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

Objectives. Studies show that intelligence is declining in Western countries. Researchers ’concerns have widened into a debate over whether society is depleting or whether there is an issue in statistics. The purpose of this study is to sort out the epistemological beliefs of the Mensians in relation to the decline in intelligence. It also explores how incremental theory of intelligence is reflected in the beliefs of Mensians. The aim of the study is to give people who are found to be intelligent the opportunity to describe the evolution of intelligence to broaden the understanding of the phenomenon. Because intelligence is a complex concept, the theoretical background of the study contains broad research of measurement and definition of intelligence. Methods. This qualitative research is part of a phenomenographic research tradition. The material of the study is secondary data from a previous master’s thesis, which examined the beliefs of Mensians in the development of intelligence. This study focuses on the open-ended response in the data, in which Mensians describe why they believe intelligence is declining in the West. In accordance with the phenomenographic research approach, the material was first analysed by classifying the beliefs found in the material into units. Those units were formed into descriptive categories that reflect the relationship between the beliefs associated with the phenomenon in a larger picture. Results and conclusions. According to the results of the study, Mensians widely believe that intelligence is built on a person’s own making. Therefore, incremental beliefs were strongly present in the epistemological beliefs, but entity-theoretic beliefs were also found. The Mensians saw many reasons for the decline in intelligence, the most common being digitalisation and transition in society. Other answers include the breeding of stupid people, chemicalization and life habits. There was concern about the decline in intelligence and it was understood to be part of the negative development of modern society. On the other hand, many Mensans also questioned the whole phenomenon and suspected it as a misunderstanding.

Aim. Children’s early social-emotional maturation plays an important role in their development. A report in Finland has shown that daycare centers need tools in everyday life to support children's socio-emotional development. Thus, the SAGA intervention was created by Kalland, Linnavalli & Von Koskull (2022). In the intervention, the staff at the day care center were trained in mentalization theory. Over the course of twelve weeks, the staff at the daycare engaged in regular shared storybook reading sessions with children aged 3–5. The aim of the discussions was to support the children in reflecting on mental states and to get them interested in their own and others’ inner world. In this thesis, the discussions between teachers and children during shared storybook were analyzed. The aim of the study was to describe, interpret and analyze the way the staff at day care centers discuss with the children about the inner world. Additionally, the study aimed to examine how these discussions function as a basis for the children's mentalization. One goal was also to analyze how the staff use questions to encourage children’s reflection on the inner world. Methods. The research material was gathered by videotaping moments of shared storybook reading. Thirteen different groups of children were filmed, with a total of seven adults and 57 children featured in the 13 video clips. The video footage has been transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. Results and conclusions. The results showed that most of the teachers discussed the storybooks with the children in a way that encouraged reflection on the inner world. These discussions served as a basis for the children's mentalization. The majority of discussions about inner mental states focused on identifying and naming emotions, with less reflection on thoughts, wishes or underlying reasons. There were some reflections that required a higher level of mentalization in the children. Self-reflection and reflection based on the characters' perspective were evenly distributed in the children's reflections. The teachers asked more open than closed-ended questions about the inner world. Some groups had little or no discussion about the inner world. This seemed to be because the teachers had not mastered the content of the education, failed to get the children to participate in the discussion, or that the theme of the storybook was more abstractly connected to the inner world.

The appearance ideals of today are very narrow and put excessive pressure on individuals to look a certain way. The ideals are seen as so unrealistic that most people cannot reach them. This has led to an increase in body dysmorphia to a degree where it nowadays is normal to be unsatisfied with one’s body. A negative body image can have several serious consequences, such as mental health problems, eating disorders and social and economic problems. Earlier studies have shown that problems with body image also affect children: the majority of children seem to be unsatisfied with their bodies, and many try to lose weight through unhealthy methods, such as skipping meals. Therefore, there is a big need in supporting children’s body image and researchers have highlighted schools as adequate places for this work. The aim of this study is to examine primary school teachers’ comprehensions about children’s body image, as well as their comprehensions about their possibilities to support their students’ body image in school. Six teachers, who at the time of the study were working in grades 1-6 in the primary school in Finland, participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were used, and data was analyzed by using thematic analysis that took place in the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. The teachers in this study considered body image as a highly important topic. The teachers seemed to understand what influences children’s body image and they could observe children’s body image in different situations, such as during school lunch and through paying attention to children’s behavior. They also had a strong will of supporting their students’ body image, but at the same time the teachers felt that the lack of knowledge, resources and guidelines made them feel uncomfortable with working with body image. The teachers disagreed on whether supporting children’s body image really was part of their work responsibilities, but despite of this, there was a consensus of the importance that teachers need to be good role models for their students and that teachers should work for a school where every child feels worthy and safe. Based on the results of this study, it can be said that body image needs to be more emphasized in future school curriculums and that teachers need more knowledge in body image and more tools to feel comfortable with teaching this topic. The results of this study can benefit further studies in body image and studies regarding the school’s role in the work with supporting children’s body image.

