Young, gifted and spiritual -The case of Finnish sixth-grade pupils

The aim of this study was to explore the spirituality of Finnish academically gifted 12 13-year old pre-adolescents (N = 101). Their spirituality was investigated through the following three questions: (1) What is their relationship to religion? (2) How do they perceive transcendence? and (3) How does their search for meaning integrate into their lives? A total of 60 girls and 41 boys participated in the study. They attend a special school, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu, in Helsinki, Finland. The school includes classes from grade 3 to upper secondary school and has an entrance test. This study is part of a research project called Actualizing Finnish Giftedness which is funded by the Finnish Academy between 2000 2007 and is led by Professor Tirri. The research project is based on Gardner s Multiple Intelligences theory (Gardner 1993) and on Hay s (1998) work on spirituality. The data in this study was gathered in 2003 and 2004. It includes both qualitative and quantitative material. The emphasis is on data gathered with interviews. The mixed method approach was used as the methodological framework for connecting the qualitative content analysis, phenomenological approach and the quantitative tests of this study. The results of the sub-studies are reported in full in the four original articles. First, the articles show that the pupils connect religion mainly with Christian institutions and do not consider religion and spirituality to overlap. Second, the articles show that the pupils believe in God and the interference of God in their lives and they think that reality includes a spiritual dimension. Third, the pupils had four kinds of existentially significant interests: personal, transcendental, cosmic and ethical. Cosmic interests were especially highlighted in the article concerning boys as nature and science were reported to be integral sources for their existential thinking. In addition, perceptions on God seemed to be connected to the individual s perception on the meaning of life. In RE, spiritual development has been a constant topic of interest since the late eighties. Likewise, recently in gifted education there have been discussions concerning spiritual intelligence (Gardner 1999) and spirituality of the gifted (Kerr & Cohn 2001). Based on the empirical results of the study, this study concludes that education wishing to promote spiritual development should aim at being existentially relevant to the pupils and use their existential search as an integrative framework for their individual talents and skills.

Male eating disorders and related traits : Genetic epidemiological study in Finnish twins

The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction and related traits in males by examining the epidemiology and genetic epidemiology of these conditions in representative population-based twin samples. The sample of Study I included adolescent twins from FinnTwin12 cohorts born 1983 87 and assessed by a questionnaire at ages 14 y (N=2070 boys, N=2062 girls) and 17 y (N=1857 boys, N=1984 girls). Samples of Studies II-V consisted of young adult twins born 1974-79 from FinnTwin16 cohorts (Study II N=1245 men, Study III N=724 men, Study IV N=2122 men, Study V N=2426 women and N=1962 men), who were assessed by a questionnaire at the age 22-28 y. In addition, 49 men and 526 women were assessed by a diagnostic interview. The overall response rates for both twin cohorts in all studies were 80-90%. In boys, mainly genetic factors (82%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 72-92) explained the covariation of self-esteem between the ages 14 y and 17 y, whereas in girls, environmental factors (69%, 95% CI 43-93) were the largest contributors. Of young men, 30% experienced high muscle dissatisfaction, while 12% used or had used muscle building supplements and/or anabolic steroids on a regular basis. Muscle dissatisfaction exhibited a robust association with the indicators of mental distress and a genetic component (42%, 95% CI 23-59) for its liability in this population was found. The variation of muscle-building substance use was primarily explained by the environmental factors. The incidence rate of anorexia nervosa in males for the age of 10-24 y was 15.7 (95% CI 6.6-37.8) per 100 000 person-years, and its lifetime prevalence by the young adulthood was 0.24% (95% CI 0.03-0.44). All detected probands with anorexia nervosa had recovered from eating disorders, but suffered from substantial psychiatric comorbidity, which manifested also in their co-twins. Additionally, male co-twins of the probands displayed significant dissatisfaction with body musculature, a male-specific feature of body dysmorphic disorder. All probands were from twin pairs discordant for eating disorders. Of the five male probands with anorexia nervosa, only one was from an opposite-sex twin pair. Among women from the opposite-sex pairs, the prevalence of DSM-IV or broad anorexia nervosa was no significantly different compared to that of the women from monozygotic pairs or from dizygotic same-sex pairs. The prevalence of DSM-IV or broad bulimia nervosa did not differ in opposite- versus same-sex female twin individuals either. In both sexes, the overall profile of indicators on eating disorders was rather similar between individuals from opposite-sex and same-sex pairs. In adolescence, development of self-esteem was differently regulated in boys compared to girls: this finding may have far-reaching implications on the etiology of sex discrepancy of internalizing and externalizing disorders. In young men, muscle dissatisfaction and muscle building supplement/steroid use were relatively common. Muscle dissatisfaction was associated with marked psychological distress such as symptoms of depression and disordered eating. Both genetic and environmental factors explained muscle dissatisfaction in the population, but environmental factors appeared to best explain the use of muscle-building substances. In this study, anorexia nervosa in boys and young men from the general population was more common, transient and accompanied by more substantial co-morbidity than previously thought. Co-twins of the probands with anorexia nervosa displayed significant psychopathology such as male specific symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, but none of them had had an eating disorder: taken together, these traits are suggestive for an endophenotype of anorexia nervosa in males. Little evidence was found on that the risk for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, disordered eating or body dissatisfaction were associated with twin zygosity. Thus, it is unlikely that in utero femininization, masculinization or postnatal socialization according to the sex of the co-twin have a major influence on the later development of eating disorders or related traits.

