Opettajan ja oppilaan kohtaaminen koulusituaatiossa

Encounter between educator and pupil in the school situation I study the views of teachers and educators as told in biographical narratives on the situational elements related to how a pupil learns, grows and is educated in the school situation. The theoretical frame of reference is based on the situational and contextual concept of learning, which means that an individual’s learning takes place in legitimate peripheral participation. The central concept is the situational element, which is linked to a person’s background and present. The situational element is also an element of construction which may be affected on different levels of encountering a pupil. These levels are the teacher/educator, the school community and society. The research material was collected by biographical interviews with primary school teachers: Leila (born 1939), Anni (born 1950), Minna (born 1975), Esa (born 1956) and Jari (born 1957). Also interviewed were Tiina (born 1958), a social worker in a secondary school, and Seija (born 1944), a school nurse in primary and secondary school. Their biographical narratives were examined by means of content analysis. A framework for interpreting the interviews was provided by my own autobiography. The research problem is: How do teachers/educators describe the encounter with the pupil, their professional growth as affected by the encounters and a child’s potential for individual learning in their narratives? The situational elements which contribute to the learning enabled by the teacher and educator are the child’s achievement of balance, greater emotional integrity through art studies, task completion, appreciation of talents, individual supervised learning, choice-making as a motivator during study and experimental use of teaching methods. Other situational elements include adequate support to the pupil and encouragement to attain a suitable level of performance. The teachers and educators interviewed think that the situational elements in educating are a teacher’s sensitivity for accepting pupils as individuals and a personal and emotional relationship between the pupil and the teacher/ educator in the way of an understanding mother or father. The interviews show the requirements of education to be the following: encouragement to the child, humour, plentiful discussion in the class and opportunities for the pupils to talk about their personal concerns to the school nurse, the social worker and the teacher. The child’s growth and development of identity require cooperation between the child and the teacher/educator. The teacher/educators’ personal backgrounds and situational elements affect the way in which they encounter their pupils. The interviews show that encountering the pupils on the school community level demands individual goal setting, contextual contents of learning, versatile teaching arrangements and multi-professional co-operation. When the situational elements in a child’s life are not in balance, the school community, the pupil welfare team and the professional educators make efforts to co-operate with the whole family and work with the teacher. The school nurse and the social worker are part of the school’s multi-professional staff, and they work daily with setting up and maintaining a co-operation network. The interviewees expressed a positive attitude towards the integration of pupils with different needs. One can hear a multiplicity of voices in the career stories, and the differences between teachers/educators are evident: the novice teacher, the teacher with a vocation, the developing agent, the supporter of pupils. The situational elements favouring professional growth include family, age, personal psychological development and past, alternative pedagogical studies, school development projects and collegiate co-operation. Professional growth is directed by the aim to help and create contacts with a pupil. The work of a teacher/educator demands the examination and processing of personal feelings. Individual ways of preventing burnout include rest, physical exercise, fostering mental balance, family relationships and multi-professional co-operation. I believe that teamworking will be a part of every teacher’s daily routines in the future. The narratives reveal the situational elements of children in post-modern society: increasing restlessness, lack of boundaries, too much responsibility given too early, refugee position. The most important situational element for a child’s growth is parenthood. Resources are needed for refugee children, the integration of children with special needs, special education and helping families with problems. The narratives in my research data include some elements of how the identity of a teacher/educator is formed. The subjective educational theory of a professional educator is mainly shaped by work experience. My own career story analyses my growth towards membership in the work community. The autobiography shows that a teacher/educator needs support from a partnering colleague, from a team or from the school community. My research shows that it is possible for a teacher to encounter the child and that the encounter helps the child to develop. If the educational task of the school and the development of the pupil’s identity are regarded as important, the teacher/educator should be given the time and the professional skills to encounter the child.