Browsing by study line "Class Teacher (in Swedish)"

Purpose. Effect of the method “Grej of the Day” (GOTD) and sustainability pedagogics about Agenda 2030 is analyzed. The purpose is to support teaching of facts about Agenda 2030, raise the pupils’ motivation for environmental education and improve their attitudes. This study aims to see if pupils get more knowledge and better environmental attitudes after GOTD- microlessons about goals in Agenda 2030. The pupils’ feelings after the GOTD were analyzed. A swedish study shows that teachers think that their pupils get more knowledge and better motivation when teaching SO-subjects (society subjects) with GOTD. Methods. 22 pupils in grades 5–6 participated in this study. This was an action research and the pupils had 4 microlessons about 4 goals (12–15) from Agenda 2030. After the two first lessons a school project was analyzed using content analysis to see if something should be improved. Knowledge and attitudes related to Agenda 2030 were studied with a survey before and after the intervention. The survey also had two open questions about feelings before and after a GOTD-microlesson. Questions about the knowledge were based on Grön Flagg- surveys and results are presented by percentages of right and wrong. The survey about attitudes included statements to take a stand on on a Likert-scale. Results were analyzed using SPSS and presented statistically. The open questions were analyzed using content analysis. Results and conclusions. Knowledge before the intervention was very good and all the pupils gave the right answer to 7 of the 24 questions both before and after the intervention. In some questions about Goal 12 Sustainable consumtion and production the pupils lacked some knowledge and the intervention improved their knowledge a little. Attitudes about the environmental goals in Agenda 2030 were good and only a little improvement could be detected after the intervention. The improvement was not statistically significant. Content analysis of the answers to the open questions show that GOTD creates inner motivation for learning. The method “Grej of the Day” appears to be useful as a complement while teaching environmental issues in elementary schools.

Objectives. The aim of this thesis is to examine how teaching methods and objectives for history education have changed according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014. I will identify differences and developments in the goals of history education as well as how teachers are expected to work with the subject according to the curricula. I will also research whether teacher guides encourage teachers to implement the type of teaching described in the curricula. Research Questions: 1. What skills are emphasized in the goals of history education for grades 3-6 according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014? 2. In what ways do the teaching methods in history education differ in the curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014? 3. How does the development of the curricula's perspective on skill-based teaching and goals appear in the national curricula for history education in grades 3-6 between the years 1994, 2004, and 2014 in the selected teacher guides? Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative content analysis with quantitative elements. The material consists of the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014, as well as six teacher guides for history textbooks published between 1999 and 2017. Documents from the Finnish National Agency for Education regarding curriculum reforms were also utilized. Results and Conclusions. Development in the goals and methods of history education could be observed for grades 3-6 according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014. The curriculum foundations have been specified to support pedagogical consistency in basic education. Although the number of goals has increased, there has not been much new content, rather previous goals have been elaborated and defined more precisely. Emphasis on source criticism and digital competence has increased in the curriculum foundations for basic education in 2014, reflecting societal development as a whole. Although textbooks and teacher guides don't have to follow the curriculum, the development of the curriculum is reflected in the teacher guides' perspective on skill-based teaching. It can be concluded that all the teacher guides included in the study followed to some extent the prevailing curriculum's perspective on skill-based teaching and goals.

Purpose. The law on equality between women and men forms the basis of the schools' gender equality work. The law also aims to prevent discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or expression. Previous research has shown that to conduct successful gender equality work it is not sufficient that teachers have a personal interest in gender equality since this often leads to temporary and random efforts and great confusion about how gen-der equality work should be done. The purpose of the study is to describe, analyze and interpret how gender is expressed in schools' gender equality plans, as both the Act on Gender Equality and the curriculum foundations can be considered to require a diverse gender perspective in all school activities. Methods. The survey was conducted as a critical discourse analysis by analyzing the gender equality plans of seven Finnish Swedish primary schools. As an analysis model, Fairclough's three-dimensional analysis model was used. Results and conclusions. The survey culminated in three gender discourses: the gender inequality discourse, the two-gender discourse and the discourse of fear. The texts showed a clear division between girls and boys and a lack of gender diversity. A fear of making mistakes in the work on gender equality also emerged. The survey shows that gender equality work focuses on girls and boys and that those who do not identify themselves as girls or boys remain invisible.

