Motivational sources of practical nursing students at risk of dropping out from vocational education and training

The aim of this study was to contribute to the understanding of the reasons for low or high academic motivation among practical nursing students at risk of dropping out from vocational education and training. The research data consisted of semi-structured interviews with 14 Finnish students, which were analysed by qualitative content analysis. The analysis identified six motivational sources. Two of these sources – Responsible agency and Completing out of necessity – were related to engagement in studying, whereas two other sources – Exhaustion from learning challenges and Tight-roping between competing responsibilities – were related to disengagement from studying. Emotional drive and Soci…

To correct or not correct the erroneous utterances of children: teacher‐initiated organisation of repair in the L2 pre‐primary education classroom

ABSTRACT The research reported on a qualitative study of feedback given in one Finnish pre‐primary education group which integrated English into the programme as a first foreign language. The study was based on the authentic video‐recorded observations of actual pre‐primary teaching sessions (N = 11 lessons). The findings suggested that the reactions of the teachers to child errors depended on the types of errors made by children. The study discussed the tension present in feedback giving when balancing between the aim of maintaining the early interest of children in language learning and the purpose of paying attention to correct ways of using the target language. The data were analysed by…

Getting into the Same Boat – Enabling the Realization of the Disabled Child’s Agency in Adult–Child Play Interaction

The purpose of this study was to find out how an adult can enable or hinder the realization of a disabled child’s agency in play interaction. We focused on the child’s play invitations, which were constructed as dispreferred by the adult. The data consisted of nine videotaped playing situations with five nurses and five disabled children in a children’s neurological ward. The microanalysis with interventionist applied conversation analysis focused on one playing situation between one nurse and one three-year-old boy with no spoken language. The nurse responded to the child’s play invitations constructed as dispreferred by her in three different ways. Two of them were about trying to control…

Lapsen vahvuudet esiopetusvuoden pedagogisissa asiakirjoissa

Vahvuusperustainen kasvatusajattelu on saanut viime vuosina Suomessa paljon huomiota. Vahvuuksien hyödyntäminen tukee lasten itsearvostusta, lisää myönteistä käyttäytymistä ryhmässä ja voi helpottaa vaikeuksien ja epäonnistumisten sietämistä. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastelemme, millaisia vahvuuksia tehostettua tai erityistä tukea saavien lasten pedagogisissa asiakirjoissa kuvataan esiopetuksessa, miten vahvuuksista kirjoitetaan sekä millaisia tehtäviä lasten vahvuuksien kirjaamisella on. Tutkimuksen aineiston muodostavat esiopetuksen oppimissuunnitelmat, tehostetun tuen suunnitelmat ja HOJKS-asiakirjat (N = 65). Aineistolähtöisessä analyysissa vahvuuksiksi ymmärrettiin lapsen kyvyt, luonteen…

Moniammatillisen yhteistyön kirjaaminen ja yhteistyötahojen asemointi esi- ja perusopetuksessa laadituissa oppimissuunnitelmissa ja HOJKS-asiakirjoissa

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, miten moniammatilliset yhteistyötahot asemoidaan esi- ja perusopetuksessa laadituissa oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen asiakirjoissa. Tutkimusaineisto koostui 114 oppimissuunnitelmasta ja henkilökohtaisesta opetuksen järjestämistä koskevasta suunnitelmasta (HOJKS), jotka analysoitiin diskurssianalyyttisesti. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että yhteistyötahot asemoitiin asiakirjoissa viiteen eri positioon: äänetön läsnäolija, täydentävä tuentarjoaja, asiantuntija, auktoriteetti ja kumppani. Moniammatillisen yhteistyön kirjaaminen vaihteli pedagogisissa asiakirjoissa, eivätkä yhteistyötahojen vastuiden kirjaamiselle valtakunnallisissa opetussuunnitelmissa määri…

Pedagogy-related tensions in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care

In flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC), the timing of care depends on parents’ non-standard working hours. Multiple individual schedules and care times in a child group may cause irregularity in a child’s daily structures, and a child may miss a standard hour’s activities that are led by teachers with a pedagogical education. In this context, the significance and definition of pedagogy is vague and tensional. This study aimed at disclosing discursive tensions related to pedagogy in flexibly scheduled ECEC constructed in interviews by Finnish teachers and childcare nurses (n = 31). The analysis of the interview data followed the principles of discursive psychology. C…

The premise, promise and disillusion of the ADHD categorisation - family narrative about the child's broken school trajectory

This study presents co-narrated school experiences of a young Finnish girl diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and those of her parents. The discourse analysis of the family interview focused on the discrepant ways family members gave meanings to and mobilised the ADHD categorisation while narrating their broken school trajectory. The results showed that the ADHD diagnosis was laden with the promise of the whole family being recognised differently by the school. However, this cultural promise proved disillusioning as daughter's support needs and parents' expertise were not recognised nor did the diagnostic category emancipate from stigmatising identities and blame…

What is individual in individualised instruction? Five storylines of meeting individual needs at school

Abstract The purpose of this narrative case study was to examine the meanings and practices of individualised instruction narrated by two seventh-grade Finnish pupils with mild learning difficulties, their mothers, their special education teacher and researchers. The data comprise narrative interviews and field notes. The analysis showed that the narrators had various, even conflicting, experiences of individualisation, which was narrated through five storylines: individual needs as difficulties and limitations; individualisation as the ideal principle for inclusive education; individualisation as a bureaucratic procedure; individualised instruction as making room for emotions, and individu…

Privilege or tragedy? : Educators’ accounts of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care

This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators ( n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of discursive psychology. Educators’ accounts were labelled as excusing, compensating, normalising and justifying. Accounts categorised as excusing and compensating shared concern over the effects of childcare during non-standard hours on children’s w…

Self-pathologizing, self-condemning, self-liberating: Youths' accounts of their ADHD-related behavior

This study analyzes the discursive construction of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and self in relation to a socioculturally shared understanding of moral norms. Thirteen Finnish youth aged 11 to 16 diagnosed with ADHD were interviewed during this discourse analysis study. The youth accounted for their culturally undesirable behavior, performance and traits through three different types of accounts: (1) externalizing personal responsibility due to a compelling medical condition, (2) internalizing personal responsibility through moral self-condemnation, and (3) distancing oneself from the socially imposed stereotypes and stigmas related to ADHD. This study challenges dominant…

Documenting pedagogical support measures in Finnish IEPs for students with intellectual disability

The individual education plan (IEP) is an essential part of special education and is used widely in Western countries for documenting both the learning goals and support measures for children with ...

‘More homework for me, too’. Meanings of differentiation constructed by elementary-aged students in classroom interaction

Although the necessary role of differentiation in special education is well established in the literature, little is known about its social and peer interaction implications from the student perspective. The present qualitative study aims at offering detailed observational analyses of the meanings that 7- to 9-year-old students give to differentiated instruction in its initial phases in authentic classroom activities. The results were yielded from an ethno–methodological conversation analysis of the video-recordings of authentic classroom situations in a part-time Finnish special education setting (N = 12 lessons). The results revealed that whilst differentiation as a pedagogical solution s…

‘Celebrating diverse motherhood’: physically disabled women’s counter-narratives to their stigmatised identity as mothers

This study examined how disabled women negotiated their stigmatised identity as mothers by presenting counter-narratives to the culturally dominant narrative of disabled motherhood. Eleven Finnish physically disabled mothers were interviewed. The data were analysed by focusing on these counter-narratives, their linguistic features and their functions in the interviews. The disabled mothers produced four types of counter-narratives about their motherhood experiences: (1) celebrating diverse motherhood through individual coping; (2) performing motherhood through collaborative caring; (3) boosting motherhood through praising one’s children; and (4) normalising (disabled women’s) motherhood thr…

