From a "Student" to a Lifelong "Consumer" : Constructions of Educability in Adult Students' Narrative Life Histories

The focus of this study was to examine the constructions of the educable subject of the lifelong learning (LLL) narrative in the narrative life histories of adult students at general upper secondary school for adults (GUSSA). In this study lifelong learning has been defined as a cultural narrative on education, “a system of political thinking” that is not internally consistent, but has contradictory themes embedded within it (Billig et al., 1988). As earlier research has shown and this study also confirms, the LLL narrative creates differences between those who are included and those who fall behind and are excluded from the learning society ideal. Educability expresses socially constructed interpretations on who benefit from education and who should be educated and how. The presupposition in this study has been that contradictions between the LLL narrative and the so-called traditional constructions of educability are likely to be constructed as the former relies on the all-inclusive interpretation of educability and the latter on the meritocratic model of educating individuals based on their innate abilities. The school system continues to uphold the institutionalized ethos of educability that ranks students into the categories “bright”, “mediocre”, and “poor” (Räty & Snellman, 1998) on the basis of their abilities, including gender-related differences as well as differences based on social class. Traditional age-related norms also persist, for example general upper secondary education is normatively completed in youth and not in adulthood, and the formal learning context continues to outweigh both non-formal and informal learning. Moreover, in this study the construction of social differences in relation to educability and, thereafter unequal access to education has been examined in relation to age, social class, and gender. The biographical work of the research participants forms a peephole that permits the examination of the dilemmatic nature of the constructions of educability in this study. Formal general upper secondary education in adulthood is situated on the border between the traditional and the LLL narratives on educability: participation in GUSSA inevitably means that one’s ability and competence as a student and learner becomes reassessed through the assessment criteria maintained by schools, whereas according to the principles of LLL everyone is educable; everyone is encouraged to learn throughout their lives regardless of age, social class, or gender. This study is situated in the field of adult education, sociology of education, and social psychological research on educability, having also been informed by feminist studies. Moreover, this study contributes to narrative life history research combining the structural analysis of narratives (Labov & Waletzky, 1997), i.e. mini-stories within life history, with the analysis of the life histories as structural and thematic wholes and the creation of coherence in them; thus, permitting both micro and macro analyses. On accounting for the discontinuity created by participation in general upper secondary school study in adulthood and not normatively in youth, the GUSSA students construct coherence in relation to their ability and competence as students and learners. The seven case studies illuminate the social differences constructed in relation to educability, i.e. social class, gender, age, and the “new category of student and learner”. In the data of this study, i.e. 20 general upper secondary school adult graduates’ narrative life histories primarily generated through interviews, two main coherence patterns of the adult educable subject emerge. The first performance-oriented pattern displays qualities that are closely related to the principles of LLL. Contrary to the principles of lifewide learning, however, the documentation of one’s competence through formal qualifications outweighs non-formal and informal learning in preparation for future change and the competition for further education, professional careers, and higher social positions. The second flexible learning pattern calls into question the status of formal, especially theoretical and academically oriented education; inner development is seen as more important than such external signs of development — grades and certificates. Studying and learning is constructed as a hobby and as a means to a more satisfactory life as opposed to a socially and culturally valued serious occupation leading to further education and career development. Consequently, as a curious, active, and independent learner, this educable but not readily employable subject is pushed into the periphery of lifelong learning. These two coherence patterns of the adult educable subject illuminate who is to be educated and how. The educable and readily employable LLL subject is to participate in formal education in order to achieve qualifications for working life, whereas the educable but not employable subject may utilize lifewide learning for her/his own pleasure. Key words: adult education, general upper secondary school for adults, educability, lifelong learning, narrative life history

