Browsing by study line "Yleinen ja aikuiskasvatustiede"
Now showing items 61-80 of 207
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(2021)Global education deals with wide-ranging and complex global phenomena. In this dissertation, the theory of global education is examined primarily from a postcolonial perspective. Although global education is a cross-cutting theme in Finnish primary education, its implementation varies in schools as well as in teacher education. The dissertation examines the views of teacher educators, especially about the aims of critical global education and the challenges and opportunities of its implementation in teacher education. The research material acquired on the principles of action research consisted of group discussions of a workshop on critical global education for teacher educators, text material related to the workshop, and registration and feedback forms. The workshop was based in part on a discussion method which utilizes critical literacy issues. The workshop was organized in co-operation with global education organisation Taksvärkki ry and was attended by five (5) teacher educators from three Finnish universities. Most of the participating teacher educators had previous knowledge about the themes of global education. The material was analysed by inductive content analysis. In the speech of teacher educators, global education appeared as a starting point for education and teacher training. However, the discussions highlighted various tensions, for example in relation to the value base of global education, the nature of change and action. In teacher education, opportunities to address broad and complex themes were presented through, for example, dialogue, criticality and changing of perspectives, experiential learning, student encounters, and extensive collaboration. Challenges to the implementation of global education included a solid division of subjects, the ambiguity of global education, efficiency and lack of time, broad learning objectives, and formal learning environments. On the other hand, the introduction of critical thinking through subject didactics, a holistic approach to all teaching and the strengthening of the role of the educator in teacher education were also mentioned as examples. It is important to discuss global education and its goals both inside and outside teacher education and to co-operate in the wide-ranging implementation of global education.
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(2023)The purpose of the research is to examine the experiences of people with partial work ability in today's work. The experiences of people with partial work ability in working life have not been much investigated. In this research, we are interested in experiences of continuous learning, changing working life, challenges experienced in working life and work identity. This research has been carried out with a phenomenological research approach, which has guided the course of the research as well as the analysis. The research data has been achieved by interviewing six people with partial work ability in January-March 2023. The re-search results have arisen from general meaning networks, which in this study were found four. These general meaning networks are work, study, challenges and work identity. The work's themes in the study were work ability, work enjoyment, work motivation and future work. Work motivation is maintained by the employee comfort of those people with partial work ability, which is influenced by the meaningfulness of the work and social relationships at the workplace. Work is an important activity for people with partial work ability that maintains work ability and that rhythms everyday life. Challenges are experienced in finding a suitable job, applying for a job and staying at a job. In studies, the challenge is ignorance of possible educational opportu-nities and the challenges created by learning difficulties. Studying is important, especially con-sidering the future working life. It is not considered necessary for one’s work. The work identity of people with partial work ability has become fragmented due to the uncertainty of working life and the incompatibility of one's own education and interests and work. More important than the formation of a work identity for people with partial work ability is finding a job they like.
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(2022)Finnish grammar schools were partly gender-segregated during the independence time, because 35 finnish-language girls’ schools operated in Finland and at the most approximately 40% of all pupils studied in these girls’ schools. The task of this thesis is to find out, using the methodology of oral history, the significance of the girls’s schools as an educator in the memories of pupils from 1930s to 1970s. My thesis is based on qualitative research, where I describe and analyze school memories with a phenomenon- and event-focused research method and I use oral history to interpret broad cultural and social phenomena and events. The focus of my thesis is school history and social development viewed from a microhistorical perspective. With the oral history data I form a longitudinal picture of the individual as part of the girls’ school culture and I examine the transitions of the education culture across generations and find out what the girls’ school’s education has meant to different generations of women in the past. The source of my thesis is the survey material on girls’ and boys’ schools experiences collected in the Finnish Literature Society’s folk poetry archive’s tradition and contemporary culture collections in 2005-2006, which consists of girls’ school memories written by 26 women. The research material includes seventeen different girls’ schools located in ten different cities. The school memories I studied represented a strong narrative of experiences of teachers’ educational practices towards their pupils. The girls’ school pupils of 1930s and 1940s took the educational ideas of the school to be humility, necessary submission and the interest of the homeland as a matter of course. The teachers in the school memories were harsh and demanding, the punishments were based on blaming and creating shame. In 1950s the school’s educational culture sought uniformity and unity, and the teachers’ educational task emphasized the maintenance of the school’s operating culture with strict discipline and control of order. Restrained behavior was a demand internalized by the pupils from the school of the time. In 1960s the educational culture of the school began to change, although the teachers’ actions were still based on restrictive pedagogy and eradicating arrogance from the pupils. It was only at 1970s that the democratization of the school changed the teachers’ attitude towards their pupils and they were met as individuals. Throughout the decades, special sexual morality education was emphasized in the educational mission of the girls’ school. The pupils saw the schoool’s mission to raise kind, obedient, innocent and well-mannered girls.
