Icelandic Schools Research Articles

Polish complementary schools in Iceland and England

Since 2004, the opening of labour markets has spurred a considerable number of Poles to emigrate e.g. to Iceland and England. Families with school age children have had the challenge of adapting to foreign environments and school systems. Polish complementary schools have played an important, albeit ambivalent, role in this process. Through focus group interviews with students in Polish complementary schools in one city in Iceland and one city in England, we gathered information showing common threads between both schools as well as differences in their structure, role, origin and the student motivation to participate. Saturday schools abroad are considered to be less demanding by students than regular schools back in Poland, but more so than regular Icelandic/English schools, which many rate as unsatisfactory in terms of their academic development. The tension between the need for freedom and high expectations for the academic outcome of education influences student opinions, not only about schooling, but also about the host society.

Electronic screen use and selected somatic symptoms in 10–12 year old children

ObjectiveScreen-based media use by children and adolescents has increased in recent years but the consequences of their use are not well understood. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive examination of the relationship between screen-based activities and a selection of single and multiple self-reported somatic symptoms in a large sample of 10–12 year old children. MethodWe use data from the population-based 2011 Youth in Iceland school survey (N=10,829, response rate: 84.5%, boys: 49.9%) that is conducted triennially in 5th–7th grades in all secondary schools in Iceland. Self-reported measures of common screen-based activities were hypothesized to predict the odds of dizziness, tremors, headaches, stomach aches, and multiple symptoms. ResultsIn general the reported prevalence of symptoms increased with greater number of hours reported on screen based activity for boys and girls. This held for all individual screen activities as well as the cumulative measure of daily minutes spent on screen-based media and prevalence of one or more somatic symptoms. ConclusionsThis study confirms previous findings and puts forth additional information concerning the relationship between the prevalence of electronic screen use and somatic symptoms in 10–12year old children.

Conflicts in teachers’ professional practices and perspectives about inclusion in Icelandic compulsory schools

Inclusive education policy, now the norm in many parts of the world including Iceland, is highly dependent on teachers for its successful implementation. Research on inclusion often attempts to identify teachers’ attitudes of inclusion (against/for). This article takes a different approach. It focuses on teachers’ perspectives of their professional practices; that is, how teachers understand what it means to be and practise as a teacher. We interviewed 10 Icelandic compulsory school teachers and also examined teaching logs and associated documents. The findings suggest that the teachers participating in this study have conflicting expectations towards their professional practice. They have unclear ideas about the inclusive ideology, and external factors influence teachers’ perception of their professional practice more than reflective practices. We suggest that these findings may well be applicable beyond the Icelandic context, and that they have implications for the overall in-service and pre-service education offered to teachers.

Portrayal of alcohol consumption in movies and drinking initiation in low-risk adolescents.

To investigate the hypothesis that exposure to alcohol consumption in movies affects the likelihood that low-risk adolescents will start to drink alcohol. Longitudinal study of 2346 adolescent never drinkers who also reported at baseline intent to not to do so in the next 12 months (mean age 12.9 years, SD = 1.08). Recruitment was carried out in 2009 and 2010 in 112 state-funded schools in Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Scotland. Exposure to movie alcohol consumption was estimated from 250 top-grossing movies in each country in the years 2004 to 2009. Multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regressions assessed the relationship between baseline exposure to movie alcohol consumption and initiation of trying alcohol, and binge drinking (≥ 5 consecutive drinks) at follow-up. Overall, 40% of the sample initiated alcohol use and 6% initiated binge drinking by follow-up. Estimated mean exposure to movie alcohol consumption was 3653 (SD = 2448) occurrences. After age, gender, family affluence, school performance, TV screen time, personality characteristics, and drinking behavior of peers, parents, and siblings were controlled for, exposure to each additional 1000 movie alcohol occurrences was significantly associated with increased relative risk for trying alcohol, incidence rate ratio = 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.08; P = .003), and for binge drinking, incidence rate ratio = 1.13 (95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.20; P < .001). Seeing alcohol depictions in movies is an independent predictor of drinking initiation, particularly for more risky patterns of drinking. This result was shown in a heterogeneous sample of European youths who had a low affinity for drinking alcohol at the time of exposure.

