Lecture 16: What Country Has the Best Education Model? Flashcards
success of schools in Finland
- Finland emerged as the best in the early 21st century in terms of reading and math scores
- Groups of Quebec educators would go to Finland to learn from their teaching methods
- In 2022, Finland fell to 11th place in terms of reading and math so some think this may have been a fluke
success of schools in Singapore
Singapore has since taken over the top spot in 2015 & 2022
PISA exam
- The 97 countries that make up the Organization of Economic Development (OECD) countries give 15-year-olds a PISA exam
- It measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges
what students do the best in Quebec?
- Vietnamese students in Quebec are doing the best in math, science, and French
- They put in 2-3 times as much work as native Quebecers
- Asian parents have a malleable theory of intelligence
motivation in hierarchical cultures
Hierarchical cultures tend to rely more on extrinsic motivation
characteristics of Singapore schools
- More standards
- More homework
- More emphasis on math & science
- Longer days & year
- High stakes testing
- High value on teaching as a profession
U.S. school trends
- More standards
- More homework
- More emphasis on math & science
- More classes for gifted children
- Longer days & year
- Uniforms
- Merit pay for teachers
- Pay for students doing well in low SES neighbourhoods (was found to be a failure)
Finland schools today
- Start school at age 7
- Same teacher for 3 years
- No grades until age 12
- No gifted classes
- No uniforms
- Address the teacher by the first name
- No special prizes, awards, money
- Recess every hour
- Lots of feedback
KIPP video
- KIPP schools try to emulate the characteristics of schools in Singapore
- Emphasize teamwork
- Students in these schools do better on standardized test measures
- They are usually found in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
Koestner’s criticisms of KIPP schools
- Kids have to earn a desk by showing that they can be “KIPPnitized”
- Kids are always socialized to respect adults
- They are somewhat controlling
what can teachers do to help children maintain their intrinsic motivation?
Encourage cooperation
Support autonomy
what questions can teachers ask to support autonomy?
- Why is this interesting?
- How is this personally relevant to me?
Johnson & Johnson, 1999
argued that there are 3 goal structures
Johnson & Johnson’s 3 goal structures
- competition
- cooperation
- individualism
competition
people attain their goals only if others do not
cooperation
people attain their goals only when others do
individualism
people train their goals without affecting the goal attainment of others
Cooperation is associated with:
- Greater intrinsic motivation
- Greater mastery of principles and concepts
- Greater development of communication skills
- Better attitudes toward teachers and schools
- Better attitudes toward classmates, including opposite sex and minorities
- Higher self-esteem and mental health
Radio Canada analysis of Finnish schools
- The Finnish system emphasizes collective work, where students work together on projects that have practical aspects to them
- Students are asked to master and evaluate themselves as they learn
- The teacher does not grade the student but this does not prevent them from following the student’s progress very closely and providing feedback daily
autonomy support in Finnish, KIPP, and Asian schools
- Finnish and KIPP schools are highly autonomy-supportive
- Asian schools focus on pressuring children to achieve success through family obligations and fear of failure
attunement
taking the perspective of the student and using student interest and input to guide teaching
what is not autonomy support?
- Rewards (symbolic and tangible)
- Praise
- Threats
- Competition
- Surveillance
- Deadlines
- Evaluation
- Imposed goals
- Controlling
level of curiosity/interest by grade
- Children’s intrinsic motivation diminishes throughout their education in North America
- Singapore schools aren’t autonomy-supportive, so we would expect a decrease in intrinsic motivation there too
- In Finland, kids maintain their curiosity and interest in challenges through autonomy support, so we wouldn’t expect the same decrease in intrinsic motivation
Deci 1981 impact of teacher style study method
- Field study
- Used a large sample of public schools
- Measured teachers’ regulatory style and students’ intrinsic motivation in October and May
- They used 12 different scenarios and made respondents rank the 4 possible responses
- The first option is highly controlling, the second is somewhat controlling, the third is somewhat autonomy-supportive, and the fourth is highly autonomy-supportive
Deci 1981 impact of teacher style study findings
- They found a normal distribution in teachers’ regulatory style
- They found a strong correlation between teacher autonomy support and intrinsic motivation, cognitive competence, and general self-worth
- The initial drop in intrinsic motivation, cognitive competence, and general self-worth takes place in the first 2 months of the school year and stays about the same throughout the school year
Reeve 2002
it’s easier to identify the wrong behaviours than it is to identify the right ones
CNN gymnastics video
- Example of controlling teaching
- Approximately 25 negative comments/demands
- Recent research shows that control can be communicated by tone of voice and facial expressions
behavioural indicators of control
- Emphaszies evaluation
- Emphasizes high standards
- Direct and gives answers
- Emphasizes competition
behavioural indicators of autonomy support
- Listening more
- Encouraging conversations
- Allocating time for independent work
- Showing interest in what students are learning
autonomy support in Finland
- Finnish and Estonian teachers are taught to be entrepreneurial
- Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards
teaching methods in Finland
- Cooperative classroom structure
- Autonomy support for both students and teachers: Part of this is making material personally meaningful and relevant
how is Finland responding to their international scores slipping?
- Finland is responding by continuing to find ways to make school a more interesting and enjoyable place for all
- Raising students’ motivation to learn and their well-being, in general, are the main goals of their current education policy
- They try to choose a theme for the year to make things more cohesive across subjects
happiness, literacy, and productivity in Finland
- Finland scores as the most literate, productive, and happy country
- This likely reflects higher intrinsic motivation and autonomy
- Finnish schools do the best job of preparing students for the adult world
- Their focus on intrinsic motivation translates well to work and social life
changes in Singapore schools
- Kids in Singapore have high rates of anxiety and depression and this has been linked to their rigorous academics
- Reduce the “drill and kill” approach
- Phase out exams in grades 1 and 2
- Promote life-long learning
