Browsing by Subject "erityispedagogiikka"
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(2021)In the context of education, ADHD has already been studied quite a bit. However, the way that teachers understand the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image they create in their speech about children diagnosed with ADHD has received less attention. The purpose of this thesis is to find out what kind of meanings teachers generate for the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image teachers create about children diagnosed with ADHD. It is important to study the way teachers speak because the way they speak can have either a positive or negative impact on the well-being and learning of children diagnosed with ADHD. I have collected the material for my thesis through an e-form, which has been answered by 70 teachers working in early childhood education and basic education. Respondents to the form were found through social media. The form consisted of open-ended questions and the data was analyzed using discourse analysis methods. I identified a total of six interpretive repertoires for the diagnosis of ADHD: diagnosis as evidence of medical background, diagnosis as a provider of understanding, diagnosis as an explanation of behaviour, diagnosis as a provider of support, diagnosis as a possible label, and diagnosis as a questionable phenomenon. The diagnosis appeared to be mainly necessary and good in these interpretive repertoires, but the possible negative effects of the diagnosis were also brought up. A total of six subject positions were produced for a child diagnosed with ADHD: patient, different child, troublemaker, child in need of support, labelled child and ordinary child / misunderstood child. Teachers described children diagnosed with ADHD mainly through problems and challenges, but the writings also conveyed an empathic attitude towards the child. I hope this thesis will inspire teachers to reflect on their ways of speaking and to think about the origins and consequences of the meanings they have given to the diagnosis.
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(2021)In the context of education, ADHD has already been studied quite a bit. However, the way that teachers understand the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image they create in their speech about children diagnosed with ADHD has received less attention. The purpose of this thesis is to find out what kind of meanings teachers generate for the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image teachers create about children diagnosed with ADHD. It is important to study the way teachers speak because the way they speak can have either a positive or negative impact on the well-being and learning of children diagnosed with ADHD. I have collected the material for my thesis through an e-form, which has been answered by 70 teachers working in early childhood education and basic education. Respondents to the form were found through social media. The form consisted of open-ended questions and the data was analyzed using discourse analysis methods. I identified a total of six interpretive repertoires for the diagnosis of ADHD: diagnosis as evidence of medical background, diagnosis as a provider of understanding, diagnosis as an explanation of behaviour, diagnosis as a provider of support, diagnosis as a possible label, and diagnosis as a questionable phenomenon. The diagnosis appeared to be mainly necessary and good in these interpretive repertoires, but the possible negative effects of the diagnosis were also brought up. A total of six subject positions were produced for a child diagnosed with ADHD: patient, different child, troublemaker, child in need of support, labelled child and ordinary child / misunderstood child. Teachers described children diagnosed with ADHD mainly through problems and challenges, but the writings also conveyed an empathic attitude towards the child. I hope this thesis will inspire teachers to reflect on their ways of speaking and to think about the origins and consequences of the meanings they have given to the diagnosis.
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(2020)Aims. The purpose of this thesis is to study subject teachers’ conceptions of the support in learning and school attendance given in Finnish upper secondary schools. Due to the amendment of the Basic Education Act the support is now three tiered and emphasizes early interventions, which requires subject teachers to have more special pedagogical knowhow than they used to. This study aims to analyse, how subject teachers see their own role implementing the support and how the subject teacher system and structures of the school affect to teachers’ possibilities to support their students. Methodology. The thesis is a qualitative case study and the analysing methods are discourse analysis and thematic analysis. The research material consists of six semi-structured interviews of subject teachers. Results and conclusions. The study groups are heterogeneous and too big in relation to students’ needs. Teachers have to prioritize, to whom they give the support. Opportunity for consultation and cooperation with the special needs teacher is highly appreciated when implementing the support. Subject teachers’ familiarity with the students is considered important. Subject teachers’ knowledge about the three tier support system is mediocre, yet they consider not to have time for further education. The teachers are interested in learning of the students. However, because of lack of competence and time subject teachers externalize the implementation of the support to the special needs teacher. Being a form teacher expands the subject teachers’ job description to documenting and coordinating the support. In schools the functioning practises that would strengthen subject teachers’ commitment in all three tiers of support needs to be established. By reorganizing the structures of teaching and cooperation, it is possible to improve the subject teachers’ possibility to provide the support that the students’ needs require. The subject teachers’ special educational competence should be increased. The subject teachers don’t have sufficient knowledge about the three tier support system and they consider documentation of the support unnecessary. They may nonetheless, be able to support the students successfully by using different kinds of pedagogical methods and various well-timed and individualised measures of support.
