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Experiencing the meaningfulness of work has been identified to have positive impact on individual’s wellbeing. According to the generational divide often used in research, today’s workforce consists mainly of generation X and Y. The aim of the study was to find out what kind of factors X and Y generations experience as meaningful in work and whether the experiences of these generational cohorts differ in terms of meaningfulness of work. The purpose of the study is to provide information about the experience of meaningfulness of work to the individuals, as well as to organizations and managers. The study was conducted as a mixed-method research. The data of the study, provided by Meaningful Work Ry, was collected with a survey during summer 2017. This study examined 270 participants who belonged to generation X and Y. Factors that were perceived as meaningful in work were examined with open questions, after which responses were categorised by data-driven content analysis. Furthermore, categories were quantified, and their frequencies were compared between generational cohorts. This study used The Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI) to measure the meaningfulness of work. Differences in meaningfulness of work between X and Y generations were analysed using Mann-Whitney U-test. The factors perceived as meaningful in the work consisted of six main categories: utilization and development of one’s own competence, social relations, goals and results, the broader meaning of work, the features of work and recognition obtained from the work. No differences were found between the generational cohorts in terms of experiencing meaningfulness in work or the factors perceived as meaningful in the work. The results provide a new division of six factors that are perceived as meaningful in work. In addition, the results strengthen criticism of generational divide. The results of the study can be applied in organizations to support experience of meaningfulness in work of employees, in recruitment and employer branding. Furthermore, the results provide information to the individual when considering their own experience of meaningfulness of work.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between job crafting and the perceived work meaningfulness and organizational commitment among school principals. In addition, the study examined how work meaningfulness is associated with school principals' organizational commitment. The study also sought to determine whether principals’ age, gender or work experience would be associated with work meaningfulness or organizational commitment. Job crafting was examined using four dimensions based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that increasing structural resources would be positively associated with work meaningfulness. Increasing social and structural resources were assumed to be positively associated with organizational commitment while reducing hindering demands was assumed to be negatively associated with organizational commitment. In addition, work meaningfulness was assumed to be positively associated with organizational commitment. Methods. The data used in the study is part of the Principal Barometer 2022, which mapped the well-being of Finnish school principals. The data was collected in Spring 2022 by sending a questionnaire to all 1200 members of the Finnish Principals’ Association. The data included a total of 841 respondents, of whom 63.9% were women. The average age of the respondents was 51.7 years. The data was analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Results and conclusions. The results showed that among the dimensions of job crafting, only the increase in structural resources was positively associated with work meaningfulness and organizational commitment. Age was also positively associated with work meaningfulness. Reducing hindering job demands was negatively associated with meaningfulness and organizational commitment. The results suggest that work meaningfulness experienced by Finnish school principals’ increases organizational commitment. In conclusion, providing opportunities for learning and development through job crafting strengthens principals' work meaningfulness and their commitment to the school community. Providing opportunities for principals to craft their jobs can support their commitment, their experiences of meaningfulness and thus their overall well-being.

There is an assumption of self-evident difference between people with a Roma background and others. The difference is seen as natural and apolitical. Once the difference is seen as natural it makes the phenomena related to the schooling of pupils with Roma background, such as dropping out, absences or the low number of applications for secondary education, seem natural. In the Finnish discourse of multiculturalism these phenomena tend to be explained with cultures and cultural differences. The inequalities produced in the social structures are left aside. In this master's thesis I study the ways in which teaching assistants with a Roma background organize and outline differences in their speech. I conducted five ethnographic interviews and two thematic interviews. The ethnographic interviews took place over the workdays of the interviewees in the period of 16 days. I analyzed the interviews by drawing from discursive studies and theories. I explored the interview talk as constituted in the available discourses. I studied the ways in which the interviewees talked, and asked how the narration is constituted in discourses. I explored contradictions in their talk and their ways to resist discourses and the ways to negotiate with and within them. In my analysis I asked how the subjectification becomes possible in the existing discourses and what kind of talk and understanding becomes possible in them. With this analysis I was able to understand how the discourse of difference works in everyday life of schools. The difference constituted in schools seemed fixed. Meanings given for the difference were drawn from racializing discourses and they formed conditions of possibilities for my interviewees to become subjects. In school, the interviewees had a position of the tolerated ones. Therein, they were obliged to deal with prejudices and to deconstruct them. Discourses of culturalism, cultural difference and categorization were strongly present in schools and my interviewees both challenged and used them in their work. They negotiated about the difference and for the conditions of becoming subjects by using racializing humour and by emphasizing similarities. Being visibly Roma was seen self-evidently problematic in school settings: the more visibly Roma one was, more likely one was to meet prejudices and racism. The understanding that schools are self-evidently places of prejudices and racism legitimates them as such. By analyzing the discourses of difference in schools, it becomes possible to study the positions constituted there for people with a Roma background.

