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(2014)Aims and background: The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of challenges a visually impaired meets in a kitchen when preparing food. First I consider shortly visual impairments, secondly what kind of special equipment there are for visually impaired in a kitchen and thirdly what demands there are for the kitchen environment to be functional for visually impaired. The Research questions are 1) What kind of challenges a visually impaired person meets in a kitchen when preparing food and 2) How does she/he copes with the challenges she/he meets when preparing food and what kind of strategies she/he uses to cope with the challenges. Material and methods: This study is a case study which was based on observation. The Data was collected by videotaping food preparation and baking in a rehabilitation Centre for Visually Impaired. A test subject was a visually impaired person. Results: The most important result was that the visually impaired person used very much sensory skills, first of all sense when she/he was preparing food. Secondly an equally important thing was the systematic performance when she/he was working throughout the whole cooking session. The third but not so significant observation was the use of other senses vision, hearing, smell and taste. Any special equipment for visually impaired were hardly used. Conclusions: Tactual skills are the most important means to cope with the challenges. Another important mean is the systematic way of working. Using these means cooking goes safety and fluently. These results can be used for decreasing those challenges which can be faced when visually impaired are preparing food, baking and working in the kitchen and for making improvements in a kitchen environment.
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(2018)Object. The purpose of the study is to find out, what kind of possibilities there are for ethical sensitivity to appear in the context of game development. This operating environment is considered in this study both concrete surroundings related to the work and colleagues and virtual environment, the game itself which is created by the game developers themselves. The study aims to clarify what kind of meanings ethical sensitivity gets in the speech of game developers taking account to that behavior in practice might differ from the ideal of an individual. Ethical sensitivity as a concept is defined by earlier studies of the subject considering for example the moral thinking of teachers and nurses and it is linked in this study to its context by research of game industry and methodology specialized to virtual environments. Methods. The material of the study was collected with half-structured theme interview from six different game developers whom where either working or studying the subject. Background knowledge for the study was also collected from the games themselves as environments with nethnographic methods. In addition, more material was collected from the culture build around the games, things such as game videos and social media platforms handling the games. The main sources in this study were nevertheless the interviews, which made it possible to search for the answers with grounded theory -based methodology. That supported the making of theory of ethical sensitivity in this distinctive context. Conclusions. The ethical sensitivity of game developers and awareness of societal issues were clear, and they also mainly experienced their values to be similar with others in the work or study environment. The issue that came up repeatedly was constant discussion and counseling with others, which was relevant part of the work itself. It also helped interviewees to reflect their own actions. Also, every participant had something to do with gaming during their free-time and some of them had somewhat passion towards gaming and games which can be seen as a reflection of hacker ethics that promotes passion as an ultimate motivation to work. However, the notions in this study were not strong enough to prove or dismantle this kind of thinking. The flexibility of identity and thinking as well as effects of separate groups were shown as an important part of conclusions and worked as a promising path for further studies.
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(2010)The rise of Special education numbers in Finland has caused a situation where Finland's ten largest LEA's so called kymppikunnat (ten communes) have expressed their growing concern of organizing the special education in the current institutional settings. The LEA's started the conversation of redefining special education system in 2004. Their aim was to target the governments attention to the problematics of special education. By the request of the Ministry of Education the LEA's prepared a final report concerning the central questions in the Finnish special education system. On the basis of the LEA's survey it became even clearer that the legislation, funding system and curriculum are tightly linked together. The following LEA's took part into the writing process Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa. The report was hand over to the Ministry of Education at 18.8.2006. After the delivery the Ministry organized special education development group meetings 17 times in the year 2007. The result of the LEA's report and the development meetings was a new Special Education Strategy 2007. I am observing the dialogue between administrational levels in governmental institutions change process. The research is a content analysis where I compare the "Erityistä tukea tarvitsevan oppilaan opetuksen järjestämisen uudistaminen osana yhtenäistä perusopetusta- kohti laatua ja joustavuutta" (The renewal of the organization of teaching for student with special educational needs as part of unified education for all - towards quality and flexibility) document to "Erityisopetuksen strategia" (Special education strategy) document. My aim was to find out how much of their own interests have the LEA's been able to integrate into the official governmental documentation. The data has been organized and analyzed quantitatively with Macros created as additional parts in Microsoft Excel software. The document material has also been arranged manually on sentence based categorization into an Excel matrix. The results have been theoretically viewed from the special education reform dialogue perspective, and from the angle of the change process of a bureaucratic institution. My target has been to provide a new viewpoint to the change of special education system as a bureaucratic institution. The education system has traditionally been understood as a machine bureaucracy. By the review provided in my pro gradu analysis it seems however that the administrational system in special education is more of a postmodern network bureaucracy than machine bureaucracy. The system appears to be constructed by overlapping, crossing and complex networks where things are been decided. These kinds of networks are called "governance networks . It seems that the governmental administrational - and politic levels, the third sector actors and other society's operators are mixed in decision making.
