Skip to main content
Login | Suomeksi | På svenska | In English

Browsing by study line "Klasslärare"

Sort by: Order: Results:

  • Hägerfelth, Jon (2023)
    Background and goal. The aim of this study is to examine which technical challenges teachers in elementary school experience while using digital tools, aswell as how the challenges affect their work. Teachers’ experience with the education for using digital tools is also a focus for this study. Earlier research suggest that network-, storage- and login difficulties are usual in the classroom, while the administrative programmes are difficult to use. These challenges mainly affect the teachers timewise and are a cause for frustration. Studies also suggest that teachers aren´t always properly educated or knowleadgable with the use of digital tools. Methods. This study is of qualitative nature. I have interviewed six elemntary school teachers (year 1-6), from two different schools in southern Finland. The answers have been analyzed with thematical analysis. Results and conclusions. Teachers experience different kinds of technical challenges with digital tools. Network-, storage- and login difficulties were common challgenes. The teachers put more emphasis on the difficulty of using the different administrative programmes, and pointed to several issues with them. Waste of time and frsutration became apparent as two main outcomes of teachers experiencing technical challenges. Regarding teacher education, most of the teachers felt quite comfortable with the use of digital tools, but pointed out some weaknesses in their knowledge, i.e. the Smartboard was a digital tool many teachers felt a bit unfamiliar with. The teachers felt the need for more education. Support was a theme that came up in many oft he interviews, where the teachers pointed out that the supporting network for technical difficulties is a bit lacking. First and foremost it isn´t easy to know who to contact with which problems, which led to the collegial support being the first choice. My study show that teachers still experience different kinds of technical challenges with digital tools. Some of my results confirm earlier studies, which show that things haven´t necessarily improved or changed, while teachers feel the need for a change in the administrative side of the work. Teacher educationwise there is a need for more availible eduaction and courses, that offer learning on different knowledge levels, aswell as the support structures may need a closer look. The support structures may need renewing or changing to reliev the teacher´s work.
  • Kullström, Emilia (2023)
    Goal. The purpose of the thesis is to identify, analyze and describe the underlying impact of digitalisation on equality and inequality between students in elementary schools. In addition, the relationship between democracy, participation and digitalisation is researched. Previous studies have shown that there are differences in teachers' and students' digital competence, technological equipment, digitalisation between different cities/schools. Studies have also shown that students' digital equipment and socio-economic background affect students’ academic success. Digital competence is a central part of the curriculum and relevant in today's changing society, as are equality matters. The remote-studies during the covid-19 pandemic and the number of digital tools in everyday life have also increased the need for digital tools in teaching. Methods. The study is a qualitative interview study within the framework of the research project "Digital literacy in development", DigiLi. The project started in the year 2021 and the research process is still active in 2022. The material received includes interviews with teachers in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The study uses ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with teachers in grades 5–9. In the interviews the topic of discussion was distance learning and digi-talisation, with a focus on digital resources, changes in teaching content and student participa-tion, student (in)equality, language awareness and collegial work. The audio recordings and transcriptions were analyzed using content analysis. Results and conclusions. The teachers feel that students have access to different digital tools among themselves. The economic situation of families can for example lead to weak internet connection and digital tools. The teachers also gave varying answers to questions about partici-pation in the digital environment; digitalisation and the use of digital tools can both promote democracy and participation in education as well as hinder or suppress it. The conclusions are that students have access to different teaching methods with digital tools between them, which is due to differences in the teachers' digital competence, the school's/municipality's resources and the student's (socio)economic status. The digitalisation of teaching can thus expand the already existing inequalities in society.
