Browsing by Title

Multilingualism and multiculturalism are very common phenomena in the global world of today. People move into other countries and integrate in other cultures more than ever before. This Master's Thesis is a qualitative study on how multilingual people describe their linguistic and cultural identity and how it is to be a minority within the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. The aim of this study is to increase the knowledge and understanding on people who represent a linguistic minority in the Swedish-speaking linguistic minority in Finland and how they describe their linguistic and cultural identity. The scientific approach of the study is phenomenological, which means that the study aims to describe the phenomenon of multilingualism, multiculturalism and integration based on informants' subjective experiences. Nine people were interviewed for this study, and the collected data were analysed using content analysis. All nine informants were living in the capital area of Finland when the interviews were done, but are born in another country. The results of this study demonstrate the significance of language and culture for a person's identity. The linguistic and cultural identities form during the entire course of life and can be seen as a lifelong process.

Aim. According to the law, every finish child has the right to a safe school environment. Research indicates that schools play a vital role in preventing cyberbullying. For efficient prevention of cyberbullying in schools, schools need for example a carefully planned anti-bullying policies with correct definitions of both bullying and cyberbullying. The plans should also contain methods for prevention and intervention. The supply of research on cyberbullying in elementary schools is limited, and thus this study will examine the guidelines elementary schools have against cyberbullying, how schools actively are preventing cyberbullying and how school personnel perceive the current work done against cyberbullying. Methods. The data for this study was collected qualitatively, through semi-structured interviews with a phenomenographic research approach. The seven interviewees who participated consisted of principals, school counsellors and class teachers in two Swedish speaking schools. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis in the program Atlas.ti 8. Results and conclusions. The results of this study shows that the schools do not have an extensive definition of cyberbullying nor have they included preventive measures against cyberbullying in their anti-bullying policies. The schools do however prevent cyberbullying for example through scheduled discussions with the pupils. According to the participants the schools work against cyberbullying works relatively well. The majority of the participants thought that the schools could have clearer and more comprehensive guidelines against cyberbullying in their policies. The schools anti-bullying policies do not include how the schools will act in case cyberbullying occurs outside school but among the schools pupils. Based on the results the schools could review their policies and clarify the responsibility among school personnel. This would lead to a more consistent approach and have long-lasting effects.

The Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014 stresses the role of formative assessment in student assessment in basic education. The national curriculum offers some guidelines for how to work with formative assessment, but a lot is left unsaid. The aim of this thesis was to describe how teachers in secondary school view formative assessment and how they experience working with it. The research questions were; 1. What kind of profit do subject teachers feel the formative assessment has? 2. Which methods do subject teachers use in working with formative assessment and how do they experience this work? 3. Which challenges do subject teachers experience in connection to formative assessment? A qualitative research approach was used in this study and the data material was collected through semi-structured research interviews with eight subject teachers working in secondary school. The data sample was a selective one, consisting of teachers that felt that they were to some level working with formative assessment, even if the new national curriculum was not yet put in to effect in secondary school when the material was collected (spring 2017). The data material was analyzed trough content analysis. The results showed that subject teachers considered the profit of formative assessment to have various aspects, they felt that formative assessment functioned as a support tool for instruction and as a way to motivate and activate students. Formative assessment functioned as a support for instruction in providing the teacher with information about the students' progress and offering the students more feedback and there for helping them perform better. Working with formative assessment was also seen as a chance to motivate students by steering the instruction towards their interest and skills and making sure that everybody received some sort of positive feedback. The teachers also felt that one aim for formative assessment was to activate students and make them understand and take responsibility for their learning. All teachers had worked with self- and peer assessment as methods for formative assessment. They considered peer assessment to be easier to work with because it was easier for the students to give feedback on somebody else's work than to evaluate their own. Both self- and peer assessment required that the students had some sort of understanding of the criteria for the task they were supposed to give feedback on. The teachers had also worked on making learning intensions and criteria more explicit. This work was appreciated by both teachers and students but the challenge was to find enough time, especially when this required planning together with colleagues. Another method for working with formative assessment was discussing with the students, the discussions could be between teacher and student or a classroom dialog. The teachers experienced general challenges in working with formative assessment to be a lack of time and the need to flexible as a teacher.

