Schools|At the Merilahti school in Vuosaari, Helsinki, about 60 percent of the students have an immigrant background. In the opinion of principal Timo Heikkinen, the encouragement of the student and his family can influence the improvement of the learning results of those with an immigrant background.
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A study by the University of Jyväskylä and OKM revealed the poor reading skills of immigrant children.
61% of first-generation immigrant children do not have sufficient information to participate in society.
The large number of students with immigrant backgrounds in the school weakens their learning results.
Principal Heikkinen questions the research results and emphasizes individual differences in learning outcomes.
Jyväskylä of the university and the Ministry of Education and Culture on Monday made public the research shows that 61 percent of first-generation immigrant children have such poor reading skills that they are not considered to have sufficient knowledge and skills to participate fully in society’s activities, such as further studies and working life.
In the light of the 2022 Pisa survey, the study looked at the skills of students with an immigrant background and the factors connected to it.
When the results of the study were examined per school, it became clear that the large number of students with an immigrant background in the school weakens the learning results of those with an immigrant background. When the share of people with an immigrant background in a school rises to more than 20 percent, the results of students with an immigrant background clearly deteriorate.
The Merilahti school has a little less than 800 students in total.
Timo Heikkinen, principal of Merilahti elementary school.
Helsinki The Vuosaari Merilahti elementary school currently has slightly less than 800 students, of which approximately 60 percent of the students have an immigrant background.
In the Merilahti school, the proportion of people with an immigrant background has grown considerably in recent years. When Timo Heikkinen started as principal of the school 17 years ago, the share of students with an immigrant background was about 20 percent of the total number of students.
Heikkinen does not directly sign the research result, according to which the results of students with an immigrant background clearly deteriorate when the proportion of students with an immigrant background in a school rises to more than 20 percent.
“One can ask whether problems with the learning of students with an immigrant background start if we go over a certain percentage of people with an immigrant background,” Heikkinen reflects.
Headmaster Heikkinen justifies his view by the fact that the learning results of the Merilahti school vary quite a lot from individual to individual.
“For several years, the school’s best and worst student has been from an immigrant background. The learning results of immigrants are evenly distributed between the best and worst students. Among students receiving special support, the share of immigrants is surprisingly high. In this matter, we have a place to look in the mirror, why this is so.”
In Heikkinen’s opinion, the success of immigrants in learning does not depend solely on how well they know Finnish.
“In certain subjects, for example social studies, language skills are important because the subject’s terminology is challenging. In general, it is necessary to teach in such a way that the level of the teaching is understandable. Understanding the teaching must not depend on the student’s linguistic weakness.”
Weak says that with the encouragement of the student and the student’s family, it is possible to influence the learning results of those with an immigrant background to improve.
“There are students with an immigrant background who are interested in studying and find it important. However, it may be that they are not encouraged to study at home. The school can influence the fact that studying is encouraged at home.”
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