Browsing by study line "Luokanopettaja, kasvatustiede"

The purpose of this Master's thesis was to find out what kind of role after-school clubs play in supporting the daily life and well-being of the child and family. The objective is to highlight the factors that are part of a high-quality after-school club. After-school clubs, as well as its connections with well-being support, have been little studied. However, previous research has shown that there is a strong connection between child and parental well-being. So, the well-being or ill-being of someone affects other family members as well. According to previous research, after-school clubs play a large role in combining parents' work and family life, as well as reducing a child's lonely time after school. After-school clubs also play an important role in strengthening the child's social relations and healthy lifestyle. The study was conducted as a qualitative study. The data were collected as themed interviews by interviewing eight parents of children attending Tennis- ja mailapelikoulu -after-school club organized by Grani Tennis. The research setting was phenomenographic, meaning the goal was to understand and describe the meanings given by parents to the phenomenon being studied. The data was analyzed using theory-driven content analysis in which the theoretical framework of the thesis served as the theory. The study’s results highlighted the important role of after-school clubs in organizing the daily life of the child and the family and in supporting everyone’s well-being. They allow parents to work full-time. While working, it is important to have a safe place for their child to spend time after school. Parental well-being is supported by the fact that the daily life is not burdened with additional planning in relation to reducing the child's lonely time. The well-being of the child and parents was also perceived to have a strong connection. After-school clubs particularly support the child's social, psychological, and physical well-being. After-school clubs in Finland, however, should be still developed more so that there are enough instructors that have the skills to work with different children and supporting their needs. It should be ensured that every child has equally a safe place to develop and grow. As after-school clubs are fee-required, they should also be developed so that every family has the possibility to use them in their daily life.

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Objectives. Sexuality is a part of humanity. Sexuality develops through our lives and includes various stages of growth and development. Sex education is part of human rights and WHO (World Health Organization) has defined Europe wide standards for sex education. Previous studies show that sex education increases more knowledge and strengthens the child’s self-esteem. On the other hand, studies have shown teachers experiencing sex education challenging and they need further education on it. The aim of this research was to determine perceptions and experiences of primary school teachers about sex education. Methods. The data of this qualitative research was collected by interviewing five primary school teachers. The material is analyzed by the method of analysis of the content. Interviews are transcribed and transcribed material decrypted into sections sorted by the topic. These themes emerged from the data itself and on research issues. By using content analysis, the purpose was to create a view of teacher’s perceptions and experiences and reflect them with the theoretical frame of reference of research. Results and conclusions. Teachers considered sex education important and relevant. The world is changing all the time and teacher’s knowledge should keep up with the change. Content areas of sex education were mainly familiar to teachers, but some flaws in their knowledge were also found. Teachers perceived the subject as a natural thing, but they also identified the challenging nature of the subject. Sex education raised some uncertainty among teachers which was mostly due to lack of education. Further education of teachers would improve sex education on primary schools and strengthens teachers’ faith in themselves as sex educators.

Continuous learning, identity and ecology are strong phenomena in our time. They are also quite wide-ranging. Previous research has shown an interaction between learning and identity. However, there is just little research on the link between learning and identity and there has been a need for it. Previous research has found that, for example, individual-relevant learning subjects has influenced his or her willingness to learn. Thus, the meanings contained in identity affect in its own way continuous learning. The aim of this research was to study continuous learning and the meanings of learning subjects in the context of coloring with natural dyes. The aim of this research is to determine, analyze and construe the learning and the meanings contained in identity that take place in the learning process related to natural coloring. Research material consisted of 26 interviews, which were interviewed as part of the BioColour research project led by Riikka Räisänen. Interviews were transcribed by an outside party. The research material was analyzed by content analysis. The research material was coded, classified and themed. The classifications were made based on previous research, but the subcategories come from the research material. The themed was done through themes that come from the research material. Using content analysis, it was possible to create a wide picture of the topic under this research. Those, who dye with natural colorants, learn in many ways. They learn especially through oblique knowledge transfer, where different courses were the largest class in the learning process. The interviewees described also that they learned, among other things, through their experiments. Those, who dye with natural colorants, experienced meanings on the learning subject. They experienced personal meanings: related to health, self and emotions, as well as ethical meanings: environmental and traditional meanings. Based on the results, it could be said that the those, who dye with natural colorants, experienced meanings on the subject that they were during their lifetime, but the connection between this experienced meaningful subject and their learning cannot be studied with this research.