  • Räike, Matias (2023)
    Aim. Children’s early social-emotional maturation plays an important role in their development. A report in Finland has shown that daycare centers need tools in everyday life to support children's socio-emotional development. Thus, the SAGA intervention was created by Kalland, Linnavalli & Von Koskull (2022). In the intervention, the staff at the day care center were trained in mentalization theory. Over the course of twelve weeks, the staff at the daycare engaged in regular shared storybook reading sessions with children aged 3–5. The aim of the discussions was to support the children in reflecting on mental states and to get them interested in their own and others’ inner world. In this thesis, the discussions between teachers and children during shared storybook were analyzed. The aim of the study was to describe, interpret and analyze the way the staff at day care centers discuss with the children about the inner world. Additionally, the study aimed to examine how these discussions function as a basis for the children's mentalization. One goal was also to analyze how the staff use questions to encourage children’s reflection on the inner world. Methods. The research material was gathered by videotaping moments of shared storybook reading. Thirteen different groups of children were filmed, with a total of seven adults and 57 children featured in the 13 video clips. The video footage has been transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. Results and conclusions. The results showed that most of the teachers discussed the storybooks with the children in a way that encouraged reflection on the inner world. These discussions served as a basis for the children's mentalization. The majority of discussions about inner mental states focused on identifying and naming emotions, with less reflection on thoughts, wishes or underlying reasons. There were some reflections that required a higher level of mentalization in the children. Self-reflection and reflection based on the characters' perspective were evenly distributed in the children's reflections. The teachers asked more open than closed-ended questions about the inner world. Some groups had little or no discussion about the inner world. This seemed to be because the teachers had not mastered the content of the education, failed to get the children to participate in the discussion, or that the theme of the storybook was more abstractly connected to the inner world.
  • Ruokonen, Maija (2021)
    The appearance ideals of today are very narrow and put excessive pressure on individuals to look a certain way. The ideals are seen as so unrealistic that most people cannot reach them. This has led to an increase in body dysmorphia to a degree where it nowadays is normal to be unsatisfied with one’s body. A negative body image can have several serious consequences, such as mental health problems, eating disorders and social and economic problems. Earlier studies have shown that problems with body image also affect children: the majority of children seem to be unsatisfied with their bodies, and many try to lose weight through unhealthy methods, such as skipping meals. Therefore, there is a big need in supporting children’s body image and researchers have highlighted schools as adequate places for this work. The aim of this study is to examine primary school teachers’ comprehensions about children’s body image, as well as their comprehensions about their possibilities to support their students’ body image in school. Six teachers, who at the time of the study were working in grades 1-6 in the primary school in Finland, participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were used, and data was analyzed by using thematic analysis that took place in the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. The teachers in this study considered body image as a highly important topic. The teachers seemed to understand what influences children’s body image and they could observe children’s body image in different situations, such as during school lunch and through paying attention to children’s behavior. They also had a strong will of supporting their students’ body image, but at the same time the teachers felt that the lack of knowledge, resources and guidelines made them feel uncomfortable with working with body image. The teachers disagreed on whether supporting children’s body image really was part of their work responsibilities, but despite of this, there was a consensus of the importance that teachers need to be good role models for their students and that teachers should work for a school where every child feels worthy and safe. Based on the results of this study, it can be said that body image needs to be more emphasized in future school curriculums and that teachers need more knowledge in body image and more tools to feel comfortable with teaching this topic. The results of this study can benefit further studies in body image and studies regarding the school’s role in the work with supporting children’s body image.
