Students as first-time voters:The role of voter advice applications in self-reflection on party choice and political identity

Purpose: This article analyses what characterises first time voters' self-reflections on party choice as they use voter advice applications. Method: This study is based on interviews of 28 Norwegian students (age 18-20)preparing themselves for their first election. Findings: Finding a party to vote for is primarily characterized by a process of matching a party to students' political self, which we see as steps toward a political identity. Practical implications: Teaching politics should allow for students' reflections on self and their political preferences

Uncovering the political in non-political young muslim immigrant identities

The theme of this paper is political identity and participation amongMuslim migrant young people in Denmark. Political identity is analysedby examining students’ political interests and perception of themselves as participants in politics, as well as their rationalities for politics. In order to address the research question ‘What characterizes political identities among Muslim immigrant young people in schools?’ we interviewed eight Muslim students from a Danish upper secondary school and from different national origins. The students’ political orientations seemed quite contradictory, even among those who might readily have been identified as a-political. Despite moderate political interest, all students showed some inclinations to participate in elections or in particular issues. However, they emphasized that their social studies classes primarily provided them with factual knowledge experience, and some students found this knowledge useful. None of the students seemed to experience school as an arena for participation. Consequently, there is first a need to emphasize the significance of a dynamic perspective on the phenomenon of political identity, and second, we need to know how students in school should be regarded as citizens in ‘the making’ or as equal citizens in a participatory arena

Norway:: Social science education (samfunnsfag) in Norway: A country report

Purpose: The current article on social studies in primary and secondary education in Norway covers a range of relevant topics which starts with a brief context of Norwegian society, history and social studies framework. Main topics are the new (2020) curriculum, textbooks analyses, social studies teacher competence and practices followed by research in social studies. Findings: The original data on teacher practice reveal that teachers talking while using textbooks is (still) a dominant form of practice in Norway, but there is a great variety of practices both in and out of school (excursions). The textbooks still aim at being ‘neutral’ and less critical. A new national curriculum from November 2019 emphasises interdisciplinarity subjects, and have less goals than the previous 2006, but is still very specific and rather top down. Some research is presented, the field is under researched, and an outlook is discussed

Finnish teacher education and its contributions to pre-service teachers’ instructional self-efficacy

This study focuses on how Finnish pre-service teachers’ instructional self-efficacy contributes to their belief in their ability to provide learning opportunities and positive classroom outcomes. Data were gathered from 153 pre-service teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. We found that experiences with problem behaviour negatively contributed to pre-service teachers’ instructional self-efficacy. We also found two factors that contributed positively to pre-service teachers’ instructional self-efficacy: supervisor’s feedback and perceived practical examples in general pedagogy courses.Peer reviewe

Antecedents of Student Teachers’ Commitment to the Teaching Profession in Finland and Norway

The purpose of this study was to explore antecedents of Finnish and Norwegian student teachers’ prospective commitment to work as teachers or pursue other careers. Are student teachers’ perceptions of coherence between the theoretical and practical elements of the teaching programme related to their commitment to work as teachers or to pursue other careers? For Finnish student teachers, strong associations emerged between the theory-practice interaction in supervision and student teachers’ prospective commitment to work as teachers. Norwegian student teachers exhibited strong associations between personalised feedback and their prospective commitment to teaching. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.Peer reviewe