scholarly journals Finnish Students’ Engagement in Science Lessons

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna Linnansaari ◽  
Jaana Viljaranta ◽  
Jari Lavonen ◽  
Barbara Schneider ◽  
Katariina Salmela-Aro

The decreasing number of students who are engaged in science learning has been recognised as a problem. The pre-conditions of engagement and actual engagement were examined using a novel research method to obtain detailed information on Finnish students’ engagement in different situations and to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon. The study’s participants consisted of 68 students (31 girls, 37 boys) from 9th grade and 67 students (46 girls, 21 boys) from 1st grade in upper secondary school. The research aimed to answer the following question: How does Finnish students’ engagement occur in exact and life science lessons? Participants received smartphones equipped with a smartphone application that included an experience sampling method questionnaire. The smartphones were programmed to emit a signal during every science lesson and otherwise randomly during the day (from 8 am to 8 pm). The results reveal that situation and grade had significant effects on students’ pre-conditions of engagement and actual engagement. Our results also show that girls had the highest interest in life science lessons and boys in exact science lessons.

Author(s):  
Laura Niemi ◽  
Jari Metsämuuronen ◽  
Markku Hannula ◽  
Anu Laine

Tutkimus on osa pitkittäistutkimusta, jossa samaan ikäluokkaan kuuluvia oppilaita seurattiin perusopetuksen kolmannelta vuosiluokalta toisen asteen koulutuksen loppuun neljällä eri mittauskerralla. Tutkimuksessa käytetään Opetushallituksen ja Kansallisen koulutuksen arviointikeskuksen vuosien 2005–2015 aikana keräämää kansallisesti edustavaa tutkimusaineistoa. Tutkimusaineisto käsittää kaikkiaan 3896 oppilasta. Tutkimuksessa keskitytään tarkastelemaan matematiikan parhaita osaajia, joita on yhteensä 292 (7,5 %). Poikien osuus on 64,0 % (n = 187) ja tyttöjen 36,0 % (n = 105). Osaaminen määritetään yhdeksännen vuosiluokan kokeessa menestymisen perusteella. Kansallisten matematiikan kokeiden lisäksi oppilaat ovat vastanneet erilaisiin kyselyihin, joissa heiltä on kerätty tietoa yksilöön, kouluun ja kotitaustaan liittyvistä tekijöistä. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään näiden tekijöiden yhteyttä toisen asteen koulutusvalintaan ja osaamisen kehittymiseen toisen asteen opintojen aikana. Tulosten analysoinnissa käytettiin päätöspuuanalyysia (DTA) ja regressioanalyysia. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että suurin osa (60,0 %) yhdeksännen vuosiluokan parhaista osaajista oli parhaita osaajia myös toisen asteen päättyessä ja muiden osaaminen laski hyvien tai keskitason osaajien tasolle. Yksilöön liittyvät tekijät selittävät parhaiten matematiikassa menestymistä myös toisella asteella. Myönteiset asenteet matematiikkaa kohtaan ja vahva matematiikan osaamisen pohja perusopetuksessa luovat edellytyksiä menestyä matematiikassa erinomaisesti toisella asteella. Matematiikan parhaiden osaajien osaamisen taso heikkenee todennäköisemmin, jos oppilas ei mene lukioon tai ei suorita lukiossa vähintään 11 matematiikan kurssia. Yhdeksännen vuosiluokan parhaista osaajista lukioon hakeutuivat todennäköisemmin ne, jotka menestyivät arvosanatiedon perusteella erinomaisesti äidinkielessä. In English The study is part of a longitudinal research. Same students were followed from 3rd grade of primary education to the end of upper secondary level. The data was collected by EDUFI and FINEEC during 2005–2015. The data consists of 3896 students and the target group consists of mathematically high-achieving students. Total number of them is 292 (7,5 %). Definition of high-achieving students is based on success in the mathematics examination of 9th grade.  In addition to math examinations it has been gathered information about students’ individual-, school- and home-related factors. The study examines the relationship between these factors and the choice between upper secondary vocational education and general upper secondary school. The aim is to investigate how high-achieving students’ mathematical competence develop during these studies and which factors are related to development. Decision tree analysis (DTA) and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that 60,0 % of mathematically high-achieving students were also high-achieving students at the end of upper secondary level. The individual-related factors were explanatory factors for mathematical success at the upper secondary level. Positive attitudes towards mathematics and strong mathematical competence in basic education predicted excellent success in mathematics later. The competence of high-achieving student most likely decreased if a student didn’t go to the general upper secondary school or didn’t complete at least 11 mathematics courses. They, who performed excellently in their studies of mother tongue in 9th grade, most likely applied to the general upper secondary school.


Author(s):  
M. Alessandra Mariotti ◽  
Laura Maffei

This contribution is based on a research study which aims at investigating the benefits coming from the use of the Aplusix ICT environment in a remedial intervention in Algebra. The authors start from elaborating a theoretical reference frame for Self-Regulated Learning in order to make it suitable to reformulate and investigate the specific pedagogical problem of a remedial activity in Algebra (first year of the upper secondary school, 9th grade). Then, the authors present the design of a teaching intervention that has been carried out at school, centred around the use of Aplusix. Finally, they discuss some results from the analysis of the data collected during the experiment. The study’s results show clear evidence of the evolution of students’ awareness and self control, i.e. they have become self regulated learners.


Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Stenseth ◽  
Unn-Doris K. Bæck

AbstractThis study explores the influence of geographical location on young pupils’ educational orientations and their transition from lower to upper secondary school; it pays particular attention to the voices of male youths from a rural area. More specifically, it investigates the interplay between gender and geographical contexts and the significance of these factors in understanding the processes associated with educational orientations. Margaret Archer’s framework is used to analyse how pupils’ agency is constrained and/or enabled by objective structures. The data material consists of qualitative interviews with 18 pupils transitioning from lower to upper secondary school in Norway. Each of the pupils was interviewed twice: first when they were in their last year of lower secondary education, and then during their first year of upper secondary education. The findings show that pupils consider geographical locations when making decisions about further education and work. In addition, they believe that education beyond compulsory schooling benefits their life in the rural areas. However, unlike their urban counterparts, pupils from rural areas appear to have a more constraining transition to upper secondary education. Through the analyses in this article, it becomes clear that both geographical location and gender are key factors for understanding processes connected to education.


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