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1.4: Success Begins in Childhood

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    Chapter 4

    Introduction
    Is success at work based on childhood and adolescent experiences? What is the
    infl uence of parents’ expectations on one’s career? The infl uence of childhood
    and adolescent experiences in relation to adult work success has not been widely
    studied. As such, we wanted to begin the process of drawing back the curtain on
    this theme through top workers’ biographies.
    We were interested in exploring those factors that Employees of the Year
    recognised from their lives, especially from childhood and adolescence, as having
    enhanced their success. This is important if our aim is help people with their
    opportunities to fi nd a suitable occupation in which they can use their talents.
    Experiences and events taking place in childhood and adolescence can be crucial
    or can at least point people in the right direction.
    The fi rst part of the chapter focuses on the top workers’ childhood memories
    and the factors they recall as having infl uenced their careers. The second part of
    the chapter then continues the analysis from the point of view of caring teacherhood.
    Findings from our leadership studies are also included in this chapter to
    show how caring leadership in education can be used for promoting students’
    successful study paths. This contributes yet another viewpoint to factors promoting
    success during children’s and adolescents’ school careers.
    Success starts from childhood?
    Magnusson and Mahoney ( 2006 ) have argued that positive development cannot
    be defi ned with reference to an individual person and that the person’s characteristics,
    resources and limits, as well as the cultural, physical and historical context
    in which the person lives, also matter. As such, positive development is a holistic
    process. This means that developmental processes form an entity that affects all
    levels of the person-environment system. At the same time, all the elements
    within developmental processes interact. An individual’s positive development
    depends on how well the inner and outer functions of the organism are synchronised.
    Inner processes are, for example, mental, biological and behavioural
    Chapter 4
    Success begins in childhood
    58 Success begins in childhood
    functions while outer processes cover opportunities, demands and rules provided
    by one’s environment. Therefore, the developmental process also varies between
    society and culture (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006 ).
    Numerous studies have focused on positive development, and they have often
    taken a specifi c stand or approach to the theme. There are singular studies
    researching various factors and relationships; for example, studies have found a
    positive relationship between adolescents’ perceived autonomy and self-esteem
    together with a positive relationship with parents. Likewise, parents’ socioeconomic
    status infl uences not only children’s wellbeing but also intellectual attainment,
    such as education (for example, Bradley and Corwyn 2002 ). Furthermore,
    socioeconomic factors are shown to be indirectly related to children’s academic
    achievement through parents’ beliefs and behaviours (Davis-Kean 2005 ). Similar
    fi ndings have been reported, for example, regarding parents’ role in enhancing
    their children’s acquisition of positive values, attitudes and behaviours towards
    sport hobbies (Côté 1999 ). However, current approaches to the theme have begun
    adopting more and more holistic foci concentrating on factors that affect both
    positive and problem youth development (Catalano et al. 2005 ).
    Success is not just sunshine; it requires the ability to be fl exible, adjust, make
    compromises and cope with failures and adversities. It is important to consider
    how the home teaches and supports a child, including in circumstances in which
    he or she does not achieve goals, i.e., the ways in which diffi culties are handled
    and how they are understood as an inevitable part of life (Määttä and Uusiautti
    2012a, 2012b, 2013), as well as how to develop a sense of oneself as an autonomous
    individual (Eccles 1999 ). Therefore, the infl uence of family and upbringing
    is far from simple when it comes to children’s success in later life (see, for example,
    Aronson Fontes 2002 ; Elder et al . 1985 ; Rowe 1990 ). What might be the
    most crucial aspect for this study is the manner in which people learn to interpret
    their experiences.
    Indeed, top workers do not develop independently; they are surrounded by
    their families, friends and relatives. According to Berscheid ( 2006 ), human
    behaviour and development should always be understood as the result of living
    within the network and context of human relationships. It is crucial to explore
    how these factors enhance the development of self and the use of human strengths
    (Caprara and Cervone 2006 ; Magnusson and Mahoney 2006 ). Indeed, love and
    attachment expressed in relationships that surround us are not simply about an
    affect or a passive inner emotion but an active aspiration to help the beloved grow
    and be happy (Maijala et al . 2012 ; Määttä and Uusiautti 2013 ).
    Perhaps no one aims for an Employee of the Year award, but the road to
    success at work, from perspectives on childhood and adolescence, is likely to be
    something more indefi nable and general. Despite this, some people do achieve
    success at work. Is their success traceable to their childhood, and what could be
    the role of their childhood and adolescent experiences? The purpose of this chapter
    is to discuss the childhood experiences of top workers awarded Employee of
    the Year and to explore what they regard as especially facilitating factors or
    Success begins in childhood 59
    obstacles in their childhood and adolescence that could explain their favourable
    growth and development toward success at work.
    First, we discuss the factors that the top workers considered benefi cial to their
    career development and success at work. As expected, many factors were highlighted,
    which were further categorised into (1) parents’ support and upbringing,
    (2) idols, relatives and friends, and (3) careers counselling at school. Following
    this, we take look at the hardships and obstacles faced by the top workers in their
    childhood and adolescence.
    Childhood experiences as contributory factors
    in occupational choices
    Success at work can result from many factors. Snyder and Lopez ( 2002 ) discuss
    it as a process emphasising, for example, the infl uence of family, school, childhood
    development and good workplaces on the young people. The section will
    begin by analysing parents’ infl uence on top workers’ career choices and their
    attitude to life, successes and hardships, and many characteristics needed for
    success. Likewise, the role of idols, relatives and friends as bellwethers is
    discussed. Third, the signifi cance of careers’ counselling at school is studied in
    the context of the top workers’ experiences.
    Parental support and upbringing
    Values and educational goals that form the basis of upbringing refl ect an understanding
    of the meaning of life, in other words, what people want to achieve or
    do in order to live a certain kind of life. Home is the most important environment
    for children because every child is bound to a home and is under the infl uence of
    the home environment. Attitudes to life and other people are adopted from home.
    The infl uence of the home in upbringing is markedly signifi cant and, therefore,
    the process of becoming a top worker can be traced to the childhood and adolescence
    of top workers.
    In the interviews, top workers were asked to reminisce about events and factors
    that have affected their career choices in one way or another and whether their
    parents had infl uenced them. The fi rst reaction was that their parents had not tried
    to infl uence them. However, according to Snyder and Lopez ( 2002 ), families do
    infl uence their children’s behaviour in later life by exemplifying how to explain
    adversities, how to set goals for the future, and how they strengthen hope in children.
    Indeed, according to the interview fi ndings, parents had infl uenced top
    workers’ attitude toward work rather than than their actual career choices.
    Top workers maintained that their parents emphasised the importance of
    having an occupation and earning one’s keep during adulthood. Three of the
    interviewees reported that their parents had some ideas about what they might
    want their children to become, and two top workers stated that their parents’
    occupation had infl uenced their career choices. For example, a farmer had
    60 Success begins in childhood
    continued the family farm. However, this career choice was not clear from the
    beginning. The farmer described the situation as follows:
    SU: ‘Was it always clear that you would continue with the family farm?’
