Savings burden school staff and challenge justice
According to the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre, funding for education has remained at the 2009 level despite significantly growing needs. A doctoral dissertation to be defended at the University of Oulu sheds light on how municipalities' tight financial situations impact daily school operations.
The findings reveal that budget cuts and reductions burden educational administration, principals, and teaching staff. Dwindling resources and increasing demands create a situation where education administrators must balance schools’ autonomy with control.
The study highlights different strategies used by educational administration and principals to implement savings. “Soft and hard tactics vary depending on the situation as they manage limited resources. For principals, balancing their roles as school advocates, loyal public officials, and efficient leaders is particularly challenging,” says Esa Niemi, a Master of Education who will defend his dissertation on December 13.
The cuts have also brought features of politicization into municipal education systems, where questionable methods of influence, such as bypassing others, issuing directives, or even threats, have been observed in resource allocation. “This can undermine trust and call into question the fundamental values of education,” Niemi notes.
The number of comprehensive schools in Finland has halved over the past two decades. While school closures have drawn public attention, the continuous financial pressures on municipal education departments have been overshadowed in public discourse.
The research was conducted in five municipalities, analyzing educational documents and interviewing administrators and principals.
The dissertation provides valuable insights into the background and strategies of austerity measures. It helps to understand the challenges faced by educational administrators and principals and the operational models they have developed to navigate tight financial situations. The findings support the preparation and decision-making for future savings initiatives.
Dissertation (in Finnish, abstract in English)
Esa Niemi, Master of Education, will defend his dissertation at the University of Oulu on Friday, December 13, 2024. The dissertation, titled Managing a shrinking municipal education. What happens when the resources of educational organizations decrease?, belongs to the field of education sciences. The opponent will be Professor Kauko Hämäläinen from the University of Helsinki, and the custos will be Professor Anu Kajamaa. The defense will begin at 12 noon in room IT116 on the Linnanmaa campus and can be followed online at https://oulu.zoom.us/j/61635174848.