Assessment for learning or learning for assessment: National examinations, teachers’ conceptions, teaching and learning in Science and Icelandic in four Icelandic compulsory schools

Assessment for learning or learning for assessment: National examinations, teachers’ conceptions, teaching and learning in Science and Icelandic in four Icelandic compulsory schools

The location of innovation education in Icelandic compulsory schools

The location of innovation education in Icelandic compulsory schools

Leading the small rural school in Iceland and Australia

This study builds on a set of Australian case studies exploring the impact of Place on the work of principals and of the importance of Place in the preparation and development of principals. The project compares the ways that principals in Iceland and Australia build leadership capacity in small rural schools. Leaders of small schools in both settings face challenges because of their remoteness, such as lack of access to professional learning opportunities, professional isolation and teaching roles in addition to leadership and administrative responsibilities. Qualitative data from interviews and observations were used to construct narrative accounts of salient aspects of the principal’s work. It was evident that these schools were good schools, hardly noticed and rarely visited by their respective educational authority personnel. Their principals accommodate the changes they face, accepting the conditions they find. These schools are characterised by a culture of acceptance, where expectations for performance and behaviour are known and shared and not questioned. But is this enough? Could they be great schools or even simply better schools? In what ways? At what cost? How might these schools become great schools if principals were to develop a culture of inquiry?

Professional Development: Possibilities and restrictions for mathematics teachers in lower secondary school in Iceland

Mathematics teachers in many parts of the world have been facing many challenges in recent years. In Iceland teachers in lower secondary school have been implementing a new reform oriented curriculum. Many researchers claim teachers need considerable support if they are to meet the demands of the current reforms in mathematics education. This paper explores whether mathematics teachers at lower secondary level in Iceland are given good opportunities to develop professionally during the last five years and if not what can possibly be done to improve the situation. My conclusion is that the opportunities given are limited and do not meet features that characterize effective professional development. That specially applies for duration and coherence which are considered very important features along with, focus on content, active learning and collective participation. The organisation and funding of professional development in Iceland does not seem to allow for continuation and progression. One important step to deal with this problem would be to make it easier for teachers to attend courses at the universities and to arrange courses in such a way that teachers and student teachers can collaborate and form a learning community.

Educational leadership and market values: A study of school principals in Iceland

This article reports on the findings of a larger case study about the impact of values on educational leaders in Iceland. The environment of Icelandic schools has changed considerably in recent years. These changes have affected schools and changed the nature and scope of principals' work. Scholars have argued that these changes are primarily market driven and have made schools subject to market pressures. Ten principals, five women and five men, were interviewed and asked how recent changes had affected their roles. They were also asked to share information about difficult decisions they had made during this time. Moreover, in all the ten schools, one mid-level administrator was interviewed. This article shows that Icelandic principals work in a changing and unstable environment, where values of school stakeholders often compete for recognition. It highlights the conflicting demands principals were faced with and the difficult issues they had to resolve in a competitive environment. Many of the conflicts involved core activities of teaching and learning against various other new services. Their narrative shows that they focus on their role as pedagogical leaders and see care as a core value in their practice. This holds true regardless of gender.

