Newly qualified teachers' support needs in developing professional competences : the principal's viewpoint

This study investigates principals’ viewpoints on the support needs of newly qualified teachers. As pedagogic leaders, principals play a central role in organizing support activities for new teachers at local level and can offer insights into new teachers’ situation and support needs. On that basis, the authors investigated how Finnish principals (N = 104) prioritized and described the support needs of newly qualified teachers. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that included both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis, and responses to open-ended question were analyzed using deductive content analysis. The study revealed that new teachers need particular support in working outside the classroom, cooperating with parents and colleagues and enhancing holistic support for students. The results contribute to knowledge of salient issues in planning and organizing school-based support for new teachers, as well as in initial teacher education.Peer reviewe

Työssään aloittavien opettajien ammatilliseen kehittymiseen liittyvät tuentarpeet

In this doctoral dissertation, I investigate the needs of beginning teachers for support in professional development. The first aim is to examine, how support needs are experienced by new teachers in four European countries: Finland, England, Portugal, and Flanders (in Belgium). The second aim is to examine how Finnish beginning teachers and principals experience early-career teaching support needs. In the study, teaching is considered to be a profession with widening responsibilities in schools and society. Along with this assumption, a theoretical framework is built upon the concepts of professional competence and continuously developing expertise. These elements are considered to be integral parts of teachers’ work that influence their support needs at the beginning of their careers. The dissertation consists of three sub-studies that were carried out as part of a European-funded Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project. The first sub-study examined the essential support needs and the support need profiles among beginning teachers in four European countries. The second sub-study focused on investigating the topic from the perspective of Finnish principals in particular. The third sub-study combined the viewpoints of Finnish beginning teachers and principals. A mixed methods approach was used in the dissertation. The data were collected via an electronic questionnaire, and quantitative and qualitative methods were used to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomena related to the support needs of beginning teachers. The results of this dissertation show that the support needs of beginning teachers are simultaneously individual and common. They are partly connected to certain professional tasks, practices, or challenges of teachers’ work, but at the same time are linked to the wider processes of developing routine and adaptive expertise. The identified support needs also reflect the complex and broad requirements and challenges set for the teaching profession today. Furthermore, the results suggest that the focus of beginning teachers is not on themselves but rather on students’ learning and on collaboration in the school community. In particular, the results from both the transnational and Finnish contexts indicate that supporting students’ comprehensive individual growth, differentiating teaching, and acting in conflict situations are a key area of support. In total, three broad perspectives of support needs are identified: (1) supporting students’ comprehensive individual growth, (2) working in the school community, and (3) developing one’s own work. These are all part of the wider process of developing expertise that can be understood as a holistic continuum of professional development relating to the teaching profession. To conclude, the present doctoral dissertation finds that beginning teachers’ support needs are related to several aspects of professional competence, suggesting that, at the beginning of a teaching career, professional development occurs simultaneously across several dimensions of professional competence. Support needs are strongly related to the characteristics of the teaching profession, as well as to practices in schools, and their complexity and context- and time-specificity must be considered when planning and implementing support activities for beginning teachers.Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan työssään aloittavien uusien opettajien tuentarpeita. Siirtymä opettajaopiskelijasta opettajaksi nähdään tärkeänä vaiheena, joka sisältää paljon uuden oppimista. Vaikka opettajankoulutus tarjoaa perusvalmiudet työhön, asiantuntijuuden kehittyminen edellyttää työskentelyä myös koulun arjessa. Opettajan ammatin laaja-alaisuuden ja monitahoisuuden vuoksi ensimmäisiin työvuosiin sisältyykin usein erilaisia haasteita ja ammatillisia tuentarpeita. Väitöskirja koostuu kolmesta osatutkimuksesta, jotka toteutettiin osana Euroopan Unionin rahoittamaa Erasmus+ Key Action 2 -hanketta. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisenä tavoitteena oli tutkia, millaisia ammatillisia tuentarpeita uusilla opettajilla on Suomessa, Englannissa, Portugalissa ja Flanderissa (Belgiassa). Toisena tavoitteena oli tutkia, kuinka erityisesti suomalaiset uudet opettajat sekä rehtorit kokevat työuran alkuun liittyvät tuentarpeet. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin sekä määrällisiä että laadullisia menetelmiä. Aineistot kerättiin sähköisillä kyselylomakkeilla. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että työssään aloittavien opettajien huomio ei ole ensisijaisesti heissä itsessään tai omassa selviytymisessä, vaan pikemminkin oppilaiden oppimisen tukemisessa sekä työskentelyssä kouluyhteisössä. Erityisesti oppilaan yksilöllisen kasvun tukeminen, opetuksen eriyttäminen sekä konfliktitilanteissa toimiminen näyttäytyivät keskeisinä uusien opettajien tuentarpeina niin Suomessa kuin kolmessa muussa Euroopan maassakin. Kaiken kaikkiaan tutkimuksessa löydettiin kolme laajaa ja osin limittäistä tuentarpeiden aluetta, jotka ovat: (1) oppilaiden kokonaisvaltaisen ja yksilöllisen oppimisen tukeminen, (2) työskentely kouluyhteisössä sekä (3) oman työn kehittäminen. Nämä kaikki ovat osa laajempaa asiantuntijuuden kehittymisen prosessia. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta, että uusien opettajien tuentarpeet liittyvät laajasti opettajan työn eri osa-alueisiin sekä ajankohtaisiin koulun haasteisiin. Vaikka tuentarpeissa on nähtävissä yleisiä piirteitä, ne ovat suurelta osin myös yksilöllisiä. Opettajan työn muuttuva luonne sekä opettajien erilaiset tuentarpeet tuleekin ottaa huomioon suunniteltaessa tukea työssään aloittaville uusille opettajille. Tutkimus osoittaa osaltaan myös sen, miten tärkeää tuki uran alkuvaiheessa on. Uusilla opettajilla on ammatillisia tuen tarpeita, joihin työelämän ja koulutuksen on vastattava, jotta asiantuntijuus voi kehittyä ja työ koetaan mielekkääksi

