It is aimed to compare the countries of South Korea, Finland and Canada, which are highly successful in PISA exam, and Turkey in terms of the transition system between educational levels. Document analysis method was used in the study. In the universe of the study, there are thirty-eight countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and…

In the light of the European Union's interest in creativity and innovation, this paper, drawing on data from the EU project Creative Little Scientists (2011-2014), explores the teaching and learning of science and creativity in Early Years education. The project's conceptual framework, developed from detailed analysis of relevant literatures,…

Since the first publication of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results in 2000, the Finnish education system has received much praise both in Finland and abroad. In recent years, Finland started to build up its own education export sector with the aim of…

Drawing on an analysis of education policies and qualitative research data, the impact of education reform on the roles of English primary headteachers and their Finnish counterparts is examined and compared. Global forces have resulted in similar policy trends in both countries but owing to contrasting cultural values and education traditions…

This study investigated whether infusing "causal" story elements into mathematical word problems improves student performance. In one experiment in the USA and a second in USA, Finland and Turkey, undergraduate elementary education majors worked word problems in three formats: 1) standard (minimal verbiage), 2) potential causation…

The article is a comparative analysis of the policy and practice of professional learning communities (PLCs) in primary schools in England and Finland. The concept of PLC has become a globally fashionable one and has been explicitly advocated in policy documents in both countries. Drawing from a database of qualitative semi-structured interviews…

This longitudinal study set out to examine, in the light of the parents' education and gender and the child's gender, the changes that occurred in the course of five years in parents' satisfaction with the functioning of their child's school. Academically and vocationally educated mothers and fathers (N = 391) were asked to indicate their…

A longitudinal, cross-cultural field study was made to determine boundary conditions under which the television violence/aggression relation obtains, to determine intervening variables, and to illuminate the process through which television violence relates to aggression. Children from first through fifth grades in the United States, Australia,…

Considers the problem of how to track a student's real progress in learning and evaluates the success of concept mapping in constructing a learning environment in a Finnish primary school. Highlights include the semiotic paradigm developed by Charles Sanders Peirce; and results of a longitudinal study. (Author/LRW)

Content analysis of 12 Finnish and 18 American primers for grades 3 through 6 published primarily during the 1980s examined story type, plot setting, protagonist's characteristics, dramatic tasks, portrayals of family structure and parental responsibility, and extrafamilial peer and adult relationships. Results suggest that a nation's cultural…

A 13-month study investigated phonological abilities and reading acquisition in six 7-year-old Finnish nonreaders. Results found gradual progress at the group level; however, analysis of the individual profiles indicated large interindividual variations in the rate of improvement and in the relationship between different phonological manipulation…

This study investigated and evaluated how and under what theoretical and practical conditions different pedagogical practices can succeed in real world school settings between teachers and students. The preliminary data included 36 primary school teachers from urban public schools in Helsinki, Finland. The study used two complementary methods:…

A sample of 74 Finnish children with mild learning disabilities and 57 controls were grouped into 5 subgroups (normal, general language, visuo-motor, general deficiency, naming) and followed from the third to the sixth grade. Results indicated that neuropsychological profiles were generally maintained, with changes related to progress in reading.…

Studied whether pubertal age affects reports of psychosomatic symptoms among 14- to 16-year-old girls. Considered whether differences in dating and alcohol use might be mediating factors in the relation between pubertal age and psychosomatic symptoms. Subjects were 935 Finnish eighth-grade pupils who completed questionnaires three times during a…

This report intends to fill the gap between the original document "Pre-School and Primary Education in the European Union" and the current state with the addition of the new Member States of Austria, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. The report is divided into two parts. Part 1, "General Organisation," contains: (1)…