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The purpose of this study was to describe factors that affect the enjoyment of physical education. It is known that children consider enjoyment being an important part of their physical activity. As an institution that reaches out to all children, school has a significant role to play in the physical activity of children and teenagers, which is why it is important to find out what kind of PE classes pupils enjoy. Earlier studies have shown that PE classes are influenced by, among other things, the content and motivational climate. This study explores and describes factors that, based on pupils' experiences, affect their enjoyment of PE classes. The research was carried out using qualitative methods. 28 pupils from the sixth grade attending the same school in the same class participated in the study. The only criteria for the target group selection was the pupils’ grade. The research material was collected using non-active role play and an open questionnaire. Thematic analysis was performed for the acquired material. On the basis of the results, many different factors contributed to whether or not the pupils experienced enjoyment. Factors contributing to the enjoyment were related to the presence, character and activities of the teacher, as well as pupils' activities, grouping and social relations between pupils. In addition, factors related to PE classes, including content, competition and group size, also affected the pupils’ enjoyment. Finally, under the 'miscellaneous' theme, there were factors that were not related to the issues mentioned above. When all aspects related to these themes were in order, they were seen as factors that make pupils enjoy PE. When aspects related to the same themes appeared the opposite pupils experienced lack of enjoyment. Factors that compromise enjoyment were similar to the top themes described for the factors of enjoyment, except for the "miscellaneous" theme. Finally, in addition to content, competition and group size, factors affecting enjoyment of the theme ”PE classes” included the facilities and experiences of failure. Competition, grouping and group size both contributed and compromised to enjoyment.

The purpose of this study was to examine two informal interaction situations that students encounter during the breaks in between classes in school; encounters among peers and the encounters between a student and a teacher. To further understand how students behave in these situations, how they see others behave and how they attribute these beaviours. Main idea was to understand these situations through the student's point of view. Are the situations described as positive or negative encounters, what are the different topics of the situations and to find out how 6th grade students in Finland understand the situations they describe themselves. Methods. The study gathered picturetask projections from 82 6th grade students, from 3 different schools located around Finland. Picturetask projections had 2 pictures, one from a school yard with peers on it and the other one from the school yard with a student-teacher encounter. Both pictures had assisting questions for the participants. The answers were analysed by using content analysis. They were first divided between negative and positive descriptions, then categorised into themes that rouse from the data. And finally categorised by using the 3 main attributional theory classifications; locus of control, controllability and stability, to understand how the 6th graders attributed the situations they described. Results and conclusions. Most of the descriptions were negative, more so in the student-teacher encounters. In these two informal situations there were some themes found in both, like school bullying and nice chats, but there were also some themes that were only found in one or the other. In descriptions from peer situations themes of tough guys were found, whereas in student-teacher descriptions had themes of telling the students off when behaved badly. In regard to attributions the results were very similar in both projections. Most of the situations were described as momentarily and attributed to external causes. In half of the peer situations and in over half of the student-teacher situations students felt able to control the situation.

The aim of this study was to examine the interaction between parent and child and the use of power. The use of power was examined during families' everyday meal times and through the conversations taking place at the dinner table. The viewpoint was the parent's use of linguistic power and its different forms by means of they tried to influence on the eating behavior of the child. The secondary research question concerned the family dinner talk and what the parent and child discussed together. This study hopes to highlight the diversity and richness of mealtime conversations and open a different viewpoint to the fields of educational and home economics science and the studies of family and everyday life. The approach and research method chosen was discourse analysis, which enabled closely examining how the two parties interact. The research material consisted of the mealtime conversations of three families. Each was a nuclear family consisting of a father, a mother and a child of around three years. Two of the families also had an infant sibling. The research material was obtained by recording mealtime conversations during the three days. The recordings occurred primarily at home, in natural family circumstances, with the researcher absent. The research material included 45 mealtime situations and the recordings amount of 9h25min, which were transcribed for analysis. The recordings were accompanied by dinner journals containing specific information about time of day, place and people present. Substantial amount of diverse dinner talk took place between parent and child. Talk concerning eating was most common, but there was also talk of other activities, the day-to-day life of the family, their surroundings and past and future events. The use of power appeared in all families in a variety of ways. The most common form of power by the parent was persuasion, but also rewarding, invoking authority, praise, threatening and gratification all manifested themselves while parents tried to influence on the eating behavior of the child.

