Browsing by Subject "punonta"

The purpose of the study was to investigate how experience in recreational crafts aids students in their work on a course for a new craft technique, i.e. basketry. The idea emerged from my own reflections as a basketry instructor. On the courses, some students work adeptly and produce skilful basketry despite being involved in basketry for the first time. The hypothesis was that previous involvement in recreational crafts yields a positive influence on learning a new craft technique. The study population included two groups enrolled at an adult education centre, one of which comprised craft enthusiasts participating on a basketry course taught by me. Eleven adult women enrolled in the course. The second group constituted the control group and was collected from among willing students participating in courses not related to crafts at the adult education centre. Ten adult women signed up for the control group, 9 of whom completed the entire course and one dropped out before the final basketry technique. The research question was: In what way is prior involvement in recreational crafts evident in learning a new skill? An answer to this question was sought by observing video recordings of the courses. To support the observations, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding their educational background and hobbies as well as their thoughts and opinions about basketry after the course. The material was analysed by means of content analysis, categorising the observations according to the main themes of skill learning, transfer of learning, and expertise. An extensive involvement in recreational crafts had a positive effect on learning basketry skills. The crafts enthusiasts who had experience and skills in several fields of handicrafts performed the best in all categories. The crafts enthusiasts with experience in a narrow field of crafts did not perform as well, with the exception of two young, highly educated participants. Out of the crafts novices, a few did well and exhibited a particular reflective ability and active learning. During the short course, those with previous experience in recreational crafts were no doubt aided by familiar practices, i.e. the context of crafts, resulting in a swift immersion in the work. The novices had a slower start, but the differences evened out towards the end. In conclusion, an extensive and in-depth experience in crafts is helpful in working with a new craft technique. On the other hand, adult students have accumulated a multitude of knowledge and skills over the course of their lives, which can be useful when facing new challenges, but such factors were difficult to visualise in the present study.