The SCOTS corpus and TEFL: Discovering and Using Strategies of Spoken English in Finnish Upper Secondary Schools

Suomen koulutuspolitiikasta vastaavat viranomaiset ovat reagoineet kansainvälisten kommunikaatiotarpeiden asettamiin haasteisiin ja muuttaneet yhden lukion A-tasoisen vieraan kielen kurssin sisällön vastaamaan suullisen viestinnän tarpeita. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten englannin puhestrategioita voi opettaa suomalaisille lukiolaisille ja mitä metodeja on käytettävissä puhestrategioiden oppimisen arvioimiseksi. Vastaan asettamiini kysymyksiin aikaisemman tutkimuskirjallisuuden ja englannin kielen lukio-opetuksesta keräämäni aineiston avulla. Keskeisiä elementtejä tutkielmassa ovat erityisesti pragmaattinen kompetenssi ja kolme yleisen tason puhestrategiaa (keskustelun aloittaminen, oman puheenvuoron säilyttäminen sekä keskustelun ylläpitäminen). Aineistossa on mukana 65 ensimmäisen vuosiluokan lukiolaista (luokka A ja B) Helsingistä ja Espoosta. Opetusmateriaalina on käytetty SCOTS korpusta; tarkemmin määriteltynä puhetiedosto nimeltä Conversation 20: Four secondary school girls in the North East. Tiedostossa esille tulleet, kolmeen puhestrategiaan liittyvät fraasit, sanat ja rakenteet havainnollistettiin opiskelijoille mm. AntConc - konkordanssiohjelman avulla. Opiskelijat tekivät myös kirjallisia ja suullisia harjoituksia, jotka liittyivät puhestrategioihin. Neljälle vapaaehtoiselle opiskelijalle suunnattu toinen suullinen tehtävätyyppi vapaamuotoisine keskusteluineen äänitettiin, transkriboitiin ja tuloksia arvioitiin mm. eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen avulla. Lisäksi B - luokka vastasi kyselylomakkeeseen, jossa kysyttiin heidän mielipiteitään esim. hyödyllisimmästä testioppitunnista sekä heidän osallistumishalukkuudestaan uudelle pitkän englannin kahdeksannelle syventävälle kurssille. Tutkimustulokset ovat kannustavia ja osoittavat, että puhestrategioita on mahdollista opettaa jo lukiotasolla. Vaikka tutkimuksessa käytetty lähestymistapa oli opiskelijoille osittain uusi, valtaosa heistä myönsi oppineensa uutta englannin kielen keskustelurakenteista. Lisäksi vapaaehtoisten opiskelijoiden äänitetyt ja transkriboidut keskustelut tarjoavat hyvän lähtökohdan mahdolliselle jatkotutkimukselle.

Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement : A Study of Academic and Professional Qualification on Teachers' Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Secondary Schools

