Browsing by study line "Lärare i slöjd, design och teknologi"

The purpose of this study is to investigate how craft teachers in Finnish basic education perceive their digital technology competence, how they integrate digital technology in their teaching and which factors influence the teachers’ experiences of their own competence to integrate digital technology in crafts . The aim is to map the current state of digital technology competence of craft teachers, so that it is possible to become more aware of the factors that promote and prevent it. The research data was collected with a structured questionnaire and interview. 17 craft teachers responded to the research questionnaire, and four craft teachers participated in the interview. The Likert-scale survey was part of a larger Growing Mind research project. The two datasets were analyzed separately. In the questionnaire analysis, the frequencies, medians and standard deviations of the answers were examined. The interview material was analyzed qualitatively combining data-driven and theory-based analysis. The results indicated that craft teachers' experiences of their own digital technology competence varied. However, teachers felt that their technological competence was sufficient, and instead of static competence, they emphasized the importance of maintenance and continuous development of the competence. Digital technology was perceived as supportive to teaching, but its use in teaching remained rather one-sided. Teachers viewed digital technology as a teaching tool. There were numerous factors influencing teachers' technological competence, and in addition to the teacher's own technological know-how, it is also important to consider the context where teachers work. The teachers identified the lack of technological equipment, programs and applications as the biggest obstacle of developing their own technological competence.

Objectives. Many studies, activities, processes, services, and even individual products in sustainability (sustainable development) aim at change either only explicitly or only implicitly. However, change often remains unnecessarily modest considering the severity of the problems. This tendency exists in the field of craft science, fashion and more broadly. The research assignment is to describe, analyse and interpret change for sustainability in the field of fashion. The research task is to analyse the philosophical concept meliorism’s potential to produce new insight to this central question of sustainability. The aim is to examine change and understand with meliorism those conditions in which highly challenging and complex information could still be received without paralysis and acted on in consistent and constructive manners. Methods. The chosen data Fashion Transparency Index is compiled by the world’s leading fashion and sustainability campaign: Fashion Revolution. The index is a comparative review on fashion brands’ transparency on sustainability issues from year 2020. The analysis was done in stages. First it was mainly data-driven content analysis where the phenomenon’s concrete manifestations were more prominent. Towards the end theory-driven analysis with the help of concept of meliorism was in focus. Results and conclusions. In Fashion Transparency Index change for sustainability in the field of fashion remains mostly as vague hope, transparency tool making and optimistic descriptions of the sustainability activities of big fashion brands. However, based on further results of this study, it can be tentatively claimed that if meliorism’s active take on making a difference, the preconditions for change for sustainability could be met. In other words if we are not to sink into hopeless pessimism nor give into unfounded optimism but we actively absorb inaccessible, incomplete and even anxiety provoking information and act in accordance to that information, we have an opportunity to improve the presence and above all the future of fashion field.

Objectives. The purpose of this research is to design a structure for an online course on sustainable fashion, which explores the elements of sustainable fashion and aims to give the course participant a holistic understanding of the current situation of the fashion industry. The research studies the ways in which critical and transformational pedagogies can be used in an online learning environment. The idea for this research was born from a personal and business-related need during the global Covid-19 pandemic, when many small businesses had to close their doors or pivot their strategy towards the online marketplaces. Sustainable fashion has been recently researched a lot from different points of view, but none of the previous studies has addressed the subject from the point of view of a small clothing business aiming to teach a course for their customers. Methods. The Design-Based research included a literary review consisting of three distinct kinds of theoretical backgrounds: information about the fashion industry, theory on critical and transformative pedagogies, and theories about online learning environments. Two rounds of online surveys were made: a general one with 112 respondents and a more specific one with 6 respondents. The course structure was designed in two developing cycles. Results and conclusions. The online course structure was designed to include six 10–15-minute videos covering information about ecological, social and economic issues as well as sustainability efforts in the fashion industry. The videos include dialogical and conversational elements, and in addition, a platform for shared discussion between all participants was added to the course structure. Reflection and dialogue are important parts of critical and transformational pedagogies and help people in understanding and changing their values and actions, which is the goal of the online course.

The range of tasks in shoe repair is wide and there is little researched or published information on the subject. The purpose of the study is to respond to the lack of teaching and training material for occupational safety by identifying the risks associated with work tasks and phases according to the experience of the shoe repairers. The study also takes into account the machinery and functions related to the machinery used for work tasks and phases. In addition, the aim of the research is to identify the factors present at a shoe repairers’s work from the perspective of the safe execution of the work. Based on the research results, the sections that should be researched and addressed in the implementation of the teaching and training material to be compiled in the future will be identified. The study was conducted as a quantitative questionnaire survey in the spring of 2022. A web-based questionnaire was developed for the study and distributed to shoe repairers with the assistance of collaborators. A total of 47 respondents participated in the survey, most of whom had long work experience in the field. The research results were processed by quantitative methods using statistical analysis methods. The results of the study show that the shoe repairers didn`t experience more than moderate risks associated with work tasks and phases. The research results highlighted the risks of operations related to the machinery and machine-related functions. Based on the results, distinct work phases and machines or machine-related functions required for implementation were identified, which should be taken into account when developing material suitable for training. In addition, teaching and training materials should draw particular attention to the maintenance and operation of working equipment and machinery.

