Browsing by study line "Luokanopettaja, kasvatustiede"

The aim of this study was to shine light to ADHD as a phenomenom in a teachers career. Hypothesis was that a teacher can have ADHD but it doesn’t make a teacher unqualified. This study focused on key themes of ADHD which were hardships, compensation or alleviation of these hardships and strengths in a teacher’s career. Research shows that ADHD can cause hardships but it is also possible to affect these hardships with certain actions (Lehtokoski, 2004, 75−78; Nadeau, 2005, 550; Adler & Florence, 2006, 41−42; Michelsson ym,. 2004, 21 & 93). Research also states that ADHD can also be a strength, which means that it is important for an ADHD individual to find a job that fits those personal ADHD related traits (Hansen, 2017, 13 & 114; Michelsson ym., 2004, 93). Research question was to find out how teachers experience their professional identity and teacherhood and which hardships and strengths they experience in their career as a teacher because of ADHD diagnosis. This study was executed by interviewing seven teachers from varying levels of education with means of semi-structured interview. Answers in these interviews were analysed with means of qualitative content analysis. Results of this study consisted of many experiences about teacherhood and a teacher’s professional identity from teachers who have ADHD diagnosis. Experiences about teacherhood and teachers’ professional identity were in line with earlier research about teacherhood. Although in this study the teachers emphasized a bit more on humanity and understanding as part of teacherhood and related personality traits. ADHD can affect the working of a teacher via hardships as well as strengths. Teachers brought up many different hardships, compensation methods and strengths related to ADHD. For example, hardships with time management and memory were brought up in these interviews. These for example can be alleviated by using a calendar and other sources of written reminders of important things. The use of ADHD medication was also mentioned in some form on most interviews. ADHD related strengths were linked to more humane and understanding approach to students, creativity, efficiency, increase of neuropsychiatric knowledge and curious or enthusiastic lifestyle. ADHD affects a teachers work, but it most certainly does not mean, that the teacher would face big problems in his or her career because of ADHD. It is important that a teacher with ADHD finds his own best way to do things and to find out his or her strengths as well as to utilize them. In this way a teacher can succeed in their line of work despite of their hardships. ADHD related traits or attributes do not define an individual, its more about how they can be utilized and alleviated via different solutions in work related environment, if needed.

Tiivistelmä - Referat – Abstract Objectives. The aim of this thesis was to describe, analyze, and interpret how a collaborative virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) can provide opportunities to learn and practice work skills that promote student motivation and agency to learn. The research questions concerned how students perceived their agency and autonomy in different learning environments and how this affected their motivation, as well as the cognitive potential of the VR learning environment and how it promoted agency in learning. The study applied the Cognitive Affordances of Technologies Scale, CATS (Dabbagh, Conrad & Dass, 2010), designed to examine the cognitive potential of technology-supported learning environments (TSLEs) with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses of learning technologies in relation to the affordances in the environment. CATS was developed with the aim to help in improving the cognitive design of TSLEs to support purposeful and meaningful learner activities and learning interactions. Methods. The study involved 14 students participating in a forest machine course at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. The students studied both in the VR learning environment and in the traditional learning environment. A mixed-method ethnographic case study approach (Torres Colón, 2020) was used to combine rich qualitative data from on-site observations, interviews, and video observations to complement quantitative data. The aim was to provide a better understanding of the research problems than using either approach alone. In this study, the approach was a pragmatic combination of methods (Seppänen-Järvelä, Åkerblad & Haapakoski, 2019), using all the methods that best enabled the research questions to be answered (triangulation). Results and conclusions. The main results showed that students generally rated their autonomy higher in VR groups than in physical groups, learning in a VR learning environment was meaningful and had a positive impact on students' motivation, and learning opportunities supported students' autonomy through meaningful teacher-student interaction and promoted student agency. A collaborative virtual learning environment, where teachers warmly regulate emotions through meaningful classroom interaction, can provide opportunities for learning and practicing work skills, thus promoting student motivation and agency. The VR environment was shown to provide opportunities for students to explore subjects that are interesting and meaningful to them, increasing students' intrinsic motivation. The teacher's role in supporting students' autonomy and agency is important, as students should be encouraged and guided to use the affordances of the VR environment. Teachers need to monitor, evaluate, and adapt different teaching methods to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology. In the future, this may help teachers in post-secondary education and skills training and immersive virtual reality (VR) designers to further develop technology to enhance learning in VR.

