Sami Languages in Education in Sweden and Finland
SAMI LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION IN SWEDEN AND FINLAND
Madoka Hammine
ECMI WORKING PAPER #92 May 2016
ECMI- Working Paper # 92
The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) is a non-partisan institution founded in 1996 by the Gov- ernments of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Re- public of Germany, and the German State of Schleswig-Holstein. ECMI was established in Flens- burg, at the heart of the Danish-German border region, in order to draw from the encouraging example of peaceful coexistence between minorities and majorities achieved here. ECMI’s aim is to promote interdiscipli- nary research on issues related to minorities and ma- jorities in a European perspective and to contribute to the improvement of interethnic relations in those parts of Western and Eastern Europe where ethno-political tension and conflict prevail. ECMI Working Papers are written either by the staff of ECMI or by outside authors commissioned by the Cen- tre. As ECMI does not propagate opinions of its own, the views expressed in any of its publications are the sole responsibility of the author concerned.
ECMI Working Paper # 92 European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Director: Prof. Dr. Tove H. Malloy © ECMI 2016
ECMI- Working Paper # 92
SAMI LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION IN SWEDEN AND FINLAND
The aim of this working paper is to compare the language policies of Finland and Sweden, especially in the field of education for the Sami population. The analysis is carried out on a macro level; firstly it investigates and examines how Finland and Sweden have intr o- duced legislation to protect Sami languages, followed by a discussion of the current situa- tions in the field of education, according to each stage of education. A comparison of the two nations highlights their different outcomes due to the different policies of their gov- ernments.
Madoka Hammine May 2016 ECMI Working Paper #92
I. INTRODUCTION Both Sweden and Finland have Sami parlia- ments, which are in charge of safeguarding, de- Nordic countries, including Finland and Sweden, veloping and coordinating all matters concerning are often represented as actively promoting di- Sami areas of interest. The Sami Parliament in versities within their societies. Especially in each country has autonomy in the field of educa- terms of protection of Sami languages, Norway tion to a certain extent. Since Sami languages is often seen as a model by the other two na- are endangered, language revitalization requires tions. It was, in fact, “promoted” from inside and not only the efforts from authorities at a national outside of the country based on the reflection of and supranational level, but also support from harsh assimilation history toward Sami people in individuals who speak the minority languages. the past. On the other hand, Sweden and Finland Thus, it is essential to examine them from both a are often perceived to be following Norway as a macro and micro level. model in their protection of Sami rights. Hence, by comparing Sweden and Finland which have II. WHO ARE THE SAMI? similar influences from Norway, this paper aims firstly to investigate how two countries have The Sami, who live in the northern parts of been developing their education system, in terms Scandinavia and Finland and in the Kola Penin- of education for Sami population, and secondly sula, are the only indigenous people in the EU to to compare the situations of Sami language edu- have their own languages, culture, means of cation in both countries. livelihood and identity.1 As indigenous people, they are now allowed to develop their languages,
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 and culture.2 The Sami’s status as indigenous of each state. This assimilation period entailed a people is based on their unique worldview, their number of cultural shifts. For instance, their re- own history, livelihoods and language. They are ligious and traditional ceremonies were dis- described sometimes as Saami, or Sami. How- placed by the Christian church and their lan- ever, throughout this paper, the word “Sami” is guages were replaced by dominant languages of used to indicate this population. each state.6 In Sweden, the attitude toward the They live in the area known as Sápmi, which Sami was characterized by two policies; firstly, today stretches from parts of Norway, Sweden, a policy of segregation which was applied to the and Finland to the Kola Peninsula in Russia. reindeer Sami at the end of the nineteenth centu- They are known to have lived in certain areas of ry, and secondly, a policy of assimilation which the Nordic countries and Russia since prehistoric was applied towards sea Sami and mountain times, supporting themselves by engaging in Sami communities with the particular exclusion activities such as fishing, trapping and reindeer of the Reindeer Sami. In Finland, the national herding. Some Sami communities, defined as romantic ideology demanded that the language “sea Sami,” are located along the coast, where of the country should be Finnish, meaning diffi- they engage in activities such as fishing. Others, cult situations for the minorities were often ig- such as the “forest Sami”, pursue reindeer herd- nored.7 ing in forest areas, while those who migrate with their herds between mountains and coastal areas are known as “mountain Sami.”3 It is estimated III. WHAT ARE SAMI LAN- that of the 70,000 to 100,000 Sami people, GUAGES? 40,000 to 60,000 live in Norway, about 15,000 to 20,000 in Sweden, about 10,000 in Finland, The Sami languages are Finno-Ugric languages and approximately 2,000 in Russia.4 (such as Finnish, Hungarian and Estonian) spo- Since Sami people have traditionally ken in the Sami region in Norway, Sweden, lived in the area spanning the borders of the Finland and Russia. Roughly half of the Sami modern states of Norway, Sweden, Finland and people speak one of the Sami languages.8 The Russia, their histories after the establishment of Sami languages are divided into three main lan- modern state borders differ slightly, depending guages: Eastern Sami, Central Sami and South- on the policies of each state. However, in all of ern Sami.9 Among these three categories, there these states, they have often been treated, in are ten different languages, 10 namely North many respects, like refugees or inferior people, Sami, Lule Sami, Pite Sami, South Sami, Ume having been subjected to powerful assimilation Sami, Skolt Sami, Kildin Sami, Inari Sami, Ter policies in all of the four countries. Due to the Sami, and Akkala Sami. Of these ten Sami lan- history of assimilation, they are now being al- guages, three are spoken in Finland: North Sami, lowed to expand and adapt their languages and Inari Sami and Skolt Sami; while five are spo- culture.5 In the 1600s, Sami people began to ken in Sweden: North Sami, Pite Sami, Ume give up their traditional livelihoods and were Sami, Lule Sami, and South Sami11. gradually assimilated into the dominant groups
