Browsing by Subject "Yhteenkuuluvuuden tunne"

Objectives: The purpose of this research work is to study the experiences of classroom teachers regard- ing the importance of a sense of belonging, how it is structured and the factors that weaken the sense of belonging. In addition, the purpose of this research work was to find out what classroom teachers felt about their own role in building a sense of belonging. Previous studies have shown that a sense of belonging plays a key role in both well-being and learning. According to previous studies adults play a key role in building a sense of belonging. Methods: The answers to the research questions were sought through the interviewing of seven class- room teachers. The individual interviews were conducted as a semi-structured thematic interview. Transcribed interviews were used as the research material. In this master’s thesis, the sense of belong- ing as a phenomenon experienced by teachers was described through case studies. Results and Conclusions: This research work found that an adult plays a key role in building a sense of belonging. The classroom teachers felt that a sense of belonging is an important part of a student’s well-being and their learning process. The teachers built a sense of belonging in the class through games, playing and doing things together. The active role of the adult seemed to support a sense of belonging in the classroom. It emerged from the research work that there were only a few factors, which weakened the sense of belonging, the main one being abnormal behavior from the peer group