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Von um sumarland: Guðsríkið í Aðventu Gunnars Gunnarssonar
Get PDFÚtdrátturAðventa er það verk Gunnars Gunnarssonar sem hlotið hefur mesta útbreiðslu, sem og það sem best hefur haldið athygli. Á síðari árum hefur sagan jafnvel fest sig í sessi þar sem hún hefur verið lesin upp á aðventunni í Gunnarshúsunum á Skriðuklaustri og í Reykjavík og víðar, bæði innan lands og utan. Þá hefur hún verið flutt sem kvöldsaga á Rás 1 í Ríkis-útvarpinu á þessum árstíma og fjöldi fólks hefur gert sér að venju að lesa hana á jólaföstunni og búa sig þannig undir jólahátíðina. Því má líta á söguna sem nútíma húslestrabók og íhugunarrit.Í greininni er viðtökusaga Aðventu rakin gegnum ritdóma og aðrar sambærilegar umsagnir en einnig gerð grein fyrir viðameiri túlkunum sem birst hafa á fræðilegum vettvangi.Þá er bætt við nýrri túlkun út frá guðfræðilegu sjónarhorni, nánar til tekið eskatólógísku. Byggist túlkunin á lýsingu á næturreynslu Benedikts lengst inni á milli fjallanna. Er þar litið svo á að hugrenningatengsl hans, er hann líkir kenndum sínum á aðventugöngunni við „[…] leifar af hljómum, endurminningar um sólskin og heyilm, von um sumarland […]“, megi skoða sem vísun til þess ástands sem lýst er sem Ríki Guðs í kristinni eskatólógíu.
AbstractGunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975) belonged to a group of Icelandic writers who lived in Denmark during the first half of the 20th century and published their works in Danish. His writings were widely distributed, not only in Denmark and Iceland, but also in Germany and the United States. His best-known work is the novel Advent, which was first published in German in 1936, in Danish in 1937, and Icelandic in 1939. It was translated into Icelandic by one of Iceland’s most famous translators, with a foreword by Halldór Laxness, who later received the Nobel Prize in Literature (1955).The article describes how the novel was received in reviews in magazines and newspapers, but also interpreted in scientific journals. Finally, a new interpretation is introduced, based on Christian eschatology
Skólaþjónusta sveitarfélaga: Starfsþróun og skólar sem faglegar stofnanir
Get PDFWhen the responsibility of operating compulsory schools was transferred to municipalities in 1996 (lög um grunnskóla nr. 66/1995 [Act on Primary Education]), they took over the responsibility of counselling and psychological support services for the schools (Börkur Hansen & Ólafur H. Jóhannsson, 2010). The purpose of the services is to strengthen schools as professional institutions that can solve most of the issues that arise in schoolwork. The services are intended to promote the best possible use of pedagogical and psychological knowledge in practice and to provide teachers and principals with access to counselling and support in pedagogical issues as well as in professional development. Additionally, the services are intended to provide parents with guidance in parenting, and to carry out equal prevention work with observations and diagnoses of students who have psychological or social difficulties that affect their education (reglugerð um skólaþjónustu sveitarfélaga við leik- og grunnskóla og nemendaverndarráð í grunnskólum nr. 444/2019 [Regulation on municipal services to preschools and primary schools and student support councils in primary schools]). For schools to become stronger professional institutions, school development must be supported; an organized process of improvement and learning within the school that aims to change its practices and culture in the long term (Fullan, 2016; Hall & Hord, 2015).Research in Iceland has only to a small extent focused on the emphasis and working methods of the school support service and there is little follow-up on how municipalities fulfil the provisions of the law. The few studies that have been conducted indicate that many municipalities have not formulated a policy on school services (Rúnar Sigþórsson, 2013).The aim of the study is to shed light on how municipal school support services fulfil their legal obligations for ensuring teachers’ and principals’ support for professional development and for strengthening schools as professional institutions.The study consists of mixed methods. An electronic questionnaire was submitted in 2019 to the principals of preschools and compulsory schools and those in charge of school services in municipalities in Iceland (superintendents). The survey consisted of questions about different aspects of the school support services. Here, special attention is paid to questions concerning the organization of school services and municipal policy on them, and on support for school staff and school practice. To follow up on the questionnaire, five cases of school services were selected. Interviews with eight superintendents and eleven department heads and consultants in those services were conducted. In 2019–2020, information was collected from the websites of the school offices and the municipalities and schools within their jurisdiction. The documents were reviewed regarding the policy and vision of the school services, its framework, organization and working conditions, and the school office’s presentation of its own activities.The results indicate that there is a lack of balance between