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The aim of this study is to find out what boys like to read and their reasons for reading. There has been a lot of concerns of the fact that the amount of reading among the boys is decreasing and it can affect their ability to read. In this study it was researched what kind of books boys prefer to read and what kinds of reasons they might have for reading fiction. This study is based on Appleyard's (1990) theory of the reader who identifies with the books hero and Felski's (2008) four reasons for reading fiction: recognition, enchantment, knowledge and shock. The starting point for this research is that the literacy of boys in particular has diminished, although the literacy rate of Finnish young people is still internationally the highest in the world. Differences in literacy between girls and boys in Finland are bigger than anywhere else in the world. Freetime reading and especially reading fiction has a great impact on literacy. Literacy is, however, not the only reason why boys should read, reading literature has many other benefits. The research material of this qualitative study consists of the children's literature magazine Vinski's book reviews (N=106). The research material was selected in reviews with a boy's name and age between 8 and 12 years. The data was analyzed using theory-based content analysis. In the light of this study, it can be stated that boys' reading preferences and reasons to read are similar in general terms, but reading is also a very individual activity. Based on my research material, the boys think that in a good book there is excitement, adventure, humor and knowledge. Good plot and interesting subject are also important. The most important reason for reading was enchantment and recognition. Reading is, however, very dependent on the reader and what he wants to read. As a management decision it can be said that there is not just one way to ignite the reading sphere. Every child is different and is excited about reading differently

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.

Previous research has indicated that children and young people are less and less likely to meet the recommendations for physical activity. Less than half of children of primary education age engage in physical activity in accordance with the recommendations. The proportion of children and young people fulfilling the recommendations for physical activity is declining when moving from the younger to the older age groups. Moreover, nearly half of the daily sedentary behaviour of pupils in primary education occurs during the school day. However, the physical education lessons in school do not suffice on their own to enable pupils to engage in adequate daily physical activity. As a result, incorporating other physical activities in school days is necessary. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the means that allow classroom teachers to increase physical activity during lessons. A further aim was to investigate the benefits and challenges experienced by classroom teachers in relation to increasing physical activity during lessons in primary education. This study was implemented using the qualitative research method. The research data were collected in February 2024 using a questionnaire form mostly containing open questions. The research data consists of the responses of a total of 38 teachers working in primary schools in the Kymenlaakso region in Finland. The data were analysed using data-driven content analysis. The study found that classroom teachers can increase physical activity occurring during lessons in multiple ways. Teachers can organise exercises during breaks in the lessons, make use of action-based learning and versatile body positions during learning as well as lesson planning that involves digital materials, technology and the involvement of pupils. Joint classroom practices, the use of the body in learning, effective use of the classroom space and versatile utilisation of the school environment also provide means that enable increasing physical activity during lessons. The teachers felt that there was a variety of benefits in increasing physical activity during lessons. According to the teachers, increasing physical activity during lessons has a positive impact on both health and well-being as well as learning and school performance. It also supports the development of a peaceful and positive atmosphere in the classroom and contributes to creating a clearer and more versatile structure for school days. The teachers felt that there were also many different challenges to increasing physical activity during lessons. According to the teachers, the challenges in increasing physical activity during lessons emerged in connection with transitions between different activities, motivating pupils, restlessness of pupils, restrictions imposed by the classroom space and large group sizes as well as teachers’ own well-being and schedules. The significance of increasing physical activity during lessons and a positive attitude toward increasing physical activity was strongly emphasised in the teachers’ responses.

