Norwegian School Research Articles

Teacher assessment literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms: A Norwegian case study

This study investigated inclusive teacher assessment practices in culturally and linguistically diverse Norwegian lower secondary schools as well as tensions in and the potential of teacher assessment literacy. Case study data gathered through interviews with 21 teachers in five schools were analysed to examine the schools' assessment policies, teacher assessment practices, adaptions and challenges teachers face when assessing diverse student groups. We found that teacher assessment literacy development benefitted from collective and shared whole-school practices and that, while teachers had multiple strategies for assessment and adapting those to their students’ needs, these were not specifically targeted at cultural diversity.

Disentangling dyslexia from typical L2-learning in emergent literacy.

The present paper assessed how dyslexia can be identified in school children with another language than their first language. Participants were school children with Norwegian as their second language (L2), and two groups of children with Norwegian as their first language (L1): a control group (L1-Con), and a dyslexia group (L1-Dys). All were 2nd and 3rd graders who had attended Norwegian schools from 1st grade on. None of the individuals in L1-Con or the L2 group were identified with any learning disability. However, slow literacy progress was seen in some L2-children. The children were tested individually within the symptomatic and cognitive levels. Results were analysed in two steps: (1) group comparisons; (2) L2 individual profiles and tentative L2 subgrouping. An unexpected L2 profile showed language scores below norm, coupled with some scores within and some scores above norm within the cognitive domain. Case assessment of the L2 group resulted in three subgroups: one comparable to L1-Con, one comparable to L1-Dys, and one with a result in between these two groups. Low linguistic scores cannot be considered valid markers of dyslexia in L2. Within the cognitive domain, a variety of low scores can indicate dyslexia, while high scores can be compensatory.

The social robot? Analyzing whether and how the telepresence robot AV1 affords socialization

Telepresence robots are increasingly used in schools as a way of including students who are unable to be physically present in the classroom with other students. The use of such robots is intended not just to help students follow their education but also to serve a social purpose. However, the extent to which the robots actually afford socializing needs to be explored further. This article analyzes how, to what extent, for whom, and under what circumstances the telepresence robot AV1 affords social contact for the heterogenous group of homebound Norwegian upper secondary school students. Building on Jenny Davis’ mechanisms and conditions framework of affordances, we focus on how AV1 affords for different students in specific circumstances. Our analysis draws on interviews with 11 upper secondary school students in Norway and finds that individual traits and circumstances such as health issues and social networks are important aspects when assessing whether a technology affords socializing. Based on our findings, we argue for expanding the mechanisms and conditions framework to include not just its current focus on perception, dexterity, and cultural and institutional legitimacy, but also the users’ emotions.

S1-5 Pupil’s experiences of affordances in school-based physical programmes in Norway and Estonia

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to examine pupils’ experiences of the school environment and how it stimulated different physical activity behaviours at selected Norwegian and Estonian schools involved in school-based physical activity programmes. Methods Pupils from elementary schools (10-year-olds, n = 21) and lower-secondary schools (15-year-olds, n = 17) provided 66 photos of their school environment and participated in 9 focus group interviews. The data were reflexively thematically analysed using Gibson’s theory of affordances Results The findings indicate that the pupils’ physical activity behaviour was promoted and constrained by two primary factors: physical affordances of the active components (indoor/outdoor affordances, seasonal affordances) and social affordances (school rules, imaginative play, togetherness, the relationship between pupils and teachers, pupils’ choice). The 10-year-old pupils in both countries experienced their physical activity behaviour to be promoted and constrained predominantly by physical affordances, their relationship with their teachers, rules and imaginative play. For the 15-year-old pupils, the primary promoting and constraining factors were physical affordances, their relationship with their teachers, togetherness and having choice during physically active learning. Thus, the pupils considered the design of the physical and social environment within the school-based physical activity programmes to influence their physical activity behaviour. Conclusions It is suggested that school environments with diverse, indoor/outdoor, spacious, multifunctional and natural spaces that facilitate physical activity alongside socialisation can motivate pupils to be physically active. In addition to an emphasis on physical affordances, a focus on open, trusting and engaging relationships between teachers and pupils and the consideration of pupils’ voices within school-based physical activity programmes can promote physical activity behaviour and consequently programme sustainability. Funding This study was partially funded by the Increasing Physical Activity of Schoolchildren project, financed by the European Economic Area (EEA) Grants (grant 2014-2021.1.05.20-0004) under the Local Development and Poverty Reduction programme, co-financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and self-financed by the University of Tartu. Additionally, the first author received funding for a PhD fellowship from the University of South-Eastern Norway.

