Handbook of Research on Education and Technology in a Changing Society
This chapter sets out an approach to professional development and team building in a newly establ... more This chapter sets out an approach to professional development and team building in a newly established faculty in a Finnish university. A method is given for mapping the academic and professional experiences of eight faculty members across disciplinary boundaries to arrive at a cross-disciplinary framework for collaborative research in multi-and intercultural education. Building cumulatively on faculty members' expertise, the mapping revealed three interconnected themes as a basis for collaborative research: boundary transactions between knowledge, skill, and language; boundary objects as representations and carriers of culture; and technological mediation of boundary encounters. A collectively agreed position statement is given for each of the themes along with a discussion of associated pedagogical ideas.
The topic of this book concerns protection of sacred sites in the Arctic. To recognise indigenous... more The topic of this book concerns protection of sacred sites in the Arctic. To recognise indigenous customary law means to support indigenous customary protection of such sacred sites. It also implies safeguarding cultural heritage in the Arctic. Both legal pluralism and cultural ecology help us understand indigenous customary laws in the Arctic and why we should recognise them. The aim of this chapter is to explain the relations between cultural ecology and legal pluralism in making a case for the recognition of indigenous customary law in the Arctic. It is not about human rights or international public law. It does not deal with any substantial law. However, the implications of the ideas presented here concern constitutional law, cultural autonomy, political autonomy, international law, and the concept of sovereignty. The ideas refer also to the problem of ethos as the basis of every law and society.
This research focuses on Finnish students’ (n = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their ... more This research focuses on Finnish students’ (n = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their studies through 3 years of upper secondary schooling. It is based on results from one of the first schools in Finland where all the new students were provided with iPads at the start of their studies. Data consists of: (i) 127 short stories written by students about how they would advise a new teacher and a new student to use iPads in teaching and learning, and (ii) four group discussions on the same topics. Qualitative thematic analysis of the data was guided by the TPACK framework. Results suggest that: (i) teachers’ pedagogical approaches changed little in response to the new devices and remained largely teacher-centred, and (ii) students do not have the confidence to radically change learning styles to take advantage of the affordances of the devices. The value that iPads add to teaching and learning is difficult to quantify because of the complex and often conflicting factors involved. Overall, the findings imply that teachers’ TPACK is generally resistant to change and students’ proto-TPACK is insufficiently developed to initiate change. An approach that systematically develops both students’ and teachers’ TPACK is advocated.
craft as cultural ecologically located practice: comparative case studies of textile crafts in cy... more craft as cultural ecologically located practice: comparative case studies of textile crafts in cyprus, Estonia and Peru abstract This article reports comparative case studies in three countries: Estonia, Cyprus and Peru. Through these, the cultural ecologies of six textile craft practitioners, two in each country, were investigated using an interview-based situational analysis. Cultural ecology is concerned with transactional relationships between people and the environments that they inhabit. It provides a lens on the processes of continuity and change that shape cultural patterns and cultural traditions. Interviews were conducted in open format around questions about biographical and professional practice. Relationships between practitioners' personal histories and their craft practices were explored. Outcomes suggest that the cultural ecologies are profoundly shaped by the transmission of customs, beliefs and values from generation to generation, which, in turn, are located within keywords craft practice cultural ecology textiles case studies Cyprus Estonia Peru
This research is a contribution to issues of digital technology use at the interface of formal an... more This research is a contribution to issues of digital technology use at the interface of formal and informal learning contexts. The research was conducted in the discourse tradition and investigates Finnish teacher training students' 'manners of speaking' as resources for, and obstacles to, making pedagogical changes in response to the potential of digital technology. Findings revealed that the resources and obstacles associated with transitions between formal and informal learning contexts are concerned with students' engagement in: (i) linking formal and informal activities, (ii) avoiding uncertainty, and (iii) participating in shared work practices. This research argues that risk taking is an opportunity in making the associated pedagogical changes. Risk taking can be developed in teacher education by critically evaluating how to support students in their use of digital technology at personal, group and cultural levels. Keywords Initial teacher education. Digital technology. Discourse analysis. Informal and formal learning contexts Recent debate in the educational use of digital technology calls for research on the interrelationships of learning in informal and formal contexts (Wong and Looi 2011;
ABSTRACT The game of chess and its immediate precursors have a history of over 2,000 years. But w... more ABSTRACT The game of chess and its immediate precursors have a history of over 2,000 years. But what of the prehistory of the game and the pieces used? The hypothesis presented in this article is that the development of the pieces that are now associated with chess is part of a cultural ecological continuum of gaming materials through stones and other naturally occurring materials with simple shapes, stones shaped and embellished by human hands, naturally occurring stones with human or animal likenesses, figurines made from stone, clay, wood and other materials, and proto-chess pieces. It is suggested that comparative analysis of artefact assemblages, taking account of context, associated objects, spatial distributions and usage histories, may reveal patterns and connections that enable a more refined understanding of how the symbolism and iconography of chess developed and how they are reflected in the selection of gaming materials and the emergence of proto-chess pieces.
