{"id":{"repo_id":"gmu","oai_identifier":"oai:MARS:1920/10934"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gmu/oai:MARS:1920/10934","repository":{"repo_id":"gmu","name":"George Mason University","base_url":"https://mars.gmu.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Linguistic Issues, Language Rights and Plurilinguistic Education: How Have the Finnish Educational Policy Reforms Affected the Swedish-speaking Finns?","abstract":"Linguistic issues are likely to occur in countries with more than one official language. This is also the case in Finland, a country with two national languages (Finnish and Swedish). Even though Finland is a proponent of language rights and multilingualism, it experiences linguistic issues as its language climate has been deteriorating over the past decades. Hence, this study conducts a policy analysis of how the Finnish educational policy reforms of 1968, 2004, and 2012, have affected the Swedish-speaking Finns, to shed light on how Finland is doing when it comes to respecting and enforcing the language rights of its Swedish-speaking minority. The educational policies under study are all connected to the linguistic issue in Finland as they regulate the compulsory Swedish-language subject in Finnish-speaking schools. This thesis argues that education is key to mastering a language and Finland should promote educational policies that enforce a plurilinguistic education in the comprehensive school, in order to remain a bilingual country. In addition, these types of educational policies create the possibility of a healthy language climate that allows for socio-cultural diversity in a multilingual society.","abstract_html":"Linguistic issues are likely to occur in countries with more than one official language. This is also the case in Finland, a country with two national languages (Finnish and Swedish). Even though Finland is a proponent of language rights and multilingualism, it experiences linguistic issues as its language climate has been deteriorating over the past decades. Hence, this study conducts a policy analysis of how the Finnish educational policy reforms of 1968, 2004, and 2012, have affected the Swedish-speaking Finns, to shed light on how Finland is doing when it comes to respecting and enforcing the language rights of its Swedish-speaking minority. The educational policies under study are all connected to the linguistic issue in Finland as they regulate the compulsory Swedish-language subject in Finnish-speaking schools. This thesis argues that education is key to mastering a language and Finland should promote educational policies that enforce a plurilinguistic education in the comprehensive school, in order to remain a bilingual country. In addition, these types of educational policies create the possibility of a healthy language climate that allows for socio-cultural diversity in a multilingual society.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ekvall, Nicole Victoria Susanne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:52:02Z","subjects":["Linguistic issues","Pluralinguistic education","Swedish-speaking Finns","Language rights","Educational policy","Finland"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:1920/10934"],"render_values":[{"text":"hdl:1920/10934","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Linguistic issues","Pluralinguistic education","Swedish-speaking Finns","Language rights","Educational policy","Finland"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:1920/10934"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.other","label":"Dc Description Other","values":["Linguistic issues are likely to occur in countries with more than one official language. This is also the case in Finland, a country with two national languages (Finnish and Swedish). Even though Finland is a proponent of language rights and multilingualism, it experiences linguistic issues as its language climate has been deteriorating over the past decades. Hence, this study conducts a policy analysis of how the Finnish educational policy reforms of 1968, 2004, and 2012, have affected the Swedish-speaking Finns, to shed light on how Finland is doing when it comes to respecting and enforcing the language rights of its Swedish-speaking minority. The educational policies under study are all connected to the linguistic issue in Finland as they regulate the compulsory Swedish-language subject in Finnish-speaking schools. This thesis argues that education is key to mastering a language and Finland should promote educational policies that enforce a plurilinguistic education in the comprehensive school, in order to remain a bilingual country. In addition, these types of educational policies create the possibility of a healthy language climate that allows for socio-cultural diversity in a multilingual society."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Linguistic Issues, Language Rights and Plurilinguistic Education: How Have the Finnish Educational Policy Reforms Affected the Swedish-speaking Finns?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:description.other":["Linguistic issues are likely to occur in countries with more than one official language. This is also the case in Finland, a country with two national languages (Finnish and Swedish). Even though Finland is a proponent of language rights and multilingualism, it experiences linguistic issues as its language climate has been deteriorating over the past decades. Hence, this study conducts a policy analysis of how the Finnish educational policy reforms of 1968, 2004, and 2012, have affected the Swedish-speaking Finns, to shed light on how Finland is doing when it comes to respecting and enforcing the language rights of its Swedish-speaking minority. The educational policies under study are all connected to the linguistic issue in Finland as they regulate the compulsory Swedish-language subject in Finnish-speaking schools. This thesis argues that education is key to mastering a language and Finland should promote educational policies that enforce a plurilinguistic education in the comprehensive school, in order to remain a bilingual country. In addition, these types of educational policies create the possibility of a healthy language climate that allows for socio-cultural diversity in a multilingual society."],"dc:identifier":["hdl:1920/10934"],"dc:subject":["Linguistic issues","Pluralinguistic education","Swedish-speaking Finns","Language rights","Educational policy","Finland"],"dc:title":["Linguistic Issues, Language Rights and Plurilinguistic Education: How Have the Finnish Educational Policy Reforms Affected the Swedish-speaking Finns?"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:52:02Z"}