Browsing by Subject "luokanopettajat"

Tutkielma tutkii varhentamisen hanketta alakoulun englanninopetuksessa. Vuodesta 2020 lähtien tuli voimaan muutos, jonka mukaan A1 kielen opiskelu alkaa Suomessa jo ensimmäiseltä luokalta lähtien. A1 kieli on useimmiten englanti, mutta se voi olla myös jokin muu kieli, kuten saksa tai ranska. Varhennettua kieltä opetetaan yleensä yksi tunti viikossa. Joissakin kouluissa varhennettua kieltä on opetettu jo aikaisemmin, mutta maanlaajuinen muutoksesta on tullut vasta viime vuosina. Kielenopetuksen aloittaminen jo ensimmäiseltä luokalta lähtien perustuu oppimisen eri herkkyyskausiin. Joidenkin tutkimustulosten mukaan kielitaito tarttuu lapsiin parhaiten mahdollisimman nuorena. Koska aihetta ei ole vielä tutkittu paljoa opettajien tai opetusharjoittelijoiden näkökulmasta, tutkimukseni keskittyy heidän asenteisiinsa varhennetun englannin opetusta koskien. Tutkin myös, mitä hyötyjä ja haittoja varhennetun kielen opetuksesta on löydetty aiemmissa tutkimuksissa. Käsittelen sekä Suomen kontekstiin sijoittuvia tutkimuksia, että kansainvälisiä tutkimuksia. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää lisäksi, miten varhennettua englanninopetusta Suomessa voitaisiin kehittää tulevaisuudessa. Opettajien ja opetusharjoittelijoiden mielipiteiden keräämiseksi loin sähköisen kyselyn Google Formsilla. Aineisto kerättiin tammi-helmikuussa 2022. Kysely koostui kahdesta osasta, joista ensimmäinen osa oli suunnattu opettajille ja toinen opetusharjoittelijoille. Kyselyllä kartoitettiin molempien kohderyhmien näkemyksiä varhennetun englannin kielen opettamiseen alakoulussa. Kysymykset koskivat varhennetun kielenopetuksen kokemuksia, kuten oppilaiden motivaatiota kielen oppimiseen ja opettajien kokemia haasteita luokassa. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että kielenopiskelun aloittaminen aikaisemmin on kannattavaa, jos tietyt kriteerit oppimiselle otetaan huomioon. Sekä oppilaille että opettajille tulee tarjota optimaaliset olosuhteet varhennetun kielenopetukseen kouluissa. Tämä koskee muun muassa oppimisympäristöä, ryhmäkokoja sekä englannin opettamista lapsille soveltuvalla tavalla. Suuria ryhmäkokoja tulisi välttää, sillä ne johtavat eriyttämiseen ja sen tuomiin ongelmiin. Lisäksi englantia tulisi opettaa 1. – 2. luokalla suullista ilmaisua sekä toiminnallisuutta painottaen. Opettajien mielipiteistä käy ilmi, että vaikka suurin osa kokee varhennetun englannin opettamisen mielekkääksi, tarjotaan myös useita parannusehdotuksia varhennettuun opetukseen. Opettajat toivoivat pienempiä ryhmiä, lisää sopivaa opetusmateriaalia sekä selkeitä toimintatapoja varhennettuun opetukseen. Tutkimustuloksista käy myös ilmi varhennetun englannin opetuksen hyödyt ja haitat kouluympäristössä sekä aiempien tutkimusten suhde nykytutkimukseen.

The purpose of this study is to describe, analyse and interpret what kind of role outdoor education has in elementary school education, as well as what kinds of opinions class teachers have about outdoor education. The aim of the study is to make outdoor education more visible and to highlight experiences from the perspective of class teachers. Considering previous research data, it has been established that teaching especially in the natural environment improves both well-being and enhances learning, which makes it important to study how Finnish class teachers themselves experience outdoor teaching. This study is a qualitative study in which data were collected through themed interviews. Individual interviews involved five class teachers from grades 1 to 4, who regularly used outdoor education at least twice a month. The data was analysed using data-driven content analysis. Theoretical research consists of outdoor teaching, teaching in urban learning environments and teaching in natural environments. I also researched effects of the natural environment on well-being and learning. The results show that the most popular out-of-school learning environments were forest, library, and learning environments for physical education. The most popular subjects were environmental studies, Finnish language and literature, physical education, and mathematics. Outdoor education consisted of action-based learning, like playing, games and inquiry-based learning. Teachers used outdoor education to improve well-being and teaching, to develop a relationship with nature and to increase action-based learning. Teachers’ own preferences were also one of the reasons to teach outside the school building. The need for pupils’ support did not increase in outdoor education. Instead, pupils benefited from studying particularly in nature. In outdoor education, the role of the teacher was most often as an instructor or a fellow learner. Benefits of outdoor education included improvements in well-being, in social relations, and in learning. There were more room for diversity in teaching and in pupils when learning outdoors. Pupils also had more responsibility outside of school building. Outdoor education also created a genuine interest to learn more. The challenges in outdoor education included advance preparation, challenges brought by students, unpredictability of teaching, lack of resources, difficulty in prioritizing, and changes brought by weather. Teachers felt that pupils liked outdoor teaching and the parents mostly supported teaching outdoors. Emotional support was usually provided from the working community, although other teachers did not always share same values. Teachers needed support for outdoor education, for example extra adults, equipment, planning time, money, a more functional local environment, and community support and assistance. By identifying the challenges in outdoor education, we can better support teachers’ work in out-of-school learning environments.