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(2020)Aims. The purpose of this thesis is to study subject teachers’ conceptions of the support in learning and school attendance given in Finnish upper secondary schools. Due to the amendment of the Basic Education Act the support is now three tiered and emphasizes early interventions, which requires subject teachers to have more special pedagogical knowhow than they used to. This study aims to analyse, how subject teachers see their own role implementing the support and how the subject teacher system and structures of the school affect to teachers’ possibilities to support their students. Methodology. The thesis is a qualitative case study and the analysing methods are discourse analysis and thematic analysis. The research material consists of six semi-structured interviews of subject teachers. Results and conclusions. The study groups are heterogeneous and too big in relation to students’ needs. Teachers have to prioritize, to whom they give the support. Opportunity for consultation and cooperation with the special needs teacher is highly appreciated when implementing the support. Subject teachers’ familiarity with the students is considered important. Subject teachers’ knowledge about the three tier support system is mediocre, yet they consider not to have time for further education. The teachers are interested in learning of the students. However, because of lack of competence and time subject teachers externalize the implementation of the support to the special needs teacher. Being a form teacher expands the subject teachers’ job description to documenting and coordinating the support. In schools the functioning practises that would strengthen subject teachers’ commitment in all three tiers of support needs to be established. By reorganizing the structures of teaching and cooperation, it is possible to improve the subject teachers’ possibility to provide the support that the students’ needs require. The subject teachers’ special educational competence should be increased. The subject teachers don’t have sufficient knowledge about the three tier support system and they consider documentation of the support unnecessary. They may nonetheless, be able to support the students successfully by using different kinds of pedagogical methods and various well-timed and individualised measures of support.
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(2016)Aims. The purpose of this thesis is to study subject teachers’ conception of the special support given in schools. The special education system in Finland has been renewed in recent years. The special support given in schools is divided into three steps (general support, intensified support and special support) and it is called the tripartite support system. The idea behind this division is that the measure of support is planned individually according to the need for support (Basic Education Act, 1998/642). Previous studies have shown that the reform of the special education system has expanded the job description especially when it comes to elementary school teachers and subject teachers and this is experienced as add to the work load (OAJ, 2012). First, the intension of this thesis is to analyze how subject teachers emphasize the heterogeneity of the groups they teach. Furthermore, it is also reflected if there is a certain trend subject teachers discuss about their skills to support pupils with special needs. Finally, it is studied how subject teachers see their capacity and possibilities to provide sufficient support for learning and school attendance. Methodology. The thesis was a qualitative case study and the analyzing methods were discourse analysis and thematic analysis. Research material consisted of four semi-structured interviews of subject teachers. Results and conclusions. The study revealed that the teachers have positive attitudes towards students with special needs, although they had not received supplementary training to carry out the tripartite support system. The teachers had not participated in multiprofessional cooperation and they considered not having sufficient resources to support their students as the law and the Finnish National Core Curriculum demand. However, subject teachers judged that the special education support and the right for student counseling occurs in their school. According to these findings, subject teachers’ continuing education should still be increased. In addition, subject teachers should also become a solid part of the multiprofessional team planning the support for the students with special needs. Besides, it should be taken into account that teachers have sufficient resources to provide the support as required in the National Core Curriculum and Basic Education Act.
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(2018)Aims. The purpose of this follow-up study (Pesonen, Itkonen, Nislin, 2017) was to analyse how autism-spectrum disorder is represented in leading newspapers in Finland. The disorder is frequently perceived in rather negative light in media. Medical approach focusing on symptoms, diagnosis and treatment has been prevailing. The goals of this study were on one hand to broaden, on the other hand to deepen examination of the phenomenon focusing on representation of autism-spectrum in mass media. The study examines what perceptions of the disorder, education and learning are highligted in newspapers and how educational legislative reforms and development projects are represented in news regarding autism-spectrum disorder. Theoretical framework is based on inclusive education, social model of disability and medicalisation. Methods. The research material consisted of the three leading newspapers’ digital articles on the disorder found with the search word ”autism” during the period 1995─2017. Altogether 456 articles were identified; out of which 109 pieces were included into the education and learning category establishing the core research material. The research period was initiated prior to the Basic Education Law 628/1998 when all students regardless of the forms of support were transferred to mainstream education. The research methods were content analysis and framing analysis frequently applied in media studies. Results and Conclusions. In the research analysis news articles were placed in thematic categories that were teaching arrangements, learning, societal structures, working life, rehabilitation and accessibility. Majority of the articles focused on rehabilitation and teaching arrangements and minority on accessibility. Across the data focus was on medical aspects instead of inclusive or social model of disability. Articles did not report to a large degree on educational law reforms or special education development projects.
