Browsing by Subject "ekologinen systeemiteoria"

The purpose of this thesis was to examine with the help of one case factors which make possible the fact that the pupil ended up designing the school massacre and to threaten with it and also what factors prevented him from carrying out his intentions. The idea of the study was created by itself when I was working as a teacher in the centre of events. The case woke me to look for the answers and manuals to the difficult and demanding situation. At the same time, it led to analyse the structures of the school and my own and my values as a teacher also more deeply. Case under examination in this thesis has been teased and suffered from the loneliness during his whole comprehensive school time. The missing of the sense of belonging caused in him anguish, depression and the lack of the motivation. Because the case of the study was examined from two directions, from a teacher's position and from the case examined, I have taken as my one background theory an ecological system theory. I hope that this theory gives a frame to examine the case from wider point of view. The thesis is the case study in which I interviewed the person under examination repeatedly and furthermore, again about five years after he threated with school massacre. In addition to this, the material consists of my observations written by me when teaching him when the events happened. The analysis of the material was carried out with a Grounded Theory approach, reading narratives again and again. I mirrored my own observations to the story of interviewee building the story about them where the experience of the interviewee and my own observation as a teacher who has taught him combine. The study sharpened considerably towards the end, including theory background. The lack of sense of belonging and the loneliness interviewee felt caused him a serious depression and lack of the motivation. The indifference of the adults of the school and fact that the one did not become heard caused anger because of an unjust treatment and lack of confidence towards the adults. All this together leads to hopelessness and rage. For this kind of a young, the big and changing multi-professional expert groups can cause bigger lack of confidence than before towards the school. It would be important to be heard in the school community and feel sense of belonging there to both the teacher and the pupil. The study brought out also the how vulnerable young like this is when moving along from the comprehensive school. The study brought out also the how vulnerable young like this is when moving along from the comprehensive school. The study wakes to think about the new procedures and structures with school bullying and loneliness and for the support of the transitional stage when moving along from the comprehensive school

Objectives: There is already strong evidence of the negative impact of the global COVID-19 virus pandemic on the well-being of young people, especially on their study and work engagement, but there are relatively few studies comparing different life situations of young people. This thesis examines whether there are differences in the study and work engagement and resilience of young people born in 2000 living in different life situations during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the summer of 2020. In addition, the differences in study and work engagement of young people in different life situations are examined further by controlling their resilience. The participants are divided into three different life situations: full-time students, young people preparing for entrance exams, and employed. The multidimensional effects of the coronavirus on young people's engagement and their life situations are examined using ecological systems theory. Methods: The participants of the thesis (N = 250) were young people born in 2000 living mainly in the metropolitan area of Finland. The study and work engagement of the subjects was measured with the EDA scale consisting of nine items and resilience with the BRS scale consisting of six items. Differences in motivation and resilience between groups (students n = 91; applicants = 130; employed n = 45) were examined using variance analysis and the effect of resilience on engagement was controlled using analysis of covariance. Results and conclusions: The study engagement of the student group was statistically significantly lower compared to the entrance exam applicants and the employed. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the resilience of the subjects. In addition, the difference in engagement between the groups remained the same when resilience was taken into account as a covariate in the analysis. The study engagement of the student group is in line with previous studies about the pandemic. The results of the thesis open up views on the connections between young people's diverse life situations and study and work engagement during the pandemic. It would be important to continue researching the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people's study and work engagement and broader well-being, so that in the future we would be better prepared to protect young people in similar exceptional situations.

