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Objectives: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. It causes significant individual suffering as well as societal economic burden. In this study hostility refers to a multidimensional personality trait, which includes cynicity and paranoia towards others and feelings of anger. Previous studies have shown that hostility is associated with depressive symptoms and different psychosocial problems. However, it is not known if there is a two-way relationship between depressive symptoms and hostility over time. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine, whether depressive symptoms predict higher levels of hostility, and also, whether hostility predicts later depressive symptoms. The hypothesis was that depressive symptoms would predict higher hostility. No hypothesis was set to whether hostility would predict later depressive symptoms. Methods: The sample of this study (n=1528) has been collected in a longitudinal and still ongoing study (the Young Finns study) started in 1980 of the risk factors for coronary heart disease of Finns of age 24–39 in 2001. Depressive symptoms were measured in 2001 and 2007 using a modified version of Beck's depression inventory (mBDI). Hostility was evaluated in 2001 and 2007 using three different scales which measure cognitive and affective dimensions of hostility. The scales of cognitive dimensions (cynicity and paranoia) are originally a part of the MMPI and SCL-90R inventories. Affective dimensions were measured using the anger scale included in Buss and Durkee's hostility scale. The research setting controlled for perceived social support, socioeconomic status and health behavior and they were assessed in 2001. Results and conclusions: A two-way relationship between depressive symptoms and hostility was found. The controlled factors did not attenuate the association between depressive symptoms and hostility. In addition, this study found that perceived low level of social support, a lower socioeconomic status, smoking and the male sex were weak predictors of hostility. This study also supports earlier results that depressive symptoms and hostility are relatively permanent traits. Recognizing a two-way relationship of depression and hostility may help in developing interventions for both conditions.

The purpose of the present study was to examine predictions of mathematics self-concept and math-anxiety and mathematics intensions on the 15 year old participants. In addition, the study examined whether the students' mathematical performance and gender contribute to their mathematics intentions. Self-concept is the image that people have of themselves. Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of discomfort that arises when a person comes into situations that require mathematical reasoning skills and problem solving. Previous studies have shown that the mathematical self-concept, mathematics anxiety and mathematical skills predict students' course enrollment intentions and future career plans. In this study the participants came from the 2012 nationwide Pisa study. The study involved 8829 15-year-old students, of which 5688 students responded to questions measuring mathematical self-concept and mathematics anxiety. Mathematical self-concept and mathematics anxiety were measured with 4-point Likert scales. Five forced-choice items measured students' plans regarding mathematics at some stage in the future. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables that explained the students' mathematics intentions in the future. Self-concept, mathematical performance and gender significantly predicted future mathematics intentions but math anxiety did not. Based on this and earlier studies it can be concluded that higher mathematical self-concept predict the intentions of young people to study mathematics in the future

Mathematical problem-solving skills have become increasingly important in our technology-driven, rapidly evolving modern society. The OECD (2017) has identified mathematical problem-solving skills as a key skill for the future. Mathematical problem-solving skills are considered a key competency in everyday life as well as in educational and academic progress. In everyday and work life the mathematical questions are mostly described in verbal format. Therefore, teaching to solve mathematical word problem-solving (WPS) tasks is one of the most relevant ways to train higher-order-thinking skills in elementary school mathematics. The connection of word problem-solving tasks to everyday life has led to their prominent place in mathematics and science curriculums (Jaffe & Bolger, 2023; Seel, 2017). Research findings consistently demonstrate the effectiveness of problem-based teaching approaches (Hoffmann, ym., 2006; Pineda, 2019; Salmivirta, 2020). However, gaps in students' mathematical problem-solving skills have been identified in Finland (Kupari 1983; Kyllönen & Nissinen 2014) and internationally (Dewolf et al., 2014; PISA 2003; PISA 2015). Especially for students with mathematical learning difficulties, mathematical word problem-solving is challenging (Arsenault & Powell, 2022). This thesis aimed to develop a digital word problem solving assessment tool using quantitative analysis. The thesis was carried out as part of the Future Problem Solvers! project in cooperation with the University of Helsinki, Åbo Akademii University, the Aalto University, and the Turku Research Institute for Learning Analytics. The research material was collected during the autumn of 2023 on the digital ViLLE learning platform from 3-6 grade pupils in primary schools with 104 word problem-solving tasks. The tasks used to collect the data were created at the beginning of 2022, and the data consisted of 70 886 responses. The data was analyzed using Excel 2022 (version 18) spreadsheet software and IBM SPSS Statistics 28 statistical software during the academic year 2023-2024. In the process of finding suitable tasks for the assessment tool word problem solving the schemas (Marshall, 1995) of the task instruction were used. The main result is 30 items suitable for a digital assessment tool to map arithmetic word problem-solving skills. The suitable tasks have been divided according to their level of difficulty for grades 3-4 and 5-6, as the difficulty of the tasks changed with the grade level. The study found that when developing a verbal problem-solving assessment tool, it is important to consider whether a wide range of mathematical content areas is practical to assess, as the verbal problem-solving task is relatively time-consuming. The development of assessment tools is important for the development of an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning support. This thesis is a first step forward in the development of digital assessment and further teaching of arithmetic word problem-solving.