the subjects of the school services as prescribed in the regulation on school support services (reglugerð um skólaþjónustu sveitarfélaga við leik- og grunnskóla og nemendaverndarráð í grunnskólum nr. 444/2019 [Regulation on municipal services to preschools and primary schools and student support councils in primary schools]). The part of the school services that aims at strengthening schools as professional institutions is less attended to and the school support services provide little initiative in this regard. This applies not least to support and school-oriented counselling for teachers and principals and whole-school oriented development. The findings also indicate that there is a lack of a common understanding of the responsibility and empowerment of teachers, leading to a friction between school services staff and teachers. It seems that the school services lack a clearer policy on strengthening and developing schools as professional institutions and thereby fulfilling regulatory provisions. To this end, the school authorities and superintendents need to safeguard that, in collaboration with teachers and principals, comprehensive services are ensured with an emphasis on professional development and school-oriented counselling for school staff.Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna hvernig skólaþjónusta sveitarfélaga stæði að því að tryggja kennurum og skólastjórnendum stuðning til starfsþróunar og að efla skóla sem faglegar stofnanir, sem þeim ber samkvæmt lögum. Rafræn spurningakönnun var lögð fyrir skólastjóra leik- og grunnskóla og þá sem voru í forsvari fyrir skólaþjónustu í sveitarfélögum á Íslandi. Til að fylgja spurningakönnuninni eftir voru valin fimm tilvik og þau rannsökuð sérstaklega. Niðurstöður benda til þess að ekki sé jafnvægi milli meginviðfangsefna skólaþjónustunnar, sem eru að styðja nemendur og foreldra annars vegar og starfsþróun kennara, stjórnenda og annars starfsfólks hins vegar. Margt bendir til þess að skólaþjónustuna skorti skýrari stefnu um skólamiðaða ráðgjöf þar sem betur er skerpt á hlutverki hennar í því að efla og þróa skólana sem faglegar stofnanir og uppfylla þar með reglugerðarákvæði. Í því skyni þurfa yfirvöld og fræðslustjórar að hafa samráð um áherslur og leiðir og tryggja heildstæða þjónustu með áherslu á starfsþróun og skólamiðaða ráðgjöf fyrir starfsfólk skóla í samstarfi við kennara og skólastjórnendur
Stafurinn minn og stafurinn þinn: Þróun stafaþekkingar íslenskra barna á aldrinum 4-6 ára
Get PDFKnowing the letters of the alphabet and letter-sound correspondences are important foundation skills for children´s literacy development. Preschool children´s letter-knowledge has been found to predict reading performance in the first years of schooling. Formal reading instruction begins at different ages in different countries. In the UK and USA, the starting age is around age four in kindergarten while in many European countries, including Iceland, formal reading instruction starts in first grade, at age six. However, children do not only learn letters in school, they also learn about letters from their parents and in their daily life. Letter-knowledge in preschool has been found to be correlated to factors like socioeconomic status of the family and the home literacy environment. Research on young children´s letter-knowledge confirms that it is not a matter of chance which letters they first learn, some letters seem to be easier to learn than others. Most children, for example, learn their own and their family members´ initials first and English- speaking children are more likely to know the letters B, X, O and A than V, U, N and G. It is not fully known what determines why some letters are learned before others. However, factors such as their order in the alphabet, their prevalence in the written language and how clear their corresponding sounds are might have something to do with it.The aim of this study was to explore Icelandic children´s letter-knowledge. The main research questions were the following: How does children´s letter knowledge develop between ages four and six? Are some letters learned before others and if so, which letters? Is Icelandic children´s letter-knowledge influenced by parents´ SES, literacy environment in their homes and/or by their language skills? How does the letter knowledge of children who know few letters at age 4 and 5 develop, and do children who still know few letters at the end of first grade have common characteristics in terms of SES, their home literacy environment or language skills?144 children were followed up for three years from age four to six. Letter-knowledge and language skills were assessed every year. In the first two years (preschool) the children were asked about the names of 28 letters. In the third year (first grade) they were asked about both names and sounds of letters. At age four, the children´s language skills were assessed with a vocabulary test, a grammar test, and a test assessing phonological awareness. Information about families´ SES and the children´s home literacy environment was obtained with a questionnaire answered by the parents at the beginning of the study.Results confirm that Icelandic children´s letter-knowledge develops well before formal schooling. At age four the children knew on average 12 letter