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As a variety of commercial educational applications are currently being taken into daily use to provide technology-enhanced feedback, research is needed to observe whether pedagogical evidence of the impact of feedback on learning and well-being is being utilized. To this end, this study explores the connections between technology-enhanced feedback, motivation, competence and the relationship with teachers. A nationally representative sample of pupils undertaking Finnish basic education (N=2031) was analyzed using latent profile analysis. Seven patterns for receiving technology-enhanced feedback were identified. Most girls (80%) and boys (55%) belonged to groups receiving mainly positive feedback in the form of teacher praise, which was connected to the highest scores in all measured indicators. Although the results indicate teachers' efforts to encourage pupils through technology-enhanced feedback, we also identified profiles in which pupils (up to 30%) repeatedly received negative feedback related to behavior problems or forgotten matters, as well as profiles in which pupils (5%) reported that they never received any technology-enhanced feedback at all. Pupils who did not receive any feedback reported the lowest values in all scales. The relationship with teachers was particularly weak for pupils receiving negative feedback or no feedback. The results indicate that current technology-enhanced feedback practices do not fully meet pedagogical knowledge concerning efficient feedback.

The location of the axon initial segment (AIS) at the junction between the soma and axon of neurons makes it instrumental in maintaining neural polarity and as the site for action potential generation. The AIS is also capable of large-scale relocation in an activity-dependent manner. This represents a form of homeostatic plasticity in which neurons regulate their own excitability by changing the size and/or position of the AIS. While AIS plasticity is important for proper functionality of AIS-containing neurons, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of AIS plasticity are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed changes in the AIS actin cytoskeleton during AIS plasticity using 3D structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM). We showed that the number of longitudinal actin fibers increased transiently 3 h after plasticity induction. We further showed that actin polymerization, especially formin mediated actin polymerization, is required for AIS plasticity and formation of longitudinal actin fibers. From the formin family of proteins, Daam1 localized to the ends of longitudinal actin fibers. These results indicate that active re-organization of the actin cytoskeleton is required for proper AIS plasticity.

Teachers' support concerning learners' metacognitive awareness (MA) is crucial in learning. Previous research has focused mainly on students' MA. Therefore, this study describes how subject teachers and special teachers (N = 1,045) perceive how they support learners' MA in general education and in vocational education and training. The main findings were that special teachers support learners' MA systematically more than other teachers, and their perceived support for learners' MA varies between components of MA and between teacher groups. The findings confirm the need to develop MA support capabilities during pre-service and in-service teacher education, in order to help learners to acquire MA, which is a foundation for life-long-learning processes. The findings indicate how teachers currently address this challenge.

This study reports on an investigation of the differences in results between students with special educational needs assigned to special classes or regular classes in lower secondary education. Cognitive competencies were measured using curricular Finnish and mathematics tasks, school achievement using grade point average (GPA), and learning motivation by using self-reported goal-orientation scales. Propensity score matching was utilized to match the students according to their propensity to be placed in special classes, and 134 pairs were produced out of 860 available students with SEN from which 477 were assigned to special classes. Results of students assigned to special classes did not differ in curricular Finnish and mathematics in ninth grade when compared to their closely-matched peers in regular classes. However, students in special classes had higher GPAs and a higher performance-approach orientation and mastery-extrinsic orientation than students assigned to regular classes.

Although technology-enhanced feedback (TEF) from teachers to pupils is given daily, little is known about pupils' thoughts about this feedback in Finland. Pupils' perceptions were studied to evaluate whether TEF support self-regulated learning, as suggested. Interviews (N = 62) and questionnaires (N = 132) about pupils' perceptions and emotions related to TEF were analyzed. TEF, enriched with smiling emojis, is used to monitor performance and behavior. Reported emotions varied from joy to disappointment. TEF seems to direct pupils to understand that the appropriate behavior is one of the more desired learning goals and TEF may encourage pupils to become dependent on reassurance from teachers. To support pupils' self-regulatory skills, TEF should be developed to improve learning and support pupils' active participation on feedback as a process.