This academic work begins with a compact presentation of the general background to the study, which also includes an autobiography for the interest in this research. The presentation provides readers who know little of the topic of this research and of the structure of the educational system as well as of the value given to education in Nigeria. It further concentrates on the dynamic interplay of the effect of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness in secondary schools in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. The aim of this study is to produce a systematic analysis and rich theoretical and empirical description of teachers' teaching competencies. The theoretical part comprises a comprehensive literature review that focuses on research conducted in the areas of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness, teaching competencies, and the role of teacher education with particular emphasis on school effectiveness and improvement. This research benefits greatly from the functionalist conception of education, which is built upon two emphases: the application of the scientific method to the objective social world, and the use of an analogy between the individual 'organism' and 'society'. To this end, it offers us an opportunity to define terms systematically and to view problems as always being interrelated with other components of society. The empirical part involves describing and interpreting what educational objectives can be achieved with the help of teachers' teaching competencies in close connection to educational planning, teacher training and development, and achieving them without waste. The data used in this study were collected between 2002 and 2003 from teachers, principals, supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in the Rivers State of Nigeria (N=300). The data were collected from interviews, documents, observation, and questionnaires and were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses posited in this study. The data analysis involved the use of multiple statistical procedures: Percentages Mean Point Value, T-test of Significance, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Cross Tabulation. The results obtained from the data analysis show that teachers require professional knowledge and professional teaching skills, as well as a broad base of general knowledge (e.g., morality, service, cultural capital, institutional survey). Above all, in order to carry out instructional processes effectively, teachers should be both academically and professionally trained. This study revealed that teachers are not however expected to have an extraordinary memory, but rather looked upon as persons capable of thinking in the right direction. This study may provide a solution to the problem of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. For this reason, I offer this treatise to anyone seriously committed in improving schools in developing countries in general and in Nigeria in particular to improve the lives of all its citizens. In particular, I write this to encourage educational planners, education policy makers, curriculum developers, principals, teachers, and students of education interested in empirical information and methods to conceptualize the issue this study has raised and to provide them with useful suggestions to help them improve secondary schooling in Nigeria. Though, multiple audiences exist for any text. For this reason, I trust that the academic community will find this piece of work a useful addition to the existing literature on school effectiveness and school improvement. Through integrating concepts from a number of disciplines, I aim to describe as holistic a representation as space could allow of the components of school effectiveness and quality improvement. A new perspective on teachers' professional competencies, which not only take into consideration the unique characteristics of the variables used in this study, but also recommend their environmental and cultural derivation. In addition, researchers should focus their attention on the ways in which both professional and non-professional teachers construct and apply their methodological competencies, such as their grouping procedures and behaviors to the schooling of students. Keywords: Professional Training, Academic Training, Professionally Qualified, Academically Qualified, Professional Qualification, Academic Qualification, Job Effectiveness, Job Efficiency, Educational Planning, Teacher Training and Development, Nigeria.

Variation in the Understanding of Lutheranism and Its Implications for Religious Education : Meaning Discernment of Students and Teachers in Finnish Upper Secondary Schools

The study investigated variation in the ways in which a group of students and teachers of Evangelical Lutheran religious education in Finnish upper secondary schools understand Lutheranism and searched for educational implications for learning in religious education. The aim of understanding the qualitative variation in understanding Lutheranism was explored through the relationship between the following questions, which correspond to the results reported in the following original refereed publications: 1) How do Finnish students understand Lutheranism? 2) How do Finnish teachers of religious education constitute the meaning of Lutheranism? 3) How could phenomenography and the Variation Theory of Learning contribute to learning about and from religion in the context of Finnish Lutheran Religious Education as compared to religious education in the UK? Two empirical studies (Hella, 2007; Hella, 2008) were undertaken from a phenomenographic research perspective (e.g., Marton, 1981) and the Variation Theory of Learning (e.g., Marton & Tsui et al. 2004) that developed from it. Data was collected from 63 upper secondary students and 40 teachers of religious education through written tasks with open questions and complementary interviews with 11 students and 20 teachers for clarification of meanings. The two studies focused on the content and structure of meaning discernment in students and teachers expressed understandings of Lutheranism. Differences in understandings are due to differences in the meanings that are discerned and focused on. The key differences between the ways students understand varied from understanding Lutheranism as a religion to personal faith with its core in mercy. The logical relationships between the categories that describe variation in understanding express a hierarchy of ascending complexity, according to which more developed understandings are inclusive of less developed ones. The ways the teachers understand relate to student s understandings in a sequential manner. Phenomenography and Variation Theory were discussed in the context of religious education in Finland and the UK in relation to the theoretical notion of learning about and from religion (Hella & Wright, 2008). The thesis suggests that variation theory enables religious educators to recognise the unity of learning about and from religion, as learning is always learning about something and involves simultaneous engagement with the object of learning and development as a person. The study also suggests that phenomenography and variation theory offer a means by which it is possible for academics, policy makers, curriculum designers, teachers and students to learn to discern different ways of understanding the contested nature of religions. Keywords: Lutheranism, understanding, variation, teaching, learning, phenomenography, religious education

