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

Goal. The purpose of the study is to describe, analyze, and interpret primary school teachers' thoughts on sexual education in primary schools. Previous research indicates that only a small amount of research on sexual education has been conducted regarding children in the primary school years. Furthermore, research shows low self-confidence and inadequate knowledge on the subject among teachers. In addition to previous research, the study utilizes UNESCO's and WHO's guidelines for sexual education, as well as the national curriculum, as a theoretical background. Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. Six primary school teachers were interviewed for the study. The teachers were aged between 27 and 56 and had 2-29 years of teaching experience. The interviews were transcribed and anonymized. Thematic analysis was used as the analysis method. The material was coded multiple times to extract relevant themes that answered the research questions. Results and conclusions. The results reveal that the concept of sexual education can be misleading. Some of the teachers had difficulty defining the concept and focused on the content related to sex and contraception during the interview. Nevertheless, the teachers had a diverse understanding of the content of sexual education. The lack of knowledge among teachers on the subject makes them feel more uncomfortable, resulting in less sexual education in the classroom. Teachers had different opinions on when sexual education should begin, with variations in responses between grades 1-5. There is a need for strong support within schools for the implementation of sexual education, and teachers would benefit from further training and education in the subject during their studies.

The digital communication between home and school has developed for a longer period besides the digitalization in our society. Studies have shown that the perception of digital communication related to school context varies and there is also an ongoing discussion about it in the media. The purpose of this study is to discover how caregivers experience the digital communication with the class teacher, and which tools are working well and not so well depending on different parts of the everyday school day. This study was executed as a qualitative study and the data was collected through an electronic form. The form was answered by 19 caregivers with children in grades 1-6 in basic education. The analysis in this study was conducted as a thematic analysis. Wilma and social media were used for digital communication between caregivers and class teachers. The digital communication tools were experienced as well functioning in informative occasions but not as well in situations that required a dialog. Lack of guidelines in the usage of digital communication tools were experienced to cause misunderstandings. Results in this study shows that awareness among caregivers and class teachers of how digital communication tools are used can conduct to a development of the digital communication to at best become an effective and smooth way to communicate. This benefits all partners. A well-reasoned usage of digital communication tools increases a feeling of participation and conducts to a feeling of welcomed in the school as a caregiver.

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of special needs teachers and classroom teachers in the integration of students with special needs into general education and the teachers' cooperation. The term integration is used from special needs students who studies partly in a general classroom with peers. The pre-integration form is segregation, where students are isolated from other students, and the post-integration form is inclusion, where the school adapts to the needs of the pupil. The aim of the study is to find out how integration is implemented in today's schools and how classroom teachers and special needs teachers perceive the benefits and challenges of integration in everyday school life, and thus the implementation of inclusion and related cooperation. The study was qualitative research. The interview was attended by three special classroom teacher and classroom teacher pairs who implemented integration. The data was collected as a semi-structured thematic interview and analyzed by theory-guided content analysis. According to the research teachers defined integration in more dimensions than in the previous definitions of integration. Integration was also thought as a transition from general education to special education. Teachers saw the benefits of integration as factors that can be utilized by the individual student in need of special support, while challenges were seen in organizing integration. According to the research as a benefit the teachers mentioned the increase in the pupil's social skills and as a challenge they mentioned physical learning spaces, as well as the teacher’s communication. Teachers attitudes for inclusion were mainly reserved as inclusion was seen as a means of saving. Some teachers felt that studying in general education was not suitable for everyone. Based on the results of the study, the teachers were pleased with their collaboration. The benefits of cooperation were mentioned more than the challenges. For integration or inclusion to take place, teachers should have a common understanding of teaching and a desire to develop their own activities. The school's resources also influence the organization of special needs education.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the Learning and Schooling Support system in Christian schools and the job description and roles of special education teachers. The aim of the study is to examine special education in Christian schools from the perspective of special education teachers and to describe the job description and roles of special education teachers. The study used a multi-method sample, in which an electronic survey was sent to 22 special education teachers. 12 answers were collected. The quantitative part collected from the survey was reported and the qualitative free answers were analyzed using phenomenological-hermeneutic content analysis and type descriptions were created through categories. Based on the results of the study, the Leaning and Schooling Support system seems to be both established and developing in the light of the answers. Learning and Schooling support system is being developed in schools, but there are also challenges. Christian schools do not seem to differ substantially from other Finnish primary schools in terms of Learning and Schooling support system. The Basic Education Law oblige private schools to organize all the support measures required by law. The job description of special education teachers was described through typification, which summarizes the positive and negative aspects of the job description. Relationships and different encounters are important in the work of a special education teacher. Typifications are based on relationships. Based on the relationships, the roles were named as encountering students and encountering the work community. The roles encountering students are the following: a provider of versatile opportunities and an important adult in schooldays. The roles encountered by the work community are a trusted colleague and a promoter of cooperation. Negative roles are the lone plodder and the unappreciated.

