holistic education for the gifted students tage... · l private and independent boarding school in...
TRANSCRIPT
Professor Kirsi Tirri
University of Helsinki
http://www.helsinki.fi/~ktirri
Holistic Education for the Holistic Education for the Gifted StudentsGifted Students
Presentation
l Gifted and Talentedl Finland-the PISA countryl Finland-the PISA countryl Olympiad Studiesl Actualizing Talents in Finlandl Päivölä Boarding School: Community for the talented
Academic achievement in Finland
l Finnish 15-year olds score above the OECD average in their performance (PISA)
l Finnish students score highest in all tests measuring mathematics literacy
l Finnish students ranked number one of all
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l Finnish students ranked number one of all participating 32 countries in reading literacy at both 9 and 14 years of age (IEA)
Educational policy
l The school law (1998) acknowledges individual differences and allows the schools to arrange teaching according to the abilities of the students
l The national curriculum (2004) only provides the general guidelines
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general guidelines
Educational climate
l Individuality and the freedom of choicel Flexible decisions in accelerationl Parents can decide whether their children will begin
school at the age of six or sevenl Ungraded schooll The rights for the parents to choose the school which
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l The rights for the parents to choose the school which their children attend
l Academic competitions in the secondary level
Holistic education
l Holistic view to education: development of the whole person
l Intelligence and characterl Excellence and ethicsl Life-long learning: learning to know, learning to do,
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l Life-long learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, learning to live together (UNESCO 1996, 85-97)
l Spirituality: purpose and meaning of life
Olympiad Studies
l national research project: USA, Germany, Finland, Taiwan, Korea
l what factors help or hinder the Olympians to actualize their talents?
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talents?l 166 Finnish Olympians in mathematics, physics and chemistry
from the years 1965-2000l 169 parents
l majority of the Olympians were 21-40 years old
Research methodsl questionnaires to Olympians and
their parents (70% answering rate)
l open questions
l personal interviews with the
Olympians
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Olympians
l telephone interviews with their
parents
Birth order
Birth order 100
80
9
5 4 3 2 1
80
60
40
20
0 7
16
45
82
Educational level of fathers
100
8079
10
92,0076,0050,0013,00
60
40
20
010
64
Mothers’ income levels
20
11
98,0093,0081,0067,0054,0038,0021,007,00
10
0
Gender distribution amongOlympians
Men91%
Women9%
Men91%
Women9%
Taiwan N=32 USA N=238
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Men95%
Women5%
Men97%
Women3%
Taiwan N=32 USA N=238
Finland N=166 Germany N=235
Contributing factors
l The parents rated all the contributing items (N=14) more important to the development of academic talent than the Olympians
l “home atmosphere was very conducive to learning” the most important factor in talent development
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developmentl “good teacher(s)” the second important factorl “my active use of library”, “self-discipline”, “my
early learning in maths and reading”, “my own inner drive”, “desire to compete”, “hate to lose”
Hindrances
l Very few hindrancesl “Not enough challenge”, “Courses were taught at too
low a level for me”.l “Envy of other children”, “bullying”, “harassment”,
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l “Envy of other children”, “bullying”, “harassment”, “ignorance”
l The Finnish educational system with its emphases on equality
The interviews of Olympians (N=28)
l Childhood, youth, current life, future plans
l Professional and personal lifel Critical events in talent
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l Critical events in talent development
l Interviews lasted 1-3 hours (Spring 2001)
l Interviews were recorded and transcriped
Qualitative data
l 6 female Olympiansl every female was chosen to have a male
Olympian from the data that represented the same age group and professional orientation than the female
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than the femalel one to two hour in-depth interviewsl childhood experiences, school experiences,
the choice of career, job, spouse, life-style, friends and hobbies
l curriculum vitae
Critical events
Critical eventsMales(N=6)
Females(N=6)
Events in childhood 18 6Reading experiences 6 2Mathematics experiences 6 2
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Mathematics experiences 6 2Science experiments 3 1Discussions with parents 3 1
Critical events
Critical eventsMales(N=6)
Females(N=6)
Events in school 18 15Academic competitions 6 6Teachers’ encouragement 3 5
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Teachers’ encouragement 3 5Peer support 4 2Hobbies 5 2
Critical events
Critical eventsMales(N=6)
Females(N=6)
Events in college 7 6Studies abroad 3 2Choosing the right domain 3 2
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Choosing the right domain 3 2Mentor’s support 1 2
Critical events
Critical eventsMales(N=6)
Females(N=6)
Events in adulthood 8 4International co-operation 3 2Mentoring the youth 2 0
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Mentoring the youth 2 0Partner choice 3 2
l Private and independent boarding school in the countryside of Valkeakoski
l Nokia supports the school so that it is almost free for the students
l Mathematics program started in 1994
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l Mathematics program started in 1994l The school selects annually 20 students according to the
“excursion weekend” tests l Students are mathematically talented 15-18 year olds and
they graduate from the senior secondary school in 2 years instead the average 3 years in Finland
l 37 personal interviewsl Päivölä students (N=20; 11 girls, 9 boys)l Maunula students (N=17; 1 girl, 16 boys)l Families, hobbies, school experiences, reasons for
choosing boarding school, expriences in boarding
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choosing boarding school, expriences in boardingschool
l The values they find important in life and in scientificresearch
l The interviews were conducted in the schools wherethe students attended
l Each interview lasted 40-60 minutes and was tape-recorded and later transcribed
l Questionnaires to students and their parents
l Personal interviews with students (N=20) and teachers (N=9)
l Test on moral reasoning (DIT) (N=19)
l Test on intelligence (WAIS III) (N=20)
l Comparison group with students (N=17) and teachers (N=10)
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l Comparison group with students (N=17) and teachers (N=10)
from Maunula
“When I started the school I already knew how to read and write. .I also knew the math we were doing. The teachers didn’t allow me to do more exercises or advance in my own tempo. I have changed schools
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advance in my own tempo. I have changed schools many times. I never studied a lot but still got good grades. I stopped studying math in the 5th grade” (Päivölä girl)
Eight students from Päivölä reported mainly negative school experiences. Five of them had been bullied in their previous schools and they had been socially isolated.
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“What are friends? I had terrible school experiences and no friends. I got along with the teachers but all the schoolmates bullied me. Elementary school was the worst and in the secondary school things got easier when teachers stopped the bullies.”(Päivölä boy)
1) Finish the school in two years (N=9)2) Curriculum (N=9)3) Sister or brother in Päivölä (N=6)
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3) Sister or brother in Päivölä (N=6)4) Invited or recommended (N=4)5) Social relations (N=1)6) Nokia (N=1)
1) Social relations N=132) Studying is fun N=113) Studying is fast N=6
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4) Independence N=45) Challenging N=4 6) No homework N=37) Nokia N=2
Implication for talent development
l Different talents need to be identified in order to develop them in the best possible ways
l We need different ways to support the talent development of our students
l Gifted students need a community to be able to become talented students
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talented studentsl Gender issues in talent development need to be
acknowledgedl Gifted girls have a tendency to fear success and
underestimate their academic abilities l Ethical and spiritual aspects need to be considered in
counselling the gifted studentsl Gifted and talented students need the permission to be
different!