The meanings of differentiated instruction in the narratives of Eritrean teachers

The principles of inclusive education largely accepted by governments of different countries require differentiated classroom instruction to meet the diverse needs of individual students. Despite this, teachers have differing experiences and understandings about implementing differentiated instruction (DI) and heterogeneous classrooms. This narrative study aimed at exploring the meanings of DI in the Eritrean context, where teachers are not explicitly familiar with the concept, although their teaching practices reflect some level of differentiation. The research data consisted of 17 narrative interviews with Eritrean mathematics and science teachers. The results of the narrative analysis sh…

Power struggle, submission and partnership: Agency constructions of mothers of children with ADHD diagnosis in their narrated school involvement

The contemporary education paradigm highlights the interdependency of home and school expertise. This discourse analysis study examines the narrated agentive possibilities of 18 Finnish mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD to influence and be involved in their child's schooling. Mothers' strong involvement endeavor is premised on their expertise concerning ADHD, distrust of teachers' adequate knowledge of and attitude towards their child, and anxiety for their child's wellbeing. However, our analysis reveals a gap between the mothers' narrated potential agency to fight for her child's well-being and their actual capability to be involved as intended, due to unequal institutional power re…

Turning social inclusion into exclusion during collaborative between students with and without SEN

Creating opportunities for meaningful social relationships between students with and without special educational needs (SEN) through collaborative learning has been suggested as a way to facilitate all students’ social inclusion in classroom activities. However, little attention has been given to the peer interaction processes leading to unsuccessful knowledge co-creation in mixed-ability peer groups including students with and without SEN. This study addressed this research gap by conducting detailed observational analyses of the social exclusion during group work of students with and without SEN, and how the students with SEN responded to their positioning as unequal learning partners. Th…

Oppilaiden tietämys oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen asiakirjoista sekä osallisuus niiden laadintaa käsittelevissä palavereissa

Oppilaiden osallisuus oman oppimisensa suunnittelussa on yksi oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen lähtökohdista. Tästä huolimatta ei ole juurikaan tutkittu, miltä tuen suunnittelu sekä siihen liittyvät palaverit ja asiakirjat näyttävät oppilaiden näkökulmasta. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, kuinka hyvin oppilaat tunsivat heille laaditut oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen asiakirjat (oppimissuunnitelma, henkilökohtainen opetuksen järjestämistä koskeva suunnitelma eli H0JKS) ja millaisia palavereihin osallistumisen tyyppejä oppilaiden haastatteluista oli löydettävissä. Tutkimusaineisto koostui kuudes- ja yhdeksäsluokkalaisten tehostettua tai erityistä tukea saavien oppilaiden haastatteluista [N =…

Newborns with an impairment: discourses of hospital staff.

The birth of a baby with an impairment goes against dominant cultural ideals about a happy event. Therefore, the interaction between professionals and parents is particularly important, from the hospital maternity ward to the home. In this article, the author examines both the representations of neonatal impairments constructed by professionals and the consequent subject positions for these babies with impairments. The study is based on interview data collected among 19 staff members of one Finnish county hospital. The author analyzed the data by means of qualitative discourse analysis and concludes that it would be important for health care professionals to provide many-sided elements for…

Poikkeavuus: yksi käsite vai monta käsitystä? : diskurssianalyyttinen tutkimus nuorten poikkeavuuskirjoittelusta

The Use of Question Modification Strategies to Differentiate Instruction in Eritrean Mathematics and Science Classrooms

This qualitative study aimed at examining the question modification strategies Eritrean elementary and middle school teachers used to differentiate their instruction and meet the diversity in the classroom as well as the functions these strategies served in classroom interactions. The research data consisted of videotaped recordings (N = 11 videotaped lessons) of classroom interactions in eight mathematics and science classrooms, which were analysed through interaction analysis. The findings showed that Eritrean teachers utilised the following five question modification strategies either independently or in combination: repetition; rephrasing; clarification; decomposition; and code-switchin…

