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Social and emotional learning (SEL) is promoted by offering teachers’ SEL workshops worldwide. However, little is known about their short-term and long-term outcomes. We explored how teachers benefit from Lions Quest (Mitt Valg in Norwegian) training in the short and long term in Norway. The development of teachers was investigated by exploring their perceived importance and sense of competence in teaching SEL during an almost two-year period. The development of their students’ SEL was explored as well. Imputed values from the intervention group (n = 247) and the comparison group (n = 47) were used in analysing teachers’ short and long-term outcomes. Students’ intervention group consisted of 112 students and the comparison group consisted of 53 students. Data were collected from the teachers three times and from the students two times via Likert-scale questionnaires. The results indicated that the teachers felt to be more competent in teaching SEL after their Lions Quest (Mitt Valg) teacher training. This trend appeared to be continuing in the long run. Students’ SEL among the intervention group slightly increased whereas SEL among the comparison group decreased during their teachers' training. Lions Quest (Mitt Valg) intervention appeared to improve teachers’ sense of competence to teach SEL at school. In addition, findings showed that teachers were willing to implement LQ as part of their teaching.

Introduction The majority of adolescents engage with others online, and using social media is one of their top activities. However, there is little longitudinal evidence addressing whether active social media use is associated with study-related emotional exhaustion or delayed bedtime at the individual level of development during adolescence. Method A 6-year longitudinal survey study (N = 426, female, 65.7%) was conducted (2014-2019) in Finland when the participants were 13-19 years old. Utilizing a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model, this study focused specifically on longitudinal within-person effects. Results No clear patterns between increased active social media use, increased emotional exhaustion, and delayed bedtime were found; however, the associations varied across the years of adolescence: active social media use and delayed bedtime were only associated in early adolescence; active social media use and emotional exhaustion were associated in both middle and late adolescence. Conclusions Intraindividual relations between adolescents' reported active social media use, emotional exhaustion, and sleeping habits are small, inconsistent, and vary according to age. Therefore, future research should focus on additional longitudinal studies to examine the specific practices of social media use during the different developmental stages of at-risk individuals.

University students’ epistemic beliefs may have practical consequences for studying and success in higher education. Such beliefs constitute epistemic theories that may empirically manifest themselves as epistemic profiles. This study examined university students’ epistemic profiles and their relations to conceptions of learning, age, gender, discipline, and academic achievement. The participants were 1515 students from five faculties who completed questionnaires about epistemic beliefs, including a subsample who also completed a questionnaire that included conceptions of learning. We measured epistemic beliefs: reflective learning, collaborative knowledge-building, valuing metacognition, certain knowledge, and practical value. First, we analyzed structural validity by using confirmatory factor analysis. Second, we conducted latent profile analysis that revealed three epistemic profiles: Pragmatic (49%), reflective-collaborative (26%) and fact-oriented (25%). Then, we compared the conceptions of learning across the profiles as well as demographic information, credits, and grades. The profiles’ conceptions of learning varied: The reflective-collaborative group scored high on conception of learning named “construction of knowledge.” Its members were more likely to be females, teachers, and mature students, and they had the highest academic achievement. The fact-oriented group (mostly engineering/science students) scored highest on “intake of knowledge.” The pragmatic group scored highest on “use of knowledge:” During the second year, their academic achievement improved. In sum, the epistemic profiles were closely related to conceptions of learning and also associated with academic achievement.

The rise of modern socio-digital technologies has fundamentally changed the everyday environments in which young people communicate with each other and cultivate interests. To gain a more sophisticated understanding of this phenomenon, this study provides in-depth, qualitative insights into adolescents’ experiences of their socio-digital developmental ecologies. The 15 interview participants were recruited based on a previously conducted questionnaire. The semi-structured theme interview addressed the socio-digital aspects of the participants’ interest-driven behaviours and related networks with the aid of participant-generated egocentric maps. The data not only qualitatively enrich the picture on adolescents’ friendship- and interest-driven socio-digital participation but also provide new perspectives on the phenomena through the added network-layer of analysis. The youth seem to vary in their motivational profiles related to their participation and the potential relevant psychological background factors for this variation are considered. Educational implications of these results are discussed when it comes to effective student engagement and connected learning.

The aim of this study was to examine i) the prevalence of achievement goal orientation profiles among Finnish sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 419), ii) the stability and change in these profiles across the transition from elementary to lower secondary school, and iii) the profile differences in academic achievement (grades) and academic well-being (school engagement and school burnout). Using latent profile analysis, four goal orientation profiles were extracted: indifferent, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. Latent transition analysis confirmed that these profiles were stably identified over time. There was substantial stability in profiles: being assigned to the same group yielded the highest transition probabilities (0.63–0.75). Likely transitions were from success-oriented to indifferent and from indifferent to avoidance-oriented. Of those who transitioned, the majority moved from more to less favorable profiles. Students who stayed in the mastery-oriented group across the transition displayed the most adaptive pattern of motivation, academic achievement, and well-being. ISSN:1041-6080