Leisure activities and obesity in adolescence : a follow-up study among twins

The aims of this dissertation were 1) to investigate associations of weight status of adolescents with leisure activities, and computer and cell phone use, and 2) to investigate environmental and genetic influences on body mass index (BMI) during adolescence. Finnish twins born in 1983–1987 responded to postal questionnaires at the ages of 11-12 (5184 participants), 14 (4643 participants), and 17 years (4168 participants). Information was obtained on weight and height, leisure activities including television viewing, video viewing, computer games, listening to music, board games, musical instrument playing, reading, arts, crafts, socializing, clubs, sports, and outdoor activities, as well as computer and cell phone use. Activity patterns were studied using latent class analysis. The relationship between leisure activities and weight status was investigated using logistic and linear regression. Genetic and environmental effects on BMI were studied using twin modeling. Of individual leisure activities, sports were associated with decreased overweight risk among boys in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, but among girls only cross-sectionally. Many sedentary leisure activities, such as video viewing (boys/girls), arts (boys), listening to music (boys), crafts (girls), and board games (girls), had positive associations with being overweight. Computer use was associated with a higher prevalence of overweight in cross-sectional analyses. However, musical instrument playing, commonly considered as a sedentary activity, was associated with a decreased overweight risk among boys. Four patterns of leisure activities were found: ‘Active and sociable’, ‘Active but less sociable’, ‘Passive but sociable’, and ‘Passive and solitary’. The prevalence of overweight was generally highest among the ‘Passive and solitary’ adolescents. Overall, leisure activity patterns did not predict overweight risk later in adolescence. An exception were 14-year-old ‘Passive and solitary’ girls who had the greatest risk of becoming overweight by 17 years of age. Heritability of BMI was high (0.58-0.83). Common environmental factors shared by family-members affected the BMI at 11-12 and 14 years but their effect had disappeared by 17 years of age. Additive genetic factors explained 90-96% of the BMI stability across adolescence. Genetic correlations across adolescence were high, which suggests similar genetic effects on BMI throughout adolescence, while unique environmental effects on BMI appeared to vary. These findings suggest that family-based interventions hold promise for obesity prevention into early and middle adolescence, but that later in adolescence obesity prevention should focus on individuals. A useful target could be adolescents' leisure time, and our findings highlight the importance of versatility in leisure activities.

The sources of moral motivation : studies on empathy, guilt, shame and values

The goals of this study were to analyze the forms of emotional tendencies that are likely to motivate moral behaviors, and to find correlates for these tendencies. In study 1, students narratives of their own guilt or shame experiences were analyzed. The results showed that pure shame was more likely to motivate avoidance than reparation, whereas guilt and combination of guilt and shame were likely to motivate reparation. However, all types of emotion could lead to chronic rumination if the person was not clearly responsible for the situation. In study 2, the relations of empathy with two measures of guilt were examined in a sample of 13- to 16-year-olds (N=113). Empathy was measured using Davis s IRI and guilt by Tangney s TOSCA and Hoffman s semi-projective story completion method that includes two different scenarios, guilt over cheating and guilt over inaction. Empathy correlated more strongly with both measures of guilt than the two measures correlated with each other. Hoffman s guilt over inaction was more strongly associated with empathy measures in girls than in boys, whereas for guilt over cheating the pattern was the opposite. Girls and boys who describe themselves as empathetic may emphasize different aspect of morality and feel guilty in different contexts. In study 3, cultural and gender differences in guilt and shame (TOSCA) and value priorities (the Schwartz Value Survey) were studied in samples of Finnish (N=156) and Peruvian (N=159) adolescents. Gender differences were found to be larger and more stereotypical among the Finns than among the Peruvians. Finnish girls were more prone to guilt and shame than boys were, whereas among the Peruvians there was no gender difference in guilt, and boys were more shame-prone than girls. The results support the view that psychological gender differences are largest individualistic societies. In study 4, the relations of value priorities to guilt, shame and empathy were examined in two samples, one of 15 19-year-old high school students (N = 207), and the other of military conscripts (N = 503). Guilt was, in both samples, positively related to valuing universalism, benevolence, tradition, and conformity, and negatively related to valuing power, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction. The results for empathy were similar, but the relation to the openness conservation value dimension was weaker. Shame and personal distress were weakly related to values. In sum, shame without guilt and the TOSCA shame scale are tendencies that are unlikely to motivate moral behavior in Finnish cultural context. Guilt is likely to be connected to positive social behaviors, but excessive guilt can cause psychological problems. Moral emotional tendencies are related to culture, cultural conceptions of gender and to individual value priorities.