Lasten vaikeiden ja stressaavien tilanteiden hallinta yläkouluun siirtymisen vaiheessa

This study examined year seven students´ proactive coping, self-efficacy and social support seeking. Proactive coping was defined as a behaviour where obstacles are seen as a challenge. In proactive coping, individuals set goals, build up resources and regulate their behaviour to achieve the goals. Self-efficacy can be seen as people’s beliefs about their capabilities. Social support seeking was divided into instrumental support seeking and emotional support seeking. According to the theoretical frame of this study self-efficacy and social support seeking were seen as resources to proactive coping (Greenglass 2002). The participants were 445 year seven students (Mo= 13 years) from seven secondary schools. The data was collected in March-May 2008. The survey consisted 37 Likert-scaled items from the Proactive Coping Inventory and from the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The survey consisted of four scales: Proactive Coping, Instrumental Support Seeking, Emotional Support Seeking and General Self-Efficacy. The participants' age, gender and studying in specialist streams were asked as background information. As a result, most of the participants (62 % girls, 38 % boys) reported fairly strong proactive coping: they can see obstacles as a challenge and they set goals and regulate their behaviour to achieve the goals. Most of the participants reported that they seek instrumental and emotional support when having troubles. Girls reported more social support seeking than did boys and the mean difference was statistically significant. Most of the participants had fairly high sense of self-efficacy. However, 4 % of the participants reported that they don’t believe in their capabilities. Some of these participants reported that they neither use proactive coping nor seek informational or emotional support when having troubles. Proactive coping correlated positively with self-efficacy and with social support seeking. In this study self-efficacy and social support seeking explained 47 % of proactive coping. It was discussed that children’s high sense of self-efficacy and social relationships can act as protective factors in transition to secondary school. When supporting children’s self-efficacy and social relationships one also assists children’s proactive coping. Proactive coping can be seen to support children’s personal growth.

Kouluvalinta vai koulun valinta? : Oppilaiden valikoituminen yläkouluihin Espoossa keväällä 2006

Changes in governance in the public sector made it possible to give the power to the level of service production. In Finland schools were diversified. They wanted to be as attractive as possible. In her dissertation (2006) Piia Seppänen studied parental choice and schools choice policies in Espoo, in Kuopio, in Lahti, inTurku and in some levels in Helsinki too. After her study was done there has been some changes in school choise policy in Espoo. The catchments areas changed radically; earlier every school did have its own catchment area. But now three or even five school has the same catchment area. On the base of the Seppänen’s dissertation I wondered who’s choice it really were? Is the choice maker customer or producer of the service? In my study I tried to understand those processes where pupils were selected for the 7th grade in lower secondary schools in the spring in 2006. To make the picture clear, I have to study the history of pupil selection and the changes of it in the 21st century. I also have to study the geography of the town which is quite special in comparison with the normal cities with one central area. This has its own effects on the pupil selection system as well as in the whole study. In my study I try to present what kind of process the pupil selection is in Espoo and how it was done actually in the spring of 2006. The empirical data of my study were statistical data, documents of different kind, conversations with principals, local authorities and politicians. I also interviewed one politician and observed a few information meetings about the pupil selection process. Based on this large variety of data I tried to draw a picture of the way of speaking (writing) about the ability of the choice. Furthermore, how this pupil selection is done in reality. The ability to apply to special instruction in f. e. music, graphic arts or maths and sciences or to language based instruction (bilingual and immersion teaching) depends on the district you live. Because there is one catchment area which has no special or language based instruction available. Also the poor public transport system might have some effects on the parental choice. According to my study, 20 % of the 7th grade pupils were selected with criteria of different kind to special classes. Because the ability to get special or language based instruction depends on your district, there is a big risk for a selection based on the pupils' socio-economic background.

