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- Boström, Ann-Kristin, 1947-
(author)
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Lifelong learning, intergenerational learning, and social capital : from theory to practice
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between lifelong learning, intergenerational learning and social capital by reporting on an analysis of the concepts and an investigation of one instance of intergenerational interaction, namely “the granddad programme” – an intervention project run by a limited number of schools in the Stockholm area. The theoretical background concerns both the lifelong perspectiveand the lifewide perspective of learning across the lifespan. The lifewide perspective includes both formal and informal learning. Social capital is also explored, in order to establish the extent to which this concept is compatible with the conceptual framework outlined in this study.First a structural model is developed in order to elucidate the conceptual framework and its relationship to classroom practice. Indicators for measuring social capital are then constructed on the basis of questionnaire data. Responses from a total of 580 pupils, 19 granddads and 27 teachers in 17 schools were collected, after which Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), using the statistical software LISREL, was applied in order to test the model. With regard to the granddads themselves, an additional qualitative analysis was also carried out on a set of narrative data, regarding their perceptions and experiences of their work in the schools.The results indicate that the granddads’ work itself is forming part of the social capital between individual granddads and the pupils. The pupil responses indicate that boys and girls consider that they enjoy similar opportunities in school, that they feel equally secure in school and that the granddad assists everyone. The results support the claim concerning increased social capital for the pupils, although there are differences between boys and girls with regard to the relative significance of the various entities of social capital. The responses from the granddads, indicate that they find their work demanding, but nonetheless rewarding because of the social network that it has established for them with the staff and pupils and the positive response from the pupils. This indicates an increase in social capital for the granddads themselves in the school context. These results support the theoretical model because interaction that occurs in the classrooms in schools where there is granddad intervention provides opportunities for both formal and informal learning and for increased social capital to be generated on the part of both the younger and the older generation.
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- Boudard, Emmanuel
(author)
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Literacy proficiency, earnings, and recurrent training : a ten country comparative study
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of the study is to theorise on participation in recurrent training and to estimate a statistical model. The main focus is the links between latent variables, such as observed skills based on literacy proficiency, firm size, literacy practices at work and at home, and other latent correlates, such as educational attainment, labour force status, experience, occupational status and earnings. Three models are specified: A model predicting literacy proficiency; a model predicting earnings; and a model predicting participation in recurrent training. The two first models represent intermediate steps in the construction of the final model.The data set employed in this study is derived from the International Adult Literacy Survey. It combines tools from educational assessment and household survey, in order to collect background information about the participants and their labour force experience, and makes use of an innovative measure of human capital stock, namely proficiency on a functional literacy assessment. The analysis also includes countries from different parts of the world: Eastern Europe; Northern Europe; Southern Europe; and North America. Structural Equation Modeling has been used.The results show that all three models confirm the importance of educational attainment as one of the main predictors of literacy proficiency, earnings and recurrent training, with the effects of educational attainment most often mediated by other variables. Hence literacy proficiency and educational attainment are both important for modeling earnings or participation in recurrent training. The magnitude of educational attainment is seen to provide justification for signalling theory, job matching theory, and principal agent theory, as earnings and occurrence of recurrent training are related more to employees' educational attainment than to their actual levels of knowledge and skills. Work related learning and home related learning are strong predictors of the outcome variable in all three models. The main policy implication of this finding is that no form of education should be favoured, but rather each should be considered valuable and complementary to the others.The total effect of parents' education suggests that parents continue to have an influence on the life careers of their children a long time after the completion of initial, formal education. In other words, the kind of start a child has in life is a very strong predictor of his or her actual level of literacy proficiency, earnings, or whether or not he or she will take part in further training, lending support to social capital theory, as well as to resource conversion theory.The importance of the long arm of the job is confirmed for the prediction of earnings, as well as for the prediction of recurrent training. Labour force status, firm size and, to a lesser extent occupational status, are important indicators.No particular relationship is observed between men and women as regard to models predicting literacy proficiency and earnings. Conversely, gender differences in recurrent training are evident, with, on the one hand, determining factors for women, for example, earnings, and, on the other hand, determining factors for men, such as firm size and literacy practice at work. Hence, the study suggests that women's participation in recurrent training is determined by different factors than that of men.