Aims. The aim of this Master’s Thesis (Special Education) is to evaluate reliability and validity of the CodyTest in Finland with grade 2–4 children. The CodyTest is designed to identify children who are at risk for mathematical learning difficulties. The test’s reliability and validity has been evaluated in German sample, but not before with Finnish sample. Methods. Fivehundredthirteen children participate the study. Data was collected during years 2016–2017 and that was part of teacher’s training program of Niilo Mäki Instituutti. The teachers used the test with children in their own classes. The data is owned by Niilo Mäki Instituutti, which granted it to be used in this study. The construction of CodyTest was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the reliability was evaluated by Cronbach’s alfa. Configural freqvency analysis and Pearson’s correlation was used to assess if the results of CodyTest were stable over seven months. The concurrent validity of CodyTest was evaluated with correlations between CodyTest and other mathematical skills tests. Results. The structural equation model which was found by CFA has a good fit (X^2 (33)=99.427, p<0.001, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.93, RMSEA=0.06). The analysis showed that CodyTest has two latent factors, namely “subitizing and comparing” (α=0.75) and “number sequence and basic arithmetic skills” (α=0.74). The composite test’s reliability was 0.77. The stability of CodyTest’s scores were reliable between seven months, the test-retest correlations were high, and it was possible to identify low performing children both times. The two factor and composite scores were correlating with mathematics skills test total scores. The results in this thesis show that the reliability and validity of CodyTest are good in Finnish sample.

Aims. The purpose of this study was to find out in what way mathematic achievement and beliefs related to one’s own achievement interrelate. This phenomenon was studied from the point of view of both task-specific achievement and achievement of the entire test, and in addition, both task-specific self-confidence and general beliefs related to one’s own achievement. According to several previous studies, mathematic achievement and beliefs related to one’s own achievement interrelate. The mission of the study is to describe the relationship between mathematic achievement and beliefs related to one’s own achievement in 5th graders. Methods. The study was conducted quantitatively. The study utilized the MATHMot data from the pilot phase collected in Finland in the spring of 2021, of which only the sections of 5th graders were considered. There were a total of five 5th grade classes which were all socio-economically from different regions of the metropolitan area. There were a total of 101 5th graders in the data. During the same research visit, the students were given a test measuring their mathematic achievement, a task measuring their task-specific self-confidence and a questionnaire measuring their general beliefs related to one’s own achievement. The data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and independent sample t-test performed with SPSS 27 software. Results and conclusions. The study revealed that mathematic achievement and beliefs related to one’s own achievement mainly interrelate. Positive beliefs related to one’s own achievement positively interrelate mathematic achievement. However, statistically significant relationship was not found for all tasks.

Previous studies have implied that math anxiety has negative impact on people's future. The purpose of this study, was to examine which factors explain and predict math anxiety. This study investigates factors which have arisen from previous studies and literature. It has been submitted that math attitudes, parents' attitudes, math skills, gender, hereditary factors, teaching methods and class atmosphere have an effect on math anxiety. The data used in this study, was collected by the Finnish National Agency for Education in 2008–2012 from Finnish students in sixth and ninth grade. The data was received from the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre. In the sixth grade analysis, multiple regression was utilised. Multilevel modelling was used on the ninth grade analysis. The longitudinal analysis from sixth to ninth grade was analysed by multiple regression. For all the analyses, regression models were fitted. Factors which were examined on sixth grade, were math attitudes, math skills and gender. On ninth grade the factors were all the previous, and parents' attitudes, teaching methods and study atmosphere in class. In the longitudinal analysis math anxiety on sixth grade was examined in addition to the sixth grade factors mentioned before. Sixth grade math anxiety was explained by self-efficacy, liking math, seeing math useful, math skills and gender. Ninth grade math anxiety was explained by self-efficacy, liking math, study atmosphere in class and gender. Sixth grade math anxiety, self-efficacy and liking math predict-ed the amount of math anxiety on ninth grade for both, girls and boys. Study groups differed only marginally from each other on math anxiety on sixth grade. On ninth grade they differed a bit more, but still the group explained only a little of the variance on math anxiety. Girls endure more math anxiety than boys on both grades. The most powerful explanatory factor of math anxiety is self-efficacy. Previous math anxiety is the prime predictive factor of math anxiety.