Migrant parents’ contributions to students’ negotiations of their educational futures: A case study at a Norwegian high school

The educational futures students aspire to and make specific choices in shaping are formed in the encounter between school practices and family dispositions. More research is needed to understand whether and how migrant parents are invited to contribute to high school students’ negotiation of these possible futures. Drawing on observations and interviews with students and parents from a single-school case study, this article explores how migrant parents contribute to students’ decision making. Seen through a Bourdieusian lens, the logic of the high school education field sets boundaries around what is regarded as feasible and valuable parental involvement. Parents are experienced as acting indirectly through hints and suggestions. The study indicates that providing guidance is complicated by expectations of student autonomy. The findings warrant further research on school parental involvement practices that can support students’ negotiation of possible futures.

How did COVID-19 shape the leadership practices of Norwegian school principals? A qualitative follow-up study

ABSTRACT This study explores how the protracted exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced role expectations and leadership practices among Norwegian school principals. Following up Lien et al. (2022). School principals’ experiences and learning from the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1–16, nine Norwegian school principals were re-interviewed 18 months into the pandemic. Four main themes emerged: (a) increased demands and expectations describes how the pandemic still poses a significant additional workload, (b) dilemmas and uncertainty outlines how the school principals have become more aware of their responsibilities and liabilities, (c) social support and relationships details an increased sense of community and peer support from fellow teachers, colleagues and the community at large, and (d) self-efficacy describes how the pandemic has instilled confidence in the principals as school leaders. The findings are discussed in the context of leadership practices in education and research on crisis leadership.

Sentence memory recall in adolescents: Effects of motor enactment, keyboarding, and handwriting during encoding.

Prior research has shown that memory for action sentences is stronger when stimuli are enacted during encoding than simply listened to: the so-called enactment effect. The goal of the present study was to explore how writing during encoding-through handwriting and through keyboarding-fares compared with enacting, in supporting memory recall. One hundred Norwegian high school students (64 girls, 36 boys) aged 16-21 years (M=17.1) participated in the study. Four lists of verb-noun sentences with 12 sentences in each list were presented in four encoding conditions: (i) motor enactment, (ii) verbal listening, (iii) handwriting, and (iv) keyboarding. Results revealeda significant main effect of encoding condition, with the best memory gained in the enactment condition. Regarding writing, results showed that handwriting and keyboarding during encoding produced the lowest recall in comparison with the enactment and verbal listening conditions. These results thus provide additional support for the enactment effect. While there has been much discussion on the relative benefits of handwriting versus keyboarding on student performance, both seemed to be equally poor strategies for the particular learning task explored here, potentially through increased cognitive load.

Exploring the relationship between extramural English, self-efficacy, gender, and learning outcomes: A mixed-methods study in a Norwegian upper-secondary school

This article reports on a mixed-methods study regarding the extent to which the extramural English (EE), external attributions, self-efficacy (concerning EFL reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills), and gender of 42 students, learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in a Norwegian upper-secondary school, predicted their EFL learning outcomes. Data on participants’ EE (receptive and productive), external attributions, and self-efficacy were collected through a questionnaire and language diaries, while their learning outcomes were measured through a language proficiency test, mock exam, in-depth project, and receptive and productive vocabulary tests. The data revealed several interesting findings, including participants’ receptive EE statistically significantly and negatively predicting their productive vocabulary test scores, whereas their writing self-efficacy and attributions to specifically literature, TV, and film statistically significantly and positively predicted them. Moreover, neither receptive nor productive EE was found to mediate the relationship between self-efficacy, external attributions, and learning outcomes.

