Kirsi Tirri

Adolescents' Implicit Theories Predict Desire for Vengeance after Peer Conflicts: Correlational and Experimental Evidence.

Why do some adolescents respond to interpersonal conflicts vengefully, whereas others seek more positive solutions? Three studies investigated the role of implicit theories of personality in predicting violent or vengeful responses to peer conflicts among adolescents in Grades 9 and 10. They showed that a greater belief that traits are fixed (an entity theory) predicted a stronger desire for revenge after a variety of recalled peer conflicts (Study 1) and after a hypothetical conflict that specifically involved bullying (Study 2). Study 3 experimentally induced a belief in the potential for change (an incremental theory), which resulted in a reduced desire to seek revenge. This effect was mediated by changes in bad-person attributions about the perpetrators, feelings of shame and hatred, and the belief that vengeful ideation is an effective emotion-regulation strategy. Together, the findings illuminate the social-cognitive processes underlying reactions to conflict and suggest potential avenues for reducing violent retaliation in adolescents.

The Epistemological Stance between the Knower and the Known.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to build a conceptual framework of teachers’ practical knowing. Through consideration of interview data from both elementary and secondary school teachers, the common features underlying teachers’ thinking were identified. The empirical findings indicated that teachers shared field-invariant epistemological standards guiding their practical knowledge. Teachers’ professional and moral character were interrelated and could not be separated from each other. In this paper, these two epistemological dimensions in teachers’ reasoning were brought together. The stances of teachers’ professional character and teachers’ moral character have the potential of combining vocational and professional aspects by establishing epistemological standards in teachers’ thinking.

The Last 40 Years in Finnish Teacher Education.

This article sets out to identify and discuss the changes that have taken place in Finnish teacher education during the last 40 years (1974–2014). A brief history of teacher education in Finland is presented, followed by the goals and aims of current research-based teacher education in Finland. Finally, the major changes in Finnish teacher education during the last 40 years are identified and discussed along with challenges for the future. These include the fact that with each passing year teacher education in Finland has become increasingly research-based. The ethical role of the Finnish teacher has changed from being a religious and moral example to being a principled professional who needs moral competence in pedagogical encounters. Teachers also need to master the rapid developments in information and communication technology in order to function in the same learning environments as their students.

Conceptual Definition and Empirical Validation of the Spiritual Sensitivity Scale

In this study, we extend the Multiple Intelligence Profile Questionnaire (Tirri and Komulainen, 2002) based on Gardners (1983) MI theory with spiritual intelligence (SQ). The operationalization of SQ was tested with an empirical sample of Finnish preadolescents, adolescents and adults (N = 496). First, we studied if 20 spiritual intelligence items reflect the categories of spiritual sensitivity (Hay, 1998; Bradford, 1995). The categories are: Awareness sensing, Mystery sensing, Value sensing, and Community sensing. Second, we optimized the number of items to create the eighth component to the MIPQ. The results of confirmatory factor analysis show good generalizability characteristics of the scales.

A Case Study Approach to Study One Teacher's Moral Reflection.

Abstract In this paper, we present a case study approach to study one teachers moral reflection. The theoretical framework is built on three philosophical and ethical reference points that the teacher uses in her reflection. We focus on the ethic of purpose, ethic of rules and principles, and ethic of probability together with their philosophical perspectives. Our data includes one narrative of a moral dilemma experienced by a female secondary school teacher. We have applied a qualitative reading guide to analyze this case regarding smoking from different ethical reference points. Our goal is to show how abstract philosophical theories can be translated into real-world ethics in education and how these reference points can help teachers in their practical ethical reflection.

The Moral Reasoning and Scientific Argumentation of Gifted Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to explore the moral reasoning and scientific argumentation of Finnish adolescents who are gifted in science. The pupils (N = 31) participated in the gifted program at the University of Helsinki. The general intellectual ability of these students was measured by the Raven test (SMP), and their moral reasoning was measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). In qualitative essays and interviews, the pupils were asked to identify moral dilemmas in science and provide solutions to them. Pupils’ argumentation skills were analyzed with the model developed by Toulmin (1958). Two illustrative cases of students who had either average or high scores in the DIT are presented with qualitative analysis of their argumentation in solving a moral dilemma in archeological studies in graves. The findings show that the students identified different relevant aspects in discussing the same moral dilemma. Furthermore, the principles and values used in solving the dilemma reveal qualitative differences in students’ moral sensitivity.