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The Number of Estimated Native Speakers12 based largely on the knowledge of Sami lan- guages. According to this definition, a Sami is Sweden Finland someone who considers themselves to be Sami, North Sami North Sami provided that they have learnt Sami as their first (16,500 in total of all (16,500 in total of language or have at least one parent or grand- 16 17 nations, 7,000 in all nations, 2,000 in parent whose first language is Sami. If a Sweden) Finland) person matches these criteria, he or she can reg- ister as a “Sami” at the Sami Parliament, which Pite Sami Inari Sami allows this person to vote in elections. In (less than 40) (less than 300) Finland there is a debate regarding “status- Sami” and those “non status Sami” who do not 18 Ume Sami Skolt Sami have an official status as Sami. Although offi- (less than 20) (less than 300) cial statistics shows that there are approximately 1800 Sami language speakers in Finland, the Lule Sami voluntary nature in which Sami report their (1,000- 2,000) mother tongue has led to the argument that there are in fact more speakers of Sami in Finland South Sami (600) than these statistics suggest. Similar situations can be observed in Sweden as well. According During the assimilation period from the nine- to the Swedish governmental report on the teenth century onward, Sami children were edu- European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan- cated often only in the dominant state language guages, “Sami is defined as a person who con- and were not allowed to speak Sami to each siders themselves to be Sami and who speaks or other in school. This was the result of an earlier has spoken Sami at home, or whose parents or language policy which had the purpose of “uni- grandparents speak or have spoken Sami at fying” minorities. As a result, both in Sweden home, or has a parent who is or has been on the 19 and Finland, Sami languages have been influ- Sami parliament electoral register.” Only the enced by the majority languages, Swedish and “registered” Sami, based on this definition, have Finnish. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the right to vote for the election of members of the World’s Languages in Danger, all of the the Sami Parliament. In both Finland and Swe- Sami languages are considered endangered. 13 den, Sami is defined as a person who considers All the Sami languages are primarily important themselves as a Sami in addition to the criteria for the speakers of Sami languages. Linguists of possessing any of the Sami languages as a also consider these languages to be important mother tongue or having one of the parents or sources of linguistic data, which should not be grandparents who speaks Sami as a native lan- allowed to simply vanish.14 guage. Sami languages in the family, in this Currently, language plays an important role in sense, can be seen as a way of forming an iden- “Saminess” both in Sweden and Finland.15 In tity for Sami people both in Finland and Swe- Finland, for instance, the definition of a Sami is den.
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IV. INTERNATIONAL INSTRU- ous form. Within the state reports and official documents, smaller Sami languages are often MENTS REGULATING THE LEGAL invisible. Considering the fact that there are not FRAMEWORK IN FINLAND AND only North Sami, but also smaller Sami lan- SWEDEN guages, such as Ume Sami and Lule Sami and South Sami, this raises a lot of problematic is- Finland and Sweden are both signatories to the sues related to the field. It is a surprising fact Framework Convention for the Protection of that the 2012 Recommendation of the Council of National Minorities (FCNM; from now on men- Europe does not specify the numerically smaller tioned as the Convention) and to the European languages of Sweden20 despite the fact that it Charter for Regional or Minority Languages does mention smaller Sami languages of Finland (ECRML; from now on mentioned as the Char- which are to be included in its education in its ter). Although both countries signed the FCNM Recommendation toward Finland in 2015. 21 in 1995, Finland ratified the Convention in Smaller Sami languages spoken in Sweden have 1997, while Sweden ratified it in 2000. The only been pointed out recently (for instance, in Charter was also first signed and ratified by 2015, when referring to the situation of Ume Finland (in 1992 and 1994 respectively). Swe- Sami (5th Report on Sweden on the Charter)).22 den, on the other hand, adhered to the Charter
(ratified in 2000) only after the FCNM ratifica- Finland tion. In compliance with the international regula- In Finland, the Sami Language Act (2003) was tory mechanisms, the two countries amended enacted after the ratification of the Convention their national legislation. Ratification of these in 1997 and the Charter in 1994. Sami languages two international instruments have influenced are protected by the Sami Language Act (2003) each nation´s legislation. which influences domains including education, V. LEGISLATION media, and signs in Sami languages. In this Act, Sami languages are treated as if they are one Linguistic Varieties within Sami Lan- language, in an ambiguous form. However, the guages government mentions three Sami languages (North Sami, Skolt Sami and Inari Sami) in their Sweden official reports submitted to Council of In Sweden, after the ratification of the Conven- Europe, 23 stating the precise degree of imple- tion and the Charter in 2000, the Language Act mentation of Provisions of the Charter each (2009) and the Swedish Act on National Minori- Sami language. This fact reveals the efforts of ties and National Minority Languages (2009) the government to include all three Sami lan- were entered into force. Sami people have their guages within the policy. rights protected by the Language Act (2010) and the Swedish Act on National Minorities and Na- Comparison tional Minority Languages (2010). In both Acts, Sami language is referred to in an ambiguous Sami languages are treated as one, due to the form both in Sweden and Finland in their re- fact that they are always referred to in ambigu-
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 spective domestic laws (the Language Act and Legal Framework on Education the Sami Language Act). In order to facilitate Sweden and enhance “multilingual” society, it is prefer- able to use the plural form to indicate the lin- The school system is regulated through the Edu- guistic varieties within Sami languages. All cation Act (2010), which mandates nine years of Sami languages are endangered, despite the ef- school attendance for all children from the year forts from authorities and the European Union to when they turn seven.25 Compulsory schooling maintain them. The power relations and the is designed for children from age 6 to 13. There status of languages, in many cases, have are Ordinances on the compulsory school sys- emerged through the modernization of society: tem, Ordinances on the upper secondary school, therefore, language endangerment can be con- and Ordinances on adult education as supple- 24 sidered the product of the modern world. Even ments to the Act.26 Upper secondary school is though policies toward minority languages exist optional and