Browsing by study line "Special Education"
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(2022)Goals. The aim of this thesis was to examine the relationship between the assessments made on the teacher rating scale and the results of the direct measures of language development when assessing 4-year-old children’s language skills. The second aim was to find out how well early educators identify 4-year-old children who are at risk and those not at risk for language skills when using the teacher rating scale. Previous research has shown that form-based assessment tools are considered practical and efficient ways to assess children’s early language skills. The accuracy and consistency of the assessments have not been thoroughly investigated. This thesis will provide information on whether early educators identify those children who are at greater risk for language problems than their peers. Early identification is important to targeting the right kind of support. Methods. This study is a quantitative Master’s thesis. The research data included the results of the Lene and the Lukiva tests and the assessments made on the teacher rating scale for 4-year-old children (N=189) obtained in the initial sample of the Toimi ja opi research in 2019. The relationship between the assessments made on the teacher rating scale and the results of direct measures of language development was examined using Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlation analyses. The ability of early educators to identify 4-year-old children who are at risk and those not at risk for language skills was examined through configural frequency analysis. IBM SPSS Statistics 27 and Excel were used for data analysis. Results and conclusions. The results of the Master’s thesis showed a moderate and statistically significant relationship between the assessments made on the teacher rating scale and the direct measures of language development. The strongest connection was measured between the teacher rating scale and the Lene’s language comprehension test. The results also showed that the early educators were able to identify those 4-years-old children who are at risk and those not at risk for language skills when using the teacher rating scale. The findings show that the teacher rating scale is a viable tool for early educators to assess children’s language skills and to identify those who are at risk for language problems.
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(2022)Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Objectives. The goal of this thesis was to examine, what are the prerequisites for building be-longing from the point of view of children who need significant support in early childhood education, and what concrete actions are used to build this belonging. This was clarified by interviews with early childhood education professionals. The aim of this research is to produce new information and bring out the "silent knowledge" in the field of early childhood education through the joint speech of the discussants. The frame of reference in this research, is in early childhood education and with children who need significant support, and in building their belonging. The research opens up the concept of inclusion as a central principle guiding ear-ly childhood education. The concept of inclusion is essentially related to the concept of be-longing. With the help of current legislation and studies, the research opens up how to organize the support a child needs in early childhood education. In the theoretical framework, the child's participation, the politics of belonging and the means by which belonging can be built, are discussed. Methods. This thesis was inspired by a project called VAKA-TUVET, that aimed to increase awareness of significant support in early childhood education. The research material was collected with two focus group interviews and one individual interview from nine special teachers of early childhood education. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the interview material. With the help of the analysis, the data was loosely connected to the theoretical framework. Results and conclusions. From the results, it could be concluded that formation of belonging is a changing process, that must be consciously built and constantly evaluated through joint discussions. From the point of view of children in need of significant support, the inclusive culture of the work community was seen as a key. Taking individuality into account and re-moving obstacles is seen as an everyday matter in such a community. In discussions in teams, the importance of belonging to the child must be opened up, and information about the support required must be shared. In these discussions, a plan must be made on how to build belonging in everyday situations. Belonging was seen to be built in everyday life from individual solutions where the needs of all children are taken into account, keeping in mind the overall picture in terms of belonging. The sensitive and multidimensional role of professionals as builders of belonging of the children in need of significant support, and of the entire group, was felt to be essential. In concrete everyday situations, belonging was built with material actions, the pedagogical practices of the group, and the functional actions of professionals, which guided children to connect with others. In the linguistic actions of the professionals, speech that builds community was emphasized, as well as the creation of barrier-free opportunities for communication. The results are largely consistent with previous results, the importance of sensitive professionals who build belonging was highlighted and belonging should be built consciously in everyday life. It was felt that more information is needed about significant support, this information can increase understanding. Based on the data, the joy and absorption of work emerges, which can be experienced at work among children who need significant support. This requires properly sized resources and an operating culture that builds belonging. Diversity and the individual needs of children can be a wealth for the whole group.
