Browsing by study line "Ämneslärare i biologi"

Study-related burnout is a growing problem among university students. Study-related burnout is defined by exhaustion related to studying, a cynical attitude towards studying and feelings of inadequacy. Burnout can be caused by an overtaxing workload and by a lack of personal, social, or material resources. Stress is a natural part of life, but chronic stress can lead to illness and burnout. Students experience stress in their studies and interventions aiming to reduce stress and prevent burnout are therefore necessary. Psychological flexibility increases wellbeing and prevents burnout and is also related to enhanced learning. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is focused on improving psychological flexibility. Good study skills can also prevent burnout. The aim of this study was to examine university students’ experiences of an online ACT-based intervention that aims to increase psychological flexibility and enhance wellbeing and learning. The aim was also to compare the experiences of two groups of students based on their change in study-related burnout during the course. The participants wrote reflective diaries that were qualitatively analyzed using inductive category development and categories that describe students’ experiences of the intervention were formed. The result of this study shows that students had benefited from the course and described effects on both wellbeing and learning. Students in both study groups experienced effects on wellbeing and learning. The importance of peer-support during studying was discussed, which highlights the need for support from peers who experience similar difficulties and concerns. There were also mentions of negative experiences which the students gave as explanations to why a part of the course had not been effective in enhancing their wellbeing and learning. These categories were more often discussed by students whose risk for burnout had increased during the course. Several categories under the themes of positive experiences of effects on wellbeing and learning were more often discussed by students whose risk for burnout had decreased during the course. The result of this study shows that the ACT-based intervention can be regarded as effective in improving wellbeing and studying, and experiences of the intervention were in general positive. Integration of similar interventions in study programs would be beneficial.

Education for sustainability has come to be seen as an important part of achieving the sustainability goals, also in universities. However, the challenge for sustainability education is that sustainability is an ever-changing and highly complex concept. One theoretical approach for studying the learning of such complex concepts and phenomena is the conceptual change research tradition. The theory of conceptual change stems from the constructivist approach to learning, according to which learning takes place by modifying and completing existing knowledge structures. Sometimes these prior knowledge structures of the learner conflict with scientific knowledge, and in order to reach a new understanding, the learner has to change and reorganize their existing conceptions. With a new conception comes a whole new way of understanding a phenomenon, as related concepts take on new meanings. The process described above is called conceptual change. This thesis studied what kind of conceptions university students had about sustainability before the University of Helsinki's Sustainability Course (SUST-001, 3 cr) in autumn 2021, and how these conceptions had changed after the course. In addition, we investigated whether there were differences between students in human and natural science-oriented disciplines in the above-mentioned aspects. Conceptions were investigated using a baseline and endline measurement design. The study sample was students enrolled in a sustainability course at the University of Helsinki (N = 109). The data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on the results, the students' perceptions were quite narrow at the beginning of the course, although the responses showed that most students came to the course with some prior knowledge of sustainability. In addition, three narrow conceptions similar to misconceptions of the conceptual change were identified from the initial survey: ecology-limited, anthropocentric and weak sustainability conceptions. In the final measurement, students' perceptions of sustainability improved and, in particular, students' understanding of the different dimensions of sustainability, the interlinkages between them and the complex nature of sustainability in general increased. About half of the narrow conceptions also changed, although the anthropocentric conception was slightly more persistent. In the cross-disciplinary analysis, attention was drawn to the tendency of students in natural science-oriented disciplines to change their narrow view in comparison to students in human science-oriented disciplines. Based on the results, the Sustainability course can be seen as successful in teaching many of the key contents of the concept of sustainability. There were also indications of conceptual change. However, there is a need to further develop the course and to integrate sustainability more broadly into the different educational programs. Furthermore, it is very important to continue to study the success of this integration and of sustainability education also in the future.