The aim of this study is to examine how much other than Finnish or Finnish as a second language subject teachers use literature education in multidisciplinary teaching and how much they collaborate with Finnish or Finnish as a second language teachers. Previous studies show that while teachers attach great importance to multidisciplinary teaching, cross-subject collaboration requires a lot of extra work from teachers. Research shows that reading literature is holistically linked to the better performance of pupils at school. This study provides information on how much teachers cooperate in literature and what kind of collaboration is. The investigation will also examine the reasons why there is no cooperation. The data of this study have been based on the Finnish and Swedish responses of the survey data sent to other subject teachers in the Lukuklaani project, which received 611 answers. Among the answers to the survey sent to other subject teachers, I looked at the questions that had been used to investigate the literary education carried out by subject teachers. With regard to the answers to closed questions, I examined qualitative indicators and open answers through qualitative content analysis. The results of my research showed that the other subject teachers use very little of literary education in their teaching. In multidisciplinary learning modules, literary education was used as an upwardly differentiated material and in deepening the knowledge of the subject through non-fiction. The reason why literature education was not utilised was that the subject taught by the subject teacher was not involved in the school's multidisciplinary teaching, or that multidisciplinary learning modules were limited. Subject teachers cooperated with Finnish or Finnish as a second language teachers most often every academic year or less often. Closer cooperation was less common. Cooperation was carried out in the teaching of multidisciplinary learning entities, the teaching and evaluation of writing and literacy, language maintenance, expressive skills and the organization of school parties. The reason for the lack of cooperation was the unwillingness of Finnish teachers and the lack of time. The study shows that subject teachers do quite a bit of multidisciplinary cooperation, but do not express a reluctance to cooperate.

The research assignment of the study is based on the research literature of body image, according to which children's body concerns are significant in nature and often begin early before school age. The purpose of the study was to clarify the perceptions of primary school teachers about the importance of the teacher in the phenomenon of the formation of body image in children. The study seeks answers to teachers' views on the question of the formation of children's body concerns and their prevention. The data was collected using an online questionnaire employing a narrative completion method. The data consists of the reports (n=34) of primary school teachers (n=17), which were analysed with a qualitative phenomenographic research approach. From the reports of primary school teachers on the formation of pupil body concerns and their prevention, four types of different perceptions emerged, which constitute the main result of phenomenographic analysis. The teachers understood the formation of the student's body concerns and their prevention from the perspectives of equality, positivity-negativity, neutrality and pedagogy. Teachers' perceptions of the formation and prevention of body concerns as a result of teacher activity were mainly consistent with previous research literature. In their reports, teachers also identified causes unrelated to the teacher. The study shows a realistic understanding of teachers in the phenomena of the formation and prevention of children’s body concerns, as well as the ignorance of teachers in the existence of minority phenomena. Based on the research, it would next be essential to examine the study of the status and body image formation of minority children in a Finnish elementary school, research aimed at promoting a positive body image, and the latent need in current teacher education to understand diversity and reflect on the teacher's own bodily position.

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to determine to what extent co-teachers working in primary school experience burnout and work engagement and to explore a possible correlation between burnout and work engagement. In addition, the aim is to establish in what way the prerequisites of successful co-teaching are connected to burnout and work engagement among co-teachers. Furthermore, it is explored which background variables are connected to burnout, work engagement and the prerequisites of successful co-teaching. The method of this thesis was quantitative. The survey data was obtained by posting a questionnaire on a social media group aimed principally at teachers in May of 2022. 54 co-teachers took part in this study. The research material was analysed statistically with IBM SPSS software utilising exploratory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis H-test. On average, co-teachers experienced burnout symptoms rarely and work engagement a few times a week. A negative correlation was observed between burnout and work engagement. The more the co-teachers reported satisfaction with equal distribution of work and responsibility and interaction with their co-teaching partner the less they reported feelings of exhaustion and more work engagement. Satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching was connected to lower burnout and higher vigor. Experience as a teacher, age group or the length of co-teaching partnership were not connected to burnout, work engagement, or satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching. The longer the duration of the co-teaching partnership, the more satisfied the co-teachers were with the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction with their co-teaching partner. This study presented new findings about burnout and work engagement among primary school co-teachers. In addition, the study brought additional evidence about the importance of the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction between co-teaching partners. The study also highlighted the importance of administrative support towards co-teaching. The results of the study can be considered indicative. Further research is needed.

We live in an increasingly diverse society. Various neurological developmental disorders have become more and more common as awareness and general discussion around them has increased. One of the most important tasks of basic education is to support the student's growth in humanity and become a membership of society. Teaching and education must promote, for example, respect for other people, human rights and equality. It is also important to support the student's growth into a balanced person with a healthy self-esteem. Literary education is the right way to deal with these skills of growing as a person. Reading fiction allows you to understand both yourself and the world around you better. The meaning of identification is also crucial because every child should have the opportunity to read relatable works which they can use to mirror themselves. In the current literature for young adults, all types of autism are already covered quite extensively, but the autism spectrum still appears as a relatively rare theme. The purpose of this thesis was to study the spectrum of autism in two books for young people from the 21st centu-ry. The study was carried out as a qualitative study. The research method was data-based content analysis, which was used to analyze two books for young adults dealing with autism. The research was carried out more precisely as a theory-driven SI content analysis. The theoretical basis was Murray's (2008) publication on fictional autistic people. In the young adult books I selected, the portrayal of the autism spectrum was in line with Murray`s (2008) defined archetypes of fictional autistic characters. “The Curios Incident of the dog in the night-time” (Yöllisen koiran merkillinen tapaus, 2003) exhibited the savant archetype as well as a stereotypical description of autism. “The Shadow Garden” (Varjopuutarha, 2014) displayed a very subtle idiot-archetype. Both books also featured the core characteristics outlined by the Autism Society (Autismiliitto, 2023). However, despite the precence of Murray`s (2008) archetypes in both works, they offered a deeper portrayal than merely relying on stereotypes.

Digital gaming is common nowadays regardless of age, as the majority of individuals aged 10 to 75 play digital games at least occasionally. For this reason, it is necessary to investigate the connection between digital gaming and well-being. Additionally, exploring the relationship between digital gaming and academic performance is essential, as school-age children and students also play digital games. Previous research on the topic has been conducted, but there is relatively little qualitative research based on adult experiences. This study focuses on the experiences of adults who have played a significant amount during their lives and how they perceive gaming’s impact on their well-being, academic performance, and school well-being. Interviewees were asked to define well-being in terms of physical, mental and social aspects, as well as academic performance and school well-being. They were also asked to define problematic gaming. The goal of this study is to gather more information about the positive and negative influences of gaming on an individual’s well-being and academic performance. Educators can use the gathered information when planning the gaming education of the children or youth. The research was conducted as a qualitative study, and data were collected through written interviews with six participants. The interviewees were selected on the assumption that they have played a lot at some point in their lives. The chosen research method was phenomenography because the study focused on the interviewees’ own experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon under investigation. The study found similarities with previous research. Interviewees described connections between digital gaming and well-being like those found in previous studies. One observed connection was the reduction of stress as a result of gaming. Similarities were also found in the interviewees’ perceptions of physical, mental and social well-being, as well as academic performance and problematic gaming, compared to previous research. An example of such similarity was linking the feeling of competence to mental well-being. This research provided a player-centric perspective on digital games. Especially for mental and social well-being, benefits were perceived from gaming. However, drawbacks were also identified and could be described on personal experience. It can be concluded that digital gaming has connections to perceived well-being in its various aspects, both positively and negatively. Academic performance may suffer from excessive amounts of gaming according to interviewees.