Purpose. There has been a rapid technological development in our society. New inventions have made many jobs easier, but in return there is a demand for educated personnel. This in turn puts higher demands on peoples literacy. In the Pisa surveys the Finnish pupils have shown a high level of reading literacy, but unfortunately the trend has been negative and the number of pupils with low levels of literacy have increased. This development can be observed especially among boys. In Pisa 2018 20% of the boys were weak readers with a literacy not sufficient for further studies. The same survey found a decline in attitudes towards reading and 63% of the boys replied that they read only if they have to. The goal of this thesis is to investigate if the same patterns can be found among pupils in a primary school. The study examines how often the pupils read for enjoyment on their spare time and what motivates their reading behaviour. Furthermore, the study will examine whether there are differences between boys and girls or between pupils at different grades. Methods. The study was conducted in the autumn of 2020 in a Finnish primary school. The data was collected with a survey. The pupils took part in the study during schooltime. The sample consisted of all the pupils from grades 3 to 6 in the investigated school (N=236). The study received 157 responses of which 156 were accepted and analysed. The material was analysed with the statistical program SPSS. Results and conclusions. The results of the study showed big differences in pupils reading behaviour already in the primary school. 79% of the pupils read regularly on their spare time, but 21% read more sporadically or not at all. The result also showed that the girls read more often on their spear time than the boys do. The pupils showed a strong self-efficacy and a positive attitude toward reading There was a tendency for a decline in intrinsic motivation and attitude among older pupils. In this study the reading behaviour could be explained by gender, intrinsic motivation, attitude, and the perception that you read only if you have to.

Today there are many class teachers who experience that their professions have changed and the pupils in the schools today have also changed. The heterogeneity in today’s classroom is big and class teachers need to have competence in many different areas to meet every pupil's needs, which leads to many class teachers feeling powerless to be able to meet every pupil’s needs. This leads to class teachers abandoning their profession or in the worst case they get a burnout, resulting in long term sick leave. In my opinion class teachers should get more support to fulfill their role of being a teacher in today’s school. The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about class teachers’ positive experiences and methods in the areas of inclusion, differentiation, and classroom management and what is included in a good collaboration between the class teacher and remedial teacher. The research questions were formulated as follows: 1. What are class teachers’ thoughts about the development of the school, the need for knowledge regarding special education and the development of the increased heterogeneity in the classroom? 2. What are the class teachers' own thoughts and experiences of functioning methods in the areas of inclusion, differentiation, and classroom management? 3. How has the class teachers obtained their knowledge about methods and solutions that the teacher uses in their own classroom? 4. Which form of collaboration and support from the remedial teacher does a class teacher think is valuable? This thesis was conducted as a qualitative study, and the data was collected with semi-structured interviews. Seven class teachers were interviewed. Content analysis with a deductive approach was used to analyze the answers from the interviews. The result shows that the class teachers have a very positive approach to the areas of inclusion, differentiation, and classroom management. It is shown that support from the colleagues and allocation of resources are very important for the class teachers to be able to do the practical work in these areas and for the constructing of a functioning collaboration with the remedial teacher. Functioning methods in differentiation are to redo assignments, cut short or extend homework, flexible grouping, and to do assignments in different levels. Functioning methods in classroom management are rules and boundaries, self-reflection - who am I as a teacher, building safety and to see all pupils. The most common way to get knowledge of inclusion and differentiation is experience and in-service training. The most common way for the teachers to obtain knowledge about classroom management was that it is a part of their nature and it is one of their foremost interests but also through discussions with colleagues. For the collaboration between the class teacher and remedial teacher to be good, the class teacher needs to utilize the expertise that the remedial teacher has to offer, have good communication with the remedial teacher and aim to co-teach.

The purpose of this study was to study primary school teacher´s experiences about using positive pedagogy. Positive pedagogy is a relatively new pedagogical method that according to previous studies has a positive effect on pupils.There has also been written about primary school teacher´s experiences about the method and found that there are both positive effects and challenges. It was important to study primary school teacher´s experiences about using positive pedagogy to be able to create a deeper understanding of how the method works and how one could support primary school teacher´s in using the method. There were 15 participants in this study. The participants were primary school teachers who use or have used positive pedagogy within the last five years. The study was conducted using an electronic survey with open answers. The data analysis method used was thematic analysis. The study shows that primary school teacher´s define positive pedagogy in a way that is partly different from how the literature defines the method. The teacher´s don´t mention resilience when writing about positive pedagogy and they feel that one of the challenges with using positive pedagogy is a negative spiral, which was not mentioned in the literature. The study also shows that primary school teachers experience many positive effects from using positive pedagogy. The teachers experienced that the atmosphere in the class was better and that the students displayed less challenging behavior. The primary school teachers also rapport that there are challenges with using positive pedagogy, for example a lack of resources and negative attitudes.

There’s a discrepancy between what class teacher students learn during their educational programs and the reality they face in the classroom. Oftentimes class teachers are not prepared for the complexity of the classroom. This corresponds with the difference between theory and practice. Hardly any theory can be applied directly. Here, reflection can form a bridge between the contends of the education program and the real-life teacher practice. In this study I have examined how simulation as a method supports pre-service teachers' reflections, and more specifically what kind of reflections simulation induces in them. The methods I have used are threefold: observation, stimulated recall and interviewing. The study was structured in such a way that it corresponds reflection-in-action, reflection-on-action and reflection-for-action. I observed and recorded students when they were engaging in a simulation, afterwards we discussed the reflections the simulation brought about, and lastly, I interviewed them about the implications of carrying out the simulation for the future. The study showed that simulation induces refection on a technical, practical as well as critical level. On all three levels the number of themes was about the same. When comparing the different forms of reflection, one could say that simulation induced certain themes, and that these themes were discussed in more depth during the discussion afterwards. In the light of the results, simulation would be a useful addition to internships for students to develop reflective skills in teacher education.

