Browsing by discipline "Education"

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.

Monet kouluikäiset kärsivät yöunen riittämättömyydestä. Opettajat eivät välttämättä aina tun-nista unen puutteen tai huonon unenlaadun aiheuttamia vaikutuksia. Tämän tutkielman tarkoi-tuksena on selvittää, mitkä asiat vaikuttavat alakouluikäisen lapsen uneen ja mitä yhteyksiä unella on alakoululaisen koulunkäyntiin. Tutkielmassa esitellään uneen vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja unen vaikutuksia koulunkäyntiin. Tutkielma toteutettiin kuvailevana kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Tutkimusaineiston etsimisessä käytettiin Helka- ja Eric-tietokantoja, Google Scholaria ja ResearchGate-verkostoa. Tutkiel-man aineisto koostui tutkimuskysymysten suuntaisista ja pääosin 2010-luvulla julkaistuista vertaisarvioiduista tutkimuksista. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen tuloksien mukaan uneen vaikuttavia tekijöitä ovat muun muassa lii-kunta, ravinto, uni-valverytmi, digilaitteiden käyttö ja stressi. Tuloksena voidaan myös todeta, että liian vähäisellä unella on paljon kielteisiä vaikutuksia oppilaiden koulunkäyntiin. Koulusuo-riutumisessa unen puute tai huonolaatuinen uni heikentävät akateemista ja kognitiivista suo-riutumista sekä koulussa jaksamista. Lisäksi unen puutteen tai huonolaatuisen unen psyko-logisia vaikutuksia ovat muun muassa mielialan aleneminen sekä kouluviihtyvyyden ja opis-keluinnon heikentyminen. Koululla ja luokanopettajalla voisi olla suurempi rooli toiminnassa lasten uniongelmia vastaan. Luokanopettaja on usein tärkeä henkilö oppilaan elämässä. Hän osallistuu kokonaisvaltai-sesti oppilaan arkeen ja elämään, ja näin ollen hänellä on mahdollisuus vaikuttaa myönteisesti oppilaan elämään – eli myös uneen ja nukkumiseen. Alakoululaisten uni on melko vähän tut-kittu aihe Suomessa ja siksi sitä pitäisi tutkia enemmän. Jatkotutkimusta voitaisiin tehdä esimerkiksi koulun ja etenkin opettajien mahdollisuuksista vaikuttaa oppilaiden nukkumiseen myönteisesti.

The purpose of the study is to review stress studies of primary school pupils. The aim is to find out how much and what kind of research has been published on the subject in Finnish. The second aim of the study is to survey the study of stress in general and to find out which reference groups stress the researches contained. Before starting the study, it was assumed that few articles would be published on stress of a primary school student. According to background information, researchers have historically been less interested in middle childhood than other ages. Stress as a phenomenon is affecting this age group as well and affects their development and hence the future well-being. The study reviewed all 360 research article in two peer-reviewed domestic publications, Kasvatus and Psykologia journals in the years 2009-2018. The survey searched articles with research on stress and looked at which reference group stress the article dealt with. In addition, research articles focused on primary school age children with results on anxiety, strain or load were selected for the survey. A total of 30 articles were selected for the research material. The articles were categorized according to the age group in which they dealt with stress and the context in which the word stress was used. Stress is a widespread phenomenon affecting many disciplines. Stress has no well-established scientific definition, and the word is used for very different purposes. Stress is studied directly by measuring and looking at the triggers or symptoms. None of the articles dealing mainly with stress focused on primary school children. The results of studies of three articles on primary school age also found observations related to stress, or anxiety, strain, or load, which are used as close concepts of stress. According to the study, there is a great need for research into childhood stress, as there has been alarmingly little research in Finland.

Priorities In this research I examine how teachers utilize media education in their teaching with the 6th graders. This research’s assignment is to investigate media education’s role in primary school, how media education reflects to learning, how students are taken part of the teaching and also differencies in media abilities between students and teachers and between the students. There is not a lot of resear-ches about utilizing media education in teaching especially in primary school but there is a lot of re-searches about childrens media habits in their free time. The new curriculum states that students should train their skills in both normal and techonological surroundings. The curriculum’s main goal is that students would learn how to use media’s opportunities in different ways. Methods This was a case study research. The research was a limited totality. Twenty 6th grade teachers took part in this research. They all live near Helsinki area. They were chosen randomly. All of them were teaching the 6th graders at the time of research. Participants answered questions online. The query had seven open questions and also questions about their background. This reasearch’s material was analyzed through the analysis of the content of the qualitative research and by the theme. Results and conclusions In this reasearch the results were that media education’s role is very visible in teaching with the 6th graders in primary school. Media education reflected learning with motivation and diversity of teaching. Students took part of the teaching with different media divices. Differencies in media abili-ties between the students and the teacher and the students were very major. Differencies between the students and the teachers were because of students are diginatives compared to teachers and that’s why they know how to use different media divices. Differencies between the students were because of their different backgrounds.

