Browsing by Subject "well-being"

This master’s thesis includes two sections: the present summarizing report and the article manuscript. The purpose of the study is to explore the benefits of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based intervention course to university students’ well-being, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The COVID-19 pandemic has decreased university students’ well-being and increased their risk of burnout. The declined state of student well-being calls for measures in exploring ways of promoting student well-being and preventing study-related burnout. The intervention course aimed to increase students’ psychological flexibility and organized studying skills, as means to positively impact their well-being and studying. A total of 189 participated in the study in the spring of 2021. Students’ risk of burnout was measured pre- and post-intervention, to statistically define whether students experienced that the course impacted their risk of burnout. To explore the course benefits in depth, students’ written reflective reports post-intervention were analyzed using abductive content analysis. The results were statistically compared according to the risk of burnout group assigned pre-intervention. The results showed that the intervention course led to a positive change in students' risk of burnout. The content analysis revealed seven main categories of benefits of the course: 1. improved general well-being, 2. improved self-knowledge, 3. increased psychological flexibility, 4. improved study practices and study motivation, 5. increased self-compassion, 6. gained peer-support, and 7. improved organized studying. These benefits were experienced by students regardless of their initial risk of burnout. The study highlights the potential of ACT-based intervention courses in improving the well-being and studying skills of university students, suggesting a need for further research on burnout prevention through such measures. The prospective publication channel for the research article manuscript is Research in Higher Education by Springer.

In today's society it is desirable to be successful and continuously progressive. At the same time it is seen important to focus on one's well-being and seeking optimal experiences. In studying, the interaction between motivation and well-being as well as the importance of positive learning experiences is an actual entirety. Taking students conceptions of learning and knowledge into account brings in a richer perspective that has been less frequently studied. Conceptions of learning and knowledge, otherwise epistemologies, are crucial in governing student's ways of interpreting and evaluating information, as well as their view on the learning process. An important recent insight on the field of educational research is the growing idea that motivational, emotional and cognitive dimensions are not only intrinsically significant, but also in intense interaction with each other and with the learning environment. The aim of this study was to investigate what kinds of motivational factors and problems in well-being do novice students experience in their studies, and also what their epistemologies are like. The approach was person-oriented. Motivational factors were: experienced challenge and competence, thinking strategies and attributions, and study engagement. Problems in well-being were measured through emotional dimension (stress, exhaustion) on the one hand, and through motivational dimension (lack of interest, task avoidance) on the other. Epistemologies measured in this study were: collaborative knowledge building, reflective learning, metacognition, certainty of knowledge and practical value. The data (n=785) were collected in spring and autumn 2012 by using a questionnaire developed by RYM Indoor Environment project. The participants were first and second year students from Aalto university of Technology and four departments in University of Helsinki: Department of Teacher education, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Theology, and Faculty of Law. K-means cluster analysis was used for clustering students into homogenous groups that presented their experienced motivational factors. To see whether the groups differed in terms of problems in well-being or epistemologies, Oneway analysis of variance was conducted. Also potential differences in certain background variables were investigated by using crosstabs (gender, study discipline) and Kruskal-Wallis test (age). Three studying profiles were identified: 1) pessimistic, 2) bored, 3) engaged. Pessimistic students reported the lowest study engagement, optimism and competence and the highest task avoidance and problems in well-being. They valued certain knowledge the most. Bored students experienced the lowest challenge, quite low study engagement and moderate optimism, competence and lack of interest. They reported the lowest practical value of knowledge. Engaged students had the highest study engagement, optimism and competence, lowest task avoidance and the least problems in well-being. They valued collaborative knowledge building, reflective learning and metacognition the most. There were not found gender differences between the studying profiles. Instead, it turned out that pessimistic students were the youngest. When comparing different study disciplines, the results indicated that in the Department of Teacher education, as well as in the Faculties of Law and Theology, the largest section of participants was identified as engaged students. Among participants from Aalto university and the Department of Chemistry, the largest section was identified as pessimistic students. This study demonstrates the idea of the dynamic interplay between motivational, emotional and cognitive dimensions in studying. In conclusion, students personal motivational factors, well-being and epistemologies form unique entireties. It can be deduced on the basis of earlier research, that these entireties are of utmost importance regarding studying and can be either worthwhile or detrimental to it. In the future, more proof is needed about the concrete relations and potential effects on study success, for example, as supporting successful studying and graduating on schedule are topical politico-educational subjects in Finland. Also little is known about the relations between well-being and epistemologies. The results of this study could be utilized in developing and designing higher education.