designed for children aged 14-16. with a “good” purpose in both countries, many Five government authorities which regulate edu- smaller Sami languages, including Ume Sami or cation are; 1) the Swedish School Inspectorate, Pite Sami spoken in Sweden, are often ignored which examines the quality of schools across the and excluded from the reports of the govern- country, 2) the National Agency for Education, ments. Within the Sami languages, there is also which provides information about education, a power relations between languages. promotes understanding, and administers public Ironically, even though the Framework funding and grants, 3) the National Agency for Convention and the European Charter aim at Special Needs Education and Schools, which promoting diversity, numerically smaller lan- provides people with disabilities the same op- guages are outside the protection of this frame- portunities for development and education, 4) work. If the Framework Convention and the the Swedish National Agency for Higher Voca- European Charter are to protect national minori- tional Education, which analyzes labor market ties, then numerically smaller Sami languages demands for workforce education, and finally, 5) should also be provided with equal opportunities the Sami School Board as an administrative to be visible. The current policies toward Sami agency for public Sami schools and their affili- languages both in Sweden and Finland should ated activities, which are governed by the Sami reflect upon the fact that “ideally” all of the School Ordinance. 27 Education is a highly de- Sami languages should be protected on an equal centralized field, provided that municipalities basis, which could result in the situation where have considerable freedom to decide how educa- children of each Sami language should be pro- tional activities will be carried out, and are also vided with education, regardless of their resi- held accountable for the activities undertaken.28 dence. Sweden established the first Sami school as ear- ly as 1617, with the initial purpose of spreading Christianity.29 The Sami School Law (revised in 1983) regulates that Sami children are entitled to
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 attend Sami school instead of the conventional tion.”34 school.30 VI. SAMI IN EDUCATION Finland Pre School The laws which regulate the school system are applied according to the level of education. Pre- Sweden school education for children under 6 years old Although the one-year pre-school education is is regulated by the Act on Children’s Day Care not compulsory, almost all children in Sweden and the Act on Children’s Care at Home and attend it. At the pre-school level, the municipali- Private Day-care. Comprehensive school is ties within the administrative districts for Sami regulated by the Basic Education Act, which are required to provide pre-school opportunities covers all children of compulsory school age for the children of Sami. In 2005, it was reported (from age seven to fifteen) as well as 6-year-old that the number of children who attended pre- children enrolled in the one year preschool edu- school Sami language education was 107.35 The cation, whereas upper secondary education is situation seems to be gradually improving, given regulated by the General Upper Secondary the fact that there was an opening of a Sami pre- School Act and the Government Decree. Upper school in 2010 with South Sami as its principal secondary school consists of three years in language.36 Even if the Act on National Minori- which students can choose either academic or ties and National Minority Languages (2009) of vocational education. There are also the Voca- Sweden guarantees that “the municipal authority tional Education and Training Act, and the Uni- shall offer a child whose parents or guardian so versity Act to regulate vocational and university request a place in the pre-school activity where level education.31 The Finnish National Board the whole or part of the activity is carried out in of Education is the responsible body for both Finnish, Meankieli or Sami as appropriate,” it is general education and vocational education and not enough to state that only “part of” the activi- training. The Ministry of Education is the re- ty to be carried out in minority languages. Arti- sponsible body for higher education. 32 Educa- cle 8 of the Charter clearly states that substantial tional administration was previously character- part should be in minority language. In fact, ized by the State’s precise steering and control, according to the report from NGOs, there are a however since the 1980s, school legislation has limited number of pre-schools teaching Sami or been reformed to a continuous increase in the in Sami due to the shortfalls of legal regulations. decision making powers of local authorities.33 In For example, the Swedish Schools Inspec- terms of the Sami languages in education, it is torate’s report shows that in 2011, only 16 out of noteworthy that even before the ratification of 19 municipalities provided pre-school education the Charter and the Convention, the change was for Sami children. There is even a reported case made to the law regulating the school system in of the Dorotea municipality not being able to 1983: “Students living in the Sami Home Re- provide pre-school in Sami due to the lack of gion may be taught in their mother tongue. Sami Sami-speaking staff. 37 In some municipalities, and Finnish may be the language of instruc- families are unable to wait long enough for a
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 place in minority language pre-school education the minority language or for receiving instruc- and so decide to accept a place in Swedish lan- tion in this language, in the area inhabited by guage education instead.38 persons belonging to national minorities. In terms of material preparation, although there is Finland still a huge demand for producing teaching ma- In terms of pre-school education, a municipality terials in Skolt Sami language, Finland also must ensure that day care can be given in the provides better practices in this regards, as the child’s mother tongue when that language is Sami Parliament produces teaching materials in 44 Finnish, Swedish or Sami.39 Currently, all mu- all Sami languages even for pre-school level. nicipalities in Sami homeland provide Sami ed- ucation and all three Sami languages are being taught. 