Esiopetuksen pedagogiset oppimisympäristöt päiväkodeissa ja kouluissa

Tiivistelmä. Tutkimme ja vertailimme esiopetuksen pedagogisia oppimisympäristöjä päiväkoti- ja koulukonteksteissa. Tutkimuskysymyksenä on millaisia ovat esiopetuksen pedagogiset oppimisympäristöt päiväkodeissa ja kouluissa. Aikaisempien havaintojemme perusteella olimme epävarmoja tasa-arvoisen esiopetuksen toteutumisesta eri konteksteissa, jonka vuoksi koimme aiheen tärkeäksi. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen ja aineiston keräsimme teemahaastatteluilla. Haastatteluihin osallistui kuusi esiopetuksen opettajaa. Teoriaosuudessa avaamme oppimisympäristön käsitettä ja tarkastelemme esiopetusta pedagogisen oppimisympäristön näkökulmasta. Pedagogisessa oppimisympäristössä keskityimme tarkastelemaan erityisesti ulkoisia vaikuttavia tekijöitä, toimintaa ja vuorovaikutusta. Ulkoisia tekijöitä ovat päiväjärjestys, ryhmäkoko sekä fyysiset tilat ja käytettävissä olevat välineet. Toimintaan liittyen käsittelemme suunnittelua, toteutusta ja arviointia. Tutkimme vuorovaikutusta esiopetuksessa ja yhteistyötä vanhempien kanssa sekä koulun ja päiväkodin välillä. Opettaja luo pedagogista oppimisympäristöä. Suunnittelun pohjana toimivat kaikki edellä mainitut pedagogiseen oppimisympäristöön vaikuttavat tekijät. Suunnittelu ohjaa millaista opetusta lapset saavat ja miten opettaja toimii. Ryhmäkoko vaikuttaa siihen, kuinka opettaja pystyy huomioimaan jokaisen lapsen kehityksen yksilöllisesti. Esiopetuksessa yhteisten tavoitteiden lisäksi jokaisella lapsella on yksilölliset tavoitteet, jotka laaditaan yhdessä vanhempien kanssa. Arviointi tulee toteuttaa peilaten asetettuihin tavoitteisiin. Esiopetuskontekstien välillä oli eroja, mutta laadullisesti esiopetus on tasa-arvoista kummassakin kontekstissa. Esiopetuksen toteutumiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä on monia, sillä niin konteksti, esiopetuksen opettaja kuin ryhmä vaikuttavat siihen millaista esiopetus on. Esiopetuksen yhdenvertaisuutta lisää esiopetussuunnitelma, jonka mukaan esiopetuksen opettaja suunnittelee toimintaa. Tasavertainen esiopetus on jokaisen lapsen oikeus

Which adolescent factors predict alcohol misuse in young adulthood? A co-twin comparisons study

Background and aims Research on adolescent predictors of later alcohol misuse is typically conducted on samples of singletons, and associations may be confounded by between-family differences. To address potential confounding, we applied a co-twin comparison design to evaluate whether differences between co-twins in a wide array of adolescent risk factors predicted differences in young adult alcohol misuse. Design Longitudinal study in which associations between characteristics of the sample as adolescents were used to predict young adult alcohol misuse in individual-level analyses and co-twin comparisons. Setting Finland. Participants A total of 3402 individuals (1435 complete twin pairs; 36% monozygotic; 57% female) from the FinnTwin12 study. Measurements The young adult alcohol misuse outcome was a composite score of alcohol use and intoxication frequency. Adolescent predictors included factor scores representing academic performance, substance use, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, peer environment, physical health and relationship with parents; and single measures tapping alcohol expectancies, life events and pubertal development. Findings In individual-level analyses, individuals with higher adolescent substance use, externalizing problems, time with friends, peer deviance, sports involvement, sleeping difficulties, parental discipline, positive alcohol expectancies and difficulty of life events reported higher alcohol misuse in young adulthood (Ps <0.019, R-2 = 0.0003-0.0310%). Conversely, those with higher adolescent internalizing problems, parent-child relationship quality and time with parents reported lower alcohol misuse (Ps <0021, R-2 = 0.0018-0.0093%). The associations with adolescent substance use and alcohol expectancies remained significant in co-twin comparisons (Ps <0.049, R-2 = 0.0019-0.0314%). Further, academic performance emerged as a significant predictor, such that individuals with higher grades compared with their co-twin reported higher young adult alcohol misuse (Ps <0.029, R-2 = 0.0449-0.0533%). Conclusions Adolescent substance use, positive alcohol expectancies and higher academic performance appear to be robust predictors of later alcohol misuse.Peer reviewe