The purpose of this study is to find out how Karelian language and culture are described in Finnish primary school textbooks. Karelian is one of the minority languages of Finland, used by approximately 30 000 people in Finland at different levels. More speakers of Karelian are found in Russia. Karelian language is different from the various dialects of Karelia. The research approach of the study is based on the methods of the European language diversity for all (ELDIA) research project, which has been used to study the status of Finno-Ugric minority languages in particular and the possibilities for language learning and revitalisation. Karelian language is highly endangered, although there has been some increase in revitalisation efforts in recent years. ELDIA's findings suggest that the availability of language products (e.g. textbooks), improves both the access of language speakers to their language and the status of the language in general. It was therefore decided to investigate how Karelian language and culture are presented in Finnish textbooks for basic education. Previous studies have shown that textbooks have a major impact on pupils' perceptions and attitudes. The research method used was discourse analysis with thematic analysis, which divided the references to Karelian language and culture found in textbooks into three different groups. The study included all primary school textbooks from three Finnish publishers (Sanoma Pro, Otava, Edukustannus) in the following subjects: Finnish language and literature, history, religion and environmental studies. The total number of books studied was 146 and they were in line with the 2014 basic education curriculum. Included were pupils' books, exercise books and teachers' guides. A total of 25 references to Karelian language and culture were found in the textbooks examined. These findings were divided into three different discourses according to the topic in which Karelian was mentioned. These three discourses are history, Kalevala and minority languages. There were 10 mentions related to history, 7 related to Kalevala and 8 related to minority languages. Most of the mentions were in the same textbooks. The mentions of the history theme were either related to the geographical area of Karelia, treaty of Nöteborg or the Karelian tribes. In connection with Kalevala, Elias Lönnrot was mentioned as having made collecting trips to Viena Karelia. Karelian poem singers were also mentioned. Mentions of minority languages were mostly part of a longer list of minority languages. All the findings were no more than two sentences long. Karelian language is therefore not described in a comprehensive way in this study. Based on ELDIA and other previous research presented, textbooks could play their part in improving the status of minority languages by telling more about them, giving a voice to speakers of the languages, and telling about minority languages and cultures on an equal footing with majority languages.

Over the last few decades the religion and belief landscape in Finland as well as in other parts of Europe has become more pluralistic mainly due to secularisation and globalisation. Therefore, research regarding worldview education has questioned if the existing separative teaching model is current enough to create fertile ground for developing general worldview education. Some schools have adopted partially integrative teaching, which has sparked more interest to further research this topic. The aim of this thesis is to increase understanding of teachers’ perspectives on the purpose of worldview education and its future. The study was conducted as a part of the research project Osittain yhdistetty katsomusaineiden opetuksen kehittäminen (Odysseus). The material was collected in the autumn of 2022 by using qualitative research methods. Seven teachers who teach worldview education in primary school were interviewed individually for the study. The material was analysed using data-based content analysis. In the light of the results, the teachers described the purpose of worldview education through five dimensions. They saw the knowledge relating to the pupil’s own and others’ worldviews, the supporting of the pupil’s identity development, ethics, communication skills and teaching from a non-confessional standpoint as particularly important. The results show that the teachers consider the purpose of worldview education to be holistic and affiliated with both the personal growth of the pupil as well as the promotion of equality in the society. Concerning the future of worldview education the teachers brought up three different approaches, which are comparison between the subjects, the process-like nature of the development work and a spectrum of different emotions and attitudes. According to the study the teachers’ views on the future of worldview education keep up the negotiations around the purpose of worldview education and whether it should be modified or kept unchanged. Thus worldview education appears to be in the middle of an intense transitional phase.