Suicidal ideations and attempts among adolescents subjected to childhood sexual abuse and family conflict/violence: The mediating role of anger and depressed mood

Based on a sample of 9085 16- to 19-year-old students attending all high schools in Iceland in 2004, the current study examines depressed mood and anger as potential mediators between family conflict/violence and sexual abuse, on the one hand, and suicidal ideations and suicide attempts on the other. Agnew's general strain theory provides the theoretical framework for the study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted allowing explicit modelling of both direct and mediating effects using observed and latent variables. The findings showed that both depressed mood and anger mediated the relationship between family conflict/violence and sexual abuse and suicidal attempts. However, when testing the mediating pathways between sexual abuse and family conflict/violence and suicidal ideations, only depressed mood but not anger turned out to be a significant mediator. The authors discuss how these finding may inform and facilitate the design and development of interventions to reduce the likelihood of suicide attempts among young people.

Teachers' Mindset and Responsibilities in Using Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) In Icelandic Schools

Teachers' Mindset and Responsibilities in Using Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) In Icelandic Schools

Desirable parental participation in activities in compulsory schools

This study on parental involvement in 20 compulsory schools in Iceland reveals what school professionals, teenagers and parents think is desirable parent participation. The majority of the students want their parents to participate, but primarily only in the academic portion of their school activities. The school staff was very positive towards traditional parents’ participation in social activities, but reluctant when participation touched upon their expertise in academic activities. The parents also found it most desirable to participate in social activities, and generally the more educated parents favoured parental involvement more than the parents with less education. In all groups, the interest in parents’ participation declined as the students grew older. The findings are discussed in light of Epstein’s family-school-community partnership model (Epstein 2011, Epstein et al. 2002), some critical perspectives, and Jeynes’ (2011) meta-analytical research which claims that supporting parents in subtle ways is most effective.

Manifestations of Heterosexism in Icelandic Upper Secondary Schools and the Responses of LGBT Students

How does institutionalized heterosexism manifest itself in Icelandic upper secondary schools and how do lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students respond to these manifestations? In addressing these questions, interviews were conducted with six current and former LGBT upper secondary school students, using queer theory and thematic analysis. It is argued that institutionalized heterosexism prevails in the structure and culture of the schools under investigation, although to varying degrees. LGBT youth experienced institutionalized heterosexism daily in their dealings with faculty and fellow students. The LGBT students who were interviewed responded to the oppressive nature of institutionalized heterosexism in various ways. Some tried to resist the system actively while others did so more subtly. In general, their stories can be interpreted as having destabilizing effects on the heterosexual system.

Examining Teachers' Role In Using Virtual Learning Environment To Support Conventional Education In Icelandic Schools

i-manager's Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, i-manager's Journal on Software Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Electronics Engineering, i-manager's Journal of Educational Technology, i-manager's Journal on Educational Psychology, i-manager's Journal on School Educational Technology, i-manager's Journal on English Language Teaching, i-manager's Journal on Mechanical Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Civil Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Embedded Systems, i-manager's Journal on Information Technology, i-manager's Journal on Structural Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Communication Engineering and Systems, i-manager's Journal on Wireless Communication Networks, i-manager's Journal on Instrumentation and Control Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Circuits and Systems, i-manager's Journal on Digital Signal Processing, i-manager's Journal on Power Systems Engineering, i-manager's Journal on Computer Science, i-manager's Journal on Material Science, i-manager's Journal on Cloud Computing, i-manager's Journal on Image Processing, i-manager's Journal on Mobile Applications and Technologies, i-manager's Journal on Pattern Recognition, i-manager's Journal on Mathematics, i-manager's Journal on Management, i-manager's Journal on Nursing, i-manager's Journal on Physical Sciences, i-manager's Journal on Chemical Sciences, i-manager's Journal on Economics & Commerce , i-manager's Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences, i-manager's Journal on Life Sciences , i-manager's Journal on Construction Management, i-manager's Oyla , ,India best Journal Publication Website,World Best Plication SIte,Free atrticle published website,Journal Publised,Published Journal,Research Paper Published,indian research paper publications,how to published your article/research paper in india for free,journal’s instructions for authors

Additional workload or a part of the job? Icelandic teachers' discourse on inclusive education

The aim of this article is to examine the discourse of Icelandic compulsory school teachers on inclusive education. From 1974 and onwards, the education policy in Iceland has been towards inclusion, and Iceland is considered to be an example of a highly inclusive education system with few segregated resources for students with special educational needs. In particular, the article focuses on what characterises and legitimises teachers' discourse on inclusive education, the contradictions in the discourse and how teachers have involved themselves in the process. We use the approach of historical discourse analysis to analyse the discourse as it appears in interviews with teachers and media articles on education as well as in key documents issued by the Parliament. The article provides an insight into the complexities of this topic and draws attention to underlying issues relevant to inclusive education.