The aim of the study was to explore what sort of constructions of educational opportunities appear in applicants' speech who attend a preparatory course in medicine and how is the role of preparatory course constructed in the application process to medical studies in the speech. The preparatory courses and their connection to access to higher education are important when the questions of educational opportunities are taken into consideration. It is also a current theme in education policy. However, there still are only few studies on preparatory courses, which justifies the importance of examining them. I consider preparatory courses as a part of internationally recognized phenomenon of privatisation in public education. Theoretically the theme is connected to the wider discussion about equality of educational opportunities in the context of Finnish higher education. I collected the data for the study with interviews. The data consisted of twelve interviews of applicants applying for medical studies in spring 2016 who attended a preparatory course arranged by private company. I analysed the data by using critical discourse analysis. Educational opportunities appeared as an equal opportunities -discourse and an individual responsibility -discourse in which the opportunities were formed on the one hand as an equality that is grounded in the structures of Finnish education system, and on the other hand they could be returned at the level of individual responsibility. The role of the preparatory course in the application process to medical studies was constructed as a compensation of the disproportion -discourse in which a gap between official and practical level in demands of medical studies entrance examination was produced. Also the position of the course was constructed with an investment -discourse in which it was compared to consuming and to an investment in the future. A conflict between an equal opportunities discourse and these discourses was implementing the problems in conceptualising privatisation of education in the context of welfare state. In connection to the preparatory course speech the educational opportunities appeared primarily from the perspective of individual responsibility. On a discoursive level the need for preparatory courses for applicants applying for medical studies and the culture that accepts the investment to training already exist in the light of the results of this study. Based on the conclusions of the study there is a need to examine widely the role of the private training in Finnish education system and the effects of preparatory courses on equality of opportunity in transitions to higher education.

This study focuses on Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture’s action plan for a better utilization of the matriculation examination in university selection procedures in the perspective of educational equity. Therefore I am analyzing a Ministry of Education and Culture’s report called Valmiina valintoihin - Ylioppilastutkinnon parempi hyödyntäminen korkeakoulujen opiskelijavalinnoissa (2016:37), which includes the action plan for better utilization of the matriculation examination in the university selection procedures. Before the report went public, it was sent to multiple educational fields experts to comment. In this study I am interested in the comments the experts made about the action plan and the way the action plan for the university selection has proceeded. I am also focusing on the questions of educational equity this action plan raises. This reform has sparked widespread discussions and raised concerns about the growing inequality. The research methods used in this study were thematic analysis and content analysis. I am analyzing the action plan made for better utilization of the matriculation examination in the university selection procedures, and the feedback from the report given by the experts from the educational field. I am also researching the current state of the action plan for higher education. I used content analysis to determine the opinions experts had about the action plan, and then divided them into on behalf-opinions and against-opinions. After that I utilized thematic analysis to point out the main themes which raised up from the comments. Relevant literature was used to support the analysis. As a result I found out that the experts were really concerned about the possible outcomes the action plan for the university selection could raise. The main themes which came up are the selection, the questions regarding college education and the different forms of capitals the individuals have. The experts were also concerned that educational equity may weaken as consequence of the action plan for better utilization of the matriculation examination in university selection. I also found out that our current government is as well concerned about the consequences the action plan may raise and has shown support to strengthen up Finlands higher education. Despite experts concerns the action plan has been launched, and only the time will tell what kind of consequences it has to equity of education in Finland.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore graduated students' experiences of learning, studying and generic skills development at the university of Helsinki. The present labour market demands wide variety of generic skills in addition to extensive substance knowledge. Universities have noticed the demand and have increased the development of these skills in curriculums. The elements of high-quality learning has found to be related to better generic skill development but also the development of generic skills has been seen to encourage better learning. The aim of this study is to explore students' experiences of their generic skills development during the university studies and their relations to students' approaches to learning. Methods: The data consists of 546 master graduated students' questionnaire responses and ten student interviews. Questionnaire responses were analysed by cluster analysis's where five different profiles were identified based on approaches to learning, organised studying and generic skills. Two different profiles (deep and organized & surface approach) were selected to more accurate qualitative analysis. Five student interviews were randomly selected from both profiles. Interviews were analyzed by using inductive content analysis. Results and conclusions: Five different profiles were identified as a result of cluster analysis. The results of content analysis confirm the results of cluster analysis. Deep and organized students emphasized understanding in their studies and their learning was based on knowledge construction. Also students applying the surface approach tend to understand, but differed from deep and organized students in learning strategies and intentions. Profiles differed only slightly from each other in generic skills development. Students experienced generic skills as employment skills which may relate to weak recognition of these skills. Students in both profiles experienced generic skills useful in their studies. They also found these skills to develop both in university studies and in extracurricular activities. Results of this study indicate that regardless of students' learning approach generic skills were developed during their university studies.