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(2015)Objectives. In this study, the aim is to examine pupils' behaviour and behaviour management in drama lessons. Drama education is based on student-centred teaching and experimental learning, which is seen as a challenge for behaviour management and a huge risk for misbehaviour. On the other hand, in drama education pupils learn through creating and producing different solutions in groups, which is not possible in a strictly controlled environment. The aim of the study is also to clarify whether the behaviour management prevents group creativity in drama. At the same time, in this study, the observation tool of The Class Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and its suitability for analysing the behaviour management of drama will be evaluated. Methods. This study is defined as a qualitative case study. The subject of the study was eight drama lessons for pupils ranging from first to third graders. The research material consisted of secondary video data that had been shot in drama lessons of four class teachers all specialised in drama. The material was analysed by using the behaviour management section of the CLASS tool and by categorising the situations of misbehaviour and the means of behaviour management. The results were then compared to previous study results of creative action in the drama lessons. Results and conclusions. The research shows that the pupils behaved as per the expectations and there were only minor occasions of misbehaviour in the lessons. Pupil behaviour received mainly high grades (6–7 on a scale of 1–7) while the grades of behaviour management were constantly lower (3,5–6 on a scale of 1–7). Behaviour management was based on reactivity instead of proactivity. The results endorse previous information that pupil compliance is supported by persistent prevention including created and sustained drama contract as well as active working for good group relations and positive atmosphere. Pupil behaviour was at its best when the teachers did not constantly control the pupils. Previous research shows that high-quality behaviour management supports group creativity in drama. CLASS tool is seen suitable for analysing behaviour management in drama lessons especially when considering drama elements such as the drama contract and pupil devotion.
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(2022)The purpose of this qualitative research was to describe and interpret the meaning and grounds of worldview education from the guardians perspective and their wishes regarding worldview education in early childhood education. Previous research has shown worldview education to be a tense content area within early childhood education. Studies have focused mostly on the professionals point of view. Whereas little attention has been given to the guardians perspective. The research questions were as follows: 1. What meanings do guardians give to worldview education in early childhood education? 2. What grounds do guardians present for worldview education in early childhood education? 3. What wishes do the guardians express towards early childhood worldview education? The data consisted of four thematic interviews and open-ended entries of the questionnaire. 11 guardians answered the questionnaire. The data was analyzed using theory-driven content analysis, and utilized methods based on discourse analysis. The results were mirrored with Balčin et al.'s (2021) model of the worldview dimension of worldview education. The data shows that guardians see multi-perspective worldview education as a way of promoting accepting differences and as a mediator of a model of a good person. The necessity of the content area was questioned as early childhood education resources are critical. The meanings were built from a secular and pluralistic dimension. The guardians' grounds for worldview education focused on a shared Finnish value base, the nurturing of cultural tradition and the rights of the child. The grounds were located in the secular and monovalent dimension. The guardians expressed a preference for religious sensitivity and valued a high level of competence in worldview education from the professionals, nonalignment of worldview education, uniform practices, caution on trips to other worldview communities and stronger description of worldview education and discussion about it. The wishes were focused on the secular dimension. The guardians had a positive attitude to multi-perspective worldview education, but the practices related to its implementation revealed tense questions and attitudes in which the interpretation of one's own background in worldview education was highlighted. This thesis reveals that discussion about world-view education between guardians and personnel in early childhood education is in major role promoting multi-valued society which allows different worldviews. Discussion requires personnels' competence of worldview reflection and sensitive attitude towards religion and worldviews. In the light of this thesis, these previous skills should be supported among personnel in early childhood education.
