“A bad head for maths”? Constructions of Educability and Mathematics in Adult Students' Narrative Life Histories

The article focuses on the social differences of educability constructed in Finnish general upper secondary school adult graduates' narratives on mathematics. Social class, gender, and age intertwine in the narratives that express the adult students' worries about their ability and competence to study and learn mathematics. Social differences of educability are transformed into individual conceptions of ability in an intrusive way that has consequences far beyond the ability to learn mathematics. This concerns such issues as whether one's ability and competence as a student and learner suffice to complete studies at GUSSA1 ¹The general upper secondary school for adults—GUSSA for short in this text—is an institute that provides formal general education for adults of all ages. For students the schooling is free of charge, except for subject studies, and entrance is not limited by strict age requirements as the age limit of 18 can be lowered under special circumstances. GUSSA students can either aim at the general upper secondary school certificate and/or passing the matriculation examination, that is the school leaving exam of Finnish upper secondary school, or take courses in individual subjects. Today there are approximately 50 institutes specializing in general upper secondary education for adults in over 40 municipalities in Finland. In 2008 over 10,000 GUSSA students were pursuing general upper secondary qualifications and about 6% of the matriculation examinations were taken and passed by GUSSA students (Statistics of Finland, 2008 Statistics of Finland. 2008. Perusasteen jälkeisen tutkintotavoitteisen koulutuksen opiskelijat ja tutkinnot koulutusmaakunnan, koulutuslajin ja opintoalan (opetushallinnon luokitus) mukaan [Students and qualifications of postcompulsory formal education based on school location, type of education and branch of education (National Board of Education classification). Retrieved June 19, 2010, from http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=260_opiskt_tau_102_fi&;path=../database/StatFin/kou/opiskt/&;lang=3&;multilang=fi  [Google Scholar]). Besides this, there is an increasing number of students taking individual courses in some subjects. For more information see The Finnish National Board of Education (2008 Finnish National Board of Education (2008). General upper secondary education. Retrieved February 5, 2008, from http://www.oph.fi/english/education/general_upper_secondary_education  [Google Scholar]). and pass the matriculation examination, as well as one's chances of succeeding in further studies and working life. The study confirms that mathematics continues to be constructed as a masculine prototype of intelligence. Being “good” at mathematics, moreover, implies having intelligence and innate natural talent.     

Rural schoolteachers and the pressures of community life: local and cosmopolitan coping strategies in mid-twentieth-century Finland

This article discusses rural schoolteachers’ relationships with local village communities in mid-twentieth-century Finland. At the time, Finnish rural teachers were typically very public figures in their local community. To deal with the pressures of their position, teachers resorted to coping strategies which the authors name ‘local’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ after Robert K. Merton’s well-known categories. The local strategy required that teachers adapt themselves to the social demands of community life, whereas the cosmopolitan strategy was manifested in the teachers’ efforts to distance themselves from the local community, reflecting the increasing professionalisation of Finnish schoolteachers as well as a general social transition in which traditional community ties were gradually replaced by modern individualism.     

Accelerating decoding-related skills in poor readers learning a foreign language: a computer-based intervention

The results of Fast ForWord® training on English decoding-related skills were examined. Finnish fifth-grade students were identified as having reading fluency problems and poor skills in English as a foreign language learned at school and were randomly assigned to either a training group (TRG) or a control group. The TRG (n?=?13) received 50?min of daily computer program-based training for a period of approximately 10 weeks. Students in the first control group (n?=?11) received the school’s regular instructional programme. A second control group was composed of 14 average readers. The students’ English skills were examined in pre-test, post-test and follow-up measurements. The TRG students saw an acceleration in decoding-related skills. The educational implications of the results are discussed.     

A Competency Model for Process Dynamics and Control and Its Use for Test Construction at University Level

This study examined students’ competencies in engineering education at the university level. First, we developed a competency model in one specific field of engineering: process dynamics and control. Then, the theoretical model was used as a frame to construct test items to measure students’ competencies comprehensively. In the empirical application, the reliability of the test was examined. The results confirmed the applicability of the theory-based test. Also, associations between students’ competencies and individual characteristics were explored. Students who showed higher competencies could be identified based on their individual characteristics, such as participation in self-assessments. Finally, we demonstrated how to apply the standards of theory-based testing to everyday routines at the university and also highlighted some challenging issues to be considered when implementing theory-based testing in practice. This approach could be valuable: Tests based on theoretically sound models allow for appropriate measurement of students’ competencies in higher education.     

