This review aims to explore the effects of placing children with special needs in inclusive educational settings, compared with segregated placement on measures of academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment. A secondary aim is to explore how different child or setting characteristics (gender, age, type and severity of special need, part- or…

The need to promote gender equality within and through education has been on the agenda in Europe for decades. Similarly, Finland has also evidenced a history of hundreds of projects and reports that have repeated the same aims, ideas and practical innovations for promoting equality, challenging educational segregation and providing girl-friendly…

This article approaches childhood as an emergent condition in which children, their caregivers and toys all take an active part and argues that the focus on toys opens important insights for studying processes of social reproduction and change. This is demonstrated by describing children's interactions with virtual pets that encourage children to…

As European universities embrace English as a means of increasing foreign enrollment, they find that change does not always come easily. They must decide how far they are willing to go in making that transformation. Some officials feel that too many universities have gone too far already. This article briefly describes language controversies at…

Several recent reports on the status of women in US academic institutions have recommended more generous family policies to encourage and retain more women among academic staffs. Many of the policies suggested are modelled on those that have been in effect in Nordic countries for decades. The status of women among Finnish and Swedish academic…

This article describes the history and current situation of popular music pedagogy in Finland. While popular music is widely accepted in the curriculum, there are differences in its application in the comprehensive schools and music institutions. Popular styles were first introduced into Finnish music education by secondary school music teachers;…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the transition from university to working life through different theoretical approaches. Inspired by Barnett the paper also asks: What is it to learn for an unknown future? According to Bartlett neither knowledge nor skills are sufficient to enable success in the contemporary world. What is…

Music education research today continues in well-worn paths. While it may be productive in quantity, it is not clear the degree to which it informs current music teacher education or has produced advances in teaching practice. Indeed, as some critics of university-based teacher education research have argued (e.g., Boyer 1990; Schwandt 2005), such…

Many of the current policy debates in Europe focus on what kind of "knowledge economy" or "knowledge society" would be best in the future if it is to combine both economic competitiveness and social cohesion. Should European economies move increasingly towards the so-called Anglo-Saxon model of flexible labour markets and high…

Educational issues in Finland and Sweden are addressed in the following papers: (1) "Teacher Training and the Official Teacher's Role" (Karl-Georg Ahlstrom and Maud Johnsson); (2) "Evaluation of Coercive Elements in Education" (Timo Airaksinen); (3) "Philosophy from the Viewpoint of Education" (Pertti Kansanen); (4)…

Three parties in the present Finnish educational debate are identified: those who argue that the government lacks a clear comprehensive view of educational policy; those who defend the results of social democratic policy; and those who argue for economic competitiveness as the main goal of education. (MLW)

Utilizes questionnaires to examine Carugati and Mugny's assertion that social representations of intelligence are organized both by social identity and unfamiliarity. Discovers a consensus concerning representations of intelligence organized by social identity. Includes a copy of the questionnaire, breakdown of the responses, and other statistical…

This illustrated publication, printed in both English and Finnish, describes Finland's libraries and information services. Topics covered include: (1) library users; (2) the conceptual role of the library; (3) the growth and development of the library system through Finland's agrarian, industrial, and budding infotech social phases; (4) the…

This paper explores the historical formation of the teaching profession in Scandinavia in the 19th and 20th centuries, with special reference to developments in Finland. It focuses on the process by which mass education has assigned teachers a crucial role in the initiation ceremonies characteristic of modern society in relation to changing models…

Holds that, in Canada, educational achievement inequalities are erroneously attributed to language disadvantage rather that to the power implications imposed on languages by social-psychological relationships. Examines several countries' experiences with bilingual education, and stresses that children should master their native language before…