Value and opinion profiles of university students from a Finnish and French focus group perspective

The paper is composed of two parts. In a first part we study the value backgrounds of Finnish students at the University of Helsinki based on a value survey of 2nd year social science classes for the past 13 years (2011-2023). The value profile of this student group is compared to the corresponding values within the larger segments of the Finnish population based on Schwartzs’ theory of universals in the content and structure of human basic values. Using this as a starting point, we then move to explore the more specific opinion profile of the student groups through a series of focus group discussions in 2022-2024 on student views of the EU. These results are furthermore placed into a European perspective by comparing them to the corresponding focus group discussions of another students’ cohort, French university students in Lyon (Sciences Po Lyon and Lyon 2 Lumière university).