Tikissä

Tutkimus-, kehitys- ja innovaatiotoiminnan sydämessä Tilaa RSS-syöte

Interprofessional Approach for Transversal Skills in Higher Education
9.11.2021
Raatikainen, Eija & Rantala-Nenonen, Katriina

Current and future challenges of societies need multi- and interdisciplinary, but also interprofessional approaches for us to adapt to and solve unpredictable situations and problems. The support needs of clients in social and health services can be very diverse. Thus, currently also social and health care legislation in Finland requires professionals to cooperate in a multidisciplinary manner whenever necessary.  Therefore, working in social and health care services requires not only professional competences but also transversal skills. According to World Health Organization (2010, p.7), interprofessional work is defined as follows: “When two or more health professions learn about, from, and with each other to foster effective collaboration and improve the outcomes and quality of care”. Interprofessional work is positively associated with job satisfaction, autonomy and engagement (2). Additionally, interprofessional work is needed to alleviate employees’ workload and prevent burnout (3).  At best, the power of interprofessional work is that each professional can offer help and support to each other.  In other words, interprofessional work is beneficial for clients, but also for employees. However, even if every professional has their own specific core skills and demands, transversal skills are needed. Transversal skills are also often called ‘soft skills’, ‘key skills', ‘core skills’ or ‘transferable skills’ (Gogging et al. 2019) and ‘generic skills’ (5, 6). Educating interprofessional work professionals and transversal skills While educating students, in interprofessional education practice, students of different health professions learn ‘from, with and about each other’(7). During the educational process, interprofessional relationships between identity, knowledge, and professional power can be explored together (8). There are demands for all professions for collaboration because interprofessional work professionals need each other to achieve the best solutions and results for clients (see for example Social Welfare Act 2014). The best results can only be achieved with professionals' strong collaboration skills and open-minded attitudes. Furthermore, education in social and health care rarely provides opportunities for practicing and developing interprofessional collaboration skills before students’ transition to working life, and it mostly focuses on technical and substantive aspects of work (Saarinen 2020). Therefore, general skills, like transversal skills, are important. Transversal skills are one suggestion to; build a bridge between social and health care professionals and support flexible collaboration between different professions. For example, OECD has pointed out that social and emotional skills (empathy, respect, self-efficacy, responsibility and collaboration) are becoming essential at workplaces (OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030). Transversal skills in higher education In many EU countries, national education policies have highlighted the relationship between education and work, and the importance of students’ generic competencies connected to them. For example, social and emotional skills have been rising in importance in education policy and in the public debate (OECD). Transversal skills can be seen as part of the idea of lifelong learning, “all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective” (European Commission 2001, 9). They are not just the ‘best image of flexible employability in the labor market’ (6), but also transferable skills to improve personal flexibility and to increase possibilities on unpredictable labor markets. Transversal skills are quite a new phenomenon in the higher education context. There has been more discussion of generic skills in primary and secondary schools. Now, Metropolia has launched an ITSHEC (Integration of transversal skills into healthcare and social care higher education and curriculum) project concentrating on three transversal skills: a) Critical and Creative Thinking b) Interpersonal and Socioemotional Skills c) Learning to Learn Our definitions and limitations are based on project applications. In the project, we have had a preliminary data collection of participants', university students, experiences of learning transversal skills in their studies. The data was collected in spring 2021. Students from Finland, Spain and Croatia took part in the focus group interview. Collected and analyzed data will be used to produce a Methodological Guide, an outcome of the project to be released in January 2022. In this article we present some results derived from the results of the interviews in Metropolia. According to the data, Master students (10) listed different examples of situations in their study field where they need to take transversal skills into account.  In this text, we present two questions and their results. One of the questions was “In which situations do you believe that transversal skills are important?” Students’ experiences of transversal skills According to the students' answers, transversal skills are touched upon in all work-life encounters, in service user interface situations, in all decisions where different situations are evaluated and in working community interactions, where one has to regulate oneself or control someone else’s emotional regulation. All of these can thus be combined with working life interactions, development and self-development. “Need to think how to act as a supervisor if you are critical of something in your work with service users: can I completely disagree with the service users? How do I feel about it and how do I take the matter forward, even if I disagree with them?” “Interaction and emotional skills and social influence are emphasized in working life and client work.” Some pedagogical tips for teaching and learning transversal skills The second question was focused on teaching and learning strategies. The question was, “What do you think are the most useful strategies for developing the following skills: critical and creative thinking, interpersonal/socio-emotional and citizen-oriented skills and learning to