Training reading fluency among poor readers of German: many ways to the goal

Outcomes of two training programs aimed at improving reading speed for 39 German-speaking poor readers in grades 2 and 4 were evaluated. During a 6-week training period, a specific target for children in a computer group was to improve reading of word-initial consonant clusters by practice in associating an orthographic unit with a corresponding phonological unit. Children in a paired reading group read books with an adult tutor. The results showed that, in reading words in which the computer-trained sublexical items were included, both groups exhibited similar improvement. A post hoc analysis suggested that computer training was associated with better reading skills with respect to the trained sublexical items; however, this improvement did not show large generalization effects to the words with the sublexical items. The paired reading group showed a more rapid gain in global word reading fluency than the computer group. Neither of the groups improved their pseudoword reading.

Involving the students: outcomes and experiences from the participation of the board of European students of technology in the thematic network E4

In order to keep on developing the European dimension of engineering education, the European Commission decided to launch the thematic network Enhancing Engineering Education in Europe (E4) to continue the work done in the previous thematic network, Higher European Engineering Education (H3E). As in H3E, the input of students was considered to be important and valuable, and thus needed also in this new thematic network. As contacts had already been made with the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) that had participated in H3E, and the cooperation had proved to be fruitful and reliable, BEST was chosen as the channel to get student presence inside the Thematic Network.

It is an understatement to say that students as a whole are an important stakeholder in education, since it is in fact the students that are the actual recipients of education. After all, what would be the point of education without students? The question seems absurd, yet it is very often the case that students are not even consulted when changes are considered and implemented. That students should take part in the shaping of education needs to be recognized as something as self-evident as students taking part in education itself.

The views of the students can indeed in several cases be more original and innovative than those of professors or other academics, and of course take better into account the students' own needs. Professors and academics have, or at least should have, more knowledge and experience than students, but at the same time we must all realize that the environment around us changes, sometimes very fast, and what was good at one time sometimes does not work anymore. Students are young and still fresh with ideas, without yet having been fixed into a particular way of thinking, thus being able to come up with new ideas for improvement, in this case for engineering education. Thus it is not only natural that students should be involved in educational changes because of their position as its recipients, but also because they constitute a source of innovation and freshness in its own right, something that should not be overlooked.

The participation of students in the thematic network E4, via BEST, has allowed engineering students from around Europe to participate in the development of engineering education and their views to be made public to those who decide on how they are educated.     

The Significance of Practical Training in Linking Theoretical Studies with Practice

Today’s experts must continuously reconstruct their expertise and be able to apply their theoretical knowledge in actual work. The development of expertise is a long process, during which theoretical, practical and metacognitive elements of expert knowledge are integrated into a coherent whole. It is important to foster student’s learning and integration of theoretical knowledge in practice during tertiary education. One tool for this is to pay more attention to practical knowledge in the theoretical part of the curriculum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of early practical training as a part of the pharmacy curriculum and to find out to what extent the students felt their practical training fostered their learning. A total of 47 pharmacy students were interviewed during the three-month practice period. Content analyses of the interviews showed that the practical training increased students’ understanding of theoretical knowledge and their motivation to study. The students acquired practical skills and knowledge in a working community of professionals. The results also showed that the students should be able to rehearse their reflective skills during the theoretical studies as well, because the practice period was too short to permit adequate development of reflective skills.     

Leading the teacher team — balancing between formal and informal power in program leadership

This continuous research within Nordic engineering institutions targets the contexts and possibilities for leadership among engineering education program directors. The IFP-model, developed based on analysis of interviews with program leaders in these institutions, visualizes the program director’s informal and formal power. The model is presented as a tool for starting a shared discussion on the complexities of the leadership of engineering program development. The authors liken program development to hunting in teams. Each individual expert in the program is needed, and all experts will need to work and collaborate for the same target. This calls for strategic and long-term thinking of engineering education development. Institutions should support the development of both formal structures as well as informal leadership skills among their program directors, but never fall for the temptation to see the program director as the only actor on the stage.     

