Browsing by master's degree program "Master's Programme in Education"

The objective of this study was to find out why adolescents stop taking part in organized sports. The aim of the qualitative study was to understand and get answers from adolescents themselves. The interest was to find out what exercise means to young people and what are the reasons for dropping out from organized sport. Studies show that physical activity declines and participation in organized sports reduces significantly in adolescence. The target group in this study was ten young people who had stopped taking part in organized sports. Participated adolescents were 12–18 years old. The material was collected by themed interviews. The interviews progressed through three themes. These three themes were: 1. the meanings of sports hobbies, 2. quitting sports hobbies and 3. exercise in the future. Due to the corona pandemic situation, most of the interviews were performed remotely. All the interviews were recorded. The material was analyzed using theory-guided content analysis. As a result of the study, doing sports had had different kinds of meanings for young people. There was also found different reasons for dropping out from sports in this study. The reasons were: competing priorities and other leisure activities, decreased motivation, negative experiences, lack of a suitable team or sports club, an injury and a want to change to another hobby. The results of the study confirmed the notion that the meanings and causes of doing sports may change in adolescence. Study showed that disciplined and serious competitive sport activities did not attract adolescents to participate to sports. Young people hoped that doing sports would rather be relaxed than serious leisure activity. The conclusion was that young people`s wishes should be considered when planning sport activities for young people. Also, the low effort sport club activities should be increased in Finland. In addition, the negative experiences of adolescents with sport activities which emerged from the material, are issues that need further research.

The challenge of teaching mathematics is to make the student’s mathematical thinking heard and visible. To find out how students mathematical thinking can be supported I familiarized concept of mathematical languaging. Mathematical languaging allows student to express their thinking through the language, orally and in writing. Theoretical background of this study is Joutsenlahti’s and Rättyä’s model of four languages of mathematics, which allows students to express their mathematical thinking. The purpose of this study is to find out which mathematics languages teachers emphasize in their teaching and how teachers guide students to languaging in mathematics lessons. In addition, I also explore which mathematic languages the textbooks tend to use, and how the textbooks support the teacher’s role in guiding students languaging mathematics. The material of my study was based on video material: Oppimaan oppimisen avaimet, which was filmed in fall 2012. It included eight sixth grade math lessons. The videos featured a total of seven teachers, one of whom taught a lesson to two different classes. Mathematics textbooks, which were used in the lessons, from four different book series were also used as research material. The data were analyzed using quantification and sosiosemiotics analysis. The videos showed that the lessons were quite teacher-regulated. Teachers asked questions that students answered briefly and accurately. Teachers guided students to use mainly natural language and symbolic language, and to switch between these languages. The textbooks guided to interpret the text in natural language as well as in symbolic language and to produce only symbolic language. Teachers and textbooks also guided to use pictorial language mainly in connection with the contents of geometry. The content of the subject of mathematics influences the language used by the student to express mathematical thinking. Teachers guided oral languaging in the classroom, while textbooks supported written languaging.

The aim of this study is to find out what kind of operating models schools use in the work against school bullying and how these operating models have worked. In addition, the goal is to find out how the teaching staff defines direct and indirect bullying and what is bullying like today between students. School bullying is an unfortunately current social problem, which makes its studying even more important. The aim of this study is to bring out operational models used in schools, which other schools could use in their own anti-bullying operational model, and to increase awareness of the forms of bullying between students, so that they can pay better attention to them. This study was conducted as a qualitative study. The research material was acquired through semi-structured interviews, in which a total of six (6) teaching staff members from three different schools participated. The material was analyzed by data-driven content analysis. The schools that participated in the study found similar and versatile operating models against bullying. The results were structured into actions to prevent bullying, actions to intervene in bullying and actions to follow up on bullying. Bullying can be prevented for example, by continuous grouping, learning emotional and interaction skills and positive pedagogy. Bullying is initially tackled by talking to the parties, and if the situation is not resolved, the case is transferred to various anti-bullying teams for investigation. In the intervention, other means were also used, such as cooperation with other school staff. In each school, the actual end of bullying was also followed up with follow-up meetings and discussions. The results of the study also showed that the KiVa Koulu program was mainly considered a functional and useful part of anti-bullying work. Detecting and intervening in indirect bullying between students was perceived as challenging. Bullying was found to happen more indirectly than directly. The results also highlighted concern about the increase in social media bullying and the means to detect and prevent it were felt to be few.