Kohti ulkorajoja : Lukion toimintakulttuurikuvaus ohjauksen ja johtamisen näkökulmasta

The aim of this qualitative study is to chart the operational context of the upper-secondary school principals and the historical, cultural and structural factors that steer their day-to-day work. The concepts regarding the study environment and operational culture are defined and analysed in terms of how they are interrelated. Furthermore it is explained why the upper-secondary schools must describe their operational culture within the curriculum. The study also aims to connect the description of the operational culture with the operational system of the upper-secondary school and to analyse the descriptions of the five upper-secondary schools in relation to the commitment to developing a study environment conducive to learning and participation, as well as conducive to supporting interaction. Interview data is used to provide the background for the description of the operational culture and to particularise the results of the analysis. According to the theory used in this study, the steering sources of the day-to-day work of the upper-secondary school are the rules system of the state, the municipality, the curriculum, and on the level of the upper-secondary school administration. The research data consist of the literature concerning the steering, steering forms and the principals professional picture in general terms, from 1950 to the present, and the steering texts concerning the educational environment and operational culture. Furthermore the research data include five descriptions of the operational culture concerning the upper-secondary school, the action reports and student guides. The methods of analysis include the level model and content analysis. The first is a part of the theory used in this study. For the purpose of content analysis, moreover, classifying grounds are established on the basis of theoretical and empirical research data. A result of this study is that, from the perspective of steering, the function of describing the operational culture is clearly linked to the evaluation supporting the goals and the vision of a learning organization. From an administrative point of view, a description is a problem-solving strategy and an instrument of evaluation. The study environment is a structural context in and through which the actors of the school create, change and renew the elements of the structure rooted in the context; this structure is their historically and culturally mediated way of thinking and acting. The initial situation and orientation of the students affect the emphasis of the operational culture descriptions; principals also have their own personal style of leadership. Key words: source of steering, educational environment, operational culture, self-evaluation, learning organisation

Opettajien teknologiasuhteen luonne ja muodostuminen

This study investigates primary and secondary school teachers’ social representations and ways to conceptualise new technologies. The focus is both on teachers’ descriptions, interpretations and conceptions of technology and on the adoption and formation of these conceptions. In addition, the purpose of this study is to analyse how the national objectives of the information society and the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools reflect teachers’ thinking and everyday practices. The starting point for the study is the idea of a dynamic and mutual relationship between teachers and technology so that technology does not affect one-sidedly teachers’ thinking. This relationship is described in this study as the teachers’ technology relationship. This concept emphasises that technology cannot be separated from society, social relations and the context where it is used but it is intertwined with societal practices and is therefore formed in interaction with the material and social factors. The theoretical part of this study encompasses three different research traditions: 1) the social shaping of technology, 2) research on how schools and teachers use technology and 3) social representations theory. The study was part of the Helmi Project (Holistic development of e-Learning and business models) in 2001–2005 at the Helsinki University of Technology, SimLab research unit. The Helmi Project focused on different aspects of the utilisation of ICT in teaching. The research data consisted of interviews of teachers and principals. Altogether 37 interviews were conducted in 2003 and 2004 in six different primary and secondary schools in Espoo, Finland. The data was analysed applying grounded theory. The results showed that the teachers’ technology relationship was diverse and context specific. Technology was interpreted differently depending on the context: the teachers’ technology related descriptions and metaphors illustrated on one hand the benefits and the possibilities and on the other hand the problems and threats of different technologies. The dualist nature of technology was also expressed in the teachers’ thinking about technology as a deterministic and irrevocable force and as a controllable and functional tool at the same time. Teachers did not consider technology as having a stable character but they interpreted technology in relation to the variable context of use. This way they positioned or anchored technology into their everyday practices. The study also analysed the formation of the teachers’ technology relationship and the ways teachers familiarise themselves with new technologies. Comparison of different technologies as well as technology related metaphors turned out to be significant in forming the technology relationship. Also the ways teachers described the familiarisation process and the interpretations of their own technical skills affected the formation of technology relationship. In addition, teachers defined technology together with other teachers, and the discussions reflected teachers’ interpretations and descriptions.

