Browsing by Author "Hyvönen, Emilia"

The purpose of this study was to find out different kind of possibilities and challenges that the using of learning environments outside of home economics’ classroom could bring to home economics teaching. The purpose of this study was also to examine whether the using of these learning environments could support informal learning. Previous studies show that the demands considering learning environments have changed with the curriculum changes during different eras. This chance can also be seen in the new curriculum that has been taken in action in fall 2016. The new curriculum highlights that learning environments should open to and be combined with the society on a larger scale than before. This study aims to find out, what kind of learning environments outside of home economics classroom the teachers of home economics have used and how they justify their choices. The research questions are: 1) What kind of learning environments outside of home economics classroom the teachers of home economics have used? 2) How the teachers of home economics justify their choices? 3) How the using of learning environments outside of home economics’ classroom could support informal learning? The data consists of six theme interviews. Home economics’ teachers were interviewed from six towns: Helsinki, Vantaa, Sipoo, Riihimäki and Järvenpää. The interviews were executed during the time between December 2016 and March 2017. The data was analysed by using thematizing. The most significant themes that arised from the data were field trips to nature, school yard and its’ vicinity and other field trips. The teachers of home economics justified their choices by pointing out the demands on the curriculum and the versatility of teaching methods. The learning environments outside of home economics classroom were used approximately 1 – 3 times a year. Arguments for the minor usage of these learning environments were challenges with low resources, school’s location, scheduling and controlling of student groups. Home economics’ teachers saw the using of learning environments outside of home economics’ classroom to be a means to support informal learning.