Previous studies indicate that positive learning experiences are related to academic achievement as well as to well-being. On the other hand, emotional and motivational problems in studying may pose a risk for both academic achievement and well-being. Thus, emotions and motivation have an increasing role in explaining university students learning and studying. The relations between emotions, motivation, study success and well-being have been less frequently studied. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of academic emotions, motivational factors and problems in studying students experienced five days before an exam of an activating lecture course, and the relations among these factors as well as their relation to self-study time and study success. Furthermore, the effect of all these factors on well-being, flow experience and academic achievement was examined. The term academic emotion was defined as emotion experienced in academic settings and related to studying. In the present study the theoretical background to motivational factors was based on thinking strategies and attributions, flow experience and task value. Problems in studying were measured in terms of exhaustion, anxiety, stress, lack of interest, lack of self-regulation and procrastination. The data were collected in December 2009 in an activating educational psychology lecture course by using a questionnaire. The participants (n=107) were class and kindergarten teacher students from the University of Helsinki. Most of them were first year students. The course grades were also gathered. Correlations and stepwise regression analysis were carried out to find out the factors that were related to or explained study success. The clusters that presented students' problems in studying as well as thinking strategies and attributions, were found through hierarchical cluster analysis. K-means cluster analysis was used to form the final groups. One-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test and crosstabs were conducted to see whether the students in different clusters varied in terms of study success, academic emotions, task value, flow, and background variables. The results indicated that academic emotions measured five days before the exam explained about 30 % of the variance of the course grade; exhaustion and interest positively, and anxiety negatively. In addition, interest as well as the self-study time best explained study success on the course. The participants were classified into three clusters according to their problems in studying as well as their thinking strategies and attributions: 1) ill-being, 2) carefree, and 3) committed and optimistic students. Ill-being students reported most negative emotions, achieved the worst grades, experienced anxiety rather than flow and were also the youngest. Carefree students, on the other hand, expressed the least negative emotions and spent the least time on self-studying, and like committed students, experienced flow. In addition, committed students reported positive emotions the most often and achieved the best grades on the course. In the future, more in-depth understanding how and why especially young first year students experience their studying hard is needed, because early state of the studies is shown to predict later study success.

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract The aim of this thesis is to study high school students´ experiences with school dog activity, its effects on their well-being and burnout prevention. The focus of this study is the students' views of dog assisted pedagogy. The theoretical part of the thesis addresses both animal assisted and dog-assisted activity. The definition of well being and how it is emphasized in the national curriculum of Finnish high schools are also covered in this section. We end the theoretical part by defining the term burnout and why is it considered an essential part of this study. This study is a case study and the material used in this study was gathered from one high school. Via skype meeting, five high school students were interviewed about their experiences of school dog activity.The results were analyzed based on the theoretical frame of the study and also based on content oriented analysis. School dogs have a clear connection to students' well-being and their strengths during burnout. The school dog activity received positive feedback from all interviewed students. According to the interviewees, school dogs helped them cope with burnout. Burnout was said to include social, physical and mental aspects. The interviewed students told that school dogs gave them support when they found themselves on the verge of a burnout. Dogs had a calming effect on students during burnout and they also raised positive feelings among students. School dogs were seen as an essential part of students' well-being. Working with school dogs reduced anxiety and evoked feelings of pleasure. School dogs also helped the students meet new people and interact with each other. According to the students, dogs had a calming effect on them and they also reduced stress- and anxiety-related symptoms. School dogs were shown to have many beneficial roles. For example, dogs were seen as friends, listeners and also therapists. Having a school dog around during break was shown to evoke positive feelings in students. The attitudes towards school dog activity were also positive among students' families. The interviewed students saw many future opportunities for the school dog activity and gave a lot of ideas on how to expand it. All the students considered the school dog activity as a success in their school.