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(2021)Objective of the study. The objective of the study was to research students learning experiences in mindfulness. I studied the experiences of students in the Faculty of Medicine about learning and the structuring of learning in the context of the mindfulness skills course. My perspective was intrapersonal and individual. There is little research data on the learning process of mindfulness because the mainstream of the study has concentrated on the clinical purposes of use and effects of mindfulness skills. I studied learning experiences using three questions: How do students describe conscious orientation of attention and selfaccepting perception (learning mindfulness)? How do students describe the effects / consequences of learning mindfulness for themselves? What meanings do students give to mindfulness learning? Methods. The research material was collected as part of the mindfulness and well-being course 2020. Participants in the Faculty of Medicine course practiced mindfulness skills during the course and returned learning diaries and a learning reports as part of the course. Among those who issued research permits, seven students (N = 7) were randomly selected in proportion to the population in the field of medicine and two students in psychology. The analysis of the learning diaries and the report was carried out with the help of theory-guided content analysis. The analysis identifies the impact of previous theoretical knowledge and research. Results and conclusions. Students described the objects, body, emotions, and thinking of directing attention on a general level. An accepting attitude towards self and practice was the most prominent attitude in the trainings of mindfulness skills although neutral, negative, judgmental, and ambivalent attitudes were seen. Students had very varied experiences of the effects and consequences of learning mindfulness. The effects were concrete changes in the operation or the control of the feelings and thinking. The effects of the learning process showed mindfulness as balancing experiences and a stress reliever. Insights and the development of self-confidence emerged, but anxiety and prejudice were also seen. Mindfulness was perceived as a meaningful stress management tool, a professional tool, an enabler of a conscious lifestyle and self-education. The progress of learning as a process was reflected in the results
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(2023)The aim of this study was to examine the well-being of doctoral researchers in medicine and the experiences that build it. In addition, the purpose was to find out what forms of social support are associated with increased well-being. Previous studies have shown that social support in particular has an effect on the students' engagement to studies and well-being. Through the significant positive experiences of doctoral researchers in medicine, this study found out what factors build well-being in doctoral researchers and which forms of social support are emphasized in them. The research data was collected through online surveys in April 2015 as part of the development of research-based doctoral education at a Finnish university (Pyhältö et al. 2016). The data of this study consisted of the open-ended responses of doctoral researchers in medicine regarding positive experiences on their doctoral studies. The research group consisted of 85 doctoral researchers in medicine, of which 80 were Finnish-speaking and five English-speaking. The data was analyzed using qualitative theory-driven content analysis by forming categories. Quantification was utilized in the analysis of the data. The results showed that the key factors increasing the well-being of medical doctoral researchers were accomplishment, such as reaching intermediate stages of the dissertation process, positive emotions such as enthusiasm, significant and engagement, which appeared as absorption in the research work. Among the forms of social support, the factors that increased the well-being of doctoral researchers in medicine were especially emotional and instrumental support, and informational support was also received. The sources of support are the scientific community, the institution and the supervisor. Support and belonging to the scientific community, receiving constructive feedback, high-quality guidance, and advice related to research work and support were emphasized as factors that increase the well-being of social support. Considering the key factors that build well-being and social support is important when trying to develop learning environments that increase well-being in doctoral education.