Continual conduct problems from adolescence to adulthood comprise a societal concern. Knowledge of school-related triggers and contributors to persistent conduct problems is important but still limited. We explored the role of schoolwork difficulties and being bullied by peers at school in the development of conduct problems, controlling for vulnerability factors of low cognitive competence and low prosociality. The data covered two measuring points on a longitudinal cohort of Finnish students between the ages of 16 and 18 (N = 5,108). All measures were self-reported. The regression and moderation modeling were executed using Bayesian estimation. Among 18-year-old adolescents, 14% of conduct problems were explained by conduct problems at the age of 16. Schoolwork difficulties had a direct positive effect on later conduct problems. Being bullied moderated effects of low cognitive competence and earlier conduct problems on later conduct problems. The findings show that we should also focus on school when risk factors for continuity of adolescents' conduct problems are sought out.

This study examined Finnish elementary school teachers' (N = 212) attitudes toward the gifted and their education. On a general level, teachers' attitudes toward gifted education were slightly positive. Teachers saw that gifted students have social value and that they need special services. The results of teachers' attitudes toward specific gifted education options were in line with earlier Finnish research, because teachers supported differentiated teaching but were more negative toward acceleration or separating the gifted into their own groups. However, despite the strong support for differentiated teaching for the gifted, teachers' positions toward practice were more skeptical.

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan Helsingin yliopistossa kasvatus- ja opetusalan johtamisen täydennyskoulutukseen osallistuneiden varhaiskasvatuksen ja perusopetuksen johtajien näkemyksiä johtamisosaamisen kehittämisestä ja oman johtajuutensa kehittämistarpeista. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin johtajien suhtautumista itsensä johtamiseen: missä määrin johtajat arvioivat omaavansa riittävästi osaamista nykyiseen työtehtäväänsä, millaista osaamista johtajat arvioivat tarvitsevansa lisää ja millaisia kehittämistarpeita heillä on? Tutkimusaineisto (N = 87) kerättiin Likert-asteikollisia ja avoimia kysymyksiä sisältäneellä sähköisellä kyselylomakkeella osana täydennyskoulutuksen arviointia ja kehittämistä syksyllä 2018. Aineisto analysoitiin tilastollisin ei-parametrisin menetelmin sekä teorialähtöisellä sisällönanalyysillä. Osaamisen ja osaamistarpeiden luokittelussa käytettiin kompetenssihierarkiamallia. Tulokset osoittavat, että johtajat olivat erittäin halukkaita itsensä kehittämiseen, valmiita ottamaan vastaan uusia tehtäviä ja haasteita sekä tarvittaessa valmiita muuttamaan toimintamallejaan. Johtajien kuvaamat vahvuudet ja haasteet asettuivat johtamisen perusosaamisen tasolle, kun taas johtamisen suhdetoiminnan ja symbolisten tehtävien taso jäi osaamistarpeen kuvauksissa niukaksi.

