Self-control and self-regulated learning refer to those processes and strategies whereby individuals exert agency in facing educational demands. This study tested a structural model which predicts ...that self-control has direct effect on school achievement, as well as mediated by metacognitive self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, and regulatory motivational styles as the variables related to self-regulated learning. The research was carried out on a stratified random sample of 575 eighth grade students. It was shown that the effect of self-control on achievement is mediated by self-efficacy. In other words, students who have heightened selfcontrol and believe in their own ability to meet school demands will be successful in school regardless of the complexity of their learning or whether they are autonomously motivated. The implications of such a finding were considered, as well as the limitations of the research and the indications for future research. Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 179034: From Encouraging Initiative, Cooperation and Creativity in Education to New Roles and Identities in Society and Grant no. 47008: Improving the Quality and Accessibility of Education in Modernization Processes in Serbia
Teacher in-service training is one of the ways to introduce innovative
solutions to teaching, whereby obtaining an insight into teachers?
experiences proves to be vital for understanding this ...process. In our
country, the studies dealing with this problem are fairly rare. Using this as
a starting point, the aim of our study was to obtain an insight into class
teachers? experiences in implementing innovative teaching methods during the
in-service training programmes whose focus was on encouraging the cooperation
and creativity of students during classes. This study is a part of a more
extensive experimental research that was conducted at a primary school in
Belgrade within the Trefoil educational model. The sample included eight
first-grade and second-grade class teachers, whose conversations, which took
place during ten meetings of the teachers? board, were analysed. A
qualitative thematic content analysis was used in data processing. The
results indicate that the previous knowledge and experience of class
teachers, as well as their implicit pedagogical beliefs, are important
factors which determine the successfulness of the implementation of
innovative solutions in teaching. The implementation of innovative methods in
teaching and the exchange of experiences with colleagues and the facilitator
during the in-service training have contributed to the re-examination of
class teachers? implicit pedagogical beliefs and the shift in their work with
respect to motivation, effectiveness, cooperation with colleagues and
implementing a differentiated approach in teaching. Class teachers?
perceptions also point towards the positive changes when it comes to
students? motivation and their more active positioning during classes. The
key implications of the current study refer to the necessity of intensifying
the long-term programmes in our in-service teacher training system that would
create the necessary conditions for a more successful implementation of
innovative solutions in teaching. Finally, it is also pointed out to the
limitations of the current study.
The present forms of school-university/institute partnership are largely
based on the interests of experts in this field. The aim of this study is to
research teachers? and school counsellors? ...perceptions of both the existing
and desired forms of the partnership. Based on the qualitative content
analysis of the materials from the interviews, four dimensions of partnership
were mapped: systematicity, practicality, equality and initiative. The study
has shown that the current partnership is somewhat sporadic and initiated
more by the research needs of experts rather than the practical needs of
teachers. The desired partnership would imply the creation of an organised
and continuous relationship, whereby the experts would take on the role of a
mentor, thus proposing practical solutions and initiating forms of
cooperation. Such expectations lead to controversy, and these issues are
discussed in the study.
Current trends in education demand from teachers to exhibit proactive
behaviour and assume responsibility for the implementation of changes in
school practice. In that sense, it is important to study ...how teachers
perceive their own initiative and to gain insight into the activities where
such initiative is demonstrated. This study has been conceived as a
mixed-methods research. The qualitative study implied forming four focus
groups with subject teachers and class teachers (N=38), while the
quantitative study entailed surveying 1441 teachers in forty primary schools
in Serbia using the questionnaire constructed based on qualitative data. Data
from focus groups were processed by qualitative thematic analysis, while the
questionnaire data were processed by principal component analysis and
univariate analysis of variance. The findings of the study have shown that
teachers mostly demonstrate initiative through co?operative activities that
include planning of joint teaching as well as conducting joint projects
within school and with the local community actors. Teachers are least ready
to demonstrate personal initiative and the initiative aimed at accomplishing
considerable changes in school work. The concluding part includes the
recommendations for encouraging teachers? personal initiative and building
organizational culture that would support such initiative.
The paper presents the results of the research with the basic goal to study the readiness of primary school teachers to accept disabled students. Research participants were 205 teachers from primary ...schools at the territory of Serbia. The goal was accomplished through: (a) studying attitudes towards joint education of disabled students and their peers; (b) studying teachers' experiences in working with disabled students; and (c) studying teachers' readiness to accept disabled students, depending on their involvement/non-involvement in projects of inclusive education. Teachers express supportive attitudes towards joint schooling, but more than one half of them think that a selective approach is necessary in that process, according to the kind and degree of developmental disability. They support joint schooling from the humanistic point of view, but express concerns about the academic achievement of classes that include disabled students. The majority of teachers had experience in working with disabled students and based on that provided interesting suggestions for improving joint schooling. Higher readiness for accepting disabled students was demonstrated by teachers whose schools were involved in the projects of inclusive education. That implies the need for involving schools in similar projects and enabling teachers' immediate contact with students with developmental disabilities.
