Schools In Norway Research Articles

Coping Strategies in Reading: Multi-readers in the Norwegian General Education System

This study investigated the coping strategies of 11 students for whom multiple reading media were recommended (multi-readers are those who combine braille, print, and auditory reading functionally at school and in leisure activities). These students were in Grades 5–10 in mainstream schools in Norway. Four students were identified as multi-readers. The dominant coping strategy for the students was auditory reading.

I'd like to Teach the World to Sing: Music and Conflict Transformation

Music is commonsensically thought of as something that unites people, hence it is frequently deployed in multicultural contexts. However, little research has been done to see how this works over time. This article discusses new research from 2006 into a project that originally took place from 1989–1992. The original three year project aimed to improve relations between different ethnic groups through the use of music in schools in Norway. The project, which was documented at the time through annual reports and evaluations, consisted of performances of traditional folk and classical music by musicians from the home countries of different immigrant groups. This has been re-examined by interviewing the initial participants, 13 years after the project finished. Working from a grounded theory approach, semi-structured interviews of 23 people, primarily former pupils, took place in 2005–2006. The key focus was to learn how important the musical intervention had been in the participants' life-worlds, how they viewed it at the time and in retrospect and if it made any impact on their relations to pupils from other ethnic groups. The key finding indicates that although all participants remember the project and generally enjoyed it at the time, in particular the participatory events, it had little impact on their daily lives and their relations with other groups. The lack of impact seems to be due to the fact that the pupils did not see any connections between the musical performances or the musicians and the local population from these countries. This raises questions about the use of music to represent social groups, and how to effectively embed musical experiences into people's everyday cultures.

Assessing medical students' attitudes towards learning communication skills – which components of attitudes do we measure?

BackgroundThe Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS) created by Rees, Sheard and Davies and published in 2002 has been a widely used instrument for measuring medical students' attitudes towards learning communication skills. Earlier studies have shown that the CSAS mainly tests two dimensions of attitudes towards communication; positive attitudes (PAS) and negative attitudes (NAS). The objectives of our study are to explore the attitudes of Norwegian medical students towards learning communication skills, and to compare our findings with reports from other countries.MethodsThe CSAS questionnaire was mailed simultaneously to all students (n = 3055) of the four medical schools in Norway in the spring of 2003. Response from 1833 students (60.0%) were analysed by use of SPSS ver.12.ResultsA Principal component analysis yielded findings that differ in many respects from those of earlier papers. We found the CSAS to measure three factors. The first factor describes students' feelings about the way communication skills are taught, whereas the second factor describes more fundamental attitudes and values connected to the importance of having communication skills for doctors. The third factor explores whether students feel that good communication skills may help them respecting patients and colleagues.ConclusionOur findings indicate that in this sample the CSAS measures broader aspects of attitudes towards learning communication skills than the formerly described two-factor model with PAS and NAS. This may turn out to be helpful for monitoring the effect of different teaching strategies on students' attitudes during medical school.

Peer group effects in education production: Is it about congestion?

This paper provides empirical evidence that the achievement growth of lower secondary school students is negatively affected by the presence of classmates from dissolved families. The results, which come from the lower secondary school in Norway, do not seem to reflect non-random allocations of parents, students, or teachers across classrooms. The purpose of the subsequent analyses is to shed light on the underlying mechanisms: is the revealed peer group effect mediated through congestion a la Lazear [Lazear, E.P., 2001. Education production. Quarterly Journal of Economics 116, 777–803]? No decisive evidence is provided, but there are some indications that congestion may be part of the explanation.

Collaborative computer-mediated music composition in cyberspace

This article reports on an exploratory investigation of the relationship between prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition (FIMT) and the process of collaborative computer-based music composition. The study linked a school in the UK with a school in Norway to engage in computer-mediated collaborative composition via e-mail. Participants were grouped into composing pairs (one from each country) balanced for prior musical experience. Results revealed prior experience of FIMT was associated with extended and complex musical dialogues, critical engagement with musical ideas and produced an ‘exploratory’ environment. No prior experience of FIMT was associated with uncritical and descriptive dialogues and a ‘cumulative’ environment. Proposals for future research are discussed.

A new direction?

Digital literacy is now defined as a key area of competence in the new national curriculum for schools in Norway. For policy makers the terms `information society' and `knowledge society' has been used to argue for implementing new technologies in education, and for improving learning. These views have been highly problematic, partly because they do not take into consideration how new technologies are used by young people, or how schools work as social practices. This article will focus on how we conceptualize a student perspective in schools related to the use of digital technologies. Combining an increased focus on digital literacy in school curricula with an increased focus on student participation challenges our conception of the school-aged learner. In discussing these issues I will draw on results from a number of school-based ICT projects that I have been involved in since 1998.

