scholarly journals Yhdeksäsluokkalaisten vieraan kielen oppimismotivaatioprofiilien ja arvosanan yhteydet peruskoulun jälkeisiin jatkosuunnitelmiin -

Author(s):  
Teija Kangasvieri

In this article I explore the relationship between Finnish ninth graders’ L2 motivational profiles, language grades and future study plans after basic education. The aim of the study is to critically explore the relationship between motivation and language grades and reflect on the possible implications of this for language education policies. The statistically representative data was collected with an e-questionnaire (n=1 206). For this study, I analysed those who planned to continue their studies to general upper secondary school or vocational education after basic education, and who submitted their language grade (n=981). In earlier analyses of the study (Kangasvieri, 2019), five motivational profiles were found: the least motivated, averagely motivated with low anxiety, averagely motivated, the most motivated and students with high anxiety. In this study, the connection between these motivational profiles and students’ education choice is explored, taking into account the effect of grades. A logistic regression analysis was conducted. The results show that the probability to continue to general upper secondary school or vocational education in each motivational profile depends on the grade. The model explains about 30 percent of the students’ educational choices. Additionally, the results show that the more motivated the student is in his/her language studies, the higher grade he/she feels is needed in order to plan to continue to general upper secondary school after basic education. Correspondingly, less motivated students plan to continue to general upper secondary school with poorer grades than more motivated students.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-238
Author(s):  
Vi Hoang Dang

Stakeholders’ perceptions towards a career in vocational education and training (VET) in Vietnam negate the country’s industrial development plan. During the last 15 years, the Vietnamese Governments investment in to the sector increased annually. However, parents and their children still pursue the goal of higher education via the mainstream rather than a career path way using the vocational education and training system. Although stereotypical views of vocational students are being challenged, Confucian ideology maintains some influence over stakeholders’ educational decisions leading to the sustained popularity of higher education. This study explores the perceptions of students on the image of and their loyalty towards vocational education and training. A sample of 300 lower secondary school, 300 upper secondary school, and 300 vocational students was drawn from across the Northern and Southern regions of Vietnam. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data and mean analysis conducted to explore the data. The findings indicate that agreement with statements about facilities and equipment, teacher’s ability, curriculum, and soft skills are the clearest indicators of enhanced perceptions about the image of vocational education and training. Encouragement from parents appears most influential to positively affecting lower secondary students’ loyalty. Unexpected was that vocational students had less interesting continuing in vocational education and training compared to lower and upper secondary school students inclination towards a career in VET. First-hand experience seemingly leads to diminished perceptions and loyalty towards vocational education.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Gyllstad ◽  
Jonas Granfeldt ◽  
Petra Bernardini ◽  
Marie Källkvist

This study is a contribution to the empirical underpinning of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and it aims to identify linguistic correlates to the proficiency levels defined by the CEFR. The study was conducted in a Swedish school setting, focusing on English, French and Italian, and examined the relationship between CEFR levels (A1–C2) assigned by experienced raters to learners’ written texts and three measures of syntactic complexity (based on length of t-unit, subclause ratio, and mean length of clause (cf. Norris & Ortega, 2009)). Data were elicited through two written tasks (a short letter and a narrative) completed by pupils of L2 English (N = 54) in years four, nine and the final year of upper-secondary school, L3 French (N = 38) in year nine and the final year of upper-secondary school, and L4 Italian (N = 28) in the final year of upper-secondary school and first year of university. The results showed that, globally, there were weak to medium-strong correlations between assigned CEFR levels and the three measures of syntactic complexity in English, French and Italian. Furthermore, it was found that syntactic complexity was homogeneous across the three languages at CEFR level A, whereas syntactic complexity was different across languages at CEFR level B, especially in the data for English and French. Consequences for the empirical validity of the CEFR framework and the nature of the three measures of complexity are discussed.


Author(s):  
Ariane Basler ◽  
Irene Kriesi ◽  
Christian Imdorf

Gender-typical educational and occupational goals are an important precursor of educational gender segregation and unequal opportunities of men and women in the labour market. However, little is known about how gender-typical aspirations develop during childhood and adolescence. Drawing on identity and opportunity arguments from a developmental perspective, this paper attempts to fill this gap by examining whether and to what extent gender-typical aspirations change during adolescence and how track allocation in secondary school is related to the development of gendered occupational aspirations between the ages of 15 and 21. The analyses are based on the Swiss Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. They include an observation span of six years, during which respondents were surveyed at the ages of 15, 16, 18 and 21.The findings show that gender-typical occupational aspirations were most prevalent at the age of 15. Their level and development differed by upper-secondary school track and gender. Young men’s aspirations were considerably more gender-typical than those of young women. Aspirations became less gender-typical for women in baccalaureate school and in initial vocational education and training programmes with high academic requirements and, in particular, for young men who entered vocational education and training with low requirements. Overall, our results support the assumption that changes in gender-typical aspirations during adolescence are the result of an interplay between opportunity structures offered by the upper-secondary school track, identity and status considerations.<br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>The development of occupational aspirations differs by upper-secondary track and by gender.</li><br /><li>Gender-typical occupational aspirations are most prevalent at the age of 15.</li><br /><li>Identity formation, perceived opportunities and status considerations may provide an explanation.</li></ul>


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-20
Author(s):  
Meri-Tuulia Kaarakainen ◽  
Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen ◽  
Antero Kivinen

Digital skills are a prerequisite today for working, studying, civic participation, and maintaining social relationships in our digitalised technical world. These skills are also important both as a general goal and an instrument for learning. This study briefly presents the aims that are related to digital skills of the Finnish curricula, and explores, using a large sample (N = 3,206) of Finnish upper secondary school students, these young people’s digital skills and their distribution. The study provides new insights into the state of these skills and differences found in them and focuses on the relationship between these results and the students’ present educational choices and future study/employment intentions. The actual variability of digital skills among upper secondary students is one of the main findings of the study. On the same educational level, it was found that digital skills vary enormously, particularly for students’ current educational choices and their future intentions. Digital skills are also distinctly associated with age for 15 to 22-year-olds. At the same time, gender alone appears to have no prominent effect on the level or adeptness of upper secondary school students’ digital skills.


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