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Body consciousness research is a multidisciplinary field including various conceptualizations of its subject. Usually research frames are based on comparisons between bodily experts, such as dancers, or psychiatric groups with bodily aberrations (e.g. eating disorders) and control participants. Methods of body consciousness research include behavioural and self-report measures as well as brain imaging. Some methods have been used to study bodily experts, but not psychiatric groups, and vice versa. In this study, dancers, amateur and professional athletes, and control participants were studied using four behavioural methods (aperture task, endpoint matching, rubber hand illusion, posture copying) and two self-report measures PBCS (Private Body Consciousness Scale of the Body Consciousness Questionnaire) and BAQ (Body Awareness Questionnaire). Because many methods of studying body consciousness focus on the use of hands, a new method called posture copying, involving the whole body, was developed in this study. Dancers succeeded better than controls in the aperture task, and better than athletes and controls in the posture copying task. In the posture copying task, group differences were present in copying all other body parts but hands. Both dancers and athletes scored higher in the BAQ than controls. There was an almost significant difference between athletes and controls in the endpoint matching task. No group differences were found in the rubber hand illusion or PBCS. The results were considered as proof that dancing has a special connection with body consciousness, but that some aspects of body consciousness are similar in dancers and athletes. Methods measuring the same quality of body consciousness produced contradictory evidence, which questions their validity. This study offers useful knowledge for the future of body consciousness research, with regards to choice of participants, methodology, and study design, as well as treatment plans of clinical groups with disorders in their body consciousness (e.g. eating disorders).

Purpose The purpose of my study is to examine school discourse in the draft of new Finnish national curriculum in 2014 and to analyse to what extent the theory of Wishful Rationalism reconstructed by Hannu Simola applies to it. According to Simola (1995) one explanation to the continuous need for school reform might be the new principles in school discourse which have emerged during the development of basic comprehensive school since 1970s. Simola calls this new way of speaking wishful rationalism. The main point of the theory is that the official school discourse has decontextualized which leads to the failing educational reforms. My study tests the theory of Simola in a new context. Method The method of my study was a qualitative theory-based analyse of the contents. The precise objects of my study were chapters 1-12 of the draft. Based on the theory of Simola, I created six categories which functioned as a frame for my analysis. These categories consisted of three truths of school discourse which Simola had created and of their counter-truths. With these counter-truths I could better test the theory of Wishful Rationalism. To these categories I collected thought-units from the draft using principles of inductive analyse of the contents. Results Based on my analysis I could say that the theory of Wishful Rationalism was still alive in the draft of new curriculum. Truths of school discourse and some dominant models and paradigms of schooling could still be detected from the draft and they were keeping this old discourse alive. Especially the truths of school as rational and of decontextualized learning were strongly alive. Also the truth of individual-centered school was stronger alive than its counter-truth although the truth of group-centered school was also strongly alive again especially in the form of education for the society. From the models and paradigms keeping the discourse alive the most important was the model of Tyler Rationale. Central meaning of my study is to bring these subconscious elements keeping the discourse alive more visible now that the school reform is taking place again.

The aim of the current study was to broaden the understanding for the relationship between physical activity and working memory among primary school students. In addition, I aimed to investigate the level of physical activity among the students. Prior research implies that students who are more active and are in better condition, also tend to have better memory. The current study is a quantitative survey study. The survey was developed to measure students’ physical activity and was filled out by 54 sixth graders during their school day. The survey consisted of questions concerning how they go to school, school break activities, spare time activities, and hobbies. First, students filled out the questionnaire, and after that, they participated in a working memory test. The working memory test consisted of a digit span test forward and a digit span test backward. The results from the current survey study indicate that boys who are more physically active seem to have a larger working memory capacity than those less active. The differences were most noticeable in the forward digit span test. Similar differences were not observed among girls. However, the level of physical activity among the tested girls was clearly under the national average, hence, no strong conclusions can be drawn.

