Professional development among educators pursuing a B.Ed. program in special education in Tanzania : a study of motives and perceived outcomes

Implementation of different policies and plans aiming at providing education for all is a challenge in Tanzania. The need for educators and professionals with relevant knowledge and qualifications in special education is substantial. Teacher education does not equip educators with sufficient knowledge and skills in special education and professional development programs in special education are few in number. Up to 2005 no degree programs in special education at university level were available in Tanzania. The B.Ed. Special Education program offered by the Open University of Tanzania in collaboration with Åbo Akademi University in Finland was one of the efforts aimed at addressing the big national need for teachers and other professionals with degree qualifications in special education. This pilot program offered unique possibilities to study professional development in Tanzania. The research group in this study consisted of the group of students who participated in the degree program 2005-2007. The study is guided by three theoretical perspectives: individual, social and societal. The individual perspective emphasizes psychological factors as motives, motivation, achievement, self-directed behavior and personal growth. Within social perspective, professional development is viewed as situated within the social and cultural context. The third perspective, the societal, focuses on change, reforms, innovations and transformation of school systems and societies. Accordingly, professional development is viewed as an individual, social and societal phenomenon. The overall aim of the study is to explore the participants’ motives for participating in a B.Ed. Special Education program and the perceived outcomes of the program in terms of professional development. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a case study approach was adopted. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were administered in three waves between January 2007 and February 2009 to the 35 educators participating in the B.Ed. Special Education program. The findings of the study reveal that the participants expressed motives which were related to job performance, knowledge, skills, academic degree and career. Also altruistic motives were expressed by the participants in terms of helping and supporting students with special needs and their communities. The perceived outcomes of the program were in line with the expressed motives. However, the results indicate that the participants also learned new skills, as interaction skills and guidance and counseling skills. Increased self-confidence was also mentioned as an outcome. The participants also got deepened understanding of disability issues. In addition, they learned strategies for creating awareness of persons with disability in the communities. Thus the findings of the study indicate positive outcomes of the program in terms of professional development. The conclusion of the study is that individual, social and societal factors interact when it comes to explaining why Tanzanian educators in special education choose to pursue a degree program in special education. The individual motives, as increased knowledge and better prospects of career development interact with the social and societal motives to help and support vulnerable student groups. The study contributes to increased understanding of the complexity of professional development and of the realities educators meet when educational reforms are implemented in a developing country.