Polygenic risk for alcohol misuse is moderated by romantic partnerships

Background and Aims Previous twin research suggests relationship status can moderate underlying genetic liability towards alcohol misuse. This paper examined: (1) whether genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) for alcohol consumption are associated with alcohol misuse; (2) whether these GPS are moderated by romantic relationships (gene-environment interaction; G x E) and (3) whether G x E results are consistent across sex. Design Linear mixed-effects models were used to test associations between genome-wide polygenic scores, relationship status and alcohol use/misuse. Setting Finnish twins born between 1983 and 1987 identified through Finland's central population registry. Participants An intensively studied subset of Finnish Twin Study (FinnTwin12) during the young adult phase (aged 20-26 years). The analytical sample includes those with complete interview and genetic data (n = 1201). Measurements Key measurements included involvement in a romantic partnership, drinking frequency, intoxication frequency and DSM-IV alcohol dependence (AD) symptoms. Genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) were created from available summary statistics from a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) of drinks per week. Results GPS predicted drinking frequency [b = 0.109; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.050, 0.168], intoxication frequency (b = 0.111; 95% CI = 0.054, 0.168) and AD symptoms (b = 0.123; 95% CI = 0.064, 0.182). Having a romantic relationship negatively influenced the association between GPS and drinking frequency (b = -0.105; 95% CI = -0.211, -0.001), intoxication frequency (b = -0.118; 95% CI = -0.220, -0.016) and AD symptoms (b = -0.119; 95% CI = -0.229, -0.009). There was a three-way interaction between sex, relationship status and GPS for intoxication frequency (b = 0.223; 95% CI = 0.013, 0.433), such that the reduced association between GPS and intoxication frequency for those in a relationship was only apparent in males. We found no evidence of three-way interactions for drinking frequency or AD symptoms. Conclusions Being in a romantic relationship reduced the association between genetic predisposition and drinking, high-risk drinking and alcohol problems. However, for high-risk drinking the protective effect was limited to males, mapping onto earlier findings suggesting that males benefit more from romantic partnerships.Peer reviewe

The influence of accretion geometry on the spectral evolution during thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray bursts

Neutron star (NS) masses and radii can be estimated from observations of photospheric radius-expansion X-ray bursts, provided the chemical composition of the photosphere, the spectral colour-correction factors in the observed luminosity range, and the emission area during the bursts are known. By analysing 246 X-ray bursts observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer from 11 low-mass X-ray binaries, we find a dependence between the persistent spectral properties and the time evolution of the black body normalisation during the bursts. All NS atmosphere models predict that the colour-correction factor decreases in the early cooling phase when the luminosity first drops below the limiting Eddington value, leading to a characteristic pattern of variability in the measured blackbody normalisation. However, the model predictions agree with the observations for most bursts occurring in hard, low-luminosity, &#39;island&#39; spectral states, but rarely during soft, high-luminosity, &#39;banana&#39; states. The observed behaviour may be attributed to the accretion flow, which influences cooling of the NS preferentially during the soft state bursts. This result implies that only the bursts occurring in the hard, low-luminosity spectral states can be reliably used for NS mass and radius determination.</p

Predicting Alcohol Dependence Symptoms by Young Adulthood : A Co-Twin Comparisons Study

Co-twin comparisons address familial confounding by controlling for genetic and environmental influences that twin siblings share. We applied the co-twin comparison design to investigate associations of adolescent factors with alcohol dependence (AD) symptoms. Participants were 1286 individuals (581 complete twin pairs; 42% monozygotic; and 54% female) from the FinnTwin12 study. Predictors included adolescent academic achievement, substance use, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, executive functioning, peer environment, physical health, relationship with parents, alcohol expectancies, life events, and pubertal development. The outcome was lifetime AD clinical criterion count, as measured in young adulthood. We examined associations of each adolescent domain with AD symptoms in individual-level and co-twin comparison analyses. In individual-level analyses, adolescents with higher levels of substance use, teacher-reported externalizing problems at age 12, externalizing problems at age 14, self- and co-twin-reported internalizing problems, peer deviance, and perceived difficulty of life events reported more symptoms of AD in young adulthood (ps < .044). Conversely, individuals with higher academic achievement, social adjustment, self-rated health, and parent-child relationship quality met fewer AD clinical criteria (ps < .024). Associations between adolescent substance use, teacher-reported externalizing problems, co-twin-reported internalizing problems, peer deviance, self-rated health, and AD symptoms were of a similar magnitude in co-twin comparisons. We replicated many well-known adolescent correlates of later alcohol problems, including academic achievement, substance use, externalizing and internalizing problems, self-rated health, and features of the peer environment and parent-child relationship. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of co-twin comparisons for understanding pathways to AD. Effect sizes corresponding to the associations between adolescent substance use, teacher-reported externalizing problems, co-twin-reported internalizing problems, peer deviance, and self-rated health were not significantly attenuated (p value threshold = .05) after controlling for genetic and environmental influences that twin siblings share, highlighting these factors as candidates for further research.Peer reviewe