The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences, challenges and facilitators of the transition back to work after being on parental leave for the first time. For most parents, the transition from parental leave to work is a major life-course transition, typically characterised by a range of psychological, social, and practical challenges. The aim of the study was to provide insights into how the transition to work is perceived by those returning from parental leave and to identify ways in which organisations can promote the reintegration of those returning to work from parental leave. The study relied on qualitative methods and the data was collected through semi-structured theme interviews. The research material consisted of individual interviews of nine participants; five mothers and four fathers who had been on parental leave for the first time and had returned to work at the time of the interview. The interviews were conducted remotely. The data were analyzed using a data-driven content analysis approach. The results indicated that parents experience the return to work in different ways, with the majority experiencing some negative emotions, while others experienced the transition only as a positive thing. According to interviewees' experiences, the transition to work is characterised by a variety of practical- and emotional challenges. Particular emphasis was given to work-related practical challenges such as lack of professional reorientation, support, and knowledge update. On the other hand, the interviewees identified a variety of personal and professional factors, such as practical factors, social factors and emotional factors, contributing positively to the process of returning to work. The parents whose partner stayed at home and took care of the child while they returned work, described this as a factor that facilitated the transition to work. In addition, slow return to work, collegial support and consideration of the employee in interactions were seen in several interviews as factors contributing positively to the transition. The results of the study indicated that in many organisations, induction and support for a return to work are inadequate or even non-existent. The results of the study can be used to assist organisations to facilitate the reintegration of employees returning to work from parental leave. Although the number of participants was relatively small, the study provided valuable information by examining at the experiences of transition to work from the perspective of both men and women.

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study disorder in the everyday life of primary school. As an institution, primary school aims at order and the maintaining of order which can be perceived as compulsory education, regulated grade levels and teacher leadership. The formal side of Finnish comprehensive school and its orders have been studied widely in Finland. Instead, disorder in schools and the informal side of the school system have received less attention. Order and disorder are often viewed as a pair of counterparts, with former being desirable and latter avoidable. By looking into disorder, the aim is to understand disorder as a phenomenon that takes place in the everyday life of primary school. This master’s thesis draws its theoretical background from feminist studies, critical education, and sociology. This piece of research is a qualitative study and was conducted through an ethnographic method. The data collected consists of field notes that were produced at a primary school in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The field work lasted from the beginning of August until the end of October 2020. The observation took place in the physical setting of the school. The observational focus was first on calling attention to and naming disorder. In addition, attention was drawn to the power relations of various agents of the school. Also, the relationship between power and disorder was observed. In the examination of the collected data, the events where order and disorder appeared as counterparts were pointed out. Also, the events where order was named were also the situations which indicated disorder. As a result of this research, three main themes were found. First, disorder can be seen to be tangled in the everyday life of primary school and its spaces and time. Second, in the everyday life of primary school disorder and order are constantly being redefined. Third, by the repetitions of different actions, power was accumulated to certain agents of the school. These agents held the power to name disorder. In the everyday life of primary school, disorder can be viewed in multiple ways. This research identifies some of them.

