Browsing by master's degree program "Magisterprogrammet utbildning i förändring"

Objectives. The development of a strong ethnic identity is crucial for minority students throughout their school years. A sense of invisibility and stereotype threat may develop in the absence of a strong identity. Therefore, a rich representation of ethnicity is essential to the development of ethnic identity. This study aims to determine how minority representation is reflected in Finnish school textbooks, particularly how minorities racialized as non-white are depicted through the images found in textbooks. As earlier reports and research show that students from immigrant backgrounds perform lower than students from non-immigrant backgrounds and meaningful representation is important to avoid stereotype threat, it becomes important to examine how minorities are represented in Finnish textbooks used by all students. Methods. A content analysis was conducted to gain a greater comprehension of how minorities are portrayed in Finnish middle school textbooks which affects the development of ethnic identity. To gain insight into how students may perceive the presence of minorities in their textbooks, I examined 227 images found in several textbooks from the two main Finnish textbook publishers. Based on the variables set out, representation was categorized into categories of social hierarchy between the majority racialized as white and minority racialized as non-white found in the textbooks. Results and conclusions. Overall, the representation was 76 % for the majority racialized as white and 23.4% for the minority racialized as non-white. The greatest disparity in representation between majority and minority backgrounds was observed among professionals and academics, with the majority background appearing 80% more than the minority. On the other end of the social ladder, 'peasants' from minority backgrounds were represented more than those from majority backgrounds. The research indicates that textbooks do not give a full account of the varied backgrounds of minority students, which can have a detrimental effect on their ethnic identity and result in a sense of invisibility and stereotype threat.

Teacher’s job burnout has been a global concern in recent years, especially during the covid pandemic. To reduce their burnout, job crafting is proposed as a key factor for teachers. Yet previous empirical research has found inconsistency findings between job crafting and burnout. In some studies, job crafting was found to exacerbate instead of reducing the burnout. The current thesis aimed to address this issue from a multi-dimensional perspective. Moreover, basic psychological needs were added as mediators to uncover the mechanism behind the paradoxical relationships between job crafting and burnout among teachers. For those purpose, 726 teachers (Age mean= 39) from China were surveyed online and reported valid responses during 2022. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Model (SEM) with three dimensions of teacher job (i.e., exhaustion at work; cynicism toward the meaning of work; the sense of inadequacy at work) and four dimensions of job crafting (i.e., increasing social job resources; increasing structural job resources; increasing challenge job demands; decreasing hindering job demands). The present study revealed a suppression effect that obscured the genuine correlation between job crafting (i.e., increasing social job resources, increasing structural job resources) and burnout. Furthermore, the findings contribute to job crafting and burnout relationship by indicating that “decreasing of hindering job demands” may induce burnout cynicism, while “increasing challenge job demands” effectively diminishes burnout (the sense of inadequacy at work). Additionally, the augmentation of “increasing structural job resources” is identified as a catalyst for teacher burnout, manifesting in forms such as heightened work exhaustion and cynicism towards the meaning of work.

Objectives: Are serious games enjoyed by the students, are they effective for learning and who exactly benefits from them? These questions are raised by the scientific evidence on enjoyability and effectiveness of serious games being contradictory. In parallel, there is a practical need to ensure that everyone has similar opportunities to thrive in school. The purpose of this thesis was to compare learning with serious games and traditional instructional style. Temperament and enjoyment were decided to take into account in the analysis, as both possibly play a role in learning with either of the instructional styles. Enjoyment has also been claimed to play a role considering the effectiveness of serious games, and it is also important from a student satisfaction point of view. Hence, it was also investigated which instructional style (game or traditional learning) students enjoy more. Lastly, the connection of temperament and enjoyment was investigated. Methods: Altogether 66 Finnish fourth grade students participated in the study, 31 in the control group and 35 in the intervention group. Class teachers were instructed to either take up a serious game website called Loru Games for learning multiplication and division (intervention group) or keep teaching as normally (control group) for the period of two weeks. In both groups, teachers were sent links to pre- and post-tests assessing multiplication and division skills. Teachers also filled in temperament (EAS: Emotionality, Activity, Sociability) questionnaires about the students. Paired samples t-tests were run to investigate which instructional style was enjoyed more. Correlational analyses were run to examine the connection between temperament and learning with either instructional style and the possible connection between enjoyment and temperament. Results: The participants in the intervention group rated game learning significantly higher compared to the traditional instruction. It was also found that there was no association between enjoying either of the instructional styles and temperament. Lastly, it was found that the participants’ learning scores (post-test scores) were not associated with temperament or instructional style. Based on this study It seems that serious games are an enjoyable learning method for the students and it does not seem that there is a need for concern about only some students reaping the benefits of either of the instructional styles, at least where temperament is concerned.

