Finnish Youth Survey Spring 1998

The main themes of the Finnish Youth Survey Spring 1998 were education, changes in working life, cuts in the public sector, and social exclusion. Young people were also asked questions on their future plans, social security, and unemployment. First, the respondents' background information was charted by asking them questions about their level of education. They were asked whether they studied at the moment, and whether they had completed a degree or qualification. Those who had were asked how they thought post-compulsory education helped young people advance in life. Their economic activity was also investigated. Those who were employed were asked about the duration and nature of their contract, and those who were unemployed were asked about the duration of unemployment and what they thought was the most important factor that had hindered or prevented them from finding a job. Some questions probed the young people's notions of primary and lower secondary education. They were asked to grade primary and lower secondary education based on their own experiences and to tell how they thought compulsory education helped young people in different areas (e.g. common knowledge, skills needed in working life or in public participation). The most important skills provided by primary and lower secondary education were also charted. Further questions canvassed working life and finding a job. The respondents were presented with a set of attitudinal statements on whether education significantly improved one's chances of getting a job, whether unemployment was exaggerated in Finland, and whether they were willing to accept a lower standard of living to improve employment situation. They also evaluated their own employment situation in the next five years. In addition, the young people assessed the probability of having to change occupation during their careers. Opinions on citizen wage (i.e. basic income unconditionally paid to all citizens) and the minimum monthly income needed to support oneself were queried, as well as on the most important thing in a job (for instance wage, nature of work, or relationships formed through work). Views were probed on cuts in public expenditure. The respondents were asked how much should be cut for example from health care, unemployment benefits, farming subsidies, and support for families with children, in case the Finnish economy weakened. Young people's notions of social exclusion were examined. Half of the respondents were asked to what extent social exclusion is caused by for example lack of education, lack of friends, bad way of life, and own laziness or indifference. Finally, the respondents' satisfaction with their financial situation and life in general was studied. Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, province of residence, municipality of residence, and economic activity.1998年春季芬兰青年调查（Finnish Youth Survey Spring 1998）的核心主题涵盖教育、职场变迁、公共部门裁员以及社会排斥（social exclusion）。研究同时还向青年群体询问了关于未来规划、社会保障以及失业相关的问题。首先，研究人员通过询问受访者的教育水平等信息，统计梳理了受访者的背景特征：受访者被问及当前是否在校学习，是否已完成学位或取得职业资格；已获得相关资质的受访者需回答，他们认为义务后教育（post-compulsory education）对青年人生发展起到了何种助力作用。研究同时调查了受访者的经济活动状况：在职者需回答其劳动合同的期限与性质，失业者则需说明失业时长，以及他们认为阻碍自身求职的最关键因素是什么。部分问题旨在探究青年群体对小学与初中教育的认知。受访者需结合自身经历对中小学教育进行评分，并阐述义务教育（compulsory education）在不同维度（如通识知识、职场所需技能或公共参与所需技能）对青年的助力作用，同时统计受访者认为中小学教育所提供的最重要技能有哪些。后续问题围绕职场与求职展开。受访者需对一系列态度陈述作出回应，包括：教育是否显著提升求职成功率、芬兰的失业问题是否被夸大，以及是否愿意为改善就业状况而降低生活标准。他们还需对未来五年的自身就业形势作出评估。此外，青年群体需评估职业生涯中更换职业的可能性。研究还询问了受访者对公民工资（citizen wage，即无条件向全体公民发放的基本收入）的看法、维持个人生计所需的最低月收入标准，以及受访者眼中工作中最重要的要素（例如薪资、工作性质或职场人际关系）。关于公共支出削减的态度也是调研内容之一：受访者需回答，若芬兰经济疲软，应在医疗保健、失业救济、农业补贴以及育儿家庭支持等领域削减多少开支。青年群体对社会排斥的认知也得到了考察。其中半数受访者需回答，社会排斥在多大程度上由教育缺失、缺乏友人、不良生活方式以及自身懒惰或冷漠等因素导致。最后，研究分析了受访者对自身财务状况与整体生活的满意度。本次调研的背景变量涵盖受访者年龄、性别、居住省份、居住城市以及经济活动状况。