Abstract
The study set out to examine Finnish and Russian children’s images of intelligence as contextualized in the systems of the school and gender. Finnish and Russian pupils, aged 11–12 years, were asked to draw pictures of an intelligent and an ordinary pupil and a good and an ordinary pupil. A distinctive feature shared by the children in both countries was that intelligent pupils were depicted as positively orientated to knowledge and studies and as similar to good pupils. The Russian children’s pictures emphasized academic performance, suggesting that the contribution of the school to children’s representations was greater in Russia than in Finland. In regard to gender appearance, the intelligent pupil was usually pictured in gender-neutral or childish features, suggesting that being defined as intellectually competent entailed deviating from the heterosexual ideal. In the discussion, the ambivalence associated with social definitions of intelligence is addressed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander R. (2000) Culture and pedagogy. International comparison in primary education. Blackwell, Oxford
Antikainen A. (2006) In search of the Nordic model in education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 50: 229–243
Blom R., Melin H. (2005) Muuttuvat identiteetit Karjalan tasavallassa [Changing identities in the Karelian state; in Finnish]. In: Hirsiaho A., Korpela M., Rantalaiho L. (eds) Kohtaamisia rajoilla [Meetings at the borders]. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Tampere, pp 109–127
Chambers D. (1983) Stereotypic images of a scientist: The draw-a-scientist test. Science Education 67: 255–265
Chamorro-Premuzic T., Arteche A., Furnham A., Trickot N. (2009) Assessing pupils’ intelligence through self, parental, and teacher estimates. Educational Psychology 29: 83–97
Clémance A. (2001) Social positioning and social representations. In: Deaux K., Philogéne G. (eds) Representations of the Social. Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp 83–95
Cox M. (2005) The pictorial world of the child. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Danziger K. (1990) Constructing the subject. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
de Rosa A.-M. (1987) The social representations of mental illness in children and adults. In: Doise W., Moscovici S. (eds) Current issues in social psychology, Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 47–138
de Rosa A.-M. (2001) The king is naked. Critical advertisement and fashion. In: Deaux K., Philogene G. (eds) Representations of the social. Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp 48–82
Droege K., Stipek D. (1993) Children’s use of dispositions to predict classmates’ behavior. Developmental Psychology 29: 646–654
Eccles J., Janis E., Harold R. (1991) Gender role stereotypes, expectancy effects, and parents’ socialization of gender differences. Journal of Social Issues 46: 183–201
Emler N., Ohana J. (1993) Studying social representations in children. In: Breakwell G., Canter D. (eds) Empirical approaches to social representations. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 63–89
Francis B., Skelton C. (2005) Reassessing gender and achievement. Routledge, London
Gerber T., Hout M. (1995) Educational stratification in Russia during the Soviet period. American Journal of Sociology 101: 611–660
Goodson I., Marsh C. (1996) Studying school subjects. The Falmer Press, London
Gordon T., Holland J., Lahelma T. (2000) Making spaces: Citizenship and difference in schools. Macmillan, New York
Gorman T. (1998) Social class and parental attitudes towards education. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 27: 10–45
Harris M. (1991) Sex differences in stereotypes of spectacles. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 21: 1659–1680
Heine S., Lehman D., Ide E., Leung C., Kitayama S., Takata T. (2001) Divergent consequences of success and failure in Japan and North America: An investigation of self-improving motivations and malleable selves. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81: 599–615
Holmgren B. (1995) Bug inspectors and beauty queens: The problems of translating feminism into Russian. In: Berry E. (eds) Post-communism and the body politics. New York University Press, New York and London, pp 15–31
Jahoda G. (1992) Crossroads between culture and mind. Harvester Wheatsheaf, New York
Jauhiainen A., Alho-Malmelin M. (2004) Education as a religion in the learning society. International Journal of Lifelong Learning 23: 459–474
Julkunen R. (1999) Gender, work, welfare state. In: Lipponen P., Setälä P. (eds) Women in Finland. Otava, Helsinki, pp 79–100
Kasanen K., Räty H. (2002) You be sure now to be honest in your assessment. Teaching and learning self-assessment. Social Psychology of Education 21: 1–16
Korhonen M. (2002) Aina oli joku kotona [There was always someone at home; in Finnish]. In: Kolbe L., Järvinen K. (eds) Onks ketään kotona? [Someone at home?]. Tammi, Helsinki, pp 53–74
Kupari P. (1996) Laskutaidotko kadonneet? Peruskoululaiset matematiikan kokijoina ja taitajina [Mathematical proficiency among the comprehensive school pupils; in Finnish]. In: Linnakylä P., Saari H. (eds) Oppiiko oppilas peruskoulussa? Peruskoulun arviointi 90-tutkimuksen tuloksia. Kasvatustieteiden tutkimuslaitos, Jyväskylä, pp 27–56
Laihiala-Kankainen S. (1998) Russian pupils in Finnish schools—problems created by differences in pedagogical cultures. The School Field 9: 61–76
Laihiala-Kankainen S. (2000) Education reform in Russia—between the past and the future. Idäntutkimus 7: 112–123
Lloyd B., Duveen G. (1992) Gender identities and education. Harvester Wheatsheaf, London
Lummins M., Stevenson H. W. (1990) Gender differences in beliefs and achievement: A cross-cultural study. Developmental Psychology 26: 254–263
Melin, H. (eds) (2005) Social structure, public space and civil society in Karelia. Kikimora, Saarijärvi
Metso T. (2004) Koti, koulu ja kasvatus—kohtaamisia ja rajankäyntejä [Home, school, and education; in Finnish]. Research in Educational Science 19. The Finnish Educational Society, Helsinki
Mortimore, P. (2008). Negative reaction. The benefits of streaming are a myth. EducationGuardian.co.uk (February 5, 2008).
