Browsing by Subject "tuki"

The purpose of the study is to find out how guardians of children with autism spectrum experience the implementation of support in early childhood education. In the past few years, the diagnosis of autism spectrum has become more common in children of early childhood age, so the number of children diagnosed has increased in early childhood education. Children have been placed in different kindergarten groups, taking into account support needs, but the educating community with know-how may be absent from the groups. In this case, the child’s personally directed support also suffers. In the past, the views of early childhood educators on the rehabilitation of children with autism spectrum disorder in early childhood education have been studied more, but the guardians’ thoughts on the implementation of support and early childhood education are few. The aim of the study is to find out whether the child’s personal support needs have been taken into account in the group and whether the child receives enough support in the opinion of the guardians. The study was conducted through individual interviews by remotely interviewing guardians of children with autism spectrum in early childhood education. The research was carried out using qualitative methods and the research material was analyzed on the basis of data by means of content analysis. The theoretical background of the study is based on the forms and arrangements of support for early childhood education, research data on the autism spectrum, laws, regulations and policies related to the early childhood education of children with autism spectrum and early childhood education in general. The results of the study on the experiences of guardians of autism spectrum children about the support received by the child in early childhood education or pre-school education were expressed by the guardians'views on gaps in support, reinforcing factors in support and guardians' wishes for good and adequate support. The guardians felt that the input of certain employees, the close co-operation between the kindergarten educators and the family, and the consideration of individual support needs were positive things. The guardians felt that the lack of information, insufficient resources and a lack of knowledge about the children were negative things in support. In addition, the guardians described that not enough children's special means of communication were used. In particular, carers wanted more resources, stronger staff training and the necessary support services to support early childhood education.

The purpose of this study is to examine what kind of trauma symptoms are shown to a teach-er when pupils have been previously living in a war zone or a conflict area. In addition, the purpose of this study is to examine what kind of working methods elementary school teachers have with traumatized pupils. The research questions are: How can war trauma affect a pri-mary school child? What good practices can be found for those working in primary school to work with a child who has experienced a war trauma? The study examines experiences of the appearance of war trauma in the school environment and good practices for working with children. Previous studies show that children living in conflict areas have a wide range of trauma experiences. Previous research also shows that a child’s mental well-being is im-portant to his or her learning. The theoretical framework of this study is described in the beginning of the study. The theoret-ical framework consists the definition of trauma, childhood and trauma, child and resilience and living in a war zone or a conflict area as a child. It also describes the importance of the pupil's mental well-being in learning and the teacher's support measures in primary school. In the interviews, the interviewees presented their experiences of working with traumatized chil-dren and their thoughts on good ways to work with children. Data analysis was the method of analysis in this study. Based on the results, teachers and others working with children had a variety of experiences working with children who came from conflict areas to Finland. They also had good practises to support these children. The study emphasizes the role of safe adults and safe environ-ments. The study also emphasizes individual working methods with each pupil.

Important transitions in life require a special ability to navigate in a changing environment. These transitions pose challenges for all people, but especially for people on the autism spectrum. Studies show that both the transition to higher education and from higher education to work pose certain difficulties for them. At the same time, the aim is to promote the diversity of higher education and a smoother work transition. The support of the universities has been found to promote both the progress of studies and skills important in studies. The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to look at speech related to support for students on the autism spectrum at universities. The research material consisted of six interviews in which two career services employees, two university teachers, and both current and graduate students on the autism spectrum were interviewed. The interviews were originally part of the Improving Employability of Autistic Graduates in Europe (IMAGE) project. The six interviews were selected for use in this thesis together with the researcher involved in the project. The research material was analyzed by discourse analysis. As a result of the analysis, three discourses were outlined, which were named similarization discourse, individualization discourse, and individualistic discourse. The subject positions of students on the autism spectrum transitioning to work, were outlined through substance- and special skills and without individualistic agency. These subject positions did not fully meet the individualistic expectations of employers, or the support formed based on these expectations.