Why Don't Students Talk? Causes of Foreign Language Communication Apprehension in English Classes: A Comparison of High Apprehensive and Low Apprehensive Upper Secondary Students.

OBJECTIVES. Oral foreign language skills are an integral part of one's social, academic and professional competence. This can be problematic for those suffering from foreign language communication apprehension (CA), or a fear of speaking a foreign language. CA manifests itself, for example, through feelings of anxiety and tension, physical arousal and avoidance of foreign language communication situations. According to scholars, foreign language CA may impede the language learning process significantly and have detrimental effects on one's language learning, academic achievement and career prospects. Drawing on upper secondary students' subjective experiences of communication situations in English as a foreign language, this study seeks, first, to describe, analyze and interpret why upper secondary students experience English language communication apprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. Second, this study seeks to analyse what the most anxiety-arousing oral production tasks in EFL classes are, and which features of different oral production tasks arouse English language communication apprehension and why. The ultimate objectives of the present study are to raise teachers' awareness of foreign language CA and its features, manifestations and impacts in foreign language classes as well as to suggest possible ways to minimize the anxiety-arousing features in foreign language classes. METHODS. The data was collected in two phases by means of six-part Likert-type questionnaires and theme interviews, and analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The questionnaire data was collected in spring 2008. The respondents were 122 first-year upper secondary students, 68 % of whom were girls and 31 % of whom were boys. The data was analysed by statistical methods using SPSS software. The theme interviews were conducted in spring 2009. The interviewees were 11 second-year upper secondary students aged 17 to 19, who were chosen by purposeful selection on the basis of their English language CA level measured in the questionnaires. Six interviewees were classified as high apprehensives and five as low apprehensives according to their score in the foreign language CA scale in the questionnaires. The interview data was coded and thematized using the technique of content analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the data drew on a comparison of the self-reports of the highly apprehensive and low apprehensive upper secondary students. RESULTS. The causes of English language CA in EFL classes as reported by the students were both internal and external in nature. The most notable causes were a low self-assessed English proficiency, a concern over errors, a concern over evaluation, and a concern over the impression made on others. Other causes related to a high English language CA were a lack of authentic oral practise in EFL classes, discouraging teachers and negative experiences of learning English, unrealistic internal demands for oral English performance, high external demands and expectations for oral English performance, the conversation partner's higher English proficiency, and the audience's large size and unfamiliarity. The most anxiety-arousing oral production tasks in EFL classes were presentations or speeches with or without notes in front of the class, acting in front of the class, pair debates with the class as audience, expressing thoughts and ideas to the class, presentations or speeches without notes while seated, group debates with the class as audience, and answering to the teacher's questions involuntarily. The main features affecting the anxiety-arousing potential of an oral production task were a high degree of attention, a large audience, a high degree of evaluation, little time for preparation, little linguistic support, and a long duration.