One of the fundamental principles of the Finnish basic education is promoting equality and preventing inequality on different levels. This means that every school is obliged to ensure equal access to education for all students, but also to foster a so-called equity education and support the students into becoming good human beings, that strive for equality and positive change themselves. Deduced from theory and previous research, this study assumed that the teacher’s approach to diversity as well as the school’s equity task affects the prerequisites to foster equity education. The aim of this study is thus to gain insight into Finnish teachers’ perceptions of both the ideal and practical aspects of the equity work in primary school, as well as how the approach to diversity relates to this. The empirical research that was conducted to meet this aim was based on the following research questions: 1) How is the diversity-category constructed in teacher-discourses? 2) How are prerequisites for equity in primary school created in teacher-discourses? The empirical part of the study relied on a discourse analytical research design, and the data was gathered through qualitative interviews with five teachers in total from three different schools. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to discourse analytical principles using Fairclough’s three-dimensional model for analysis on three levels: text, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice. The results showed that the teachers had varying perceptions of diversity as well as what the school’s equity task really entails. Some understood diversity as a concept entailing all students, while others understood it as something deviant and non-Finnish. The perception of diversity also had implications for the equity work; the previously mentioned understanding of diversity as non-Finnish positioned Finnishness as the direct opposite of the diversity-category, and subsequently Finnishness was considered both the norm and the base for equality. Said understanding, as well as a lack of knowledge and critical perspectives, subsequently weakened teachers’ prerequisites for equity education. In conclusion, the results show that comprehensive and relevant education for all teachers in the field would be beneficial.

Purpose. Singing was prohibited in some Finnish schools during 2020–2021 as an act to reduce the spread of covid-19. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how teachers experienced this singing prohibition and how it affected their teaching. The aim was to describe what music education in schools looked like when singing was absent. Previous studies indicate that singing is an effective tool for creating feelings of belonging and for processing one’s feelings. In addition, singing has traditionally been very important in the Finnish schools. The thesis also describes the importance of singing in today’s school music pedagogy by exploring a period when singing was prohibited. Methods. The study was conducted with qualitative methods and a phenomenographic framework. Data was gathered during the spring of 2022 through individual interviews with class teachers and music teachers (N = 7). The interviews were thematical and semi structured. A phenomenographic method was used for data analysis. Results and conclusions. Teachers found that singing is an adequate tool for practicing social and emotional skills, for identity development, and for mediating a cultural inheritance. Singing was considered a given part of different celebrations in school. Singing also seemed to be an important starting point for teachers when working with new material in music classes. The singing prohibition aggravated educational planning and was also viewed as an illogical decision for school context. The content of music classes consisted mainly of playing instruments during the singing prohibition, while celebrations did not take place at all. It also proved to be challenging for many teachers to get students excited about singing again once the singing prohibition was terminated. A continuity of singing would be needed, especially in the teenage years, since the individual’s relationship to singing seems to suffer from a longer break.

This master's thesis examines how classroom teachers experience working with creative methods in music education. The quality of Finnish music education in primary school is on a shaky foundation. This may be partly due to the fact that classroom teachers are required to teach from grades 1-3, and in many schools there is no subject teacher in the higher grades, which means that the responsibility falls on the classroom teachers also in grades 4-6. A lack of sufficient knowledge results in teachers not being able to meet the objectives of the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of classroom teachers when working with creative methods. With this study, I wanted to highlight the challenges that arise when classroom teachers work with improvisation and composition in music education. Previous research shows that a large part of class teachers in primary school do not feel that they have sufficient knowledge in music to teach improvisation and composition and also shows that they do not feel comfortable teaching music as a whole. The purpose of the study is to highlight possible needs for development in classroom teacher education and to show how support in the form of concrete teaching materials and tasks can help teachers to fulfill the curriculum goals. The study was carried out in collaboration with the BRAVO! project, which provides classroom teachers with music education material as well as training, support and a community of participants in the project. While testing the materials, I observed and interviewed two classroom teachers who participated in the project. The material was collected in the form of two semi-structured interviews with the teachers and a total of 15 observation sessions where the teachers and the BRAVO! coordinator tested the material. The interviews and observations were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results of the study show that resources in terms of space and access to instruments have a great impact on how the teacher can actualize the teaching. Old school buildings with hard building materials and high ceilings contribute to a teaching environment that forces the teacher to focus a lot on maintaining order and peace during the lesson, this leads to the teacher not being able to focus on the actual teaching. This can also lead to negative health effects for both the teacher and the students. The teaching material offered by BRAVO! was positively received by the teachers and was perceived to fill a gap regarding the lack of teaching materials in music education. The teachers appreciated new working methods and new tips for teaching. The teachers in the study did not find it challenging to use improvisation or composition in their teaching. However, this may be due to the fact that both teachers had a strong foundation in music.