Autonomy Support or Direct Control?

High School Students’ Experience of Their Teacher’s Behavior

Author(s): Bettina Pikó,Tamás Pinczés / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2015

The main goal of the present study was to detect teacher behaviour (as perceived by students) in a sample of Hungarian high school students and to test its possible relationship with certain socio demographic (gender) and school variables (faculty, school year, school achievement) as well as with psychological variables (self-efficacy, aggressive behaviours, and boredom). Using a sample of 385 high school students in Debrecen, a major metropolitan centre in the eastern region of Hungary (ages 15 to 20, 39.2% female), findings supported the claim that students bene fit the most when teachers support their autonomy. Teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviour was associated with decreased levels of verbal and psychic aggression, and an increased level of self-efficacy. In addition, teachers’ directly controlling behaviour was a predictor of self-efficacy, whereas the supportive but ‘laissez-faire’ behaviour was associated with a higher level of boredom. These findings underline the importance of teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviour but also emphasise that the role of teacher behaviour may be dependent on the specific context of the cultural and social environment.

Paradoksy współczesnej kultury widziane okiem pedagoga

Author(s): Magdalena Parzyszek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 34/2014

W całej historii ludzkości kultura nie osiągnęła jeszcze tak wysokiej integracji, by mogła uwolnić się od sprzecznych tendencji. Nie było także w dziejach kultury, która obfitowałaby w większe sprzeczności niż współczesna kultura rozprzestrzeniająca się na cały świat. Następujące po sobie przemiany na przestrzeni wieku ujawniły, obok spektakularnych zwycięstw, cały szereg klęsk, a przede wszystkim to, że człowiek wewnętrznie nie dorósł do świata, w którym żyje i który zmienia. Przywrócenie stale chwiejącej się równowagi rozwojowej może nastąpić tylko przez spotęgowanie czynników integracyjnych, moralnych, przez odkrycie wielkich celów i podporządkowanie im całości życia kultury.

Reconceptualizing (new) media literacy

Author(s): Petra Aczel / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

This paper aims to introduce a theoretical-critical approach which shall revisit elements and cast light upon subsets of (new) media literacy. It endeavours to draw community, spatial, procedural and aural literacy (auralacy) into consideration, relating them to the complex of media literacy, striving to provide invigorating insights into its conceptual foundations and integrated perspectives for its pedagogy.

Il bisogno dei valori e ricerca del senso della vita dei giovani di oggi. Punti Chiavi della Logoterapia di Viktor E. Frankl applicati nel campo formativo

Author(s): Michał Styczyński / Language(s): English,Italian Issue: 1/2015

During their existence, people often forget about the meaning of life. With the world spinning faster and faster, the disappearing ability to reflect on complex day-to-day life, the virtual reality and ‘the net’ jungle, people are forgetting how to discover values that lead to the higher goal. There is special concern for the young generation which often loses the meaning of life. The answer to the question – how to find the meaning of life – gives the theory of logotherapy and existential analysis, which was created by Victor E. Frankl. The story of his life, and the difficult experiences which led him to discover the meaning of life persuade the reader about the truthfulness of his scientific discoveries. Logotherapy is a way to find goals and meaning in life: it makes people think about their existence. Frankl shows a certain hierarchy of values, which appear during specific and often difficult life situations. He survived four concentration camps and during those extreme times he was able to find meaning in life. What is more, he helped others find their meaning. A teacher appears on a young man’s life path and this teacher, according to logotherapy, should become the logo-educator and witness to the values. He should be someone, who points to meaning and is able to manifest the meaning of his own existence. Through a mature relationship with the student, the teacher helps the student discover what is the most important. The teacher helps the student realise one’s own plans through to the will, meaning and human conscience – spaces through which the sens consciousness shines through.

CASE REPORT: THE USE OF WISC-IV IN ASSESSING INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING

Author(s): Anthony K. Nkyi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed description of clinical assessment of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) that can be used by clinicians to assess the level of intelligence of children and adolescents. The WISC-IV is a standardized intelligence test provides essential information and critical clinical insights into a child’s cognitive functioning. Literature review and analysis of how to interpret the WISC-IV are described. A psychological report of a 15 year African girl with the use of WISC-IV is reported and clinical impression is given. Information from several sources including interviews with parents, test scores and behavioral observations were used to develop a hypothesis about the child’s skills. Her Full Scale IQ of 125 is classified in the superior or higher range of intelligence. Recommendations about how to address problem areas are discussed.