The purpose of this thesis was to find out the contents of the practical theories of classroom teacher students and graduate classroom teachers and the professional identities based on them. The study aims to find out the differences and similarities between the contents of first-year classroom teacher students, 3rd to 5th- year classroom teacher students and graduates, classroom teachers in working life. In addition, the aim of this study is also to find out how classroom teacher students and wor-king classroom teachers describe their professional identity based on practical theories and whether there are possible differences and similarities between the factors. This thesis is part of a research project led by Karlsson and Pitkäniemi (2011), which aims to study the practical theories of teacher students during teacher education. The material of my thesis con-sists of the practical theories of first-year and 3rd to 5th-year classroom teacher students as well as graduate classroom teachers. The practical theories of classroom teacher students come from the da-ta of the research project collected from the University of Eastern Finland in 2017 and 2019, instead, the data of the graduated classroom teachers have been collected in 2020–2021 via an E-form as a part of my thesis. This thesis is a qualitative study and has been implemented as a theory-guiding content analysis. The results of this thesis indicate that the contents of the practical theories of classroom teacher stu-dents and graduate classroom teachers are connected by the consideration of students' equality, pro-fessional development, and the formation of the teacher's professional skills in various fields. There were no major differences between practical theories between different groups. The professional identities of classroom teacher students and graduate classroom teachers were based on different teacher responsibilities related to student learning and education. Professional development became a key factor in explaining the professional identities of students and graduate classroom teachers.

Assessment of visual arts and the development for the assessment is currently very topical, as the assessment part of the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2014) has been renewed. In the future the final assessment will include the criteria for grades 5, 7 and 9 in addition to the current criteria for grade 8. Previous research shows that assessing with the current criteria for grade 8, does not enable equal assessment. Teachers have also been dissatisfied with the support provided by the curriculum in the final assessment. The purpose of this master’s study is to examine the views that classroom teachers have on the support provided by the curriculum in the assessment of visual arts. In addition, the aim is to find out how classroom teachers who teach art react to the idea of producing the criteria for the grades 5, 7 and 9 in elementary school as well. The study was carried out using qualitative methods. The research material was collected with an electronic questionnaire and one thematic interview. Eleven classroom teachers who teach art from three different municipalities responded to the questionnaire. The results of the survey were deepened with one in-depth interview. Content analysis was utilized in the analysis of the material. Based on the results of this study, the classroom teachers deemed that the current visual arts’ assessment criteria in curriculum worked moderately on average. Some classroom teachers found the assessment of visual arts difficult and challenging. With the exception of one respondent, all the classroom teachers who responded to the survey wanted elementary school also to have the evaluation criteria for visual arts in the future for grades 5, 7 and 9 in addition to the current criteria required for the grade 8. According to the analysis of the questionnaire and the interview, the classroom teachers believed that the assessment would be equalized, facilitated and clarified if they had these number-specific criteria in the assessment. In addition, teachers wished for clarity and concreteness regarding the curriculum.