The objective of this research was to describe autoethnographically the intecration points on my personal history´s narrative identities. Material comprises of work plans and work diaries, and the resulting artworks. The scope of the study reference frame was set around narrative identity consepts, integrated with the narrative identity of personality psychologist Dan McAdams (1995) and narrative identity theories of hermeneutic philosopher Paul Ricoeur (1992). The reference frame concerning the craft science was practice-led research where artist acts as researcher of his/her own work. Maarit Mäkelä´s dessertation (2003) ” Memories on Clay” has influenced this work. Mäkelä studied representations of subjective creating process and gender, and verbally described the creative process and the resulting artworks. Research questions: 1. How integration points of my personal history´s narrative identity are materializing into textile art? What kind of process it is? 2. How this research process is shaping my narrative identity? Methods The research material was composed of autoethnographical processing of my personal history´s narrative identity integration points. The work plans and work diaries material comprised 85 pages and included photographs from different stages of the process. During my research process, I created five piece of textile art based on the fragments of my personal narrative identity. I interpreted and analysed the process in the course of it (reflection-in-action) and retrospectively (reflection-on-action) applying to the practice-led research. Results and conclusuions The outcome of this study were five textile art works.

The aim of the study was to investigate ideas and idea generation of designers in free improvisation tasks at conceptual level in the experiment, planned primarily for the physiological and neurological measurements. My study was a part of the multidisciplinary research project Handling Mind: Embodiment, Creativity and Design which concentrated on studying relations between mind, body and materials combining the fields of psychology, neuroscience and creativity. The neurological study did not reveal what and how participants felt, thought and experienced during the experiment which was the main interest in my study. Previous research has focused on investigating various fields of the design process, as well as the ideation phase, but investigating idea generation in the context of neuroscientific research is a new and interesting chance for the research. The ideation phase represents an iterative and vibrant nature of the design process. Previous studies have brought out the meaning of available sources of inspiration, and designers' competence to adapt the essential parts of the original sources and transform them into design outputs regarding the aspects of novelty and functionality. Therefore, I developed my research questions concerning ideas and idea development in freely improvising tasks in a new design situation. The 30 participants participated in the study as volunteers from the School of Art, Design and Architecture in Aalto University from November 2014 to March 2015. They performed copying, designing or free improvising tasks by drawing or forming clay. I organized the Stimulated Recall (SR) interviews with my colleague to collect data. We selected the 15 out of 30 interviews to represent the data in our studies. I analyzed the transcript data by qualitative content analysis: the classification scheme was both data and theory driven. The analysis revealed that designers had different ideas emerging from internal stimuli, for example, from their mental library or they were impressed by external stimuli, for instance, material, tools and cup images from the experiment. The experiment represented an external design constraint: it confined the problem space and narrowed down the alternative solutions. Designers had concrete and abstract ideas, but also the abstractions of ideas were developed. They relied on familiar topic choices but also were capable of creating analogies. Even this minimalistic design experiment revealed that designers are able to use their mental sources of inspiration and capable of picking profitable stimuli from their surroundings in new and uncertain situations for adapting and developing ideas further. Designers sought meaning for their sketching and experimenting as well.

Objectives. The schooling system is in great turmoil in Finland at the moment. More effective knowledge creation and sharing among teachers are needed in order to develop the Finnish schooling system and to increase the study results of the students. Previous literature agrees that sharing and acquiring knowledge function as precondition for innovation and value creation in organizational and network contexts and thus makes knowledge vital for contemporary organizations. The transition between an individual's and a collective's knowledge creation, however, has not been widely studied. This study explores the development of a new "Compass Model for Shared Pedagogical Leadership in an activity-theoretical Change Laboratory intervention in the Finnish Viikki Teacher Training School from a knowledge creation perspective. The thesis examines how the transition from individually held knowledge of teaching transform into collective knowledge and a collaborative model of practicing. Further, it combines knowledge creation literature with the theory of expansive learning, which has not yet been done in detail. Methods. The interventionist and ethnographic methodology of the study draws on theoretical concepts, models, and methods from Cultural Historical Activity Theory and from the studies of individual and collective knowledge creation. The data analysed in this study consisted of six meetings carried out in the Viikki Teacher Training School by using the Change Laboratory method. The methodology of the study consists of a thematic analysis and analysis of transitions in knowledge creation during the Change Laboratory process. The analysis of transitions is a new qualitative method developed for this study based on findings in the data. Results and conclusions. The study shows that the knowledge creation of the teachers transitioned on a rough timeline from individually held knowledge of teaching to collaborative practice through multiple small cycles of expansive learning and social processes of knowledge building. Decrease in organizational tensions, creation of shared understanding and increased collaboration enabled the transition of knowledge creation from individual to collective. The collectively created model for shared pedagogical leadership promoted collaboration.

