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Goals. The purpose of the study was to find out how ethically sensitive teachers, teacher students and financial people themselves are evaluating and whether there are differences between these groups in ethical sensitivity. The study also investigated whether differences between the sexes exist in ethical sensitivity. The theoretical background of this study is the theory of four components of ethical activity, of which ethical sensitivity is studied in this work. After Darcia Narvaez's (2001) operative concept of ethical sensitivity in seven different areas, Kirsi Tirri and Petri Nokelainen (2007, 2011) have developed a meter of ethical sensitivity in their own research. Methods. The survey was carried out as a quantitative survey and the relevant material from bank employees was collected by e-form in August 2015 from a banking group operating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. There were 183 respondents, of whom 77.6% were women (N = 142) and men 22.4% (N = 41). Reference material from the teachers was obtained from the University of Helsinki research group (Kuusisto Elina, Tirri Kirsi). The total number of respondents was 864, of which 60.4% (N = 522) were teachers and 39.6% (N = 342) teacher students, women 77.2% (N = 667) and men 22.8% (197). The material was collected in 2011. All students were at the beginning of their studies at the material collection stage and studied at the University of Helsinki. Subsequently, the material was combined with the SPSS statistics program. The ethical sensitivity scale questionnaire consisted of 28 claims, which were answered in the 5-step Likert scale. Seven sum variables were formed, each of which was counted as Cronbach alpha. Only the sum of single sum variables alpha (ESSQ_1 α = .544) was below the recommended>. 060. Subsequent intergroup averages were examined by variance analysis and differences between genders by t-test. Results and conclusions. Teachers received the highest average of seven in four areas, with the results being statistically significant as well. Bank employees received the highest averages in two areas, although the results were not statistically significant. The students got the highest average in only one area. In this study, however, the best ethical sensitivity variable was gender, with women having a higher average in six of the seven areas.

In Finland, it's commonly believed that getting an education is equally possible for everyone. Education policy that highlights individuality, freedom of choice and efficiency does not acknowledge the cultural and social customs that guide young people's educational paths. At the same time, we remain concerned when they discontinue their studies. From life course perspective, discontinuing studies often only represents one phase of one's educational path. I will call this educational transition the change of study path. The objective of my thesis was to study the narrative of educational paths of young adults who discontinued their vocational studies and transitioned to another vocational education sector. I was interested in what they told about the complex educational paths and changing study paths. In addition, I was interested in the types of resources young people had as part of their educational path, i.e. what options were available to them when making choices about their education. I studied their stories through the concepts of class, resources and geographical region. My thesis is based on life course-narrative interviews of five young adults completing their vocational education. They were between the ages of 19-26 and studied in the Southern Finland educational municipality in three different educational institutions. I gathered the material for this thesis and examined it with the use of narrative inquiry methodology because I was interested in what had been told. The analytical phases were theming and reading. Educational paths and change of study paths appeared in the young adults' stories as diverse and natural parts of their life paths. Changing study path resulted in not knowing, discovering and unequal opportunities. They tried different educational options and searched for a sector that suited them. They may have benefited from having more information on different options at their disposal. The home town's educational options, long distance between home and school, and cultural practices at home had placed the young adults in unequal position. They did, however, have different resources available that helped them discover their own direction. The resources included success in school, family support for getting an education, work experience through practical application, trust based relationships with family and friends and safe home environment. Unequal opportunities to transition educational paths featured in their stories. Their significance should be taken into consideration when planning the development of secondary education education.

Faculty: Educational Sciences Degree programme: Master’s Programme in Education Study track: Special Education Author: Sirpa Juusola Title: Study skills at a university of applied sciences Level: Master’s thesis Month and year: April 2023 Number of pages: 80 + 13 Keywords: study skills, study ability, need for support, learning difficulty Supervisor or supervisors: Lotta Uusitalo, Henri Pesonen Where deposited: Abstract: Objectives. This thesis had three main objectives: to find out how students at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences evaluate their own study skills in different areas, to compare study skills between different groups and to get information about students' wishes regarding the development of study skills. The study ability model developed by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health was used as the theoretical basis in the thesis. Methods. The research material was collected with a Webropol survey aimed at students in Oc-tober 2022. 758 students responded to the survey. The survey was compiled using existing in-struments for measuring study skills. The questionnaire consisted of seven background infor-mation questions and ten sections which included statements that were answered using a five-point Likert scale. An open question was used to gather information about the students' wishes related to support needed for developing study skills. The collected data was mainly quantita-tive, and it was analysed using the SPSS program. Results and conclusions. Of the ten sections measuring study skills, Study Orientation and Motivation received the highest rating, and the lowest rating was in the section Reading. There were statistically significant differences between the groups divided according to the back-ground variables. For example, the average scores of those with a higher education back-ground were higher in many sections compared to those coming from upper secondary level education. Also, the students being over 30 years old, had higher average scores compared to younger ones. There were no statistically significant differences between the fields of study. According to the survey, 26.4% of the respondents had learning difficulties. Almost 30% of the respondents hoped to receive support for developing study skills, such as support for devel-oping learning methods and techniques, scheduling, and basic reading and writing skills. Also, more personal guidance was hoped for. The results of the research can be used in the devel-opment of guidance services at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences as well as in the planning and organization of various activities that support students’ study skills.