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(2023)Aims. The first aim of this study was to identify the types of perfectionistic profiles found among university students. The second aim was to examine how these profiles differ with regards to academic burnout, engagement and procrastination. Methods. The data were collected as part of a larger ”University students’ well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic” -project. In total, 737 students from three different universities responded to the questionnaire, establishing a suitable data set. The data were analyzed with a person-centered approach, informed by the 2 x 2 -model of perfectionism. Two Step -cluster analysis was used to classify students into perfectionistic profiles and analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine profile differences in academic well-being and procrastination. Results and conclusions. Four distinct profiles based on perfectionistic tendencies were identified; ambitious (31,1%), carefree (35,6%) perfectionists (16,7%) and concerned (16,2%). The ambitious group was associated with the highest rates of academic engagement and the lowest rates of academic burnout and procrastination. The carefree group reported the second highest rates of engagement and the second lowest rates of academic burnout and procrastination. The perfectionist group reported the highest rates of emotional exhaustion as well as feelings of inadequacy related to academic burnout. The perfectionists also reported the second highest rates of procrastination and the second lowest rates of academic engagement. The concerned group was associated with the highest rates of cynicism related to academic burnout, the highest rates of procrastination and the lowest amount of academic engagement. This study verified the severity of perfectionistic tendencies as a discerning factor regarding university students’ academic well-being. Based on the results, especially the detrimental impacts of perfectionistic concerns should be considered both on an individual and societal level. Societal impacts have been assessed relating to the individualistic and competitive nature of today’s neoliberal educational policies. On an individual level, the mitigating effects of self-compassion on perfectionistic concerns have been discussed.
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(2023)The aim of the research was to investigate the possibilities of an augmented reality (AR) application as a digital storytelling tool to support children's emotional skills in preschool. Previous studies have shown the versatile utilization opportunities of AR in education. However, the use of AR applications for learning emotional skills has been relatively unexplored. The research aimed to answer questions about how children recognize and name emotions, as well as how they express the cause-and-effect relationships of emotions while interacting with a child partner using the AR application and presenting the stories they created with the help of the AR application. The research's purpose is to increase knowledge about the possibilities of AR in emotional education in preschool and to develop new innovative teaching practices in the field. The research involved the development, pilot testing and qualitative analysis of a teaching intervention, in which 14 preschool students learned emotional skills using an AR application as a digital storytelling tool. The research data was collected by videorecording the preschool group's work in AR emotionworkshops and analyzed using content analysis. The research can be characterized as a qualitative design based research, where the design model of AR emotionworkshops served as the research design. In the children's AR stories where they recognized and named emotions, two narrative forms were observed: stories where the agent was the child themselves and stories where the agent was an imaginary character. Three-quarters of all episodes involving the recognition and naming of emotions were related to emotions experienced by imaginary AR characters. These stories mainly addressed emotions of anger, sadness, and fear. In the children's narratives where they recognized and named emotions while portraying themselves as the agent, joy was predominantly expressed. Working with tablet computers together with a child partner facilitated interaction and peer learning among the children during the AR emotionworkshops, and they supported each other in recognizing and naming emotions. Through play and imagination, the children reflected their everyday emotional experiences by portraying cause-and-effect relationships of emotions in their stories. The findings of the research align with previous studies on children's AR play, where the real world, the mirror world of AR, and the story world allow children to explore real world experiences in a mirror world through imagination and play.