    Employee of the Year: ‘I don’t know. It wasn’t obvious… Of course, when
    relatives visited, they would always talk about the young farmer, or they
    would ask something else. But it wasn’t clear to me… I think that it mattered
    that I was away for about ten years. It broadened my mind and thoughts, and
    everything, surprisingly lot when you look around and see what people do
    elsewhere in the world. My parents never put pressure on me. Rather, they
    have always asked about my situation. Certainly, these questions were asked
    more often when my father’s retirement got closer.’
    Another top worker was also given the opportunity to continue with his parents’
    farm, but this top worker was aware from an early age that this was not a suitable
    path. One of the interviewees spoke of hope quite concretely: the top worker’s father
    had wanted his child to become a chemist (in Finland, chemists are entrepreneurs and
    own pharmacies), but the top worker was not interested in this fi eld. The desire of
    the parents was primarily driven by the security and profi tability of being a chemist.
    One top worker stated that studying and having an occupation was strongly
    encouraged at home. Although parents did not infl uence this top worker’s career
    choice, his father’s occupation had affected childhood and adolescence hobbies
    and the career choices of siblings:
    ‘ My father was a musician… Being an artist, he downright demanded that we
    do music and almost every one of us children had to play the piano or whatever.
    You have probably heard these stories about compulsory hobbies. We did it, and
    some of my siblings, two sisters are cantors and my brother too is a musician.’
    Other top workers did consider that their parents had much infl uence on their
    careers. The most important thing was to fi nd a fi eld that was pleasing and interesting,
    and parents did not try to restrict their children. Parents did not put pressure
    or demands on their children but helped them to think about the future, make
    their own choices in life, and perceive the possibilities, opportunities and wellbeing
    that life could offer. What is relevant for success is the capability to learn how
    to get excited, set new goals, and the propensity to receive positive feedback and
    thus enhance one’s own learning.
    Furthermore, disappointments are an important aspect of developing selfesteem
    and mental health (for example, Desjardins et al . 2008 ). In the safety of
    the home, children can learn about those means that help them to handle disappointments
    and failures. When necessary, parents can protect their children from
    feelings of anxiety and guilt. Successful rearing does not aim to rid hardships and
    obstacles but to help children learn how to confront, tolerate and conquer the
    inevitable diffi culties (McRee and Halpern 2010 ).
    Success begins in childhood 61
    Idols, relatives and friends
    Only a few of the interviewees could name an idol who had infl uenced their
    career choice. However, three top workers acknowledged someone or some
    people who had, in one way or another, helped them with their occupational
    choices. The police offi cer maintained that patriotism in the family had infl uenced
    his career dreams. Patriotism was based on respect for relatives who had gone to
    war and they were considered the police offi cer top worker’s idols. Although the
    top worker realised that the police profession was not founded only on the basis
    of this ideology, it remained partially important.
    The priest described how spiritual life was rooted in the family even if the
    priest’s parents had had temporal occupations and there were no actual church
    employees in the family. Nevertheless, the top worker’s grandmother had run
    Sunday school and the top worker had good memories of it.
    These examples show that top workers’ stories do not include absolute idols
    who they would have followed in their lives. Therefore, it is not about admiration
    with blind worshipping but, rather, that the factors infl uencing these idols were
    manifested in attitudes such as patriotism and religiousness. These kinds of positive
    experiences directed their career choices later in life.
    Friends can also have an infl uence on careers, and their effects are not always
    foreseen. Hence, one of the top workers stated that the decision to apply to a business
    school was based on a discussion with a friend. They wanted to continue
    studying together. This is a good example of how powerful an infl uence adolescent
    friendships can have and that, therefore, the impact of the circle of friends
    should never be underestimated. In a situation in which choosing a place of study
    is uncertain or diffi cult, the decision can easily be made with friends.
    Careers counselling at school
    The previous sections have showed that top workers’ career choices were not
    directed by their families; their upbringing was directed in the sense of enhancing
    their overall positive attitudes to study and work. Therefore, it was also interesting
    to explore whether their schools had guided them and whether careers counselling
    in school had helped them with their occupational choice.
    The signifi cance of school in upbringing becomes especially emphasised if the
    home and family resources are insuffi cient or if children and adolescents do not
    receive suffi cient information or stimuli at home. Their development can be
    supported at school, too, by employing their strengths. The purpose of student
    counselling at school is to support students’ personal, social, moral and occupational
    development, and therefore it is quite wide-ranging and holistic (Sundvall-
    Huhtinen 2007 ) in nature. In Finnish schools, students have careers counselling,
    and practical training periods in real workplaces are also important.
    In the interviews, top workers were asked to describe their experiences of
    careers counselling at school. Their experiences varied from one extreme to the
    62 Success begins in childhood
    other. Every top worker remembered their school counsellor, but perceptions of
    how meaningful the counselling had been varied considerably.
    Three top workers had experiences that could be regarded as positive. One
    remembered that various occupations were introduced to them, although this top
    worker attended school when Finnish schools did not yet have separate counsellors
    or practical training periods.
    ‘I think careers counseling was appropriate. I cannot remember which one of
    the teachers had to do it. It provided information about certain occupations
    and such, so that we could ponder it a bit. So, it was benefi cial at that moment.’
    This top worker did not choose his occupation on the basis of careers counselling
    but did so later when performing army duties. However, the positive experience
    of careers counselling was based on the information provided about different
    occupations that many young people did not know beforehand.
    Another top worker remembered that at school they had to familiarise themselves
    with occupations in which they were the most interested. They were asked
    to write about how to study for and become employed in these fi elds. This top
    worker stated that he was already thinking about his current occupation at that
    time. Thus, careers counselling equipped this top worker with the knowledge of
    how to enter that profession.
    The third positive experience differed somewhat from the previous two. This
    top worker had sought professional careers counselling after graduating from
    general upper secondary education. Careers counselling thus supported this top
    worker’s occupational choice.
    Two top workers had quite similar negative experiences of careers counselling
    in school. Their counsellor had advised them about who could apply for vocational
    school and who could continue to general upper secondary education and
    then to higher education. While the fi rst top worker’s counsellor had not
    supported the top worker’s decision to go to vocational school, the other top
    worker’s counsellor remained doubtful of the top worker’s capability to continue
    on to general upper secondary education. Therefore, careers counselling would
    have directed them in directions other than what they had chosen and in which
    they had succeeded. These two top workers were the youngest of the research
    participants and they also had practical training periods at school. Usually, they
    would go to familiar, neighbourhood enterprises to familiarise themselves with
    real work life.
    ‘Yes, we had careers counseling in middle school. And I still remember what
    our counselor at the time told me, that my choice was a bad one. I tried to say
    that I did not agree and tried to give reasons. And the counselor strongly
    encouraged me to continue with general upper secondary education. I did not.
    I did not think it would be my thing. I really remember it, and we had quite a
    lot of that counseling during the ninth grade.’
    Success begins in childhood 63
    What is most interesting in the previous example, and in the one that follows,
    is that counsellors do not seem very interested in fi guring out what the youth is
    interested in. At the very least, this was what the top workers remembered.