This article examined digital learning engagement as the out-of-school learning component that reflects informally emerging socio-digital participation. The gap hypothesis proposes that students who prefer learning with digital technologies outside of school are less engaged in traditional school. This hypothesis was approached from the framework of connected learning, referring to the process of connecting self-regulated and interest-driven learning across formal and informal contexts. We tested this hypothesis with longitudinal data. It was of interest how digital engagement, operationalized as a general digital learning preference, wish for digital schoolwork, and their interaction, is related to traditional school engagement. This was examined both cross-sectionally in three time points and longitudinally across three years. The participants were 1,705 (43.7% female) 7th–9th graders (13-15 years old) from 27 schools in Helsinki, Finland. We explored the structure of correlations between latent constructs at each time point separately, and finally, to evaluate longitudinal relations between digital engagement and school engagement we specified latent cross-lagged panel models. The results indicate that students holding a stronger general digital learning preference experienced higher schoolwork engagement, both contemporaneously and over time, indicating successful connected learning. However, the results also showed support for the gap hypothesis: Students who preferred digital learning but did not have the chance to digitally engage at school, experienced a decrease in school engagement over time. The article shows that there is a need to examine the reciprocal interactive processes between the learners and their social ecologies inside and outside school more closely. This article examined digital learning engagement as the out-of-school learning component that reflects informally emerging socio-digital participation. The gap hypothesis proposes that students who prefer learning with digital technologies outside of school are less engaged in traditional school. This hypothesis was approached from the framework of connected learning, referring to the process of connecting self-regulated and interest-driven learning across formal and informal contexts. We tested this hypothesis with longitudinal data. It was of interest how digital engagement, operationalized as a general digital learning preference, wish for digital schoolwork, and their interaction, is related to traditional school engagement. This was examined both cross-sectionally in three time points and longitudinally across three years. The participants were 1,705 (43.7% female) 7th–9th graders (13-15 years old) from 27 schools in Helsinki, Finland. We explored the structure of correlations between latent constructs at each time point separately, and finally, to evaluate longitudinal relations between digital engagement and school engagement we specified latent cross-lagged panel models. The results indicate that students holding a stronger general digital learning preference experienced higher schoolwork engagement, both contemporaneously and over time, indicating successful connected learning. However, the results also showed support for the gap hypothesis: Students who preferred digital learning but did not have the chance to digitally engage at school, experienced a decrease in school engagement over time. The article shows that there is a need to examine the reciprocal interactive processes between the learners and their social ecologies inside and outside school more closely.

Prior extensive literature on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) has linked their use with psychosocial well-being. Facebook use has also been associated with different attributes of psychosocial well-being. However, the extant literature is inconclusive regarding the nature of the relationship shared by the different attributes of psychosocial well-being and Intensity of Facebook Use (IFU). Furthermore, the prior literature has also revealed inconsistent findings concerning this relationship. To address this gap, this study investigated the significant role of different attributes of psychosocial well-being associated with Facebook use, namely civic-political participation, satisfaction of life, bridging and bonding of social capital, and online sociability on IFU. A total of four cross-sectional surveys were undertaken with adolescent and young-adult Facebook users from India over a period of one year. The results suggest that online sociability was the strongest, and life satisfaction was a non-significant predictor of IFU of both adolescents and young adults across all four studies. The bonding and bridging of social capital was a significant predictor of the IFU of high social economic condition (SES) adolescents, unlike young adults. Furthermore, bridging was, but bonding of social capital was not, a significant predictor of the IFU of low SES adolescents.

Along with the rapid development of digital technology and the increasing proportion of knowledge work, work is becoming decreasingly defined by time and place, and more diverse in terms of both. As digital tools and multi-locational spaces become focal parts of human performance, the optimal use of these resources requires not only the ability to mechanically use them, but also the ability to develop useful behavioral strategies and practices related to them. In fact, modern work requires new kinds of skills from both employees and employers, and useful work practices need to be developed at both the individual and organizational level. This study presents a training program that aims to support well-being and productivity at multi-locational knowledge work by developing the participants’ awareness skills and behavioral strategies related to knowledge work, digital tools and physical spaces as well as by facilitating the development process in the participating organizations. Fifteen trainees from eight organizations attended the program and a larger sample of employees (n = 189) responded to the questionnaires. The approach of the study was design research, and we applied mixed methodology: ANOVAs and qualitative content analysis. This study shows the organizations’ and individuals’ diverse needs regarding using multi-locational spaces and digital tools. It concludes that individuals and organizations can benefit from training in the use of modern spaces and tools in ways that support productivity and well-being. From the theoretical and practical perspective, the study contributes to the current understanding of how to utilize multi-locational spaces and digital tools in ways that support the productivity and well-being of employees.

The focus of the current study was to examine teachers’ well-being in terms of work engagement and burnout by using a person-oriented approach. The participants (n = 149, 70.5% female) were subject-matter teachers from 22 schools from metropolitan Helsinki area in Finland. The first aim was to examine the kinds of profiles we can identify based on work burnout and engagement among teachers. The second aim was to study how the identified profiles differed in job-related demands and resources and personal resources in terms of resilience. Based on the demands-resources model, we expected to find profiles that differ in terms of key resources and demands. The sample was acquired as a convenience sample and the data was collected using online self-report questionnaires. The measures were work engagement, work burnout, work demands/resources (workload and control) and resilience as the personal resource. In addition, changes and effects of the economic circumstances were accounted for with two binary variables assessing the effect on class sizes and material resources. We identified two profiles among teachers: engaged (30%) and engaged-burnout (70%) profiles. We found that those in the engaged profile group had more job and personal resources, such as control and resilience, whereas those in the engaged-burnout profile group experienced more work demands, such as workload. ISSN:1664-1078