Evaluation of Teacher Education Programs by Students and Graduates

The purpose of this research was to do a repeated cross-sectional research on class teachers who study in the 4th year and also graduated at the Faculty of Education, University of Turku between the years of 2000 through 2004. Specifically, seven research questions were addressed to target the main purpose of the study: How do class teacher education masters’ degree senior students and graduates rate “importance; effectiveness; and quality” of training they have received at the Faculty of Education? Are there significant differences between overall ratings of importance; effectiveness and quality of training by year of graduation, sex, and age (for graduates) and sex and age (for senior students)? Is there significant relationship between respondents’ overall ratings of importance; effectiveness and their overall ratings of the quality of training and preparation they have received? Are there significant differences between graduates and senior students about importance, effectiveness, and quality of teacher education programs? And what do teachers’ [Graduates] believe about how increasing work experience has changed their opinions of their preservice training? Moreover the following concepts related to the instructional activities were studied: critical thinking skills, communication skills, attention to ethics, curriculum and instruction (planning), role of teacher and teaching knowledge, assessment skills, attention to continuous professional development, subject matters knowledge, knowledge of learning environment, and using educational technology. Researcher also tried to find influence of some moderator variables e.g. year of graduation, sex, and age on the dependent and independent variables. This study consisted of two questionnaires (a structured likert-scale and an open ended questionnaire). The population in study 1 was all senior students and 2000-2004 class teacher education masters’ degree from the departments of Teacher Education Faculty of Education at University of Turku. Of the 1020 students and graduates the researcher was able to find current addresses of 675 of the subjects and of the 675 graduates contacted, 439 or 66.2 percent responded to the survey. The population in study 2 was all class teachers who graduated from Turku University and now work in the few basic schools (59 Schools) in South- West Finland. 257 teachers answered to the open ended web-based questions. SPSS was used to produce standard deviations; Analysis of Variance; Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r); T-test; ANOVA, Bonferroni post-hoc test; and Polynomial Contrast tests meant to analyze linear trend. An alpha level of .05 was used to determine statistical significance. The results of the study showed that: A majority of the respondents (graduates and students) rated the overall importance, effectiveness and quality of the teacher education programs as important, effective and good. Generally speaking there were only a few significant differences between the cohorts and groups related to the background variables (gender, age). The different cohorts were rating the quality of the programs very similarly but some differences between the cohorts were found in the importance and effectiveness ratings. Graduates of 2001 and 2002 rated the importance of the program significantly higher than 2000 graduates. The effectiveness of the programs was rated significantly higher by 2001 and 2003 graduates than other groups. In spite of these individual differences between cohorts there were no linear trends among the year cohorts in any measure. In respondents’ ratings of the effectiveness of teacher education programs there was significant difference between males and females; females rated it higher than males. There were no significant differences between males’ and females’ ratings of the importance and quality of programs. In the ratings there was only one difference between age groups. Older graduates (35 years or older) rated the importance of the teacher training significantly higher that 25-35 years old graduates. In graduates’ ratings there were positive but relatively low correlations between all variables related to importance, effectiveness and quality of Teacher Education Programs. Generally speaking students’ ratings about importance, effectiveness and quality of teacher education program were very positive. There was only one significant difference related to the background variables. Females rated higher the effectiveness of the program. The comparison of students’ and graduates’ perception about importance, effectiveness, and quality of teacher education programs showed that there were no significant differences between graduates and students in the overall ratings. However there were differences in some individual variables. Students rated higher in importance of “Continuous Professional Development”, effectiveness of “Critical Thinking Skills” and “Using Educational Technology” and quality of “Advice received from the advisor”. Graduates rated higher in importance of “Knowledge of Learning Environment” and effectiveness of “Continuous Professional Development”. According to the qualitative data of study 2 some graduates expressed that their perceptions have not changed about the importance, effectiveness, and quality of training that they received during their study time. They pointed out that teacher education programs have provided them the basic theoretical/formal knowledge and some training of practical routines. However, a majority of the teachers seems to have somewhat critical opinions about the teacher education. These teachers were not satisfied with teacher education programs because they argued that the programs failed to meet their practical demands in different everyday situations of the classroom e.g. in coping with students’ learning difficulties, multiprofessional communication with parents and other professional groups (psychologists and social workers), and classroom management problems. Participants also emphasized more practice oriented knowledge of subject matter, evaluation methods and teachers’ rights and responsibilities. Therefore, they (54.1% of participants) suggested that teacher education departments should provide more practice-based courses and programs as well as closer collaboration between regular schools and teacher education departments in order to fill gap between theory and practice.

Exploring two cases of Piano Teacher Education in Finland and Germany

Research about music instrument teacher education is scattered and fairly recent, especially in the European context. The purpose of this study was to explore two cases of piano teacher education programs at higher music education institutions, one in Finland, and one in Germany, to gain insights into the preparation of piano teachers for their professional working life. The aim was to identify issues for consideration in curriculum development of piano teacher education to enhance the teaching and learning of piano playing, and to ultimately increase musical practice and engagement among young learners. Nine semi-structured interviews with piano teacher educators, heads of program, other lecturers within the program, and student piano teachers in both cases were analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Three main themes with subcategories emerged: (1) the organization of the piano teacher education program, such as the structure, the content, the learning environments provided, and the development mechanisms of the program; (2) the views on the piano teacher profession, the working environment and resulting requirements, including further education during professional life; and (3) the professional skills and teacher identity development of student teachers. While the supposed working environments and requirements of future piano teachers, the student teachers' development characteristics, and the content were found reasonably concurrent in both cases, the structure of the teacher education program, and the organization of learning environments presented notable differences. While the complete teacher qualification in the Finnish case was offered as option in the Bachelor and Master of Music program within the piano department, the German case offered a separate program for music instrument educators. Other main differences concerned the organizations of practical teaching experiences, and the linking of practical with theoretical pedagogy. Conviction and enthusiasm for improving piano and other music instrument teacher education seemed remarkable. These improvements could include the development of a comprehensive teacher education pedagogy for music instrument teacher educators, intensified cross-linking within and of higher music education institutions in local contexts, and the expansion of professional development opportunities.

