Browsing by Author "Saukko, Vilma"

This master's thesis examines teachers’ perspectives on worldview education and worldviews in school culture. Aim of the research is to explore 1) the perceptions of basic education teachers regarding worldview subjects, 2) the perceptions of basic education teachers regarding worldviews in school culture, and 3) how the perceptions of teachers teaching different worldview subjects differ regarding worldview education and worldviews. The research data is part of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) data collection, which gathered information about the situation of worldview education in basic education schools. The data collection was conducted among teachers through an electronic survey on Webropol in the spring of 2023. A total of 2753 teachers responded to the survey questionnaire. The research was conducted as a quantitative study, and the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28 software. The research results indicate that teachers consider worldview education to be an important and meaningful part of basic education. The majority of teachers supported a common worldview subject. Teachers generally had positive views on the visibility of worldviews in school culture. Many teachers believed that the school should promote dialogue between different worldviews. However, teachers also perceived that worldviews pose challenging situations in school. They felt that they lacked the necessary competence to deal with worldview diversity. The perspectives of minority religion teachers differed significantly from Lutheran religion and Ethics teachers. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the majority of teachers would be willing to change the current model of worldview education to meet the educational needs of contemporary society. Teachers require vocational further education and training concerning teaching of different worldviews and dealing them in school culture.