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Browsing by Subject "abiturientti"

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  • Kuivalainen, Rosanna (2019)
    This master’s thesis sets out to examine the reasons behind high school seniors’ choices in application to higher education. Focus of this thesis is directed to seniors’ family history and future goals. Application reform to Finnish higher education takes place during the making of this thesis and therefore the effects of this reform will be also investigated. I utilize theoretical ideas and concepts by Pierre Bourdieu. Earlier studies have shown that social class is connected to consumption of education. I aim to reveal cultural manuscripts, which are connected to application to higher education. I interviewed ten final year students from two high schools from Helsinki. Both high schools demand high grade point averages from their applicants. Qualitative methods and especially analysis of expectations is used in examining the material. As a conclusion, many cultural manuscripts were found to guide seniors in their choices in applying to higher education. Some of them were more obvious to the seniors than others. The pressure by highly educated parents was an easily recognizable storyline, whereas many manuscripts were formed in such a long period of time and were repeated so frequently that they had become invisible and a natural way of life. Cultural manuscripts were formed within the surroundings and communities of the high school seniors. Resources as well as habitus gained from the childhood has helped seniors in their studies. They had gained working routines and adequate skills to cope in the school system, which has made their studies feel pleasant and relatively effortless. Educational institutions have given validation to their habitus and resources, which has driven the students to follow a cultural manuscript of aiming to the highest of educational paths. The experiences of success in school have motivated seniors to keep going and to aim higher. As a result, many potential options are left as non-alternatives to the seniors during application process and correspondingly other options are considered even if they are not appealing to the applicant.
  • Ikonen, Katariina (2017)
    Today’s society changes are affecting to work life by making it more diverse and diffuse. Fast changes in work field affect also in youngster’s career choices. Politics of school are trying to figure out how to make students to graduate faster and at the same time students try to make their choices, not only in studying but also in working life too. The student counsellor is in the key role what comes to supporting students studying and their future career choices. Previous researches have shown that there are some shortages of getting enough counselling in schools and that students are not completely satisfied of student counselling. The aim of this thesis was trying to find out high school’s last year students opinions of the student counselling. The research questions are: how does High school’s last year students describe their experiences of student counselling and how do they feel it has support their decisions in career choices. The thesis was done in autumn of 2016 in Eastern Finland. Thesis was qualitative research and the method was theme interview. Five students participated, four women and one man. All the interviews were held during the same day and the interviews were individual. The research results were analyzed by using Grounded Theory method. The research results were showing that high school’s last year students wished more individual counselling. They also described that they wished to have more interaction with the student counsellor, especially in problem solving. They hoped to have meetings with the counsellor where they could find solution to their problems together. Students were satisfied to the availability of counseling, even though they wished to have more specific information about how to apply to the universities. Two of them said that they were satisfied to the counsellors support of career choices. They felt that they had have opportunities to talk with the student counsellor and they also felt that he/she had helped them to make their career choices. Three student said that student counselling had not support them enough. They said that there were lacks of getting information they needed and also that student counselling would be more cheering. Those who did not have enough support of the counselling in the career choices, mentioned often the importance of friends, families and teachers in the decision making. Results are showing that especially the individual counselling is having a big role in students describes.