40 Municipalities receive state subsidies Compulsory School for the costs of arranging education in Sami. The Sevettijärvi School provides pre-school educa- Sweden tion in Skolt Sami.41 The Sami Parliament pro- After pre-school, in Sweden, pupils attend a duces teaching materials in all three Sami lan- compulsory school when they reach at the age 7. guages, also at pre-school level, but teaching For Sami children, Sweden offers three choices materials in Skolt Sami are scarce. In addition, of compulsory education: (1) Sami school the Government supports various language nest (Sameskolan), (2) Sami integrated primary activities for pre-school level in all three Sami school, and (3) Compulsory schools with mother languages.42 However, currently the access to tongue tuition of Sami language. Pupils who Sami pre-schools are restricted to those who attend a separate, state-run “Sami school” claimed Sami as their mother tongue at the pop- (Sameskolan) during their compulsory school ulation registry, in which people only register years reside in accommodation provided by the 43 one language as their mother tongue. Since 45 school during their education. Since Sami most of the Sami pupils are raised bilingual, this schools are part of Swedish public education, the makes it less accessible for Sami pupils to re- national curriculum is also applied to Sami ceive pre-school education in Sami. schools. In addition, the National Agency for Considering that all municipalities in the Education has established a special syllabus for Sami homeland in Finland provide Sami educa- Sami tuition in the Sami School. Currently, there tion at pre-school level, Finland provides better are six Sami schools. Sami schools have Sami pre-school education for Sami pupils. Sweden, language immersion as a main program. on the other hand, fails to offer Sami pre-school However, some municipalities in Swe- education at a preschool level in several munici- dish Sami administrative areas do not have Sami palities that should be covered on the basis of 46 schools. In such areas, they have integrated the Convention Article 14. As the Article 14 Sami language education into primary schools. states, Parties shall endeavor to ensure, as far as Also, after year 6 at a Sami school, integrated possible, that persons belonging to those minori- Sami teaching is organized for Sami pupils for ties have adequate opportunities for being taught the remainder of their time at compulsory
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 school, from year 7 to 9 (from age 13-14 until suitable teacher is available. 52 age 15-16). For integrated Sami language edu- In addition, although Sweden has devel- cation, pupils attend the compulsory schools but oped a separate system of education for Sami are taught the Sami language, Sami culture and pupils, there are some municipalities which do the Sami way of life. The schools that have in- not have Sami schools and so pupils are left tegrated Sami teaching offer between two to four without education in Sami. Sami schools are hours of Sami per week.47 In such cases, pupils sometimes described as “different” from “ordi- study other subjects in the ordinary teaching syl- nary” schools even in official documents from labus in the Swedish language. For pupils who the Government.53 It is noteworthy to draw an cannot attend schools with integrated Sami lan- attention to the use of the word “ordinary” in the guage education, there is an option of studying Government report in 2007, indicating the fact Sami with mother tongue tuition as mentioned that schools for Sami are not considered to be earlier, usually consisting of 30 minutes to 1 ordinary compared to other state owned schools. hour each week outside regular school hours. In Considering the history of the segregation policy order to receive mother tongue tuition in Sami, a of the government toward reindeer herding pupil must have a basic knowledge of the lan- Sami, as it used to have Nomad schools for Sami guage, and a teacher who is readily able to pro- populations, it might be the product of country’s vide mother tongue tuition must be in place. history to have a separate system of education Municipalities are obligated to provide mother for Sami.54 tongue tuition if a substantial teacher is availa- 48 49 Finland ble, yet this is still an obstacle for the mother tongue education of Sami speaking pupils as After pre-school education at the age of 7, Sami there is currently a serious lack of Sami lan- children in Finland are entitled to attend basic guage teachers in Sweden. compulsory education (perusukoulu) in all mu- According to statistics from the Swedish nicipalities in the Sami homeland. Sami pupils National Agency for Education, during the aca- in Finland do not have a separate system of edu- demic year of 2006/2007, the total number of cation, such as the Swedish Sami schools pupils in compulsory schools who were eligible (Sameskolan). In Finland, currently, for all to receive mother tongue education in Sami was three varieties of Sami languages (North Sami, estimated at 637, out of which 63% of pupils Inari Sami and Skolt Sami), compulsory school were reported to be actually participating in edu- education in Sami language is available systemi- cation in Sami. In addition, according to re- cally in Sami administrative areas. 55 For in- search, the use of Sami as a medium of teaching stance, in Sami homeland municipalities, there is reported to vary considerably from school to are 11 pupils who have attended basic (compul- 50 51 school. The Provisions of the Charter to sory) education in Inari Sami and 4 pupils in provide a substantial part of education in mi- Skolt Sami.56 In addition, since 2008, the revi- nority languages are not met. Moreover, a mu- talization has had a positive result as the teach- nicipality is currently only obliged to provide ing of Inari Sami has slightly increased.57 Dur- mother tongue tuition in a minority language if a ing the academic year 2013-2014, a total of 15
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 students benefited from basic education in Inari ble either in contact teaching in the cities of Sami. The number of students participating in Rovaniemi, Oulu and Tempere, or though the teaching in Inari Sami serves as an indication of virtual learning program over the Internet, pupils successful language revival: the number of stu- with Sami background who reside outside home- dents has regularly increased since the 1990s, land still have difficulties due to the shortfalls of when no students participated in Inari Sami. current system. During this academic year 2015, 39 students are 58 Comparison benefiting from education in Inari Sami. In all municipalities of the Sami homeland, the lack of Compared with Sweden, Finland does not have a teachers is reported as a serious problem. In such separate school or a separate syllabus specifical- an area, it is often only the younger year groups ly for Sami speaking pupils at compulsory level. that have access to Sami language education. Municipalities in the Sami homeland that ar- Due to the lack of teachers, schools are often range Sami instruction are responsible for the unable to offer classes for older children in Sami arranging and adopting of the national curricu- languages. Another problem which the lum. Besides the reported difficulties for schools Sami population in Finland has been confronting such as the shortage of Sami speaking teachers is that of education for children who reside out- and educational materials in Sami, it is even side the Sami homeland. Statistics reveals that in more troublesome for those schools for Sami 2007, 59% of Sami aged 11-17 years and more pupils to adopt the national curriculum into their than 60% of Sami aged 18-24 resided outside own schools. the Sami homeland.59 Furthermore, the percent- age of children under 10 who live outside the Given that Sami people have their own