We explored doctoral students’ writing profiles using a person-centred approach. We also studied differences between profiles in terms of experienced well-being and perceptions of the learning environment. The participants of our study (n = 664) were PhD students from three faculties at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The Writing Process Questionnaire (Lonka et al. Journal of Writing Research, 5(3), 245-269 2014) was used to measure writing conceptions and problematic writing. Well-being was measured by MED NORD, adapted to the doctoral context (Lonka et al. Medical Teacher, 30, 72-79 2008; Stubb et al. Studies in Continuing Education, 33(1), 33–50 2011), and Perceptions of the learning environment, using specific items from Dahlin et al. Medical Education, 39, 594–604 (2005). PhD students with similar patterns of writing variables were identified through latent profile analysis (LPA). We conducted one-way ANOVAs to examine group differences with respect to well-being and perceptions of learning environment. We identified three writing profiles: Growth-Transforming (51%), Ambivalent (40%), and Fixed-Blocking (9%) groups. The Fixed-Blocking group reported a lack of interest the most often and also reported receiving the least feedback. The Growth-Transforming group was the most and the Fixed-Blocking group the least satisfied with their studies. It appeared that epistemic beliefs related to research writing were most decisive in differentiation among PhD students. Blocks were related to beliefs in innate ability. We concluded that although problems in writing are quite common, epistemic beliefs may be even more decisive in terms of successful research writing.

This study contributes to the research on the differences in young peoples' approaches to socio-digital participation (SDP). We first investigated the differences in SDP between three samples of Finnish students (i.e., elementary school 6th grade, n = 741; high school 1st year, n = 1317; higher education 1st year, n = 1232) and then looked at how these differences are associated with academic well-being. We used exploratory structural equation modeling to investigate the factor structure of SDP and further structural relations to study engagement and study burnout. Despite some differences between the three student cohorts regarding the factor structure of SDP, the same five dimensions of participation were identified in all of them: social networking oriented participation, knowledge-oriented participation, media-oriented participation, action gaming, and social gaming. In the high school sample also a sixth factor, blogging-oriented participation, differentiated from the knowledgeoriented dimension. Taken together, using digital technologies to communicate and maintain social networks (social networking), was consistently either related to lower study engagement or to higher study burnout. Playing of action and sports games (action gaming) was related in all samples either to lower engagement or higher cynicism. Using digital tools to gain and share knowledge (knowledge-oriented) was, in contrast, related to higher study engagement. The results demonstrate that students' digital activities reflect multiple dimensions that are differently related to academic well-being. This study sheds light on the complexity of young peoples' SDP orientations and their related outcomes such as socio-emotional and motivational functioning.

The positive psychology movement values good atmosphere and flourishing in the classroom. In order to do this, it is important to develop teachers’ social and emotional learning (SEL) as a part of expertise, because teachers are in key position to create supportive and engaging learning environment. Even though promoting SEL as a means to create a flourishing classroom is often recommended in the literature, there is not much multi-national evidence about the development of the teachers’ competencies associated with SEL. Previous research indicates that it is difficult to aid students to flourish without teachers having the necessary skills to scaffold them. Focusing merely on cognitive outcomes is not helping, but instead, we need to train the teachers to support autonomy, agency and self-efficacy in classrooms to build sustainable success and happiness among youth. The whole classroom culture should be developed to support positive encounters. This chapter describes studies on SEL interventions on teachers. The participants of the first study were Finnish teachers who attended to Gordon’s Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET) workshops, based on humanistic psychology. For assessing teachers’ development of SEL, a new method, Dealing with Challenging Interaction (DCI) was developed. DCI helps to capture the real-life challenging situations at teacher’s work in various settings. In all, after the TET intervention the teachers really started using the studied skills, and they were more likely to support their students’ autonomy and agency than the teachers in the comparison groups. The next step was to carry out global investigations about the Lions Quest teacher workshops. These studies revealed increased readiness to develop teachers’ SEL competencies worldwide. Finally, various SEL interventions in nine European countries were looked at. So far, using mixed-method approach in several countries has produced consistent results with satisfactory effect sizes. The research methods appear ecologically valid, yet generalizable in various cultures and contexts. In all, these studies demonstrated that teachers benefit from SEL training. Diverse interventions appeared to increase teachers’ readiness to implement SEL. Especially, teachers’ sense of competence in teaching SEL increased. As such, the purpose of this chapter is to present an intervention protocol, based on the SEL interventions described above that aims at enhancing teachers’ social and emotional learning. The final aim is to develop classroom cultures that promote flourishing in both teachers and students. The present research adds to both theoretical and practical understanding of teachers’ continuing professional development worldwide.