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(2020)A good occupational health is what every human wish for. Because people spend a lot of their time at the workplace the concept occupational health is an important factor to consider as a leader. Also due to a raise in the retairement age and changes in worklife, occupational health has become a current and known topic at workplaces. Occupational health refers to wellbeing at work and that an employee should experience physical, psychological and social wellbeing at the workplace. In this study the teachers occupational health is in focus. This study aims to find out wether a headmaster conducting a healthpromoting leadership would be of advantage for the teachers, when it comes to experiencing a good occupational health. It also aims to find out if teachers have any certain expectations regarding healthpromoting leadership and what thoughts they have conserning the topic occupational health and their own experienced occupational health. Background and contextual research consist of theory and previous studies on leadership, leadership in schools, healthpromoting leadership, educational leadership and occupational health. The thesis is a qualitative research project with a phenomenograpic perspectiv. The data was collected in fall 2019 and the sample consisted of eight teachers from swedishspeaking schools in the south of Finland. The data was collected through semistructured interviews and was later on analysed with help of inductive content analysis. The result refers to that most of the teachers have sometime during their career experienced a minor setback concerning their occupational health and consider therefore a healthpromoting leadershipstyle to be desireble. The teachers expectations are many and individual. Their expectations refer to being present, structured and flexible, and communicativ as a headmaster. Characteristics of the headmaster that the teachers refer to as being important for their occupational health are trust, honesty and personality. Other important leadership qualities for a headmaster to have is to give support and structure, and to be good at allocating resources and time. The research result can hopefully contribute to a better occupational health for the teachers true healthpromoting leadership. In addition, the result can give an indication, not only to the headmasters, but also to municipalities and state institutions, concerning what has to be accomplished and altered within education for the teachers to achieve a good and sustainable occupational health.
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(2021)Making crafts is no longer based on need alone. The importance of craft as a subject emphasizing self-expression has grown, and craft teachers have a significant role in how craft is valued in the future. The theoretical framework of the study examines the sociocultural context of craft and which elements affect the expressive meanings of craft. The study outlines the meanings associated with craft expression by craft teacher students and discourses based on the research data. The use of language as a research subject reflected the contextual nature and culture of the meanings related to craft expression. In the study, discourse referred to a fairly established discussion about issues that construct social reality. The research data consisted of 38 essays written by the craft teacher students in the University of Helsinki during the Study planning course in 2014 and 2017. Part of the essay assignment was to reflect on one’s own craft expression. The qualitative research method was interpretive discourse analysis. Initially, through content analysis, I outlined what meanings craft teacher students attached to craft expression when describing their own craft expression. In the discursive analysis phase, I interpreted what kind of discourses were constructed from the data. The data emphasized product- and need-based understanding of craft, in which practicality was found to exclude expressiveness of craft. Based on the data analysis, four discourses of craft expression were constructed: sustainable craft, flawless craft making, beauty and non-expression. Like the meanings associated with craft expression, discourses overlapped, and the topics got various aspects in different discourses. The meanings and discourses associated with craft expression open up the effects of craft culture and help to understand the significance of craft as part of the diversity of life.
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(2006)The aim of the Thesis is to examine what kind of images children aged between 8 and 12 years in Ghana, Great Britain, Finland and Tanzania hold of their future. The study is a qualitative analysis based on data that consists of 214 drawings, digitally photographed and analysed using AtlasTI computer program. The data was coded and divided into " families " whose frequencies were compared in order to maintain results. The assignment was given to the children in the language used in the school and it was similar in each country. The children were introduced to the idea with a set of stimulating questions and after that they were asked to draw and colour with a pen a picture of 1) him/herself as an adult, 2) his/her future home and 3) the people and the animals they think they will be living with. The children were also asked to write down the country and the place they believe to live in their future. They were also encouraged to write down e.g. their dream profession, what they would like to have as hobbies in their adulthood and other important things in their lives. The analysis focuses on the content of the drawings instead of artistic or psychological interpretations. The differences between the drawings from different countries as well as the differences in a single country were significant. The current trends and the experiences children had lived through were present in the drawings. There were no differences in the colour of the skin and the most popular professions were doctor, police and football player. The football was very strongly present in all of the data; almost fourth of the children had either drawn or mentioned football as their future profession or hobby. Different flora was present in 84% of Tanzanian and 70% of Ghanaian drawings compared to the 23% of British and 17% of Finnish drawings. Of all the family forms a dream of the traditional nuclear family could be found among 29% of the drawings. Compared to that a total of 30% wanted either a child of their own without a spouse (15%) or a spouse without a child (15%). Also grandparents, childhood friends, other adults, animals or even space aliens were present and sharing a home with the children in the drawings. Of all children 15% wanted to live totally alone in the future. This was most typical (38%) among the Finnish boys. The cat and the dog were the most popular animals to appear in the drawings. Moving abroad proved to be purely a western phenomenon, dreamed by 57% of the British and 18% of the Finnish children. As results, a negative self-image, violence, lack of expressions of positive feelings and solitude among the Finnish boys in the data were very concerning.