Student Perceptions of Teacher Support and Competencies for Fostering Youth Purpose and Positive Youth Development: Perspectives From Two Countries

With the growing interest in the development of purpose in youth, one important role that requires attention is the school teacher. The current article explores student perceptions of the role teachers can play in fostering purpose in their students in the mid- and late adolescent years, and the teacher competencies that facilitate purpose development. The present investigation posits and tests a structural model in which student perceptions of teacher support predicts youth purpose, mediated by student perceptions of teacher competencies; in turn, youth purpose predicts broader positive youth development. Two samples of demographically diverse young people ages 13–18 were surveyed in the United States (n = 381) and Finland (n = 336). Results showed support for the role of teachers in fostering purpose, and provided evidence for the hypothesized model with some cross-cultural differences. Implications of these findings for developing purpose in schools are discussed.

Measuring Multiple Intelligences and Moral Sensitivities in Education

In this book, we introduce several sensitivity measures in educational contexts that can be used in research, education and self-evaluations. In Chapter 1 we discuss the framework of Howard Gardner‘s Multiple Intelligences theory and introduce our Multiple Intelligences Profiling Questionnaire. We present the psychometrical qualities of the instrument with empirical data sets of children, youth and adults. In Chapter 2 the Spiritual Sensitivity Scale is introduced with the theoretical framework it is connected to. The existence of spiritual intelligence has been a widely debated issue and not everybody is ready to call advanced thinking in religious or spiritual domains as intelligence. This has guided us to use the term sensitivity, which is easier to justify than intelligence in these areas of human behavior. In Chapter 3 we introduce the Environmental Sensitivity Scale, which is quite close to the possible intelligence of naturalist suggested by Gardner. In Chapter 4, Ethical Sensitivity Scale is introduced followed by Emotional Leadership Questionnaire in Chapter 5. All these scales have a solid theoretical framework and earlier empirical work to support the instrument building. Chapter 6 introduces Intercultural and Interreligious Sensitivity Scales with their theoretical frameworks and earlier empirical work. Following each chapter, we have included a ready-to-use version of the questionnaire and SPSS syntax to compute factors. A commentary by Dr. Seana Moran compliments the book and challenges the readers to further reflect the meaning of education in supporting holistic development of learners in their life-long journey. We have authored this book to contribute to this goal and hope it will be used in the hands of researchers, teachers and students in their mutual effort to grow and to learn new things in life. M O R A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D C I T I Z E N S H I P E D U C A T I O N

Exploring the role of religion and spirituality in the development of purpose: case studies of purposeful youth

This study investigated the role of spirituality and religion in supporting purpose during adolescence. Two case studies of adolescents who were coded as purposeful in the religious and/or spiritual domain as part of a larger study at the Stanford Centre on Adolescence were analysed and discussed. The results showed religion and spirituality as overlapping domains with authenticity to self as expressed though spirituality as a distinguishing factor between the two cases. Authenticity fosters one of the key elements of purpose – meaningfulness to the self – but only if done with equal attention to the world beyond the self.

Relationship of gender and academic achievement to Finnish students’ intercultural sensitivity

This study examined the intercultural sensitivity of Finnish 12–16‐year‐old secondary school students (N=549) with a 23‐item Intercultural Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (ICSSQ). The ICSSQ is based on Bennett’s (1993) Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), which is a conceptual tool to situate certain reactions towards cultural difference. The DMIS consists of six stages, of which three are ethnocentric and three ethnorelative. The ICSSQ is based on the operationalization of the first five stages: (1) Denial, (2) Defense, (3) Minimization, (4) Acceptance, and (5) Adaptation. Two research questions were examined: Are there any differences in the intercultural sensitivity between (1) girls and boys, and (2) students with academically average ability and students with above‐average ability? The results showed that the girls assessed their intercultural sensitivity higher than did the boys. Furthermore, the academically gifted students estimated their intercultural sensitivity higher than the students with average ability.