The doctoral study investigates integration programs for immigrant students into the Finnish-Swedish education system. The study will initiate an ethnographic study of a preparatory classroom for immigrant background students at Haga Skola, a Finnish-Swedish school in Vasa. This study will be organized as Community-Based Participatory Research (CPBR). The study aims to work in collaboration with education leaders and immigrant students to uncover any paradigms regarding the integration of the target student group into Swedish-language schools. Participatory Action Research (PAR) will be utilized to give the students autonomy in the study and provide data on their perception of themselves in Finland by way of a diary log and end-of-study project. A “go-along” interview with the participants will finalize this study by interviewing the students during their usual route from home to school to set the intention of the interview topic into context. The results of this doctoral study hope to give an insight into the integration approaches used in Haga Skola to gain an understanding of the integration system in Finland and specifically in Swedish-Finnish education. The insights gained can develop innovative solutions in further developing preparatory programs for immigrant background students in Swedish-Finnish schools.

2024