Browsing by Author "Ärilä, Milja"

The development of self-regulation skills does not always proceed in a favourable way in relation to the demands set by the environment when the child meets different challenges on a daily basis. In that case, the significance of the adult in the supporting the development of the child's self-regulation skills will rise central. The purpose of this study was to clarify the kindergarten teachers' experiences about difficulties in self-regulation appearing in the preschool groups, about how to support children in everyday life and about the challenges of the supporting met by teachers. Three kindergarten teachers participated in the study from a South-Finnish town. A method used in this research was a theme interview where the themes were determined based on the research questions. The research material took shape from the recorded and transcribed individual interviews. As typical qualitative research a content analysis was used as a method of analysing the research data. The difficulties in the children's self-regulation appeared typically in many sectors and peripheral difficulties were sometimes also connected to them. In the teachers' methods supporting these children emphasised the pedagogic measures of support, for example the strengthening of the child's self-esteem with the help of the positive feedback. The solutions which are related to the structure of the environment were also significant and it was essential to make the anticipating possible to the child. The challenges of the supporting met by the teachers were caused from the limitations of the physical environment and from the interactive factors, for example the inadequate premises and changing adults. The educational background was also an essential challenge in support. Answering the difficulties in the self-regulation appears as a fixed part of the teacher's work and this makes demands to the vocational know-how. The starting point for the target-oriented supporting of the children's self-regulation skills is the teacher's own understanding about the self-regulation. The work experience and the postgraduate education directed by the workers' own interest affect the scope of the understanding strongly.