tradi- Sami homeland was estimated as 70% (Council tional world view and values, which differ from of Europe, 2010). One of the reasons for this is the mainstream values with which the state edu- because the Sami Language Act of Finland does cation system was developed, the Swedish sys- not obligate municipalities outside of the Sami tem might be beneficial towards keeping the homeland to provide teaching in Sami.60 Within Sami languages and traditions alive. Since Swe- the current system, under the decree of the Min- den has its own separate system of education for istry of Education, Sami children who reside Sami pupils, it enables Sami people to include outside the homeland may only be granted gov- their own values into a school curriculum that is ernment subsidies for Sami language teaching, usually determined by “dominant” values of ed- 63 on the condition that the teaching group of the ucation. In this regard, the Swedish system language has at least two pupils at the beginning could result in the preservation of Sami culture of the term, or that at least two pupils or students and languages. However, as mentioned above, attend the course when it begins.61 Also, for the problem of the Swedish system is its incon- those children who reside outside the Sami sistency for Sami pupils. Pupils who cannot homeland, only two teaching hours per week are attend Sami schools can receive education in required by law.62 In addition, since they are Sami only for a couple of hours per week. This taught a course outside the usual school timeta- amount of time is not sufficient for pupils to ac- quire a proper understanding of a language, par-
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 ticularly an endangered one such as Sami lan- program to prepare pupils for special skills guages, where in the majority of cases of Sami needed in society, while the Sami civic program children, their home language may not be only aims to prepare pupils for higher education with Sami.64 In both Finland and Sweden, pupils who a Sami orientation. In 2013, there were 15 pupils are outside Sami homeland municipalities and in the civic program and 8 pupils in the voca- who cannot attend Sami schools (in the Swedish tional (industries) program. case) are left without enough mother tongue in- Children who cannot attend this Sami struction. Without proper and systematic support upper secondary school attend secondary from the authorities, pupils might lose their schools with other children, with the option of mother tongue, which could result in the loss of distance education offered by the Sami Educa- the Sami languages over several generations. tion Center. However, since it is distance learn- Moreover, since three Sami languages are spo- ing, a very limited number of students can actu- ken in Finland and four in Sweden, it is even ally attend it. In order to meet the provisions of more challenging to provide teaching in all three the European Charter of Minority Languages in languages outside the Sami homeland due to the Sweden, it is necessary to make a “substantial” lack of teachers and materials. On the basis of part of the Sami language education available the provisions of the Charter, the parties of Fin- for students who cannot attend this school in land and Sweden which aim to make minority Jokkmokk for various reasons. language education available to every person who belongs to a minority group need to im- prove. Finland
Secondary Education After compulsory education, Sami children are entitled to attend upper secondary school educa- Sweden tion (Toisen Asteen Oppilaitos) mainly in Sami The Government of Sweden states that “after if they reside in the Sami homeland, which is the attending Sami school from year 7 to 9, Sami municipalities of northern Finland including pupils could transfer to ordinary compulsory Enonkekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Ustjoki. As far school if they wish from age 16-18.”65 In these as general upper secondary education is con- schools, pupils can receive mother tongue tuition cerned, the Sámi General Upper Secondary in Sami or they can receive mother tongue tui- School in Utsjoki is the only one to also provide 67 tion via the Mother Tongue Theme website.66 At instruction in North Sami in some subjects. In the secondary level, there is one Sami upper this school, pupils can study some subjects in secondary school in Jokkmokk in the very north Sami. Despite being the Sami High School, this of Sweden. This school offers education with a school only offers language subject in north Sami specialization, in the form of language, Sami and some handicraft classes for Sami 68 handicraft and culture courses. The school offers speaking students. two different programs, namely Sami industries and Sami civic programs. Sami industries is a
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Comparison assigned Umeå University with the national re- sponsibility and funds for building up and de- Although systematically, it is possible to find veloping a course for teacher training in Sami.73 education in Sami, the lack of teaching materials The government has also tasked the Luleå Uni- as well as the lack of teachers is reported as a versity of Technology with developing teacher hindrance to the provision of quality education training in Sami. However, the University has for all Sami pupils.69 In both countries, there is not received any applicants for a number of a tendency that towards the upper school grades, years and the course was not held in the autumn Sami language instruction decreases (in all Sami of 2010.74 The lack of adequate job opportuni- languages).70 Comparing the two countries at the ties is stated as a reason for it. level of secondary education, Sweden organizes In addition, another problem lies in the systematic organization for Sami pupils, provid- accessibility of higher education for Sami pupils ing them with opportunities to choose the Sami in Sweden. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (The industries program or the Sami civic program. Högskoleprovet), which is an exam for higher This creates a way for Sami pupils to participate education in Sweden, cannot be taken in lan- in further education if they wish. On the basis of guages other than Swedish.75 The Scholastic Ap- the Convention and the Charter, this Swedish titude Test examines students’ Swedish language practice is valuable as it recognizes the right of ability with verbal sections divided into four Sami students to choose their preferable method sections; vocabulary (in Swedish), reading com- of secondary education, which could lead to prehension of Swedish texts, sentence comple- wider opportunities in higher education. Alt- tion (in Swedish) and English reading compre- hough as the following section states, there is a hension. For students who study Sami lan- problem in that the entrance exam is only in guages, if they cannot learn Sami for the purpose Swedish, Sweden does offer Sami pupils oppor- of this test, it is likely that fewer and fewer stu- tunities to further develop their literacy for high- dents are motivated to learn Sami at secondary er education in Sami. school level.