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(2023)Objectives In this Master's thesis, intervention studies targeting development of academic giftedness were examined. The objective of the research was to discover effective interventions based on scientific evidence. In the theoretical sections of the study, it is examined (1) what components the theoretical models and definitions of the giftedness concept are built upon, (2) how academic gifted potential can be identified in schools and what kind of support needs are associated with it, and (3) the most common forms of intervention used in the education of academically gifted students are depicted. (4) The final part of the theoretical framework examines the provision of support within the context of the Finnish school system. In the research section (5), through a systematic literature review, the effects of educational interventions aimed at developing academic giftedness are examined and the obtained results are compared with previous research evidence. Finally, the study examines the applicability of evidence-based interventions in the context of the Finnish inclusive school and special education. This research was carried out as part of the special education studies at the University of Helsinki and is based on evidence-based support measures for groups and individuals in need of special solutions. Methods The acquisition of research material was carried out through a systematic literature review. Database searches were conducted in ERIC (ProQuest), ASC (EBSCO), Science Direct (Elsevier), PsycInfo (Ovid), Web of Science (Abstract), Scopus (Elsevier), and JSTOR da-tabases. The research included peer-reviewed intervention studies from the years 2000-2023. The studies targeted primary school-aged children and included data on effects, efficacy, and statistical significance concerning the impacts of interventions aimed at supporting academic giftedness. The theoretical framework of the research was constructed through a literature review. Meta-analyses and extensive systematic reviews were utilized to reinforce the research's theoretical framework and to evaluate the results. In total, fourteen studies met the defined search criteria. These studies are marked with an asterisk in the bibliography. The quality assessment process (EPHPP) reduced the number of studies that made it into the final synthesis to ten (10) intervention studies. Research Questions: 1. What types of effects have intervention studies demonstrated in interventions targeted at the education of academically gifted students? 2. Does prior review research evidence align with the findings of this study regarding the effectiveness of different intervention types? Results. (T1) The study found evidence of positive effects of the examined interventions on students' academic achievements, thinking skills, and socio-emotional variables such as motivation and attitudes. The results of the study reinforce earlier evidence of the diverse benefits of enrichment interventions aimed at academically gifted students. (T2) For different forms of interventions, the results of the study corroborated earlier evi-dence on the effectiveness of content enrichment in supporting academic giftedness. The study also found evidence of the benefits of psychosocial interventions and systematic instructional adaptation.
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(2023)Aikaisempien tutkimusten perusteella lasten psyykkinen oireilu ja mielenterveyden haasteet ovat lisääntyneet kouluympäristössä. Tässä tutkimuksessa lapsen psyykkisellä oireilulla tarkoitetaan lapsen omaa psyykkistä häiriötä tai ulkoisten tekijöiden, aiheuttamaa reaktiota, jonka vuoksi oppilas ei syystä tai toisesta kykene, osaa tai halua toimia yleisesti asetettujen normien mukaisesti kouluympäristössä. Oppilaalla ei tarvitse olla erillistä diagnoosia, jotta oireilu voidaan katsoa psyykkiseksi oireiluksi. Aikaisemmassa tutkimuksessa on havaittu, ettei erityisopettajien tämänhetkinen koulutus ja resurssit vastaa työelämän vaatimuksia liittyen psyykkisesti oireilevien oppilaiden kohtaamiseen ja tukemiseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää alakoulussa työskentelevien laaja-alaisten erityisopettajien kokemuksia omista valmiuksista tunnistaa ja tukea psyykkisesti oireilevia oppilaita sekä kartoittaa millaista tukea erityisopettajat saavat psyykkisesti oireilevien oppilaiden kanssa työskentelyyn. Tämä tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen tutkimus, jonka tutkimusstrategiaksi valittiin fenomenologis-hermeneuttinen lähestymistapa, jossa pyritään syvällisesti ymmärtämään ja tulkitsemaan ihmisen kokemusta ja kokemusmaailmaa. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu seitsemän alakoulussa työskentelevien laaja-alaisten erityisopettajien teemahaastatteluista. Aineisto analysoitiin aineistolähtöisellä sisällönanalyysillä hyödyntäen Gioia- metodologiaa. Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan erityisopettajat tunnistivat oppilaan psyykkinen oireilun normaalista poikkeavana lapsen ulospäin ja sisäänpäin suuntauvana oireiluna. Psyykkisen oireilun ilmenemisessä painotettiin yksilöllisyyttä ja muutosten tunnistamisessa tärkeäksi koettiin hyvä oppilastuntemus. Erityisopettajat tunnistivat psyykkisen oireilun taustalla ympäristötekijöitä, neurologisia tekijöitä ja ikäkausiin liittyviä muutoksia. Työkokemus, haasteet, uuden oppiminen ja oppilaan asioiden edistämisen koettiin lisäävän voimavaroja ja työn antoisuutta. Toisaalta liialliset odotukset, resurssien puute ja käyttäytymisen haasteet koettiin uuvuttavana. Yleisesti erityisopettajan koulutus nähtiin hyödyllisenä, mutta sen ei koettu antavan riittävästi valmiuksia kohdata psyykkisesti oireilevia oppilaita. Erityisopettajat kokivat saavansa valmiuksia työkokemuksesta, työyhteisöltä sekä koulutuksista. Erityisopettajat mainitsivat saavansa tukea psyykkisesti oireilevien oppilaiden kanssa työskentelyssä oppilashuollosta, luokanopettajilta, erityisluokan opettajilta, mentoriopettajilta ja lähiesihenkilöiltä. Ammatillisen yhteistyön toimivuudesta huolimatta oppilashuollon koettiin olevan liian työllistetty. Suomessa ei ole tehty aikaisempaa tutkimusta, joka keskittyisi pelkästään alakoulussa työskentelevien erityisopettajien kokemuksiin oppilaiden psyykkisen oireilun tunnistamisesta ja tukemisesta. Tutkimus vahvistaa aikaisempia tutkimustuloksia siitä, ettei erityisopettajien koulutus ja saatavilla olevat resurssit vastaavat nykyisiin työelämän vaatimuksiin psyykkisesti oireilevien oppilaiden kanssa toimiessa. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksia ei voida yleistää koskemaan kaikkia alakoulussa työskenteleviä erityisopettajia, mutta tutkimus luo kuvaa erityisopettajien työn resursseista, koulutuksen tarpeista sekä työssäjaksamisesta psyykkisesti oireilevien oppilaiden kanssa työskennellessä. Lisäksi tutkimus vahvistaa käsityksiä koulun tukitoimien resurssien puutteellisuudesta sekä kuinka laajasti psyykkisesti oireileva oppilas vaikuttaa kouluympäristössä.
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(2022)This qualitative study examined professional agency during teacher studies in the context of part time special education. The study aims to answer following questions: How does professional agency occur in the context of practical training in teacher studies? What kind of dimensions does professional agency consist of and how do these dimensions relate to each other? Agency can broadly be described as an ability to act intentionally defined by autonomy, will, freedom and choice. Professional agency occurs when professional subjects make choices, use their possibilities to influence and take a stand in ways that effect their work and professional identities. Professional agency is implemented purposefully, and it is defined by dynamic factors of the workplace. Professional agency does not occur merely as accommodation to external demands but also as realistic and critical understanding of personal boundaries and acting in accordance with them. Professional agency has been suggested as a tool for teachers to face educational reforms as it has been seen to enable cultivation of new work forms. Previous research claims that teachers’ agency should be defined in more detail. Teacher training and first years at work are significant phases in cultivating professional agency, yet research in this context is narrow. In addition, Finnish studies regarding part time special education are few. Research material consisted of 13 reports written by teacher students. Reports were produced as a part of the compulsory practical training in the pedagogical studies of special education teacher training between spring 2020 – fall 2021. The study was conducted using qualitative theory driven content analysis. In the context of special education practical training professional agency manifested in four dimensions that were agency in the workplace framework, agency in the immediate social community, agency as identity work and agency as emotional work. Furthermore, professional agency occurred in two levels, community level and individual level, within which agency has divergent goals. At the community level professional agency appeared to aim for a functional work community and pupils’ learning. At the individual level it appeared to aim for teacher students’ professional development and personal wellbeing. Results suggest that interaction in the immediate social community and emotional factors are central to the enactment of professional agency. Results are in accordance with previous studies that claim professional agency to manifest in the framework of dynamic factors at both community level and individual level. The results of this study suggest that more research on the relation between community and individual level as well as on the importance of immediate social community and emotional factors are needed.
