Emotional intelligence (EI) and the motivations behind choosing a teaching career are recognized as important factors in teacher education research. In this study, we aimed to explore the EI profiles of students at the beginning of their initial teacher education and the associations of EI profiles with these students' motivations for choosing…

Research suggests that the reported increase in student mental health issues such as study burnout might be related to students' identity problems and their motivations for undertaking higher education. The present study added to this line of research by investigating the associations between identity profiles, motives for attending university and…

Based on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore…

This study investigates how self-efficacy and motivation predict students' science literacy and career expectations above and beyond their socioeconomic status. A structural equation model built on self-determination theory and self-efficacy was examined using PISA 2015 data from Finland and Japan. The study sample is 5882 and 6647 15-year-old…

Sustaining the attractiveness of the teaching profession to recruit committed students to teacher education is a global policy issue. However, in many parts of the world, the teaching profession has become less attractive. Also in Finland, where teacher education has traditionally been highly attractive, several programmes have recently suffered…

This study explores the effects of gendered inquiry-based learning (IBL) practices on other science learning experiences and motivations including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) career aspirations. For this, PISA 2015 data representing the Finnish 15-year-old student population has been selected and analyzed by multiple…

As technology has enabled people across the world to collaborate and create virtual communities, the ability to interact in computer-mediated, cross-cultural environments in a meaningful way has become a necessity. This is particularly true for younger adults who operate in virtual teams during their studies, for instance in virtual exchange…

This research investigates university students' success in their first programming course (CS1) in relation to their motivation, mathematical ability, programming self-efficacy, and initial goal setting. To our knowledge, these constructs have not been measured in a single study before in the Finnish context. The selection of the constructs is in…

In their recently renamed theory, situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT), Eccles and Wigfield (2020) emphasized the importance of situations in influencing individuals' motivational beliefs and academic choices. Adopting a novel approach--network analysis--this study aimed to examine how situations may impact the associations among expectancies,…

In all years of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in primary mathematics education, Finland ranked in the lower places (44-61) in the dispersion index (the difference in scores between the 95th percentile and the 5th percentile), while Israel ranked in the upper places (1-3) in the same index. In the last PISA test, Israel…

Mathematics teachers' beliefs are central to mathematics teaching and student learning. Because different aspects of motivation and affect--particularly enjoyment--primarily develop within the classroom context, examining how different teachers' beliefs may affect student outcomes in mathematics is imperative. The current study examines teachers'…

Formative assessment has been long emphasised as a powerful means for enhancing science learning. However, there is still a lack of research to investigate the impacts of formative assessment on both students' motivational beliefs and behaviours in science learning. This study examined such impacts using data from six Western and six East Asian…

Multidisciplinary education is being increasingly introduced into many countries' curricula. In Finland, the national curriculum of 2014 made multidisciplinary education mandatory in basic education. This case study investigates how history teaching is perceived and implemented within a multidisciplinary module in a Finnish primary school. Data…

This case study examined student teachers' (n = 5) leadership development in a Finnish class teacher education program. The study focused on identifying the student teachers' individual approaches to leadership development and examining how they developed their leadership during teacher education, including their reflections on the achieved…

The outcomes of studies on the effectiveness of special education (SE) remain unclear. There are only a few studies on the effects of SE that have used advanced methodology to minimise the influence of potential selection bias. This study examined the plausible effects of SE on students' affective and motivational outcomes using a…