Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE)

Computational Thinking in Nordic Teacher Education and Schools

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The Shadows of Internationalisation

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This forum proposes the use of concept of “shadows” in the analysis of internationalisation policies to make visible the decision-making processes and practices appearing at all levels of internationalisation policies. We focus on the problematic effects appeared at the intersect of internationalisation policies implemented by the countries perceived academic values differently on example of Finland as the EU member state and pre-war Russia. We consider these effects as preventing equal access to quality higher education and life-long learning for all (SDG4, target 4.3). The forum conceptualises the lessons of the EU/Finnish-Russian internationalisation for further usage the suggested theoretical lens in policy implementation in other countries developed their own internationalisation policy on different value basis. This study address to what happens when the internationalisation policies promoted European view on fundamental academic values, are implemented with such policies in the countries where these values are perceived in another way. We answer the question of how and why the shadows of internationalisation appear and have an impact at a macro-, meso-, and micro-level, and conceptualize them for future policy improvement. The forum discusses the implications of internationalisation policies from the practice perspective and what might be learnt by the stakeholders previously involved in these cooperation partnerships.

Teacher competencies in job advertisements for teachers

Ville Mankki, Mirva Heikkilä, Lauri Kemppinen, Riitta-Leena Metsäpelto — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Teaching requires a diverse range of competencies. This study investigates teacher competencies articulated in job advertisements for teaching positions in Finland. Given the global teacher recruitment challenges, particularly in rural schools, and the regional differentiation within Finland, the study also examines the variations across rural, semi-urban, and urban municipalities. Data were collected from a centralized recruitment website, resulting in 596 job advertisements for class teacher positions. A deductive qualitative content analysis was performed using the individual teacher competencies defined in the multidimensional adapted process model of teaching (Metsäpelto et al., 2022) as a framework. The findings highlight the prevalence of teacher competencies related to knowledge base of teaching and learning, social skills, and personal orientations. Notably, advertisements from rural municipalities featured fewer competencies compared to those from semi-urban and urban municipalities. By illustrating the desired teacher competencies in the field, this study provides a valuable tool for evaluating and developing teacher education goals and teacher recruitment strategies.

Immigrant parents’ experiences and perspectives on the early childhood education stages in Nordic contexts

Samah M. Migdad, Kjersti Lea, Martin M. Sjøen — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0100

To explore the state of research on immigrant parents’ experiences in early childhood education (ECE) stages, we conducted a literature review through a qualitative meta-synthesis of 22 studies. Guided by sociocultural theory, which emphasizes the co-construction of meaning and the interplay between individual agency and social context, the synthesis highlights both the barriers immigrant parents face and opportunities for enhancing inclusion and support within Nordic ECE contexts. While the articles acknowledge these challenges, they also found that some parents increasingly appreciate Nordic ECE values and practices over time. Communication emerges as a central theme in the reviewed literature; it deeply impacts the integration process of immigrant parents in Nordic ECE systems. Synthesized findings across the studies highlight communication as a key factor shaping parents’ experiences within the categories of “initial experiences and adaptation,” “parental concerns,” and “cultural and social integration.” The review reveals a predominance of host-country researchers, the majority being female, with minority groups underrepresented, which could potentially lead to biases. Despite methodological limitations that impact the understanding of immigrant parents' experiences, the studies offer valuable insights into the parents’ reported experiences and provide a foundation for improving inclusivity and understanding in Nordic ECE.

Multicultural and multilingual educator professionalism

Ulla Lundqvist, Signe Hvid Thingstrup, Annika Åkerblom — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This article investigates how multicultural and multilingual educator professionalism unfolds as a dynamic phenomenon among educators in Danish and Swedish preschools and primary schools. Reflexive dialogues were produced with educators in three different action research studies. These dialogues were analysed by employing conceptual approaches of educator professionalism, equity pedagogy, and multicultural and multilingual education. The analyses show how the educators: (i) critically examine their constructions of pupils/children, (ii) develop increasingly broad views on how knowledge and learning can be productively produced in classroom interaction, and (iii) show awareness about societal language ideologies. The educators’ nuanced reflections on their own pedagogical practices displayed contradictions and ambivalences. We argue that the educators’ reflections point to possible renewals of pedagogical practices that place multiculturalism and multilingualism at the centre of educator professionalism.

