Browsing by Subject "erityispedagogiikka"

The aim of this thesis was to explore teachers' perceptions and experiences of normative whiteness and white power. This is important because whiteness is built into the education system, and it is a way of maintaining racist perceptions and values. It also allows for the maintenance of ableist values and perceptions, as whiteness has historically been associated with notions of intelligence, efficiency, and ability, for example, thus justifying racism through categories associated with disability. The thesis therefore drew on an intersectional framework identifying "race" and disability to identify the ways in which ideologies of whiteness are manifested in the education system, producing multiple, overlapping forms of oppression. The examination of the issue from the perspective of teachers is essential, as teachers are in a position of significant power in producing and maintaining categories of "normal" and "non-normal". The study was conducted as a systematic literature review. Through narrative synthesis, 7 themes describing teachers' perceptions and experiences emerged from the data. Themes were divided into two groups (perceptions and experiences of white teachers and perceptions and experiences of PoC teachers) to find the widest possible range of findings about the ways in which ideologies of whiteness manifest in teachers' perceptions and experiences. The division was made in line with the anti-racist agenda of the study and the Disability Critical Race Theory framework. The findings of the study confirmed previous research findings on epistemologies of white innocence, which manifested in white teachers as fear and avoidance of talking about "race", downplaying racism, exploiting ignorance, defensiveness, focusing on whiteness, and emphasizing their own white goodness, among others. PoC teachers' perceptions and experiences were related to multiple experiences of racism. PoC teachers also described several ways in which normative whiteness and white power were implemented in the education system, manifested in eurocentric and whiteness-centered examination structures and materials. The groups' findings complemented each other in that while white teachers described their ignorance of racism, PoC teachers described their experiences of white teachers not taking responsibility or recognizing oppression in the education system. The findings also mirrored each other in that as white teachers used trendy words ("woke") to elevate their own social status, PoC teachers expressed concern that challenging racism would be a trend for the privileged, rather than a sustainable, anti-racist activity. The findings of this study reflect the multiple ways in which normative whiteness and white power are manifested in the education system. To be truly equal, we need to look critically at the power structures in the education system and challenge what are perceived as "normal" perceptions and values.

The aim of this study is to examine how teachers describe their pupils studying by activity areas. Pupils studying in activity based area education often have profound intellectual disabilities, mental disabilities or other medical disabilities or conditions. Previous research has shown that when describing pupils who receive special support the descriptions are often negative and focused on individual problems. Previous studies suggest that pupils studying by activity areas have increased variation in the amount of support they need in special needs, learning capacity and in their ability to function. The goal of this study was to determine how teachers describe their pupils abilities to learn and how learning actually takes place. In addition, the way teachers describe their pupil’s ability to function, personality and their interests were also studied. The data of this study consists of 19 interview transcripts of teachers in activity area based education. The interviews were collected across Finland during the INTO-project in 2018–2019.This study was conducted with qualitative research approach. Analysis was implemented with the procedures of qualitative content analysis and the results are presented with a thematic networks analysis method by Attride-Stirling (2001).The results were organized into basic themes, organizing themes and global themes. According to the results, the teachers viewed their pupils’ learning skills as being limited and that the learning process is gradual. Pupils were described has having wildly different abilities to function, but the results showed that with certain pupils their ability to function is greatly challenged and this was affected by several factors. According to the results the interests and skills of the students are usually strongly aimed at concrete things that they enjoy doing. Teachers used somewhat colourful and unique expressions about their pupils’ personalities. Based on the results the pupils in education arranged by activity areas have diverse needs of support and require very individualised teaching methods. Teachers perceive their profession to be challenging. Further research and discussions about adequate in-service training and developing the curriculum are needed.