In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic co... more In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic countries, highlighting tensions between integrationist and inclusive approaches. We propose a cultural ecological framework through which we discuss the possibility of a transculturalism based on Fourth World engagement with the environment. Cultural ecology is about the reciprocal interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The Fourth World is a circum-global, pan-arctic region which includes the northern parts of some Nordic countries. We argue that whether or not there is a distinctively Nordic version of multiculturalism, Nordic countries have access to Fourth World ways of engaging with the environment which transcend notions of inter-and multiculturalism and the ideological tensions associated with them. PREAMBLE This paper was originally prepared for the conference 'Is there a Nordic version of multiculturalism?' held in Turku, Finland in September 2010. It was written as a direct response to the question raised by the conference. The question arose from the need for the world's industrial nations to find new strategies for incorporating ethnic minorities into the mainstream of their respective societies. Multiculturalism is a contested term; it is both controversial and misunderstood. It comes in a number of versions, reflecting the distinctive imprint of different societal cultures and political systems. In our conference presentation we focussed on 'Nordic' multiculturalism because the term 'Nordic' is associated with the socio-political-economic systems of several north European/
International Journal of Educational Research, 2010
This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication tec... more This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication technology (ICT) by people born after 1983, the so called net generation. The focus of the paper is on social networking. A questionnaire survey was carried out with 1070 students from schools in Eastern Finland. Data are presented on students' ICT-skills generally; their access to the Internet; their use of social software; and time spent on the Internet compared to watching television. Results show that whereas there are some general characteristics of ICT use that can be applied to net generation students, when it comes to social networking there are differences in the way they use software. A critique is offered of generalisations about the net generation and some implications for learning arising from the findings are discussed.
The research reported here is concerned with a critical examination of some of the assumptions co... more The research reported here is concerned with a critical examination of some of the assumptions concerning the 'Net Generation' capabilities of 74 first-year student teachers in a Finnish university. There are assumptions that: (i) Net Generation students are adept at learning through discovery and thinking in a hypertext-like manner (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001); and (ii) when they enter the teaching profession, members of this generation will be able to transfer these characteristics into their teaching practices (Prensky, 2001). The research is formulated around an extended framework for student teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge. The students designed learning modules incorporating the use of information and communication technology (ICT). The learning modules were subjected to document and artefact analysis incorporating conceptdriven coding. Supplementary data were collected through a questionnaire concerned with the students' adoption of new technologies. The findings suggest that assumptions about Net Generation student teachers' abilities to adopt and adapt ICT in their teaching are highly questionable and that greater attention should be given to the development of their technological pedagogical knowledge.
The participants and speakers helped to inform and stimulate our thinking and a steering group of... more The participants and speakers helped to inform and stimulate our thinking and a steering group of colleagues representing a variety of interests and organisations refined and challenged our conclusions. We are very grateful to the members of the steering group Martin Ripley (QCA), Chris Yapp (Microsoft), Bob Harrison (Toshiba), Matthew Horne (DfES) and Eileen Devonshire (ICT Consultant, DfES), to our colleagues at Futurelab and Demos and to others who will remain nameless. Though this report grew out of the seminar series, it should not be taken to represent views of the participants, and any errors and omissions remain our own.
