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Piia Bjorn

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Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Central council for research in Siddha/Siddha Central Research Institute

Antonios Dakanalis (Αντώνιος Ντακανάλης) Prof, Dr, MD, MSc, PsyD, PhD, FNASc

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca

Marcelo F Napoli

UFBA - Federal University of Bahia

Cristian Javier Garay

Universidad de Buenos Aires

Barretos Cancer Hospital

Andrew Bottomley

None (Private)

University of Virginia

Ananda B Bhavanani

SRI BALAJI VIDYAPEETH University

University College London

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Papers by Piia Bjorn

Älysikkö Nyt?" : Ymmärtämiseen Liittyvä Puhe Yläkoulun Matematiikan Oppitunneilla

by Piia Bjorn and Tanja Vehkakoski

Perherakenteen ajallinen pysyvyys mahdollistaa avoimen nuorten ja vanhempien välisen vuorovaikutuksen

Prior mathematics achievement, cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of Finnish students' later mathematics performance and career orientation

Educational Psychology, Jul 1, 2010

The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathe... more The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathematics performance, cognitive appraisals and mathematics-specific, affective anxiety in determining later mathematics achievement and future career orientation among Finnish adolescents. The basic ideas of the control-value theory, assumed to be culturally universal, and previous controversial results regarding the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement were tested in the Finnish cultural context with a longitudinal design.

The covariation between parental and expert evaluations of early language skills

by Piia Bjorn and Irma Kakkuri

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 03004430 2013 809713, 2014

ABSTRACT This study investigated the potential interrelationship between parental (maternal) and ... more ABSTRACT This study investigated the potential interrelationship between parental (maternal) and expert assessments of the expressive and receptive language skills of 12- to 18-month-old children. The language activities of 27 children were monitored by their mothers (MCDI scale: Lyytinen, 2000. Varhaisen kommunikaation ja kielen kehityksen arviointimenetelmä. Jyväskylän yliopiston lapsitutkimuskeskus ja Niilo Mäki Instituutti. Jyväskylä: Yliopistopaino. [An assessment tool for early communication and language development] Jyväskylä: University Press) and trained researchers (Bayley Scales III: Bayley, 2006. Bayley III Scales of Infant Development. Administration Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation). First and foremost, the results showed that parental and expert assessments of different aspects of child development were in accord, even after controlling for the child&#39;s age. Covariance modelling confirmed the strong concordance between maternal and expert assessment of both aspects of early language development. Furthermore, maternal age did have an effect on the child&#39;s receptive language, according to experts&#39; assessments. Gender or maternal education level did not have an impact on language skills as measured by Bayley assessment. Parent-reported dyslexia in a close relative was also taken into account.

Preservice and inservice teachers’ knowledge of language constructs in Finland

Annals of Dyslexia, 2015

The aim of the study was to explore the Finnish preservice and inservice teachers&amp;amp;amp... more The aim of the study was to explore the Finnish preservice and inservice teachers&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; knowledge of language constructs relevant for literacy acquisition. A total of 150 preservice teachers and 74 inservice teachers participated in the study by filling out a questionnaire that assessed self-perceived expertise in reading instruction, knowledge of phonology and phonics, and knowledge of morphology. The inservice teachers outperformed the preservice teachers in knowledge of phonology and phonics, as well as morphology. Both groups&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; knowledge of morphology was markedly lower than their knowledge of phonology and phonics. Because early reading instruction does not focus on the morphological level of language but is phonics-based, this result was expected. However, the findings also revealed a lack of explicit knowledge of basic phonological constructs and less-than-optimal phonemic awareness skills in both groups. Problems in phonemic skills manifested mostly as responding to the phonological tasks based on orthographic knowledge, which reflects an overreliance on the one-to-one correspondence between graphemes and phonemes. The preservice teachers&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; perceptions of expertise were weakly related to their knowledge and skills. Among the inservice teachers, perceived expertise and knowledge of language constructs were completely unrelated. Although the study was exploratory, these findings suggest that within the Finnish teacher education there is a need to focus more on explicit content studies for language structures and the concepts relevant for literacy instruction, as well as phonological and phonemic skills.

The Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future

Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 2015

This study focuses on parents' and teachers' perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transit... more This study focuses on parents' and teachers' perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. The perceptions of the participant groups differed from each other significantly in almost all practices. We suggest that the information on school entrants should be transferred within joint meetings between transition partners and other professionals whenever possible.

Diversity in Family Structure—Diversity in Communication between Family Members?

Psychology, 2013

This study aims at investigating the parent-adolescent communication of Finnish families from a m... more This study aims at investigating the parent-adolescent communication of Finnish families from a multiinformant perspective. Thirteen-and fourteen-year-old adolescents (n = 171) and their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire examining positive and problematic communication between the two parties. Information about their family structure was collected. The results indicated an interrelationship between parental and adolescent assessments, particularly regarding negative aspects of communication. The boys assessed their communication with parents as more positive than did the girls. The results showed that the mothers still are the synchronizing hearts of communication in modern families, whereas the fathers' roles in family communication were more modest suggesting that the stereotypical roles in Finnish families persist even today.

Primary school text comprehension predicts mathematical word problem-solving skills in secondary school

Educational Psychology, 2014

This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the extent to which primary school text comprehensio... more This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the extent to which primary school text comprehension predicts mathematical word problem-solving skills in secondary school among Finnish students. The participants were 224 fourth graders (9-10 years old at the baseline). The children's text-reading fluency, text comprehension and basic calculation ability were tested in grade four. In grade seven and nine, their skills in solving mathematical word problems were assessed. Overall, the results showed that text comprehension in grade four of primary school predicts math word problem-solving skills in secondary school, after controlling for text-reading fluency and basic calculation ability. Among boys, good text comprehension skills in grade four predicted good math word problem-solving skills in grade seven. Among girls, good text comprehension skills in grade four predicted their subsequent mathematical word problem performance in grade nine. The practical implications of the results are discussed as well.

The role of literacy skills in adolescents' mathematics word problem performance: Controlling for visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety

Learning and Individual Differences, 2014

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between eighth-grade adolescents' lit... more The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between eighth-grade adolescents' literacy skills and mathematics word problem performance. Moreover, visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety were considered as covariates. According to the analyses of (co)variance, literacy skills were significantly associated with mathematics word problem skills among the 99 8th grade participants of the study. It is primarily for boys that reading comprehension skill predicts success in solving math word problems, while technical reading predicts both calculation skill and word problem solving skill across genders. Visuo-spatial ability was not a significant covariate in either of the models, whereas mathematics anxiety was a significant covariate in the girls' model. The results of the present study thus suggest that learning mathematics is particularly intertwined with good technical reading skills, even in adolescence. Additionally, emphasizing an encouraging atmosphere in math classes could help girls with high levels of mathematics anxiety.

Family structure and academic skills among Finnish adolescents

European Journal of Psychology of Education, 2011

This study investigated whether family structure accounts for adolescent academic performance in ... more This study investigated whether family structure accounts for adolescent academic performance in Finland in the analysis. The thirteen-to fourteen-year-old (grade 8) students" (N=171) literacy skills were measured and their mathematical performance was tested. Information about family structure was gathered via a questionnaire sent to their homes. The findings of the study revealed that adolescents from other than two-parent intact families performed particularly well in regard to literacy skills. There were no gender differences with respect to either skill. The adolescents came from families of each type of structure, across all skill levels, suggesting that adolescent learning outcomes are not determined by diversity in family structure.