Objectives. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the contribution of the character traits to the association of work stress and over-commitment with common mental health problems. Primary school teachers are a large, homogenous occupational group that has been related to higher work stress levels and common mental health problems, although to a lesser amount of actual mental disorders. The aim of the study is to examine the extent to which the association between work stress, over-commitment and their interaction with common mental health problems can be attributed to the character traits among primary school teachers. Methods. The data consists of 76 (87% females) primary school teachers from 34 schools randomly selected to a study taking part in the capital area of Finland in 2013-14. There were 1-6 teachers who responded from each school (participation rate 4-33%). Common mental health problems were measured by GHQ-12 (psychological distress) and cognitive anxiety from a state anxiety scale of EMAS (highest tertile vs. two lowest). Work stress and over-commitment (the upper tertile vs. the rest) were measured according to original Siegrist's Effort-Reward-Imbalance Questionnaire. Character traits Self-directness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence were measured by Cloninger's TCI-questionnaire and each character was dichotomized at median to indicate a higher and lower category of the trait. The control variables were age, working hours and job contract type. The data were analyzed by means of Poisson regression (prevalence ratios, PR, and 90% confidence intervals) and relative rates. Results. Of teachers 30% had common mental health problems. The teachers with high over-commitment in comparison with those with low over-commitment had more often psychological distress (PR=2.5, p=0.018) and cognitive anxiety (PR=2.8, p=0.004). Although work stress was not independently associated with common mental health problems, it was related to the increased psychological distress among those with high over-commitment. Controlling for self-directedness attenuated the association of over-commitment with psychological distress and cognitive anxiety by 29% and 47%, respectively. After all adjustments, an independent association of Self-Directness with cognitive anxiety remained (PR=0.3, p=0.024). The other two character traits didn't have an independent impact on common mental health problems among the primary school teachers, but with the concurrent low self-directedness, low cooperativeness and low Self-Transcendence were related to over-commitment and increased level of cognitive anxiety. Both low cooperativeness and low self-transcendence were related to psychological symptoms. Conclusions: The primary school teachers had higher prevalence of common mental health problems, if they had low self-directedness and were over-committed to their work. Enhancing self-directedness may help in decreasing common mental health problems among overcommitted teachers. In the future the associations of the trait profiles with over-commitment and mental health symptoms should be studied with the larger longitudinal data.

Academic, research-based education has long been the main organizing principle of Finnish teacher education. The research-based approach is used to refer to the academic nature of teacher education but also to the objectives and contents of teacher education. Research skills are considered to be an essential part of teachers' proficiency. The aim is to educate teachers who will continuously develop their own as well as school practice through inquiry. The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of skills teachers gain from research-based teacher education. The focus is on the teachers' personal experiences. The aim is also to find out how teachers reflect their experiences in every day work in relation to the goals of teacher education. The research data was gathered by interviewing five class teachers. The teachers had graduated from the teacher education program in the university of Helsinki during 2007–2012. They had worked as class teachers for 2–7 years. The data consisted of individual semi-structured interviews. The analysis was based on the categories that were found from the data. Overall, the teachers of this study were content with their education and thought that it had provided them with a good basis for teacher's practical work. The studies in education were thought to be a necessary basis for teaching. Together with the studies in research, teachers thought that the educational courses had developed their professional thinking and ability to reflect their own and school practice critically. Teachers recognized the goals of the research-based approach and described their attitude towards their work as research-orientated. They were continuously trying to improve their professional skills and pedagogical thinking. Also collegiality, which is often thought to be a characteristic of the new kind of professional teaching culture, was thought to be an important part of their work as a teacher. However, the results indicate that the theoretical approach in their education was somewhat irrelevant to the teachers' practical work. The teachers would have hoped more practice-oriented studies in their education. In general, the theoretical approach was appreciated but the theory in teacher education should be more connected to teachers’ practical work. According to teachers’ experiences, emphasizing the importance of academic skills and research in teacher education weakens the connection between the teacher education and the teaching profession.

Objectives. Teacher attrition and the possible lack of qualified teachers has been a topic of public discussion for many years and has also raised concern in Finland. This has raised a need to examine teacher stress and the reasons behind teacher attrition. The aim of this study was to investigate how work stress, estimated by Siegrist’s (1996) Effort – Reward Imbalance model (ERI model), affects class teachers’ intention to leave teaching career. The main hypothesis was that high effort combined with low rewards predicts intention to leave teaching career. In addition it was investigated how different levels of effort, reward and overcommitment effect on intention to leave the profession. Methods. The data for this study were collected with a questionnaire in 2013-2014. The subjects were 1-6 grade teachers from randomly picked schools in Helsinki metropolitan area. Altogether 74 teachers from 34 schools participated to this study. The age of the participants was 43,5 years on average (range 25-63 years). Work stress was measured with ERI-questionnaire. Results. The effort-reward imbalance predicted teachers’ intention to leave the profession. Also lower rewards predicted teacher’s intention to leave the profession. Closer examination of the data showed that the lack of ’esteem’ was the only variable that caused the connection between low rewards and intention to leave teaching. High effort or overcommitment didn’t predict teachers’ intention to leave the profession. Conclusions. This study shows that ERI model can predict Finnish school teachers’ intention to leave teaching. Moreover this study demonstrates the importance of ‘esteem’ at the work environment when predicting teachers’ well-being and intention to leave the profession.

