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Studies show that gender continues to shape everyday life at school. It is important that teachers are aware of their own views on gender, as the promotion and implementation of equality is one of the core values of teaching. The purpose of this study is to analyze how teachers describe students in interviews by classifying them according to their gender and other characteristics. It focuses particularly on the category of gender, which is repeated frequently in the interviews. It also studies how gender overlaps with other categories such as the age, immigration status, and special needs of a student. This study was conducted as a qualitative interview survey. The material is from the Koskettava koulu (Touch in school) project funded by the Kone Foundation. This study analyses 19 semi-structured interviews of teachers. The interviewees were aged 35-63 and most of them have a Masters Degree in education. The method used is membership categorization analysis, which has been developed based on Harvey Sacks' categorization analysis. The study found that teachers classify students in a number of different ways in everyday school life. For instance, teachers tend to categorize students based on gender, age, ethnicity, school success, and sexuality. The interviews indicate that particularly the perceptions of girls and boys as actors are stereotypical. In the research material, girlhood and boyhood are constructed using different reports and comparisons, and girls and boys were often depicted as contrasting. However, when teachers were asked about the daily life of the school and the impact of gender on their work, the majority of teachers said they acted in a gender-neutral manner.

In this study I examined how descriptions of dressing in the Finnish girls’ literature, magazines and etiquette books written in 20the century has depicted the times they were written in, the current fashion and dress codes. I also studied how and by whom the girls’ dressing was controlled during the same time period. I analyzed how the personality of the character, her social status and attached group comes across from the clothes worn in the books. The data collected for my study consisted of descriptions of dressing included in the Finnish girls’ literature written during the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s. I have also studied articles written in relation to dressing in Finnish magazines Kotiliesi and Suomen Kuvalehti as well as etiquette books written during the same decades to bring wider context for dressing in Finland during the studied period. This study is a historical qualitative study. I have used qualitative data analysis as my method. Current fashion was not apparent in the pages of the books under study which is typical for the Finnish girls’ literature. However, the zeitgeist of the publishing time of the book could be inter-preted from the dressing descriptions. In addition, especially at the earliest decades studied, the dress code of the society was apparent both in the books and even more so in the magazines and etiquette books. How the girls’ dressed was not only controlled by internalized norms but also by their mothers. Girlhood, how to be a girl in Finnish society has been reproduced and dismantled in the dressing descriptions. Dressing is communication, also when the description of dressing is in the written format. Dress descriptions have been used to describe the personality of the character and also the changes or hopes that one has for a change in one. Social status is often readable in one’s appearance which is also true for the characters of the books studied. Dress is one way for a girl to become part of a certain group as well as to differentiate from it if wanted.

The aim if this master's thesis was to examine discourses about disability in Helsingin Sanomat and to observe how a positive, heroic, stereotype about disability occurs. The background of this was influenced by disability stereotypes and social disability studies' view about disability as social construct. A social disability model was mainly used as a tool to perceive disability. Impression behind heroic stereotype exploration was a view of stigmatizing positive stereotypes. Research problems were: What kind of disability discourses do appear in Helsingin Sanomat? and What kind of discourses do appear about heroic disability? The purpose of this study was to challenge perceptions about disability and offer a new perspective to explore disability. My research material consisted of writings about disabled persons in Helsingin Sanomat in 2008-2013, which accumulated altogether 107 articles, altogether 117 pages. The analysis was based on French discourse analysis tradition, where the attention is focused on cultural products that construct reality. With the help of discourse analysis, it was explained what kind of discourses were built and what do they tell about attitudes toward disability. There appeared quite different discourses about disability, but the most noticeable was the tragic discourse. This was however challenged through opposing discourses, in which the problems focus was centered to society instead of focusing the problems toward individual. Difference discourse was striven to be emphasize the differences related to disability, but it was protested by similarity discourse. Heroic disability was constructed through opposing discourse to tragic discourse about disability and overplayed skills and persistence. This study shows that disabled are still in the marginal, though attitudes seem to be changing. Positive stereotypes are stigmatizing and uphold attitudes where skills are interpreted as an exception. At the same time disabled people may be seen as somehow magical creatures. This study highlights attitudes toward disability which can be seen as a tool to challenge prejudice and normative attitudes about disability.

The changes in working life have set new kind of challenges for applicant attraction and recruiting. Therefore, organizations have started to invest more and more on the assessment and development of their attractiveness. The employment image can be considered as a key factor of this process. Previous studies have shown that the measures made especially in the early stages of the recruitment process have significant impact on employment image, corporate image, organizational attractiveness and the applicants' intentions to apply for the positions. The aim of this study was to assess the external employer branding of the target company, Finrail Oy, in regarding the recruitment process. In addition, the applicants' experiences of the recruitment process and the recruitment image were studied. Previous studies have indicated that this recruitment image has impact on both corporate and employment image. The need for a closer assessment of the external employer branding was recognized because of the unfamiliarity of the newly established organization. The qualitative research was implemented as part of the firm's annual recruitment process in February 2015 and the data were collected by using questionnaire. The participants (n=627) were the candidates taking part in recruitment process in 2015. The questionnaire included open questions and eventually 174 candidates answered the question. The results were analyzed by using the coding analyzing method. The results showed that the awareness of the company had grown since the year of establishment. However, the interests of the candidates had divided to other industry segments as well. All in all, both the employment and company images can be seen very consistent. The both images were quite similar and they were based on images as modernity, trust, certainty and stability. The results also showed that candidates had received enough information during the recruitment process. Based on the results and theoretical background some conclusions and recommendations can be presented, concerning familiarity, distinctiveness and employer brand communication. Also, the importance of recruitment image should be considered as an important factor in the recruitment.