The thesis examines the linguistic variation in written messages by 6th graders, i.e., va-riation in registers. The variation was categorized into two different registers: standard lan-guage and colloquial language. The data was collected from a school in the capital region. There were 17 participants in the study. The analysis was conducted through linguistic text analysis. The 6th graders were asked to write two messages, one addressed to a teacher and the other one to a good school friend. The messages were required to fit into one page. The students wrote the texts using word processing software with the spell-check feature turned off. The students were also asked separately information about their gender and their course in the Finnish language. In the analysis, I used a table of colloquial language with morphological and lexical features, that was originally provided by Mia Halonen (2009), which I supplemented as the analysis progressed. The final table includes 19 colloquial language morphological and lexical fea-tures. The hypothesis of the research was that messages to different recipients would show lin-guistic variation. In the analysis of written texts, in addition to standard language, colloqui-al language variants were also found. Concerning the use of registers, I divided the data into two categories: 1. messages that were more standard for the teacher and more colloquial for the school friend and 2. more standard messages for both the teacher and the school friend. The first category includes 5 pairs of texts, and the remaining 12 pairs of texts belong to the second category. In the first category, colloquial language register was used frequently in the message to the school friend. In addition to colloquial language morphological features in general, I ana-lyzed possessive suffixes, slang and colloquial vocabulary, planning expressions, variations in greetings, and variations in personal pronouns. In the second category, only a few ele-ments of colloquial language register appeared, and I specifically analyzed variations in greetings.

Aims. The aim of the study is to research how assessment is conducted in Finnish Language Schools and how feedback is given to students and their guardians. No previous research about evaluation in Finnish Language Schools was available. Methods. The research data was collected using an online questionnaire that included both open-ended questions and multiple-choice questions. The aim was to reach all teachers in Finnish Language Schools as widely as possible and no sample was used in the study. 21 responses were received, which can be considered a random sample. Theoretically guided content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results and conclusions. There are very different Finnish Language Schools and their operating conditions vary. Teachers in language schools hardly used summative assessment methods. The most used evaluation method was discussion. Not all schools had a clear goal for activities and language teaching, which also made evaluation difficult. Diagnostic assessment was utilized at the beginning of the school year when students' competencies were evaluated. Feedback to students and their guardians was generally given orally. The formative nature of the evaluation was emphasized in the responses. More training and clarification of the goals of Finnish schools are needed for the evaluation.

Mål: Avhandlingens syfte är att undersöka samarbetsformer mellan klasslärare och speciallä-rare i svenska skolor i Helsingfors. Samarbetsformerna är indelade enligt Coordination, Cooperation och Reflective communication. Detta ämne är av relevans då Finlands skolsy-stem strävar mot en mer inkluderande skola, där specialpedagogiken spelar en betydande roll. Gentemot tidigare studier, som har genomförts i finska skolor, riktas fokus nu mot den finlandssvenska kontexten för att erbjuda en unik och specifik insikt. Även meningsfulla sam-arbetsmoment mellan klasslärare och speciallärare undersöks. Metoder: Studien var av kvalitativ metod med en fenomenografisk forskningsansats. Materialinsamlingen skedde under vintern 2024 genom enskilda intervjuer av klasslärare. Fem klasslärare intervjuades. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade. Data analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat och slutsatser: De fem klasslärarna blev indelade i två olika samarbetsformer. Endast samarbetsformerna Coordination och Cooperation framkom i klasslärarnas svar. Klasslärarna hade fått meningsfullt stöd av speciallärarna gällande skrivande av planer, lektionsplanering och differentiering i klassen. En av klasslärarna hade även ett samarbete med en specialklasslärare och blev uppdelad i två kategorier, på grund av varierande samarbetsformer. Inte en enda klasslärare hade fått anvisningar av skolans ledning om samarbetets form, vilket kan förklara varför samarbetsformerna Coordination och Cooperation var det mest framkommande.

