‘Non-traditional’ and ‘traditional’ students at a regional Finnish University: demanding customers and school pupils in need of support

ABSTRACT

This article explores university students’ constructions of the ideal student at present-day university, that emphasises student-as-consumer culture and employability rather than education as a virtue in itself. The research is based on thematic narrative accounts (n = 67) generated in a generalist field in one regional Finnish university. We apply a narrative-discursive approach to analyse how ‘traditional’ young students (n = 34) and ‘non-traditional’ mature students (n = 33) position themselves in relation to the ideal good student in a present-day university and in relation to their university studies. Moreover, we examine some of the consequences of such positionings for the students themselves. Our analysis indicates that the present-day university student is constructed in line with the ideal student of the neoliberal order and student-as-consumer culture. However, whereas mature students positioned themselves as customers and were comfortable with the demands of today’s university for self-directedness and self-responsibility, younger students positioned themselves as ‘school pupils’ and were critical about being left on their own without adequate support. The study suggests that the terms ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ make differences related to age and different kinds of student positionings visible and, thus, also possible to reconstruct the ideals and normalities of the present-day neoliberal university.

KEYWORDS:

• (Non-)traditional mature/young university student
• employability
• social positioning
• student-as-consumer
• school pupil

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Katri Komulainen who provided valuable feedback on an earlier version of this paper. We also thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful commentary.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The dual Finnish higher education system includes both traditional science-oriented universities and Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), which concentrate on providing professional and vocational education. This study relates to the former.

2. ID indicates the number of the participant, F/M the gender, under 30/30 or over the age group, full-time student/(mainly) studies but also works/(mainly) works but also studies/does not study at the moment, the amount of engagement in study. BA/MA indicates bachelor’s/master’s level and the number indicates the number of credits gained (the total number of credits for a bachelor’s degree is 180 and for a master’s 120). In the Finnish system it is a common practice for a student to be admitted to study for both a bachelor and master level degree. Most students study for and graduate with a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree is, thus, an intermediate stage. Due to an unlimited number of minor subjects some students also gain more than the total of 300 credits. DL indicates the amount of distance learning of the participant.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Academy of Finland under Grant [number 295961] and Grant [number 315796].

Notes on contributors

Päivi Siivonen

Päivi Siivonen works as a senior researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology. She is a docent in adult education. Her research interests include higher education, employability, academic entrepreneurship, ability conceptions, narrative-discursive methodology and social differences in relation to age, gender and class. She is currently involved in a research project ‘Academic Entrepreneurship as a Social Process’ (2016–2020) and ‘Higher Education Graduates’ Employability and Social Positioning in the Labour Market’ (2018–2022) funded by the Academy of Finland.

Karin Filander

Karin Filander works as a university lecturer at the University of Tampere, Faculty of Education and Culture. She is a docent in adult education and working life research. Her current research interests include managerial governance and re-structuring processes of entrepreneurship and competition in the reforms of education and work at the university context. She has analysed the post-professional era, changes in identities and processes that have changed the ethos and values of the public sector.