Temperament-Conscious Humanistic Pedagogy

Temperament, Humanistic Education, Temperament-Conscious Education, School Grades, Humanistic PedagogyPeer reviewe

Mallioppilasodotukset ja koulumenestys : Onko oppilaan temperamentti yhteydessä kouluarvosanoihin?

School achievement has far-reaching consequences for the educational pathways and later life trajectories of youth. It determines a student s success or failure in being eligible for further studies, and consequently, career opportunities later on. Student temperament (i.e., an individual s unique and innate tendency to approach and react to the environment) and teachability (i.e., a teacher s perception of the attributes of an ideal model student) have been shown to be influential factors in predicting school success and academic outcomes measured by both standardized achievement tests and teacher-rated school grades. Consequently, student temperament has also been associated with student-teacher interactions, teacher expectations and educational decisions regarding a given student. The purpose of the study was to examine how teachers perceive the innate temperament of students in the school context and whether teachers perceptions of student temperament are associated with their perceptions of students educational competence (EC) (i.e., cognitive ability, motivation and maturity) and teachability. In addition, the study aimed to determine whether teacher-perceived temperament, EC and teachability are related to student school achievement in terms of teacher-assigned school grades in Mathematics (Math) and Mother Language (ML). Teacher and student gender and teacher age were examined as moderating variables in the association between teacher-perceived temperament and school achievement. The subjects were Finnish ninth grade adolescents (n = 3212) and their Math and ML teachers (n = 221) derived from a population-based sample of Finnish upper-comprehensive schools. Teacher-rated student temperament was assessed using age-appropriately formed scales from the Temperament Assessment Battery for Children Revised (TABC-R) and the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS-R). EC was assessed with three subscales covering cognitive ability, motivation, and maturity developed for the current study. Both teacher-rated and self-rated student teachability was assessed using the results of the factor analysis examined for the current data. The respective school grades were taken from the students latest school reports for Math and ML. The main findings were as follows: (1) teacher-perceived student innate temperament, EC, and teachability explained a rather high proportion of teacher-assigned student school grades; (2) teachers ratings seemed to vary systematically by their gender, age and student gender; (3) the variance between teacher-rated and self-rated temperament could be explained by teacher-ratings and self-ratings measuring different concepts and explaining different variance; and (4) on the basis of findings 1-3, teachers perceptions of student innate temperament could bias their assigning of grades. The results suggest a need for more consideration regarding the prevailing assessment practice in the Finnish educational system, where the student learning process and lesson activity are central. Furthermore, the findings suggest that future teacher training should take into account temperament-conscious education. Keywords: temperament, school achievement, teacher-rated, teachability, educational competenceKouluarvosanoilla on merkittävä ja pitkäaikainen vaikutus oppilaan tulevaisuuteen mm. jatko-opintoihin pääsemisen ja tulevan uravalinnan kannalta. Arvosanat eivät kuitenkaan perustu standardoituihin koulusaavutustesteihin, vaan sisältävät opettajan käsityksiä muustakin kuin oppilaan tiedoista ja taidoista ja heijastavat opettajan mallioppilasodotuksia, mielipiteitä, arvoja ja asenteita. Aikaisempien kansainvälisten tutkimusten mukaan oppilaan temperamentti (yksilön synnynnäinen, yksilöllinen taipumus lähestyä uusia asioita ja reagoida ympäristöön) on yhteydessä opettajan käsitykseen oppilaan tavoitteellisuudesta (kognitiivisesta kyvykkyydestä, motivaatiosta ja kypsyydestä) ja opetettavuudesta (opettajan mallioppilaskuva ja käsitys oppilaan kyvystä ottaa vastaan opetusta odotetulla tavalla), mikä näkyy opettajan antamissa arvosanoissa. Oppilaan temperamentti on lisäksi yhteydessä opettajan pedagogiseen päätöksentekoon eli tapaan, miten hän opettaa tiettyä oppilasta, miten hän kommunikoi oppilaan kanssa sekä siihen, miten paljon hän pitää kyseisestä oppilaasta. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin matematiikan ja äidinkielenopettajien käsityksiä oppilaan temperamentista, tavoitteellisuudesta ja opetettavuudesta sekä opettajan käsitysten yhteyttä opettajan oppilaalle antamiin matematiikan ja äidinkielen kouluarvosanoihin suomalaisessa väestöpohjaisessa aineistossa. Oppilaan ja opettajan sukupuolta ja opettajan ikää tarkasteltiin asiayhteyteen vaikuttavina kontrolli- ja väliin tulevina muuttujina. Oppilaan omaa temperamenttiarviota tarkasteltiin kontrollimuuttujana. Tutkimusaineisto koostui peruskoulun yhdeksännen luokan oppilaista (n = 3212) ja heidän matematiikan ja äidinkielen opettajistaan (n = 221). Temperamentti ja opetettavuus mitattiin kansainvälisessä käytössä olevilla valideilla TABC-R ja DOTS-R mittareilla. Tavoitteisuus mitattiin tähän tutkimukseen kehitetyllä mittarilla. Kouluarvosanat perustuivat oppilaiden viimeisimpiin matematiikan ja äidinkielen todistusarvosanoihin. Tulokset osoittavat, että matematiikan ja äidinkielen opettajan käsitys oppilaan temperamentista, tavoitteellisuudesta ja opetettavuudesta on merkittävästi yhteydessä hänen oppilaalle antamaansa matematiikan ja äidinkielen arvosanaan. Myös oppilaan ja opettajan sukupuolella ja opettajan iällä on merkitystä: (1) vaikka opettajat yleisesti – olivatpa he mies- tai naisopettajia - näkevät poikien temperamentin, tavoitteisuuden ja opetettavuuden soveltuvan tyttöjä heikommin kouluympäristöön, tyttöjen ja poikien välinen ero pienenee merkitsevästi, kun arvioijana on miesopettaja. Tämä tarkoittaa sitä, että miesopettajat näkevät poikien ja tyttöjen temperamentin olevan lähempänä toisiaan kuin naisopettajat; (2) miesopettajat ovat myös naisopettajia kriittisempiä arvioidessaan tyttöjen temperamenttia ja opetettavuutta kuin heidän arvioidessaan poikien vastaavia ominaisuuksia; (3) tytöillä ja pojilla ei ollut eroja matematiikan arvosanoissa, mutta pojat saivat lähes yhden numeron verran alhaisempia äidinkielen arvosanoja kuin tytöt. Tilanne kuitenkin muuttui, kun oppilaiden temperamentti ja tavoitteisuus otettiin analyysissä huomioon. Tällöin pojat saivat korkeampia matematiikan arvosanoja mutta edelleen alhaisempia äidinkielen arvosanoja kuin tytöt. Pojat siis näyttäisivät hyötyvän matematiikassa siitä, että heidän kouluun heikommin soveltuvan temperamenttinsa tuottamat ns. häiriötekijät eliminoitiin heidän matematiikan arvosanoistaan pois; (4) opettajan sukupuolella ei ollut yhteyttä oppilaan arvosanoihin; ja (5) opettajan iällä oli yhteys arvosanoihin vain äidinkielessä. Tulokset osoittivat, että mitä vanhemmaksi opettaja tuli, sitä vähemmän oppilaan temperamentti pääsi vaikuttamaan hänen antamiinsa äidinkielen arvosanoihin. Kokemuksen karttuessa opettaja näyttäisi ryhtyvän arvioimaan enemmän oppilaan suorituksia ja vähentämään arvioissaan ns. väliin tulevien häiriötekijöiden merkitystä. Koska kyseessä on poikkileikkaustutkimus, eivät tulokset kuitenkaan anna perusteita päätelmille ajallisista yhteyksistä tai syy-seuraussuhteista. Tulokset suosittavat, että nykyisen koulujärjestelmämme arviointikäytäntöä, jossa oppilaan tuntiaktiivisuus ja oppimisprosessi ovat keskeisessä asemassa, olisi hyvä arvioida uudelleen temperamenttitietoisen pedagogiikan valossa. Lisäksi, tulokset suosittavat temperamenttitietoista pedagogiikkaa osaksi opettajankoulutusta, jotta opettajilla olisi (a) välineitä tunnistaa oppilaan synnynnäinen temperamentti; (b) erottaa se kognitiivisesta kyvykkyydestä, motivaatiosta ja kypsyydestä; ja (c) mahdollistaa oppilaalle kouluarviointi, joka kohdistuu oppilaan todelliseen osaamiseen ja on vapaa oppilasarviointia vääristävistä tekijöistä. Avainsanat: temperamentti, koulumenestys, kouluarvosanat, opetettavuus, tavoitteellisuu

