Browsing by Subject "suunnitelmallinen opiskelu"

Given the rise in prevalence of stress, lack of time management skills and prolonged graduations among university students, promoting student’s well-being and study practices has become very important. While psychological flexibility a.k.a. dealing with all kinds of emotions and being present in the moment has proven to increase sense of well-being and lower stress among working adults, it has not been widely explored in the university context. Along with psychological flexibility, organised studying has been found to be an important factor in relation to academic achievement, study progress and well-being among university students. The purpose of this study is to explore development of psychological flexibility and organised studying in relation to stress, well-being and studying. Total of 106 university students took part in a web-based course aimed at promoting university students’ well-being, stress management skills, psychological flexibility and organised studying. Development of the items were measured by self-report questionnaires in the beginning and in the end of the course. Additionally, a learning report (n=86) was conducted by the students at the end of the course where the students reflected on their development regarding general well-being, studying and learning during the course. Student’s scores improved quantitatively across all the measured dimensions during the course. Mean scores on psychological flexibility, organised studying and sense of well-being increased and the scores regarding stress reduced. The results are in line with the qualitative analysis, in which students report that they learned to organise their studying and use skills related to psychological flexibility in various ways in studying context. The results imply that a web-based course which is aimed to improve student’s psychological flexibility and organised studying would also improve the student’s sense of well-being and reduce stress in their studies.

Prolongation of studies is a particular challenge in generic humanities studies. Supporting the development of organised studying skills is important, as the challenges faced in studies effect the study progress and the well-being of students. Organised studying skills are related to study progress, faster completion of studies, and coping with the challenges of academic studies. University students face challenges in the form of procrastination and stress, among other things. Good organised studying skills gives students the tools they need to cope with these challenges by managing their own behaviour, time and environment. The topic is topical due to the current pandemic, due to which university studies have become distance learning. Studying requires students to have the ability to organize their own studies, and studying can be challenging with weak organised studying skills. More research is needed on the intervention courses that support organised studying skills in the university context. The aim of the study was, firstly, to find out how first-year university students assess their own organised studying skills, their tendency to procrastinate, and stress prior and after the online intervention, and secondly, students' views on the effects of an online intervention on above issues. The data of this study consist of questionnaires (n = 18) conducted at the beginning and the end of the intervention, as well as preliminary assignments and learning reports (n = 22). The research material was obtained from The Centre for University Teaching and Learning (HYPE). The material was collected in the spring of 2019 from an online intervention course that supports organised studying and time management skills. The material was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The change after the intervention was observed by repeated measures t-test and students' views were observed with theory-guided content analysis. Students who participated in the online intervention course rated their own organised studying skills as weak and the procrastination they experienced as high in the beginning of the course. After the course, students reported that their organised studying skills increased, and procrastination as well as stress decreased. During the course, students’ awareness increased, and they learned a variety of ways to manage time, procrastination, and stress. The results provide an indication that students experience challenges in their studies and that it is possible to support students’ organised studying skills through online intervention.