  • Vainio, Ella (2022)
    Aim. Earlier studies have shown that textbooks are a crucial tool in teaching. Some theories mean that textbooks create and reproduce a specific outlook on reality. The aim of this study was to review how social studies textbooks in comprehensiveschool in Finland written in Swedish represent different occupations and how workers, employees, employers and entrepreneurs are constructed. The goal was to present who is represented in the textbooks and what kind of a notion could be constructed of workers, employees, employers and entrepreneurs in the textbooks. The study is constructed to make visible underlying discourses in the working life that are presented in social studies textbooks, so that teachers are able to adequately discuss the topic of different roles inworking life. Methods.The study includes six (6) social studies textbooks written in Swedish from Finland. For grades 4 –6 it consisted of two publishers and two publishers for grades 7 –9.In grades 4 –6 there was two textbooks per publisher. The method was a combination of a quantitative survey and a critical discourse analysis.The quantitative survey portrayed which occupations occur in the textbooks.The critical discourse analysis examined how employees, workers, employers and entrepreneurs areconstructed in social studies textbooks. Results. Altogether there are 131 occupations in the data. In the social studies textbooks for grades 4 –6 the prevalent occupations represented there, where occupations students this age could recognize form their everyday lives. In grades 7–9 the occupationswhere much broader, comparing to grades 4 –6, were there was an emphasis on occupations in the judiciary and executive fields. Otherwise,both in grades 4 –6 and 7 –9 the entrepreneur was present in the data. The employer-discourse represented the employer as actor in working life that had to be restrained and had many obligations. The employer was often represented as an impersonal and occasionally also as discriminating. The worker, employee and the employer are very intertwined. The worker-discourse described the workers vast range of action in working life, through instructions and facts for the reader. The worker-discourse was also very prevalent with rights and obligations. The employee-discourse many times portrayed employees only as measurement entity to describe another phenomenon, like businesses. The employees are also described through the working life norms, but also trough rights and obligations. The entrepreneur-discourse described the entrepreneur with many nuances, where positive and negative aspects are shown. A lot of space was given to instructions and facts regarding being an entrepreneur. The conclusion is that the employers are presented as impersonal and in a somewhat negative light, whereworkers and employees are prepared for theworking life trough norms and rights. The entrepreneurs are presented as value-charged and contain vastdescriptions of the life of an entrepreneur.
  • Sandås, Annika (2023)
    Aim. Previous research shows that social media use has increased among young people. There are many benefits to social media but also serious risks such as cyberbullying, which can have crucial consequences. The benefits of social media include contacting friends and family, gaining information and entertainment. It is important that children create good relationships with their classmates and that the students have a great class spirit, as it increases well-being at school and prevents bullying. Research shows that around 40 percent of students have witnessed bullying online and ten percent have been exposed. The teacher has an important role in creating a good class spirit, which has been proven to reduce bullying and that the teacher can be a safe support for victims. It is also important that the teacher teaches the student net etiquette. Since social media has increased in use over the past ten years there is a need for new research. The aim of the master´s thesis is to analyse how students in year 6 communicate with each other on social media and how social media affects students’ friendships and class spirit. Methods. The data for this qualitative research was collected through interviews with 21 students. The students were in year six in a Swedish-language school in southern Finland. The interviews were semi-structured and were done on site in school. The audio from the interviews was taped and transcribed. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and the Atlas.ti program was used in the coding stage. Results and conclusions. The results show that all the students use social media in some form, but not all have permission from their parents to use more than one platform. Although no student confirmed that they are being excluded, some expressed that they sometimes feel outside of the community. The students said that no bullying had occurred in the past year. My conclusion is that the school has succeeded in building a strong class spirit and strong friendships. Even though cyberbullying cannot be completely monitored, the school has succeeded in preventing it. Based on the results, the school’s preventive work against bullying and how they create a good classroom spirit could be modeled in other schools, as it seems to work.