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(2021)Aims. The aim of this thesis was to examine and describe from the perspective of the lifespan model of motivation how Finnish late adolescents navigate the post-high school transition, that is, how they channel, choose, and compensate career goals. The theorydriven, exploratory hypotheses assumed that the current situation in education or employment is associated with the career goal content (H1); the underlying meaning behind the career goal is associated with the career goals young people prioritise (H2); current situation in education or employment is associated with the change in career goals (H3); changes in career goals are associated with the importance of the career goal (H4). The results confirmed hypotheses H1, H2, and H3. Methods. The data were collected in 2019 using an intensive longitudinal setting. The weekly questionnaire was sent to sixty young Finns for thirty-nine consecutive weeks. At the start of the study, participants were 18 or 19 years of age. The qualitative data were analysed by means of content analysis and aggregated into key domains and core themes. The associations between categorical variables were examined using crosstabulation and χ2 test of independence. The associations between variables were also displayed graphically. Results and conclusions. Our findings were in line with previous literature revealing that the participants’ situation in education or employment was associated with the career goals they engage with. Studying was associated with prioritising goals concerning education, for example, high school graduation or university admission. In turn, working predicted goals concerning work or finances. Finnish late adolescents value higher education, and that was reflected in the results, as the career goals concerning university admission were prioritised among participants in almost every group. In general, our results reflected what are the expectations of the Finnish young people, but also what they expect of themselves. Based on the results, it seems that students state different reasons for career goal change than those who were working or neither working nor studying.
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(2022)Language skills are an important asset in the global world, so it is important to promote language learning. Music and language learning have been shown to be interconnected. However, most of the studies have been conducted with adult language learners and in laboratories. This study is an experimental study carried out in natural learning context with intervention paradigm. The aim of the study is to explore whether using a song as a tool in learning second language vocabulary in a bilingual preschool differs from using a nursery rhyme or prose. The null hypothesis is that children in bilingual preschool learn second language vocabulary as well with song as with nursery rhyme or prose. The alternative hypothesis is that children in bilingual preschool learn second language vocabulary better with song than with nursery rhyme or prose. Seven foreign language children from the preschool took part in the study. In study paradigm children were presented in learning phase a Finnish version of a well-known nursery rhyme Simple Simon as continuous stimuli in the form of a nursery rhyme, a song and prose. In EEG test phase they were presented same stimuli with some changes in vowels and syllables and their EEG was recorded. Event-related potentials to those changes were then compared between a nursery rhyme, a song and prose situation. In behavioral testing, children were presented words from the learning material and pseudowords formed from those words. We compared how well the children recognized words in the nursery rhyme (poem), the song and the prose situation. The data were analyzed in both research methods using Wilcoxon signed rank test. The null hypothesis could not be rejected. So, it cannot be stated that second language vocabulary is learned better with song than with nursery rhyme or prose. We detected a difference between the prose and the nursery rhyme stimuli in favor of the prose option measured with EEG. However, the sample size was too small to generalize the results. In discussion the results and used research methods are primarily examined on theoretical level considering previous studies. In conclusion, based on the previous studies, it is feasible to recommend using music in education especially in language learning but also in every phase of life due to music’s positive effects on motivation and togetherness to name but a few.
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(2020)Constantly changing work life has placed new demands and challenges on the Finnish education system. The respond to these demands and challenges is a General Upper Secondary reform, which was launched in 2017. The General Upper Secondary reform includes renewal of curriculum, a new Act on General Upper Secondary Education and amending the regulations for the matriculation examination. The reform challenges the traditionally strong autonomous position of teachers as teachers are expected to adopt new ways of working. According to previous studies, the change in teacher work towards a team work culture requires new professional skills from teachers. The purpose of my study was to find out what possible changes and challenges the renewal of curriculum (LOPS) might have on the LOPS-tutors work. Furthermore, I wanted to map out whether the competencies of teachers need to be updated after possible changes in competency requirements. I studied the phenomenon qualitatively by interviewing six LOPS- tutors who, in addition to their teacher work, are working closely on reform of General Upper Secondary Education. The material of this study was collected by semi-structured theme interviews. As a theoretical part, I defined the General Upper Secondary Education in the Finnish context, the history of school development, teachership and teachers work. In addition, I presented the key themes of the reform, the new Act on General Upper Secondary Education and renewal of curriculum. The method of analysis in this study was theory-guided content analysis. According to the results of my study, the teacher work life will change due to the new curriculum (2019). The most essential changes affecting to teachers’ work were increasing amount of team work and interaction, multidisciplinary study modules and the expansion of supervision. Lack of time, concern for well-being of teachers, as well as the structural challenges and bureaucracy emerged as key challenges in the implementation of the reform. Interviewees did not agree on whether teachers would need in-service training. My study supports the view that teachers have a contradictory attitude towards school changes. Although school development was seen as an important and necessary factor, the changes did not appear to be realistic taking into account the everyday reality of the school.
