Past Projects
| Title: |
A Comparative Exploration of Social Policy Relating
to Teenage Pregnancy in Finland and Scotland |
ESRC funded Doctoral research
October 1996 – January 2001
Background
The purpose of this research was to comparatively explore
a selection of policies relating to teenage pregnancy
in Finland and Scotland. Although much comparative research
had explored teenage pregnancy and policy relating to
it in England with other countries, very little work
had explored either the policy situation within Scotland
or comparatively explored Scottish policy responses to
teenage pregnancy with other countries. Although the
trends in teenage pregnancy rates are similar between
England and Scotland, there are noted policy differences
between the two countries that warrant further exploration
of the situation particular to Scotland.
Finland presented an interesting comparison for Scotland,
in particular due to a number of important constants that
exist including; the sexual behaviour rates of young people,
the legal age of heterosexual consent and similar ages
of first intercourse, and yet considerably lower rates
of teenage pregnancy. Between the 1970s and 1980s the rate
of teenage pregnancy declined in both Finland and Scotland.
Since that time Finland has witnessed further decline,
whilst the rate in Scotland has remained relatively unchanged.
Methods
Utilising a variety of primary and secondary data including
in-depth interviews with key personnel at three levels
of policy development and implementation: government,
local authority/ municipality and schools, as well as
policy documentation from both countries, this research
has located, mapped and comparatively analysed three
areas of policy relating to teenage pregnancy: sex education,
sexual health and education.
Key findings
The findings of this research illustrate that policy developed
in Finland since the 1970s has taken a pragmatic approach
to the prevention of unintended teenage pregnancy, combining
sex education provision in a range of core subjects throughout
the curriculum at the school level with a national system
of school nurses located in school-based clinics. Additionally,
the Finnish education system was structured in such a
way from 1970 so as to offer a high level of vocational
and academic choice at the school level and actively
encourage a high level of continuation beyond the age
of sixteen.
In relation to policy development in Scotland, the findings
of this research illustrate that whilst the foundations
for successful future policy development are now present,
policy developed prior to the mid-1990s failed to meet
the needs of young people in Scotland in relation to the
provision of sex education, sexual health services and
educational choice at the school level beyond academically-orientated
examinations.
Since the mid-1990s there have been changes in the direction
of policy within the areas under exploration. Whilst a
level of complacency appears to have set in with regard
to the lower level of teenage abortion in Finland, the
opposite has been occurring in Scotland, with raised awareness
of the sexual health rights and needs of young people being
placed at the forefront of policy development. As this
thesis has detailed, the various changes have the potential
to influence the rates of teenage pregnancy in both countries,
negatively in Finland and positively in Scotland.
In addition to highlighting potential policy options to
aid in the future reduction of unintended teenage pregnancy
in Scotland, a better understanding of the relationship
that each area of policy has to teenage pregnancy has also
been developed within this thesis. The findings contribute
to the on-going debate concerning a number of important
areas, first, the provision of ‘effective’ sex
education, second, the necessity to base sexual health
services on the needs of young people and third, the importance
that continued education post-16 can play as an indirect
means to delaying pregnancy and parenthood.
Dissemination
The findings have been disseminated via health and education
professional local, national and international networks;
conferences and seminars and other academic outlets.
Papers already presented on this research and an online
copy of the report can be found
on the Conferences & Seminar
Presentations and Esteem
Indicators pages.
The majority of the main thesis
can be accessed through the PDF links below:
Title and Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
Chapter One: International Trends - Data from Europe
Chapter Two: Teenage Pregnancy and Social Policy -
A review of the literature
Chapter Three: Comparative Methods and Methodology
Chapter Four: The National Policy Framework
Chapter Five: Policy Implementation at the Local Level
Chapter Six: Similarities and Differences within National and
 Local Level Policy in Scotland and Finland
Chapter Seven: Policy change and future prospects
Chapter Eight: Conclusions, Policy Recommendations & Future
Research Directions
Bibliography
Appendices
For further details about the project please contact:
Dr Alison Hosie
Email:
Tel: 07931 164111
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