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(2019)The purpose of the research is to examine the way in which disabilities are viewed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Social approach to disabilities which emphasizes the roles of society, culture and language as key elements in defining disability as a phenomenon as opposed to a straightforward medical definition. In addition, the research is further defined by theological literature concerning disability as well as special educational approach to disabilities. The literature, in conjunction with theological and pedagogical approaches, is used to define the understanding of disability as consisting of both institutional and cultural components. This study examines how the understanding of disability is constructed in official church documents and the discourse used by church employees. The corpus of this qualitative case study consists of documents and a series of interviews. The interviews, in which the interviewees were various church employees, were carried out as semi-structured theme interviews. The official documents include both theological and administrative papers on disability that are issued by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. This corpus is analysed using discourse analysis. Various types of discourse that can be identified are subsequently compared. The study further analyses the corpus of interviews to identify two distinct components of the understanding of disability therein. The first component includes the disabling effects of society and attitudes towards disabilities. These views reflect the themes present in the official church documents, human rights and Christian theology and tradition. Christian theology and tradition can be seen to be applied and adjusted in order to account for these views. The second component of the understanding of disability consists of personal experiences which give rise to narratives simultaneously combining both tragic and romantic elements. The study confirms that the official understanding of disability is present in the discourse of church employees. Even though most interviewees were unfamiliar with the official church documents on disability, the study shows significant similarities between the official church texts and the discourses present in the corpus consisting of the employees’ interviews.
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(2019)The purpose of the research is to examine the way in which disabilities are viewed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Social approach to disabilities which emphasizes the roles of society, culture and language as key elements in defining disability as a phenomenon as opposed to a straightforward medical definition. In addition, the research is further defined by theological literature concerning disability as well as special educational approach to disabilities. The literature, in conjunction with theological and pedagogical approaches, is used to define the understanding of disability as consisting of both institutional and cultural components. This study examines how the understanding of disability is constructed in official church documents and the discourse used by church employees. The corpus of this qualitative case study consists of documents and a series of interviews. The interviews, in which the interviewees were various church employees, were carried out as semi-structured theme interviews. The official documents include both theological and administrative papers on disability that are issued by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. This corpus is analysed using discourse analysis. Various types of discourse that can be identified are subsequently compared. The study further analyses the corpus of interviews to identify two distinct components of the understanding of disability therein. The first component includes the disabling effects of society and attitudes towards disabilities. These views reflect the themes present in the official church documents, human rights and Christian theology and tradition. Christian theology and tradition can be seen to be applied and adjusted in order to account for these views. The second component of the understanding of disability consists of personal experiences which give rise to narratives simultaneously combining both tragic and romantic elements. The study confirms that the official understanding of disability is present in the discourse of church employees. Even though most interviewees were unfamiliar with the official church documents on disability, the study shows significant similarities between the official church texts and the discourses present in the corpus consisting of the employees’ interviews.
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(2020)Goals. The purpose of the thesis was to find out the professional development of already em-ployed teachers studying to become special teachers, “more than as teachers”. As a back-ground theory, I look at teaching, the profession and career of a teacher, especially from the perspective of a special education teacher. The aim of this research was to find out why an already qualified teacher wants to go to study special education, what are the goals for study-ing and how those goals were achieved. Since it is possible to train as a special education teacher both as a degree student and by completing separate special education teacher´s studies, the research also looked at the difference between the two study methods. Methods. The research was carried out as a qualitative interview. The informants were kin-dergarten teachers, classroom teachers or vocational teachers who studied special education as master’s degree students, completed separate special education studies, or studied spe-cial education at the Open University. The interviews were supplemented with an email sur-vey. The interviews were transcribed and the material was analyzed by content analysis. Results and conclusions. The development of teachers into special educational teachers was described by two paths, which were “alternative” and “goal”. The “alternative” path was the choice of students majoring in special education as a Master of Education, and they had not specifically pursued the teaching profession but rather drifted into teaching. Those who com-pleted separate special education studies were on the “goal” path and were already oriented to the field of education after their secondary education. The special education studies aimed at eligibility and competence for the position of special education teacher, community spirit and knowledge and understanding of meeting special needs students in school. Studies in special education were found to be useful, although there is room for improvement in their or-ganization and practical implementation. Informants saw master’s studies in special educa-tion and separate special needs teacher studies as an important part of professional growth and development.