Finland Higher Education and Teacher Training Sami languages, including Inari Sami and Skolt Sweden Sami, could be studied at the University of Hel- sinki, the University of Oulu and at the Universi- At the higher education level, Sami for begin- ty of Lapland. The Giellagas Institute at the ners can be studied at the University of Umeå University of Oulu is responsible at a national and the University of Uppsala, with the require- 71 level for the teaching of the Sami language and ment of prior knowledge for basic eligibility. culture and teacher education in Sami. 76 The In addition, some examples of the courses of- University of Lapland has initiated studies in fered at university level are “Sami language- Sámi pedagogy.77 Basic professional education revitalisation studies,” “Sami cultural studies,” in the Sami language is provided at one educa- “Lule Sami and South Sami,” at both basic and 72 tional institution maintained by the State, at the advanced levels. In 2013, the Government
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Sámi Education Institute at Inari. The purpose is are severely endangered yet are spoken in Swe- to meet the needs of the business sector in Lap- den, the situation is alarming. In fact, the Swe- land. dish Government report does not even state the situation of smaller Sami languages.80 Comparison Through a comparison of the higher education With regard to accessibility of higher education, systems of Finland and Sweden, it is clear that Finland offers students of Sami with opportuni- although both countries provide teaching of ties to take the mother tongue examination in Sami languages at universities, there is definitely Inari Sami, North Sami, and in Skolt Sami. A a lack of systematic teacher training systems in foreign language examination can also be taken both countries. Both countries should establish in North Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. 78 training systems for teachers of Sami languages. However, in reality, under the current system, As mentioned earlier, the Swedish municipali- Sami pupils who received education in Sami ties are only obligated to offer mother tongue earlier cannot further continue studying in Sami. tuition if a sustainable teacher is available. This Since other subjects are examined in Finnish, regulation makes it more difficult to provide many students who received basic education in Sami pupils with teaching of Sami. In reality, Sami switch to Finnish language classes to take since there is a lack of systematic teacher train- the matriculation examination in Finnish. In or- ing at university level, it is surely impossible to der to take the matriculation examination, they establish Sami teaching in schools. should be familiar with Finnish language con- cepts. 79 Considering the availability of mother Teaching Materials tongue examination in Sami languages, Finland has better practices in terms of the examination Sweden for higher institutions, although in reality, Sami The Sami Education Board received SEK 1 mil- children have to switch to Finnish to take other lion to develop teaching materials in Sami. A subjects of the matriculation examination. further 1 million was earmarked in 2010 for the In Finland, there are three universities which production of teaching materials in Romani Chib offer teaching of Sami, covering three Sami lan- and also for Sami at pre-school and school level. guages. Finland also offers Sami languages in its Sweden has also introduced the “Mother Tongue 81 capital city, at the University of Helsinki. Con- Theme Website (Tema Modersmål)” which sidering the number of students who study in the assists mother tongue tuition in school by metropolitan area, higher education in Sami is providing materials such as textbooks, audio, more accessible in Finland, whereas in Sweden and brochures of various degrees of the target there are currently only two universities which languages. Teaching materials are available for 82 offer Sami languages as a subject of study. Un- downloading from the website. . For this web- der the current system, students in Sweden can- site, the National Agency for Education initiated not take Ume Sami language or Pite Sami lan- the distribution of funding from the government 83 guage courses at any university in Sweden. Con- by contacting the target groups. This distribu- sidering that these two smaller Sami languages tion was based in part on the number of pupils in
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 each language group. Under these conditions, Sami for upper secondary school, professional the Agency started gathering materials on the education and adult education are most lacking, Mother Tongue Theme website in 2009. The it is necessary to take further steps in the produc- method of distribution is problematic as it can- tion of learning materials in Inari and Skolt Sami not distribute funds for numerically smaller lan- for upper grades. guages. Usually, numerically smaller Sami lan- guages often have a smaller number of pupils. Especially in the case of Sweden, Pite Sami (less VII. CONCLUSION than 40), Ume Sami (less than 20), Lule Sami Finland (1,000- 2,000) and South Sami (600), having fewer speakers and learning materials for nu- In Finland, more attention should be given to merically smaller languages could be ignored including all the Sami languages in the educa- under this method of distribution. tion system. Firstly, the issue of the registering of a mother tongue limiting access to pre-school Finland education in Sami should be reconsidered as it In Finland, the funds granted to the Sámi Par- prevents Sami pupils who registered Finnish as liament for the production of teaching material their mother tongue from receiving pre-school have amounted to EUR 258,000 per year. Mate- education in Sami. This should be regulated rials in Skolt Sami and Inari Sami for upper sec- based on the provisions of “equal opportunity to ondary schools are especially necessary. How- education” in the European Charter. Secondly, ever, the greatest amount of materials has been as with the Swedish case, the lack of teachers produced for teaching in the North Sami lan- and learning materials needs to be addressed. It guage.84 Gradually, the production of material in is also necessary for higher education institu- Inari Sami has increased in recent years, while to tions to establish structured teacher training pro- date, little material in Skolt Sami has been pro- grams for Sami teachers. Finally, it is essential duced.85 In 2013, a total government subsidy of to establish a measure to protect the right of EUR 290,000 was allocated to the Sami Parlia- Sami pupils who reside outside of Sami admin- ment for the production of Sami language learn- istrative areas. Many researchers criticize this ing material. 