The Heart of the Small Finnish Rural School: Supporting Roots and Wings, Solidarity and Autonomy

The aim of this chapter is to explore the cultural, educational, and social environment and characteristics of small rural schools, laying a foundation for under-standing the possibilities, challenges, and constraints that teachers and pupils may face in these contexts. Questions about what educational quality and equity mean in the rural context underpin the narrative. The inquiry builds on research in some of the smallest rural schools in Finland, schools that might not even exist anymore due to demographic and political reasons. A figure, in the symbolic form of a candle, sums up the pedagogical thinking of rural village school teachers. The candle also illustrates the double purpose of education for living well in a world worth living in. What the small village school teachers articulate as being important in their work and what they wish their pupils would carry with them from the school into their future lives, involves roots and wings, relatedness and autonomy, in coexistence. The culture and education of the small school comprises both the optimal development of the individual and social participation. The small rural school has got a double function as a mediator of education and of community life, i.e. pedagogy and culture.