Transcending “the Impossible” : From Dead End to Expansive Learning

This dissertation investigates changes in bank work and the experience of impossibility attached to these by workers at the local level from the viewpoint of work-related well-being and collective learning. A special challenge in my work is to conceptualize the experience of impossibility as related to change, and as a starting point and tool for development work. The subject of the dissertation, solving the impossible as a collective learning process, came up as a central theme in an earlier project: Work Units between the Old and the New (1997 – 1999). Its aim was to investigate how change is constructed as a long-term process, starting from the planning of the change until its final realization in everyday banking work. I studied changes taking place in the former Postipankki (Postal Bank), later called Leonia. The three-year study involved the Branch Office of Martinlaakso, and was conducted from the perspective of well-being in a change process. The sense of impossibility involved in changes turned out to be one of the most crucial factors impairing the sense of well-being. The work community that was the target of my study did not have the available tools to construct the change locally, or to deal with the change-related impossibility by solving it through a mutual process among themselves. During the last year of the project, I carried out an intervention for development in the Branch Office, as collaboration between the researchers and the workers. The purpose of the intervention was to resolve such perceived change-related impossibility as experienced repeatedly and considered by the work community as relevant to work-related well-being. The documentation of the intervention – audio records from development sessions, written assignments by workers and assessment or evaluation interviews – constitute the essential data for my dissertation. The earlier data, collected and analysed during the first two years, provides a historical perspective on the process, all the way from construction of the impossibility towards resolving and transcending it. The aim of my dissertation is to understand the progress of developmental intervention as a shared, possibly expansive learning process within a work community and thus to provide tools for perceiving and constructing local change. I chose the change-related impossibility as a starting point for development work in the work community and as a target of conceptualization. This, I feel, is the most important contribution of my dissertation. While the intervention was in progress, the concept of impossibility started emerging as a stimulating tool for development work. An understanding of such a process can be applied to development work outside banking work as well. According to my results, it is pivotal that a concept stimulating development is strongly connected with everyday experiences of and speech about changes in work activity, as well as with the theoretical framework of work development. During this process, development work on a local level became of utmost interest as a case study for managing change. Theoretically, this was conceptualized as so-called second-order work and this concept accompanies us all the way through the research process. Learning second-order work and constructing tools based on this work have proved crucial for promoting well-being in the change circumstances in a local work unit. The lack of second-order work has led to non-well-being and inability to transcend the change-related sense of impossibility in the work community. Solving the impossible, either individually or situationally, did not orient the workers towards solving problems of impossibility together as a work community. Because the experience of the impossibility and coming to terms with transcending it are the starting point and the target of conceptualization in this dissertation, the research provides a fresh viewpoint on the theoretical framework of change and developmental work. My dissertation can facilitate construction of local changes necessitated by the recent financial crisis, and thus promote fluency and well-being in work units. It can also support change-related well-being in other areas of working life.

Exploring the experiences and conceptions of good teaching in higher education : Development of a questionnaire for assessing students' approaches to learning and experiences of the teaching-learning environment

The aim of this dissertation was to adapt a questionnaire for assessing students’ approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment. The aim was to explore the validity of the modified Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) by examining how the instruments measure the underlying dimensions of student experiences and their learning. The focus was on the relation between students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment and their approaches to learning. Moreover, the relation between students’ experiences and students’ and teachers’ conceptions of good teaching was examined. In Study I the focus was on the use of the ETLQ in two different contexts: Finnish and British. The study aimed to explore the similarities and differences between the factor structures that emerged from both data sets. The results showed that the factor structures concerning students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment and their approaches to learning were highly similar in the two contexts. Study I also examined how students’ experiences of the teaching-learning environment are related to their approaches to learning in the two contexts. The results showed that students’ positive experiences of their teaching-learning environment were positively related to their deep approach to learning and negatively to the surface approach to learning in both the Finnish and British data sets. This result was replicated in Study II, which examined the relation between approaches to learning and experiences of the teaching-learning environment on a group level. Furthermore, Study II aimed to explore students’ approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment in different disciplines. The results showed that the deep approach to learning was more common in the soft sciences than in the hard sciences. In Study III, students’ conceptions of good teaching were explored by using qualitative methods, more precisely, by open-ended questions. The aim was to examine students’ conceptions, disciplinary differences and their relation to students’ approaches to learning. The focus was on three disciplines, which differed in terms of students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment. The results showed that students’ conceptions of good teaching were in line with the theory of good teaching and there were disciplinary differences in their conceptions. Study IV examined university teachers’ conceptions of good teaching, which corresponded to the learning-focused approach to teaching. Furthermore, another aim in this doctoral dissertation was to compare the students’ and teachers’ conceptions of good teaching, the results of which showed that these conceptions appear to have similarities. The four studies indicated that the ETLQ appears to be a sufficiently robust measurement instrument in different contexts. Moreover, its strength is its ability to be at the same time a valid research instrument and a practical tool for enhancing the quality of students’ learning. In addition, the four studies emphasise that in order to enhance teaching and learning in higher education, various perspectives have to be taken into account. This study sheds light on the interaction between students’ approaches to learning, their conceptions of good teaching, their experiences of the teaching-learning environment, and finally, the disciplinary culture.

