Veranstaltungsprogramm

The National Curriculum in Basic Education in Finland emphasizes language awareness and diversity, while often Finnish teacher education is fostering Finnish language and culture. In our paper, we will discuss how language can be used as a tool for inclusion and exclusion. Language and literacies are ways of understanding the world and it is therefore essential to discuss whose voices, groups and perspectives are hidden and excluded in discourses about education. The objective of this paper is two-fold, first it discusses how the Finnish education system positions students and teachers from linguistic and cultural minorities? Secondly, it further focuses on signed language users and their experiences and multiliteracies in the Finnish education. 25 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) young Finnish sign language (FinSL) users between the ages 13-28 were interviewed for the study. The results (XXX 2024, submitted) indicate that young DHH FinSL users are a heterogeneous group in terms of their multiliteracies as defined in New Literacy Studies (Cazden et al. 1996).. Opportunities to learn multiliteracies and minority languages are not evenly distributed in Finland, which can be seen in their variable language and literacy levels. Access to minority language education also depends on where pupils live and the resources available (Yli-Jokipii et al. 2020; Kangasvieri & Suomela 2024). As a result, following questions needs to be addressed: How can the use of different mother tongues and diverse cultural identitities be promoted in schools? What possibilities translanguaging and language planning offer for the promotion of minority languages and their literacies for a more sustainable future and inclusive school? Finland also has ongoing national truth and reconciliation processes in the Sámi, sign language and deaf communities, which also point to the need for change in the field of education.