How elementary school students' motivation is connected to self-regulation

Empirical research reveals that students face difficulties engaging in learning and achieving their goals in a variety of learning contexts. To study effectively, students need to regulate their learning process. In spite of increased understanding of cognitive aspects of self-regulation, motivational aspects of regulation have not yet been thoroughly probed. This study investigates how motivation is connected to self-regulated learning when elementary school students (N = 32) study science in real classroom contexts using gStudy software. This was done by: (1) identifying students' situated motivation during the learning process, (2) analyzing how the students with different motivational approaches activated cognitive self-regulation in authentic learning situations across multiple learning episodes, and (3) complementing the understanding with the students' individual accounts of their motivation regulation during the learning process. The results show that there are qualitative differences in the self-regulation tactics used by the high- and low-motivation students as they study. Motivation is linked closely to active self-regulation.     

Towards ICT in everyday life in Finnish schools: seeking conditions for good practices

The article discusses how to strengthen educational use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Finnish schools. The conceptions and experiences of the successful integration of ICT in everyday school settings are reported. Participant observations in 20 schools in different parts of Finland were carried out, including discussions with principals and teachers. The results show that when promoting new technology and practices in schools, many components overlap and support each other. The following six main characteristics of successful integration were identified: (1) ICT included in strategic planning, as part of school culture, (2) teaching and learning methods facilitating participation and leading to empowerment, (3) flexible curriculums, (4) high investments in communication, (5) optimum leadership and management, and (6) teaching staff's strong capacity and commitment. The research indicates that an open school culture allows staff to take risks when applying new technology, creates learning environments and empowers learners.     

Emergent literacy activities in the final preschool year in the German federal states of Bavaria and Hesse

Emergent literacy activities are considered to be important for promoting children’s emergent literacy skills. However, little research exists, especially in Germany, regarding how often such activities occur and in what context. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of emergent literacy activities occurring in the final preschool year, and their dependence on structural characteristics. Ninety-six children (mean age = 5.9) from 50 preschools in two German federal states were observed in their final preschool year. Results show that emergent literacy activities relating to print materials play a minor role, whereas activities involving oral language play a major role, compared with other activities in children’s preschool experience. Results also indicate a significant link between child-related, family and distal characteristics (i.e. geographic location and federal state affiliation) and the frequency of emergent literacy activities.     

Finnish students’ reasons for their achievement in classroom activities: focus on features that support self-regulated learning

The aim of this study was to investigate how finnish students explain factors that contribute to their achievement in classroom learning activities and whether these factors are related to support of self-regulated learning (SRL) in classroom. Over seven weeks, 24 primary school students were videotaped during their typical classroom activities in 28 lessons to capture moments when they succeeded in learning tasks. From the video observations, 62 episodes were edited and used in stimulated recall interviews in which students were asked to report the reasons they related to their achievement in learning situations. Data-driven content analysis was used to analyse the open-ended interview data. The video observation data were analysed and sorted into theory-driven categories in order to find out how SRL was supported in classrooms. The results showed that students describe achievement through the actions that they took in the learning situations, such as being able accomplish the task. The reasons given for their achievement dealt with ability to accomplish the tasks or doing academic activities in order to achieve in the task. Furthermore, the students recognised classroom activities that support SRL, acknowledging their contribution to their achievement, mostly through the support that they received from their teachers and peers.     

‘What makes her succeed?’ Children's interpretations of their peers' successes in learning situations

Previous research has shown that observing peers' success in learning is important for the development of children's belief in themselves as learners. However, in research, these observations are seldom made in actual classroom learning activities. This study investigated how children explain factors that lead to their peers' successes in classroom learning activities. Seventeen elementary school children from first, second and third grade participated in a ‘detective course’ in which they needed to capture moments of success using a mobile camera device. The pictures were used for photo-elicitation interviews (n?=?28) in order to find out children's views on the reasons for their peers' successes in learning situations. Pictorial data (n?=?361) were coded with data-driven categories to see what kind of situations children considered successful. The results show that the reasons given for peers' successes dealt with situation-specific information, such as mastery and quality of performance. Findings indicate that children explain peers' successes through the actions that their peers made during the situations, rather than by comparison between the abilities of their classmates. The results provide information for practitioners and teachers on how to promote children to use the example of their peers to recognise and explain successful learning situations in the classroom.     