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(2023)Faculty: Educational Sciences Degree programme: Master’s Programme in Education Study track: Special Education Author: Sirpa Juusola Title: Study skills at a university of applied sciences Level: Master’s thesis Month and year: April 2023 Number of pages: 80 + 13 Keywords: study skills, study ability, need for support, learning difficulty Supervisor or supervisors: Lotta Uusitalo, Henri Pesonen Where deposited: Abstract: Objectives. This thesis had three main objectives: to find out how students at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences evaluate their own study skills in different areas, to compare study skills between different groups and to get information about students' wishes regarding the development of study skills. The study ability model developed by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health was used as the theoretical basis in the thesis. Methods. The research material was collected with a Webropol survey aimed at students in Oc-tober 2022. 758 students responded to the survey. The survey was compiled using existing in-struments for measuring study skills. The questionnaire consisted of seven background infor-mation questions and ten sections which included statements that were answered using a five-point Likert scale. An open question was used to gather information about the students' wishes related to support needed for developing study skills. The collected data was mainly quantita-tive, and it was analysed using the SPSS program. Results and conclusions. Of the ten sections measuring study skills, Study Orientation and Motivation received the highest rating, and the lowest rating was in the section Reading. There were statistically significant differences between the groups divided according to the back-ground variables. For example, the average scores of those with a higher education back-ground were higher in many sections compared to those coming from upper secondary level education. Also, the students being over 30 years old, had higher average scores compared to younger ones. There were no statistically significant differences between the fields of study. According to the survey, 26.4% of the respondents had learning difficulties. Almost 30% of the respondents hoped to receive support for developing study skills, such as support for devel-oping learning methods and techniques, scheduling, and basic reading and writing skills. Also, more personal guidance was hoped for. The results of the research can be used in the devel-opment of guidance services at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences as well as in the planning and organization of various activities that support students’ study skills.
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(2022)Aim. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of adults on the autism spectrum of being themselves and the factors related to masking in higher education and transitioning to working life. Previous studies have shown that many people on the autism spectrum feel the need to mask their characteristics typical of the autism spectrum. It has been found that masking can have negative effects on the mental health and wellbeing of the person who masks. This study reveals the experiences of adults on the autism spectrum of being themselves and which factors are related to masking. Methods. The data of the study consisted of the interviews collected for the international IMAGE project. The participants were adults on the autism spectrum from Finland (n=7) and the United Kingdom (n=5). The data was analyzed in the phenomenological framework using qualitative, data-driven content analysis. Results and conclusions. The results showed that the diagnosis of autism spectrum was reported mainly for a specific reason, not spontaneously. Experiences of being accepted ranged from positive to negative, and it was particularly challenging to be oneself in extracurricular activities. Three themes emerged in the factors related to masking. First, masking and openness on the other hand were associated with the concern about their consequences: participants considered possible negative consequences on job search, other people and themselves. Another factor related to masking was social environment. Masking increased when the person on the autism spectrum did not know their company, while knowledge about the autism spectrum and friendly attitude reduced it. What is more, one’s own opinion of the autism spectrum was related to masking. A positive attitude towards the autism spectrum reduced the need for masking, while one's own or others' negative experiences of being open about the autism spectrum increased its hiding. In higher education and workplaces, it would be important to reinforce factors that increase the possibility for the people on the autism spectrum to be themselves and not mask if they wish so.
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(2023)The article deals with feelings of belonging and non-belonging in first-year university students. The research material was collected using the empathy based method and analyzed using narrative analysis. Based on the analysis, six different narratives of belonging and non-belonging were identified. The narratives are built on both individual psychological and socially constructed experiences of belonging. Individual psychological dimensions were emphasized in the narratives describing positive experiences of belonging. Personality traits, like introversion, appeared to be very compatible for distance learning in the corona era. Social contexts, where the mentioned feelings of belonging were experienced somewhere other than in studies, appeared to be beneficial for studies. Remote meetings were usually perceived to mitigate the otherwise impossible social situation. Personality, especially the individual's resilience, also played a key role in the narrative of non-belonging. A personal incompatibility with the pandemic restrictions is to challenge personal validity. Remote meetings seem partly unreal and the narratives were plagued by doubt as to whether learning actually took place. The separation from concrete places and face-to-face encounters left the student detached from university as an institution and higher education studies in the narratives. The narratives of belonging and non-belonging are multidimensional and are defined through various intersecting, mutually defining categories.
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(2022)Objectives. The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to assess the methodological quality of intervention studies examining the effect of digital learning games on the reading skills of children with or at risk of reading difficulties. Learning games can serve as a tool to motivate and engage in learning when a child needs more time and repetition to learn. Learning games are utilized in teaching, but the results for their effectiveness vary. The target groups for special needs education are small and heterogeneous in their skills, which makes it challenging to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions. Methods. The dissertation was carried out as a systematic literature review using PRISMA guidelines. The studies to be evaluated were retrieved from the databases ERIC (Proquest), PsycINFO (Ovid), SCOPUS (Elsevier), Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) and Web of Science. The studies selected for review (n = 13) were published between years 2011 and 2022, were peer-reviewed and English-language intervention studies. The target group was children with reading difficulties or at a risk of reading difficulties, and the intervention sought to influence reading skills through digital learning games. The evaluation was carried out based on the criteria of the EPHPP framework. Results and conclusions. The majority (8) of the intervention studies were rated as strong, three as moderate and two as weak. For the study design, all were assessed as strong for evaluation, while for selection bias and blinding, all studies were rated as only moderate. For confounders, all but one was rated as moderate. Weak ratings were given to only a few studies for data collection methods and withdrawals and dropouts. Based on the results of this study, there is the most room for improvement in the reporting of these two parts to ensure the reliability of the studies.
