The high value accorded to the research-based development of education in higher education communities means that researchers in the field have an important role in determining the foci of such efforts. However, it is important to ask whether higher education research is providing answers that satisfy practical educational needs. In this study,…

The concept of intercultural competences is contested, although it is omnipresent in varied fields of research and practice. Its assessment is also questioned: how can it be done? By whom? When? Should assessment be summative or formative-or both? In order to be able to assess anything, learning and teaching objectives must be clear, coherent, and…

This article examines whether age, work-related, and family-related predictors explain differences in the academic advancement of women and men in Iceland. Survey data were analyzed by binary logistic regression. The findings put that women climb the academic career ladder at a slower pace than men. This finding puts one of the widely known…

Research relationships are often poorly understood. Why are some collaborations between research partners more productive than others? This question was a starting point of this paper. By describing their own experiences over a period of three years, the authors evaluated research relationships through collaborative self-study. At the beginning,…

This position paper focuses on how the new national curriculum for school and the new general plan for teacher education in Norway change the underlying premises for teaching and learning in today's teacher education. This has become particularly pressing as a result of the new educational reform "Knowledge Promotion" in schools,…

In 2003, the Norwegian higher educational system was reformed. The reform, known as the 2003 Quality Reform, introduced changes in the teaching model and student assessment. The authors wished to study how these changes affected male and female students. Therefore, they addressed student learning outcomes, measured through examination results,…

Sustainable design issues are complex and multi-faceted and need integration in the education of young designers. Current research recommends a holistic view based on problem-solving and inter-disciplinary work, yet few design educators have brought these ideas to their full consequence. Sustainability education for designers is still often rooted…

Against the background of differing admission selectivity, structure, and status of teacher education in Denmark and Finland, we analyze the extent to which beginning teacher education students differ with respect to previous educational pathways, socio-demographic characteristics, academic self-concepts, and occupational motivations. In both…

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of regulation and processing strategies in understanding science text. A total of 91 student teachers answered open-ended questions concerning photosynthesis before and after reading either a traditional or a refutational science text. After this, they also answered parts of the Inventory of…

This study aims to investigate the science content remembered by biology students 6 and 12 months after an ecology excursion. The students' memories were tested during a stimulated recall interview. The authors identified three different types of memories: "recall," "recognition" and "narratives." The "dual…

The study examines how students see their time at university as part of life and identity construction. The research data are based on a questionnaire administered to Finnish-speaking undergraduates at the University of Jyvaskyla on the topic "How do you see your time as a student from the perspective of life construction?" A total of…

Within most educational systems, men and women tend to specialize in different fields of study. Comparing Austria and Finland, this article traces the extent and patterns of gender segregation within different educational levels between 1981 and 2005. Relying on official enrollment figures, a logarithmic index is used to measure overall and…

Sociology of education in Norway has traditionally been preoccupied with the classic problems related to education and the reproduction of social inequality. As the general social scientific and political focus on inequality decreased, the sociology of education also became less visible. At the same time, the sociology of youth evolved, and…

Nationally and internationally equity in education has become a key goal. In Norway, a White Paper has been tabled to address how equity can be improved through education. In this paper the pedagogic and knowledge orientation of the initiatives are analyzed and discussed in relation to two models of equity: "equity through equality" and "equity…

This study explores variation in postgraduate students' and supervisors' conceptions of research. Based on earlier work, a Conceptions of Research Inventory (CoRI) was trialled on a mixed sample of postgraduate students and supervisors (n = 251). Exploratory factor analyses of resultant data yields a five-dimensional empirical model, the…