Finnish Primary and Lower-Secondary Teacher Attitudes Towards Multilingualism and the Öma Äidinkieli Program : A Case Study in the City of Vantaa

The current study is an exploration of Vantaa city primary and lower-secondary teacher attitudes towards multilingualism, as well as their attitudes towards the specific multilingual program the oma äidinkieli program. The oma äidinkieli program is a voluntary program which provides mother tongue instruction to pupils who speak a different language at home than the official languages of Finland, Finnish and Swedish. The aims of this study are to investigate and assess the attitudinal positioning of primary and lower-secondary teachers towards multilingualism and the oma äidinkieli program during a time when the number and concentration of foreign language speaking residents in Vantaa and the capital region of Finland is increasing, to increase the visibility of multilingualism and multilingual pupils, and to contribute to the study of teacher attitudes and multilingualism. A total of 45 primary and lower-secondary teachers from the Finnish city of Vantaa completed a paper questionnaire designed to assess attitudes towards multilingualism and the oma äidinkieli program. Quantitative data was collected using Likert-scale questions and a direct approach to studying attitudes. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings in this study indicate positive teacher attitudes towards both multilingualism and the oma äidinkieli program. This positive attitudinal positioning runs parallel to the approach to multilingualism prescribed in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education. While encouraging that overall results indicate positive teacher attitudes towards multilingualism and the oma äidinkieli program, the frequency of negative and neutral responses to certain items, such as items regarding multilingual pupil’s language development, may indicate possible gaps in teacher understandings regarding multilingual pupils and their development. The overall positive attitudes of Finnish teachers are important because positive teacher attitudes towards multilingualism can positively affect the academic, linguistic, cultural, and identity development of multilingual pupils. Positive teacher attitudes towards the oma äidinkieli program are important because the program supports multilingual and multicultural development and supports the transition of foreign language speaking migrants into Finnish society. Also, as the oma äidinkieli program is a voluntary program for pupils, support from primary and lower-secondary teachers is needed in order for the program to be successful

Atmospheric cloud physics laboratory project study

Engineering studies were performed for the Zero-G Cloud Physics Experiment liquid cooling and air pressure control systems. A total of four concepts for the liquid cooling system was evaluated, two of which were found to closely approach the systems requirements. Thermal insulation requirements, system hardware, and control sensor locations were established. The reservoir sizes and initial temperatures were defined as well as system power requirements. In the study of the pressure control system, fluid analyses by the Atmospheric Cloud Physics Laboratory were performed to determine flow characteristics of various orifice sizes, vacuum pump adequacy, and control systems performance. System parameters predicted in these analyses as a function of time include the following for various orifice sizes: (1) chamber and vacuum pump mass flow rates, (2) the number of valve openings or closures, (3) the maximum cloud chamber pressure deviation from the allowable, and (4) cloud chamber and accumulator pressure

Acceptance of Distance Learning Programs at the Graduate Level A Pilot Study

The number of Americans seeking college degrees is expanding at a rapid pace. To meet the challenge of the non-traditional student, one, who because of other commitments, cannot attend courses in a traditional campus setting, colleges and universities have instituted distance learning programs. There is little disagreement on the value of these programs in providing a service to students who cannot attend traditional classes. But at locations where students do have an option of attending a traditional course, or taking one through a distance learning approach, which will a student select? The study expanded the perceptions of the traditional versus distance learning approach to higher education, and the choice students would make if given the option. The results of the study revealed that students would significantly favor courses utilizing the traditional delivery approach versus a distance learning approach. The study also found that students at a university which does not have a distance learning program favor this approach to a significantly higher degree than students at a university which has a distance learning program. The study also found that students are almost equally divided on the perception of quality of the distance learning delivery approach, versus a traditional delivery approach

Perceptions on the Differences Between the Socratic and Experiential Teaching Methodologies

There are numerous technological advances which are readily available for us in the university classroom. While the use of computers, on-line data bases, video networking, etc. will serve to greatly enhance the understanding and dissemination of information to the students, the instructor must not neglect a fundamental necessity for any class - the delivery system. This research focused on two of the common delivery methodologies utilized in higher education, the Socratic and Experiential delivery systems. The research hypothesis stated that there will be a significant difference in the perceptions of students when evaluating the Socratic and Experiential teaching delivery methodologies. Students, especially at the graduate level, will perceive the need to become more involved in their educational experience. Because of this students will be significantly more receptive to the Experiential than the Socratic methology. The null hypothesis stated that there will be no significant differences in the perceptions of students when evaluating the Socratic and Experiential teaching delivery system when evaluated at the a= .05 level of significance. The results revealed the students significantly preferred the Experiential methodology when compared to the Socratic approach. The data revealed that 82.5 % favored the Experiential methodology, while only 17.5 % favored the Socratic approach. While the results of the Chi Square tests supported the research hypothesis, it should not be assumed that the Socratic methodology is not a useful highly successful delivery system. However for these particular courses, which were highly behavioral in design and content, the Experiential approach, as perceived by the students was significantly favored over the Socratic method

A Pilot Study to Assess the Effects of Humor in Relationship to Teaching Effectiveness

In a 1968 work entitled, A Teacher is Many Things , Drs. Earl Pullias and James Young elaborated on the many qualities or roles often required by an instructor at the college/university level. A litany of these roles include qualities such as: guide, teacher, searcher, counsellor, creator, evaluator, knowledge . authority, emancipator, learner, facer of reality, and culminator, to name a few. Two of the roles mentioned in their book, storyteller and actor , might appear to be unnecessary, or even questionable in their suitability for such a list. How does storytelling and acting relate to being an effective teacher? According to Pullias and Young, storytelling provides the student with a sense of place and identity and the ability to discover ... how others have solved problems similar to their own, .. .learn to appreciate their own lives ... feel inferior ... superior ... be repelled or inspired (1968, p. 161). As an actor, the individual plays the role of a teacher, developing ways to carefully stage the learning moment for the class, a role the individual maintains throughout the time he/she is on stage before his/her students. Thus, the classroom professor assumes the role of an edutainer (Zemke, 1991). The professor functions both as an educator and entertainer on the learning stage

Plagiarism: Why Didn\u27t Anyone Tell Me...?

Plagiarism, the use of the work of another author without proper credit is prevalent throughout society. In some instances a double standard exists: in academia students and educators alike are severely censured if there is the slightest indication of plagiarism. But in other areas of society, the use of compensated ghostwriters is the accepted norm. How educators must explore this dichotomy with their students, and help them to internalize their own value system, is a topic of discussion in this paper. Along with the issue of intentional plagiarism, unintentional plagiarism, due primarily to the author\u27s lack of knowledge on how to document properly, is also covered by way of documentation guidelines. As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are provided with sufficient knowledge on the concept of plagiarism, and its correlation, proper documentation. By failing to provide this information we expose our students to possible lawsuits and embarrassment, as well as the possibility of the loss of a job or promotion