  • Mäkelä, Viola (2021)
    COVID-19 has had a large impact on education since schools around the world had to quickly move to distance learning. Consequently, this has possibly affected the equality of education. The main focus of this study is to find out how equality is constructed in Finnish teachers’ survey replies about their experiences during the state of emergency and to find out how these teachers in basic education have taken pupils from lower social classes into account according to their experiences when they have been distance teaching. This study was executed as a qualitative study. The research approach of this study was phenomenological. The study was conducted as a part of the project DISKO, digitalisation and distance education in Swedish-speaking school. The data collection was conducted through the E-lomake e-form. 17 teachers from basic education participated in the study from both Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking schools in Finland. The analysis in this study was conducted as a thematic analysis. The majority of teachers in basic education have experienced that schools have not been equal during the Corona spring of 2020. However, this study shows that there are teachers that have experienced this period as equal. The way distance education has been organised has varied between schools. Support measures have also not been organised according to guidelines. Living circumstances and digital equipment in relation to equality were also highlighted during this period. Teachers in basic education have taken pupils from lower social classes into account by lending computers and calling the pupils. Distance education has also been planned out so that pupils who do not get any support from their homes are able to do the exercises by themselves. However, it emerged that there were teachers and schools that had not taken pupils’ socioeconomic status into account. Results in this study indicate that education has not been equal for all children during the state of emergency in the spring of 2020 according to teachers’ experiences. The future holds, how severe the effects of COVID-19 have been on children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • Miettunen, Robert (2023)
    The purpose of the study was to provide an overview of the latest research findings on motivation and engagement and their impact on student learning in schools. These results are then reflected against the theory base that already exists in motivation research to provide insight into how these theories can be used by teachers in their everyday life at school. The study was conducted as a qualitative systematic literature review. The data search was carried out through two electronic databases (ERIC and SCOPUS). 483 articles were identified in the initial screening and were eventually reduced to 13 articles that were used in the study. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are discussed further in the thesis. The material was analyzed using a narrative review. The results of the study showed that motivation and engagement have a direct and joint impact on students' learning and performance at school. Students who felt motivated and engaged towards learning used several strategies that supported their learning. The study showed that the relationship between motivation, engagement and learning is complex. Several different internal and external motivational constructs play an important role in students' everyday school life and engagement with tasks. Based on the findings, teachers should pay more attention to creating classrooms and using practices that support, motivate and engage students in learning.
  • Bertell, Anna-Lena (2022)
    Tiedekunta - Fakultet - Faculty Educational Sciences Tekijä - Författare - Author Anna-Lena Bertell Työn nimi - Arbetets titel En kvalitativ studie kring klasslärares beskrivningar av öppen lärmiljö Title A qualitative study of class teachers`descriptions of open learning environment Oppiaine - Ämne - Subject Class teacher Työn laji/ Ohjaaja - Arbetets art/Handledare - Level/Instructor Master’s Thesis / Supervisor’s Name Aika - Datum - Month and year March 2022 Sivumäärä - Sidantal - Number of pages 48 pp. + 2 appendices Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Previous research has described that open learning environments have become increasingly common in schools. It is an open space with access to a smaller group room. Open learning environment should be able to be shielded using different types of acoustic walls, curtains or bellows because several student groups are taught there at the same time. The aim of an open learning environment has been to provide more flexibility in teaching as flexibility is required for student-centered learning. The role of the teacher has also changed in an open learning environment, the teacher should be more like a tutor and the students will have more freedom to choose and decide how and where they work. The open learning environment should be adapted so that students have the opportunity to work individually, in pairs or in groups. The study's material consisted of semi-structured interviews with class teachers who had experience of working in an open learning environment. The interviews were conducted in spring 2021. The research participants were ten (10) from three different schools from two different municipalities in southern Finland. The interviews were then analyzed using qualitative content analysis as a method. The research participants described the open learning environment according to their own experiences as to how the spaces looked and worked, what flexible furniture was used, and what opportunities and challenges there were in an open learning environment. Finally, the research participants also described some suggestions on how the open learning environment can be developed.
  • Lehto, Sonja (2022)
    Aim. The main purpose of this qualitative study is to learn about classroom teachers’ preventive work with mental health problems in students and what challenges come with it. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight the importance of preventing mental health problems in children at an early stage. About half of all cases of mental health problems begin before the age of 14, which justifies the importance of preventing mental health problems at an early stage. The purpose of the study is further motivated by the enormous shortage of school psychologists and curators both in Swedish-speaking schools and nationally. The study examines classroom teachers’ experiences of preventive work on mental health problems in students, because they spend a lot of time with their students and thus have the opportunity to make a difference. Previous research highlights that, among other things, creating various protecting factors can effectively prevent mental health problems. Methods. Materials for the study were collected through individual interviews and the entire study was based on a phenomenographic methodological approach. A total of six classroom teachers working in grades 1-6 were interviewed. To delimit the sample, classroom teachers working in Swedish-speaking schools were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to a phenomenographic methodological approach and based on the research questions. Results and conclusions. All classroom teachers experienced an increase in mental health problems among students during the years they worked as teachers. This is in line with research and confirms the importance of preventive work on mental health problems. The teachers who participated in the study worked mainly preventively by identifying risk factors and creating protective factors against mental health problems. The most common protective factors turned out to be to create safety in the school through routines and rules and to strengthen self-esteem and self-efficacy, for example through positive pedagogy. Two of the most important qualities of teachers were experiences as being responsive and consistent. The teachers felt that they had a responsibility to prevent mental health problems in students together with other adults in the students’ environment, but they did not feel that they have the primary responsibility. The teachers also experienced that the role of teachers has changed and contains more responsibility than before. The main challenges in preventing mental health problems were perceived to be lack of time and resources.