How will the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic develop in the coming months and years? Based on an expert survey, we examine key aspects that are likely to influence the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The challenges and developments will strongly depend on the progress of national and global vaccination programs, the emergence and spread of variants of concern (VOCs), and public responses to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). In the short term, many people remain unvaccinated, VOCs continue to emerge and spread, and mobility and population mixing are expected to increase. Therefore, lifting restrictions too much and too early risk another damaging wave. This challenge remains despite the reduced opportunities for transmission given vaccination progress and reduced indoor mixing in summer 2021. In autumn 2021, increased indoor activity might accelerate the spread again, whilst a necessary reintroduction of NPIs might be too slow. The incidence may strongly rise again, possibly filling intensive care units, if vaccination levels are not high enough. A moderate, adaptive level of NPIs will thus remain necessary. These epidemiological aspects combined with economic, social, and health-related consequences provide a more holistic perspective on the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Background The health selection hypothesis suggests that poor health leads to low educational attainment during the life course. Adolescence is an important period as poor health might prevent students from making the best educational choices. We test if health in adolescence is associated with educational aspirations and whether these associations persist over and above sociodemographic background and academic achievement. Methods Using classroom surveys, a cohort of students (n = 5.614) from the Helsinki Metropolitan Region was followed from the 7th (12–13 years,) up to the 9th grade (15–16 years) when the choice between the academic and the vocational track is made in Finland. Health factors (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), self-rated health, daily health complaints, and long-term illness and medicine prescribed) and sociodemographic background were self-reported by the students. Students’ educational aspirations (applying for academic versus vocational track, or both) and their academic achievement were obtained from the Joint Application Registry held by the Finnish National Agency for Education. We conducted multilevel multinomial logistic regression analyses, taking into account that students are clustered within schools. Results All studied health factors were associated with adolescents’ educational aspirations. For the SDQ, daily health complaints, and self-rated health these associations persisted over and above sociodemographic background and academic achievement. Students with better health in adolescence were more likely to apply for the academic track, and those who were less healthy were more likely to apply for the vocational track. The health in the group of those students who had applied for both educational tracks was in between. Inconsistent results were observed for long-term illness. We also found robust associations between educational aspirations and worsening health from grade 7 to grade 9. Conclusions Our findings show that selection by health factors to different educational trajectories takes place at early teenage much before adolescents choose their educational track, thus supporting the health selection hypothesis in the creation of socioeconomic health inequalities. Our findings also show the importance of adolescence in this process. More studies are needed to reveal which measures would be effective in helping students with poor health to achieve their full educational potential.

Summary: The axon initial segment (AIS) is the site of action potential initiation and serves as a cargo transport filter and diffusion barrier that helps maintain neuronal polarity. The AIS actin cytoskeleton comprises actin patches and periodic sub-membranous actin rings. We demonstrate that tropomyosin isoform Tpm3.1 co-localizes with actin patches and that the inhibition of Tpm3.1 led to a reduction in the density of actin patches. Furthermore, Tpm3.1 showed a periodic distribution similar to sub-membranous actin rings but Tpm3.1 was only partially congruent with sub-membranous actin rings. Nevertheless, the inhibition of Tpm3.1 affected the uniformity of the periodicity of actin rings. Furthermore, Tpm3.1 inhibition led to reduced accumulation of AIS structural and functional proteins, disruption in sorting somatodendritic and axonal proteins, and a reduction in firing frequency. These results show that Tpm3.1 is necessary for the structural and functional maintenance of the AIS.

Research on the associations between family and school social capital, school burnout and academic achievement in adolescence is scarce and the results are inconclusive. We examined if family and school social capital at the age of 13 predicts lower school burnout and better academic achievement when graduating at the age of 16. Using data from 4467 Finnish adolescents from 117 schools and 444 classes a three-level multilevel analysis was executed. School social capital, the positive and supportive relationships between students and teachers, predicted lower school burnout and better academic achievement among students. Classmates’ family social capital had also significance for students’ academic achievement. Our results suggest that building school social capital is an important aspect of school health and education policies and practices.

Dendritic spines are small, bulbous protrusions along neuronal dendrites where most of the excitatory synapses are located. Dendritic spine density in normal human brain increases rapidly before and after birth achieving the highest density around 2–8 years. Density decreases during adolescence, reaching a stable level in adulthood. The changes in dendritic spines are considered structural correlates for synaptic plasticity as well as the basis of experience-dependent remodeling of neuronal circuits. Alterations in spine density correspond to aberrant brain function observed in various neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Dendritic spine initiation affects spine density. In this review, we discuss the importance of spine initiation in brain development, learning, and potential complications resulting from altered spine initiation in neurological diseases. Current literature shows that two Bin Amphiphysin Rvs (BAR) domain-containing proteins, MIM/Mtss1 and SrGAP3, are involved in spine initiation. We review existing literature and open databases to discuss whether other BAR-domain proteins could also take part in spine initiation. Finally, we discuss the potential molecular mechanisms on how BAR-domain proteins could regulate spine initiation.