Moscovici S. (2000) Social representations. Explorations in social psychology. Polity Press, Cambridge, UK
Muckle J. (1990) Portrait of a Soviet school under glasnost. Macmillan, London
Mugny G., Carugati F. (1989) Social representations of intelligence. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Nicholls J., Patashnick M., Mettetal G. (1986) Conceptions of ability and intelligence. Child Development 57: 636–645
PISA: (2005) Learning for tomorrow’s world—first results from PISA 2003. OECD Publications, Paris
Plaut V., Markus H. (2005) The ‘inside’ story. A cultural—historical analysis of being smart and motivated, American style. In: Eliot A., Dweck C. (eds) Handbook of culture and motivation. Guilford Press, New York, pp 457–489
Räty H. (2003) The significance of parents’ evaluations of their own school for their educational attitudes. Social Psychology of Education 6: 43–60
Räty H., Kasanen K., Honkalampi K. (2006) Three years later: A follow-up study of parents’ assessments of their children’s competencies. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 36: 2079–2099
Räty H., Kasanen K., Kiiskinen J., Nykky M. (2004) Learning intelligence—Children’s choices of the best pupils in the mother tongue and mathematics. Social Behavior and Personality 32: 303–312
Räty H., Snellman L. (1992) Does sex make any difference? Common-sense conceptions of intelligence. Social Behavior and Personality 20: 23–34
Räty H., Snellman L. (1997) Children’s images of an intelligent person. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 12: 773–784
Räty H., Snellman L., Mäntysaari-Hetekorpi H., Vornanen A. (1996) Parents’ views on the comprehensive school and its development: A Finnish study. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 40: 203–215
Räty H., Snellman L., Kasanen K. (1999) Children’s conceptions of ability and their changes during the first school year. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 43: 249–258
Rosenholtz S., Simpson C. (1984) The formation of ability conceptions: Developmental trend or social construction?. Review of Educational Research 54: 31–63
Sinisalo P., Nummenmaa A.-R. (2000) Developing occupational goals and plans. In: Puuronen V., Sinisalo P., Miljukova I., Shvets L. (eds) Youth in changing Carelia. Ashgate, Aldershot, Burlington USA, Singapore, Sydney, pp 146–161
Sinisalo P., Shvets L., Rusanova V. (2000) Value orientations of Russian and Finnish young people. In: Puuronen V., Sinisalo P., Miljukova I., Shvets L. (eds) Youth in changing Carelia. Aldershot, Burlington, USA, Singapore, Sydney, Ashgate, pp 74–91
Sternberg R. (2004) Culture and intelligence. American Psychologist 59: 325–338
Temkina A., Rotkirch A. (1997) Soviet gender contracts and their shifts in contemporary Russia. Idäntutkimus 4: 6–24
Tudge J., Hogan D., Lee S., Tammeveski P., Meltsas M., Kulakova N. et al (1999) Cultural heterogeneity: Parental values and beliefs and their preschoolers’ activities in the United States, South Korea, Russia, and Estonia. In: Göncü A. (eds) Children’s engagement in the world. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, pp 62–96
Valsiner J. (1989) Human development and culture. The social nature of personality and its study. Lexington Books, Massachusetts
Walkerdine V. (1990) Schoolgirl fictions. Verso, London
Yussen S., Cane P. (1983) Children’s ideas about intellectual ability. In: Leahy R. (eds) The child’s construction of social inequality. Academic Press, New York, pp 103–134
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Räty, H., Komulainen, K., Skorokhodova, N. et al. A picture is worth a thousand words: a comparison of pupils’ images of intelligence in Finnish and Russian Karelia. Soc Psychol Educ 14, 1–22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9137-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9137-8