This article scrutinises the normalised realities behind integration policies and training for refugees and immigrants that are claimed to be inclusive. The 'great narrative' of Finland has been focused on equal opportunity via education and training, which makes it even more important to examine the hidden realities and how such realities affect…

This article deals with challenging the gender inequalities that exist in education and working life. It contemplates the kinds of discursive power relations that have led to gender equality work in Finland. In today's conditions where equality issues are being harnessed more strongly to serve the aims of economic efficiency and productivity, it…

We indicate the size of family background effects in Sweden, Finland, and Estonia--countries that differ in both the rhetoric and extensiveness of the system-level school choice policies. Family background effect is defined as the dependence of student achievement on family background characteristics, such as parental education, income, and social…

The longitudinal status of supported employment in Finland was examined via a 2003 nationwide survey sent to job coaches involved in supporting workers with intellectual and other disabilities. Sustained supported employment, defined as "paid work in integrated settings with ongoing supports that contained at least two on-site visits per…

Several recent reports on the status of women in US academic institutions have recommended more generous family policies to encourage and retain more women among academic staffs. Many of the policies suggested are modelled on those that have been in effect in Nordic countries for decades. The status of women among Finnish and Swedish academic…