Elaine Aronin (2014) mukaan erityisherkät ovat erityisen syvästi ja herkästi tuntevia ja kokevia henkilöitä. Käsityön oppiaineen luonne synnyttää usein runsasta ärsykkeiden tulvaa, joka Aronin mukaan voi tuntua erityisherkästä epämukavalta. Toisaalta käsityö on erilainen oppiaine lukuaineisiin verrattuna ja siksi käsityön tunnit voivat olla erityisherkälle myös miellyttävä hetki koulupäivässä. Jotta erityisherkkiä voitaisiin huomioida käsityönopetuksessa paremmin, on tärkeää tutkia kokevatko he koulukäsitöihin liittyvät kokemuksensa yleensä positiivisena vai negatiivisena. Tämän laadullisen tutkimuksen tarkoitus on tuottaa tietoa introverttien erityisherkkien kokemuksista koulukäsitöissä sekä kokeilla empiirisesti Westerbergin (2019) aiempaa kirjallisuuden pohjalta tehtyä jäsennystä introvertin erityisherkän piirteistä. Ensimmäiseksi tutkimuskysymykseksi muodostui ”Millaisia introvertin erityisherkän piirteitä tutkimushenkilöillä ilmenee” ja toiseksi ”Millaiset koulukäsityön erityispiirteet korostuvat introverttien erityisherkkien kokemuksissa positiivisina tai negatiivisina”. Aineisto koostui kahden introvertin erityisherkän kirjoitelmista, jossa he apukysymysten avulla kertoivat koulukäsityökokemuksistaan. Aineistoa kertyi yhteensä noin 6 sivua. Aineiston analyysimenetelmänä käytin sekä deduktiivista sisällönanalyysiä että induktiivista sisällönanalyysiä. Deduktiivista analyysiä käytin introverttien erityisherkkien piirteiden tunnistamiseen ja induktiivista analyysiä introverttien erityisherkkien koulukäsityökokemusten tulkitsemiseen. Liiallisista ärsykkeistä kuormittuminen, voimakas reagointi ympäristön aistiärsykkeisiin, asioiden syvällinen käsitteleminen, ylivirittyneisyys sekä asioiden ja vivahteiden herkkä huomaaminen ilmenivät molemmilla tutkimushenkilöillä ja niistä löytyi myös keskimäärin enemmän mainintoja aineistossa. Koulukäsitöiden itsenäisen ja vapaan tekemisen, mukavan tunnelman ja innostavan tekemisen sekä ongelmanratkaisun piirteet vaikuttivat korostuvan introverttien erityisherkkien koulukäsityökokemuksissa positiivisina. Mitään negatiivisena koettua koulukäsityön piirrettä ei noussut esiin. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan siis todeta Westerbergin (2019) aiemman jäsennyksen olevan samansuuntainen introverttien erityisherkkien kokemusten kanssa sekä koulukäsitöiden erityispiirteiden korostuvan introverteilla erityisherkillä pääosin positiivisena.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to search and clarify 11-year-olds perceptions on death. While there has not been a lot of research on children's perception on death, Reetta Ikola wrote her thesis about this topic in 2013. However, researching this is important, so that people that work with children know how to act and relate when a child is faced with death. This study focuses on how children perceive death and the after life. In addition, the study concentrates on how the religion in the children's home affects their perceptions and where children receive their information on death. This master thesis examines children's death perceptions, concerns and how to deal with death. Methods: Thematic interviews were used as the main research method in this study. The interviewees were twelve eleven-year-olds. Seven of them were boys and six of them were girls. All them were individually interviewed by using semi-structured interview method. The material was then analysed by using content analysis. Findings and conclusion: The interviewees' perceptions on death were found to be very similar than in previous studies. Interviewees' perceptions on death and after life were all individual and different, but all of them were already realistic. All of the interviewees thought that death is something irreversible and a deceased person cannot feel or experience anything. Interviewees explained death both from a religious as well as biological viewpoint. Also the after life was described from a religious as well as atheistic standpoint. The perceptions of death were not always consistent with the religion at the interviewee's home. The perceptions were based more on everyday life experiences. The feelings surrounding death were clearly negative. Every interviewee connected sorrow and sadness to death even though they have not previously perceived death as a negative thing. The interviewees did not actually have fears relating death, even though some issues were problematic.

According to studies, physical exercise has a strong connection with learning and condition of human brain, and it has been linked with academic performance. Most of the studying in university is done while sitting down and very little active teaching methods are being used. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to study what type of students take part in a course that requires indoor cycling. The purpose of this master’s thesis is also to study the experiences of students practicing studying methods with physical activity in the course of neuroscience. This study examines the effects of indoor cycling on alertness, motivation and learning of the students and also the suitability of the method on individuals. The study was carried out as a qualitative case study and the research material was collected during autumn 2018. The research sample included six students from Open University of Helsinki. The study did not include the relevance of age and prior exercise background, albeit the information was asked in a background information form filled by the participants in the beginning of the course. The background information form was filled by 17 participants. Six participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews and the research material was analyzed using a content analysis. The research results show that students with different ages participated in the course. The participants’ backgrounds regarding exercise were also diverse. The study also demonstrates teaching methods requiring physical activity increases the alertness, motivation and learning of almost all the students. The method is principally perceived as well suited and conducive to learning. Part of the participants felt the course content was so interesting that the method most likely had a positive effect on alertness and motivation.

The differences between Finnish schools have been small compared to other countries in in-ternational comparisons. In contrast, the differences between classes have been remarka-ble. These differences have also been discovered to grow over years and thereby differenti-ate learning results of pupils. Potential reason for the differences is that the pupils of different performance level and background are divided into classes unevenly. In Finland, pupils re-ceiving special support are increasingly being taught inclusively in general education class-rooms instead of separate special classes. One objective of this study is to find out if the proportion of pupils receiving intensified or special support is related to the average perfor-mance of the class. The main objective of this Master’s Thesis was to find out whether there were differences between classes in performance and motivation, and which factors explain the possible variation. In addition to the proportion of pupils receiving intensified and special support, this study takes into account the proportion of pupils with immigrant background and the educational background of pupils’ mothers. The research data was part of the Centre of Educational Assessment’s Learning to Learn Assessment data from 2016. The participants of this study consisted of 1888 6th graders in 95 classes in one municipality in Southern Finland. The performance of the pupils was measured by their average grades in theoretical subjects and their performance in logical reasoning tasks. Motivation was assessed by a goal orientation questionnaire. Variance components analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. This study discovered differences between classes in their average grades and perfor-mance in reasoning tasks. There were also smaller differences between classes in learning orientation and achievement orientation. According to this study, the higher education of the pupils’ mothers and the proportion of Finnish-speaking students in a class predicted higher grades and performance in class-level. Surprisingly, the proportion of pupils that received special support had a positive connection with the average grade of the class. However, it was not connected to the performance in reasoning tasks at class level. The proportion of pupils receiving intensified support was not connected to performance in class-level.

