What to Change – How to Have Influence? Children’s Ideas About Exercising Power and Participating

Interest in children’s voice in society has been increasing gradually. This implies both the creation of new channels for participation, and also in the intensification of the research on children’s citizenship. This article asks what ideas twelve-year-old children have about using power and about their own opportunities of having influence in their schools. The study is based on qualitative questionnaires, in which the respondents were asked questions about how they would use power to make improvements in different spheres, starting from their classroom and ending up to the world.  The questionnaire also asked about their experience of agency in schools. According to the responses, the children’s suggestions for changes were focused on the physical environment. As to their class and school, it was the informal level of the school that was important. In the global level, the children wished that the world would be safe. As to their agency in school, they mainly depended on adults who organize students’ participation

Edistyskertomuksesta epävarmaan tulevaisuuteen

Kirjallisuusarvostel

Harrastuksesta ammatiksi: historian opettajaksi opiskelevien suhde historiaan

The growth of historical consciousness is a socio-cultural process on which the informal historical culture can have at least as strong an influence as the formal history education. Also the formation of professional historical consciousness can have strong informal starting points. The article analyses how prospective history teachers describe their relation to history, its starting points, and the forms in which they had been in touch with history. The analysis draws on essays written by 38 prospective history teachers. In their essays they reflected on how their own relation to history, or their historical consciousness, had developed in childhood and during school and university studies. The essays, which often were structured as narratives, were analysed according to the principles of the qualitative content analysis. The narratives indicate clearly that interest in history could derive from numerous sources, often long before the formal history education at school had began. There was also an obvious gap between the history out of school and inside the school, and another gap between school history and university studies.Artikkelissa tarkastellaan tulevien historianopettajien kuvauksia historiatietoisuutensa, historiasuhteensa, muotoutumisesta. Aineistona ovat 38 opiskelijan esseet aiheesta Minä ja historia. Niissä he analysoivat suhdettaan historiaan lapsuudesta aina yliopisto-opintoihin ja varhaiseen aikuisikäänsä sekä senhetkistä käsitystään historiasta. Esseet analysoitiin systemaattisesti laadullisen sisällön analyysin periaatteiden mukaisesti. Opiskelijoiden historiaelämäkerrat osoittavat historiaa koskevien kokemusten ja mielikuvien moninaisuuden ja myös erilaisten oppimiskokemusten ristiriitaisuuden

Nuevos y permanentes retos para la enseñanza de la historia, las ciencias sociales y la educación para la ciudadanía en la enseñanza obligatoria en Finlandia. Conclusión de recientes investigaciones

The article presents the main findings of studies carried out at the national and the international level, related to the teaching of History and Social Studies in compulsory education in Finland, and also shortly describes some considerations about these subjects’ curricula. The objectives for these two subjects, as well as the assessment criteria, in the present Curriculum for Elementary School have been designed for the development of cognitive competences since 2004. Furthermore, the purpose of these subjects is to contribute in the development of the students’ active and responsible role in society. Adolescents’ knowledge, their participation and attitudes related to citizenship, politics and society were investigated in two large scale international evaluations. Of interest is also the first national evaluation study (2012). Recent research provides contradictory messages about adolescents’ development. The cognitive development is at a good level, although the national assessment indicates problems in skills related to the learning of History and Social Studies.There are also new challenges that emerge from studies such as certain level of gender differences related to knowledge and attitudes. Finally, on the basis of this general overview, the article proposes some conclusions related to the teaching and the training of History and Social Studies teachers

Historiaa Koiramäen kautta: Miten lapset tulkitsevat mennyttä kuvakirjasta

This article examines how 8–13 -year-old children interpreted images of a picture-book that illustrates Finnish life in the past. More specifically, the article discusses how they judged and explained the veracity of the pictures. Furthermore, the study discusses some characteristics of children’s historical thinking. The data were collected in focus groups discussions on the basis of Mauri Kunnas’ Koiramäki books. Pupils typically thought that the illustrations were truthful, or pictured the past reality, but most of them had difficulties in explaining why they found the descriptions real.Artikkeli tarkastelee 813-vuotiaiden lasten tapaa tulkita menneisyyttä esittävän kuvakirjan kuvia, eli heidän tapaansa arvioida ja perustella kuvien totuudenmukaisuutta. Samalla artikkelissa selvitetään eräitä lasten historiallisen ajattelun piirteitä. Aineisto kerättiin Mauri Kunnaksen Koiramäki-kirjoja koskevien ryhmäkeskustelujen avulla. Tyypillisesti oppilaat pitivät kuvitusta totena tai mennyttä todellisuutta kuvaavana, mutta useimpien oli vaikea perustella käsityksiään

Valppaaksi kansalaiseksi : Yhteiskuntatiedollisen opetuksen taito ja teoria

Peer reviewe

Yhdeksäsluokkalainen monikielinen oppilas suomenkielisten käsitesanojen omaksujana

Arvioitu teos:Johanna Saario: Yhteiskuntaopin kieliympäristö ja käsitteet – toisella kielellä opiskelevan haasteet ja tarpeet. Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities 172. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopisto 2012. 290 s. ISBN 978-951-39-4626-5 (nid.), 978-951-39-4627-2 (pdf)

The utility of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers among in-service teachers

The purpose of the present study is to explore the utility of the compressed version of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers (MAIT-18) among in-service teachers. Knowledge of teachers’ awareness of metacognition is required to support students’ self-regulation, with the aim of establishing modern learning methods and life-long learning. The participants in this study were teachers (N = 145) from different sectors of vocational education. The data has been analysed using structural equation modelling. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated good / acceptable model fit and convergence of each factor. Moreover, alpha scores of the inventory signify that the inventory is internally consistent. These findings reveal the utility of the MAIT-18 in measuring the Metacognitive Awareness of in-service teachers. Now, that the utility of the inventory has been examined among in-service teachers, comparative studies between in-service teachers and teacher trainees as well as longitudinal studies are prospective. Keywords: In-service Teachers, Metacognitive Awareness, the MAIT, Vocational Education, Confirmatory Factor AnalysisPeer reviewe