Teaching in Higher Education : From Content-focused to Learning-focused Approaches to Teaching

The aim of this dissertation was to explore teaching in higher education from the teachers’ perspective. Two of the four studies analysed the effect of pedagogical training on approaches to teaching and on self-efficacy beliefs of teachers on teaching. Of these two studies, Study I analysed the effect of pedagogical training by applying a cross-sectional setting. The results showed that short training made teachers less student-centred and decreased their self-efficacy beliefs, as reported by the teachers themselves. However, more constant training enhanced the adoption of a student-centred approach to teaching and increased the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers as well. The teacher-focused approach to teaching was more resistant to change. Study II, on the other hand, applied a longitudinal setting. The results implied that among teachers who had not acquired more pedagogical training after Study II there were no changes in the student-focused approach scale between the measurements. However, teachers who had participated in further pedagogical training scored significantly higher on the scale measuring the student-focused approach to teaching. There were positive changes in the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers among teachers who had not participated in further training as well as among those who had. However, the analysis revealed that those teachers had the least teaching experience. Again, the teacher-focused approach was more resistant to change. Study III analysed approaches to teaching qualitatively by using a large and multidisciplinary sample in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were found: the learning-focused and the content-focused approach to teaching. The results implied that the purpose of teaching separates the two categories. In addition, the study aimed to identify different aspects of teaching in the higher-education context. Ten aspects of teaching were identified. While Study III explored teaching on a general level, Study IV analysed teaching on an individual level. The aim was to explore consonance and dissonance in the kinds of combinations of approaches to teaching university teachers adopt. The results showed that some teachers were clearly and systematically either learning- or content-focused. On the other hand, profiles of some teachers consisted of combinations of learning- and content-focused approaches or conceptions making their profiles dissonant. Three types of dissonance were identified. The four studies indicated that pedagogical training organised for university teachers is needed in order to enhance the development of their teaching. The results implied that the shift from content-focused or dissonant profiles towards consonant learning-focused profiles is a slow process and that teachers’ conceptions of teaching have to be addressed first in order to promote learning-focused teaching.

Ohjaukselliset käytännöt yliopisto-opintojen alkuvaiheessa : Maatalous-metsätieteellisen tiedekunnan opiskelijoiden merkitykselliset kokemukset ensimmäisen opiskeluvuoden ohjauksesta

In this Master's Thesis I study guidance practises, which facilitate first year students' integration into the university. Besides formal guidance, for example tutoring and peer tutoring, general student advising and introduction courses, I address my research to informal everyday guidance practices. I aim to highlight existing supportive practices, which are meaningful from the university students' perspective. My aim is to study what kind of guidance practises exists in university and how these practises support first year student. The aim of the guidance practises is to facilitate new university student to integrate into the academic community. I study the implementation of this aim as a development of an academic identity, which requires that students have an opportunity for guided participation in academic practises. The research is based on phenomenological-hermeneutic research tradition, and my aim is to produce information of students' everyday experiences and meanings. My informants were students of agriculture and forestry at University of Helsinki. I gathered research material utilizing the critical incident technique in 11 theme interviews, which I carried out with individuals, pairs or small groups. During interviews I asked the students to describe and evaluate their first year guidance experiences, especially those that were extreme positive or negative. Based on my research I specified four meaningful guidance practices: care of students, transparency of the practises of the learning community, presence of guidance in everyday activities of a student and communal reflection to studies. I represent the character and components of the guidance practises, and I also describe the meaning of those practises to university students. Keywords: Guidance practices, guidance, first year studies, academic community, integration, academic identity,critical incidents