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(2023)Tavoitteet. Haastava käyttäytyminen on käsitteenä alun perin kehitetty kuvaamaan kehitysvammaisten käyttäytymisen haasteita. Käsitteen tarkoitus on siirtää vastuuta käyttäytymisen muuttamisesta opettajille ja henkilökunnalle. Tutkimuksen kentällä käsitettä käytetään hyvin monenlaista käyttäytymistä kuvaamaan ja myös muiden käsitteiden kanssa sekaisin. Erityisluokkien opettajat kohtaavat haastavaa käyttäytymistä työssään enem-män kuin yleisopetuksen opettajat. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, mitä erityisluokkien opettajat ajattelevat haastavasta käyttäytymisestä: miten opettajat kuvailevat haastavaa käyttäytymistä, mistä he ajattelevat sen johtuvan ja miten he ehkäisevät sitä luokassaan. Menetelmät. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kahdeksaan kaupunkiin lähetetyllä, erityisluokkien opettajille suunnatulla kyselyllä. Kyselyyn vastasi 34 erityisluokan opettajaa. Vastaajat olivat keskimäärin opettajan työssä hyvin kokeneita ja koulutukseltaan erityisluokanopettajia. Kyselyyn sisältyi neljä varsinaista kysymystä sekä taustakysymykset koulutuksesta ja työkokemuksesta. Aineistoa analysoitiin sisällönanalyysin keinoin. Ensin vastaukset koodattiin, sitten luokiteltiin ja lopulta muodostettiin laajempia teemoja. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Erityisluokkien opettajat kuvailivat haastavaa käyttäytymistä vaihtelevasti. Neljästä erityisesti esiin nousseesta teemasta yksi vaatii opettajan välitöntä reagointia. Haastavan käyttäytymisen mahdollisia syitä nostettiin esiin paljon. Viidestä suurimmasta teemasta yksi liittyy kontekstiin, muut haastavan käyttäytymisen teemat liittyvät oppilaaseen. Omissa luokissaan erityisluokkien opettajat käyttivät hyvin monenlaisia keinoja haastavan käyttäytymisen ehkäisemiseksi. Haastavaa käyttäytymistä ehkäistään ennen kaikkea oppilaan kohtaamisen ja oppilastuntemuksen avulla. Sen lisäksi muokataan erilaisin keinoin kontekstia, jossa oppiminen tapahtuu. Opettajan kannattaa kattavasti reflektoida haastavan käyttäytymisen ilmenemistapoja, sen mahdollisia syitä sekä toimivia ehkäisykeinoja työssään. Käyttäytymisen ilmiöihin liittyvän käsitteistön päivitys voisi helpottaa asiaan suhtautumista.
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(2023)Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the Learning and Schooling Support system in Christian schools and the job description and roles of special education teachers. The aim of the study is to examine special education in Christian schools from the perspective of special education teachers and to describe the job description and roles of special education teachers. The study used a multi-method sample, in which an electronic survey was sent to 22 special education teachers. 12 answers were collected. The quantitative part collected from the survey was reported and the qualitative free answers were analyzed using phenomenological-hermeneutic content analysis and type descriptions were created through categories. Based on the results of the study, the Leaning and Schooling Support system seems to be both established and developing in the light of the answers. Learning and Schooling support system is being developed in schools, but there are also challenges. Christian schools do not seem to differ substantially from other Finnish primary schools in terms of Learning and Schooling support system. The Basic Education Law oblige private schools to organize all the support measures required by law. The job description of special education teachers was described through typification, which summarizes the positive and negative aspects of the job description. Relationships and different encounters are important in the work of a special education teacher. Typifications are based on relationships. Based on the relationships, the roles were named as encountering students and encountering the work community. The roles encountering students are the following: a provider of versatile opportunities and an important adult in schooldays. The roles encountered by the work community are a trusted colleague and a promoter of cooperation. Negative roles are the lone plodder and the unappreciated.