espanolIntroduccion: La tendencia global de los nuevos curriculos de muchos paises de la OCDE indica que las habilidades de interaccion social son cada vez mas importantes. Los educadores deben comenzar a fomentar el desarrollo de las competencias sociales de los alumnos, lo que requiere el desarrollo de sus propios conocimientos y habilidades. Este estudio investigo el posible cambio en el conocimiento de los docentes, su conocimiento aplicado y su percepcion de competencia durante los talleres Lions Quest (LQ). Para medir esto, los participantes res- pondieron a la encuesta de LQ. Metodo: Reunimos diez muestras de 2120 participantes en nueve paises. Del total de partici- pantes, 1206 docentes asistieron a los talleres LQ para docentes (grupo de intervencion). Los datos de comparacion se recopilaron de 914 docentes que no participaron en el LQ; se calcu- laron las puntuaciones de la suma media de las medidas de multiples items, y estas fueron utilizadas como variables en los analisis posteriores. Especificamos un diseno mixto multiva- riado en el que examinamos el efecto de la intervencion con respecto al cambio medio de las variables a traves del tiempo en los diferentes grupos. En cuanto a la muestra, exploramos las diferencias de medias intra-grupo entre las puntuaciones pre-test y pos-test y evaluamos los tamanos del efecto de la intervencion. Resultados: Los resultados indicaron que la intervencion tuvo un efecto positivo en los parti- cipantes en todas las muestras menos una, y que los docentes se beneficiaron de la formacion continua en aprendizaje social y emocional (ASE). Discusion y Conclusion: Los resultados del presente estudio indican que merece la pena in- cluso una intervencion de relativamente corto plazo y bajo coste en el ASE de los docentes. Un ASE adecuado permite afrontar mas facilmente los desafios dentro y fuera de la escuela, ahora y en el futuro, tanto para los docentes como para sus alumnos. EnglishIntroduction: The global trend of new curricula in many OECD countries indicates that so- cial interaction skills are becoming increasingly important. Educators need to start fostering the development of learners’ social competences, which requires development of their own knowledge and skills. This study investigated the possible change in teachers’ knowledge, their applied knowledge, and their sense of competence during the Lions Quest (LQ) work- shops. For us to measure this, the participants responded to the LQ inquiry. Method: We collected ten samples from 2120 participants in nine countries. Of all the partic- ipants, 1206 teachers attended the LQ teacher workshops (intervention group). Comparison data were collected from 914 teachers not participating in the LQ, and the mean sum scores from the multi-item measures were computed and used as variables in further analyses. We specified a multivariate mixed design, in which we examined the effect of the intervention with regard to mean change over time across groups in the variables. Sample-wise, we ex- plored the within-group mean differences between pre- and post-test scores and evaluated the effect sizes for the intervention. Results: The results indicated that the intervention had a positive effect on the participants across all samples apart from one, and that teachers benefitted from continuous training on social and emotional learning (SEL). Discussion and conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that even a relatively short-term, low-cost intervention in teachers’ SEL is worthwhile. Successful SEL enables teachers and their students to face challenges more easily, inside and outside school, now and in the future.

Facebook users practice different strategies for managing their online self-presentation. Among the different available techniques, untagging is the most popular and frequently utilized. However, literature on the subject has not examined the untagging practices among adolescent Facebook users. In addition to this, there is no current knowledge of the differences between adolescent Facebook users who do and do not untag photos. The present study addresses this gap through a cross-sectional survey that involved 380 adolescent Facebook users (aged 12-18 years). The current study examines these differences in terms of adolescents' demographic attributes, digital imaging accessibility, online regret experience and management of digital photos. The study findings suggest that older males, extroverts, and those who perceive online information to be public, have more experience of taking and sharing photos, spend more time taking photos, practice strict protection of photos, demonstrate a negative perception of cloud storage, and rarely keep backups, are likely to untag photos. In addition to this, sociability and time lapse, in terms of realizing regretful experiences, significantly predicted the tendency among adolescents to untag photos. The study concludes by identifying various theoretical and practical implications of these findings. Limited prior research on differences between those who do and do not untag photos.Prior literature has not studied the untagging practices among adolescent Facebook users.Cross-sectional survey that was organized with 380 adolescent Facebook users (aged 12-18) years).Adolescents differed in demographics, accessibility, regret experience and management of digital photos.Sociability and time lapse in realising regretted experience predicted the tendency to untag.

Background: Adolescence is a time of ongoing neural maturation and cognitive development, especially regarding executive functions. In the current study, age-related differences in the neural correlates of different executive functions were tracked by comparing three age groups consisting of adolescents and young adults. Methods: Brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 167 human participants (13- to 14-year-old middle adolescents, 16- to 17-year-old late adolescents and 20-to 24-year-old young adults; 80 female, 87 male) while they performed attention and working memory tasks. The tasks were designed to tap into four putative sub-processes of executive function: division of attention, inhibition of distractors, working memory, and attention switching. Results: Behaviorally, our results demonstrated superior task performance in older participants across all task types. When brain activity was examined, young adult participants demonstrated a greater degree of overlap between brain regions recruited by the different executive tasks than adolescent participants. Similarly, functional connectivity between frontoparietal cortical regions was less task specific in the young adult participants than in adolescent participants. Conclusions: Together, these results demonstrate that the similarity between different executive processes in terms of both neural recruitment and functional connectivity increases with age from middle adolescence to early adulthood, possibly contributing to age-related behavioral improvements in executive functioning. These developmental changes in brain recruitment may reflect a more homogenous morphological organization between process-specific neural networks, increased reliance on a more domain-general network involved in executive processing, or developmental changes in cognitive strategy.

Readiness to use digital technologies in meaningful ways is in the focus of national Finnish curricula, implemented in 2016. There is variance in how digitalization is proceeding in education. While many schools are even ahead of their time, there are stills schools that are behind. Because the main strength of the Finnish school system has been equal and free opportunities for all, we do not feel that it is acceptable that the degree of meaningful digitalization varies so much. In my latest book Phenomenal Learning from Finland [5] I discuss this issue from the point of view of developing minds and brains of Finnish youth and look at the situation also from the global perspective. PISA2015 results showed that Finnish youth, especially girls, were among the best (five) in the world in science, reading and mathematics. The interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) was, however, quite lowamong Finnish youth. We have a problem to attract new generations in STEM. I shall describe some innovations of Finnish science educators. School engagement and life satisfaction are quite good in Finland as compared to other high-achieving OECD countries. Our recent study showed that Helsinki area 6th graders really appreciated their class teachers and the teacher was the main source of their engagement at school [2]. The only aspect where the pupils found that the teacher could not help was supporting their digital engagement at school. We should bridge the gap that appears to grow between those competences developed at school and those that are required in life after school or outside schools. We should also promote digital engagement and STEM engagement at schools. Not all Finnish youth are smooth in using digital technologies. Less than half of those Finns who were born in 2000 and whom we have followed since they were 6th graders, showed some advanced technological skills. Those young people who were interested in technology, were the least likely to be engaged at school in general and expressed cynical attitudes towards education. Among these were those 25% who were active gamers and those 10-15% of youth who created something new by using digital technologies. In our latest study high school students and university freshmen (including engineering students) were showing quite similar profiles. The life of an active citizen calls for smooth using of ICT. In modern world, it is almost impossible to do even shopping or banking without being able to use advanced technologies. During the digital era, there is a need for many other broad-based competences that ICT skills, such as multiliteracy as well as socio-emotional and cultural competences. This keynote shall address the intensive reforms, both in research-based teacher education and at school that are going on in Finland. In addition to the new Finnish curricula, the latest developments in education, innovative pedagogical methods, technologies in education and new learning environments are going to be presented. For more information, see [1, 3, 4, 6]

