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The purpose of this study was to find out how preschoolers perform in Controlled drawing observation (CDO) and how girls and boys performances differ. In addition the purpose was to find out how CDO`s mathematical and non-mathematical part are in connection. Earlier studies reveal that there is no difference between girls and boys mathematical skills in preschool age. Differences can be found in school when transited to secondary mathematical skills. This study gives new information about how preschoolers perform in CDO and what kind of differences there are between girls and boys performances. Previous studies about CDO have been done a long time ago so there is need for updated information. Many preschool teachers still use CDO to assess preschool children`s level of performance and specific support needs. The data of this study was collected from three preschool classes in autumn 2013, 2014 and 2015. There were 64 preschoolers participating in CDO of which 33 were girls and 31 were boys. This study is quantitative and the data was analyzed with SPSS-program. Differences between girls and boys were examined with t-test and the connection between mathematical and non-mathematical part with correlation. The findings reveal that there were major differences in preschooler’s performances in CDO. Girls performed statistically significantly better than boys. Girls performed better than boys in both mathematical and non-mathematical part. However in mathematical part the difference between girls and boys was not statistically significant. In non-mathematical part girls performed significantly better than boys. There was statistically significant connection between mathematical and non-mathematical part. Based on this study it looks like there is no difference between girls and boys mathematical skills in preschool age. However it looks like girls have better working memory skills than boys in preschool age. Mathematical and non-mathematical skills seem to be in connection. If the child performed well in mathematical part it was very liable that the child performed well in non-mathematical part too. CDO is suitable to identify the children who need more detailed tests. CDO does not tell why the children perform weakly, so only based on CDO conclusion cannot be made about children`s specific support needs.

Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to determine whether digital storytelling could be used as tool in inclusive evaluation. In this research, the focus is on children’s perceptions of quality through observing the children’s own digital stories. Previous studies have shown that the use of digital storytelling in preschool education supports and enriches learning. Photo-graphs have also previously been used in studies in order to define children’s perceptions of quality in early childhood education. Methodology. This study was performed in a preschool group as a qualitative action re-search during spring 2018. In the study, 11 preschool children composed a short digital story based on photographs they took during one day at their pre-school. The children worked in pairs or small groups of three and produced a total of six videos. The material was translit-erated and analyzed using theme analysis. Results and conclusions. Play, peer relationships and pedagogical activities were recurrent themes in the children’s stories. The process of making a digital story offers the teacher several opportunities to discuss quality with children. The digital stories themselves offer a starting point for these discussions but are not sufficient as such to describe children’s perceptions of quality. During the creative process, it became apparent that peer relationships and learning through play and narratives are the heart of good quality pedagogical activity among preschool aged children.

Objectives. This Bachelor’s thesis tries to understand the aesthetic doubling theory and different aspects that are involved with the theory of doubling. The purpose of this study is to categorize aesthetic doubling in to different categories and use that categorization as a tool to analyse three Finnish dissertations. This study aims to create a deeper understanding of this multidimensional theory. Main questions for this study was how three Finnish researchers define aesthetic doubling as well as what kind of different views can be found in these three dissertations? Methods. Study is part of behavioural sciences and qualitative studies. Qualitative meta-analysis and content-analysis was used as methodological background for theme categorization. The categorization was created as a combination of theoretical views on basic drama action and definition of aesthetic doubling. The dissertations that were examined are Tapio Toivanen (2002) Mä en ois ikinä uskonu ittestäni sellasta, Hannu Heikkinen (2002) Draaman maailmat oppimisalueina ja Erkki Laakso (2004) Draamakokemusten äärellä. Two different aspects, fiction and reality, explain aesthetic doubling as a phenomenon. In categorization that was made for this study, fiction and reality are the two upper categories. Under those two are lower categories in-role-action, dimension of time and place as well as drama contract, planning and reflection. Results and conclutions. It seems that Anna-Lena Østern has affected both Laakso’s and Heikkinen’s views of aesthetic doubling and contributed their dissertations in Jyväskylä university. Toivanen’s dissertation was made in Helsinki and focuses more on different dimensions of aesthetic doubling, such as in-role-action/doubling in role. Heikkinen and Laakso present more of the different dimensions of aesthetic doubling and especially Heikkinen has very wide viewpoints of aesthetic doubling’s dimensions in reality.

Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on nivoa yhteen koronapandemian vuoksi etäopiskeluun siirtymisen negatiiviset sekä positiiviset vaikutukset opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin ja voimavaroihin. Lisäksi tavoitteena on löytää ne asiat ja tekijät, mitkä vaikuttivat hyvinvointiin ja voimavaroihin etäopetuksessa. Kandidaatin tutkielma on systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus, jossa systemaattisesti haetuista artikkeleista pyrittiin muodostamaan kokonaisuus etäopetuksen mukana tuomista vaikutuksista opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin ja voimavaroihin. Artikkeleiksi valikoitui kahdeksan kvantitatiivista tutkimusta, jotka kaikki koskettivat suomalaisia korkeakouluopiskelijoita. Tutkimuksissa oli myös muita maita, mutta ainoastaan Suomea koskettavaa dataa hyödynnettiin tähän katsaukseen. Aineisto kerättiin kolmesta tietokannasta, joita oli Pro Quest University of Helsinki, EBSCOhost sekä Web of sciences. Haut tietokantoihin erosivat hiukan toisistaan, koska samat hakusanat eivät tuottaneet tuloksia kaikissa hakukannoissa. Aineiston analysoinnissa menetelmänä käytettiin sisällönanalyysiä. Osa opiskelijoista koki etäopetukseen siirtymisen kuormittavana, koska se toi mukanaan uusia haasteita ja ongelmia, eikä opiskelijoilla ollut tarvittavia taitoja kohdata uusi opiskelutapa, jolloin voimavarat koettiin riittämättömiksi. Opiskelijat kohtasivat vaikeuksia ajanhallinnassa, kommunikoinnissa opiskelijoiden sekä opettajien kanssa, keskittymisessä sekä opiskeluympäristön kasaan saamisen kanssa. Näiden nähtiin vaikuttavan opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin ja voimavaroihin kielteisesti, lisäten esimerkiksi stressiä. Yhteisöllisyyden puutteella nähtiin olevan negatiivisia vaikutuksia. Yhteisöllisyyden tunne on yksi psykologisista perustarpeista, joiden tyydyttymisen nähdään edistävän sisäistä motivaatiota opintoja kohtaan, millä on vuorostaan positiivisia vaikutuksia opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin ja voimavaroihin. Osa opiskelijoista kuitenkin koki etäopetuksen toimivana ratkaisuna, sillä heidän opiskelunsa sujuivat, opintojen joustavuus oli palkitsevaa sekä aikaa säästyi, kun ei tarvinnut matkustaa kampukselle.

Distance learning, advantage, disadvantage, university student

Working life has undergone drastic changes faster than ever in the past few decades. Because of these changes organizations and their structures have also changed and been renewed. One of the key areas of change is the increase of remote work that is caused by new flexible ways of work and the breakthrough of technology. The increase of remote work brings new challenges to leadership that need to be studied. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe and analyze remote leaders’ experiences of remote work and remote leadership. By investigating these experiences, I aimed to describe what special characteristics remote work brings to leadership and how should these characteristics be considered in remote leadership. This study highlights key areas of remote work that should be developed in the future regarding the fast-changing working life. The theoretical framework of this study consists of previous research conducted regarding remote work and remote leadership. The data consisted of four semi-structured theme interviews that were analyzed using content analysis. The aim was to find similarities and differences between the data and the theoretical framework. The interviewees were experts in their own field and they all had at least one year of experience as a remote leader. Every interviewee had their own team that consisted of remote and non-remote workers. The interviewees brought up dissimilarities on different areas between remote and non-remote workers. The results of this study were divided in two sections: experiences of remote work and special characteristics of remote leadership. Remote work was seen as a positive and long-awaited change that makes combining work and personal life possible especially to people with families. On the other hand, remote work can dim the boundaries between work and personal life that could cause burnout. Special characteristics of remote leadership were found to be the importance of regular interaction and communication, equal treatment between remote and non-remote workers and the importance of building a trustful relationship between the leader and subordinates. Especially the results indicated that remote leaders had the feeling of inadequacy because of the lack of time that was allocated to leadership. This indicated that remote leaders lacked the support from their supervisor and the organization. None of the interviewees had been trained to remote leadership. In conclusion, this study highlights that managing remote subordinates is a challenging form of leadership and it should be investigated further to provide training and support to remote leaders.

Etätöiden tekeminen on yleistynyt valtavasti kahden viime vuosikymmenen aikana teknologian kehittymisen myötä. Tämän vuoksi tutkielmassa selvitetään, mikä on etätyön tekemisen yhteys työtyytyväisyyteen. Tutkielma keskittyy vastaamaan kahteen tutkimuskysymykseen, joiden avulla selvitetään, millä tavoin etätöiden tekeminen on yhteydessä työtyytyväisyyteen sekä vaikuttaako etätöiden määrä työtyytyväisyyteen. Tutkimus toteutettiin narratiivisena kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Aineistoon valikoitui yhdeksän vertaisarvioitua tutkimusartikkelia. Aineiston analysoinnissa hyödynnettiin teemoittelua, jonka avulla tutkimusartikkelit jaettiin kahteen pääryhmään tutkimuskysymysten mukaisesti. Ensimmäinen pääryhmä jakautui edelleen kolmeen eri alaryhmään ja toinen pääryhmä kahteen eri alaryhmään. Tutkielman tulosten mukaan etätyöntekijöiden työtyytyväisyys on korkeampaa kuin toimistolla työskentelevien työtyytyväisyys, mikä osoittaa etätyön ja työtyytyväisyyden yhteyden olevan positiivinen. Toisen tutkimuskysymyksen kohdalla havaittiin kuitenkin, että etätyöt ovat positiivisesti yhteydessä työtyytyväisyyteen vain tiettyyn pisteeseen asti, sillä etätyöpäivien noustessa tiettyyn määrään työtyytyväisyys kääntyykin laskuun. Osa tutkimuksista kuvaa tätä etätyön ja työtyytyväisyyden yhteyttä käännetyn U:n muotoiseksi. Tutkielman tulokset osoittivat, että organisaatioiden kannattaa antaa työntekijöille mahdollisuus tehdä etätöitä muutamana päivänä viikossa. On kuitenkin huomioitava, että tutkielman perusteella ihmiset kaipaavat myös kasvokkaisia tapaamisia, jonka takia siirtyminen pelkästään etätöihin ei ole työtyytyväisyyden näkökulmasta kannattavaa.

