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Maisterintyö tutkii ohjelmistokehityskonsulttien oppimisen halua ja kykyä tukevia tekijöitä. Teoreettinen viitekehys ja aikaisempi tutkimustausta selittävät oppimista sosiokulttuurisen ja kognitiivisen oppimisteorian avulla. Molemmat näkökulmat ovat tarpeellisia tässä tutkimuksessa, koska asiantuntijatyön vaatimukset oppimisella ovat vahvasti sidoksissa sosiaalisen osaamisen tasoon ja kapitalistiseen kulttuuriin. Toisinaan oppimisen halua ja kykyä voidaan ymmärtää laajemmin yhdistämällä kognitiivinen näkökulma sosiaaliseen rinnalle, joka käsittää henkilökohtaiset edellytykset oppimiselle merkittävinä. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvantitatiivisena haastattelututkimuksena, jossa seitsemän asiantuntijan kokemusten syväanalyysi pyrkii vastaamaan viiteen tutkimuskysymykseen. Oppiminen ja osaamisen kehittäminen ovat henkilökohtaisia prosesseja, joiden ymmärtämiseen vaaditaan kattavaa analyysiä asenteista, uskomuksista ja ympäristöstä, jotta eri tekijöiden vaikutukset tuloksiin voidaan huomioida. Tutkimuksen tulokset kertovat, että oppimista haittaavien asioiden poistaminen ja hyvinvointia tukeva ympäristö, merkityksellisyys, tietoisuus, työssä oppiminen ja yhteisö ovat merkittäviä tekijöitä konsulttien halussa ja kyvyssä oppia.

The objective of this research is to study cultural imagery within inclusivity driven learn-ing environments, particularizing in visual aid and the representation of diversity. The subject of the research is visual aid pictures found in the learning environments of public day care centers in Helsinki. The focus of the research is to examine what kind of visual aid pictures are selected to be used in the public areas of the day care centers and if they portray their user. The user be-ing a diverse customer group, based on the values of inclusive early childhood education suitable for all. Do the visual aid pictures depict the features of the majority groups, or are disparities disclosed in the imagery selected? Diversity and disparities are defined accord-ing to prior theory taking into consideration the perspectives of the narratives. In which ways are the majority groups or deviation from it portrayed in Finnish early childhood education and is the opposition of these concepts visible in the selection of vis-ual aid used in the learning environments? Prior theory states that the main values in in-clusive early childhood education revolve around a child’s sense of being seen and heard. In order to produce a sense of being seen and heard for all children, the chosen imagery must also depict this. All children have the right to be seen and accepted for who they are and experience social cohesion within inclusive early childhood education regardless of their heritage, physical features and abilities, gender, illness, disability or belonging to any other minority group. The data was compiled between December 2022 and February 2023. The data collection was executed by photographing visual aid pictures inside of public day care centers in five different ECE districts of Helsinki. The data was analyzed by using qualitative content analysis and quantitative coding. Empirical information was formed by means of coding, responding to the research problems about the quantity of diversity visible. The research hypothesis is that the diversity visible in the used visual aid pictures varies between different ECE districts, according to the customer base and employees. If the em-ployees are qualified and adequately educated, it can be presumed that the pedagogically selected visual aid is of good quality and portrays values of inclusion well. If the customer base of the day care center is diverse, it can be assumed that diversity is seen as the norm in the visual aid pictures. The availability of visual aid pictures can be presumed to have an impact on the selection. If the results indicate that visual aid pictures are selected from a sparse source base, it will reduce the quantity and extent of diversity and disparities. The main hypothesis of the research is, that visual aid which a child relates to and reminds a child of itself increases the experience and sense of being seen and heard, advancing the actualization of the values of inclusive early childhood education.