names out of 28, and 20 letters at age five. At age six, at the end of their first year of formal schooling, most of the children knew all or almost all letter names and the corresponding sounds. At ages four and five, the letters S, A and K were the ones most children knew, followed by H, R, L, M, and B. These letters were also the most common first letter in the names of family members in the children´s family.The children´s letter-knowledge significantly correlated with parents’ education, and family income. Furthermore, letter-knowledge was significantly correlated with measures of children’s language skills all three years, most strongly with phonological awareness at ages four and five, but also with vocabulary and grammar all three years. As for the children´s home literacy environment, around 70% of the parents reported more than 50 children’s books in their homes and over 90% of parents read to their children more than twice a week. The correlation between these questions and the children´s letter knowledge was weak and non-significant. In contrast, a significant correlation was found between letter knowledge and the frequency with which the parents reported drawing the attention of their children to letters and print during shared book reading at home. Both these results are in line with findings from other research, such as Sénéchal et al´s home literacy model.Most of the children who knew few letters at ages four and five had caught up with their peers by the end of first grade. Those who still knew the sounds of fewer than 20 letters at age six came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and scored significantly lower on all language measures than children who knew 20 or more letters.These results confirm that even though there is no formal letter instruction in Icelandic preschools, children develop their letter-knowledge through daily routines and informal instruction in their homes and in preschool. The reason for the weak correlation between home literacy environment and letter-knowledge might be the fact that most Icelandic homes are quite rich in children´s books and reading to children is common practice both in Icelandic families and preschools. The fact that all Icelandic children attend the same preschools, independently of the social or economic status of their parents, might reduce the impact literacy environment in homes otherwise might have on children\u27s development of letter-knowledge and literacy.Markmið þessarar rannsóknar voru að skoða hvernig stafaþekking íslenskra barna þróast frá 4–6 ára aldurs, hvort börn læra fyrr að þekkja tiltekna stafi en aðra, hvort stafaþekking tengist félags- og menningarlegum bakgrunni, lestrarumhverfi á heimili eða málþroska barnanna og hvað einkenni þann hóp barna sem ekki hefur náð viðunandi tökum á stafaþekkingu við lok 1. bekkjar. Fylgst var með þróun stafaþekkingar hóps barna yfir þriggja ára tímabil og aflað upplýsinga um málþroska þeirra, menntun foreldra og lestrarumhverfi á heimilum. Niðurstöður sýndu að stafaþekking barnanna var komin vel á veg við 4 til 5 ára aldur. Yngstu börnin þekktu helst stafi sem hafa persónulega merkingu fyrir þeim, svo sem sinn eigin staf og stafi annarra fjölskyldumeðlima. Fylgni var á milli stafaþekkingar, menntunar foreldra, tekna fjölskyldunnar, málþroska barnanna og þess hvort foreldrar beindu athygli barna að stöfum þegar lesið var fyrir þau. Sá hópur barna sem hafði ekki enn náð góðum tökum á stafaþekkingu við lok 1. bekkjar var marktækt lægri á öllum mælingum á málþroska en þau börn sem höfðu náð góðum tökum á stafaþekkingu. Það er vísbending um að huga þurfi að fleiri þáttum í færni þessara barna en stafaþekkingunni einni til að byggja undir læsi þeirra til framtíðar
Rip Van Winkle Eftirlátin skrif Diedrichs Knickerbrockers
No full text[Eftirfarandi frásögn fannst í fórum Diedrichs heitins Knickerbrockers, heiðursmanns frá New York, sem var afar áhugasamur um sögu Hollendinga í héraðinu, sem og siði afkomenda fyrstu landnámsmannanna.[Eftirfarandi frásögn fannst í fórum Diedrichs heitins Knickerbrockers, heiðursmanns frá New York, sem var afar áhugasamur um sögu Hollendinga í héraðinu, sem og siði afkomenda fyrstu landnámsmannanna
„Tillaga að lífi“: Um örlögin í Norðrinu og endursköpun Agnesar í Náðarstund eftir Hönnuh Kent
No full textDuring her year in Iceland as an exchange student, the Australian writer Hannah Kent became fascinated with the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. Kent spent years researching Agnes and the Illugastaðir murders in 1828. She wrote Burial Rites during her Ph.D. research in Creative Writing and her objective was to work against the stereotypes that characterised historical and fictional representations of Agnes, and thereby present a more ambiguous portrait of her protagonist.Burial Rites is a revisionist and feminist historical novel, which presents what Kent terms a “suggestion” of Agnes’s life story. Kent relies on written records related to Agnes’s case, and these provide a historical frame for the narrative, within which Agnes’s story is presented in a poetic first-person narration alongside brief sections with outside perspectives on Agnes. Together these varied perspectives deconstruct the persistent stereotype associated with Agnes. Burial Rites is also