Authors

• Church Research Institute
• Pohjola, Kirsi (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Theology)

Keywords

Christianity, child day care, church, identity, motivation, religiosity, religious behaviour, vocational education

Abstract

The survey charted the professional motivation, identity and religiosity of Children's Instructor students in Christian Institutes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland. This dataset is based on the second collection wave in a cohort study that followed students studying for an upper secondary qualification in Child Care, Education and Family Welfare as they progressed in their studies. The participating students started their studies in 2014. FSD collections also include the first (FSD3252) and third (FSD3263) waves of this study. The study was part of the project "Student's Development into Church Professionals" (Kasvu kirkon työntekijäksi), funded by Kirkon koulutuskeskus (adult education school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church) and Church Research Institute.

First, the respondents were asked about their reasons for applying to Children's Instructor training (e.g. wanting to help others or work with children and interest in religious questions) and to what extent they agreed or disagreed with statements concerning working for a parish (e.g. the reliability of a parish as an employer and trust in the future of educational work in a parish). Next, participation in voluntary work was charted with questions relating to the types of volunteering the participants had done, e.g. helping relatives and acquaintances, fundraising and donating to charities. The survey also charted the respondents' happiness and attitudes towards life and future (e.g. whether they thought that they could get through hard times in life and whether they were worried about the future).

The respondents' religiosity was investigated with questions about religious affiliation, religious identity (e.g. whether they identified themselves as spiritual persons and/or conservative in their religion) and how they believed in God (e.g. according to church doctrine or not at all). The presence of religion and religiosity in the respondents' lives was charted with questions concerning the frequency of e.g. praying, meditation and reading the Bible, the situations where they prayed (e.g. in the mornings and before a significant event) and their feelings about their faith (e.g. whether comforting or contradictory in their life). Finally, the respondents were asked to evaluate their abilities in aspects relating to their studies and work, such as guiding children and volunteers, cooperating with parents, or religious education.

Background variables included the respondent's educational institution and whether the respondent aimed for curriculum-based or competence-based qualification.