Secondary school students' interests,attitudes and values concerning school science related to environmental issues in Finland

This paper explores the relationship between students' interests in environmental issues, attitudes to environmental responsibility and biocentric values in school science education. The factors were investigated within the framework of three moderators: gender, school and residential area of the school. The survey was carried out using the international ROSE questionnaire with ninth‐grade students (N = 3626) from 68 schools. Likert‐type items were categorised with explorative factor analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance was used to study the importance of the moderators. There were significant correlations between the attitude and value factors. Interest and attitude were also significantly correlated, but the correlation between interest and value was negligible. Girls' attitude was significantly more positive and their biocentric value stronger than those of the boys, while in terms of interest, the gender difference was small. The effect of residential area was negligible, but there were significant differences between schools in all the factors studied. A school's own environmental projects and participation in programmes linked to environmental education or education for sustainable development was suggested to enhance students' interest in environmental issues. The role of interests, attitudes and values in teaching environmental issues are important fields for future research in science, environmental and sustainability education.     

Associations of student temperament and educational competence with academic achievement: The role of teacher age and teacher and student gender

We examined associations of teacher-perceived student temperament and educational competence with school achievement, and how these associations were modified by students’ gender and teachers’ gender and age. Participants were 1063 Finnish ninth-graders (534 boys) and their 29 Mother Language teachers (all female) and 43 Mathematics teachers (17 male) from a population-based sample. All temperament and educational competence traits were associated with both grades, but more clearly with Mathematics. Boys received systematically lower Mother Language grades but higher Mathematics grades than girls. Teacher gender had no effect on school grades, while teacher age had an effect only on Mother Language.     

Quantitative Analysis of Representations of Nature of Science in Nordic Upper Secondary School Textbooks Using Framework of Analysis Based on Philosophy of Chemistry

The aim of this study was to assess how the different aspects of nature of science (NOS) were represented in Finnish and Swedish upper secondary school chemistry textbooks. The dimensions of NOS were analyzed from five popular chemistry textbook series. The study provides a quantitative method for analysis of representations of NOS in chemistry textbooks informed by domain-specific research on the philosophy of chemistry and chemical education. The selection of sections analyzed was based on the four themes of scientific literacy: knowledge of science, investigate nature of science, science as a way of thinking, and interaction of science, technology and society. For the second round of analysis the theme of science as a way of thinking was chosen for a closer inspection. The units of analysis in this theme were analyzed using seven domain specific dimensions of NOS: tentative, empirical, model-based, inferential, technological products, instrumentation, and social and societal dimensions. Based on the inter-rater agreement, the procedure and frameworks of analysis presented in this study was a reliable way of assessing the emphasis given to the domain specific aspects of NOS. All textbooks have little emphasis on the theme science as a way of thinking on a whole. In line with the differences of curricula, Swedish textbooks emphasize the tentative dimension of NOS more than Finnish textbooks. To provide teachers with a sufficiently wide variety of examples to discuss the different dimensions of NOS changes to the national core curricula are needed. Although changing the emphasis of the curricula would be the most obvious way to affect the emphasis of the textbooks, other efforts such as pre- and in-service courses for developing teachers understanding of NOS and pedagogic approaches for NOS instruction to their classroom practice might also be needed.     

The Use of Social Media for Artist Marketing: Music Industry Perspectives and Consumer Motivations

This research addresses the question of why consumers use social media especially in relation to music consumption and how music industry companies could improve their social media efforts by matching company strategies with consumer motives. Four case studies and four focus groups with 28 participants were conducted. As a result, this study found five motives for social media participation: (1) access to content, (2) sense of affinity, (3) participation, (4) interaction, and (5) social identity, in decreasing order of effect. For managers this study set out a detailed social media strategy that corresponds with components of consumer motives for participation at decreasing levels of effect.     

How teaching practices are connected to student intention to enrol in upper secondary school physics courses

Background: In developed countries, it is challenging for teachers to select pedagogical practices that encourage students to enrol in science and technology courses in upper secondary school.

Purpose: Aiming to understand the enrolment dynamics, this study analyses sample-based data from Finland’s National Assessment in Science to determine whether pedagogical approaches influence student intention to enrol in upper secondary school physics courses.

Sample: This study examined a clustered sample of 2949 Finnish students in the final year of comprehensive school (15–16 years old).

Methods: Through explorative factor analysis, we extracted several variables that were expected to influence student intention to enrol in physics courses. We applied partial correlation to determine the underlying interdependencies of the variables.

Results: The analysis revealed that the main predictor of enrolment in upper secondary school physics courses is whether students feel that physics is important. Although statistically significant, partial correlations between variables were rather small. However, the analysis of partial correlations revealed that pedagogical practices influence inquiry and attitudinal factors. Pedagogical practices that emphasise science experimentation and the social construction of knowledge had the strongest influence.

Conclusions: The research implies that to increase student enrolment in physics courses, the way students interpret the subject’s importance needs to be addressed, which can be done by the pedagogical practices of discussion, teacher demonstrations, and practical work.     

The Developmental Dynamics of Literacy Skills During the First Grade

The aim of the study was to investigate prospective relationships between reading and writing performance during the first grade of primary school. The data was collected from 83 Finnish‐speaking children who were examined four times on reading, spelling, and productive writing skills during the first grade. At the beginning of the school year, they were also tested on initial reading skill. The results showed that reading and spelling manifested a reciprocal relationship during the first semester: reading performance increased subsequent spelling proficiency, and spelling skills enhanced subsequent reading. Later on, however, reading predicted spelling in a less reciprocal association. In turn, productivity of writing predicted subsequent reading performance during the first grade although the reverse was not true. The results suggest that it may be important to emphasize the support which compositional writing may offer to the development of reading.     

Exploring doctorate holders’ perceptions of the non-academic labour market and reputational problems they relate to their employment

Doctoral employment outside universities has been increasing, as universities cannot employ all doctorate holders. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the shift from doctoral programs to the non-academic labour market has been limited. In this qualitative study, more than 800 verbal answers given by doctorate holders to a pair of open-ended questions were content-analysed to explore doctorate holders’ perceptions of the non-academic labour market and the reputational problems they relate to their employment. The study identifies four reputational problems which doctorate holders relate to their employment: the oversupply problem, the overeducation problem, the consistency problem and the communication problem. By identifying potential reputational problems on the doctorate holders level, this research contributes novel information in terms of both theory development and practitioner insights.