The aim of this study was to describe how the figures and numbers appeared in first grade students' own choice play and games during the school day. According to previous studies, play inspires and motivates the child, and there are several factors that have a positive impact on learning. Previous studies have also shown, that the free play of children under school age includes a wide range of mathematics. On the other hand, there is probably little research into the inclusion of mathematics in the play of school-age children. This is possibly the first study to examine the appearance of figures and numbers in own choice play by first grade students. The research strategy of the study was focused ethnography. Participatory observation and discussions with students were used as data collection methods. The research data was collected during five weeks’ time from students in one primary school of Southern Finland. The class had a total of 26 students, some of whom were in pre-primary education, some of whom were in first grade and part second grade. The study used the research data only from first grade students. In the analysis of the data, I used theory driven content analysis. As guiding theories, I utilised the types of activities of Papandreou and Tsiouli, which were based on observations on children's everyday mathematics in play in the early childhood education environment and the play types that occurred during the free play of preschool children by Hakkarainen and Bredikyte. First grade students' own choice play and games during the school day included figures and numbers. The games differed quite a lot. The meaning of figures and numbers was different in different games. The games featured four types of play/activity: other rule games in the group (exercise games), board games, conversations, and sociodramatic play. Pokémon cards, tag play and twisting in a tango (meatball play) appeared most often in students' play and games. The figures and numbers were expressed in own choice play or games counting one by one, listing numbers up to 20, identifying or comparing numbers, adding, and subtracting, and multiplication. Higher numbers used by students when playing with Pokémon cards.

The aim of this study was to find out how the creative design process is affected when using material techniques. The data for this study was collected through an online survey. The survey was sent to the students of Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Craft Science students at University of Helsinki and students of University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art and Design. The survey was conducted during the spring semester of 2022. The survey inquired students’ skills in different areas of the creative design process on a 5-point Likert scale, as well as numbers of different material techniques they used to aid their design process. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 28.0.0.0 (190)) software. The research methods used were mainly quantitative. The aspects of design competence were studied using exploratory factor analysis. Three factors were extracted from the data: analysing process, creative design and defining assignment. Together they explain 36,1% of the variance in creative design competence. Material techniques were grouped together to form a sum variable that was divided into five groups to describe the amount of material techniques used by a respondent. Difference in aspects of design competence was compared between bachelor’s and master’s students using the t-test. The relationship between the aspects of design competence and the material techniques used was investigated using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Respondents were also formed into groups in terms of fields of study, whose use of material technologies was compared with a Mann-Whitney’s U-test. The study revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in aspects of design competence between bachelor’s and master’s students. Using material techniques had a small but statistically significant effect on the analysing process (p=,009 ETA²=,086). There was a difference between the two groups that used material techniques the least. Comparison between different fields of study revealed how the use of material techniques varied in different fields of design.

The main aim of the study was to examine how reading fluency and early numeracy skills contribute to mathematical problem-solving skills in second graders. The effects of family and school socioeconomic status (SES) on these skills were also examined. The mathematical problem-solving skills of 145 second graders from varied schools were evaluated along with their reading fluency and early numeracy (arithmetic fluency, number sense). Participants’ family SES was also investigated. The results of path modelling showed that mathematical problem-solving requires both reading fluency and early numeracy skills. The results also confirmed that mother’s educational background is related to early numeracy skills, and that language spoken at home is related to reading fluency and indirectly to mathematical problem-solving via reading fluency. The path model revealed no differences between the schools. The study findings indicate that reading fluency contributes strongly to mathematical problem-solving skills in second grade Finnish students.

The purpose of this research is to study and understand racism between ethnic minority group children as a phenomenon in schools. The goal is to study, through the speech of teachers, what kinds of cultural categories exist in schools and what factors, according to teachers, influence racist encounters between children from ethnic minority groups. This study is part of the research project Racism Between Ethnic Minority Groups, carried out by the youth education organization Non Fighting Generation. The intention of the project is to study racism between ethnic minority groups. The theoretical background of this study is in the theory of social identity, which focuses on group behaviour and out-group relations. It is based on the notion that people form evaluations about their own group by comparing it to other groups. The data of the research was collected from seven elementary school teachers in the Helsinki metropolitan area by using semi-structured interview method and the interviews were analyzed through discursive methods. The data show that there is hierarchy-based reasoning between ethnic minority groups. Considering one's own ethnic group to be better than other minority groups seems to help the individual strengthen his/her social identity. Based on cultural categorization children with Asian background were seen as calm survivors, more likely to stay in the background. Children with Russian roots were described to have a strong sense of cultural identity. Arrogant behaviour was also seen as a cause for why Russian boys got into trouble. The Somali children were the ones who stood out the most and who also separated themselves the most from other ethnic minority groups. Physical appearance, style of clothing, cultural habits and religious way of life defined the Somali children as a cultural category. In this study four factors were shown to influence racist conflicts between ethnic minority groups in school; religion, lack of a majority language, cultural habits and behavioural patterns learned at home. The results of this study indicate that racism exists between ethnic minority group children and that teachers feel they lack the means to tackle the issue. This research shows the need for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, so that it can be prevented in the future.