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(2020)Aims. In this study it was examined what kind of identity profiles are found in the high school data. The theory background was Luyckx's and colleagues' (2008) theory of identity development through five dimensions. These dimensions were exploration in breadth, commitment making, exploration in depth, identification with commitment and ruminative exploration. In this study it was expected that different combinations of the dimensions form different identity profiles. In earlier studies five or six profiles have been found. Furthermore, the second objective of the study was to investigate if the identity profiles differ from each other in relation to school burnout. A previous study showed the troubled diffusion identity profile scored highest on school burnout. Methods. The survey data analysed in this study was collected in 2019. The data consisted of 932 respondents of whom 605 (65%) were girls, 306 (33%) were boys and 18 (2%) were non-binary. The respondents were third year high school students in the Helsinki area who participated in an electric questionnaire. To find the identity profiles, cluster analysis was performed to the sum variables of identity dimensions. The connection of the identity to school burnout was analysed with a one-way variance analysis. Results and conclusions. The high school students were divided into five profiles based on the contents of the cluster analysis. The profiles were named as follows: troubled diffusion, ruminative moratorium, achievement, carefree diffusion and searching while committed. A fifth of the students had found their identity. Identity was unclear for about the 60 % of the students. The students had a lot of ruminative exploration. The identity profiles were connected to school burnout. The school burnout averages were significantly different between the identity profiles. The achievement profile scored lowest on school burnout and the troubled diffusion scored highest on school burnout.
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(2020)According to the self-determination theory, motivation consists of top of three innate psychological needs; need of autonomy, competence and relatedness. If these needs are fully satisfied we experience intrinsic motivation. If not, motivation is extrinsic and externally regulated. Intrinsic motivation should be strived for because it leads to a better performance, learning and well-being. This study compares the motivation of high school students between their study situations and free time situations in the context of self-determination theory. The participants were Finnish second year high-school students from the Helsinki metropolitan area. Within the context of self-determination theory, this study explored external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation and intrinsic regulation. The research data consisted of the answers from 150 students and 3431 completed questionnaires. The data was collected using an experience sampling method by the Bridging the Gaps study. The data survey lasted from 11 to 12 days and it was collected in different schools in sequential order. The data was collected from March till May in 2018. The first point of this research was to examine if there is difference in the motivation between studying and free-time and how much variation there is in the motivation. The method used for this was a linear regression. The study found that the smallest coefficient of determination was within the identified regulation. Studying and free time managed to explain 8.6% of the variation in the motivation when it comes to the identified regulation. The largest coefficient of determination was with the introjected regulation. Studying and free time explained 42.5% of the variation in the motivation when it comes to the extrinsic regulation. The second goal of this research was to examine if there is variation in the motivation between students when study time and free time are not taken into consideration. The method used for this was a multilevel modeling approach on level zero. The smallest variation between the students was within the intrinsic motivation. The variation in motivation was then 6.79% between the students. The largest variation in motivation was within the introjected regulation. The variation in motivation was 23.01%. The third focal point of the research was to examine how the motivation is correlated with study situations and free time situations with a multilevel modeling approach (mixed linear model). The study found that the studying situations were positively correlated with the extrinsic regulation and the introjected regulation. The study situations were negatively correlated with the intrinsic regulation. The free time situations were positively correlated with the intrinsic regulation and negatively correlated with the extrinsic regulation and the introjected regulation. The results indicated that the participants experienced more intrinsic motivation during their free time than during their studies. The benefits of the intrinsic motivation are evident when it comes to the school performance and well-being of the students. For this reason, it would be beneficial to see if the intrinsic motivation experienced at free time could be transferred and explored also in the studying situations.
