Browsing by Author "Ilvonen, Anniina"

In the most recent decades, the concept of differentiation has received a lot of attention in the field of education. Differentiation means recognising the individuality of pupils or students, and taking this individuality into account in the classroom as well as in planning the lessons. It is no longer believed that “one size fits all” when it comes to education – different teaching and learning methods work differently on different individuals. The growing demand for differentiation is partly due to the trends of inclusion and integration that have been prominent in the recent history. It is also required in the new Finnish national curriculum that was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2016. In this interview study, I examine Finnish teachers of the English language, and, more specifically, their ideas and thoughts on differentiation and on themselves as differentiators. I aim to build a better understanding of the means of differentiation used by such teachers, as well as of the challenges they face in their everyday working life, especially in regard to differentiating. I also consider what kinds of solutions could be suggested to overcome these issues. In the thesis, I first examine the nature of differentiation, its strengths and its critique. I use this knowledge as the basis for my interviews – I conducted this study by interviewing six Finnish teachers of English. The interviewees came from three different schools in different towns. I then analyse the interviews in the frame set by my research questions, with the aim of finding similarities and differencies in the teachers' attitudes and experiences towards differentiating. I also consider the challenges and solutions they bring forth. In the concluding part of my study, I present my overall understanding of the teachers' experiences, as well as how they described their strengths and weaknessess. I also discuss the importance of teachers in how well the different parts of the national curriculum are implemented in the classroom.