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(2023)The basis of this research lays in the developing school life, where the number of students with a migratory background is rising. This also increases the number of students who need special education. There is not a great number of research done about adult students with a migratory background in special education, as previous research is mostly related to chil-dren and adolescents. The research task of this study is to describe, analyze, and interpret the experiences of special education teachers in teaching adults with a migratory back-ground. The research aim is to find out, how the teachers describe their work and aspects related to teaching, and how the various background factors of an adult with a migratory background affect teaching and learning. The research material is based on six interviews with special education teachers. All teach-ers work or have worked with adult students with migratory backgrounds. The interviews were held and recorded on Teams platform. The transcribed interview material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The key result of the research is that there is not a specific way of teaching students with a migratory background, as the student body is very diverse. The teachers described their work in various ways. Language awareness and a clear structure in the lessons were seen to be important. The teachers emphasized the importance of knowing the students both in approaching the students and in identifying possible learning difficulties. Testing for learning difficulties was not seen very useful, whereas giving direct support to challenges was felt to be a more effective method. Teaching was also seen as a way of integration. The teachers felt that they learned their job mostly though their work itself, but they also wished for more training especially in language and trauma awareness. Different factors of the students’ background effects on teaching and learning were found. Adulthood emerged as a special feature, as an adult’s previous experiences in life strongly influence learning. In addition, cultural differences, importance of language skills, previous schooling background and the student’s perception on learning were seen to affect learning and teaching. Experienced traumas were also mentioned as a way that can weaken learning. The research clearly revealed a need to develop teacher training programs, so that they would better consider students with a migratory background. As the student body changes, so does the school world’s need for continuous education. The heterogeneity of adult stu-dents with a migratory background creates a unique challenge for teaching, as background factors have a great impact on learning.
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(2022)Aims. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to study how the chosen theoretical frame-work of inclusion (by Ainscow et al, 2006) fits to describe news about special education and the need for support in comprehensive school. Both nationally and internationally, inclusion is one of the main values that guides the organization of education. In research inclusion and special education are usually linked together and inclusion has different definitions. In this thesis special education is seen as a part of inclusion and it is analyzed through the chosen inclusion model. The aim is to find out what different dimensions of inclusion can be found in the data, which groups are mentioned in the news and what kind of similarities and differ-ences can be found between the groups. Methods. The data was collected by using selected topic tags from the website of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The news that was used as a data in this thesis was published 2011–2021 (N =164). The method used in this qualitative thesis is theory-based content analysis. Results and conclusion. The selected inclusion model suited well to describe different dimensions of news about special education and need for support. The analysis was based on the inclusion model by Ainscow et al (2006) and the dimensions of the model were found in the data. In the model, special education and the need for support are seen in two different ways. First, inclusion can be seen as support for different groups of pupils, that need support for their learning and schoolgoing. On the other hand, inclusion can be seen as values and actions towards more inclusive school for all. In the data inclusion was seen in both ways, but more often by groups than by values and actions that make school more inclusive for all. There were more similarities than differences between the groups, and it was found that news handled pupil groups by three dimensions: 1) ways to support pupils, 2) how to recognize need for support and factors that are behind the need for support, and 3) the lack of support. In studies, inclusion is often understood by the placement of students with special educational needs (SEN) and therefore the placement of SEN-students dominates discussion. The discussion about the placement of SEN-pupils was also strongly present in the data of this thesis.
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(2023)In both national and international studies, a significant increase in skill differences between students has been noticed in the mathematics skills of Finnish primary school children. A way to respond to the needs of all learners is to differentiate the teaching, which means taking the student’s skills into account when teaching. Mathematics is one of the most important subjects in the Finnish school system, but studies have shown that the mathematical skills of the teachers can be weak. Because of that, it is important that the learning materials used support the teachers in differentiating and all of the students are offered tasks suitable for their skill level. The aim of this study was therefore to describe differentiation in the mathematics learning materials for the third grade of primary school and to find out what kind of support they offer for differentiation. This research was conducted as a qualitative content analysis and content classification and comparison was used to analyse the materials. Six series of mathematics learning materials currently used in Finnish primary schools from four different publishers were selected as research material. All learning materials and digital licenses from each series were requested, and the final research material consisted of all the third grade learning material used in autumn. The material was first divided according to the two research questions into materials for the student and the teacher. After this, the classification of the material continued and the results of the classifications were compared to each other. It was noticed from the research material that differentiation in mathematics is mainly the teacher’s responsibility and the students have few opportunities to choose tasks that suit their skill level. The solutions for downward differentiation were more systematic, because almost all of the series contained a separate work book with easier tasks, that can be used alongside the normal work book. The solutions to make the tasks easier were fairly uniform. The solutions for upward differentiation had more variation, but the most common type was problem-solving tasks. The teacher’s guides, which serve as the teacher’s support, mainly focused on specific tips to differentiate lessons and the included various handouts and additional tasks that the teacher can give out to students. In addition, assessment was supported with different skill level tests and materials to find out the skill levels of the students in the beginning of the third grade.
