Leena Suurpää Research Director Finnish Youth Research Network Helsinki

Transcription

1 Leena Suurpää Research Director Finnish Youth Research Network Veronika Honkasalo Researcher Finnish Youth Research Network 120

2 Antiracist Research Ethos and Ethical Commitments of Youth Research 1 Introduction Youth research as a multidisciplinary practice increasingly balances between academic and applied research approaches, orientations and fields and consequent roles of youth researchers. This distinction is unclear to many people in both academic and practical contexts. Youth researchers can be seen as forming a hybrid community, linked to active participation in youth policy debates, in youth work or in young people s lives, while at the same time being interlocutors in the theoretical or conceptual development of youth research. In research on racism experienced by young people the question of the interplay between academic and applied research becomes particularly relevant, as the topic raises issues of the ethical responsibilities and commitments of the researcher. In this paper we focus on the possibilities and implications of an antiracist research ethos crossing the borders between academic and applied approaches. We base our arguments on one four-year-long research project called Multicultural youth, leisure time and civic participation ( ). The project included both quantitative and qualitative analyses on multicultural young people, leisure time and civic participation. The aim of the study was to look at how young people with multicultural background access the spheres of leisure time activities, as well as to examine the participation of young people in different kinds of activities organized in the forums of municipal youth work and NGO s. The anti-racist researcher always stands accused of bringing up the issue of race and racism when or where it never existed. Researchers as well as people working with young people, such as teachers, youth and social workers, NGOpersonnel interested in and dealing with racism in its various forms, both experienced by young people and practiced by them, are obliged to take various ethical positions towards different instances: their informants, diverse academic and non-academic communities, the wider audience and media, the practitioners (e.g. youth workers) and policy makers. Racism and antiracism as theoretical concepts have received a lot of attention in social sciences. There is also a lot of literature of ethical commitments and questions in social sciences, and some of the dilemmas that we have faced in our research project can be described as common to all qualitative research. However as researching racism is not solely a project including ethical questions but also a political project, we have been surprised of the exiguity of literature and discussion where ethics and racism would be pondered upon and attention would have been given on the subject of doing antiracist research. The position of youth research in Finland and its implications to antiracist commitments Many Finnish studies in Finland, and elsewhere in Europe, have shown that young people face and interpret multiculturalism differently than the adult generation. In Finland, which is a young country of immigration, there are still a lot of Finnish people who claim to have right to be ignorant of an increasingly multicultural society that surrounds them. However, most young people cannot escape the challenges related to an increasingly multicultural nature of their daily life as a matter that doesn t touch upon them 121

