Perceptions and experiences of well-being of children and youth and what can we do in schools to promote it?

An academic perspective: Turku & Tallinn research groups

FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION STUDY AS A PART OF SAS PROJECT

• The purpose of our research work is to – produce information about the SAS process, its results and effects.– Produce information that can be used for the development of the project.

• We have research groups both in Turku and in Tallinn. We are to co-operate with each other, in order to be able to compare Finnish and Estonian school-life and school cultures.

• Our presentation today consists of:– Introductions to the research plans and interests of both research groups.– The plans and visions about our co-operation.

You are all welcome to give us comments or ask questions!

SAS RESEARCH GROUPUniversity of Turku

Our SAS research consists of following sub-studies:

1. School cultures in Turku and Tallinn2. Active and safe life as pupils’ experience3. Teachers opinions about the school culture

and changes in it

1. SCHOOL CULTURES IN TURKU AND TALLINN

• The purpose is to analyse and compare school-life in the two cities and to find out the similarities and differences in them.

• The main approaches are

– The explicit norms and values in the curriculum documents of the state, city and schools (document analysis)

– How the explicit norms and values are related to school reality or everyday life in schools

2. ACTIVE AND SAFE LIFE AS PUPILS’ EXPERIENCE

• This part of the study is focused on the everyday life of the pupils. Target groups are 11-12 and 13-14 year old students.

• Data is gathered with multiple methods (survey questionnaires, written open-ended assignments). The results are to be compared with our Tallinn parnter.

• The main approaches are– The pupils’ way of life: activities during school days and after it– School community and surroundings in pupils’ eyes:

experiences of safety, school and class atmosphere, opportunities and willingness to participate and have an influence on common affairs in shcool.

3. TEACHERS OPINIONS ABOUT THE SCHOOL CULTURE AND THE CHANGES IN IT

• This part of the study is directed to teachers and principals who participate in the SAS project. Its purpose is to examine the effects of the project in the practical work in schools.

• One part of its data will be collected in this seminar. We’re interested in how You see the goals of SAS project in the everyday life of your school.

• We’d like to know:– What kinds of things are done in your school to promote pupils’

well-being?– Is there a person in charge or a team working on pupils’ well-

being in your school?

WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT WELL-BEING IN SCHOOLS?

• School well-being consists of (Konu 2002):– School environment

• School yard and surroundings as a place for activities• Equipment for activities, after-school leisure clubs

– Social relations within school community• Friends, school and class climate, togetherness• Teacher-student relations

– Chances to self-fulfillment • Activities• Feeling of competence

– Health– Pupils’ homes and other relations outside school

WHAT KINDS OF THINGS ABOUT KIDS’ LIFESTYLES ARE CONNECTED WITH SCHOOL WELL-BEING? (Korppas, M., Asanti, R., Junttila, N., Koivusilta, L., Koski, P., Virta, A. & Oittinen, A. 2009.)

+ Participating in regularly organised free-time activities

+ Having close friends in the same class

+ Having a positive conception about own school success

- Spending ’screen time’ many hours a day (TV, computer, video games)

- Being home alone many hours a day

- Not having hobbies- Social and emotional

loneliness

WHAT MAKES AN ACTIVE AND A SAFE BREAK TIME IN PUPILS’ EYES (and what hinders it)?

ACTIVE BREAK• ”Lauri went to ask his friends to play

’kirkonrotta’. Lauri was the first one to seek the others. He caught everyone.”

• ”Laura was sitting by herself. Two other girls saw her. They came to ask if Laura wanted to play too. Laura was very happy to have friends.”

INACTIVE BREAK• ”During the break time Laura has just been

sitting by herself and watching the others play.”

• ”Lauri saw his classmates play football. He went to join them, but they took the ball and ran away shouting: Help, Lauri is coming! They knew Lauri was slower."

SAFE BREAK• ”Laura saw a little girl fall on the ground. She

went to the break supervisor and told about what happened. The little girl was taken to the school nurse.”

• ”Lauri feels safe because he was accepted to join the others play, no one was fighting and there was a teacher supervising the break.”

