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Teachers' focus on their students' learning is considered central in high-quality, studentcentred university teaching. This frontline eye-movement research asks whether teachers' focus can be observed at the intersection of the visual and conceptual levels. It introduces a novel way to study teachers' visual attention combined with verbal interpretations, including numerical ratings of the success of teaching when they observe teaching situations. Teachers' visual attention and interpretations were further studied in connection to their prior pedagogical training and teaching experience in years. Two short videos depicting teaching during a lecture, including different types of trigger events, were presented to teachers (N = 49) who were asked to think aloud while watching. The first video's trigger was students becoming bored during a content-focused teaching situation, and the second video's trigger was the teacher replying in an engaging way to students' questions in a learning-focused teaching situation. The results showed that pedagogically trained teachers paid more visual attention to the students than did their non-trained colleagues, especially in content-focused teaching situations. Teaching experience did not have any effect on visual attention or interpretation in this study. The teachers who paid more visual attention to the students in the content-focused teaching situation noticed in their interpretations that the students were not active, expressed higher learning-facilitating teaching conceptions and gave lower numerical ratings for the teaching situation. In conclusion, pedagogical training seems to promote university teachers' ability to pay visual attention to students in teaching situations and interpret these situations from the students' perspective, i.e. focus on student learning.

This study belongs to assessment-related research and aimed to investigate Finnish high-school students' (n = 211) topic-specific epistemic beliefs about climate change and whether the Norwegian topic-specific epistemic beliefs questionnaire (TSEBQ) was also valid among Finnish respondents. Thus, research data were not only derived from the TSEBQ but also from topic knowledge tests and students' views on their favorite school subjects and interest in science subjects. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the statistical model, originally based on 49 questions, was congruent with the Norwegian four-factor model (Certification, Source, Justification and Simplicity). However, according to the reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the performance of the Simplicity factor was unclear. In CFA, the three-factor structure (without Simplicity) was supported. The effects of topic knowledge, topic interest and gender on the TSEBQ factors were examined by using hierarchical regression analysis (HRA). The TSEBQ was shown to be a reliable tool for measuring the topic-specific epistemic beliefs of Finnish students. More specifically, the results support the claim that topic-specific epistemic beliefs can be educationally and culturally bound. HRA showed that students' topic knowledge in chemistry and biology was related to certainty of knowledge and justification for knowing. Moreover, female students performed significantly better in topic knowledge and more often planned to pursue a science career in the future.

Research Findings: The present study examined children's listening comprehension during a two-semester-long dialogic reading. We explored the extent to which the development of children's listening comprehension was accounted for by initial listening comprehension and whether children's engagement and the amount and level of their verbal participation in shared reading contributed to their later listening comprehension. The opportunities provided by teachers, such as closed and open-ended questions were also examined. A total of 60 five-year-old children participated in 15 story groups. Children's listening comprehension was evaluated twice. Teachers rated the children's behavioral and cognitive engagement. Children's verbal participation and the teachers' questions were observed directly. A theoretical model involving direct and indirect pathways in the development of listening comprehension was analyzed. Path modeling showed that the children's cognitive engagement and the amount of verbal participation mediated the development of individual differences in listening comprehension. Additionally, teachers' open-ended questions contributed indirectly to listening comprehension via children's verbal participation. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the benefits of children's active participation in discussions and talk-intensive reading aloud for their story comprehension.

This study examined the factorial validity and measurement invariance of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale--Short Form (STRS-SF), modified by Whitaker et al. (2015), in the Finnish Early Childhood Education (ECE) context. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the two-factor model of Closeness and Conflict after some item modifications and partial strong measurement invariance across ECE student teachers and two qualified ECE teacher groups. In general, the participants perceived high levels of closeness and low levels of conflicts with children. The qualified teachers who voluntarily enrolled in training to improve their professional competence perceived their relationships with children as more conflictual, reported less working experience, and had younger children in their classrooms, compared to the other qualified teachers. The student teachers perceived less closeness than the teachers but reported fewer conflicts than the teachers enrolled in training. This study extended the application of the STRS-SF in teacher education and research to a Nordic cultural context.

