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Boundaries between necessary and unnecessary consumption have blurred because of the large supply of goods in markets. More and more goods are becoming necessary. 2000s youngsters have born in the middle of the world of goods, and presumably, reflecting on necessaries isn't natural for them. The research problem is based on these above-mentioned thoughts. The aim of this study is to find out Helsinki-based youths' views on necessary and unnecessary consumption, and meanings related to consumption. The approach of this study was mainly qualitative, and it was implemented with narrative methods. The data was collected in a form of narratives, which were written by 15-18 years old youngsters. 20 high school students and 17 vocational school students participated in the research. Youngsters wrote narratives of necessary and unnecessary consumption in a context of their own lives. The focus in analyzing narratives was to make a synthesis of youngster's essays by combining narrative and narratives analyses. A notable finding of the study was that dividing consumption to necessary and unnecessary was too narrow. Therefore, a third consumption category was needed, and it was named voluntary consumption. Research results show that youngsters understand well which goods are necessary for subsistence. However, in essays there were a huge amount of necessities which weren't related to basic needs. In addition, only a few goods were named as unnecessary. Unlike in traditional Finnish consumption ethos, youngsters didn't consider unnecessary consumption as depraved consumption. Voluntary consumption was meaningful to youngsters and it was related to leisure time, pursuing well-being and self-actualization. According to the data, searching for pleasures was essential in youngster's lives. However, youngsters didn't appear as materialists in narratives. According to the survey, attitudes to necessary consumption seems to change with age.

Goals. In recent years discussion on religious education and its implementation in Finnish schools has increased. One of the reasons is Finland becoming more diverse and multicultural. Current separated model of religious education organised according to pupils' own religion hasn't seen respond to changed needs of the society. There have seen need for encountering and dialogue between different worldviews. Few Finnish schools have recently begun to develop integrative worldview education. The aim of this thesis is to investigate teacher's opinions in one of the comprehensive school which has initiated the partly integrative worldview education. Partly integrative worldview education consists both separate and common studying groups. Teacher's views about the partly integrative model examines with the strengths and challenges teachers named about it. Methods. The data of this study consist of semi-structured interviews of ten teachers. These teachers taught in one of the comprehensive schools in Helsinki metropolitan area. The data was analysed by data-based content analysis. Results and conclusions. Based on this study the teachers were mainly positive towards partly integrative worldview education. The strengths teachers name were the possibility to enhance students equal treatment and diversify knowledge of different worldviews. In addition to learn more about different worldviews it was significant to get opportunity learn them more deeply students meeting different worldviews concrete in classroom compared the current separated worldview education model. Teachers also named the opportunities to dialogue and increasing understanding as the strengths of new teaching model. Part of the teachers emphasized the role of student's own religion and opportunity to study also about own religion. In teacher's opinions the challenges about a new teaching model were a concern about the state of minority religions, possible of negative feedback and teacher's increasing amount of work.

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää opettajien käsityksiä kielitietoisuudesta. Kysyn, miten opettajat ja rehtorit hahmottavat kielitietoisuus-käsitettä ja millaisia arvoja ja käytänteitä he liittävät käsitteeseen. Tutkimukseni tärkeimpiä käsitteitä ovat kielitietoisuus, kielitaju ja kielitietoinen toimintakulttuuri. Tarkastelen kielitietoisuutta myös perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteiden näkökulmasta. Lisäksi käsittelen oman äidinkielen opetusta, valmistavaa opetusta ja suomi toisena kielenä -opetusta. Tutkimukseni on toteutettu kvalitatiivisena sisällönanalyysinä. Erittelen puolistrukturoidun teemahaastattelun avulla kerättyä aineistoa ja analysoin siitä nousevia teemoja. Aineisto koostuu viiden opettajan ja kahden rehtorin haastattelusta. Opettajat ja rehtorit edustivat eri kokoisia kouluja ja paikkakuntia eri puolilla Suomea. Tutkimuksessa keskityttiin alakoulun kontekstiin. Tulokset kuvaavat opettajien ja rehtorien erilaisia käsityksiä ja kokemuksia kielitietoisuudesta. Päätulokset osoittavat, että paikkakunnan koko vaikuttaa opettajien ja rehtoreiden kielitietoisuuden käsityksiin ja käytäntöihin. Kielitietoisuuden käsite oli jäänyt haastatelluille osin epäselväksi, mikä näkyi esimerkiksi siinä, että käsitteen määritelmät olivat melko suppeita. Haastatellut tarkastelivat kielitietoisuutta enemmän arvojen kuin käytännön tai akateemisen viitekehyksen kautta. Haastatellut nimesivät kuitenkin erilaisia esimerkkejä ja käytäntöjä, joilla pyrittiin kielitietoiseen toimintaan. Kaikki haastatellut kokivat kielitietoisen toimintakulttuurin myönteisenä ja edistämisen arvoisena asiana.

