Students’ Social Self-Image and Engagement with Studies within the Classroom: A Qualitative Multimethod Research on Teachers’ Pedagogical Activities in Inclusive Education

In this study, we assessed how Finnish teachers’ professional actions support their students’ engagement and positive self-image at school. This qualitative multimethod study is comprised of three sub-studies: (1) the research Data Set A included pedagogical reflective journals, observations of, and interviews with, two Finnish teachers and their classes (2nd and 4th grades); (2) the research Data Set B involved interviews with, and observations of, two Finnish co-teachers (a class teacher and a special education teacher) and their combined 1st and 2nd grade class; and (3) the research Data Set C consisted of individual interviews with
four Finnish elementary school teachers working in the 1st and 2nd grades. Our findings identified practices to enhance students’ choice and sense of agency; teachers’ actions to support students’ perceptions of themselves as transformable and developing learners; and teachers’ practices where their students can make friends and form positive relationships. In conclusion, we conceptualized the findings of this study within the theory of inclusive pedagogy to enhance the understanding of the teacher competences necessary to build pupils’ self-image and engagement with their studies.