Objectives. The study investigated whether differences in children's sensitivity affect the manifestation of stress after the day of early childhood education. The theoretical part provides a broad theoretical framework of sensitivity with an emphasis on the perspective of early childhood. In addition, at the end of the theory part, we consider what concepts should be used in Finland for this type of sensitivity. The theoretical framework includes the theory of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), the theory of biological sensitivity to context (BSC) and the theory of differential susceptibility (DS). Previous studies show that sensitive children are more likely to be affected by environmental conditions. The theory part also defines childhood stress, its manifestation, and stress studies on early childhood education. Based on previous research, the early childhood education environment can be stressful for the child. Stress in early childhood education is related to the quality of early childhood education and the child's temperament. Methods. The information was collected from parents of children aged 2-5 and 1603 responses were received to the survey. The survey consisted of multiple-choice questions and three sections, which were early childhood education, signs of the child's stress, and a survey about the child's sensitivity. According to the sensitivity questionnaire scores, the respondents were divided into three groups: low sensitivity, medium sensitivity and high sensitivity. For the survey, a measure of the manifestation of stress in children (LSI measure) was made. A factor analysis was used to examine the manifestation of stress in the child and the subscales of the large measure that described different signs of stress in children. With the correlation coefficients, the results of the factor analysis were examined in relation to the parents' assessments of the child's burden. The correlation was also investigated between the manifestations of stress and the children's sensitivity scores. Variance analysis was used to examine the differences in the mean values of different sensitivity groups in different areas of the LSI-measure, whether different sensitivity groups had differences in the suggestion of different stress manifestations. Regression analysis was used to examine whether factors related to early childhood education, together with high sensitivity scores, explain the manifestation of children's stress after days in early childhood education. Results and conclusions. Factor analysis revealed six manifestations of stress: 1. Restlessness, difficulties in attention and concentration, 2. Joylessness, passivity, withdrawal, 3. Strong emotional reactions, 4. Separation anxiety and sleep difficulties, 5. Stomach problems and 6. Ag-gressive behavior. All factors were statistically very significantly connected to the assessment of the child's burden. Sensitivity scores were statistically very significantly related to children's behavior in all cases, except for aggressive behavior where the connection was smaller. Analysis of variance was performed for all six factors. In all cases, the mean of the highly sensitive differed statistically very significantly from the other groups, and the mean in stress manifestations was higher, the higher the sensitivity scores. Explanatory factors for the various stress manifestations were the children's high sensitivity scores, the little support and encouragement the children received in the daycare, the conflicts that occur in the interaction between the children in the daycare group, the absence of familiar adults, and the short time since daycare started. As the main results of the study, it can be stated that the LSI-measure is a potentially effective meter when measuring children's stress based on behavior and that sensitive children show signs of stress more often than other children. High sensitivity scores were most associated with joylessness, passivity, and withdrawal, and least associated with aggressive behavior.

Objectives. About a third of the population is highly sensitive in temperament. One of the most important research topics in educational psychology is learning, one aspect of which is learning strategies. Learning strategies and high sensitivity have been studied separately in the past, but there is very little research linking the two. The purpose of this study was to provide information on the relationship between high sensitivity to the use of learning strategies. The research task is to describe what kind of learning strategies are used by highly sensitive and non-highly sensitive students and to investigate how high sensitivity explains the use of learning strategies. Methods. The material was collected using an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a sensitivity test, a section measuring learning strategies, an open-ended question, and background information. The data were analyzed by linear regression analysis using the deletion method. The entire data set (n = 202) consisted of adult people who, according to the research questions, were limited to either highly sensitive students (n = 117), non-highly sensitive students (n = 12) or students (n = 129). Results and conclusions. Elaboration and organization (M = 3.85) were the highest of the means (M), when describing the use of learning strategies by highly sensitive students (n = 117). These two learning strategies, as well as the in-depth treatment of high sensitivity, aim to build connections between things and connect new knowledge with the previous one. This similarity may explain the popularity of using these two strategies with highly sensitive persons. According to the regression analysis, the high sensitivity test positively explained 2% the use of organization statistically significantly (p < .05) and 7.4% the use of critical thinking statistically significantly (p < .001). The strategy of the organization is in line with the in-depth treatment of high sensitivity, as both seek to make connections between things. The strategy of critical thinking is consistent with an inhibition, which is a typical behavior for a highly sensitive person. The main principle in both of these strategies is to use previous information in new situations. These similarities may serve as an explanation for the fact that the high sensitivity test explains the use of organizational and critical thinking learning strategies in a statistically significant way.