The topic of this Master's Thesis is the manifestations of power and dominance in superior-subordinate relationship. The aim is to identify verbal and nonverbal communication behaviours that constitute dominance in these relationships. The central concepts are control and countercontrol attempts identified by Dyadic Power Theory (DPT). Destructive communication in work settings, supervisor-subordinate relationship and power and dominance are the key dimensions of the research's theoretical background. The data used is a secondary data, originally collected by the LEAR research project. The project looked into the phenomenon of leadership by fear in Finnish organizations. The data consists of narratives of how workers have been intimidated at work. 89 narratives were selected for this research. The analysis was followed through by using qualitative content analysis methods. Control and countercontrol attempts identified by DPT were used as a base for the analysis. The findings demonstrate that control attempts were mostly supervisors' attempts to control the subordinates. Five control categories were identified: Restricting professional participation, information as control, mental and physical subjection, threatening, extended control, and emphasizing one's own competence. According to the analysis, countercontrol attempts were rarer. A few categories were identified, however. Countercontrol attempts were manifested through direct defence, third-party defence, and by controlling the employment. The research was conducted in a special relational context of conflict and fear. It should be considered how the low-quality supervisor-subordinate relationship affects the manifestations and the quality of control and countercontrol attempts. Power and dominance have mainly been researched in communication and interpersonal research by using quantitative research methods. More qualitative research is needed, especially in Finland.

Compulsory education was historically expanded in Finland in 2021. The purpose of this thesis is to find out the views of student counselors on issues that affect transitions between elementary school and secondary school, the discourses that can be located from the speech of student counselors and the subject positions formed for students in them, and the meanings given by counselors to the expansion of compulsory education. Previous research has shown that school practices produce acts of discrimination that reproduce inequality, which are manifested through the subject positions produced in the discourses. Leaning on Michel Foucault's view of power and theories about language and discourses, I aim to examine these mechanisms and shed light on hidden power structures that materialize in everyday school practices. My desire is to examine the extent to which a reform such as the expansion of compulsory education has the potential to influence issues of inequality. The research task is to find out (1) which factors influence the students' placement in the second grade according to the counselors' views, (2) what kind of subject positions are built for the students in the counselors' speech, and (3) what kind of meanings do the counselors give to the reform of compulsory education? I study the topic through themed interviews I conducted with five primary school or secondary school student counselors. As a research method I use discourse. The research results followed the results that has emerged in previous studies. Various factors based on student characteristics determined the choice of secondary education according to the instructors' views. At the same time, a clear dichotomous division was formed between upper secondary school and vocational school, which became evident in the ratings of families and students and in the placement of students. Poor academic performance, practicality and manual skills promoted the choice of a vocational school, while good academic performance favored the choice of upper secondary school. Two discourses, the discourse of reaching the school's goals and the discourse of the ideal citizen, could be highlighted in the interviews. In discourse were nuilt discourses, four different subject positions, which influenced how students were talked about and how their opportunities to attend school were valued.

Objectives. Neoliberal education policies have put pressure on strengthening the relationship between universities and working life, and universities expected to better prepare students for working life. Universities have long sought to meet the needs of the labor market by, among other things, increasing more work-oriented teaching, but nevertheless students face many employment-related challenges in transition from studies to working life and the number of unemployed with a university degree has increased. The working life equivalence of university studies has studied a lot, but qualitative research on students' personal experiences has lagged behind. The aim of this study was to find out the experiences of educational students about their capital supporting their employment and the factors accumulating them during their studies. In addition, the perceived benefits of capital in the transition from university studies to working life were examined. Methods. The study examined the experiences of students studying for a master’s degree in education about the capital supporting their employment during their studies, the factors accumulating them and their benefits in the transition from university studies to working life. The data consisted of seven semi-structured theme interviews. The interview data were analyzed using abductive content analysis method. Results and conclusions. Students described that they had accumulated a variety of forms of capital during their studies to support their employment. Capital accumulated most through internships, optional studies, organizational activities or other student activity and work experience, and the importance of these factors as a supporter of one's own employment emphasized. Instead, the connection between the formal studies related to the degree and working life was felt to be insufficient, and more concrete information was desired for the studies from the perspective of working life, for example by adding internships. In the transition from university studies to working life, the clarification of one's own work goal, the ability to identify, say and make one's own skills visible, and useful networks and interpersonal relationships that provide information about hidden jobs or a referee to support one's own employment seem to be important. It could be concluded from the results that the main subject studies in education in particular should better develop in a direction that supports the strengthening of student employment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between finnish first time parents reflec-tive functioning and impressions (representations) of the child. Theory and previous studies have shown connection between parents´ reflective functioning and the valence (positive – negative) of impressions or representations. The parents´ impressions of the child have previously been in-vestigated as representations, that are connected with reflective functioning and which affect the quality of interaction between the parent and the child. The purpose of this study is to offer knowledge for well-baby clinic workers. The sample consisted of finnish first time parents, with 355 mothers and 107 fathers. This low-risk sample was collected by online questionnare when the child was two years old. Associations between reflective functioning and impressions of the child were examined based on correla-tions. Between groups comparisons (mother-boy, mother-girl, father-boy, father-girl) were exam-ined by variance analysis. Correlations between parents´ reflective functioning and impressions of the child were largely as expected; robust parents´ reflective functioning was associated with positive impressions of the child. Results show what kind of impressions of the child are connected to reflective functioning in this study.