Objectives. Functioning impairments as an outcome for severe mental disorders have been well established. There is also growing evidence for early functioning impairment being a vulnerability marker for psychotic disorders. Recent findings suggest that especially early social functioning impairment may predict later psychotic disorders. However previous studies are few and they are limited to pre-selected psychosis risk samples. In addition, little is known about early functioning in other severe mental disorders. The aim of this study is to determine the level of functioning in adolescents at entry to general psychiatric services and to examine whether early functioning impairment predicts later psychosis or psychiatric hospitalizations directly, and when controlling for the effect of psychosis risk symptoms. Methods. This study is a part of the larger Helsinki Prodromal Study conducted in the National Institute for Health and Welfare. The sample consists of 154 treatment-seeking adolescents aged 15–18 years, recruited at the first visit to psychiatric services in Helsinki. Semi-structured psychiatric interviews were conducted for all participants at baseline. Functioning was assessed with validated and reliable functioning measures for social (Global functioning: social) and role functioning (Global functioning: role) and an experimental functioning measure for psychological functioning (Global functioning: psychological). Information about hospitalizations was extracted from the Finnish hospital discharge register during a 2.8–8.9 year follow-up until the end of 2011. A Cox regression survival analysis was used to examine whether functioning domains predicted later hospitalization for psychosis or psychiatric hospitalizations overall. Positive and general psychosis risk symptoms as well as psychosis risk status were controlled for the analyses. Results and conclusions. The functioning of adolescents at entry to psychiatric services was mildly impaired and the impairment was greater for individuals in psychosis risk and those with a mental disorder diagnosis. 7 transitions to psychosis and 26 psychiatric hospital admissions emerged during the follow-up. The level of psychological functioning was the only significant predictor of increased risk of hospitalizations whereas the level of positive symptoms was the only significant predictor of increased risk of psychosis. Neither social nor role functioning predicted the outcomes. The results concerning social functioning are in contrast with previous finding, which may be attributable to the low incidence of psychosis in the sample or the treatment received by the participants. Overall the results emphasize the importance of interventions for early symptoms to prevent these severe outcomes.

Purpose: Studies show that Finnish children and youth are insufficiently physically active. The program Liikkuva koulu (author’s free translation from Finnish: ”A school in motion”) began as a pilot project in 2010, but has since grown to be a nationwide program. The aim of the program is to provide students with physically more active and pleasant schooldays, to support their learning and increase their well-being. The activity itself for Liikkuva koulu can in many ways be seen to require a student-focused approach to teaching. Thus the theoretical background for this study came to comprise of ”Approaches to Teaching” by Prosser & Trigwell (1999). The aim of this study is to examine teachers’ experiences of physical activity as a part of their teaching. Furthermore an objective for this study is to explore in what way a teacher’s approach to teaching may relate to those experiences and execution of physically active lessons. Methods: The research was conducted as a quantitative study. A survey was sent to five Swedish-speaking elementary schools within the Helsinki region. The survey included 30 multiple-choice questions/statements along with 4 open-ended questions. A total of N = 27 teachers participated in the study by responding to the survey. The data was mainly analyzed quantitatively (qualitative data analysis was applied to the open-ended questions). Results and conclusions: The teachers mainly implemented physically active lessons and their experiences of Liikkuva koulu were as well mainly positive. For many of these positive experiences, they correlated with each other. The teachers reported mainly a student-focused approach to teaching. The study found a correlation between higher teacher-focused approach to teaching and a stronger experience of Liikkuva koulu being experienced as an additional burden within teaching. There was also a dim correlation between the teacher’s (increased) age and less experience of Liikkuva koulu providing for increased students’ participation.

Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin autismiluokan oppilaiden fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen yhteydessä olevia oppilas- ja opetusympäristötekijöitä. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmänä oli kaikki Suomen autismiluokkien oppilaat ja vertailuryhminä oli EHA1- ja EHA2- luokan oppilaita. Tutkimusote oli kvantitatiivinen, tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeilla. Tutkimuskyselyyn vastasivat luokkien opettajat. Aineiston käsittelyssä pääasialliset analyysimenetelmät olivat faktori-, varianssi- ja regressioanalyysi. Tutkimuksen pääongelmat: 1. Millaista on tutkituilla oppilailla esiintynyt fyysinen väkivaltakäyttäytyminen? 2. Millaiset oppilastekijät ovat yhteydessä fyysiseen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen? 3. Miten luokkatoiminnot ja autismiluokan henkilökunnan toiminta ovat yhteydessä oppilaiden fyysiseen väkivaltakäyttäytymiseen? Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että autismiluokan oppilaiden fyysinen väkivaltakäyttäytyminen oli huomattavasti vertailuryhmien (EHA1 Ja EHA2) oppilaita runsaampaa. Autismiluokan oppilaiden yleisimpiä fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymisen muotoja olivat toisiin kohdistuneet lyömiset, puremiset, raapimiset tukistamiset ja tönimiset. Itseen kohdistui eniten puremista ja lyömistä. Autistien akateemiset taidot olivat tutkimuksen mukaan selvästi heidän sosiaalisia taitojaan paremmat. Runsaimmin fyysistä väkivaltakäyttäytymistä raportoitiin olevan niillä autismiluokan oppilailla, joilla oli hyvät akateemiset, mutta heikot sosiaaliset taidot. Väkivaltakäyttäytymistä edeltävissä tilanteissa ja toiminnoissa korostui yleisimmin yllätys-, siirtymis- ja odottamistilanteet. Väkivaltaa edeltävät vuorovaikutustilanteet olivat pääosin henkilökunnan johtamia käskynantotilanteita. Näissä tilanteissa oppilasta ohjattiin vaatimuksilla tai kielloilla. Fyysiseen väkivaltatilanteeseen puuttumiseen käytetyistä välittömistä interventiomenetelmistä yleisin oli fyysinen ohjaaminen. Tällä ohjausmuodoilla oli heikoin oppilaan rauhoittumista edistävä vaikutus. Parhaimmat intervention vaikutukset saatiin huomiotta jättämisellä tai huomion siirtämisellä muualle. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys perustui pääosin Kauffmanin sosiaalis-kognitiiviseen väkivaltateoriaan ja Schoplerin autistien häiriökäyttäytymistä kuvaavaan malliin. Kokonaisotos autismiluokan oppilaista antoi hyvän kuvan koko Suomen autismiluokilla esiintyvästä fyysisen väkivallan ilmiöstä. Tutkimuksen käytäntöön sovellettavuus liittyy autistien opetuksen kehittämiseen, fyysisen väkivaltakäyttäytymisen ennaltaehkäisyn suunnittelutyössä ja opetushenkilökunnan väkivallan kohtaamisen tukemiseen

Objective The reduction of physical activity and simultaneous increase in screen time has been a source for concern in recent years. The significance of schools for increasing physical activity has grown and previous research has demonstrated a positive link between physical activity, cognitive behaviour and learning. The link between screen time and cognitive behaviour has also been researched and the results are partially contradictory. This study focuses on the connection between attention and self-assessed physical activity and screen time. It also explores the significance of an acute, coordination developing physical activity session in relation to attentiveness Methods The study was carried out as quantitative research including a questionnaire and an intervention study. The questionnaire was a self-assessment filled out by 78 pupils of 3rd and 4th grade examining levels of physical activity and screen time. The intervention study was made up by 30 children in the experimental, physically active, group and 30 children in the control, physical passive, group. The study examined the connection between self-assessed physical activity and screen time with the success in an ACT attention test and the potential influence physical intervention might have in a repeat test. Outcome and conclusions The results of this study supported previous research findings on physical activity on children and adolescence; some children are very active whilst others lack physical activity almost entirely. Most of the children and adolescence also went over the maximum recommended daily screen time limit of 2 hours, both during the week and at weekends. There was no link between overall physical activity and total screen time in relation to the success of the attention test. In the intervention part of the study, there was no noticeable difference in the results of the attention test between the experiential and control groups. Previous research material on the links between physical activity and screen time on attention is partially conflicting so further research is recommended. It has however been established, that physical activity during lessons does not lower academic results, meaning that they can be used to increase overall physical activity of individuals even if the link to cognitive behavior has not been confirmed.