Researchers from the Finnish Youth Research Society – Tomi Kiilakoski, Antti Kivijärvi, and Eila Kauppinen – write about school youth work in their article published in the Nordic Journal of Pedagogy and Critique (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.). The article examines the motivations behind the development of school-based youth work in the 2010s, as well as the goals and methods of school youth work in Finland in the 2020s. This is the first international peer-reviewed article on Finnish school-based youth work.
According to the researchers, school youth work has long emphasized working with groups rather than working with individuals or school community. Working with peer groups and peer relationships is linked to a new understanding of well-being, which highlights the importance of groups and communities in young people’s development. Drawing on the theories of Gert Biesta, the authors argue that school youth work fulfills its role as a supporter of young people’s growth, but it is more focused on integrating youth into society rather than fostering critical thinking.
The article is part of the Finnish Youth Research Society’s research on centers of expertise.
The text is openly accessible online. In the same issue, Danish doctoral researcher Christoffer Schultz writes about youth centers and the pedagogy of recognition.
Article
Kiilakoski, T. & Kivijärvi, A. & Kauppinen, E. (2025) It’s About Relations: Goals and Limitations of School-Based Youth Work in Finland. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, Vol 11 Nr. 2 (2025): Trivsel og mistrivsel. https://doi.org/10.23865/ntpk.v11.6290
