Although information and communication technology (ICT) has a radical impact on people's everyday lives, bringing new social experiences and new ways for people to interact, there is still a large ...difference in social behaviour in this area between people in different age groups. Online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. are becoming increasingly important social media, but people aged 50 years and over use these resources at lower rates than those in younger age groups. In this paper we aim to investigate the factors affecting the use of online social networks by active older Internet users in Slovenia. Additionally, we address how often, and to what extent, active older Internet users are engaged in using ICT. A research study is presented that was conducted among active older Internet users, on the basis of a non-standardised research questionnaire. Collected data were analysed with basic descriptive, univariate and multivariate statistical methods, followed by induction of a decision tree using the WEKA (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis) 3.7 programming environment. Research findings revealed that female participants are more familiar with the term 'online social network' and are also more frequent users, compared to male participants. Additionally, the results showed that age, gender and education seem to be the most important factors having a direct or indirect impact on the use of online social networks by active older Internet users.
•We analyse attitudes of active older Internet users toward online social networking and factors affecting their use.•Findings give insight in actual knowledge of active older Internet users about the online social networks.•Age, gender and education are the most important factors affecting the use of online social networks.•Use of online social networks is positively correlated to Skype use.•Active older Internet users use online social networks to maintain social relationships and to prevent loneliness.
School counsellors are permanently in action, the success of which depends on their systemic approach to their action. Due to the difficulty, complexity and scope of their work, school counsellors ...are often under a lot of stress, which may eventually develop into occupational burnout. Thus, it is very important that school counsellors can use appropriate i.e. systemic, i.e. requisitely holistic ways of coping with stress and occupational burnout. Recently, after many years, supervision has been gaining importance as an action in the form of professional help to school counsellors to enable them to cope effectively with stress and to prevent occupational burnout. The primary purpose of the reported-about study is to determine how supervision, in accordance with the relational family model, affects the perception of stress and occupational burnout. The sample included 30 school counsellors in Slovenia. They were divided into an experimental group (with the presence of supervision) and a control group (without supervision). Results show a positive effect of supervision, in accordance with the relational family model, on the school counsellors’ perception of stress, since stress decreased after supervisory meetings, while the school counsellors’ perception of their professional burnout after supervisory meetings did not change significantly.
The study done in Slovenia examined grammar and elementary teachers’ perceptions of cooperative learning. The sample consisted of 542 Slovene elementary and grammar school teachers, who teach ...Slovene. The main question of the research was how teachers assess the value of group learning in comparison to individual forms of learning. From their perceptions, we can draw conclusions about their development, the introduction of group work within lessons and about the encouragement of pupils towards collaborative learning. The main finding of the research is that elementary school teachers place greater importance on group learning than grammar school teachers. In addition, when teachers are grouped according to their years of experience (seniority), there are differences in their assessment of group learning. However, it is not possible to get a linear pattern from the results (e.g. showing that years of experience do or do not contribute to the perception of the importance of group learning), a finding which supports the critical opinion that teachers’ experience depends not only on the quantity (years of experience), but also on the quality of experience.
In the first part of the paper, the author finds that in the present the question of collaboration between members of the majority and the members of cultural, religious, social and other minorities ...is one of the most essential civilisational questions. Consequently, intercultural pedagogy and intercultural education play an important role here. Due to such multicultural conditions, school counseling, too, has developed some special features. Furtheron in the paper, the author defines and presents the characteristic features of intercultural counseling set up for pupils who are members of cultural minorities and immigrants, as well as for people who live and work with them. The final part of the paper defines the intercultural competence of a school counselor. The latter should be able to detect cultural aspects relating to the counselee, to recognise their role in the causing of the problem of the person seeking counsel and its solution. He/she should be able to incorporate them in the counseling situation and process.
The purpose of the paper is to present the reasons students at the Faculty of Education in Maribor, Slovenija, chose pedagogy for their study direction, and therefore becoming a teacher. A total 237 ...second-year students of the academic year 2003/04 were included in the research. Of the five groups of reasons for choosing this program (altruistic, material, self-realization and alternative, and reasons arising from aspiration stereotype), students most often asserted self-realization, including: teaching provides a useful public function for the whole society; as a teacher, I can be an example to children and young people; this profession will give me a chance for professional development during my whole career; and teaching will enable me to use all my abilities (and talents-for example, music, verbal, dancing, etc.) Important differences were found to exist between students of different disciplines.
In the first part of the paper, different models of teacher education are presented and analysed: the pre-technocratic model or the model of training master craftsmen; the technocratic model or the ...model of applied science; and the post-technocratic model or the reflexive model. In the second part of the paper, the results of the empirical research are presented. The aim of the empirical research was to determine the influence of undergraduate teacher education on teachers' perceptions of learning and teaching and, consequently, on teachers' actions. In Slovenia, teachers' education was carried out following two main models: the pre-technocratic model or model of training master craftsmen, which was typical for the Academy of Education, and the technocratic model or the so-called model of applied science, which is used at the education faculties nowadays. Because of this dualism in teachers' education models, there exist differences between teachers and their perception and actions as well.
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