To Choose or Not to Choose Science: Constructions of desirable identities among young people considering a STEM higher education programme

In the literature, there is a general concern that a less number of students choose to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). This paper presents results from a Danish longitudinal study which examines students’ choice of whether or not to continue studying STEM after upper-secondary school. In particular, this study focuses on students who held an STEM subject as one of their favourite subjects at secondary educational level, but who chose not to study STEM at the tertiary level. This paper explores how students’ perceptions of STEM relate to their identity work. The data used, primarily consist of interviews with 38 students at the end of upper-secondary school. The analysis explores the students’ expectations of what higher education STEM might be like. These expectations are contrasted with the first-year experiences of 18 of the 38 students who eventually entered a higher education STEM programme. The results show that the students who did not choose STEM, perceived STEM as stable, rigid and fixed, and, hence, too narrow a platform for developing and constructing desirable identities. The experiences of those students who actually entered a STEM programme turned out to be similar to these expectations. However, many choosers would also prefer their studies as less rigid and fixed. If the institutions could adjust to the form and content of the courses, it might both meet the interests of choosers and non-choosers and thereby both increase recruitment and retention at STEM higher education programmes.     

Comprehensive school teachers’ professional agency in large-scale educational change

This article explores how comprehensive school teachers’ sense of professional agency changes in the context of large-scale national educational change in Finland. We analysed the premises on which teachers (n = 100) view themselves and their work in terms of developing their own school, catalysed by the large-scale national change. The study included theory-driven interventions in the case school communities, as well as pre- and post-test measurements. The results suggested that the learning of active professional agency was facilitated among teachers during the 2 years of development work. A significant number of teachers had adopted a more holistic orientation towards the reform. Moreover, the number of teachers who considered themselves as the subjects of the development work increased slightly. This increase suggests that teachers’ intentional and responsible management of new learning proceeds from the interpersonal meaning-making process to the internal process that regulates the elements of a teacher’s professional agency.     

Student teachers’ proactive strategies for avoiding study-related burnout during teacher education

The study aims to gain a better understanding of the function of proactive strategies in buffering study burnout among student teachers at the early stage of their studies. There is some evidence that the use of active social coping strategies during studies is related to reduced burnout levels among early career teachers. Less is known about the association between the proactive strategies and burnout among student teachers. Altogether, 244 Finnish student teachers completed the survey. The data were analysed by using SEM. The results suggested that the proactive strategies adopted by student teachers seem to prevent study-related burnout, especially in terms of exhaustion in studies and inadequacy in studying, but not directly the perceived cynicism towards studies. The results imply that learning how to use proactive strategies is functional in coping with study-related stressors, by reducing the risk of student teachers’ burnout.     

Objectively measured physical activity,body composition and physical fitness: Cross-sectional associations in 9- to 15-year-old children

The aim of this study was to examine and quantify the cross-sectional associations of body composition (BC), physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) with physical fitness (PF) in children and adolescents. A sample of 594 Finnish students (56% girls), aged 9–15 (12.4?±?1.3 years) were selected for a study performed in 2013. The measurements of the Move! monitoring system for physical functional capacity were used to measure cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness and fundamental movement skills. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ST were measured objectively with an accelerometer and BC by a bioelectrical impedance analysis. Fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) were calculated to represent height-adjusted BC. Associations were explored with a linear regression model. In general, FMI had statistically significant negative associations, while FFMI and MVPA had positive associations with PF. No statistically significant associations were observed between ST and PF. In general, FMI had the strongest association with PF, although some variation occurred with sex and PF component. However, associations were practically relevant only in 20-m shuttle run, push-up, curl-up and 5-leaps test. For example, approximately 5?kg increase in fat mass in 155?cm tall children was estimated to correspond to 8 laps in 20-m shuttle run. Similar increase in fat-free mass corresponded to +4 and +6 laps, and 10?min increase in daily MVPA +3 and +2 laps in 20-m shuttle run, in boys and girls, respectively. Understanding these associations is necessary when interpreting children’s PF and designing interventions.     

A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students’ transitions to science and engineering in higher education

The paper presents results from a longitudinal study of students’ decisions to enrol on a higher education science programme and their experiences of it. The aim is to give insights into students’ transition process and negotiation of identity. This is done by following a cohort of 38 students in a series of qualitative interviews during a 3-year period starting as they were about to finish upper secondary school. We find that the students’ choice of study is an ongoing process of meaning-making, which continues when the students enter higher education and continuously work on their identities to gain a sense of belonging to their science or engineering programme. The use of a narrative methodology provides understanding of choice of study as involving changes in future perspectives and in the interpretation of past experiences. Further, we gain access into how this meaning-making process over time reflects the students’ negotiations in terms of belonging to higher education and their coping strategies when their expectations of their new programme interact with their first-year experiences.     

Strategies for academic engagement perceived by Finnish sixth and eighth graders

This study explores strategies students use to construct their academic engagement in the social environment of school. The study is based on group interview data collected from 161 sixth (78) and eighth (83) grade students. Students reflected both engaging and disengaging episodes. Data were content analysed. The results show that students reported using only confirming strategies in teacher–student interaction. More diverse strategies were described in relation to peer interaction. The results indicated that simultaneously maintaining functional peer relations and engaging effectively in academic activities is a highly challenging task which requires strategic flexibility and self-regulative skills. In terms of the development of more engaging learning environments for students, our results suggest that more attention should be paid to creating positive opportunities to participate, in terms of both academic activities and peer interaction.     

The ideal teacher: orientations of teacher education in Sweden and Finland after the Second World War

There are many similarities between the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland, but they have made different decisions regarding their teacher-education policies. This article focuses on how the objectives of teacher education, particularly the vision of the ideal teacher, have changed in Sweden and Finland in the period after the Second World War. In Finland, the period since the 1960s can be described as a gradual scientification of teacher education. The image of the ideal teacher has transformed according to a research-based agenda, where teachers are expected to conduct minor-scale research in the classroom. In Sweden since the 1980s, on the other hand, teacher education has oscillated between progressivist and academic orientations, following shifts in government between the Social Democratic Party and the centre-right. Since the turn of the millennium, however, a consensus in favour of a strengthened research base of teacher education has also emerged in Sweden.     

Evaluating university-industry collaboration: the European Foundation of Quality Management excellence model-based evaluation of university-industry collaboration

Tertiary Education and Management - The growth in university-industry collaboration has resulted in an increasing demand for methods to evaluate it. This paper presents one way to evaluate an...     

Teacher burnout profiles and proactive strategies

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Teacher burnout has been identified as a significant occupational hazard. However, our understanding about individual variations in burnout risk among...