Browsing by Subject "koulutukseen suhtautuminen"

Aims. The aim of the study is to find out what students of primary school teacher and kindergarten teacher education in University of Helsinki intend to do after graduating and why. Furthermore, the study aims to determine factors that influence students' decisions after graduating as well as how the students relate to the education. Earlier studies have been made regarding the placing of students studying to become primary school teachers and their attitudes toward the education. However, similar kind of research concerning students in kindergarten teaching education has not been conducted before. Nonetheless, kindergarten teachers' desire to change occupation has been a studied topic. Research has also been conducted in students' contentment for their education, but the focus group in these studies has consisted of teachers who have worked in kindergartens five years. Methods. The study is a comparative one, in which both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. Material for the research was gathered using survey. The material from primary school teachers was collected using electronic forms in November 2017, whereas material concerning kindergarten teachers was taken from my bachelor's thesis in 2011. Altogether 164 students participated in the study, of whom 93 were primary school teachers and 71 were kindergarten teachers. The gathered data was processed with SSPS software and interpreted using content analysis. Results and conclusion. The study showed that 79 % of the primary school teachers were going to work in a primary school after graduating and 21 % of the informants were going to do something else. Similarly, 59 % of the kindergarten teachers were intending to work in kindergartens and 41 % somewhere else. Concerning the placing of primary school teachers factors such as doing substitute work on the side of studies, the feeling of being in the right field, motivation for working as a primary school teacher and the reasons for studying the occupation had statistically great significance. Concerning the placing of kindergarten teachers factors such as earlier degree, the number of children in the family as well as a family member working in kindergarten were influential. Also, reasons for studying in the field had an impact on the decisions made after graduating. A majority of students in primary school teaching and kindergarten teaching said to be satisfied with their education. However, there was a wish for more new modules among the students, and nearly all informants wished to study more special pedagogy. They also hope to receive more lectures as well as group lessons, and kindergarten teachers wished to have more practical training. The results found in this study regarding primary school teachers are similar to earlier research, and also those of kindergarten teachers are supported by already existing research.