very much a novel about Iceland and the North, and thesetting is integral to Kent’s portrayal of Agnes and her ill-fated life. In many ways the book is a dark love letter to Iceland where the landscape, weather and nature are pivotal elements. These are forces that shape and determine the lives of Kent’s characters, especially Agnes’s, because even though landscape and nature grant some joy and solace to Agnes they eventually turn against her, imprison her and bring her towards her inevitable fate. Kent suggests a circular development to Agnes’s story while nature and environment is described in such a way as to foreshadow coming events; also, it is suggested that weather and human destiny are inextricably linked. Finally, the motif of dreams and portends is important in Kent’s representation of Agnes’s story.Keywords: Hannah Kent, Agnes Magnúsdóttir, revisionist feminism, the North, landscape/natureÁstralska skáldkonan Hannah Kent varð heltekin af sögu Agnesar Magnúsdóttur þegar hún dvaldi eitt ár á Íslandi sem skiptinemi. Kent varði mörgum árum í að rannsaka ævi Agnesar og morðin á Illugastöðum árið 1828. Hún skrifaði skáldsöguna Náðarstund um Agnesi samhliða doktorsrannsókn í ritlist og vildi þar vinna gegn staðalímyndum sem einkenndu túlkanir á Agnesi og lýsa Agnesiá margræðari hátt. Náðarstund er söguleg skáldsaga með femíníska endurskoðun í brennidepli sem setur fram „tillögu“ að mögulegu lífi Agnesar. Stuðst er við ritaðar heimildir, tengdar dómsmáli Agnesar, sem mynda eins konar sagnfræðilegan ramma í frásögninni, en innan hans er sögu Agnesar komið á framfæri í ljóðrænni fyrstu persónu frásögn, ásamt stuttum köflum þar sem sjónarhorni annarra persóna varðandi Agnesi er lýst. Saman vinna þessi mismunandi sjónarhorn gegn staðalímyndinni sem Kent vill afbyggja. Náðarstund er einnig skáldsaga sem setur Ísland og Norðrið í forgrunn, en sögusviðið myndar kjarnann í lýsingunni á Agnesi og hennar ólánssama lífi.Bókin er á margan hátt drungalegur ástaróður til Íslands þar sem landslag, veður og náttúra eru þungamiðjan. Þetta eru kraftar sem móta og ákvarða líf sögupersónanna, sérstaklega Agnesar, því þótt þeir veiti Agnesi vissulega ánægju og hugarfró snúast þeir að lokum gegn henni, hneppa hana í fjötra og bera á vit örlaganna. Ýjað er að ákveðinni hringferð í sögu Agnesar, náttúru og umhverfi lýst á þann hátt að gefið er í skyn það sem koma skal, og tengingin milli veðurs og mannlegs hlutskiptis undirstrikuð. Að lokum er minnið umdrauma og fyrirboða mikilvægt í meðförum Kent á sögu Agnesar.Lykilorð: Hannah Kent, Agnes Magnúsdóttir, endurskoðunarhyggja og femínismi, Norðrið, landslag/náttúr
Höfundar, þýðendur og ritstjórar
No full textHöfundar, þýðendur og ritstjórarHöfundar, þýðendur og ritstjóra
Svefnlengd íslenskra grunnskólanema
No full textSleep health is important for general well-being and should be prioritized in connection with proper nutrition and regular physical activity for overall quality of life for all ages. In recent decades, studies on adequate nightly sleep duration have found that sleep is important for health, cognitive function and development of young people. Despite increasing amount of sleep studies in recent years, much is still unknown about the prevalence of sleep and sleep habits among young people. Socioeconomic status, family structure, and residential area of the family are among factors that could provide an understanding of different sleep patterns of school children. The aim of the study was to investigate whether sleep duration in Icelandic school children is in accordance with international sleep recommendations, examine the average sleep duration of the students, and assess differences in recommended sleep and sleep duration between different social groups.The study is based on the national survey of „Health Behavior in School-aged Children“ (HBSC) and was conducted among students in 6th, 8th and 10th grade in 2018. The survey is an international research collaboration which collects data every four years on health and well-being, health-related behavior and social environment of schoolchildren in Europe and North America. Country specific questions are added to the HBSC standardized questionnaire and detailed sleep questions for Icelandic schoolchildren were included in the questionnaire in 2018. A total of 7,159 students participated in the Icelandic HBSC survey in 2018. Among other things, students were asked about their usual bedtime and wake-up times. Criteria for adequate sleep duration were based on international recommendations for young people which are 9–11 hours per night in 6th grade, and 8–10 hours per night for students in 8th and 10th grade.Overall, about 30% of the children did not meet the recommended sleep duration criteria on weekdays. Boys slept fewer hours than girls, and fewer boys reached the recommended sleep duration. 