This paper reports the results of the improving thinking skills (ITS-1) intervention study on the thinking skills of low-achieving first graders. The intervention programme consists of 12 lessons, each lasting for 45 min. Lessons offer enriched-discovery learning activities and tasks to be solved through inductive reasoning. We used a quasi-experimental approach, with pre-, immediate post- and delayed post-tests conducted among intervention and control groups. The following groups were formed from a total of 149 first graders on the basis of the thinking skills measure: low-achieving (<-1 SD) intervention group (LowI) (n = 9) and two control groups, comprising both low-achieving (LowC) (n = 18) and well-performing (=-1 SD) groups (WellC) (n = 122). Thinking skills, mathematical skills, listening comprehension skills and reading fluency were measured. The results showed that in the beginning of the study, there were differences in thinking skills, mathematical skills, listening comprehension skills and reading fluency between the LowI and WellC groups, but the LowI group was able to reach the level of their well-performing peers at the end of the intervention in all measures. The discussion focuses on the implications of intervention research, educational practice and responsiveness to intervention.

Abstract Background DHCR24, involved in the de novo synthesis of cholesterol and protection of neuronal cells against different stress conditions, has been shown to be selectively downregulated in neurons of the affected brain areas in Alzheimer’s disease. Methods Here, we investigated whether the overexpression of DHCR24 protects neurons against inflammation-induced neuronal death using co-cultures of mouse embryonic primary cortical neurons and BV2 microglial cells upon acute neuroinflammation. Moreover, the effects of DHCR24 overexpression on dendritic spine density and morphology in cultured mature mouse hippocampal neurons and on the outcome measures of ischemia-induced brain damage in vivo in mice were assessed. Results Overexpression of DHCR24 reduced the loss of neurons under inflammation elicited by LPS and IFN-γ treatment in co-cultures of mouse neurons and BV2 microglial cells but did not affect the production of neuroinflammatory mediators, total cellular cholesterol levels, or the activity of proteins linked with neuroprotective signaling. Conversely, the levels of post-synaptic cell adhesion protein neuroligin-1 were significantly increased upon the overexpression of DHCR24 in basal growth conditions. Augmentation of DHCR24 also increased the total number of dendritic spines and the proportion of mushroom spines in mature mouse hippocampal neurons. In vivo, overexpression of DHCR24 in striatum reduced the lesion size measured by MRI in a mouse model of transient focal ischemia. Conclusions These results suggest that the augmentation of DHCR24 levels provides neuroprotection in acute stress conditions, which lead to neuronal loss in vitro and in vivo.

In this study, we performed a comprehensive behavioral and anatomical analysis of the Missing in Metastasis (Mtss1/MIM) knockout (KO) mouse brain. We also analyzed the expression of MIM in different brain regions at different ages. MIM is an I-BAR containing membrane curving protein, shown to be involved in dendritic spine initiation and dendritic branching in Purkinje cells in the cerebellum. Behavioral analysis of MIM KO mice revealed defects in both learning and reverse-learning, alterations in anxiety levels and reduced dominant behavior, and confirmed the previously described deficiency in motor coordination and pre-pulse inhibition. Anatomically, we observed enlarged brain ventricles and decreased cortical volume. Although MIM expression was relatively low in hippocampus after early development, hippocampal pyramidal neurons exhibited reduced density of thin and stubby dendritic spines. Learning deficiencies can be connected to all detected anatomical changes. Both behavioral and anatomical findings are typical for schizophrenia mouse models.

