The role of Estonian teachers in the social mediation of children’s internet use

Õpetajatel on oluline roll laste ettevalmistamisel internetimaailmas toimetulekuks. Artiklis analüüsitakse Eesti õpetajate tegevust 9–16aastaste laste internetikasutuse sotsiaalses vahendamises, mille mõõtmiseks kasutati kaheksat tunnust EU Kids Online’i uuringust. Tulemused näitavad, et enamik Eesti õpetajatest on õpilaste internetikasutust sotsiaalselt vahendanud: üksnes 13% lastest ei suutnud meenutada, et nad oleks õpetajatelt kunagi juhiseid või informatsiooni saanud. Peamised erinevused Eesti õpetajate tegevuses ilmnesid keele ja asula suuruse puhul. Uuring lubab väita, et eesti keelt rääkivate ja väikestest asulatest pärit laste õpetajad vahendavad laste internetitegevusi aktiivsemalt ja mitmekülgsemalt ning pakuvad internetiohtude korral rohkem nõuandeid. See, kuidas on õpetajate tegevus ja laste kokkupuude internetiohtudega omavahel seotud, erineb vanuseja keelerühmiti. Internetis kahju kogemine ei ole seotud õpetajatepoolse sotsiaalse vahendamisega.  Summar

Behind the Curtains of e-State: Determinants of Online Sexual Harassment Among Estonian Children

"This article analyses the risk of receiving online sexual messages and experiencing harm among Estonian children. In particular, the paper examines the association between receiving sexual messages and behavioural, psychological and demographic characteristics, and the social mediation of children’s Internet use. Estonian data from ‘EU Kids Online’ survey are used, involving 780 children aged 11-16. Results demonstrate that 19% of children who use the Internet have received online sexual messages, and 6% have felt disturbed. The probability of receiving sexual messages online is higher for children with risky online and offline behaviour and psychological difficulties. Perceiving online messages as sexually harassing is higher among children with excessive Internet use, lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of peer mediation of Internet use. The risk of exposure to harassing sexual messages also differs by age and, more notably, by the minority status. Mediation by parents and teachers plays an insignificant role in reducing teenagers’ risks of receiving sexual messages." (author's abstract

Schools for well-being? Critical discussions with schoolchildren

International quantitative studies among children, such as the Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children and the Programme for International Student Assessment have revealed a gap between learning outcomes and children’s subjective well-being across countries. The Children’s Worlds international study showed that liking school decreases from the second to the sixth grade. Compared to other countries the decrease is one of the biggest among schoolchildren in Estonia. The aim of the study is to find in-depth evidence to explain the low level of satisfaction with school life and reasons for the decrease in children liking school in Estonia. The analysis is based on data from eight focus group interviews with 12-year-old children in rural and urban schools. The study showed that children develop negative feelings from various aspects of school life that leads to criticism and a dislike for school. Bullying among children and behavioural shortcomings of teachers (including coping with personal distress) are the key factors that decrease the well-being of many children and cause a dislike of school. An ideal school-for well-being would promote physical, social and mental well-being for both children and teachers.peer-reviewe

Jagatud mure on pool muret: Rahulolu kaasõpilaste ja koolieluga koolikiusamist kogenud õpilaste seas

Igal lapsel on õigus end koolis turvaliselt tunda, aga ometi kogevad paljud lapsed koolikiusamist ning tunnevad end seetõttu ebaturvaliselt. Koolikiusamine ohustab õpilaste vaimset ja füüsilist heaolu ning takistab õppimist, kuid tunnetatud abi vanematelt, õpetajatelt ja kaasõpilastelt võib aidata säilitada rahulolu koolielu ja kaasõpilastega. Artikli eesmärk on tõendada tunnetatud abisaamise tähtsust kiusamiskogemusega õpilaste koolirahulolu säilimisel. Kahefaktoriline dispersioonanalüüs Children’s Worldsi kolmanda laine Eesti 6. klassi laste andmestikul (N = 1079) näitas, et kiusamist kogenute rahulolu õpilaseluga on madalam kui kiusamist mitte kogenud lastel. Samas on õpetajatelt, kaasõpilastelt ja vanematelt abi saamises kindlad lapsed oma eluga õpilasena rahulolevamad kui need, kes abile ei looda. Seega võivad abisaamises kindlad õpilased säilitada rahulolu koolielu tahkudega kiusamiskogemusest hoolimata.   Summar

Interim Evaluation of the "Youth in Action" programme in Estonia 2007-2009

Youth in Action is an EU programme, which aims to promote active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans. After three years (2007-2009) of action it is time for interim evaluation of the programme. In Estonia, the programme assessment was carried out by the researchers of the Institute of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Tartu. The assessment included a secondary analysis of materials relating to the programme, questionnaire-based Internet surveys, interviews with the participants in the programme, and discussions with co-workers of the National Agency for the Youth In Action programme.http://euroopa.noored.ee/files/Programmi%20Euroopa%20Noored%20vahehindamise%20(2007-2009)%20uuring%20inglise%20keeles.pd

Digital skills among youth: a dataset from a three-wave longitudinal survey in six European countries

This dataset provides longitudinal survey data from a European project, ySKILLS, which was focused on the role of digital skills in youths’ development. It contains data from 10,821 participants from Grades 6-10 (in Wave 1) in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. The data was collected between Spring 2021 and Spring 2023, the participants were recruited through schools, where the data collection also took place, except for online data collections due to restrictions caused by COVID-19. The dataset is novel in its multidimensional approach to the construct of digital literacy. It provides insight into the development of digital skills in youth and the role of digital skills and internet usage in youths’ positive and negative online experiences and wellbeing. It also contains data that allows for the analysis of the role of digital skills in class networks. The data are beneficial for researchers interested in the examination of youths’ online skills, internet usage, online experiences, and wellbeing from a longitudinal perspective

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of gestational diabetes mellitus highlights genetic links with type 2 diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. GDM often reoccurs and is associated with increased risk of subsequent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). To improve our understanding of the aetiological factors and molecular processes driving the occurrence of GDM, including the extent to which these overlap with T2D pathophysiology, the GENetics of Diabetes In Pregnancy Consortium assembled genome-wide association studies of diverse ancestry in a total of 5485 women with GDM and 347 856 without GDM. Through multi-ancestry meta-analysis, we identified five loci with genome-wide significant association (P < 5 x 10(-8)) with GDM, mapping to/near MTNR1B (P = 4.3 x 10(-54)), TCF7L2 (P = 4.0 x 10(-16)), CDKAL1 (P = 1.6 x 10(-4)), CDKN2A-CDKN2B (P = 4.1 x 10(-9)) and HKDC1 (P = 2.9 x 10(-8)). Multiple lines of evidence pointed to the shared pathophysiology of GDM and T2D: (i) four of the five GDM loci (not HKDC1) have been previously reported at genome-wide significance for T2D; (ii) significant enrichment for associations with GDM at previously reported T2D loci; (iii) strong genetic correlation between GDM and T2D and (iv) enrichment of GDM associations mapping to genomic annotations in diabetes-relevant tissues and transcription factor binding sites. Mendelian randomization analyses demonstrated significant causal association (5% false discovery rate) of higher body mass index on increased GDM risk. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that GDM and T2D are part of the same underlying pathology but that, as exemplified by the HKDC1 locus, there are genetic determinants of GDM that are specific to glucose regulation in pregnancy.Peer reviewe

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 CountriespublishedVersio

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed