Browsing by study line "Luokanopettaja, kasvatustiede"

The aim of the study was to examine the role of customer learning in the co-development process of a product or service. The customer's learning is an essential part of the co-development process. With the help of research, the aim is to find possible learning challenges and to deepen the customer's learning path and its meaning. Companies should be able to enable customer learning even better in the future because customers are constantly demanding more and more individualized services and products. The frameworks of the research were the co-development process and customer learning. The customer's learning perspective was further deepened with the theories of trialogical learning, Bloom's taxonomy, and flipped learning. The research was carried out using design-ethnographic methods, using versatile material, collected from the company's customers and employees. The data were semi-structured interviews with customers and employees and other material from the co-development process, such as presentation material. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis methods. The results showed that the role of the customer's learning plays a very strong role during the co-development process. If the client's learning remains at a light level, the result of the project usually does not match the desired goals. In the customer's learning, special attention should be paid to the customer's motivation and enthusiasm, different participatory working methods, the utilization and cross-pollination of the different expertise of the customer group, and the general coordination of the project, for example, the guidance of workshops and the coordination of interim tasks. The study gathered together tips on different ways of working and learning in the co-development process.

Combining studying and goal-oriented sports is challenging. This master's thesis looks at the path of successful high-level athletes to the top and how they have experienced the combining of two careers. The aim is to look at the experience’s athletes have of combining sports careers and studies at different levels of education and what they have found challenging and what has been, on the other hand, successful. On average, sports careers at the top level are short, and after the end of their careers, many athletes find employment in jobs corresponding to their studies. The best way we can understand athletes' experiences is if we are also aware of how to develop into a top athlete. The data of the study consists of seven interviews. Seven Finnish athletes who have had successful sports careers and who also have had varied study experiences were interviewed for the purpose of the study. The study data was collected in autumn 2021 through a thematic interview. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed. A phenomenographic approach was used in the analysis of the data. Based on the research results, athletes had similar experiences combining study and sports in comprehensive school. Combining these did not require any special effort. However, the sports-oriented classes in comprehensive school provided an opportunity for morning training. In high school, different experiences were experienced. It was possible to combine sports and studies in a regular high school, but it required initiative and support from the school side. In sports schools, it was easier to combine the two careers, and the school provided significant support to promote both athlete careers. In higher education studies, combining sports and studies was considered challenging. In particular, courses requiring attendance slowed down the completion of studies. However, the interviewees agreed that studying and graduating is possible during a sports career. Studying was seen as a counterbalance to the sport. Sports academies aim to simplify the combination of sports and studies. However, not all athletes knew how to take advantage of the services provided by sports academies because most of them were unaware of their existence. In the future, the activities of sports academies should be developed so that it is even more efficient and accessible to athletes.

In 2020 new university students started their studies in special arrangements due to COVID- 19-pandemic. This thesis has two purposes. First, this thesis examines the student engagement of first-year students at the University of Helsinki. Second, it examines the correlation of student engagement and sense of coherence. The theoretical background of this study is Korhonen’s (2014) model of student engagement, where engagement develops through the interaction of individual and collective progress, strengthening student’s identity and sense of belonging. This study aims to answer to the following research questions: 1) How are the first- year students engaged in their studies, and how does their engagement differ from that of first year students in 2012? 2) How does engagement differ according to change of residence and previous experiences university studies? 3) What engagement groups can be found in first year students? 4) Is there a connection between sense of coherence and student engagement? The data was collected with a survey in spring 2021. The survey was answered by 183 first year students at the University of Helsinki. In the survey student engagement was measured with EEQ and sense of coherence was measured with the SOC-13 scale. The data was analyzed with quantitative methods. First-year students were more engaged in the individual dimension, but in the collective dimension engagement was weaker. Students’ engagement was strong in areas of identity and sense of belonging. There were several differences between 2021 and 2013 data. First-year students who begun their studies in 2020 had better academic skills, but in all other areas engagement was weaker. In particular, sense of belonging and participation were weaker than in students who started their studies in 2012. Students who moved to a new residence experienced fewer social practices in their studies. Students who had earlier university degree, had stronger academic skills and stronger sense of meaning in studies, identity and belonging. Three different engagement groups were found and named strongly, individually and weakly engaged. Sense of coherence correlated positively with five areas of student engagement.

The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine the teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy of those teachers who taught remotely during the autumn of 2020. Furthermore, the aim is to find out if some background variables are connected to these above mentioned constructs. Teacher efficacy and collective efficacy are based on the self-efficacy beliefs which describe person’s beliefs in their own ability to succeed in specific situations (Bandura, 1977). Teacher efficacy is connected to many positive outcomes, e.g., remaining in the profession (Burley et al., 1991), and job satisfaction (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2010). There is also evidence that teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy are connected to each other (Goddard & Goddard, 2001). This master’s thesis aims to supplement the previous research data on teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in the context of COVID-19. The data used in this study are from a research project that aims to examine the effects of COVID-19 on studying, teaching and well-being. The project is run by University of Helsinki and Tampere University. The data were collected in November 2020 by sending electronic surveys to every comprehensive school in Finland. In total there were 5797 teacher participants, but the final sample consisted of those 1095 teachers who said that they had taught remotely during the autumn. The methods used in this quantitative study included describing the data and running correlation analyses and Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The dimensions of teacher efficacy were more correlated between themselves than the dimensions of collective teacher efficacy. The correlations between the two were even weaker. Class teachers had higher teacher efficacy compared to subject teachers or special education class teachers. Female teachers of the lower levels of comprehensive education had the highest levels of efficacy when teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy were examined together; the result is in line with several other studies (e.g. Greenwood, 1990; Edwards et al., 1996). Results indicate that remote teaching has weakened the collective teacher efficacy by decreasing the encounters of the work community. The result that class teachers had the highest levels of teacher efficacy might be explained by the vast level of general competence brought by the education or by their more reasonable workload.

Finnish elementary students’ mathematics performance is well above average in international comparison, but research shows that it is declining. Also, students’ motivation is not as strong as could be expected according to their performance. We used the person-centred approach to investigate Finnish third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students’ mathematics motivation profiles. In addition, we explored differences between the motivation profiles regarding students’ mathematics identity, performance, and their parents’ mathematics-related attitudes Participants were 304 Southern Finnish third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students from five separate schools and their parents/guardians (N=241). The surveys were conducted during spring of 2021 in the pilot stage of an international research project focusing on students’ mathematical motivation. Analysis was conducted with Mplus. Motivation profiles were derived by a latent profile analysis (LPA), additional analysis used bch and r3step methods and crosstabulation (spss). Analysis revealed three distinct types of math-related motivation profiles: highly motivated, non motivated and indifferent. Further investigation of the profiles showed that students’ higher mathematics identity is represented strongly in highly motivated group, as are students’ mathematics performance scores. Parents’ self-reported perceived low mathematics competence is highly represented in those students belonging to the non motivated profile. The article: ” Examining motivation profile differences across students' mathematics identity, performance, and parents’ attitudes” is planned to be published in the LUMAT-journal.

In a mediated society, the importance of media education is emphasised, and it is important that media education and news are processed with children and young people in schools. News aimed at children offer teachers a good way to discuss about current affairs with children, as well as provide media education. This study examines how news and current topics are handled in primary schools and utilized as part of teaching. The study also examines the importance of news aimed at children for teachers and pupils. The subject of the study is Helsingin Sanomat’s Children's News, a news media aimed at children in Helsingin Sanomat. Children's news is commonly utilized in schools, but there is no information on how Children’s news is used in schools. In addition, research on the educational use of news and news for children is largely focused on international research, so the aim of this study is also to produce research information on the topic specifically in the Finnish context. This study is a qualitative case study that examined Children's news in educational use and also teachers' and pupils’ experiences on educational use of and more generally on Children's news. The data of this study consisted of semi-structured themed interviews with primary school teachers and of a teaching experiment which was conducted on the basis of the interviews. The data in the experiment was collected from primary school pupils using a questionnaire and semi-structured themed interviews. The data was collected in two phases in 2021 and 2022. The method of analysis for both data sets was qualitative content analysis. Based on this study, Children's news was utilized in teaching weekly and specifically as part of the actual teaching. The Children's news broadcast, which most of the pupils also mentioned that they liked, was exploited the most in the teaching. Children's news was used most frequently in Finnish language and literature lessons, but also, for example, as part of the work on transversal competence skills such as learning skills. Educational situations with Children’s news were not usually very planned and the planning appeared particularly as checking the news topics beforehand as well as by the acquisition of any additional information. The main methods of teaching with Children's News were discussions and written methods of working. Interviews with teachers also highlighted the importance of handling news in teaching, as well as the importance of news aimed specifically to children. Pupils also felt that following the news was a positive thing and being informed about world events was important. The results show that Children's News offers opportunities for a wide range of uses in primary school education, including media education, integrative instruction and as part of the work on transversal competence skills. I hope that this study will provide examples and perspectives on educational use of news and media education and encourages to use of the news as part of teaching.

According to the National core curriculum for basic education (2014), schools should guide students towards a sustainable lifestyle, as well as understanding that people are part of na-ture and completely dependent on the surrounding ecosystem. Schools should also address emotions related to climate change, as children have experienced, for example, sadness, fear, and helplessness. Studies suggest that climate education in schools is very fragmented and variable and should be improved. Studies show that children’s books are a good way to deal with difficult issues and emotions among children. In this thesis, I examine what climate emotions occur in children’s books on climate change and how the books present climate change. Based on these questions, I evaluate how children's books on climate change could be used in climate education. This thesis is a qualitative study. Four Finnish children's books on climate change published during 2019 and 2020 were used as data. The books are aimed at children of primary school age. The books were analyzed by using content analysis. In the second research question, I used theory-guided content analysis, in which the guiding theory was the model of ecological literacy by Wong and Kumpulainen (2019). The characters in the books had a wide range of climate emotions: distressing emotions from fear to anxiety, worry, and joy and enthusiasm. The climate emotions in the books were simi-lar to emotions that people have related to climate change. The books described climate change and issues related to climate change in many ways. Children's books on climate change can be useful in climate education, as they can help children deal with difficult climate emotions, as well as understand climate change as a wider phenomenon. More research is needed on how books could improve children’s ecological literacy, and more specifically cli-mate literacy.

Objective of the study. The beginning of teacher’s career, in other words, the induction phase, has been noticed in previous studies to be very challenging and stressful for them. During the induction phase teachers often decide on the continuation of their careers. In previous studies related to teachers in the induction phase, it has been noticed that they have higher stress levels than more experienced teachers. They also feel that their workload is excessive. This master’s thesis objective was to study the induction phase teachers’ workload forms and factors. I also make subject teachers’ workload risk profiles with person-oriented research. The main objective of this thesis is to increase understanding of the induction phase subject teachers’ workload to improve teachers’ working conditions. Methods. The data of this thesis consisted of six induction phase subject teachers’ interviews. The interviewed subject teachers were chosen at discretion for this study. The data on my study was collected as a part of a larger joint research project of the Universities of Tampere, Helsinki, and Easter Finland funded by the Academy of Finland entitled “Early career Teachers’ Professional Agency across four European countries -Key for Sustainable Educational Change?”. The data from these interviews were analyzed qualitatively with theory-based content analysis. Result and conclusions. In the induction phase subject teachers experienced a lot of workload. Teachers were burdened by stress the most. Stress was caused by excessive workload, time pressure, and the lack of support. According to the results, prolonged stress caused burnout. All the burnout dimensions (cynicism, decreased professional self-esteem, and exhaustion) came up in teachers’ speeches. This master’s thesis showed that in the induction phase subject teachers had a risk to become exhausted due to excessive workload. Subject teachers’ workloads are important to identify in order to improve teachers’ well-being at work.

The study examined Finnish classroom teachers’ self-compassion and perfectionism in relation to burnout. The study sought to find out how self-compassion and perfectionism affect the burnout experienced by classroom teachers and what kind of relationship there is between self- esteem and perfectionism. Previous studies have shown that perfectionistic concerns are a risk factor for burnout. Self-compassion has been found to affect very positively for a person's well- being and resilience. In Finland, no research has been conducted among teachers about these topics. The data was collected via an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to teachers by Luokanopettajat ry -email list and Alakoulun Aarreaitta -Facebook group. The questionnaire measured burnout by Maslach Burnout Invetory, perfectionism by The Short Almost Perfect and self-compassion by Self-Compassion Short Form. Answers were received from 153 classroom teachers. Self-compassion was negatively correlated with perfectionist concerns and all dimensions of burnout. Perfectionist concerns were positively correlated with all dimensions of burnout. Two different groups of perfectionism and self-compassion were found. The second group (46%) consisted of teachers with high self-criticism, high perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings and low self-compassion This group was named as self-critical teachers. Teachers in the second group (54%) were more self-compassionate and less critical about themselves. This group was named as self-compassionate teachers. Self-critical teachers experienced more exhaustion than self-compassionate teachers. No statistically significant difference was found between these groups for cynicism and inefficacy. Based on the correlation matrix, self- compassion was negatively and perfectionistic concerns were positively related to all the dimensions of burnout. Perfectionistic strivings correlated negatively with inefficacy so striving for perfection seems to be protective factor against inefficacy. According to the study, self- criticism and perfectionist concerns are predisposing factors for burnout. Self-compassion seems to protect teachers from burnout.

This study is an article-type master’s thesis, and its purpose was to study immigrant background families from ECEC personnel’s perspective. In this study ‘immigrant background’ is defined to include everyone who has either moved to Finland, been born in Finland but has parents with an immigrant background or speaks a foreign language at home. The personnel perspective in this study is brough by ECEC leaders and educators. The research questions were: How do the views of parents with an immigrant background appear to the ECEC leaders and educators? By what means do the ECEC leaders and educators support the families in their integration? The theoretical framework was produced by the diversities, acculturation and integration that was based on the international declarations, Finnish laws, policies, and recommendations from the curricula. With the help of these, this study aims to add knowledge of immigrant background families in ECEC, which is needed according to previous studies. This study was conducted between September year 2021 and May year 2022. The data was collected in December via individual and group interviews. The empirical material was gathered through semi-structured interviews with five ECEC unit leaders interviewed individually, and nine educators interviewed in four groups of two to four educators. The interviews were analyzed with content analysis using an inductive approach. The results indicate that the immigrant background families’ views appear for the leaders, and educators are mainly positive, especially the families' desire to integrate into Finnish society. The diverse cultures appeared for the personnel to conflict with Finnish culture, however, the conflict depended on the individuals and was not able to generalize. The means of integration were clear, and they matched all the dimensions of integration. The results explain the need for ensuring a shared understanding between parents and ECEC personnel. The article script “Language is Important” Perspectives from ECEC Personnel on Supporting Families with an Immigrant Background” is supposed to publish in an ECEC journal called Journal of Early Childhood Education Research. As co-authors in the article were Arniika Kuusisto and Heidi Harju-Luukkainen.