Introducing teachers to new semiotic tools for writing instruction and writing assessment: consequences for students’ writing proficiency

This article reports consequences for student writing quality based on a long-term professional learning project. Project teachers, representing all school subjects in grades 3–7, were presented with a writing construct, ‘Wheel of Writing’, and norms of expectation for writing proficiency. Participating teachers used the writing construct and norms as a basis for writing instruction and writing assessment. The project was conducted in 24 schools across Norway. 3088 students from 20 project schools participated. Two hundred and thirty three students from 4 schools were used as a comparison group. The investigation showed that students in primary school improved their writing quality significantly. Students in lower secondary school did not. However, there was substantial variation in writing quality effects between schools, classes, and individual students. For instance at a number of schools, project students from lower secondary school improved their writing quality significantly. The article discusses potential explanations of the effects.     

The reading efficiency model: an extension of the componential model of reading

The purpose of the present study was twofold: First, the authors investigated if an extended version of the component model of reading (CMR; Model 2), including decoding rate and oral vocabulary comprehension, accounted for more of the variance in reading comprehension than the commonly used measures of the cognitive factors in the CMR. Second, the authors investigated the fitness of a new model, titled the reading efficiency model (REM), which deviates from earlier models regarding how reading is defined. In the study, 780 Norwegian students from Grades 6 and 10 were recruited. Here, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the extended model did not account for more of the variance in reading comprehension than the traditional CMR model (Model 1). In the second part of the study the authors used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the REM. The results showed that the REM explained an overall larger amount of variance in reading ability, compared to Model 1 and Model 2. This result is probably the result of the new definition of reading applied in the REM. The authors believe their model will more fully reflects students' differentiated reading skills by including reading fluency in the definition of reading.     

Selection for special education services: the role of gender and socio-economic status

Children from some demographic groups disproportionately receive special education (SE) services. Due to methodological shortcoming in existing work, it remains unclear whether this is due to real differences in academic needs or cultural selection/bias. Hence, in a community sample of 1250 Norwegian children, we examined the role of third grade SE services, academic test scores, behavioural problems, and teacher’s level of helplessness in mediating the effect of family socio-economic status (SES) and students’ gender on fifth-grade SE services. Results revealed no direct effects of either gender or SES on fifth-grade SE, but four mediated pathways were identified: (1) Boys had a greater likelihood of receiving fifth-grade SE services when (a) they previously received SE and (b) they experienced more ADHD symptoms, both in third grade. (2) Students from low-SES families were more likely to receive SE services in fifth grade when (a) they performed poorly in math in third grade and (b) their teacher reported greater feelings of helplessness when teaching these students. The findings are discussed with respect to the differential-needs hypothesis, mechanisms of cultural selection and the possibility of gendered selection for SE at younger ages.     

Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and multiple‐text comprehension among upper secondary students

Using a sample of 282 Norwegian upper secondary students, we examined whether two dimensions of topic‐specific epistemic beliefs, concerning the certainty of knowledge and the justification for knowing, predicted students' understanding of seven texts representing partly conflicting views on climate change. Text comprehension was measured at three different levels. Topic knowledge and topic interest were included in the analyses as control variables. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that students' beliefs about justification for knowledge positively predicted text comprehension at all three levels. That is, students believing that knowledge claims about climate change should be based on rules of inquiry and the evaluation and integration of multiple information sources did better on the three comprehension measures.     

The case for investing in secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): challenges and opportunities

Over the next two decades, sub-Saharan Africa will face substantial pressure to expand its secondary education system. This is driven by the current low development of secondary education compared to other world regions, continued rapid population growth, the increase in the enrolment and completion rates at the primary education level, and the upsurge in the demand for skills. This paper suggests that in order to help countries respond to these pressures, external partners should now increase their support for secondary education, in terms of academic as well as technical and vocational skills training. Given the attributes of the African economies and the continuing need for foundation skills, this paper argues that in the current situation, particularly the lower secondary level will have to be strengthened, in many cases through a longer basic education cycle for all. The necessary rapid expansion of secondary education will require substantial investments, and this paper discusses how aid allocation can be made more evidence-based and used in a more strategic way to make these investments more effective and sustainable. While aid will continue to have a role to play over the next decade especially in fragile states, in the long run it is African countries’ capacity to achieve sustained economic growth which will be the single most important factor determining their ability to meet the financing needs.     

Fish Oil Supplementation in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopment in Childhood—A Randomized Clinical Trial

A double-blind randomized controlled trial of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFA) supplementation or matching placebo during third trimester of pregnancy was conducted within the COPSAC₂₀₁₀ mother-child cohort consisting of 736 women and their children. The objective was to determine if maternal n-3 LCPUFA pregnancy supplementation affects offspring neurodevelopment until 6 years. Neurodevelopment was evaluated in 654 children assessing age of motor milestone achievement, language development, cognitive development, general neurodevelopment, and emotional and behavioral problems. Maternal n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy improved early language development and reduced the impact of emotional and behavioral problems. The n-3 LCPUFA supplementation was in boys associated with the earlier achievement of gross motor milestones, improved cognitive development, and a reduced impact of emotional and behavioral problems.     

Early educational provision – emphasised in education policy reforms in Norway? An analysis of education policy documents

The article analyses how the intentions of early provision in Norwegian schools have been expressed in the education policy reforms in Norway from the 1970s to the present day. The first area deals with the intentions that most explicitly cover early provision; prevention, early detection and intervention. The second area of analysis relates to the early provision intentions with an emphasis on the correlation between individual and environmental factors seen in light of differentiation and disability. The third area examines how significance is attached to pupils’ social background with regard to early provision in learning in schools. Finally, consideration is given to the relationship between early provision intentions and efforts to prevent pupils dropping out of upper secondary education. The analysis also shows that the policy guidelines on early provision for schools and teachers have been weak and unclear. This is due to the fact that the early provision intentions have primarily been expressed in reports to the Storting, and rarely given any kind of focus in national curricula.     

Systemic rejection: political pressures seen from the science system

The emphasis on competitiveness and the knowledge-based economy in European policymaking has resulted in a heightened focus on monitoring and steering the science system, particularly through metric-based instruments. Policymakers’ general aims of fostering excellent research and breakthroughs are shared by researchers as well; however, below the surface is a paradox that is rarely discussed. The political system and the science system understand and pursue these concepts and objectives differently. Through two case studies on high-performing university-based research environments in Denmark and Sweden, this article uncovers the ways in which highly successful researchers often behave in ways that run counter to policy steering attempts. They do this by shielding themselves and their research group from steering pressures originating in the political system. Using Luhmann’s systems theory, the cases demonstrate why the relationship between the science system and the political system needs to be understood as a horizontal rather than a vertical relationship, and using concepts from organizational theory, provides a model and terminology for identifying and analyzing the types of mechanisms and strategic responses that the science system uses to shield itself from political steering pressures.     

Citizenship and Children’s Identity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Wonderful Adventures of Nils</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scouting for Boys</Emphasis>

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906–1907) by Selma Lagerlöf and Scouting for Boys (1908) by Robert Baden-Powell are characteristic of their time and their respective national and cultural contexts—the Swedish nation state of the early twentieth century and the British Empire. Taking its cue from recent theories on citizenship and education, the article discusses ways in which these two classic children’s books relate to citizenship, nation and education. Ultimately, both books point to ways in which education—in and out of school—can be used to promote individual growth and a peaceful and durable society for world citizens.