EXPLORATION AND PRACTICE OF SCHOOL-ENTERPRISE COOPERATION IN PRACTICAL EDUCATION BASED ON “OUTSTANDING PROJECT”

Author(s): Li Hong-Mei,Han Dan,Feng Zi-Ming,Li Qiang / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

There will be difficulties in moving forward the project for educating and cultivating outstanding engineers, therefore, based on the outstanding project, it’s crucial to come up with an efficient method to deal with the issues in the practice of school-enterprise cooperation engineering. This thesis is going to deliver the discussions in the following aspects: a. The forms and contents of how to build the school-enterprise cooperation practice; How do we conduct engineering practice; c. How do we make sure enough teachers and working places for engineering practice are provided; d. How do we guarantee the quality of engineering practice and build its related valuation system.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF GIFTED CHILDREN

Author(s): Gordana Stankovska,Svetlana Pandiloska Grncharovska,Aleksandra Taneska,Sara Miftari Sadiku / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

Giftedness is a multidimensional phenomenon that despite numerous studies and different approaches remains under explored. It is known that there are different views about gifted children in psychological theory and practice. Giftedness represents general intellectual ability, general creative ability, productive and creative ability, the sum of specific skills, the ability of thinking, specific area of intelligence and creativity.Gifted child is a child who has above average skills and specific characteristics, which play an important role in the growth, development and education of these children. Researchers confirm the importance of early socialization, family and the primary teachers in the continually development of the gifted child on intellectual, social, emotional and somatic plan.It is known that gifted child has specific characteristics and properties, such as originality, individuality, emotional stability, a high degree of intellectual capacity, independence, verbal fluency and perfectionism.Development and manifestation of creativity in gifted children depends of their cognitive component, personality traits, motivation. Gifted child early showed a specific interest in a particular area.This kind of child has a positive self-image, high self-esteem, self-confidence, high goals, a sense of self-worth, greater independence, which manifests across the non-conformism and initiative.Every child deserves the special attention of parents, school and society, especially a gifted child, which is a child with special needs about their average ability and special educational needs.

Il metodo Freedom Writers: Aiutare gli adolescenti a scrivere di sè e celebrare il cambiamento

Author(s): Giuseppe Cursio / Language(s): Italian Issue: 1/2017

This article presents the experience of a teacher – Erin Gruwell – an English literature teacher at a school in Long Beach, Los Angeles (California). The teacher, proposing in school writing a personal diary at school, created significant conditions for change for the students. The educational experiences offered by Erin Gruwell spurred the motivation to write diaries. Doing this has opened up a reflective space on their hard life: the students have begun to think about a future of hope. Of particular significance was the experience of „Toast for Change”, which marked a new beginning in the lives of these students.

Vanintelektualni činioci ostvarenja darovitosti

Author(s): Milena M. Letić Lungulov / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 25/2016

Starting from the contemporary conceptions of giftedness, which emphasize the importance of personal and environmental characteristics for updating the high abilities, the authors of the paper provide an overview of the research dealing with the influence of personality traits and environment circumstances to the achievement of giftedness by using the method of theoretical analysis. There has been made an attempt to complement the knowledge on extraintellectual sphere of the gifted, hoping to get a more comprehensive picture of factors for the achievement of the gifted than the one that is currently available. The overall findings of all the aforementioned researches are contained in the statement that a destiny of the exceptional potentials largely depends on the extraintellectual factors. Above-average skills are certainly an important element of giftedness, since they allow better performing of certain activities. However, by themselves they are not enough to convey the giftedness in exceptional achievements. Although persons gifted in different domains have many common characteristics, their personality profiles, and environmental opportunities show certain specificities, what leads to the conclusion that the phenomenon of giftedness can be accurately viewed only if it is located in the framework of individual domains. Therefore, the authors conclude that in addition to the multi-dimensionality, as the crucial modern characteristic of the construct of giftedness, the reference framework of the research of this problem must be defined in terms of the specific domain of manifesting excellence.

Analiza stavova pedagoga prema spoljašnjem vrednovanju

Author(s): Tatjana Z. Mihajlov,Milica Andevski / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 25/2016

The aim of the research was to examine how expert associates (pedagogues) estimated the contribution of the external evaluation, and whether they realized its importance for the improvement of work, and both personal and professional development. Data collection was conducted by the interviewing technique, and the questionnaire and evaluation scales were used as an instrument. The sample consisted of eight expert associates from eight schools which have undergone external evaluation. The results indicated that the expert associates evaluated as important a contribution to the external evaluation of the school work. In addition, the results emphasized the differences in these perceptions, creating a possibility for continuation of the sample research of such teachers’ attitudes.

