Decomposing Cross-Country Differences in Skills: Evidence from Four Nordic Countries

This paper performs multivariate analysis of skill differences in four Nordic countries as assessed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey of adults aged 16–65. The differences in average skills between Finland and each of the three Scandinavian countries are decomposed into a component that is due to different skill levels in subgroups of the population and a component that is due to differences in the composition of subgroups. The decompositions show that the high Finnish average skill level compared to the three Scandinavian countries can be attributed to the low share of immigrants in Finland and to high scores among Finns with high school and less than high school education. The Finnish average score is pulled substantially downwards as a consequence of the low numeracy skill level among older Finns, which is consistent with an increase in the quantity or quality of Finnish education over time, relative to the other three Nordic countries.     

Inquiring scaffolds in laboratory tasks: an instance of a “worked laboratory guide effect”?

The study explores if established support devices for paper–pencil problem solving, namely worked examples and incremental scaffolds, are applicable to laboratory tasks. N?=?173 grade eight students solved in dyads a physics laboratory task in one of three conditions. In condition A (unguided problem solving), students were asked to determine the mass of an unknown object by applying Hooke’s law. In condition B (laboratory guide), students received a guide which instructed and explained each solution step. In condition C (incremental scaffolds), the solution steps were presented incrementally on learner demand and were preceded by strategic prompts. Dependent variables were learning outcomes (solution, retention, knowledge) and motivational learning experiences (basic needs, situational interest, deeper level processing). The laboratory guide (B) led to better learning outcomes (d?=?0.42) but lower motivation (d?>?0.38) compared to unguided problem solving (A). Incremental scaffolds (C) led to higher motivation (d?>?0.44) but similar learning outcomes compared to a laboratory guide.     

Education as cultural mobilisation: The Great War and its effects on moral education in the Netherlands

Education during World War I has been a relatively unexplored field of research, especially in the case of countries with a neutral stance in that war. The Netherlands is one such country. This article argues that even though the Netherlands was politically neutral, it was and considered itself a part of western civilisation and shared in the experience of a cultural or existential crisis that came over Europe as a consequence of the war. This crisis also caused Dutch pedagogues to reflect on the war. Leading Dutch pedagogues wrote in their journals how education had to be changed in order to prevent a future war or to preserve moral values in their country, which was not (yet) part of the warfare. To characterise this effort, we introduce the concept of cultural mobilisation, following recent developments in the historiography of the cultural dimensions of the Great War. Based on an in-depth analysis of Dutch pedagogical journals, ranging from Protestant, Catholic and socialist to humanist and anarchistic world views, we focus on three pedagogical debates that were influenced by the Great War. The first debate focuses on peace education and shows how pedagogues rejected the war pedagogy of their German colleagues in particular and advised teachers to pass on a peace-loving message to their pupils. The second debate focuses on the reception of Montessori education and the third on Foerster’s and Kerschensteiner’s social pedagogy, both in light of the desire of pedagogues to improve moral education in the school.     

Legitimate Peripheral Participation in Communities of Practice: Participation Support Structures for Newcomers in Faculty Student Councils

Participating in communities of practice (CoPs) is an important way of learning. For newcomers in such communities, the learning process can be described as legitimate peripheral participation (LPP). Although a body of knowledge on LPP has been accumulated from qualitative case studies, mostly focusing on the use of practices, the concrete mechanisms that shape the LPP process have not yet been systematically analyzed. In this study, we examined participation support structures with a focus on activities that senior CoP members demonstrate to foster newcomers’ participation. The use of 8 distinct participation support structures was identified in interviews with experienced members of faculty student councils. A hierarchical linear model based on data from 68 newcomers in 14 faculty student councils was computed. The model showed that in addition to exposure time and CoP size, 2 participation support structures (recruitment strategies and accessibility of community knowledge) were predictive of the newcomers’ level of participation. We conclude that senior members’ specific participation support structures can facilitate or hinder newcomers’ participation in CoPs and that the original LPP approach needs to be enhanced by taking participation support structures into account.     

The Contextual Benchmark Method: Benchmarking e-Government services

This paper offers a new method for benchmarking e-Government services. Government organizations no longer doubt the need to deliver their services on line. Instead, the question that is more relevant is how well the electronic services offered by a particular organization perform in comparison with those offered by others. Benchmarking is currently a popular means of answering that question. The benchmarking of e-Government services has reached a critical stage where, as we argue, simply measuring the number of electronic services is not enough and a more sophisticated approach is needed. This paper details the development of a Contextual Benchmark Method (CBM). The value of CBM is that it is both benchmark- and context-driven.     

Acute exercise-induced irisin release in healthy adults: Associations with training status and exercise mode

There is a growing interest in exploring irisin response to acute exercise; however, the associations of acute exercise-induced irisin release with training status and exercise mode are not fully understood. This study was primarily designed to evaluate these associations. Sixteen healthy adults (8 trained versus 8 untrained) underwent a bout of cycling at 80% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) for 50?min, with blood drawn pre-, 10-, and 180-min post-exercise. Another 17 healthy adults performed 2 bouts of graded exercise (cycling and running) until exhaustion on separate days using a randomized cross-over design, with blood taken pre-, 0-, 10-, and 60-min post-exercise. Circulating irisin, creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and myoglobin (Mb) were measured, and their respective areas under the curves (AUCs) were calculated. Irisin increased 10-min after 50?min of cycling at 80% of VO_2max, while its changes from baseline to post-exercise and the amount of exercise-induced irisin release (presented as AUC) were comparable between trained and untrained adults (all P?>?.05). Irisin remained elevated 10-min post-exhausting running but decreased towards baseline 10-min post-exhausting cycling. Exhausting running induced an increase in irisin release for the whole course of exercise and recovery periods, but cycling did not. Acute exercise-induced irisin changes seemed not related to changes of CK, aspartate AST, and Mb in general. In conclusion, acute exercise-induced irisin release is not associated with training status but might be affected by training mode. Future studies are required to investigate which exercise mode might be most efficient in altering irisin.