In the MArBLeS – Mathematics and arts‑based learning in School research project, personal data are used as research material. The purpose of this data protection notice is to provide information about the personal data that are processed, where the personal data come from, and how they are used in the research. At the end of this notice, your rights regarding your own and your child’s personal data are described in more detail.
Participation in the research and the provision of personal data are voluntary, and you as a guardian or your child may at any time, even during the research, discontinue participation or withdraw your or your child’s consent to take part in the study without explanation and without negative consequences for your family. Choosing to participate or not to participate does not affect your child’s everyday life at school. If you discontinue your participation in the study or withdraw your consent, the personal data, samples, and other information collected about your family up to that point will be used as part of the research material if necessary to ensure the reliability of the research results. Participants or guardians have the right to request that already collected data be destroyed. The data will be removed from the research material if possible, but not, for example, if exercising this right would jeopardize the entire research project.
MArBLeS – Mathematics and arts‑based learning in school aims to investigate the possibility of supporting primary school pupils’ mathematics learning by using arts‑based methods, specifically music and visual arts. Your child’s personal data are collected so that the researchers and members of the research group can, if necessary, contact the guardians of the children participating in the study during the data collection period. The children’s personal data (name, date of birth) are collected so that the results from questionnaires and tests collected at several time points in a longitudinal design can be linked to the same participant.
Your child’s personal data will be processed for the research purposes described in this notice. The guardian’s personal data are collected for the consent form and the background questionnaire.
The following personal data will be collected from the study participants: name, email address, telephone number, and level of education, and for the participating child, name, month of birth, and background information (home language, hobbies, etc.). Children participating in the research will be asked to give separate consent to be interviewed on video in small groups to assess their perspectives and experiences of arts‑based learning. The collection of data is based on the research plan.
Personal data are processed as part of a research project at the University of Helsinki. The project’s doctoral researcher, together with the research leader, is responsible for the practical handling of the material, such as ensuring that the data processed are minimized, that the data are accurate, that storage periods are defined, and that appropriate systems and applications are used. Risks associated with the processing are assessed in cooperation with the student’s supervisor, that is, the research leader. The university guides and supports the processing of personal data from planning to the publication of the final work and provides the infrastructure and tools needed to carry out the research.
2. Controller responsible for the research
University of Helsinki
Address: P.O. Box 4 (Universitetsgatan 3), 00014 University of Helsinki
3. Contact person and responsible researcher
Contact person for matters related to the research:
Name: Saija Paldanius
Faculty of Educational Sciences
Address: P.O. Box 9 (Brobergsterrassen 5A), 00014 University of Helsinki
Email:
Responsible researcher:
Name: Tanja Linnavalli
Faculty of Educational Sciences
Address: P.O. Box 9 (Brobergsterrassen 5A), 00014 University of Helsinki
Telephone: +358 50 448 4190
Email:
4. Contact details of the Data Protection Officer
You can contact the University of Helsinki’s Data Protection Officer at the email address
5. What information is included in the research material
Identification data
name, email address, telephone number, child’s name, child’s date of birth, the child’s voice in video recordings.
Other data to be collected
guardian’s level of education, children’s home language and hobbies (see background questionnaire)
collected measurements (mathematics test, cortisol sample, questionnaire responses, scores from literacy and working‑memory tests)
observations and video recordings of interviews and lessons. Lessons will be video‑recorded from the back of the classroom to observe pupils’ engagement during mathematics lessons. Interviews with children will be recorded to explore their experiences of arts‑based mathematics lessons and mathematics learning.
6. Sources from which personal data are collected
The data to be stored are obtained from the research participant.
7. Sensitive personal data (special categories of personal data)
The study involves processing sensitive personal data, such as information about learning difficulties and linguistic challenges.
8. Legal basis for processing personal data
Personal data are processed on the following grounds under Article 6(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation:
Task carried out in the public interest: scientific or historical research or statistical purposes (Data Protection Act, Section 4.3)
9. Recipients of the data
Personal data are not transferred or disclosed to organisations outside the research group.
10. Transfer of data outside the European Economic Area
The data are not transferred outside the European Economic Area; they are processed only within the EU.
11. Protection of personal data
The personal data included in the research material are processed and stored securely so that only members of the research group have access to the data.
Data processed in information systems are protected with usernames and passwords.
Manual material (e.g., in paper form or other physical form) is protected by storing it in a locked cabinet in a locked room to which only authorized persons have access.
Processing of the guardian’s or your child’s direct identification data: The direct identification data are deleted during the analysis phase and stored separately from the research material being analyzed.
12. Retention period for your personal data
During the research:
The personal data collected during the study are processed in accordance with the GDPR. All material is handled confidentially. The research ID assigned to participants is used to collect other material. Data are stored separately from material containing identification data, in facilities accessible only to researchers working on the project at the University of Helsinki. Paper‑based material containing personal data will be stored in a locked cabinet in a locked room at the University of Helsinki until it is destroyed.
After the research has ended:
The research material will be retained for the assessment of the reliability of the results of this research without direct identification data.
The research material will be stored for later, compatible scientific research in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR, without direct identification data.
After the research has ended, all manual material will be converted into electronic format. All electronic material will be stored in the University of Helsinki’s cloud storage service Umpio or on the university’s servers, protected with usernames and passwords. Identification data will be destroyed when the research project ends. Other data will be retained for 10 years after the end of the study.
The retention of the research material is based on Article 5.1 (b) and (e) of the GDPR.
For new use of the research material, a new data protection notice will be sent to the research participants, unless the controller is no longer able to identify the research participants in the material.
A notice of new research cannot be sent to research participants if it is impossible or unreasonably burdensome to provide the information, or if doing so would significantly hinder or prevent the achievement of the research purposes (GDPR Article 14.5(b)).
13. Automated decision‑making
No automated decisions with significant impact on the participants are made in this study.
14. Your rights and limitations
To exercise the rights listed below, contact the research contact person named in Section 3 of this data protection notice and specify which rights you wish to exercise.
15. Your rights as a data subject
We aim to respect your rights whenever possible. Your rights depend, for example, on the legal basis on which your personal data are processed. We always assess the applicability of the rights on a case‑by‑case basis. The research contact person will help you exercise your rights and explain their applicability.
Your rights under the GDPR include:
In scientific research, it may be necessary to deviate from some rights, for example if exercising your right would jeopardize the entire research project. Often, it may not be possible to erase all data already collected and included in the study afterwards, but this does not affect your child’s right to discontinue participation in the study.
More information about your rights in different situations can be found on the website of the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman:
Right to lodge a complaint
If you as a guardian, or your child, feel that your personal data have been processed incorrectly, you may always contact the controller’s Data Protection Officer, whose contact details can be found in Section 4 of this data protection notice.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman, if you believe that the processing of your personal data has violated applicable data protection legislation.
Contact details of the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman:
Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman
Postal address: P.O. Box 800, 00531 Helsinki, Finland
E-mail: tietosuoja(at)om.fi
Switchboard: +358 (0)29 566 6700
E-post: