Search results for "agency"

Toimijuus korkeakoulutettujen suomen oppijoiden visuaalisissa narratiiveissa

2018

This socioculturally informed study explores how highly educated Finnish language learners represent their agency in visual narratives. Learners (n=59) were asked to draw two pictures of themselves as Finnish language users and provide verbal interpretations of the drawings. The aim of using visual narratives is to reach aspects such as feelings and beliefs which might be difficult to express verbally. The data were analyzed first by using visual grammar set out by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) and secondly by content analysis. The findings suggest that learners saw Finnish language as a tool for oral communication. However, difficulties with speaking and listening appeared to restrict learn…

Vocational teachers' professional agency in the stream of change

2013

Characteristics of being hospitalized as a child with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes: a phenomenological study of children’s past and present exp…

2015

Background: Our understanding of children and childhood has changed over the last few decades, which may have an impact on children’s conditions in hospitals. Children’s rights have been strengthened by the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” and ward regulations. The aim of this Norwegian study was to identify potential characteristics of children's lived experience of being hospitalized diagnosed with type 1 diabetes today and from a retrospective view in the period 1950–1980, despite the many obvious external changes. Methods: This study presents a further analysis of data from two previous phenomenological studies. The first had a retrospective perspective, and the second assumed a …

Psychological contract profiles among permanent and temporary agency workers

2016

Purpose– Based on the psychological contract (PC) theory, the purpose of this paper is to identify PC profiles, differentiating between permanent and temporary agency workers (TAW). Moreover, the authors analyzed whether different profiles presented different levels of work engagement.Design/methodology/approach– A cross-sectional survey data analysis of 2,867 workers, of whom 1,046 were TAW, was analyzed using latent profile analyses.Findings– Four PC profiles were identified, which differed quantitatively in terms of the overall dimension levels (i.e. balanced, relational and transactional) for PC (i.e. content and fulfillment). ANCOVAs showed that the relational/balanced dominant and tra…

Teachers’ professional agency in a centralisation-decentralisation system and a hierarchical cultural context : the case of Hong Kong

2022

Teachers are frontline actors in actualising educational innovations. In some contexts, teachers’ professional agency is undervalued. This study investigated teachers’ agency and its related workplace affordances in Hong Kong, which features a centralised-decentralisation education governance system, and a hierarchical work culture. The study was based on 21 semi-structured interviews with teachers, and employed a deductive thematic analysis. Agency enactment was categorised into 1) pedagogical agency within classrooms, and 2) relational agency in the professional community. The factors contributing to workplace affordances were grouped as pertaining to 1) the collegial community, 2) school…

Groups as Persons? : A Suggestion for a Hegelian Turn

2017

Christian List and Philip Pettit have recently argued for a performative theory of personhood in which all agents who manage to perform in the space of obligations are taken as persons. Based on this account they claim that group agents are also persons. This theory has been challenged on the grounds of its historical accuracy, lack of political relevance, and contestability of the concept of personhood. This paper aims to take a new perspective on the debate by approaching it through the Hegelian idea of recognition. The claim is that recognition theory provides a multi-dimensional view of personhood that gives a clearer account of what is at stake with collective personhood. peerReviewed

Changes in Language Assessment Through the Lens of New Materialism

2022

AbstractIn this chapter, we analyze English tests that are part of two computerised assessment systems, the Finnish Matriculation Examination and the Danish National Tests. Language assessment is a fruitful field to explore from the perspective of materiality, to better understand what materialities exist in modern language tests and how students interact with such systems. Within the assessment and test-taking space, material objects exist that are imbued with political values and force test-takers to perform in specific ways. We explore what new materialism has to offer for interpreting current trends in language assessment and to what extent these perspectives allow for new insights to e…

Reflecting on Work Values with Young Unemployed Adults in Finland

2019

In this article, we explore the internal conversations about the work values of young unemployed adults in Finland. We draw on the theoretical concept of internal conversation by Margaret Archer in order to shift the focus from the individual work values to the interplay between subjective concerns and structural circumstances. The data consist of six group interviews conducted among 29 young unemployed adults. We argue that the internal conversations on work values of young unemployed adults constitute five significant concerns: self-realization and opportunity to contribute to society; sufficient income to live independently; social expectations; challenges of finding employment; and unsu…