lukuvuonna

Lukuvuonna is a Finnish term meaning “in the school year” or “during the academic year.” It is the form used to refer to the time period within which educational activities take place, and is commonly seen in sentences and official documents such as budgets and calendars. The base noun is lukuvuosi, which denotes the school year as a whole; lukuvuonna marks the timeframe within that year.

In practice, lukuvuonna is used across the Finnish education system to designate actions, plans, or data related to a given year. It appears in contexts such as curricula, funding allocations, and statistical reports, and is employed by institutions from comprehensive schools to upper secondary schools and higher education. While the concept is uniform, each institution or municipality may publish its own calendar for the relevant lukuvuonna.

The typical Finnish school year runs from late summer to late spring, with a summer break in between. It generally begins in August or September and ends in May or June, and includes a series of holidays such as an autumn break, Christmas and winter holidays, and a spring break. Exact dates are decided locally by municipalities and schools, so there can be differences between regions.

Because it is used in date ranges, lukuvuonna often appears in contexts like lukuvuonna 2023–2024, indicating the period covered by the reference. The term helps distinguish annual cohorts, funding periods, and program schedules across different years. See also lukuvuosi for the broader concept of the school year.