Studentmobilitet for kvalitet i høyere utdanning

Ane Bergersen, Prisca Bruno Massao — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Student mobility has long been a desired form of internationalization in higher Education in Norway. Previous research shows increased personal, professional and intercultural competencies after their stay in Zambia and Tanzania. In this paper, we shed light on how cooperation partners in Zambia and Tanzania, through equal knowledge exchange and positions, can contribute to strengthening the quality of student mobility from Norway. We conducted qualitative interviews with six coordinators in Zambia and Tanzania to learn from their reflections regarding student mobility from Norway. The themes discussed in the interviews are student mobility, global justice and de-colonial awareness. The theoretical framework is critical pedagogy and de-colonialization, which analyses power, positions, and pluriversity in international cooperation. Our findings indicate the reproduction of colonial structures and more academic responsibility to colleagues in Zambia and Tanzania, and they suggest adequate preparations with particular learning outcomes to increase the quality of student mobility.

Beyond exceptionalism

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0100

The idea of Nordic countries as benevolent, egalitarian nations largely innocent of colonialism, is increasingly challenged by researchers. Yet, there is still reluctance within Nordic education systems to properly examine issues of coloniality, race, and white privilege. In this conceptual paper we first draw on research from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to deconstruct the notion of Nordic exceptionalism. We highlight a shared history of colonial complicity and ongoing coloniality towards Indigenous and minoritised groups. We also show that the Nordic emphasis on societal equality is based on a narrative of cohesion, an imagined sameness, that increasingly fails to reflect their diverse populations. This egalitarian ideology results in colour-blindness in society and an unwillingness to acknowledge or confront issues of race, white supremacy, or inequality for fear of disturbing the equilibrium.

Using decolonial theory, we then suggest that within education, Nordic exceptionalism has led to a singular historical narrative and attempts to assimilate minoritised groups, in the process valorising Western epistemology. Educators either dismiss, or are ignorant of, what Quijano (2000) terms the colonial matrix of power: the system of Western domination that continues to normalise epistemic violence and devalue other knowledges and perspectives. Educators prefer to protect white sensitivities rather than allow critical discussion and uncomfortable questions of coloniality. We demonstrate that Nordic education needs to decolonise itself, but that this cannot be achieved until it overcomes a discomfort with difference that prevents alternative knowledges and practices from being valued or adopted. We conclude with some thoughts on how to begin this process.

Dansk Kan Kan tosprogede elever være ordblinde?

Hatice Filikci — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading and writing difficulties (Elbro, 2021), but studies have shown that bilingual students diagnosed with dyslexia are underrepresented in Danish public schools (Gellert, 2009). This article examines how knowledge about dyslexia and bilingual students is represented and problematized at the educational policy level, as well as the premises and assumptions on which these understandings are based. This forms the basis for a discussion on how these problem representations may influence each other and impact the practices within the educational system, particularly regarding the pedagogical detection of dyslexia.

Based on policy researcher Carol Bacchi's WPR approach (What's the Problem Represented to be?) from 2009, I apply this methodological strategy to analyse national policies on dyslexia and bilingual students as represented on the Danish Ministry of Children and Education's digital platform emu.dk. Through the discursive practices reflected in the policies on emu.dk, the categories of dyslexia and bilingual students are constructed as separate categories and distinct areas of focus. Dyslexia is problematized as a neurobiological condition leading to phonological decoding difficulties, while bilingual students, in contrast to monolingual ethnic Danish students, are problematized based on assumptions about their presumed lack of linguistic and academic competencies. Regarding bilingual students' reading difficulties, an underlying assumption arises that bilingual students do not suffer from phonological decoding difficulties like their monolingual peers. Thus, bilingual students' reading difficulties are primarily represented and problematized in relation to Danish language proficiency and reading comprehension, rather than as dyslexia-related difficulties.