Opetussuunnitelman mallin jäsennys : sisältö ja pedagogiikka kokonaisuuden rakentajina

Structuring of the Curriculum Design: Content and Pedagogy Constructing the Whole The object of this qualitative study is to structure curriculum design by drawing from the characteristics of subject content and pedagogy. The aim is to first outline the forms of content and pedagogy within the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education. By analysing these forms I then aim to construct a general view of the curriculum’s structure and its developmental potential as it relates to both current and future pedagogical and intellectual interests. The written curriculum is examined as part of the educational guidance system, which means that it is an administrative and juridical document that governs teacher action and has a pedagogical and intellectual character. Didactical schools, curriculum ideologies and curriculum-determinants are all discussed as means of approaching the curriculum model. Curriculum content itself is defined by the different forms and conceptions of knowledge. The representation of curriculum content can be defined to be either specific or integrated. Curriculum pedagogy is in turn defined on the basis of the prevailing conception of learning and teaching. The pedagogy within the curriculum can be open or closed depending on the extent of pedagogical freedom allowed. An examination of the pedagogical dimension also covers the subject of the interfaces between formal education and informal learning, which must be taken into consideration when developing school pedagogy and therefore also in the curriculum. The data of the study consists of two curriculum documents: The Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education issued in 1994 and the present National core curriculum for basic education issued in 2004. The primary method used in the study is theory-based content analysis. On the one hand the aim of the analysis is to determine if the structure, i.e., model, of the curricula is built from unconnected, self-contained elements, or whether the separate parts make a coherent whole. On the other hand, the aim is also to examine the pedagogical features the two curricula contain. The basis of the study is not the systematic comparison of the curriculum documents, yet an analysis of two very distinct documents must also be based on an examination of their inherent differences. The results of the study show that the content in the analysed documents is not integrated. The boundaries between divisions are clearly defined and the curricula are subject-oriented and based on theoretical propositional knowledge. The pedagogy is mainly closed and based on strong guidance of content, structured student evaluation and measurable learning experiences. However, curriculum documents do have representations of integrated content: the themes covered early on in the core curriculum guidelines of 1994 permeate systematically the different divisions of the curriculum. The core curriculum guidelines of 2004 in turn reveal skills which create connections between subjects. The guidelines’ utilise out-of-school environments and accommodate learner experiences, and focus on flexible studying and emphasize individual learner needs. These characteristics reveal an open form of pedagogy. In light of these results, it is possible to reach an understanding of the content and pedagogical development possibilities of the curriculum. The essential viewpoints are then the setting of thematically-oriented aims as a basis for content development, the curriculum’s pedagogical structuring on the basis of the learning process and the enhancement of connections between curricular content and pedagogy in a purposeful way. Keywords: curriculum, curriculum theory, curriculum design, core curriculum guidelines, teaching content, pedagogy

EU Multi-level Governance in the Making - The Community Initiative LEADER+ in Finland and Germany