Thesis work is the first important research where the PhD candidate has to take primary responsibility for their work. Sometimes it is forgotten, or at least not enough attention is paid to the fact, that for many PhD students it is also the first time they have to face such a complex, ultimately self-regulated learning task (Sachs, 2002, p.99) as thesis writing. But what do the protagonists think about it? There is a gap in the literature concerning studies that focus on PhD students’ writing conceptions as a main target. The aim of this study was to validate the structure of the Writing Process Questionnaire developed by Lonka and her colleagues (Lonka et al., 2014). To do this, we asked two groups of 631 Spanish and 431 Mexican PhD students to complete the questionnaire, and used Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) to assess the validity of a hypothesized 6-factor model, and to test its invariance across the two groups. The results confirmed the broad 6-factor structure of the questionnaire but indicated that the knowledge transforming sub-scale needed to be revised into a more specific knowledge creation factor. This modified structure generalized across both the Spanish and Mexican samples. We suggest that the revised structure for the knowledge transforming factor reflects the fact that these two groups of Spanish-speaking PhD students perceive the development of knowledge in writing as a solitary rather than a collaborative process. Our research provides evidence that the Writing Process Questionnaire is a reliable and generalizable measure, having shown strong invariance properties in the two populations studied. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Gaming experience has been suggested to lead to performance enhancements in a wide variety of working memory tasks. Previous studies have, however, mostly focused on adult expert gamers and have not included measurements of both behavioral performance and brain activity. In the current study, 167 adolescents and young adults (aged 13–24 years) with different amounts of gaming experience performed an n-back working memory task with vowels, with the sensory modality of the vowel stream switching between audition and vision at random intervals. We studied the relationship between self-reported daily gaming activity, working memory (n-back) task performance and related brain activity measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results revealed that the extent of daily gaming activity was related to enhancements in both performance accuracy and speed during the most demanding (2-back) level of the working memory task. This improved working memory performance was accompanied by enhanced recruitment of a fronto-parietal cortical network, especially the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, during the less demanding (1-back) level of the task, gaming was associated with decreased activity in the same cortical regions. Our results suggest that a greater degree of daily gaming experience is associated with better working memory functioning and task difficulty-dependent modulation in fronto-parietal brain activity already in adolescence and even when non-expert gamers are studied. The direction of causality within this association cannot be inferred with certainty due to the correlational nature of the current study. peerReviewed

Introduction Pursuing a PhD is always a highly inspiring and challenging journey. Earlier research on the doctoral experience has shown that while many students find their doctoral process rewarding, some face serious challenges including personal sacrifices, intervening life experiences, departmental problems, lack of support, difficulty in completing the dissertation, as well as a lack of funding (Appel & Dahlgren, 2003; Jairam & Kahl Jr., 2012; Protivnak & Foss, 2009; Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). For instance, Lee (2009) found that nursing students enrolled in doctoral studies perceived multiple responsibilities, financial issues, difficult relationships with faculty members or advisors ,as well as a lack of academic self-discipline and negative academic self-image as detracting factors in their study process. The challenges provided by doctoral studies are not necessarily negative; in fact, solving complex ill-defined problems can be seen as essential to creating new knowledge. At best, such challenges can be positive forces that encourage students to progress in their doctoral process. They may, however, also become stressors if adequate support is not given to the student. At worst, they can become insurmountable obstacles that lead to delays or even dropping out from doctoral studies. Some evidence shows that problems in doctoral studies often originate not from the research process itself but from the relation between the doctoral student and the scholarly community (Pyhalto, Stubb, & Lonka, 2009). For instance, doctoral students' experiences of social isolation from their scholarly communities, with respect to overlapping communities, groups of supervisor-students dyads, other senior researchers, or academics within and across departments, faculties, or institutions (Ali & Kohun, 2006; Lovitts, 2001), and mismatches between students' expectations and those of the community, have been suggested to cause withdrawal from doctoral studies (Golde, 2005; Hoskins & Goldberg, 2005; Tinto, 1993). Moreover, there is also evidence of doctoral students often experiencing reduced wellbeing and distress while pursuing their PhDs (Hyun, Quinn, Madon, & Lustig, 2006; Kurtz-Costes, Helmke, & Ulku-Steiner, 2006), and a remarkably high number of students, 30-50% or even more in different contexts and countries, decide to leave their studies (Golde, 2005; McAlpine & Norton, 2006). Previous studies on the doctoral experience have provided information about factors associated with students' persistence, time-to-the-doctorate, and attrition (Golde, 1998, 2005; Hoskins & Goldberg, 2005; Lovitts, 2001; Tinto, 1993; Wao & Onwuegbuzie, 2011). Moreover, there is an extensive body of literature on disengagement among undergraduate students (Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfeld, & Perry, 2011; Salanova, Schaufeli, Marti'nez, & Breso, 2010; Schmitt, Oswald, Friede, Imus, & Merritt, 2008; Schreiner, Noel, Anderson, & Cantwell, 2011) as well as among employees in work settings (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006; Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, & Bakker, 2002). However, little is known about what disengages (and ultimately withdraws) doctoral students from their studies and the kinds of episodes that are associated with disengagement. Accordingly, there is a need for a better understanding of the nature of the experiences that reduce doctoral student engagement during the doctoral process and the dynamics that contribute to disengagement. Analyzing these disengaging episodes will make it easier to identify the central developmental objectives in doctoral education. This may help to prevent the disengaging experiences that may be associated with delays and even students abandoning their doctoral studies. The present study focuses on exploring doctoral students' experiences of disengagement from the doctoral process in various environments within and outside academia. …