Achieving literacy is one of the most important tasks in primary education, and literacy plays an important role in a student's school success and coping in society. The aim of this study was to find out what methods and practices primary school teachers prefer to teach in the first year and why. The aim has also been to background teachers' thoughts about tasks and significance of teaching to read. Quite a few studies of similar choices in teaching practices can be found. With regard to international studies, it is noteworthy that they cannot be directly used as such in comparison, as the orthography and writing system of a language influence the practices and choices of the teaching method to be read. Finnish is a low-spelling language with an easy writing system. Due to its almost perfect letter-sound equivalence, Finnish is one of the easiest languages to learn to read. Thus, synthetic teaching methods would seem to be the most suitable for the Finnish language. The study is qualitative and was conducted with an electronic questionnaire with five open- ended questions. The form was emailed to approximately 90 first-year teachers. A total of 15 responses were received. Data-based content analysis was used as the method. In summary, the results of the study showed that teachers used mainly synthetic methods to teach, and in particular the KÄTS method or mixed methods derived from them. Analytical methods were not used much based on the study. The reasons for using the method were related to the fact that the existing learning materials supported their use and were good practices in the experience of teachers. It was also essential that the structure of the Finnish language supported the use of synthetic methods.

The aim of this bachelor's thesis was to survey the identification and rehabilitation of reading difficulties on children in primary education in Finnish school system during the 2000s. This study was implemented as a literature review which consists of all the doctoral dissertations published between 2000 and present and that discuss reading difficulties in the context of primary education and that can be read in electrical formate such as e-thesis. At first, this study introduces the most important reading abilities based on the previous international studies as well as the literacy acquisition based on the most common theories of reading. The impact of reading difficulties to literacy acquisition is then discussed within the different definitions of dyslexia as well as the most common theories of dyslexia and its elements of risk. The doctoral thesis' that are on focus in this study are divided to interventions and follow-up studies. Interventions aim at investigating the effectiveness of different methods of treatment protocols of reading difficulties compared to one another and to produce research-based information for developing the practices of special education in primary school whereas the follow-up studies aim at increasing the knowledge of the stability of reading difficulties and the factors behind them and their effect on learning and also the long-term effects on different treatment protocols and rehabilitation of dyslexia. According to the previous studies the literacy development proceeded through similar stages among the at-risk children and their peers, the at-risk children being slower in their development than others. Reading difficulties were well predicted at the early stage, even prior to the first grade and they were highly permanent. Reading difficulties also seemed to define the success in studies all through the school years and especially for boys, poor reading skills seemed to cast highly negative and far-reaching consequences on studying. The studies also indicated that the early identification is just the start: in order to get lasting results there should be intense, systematic and sufficiently long-term treatment protocols and interventions. These results show that special education as it is today does not offer sufficient support for children with reading difficulties and also that the special education for at-risk children should be based on close following and evaluation of the development of reading as well as thorough initial testing at the beginning of intervention.

The physical activity of children has a significant meaning impact in the holistic and safe growth, develop-ment, and learning of children. The natural way for children under the age of three to release energy and emotions is through exercise. Exercise is play for children during which they can intuitively get to know, try out, and get to know their bodies and senses. According to national exercise guidelines, children should exercise three hours a day each day to acquire the many benefits of exercise. The recommendation for the physical activity of children is compiled of many forms of exercise: from light exercise and brisk outdoor activ-ities to very fast-paced physical activity. According to prior studies, children in daycare are inactive, or not in movement, for the majority of the day, and thus do not meet the given exercise goals. Research also shows that boys exercise and are active more than girls. The aim of this research is to investigate the amount of physical activity in children under the age of three in a daycare center that has a special emphasis on exercise, and then to compare the findings to the new na-tional exercise guidelines. The research also investigates the role of gender; do differences exist in the amount of exercise for boys and girls in the daycare center? The research departs from three research questions: (1) Do children under the age for three exercise according to the exercise guidelines? (2) What forms of exercise does the exercise take (low, intermediate or high levels?) (3) What connection does gen-der have to the exercise of children under the age of three in daycare? The research was realized qualitatively through examining the level of activity and strain of children under the age of three during a regular daycare day, and whether or not the amount of exercise was compatible with the new exercise guidelines for physical activity. The research was carried out in a daycare center that has a special emphasis exercise. The daycare center consists of three different units: Hippaheikki, Myrsky-luoto and Kajuutta. The research group was made up of fifteen children under the age of three: six girls and nine boys. Physical activity was measured through the University of Helsinki Polar Gofit activity meter over the course of six daycare days (6h/day). The analysis consisted of both a quantifying and thematic approach. under the age of three. The physical activity of the children was displayed through very typical means: the day was full of momentary shifts in tempo. During the course of six hours, the children exercised an hour. Boys exercised more than girls. The day care day for children under the age of three consists mostly of basic care. The time of analysis (6h) included two meals and a naptime in addition to several moments of getting dressed and using the bathroom. The time taken up by basic care partially explains the low levels of physical activity for children under the age of three. The physical activity of the children was displayed through very typical means: the day was full of momentary shifts in tempo.

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.

This bachelor’s thesis will show how the media use of children has changed in the past few years and what kind of effects it has on children. This thesis will allso look at media education and think about what kind of media education should there be in daycare. The research method in this thesis was a literature overwiew. The material was collected from research softwares and was picked randomly. Method used in this thesis was content analysis. This thesis showed that the media use of children under the age of seven has changed during the last decate and that children begin to use media even younger. The reasearch showed also that even when the use of media has crown there are little mentioning about media education in the national early childhood education plan, releasted in 2016. It is shown that media education is not necessarily exploited enough in early childhood education.