Accelerating decoding-related skills in poor readers learning a foreign language: a computer-based intervention

Educational Psychology, 2013

The results of Fast ForWord ® training on English decoding-related skills were examined. Finnish ... more The results of Fast ForWord ® training on English decoding-related skills were examined. Finnish fifth-grade students were identified as having reading fluency problems and poor skills in English as a foreign language learned at school and were randomly assigned to either a training group (TRG) or a control group. The TRG (n = 13) received 50 min of daily computer program-based training for a period of approximately 10 weeks. Students in the first control group (n = 11) received the school's regular instructional programme. A second control group was composed of 14 average readers. The students' English skills were examined in pre-test, post-test and follow-up measurements. The TRG students saw an acceleration in decoding-related skills. The educational implications of the results are discussed.

Prior mathematics achievement, cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of Finnish students’ later mathematics performance and career orientation

Educational Psychology, 2010

The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathe... more The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathematics performance, cognitive appraisals and mathematics-specific, affective anxiety in determining later mathematics achievement and future career orientation among Finnish adolescents. The basic ideas of the control-value theory, assumed to be culturally universal, and previous controversial results regarding the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement were tested in the Finnish cultural context with a longitudinal design.

Accelerating early language development with multi-sensory training

by Piia Bjorn, Pirkko Karvonen, and Irma Kakkuri

Early Child Development and Care, 2012

This paper reports the outcome of a multi-sensory intervention on infant language skills. A progr... more This paper reports the outcome of a multi-sensory intervention on infant language skills. A programme titled 'Rhyming Game and Exercise Club', which included kinaesthetic -tactile mother -child rhyming games performed in natural joint attention situations, was intended to accelerate Finnish six-to eight-month-old infants' language development. The participants were 20 infants (10 training group children and 10 control children). Their cognitive skills and both receptive and expressive language skills (Bayley Scales III) were tested three times (pre-, post-and follow-up assessments). The groups differed significantly in receptive language skills at the baseline, in favour of the controls. The results showed that the performance of the training group children in cognition and receptive language increased after the intervention. The training group girls showed more acceleration in receptive language skills than the boys. The results suggested that training consisting of rhyming games and kinaesthetic-tactile stimulation is a useful tool for accelerating early language development and for enriching mother -child interaction.

Perheen taustatekijöiden yhteys adoptiovanhempien vanhempainvapaaseen

by Jari Sinkkonen, Piia Bjorn, and Helena L Lapinleimu

Älysikkö Nyt?" : Ymmärtämiseen Liittyvä Puhe Yläkoulun Matematiikan Oppitunneilla

by Piia Bjorn and Tanja Vehkakoski

Perherakenteen ajallinen pysyvyys mahdollistaa avoimen nuorten ja vanhempien välisen vuorovaikutuksen

Prior mathematics achievement, cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of Finnish students' later mathematics performance and career orientation

Educational Psychology, Jul 1, 2010

The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathe... more The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathematics performance, cognitive appraisals and mathematics-specific, affective anxiety in determining later mathematics achievement and future career orientation among Finnish adolescents. The basic ideas of the control-value theory, assumed to be culturally universal, and previous controversial results regarding the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement were tested in the Finnish cultural context with a longitudinal design.

The covariation between parental and expert evaluations of early language skills

by Piia Bjorn and Irma Kakkuri

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 03004430 2013 809713, 2014

ABSTRACT This study investigated the potential interrelationship between parental (maternal) and ... more ABSTRACT This study investigated the potential interrelationship between parental (maternal) and expert assessments of the expressive and receptive language skills of 12- to 18-month-old children. The language activities of 27 children were monitored by their mothers (MCDI scale: Lyytinen, 2000. Varhaisen kommunikaation ja kielen kehityksen arviointimenetelmä. Jyväskylän yliopiston lapsitutkimuskeskus ja Niilo Mäki Instituutti. Jyväskylä: Yliopistopaino. [An assessment tool for early communication and language development] Jyväskylä: University Press) and trained researchers (Bayley Scales III: Bayley, 2006. Bayley III Scales of Infant Development. Administration Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation). First and foremost, the results showed that parental and expert assessments of different aspects of child development were in accord, even after controlling for the child&#39;s age. Covariance modelling confirmed the strong concordance between maternal and expert assessment of both aspects of early language development. Furthermore, maternal age did have an effect on the child&#39;s receptive language, according to experts&#39; assessments. Gender or maternal education level did not have an impact on language skills as measured by Bayley assessment. Parent-reported dyslexia in a close relative was also taken into account.