Entrance to university does not automatically lead to high academic engagement and success, and there may be individual differences in student engagement. In the present study, university students' (N = 668) academic engagement and disengagement profiles, and the differences between them in terms of academic achievement, were investigated. Students from introductory courses were classified by Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) into homogenous groups having similar patterns according to the following variables: study engagement, study-related exhaustion, lack of interest, lack of self-regulation, and uncertainty of one's career choice. Four groups of students were identified: engaged, disengaged, undecided, and alienated. Engaged students received the highest grades, with disengaged and undecided students performing most poorly. In addition, the profiles were related to the behavioral indicators of engagement (i.e., ECTS credits). Even after two years of studying, engaged students were performing better than disengaged students. The study's implications for both research and practice are discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of motivation and emotions in learning has been extensively studied in recent years; however, research on the role of the physical environment still remains scarce. This study examined the role of the physical environment in the learning process from the perspective of basic psychological needs. Although self-determination theory stresses the role of the social and cultural environment, as yet the role of the physical environment has been unexplored. The study focused on beginning chemistry university students’ (n=21) experiences in a chemistry laboratory. The data consisted of focus-group interviews and self-report questionnaires. The results indicate that the physical environment can support or thwart the fulfillment of the basic psychological needs. The usability and functionality of spaces and tools contributed to not just the fluency of the intellectual activity but also to the related emotional experience of oneself acting in a particular environment. The physical environment was a source of procedural facilitation: It complemented and challenged the students’ existing skills, contributing to their experiences of autonomy and competence. The everyday successes or struggles in the laboratory built on the students’ developing professional identity as well as their sense of belonging to the professional community. This study demonstrates that the design and functionality of the physical environment has a significant role in users’ intellectual and emotional functioning. It is essential to utilize psychological and pedagogical knowledge when designing or renovating work and learning environments in order to fully make use of the potential of physical environments as part of human performance.

PhD in the field of medicine is more common than in any other domain. Many medical doctors are driven towards PhD, but also students with other backgrounds (usually MSc) are conducting a PhD in medical schools. Higher education has invested a lot in developing generic and research competences. Still little is known about how PhD students themselves perceive the competence of future PhDs’. The aim of this study is to determine how medical PhD students perceive their future competences and whether there is a difference between MD PhD and MSc PhD students’ perceptions. Moreover this study examines students’ perceptions of their learning environment and their experienced well-being. The data were collected from 163 medical PhD students. The survey data consisted of Likert type statements, open-ended questions and background variables. PhD students' perceptions of acquired competences were content analysed. The connection between conducted degree and emphasised competences were analysed using cross tabulation and c² -test Perceptions of well-being and the learning environment were examined using descriptive statistics of scales. The results showed that PhD students considered a wide variety of competences to be central to future PhDs’. Their perception of their future competences consisted of scientific and generic competences. All students emphasised scientific competences over generic competences but MSc PhD students emphasised generic skills more than MD PhD students. PhD students’ perceptions of their well-being and the learning environment showed that PhD studies are a burdening and stressful process. However students also felt that they received feedback from the scientific community.

1. IntroductionSinging has been profoundly rooted in human culture from ancient times (Blacking, 1976; Cross, 2001; Mithen, 2006; Sepp, Ruokonen, & Ruismaki, 2014; Small, 1980). Although singing is a commonplace activity, not all people in Western societies sing, even when they would like to. Many report themselves to be tone deaf, which is often synonymous for "can't sing" (Sloboda, Wise, & Peretz, 2005). Both professional musicians and lay people often concur with the common folk psychology belief that the singing skill is an "on-off phenomenon": either you have it or you do not (see Abril, 2007; Knight, 2011; Richards & Durrant, 2003; Welch, 2001). As Wise and Sloboda (2008) argue, the field of music, including singing skills, is particularly susceptible to the talent explanation of success. Further, commonly used concepts such as tone dumb, monotone, uncertain singer, poor pitch singer, and onchi, in Japanese meaning "tone idiot", (Murao, 1994) refer to permanent singing disabilities. Additionally, most people who have not received vocal training believe that they are inaccurate singers (Dalla-Bella & Berkowska, 2009) and self-report to be tone deaf, which often, however, is not the case (see Cuddy, Balkwill, Peretz, & Holden, 2005; Pfordresher & Brown, 2007; Sloboda et al., 2005).Modern learning theories see learning as a process of participating in a culture and developing one's identity and attributions as a learner (e.g. Bruner, 1996; Wenger, 2003). Belief in innate fixed abilities is generally harmful (Dweck, 2008). If learning is reduced to an individual, innate ability (Schommer, 1990), a distorted picture forms of the potentiality of learning (see Vygotsky, 1978). For instance, if the ability to write in an academic style is seen as an on/off, innate characteristic, a writer would be less likely to revise his or her texts or develop him - or herself as an author - in other words, the development of writing skills may stop (Lonka, Chow, Keskinen, Hakkarainen, Sandstrom, & Pyhalto, 2014). Moreover, attitudes and expectations affect learning results, as the Pygmalion effect argues: teachers' expectations of their students' abilities have been shown to influence students' learning outcomes and student performance in school (see e.g. Jussim & Harber, 2005). Socio-cultural research has convincingly shown that learning and teaching form a multifaceted, deeply culturally rooted net where e.g. situated possibilities, motivation, received support, and conceptions of oneself as a learner play a role (Bruner, 1996).However, a fracture often occurs between learning conceptions based on modern learning sciences and learning conceptions in music. For instance, singing is not traditionally taught to those who do not "naturally" sing in tune, which may be related to the identity formation of a non-singer (e.g. Knight, 2011; Numminen, 2005; Whidden, 2009). An orientation towards the end product frequently comes at the expense of the process: the emphasis on sight-singing skills and performance in Western choirs has created a situation where many "ordinary" people feel threatened by the thought of solo auditioning in order to join in choral activity. In addition, conductors tend to expect their singers to already be good rather than accept the responsibility of teaching and developing them (Richards & Durrant, 2003). In the Finnish music education system, students of singing pedagogy practice their teaching skills with highly selected trainee students who have demonstrated their singing skills in an entrance test. Consequently, future singing teachers may not learn to work with beginners with no, or a minor, singing background. Traditionally, singing pedagogy is based on a teacher modelling-apprentice approach, which focuses on the student's ability to sing according to the teacher's or other models. This approach emphasizes behavioural aspects and overlooks motivation and self-efficacy (see Bandura, 1997). …