Leikin asia : Näkökulmia varhaisnuorten romanttiseen seurustelukulttuuriin

The subject of my research is the romantic dating culture, the practice of 'going with', among preadolescents ('tweens') in Finland during the 1990s. Preadolescence is a cultural construction of the post-industrial period, experienced by school students between the ages of 7 to 13. Deemed by researchers as a shallow, unchallenging and uninteresting period, it has been shadowed in previous studies by early childhood and puberty. This study combines paradigms of the folkloristic research of children's lore, which began in the 1970s, with those of later, turn-of-the-century girls study. The phenomena of romantic girl culture are studied in several ways, through ample and varied subject materials collected in different places at different times. The research material was collected directly from schoolchildren through interviews, questionnaires and the observations of preadolescents' behavior in discos, among other methods. Part of the material consists of reminiscent thematic writings and parts have been quoted from tween message boards. A general picture of romantic preadolescent dating culture is formed in this study from five previously published articles and a summary. The influence of western culture, with its respect for relationships, is evident in tween dating culture. Seven- to thirteen-year olds use the elements of the society around them to construct an appropriate way for themselves to 'go out' with someone. Many expressions in preadolescent dating culture are contrary to the models of adult relationships. For example, a couple isn't necessarily expected to meet each other even once, or the other party, the boy, doesn't even need to know he's dating someone. Girls organize and experience relationships by playing card fortune-telling, calculating 'Love Percentages', and other methods. Categorizing tween dating culture and its related emotional qualities from an adult point of view as simply a play is one example of the hierarchical system of generations where childhood emotions, actions and conceptions of reality aren't valued as highly as the 'real life' of adults. Lowest on the totem pole are little girls, who in this study get their voices backed up by the researcher's adulthood and research-based sisterhood. Keywords: childhood, children's lore, dating culture, girls and boys, girls study, fortune-telling games, preadolescence/tweens

Kasvilajien tunnistaminen, oppiminen ja opettaminen yleissivistävän koulutuksen näkökulmasta

The purpose of the research was to determine how well Finnish pupils and students of different ages recognize plant species, which variables explain recognition of plant species, what plants and nature mean to the subjects and how plant species identification should be taught in general education in Finland. The subjects were pupils from: every class level of the primary schools (grades 1 6); lower- secondary school (grades 7 9); high school (grades I II); university departments of teacher education and classroom teachers and teachers from university involved with environmental teaching and also experts from education and botany. A total of 883 people took part in the research. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The quantitative methods were: a) plant species recognition test, where 70 plant species photos were shown to subjects and b) an experiment in which three experimental groups had a plant recognition test on the nature trail and the three comparison groups were tested on recognition of the same species in classroom. The testing materials consisted of 31 real plants outdoors and 31 photos taken of these real plant species that were shown to pupils from fourth, fifth and sixth classes (grade levels) from primary school. The qualitative methods were a questionnaire administered to pupils from elementary school and high school and students from the department of teacher education, to teachers from university and interviews, where 3 5 pupils and students who recognized the plant species best or worst in the recognition test were selected to be interviewed. Furthermore, classroom teachers from primary school and experts were interviewed. The research results showed that on average plant species were recognized insufficiently on every level of education. There was also variation between answers from primary school to university teachers. However, species recognition skills improved from primary school to university teachers. Among other things, sex and place of residence explained species recognition skills, because girls and pupils from rural areas knew plant species statistically significantly better than boys or pupil from cities. Almost every pupil, student and all classroom teachers wanted to recognize plant species better. Many pupils mentioned that a motivating teaching method would be to go outdoors and investigate the plant species themselves. University teachers and experts also mentioned that the best and most efficient learning and teaching method for species recognition skills, is to practice in nature. We should teach plant species in nature, using many senses and teaching methods. Also new technology could be used in teaching species recognition skills. Keywords: plant species recognition, plant species education, general education

Lukemisen vaikeuden kuntoutus ensiluokkalaisilla : Kolme pedagogista interventiota