Developing teachers’ literacy scaffolding practices—successes and challenges in a video-based longitudinal professional development intervention

This study reports on a longitudinal video-based literacy coaching professional development intervention involving 38 teachers at nine Norwegian schools, targeting the use of three scaffolding practices that teachers struggle to implement in daily practices: modeling, feedback, and strategy instruction. By measuring the quality of teachers' scaffolding instruction through an observation protocol, we document how teachers were able to engage in high-level scaffolding practices, exhibiting development through the support of video-based coaching. However, challenges to implementation were raised, such as putting scaffolding theory into practice and receiving balanced support. The study indicates that PDs require flexibility to accommodate teachers’ individual needs.

Positive Youth Identity: The Role of Adult Social Support

Positive identity is essential to adolescents’ well-being and a successful transition to adulthood. Understanding factors that contribute to identity formation is important to promote healthy development. The present study applies the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework to explore associations between adult social support and positive identity among Norwegian high school students (N = 220, Mage = 17.30, SD = 1.12). Reflecting on the ecology of adolescence, the study examined the extent to which family, other significant adults, and school support relate to different dimensions of positive identity (personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose, and positive view of future). Further, the hierarchy of importance among the support variables was investigated. Cross-sectional data on items measuring the different dimensions of social support and positive identity were analyzed. Findings from regression analyses indicated that adult support in all three ecological contexts (family, neighborhood, and school) was significantly and positively related to positive identity and at least one of its four dimensions (β = 0.15–0.27, p < 0.05). Support from other significant adults emerged as the most important predictor, followed by family and then school support. While future research should also consider support accessed through social media, our findings extend PYD scholarship in the Norwegian context by highlighting the importance of key youth ecological contexts when fostering positive youth identity.

The Dog as an Unaware Pedagogical Agent in a School Reading Course

ABSTRACT In this study, we observed pupils reading to a dog in a school reading course and asked: How can the pedagogic rituals of schooling explain the dog’s role as a non-judgmental listener? In a qualitative case-study design, video observation was conducted over seven months in a Norwegian primary school to observe year-three pupils’ (average age 8 years) reading experiences with a dog as part of their ordinary reading instruction course. The dog was a male, 10-year-old standard poodle. The children’s school and their socioeconomic status (SES) were average for Norway. Fourteen children participated, four girls and ten boys, with a total of 112 reading sessions with the dog. Interviews and online data supplemented the observations. A narrative analysis found three main categories of the reading sessions: opening sequence, reading sequence, and concluding sequence. To report our findings in this paper, we present a typical narrative informed by the three categories. We conclude that the role of the dog as a non-judgmental listener in a school reading course can be explained by an invisible pedagogy ritualizing the sessions: The ritual assigns the dog a unique educational role in the school setting as a hybrid between animal and human; an unaware pedagogical agent. When reading to the dog, the instructional intention is reinterpreted as a game of pretense that is potentially enjoyable for the pupils and reduces stress.

Patterns of teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education associated with teacher emotional support, collective teacher efficacy, and collegial collaboration

ABSTRACT Teacher self-reports were used to investigate patterns of their self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education in association with teacher emotional support, collective teacher efficacy, and collegial collaboration. Data included a sample of 100 Norwegian upper secondary school teachers from a mixed-methods cluster randomised controlled trial study. Latent profile analysis identified four subgroups: Low Self-Efficacy, Mid Attitudes (n = 19); High in All (n = 15); Mid Self-Efficacy, Low Attitudes (n = 36); and High Self-Efficacy, Mid Attitudes (n = 30). Teachers in the High in All profile reported being the most emotionally supportive, while the highest levels of collective efficacy and collegial collaboration were reported by teachers belonging to the High Self-Efficacy, Mid Attitudes profile. Teachers in the Low Self-Efficacy, Mid Attitudes profile reported the lowest levels of emotional support, collective efficacy, and collegial collaboration. The results provide a deeper understanding of the association between teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education by investigating distinct teacher profiles with diverse self-efficacy and attitude characteristics, leading to more targeted and effective strategies in inclusive education research, practice, and policy.