10th graders slept fewer hours than students in the lower grades and were less likely to get recommended hours of sleep. Students with parents of foreign origin slept fewer hours and achieved recommended sleep less often than other students. Students who lived with both biological parents slept longer and received recommended sleep more often than students in other family types. Students living in urban areas slept longer and achieved recommended sleep more often than students living in rural areas. Some differences in sleeping patterns were also observed by family economic status. The students’ sleep duration on school days had a much higher correlation to their reported bedtimes (r= -0.90; pA significant proportion of Icelandic schoolchildren did not receive the recommended hours of sleep during the night. It is important to pay closer attention to the overnight sleep of Icelandic school children, especially in those groups where bedtime and sleep duration is most problematic. Sleep characteristics, such as timing of the sleep period and sleep quality are also important factors in sleep hygiene. Behavioral factors known to foster sleep health include regular physical activity and limited screen time. Prioritizing sleep health of school children should be based on cooperation between the school, sports clubs, parents, and public health professionals.Þrátt fyrir fjölda svefnrannsókna á undanförnum árum er enn margt á huldu um útbreiðslu svefnvenja meðal ungmenna. Nægur nætursvefn er mikilvægur fyrir þroska, heilsu og námsgetu ungs fólks. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að skoða hvort svefnlengd íslenskra skólanema samræmdist svefnráðleggingum, hver meðalsvefnlengd nemendanna væri og hver munur væri á tíðni ráðlagðs svefns og svefnlengd milli einstakra hópa nemenda.Landskönnunin „Heilsa og lífskjör skólanema“ (HBSC) fór fram árið 2018 meðal nemenda í 6., 8. og 10. bekk. Alls svöruðu 7.159 nemendur á landinu öllu stöðluðum spurningalista. Nemendurnir voru meðal annars spurðir um háttatíma sinn og fótaferðartíma. Viðmið um nægilegan svefn voru borin saman við alþjóðlegar ráðleggingar ungmenna í 6. bekk (9–11 klst./nóttu), og fyrir nemendur í 8. og 10. bekk (8–10 klst./ nóttu).Niðurstöður sýndu að um 30% nemenda í 6., 8. og 10. bekk ná ekki viðmiðum um ráðlagða svefnlengd á virkum dögum. Piltar náðu síður ráðlagðri svefnlengd en stúlkur, og 10. bekkingar mun síður en nemendur í yngri bekkjardeildum. Nemendur sem áttu foreldra af erlendum uppruna sváfu skemur og náðu síður ráðlögðum svefni en aðrir nemendur. Nemendur sem bjuggu með báðum lífforeldrum sínum sváfu lengur og fengu oftar ráðlagðan svefn en nemendur í öðrum fjölskyldugerðum. Þá kom í ljós að nemendur á höfuðborgarsvæðinu sváfu lengur og náðu frekar ráðlögðum svefni en nemendur af landsbyggðinni. Ekki var marktækur munur á lengd nætursvefns eftir efnahag fjölskyldunnar.Umtalsverður hluti íslenskra ungmenna nær ekki nægum nætursvefni. Mikilvægt er að gefa nánari gaum að nætursvefni íslenskra ungmenna, einkum meðal þeirra ungmenna sem fá hvað stystan nætursvefn
Háskólanemar í grunnnámi við Menntavísindasvið HÍ. Fjarnám, lykill að háskólanámi fyrir stúdenta með fjölbreyttan bakgrunn
No full textIn recent years, the official policy in Iceland as well as in Europe has been to widen participation of students from diverse social and economic groups in higher education. At the University of Iceland School of Education, most programs are offered both as traditional on-campus courses or as online studies with face-to-face sessions. Online learning has facilitated access for diverse groups of students, enabling people to pursue university studies along with work and family obligations.Students who have reached the age of 25 when they start university are often considered non-traditional students; they are more likely to have children and families and to have entered the labour market, compared to traditional students. The reasons why people start university late in life are usually related to social and economic status and many are the first in their family to attend university. Starting university later in life can be linked to financial circumstances but also to the incentive and even pressure to go to university, this being stronger in families where there is a tradition of completing university studies. Students who are the first in their family to go to university have less support than those who have parents with university education. Universities need to consider how to accommodate their needs and ease their transition into university life since commitments due to family and paid work can affect academic progress and increase the likelihood of dropping out. Also, it may be more difficult for students to build on previous studies if they have taken a long break from studying before entering higher education. Clearly many things make the position of these students different from those considered traditional students. Increasing diversity in the student population by widening access to university not only entails admitting students with non-traditional backgrounds but also an institutional willingness and ability to consider their circumstances.The aim of this study was to investigate how various factors in the background and circumstances of students at the University of Iceland School of Education predict that they will choose to pursue distance learning. In addition, it was examined how these factors appear in different ways among students in the study programs available at the department. The purpose of the study was to examine how much distance learning contributes to creating an inclusive university environment that supports equality and diversity in the group of university students. The participants were