VISUAL PERCEPTION SPECIFICS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD AS A DETERMINANT FOR EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLINETIMES

Author(s): Tatiana Yuryevna Bystrova,Ludmila Tokarskaya,Darko B. Vukovic / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2017

The idea of inclusive education raises the question of security of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is the imperative of the time to create teaching materials that promote the effective implementation of educational curriculum. However, we have to stress the fact that most of the evaluable nowadays teaching materials have been created spontaneously, without any reliable criteria. Our primary hypothesis is that children with ASD have specific features of visual perception that do not depend on the state of their intelligence, which is confirmed by empirical data obtained by the authors. Our secondary hypothesis, specified in the process of research, stipulates that children with ASD will differently perceive different graphic images executed in different styles. These findings are further confirmed by empirical data collected by the authors in the study of perception and understanding of different graphic images by children with ASD and mental retardation. On the basis of theoretical and empirical data we specified the criteria for graphic design products which play a pivotal role in the formation of school educational environment. In this respect we focus on the criteria for design materials (including design criteria provisions, formulated by Norman, which he addressed to practicing designers).

Psychological wellbeing and self-esteem in students across the transition between secondary school and university: A longitudinal study

Author(s): Romualdas Malinauskas / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2017

This longitudinal study investigated the psychological wellbeing and self-esteem of students during the transition between secondary school and university. The sample comprised 197 students (82 male; 115 female). The mean age of the students at the start of the study was 18.54 years (SD = 0.78). Students completed measures of psychological wellbeing (Ryff Psychological Wellbeing Scale) and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale) during their final year of secondary school and again at the start of their university studies. Repeated measures (RM) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to investigate how transition status and gender affected aspects of psychological wellbeing and self-esteem. Multivariate analysis showed main effect of the transition from school to university on psychological wellbeing and self-esteem. Univariate analysis indicated that psychological wellbeing was higher at the start of university studies than during the final year of secondary school, but failed to confirm the effect of the transition on self-esteem. Gender by transition status interactions for two psychological wellbeing dimensions (autonomy and purpose in life) were found.

Empatija u odgoju

Author(s): Munir Kahrimanović / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 13/2016

Eğitim Kurumlarındaki Psikolojik Güvence Algısının Farklı Değişkenlere Göre İncelenmesi (Aksaray İli Örneği)

Author(s): Necati Cemaloğlu,Ömer Yaşar / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 1/2018

The purpose of this study is to analyse psychological safety perceptions of the training staff in terms of gender, age, seniority, level of education, school type and working time in the institution. The study is examined by utilizing descriptive designs. The study group of the study consists of 250 teachers working in Aksaray city center. The Psychological Safety Perception Scale, prepared by the researchers by scanning the literature, was applied to participants. The data obtained from the scale is analyzed by SPSS 22. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H are used. As a result, the overall mean of the participants’ psycological safety perceptions level is found as “a little” level. At the end of the research it is found that the level of psychological safety perceptions of the training staff don’t changes according to as gender, age, seniority, level of education, school type and working time in the institution.

JOŠ JEDAN PSIHOMETRIJSKI DOKAZ O KORISNOSTI SKRAĆENE SKALE MATEMATIČKE ANKSIOZNOSTI: IRT ANALIZA

Author(s): Selka Sadiković,Ilija Milovanović,Milan Oljača / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

The aim of this research is the psychometric evaluation of the Abbreviation Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) on a sample of high school students. AMAS operationalizes math anxiety as a two-dimensional construct, basing its main components on the context model: math learning anxiety (MAL) and math evaluation anxiety (MAE). MAL represents the tendency of manifesting mathematical anxiety during the process of learning mathematics, while MAE represents math anxiety present in all situations that imply formal evaluation of math knowledge. The sample consisted of 514 high school students (45.3% male), aged 15 to 19. Confirmatory factor analysis pointed that AMAS is a one–dimensional scale with two facets, with the bifactorial solution showing the best fit parameters. Psychometric attributes of AMAS were tested by using Item Response Theory. Items and the questionnaire showed appropriate psychometric properties. The AMAS scale has expected patterns of relatedness with mathematical achievement, motivation for learning math, age and gender.