The empirical objectives of this thesis were twofold: to investigate how perceived closeness as a component of friendship relationships manifested in the usage patterns of social media platforms among 18-29-year-old university students, and how respondents described their usage time on the three most frequently used social media platforms in relation to the intensity of perceived closeness on the given platform. The research topic is relevant in different educational contexts for individuals of various age groups as social media and increased internet usage have become integral parts of the lives of young adults. Closeness and close friendships also play a significant developmental role in the lives of young adults, as several studies suggest that close friendships contribute to school satisfaction, fulfillment of social needs, sense of unity, reduced loneliness, and the development of social skills. The thesis' third research task was to examine how reward learning was reflected in the usage behaviors of young adults on social media platforms and how previously mentioned is seen in the algorithmic structures of social media platforms. The study specifically focused on the algorithmic structures of social media, utilizing concepts such as feedback loops and prediction errors in reward learning. The section also discussed potential risk factors for problematic use of social media platforms and the positive empowering aspects of social media. The theoretical section begins by examining reward learning, which provides a biological approach and one feasible way to look at an individual's use of social media through the lens of reward learning. The neurobiological perspective provides nuanced information that complimentary understanding of why social media platforms are extensively used among young adults. It also helps to contemplate the growth of popularity and the impacts of social media platforms on university education. Findings are interpreted within the framework of critical pedagogy. The second half of the theoretical section delves into the significance of friendships and closeness in the social relationships of young adults. The mentioned concepts of friendships and closeness are also explored in social media. After a descriptive statistical interpretation, the reliability of the survey instrument is tested, and the questions that best measure closeness are identified within the questionnaire instrument. As a result, the empirical research. The values of perceived closeness were higher on the most frequently used platform compared to less used social media platforms in this sample. Four questions were found in the survey data, and those were used to build a scale suitable for measuring perceived closeness in friendship relationships, especially on WhatsApp or Instagram. The unity values in the same closeness scale were at a sufficiently reliable level across the variables compared. Reward learning was manifested in the literature on young adults' usage patterns of social media in several ways, including receiving likes, selective consumption of content, and seeking social approval from peers. Some social media algorithms were also found to incorporate reward learning structures that are typical for humans. In literature, robust link between reward learning and algorithmic structures remains mostly unsolved and needs more thorough investigation.

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has increased in Finland and it can bring various challenges to the lives of children and adolescents through symptoms, affecting social relationships, education, and everyday management. Neuropsychiatric coaching can prevent the accumulation of these challenges and significantly reduce them. This form of coaching can also be implemented with the assistance of dogs. Interest in dog-assisted work is growing continuously, both in Finland and globally. The aim of this study is to examine recent and alternative forms of support for neurodevelopmentally symptomatic children and adolescents, namely dog-assisted work, and neuropsychiatric coaching. The study was carried out as qualitative research and the interview data were collected remotely during June and July 2023. The interviews were conducted as individual interviews with the participation of seven (7) neuropsychiatric coaches, who work with dogs. The research results were analyzed using inductive content analysis. This study addresses three research questions. To begin with, I seek to understand how neuropsychiatric coaches implement dog-assisted work in neuropsychiatric coaching with children and adolescents. I also explore the experiences of coaches regarding the effects of dog-assisted work on children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental symptoms. And thirdly, I examine the views of coaches on the possibilities of dog-assisted neuropsychiatric coaching in schools. The results reveal that neuropsychiatric coaching can be implemented with assistance dogs in various ways. Socioemotional exercises, activities supporting arousal regulation, and working methods related to daily life skills were highlighted. The results also highlight the comprehensive impact that dog-assisted neuropsychiatric coaching can have on a child or adolescent. Dog-assisted work was reported to enable socioemotional support for children and adolescents and have a positive impact on behavior and cognitive readiness. Coaches expressed their desire for the addition of school dogs and suggested how the method could be introduced into schools. Coaches emphasized the comprehensive professionalism of the practice, as introducing a dog to school or work always entails risks.