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(2020)Multidimensional perfectionism is characterised by a combination of two individual tendencies: perfectionistic strivings, which refer to striving for excessively high personal standards, and perfectionistic concerns, which refer to evaluating overly critically one’s own accomplishments. Achievement goal orientations refer to individuals generalized tendencies to favour certain types of goals in achievement settings. Together these frameworks address both the level and the quality of goals students set for themselves. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between perfectionism and achievement goal orientations among upper secondary school students. This study ultilized a group-based approach and classified students based on their patterns of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. In previous studies, subgroups of perfectionists have differed in their achievement goal orientations. Here, it was further investigated whether these subgroups show meaningful differences also in their subject-specific (i.e., mathematics and English) achievement goal orien-tations. The participants in the present study were 434 general upper secondary school students from Southern Finland, who completed online questionnaires. Students were classified by using TwoStep cluster analysis, and group differences in achievement goal orientations in two different school subjects were examined through analyses of variance. Four distinct perfectionism profiles (perfectionists 21,3%, ambitious 23,8%, concerned 35,6% and non-perfectionists 19,2%) were identified. The ambitious students highlighted mastery-intrinsic, mastery-extrinsic, and performance-approach orientations, while the concerned highlighted relatively more performance-avoidance and avoidance orientations. The perfectionists displayed high values in all orientations, while the non-perfectionists had relatively low value in all orientations, except for the avoidance orientation. Differences in subject-specific orientations were rather similar in both subjects, yet small differences were found. High concerns seemed to be linked with performance- and avoidance orientations. Especially the perfectionists, but also the concerned, are at the risk of adopting maladaptive goals and it might be useful to consider this in teaching and student counselling.
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(2020)Goals. The purpose of this study was to find out what kind of social media groups can be identified among high school students and what kind of gender differences exist in the use of social media. This study also examined whether the social media user groups differ in self-esteem and how gender and socioeconomic background are related to the relationship between social media use and self-esteem. It is important to examine adolescents’ social media user habits in order to gain more detailed information about the association between adolescents’ social media use and self-esteem. Methods. The data (N = 1203) was collected from high school students in 34 Helsinki schools in spring 2018. Participants filled in questionnaires that measured social media use, self-esteem and questions regarding family background. Gender differences in social media usage were evaluated with Independent Samples t-Test and the relationship between with the preliminary variables were analyzed using Pearsons’ correlation factors. Respondents were divided into groups based on participation in social media by using the Two Step Cluster analysis. One-way analysis of variance examined whether groups differed in self-esteem. The one-way analysis of variance also examined whether socioeconomic background and gender influence how user groups differ in self-esteem. Results and conclusions. Four distinct groups were identified from the data: socially networked, knowledge-oriented, academically oriented, and active users. Differences in the use of social media by girls and boys were observed. Girls were found to use more social media for social networking compared to boys. Boys, in turn, were found to use more social media for knowledge-oriented and academically oriented purposes than girls. In addition, gender differences in the distribution of social media user groups were examined. The group of active users and socially networked were more popular among girls, while the knowledge-oriented and academically oriented groups were more popular among boys than girls. The group of active users was the largest group in the material and the most popular user group among girls and boys. Based on this, it can be stated that most girls and boys use digital media in a very diverse way. Social media user groups were not found to differ significantly in self-esteem, and gender or socioeconomic background did not explain the differences in user groups in self-esteem.
