"Painakaa lakki päähän!": Kertomuksia lukiodiskurssista matkalla ylioppilaaksi

The dissertation examines the upper secondary school discourse of a Finnish day upper secondary school in the reports of an age group that decides on upper secondary school, seniors. The stories consist of writings and theme interviews describing upper secondary school experiences in school. In this study, an upper secondary school discourse refers to the frame of reference for experiencing and telling, a structural object of speech that defines the expressions used in the narrative. It is a narrative discourse. The task of the study was to find out what kind of issues the study participants raised about the upper secondary school discourse in their reports, the positionings and identifications expressed in them, i.e., the positionings of identity, and the attributes attached to them. Attributions here indicated the links between things and events. The purpose of the study was to use narrative analysis to find relevant events describing upper secondary school discourse in the narratives of seniors and to increase knowledge of the functionality on upper secondary school practices that are of central concern to them. The results of the research showed that the dynamics of interaction are of primary importance in upper secondary school discourse. What happened in the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of upper secondary school life, hidden from everyday events, turned out to be the ‘birthplace’ of this dynamic of interaction. Encouraging friendships, working together and peer support function as supporters. Support was needed to reach the goals. Despite the common features of the narratives, the narratives were quite different from each other although the same temporal and local context. An examination of the positions showed that the often-changing group situations in upper secondary school were always a place for some students to reposition themselves by raising the question: “What is my position in this group?” The new group also provided a new ‘stage’ for identification, or positioning of identity, with the question: “Who am I in this group?” Changing upper secondary school study groups in a classless upper secondary school are, based on this research, suitable for students who are fluently positioned in new groups and know how to change their positions according to their situations and strengths. Changing study groups, on the other hand, are challenging for those students who must think repeatedly about their position in the new group and even reluctantly receive various positions given. School experiences in upper secondary school discourse seem to culminate precisely in these positionings in separate groups and subsequent identifications, or identity positionings. Students’ views on the primacy of interaction dynamics in shaping school experiences within upper secondary school discourse were found to constitute the main finding of the research. Based on the results of the research, it is worth paying more attention to the interaction in the upper secondary school discourse and understanding the teachers as part of the interaction of the respective group. Conscious positioning, valuing each member of the group, and optimal positioning, considering the student´s abilities and inclinations, generate experiences of success.