Objectives: The current societal challenges together with the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) highlight the need to prioritise children’s social and emotional learning SEL skills and well-being. We need to equip them with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the modern world. This thesis has two objectives. First, it conducts an extensive literature review on SEL and Positive Education, analysing the theoretical background of the Pikkuli intervention—a multimethod intervention aiming to support children's social and emotional skills in their early years. Second, the study examines the different uses of the various methods of the Pikkuli multimethod tool and their influence on the efficacy of the intervention. In this research, I aim to investigate children's prosocial behaviours and internalising problems, building upon the existing knowledge from our recent publication Martikainen et al. (2023). This study contributes to the growing body of literature on SEL interventions in early childhood education, providing insights into the potential of multimethod tools like Pikkuli intervention to support children’s SEL skills. Methods: The study was conducted in five different early childhood education and care (ECEC) groups across two municipalities in Finland, and our sample included 60 children (Mean age= 77 months, SD= 4,4, 28 boys,32 girls). Data were collected using the strengths and difficulties questionnaires (SDQ) and intervention implementation diaries, which the ECEC group educators filled out. To analyse the intervention implementation diaries, a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to identify the different intervention methods used and their frequency during the intervention. Next, a statistical analysis was performed using SPSS to study the difference in prosocial behaviours and internalising problems in each ECEC group before and after the intervention. Results and conclusions: Inspired by the literature review and the defined research gap in a common framework for SEL interventions supported by Positive Education, I present an integrated framework that can be utilised in future research. In regards to the research questions, the results indicate that the use of various methods does not significantly impact the effectiveness of the intervention, and the preference for the use of methods varied among the ECEC groups. However, there was no statistically significant difference among the ECEC groups. Overall, the findings of this study can be utilised to develop future educational materials and interventions that support the development of essential SEL skills and well-being to help children thrive in their lives. The current study highlights the importance of incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) and Positive Education into early childhood education programmes. Although the study complements the growing body of literature on SEL interventions in ECEC and provides insights into the potential of multimethod tools, future studies are necessary to understand the intervention's long-lasting effects and impact on larger sample sizes.

Several studies have been carried out in Finland on the leadership of early childhood education and care centres, which have highlighted problems, challenges and shortcomings in leadership. In this thesis, two sub-studies were used to address this issue. First, the literature review collected the studies published between 2013 and 2023 and found in a Finnish database, and the problems and challenges they presented. The problems were classified into five categories: ambiguity and lack of definition of tasks and job descriptions, leadership of self, leadership of others, structural problems of leadership, and organizational problems. The second part of the thesis looked at the ways in which discussion between actors at different levels of the organization (the 'organizational council') can contribute to finding solutions to previously identified problems. Based on the results of the literature review, three thematic platforms were put together to facilitate the discussion. Employees, officials and a representative of the political decision-making level of a large Finnish city's early childhood education and care organization were invited as discussants. Within the framework of the action research, the interest was in the suggestions for development that were put forward in the discussion. Most of the suggestions for improvement were made by the political level. A discursive analysis of the data traced the paths along which the conversation followed after the development proposals were made. The analysis looked at both the discourses that enabled development work and those that stabilized problems. Four different discourses emerged, which were called the path open to the proposal, the path closed to the proposal, the crossroads and the by-path. From a development perspective, the crossroads emerged as the most important path, as it contained a reflection on one's own agency and the need for development in general. In this way, the concept of the crossroads develops existing theory on the nature of development discourse in organizations. The thesis also provides further insight into the barriers to development discourse. One of the most interesting suggestions for development in the data was the desire for more interaction between policy makers and professionals working at different levels of the early childhood education and care organization, so that at the main stage the Board has a more complete picture of the everyday life of the day-care centres and the regions and the situations which have influence on them. However, efforts to increase the impact of the interaction between the two sides of the table mostly led to a closed path in the discussion. Despite the obstacles to development talk, the organizational board proved to be a good way to promote interaction between different levels of the organization and to provide opportunities to influence decision-making, according to the data in this thesis. It also served as a good way to increase the knowledge of the discussants about the research-based knowledge of leadership in early childhood education and care.