Psykoosipotilaille tarkoitetun sähköisen potilasopetusmentelmän levitys ja mielenterveystyön ammattilaisten kokemuksia käytöstä

Tämän laadullisen tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata psykoosipotilaille tarkoitetun sähköisen potilasopetusmentelmän (MieliNet) levitystä sekä sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon psykiatristen toimintayksiköiden mielenterveystyön ammattilaisten kokemuksia sähköisen potilasopetusmenetelmän käytöstä. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on saatavan tiedon avulla kehittää edelleen MieliNet-ohjelman hyödynnettävyyttä psykiatrisessa hoitotyössä. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kolmessa vaiheessa. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa selvitettiin sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon psykiatristen toimintayksiköiden (n = 125) kiinnostusta tutustua sähköiseen potilasopetukseen. Potilasopetuksesta kiinnostuneiden organisaatioiden (n = 16) taustatiedot kuvattiin sekä selvitettiin mielenterveystyön ammattilaisten (n = 41) halukkutta tutustua MieliNet-sivustoon ja osallistua sähköisen potilasopetuksen verkkokurssille. Toisessa ja kolmannessa vaiheessa aineisto kerättiin sähköiselle moodle-alustalle sähköisen potilasopetusmenetelmän koekäyttäjiltä (n=7). Aineisto analysoitiin induktiivista ja deduktiivista sisällön analyysiä käyttäen. Tutkimustulosten mukaan sähköisestä potilasopetusmenetelmästä kiinnostuneiden organisaatioiden osuus oli 4% niistä organisaatioista, joille tiedon levitys tapahtui. Sähköisen potilasopetusmenetelmän koekäyttäjistä valtaosa työskenteli erikoissairaanhoidossa toimivissa aikuispsykiatrian avohoidon yksiköissä. Sähköisen potilasopetusmenetelmän käytön vahvuuksina koettiin potilasopetuksen tehostuminen, omahoitajasuhteen kehittyminen ja potilaiden lisääntynyt hoitoon sitoutuminen. Heikkouksina koettiin ongelmat sähköisen potilasopetusohjelman käytössä ja ennakkoluulot sähköisen potilasopetusohjelman käytöstä sekä potilaiden psyykkisen voinnin heikentyminen. Mahdollisuuksina koettiin potilasopetuksen tehostuminen ja potilasopetusohjelman uudet käyttömahdollisuudet. Uhkina koettiin sähköisen potilasopetusmenetelmän riittämätön arvostus sekä ongelmat ja ennakkoluulot potilasopetusohjelman käytössä. Potilaiden yksilöllisyys huomioitiin hyvin potilasopetustilanteissa. Sähköinen potilasopetusmenetelmä synnytti keskustelua potilaille tärkeistä asioista. Potilasopetustilanteiden sujuminen, potilaiden asenne ja oma osaaminen aiheuttivat huolta. Potilasopetustilanteisiin valmistautumiseen halutaan jatkossa kiinnittää enemmän huomiota.

Diverse Routes from School, via Higher Education, to Employment. A Comparison of Nine European Countries