This thesis studies the issue of children affiliated with ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), referring to children who can be linked to the radical Sunni Muslim organization by living under its rule or based upon their parent’s association with it. The organization occupied a considerable territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014 using extremely violent practices. Tens of thousands of people from all over the world travelled to join the organization, which has been known to train boys as young as nine to fight, whereas girls of same age have been perceived as fit for marriage. Finnish people also travelled to the area and once the last territories that ISIS had controlled were conquered back in the year of 2019, Finnish women and children were taken to al-Hol camp in Syria. This sparked an intense public discussion concerning their possible return to Finland, followed by the Finnish government stating in late 2019 that it aims to repatriate the children as soon as possible. In October 2020, some children and families have returned to Finland, and less than ten Finnish adults and about twenty children are still at the camp. This thesis studies the subject of children affiliated with ISIS, because it is not merely a political issue but also a social work issue. In Finland, for example child welfare social workers can encounter the returning children, as they can be assumed to need support upon arrival. The aim of this thesis is to form a comprehensive picture of children affiliated with ISIS, providing social workers with useful knowledge of an underresearched subject. A mixed method approach of using scoping study as the research method is used to map and present relevant literature on the topic. The following five step methodological framework for scoping studies is used: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying relevant studies, 3) study selection, 4) charting the data, and 5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results. The fifth step of the framework includes a twofold analysis with both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. Firstly, numerical information is analyzed to describe the characteristics of the data. Secondly, a thematic analysis is conducted, and social ecology theory is used as a tool in applying meaning to the findings of it. Literature on child soldier reintegration also informs the process of reflecting upon the results and fully answering the following research questions: “In the existing literature, what has been researched about the children affiliated with ISIS?” and “In the identified literature, how are these children framed and which factors are linked to their experiences?”. The dataset is composed of 16 texts that have been published in 2016–2019, including peer-reviewed articles, reports, research papers and policy briefs. The results of studying the characteristics of the data show that literature on children affiliated with ISIS is diverse in its nature and includes gaps. Only two texts in the data use empirical data and only four of the texts have clear links to Iraq or Syria in the form of author, publisher or data collection. Thus, a need for more local research and analysis on the issue, as well as a need to use more firsthand empirical data, is apparent. As a result of the thematic analysis, two main themes with two subthemes each are identified: “The time in ISIS” with the subthemes “Children as an unprecedented problem” and “A life immersed in violence”, as well as the theme “Challenges in reintegration” with the subthemes “An urgent and complex matter” and “Recommendations”. The themes paint a picture of ISIS’ comprehensive and all-encompassing influence on the lives of children living in its territory. Using social ecology theory, factors that shape their lives are identified on each level of the children’s social ecology systems. The interconnected nature of these factors and the complexity of the issue at hand is clear. Social work with children affiliated with ISIS must take this into account and address the following matters: the children can hold dual identities as both victims and perpetrators of violence, and it is possible that they have been desensitized to violence and exposed to a comprehensive cycle of propaganda and systemic radicalization. Reintegration practices need to address the children’s complex and multifaceted needs in a tight time frame as the issue is urgent and has its risks. Individual assessments should be the basis for addressing the diverse needs, while support should also engage the existing social ties and make use of the community’s resources. Future social work research on the issue should address the gaps identified in the data and provide more detailed recommendations for suitable practices to be used in social work.