    Students were divided into two groups; based on their grades, they would be suitable
    for either general upper secondary education or vocational upper secondary
    education after their compulsory education.
    Employee of the Year: ‘Those careers counseling lessons! Those were about
    rest and so on. I don’t know whether I was just a silly youngster that I didn’t
    understand the idea of counseling or whether it was because of those counselors.
    I remember that they were all already approaching their retirement age,
    so they were so far away from…’
    SU: ‘…yeah, the adolescents’ life.’
    Employee of the Year: ‘Yes. And then he looked at my records and wondered
    whether I was really seriously going to pursue general upper secondary education.’
    Two top workers reported that careers counselling had not been signifi cant to
    them at all. They both remembered it but had not personally benefi tted from it. In
    all, it can be concluded that the top workers had not found careers counselling
    very important and, therefore, it cannot be seen as one of the key factors directly
    contributing to their success, although, in fact, it could and should have the opposite
    effect.
    Why did careers counselling not meet students’ needs? One reason is probably
    that top workers who participated in this research went to school in the
    1950s-1970s when careers counselling was completely differently organised than
    it is today. For example, Sundvall-Huhtinen ( 2007 ) points out that it was not until
    the 1970s that the school system started to become more fl exible and personal
    study plans were developed. In addition to changes in the education system,
    changes in society and especially work life have infl uenced on the development
    of careers counselling (Numminen et al . 2002 ).
    The need for counselling and guidance has increased. At the same time, attitudes
    about the future and future occupations have changed considerably; in the
    1960s-1980s’ Finland, the starting point of studying and work was to make a
    career decision, pursue studies, fi nd a stable and secure career, and avoid making
    mistakes. This was also evident in the kind of advice that the top workers received
    at home from their parents. However, in the 1990s and 2000s, attitudes have
    changed and emphasis is on having many options, life-long learning, enjoying
    life, and learning from mistakes (Sundvall-Huhtinen 2007 ). Changes in the worldview,
    living in insecure times, and the demand for constant updating and learning
    at work necessitate effi cient guidance that can support occupational development.
    Top workers also mentioned other factors that they thought enhanced their
    careers. One talked about having a gap year between studies and after compulsory
    64 Success begins in childhood
    school. This top worker had no idea about a suitable occupation at the time.
    During that particular year, the top worker worked in a retirement home for eight
    months and became familiarised with nursing. Although this top worker did not
    apply for nursing education immediately afterwards, the top worker later realised
    that positive work experiences from the retirement home would pave the way.
    Eventually, the top worker studied and graduated as a nurse and has worked as
    one ever since.
    Hardships and obstacles
    Top workers were also asked to describe the kinds of hardships they faced in their
    lives and whether they considered these experiences as having impacted on their
    careers. Some specifi c events were mentioned. For example, the police offi cer did
    not get into cadet school, which was very disappointing. However, this top
    worker decided on the police profession and applied to police school, got in, and
    this is how a fi ne career as a police offi cer got started. The setback turned into an
    advantage, and plan B became a success story.
    Various kinds of career-related hardships could be seen as mere sidetracks.
    This is also because top workers were once clueless youngsters trying to fi nd their
    own paths. Two top workers experienced such sidetracks; after having acquired
    an education, they later realised that their pursued fi elds were misguided and
    unsuitable. Stories about sidetracks teach that one does not always decide upon
    the right occupation without some level of stray. As a matter of fact, wrong
    choices can even be considered advantageous as they may strengthen one’s positive
    feelings toward fi nding the right path; under such circumstances, one can
    make solid comparisons between situations.
    Every top worker had experienced turning points in which they had to decide
    where to go next. For example, two top workers had the opportunity to continue
    with their parents’ farm, but only one of them eventually did. Both of them
    became Employees of the Year awardees. What seems most important is to listen
    to oneself and choose the direction according to one’s own feelings, thoughts and
    values. One of the top workers expressed this as follows:
    ‘I do not know about those situations when you have to choose, whether the
    road will go here or there, or will I take this or that. I have been wise enough
    to think of what I really want, what is worth investing in with my abilities and
    talents. And even if something could be really interesting but not quite what
    is most suitable. I have always discussed these profoundly with myself. When
    it comes to my occupation, I have certainly been thinking about what are the
    best use of my strengths. And that had led to such satisfaction and pleasure
    that cannot be measured by money or respectability in relation to work.’
    This type of thinking reveals a multidimensional analysis of the mission, standards
    and performances expected in work (see also Gardner et al . 2001 ).
    Success begins in childhood 65
    Imbibing brisk attitude and optimism from parents
    and educators?
    According to the results, top workers could not recall specifi c factors from their
    childhood that could have been crucial in fi nding the right occupation. However, one
    important notion can be raised from their childhood, which is the attitude toward
    education, work and life in general that was adopted from home. Although the top
    workers’ parents did not make career decisions for their children, they had encouraged
    them to educate themselves, work hard, and have a positive attitude about the
    future. Indeed, it has been shown that childhood experiences do matter in later development
    and success in later life (for example, Hawkins et al . 2005; Larson, 2000).
    How then can success be supported? Twenty years ago, Arnold et al . ( 1993 )
    emphasised that awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses, values and
    points of interest, and knowledge about different occupations are of primary
    importance for career enhancement. According to the results of this study, none
    of the top workers had found their occupation through the careers counselling
    provided at school, but some of them still appreciated the information about
    occupations given at counselling.
    The latest research in the fi eld of positive psychology has further advanced the
    importance of recognising one’s strengths (Aspinwall and Staudinger 2006 ).
    There is not simply one road to success at work, and every top worker is an individual.
    What was common among them was their ability and courage to listen to
    themselves and be true to themselves. According to Gilligan ( 2000 ), childhoodrelated
    factors that promote self-directedness or self-effi cacy include parents’
    belief in the child’s own sense of control, responsiveness, consistency, warmth
    and praise, support, and encouraging the child to engage in his or her environment
    and surrounding people (see also Sroufe 2005 ; Young et al . 2001 ).
    Therefore, social skills learned from home can be crucial for the positive development
    in this sense (see, for example, Decovic and Janssens 1992 ).
    It seemed that the most important criterion for success is to fi nd a career that
    is suitable and in which a person can become fulfi lled. Educators need imagination,
    courage, and even the ability to take risks so that they can help growing and
    maturing people test their own limits and abilities (Uusiautti 2008 ; Uusiautti and
    Määttä 2013 ). Careers counselling can play an important role and should be
    further researched. Students need information about various occupations and
    work tasks to be able to evaluate what they fi nd interesting and what they want
    or can do. Therefore, personal careers counselling also has to help a student
    recognise his or her abilities and talents, but equally important is to fi nd out which
    school subjects the student likes the best and what he or she likes to do. Questions
    related to career choice and occupational socialisation are surprisingly closely
    connected with free-time activities (Driver 1982 ; Duffy and Dik 2009 ; Maljojoki
    1989 ; Middleton and Loughead 1993 ).