“Can do!” Teacher Promotion of Optimism in Response to Student Failure Expectation Expressions in Classroom Discourse

This study offers detailed observational analyses of how teachers use optimism as an instructional resource when responding to students’ failure expectation displays in classroom situations. The results were based on video-recordings of 25 lessons in two Finnish part-time special education settings, analysed by means of applied conversation analysis. The results showed that the teachers boosted optimism by inverting students’ negative utterances, giving examples of successful experiences of peers, offering praise for students’ earlier performance or focusing on problems through instructional support. The study underlines the importance of addressing and elaborating students’ negative learni…

Facilitating and hindering factors in the realization of disabled children’s agency in institutional contexts: literature review

Disabled children’s opportunity to act as agents may be compromised because adults have the power to choose who are entitled to express agency. Disabled children spend much time in institutions and with professionals of different fields. The aim of this literature review was to find out which factors facilitate or hinder the realization of disabled children’s agency in institutional contexts. As data we used 19 research articles and analysed them with inductive content analysis. Key factors relate to professionals’ attitudes towards diversity, children and themselves as well as professionals’ communication skills and institutional factors that enable the child to have an influence or preven…

Parental and professional agency in terminations for fetal anomalies: analysis of Finnish women's accounts

This study explores the construction of parental and professional agency in the written accounts by women who have undergone selective abortion (N=8). The analysis of the data was based on qualitative, linguistic discourse analysis. The accounts indicate that the mothers themselves exhibited both strong and weak agency during the process of prenatal diagnosis. The role of the professionals was usually discussed in these accounts concerning only the phases of pregnancy when something out of ordinary had been detected. After the termination, the mothers expressed that they were forced to exhibit strong agency and find ways to cope with their distress unaided due to a lack of professional supp…

Kasvatustieteen päivät 2021 : Oppiva ja hyvinvoiva yksilö ja yhteisö

Positioning children with special educational needs in early childhood education and care documents

The article critically discusses the practice of describing children’s special educational needs (SEN) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) pedagogical documents. Documentation is understood as a form of governance. In current practice, documentation is extensively used in educational institutions. Even when the focus of documentation should be pedagogical, the descriptions of children’s SEN commonly describe a child’s individual deficits as a source of educational problems. In this study, we used discourse analysis to investigate how professionals position children and construct their SEN in pedagogical documents. The research data consisted of 143 documents on 29 Finnish children.…

Vanhempien osallisuuden kuvaukset perusopetuksen vuosiluokkien 1-6 oppimissuunnitelmissa ja HOJKS-asiakirjoissa

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan vanhempien osallisuuden kuvauksia perusopetuksen vuosiluokilla 1-6 laadituissa oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen asiakirjoissa. Tutkimusaineiston muodostivat 38 oppimissuunnitelmaa sekä 45 HOJKS-asiakirjaa, jotka analysoitiin sisällönanalyysilla. Teorialähtöisen sisällönanalyysin pohjana oli Epsteinin osallisuutta kuvastava kuusiportainen malli, jonka pohjalta tuotettiin kuva vanhemmuuden osallisuuden sisällöistä asiakirjoissa. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa eriteltiin, millaisia merkityksiä vanhemmuus sai kuhunkin osallisuuden ulottuvuuteen sisältyvissä lausumissa. Tulokset osoittivat asiakirjoista löytyvän eniten mainintoja kodin ja koulun vuorovaikutuksesta sekä läh…

Forbidden option or planned decision? Physically disabled women’s narratives on the choice of motherhood