This thesis studies the solutions related to music technology used in music education by music teachers and classroom teachers who teach music. The goal of this thesis is to map the technology used in music teaching in addition to music technology applications in use and discuss the reasons for their use. This qualitative study has been carried out using method and material triangulation. The material consists of three interviews and two surveys. Music teachers' use of technology in teaching was investigated through semi-structured thematic interviews, open-ended and multiple-choice questionnaires. The interviewees were two classroom teachers and a middle school special education teacher. The questionnaires were answered by music subject teachers and class teachers. The analysis of the data was performed inductively-deductively using data-oriented and theory-driven content analysis. Due to the limitation of the data, the results can only be considered indicative. The results illustrate well the incompleteness of the implementation of the digital leap in elementary and middle school music education. Based on the results, music technology is used in different ways in teaching. Teachers' training, available resources, personal interest in the subject and finding suitable programs affect the use of technology in teaching. Four different technology-using teacher profiles can be derived from the data: conservative, experimental, multimodal and technology- and application-oriented teacher.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Finnish health education teachers approach the topic of sexual consent in secondary school sexual education and how they justify their pedagogical decisions. The study aimed to investigate what content related to consent teachers considered important and what teaching methods and materials they used to address these topics. Additionally, it explored the opportunities and challenges that health education teachers perceive teaching consent. In this case study, four health education teachers were interviewed, three of whom were currently teaching the subject in secondary school. In the interview situations, Tea and Consent – video was used as a stimulus. The data was analyzed using inductive content analysis, also utilizing the quantification of the data. Teachers emphasized the importance of teaching information, skills, and values related to sexual consent. Their responses highlighted legal knowledge related to consent. Teachers reported favoring both interactive and teacher-led methods in teaching consent. They mentioned searching the internet for ready-made teaching materials such as videos. Challenges related to teaching consent included students' diverse family backgrounds, experiences, behavior, and the sensitive consideration of these factors in teaching. Teachers primarily justified their pedagogical decisions through practical observations and adherence to the curriculum. They mentioned multiple times that all students are taught the same curriculum content. None of the interviewees mentioned addressing gender roles or social scripts related to sexual situations in the context of consent education. Previous research on consent education has shown that gender roles and expectations, as well as social scripts, should be central to consent education as they promote a deeper understanding of consent. The research findings raised questions about how gender roles that strongly influence consent negotiation can be addressed in teaching.

Teachers’ well-being at work is an important factor for both teachers themselves and school community. This Master’s Thesis focuses on teachers’ well-being at work in a certain elementary school in Helsinki Metropolitan Area during one school year. Aim of the research was to find out 1) level of teachers’ well-being at work during one school year, 2) which factors teachers find decreasing their well-being at work, 3) which factors teachers find supporting their well-being at work. The level of well-being at work is measured by five different factors: stress, strain caused by teaching and guiding, burnout, work engagement and meaningfulness of the work. The research is a mixed methods case study. The level of teachers’ well-being at work was studied through quantitative data and both decreasing and supporting factors of well-being at work was studied through qualitative data. The quantitative data was analysed by studying statistics and averages and the qualitative data was analysed by tools of data-driven and theory-driven content analysis. Research material consists of answers of questionnaires which measure teachers’ well-being at work. The material was collected as a part of ”KILO Työhyvinvointia / KILO Well-being at work” -project during school year 2022–2023. The project was funded by OAJ’s Occupational Wellbeing Fund (Trade Union of Education, Työhyvinvointirahasto), Finnish Basic Education Unit of city of Espoo and Elementary School of Kilo. Findings of the research show that teachers’ well-being at work was on relatively good level during the whole school year. Amount of stress, strain caused by teaching and guiding and burnout remained at reasonable level and at the same time experiences of work engagement and meaningfulness of the work were strong. Factors that especially decreased teacher’ well-being at work were different demands towards the work of a teacher and pressure as well as pupils and teaching group. Most often mentioned demands towards the work of a teacher were tasks outside of teaching work, amount of the work and lack of time. Among factors that put a strain on teachers and were connected to pupils and teaching group were mentioned behaviour of pupils and pupils that need support, and tasks related to this supportive work. The study shows that the most important factors that increased teachers’ well-being at work were delimitation of the work, work community and support it can offer, as well as focusing and investing in both physical and mental well-being. Results of the research indicate that it is important to focus on teachers’ well-being at work also in the future. This Master’s Thesis produces important information about factors that cause stress and strain in teachers’ work, and which should be taken into account. In addition to this, research points out factors that teachers can use, in order to support their well-being at work.

