The present study focuses on views of Finnish basic education students on open and flexible learning environments and the extent to which these views are associated with students' liking of school. The data were based on an online questionnaire containing both structured ratings and open-ended questions filled out by primary school students (n =…

In this article we examine the profiling of human rights and children's rights in religious education (RE) and its secular alternative in Finland. We use the term 'worldview education' to describe the combination of these subjects. We analyse what kinds of human rights and ethical issues are raised in Finnish worldview education. One specific…

Background: Most previous studies of teaching styles and reading skills have been cross-sectional. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the direction of effects. The present longitudinal study examined the degree to which differences in teaching styles in the third grade predict the sixth-grade reading performance. The consistency of the…

Difficulties with rational numbers have been explained by a natural number bias, where concepts of natural numbers are inappropriately applied to rational numbers. Overcoming this difficulty may require a radical restructuring of previous knowledge. In order to capture this development, we examined third- to fifth-grade students' understanding of…

Mathematics related affect turn from positive to negative during comprehensive school years worldwide. There is a clear need to find solutions to the problem. However, some gaps and problems appear in the methodologies and the common approaches used in the field. This article discusses five studies addressing affective development, challenges some…

The claim of whether music education can create social benefits in the school environment was tested in 10 Finnish schools with an extended music curricular class and control classes. The quality of school life (QSL) was assessed by a representative sample ("N" = 735) of pupils at years 3 and 6 (9- and 12-years-olds). The results showed…

The mothers and fathers (n?=?43) of third- and sixth-grade children were asked to assess their child's academic potential in comparison with the child's earlier competence and with that of her/his peers. In the interpersonal domain, the mothers' and fathers' perceptions of their child's academic potential were related to each other, especially in…

Although knowledge on the psychosocial (mal)adjustment of bully-victims, children who bully others and are victimised by others, has been increasing, the findings have been principally gained utilising a single method to identify bully-victims. The present study examined the psychosocial adjustment of bully-victims (as compared with pure bullies…

The effects of a kindergarten training program in phonological awareness with 209 Swedish-speaking children were followed up until the end of Grade 9. Initial levels of letter knowledge and phonological awareness were positively associated with the level of decoding skill in Grade 3 but not with its growth afterward. The intervention group…

This study set out to examine parents' perceptions of the malleability of their child's academic competencies. A total of 97 mothers and fathers were asked to rate their child's potential for improving her/his competencies in mathematics and Finnish, using both intrapersonal and interpersonal criteria in their ratings. These two criteria were…

The study examined children's and their parents' and teachers' perceptions of the malleability of the child's academic competencies. A total of 103 third- and sixth-graders and their parents and teachers were asked to rate how much the child could improve her/his competencies in mathematics and Finnish. The participants were asked to use…

Purpose: The present study set out to examine the grounds on which pupils explain their possibilities of improving their competencies in mathematics and Finnish. Sample: A total of 103 girls and boys of the third grade (age nine years) and the sixth grade (age 12 years), children of academically and vocationally educated parents, were interviewed.…

The eight contributions to this special issue provide an informative focus on many aspects of peer-based victimization in schools. Often using sophisticated quantitative and analytic procedures, they advance our knowledge in several important domains, pointing out important contextual variables, interactions, and mediating factors in the negative…

Purpose: This study set out to investigate pupils' evaluations of their academic abilities in different school subjects and their ratings of their potential for improving their performance in those school subjects. Sample: Twenty-eight pupils from the third grade (approximately age nine) and 30 pupils from the sixth grade (approximately age 12) in…

This study set out to examine children's notions of the malleability of their academic competencies and the relations of these notions to the child's grade-level and gender and the parent's educational level. In interviews of a total of 103 boys and girls of the third and the sixth grade, children of academically and vocationally educated parents…