The relationships between reasoning and school achievement were studied taking into account the multilevel nature (school- and class-levels) of the data. We gathered data from 51 classes at seven schools in metropolitan and Eastern Finland (N = 769, 395 males, 15-year-old students). To study scientific reasoning, we used a modified version of Science Reasoning Tasks, tapping control-of-variable schemata. Analyses were conducted by MLwiN2.10 multilevel modelling. The present results showed that the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of schools for scientific reasoning is 7% and that the corresponding ICC of classes is 10%. Whereas the first finding confirms earlier PISA results, the second finding provides new insights into class variation within schools. In practice, class composition seems to be an efficient solution to meeting the differing needs of individual students.

In Finland, schools' effectiveness in fostering the development of transversal skills is evaluated through large-scale learning to learn (LTL) assessments. This article presents how LTL skills--general cognitive competences and learning-related motivational beliefs--develop during primary school and how they predict pupils' CPS skills at the end of sixth grade. The six-year follow-up of 608 pupils shows that cognitive competences demonstrated in the beginning of the first grade in a learning preparedness test predict both later cognitive LTL competences and CPS, but their development is not fully determined by earlier individual differences in learning preparedness in the first grade. Motivational beliefs begin to be related to cognitive LTL performance gradually from age 10 on, and they may have a slightly stronger effect on CPS than on cognitive LTL performance. It is concluded that the development of CPS is partly depending on pupils' initial learning preparedness and the development of their LTL skills.

This study investigated how parents' views on important aspects of integration correlate with parents' actual experiences concerning the integration into mainstream education of their child with special education needs. It was assumed that the degree of discrepancy between perceived importance and corresponding actual experience contributes to the overall perceived success of integration. The data for the study were collected in 2006 from parents (N?=?219) whose special needs children were integrated into mainstream education in Helsinki, Finland. Quantitatively analysed findings were reflected against background variables. Results showed that the importance of the given statements were affected by the child's gender and school level. The parents' actual experiences were affected by two factors. The first showed that teachers at the primary level were evaluated as being more skilful than teachers at the secondary level, and at the secondary level, teaching was more individualised than at the primary level. Second, a child's self-worth was shown to be higher when integrated into the neighbourhood school. Parents' views on the success of integration were related to their actual experiences, especially in those statements rated as important. Possible explanations for these findings and practical implications are discussed.

A young child's stress-sensitive neurobiological system is immature and open to being shaped by experience. When children enter preschool, external demands on them to adjust are different from the demands they experience at day care. In Finland, the last year before children transfer to the comprehensive school is called preschool. The preschool year is far more academically demanding than earlier day care years, emphasizing school-like activities along with age-appropriate social and cognitive challenges. The first aim of the present study was to study whether the preschool year (six-year-old children) has an effect on the children's cortisol reactivity. To examine the changes in stress regulation, cortisol reactivity was investigated both in the autumn and in the spring. The second aim of the study was to explore whether demographic factors, temperament and the quality of preschool environment have an effect on the daily variation of the cortisol level among the participants of the study. Five day care centres in metropolitan Helsinki, Finland, participated in this study and 91 six-year-old preschool children served as participants. Our results showed that the children displayed typical cortisol reactivity during the autumn as expected, whereas their cortisol values were significantly higher in the spring. The autumn measurements revealed a significant relationship between the cortisol effects and the temperament characteristics of sadness, anger/frustration and perceptual sensitivity. These characteristics were not as evident when measured during the spring. Additionally, the results indicated that quality of learning environment affects changes in children's cortisol reactivity.