Objectives. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the consultative approach of special education teachers. Consultation has also been studied in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland, but in Finnish schools the research has focused on the job description of special education teachers. A lot of research has been done on the job description of special education teachers after the amendment of the Basic Education Act, and several theses have also been written on the subject. According to studies, the job description of special education teachers has changed in Finland, and especially extracurricular work has increased. According to studies, special education teachers seem to be willing to take a more consultative approach to work. The research topic was approached through the office hours that special education teachers in Kotka reserve for consultation and other work outside teaching. The study is interested in the experiences of special education teachers and the meanings they give to office hours. Methods. The thesis was qualitative. The data was collected through thematic interviews held at the turn of the year 2023-2024. Six (6) primary school special education teachers from Kotka participated in the study. The interviews were recorded with the Microsoft Teams application and the transcript of the material could be downloaded through this. The analysis of the data was carried out with data-driven content analysis. Results and conclusions. According to the thesis, the office hours basically included recording, cooperation and other work, and the ratio of these varied according to need. Office hours were seen as valuing work outside teaching, enabling sufficient working hours and strengthening indirect support for pupils. The content of the office hours supported the consultative work approach, but the implementation of the consultative approach depended on the special education teacher and technical matters related to the timetable. Special education teachers emphasized the importance of teaching, but felt that office hours were a necessary part of their work.

In my research, I examine special education as a discursive practice in the Foucauldian sense, in which ideas about disturbance are almost exclusively produced as individual characteristics. The discursive perspective also challenges the position of scientific knowledge and concretizes the power and control contained within it. My study is situated in special education context where the education system has assumed a significant role in constructing the normal individual. Therefore, the examination of disturbance is closely related to questions of exceptionalism. In my research, I investigate how disturbance is conceptualized in Helsinki university course materials. Additionally, I reflect on the positioning that materials offer to individuals, mainly in expert positions, who consume them. My data consists of two course books used in special education training, which I approach and deconstruct discursively. In my research, discourses appear as information systems that, instead of merely describing, act as significant building blocks in our thinking and actions. Thus, course materials are kind of a window into the ways in which disturbance and specialness are structured within the education system and more broadly in society. The results of my research show that disturbance is primarily presented as individual deficiencies, which reinforces my preconception that disturbances are personal faults or defect. Consequently, various skills and self-management strategies are offered as solutions to disturbance, which enable one to overcome it. The results also challenged individualistic views. The disorder was presented as a product of Western culture, where certain behavioral patterns are intentionally excluded from appropriate and correct behavior. The course material also placed the adult i.e. the teacher, in a position where they are seen as an actor outside the disorder, who is able to know and report how, when, and why the disorder develops.

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract The interest towards the subject of the study awakened because the field of student councelling is in major changes in Finland due to the most recent changes in the law enforcement regarding student councelling and transferring information from the basic education to secondary education. In this study that was put into practice as a qualitative research the articulated phase of basic and secondary education is inspected from the perspective of the student counselling of a pupil with special needs and the transfer of information. Six student counsellors of basic education were interviewed for the study with a structured interview. The data of the study consisted of those interviews. The data of the study was analyzed by theming the research results. It was discovered that there is no overestimating the importance of the articulated phase of basic and secondary education. The student counselor of a pupil with special needs requires getting familiar with the individual needs in education of the pupil and getting familiar with questions of the health of the pupil or other aspects in pupil’s life that may affect the choice of vocation. The student counsellors do a lot of multiprofessional cooperation with the special education teachers and student counsellors of secondary education. Pointing out facts regarding to pupil’s education and other aspects that can affect the choice of vocation was important but the student counsellors also pointed out that supporting the student and their self-image was important as well as encouraging the student. The importance of coopetaring with the pupil’s guarding was also brought up in regards of pondering the choice of vocation and also in regards of getting the permission to transfer information. The discoveries of the study also pointed out that the obligation to maintain secrecy complicates transferring information between basic and secondary education and it needs changes. It was discovered in the study that more coherent courses of action are needed in regarding transferring information throughout the whole country of Finland.