This narrative study explores personal narratives by disabled women on their choice to become a mother. Eleven Finnish physically disabled mothers were interviewed. The interview data were analysed using Greimas’ actant model. The women produced three types of narratives about their journeys to motherhood: compensation, forbidden option and planned choice. In these narratives, the disabled women struggled with the disabling, oversimplifying and suppressive cultural master narratives of ‘good’ motherhood. Through the narratives, the women distanced themselves from these dominant cultural narratives and constructed strong agency for themselves as mothers. peerReviewed

Oppilaiden kaikupuheen tehtävät kielellisesti epäsymmetrisissä luokkahuonekeskusteluissa

Repeating the words of the conversational partners gives the persons with restricted communicative abilities a possibility for taking an active part in and exerting some control in the conversational interaction. Earlier research has approached the repeats with two different viewpoints: they have been considered either as problematic and meaningless echolalia, or as motivated communication meaningful for speakers themselves. This paper examines the functions for which students with special needs use repetition in their interaction with teachers and the ways in which teachers treat these echolalic responses in classroom talk. The research data consists of the video-recordings of lessons in o…

Oppilaalle tarjottavan tuen perusteleminen esi- ja perusopetuksessa laadituissa pedagogisissa arvioissa ja selvityksissä

Oppilaan tehostetun tai erityisen tuen tarjoamisen perusteleminen on keskeinen tehtävä pedagogissa arvioissa ja selvityksissä. Pedagogisissa asiakirjoissa esiintyvää perustelemista ei ole kuitenkaan juurikaan tutkittu. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin, miten ja millaisista lähtökohdista oppilaiden tehostetun tai erityisen tuen tarjoamista perustellaan esi- ja perusopetuksessa laadituissa pedagogisissa arvioissa ja selvityksissä. Tutkimusaineiston muodostivat 25 pedagogista arviota ja 28 pedagogista selvitystä, jotka analysoitiin laadullisesti. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat asiakirjoissa esiintyvän neljä erilaista perustelemisen tapaa, joiden selkeys, yksiselitteisyys ja johdonmukaisuus vaiht…

Recording Support Measures in the Sequential Pedagogical Documents of Children With Special Education Needs

This study investigates the descriptions of support measures in the sequential pedagogical documents (individual education plans or programs and others) of children with special education needs from early childhood education and care to preprimary education. According to the previous research, the role of pedagogical work is largely disregarded in these documents, which typically focus on describing children’s challenges instead of support measures. In this study, the sequential pedagogical documents ( N = 257) of 64 Finnish children were studied for approximately 3 to 6 years, and the data were analyzed by investigating the textual and content-related coherence, as well as the linguistic …

Intertextual Voices of Children, Parents, and Specialists in Individual Education Plans

Planning support and education services requires multifaceted information from professionals, parents, and children. Despite this, educators have emphasized professional opinions in individual education plans (IEPs), whereas the perspectives of children and parents have remained inconsequential. In this study, we examine the intertextual voices of children, parents, and specialists in IEPs (N = 287) drafted in Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC). The findings show that educators use intertextual voices to serve the following functions: (1) Creating a more multidimensional image of a child, (2) presenting evidence for their argumentation, and (3) assigning the responsibility to…

Positioning flexibly scheduled ECEC in the chain of childcare by parents working non-standard hours

This study examined how Finnish parents working non-standard hours (N=18) positioned institutional flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a link in their chain of childcare. Interview data, analysed following the principles of discursive psychology, yielded three discourses on flexibly scheduled ECEC: the discourse of the child’s best interest, the discourse of the labour market, and the discourse of equality of opportunity for the child. Flexibly scheduled ECEC was positioned in these discourses either as the last resort option for childcare, a safe haven for the child, a societal service enabling parents to work during non-standard hours or as a place for children…

Oppimisvaikeuksien, motivaation ja oppijaminäkäsityksen merkitys ammatillisista opinnoista valmistumisessa