3 socially, culturally or morally at school, in leisure activities, in their informal social encounters (Keskisalo & Perho, 2001). Moreover, childhood and youth form a particularly sensitive context for experiencing and facing racism. Finnish studies show that young people and children are often reluctant or incapable of telling to anybody about their complex personal experiences related to racism and discrimination. Therefore, the racism experienced by young people and children may easily remain particularly unrecognized and unsolved. (Rastas 2004) Even if the Finnish youth research dealing with issues related to racism and youth does not have long historical roots, it can be said that it has tried to tackle questions linked to multiculturalism and young people from multiple scientific standpoints in order to go beyond a simple solemnization and celebration of difference, or victimization of young people. It can be claimed that youth research in Finland has elaborated in a significant way the paradigms of the Finnish research on racism and multiculturalism. Behind this tendency we can discern the characteristics of the youth research itself namely, its particularly active position in the crossroads of academic and applied research. Youth research in Finland has historically been closely attached to youth policy and practice, while at the same time aiming at maintaining its autonomous character, outside public administration (Hoikkala & Suurpää, 2005). The applications related to antiracist ethos do not seem to be very strange in this kind of research tradition, which reaches multiple fields of youth affairs and young people, and aims at contesting a binary distinction between pure academic and applied research paradigms. The antiracist research ethos has guided us through the whole research project, but it has also stretched the borders of the research itself (see also Bonilla-Silva & Baiocchi, 2001). The role and the power of the researcher is predetermined by a genuine collaboration in antiracist research that means working on a shared, collective vision based on mutual trust and respect and meaningful dialogue among all partners. It is research that does not infantilize, patronize, or denigrate subjects. Antiracism and ethos: ethical and political questions in the Finnish context Even if the aim of this paper is to focus on the conditions for an antiracist research ethos rather than to deepen the meaning and definition of racism or antiracism itself, some contextual remarks should be made, in order to highlight a context-sensitive character of the foundation, manifestations and interpretations of racism. As the historical, cultural and political context in Finland differs in many ways from the Anglo- American research tradition on racism and race relations some brief references are made about the Finnish context. An important source of understanding conditions of antiracism in Finland takes us to the history of Finland, and particularly to the complex relations with the neighbor country Russia. As the dominance of Russia over Finland constitutes a national narrative to which Finnish people easily identify themselves, this narrative influences in a great deal how the Russian minority in Finland is treated. There are two different groups of Russians: those who have migrated to Finland long time ago, and those who have recently migrated to the country. Regardless of their formal status in Finland, Russians are easily discriminated. What is important is that racist attitudes and acts toward Russians are not necessarily based on elementary ingredients of racism such as on skin colour or religious differences. Racism toward Russians may take very subtle and indirect forms, which may be challenging to capture. One significant pattern related to racial distinctions in Finland concern the national minorities (Sami and Roma, in particular) who may have been in Finland for centuries. 122

4 Even if multiculturalism and racism are depicted as relatively recent phenomena in Finland, they have long historical roots, which have been overlooked in the contemporary discussion which has emphasized a new multicultural situation of the society and used this discourse to legitimize lacking tools and policies against racism. Roma people, in particular, experience (and have experienced a long time) different forms of discrimination, both at the level of daily encounters and institutional practices. Anyhow, this kind of discrimination is difficult to unravel on a national basis since Roma people fulfill all legal requirements of being Finnish. Discriminatory practices can hardly be captured in a comprehensive way since the Finnish statistical system is based on a rough classification of people according to their citizenship, mother tongue and place of birth. Antiracist practices toward Roma may be regarded as underdeveloped in Finland as everywhere in Europe. Antiracism in leisure areas In our Finnish case, we have noticed that to just speak about racism within the context of leisure arenas (such as youth work) can already be considered an antiracist act (Rastas 2005). There seems to be a somewhat uneasy resistance among youth workers to label the tensions coming up within the framework of the youth work environments as racist. New working methods that promote antiracist orientation and awareness are being developed, and here we want to refer especially to Finnish online youth work done in Internet surroundings, which is still unique in the European and global context: ( option=com_content&task=view&id=437&i temid=99). Our research manifests that leisure arenas are not free from ethnically based hierarchies and discriminatory practices. Taking into account this result, it is a problem that youth research is seldom focused on the leisure time of young people with migrant backgrounds. Antiracist ethos implies dialogue The aim of our research project was to carry out a study that would combine the viewpoints of young people, youth workers, youth organizations and the communal administration, in order to get a comprehensive (cross-generational) picture of the manifestations and interpretations of racism within the youth field. The planning of the research project was linked tightly to field of praxis as for example the representative of the Advisory Council for Youth Affairs was present in all the meetings of the project, and participated both in the general conceptual framing of the study as well as planning of e.g. the survey questions. When presenting the main debates of this paper in academic communities (e.g. conferences, research project meetings), the feedback has often surprised us with its straight forwardness and emotionality. Sensitivity towards questions on studying racism and young people reveals that the subject is loaded with power relations, political questions and identity politics. Moreover it tells a lot about how research should be carried out in order to reach academic standards. However, what is questionable is whether these standards should be renegotiated or not. Conclusion As a brief conclusion we would like to highlight three matters related to our discussion on the conditions and demands of an antiracist ethos. Firstly, an open dialogue across multiple disciplines and applied vs. purely academic paradigms is a significant dimension when an antiracist ethos is put into the practice. This does not imply only a certain quest for being cross-disciplinary but also the readiness to acquire multiple researcher s 123