undergraduate students in six fields of study during the fall semester 2020 (N = 460). Most participants were women, or over 82%; almost 44% of participants were first year students and about 28% were in their third year of study or had been studying longer. Almost 60% had intended to enrol in traditional on-campus courses, just over a quarter in online learning and 9% in mixed learning, enrolling in both on-campus and online learning. Data was collected using online questionnaires with questions about participants’ field of study, age, marital status, number of children and whether they were working alongside their studies. In addition, they were asked about their parents’ education and whether they attended traditional on-campus or online learning.Many non-traditional students are studying at the School of Education. 68% of participants were either married, cohabiting or single parents. 36% of participants had children, 75% planned to work while studying and 22% planned to work more than 30 hours per week. Half had neither parent with university education.The student group differed, depending on study field. Students in preschool teacher education and social pedagogy were older, more likely to have parents without university education and worked more alongside their studies than students in other fields of study. Students in sports and health sciences and leisure studies were younger, more likely to have parents with university degrees and were less likely to work, external to their studies.The older students and those who worked more than 30 hours per week were more likely to prefer the online mode. Students who had parents without a university education were also more likely to prefer the online mode compared to students who had parents with a university education, and students living outside the capital area preferred online studies. Results indicate that the online option enables a large group of non-traditional students to pursue university studies.In study programs with a high proportion of non-traditional students, attention needs to be paid to student support such as organizing the study to accommodate their circumstances. This applies to students in preschool teacher education and social pedagogy. In Iceland various groups have not had the opportunity to pursue higher education and our results indicate that for those groups, online learning should be considered the key to accessing university studies. This should be kept in mind when fulfilling the University of Iceland strategy for 2026 of increasing diversity of the student body.Á síðustu árum hefur víða verið stefnt á að hækka hlutfall háskólamenntaðra borgara og auðvelda þátttöku allra samfélagshópa í háskólanámi. Á Menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands hefur fjarnám verið í boði á flestum námsleiðum, en það auðveldar aðgengi og gerir fólki kleift að stunda háskólanám með vinnu og skuldbindingum vegna fjölskyldu. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna hvaða þættir í bakgrunni spá fyrir um að nemar á Menntavísindasviði velji fjarnám. Niðurstöður sýna að eldri stúdentar og þeir sem vinna meira en 30 klst. á viku með námi velja frekar fjarnám. Háskólanemar sem eiga foreldra sem báðir eru án háskólamenntunar velja frekar fjarnám en stúdentar þar sem báðir foreldrar eru háskólamenntaðir. Þeir sem búa utan höfuðborgarsvæðisins velja frekar fjarnám en það er mikil einföldun að telja fjarnám vera fyrst og fremst fyrir fólk á landsbyggðinni heldur opnar það möguleika fyrir stóran hóp óhefðbundinna stúdenta til að sækja sér háskólamenntun. Erlendar rannsóknir hafa bent til að hærri aldur stúdenta, það að vera fyrsta kynslóð sinnar fjölskyldu í háskólanámi, vera með fjölskyldu og vinna mikið með námi hafi tengsl við hæga námsframvindu og brotthvarf frá námi. Stór hluti stúdenta á Menntavísindasviði og þá einkum fjarnemar á ákveðnum námsleiðum fellur í þessa hópa og telja höfundar því mikilvægt að fylgjast með hvort munur sé á framvindu ólíkra hópa og gera ráðstafanir til að styrkja stúdenta út frá kringumstæðum þeirra. Það er ekki nóg að bjóða upp á fjarnám – það þarf að skapa viðunandi námsaðstæður
Framsækið skólastarf - vegvísar til framtíðar
No full textThe paper seeks to describe examples of teaching and learning in the spirit of progressive education within Icelandic compulsory schools. The author developed a keen interest in progressive education when he embarked on his teaching career in the early seventies, particularly ideas concerning active learning and inquiry-based instruction as well as the open classroom approach. The examples chosen are based on the author’s field studies as a researcher, adviser and evaluator in over 100 schools, both urban and rural. The aim was to select examples of student-centered learning, where emphasis was placed on student participation, autonomy, meaningful and interest-based learning, creativity and cooperation. As an example, the author observed lessons in a small school during the eighties, where students were given freedom to choose which assignments they worked on at each time, and where they worked on them. The learning was individualized and the students took an active part in making the learning plans. The students had considerable choice and topics were often based on learning contracts