The implementation of new engaging learning environments also calls for an innovative organizational culture. Still, there is not much knowledge about the leadership practices that foster such culture. The aim of this study was to investigate, what kinds of leadership practices can be detected behind innovative school culture and how such practices are related to the ways of teaching and learning. As a result, a wide variety of new leadership practices in innovative school context were revealed. Particularly practices of shared leadership were present, but also elements of strategic leadership could be identified. Interestingly, the interactive leadership practices seemed to foster new kinds of collaborative knowledge practices in different levels of school activity, for example, varying forms of team work and co-operation. The results indicated that an innovative school culture consists of communal and collaborative practices which are guided by practices of shared leadership. It is important that we take in account the surrounding organization culture when designing future schools. We should also be aware of the possible contradiction between the existing organizational culture and intended new pedagogical settings by arranging a comprehensive and collaborative design process.

1. IntroductionLearning environments and learning organisations have in the recent years been faced with radical changes as new generations of students enter the old institutions. Both the physical facilities and the practices that the organizations entertain may be challenged (Faulkner & McLaughlin, 2012; Harrison & Hutton, 2014). Many of the newcomers belong to the socalled digital natives (Prensky, 2012) who use various digital applications and mobile devices as integrated parts in their everyday lives in different knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing activities. However, not much is known about the relationship between students' beliefs about knowledge - their epistemologies - and their perceptions of different learning environments.Learning always takes place in a context: it is not only a process of acquiring more knowledge, but rather, increasingly active participation in a culture (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Lonka, 2012). In higher education, as well, the ways students learn are embedded in the different dimension of the learning environment. This context is not only situational, but it relies on culturally and historically developed structures (Vygotsky, 1978). The cognitive development of human beings depends of on a certain kind of cultural environment for its realization (Tomasello, 1999).Bruner (1996) pointed out the power of culture in shaping human mind. Also the environments where learning takes place shape our intellectual efforts. Our activities are mediated by varying tools and artifacts (Hakkarainen, 2009). The physically distributed cognition and intelligence is supported and emergent along with technological innovations (Hakkarainen et al., 2013). Today, also technologies and social media mediate our forms of collaboration and learning even though we may not at all times be aware of it. Even when we are not using such aids ourselves, they inevitably change the ways of communication in the society. For example, many societal movements and revolutions have spread and been reinforced by Twitter, and innovations - areally and intellectually - are spread and mediated by these technological prostheses that we use in the ordering of things and in communication (see also Hakkarainen et ah, 2004).Learning environments consist of the practices of teaching, learning, and assessment (Biggs, 1996) as well as the physical learning environment. Biggs (1996) used the concept constructive alignment to describe an ideal educational enterprise in which students adopt approaches to learning allowing for a profound understanding of the learning material, and in which all aspects of the teaching, including the assessment systems, are aligned to, and support these approaches.Relationships between teaching and learning are not always simple. Rather, they are mediated by students' goals and strategies as well as situational factors. Lindblom-Ylanne & Lonka (1999) investigated this dynamic interplay between learners and the learning environment in a traditional educational setting by using Vermunt & Verloop's (1999) idea of frictions between learners and learning environment. A friction may be either constructive or destructive, the former promoting students' intellectual development, and the latter hindering it. Lindblom-Ylanne and Lonka (1999; 2001) found indications of destructive frictions when medical students, in their attempts to make sense of the learning environment and its requirements, were prone to adopting superficial learning strategies that were below their knowledge capacity. Their study showed that the best students of that time did not entertain very collaborative ideas of learning. Only later, Lonka et al. (2008) introduced the concept collaborative construction of knowledge, a perspective that had become a more common epistemological view among medical students. This standpoint was later confirmed in various domains, e.g. engineering (Heiskanen & Lonka, 2012). …

