The context of higher education across the world currently presents evidence of university failures. These failures are evident in areas such as governance, financial and risk management, conduct of senior leaders and quality assurance issues surrounding international education. Having this in mind, the present paper argues the need to add a new…

In the present article, the context-dependency of student reasoning is studied in a context of optics. We investigated introductory students' explanations about the behavior of light when different light sources, namely a small light bulb and a laser, were used in otherwise identical task assignments. The data was gathered with the aid of pretest…

The aim of this study is to gain better understanding of the dynamics of the social support system adopted in teacher education and its significance for the student teachers' experienced well-being. The focus was on exploring the extent to which empowering "emotional," "informational" or "instrumental" support is…

In Finland, doctoral employment outside the academy has been increasing. Universities can no longer absorb the numbers in the doctoral labour force and research and development (R&D) policy emphasises the need for specialised research capacity in non-academic sectors; the highest academic degree is assumed to add value. However, the transition…

The aim of this paper was to gain an understanding of the views of a group of physical education teacher educators on the purpose(s) of school physical education and whether, how and why these views have changed over time. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with thirteen physical education teacher educators; a fourteenth…

This study explored the causes of student disengagement from their doctoral studies in the biological and environmental sciences. The data came from interviews of 40 doctoral students (male = 15, female = 25) and underwent qualitative analysis for content. Our results showed that doctoral studies provide multiple contexts for disengagement, such…

Higher education calls for reform, but deeper knowledge about the prerequisites for teaching development and pedagogical change is missing. In this study, 51 university teachers' experiences of supportive or constraining factors in teaching development were investigated in the context of Finland's multidisciplinary network. The findings reveal…

The aim of this qualitative study was to identify teachers' ways of experiencing their identity and development challenges as teachers in the social and professional context of university. Identity and development as a teacher were examined based on interviews and drawings of career paths collected from a group of university teachers representing…

This study examines the purposes for which leaders in universities use academic career systems. It focuses on the tenure track system which is new to Finland. Tenure track represents a newly established internal career path in a situation in which Finnish universities' organizational autonomy increased via new legislation from 2010. Drawing…

In this study we investigated the visions of 12 music teacher educators who teach pedagogical courses called instrumental pedagogy and classroom music pedagogy in three music academies in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The data were collected through individual, semi-structured qualitative interviews. Drawing on Hammerness' concept of "teachers'…

This article examines Finnish mathematics student teachers' epistemological beliefs concerning the nature of mathematics and the goals of mathematics teaching and learning solely in the beginning of their studies at university. A total of 18 students participated in a study consisting of a short questionnaire and interviews. The data was analyzed…

It has been indicated that teachers' emotions about climate change and their views on mitigation influence their instruction and students' engagement in mitigation actions. The aim of the study is to explore Finnish secondary geography teachers' emotions about the consequences of climate change, their strategies for coping with these emotions, and…

The use of seamless learning environments that have the potential to support lifelong learning anytime and anywhere has become a reality. In this sense, many educational institutions have started to consider introducing seamless learning environments into their programs. The aim of this study is to analyze how various educational university…

Student teacher learning is a key issue for further professional development. Literature on student teacher learning suggests that students learn about teaching and undergo professional transformation during their education. However, studies often focus on a certain time period and on how students should learn instead of how they actually do…

In order to address the requirements of future education in different fields of academic professional activity, a model called Academic Apprenticeship Education was initiated in Finland in 2009. The aim of this article is to analyse the development of expert networks in the context of a 1-year Academic Apprenticeship Education model in the field…