The Relationship between Personal and Professional Characteristics of Teachers

Author(s): Gordana Đigić / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2018

Numerous research projects show that teachers’ professional behavior is one of the key factors in the effectiveness of teaching and students’ educational achievements. Also, modern trends in education put more and more complex demands on teachers. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to the success of teachers’ work with students. In the study presented in this paper, conducted on a sample of 148 teachers from elementary and secondary schools in Serbia, the relationship between teachers’ personal and professional characteristics was examined, i.e. the possibility of predicting teachers’ classroom management styles and self-efficacy by the measures of personality dimensions from the Big Five model, empathy and locus of control was investigated. As important predictors of teachers’ classroom management styles, some personality dimensions were highlighted (Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness as important predictors of the Interactionist style, with the greatest particular contribution of the Openness dimension), as well as the locus of control (the external locus of control predicting a more pronounced Intervening and Non-intervening style). Lower Empathic Concern has a significant particular contribution to the prediction of the Noninterventionist style as well. Important predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy are mostly some personality traits (the most often higher Extraversion and lower Neuroticism) and empathy dimensions (mostly Perspective Taking and Personal distress). It could be concluded that all investigated teachers’ personal characteristics provide a significant contribution to their important professional features. The obtained results could be useful in creating ways to support teachers’ professional development.

Motivation for the Teaching Profession: Assessing Psychometric Properties and Factorial Validity of the Orientation for Teaching Survey on in-Service Teachers

Author(s): Nataša Simić,Danka Purić,Milan Stančić / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

Previous studies that used the Orientation for Teaching Survey (OTS), assessing motivation for the teaching profession, yielded inconsistent results regarding the OTS’s factorial structure. Since these studies focused on pre-service teachers with limited teaching experience, our main goal was to assess the psychometric properties and factorial validity of the OTS on in-service teachers. An additional goal was to compare the motivation of male and female teachers, and teachers working in primary and secondary schools. The OTS was administered to 384 teachers in Serbia. After confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the six-factor model proposed by the authors of the OTS did not fit the data well, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and a two-factor solution was accepted (Extrinsic-Intrinsic model). Women and primary school teachers scored higher on Intrinsic motivation. Results point to the need for further exploration of differences in the motivation of pre- and in-service teachers and changes in teacher motivation over time.

MAKING SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS EXPLICIT THROUGH EXPLANATIONS: SIMULATIONS OF A HIGH-LEVERAGE PRACTICE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Author(s): Valeria Magaly Cabello,Keith J. Topping / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

There is a current research interest into high-leverage teaching practices which are geared towards making concepts explicit to learners. Explanations are a common practice in science education for sharing and constructing meaning with students. However, current studies insufficiently articulate a framework for understanding pre-service teachers’ explanations; neither do they assess the practical criteria for development. This article documents various criteria for pre-service science teachers’ explanations as related to the cognitive science literature and their assessment in the context of an instrument designed for teacher education. A rubric was constructed which organized structural and supportive elements into three levels. A validation process is described, and its application in teacher education programs to detect possible patterns and changes in pre-service science teachers’ explanations. The results show the explanation strengths of pre-service teachers working with examples, graphs and images. However, difficulties were found in using and improving analogies, metaphors, and models, and also approaching mis-conceptions as a learning opportunity. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed from a cognitive perspective. We conclude that the signaling implications of using rubrics sensitive to progress-monitoring during teacher education for high-leverage teaching practices give opportunities to simulate and rehearse practices that are highly conducive to learning.

Ioana Dârjan’s School-level approaches for students in risk (2018, Timisoara: West University Publishing)

Author(s): Anca Luștrea / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

Personality Characteristics of Preschool Education Students with Different Levels of Emotional Intelligence

Author(s): Tetiana Koltunovych,Oleksandr Polishchuk / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

The aims of this paper were to explore the influence of personality characteristics on students’ emotional intelligence. The study involved 87 preschool education students of 3-5 years of study (aged from 19 to 22 years) of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. The sample is homogeneous. The “Emotional Intelligence” test (EmIn) (D. Lioussine), “The Big Five Personality Test” (5PFQ), “Test of empathic abilities level” by V. Boyko were employed. Methods of descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation analysis, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and structural analysis (by A. Karpov) were used. Mathematical data processing and graphical presentation of the results were carried out using the computer software package of statistical software SPSS 17.0. The results of this study confirm the suggested assumptions about the existence of reliable statistically significant relationships between the emotional intelligence, its components and students’ personal characteristics, and dependence of the emotional intelligence level from the peculiarities of the personality characteristics structural organization (p≤0.01). The elucidation of these regularities can be used to improve the psychological techniques of the development and correction of emotional intelligence among preschool education students.