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(2014)Objectives: In my thesis, I studied the fourth, the fifth and the sixth graders views about the conceptions of the influence at school. In the thesis it was also surveyed what kind of matters the pupils wanted to influence at school. Furthermore, it was studied what kind of influencing skills pupils thought they have. The theory part of the thesis consisted in an overview to the children's and youth's different kind of needs for participation as well as an overview to the curriculum system which forms the base of the school work was studied. In addition, in the theory part of the thesis the democracy expressed at school and the awakening of the children's interest in civic matters were studied. Methods: The thesis was a survey-research and structured questionnaires were used when information was collected. The research group consisted of 112 pupils who studied at the fourth, the fifth and the sixth grades in the primary school situated in the Southern part of Finland. The data was analyzed with the quantitative research program SPSS. At first different numbers such as averages and standard deviations were examined and after that factor analyses were used. Correlation examination was also used. Results and conclusions: The results showed that the pupils had a positive image about their own influencing skills and they trusted their own opinions. They felt that it was important to have influence on they own matters as well as on the common matters at school. However many of the pupils felt that they didn't have possibilities to influence what happens at school during the school day. In addition, the pupils didn't want the teachers or the headmaster to decide solely how the work at school was carried out. The things that the pupils wanted to influence the most were the lunch and the snack at school, the seating arrangement in the classroom, the visits carried out at school and the optional subjects. According to the results it's possible to draw a conclusion that the pupils' participation at school is necessary. The pupils value the possibilities to take part in and seem to understand that it is needed them to contribute themselves so that it is possible to enjoy more the time spend at school. It's also possible to draw a conclusion that although the possibilities to participate are valued there is a lack of real enthusiasm to participate. This is why it seems that there is a need for different kinds of ways to participate since the current ways to participate at school lack to motivate many pupils. Also the work of student body needs to be improved since many of the pupils didn't want to participate to the work of student body although they thought the work done by the student body was important.
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(2020)Hemp was once the most widely used textile fiber, as it can be grown in a large part of the world, including Finland. It is an ecological textile plant, because it doesn't require much irrigation or pesticides. Hemp fiber is very durable, breathable and moisture-absorbing and doesn't mold easily. The aim of the study is to explore the weaving methods of the hemp yarn, find the functional product applications and produce weaving patterns for amateur weavers. The goal is to make it easier for hand weavers to start using hemp fiber in their projects. The research method was qualitative design-based research. The data consisted of prototypes produced by the researcher, prototyping process journal and interview with an expert in the field. The prototypes were woven with various weaves and setts with Java-hemp yarn. 39 samples were woven from two warps. The properties of the samples were evaluated independently and in the interview with the expert. The properties were examined with haptic and visual perception. The evaluation of the samples emphasized the applicability of the patterns to the weaving amateurs. Couple of the samples were washed in order to find out how the textiles change after washing them. The data was analyzed by using content analysis. The results were applied by producing five weaving patterns using different weaves and setts. The products of the weaving patterns were bathroom rug, decorative acoustic board, garden apron, drawstring backpack and grocery bag. The weaves utilized were warp-faced corkscrew, honeycomb, m's and o's, undulating twill and double fabric. The yarn used in the study was inelastic, got easily broken and produced lint, so it is suitable for experienced weavers and should be handled with care during the weaving process. Due to the washing properties, the most suitable weave patterns for this yarn have short floats and tight setts. The yarn was rough, thick and stiff, so it is not suitable for products that need to drape well or are worn next to skin. The best applications are easy-care home decor textiles and bag fabrics. The advantages of the yarn are its expressive appearance and fast weaving process due to the thickness of the yarn.
