Browsing by department "Department of Teacher Education"

Objectives. The aim of this Bachelor’s thesis was to find out what kind of connections are there between pupils’ self-assessment skills and self-regulation skills and to collect information about student’s experiences and perceptions about self-assessment as a part of one’s learning process based on earlier studies in the field. The purpose was to examine the impact of the child’s age on their self-assessment skills and self-regulation skills. Theoretical framework for this study was constructed on Inhelder’s and Piaget’s (1977) theory of cognitive development. According to them, universal stages and features can be found in cognitive development. Every stage of cognitive development is always connected to the previous and following stages. According to Inhelder and Piaget (1977), the cohorts of the target group are on two different stages depending on their age. These stages are concrete operational stage and formal operational stage. Methodology. The study was implemented as a narrative literature review. Target Group consisted of elementary school students aged 9-13 who studied in grades 3-6. The material of this study was collected from the internet using carefully selected keywords in five different data bases. The material consisted of five research articles. One of these articles was published in Finland, two in Australia, one in the Netherlands and one in New Zealand. All these articles were published within five years and they were peer reviewed. Results and conclusions. Pupils’ experiences about self-assessment varied a lot. Some students thought that self-assessment had positive impacts on their learning. Others, on the other hand, felt that self-assessment didn’t have any significant impacts on their learning. With some students the attitude was more like careless. They filled out the self-assessment forms only because they were compulsory tasks. However, studies showed a clear link between pupils’ self-assessment skills and self-regulation skills. Self-assessment appears to be a significant contribution to the development of pupils’ self-regulation. The results point out that pupils can improve their self-regulation skills and raise academic performance through self-assessment. This research showed that pupils have difficulties to understand the structure of a learning process. They were not able to understand different parts of it, for instance self-assessment, and benefits of these individual parts. This might explain why many of these pupils felt that self-assessment didn’t have any significant impacts on their learning.

The goal of this thesis was to point out such faults that may occur with day care’s child welfare notifications when observed through parental partnership’s definition. Besides parental partnership’s definition and diversity, such laws, regulations and guides were took under observation that leads the day care personnel in the process of making child welfare notifications. The meaning of this study was to also clarify how the conversation arenas that the internet and social media offers function with such delicate matters as child welfare notifications. There has been no earlier research with this specific perspective. The research material for this thesis was collected from the internet’s Suomi24–conversation arena. A single conversation was selected for this research with alleged accusations regard-ing a child welfare notification been done with loose or unfounded grounds. The research method used in this thesis was qualitative case study. The research material was analysed using qualitative method of originating from the content. The results of this research showed that in this case study there had been no dialogue be-tween the day care’s personnel and the child’s mother about the worries considering the child before the child welfare notification had been made. With this action it was conducted as a violation of parental partnership’s definition and principles and was found insulting to the par-ent. The results for the reasons leading towards the child welfare notification were seen both subjective and insufficient. As to the role of the internet and social media as a conversational arena, they were found to offer such possibilities to produce and share personal meaning that one would not share face to face. The anonymity offered by the internet gives the op-portunity to share confidential and personal matters but still managing to save ones face. Internet is providing a possibility to claim to be an expert on a certain field without other users questioning ones expertise.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to develop a tool of thinking for Basic Education of history us-ing diary material. The philosophical background of the study is John Dewey’s experiential view of learning together with Dewey’s (1933) model of reflective thinking. To paraphrase a French philoso-pher and literature theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard (1985), the present very complex and global world is associated with the fragmentation of knowledge and truths. The resulting change in pres-sure is highlighted especially through the everyday experiences of growing kids and young. Dew-ey’s philosophy of education emphasizes the connection of knowledge and action together with ex-periential and reflective way of learning. The importance of experience and empathy is also empha-sized in the concept of learning as defined in the 2014 Finnish National Curriculum, which sets the basis to the Basic Education that aims to educate the student to become self-confident and active. The aim of this study was to develop the experiential history teaching that provides the keys to deal with student’s own experiences and thus also to develop one’s thinking. Methods. The tool of thinking developed in the study is based on the qualitative theory-based con-tent analysis of Ernesto Che Guevara’s diary about his youth years called The Motorcycle Diary (1997). The diary has been analyzed by reflective mirroring Dewey’s (1933) model of reflection and developing experiential learning perspective. The purpose of the tool created in this study is to ex-pand and diversify the student’s perspectives on the surrounding world and the phenomena’s affect-ing it. The key of teaching history was to get to know other people’s experiences and to reflect those to one’s own experiences. A more comprehensive interpretation of the phenomena through experientialism was carried out by exploring the experiences of a historically and socially significant person using micro-historical teaching method. Results and conclusions. The study showed that diary material can be used as a tool for the basic historical education combining it with experiential teaching. The tool of thinking developed in the study supports the development of thinking and learning skills described in the 2014 Finland's Na-tional Curriculum which intuitively derives from student’s own experience, not just by deducing. With the help of a more subjective tool that supports the student’s own experiences, it is possible to stand in the position of another person in a more sensitively way than before and review your thoughts again. We cannot understand the world around us unless we understand ourselves first. In the future it is possible to test the tool of thinking in practice in the school context.