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, missä määrin oppimisvaikeuksien vaikutus ammatillisesta koulutuksesta valmistumiseen on yhteydessä motivaatioon ja millaisia käsityksiä heikosti opiskeluun motivoituneilla opiskelijoilla on itsestään opiskelijana. Tutkimus koostui määrällisestä kyselytutkimuksesta ja laadullisesta haastattelututkimuksesta, joista määrälliseen osuuteen osallistui 554 ja laadulliseen osuuteen 44 ammattiopiston opiskelijaa. Tulokset osoittivat, että ne opiskelijat, joilla oli oppimisvaikeuksia mutta tyypillinen motivaation, valmistuivat pääosin tavoiteajassa. Sen sijaan niiden, joilla oli sekä heikko motivaatio että oppimisvaikeuksia, valmistumatta jääminen oli tilastol…

Inclusive Education Ideal at the Negotiating Table: Accounts of Educational Possibilities for Disabled Children Within Inter‐Disciplinary Team Meetings

The debate about whether to include all kinds of students in the general education classrooms is a current topic in the European and Scandinavian educational policy. This paper comes to grips with this topic by focusing on the process through which professionals define educational possibilities and risks for one group of children considered as special needs children. The study is based on the transcripts of four Finnish interdisciplinary team meetings in which professionals and parents negotiate for the school choices of preschool‐aged children with cochlear implants. Analysis of the data is based on the principles of qualitative discourse analytical methods of conversation. Results show th…

Identities of special needs education in the discourse of Finnish professors of the field

This article examines both the discourses upon which Finnish special needs education professors draw when speaking about their field, and the consequent identities for it. The research material consists of theme interviews with 10 professors of special needs education and is analysed from a socio-constructionist, discourse analytical perspective. The results show that the professors defined special needs education from two separate viewpoints: on the basis of their own personal views, or on the basis of the classical definitions of special needs education. The professors spoke about the field through five different discourses: professional, emancipatory, relativistic, autonomous and critica…

Ohjaajan vastaaminen opiskelijoiden esittämiin moitteisiin dialogisuuteen pyrkivän aikuiskoulutuksen vuorovaikutustilanteissa

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, miten dialogisuuteen pyrkivän aikuiskoulutuksen oppimisryhmissä käsitellään opiskelijoiden esittämiä moitteita, jotka kohdistuvat ohjaajan toimintaan tai hänen edustamaansa koulutukseen. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu Aikuiskouluttajan pedagogisten opintojen videoiduista oppimisryhmätilanteista (kaikkiaan 20 tuntia). Aineistossa opiskelijat aloittivat kahdeksan moitekeskustelua, jotka analysoitiin keskustelunanalyyttisesti. Tulokset osoittivat ohjaajan antavan moitetilanteissa opiskelijoille tilaa rakentaa ja esittää moitteensa. Moitteen esittämisen edetessä ohjaaja tuotti neljänlaisia vastauksia moitteisiin: uuden näkökulman tarjoaminen, selonteko, moi…

What’s in a name : the effect of category labels on teachers’ beliefs.

In this paper, we report an investigation of the possible influence on teachers’ essentialist thinking and efficacy beliefs of category labels used to describe children’s educational difficulties. A 2x2x2 counterbalanced design was employed in which primary school teachers in Finland and the UK were exposed to vignettes that portrayed a child exhibiting difficulties in one of two domains: either behaviour or reading. Vignettes were presented in two versions. In one, the child was labelled as having either ‘ADHD’ or ‘Dyslexia’; in the alternate condition, no such label was ascribed, descriptions were identical in all other respects. Participating teachers were presented with two vignettes, o…