    In addition, students have their own preconceptions of various occupations and
    thus it is crucial that the expectations in various professions are clarifi ed to
    66 Success begins in childhood
    students. Abundant practical experiences and examples from real work life
    cannot be suffi ciently emphasised. Furthermore, teachers and counsellors should
    be aware of their prejudices and stereotypical conceptions of valuable and notso-
    valuable occupations. Top workers who participated in this study attended
    school four to six decades ago, and careers counselling was not as systematic as
    it is today, since societal interest in adolescent choices emerged in the late 1960s
    and early 1970s (Petersen 1988 ).
    It is also worth remembering that, regardless of whether a student is a straight-
    A pupil or simply barely passes, every student needs careers counselling.
    Therefore, it is important to highlight the positive experiences of success and
    being capable – every student has and can have them. It would be interesting to
    know how the future Employees of the Year perceive the role of careers counselling
    in school today.
    In all, it became evident that researching the secrets of success from people’s
    childhood and adolescence was not straightforward. The phenomenon of success
    does not appear in the same way as failure and, therefore, it is not easy to think
    about reasons for success (Isen 2001 ; Uusiautti and Määttä 2011 ). However, the
    role of childhood experiences at school and at home should be interesting to
    educators. For example, Mäkikangas ( 2007 ) has found that a sensitive and childcentered
    upbringing was connected to optimism in later phases of life (see also
    Sroufe 2005 ). Top workers also displayed optimistic attitudes, which can be
    closely related to the overall satisfaction of life, including satisfaction with one’s
    work and career choice.
    Perceiving the phenomenon of success from this perspective is relevant to
    many areas of life, but especially remarkable is that the foundation of success can
    be laid from childhood. Positive psychology has been interested in exploring and
    creating optimal conditions for all children and students (Carruthers and Hood
    2005 ). Success is not just something that, for example, gifted people are entitled
    to but the concept could be used for enhancing everyone’s success. If students’
    mastery of information or skill leads to success, and if positive emotions are one
    of the cornerstones of successful learning, it would be reasonable to pay attention
    to this viewpoint in education (Chafouleas and Bray 2004 ). The purpose, therefore,
    is to research, defi ne and specify the human strengths and capacities that
    individual people, families, communities and societies should aim to utilise.
    Positive human development should be encouraged (Dunn et al . 2008 ). Although
    the viewpoint presented in this review is very individualistic, it is also worthy to
    continue the discussion from the collective perspective and to think about
    whether these concepts can also be used for enhancing collective or communal
    success.
    Educators should be ready to meet the challenge of providing children and
    students with such positive experiences of fi nding their own road and being able
    to fulfi l themselves. Lerner et al . ( 2002 ) use the word ‘thriving’ to discuss the
    positive development of youth. They emphasise ‘the fi ve Cs of positive youth
    development: competence, confi dence, character, social connection, and caring
    Success begins in childhood 67
    (or compassion)’ (p. 23), which work toward enhancing positive youth development.
    Indeed, in addition to the personal benefi ts of happiness that are achieved
    through utilising one’s strengths (Seligman 2002; 2011), they are also socially
    benefi cial as balanced, satisfi ed people are also better citizens (Gilpin 2008 ).
    Caring teacherhood as a means to success
    As the childhood memories of top workers surfaced, it became evident that the
    connection between counselling at school and one’s capability of fi nding the right
    occupation was not that simple. As such, we want to spend a moment to discuss
    the idea of caring teacherhood as a means to discovering pupils’ strengths.
    We consider teachers as caring leaders who can employ love-based methods that
    enhance pupils’ ability to spot their strengths and thus improve their
    self-knowledge.
    Can pupils and students be led toward goodness
    and happiness – and wellbeing?
    Authority is often addressed from pedagogical points of view and it has been
    studied a great deal (Delpit 1988 ; Deutsch and Jones 2011 ; Pace and Hemmings
    2007 ). Nevertheless, it has been understood in a contradictory manner in relation
    to education and teaching (Langford 2010 ; Seidl and Friend 2002 ). Obviously,
    the relationship between a teacher and a student is asymmetrical because the
    teacher possesses something that the pupil does not. According to Hare, the
    teacher does not have to think that the student is presently his or her equal, but
    does need to see the student as a potential equal (Hare 1993 ). The purpose of the
    learning relationship is to make the pupil develop into an independent and
    responsible autonomous individual. However, students cannot achieve this goal
    independently; they need the educator’s help and guidance and, therefore, the
    teacher is in a position of authority.
    van Manen emphasised that an adult’s ability to affect a pupil is genuine when
    the authority does not rely on power, but on love and affection (van Manen 1991 ).
    Harjunen also defi nes pedagogical authority through pedagogical interaction
    (Harjunen 2009 ). According to the author, pedagogical interaction consists of
    such characteristics as ‘trust building’, ‘treating students as human beings’, and
    the ‘ethics of care and justice’.
    We have defi ned the connection between pedagogical love and authority in the
    following manner:
    If pedagogical love and pedagogical authority are based on expertise-based
    respect, the learning atmosphere is warm and encouraging. Mutual respect
    supports empathy; students respect the teacher because of his or her expertise
    and regard the teacher as a sort of safe mainstay that they can rely on. The
    teacher trusts and believes in the students’ abilities, respects their individuality,
    68 Success begins in childhood
    and helps them to enhance their balanced development and fi nd their own
    strengths.
    (Määttä and Uusiautti 2011b )
    What does this mean in the context of schooling and teaching? The existence of a
    good human being can be considered problematic or even impossible because
    ‘good’ is usually confused with ‘perfect’. Being a good human being does not mean
    that one should be totally irreproachable, moral and faultless, that is, non-human and
    probably impossible to achieve anyway. We want to highlight love as the fundamental
    factor in raising children to be good human beings and that this particular aim is
    the ultimate purpose of all rearing. Love appears in teaching as guidance toward
    disciplined work, but also as patience, trust and forgiveness. The purpose is not to
    make learning fun, easy or pleasing but to create a setting for learning whereby
    pupils can use and develop their own resources, eventually proceeding at the maximum
    of their own abilities. A loving teacher takes care that the learner does not lose
    his or her trust in his or her own learning when faced with diffi culties. Therefore,
    love appears as goal-oriented action: a teacher plans and implements learning situations
    that enhance learning. Furthermore, a loving teacher takes a pupil’s personal
    situation into consideration (for example, Hatt 2005 ; van Manen 1991 ).
    Pedagogical love is considered a working method that involves persistent interest
    and perseverance in supporting pupils’ development for the sake of themselves
    and the whole society. In addition, teachers should fi nd a balance between
    pedagogical love and pedagogical authority and combine them both in a studentspecifi
    c manner. Pedagogical tact is at its strongest in this ability. Dealing with
    various students requires fl exibility and sensitivity in the teacher’s pedagogical
    approach. Some students need more intimacy while some others consider expertise
    especially important. Moreover, the teaching content and learning objectives
    may necessitate different kinds of procedures from the teacher – in other words,
    a certain kind of tact (Määttä and Uusiautti 2011b ). Taking this viewpoint further,
    van Manen points out that pedagogical tact is ‘the language of surprising and
    unpredicted pedagogical action’ that emerges from the genuine attachment to the
    pupil (van Manen 1991 ). At the core, it is the children’s vulnerability and
    defenselessness that make the educator protect them.
