Searching for the Self : Adult International Adoptees’ Narratives of Their Search for and Reunion With Their Birth Families

In this case study, five international adoptees from Finland were interviewed about their search and reunion experiences to find out what meanings they ascribed to their identities and family relations. The thematic analysis yielded three themes: search and reunion in significant periods of life, meaning of reunion for identity, and belonging and relatedness within family. The first theme was characterized by the changing interest in birth family from the inability in childhood to fully understand the meaning of adoption and the growing interest in adolescence to adulthood where participants’ own parenthood intensified their interest. The second theme was characterized by the sense of coher…

Yliopistosta työelämään : opintopolun työelämäorientaatiota tukemassa

“Equally, but in our own way” : First-time parents’ prenatal expectations of coparenting

This study examined the expectations of expectant first-time parents on coparenting in a Finnish two-parent family. Thirty expectant couples were individually interviewed (N = 60) during the third trimester of pregnancy. The semi-structured interviews focused on participants’ expectations and hopes on future coparenting. Thematic analysis revealed that the expectant first-time mothers and fathers saw coparenting as multidimensional. They talked about coparenting in terms of 1) division of labour issues, 2) management of family dynamics, 3) childrearing agreement, 4) coparental support, and 5) learning and developing. Thus, the expectant couples hoped for a coparenting relationship in which …

Pedagogical Design of Interactive Online Lectures : Instructional Intervention in Distance Education

Yhteistyövanhemmuus eron jälkeen : mitä, miksi ja miten?

Eron jälkeinen yhteistyövanhemmuus on moniulotteinen ilmiö. Yhteistyövanhem- muutta toteuttaessaan aikuiset joutuvat pohtimaan uudella tapaa niin arvojaan, asen- teitaan kuin arkeaan. Eronneet vanhemmat tai muut lapselle läheiset aikuiset tarvitse- vat usein monenlaista tukea yhteistyövanhemmuudessaan. nonPeerReviewed

Enemmän huolta, vähemmän tukea : yhteisvanhemmuuden ensi askeleet esikoistaan odottavilla vanhemmilla korona-aikana

Tutkimuksen tarkoitus: Kuvata, miten esikoistaan odottavat vanhemmat kokivat koronapandemian vaikuttaneen vanhemmuuteen valmistautumiseen ja erityisesti siihen, miten he yhdessä valmistautuvat ja sitoutuvat tulevaan vanhemmuuteen (ns. yhteisvanhemmuus). Aineisto ja menetelmät: Aineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoiduin yksilöhaastatteluin huhti-elokuussa 2020 ja toteutettiin etäyhteyksin. Tutkimukseen osallistui 22 esikoistaan odottavaa vanhempaa (11 pariskuntaa). Haastatteluaineisto analysoitiin temaattisella sisallönanalyysilla. Tulokset: Odottavat vanhemmat kokivat, että koronapandemia vaikutti vanhemmuuteen valmistautumiseen siten, että isien osallistumismahdollisuudet rajoittuivat, yhteisk…

`Children Need Their Parents More Than a Pizza in the Fridge!'

The aim of this study is to find constructions of parental responsibility by analysing letters sent by readers to a newspaper on the topic of parenting and parental responsibility. The study takes a methodological approach, focusing on the meanings of responsibility and looking at different portrayals of parenthood. Three dimensions of responsibility (beginning responsibility, diminished sense of responsibility and obligating responsibility) emerged from the analysis. These dimensions relate to different meanings attributed to parental responsibility, for instance, `responsibility for making choices'. Parenthood is variously portrayed along the three dimensions. Parental responsibility cre…

”Yhteisvanhemmuus – sehän olisi aivan mahtavaa, jos se toimisi!” Eronneiden isien ja äitien puhetta yhteistyöstä ja vanhemmuudesta

•Yhteisvanhemmuudella tarkoitetaan kahden tai useamman aikuisen vastuunjakoa ja sitoutumista lapsen hoivaan ja kasvatukseen. •Eron jälkeistä yhteisvanhemmuutta on tutkittu toistaiseksi Suomessa vähän. •Tutkimus selvitti, millaisia toimijuuksia ja positioita vanhemmat ottavat puhuessaan yhteisvanhemmuudesta. Yhteistä kaikille oli puhe lapsen parhaasta sekä vanhemman ja lapsen suhteen tärkeydestä. •Yhteistyökykyisessä yhteisvanhemmuudessa korostuvat luottamus, kunnioitus ja toimiva ­vuorovaikutus sekä yhteinen ymmärrys lapsen edusta. •Tutkimuksen tulokset auttavat perheammattilaisia ymmärtämään yhteisvanhemmuuden esteitä ja mahdollisuuksia sekä löytämään perheiden tarpeista lähteviä tuen muot…

From being ignored to engaging in dialogue : Young boys' narratives of children's participation in child–parent conflicts

This paper examines children's opportunities to participate in everyday child–parent conflicts as revealed in young boys' fictional narratives. The data were collected from 19 boys aged 3–6 years using the Story Magician's Play Time method. Narrative analysis yielded four story types: ignored participation stories, parent-directed participation stories, child-directed participation stories and dialogical participation stories. The study illustrates that when considering children's participation in child–parent conflicts, differences between children in their opportunities to participate in resolving conflicts should be taken into account. The boys' stories draw attention to the importance o…

