Florian Waldow
The Dream of “Becoming Clever the Scandinavian Way” – Three propositions on Finland’s role as projection surface in the present debate on education
References to the educational systems of the Nordic countries, in recent times especially to Finland, are almost ubiquitous in the German debate on education policy. The article investigates the character and the functions of these references and discusses three propositions: 1.) In the German debate, Finland serves as projection surface for – different, sometimes even conflicting – conceptions of the „good school“. 2.) The image that is projected is partly utopian, i.e. not realistic. 3.) Referring to Finland as a model is an attractive strategy used by exceptionally large coalitions of agents in educational policy.
Risto Rinne/Tero Järvinen
The ‘losers’ in education, work and life chances – the case of Finland
Finland has been remarkably successful in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies conducted in the first years of the new millennium. The variation in achievement is low and the educational level of Finnish young people is high in an international comparison. Also, dropout rates are lower in Finland than in many other countries. In this article, the main patterns of post-compulsory graduation and dropping out of education, as well as aspects of social exclusion of Finnish youth are examined. While the overwhelming majority of young people in Finland manage to cope well, an increasing minority seems to be at risk of educational and social exclusion. Establishing educational equality has been at the centre of educational policy in Finland since World War II. However, the current tendency revolves around expediting efficiency and, more generally, serving the economy. These steps towards a neo-liberalistic educational policy threaten to marginalise an ever-growing number of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and increase the risk of exclusion.
Heinz Reinders
The Promotion of Learning Processes through Service Learning in Higher Education
The author examines in how far service learning as a didactic model in higher education could help optimize learning processes among students. Service learning constitutes a specific form of teaching and learning which combines teaching units aimed at imparting theoretical knowledge with social commitment by students. The aim of service learning is to optimize the linking of theory and practice and to promote social commitment among students. In a quasi-experimental pre-post-design, a total of 116 students were interviewed during the course of one semester. The survey focused on variables of self-controlled learning and of the perceived increase in knowledge. The results show that, compared to conventional forms of instruction, students participating in service learning courses experience, among other things, a greater increase in knowledge.
Robin Stark/Petra Herzmann/Ulrike-Marie Krause
Effects of Integrated Learning Environments – A comparison between problembased and instruction-oriented seminar conceptions in teacher training
Based on problems that students have in using scientific knowledge, two didactic conceptions were inplemented in an advanced seminar on teacher competencies. The seminar was split up into two courses with different didactic emphases: problembased learning (n = 17) and instruction-oriented learning (n = 27). Learning outcomes (knowledge reproduction and knowledge application) were assessed by knowledge tests. Moreover, metacognitive and motivational aspects were measured by rating scales. The problem-based conception proved superior, especially concerning the promotion of complex knowledge application and with regard to the interconnectedness and the scientific nature of the knowledge acquired. In addition, the problem-based approach forstered reflections during the learning process and several motivational dimensions that were associated with learning success.
Peter Kauder
Schools of Thought in Educational Science – Exemplary and explorative approaches to a topic hardly researched
The author discusses the little researched topic of schools of thought in German educational science. After establishing the topic’s relevance, he goes on to present characteristic features for the identification of schools of thought, taking the Petzelt School as an example. It is shown which steps should be followed in order to determine the number of members of this school, in particular, or of the followers of any other school, in general. The author then explains why the Petzelt School is visible as a separate school within both the discipline and general pedagogics. In a final outlook, he formulates desiderata for future research.
Martin Rothland
Social Competence:AComparison between Prospective Teachers, Doctors and Lawyers. Empirical findings on the shaping of competencies and on competence development within the framework of university studies
Awell-developed social competence can be considered a necessary prerequisite for the practice of the teaching profession. On the basis of a random sample survey of n = 977 students the social competence of students in teacher training is captured and compared to that of n = 135 students of law and n = 210 students of medicine in order to determine, on the one hand, the qualifications of the prospective teachers regarding the profession aimed at and to thus examine a deficit in this field of competences specific to this course of studies and critically discussed in educational research. On the other hand, the survey aims at capturing learning achievements as well as the progress made in the field of competence development during the first phase of teacher training and to then determine the need for further competence development.
Stefan Weyers/Nils Köbel
Prohibition of Torture or “Rescue Torture”? Adolescents’ opinions on morals, human rights and rule of law in view of a quite real moral dilemma
The absolute prohibition of torture is one of the fundamental principles of the democratic state under the rule of law; however, in the course of the recent debate on „rescue torture“, it has been qualified considerably. On the basis of a real case, the authors investigate how adolescents interpret the dilemma and in how far they take aspects of human rights and rule of law into consideration. It was expected that, with the ability to make systemic-transpersonal judgments, the rejection of torture and the appeal to human rights and rule of law would increase. The results confirm this hypothesis; however, they also reveal strong context-specific variations and a high discrepancy between a general and a contextual assessment of human rights.