Preservice and inservice teachers’ knowledge of language constructs in Finland

Annals of Dyslexia, 2015

The aim of the study was to explore the Finnish preservice and inservice teachers&amp;amp;amp... more The aim of the study was to explore the Finnish preservice and inservice teachers&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; knowledge of language constructs relevant for literacy acquisition. A total of 150 preservice teachers and 74 inservice teachers participated in the study by filling out a questionnaire that assessed self-perceived expertise in reading instruction, knowledge of phonology and phonics, and knowledge of morphology. The inservice teachers outperformed the preservice teachers in knowledge of phonology and phonics, as well as morphology. Both groups&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; knowledge of morphology was markedly lower than their knowledge of phonology and phonics. Because early reading instruction does not focus on the morphological level of language but is phonics-based, this result was expected. However, the findings also revealed a lack of explicit knowledge of basic phonological constructs and less-than-optimal phonemic awareness skills in both groups. Problems in phonemic skills manifested mostly as responding to the phonological tasks based on orthographic knowledge, which reflects an overreliance on the one-to-one correspondence between graphemes and phonemes. The preservice teachers&amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; perceptions of expertise were weakly related to their knowledge and skills. Among the inservice teachers, perceived expertise and knowledge of language constructs were completely unrelated. Although the study was exploratory, these findings suggest that within the Finnish teacher education there is a need to focus more on explicit content studies for language structures and the concepts relevant for literacy instruction, as well as phonological and phonemic skills.

The Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future

Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 2015

This study focuses on parents' and teachers' perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transit... more This study focuses on parents' and teachers' perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. The perceptions of the participant groups differed from each other significantly in almost all practices. We suggest that the information on school entrants should be transferred within joint meetings between transition partners and other professionals whenever possible.

Diversity in Family Structure—Diversity in Communication between Family Members?

Psychology, 2013

This study aims at investigating the parent-adolescent communication of Finnish families from a m... more This study aims at investigating the parent-adolescent communication of Finnish families from a multiinformant perspective. Thirteen-and fourteen-year-old adolescents (n = 171) and their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire examining positive and problematic communication between the two parties. Information about their family structure was collected. The results indicated an interrelationship between parental and adolescent assessments, particularly regarding negative aspects of communication. The boys assessed their communication with parents as more positive than did the girls. The results showed that the mothers still are the synchronizing hearts of communication in modern families, whereas the fathers' roles in family communication were more modest suggesting that the stereotypical roles in Finnish families persist even today.

Primary school text comprehension predicts mathematical word problem-solving skills in secondary school

Educational Psychology, 2014

This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the extent to which primary school text comprehensio... more This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the extent to which primary school text comprehension predicts mathematical word problem-solving skills in secondary school among Finnish students. The participants were 224 fourth graders (9-10 years old at the baseline). The children's text-reading fluency, text comprehension and basic calculation ability were tested in grade four. In grade seven and nine, their skills in solving mathematical word problems were assessed. Overall, the results showed that text comprehension in grade four of primary school predicts math word problem-solving skills in secondary school, after controlling for text-reading fluency and basic calculation ability. Among boys, good text comprehension skills in grade four predicted good math word problem-solving skills in grade seven. Among girls, good text comprehension skills in grade four predicted their subsequent mathematical word problem performance in grade nine. The practical implications of the results are discussed as well.