  • Sundvall, Emilia (2022)
    The digital communication between home and school has developed for a longer period besides the digitalization in our society. Studies have shown that the perception of digital communication related to school context varies and there is also an ongoing discussion about it in the media. The purpose of this study is to discover how caregivers experience the digital communication with the class teacher, and which tools are working well and not so well depending on different parts of the everyday school day. This study was executed as a qualitative study and the data was collected through an electronic form. The form was answered by 19 caregivers with children in grades 1-6 in basic education. The analysis in this study was conducted as a thematic analysis. Wilma and social media were used for digital communication between caregivers and class teachers. The digital communication tools were experienced as well functioning in informative occasions but not as well in situations that required a dialog. Lack of guidelines in the usage of digital communication tools were experienced to cause misunderstandings. Results in this study shows that awareness among caregivers and class teachers of how digital communication tools are used can conduct to a development of the digital communication to at best become an effective and smooth way to communicate. This benefits all partners. A well-reasoned usage of digital communication tools increases a feeling of participation and conducts to a feeling of welcomed in the school as a caregiver.
  • Bardy, Helena (2021)
    Aim: The purpose of the study was to create an image of the teachers' future vision for the school's activities and to outline an organizational culture that supports this activity. The research questions of the study were: 1. "How do teachers shape a future vision for the school?" and 2. "What kind of organizational culture do teachers experience as supporting for the school's future activities?" The research problem is formed by a time characterized by constant change, which places high demands on schools. The research provides a tool for and is part of a larger development process the school undergoes. Methods: The research was conducted as a case study of a specific school. The school had 15 teachers, nine of which participated in the research. The used data were essays written by teachers using a one-question method and the analysis-method was analysis of narrative. The research approach was of abductive form and the focus of the study was hermeneutical. Results and conclusions: Based on the analyzed data, a future vision for the school's activities has been created and an organizational culture that supports the future activities has been described. The most significant elements in the results are the teachers' common vision of a school as a safe environment where both students and staff feel good, appreciated and taken into account. Concrete actionplans for implementation are also formed. The study presents a collaboratively created vision and action plan for the development of the organizational culture in the school and is used as a tool in the ongoing development process of the school.
  • Henriksson, Linda (2024)
    Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the factors underlying effective pedagogical leadership in the classroom. The guiding framework for the study is Steinberg's (2018) theory, which identifies seven success factors - values, learning, influence, future, classroom culture, love, and structure - to achieve effective pedagogical leadership. The insights of Finnish researcher Karlberg-Granlund (2021) on teacher professional development share similar themes or perspectives, making them relevant to my study. A key aspect of this leadership is creating an environment where students feel safe and focused, thereby enhancing learning. The study is pertinent as we know from PISA results in 2022 that Finnish students have shown declining performance in mathematics. Results from 2018 also demonstrate a worsening trend in students' reading abilities (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2023). This study can support teachers in understanding their role in students' lifelong learning. The primary focus of the study is to highlight methods that are effective and considered beneficial for students. Method: The study adopts a qualitative interview approach, wherein I interviewed four qualified classroom teachers to explore their thoughts and experiences. To gain diverse perspectives, I chose teachers from three different schools within the same city. All collected data was transcribed and underwent meticulous analysis. A qualitative content analysis was employed as the analytical method to systematically interpret and understand the patterns and themes emerging from the interviews. Results: analyzed data was structured into four main themes: firstly, effective pedagogical leadership and the various methods employed to achieve it; secondly, focus on lifelong learning; and finally, lesson planning. Each main theme had its own subheadings providing a clear structure for the results section. Within each subheading, the thoughts of classroom teachers on the specific theme were presented. It is evident that teachers strive to create a conducive learning environment. It is crucial for teachers to consistently work on maintaining clear expectations, building relationships with students, and promoting a sense of belonging and fairness in the classroom. In effective pedagogical leadership, safety and mutual respect are fundamental starting points.