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(2020)Objectives. The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of the individual and systematic support for the pupil who has wide learning difficulties and slight mental disability. The purpose of the study is to develop my own work as a special class teacher and to gather information about the effectiveness of the support. The theoretical background of the study is based on six principal themes. The themes are pre-reading skills, learning to read, reading disability, how does the mildly mentally handicapped pupil learn to read, evaluation of the pre-reading skills in the school and a model of response support. Methods. The thesis is a qualitative case study. Three pupils who have wide learning difficulties and slight mental disability participated in the study. First the study examines pupils’ pre-reading skills with evaluation tools. Based on the evaluation, an individual training program is designed for the pupil which purpose is to promote the pre-reading skills of the pupil. Results and conclusions. The use of evaluation tools was found suitable to evaluate the pre-reading skills. The slight mental handicapped pupil benefitted from a long-term and planned teaching experiment. All pupils pre-reading skills were progressed during the teaching experiment. The teaching experiment in the thesis is clear and feasible to use in a teachers work. The teaching experiment gives new information about the need of pupil’s support and helps the teacher focus the support on practicing the right skill.
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(2014)Objective: Low-grade inflammation underlies a wide variety of long term diseases. Serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP) is a widely used biomarker of inflammation. Its associations with different risk factors of inflammation e.g. psychological stress, depression and health behavior are well known. Previous research suggests that personality is a potential factor underlying several of these risk factors of inflammation. According to Cloninger's model of temperament and character, temperament trait harm avoidance is related to vulnerability for psychological stress and character trait self-directedness is related to maturation of personality and various aspects of well-being. However little is known about the relationship between these personality traits and inflammation. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether harm avoidance and self-directedness was able to predict changes on serum levels of CRP in prospective 11-year follow-up study design. Methods: The present study included 1191 participants (aged 35-50 years) from the longitudinal and population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns -study (CRYFS) started in 1980. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CRP and personality dimensions harm avoidance and self-directedness assessed by Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in 2001 and 2012. CRP levels from 2012 assessment were used as a dependent variable and mean scores from 2001 and 2012 studies of harm avoidance and self-directedness were used as independent variables in analysis. CRP levels from 2001 were used for baseline adjustment of CRP. Other covariates adjusted in analysis were assessed in 2012. Results and conclusions: The results showed that only self-directedness was weakly associated with serum levels of CRP, partly contrary to prime hypothesis. However, the main finding was that neither harm avoidance nor self-directedness predicted changes on serum levels of CRP over eleven years after adjusting CRP baseline and covariates. The current findings are mainly inconsistent with previous research. These findings suggest that harm avoidance and self-directedness are not independent risk factors of inflammation from an epidemiological perspective.
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(2016)PISA-studies (Linnakylä, 2004; Sulkunen et al, 2010) and evaluations of education (ia. Harjunen & Rautopuro, 2015) show that young boys read little and they have poor reading skills. But there are still opposite results: Merisuo-Storm and Soininen (2014) say that students in elementary school largely see reading as a positive hobby. The aim of this Master's Thesis was to study and analyze the characteristics of the reading hobby of third grade boys. The aim was achieved by studying the time boys use to read, their favourite books and their attitudes towards reading. This study was performed as a qualitative case study in four schools around the Helsinki metropolitan area. 33 third grade boys filled out a questionnaire after which ten of them were chosen to be interviewed. The data from the questionnaires was categorized and adapted as graphs and the data from the interviews was analyzed by data based content analysis. The attitudes of third grade boys towards reading were positive. Nearly all boys who participated in this study read non-school texts daily. Most of them read less than 30 minutes a day. The boys liked funny and exciting literature the most. They read more books than magazines or electronic literature. The reading hobby of their parents and family members didn't automatically impact how the boys read. All of the ten interviewed boys thought that reading is important. Most of them based that on the importance of reading skill as an instrumental value. Third grade boys had very varied reading skills. Some of them still read picture books while others read long fantasy novels. This puts schools in a challenging position as readers of every level need to be offered meaningful reading experiences during literary education. According to this study, negative regard towards reading seems to affiliate with older students. The role of schools is remarkable when talking about maintaining and encouraging the reading motivation of children so it could carry on to adulthood.
