Paula Koistinen ja Elsa Keskitalo
The task of a university of applied sciences (UAS) is to educate future experts and to develop working life practices. In a rapidly changing and diversifying society, development expertise and the ability to anticipate changes have even greater significance. In university of applied sciences studies, the thesis work provides an opportunity to analyze development needs in working life, and to develop new models of action and methods. The thesis work is realized in cooperation with working life, which provides an opportunity to familiarize oneself with development challenges in working life and working life cooperation during the studies.
Investigative and developmental expertise is a central part of the professional expertise that a university of applied sciences graduate will need in future working life. A special task of the thesis work at a university of applied sciences is to develop the readiness for research and development work and its application in practice. The thesis work process also develops the use and application of theoretical and research knowledge for the challenges in practical working life. The use of research knowledge and development expertise are also part of lifelong learning skills, which will have even greater significance in future working life.
Working life needs often require extensive expertise and approaching phenomena from different viewpoints. In the thesis work, multi-professional student teams consisting of students in different fields or work pairs and supervisor pairs in different fields carry out and strengthen the principle of phenomenon-based orientation, when one attains a broad perspective on things and concepts. Multi-professional thesis work teams create prerequisites for the integration of social and health care fields and client-oriented solutions utilizing the expertise in different fields.
The significance of the thesis process comes to fore also in legislation. According to the University of Applied Sciences Act (L 932/2014, Section 4), the task of a university of applied sciences is to give university teaching based on working life and the development requirements thereof, and on research as well as artistic and educational bases, for professional expert positions, and to support the professional growth of the student.
The task of a university of applied sciences is additionally to carry out applied research serving university of applied sciences teaching and contributing to working life and regional development and renewing the economic structure of the region, as well as development and innovation action and artistic action. In carrying out the task, a university of applied sciences must contribute to lifelong learning (L 932/2014).
The thesis work is a significant part of professional growth for both the student of a university of applied sciences Bachelor’s degree and the student of a university of applied sciences Master’s degree. In the thesis work, all the expertise capital that the student has acquired during his/her studies is unified. The thesis work describes the student’s expertise in his/her own field, expertise in combining theory and practice and investigative and developmental expertise as well as team work skills. The thesis is a good proof of the student’s expertise at the stage when one crosses over to working life. Also, many students find their work place already during the thesis work process carried out in working life.
Pedagogical principles in investigative and developmental activity
At Diak, the essential basis for education is the Pedagogical principles of Diak. Therein, the central content guiding activities connected with education includes dynamic communality, phenomenon-based orientation, professional reflection and a developmental work approach. These principles also support the thesis work process as well as other work linked with research and development work.
Communality manifests itself to an increasing degree as constructing knowledge jointly in the theses in Diak projects and other working life development activity. The aim is that theses are accomplished on extensive entireties including several students. According to the Diak degree regulations (2016), the thesis work can be accomplished as individual, pair or small team work. The team work strengthens communality in many ways.
Phenomenon-based orientation means that things to be defined, investigated and developed are approached from different viewpoints. A phenomenon-based approach always involves pondering upon values and ethical questions. In all thesis work and other research and development activity, a many-faceted review of ethical issues is required. As completing the thesis work takes a long time, many substance entireties connected with the thesis take shape, become specified and expand during the process. Thus, the principle of phenomenon-based orientation is realized in the thesis work.
Regarding the DIAKpeda principles, professional reflectiveness is assessing things, experiences and action in a critical way. The student attains experience in professional reflectiveness during practical training and other studies completed in working life and projects and the thesis process as he/she evaluates the action and the accomplished change. A developmental approach to work guides students in different analysis tasks and the thesis work in recognizing the need for change, development or intervention and setting matters right. On the other hand, it can be said that the analysis tasks and theses guide one to a developmental work approach, where recognizing needs for change and development and correcting faults is essential (for further information, see Hakkarainen, Lonka & Lipponen 2004).