Sociocultural theory is a Western construct, an explanatory framework for cultural patterns assoc... more Sociocultural theory is a Western construct, an explanatory framework for cultural patterns associated with settled, largely urban, lifestyles. In Mongolia the majority of people are mobile pastoralists. The Mongolian situation challenges some fundamental premises of Western theory. In Western educational situations, structures, contexts and schemata are substantially pre-defined, and we talk about things as 'contextdependent', since context is something that can be described as the backdrop to behaviour. In Mongolia both meaning and context emerge from people's interactions with their environments and may subsequently be described. These are respectively relational and co-constitutional interpretations of situations. The interpretations are different, not oppositional or mutually exclusive. In this paper we present an ecological framework in an attempt to simultaneously embrace both interpretations. The purpose is: first, to foreground some co-constitutional interpretations and, where possible, to compare and contrast them with relational interpretations; second, to reframe them though a cultural ecological lens; and third, to use these comparisons and re-framings as a basis for discussing some of the issues arising from current Western involvement in development and education in Mongolia.
In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic co... more In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic countries, highlighting tensions between integrationist and inclusive approaches. We propose a cultural ecological framework through which we discuss the possibility of a transculturalism based on Fourth World engagement with the environment. Cultural ecology is about the reciprocal interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The Fourth World is a circum-global, pan-arctic region which includes the northern parts of some Nordic countries. We argue that whether or not there is a distinctively Nordic version of multiculturalism, Nordic countries have access to Fourth World ways of engaging with the environment which transcend notions of inter-and multiculturalism and the ideological tensions associated with them. PREAMBLE This paper was originally prepared for the conference 'Is there a Nordic version of mul-ticulturalism?' held in Turku, Finland in September 2010. It was written as a direct response to the question raised by the conference. The question arose from the need for the world's industrial nations to find new strategies for incorporating ethnic minorities into the mainstream of their respective societies. Multiculturalism is a contested term; it is both controversial and misunderstood. It comes in a number of versions, reflecting the distinctive imprint of different societal cultures and political systems. In our conference presentation we focussed on 'Nordic' multiculturalism because the term 'Nordic' is associated with the socio-political-economic systems of several north European/
The importance of attitudes and values in determining human behaviour towards the environment is ... more The importance of attitudes and values in determining human behaviour towards the environment is widely recognised, but their relationship to knowledge and understanding of environmental issues is less well understood. However, attitudes are theoretical constructs and cannot be measured through direct observation; instead, a psychometric model of enquiry has been used to investigate environmental beliefs, intentions and behaviours. Using self‐reporting
Handbook of Research on Education and Technology in a Changing Society
This chapter sets out an approach to professional development and team building in a newly establ... more This chapter sets out an approach to professional development and team building in a newly established faculty in a Finnish university. A method is given for mapping the academic and professional experiences of eight faculty members across disciplinary boundaries to arrive at a cross-disciplinary framework for collaborative research in multi-and intercultural education. Building cumulatively on faculty members' expertise, the mapping revealed three interconnected themes as a basis for collaborative research: boundary transactions between knowledge, skill, and language; boundary objects as representations and carriers of culture; and technological mediation of boundary encounters. A collectively agreed position statement is given for each of the themes along with a discussion of associated pedagogical ideas.
The topic of this book concerns protection of sacred sites in the Arctic. To recognise indigenous... more The topic of this book concerns protection of sacred sites in the Arctic. To recognise indigenous customary law means to support indigenous customary protection of such sacred sites. It also implies safeguarding cultural heritage in the Arctic. Both legal pluralism and cultural ecology help us understand indigenous customary laws in the Arctic and why we should recognise them. The aim of this chapter is to explain the relations between cultural ecology and legal pluralism in making a case for the recognition of indigenous customary law in the Arctic. It is not about human rights or international public law. It does not deal with any substantial law. However, the implications of the ideas presented here concern constitutional law, cultural autonomy, political autonomy, international law, and the concept of sovereignty. The ideas refer also to the problem of ethos as the basis of every law and society.
This research focuses on Finnish students’ (n = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their ... more This research focuses on Finnish students’ (n = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their studies through 3 years of upper secondary schooling. It is based on results from one of the first schools in Finland where all the new students were provided with iPads at the start of their studies. Data consists of: (i) 127 short stories written by students about how they would advise a new teacher and a new student to use iPads in teaching and learning, and (ii) four group discussions on the same topics. Qualitative thematic analysis of the data was guided by the TPACK framework. Results suggest that: (i) teachers’ pedagogical approaches changed little in response to the new devices and remained largely teacher-centred, and (ii) students do not have the confidence to radically change learning styles to take advantage of the affordances of the devices. The value that iPads add to teaching and learning is difficult to quantify because of the complex and often conflicting factors involved. Overall, the findings imply that teachers’ TPACK is generally resistant to change and students’ proto-TPACK is insufficiently developed to initiate change. An approach that systematically develops both students’ and teachers’ TPACK is advocated.