learn?” As a result of the interviews, students pointed out that studying in groups and discussions together are useful strategies for developing both critical and creative thinking and interpersonal/socio-emotional skills. Teacher supervising the discussion and reflecting with students was felt very important and relevant pedagogical way to improve transversal skills, especially while developing critical and creative thinking. "Self-assessment and peer review after collaborative learning is a useful strategy for developing transversal skills." (One student in the group interview) According to one student, a useful strategy for developing creative thinking is that student has to use some new method in solving a given problem. Students listed different kind of teaching and learning strategies to develop transversal skills, such as: Group discussions, collaborative learning Oral exams in groups and informal discussions with other students Self-assessment and peer review of students’ papers Essays: a student has to use source literature as well as reflect one's own experiences in the field Group discussions based on work experience/internships of students Creating safe learning environment to practice transversal skills Case work Using virtual reality, case simulation To sum up, there are many different possibilities to teach transversal skills. Still, the intended learning outcomes and pedagogical approach in teaching specify and define teaching and learning strategies. After all, reflection is a key for deeper learning outcomes, regardless of learning content. Conclusion Transversal skills and competences are recognized in general in upper secondary schools (Finnish National Agency for Education), but not so much yet in higher education. According to Finnish National Agency for Education (2021), they are an interpretation of values, attitudes, skills and will. They are formulated into the core curriculum. In higher education, these competences are missing even though, for example, the social services curriculum is based on national (ARENE, the Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences) and international (EQF, European Qualifications Framework) competences. There has not been much attention to transversal competences. However, a complex world with unpredictable challenges and regulation concerning multidisciplinary between different fields require flexible professionals who can work in changing interdisciplinary and interprofessional groups. In other words, we need to pay more attention to higher education students’ transversal skills and to develop them during their studies (e.g. Isacsson 2016; Raatikainen & Rantala-Nenonen 2021). References World Health Organization. (2010) Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative practice. Kaiser, S., Patras, J. & Martinussen, M. (2018) Linking interprofessional work to outcomes for employees: A meta-analysis, 41 (3), 265-280. McCarthy, L.P. (2021) Social Work Burnout in the Context of Interprofessional Collaboration, Social Work Research, 45 (2), 129–139. Goggin D., Sheridan I, Lárusdóttir, F. & Guðmundsdóttir G. (2019) Towards the Identification and assessment of Transversal skills. Conference Paper. DOI: 10.21125/inted.2019.0686. Jääskelä, P., Nykänen, S., & Tynjälä, P. (2018) Models for the development of generic skills in Finnish higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42 (1), 130-142. Tynjälä, P., Virtanen, A., Klemola, U., Kostiainen, E., & Rasku-Puttonen, H. (2016) Developing social competence and other generic skills in teacher education: applying the model of integrative pedagogy. European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 368-387. Freeth et al., 2005 Olson & Brosnon 2017 in Loura e.g. 2021, p. 62. Loura, D., Arriscado, A.E., Kerkstra, A., Nascimento, C., Félix, I., Guerreiro M.P. & Baixinho, C. (2021) Interprofessional Competency Frameworks in Health to Inform Curricula Development: Integrative Review. New Trends in Qualitative Research, 6, 63–71. https://doi.org/10.36367/ntqr.6.2021.63-71 Social Welfare Act 1301/2014. Saaranen, T. (2020) Interprofessional learning in social and healthcare - learning experiences from large group simulation in Finland. OECD. 2021. Future of Education and Skills 2030. SKILLS FOR 2030 (PDF). European Commission (EC) (2001) Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality. Brussels: European Commission. Freeth, D., Hammick, M., Reeves, S., Koppel, I &. Barr, H (2005). Effective Interprofessional Education: Development, Delivery and Evaluation. Miettinen, R., Pehkonen, L., Lang, T. ja Pihlainen, K. (2021) Euroopan Unionin elinikäisen oppimisen avaintaidot, Eurooppalainen tutkinto viitekehys ja oppilaitosten opetussuunnitelmien kehittäminen.  Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja, 23 (2), 13-31. OECD. OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills Finnish National Agency for Education (2021) ARENE (2010) Suositus tutkintojen kansallisen viitekehyksen (NQF) ja tutkintojen yhteisten kompetenssien soveltamisesta ammattikorkeakouluissa. The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) (2008) Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (PDF) Isacsson, A., Salonen, A. O., & Guilland, A. (2016) Transversaaliset taidot tulevaisuuden ammattikorkeakoulun mahdollisuutena. Ammattikasvatuksen Aikakauskirja, 18(4), 61–67. Raatikainen, Eija & Rantala-Nenonen, Katriina (2021) Transversaalit taidot ammatillisen kasvun jäsentäjänä. Teoksessa Mikko Jakonen, Pia Houni, Arto Mutanen ja Ilpo Halonen (toim). ”Työorganisaation ja yksilön välisiä järjestyksiä” (YFI -julkaisuja, 2021). (painossa) Authors Eija Raatikainen (PhD) is a Principal lecturer in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Her academic focus is "Trust” and “Empathy”, as phenomenon in different fields; like in Social Work, multiprofessional co-creation and project work, as well as educational practice and pedagogy. Additionally, she has a long track record as a project manager in various projects. Katriina Rantala-Nenonen (M.Soc.Sc.) is a senior lecturer at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. She teaches social sciences and works in national and international projects of social services and education. In ITSHEC project she works as a developing lecturer. More about ITSHEC on UPF's website.

Lue lisää

Comparison of nursing students’ health behaviour in four countries: China, Finland, Japan and Sri Lanka
4.11.2021
Aija Ahokas, Eila-Sisko Korhonen, Anita Näslindh-Ylispangar, Wu Xue, Shaomei Shang, Kithsiri Edirisinghe, Reiko Okahisa, Leena Rekola

Health behaviour is a basis for human being’s health and health promotion is a global focus area of the health policy. The rising prevalence of lifestyle related diseases and aging population highlight the need to add knowledge of health behaviour and activities in health promotion. Nursing students are role models, health educators and they are going to motivate the clients and patients to healthy lifestyle and health behaviour. In this blog post, we focus on the comparison of health behaviour of nursing students in China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Finland. How do they feel about their own lifestyle choices? Factors and barriers of healthy lifestyle Students experience studying at university stressful and it can lead to unhealthy lifestyle. Also in nursing education the practical training in hospitals is experienced to be stressful. In the study of Thwaite et al (1) nursing students named the factors of healthy lifestyle to be eating well regular physical activity limiting alcohol, nicotine and caffeine use good sleep stress management social interaction and support. They named the barriers of healthy lifestyle on individual level to be lack of motivation, exiting bad habits and lack of knowledge. The environmental barriers were identified to be lack of time, finances, limited access to healthy food and physical activities. On psychosocial level, the barriers were competing priorities, increasing study load, lack of social interaction and support, compassion fatigue and sift work. Students find it difficult to stick to healthy life style. This blog post is based on the study, where the aim was to produce knowledge in health behavior and self-rated health of the nursing students. The study was part of the joint project: Health status, health behavior, health counselling and vocation among nursing students in Finland, China, Japan, and Sri Lanka - Comparison of nursing students in four countries. The results of the study related to motivation are described in blogpost (2). Study about health behaviour of nursing students Health promotion and health behaviour are the key content of nursing education (3, 4, 5 and 6). Healthy students have the strength to complete their studies and they will be healthy nurses, who have the strength to commit to the challenging nursing profession (7). The purpose of the study was to describe nursing students´ health behavior and the differences between the participating countries (Finland, China, Japan and Sri Lanka). The study was implemented as a quantitative questionnaire study. The themes of the questionnaire were Lifestyles Health and life situation Health services and counselling Social support We also asked some background information, such as Country of home university Age Gender Marital status Living with family Multicultural family background Basic education Semesters studied so far Employment Differences in nursing students` health behavior On average, students’ health and life situation were good in all the four countries in this study. Statistically very significant differences were seen in physical health, economic situation, study success, and work situation. Statistically significant difference was in students’ experiences of social relations and almost statistically significant difference was in students’ experiences of mental health. Students’ motivation in nursing education was in general good; nevertheless, the differences between different countries were statistically very significant. In Finland, the students’ motivation was higher than in the other countries. Not using alcohol, but spending time in social media When inspecting the differences of the students’ from different countries, it can be seen that students from Finland used alcohol more often than students from other countries and they also smoked more often than others. Nutrition and dietary habits of Chinese students have changed to become healthier than in the other countries. In weight management, the biggest change had taken place in Sri Lanka. Students did physical exercise more often in China than in the other countries. All students used a lot of time in social media, but the students in Sri Lanka spent the most time in social media compared to others. Good mental and physical health - but lack of support from professors Health and life situation was evaluated by students´ own assessment of their physical and mental health, economic situation, study situation, work situation and relationship situation. When inspecting the differences between four countries, the students from Japan assessed their physical health as best and the Chinese students assessed their mental health to be better than students in other countries. The economic situation was assessed to be the best by the students in Sri Lanka. The Finnish students assessed their study situation and work situation to be better than students from the other countries. In addition, the human relationships were assessed to be better in Finland than in other countries. In addition, Finnish students assessed their health and life situation a bit better than students from other countries. Students experiences of the use of health services and councelling Use of health services and counselling was investigated by asking the students’ experiences of the use of health services and health counselling. When inspecting the differences between four countries, the following results were found. In Finland and Sri Lanka, students assess health services and counselling to be better than in China and Japan. Students' experiences of use of the health services and health counselling were good on average but in Japan, students’ experiences were worse than in other countries. Data collection from Japan, China, Sri Lanka and Finland Data were collected through an e-form in 2018 in Japan (N=193), China (N=200), Sri Lanka (N=200) and Finland (N=202), in total N=795 (668 female and 127 male students answered the questionnaire). The age of the students were between 18-22 years (64%, n=508) 23-27 years (27%, n=215) 28-32 years (5%, n=38) 33 years or more 4 % of the students (n=35) E-form was modified from the questionnaire based on Dr Anita Näslindh-Ylispangar doctoral dissertation (8) to focus on health behaviour and self-rated health status, and it was modified in co-operation with all participating four countries representatives responding to the differences in cultural issues. The study was conducted in accordance with ethical principles of research (9). All participants were informed about all aspects of the study and confidentiality of data before the data collection. Answering to the questionnaire was voluntary and the data was collected without identification of person. (10) Comparison of background of the nursing students and reflections by experts in each country are described in more detailed in the edited research blog of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences “Tikissä” (11). Lessons learned from this study According to study results, there were significant differences between the countries. In Finland, nursing students were older than in the other three countries and many of them worked during the studies. Also in Japan, many Japanese nursing college students worked part-time because of their economic conditions. The partners from four countries designed the questionnaire together. However, there might be cultural differences in what way the students answered to the different questions. It is not sure, if the students answered honestly to the questions related to the use of alcohol and smoking. In some countries, it is not considered culturally appropriate to drink or smoke as a nursing student. In Finland, the students were significantly older than the students in other countries were and the use of alcohol is culturally more acceptable. Some of the differences may be related to cultural issues. In the questions related to life style of students, the following differences were noted: The students in Finland used alcohol more often than the students in other countries. For example, in Japan, under-aged (persons under the age of 20) drinking and smoking is prohibited by law. In China, the students had better dietary habits and they did more physical exercises than the students in Finland, Japan and Sri Lanka. However, the students in Sri Lanka spent the most time in social media and they had the most changes in weight management. An open question remains, what is the correlation between the time spent in social media and lack of physical exercise. In addition, what is the correlation between online studies and physical exercise and time used in social media? According to the study, the use of internet and social media was huge. Nutrition and exercise plays a significant role in China and Japan According to the Chinese partner, confidence in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been boosted in China. Theories in health preserving are also an important part of TCM, as they are more comprehensible to ordinary Chinese people than modern nutrition theories. Nursing students, who are deeply influenced by TCM health practices from childhood, learn modern health science theories and are encouraged to compare them to their daily practice. As a result, students actively adjust their dietary habits and therefore feel more satisfied with them. In Japan, 42,5 % of Japanese nursing students lived with their childhood family, and because of that many of them have the same good eating habits as their families. College students in China are required to earn college credits in physical education. They choose a sport they prefer and attend weekly training. The credit requirement guarantees time and motivation for physical exercise. Also, online fitness mobile applications (apps) have become popular in China during recently years. So-called ‘mind and body practices’ like Yoga and Tai Chi compensate for not being able to hit gyms during busy days. Some Japanese nursing students are in the college circles or club activities (such as tennis, badminton, basketball and volleyball). The students practice 1-3 times a week. Mental health and good economic situation supports the well-being of the students In the questions about health and life situation, the Chinese students assessed their mental health to be better than students in other countries. Sri Lankan students assessed their economic situation to be better than in the other countries. The Finnish students assessed their study and work situation and human relations being better than in China, Japan and Sri Lanka. However, according to this study, most of the students were in good mental health. In addition, their financial situation was good. In Sri Lanka, students studying in government sector nurses’ training schools are provided with monthly allowances during the entire period of their studies. This has led to the stable economic status of Sri Lankan student nurses. Students enrolled in to private sector nursing schools are mainly the one who have an idea of moving to the western world through pathway programs. Students with this type of intention mainly are from middle or upper class family background. Hence, it is obvious that the students in the private sector also have good economic status. Chinese students typically live on campus and share a room with other people and with that they will get social support. Also the family support in China is strong, as being the only child in the family, children are deeply attached to their families. In addition, healthy lifestyle choices are related to improvements in mental health. It should be noted that in this study, the sample data of Chinese students shows good physical activity, as well as low frequency of alcohol assumption and smoking. These are in line with better mental health results. There were differences in answers related to health services and counselling. The study showed that Finnish and Sri Lankan nursing students assessed this question in the same way, versus the answers from Japan and China. What is the reason for this? Are the Japanese and Chinese nursing students shy to ask help when needed? Or are there limited health services and counselling available at the university? In this study, we did not get answers to these questions. Support services available in Japan, China and Sri Lanka In Japan, students’ experiences were worse than in other countries. Tokushima University has the