International Children and the Institutional Infrastructures of Schools in Finland

Growing numbers of children are moving between countries because of their parent(s)’ careers. The temporary labour migration of highly educated professionals – sometimes called career expatriates or transnational corporate elites (Amit 2002; Fechter 2007) – is increasing in various parts of the world. Finland, among many countries, welcomes such professionals both because they offer skills that are needed in the global competitive markets and because the country’s domestic population is ageing. Often, these professionals do not intend to stay permanently but rather to return to their native countries or move on to other locations after a few years. The international professionals are often accompanied by their spouses and children. In this paper, I focus on a central institutional infrastructure in these children’s lives, namely education and schools. I elaborate on international schools in Finland, and on the children’s position within this infrastructure. The paper is based on extensive ethnographic research in an international school in a Finnish town.