The aim of this work is to get new, interesting information about what subjects co-write among beginner songwriters raises about the career development of a songwriter. The research question is to explore the benefits, disadvantages, opportunities, and threats of co-write work in terms of the beginner songwriter's career development. Previous research has shown that co-writing, i.e. making music in a team, is more effective than making music alone and has become an almost standard way of working in the industry. In terms of careers in general, networking has also been seen as a positive opportunity. At the same time, studies around work and career have shown that they are more and more fragmented and shifting in a more liberating and responsible way for individuals. The research was carried out with a thematic interview, which was attended by two beginner professional songwriters from Helsinki. The interviews were conducted and recorded in April 2020. The thematic interviews were conducted in a consistent manner using the interview framework. The material was analysed by thematizing the views of beginner professional songwriters on the benefits and opportunities of co-write work, as well as the disadvantages and threats to the songwriter's career development. The study found that beginner professional songwriters see co-write work as useful for career development in terms of networking, developing new competencies, and making songwriting more effective. Co-write work also has some threat images that may appear to be a lack of systematic scheduling and focus on writing. Personal chemistry was also seen as a potential challenge to the success of the co-write situation. In the light of the answers to the dissertation, it seems that co-write work should definitely be utilized in the training programs of future songwriters, as well as recognizing the networking and new learning opportunities it offers.

Goals. In the research, primary school’s preparatory classroom teachers’ experiences in preparatory teaching materials of Finnish language are being examined. The acquisition of Finnish language is one of the bases in preparatory education because one’s linguistic readiness must be sufficient for daily schoolwork and interaction when proceeding to mainstream education. The goal of the study is to examine what kind of materials teachers use, which materials they find useful and what things they find challenging in using the materials. Guaranteeing equality for the newly arrived is behind the goals for those who in the beginning face in addition to a foreign environment also a foreign school language. Methods. The study was made as a part of University of Helsinki’s Meeting in the Middle -project. The study is qualitative case study and it was carried out as a semi-structured theme interview. The interviewees were chosen by their expertise in the topic of the research. Two experienced preparatory class teachers served as experts in the study. The teachers are from different schools, but they both work in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The interview data was analysed inductively, so according to material-based analysis process. Results and conclusions. The study revealed that teachers use different types of materials as part of the Finnish language teaching. Materials that were intended to the preparatory teaching, other learning materials and also self-made materials were used in their teaching. In the preparatory education, the needs of the pupils are very different and therefore the teachers felt they benefited from using versatile, both ready-made and self-made materials. However, many materials and meeting the needs of the pupils created challenges. The materials did not always meet the pupils’ needs when it came to meaningfulness and functionality thus the teachers provided self-made materials. These factors caused problems for teachers in the planning and to the time spent on it, too. Although the teachers showed contentment towards some materials, it was noted analysing the data that there is still a demand for materials suited for the needs of the pupils.

Goals. This thesis’s purpose was to find out do kindergarten workers experience aggressive behavior from children at the kindergarten. Other goal was to find out how kindergarten workers encounter a child who is behaving aggressively. This subject has not been studied earlier, but aggressiveness has been studied a lot for example in schools for what kind of aggressiveness happens in schools. In school world there has been a study done by Hanna Hakala Master’s degree study in which she studied with same kind of questions how schoolteachers have experiences aggressiveness in schools and how they have encountered aggressively behaving child. Research questions have been developed based on different articles, which the researcher has read before writing this thesis. Purpose of this study was to find out does kindergarten workers experience aggressive behavior from children and how do they encounter a child that has been behaving aggressively. Methods. In this research, five kindergarten workers participated in the research. From the interviewees three were kindergarten teachers by their education and two where practical nurses. Interviewees worked in different kindergarten except for two worked from the same kindergarten. The interviews where done by semi-structured theme interview and they lasted from about seven to twenty minutes. After the interviews, they were transcripted and analyzed using theory-driven content analysis. Findings and conclusions. The main results were that kindergarten workers face aggressive behavior from children in kindergarten. Aggressiveness can manifest itself in any kind of situations and aggressiveness can be hitting, spitting or throwing things. When encountering aggressiveness they were advised to stay clam and to take care of everybody’s safety. From these results we can make conclusions that you have to be tranquil but also prepare for situations where a child can behave aggressively towards you. Applying the findings to practice requires a wider sampling.