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(2020)Opettajat kohtaavat työssään päivittäin heterogeenisia ryhmiä, joiden oppilaat eroavat toisistaan niin tarpeiltaan kuin oppimistavoiltaan. Suomessa opettajiin ja heidän ammattitaitoonsa luotetaan, joka antaa opettajille mahdollisuuden toteuttaa työtään omalla tavallaan opetussuunnitelman puitteissa. Luokkahuoneessa tavoitteena on, että jokainen oppilas kehittyy. Jotta kehitystä tapahtuu, täytyy opettajien tuntea oppilaansa ja sitä kautta pystyttävä muokkaamaan työskentelytapojaan sekä materiaalejaan. Pedagogisia ratkaisuja, joita opettajat tekevät päivittäin luokkahuoneessa, kutsutaan eriyttämiseksi. Käytännössä eriyttämisellä tarkoitetaan opetuksen mukauttamista oppilaan taitotasoa vastaavaksi. Eriyttämisellä on kaksi suuntaa: ylöspäin ja alaspäin eriyttäminen. Ylöspäin eriyttämisellä tarkoitetaan opetusta, joka ottaa huomioon lahjakkaat ja nopeasti etenevät oppilaat, kun taas alaspäin eriyttämisellä viitataan opetukseen, joka ottaa huomioon esim. oppilaat, joilla on oppimisvaikeuksia tai tehostetun tuen tarve. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on kartoittaa peruskoulun ruotsinopettajien kokemuksia liittyen alaspäin eriyttämiseen. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat seuraavat: 1) Millaisia metodeja ruotsinopettajat käyttävät eriyttäessään opetustaan alaspäin?, 2) Millaisia materiaaleja ruotsinopettajan käyttävät eriyttäessään opetustaan alaspäin? ja 3) Millaisia haasteita ruotsinopettajat kohtaavat liittyen alaspäin eriyttämiseen?. Tutkimus toteutettiin lomaketutkimuksena ja vastaukset analysoitiin kvalitatiivisesti. Vastauksia tuli yhteensä 39 kappaletta. Keskeisimmät tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että ruotsinopettajat pitävät alaspäin eriyttämistä tärkeänä ja he toteuttavat sitä opetuksessaan päivittäin, jos ei jopa jokaisella oppitunnillaan. Metodit, joita opettajat käyttävät liittyvät suurimmaksi osaksi tehtäviin, joita tehdään sekä tunneilla että kotona, sekä kokeisiin. Tehtäviä ja kokeita muokataan siten, että oppilaat voivat työskennellä omalla tasollaan. Esim. säätämällä tehtävien määrää, vaikeusastetta tai aikaa, jota niiden tekemiseen käytetään, voivat oppilaat itse valita heille parhaiten sopivan työskentelytavan. Myös tietotekniikkaa, erilaisia pelejä ja leikkejä sekä visuaalisia keinoja hyödynnetään. Opettajat tekevät myös paljon omia materiaaleja täydentämään oppikirjan tarjoamia materiaaleja. Erot oppikirjasarjojen sekä etenkin A- ja B-ruotsin välillä voivat olla hyvinkin suuret. Suurimmaksi haasteeksi opettajat nimesivät ajan puutteen. Koska opettajat joutuvat itse tekemään ja muokkaamaan materiaaleja opetustaan varten, vaatii se heiltä motivaatiota, resursseja ja aikaa. Oppitunneilla opetukselta vie aikaa myös esim. työrauhan ylläpitäminen. Tuki, jota voi saada eriytyisopettajilta, koulunkäyntiavustajilta tai kollegoilta, vaihtelee koulun omien resurssien mukaan. Suurimmaksi osaksi opettajat joutuvat selviämään yksin suurienkin ryhmien kanssa. Myös aineenopettajien koulutuksen toivottiin olevan kattavampi, jotta esim. erilaiset oppimisvaikeudet tulisivat tutuiksi jo ennen työelämään astumista.
