This edited volume presents innovative current research in the field of Science Education. The chapter's deal with a wide variety of topics and research approaches, conducted in a range of contexts and settings. Together they make a strong contribution to knowledge on science teaching and learning. The book consists of selected presentations from…

Global, neo-liberalistic social and education policy has changed the working conditions and the working culture in universities. Enrolments have grown and the demands for efficiency have increased. This article analyses the manifestation of these changes in the everyday life of university teachers, particularly in their teaching. The data used for…

Craft education in Finland is, in many aspects, in a state of change. This concerns the independent position of craft as a school subject, the content of the compulsory craft courses containing textiles and technical work, the implementation of the new concept of a holistic craft process in the National Core Curriculum and so on. This bears…

This narrative inquiry aims to look at teacher-pupil relationships through teacher memories. When 49 university students of education were asked to write their memories of teachers, they told about their teachers in relation to pupils. The data were analysed thematically and, based on that, re-read through the concepts of body, caring and power in…

This article examines intercultural learning as a lifelong process. The data on which the article is based consist of 10 biographical interviews in which Finnish teachers were asked to talk about their lives from the perspective of intercultural learning. The analysis of the interviews showed that other people were involved in many of the…

Discusses the concept of democracy as a social contract between equal individuals. Argues that women's individuality is relative rather than absolute despite the formal equality of Western societies. Questions the neutral definition of pupils when students are socially, politically, or economically unequal. Explores child-centered education and…

This thesis describes a project to design a primary school physics learning environment which takes into account teachers' needs, design procedures, properties of the learning environment, and pupil learning outcomes. The project's design team has wide experience in research and development work in relation to science education, the use of ICT in…

This collection of papers examines the premises for changes to the curriculum and the manner in which those changes are reflected in the development of schools in Finland and England. The papers provide an intrinsic context for integrating language and content. The book begins with a foreword, "The Challenges of Curriculum Development and the…

A study in Finland investigated the relationship of two general aspects of student motivation for second language learning (preference for challenge and curiosity) and motivation specific to the learning situation. Subjects were 292 sixth-graders and 301 eighth-graders, who performed two open and two closed English vocabulary tasks in two…

This book provides a practical introduction to questions about bilingualism. It is for parents and teachers who are themselves bilingual, for monolinguals who want to know more, for those with some intuitive understanding of bilingual situations and for those who are starting from the very beginning. The book poses questions that people often ask…