Nowadays it is impossible to deny the importance of organizational communication and business strategy. During recent years it has been understood, that these two areas are strongly linked together it is impossible to fulfill a strategy without communication. Also research in these fields has developed into the same direction. It has been widely acknowledged, that strategy implementation and organizational communication are an important part of all employees work particularly in expert organizations. However, there is only little research of strategy communication from employee perspective. This master's thesis explores employee views on strategy and strategy communication in an expert organization. The research area is approached through two research questions. The first explores employee views on strategy communication meetings, special events that were held in spring 2009. The second research question surveys the strategy knowledge and understanding of the employees as well as their attitude to the strategy. Also willingness to work according the company values is studied. The study is done using a survey method: a questionnaire is tailored to the needs of the organization. Both structured statements and open questions are included in the survey. The gathered data is analyzed using statistical and qualitative methods. The target organization is an expert company operating in five countries. The survey was sent to company's Swedish employees in June 2009. As a result a data with 313 responses(44.4 % of employees in the country) was gathered. As the result of this study the strategy communication meetings can be regarded as successful events. Thanks to this, also strategy knowledge and understanding of personnel showed quite good levels. A positive attitude towards the strategy and the values was also noticed. In the analysis besides the overall views, also views of different respondent groups were compared. In statistical tests it was noticed that managers and persons involved in the strategy process knew and understood the strategy better than average. Ages and working units also had some influences to the views. The results of the study reinforce the strong link between strategy and communication in the target organization special communication meetings have been a way to create strategy knowledge, understanding and positive attitudes towards the strategy. Also the strong role of top and middle management is emphasized in the study. Common strategy communication problems were found as well. Employees were proved to be interested in the strategy and willing to work according the company values in their work. Communication will be essential also in the implementation phase a central requisite for success is to understand communication as a way to implement strategy.

In early childhood education, team members work together particularly closely, which makes the effectiveness of teamwork one of the key elements of the work. The theo-retical basis of this present study lies in the recent administrative changes in early childhood education, together with the development of the teams' areas of expertise and progress of the team formation process, form the basis of the research theory. The goal of this study was to determine the factors influencing the functioning of multi-disciplinary teams working in early childhood education. The research questions ad-dressed here were: 1) What factors influence the functioning of the teams working in the early childhood education? and 2) What do early childhood education teams cur-rently look like from the perspective of a functioning team? The study utilized the Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach since the study con-sisted of both qualitative and quantitative data. The material of the study has been ex-amined in terms of both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Factor analysis was cho-sen as the method of analysis for the quantitative data, which was used for dimensional reduction resulting in the data condensed into five main latent factors which each ex-plained several variables. The qualitative analysis used theory-guided data analysis, in which the data were first broken down into smaller parts, conceptualized and assem-bled into a new whole. The results of the research revealed there are five factors explaining team functionalities in early childhood education. The factors were labelled as commitment and trust, communication, team building, participation and leadership. These factors, which are correlated with each other to some degree, taken together play a crucial role in team formation, bonding and successful teamwork. As such, this current study should inform future studies in early childhood education teamwork formation and flow.

Aims. The aim of this study was to investigate how the victims of workplace bullying see its effects on their professional identity and career. Earlier findings from this field have shown that there might be connection between workplace bullying and professional identity. In this study the analysis was extended to the careers of the bullied. Methods. The data for my research consisted of 33 stories, which were collected using an e-form questionnaire via three different forums. These forums were Työpaikkakiusatut.net, Kiusatut.net and Narsistien uhrien tuki ry. Respondents were asked to write a description of their experiences of workplace bullying and how they think bullying has affected their professional identity and career stages. The methods of analysis were quantitative content itemization (the forms of workplace bullying) and qualitative content analysis (professional identity and career). Findings and conclusions. The respondents described of being targeted of multiple forms of workplace bullying. The main categories were subjection, isolation and discrimination, lying, aggression, and hindering work. The connection between workplace bullying and professional identity could be formed as a continuum. In the other end of the continuum the respondents described very serious consequences to their professional identity. In the other end of the continuum the respondents could see their negative experiences as strengths. Four main categories described connection between workplace bullying and career. These categories were: unemployment or sick leaves, stagnation, decreasing work positions, and attempt to change career. The study showed that according to the victims, workplace bullying effects on professional identity and career development. The information can be utilized in supporting adult education by focusing on the critical parts of professional identity and career.

In a tightening economic situation it has become more difficult to find work or study place. This can create a threat that leads to the danger that young people are getting socially excluded from education and working life. Social exclusion has brought up a great concern in Finland. Youth guarantee is been used to prevent social exclusion and to improve adolescents' possibilities to have a degree after the basic education and be employed. One of the tools to prevent social exclusion is Youth guarantee which raises workshop activities that aim to support adolescents' life management skills, strengthening their involvement and preventing social exclusion. In the previous workshop studies it has been brought up that it would be important to study workshop activities in qualitative measures to get the voices of the people being in the risk of social exclusion to be heard. This study examines the way the young people that work in workshop in Tampere under the Youths start- project talk and how they give meanings to being part of the society, participation and how are they relating to the work shop activity. This study analyzed two group interview materials that are collected in Youth start workshops. There were eight young people that participated to this study. The material was analyzed using discursive analysis methods. The discursive analysis is built to the assumption of being context related, assumption of meanings being built using the language, assumption that several lateral discursios exist and to the assumption that use of the language has causes and it socially constructs the reality. In this research four repertoires were analyzed from the participants' discourses. These were being part of the society, participation, social exclusion and workshop repertoires. The tightening competition situation from the work and studying places showed up as a factor that in the adolescents' discourses caused insecurity and repetitive disappointment that had negative influence to their self-esteem and these factors can lead to even faster social exclusion. The Workshop appeared as a safe place, kind of like a second home where it was easy to come. Working in a workshop brought meaningful things to do and building blocks to build self-esteem and recover courage. Outside of the workshop social inclusion of the people going there it was considered to be shameful and even stigmatizing. Because of this factor it is important that the image of the workshop can be improved. In the light of this study it is important to improve the participation and feeling social inclusion of the surrounding world. The adolescents need to have real power and responsibility to decide and influence the matters that concern them in the workshop activities.

Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' conceptions on classroom management, their experiences and ways in getting involved in classroom management problems, preventing these problems from occurring and what they consider as reasons behind these problems. Classroom management problems are still current phenomena that disturbs learning and teaching. That is why studying this topic is socially current and meaningful. The theoretical framework introduces the "functional school" – model, which closely relates to classroom management issues and concepts such as interaction skills and tries to explain reasons behind classroom management problems. The study concentrates on teachers' concepts and procedures based on their own experiences in getting involved and prevent classroom management problems from occurring. The aim is to add understanding of the examined phenomenon, identify and develop ways to get involved in classroom management problems. Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative research and the manner of approach was fenomenographic. The fenomenographic approach used is appropriate, because this study focuses on ordinary day thinking by teachers on conceptions and experiences regarding the topic at hand. Ten classroom teachers from elementary schools around the metropolitan area of Helsinki participated in this study. The material was collected with a questionnaire that included open questions. The questions were derived from scientific literature and previous studies on classroom management problems. Results. The findings from this study suggest that teachers define classroom management in a similar manner. All the teachers taking part in the study had experienced classroom management problems in their classes and a majority have had situations where intervening to violent behavior was necessary. The teachers had various ways to prevent and get involved in classroom management problems. According to the teachers, the reasons for classroom management problems come mainly from the home situations of students, which highlights the importance of school and home collaboration in the prevention of classroom management problems.

New open learning environments have become more common in Finnish school con-struction over the past decade. Open learning environments are thought to offer opportunities for increasing students' self-directedness, group-based and active learning, and co-teaching. However, the effects of open spaces on learning and classroom management have not been thoroughly researched yet. Media reports have been critical of the noise in open schools, raising concerns about the burden on teachers and students. In this study, I examine the practices of classroom management in elementary education within an open learning environment. This includes how teachers prevent disturbances in the classroom, the types of disturbances that occur during the lessons, and the corrective practices the teachers use to address disturbances in an open learning space. I also explore the teachers' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of open spaces from the standpoint of classroom management. The research material consists of ethnographic observation data focused on two first grade elementary school classes and their two teachers, who partially work as co-teachers. In addition to the observation data, the study includes interviews with the teachers of these classes. The data was collected in November-December 2023 over three school days and analyzed through content analysis. The study found that in classroom management, the emphasis was on preventive practices against disturbances, including routines and structures, positive feedback and motivation, variation in teaching and learning methods, and the teacher's presence. Different methods supported each other and were integrated into the teachers' work. Classroom disturbances were minimal, with the most typical being speaking without permission or making extra movement or noise. The teachers consistently addressed disturbances with various corrective practices, such as a gentle touch and eye contact, and by mentioning the pupil's name, and having a private conversation with them. Teachers thought that open learning environments provided opportunities for versatile teaching methods, functionality, and physical activity, but if the use of space is not practiced with the pupils, the stimuli caused by the space can pose challenges to classroom management. It is important to keep different types of learners in mind while developing future learning environments. In elementary education, it is also crucial that the pupils have their own safe place or seat in the school.

The goal of this study is to find out how class teachers define an ideal working environment in a classroom, how they maintain this ideal working environment and how they react when it's disturbed. An ideal working environment is something every class teacher has to deal with in their job and it plays a great role in it. There's no absolute definition to what an ideal working environment actually is and every teacher creates the definition themselves. In this study knowledge about class teachers' definitions of the term was assembled in a configuration where the interviewed class teachers were experts of their own teacher being and their educational philosophy. The aim was to gather answers from class teachers without making any generalizations depending on the answers. Eight class teachers were interviewed for this study on the area of Uusimaa. Six of them have graduated within the last five years and two of them over 20 years ago. The interviewed teachers were chosen randomly for the interviews. In this study it occurred that the definitions for an ideal working environment that the teachers defined bore a resemblance to one another, even though the theme isn't discussed in the teacher education at the university. It seems that the atmosphere in the classroom plays an important role in the formation of the ideal working environment and so does the teacher's attitude. The teachers have various ways to prevent issues that can disturb the ideal working environment they have built in their classroom, to maintain it and to react to the disturbances. The teachers have taken many of the measures into their repertoire after having heard or read about them elsewhere.