86 In particular, work related to point, however, Article 14 of the current learning material in Inari Sami has intensified. Framework Convention states that Parties are The government subsidy was used to fund only supposed to provide adequate opportunities approx. 40 projects. During 2014, they resulted for education in areas traditionally inhabited by in four new learning materials in North Sami, persons belonging to national minorities or two new learning materials in Inari Sami and where there are substantial numbers. Therefore, one in Skolt Sami. There is one case of the man- within the Framework, and also within the Lan- uscripts of learning materials being completed in guage Act of Finland, pupils who reside outside 2013, but due to a lack of funds, printing of the of the Sami homeland are being ignored, and manuscripts was postponed. Considering the lack opportunities to be taught in Sami. In order fact that learning materials in Skolt and Inari to support Sami pupils outside Sami municipali-
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 ties, it is necessary to reconsider the provisions current multilingual society may be a result of of the Framework. It is often more difficult to Finland’s realization of the need to include Sami keep the minority languages for those pupils languages as part of their nation and to provide who are exposed to “majority” languages out- them with “rights.” In this sense, Finland might side traditional residence areas. have been more sensitive toward issues of Sami In comparison to the Swedish govern- languages which used to be “controlled” by the ment, the Finnish government recognizes varie- Finnish majority. ties within Sami languages, as highlighted by the The educational reform which took fact that the governmental reports which cover place in Finland during the 1970s89 might also Sami languages of Finland specifically state the have influenced its policy toward Sami lan- situations of three languages which are spoken guages in education. Based on the philosophy of in Finland. Although their Language Act refers education in Finland, which was to “[provide] to the Sami language in a singular form, the fact equal opportunities for everyone” and “support that the Finnish government reports the situation the younger,” the Finnish government has paid of Inari and Skolt Sami languages in their offi- consistently careful attention to pre-school and cial report shows the recognition of the govern- primary education.90 During the economic diffi- ment of the different Sami languages. culties in the late 20th century, Finland as a na- At the legislation level, the Language tion had to strive for an improved economy. One Act of Finland merely states “other languages,” of the major methods to build the nation was ensuring the right to use languages other than through education. 91 Finland was, in a sense, Finnish, Swedish or Sami. In this sense, Sami is built upon a strong focus on education. This treated separately, being distinguished from oth- model of education has increased the status of er minority languages such as Roma, Karelian, Finland in the European Union. Today, the Finn- Russian or Yiddish. In addition, Finland has the ish system of education is reported as one of the Sami Language Act, which exclusively protects best in the world. Despite being often portrayed the rights of Sami languages. These facts repre- as a model of education for many countries in sent the attitude of the government to provide the world, the Finnish system of education for Sami people with rights that are not given to Sami pupils still possesses many issues of con- other national minorities. In other words, Fin- cern, particularly teacher training-materials, ef- land views the Sami population differently from fective teaching, and access for Sami pupils out- other national minorities. side the Sami homeland. As pointed out in this The reason behind this might be related article, these main issues need to be improved to Finland’s long history of being controlled by further. Swedish authorities and later by the Grand Sweden Duchy of the Russian Empire until its independ- 87 ence in 1917. Having experienced a situation By comparing policies towards Sami popula- where the Finnish language was not the lan- tions, it has been revealed that in Sweden more guage of power during a time when Finland was effort is required to implement the Framework 88 a part of Sweden for example, the structure of Convention as well as to meet provisions of the
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European Charter in the field of education. First in reindeer herding. This fact perhaps suggests of all, similarly to the case of Finland, the Lan- that since reindeer herding has been an exclusive guage Act of Sweden also describes Sami as one activity for Sami people, they have been sub- group of languages. As discussed earlier, this jected to a strong segregation policy, resulting in should be regulated, since there are five Sami separate system of education. languages spoken in Sweden. In comparison Although Sweden has developed a sepa- with Finnish official reports, Sweden does not rate system of education for Sami pupils, there specify smaller Sami languages in their official are some municipalities which do not have Sami reports.92 This is noteworthy due to the fact that schools and so pupils are left without education Sweden has five Sami languages, all of which in Sami language and culture. Moreover, apart are endangered. Smaller Sami languages are al- from Sami schools which extend from grade 1 to most invisible in the education policy of the 6, the Swedish system of education allows pu- country. For instance, the National Agency for pils to receive “integrated Sami language teach- Education’s method of distributing the resources ing” or “mother tongue tuition” if a pupil cannot among various minorities, as mentioned previ- reach a Sami school. However, in cases of inte- ously, does not take into consideration numeri- grated Sami language