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Bodies in motion: the impact of selective streaming in Finnish secondary schools

Author(s): Katja Hiltunen

Thursday 15  |   13:00-13:20

Room: TP52

Session: Frontiers in segregation research

My ethnographic doctoral research looks at the impact of selective streaming in two secondary schools in Eastern Finland. Selective streams are created through aptitude tests in subjects such as sports, art or sciences, depending on the school’s chosen specialism(s). The carrying theme in my analysis of the fieldwork material is a Deleuzoguattarian flow. In following the flow of movement and intensities and placing myself in the middle of the events, I explore what type of movement is possible and for whom during the school day. In addition to Deleuze and Guattari’s work, Karen Barad’s concept of intra-action is influential in my exploration of how human and other-than-human beings create space and movement together. The research suggests that there is a difference in the opportunities for movement between the selective and non-selective streams. This is, in part, because of the nature of the specialist subjects that allow for more freedom of movement. However, the selective streams are also considered as the gifted and talented groups who can be trusted with liberties that may not be available to the non-selective groups. This in-school segregation is reflected in the school discourse, creating ‘them’ and ‘us’ divisions within schools. As a secondary school teacher by profession, I have seen and lived the impact of education policies on the everyday of schools. The emergence of selective streaming in Finnish secondary schools through policy decisions made in the 1990s became the obvious choice for my doctoral research after a career of teaching in various English schools where ability grouping within schools and between-school segregation is the norm. My presentation discusses the ‘them’ and ‘us’ divisions with examples from student interviews and lesson observations, focusing on the everyday life of schools.