Studied the meaning of symmetry of knowledge-based roles for knowledge construction and sharing in social interaction during the report writing phase of an experimental science learning project with four ninth grade students in Finland. Identified four patterns of interaction that differed in terms of their symmetry of knowledge-based roles and…

Analyzed the contexts of texts written by Swedish school chidlren in order to gain a picture of their experiences of school and then related those experiences to the democratic goals of integration and practices of selection and segregation that are occurring in Swedish school systems. Findings for 185 childrens' texts show the importance of…

Studied phonological processing in relation to academic achievement in the native and a second language in 66 12-to-13-year-old Finnish students at the end of their sixth school year. Findings are in agreement with findings from other studies, demonstrating a fairly strong relationship between language competencies and phonological processing.…

Administered three tests of intelligence and the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (Entwhistle, 1997) to 89 Norwegian undergraduates to study the relationships among intelligence, approaches of learning, and academic achievement. Findings support the construct validity of approaches to learning because of its independence from…

A study examined how culture influences Canadian Native student learning. Classroom observations, conversations, and student journals from 10 Aboriginal students in a Winnipeg high school social studies class identified five related themes: traditional Aboriginal approaches to learning, patterns of oral interaction, self-concept, curriculum…

A review of 154 research studies found that mathematics education reform contributed to higher student achievement only when there was substantial implementation of reform. The main obstacle to implementation was teacher beliefs about mathematics teaching. The best method for increasing implementation is sustained inservice teacher education that…

Examination of old and new vocational initiatives in Alberta suggests that educators and employers support new school-to-work programs (Tech Prep; Registered Apprenticeships; Careers, the Next Generation). However, these programs are hampered by mixed policy messages; the resilience of existing practices; and lack of provincial resources,…

A study examining Canadian involvement in postsecondary technical or vocational international education since the 1960s surveyed international education practitioners at 61 postsecondary institutions. Respondents felt that international education promoted economic growth in Canada and abroad and had positive effects on recipient nations. The shift…

A study examining causes of work avoidance interviewed 20 work-avoidant students in grades 6 and 7 from 3 schools in Newfoundland (Canada). Students withdrew effort because they were bored, as an expression of hostility toward the teacher, or because of feelings of helplessness. Implications for teacher practice and school policies are discussed.…

A study examining the relationship between gender and majoring in science surveyed 281 science and social science majors, 66 percent of whom were women, at a Canadian university. Women were less likely to major in science. High school preparation in mathematics and science accounted for over 40 percent of the effect of gender on majoring in…

Studied cross-national variances in the effect of education on ethnic prejudice using data from11 European countries with a total sample of 11,904 adults. Findings show that a country's democratic tradition and degree of religious heterogeneity are important for the strength of an educational effect on ethnic prejudice, while ethnic composition…

Two observations, one of a toddler mastering a skill and one of a group of children playing, show how imitation and variation are interwoven in the strategies for learning used by children. Imitation is an entrance into learning, and variation gives insight into the cognitive world of young children. (SLD)

Studied the development of the new Norwegian curriculum and the formulation of the subject syllabuses within broader related principles. Data from several sources, including interviews with educators and policy makers, show the tensions, conflicts, and achievements of the formation of the curriculum policy. Considers some implications for…

Discusses how the conceptual apparatus and modus operandi of games theory provides a research heuristic for understanding the strategic possibilities inherent in typical classroom situations in which the interests of students and teachers are partially concurrent and partly in conflict. Also discusses the preconditions for contracts between…

Developed a computer-based assessment of the use of beginning and end analogies based on clue syllables of five different syllable structures to examine the role of analogy in an orthographically regular language, Finnish. Results for 47 children suggest that, unlike the effect seen in English, reading in Finnish is based on single phoneme/letter…