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| 3. |
- Desjardins, Richard, 1974-
(author)
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Learning for well being : Studies using the International Adult Literacy Survey
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis is a collection of five independent but closely related studies. The overall purpose is to approach the analysis of learning outcomes from a perspective that combines three major elements, namely lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning. The approach is based on an interdisciplinary perspective of the human capital paradigm. It considers the multiple learning contexts that are responsible for the development of embodied potential – including formal, nonformal and informal learning – and the multiple outcomes – including knowledge, skills, economic, social and others– that result from learning. The studies also seek to examine the extent and relative influence of learning in different contexts on the formation of embodied potential and how in turn that affects economic and social well being. The first study combines the three major elements, lifelonglifewidelearning, human capital, and the benefits of learning into one common conceptual framework. This study forms a common basis for the four empirical studies that follow. All four empirical studies use data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to investigate the relationships among the major elements of the conceptual framework presented in the first study.Study I. A conceptual framework for the analysis of learning outcomesThis study brings together some key concepts and theories that are relevant for the analysis of learning outcomes. Many of the concepts and theories have emerged from varied disciplines including economics, educational psychology, cognitive science and sociology, to name only a few. Accordingly, some of the research questions inherent in the framework relate to different disciplinary perspectives. The primary purpose is to create a common basis for formulating and testing hypotheses as well as to interpret the findings in the empirical studies that follow. In particular, the framework facilitates the process of theorizing and hypothesizing on the relationships and processes concerning lifelong learning as well as their antecedents and consequences.Study II. Determinants of literacy proficiency: A lifelong-lifewide learning perspectiveThis study investigates lifelong and lifewide processes of skill formation. In particular, it seeks to estimate the substitutability and complementarity effects of learning in multiple settings over the lifespan on literacy skill formation. This is done by investigating the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of learning contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to the IALS data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting for all factors, education remains the most important predictor of literacy proficiency. In all countries, however, the total effect of education is significantly mediated through further learning occurring at work, at home and in the community. Therefore, the job and other literacy related factors complement education in predicting literacy proficiency. This result points to a virtual cycle of lifelong learning, particularly to how educational attainment influences other learning behaviours throughout life. In addition, results show that home background as measured by parents’ education is also a strong predictor of literacy proficiency, but in many countries this occurs only if a favourable home background is complemented with some post-secondary education.Study III. The effect of literacy proficiency on earnings: An aggregated occupational approach using the Canadian IALS dataThis study uses data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey to estimate the earnings return to literacy skills. The approach adapts a labour segmented view of the labour market by aggregating occupations into seven types, enabling the estimation of the variable impact of literacy proficiency on earnings, both within and between different types of occupations. This is done using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). The method used to construct the aggregated occupational classification is based on analysis that considers the role of cognitive and other skills in relation to the nature of occupational tasks. Substantial premiums are found to be associated with some occupational types even after adjusting for within occupational differences in individual characteristics such as schooling, literacy proficiency, labour force experience and gender. Average years of schooling and average levels of literacy proficiency at the between level account for over two-thirds of the premiums. Within occupations, there are significant returns to schooling but they vary depending on the type of occupations. In contrast, the within occupational return of literacy proficiency is not necessarily significant. The latter depends on the type of occupation.Study IV: Determinants of economic and social outcomes from a lifewide learning perspective in CanadaIn this study the relationship between learning in different contexts, which span the lifewide learning dimension, and individual earnings on the one hand and community participation on the other are examined in separate but comparable models. Data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey are used to estimate structural models, which correspond closely to the common conceptual framework outlined in Study I. The findings suggest that the relationship between formal education and economic and social outcomes is complex with confounding effects. The results indicate that learning occurring in different contexts and for different reasons leads to different kinds of benefits. The latter finding suggests a potential trade-off between realizing economic and social benefits through learning that are taken for either job-related or personal-interest related reasons.Study V: The effects of learning on economic and social well being: A comparative analysisUsing the same structural model as in Study IV, hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main finding from Study IV is confirmed for an additional five countries, namely that the effect of initial schooling on well being is more complex than a direct one and it is significantly mediated by subsequent learning. Additionally, findings suggest that people who devote more time to learning for job-related reasons than learning for personal-interest related reasons experience higher levels of economic well being. Moreover, devoting too much time to learning for personal-interest related reasons has a negative effect on earnings except in Denmark. But the more time people devote to learning for personal-interest related reasons tends to contribute to higher levels of social well being. These results again suggest a trade-off in learning for different reasons and in different contexts.