Objectives. In 2015 more than 30,000 asylum seekers arrived in Finland, exceeding the number of applicants of previous years multiple times. In Finland school-aged asylum seekers are entitled to free basic education. For pupils who have insufficient Finnish or Swedish language skills in order to study in a general education group, preparatory education can be arranged. The students of preparatory education groups are a heterogeneous group of immigrants, from which minor asylum seekers can be seen as the most vulnerable group. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors affecting the learning and education of minor asylum seekers and refugees in particular. Methods. The thesis was conducted as a descriptive literature review. Peer-reviewed articles were found in the ERIC database for the review. 8 articles were selected for the analysis. Results and Conclusions. The results of this review were divided into educational, psychological, social and cultural factors affecting the learning and education of minor asylum seekers. The previous school experiences of minor asylum seekers vary. In addition, their parents' previous educational opportunities are likely to be inadequate, creating poor starting points for learning. The pre-migration experiences of asylum seekers can expose them to various mental disorders. In addition, waiting and uncertain future can affect learning, for example, by losing motivation or reducing progress. Minor asylum seekers' education is also affected by the difficulties encountered in peer relationships, which result from the weak language skills, class placements and limited integration opportunities. The assessment of asylum seekers is hampered by incomplete background information and the lack of appropriate assessment tools, which is why it is challenging to recognize their needs. Asylum seekers may experience conflicts in their home and school culture and therefore might refuse from the support and rehabilitation services provided.

Goals. The main goal of this bachelor’s thesis was to examine students’ participation outside of lessons in primary schools. Student participation has been widely researched but the clear definiton of the concept is yet to be formed. In my bachelor’s thesis I am focusing on chil-dren’s and teenagers’ participation - Harry Shier (2001) and Roger Hart (1992) are the most regognized researchers on this matter. Their theories state that when it comes to children’s participation there are requirements that should be met for students’ own safety. Certain re-quirements should also be met in order for good participation to come true. By bringing Shier’s and Hart’s theories together with Johanna Kiili’s (2006) I am trying to discover what student’s participation could be. In my thesis I am also looking at the Basic Education´s Nati-onal Core Curriculum 2014 which creates borders and possibilities for student’s participation. Method. In this bachelor’s thesis I used integrative literature review which allowed me to create a good theoretical base and bring it together it with the versatile material I was using. The material was collected systemically and manually using four different sources of infor-mation and one book. The analysis was made using inductive content analysis. The research results where based on 26 sources. Results and conclusion. Multiple things have an influence on how well primary school stu-dent’s participation can come true. Basic Education’s National Core Curriculum mentions student participation multiple times, which makes it an important matter in schools. Student’s participation outside lessons can be mostly seen by looking at how well students’ ideas are being heard. Also students’ own decisions on where and how students spend their breaks at school are examples of participation.