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(2022)The objective of the thesis is to find out how different environmental factors and the quality of school adults' interaction affect the well-being of students and the easing and escalation of challenging situations. The topic of the thesis is important because the mental symptoms and challenging situations of students have been perceived to have increased in the school world. Data was collected through interviews (n = 4). The interviewees were young people who had completed primary school and who had received support from a special rehabilitation class for mental symptoms. The study is phenomenological and its research design is data-driven content analysis. The material has been systematically analyzed by coding and classification. The core of the thesis was the interaction chains observed in the data and the well-being factors. The chains of interaction that ended in a negative outcome included a school adult’s blaming, indifferent, punitive, derogatory, uncertain, or unknown response. Interactions with a positive outcome included seeking a solution, being compassionate, or strengthening positive behavior. In addition to the quality of the interaction, the well-being factors at school also had a particular impact on the prevention of challenging situations and the promotion of pupil well-being. The most significant well-being factors that emerged from the data were the small group, the close-knit group in the class, the best friend in the class, a few friends in the class, differentiated and individualized tasks, and the ability to choose one’s own doing or task. These factors were able to prevent, e.g., challenging social situations as well as challenging school tasks, which often occurred in the triggers of the chains of interaction. In addition, the importance of permanence in the school world was emphasized in the well-being factors.
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(2022)Aims. The aim of this master’s thesis was to examine the association between poor gross motor skills, fine motor skills and early mathematical skills in 4-years-old-children. Previous research has shown that both gross and fine motor skills are associated with academic performance at school age, especially in mathematics, but research is still limited for under school age children. This study provides additional information on how poor gross motor skills are associated with fine motor skills and early mathematical skills before school age. Methods. This study was conducted using quantitative methods. IMB SPSS Statistics 27 was used for the data analysis. The data of this thesis was obtained from the Toimi ja opi -study and included 188 Finnish children aged four years in 2019. The research data was test results of the FMS (fundamental motor skills) test, fine motor skills tests and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test (Lukukäsitetesti). Gross motor skills were measured using the FMS (TGMD-3, KTK, MABC) -test. Fine motor skills were measured with three fine motor skills (LENE, BAS, WISC-3) tests. Early mathematical skills were measured using the Finnish Early Numeracy Test, that is based on number sequence skills and relational skills. In the results, means were examined with correlations and one-way analysis of variance. The association and relationship between the FMS and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test were analysed with Pearson correlation coefficients and the one-way ANOVA. Results and conclusions. The results of this master's thesis showed a statistically significant correlations between gross motor skills, fine motor skills and early mathematical skills. The results showed a statistically significant difference between poor gross motor skills and normally developing gross motor skills in the mean scores of the fine motor skills test and the Finnish Early Numeracy Test. The lower the score the child scored on the gross motor skills test, the lower the scores were on the fine motor skills test and early mathematical skills test. Results showed that the association between these skills can be seen already before school-age. Results underline the notion that in early childhood education should pay attention to identify the poor performance in motor skills in children and when they are observed, need the possible other difficulties be surveyed, so the support can be started at early stage. Early support can prevent the later difficulties in learning and development.
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(2022)The purpose of this study is to elucidate the experiences of parents of children with special needs when encountering professionals and to understand the meaning of these encounters. Child’s special needs affect parents in many ways and there is more parental burnout among parents of children with special needs. Parents of children with special needs regularly encounter professionals from social services, health services and schools and family-centeredness has become one of the values that conduct services planning. Family-centered practices recognizes parents as the experts on their child, acknowledges the individuality of the families, promotes partnership, and are based on the family’s strengths. In previous studies parents described parents as the experts on their child but stated that professionals do not always acknowledge their expertise. System is described fragmented, and parents experience that professionals do not see the complexity of their lives. The study is based on thirteen semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents of children with special needs. The interview material was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results showed that when encountering professionals parents experienced that parents and professionals had different roles. The roles of the professionals were companion, expert, know-it-all, and border guard. The roles of the parents were expert, organizer, and fighter. System affected encounters as it was experienced fragmented, and it contained different rules. Also, diagnosis and resources affected encounters. Encounters, occupational skills, services, and information sharing were experienced coincidental. Encounters evoke emotions and emotions affected encounters. Based on the results, it can be concluded that from parents’ perspectives there are issues that hinder family-centered practices. Encounters also have issues that increase parents’ burden. System should be improved so that it matches better the needs of the families, for example there could be a coordinating professional. Professionals should acknowledge parents’ expertise and consider parents’ emotions when encountering them.
