Choosing Between Further Education and Work

The options available to young people who had completed only elementary school were more limited compared to those graduating from lower secondary school. After completing elementary school, the young people could either go straight to work or apply to vocational school.

In vocational training, formal schooling had been stressed in Finland since the 1910s. This feature was exceptionally strong by international comparison, and in the 1950s formal schooling was preferred to on-the-job-training. Some vocational schools accepted only lower secondary school graduates, either officially, according to their entrance requirements, or in practice, due to their popularity. Lower secondary school graduates could continue their studies in upper secondary schools, and they also had more opportunities in the labour market compared to elementary school pupils. For instance, the official requirement for some state offices was a lower secondary school education. Lower secondary school entailed the promise—or at least the possibility—of upward social mobility (Jauhiainen 2011, 117–119; Heikkinen 1995, 409–412).

This difference in the range of opportunities was the reason why some elementary school pupils’ parents lamented that their son or daughter had not gone to secondary school or the child had not been able to finish it (elementary schoolboys, numbers 36 and 65; elementary schoolgirl, number 74). For example, one boy was entirely bored with school and homework, and he was planning to begin work after school. His father had an office at the state telephone company, and the man regretted that his son had not gone to secondary school. Otherwise, he probably could have found his son a job at the telephone company or in the postal service (elementary schoolboy, number 36).

The most prevalent plan among the elementary school pupils was to acquire more education. Half of them wrote on the vocational guidance form that they intended to get some formal education after compulsory schooling. A third of the girls and almost four out of ten boys planned to begin working straight away, and fifteen percent of the young people had no plans—or they did not want to tell them. The distribution of the plans was similar for boys and girls, and there were no noteworthy differences between the children of working-class and middle-class families. The intention to acquire more formal education was as prevalent among the middle-class children as it was among their working-class peers. This observation highlights the strict division of the selective school system: the families had already made the most important educational choice. The strong middle class’ will to educate their children could be noticed, however, in some individual cases.9

For the absolute majority of the elementary school pupils and their families, the education that was aspired to was not general but vocational. Only four girls and one boy planned to take evening courses in lower secondary school. None of them was sure what they aimed to do eventually, and it is not stated in the documents whether they had applied to secondary school earlier. A lower secondary school certificate would improve their position in the labour market, but working during the day and taking evening courses demanded plenty of perseverance and a willingness to work hard. These characteristics were reflected in the hobbies that these young people had: one of the girls attended a typewriting course, another had joined a club to learn English, and one boy taught himself Swedish (elementary schoolboy, number 75; elementary schoolgirls, numbers 10, 24, 49, and 53).

Almost all elementary schoolboys who planned to acquire more education wanted to apply to the communal vocational school that offered basic vocational training. Several private and state-owned vocational schools operated in Helsinki as well. Their curricula were more advanced and specified, and some of these schools demanded a lower secondary school certificate or previous studies at a communal vocational school. Vocational school studies spanned from one to four years but were generally two years in duration. In the early 1960s, communal vocational schooling was divided by sex, reflecting the gendered labour market. The first brave girls and boys began their studies in the ‘school of the opposite sex’ only in the mid-1960s (HT 1966b, 1967b). The boys’ preparatory vocational school, which was renamed the Technical Vocational School in 1960, offered instruction in metalwork, electrical installation, woodwork, construction work, and car mechanics. A skilled worker could be certain to find gainful employment as such industries were booming (Klemelä 1999, 216–219).

The communal girls’ preparatory vocational school, which was renamed the Vocational School of Home Economics and Handicrafts in 1960, had two lines of study, as its new name implied. A vocational guidance handbook highlighted that the skills learnt in home economics were something that all girls would later need—not so much for successful employment as for taking care of the household (Mattlar 1954, 41). This emphasis in girls’ vocational schooling echoed the domestic ideology of the 1920s and 1930s. The ideology had influenced girls’ education in Britain already in the late nineteenth century, and the same phenomenon was also found, for example, in Sweden, Norway, and Germany in the early twentieth century (Kaarninen 1995, 73–74, 84; Mjelde 1996, 135, 141–142). The girls’ preparatory vocational school was only a quarter of the size of the boys’ equivalent, but there were also other vocational schooling options available to girls.

Many elementary schoolgirls wanted to apply to the hairdressing school or to study at one of the private commercial schools. The commercial schools were an exception to gendered vocational education: twenty percent of the girls and six percent of the boys in my samples intended to continue their studies at a commercial school and to later find employment in commerce or an office (cf. HT 1962c). The business sector increased rapidly and needed many new employees in the 1950s and 1960s. An elementary school leaving certificate entitled one to apply to a commercial school, and after the two years’ education, one could continue to a commercial institute (Klemelä 1999, 214–216).

For example, one girl wanted to become a saleswoman or a clerk. She liked school very much, and she wanted to apply to a commercial school. Her parents valued education, and they encouraged their daughters to study. Their firstborn had studied cartography after finishing lower secondary school. The vocational guidance counsellor also considered the girl’s plans very suitable. She had mastered Swedish, the other official language of Finland (elementary schoolgirl, number 25). Fairly few elementary school pupils knew both Finnish and Swedish. Although the share of the Swedish-speaking population was shrinking in Helsinki, language skills were an asset in commerce and business.10

The parents’ most frequent explanation to suggest a certain occupation for their children was that their son or daughter was interested in it. In the absolute majority of the cases, the pupil and his/her parents agreed entirely on the aspiration. The parents or other guardians named the same industry, occupation, or education as the young person. The source material does not offer enough information to conclude whose idea it had been in the first place. One could even say that the plan was usually a collective decision. The common agreement rested upon the parents referring to their children’s own interests, wishes, hobbies, or tendencies.

In this respect, the young people could form their own opinion. The parents had the most say in whether or not it was possible and desirable for the young people to continue in education, and on this issue the young people adopted their guardians’ decision. Instead, the choice of trade was more important for the young people themselves; in this matter, their aspirations could differ from their parents’ wishes.11 On the other hand, educational and occupational choices were heavily intertwined: formal education was essential for some occupations, and these were excluded if the parents were not willing or able to cover the expenses. Despite this, some parents noted that their child could choose whatever occupation they wanted, so long as they started work immediately (elementary schoolboys, numbers 47 and 85; elementary schoolgirls, numbers 56 and 59).