Tokushima University Campus Life Health Support Center. There is a health management department for physical and mental health, and a general counseling department for student counseling. In addition, faculty members in charge of each grade and faculty members in charge of graduation research are also assigned, and the grade teacher holds interviews at least once a year. Despite there are resources for the student's support, the student's evaluation were poor. Possible causes include insufficient information provision in those resources, lack of resources that can be easily consulted, and the characteristics of Japanese university students who have problems on their own and they do not seek help from themselves. Further investigation is needed in the future. Nurses training schools in Sri Lanka have well established protocols in handling students’ concerns related to their health. Individual records on students’ health status being maintained at the school. In addition, one staff member has been appointed as the in charge for students’ medical concerns and the respective staff member take necessary actions by liaising with the hospital/hospitals to handle any medical condition. This has led to the easy access to the health services in Sri Lankan setting. In China, students may feel uncomfortable with visiting professional consultants especially when it comes to psychiatric illness. They may prefer to get support from people they know, such as parents or friends first, rather than strangers even if they could be more professional. Besides, self-treat and self-care may be another option for nursing students, which could be explored in future studies. The need to support nursing students during their studies Most of the students did well. However, there was always a small group of students, who would have needed more support. It was quite surprising, that students reported they had only limited support from their professors or lecturers. The question is how to recognize these students and how to help them to get support. We would need a simple questionnaire by e.g. smart telephone application, and with it regularly follow up students´ wellbeing and health. This would help finding them and advising different options in receiving support in studies and personal life. In many Asian countries, students start university studies straight after the high school. At that phase of life, it might not yet be possible to know, what they would like to become and which profession to choose. Maybe that is the reason, why Finnish students were most satisfied with their studies and work, as they were already older and had more experiences in working life. This study shows that there is a need to investigate regularly the health and wellbeing of students. Even though, most of the students were doing well, we cannot afford losing any students. When students feel well, they are able to complete their studies in time and they are able to graduate to become competent professionals to help other people. Lack of number of nursing professional is a global challenge. During the nursing studies, it is important to support the future graduates to build their resilience to face multiple challenges in their working life, as nursing profession is a demanding profession in many ways. If we were to repeat this study now, the results might be different because of the current pandemic. Especially during the COVID-19, many institutions have moved to online teaching, and students are studying at home without social contacts. References: Thwaite, T L, Heidke P, Williams S. L, Vandelanotte C, Rebar, A L, Khalesi S: Barriers to healthy lifestyle behaviors in Australian nursing students: A qualitative study. Nursing & Health Sciences. 22(4), 921-928, 2020. Näslindh-Ylispangar A: Onko sairaanhoitajan ammatti kutsumusammatti? Tikissä. Metropolia blog, 2019. Shiriver, C B, Scott-Stiles A: Health Habits of Nursing versus Non-nursing Students: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Nursing Education. Vol. 39 (7), 308-314, 2000. Bryer J, Cherkis F, Raman J: Health-Promotion Behaviour of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Survey Analysis. Nursing Education Perspectives. Vol. 34(6), 410-415, 2013. Wills J, Keely M: What works to encourage student nurses to adopt healthier lifestyles? Findings from an intervention study. Nurse Education Today. 48, 180-184, 2017. Perry L, Xu X, Gallagher R, Nicholls R, Sibbritt D, Duffield C: Lifestyle health Behaviours and Midwives: The ‘Fit for the Future’ Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15, 945, 2018. Klaining-Yobas P, He H-G, Lau Y: Physical fitness, health behavior and health among nursing students: A descriptive correlation study. Nurse Education Today. 35 (12), 1199-1205, 2015. Näslindh-Ylispangar A: Men’s Health Behaviour, Health Believes and Need for Health Counselling. A study amongst 40-year-old males from one Helsinki City region. University of Helsinki. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care. Academic Dissertation. Helsinki University Printing House, 2008. TENK: Responsible conduct of research and procedures for handling allegations of misconduct in Finland. Guidelines of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity. https://tenk.fi/fi/tiedevilppi/hyva-tieteellinen-kaytanto-htk, Accessed date: 8. June 2021. Burns N, Grove S.K: The Practice of Nursing Research. Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence. 6th Edition. Elsevier Saunders, St. Louis, MO, 2009. Ahokas A, Korhonen E-S, Rekola L: Sairaanhoitajaopiskelijat eri puolilla maailmaa – samanlaisia, mutta silti niin erilaisia. Tikissä. Metropolia blog, 2019 Authors: Aija Ahokas, Senior Lecturer, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland Eila-Sisko Korhonen, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland (Free Researcher) Anita Näslindh-Ylispangar, Freelance writer, Helsinki, Finland Wu Xue, School of Nursing, Peking University, China Shaomei Shang, School of Nursing, Peking University, China Kithsiri Edirisinghe, International Institute of Health Sciences, Sri Lanka Reiko Okahisa, Department of Community Health Nursing, Tokushima University, Japan Leena Rekola, Principal lecturer, School of Health care, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland

Lue lisää

Onko yhteiskehittäminen vain kompromisseja?
