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Aims. The purpose of this single-case study was to investigate the effects of intensive tablet-based treatment in overall language performance level and in reading and writing processes in mild aphasia. The communicative effectiveness and task performances on the tablet software were also studied. The tablet software included tasks where semantic, syntactic and phonological processing were required; written naming, sentence writing and reading comprehension. Previous studies have indicated improvements in language skills after computer-based treatment (Katz & Wertz, 1997; Wade, Mortley & Enderby, 2003). Especially reading and writing skills can be treated by the computer-based softwares (Katz, 2008). Methods & Procedures. In this single subject research the ABA design was used. The participant in this study was a 47 year old man who had a stroke 2.5 years earlier. He had a mild chronic aphasia with difficulties in writing, reading and naming. The data of this study was formed by linguistic tests and by a self-assessment method as the participant evaluated his communicative effectiveness (CETI). The methods used in the analysis of written and read narratives included assessing rate, authenticity and the types of errors. The analysis of written narratives also included assessing word classes and type-token –ratio. Based on the data by the tablet-based software the rate and the share of errors of task performances were assessed. Results & Conclusions. Based on the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) results, the severity of the aphasia decreased but the change was not clinically significant. Naming improved but the change wasn't stable until the follow-up. The participant showed positive development in his written and reading production; he made less spelling and reading errors after the treatment. At the same time reading and writing processes became slower. The share of lexical verbs, adjectives, pronouns and numerals increased in written narratives. The communicative effectiveness improved. The task performance on the tablet software was faster during the fourth week compared to the first week. Also the amount of incorrect performances decreased or remained the same. Based on the results, an intensive self-monitored tablet-based language treatment was effective to the subject.

This study focused on the relations of interest and self-efficacy beliefs of students. The aim was to specify how interest and self-efficacy beliefs are independently and reciprocally related to mathematical performances, and conversely, how changes in achievements influence changes in motivation. Theories that support the developmental tendencies of interest and self-efficacy are emphasized in the theoretical frame. Previous studies have shown that individual levels of interest and self-efficacy beliefs significantly influence learning. Research concerning the interaction effects of the factors has been scarce. In addition, the research on the motivational factors has mostly been quantitative. This study aims to complement the existing conceptual and methodological approaches. The study was conducted by qualitative methodological principles. Six (6) students participated for the interviews. They were selected from a larger sample of student participants based on their achievements in mathematics. The interviews were executed with a semi-structured interview method. The data were analyzed by using content analysis. The research was explorative within its topic and hence, the analysis was not based on any preconceived hypotheses. The individual manifestations of interest and self-efficacy in relation to students' mathematical performances were highlighted in the explorative analysis of this study. The experiences reflected the interactive relationships of the particular motivational factors; with each other and in respect of math performances. According to the views of the students, changes in one phenomenological factor commonly result in changes in another. Within the individual perspectives of this study, no general conclusions can be drawn. However, the previously empirically established significances of interest and self-efficacy in learning were reflected in the experiences of the interviewed students. The interconnection of the motivational factors in relation to mathematics is essential to consider in education. Their predisposition for change offers opportunities to generate new learning experiences, which then again, may improve the feelings of interest and self-efficacy of even older students in relation to mathematical learning.

The study presents international academics working in the University of Helsinki and their access to the work environment language-wise. The transformations encountered by the higher education systems, like the University of Helsinki, have changed the face of the academic profession. Many of the goals of internationalization, such as increased international cooperation and ability to operate in international and intercultural environments, are connected to the need to use languages. This is why the meaning of language has come relevant to the access to different work environments. The data for the study came from the research subproject "Foreign professional's access to Finnish labour market" in the project "Opening up pathways for competence and employment for immigrants" by the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Helsinki. The questionnaire survey was carried out among employees from abroad on the payroll or on a grant (n=236) at the University of Helsinki in spring 2010. The method to analyze the data was quantitative for closed questions and statistical analysis was utilized. For open-ended questions qualitative analysis was used. The study subject was approached from the theoretical point view of second language acquisition, international communication competence, and concept of stranger. The research questions address more closely on what are the perceptions of the foreign academic professionals on their current level of language skill as well as learning and using language, what conditions related to language limit the access and possibilities to the commitment in the work environment of the University of Helsinki, and what are the perceived needs and development suggestions related to language that would improve the commitment to the work environment of the University of Helsinki. The study showed that there has not really been development in the Finnish skill during the time and to attend Finnish language courses did not have remarkable affect especially to the usage of Finnish in more official work situations. The most used language at work was English and change using Finnish came around after ten years in Finland. For accessing the work environment, Finnish language barrier, difficulties in finding ways to participate in decision making and social sphere, and difficulties in understanding one's rights and obligations in the working environment were evident among the international academics working at the University of Helsinki. The improvements on how international academics perceive working environment would language-wise require systematic changes in the University of Helsinki that go beyond surface level actions that have taken place, despite of the existing discussion on internationalization of higher education, strategic plans, and policies. The language policy in a multilingual work environment works in an excluding manner by blocking access of certain employees without sufficient Finnish skill.