The special education reform and development to support in learning and school attendance has resulted in major changes in the job description of Finnish special education teachers (SET). The distribution of resources to schools has also changed. Previous researchers have found a lack of resources in special education. Teachers also experience a lack of time in their work. To date, barely any quantitative research has been conducted on the challenges SETs face in their job in Finland. The aim of the study was to answer two questions: (1) What challenges do special education teachers find to have the biggest effect on their job? (2) Was there a connection between certain background variables and the teachers’ experiences of these challenges? All persons working as SET from early childhood education to secondary education were considered suitable respondents. The responses were collected via electric questionnaires. The first research question was answered by compiling the questionnaire answers and comparing their answers based on the means and frequencies. The second research question was answered using multivariate methods (one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, two-way analysis of variance, t-test, Post Hoc test, Analysis of Simple main effect). In the questionnaire, SETs (N = 339) assessed how much each challenge affected their work. Judging by the responses, SET’s find that their work is affected by the expansion of their work as well as excessive differences between municipalities. In addition, several answers related to the inadequacy of time received high values in the responses. Because of this, SETs feel that collaboration does not work well enough and that there are not enough resources for supporting students. Students’ individual characteristics and behaviour is also considered challenging. Of the background variables, the level of education clearly distinguished the respondents most effectively. The SETs also experienced challenges in different ways depending on the age group they were in charge of. The experience with special education and the job title had an impact as well. Differences were also found based on the method of education and the population of the municipality the teacher worked in. However, the effects accounted for by these factors were small. The study also found synergies between variables. These included synergy between the level of education and the professional title, as well as the professional title and the education route. However, the effects of these factors were also small. On the other hand, no connection was found between experiences of the challenges and the teacher’s overall teaching experience.

This study reviews the everyday life of special needs families during the Covid-19-pandemic. In special needs families at least one child has an increased need for services for their health, growth and/or development. Previous studies show that these services are an important resource and help in everyday life, as it is often built around taking care of the child. In previous studies special needs families have mainly been reviewed during normal conditions and the more recent studies conducted during the pandemic emphasize the perspective of authorities. The purpose of this study is to highlight the everyday life of special needs families during the Covid-19-pandemic and how services have been organized. This study applies qualitative methodology. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews. Seven mothers of special needs families took part in the interviews. The families were from across Finland. The family structures, children’s diagnoses and available resources varied within these families. Tran scripted data was analyzed with content analysis. The study shows that the everyday life of the families focused at home during the Covid-19-pandemic, which led to everyday life routines, free time and use of money changing. During the pandemic the families had to quickly rebuild their everyday life and its routines. Everyday life became more restricted as the routines focused at home. Parents' free time decreased as the children did not attend school or free-time activities. The meaning of home and its surroundings were highlighted because families were not able to spend their time together in shopping centers or restaurants. It became apparent that the realization of services varied between the families during the Covid-19-pandemic. During the pandemic the services were no longer considered safe due to the increased risk of infection, which led to some of the services coming to a halt and the implementation of special arrangements to other services. The decision of realization of the services was partly held by the service providers, while in some cases the families made the decision themselves to pause the service. The need for help in the families did not decrease and especially mothers had to answer this with their own work input. The families found the service system to be rigid and hoped for more flexibility from their service providers. That would mean considering the wishes of the family and the focusing on the best interest of the child.

The framework for this study comes from Koster’s, Nakken’s, Pijl’s and van Houten’s (2009) theory of a child’s social participation in a peer group. According to Koster and the partners, social participation is built by four dimensions: child's social self-perception, acceptance by classmates, contacts/interactions and friendships/relationships. A lot of research has been conducted of social participation of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools, but most of the researches are quantitative or have been examined through the adult perceptive. The aim of this study is to examine social participation of a disabled child from multifaceted perspective. In addition to this, the aim is to find out how the dimensions of contacts/interactions and acceptance by classmates are related to each other’s. This is a qualitative case study of a child with Down syndrome, who has been in a mainstream primary school class. The data of this study consists of a thematic interviews of the child herself and the persons who have been involved through her school path. In addition to this the data consists child’s writing book and a message book of a parent and school counselor from the 6th grade. The analysis was done using a deductive content analysis. The results suggested that the child’s social participation of the peer group had been incomplete. On the eyes of outsiders, the child’s social self-perception had been seen as positive, but the child’s own school satisfaction had been alternately positive and negative. The child didn’t have any actual friendships or two-way play during the primary school. During the school years she had participated a lot to classes activities and especially on these situations there had been strong support from the other classmates. In general, the child was a respected and accepted member by her classmates but the externality became relevant in occasional conflicts or on group work situations. Social participation is a key requirement for inclusion and it needs to be reached more so that the equality of every student can be advanced