Goal. The aim of this thesis is to map the theoretical complexity of the much discussed and researched concept of inclusive education. Furthermore, it illustrates the concept from a practical point of view, using interviews with Finnish classroom teachers. Researchers describe the search for a definition of inclusive education as a difficult and unproductive task. Regardless of this, several previous studies have attempted to map and simplify the complex topic. This complexity is highlighted through a review of definitional approaches from previous research. Beyond the theoretical complexity, the practical perspective also suggests a diversity of opinions and solutions within schools. The implementation of inclusive education is described from the Finnish point of view, making visible the principle of support for learning and schooling. It should be noted that the 2014 National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2014) describes teaching in Finnish schools as inclusive. However, the document does not define the meaning of inclusion, leaving perception and implementation up to educators. Interviews with eight Swedish-speaking classroom teachers aim to support the understanding of the implementation of inclusive education. The analysis of the interviews is especially based on the teachers' descriptions of practical actions related to inclusion, as well as the motives for the actions. Method. The thesis is based on qualitative content analysis of eight (8) interviews with Swedish-speaking classroom teachers from eight (8) different Swedish-speaking schools and school units in southern Finland. The material that I analyzed is fully transcribed and anonymized interviews. The material was collected in 2022, as part of the University of Helsinki's research project MÅDIG: Diversity and differentiation in comprehensive school. Interviews were conducted with 21 class teachers and principals, but I only accessed one interview with a class teacher from each school or school unit in the project. Results. The research results show that the Swedish-speaking classroom teachers use a variety of inclusive teaching strategies in order to address current issues that affect the learning of heterogeneous student groups. The interviews reveal that inclusive teaching is largely based on practical prioritization and lack of resources, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of teachers' descriptions refer to the consideration of disadvantaged pupils, rather than all pupils. Consideration of disadvantaged pupils is relevant, as the functionality of teaching is based on consideration of them to a greater extent than consideration of strong pupils. In addition to consideration of achievement level, i.e., strength in learning, the majority of classroom teachers describe consideration of pupils' variations in language level and home situation. Teachers describe the implementation of inclusive teaching strategies based on current themes using differentiation, peer support and companion teaching. In addition to consideration of learning, teachers also describe in depth the maintenance of social community within the class, the school and with the home. For example, teachers use varied joint activities and open communication to consider social community. In correlation with previous research, inclusive education is illustrated as a multifaceted and complex ideal in education. The previous research largely aims to define and understand the meaning of the concept, while the interviews show a practical view of varying solutions to inclusive education. The comparison of theory and practice shows that teachers' inclusion is largely based on what is practically possible and their descriptions can therefore be considered non-theoretical. This has the risk of leading to teachers acting according to their own perceptions of a situation, instead of the important professional theory. Several teachers describe that they lack adequate resources, but also additional training in the consideration of all students. The thesis highlights the need for further research on the implementation of inclusive education.

Since 2002, it has been possible for same-sex couples in Finland to register their partnership. In March 2017, same-sex marriage was legalized. The new law also gave same-sex couples equal parental rights. In the healthcare processes concerning pregnancy and parenthood, previous studies have shown that same-sex couples feel they have a good interaction with healthcare staff, but feel discriminated and offended by the healthcare processes and routines that have no preparedness for other forms of sexuality than heterosexuality. The purpose of this study is to examine how the concept of "family" is presented in the material given to prospective parents, and see whether the material projects an ideal of "family". Of interest is whether there is a heteronormative assumption that excludes all other forms of parenthood as aberrant. Methodologically, the study is based on a discourse-theoretical perspective, and the theoretical ground relates to educational research for social justice, with a link to critical family research and a queer-feminist research field, where the focus is on studying normative processes and power relations. The studied material consists of texts produced by the National Pension Institution (FPA) and the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in 2009-2017 and recommended to prospective parents. A total of nine guides, brochures and pamphlets were examined. The material constitutes government interpretations of a phenomena or, in cases where they are produced by other organizations, interpretations of phenomena that are socially approved. When authorities publish and distribute information sheets and pamphlets, they manage what is being presented and from what perspective the matter is discussed. The subject matter is governed by expert and professional perceptions of what is central knowledge and what parents are expected to know. They also strongly contribute to how the concept of family is perceived in the public space. In the material, the family is created in the process of becoming and being a parent. There are clear expectations and demands on parenthood, and heterosexuality is the dominating norm. Families and roles that challenge and break what is presented as normative are viewed as aberrant. Thus, in relation to the theoretical starting points, one can interpret the family by heteronormative processes, and those presented are assigned roles and "the right ones" are those closest to an assumption of a "natural heterosexuality".

