Uppeldi og menntun - 01.01.2002, Qupperneq 228

HVAÐ TELJA UNGLINGARNIR SIG LÆRA?
Ragnhildur Bjarnadóttir. 2002. Adolescents' Perceptions ofown Competence - in the Social
Context of Leisure Activities. Danmarks pædagogiske universitet. [Óbirt doktors-
ritgerð.]
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ABSTRACT
This article reports on a study of Icelandic adolescents' experiences of learning
(perceived competence) through their participation in leisure activities, and what the
competence means for them. The participants are 199 adolescents, 13-15 year old,
from two school societies. Interviews and questionnaires were used for data collect-
ion, and both qualitative and quantitative methods used for data analysis. Through
qualitative analysis of 32 interviews, four categories of competence are defined: a)
practical competence (physical and cognitive) - to do something concrete, b) per-
sonal/emotional competence, c) social skills, d) cognitive/social perspective taking
skills. The meaning of competence experiences are sought from several perspectives.
Quantitative analysis indicates that positive evaluations of own competence (of
learning much and being successful) are related to experiences of strong bonds to the
activities, and also related to positive self-evaluation - especially if the adolescents
participate in structured activities. According to both quantitative and qualitative
analysis "being successful" and "social relations" are the main factors making the
activities meaningful. The concept life-space is used for explaining how perceptions
of competence and social situations interact in creating self-belief for further activities
and learning. The hypothesis built on results and findings is that competence cons-
ists in a) knowledge and skills, b) knowing how to use the knowledge and skills in
actual situations, and c) self-belief in a task or a domain, and furthermore, that the
competence and its meaning is related to social situations.
Ragnhildur Bjarnadótttir er
dósent við Kennaraháskóla íslands
226