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract The aim of this research is to find out what kind of snacks the girls in the primary school choose and what they consider as a healthy snack. It is important to get the ground information about the phenomenon of the snacks since there is very little previous research done in this sector. However the previous research points out that it is important to eat snacks to be able to have enough strength. The other side is that the snacks might contain too much energy and sugar. The methods. The research was carried out as a qualitative semi-structured research. The method was interview and the participants ten girls were at the moment of carrying out the interview in the fourth and the fifth grade. During the interview the girls had to point out from the collage what kinds of snacks they would choose and what kind of snacks they considered to be healthy or unhealthy. The transcription was carried out and after that the results were analyzed using the content analysis. The content analysis included reading the content many times and categorize it. Demonstrating charts and tables were formed. The results showed that the most common snack of the girls was mandarin in the school and at home sandwich. Also apple and yoghourt were common snacks. 90 per cent of girls ate snacks daily. If the girls could choose their snacks themselves they would most willingly eat carelian pie, fruits, vegetables, yoghurt, berry soup and dried fruits. The factors that were having the most impact on choosing the snacks were the girls preferences what they like and what they happened to have at home as well as the amount that they ate at lunch. When they were asked more precisely over the half were thinking that the parents and the healthiness of the food had an impact on the snack choice. The parents were controlling the snacking and they also were the ones that brought the food home. Healthiness affected in two ways to the girls’ snack choices: unhealthy food was not chosen and healthy food was chosen for a snack. The results show that the girls chose their snacks according to what happened to be available and what stayed good for longer time as well as what was easy. Allergies had an impact on two of the participants’ choices. Only thing that did not have so much an impact was friends. The participants considered healthy vegetables and grain products because they contain less sugar and many vitamins. The sweets, ice cream, pastry, crisps, puddings and pizza were considered to be unhealthy since they contain lot of sugars, salt and fats. Study's conclusion is that snacks are an important part of primary school girls’ nutrition. Girls' views on what snacks are healthy or unhealthy, are mostly consistent with the current nutritional recommendations. Girls know very well what kind of snacks are healthy or unhealthy and healthiness also affected their snack choices.

Children´s aggressive behavior is a worrying phenomenon in school environment. Over fifty per cent of special education teachers have reported students acting aggressively in school. The behavior makes it hard for the teachers to do their job and for pupils to learn and feel comfortable in school. Aggressive behavior is explained by many different theories, from frustration theory to model learning. Children´s aggressive behavior is often explained by social information processing problems. Pupils who tend to act aggressively often have a hostile attribution bias where they interpret peers or other´s actions in hostile way even in a neutral situation. In these situations, the child chooses an aggressive way to react in order to protect self. The aim of this study is to see what kind of interventions are there for children who act aggressively, how effective they are and what kind of meters are used to detect the effectiveness. The study is executed as a systematic literature review. Seven research article´s, which examined about intervention´s used to deal with children with aggressive behavior, were chosen in to the study. According to this study intervention´s which aimed at changing children´s hostile attribution bi-as were effective in decreasing children´s aggressive behavior. Children´s willingness to act ag-gressively decreased, they took the responsibility from their actions more likely and decoded their peer´s actions more positively, when the intervention had a positive impact on child´s hos-tile attribution bias. In some studies, the children also received intervention about social skills, which altered their perception about peer´s actions towards more positive. Also, teachers part in child´s aggressive behavior was studied, and found that teacher’s empathy had an impact in child´s aggressive behavior. On the grounds of this review it is important in the future to focus on aggressively behaving child´s attribution biases and how to prevent them. Would also be important to study more about teacher´s role in child´s aggressive behavior because the correla-tion between teacher´s increasing empathy and child´s decreasing aggressive behavior. In the future studies should have more adult´s evaluations about child´s actions, as many of the stud-ies in this review were based on child´s self-evaluation.

