Discussion of the role of Finnish school libraries in supporting learning focuses on the development work and further education provided by the Further Education Centre for Vocational Institutes and Administration in Finland. Highlights include school libraries in comprehensive schools and vocational institutes, resource-based learning, and…

Documents the differences in language acquisition and school achievement between Finnish- and Swedish-speaking students in Finland's comprehensive school systems. Discusses the need for language maintenance and enrichment measures in both out-of-school and in-school environments. (SR)

Presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of social interactions in computer-based learning environments. Explores technology use to support reciprocal understanding between teachers and students based on three technology-based learning environments in Finland and the United States, and discusses situated learning, cognitive apprenticeships,…

The numbers of students who teased and students who were teased and their characteristics were studied in two longitudinal studies in Finland involving 100 elementary school students and 119 secondary school students. Teasing was very common and students but not teachers, were aware of who was being teased and who did it. Influencing teasing in…

Studied the advantages and disadvantages of using multilevel models and the statistical program MLwiN in analyzing large-scale educational data with repeated measures. Used data from Finnish eighth graders in 1991 (n=1,123) and 1995 (n=1,113) to study the quality of school life over time. Results show the usefulness of the multilevel statistical…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether older age is associated with increasing loneliness in people aged 60 and over. Data came from TamELSA, a population-based prospective longitudinal study in Tampere, Finland. The followup time was 20 years. Loneliness was measured by a single question--"Do you feel lonely?"--with the…

According to biological indicators trends in young people's health appear favourable, but the psychosocial aspects suggest a different pattern. We studied the differences across schools in common health complaints and in three groups of factors behind them: pupils' individual characteristics, family related factors and school-related factors.…

Taking an approach to learning in the workplace as a phenomenon situated and accumulated in the course of work activities and everyday practice, the purpose of this study was to investigate how workers (development engineers and designers) themselves perceive the role of experience in work and learning. The empirical material consists of…

This paper examines geographical education for children under 13 years of age in Finland in the present situation, in which geography is taught as part of "Environmental and Natural Studies", the school subject integrating biology, geography, environmental studies, civics, physics and chemistry. In the content analysis of school…

Objective: To study associations between comorbid psychopathology and long-term outcomes in a large birth cohort sample from age 8 to early adulthood. Method: The sample included long-term outcome data on 2,556 Finnish boys born in 1981. The aim was to study the impact of early childhood psychopathology types (externalizing versus internalizing…

Recent approaches in the study of learning describe it as an interactive process. Learning is seen to take place in the participation framework, between the person and his or her environment, rather than in the individual mind. This study examined the construction and development of expertise as a situational and contextual process, with the…

Reports results from studies completed at Finnish Adult Education Centers. The first study examined effects of combining classroom teaching with distance education. Study two focused on using television to reach educational nonparticipants. The final study examined the offering of multiple levels of art education to allow students to advance…

The first day in secondary school of four groups of Finnish students entering seventh grade in two schools was analyzed in an ethnographic study focusing on initial encounters between students and teachers and how the construction, negotiation, and learning of the "profession" of being a pupil in a secondary school begins. (SLD)

Summarizes a 1997-98 pilot study that asked five Finnish teachers working with immigrant children to discuss problems of Russian-speaking students in Finnish classrooms. Russian-speaking students were also interviewed. Problem areas included social relationships, teacher and learner roles, the teaching/learning process, and parent/school…

FODEM (FOrmative DEvelopment Method) is a design method for developing digital learning environments for widely dispersed learning communities. These are communities in which the geographical distribution and density of learners is low when compared to the kind of learning communities in which there is a high distribution and density of learners…