In order to fully understand the process of European integration it is of paramount importance to consider developments at the sub-national and local level. EU integration scholars shifted their attention to the local level only at the beginning of the 1990s with the concept of multi-level governance (MLG). While MLG is the first concept to scrutinise the position of local levels of public administration and other actors within the EU polity, I perceive it as too optimistic in the degree of influence it ascribes to local levels. Thus, learning from and combining MLG with other concepts, such as structural constructivism, helps to reveal some of the hidden aspects of EU integration and paint a more realistic picture of multi-level interaction. This thesis also answers the call for more case studies in order to conceptualise MLG further. After a critical study of theories and concepts of European integration, above all, MLG, I will analyse sub-national and local government in Finland and Germany. I show how the sub-national level and local governments are embedded in the EU s multi-level structure of governance and how, through EU integration, those levels have been empowered but also how their scope of action has partially decreased. After theoretical and institutional contextualisation, I present the results of my empirical study of the EU s Community Initiative LEADER+. LEADER stands for Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie Rurale , and aims at improving the economic conditions in Europe s rural areas. I was interested in how different actors construct and shape EU financed rural development, especially in how local actors organised in so-called local action groups (LAGs) cooperate with other administrative units within the LEADER+ administrative chain. I also examined intra-institutional relations within those groups, in order to find out who are the most influential and powerful actors within them. Empirical data on the Finnish and German LAGs was first gathered through a survey, which was then supplemented and completed by interviewing LAG members, LAG-managers, several civil servants from Finnish and German decision-making and managing authorities and a civil servant from the EU Commission. My main argument is that in both Germany and Finland, the Community Initiative LEADER+ offered a space for multi-level interaction and local-level involvement, a space that on the one hand consists of highly motivated people actively contributing to the improvement of the quality of life and economy in Europe s countryside but which is dependent and also restricted by national administrative practices, implementation approaches and cultures on the other. In Finland, the principle of tri-partition (kolmikantaperiaatte) in organising the executive committees of LAGs is very noticeable. In comparison to Germany, for instance, the representation of public administration in those committees is much more limited due to this principle. Furthermore, the mobilisation of local residents and the bringing together of actors from the local area with different social and institutional backgrounds to become an active part of LEADER+ was more successful in Finland than in Germany. Tri-partition as applied in Finland should serve as a model for similar policies in other EU member states. EU integration changed the formal and informal inter-institutional relations linking the different levels of government. The third sector including non-governmental institutions and interest groups gained access to policy-making processes and increasingly interact with government institutions at all levels of public administration. These developments do not necessarily result in the empowering of the local level.

The Nature of Learning about Customers in a Customer Service Setting - A Study of Frontline Contact Persons

The starting point of this thesis is the notion that in order for organisations to understand what customers value and how customers experience service, they need to learn about customers. The first and perhaps most important link in an organisation-wide learning process directed at customers is the frontline contact person. Service- and sales organisations can only learn about customers if the individual frontline contact persons learn about customers. Even though it is commonly recognised that learning about customers is the basis for an organisation’s success, few contributions within marketing investigate the fundamental nature of the phenomenon as it occurs in everyday customer service. Thus, what learning about customers is and how it takes place in a customer-service setting is an issue that is neglected in marketing research. In order to explore these questions, this thesis presents a socio-cultural approach to understanding learning about customers. Hence, instead of considering learning equal to cognitive processes in the mind of the frontline contact person or learning as equal to organisational information processing, the interactive, communication-based, socio-cultural aspect of learning about customers is brought to the fore. Consequently, the theoretical basis of the study can be found both in socio-cultural and practice-oriented lines of reasoning, as well as in the fields of service- and relationship marketing. As it is argued that learning about customers is an integrated part of everyday practices, it is also clear that it should be studied in a naturalistic and holistic way as it occurs in a customer-service setting. This calls for an ethnographic research approach, which involves direct, first-hand experience of the research setting during an extended period of time. Hence, the empirical study employs participant observations, informal discussions and interviews among car salespersons and service advisors at a car retailing company. Finally, as a synthesis of theoretically and empirically gained understanding, a set of concepts are developed and they are integrated into a socio-cultural model of learning about customers.