An exploration of longitudinal studies of digital learning

Background: The importance of digital technologies for enhancing learning in formal education settings has been widely acknowledged. In the light of this expectation, it is important to investigate the effects of these technologies on students' learning and development. Purpose: This study explores longitudinal empirical research on digital learning in the context of primary and secondary education. By focusing on a small selection of the peer-reviewed literature, the aim is to examine the kinds of longitudinal study published on this topic during the period 2012-2017 and, thorough categorisation, to bring together insights about the reported influences of digital technology use on students' learning. Design and methods: The databases searched for the purposes of this review were Scopus and Web of Science. Of 1,989 articles, 13 were finally included in the review. Using qualitative content analysis, these were analysed, coded and categorised. Results: The reviewed studies were found to have approached digital learning in different ways: they varied, for example, in terms of research methods and design and the digital technologies used. The studies addressed different aspects of learning, which we assigned to six categories: affection, attitude, and motivation; subject-specific knowledge and skills; transversal skills; learning experience; elements of the learning environment; and identity. We identified both positive and negative influences of technology on learning. Conclusions: This review offers a snapshot of the variety of research in this fast-moving area. The studies we explored were found to approach digital learning from several different perspectives, and no straightforward conclusions can be drawn about the influences of digital technology use on students' learning. We conclude that further longitudinal studies of digital learning are needed, and this study assists by highlighting gaps in the existing literature.Peer reviewe

Newly Qualified Teachers’ Needs of Support for Professional Competences in Four European Countries: Finland, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Belgium

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Tables in the article of Finnish student teachers’ perceptions of their development of 21st-century competencies

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Finnish student teachers' perceptions of their development of 21st-century competencies

This study examined student teachers' perceptions of how well their Teacher Education (TE) had prepared them for 21st-century competencies, and how well they applied these competencies to their teaching. In addition, the study sought to identify best practices, major obstacles, and suggestions to achieve these competencies. The study was implemented in two universities and three universities of applied sciences in Finland that have TE programmes. This study used a mixed-method approach. Data were collected both quantitatively and qualitatively from student teachers (n = 227), who assessed 21st-century competencies with a structured questionnaire that included open-ended questions. Quantitative data analysis used descriptive statistics and correlations, while qualitative data analysis used content analysis. The study found that based on the student teachers' self-assessment, the student teachers achieved successfully 21st-century competencies despite differences between competencies. The best-achieved competency was 'Collaboration' and the least well-achieved was 'Global connections.' The study illustrated student teachers' perception of their success in applying 21st-century competencies to their teaching at schools. Answers to open-ended questions produced convincing evidence that courses involving collaborative and interactive learning, high quality, sufficient support, related 21st-century competencies, certain pedagogical methods used by teacher educators, and integrating theory and practice can contribute strongly to the development of student teachers' 21st-century competencies.Peer reviewe

L’accompagnement professionnel des enseignants débutants en Finlande : enjeux et besoins

