Study title

Education Professionals' Views on Comprehensive School System and Education Business 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3888

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3888
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3888

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Nivanaho, Nina (University of Turku)

Abstract

The survey charted the views of teachers and principals working in primary education on the Finnish comprehensive school system and commercial actors in schools. Main themes included, among others, the education business as part of the current state of the comprehensive school system and possible future developments in the commercialisation of Finnish comprehensive education.

First, respondents were asked a series of questions on issues such as the purpose and impact of basic education in society and possible developments. Questions also addressed the role and actions of teachers. Respondents were then asked for their views on how basic education should be organised and funded. Next, respondents' experiences with the growth of commercial activities in and around basic education in Finland were explored. For example, respondents were asked how often in the last 12 months they had used products and services provided by commercial operators in their teaching, or participated in on-demand and in-service training organised by publishers of learning materials or other commercial operators. Finally, respondents were asked about the potential future development of the commercialisation of basic education in Finland.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age group, place of work, work experience in years, job title, size of the school in which the respondent works and the grades in which the respondent teaches.

Keywords

education; educational development; educational methods; educational personnel; educational policy; lower secondary education; primary education; privatization; teachers; teaching

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Consumption and consumer behaviour (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Compulsory and pre-school education (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Nivanaho, Nina (University of Turku)

Funders

• Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-11-01 – 2021-12-31

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Teachers, special education teachers, student advisors and principals in Finnish comprehensive education

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The survey was carried out using Webropol software and was answered online. Invitations to participate in the survey were sent via the teachers' social media channels and the communication channels of various educational organisations. The prospective respondents were also encouraged to share their invitations with their colleagues. In addition, the survey could also be answered via a link published on the University of Turku's website.

The survey was opened a total of 1,135 times and 390 education professionals started responding to the survey. A total of 227 respondents completed the survey, representing a response rate of 20% compared to the opening of the survey. The percentage of those who started the survey but dropped out was 42%.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The researcher has anonymised the data by removing the open-ended variables related to the last two open-ended questions.

To prevent identification of respondents, the municipality where the job is located (8.), open-ended variables and open-ended responses to the response option 'Other, please specify' have been removed from the data at FSD.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Nivanaho, Nina (University of Turku): Education Professionals' Views on Comprehensive School System and Education Business 2021 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-04-15). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3888; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3888

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Nivanaho, N., Haavisto, M., Palonen, T., Lempinen, S., & Seppänen, P. (2024). Shared and contested views of education professionals on the forms of privatization within comprehensive schooling in Finland. Teoksessa A. Santalova & K. Põder (toim.), Privatization in and of Public Education (s. 130-150). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197673508.003.0007

Nivanaho, N. (2024). Suomalaisen peruskoulun yksityistäminen ja kaupallistaminen koulutusalan toimijoiden näkökulmasta. Turun yliopiston julkaisuja, sarja B, osa 663. Turku: Turun yliopisto. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9677-3

Nivanaho-Ahvenjärvi, N. (2024). Suomalaisen peruskoulun yksityistäminen ja kaupallistaminen koulutusalan toimijoiden näkökulmasta. Kasvatus & Aika, 18(3), 151-159. https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.145635