The aim of this study was to describe the phenomenon of unfinished crafts, the reasons why crafts are unfinished, when crafts can be considered unfinished by crafts hobbyists, what crafts hobbyists have done with their unfinished crafts and what crafts hobbyists think about the future of unfinished crafts. There is little previous research on unfinished crafts and no more extensive research on unfinished crafts made by craft hobbyists using a variety of craft techniques is available. The data for the survey was collected through an electronic questionnaire in Käsityön ystävien vinkkipankki group on Facebook, on my own Facebook page and on Instagram. 212 craft hobbyists participated in the survey and the data was analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. 195 responses were included in the qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions. ATLAS.ti was used in the theory-based content analysis. The reasons why crafts hobbyists did not complete their crafts were varied and intertwined and interlinked. There was rarely only one single reason for not doing crafts. The reasons for not completing a craft project were most often expressed in terms of image, motivation and skill. Other factors were time, life situation, material, need, health and problems. The survey does not provide an unambiguous definition of when a craft can be considered abandoned, but each craft hobbyists has the opportunity to define abandonment from his or her own point of view. However, the idea that the work might still be completed at some point was considered important. The results suggest that, as a rule, the craft hobbyists who participated in the study are interested in either completing their unfinished crafts in the future or in making use of the material by dismantling or reusing it.

Objective: Substance use has been seen as a way to cope with stress and to influence internal states. Because stressful life events have been considered as a risk-factor for depression, the connection between stressful life events and depression offer an interesting framework to investigate the effects of self-medication. This study examined how stressful life events, alcohol usage and smoking effect depression, and if substance use moderates the relationship between stressful life events and depression. Methods: This research is part of an older Finnish Twin Cohort study and data from the 2011 follow-up questionnaire study was used. Additionally data from questionnaire studies conducted in 1981 and 1975 was used to control for educational achievement. Depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) questionnaire. Alcohol consumption was assessed by used grams per month and smoking was measured by smoking status, based on a detailed smoking history. Stressful life events were measured by 12 questions designed to gather information on a wide range of experiences. Multi-level logistic regression analyses were used to account for clustered twin pairs. In addition twins were compared with pairwise t-tests. Results and conclusions: Stressful life events, smoking and greater alcohol usage predicted depression. Genetic and familial-environmental background did not entirely explain the observed associations, but evidence suggests causality. Especially dependent life events, in which the person has had a substantial contribution, seemed to be related to depression. The amount of used alcohol or smoking did not reduce the relationship between stressful life events and depression. If tobacco and alcohol are used as self-medication, they do not seem to have the wanted effects, at least not in the long run.

The aim of this study is to examine relations between body mass index, self-esteem, body image and adolescents thoughts about body positivity. Earlier study has showed relation among increasing body mass index, body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem. Body positivity has its roots in the fat acceptance movement in the late 1960s. Goal of the body positivity movement is to address unrealistic ideals about beauty, promote self-acceptance, and build self-esteem and learning to love oneself to the fullest. Body positivity is popular on social media and in Finland discourses about it are controversial. Some think it is a good for health and self-esteem, others think it glamorizes overweight. Finnish adolescents thoughts about body positivity has not been explored before this study. This statistical study was made in Spring 2019. The research subjects were finnish adolescents aged 13-18. The data was obtained from the adolescents by an electronic enquiry. The sample consisted of N=109 adolescents, n 89 women, n 19 men and n 1 transgender. The data was analyzed by using SPSS Statistics 25 program and frequencies, cross-tabulations, Pearson`s correlations, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA tests. In this study self-esteem or body image were not varied by age. Body image was varied by gender so that girls had lower body image than boys. Body mass index were not significant for self esteem or body image and disagreed with earlier study. Physical activity behind many of the adolescents has been noticed while reporting results. Term body positivity was familiar for 72,4 % of participants, specially from social media. Girls knew it more often than boys and estimated its effects for better self-love stronger than boys. Majority of adolescents thought that body positivity tries to increase self-love among every size and age. Only few thought that body positivity glamorize overweight and obesity. This research reveals that there is a need for wider study around relations between body mass index, self-esteem, body image and body positivity among adolescents. This study offers a base for extensive study in the future.

Objectives. The purpose of this research was to examine if there was difference in motivation between classes emphasizing a subject and regular classes. Motivation is the basis of every action and remarkable factor in learning (Jang et. al., 2015; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2008, p. 2–3). Motivation was observed by achievement goal theory and the differences between genders were included. The relation of education of parents’ and children’s academic achievements and placing in different classes were also examined. Parents’ education and school choice has been related to these variables. High educated parents’ children participate more often to classes emphasizing a subject and get better grades. Because of social-economical differences, children concentrate in specific schools and remain in lower position. (Bernelius, 2013; Kosunen, 2012; Kalalahti et. al., 2015). Methodology. This study was a quantitative research. The data was collected randomly as a part of a national learning to learn research from Finnish comprehensive schools. Sample size was 6354 students, out of which 3147 girls and 3207 boys. The data was analyzed by variance analysis and x^2-test. Results and conclusions. There was difference in different classes on academic achievements and motivation. Students in classes emphasizing a subject had little better means in theoretical subjects and expressed more desirable achievement goal variables than students in regular classes. There was also difference in motivation separated by gender. Students in classes emphasizing a subject had bigger proportion of high educated parents than in regular classes.

