Forty years of Finnish pre-school education: the development of curricula between 1972 and 2000

Since 2001 in Finland, all six year olds have had the right to free pre-school education, and almost all pre-school-aged children take advantage of this opportunity. The purpose of this article is to dissect the development of Finnish pre-school education curricula within the societal context and within the changes in trends of curriculum planning between 1972 and 2000. The study analysed five curricula texts through qualitative content analysis by paying attention to the functions of pre-school education and the positioning of children and educators. The development of pre-school education consisted of four phases: (1) the era of pre-school education trials; (2) the era of heterogeneous pre-school education arrangements; (3) the era of changes in curriculum policies; and (4) the era of pre-school education establishment. The results indicated that the changes in pre-school education curricula related to the changes in Finnish society and in basic education.     

Pressures,rewards and teacher retention: a comparative study of primary teaching in England and Finland

The article presents some findings from the York‐Jyväskylä Teacher Professionalism project. The project was a follow‐up study to earlier case‐study research in six schools in Finland and six schools in England on the impact of educational reforms on teachers' work. Data were collected by re‐interviewing a sample of teachers from the original schools six years later. The views of English and Finnish teachers concerning the ways in which changes in practice, pay and working conditions affected their perception of teaching as a profession are contrasted. The crucial factors discouraging teachers from remaining in teaching were work intensification, low pay, deteriorating pupil behaviour and a decline in public respect. Positive influences on teacher retention were commitment to children, professional freedom and supportive colleagues. Suggestions are offered as to how policy makers should act to preserve the commitment of primary teachers and to promote their retention.     

Learning inter-professional teamwork during university studies: a case study of student-teachers’ and social work students’ shared professional experiences

This paper explores ways of enhancing inter-professional skills as part of professional development during university studies. From a socio-psychological viewpoint, inter-professional teamwork can be regarded as an interface between the group and individual levels, where collective commitment, efficiency, shared processes and outcomes, as well as tensions and dilemmas, are brought together. Inter-professional skills, which are already practised in university, may enable professionals to work in inter-professional contexts during their careers. In this case study, the participants (three student-teachers, two social work students and four supervisors) reflected on their shared experience of participating in a shared practicum at a primary school. The data-set comprises two group interviews conducted separately with the students and supervisors following the practicum. The results indicate that it is possible to develop inter-professional competencies during one’s university studies and that this has the potential to promote students’ reflective skills as they reframe their expertise and the expertise in other professions.     

Recent tensions and challenges in teacher education as manifested in curriculum discourse

This study seeks to contribute to discussions on the development of teacher education by analysing teacher educators' talk concerning curriculum reform. The curriculum is understood as a mediating construction between teacher educators and the social context, and the development of the curriculum is seen as a negotiation process between global discourses and local actors. Our aim was to understand the contrasting discourses used by teacher educators in talking about curriculum development, on the grounds that such discourses frame interpretations that direct the implementation of teacher education as a whole. Five contrasting interpretative repertoires were found. We illustrate these and discuss what they imply for the development of teacher education.     

Collaborative processes during report writing of a science learning project: The nature of discourse as a function of task requirements

The aim of this article is to specify how different aspects of task assignments are related to different types of student discourse during the report writing phase of a science learning project. A group of four ninth-grade students of the Finnish comprehensive school (about 15-year-olds) participated in a project work involving laboratory experiments, reading literature, and analysing and reporting research findings. The empirical data were collected through videotaping and interviews in authentic classroom settings. The results indicated that construction of shared, high-level understanding was quite rare in this case of small group interaction. As one of the main reasons for this, we suggest that the learning tasks were defined in a way that did not encourage shared reflection and high-level discourse. The students’ task was mostly to answer fact-seeking questions made by their teacher to guide the report writing, which promoted recollection rather than reasoning. In order to facilitate high-level discourse and learning, more attention should be paid to the kind of processes that task assignment triggers. The findings are discussed in the framework of how teachers could formulate their task assignments to promote high-level discourse.     

International Approaches to Whole-of-School Physical Activity Promotion

Increasing physical activity opportunities in schools has emerged as a global priority among school-aged youth. As a result, many countries have designed and implemented whole-of-school physical activity initiatives that seek to increase physical activity opportunities that are available to school-aged children before, during, and after school. Considering the comprehensive school physical activity program conceptual framework, this article includes a discussion of the initiatives from four countries: Finland (Finnish Schools on the Move), Ireland (Active School Flag), Poland (PE with Class), and the United States (Let’s Move Active Schools). Background information, implementation strategies, best practices, development opportunities, and relevant research from each country will be presented. Exploring different perspectives sheds some light on the international landscape relative to whole-of-school physical activity promotion and provides direction for future and continued research and practice.     