The strategic objectives of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) encompass internationalisation, global competition, enhancing educational equity, and contribution to innovation and economic growth. These objectives are realised through the HEIs’ functions of teaching, research, and community engagement. International collaborations encourage sharing and valuing different forms of knowledge. GINTL (Global Innovation Network of Teaching and Learning) is a network of Finnish Higher Education Institutions and Indian partners for co-creating solutions for global educational challenges and collaboration in education and research. This network was formed as a part of the global component of Finland’s higher education internationalisation program and has been funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture for four years (2021-2024). The study aims to offer an overview and analysis of the collaboration process of a Finnish HEI with India under GINTL. Finnish stakeholders’ accounts of collaboration with India provide valuable insights and contribute to generating new knowledge in the area of global collaboration especially in the context of India, where the literature is sparse. The data was gathered through online interviews (N=9) with the GINTL India coordination team based in a Finnish University. Qualitative thematic analysis is used to analyse the data. Along with a critical description of the collaboration process with Indian partners, the study brings forth the factors crucial for success and constraints that may cause frustrations. The findings suggest that the successful execution of activities is influenced by the funding methods, establishment of trust, disparities in work culture, and accountability concerns. Notably time related issues are a common thread among all the factors that affect collaboration activities.

Higher education is seen to be a part of the global educational market nowadays. In order to stand out on this market, universities work for accreditations so that they can prove the level of their quality. Accreditations are preceded by long processes during which the university has to show that is meets all the requirements. There is quite a lot of research on accreditations as such but less on how they effect the internal power relations at a university. In this research, the aim was to study the effects of an accreditation process on internal power relations at a university. The theoretical starting point was Risto Heiskala's power theory which combines resource theories and structuralism and Hannu Simola's grid of the effects of a power mechanism. Simola's grid is based on Heiskala's theory. The aim was to analyse how accreditation processes present themselves a university from the power aspect and also how accreditation processes are talked about and how they are regarded. The material was collected at Svenska handelshögskolan (Hanken) where they were working towards an accreditation. The material consisted of 26 protocols and 6 interviews. All the interviewees worked in the university management. The analysis was based on Simola's grid and the material was analysed using critical discourse analysis. The results of this research show that a lot of power is used during accreditation processes. During these processes, many power relations seem to change, either momentarily or more permanently. At times, the use of power seems to be conscious while at times it seems to be more unconscious. The effects of power that is being used seem to cover all the four areas in Simola's grid, namely resources, position, identity and self-regulation. According to the results of this research, the effects seem to be more complicated than the grid suggests. In some research papers, accreditations have been mentioned as a new form of steering. According to the results of this research, this steering mechanism seems to cover the whole university and its staff and this is why there should be more research on the internal effects of the processes. The material in this research represented mainly the point of view of the management. In order to get a broader picture of the situation in future research, the material should cover also the research and teaching personal. In this research, the material was collected in a small university but it would be interesting to see whether the results apply also for a larger organisation.