Teaching English as a Third Language to Minority Adult Learners in Norwegian Secondary Schools

The aim of this study was to explore English teachers’ teaching techniques perceived as important when teaching English as a third language (L3) to minority adult students in secondary schools. Using a quantitative research approach, 95 teachers from two districts in the Viken county of Norway completed a 15-item questionnaire titled. Perceived Strategies for English Teaching Scale and an open-ended question about ways of teaching vocabulary for effective English teaching to support students learning in their classrooms. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and t-tests were used to analyse the data. The results showed that teaching vocabulary, reading, and grammar, among others, were strategies considered as important in teaching English. Reflecting on teachers challenging roles in teaching English as L3 to minority adult learners with varied English knowledge a collaborative teaching strategy was found to be very useful. The respondents also identified certain ways of teaching vocabulary to support students learning. Implication for further research is discussed. Keywords: Norway, English teaching, minority students, teaching strategies

Beat the rich? Employee voice inhibitors at the crossroads of market and privilege

Control-oriented HRM, performance appraisal dissatisfaction, and reputation concern are found to have a “muzzling effect” on teachers, partly through leader-member exchange. Does this effect vary with the level of (a) marketization, and (b) school popularity and privilege? These questions are examined using survey data from Norwegian upper secondary school teachers (N = 1055), and analyzed with path analysis and bootstrapping. Results support some, but not all, hypotheses. Analyses show that the inhibiting effects of performance appraisal dissatisfaction and reputation concern on employee voice are stronger in the highly marketized school field of Oslo than in schools in other areas, and vary with marketization level. The inhibiting effect of reputation concern on voice is stronger in privileged than in marginalized schools and varies with the level of privilege. No such patterns for the inhibiting effects of control-oriented HRM and PA dissatisfaction are found. The findings indicate that reputation management theory takes center stage, as voice is regarded as a reputation management tool. Institutional logics are too found to be crucial when understanding the results. Implications are tied to reputation concerns, leading to a stronger muzzling effect on teachers in marketized areas than elsewhere, and in privileged schools as compared to marginalized schools. This calls for caution with regard to differing marketization and privilege levels in school settings.

Sámi Literature in Norwegian Language Arts Textbooks

Sámi Literature in Norwegian Language Arts Textbooks

Reform planning strategies: a micro-policy case of Norwegian school principals

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how Norwegian school principals prepared to carry out the LK20 reform process. The importance of school principals and middle-level leaders as enactors of change efforts results from their close ties to teachers and teacher classroom practices. This suggests that without negotiation and support from micro-policy actors, such as school principals, reforms are unlikely to be realized as intended and are therefore likely to fail. The present study was based on interviews and video observations of principals and leader team meetings. The findings demonstrate that school principals’ interpretations of policy intentions through their enforcement of curriculum reform demands are closely connected to their schools’ organizational contexts. The planning process involves recycling previous plans and customizing them to new ones. Opportunities and challenges are illuminated when school principals provide counter-discourses in the planning process.

Graphic novels as counter-stories: Jerry Craft’s New Kid as a way to teach critical racial awareness

This chapter examines Jerry Craft’s 2019 published graphic novel New Kid by applying Critical Race Theory (CRT). New Kid is based on autobiographic experiences of being African American at an American, mainly white, (elite) school, and can therefore be read as a “counter-story”. It is written out of the perspective of 12- year-old black boy, Jordan Banks, who is a “New Kid” at the private Riverdale Academy. The book has caused a nationwide debate in the US, being accused of preaching Critical Race Theory (CRT). Craft meanwhile claims that he did not write it with any political intentions. The article takes this debate as point of departure to first explain the main tenets of CRT and to explore in what way New Kid can be read as a counter-story in the sense of CRT. The analysis shows that New Kid reflects structural racism towards African Americans (e.g., microaggressions, othering and deficit orientation) in an educational context and reveals the negative consequences of racism for students’ self-perception.
 In the second part, the article investigates possibilities to teach New Kid in a European setting, taking the new Norwegian curriculum (Kunnskapsløftet) as an example. New Kid is identified as an appropriate medium to discuss race in Norwegian schools. This is particularly because of the sophisticated way New Kid approaches racism. At the same time New Kid itself can be examined for racism towards other marginalized groups, namely Asian Americans.