Developing a participatory multidisciplinary team approach to enhance the quality of school start

The article discusses how participatory action research was applied during a three-year project at 27 schools in Norway in order to enhance the quality of school start. A multidisciplinary on-site team approach was developed, supported by workshops and dialogue seminars. External professionals from the supportive municipal health care system and special education/school psychology services assisted children and teachers in the first grade, focusing on early health promotion and support to children at risk of developing problems. The project was reported to improve multidisciplinary teamwork and relationships, to increase focus on developmental and health care issues, to develop professional knowledge and practical skills, to increase support to local educational staff, and to provide a better school-start for all and particularly vulnerable children. Local creativity and ownership within supportive administrative structures were reported as promoting factors, while available time and external professional resources were the main constraints. The building of learning partnerships based on face-to-face interaction appeared to be a particular strength of the approach.

Psychiatric symptoms in adolescents with epilepsy in junior high school in Norway: A population survey

The aims of this study were to assess the frequency and impact of psychiatric symptoms among adolescents with epilepsy in a general population, and compare the findings with those for adolescents without epilepsy. The data were collected through the Health Profiles for Children and Youth in Akershus Study. The data were cross-sectional and based on self-reports from adolescents (13–16 years of age). To assess psychiatric symptoms, we used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Self Report (SDQ-S). A total of 11,021 pupils were invited to participate, and 9424 responded to the questionnaire (response rate = 86%). We found that adolescents with epilepsy (124) from an unselected group obtained a significantly higher symptom score on the SDQ-S than those without epilepsy, indicating a higher incidence of psychiatric symptoms. The adolescents with epilepsy also reported a greater impact of their perceived difficulties on their daily life than did adolescents without epilepsy. The study illustrates the need for developing better strategies to detect and prevent psychiatric problems in adolescents with epilepsy.

Rhetoric and Action in Regulating the Public Schools in Norway and Sweden

In the past few decades, Norway and Sweden, like the rest of the Western world, have attempted to restructure and deregulate education. In both countries, the established governing models were threatened due to lack of legitimacy and efficiency. This article discusses the extent to which the different explanations of stability and institutional change address what happened when Management by Objectives and Results (MbOR) was introduced in Norway and Sweden. However, both the content and the course of change were different in the two countries. More specifically, one can talk about processes combining lock‐in mechanism and layering in the Norwegian course of development. In Sweden, the process of change was characterized by sudden and radical decisions. A decision made in 1991 could be explained as a state of punctuated equilibrium, as strong forces produced a situation where nothing else was to be done except make a radical change, turning the centralized system into a decentralized one. The period has parallels to the concept of ‘critical juncture’, representing a moment of openness to and possibility for different and new actors to influence a new constitution. In Norway, the transformation of policy tools for education purposes has thus far dominated the process and direction of change. In Sweden, through processes of conversion, the policy tool has gained a more dominating influence over education policy. Accordingly, there was a stronger emphasis on MbOR in its original version in Sweden than in Norway, which has transformed and defined the concept in line with educational purposes. This article outlines two cases of institutional change that combine elements of lock in with new developments. In neither Norway nor Sweden was the development pushed further in the same trajectory, rather it was transformed and, in the case of Sweden, radically changed within a larger nationally specific framework of sequence of events, values, norms and traditions of policy making.

Which young physicians are satisfied with their work? A prospective nationwide study in Norway

BackgroundFew studies have investigated personality and medical school variables in regard to job satisfaction after graduation. It is of great importance to investigate these factors because this information may be used in the recruitment/admittance process to medical schools, and possibly to improve medical education.MethodsWe conducted a nationwide prospective 10-year follow-up study of medical students at all medical schools in Norway. They were approached three times during their medical training: at very beginning (T1), in the middle (T2), in the last year of medical school (T3), and then four years after graduation (T4). There were 210 participants who responded on all four occasions. Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Scale, which was used as the outcome variable. In addition to conducting multiple regression analysis for the total sample, we also conducted similar analyses separately for men and women.ResultsAmong the demographic and personality variables, 'having a father who is a physician' and 'interpersonal functioning (being withdrawn)' were significantly associated with job satisfaction at T4. Among the medical school variables, 'well-being with peers', 'identification with the doctor's role at the end of curriculum', 'perceived medical school stress', and 'perceived clinical skills' were significantly associated with job satisfaction. In the multiple regression analysis only 'father as a physician' and 'perceived clinical skills' yielded an independent influence on the outcome variable in separate analyses within sub-groups of male and female students, 'perceived clinical skills' differentiated among woman only, while 'well-being with peers' differentiated only among men.ConclusionThe main finding of this study is that the young physicians who are the most satisfied in their work are those whose fathers are physicians and those who have a high level of perceived clinical skills at the end of medical school. There are also differences in regard to predictors of job satisfaction among men and women. These findings indicate that medical schools should invest substantial effort in clinical skills training, and this seems to be especially important among female students.