with the teachers, while progress was regularly assessed in an organized way through conversation between students and teachers. Another example revolved around a small school in which students were offered an opportunity to work on independent assignments at least four times over the school year and between 20 and 40 hours for each project, allowing them to delve deeply into their chosen topic. The third example concerns a small-town school where teachers offered students to participate in so-called service learning projects. The students prepared various events such as dances, game night, bingo, basketball tournament, family café or a quiz. The condition for the event was that it should be of benefit to someone! In the fourth example, a group of students in schools in the capital area worked on projects where they simulated the process of starting a company, organized festivals, opened restaurants, schools, designed their dream studies, ran a cinema, theater, art workshop, all in as realistic a way as possible, for example by gathering information about salaries, rights and taxes. The topics were interdisciplinary and covered numerous school subjects. Finally, there is a description of a small rural school where students organized an exhibition for tourists, set up in an old house in a national park, and this is still operated by them to this day. The students present diverse content at the exhibition, information about local history, games, artifacts and other creative projects. In connection with the exhibition, the students worked on assignments that have to do with the origins of the guests. All these examples describe learning in which students are engaged in integrated and meaningful projects, involving research and reflection, in the spirit of progressive education.The author believes that progressive education still has urgent relevance for teachers and students, and draws attention to the strong resemblance these methods have with ideas stated in contemporary curricula and international policy regarding learning considered imperative for successfully preparing students for life and work in a 21st century society. In this context, it is worth underlining the importance of placing increased emphasis on information and digital literacy, creativity, critical thinking, social skills, cooperative learning, service learning, interdisciplinary projects, problem solving, meaningful learning and societal responsibility.There are several indications to the effect that progressive teaching methods have become increasingly popular in Icelandic schools, both in compulsory schools, not least at the lower secondary level, as well as in various secondary schools. Recent writings of teachers who have been experimenting with various versions of these methods, testify to this development, for example under the heading of activity or competency-based learning and problem and interest-based learning.Í þessari grein er leitast við að velja og lýsa nokkrum dæmum um nám og kennslu í anda framsækinnar kennslufræði (e. progressive education) í íslenskum grunnskólum. Dæmin eru sótt í vettvangsathuganir höfundar sem fylgst hefur með kennslu í vel á annað hundrað skólum undanfarna hálfa öld. Valin voru dæmi um nemendamiðað nám þar sem byggt hefur verið á fjölþættum markmiðum og áhersla lögð á þátttöku, sjálfstæði og ábyrgð nemenda, sköpun og samvinnu. Hér má nefna þegar nemendur fá að takast á við heildstæð, samþætt og merkingarbær viðfangsefni sem þeir taka til athugunar og kanna til nokkurrar hlítar. Efnið er sótt til bæði fámennra og fjölmennra skóla hér á landi, í dreifbýli og þéttbýli.Skoðun höfundar er að framsækin kennslufræði eigi enn brýnt erindi við kennara og nemendur. Færð eru rök að því að mikill skyldleiki sé með áherslum hennar og þeim hugmyndum sem nú eru uppi í námskrám og alþjóðlegri stefnumörkun um kennsluhætti sem mikilvægt er talið að þróa til að undirbúa nemendur sem best fyrir líf og starf í samfélagi 21. aldar
Bíbí í Berlín uppfrædd og fermd
No full textBíbí is a nickname for Bjargey Kristjánsdóttir, an Icelandic woman who was born in 1927 and died in 1999. She grew up on a small farm called Berlin in northern Iceland. Bíbí fell seriously ill when she was in her first year and after that she was labelled ‘feebleminded’ by her family and local community. In her early years, Bíbí was excluded within the local community and hidden from visitors at her home. Her autobiography, however, evinces intelligence and insight into her life and circumstances. The autobiography is a huge work, totaling about 120,000 words. Bíbí wrote her autobiography alone, keeping it secret from her family and neighbors. In this chapter, Bíbí’s childhood story will be analysed based on two research disciplines: critical disability studies and microhistory. By connecting these two research fields, we will subsequently provide a new way of critical thinking about disability as well as history. A feminist intersectionality framework is used to analyse Bíbí’s childhood story; more specifically to explore how social class, disability and gender intersected and afflicted Bíbí’s childhood life and education.The main aim of this chapter is twofold. Firstly to shed light on Bíbí’s childhood, especially her education and confirmation. On the other hand, the goal is