  • Punakorpi, Markus (2024)
    This literature review examined tools for addressing overweight and obesity among children in the school environment. The focus was on increasing awareness among teachers and school staff about the negative consequences of these health issues. The model aims to address these issues by establishing comprehensive programs that promote appropriate diet, exercise, and behavioral changes. A systematic literature review was chosen as the method because it was considered the most relevant for answering the research questions. To obtain a complete overview of the subject, a thorough review of various research studies and articles was required. Therefore, a systematic literature review and data analysis were conducted to evaluate the results. All articles are reported and archived within a 20-year timeframe, with material dated between 2005 and 2024. By reviewing 12 articles and statistics from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, the author arrived at conclusions that could be helpful in creating a model for use in schools. The main findings in the research on obesity and overweight among schoolchildren are that these health problems constitute a growing concern, with significant prevalence already at a young age and an increasing trend with advancing age. The studies highlight the need to increase awareness among teachers and school staff about these problems and to develop effective interventions to address them. Additionally, the importance of not only focusing on the problems but also promoting positive mental health and a sense of belongingness among students is emphasized.
  • Anderson, Polly (2021)
    Previous studies have shown that teachers' job satisfaction has decreased in recent years and that teachers at the beginning of their careers are at great risk of leaving the profession at an early stage. Satisfaction with work and career has shown several positive consequences, including well-being, willingness to stay in the profession and work engagement. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine how satisfied Finnish newly qualified class teachers are with their careers, and to identify their career success criteria. The purpose is also to investigate whether the class teachers feel that their degree has been adequate and if it has prepared them for working life, and to investigate what a class teacher earns. The relationships between career satisfaction, teacher education adequacy and salary are examined. The research problems are examined regarding gender, additional education, and employment relation. The study involved 137 alumni from the University of Helsinki's class teacher education who gradu-ated between 2012 and 2015. The informants responded electronically to Aarresaari's national career follow-up questionnaire. The research design for the study was triangulation with the aim of analyzing quantitative and qualitative data parallelly. The material was analyzed quantitatively with the statisti-cal program SPSS, while open answers were analyzed with thematic content analysis. The class teachers were fairly satisfied with their careers, they deemed that the teacher education was adequate and that it provided them with the necessary skills. Important career success criteria were type of employment relation, career advancement, professional agent, nature of work, school, and social relations. Although the quantitative results showed that the class teachers considered the education to be adequate, the thematic content analysis revealed that there were several shortcom-ings including student relations, cooperation, and teacher role. The correlation test showed that ca-reer satisfaction had weak but positive correlations with salary and adequacy of the education. Class teachers earn on average 3002 euros a month, and men earn more than women. Newly qualified class teachers' career success criteria should be important assets for promoting career satisfaction and retaining class teachers in the profession. Class teacher education needs to be sensitive to changes in society, while newly qualified class teachers should be offered appropriate support in adapting to the practical work.
  • Johansson, Celine (2024)
    Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, millaista mediaosaamista luokanopettajat kokevat, että koulu odottaa heiltä perusopetuksen opettajina. Tutkimuksessa tutkittiin opettajan itsenäistä mediaosaamista ja luokanopettajan toimintaa mediapedagogina. Kiinnostukseni tutkimukseen johti minut tarkastelemaan ilmiötä ajankohtaisesta näkökulmasta, sillä opettajien käsitykset myötävaikuttavat heidän opetus- ja ammatillista kehitystään muokkaavaan mediaosaamisen ymmärtämiseen. Opettajien mediataitojen tutkimus on keskeistä koulutusjärjestelmän kehittämisessä, opiskelijoiden mediaosaamisen edistämisessä ja digitaalisen median tärkeiden haasteiden ratkaisemisessa ja johtikin opinnäytetyön kysymykseen. Tutkimusmateriaali on kerätty talvella 2023 haastattelemalla viisi opettajaa. Osallistujavalinnan tekivät osallistujat, joilla oli eri tasoinen kokemus ja osaaminen medialukutaidosta laajemman ymmärryksen saamiseksi. Kolmeen teemaan perustuvat haastattelut olivat avoimia ja joustavia, jotta he pystyivät perehtymään syvällisemmin heidän medialukutaitonsa kokemuksiin. Haastatteluilla kerätyssä aineistossa oli teemoja opettajien omasta mediaosaamisesta ja heidän opetuksensa suhteen. Tämä kirjoitettiin ja organisoitiin. Sen jälkeen aineistoa analysoitiin fenomenografisella, vaiheittain etenevällä lähestymistavalla, jossa tavoitteena oli tunnistaa ja kuvata erilaisia ​​tapoja, joilla luokanopettajat näkevät mediaosaamisensa ja miten heidän käsityksensä liittyvät opetukseen. Tämä edellyttää heidän havaintonsa luokittelua ja ryhmittelyä eri ulottuvuuksiin ja muunnelmiin. Tutkimus tehtiin kvalitatiivisella, fenomenologisella lähestymistavalla. Luokkaopettajien käsitys jaettiin neljään kuvaavaan kategoriaan: jatkuva ammatillinen kehittyminen, tulevaisuus, kriittinen mediaosaaminen ja tiedon arviointi sekä median ja teknologian käytön monimuotoisuus. Tutkimustulosten mukaan luokanopettajien käsitys mediaosaamisensa odotuksista osoittaa mediataitojen jatkuvan kehittämisen ja päivittämisen tarvetta. Lisäksi opettajien mediaosaaminen ja opetuskäytäntö ovat tiiviissä suhteessa. Tietoisena mediaosaamisen odotuksista ja tärkeydestä luokanopettaja voi luoda oppimisympäristön, joka edistää esimerkiksi opiskelijoiden kriittistä media-ajattelua ja tiedon arviointia.
  • Yliaho-Lehtonen, Lotta (2020)
    The Finnish language might even feel foreign to many Swedish-speaking people in Ostrobothnia as they seldom get to use their Finnish language skills in daily life. Due to this, it might turn out to be challenging to motivate pupils to learn Finnish in school. In this study I have analysed the problem to see whether there is a recalcitrance against learning Finnish among the Swedish-speaking pupils in Ostrobothnia. Do these pupils find the Finnish language unnecessary in their lives? If so – what are the underlying causes? In what way is this problem handled by the teachers? The main purpose for this study is two-pieced: I want to learn how pupils think about the language teaching they get – are they motivated to learn Finnish in school, and do they have negative attitudes against learning the language? I also want to know what kind of teaching solutions the teachers have for motivating their pupils. Do the teachers recall motivation-loss among the pupils? I have used The Self Determination Theory by Deci and Ryan (2002) and The Expectancy Value Theory by Eccles and Wigfield (2000) as my theoretical background. I have also used some of the extensive research among bilingualism of Slotte-Lüttge and Forsman (2013) in this study.This is a qualitative research and the data is collected through interviews with four Finnish-teachers in both 2005 and 2018 and eight eight-graders in 2019. I have found out what the motivation for learning Finnish looks like amongst pupils in Swedish-speaking schools in Ostrobothnia. And I have also got to learn how the teachers take notice to these aspects in their planning of the language-teaching in the classroom. The Finnish-teachers witness great difficulties with the Finnish language among the pupils as the teachers often are the only representatives of the language. The pupils almost never get to use their Finnish language skills outside of school. There has been a progress in language teaching and the digitalization has resulted in a more versatile language education during the years 2005 and 2019. The pupils expect more opportunities for communicative language skills and there is a great need of authentic Finnish language environments in the Swedish-speaking parts of Ostrobothnia.