Promoting inclusive education in secondary school in Norway: a national programme for teacher development

There is a great need in many countries for extended and new teacher competence to meet the challenges of inclusive education. This paper presents a national programme for developing new teacher competence in secondary schools in Norway. The programme was developed and implemented during the 1990s, its aim being to start a continuing process in schools directed at promoting inclusive education and improving the quality of education for pupils with special educational needs. Further, the paper presents some findings from a national survey of 2240 teachers and school administrators in 104 schools one year after the implementation of the programme. The survey partially replicated a survey carried out before the programme started. The purpose was to give an overall picture of the situation with respect to teacher competence in special needs and inclusive education, and the impact of the competence building programme on teacher practice, and to identify possible system changes in schools.

Pupil Achievement, School Resources and Family Background

Whether increasing resource use in schools has a positive effect on pupil performance has occupied governments, parents and researchers for decades. A main challenge when trying to answer this question is to separate the effects of school resources from the effects of pupils’ family background, since resources may be allocated in a compensatory manner, and pupils may sort into schools. We address these issues using a comprehensive dataset for two cohorts of pupils graduating from lower secondary school in Norway. The dataset is rich in performance measures, resource use variables and family background variables. As performance measures we use results at age 16 across 11 subjects, and we exploit the fact that we have both information from results from national exams and from continuous assessment in class. Controlling for family background, we find a positive but modest effect of resource quantity such as teacher hours per pupil, on pupil achievement. Observable teacher qualifications, within the variation present in lower secondary school in Norway, do not appear to have significant effects on school results. Resource quality as measured by teacher

Schools as environments for social learning—shaping mechanisms? Comparisons of smaller and larger rural schools in Norway

This article analyses and compares the learning environment in smaller and bigger rural schools by focusing on the arenas of both formal and informal learning; the lessons and the recesses between. Relational patterns are both analysed using complete network data from 19 schools in four different municipalities in four Norwegian counties and by comparisons based on data from 80 pupil interviews. The analyses are replicated and followed up by comparison of schools in two additional municipalities. The smaller and bigger rural schools offer radically different learning environments. The aspects of individual and collective agency in learning, self‐centrism, intimization, social exclusion, independence and control as part of everyday life in schools are analysed and discussed. Mechanisms shaping the differences in the learning environments are identified. Needs for further research are formulated.

Personality traits and drinking to cope as predictors of hazardous drinking among medical students.

The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence and development of drinking to cope and hazardous drinking among medical students and to examine whether various personality traits and drinking to cope predict hazardous drinking. In a 6-year prospective study of a nationwide sample of medical students (N = 421) assessments were made by questionnaire at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of each participant's tenure at medical school. A cohort of 272 medical students (56% women) from all medical schools in Norway participated at both T1 and T2. The questionnaires encompassed measures of personality characteristics (Basic Characteristic Inventory) and alcohol-use (hazardous drinking and drinking to cope). The levels of drinking to cope and hazardous drinking were not significantly different between T1 and T2, rising from 9.2% to 11.8% and from 17.7% to 19.2%, respectively. Hazardous drinking at T1 (odds ratio [OR] = 7.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.2-15.4) and level of control (personality trait) at T1 (OR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.9) predicted hazardous drinking at T2 among all the students. Hazardous drinking (OR = 3.5; 95% CI: 1.4-9.0), control (OR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.9) and drinking to cope at T1 (OR = 5.0; 95% CI: 1.0-24.1) independently predicted hazardous drinking at T2 among the men, whereas the only predictor among the women was hazardous drinking at T1 (OR = 42.1; 95% CI: 8.1-218.2). Drinking to cope should be targeted for preventive measures against hazardous drinking, particularly among men. The effects of personality and drinking to cope differ by gender and should be studied further.

