Social Injustice Against African Pupils in the Finnish Basic Education System: Deconstructing Institutional Discrimination through the Lenses of Immigrant Twins

Abstract

This article analyses the perceptions of fourteen African households having fifteen African children attending Finnish system of basic education in the same grade and from the same municipality using ethnographic method. The article is based on a three-year analysis about the pupils’ academic journey from Grade one to three between 2019-2022 and evaluates the parental understanding and perception about 1) the Finnish education system 2) the pupils’ performance and 3) the attitude of teachers towards the pupils. This article uses biographical method from parents. The article uses the theory of race and ethnicity to highlight issues in basic education system, especially through the eyes of the twins. The article uses the concept of social injustice to illuminate the separate and unequal treatment experiences of African pupils in the Finnish basic education and how it may affect their education and career trajectory in the future.