Koulun kestävän kehityksen työn merkitys kiinteistön jätehuollossa Case: Helsingin peruskoulujen jätekustannukset ja -määrät

Koulujen kestävän kehityksen työllä tarkoitetaan ekologiseen, taloudelliseen, sosiaaliseen ja kulttuuriseen kestävyyteen pohjautuvaa ympäristökasvatusta. Helsingissä peruskoulujen kestävän kehityksen työvälineet (ympäristökartoitukset ja – ohjelmat) ovat perustuneet koulujen ympäristöasioiden suunnitteluun, opetussuunnitelmien toteutumiseen ja ylläpitotoimintoihin, kuten jätehuoltoon. Opetusvirasto käytti vuosina 2005 ja 2009 ympäristötoiminnan arvioinnissa ympäristötasokuvauksia 1-3, joista arvosana 3 kuvaa ympäristöasioissa edistyneintä koulua. Tutkielman tavoitteena on tutkia ympäristötoiminnan tasojen perusteella ryhmiteltyjen peruskoulujen välisiä eroja jätekustannuksissa ja – määrissä (euroa/henkilö ja kg/henkilö) ja löytää mahdollisesti eroihin vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Tutkielman toimeksiantajana on 4V-Välitä, vaikuta, viihdy, voi hyvin – hanke, jonka yhtenä toiminnan osa-alueena on koulujen kestävän kehityksen työ. Tuloksista tullaan johtamaan tietoa Opetusviraston sekä muiden tahojen, kuten HSY:n ja Palmian ympäristötyöhön sekä Kiinteistöviraston Tilakeskuksen hallinnassa olevien koulukiinteistöjen jätehuollon kehittämiseen. Tutkimusaineistoina käytettiin Helsingin peruskoulujen vuoden 2009 jätekustannuksia ja tutkielman yhteydessä kerätyn jäteseurannan tuloksia vuodelta 2010. Jätekustannus- ja jätemääräaineistot yhdistettiin vuoden 2009 ympäristötoiminnan tasoluokitusten perusteella otokseksi (n=64). Lopullinen jätekustannus- ja jätemääräanalyysi tehtiin 29 koulun otoksella, josta oli rajattu pois kiinteistöt, joilla on koulun toiminnan lisäksi muita käyttötarkoituksia. Analyysiin sisällytettiin myös tarkempi tarkastelu koulujen seka- ja biojätejakeiden kustannuksista ja määristä. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä todettiin, että eri ympäristötasoisten peruskoulujen välillä on huomattavia euro- ja kilomääräisiä eroja henkilöä kohden lasketuissa jätekustannuksissa ja –määrissä. Kokonaisjätemäärässä ei ole tapahtunut merkittävää muutosta tarkasteluvuosien välillä, mutta lajittelu näyttäisi kuitenkin tehostuneen. Tulosten perusteella ympäristöasioissa edistyneiden tason 3 koulujen keskimääräiset sekajätemäärät ja -kustannukset olivat pienimmät tasojen 1 ja 2 kouluihin verrattuna. Biojätemäärät ja –kustannukset olivat suurimmat tason 2 kouluissa. Jätekustannuksiin ja – määriin näyttäisivät vaikuttavan jäteastioiden määrien, kokojen ja tyhjennysrytmien optimointi sekä jäteastioiden täyttöasteet. Peruskoulujen tulisi keskittyä kestävän kehityksen työn avulla jätteiden synnyn ehkäisyyn ja vähentämiseen, jotta jätekustannuksetkin vähentyisivät jätehuollon kehittämistoimenpiteiden seurauksena.

