Browsing by study line "Special Education"

Teacher education is a continuum of initial teacher education, induction and in-service training. The development of the teacher education has been set as a goal in the Education policy report in 2021. Several projects have been started to support the development work. Earlier research has mainly focused on new teachers induction education and to the needs of new teachers. Also, the need of in-service training for teachers has been studied. There have been very few studies focusing on the in-service training needs of special education teachers. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of professional advice special education teachers ask for in a social media group, and what kind of in-service training needs emerge in these conversations. The Facebook group called Erkkamaikat is a closed group of appr. 8.6 thousand members. The group is intended for special education teachers. The discussion in Erkkamaikat group is lively, and many participants request help for their job as a special education teacher. The discussion also includes topics of which participants need more information or training. The research material contains dicussions which have been started in Erkkamaikat group 1.8.2021-30.11.2021, and comments of those discussions. Material was collected during November and December at 2021. The material was analysed using the qualitative content analysis. The conclusion of analysis was that the themes of the professional questions of special education teachers could be divided into three main categories: work framework, background work and hands-on work. Each main category contained sub-categories. In addition, there was a category called sundries that includes questions that could not be included in any other sub-category and did not join up with each others. Many categories of the questions of special education teachers can also be seen as a need for in-service training. Additionally, participants required in-service training about holding a pupil, and extension of compulsory education. Many of participants also liked to have a peer to share experiences with. It seems that the special education teachers in the social media group ask help for themes of which the information can be found in professional literature or by education but also for themes from which t is better to ask advice from the peers. Also, the need for peer-mentoring occurred in the discussions.

Aims. In the National Core Curricula for Education (2014), the pupil is seen as a participatory and influential actor, which should be considered in the assessment discussions. The teacher should strengthen the positive atmosphere and learning environment, different ways of communicating, along with speech, are important to consider. For this need, the Conversation with Symbols (KESY) material has been developed. The purpose of the study is to map the applicability of the new method to the practical work of a special education teacher. The aim was to collect the special education teacher's user experiences of KESY assessment discussions by means of action research and to find out how the KESY method is suitable for students studying by functional area as part of the assessment discussion. In addition, examine how the KESY assessment discussion supports students' inclusion. In addition, the aim was to develop my own professional skills and work practices by introducing a new method for myself as part of the teaching of students in need of special support. Methods. As a researcher, I have played a dual role in the research process, as I have worked as a researcher and teacher. In this study, students in their own small group class formed the target group of the study. The pedagogical and methodological KESY visual material has been utilized as a tool for producing the material, the aim of which is to increase the student's participation in the assessment discussion. The research material has been collected for the participants in a natural environment in their own school classroom. The research data is based on notes and photographs compiled in assessment discussions of a small group of special support. Results and Conclusions. Based on the results of this study, it can be said that the KESY method is very suitable for a student studying by activity areas as part of the assessment discussion. In terms of content, much more students' opinions and issues were raised than in previous traditional assessment discussions. Importantly, all students were able to participate in it in their own way with teacher. The use of images is a very useful means of communication at school, and the use of images benefits all students at school, regardless of their level of support. The KESY assessment discussion supports students' participation in many ways. With its help, the student's voice can be heard and his or her opinion can genuinely be put at the center of the assessment discussion. The student's participation is realized for real, and not just as a goal on paper. The pupil is heard and involved regardless of his or her abilities for linguistic interaction. The KESY assessment discussion enables a dialogue between the student and the teacher, in which the student can express their thoughts with the help of adult support.

