Browsing by Subject "juridinen minäpystyvyys"

Primary school teachers are generally employed in a public service capacity. Central to this status is the concept of official responsibility, which refers to a broad accountability for potential mistakes. Primary school teachers require specific legal knowledge in their field to act legally correctly in their everyday work. In the worst case, a teacher might intentionally or unintentionally commit a crime. The purpose of this thesis is to find out how legal knowledge in their specific field has developed among currently serving primary school teachers. Furthermore, the thesis examines the level of legal knowledge among primary school teachers in relation to chapter seven of the Basic Education Act and self-efficacy from a legal perspective. This study was conducted using qualitative research methods. The data was quantified when presenting results. The final research material consisted of ten currently serving primary school teachers. The data was collected through interviews specifically designed for this thesis. Research permissions were obtained, and the interviews were conducted face-to-face. The data was analyzed using data-driven and theory-guided content analysis. According to the findings of this thesis, there are deficiencies in the legal knowledge of primary school teachers. The best performing teachers got eight out of twelve points, while the least successful managed only half of the questions correctly. The subjects cited several sources for the accumulation of legal knowledge in their field. Employers or supervisors were considered important from the perspective of ac- quiring new legal knowledge and understanding the need for it. About half of the participants felt their legal knowledge was sufficient. Interviewees described various reasons for the perceived detachment of laws from practice, although only three out of ten felt the laws were disconnected from practical application. In examining self-efficacy, a new concept was formed: legal self-efficacy. One teacher exhibited strong legal self-efficacy, while another had weak legal self-efficacy. The rest had legal self-efficacy that ranged between strong and weak. The results of this thesis could particularly benefit Finnish teacher education and employers, who play a key role in the accumulation and updating of legal knowledge.