Previous studies have shown that social-emotional skills can be taught in schools. The purpose of this study was to plan and conduct an intervention that can successfully develop students' social-emotional competence. The goals of the intervention were to answer to the students' individual needs and influence the social problems of the class as well as shape the social field of the classroom. The intervention was executed in the context of a research practicum. The research question that guided the study is; what kind of development in students' social-emotional skills and sociometric status can be found due to the implemented intervention, and how does the teacher of the class assess the intervention. This study was carried out by using a mixed methods approach. The focus group that took part in the intervention consisted of the students of one classroom (N = 24) and their teacher who also oversaw the research practicum. The quantitative data of the study was collected by using a multisource assessment of social competence scale. The data of self and teacher ratings was then analysed by using a paired samples t-test. The qualitative data of the study consisted of the interviews of both the teacher and the students. The acquired material was analysed by using content analysis and factual analysis. The students also took a sociometric test before and after the intervention. The results of the analysed quantitative data showed no statistically significant improvement on the student's self ratings of social competence. The teacher's assessments showed significant development on only one dimension of the scale. This was explained by the size of the sample and the students' developed understanding of social-emotional competence. However, the sociometric results showed substantial development in the status of peer rejected students and showed that no child was systematically excluded from the peer group after the intervention. The interviews also attested that both the students and their teacher found the intervention to have greatly improved the situation of the class. The teacher also found the contents and overall execution of the intervention practical and solidarity improving. The results were consistent with the findings of previous studies.

The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the social engagement scale among students at Finnish comprehensive schools. Another aim was to examine the interaction effect of social engagement and introversion on self-esteem, schoolwork engagement and burnout. The purpose of this was to understand how introverts with higher social engagement perform in terms of their self-esteem, schoolwork engagement and burnout in comparison to introverts with lower social engagement. The theory of this study focused on social engagement, which has been suggested the fourth dimension of school engagement. Social interactions help students’ learning, and enhance critical thinking and problem solving. Introversion was selected for this study as introverts are usually stereotypically seen as unsocial and unwilling to work with other people. The data for this study were collected through questionnaires of the Mind the Gap Research Group of the University of Helsinki in 2013–2016. Sample size was 862 students. The analytical methods were confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hierarchical multiple regression. The results indicated that a two-factor model best fit the social engagement scale. These two dimensions were named the social engagement approach and social engagement avoidance. When examining self-esteem, the interactions between the social engagement approach and introversion were significant. This suggests that introverts with high social engagement have higher self-esteem than introverts with low social engagement. Interaction terms for the social engagement approach and social engagement in terms of schoolwork engagement and burnout were not found.

Finnish educational leaders (FELs) experience high levels of stress in their work, which has prompted interest in their psychological wellbeing. Research shows that they have various roles and responsibilities, which can lead to poor psychological wellbeing. Most studies have focused on occupational resources, in line with the Job Demands-Resources theory when investigating how psychological wellbeing of FELs can be improved. Previous research highlights an association between sleep and stress, and how they have both been affected by COVID-19. This study examines the role of sleep as an external resource and its association with the stress of FELs as an indicator of their psychological wellbeing, and cognitive stress, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study has three research questions with the following hypotheses. Firstly, that there is an association between sleep and psychological wellbeing of FELs. Secondly, that COVID-19 has had a negative effect on the psychological wellbeing of FELs. Lastly, that COVID-19 has had a negative effect on the sleep of FELs. The research sample in this study were FELs who were part of the Finnish school principal’s association and completed the Finnish Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey. The sample consisted of 1727 FELs over four years of data collection from 2019 to 2022. The measures of sleep, stress as an indicator of psychological wellbeing and additionally cognitive stress were collected using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II as part of the wider survey. The data was analysed using Jamovi v.2.3.21 and the types of data analysis used were Pearson correlation, linear regression analysis, comparing means and One-Way ANOVA. The study showed that this sample of FELs are generally stressed. The results showed a statistically significant association between sleep and psychological wellbeing. Sleep was also found to have an association with cognitive stress to a lesser extent. However, there were no significant findings for gender and year of study, in the association between sleep and psychological wellbeing. The results indicated that there was a slight decrease in stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a slight increase in sleeping problems, but these were not statistically significant. The study contributes to an understanding of the association between sleep and psychological wellbeing of FELs. The study highlights that further research is required to explore the association in more depth, and that FELs could consider practical strategies to sleep and wellbeing, whilst schools could consider strategies to lessen demands.