The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of young adults who lost a loved one in primary school. The purpose is to increase understanding of how the interviewees feel about the school offering them support after the death of a loved one and how the interviewees' grief affected their schooling. Grief as a topic has been studied multidisciplinarily and internationally a lot. According to previous research, a person’s conscious or unconscious understanding of grief influences the way he or she encounters a grieving person. Foreign studies have found that a school has many opportunities to support a child grieving the death of a loved one. Finnish research on the subject is not available. The study was conducted as a qualitative study and its background philosophy was the interpretative phenomenological research tradition. The data consisted of thematic interviews of five young adults aged 18–29 and contained oral history based on experiences. The data was analyzed according to the six-step model of interpretive phenomenological analysis by Smith et al. (2009). Based on the analysis, the interviewees' experiences of the support received from the school were divided into five themes: the school as an administrator of everyday life, the support provided by student welfare services, the importance and support of one's own teacher, consideration of grief in the school's everyday life and practices, and improvement suggestions for schools. The effects of grief on school attendance were also divided into five themes: the needs and effects of the bereavement home situation on school attendance, studying at school after the death of a loved one, expressions of grief and grief reactions at school, moments when grief surfaced and the importance of the class community and friends. Although the results were divided into themes for the analysis, they partially overlapped in many places. The interviewees perceived the school's support as being divided into support related to the continuity of everyday life and support for dealing with grief and emotions. Support of the continuity of everyday life was experienced as the main and functional support from the school, but support for dealing with grief and emotions was needed more than what had been received according to experiences of interviewees. For this reason, the conclusions consider the functionality and accessibility of student welfare services and the need to develop school-specific guidelines to support dealing with a student who is grieving the death of a loved one.

Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan lapsen vammadiagnoosin vaikutuksia äidin tunteisiin ja spiritualiteettiin sekä heidän kokemuksia erilaisista tuenmuodoista. Tunteita ja spiritualiteettia tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan Cullbergin kriisiteorian pohjalta selvittäen, minkälaisena äitien kriisi näyttäytyi lapsen vammadiagnoosin selvittyä sekä vaikuttiko koettu kriisi heidän spiritualiteettinsa. Tuenteorioita hyödynnetään tarkasteltaessa äitien tarvitsemaa ja haluamaa tukea lähipiirin sekä yhteiskunnan taholta. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin e-lomakkeella Leijonaemot ry:n sekä Jaatinen ry:n vertaistukiryhmiin kuuluvilta äideiltä. Aineiston analysointimenetelmänä on aineistolähtöinen sisällönanalyysi. Lapsen vammadiagnoosi on traumaattinen kokemus äidille. Kriisiteorian mukaan traumaattinenkriisi alkaa sokkivaiheella, jonka äitit kokivat jokainen eri tavalla ja eripituisena. Sokki ilmenee myös äitien elämässä hyvin erivaiheessa, koska osa heistä oli saanut tietää lapsen vammaisuudesta jo ennen tämän syntymää, mutta osalle tieto tuli hyvinkin yllätten lapsen synnyttyä. Sokkivaiheessa äidit kokevat tarvitsevansa lähipiiriltään henkistätukea, jota osan oli hyvin vaikea saada, koska lähipiiri käy samanaikaisesti omaa kriisiään läpi. Sokkivaiheen jälkeen siirtyminen reaktiovaiheeseen tarkoittaa asioiden kohtaamista, jolloin lapsen vammaisuus alkaa näyttäytymään osalla äideistä oman elämän menetyksenä ja liian suurena rasituksena jaksaa. Reaktiovaiheessa äidit olisivat kaivanneet tukea myös sairaalalta, mutta lähipiirin tuen merkitys kasvaa tässä kriisin vaiheessa hyvin suureksi. Kriisiteorian mukaan korjaamisvaiheessa asia on vielä tuore, mutta sen kanssa kyetään jo elämään. Tutkimukseni äideille tällainen eteenpäin meneminen on toisille pakon sanelemaa, mutta toisille se tarkoittaa tavalliseen perhe- elämään sulautumista, joka on maustettu uusilla haasteilla. Tuen tarve näyttäytyy hyvin vahvana myös korjaamisvaiheessa, mutta nyt korostuu erityisesti yhteiskunnan vastuu tukimuotojen järjestämisessä. Uudelleen suuntautumisen vaiheessa elämää eletään äitien mukaan normaaliin tapaan, vaikka toiset äidit joutuvat tekemään elämässään suuria muutoksia, jotta vammaisen lapsen hoito saatiin järjestymään. Tukea tarvitaan edelleen lähipiiriltä sekä yhteiskunnalta, jotta jaksetaan arjen pyöritystä. Spiritualiteetin osuus tässä työssä näyttäytyy vähäisenä, koska osa äideistä kokee, ettei spiritualiteetti liity heidän elämäänsä. Jumala, luonto ja tavat koetaan voimaa ja rauhaa antaviksi voimiksi, jotka auttavat arjessa eteenpäin. Tämän tutkimuksen valossa näyttää siltä, että Cullbergin kriisiteoria on edelleen toimiva ja paikkansa pitävä teoria. Kriisin etenemistä voisi tulevaisuudessa tutkia myös resilienssin, ihmisen sisäisen luontaisen kyvyn selvitä kriiseistä, avulla. Lisäksi henkisen kriisin ja spiritualiteetin yhteys tarjoaa mielenkiintoisen näköalan jatkotutkimukselle.

