Finland, A Package Deal: Disciplinary Climate in Science Classes, Science Dispositions and Science Literacy

Finland’s educational prowess, though tempered by recent international assessments, has remained intact. This report focused on lessons that could be learned regarding secondary-level science education from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, science-focused assessment. That PISA iteration included not only science literacy but also students’ science dispositions (epistemology, enjoyment, interest, and self-efficacy) and the schools’ science climate measures (disciplinary climate and teaching support). Due to the hierarchical nature of the PISA data, multilevel models were employed in this Finnish study, involving 5582 students from 167 schools. Science dispositions (as outcome measures) were differently associated with teaching support and disciplinary climate (epistemology with neither; enjoyment and interest, with both). Science literacy (as an outcome measure) was associated with all four science dispositions, whether modeled with each science disposition separately or all four simultaneously. Science literacy was also associated with the disciplinary climate in science classes for all tested models. We concluded that, in the Finnish context, science dispositions and the disciplinary climate were predictive of science literacy. Furthermore, we presented evidence from the literature indicating that these conclusions may well extend to other international contexts.

Associations between Perceived Child-Parent Relationships and School Engagement among 9–11 Aged Children

School engagement has been shown to protect students from dropping out of education, depression and school burnout. The aim of this Finnish study was to explore the association between child-parent relationships and how much 99,686 children aged 9–11 years liked school. The data were based on the 2019 School Health Promotion Study, conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. This asked children whether they liked school or not and about their child-parent relationships. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the data separately for boys and girls and the results are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). According to the results, girls showed more school engagement than boys (81.9% versus 74.0%), and it was more common in children who felt that their parents communicated with them in a supportive way. This association was slightly stronger for girls than boys (OR 2.46 95% CI 2.33–2.59 versus OR 2.10 95% CI 2.02–2.20). It is important that child-parent relationships and communication are considered during school health examinations, so that children who have lower support at home can be identified.

Substantial Within-Country Variation in the Incidence of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Nationwide Finnish Study

Objective:To study whether the incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) varies between geographical regions of Finland.Methods:By utilizing the nationwide Causes of Death and Hospital Discharge Registers, we identified all first-ever, hospitalized and sudden-death (dying before hospitalization) SAH events in Finland between 1998 and 2017. Based on the SAH patients’ home residence, we divided SAHs into five geographical regions: 1) Southern, 2) Central, 3) Western, 4) Eastern, and 5) Northern Finland. We calculated crude and European age-standardized (ESP2013) SAH incidence rates for each region, and used a Poisson regression model to calculate age-, sex- and calendar year-adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals for regional and time-dependent differences.Results:During the total 106 510 337 cumulative person-years, we identified 9 443 first-ever SAH cases, of which 24% died before hospitalization. As compared to Western Finland, where the SAH incidence was the lowest (7.4 per 100 000 persons), the ESP-standardized SAH incidence was 1.4 times higher in Eastern (10.2 per 100 000 persons; adjusted IRR=1.37 (1.27–1.47)) and Northern Finland (10.4 per 100 000 persons; adjusted IRR=1.40 (1.30–1.51)). These differences were similar when men and women were analyzed independently. Although SAH incidence rates decreased in all five regions over two decades, the rate of decrease varied significantly by region.Conclusion:SAH incidence appears to vary substantially by region in Finland. Our results suggest that regional SAH studies can identify high-risk subpopulations, but can also considerably over- or underestimate incidence on a nationwide level.

Emotional Dimensions in Integrated Care for People with Multiple Complex Problems

Cross-boundary collaboration, both multiprofessional and interorganizational, is needed when providing integrated care for people with multiple problems, who need services at the same time from diverse care providers. Multiple problems of clients also pose extra challenges for interaction between care professionals and clients. Emotional dynamics are always present in everyday interaction between human beings, but seldom explicitly addressed in research on integrated care. The aim of this reflective paper is to illustrate the emotional dimensions of integrated care in light of the experiences of care professionals in the context of care for people with multiple complex problems. The paper draws on a Finnish study on integrated care reflecting its findings from the perspective of emotional labor. The difficult life situations of people with multiple complex problems form an emotional burden, which is mirrored in the interaction between clients and professionals and affects relational dynamics among professionals. Professionals’ fear of emotions and the different ‘feeling rules’ of care professions and sectors pose extra challenges to professionals’ collaboration in this emotionally loaded context. Alongside the structural and functional aspects of integrated care, it is important that emotions embedded in everyday cross-boundary collaboration are recognized and taken into account in order to ensure the success of integrated care.

Occupational Well-Being: A Structural Equation Model of Finnish and Estonian School

This study aimed to test the original Occupational Well-being of School Staff Model (OWSS Model) from 2005. This model was tested using data collected in two stages (in 2010 and in 2013) from school staff in Finnish and Estonian public primary and secondary schools. In 2010, there were 486 Finnish respondents (Finnish study 1), and in 2013, there were 545 Finnish respondents (Finnish study 2). Correspondingly, there were 1330 Estonian respondents in 2010 (Estonian study 1), and 974 Estonian respondents in 2013 (Estonian study 2). Based on structural equation modelling, Finnish data from 2010 and 2013 suited the OWSS Model well. Based on Estonian data from 2010 and 2013, the model was slightly improved, but its main structures remained largely unchanged. On the whole, the results support the previous notion that the occupational well-being of school staff should be examined with reference to a broad spectrum of four viewpoints covering working conditions, worker and work, the working community and professional competence. General occupational well-being of the working community and subjective occupational well-being were best explained by working atmosphere and appreciation of others’ work, especially in Finland. In Estonia, occupational well-being was best explained by working atmosphere and appreciation of others’ work and working space, postures and equipment. Long-term testing with data from two countries and from two different testing periods confirmed that the model may continue to be applied in school contexts for planning, implementation and evaluation of occupational well-being, as well as for promoting public health.

Climate change and bird reproduction: warmer springs benefit breeding success in boreal forest grouse

Global warming is predicted to adversely affect the reproduction of birds, especially in northern latitudes. A recent study in Finland inferred that declining populations of black grouse, Tetrao tetrix , could be attributed to advancement of the time of mating and chicks hatching too early—supporting the mismatch hypothesis. Here, we examine the breeding success of sympatric capercaillie, T. urogallus, and black grouse over a 38-year period in southeast Norway. Breeding season temperatures increased, being most pronounced in April. Although the onset of spring advanced nearly three weeks, the peak of mating advanced only 4–5 days. In contrast to the result of the Finnish study, breeding success increased markedly in both species (capercaillie: 62%, black grouse: 38%). Both brood frequency and brood size increased during the study period, but significantly so only for brood frequency in capercaillie. Whereas the frequency of capercaillie broods was positively affected by rising temperatures, especially during the pre-hatching period, this was not the case in black grouse. Brood size, on the other hand, increased with increasing post-hatching temperatures in both species. Contrary to the prediction that global warming will adversely affect reproduction in boreal forest grouse, our study shows that breeding success was enhanced in warmer springs.