Tarja Tolonen

(MY NEW HOMEPAGE ADDRESS IS http://blogs.helsinki.fi/tatolone/ )

Researcher,
Doctor of Social Sciences

Place, voice and gendered orders in everyday life at school

Tarja Tolonen

Phd. research project
1994-2001

My doctoral work focuses on gender, youth and school. I have conducted a research on the dynamics of school communities. The focus of  the research is gendered everyday practises, and their differencies in local school communities. I also study ideals and representations of gender, youth and school. Through my reseach it is possible to build understanding of the social processes such as marginalizations, friendships, enjoyment and bullying at school, as well as the relationships between the teachers and the students. 

(for more, see Research)
 

Citizenship, Difference and Marginality in Schools – With special reference to gender 

(Academy of Finland, 1994-1998, Tuula Gordon) 

In this comparative, cross-cultural, collective, ethnographic project we explored how citizenship and difference are constructed in school (in Helsinki and London) and broadened the theory of political, legal and social citizenship to include culture, embodiment and sexuality. The collective consists of Elina Lahelma, Pirkko Hynninen, Tuija Metso, Tarja Palmu (all in the Department of Education, University of Helsinki, and Tarja Tolonen, Sinikka Aapola and Jukka Lehtonen (all in the Deparment of Sociology, University of Helsinki) and with Janet Holland and her research assistants (Southbank University, London) 

(for more, see Research)
 

Social and Spatial transitions in young people's life course

Tarja Tolonen 

Research project 2001-2005

In this reseach I will focus on how young people situate themselves into locality, nationality and globality as well as social differences while talking about “self evident” and “normal” things in their ordinary lives. However, matters that occure as self evident and normal are highly complex and intertwine with social differences (such as class, race, gender, ethnicity and locality).

The data used in this research is based on 60 interviews. I will make life course interviews on young people of age 18-20 with different social backrounds and lifesituations in different locations in Finland. I will discuss on their past, how they have made situations concerning their transitions (to school, work, family) so far,  as well as their future plans.

(for more, see Research)

 
Agency and Power in Young People’s Lives: Boundaries and Limitations

Tuula Gordon, 2003-2005, University of Helsinki
Researchers: Tarja Tolonen and Sanna Aaltonen 

Agency and Power in Young People’s Lives combines theoretical analysis of exercise of agency and of power relations encountered by young women and men. The project draws from the fields of sociology, education, cultural studies, feminist research and youth research. We explore what possibilities and limitations are involved in young people’s lives as they construct their lives in the context of social, cultural and material frames. We ask how they construct and utilise personal resources in order to negotiate the course of their current everyday life, the extent to which they construct future life trajectories and to what extent and in what ways they plan their futures as well as negotiate their current everyday lives.
 
(for more, see Research)

Selected Publications