The effect of first school years on mathematical skill profiles

This study investigated the effect of children’s first formal school years on mathematical skill profiles, measured by a variety of arithmetical skills and Spontaneous Focusing On Numerosity (SFON) tasks. By using person-centered approach the aim was to investigate whether the amount of formal schooling is associated with mathematical skills in the same way for all children, or, whether the associations differ according to the children’s mathematical skill profiles. Data was analyzed from 652 4–7-year-old children from four European countries with different school entrance ages. A person-centered approach with latent profile regression analyses on four-factor score variables identified six mathematical skill profiles with both qualitative and quantitative differences. The results revealed significant, but small effects of the amount of schooling on mathematical profiles when chronological age and country-specific school entrance age were controlled for. Educational implications of the findings emphasize regarding the heterogeneity in children’s mathematical skill profiles and the potentially different effects of starting formal schooling across different profiles

University teachers’ focus on students: Examining the relationships between visual attention, conceptions of teaching and pedagogical training

Teachers’ focus on their students’ learning is considered central in high-quality university teaching. This frontline research introduces a novel way to study how focusing on students’ learning can be found on the level of teachers’ visual noticing combined with verbal interpretations, i.e. their professional vision, when they observe teaching situations. A central question is also, whether professional vision skills are connected to teachers’ pedagogical education. Two short videos depicting teaching during a lecture, including different types of trigger events, were presented to teachers (N = 49), who were asked to think aloud while watching, and numerically evaluate the success of the teaching, to reveal their interpretation of the teaching situation. The results showed that pedagogically trained teachers paid more visual attention on the students and less on the teacher. Visual noticing of critical incidents preceded the formulation of accurate verbal interpretations. Noticing that the students were not active was connected to learning facilitating conceptions, which were further connected with corresponding numerical evaluation of the successfulness of teaching. Teachers who visually notice the important incidents during teaching can also formulate a more accurate verbal interpretation of the situation. Contrary to studies at lower levels of education, our study did not found evidence on the connection between teaching experience and professional vision. At the university level, pedagogical education seems to be a stronger predictor of professional vision

Psychological Adjustment of Expatriate Children in Cultural Transitions

The aim of the current study was to define the factorial structure of the psychological adjustment (PA) of Finnish expatriate children (EC) and to construct a model consisting of three child-level variables (age, school success, and attitude toward moving). Survey data concerning Finnish EC (N = 324) who had lived temporarily abroad were gathered from the EC's parents. The mean age of the children was 4.8 years in the expatriation context and 8.2 years in the repatriation context. PA was examined using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS). Survey data were subject to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). A hypothesized two-factor structure (physiological and affective factors) of PA was fitted for the sample using the CFA. A SEM of PA was presented, where the child-level explanatory variables were the age of the child, school success, and attitude toward moving. The main findings were the following: First, there is a two-factor structure of Finnish EC's PA with both physiological and affective factors. Second, a model of PA with three child-level variables (age, school success, and attitude toward moving) was constructed. The results contribute to the understanding of PA in general and EC's PA in particular. This study increases our understanding of EC's PA in unique and novel contexts of dual cultural transitions. This comprehension is important in an increasingly globalized world, especially in clinical and other support contexts, where professionals work for children's mental well-being

Seeing beyond variables: applying a person-centered approach to identifying regulation strategy profiles among Finnish preclinical medical and dental students

Background: High-quality learning during medical school and beyond requires appropriate study strategies and taking responsibility for one’s studies, thus self-regulation of one’s learning. In contrast to traditional studies focusing on a variable-centered approach, a person-centered approach to regulation strategies was utilized.       Methods: The participants were 162 Finnish medical and dental students who answered the regulation scale of the Inventory of Learning Styles at three measurement points. First, the functionality of the scale was analyzed in Finnish medical education context. Latent profile analyses were used to examine regulation strategy profiles. Last, the connections of these profiles with the study success were investigated.Results: The analyses yielded a three-factor solution, which was reliable across time. Four profiles of regulation strategies were identified and they were found to be connected to study success: Students with the lowest self-regulation and increasing lack of regulation performed worse than the other groups.Conclusion: The use of a person-centered approach along with variable-centered approach increases understanding of the complex nature of learning in higher education. Person-centered approach could be used as a tool for supporting student learning and to help early diagnosing of learning difficulties, since it enables individualization of students with different regulation strategy profiles

Modeling the developmental trajectories of rational number concept(s)

The present study focuses on the development of two sub-concepts necessary for a complete mathematical understanding of rational numbers, a) representations of the magnitudes of rational numbers and b) the density of rational numbers. While difficulties with rational number concepts have been seen in students&#39; of all ages, including educated adults, little is known about the developmental trajectories of the separate sub-concepts. We measured 10- to 12-year-old students&#39; conceptual knowledge of rational numbers at three time points over a one-year period and estimated models of their conceptual knowledge using latent variable mixture models. Knowledge of magnitude representations is necessary, but not sufficient, for knowledge of density concepts. A Latent Transition Analysis indicated that few students displayed sustained understanding of rational numbers, particularly concepts of density. Results confirm difficulties with rational number conceptual change and suggest that latent variable mixture models can be useful in documenting these processes.</p

Population- and individual-level dynamics of the intestinal microbiota of a small primate