craft as cultural ecologically located practice: comparative case studies of textile crafts in cy... more craft as cultural ecologically located practice: comparative case studies of textile crafts in cyprus, Estonia and Peru abstract This article reports comparative case studies in three countries: Estonia, Cyprus and Peru. Through these, the cultural ecologies of six textile craft practitioners, two in each country, were investigated using an interview-based situational analysis. Cultural ecology is concerned with transactional relationships between people and the environments that they inhabit. It provides a lens on the processes of continuity and change that shape cultural patterns and cultural traditions. Interviews were conducted in open format around questions about biographical and professional practice. Relationships between practitioners' personal histories and their craft practices were explored. Outcomes suggest that the cultural ecologies are profoundly shaped by the transmission of customs, beliefs and values from generation to generation, which, in turn, are located within keywords craft practice cultural ecology textiles case studies Cyprus Estonia Peru
This research is a contribution to issues of digital technology use at the interface of formal an... more This research is a contribution to issues of digital technology use at the interface of formal and informal learning contexts. The research was conducted in the discourse tradition and investigates Finnish teacher training students' 'manners of speaking' as resources for, and obstacles to, making pedagogical changes in response to the potential of digital technology. Findings revealed that the resources and obstacles associated with transitions between formal and informal learning contexts are concerned with students' engagement in: (i) linking formal and informal activities, (ii) avoiding uncertainty, and (iii) participating in shared work practices. This research argues that risk taking is an opportunity in making the associated pedagogical changes. Risk taking can be developed in teacher education by critically evaluating how to support students in their use of digital technology at personal, group and cultural levels. Keywords Initial teacher education. Digital technology. Discourse analysis. Informal and formal learning contexts Recent debate in the educational use of digital technology calls for research on the interrelationships of learning in informal and formal contexts (Wong and Looi 2011;
ABSTRACT The game of chess and its immediate precursors have a history of over 2,000 years. But w... more ABSTRACT The game of chess and its immediate precursors have a history of over 2,000 years. But what of the prehistory of the game and the pieces used? The hypothesis presented in this article is that the development of the pieces that are now associated with chess is part of a cultural ecological continuum of gaming materials through stones and other naturally occurring materials with simple shapes, stones shaped and embellished by human hands, naturally occurring stones with human or animal likenesses, figurines made from stone, clay, wood and other materials, and proto-chess pieces. It is suggested that comparative analysis of artefact assemblages, taking account of context, associated objects, spatial distributions and usage histories, may reveal patterns and connections that enable a more refined understanding of how the symbolism and iconography of chess developed and how they are reflected in the selection of gaming materials and the emergence of proto-chess pieces.
In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic co... more In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic countries, highlighting tensions between integrationist and inclusive approaches. We propose a cultural ecological framework through which we discuss the possibility of a transculturalism based on Fourth World engagement with the environment. Cultural ecology is about the reciprocal interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The Fourth World is a circum-global, pan-arctic region which includes the northern parts of some Nordic countries. We argue that whether or not there is a distinctively Nordic version of multiculturalism, Nordic countries have access to Fourth World ways of engaging with the environment which transcend notions of inter-and multiculturalism and the ideological tensions associated with them. PREAMBLE This paper was originally prepared for the conference 'Is there a Nordic version of multiculturalism?' held in Turku, Finland in September 2010. It was written as a direct response to the question raised by the conference. The question arose from the need for the world's industrial nations to find new strategies for incorporating ethnic minorities into the mainstream of their respective societies. Multiculturalism is a contested term; it is both controversial and misunderstood. It comes in a number of versions, reflecting the distinctive imprint of different societal cultures and political systems. In our conference presentation we focussed on 'Nordic' multiculturalism because the term 'Nordic' is associated with the socio-political-economic systems of several north European/
International Journal of Educational Research, 2010
This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication tec... more This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication technology (ICT) by people born after 1983, the so called net generation. The focus of the paper is on social networking. A questionnaire survey was carried out with 1070 students from schools in Eastern Finland. Data are presented on students' ICT-skills generally; their access to the Internet; their use of social software; and time spent on the Internet compared to watching television. Results show that whereas there are some general characteristics of ICT use that can be applied to net generation students, when it comes to social networking there are differences in the way they use software. A critique is offered of generalisations about the net generation and some implications for learning arising from the findings are discussed.