This master’s thesis explores vocational education students’ experiences of immersive virtual learning environment. The thesis focuses on experiences of learning vocational skills in an immersive virtual learning environment that is designed for the field of profession. The research method of this study was qualitive. Research data was collected by observing the students whilst studying and in semi-structured interview. The observation was to support the interview data. The participants were five vocational students who have been using im-mersive virtual environment as one of the study environment during their vocational studies. Data analysis was done by using content analysis. According the results the students do experience that immersive virtual learning environment supports the development of their vocational skills as a part of students’ individual learning path. Some students experience that immersive virtual learning environment supports their vocational skills transfer to working life and some students experiences that immersive virtual learning environment supports mainly theoretical studies. Students experienced also various challenges, both technical challenges and challenges to use the virtual environment.

The research focuses on the views and experiences of professional youtubers and about where they have acquired their knowledge and skills. Also, how they develop their expertise is at the heart of the review, as there is no actual training in the profession of a youtuber. The aim of the study is to outline the different dimensions of knowledge and the areas that a person needs in his / her work. The context of the research is competence, competence development and new work. The labor market of the future requires updating skills, and through this research it is possible to look at the demands of the skills of such a new work represented by the youtubers in this study. The material consists of four interviews in which the most successful tubers in Finland tell about their own work and describe the related skills and areas of expertise. The analysis proceeds according to content analysis, where I summarize the categories of different competencies emerging from the interviewees' stories. On the basis of the analysis, four top classes describing the skills of professional youtubers were gathered: Technical skills, self-management skills, professional skills and networking skills. Under these four upper classes, there are even more sub-categories that define the skills required in the work of youtubers. The categories of competence are not intended to cover the skills and requirements of the entire profession, but to gain access to the individual's own expertise and development. Through the results, it is also possible to get more information on about the youtubers work, that represents new manifestations of worklife. The results show how new ways of working have come to stay and there is no return to the old bureaucratic organization style of work in these young people's expectations. Expertise and its development were seen as a self-contained factor. The future as a professional youtuber was seen as unstable, but still unlimited and bright. New forms of work and the changing attitudes of young people towards work require more research at a single level. New larger phenomena are often formed through micro-phenomena and when these micro-phenomena can be accessed early enough, greater changes could be better anticipated.

Study aims: Parents' role has been emphasized in children's speech therapy in recent years. There has, however, been very little research done on parents' experiences of their children's speech therapy. By learning more about parents' perceptions of speech therapy it is possible to increase the acceptance of therapy, develop therapy practices and the training of professionals. This study concentrated on stuttering children's speech therapy because there is very little research done on the topic and the role of parents is especially important in the speech therapy of stuttering children. The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge of parents' experiences of stuttering children's speech therapy as a part of daily life. Methods: The method in this study was a semi-structured interview. Altogether eight interviews were done in which seven mothers and one mother-father pair was interviewed. All the stuttering children were boys, aged 7 to 17 years. The interviews were done during May-June 2014. Theory bound content analysis was used in the study. Results and conclusions: For the parents speech therapy and the cooperation with the speech therapist was mainly a positive experience. The biggest challenge was the lack of therapy resources. The parents had mainly been successful in combining family life and therapy although the hurry of everyday life in families with small children was evident. Supporting children's speech fluency was seen as challenging. Some of the advice received in supporting the child's speech fluency had been seen helpful for the parents while some others were questioned. The parents would have wanted more guidance from the speech therapist in supporting the child's speech fluency in everyday life. Acceptance and commitment therapy was seen as more helpful than speech therapy in helping the parents come to terms with their child's stuttering and in supporting the child's speech fluency. Parents saw the peer support as especially helpful. The child's age had a bearing on the parents' experiences of their own role, on how well family life could be combined with therapy and on which of the ways to support the child's speech fluency were seen as helpful. The lack of therapy resources and especially the regional differences in therapy resources was evident in this study. On the basis of this study it can be stated that the parents of stuttering children experience their role in speech therapy as an important one. The role of parents is also experienced as challenging due to the lack of therapy resources and the hurry of everyday life. There should be more emphasis in speech therapy on parental guidance and on considering the family's overall situation. The lack of therapy resources, however, makes increasing the parental guidance difficult. More research is needed on parents' experiences of their stuttering children's speech therapy in order to take the parents' perspective better in to consideration in speech therapy.