Aims: In earlier research it has been found that music can elicit strong emotional responses, and that mood affects the way they are processed. The brain basis of musical emotions has however been studied less than that of facial emotions. Also, there have been no studies on how depressed mood affects musical emotions in the brain. In the present study, both the effect of depressed mood state and that of depressive disorder on neural processing of musical emotions is studied. The aim is to identify brain regions affected, and to model the effective connectivity between these regions and the impact of depressed mood state and depressive disorder on this system. Methods: A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment was conducted, in which 56 adult subjects listened to emotional (happy, sad, and fearful) music. The experiment consisted of two conditions: in the implicit condition the subjects were asked how many instruments were playing, and in the explicit which of the three emotions best characterised the musical excerpt. The subjects also completed the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). The behavioural and imaging data were analysed both within the general linear model (GLM) to identify affected brain regions and the dynamic causal modelling (DCM) framework to model how sensory inputs enter the brain system and how experimental conditions modulate connections between specified brain regions. Results and conclusions: The subjects were mostly not clinically depressed (76%) and the MADRS scores were not correlated with neural activity in the brain. The POMS Depression scale was however associated with attenuated activity in the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) while listening to happy and fearful music under the implicit condition. As PCC has been associated with internally directed cognition and the management of brain's attention networks, this attenuation is likely to reflect the incongruence between stimuli and mood state, which would result in increased attention and/or a decrease in explorative cognitive activity. Comparisons of DCM models consisting of PCC, superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the amygdala indicated that auditory stimuli enter into this system via the auditory cortex in STG. The analyses could not determine whether the emotional content of the stimuli modulates connectivity between these regions, but MADRS and POMS scores were associated with amygdala connectivity. This is in line with the view that depressive disorder disrupts the amygdala's role in orienting to affective information.

The purpose of this study was to carry out a two phase design study. The aim of the first phase was to create learning material for the division of decimal numbers and after that gather evaluation information of the material. In the second phase the objective was to use the evaluation information to modify the learning material so it can be better adapted to school lessons. The main objective in developing the learning material was to highlight student oriented methods and the use of concrete tools and assignments related to the context. In the first phase of the study the learning material was created using a theory-based research method. In the second phase two teachers were interviewed and asked to evaluate the learning material. Partly transcribed interviews were analyzed by using the guidelines of qualitative research content analysis. The results of this study show that teachers considered the learning material to be useful. Teachers interview estimated that student oriented methods are well suited for the learning material. There still were parts that needed to be improved. Development process can be continued by letting students to test the learning material and simultaneously collecting data of the effectiveness of the learning material.