The research reported here is concerned with a critical examination of some of the assumptions co... more The research reported here is concerned with a critical examination of some of the assumptions concerning the 'Net Generation' capabilities of 74 first-year student teachers in a Finnish university. There are assumptions that: (i) Net Generation students are adept at learning through discovery and thinking in a hypertext-like manner (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001); and (ii) when they enter the teaching profession, members of this generation will be able to transfer these characteristics into their teaching practices (Prensky, 2001). The research is formulated around an extended framework for student teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge. The students designed learning modules incorporating the use of information and communication technology (ICT). The learning modules were subjected to document and artefact analysis incorporating conceptdriven coding. Supplementary data were collected through a questionnaire concerned with the students' adoption of new technologies. The findings suggest that assumptions about Net Generation student teachers' abilities to adopt and adapt ICT in their teaching are highly questionable and that greater attention should be given to the development of their technological pedagogical knowledge.
The participants and speakers helped to inform and stimulate our thinking and a steering group of... more The participants and speakers helped to inform and stimulate our thinking and a steering group of colleagues representing a variety of interests and organisations refined and challenged our conclusions. We are very grateful to the members of the steering group Martin Ripley (QCA), Chris Yapp (Microsoft), Bob Harrison (Toshiba), Matthew Horne (DfES) and Eileen Devonshire (ICT Consultant, DfES), to our colleagues at Futurelab and Demos and to others who will remain nameless. Though this report grew out of the seminar series, it should not be taken to represent views of the participants, and any errors and omissions remain our own.
Sociocultural theory is a Western construct, an explanatory framework for cultural patterns assoc... more Sociocultural theory is a Western construct, an explanatory framework for cultural patterns associated with settled, largely urban, lifestyles. In Mongolia the majority of people are mobile pastoralists. The Mongolian situation challenges some fundamental premises of Western theory. In Western educational situations, structures, contexts and schemata are substantially pre-defined, and we talk about things as 'contextdependent', since context is something that can be described as the backdrop to behaviour. In Mongolia both meaning and context emerge from people's interactions with their environments and may subsequently be described. These are respectively relational and co-constitutional interpretations of situations. The interpretations are different, not oppositional or mutually exclusive. In this paper we present an ecological framework in an attempt to simultaneously embrace both interpretations. The purpose is: first, to foreground some co-constitutional interpretations and, where possible, to compare and contrast them with relational interpretations; second, to reframe them though a cultural ecological lens; and third, to use these comparisons and re-framings as a basis for discussing some of the issues arising from current Western involvement in development and education in Mongolia.
In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic co... more In this paper we review briefly histories and ideologies underlying multiculturalism in Nordic countries, highlighting tensions between integrationist and inclusive approaches. We propose a cultural ecological framework through which we discuss the possibility of a transculturalism based on Fourth World engagement with the environment. Cultural ecology is about the reciprocal interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The Fourth World is a circum-global, pan-arctic region which includes the northern parts of some Nordic countries. We argue that whether or not there is a distinctively Nordic version of multiculturalism, Nordic countries have access to Fourth World ways of engaging with the environment which transcend notions of inter-and multiculturalism and the ideological tensions associated with them. PREAMBLE This paper was originally prepared for the conference 'Is there a Nordic version of mul-ticulturalism?' held in Turku, Finland in September 2010. It was written as a direct response to the question raised by the conference. The question arose from the need for the world's industrial nations to find new strategies for incorporating ethnic minorities into the mainstream of their respective societies. Multiculturalism is a contested term; it is both controversial and misunderstood. It comes in a number of versions, reflecting the distinctive imprint of different societal cultures and political systems. In our conference presentation we focussed on 'Nordic' multiculturalism because the term 'Nordic' is associated with the socio-political-economic systems of several north European/
The importance of attitudes and values in determining human behaviour towards the environment is ... more The importance of attitudes and values in determining human behaviour towards the environment is widely recognised, but their relationship to knowledge and understanding of environmental issues is less well understood. However, attitudes are theoretical constructs and cannot be measured through direct observation; instead, a psychometric model of enquiry has been used to investigate environmental beliefs, intentions and behaviours. Using self‐reporting
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