Äitiysidentiteetin uudelleenrakentaminen vammautumisen jälkeen

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin, miten lasten syntymän jälkeen vammautuneet äidit rakensivat identiteettiään äiteinä vammautumisensa jälkeen. Tutkimusaineisto koostui viiden vammautuneen naisen haastatteluista, jotka analysoitiin narratiivisesti. Vammautuneiden äitien kertomuksista löytyi neljä kerronnallista jännitettä, joiden kautta he rakensivat äitiysidentiteettiään: 1) merkityksetön vai merkityksellinen elämä, 2) lapsen rakkauden menettäminen vai äidin ensisijaisen aseman säilyttäminen, 3) kyvyttömyys toimia äitinä vai äitinä selviytyminen sekä 4) riippuvaisuus lapsesta vai hoivan antajana toimiminen. Tutkimuksemme perusteella voidaan sanoa, että äitiydestä ja lapsista muodostui nais…

Object, problem, or subject?: A child with a disability as found in reports of professionals

This study examined the representations of one Finnish child with disabilities as constructed in reports written by professionals. The professional action models which appeared in the discourse of the reports were also explored. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the social constructionist approach. Research data consisted of 145 documents, the analyses of which were based on critical discourse analysis developed by Fairclough (1992). Results indicated that the child with a disability was constructed in the documents in varying ways, either as an object, a problem, or a subject Professional expertise, mechanistic and objectivist practices, and seeing disability as an indivi…

Leimattu lapsuus? Vammaisuuden rakentuminen ammatti-ihmisten puheessa ja teksteissä

Ammattilaisten antamissa selityksissä lapsen vammasta tulee hallitseva piirre ja esimerkiksi lapselle annettuun diagnoosiin latautuu helposti voimakkaita odotuksia. Diagnoosia saatetaan pitää vaikeuksien ratkaisijana tai lapsen toiminnan selittäjänä.Lapsuutta leimaa jatkuva vaatimus toivotusta osaamisesta, käyttäytymisestä ja tavasta oppia. Kehitykseen liittyvää tietoa käytetään hyväksi, kun päätetään esimerkiksi ovatko lapset valmiita osallistumaan johonkin toimintaan tai ansaitsevatko he paikan koulun yleisopetuksessa.Kun puhutaan vammasta tai kehityksestä, arvioitavat ominaisuudet irrotetaan lapsesta. Taitoja ja suoriutumista käsitellään itsenäisinä kokonaisuuksinaan ilman, että lapseen …

‘The teacher almost made me cry’ Narrative analysis of teachers' reactive classroom management strategies as reported by students diagnosed with ADHD

This interview study addresses the gap in earlier research by focussing on the narratives of 13 ADHDdiagnosed Finnish students regarding teacher reactive classroom management strategies. The data are analysed through narrative analysis. Five different narrative types are identified, in which teacher behaviour is evaluated as (1) disproportionate, (2) traumatising, (3) neglectful, (4) unfair and (5) understanding. The dominant storyline e common to the first four types e constructed the narrator's transgression as contingent upon and a justified reaction to teacher conduct. The vicious cycle of coercive classroom management strategies and the culture of blame between students and teachers ar…

Tablet-Supported Self-Assessment in a Class for Students with Intellectual Disability

Self-assessment has been shown to have positive effects on students’ self-regulated learning strategies and academic achievement. However, self-assessment and self-assessment instruction are under-researched areas among students with intellectual disability. This data-driven qualitative study aimed at examining the self-assessment expressions students with intellectual disability documented in their learning diaries and how the teacher and teaching assistants used video recordings to facilitate students’ self-assessments in one Finnish special needs education class. The naturally occurring research data consisted of both students’ tablet-based learning diaries (N = 6) and video recordings o…

The habilitation nursing of children with developmental disabilities—Beyond traditional nursing practices and principles?

Research-based descriptions of the contents of the habilitation nursing of children with developmental disabilities are lacking. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe the habilitation nursing of children with developmental disabilities in a Finnish children’s neurological ward. In addition, the purpose was to outline the principles that directed the nursing functions (which consisted of various nursing interventions). The data collection included observation, a retrospective think-aloud method with video-taped nursing situations, the nursing records, and an open-ended questionnaire. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis of the manifest and latent conte…