Profiles of teaching practices and reading skills at the first and third grade in Finland and Estonia

Abstract

The Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure was used to observe 91 first-grade and 70 third-grade teachers in Estonia and Finland. Using a person-oriented approach, four profiles of teaching practices were identified in grade 1: the child-centred style, teacherdirected style, child-dominated style and a mixture of the child-centred and teacher-directed styles. An additional profile, the extreme-child-centred style, was found in grade 3. Children taught by child-centred teachers showed the highest reading skills, whereas children taught by child-dominated teachers showed the lowest skills. More Estonian than Finnish teachers applied the child-dominated style in grade 1 and the extreme-child-centred style in grade 3.

Exploring the impact of teacher emotions on their approaches to teaching: A structural equation modelling approach

“…Although it has been argued that teachers focus more on the nature of classroom activities that engage students to enact a reasoning process and high‐order thinking rather than on either teacher‐oriented and/or student‐oriented instructions (Boston & Smith, ), three broad concepts are widely used to describe teaching practice. They include the teacher‐centred approach, student‐centred approach, and ‘student–teacher interaction’ approach (Cuban, ; Kember, ; Kikas, Silinskas, Jogi, & Soodla, ; Tang et al ., ). Comparatively, teacher‐centred approaches focus more on the content, the time, and the conditions of teaching.…”

Reading comprehension from grade 1 to 6 in two shallow orthographies: comparison of Estonian and Finnish students

“…In Finland, child-centered practices, modification of instruction according to the students' skills, and individualized support for learning are highly valued and evident in teaching practices (Kiuru et al 2015;Nurmi et al 2013). Meanwhile, a variety of child-rearing values (Tulviste and Kikas 2010) and practices (Palu and Kikas 2007;Tang et al 2017) are found among Estonian teachers. For example, alongside with child-centered and combined child-centered and teacher-directed, remarkable amount of Estonian elementary school teachers (but only a few Finnish teachers) use predominantly child-dominated practices in classroom (Tang et al 2017).…”

“…Meanwhile, a variety of child-rearing values (Tulviste and Kikas 2010) and practices (Palu and Kikas 2007;Tang et al 2017) are found among Estonian teachers. For example, alongside with child-centered and combined child-centered and teacher-directed, remarkable amount of Estonian elementary school teachers (but only a few Finnish teachers) use predominantly child-dominated practices in classroom (Tang et al 2017).…”

“…Hamre and Pianta 2010). Research has generally documented positive effects of childcentered (see a review by Cornelius-White 2007; Lerkkanen et al 2016) but also combined child-centered and teacher-directed Tang et al 2017) teaching practices on children's reading skills and motivation. However, using child-dominated teaching practices, characterized by giving too much freedom to children and too little guidance and support, tends to undermine children's reading and motivational development Tang et al 2017).…”

Cooperative Learning Approach to an English Academic Reading Course

“…Moreover, the need for reading skills in Higher Education is much different than in Middle School. (Sidek, 2014; (Goux, Gurgand, & Maurin, 2017;Tang et al, 2017) on the other hand, reading skills is also the most frequently used skill in students' academic life.…”