Tekijät

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Herne, Kaisa (University of Tampere. School of Management)
• Himmelroos, Staffan (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Strandberg, Kim (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Setälä, Maija (University of Turku. Department of Political Science)
• Bäck, Maria (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Leino, Mikko (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)

Asiasanat

bilingualism, deliberation, language policy, national language education, official languages, political attitudes, public opinion

Sisällön kuvaus

The study, which included three separate surveys as well as group deliberation sessions, charted Finnish opinions on the role of the Swedish language in Finland. This survey was conducted right after the deliberation sessions. The aim of the research project was to study the impact of deliberation and use of deliberative rules on the participants' attitudes concerning Swedish language and Swedish speaking minority in Finland.

The respondents were presented some of the same statements as before the deliberation. The statements charted views on, among others, the role and significance of Swedish in the Finnish society, compulsory Swedish in basic education, advantages of a bilingual society, and Swedish-speaking people in Finland. The respondents were also asked whether they thought the Swedish People's Party in Finland (RKP) had too much power relative to its size and whether they had Swedish-speaking relatives, friends or co-workers.

This phase of the study also included questions about political views, such as interest in politics, importance of different areas of politics, frequency of discussing political and social issues with other people, and civic engagement. The respondents perceptions of their personal characteristics were charted as well as trust in different institutions and other people. Finally, the respondents were asked how well they were able to speak Swedish and presented a number of questions investigating factual knowledge of the role of Swedish in Finland.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth, education, occupational group, and region of residence.