Browsing by study line "Luokanopettaja (kasvatuspsykologia)"

Goals. According to Warr's (1999) and Hakanen's (2011) models, the different states of well-being at work can be perceived through four key concepts. These include job satisfaction, burnout, stress and work engagement. Although teachers are mostly satisfied with their work, well-being at work has developed in an alarming direction in recent years and the stress experienced by teachers has increased. There has also been much public debate about the pandemics effects on well-being. Based on previous research, teachers have experienced more stress than normal during the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus. The aim of this master's thesis was to find out how classroom teachers have experienced their well-being at work during the COVID-19 pandemic and to increase understanding of what factors contributed to well-being. In addition, the study sought to find out how classroom teachers well-being at work was promoted at that time. Methods. The study was conducted as semi-structured thematic interviews. The data consists of interviews with eight classroom teachers and one special classroom teacher. The data was analyzed using theory-guided and data-driven qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic affected teachers well-being at work in many ways. Teachers found the distance learning period particularly stressful. Stressors included an increase in workload, uncertainty and the combination of work and free time. On the other hand, for some teachers the distance learning period increased work engagement and job satisfaction. Some felt that towards the autumn 2020 the situation had recovered close to the time before pandemic, while some felt that exceptional circumstances were still having a strong impact on well-being. The most important support for promoting well-being at work came from the work community, which provided empathy, shared gatherings, and assistance in planning and teaching. Teachers also felt the empathy received from their principal important. Teachers themselves tried to separate work and free time, to exercise and to stick to their basic task. Teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of municipalities and political decision-makers.

Achievement goal orientation research has a long background and roots in motivation re-search. However, achievement goal orientations have not been studied in connection with learning difficulties, although research has been done on motivation and learning difficul-ties. (see. eg. Mononen, Aunio, Väisänen, Korhonen & Tapola, 2017) The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between achievement goal orienta-tions and learning difficulties. The purpose is to find out what kind of achievement goal orien-tation profiles can be found in the material and how differently motivated students differ in their experienced and actual learning difficulties. It is hypothesized that at least students emphasizing mastery (mastery-oriented), performance (success-oriented), and avoidance (avoidance-oriented) are identified and that mastery-oriented students are less likely to report learning difficulties, while avoidan-ce-oriented students are more likely to perceive difficulties in their studies. . The data was part of the material collected in the Mind the Gap project. The material has been collected as a longitudinal study and I had at my disposal thde material from 2016, dur-ing which the subjects were in the 7th grade. A total of data were collected from 1,553 stu-dents, but the number of respondents to different questions varies by question. The data were analyzed by Two step cluster analysis, analysis of variance and cross-tabulation. Three achievement goal orientation profiles were dicovered in the data, which could be named mastery-oriented, success-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. No statistically signifi-cant association was found between the learning difficulties identified and the achievement goal orientations by cross-tabulation. According to the results of the analysis of variance, mastery-orientated students report less experienced learning difficulties than other students, while avoidance-oriented students report the most learning difficul-ties, especially difficulties in following the teaching.

The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of learning is required to work as an f2f-fundraiser. In previous studies, f2f-fundraising is mainly examined from the perspective of it’s fundraising performance. What kind of work f2f-fundraising is and what kind of learning it requires has not yet been studied. However, such a study would be necessary because the phenomenon has provoked much debate in Europe, e.g. with regard to its prohibition. Learning in f2f fundraising is analyzed in this study using edge-emotion theory, which is a theory developed by Mälkki (2011) to conceptualize different dimensions of learning. The main concepts of the theory are meaning perspective, comfort area, edge-emotions and reflection. To complete the research task, two research questions were prepared: 1) What kind of learning objects do f2f-fundraisers encounter in their work? 2) What means do f2f-fundraisers have to address these learning objectives? The purpose of this question set was to provide information on f2f-fundraising from a pedagogical perspective that could be utilized in the management and training of f2f-fundraisers. The research material was collected by interviewing six f2f-fundraisers who worked for a Finnish Development Cooperation Organization in the summer of 2017. Only F2f-fundraisers who had worked in the position for at least one month and achieved the performance targets set in it at least moderately were selected for interview. The aim was to ensure that the interviewees had sufficient knowledge of f2f-fundraising. The analysis of the collected material was based on phenomenographic research approach and was carried out as a theory-based content analysis. The analysis framework was formed using edge-emotion theory. As a result of this study, five learning objects encountered by f2f-fundraisers in their work were found: 1) Approach of strangers 2) Sales situation management 3) Result pressures 4) People’s ignorance and 5) Nasty encounters. Of these, items 1 and 2 of learning form their own class, the internalization of f2f fundraising, where the process of reflection had begun and ended with work. Learning objects 3-5 formed their own class, the nature of f2f-fundraising, where the reflection process remained active through the work of f2f-fundraisers. A variety of solutions were found for both of these categories. With regard to the internalisation of F2f-fundraising, the importance of conscientiousness and responsibility, as well as various interaction skills such as active listening and the use of humour, were highlighted. Regarding the nature of f2f-fundraising, the importance of working as a team member as well as handling individual emotions and attitudes to work were found as solutions. The importance of a positive mindset was emphasized in the attitude to work and to have fun with the work. Previous successes and a good mood, as well as various ways of self-motivation, such as emphasizing the importance of development cooperation, were important. The results of this study highlight a number of issues that should be considered in the management and training of f2f-fundraisers. In addition, it provides new information about a previously little-studied phenomenon and at the same time serves as a leap forward in learning research to a completely new research topic.