Objectives. Studies show that intelligence is declining in Western countries. Researchers ’concerns have widened into a debate over whether society is depleting or whether there is an issue in statistics. The purpose of this study is to sort out the epistemological beliefs of the Mensians in relation to the decline in intelligence. It also explores how incremental theory of intelligence is reflected in the beliefs of Mensians. The aim of the study is to give people who are found to be intelligent the opportunity to describe the evolution of intelligence to broaden the understanding of the phenomenon. Because intelligence is a complex concept, the theoretical background of the study contains broad research of measurement and definition of intelligence. Methods. This qualitative research is part of a phenomenographic research tradition. The material of the study is secondary data from a previous master’s thesis, which examined the beliefs of Mensians in the development of intelligence. This study focuses on the open-ended response in the data, in which Mensians describe why they believe intelligence is declining in the West. In accordance with the phenomenographic research approach, the material was first analysed by classifying the beliefs found in the material into units. Those units were formed into descriptive categories that reflect the relationship between the beliefs associated with the phenomenon in a larger picture. Results and conclusions. According to the results of the study, Mensians widely believe that intelligence is built on a person’s own making. Therefore, incremental beliefs were strongly present in the epistemological beliefs, but entity-theoretic beliefs were also found. The Mensians saw many reasons for the decline in intelligence, the most common being digitalisation and transition in society. Other answers include the breeding of stupid people, chemicalization and life habits. There was concern about the decline in intelligence and it was understood to be part of the negative development of modern society. On the other hand, many Mensans also questioned the whole phenomenon and suspected it as a misunderstanding.

Teachers’ actions are often talked about in different mediums. The floor is given most often to those who have received negative feedback whilst at school. Previous studies have also shown that the feedback given by teachers is often related to performance, personality and remains superficial. Studies state that feedback influences students’ self-image which is connected to performance and motivation. According to Finnish constitutional law (L628/1998, 22 §), schools must evaluate students. The law also states the conditions of evaluation. Students’ evaluation is a part of teachers’ job. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what kind of feedback classroom teachers have received during their own school years. Furthermore, the aim is to examine how the teachers experience the given feedback and how they have reflected on it in comparison to their own teachers’ profession. I collected the research material by interviewing three Finnish classroom teachers. The interviews were carried out using a semi-structured method. I used a qualitative, narrative method, which allowed me to immerse myself into the teachers’ experiences and their reflections. According to the research results classroom teachers remembered several occasions where feedback was given. They could also recall the emotions felt in those situations. The justification of feedback was emphasised in the interviews. Additionally, the teachers conceived feedback as a meaningful component of learning and were very aware of the effects of feedback in their own students. The results also showed that experiences of feedback given in primary and secondary schools influenced the teachers in their teachers’ profession. Reflecting on previous experiences affects the formation of one’s professional identity. It also influences the processing of those experiences. I am hopeful that this thesis will provide understanding towards the effects of feedback and processing of teachers’ pervious experiences as a part of the formation of their professional identity.

Objectives. As a future teacher, who identifies as a female, I felt the need to expand my knowledge of the expectations that agents of other genders, in addition to females, face. This study came to being from the need to examine what expectations are placed in executing masculinity. Connell’s (1995) theory of hegemonic masculinity is a central basis of this study. Hegemonic masculinity is a normative model of the most respected way of being a man while only few men are truly able to reach this. A list of hegemonic masculinity’s expectations composed by Arto Jokinen (2000) worked as a basis for five ideals which I searched from the study material: strength, success, control of emotions, power and heterosexuality. This set of expectations creates positions of dominance and subordination between men. I therefore expanded the purpose of the study to examine the ways in which boys organize hierarchies between each other. The purpose of this study is to describe, analyze and interpret the manifestation of ideals of masculinity in upper comprehensive school aged boys and their ways of organizing hierarchies between each other. Methods. I received the material from a study project called Local Educational Ethos (LEE). The material was composed of nine single- or group interviews and together there were 16 interviewees. This material I analyzed in a qualitative, theory directed content analysis method. Results and conclusions. All five ideals of masculinity were able to be identified from the material. The normativity of hegemonic masculinity is extended to affect upper compulsory school aged boys. The ways of organizing hierarchies Bullying, verbal teasing and calling other pupils gay stood out from the material as ways of organizing hierarchies. This observation is in line with the presented theories of organizing hierarchies.