Bullying victimization is a multidimensional phenomenon which can be explained by many risk factors. Youths in lower secondary school are particularly vulnerable and may have conflicts with peers which, in turn, can increase the risk of being bullied at school. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of bullying victimization in lower secondary school and possible underlying factors in bullying victimization. In this study, the goal is to examine how sense of belonging at school, immigrant background, socioeconomic status and gender explain the variation in bullying victimization at school. In addition, the aim of this study is to observe the mean difference in bullying victimization between immigrant students and non-immigrant students. The data of this study is from a student answers to the questionnaire used in the PISA (2018) study. A total of 5649 students from different areas in Finland participated in the PISA study in 2018. The participants were mainly 15 to 16 years old lower secondary school students. To analyze the data, IBM Statistics SPSS -27 software and The IEA International Database Analyzer (version 4.0.39) were used. A linear regression analysis and an independent samples t-test were used as the analysis methods. The results from this study indicated that the sense of belonging at school was the strongest and statistically significant explanatory variable of bullying victimization at school. Immigrant background and socioeconomic status were also statistically significant but their explanatory powers were very small. The results from the t-test showed that the mean difference in bullying victimization between immigrant and non-immigrant students was statistically significant but the effect size was weak. The analysis also revealed that verbal and social bullying experiences were more common than physical bullying experiences. Boys were more likely than girls to experience physical bullying and girls were more likely than boys to experience social bullying. It is crucial to pay attention to the social bonds and climate at school to decrease the risk of bullying victimization.

According to research, teachers starting their careers face many challenges in the school world, one of which is the challenging behaviour of students. Previous studies have also shown that, in order to survive the first years of work, teachers need the support of others. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of special education teachers at the beginning of their careers relating to working with students with challenging behaviour. The study examines how special education teachers build their competence when dealing with students who behave in a challenging manner. The study also examines what kind of support special education teachers at the beginning of their careers need when working with students with challenging behaviour. The research data was obtained by interviewing five special education teachers at the beginning of their working career. They had a maximum of three years of work experience, and all of them had graduated with a master's degree in special education. The interviews were conducted as semi-structured interviews and the collected data was analysed using data-based content analysis. The results of the study show that the special education teachers felt insecure about their own competence when working with students who behave in a challenging manner, especially as newly graduated teachers at the very beginning of their career. Through work experience they felt that their competence had developed. The special education teachers starting their careers built up their competence in working with students with challenging behaviour with the help of work experience, work community, education, model learning, self-reflection and knowing their students. They needed support especially in dealing with violence, intervening in bullying, dealing with students' psychological symptoms, cooperating with different parties, limiting the amount of work and building self-confidence. Support was required from work communities, mentor teachers, university studies, the schools’ operating cultures and further education. The most important conclusion is that teacher training should be developed in such a way that it would give more competence in dealing with the challenging behaviour of students. The support of the working community should already be present in the structures of every school and working community, so that it is available to all special education teachers from the beginning of their working career.

Bullying and conflicts between peers have been a topic of discussion and research for years. Although a lot of attention is paid to bullying in particular in our society, and measures to prevent it are constantly being developed, it still occurs in many schools. Research has shown that bullying is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is influenced by a variety of risk factors at the individual, class and school levels. It’s important to address conflicts and bullying immediately and by adequate means. Sometimes, however the situations escalate and especially then they can threaten both the well-being of the individuals involved as well as the school community. Aseman Lapset provides support for schools in resolving challenging and prolonged bullying and conflict cases in the form of K-0 project. The purpose of this study is to examine bullying and conflicts in the school context from the viewpoint of K-0 employees and to find out what kind of factors may influence the prolongation of these cases. This study was conducted as a qualitative study with phenomenological-hermeneutic features. Thematic interviews were used to collect the data. The interviews were conducted in the autumn of 2021, and a total of nine (N=9) K-0 employees participated in three group interviews. The data was transcribed and then analyzed using data-driven content analysis. The themes that were described by the interviewees in this study were related to school culture, students and their families, and more broadly to society in general. These included school climate and anti-bullying/conflict practices, peer relationships, individual needs of the students, strong emotional responses of the parents involved, and the availability of community support services. Especially school culture and its different aspects were emphasized in the interviews.