Remediation of Reading Difficulties in Grade 1. Three Pedagogical Interventions Keywords: initial teaching, learning to read, reading difficulties, intervention, dyslexia, remediation of dyslexia, home reading, computerized training In this study three different reading interventions were tested for first-graders at risk of reading difficulties at school commencement. The intervention groups were compared together and with a control group receiving special education provided by the school. First intervention was a new approach called syllable rhythmics in which syllabic rhythm, phonological knowledge and letter-phoneme correspondence are emphasized. Syllable rhythmics is based on multi-sensory training elements aimed at finding the most functional modality for every child. The second intervention was computerized training of letter-sound correspondence with the Ekapeli learning game. The third intervention was home-based shared book reading, where every family was given a story book, and dialogic reading style reading and writing exercises were prepared for each chapter of the book. The participants were 80 first-graders in 19 classes in nine schools. The children were matched in four groups according to pre-test results: three intervention and one control. The interventions took ten weeks starting from September in grade 1. The first post-test including several measures of reading abilities was administered in December. The first delayed post-test was administered in March, the second in September in grade 2, and the third, “ALLU” test (reading test for primary school) was administered in March in grade 2. The intervention and control groups differed only slightly from each other in grade 1. However, girls progressed significantly more than boys in both word reading and reading comprehension in December and this difference remained in March. The children who had been cited as inattentive by their teachers also lagged behind the others in the post-tests in December and March. When participants were divided into two groups according to their initial letter knowledge at school entry, the weaker group (maximum 17 correctly named letters in pre-test) progressed more slowly in both word reading and reading comprehension in grade 1. Intervention group and gender had no interaction effect in grade 1. Instead, intervention group and attentiveness had an interaction effect on most test measures the inattentive students in the syllable rhythmic group doing worst and attentive students in the control group doing best in grade 1. The smallest difference between results of attentive and inattentive students was in the Ekapeli group. In grade 2 still only minor differences were found between the intervention groups and control group. The only significant difference was in non-word reading, with the syllable rhythmics group outperforming the other groups in the fall. The difference between girls’ and boys’ performances in both technical reading and text comprehension disappeared in grade 2. The difference between the inattentive and attentive students cold no longer be found in technical reading, and the difference became smaller in text comprehension as well. The difference between two groups divided according to their initial letter knowledge disappeared in technical reading but remained significant in text comprehension measures in the ALLU test in the spring of grade 2. In all, the children in the study did better in the ALLU test than expected according to ALLU test norms. Being the weakest readers in their classes in the pre-test, 52.3 % reached the normal reading ability level. In the norm group 72.3 % of all students attained normal reading ability. The results of this study indicate that different types of remediation programs can be effective, and that special education has been apparently useful. The results suggest careful consideration of first-graders’ initial reading abilities (especially letter knowledge) and possible failure of attention; remediation should be individually targeted while flexibly using different methods.

Käsityön sukupuolirajat ja rajojen rikkojat

Gender-specific division of crafts is significant in Finnish culture. The aim of craft education in comprehensive schools has been to unify education for both girls and boys during the thirty years of modern comprehensive education, but in reality crafts has diverged into two different subjects for girls and boys. Craft education has taught different things: girls have been taught things that are feminine and included in private life, while the boys’ education has been mostly directed at public and working life. At the same time girls and boys have been educated and socialized towards a certain womanhood and manhood. Craft as a hobby is also very gender divided but there are some clues that tell of the changing positions on the border areas. The starting point of this study has been the assumption that gender structures within crafts can be transformed. But it is important to know the background that creates and maintains these constructions and the expedients for dismantling the structures. The main purpose of this study is to find out how the gender-specific crafts are changing and how they are still maintained. My study analyses why men and woman have chosen untypical hobbies and through that I shall discuss how gendered structures can be dismantled. In the autumn of 2008 I interviewed borderline breakers within crafts: men who had an interest in textile crafts and women who had an interest in technical work. Informants of this study were 20-31 years old and they studied behavioural sciences. The data was collected in 12 theme interviews and document analysis was used to study the results. The dismantling of the gender divide in crafts is slow, but new borders are drawn all the time. The informants have started textile and technical handicrafts soon after comprehensive school or during their studies at university. A main motivation for the new hobby has been the possibility to study for a teacher’s degree with technology or textile studies as a main or a secondary subject. Gender-specific division of crafts is constructed early in childhood as different skills are taught to girls and boys. School teaches gender specific skills and the different skills of girls and boys have not been taken into account. Instead, it has been assumed through comprehensive school that both girls and boys share certain basic skills, and attention has not been paid to the differences between genders. At university the same assumption has still thrived. Skill levels between men and women are substantial and that may have hindered a move by women to technical studies and by men to textile studies. Hence an assumption of naturally gendered crafts has been developed.

Koulutuksellisen syrjäytymisriskin ennustettavuus yhteishakuvalintojen kautta tarkasteltuna : koulupudokkuusriskin yhteys oppilaan kognitiiviseen kompetenssiin, koulumenestykseen sekä itseä ja vanhempia koskeviin uskomuksiin