to explore various official records, such as church records, parish registers and annual reports. As well as explaining various events in Bíbí’s life, those documents also elucidate the spirit of the age and the perspectives of the community she was brought up in. We also wish to clarify how the scientific knowledge and dominant ideology about people with intellectual disabilities influenced and shaped Bíbí’s life and circumstances. Bíbí’s autobiography clearly reflects the influence of the grand narrative of eugenics and the medical understanding of disability (Carlson, 2010). As a result, Bíbí was marginalised and experienced many forms of exclusion and oppression. Bíbí was definitely unaware, as were other members of the community in those times, of the impact of eugenics and medical science upon negative attitudes towards her. She blames the “peculiar attitude of the people,” not her impairment, for her problems and wretched circumstances. It could be maintained that Bíbí’s understanding of disability was opposed to the traditional medical understanding, where all problems are seen in terms of the impairment of the individual (Goodley, 2016). Blaming the present state of mind of the general public reveals the modern social understanding of disability.Critical disability studies note that disability only becomes a barrier because of society’s negative attitudes and responses (Meekosha & Shuttleworth, 2009). Bíbí did not fit into the ableist vision of society and these views were used to justify her unequal treatment and isolation. In Bíbí’s case, the negative attitudes of her family and the local community became the largest hindrances in her life. The main theme in the examples from Bíbí’s childhood are the exclusion and humiliation she was subjected to. She also includes examples of how she protested and challenged people when she felt she was unfairly treated. Those protests were not always loud; they frequently occurred in her mind, as demonstrated by the text of her autobiography. Although the examples from Bíbí’s autobiography reveal the injustice she had to live with, they also strongly reflect Bíbí’s personality; she was a humourist, a great lover of nature and animals, and, in many respects, her way of life resembled that of other country children. Bíbí shows us that the longings and expectations of the little girl are the same as those of her peers early in the early twentieth century, which first and foremost involved the comforting presence of family and loved ones, safe shelter, having friends and being involved and accepted by one’s family and the local community.The examples from Bíbí’s story presented in the chapter also clearly reveal how those three social categories – that is, disability, social class and gender – intersect in Bíbí’s life and lead to multiple forms of oppression and exclusion in her life. An example of the way gender and disability intersect in Bíbí’s childhood is how her brother Steini was preferred to her, as she points out, because she was a “disabled girl” and he was a boy. Bíbí’s parents were poor farmers and her story contains numerous examples of the way her disability and social class intersects. A clear case in point is the difference in social position of Bíbí and her friend Alda, both of whom had disabilities. Alda’s parents were, however, positioned considerably higher on the social ladder than Bíbí’s parents. Alda was allowed to go to school and she was confirmed wiht her peers but Bíbí was not. Thus, it becomes more apparent that different social categories and forms of oppression work together in producing multiple layers of discrimination and oppression in Bíbí´s life.Bíbí hét fullu nafni Bjargey Kristjánsdóttir (1927–1999) og var kennd við kotbæ foreldra sinna, Berlín, sem var rétt utan við Hofsós. Hún þótti bráðgert barn en veiktist á fyrsta ári og var í kjölfarið stimpluð sem „fáviti“ af fjölskyldu sinni og sveitungum. Bíbí var fædd á þeim tíma sem fötluðu fólki og fjölskyldum þess stóð engin opinber þjónusta til boða. Hún naut engrar formlegrar skólagöngu, var hornreka á heimilinu framan af og var falin fyrir gestum og gangandi. Bíbí skildi eftir sig umfangsmikla sjálfsævisögu sem hún skrifaði í einrúmi, hélt leyndri fyrir fjölskyldu sinni og samferðafólki og fáir vissu um tilvist hennar. Sjálfsævisaga Bíbíar ber vott um góða greind og innsæi í líf sitt og aðstæður og kemur að flestum tímabilum í lífshlaupi hennar. Markmið greinarinnar sem hér fer á eftir er tvíþætt. Annars vegar að varpa ljósi á barnæsku Bíbíar, uppfræðslu hennar og fermingu eins og birtist í sjálfsævisögunni, en þó að hún hafi ekki gengið í skóla fékk hún kennslu heima fyrir og lærði meðal annars að lesa og skrifa. Hins vegar er rýnt í margþættar opinberar heimildir sem til eru um barnæsku Bíbíar með það að markmiði að afhjúpa söguleg viðhorf sem enn þann dag í dag setja mark sitt á skólagöngu og tilveru fatlaðs fólks. Með þeim hætti teljum við að greina megi þau menningarlegu viðhorf sem finna mátti á þeim tíma sem Bíbí var að alast upp og um leið spegla samtímann í sögu hennar. Sjálfsævisaga Bíbíar er einstök heimild sem stendur framarlega í flokki íslenskra sjálfsbókmennta þar sem hún er til þess fallin að auka þekkingu á stöðu þeirra sem voru á jaðri samfélagsins, ekki síst fatlaðra kvenna og stúlkna