Targets. Lately more emphasis than ever before has been given to bringing forth and taking into account children’s perspective in matters that concern them. It is also purpose of this study to give the voice to children and shed light on their perspective. This study is a part of extensive early childhood education development and research project, Orientaatioprojekti, operated by Helsinki University (Department of Teacher Education), ten municipalities in Keski-Uusimaa area and Hämeenlinna. The research is related to the day care quality evaluation (spring 2012). The main interest of the study was to examine things and situations children told they found unpleasant in day care center, also in relation to child’s gender and age. To better understand the results, the narrations and the consistency of the answers as well as children’s general satisfaction towards the day care were also examined. Methods. The research participants were 573 children, ages ranging from 1 to 8. Parents collected the data by interviewing. Two closed and one open-ended questions were analysed in this research and those questions dealt with children’s general satisfaction in day care center and what do they found unpleasant there. Parents recorded the answers to the web form and the data was then transferred to Excel software. Answers of the closed questions were examined through basic descriptive statistics. The unpleasant things and situations in the open-ended question were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Additionally, the appearance of the answers was also analysed. Used methods there were mostly outlined by researcher herself but some features of discourse analyse were also utilized. Results and conclusions. Most of the children stated that they feel mainly comfortable in day care center. The children mentioned different types of unpleasant things and situations and those were explained in various ways. Above all the challenges in peer relationships were on children’s mind. The peer group pointed out significant but the interaction was not always trouble-free. It seems to be important for children to practice and develop their social skills. Besides of these answers many children found the nap time as a single daily routine to be unpleasant. The number of nap time mentions varied a lot between different sexes and ages. There were also some other differences between the answers of children of different sexes and ages. For example, relatively many of the youngest ones did not answer to the open question at all.

The objective of this research was to find out how parents view daycare centers’ capabilities to recognize and support children with sensory processing disorders. When there are challenges in sensory processing, they are caused by the central nervous system. In the disorder, the brain is not able to parse, analyze, or unify information received from the senses. When the brain isn’t able to process information correctly, the human body won’t function correctly. This makes learning more difficult, as well as tolerating normal daily life and stressful situations. The challenges of sensory processing disorders have mainly been researched from the perspective of occupational therapy. There is hardly any research from educational science or special education’s point of view. This research is based on Jane Ayer’s sensory integration theory and modern research that supports it. This topic was approached from the parents’ perspective. This research was done by using qualitative methods. The data was gathered with a questionnaire and the subjects were chosen through snowball sampling. In total there were 47 subjects. The research was analyzed with the help of content analysis and narrative analysis. According to the findings of the research, daycare centers have low abilities to face children with sensory processing disorders. Understanding the challenges these children experience varied, according to the parents. The parents had experienced stigmatizing, blaming, and belittling of the issues from the daycare centers. In some cases, even the children had been blamed. According to the findings of the research, the symptoms of sensory processing disorders are diverse. Further, the problems of learning and behavior associated with the disorders are severe. One of the biggest difficulties in a daycare environment was that is extremely straining. Allowing the children to have a calm space was viewed as important. According to the research, a lack of information is the main reason why identifying sensory processing disorders is so difficult. Supporting children with these disorders in daycares is insufficient for the same reason. Therapy was seen as a tremendous help and a great asset for the whole family. There is a huge demand for further education and training.

The aim of this master’s thesis was to survey experiences from work orientation of a new Early childhood education centre directors. The focus group was new early childhood education centre directors, who had been working less than two years in their current positions. This topic hasn’t been studied earlier. This study illustrates current experiences of early childhood education centre directors from work orientation. It also illuminates those ideas that work orientation should conclude in the future. The study brings up things which those who are responsible of planning the work orientation of early childhood education centre directors, should pay more attention. This survey was conducted with electrical survey. Participants of this survey, where eight respondents, who were all new early childhood education directors. Research data was examined with thematic analysis. The data from the directors revealed that experiences of work orientation varied greatly from each other. Most of the directors had been forced to start their career without any orientation. Only couple of responding directors had got work orientation that had been planned little bit more. All the respondents brought up the need for more sufficient work orientation in the future. They hoped that it would include well planned and written strategy, which should include all the things that are influencing directors daily work tasks. They were also suggesting that this strategy should be mandatory to every new director at the start of their career. This study will be beneficial to new early childhood education centre directors as well as to those who are responsible of planning the work orientation.