    Tools for employing strength-based approaches in school
    The way we see it, the role of a teacher is primarily focused on encouraging and
    rewarding the multitude of talents and strengths a child has, by presenting opportunities
    for displays of these talents and strengths each day. In practice, the means
    are quite simple: linking strengths to specifi c festivals and events throughout the
    school calendar and activities such as the strengths-based classroom, victory logs
    and celebrations of ‘what went well’ (see Linley et al . 2009 ).
    In practice, it is important that the teacher makes self-assessments. A teacher
    can refl ect and observe his or her way of teaching and interacting with students
    Success begins in childhood 69
    and ask questions such as ‘Do I listen to students’ opinions in an open manner?’,
    ‘Do I encourage students to express their emotions or perceptions?’, ‘How do I
    handle divergent opinions and criticism or feedback from students?’, and ‘Do I
    treat students equally regardless of their background?’ Becoming aware of one’s
    own style and level of tact enables one to move from one quadrant to another,
    toward an ideal state. It is about the teacher’s tact and the capabilities of recognising
    various learners and personalities and of having situational fl exibility (see
    also Määttä and Uusiautti 2012b ).
    In addition to teachers’ refl ective practice, it is crucial to include positivelyoriented
    and wellbeing-promoting actions toward pupils and students. Seligman
    et al . ( 2009 ) describes simple exercises that aim to help students identify their
    signature strengths and increase their use of these strengths in daily life.
    Moreover, this intervention was aimed at promoting resilience, positive emotions
    and students’ sense of meaning or purpose. All goals were achieved, which made
    Seligman’s research group conclude that wellbeing should and can be taught at
    school. The positive focus seemed, according to the study by Seligman et al ., to
    consist of relatively small things, such as changing speaking prompts (for example,
    instead of asking students to describe negative events, teachers asked them
    to give a speech about when they were of value to others; religious education
    teachers asked students to explore the relationship between ethics and pleasure
    and what gives life purpose and meaning; geography teachers asked students to
    consider how the criteria for wellbeing might differ between various countries;
    PE teachers focused on analysing the successes of past games before the next
    game or lesson). The point here was that wellbeing could be taught and, with the
    teacher’s lead, students would not only learn about it, but their own wellbeing
    would increase as well.
    It is important to discover one’s signature strengths. In Seligman et al .’s ( 2005 )
    study, long-term effects of increased happiness were perceived in exercises that
    aimed to employ signature strengths in a new way and in which pupils were asked
    to name and explain three good things about their daily lives.
    Furthermore, the idea behind Appreciative Inquiry (AI) could also be employed
    in education by teachers who would like to utilise the idea of caring teacherhood.
    Appreciative Inquiry utilises a cycle of four processes that focuses on ‘discover’
    (the identifi cation of organisational processes that work well), ‘dream’ (the envisioning
    of processes that would work well in the future), ‘design’ (planning and
    prioritising processes that would work well), and ‘destiny’ (the implementation
    (execution) of the proposed design) (Cooperrider et al . 2008 ). Likewise, Ryan
    et al . ( 1999 ) have advanced that AI is a suitable strategy for initiating an affective
    and analytical micro-level reform within a single school. The fundamental notion
    is that instead of concentrating on what was done wrong, AI helps with discovering
    what is done well and what more could be done.
    Furthermore, providing students with daily experiences of success is important.
    If the mastery of information and skills is to lead to success, and if positive
    emotion is one of the keystones of learning, it would be reasonable to pay
    70 Success begins in childhood
    attention to this viewpoint in teaching (Chafouleas and Bray 2004 ). Fredrickson’s
    ( 2001 ) analysis on pride also falls into this category. By adjusting goals and
    objectives and planning learning tasks in a way that each pupil can have the experience
    of achieving a goal, this kind of experience of success can be promoted.
    Teachers try to fi nd a balance between pupils’ skills, work-related expectations
    and opportunities and challenges, which is likely to lead to better performance,
    contentment, higher motivation and a sense of self-effi cacy.
    The teacher as a caring leader or pedagogical authority has the capacity to help
    bring about the best in pupils. The process can then move forward – not only the
    process of learning and performing, but also the process of discovering and using
    pupils’ signature strengths, and promoting wellbeing and happiness, not only in
    the current phase of life but also in prospective phases.
    According to Hare ( 1993 ), pedagogical love, caring in the classroom, humility,
    commitment and hope are traits that constitute a ‘good’ teacher, although they are
    not always easy to adhere to in modern schools. Therefore, pedagogical tact is the
    key; this is because it, along with pedagogical goodness, illustrates the pedagogical
    relationship and the fundamental idea that the adult is primarily working for the
    benefi t of the child in this context (Saevi and Eilifsen 2008 ). The ability to create
    happiness for life is an important skill for a good educator and teacher. Von Wright
    has stated that to love the world we have to accept it and, therefore, to love students
    we have to accept them and to refrain from wanting to change them and to prepare
    them for changing the world in a particular and predefi ned way (von Wright 2009).
    Enhancing students’ study success through
    caring teacherhood
    Caring teacherhood can be the way of bringing out the best in children, but
    caring, strength-based leading of learning does not need to end in compulsory
    education. Similar guidance is needed also in higher education levels. Also, it is
    not just teachers working in the classrooms that is important but the overall study
    environment that is created by the way the school or education institution is led;
    whether the teachers are encouraged to focus on pupils’ and students’ strengths,
    whether they are provided with suffi cient resources for teaching, and whether the
    students are appreciated at school. The school functions as an entity, and the
    student-centered, positively oriented approach is a pervasive element of education.
    Here, we introduce our fi ndings from Finnish and American universities as
    an example of how school can enhance students’ success. The perspective on
    university studies is not meant to overlook other education levels. Instead, we
    wanted to analyse our data and provide an example of the impact caring leadership
    can make in education institutions. Thus, we argue that this viewpoint could
    apply to, for example, vocational education schools and polytechnics as well as
    it seemingly does to the university-level education.
    Especially at a time when increasing demands on effi cient and productive
    higher education, high numbers of student drop-outs (see, for example, Kuh et al .
    Success begins in childhood 71
    2008 ; OECD 2010) and prolonged studies (OECD 2010; San Antonio 2008 ;
    Schoon et al . 2010 ) do not seem to point in the same direction, new ways of
    considering education are needed. How to make students’ study paths smooth and
    have them succeed in their studies?