E-learning in a rural context: Alternative media and contemporary applications

This report has been written as part of the E-ruralnet –project that addresses e-learning as a means for enhancing lifelong learning opportunities in rural areas, with emphasis on SMEs, micro-enterprises, self-employed and persons seeking employment. E-ruralnet is a European network project part-funded by the European Commission in the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Transversal projects-ICT. This report aims to address two issues identified as requiring attention in the previous Observatory study: firstly, access to e-learning for rural areas that have not adequate ICT infrastructure; and secondly new learning approaches introduced through new interactive ICT tools such as web 2.0., wikis, podcasts etc. The possibility of using alternative technology in addition to computers is examined (mobile telephones, DVDs) as well as new approaches to learning (simulation, serious games). The first part of the report examines existing literature on e-learning and what e-learning is all about. Institutional users, learners and instructors/teachers are all looked at separately. We then turn to the implementation of e-learning from the organizational point of view and focus on quality issues related to e-learning. The report includes a separate chapter or e-learning from the rural perspective since most of Europe is geographically speaking rural and the population in those areas is that which could most benefit from the possibilities introduced by the e-learning development. The section titled “Alternative media”, in accordance with the project terminology, looks at standalone technology that is of particular use to rural areas without proper internet connection. It also evaluates the use of new tools and media in e-learning and takes a look at m-learning. Finally, the use of games, serious games and simulations in learning is considered. Practical examples and cases are displayed in a box to facilitate pleasant reading.

Networks, Organisations and Men: Concepts and Interrelations

Research on men’s networks and homosociality in and around organisations can produce knowledge on organisational power relations, and contribute to the efforts to promote equality in working life. The search for a conceptual framework to study these issues arises in this paper from my ongoing work on men's social networks and gendered power in and around organisations. Men give each other social support through networks in which formal and informal relationships intermingle, but networks are also contexts of competition and oppression, and of construction of masculinities that are in hierarchical relations with each other and with femininities. For studying the networks men have with each other in work organisations I suggest a broader starting point that contextualises these homosocial networks with men’s other personal relations, and integrates different perspectives deriving from social network analysis, critical studies on men and organisational studies.

Yhteisestä toiminnasta yhteiseen kieleen : keskustelunanalyyttinen tutkimus toisen kielen oppimisesta kielikylpypäiväkodin arkitilanteissa

This dissertation examines how Finnish-speaking children learn Swedish in an immersion kindergarten where the method of Canadian immersion is used. Within the framework of conversation analysis, this study explores how second language learning is situated in interaction and evidenced in the participants´ verbal and non-verbal behavior. The database consists of 40 hours of videotaped data collected in naturally occurring situations in a group of 15 four-year-old children during the first two years of their immersion. Due to the immersion method, all the children share the same L1, in this case Finnish, and the teachers understand Finnish. However, they speak only Swedish to the children in all situations and Swedish is learned in interaction without formal teaching. The aim of the study is to discover how the children´s second language competence gradually increases when they participate in interaction with the Swedish-speaking teachers. The study also sheds light on the methodological question of how second language learning can be analyzed with the method of conversation analysis. The focus is on showing how the second language is learned in interaction, especially on how learning is achieved collaboratively. In this study, the emerging second language competence is explored by investigating how the children show understanding of the teachers´ non-verbal and verbal actions during the first and the second semester of the immersion. The children´s use of Swedish is analyzed by investigating how they recycle lexical items and later even syntactic structures from the teachers´ Swedish turns. The results show that the teachers´ actions are largely understood by the children even at the beginning of the immersion. The analyzes of the children´s responsive turns reveal that they interpret the teachers´ turns on the basis of non-verbal cues at first. Especially at the beginning of the immersion, the participants orient to the progress of interaction and not to problems in understanding. Even in situations where the next actions show that the children do not understand what is said, they tend to display understanding rather than non-understanding. This behavior changes, however, when the children´s competence in their second language increases. At the second semester, the children both show understanding of the teachers´ verbal turns and also display their non-understanding by initiating repair when they do not understand. Understanding of the teachers´ verbal turns, including their syntactic structure, is manifested in the ways the children tie their turns to the teachers´ turns. Recycling, on the other hand, proves to be the way by which the children start to speak the second language. In this study, the children´s common L1 is evidenced to be an important resource in interaction. It allows the children to participate in their individual ways and to share their experiences both with each other and with the teachers. It also enables them to co-construct conversations that lead to collaborative learning. Moreover, the uninhibited use of L1 proves to be an important analytic tool that makes the immersion data especially fruitful for conversation analytic research on second language learning, since the children´s interpretations of the second language are in evidence even when they do not speak the second language.