U radu su predstavljeni rezultati istrazivanja ciji je osnovni cilj bio da se ispita spremnost nastavnika osnovne skola da prihvate ucenike sa teskocama u razvoju. U istrazivanju je ucestvovalo 205 nastavnika iz deset osnovnih skola sa teritorije Srbije. Cilj je realizovan kroz: (a) ispitivanje stavova prema zajednickom skolovanju ucenika sa teskocama u razvoju i njihovih vrsnjaka; (b) ispitivanje iskustava nastavnika u radu sa ucenicima koji imaju teskoce u razvoju; i (v) ispitivanje spremnosti nastavnika da prihvate ucenike sa teskocama u razvoju, u zavisnosti od ukljucenosti/neukljucenosti u projekte inkluzivnog obrazovanja. Nastavnici ispoljavaju podrzavajuce stavove prema zajednickom skolovanju, s tim sto vise od polovine njih smatra da je u tom procesu neophodan selektivni pristup prema vrsti i stepenu razvojne teskoce. Oni podrzavaju zajednicko skolovanje sa humanistickog stanovista, ali su zabrinuti za akademski uspeh odeljenja u koja su ukljuceni ucenici sa teskocama u razvoju. Vecina nastavnika je imala iskustva u radu sa ucenicima sa teskocama u razvoju i na osnovu toga su dali zanimljive predloge za unapredjivanje zajednickog skolovanja. Vecu spremnost da prihvate ucenike sa teskocama u razvoju pokazali su nastavnici cije su skole ukljucene u projekte inkluzivnog obrazovanja. To implicira potrebu za ukljucivanjem skola u slicne projekte i omogucavanje neposrednog kontakta nastavnika sa ucenicima koji imaju teskoce u razvoju.
Starting from psychological needs that are considered basic within self-determination theory (autonomy, competence and relatedness), the importance of encouraging students' autonomy in school context ...is particularly emphasised. Appreciation of students' autonomy has a stimulating effect on school achievement, conceptual understanding, creativity development, strengthening of self-esteem, and students adapt better to school system and demonstrate a larger degree of internalisation of school rules and intrinsic motivation. Teachers' behavioural style largely determines the degree of students' autonomy in school life and work. Self-determination theory implies the necessity of agreement between the developmental need for autonomy in children and the level of adult control and distinguishes between two styles of interpersonal behavior of teachers: (a) those who offer support to students' autonomy by their behavior and (b) those that are predominantly inclined to control students' behavior. This paper also points out to different strategies that can be applied by teachers in working with students in school, which also contribute to the development of students' autonomy. What is especially encouraging is the fact that it is possible to learn and to develop 'appreciation of students' autonomy' as teacher's interpersonal style.
Polazeci od psiholoskih potreba koje se u okviru teorije samodeterminacije shvataju kao osnovne (autonomija, kompetentnost i bliska povezanost sa drugim osobama), posebno se istice znacaj podsticanja ucenicke autonomije u skolskom kontekstu. Uvazavanje ucenicke autonomije podsticajno deluje na skolsko postignuce, pojmovno razumevanje, razvijanje kreativnosti, jacanje samopouzdanja, ucenici se bolje prilagodjavaju skolskom sistemu, pokazuju veci stepen internalizacije skolskih pravila i intrinzicne motivacije. Stil ponasanja nastavnika u mnogome odredjuje stepen autonomije ucenika u skolskom zivotu i radu. Teorija samodeterminacije implicira neophodnost saglasja izmedju razvojne potrebe za autonomijom kod dece i nivoa kontrole odraslih i razlikuje dva stila interpersonalnog ponasanja nastavnika: (a) oni koji svojim ponasanjem pruzaju podrsku autonomiji ucenika i (b) oni koji su pretezno skloni kontroli ucenickog ponasanja. Ovaj clanak ukazuje i na razlicite strategije koje nastavnici mogu da primene u radu sa ucenicima u skoli, a koje doprinose razvijanju ucenicke autonomije. Posebno ohrabruje cinjenica da je 'uvazavanje ucenicke autonomije' kao interpersonalni stil nastavnika moguce uciti i razvijati.
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