Browsing by Subject "geneeriset taidot"

Objectives. The objective of this study was to find out from Helsinki university's master graduates about their experiences on generic skills, approaches to learning and the similarities of those two. The study sought to answer three questions: 1. What kinds of generic skills students feel they learned during their university studies? 2. What kinds of approaches to learning can be found from the graduates' studying descriptions? 3. What kinds of similarities are there in generic skills and approaches to learning? Similarities have only been studied in quantitative researches so there is a need for qualitative analysis. Methods. The data is a part of a dissertation research of Tarja Tuononen (University of Helsinki) and it was collected in the spring of 2013. The data consist of 10 interviews from students who have already graduated. All the interviewees worked while studying and most of them studied in generalistic fields. First two research questions were conducted with theory-bound content analyses. Top categories were created based on theory because full detachment from previous knowledge would have been difficult. The third research question was conducted on the basis of the results from two previous research questions. Results and conclusions. From the students' descriptions of generic skills, six top categories were separated. Some of those skills were divided into subcategories. Top category skills were knowledge processing, reflection, organization skills, thinking skills, argumentation and social skills. Some of the students felt like they had not learnt any generic skills when asked directly but as the interview progressed, some generic skills appeared. In the second face of the research, students' descriptions of approaches to learning were studied. Three top categories were created based on previous theory: deep approach, surface approach and organized studying. Especially deep approach and organized studying were visible in the interviews and descriptions of surface approach appeared in a few interviews. When examining the similarities between generic skills and approaches to learning especially deep approach and organized studying included similarities. Surface approach had little similarities with generic skills. It can be said based on this research that for example organization skill is nearly identical with organized studying, when examining students' descriptions on both dimensions. Additionally, the descriptions of thinking skills and the descriptions of deep approach included many similarities. Social skills and argumentation from the generic skills did not contain similarities with approaches to learning in this study. It can be said on the basis of the analyses that generic skills and approaches to learning have some similarities but this topic needs to be further researched qualitatively underlining individual profiles.

Objectives: Rapid and continuing changes in working life puts great pressure on universities to ensure that their students be provided with the tools and capabilities needed for encountering the growing challenges in the field of work. Today, generic skills are considered increasingly important in order to succeed in working life. According to previous studies, generic skills as well as self-regulatory skills play an important role in learning overall. The aim of this present study is to investigate the Faculty of Arts students' experiences of how university studies have supported them in the development of generic skills and self-regulatory skills. The study will also examine various of background variables (age, gender, previous studies, stage of the current studies, employment) for connection to the skills. In addition, the study examines a possible connection for self-regulation skills and development of generic skills. Methods: The research was quantitative and a questionnaire was used to investigate the skills of both Bachelor's and Master's degree students. In total there were 245 participants from the Faculty of Arts. T-tests and One-way ANOVAs were conducted to explore the possible connection between background variables and development of generic skills and self-regulatory skills. Regression analysis was carried out to investigate the connection between self-regulation skills, previous studies and the development of generic skills. Results and conclusions: The results imply that students' generic skills are developed during their studies. Previous studies and the stage of current studies were connected for the development of generic skills. Master's students experienced their skills more advanced than Bachelor's students. Students also assessed their self-regulation skills relatively high. Previous studies and self- regulation skills were connected with the development of generic skills, but the connection must be explored further in future studies.

Goals. Generic skills are skills that are needed in every field of study and occupation. The term generic skills has been used widely especially during the past few decades because of the rapid change in society and working life. Thus, skills mentioned above are also important study skills that every student needs during the higher education studies. The aim of this study was to find out what kind of text-related generic skills first year class teacher students have. Methods. The data used in the study was gathered as a part of the Learning Generic Skills during University Teaching and Learning research project (Hyytinen, Toom & Lindblom-Ylänne 2012). Generic skills were studied using the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) that is a standardized testing instrument designed to test critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communicational skills. The data consisted of 45 CLA answers written by the first year class teacher students in University of Helsinki, and it was gathered in Fall 2013. In order to examine students' writing skills in a more specific way, the answers that got the highest and the lowest scores in the CLA analysis were studied using Rich feature analysis. Results & Conclusions. The study showed that the generic skills among the first year class teacher students were mediocre: the amount of the answers with low or average CLA scores were high, whereas answers with high scores were rarely found in the data. The most significant problems were found in the synthetisation of given information, but also the skills of argumentation were generally poor. The rich feature analysis showed that uses of conjunctions and different theme structures varied between the answers with high and low CLA scores, and that these had impact on the logic and the coherence of the texts. There were also differences between the two studied groups regarding to the dialogic occurring in the texts. In the answers with high CLA scores the elements of dialogic (reporting clause, summary and interpretation) could always be pointed out; in the answers with low CLA scores the dialogic was not always clear and the elements of dialogic could not always be distinguished.

The purpose of this study was to examine how students perceive their employability and generic skills at the time of graduation. In addition to students' perceptions, aim was to find out how individual factors explain the development of employability and generic skills. Therefore a theory-based analysis model was formed based on prior research (Yorke 2006; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson & Lenz, 2004). Structuring the model was conducted with the objective of understanding the different dimensions that affect individual employability: self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation skills, strategic competence and motivational factors. The data consisted of twenty interviews of graduates from University of Helsinki. The study utilized both inductive and deductive methods processing the qualitative data. Inductive content analysis was used to explore the subjective experiences related to employability and generic skills. Deductive analysis was done to help understand the variations between the graduates via using the theory-based model and to explain how the individual factors affect the development of employability and generic skills. From the standpoint of transition phase between university education and working life, the results consisted of five student profiles: academic oriented, work-life oriented, self-developers, difficulties faced during the transition phase and major difficulties faced during the transition phase. Results emphasize the role of self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation skills, future goals and the ability to find utility value in the development of individual employability. The study offers a broad and reciprocal way of understanding the link between the phenomena of employability and generic skills. In conclusion, universities should focus on improving internship and job opportunities for students. Therefore, it is important to offer career guidance and to promote skills needed for future working life. The development of individual self-efficacy beliefs and self-regulation skills should also be supported.