teaching and mother cally smaller languages. tongue tuition, pupils are only taught for 30 In terms of the system of education, as minutes to 2 hours of Sami per week. This is far mentioned previously, the Swedish system al- less than the amount of language tuitions needed lows pupils of Sami heritage to attend Sami to acquire another language, especially as it is schools from grade 6 to 10. Due to the earlier the case that some of the pupils do not speak policy of cultural segregation of the reindeer Sami at home. Furthermore, the prerequisite for herding Sami known as the “Lapp ska vara lapp a pupil to have the basic knowledge of Sami – Lapp must remain Lapp,” the current system languages in order to receive mother tongue tui- of education in Sweden has separated Sami pu- tion remains in force, as well as the requisite of pils, especially those of the reindeer herding municipalities to provide mother tongue tuition Sami. For instance, Sami schools are sometimes only if a suitable teacher is available. 95 This described as “different” from “ordinary” school makes the situation for pupils with Sami back- even in the official documents from the govern- ground challenging, considering the fact that ment (for instance, government report, 2007).93 there is a serious lack of teacher training pro- In this sense, even if it was within a policy of grams in the country; there is a resulting serious segregation, Sami people were recognized by the lack of Sami teachers in Sweden. The lack of a government. Sami languages are closely related system for education at a university level is one to reindeer herding culture, and those Sami who of the reasons for this. do not engage in reindeer herding activities tend At the secondary school level, Sweden to have less proficiency in the language. 94 In seems to offer a better system when compared Sweden, as mentioned earlier, reindeer herding with Finland, as it offers choices for Sami pupils activities are restricted to the Sami population, to study either a Sami industries course or a while in Finland everyone is permitted to engage Sami civic program. This opportunity could pos-
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ECMI- Working Paper # 92 sibly guide pupils towards higher education. desire to keep Swedish as the principle language However, the issue remains that the entrance of the country. In comparison with Finland, exam for higher education in all subjects is only Sweden ratified the Framework Convention and conducted in Swedish, thereby creating potential the European Charter later (in 2000). Due to the problems for the Sami pupils to continue their fact that Sweden has been an independent coun- education in Sami if they want to attend univer- try that controlled the territory of modern day sities. Even though the education system allows Finland, the Swedish language has never been study in Sami, students who studied in Sami at the language of lower or weaker status in Swe- upper secondary school have to switch to Swe- den. This may mean that the Swedish might dish in order to take the exam. have less of an understanding of the need to re- Comparing the policies of Finland and spect and teach a minority language than Finland Sweden in terms of multilingualism in indige- does, having never had to fight for this right nous Sami languages, Sweden seems to have a themselves.
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Notes and References
1 Ulla-Maija Kulonen and Risto Pulkkinen (eds), The Saami- A Cultural Encyclopeadia. (The Finnish Library Society, Helsinki, 2005), at 5. 2 Erika Katjaana Sarivaara and Satu Uusiautti, ”Taking Care of the Ancenctral Language: The Language Revitalisation of the Non-Status Sami in Finnish Sapmi”, 6 (1) International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies (2013). 3 Nigel Bankes and Timo Koivurova, The Proposed Nordic Saami Convention. National and International Dimensions of Indigenous Property Rights (Hart Publishing, Oxford and Portland, 2013). 4 Pigga Keskitalo, Kaarina Määta and Satu Uusiautti, ”“Language Immersion Tepee” as a Facilitator of Sami Language Learning”, 13 Journal of Language, Identity, and Education (2014b), 70-79. 5 Ante Aikio, Laura Arola, & Niina Kunnas, ”Variation in North Sami”, in Dick Smakman and Patrick Heinrich (eds), Globalising Sociolinguistics. Challenging and Expanding Theory (Routledge, London, 2015), 243-251. 6 Kulonen and Pulkkinen, ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Mercarter-Education, “The Sami language in education in Sweden” (2001), at
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24 Stephen May, Language Policy and Minority Rights. An Introduction to Language Policy. Theory and Method (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2006). 25Education in Sweden, Swedish Government, at < www.sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/> ( Accessed: January 26, 2016) 26 UNESCO, “World Data on Education; Sweden" (2010), at < www.ibeunesco.org/fileadmin/user _upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Sweden.pdf> (Accessed: January 26, 2016) 27 Education in Sweden, Swedish Government, at
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50 Aikio, Arola and Kunnas, ibid. 51 O’Dowd, ibid. 52 3rd Opinion on Sweden, ibid. 53 Report on European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the Swedish Government (2007), 71, at
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85 Ibid. 86 Ibid. 87 Francis M. Hult and Sari Pietikäinen,”Shaping discourses of multilingualism through a language ideological debate: the case of Swedish in Finland”, 13:1 Journal of Language and Politics (2014), 1-20. 88 Hult and Pietikäinen, ibid. 89 Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish Lessons. What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? (Teachers College, Colombia University Press: New York and London, 2015). 90 Finnish National Board of Education : Education Policy, at
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madoka Hammine PhD candidate, University of Lapland, Finland Contact: [email protected]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION SEE
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MINORITY ISSUES (ECMI) Schiffbruecke 12 (Kompagnietor) D-24939 Flensburg +49-(0)461-14 14 9-0 * fax +49-(0)461-14 14 9-19 * E-Mail: [email protected] * Internet: www.ecmi.de
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