    In this section we will discuss how the goal of success could be achieved by
    employing caring leadership in higher education. This section leans on the data
    obtained from Finnish and American university leaders. The ultimate idea of the
    study was that a particular positive and caring viewpoint could be something that
    today’s higher education would need. For example, Cruce et al . ( 2006 ) suggest
    that good practices in education have a unique, positive impact on student development
    as they can affect, for example, student engagement, which can be seen
    as one of the main pillars of successful and meaningful study paths. Kezar and
    Kinzie ( 2006 ) have introduced features of a quality undergraduate education that
    has been associated with student engagement; quality begins with an organisational
    culture that values high expectations, shows respect for diverse learning
    styles, and has emphasis on the early years of study; a quality undergraduate
    curriculum requires coherence in learning, synthesising experiences, on-going
    practice of learned skills, and integrating education with experience; and quality
    undergraduate instruction builds in active learning, assessment and prompt feedback,
    collaboration, adequate time on task, and out-of-class contact with faculty
    (see also Kuh 2003 ). Likewise, Theilheimer ( 1991 ) has presented a detailed list
    of fi ve factors that contribute to a positive learning environment: (1) comfort
    (creating a feeling of safety, accommodating errors, giving students the freedom
    of expressing themselves without constraints, creating the feeling of belonging to
    peer group); (2) clarity (providing clear instructions, breaking down material to
    smaller chunks to maintain the feeling of accomplishment, however small); (3)
    respect (mutual respect between students and the teacher); (4) relationships
    (particularly caring relationships between the teacher and individual students,
    teacher attending each student individually); and (5) responsibility (giving
    students a degree of control over decisions concerning their learning).
    Here, our purpose was to analyse how caring leadership in higher education
    can be employed to enhance students’ success and study achievements, and what
    its relationship with other factors affecting students’ study success is like.
    The leaders’ perspective is interesting when considering the effect of caring
    that covers the institution, in this case, the university, through the select approach
    of the leader. Caldwell and Dixon ( 2010 ) have defi ned love, forgiveness and trust
    as organisational constructs that are freedom-producing, empowering and vital to
    enhancing followers’ self-effi cacy. When leaders consistently exhibit love,
    forgiveness and trust in relationships, their followers – whether they were
    students or employees – respond to these behaviours with increased commitment
    and loyalty. Moreover, happiness can be directly translated into engagement,
    productivity and satisfaction (Prewitt 2003 ; see also Rego et al . 2011 ). It has been
    argued that sensitive leaders develop a culture that demonstrates concern for
    individual needs (Fairholm and Fairholm 2000 ; Popper and Amit 2009 ).
    72 Success begins in childhood
    Happiness not only produces a quantitative improvement by increasing effi ciency
    but also a qualitative one by making a better product or outcome by virtue of
    pride, belief and commitment. Emotions and emotional intelligence have even
    been considered as the heart of effective leadership (Goleman 2006 ). Furthermore,
    an ethic of caring establishes a moral touchstone for decision making (Hoyle
    2002 ) as leaders’ elicitation of love regards other people as the cause, target or
    third-party observer of these emotions (Fischer and van Kleef 2010 ).
    Given this perspective on love and leadership, we were interested in researching
    how university leaders talk about the connection between caring leadership
    and students’ study success. This viewpoint contributes to the overall knowledge
    about caring leadership practices, but specifi cally to the awareness of the multidimensional
    nature of higher education organisations and factors affecting the
    smoothness of university students’ study processes. Finally, the purpose is to
    determine how the love-based aspect might be used in elaborating research
    models for re-thinking and designing caring learning environments, students’
    psychosocial wellbeing, and for developing the models of caring and love-based
    leadership in education context.
    As the interviewees worked in universities, their work was closely connected
    to not only their followers but also to university students. Therefore, leaders
    discussed their leadership in relation to the study opportunities and conditions
    among students at their universities. We analysed how the university leaders actually
    perceived their role in promoting university students’ study success and
    fl uent study processes. All their perceptions were fi rst categorised into themes
    according to the way leadership was discussed in relation to students (for example,
    leadership actions for the students, providing resources and quality teaching).
    Then, the perceptions were re-categorised into three main categories that best
    represented the leaders’ perceptions: using caring leadership for (1) providing
    resources for quality education, (2) seeing students, faculty or staff, and themselves
    as equal groups, and thus promoting a sense of solidarity, and (3) treating
    students as customers.
    Caring leaders provide resources for quality education
    The fi rst category refers to the relationship between outer factors affecting education
    and the way that the education is realised in practice and provided to
    students. The current educational policies regarding funding in universities were
    refl ected by the university leaders. They were aware of the pressure of doing
    research and having students graduate:
    ‘The pressure within the public university environment has really focused
    more and more around money. [Universities] have to be doing more research,
    they have to be taking more students, they have to be generating more
    programs.’
    (American leader)
    Success begins in childhood 73
    ‘At this level, in a university, those kinds of push for excellence and productivity
    make it pretty diffi cult to be I think a loving leadership model.’
    (American leader)
    Although they realised that the demands of competition and productivity can
    make it more diffi cult to employ caring leadership in universities, the university
    leaders could see their position and opportunities to utilise their leadership. They
    seemed to consider themselves responsible for ensuring the high quality education
    and support for students.
    ‘I mean, your [the leader’s] job is to make life better for all the faculty and
    students so they can do what they need to do: their research, their teaching,
    and the students, so they learn and get their degree, go out there and make us
    all proud. To do that, you got to be a leader.’
    (American leader)
    ‘A lot of times, that requires that you’re going to make sure that the quality
    of the education that the students get is going to be the highest possible.’
    (American leader)
    In practice, caring leadership appeared as a wish to guarantee as high a quality education
    for students as possible by using the available resources in a purposeful manner,
    reallocating it to activities that would benefi t students’ study processes (for example,
    by decreasing teachers’ and professors’ administrative work), and enhancing the
    spirit of everybody doing their share and their best for the students and the university.
    ‘We have to guarantee such resources that the quality of education is considerably
    better than it is now, that the operation is meaningful, and that we can
    take the best possible care of students. That will also benefi t work life.’
    (Finnish leader)
    ‘I fi nd it surprising that we have so much administrative work at the university…
    Teachers have to send emails to various pupils, and they do a little bit
    of this and that? That’s administrative work. And if we had an employee to
    do that work, it would be much more logical.’
    (Finnish leader)
    Caring leaders promote the sense of solidarity among
    students and faculty
    The second viewpoint expressed by the university leaders was related to the
    atmosphere at the unit. They considered it important for the students’ study
    success, commitment and overall satisfaction that the people at each unit and at
    the university would share the sense of togetherness and solidarity.
    74 Success begins in childhood
    ‘The caring that I have my organization, I got 700 employees, about 18,000
    students, the caring I have is for all of them, and so, everybody gets treated
    that way.’
    (American leader)
    ‘You can have more family-orientation. We are only interested in our own
    research and we hardly ever collaborate. I think that at the individual level,
    you know, I think working with your own doctoral students, we can have
    more personal caring relationship. The stress of competition is not good but
    working with individual students and dissertations, that’s more satisfying,
    working with students in the classroom.’
    (American leader)
    As the latter of the aforementioned data excerpts show, the sense of togetherness
    was also seen as the answer to the ever-increasing pressures of productivity and
    individual success. Working together could benefi t not only students and the
    faculty but the whole organisation. Moreover, the university leaders named actual
    measures that they themselves used in practice in order to improve the spirit of
    collaboration at their units. The leaders talked about treating everyone equally
    and promoting open and informal interaction among the faculty and students.
    ‘Our community; we have students who are equal members of this work unit
    in their own role, and we have the personnel… This [university] is quite a
    world of its own compared to the normal units.’