Goals. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of subjective wellbeing based on Seligman’s (2011) PERMA-theory among sixth and ninth grade girls and boys. Previous studies have shown that girls experience lower wellbeing than boys and that the subjective wellbeing decreases as the children move on to higher grades. This study creates an understanding of the state of subjective wellbeing among sixth and ninth graders and the factors that affect it. This study provides knowledge to those working with children and youth on which elements of wellbeing should be taken in consideration in order to promote the wellbeing of children and youth. Methods. This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study. Sixth and ninth graders (N = 175) from three schools in the Helsinki metropolitan area participated in the study. Their experiences of subjective wellbeing were mapped using a questionnaire. The EPOCH wellbeing measure (Kern et al., 2016) based on the PERMA-theory was used as a measure of subjective wellbeing in this study. Mann Whitney's U-test was used in the analysis of the data. Results and conclusions. Majority of the participants in this study seemed to be doing well, although unlike in previous studies, girls were experiencing more wellbeing than boys. Also, unlike in previous studies, grade levels did not differ in the experience of wellbeing. Sixth grade girls experienced engagement and connectedness, and ninth grade girls, in addition to the above, also experienced perseverance and happiness more often than boys of the same age. Gender differences in the experience of subjective wellbeing and its elements can serve as indicative results which, however, are still in need of further research in order to be able to better understand the factors affecting youth wellbeing and thus allowing us to effectively promote it.

Goals. The goal in my thesis is to describe how six-graders give peer feedback when learning to write. My focus is especially on textual concepts the pupils are using in their feedback comments and on the ways readers express their evaluative experience. In regard to this I analyse what sort of learning this feedback represents. To give my thesis a background and a context I introduce previous research on cooperative learning, feedback and concept learning. Methods. My research is a qualitative case study and my method is content analysis. My data has been collected as a part of RokKi-project and it contains 23 stories and 119 peer feedback comments given to them. The feedback comments have been written not only by pupils but also two student teachers, a teacher of didactics and the class teacher. Majority of the feedback comments have been given anonymous, so it is possible that there could be some comments in my data that have been written by adults. I reflect the concepts in the feedback comments on the curriculum and three textbook and exercise book series used in fourth and fifth grade. Results and conclusions. Six-graders use textual concepts when giving peer feedback on each other's stories. There are 16 different textual concepts in my data and they are mentioned 109 times. The most used concept is a story (tarina). One peer feedback comment can have many targets and there can be various textual concepts in it. The target in a six-graders feedback comment is often related to the plot (juoni) and the beginning (alku) and the ending (loppu) of a story. A six-grader can analyse a story's chain of events and understand the chronology of a story. The use of textual concepts specifies and deepens the meaning of feedback to the writer of the story. It also reveals how the feedback's giver can use textual concepts they have learned. Reader's evaluative experience starts dialogue between the writer and the reader which completes the feedback comment. This lifts the writer's voice to the center and on the focus which can lead to the writer's voice growing stronger. All in all, peer feedback in writing is useful not only to the receiver but also the giver.

Objectives. The aim of this study is to examine sixth graders’ perceptions of economic inequality and its different forms in children’s everyday life. Furthermore, the aim is to gain an understanding of children’s agency in relation to economic inequality. Only a few Finnish studies consider the issue from a child’s viewpoint, namely the studies of Hakovirta and Rantalaiho (2011, 2012), Hakovirta and Kallio (2014) and reports conducted by the organizations Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (2010) and Save the Children (2015). More research has been done in Sweden (e.g. Olsson, 2007; Harju, 2008), Great Britain (e.g. Ridge, 2002) and the United States (e.g. Pugh, 2009). Economic inequality has increased in Finland over the past three decades and since it can affect the population in several ways, for instance through unequal distribution of health and education, children’s points of view in relation to the issue should not be disregarded. Methods. The material for this thesis was obtained through 29 empathy-based stories and 9 focused interviews conducted in two sixth grades in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. The study was conducted in the frameworks of childhood studies and phenomenography. Both narrative and thematic strategies were applied in the process of analysis. Results and conclusions. According to the sixth graders, economic inequality is connected to children’s everyday life through consumption and peer relationships. Challenges in consumption caused by deprivation could have a negative effect on peer relationships and result in discrimination and feelings of shame. Children understood economic inequality mainly through outward appearances, like clothing and other materia. It was more challenging for the participants to consider the effects on inward characteristics, such as mood and behavior followed by it. The sixth graders believed that children can endeavor to better situations of economic inequality by saving money, helping a friend economically and showing support to people who suffer of deprivation. In the end, however, relationships with friends and family were seen as the most important buffer against economic inequality. Children’s conceptions of inequality as a social issue varied: some believed it is an unfair phenomenon which divides people, while others saw it as a normal part of society. As economic inequality seems to appear and have a profound effect in children’s lives, awareness of the issue should be raised. Adults working with children should also be able to recognize the issue, the complexities behind it and discuss it with children.