Childhood disruptive behaviour and school performance across comprehensive school: A prospective cohort study

Peer reviewe

A Person-Oriented Approach to Diary Data : Children's Temperamental Negative Emotionality Increases Susceptibility to Emotion Transmission in Father-Child Dyads

The notion that some individuals are more prone to emotion transmission than others has prompted the need for a person-oriented approach to emotion transmission in parent-child dyads. The present study applied a person-oriented analysis to examine the patterns of emotion transmission that can be identified in the diary data of father-child dyads, and the extent to which children with high levels of temperamental negative emotionality are particularly susceptible to emotion transmission within the family. Mothers of 149 first grade children (age 6 to 7) completed questionnaires concerning their child’s temperament. Mothers and fathers maintained diary questionnaires (for a total of 7 days) concerning their child’s negative daily emotions, and fathers (n = 116) maintained diary questionnaires concerning their own negative daily emotions. Results of variable-oriented analyses with prospective change multilevel modeling showed, first, that emotions were, on average, not significantly transmitted in a father-child interaction. However, the person-oriented approach using multilevel mixture regression identified four qualitatively different patterns in the transmission of emotions. These results showed that the higher the level of a child’s temperamental negative emotionality, the more typical it was for the father-child dyad in their daily life to show interaction patterns wherein the father’s negative emotions were transmitted to the child.Peer reviewe

Effects of school-based mindfulness intervention on health-related quality of life : moderating effect of gender, grade, and independent practice in cluster randomized controlled trial

Object We investigated the impact of a school-based 9-week mindfulness program vs. active control program (relaxation) and inactive control group on children's self-reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) moderated by gender, grade, and independent practice. Method In total 3519 (50/50% boys/girls) Finnish students aged 12-15 years from 56 schools were randomized into mindfulness intervention, active, and inactive control groups. HRQoL was measured at baseline, at 9 weeks, and at 26 weeks and analyzed with multilevel linear modeling. Results Significant improvement on HRQoL was found (beta = mean difference) (beta = 1.587, 95% CI 0.672-2.502, p < 0.001) after 9 weeks and at 26 weeks of follow-up among students in the mindfulness group as compared to the active control group. Moderating effects on HRQoL were found for gender, grade, and independent practice: girls, 7th and 8th grade students, and students with regular independent mindfulness practice benefited most. Conclusions Gender and developmental stage may moderate the effects of mindfulness interventions on HRQoL and offer guidance in designing effective promotive interventions for children and adolescents.Peer reviewe

The Effects of School-based Mindfulness Intervention on Executive Functioning in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Executive functions (EFs) are essential for student's learning and classroom functioning. The current cluster randomized controlled trial examines the effects of mindfulness intervention vs. active control program (i.e., relaxation) focusing on the main EFs (i.e., working memory, response inhibition, cognitive processing, cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency). A total of 131 students from 6th grade and 8th grade (median age 12 and 15) from four comprehensive schools participated. The schools were to equal shares randomized to intervention and active control groups, i.e., groups who underwent a 9-week mindfulness practice or relaxation program, respectively. Participants completed a cognitive test-package at baseline/pre-intervention, post-intervention at 9 weeks and follow-up at 6 months. Both intervention and active relaxation-based control groups improved on a majority of EF measures at both 9 weeks and 6 months. There was no significant difference between the mindfulness intervention group and the active control program in EFs. The current study suggests that mindfulness intervention and active control program do not differ in their effects to EFs, although both may have positive outcomes. Further research with both active and inactive control groups is needed to map the potential benefits of similar programs for cognitive functioning.Peer reviewe

