Summary of the Research Project

The research project ÖVERSAM explores the transitions and belonging in the local community of Swedish-speaking young people with learning disabilities after compulsory education. Despite the general disability policy goals, the lives of individuals with learning disabilities are often shaped by the transition from education to service systems. Consequently, the service system determines how individuals with learning disabilities can participate in societal activities.

Swedish-speaking young people with learning disabilities constitute a small minority in Finland. The educational transitions for this group are influenced by many factors such as institutional practices, as well as regionalism and restricted educational opportunities in their own language. Access to services in Swedish mainly means that Swedish-speaking young people with learning disabilities face long distances to access services or that their linguistic rights remain secondary when organizing the services. Long distances also apply to Swedish-language vocational education at the upper secondary level.

In our project, we investigate what kind of belonging in the local community the transitions after upper secondary education construct for Swedish-speaking young people with learning disabilities. The research task of the project is to examine (1) how the transitions after upper secondary education are planned and implemented for Swedish-speaking young people with learning disabilities, and (2) what kind of belonging in the local community these transitions enable.

The research project is funded by Svenska kulturfonden and Stiftelsen Brita Maria Renlunds minne (2024-2027).

For more information about the research project, please contact

Anna-Maija Niemi (PI), Senior Research Fellow
anna-maija.niemi[at]utu.fi

or

Aarno Kauppila, Senior Researcher
aarno.e.kauppila[at]utu.fi

Kuva: Hanna Oksanen / Turun yliopiston viestintä