experts, but increased the distance between the participants and themselves. The guidance could even strengthen the otherness of participants when the peerness was based solely on sharing a migrant background. Voluntary peer guidance may reinforce this separation, but dependence on ESF funding also shapes mainstream adult education; therefore, the empowerment of migrants should build on collaboration between experie...
The current state of migration and integration in Finland seems to be marked by employability-dri... more The current state of migration and integration in Finland seems to be marked by employability-driven agenda. This, however, has not been the prominent way of thought for very long. In different times, different perceptions of how to approach migration and integration are emphasized. These perceptions are being reflected also to integration training for adults which is a central interest in this work. In this thesis, I seek to examine how has the notion of employability become prevalent in integration policies and practices within integration training in Finland. The approach in this study is discursive and genealogical policy research. As data, I examine curriculum texts and curriculum recommendations for integration training for adults from the years 1997, 2007, 2012, and 2017. Between 1997–2017, the basis for integration training has changed from rights and equality-based approach towards an activation and employment-based approach. Simultaneously, the perception of integration is...
European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 2020
Peerness is a common approach to learning, especially in Nordic adult education, but is increasin... more Peerness is a common approach to learning, especially in Nordic adult education, but is increasingly adopted by European Union (EU)-funded projects that aim to improve migrants’ employability. This article discusses action research that evaluated an ESF-funded project, run by a Finnish popular adult education association in collaboration with vocational adult education institutes, NGOs, and a trade union. The project trained migrants to become peer group guides and empower migrant-background participants for employment. The training prepared guides to become experiential experts, but increased the distance between the participants and themselves. The guidance could even strengthen the otherness of participants when the peerness was based solely on sharing a migrant background. Voluntary peer guidance may reinforce this separation, but dependence on ESF funding also shapes mainstream adult education; therefore, the empowerment of migrants should build on collaboration between experie...
The current state of migration and integration in Finland seems to be marked by employability-dri... more The current state of migration and integration in Finland seems to be marked by employability-driven agenda. This, however, has not been the prominent way of thought for very long. In different times, different perceptions of how to approach migration and integration are emphasized. These perceptions are being reflected also to integration training for adults which is a central interest in this work. In this thesis, I seek to examine how has the notion of employability become prevalent in integration policies and practices within integration training in Finland. The approach in this study is discursive and genealogical policy research. As data, I examine curriculum texts and curriculum recommendations for integration training for adults from the years 1997, 2007, 2012, and 2017. Between 1997–2017, the basis for integration training has changed from rights and equality-based approach towards an activation and employment-based approach. Simultaneously, the perception of integration is...
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Papers by Anna Ojapelto