Targets. Lately more emphasis than ever before has been given to bringing forth and taking into account children’s perspective in matters that concern them. It is also purpose of this study to give the voice to children and shed light on their perspective. This study is a part of extensive early childhood education development and research project, Orientaatioprojekti, operated by Helsinki University (Department of Teacher Education), ten municipalities in Keski-Uusimaa area and Hämeenlinna. The research is related to the day care quality evaluation (spring 2012). The main interest of the study was to examine things and situations children told they found unpleasant in day care center, also in relation to child’s gender and age. To better understand the results, the narrations and the consistency of the answers as well as children’s general satisfaction towards the day care were also examined. Methods. The research participants were 573 children, ages ranging from 1 to 8. Parents collected the data by interviewing. Two closed and one open-ended questions were analysed in this research and those questions dealt with children’s general satisfaction in day care center and what do they found unpleasant there. Parents recorded the answers to the web form and the data was then transferred to Excel software. Answers of the closed questions were examined through basic descriptive statistics. The unpleasant things and situations in the open-ended question were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Additionally, the appearance of the answers was also analysed. Used methods there were mostly outlined by researcher herself but some features of discourse analyse were also utilized. Results and conclusions. Most of the children stated that they feel mainly comfortable in day care center. The children mentioned different types of unpleasant things and situations and those were explained in various ways. Above all the challenges in peer relationships were on children’s mind. The peer group pointed out significant but the interaction was not always trouble-free. It seems to be important for children to practice and develop their social skills. Besides of these answers many children found the nap time as a single daily routine to be unpleasant. The number of nap time mentions varied a lot between different sexes and ages. There were also some other differences between the answers of children of different sexes and ages. For example, relatively many of the youngest ones did not answer to the open question at all.

Objectives. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a large part of teaching in higher education institutions was transferred to distance learning, which affected the lives of students in many ways. The aim of this study was to examine what kind of challenges Finnish university students experienced in their studies during the Covid-19 pandemic and distance learning in the fall of 2020. The connections of the perceived challenges to gender and to the start date of studies were also examined. This study aimed to form a deeper understanding of what kind of demands the Covid-19 pandemic caused for university students. Based on the demands, it was discussed what kind of resources students would need to support their studies and well-being. In this study the study demands-resources model was used as theoretical framework. Methods. The research data was gathered as a part of the research of the educational psychology research unit of the Faculty of Education, University of Helsinki. The sample consisted of university students (N=1264) aged 18–58, of whom 81% were women. The measures of the study were based on an open question regarding the challenges experienced by students in their studies. The data was analyzed by classifying the challenges appearing in the answers using qualitative methods. The connections of the perceived challenges to gender and to the start date of studies were also examined using cross-tabulation. The significance of the observed differences was tested with the χ² test. Results and conclusions. Thirteen different categories of challenges were identified from the data, which described different physical, social, emotional and cognitive challenges experienced by the students. The most common challenges reported by students were related to high workload, time management and organizational skills, as well as lack of social interaction and loneliness. The results showed differences in the perceived challenges according to the start date of the studies. The results also suggested gender differences, but these differences were not statistically significant. Based on the results, students would need social support which the university could provide, for example by enabling social integration, especially at the beginning of studies. In addition, students would need support for developing time management and organizational skills, as well as physical support, for example in the form of providing facilities suitable for studying.