Many actin cytoskeleton-regulating proteins control dendritic spine morphology and density, which are cellular features often altered in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent studies using animal models show that autism-related behavior can be rescued by either manipulating actin regulators or by reversing dendritic spine density or morphology. Based on these studies, the actin cytoskeleton is a potential target pathway for developing new ASD treatments. Thus, it is important to understand how different ASD-associated actin regulators contribute to the regulation of dendritic spines and how ASD-associated mutations modulate this regulation. For this study, we selected five genes encoding different actin-regulating proteins and induced ASD-associated de novo missense mutations in these proteins. We assessed the functionality of the wild-type and mutated proteins by analyzing their subcellular localization, and by analyzing the dendritic spine phenotypes induced by the expression of these proteins. As the imbalance between excitation and inhibition has been suggested to have a central role in ASD, we additionally evaluated the density, size and subcellular localization of inhibitory synapses. Common for all the proteins studied was the enrichment in dendritic spines. ASD-associated mutations induced changes in the localization of α-actinin-4, which localized less to dendritic spines, and for SWAP-70 and SrGAP3, which localized more to dendritic spines. Among the wild-type proteins studied, only α-actinin-4 expression caused a significant change in dendritic spine morphology by increasing the mushroom spine density and decreasing thin spine density. We hypothesized that mutations associated with ASD shift dendritic spine morphology from mushroom to thin spines. An M554V mutation in α-actinin-4 (ACTN4) resulted in the expected shift in dendritic spine morphology by increasing the density of thin spines. In addition, we observed a trend toward higher thin spine density with mutations in myosin IXb and SWAP-70. Myosin IIb and myosin IXb expression increased the proportion of inhibitory synapses in spines. The expression of mutated myosin IIb (Y265C), SrGAP3 (E469K), and SWAP-70 (L544F) induced variable changes in inhibitory synapses.

This follow-up study, written by Kristiina Lappalainen of the University of Eastern Finland and Hotulainen Risto of the University of Helsinki, investigated whether young adults designated as having part-time special education needs (PtSEN) during their comprehensive schooling had differentiated educational and vocational paths, perceived self-concept, strengths, and self-worth when compared with students not designated as having such needs. Results show that young adults with PtSEN (n = 38) have less academically oriented educational paths than those not having special educational needs (No SEN) (n = 165). The self-perceptions of young adults between the groups under study differ from each other only in the physical appearance domain for the PtSEN group. Strength perceptions showed that those in the PtSEN group consider neither learning nor mathematical skills as their strengths when compared with the No SEN group. In addition, the PtSEN group has higher global self-worth ratings than the No SEN group. According to our comparison, young adults with PtSEN backgrounds perceive deficiencies only in those domains which are directly linked to school. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

In a 15-year longitudinal study, a retrospective quasipanel design was chosen to detect developmental patterns related to the students' (N = 78) self-ratings. In 1999 (grade 9), the students who were rated as part of the risk group (n = 22) by using their kindergarten teachers' initial socio-emotional behaviour ratings that were done in 1989, were found to achieve significantly lower final school grades and to have higher perceptions of their own physical appearance but a higher sense of global self-worth. In 2005 (early adulthood), students in the risk group perceived themselves as less competent than their peers in social acceptance, global self-worth areas, strength perceptions related to learning skills and self-regulation. Path analyses showed that socio-emotional behaviour assessed at pre-school age had long-term effects on participants' self-perceptions and global self-worth. Possible explanations of the findings and implications for early identification are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

During a 15-year longitudinal study, 31 Finnish students (risk group) who had been identified as having deficiencies in reading and writing readiness at pre-school through the German Breuer-Weuffen Differentiation Test were compared with their peers (n = 62) in order to study long-term differences that emerged at the starting point of the study. In 1999, the students in the risk group were found to achieve significantly lower final school grades and they also had lower perceptions of their own scholastic competence. In 2005, students in the risk group perceived themselves as less competent than their peers in social acceptance, sense of global self-worth areas and in the strength-perceptions related to mathematical thinking, learning skills, and self-regulation. Path analyses showed that verbo-sensory motor status measured at pre-school age had long-term effects on participants' educational life-course and global self-worth. Possible explanations of the findings and implications for early identification are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

This article explores applications of the Self-Organizing Maps method (SOM) to psycho-educational data. The study examines the psychological well-being, self-regulatory and motivational styles of pupils at elementary and middle school (N = 795). The presentation of the method appears in cases which are related to general education, special needs and giftedness. The aim of this article is to show that SOM provides a unique means with which to visualize, comprehend and interpret psycho-educational data. The SOM method is a convenient method used to identify and study exceptional subgroups and non-linear correlations, as well as to examine theoretical assumptions. The results showed that high academic achievement is related to anxiety, as well as to external and internal pressure, in some gifted subgroups. Such a result is obviously socially constructed and for this reason calls for further study. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