Goals. The goal of the study was to determine how foodstuffs were advertised in Pirkka magazines during the years 1954-1964. The theoretical framework of the study was that the choice between different foods is a socially and culturally determined phenomenon that can be influenced by nutrition education and advertisement. History of eating in Finland and the nutrition challenges faced during the set time period were also examined in the study. This is to help describe the social and cultural environment as related to food in the examination period. The period was set to approximately ten years after the food rationing ended. Methods. The materials in the study were advertisements in Pirkka magazines that were published between the years 1954-1964. Advertisements were collected from microfilms and from original copies. A total of 510 advertisements of foodstuffs from every other year were chosen as a representation of the total material base. The contents of the advertisements were categorized according to a predetermined set of variables as per the advertisements' references to the product group, persons appearing in the advertisements, and the claims to nutritional qualities and other attributes. The results acquired through the categorization were analyzed through the means of content analysis. Results and conclusions. The advertisements focused on advertising consumer grade stimulants, and processed or new foodstuffs. Common fresh products were not represented in the material. The most advertised products were coffee, wheat flour, oatmeal, margarine, and butter. The advertisement of food stuffs was not directly related to the amount of food-stuffs consumed. Foodstuffs were advertised especially by emphasizing the perceptible quality and healthiness of the product. The healthiness of the product was argued to be associated to its vitamin content. The persons appearing in the advertisement were mostly women and children who were to appeal to the viewers' emotions and to set the target audience. Contemporary nutritional challenges and nutrition discourse were also reflected in the advertisements as nutrition science's period of vitaminology and the rivalry of butter and margarine were observable in them.

This research clarifies managements perceptions of employees’ job satisfaction in distance work during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how this job satisfaction has been supported. At the transition to distance work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a change in the working environment for many employees. Previous research shows that change in working environment can also cause a change in job satisfaction, therefor research in job satisfaction during the Covid-19 pandemic is relevant. This research was carried out as qualitative research, with semi structured interviews and thematic analysis. The sample consisted of four (4) respondents, representing management either as CEOs or HR-managers. The respondents have worked in their position both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic and can therefor compare and give insights about employees’ job satisfaction both before and during the pandemic. All organisations were small and medium enterprises and sales organisations. The organisations had previously taken part of a work well-being questionnaire. For these attributes it was expected that the organisations had been faced with similar challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the management had similar prior knowledge about their employees’ job satisfaction. The results of this research show that in the cases where employees’ job satisfaction had not decreased after the transition to distance work, there had been many diverse types of supporting actions. In these cases communication had prioritised, and there was a strive for similar type of communication as the communication before distance work. With distance work becoming a more common alternative form of work, even post Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to be able to support distance work in an appropriate way. Furthermore, this research show that interpreting employees’ well-being is challenging, even in direct questions and discussion. Future research in how to interpret employees’ well-being and job satisfaction is needed.

Homework is a part of the day-to-day activities in most schools. The use and benefits of homework is undergoing debate. Existing research in the field is limited and sometimes conflicting. The Finnish curriculum does not require homework to be used in teaching. Thus, it is the teacher who decides if, how and what kind of homework the pupils shall be assigned. Mathematics is a subject where homework is commonly used. It is therefore relevant to study how teachers think about homework within this particular subject and how the homework in use relates to the (social)constructivist view on learning that the current curriculum is largely based on. The aim of this study was to examine what kind of homework in mathematics primary school teachers assign and how they argue either in favor of or against homework in mathematics education. Focus was on effects that develop mathematics performance. In addition, the teachers’ views on the importance of parental involvement relating to homework in mathematics was studied. A questionnaire was sent to primary school teachers in three Swedish-speaking schools in the metropolitan area of Finland. The questionnaire included both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. 19 teachers responded. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed. A deductive methodological approach was applied. The study showed that the teachers view learning in a social-constructive manner. The type of homework assigned does not, however, reflect this. Focus is on repetitive mechanical assignments to be performed individually. For instance, assignments including problem-solving are in limited use, although many believe that such assignments, along with repetitive ones, support learning in mathematics. Homework that these teachers assign does not to any large extent require being done outside of school. This leads to the relevant question whether homework is used due to the insufficiency of time in school. Most of the teachers argued for the use of homework in mathematics by reference to the importance of repetition. A majority viewed parental involvement as important. Despite the fact that the curriculum stresses equality, only three respondents reflected upon the risk that parental involvement might lead to inequality. Homework club at school was most commonly viewed as the remedy against the absence of support at home. Most teachers showed an unproblematic attitude towards the use of homework in mathematics education.

Teachers’ epistemic beliefs may play a role in their own ICT use for learning as well as their students’. This study, focusing on how teachers’ epistemic profiles are related to teachers’ and their students’ ICT use reported by their teachers, is a new attempt to investigate teachers’ ICT use as a learning tool. The participants were 157 subject-matter teachers in Finland filled in a Likert-type questionnaire measuring epistemic beliefs and categories of ICT use based on the three metaphors of learning: knowledge acquisition, participation, and knowledge sharing and building. First, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity of the ICT instrument. Concerning teachers’ epistemic profiles, a person-oriented approach was applied. Based on latent profile analysis, means of all variables in ICT use scales between profiles were compared to examine the relation between epistemic profiles and ICT use for learning. The results showed that in terms of ICT use reported by teachers in two scales, knowledge acquisition was dominant as compared to the other two categories. Two epistemic profiles were defined among Finnish teachers: Knowledge-transmission and Reflective-collaborative profiles. By comparing teacher reported ICT use across the two profiles, the results demonstrated that teachers in the reflective-collaborative group were more likely to report using ICT for their own learning and for supporting their students’ learning.