Vocational Educators Navigating Raciolinguistic Ideologies in Finnish Vocational Education

Abstract

This paper explores raciolinguistic ideologies in Finnish vocational education and training (VET). Via ethnographic engagement, the study examines how raciolinguistic ideologies are constructed in interviews with eight vocational educators working as vocational teachers and workplace instructors. Critical sociolinguistic analysis and categorization analysis show that migrant students are often seen as “others” in Finnish VET and vocational worklife, with language skills deemed as insufficient. While focal educators recognize and aim at resisting such raciolinguistic views on migrant students, they nevertheless laminate it on top of other concepts, such as culture and clothing, showing discursive strategies for talking about race without explicitly mentioning it. The findings suggest that raciolinguistic ideologies are constructed not only by what is said but also what is left unsaid. Thus, VET and vocational teacher education should provide better tools for educators to address and combat racial inequity in societies like Finland, where the concept of “race” is generally not used.