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| 4. |
- Fredriksson, Ulf
(author)
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Reading skills among students of Iimmigrant origin in Stockholm.
- 2002
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I Stockholm utgör elever med invandrarbakgrund ungefär en fjärdedel av alla elever. Läsning är en central färdighet av betydelse för elevers möjligheter att lyckas i skolan. Läsförmågan hos 11 179 elever med invandrarbakgrund i årskurs 3 i Stockholms skolor under åren 1993 - 1999 jämförs med 33 915 "svenska" elever under samma period. De svenska eleverna läser bättre än eleverna med invandrarbakgrund. På test där eleverna enbart läste fristående ord var skillnaden mindre än när eleverna läste hela texter. Elever med invandrarbakgrund var kraftigt överrepresenterade i de skolor som hade de lägsta medelvärdena på testen. När olika grupper av elever med invandrarbakgrund jämfördes med varandra så fanns stora skillnader. Elever som var födda och uppvuxna i Sverige läste bättre än de som själva invandrat. Elever från några språkgrupper läste lika bra och i något fall t.o.m. bättre än de svenska eleverna, medan elever från andra språkgrupper hade resultat på lästesten som var betydligt under de svenska elevernas resultat. När elever med invandrarbakgrund som deltagit i modersmålsundervisning eller gått i tvåspråkiga klasser jämfördes med de som ej deltagit i någon modersmålsundervisning fanns inga skillnader mellan gruppernas medelvärden på lästesten på svenska. När resultaten på lästest för elever som 1994 gick i årskurs 3 och 1999 i årskurs 8 (alltså till stor del samma elever, men fem år äldre) jämfördes var skillnaden i testresultat mellan de svenska eleverna och de elever med invandrarbakgrund som bott hela livet i Sverige den samma 1999 som 1994.
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| 8. |
- Kolouh-Westin, Lidija, 1962-
(author)
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Learning Democracy Together in School? : Student and Teacher Attitudes in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The principal aim of this study is to examine attitudes and values, through questionnaires, among students and teachers in the last grade of primary school (grade 8) regarding issues related to authoritarianism, democracy, human rights, children rights, conflict resolution and legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A second aim is to explore and analyze the role of the international community in the democratization and education processes in the light of globalization in this country through secondary sources of data, site visits and observations.Analysis of the student sample reveals suspicion towards democracy, especially when democracy was associated with politics and politicians. When the issue of democracy was de-contextualized from Bosnia and Herzegovina realities in the questionnaire, students showed more positive attitudes towards it. Students generally agreed with very strong authoritarian statements. High achieving students were more democratic, more socially responsible, more tolerant regarding attitudes towards religion, race and disabilities, and less authoritarian compared to low achievers. High achievers felt that they had influence over daily events, and were positive towards social and civil engagement. High achievers viewed politics negatively, but had high scores on the democracy scale. High achievers also agreed to a larger extent that it is acceptable to break the law. The more authoritarian students were somewhat more prone to respond that it is not acceptable to break the law.The major findings from the teacher sample show that teachers who agreed with non-peaceful mediation, and had a non-forgiving and rigid approach to interpersonal conflicts, also agreed with strong authoritarian statements and were less democratic. In general, teachers valued students who behave respectfully, have a good upbringing and are obedient. They were very concerned about the general status of education in society, which they felt was becoming marginalized. Teachers were not happy with the overloaded curricula and they showed an interest in more knowledge and skills to help children with traumatic war experiences. When asked about positive reforms, teachers were highly critical of, and dissatisfied with, the educational situation.Bosnia and Herzegovina is undergoing a transition from a state-planned economy and one party system to a market economy and a multi party system. During this transition, the country has become more involved in the globalization process than ever. Today the country is a semi-protectorate where international authorities intervene when necessary. The International community is attempting to introduce western democracy and some of the many complexities in this process are discussed in this study. Globalization processes imply contradictory demands and pressures on the education system. On one hand, economic liberalization has affected education policies —a closer alignment between education and economic competitiveness. On the other hand, there is a political and ideological globalization process underlying the importance of human rights, and the inclusiveness of education for all children. Students and teachers are caught between two opposing ideals — competition and cooperation.
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