Bachelor Degree Programmes
Vocational Teacher Education
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Structure, content and extend of the studies
With the total scope of 210 credits, the first two years consist of intensive studies at the Vierumäki campus. The final 1-1,5 years consist of the work placement which can be completed in Finland or abroad, and the Bachelor`s Thesis.
The programme curricula is divided in to two parts, the first one is introducing the concepts related to sports in general whereas the other part focuses on the knowledge and skills relevant to coaching and administrative positions in team and racket sports. Common themes underlying both sections of the curricula are 1) Personal interaction, 2) Human/athlete’s development and 3) Organizational management which together comprise a total of 150 credits (table 1). The remaining 60 credits consist of the work placement, the bachelor’s thesis and the elective studies (arbitrary) which offer students the chance to implement and further develop their skills also in the real-life work environment.
Table 1. Thematic representation of the Sport instruction and Coaching studies
|
Competence areas |
Sport instruction studies 85 cr. |
Specialist studies; “Core of coaching” 65 cr. |
Elective studies 15 cr. Bachelor’s thesis 15 cr. Work placement 30 cr. |
|
Human/athlete’s development |
Sport skills 15 cr. Humanbeing in sports 15 cr. Health and wellbeing 14 cr. Didactic skills 12 cr. |
Athlete’s development in sports 26 cr. Sport specific instruction 8 cr. Sport specific workshop 7 cr. |
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Interpersonal skills “Working w/ others” |
Learning and personal devel. 3 cr. Interpersonal communic. 20 cr. |
Leadership skills in sports 12 cr. |
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Organizational skills |
Service and business skills 6 cr. |
Managem. skills in sports 12 cr. |
Sport instruction studies
Sport instruction studies introduce different aspects of sports as seen relevant for the requirements of today’s working life. In addition to proficiency in sports didactics, the studies will develop the understanding of the human being in the sports context from the structural, emotional and social perspective, and improve one’s ability to instruct and teach sports skills and promote healthy lifestyle through sports. As part of the basic studies, the students will also be acquainted with sports from the business perspective (table 2).
Table 2. Competencies acquired during the basic studies.
|
Professional profile |
Description of the competence (knowledge and skills) |
|
Proficiency in physical activity |
Management of fundamental knowledge and skills in most common physical activities and ability to apply them into instruction with different target groups Demonstration of fundamental knowledge in special education Understanding of the value of various physical activity as a tool for developing motor skills, physical qualities, and self-expression |
|
Proficiency of well-being and health promoting physical activity |
Demonstration of fundamental knowledge in anatomy and physiology and ability to apply it into teaching various target groups Management of the effect mechanisms of physical activity in the body, the fundamentals of testing, and training plan / coaching program setting Management of the factors affecting human growth, -development, and social behaviour as well as ability to take them into consideration in physical activity Demonstration of the ability to plan and instruct health promoting physical activities Demonstration of expertise in physical activity health enhancing effects |
|
Proficiency in pedagogy and didactics |
Demonstration of ability to use variety of different instruction- and teaching methods as well as goal setting with different target groups. Management of planning, execution, and estimation of extensive modes and modules of teaching Demonstration of ability to use physical education for the benefit of supporting and educating human growth and development Management of instruction,- and learning concepts based on personal values and knowledge level in physical education |
|
Proficiency in society-, leadership- and entrepreneurship areas of physical activity |
Management of the visions of development in physical activity culture and services as well as ability to improve physical education status in the society Demonstration of the ability to work in a variety of different expert and executive tasks in physical education Management of the different possibilities of entrepreneurship in physical education and capability of starting a small business |
Specialist studies “Core of coaching”
During specialist studies the student further develops the knowledge and skills in-line with the themes of the curricula. As part of the personal interaction domain, students are encouraged to reflect their own behaviour and its influence on others in different motivational environments. With increasing emphasis on self-reflection and communicational abilities, students will also start to deepen their understanding on the factors underlying the effects of training and developing athletes. In the area of athlete’s development, the studies have been structured for the needs of coaching knowledge and skills and constructed to fit the modules referring to taxonomy models by Bloom (1956) and Vuori (2005) (figure 1).
Figure 1. Sructure of the coaching studies (modified from Bloom 1956 and Vuori 2005).
Work placement
During the work placement students can implement, and further develop skills which were acquired during the intensive studies. Engaging in real-life working environments provides the student with the chance to develop the expertise and professionalism from the theoretical context of a classroom to skills needed in various positions in the field of sports and leisure and especially in coaching. Close co-operation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) provides opportunities for students to do their work placement in one of its’ member associations and to take part in international educational seminars, camps and tournaments.
Bachelor’s thesis
The Bachelor’s thesis provides a chance for the student to get acquainted with methods used in scientific research and practice skills in objective problem solving. In addition to empirical, research-based publication, the thesis can also be done as a project leading to, for example, a product or event. Whether research- or project-based, the thesis should enable the student to take part in a developmental process with direct benefits to working-life. In addition to skills relevant in theoretical problem-solving, the thesis further develops the interpersonal abilities of a student through the co-operation with representatives of the working life.
In 2007, the Degree Programme started a Workshop in co-operation with the International Ice Hockey Centre of Excellence with the purpose of contributing to the local, national and global development of the sport of ice hockey with different research and development projects. For students, the Workshop also opens up an opportunity to develop their thesis ideas to meet the needs of the working-life.
