Inequalities in Finnish higher education pinpointed

Government-commissioned study finds disciplines are skewed by students’ social backgrounds

Accessing higher education in Finland is easier for Swedish-speaking and urban applicants—who are quite often buttressed by economic, cultural and social capital related to their family background—than for other candidates, according to a government-commissioned study.

The study examined the social, regional, linguistic and gender equality and accessibility of higher education in Finland, and compared it with other OECD and EU countries. It also looked at policies and measures used to promote equality in the comparator countries—Sweden, Ireland and England—and their applicability to Finland.