Research results are collated and presented concerning the change in Finland from a binary system of education to a more unitary system, the "comprehensive school," involving a single primary school (grades one through nine) and a choice between vocational and senior secondary school (grades ten through twelve). The new system, being…

Audio-visual advances in virtual reality (VR) technology have given rise to innovative new ways to teach and learn. However, so far teaching and learning processes have been technologically driven as opposed to pedagogically led. This paper identifies the development of a pedagogical model and its application for teaching, studying and learning…

This volume constitutes an updating of a survey carried out five years ago concerning educational research policies in member states of the Council of Cultural Cooperation. Countries whose educational research policies are assessed include Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. For…

This qualitative case study describes a portfolio program in the teaching of English as a foreign language in two Finnish upper secondary schools. Approximately 100 students participated in the portfolio program, whose topic area was culture. First, the purpose of this action research was to try out and develop portfolios in foreign language…

The publication is the third of a series of four volumes on educational innovation and deals with change at the school level. Case studies are presented on deliberate educational innovations in five secondary schools: Contesthorpe College, United Kindgom; the Experimental Gymnasium, Norway; Thornlea School, Canada; Rodovre School, Denmark; and…

This document reports a study that examined implementation processes for new workplace practices--nonterritorial offices--in five international organizations in four countries. The organizations are IBM and Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom; Digital Equipment's Natural Office in Sweden; SOL Cleaning Company headquarters in Finland; and…

Innovation, from high profile scientific discoveries to lower profile changes in processes or practices, is crucial to Australia's economic development. However, its impact on the wider community is usually relatively small. Promotion of innovation across all sectors is required to produce the biggest changes. This report focuses on the roles of…

Two case studies from a Finnish university examined how innovative student teaching practicums and their contexts would affect student teachers' professional knowledge. Data from interviews with students, student reports, and student narratives indicated that the experience made them critically examine their often tacit assumptions and restructure…

The Finnish Minister of Education and Science discusses what national authorities in most contexts expect of higher education, with some attention given to the Finnish context. Issues examined include innovation, expansion of educational opportunity, demands for educational quality and relevance, research priorities and quality, responsibility for…

Ways that university-industry networks begin and then operate are discussed, based on 14 country reports. The various types of collaborative networks are considered, with particular focus on networks and industrial development. New forms of university-industry relations are also categorized by the function that they are intended to fulfill:…

The "folkehojskoler," innovative Scandinavian secondary schools based on radical humanistic ideas, are examined from both empirical and philosophical perspectives, focusing on three elements: ideology; the student experience; and the teaching culture. Implications for goals, objectives, assumptions, forms, and practices in American…

A 5-year project conducted in three comprehensive schools in a small community near Helsinki, Finland, was designed to integrate new information technology into the curriculum and to assist teachers in changing traditional instructional practices. General goals of the project were: (1) to make the knowledge and learning process more active; (2) to…

Fourteen papers from six countries are included in this volume. Several have been translated from French or German. The papers are grouped as follows: (1) Creativity and Language Learning: "Creativity, Brain, and Language" (M. Bergstrom) and "Creativity and Interactional Competence in Foreign Language Learning" (E. Oksaar); (2)…

This publication deals with two broad issues: (1) selection, equality, and reproduction of social hierarchies in higher education, and (2) development policies and the assessment of their effect on higher education. It contains the following 10 papers: "Ambitious Goals--Small Changes? On the Structure of Student Population in Finland in the…

Eight papers presented at an international symposium on teacher education research are featured in this document. Excerpts from the opening speech by Erkki A. Niskanen, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Helsinki, outline research projects being carried out by teacher educators at the university. A paper by Yrjo Engestrom,…