Identity Horizons Among Finnish Postsecondary Students: A Comparative Analysis |
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Authors: | Helena Helve Arseniy Svynarenko Eeva Sinisalo-Juha Shinichi Mizokami Sharon E Roberts |
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Institution: | 1. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland;2. Finnish Youth Research Network, Helsinki, Finland;3. Center for the Promotion of Excellence in Higher Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan;4. Social Development Studies, Renison University College at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |
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Abstract: | This article examines the identity horizons of postsecondary students in Finland—a country in which social welfare provisions buffer education-to-work transitions—comparing their identity horizons to those previously reported for U.S. and Japanese students. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed scalar invariance of the Finnish version of the Identity Horizons Scales with the English and Japanese versions. Latent mean comparisons found that Finnish students had the broadest educational and work horizons, and the lowest education-to-work identity anxiety. Finnish men reported lower levels of educational horizons and higher levels of identity anxiety than Finnish women, replicating previous findings. Social class differences were also detected, with higher levels of identity anxiety and narrower educational horizons among those whose parents had no postsecondary education. Based on the apparent impacts on identity development of the different educational policies in the three countries, results are discussed in terms of policy implications supporting more effective education-to-work transitions. |
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Keywords: | Anxiety cross-cultural comparisons educational and occupational attainment identity formation identity horizons |
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