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(2020)Opettajat kohtaavat työssään päivittäin heterogeenisia ryhmiä, joiden oppilaat eroavat toisistaan niin tarpeiltaan kuin oppimistavoiltaan. Suomessa opettajiin ja heidän ammattitaitoonsa luotetaan, joka antaa opettajille mahdollisuuden toteuttaa työtään omalla tavallaan opetussuunnitelman puitteissa. Luokkahuoneessa tavoitteena on, että jokainen oppilas kehittyy. Jotta kehitystä tapahtuu, täytyy opettajien tuntea oppilaansa ja sitä kautta pystyttävä muokkaamaan työskentelytapojaan sekä materiaalejaan. Pedagogisia ratkaisuja, joita opettajat tekevät päivittäin luokkahuoneessa, kutsutaan eriyttämiseksi. Käytännössä eriyttämisellä tarkoitetaan opetuksen mukauttamista oppilaan taitotasoa vastaavaksi. Eriyttämisellä on kaksi suuntaa: ylöspäin ja alaspäin eriyttäminen. Ylöspäin eriyttämisellä tarkoitetaan opetusta, joka ottaa huomioon lahjakkaat ja nopeasti etenevät oppilaat, kun taas alaspäin eriyttämisellä viitataan opetukseen, joka ottaa huomioon esim. oppilaat, joilla on oppimisvaikeuksia tai tehostetun tuen tarve. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on kartoittaa peruskoulun ruotsinopettajien kokemuksia liittyen alaspäin eriyttämiseen. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat seuraavat: 1) Millaisia metodeja ruotsinopettajat käyttävät eriyttäessään opetustaan alaspäin?, 2) Millaisia materiaaleja ruotsinopettajan käyttävät eriyttäessään opetustaan alaspäin? ja 3) Millaisia haasteita ruotsinopettajat kohtaavat liittyen alaspäin eriyttämiseen?. Tutkimus toteutettiin lomaketutkimuksena ja vastaukset analysoitiin kvalitatiivisesti. Vastauksia tuli yhteensä 39 kappaletta. Keskeisimmät tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että ruotsinopettajat pitävät alaspäin eriyttämistä tärkeänä ja he toteuttavat sitä opetuksessaan päivittäin, jos ei jopa jokaisella oppitunnillaan. Metodit, joita opettajat käyttävät liittyvät suurimmaksi osaksi tehtäviin, joita tehdään sekä tunneilla että kotona, sekä kokeisiin. Tehtäviä ja kokeita muokataan siten, että oppilaat voivat työskennellä omalla tasollaan. Esim. säätämällä tehtävien määrää, vaikeusastetta tai aikaa, jota niiden tekemiseen käytetään, voivat oppilaat itse valita heille parhaiten sopivan työskentelytavan. Myös tietotekniikkaa, erilaisia pelejä ja leikkejä sekä visuaalisia keinoja hyödynnetään. Opettajat tekevät myös paljon omia materiaaleja täydentämään oppikirjan tarjoamia materiaaleja. Erot oppikirjasarjojen sekä etenkin A- ja B-ruotsin välillä voivat olla hyvinkin suuret. Suurimmaksi haasteeksi opettajat nimesivät ajan puutteen. Koska opettajat joutuvat itse tekemään ja muokkaamaan materiaaleja opetustaan varten, vaatii se heiltä motivaatiota, resursseja ja aikaa. Oppitunneilla opetukselta vie aikaa myös esim. työrauhan ylläpitäminen. Tuki, jota voi saada eriytyisopettajilta, koulunkäyntiavustajilta tai kollegoilta, vaihtelee koulun omien resurssien mukaan. Suurimmaksi osaksi opettajat joutuvat selviämään yksin suurienkin ryhmien kanssa. Myös aineenopettajien koulutuksen toivottiin olevan kattavampi, jotta esim. erilaiset oppimisvaikeudet tulisivat tutuiksi jo ennen työelämään astumista.
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(2017)Goals. The purpose of the thesis was to survey expectations and ideas before and after education of separate special education teacher's studies who started study in Helsinki university in autumn 2016. The background theory was the special education teacher's profession. The purpose of the thesis was to clarify why teachers want to qualify to special education teachers and how important professional growth and specialty teacher's profession and expertise are to them. In addition the thesis also clarified if the education was in accordance with the preconceptions and if there were differences in this themes. The research aims at providing a general view of the development needs of separate special education teachers from a students point of view. Methods.The research was carried out as a quantitative survey and the research subject was 100 students from three groups (ELO, EO and VEO), according to the previous degree. The initial survey was carried out in autumn 2016 and it's participants were 63 students whose average age was 40 years. The final survey was carried out in spring 2017 and it's participants were 48 students whose average age was 38,6 years. The statistical analysis of the data was carried out with PASW Statistics 24 –program and the open questions were analysed in a qualitive way. Results and conclusions. The professional growth and expertise / aptitude to special education teacher's work were very important to all the participants measured as a sum variable. There weren't statistically significant differences in age and teaching experience, which would have had impacted the results. The participants wanted to get qualification for special education teachers work and better employment opportunities, through their education. Special pedagogical knowledge and practical tools to strengthen vocational skills were also wanted. The impact of the education was examined as a sum variable, which concluded that expectations weren't always fulfilled in all respects. A small significant difference came out between two groups. Special early childhood educators felt that the education gave little means for supporting pupils compared to special education class teachers. Yet special education teacher's profession was seen as significant with all the participants especially with teachers with the least amount of teaching experience but it wasn't statistically significant.
