Finland, A Package Deal: Disciplinary Climate in Science Classes, Science Dispositions and Science Literacy

Jari Lavonen,Kalle Juuti,Larry J Grabau

doi:10.3390/su132413857

Jari Lavonen, Kalle Juuti + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413857

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Dec 15, 2021
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Helsinki, University of Kentucky

Abstract

Finland’s educational prowess, though tempered by recent international assessments, has remained intact. This report focused on lessons that could be learned regarding secondary-level science education from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, science-focused assessment. That PISA iteration included not only science literacy but also students’ science dispositions (epistemology, enjoyment, interest, and self-efficacy) and the schools’ science climate measures (disciplinary climate and teaching support). Due to the hierarchical nature of the PISA data, multilevel models were employed in this Finnish study, involving 5582 students from 167 schools. Science dispositions (as outcome measures) were differently associated with teaching support and disciplinary climate (epistemology with neither; enjoyment and interest, with both). Science literacy (as an outcome measure) was associated with all four science dispositions, whether modeled with each science disposition separately or all four simultaneously. Science literacy was also associated with the disciplinary climate in science classes for all tested models. We concluded that, in the Finnish context, science dispositions and the disciplinary climate were predictive of science literacy. Furthermore, we presented evidence from the literature indicating that these conclusions may well extend to other international contexts.

Highlights

Finland’s educational journey, from a decidedly ordinary past to its current highfunctioning status, has proved to be of enduring interest internationally [1]
While bivariate correlations were significant among both science dispositions and school-level variables, only one such correlation reached the moderate level among science dispositions
ESCS was the only measure associated with all four science dispositions; this association was positive in each case

Summary

Introduction

Finland’s educational journey, from a decidedly ordinary past to its current highfunctioning status, has proved to be of enduring interest internationally [1]. While reading literacy has been a strong area for Finland, triennial evaluations by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have revealed high student performance in mathematics and science as well [2,3,4]. Sahlberg [1] identified multiple underlying causes for Finland’s educational strength, including the national prominence of teaching as a profession (drawing many of their very best students), ongoing professional development programs (finely tuned to teachers’ interests), solid financial support for schools (minimizing school-to-school variability in literacy outcomes), and the firm rejection of “answers” to educational concerns that involve frequent high-stakes testing, extensive homework and tutoring, and national/regional control of content and practice. We note that the science curriculum in Finland emphasizes science literacy as an essential outcome for all students [5], underscoring the value ascribed to science literacy by the Finnish educational community.

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