Senior Researcher
+358 40 516 9189
anu.gretschel@youthresearch.fi
I work as a senior researcher in the Finnish Youth Research Society. My specialized interest is in the relationship between society, municipalities, and young people. This entails research projects related to youth participation, their impact creating possibilities, democracy, equality, evaluation of youth work as well as developing public services through negotiations between young people, professionals, and decision-makers. Once again, some research projects have ended, and new ones have started.
At the moment I’m working on two projects related to democracy, human rights and equality. These are Young Local Citizens and the State of Democracy: Towards Equality and Real Impact and Democracy and Human Rights Education in Vocational Education and Training Institutions: Staff and Management Perspectives.
Most of the earlier years were allocated to a project entitled ‘Situation picture and instruments of monitoring – Democracy and human rights education, participation rights and equality at field of education’. The research questions of the study concerned issues on intended learning outcomes, involvement, participation rights and evaluation of actualisation of equality. Purpose was to examine how well and how equally intended learning outcomes of democracy and human rights education comes true in Finland. Also, the study investigated fulfillment of involvement and participation rights of children, pupils, and students. The study operated at all levels of education practice from early childhood education to teacher education. It was realised in co-operation with Jyväskylä University and Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. The research project was funded by the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities, see abstract of the project in English included in the report published in Finnish.
Earlier, ‘Good Practices related to Democracy and Human Rights Education’ in early education, schools and educational institutions over the last five years were also collected during 2021-2022. The project produced a collection of stories about good practices in democracy and human rights education, which can now be accessed in Finnish, sign language, Swedish and Northern Sámi on the webpage of the Finnish National Agency of Education. The project was realised in co-operation with the National Youth Council Allianssi and Koordinaatti, which has a role in three different Centres of expertise for youth work. The project was contracted by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The responsibility of writing and updating Youth Wiki chapters on Finland has given continuity to my working processes for several years now. Youth Wiki is Europe’s online encyclopedia for national youth policies that are rooted in EU Youth Strategy. Nowadays, the database includes 34 European countries and ten different thematic chapters for each. Youth Wiki is funded by EU Erasmus+, and nationally by the Ministry of Education and Culture (more information about the updating process of Youth Wiki).
Recent publications in English
Gretschel, A. & Kautto, T. & Lehikoinen, J. & Lehtonen, M. & Särkiluoto, V. & Tarvainen, K. (2023) Evaluation and monitoring of the activities of youth organisations in the Nordics. What could learned among the Nordic countries? Nordic Council of Ministers. TemaNord 2023:531. The publication is available also in Finnish and Swedish.
Gretschel, Anu & Korhonen, Antti (2019) What the European co-operation teach us about the nature of tools used in evaluation of (open) international youth work. International Journal of Open Youth Work, Issue 3, 83-92.
Cooper, Sue & Gretschel, Anu (2018) Evaluating youth work in its contexts. Teoksessa Pam Alldred, Fin Cullen, Kathy Edwards and Dana Fusco (toim.) SAGE Handbook of Youth Work Practice. Lontoo: Sage, 608–622.
Publications in English
Gretschel, A. & Kautto, T. & Lehikoinen, J. & Lehtonen, M. & Särkiluoto, V. & Tarvainen, K. (2023) Evaluation and monitoring of the activities of youth organisations in the Nordics. What could learned among the Nordic countries? Nordic Council of Ministers. TemaNord 2023:531. The publication is available also in Finnish and Swedish.
Gretschel, Anu & Korhonen, Antti (2019) What the European co-operation teach us about the nature of tools used in evaluation of (open) international youth work. International Journal of Open Youth Work, Issue 3, 83-92.
Cooper, Sue & Gretschel, Anu (2018a) Evaluating youth work in its contexts. Teoksessa Pam Alldred, Fin Cullen, Kathy Edwards and Dana Fusco (toim.) SAGE Handbook of Youth Work Practice. Lontoo: Sage, 608–622.
Juha Nieminen & Anu Gretschel (2018b) The “Social” in Youth Work: Snapshots of Finnish Youth Work Policy and History. Teoksessa Howard Williamson, Tanya Basarab & Filip Cousseé (eds.) The History of Youth Work in Europe. Youth Work and Social Work. Connections, Disconnections and Reconnections – the Social Dimension of Youth Work, in History and Today. Volume 6. Youth Knowledge #23. . Council of Europe and European Commission, 95-107. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/the-history-of-youth-work-volume-6
Gretschel, Anu (2017a) From Groups to a Network – Using the Speech Act Theory in the Development of CSYP Measures in Local Level in Finland. Teoksessa Magda Nico & Marti Taru & Dunja Potočnik & Andrei Salikau (eds.) Needles in haystacks. Finding a way forward for cross-sectoral youth policy. Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the Field of Youth. Bruessel: Council of Europe Publishing, 119–127. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/needles-in-haystacks
Anu Gretschel (Ed.) & Tina Cupar & Merle Linno & Tomi Kiilakoski & Noora Hästbacka & Antti Korhonen (2017) Studying the impact of international youth work – Towards developing an evaluation tool for youth centres. Helsinki: Finnish Youth Centres Association. Suomen nuorisokeskusyhdistyksen julkaisuja, 1/2017. Finnish Youth Research Society/Finnish Youth Research Network, Internet Publications 113.
Older ones
Kiilakoski, Tomi & Gretschel, Anu (2014) Challenging Structured Participation Opportunities. In Perspectives on Youth: European Youth Partnership Series under the topic “2020 – what do YOU see.” Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth. http://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/7110731/Kiilakoski-Gretschel.pdf/32f2bbd6-5eef-480f-9ba8-d5e27d2efb57
Gretschel, Anu & Kiilakoski, Tomi & Laine, Sofia & Levamo, Tiina-Maria & Mäntylä, Niina & Raisio, Harri (2013) Report on New Ways of Youth Participation, Spesifically in Local and Regional Levels. In co-operation with The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth or Finnish Youth Research Network. Helsinki: Nuorisotutkimusverkosto/-seura. http://nuorisotutkimus.fi/julkaisuja/youthparticipation_goodpractices.pdf (Available also in Russian).
Feldmann-Wojtachnia, Eva & Gretschel, Anu & Helmisaari, Vappu & Kiilakoski, Tomi & Matthies, Aila-Leena & Meinhold-Henschel, Sigrid & Roth, Roland & Tasanko, Pia (2010) Youth participation in Finland and Germany. Status analysis and data based recommendations. Finnish Youth Research Network, Bertelsmann Stiftung und Forschungsgruppe Jugend & Europa am CAP, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. http://nuorisotutkimus.fi/julkaisut/verkkojulkaisut (Available also in Russian)
Laine, Sofia & Gretschel, Anu (2009) Whose arena the EU youth policy is? Young participants’ involvement and influence in EU youth policy from their own points of view: Case of EU Presidency Youth Event in Hyvinkää, Finland. Young 17 (2), 191–215. Republished in Lynne Chisholm & Siyka Kovacheva & Maurizio Merico (eds.): European Youth Studies – Integrating research, policy and practice. Triangles Series, M.A. EYS Consortium, Innsbruck, 179-193. http://www.youthstudies.eu/files/maeys_reader_2012.pdf Republished in (2016) Tommi Hoikkala & Meri Karjalainen (eds.) Finnish Youth Research Anthology 1999-2014.