Reimagining Global Education Policy Research

Oshie Nishimura-Sahi — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0200

In Finland, doctoral candidates are required to give an introductory lecture as part of their public dissertation defense. This lecture provides the audience with background information on the phenomenon studied in the dissertation, discusses the main results and central arguments, and proposes the potential contributions of the research. This paper is based on the author’s dissertation, entitled ‘Reimagining Global Education Policy Research: The Case of the European Language Framework (CEFR) Transfer to Japan’ (Nishimura-Sahi, 2024; 2020; 2022; Nishimura-Sahi & Piattoeva, 2024).

Global asymmetries in international doctoral education

Elizabeth Agbor Eta, Nico Stockmann , Hanna Kontio, Elina Lehtomäki — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Critical discourses of internationalisation of higher education and decoloniality have motivated this study unfolding global asymmetries present in Finnish doctoral education in the field of educational sciences. The data are doctoral dissertations related to education development in Africa completed at Finnish universities between 2000–2021 (N=100). We first describe the regional distribution and educational contexts where the research is located through a content analysis. Second, we conduct a network analysis of the institutional affiliations of co-authors of article-based dissertations, supervisors, and examiners of the doctoral dissertations and map the institutional connections in doctoral education. Then we present and discuss the findings from the content analysis, the dissertation mapping, and the institutional network analysis against the discourses of internationalisation and decoloniality that influence doctoral education in Finland and beyond. Finally, we reflect on implications for internationalisation of doctoral education in internationalised contexts, especially in North-South collaborations.

Evaluation of Digital Technology Management in Mathematics Learning

Muh. Fitrah, Caly Setiawan, Widihastuti, Yudince Marinding, Herianto — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The rapid advancement of digital technology necessitates that teachers enhance their competencies in the teaching and learning process of mathematics. This study aims to evaluate the demographic factors affecting teachers' use of digital technology and their digital skills, explore the frequency of online learning platform usage in relation to teachers' digital skills, and identify challenges while providing recommendations for integrating technology into mathematics instruction through a Sequential Explanatory Design mixed-methods approach. The quantitative sample consisted of 104 mathematics teachers, with 14 teachers selected as respondents for the qualitative phase. Data collection instruments included questionnaires, structured interviews, and non-participant observations, with quantitative data analyzed using Jamovi 2.4.8.0 software, and qualitative data manually coded and thematically analyzed using an inductive-deductive approach. The findings indicate that employment status, teaching experience, and school level significantly influence the use of digital technology in teaching mathematics. Teachers who are government employees under contract, have over 10 years of teaching experience, and teach at the middle or high school level tend to integrate technology more effectively. Consequently, government policies and educational programs for technology development should prioritize teachers irrespective of their employment status, offering continuous training (both online and offline) focused on mathematics.

Exploring Interdisciplinary Approaches to Education for Sustainable Development

Robert J. Didham, Hiroki Fujii, Gregor Torkar — Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Sustainable Development, Education and Learning: The Challenge of Inclusive, Quality Education for All

Hiroki Fujii — Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Review of the book authored by Victoria W. Thoresen, Agenda Publishing, 2023

Redefining TVET Leadership in Kenya

Jeffrey B. Matu, William Rothwell — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The alignment of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) with industry needs is pivotal for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Kenya. Yet, reliance on global commitment mechanisms, primarily voluntary national reviews (VNRs), has proven insufficient. This forum piece argues for a strategic transition towards voluntary local reviews (VLRs) and incorporating indigenous philosophies, such as Harambee, to better align TVET with SDG objectives. This transition is essential for fostering inclusive, equitable learning environments, enhancing workforce preparedness, and facilitating a community-centric educational model that effectively addresses local needs while contributing to global sustainability goals. Additionally, this forum piece underscores the need for institutional social change to resolve contradictions in current policies that hinder educational systems from reaching their goals. Drawing from a comparative study of TVET governance models in Nairobi, Kenya, and Pittsburgh, USA, this forum piece illustrates how different approaches can align TVET systems with localized educational demands and SDG frameworks, highlighting policy innovation, leadership development, and community engagement as key strategies for redefining TVET leadership.

Teaching and Learning Sustainable Consumption: A Guidebook

Gregor Torkar — Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200