28.10.2021
Elina Taponen

Yhteiskehittämisen mahdollisuudet ja haasteet itseohjautuvassa hankeorganisaatiossa ovat ajankohtainen kysymys. Nykyään on arkipäivää työskennellä erilaisissa tiimeissä ja olla erilaisten tiimien jäsen. Toiset nauttivat enemmän yhteistyöskentelystä, kun toisille itsenäinen tekeminen on mieluisampi vaihtoehto. Yhdessä työskentelyn mahdollisuudet ovat moninaiset, kun erilaisen osaamisen, kokemustaustan ja vahvuudet omaavat ammattilaiset tuodaan yhteen. Tällöin saman teeman ympärille saadaan erilaisia näkökulmia, jotka ovat tärkeitä kehittämistyössä. Yhteiskehittäminen on innostavaa ja opettavaista, mutta toisinaan myös haastavaa. Se ei sovi kaikkiin tilanteisiin ja kaikkeen kehittämistyöhön, eikä kaikkien toimintatapoihin. Yhteiskehittämisen menetelmin toteutettava hanke voi yllättää tai haastaa jopa tottuneen tiimipelaajan. Kun kaikki tehdään yhdessä, niin ideointi, suunnittelu, toteutus ja päätökset, se vaatii jokaiselta kärsivällisyyttä. Tavoitteellinen yhteistyö ohjaa yhteiskehittämistä Yhteiskehittämisen prosessi sisältää tavoitteellista yhteistyötä, jossa työskennellään konkreettisesti yhdessä, organisaatio- ja toimialarajat ylittäen, uusien käytäntöjen ja mallien luomiseksi. Kun koko prosessi kuljetaan yhdessä alusta loppuun, se edellyttää jokaiselta toimijalta aktiivista osallistumista työn onnistumiseksi. (1, 2) Yhteiskehittämisen menetelmin toteutettavassa projektissa jokaisen tulee panostaa yhteistyöhön, yhteisen käsityksen muodostamiseen, yhteisen tavoitteen saavuttamiseen ja sen eteen työskentelyyn. Se edellyttää ennen kaikkea joustavuutta, joka mahdollistaa avoimen keskustelun, monien eri näkökantojen huomioimisen sekä niiden sovittelun tyydyttävän ratkaisun ja lopputuloksen saamiseksi. Vahvuutta on katsoa asioita eri näkökulmista, mutta lähtökohtaisesti jokaisen työn on tarkoitus edistää isoa tavoitetta. Luottamus ja arvostus ovat onnistuneen yhteistyön ja yhteiskehittämisen kulmakiviä, joiden synnyttämiseen on syytä panostaa. Vuorovaikutuksen rooli korostuu yhteistyöskentelyssä Yhteiskehittämishankkeessa asioita käsitellään ja kehitetään tarkoituksenmukaisissa pienissä ryhmissä eri näkökulmista, mutta kaikki asiat linkittyvät isossa kuvassa kokonaisuuteen. Tiedon pitää liikkua projektijohdon, koordinaation ja pienempien tiimien välillä sujuvasti, mutta itseohjautuvassa hankeorganisaatiossa kaikki eivät voi osallistua jokaiseen keskusteluun tai kokoukseen. Se ei ole tarkoituksenmukaista, eikä mahdollista. Jokaisella on asioihin oma näkökulma, johon vaikuttavat muun muassa oma tausta, aiemmat kokemukset, opit ja asenne. Erilainen tausta tulisi nähdä voimavarana, mutta asioita pitää osata tarkastella myös toisten näkökulmasta. Sitä kautta on mahdollista laajentaa omaa perspektiiviä. Samoin kaikilla pitää olla mahdollisuus saada äänensä kuuluviin. Kaikkien ei tarvitse kommentoida kaikkea, mutta omaan työhön liittyen tulee esittää mielipiteitä ja pystyä vaikuttamaan. Taustalla tulisi olla yhteinen näkemys siitä, että missä ollaan nyt ja mihin ollaan menossa. (3) Osallistaminen on yhteiskehittämisen edellytys Suunnittelu- ja työstövaiheessa ison teeman ympärillä saattaa olla aluksi koko projektitiimi ideoimassa sisältöä. Tällöin kaikkia on tärkeä innostaa ideointiin ja rohkeidenkin näkemysten