The central theme for this study is graduate employment and employability in European-wide discussion. In this study, the complex relationships between higher education and the world of work are explored from the vantage point of how individuals make use of the higher education system in their transition from education to employment. The variation among individual transition processes in nine European countries is analysed with the help of a comparable graduate survey. Countries in this study are Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Norway. The data used for the study is commonly known as the “CHEERS” or “Careers after Higher Education, A European Research Survey.” The data was collected in 1999. The study discusses the possibilities and limitations the higher education system has in supporting the initial education-to-work transitions of youth. The study also addresses problems with comparing national higher education systems in terms of enrolment and graduate employability. A central purpose for this study is to reflect on concerns about the prolongation of individual transitions with a framework that simultaneously considers both the graduate employability and the duration of the education-to-work transition process. The key concept for this study is the standard student/graduate; synonym concepts are the traditional and the conventional student/graduate. Standard graduates are relatively young individuals who are performing their initial transition from education to working-life and who complete the degree-earning process within the stipulated time frame. In all nine countries, standard graduates make up a considerable share of the student flow, passing from higher education to the labour markets. The share of standard graduates is by far the largest in France, where they comprise the overwhelming mass. The proportion of the standard graduates is the lowest in Italy, Finland, and Austria where approximately one in four graduates completed the process of higher education within the stipulated time frame. Of the nine countries compared, employability of the whole graduate population is the greatest in Norway, the UK, Finland, and the Netherlands. Compared with employability of the whole graduate population, variation among the countries is considerably reduced when reviewing the employability of only the standard graduates. Thereby, even though the ranking among countries remains largely unchanged, the variations among them are smaller when the duration of degree earning process is standardized. The study also discusses other ideal types of student careers (or transition processes) besides the standard student/graduate. Results of regression analyses indicate that that at the pan-European level analysis, the graduate labour markets are not heavily segmented in terms of the type of the individual transition process. When considering within-country differences between the graduates, the field of studies is clearly a more powerful explanatory variable than the type of the transition process. There are, nevertheless, clear indications that, irrespective of the country, chances of finding a high status job are, on the average, highest amongst those who graduate within the stipulated duration of the degree program and who thereby have experienced the standard student career, whereas, participating in working life while studying protects against unemployment after finishing one’s degree.

Adoption of information technology based patient education in psychiatric nursing

The overall goal of the study was to describe adoption of information technology (IT)-based patient education (PE) developed for patients and nurses use in psychiatric nursing. The data were collected in three phases during the period 2000-2006 in a variety of psychiatric settings in Finland. Firstly, the development process of IT-based PE for patients with schizophrenia spectrum psychosis was described. Secondly, nurses’ adoption of IT-based PE and the variables explaining adoption were demonstrated. Moreover, use of daily IT-based PE in clinical practice and factors associated with use were identified and described. And thirdly, nurses’ experiences of the IT-based PE after one year clinical use were evaluated. IT-based PE program was developed in several stages based on users’ needs and it included information and multimedia applications. Altogether, almost 500 IT-based PE sessions were carried out by the nurses on the study wards and revealed nurses’ activity in educating patients using IT to vary and depend on the hospital in which they worked. Almost 80% of all the possible IT-based PE sessions involved 93 patients and 83 nurses. Less than 2% of the IT-based PE sessions were interrupted and less than 10% suffered disturbances due to the patients or external causes. Moreover, the patients whose education took more days had poorer mental status than those whose education was carried out over a shorter period. After a year’s experience, advantages and disadvantages were described by the nurses for both patients and nurses of the IT-based PE. IT-based PE can be used even on closed acute psychiatric wards with patients with serious mental health disorders. However, technology adoption requires time, and therefore, it must fit in with clinical practice. Collaboration between users and developers is needed when developing user-centered methods in the area of mental health services. Moreover, it is important to understand factors that affect IT adoption in healthcare settings. IT-based PE is one option in interactive and co-operative health care practice between patients and nurses. Therefore the staff should begin to refer patients to established, credible and well-maintained Internet sites that provide information on common psychological problems. Even if every nurse should be trained and engaged to carry out IT-based PE, by targeting the training especially for the most active nurses aids them to support the less active ones. Adoption should also be understood from a perspective that includes aspects related to the context where it is implemented and examine how and in what circumstances it works.