In the thesis work, inclusive and exploratory development (PROD) is realized. In inclusive development working life and, in the best case, also experience experts (for example, clients, patients, residents, service users) are involved with the students and supervisors in developing working life. Inclusive development is joint development serving working life and learning, where the aims are based on the needs of the different parties. The environments of joint development are called PROD workshops. In the renewed curricula, the PROD activity is connected with all studies.
The student collects multi-media material on his/her PROD activity in the e portfolio and works on the thesis utilizing this material. The PROD process spanning over all the studies strongly supports the student’s professional growth. The thesis process is described in more detail in other chapters in this publication.
Language of the thesis and storage
At Diak, the thesis is written in Finnish in Finnish education and in English in English education. Justified, working life oriented reasons can enable an exception from these languages (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Degree Regulations 2016).
Every student stores his/her thesis in the Theseus database by the submission day of a completed thesis. In exceptional situations, it is possible to omit to publish a stored thesis, with a separate decision – and on the strength of highly significant reasons, and via the process described in the degree regulations, the thesis can be declared secret for a period of time (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Degree Regulations 2016).
Thesis work in university of applied sciences basic degrees
The thesis work at a university of applied sciences is a development task, which serves the needs of working life and in which the student shows his/her expertise and learning. The thesis work can involve various forms: a monograph, which is a unified work, a thesis report consisting of completed part requirements for the thesis or a product and a report pertaining to it. The thesis work is usually planned together with working life or project partners and the supervising teacher. The student works on the thesis in a long-term way at different stages of the studies.
The actual thesis work for the university of applied sciences degree is, regarding its extent, a relatively small part of the width of the studies, 15 sp/210-240 sp. However, it is a central part of the process of students’ professional growth. All of the education supports the thesis process in many ways, which is a central part of the student’s studies over several semesters. In the thesis work, the student processes and constructs what he/she has learned during the studies while he/she creates something new. The long-term nature of the thesis work process is often adequate from the viewpoint of the development of insights and understanding.
In the thesis work, the student applies research knowledge and uses the chosen research and development methods for the working life development needs and challenges. He/she also shows readiness for systematic long-term work in a team and/or independently.
During the process, the student learns to provide and receive constructive and critical feedback. In the thesis seminars, the student learns to present and justify the many choices pertaining to his/her research and development work and the results of the work to a multi-professional audience and to participate in the professional ethical discussion in his/her field. The student also attains readiness to convey the results and further development challenges of his/her work to different audiences (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences 2016).
The thesis provides readiness for exploratory and developmental expertise. The thesis also serves the joint aims of the innovation expertise of university of applied sciences degrees, according to which the student 1) is capable of creative problem solving and work methods development, 2) is able to work in projects, 3) is able to carry out research and development projects by applying existing knowledge and methods in the field and 4) is able to seek client oriented, sustainable and economically profitable solutions (Auvinen, Heikkilä, Ilola, Kallioinen, Luopajärvi, Raij & Roslöf 2010).
Thesis work in Master’s degrees from a university of applied sciences
The thesis work is an essential part of a Master’s degree from a university of applied sciences right from the beginning of the studies. The thesis work begins with choosing the research and development object at the beginning of the studies. After this, one will acquaint oneself with the thesis work environment in work places and generate ideas on the implementation of the thesis work. During the first semester, one also acquaints oneself with earlier research and development projects carried out on the topic, and compiles a research and development project plan. During the second semester, data collection and/or actional parts for the research or development project are carried out. During the third semester, the results of the thesis are reported and published. The results can be published in work places and/or in the open seminars of the university of applied sciences. The reporting can be realized as articles in publications in the field or collections of articles as well as a report stored in Theseus.
The thesis work in a Master’s degree from a university of applied sciences provides readiness for acting as an expert in research and development tasks in working life. In the Master’s degrees from a university of applied sciences, the thesis works forms a third (30 sp) of the total of the studies. At Diak, the Master’s degree thesis work is a research or development project implemented in cooperation with working life. The aim of the thesis work is to develop practical working life and to create new solutions for working life challenges. The theses are implemented in Diak projects, in projects agreed-upon with working life partners or in the student’s work place development projects.