esiin tuomiseen. Se että saadaan villeimmätkin ideat lentoon, edellyttää luottamuksellista ja psykologisesti turvallista ilmapiiriä. Urbaania kasvua Vantaa -hanketta (UKV) toteutetaan yhteiskehittämisen menetelmin. Hankkeessa on parhaimmillaan ollut mukana 12:sta eri organisaatiosta yhtä aikaisesti noin 40 asiantuntijaa sekä lisäksi työssä on ollut mukana muita yhteistyökumppaneita. UKV:ssa on pyritty hyödyntämään osallistujien vahvuuksia ja monet ovat saaneet fasilitoida erilaisia työpajoja, joissa on osallistettu jokainen omasta roolistaan ideoimaan ja kertomaan ajatuksiaan. Kokemus vaikuttamismahdollisuuksista on silti saattanut heiketä etätyöajassa ja toisaalta hanketiimin kasvaessa, jolloin myös erilaisia työryhmiä on syntynyt lisää. UKV:ssa palvelukokonaisuuksien suunnittelu on aloitettu yhteisellä työpajalla, jossa on lähdetty melko tyhjältä pöydältä rohkeasti ideoimaan, mitä voisimme kehittää palveluksi. Yhden tai kahden kerran isolla kokoonpanolla tehdyn ideoinnin jälkeen on valittu vastuuhenkilö vetämään suunnittelua ja tarkoituksenmukainen tiimi hänen kanssaan jatkamaan asian työstämistä kohti konkretiaa. Etuna tällaisessa työskentelytavassa on se, että kaikki pääsevät tuomaan esiin mielipiteensä, vaikka jokaisen näkemystä ei välttämättä voida huomioida samalla painoarvolla. Jokaisella yhteisön jäsenellä on jonkinlaista asiantuntijuutta jaettavaksi. Yhteisöllisyyden kannalta on olennaista kaikki sellainen henkinen, tiedollinen ja taidollinen pääoma, jota jollakin yksilöllä tai ryhmällä on olemassa ja jota hyödyntämällä ryhmät voivat toimia parhaalla tavalla (3). Olemme UKV:ssa järjestäneet yhteisiä työpajoja, joissa kaikkien ideoita on kerätty tasapuolisesti. Projektiryhmäläisiä on kannustettu osallistumaan sellaisten tiimien työskentelyyn, jotka ovat oman työn kannalta merkityksellisiä. Ajankäytöllisistä syistä on pitänyt kuitenkin välillä pohtia, että kenen on välttämätöntä olla missäkin paikalla. Pienemmät kokoonpanot ovat usein tehokkaampia kuin ison joukon palaverit. Nopeatempoisuus aiheuttaa osaltaan haasteita pysyä mukana viimeisimmissä käänteissä. Tämä on toisinaan aiheuttanut turhautumista ja hämmennystä, kun tänään sovittu voi olla jo huomenna toisin. Siihen voi vaikuttaa jokin uusi näkökulma, tieto tai päätös, jota ei ole ollut aiemmassa hetkessä saatavilla. Projektipäällikön roolissa on myös ollut erittäin tärkeää jatkuva vuorovaikutus päätöksistä ja muuttuneista tilanteista. Viikoittaiset tiimi- ja projektiryhmäkokoukset eivät riitä, vaan tiimiläisten kanssa on käytävä jatkuvaa keskustelua. Onnistuneen vuorovaikutuksen takaamiseksi tietoisen tiedon jakamisen vastuu on kuitenkin kaikilla, ei vain johdolla (3). Aikaresurssit asettavat omia rajoitteita kehitystyölle. Jossain vaiheessa palvelun pitää lopulta valmistua, eikä siinä vaiheessa voi enää ottaa huomioon enää vahvasti toisistaan poikkeavia näkemyksiä. Aktiivinen panos on pitänyt antaa aiemmin ja lopulta on vaan päätettävä, miten edetään. Lopputulos saattaa olla eräänlainen kompromissi, koska asiat pitää saada eteenpäin ja päätöksiä on tehtävä. Yhdessä olemme vahvempia Uudet ratkaisut syntyvät usein vuorovaikutuksen tuloksena, kun osallistujat pääsevät pallottelemaan ajatuksia muiden kanssa. Yhteistyössä on ehdottomasti voimaa senkin takia, että