The objective of this research was to study elementary school teachers’ iPad use as part of their music education. Subject was viewed relative to elementary school curriculums fundamentals and musical objectives in content areas within it. Furthermore, it was investigated how iPads motivated students from the teacher’s perspective. Deci and Ryans self-determination theory, which is considered as the mainstream theory in 21st century motivational studies, was used on the background. Research also considered the amount of preparedness teachers have in using iPads. Theory considers, in addition to motivation, widely also the concept of mobile learning and its manifestation in Finnish education and studying. The research considers possibilities of using iPads in elementary school music education and gathers different ways to utilize mobile technology as support to education and studying. Research also contemplates the suitability of using iPads in music education. Prior research has shown that with the help of mobile devices, it is possible to differentiate education and widen the learning environment to outside classroom. Devices have also been stated to act as a motivating factor to all kinds of learners. The research was carried out on spring of 2018 with qualitative methods, as a case study, by interviewing five elementary school music teachers around the Helsinki area. The teachers that took part in this research were either music class teachers, or class teachers teaching music. Interviews were carried out as theme interviews, in which the themes were based on the research questions. Interviews were recorded and held in each teachers’ own classroom. The interviews took from 40 to 70 minutes after which all material was transcribed coded in inductive content analysis’ methods. Findings were scrutinized theory bound, by comparing them to previous researches and theories. Composing and making of other creative output were the main utilizations. The research gave hints that it is possible to differentiate music education and provide positive experiences especially to musically inferior students with iPads. Based on the research, using iPads motivates students of all skill levels, when used in periods of a few weeks. Teachers would utilize the devices even more, but bad availability and different technical problems are often a problem.

This Master’s thesis delves into the world of dance education. The objective was to examine a teaching method in which children act as teachers. The intervention study performed focusses on children who teach their own parents. The study aims at exploring this new method of teaching and learning. There are not many studies that have been conducted in the field of dance education, a field which provides many opportunities for developing a new concept for teaching. The new curricula devised for day-care, preschool and basic education challenge teachers to increasingly involve learners in the learning process. The possibilities to increase the physical activity, performance skills and self-esteem of children as part of the learning process are the reason why ballet education has been chosen as the context of examining the new learning method. As far as is known, a study like the present one has not been carried out before. There is not much research data on ballet instruction for young children. Children teaching their parents is also a subject on which no previous studies are available. As a researcher, I applied the pedagogics of ballet and dance instruction, the pedagogics of learning and teaching, as well as related research data to the study of various themes that arose during the research.   A Ballet Teaching Workshop was held in January 2018 at Tanssila Dance School in Helsinki. The study examines the thoughts of nine children and their accompanying parents concerning the ballet class included in the workshop. The material consists of preliminary interviews with the children and their parents, forms completed by the parents and post-research interviews with the children. The researcher’s reflection on her own role as a teacher in the framework of the ‘children as teachers’ teaching method forms an important part of the study.   According to the study, the adults mainly regarded their children’s chance to act as teachers as a positive experience, despite some conflicting views. Several adults considered it important that the children experienced a sense of achievement while acting as teachers. Some adults were unsure about the effectiveness of being taught by children, while others felt that the joy of doing things together with their children was the most important benefit of the workshop. Many of the adults expressed their surprise of the children’s good teaching skills. The study revealed a number of different aspects related to teaching. The things considered important included the teachers’ skills in dance routines and their use of voice. According to the parents, the demonstration in front of the group was the most important and most useful channel of learning when the children acted as teachers. During the workshop, half of the parents discovered new facets in their children. The observations were varied and ranged from the children’s courage to reflection on the performance of certain ballet routines by the children. The children’s feelings about acting as a teacher varied from pleasant to embarrassed. Teaching alone in front of the others was felt to be exciting. The children thought that the adults were mostly good learners. Several of the children later wondered about the numerous questions asked by the adults on dance techniques. The children had also noticed quality fluctuations in the performance of dance techniques by their parents. For many children, it was important to point out how they were much more skilled than their parents. The researcher’s reflection raises benefits of the ‘children as teachers’ teaching method for application to other uses in the sphere of teaching.