School-Related Stress and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Norwegian Adolescents

This study examines the relationships between school-related stress, gender and psychosomatic symptoms in a sample of 531 adolescents pupils in years (grades) 8, 9 and 10 (aged 13-16 years) from two compulsory schools in Norway. Results showed that 18.1 percent reported being ‘very much’ affected by at least one of the assessed psychosomatic symptoms. Girls reported significantly more psychosomatic symptoms than did boys. Tests of the dimensionality of the school-related stress that was assessed in the present study showed four main categories: (1) difficulties with peers at school; (2) worries about school achievement; (3) schoolwork pressure and (4) conflicts with parents and/or teachers. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that scores for the different stressors were significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms. Findings suggest that frequency of psychosomatic symptoms might be related to how well or otherwise pupils adapt to the demands of school and to the interpersonal climate of the school. Gender seems to play a differentiating role here. Girls reported significantly more stress that was related to worries about school achievement, whereas boys reported significantly more stress arising from conflicts with parents and/or teachers. Finally, stress due to difficulties with peers at school was more closely correlated with psychosomatic symptoms among boys than among girls.

Do the teachers' grading practices affect student achievement?

The present paper explores empirically the relationship between teacher grading and student achievement. The hypothesis is that the teachers can manipulate student effort, and hence student achievement, by choosing the proper grading practices. The grading model is analogous to a labor supply model, where the teachers can set the marginal returns to achievement or determine the grade level that is independent of real achievement. The empirical analysis shows that grading differences in the lower secondary school in Norway are much like differences in non‐labor income and, further, that students who are exposed to hard grading perform significantly better than other students.

Traffic education for children with a tabletop model

An experiment was carried out to investigate 6-year olds ability to learn traffic safe behaviour by the use of a tabletop model. The main purpose of the training was to teach the children to look for safe spots to cross the road. Children from two schools in Norway (92 children all in all) were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. Only the experimental group received training by use of the tabletop model; the control group received no such training. Both groups were tested (before-and-after-test) on a predefined route in the road traffic environment close to their school in order to determine the solutions they chose when they had to walk from one place to another (cross a road). The study also tested whether geographical location (urban/semi-urban) had any influence on knowledge acquisition. Data analysis showed that the training was effective in the urban school, but not in the semi-urban setting.

Reliability of parental and self-reported determinants of fruit and vegetable intake among 6th graders.

To assess the reliability of newly developed questionnaires measuring theoretical constructs believed to predict fruit and vegetable consumption among 6th-grade pupils. Participating pupils and parents completed questionnaires twice, 14 days apart. One hundred and twenty-nine pupils from 6th-grade classes (average age: 11.9 years) at two schools in Norway and their parents were invited to participate. The test-retest reliability was found to be good or very good for scales reported both by the pupils and their parents. All scales showed acceptable to strong correlations between time 1 and time 2, and only one scale had significant different mean values at the two times. The internal consistency reliability of the scales was acceptable to good. Sixth graders and their parents are able to provide reliable reports on theoretical determinants of the pupil's fruit and vegetable consumption.

Electronic Learning Modules for High School Students in Seismology

The SeisSchool Norway project aims to create interest in geoscience and seismology among high school students, as do similar projects in several other countries. Few of them appear to have been successful, and reasons appear to be (1) lack of professional seismic equipment and (2) data access and analyzing tools remain clumsy. We try to incorporate such constructive features in our Cossack Ranger design, namely that sensors can be installed in school yards, record earthquakes in a professional manner that is easily accessible, and are also suitable for student analysis. The rapid growth and easy access to the SeisSchool Norway network (Fedorenko et al., 2000; Filatov et al., 2003) have attracted the interest of both teachers and students in participating schools in Norway and elsewhere around the globe. This in turn has given us the challenging task of providing supplementary and stimulating learning material relating to geoscience to students who are scientific novices. An electronic learning set-up is the modern solution to this problem, with the added advantage of being transparent to any school location. The learning material is delivered in the form of e-modules—sophisticated interactive multimedia software programs (Hesthammer et al., 2001). An e-module is executed on the student's own PC platform and provides an exciting interactive learning experience. Production of a highquality module is a complex process. In order to achieve reasonable production cost while keeping module quality high, we followed a number of design principles, such as (1) separation of content and presentation; (2) separation of programming, graphic design, and content management; and (3) use of standard technologies. In this contribution we first outline e-module topics currently in production but then emphasize the technology used in producing such modules, including animations and generally available independent of PC copyrighted software. ### The Dynamic Earth This learning module addresses the following main …

The determinants of parental effort in education production: do parents respond to changes in class size?

The present paper supplements the traditional class size literature by exploring the causal relationship between class size and parental effort in education production. Class size variation that is exogenous to parental effort comes from interaction between enrollment and a maximum class size rule of 30 students in the lower secondary school in Norway. The class size rule is used to generate a credible instrument for class size, and moreover, the discontinuities generated by the class size rule are used explicitly to reveal potential class size effects (Quart J Econ 114 (1999) 533). The evidence is not conclusive, but there are indications that parents tend to reduce their efforts as class size increases, in particular when class size increases from low levels.