Perfectionism and depressive symptoms : The effects of psychological detachment from work

We examined the association of perfectionism with depressive symptoms and tested whether psychological detachment from work would both mediate and moderate the association. The participants were 76 primary school teachers (87% female) who responded to measures of perfectionism (Multidimensional Inventory on Perfectionism in Sports adapted for teachers), psychological detachment from work (The Recovery Experience Questionnaire), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II). Perfectionism comprised both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions. Adaptive perfectionism referred to striving for perfection, whereas maladaptive perfectionism involved negative reactions to imperfection and perceived pressure to be perfect. According to our results, negative reactions to imperfection were associated with higher depressive symptoms, and lower level of psychological detachment from work played a minor mediating role in the association. There was, however, no association between negative reactions to imperfection and higher depressive symptoms when detachment from work was high. Our findings suggest that striving for perfection and perceived pressure to be perfect might not contribute to depressive symptoms in teaching. Instead, teachers experiencing negative reactions to imperfection and low psychological detachment from work could be at risk for developing depressive symptoms. Finding ways to psychologically detach from work may benefit teachers characterized by negative reactions to imperfection. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Effects of school-based mindfulness intervention on health-related quality of life: moderating effect of gender, grade, and independent practice in cluster randomized controlled trial

Object We investigated the impact of a school-based 9-week mindfulness program vs. active control program (relaxation) and inactive control group on children's self-reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) moderated by gender, grade, and independent practice. Method In total 3519 (50/50% boys/girls) Finnish students aged 12-15 years from 56 schools were randomized into mindfulness intervention, active, and inactive control groups. HRQoL was measured at baseline, at 9 weeks, and at 26 weeks and analyzed with multilevel linear modeling. Results Significant improvement on HRQoL was found (β = mean difference) (β = 1.587, 95% CI 0.672-2.502, p Conclusions Gender and developmental stage may moderate the effects of mindfulness interventions on HRQoL and offer guidance in designing effective promotive interventions for children and adolescents.</p

Personality traits and career choices among physicians in Finland : employment sector, clinical patient contact, specialty and change of specialty

Background: Personality influences an individual's adaptation to a specific job or organization. Little is known about personality trait differences between medical career and specialty choices after graduating from medical school when actually practicing different medical specialties. Moreover, whether personality traits contribute to important career choices such as choosing to work in the private or public sector or with clinical patient contact, as well as change of specialty, have remained largely unexplored. In a nationally representative sample of Finnish physicians (N = 2837) we examined how personality traits are associated with medical career choices after graduating from medical school, in terms of employment sector, patient contact, medical specialty and change of specialty. Methods: Personality was assessed using the shortened version of the Big Five Inventory (S-BFI). An analysis of covariance with posthoc tests for pairwise comparisons was conducted, adjusted for gender and age with confounders (employment sector, clinical patient contact and medical specialty). Results: Higher openness was associated with working in the private sector, specializing in psychiatry, changing specialty and not practicing with patients. Lower openness was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in general practice as well as ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology. Higher conscientiousness was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in surgery and other internal medicine specialties. Lower conscientiousness was associated with specializing in psychiatry and hospital service specialties. Higher agreeableness was associated with working in the private sector and specializing in general practice and occupational health. Lower agreeableness and neuroticism were associated with specializing in surgery. Higher extraversion was associated with specializing in pediatrics and change of specialty. Lower extraversion was associated with not practicing with patients. Conclusions: The results showed distinctive personality traits to be associated with physicians' career and specialty choices after medical school independent of known confounding factors. Openness was the most consistent personality trait associated with physicians' career choices in terms of employment sector, amount of clinical patient contact, specialty choice and change of specialty. Personality-conscious medical career counseling and career guidance during and after medical education might enhance the person-job fit among physicians.Peer reviewe