When children start school, they have large developmental differences and knowledge in mathematics. Due to the big differences, the same teaching does not suit all students. The purpose of this qualitative research was to find out how teachers experience and differentiate mathematics teaching for the mathematically talented students in first grade. The intention was, therefore, to find out why the teachers consider differentiating the teaching, how the methods they use and what challenges they encounter. The study is made as a qualitative interview study with four teachers in first grade. The interviews are first transcribed and then analyzed by the content analysis method. In the results, it has clearly been found that it is important to differentiate the teaching of mathematics. The students' high level of development and knowledge was considered one of the main reasons why differentiation of the teaching of mathematics is important. Teachers also mentioned that everybody needs to be challenged to develop, everyone is entitled to develop at their own level and to maintain motivation. The most common differentiation method the teachers mentioned were additional tasks and problem-solving tasks. Other methods mentioned were different games and puzzles, concrete material, student grouping and adapted homework. Although all teachers felt they could offer the talented students the stimulus they needed, there are challenges. Resource shortages and time shortages were the biggest challenges but also finding suitable tasks and pupils' level differences were mentioned as challenging.

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract The purpose of this study was to find out how to support children to make spontaneously music in the kindergarten environment. The study focused on the factors that can support the children making music. There has been a lot of research about the situations children begin to make music spontaneously. The researchers have found out that children often sing and make music while doing something else for example while they are drawing or dancing. These researches have also shown the importance of a supportive teacher giving the children time, space and examples how to make music. This study has been implemented as a qualitative research and the material has been collected by interviewing three kindergarten teachers from three different kindergarten in the capital region of Finland. The interviews were made in Summer 2013. The material was analysed by categorizing the answers. The results showed that the kindergarten teachers valued the professional skill of the pedagogic educator. The interviewees thought the educators know how to observe the children and how to plan and carry out activities adaptively but they also know how to listen to the children. They also answered that children often made music everywhere and at any time during the day. The interviewees thought it was important to change the practices in such a way it would support the children making music. It was seen important to listen to the children and their thoughts also when making changes in the physical environment. It was also seen important that musical instruments and recorders could be available to children in the kindergarten environment.

The purpose of the study was to find out how a kindergarten teacher supports the peer relations of children under the age of three during playtime. There is a good amount of prior studies on peer relations, and they cover working in a peer group, as well as the effect of peer relations on development and supporting them in a kindergarten. The study aims to find different ways to support peer relations between children during playtime, and to find out how they can be influenced by a kindergarten teacher. In addition, the study seeks to gather information on the significance of a kindergarten in the formation of peer relations. The material for my qualitative case study was collected from a kindergarten group for under three-year-old children from Helsinki during January 2018. The main collecting method I used was interviews, which I supported by observing their play. I collected the material on two consecutive days. On the first day I observed a group with eleven children. During their play, I paid special attention to how the kindergarten teacher supported the peer relations between the children. I also took note of how actively they took part in the play. On the second day, I observed and interviewed the teacher of the group. The interview was conducted using a half-structured interview. I analysed the data in two phases. First, I organised the data by the themes that appeared on them. Finally, I grouped the results into the means for a kindergarten teacher to support peer relations during play, the forming and significance of peer relations in kindergarten, conscious pondering of peer relations, and supporting them in other activities. The result was that the kindergarten teacher supported peer relations between the children during playtime and consciously took them into account when, for example, planning small-group activities and during moments. The teacher felt that improving group spirit was important and that it supported peer relations. The conclusion is that children need positive experiences of belonging in a peer group, because the feeling of belonging in a group is significant for the development of a child. In a group of peers, the child learns important skills for their social life, such as waiting for their turn while speaking. Furthermore, the physical and functional environment affect the peer relations between children in a concrete manner. Therefore, it is important for a kindergarten teacher to form an environment that supports peer relations by considering how to place different plays in the space.