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(2021)Finnish special class teachers and special teachers in primary and secondary education work in various settings. The reform of special education has changed the work. Lacking normative work descriptions, the tasks and responsibilities of special education teachers can vary vastly. On the other hand, there can be recognized a historical continuum of the work models of special class teachers and special teachers. The purpose of this study was to explore the conceptions of special class teachers and special teachers associated to work descriptions along with the perceptions of their everyday work and its tasks. A qualitative research approach was used. Research data consisted of six interviews in total with both special class teachers and special teachers. Qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data. Following the content analysis, the work of both special education teacher professions can be conceptualized in the categories of teaching, co-operation, and background work. Teaching was considered the primary objective of the work of special education teachers. Two new categories, meta-work and community building were suggested based on the interview data. In thematic analysis, the inclination of special education teachers to pursue the good of their students was found in close relation to their perceived working mandates.
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(2022)Goals. The aim of this thesis was to find out how practicing mental health skills impacts on students’ experience of their well-being and mental health skills. Mental health skills include socioemotional skills, resilience, coping skills, self-esteem, recognizing and using strengths together with everyday wellness skills. Previous research has shown that mental health promotion programs have succeed to promote students’ well-being and mental health skills for example, peer relationships, self-esteem as well as resilience and coping skills. However, these mental health promotion programs have also shown uneven effect on students’ well-being. In some cases, only part of the students participated in the program reports the positive effect or there is no reported effect at all. Methods. This study is a quantitative master’s thesis. The research data was collected in one primary school in Uusimaa in Finland. The data consists of survey results that were collected during the school year of 2021-2022 from 229 primary students. The students practiced mental health skills with “The Mental Health Skills Badge” -learning and teaching module during one school year. Students estimated their well-being and mental health skills before (in August) (N=229) and after (in May) (N=203) the practicing. The survey was conducted by Webropol survey tool. The data was analyzed by IMB SPSS Statistics 27-program. The analysis method of the study was a t-test. The differences between the students’ initial and final measurements were also investigated by comparing the deviations of the answers. Results and conclusions. The results of the study showed that practicing mental health skills during one school year does not have impact on students’ well-being or mental health skills. These results show that promoting students’ well-being and mental health skills is a very challenging task. In the future, Finnish basic education should pay attention to teaching mental health issues systematically and effectively. These findings also show that when introducing a new set of teaching and learning materials, attention should be paid to its complete implementation.
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(2022)Teacher education is a continuum of initial teacher education, induction and in-service training. The development of the teacher education has been set as a goal in the Education policy report in 2021. Several projects have been started to support the development work. Earlier research has mainly focused on new teachers induction education and to the needs of new teachers. Also, the need of in-service training for teachers has been studied. There have been very few studies focusing on the in-service training needs of special education teachers. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of professional advice special education teachers ask for in a social media group, and what kind of in-service training needs emerge in these conversations. The Facebook group called Erkkamaikat is a closed group of appr. 8.6 thousand members. The group is intended for special education teachers. The discussion in Erkkamaikat group is lively, and many participants request help for their job as a special education teacher. The discussion also includes topics of which participants need more information or training. The research material contains dicussions which have been started in Erkkamaikat group 1.8.2021-30.11.2021, and comments of those discussions. Material was collected during November and December at 2021. The material was analysed using the qualitative content analysis. The conclusion of analysis was that the themes of the professional questions of special education teachers could be divided into three main categories: work framework, background work and hands-on work. Each main category contained sub-categories. In addition, there was a category called sundries that includes questions that could not be included in any other sub-category and did not join up with each others. Many categories of the questions of special education teachers can also be seen as a need for in-service training. Additionally, participants required in-service training about holding a pupil, and extension of compulsory education. Many of participants also liked to have a peer to share experiences with. It seems that the special education teachers in the social media group ask help for themes of which the information can be found in professional literature or by education but also for themes from which t is better to ask advice from the peers. Also, the need for peer-mentoring occurred in the discussions.
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