New rules of the game: youth training in Brazil and Finland as examples of the new global network governance

Young people labelled ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘at risk of social exclusion’ are increasingly directed into publicly funded or NGO-based, partly privately financed projects in order to secure their desired integration into society through work or further education. In this article, we carry out a comparative analysis of youth training programmes in Brazil and Finland based on empirical fieldwork undertaken in two separate research projects. The research data consist of qualitative interviews of the projects’ participants and management. The focus of the analysis is on youth employment projects as discursive practices, that is, on the ways that knowledge on employment and employment-related responsibilities is produced in the discourses and practices of the projects. Despite the different contexts, the analysis shows that the youth training projects share a number of commonalities with regards to the shaping of the self as entrepreneurial and self-regulated. This is linked to the global dominance of a new form of governance, which relies on and actively promotes the individualisation of responsibility and obscures the structural and societal forces that lie behind youth unemployment and exclusion. We suggest that engaging young people in critical discourses about the sources of inequality would be the key to more equitable forms of development.     

How the source of word-of-mouth influences information processing in the formation of brand attitudes

Word-of-mouth (WOM) can be a powerful, persuasive source of information, but relatively little is understood about how consumers utilize information in service evaluations and how the source of WOM (e.g. friends, family) affects attitudes. The importance of WOM is acknowledged in the services context; however, the research field of higher education has found some inconsistent results concerning the impact of WOM. The aim of this study, with its focus on information processing, is to enhance the understanding of these varying results with data from international master's degree applicants. By means of structural equation modeling, the results suggest that the processing of WOM differs depending on the source and the difficulty of evaluation criteria. Information through some sources of WOM is mainly cognitively processed, whereas in others information is processed more as simple cues. Overall, insights are provided into the impact of WOM, and higher education marketing.     

The role of achievement beliefs and behaviours in spontaneous reading acquisition

This study examined the role of motivational or attitudinal factors, such as achievement beliefs and behaviours, in learning to read before receiving formal instruction. A total of 200 Finnish children were examined at ages 5 and 6½. Half of them (n = 107) had a familial risk for dyslexia. The results showed that those children who were verbally skilful at age 5 showed a higher level of task-focused behaviour at age 6½. This task-focused behaviour then contributed to spontaneous reading acquisition. The impact of previous verbal skills on spontaneous reading acquisition was mediated in part by achievement behaviour.     

How does career guidance at schools encounter migrant young people? Interactional practices that hinder socially just guidance

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - The aim of this article is to show how interaction research can contribute to the understanding and praxis of socially just guidance....     

Elementary school students’ strategic learning: does task-type matter?

This study investigated what types of learning patterns and strategies elementary school students use to carry out ill- and- well-structured tasks. Specifically, it was investigated which and when learning patterns actually emerge with respect to students’ task solutions. The present study uses computer log file traces to investigate how conditions of task types that might affect strategic learning. Elementary school students (N = 12) participated in two science study lessons. During these lessons the students were asked to solve well- and ill-structured tasks. For both of these tasks, the students used the gStudy learning environment designed to support strategic learning. In addition, gStudy records traces of each student’s strategic actions as they proceed with tasks. First, the students’ task solutions was rated according to three categories, namely “on track”, “off track” and “partial solution”. Second, learning patterns in terms of learning strategies that emerged throughout these tasks were investigated. Third, detailed cross case analysis was used to explore in depth how and when these learning patterns were used with respect to the students’ task solutions. The results show that young students’ can provide in-depth task solutions, but also adapt to the task complexity. However, despite the task types being different, the students had same types of learning patterns. The detailed cross-case comparison of the students’ task solutions with respect to learning patterns indicates that there are intra individual differences concerning how students allocate their learning strategy use. Especially if the task is ill-structured, it can also mislead the students to focus on irrelevant aspects and hinder strategic learning.