Longitudinal sampling for intestinal microbiota in wild animals is difficult, leading to a lack of information on bacterial dynamics occurring in nature. We studied how the composition of microbiota communities changed temporally in free-ranging small primates, rufous mouse lemurs (Microcebus rufus). We marked and recaptured mouse lemurs during their mating season in Ranomafana National Park in southeastern mountainous rainforests of Madagascar for 2 years and determined the fecal microbiota compositions of these mouse lemurs with MiSeq sequencing. We collected 160 fecal samples from 71 animals and had two or more samples from 39 individuals. We found small, but statistically significant, effects of site and age on microbiota richness and diversity and effects of sex, year, and site on microbiota composition, while the within-year temporal trends were less clear. Within-host microbiota showed pervasive variation in intestinal bacterial community composition, especially during the second study year. We hypothesize that the biological properties of mouse lemurs, including their small body size and fast metabolism, may contribute to the temporal intraindividual-level variation, something that should be testable with more-extensive sampling regimes.Peer reviewe

Tilastollisen aineiston käsittelyn ja tulkinnan perusteita

Teos on toinen täydennetty ja uudistettu painos vuonna 2011 ilmestyneestä teoksesta. Aiempaan teokseen verrattuna tähän painokseen on lisätty erityisesti määrällisen tutkimuksen suunnitteluun, toteutukseen ja tulosten tulkinnan merkitystä korostavaa tarkastelua. Olemme myös lisänneet teokseen niin sanotun ”uuden tilastotieteen” esittämien tulkintojen innoittamana erilaisia analyysimenetelmiä ja lisätarkasteluja, kuten havaittujen tekijöiden efektikoon ja luottamusvälien tarkasteluun liittyvien analyysien lähtökohtien ja käytännön toteutusten esittely. Näiden avulla voidaan vahvistaa tutkimuksen otoksesta tutkimuksen populaatioon tehtävien tulkintojen luotettavuutta ja uskottavuutta. Tilastollisten perusmenetelmien lähtökohtien ja toteutuksen lisäksi kirjassa avataan määrällisen tutkimuksen yleistä kulkua aina tutkimuskysymysten asettamisesta, tiedonkeruun ja tutkimuksen tekoon liittyvien eettisten kysymyksiin asti. Pääpaino teoksessa on kuitenkin edelleen tilastollisten perusmenetelmien ja niihin liittyvien tulkintojen avaamisessa, kirja onkin edelleen suunnattu ennen kaikkea tilastollisten analyysien maailmaan ensiaskeleita ottaville, esimerkiksi kasvatustieteen ja yhteiskuntatieteen alan opiskelijoille. Tosin vuosien varrella olemme saaneet kuulla monilta vähän pidemmälle ehtineiltä jatko-opiskelijoilta ja tutkijoilta kirjan palvelleen heitäkin monessa suhteessa. Kirja on saatavissa myös painettuna versiona. Kirjaa myydään UTUshopissa

Muuttuuko isien vertaistuen tarve lapsen syntymän jälkeisinä vuosina? : Seurantatutkimus isien suhtautumisesta vertaistukeen ja vertaistuen kehittämiseen

This study examined Finnish nuclear and stepfamily fathers’ with small children and their attitudes towards peer support and development of father-to father discussion. We gathered the fathers’ self-reported answers when their children were one (n = 1069) and three years old (n = 720). The data for the current study were derived from the Steps to the Healthy Development and Well-being of Children follow-up study. Results from the Confirmatory factor analysis suggest that father-to-father discussion is important, especially for first-time fathers. Fathers with high socioeconomic status have less need to develop peer support during their children’s infant- to toddlerhood. Our results indicate that need of peer support and development of peer support is an important, but not permanent phenomenon that gradually decreases after children’s first years.Peer reviewe

Muuttuuko isien vertaistuen tarve lapsen syntymän jälkeisinä vuosina? Seurantatutkimus isien suhtautumisesta vertaistukeen ja vertaistuen kehittämiseen

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin ydin- ja uusperheiden isien asennoitumista vertaistukeen ja isien väliseen keskusteluun, lapsen syntymän jälkeisinä vuosina. Tutkimus on osa vuonna 2007 käynnistynyttä Hyvän kasvun avaimet -seurantatutkimusta, joka perustuu varsinaissuomalaisilta perheiltä kerättyyn tietoon (n = 1797). Tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään samojen isien antamiin vastauksiin perheen lapsen ollessa vuoden (n = 1069) ja kolmen vuoden (n = 720) ikäinen. Konfirmatoriseen faktorianalyysiin perustuva mallinnus ja tulokset osoittivat, että isien vertaistuen tarve on tärkeää isille, etenkin lapsen ollessa vuoden ikäinen, mutta kyseessä ei ole pysyvä ilmiö, sillä tulosten mukaan vertaistuen tarve laskee lapsen kolmanteen ikävuoteen mennessä. Lisäksi tulokset osoittivat, että korkeamman ammattiaseman omaavat isät kokivat vähemmän tarpeelliseksi uuden vertaistoiminnan kehittämisen.</p

Closeness, Conflict, and Culturally Inclusive Pedagogy: Finnish Pre- and In-service Early Education Teachers’ Perceptions

This study explored the factorial and concurrent validity of a scale developed for assessing teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in engaging with diversity in early childhood education settings. According to tests of measurement invariance, the conceptualization of the constructs varied to some extent between Finnish student teachers and qualified teachers. Qualified teachers reported, at the item level, higher confidence in engaging with diversity in mainstream early childhood classrooms than student teachers. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that for both groups, higher levels of reported confidence in planning and implementing inclusive teaching–learning interactions were related to a higher level of closeness during interactions with children. The evidence for concurrent validity may imply beneficial and reciprocal influences between teachers’ confidence in their professional competence and close teacher–child relationships. The implications of the study are discussed from the perspective of teacher training and professional development in the early childhood education context.</p