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(2018)The aim of this master`s thesis was to study which kind of experiences of a sense of belonging, students with special needs have in their school. The students studies take place both within a special education classroom, as well integrated to basic education classrooms. The subject of the study is approached with the next questions: 1. How do student`s relationships to teachers and to students, create experiences of a sense of belonging, 2. Which things prevent the student from experiencing a sense of belonging, 3. How does the school climate influence the student`s satisfaction of being at school. The previous studies show that student`s relationship to their teacher, relationship to other students, and behaviour modification, create experiences which deliver a sense of belonging to students with special needs (Juvonen 2006). Studies have also found that an inclusive school climate, can affect positively to the sense of belonging of students with special needs. This is a qualitative phenomenological research. For this study, five secondary school students with special needs were interviewed on their experiences regarding a sense of belonging. The data was collected by semi-structured theme interviews. The collected data was analysed with theory-based content analysis, which was mainly based on Juvonen`s (2006) theory about a sense of belonging. The results of this study show that all the students with special needs, who participated, experienced a sense of belonging for their school. The results were similar to previous studies which show that the positive experiences of the teachers, assistants and students, created experiences of a sense of belonging to the student with special needs. The results of this study suggest that the school where these five students with special needs study, was inclusive. This is convergent with previous studies, which show that inclusive school climates can affect positively on the sense of belonging of the students with special needs.
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(2017)The purpose of my previous research (minor laudatur thesis, year 2005) was to clarify how the comprehensive school and the Steiner school approach the special education pupil as well as to examine what sorts of similarities and differences there are between the Steiner education and special education. Through my thesis I also attempt to examine how the ideologies/intellectual worlds and teachings of the Steiner school and the comprehensive school could be combined and brought closer to one another as well as how the best parts of both schools could be combined in order to take advantage of them in both schools. The research was implemented as a review of literature. At the beginning of my research the ideology and development of inclusion, integration and inclusive upbringing are examined as the basis for the next chapter, in which the concept of man is examined from the viewpoint of special education. I discuss the idea of man on the basis of four central principles. These principles are human dignity, integrity, the right of self-determination and participation in life and society. The fourth chapter provides a detailed introduction to the concept of man from the viewpoint of the Steiner education. First the points of departure and bases of value of the Steiner education are discussed, and then on the basis of these the idea of man and man's different aspects of being in the Steiner education are discussed, as well as the development rhythms and the seven year stages of the child. I examine the differences between these two educations by comparing their ideas of man. The Steiner education is based on Steiner's educational views and the concept of man, upon which these views are based. The concept of man guides the raising and education of the child and is thus also strongly connected to how the special education pupil is approached in the Steiner school. I consider the fourth chapter to be of particular importance for the reader because it is there that I discuss the concept of man of Steiner education as well as the development rhythms of the child, among other things. Without becoming acquainted with the concept of man of Steiner education it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to understand methods used in approaching the special education pupil, such as temperament training and form drawing. The concept of man of special education also creates the basis for how a pupil requiring special support is approached in the comprehensive school. The fifth chapter discusses methods used in approaching a pupil requiring special support in the Steiner school. The sixth chapter discusses methods used in approaching a pupil requiring special support in the comprehensive school. At the end of this research I attempt, on the basis of the comparison between these two educations, to disclose the similarities and differences of them in approaching the special education pupil. I complemented my minor laudatur thesis by taking in account the 3-phased support model.
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(2019)The aim of this study was to investigate the development of children with special needs in the context of inclusive early childhood special education. In addition the other interest was to investigate the relationship between cognitive skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior. The three research questions were: (1) How did the children´s cognitive and language skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior develop over the course of one year? (2) How did the cognitive and language skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior differ between the status groups? (3) What kind of relationship was there between the different skills? While little research has been done on the different settings of support in the Finnish early day care system, internationally several studies have been conducted about inclusive and exclusive special education. According to Rogow (1991) and Wong and Kasari (2012) children with special needs benefit social play with other kids without special needs. Previous research has highlighted the importance of play in children´s learning. Play is a way to learn cognitive and academic skills in early childhood (Bodrova, 2008). Data on 84 children attending inclusive day care in Helsinki was collected during 2016–2018. The children were supported in normal day care by an early childhood special needs teacher. The children’s special educational needs were divided into status groups: language disorder, self-regulation difficulties and severe disabilities. The data consisted of assessments of cognitive and language skills (Nepsy, WPPSI-III), behavioral and emotional skills (PreBers) and play behavior (PPBS) conducted by early childhood special education teachers. The data was analyzed by quantitative methods. The development of children was analyzed by the repeated measures ANOVA and The Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Differences between status groups were analyzed by Kruskall–Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U –test. The relationships between variables were analyzed by Spearman’s correlation. The cognitive skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior development of children were statistically significant. The language skills development was not statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences between status groups in many variables. Relations between different skills were high and statistically significant. Social communication had high relation between play behavior and emotional regulation. Relation between social communication and play in the childhood should be taken into account in early childhood settings.