The objective of this study was to find factors that could predict educational dropout. Dropout risk was assessed against pupil’s cognitive competence, success in school, and personal beliefs regarding self and parents, while taking into account the pupil’s background and gender. Based on earlier research, an assumption was made that a pupil’s gender, success in school, and parent’s education would be related with dropping out. This study is part of a project funded by the Academy of Finland and led by Professor Jarkko Hautamäki. The project aims to use longitudinal study to assess the development of pupils’ skills in learning to learn. The target group of this study consisted all Finnish speaking ninth graders of a municipality in Southern Finland. There were in total 1534 pupils, of which 809 were girls and 725 boys. The assessment of learning to learn skills was performed about ninth graders in spring 2004. “Opiopi” test material was used in the assessment, consisting of cognitive tests and questions measuring beliefs. At the same time, pupils’ background information was collected together with their self-reported average grade of all school subjects. During spring 2009, the pupils’ joint application data from years 2004 and 2005 was collected from the Finnish joint application registers. The data were analyzed using quantitative methods assisted by the SPSS for Windows computer software. Analysis was conducted through statistical indices, differences in grade averages, multilevel model, multivariate analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis. Based on earlier research, dropouts were defined as pupils that had not been admitted to or had not applied to second degree education under the joint application system. Using this definition, 157 students in the target group were classified as dropouts (10 % of the target group): 88 girls and 69 boys. The study showed that the school does not affect the drop-out risk but the school class explains 7,5 % of variation in dropout risk. Among girls, dropping out is predicted by a poor average grade, a lack of beliefs supporting learning, and an unrealistic primary choice in joint application system compared to one’s success in school. Among boys, a poor average grade, unrealistic choices in joint application system, and the belief of parent’s low appreciation of education were related to dropout risk. Keywords educational exclusion, school dropout, success in school, comprehensive school, learning to learn

Timing of puberty : Genetic regulation

In the general population, the timing of puberty is normally distributed. This variation is determined by genetic and environmental factors, but the exact mechanisms underlying these influences remain elusive. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into genetic regulation of pubertal timing. Contributions of genetic versus environmental factors to the normal variation of pubertal timing were explored in twins. Familial occurrence and inheritance patterns of constitutional delay of growth and puberty, CDGP (a variant of normal pubertal timing), were studied in pedigrees of patients with this condition. To ultimately detect genes involved in the regulation of pubertal timing, genetic loci conferring susceptibility to CDGP were mapped by linkage analysis in the same family cohort. To subdivide the overall phenotypic variance of pubertal timing into genetic and environmental components, genetic modeling based on monozygous twins sharing 100% and dizygous twins sharing 50% of their genes was used in 2309 girls and 1828 boys from the FinnTwin 12-17 study. The timing of puberty was estimated from height growth, i.e. change in the relative height between the age when pubertal growth velocity peaks in the general population and adulthood. This reflects the percentage of adult height achieved at the average peak height velocity age, and thus, pubertal timing. Boys and girls diagnosed with CDGP were gathered through medical records from six pediatric clinics in Finland. First-degree relatives of the probands were invited to participate by letter; altogether, 286 families were recruited. When possible, families were extended to include also second-, third-, or fourth-degree relatives. The timing of puberty in all family members was primarily assessed from longitudinal growth data. Delayed puberty was defined by onset of pubertal growth spurt or peak height velocity taking place 1.5 (relaxed criterion) or 2 SD (strict criterion) beyond the mean. If growth data were unavailable, pubertal timing was based on interviews. In this case, CDGP criteria were set as having undergone pubertal development more than 2 (strict criterion) or 1.5 years (relaxed criterion) later than their peers, or menarche after 15 (strict criterion) or 14 years (relaxed criterion). Familial occurrence of strict CDGP was explored in families of 124 patients (95 males and 29 females) from two clinics in Southern Finland. In linkage analysis, we used relaxed CDGP criteria; 52 families with solely growth data-based CDGP diagnoses were selected from all clinics. Based on twin data, genetic factors explain 86% and 82% of the variance of pubertal timing in girls and boys, respectively. In families, 80% of male and 76% of female probands had affected first-degree relatives, in whom CDGP was 15 times more common than the expected (2.5%). In 74% (17 of 23) of the extended families with only one affected parent, familial patterns were consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. By using 383 multiallelic markers and subsequently fine-mapping with 25 additional markers, significant linkage for CDGP was detected to the pericentromeric region of chromosome 2, to 2p13-2q13 (multipoint HLOD 4.44, α 0.41). The findings of the large twin study imply that the vast majority of the normal variation of pubertal timing is attributed to genetic effects. Moreover, the high frequency of dominant inheritance patterns and the large number of affected relatives of CDGP patients suggest that genetic factors also markedly contribute to constitutional delay of puberty. Detection of the locus 2p13-2q13 in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 2 associating with CDGP is one step towards unraveling the genes that determine pubertal timing.