kenelläkään ei voi yksinään olla sitä kaikkea näkemystä, tietoa ja kokemusta mitä tiimillä on yhteensä. Yhteiskehittämisessä tehtävä yhteistyö voi tuottaa muutokseen johtavaa uutta ajattelua. On kuitenkin hyvä tunnistaa, että eri toimijoilla voi olla taustalla erilaiset intressit ja jopa ristiriitaiset tavoitteet. (4) Yhteiskehittämisen menetelmin toteutettavassa innovatiivisessa hankkeessa ratkaisut ovat omanlaisiaan, mutta siihen vaikuttavat myös hankesuunnitelmasta tulevat raamit. Jokainen päätyisi itsekseen toisenlaiseen ratkaisuun, mutta toisaalta silloin eivät käytössä ole ollut kaikki se osaaminen ja ne näkemykset, mitä yhdessä tehden on ollut. Erilaiset näkökulmat ja ideat ovat erittäin arvokkaita lopputuloksen kannalta, eikä ristiriidoilta voi aina välttyä. Haasteeksi on noussut viestin kulkeminen samassa tahdissa kuin asiat kehittyvät. Erityisen haasteen tuo se, että asioita työstetään pienemmissä ryhmissä, jotka liittyvät isoon kokonaisuuteen tavalla tai toisella. Aktiivisella, jatkuvalla viestinnällä päästään pitkälle, mutta silti palaute on usein ollut se, että viestit kulkevat liian hitaasti. Samoin keskinäisen vuorovaikutuksen yhteensovittaminen on aina kehittymisen paikka. Monen tekijän toimiessa yhtä aikaa haasteena voi olla väärinymmärrysten syntyminen, jota verkon kautta työskentely ei helpota. Tietoa pitää välittää henkilöltä toiselle, jolloin matkalla viesti helposti muuntautuu, koska jokainen tekee omia tulkintoja kuulemansa perusteella. Yhdessä on erilaisten työpajojen kautta kirkastettu tavoitetta, suuntaa, sisältöjä ja pienempiä kokonaisuuksia. Mikäli jokin on näyttäytynyt ensiksi hahmottumattomalta kokonaisuudelta, josta ei ole meinannut saada otetta, ovat palaset asettuneet kuitenkin paikallaan kovan työn jälkeen ja lopulta on saavutettu selvä suunnitelma. Olemme monta kertaa voineet todeta, että kova työ tuottaa yleensä tulosta ja vaikeatkin solmut saadaan avattua. Parasta ovat yhdessä saavutetut onnistumiset. Mitä yhteiskehittäminen edellyttää hankeorganisaatiossa? yhteisten käytäntöjen luomista vahvaa koordinointia yhteistä, säännöllisestä suunnittelua tiivistä yhteistyötä kehittäjien välillä kaikkien panosta oikealla hetkellä aktiivista osallistumista, itseohjautuvuutta osallistavien menetelmien hyödyntämistä aikaa ja kärsivällisyyttä jatkuvaa kommunikointia ison kuvan johtamista, pienempien tiimien työn koordinointia joustavuutta ja ymmärrystä erilaisten vuorovaikutustaitojen huomioimista oman näkemyksen uudelleenmuotoilua, hyväksymistä työelämätaitoja konkreettisia vastuita (delegointi) Lähteet Ahlstrand, A. (2019). Osallistamisesta osallisuuteen - hyviä käytäntöjä yhdessä kehittäen. Hiiltä ja timanttia -blogi. CCO Co-creation Orchestration. Mitä on yhteiskehittäminen? Laurean sivustolla. Jäppinen, A-K. 2012. Onnistu yhdessä! Työyhteisön kehittämisen 10 avainta. PS-Kustannus, Juva. Ruoslahti, H. 2020. Yhteiskehittäminen EU-rahoitetuissa hankkeissa. Tiede Ja Ase, 2020 (78). Kirjoittaja Elina Taponen on projektipäällikkö ja jatkuvan oppimisen ja osaamisen kehittämisen asiantuntija. Häntä kiinnostaa yritysten tarpeisiin kehitettävät työssä oppimisen ratkaisut. Elina on työskennellyt Metropoliassa eri tehtävissä yli kymmenen vuoden ajan.

Lue lisää
Uudemmat postaukset Vanhemmat postaukset