Christian Schools in Finland: Case Study on Religious Minority Identity of Adventist Pupils

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Christian Schools in Finland Case Study on
Religious Minority Identity of Adventist Pupils

• Arniika Kuusisto
• Researcher
• SoCa BeSS Project
• University of Helsinki, Finland

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Independent Schools in Finland

• 98-99 of comprehensive schools in Finland are
  run by local municipalities only 2 of Finnish
  children attend an independent school (Karvonen
  et al 2004, 3 Rask 2000).
• Private schools including Christian schools
  have a supplementing role in the educational
  system. Their curricula is based in the National
  Curriculum. (Rask 2000)

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RE in Finnish Mainstream Schools

• RE is a part of the National Curriculum, and is
  thus taught in the mainstream schools.
• According to the religious background of the
  home, pupils can participate in
  Evangelical-Lutheran, Orthodox, Catholic, Islam,
  Adventist, Baháí, or The Christian Community RE
  or in Life Questions Ethics lessons.
• School needs to arrange these minority religion
  lessons, if the parents of at least three pupils
  ask for it.

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History of Christian Schools in Finland

• Oldest Christian school was established by the
  Adventist Church in 1932 in Piikkiö
• First interdenominational school founded in
  Helsinki 1987 (Helsinki Christian School)
• National Association for Christian Education
  (Kristillisen kasvatuksen keskus) works for
  supporting the setting up process of Christian
  schools and kindergartens

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Christian Educational Institutions in Finland

• Currently twelve Christian comprehensive schools
  and 14 kindergartens
• Upper secondary school education in Helsinki
  (programme started 2005) and Toivonlinna
  (Piikkiö) Christian Schools
• Christian vocational institutions
• - Diaconia polytechnic (DIAK) with 8 units
  around the country and student population of
  3000
• - Approximately 20 Christian Folk High Schools

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Location of Christian Comprehensive Schools in
Finland

• Espoo
• Helsinki (2 schools)
• Jyväskylä
• Kerava
• Kopu (Nummela)
• Kuopio
• Pori
• Siikasalmi (Liperi)
• Tampere
• Toivonlinna (Piikkiö)
• Turku

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Establishing Independent Schools

• In order to set up a new school (e.g. a Christian
  one), there has to be an evident need for the
  proposed institution
• - needs to offer some type of education that is
  not already provided by the local council
• - needs to attract enough pupils, and
• - have suitable settings, equipment, teaching
  staff, and assured finances.
• Proposed schools need to be authorized by
  Ministry of Education in order to receive
  official status and funding

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Maintenance of Christian Schools

• Currently the schools are maintained by either a
  local Christian school foundation, or the
  Adventist Church (Suomen Adventtikirkko).
• Subsidiary school status in the educational
  system means 90 or 100 governmental funding for
  the schools
• At least one of the schools operates without the
  official status (home-schooling status for
  pupils)
• National Association for Christian Education
  serves as a network organization

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Curriculum in Christian Schools

• Often developed in co-operation with other
  Christian Schools. Based on the National
  Curriculum.
• As Adventist RE has its own official status, the
  SDA schools RE curriculum differs from the
  others. However, also those schools are
  increasingly interdenominational, which has been
  taken into account in the curriculum work.
• Congregational boundaries are diminishing. Pupils
  accepted from any religious background.
• (Laakkonen 2005)

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Christian Schools Curriculum Extract

• The unifying factor in the curriculum is
  Christian worldview, which aims to bring up the
  connection between the different parts of the
  given information.
• In teaching different subjects, the current
  scientific assumptions are acknowledged and
  brought together in the holistic view including
  the nurturing of Christian educational tradition.
• In comparison to mainstream comprehensive
  school, the subject matter is, within the
  framework of national guidelines, distinctive
  teaching methods are nore or less the same and
  the perception of knowledge and learning
  equivalent to those in the national curriculum.
  The notion of human being derives from Christian
  values.
• (National Association for Christian Education
  2005)

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Case study Adventist pupils experiences on
denominational vs. mainstream schools

• Overall research project examines adolescents
  religious identity and social capital case study
  in Adventist context
• Mixed Methodology both quantitative (surveys)
  and qualitative (interviews, fieldwork) methods
  used

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Objective

• To find out whether there are differences in the
  strength of the teenagers religious minority
  identity depending on whether the school they
  attend is a denominational school or a mainstream
  one

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Terminology

• Religious minority identity experienced
  affiliation and a self-image consisting of the
  perceptions that people here youth have
  concerning themselves as members of a particular
  religious minority denomination, in this case the
  Adventist Church.

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Previous Research on Minority Identity and School
Social Context

• Umaña-Taylor (2004) examined ethnic minority
  identity and self-esteem among Mexican-origin
  young people significant relationship between
  ethnic identity and self-esteem, ethnic identity
  and self-esteem not context-specific but remain
  significant regardless of the school social
  context.
• Results differ from previous research (e.g.
  Phinney 1992) on White adolescents, among whom
  the relationship between ethnic identity and
  self-esteem was only found in contexts where the
  White youth did not represent a numerical
  majority.