School choice in rural Nigeria? The limits of low-fee private schooling in Kwara State

The rise in low-fee private (LFP) primary schooling serving relatively poor clients is becoming well-documented. However much of this literature focuses on urban areas whose dense populations are favourable to market growth and competition. This paper goes some way to filling a gap in the literature on whether LFP schools are serving the needs of the poor in rural areas, taking the case of one Nigerian state. It contrasts the situation in rural areas with that of urban Ilorin, where private schools cater to over half of all enrolled children. The paper shows that private schooling is currently inaccessible to the poor, with only 3.3% of children in the poorest 40% of the population attending them, and only 13% of enrolled children in rural areas. The key message is that redoubled efforts are needed to improve government schools as providers of last resort to those bypassed by the market.     

Analysing Finnish steering system from the perspective of social space: the case of the “Campus University”

The present study analyses Finnish higher education steering system, management by results, from the perspective of higher education institutions. We ask what happens inside a higher education institution, called here the “Campus University”, during the actual negotiations related to the national steering system. We analyse not only the management by results as a steering system but pay close attention to the social space created by this managerial fad. The social space of the negotiations is constructed by different kinds of unofficial elements of social interaction; the physical space, the expected behaviour of the negotiators, the seating arrangements, the coffee servings, and the “small talk”. These elements of interaction are part of the polity of the negotiations and they are controlled by the chairperson of the negotiations. They form the modes of the social space of these negotiations. Therefore, the social space of the negotiations not only supports the hierarchical character of the ritual, but also makes it natural for the Rector to use power to allocate resources because s/he represents the institution. The analysis is based on qualitative and ethnographic methods of research.     

Human information behaviour and physiological measurements as a basis to tailor health information. An explorative study in a physical activity intervention among prediabetic individuals in Northern Finland

Objective: To explore through an interdisciplinary approach the potential to tailor health information on the basis of human information behaviour (HIB) on par with the results of basic physiological measurements of individuals’ health. Methods: The data were collected at the baseline of a physical activity and diabetes prevention intervention with 72 prediabetic participants, conducted in Oulu, Finland, by the University of Oulu and Oulu Deaconess Institute in 2010. Body mass index (BMI), fitness classifications and glucose values were obtained from all prediabetic participants. The interest in, the search for and the use of information on nutrition, physical activity and diabetes were examined through a self‐report questionnaire with a response rate of 95.8%. The data were analysed with the SPSS statistics 18 software. Results and conclusions: The study shows that information behaviour of prediabetic individuals differs according to their BMI and fitness level. Poor physical fitness classifications and high BMI values were associated with an increased desire to receive tailored information on nutrition and physical activity frequently. These results add knowledge on the types and preferred frequencies of tailored information. Because of the small sample size, the results should be validated further.     

National Devolution in Swedish Higher Education -- A Quest for New Local Leadership. The Case of Leadership Development at Göteborg University

In 1993 a new national form for governance was introduced in Swedish higher education. The new regime, best described in terms of deregulation and decentralisation, among other things, required a new individually based leadership at universities.The paper describes the development of one particular 10-day interfaculty leadership training course for heads of departments, directors of study and other local managers, its content and methods and some implications for strategic management in higher education institutions.Four such implications are covered: constructing a new social identity as leaders, getting leadership acceptance in an individualistic academic-freedom culture, training academic leaders in accordance with professional values, and dealing with accountability in a collegial decision-making environment.     

Early literacy practices and the Finnish national core curriculum

In 2004 the Finnish National Board of Education launched a new curriculum framework that includes principles, instructional aims, and a brief list of content by subject areas. The intent of this framework is that teachers should interpret the core curriculum at the local level and apply it in their own schools and classrooms. This approach encourages teachers to use their professional knowledge and take into account their students and the learning environment in applying and implementing the curriculum. This case study sought to understand how this core curriculum has been implemented by way of observations of language and literacy lessons in 8 grade 1 and grade 2 classrooms during a 2‐month period. The observations and the analysis were guided by earlier research conducted in classroom identified as ‘excellent’ in the US. The resulting data, in turn, were compared with the core curriculum. The findings show that, although some of the principles and the content of the core curriculum were reflected in practice, there were inconsistencies between the instructional methods used in the classrooms and the principles set in the core curriculum. Although some areas of the core curriculum were well represented in classroom language and literacy practices, others were covered only in part or not at all during the observation period.