Browsing by Subject "jaksaminen"

The aim of this study was to investigate the connection between teachers' burn-out and professional development. In addition, the study aimed at clarifying teachers' conceptions of the significance of in-service training on work-related well-being. The theoretical starting points of the study were based on a model of burn-out (Kalimo & Toppinen1997) and a model of teachers' professional development (Niemi 1989). Present study can be seen as an independent follow-up study for a working ability project called "Uudistumisen eväät" that was followed through in Kuopio. The study was carried out in two phases. First, the connection between teachers' burn-out and professional development was charted with the help of a quantitative survey study. 131 teachers participated in the survey. Some of them were from schools that participated in the working ability project and the remainder were from other schools in Kuopio. The questionnaire consisted of self-constructed instruments of burn-out and professional development. According to the results, burn-out and professional development were strongly correlated with each other. Burn-out was summed up in three factors: emotional exhaustion, feelings of depersonalization and low feelings of personal accomplishment. Professional development was summed up in four factors: personality and pedagogical skills, learning-orientation, social skills and confronting change. Personality and pedagogical skills and skills of confronting change were correlated strongest with burn-out and its symptoms. A teacher, who has not found his/her own personal way of acting as a teacher and who considers change as something negative, is more likely to become exhausted than a teacher, who has developed his/her own pedagogical identity and who regards change more positively. In the second phase of this study, teachers' conceptions of the significance of in-service training on well-being was investigated with the help of group interviews (n=12). According to the results, the importance of in-service training was significant on the well-being of teachers. It appeared that in-service training promotes well-being by providing teachers with motivation, professional development and the possibility of taking a break from teaching and cooperating with other teachers. It has to be based on teachers' own needs. It has to be offered to teachers frequently and early enough. If teachers are already exhausted, they will neither have enough resources to participate in training, nor will they have the strength to make good use of it in practice. Both professional development and well-being are becoming more and more essential now that society is changing rapidly and the demands set on teachers are growing. Professional development can promote well-being, but are teachers too exhausted to develop themselves? Professional development demands resources and teachers may regard it as a threat and an additional strain. When the demands are so high that teachers cannot cope with them, they are likely to suffer stress and see reduction of commitment to their work and its development as a means to survive. If teachers stop caring about their work and their own development, how can we expect them to promote pupils' learning and development? It should be considered in the planning and implementation of in-service training and in arranging teachers' working conditions, that teachers have enough time and resources to develop themselves.

During the last years there have been concerns about farmers’ well-being at work. These concerns are caused by the weak profitability and mental load of farming and they are justified because farmers’ well-being at work and ability to work has been found to be weaker than in the other occupational groups. The farm work might sometimes be lonely, and farmers might not see their signs of exhaustion. In this case it could be helpful if organizations working in agriculture could notice the situation and advice farmers where they could get help. This kind of early support is one good way to assist farmers’ well-being at work. This study was conducted for the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela in the Support the Farmer Project to help to develop an early support model. The project’s objective is to help farmers instantly and to offer early support. The underlying goal of the project is to aggregate different organizations to implement an early support model. This organization form is called Support the Farmer Organization Network. The aim of this study was to examine how to make this Organization Network functional. The study investigated visions related to the network and social support by eight organizations working in agriculture in Central Finland. The research data was collected in theme interviews and a web survey. After the interviews had been recorded and transcribed, the whole research data was analysed by using thematizing and typecasting. The theoretical framework for this study was social network theory and the research theme was approached from a network management perspective. Based on this research, the farmers’ situation raises concern and early support is considered important. Participation in the Organization Network was considered positively however, early support should not be too time consuming. To work the Support the Farmer Organization Network requires a coordinator who should activate the regional organizations to implement early support. In order for the regional organizations to commit themselves to early support, the organizations’ contact persons should participate in the networks’ events. Based on the results, the Support the Farmer Organization Network seems to have good possibilities to be functional.