Browsing by Subject "vahvuudet"
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(2017)Aims of this study. The purpose of this study was to describe eight-graders' future narratives in terms of both their qualitative contents and narrative construction. The theoretical framework focused on examining the concept of strength and its construction in narratives utilising the approaches of positive psychology, development psychology and narrative psychology. An integration model of strengths was constructed to support the examination. The aim of this study was to describe how the adolescents' future narratives were constructed and what kinds of qualitative factors and strengths these narratives contain. A further aim was to examine the qualitative similarities and differences between the narratives written in 1997 and 2015. By focusing on the concepts of strength, the adolescents' narratives were considered to provide additional knowledge to educational work. This approach was also perceived to provide possibilities for supporting adolescents in shaping their own paths and building positive future narratives. Methods. The research group consisted of adolescents in the eighth grade. The participants consisted of twelve boys and twelve girls in both 1997 and 2015. In total, the examined group comprised of 48 adolescents (N=48). The qualitative data consisted of written narratives from 1997 and 2015. The adolescents' narratives were analysed with the constructed qualitative frame of four phases. The qualitative data were categorized, organized into themes and worked through to depict different narrative forms and plots. The analysis was completed by examining similarities and differences in the narratives. The analysis applied was influenced by a hermeneutic approach and was supported by the theory section of this study. Results and conclusions. The following themes related to strength were identified: love, modesty, innovation, sociality, autonomy, functionality and trust. Additional themes that emerged from the contents included the proximity of the environment, globality, and personal negativity. The structural forms of the future narratives consisted of the following types: future-shaping, prospective, retrospective and archlike (connecting the present to the future) narratives. These forms of narratives manifested the adolescents' ability to reflect on the future. Furthermore, the different themes presented more detailed narrative types: successful, mundane, there is no good without bad, incoherent, and tragic storylines. When comparing years of 1997 and 2015 to each other, in 2015 adolescents' positivity had increased while the themes of the proximity of the environment and globality had decreased. In conclusion, this study provides support for dynamic nature of the concept of strength construction and the importance of its contextual factors.
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Vahvuudet esiin eskarissa? : tapaustutkimus lasten saamasta myönteisestä palautteesta esiopetuksessa (2017)Aim of the study. This study explored the positive feedback that is received by children in pre-school (6-7 years olds). As part of a group, children absorb attitudes and values that concern how to think, learn and interact with other people. Previous research has indicated that the positive feedback and praise that children receive shapes the way children see themselves. Research on positive psychology has stressed the importance of understanding how individual strengths should be seen as resources for learning and well-being. A case study was performed to deepen the understanding regarding the different types of positive feedback that children receive, which activities result in positive feedback and what strategies do adults use to give positive feedback to children. A main point of interest was the positive feedback that children receive regarding their strengths. Method. Data was gathered by recording videos of the interactions between children and working adults in a pre-school located in the Helsinki metropolitan area. In advance, every day activities where children and adults interact were selected to be recorded. The data consists of short video clips recorded during three days, altogether 2 hours and 55 minutes. After transcribing the videos, abductive analysis was used to recognize themes. Results and conclusions. The data could be categorized into two themes: 1) general positive feedback and 2) specific positive feedback, both varying in content and quality. Specific positive feedback appeared more versatile in function and practical than general feedback. The positive feedback that children received was mainly targeted at skills and personality, rather than to the processes of learning and doing. Children received positive feedback mostly as individuals, but still in public. Even though the concept of strength-based learning was familiar to the adults participating in the study, positive feedback on children's strengths was given only a few times. In order to use positive feedback purposefully, it is imperative to understand the qualitative differences between types of positive feedback and between means of giving feedback. Positive feedback should be specific: taking each child's needs, phase of development and linguistic readiness into account. It is also important to pay attention to nonverbal communication. To recognize and increase children's strengths, the pre-school staff would benefit from training and support.
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