0000000000887680
AUTHOR
Christina Nygren-landgärds
Teachers’ perceptions of autonomy in the tensions between a subject focus and a cross-curricular school profile: A case study of a Finnish upper secondary school
AbstractRecent research has indicated global trends of decreasing teacher autonomy and increasing teacher accountability. Standardised national tests have been identified as one of many factors constraining teacher autonomy. Another trend influencing teachers’ scope of action is the profiling and branding of schools that compete for students. This qualitative case study concerns the general upper secondary level in Finland, the only level of education in the country with a high-stakes final examination—the matriculation exam. The upper secondary level is generally regarded as Finland’s most subject-focused level of education. In contrast to this subject-focused tradition, the case school fo…
Quality culture at Nordic universities
This study aimed to investigate common features and ways of understanding quality culture (QC) within higher education institutions (HEIs) in Nordic countries. While the concept of QC is commonly accepted and often used, its meaning is not always clear. This paper focuses on how Nordic universities frame QC in their internal documentation. The Nordic context was chosen due to the close cooperation on quality issues that characterise HEIs within the Nordic region. The discussion section of this paper outlines QC in relation to quality assurance (QA) among HEIs within the European and Nordic regions. Sixteen universities participated in the study by sharing documents describing their QCs. The…
Forskning på bredden av vetenskapsområdet
De flesta skolämnen har på universitetsnivån en moderdisciplin som värnar om forskningen i ämnets substansfrågor. Slöjd är ett skolämne som saknar en motsvarande moderdisciplin. Till exempel i Finland är slöjd ett eget vetenskapsområde, men placerat inom de pedagogiska vetenskaperna. Slöjd är dock ett mångfasetterat fenomen som behöver studeras i hela sin bredd för att utvecklas, inte enbart som ett skolämne. Syftet med denna artikel är att diskutera behovet av och utmaningar med forskning på bredden, d.v.s. forskning som tar fasta på både slöjdens kärna, den skapande processen och andra slöjdperspektiv. I artikeln diskuteras problematiken på ett teoretiskt allmänt plan. Den teoretiska dis…