The starting point of this master’s thesis is the Act on General Upper Secondary Education, which entered into force in 2019, and the subsequent general upper secondary school reform, which obligates general upper secondary schools to provide special needs education and learning support for their students. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the job description of general upper secondary school part-time special needs teachers, as described by the special needs teachers themselves. In addition, the purpose of this thesis is to understand what kind of support students in general upper secondary school need. The aim of this thesis is to make the job description of general upper secondary school special needs teachers clearer and more approachable. Also, the goal is to make the support needs of general upper secondary school students understandable. Only little research has yet been carried out on these themes. This thesis was qualitative, and the thematic interviews formed the material of the thesis. The data was analysed through data-driven content analysis. Seven general upper secondary school special needs teachers participated in the interview. The results of the thesis conclude that the job description of the general upper secondary school special needs teachers is divided into three categories, each of which have various subcategories. In the job description, the following three categories stood out: identifying support needs, support for studying, and co-operation. Out of the job description, the most amount of the time was spent identifying reading difficulties and writing statements following the identification. Support for studying appeared in the job description as both support for learning and support for general well-being. The job description also essentially included co-operation between different actors. Students needed support in studying relating to both learning and well-being. Students especially needed support in time management and with problems concerning concentration as well as being able to identify and deal with learning difficulties. Students also needed widespread support in maintaining well-being, of which anxiety and depression were especially highlight

The objective of this study The objective of my study was to examine what the experience of math anxiety is to teachers, who teach mathematics despite their anxiety. Based on previous research math anxiety manifests itself as an emotional and physical reaction, that hinders cognitive functions. Teacher's math anxiety can result in for example as teaching on elementary school grade, avoidance of teaching mathematics, spending less time on math instruction and as emotional concequences. However, there are many ways to alleviate math anxiety. Teachers actions may help prevent math anxiety from forming. Internalized growth mindset has also been proven to have an alleviating affect. In my research I will examin how these factors appear in teachers' stories about their own experiences. Methods This study was done with qualitative research methods. The research material consists of answers to a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The questionnaire material was gathered using a google forms questionnaire,that was shared to teacher groups in facebook, questions of which were formed based on previous research. A follow-up interview was conduted with volunteered participants. 21 teachers answered the questionnaire, of which two were interviewed. The material gathered from the questionnaire and interviews was analyzed using content analysis and a narrative dimensions model. The questionnaire material was examined for signs of growth and fixed mindset. Results and conclusions The participants experiences of living and teaching with math anxiety aligned in part with previous research. However, the anxiety appears in broad and individual ways. The difficulties it produces both in learning and teaching are versatile. Only a couple of participants reported getting help for math anxiety. Expressions of growth mindset appeared mostly on teachers experiencing mediocre math-anxiety. Its' counterpart, fixed mindset, appeared most on those experiencing mild math anxiety. Growth mindset had helped some of the teachers to get over their hardest anxiety, and they saw teaching mathematics as enjoyable and meaningful. It is good that math anxiety is being researched increasingly, because it is a problem that can affect employment and educational level. Many are left alone with their anxiety- In the future attention should be payed to math anxiety of those studying to become teachers, so that the training can help alleviate the anxiety before transitioning to working life.

The thesis should highlight the instrument teachers' experiences of work as teachers of the Tempo Sistema children's orchestra from a social point of view. The purpose of Tempo orchestras is to enhance the interaction of children and young people of various backgrounds in the orchestra through joint music and to reach out to music hobby especially children living in more socioeconomically challenging conditions. The activity is inspired by the El Sistema music education activity aimed for social change. Tempo orchestras include children who have needs of pedagogical support or behavioral challenges. In this thesis, I will examine how the social starting points and goals of the activity are manifested in everyday teaching and how teaching in Tempo Orchestra differs from so-called traditional instrument teaching. The second research question concerns the professional skills experienced by instrument teachers for teaching students with need of pedagogical support and with regard on demands of Tempo teaching. The theory of the research is based on social pedagogy and the basic principles of El Sistema action. The thesis is a case study guided by the researcher's reflective approach and the researcher's personal experience as a Tempo teacher. The data collection was carried out as separate focus group interviews of three different Tempo teaching teams. The material was analyzed by using qualitative content analysis and thematization. The results emphasized educational teaching that strives to meet students individually. The challenges in Tempo teaching were related to students' different pacing and social goals of participation, as well as restless control, primarily in the orchestra rehearsals of a larger group of students. A kind of special pedagogy was considered to be a natural part of the Tempo work, but the teachers still strive the capabilities for teaching students who need support. The results showed a picture of Tempo teaching as a multidimensional social-pedagogical work, where the picture shows a balancing act with the traditions of social and instrumental pedagogy. Adding special educational expertise to the field of social pedagogical work can support children and young people who need support more strongly to achieve growth and development.