  • Wirén, Greta (2024)
    The future weighs heavily on many youths when it comes to choosing education and career paths. It’s becoming increasingly common for youths to take a gap year to contemplate their future educational opportunities. Parents wield significant influence over their children’s choice of education. Youths whose parents hold highly educated professions tend to gravitate towards academic pursuits. However, parental professions aren’t the sole influencers; their involvement and encouragement also play pivotal roles. The aim of this thesis is to explore the significance of parents’ occupations and leisure interests in youths’ thoughts and plans for the future. The research questions addressed in this thesis are: 1. How do parents’ professions and values manifest in youths’ thoughts regarding education and career choices? 2. What significance do hobbies and leisure interests hold in youths’ considerations of education and career paths? 3. What kind of changes regarding research questions 1 and 2 can be observed between grades 7 and 8? This thesis employs a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews as the method of data collection. Five youths participated in the interviews, which were subjected to content analysis. The results suggest that youths contemplate their future extensively already in grades 7 and 8, with the majority having a career plan in mind. It’s evident that youths tend to consider professions aligned with their parents’ educational backgrounds. For most youths, the idea of turning their hobbies into careers isn’t particularly common, except for two respondents. Economic considerations are a significant part of youths’ thoughts, with varying opinions on the importance of money. They focus on highpaying professions, the cost of quality education, and opportunities to earn money in the short term. Despite having post-middle school plans, they exhibit varying attitudes towards school.
  • Larma, Sonja (2020)
    Aim. According to the law, every finish child has the right to a safe school environment. Research indicates that schools play a vital role in preventing cyberbullying. For efficient prevention of cyberbullying in schools, schools need for example a carefully planned anti-bullying policies with correct definitions of both bullying and cyberbullying. The plans should also contain methods for prevention and intervention. The supply of research on cyberbullying in elementary schools is limited, and thus this study will examine the guidelines elementary schools have against cyberbullying, how schools actively are preventing cyberbullying and how school personnel perceive the current work done against cyberbullying. Methods. The data for this study was collected qualitatively, through semi-structured interviews with a phenomenographic research approach. The seven interviewees who participated consisted of principals, school counsellors and class teachers in two Swedish speaking schools. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis in the program Atlas.ti 8. Results and conclusions. The results of this study shows that the schools do not have an extensive definition of cyberbullying nor have they included preventive measures against cyberbullying in their anti-bullying policies. The schools do however prevent cyberbullying for example through scheduled discussions with the pupils. According to the participants the schools work against cyberbullying works relatively well. The majority of the participants thought that the schools could have clearer and more comprehensive guidelines against cyberbullying in their policies. The schools anti-bullying policies do not include how the schools will act in case cyberbullying occurs outside school but among the schools pupils. Based on the results the schools could review their policies and clarify the responsibility among school personnel. This would lead to a more consistent approach and have long-lasting effects.
  • Lindgren, Emilia (2023)
    According to the national core curriculum for basic education, formative assessment is central to every pupil’s individual learning process. Formative assessment can be defined as response that aims to support the pupil in understanding the goals for learning, perceive their own progress in relation to the set goals, and give the pupil tools to reach the specific learning goals for each subject. Interactive methods, such as discussion, self-assessment, and peer assessment are part of formative assessment. Previous studies have shown that pupils often become passive receivers in the assessment process and don’t feel that they benefit from the type of formative assessment they have received and that teachers have difficulties supporting pupils’ abilities to assess their own work. This study examines what kind of formative assessment pupils perceive as beneficial for their learning, and how self-assessment, according to teachers and pupils, can be used in order to support learning and the pupils’ abilities to self-assess. The study takes a qualitative, phenomenographic approach. The material was gathered by conducting focus group interviews with pupils in grades 5–6 and teachers for grades 1–6. The informants formed nine groups of three to four pupils and two groups of three to four teachers per group. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically. The results show that considering the pupils’ prior knowledge, setting clear goals, and using versatile materials and methods, along with continuous, personal, motivating, and fair feedback are types of formative assessment that pupils perceive as supportive of their learning. The results also point out that efficient self-assessment requires clearly stated goals and instructions, and should be conducted alongside wider work processes, with support from discussion between pupils and teachers.