Risikonavigation i fremdriftsstormen

Abstract

In Greek mythology, the hero Odysseus receives a gift of the world’s wind in a carefully tied sack. Only one favorable tailwind was free to blow his ship safely home. But in the course of the night, the other winds are released with catastrophic consequences for Odysseus’ fleet, resulting in multiple wrecks. In the article we take the myth about Odysseus and the winds as a picture of students’ educational navigation after the Danish Study progress reform (2013). We show how the reform was initially characterized by an unambiguous belief that it is possible to tether and align the various motives and reasons for studying (winds), all while in practice the students translate the reform’s demand for quick completion in a number of unforeseeable ways. With the concept of “risk translation” we show how the students’ navigations is not just a question of fast completion, but also of protecting a number of often enjoyable, study activities, constituting  a good study life. The analysis in this article is built upon a country-wide questionnaire among approximately 4500 university students (2015), along with a series of focus group interviews with students at the University of Copenhagen (2013-2016).