A case study on democracy and human rights education in Finnish upper secondary education:: everyday praxis, ‘value jargon’ or somewhere in between?

Abstract

This article discusses the education given on democracy, human rights and other European values in Finnish teaching education, drawing on previous studies, existing literature, curricula, and questionnaires on teacher trainers’ and upper secondary school students’ perceptions. Earlier studies suggest that democracy and human rights in Finnish education system and teacher training remain unsystematic, implicit, and dependent on individual teachers’ own interests. These previous studies underline democracy and human rights being seen as either distant from everyday education or declarationist ‘value jargon’ embedded in curricula without real substance. In August 2024 I conducted two surveys, one with upper secondary school students (n=63) and one with teacher trainers (n=11) at one teacher training school in Finland. Data content analysis shows that democracy, human rights and other European values are present in some shape or form in most classrooms at this upper secondary school. Upper secondary school students identify explicit European values like human rights, implicit values like democracy, and the relative absence of the rule of law. Teacher trainers prioritise equality as a practice in their work with upper secondary students and student teachers. This case study suggests that the collected data reflects an educational shift from ‘value jargon’ towards everyday praxis, although systemic barriers and practical challenges remain.