Browsing by Subject "pääsykoeuudistus"

The bachelor’s thesis’s aim was to study high school students and their thoughts. The theoretical framework to this study is Hannu Simolas (2001) theory about the ethos of excellence. The ethos of excellence refers to a system of values, which emphasizes values such as glorification of excellence, efficiency and effectiveness. Based on earlier studies, the consequences of the ethos of excellence have not been positive (Whitty, Power & Halpin, 1998). The beneficiaries are the ones that have the best possibilities to succeed nevertheless. Most of the consequences are negative, for instance depression, feeling inferiority, and pessimism. In 2020 students will be entering education after high school based on their scores in matriculation examinations. The change has awakened a debate. It is criticized mostly because it favors the excellent, purposive students. Research questions are: 1. Does the young connect their wellbeing to the entrance reform? 2. In what way is the ethos of excellence seen in the way high school students think about their future goals or wellbeing? The study is a qualitive research survey. 80 second grade high school students participated to the survey from one high school. The survey consists of 12 open questions, witch to the participated students answered during spring 2019. Most of the participations did not know, what the entrance reform is. The students were stressed and tired. Over half of the participations were stressed and tired often. Most common reason to their stress was worries about their studies or the future. The ethos of excellence and the competition and performance-oriented approaches from it were seen in every section of the survey.