“After Lunch We Offer Quiet Time and Meditation” : Early Learning Environments in Australia and Finland Through the Lenses of Educators

Modern societies organize ECEC services from their own cultural, social and political contexts, which is also reflected in the steering documents of the country and further in the work of teachers (Garvis, et al., 2018). In many of the countries children’s access to preschool has broadened and the benefits of high quality ECEC have been recognized. In Australia and Finland, concepts of play based learning, child initiated play or free play have been highlighted as founding pillars of the early learning environments. In this paper we take a closer look at ECEC environments in Australia and Finland through the lenses of 26 educators. They described in an online questionnaire children’s daily activities as well as they indicated the amount of free play related to these activities.Peer reviewe

9-luokkalaisten kokemukset maksuttomasta ehkäisystä: maksuttomalla ehkäisyllä tasa-arvoa, terveyttä ja hyvinvointia

Nuorten maksutonta ehkäisyä on suositeltu valtakunnallisesti jo yli 15 vuoden ajan. Osa paikkakunnista tarjoaa maksutonta ehkäisyä, mutta eivät vielä kaikki. Nuoret eivät ole tasa-arvoisessa asemassa maksuttoman ehkäisyn osalta. Kehittämistyön tekemisen aikana maksuttoman ehkäisyn kokeilu tuli osaksi Tulevaisuuden sosiaali- ja terveyskeskus -hanketta. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin 9-luokkalaisten kokemuksia maksuttomasta ehkäisystä. Tutkimuksella saatiin tietoon, millaiseksi nuoret kokevat maksuttoman ehkäisyn, millaista ehkäisyä he käyttävät sekä millaisia tiedon tarpeita heillä on seksuaaliterveyteen liittyen. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tuottaa nuorten näkökulmasta tietoutta maksuttomasta ehkäisystä, josta ei löydy aikaisempia tutkimuksia. Lisäksi kehittämistyössä selvitettiin, miten maksuton ehkäisy näyttäytyy yläkoulujen terveydenhoitajille ja opiskeluterveydenhoitajille. Lopuksi arvioitiin, vastaako Tulevaisuuden sote-keskus -hankkeen maksuttoman ehkäisyn tavoitteet nuorten tarpeisiin. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin tekemällä sähköinen Webropol-kyselytutkimus erään paikkakunnan 9-luokkalaisille. Kehittämistyön aineisto kerättiin pitämällä yläkoulujen terveydenhoitajille ja opiskeluterveydenhoitajille aivoriihi kaksi kertaa, jossa toisella kerralla menetelmänä oli SWOT-analyysi. Lisäksi Tulevaisuuden sosiaali- ja terveyskeskus -hankkeeseen tehtiin benchmarkkaus. 9-luokkalaiset olivat hyvin tietoisia maksuttomasta ehkäisystä, mutta silti vain puolet ehkäisyn käyttäjistä käytti maksutonta ehkäisyä. Pojat käyttivät muita useammin ehkäisyä itse maksavana. Noin puolet nuorista kokivat ehkäisystä keskustelun helpoksi. Koulun seksuaalikasvatuksessa tieto jakautuu tasaisesti kaikille. Terveydenhoitajat näkevät maksuttoman ehkäisyn tärkeänä asiana nuorille. Tulevaisuudessa tulee tehostaa poikien huomioimista seksuaalikasvatuksessa ja maksuttomassa ehkäisyssä sekä edistää nuorten keskuudessa pitkäaikaisten ehkäisymenetelmien käyttöä. Maksuton ehkäisy tulee laajentaa koskemaan jokaista nuorta kotipaikkakunnasta riippumatta. Ehkäisypalveluiden imago tulee saada positiivisemmaksi.Free contraception for young people has been recommended nationwide for over 15 years. Some localities offer free contraception, but not all of them yet. Young people are not on an equal footing regarding free contraception. During the writing of this thesis, the experiment of free contraception became part of the Future Health and Social Services Centre- project. This study examined the experiences of 9th graders with free contraception. The study revealed how young people feel about free contraception, what kind of contraception they use, and what kind of information needs they have in relation to sexual health. The aim of the study was to provide information on free contraception from the perspective of young people, of which there are no previous studies. In addition, the thesis examined how free contraception is seen by health nurses and student nurses in upper secondary schools. Finally, it was assessed whether the objectives of free contraception in the Future Health and Social Services Centre- project meet the needs of young people. The research data was collected by conducting an electronic survey with Webropol for 9th graders in a locality. The data for the thesis was collected by holding a brainstorming session for health nurses and study nurses in upper secondary schools twice, in which the second time the method was SWOT analysis. In addition, a benchmarking of the Future Health and Social Services Centre project was carried out. The 9th graders were well aware of free contraception, yet only half of contraceptive users used free contraception. Boys used self-paid contraception more often than others. About half of the young people found it easy to discuss contraception. In school sexual education, information is evenly distributed to everyone. Public health nurses see free contraception as an important issue for young people. In the future, the attention paid to boys in sexual education and free contraception should be stepped up, and the use of long-term contraceptive methods among young people should be promoted. Free contraception should be extended to every young person, regardless of their place of residence. The image of contraceptive services must be made more positive

Episode 2 - What's changed? The educational technology challenges and benefits of rapid change

In this episode we are discussing changes in teaching and learning due to covid19, the continuous changes in technology and technological terms and explanation of these terms

Episode 1 - Learning Designers and Learning Technologists - a Swinburne perspective

In this episode, the Learning Transformation Unit and the role and support of the Learning Designer, the Learning Technologist and the Media coordinator to the academic is described and explained

Episode 4 - What's the buy in? Engaging and activating teachers in learning

In this final episode the discussion is about how to support and engage teachers or academics in their teaching and learning, and the role of faculty leadership. The importance of technology advancement

Episode 3 - Why not all? Face-to-face, blended, hybrid and hyflex learning

The focus of this episode is a brief discussion about the pros and cons of face- to- face and online teaching and learning as well as the importance of experiencing online learning

Lessons learnt during COVID-19: making sense of Australian and Swedish university lecturers’ experience

Abstract This article reports on a study analysing changes in the use of digital technologies and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis and the impact of these changes on the wellbeing of five female university lecturers from Australia and Sweden. Applying collaborative autoethnographical methods, this study employed Weick’s sensemaking framework to explore how the academics made sense of these sudden changes. The Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) wellbeing framework was also employed to explore the effect of these changes on the academics’ wellbeing. Findings from the reflective narratives show that after the initial experiences of stress, each university lecturer was able to adapt and navigate the online teaching environment during the pandemic. However, the time constraints in preparing and adapting to online teaching, and working from home, were experienced by some of the university lecturers as highly stressful and isolating which impacted their sense of wellbeing. Even so, working from home was recognized as a positive experience, providing time for research, hobbies, and time with family. This study addresses a gap in current knowledge by examining the impact of the sudden transition to online teaching and learning had on academic wellbeing as conceptualised through the PERMA framework. In addition, by applying Weick’s sensemaking framework, this study provides a unique perspective around how academics made sense of the sudden switch to online teaching and learning during COVID-19