Ihmisoikeuskasvatus lukiossa — outoa ja itsestään selvää

Human Rights Education in a Finnish Upper Secondary School: Alien Yet Obvious This study focused on conceptions of human rights and human rights education (HRE) among students and teachers. I examined how human rights and HRE are understood by the students and teachers in one general upper secondary school located in southern Finland. I also examined teacher and student discourses about foreigners and immigrants. In the theoretical part of the study I dealt with the history of human rights, the different emphases in HRE and how HRE is handled within the curriculum of upper secondary schools in Finland. In the empirical part of the study I examined HRE in one particular general upper secondary school located in southern Finland where I carried out 28 student interviews and 18 teacher interviews. The study is based on qualitative theme interviews, which I analysed using qualitative content analysis. The aims of HRE as specified in UN documents on education seem not to have been achieved in the Finnish context. The students' knowledge of human rights seemed weak and very limited. Few teachers were familiar with the concept of human rights education. The concept of human rights was also unclear to many of the students. Freedom of speech was the most well-known and the most often-cited human right mentioned in the interviews. Students were not well acquainted with the different human rights instruments or the organisations dealing with human rights. In a way, human rights were both familiar and strange to the students. Materials related to HRE were used very little in the school or not at all. Yet human rights seemed to be very well implemented in the institution. The upper secondary school studied here does not seem to have substantial problems with equality among either the teachers or the students. In the interviews human rights problems were often considered someone else's problem in some other country. The teachers and students connected HRE especially with religious education, history and social studies. Human dignity is mostly dealt with in religious education, while matters concerning the history of human rights are mostly dealt with in history classes. Teachers appear to be human rights educators in the sense that they try to follow human rights principles in their daily work and respect the human dignity of everyone. The special role of a human rights educator was usually assigned to someone else — a teacher or an expert outside the school. HRE was not an intentional or conscious part of teachers´ educational work and was not seen either as belonging to the curriculum or as an obligation prescribed by international documents. There is a need to strengthen the presence of HRE in teacher education. HRE plays an important role in creating a culture of human rights. It is important to implement HRE so that the international aims for HRE will be fulfilled.

Turvallinen koulu? : Helsinkiläisten peruskoulujen turvallisuuskulttuurista ja siihen vaikuttavista tekijöistä

Objectives. This study concentrated on the aspect of physical safety in the learning environment of primary and secondary schools in Helsinki. Taking a broad perspective, the study analysed the safety culture of Helsinki schools, ranked them with a point rating system, and thoroughly investigated reasons behind their differences. Safety culture in educa-tional institutions has not been studied previously although research related to safety culture in business is abundant and some studies have considered safety culture in the healthcare sector. The study focused on the attitudes and practices of teachers concerning safety. The main research question is as follows: "What factors related to safety culture distinguish schools with an exceptional safety culture from those weaker one?" Research methods. The study used a mixed-methods approach. It s quantitative part charted the safety attitudes, values and expertise of employees in selected schools. The study also analysed physical safety in selected schools through specific safety inspections. The 14 schools in the study were selected randomly, two from each district. Altogether 388 of 475 employees returned a Webropol questionnaire (N= 475, 81,68 %). The qualitative part of the study analysed the reasons behind perceived differences in school s safety cul-ture using theme interviews with school principals. Elements of a phenomenographic research approach were also used. Results and conclusions. According to the study the distinctive features of good safety cultures in the Helsinki schools included a well-developed understanding of safety hazards and the requirements of basic safety, good safety management practices, a developed understanding of the systematic nature of safety, an appreciation of safety evidenced through everyday practices and open and communal safety-related work. The study offers result-based safety culture improvements for teachers, those responsible for school safety, principals, educational administrators, teacher educators and authorities.

Kuinka kauas vääryyksien varjot ulottuvat?

Suomessa on viime vuosina keskusteltu 1900-luvun historiamme eräiden vaiheiden moraalisesta (uudelleen)arvioinnista. Tällöin on myös väitelty siitä, pitäisikö jonkin tahon esimerkiksi pyytää anteeksi mahdollisia tehtyjä vääryyksiä. Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan suomalaisnuorten ajatuksia historiallisista hyvityksistä, tulkitaan niitä suhteessa suomalaisnuorten historiatietoisuutta koskevaan aiempaan tutkimukseen sekä pohditaan lyhyesti havaintojen historiandidaktisia implikaatioita.