Kokonaisvaltainen fysiikanopetus peruskoulussa fysiikan valinnaiskurssilla

Holistic physics education in upper secondary level based on the optional course of physics Keywords: physics education, education, holistic, curriculum, world view, values A physics teacher s task is to put into practice all goals of the curriculum. Holistic physics education means in this research teaching, in which the school s common educational goals and the goals particular to the physics curriculum are taken into account. These involve knowledge, skills and personal value and attitude goals. Research task was to clarify how the educational goals involving student s values and attitudes can be carried out through the subject content of physics. How does the physics teacher communicate the modern world view through the content of the physics class? The goal of this research was to improve teaching, to find new points of view and to widen the perspective on how physics is taught. The teacher, who acted also as a researcher, planned and delivered an optional course where she could study the possibilities of holistic physics education. In 2001-2002 ten girls and two boys of the grade 9th class participated in that elective course. According to principles of action research the teacher-researcher reflected also on her own teaching action. Research method was content analysis that involved both analyzing student feedback, and relevant features of the teacher s knowledge, which are needed for planning and giving the physics lessons. In this research that means taking into account the subject matter knowledge, curriculum, didactic and the pedagogical content knowledge of the teacher. The didactic includes the knowledge of the learning process, students motivation, specific features of the physics didactics and the research of physics education. Among other things, the researcher constructed the contents of the curriculum and abstracted sentences as keywords, from which she drew a concept map. The concept maps, for instance, the map of educational goals and the mapping of the physics essence, were tools for studying contents which are included in the holistic physics education. Moreover, conclusions were reached concerning the contents of physics domains by which these can be achieved. According to this research, the contents employing the holistic physics education is as follows: perception, the essence of science, the development of science, new research topics and interactions in physics. The starting point of teaching should be connected with the student s life experiences and the approach to teaching should be broadly relevant to those experiences. The teacher-researcher observed and analyzed the effects of the experimental physics course, through the lens of a holistic physics education. The students reported that the goals of holistic physics education were achieved in the course. The discourses of the students indicated that in the experimental course they could express their opinions and feelings and make proposals and evaluations. The students had experiences about chances to affect the content of the course, and they considered the philosophical physics course interesting, it awakened questions, increased their self-esteem and helped them to become more aware of their world views. The students analytic skills developed in the interactive learning environment. The physics teacher needs broad knowledge for planning his or her teaching, which is evaluated in this research from contents maps made for the tools of the teaching. In the holistic physics education the teacher needs an open and curious mind and skills for interaction in teaching. This research indicates the importance of teaching physics in developing attitudes and values beside substance of the physics in class environment. The different points of view concerning human beings life make it possible to construct the modern world view of the students and to develop analytic skills and the self-esteem and thus help them in learning. Overall and wide points of view also help to transfer knowledge to practice. Since such contents is not employed by teaching the physics included in the standard curriculum, supplement relevant teaching material that includes such topics are needed.

Eläytymisestä omiin tarinoihin : Televisiosarja katsojien keskustelussa

From sympathetic understanding to own stories. TV-series in the conversation of its viewers. The purpose of this study is to analyze viewers' conversations about TV-series as a practice in which viewers construct meaning to TV-series. In the tradition of British Cultural Studies this study understands that viewer has an active role in interpreting and constructing meaning to TV-series. In the tradition of feminist studies this study understands that gender is being constructed in social and cultural practices. In reception studies, the viewing of TV-series has usually been analyzed as a practice which is embedded at home and in a family. The studies are often based on interviews of viewers, and the analysis of the construction of meaning is based on interview material where the viewers most often talk about their viewing habits and the likes and dislikes of TV-shows and -characters. This study extends the reception and interpretation of TV-series from home to the moments of interaction between viewers. It is quite common to hear how people talk also outside of home about television and the programmes they have watched. In this study the construction of meaning is being studied in viewers' conversations. The method of analysis is conversation analysis which studies the ordered properties of everyday forms of social interaction. The data has been collected in a workplace where four women watched together (and without the presence of a researcher) two TV-series, American sitcom Golden Girls and Finnish family drama Ruusun aika (Time of a Rose), and afterwards had time and chance for discussion. There was neither a questionnaire nor an agenda for the women to discuss. The analysis of the conversation brings up three themes. In the orientation discussions the viewers aim to construct frames in which it makes sense to talk about the TV-series. The frames have mostly to do with the genre of the TV-series. The second theme is concerned with the viewers' aim to achieve sympathetic understanding of the characters in the TV-series. The third theme extends and transfers the conversation about TV-series to real or imaginary stories of own life. In the conversation the reception of a TV-series appears as being in motion: in the orientation discussions the viewers move towards the series, in the character-discussions the viewers move within the world of the series, and when telling their own stories the viewers move away from the TV-series towards their own lives. In the conversations there appears also a distinction in gender-constructions. When the viewers talk about motherhood, they adopt a serious and moralistic tone. When they talk about female sexuality and relationships between women and men they adopt carnevalistic and humorous tone. There are examples of these kinds of gender-constructions also in other studies of Finnish gender culture. Motherhood means the responsibility to good upbringing; relationships with men include something unpredictable and problematic which one handles at best in a humorous way.

