Alku aina hankala : kuvataideopettajien kokemuksia ensimmäisestä työvuodesta ja Lapin yliopiston kuvataidekasvatuksen koulutusohjelmasta

Abstract

The difficult beginning : research on art teachers' first working year experiences

The primary objective of this Master's Thesis was to research what kind of challenges art teachers encounter during their first working year. The second objective was to explore the University of Lapland's capabilities of preparing the students of art education for their career.

The research was qualitative and the data collection was achieved through sending questionnaires to 76 art teachers graduated from the University of Lapland. Content analysis methods have been applied for data analysis. The respondents described their first working year experiences as difficult and it was necessary to learn several new things. As one example, the respondents encountered difficulties in planning interesting art lessons. Additionally, they were astonished at the amount of work included in art teacher's profession. Many teachers reported about pupils' negative behavior which was also present in art lessons.

According to the respondents, the University of Lapland provides versatile and competent teaching. However, they had experienced deficiencies in preparing the students for working life. Some teachers described the main deficiency as not receiving enough information about the realities of working life. Despite the hardships confronted in the first year the respondents agreed that the first year was interesting, and that education is seldomly capable of preparing students perfectly for working life.