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Browsing by Subject "koulun toimintakulttuurin muutos"

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  • Asiantuntijaopettajien kokemuksia asiantuntijaopettajatoiminnasta koulujen digitalisaation tukijoina 
    Kaukinen, Ida (2020)
    Target: The purpose of this study was to analyze the descriptions of the expert teachers in the role of expert teachers in the City of Helsinki and their experiences of the City of Helsinki digitalisation program. In addition, the aim of the study was to analyze the expert teachers’ experiences of the factors that support and hinder their professional development work. The study also analyzed the proposals of the expert teachers for the development of the activities of the expert teacher organization. The research is current in a context where digitalizing society, the changing roles of teachers and school reforms challenge the skills of teachers and other school staff. Method: Ten expert teachers from four different expert teacher teams in the City of Helsinki were interviewed. The research material consisted of ten theme interviews conducted during spring 2019. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The material was manually coded using Saldana’s (2016) coding methods and the research results were categorized on the basis of similarity. Findings and conclusions: The expert teachers experienced their roles in diverse ways; in the role of the educator, experimenter and developer, in the cross-border and in the unclear role. The role of the expert teachers was perceived to be relatively autonomous and the role could also be modified to some extent in the interest of the expert teacher. The expert teachers’ experiences of the city’s digitalisation program were both positive and negative. Professional skills related to digitalisation and teacher resistance to change were seen as barriers to development and improvements. The expert teachers’ development skills and enthusiasm for recognizing the pedagogical benefits of technology were regarded as assets for development resources. Hardware and software problems continued although improvements were seen. In contrast, intrinsic motivation factors; knowledge sharing and development, willingness to experiment and meaningfulness were perceived as factors supporting the expert teachers’ work. The expert teachers considered the social network important, especially the other expert teacher colleagues. They shared mutual trust that strengthened their collaboration. The use of time, the aforementioned ambiguity of the role and job description, and the experience of the actual impact of the activity all emerged as barriers to the work of expert teachers. Resources such as facilities, changes in teams and access to scientific research, as well as challenges in communication, also hindered professional development work. The obstacles to development work, of course, were linked to the expert teacher development proposals that emphasized hopes for the clarification of working hours and task descriptions, identification of synergies and scalability, and clarification of communication practices. Based on this study, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the expert teacher organization, but there are clear indications of positive, albeit small, impacts on changes in school culture and support for the digitalisation program. Their role can be considered central as to the various professional learning communities and development networks, which promote school change.
  • Tietoyhteiskunta ja koulun toimintakulttuurin muutos : rehtoreiden kokemuksia koulun toimintakulttuurin muutoksesta sekä sen kehittymistä edistävistä ja rajoittavista tekijöistä 
    Tan, Anniina (2019)
    Target: This study examines school culture and its change in technology-intensive schools through principals' experiences. The aim of the study was to gain deeper understanding on three related themes: 1) How the principals have experienced the change in school culture and which factors they have perceived (2) to facilitate or (3) to hinder the change. Furthermore, the goal was to understand which factors related to technology-intensive schools' functions and leadership have improved the change processes and what kind of challenges the school and the management have experienced along the way. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the theories of organization culture and more specifically on school culture and related concepts. Method: The research data for this study was gathered from 13 schools across the Helsinki capital area and it consisted of semi-structured interview material from the principals of the targeted schools. The data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. I grouped and thematized the interview data, coded and categorized meanings related to the themes identified, and, finally, analyzed the interdependencies between the categories and meanings. Findings and conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that the collaboration culture in schools has evolved. The principals reported that the teachers use more collaborative working methods and share knowledge more actively with others than before. The findings also revealed that the learning environments are more versatile than before and the working methods appear to be more innovative. The principals also de-scribed that the gap between the school and students as well as the gap between school and the society have narrowed. The most important factors supporting the cultural change were perceived to be leadership and the increasing collaboration between teachers. In addition, external support in its different forms as well as resources allocated to schools appeared important. Particular emphasis was given to the guidelines indicated by the newest national curriculum. On practical level, modern learning environments and learning tools were highlighted to be a pre-requisite for the development of digital school culture. The cultural transformation is hindered, according to the principals, by the resistance to change among teachers. Renewing old working methods and altering the professional identity is arduous and may generate negative attitudes towards change. Also, some external factors seemed to complicate the change process. Especially the limited working hours of teachers and principals seemed to decelerate the development. Furthermore, some principals experienced the negative public discussion concerning the digitalization of schools frustrating. The principals described that the role of technology in school culture change is to serve as an enabler for widening and renewing the ways of working and the environments for learning. The results of this study indicated that some change in school culture has occurred but the systemic change is still in process. The results together with former theory constituted a model of innovative and collaborative school culture. The model can be used for improving the school culture to better correspond to the challenges of the constantly changing world and knowledge society.

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