Cet article présente le contexte professionnel et la situation des enseignants débutants en Finlande, expose les enjeux et les besoins d’un accompagnement professionnel de leurs premières années de carrière, et détermine, pour chacun de ces aspects, les points forts du système éducatif finlandais et ceux qui peuvent encore être améliorés. Les enseignants qui débutent se voient confier de grandes responsabilités professionnelles mais bénéficient d’un accompagnement relativement limité. En raison de la charge de travail importante qu’exige ce métier, il convient d’être particulièrement attentif aux questionnements et besoins des enseignants en début de carrière. Un accompagnement professionnel adapté et ciblé leur donne accès à des ressources leur permettant de mettre leur métier en perspective, de renforcer leur confiance en eux et de poser les bases d’une carrière pérenne.Newly qualified teachers have been in the focus of research and educational policy-making relatively intensively due to the important first years in the profession and the identified challenges related to these years. The reputation of Finnish educational system and success of Finnish pupils in PISA measurements as well as appreciation of teacher education and profession in Finland have raised the international interest towards the situation of teachers in Finland. This article elaborates especially the professional context and situation of newly qualified teachers in Finland, presents their needs and ways of professional support in their early career years as well as elaborates the strengths and areas of development related to these aspects. Newly qualified teachers have the full professional responsibility in their work when they enter to the profession and relatively little formal support provided for the work. Due to the demanding and important work of teachers, the professional concerns and needs of early career teachers should be considered carefully. Adequate and appropriate professional support for newly qualified teachers provides them with relevant contextual resources, strengthens their self-confidence as well as paves their way for continuing and staying in the teacher profession.Este artículo presenta el contexto profesional y la situación de los docentes principiantes en Finlandia, expone los retos y las necesidades de un acompañamiento profesional de sus primeros años de carrera y determina, para cada uno de estos aspectos, los puntos fuertes del sistema educativo finlandés y los que pueden ser aún mejorados. A los docentes que inician su carrera se les confia unas grandes responsabilidades profesionales pero benefician de un acompañamiento relativamente limitado. Por la carga de trabajo importante que exige este oficio, conviene estar particularmente atento a los cuestionamientos y a las necesidades de los docentes principiantes. Un acompañamiento profesional adaptado y específico les da acceso a unos recursos que les permiten poner su oficio en perspectiva, reforzar la confianza que pueden tener en sí mismos y asentar las bases de una carrera perene

Influence of organic matter, nutrients, and cyclodextrin on microbial and chemical herbicide and degradate dissipation in subsurface sediment slurries

Pesticides leaching from soil to surface and groundwater are a global threat for drinking water safety, as no cleaning methods occur for groundwater environment. We examined whether peat, compost-peat-sand (CPS) mixture, NH4NO3, NH4NO3 with sodium citrate (Na-citrate), and the surfactant methyl-beta-cyclodextrin additions enhance atrazine, simazine, hexazinone, dichlobenil, and the degradate 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) dissipations in sediment slurries under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, with sterilized controls. The vadose zone sediment cores were drilled from a depth of 11.3-14.6m in an herbicide-contaminated groundwater area. The peat and CPS enhanced chemical atrazine and simazine dissipation, and the peat enhanced chemical hexazinone dissipation, all oxygen-independently. Dichlobenil dissipated under all conditions, while BAM dissipation was fairly slow and half-lives could not be calculated. The chemical dissipation rates could be associated with the chemical structures and properties of the herbicides, and additive compositions, not with pH. Microbial atrazine degradation was only observed in the Pseudomonas sp. ADP amended slurries, although the sediment slurries were known to contain atrazine-degrading microorganisms. The bioavailability of atrazine in the water phase seemed to be limited, which could be due to complex formation with organic and inorganic colloids. Atrazine degradation by indigenous microbes could not be stimulated by the surfactant methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, or by the additives NH4NO3 and NH4NO3 with Na-citrate, although the nitrogen additives increased microbial growth. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Digital Storytelling for 21st-Century Skills in Virtual Learning Environments

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Teachers’ changing work and support needs from the perspectives of school leaders and newly qualified teachers in the Finnish context

Teachers operate amidst continuous societal changes that transform schools. In response, teachers must acquire wide-ranging professional competences to work in complex school situations while cooperating with numerous partners both within and outside the school. This study examines how teacher growth and the new demands of the teaching profession appear from the perspectives of school leaders and newly qualified teachers. The aim is to investigate in which professional competences new teachers require support at the beginning of their careers. After presenting various theoretical reflections, we analyse the empirical data of Finnish school leaders (N = 104) and new teachers (N = 145) using quantitative and qualitative methods. The results indicate that new teachers require support, for example, in order to provide holistic support for students’ learning and in working with partners, both within and outside the school community. The results provide important knowledge for the induction phase of teachers’ careers.Peer reviewe