Aim. Earlier studies have shown that textbooks are a crucial tool in teaching. Some theories mean that textbooks create and reproduce a specific outlook on reality. The aim of this study was to review how social studies textbooks in comprehensiveschool in Finland written in Swedish represent different occupations and how workers, employees, employers and entrepreneurs are constructed. The goal was to present who is represented in the textbooks and what kind of a notion could be constructed of workers, employees, employers and entrepreneurs in the textbooks. The study is constructed to make visible underlying discourses in the working life that are presented in social studies textbooks, so that teachers are able to adequately discuss the topic of different roles inworking life. Methods.The study includes six (6) social studies textbooks written in Swedish from Finland. For grades 4 –6 it consisted of two publishers and two publishers for grades 7 –9.In grades 4 –6 there was two textbooks per publisher. The method was a combination of a quantitative survey and a critical discourse analysis.The quantitative survey portrayed which occupations occur in the textbooks.The critical discourse analysis examined how employees, workers, employers and entrepreneurs areconstructed in social studies textbooks. Results. Altogether there are 131 occupations in the data. In the social studies textbooks for grades 4 –6 the prevalent occupations represented there, where occupations students this age could recognize form their everyday lives. In grades 7–9 the occupationswhere much broader, comparing to grades 4 –6, were there was an emphasis on occupations in the judiciary and executive fields. Otherwise,both in grades 4 –6 and 7 –9 the entrepreneur was present in the data. The employer-discourse represented the employer as actor in working life that had to be restrained and had many obligations. The employer was often represented as an impersonal and occasionally also as discriminating. The worker, employee and the employer are very intertwined. The worker-discourse described the workers vast range of action in working life, through instructions and facts for the reader. The worker-discourse was also very prevalent with rights and obligations. The employee-discourse many times portrayed employees only as measurement entity to describe another phenomenon, like businesses. The employees are also described through the working life norms, but also trough rights and obligations. The entrepreneur-discourse described the entrepreneur with many nuances, where positive and negative aspects are shown. A lot of space was given to instructions and facts regarding being an entrepreneur. The conclusion is that the employers are presented as impersonal and in a somewhat negative light, whereworkers and employees are prepared for theworking life trough norms and rights. The entrepreneurs are presented as value-charged and contain vastdescriptions of the life of an entrepreneur.

Objectives. The aim of this study is to examine elementary school teachers’ views on reading comprehension and teaching reading comprehension. The objective is to gain information about the different ways in which teachers think about reading comprehension. Another objective is to gain information on the ways in which teachers teach and assess reading comprehension. Methods. The study was conducted in Finland as a qualitative research. A semi-structured thematic interview was used to collect data. The interviews were conducted between February and May in 2023. The sample (N = 6) consisted of 4 class teachers and 2 teachers who taught Finnish as second language. After transcription the data was analyzed by using qualitative content analysis method. Results. According to teachers reading comprehension is a complex phenomenon. There were multiple factors that teachers associated with good reading comprehension such as language skills, the home literacy environment and textual factors. Reading comprehension was viewed as a tool for learning and a way of making it through everyday life. Teachers mentioned that it was important to support good reading experiences and reading motivation among students. Reading comprehension was taught simultaneously with different subjects. Instruction of reading comprehension also meant teaching of strategies and supporting children’s interest for reading. Instruction of reading comprehension is an important aspect of teaching as a whole. It’s important to support teachers in their efforts to nurture literacy.

Objectives. As a future teacher, who identifies as a female, I felt the need to expand my knowledge of the expectations that agents of other genders, in addition to females, face. This study came to being from the need to examine what expectations are placed in executing masculinity. Connell’s (1995) theory of hegemonic masculinity is a central basis of this study. Hegemonic masculinity is a normative model of the most respected way of being a man while only few men are truly able to reach this. A list of hegemonic masculinity’s expectations composed by Arto Jokinen (2000) worked as a basis for five ideals which I searched from the study material: strength, success, control of emotions, power and heterosexuality. This set of expectations creates positions of dominance and subordination between men. I therefore expanded the purpose of the study to examine the ways in which boys organize hierarchies between each other. The purpose of this study is to describe, analyze and interpret the manifestation of ideals of masculinity in upper comprehensive school aged boys and their ways of organizing hierarchies between each other. Methods. I received the material from a study project called Local Educational Ethos (LEE). The material was composed of nine single- or group interviews and together there were 16 interviewees. This material I analyzed in a qualitative, theory directed content analysis method. Results and conclusions. All five ideals of masculinity were able to be identified from the material. The normativity of hegemonic masculinity is extended to affect upper compulsory school aged boys. The ways of organizing hierarchies Bullying, verbal teasing and calling other pupils gay stood out from the material as ways of organizing hierarchies. This observation is in line with the presented theories of organizing hierarchies.