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(2019)The aim of this study was to investigate the development of children with special needs in the context of inclusive early childhood special education. In addition the other interest was to investigate the relationship between cognitive skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior. The three research questions were: (1) How did the children´s cognitive and language skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior develop over the course of one year? (2) How did the cognitive and language skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior differ between the status groups? (3) What kind of relationship was there between the different skills? While little research has been done on the different settings of support in the Finnish early day care system, internationally several studies have been conducted about inclusive and exclusive special education. According to Rogow (1991) and Wong and Kasari (2012) children with special needs benefit social play with other kids without special needs. Previous research has highlighted the importance of play in children´s learning. Play is a way to learn cognitive and academic skills in early childhood (Bodrova, 2008). Data on 84 children attending inclusive day care in Helsinki was collected during 2016–2018. The children were supported in normal day care by an early childhood special needs teacher. The children’s special educational needs were divided into status groups: language disorder, self-regulation difficulties and severe disabilities. The data consisted of assessments of cognitive and language skills (Nepsy, WPPSI-III), behavioral and emotional skills (PreBers) and play behavior (PPBS) conducted by early childhood special education teachers. The data was analyzed by quantitative methods. The development of children was analyzed by the repeated measures ANOVA and The Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Differences between status groups were analyzed by Kruskall–Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U –test. The relationships between variables were analyzed by Spearman’s correlation. The cognitive skills, behavioral and emotional skills and play behavior development of children were statistically significant. The language skills development was not statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences between status groups in many variables. Relations between different skills were high and statistically significant. Social communication had high relation between play behavior and emotional regulation. Relation between social communication and play in the childhood should be taken into account in early childhood settings.
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(2015)The focus of this study is in private sector kindergartens early childhood special education in Helsinki; used procedures and current challenges from the point of view of special education. It has been studied how the supportive mechanisms and services of children with special needs have been organized in private kindergartens and what kind of choices these kindergartens make when selecting children or when special needs emerge and how the support is carried out. Additionally, It has been studied how the co-operation of public and private kindergartens work and how equal children are depending on whether they are customers of publicly or privately run services. The study also introduces methods how early childhood education in private kindergartens could be economically and functionally available possibility for all families, regardless of increased demand of special support. The study deals with a hot topic. The law about early childhood education is old (1973) and it is finally in process of being modernized. The discussion around its contents has been vivid in both academic publications and media. At the moment private kindergartens are responsible in about 8% of the national budget for early childhood education (2.6 billion ‚Ǩ). The percentage is growing. Main material for the study consist of five interviews of professionals working in private kindergartens in Helsinki. The used method is closest to a half-structured interview, in which all interviewees were asked the same questions in flexible order. The narrative theme interviews were recorder. One person was interviewed at a time, except in one case where there were two people answering questions. Central findings of the study were that, as expected, there were hardly any children with special needs in privately run kindergartens. Amongst the applicants there had been children with special needs, but the families had been informed about the limited support possibilities and advised to turn to public early childhood services. The early childhood special education tool kit is vastly more inclusive in public than in private sector. One solution could be to increase the amount of local special education teachers that would working solely on private sector. This would make sure that children would have more equal possibilities to use their local kindergartens, despite the fact that those may be private, and be entitled to first class early childhood education – regardless of their special needs.
