Browsing by Author "Juusola, Sirpa"

Faculty: Educational Sciences Degree programme: Master’s Programme in Education Study track: Special Education Author: Sirpa Juusola Title: Study skills at a university of applied sciences Level: Master’s thesis Month and year: April 2023 Number of pages: 80 + 13 Keywords: study skills, study ability, need for support, learning difficulty Supervisor or supervisors: Lotta Uusitalo, Henri Pesonen Where deposited: Abstract: Objectives. This thesis had three main objectives: to find out how students at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences evaluate their own study skills in different areas, to compare study skills between different groups and to get information about students' wishes regarding the development of study skills. The study ability model developed by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health was used as the theoretical basis in the thesis. Methods. The research material was collected with a Webropol survey aimed at students in Oc-tober 2022. 758 students responded to the survey. The survey was compiled using existing in-struments for measuring study skills. The questionnaire consisted of seven background infor-mation questions and ten sections which included statements that were answered using a five-point Likert scale. An open question was used to gather information about the students' wishes related to support needed for developing study skills. The collected data was mainly quantita-tive, and it was analysed using the SPSS program. Results and conclusions. Of the ten sections measuring study skills, Study Orientation and Motivation received the highest rating, and the lowest rating was in the section Reading. There were statistically significant differences between the groups divided according to the back-ground variables. For example, the average scores of those with a higher education back-ground were higher in many sections compared to those coming from upper secondary level education. Also, the students being over 30 years old, had higher average scores compared to younger ones. There were no statistically significant differences between the fields of study. According to the survey, 26.4% of the respondents had learning difficulties. Almost 30% of the respondents hoped to receive support for developing study skills, such as support for devel-oping learning methods and techniques, scheduling, and basic reading and writing skills. Also, more personal guidance was hoped for. The results of the research can be used in the devel-opment of guidance services at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences as well as in the planning and organization of various activities that support students’ study skills.