International policy documents (FN (UN), 1989; WHO & BZgA, 2010, 2013; WAS, 2014; UNESCO, 2018) recommend that children should receive age-appropriate sexuality education, but it is unclear whether this is fulfilled in practice. There is relatively little research on sexuality education for younger students. Therefore, it is relevant to research how sexuality education for younger students is delivered. The purpose of this study is to describe how sexuality education is delivered in grades 1-2 in Finland and to examine teachers’ attitudes towards sexuality education for younger students. In this study I would like to draw attention to the potential of the Finnish curriculum when it comes to sexuality education. Five teachers, who at the time of the study taught grades 1-2 in Finnish primary schools, participated in this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews that were recorded, transcribed, and analysed with thematic analysis. The results found that teachers had difficulties defining sexuality education. Teachers taught sexuality education across subjects, spontaneously and sometimes also unconsciously. Teachers need help defining what sexuality education is and what themes are to be addressed. Sexuality education should be made an evident part of the subject environmental studies in the Finnish curriculum. This can hopefully encourage teachers to teach sexuality education. The sexuality education was not really planned, evaluated, or developed in any of the schools. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Local plans for sexuality education should be written. The teachers had generally positive attitudes towards sexuality education for younger students, but in some situations sexuality education could be perceived as a difficult subject. Several of the teachers showed interest in promoting diversity and equal treatment in their teaching. This study failed in providing any deeper insight into how teachers work with norms in sexuality education.

Studies about wellbeing on the workplace have shown that engagement, motivation and social capital affects and have significance for work satisfaction. The aim of the present study is to analyze the engagement on a bilingual (fi, swe) workplace, and to further explore the aspects that can be associated with it. The specific questions are how engaged, how internally motivated and how high the workers social capital is and also whether the intrinsic motivation and the social capital predict the engagement. The research questions are analyzed regarding to the sociodemographic variables: age, gender and educational level and other background variables: work experience, department, department language and position. Central theories in the present study are Self determination theory by R. Ryan and E. Deci and Herzberg's two-factor theory. The study was analyzed statistically and data was collected through an electronic survey in spring 2016. The survey consisted of questions from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS), a Finnish measurement about the social capital and also some self formed questions based on the theories about social capital. The respondents also answered questions about their background and where given a chance to express their engagement. A total of 252 workers (33 %) answered the survey. The Software program IBM SPSS Statistics 22 was used for the analysis of the respondent's answers. The results of this study show that the employees experienced a high engagement, a high intrinsic motivation and a high social capital. Significant correlations and differences were found e.g. a higher engagement and a higher intrinsic motivation was experienced by the Finnish speaking workers. The age correlated positively and significantly with the experience of engagement and intrinsic motivation. In addition, the supervisors experienced a higher social capital. Furthermore the intrinsic motivation and the department language predicted the engagement. A correlation between the social capital and engagement was found, but the social capital didn't predict the engagement. The results were mostly in line with previous research on the field.

Background and objectives: First, this research aims to understand Ghanaian student teachers' genuine thoughts and views on remote education and learning. Secondly, the interest is to find out how the student teachers see the use of remote methods in their future work and especially, how to teach practical skills remotely. Third, the broader goal is to take a stand on the development of teacher education in a time where sustainability issues, developing technology and crises challenging the global world are shaking up our world view in a new way. The bicycle model of the future home economics teacher, which guides systemic thinking and is based on a transformative learning concept, adapted for this study, is used to help the examination of the results. To support future orientation, the data is also examined with the help of 21 century competencies on teaching and learning. Finally, this master's thesis is an article-form thesis, and its purpose is to produce a scientific article, as well as this summarizing section describing the background work and research process of the article. Context: The concept of remote teaching and learning used in this study refers specifically to learning and teaching that takes place online with remote connections. Such learning can be real-time or asynchronized learning through online platforms. These do not necessarily require a constant network connection but rely on digital pedagogy. Methods: The data of this qualitative online study was collected through WhatsApp interviews and the informant group consisted of nine Ghanaian student teachers. The research data has been analyzed with theory-based content analysis, using the bicycle model on comprehensive climate education as a guiding theory. The bicycle model was modified from the original to suit this study. Results and conclusion: The results of this study clearly indicate both that remote teaching and learning has become a permanent part of Education, but also that remote methods, related to technological knowledge and interaction skills should be further developed in teacher education. The informants of the study saw an interactive, communal, and learning environment that utilizes peer learning but also takes individuals into account as particularly meaningful when thinking about their own learning but also their future work as a teacher.