Proactive and Preventive Student Welfare Activities in Finnish Preschool and Elementary School: Handling of Transition to Formal Schooling and a National Anti-Bullying Program as Examples

Prerequisites and effects of proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities in Finnish preschool and elementary school were of interest in the present thesis. So far, Finnish student welfare work has mainly focused on interventions and individuals, and the voluminous possibilities to enhance well-being of all students as a part of everyday school work have not been fully exploited. Consequently, in this thesis three goals were set: (1) To present concrete examples of proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities in Finnish basic education; (2) To investigate measurable positive effects of proactive and preventive activities; and (3) To investigate implementation of proactive and preventive activities in ecological contexts. Two prominent phenomena in preschool and elementary school years—transition to formal schooling and school bullying—were chosen as examples of critical situations that are appropriate targets for proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities. Until lately, the procedures concerning both school transitions and school bullying have been rather problem-focused and reactive in nature. Theoretically, we lean on the bioecological model of development by Bronfenbrenner and Morris with concentric micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystems. Data were drawn from two large-scale research projects, the longitudinal First Steps Study: Interactive Learning in the Child–Parent– Teacher Triangle, and the Evaluation Study of the National Antibullying Program KiVa. In Study I, we found that the academic skills of children from preschool–elementary school pairs that implemented several supportive activities during the preschool year developed more quickly from preschool to Grade 1 compared with the skills of children from pairs that used fewer practices. In Study II, we focused on possible effects of proactive and preventive actions on teachers and found that participation in the KiVa antibullying program influenced teachers‘ self-evaluated competence to tackle bullying. In Studies III and IV, we investigated factors that affect implementation rate of these proactive and preventive actions. In Study III, we found that principal‘s commitment and support for antibullying work has a clear-cut positive effect on implementation adherence of student lessons of the KiVa antibullying program. The more teachers experience support for and commitment to anti-bullying work from their principal, the more they report having covered KiVa student lessons and topics. In Study IV, we wanted to find out why some schools implement several useful and inexpensive transition practices, whereas other schools use only a few of them. We were interested in broadening the scope and looking at local-level (exosystem) qualities, and, in fact, the local-level activities and guidelines, along with teacherreported importance of the transition practices, were the only factors significantly associated with the implementation rate of transition practices between elementary schools and partner preschools. Teacher- and school-level factors available in this study turned out to be mostly not significant. To summarize, the results confirm that school-based promotion and prevention activities may have beneficial effects not only on students but also on teachers. Second, various top-down processes, such as engagement at the level of elementary school principals or local administration may enhance implementation of these beneficial activities. The main message is that when aiming to support the lives of children the primary focus should be on adults. In future, promotion of psychosocial well-being and the intrinsic value of inter- and intrapersonal skills need to be strengthened in the Finnish educational systems. Future research efforts in student welfare and school psychology, as well as focused training for psychologists in educational contexts, should be encouraged in the departments of psychology and education in Finnish universities. Moreover, a specific research centre for school health and well-being should be established.

School-based Drama Program to Enhance Social and Emotional Wellbeing at Elementary School

Julkaisumaa: Hong Kong

Nursing Students’ Learning about an Empowering Discourse In Patient Education

The main purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate nursing students' learning about an empowering discourse in patient education. In Phase 1, the purpose was to describe an empowering discourse between a nurse and a patient. In Phase 2, the purpose was first to create a computer simulation program of an empowering discourse based on the description, and second, the purpose was to evaluate nursing students’ learning of how to conduct an empowering discourse using a computer simulation program. The ultimate goal was to strengthen the knowledge basis on empowering discourse and to develop nursing students’ knowledge about how to conduct an empowering discourse for the development of patient education. In Phase I, empowering discourse was described using a systematic literature review with a metasummary technique (n=15). Data were collected covering a period from January 1995 to October 2005. In Phase 2, the computer simulation program of empowering discourse was created based the description in 2006–2007. A descriptive comparative design was used to evaluate students’ (n=69) process of learning empowering discourse using the computer simulation program and a pretest–post-test design without a control group was used to evaluate students’ (n=43) outcomes of learning. Data were collected in 2007. Empowering discourse was a structured process and it was possible to simulate and learned with the computer simulation program. According to students’ knowledge, empowering discourse was an unstructured process. Process of learning empowering discourse using the computer simulation program was controlled by the students and it changed students’ knowledge. The outcomes of learning empowering discourse appeared as changes of students’ knowledge to more holistic and better-organized or only to more holistic or better-organized. The study strengthened knowledge base of empowering discourse and developed students to more knowledgeable in empowering discourse.