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(2018)Objectives. The aim of this study was to find out how the gender equality actualizes in home economics classroom and in the teaching which happens in there. The approach of the study was to consider the gender in diverse ways, not only as dichotomic to men and women. The objective of this study is to provide information and knowledge to home economics teachers on the work field and in the studies. The public debate about gender equality has been lively in Finland for the past decade. In comprehensive school it became mandatory for every school to provide their own equality-program from the beginning of the year 2017. Methods. The data was collected in one upper primary school in the capital area during the beginning of the year 2018. The method to collect the data was observation. The researcher participated physically the observed lessons, and made notes along them. No technical recording equipments were used. To focus the observations the researcher made observation tables to form different part of the lessons. The collected data was analyzed by using the narrative analyzing method. Results and conclusions. For the most part, it was observed that the participants were treated equally. The teacher’s and the pupils’ behavior was seen equal to each other. The classroom and the environment in there was perceived also equal. Although the teaching and learning in the home economics classroom was seen from the results to promote equality, it could also be observed that at times the impact of certain societal norms affected behaviour in the classroom . When the students were divided into groups or pairs, most of the time the groups formed consisted of people of the same gender.
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(2023)Various implementation media can be used to create instructions to support independent skill learning. Despite this, little research has been done on the perception and significance of instructional materials for learning a craft skill. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand more deeply the connection between perceptions and learning a craft skill independently. In addition, the goal was to get deeper understanding on the inner processes of the mind that apply observations made from the instructions into practical activity and finally into skill. Of special interest in the study were the observations made by those learning craft skill independently of the instructions implemented using different media, as well as the cognitive processes in the process of learning craft skill. The primary research material consisted of recordings containing videos of the computer screen and thinking aloud, which the test subjects produced while learning Tunisian crocheting independently in an online learning environment. The secondary research material was reflections written by the test subjects afterwards. The test subjects produced recordings unsupervised. The recordings were analyzed with the Atlas.ti 22 following the principles of protocol analysis. The reflections were analyzed by thematizing the content relevant to the research. Based on the research results, the learning of a motor skill is based on the observations that are made in the learning process, but along with the observations, experimentation and practice promote the learning of the skill. The study also showed that the implementation of e-learning materials in multimedia serves different learners in learning a skill, even though video instructions require less cognitive effort. For this reason, it is recommended that the instructions intended for self-study of craft skills are implemented in the online learning environment using different media. The results also challenge to develop more flexible e-learning platforms.
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(2018)In my bachelor research my topic was to find out parents conceptions of language immersion in Sipoo. Main target was to reveal how immersion was arranged and how it effected to pupils and to their families. I made clear how immersion starts in Sipoo and what kind of language immersion will be used there. I constructed my theoretical background by representing language immersion and its different models. Peltola, E. examined what kind of children grariated in immersion (1993) and Lauren, C. parents waitings from immersion. I have also researched students parents options their belief system pupils' growth environments effect when parents have chosen that their children will start school education in language immersion school. I also studied how the pupils felt when being in the language immersion kindergarten and what kind of feelings they had later at school regarding language immersion. Also I tried to solve parents and siblings attitudes of language immersion and of Swedish language. I have been using a variety of indicators, and to establish the belief systems of the factorial analysis. In my bachelor thesis reflected that parents was satisfied with school and what there will be teaching. They were also interested from school and what happens there, that contributed positively pupils' convenience and success at school. Parents appreciated the immersion in language learning method. Families interesting from Swedish TV-programs or from Swedish literature was not increased. As conclusion of my research I suggest some possible improvement points which could be tested in everyday classroom teaching where language immersion are used as pedagogical method and would it be wise to look again at the language of instruction?