The main goal of this study was to find out what the sewing process of a garment is like and what the challenges of such a process are. Not much research has been done on sewing and it’s difficult to find out information about cognitive processes of the sewing process. Sewing is described as a hobby with several different meanings. It can be a way to relax or to enjoy life. In this study there is an interest in the working methods of the sewers, the impact of previous experience on work, the critical points of work and problem-solving processes, and the usability of the guide. The research method used in the study was the thinking aloud method in which subjects are asked to speak all their thoughts aloud throughout the experiment. Through the verbalization of thoughts, information is obtained about the subjects' cognitive processes and the content of the working memory. Three subjects participated in the study. In the experiment, the subjects had to make a dress that suits them according to Suuri Käsityö -lehti 8/2019. The material of the study was thinking aloud protocols, video material and dresses which subjects were made in the study. The most common challenges in the sewing process were related to controlling the use of the seamstress and knowing the concepts. All subjects used different seam solutions in their work, although they had the same instruction in their use. The basic principle in the work was that the more familiar the work phase was, the less instruction was used to support the work and the more one's own skills were applied in the work. Not only were the sewing instructions used to support the work, but also the picture attached to the instructions and the general instructions page of the magazine. It can be stated that the guide was adequate and covers all work steps to the extent necessary.

The premise of the thesis was to study Finland’s folk costume’s most prominent aspects and develop learning material based on those aspects. I started by reviewing literature connected to the topic about teaching materials. Based on the results, I concluded that quite a bit of research has been done about folk costumes’ history, and there exists a fairly extensive amount of literature about it. However, there wasn’t that much teaching material available about folk costumes, even though a need for it has been recognized. Therefore, the mission for my thesis became to develop introductory teaching material about folk costumes for beginners. The goal for this thesis is to develop a folk costume manual, that offers an extensive information packet for beginners, along with instructions for wearing and acquiring one. As a research method I chose design-based research which consists of developing the teaching material and the theory of its development. I started the development of the manual by mapping out, what meanings are associated with folk costumes. This was carried out by interviewing four experts. The results were narratives of their experiences around folk costumes. These narratives were divided into categories to be used as material for the first draft of developing the manual, along with literary reviews. The first draft was tested by a heuristic review, in which three of the assessors of the previous step were evaluating the manual by making notes about ideas for developments and other comments. A heuristic list was offered to support the evaluation. Then, the notes were summarized into comments, and the experts classified them based on their prominence. The manual was developed based on the comments, if the experts estimated the problem to be significant. The result of the design-based research is a folk costume manual, and information about the development process. An expert interview and a heuristic evaluation proved to be functional methods for developing this type of learning material. Two themes were highlighted in relation to folk costumes in the experts’ comments: Way of speaking and vocabulary with which the costumes’ instructions and recommendations are being described, and versatility of the folk costumes. These themes had a significant impact on the folk costume manual as well.

Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract The aim of this study was to develop and test a survey instrument based on systemic motivational thinking. The 16-dimensional instrument was operationalized on the basis of Lindfors’s holistic system theory (Lindfors, 1995) and theoretical integration of motivation (Ford & Smith 2009). In addition, the goal of this study was to understand the motivation of the Finnish craft hobbyists and the differences between groups(!) The participants of the study were reached through craft-oriented Facebook groups and members were asked about different aspects of motivation. The quantitative data (N=3409) was collected from Facebook groups in January 2020. First, the data was tested for validity and suitability for the further tests. An overview of the motivation was carried out with descriptive tests. For further testing the theory-based sum variables were created and operationalization was verified from correlation and Cronbach’s Alpha values. The dimensional differences between group means were examined through variance analysis. The conclusion was that the most important motivational factors for all craft hobby groups were pleasure, coping and pride for choices. The result of variance analysis revealed several statistically significant differences. Electric and metal hobbyists regarded skillfulness as an important factor. For woodcraft hobbyists, self-development had a high significance. For ceramic and jewelry hobbyists the creative experience was emphasized. Among knitters the significance of the craft hobby in life generally was rated high as well as the importance of material resources. Sewists rated highly ecological sustainability and social factors as well as the meaning of the craft products itself. Crochet or weaving and embroidery hobbyists did not have any specific motivational factor to stand out.