Finnish Mothers’ and Fathers’ Constructions of and Emotions in Their Daily Lives

This article focuses on parents’ construction of and emotions in their everyday lives. The study brings into focus the meanings in the foreground of everyday life, while also revealing new insights into cultural beliefs and prejudices. Interviews were conducted with five nuclear and four divorced families, and each participant (N = 18) was interviewed twice. The second interview was a photo-narrative interview, for which each participant took photographs pertaining to their daily life. Content and thematic analysis were applied to the data. Three main categories of everyday life emerged from the data: family daily life, couples’ daily life, and one’s own daily life. The importance of and pl…

"Isässäni parasta on se, kun hän tekee hyvää ruokaa ja ostaa joskus uusia leluja minulle." : isä ja materia lasten kertomuksissa

Isä on lapselle tärkeä. Hänen kanssaan potkitaan palloa, herkutellaan kahdestaan tai askarrellaan hamahelmillä. Lapsi näkee isänsä yhä useammin myös keittiössä tekemässä ruokaa. Tällaisia asioita lapset kertoivat isästään, mutta mitä nämä tarinat kertovat meille nykypäivän isyydestä? Materialla näyttää olevan monenlaisia tehtäviä lasten arjessa ja lapsen ja isän suhteessa. Näyttää myös siltä, että lasten käsitykset ja kokemukset miesvanhemmasta sekä tukevat että rikkovat perinteistä mieskuvaa ja perheen sukupuoliroolijakoja. nonPeerReviewed

Photo-narrative processes with children and young people

This article focuses on the photo-narrative research process with children and young people. The photo-narrative method invites children and young people to answer research questions by first taking photographs and then talking to the researcher about them. We reflect critically on our own photo-narrative study by asking such questions as: In what ways can the photo-narrative method be seen as a participative method? How were the various power relations between the child and the researcher actualized? What methodological and ethical challenges did we encounter during the research process? The study data were photographs and narratives by eight children and young people (aged 4 to 15 years),…

Vanhemmuuden ja selviytymiskykyisyyden tukeminen ohjatussa äiti–lapsi-vertaisryhmässä

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tarkastella työntekijöiden kuvauksia ja havaintoja siitä, miten ohjatussa äiti–lapsi-vertaisryhmässä tuetaan vanhemmuutta ja selviytymiskykyisyyttä. Tutkimuksen viitekehyksenä sovellettiin resilienssitutkimuksen ja Seligmanin (2011) PERMA-hyvinvointiteorian käsitteitä. Tutkimuksen kontekstina oli matalan kynnyksen perhekeskustoiminta ja kohteena äiti–lapsi-vertaisryhmä. Lähestymistapana sovellettiin tapaustutkimusta, ja menetelminä olivat työntekijöiden (N=2) parihaastattelut tutkimusjakson alussa ja lopussa sekä puolistrukturoidut päiväkirjat, joihin työntekijät kirjasivat huomioitaan omista toimintatavoistaan ja vuorovaikutustilanteista äitien ja lasten ryhmäta…

Finnish teacher-students’ views on home-school cooperation

This study focused on the views on home-school cooperation of teacher-students who are in the process of becoming professionals. The data were gathered from five focus-group interviews of 19 Finnish teacher-students. The data were analysed thematically. Better learning results were not the general aim of cooperation; instead, the aim was the child’s well-being. All parties benefited when cooperation functioned well. Yet, factors related to parents and teachers’ lack of time hinder cooperation. The views of home-school cooperation were a combination of the participants’ childhood memories, stories they had heard from their friends and colleagues and, less saliently, ideas originating from te…

Obstacles to dialogic encounters between parents and staff in pre-primary school

This study investigate dobstacles to encounters with staff as experienced by parents in the context of institutional pre-primary education in Finland. The study contributes to education research by exploring parents’ perceptions and experiences of encounters with staff from the perspectives of Buber’s (1923/1987; 1947/2002) dialogic philosophy and Giorgi`s (1994) phenomenological psychology. The parent volunteers (n = 15) who participated in planning the local pre-primary education curriculum based on The National Core curriculum for Pre-primary Education 2014 (Finnish National Board of Education 2016) met three times during the 2015–2016 school year in a city in northern Finland. In the la…

Responsibility in home-school relations : Finnish parents' views

Finnish parents' views on responsibility in the home–school relations were explored. Responsibility was here understood as responsibility over education and upbringing. The data consist of semi-structured interviews with 24 mothers and four fathers. In the home–school discourses, parents and teachers were often referred to as partners, and active parental involvement in school life was seen as a key to children's success. However, in some discourses teachers and parents were seen as polar opposites, e.g. teachers as experts — parents as laymen. Few references were made to children's responsibility.

Searching for the Self: Adult International Adoptees’ Narratives of Their Search for and Reunion With Their Birth Families

In this case study, five international adoptees from Finland were interviewed about their search and reunion experiences to find out what meanings they ascribed to their identities and family relat...

The Beginning and End of Parental Responsibility — Finnish Parents’ Views

INTRODUCTIONParental responsibility is a topic much discussed in present-day society. In these discussions the concept of parental responsibility appears self-explanatory, and it is often seen as the common denominator in dealing with child behaviour and educational issues, particularly in problem-centred discussions. Generally, responsibility seems to be one of the key concepts in policy-making and public debate about the lives of children and parents (Such & Walker, 2004).A theoretical model of present-day life that deals with parenting but also relates to parental responsibility is the theory of individualization (Giddens 1991, 1992). Individualization is a term used by Beck and Beck-Ger…