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(2022)Aims. The aim of this master’s thesis was to examine the association between poor gross motor skills, fine motor skills and early mathematical skills in 4-years-old-children. Previous research has shown that both gross and fine motor skills are associated with academic performance at school age, especially in mathematics, but research is still limited for under school age children. This study provides additional information on how poor gross motor skills are associated with fine motor skills and early mathematical skills before school age. Methods. This study was conducted using quantitative methods. IMB SPSS Statistics 27 was used for the data analysis. The data of this thesis was obtained from the Toimi ja opi -study and included 188 Finnish children aged four years in 2019. The research data was test results of the FMS (fundamental motor skills) test, fine motor skills tests and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test (Lukukäsitetesti). Gross motor skills were measured using the FMS (TGMD-3, KTK, MABC) -test. Fine motor skills were measured with three fine motor skills (LENE, BAS, WISC-3) tests. Early mathematical skills were measured using the Finnish Early Numeracy Test, that is based on number sequence skills and relational skills. In the results, means were examined with correlations and one-way analysis of variance. The association and relationship between the FMS and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test were analysed with Pearson correlation coefficients and the one-way ANOVA. Results and conclusions. The results of this master's thesis showed a statistically significant correlations between gross motor skills, fine motor skills and early mathematical skills. The results showed a statistically significant difference between poor gross motor skills and normally developing gross motor skills in the mean scores of the fine motor skills test and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test. The lower the score the child scored on the gross motor skills test, the lower the scores were on the fine motor skills test and early mathematical skills test. Results showed that the association between these skills can be seen already before school-age. Results underline the notion that in early childhood education should pay attention to identify the poor performance in motor skills in children and when they are observed, need the possible other difficulties be surveyed, so the support can be started at early stage. Early support can prevent the later difficulties in learning and development.
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(2002)Tutkimuksen tehtävänä oli selvittää Helsingin yliopiston Heila-tietojärjestelmän kehitysprojektin kulkua vuosina 1994-1999. Toisena tutkimustehtävänä oli selvittää minkälaisia ongelmia projektissa oli esiintynyt. Tutkimuksen aineisto oli projektin dokumentaatio, jossa pääaineistona olivat projektin johto- ja projektiryhmien kokouspöytäkirjat, tilanneraportit ja muut määrämuotoiset projektidokumentit. Lisäksi käytettävissä oli muuta aineistoa, kuten Heila-projektia käsitteleviä sähköpostiviestejä ja yleisönosaston kirjoituksia. Tutkimuksessa aineistoa kuvattiin kertomuksellisesti, projektin tapahtumat kirjattiin kertomukseksi kronologisessa järjestyksessä. Aineistoa analysoitiin toisen tutkimustehtävän mukaisesti sisällön analyysillä, ja tästä tuloksena oli projektin ongelmien luokittelu. Lopuksi tarkasteltiin projektin etenemiskertomuksen ja ongelmien luokittelun suhdetta. Kohteena ollut projekti viivästyi aikataulustaan kaikissa vaiheissa: toteutus- ja käyttöönotot viivästyivät useita kuukausia. Projektissa ilmeni resurssipulaa, välillä toimittajan ja välillä asiakkaan eli Helsingin yliopiston puolella. Lisäksi ohjelman sisältöalue oli niin monimutkainen, että se aiheutti vaikeuksia toteutuksessa ja käytössä. Järjestelmän suorituskyky ei vastannut sovittua, käyttöönottojen jälkeen jopa yksinkertainen tallennustoiminto saattoi kestää useita minuutteja, eikä normaaleja työtoimintoja saatu hoidettua. Helsingin yliopisto teki useita kirjallisia huomautuksia ja korvausvaatimuksia toimittajalle. Ongelmat jakautuivat toimintatapoihin liittyviin ongelmiin ja teknisiin ongelmiin. Toimintatapoihin liittyvät ongelmat sisälsivät käyttäjien huomiointiin ja projektin läpivientiin liittyviä ongelmia. Tekniset ongelmat jakautuivat kolmeen alakategoriaan: suorituskyvyn ongelmat, ohjelman ominaisuuksiin liittyvät ongelmat sekä yhteyksiin liittyvät ongelmat. Kukin alakategoria jakautui luokkiin. Projektin etenemistä arvioitiin suhteessa sen toteuttamista ohjanneeseen Helsingin yliopiston yhteistyöprojektien laatuohjeeseen, sekä Niemen (1993) malliin tietojärjestelmäprojektien läpiviennistä. Ongelmien luokittelua verrattiin Niemen (1993) arvioon projektien ongelmista. Projektin onnistumista arvioitiin Saarisen ja Sääksjärven (1992) projektin onnistumisen teorian avulla. Tulosten perusteella on mahdollista tarkastella muita projekteja, ja ongelmaluokitusten perusteella havaita potentiaaliset ongelmat. Siten voidaan parantaa työskentelyolosuhteita ja onnistumisen edellytyksiä tietojärjestelmäprojekteissa.