Puheen suuntia luokkahuoneessa : Oppilaat osallistujina yläkoulun suomi toisena kielenä -tunnilla

This study describes how students influence their possibilities of participating in whole-class conversation. The main objective is to investigate the verbal and non-verbal resources used by students to modify the participant roles of the ongoing conversation. The resources studied are attention-getting devices such as hand-raising and address terms, recycling and other forms of collaborative talk, means of reference to persons, such as pronouns, as well as gaze and other embodied resources. The theoretical and methodological framework adopted in this study is that of conversation analysis. The data consist of ten videotaped lessons of Finnish as a second language in three secondary schools (grades 7 9) in southern Finland; the number of students per group varies from five to ten. Finnish has a triple role in the data as the medium of teaching, the target language, and the lingua franca used by the participants. The findings show that the multi-party context of the classroom conversation is both a disadvantage and an affordance for student participation. The students possess multiple tools to overcome and deal with the encumbrances posed by the large number of participants. They combine various techniques in order to actively compete for public turns, and they monitor the ongoing conversation carefully to adjust their participation to the activities of other participants. Sometimes the whole-class conversation splits into two separate conversations, but participants usually orient to the overlapping nature of the talk and tend to bring the conversations together rapidly. On the other hand, students skilfully make use of other participants and their talk to increase and diversify their own possibilities to participate. For example, they recycle elements of each other s turns or refer to the currently speaking student in order to gain access to the conversation. Students interact with each other even during the public whole-class conversation. Students orient to one another often even when talking to the teacher, but they also address talk directly to one another, as part of the public conversation. In this way students increase each other s possibilities of participation. The interaction is constantly multi-layered: in addition to the pedagogic agenda, the students orient to social goals, for example, by teasing each other and putting on humorous performances for their peer audience. The student student participation arises spontaneously from a genuine need to communicate and thus represents authentic language use: by talking to each other, often playfully, the students appropriate Finnish vocabulary, grammar, and expressions. In this way the structure of the interaction reflects the particular nature of Finnish as a second language lessons: all talk serves the pedagogic goal of enabling students to communicate in the target language.

Onko oppimistulokset valettu betoniin? : Tutkimus Helsingin kaupunkirakenteen ja peruskoulujen oppimistulosten välisestä yhteydestä ja kouluvalintojen vaikutuksista

The aim of this study is to find out how urban segregation is connected to the differentiation in educational outcomes in public schools. The connection between urban structure and educational outcomes is studied on both the primary and secondary school level. The secondary purpose of this study is to find out whether the free school choice policy introduced in the mid-1990´s has an effect on the educational outcomes in secondary schools or on the observed relationship between the urban structure and educational outcomes. The study is quantitative in nature, and the most important method used is statistical regression analysis. The educational outcome data ranging the years from 1999 to 2002 has been provided by the Finnish National Board of Education, and the data containing variables describing the social and physical structure of Helsinki has been provided by Statistics Finland and City of Helsinki Urban Facts. The central observation is that there is a clear connection between urban segregation and differences in educational outcomes in public schools. With variables describing urban structure, it is possible to statistically explain up to 70 % of the variation in educational outcomes in the primary schools and 60 % of the variation in educational oucomes in the secondary schools. The most significant variables in relation to low educational outcomes in Helsinki are abundance of public housing, low educational status of the adult population and high numbers of immigrants in the school's catchment area. The regression model has been constructed using these variables. The lower coefficient of determination in the educational outcomes of secondary schools is mostly due to the effects of secondary school choice. Studying the public school market revealed that students selecting a secondary school outside their local catchment area cause an increase in the variation of the educational outcomes between secondary schools. When the number of students selecting a school outside their local catchment area is taken into account in the regressional model, it is possible to explain up to 80 % of the variation in educational outcomes in the secondary schools in Helsinki.