Pupils’ views on an ICT-based learning environment in health learning

This paper presents a study that examined pupils’ views on an ICT-based learning environment in health learning. The study was a part of the wider European Network of Health Promoting Schools programme (ENHPS; since 2008, Schools for Health in Europe, SHE) in Finland, and particularly its sub-project, From Puijo to the World with Health Lunch, which sought to renew secondary schools’ health education by developing and utilising an ICT-based learning environment. The research data were collected through a structured questionnaire presented to pupils (N = 92) in two secondary schools, one rural and one urban, in Eastern Finland. The results showed that pupils’ opinions about the ICT-based learning environment were fairly positive. Pupils felt that the ICT-based learning environment was easy to use and supported cooperative learning. Computing and Internet skills positively supported pupils’ favourable attitudes towards the ICT-based learning environment. An interesting result from the point of view of e-learning was that the pupils increased their awareness of how to critically evaluate health information found on the Internet.     

The Role of Practicum Contexts in Enhancing Change in Student Teachers’ Professional Beliefs

This paper deals with practicum in a deviating classroom environment. The paper argues that to enhance critical examination, reflection and changes in student teachers’ beliefs and perspectives we need to offer them unfamiliar, problematic experiences causing cognitive conflict and making a break in the chain of experiences of cumulative socialisation of student teachers, dating back to their own school years.     

How do Kindergarten Teachers Evaluate Their Portfolio Working Process? Comment les enseignants d'e´cole maternelle e´valuent-ils leur processus de travail avec portfolio? Co´mo evalu´an los maestros de los jardines de infancia sus me´todos de trabajo de portafolio?

The aim of this research was to study the use of voluntary portfolios at the university, and kindergarten students' involvement with portfolio working over a period of 3 years. The theoretical frame for this study was some ideas relating to portfolio concepts, learning portfolios and a portfolio programme in kindergarten teacher education. Data were gathered using the researcher's diary, observations and students' in-depth interviews. Data were analysed with the ATLAS-ti program. The results show that many students would have liked to work on a portfolio but did not have enough resources and energy to do it. Only very few student teachers continued with their portfolio for 3 years. The results show that these students had intrinsic motivation and their commitment was quite strong. Some conclusions are drawn concerning the meaning of portfolios in university pedagogy . Cet exercice avait pour objectif d'étudier l'emploi d'un portfolio facultatif tenu à l'université et le travail des étudiants sur ce portfolio pendant trois ans. Le cadre théorique de cette étude consistait en des idées sur les concepts de portfolio, le portfolio d'apprentissage et le programme de portfolio dans la formation des enseignants d'école maternelle. Les données ont été recueillies à l'aide d'un agenda du chercheur, d'observations et d'entretiens approfondis avec les étudiants. Les données ont été analysées par le programme ATLAS-ti. Les résultats prouvent que beaucoup d'étudiants auraient voulu travailler sur un portfolio mais qu'ils manquaient de ressources et d'énergie pour le faire. Seuls quelques rares élèves-professeurs ont tenu leur portfolio pendant trois ans. Les conclusions ont montré que ces étudiants faisaient preuve de motivation intrinsèque et que leur investissement personnel était particulièrement fort. Certaines conclusions sont tirées sur la signification du portfolio dans la pédagogie à l'université. El objetivo de este trabajo de investigación fue estudiar el uso del portafolio voluntario en la universidad y la participación de los estudiantes de jardin de infancia con portfolio trabajando durante tres años. El marco teórico de esta investigación fueron algunas ideas sobre conceptos de portafolio, portfolio de aprendizaje y programa de portfolio en los estudios de formación del profesorado de los jardines de infancia. Los datos se recogieron utilizando la agenda del investigador, observaciones y la entrevista exhaustiva de los estudiantes. Los datos se analizaron usando el programa ATLAS-ti. Los resultados mostraron que a muchos estudiantes les hubiera gustado trabajar con portafolio (cartera), pero no contaban con suficientes recursos y energía para hacerlo. Sólo unos pocos estudiantes de formación del profesorado continuaron con el portafolio durante tres años. Los resultados de la investigación muestran que estos estudiantes tenían motivaciones intrínsecas y que su dedicación era muy firme. Se sacaron alguans conclusiones respecto al significado del portafolio en la pedagogía universitaria.     

State formation and the rise of elementary education at the periphery of Europe: the cases of Finland and Turkey 1860–1930

This article addresses the role of the state and state formation in the establishment of national education during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Through a comparative case analysis of two countries at the European periphery (Finland and Turkey), this article shows how national educational systems, in both instances, were driven by periods of intense state building. In the nineteenth century, military defeats sparked educational reforms, and in the early nineteenth century school laws were enacted due to the establishment of the republics of Finland and Turkey. Nevertheless, these examples also show the limits of a state formation perspective. Despite changes in educational policy, neither state reached high enrolment levels in the nineteenth century, and only in Finland schooling for all was realised in the 1930s. Thus, this work encourages further comparative analyses of the social, economic and political circumstances in which these states acted.