Students’ challenging behavior is of significant concern to teachers and principals in Finland. Youth’s challenging behavior at school has negative effects on teachers’ classroom management, classroom climate and other students. To manage behavioral challenges at school, different school-wide approaches are used. The Multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) is one of these school-wide approaches. With three tiers, this model focused on the early detection of learning issues, early intervention and collaboration between school personnel. This thesis explores tier one (Universal behavioral support). This research provides a national picture of primary schools’ teachers’ and principals’ views in Finland with regards to addressing students’ behavior. This study answers three research questions: (1) How do teachers and principals compare with regards to their views on using school-wide components to address students’ behavior, (2) how do teachers and principals compare in their views of teachers’ responsibility to promote appropriate youth behavior and (3) how do teachers and principals compare with regards to their views on identifying and supporting students that are not responding to universal behavioral support. A sample of 88 teachers and 101 principals from comprehensive primary schools in Finland participated in this study. A series of independent t-test, ANOVA and Chi-square were utilized to determine if any statistically significant difference existed between teachers’ and principals’ views. It was discovered that no statistically significant difference existed between teachers’ and principals’ views except in two items of the survey: participants’ views differed about teachers’ responsibility to encourage students to behave as expected and about using Interventions as a behavioral support approach for students that are not responding to universal behavioral support.

Even though imagination is recognised in research to be an important part of children’s learning and thinking, there is little research on the role of the teacher in supporting and enriching children’s imagination. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating teachers’ understandings of pedagogical practices that support children’s imagination in Finnish early childhood education. Drawing on the sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 2004) and Donna Haraway’s theory of speculative fabulations (2016), imagination is seen as a socially, materially, and culturally constructed practice in this study. The qualitative study was conducted by using focus group discussions to investigate teachers’ understandings of supporting children’s imagination. Three teachers in early childhood education participated in this study. The data of the study were collected at the University of Helsinki in the workshop Unruly and Embodied Storying – Ecological Imagination Workshop for ECEC Teachers. Speculative fabulation was used to research the socially, materially, and culturally formed understandings that the teachers created on supporting children’s imagination. Reflexive thematic analysis (Clarke & Brown, 2006) was used to conduct the data analysis. The results reveal three main themes that characterise the teachers’ understandings about supporting children’s imagination, illustrating the potential of speculative fabulations as a useful approach to research and conceptualise imagination as a collective endeavour between children and adults. The theme Relating highlighted the importance of being present in and caring for interpersonal relationships. The theme Creating Spaces focused on mental and physical spaces that teachers can intentionally create for children to express their imaginative ideas. The theme Helping showcased how teachers can help children develop their imaginative ideas by accompanying children in their play and providing diverse materials for children to play and story with. The results echo previous findings that teachers can support children’s imagination by joining in imagining and becoming co-learners alongside children. However, further research is needed to investigate if time or space for such shared imagining exists in current Finnish early childhood education and care.

Some previous findings suggest the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) on children's cognitive outcomes. Studying preschool PA enables to understand children’s considerable part of daily PA and to examine its relation to other skills specifically within preschool context. Early numeracy (EN) refers to young children’s mathematical proficiency, including relational and counting skills, as in understanding and operating with quantities, number relation, classification, and the concept of numbers. EN skills are shown to strongly predict later mathematical competence and academic achievements. Thus, it is important to study and support the development of children’s EN skills. However, previous research has mainly focused on school-age children, while research in early ages is scarce. No previous studies have used device-based measurement of PA with an individual test of EN to understand the associations between young children’s preschool PA and EN performance. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between PA during preschool hours and EN performance in children aged 4 to 5 years. More specifically, the following research questions are addressed: 1) How are PA intensity levels during preschool hours associated with EN performance in 4- to 5-year-old children? 2) What kind of profiles regarding PA intensity levels during preschool hours and EN performance can be identified among 4- to 5-year-old children? The sample consisted of children (N = 95, Mage = 4.6) attending preschools in Helsinki, Finland. PA was measured during 5 consecutive preschool days using hip-worn accelerometers, while EN performance was assessed using Van Luit and colleagues’ (2006) Finnish Early Numeracy Test. The data is analysed using quantitative research analysis. To answer the first research question, correlation matrix is performed to reveal relation between the variables of interest. For the second research question, latent profile analysis is used to identify children’s profiles according to their PA data and EN test scores, while the differences in profiles are compared using ANOVA. The results of the correlation analysis revealed no significant correlation between PA level during preschool hours and EN scores in children of ages 4 to 5 years. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles of children with high, medium, and low PA, whereas EN performance did not significantly differ among the profiles. In conclusion, while the results show significantly different amounts of PA among children during preschool, the main finding of the current study is in line with previous research, suggesting no direct relation between preschool PA and EN performance. Further research controlling for other factors that may influence the results is needed to examine how variation in PA level is related to EN performance in preschool.