This is a study of early picture book comprehension, its determinants and later development through primary school. More specifically, picture book comprehension was analyzed longitudinally from age 5 to age 9, delineating the unique contributions of vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation to the initial level as well as to the growth of comprehension. A total of 90 Finnish-speaking children participated in the study. The children's narrative picture book comprehension was assessed at age 5, age 6 and age 9. Vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation were evaluated at age 5. Latent growth curve modeling showed a pattern of decreasing achievement gaps in narrative picture book comprehension. Vocabulary and metacognitive knowledge uniquely contributed to the concurrent level of narrative picture book comprehension. The results further showed that metacognitive knowledge and task orientation were positive and statistically significant predictors of the growth of picture book comprehension over and above the initial level of narrative picture book comprehension. These findings add to our knowledge about the development of inter-individual differences in narrative picture book comprehension and the roles of vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation in it. They also suggest a novel way to assess the narrative comprehension potential among students with compromised working memory or decoding ability.

Changing majors or dropping out are of great concern to universities worldwide, but the role of learning approaches in terms of students' persistence has not been previously studied. Changing majors, especially in chemistry, is a severe problem in Finland. Here, learning approach data were collected with the ChemApproach questionnaire from 733 bachelor-level students at four Finnish universities. Students intending to change majors showed stronger submissive surface approaches and weaker active deep approaches than those intending to persist in chemistry. The ChemApproach data were complemented with information on actual persistence and first-year grades from a smaller sample from one university (N = 177). A practical deep approach in chemistry studies combined with relatively high grades was shown to be connected to persistence, while a desire to change majors combined with high grades resulted in the actual changing of majors. A high submissive surface approach indicated students at risk of dropping out completely.

This study examined affect during high school students' face-to-face collaborative inquiry learning in science, supported by the web-based software Virtual Baltic Sea Explorer. Self-reported affective states during the inquiry process in peer groups were related to evaluations of a group's collaboration and performance in three phases of interdisciplinary science inquiry (biology and chemistry). Results indicate that despite high cognitive demands, positive affect prevailed whereas negative affect was infrequent. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the significance of affect on collaboration and group performance. The relationship between affect, collaboration, and the groups' productive outcome revealed that self-assurance had a significant effect on collaboration and support, intertwined with scientific understanding and group performance. Furthermore, a cross-lagged analysis showed a reciprocal relation between positive affect, scientific understanding, collaboration, and support. These outcomes contribute to the scarce literature on the nature and importance of affect in the process of face-to-face computer-supported collaborative inquiry and learning in science.

A Word Problem Enrichment programme (WPE) has been found to increase student word problem solving performance when facing non-routine and application problems. However, it is unknown if the WPE has an impact on student beliefs about word problem solving and how the WPE works for students with different motivation in learning mathematics. This study investigated the impact of the WPE on student beliefs about word problem solving by using Latent Profile Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling to analyse relations among the different cognitive, motivation, and belief factors. A total of 170 fourth- and sixth-grade students from elementary schools participated. Results showed that the effects of WPE are various depending on students' initial motivation level. The impacts of the WPE on student beliefs were found only in students with a low initial motivation level, while its impacts on student problem-solving performance were found only in students with a high initial motivation level.

This study addressed the need to explore the reliability and validity of the recently renewed aptitude test based on the multiple mini-interview (MMI) format in Finnish teacher education programmes. Utilising a nationwide dataset (N = 3306), we explored the reliability of the format using intraclass correlations and multilevel modelling. Furthermore, we validated the intended structure of the MMI with confirmatory factor analysis and contrasted the scores of the MMI with other admission scores, i.e. cognitive measures. The results showed mostly small effects of clustering of the applicants according to the different interviewers and circuits. The largest variance component for the MMI total score was the applicant (73.3%), followed by measurement error (15.09%). The intended structure was validated, and the MMI seemed to measure different attributes from other admission measures. Thus, the study demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity of MMI in admission to teacher education, yet the stations need further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: The present study examined children's listening comprehension during a two-semester-long dialogic reading. We explored the extent to which the development of children's listening comprehension was accounted for by initial listening comprehension and whether children's engagement and the amount and level of their verbal participation in shared reading contributed to their later listening comprehension. The opportunities provided by teachers, such as closed and open-ended questions were also examined. A total of 60 five-year-old children participated in 15 story groups. Children's listening comprehension was evaluated twice. Teachers rated the children's behavioral and cognitive engagement. Children's verbal participation and the teachers' questions were observed directly. A theoretical model involving direct and indirect pathways in the development of listening comprehension was analyzed. Path modeling showed that the children's cognitive engagement and the amount of verbal participation mediated the development of individual differences in listening comprehension. Additionally, teachers' open-ended questions contributed indirectly to listening comprehension via children's verbal participation. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the benefits of children's active participation in discussions and talk-intensive reading aloud for their story comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of learning approaches has proven to be one of the most powerful theories explaining university students' learning. However, learning approaches are sensitive to the situation and the content of learning. Chemistry has its own specific features that should be considered when exploring chemistry students' learning habits, specifically the role of practicals (i.e. hands-on laboratory work), as they are crucial in chemistry education. Therefore, the aims of this study were to find and validate a questionnaire for measuring chemistry students' learning approaches. A 17-item questionnaire was tested with 561 Finnish chemistry students from four different universities. Students ranging from the first year bachelor level to the fifth year master level participated in the study. Statistical analyses showed that a four factor model fitted the data best and these factors were named submissive surface, technical surface, active deep, and practical deep. In order to establish validity, the model was further tested by analysis of the subgroups of the major subject and gender. The analyses show that the questionnaire is statistically valid and can be used for studying chemistry students' learning approaches