A study on Children perceptions of social exclusion and the structural drivers of discrimination in Norwegian elementary schools

This article explores children's understanding of social exclusion within their school contexts through a critical race theoretical lens and how social exclusion and repression occur in a country whose policy is typically linked with equality and diversity. Our research was conducted in two primary schools in a big city in middle Norway, where urban segregation creates significant differences in school composition. This qualitative study research was made up of fifteen focus group interviews with 46 children from the age of 9 to 12 in two cases of two public schools, one urban and one suburban school. In terms of school demography, the Urban school was in the central part of the city, where local Norwegian origin families have been part of the same neighbourhood for years. The suburban school is located in a high-poverty area and highly segregated along racial, ethnic, and cultural aspects. As previous studies stated, there are structural inequalities in Norwegian schools, still there is a gap on the description of its consequences. This study pay attention to the voice of children and describe school discrimination, isolation, and unsupported processes in both schools. This innovative study shows that children in both school contexts need additional recognition. In addition, we add that educational policies need to be revised by including aims for collaboration, coordination and capacitation of children and families in their school communities and outside the structural limits. Further, we add that local schools should be part of global communities.

Struggles of Governance and Autonomy in the Field of KulturskoleStruggles of Governance and Autonomy in the Field of Kulturskole

The Norwegian extracurricular schools of music and performing arts, kulturskolen, largely govern themselves. In contrast to other types of law obliged schools, kulturskolen receives no clear signals from either state levels, or municipality/county municipality levels, but rather are left to informal steering mechanisms on individual or collective levels. This leads to a wide diversity of what disciplines that are offered, what collaborations that are conducted, what aims, intentions, profiles, and competences that are managed, and thus to very different conditions for what the pupils might learn and experience. This article is a theoretical discussion of this finding, investigating diverse forms of conduct that are identified on (i) state, (ii) community, and (iii) individual school level. The article particularly looks at the identified steering mechanisms, with Michel Foucault’s thoughts of governmentality and power/knowledge as its basis. This discussion on how the kulturskole regulates itself is a contribution to the body of research about kulturskole, cultural policy, and about extracurricular arts education in the kulturskole that aims to be “for all.”

Cross-country skiers bounce to glide and slide uphill

Using almost every muscle in the body and with a low risk of injury, cross-country skiing has a reputation for being one of the healthiest sports, but the pastime is not without challenges. Coordinating all four limbs on a slippery surface can have its moments, and athletes have to manoeuvre themselves up hills while gliding across the snow. But how do cross-country skiers propel themselves as they glissade up gradients? Are they effectively running as they glide on one ski while stepping forward with the other, do they store bouncy energy in the Achilles tendon of the sliding leg in preparation for the next stride, and how do the calf muscles contribute? To find out, Øyvind Gløersen (SINTEF Digital, Norway), Amelie Werkhausen and Anders Lundervold (both from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway) filmed 13 competitive cross-country skiers on roller skis as they propelled themselves uphill on a sloping treadmill while recording calf muscle activity to find out how the skiers use energy while gliding along.Recording the athletes manoeuvres with 12 cameras to reconstruct their movements as they roller skied on different inclines on the treadmill, the team saw the skiers kick off with one leg to swing it forward while gliding on the other, before touching down with the first leg to glide forward as the second leg kicked off, propelling the skier. Then, they analysed the complicated relationship between the calf muscle contraction and the Achilles tendon stretching to store energy as the skiers climbed and realised that the athletes’ movements were similar to those of runners. However, instead of bouncing into the air as they travelled forward, the skiers remained in contact with the treadmill, gliding forward on one ski. The researchers also realised that as the skiers prepared to push off with one leg, at the end of gliding on that ski, they contracted the calf muscles to store energy in the Achilles tendon, which is exactly what we do when preparing to jump. In addition, when the skiers propelled themselves up a steeper gradient, they contracted their calf muscles more to store a larger amount of energy in the Achilles tendon, to power the stronger kick they require.So, cross-country skiers effectively run, but instead of bouncing into the air like runners, they glide forward across the snow, while benefiting from the power of jumping to ski up gradients that other skiers would be happier to descend.