Social Inclusion Research Project
The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is participating in the broader research project, Social Inclusion. The final round of data collection targeting 5th grade pupils was conducted in spring 2025. The first data collection for 9th graders will be carried out in January 2026.
The study gathers information on pupils’ experiences of bullying and prejudice, their thoughts and plans for further studies, as well as data on social networks and behaviour. Pupil experiences are evaluated through questionnaires based on both previous Finnish surveys and internationally recognised surveys. The 5th graders who participated in the project in 2021–2025 answered two questionnaires during the academic year. In the ninth grade the data collection is carried out with one questionnaire.
The design of the questionnaire and the analysis of the results are carried out by a research team at Aalto University. The survey is implemented by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and the Research Institute for Learning Analytics at the University of Turku.
The survey data is complemented by register data from sources including the Finnish National Agency for Education’s KOSKI database, the application registry, school-maintained records, as well as register data available from Statistics Finland. The register data will be used, among other things, in long-term follow-up research.
All data collected in the study is handled confidentially, and risks relating to data-privacy will be minimised. Individual pupils cannot be identified from the research results.
Survey for 9th Grade Pupils
During the academic years 2025–2028, the project will collect data from 9th grade pupils. Participating schools are selected based on where pupils who took part in the 5th grade survey attend lower secondary school. This enables long-term monitoring of the effects of interventions implemented in 5th grade, and the evaluation of the effects of changes in social networks that have occurred as a result of the transition to lower secondary school.
This stage of the project – targeting 9th grade pupils – is funded by the EDUCA – Education for the Future Flagship, supported by the Academy of Finland.
Survey for 5th Grade Pupils
From 2021 to 2025, the project conducted surveys with 5th grade pupils and their teachers. As part of this phase, the project also evaluated workshops on prejudices organised by Walter ry, which were offered to a subset of participating schools.
In addition to the team mentioned earlier, researchers from Harvard University are also involved in the 5th grade study, which has received funding from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
Initial findings from the project have been published. The results show that children from low-income families are more likely to be bullied. The likelihood of being bullied decreases as family income rises. However, the likelihood of being bullied among children from immigrant backgrounds is not correlated with family income.
You can read more about the results in the summary publication (in Finnish).
The responsible leader of the research is Professor Matti Sarvimäki from Aalto University, and the project is Senior Evaluation Advisor Aino-Maria Pusa from FINEEC.
Further Information
Senior Evaluation Advisor Aino-Maria Pusa
yhteenkuuluvuus@karvi.fi
+358 29 533 5521