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Data Gathering
Age Group Methods Data Analysis Strategies / Mixed Methodology (Tashakkori Teddlie 1998)
Young People Interviews (n10 1998), Survey (n106 1999) Parallel mixed analysis, sequential QUAL-QUAN
Teenagers (14-18 yrs) Survey (n121 2004), Interviews (n10-15 2004-05) Parallel mixed analysis, sequential QUAN-QUAL
Teenagers Parents Survey (n?50 2004), Interviews (n10-15 2004-05) Parallel mixed analysis, sequential QUAN-QUAL
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School Social Context

• Direct, multiple choice question Which school do
  you go to?, and
• Another question asking them to classify their
  school to e.g. a) A school maintained by the
  Adventist Church.
• ? Adventist schools were attended by 46
  (n43) of these teenagers, whereas 54 (n51)
  attended mainstream institutions

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Measures of Religious Minority Identity

• A rather extensively modified version of
  Phinneys (1992/2004) Multigroup Ethnic Identity
  Measure (MEIM), also utilized by Umaña-Taylor
  (2004).
• A direct, self-reported statement The fact that
  I am an Adventist is an important part of my
  identity
• A 9-statement measure of Adventist identity was
  tested here. Commitment was used as an indicator,
  and the religious identity was divided to three
  domains of religious identity
• a) social (e.g. I feel a sense of belonging
  when I take part in denominational activities)
• b) cultural (e.g. I feel Im growing out of
  Adventism), and
• c) spiritual (e.g. I trust in Gods guidance in
  my own life)
• identity commitment spheres.

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Preliminary Results on Religious Minority Identity

• On the scale 1-4, four presenting the maximum in
  experienced Adventist identity, the overall mean
  score was 2.85 (SD.50)
• Direct statement was agreed with by 80 of the
  young people. Mean score 3.12. Significant
  correlation (.61) between direct statement and
  the MEIM based measure.
• Mean value of Social Identity Commitment 3.09,
  Cultural Identity Commitment 2.89, and Spiritual
  Identity Commitment 3.10.
• Social identity commitment correlated with the
  successive Adventist generation represented
  (.338), as well as the levels of cultural
  (.531) and spiritual (.456) identity
  commitment domains. Cultural and spiritual
  identity commitment levels also share a
  statistically significant relationship (.665).
• In this analysis, age, gender and self-esteem
  were not found to have a significant affect on
  Adventist identity commitment.

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Religious Minority Identity and School Social
Context

• The answers to the direct Adventist identity
  statement (.10) and the measure based on MEIM
  (.16) did not correlate significantly with the
  social context of the attended school.
• Neither did the cultural or spiritual domains of
  religious identity commitment.
• The teenagers social identity commitment,
  however, did produce statistically significant,
  although not very strong correlation with the
  social context of the attended school (.395).

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Conclusions

• Preliminary results suggest that religious
  minority identity is rather important to the
  Adventist youth in Finland.
• Religious minority identity of these Adventist
  teenagers does not seem to be very
  context-specific, but is relatively independent
  of the social context of the school they attend.
• The measure with more precisely specified
  identity commitment domains introduces some
  differences between the domains and their
  relationship with school social context although
  the correlation is not very strong, there is a
  statistically significant relationship between
  the social identity commitment domain and the
  social context of the attended school.
• Although this finding is hardly surprising, it
  does have important implications about the
  precision of the measure, as this relationship
  did not come up when using the measure based on
  MEIM.

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Q How do you think the type of schools you have
attended affected your values and everyday life?

• When Im in a normal school Im not so much of a
  believer anymore, but Ive seen what that life is
  like! (Boy, age 15)
• Strongly. A mainstream school affects a lot
  because I adjust very much to the habits of my
  non-believer friends (in my heart I am an
  Adventist). (Girl, age 15)
• Ive been in an Adventist school since fifth
  grade until Year 9, then Ive felt that Im
  closer to God and more relaxed and worrying less
  about many things, the school has strengthened my
  values. (Girl, age 17)
• In an Adventist school it has probably been
  easier to ponder ones own values at peace, and
  there have been folks with tolerance for
  differing opinions, yet with similar minds.
  (Girl, age 19)
• In a mainstream school it is difficult to be a
  believer, but in an Adventist school one is
  part of the group. (Girl, age 17)
• Ive been in a faith school throughout
  comprehensive school. It has had a really big and
  positive impact on my life. (Boy, age 16)

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Thank you!

• Arniika Kuusisto
• SoCa BeSS Research Project
• University of Helsinki, Finland
• arniika.kuusisto_at_helsinki.fi