Browsing by Subject "sosiaalipedagogiikka"

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract The father of kindergarten Friedrich Fröbel and his pedagogic views have not been a popular research study during the recent years. However, the history of Finnish kindergarten has been studied. According to these studies, Fröbel had a strong influence in Finnish kindergartens up until the 1980’s. Since the 1980’s there have been some changes in the Finnish kindergartens, e.g. in the operational culture and the eligibility criteria of the staff The emphasis has shifted from social pedagogy to early education with emphasis on pedagogy. Kindergarten teachers were trained according to Fröbel’s pedagogy until the late 1970’s. Therefore, many of the kindergarten teachers still working have received education that emphasizes Fröbel’s pedagogy. The hypothesis of this study is that Fröbel's pedagogy is still visible also in the Early childhood and Pre-school curricula. Part of the hypothesis is that the Fröbel’s pedagogy has changed compared to the early days’ Finnish kindergarten. This study aims to find out what is Fröbel’s pedagogy is and how it is reflected in the Early childhood education and Pre-school curricula. This study is a descriptive content analysis. The material used in this study includes Fröbel's textbook (in Swedish) Människans fostran and thereto related preface. The pedagogics described in Fröbel's textbook is later compared with the pedagogy described in Pre-school curriculum 2014 and Early childhood education curriculum 2016. In order to provide a comprehensive view of Fröbel’s pedagogy in Finland I have included also Elise Lujala's PhD Lastentarhatyö, kansanopetuksen osa ja kotikasvatuksen tuki – toiminnan päämäärät ja toteutuminen Pohjois-Suomessa 1800-luvun lopulta vuoteen 1938 and Maija Meretniemi's PhD Hyvä koti ja henkinen äitiys lastentarhatyön esikuvina: Aate- ja käsitehistoriallinen tutkielma Suomen varhaiskasvatuksen taustasta. To understand the shift of education criteria of kindergarten teachers I have studied an article by Eeva-Leena Onnismaa, Marjatta Kalliala and Leena Tahko-Kallio Koulutuspoliittisen paradoksin jäljillä – Miten varhaiskasvatus muotoutui sosiaalialan koulutuksia suosivaksi. In addition, the material also includes lectures by Marjatta Kalliala and Nina Sajaniemi at the University of Helsinki in 2016 and 2018. According to this study, some parts Fröbel's pedagogics agreed with the Early childhood education curriculum and the Pre-school curriculum. Fröbel concept and importance of childhood, play as part of learning, the developmental psychological view of child growth and development were also reflected in the Early childhood curriculum and Pre-school curriculum. Additionally, the idea kindergarten or early childhood education as a first part of life long education was visible in Fröbel’s textbook and the above-mentioned curricula. There were differences as well, Fröbel’s theological philosophy was not part of the curricula. There were also differences in the weighting of subjects in teaching. It goes without saying that Fröbel's pedagogy does not include media or technology education. Both the curricula and Fröbel’s textbook are works of their time. This study also helped me to understand the current state of early childhood education in Finland and the varying emphasis between social pedagogy and pedagogy during the recent years, and the contradiction between these in history and today.

The thesis should highlight the instrument teachers' experiences of work as teachers of the Tempo Sistema children's orchestra from a social point of view. The purpose of Tempo orchestras is to enhance the interaction of children and young people of various backgrounds in the orchestra through joint music and to reach out to music hobby especially children living in more socioeconomically challenging conditions. The activity is inspired by the El Sistema music education activity aimed for social change. Tempo orchestras include children who have needs of pedagogical support or behavioral challenges. In this thesis, I will examine how the social starting points and goals of the activity are manifested in everyday teaching and how teaching in Tempo Orchestra differs from so-called traditional instrument teaching. The second research question concerns the professional skills experienced by instrument teachers for teaching students with need of pedagogical support and with regard on demands of Tempo teaching. The theory of the research is based on social pedagogy and the basic principles of El Sistema action. The thesis is a case study guided by the researcher's reflective approach and the researcher's personal experience as a Tempo teacher. The data collection was carried out as separate focus group interviews of three different Tempo teaching teams. The material was analyzed by using qualitative content analysis and thematization. The results emphasized educational teaching that strives to meet students individually. The challenges in Tempo teaching were related to students' different pacing and social goals of participation, as well as restless control, primarily in the orchestra rehearsals of a larger group of students. A kind of special pedagogy was considered to be a natural part of the Tempo work, but the teachers still strive the capabilities for teaching students who need support. The results showed a picture of Tempo teaching as a multidimensional social-pedagogical work, where the picture shows a balancing act with the traditions of social and instrumental pedagogy. Adding special educational expertise to the field of social pedagogical work can support children and young people who need support more strongly to achieve growth and development.

Aims. The aim of this study was to investigate how two special needs teachers who had completed an equine-assisted social pedagogy instructor® training experienced the implementation of equine-assisted social pedagogy activities as a school intervention. Social pedagogy combined with animal and equine assisted activities served as the theoretical frame guiding this study. The research questions were: (1) What are equine-assisted social pedagogy activities from a special needs teacher's perspective, (2) What impacts have the equine activities by a special needs teacher had on individual pupils or pupil groups, and (3) Which factors emerge at the core of the implementation of the equine activities? Methods. This study was implemented using a qualitative approach applying a semi-structured interview. The data comprised the experiences of two special needs teachers. The collected data were processed using dialogical thematization. Four main themes emerged from the analysed data and were used as the basis for presenting the findings. Results and conclusions. The equine-assisted social pedagogy activities were well-suited as a school intervention and as part of special needs education, as the curriculum supports the implementation of the activities in all levels of the three-tier support model. The equine-assisted activities were perceived as a comprehensive form of social rehabilitation that promotes issues such as building a pedagogical relationship between the pupil and the teacher, and the emergence of interpersonal relationships between pupils. The teachers felt that the success of the activities was supported by the experiential features of the stable environment, opportunities for collaboration provided by the stable community, and peer support. The stable environment was perceived as a learning environment different from the traditional school environment that improves pupils’ motivation, concentration and obedience. Highlighting the interactive relationship between the pupil and horse also emerged as a significant feature of the equine-assisted social pedagogy activities. The horse was perceived as a mirror of the pupil’s emotional expression and behaviour. The pupils were observed to learn to understand their own emotions and behaviour through the horse and adapt their new behaviours from the stable to the school environment. The study revealed what sorts of experiences special needs teachers had of implementing equine-assisted activities as a school intervention. In turn, this raises awareness of the potential of using equine-assisted social pedagogy activities as part of school activities and special needs education.