My Master's thesis is a qualitative study, the purpose of which is to find out how teachers working in pre-primary and in the early stages of basic education the importance of self-esteem and how they recognise the differences between healthy and weak self-esteem in children. I will also try to find out what methods are they using to support the development of children's healthy self-esteem and what they perceive as potentially damaging factors for children's self-esteem in the learning environment in both pre-primary and early- elementary education. I want answers to these questions because self-esteem has a significant impact on a child's development and life. I collected research data from seven teachers who work in different preschools and early-elementary schools. By Early-elementary school I mean the first and second grade of elementary school. The research material was collected using thematic interviews. The interviews were conducted during October and November 2022. I analysed my research data using the phenomenographic method of analysis. The research shows that all interviewed teachers were aware of the basics of self-esteem formation. They were able to distinguish between healthy and poor self-esteem based on children's behaviour and felt that supporting healthy self-esteem was an important part of their daily work. According to the interviewed teachers, healthy self-esteem promotes among other things a better future for children and affects learning and motivation. The teachers felt that strength-based teaching, positive interaction and creating a safe environment are the best ways to promote children's self-esteem. They also emphasized the importance of professional support and cooperation because it enables providing the necessary help to children, which also increases the teachers' own competence and well-being at work. Although supporting healthy self-esteem is important, challenges related to working conditions and the teacher's own problems can prevent teachers from supporting each child in a way that would promote the development of children's healthy self-esteem. Every teacher interviewed cited a negative atmosphere as a barrier to children's self-esteem development. In addition, challenges faced by teachers that have a negative impact on professionalism, such as fatigue and teachers' personal problems, were perceived to have a negative impact on children's self-esteem. Lack of resources, time pressure on teachers, and neglecting children's challenges were also identified as significant problems.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the government of Finland declared a state of emergency for the time between 18th March and 16th June, 2020. However, pre-primary education groups were held in operation, but – according to the government’s policy – the children were to be kept home if it was possible considering the parents’ work. (Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, The Finnish Government Communications. 2020; The Finnish Government 2020.) As a consequence, the organisation of pre-primary education varied in different parts of Finland. Some children had contact instruction, some children stayed at home and received distance instruction by pre-education unit, and some children relied completely on possible home instruction. The purpose of this study is to find out the different ways pre-primary education was executed across the country during the state of emergency. It also brings forth the views the pre-primary teachers who attended this study have on how educational equality is actualised in their groups. The study further examines their views on the possible effects the state of emergency had to the process of proceeding to primary school, and how the state of emergency has affected settling in to school. The data for this study was collected with a questionnaire from two early childhood education themed Facebook groups in Spring 2021. The questionnaire was answered by sixteen pre-primary teachers who had worked with pre-primary education groups during the 2020 state of emergency. The collected data was analysed with data-driven content analysis. The pre-primary education organized during the state of emergency is examined by dividing the questionnaire results into four categories emerging from the data; teaching during the state of emergency, actualization of educational equality, and proceeding to primary school after the state of emergency. Based on the findings of the study, it is noticeable that – between municipalities as well as pre-primary education units – there are clear differences in the amount and quality of activities, as well as in the used teaching methods. According to the study, the teachers experienced challenges with the fulfillment of educational equality during the state of emergency; this was affected by, for example, the conditions, the differences between families and the resources available. The data shows that there were cases in which it was impossible to organize any kind of school introductions, and in other cases they were carried out with varying means. Moreover, starting school was mainly considered to be harder after the state of emergency, compared to normal conditions. The findings of the study could be utilised when planning possible preparations for similar future events.

The physical activity of children has a significant meaning impact in the holistic and safe growth, development, and learning of children. Children’s natural way to release energy and emotions is through exercise. The aim of physical education is for the child to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle, gain positive experiences from exercise and learn physical skills. Physical activity has a positive effect on a child's health and wellbeing. The aim of this qualitative case study is to investigate the views of preschool children about physical activity and to determine what they think physical activity is. The theme is current and significant, because only 10-20 percent of children under school age achieve the amount of physical activity required for normal growth and development. The study also considers the effect of gender on physical activity. 23 preschool-age children, 13 girls and 10 boys, participated in the study. The data collection method was an interview and the analysis method was quantification. The research results show that exercise is a happy thing for children. Only a few children experience fear when they exercise. The majority of preschool children like physical activity and feel that they are good at it. There are differences in the results between genders; boys experience physical activity more positively than girls do. All children can describe physical activity in some way and most of the children have a sports hobby.