Goals. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the effects of class background on individual’s educational path, especially university studies, and entering academic workforce. Previous research show that students with non-academic background experience university as defining and alien, but also that gained university degrees alienate them from the members and values of their original class background. According to research the impact of social class has not decreased: the concept of class order covers historical and cultural climates which still influence current approaches, although diversity within classes has increased and general workforce changed. In this dissertation I explore social class as an individual lived experience with the concepts of inscription, respectability, and legitimation by Beverley Skeggs. I set two research questions: 1) How do inscription, respectability, and legitimation entangle with educational path and attending academic workforce? 2) In my data, what similar or divergent lived experiences of class transitions were described by the women with non-academic family background? Methodology. The data contain biographic interviews of four women, which were themed by periods of educational path and finding employment in academic field. The analysis of data was theory-based, that is inscription, respectability, and legitimation by Skeggs were the premise. Results and conclusions. The results showed that social class background affected on integrating academic education and work force by shutting individuals out: studies slowing down because of work or aimless wandering were part of educational paths, and upper middle-class values typical to academic world were not experienced as inclusive. However, interviewees did not experience themselves as victims, but active agents who found studying and taking degrees pleasurable and meaningful. Devotion to educate themselves, as well as succeeding in studies, stood out in the interviews. This dissertation extends previous research with the observation of the importance of guidance, especially during general secondary education and university studies. Offspring of non-academic families had no knowledge of educational or work opportunities, their own competence or how to compile their university studies, and they found institutional guidance lacking. Also, family support was highlighted, as well as families’ ignorance in the ways to support their school-thriving child or how to take advantage of schooling system in order to benefit educational path.

Epistemic beliefs are somewhat stable conceptions of what knowledge is. On one hand, they have been suggested to be a developmental sequence, and on the other hand, consist of multiple intertwined dimensions. The aim of this study is to research the connections in university students’ epistemic beliefs, and their relation to academic disciplines and academic achievement. Previous studies have suggested that while some disciplinary differences exist, the more relativistic epistemic beliefs have generally been seen as more sophisticated ones. These more relativistic epistemic beliefs have previously been shown to be positively connected to better academic achievement. A person-oriented approach is applied in this study, to provide a tangible perspective to the students’ epistemic beliefs. The sample consisted of 831 first-year students from University of Helsinki from years 2013 and 2014. The data used in the study was part of Mind the Gap –project, and it was collected with a multi-sectioned questionnaire, mainly from large introductory courses. Additional data from the study register was used to examine academic achievement. The data was analyzed statistically with SPSS, using TwoStep cluster analysis, crosstabs, and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). Three epistemic profiles were found: Non-Reflective Students, Reflective Theorists, and Practical Academics. Some significant differences, supported by earlier research, were found in the representation of the identified epistemic profiles in the faculties. Reflective Theorists were broadly represented in the Faculty of Social Sciences and sparse in the Faculty of Medicine. Additionally, Practical Academics were largely present in the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences, and Non-Reflective Students in the Faculty of Law. In regards to Study Performance, Reflective Theorists had significantly higher Study Performance (GPA) than the two other profiles. This study overall broadened the comprehensive understanding of university students’ epistemic beliefs, and can be useful in planning university studies and student intake locally.

A weak connection to school can have long-term consequences for the individual and for society. Therefore, it is important to find out what respondents who have experienced a weak connection to school consider to be the underlying reasons. The School Health Promotion study for example state that lack of school well-being and school affiliation is a problem in Finland. The purposes of this study are to explore the perceived causes of weak school affiliation and what kind of support people who have experienced weak school affiliation believe would have helped them. A support measure that Finland has taken 2021 is the renewed compulsory education law, according to which compulsory education has been extended to the age of 18. This study also finds out what respondents think about this support measure. This study adopted a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews as a data collection method. Six respondents participated in the study, all of whom had a school background containing absences in comprehensive school and dropping out of comprehensive school or at an early stage of secondary education. The material was analyzed by a content analysis. The results show that respondents have experienced performance anxiety, weak relationships with teachers, a problematic circle of friends, lack of support from home, monotonous teaching, injustice in school and lack of future thoughts about educational paths as major causes of weak school affiliation, school dropouts and / or missed educational choices. All respondents felt that they did not know what their strengths were and that they did not have future dreams regarding a career path. All felt that support for finding their strengths, a community in the school, a good relationship with teachers and a positive view of learning had helped them in their schooling. All thought that the extended compulsory school age had mainly positive aspects, but some of the respondents considered that it would not have made a difference in their lives if the support resources in comprehensive school had not changed remarkably.

