Success in complex and holistic engineering practices requires more than problem-solving abilities and technical competencies. Engineering education must offer proficient technical competences and also train engineers to think and act ethically. A technical "engineering-like" focus and demand have made educators and students overlook the…

This article examines the perceptions of early-career, fixed-term researchers in Finnish universities towards changing careers. It maps out the reasons this group has considered the change and where they see themselves in five years. As a theoretical framework, a synthesisation of variables related to career change, created by Ryan, Healy, and…

This study explores the nature of reciprocal commitment in academic careers. The article is based on a survey conducted in autumn 2013 among fixed-term employees at eight major universities in Finland (N = 810). The analysis is focusing on researchers who have a doctoral degree and who are working on a fixed-term contract at their university (n =…

This activity report describes a sample unit (Effective Data Presentation) from a communication course prepared as part of an Intellectual Output within the BADGE Project, which was carried out by 12 partner universities from 10 countries during 3 academic years (2019-2022). The article first describes the results of a survey which show that…

This article explores the topic of diversity in the teaching workforce though the enactment of policy concentrating on teachers with dyslexia within the Further/Vocational Education and Training sectors of England and Finland. Two research projects from Finland and England focusing, respectively, on individual teachers' perspectives and managers'…

This qualitative research discusses a Finnish community music project aimed at school pupils with disabilities. The practices of this project define community music as community-driven, goal-oriented participatory music-making with a musician as a facilitator. Instead of the effects on pupils, this research investigates the project's impacts on…

This article explores how the university workers of two Finnish universities experienced the range of neoliberal policymaking and governance reforms implemented in the 2000s. These reforms include quality assurance, system of defined annual working hours, outcome-based salary system and work time allocation system. Our point of view regarding…

The article focuses on the effects of management-by-results from the perspective of the work motivation of university employees. The study is based on extensive survey data among employees at Finnish universities. According to the results, performance measurement is based on quantitative rather than qualitative measures, and the current…

This study focused on the phenomenon of success at work asking whether it would be possible to find factors from top workers' children and school experiences that would explain their later success. This study was a part of a larger research in which Finnish top workers, employees of the year, who have been selected as successful professionals of…

E-learning has constantly increased its importance in education. Both public and private organizations use it extensively. However, doubts have been expressed in regards to its effectiveness. These difficulties often have their origin in human-system interaction, thus there is the necessity to investigate interaction in e-learning. We approach…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of school staff on a nutrition health project implemented via an ICT-based learning environment in a secondary school (7th to 9th grades). Design/methodology/approach: The study was a part of the wider European Network for Health Promoting Schools programme (ENHPS; since 2008, Schools…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the factors of growth-oriented atmosphere in a Finnish polytechnic institution of higher education with categorical exploratory factor analysis, multidimensional scaling and Bayesian unsupervised model-based visualization. Design/methodology/approach: This study was designed to examine employee perceptions of…

Cross-national comparisons generally show large differences in life satisfaction of individuals within and between European countries. This paper addresses the question of whether and how job quality and working conditions contribute to the quality of life of employed populations in nine strategically selected EU countries: Finland, Sweden, the…

A case study of a tailor-made apprenticeship training program for experienced employees is presented. The existing and aspiring heads, managers, and experts in a single enterprise were offered apprenticeship training for special vocational qualification in engineering. The aim of the case study was to discover participants' views about age,…

This paper analyses and discusses different constraints on workplace learning, vocational development and formation of identity. We ask how the learning and development of vocational identities are related to the various learning constraints and restrictions present in the socio-cultural contexts of the workplace. The study utilizes 20 interviews…