1. IntroductionCultural sensitivity is one of the quality criteria of programmes on social and emotional learning (SEL) (Collaborative of Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, 2002). When students with various cultural backgrounds enter the SEL workshop it is important that their experiences are beneficial so that they can anchor the outcomes of the workshop to their life. Hence, when adapting the SEL programme to a new country, local circumstances including values and customs should be taken into consideration. However, international SEL programmes are often registered trademark products including the requirement to obey predefined principles and goals so that they can be identified as the same programme. Thus, recommendations about cultural sensitivity might remain unfulfilled because of certain agreements between the implementer and the owner of the programme.Lions Quest (LQ) is a registered trademark SEL programme organized for teachers in 80 countries. More than 500,000 educators have been trained to implement the LQ programmes (Lions Clubs International, 2013a). When LQ is adopted in a new country, it is implemented through the local trainers and country directors who are trained and supported by the LQ headquarters. At a national level, trainers adjust the original LQ curricula to the local circumstances and conduct LQ teachers' workshops in their own country. Country directors, in turn, are responsible for organizing resources for marketing and financing. Thus, it depends to a large extent on these two groups what the course is like in a particular country. At present, the length of the teachers' workshop varies from one to three days depending on the country. In addition, the content of the teacher's manual varies from country to country.The current study is part of a larger evaluation project on the outcomes of LQ. To be able to compare them in different countries, it is essential first to compare the perceptions on LQ goals of these two key groups. Only if their perceived goals on LQ are similar in different countries can we compare the outcomes of the LQ training later on. In this study we investigated if the original goals of the multinational LQ programme differ from the perceived goals of the national LQ executors and whether there was variation internationally.1.1. Social and emotional learning (SEL) and substance abuse prevention behind the LQ programmeSocial and emotional learning (SEL), first introduced in 1994, is a conceptual framework including core components, namely self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making (Elias et al., 1997). According to Greenberg et al. (2003), the roots of the framework of SEL are found in young people's health promotion and prevention. The perceived ineffectiveness of diverse educ ational efforts on, for example, drug and alcohol prevention, spurred a meeting of school-based education researchers, teachers and advocates. They created a framework of SEL to address the underlying causes of problem behaviour rather than targeting a specific problem (Greenberg et al., 2003). Based on the foundation of the SEL framework, a new non - profit organization, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), was established, which works to advance both the science and evidence-based practice of SEL and strengthen the field and impact of SEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2013; Greenberg et al., 2003).SEL is based on the idea that learning can be improved by enhancing the relationships in the learning context (Elbertson, Brackett, & Weissberg, 2010). Two groups of theoretical models comprise the SEL framework (Payton et al., 2000). First, theoretical models of social and emotional learning consist of theories of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997), social and emotional competence promotion (Haggerty, Sherrod, Garmezy, & Rutter, 1994), the social developmental model (Hawkins, 1997), social information processing (Crick & Dodge, 1994), and self-management (Kanfer & Goldstein, 1991). …

'Learning environment’ usually refers to the social and pedagogical contexts in which learning occurs. However, physical learning environment and its relation to learning are often neglected. The present study explored the relationship between chemistry student perceptions of physical space, social space and mental space regarding learning. Qualitative data were collected among chemistry students by focus-group interviews (n=21). The data showed that the students’ experienced competence and sufficiency of guidance, through either social or physical modalities, were strongly related to their sense of safety. This, in turn, may affect cognitive resources available for learning, which should be addressed in pedagogical design.

Successful studying in Ph. D. education is a complex matter. Although Ph. D. students are a highly select group, some never finish. This paper explores the problems that doctoral candidates face during their doctoral studies as well as students' well-being in relation to their studying engagement. The study is part of a larger research project on doctoral education. Altogether 669 doctoral students from the Faculties of Arts, Medicine, and Behavioural Sciences responded to the survey. Doctoral students' perceptions of the problems they encountered during their studies varied. The problems reported were related to general working processes, domain-specific expertise, supervision, the scholarly community, and resources. Doctoral students' well-being and study engagement showed a clear relationship. More effective means are needed to foster students' ability to overcome problems encountered during their Ph. D. studies.

This study investigated what kinds of studying profiles could be identified in terms of achievement strategies (optimism, task avoidance) and experienced challenge-competence balance, and whether such profiles are related to students’ academic engagement or disengagement. The participants (n=785) were Finnish undergraduate students from University of Helsinki (teacher education, chemistry, theology, law) and Aalto university (engineering). Three profiles were identified by K-means cluster analysis: pessimistic, bored and optimistic . Pessimistic expressed the highest task avoidance and lowest optimism and competence. Optimistic reported the lowest task avoidance and highest optimism and competence. Bored experienced the lowest challenge as compared to both pessimistic and optimistic . ANOVAs revealed that optimistic expressed the highest engagement, whereas pessimistic were the most disengaged. Bored students’ problem appeared to be lack of interest rather than any other study problems.

Teachers benefit from social interaction skills, and studying such skills is often recommended. In the present study, we explored whether comprehensive school teachers of Finland participating in the three credit follow-up training learned to use social interaction skills during the intervention. The studied skills were based on Gordon's theory (2003). The participants were 20 teachers who attended the training, and 20 teachers not attending the training. The effects of the intervention on teachers were examined by using the DCI-instrument ( Talvio et al., 2012 ). Qualitative, theory-driven content analysis was used to classify the data. The statistical differences between the pre-test and post-test scores were examined with the Wilcoxon signed rank test. After the intervention, teachers who participated in the training used significantly more active listening skills and communicated in constructive ways. In the comparison group, no differences between pre- and post-tests were perceived. To conclude, the teachers’ course on social interaction skills appeared to achieve its goals, since the teachers learned to apply the studied skills during the intervention. This study adds to the development of continuing teacher training.