UNSAFE BREAK• ”Laura felt scared about breaks because she was

threatened and bullied. She thought she had to be quiet about it because if she told someone, it would get worse.”

• ”Laura saw two big boys bully a little boy. She felt sad. She couldn’t tell the teachers, because if the boys found out, they might start to bully her too.”

WHAT COULD BE DONE IN SCHOOLS DO TO PROMOTE PUPILS’ WELL-BEING?

(Korppas, M., Asanti, R., Junttila, N., Koivusilta, L., Koski, P., Virta, A. & Oittinen, A. 2009.)• To increase the after-school leisure activities (especially for those who are least

active in their leisure time).• Co-operate with childrens’ homes to minimize the time spent watching TV, surfing

on the Internet, playing video games. (It’s connected with several negative experiences about school climate and social relations.)

• To give each child possibilities to have experiences about succeeding and seeing themselves positively.

• To develop break times so that everyone could be physically or/and socially active and not excluded from the peer group.

• Support feeling of togetherness and co-operation inside class communities. Special attention should be given to those who don’t seem to have close friends in the class.

• Give children opportunities to plan and organise events together.

School cultures in Tallinn Schools Study 1

• Was carried out: from May to August 2010

• Purposes:- The main purpose was to gather information about school values (what are the main values of each school) and main activities of each school to bring the values to life, also to get information about the main strengths and weaknesses concerning the values.- Our purpose was also to get supportive information for carrying out the main surveys (about the main purposes and expectations that schools have stated concerning the project and also about the possibilities for online answering etc).

• Based on the results:- We have composed the main value-survey - We have started to compare school values with state and city values

Some results

• Values that describe our schools the most:

- Child- centeredness- Professionality

• Values that describe our schools least:

- Safety- Traditions

• What is the value we miss the most:

- CooperationDon´t

support at all

Rather don´t

supportSo and so Rather

support Support very well

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0 0 2.3

51.2

46.5

%

School cultures in Tallinn schools Study 2

• Will be carried out: at the beginning of December• Main purposes- To gather information about how state and city values are perceived at schools- To gather information how the main values that schools have brought out in the pre-research

are related to the reality or everyday life in schools

• Main structure - Integrating students to the society/ community

- Values at daily school life - Students’ basic values

+ Value survey among children (combined with the main questionnaire)

Interviews at school

• Based to the results:- We will analyze school, city and state values – how they match or doesn´t match- We will compare the results with the results of schools in Turku- We will try to find and share the best practices

Pupils’ life-style and well-being in Tallinn1. Breaktime study

• The aim of the study was to get the overview of positive and negative aspects of breaktimes via students’ eyes.

• Solution-centented focus: to encourage kids to make their own suggestions how to reach more enjoyable breaktimes.

• Almost all SAS project schools participated. THANK YOU !

I BREAKTIME

Imagine your IDEAL SCHOOL! If it was in your hands, how could a enoyable breaktime look like?

Make your suggestions! What would you do? For example, what, where, and how would you set it out?

1 2

What do you like to do at breaktimes during your schoolday?

What are the things you don’t you like at breaktimes?

I am: boy / girl

I study in ……… class

NoiseLong lines at lunchbreaks Too short breaks

Talk to friendsListen to music Joke Possibilities for relax and privacy (e.g., sofas

in hallways)

Longer lunchbreak Possibility to spend time outside

Pupils’ life-style and well-being in Tallinn2. Main survey

• Focused on kids’ lifestyle activeness and feel of safety in multiple meanings

• Target groups: 5-6 and 8-9 grades • Online questionnaire will be gathered from late Nov until early

Dec.• What is similar with Turku’s study?

– Kids’ daily activity (what, how often, where)– Emotional and social well-being (self-esteem, social competence, lonelyness,

student-teacher relationship)– Importance and manifestations of basic values from the kids’ point of view

• What is different from Turku’s study?– Detailed focus on factors related to feel of safety and risky behaviour (bullying,

unemotional traits)– Focus on school motivation (likes and dislikes)

Feedback survey of the SAS project in Tallinn schools

• We have asked about expectations and purposes of the project:– in the first value study and – during the meeting with project team members

held in September. • Final feedback survey will be carried out in autumn

2011 among project team members.