Many studies have been conducted about academics' approaches to teaching, professional development and perceived departmental culture, but their interconnectedness has been considered to a lesser extent. The research presented here examined these patterns comparatively by disciplinary fields and years of teaching experience. Three inventories were…

Universities of applied sciences in Finland are higher education institutions with emphasis on practical working life skills and strong links with working life. Students typically study in field-specific groups where they receive language and communication instruction alongside their professional courses. The development of language and…

The boundary work approach has been established as one of the main ways to study controversies in science. However, it has been proposed that it does not meet the power dynamics of the scientific field sufficiently. This article concentrates on the intertwining of boundary work and power. It combines the boundary work approach developed by Thomas…

In this article we explore aspects of a dynamic university mathematics department and focus on its undergraduate mathematics programmes. We propose that such a department is vital, exhibits a culture that is mutually supportive and that faculty, teaching assistants and their supervisors, administrative staff and students all work towards a set of…

This study focuses on aspects of the Changing Academic Profession survey of 2007-08 that describe the place of faculty in their institutions. The authors examine the following aspects of institutional life: (1) the faculty role in institutional governance; (2) who evaluates their teaching and research; (3) the locus of their loyalties as between…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out which factors contribute to the decisions of the students when they choose their place of study among the six psychology departments of the Universities in Finland. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved a survey questionnaire. Responses were received from 1,668 people. Findings: It was…

Provides a detailed look at Finland's efforts at internationalizing education. This article is based on interview-based research project at the University of Turku, Finland.(Author/VWL)

The study styles employed by a sample of Finnish university students were investigated. In the first study phase, 238 students described general study styles/approaches, using a questionnaire developed by Entwistle, which included 30 Likert-type items from the following dimensions: achievement orientation, reproducing orientation, meaning…

A catalogue in Finnish describes 80 research and 27 research and development (R&D) programs in the field of higher education that were completed or in progress in 1983-1984 in Finland. The introduction, abstract, titles of the research descriptions, and names of research institutes are translated into English. A brief review of higher…