Tutkielman taustalla on kiinnostus siihen, minkälaisiin tietoihin perustuvat lasten ja perheiden elämäntilanteiden ja tuen tarpeiden arvioinnit lastensuojelun palvelutarpeen arvioinneissa. Pro gradu -tutkielmassa kysytään, mitä tietoa on tuotettu lapsen ja perheen elämäntilanteen taustatekijöistä, huolenaiheista ja selvitykseen tapaamisiin osallistumisesta. Lisäksi tarkastellaan, minkälaisia ovat arviointien tyypilliset kuvaukset lapsen ja perheen elämäntilanteesta sekä tuen ja palvelujen tarpeesta huolien ja voimavarojen näkökulmasta. Tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa Espoon lastensuojelun avohuollon alkuarvioinnin kehittämistyön tueksi, jotta lastensuojelun avohuollon työ- ja toimintatapoja sekä rakenteita voitaisiin kehittää tutkimustiedon, lastensuojelun käytäntöjen ja kehittämisen vuoropuheluna. Tutkimus kiinnittyy laajemmassa kontekstissaan yhteiskuntapoliittiseen keskusteluun lasten ja nuorten hyvinvoinnista ja syrjäytymisestä, jossa oleelliseksi on arvioitu ongelmien varhainen havaitseminen, niihin puuttuminen ja riittävä tarjottu tuki lapselle ja tämän lähipiirille. Kyseessä on laadullinen tutkimus, jonka analyysimenetelmänä on väljästi teoriaohjaava sisällönanalyysi. Siinä hyödynnetään Barns behov i centrum (BBIC) arviointimallin viitekehystä liittyen lapsen tarpeisiin, vanhempien kykyyn vastata lapsen tarpeisiin sekä perheeseen ja ympäristöön. Aineiston analyysissä käytetään sisällön erittelyä, joka on kuvailevaa tilastollista analyysiä ja temaattista sisällönanalyysiä sekä tyypittelyä. Aineiston muodostavat Espoon lastensuojelun avohuollon lastensuojelun palvelutarpeen arvioinnin 87 yhteenvetodokumenttia 13–17-vuotiaista lapsista vuoden 2015 heinä-, elo- ja syyskuulta. Tutkimuksen perusteella lasten ja perheiden elämäntilanteiden taustatekijät muotoutuivat mukaillen yhteenvetodokumentin otsikkopuun teemoja. Huolenaiheet rakentuivat puolestaan yleensä lastensuojeluilmoitusten tiedoista. Selvityksen tapaamiseen lapsi yleensä osallistui. Vanhemmista äiti tavattiin lähes jokaisessa arvioinnissa ja isä puolestaan huomattavasti harvemmin. Lapsen ja perheen elämäntilanteesta sekä tuen ja palvelujen tarpeen arvioinneista huolien ja voimavarojen näkökulmasta rakentui neljä erilaista arviointityypin kuvausta: yksittäiset huolenaiheet lapsista, pitkäkestoiset huolenaiheet lapsista, huoli vanhemmuudesta yksittäisissä tilanteissa ja lapsi vanhemmuuden huolien puristuksessa. Johtopäätöksinä voidaan todeta, että lapsen ja vanhempien osallisuus tapaamisiin arvioinneissa vaihteli. Lasten ja perheiden elämäntilanteet kuvautuivat arvioinneissa huolipainotteisina, vaikka voimavarojakaan ei sivuutettu. Yksittäisiin ja lieviin huolenaiheisiin yhteiskunnan tukea ja palveluita ei tarvittu. Toisaalta pitkäkestoisiin ja vakaviin huolenaiheisiin yhteiskunnan tuen ja palveluiden tarve oli ilmeinen. Tällöin käytiin institutionaalista rajanvetoa siitä, mikä tuki ja palvelu palvelujärjestelmässä on lapselle ja perheelle riittävää ja tarkoituksenmukaista.

This study concentrated on Finnish 6th grader's ICT skills and attitudes and the relations between those and the support that parents and other members of the children's social circle offers. In the modern digital society the ICT skills are of a critical value, and in the future the importance those skills only increases. The school has to be prepared for this challenge and thus it is important to understand what kind of factors are related to the formation of children's ICT skills and attitudes. In previous research it has been established that social support is an important aspect to consider when learning skills. This study was a part of a research project called Mind the Gap (2013 – 2017), which is a cooperation project between University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä and University of Turku, funded by the Academy of Finland. The participants were 6th grade students from the city of Helsinki. The children completed a questionnaire that was collected by research assistants. There were altogether 755 participants. First were reported the descriptive statistics of children's ICT skills and attitudes. The t-test was done to analyze the differences between genders. Linear regression analysis was done to research the relations with the support and ICT skills and attitudes. There were altogether 24 regression models formed. The results of this study shows that children's ICT skills and attitudes couldn't be explained with the support too well. The R-values were all under 5%. In the future it could be beneficial to research the topic with qualitative research methods in order to gain a deeper under-standing of these phenomena.

