University non-admittance and anomie: Reconsidering the promise of an egalitarian society

Abstract

The core theme of this article is the emerging tension between the egalitarian discourse that increases the general aspiration of people to become more educated and actual admission constraints. A desire to attend a university and not being allowed to (i.e. non-admittance) is a loss that can potentially result in an anomic condition. Anomie theory gives a sociological explanation for a painful situation in which there is a cultural overemphasis on success combined with structurally limited opportunities. In this study, the focus is on the experiences of prospective students who have been applying to a selective university in Finland without gaining admission. The data consists of 50 personal online narratives. The analysis is presented in accordance with a conceptual typology of individual responses to the conditions of non-admittance. The findings yield important insights regarding university choice, meritocratic selection and formulation of equitable admission policies.     

Gender Neutralities, Dichotomies and Hidden Inequalities: Analysis of Vocational Teachers’ Reflections on Gender in the Profession

This article analyses how Finnish vocational teachers make sense of the meanings of gender in their work. The context of the study consists of the two most gender segregated environments of vocational education: the female-dominated Sector of Health and Social Services and the male-dominated Sector of Technology and Transport. Our analysis draws on 23 teacher interviews conducted in two vocational institutions, offering vocational upper secondary education and training to both young and adult students. The data is analysed from post structural and material feminist theoretical positions, using various conceptualizations of gender. Our findings suggest that both male and female teachers have adopted the idea of gender neutrality, whilst they simultaneously provide dichotomical and hierarchical perceptions of men and women as vocational teachers. Consequences of minority position in the staff room are different for females and males. In the field of technology and transport, women in the minority, on the other hand, need to struggle continuously with masculine vocational hierarchies to gain professional respect.     

Adult graduates’ negotiations of age(ing) and employability

In this article, we will explore Finnish adult graduates’ social positioning in relation to age and ageing, and the new discursive framing of employability that is firmly expressed in national as well as in European policy agendas. Age is here understood as a social construction and ageing as a lifelong process. We will analyse our joint interview data of general upper secondary school and university graduates, aged 30–60, from a discursive and narrative point of view. We will explore how the adult graduates we have interviewed negotiate and interpret age(ing) in relation to the employability discourse. Furthermore, we will explore some of the consequences of undertaking formal, academically oriented education in adulthood and not normatively in youth. As a result, we argue that age(ing) may be interpreted as a positional (dis)advantage notwithstanding the chronological age of the graduate or the level of the degree achieved in adulthood. Furthermore, becoming an entrepreneur of one’s own life willing to invest in continuous learning and education is the requisite at any age, and in no lesser extent for an older adult, willing to enhance her/his employability and stay actively involved in working life.     

Transformative learning in managerial role transitions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of learning in work role transitions from specialist roles to managerial roles in a context of a large international technology organisation. Prior theorisation of learning in role transitions has been based on quantitative, psychologically-oriented studies prescribing different role and personal attributes related to work adjustment. Personal experiences have received only a superficial or instrumental part in most of the preceding studies. Therefore, this study draws upon a transformative learning theory to outline an interpretative framework and focuses on in-depth, narrative analysis of a small number of role transition experiences. As a result, the study reveals how first-time project managers and team leaders wonder about their abilities and actions; compare ‘self’ with role models; and become aware of the power aspect of managerial roles. Such reflection eventually leads to a perspective transformation regarding ‘self’ and new roles. However, it also involves adaptation to the prevailing organisational norms, values, and leadership ideals. The study will add to our understanding of learning in transitions and inform those working in the human resource development or otherwise involved in the organisational transfer processes. Moreover, it reminds that perspective transformations should not be taken innocently as examples of ‘empowerment’, but critically concern why transformative learning is encouraged at work nowadays and what purposes it serves.     

Positional competition in a binary system: the case of Finnish higher education

Positional competition in the labour market entails graduate opportunities that depend not only on graduates’ skills, experience and abilities, but also on how their educational credentials compare to those of others. In this study, we examined the positional competition in the Finnish labour market and compared the influence of different ‘degree types’ on the probability of obtaining high-paid, high-status jobs. We used a register-based 5% sample of 25–45-year-old Finnish higher education (HE) graduates from 2010 to 2012 (N?=?63 486). It was expected that the relative position of graduates would be affected by the degree level as well as the educational field and the binary division (university vs. non-university) of HE. Therefore, master’s and bachelor’s degree levels in all educational fields from universities versus universities of applied sciences (UASs) were included. The method of analysis was logistic regression. According to our results, the binary divide structured the opportunities to enter high-paid, high-status jobs within different fields of education. The university master’s degree graduates had the highest probability of succeeding in the Finnish labour market, and their status/rank elevated them above the competition by regulating access to certain professions or occupations through specific qualification requirements (i.e., credential social closure). Moreover, our results demonstrated how the degree rankings and the relative distance between university and UAS degrees vary in different fields. The Finnish case offers a valuable point of comparison to other HE systems with a binary structure.