A Perspective on the Intended Science Curriculum in Iceland and its ‘Transformation’ over a Period of 50 Years

In recent decades, a consensus has emerged among educators and scientists that all compulsory school students need good science education. The debate about its purpose and nature as a school subject in an emerging information society has not been as conclusive. To further understand this, it helps to examine how the science curriculum has transformed and what forces have shaped it as a core curricular area over time. This article sheds light on the transformation of the science curriculum for compulsory schools in Iceland in force from 1960 to 2010. Using criteria based on curriculum ideologies regarding the function of learners, instructors and subject matter in the learning process and the orientation of content and product versus process and development, it offers findings from content analysis of the intended science curriculum. The official curriculum was studied and conceptualised as it has evolved over time. The curriculum developers appear to have been striving for a compromise between conflicting views, resulting in what the authors of this article conceive as a ‘kaleidoscopic quilt’ of ideas over the period studied.

Design and Craft Education in Icelandic Schools

Design and Craft Education in Icelandic Schools

Home-school relationships and cooperation between parents and supervisory teachers

Supervisory teachers are responsible for the home-school relationship in compulsory schools in Iceland. According to this study on parental involvement in compulsory schools, the practices in the relationship are systematic and regular, and quite similar to those in Denmark and Norway. Data was gathered using two online surveys, one for professional staff in 20 compulsory schools and another for parents of children in those same schools. Ninety percent of parents find communication with supervisory teachers to be easy. The ease of communication is related to overall satisfaction with the experience of school, which demonstrates the importance of the supervisory teachers’ role. Cooperating with parents is more difficult for the supervisory teachers. Two-thirds of them said that they spend 2–4 hours per week cooperating with parents, and a major part of the cooperation is concerning individual students. The results show no difference in parental satisfaction with the cooperationin relation to the age of the child, but teachers use more time on cooperation about learning for the older students, which can indicate greater emphasis on learning and achievement. It should be considered to encourage teachers to spend more time on cooperating with the whole parent group, to increase direct contact with all parents and to be aware that parents can be vulnerable due to their child’s special needs. In practice, parent participation and involvement must be encouraged in manydifferent ways if the aim is a joint responsibility of student welfare and education.

Piloting a Use of Graphic Tablets to Support Students Drawing within a Secondary School in Iceland

Piloting a Use of Graphic Tablets to Support Students Drawing within a Secondary School in Iceland

The influence of sandplay and imaginative storytelling on children's learning and emotional-behavioral development in an Icelandic primary school

The motivation behind the study on sandplay and storytelling was the assumption that creative imagination is a powerful tool in the process of learning and emotional-behavioral development, an assumption grounded in scholarship that emphasizes the importance of play in child development and learning.The study investigated and evaluated the use of sandplay and storytelling and its influence on children's learning and emotional-behavioral development. The study took place in a primary school in Iceland. The pupils observed had learning disabilities, poor reading competence, attention and/or emotional problems.Each pupil made 12 sandplay creations and stories during the school year. Among the assessment tools were psychological tests: WISC, Achenbach and ADHD scales. All participants made progress in one or more area under observation. It is of special interest that eight pupils made significant improvement in their WISC scores. The most striking result occurred in perceptual scores, as 16 of 19 participants made progress in this area. The outcome of the psychological tests suggests that sandplay and imaginative storytelling facilitate children's emotional-behavioral development.