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(2021)Objective of the study. Assessment is a central part of academic teacher education studies and supporting the development of professional agency a key objective of assessment in tertiary education. Therefore, understanding students’ experiences of being assessed and the development of professional agency in assessment situations is important. Teachers’ professional agency is an integrative concept consisting of three dimensions: motivation, self-efficacy and classroom strategies. Previous studies have shown that the teaching practice periods and social interaction situations during teacher education are important in the development of student teachers’ professional agency. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested that assessment practices are related to students’ motivation, self-efficacy and learning. Previous studies have not explored students’ assessment experiences in relation to the development of their professional agency. The purpose of the present study is to find out what kind of assessment situations student teachers identify as important, and how these assessment situations are related to the development of teachers’ professional agency. Methods. The data consisted of eight individual interviews, collected from student teachers who were at the final phase of their studies. The Critical Incident method was applied when carrying out the interviews. The participants were asked to recall assessment situations during their teacher education studies which they found important for their professional development. The interview data were analyzed using the abductive content analysis approach. Results and conclusions. The results suggested that assessment situations were related to the development of student teachers’ professional agency. The clearest relation was found between assessment situations and students’ self-efficacy. The students considered formative, timely, dialogical and well-founded assessment as the most beneficial in supporting the development of their professional agency. Assessment as its best can enhance students’ experiences of being on the right track, capability for teacher profession and having the sufficient skills for teacher’s work in the future. Poorly executed assessment can impede the development of professional agency. Based on the results the use of dialogical feedback practices and interactive peer assessment practices can be particularly beneficial in supporting the development of students’ motivation, self-efficacy and classroom strategies. It is important to consider the development of students’ professional agency in developing the assessment practices of the academic teacher education.
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(2023)Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract The purpose of the research is to find out whether agency appears during the years of study of classroom teacher students, what kind of alternative education choices students have and how social relationships and the social environment appear in education-related choices. In addition to this, I examine limitations that slow down or prevent the realization of the student's agency. Previous studies have shown that strong initiative is an important necessary skill in a changing and uncertain society, both in the labor market and in other areas of an individual's life. Studies have also shown that the realization of agency in a teacher's work contributes to the development of one's own work, enjoyment at work and commitment to work, as well as active learning and stronger agency of students. The research is part of the University of Helsinki's BAT project (2017─2022), which aims to obtain research information on the functionality and effects of the 2017 degree reform and the relevance of the development process of student teachers. Student classroom teachers (N=12) from the University of Helsinki who started their studies in 2017 participated in the semi-structured thematic interviews. The interviews were analyzed using material-based content analysis. The interviewees' own growth and the development of future work, as well as agency and its practices, were strongly present throughout the interviews. Noticing one's own development was also strongly related to meaningful learning experiences. The interviewees' speech also revealed several factors that limit and slow down the agency, such as structural restrictions, problems related to course content and scheduling. Based on the results of the research, it can be stated that the agency of classroom teacher students should be supported even more by creating more spaces for opinions during classroom teacher training, the opportunity to implement their own style of teaching during internships, and to receive constructive feedback on their own actions and the opportunity for dialogic reflection with the teaching teacher. It is also important to recognize the limitations of agency that appear during the course of student teacher studies, so that students can be supported in a timely and affirming way.
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(2022)The transition from teacher education to working life can be a very demanding time. Early career teachers often experience uncertainty about their own skills and an inability to carry out teaching in accordance with their goals. Previous research has shown that teachers’ perceptions of their own ability to deliver teaching affects, among other things, the quality of teaching and student learning. The aim of this master's thesis is to increase the understanding of the practices of the induction in the school community that support the building of the professional self-efficacy of early career teachers. The research questions were: What kind of key experiences of the construction of the concept of self-efficacy are described by class teachers in the induction phase? What factors in everyday school life have strengthened the self-efficacy? What factors in everyday school life have impaired the self-efficacy? The data consisted of interviews with 9 class teachers at the beginning of their careers. The Journey Plot interview method was used to collect the interview data. The data for my study were collected as part of a larger joint research project of the Universities of Helsinki, Tampere and Eastern Finland entitled “Early career Teachers’ Professional Agency across four European countries -Key for Sustainable Educational Change?” funded by the Academy of Finland. The interview data were qualitatively content analyzed by applying an abductive strategy. The key experiences of professional self-efficacy were both positive and negative. The key experiences were especially related to the teaching and the challenges and changes in work. According to the results, the support of colleagues and the principal strengthened the professional self-efficacy of classroom teachers. Correspondingly, the lack of support and guidance in the induction phase weakened the professional self-efficacy experienced by class teachers. The lack of support especially in challenging situations and changes in work had a detrimental effect on teachers' professional self-efficacy. The results reinforce the notion that the professional self-efficacy of class teachers can be strengthened in everyday school life through diverse support and guidance.