Comparación entre dos modelos de educación bilingüe

Resumen

La presente investigación es una comparación entre dos modelos de educación bilingüe introducidos hace algunos años en el Colegio Alemán de Estocolmo: por un lado, estudiantes con el sueco como primera lengua de instrucción en el primer curso, con tres horas semanales de instrucción en alemán, que se iba incrementando progresivamente en los años posteriores, de manera que en el cuarto curso, el idioma en las clases era en un 50 por 100 alemán y en un 50 por 100 sueco. Por otro lado, estudiantes con tres horas semanales de instrucción en sueco en el primer curso, que aumentaban a cinco horas en los siguientes cursos.

Sólo se encontró un bilingüismo balanceado en los estudiantes que siguieron el currículum en alemán. Los estudiantes que siguieron el currículum sueco, mantuvieron el sueco como su idioma claramente dominante y obtuvieron una alta competencia en el alemán como segundo idioma.

Estas diferencias se explicaron por el bagaje lingüístico de los alumnos. Puesto que los alumnos que tenían el alemán como primera lengua adquirían sus dos lenguajes tanto en los entornos informales como en el formal, conseguían más input de los entornos naturales. Los estudiantes de idioma sueco en cambio, recibían el input del alemán únicamente en la instrucción formal de la escuela, que no podía compensar la fuerte influencia del idioma del hogar y del país.

Además, la presente investigación ha contribuido a corroborar la hipótesis de la edad óptima para el aprendizaje de la segunda lengua.     

Towards community oriented curriculum in Finnish literacy education

Finland’s successful PISA literacy results reflect the foundation of the Finnish education system, which could be characterised by the words equality, equity and individual support. However, international interest in this PISA success has not focused on curricular aspects, and yet the core curriculum specifies teaching and learning practices in Finland. This article presents a study on the development of the Finnish National Core Curricula for Basic Education (NCC), published in 1985, 1994 and 2004. Based on inductive document analysis, the article discusses the changing conceptualisations of the curriculum designers and contributes to an understanding of the roles that the literacy core curriculum has in defining the purposes of literacy education, as well as the cross-curricular intentions of literacy education from the 1980s to the present day.     

Practical Work in Earth Sciences Education: An experience with students in the context of a National Science Programme in Portugal

The programme Ciencia Viva of the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology aims to create a greater understanding of science and science education amongst scientists, teachers, school children and the general public, each of whom is encouraged to cooperate and interact through regular contacts. The purpose is to improve practical, experimental and other forms of investigative work. To accomplish such work in schools, an overview of the state of science education worldwide is presented in terms of old and new traditions of the teaching of the physical and historical sciences the latter including the teaching of fieldwork. Traditional practices are compared with those established recently in various parts of the world in which more carefully considered understanding of the nature of science and science education has been established. In illustration of good practice, an outline is offered of the nature and rationale of two sets of curricular materials. These were designed by a team comprising staff members of the University of Aveiro and secondary school teachers and were trialled in schools. These activities are concerned with the internal rock cycle and the internal energy of the Earth in relation to plate tectonic theory. They are also related to the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition of sedimentary rocks and structures (like wave and current ripple marks) which were formed as part of the external rock cycle driven by the Sun's energy. The account concludes with an outline of the sub programme 'Geology in Summer', a fieldwork programme which introduces a holistic understanding of the workings of the outer part of the Earth to the general public. Students' perspectives and teachers' views about these experiences are generally very positive and are presented at the end. The whole programme was evaluated by an international team of scientists and science educators.     

Measuring challenge,fun and sterility on a ‘phunometre’ scale: evaluating creative teaching and learning with children and their student teachers in the primary school

‘It was the funnest week in the whole history of funnest weeks’: our case study, the second phase in a three-phase research project, evaluates the successes and limitations of creative teaching and learning during the ‘The Creative and Effective Curriculum’ module for PGCE primary student teachers which includes a one-week placement in school. Student teachers', children's and teachers' perspectives pointed to a range of factors necessary for effective and creative teaching and learning. These included learning which is ‘fun’, achievement through intrinsic motivation, willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes, children's ownership of learning and the teacher's role as facilitator. Our findings enabled us to formulate ‘phunometre scales’ which we suggest can be used to assess both the organisation of learning areas and also planned activities in terms of their capacity for learning which is both challenging and fun.