    (Finnish leader)
    ‘Management by walking around; and I think it is insane that teachers for
    example sit in a separate cabinet away from students or where leaders sit on
    a different table than employees. I can affect those daily situations in which I
    can mold in the community and stick together with them.’
    (Finnish leader)
    ‘We’re trying to re-develop the area around the university to build more
    coffee shops, restaurants, bars, music places … I think that leadership is all
    about getting people to feel connected and engaged… A research university
    should make a very clear connection with the practical world of the community
    and the faculty and the students.’
    (American leader)
    According to the fi ndings, the students’ study processes could be enhanced by
    increasing open interaction and collaboration in units. Caring leadership thus
    could be seen to be the means of setting an example by spending time with
    people, discussing problems, and initiating actual proposals for actions, be they
    small-scale collaborative actions such as the faculty and students having coffee at
    Success begins in childhood 75
    the same table, or larger scale measures, such as improving offerings within the
    overall education environment. Thus, caring university leaders pay attention to
    their followers’ and students’ overall wellbeing. They realise that a wellfunctioning
    unit with a good and inspiring spirit can offer the best premises for
    students’ study success and, through this, the success of the whole unit and the
    university as well.
    Caring leaders perceive students as customers
    The previous category described how the sense of solidarity could support
    students’ study paths. The third category develops this thinking to the personal
    level by seeing students as the customers. According to the results, the university
    leaders’ way of perceiving students resembles a whole new way of defi ning
    customership. It is not just demands expressed by the customers but merely
    collaboration and desire to fi nd out what is the best for them through reciprocal
    interaction: students as customers are simultaneously seen as partners too. From
    this point of view, caring leadership was considered a means of paying attention
    to students as individuals, taking care of them at the personal level, and respecting
    them as the most valuable part of the university. The university leaders
    expressed this idea as follows:
    ‘In academics, you need to be very careful that the students should come fi rst.
    And I think that’s a big difference between academics, a leader in academics
    and a leader in industry. I really try to do what is best for the students fi rst.
    And then I try to do what is best for the faculty and the college.’
    (American leader)
    ‘Here, where you don’t necessarily have a product, per se. You are not
    making televisions, but the other thing is: What is the product of higher education?
    You might think the student, I’m saying, no. You can’t claim another
    human being as your product. No, the curriculum is your product. I just refuse
    to think, if you use business analogy and you’re a dealer, a car dealer. It’s not
    the customer that’s your product, it’s your car. So, since when, if we look at
    that, why not students are our customers.’
    (American leader)
    The university leaders described that when students are perceived as customers
    of higher education, they can feel they are being supported and heard. Caring
    leadership was manifested in personal relationships with students:
    ‘I have a good, direct, and open relationship with students. I hope, at least,
    and sense that I am easily approachable and they come to discuss their problems
    and studies, and quite openly have confi ded in me.’
    (Finnish leader)
    76 Success begins in childhood
    In addition to direct interaction with students, some university leaders
    perceived their position as a possibility to support their followers, department
    chairs, professors and other faculty, in creating the favourable relationship with
    students and supporting them in their studies. Caring leaders thus could see their
    support and guidance they provide to their followers as the way of supporting
    students’ study processes.
    ‘[I want to] support the chairs really connecting with students.’
    (American leader)
    ‘From time to time, I’ve sent them [the faculty] reminders about why we are
    working here and how important it is to work together despite the fact that
    your work loads are heavier because of the fi nancial times but remember why
    you’re here: It’s the students’ smile when they leave your offi ce. You know
    it’s working and reminding them of that ultimate goal.’
    (American leader)
    The way caring university leaders can show their support to their ultimate
    customers, students, is to make sure that people working at the unit are aware of
    the purpose of their work. This was also related to the question of respecting
    students. One of the leaders described the situation by giving an example:
    ‘If you have an offi ce and you open at 8, it’s not just good at all, not good for
    the students, not good for the whole college, if you’re not there at 8 o’clock.
    If there is no one there, we are not respectful to them.’
    (American leader)
    The leader continued with the example that he considered that it is also the caring
    leader’s task to make sure that not only are his or her followers aware of their
    responsibility for students and have accepted them as their customers, but also
    that they have to fi nd meaning in their jobs. If they still do not fi nd their work
    meaningful the leader’s task, for the sake of the students and the employee
    himself or herself, is to help the employee fi nd the meaning in the job or reconsider
    the job description.
    ‘If you say I don’t like my work, I’m just shuffl ing papers, then I can explain,
    OK, there’s the reason why you’re shuffl ing this paper, because the students
    need this, the students. Maybe there are some forms that students need. But
    sometimes people are not in the jobs. You have an opportunity to identify that
    like when you really explain why some things have to be done and still that
    individual does not fi nd it meaningful, then I would engage in little better
    professional planning.’
    (American leader)
    Success begins in childhood 77
    Factors behind students’ success
    The results of this study complement our previous studies of factors directing
    university students’ study processes (see, for example, Määttä and Uusiautti
    2011a ). We have previously described the teacher/student’s study process as a
    sum of factors at the student’s personal level, the unit level and the overall regulations,
    values and cultural traditions that control education. Although they do not
    explain a successful study process alone, their development and signifi cance
    should be paid more and more attention at universities.
    Figure 4.1 illustrates the interconnectedness of students’ study processes and
    factors affecting it. We consider caring leadership the fundamental enabling and
    empowering element infl uencing all levels of study processes.
    We analysed caring leadership in relation to students’ study success. At the
    personal level, students’ study processes vary greatly depending on their backgrounds,
    starting points, study skills and the experiences they get during their
    education. Students have certain abilities and habits related to their learning
    history and experiences and that can strengthen their knowledge and self-effi cacy.
    This conception is either strengthened or dashed at the university (Biggs 1987 ;
    Cassidy and Eachus 2000 ; Gettinger and Seibert 2002 ; Lindblom-Ylänne and
    Caring
    Leadership as
    the Empowering
    Element
    UNIVERSITY TEACHER
    – Teaching and mentoring
    skills
    – Scientific and pedagogical
    proficiency
    – Engagement in teaching
    UNIVERSITY
    COMMUNITY
    – Studying atmosphere
    – Student culture
    – Outward circumstances
    – University administration
    CURRICULUM
    STUDENT’S
    STUDY
    PATH
    – The basic task and
    profession of the
    discipline/art
    – Skills and knowledge that
    have to be learned
    – Goals for learning
    – Evaluation of
    learning
    STUDENT
    – Abilities, habits
    – Studying skills
    – Motivation
    – Relevant foreknowledge
    – Learning goals
    – Inner criteria for learning
    – Studying – other areas
    of life
    Figure 4.1 Core factors affecting students’ success (adapted from Määttä and Uusiautti,
    2011: 52).