Many people have serious difficulties in understanding rational numbers, limiting their ability to interpret and make use of them in modern daily life. This also leads to later difficulties in learning more advanced mathematical content. In this study, novel tasks are used to measure 263 late primary school students' spontaneous focusing on quantitative relations, in situations that are not explicitly mathematical. Even after controlling for a number of known predictors of rational number knowledge, spontaneous focusing on quantitative relations is found to have a strong impact on students' learning of rational number conceptual knowledge. This finding opens new possibilities for developing pedagogical solutions to one of the most difficult challenges of mathematics education. The findings suggest that students' own focusing tendency and self-initiated practice may have on important role in the long-term development of complex cognitive skills.

Today's students search, evaluate and actively use Web information in their school assignments, that is, they conduct an online inquiry. This current survey study addresses sixth-grade students' self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry, and to what extent free-time and school-related Internet activity, gender and learning beliefs explain these. The questionnaire was administered in 10 schools to 340 sixth-graders in Finland. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three elements of self-efficacy beliefs: self-efficacy in Web searching, the evaluation of sources and synthesising information. Furthermore, attitudes towards online inquiry loaded into two factors: a positive and a negative attitude towards online inquiry. A structural equation model was used to analyse the effects of the explanatory variables on the factors. The results of this work suggest that gender and free-time Internet use predict most sixth-graders' self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our interest in perceived self-regulation of learning arose in the context of educational reform. After decades of stability, the Finnish high school system underwent reform in the 1990s, with a significant emphasis being placed on promoting student self-regulation of learning. Aims: The purposes of the study were (1) to evaluate changes in the mean level of perceived self-regulation throughout high school and (2) to evaluate the nature of the developmental relations between achievement, perceived self-regulation, and personal interest. Sample: The participants consisted of 245 systematically sampled high school students from a mid-sized Finnish city. Methods: T tests for paired samples were employed to assess changes in the level of personal interest and perceived self-regulation. Analysis of the developmental relations was carried out within a structural equations modelling framework. Results: The main result was that perceived self-regulation at the beginning of high school predicted not only scholastic achievement at the end of high school over and above prior achievement, but also subsequent personal interest. Additionally, following an international trend, the level of perceived self-regulation decreased from the first to third year of study. Conclusions: The study has important theoretical and practical implications. First, the results suggest that perceived self-regulation and personal interest are only partially explained by achievement. Second, it appears that perceived self-regulation drives personal interest, not the other way around. Finally, ways for teachers and schools to sustain perceived self-regulation throughout the high school years are discussed. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 2 footnotes.)

The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety and the psychometric properties of the "Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents" (SAS-A) among Finnish adolescents, 13-16 years of age. Study 1 (n = 867) examined the distribution of SAS-A scores according to gender and age, and the internal consistency and factor structure of the SAS-A. In a subsample (n = 563; Study 2) concurrent and discriminant validity of the SAS-A were examined relative to the Social Phobia Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory. Test-retest stability was examined over a 30-month period by repeated measures every 6 months in another subsample (n = 377; Study 3). Results mostly revealed no gender differences in social anxiety, except that boys reported more general social avoidance and distress than girls. Older adolescents (14-16-year-olds) reported higher social anxiety than younger adolescents (12-13-year-olds). Internal consistency for the SAS-A was acceptable for both genders and for all three SAS-A subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the original 18-item three-factor structure of the SAS-A, accounting for 61% of the variance between items. Evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity was found. Test-retest stability over 6 months was satisfactory. Results support the reliability and validity of the Finnish adaptation of the SAS-A, and further indicate that gender differences in adolescents' social anxiety may vary across Western countries.