Aim. Previous research shows that social media use has increased among young people. There are many benefits to social media but also serious risks such as cyberbullying, which can have crucial consequences. The benefits of social media include contacting friends and family, gaining information and entertainment. It is important that children create good relationships with their classmates and that the students have a great class spirit, as it increases well-being at school and prevents bullying. Research shows that around 40 percent of students have witnessed bullying online and ten percent have been exposed. The teacher has an important role in creating a good class spirit, which has been proven to reduce bullying and that the teacher can be a safe support for victims. It is also important that the teacher teaches the student net etiquette. Since social media has increased in use over the past ten years there is a need for new research. The aim of the master´s thesis is to analyse how students in year 6 communicate with each other on social media and how social media affects students’ friendships and class spirit. Methods. The data for this qualitative research was collected through interviews with 21 students. The students were in year six in a Swedish-language school in southern Finland. The interviews were semi-structured and were done on site in school. The audio from the interviews was taped and transcribed. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and the Atlas.ti program was used in the coding stage. Results and conclusions. The results show that all the students use social media in some form, but not all have permission from their parents to use more than one platform. Although no student confirmed that they are being excluded, some expressed that they sometimes feel outside of the community. The students said that no bullying had occurred in the past year. My conclusion is that the school has succeeded in building a strong class spirit and strong friendships. Even though cyberbullying cannot be completely monitored, the school has succeeded in preventing it. Based on the results, the school’s preventive work against bullying and how they create a good classroom spirit could be modeled in other schools, as it seems to work.

The aim of this research is to highlight the challenges and opportunities of the two-year pre-primary education trial. To find out how the pedagogy in the trial has been adapted to achieve the goals in the curriculum to further develop early childhood education in Finland. Previous research shows that educators play a central role in children's development and learning. The research also indicates that there are some challenges in early childhood education. It is therefore necessary that this experiment be investigated to see if the idea behind the experiment is really implemented and worked. The research questions that have been highlighted are how the two-year pre-primary education trail is perceived among the pedagogues and how the pedagogy has been adapted to achieve the goals in the curriculum. Eight educators in Swedish Finland working in the pre-primary education where the two-year pre-primary education trial is being carried out participated in the study. In this study, an educator can be a teacher in childhood education, a childcare worker, or a sociologist. This study was done through a qualitative research method through semi-structured interviews with the educators. The results showed that the educators have a positive approach to two-year pre-primary education. The educators see the lack of support from management and staff resources as the biggest challenges with the trial. The educators also highlight many possibilities with the trial. A two-year pre-primary education brings extended opportunities for both children and educators, which creates an equal and qualitative education. The results also reveal that the five-year-olds attending the one-year pre-primary education have very different levels of knowledge, which affects equal education according to the pedagogues. Overall, the educators believe that the trial of two-year pre-school education forms a good whole for the children's development and learning. The results for the second research question indicate that the educators take into account the age differences in the children participating in the trial and that they work in a play-pedagogical way. The informants agree that the trial of the two-year pre-primary education has a positive effect on the children's development and learning.

The purpose of the study was to provide an overview of the latest research findings on motivation and engagement and their impact on student learning in schools. These results are then reflected against the theory base that already exists in motivation research to provide insight into how these theories can be used by teachers in their everyday life at school. The study was conducted as a qualitative systematic literature review. The data search was carried out through two electronic databases (ERIC and SCOPUS). 483 articles were identified in the initial screening and were eventually reduced to 13 articles that were used in the study. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are discussed further in the thesis. The material was analyzed using a narrative review. The results of the study showed that motivation and engagement have a direct and joint impact on students' learning and performance at school. Students who felt motivated and engaged towards learning used several strategies that supported their learning. The study showed that the relationship between motivation, engagement and learning is complex. Several different internal and external motivational constructs play an important role in students' everyday school life and engagement with tasks. Based on the findings, teachers should pay more attention to creating classrooms and using practices that support, motivate and engage students in learning.

Aim. The main purpose of this qualitative study is to learn about classroom teachers’ preventive work with mental health problems in students and what challenges come with it. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight the importance of preventing mental health problems in children at an early stage. About half of all cases of mental health problems begin before the age of 14, which justifies the importance of preventing mental health problems at an early stage. The purpose of the study is further motivated by the enormous shortage of school psychologists and curators both in Swedish-speaking schools and nationally. The study examines classroom teachers’ experiences of preventive work on mental health problems in students, because they spend a lot of time with their students and thus have the opportunity to make a difference. Previous research highlights that, among other things, creating various protecting factors can effectively prevent mental health problems. Methods. Materials for the study were collected through individual interviews and the entire study was based on a phenomenographic methodological approach. A total of six classroom teachers working in grades 1-6 were interviewed. To delimit the sample, classroom teachers working in Swedish-speaking schools were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to a phenomenographic methodological approach and based on the research questions. Results and conclusions. All classroom teachers experienced an increase in mental health problems among students during the years they worked as teachers. This is in line with research and confirms the importance of preventive work on mental health problems. The teachers who participated in the study worked mainly preventively by identifying risk factors and creating protective factors against mental health problems. The most common protective factors turned out to be to create safety in the school through routines and rules and to strengthen self-esteem and self-efficacy, for example through positive pedagogy. Two of the most important qualities of teachers were experiences as being responsive and consistent. The teachers felt that they had a responsibility to prevent mental health problems in students together with other adults in the students’ environment, but they did not feel that they have the primary responsibility. The teachers also experienced that the role of teachers has changed and contains more responsibility than before. The main challenges in preventing mental health problems were perceived to be lack of time and resources.