KNOT - All Young Participants in the Future

The project aims to create a collaborative operational model that develops various guidance and support practices through a dialogical approach, actively listening to professionals across fields and fostering the exchange of perspectives to generate new understanding. As a result, more young people can be supported in striving for a life that aligns with societal norms of meaningful daily and working life. The project fosters a culture of well-being and safety among professionals working with youth by emphasizing dialogical development. This approach deepens understanding of each professional's role and perspective, promoting resource-wise practices. The goal is for education, guidance, and social service personnel to better integrate the expertise of parents, youth, and their colleagues into supporting educational pathways. Responsibilities and roles would become clearer, professionals would work toward a shared goal identified by the young person, and collectively contribute to enabling the pursuit of a good life.

KNOT – All Youth Included in the Future project aims to address bottlenecks in transitional phases and expert collaboration. It develops guidance and support practices within the expert service system through six functional work packages and one coordination work package. Implemented using a dialogical development approach, these work packages focus on critical junctures in children's and youth's educational paths, starting from early childhood education and extending to decisions made at the end of lower secondary school. Central to the project is identifying necessary support measures and enhancing professionals' competencies by reflecting on the experiences of young people and their guardians. The work packages integrate the development of pedagogical expertise, discussions on responsibilities and obligations, and broader conversations on education and societal values. The project originates from the question: Why does a young person enter TUVA (preparatory education for vocational studies)?

The goal is to investigate why a young person chooses or ends up in TUVA: some students’ educational paths are highly heterogeneous and fragmented, raising questions about why some do not engage in their studies and who should support them, when, and how. For some young people, TUVA serves as a crucial support mechanism for finding their path and as encouragement to advance in their studies. For these individuals, TUVA is inherently a form of support.

The primary target groups of the project are experts within the service system who, in their daily work, interact with children and youth in the fields of social services, education, guidance, and teaching. The secondary target groups include vulnerable children and youth, as well as their parents and guardians.