A 10-year longitudinal study investigated whether 37 children identified as academically gifted at preschool but who received no specific support would be identifiably different from their peers after 10 years of Finnish comprehensive school. The gifted group scored significantly higher than controls for final school grades and scholastic competence. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

The post-synaptic spines of neuronal dendrites are highly elaborate membrane protrusions. Their anatomy, stability and density are intimately linked to cognitive performance. The morphological transitions of spines are powered by coordinated polymerization of actin filaments against the plasma membrane, but how the membrane-associated polymerization is spatially and temporally regulated has remained ill defined. Here, we discuss our recent findings showing that dendritic spines can be initiated by direct membrane bending by the I-BAR protein MIM/Mtss1. This lipid phosphatidylinositol (PI(4,5)P2) signaling-activated membrane bending coordinated spatial actin assembly and promoted spine formation. From recent advances, we formulate a general model to discuss how spatially concentrated protein-lipid microdomains formed by multivalent interactions between lipids and actin/membrane regulatory proteins might launch cell protrusions.

This study examined early childhood professionals’ (ECPs) stress regulation and the demands and resources they encounter at work, and considered how these factors are associated with the quality of pedagogical work in daycare. The participants were 117 ECPs from 24 daycare centers in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, with data collected using surveys, cortisol measurements, and observational assessments. The results indicated that the professionals generally found their work resources to be adequate and, on average, their stress regulation measured through cortisol activity showed a typical diurnal pattern. Highly important resources at work proved to be support from supervisors, which was associated with stress regulation and the quality of pedagogical work in teams. Although we found only minor associations between cortisol activity and job demands and resources, cortisol activity did relate to pedagogical work, particularly to teamwork; the higher the quality of the teamwork, the lower the ECPs morning cortisol values. Our multidisciplinary study highlights important findings regarding the resources and demands ECPs experience at work, and supports existing literature. In addition, the results demonstrate the importance of social support, especially the role of the supervisor, which proved to be one of the key factors positively enhancing well-being at work. These findings are applicable in planning interventions regarding workrelated well-being among ECPs.

Oppiminen ei tapahdu pelkästään intuition varassa, vaan oppimista ohjaavat myös oppijoiden käsitykset itsestään oppijoina sekä tiedon ja oppimisen luonteesta. Toisin sanoen oletamme, että opiskelijoiden kognitiiviset taidot ja koulumenestys ovat yhteydessä heidän ajatuksiinsa tiedon ja oppimisen luonteesta eli heidän epistemologisiin uskomuksiinsa. Tutkimus piaget’laisen, mitatun formaalisen ajattelutason ja mitatun epistemologisten uskomusten välisestä yhteydestä on toistaiseksi ollut vähäistä. Epistemologisten uskomusten mittaamiseen käytimme Schommerin (1990) kyselylomaketta, joka koostuu viidestä dimensiosta: 1) yksinkertainen/kompleksinen tieto, 2) varma/epävarma tieto, 3) usko/kriittisyys auktoriteettia kohtaan, 4) synnynnäinen/ei-synnynnäinen oppimiskyky ja 5) oppimisen nopeus/työteliäisyys. Lähtökohtaisena oletuksena on, että edellä esitetyistä dimensiokohtaisista sanapareista jälkimmäiset käsitteet luonnehtivat oppimista tukevia käsityksiä, kun taas sanaparien ensimmäiset käsitteet edustavat oppimisen kannalta vähemmän edullisia epistemologisia uskomuksia. Formaalin oppimisen tason mittaamiseen käytimme piaget’laiseen traditioon perustuvaa mittaria, jonka avulla arvioidaan testihenkilön taitoa kontrolloida muuttujia tieteellistä päättelyä mittaavissa tehtävissä (Hautamäki et al., 2014). Lisäksi oppilaita pyydettiin ilmoittamaan viimeisimmät arvosanansa äidinkielessä, matematiikassa ja englannin kielessä. Tutkimuksen otos muodostui pääkaupunkiseudun kahden eri lukion toisen luokan oppilaista (N = 132, 77 tyttöjä), joiden keski-ikä oli 17 vuotta. Tilastollisesti analysoitujen tulosten mukaan kolme uskomusdimensiota viidestä – tieto on kompleksista, tieto on epävarmaa ja oppiminen on työlästä – olivat positiivisesti yhteydessä saavutettuun formaalisen ajattelun tasoon. Koulumenestykseen epistemologisilla uskomuksilla ei ollut yhtä voimakasta yhteyttä kuin formaaliin ajatteluun. Huolimatta korrelaatiotutkimuksen luonteesta oletamme, että korkeampi mitattu ajattelutaso edesauttaa myönteisten epistemologisten muodostumista, ja että kielteiset epistemologiset uskomukset voivat hidastaa ja jopa estää formaalin ajattelutason saavuttamista. Tutkimustulosten käytäntöön soveltaminen kohdistuu kasvatus- ja opetustyön ammattilaisiin ja siihen miten heidän tulisi toimia, jotta lasten ja oppilaiden epistemologiset käsitykset muodostuisivat mahdollisimman suopeiksi oppimiselle.

