Motivational sources of practical nursing students at risk of dropping out from vocational education and training

The aim of this study was to contribute to the understanding of the reasons for low or high academic motivation among practical nursing students at risk of dropping out from vocational education and training. The research data consisted of semi-structured interviews with 14 Finnish students, which were analysed by qualitative content analysis. The analysis identified six motivational sources. Two of these sources – Responsible agency and Completing out of necessity – were related to engagement in studying, whereas two other sources – Exhaustion from learning challenges and Tight-roping between competing responsibilities – were related to disengagement from studying. Emotional drive and Soci…

The effect of writing modality on recollection in children and adolescents

We set out to assess the extent to which writing modality affects recollection in children and adolescents. We examined 10- to 11-year-old children’s (N = 63) and 16-year-old adolescents’ (N = 43) handwriting, keyboarding with a laptop computer and keyboarding with a touchscreen tablet computer or mobile phone in a within-subjects experimental design. Participants were instructed to write down stories dictated to them in the three writing modalities. Recollection of the stories was assessed using free recall of details in the stories. The results indicate that the writing modality affects recollection, handwriting leading to better recollection. However, currently, digital writing tools are…

Do fatty acids help in overcoming reading difficulties? A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and carnosine supplementation on children with dyslexia.

Background  There are claims that dietary supplementation of unsaturated fatty acids could help children with dyslexia to overcome their reading problems. However, these claims have not yet been empirically tested. Methods  This study was designed to test whether dietary supplementation was superior to placebo in treating reading, spelling or other reading-related skills of children with dyslexia. The experimental group (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, n = 30) ate dietary supplements and the control group (placebo, n = 31) placebos during the 90-day treatment period. The supplements contained omega-3 fatty acid (ethyl-EPA, 500 mg/day) and carnosine (400 mg/day). The groups were matched for read…

Lukioppilaiden opetus integroitua erityisopetusta tavoiteltaessa Jyväskylässä 1997-2001

Boosting Reading Fluency: An intervention case study at subword level

This study is an intervention case study of fluency in Finnish‐speaking children with dyslexia. Two 7‐year‐old children, a girl and a boy, were selected from the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. The intervention emphasised syllables as reading units, and proceeded from reading syllables to reading words and text. Letter knowledge, reading skills (syllables, words, pseudowords, and text reading), and syllable segmentation of words were measured before, immediately after, and three months after the intervention. The results showed that the intervention mainly affected fluency at the syllable level. The girl also showed some improvements in fluency (accuracy, speed) at the word and te…

Nuorten lukemisvaikeudet ja lukemiseen yhteydessä olevat tekijät kielessämme

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin suomenkielisten nuorten lukutaitoa ja sen taustalla olevia kognitiivisia tekijöitä. Artikkeli on ilmestynyt lehdessä Scientific Studies of Reading otsikolla ”The nature of and factors related to reading difficulties among adolescents in a transparent orthography”. Tutkimuksessa verrattiin sanojen, pseudosanojen (merkityksettömien sanojen) ja tekstin lukemisen nopeutta ja tarkkuutta sekä nopean sarjallisen nimeämisen ja fonologisen prosessoinnin yhteyttä lukemisvaikeuksisten ja tyypillisesti lukevien nuorten ryhmissä. Nuorten lukemisvaikeudet näkyivät ensisijaisesti hitaana lukemisena. Lukemistarkkuus oli ongelma aikapaineistetussa pseudosanojen lukemistehtävässä.…

The Nature of and Factors Related to Reading Difficulties Among Adolescents in a Transparent Orthography

We examined the nature of and factors related to adolescents’ reading difficulties in a highly transparent orthography. We compared word, pseudoword, and text reading speed and accuracy, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological processing between poor readers (n = 80) and normally developing readers (n = 189). Reading problems were manifested in reading speed and in timed pseudoword reading accuracy. RAN predicted speed, and phonological processing predicted accuracy of reading in both groups. Among poor readers, RAN also explained reading accuracy. For the normally developing sample, phonological processing also predicted reading speed.

Sujuvaksi lukijaksi : lukemisvaikeuksien arvioinnista kohti näyttöön perustuvia interventioita

Oppimisvaikeuksien, motivaation ja oppijaminäkäsityksen merkitys ammatillisista opinnoista valmistumisessa

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, missä määrin oppimisvaikeuksien vaikutus ammatillisesta koulutuksesta valmistumiseen on yhteydessä motivaatioon ja millaisia käsityksiä heikosti opiskeluun motivoituneilla opiskelijoilla on itsestään opiskelijana. Tutkimus koostui määrällisestä kyselytutkimuksesta ja laadullisesta haastattelututkimuksesta, joista määrälliseen osuuteen osallistui 554 ja laadulliseen osuuteen 44 ammattiopiston opiskelijaa. Tulokset osoittivat, että ne opiskelijat, joilla oli oppimisvaikeuksia mutta tyypillinen motivaation, valmistuivat pääosin tavoiteajassa. Sen sijaan niiden, joilla oli sekä heikko motivaatio että oppimisvaikeuksia, valmistumatta jääminen oli tilastol…