The role of reading difficulties in the associations between task values,efficacy beliefs,and achievement emotions

Reading and Writing - The aim of this study was to examine the situational associations of reading-related task values and efficacy beliefs with achievement emotions, and whether these associations...     

Caught up in the past? Social inclusion,skills, and vocational education and training policy in England

Since the mid-1990s, governments of different political persuasion have tried to reform VET policy to address problems in skills formation and social inclusion. Despite considerable policy activism, success has been somewhat limited, and England failed to overcome the problems associated with its liberal training regime. This article assesses the failure in vocational skills formation as a political economy and a public policy problem. It challenges the determinism in the political economy literature, points to poor public policy-making, and outlines possible policy levers.     

Patent trolls on markets for technology - An empirical analysis of NPEs’ patent acquisitions

Patent trolls, or NPEs, appropriate profits from innovation solely by enforcing patents against infringers. They are often characterized as relying on low-quality patents, an assessment that, if correct, would imply that eradicating such patents would effectively terminate the NPE business. In this paper, we shed light on this issue by empirically analyzing NPEs’ patent acquisitions. We draw on a unique dataset of 392 U.S. patents acquired by known NPEs between 1997 and 2006, which we compare to three control groups of 784 U.S. patents each acquired by practicing firms. We find that the probability that a traded patent is acquired by an NPE rather than a practicing entity increases in the scope of the patent, in the patent density of its technology field and, contrary to common belief, in the patent's technological quality. Our findings thus support recent theoretical propositions about the NPE business model, showing that NPEs procure patents that are more likely to be infringed, harder to substitute for, and robust to legal challenges. The fact that NPE-acquired patents are of significantly higher quality than those in the control group implies that elevating minimum patent quality will not put an end to the NPE business, and suggests that this business is sustainable in the long run. We furthermore discuss the fact that NPEs are peculiar players on markets for technology insofar as they are solely interested in the exclusion right, not in the underlying knowledge. We posit that transactions involving NPEs may only be the tip of the iceberg of “patent-only” transactions, a conjecture with strong implications for the efficiency and the study of markets for technologies. Managerial and policy implications are discussed.     

Does Training in Syllable Recognition Improve Reading Speed? A Computer-Based Trial With Poor Readers From Second and Third Grade

Repeated reading of infrequent syllables has been shown to increase reading speed at the word level in a transparent orthography. This study confirms these results with a computer-based training method and extends them by comparing the training effects of short syllables and long frequent and infrequent syllables, controlling for rapid automatized naming. Our results, based on a sample of 150 poor readers of Finnish, showed clear gains in reading speed regarding all trained syllables, but a transfer effect to the word level was evident only in the case of long infrequent syllables. Rapid automatized naming was associated with initial reading speed, but not with the training effect.     

Outcomes of primary teacher education in Finland: an exit survey

Seven final year cohorts of Finnish pre-service primary teachers (N = 384) were given an exit survey, which measured their estimated attainment of knowledge and experience in the 10 domains of professional activity considered critical for new teachers in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. The results indicated that the profile of the graduates was uneven, showing low levels of satisfaction in the fields of special education and cooperation but high levels of satisfaction in the fields of reflective practice and planning. The satisfaction with the estimated knowledge and experience achieved was divided into three components of pedagogic, instructional and complex skills satisfaction. The central role of teaching practice was considered to be reflected in the results. The areas of low satisfaction were those in which the amount of teaching practice in the teacher education curriculum was considered insufficient to generate enough experience. This was especially so in the field of special education and in meeting the diverse needs of students. The 10-item INTASC scale showed sufficient psychometric qualities. The results are also discussed in terms of the suggested exceptional quality of Finnish teacher education.     

Student teachers’ emotional teaching experiences in relation to different teaching methods

The role of emotional experiences in teacher training is acknowledged, but the role of emotions during first experiences of classroom teaching has not been examined in large samples. This study examines the teaching methods used by student teachers in early teaching practice and the relationship between these methods and emotions experienced. We modified the Academic Emotions Questionnaire for the assessment of emotions and used an abridged version of the Instructional Approaches Questionnaire for the assessment of teaching methods. The results indicate that good preparation and a willingness to use constructivist pupil-oriented methods reduce student teachers’ negative experiences and promote learning about teaching.     

Accreditation,the Bologna Process and National Reactions: Accreditation as Concept and Action

This article examines accreditation as a component of the Bologna Process quality policy. The focus is on an analysis of the concept of accreditation in policy documents from four countries (Finland, the Netherlands, France and Sweden). The article focuses on the following questions: (i) how does accreditation appear, as a concept and as action, in national reports, produced for the purposes of the Ministerial meetings?; and (ii) how is accreditation presented, as a concept and as action, in the national context and for national actors?     

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with ADHD and depression and its relations to emotions

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression and its relations to reporting experiencing emotions during teaching practice were studied. The participants were 186 teacher education students in Estonia. Student teachers’ general knowledge and confidence in knowledge varied a lot. Knowledge about children with ADHD was generally limited. Knowledge and confidence in knowledge were negatively related to reporting negative emotions (anxiety, anger, shame) experienced during teaching practice. Findings are discussed, taking into account recent changes in scientific knowledge about ADHD and depression and democratic changes in schools. As knowledge of special educational needs has become important due to applying inclusive education, the findings also refer to the need for modifications in teacher education curricula.     

Frequency of co‐teaching in different teacher categories

Co‐teaching – or the use of more than one teacher in a classroom – has been commonly recommended as a means to promote inclusive education. The aim of the present study was to survey the actual frequency of co‐teaching among different teacher categories in the comprehensive school level in one Finnish city. The data were collected through a questionnaire answered by two representative samples of teachers including 117 resource room teachers in the first survey, and 317 teachers of various teacher categories in the second. The results showed that co‐teaching was a widespread phenomenon among resource room teachers and special class teachers but less frequent among other teacher groups. Overall, it was used only infrequently, typically from two to three hours a week. On a weekly basis it was implemented by every second special education teacher, every third classroom teacher and every sixth subject teacher. A comparison with a study from the early 1980s confirmed that the relative popularity of co‐teaching had increased only slightly during the years. Although co‐teaching is used sparsely, the teachers reported almost uniquely positive experiences obtained from it. It is argued that the promotion of co‐teaching needs additional incentives if it is hoped to make it more common.