The basis of the Master’s degrees’ thesis work at Diak is that those whose work is researched and developed participate in the development of the work. In thesis work, this means that the theses are implemented in cooperation with professional actors and users of the services. In theses, the methodological framework for inclusive research and development work is applied (Keskitalo 2015). The thesis work can be a research or development-focused work or a product. If the thesis work is research-focused, one can talk about inclusive research, and if the thesis work is development-focused, one can talk about inclusive action research. Research and development method studies in the Master’s degrees support working on the thesis at the different stages.
In the Master’s degrees’ theses, theoretical knowledge is combined with practical development. In the theses, theoretical and topical domestic and international research knowledge is utilized. The theoretical knowledge and research knowledge is used in processing the topic, analyzing the results and documentation. In the thesis work, information retrieval skills are studied and systematic information retrieval is utilized.
The form of the thesis work depends on the type of development need the working life partner has. On the other hand, it is also important that the interests of the author of the thesis and those of working life coincide. The thesis work is meaningful to the author, if one can accomplish it on a topic that one finds interesting, and in a form and with a method that one particularly wishes to learn.
At Diak, at each campus, events are arranged every semester where students and representatives of the Diak projects as well as working life partners with their development needs convene. At these events, interests, work and doers meet and it is possible for the students to attain a thesis topic and a cooperation partner. After the joint meetings, the work of the different parties continues in the PROD workshops for working life or projects, i.e. in the environment the development task focuses on.
The university of applied sciences theses are research and development projects, the form of which can vary. The thesis work can be piece of written production, for example a research report, or a product. It the thesis work involves a product accomplished by the student, it will in any case involve a written report as well. In the report, the planning of product development, execution and evaluation are described, for example. The actual product is the other part of the thesis work. In this publication, the reader will find more detailed information on different types of thesis work.
Especially in the Master’s degrees, but also in other university of applied sciences degrees, the students can utilize earlier studies and working life experience in solving topical working life challenges. The aim is that the theses are implemented on larger themes of use to working life, as cooperation between working life and Diak, and in Diak projects.
Significance of the evaluation of thesis work
Evaluation guides learning and the execution of thesis work at the same time. The evaluation criteria for theses have been compiled separately for both the Bachelor’s and the Master’s degree from a university of applies sciences. It is important that the student knows the evaluation criteria for the theses in order to know which things are paid attention to in the evaluation.
At Diak, the thesis work for the university of applied sciences Bachelor’s degree is evaluated from the viewpoints of the topic and setting up the task, practical implementation, grounds, one’s own thinking and action, the structure and form as well as the publication and utilization of the thesis. Each sub-area of the evaluation includes a few sub-criteria, which have been described at different levels of expertise (see UAS degree thesis work evaluation criteria).
The sub-areas for evaluation criteria regarding the theses for the Master’s degree from a university of applied sciences include: the significance of the task for working life, knowledge basis and information acquisition, the mastery of methods and processes, the results and their utilization and the development of expertise as well as language, structure and communication. The criteria are divided into sub-criteria, which have been described at different levels of expertise.
According to the Diak degree regulations (2016) the grade for a thesis carried out as group work is either a joint grade for the group or it is given separately to each student. It is adequate to state in a thesis carried out as group work (for example, in the introduction) the clear work distribution among the members of the group (if there has been such).
Evaluation takes place at each stage of carrying out the thesis work. The student receives, in seminars at different stages of the thesis work process, peer feedback in the opposing of other students and discussions. Also, teachers evaluate the stages of the thesis work in seminars. The feedback provided by working life representatives and experience experts is essential when cooperating with working life. An important evaluator is the student himself/herself in comparing the work in progress with the thesis evaluation criteria. At best, the evaluation guides and directs the thesis work and encourages and motivates the author of the thesis.