5 roles and positions vis-à-vis the partners involved in the research, regardless of whether these are administrative personnel, journalists or young people. This leads us to our second statement, which is the emphasis on the significance of a relational character to antiracist ethos. The ethos, as it has been understood in this paper, is a series of communal act by its very nature reproduced, interpreted and contested in the research field in which the researcher is involved. Thirdly, it is important that the youth research community opens new pathways of comparative research settings. By this means youth researchers can apply a Note careful conceptual rethinking and contextualization of antiracism, both as a phenomenon and as a special commitment of the research conducted as well as of the researcher. This article is a summary of the research paper Antiracist Research Ethos and Ethical Commitments of Youth Research presented at NYRIS 10 (10 th Nordic Youth Research Information Symposium) from 13 to 15 June 2008 in Lillehammer, Norway. The entire article can be requested from: 124

6 Philosophie antiraciste et engagements éthiques de la recherche sur la jeunesse Veronika Honkasalo Chercheuse Réseau finlandais de recherche sur la jeunesse Leena Suurpää Directrice de recherche Réseau finlandais de recherche sur la jeunesse FR La recherche sur la jeunesse en tant que pratique multidisciplinaire oscille de plus en plus entre les approches, les orientations et les champs d une recherche académique d un côté et, de l autre, appliquée, tout comme d ailleurs les rôles qui en découlent pour les chercheurs concernés. Cette distinction reste floue pour beaucoup de personnes dans les sphères tant académiques que pratiques. On peut donc dire des chercheurs sur la jeunesse qu ils forment une communauté hybride, associée à une participation active au débat sur la politique de jeunesse, au travail de jeunesse ou à la vie des jeunes, tout en étant les interlocuteurs des développements théoriques et conceptuels de la recherche sur la jeunesse. Dans la recherche sur le racisme que connaissent les jeunes, la question des influences réciproques entre recherche académique et recherche appliquée est tout particulièrement pertinente, dans la mesure où le sujet soulève la question des responsabilités et des engagements éthiques du chercheur. Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons aux possibilités et aux applications d une philosophie antiraciste de la recherche, qui traverse les frontières entre les approches académique et appliquée. 125

7 DE Antirassistisches Ethos und ethische Verpflichtungen der Jugendforschung Veronika Honkasalo Wissenschaftliche Forscherin Finnisches Netzwerk für Jugendforschung Leena Suurpää Forschungsdirektorin Finnisches Netzwerk für Jugendforschung Als multidisziplinäre Aufgabe schwankt Jugendforschung zunehmend zwischen den Ansätzen, Orientierungen und Feldern akademischer beziehungsweise angewandter Forschung und den sich daraus ergebenden Rollen der Jugendforscher. Diese Unterscheidung ist für viele Akademiker und Praktiker unklar. Jugendforscher können als Mitglieder einer Hybridgemeinschaft gesehen werden, die mit der aktiven Beteiligung an jugendpolitischen Debatten, Jugendarbeit oder dem Leben junger Menschen verbunden sind, während sie gleichzeitig Gesprächspartner in der theoretischen und konzeptionellen Entwicklung der Jugendforschung sind. In der Forschung zu von Jugendlichen erlebtem Rassismus wird die Frage des Zusammenspiels von akademischer und angewandter Forschung besonders relevant, weil das Thema auch Fragen der ethischen Verantwortung und Verpflichtung der Forscher aufwirft. In diesem Artikel konzentrieren wir uns auf die Möglichkeiten und Auswirkungen eines antirassistischen Ethos der Forschung und überwinden dabei die Grenzen zwischen akademischen und angewandten Forschungsansätzen. 126