Background: In this cross-national study, Spanish, Finnish, and Swedish middle and high school students' procedural flexibility was examined, with the specific intent of determining whether and how students' equation-solving accuracy and flexibility varied by country, age, and/or academic track. The 791 student participants were asked to solve…

This mixed methods study examines life purposes of Finnish adolescents (N = 843) at the end of their basic education. Purpose is understood as a long-term intention to accomplish something of meaning to the self, which also contributes to society. The research showed that, despite problem talk about adolescents' mental health, Finnish adolescents…

Principals (policy makers) have debated the progress in U.S. student performance for a half century or more. Informing these conversations, survey agents have administered seven million psychometrically linked tests in math and reading in 160 waves to national probability samples of selected cohorts born between 1954 and 2007. This study is the…

Objectives: This study aims to examine associations between changes in physical education, anxiety, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and muscular fitness (MF) in adolescents. Methods: Participants were Finnish students (baseline: n = 1,147; 11.27 [0.32] years). Data were collected over 4 years (2017-2021). CRF was assessed with the 20 m shuttle…

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…

Schools represent a central meeting place where societal inequalities are reproduced and questions of social justice become important. This study focuses on categorisations related to race, nationality, and gender in interactions in Finnish teaching environments, as well as teacher reflections on these situations. We discuss the implications of…

Youth with greater levels of narcissism face a wide array of difficulties in interactions with others. However, there exists a curious lack of research on their close relationships, such as friendships. In this study, we examined associations between narcissism and friendship features over time. Participants were 261 eighth and ninth graders (112…

The current experience sampling study examined the change in distinct daily positive and negative emotions of 136 students (aged 10-12) participating in the Flourishing Students program. Students completed smartphone-based questionnaires covering emotions, daily activities, and social context at eight semi-random intervals for six days. Using a…

Purpose: This paper aimed to examine moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels in physical education. Method: A review of reviews was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The screening process, data extraction, assessment of the risk of bias, and analysis of the…

We investigated the specificity of reading self-efficacy among second- to fifth-grade children in Finland (N = 1,327). Bandura (1997) theorized that efficacy beliefs can be assessed at different levels of specificity; however, empirical support for this view is scarce among young children. Efficacy beliefs targeting reading-related activities were…

Background: Fitness testing is a commonly applied learning and teaching practice implemented in both secondary and elementary school physical education (PE). Many teachers believe that by using a variety of different tests, they are able to provide students with feedback regarding their fitness status, and furthermore, increase students'…

As a result of educational reforms in many countries, including Finland, new or renovated comprehensive schools have increasingly begun to incorporate open and flexible designs and principles. Multipurpose and adaptable open learning spaces can provide children with amplified opportunities to be physically active during general education.…

Self-regulatory efficacy (SRE) among elementary school children is of interest because pupils' self-regulation capacities and SRE influence in managing learning situations. This study investigated variations in the four sources of SRE and how these variations were related to SRE, reading skills and arithmetic skills. The participants were 1284…

Digital fluency is a central 21st-century competence. Schools are responsible for ensuring that all students cultivate sophisticated sociodigital competences and mindsets needed for studying and collaborating through and around technology and overcoming digital challenges encountered. Although some schools have successfully integrated digital…

This study examined basic psychological need satisfactions for competence, autonomy, and social relatedness in physical education (PE) and their contributions to accelerometer-based in-class and total moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) across a one-year follow-up (T1). Participants were 523 students (girls 280, boys 243; mean age =…