Tytöt, pojat ja sukupuolinen häirintä

In this research I ask what is interpreted as sex-based harassment by 15-16-year old girls and boys. By sex-based harassment I refer to one-sided, unwanted attention that is based on gender and that makes the target feel embarrassed, frightened, hurt or angry. My focus is not on the most overt cases of harassment but rather on everyday encounters. While young people differentiate between harassing and non-harassing attention, at the same time they define, assign value to and construct differences and power relations on the basis of gender, age and ethnicity, for example. My main data consists of essays (N 104, 54 girls, 54 boys) and thematic interviews (N 14; 20 girls, 3 boys) of ninth graders of a secondary school in Helsinki. In the essays and interviews, students construe the border between pleasant and unpleasant, tolerable and intolerable attention as clear in principle, but, they suggest that in practice this border is ambivalent, negotiable and contextual. The interpretations of incidents are justified by referring to features of the target, the scene or the perpetrator. Targets of harassment are most often construed as being girls who are characterized as thin-skinned, but at the same time they are expected to be understanding toward any sex-based attention they may get, particularly when it is not physical. On the other hand, girls are regarded as equal and even active participants in incidents of harassment. Such statements include considerations of how girls either reject or invite particular kinds of attention by their actions and outward appearance. Forms of harassment, ways of understanding it as well as overcoming it vary according to spatial context. By situating incidents in different spaces and places, young people contrast their experiences with ordinary and predictable non-harassment that takes place e.g. in discos and unusual and unexpected harassment that takes place e.g. in the city streets in the daytime. The behaviour of boys harassing a girls is naturalized by appealing to young masculinity and the childishness but also strong sexual drive which is seen as characteristic of teenage boys. On the other hand, sex-based harassment is racialized and pathologized in ways that separate the phenomenon from young, Finnish, normal masculinity. Both the material experiences of the young people and the definitions of the parties involved in harassing incidents are gendered. Girls encounter and deal with sexualized commenting and unwanted approaches much more often and in a more intensive way than boys. Furthermore, there is a vast cultural repertoire of acceptable accounts that can be mobilised in order to excuse male harassers, to critically evaluate the appearance or action of the female targets and to divide the responsibility between the female target and the male perpetrator.

Ryhmärajoja ja hierarkioita : etnografinen tutkimus peruskoulun yläasteen liikunnanopetuksesta

This study examines gender as a dimension of group divisions and differences in physical education (PE) lessons at school. The aim is to look at those structures and practices which direct the ways the girls and the boys move their bodies at secondary school in 2000’s while growing up to become women and men. Theoretically, the goal is to clarify how the social is inscribed to the bodies in the context of physical education lessons at school. This ethnographic study was conducted in the physical education lessons of 7th graders (13-14-year-olds) by observing the everyday life in five PE groups and by interviewing pupils (N=27) and their teachers (N=2). This method has given the researcher “a sense of the game”; an embodied experience of the feel for the game of the studied phenomenon. The access to the contextual “positions of expertise” does not seem to be socially and materially equally distributed in physical education. In PE the criteria of inclusion and exclusion were intertwined with physical skills and friendships, these hierarchies becoming visible in the situations of team choice in PE lessons. Not all families have possibilities to enable their children to participate in expensive leisure sports activities. Therefore the family’s societal position is in relation to the construction of leisure time activities. The access to certain possibilities demands time and money. In Finland the physical education is mainly carried out in differentiated groups for girls and boys. In physical education, the gender-differentiated groups, and partially the different practices of these groups activate, and on the other hand suppress, situations of gender related borderwork. In this research, both pupils and PE teachers repeatedly mentioned the naturality of the differences while speaking about gender. The differences were also restored to gender. I apply Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical view to the social situations, ethnographic fieldwork and interviews. My central statement is that in ethnography the audience has access to the backstage of the researcher since reporting does not follow the traditional division to the public and the private.