Teaching in a multicultural environment:understanding teacher competence in finnish preparatory education

Abstract. As multiculturalism becomes an increasingly significant part of the Finnish school environment, the ability of teachers to encounter different cultures and to teach pupils with an immigrant background has attracted attention and the need for research. Preparatory education teachers are a fairly new professional group that consists of various educational professionals. Their eligibility requirements and training are, however, in many ways deficient. The competences found in this study that preparatory education teachers need in their daily work include encountering pupils from different cultural backgrounds with understanding and respect, differentiation and teaching Finnish as a second language skills as well as flexibility and the ability to identify learning difficulties from insufficient language skills. There may be differences as to which educational background would correspond to the work of a preparatory education teacher the best. The teachers, however, agree on the need for further training when it comes to multicultural implementation of education and the fact that their educational background has not provided enough knowledge for them to acquire the competences needed in the work

A case study of Oulu University’s teacher students’ understanding of inclusive education and their sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education in their future work

Abstract. Inclusive education has been a prevalent value in Finnish educational context since the 1990s. However, teacher education has not sufficiently adapted to the policy changes regarding inclusive education in schools. Previous research shows that teacher students feel that their education has not given them sufficient competence to implement inclusive education. Additionally, in order to implement inclusive education successfully, inclusive education must be understood as a right of every student to quality education. Firstly, the purpose of this research is to examine and describe how master’s level classroom and special education teacher students understand the concept of inclusive education. Secondly, the research aims to gain an in-depth understanding of teacher students’ sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education in their future work. Lastly, we examine how teacher education has developed the teacher students’ sense of self-efficacy. The theoretical framework of our research considers inclusive education as a concept, different approaches to the implementation of it and its state particularly in the Finnish context. Additionally, we will discuss sense of self-efficacy especially according to Bandura. The research is a qualitative case study situated at the University of Oulu. The data was collected through an anonymous online questionnaire. The chosen analysis method is qualitative content analysis. The research findings reveal that overall teacher students understand inclusive education to consider all students and reflect values of equality and participation. However, some define inclusive education through the concept of integration. Special education teacher students’ self- efficacy was found higher than that of the classroom teacher students. Practicality of the studies and discussions were found most meaningful for the strengthening of their sense of self-effi- cacy. Additionally, special education teacher students are more satisfied with their studies regarding inclusive education. The research highlights that inclusive education must be considered more in teacher education.Tapaustutkimus Oulun yliopiston opettajaopiskelijoiden ymmärryksestä inklusiivisesta koulu- tuksesta ja heidän minäpystyvyydestään toteuttaa inklusiivista koulutusta tulevassa työssään. Tiivistelmä. Inklusiivisuus on ollut keskeinen arvo suomalaisessa koulutuksessa 1990-luvulta lähtien. Siitä huolimatta opettajakoulutus ei ole riittävästi mukautunut linjauksiin, joita on tehty inklusiiviseen koulutukseen liittyen kouluissa. Aiempi tutkimus osoittaa, että opettajaopiskelijat kokevat, ettei heidän koulutuksensa ole tukenut tarpeeksi minäpystyvyyden tunnetta inklusiivisen koulutuksen toteuttamiseen. Lisäksi, jotta inklusiivista koulutusta voidaan toteuttaa onnistuneesti, ymmärryksen siitä tulee painottaa jokaisen oppilaan oikeutta laadukkaaseen opetukseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on ensinnäkin tutkia ja kuvailla, kuinka maisterivaiheen luokanopettaja- ja erityisopettajaopiskelijat ymmärtävät inklusiivisen koulutuksen. Lisäksi tutkimuksen tavoitteena on luoda kattava käsitys opettajaopiskelijoiden minäpystyvyydestä toteuttaa inklusiivista koulutusta tulevassa työssään. Lopuksi tarkastelemme, kuinka opettajakoulutus on vaikuttanut opiskelijoiden minäpystyvyyteen. Tutkimuksemme teoreettinen viitekehys tarkastelee inklusiivisen koulutuksen käsitettä, erilaisia lähestymistapoja sen toteutukseen sekä sen tilaa erityisesti suomalaisessa kontekstissa. Lisäksi käsitelemme minäpystyyden käsitettä etenkin Banduran teorian mukaan. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen tapaustutkimus Oulun yliopistossa. Aineisto kerättiin anonyymin verkkokyselyn kautta. Analyysimetodina on käytetty laadullista sisällönanalyysia. Tutkimustuloksemme osoittavat, että yleisesti opettajaopiskelijat ymmärtävät inklusiivisen koulutuksen koskevan kaikkia oppilaita ja ymmärrys seuraa tasa-arvon ja osallisuuden arvoja. Kuitenkin jotkut opettajaopiskelijat määrittelevät inklusiivisen koulutuksen integraation käsitteen kautta. Erityisopettajaopiskelijoiden minäpystyvyys havaittiin tutkimuksessamme vahvemmaksi kuin luokanopettajaopiskelijoiden. Käytännönläheisyys ja keskustelut koettiin merkittävimmiksi osa-alueiksi minäpystyvyyden vahvistamiseksi. Lisäksi tutkimus osoittaa, että erityisopettajaopiskelijat ovat tyytyväisempiä opintoihinsa inklusiivisesta koulutuksesta. Tutkimus painottaa, että inklusiivinen koulutus tulisi huomioida paremmin opettajakoulutuksessa

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Genome-wide association study identifies loci influencing concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma.

Concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma are widely used as indicators of liver disease. We carried out a genome-wide association study in 61,089 individuals, identifying 42 loci associated with concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma, of which 32 are new associations (P = 10(-8) to P = 10(-190)). We used functional genomic approaches including metabonomic profiling and gene expression analyses to identify probable candidate genes at these regions. We identified 69 candidate genes, including genes involved in biliary transport (ATP8B1 and ABCB11), glucose, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism (FADS1, FADS2, GCKR, JMJD1C, HNF1A, MLXIPL, PNPLA3, PPP1R3B, SLC2A2 and TRIB1), glycoprotein biosynthesis and cell surface glycobiology (ABO, ASGR1, FUT2, GPLD1 and ST3GAL4), inflammation and immunity (CD276, CDH6, GCKR, HNF1A, HPR, ITGA1, RORA and STAT4) and glutathione metabolism (GSTT1, GSTT2 and GGT), as well as several genes of uncertain or unknown function (including ABHD12, EFHD1, EFNA1, EPHA2, MICAL3 and ZNF827). Our results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms and pathways influencing markers of liver function

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE - Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired b-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ;2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS - Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10-8). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/ C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 3 10-4), improved b-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10-5), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10-6). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS - We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

Common variation near CDKN1A, POLD3 and SHROOM2 influences colorectal cancer risk

We performed a meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies to identify common variants influencing colorectal cancer (CRC) risk comprising 8,682 cases and 9,649 controls. Replication analysis was performed in case-control sets totaling 21,096 cases and 19,555 controls. We identified three new CRC risk loci at 6p21 (rs1321311, near CDKN1A; P = 1.14 × 10 -10), 11q13.4 (rs3824999, intronic to POLD3; P = 3.65 × 10 -10) and Xp22.2 (rs5934683, near SHROOM2; P = 7.30 × 10 -10) This brings the number of independent loci associated with CRC risk to 20 and provides further insight into the genetic architecture of inherited susceptibility to CRC.</p

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele