Marita Kontoniemi on tutkinut opettajien kokemuksia koulujen alisuoriutujista. Heitä on arvioitu olevan jopa viidennes oppilaista, poikia valtaosa. Alisuoriutujat ovat heikon koulumenestyksensä vuoksi syrjäytymisvaarassa. Mitä tällaisen oppilaan opettaminen merkitsee opettajalle? Onko kyseessä arvojen yhteen törmääminen, valtataistelu vai persoonallisuuksien yhteen sopimattomuus? Onko ongelma didaktinen eriyttämis- ja motivointiasia? Vai onko alisuoriutuminen yhteiskunnallisten muutosten heijastuma, jolle opettaja tai koulu ei voi mitään? Kuinka opettaja sitten jaksaa elää arkipäivää ongelmien kanssa, jos niille ei ole mitään tehtävissä, kysyy Kontoniemi.- Opettajien työyhteisön ilmapiiriin tulee kiinnittää jatkuvaa huomiota, jotta opettajat jaksaisivat hankalien oppilaiden kanssa. Hyvästä työyhteisöstä opettaja saa voimaa, mutta huono ilmapiiri imee sitä.The purpose of this research is to find out how teachers experience an underachieving pupil. The experiences have been collected from interviewsof 21 teachers. Existential phenomenology with a holistic conception of humanity was used as the analytical framework with a description-oriented method of empirical hermeneutic psychology. The results show that teachers can be divided into five different groups and two subgroups according to how they deal with underachievers. These groups reflect the teaching and encountering of an underachieving pupil from different dimensions. These dimensions include teaching material and curriculum, the lesson, the teacher-pupil –relation, co-operation, teaching methods, the school community and its atmosphere. Of those pupils who need special attention, underachievers are the most challenging and difficult to deal with. When teachers are working with them in everyday school life they often have to stretch to the very limits of their abilities. The underachiever tests the teacher’s professional skills and professional identity. Working with an underachieving student requires time and patience from the teacher. Other important features are the teacher’s versatile abilities to tolerate dissimilarity and to interact. Teacher education had not trained the teachers to handle difficult situations nor to deal with the emotional pressures of the job. Consequently, teachers need long-term in-service education to support their own personality. Busy schedules and the many expectations of the teacher’s job make it hard to help and genuinely encounter the difficult pupil. Teacher education produces skilful professionals in didactics, but doesn’t give them sufficient tools to teach underachieving pupils. What is needed is a professional but warm-hearted way to live daily school life with the underachiever. That means trusting and believing in the pupil, an optimistic attitude and love, and a change in the structure of the school institution. ...

alisuoriutuminen opettaja-oppilassuhde vuorovaikutus ihmiskuva kokonaisvaltaisuus kokemukset oppilaat peruskoulu koululaiset suoriutuminen oppiminen oppimiskyky