The aim of this study is to gather information and insights from experienced outdoor teachers regarding the arrangement and challenges of outdoor teaching. The purpose is also to explore the perceived benefits of teaching outdoors. Previous research has shown positive effects of outdoor teaching on student motivation, learning outcomes, physical activity, and social rela-tionships. Therefore, it is important to study the practical aspects and challenges of outdoor teaching from the perspective of those who have experience with it. The study is qualitative, the data collected by interviews. The study involved two class teacher students, two early childhood education nannies, a riding teacher, and a riding instructor. All participants had at least two years of experience in teaching outdoors. Thematic interviews were conducted, with class teacher students being interviewed remotely as pair interviews, and the riding teachers and instructors being interviewed while walking in the forest as pair inter-views. The early childhood education nannies were interviewed individually via remote means. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The analysis method used was phenomenography, which explores the perceptions and experi-ences of the participants. The study found that there are various ways to organize outdoor teaching. One important factor for successful outdoor teaching is the enthusiasm and desire of the teacher to go outside. Planning, safety, and catering to the needs of the students were iden-tified as important considerations in the practical implementation of outdoor teaching. The most common environment for outdoor teaching among the participants was the immediate natural surroundings. Outdoor teaching was seen to have a positive impact on interaction and learning between students. While most participants felt that students enjoy being outdoors, the riding teacher and instructor had a different perspective, noting a negative attitude among their students towards outdoor teaching. There were also differences in the availability of equipment for outdoor teaching, with the early childhood education nannies feeling that it was easy to go outside and that children have suita-ble equipment. However, the class teachers, riding teacher, and riding instructor expressed challenges related to the lack of outdoor teaching equipment. However, overall, the partici-pants did not find teaching outdoors more challenging than teaching indoors. The study participants perceived numerous benefits of outdoor teaching. It was seen to en-hance interaction between students and provide opportunities for differentiation and teaching students in need of support. The natural environment was believed to foster diversity and pro-vide successful experiences for students who may struggle in traditional classroom settings. Additionally, the participants felt that teaching outdoors improved their own well-being at work. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the arrangement, challenges, and benefits of outdoor teaching as perceived by experienced outdoor teachers.

Goals. According to Warr's (1999) and Hakanen's (2011) models, the different states of well-being at work can be perceived through four key concepts. These include job satisfaction, burnout, stress and work engagement. Although teachers are mostly satisfied with their work, well-being at work has developed in an alarming direction in recent years and the stress experienced by teachers has increased. There has also been much public debate about the pandemics effects on well-being. Based on previous research, teachers have experienced more stress than normal during the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus. The aim of this master's thesis was to find out how classroom teachers have experienced their well-being at work during the COVID-19 pandemic and to increase understanding of what factors contributed to well-being. In addition, the study sought to find out how classroom teachers well-being at work was promoted at that time. Methods. The study was conducted as semi-structured thematic interviews. The data consists of interviews with eight classroom teachers and one special classroom teacher. The data was analyzed using theory-guided and data-driven qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic affected teachers well-being at work in many ways. Teachers found the distance learning period particularly stressful. Stressors included an increase in workload, uncertainty and the combination of work and free time. On the other hand, for some teachers the distance learning period increased work engagement and job satisfaction. Some felt that towards the autumn 2020 the situation had recovered close to the time before pandemic, while some felt that exceptional circumstances were still having a strong impact on well-being. The most important support for promoting well-being at work came from the work community, which provided empathy, shared gatherings, and assistance in planning and teaching. Teachers also felt the empathy received from their principal important. Teachers themselves tried to separate work and free time, to exercise and to stick to their basic task. Teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of municipalities and political decision-makers.

Objectives. Shalom Schwartz’s theory of basic values has been used internationally in value research and his Portrait Value Questionnaire has become a widely used method of value research in different areas of study. The objective of this research is to represent Finnish class teachers’ values in comparison to the theory of basic values. This research describes what kind of groups do Finnish class teachers form based on their values. In this research is also defined which group’s values are most similar with Finnish class teachers’ values. Methods. The research material has been collected as a part of SEED project in 2010. The aim of the SEED project is to research and develop the education for sustainable development in Finnish basic education. From the University of Helsinki Department of Teacher Education sub-project’s survey data was analyzed the parts about the theory of basic values. The questionnaire was answered by 321 class teachers, who were chosen with national stratified sampling. Results and conclusions. The research showed that Finnish class teachers separated in five different groups based on their values. The groups resembled strongly the four dimensions of the theory of basic values. According to this research the most important values for Finnish class teachers are Universalism and Benevolence. Earlier studies have shown that these values are advocated slightly more by Finnish women than men. The large amount of women as class teachers in Finland explains partially the result. In extension research it would be interesting to study is there a significant difference between male and female class teachers’ values.