International lives and Finnish rhythms: Mobile professionals’ children, time and agency

Abstract

This article investigates temporality in the everyday lives of 9-year-old children of international professionals in Finland. The children’s transnational mobility causes ruptures and discontinuities in their position within various timescapes. The institutional timescapes of schools in different countries appear to be somewhat incompatible, which can be challenging for these mobile children, especially if their sojourns are temporary. At the same time, the timescapes of the Finnish school system provide children with particular agency beyond the school setting, since school days are relatively short. Children also view differing timescapes differently depending on the length of their stay in the country. The article shows how past, present and future timescapes, and potential ruptures within these, become entangled when mobile professionals’ children negotiate their position and agency within various timescapes.