Editorial

Abstract

Editorial

The present issue is also an ordinary issue and we get one more issue out before next year. It will be the “fast track issue” of the MAKE & LEARN conference in Gothenburg. During the conference, new editorial board and Editor of Chief were selected and it will be my time to step down soon, but I will not say goodbyes yet! In this number we have four interesting articles.

Marcus Samuelsson and Cecilia Sveider’s article Beyond Individual Matters: Sloyd Teachers posts in a Facebook group focused on thematic analysis of 334 posts written by participants in a Facebook group (National Resource Centre for Sloyd) during one month. The results show that the teachers mainly exchange of teaching experiences, concerns about internal and external conditions of a school subject, and shared information related to the teachers’ own professional development. The result also shows that this platform provided important opportunity for sloyd teachers to demonstrate what they do and what they know as well as to react to the ideas and opinions of others. In terms of community of practice, the results of the study indicated that Facebook group strengthens the craft teacher community and allows them to initiate the ownership of the discussions linked to their profession.

The second article written by Auli Saarinen, Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, and Kai Hakkarainen “Building Student-centric ePortfolios in Practice: Areas of Documentation in a Craft Learning Activity” focused on elementary school students’ use of electronic portfolios in craft education over a three-year period. The data consisted of the textual and the visual content of the students’ (n= 38) ePortfolios. The students’ productions were analysed through the qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that the most emphasized areas in the textual content of students’ ePortfolios were a combination of the process and the free learning reflection. Also, the visual images mainly described the phases of the working. It is very understandable that the students payed the most attention to the concrete product and the ongoing activity in a functional school subject like craft education. However, the ePortfolio method enables an individual, rich, and versatile learning reflection, which could be used as evidence of learning.

The third article written by Stein Erik Grønningsæter and Anna-Lena Østern “Undersøkende prosesser i oppgaven nonfigurativ sammenføyd treskulptur: Grunnskolelærerstudenters stopp-punkter og kreative problemløsning i arbeid med å skape rom gjennom rytme, linje og bevegelse i materialet tre” focused on how a group of first year teacher students worked on design task of the joined nonfigurative wood sculpture in arts and crafts. The empirical data was based on the 32 process logs and photo documentation from the teacher students’ work process that were qualitatively analysed. An initial screening of the process logs revealed all teacher students relied on the teachers’ guidance during the work process and almost everyone had trouble transforming a sketchy model with soft strips of paper into the more rigid material of wood. Three problem solving groups were identified: 1) solution oriented problem solving, 2) uncertain problem solving and 3) exploratory problem solving. Through an in-depth narrative analysis three new condensed narratives of the different processes were created based on fragments from the three problem solving groups' process logs in order to understand more deeply how the different problem solutions look. Further third level of analysis was conducted that focused on stopping points and creative problem solving documented in six of the logs. To conclude, the analysis revealed a continuum of shorter or longer problem solving process, more or less risk taking and more or less complexity in exploratory problem solving.

Barbro Sjöberg’s and Mia Porko-Hudd’s article “A Life Tangled in Yarns – Leisure Knitting for Well-Being” focuses on how craft such as knitting and crocheting, can provide a meaningful leisure activity and enhance mental well-being. The questionnaire data was collected during a local event of a World Wide Knit in Public Day. According to the results some of the main reasons for having knitting and crocheting as a leisure activity were the sense of relaxation that the repetitive motion brings, the feeling of success in creating a tangible and unique artefact, and the possibility to express one’s creativity. The results also revealed that reasons for engaging in a crafting activity varied from social affinity to meditative solitude. Craft was seen as a counterbalance to a stressful job and hectic lifestyle. Even though knitting as a craft is a solitary act, many knitters still enjoy each other’s company. The social events that are arranged around the activity, e.g. courses, knitting cafés, knitting camps and events like World Wide Knit in Public Day, fill an important social role in today’s society and for the individual well-being for the participants of the events.

I again encourage you to submit your articles in TECHNE journal!

Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen