Discussions on Some Educational Issues II. Research Report 54.

This international research report consists of five papers discussing five different topics in education. "Views on the Implementation of the Curriculum--Experiences of the Finnish Practice" (P. Kansanen) analyzes research results regarding the national curriculum for the Finnish comprehensive school system and compares them with a similar system in Norway. "Modalization Processes in Student Biographies" (R. Kokemohr) investigates linguistic indefiniteness as revealed by students in informal interviews. Those speech events can be interpreted as transformational procedures in the student's passage from everyday life to one oriented toward the university's scientific frame. "Problemhafter Unterricht im Fach Physik mit dem Ziel des Auslosens schopferischen Lernens" (H. Lechner) develops a method of instruction and an approach to problem solving in physics education with the aim of allowing students to creatively find solutions to problems. Flow charts and diagrams visualize the process. "Universities after 1945: The Age of Global Power or Crisis" (A. Radziewicz-Winnicki) examines the relationship of the university to contemporary society, explores how the relationship has evolved from earlier centuries, and investigates the impact of that evolution on the university syllabi through the post-1945 era. "Reform Intentions and Their Implementation" (E. Wallin) relates reform formulation to reform implementation, discussing these issues against the background of mandated reform in Sweden. (PPB)