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(2014)Special education in Finland is carried out in various approaches and objectives. Planning and creating overall guidelines for special education has been challenging. However, in late autumn of 2013 the Kelpo-project introduced distinct guidelines for special education programs all over Finland. As a result, special education students are evaluated and a three-step personalized support plan is created for each individual. The support provided as well as the amount of overall support is required to be presented in each step of the plan. The documentation should include each student's personal goals and the processes used to achieve them. Before the Kelpo-project was introduced, teachers and other educational officials played a large role in class and school transfers as well as making the choice between general and special education for the student. Today, students' rights for general education are secured by law, which helps to avoid unnecessary class and school transfers. For a long time, the form of the educational system in Finland was divided into two separate sectors: general education and special education. Special education was taught in separate classrooms or in small groups. The aim of the combined educational system was to break down the two separate sectors and combine them as an inclusion-based educational system with a universal school and learning environment for everyone. This educational system would prevent all the unnecessary class and school transfers and treat each student as an equal, whether they need special support or not. The aim of this study is to investigate the numerous school transfers in a commune. This study also aims to examine the reasons behind the transfers and to inspect the officials making the decisions. This study will also examine the extent to which a student's own opinion has affected the transfer decision. This is a qualitative research study. The material has been evaluated with the analysis of the content. This study was carried out by interviews. The interviews conducted have been analyzed by finding common themes, which provide a general understanding of each student's educational path, school transfers and officials participating in the transfer process. The interviewees consisted of three eight grade students. The interviews were recorded and transcripted. The interviews consisted of two different people. The material used in this Master's study brought up how the previous special education system enabled the exclusion of a student by transferring him/her from one school to another with no support plan. The reasons behind the transfers were often misbehavior and violence. Teachers and other officials had responsibility and power to carry out transfers without discussing the issue with parents or the student in question. The current Kelpo-project secures a student's right to be heard and allows one to affect the decisions.
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(2019)A communal phenomenon related to bobbin lace making can be observed in Heinämaa region of Orimattila. This phenomenon has not been previously researched from the point of view of cultural studies. The purpose of this research was to authenticate the bobbin lace culture in Heinämaa via the cultural theory of Johan Fornäs. An additional purpose of this research was to examine lace making culture by utilizing the concept of regional identity. The assignment of the research was to examine what the lace making culture of Heinämaa is. The secondary assignment of this research was to answer the question: How does regional identity manifest itself in the areas affected by the Heinämaa lace making culture? The material used in this research consists of the mind maps composed by eight members of Heinämaan pitsinkutojat ry [the Heinämaa lace makers association]; ten books or certain parts of the books about Heinämaa lace; the yield of four thematic interviews (N=7) and questionnaires directed at the residents of Heinämaa (N=45) and Orimattila (N=39). The mind maps, literary material, interviews, the answers to the open questions of the surveys and the visual material relating to the Heinämaa lace (37p) were processed using theory-based content analysis method. ATLAS.ti program was used to code and analyze the material. The quantitative parts of the questionnaires were analyzed with SPSS program, using the Mann-Whitney test, the Kruskal-Wallis H-test and the Fisher´s exact test. After the analyses the results of the multimethodical research relating to the cultural authentication were combined in accordance with the four levels of the Fornäs cultural theory and the (concept of) regional identity was examined in relation to the theory. The research established that a unique local culture has formed around bobbin lace making in Heinämaa, manifesting itself on all levels of the Fornäs cultural theory. The results of the reasearch reflect an experience of a regional identity relating to the bobbin lace making in Heinämaa. The research established that this regional identity could be seen manifesting itself also beyond the borders of the Heinämaa village, but in these cases the person experiencing the sense of identity had herself lived in Heinämaa or had familial ties in the region. The lace making culture of Heinämaa is considered important and worth preserving in Heinämaa as well as te Orimattila region.
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