Tämän tutkielman kohteena on lastensuojelun avohuollon sosiaalityöntekijöiden työ Helsingin kaupungin organisaatiossa. Tutkielma on osa laajempaa lastensuojelun systeemisen toimintamallin käyttöönottoa ja vaikuttavuutta käsittelevää arviointitutkimusta, joka toteutetaan osana Lapsi- ja perhepalveluiden muutosohjelmaa (LAPE). Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tuottaa tietoa siitä, mitä sosiaalityöntekijät ajattelevat työstään, sen johtamisesta ja organisoinnista, työhyvinvoinnistaan sekä mahdollisuuksistaan vaikuttaa omaan työhönsä. Tutkielmassa vastataan seuraaviin tutkimuskysymyksiin: 1) Millaisia näkemyksiä lastensuojelun sosiaalityöntekijöillä on työnsä organisoimisesta ja johtamisesta? 2) Millä tavoin sosiaalityöntekijät kuvaavat voivansa vaikuttaa tekemäänsä työhön? ja 3) Miten lastensuojelun organisaation systeemit vaikuttavat toisiinsa? Tutkielma on tutkimusorientaatioltaan laadullinen tutkimus. Aineistona on viisi fokusryhmähaastattelua, joissa osallistujina on lastensuojelun avohuollon sosiaalityöntekijöitä ja heidän esimiehiään. Aineistoa on analysoitu temaattisen sisällönanalyysin menetelmällä käyttäen hyödyksi myös teoriaohjaavan sisällönanalyysin elementtejä. Tutkielmassa on käytetty teoreettisena viitekehyksenä ekologista systeemiteoriaa, jota on sovellettu tutkielman tuloksien jäsennyksessä. Tutkielman tulosten perusteella lastensuojelun sosiaalityöntekijöiden näkemykset työn organisoimisesta ja johtamisesta vaihtelevat riippuen siitä, mistä johtamisen tasosta puhutaan. Työntekijät olivat pääasiassa tyytyväisiä lähiesimiesten johtamiseen, mutta tyytymättömiä organisaation ylempien tasojen johtamistyöhön. Työn organisointi jakautui oman työn organisointiin, esimieslähtöiseen työn organisointiin ja organisaatiolähtöiseen työn organisointiin, joista kaksi ensimmäistä olivat haastateltujen näkökulmasta hyvällä tasolla ja viimeinen heikommalla tasolla. Selkeimpänä epäkohtana haastatellut puhuivat työskentelytilojen muuttamisesta monitilatoimistoiksi, jotka eivät haastateltujen mukaan palvele lastensuojelutyötä. Omaan työhönsä vaikuttamisen osalta haastateltavat kuvasivat voivansa tehdä työtään omalla tavallaan ja itsenäisesti, mutta toisaalta oman työn ja osaamisen kehittämiseen kuvattiin olevan vähän tai ei ollenkaan mahdollisuuksia. Haastateltavilla oli kokemus siitä, ettei organisaatio ole hyödyntänyt heidän koko osaamispotentiaaliaan, vaikka he olisivat tarjonneet osaamistaan työnantajan käyttöön. Ekologisen systeemiteorian mukaisen jäsennyksen pohjalta näyttää siltä, että mikrosysteemi eli lastensuojelun avohuollon sosiaalityöntekijöiden tiimityöskentely on toimiva ja työntekijöiden suhde lähiesimieheen on hyvä. Mesosysteemi eli lähiesimiesten keskinäinen yhteistyö on hyvällä tasolla ja he kuvaavat olevansa tiedonvälittäjinä mikrosysteemin ja organisaation ylempien tasojen eli eksosysteemin välillä. Tästä huolimatta mikrosysteemissä kuvattiin eksosysteemiä etäiseksi ja sen kuvattiin osoittavan vähäistä arvostusta mikrosysteemin asiantuntemusta kohtaan. Makrosysteemi eli ympäröivä yhteiskunta lainsäädäntöineen ei esiintynyt haastateltavien puheissa erityisen paljon, mutta maininnat siitä olivat pääasiassa myönteisiä. Lainsäädäntöä ja byrokratiaa kuvattiin työn selkänojaksi ja niiden kuvattiin olevan olennaisia työntekijöiden ja asiakkaiden oikeusturvan kannalta. Johtopäätöksinä tutkielmassa esitetään, että lastensuojelutyön systeemit eivät täysin kohtaa toisiaan, mikä vaikuttaa lastensuojelun avohuollon työntekijöiden viihtymiseen työssä ja kokemukseen omaan työhönsä vaikuttamisesta. Aikaisemman tutkimuksen perusteella on käynyt ilmi, että systeemien toimivuus ja yhteensopivuus parantavat lastensuojelutyön tehokkuutta ja vaikuttavuutta. Haastateltavat toivat esille paljon kehittämisideoita ja toiveita, joiden huomioon ottaminen parantaisi heidän viihtymistään työssä.