Studification of youth workshop activities. The dynamic relation between the individual and the community in a developing context

This dissertation examines the multilevel implementation of studification as a
new operational practice in youth workshop activities and their collaborative
networks. In Finland, workshops serve as coaching communities for young
people facing intersecting social risks, including disrupted educational
pathways, unemployment, and rehabilitation needs. Studification refers to the
recognition, validation, and demonstration of learning emerging in workshop
activities in collaboration with educational institutions. The study employs a
qualitative case study design.

The aim is to analyze how a new educational practice is constructed through
multiprofessional collaboration in the workshop context. The theoretical
framework draws on cultural-historical activity theory, enabling the
examination of how studification reconfigures activity at individual, communal,
and network levels. Empirical data were gathered from workshop
professionals, partner organizations, and young people involved in
studification projects.

The first sub-study investigated expansive solutions generated in the
development of studification and challenges of stabilizing the concept. Using
the activity system model and discursive analysis of contradictions, it showed
how the division of labor shifted from a differentiated educational task toward
complementary expertise in a socially contested field. The second sub-study
analyzed relational expertise, focusing on how professionals recognized each
other’s motives when working toward a shared object. A pragmatist abductive
approach revealed a common motive: the conviction that all young people at
risk of exclusion possess learning potential. The third sub-study applied
subject-scientific model fabrics of grounds to examine the grounds of young
people’s experiences and their links to broader structures, showing that
studification expanded their perceived opportunities for agency.

Together, the sub-studies demonstrate that implementing a new practice
requires transformation across all analytical levels. The dissertation deepens
understanding of how studification shapes conceptual development,
professional collaboration, and young people’s subjective experiences. It
shows that studification is not merely a method but a shift from deficit-oriented
views to recognizing young people’s capacities and strengths.