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(2022)Teacher education is a continuum of initial teacher education, induction and in-service training. The development of the teacher education has been set as a goal in the Education policy report in 2021. Several projects have been started to support the development work. Earlier research has mainly focused on new teachers induction education and to the needs of new teachers. Also, the need of in-service training for teachers has been studied. There have been very few studies focusing on the in-service training needs of special education teachers. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of professional advice special education teachers ask for in a social media group, and what kind of in-service training needs emerge in these conversations. The Facebook group called Erkkamaikat is a closed group of appr. 8.6 thousand members. The group is intended for special education teachers. The discussion in Erkkamaikat group is lively, and many participants request help for their job as a special education teacher. The discussion also includes topics of which participants need more information or training. The research material contains dicussions which have been started in Erkkamaikat group 1.8.2021-30.11.2021, and comments of those discussions. Material was collected during November and December at 2021. The material was analysed using the qualitative content analysis. The conclusion of analysis was that the themes of the professional questions of special education teachers could be divided into three main categories: work framework, background work and hands-on work. Each main category contained sub-categories. In addition, there was a category called sundries that includes questions that could not be included in any other sub-category and did not join up with each others. Many categories of the questions of special education teachers can also be seen as a need for in-service training. Additionally, participants required in-service training about holding a pupil, and extension of compulsory education. Many of participants also liked to have a peer to share experiences with. It seems that the special education teachers in the social media group ask help for themes of which the information can be found in professional literature or by education but also for themes from which t is better to ask advice from the peers. Also, the need for peer-mentoring occurred in the discussions.
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(2022)Teacher education is a continuum of initial teacher education, induction and in-service training. The development of the teacher education has been set as a goal in the Education policy report in 2021. Several projects have been started to support the development work. Earlier research has mainly focused on new teachers induction education and to the needs of new teachers. Also, the need of in-service training for teachers has been studied. There have been very few studies focusing on the in-service training needs of special education teachers. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of professional advice special education teachers ask for in a social media group, and what kind of in-service training needs emerge in these conversations. The Facebook group called Erkkamaikat is a closed group of appr. 8.6 thousand members. The group is intended for special education teachers. The discussion in Erkkamaikat group is lively, and many participants request help for their job as a special education teacher. The discussion also includes topics of which participants need more information or training. The research material contains dicussions which have been started in Erkkamaikat group 1.8.2021-30.11.2021, and comments of those discussions. Material was collected during November and December at 2021. The material was analysed using the qualitative content analysis. The conclusion of analysis was that the themes of the professional questions of special education teachers could be divided into three main categories: work framework, background work and hands-on work. Each main category contained sub-categories. In addition, there was a category called sundries that includes questions that could not be included in any other sub-category and did not join up with each others. Many categories of the questions of special education teachers can also be seen as a need for in-service training. Additionally, participants required in-service training about holding a pupil, and extension of compulsory education. Many of participants also liked to have a peer to share experiences with. It seems that the special education teachers in the social media group ask help for themes of which the information can be found in professional literature or by education but also for themes from which t is better to ask advice from the peers. Also, the need for peer-mentoring occurred in the discussions.
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(2020)The specificity of children's behavior and children considered as special have been raised in school discussions as the cause of deteriorating learning outcomes, causing problems with teachers' time use and preventing teaching of the so called majority of children in primary school. Naming a child special affects the way and place of his/her teaching and therefore it is necessary to look at the definitions and discourses of special behavior. The purpose of the thesis was to find out how the behavioral problems and a child with a behavioral disorder named in many ways is constructed in expert articles and to examine the specificity of behavior using the social disability model of disability research. Sahlin's cultural model was used as a way to study the change in the discipline of special education together with changes outlined through paradigms. The study highlights the discourses special pedagogy experts have built on the specificity behavior of a child in the book series “Childrens’ Special Care and Education in Finland” over seven decades. These discourses are considered in the context of changes in special education and paradigms of special education. Critical discourse analysis was used as a research and analysis method in the study. The material of the study consisted of the texts of the thirteen editions of the book “Childrens’ Special Care and Education in Finland”, dealing with behavioural disorders. The textual material was analyzed by thematizing the medical, disability or feature related definitions of these texts, as well as the definitions of the social construction and creation of specificity according to the theoretical background of the research. After the thematizing, the selected text samples were analyzed for how the causes of specificity are localized and what is the child's position in them, and the discourses formed by these were named. These discourses were also examined in the context of changes in special education and the paradigms of special education. The research showed a hegemonic discourse based on psycho-medical interpretation, which at different times defined the child's position as a victim of the child's psychological and biological structure and as achild who is not mentally adaptive. Parallel and intertwined discourses were also built on a hegemonic discourse. The discourses of the specificity of behavior in the material reflected changes in the paradigms of special education and special pedagogy and the cultural reproduction of the category of specificity. According to the study, the discourse based on psycho- medical interpretation is the hegemonic discourse of the “Special Care and Education of the Child in Finland” book series, in which the child’s position is a child with internal pathology. The discourses of the material and the child's positions reflect changes in special education and in the paradigms of special education, as well as the cultural structure of the discipline.
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