Objectives. The purpose of the study was to find out the emotional fluctuations experienced in the master’s course in craft education. Based on previous research, it is known that emotions are strongly associated with each stage of the craft process. Better learning outcomes are achieved when both positive and negative emotions are experienced. The theoretical background of this study was constructed from studies examined of both academic emotions and emotions related to the craft process. The study examined how strongly different epistemic emotions, i.e. learning and study-related emotions, students experienced within the framework of the Advanced Course in the master’s degree in Craft Science in University of Helsinki, and how those emotions varied. The research was inspired by my own experience and interest. Methods. The material was collected from the University of Helsinki's Master's degree course in Materialization in Craft Science in the autumn semester 2020 (September 2 – December 1, 2020). Craft teacher students (N=35) completed the emotional scale survey at the end of each teaching session (9 times). The survey was based on the Epistemic Emotions Scales (Short Form) emotion meter created by Pekrun et al. Emotional variations and emotional relationships were examined by correlation coefficients, patterns formed from descriptive data, regression analysis, and t-test. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used for the analyzes. Patterns were created from the averages of each emotion separately, and emotional profiles of a few individual students were added to supplement the results. Results and conclusions. All epistemic feelings occurred throughout the course. The course participants generally experienced mostly enjoyment and curiosity and least frustration and boredom. However, the individual emotional profiles of the students varied a lot from each other, i.e. the emotional variations of the students were different and individual. Enjoyment explained the statistically significant effect of the emotional variation on progression in course assignments. Statistical significance was also evident in the occurrence of confusion; in the first lesson, more confusion was experienced than in the fifth or ninth (the last lesson), confusion related to the assignment decreased from assignment during task completion. Based on this, the assignment of the course can be considered confusing, but as the process progresses, the confusion decreases significantly. An emotion survey can be utilized, for example, in a course, in which case course participants must reflect on their feelings.

This thesis examines the influence of the welfare effect of crafts and craft-communities in the lives of people with depression. The well-being effects of crafts has been studied extensively and from several different perspectives in recent decades. Some of these studies have been handled at a general level the meanings of crafts for the mental health, but little is known about the benefits of crafts specially for depression or depression self-treatment. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to find out if the crafts can be used as a self-treatment method in depression, based on the meanings told by the depressed. The research questions were that what role craft plays in the story of the interviewee´s depression and what well-being effects the interviewees feel they get from crafts and craft-communities. The thesis pursues a narrative approach. Research material collected by narrative interview from five craft-amateurs who has experienced depression. Material from the interviews were analysed with two approaches. As a result of the narrative analysis, the study created personal stories of the interviewees about the depression and the role of crafts in it. The analysis of narratives examined in more detailed way the similarities and differences between the interviewees´ narratives. These narratives were compared with recommendations on self-treatment for depression and the studies about the well-being effects of craft. In their stories, the interviewees described how crafts and craft-communities improve their well-being. This was very consistent with previous studies of the subject. Because of the de-pression, it was significant for the interviewees that the crafts increased their experiences of pleasure, usefulness and success. They also felt that the crafts gave them more strength and improved life management. For the interviewees´ crafts and craft-communities pro-duced similar welfare effects. Although they felt that from craft communities, they received also social relationships with peers. Interviewees didn´t use the term of self-treatment for de-pression when they described the well-being effects of crafts. Even though the interviewees express that the crafts help them manage and live with depression. Based on such results the crafts could be considered a suitable method as self-treatment for depression.

The aim of the study is to provide an overall picture of how students use interior textiles to decorate their homes and what these textiles look like. What kinds of decorators and users of interior textiles are students? Where are interior textiles acquired, received, or do students fabricate those themselves? What kinds of meanings do students attach to interior textiles? The study has both a qualitative and a quantitative perspective. The research material was collected as an open online survey from self-selected students. 388 students answered the survey. Most of them lived alone in a block of flats. Answers were analysed by the means of theory-driven content analysis and by decomposing the content with the help of Word, Excel and ATLAS.ti 9. The research showed that students own a comprehensive range of interior textiles, women slightly more than men. Students’ favourite textiles include snooze blankets, curtains and rugs. Most of the interior textiles are selected by students themselves or received as gifts. Textiles are acquired both new and used, by oneself and as a gift. When choosing an interior textile, the research found that usability and colour has the greatest impact on students’ decision. In addition, the study discovered that there are many different emotions and memories associated with interior textiles. They can remind you of your family roots, people close to you and a day that is important to you. The most loved and meaningful textiles were found to be handcrafted, thus also considered unique. In the field of craft science, this research provides an updated information package of interior textiles for 2020s students. The content can be utilized in the study modules for interior design students. The results can have a positive effect on the planning of student housing, student services and events, and it might also increase the debate on student well-being.