The aim of this study was to examine how the students' commitment and assessments of occupational and educational plans changed during a course in folk high school and how optimism was related to the possible change. Plans related to future occupation and education are part of personal goals that people set for the future. Previous experiences and knowledge, own interests and plans affect goal setting. Also personality influence the goals, and optimists and pessimists differ in the way of setting goals. Optimists usually expect things to go well and as wanted, and pessimists usually expect things to go badly and not as wanted. The data were collected with a questionnaire in Finnish folk high schools in two phases. The first phase was implemented in the autumn of 2000 and the second phase in the spring of 2001. In this study, the sample was limited to the students of general education (N = 2793), and consists mostly of adolescents and young adults. The data was analysed using SPSS 21 and the change was examined with paired samples t-test, and also with hierarchical regression analysis. In this study, the change of commitment and assessments was examined between the first measurement, which was conducted at the beginning of the course, and the second measurement, which was conducted at the end of the course. Also, how optimism at the first measurement was related to the change, was examined. The results showed that students reported to commit themselves more to educational plans, to explore more options of occupation and education, and to know more about different options after attending the course but they did not report more commitment to occupational plans than before. Optimism was only related to the increased commitment to educational plans; the more optimistic students were at the beginning, the more committed to educational plans they were at the end. The study shows that general studies in folk high school gets students to commit more to their future educational plans, increases knowledge of different occupational and educational options and also, gets students to explore more options. The study also shows that optimism contributes positively to students' commitment to their plans concerning education.

Goals. The purpose of this research is to graph, analyze and interpret the dual career of an athlete, specifically a synchronized skater. Additionally, the research delves deeper into a synchronized skater’s life in the context of an athletic and academic career. The research also maps out the support structures these athletes have in their dual-careers and the kinds of support they feel they’ll need in the future. The research focuses on undergraduate students, i.e., SM-level (National championship level) junior synchronized skaters. The given target demographic is chosen based on the lack of extensive research on the timing of a high-level athlete’s career-path in synchronized skating during undergraduate studies. Methods. The research was carried out through a qualitative interview survey. A total of 10 SM-level junior synchronized skaters participated in the interviews. They were chosen from, based on the results of the 2019-2020 season, the five best junior-level teams of the country. The athletes spoke of their own experiences relating to a dual career and the kinds of support they’ve received. The material was gathered through semi-structured thematic interviews from December to January of 2021-22. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed, the purpose of which was to summarize and conceptualize the interview material and add understanding to the theme of an athlete’s perspective on dual careers. Results and conclusions. The experiences of high-level Finnish synchronized skaters in a dual career are rather positive. A significant portion of the athletes felt that the combining of an academic and athletic career is possible and the two can even support each other in some areas. A high-level synchronized-skater appears to be a very performance-oriented and effective person. According to the research, the goals of an athlete were ambitious in both careers, but the athletic career was still overall the priority. This was seen especially in their studying speed: athletes often finishing their undergraduate studies in four years rather than the typical three. The athletes succeeded in their dual careers mainly due to their own persistence rather than their support structures surrounding them. There does exist support for their dual career, but for the support to be effective they require development. The athletes brought up many ideas for development of the support structures in place, mainly related to communication between actors, low-threshold support-services and asking about training times and places. Additional areas for improvements were identified as the oftentimes burdensome first year of undergraduate studies, morning-trainings in sports-oriented schools and supporting athletes who live on their own.

Aims. The aim of this study was to examine students’ self-control and academic well-being in the context of Finnish upper secondary sport schools. Self-control and well-being factors were identified and differences between girls and boys, and between general and sports program students in self-control and well-being were examined. One aim was also to study how self-control factors predict school burnout and school engagement. Self-control refers to invidual capacity to regulate immediate responses, behaviors and thoughts. Academic well-being consists of school burnout and school engagement. School burnout is conceptualized as exhaustion, cynical attitudes and sense of inadequacy as a student. The connection between self-control and well-being is internationally well studied, but self-control has been studied less in Finland. This study provides deeper understanding regarding upper secondary school students’ self-control and academic well-being in a specific Finnish context. Methods. The participants were 424 general upper secondary school students from 12 sport-oriented schools around Finland. Students filled in a questionnaire, which consisted of questions about self-control, well-being, studying and sports. Widely used Brief Self-Control Scale was translated into Finnish. Self-control and well-being factors were validated by exploratory factor analysis. T-tests were used to identify differences in self-control and well-being by gender and study program. The effects of self-control variables on the well-being dimensions were examined by means of regression analyses. Results. Three different dimensions of self-control were found: self-discipline, impulsivity and indolence. Results indicate that self-control is not merely inhibiting impulses, but self-control involves also an initiatory dimension. Girls reported less self-discipline but more exhaustion than boys. The results show that sports program students express less indolence and cynicism than general program students. There were no significant differences in the other self-control and well-being variables by gender or program. From self-control dimensions, indolence was the most prominent predictor of well-being dimensions. The findings indicate that studying in the sports program does not lead to more school-related stress than general studies at least in the first two years of upper secondary studies. These findings could be used by student counselling for the detection and early prevention of school burnout.