The role of literacy skills in adolescents' mathematics word problem performance: Controlling for visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety

Learning and Individual Differences, 2014

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between eighth-grade adolescents' lit... more The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between eighth-grade adolescents' literacy skills and mathematics word problem performance. Moreover, visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety were considered as covariates. According to the analyses of (co)variance, literacy skills were significantly associated with mathematics word problem skills among the 99 8th grade participants of the study. It is primarily for boys that reading comprehension skill predicts success in solving math word problems, while technical reading predicts both calculation skill and word problem solving skill across genders. Visuo-spatial ability was not a significant covariate in either of the models, whereas mathematics anxiety was a significant covariate in the girls' model. The results of the present study thus suggest that learning mathematics is particularly intertwined with good technical reading skills, even in adolescence. Additionally, emphasizing an encouraging atmosphere in math classes could help girls with high levels of mathematics anxiety.

Family structure and academic skills among Finnish adolescents

European Journal of Psychology of Education, 2011

This study investigated whether family structure accounts for adolescent academic performance in ... more This study investigated whether family structure accounts for adolescent academic performance in Finland in the analysis. The thirteen-to fourteen-year-old (grade 8) students" (N=171) literacy skills were measured and their mathematical performance was tested. Information about family structure was gathered via a questionnaire sent to their homes. The findings of the study revealed that adolescents from other than two-parent intact families performed particularly well in regard to literacy skills. There were no gender differences with respect to either skill. The adolescents came from families of each type of structure, across all skill levels, suggesting that adolescent learning outcomes are not determined by diversity in family structure.

Accelerating decoding-related skills in poor readers learning a foreign language: a computer-based intervention

Educational Psychology, 2013

The results of Fast ForWord ® training on English decoding-related skills were examined. Finnish ... more The results of Fast ForWord ® training on English decoding-related skills were examined. Finnish fifth-grade students were identified as having reading fluency problems and poor skills in English as a foreign language learned at school and were randomly assigned to either a training group (TRG) or a control group. The TRG (n = 13) received 50 min of daily computer program-based training for a period of approximately 10 weeks. Students in the first control group (n = 11) received the school's regular instructional programme. A second control group was composed of 14 average readers. The students' English skills were examined in pre-test, post-test and follow-up measurements. The TRG students saw an acceleration in decoding-related skills. The educational implications of the results are discussed.

Prior mathematics achievement, cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of Finnish students’ later mathematics performance and career orientation

Educational Psychology, 2010

The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathe... more The aim of this two-year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathematics performance, cognitive appraisals and mathematics-specific, affective anxiety in determining later mathematics achievement and future career orientation among Finnish adolescents. The basic ideas of the control-value theory, assumed to be culturally universal, and previous controversial results regarding the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement were tested in the Finnish cultural context with a longitudinal design.

Accelerating early language development with multi-sensory training

by Piia Bjorn, Pirkko Karvonen, and Irma Kakkuri

Early Child Development and Care, 2012

This paper reports the outcome of a multi-sensory intervention on infant language skills. A progr... more This paper reports the outcome of a multi-sensory intervention on infant language skills. A programme titled 'Rhyming Game and Exercise Club', which included kinaesthetic -tactile mother -child rhyming games performed in natural joint attention situations, was intended to accelerate Finnish six-to eight-month-old infants' language development. The participants were 20 infants (10 training group children and 10 control children). Their cognitive skills and both receptive and expressive language skills (Bayley Scales III) were tested three times (pre-, post-and follow-up assessments). The groups differed significantly in receptive language skills at the baseline, in favour of the controls. The results showed that the performance of the training group children in cognition and receptive language increased after the intervention. The training group girls showed more acceleration in receptive language skills than the boys. The results suggested that training consisting of rhyming games and kinaesthetic-tactile stimulation is a useful tool for accelerating early language development and for enriching mother -child interaction.

Perheen taustatekijöiden yhteys adoptiovanhempien vanhempainvapaaseen

by Jari Sinkkonen, Piia Bjorn, and Helena L Lapinleimu