    78 Success begins in childhood
    Pihlajamäki 2003 ). On the other hand, we want to emphasise students’ motivation,
    which refl ects in their way of seizing studies and persistence (Allen 1999 ; Mäkinen
    2000 ). Certainly, outer rewards matter too. Receiving positive and encouraging
    feedback about one’s own progress is important as it improves one’s receptiveness
    to new learning experiences and tolerance of failures, whereas a perceived feeling
    of insuffi ciency and a poor performance level, as well as teachers’ inadequate
    guidance and disinterest, decrease motivation (Pajares 2001 ).
    The viewpoint presented here also included an interesting notion; namely,
    university leaders talked about considering students as customers. From the
    students’ perspective, this means that they are valued and noticed at the university.
    They received support and guidance when needed and felt respected as an
    important part of the university. In addition to suffi cient support and guidance,
    there are other means to enhance students’ wellbeing too. Studies should also be
    in balance with other areas of life; interesting hobbies, good human relationships
    and family life, versatile and relaxing leisure time act as a good counterbalance
    to studying (see, for example, Lowe and Gayle 2007 ). Some university leaders
    talked about mutual free-time activities that could be provided at or nearby the
    campus. Participating in these kinds of activities would also increase student
    engagement. For example, Kuh’s ( 2003 ) framework for student engagement is
    based on fi ve benchmarks: level of academic challenge, enriching educational
    experiences, supportive campus environment, student-faculty interaction and
    active and collaborative learning. Therefore, it seems that engagement is one
    basic concept when considering successful studying.
    Naturally, everyone also perceives success in studies subjectively and evaluates
    personal achievements in different ways (Maddux 2002 ). Expectations for the
    future affect greatly how people react on changes and challenges (Carver and
    Scheier 2002 ) and there are various strategies that lie behind the one that leads to
    active and meaningful studying. From the perspective of university students’
    success, it seems that caring leadership can function as a means to support students
    at their personal level and enable them to fi nd and employ their personal characteristics,
    talents and strengths in the best possible manner during their studies.
    The leaders in this research talked about the sense of solidarity and communality
    among the faculty and the students. At the unit level, the educators’ pedagogical
    and scientifi c professionalism, curricula, and the atmosphere and
    conditions of the unit (see Määttä and Uusiautti 2011a ; Uusiautti and Määttä
    2013 ) can be named as the core factors. Consequently, if the students were
    regarded as customers, the curriculum was named the product. It should fulfi ll the
    promises of education and thus be cutting-edge. Basically, the curriculum
    provides both teachers and students with a clear goal. It answers the questions of
    what kind of expertise students will have after graduating from the training
    program and what kinds of courses are included in their studies.
    Five stages can be distinguished in curriculum work (see Alaoutinen et al .
    2009 ): (1) to defi ne the basic task and profession of the education/discipline/art,
    to evaluate the need for education; (2) to defi ne required competencies and
    Success begins in childhood 79
    general goals of teaching; (3) to defi ne the model of curriculum; (4) to defi ne the
    goals, contents, workload and methods for study entities and units; (5) to
    determine the communication in the curriculum; and (6) to evaluate the curriculum
    and the profi ciency produced by it and its constant development. Learning
    goals in the curriculum tell what students are expected to know after taking a
    certain study unit and they also direct working and the way learning, teaching and
    studying are being evaluated.
    When pursuing the valued outcomes, students need special support and guidance.
    What became highlighted here was the importance of equal and open interaction
    between the faculty and students. This is how the idea of perceiving
    students as customers was manifested in leaders’ thinking; their customership
    implication appeared as a reciprocal relationship with students. Likewise, a positive
    atmosphere was emphasised as a crucial element.
    More detailed lists of the nature of support and guidance have also been
    compiled (for example, Haapaniemi et al . 2001 ). Määttä ( 2012 ) has divided the
    resources of a good supervisor into four dimensions that constitute the four
    fundamental features of supervision: (A) Will: a supervisor’s commitment to
    supervision; (B) Knowledge: substance knowledge and/or the mastery and ability
    to comprehend the overall structure; (C) Actions: ensuring that the contents meet
    the scientifi c quality requirements; and (D) Profi ciency: positive and supportive
    supervision methods and personality. The emphasis that each element is given
    varies according to a supervision situation. Nor does the emphasis always remain
    the same. A supervisor can emphasise different features depending on his or her
    own style and on a student’s work habits and needs. Supervision is not likely to
    succeed if one of the aforementioned resources is completely missing.
    Many characteristics of a university community either enhance or hinder
    students’ smooth processes. A study atmosphere can vary from open and vivid
    dealings between students and teachers and other personnel to distant, minimal
    and formal relationships between the above-mentioned groups. Indeed, the meaning
    of informal student-faculty contacts and learning outcomes has been noted
    already three decades ago (see Pascarella 1980 ). Finding studying meaningful is
    shown to have a positive relationship with students’ perceptions of academic
    atmosphere at the unit (see, for example, Kezar and Kinzie 2006 ; Mayya and Roff
    2004 ; Pimparyon et al. 2000 ).
    Ultimately, the completion of an academic degree is a student’s responsibility
    because even the most skillful teacher cannot learn on a student’s behalf. Yet, teaching
    skills and teachers’ abilities to be in an appreciating interaction with students
    and to guide students make a salient impetus in university education. This was also
    noted by the university leaders. Today’s good university teachers bear the responsibility
    both for their disciplines and are concerned for their students’ success.
    An ideal education institution naturally covers the outward conditions as well,
    including studying facilities and their location, the number of teachers in proportion
    to the number of students, social, economic and health services, library
    services (the availability of books, opening times, etc.), ICT facilities and their
    80 Success begins in childhood
    suffi ciency, the length of studying days, the accumulation of lectures versus even
    division by weekdays and time. It is a known fact (see, for example, Greenwald
    et al . 1996 ) that a broad range of resources are positively related to student
    outcome (see also Atjonen 2007 ). Indeed, this resembles the third perspective
    brought out by university leaders in this study. As the funding of universities
    strongly depends on the number of graduates, research programs and publications,
    in other words measurable outcomes, the pressures of productivity is high.
    The university leaders in this study considered these outer factors hindering the
    realisation of caring leadership but considered it as the basic principle for making
    decisions that would benefi t the students the most and allocating money for
    purposes that would ensure them with as high-quality education as possible.
    Toward the adulthood success
    In the modern world student groups are more heterogeneous than ever (see, for
    example, San Antonio 2008 ; Zhao et al . 2008) and thus their study processes
    should be paid attention to more than ever. Consequently, university educators’
    work is demanding and important, and requires resources, time and concentration.
    Caring leadership in higher education can enhance the students’ study
    processes by highlighting some fundamental principles of higher education.
    Daniel Goleman ( 2006 : 81) has wisely said: ‘Leading a school to create a
    warmer and more connected school culture need not mean sacrifi cing academic
    rigor. Instead, socially intelligent leaders help schools better fulfi ll their main
    mission: teaching’. This concerns every level of education. Also, based on the
    results of our studies, we would like to continue Goleman’s thought by adding that
    by using the leadership position for fulfi lling the teaching mission, caring leaders
    also boost students’ success. It can have a far-reaching infl uence on their consequent
    success as workers, too, when entering adulthood and work life. Indeed now
    it is time to turn eyes on the exogenous factors of success in adulthood.
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