Apuneuvoja tutkimusmenetelmien opiskeluun ja käyttöön

Kvantitatiiviset analyysimenetelmät ihmistieteissä, Matti Erätuuli, Jarkko Leino ja Pertti Yli-Luoma, Helsinki (1994

Konstruktivismista realismiin? ”radikaalin konstruktivistin” mietteitä Tapio Puolimatkan kirjan äärellä

”Näen oppimisen niin monitahoisena, monimutkaisena ja kontekstisidonnaisena ilmiönä, että sen ymmärtämiseen ei mikään teoria, koulukunta tai oppimisnäkemys yksinään riitä, vaan siihen tarvitaan useita näkökulmia”, kirjoittaa Päivi Tynjälä kirjoituksessaan, jossa hän kyseenalaistaa eräitä väittämiä Tapio Puolimatkan teoksessa ”Oppimisen teoria. Konstruktivismista realismiin” (Tammi 2002). Konstruktivismia on aiemmin analysoitu seikkaperäisemmin tässä lehdessä Reijo Miettisen palkitussa artikkelissa ”Konstruktivistinen oppimisnäkemys ja esineellinen toiminta” numerossa 4/2000. – Päivi Tynjälä kyseenalaistaa artikkelissaan eräitä väittämiä Tapio Puolimatkan teoksessa ”Oppimisen teoria. Konstruktivismista realismiin”

Professional Learning of Teachers in Ethiopia: Challenges and Implications for Reform

Abstract Continuous professional development of teachers is of growing interest globally, as it is considered vital to cope effectively with ongoing changes and to improve the quality of education. This qualitative case study explores potential and actual barriers that hinder teachers’ professional development in Ethiopian schools. Data was collected via interviews and focus group discussions from 37 purposively sampled participants. The study reveals three major challenges in teachers’ development: 1) conceptions and conceptual issues related to teaching, professional development and mentoring, 2) management and leadership, and 3) teachers’ work conditions. The need to reconsider educational change management strategies, reform teacher education, strengthen research-based practices, renew management and leadership culture, and improve teachers’ work conditions are thus found to be the areas identified as needing interventions

Educating IT Project Managers through Project-Based Learning: A Working-Life Perspective

This study discusses project-based learning and describes a course that is designed around these principles. The study also examines the working-life requirements of today’s IT project managers and assesses the potential of project-based learning in promoting the development of the necessary skills and knowledge for successful project management. The data were collected and combined from three different sources: Recent graduates (questionnaires, n=185) were asked to identify the most important skills they needed in their work; project managers (interviews, n=15) were asked their opinions of the contents and methods used when educating IT project managers; and students (interviews, n=58) were asked what they had learned during the project-based course. According to a comparative analysis of the three sets of data, the respondent groups were unanimous regarding two aspects of working-life requirements and learning outcomes: domain-specific knowledge and social skills. The graduates and the project managers saw these as vital in the work of IT professionals, and the students mentioned them as the most important learning outcomes. The findings suggest that project-based learning may provide students with a learning environment that prepares them well for their future working lives

Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector

This explorative study examined practices of competence modelling in the forest sector organisations and how organisations anticipate changes in competence needs in the future. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=10) were conducted amongst forest sector experts in Finland and data was analysed by thematic analysis. The findings showed that the practices of modelling competences were diverse, most frequently used ones being superior-subordinate review discussions and quantitative competence surveys. In addition to these formal systems, informal modelling, especially on the team level and in smaller companies was also frequent. Organisations used competence modelling for several human resources functions, such as appraisal, motivation and promotion of employees. Surprisingly hiring and compensation functions were not mentioned. Perceptions related to competence modelling were generally speaking positive. The most important challenges were the lack of further actions and sometimes the extraordinary burden to the employees. When anticipating the future, the experts interviewed mentioned several commonly recognised trends, e.g., development of information technology, fragmentation of working life and structural changes in labour markets. All these require more generic competences related to information processing and personal self-management, especially respondents highlighted the importance of self-awareness skills. It is concluded that several useful practices for competence modelling already exist and that present study provides a basis for further quantitative further study.Peer reviewe