In this two-year longitudinal study, we sought to examine the developmental relationships among early narrative listening comprehension and language skills (i.e., vocabulary knowledge, sentence memory, and phonological awareness) and the roles of these factors in predicting narrative listening comprehension at the age of 6 years. We also sought to examine the role of inference-making skills as longitudinal and concurrent predictors of other language skills and listening comprehension from the age of 4 to 6 years. One hundred thirty Finnish-speaking children participated in the study. A theoretical model of the developmental relationships among the variables was proposed and the associations were analyzed by means of path analysis. Results showed that inference skills, assessed through picture-book viewing, made a significant and unique contribution to variation in later narrative listening comprehension. Inference skills also played an indirect role in narrative listening comprehension by making a significant contribution to vocabulary knowledge even after controlling for earlier vocabulary knowledge and sentence memory. Although vocabulary knowledge and sentence memory were related to concurrent narrative listening comprehension, they did not predict later listening comprehension over and above the autoregressor. The results are discussed in terms of the predictive validity and diagnostic sensitivity of inference skills assessments in listening comprehension. Implications for research and theory are also discussed. (Contains 4 figures, 4 tables, and 1 note.)

This longitudinal research was designed to examine the prevalence and co-occurrence of peer problems such as rejection, withdrawal, loneliness, bullying, and victimization experienced by children (99 boys, 80 girls) in their everyday lives at daycare, in preschool and first grade of school--each successive spring--at the ages of 5, 6, and 7. Children were evaluated in individual testing sessions each year by peer interviews consisting of separate assessments of all problems. The results supported our hypothesis that children's peer problems were common, indicating co-occurrence, variability, and stability as well as changes over the years. There were some children who had a poorer prognosis than the others because their disadvantaged positions within their peer groups seemed to be unchanging between the successive years. (Contains 4 tables.)

A latent variable structural model was constructed to test the relations among mothers' and fathers' parenting self-efficacy (PSE), their loneliness, and their child's peer-evaluated social competence, self-evaluated loneliness, teacher-evaluated motivational orientation, and academic skills. In order to do this, first the Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index (Coleman & Karraker, 2000) was applied to a sample of mothers (n=876) and fathers (n=696) to test the relevance of these parenting task categories to Finnish mothers and fathers. The results of the latent variable structural model indicated a strong relationship between both mothers' and fathers' loneliness and their PSE, consisting of Nurturance, Discipline, Recreation, and Participation factors. Moreover, there was a modest relationship between parents' PSE and their child's social competence and consequently between social competence and child's loneliness. The relationship between PSE and child's academic achievement were mediated via child's social competence. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

In this 2-year longitudinal study the developmental relationships among letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid naming, and task orientation were examined, and linguistic-motivational pathways of word reading acquisition were traced from kindergarten to Grade 1 by means of structural equation modeling. The participants were 100 Finnish-speaking nonreaders. Results showed that kindergarten (5-6 years) letter knowledge predicted subsequent preschool (6-7 years) phonological awareness and task orientation. RAN was a unique longitudinal and concurrent predictor of word recognition, suggesting that rapid naming provides a reliable prediction of prospective word reading ability at least in a transparent language. Controlling for phonological awareness and rapid naming, task orientation contributed uniquely to the prediction of word reading competence, suggesting that motivational and linguistic factors are both at work as children face the gradually growing demands of learning to read and write in Grade 1.

Aim: To develop an emotional intelligence (EI) test and evaluate its psychometrics for social and healthcare student selection. Design: A cross‐sectional methodological design. Methods: The test was developed based on a systematic review and focus group interviews. Content validity was evaluated with expert panels, and preliminary psychometrics with two pilot studies. Descriptive statistics, correlations and item response theory were used. Data Sources: Search was conducted in six databases 2018. Focus group interviews were conducted with educators and professionals in 2019. Expert panels with doctoral students, researchers and educators were conducted in 2020. Pilot tests with students were conducted 2020–2021. The developed test was administered to 4808 applicants 2021. Results: The test included four subscales. Correlations support the test's theoretical structure. The items were mainly easy. Conclusion: The test assesses EI objectively and comprehensively. The item‐level distractor analysis can be used for further test development. Impacts: Social care and healthcare students engage in clinical practice early in their studies, and these environments can be emotionally challenging. Assessing EI in student selection with adequate test can help the institutions of higher education to select the students with required abilities to succeed in the studies. The assessment of EI during student selection also provides information higher education institutions could use to develop and provide support interventions. The results may also encourage practice placements to include EI elements as learning objective. The results of this study and especially the use of IRT and detailed distractor analysis to evaluate the psychometric properties of EMI‐T can benefit researchers and educators that develop or evaluate objective assessment tools with multiple choice questions. Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Emotional intelligence is important for students to enable professional interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]