The purpose of the study was to examine university students and recent graduates with reading difficulties. The aim was to explore what factors have contributed to the students and recent graduates applying for university studies despite their dyslexia. The aim was additionally to study strategies and means of compensation used by the students, their experiences with support received from the educational institutions, and the educational paths the students had taken. The hypothesis was that dyslexic students have had a slower and more laborious educational path than other students. Previous research on the subject has shown that dyslexic students have used a large variety of study strategies and compensatory measures, and family support, in particular, has played an important role in the study path. Timing of the dyslexia diagnosis has also affected the course of education. The study is a multi-case study with thematic interviews using narrative analysis. The research material consisted of seven theme interviews, which were transcribed and organized using the atlas.ti program. Narrative, chronologically progressive accounts were produced of the interviewees' educational paths. The narrative analysis of the material was based on the compilation of materials founded on twenty themes and examination of the narrative reports. The educational paths of the interviewees formed two clear groups. In one group, education progressed directly from primary school to high school and university. Students in the second group experienced long breaks in education and all did not attend high school. Almost all interviewees were diagnosed after elementary school, but the material does not indicate that the education process suffered from a late diagnosis. Not all interviewees needed support for their study paths because of dyslexia. On the other hand, certain students would have needed support but had not received enough. The interviewees had a variety of learning strategies and means of compensation. The study confirms that teaching early learning strategies and early implementation and design support would support dyslexic pupils. Family support was an essential resource for the interviewees during their educational paths.

Goals The aim of this study is to find ways in which a classroom teacher can support students with ADHD. The goals of the thesis are to examine how experienced teachers support ADHD students in school and in teaching. This research also aims to provide more information about ADHD and its support in school context. The interest of this the-sis’ topic arose from the need to find support strategies for common challenges in the field of education. The thesis primarily addresses the most common challenges of ADHD in the school context, as well as the strategies used by classroom teachers to address the challenges of ADHD students. In addition, the study focuses on classroom teachers’ knowledge of ADHD, ADHD diagnosis, and treatment. Methods The study is qualitative research in which research data was collected through thematic interviews. The interviews involved primary school classroom teachers from different classes, each of whom had at least 10 years of teaching experience and experience in teaching ADHD students. The research data was analyzed using a data-driven content analysis approach. The interviews were transcribed, and then the data was examined in relation to pre-vious theory. Results and conclusions The study revealed that that a classroom teacher can support ADHD students in many ways. In teaching, clear goals and structure, as well as multi-modal guidance, were crucial in supporting ADHD symptoms. It is particularly important fo ADHD students to know what is expected of them in class and what they need to do to achieve the goal. Multi-modal guidance, which is visual and verbal, asl well as step-by-step, helps maintain the atten-tion span of ADHD students. ADHD students understand instructions more ef-fectively when using step-by-step guidance. In addition, classroom teachers can support students with ADHD by differentiating tasks, providing immediate feedback, and making the teaching as engaging and active as possible. In ad-dition to work, classroom teachers can support student concentration by break-ing the teaching into shorter segments, allowing the attention of ADHD stu-dents to last longer. All of these strategies are aimed at ADHD students, but these strategies are often beneficial to the entire group.

According to the Pisa assessments, the number of students with poor reading skills has increased in Finland in recent years. Because of the poor reading skills, approximately one in ten students will struggle with their upper secondary studies and will not achieve an active social status. However, international studies have shown that reading comprehension interventions can improve students’ reading skills even in adolescence. The purpose of this study was to explore how the upper secondary school teachers experienced the teaching of reading comprehension skills for students with reading comprehension difficulties. The study focused on the teachers’ views concerning support of learning Finnish language and social studies. The study answers in three research questions: first, how theory-based reading comprehension support is organized, second, how do the reading comprehension difficulties affect Finnish language studies and social studies, and third, how the reading comprehension support could be improved. The study was carried out by using qualitative methods and following the principles of phenomenological-hermeneutical approach. The data was collected by interviewing seven upper secondary school teachers. Three of them were Finnish language teachers and four of them were special education teachers. The data was analyzed by using theory-based con-tent analysis and data-based content analysis. Based on the results, teachers use theory-based reading comprehension methods, such as reading strategies. However, there were differences between the schools’ structures of sup-port systems. Reading comprehension difficulties were connected with other multidimensional problems. The reading comprehension support can be improved by offering further training for teachers and promoting their co-operation. Besides that, positive attitude might have an important role on reading comprehension support.