Browsing by Author "Juvonen, Eveliina"

With the new Upper Secondary Schools Act that came into use in 2019, upper secondary schools have been obliged to offer special education from 2021 onwards. As a result, the number of special education teachers in upper secondary schools has also increased in recent years. There are hardly any previous studies on the well-being at work of upper secondary special education teachers in the Finnish context. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of high school special education teachers on well-being at work and their views on developing well-being at work. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of different factors on the well-being of high school special education teachers based on their own experiences. In addition, the aim was to obtain development suggestions to promote the well-being of special teachers in upper secondary schools. This study is a qualitative master’s thesis, in which five special education teachers in upper secondary schools, working in two different locations in Southern Finland, were interviewed. The data was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews and analyzed using content analysis. According to the results of the study, individual factors, job description and tasks, work community and leadership have a significant impact on the well-being of upper secondary school special education teachers. The work community and within it, especially the cooperation between special education teachers, was seen as the most important factor contributing to well-being at work. The job description and job duties, on the other hand, were seen as the most negative factors for well-being at work. The well-being of upper secondary special education teachers could be improved by increasing resources, aligning the job description of upper secondary special education teachers nationwide, and developing forms of cooperation and the upper secondary school system.