Abstract Background The PDZ-LIM proteins are a family of signalling adaptors that interact with the actin cross-linking protein, α-actinin, via their PDZ domains or via internal regions between the PDZ and LIM domains. Three of the PDZ-LIM proteins have a conserved 26-residue ZM motif in the internal region, but the structure of the internal region is unknown. Results In this study, using circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we showed that the ALP internal region (residues 107–273) was largely unfolded in solution, but was able to interact with the α-actinin rod domain in vitro, and to co-localize with α-actinin on stress fibres in vivo. NMR analysis revealed that the titration of ALP with the α-actinin rod domain induces stabilization of ALP. A synthetic peptide (residues 175–196) that contained the N-terminal half of the ZM motif was found to interact directly with the α-actinin rod domain in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements. Short deletions at or before the ZM motif abrogated the localization of ALP to actin stress fibres. Conclusion The internal region of ALP appeared to be largely unstructured but functional. The ZM motif defined part of the interaction surface between ALP and the α-actinin rod domain.

Research on the associations between family and school social capital, school burnout and academic achievement in adolescence is scarce and the results are inconclusive. We examined if family and school social capital at the age of 13 predicts lower school burnout and better academic achievement when graduating at the age of 16. Using data from 4467 Finnish adolescents from 117 schools and 444 classes a three-level multilevel analysis was executed. School social capital, the positive and supportive relationships between students and teachers, predicted lower school burnout and better academic achievement among students. Classmates’ family social capital had also significance for students’ academic achievement. Our results suggest that building school social capital is an important aspect of school health and education policies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing thinking skills is an important goal of formal education. It is often embedded in national curricula, which, however, are seldom based on theoretical understanding of the structure of the skills or how they should be taught. Accordingly, there is only limited information available about schools’ success in this important task. The present study has two goals: firstly, to find support for the theoretical assumption of the nested structure of thinking skills with a core factor of formal thinking and specialised structures for verbal and quantitative reasoning; and secondly, to test the differentiated development of these skills in school. This was done by studying class-level variation of sixth graders’ thinking skills in a multilevel factor analysis when initial between-class differences at grade three had been taken into account. The data ( N ≈ 1543) were drawn from a learning to learn panel study in one of the major cities of Finland. The results showed that the core factor for formal thinking could be identified at both the individual and the class level, and that at the individual level there were statistically significant residual factors for verbal and quantitative reasoning. Initial between-class differences explained only a third of the variance of class-level formal thinking. This was interpreted to indicate the effect of schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]