The purpose of this study is to obtain information from a case to shed light on the potential contribution of theatre and Outdoor Education to Sustainability education. Making the transition towards a sustainable world has been labelled as urgent for many decades now. The role of education in this process has been written out multiple times, in various ways. Despite these intentions of transitioning to a more sustainable way of living, literature shows that a satisfactory result has not been obtained yet. The sustainability crisis is a complex problem, and no easy solutions are at hand. Theatre and outdoor education have both different ways of contributing to learning. In this study, experts from both fields, with teachers as education experts, share their ideas and views on what sustainability education is, and how theatre and outdoor education can help to reach the goals it aims at. Experts from theatre, outdoor education, and primary education, are brought together in this study. They all share the experience of an outdoor theatre project aimed at children called ‘Spöket på Lillklobb / Lillklobbin kummitus’. The experts participating in this research were either part of creating this project or participating in it with a group of children under their responsibility. By organising a focus group discussion, the views and ideas of the experts related to the research questions are gathered. This data has then been subject to a thematic analysis. This thematic analysis resulted in the developing of a model for sustainability education: The Laptop model. This model represents the three main themes of sustainability education: the cognitive aspect, the social- and emotional aspect, and the aspect of actions. There are several ways in which theatre and outdoor education can contribute to sustainability education, as presented by the Laptop model. Most importantly, both theatre and outdoor education should be seen as an experience. It is the fact that the children have ‘an experience’ that makes it most valuable. Outdoor theatre is found to contribute holistically to the Laptop model, and make the different parts of the model to interrelate.

Objectives. Lack of physical activity is considered as one of the most critical health challenges throughout the world. The aim of the current review study was to describe how personality is addressed in empirical studies aiming at analyzing and supporting physical activity in both traditional and technology-supported contexts and what kind of physical activity recommendations and research improvement proposals have been created based on this knowledge. It is also discussed, how this information could be applied in supporting and improving work ability. Methods. The study has been implemented as a scoping review, mapping the research relevant to the topic during the years 2005 – 2023. Searches were completed in seven databases (Pubmed, Cinahl, SportDiscus, Cochrane, PsychInfo, Web of Science and Scopus.) 7976 individual records were screened, and 29 records were selected as the research material based on co-operative process by the research group. The results have been described and summarised narratively. Results and conclusions. Personality traits extraversion and conscientiousness are consistently associated positively with physical activity. Neuroticism and physical activity have a consistent negative association. Tailoring the physical activity recommendations based on personality and utilising technological solutions according to the individual, science based needs could support the individuals’ physical activity level and indirectly also their work ability. By utilising personality-matching motivational strategies it is possible to support adults’ physical activity. As physical health is identified as an essential foundation of work ability, enhancing physical activity is suggested to also support the overall work ability. Further research on the impact of personality and potentially other psychological factors into physical activity is recommended to further support the development of psychologically individualised PA recommendations.

This study examines the use of emotional abstract words in conversation between individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Language Development (ASD-TL) and Neurotypical Development (ND). To understand ASD's word application in the daily context, this study evaluates word usage through conversations. In view of the severity differences within ASD, ASD-TL without language delays may provide insight into the impact of social impairment on their use of abstract words. This study employs the concept of embodied theory, and compares word application between two groups based on emotion-referring words. This study applied a mixed-methods approach by conducting ten face-to-face Finnish conversations with Finnish-speaking males (n = 20), each group with an ASD-TL and a ND. First, a quantitative comparison was conducted between the two groups regarding the frequency and variety of the target words, and then a qualitative analysis was conducted to gain further insight into their usage. As a result, ASD-TLs used emotional words 22 times in a total of 12 words variety, while NDs used them 30 times in a total of 10 words variety. ASD-TL applied these words for expressing feelings and desires, as well as for asking questions and clarifying specifics as if the NDs. Therefore, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the frequency and variety of abstract words. In conclusion, this study indicates that people with ASD-TL are capable of communicating abstract language as ND people, which helps to reduce the stigma associated with ASD of having difficulties understanding and expressing feelings. To gain a deeper understanding of ASD's daily language application, future research should examine idiomatic expressions and eye-gazing patterns in between online and face-to-face conversations.

A high level and intensity of competition among hotel workers seeking higher job positions, emotional labor, and the need for new knowledge and skills are some of the job stressors that directly and intensively impact employees’ occupational wellbeing. The Human Resources sector is widely recognized as one of the foremost assets within tourism and hospitality organizations, extensively examined by numerous scholars. However, the impact of organizational training on employees' organizational wellbeing has been relatively understudied. The purpose of this study is to expand studies in the field of hospitality in Finland and contribute to understanding the training methods used in chain hotels in Helsinki and the relationship between job training and employees’ occupational wellbeing. The results of the current thesis indicate a positive but statistically insignificant association between job training satisfaction and wellbeing in the workplace. Components such as gender, age, years of working, and occupational status including department, were determined statistically insignificant in their relationship between job training and wellbeing in the workplace. The study also found that managers in this industry have received more training than subordinates. Additionally, one-on-one training and self-study, including video-based training, were provided more frequently than other training methods to trainees. Analyses of the findings led to conclusions and suggestions for researchers and professionals in the field of Human Resource Development. These suggestions included providing more training that is focused on employees' wellbeing, and conducting qualitative research to examine the effectiveness of current training methods.