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(2022)Previous research shows that multicultural and multilinguistic organizations can be more effective and creative than other organizations. Building trust in workplace strengthens commitment to work and eliminates conflicts and disagreements between colleagues. Organizational culture is partly impacted by how trust building materializes in practice in work community. The purpose of the study was to discover how international experts experience trust building and work commitment in a multicultural organization. The study was conducted in the IT organization that is part of a bigger Finnish organization. The study answered two research questions: (1) What should an organization guarantee to its employees to build trust and commitment? (2) What informal factors contribute to building trust in a multicultural work community? This study was conducted qualitatively, and semi-structured interview was used as a method to collect research material. In total, six people were interviewed for the study. They all work for the IT organization and do not speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Three of the interviewees had moved to Finland when they started working for the organization and three others work from their home countries as consultants for the organization. Theoretical content analysis was used as the analysis method. The results of the study suggest that international professional’s benefit from clear goals, roadmaps, and strategies that guide their work. These should be available in English. In addition, multicultural teams’ benefit from being able to build their own ways of working that takes multiculturalism and language barriers into account. Informal acquaintance is also useful in building trust. International colleagues had positive experiences of colleagues and supervisors who had helped them when they moved to Finland, for example. In addition, it has been important for the international experts to learn Finnish and learn about the Finnish culture. In order to build trust and commitment, it is important that the organizational culture supports the needs of multiculturalism and multilingualism, and the employees implements the culture in everyday life. The results of the study can be applied in building trust and commitment of multicultural teams.
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(2020)In this thesis I inquire into young people’s stories about disability activism. This thesis aims to contribute to current discussions in the field of disability studies and youth studies concerning young disabled people’s societal influencing and participation. As it has been acknowledged in youth studies, young peoples’ political agency shouldn’t be seen only as an involvement in official politics, but more diversified and concerning also the different aspects of everyday life. In this thesis I ask how and in which ways young disability activists aim to influence societal practices and what opportunities for agency are available in these processes. I draw my analysis from five semi-structured interviews which I conducted with young disability activists aged between 22–26. The purpose of the interview was to produce accounts and descriptions about the research topic. I analysed the data using qualitative narrative method. Different disability and human rights organisations had an important role in enabling interviewees’ political agency. The organisations had opened a way to influence for many young people, nevertheless there were different contradictions attached to their narration. These contradictions were connected to the organisational practices effecting the limits and possibilities to be heard. Also the themes and topics young people consider important can be interpreted as apolitical from the organisational perspective. Some interviewees stated that for example sexual diversity was often bypassed. For some young people the political agency took the form of more mundane practices. These involved blogging and different social media activities, doing music with a disability politics twist and taking part in different demonstrations and marches. I interpreted these practices to be more spontaneous and not limited by organisational practices and thus they have the possibility to bring new topics and themes to the sphere of political. This thesis suggests that instead of seeing young people as politically passive, we should pay attention to their political agency and the different forms it might take.
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(2023)The thesis examined segregation on pupils (N=176) mathematical achievement in ur-ban schools. The mathematical test battery was a part of Lukuseula Oy’s pilot from au-tumn 2022. The mathematical assessment was carried out on six grade students who are almost in the transition phase from primary to lower secondary school. The aim of the study was to map the segregation that takes place within the urban school setting. The analysis supported gendered mathematical achievement (p= .016) and the effect of gender was strong. The analysis, however, showed no signs of sociospatial segrega-tion on mathematical achievement. Gendered achievement should be taken seriously because it portrays as a systematic equality issue throughout the education system.
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