This article-based master’s thesis evaluates and describes the levels of engagement and motivation, along with the experience of flow, in students studying Spanish as a second language at a metropolitan school in Finland during playful game-based activities, using the well-known online game platform Kahoot. The study aims to compare motivation and engagement in two scenarios: playful game-based learning activities and traditional lessons during Spanish language classroom activities. Additionally, it investigates differences in motivation and engagement between genders and explores the correlation between motivation, engagement, and flow during playful game-based classroom activities. A total of 103 students aged 10-15, from grades 4 to 9, participated in the research, utilizing validated psychological questionnaires to assess situational engagement, motivation, and the flow experience. We consolidated the three questionnaires the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS), the Situational Engagement Scale (SES), and the Flow Short Scale (FSS)—into one digital survey that took place immediately after the traditional lessons and playful game-based learning activities were completed. This study employed quantitative research methods, utilizing statistical analyses, to investigate engagement, motivation, and the correlation with flow during playful game-based learning activities, as well as the differences between game-based learning and traditional lessons, and gender differences. This study found that, during situational motivation, the participants demonstrated a significantly higher difference in the Intrinsic Motivation factor in playful game-based learning compared to traditional lessons. The participants also expressed a significant difference in their level of interest when asked about their engagement during game-based learning. No gender differences were observed in either situational engagement or motivation; however, boys showed slightly higher levels compared to girls. A strong correlation was found between intrinsic motivation and flow during playful game-based learning. The study highlights the potential of educational games to promote student intrinsic motivation, engagement, and flow experience, emphasizing the importance of incorporating innovative and enjoyable learning methods such as games into the school classroom. The article relating to this master’s thesis is to be considered for publishing in The Journal of Language Teaching and Research (JLTR)

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

This master's thesis aims to find out the attraction and retention factors of the work of a special education teacher in early childhood education. I interviewed seven special education teachers in different job descriptions. The research was carried out as a semi-structured pre-themed interview. Seven qualified early childhood special education teachers from a large southern Finnish city participated in the interview. All of them had worked in the city for several years. Early childhood special education teachers working in three different job descriptions were able to talk about the central and pleasant tasks of their work, the things that reduce the meaning of the job, their values, strengths, and the attractive and retentive factors they experienced in the field of early childhood education. The work of early childhood education special teachers was positioned at three different levels. Two special education teachers worked in a reduced group, where half of the children were under support and half were peer children. Two special education teachers worked in units consisting of one or more kindergartens. Three coordinating early childhood education special teachers operated across several early childhood education units, coordinating the placement of children in need of support in early childhood education, as well as the allocation of support resources. The interview material was analyzed as a content analysis and four categories were formed from the retention factors described by the special education teachers, which were the profession of the early childhood education special education teacher, work resources, work modification and social relations. Lately, it has been difficult to find qualified personnel for the post of special education teacher working in groups. Based on the data, qualified special education teachers easily flow into positions where the special education teacher's skills and knowledge are distributed differently. The thesis gives perspectives on modifying the job description of a special early childhood education teacher working in a group, to increase the attraction and retention factors of the work.