The aim of this thesis was to explore teachers' perceptions and experiences of normative whiteness and white power. This is important because whiteness is built into the education system, and it is a way of maintaining racist perceptions and values. It also allows for the maintenance of ableist values and perceptions, as whiteness has historically been associated with notions of intelligence, efficiency, and ability, for example, thus justifying racism through categories associated with disability. The thesis therefore drew on an intersectional framework identifying "race" and disability to identify the ways in which ideologies of whiteness are manifested in the education system, producing multiple, overlapping forms of oppression. The examination of the issue from the perspective of teachers is essential, as teachers are in a position of significant power in producing and maintaining categories of "normal" and "non-normal". The study was conducted as a systematic literature review. Through narrative synthesis, 7 themes describing teachers' perceptions and experiences emerged from the data. Themes were divided into two groups (perceptions and experiences of white teachers and perceptions and experiences of PoC teachers) to find the widest possible range of findings about the ways in which ideologies of whiteness manifest in teachers' perceptions and experiences. The division was made in line with the anti-racist agenda of the study and the Disability Critical Race Theory framework. The findings of the study confirmed previous research findings on epistemologies of white innocence, which manifested in white teachers as fear and avoidance of talking about "race", downplaying racism, exploiting ignorance, defensiveness, focusing on whiteness, and emphasizing their own white goodness, among others. PoC teachers' perceptions and experiences were related to multiple experiences of racism. PoC teachers also described several ways in which normative whiteness and white power were implemented in the education system, manifested in eurocentric and whiteness-centered examination structures and materials. The groups' findings complemented each other in that while white teachers described their ignorance of racism, PoC teachers described their experiences of white teachers not taking responsibility or recognizing oppression in the education system. The findings also mirrored each other in that as white teachers used trendy words ("woke") to elevate their own social status, PoC teachers expressed concern that challenging racism would be a trend for the privileged, rather than a sustainable, anti-racist activity. The findings of this study reflect the multiple ways in which normative whiteness and white power are manifested in the education system. To be truly equal, we need to look critically at the power structures in the education system and challenge what are perceived as "normal" perceptions and values.

The goal of my research is to find out which factors affect the success of elementary school-age pupils with autism spectrum in schooling in the general education class and which factors prevent success. This study was carried out as a qualitative study using a phenomenological research sample, because this method is well suited for exploring experiences of the research participants. The data was collected in the spring of 2023 by interviewing five parents of pupils on the autism spectrum. The answers of the interviews were analyzed in search of factors that would help satisfy the three basic psychological needs defined by self-determination theory. Based on the experiences of the interviewees, the reason for the delay in getting help for children on the autism spectrum was often that school was waiting for the child to receive a diagnosis. Getting tested and getting a diagnosis can be a process lasting many years. If the child does not get the support he/she needs at school during this time, it will have a negative effect on his/her well-being and ability to attend school. Cooperation with families and meeting the child was clearly influenced if the teacher has previous experience with pupils on the autism spectrum or understanding of these different pupils. Factors facilitating the cooperation were the school staff's understanding of the child and family, the teacher's positive attitude, the effective interaction between home and school, and the tailoring of support measures according to the child's needs. Obstacles to cooperation were radically different views on the child's need for support, seeing the child and the family in a negative light, and meetings, the end result of which was that the child was still left without the support he/she needed.