Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align:justify">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align: justify;">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

Desfechos Adversos Perinatais Associados A Escolaridade Materna

Objective: To compare different levels of education with adverse perinatal outcomes in low-risk patients. Methodology: Cross-sectional study, puerperae were randomly selected, usual risk, attended in the public network, with single gestation. The evaluated puerperae were divided into 3 groups, according to education: primary or less, secondary and higher or more. The outcomes evaluated were cesarean section, neonatal ICU, low 1st minute Apgar, prematurity, and low birth weight. The calculation of the odds ratio had a 95% confidence interval. Results: the population was divided into 3 groups, 187 (52.9%) puerperal women with primary education or less, 437 (60.5%) patients with secondary education and 98 (13.6%) patients with higher education or more. Maternal characteristics differed in terms of age, previous pregnancies, normal deliveries, previous cesarean sections, age of 1st pregnancy, number of prenatal visits, income, number of people living in the household, and tobacco use. In the newborn profile, there was a difference only regarding cesarean sections. After calculating the odds ratio, it was seen that patients with primary education or less had a lower propensity to perform a cesarean section (0.511 95%CI 0.290-0.900), as well as patients with secondary education (0.530 95%CI 0.322-0.873), both compared to the population with higher education or more. In the other outcomes, no significance was observed. Conclusion: Primary and secondary education proved to be protective factors for cesarean section. No difference was found regarding prematurity, low birth weight, need for neonatal ICU and low 1st minute Apgar score.

A dohányzás és az e-cigaretta-használat epidemiológiája a felnőtt magyar népesség körében 2018-ban

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Nagyszámú kutatás igazolta, hogy a dohányzás növeli a legjelentősebb krónikus betegségek kockázatát. Habár 2009 óta csökkenő tendenciát mutat Magyarországon a hagyományos dohányzók aránya, az e-cigarettát kipróbálóké az utóbbi években folyamatosan növekszik. Célkitűzés: A 2018-ban a felnőtt lakosság körében végzett Népegészségügyi Felmérés dohányzásra és e-cigaretta-használatra vonatkozó eredményeinek bemutatása az előző vizsgálatok tükrében. Módszer: A kérdőíves felmérésben 1586 fő került személyesen lekérdezésre. Az iteratív súlyozás a többlépcsős mintavételi designhatást és a 2016-os mikrocenzus adatait vette figyelembe. Eredmények: 2018-ban a dohányzók aránya a magyar felnőtt lakosság körében 28,7% (95% MT: 26,3–31,1%), az e-cigarettát használók aránya pedig 1,7% (95% MT: 1,1–2,5%) volt. Az iskolai végzettség a 65 év alattiak esetében a dohányzást befolyásoló tényező volt (EH: 3,32; 95% MT: 2,53–4,34), de a 65 éves és annál idősebb korcsoportban már nem (EH: 1,11; 95% MT: 0,59–2,09). Az e-cigarettát kipróbálók és használók között a leginkább említett (54,3% 95% MT: 44,0–64,5%) motivációs tényezőcsoport a dohányzásról való leszokással, az ártalomcsökkentéssel és a visszaesés megelőzésével volt kapcsolatos. A 65 éves és idősebb korcsoportban a dohányzók aránya 2015-höz képest emelkedett. 2018-ban az alapfokú iskolai végzettségűek körében volt a legmagasabb a dohányzók aránya, míg 2014-ben az érettségivel nem rendelkező középfokú végzettségűek körében. Következtetés: Bár összességében csökkent, az alacsony iskolai végzettségűek és az idősek körében emelkedett a dohányzók aránya Magyarországon. Az e-cigarettát kipróbálók és használók száma növekvő tendenciát mutat hazánkban. Eredményeink az alacsony iskolai végzettségűekre kiemelten fókuszáló, megelőző és leszokást támogató népegészségügyi alprogramokat is tartalmazó komplex beavatkozást sürgetnek. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(1): 31–38. Summary. Introduction: The body of evidence suggests that smoking increases the risk of the most prevalent chronic diseases. Although the proportion of traditional smokers in Hungary has been on a declining trend since 2009, the proportion of those who tried e-cigarette has been steadily increasing in recent years. Objective: To present – in the light of previous studies – the results of the Public Health Survey among adults in 2018 on smoking and e-cigarette use. Method: 1586 persons were personally interviewed in a survey. The iterative weighting algorithm considered both the design effect of multistaged sampling and the 2016 Hungarian microcensus. Results: In 2018, the proportion of smokers in the Hungarian adult population was 28.7% (95% CI 26.3–31.1%), and the proportion of e-cigarette users was 1.7% (95% CI 1.1–2.5%). Educational level was a predictor of smoking among respondents younger than 65 years old (OR 3.32; 95% CI 2.53–4.34), but not for those aged 65 years or older (OR 1.11; 95% CI 0.59–2.09). Among e-cigarette ever or current users, the most commonly mentioned (54.3% 95% CI 44.0–64.5%) motivational factor-group to try or use e-cigarettes included motivations to quit smoking, to reduce harm, and to avoid relapsing. In the population aged 65 years old or older, the proportion of smokers increased compared to 2015. The proportion of smokers was the highest among those with primary education in 2018, while in 2014, it was the highest among those with secondary education without a graduation certificate. Conclusion: In Hungary, although overall smoking rates are declining, the smoking rate in the low educational group and among the elderly increased. The number of people trying or using e-cigarettes is showing an increasing trend in our country. Our results call for a complex public health intervention program including prevention and smoking cessation supporting subprograms with high focus on those with primary education. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(1): 31–38.

PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE REMOTE TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES (RTLA) DURING LOCKDOWN PERIOD IN SRI LANKA

Remote Teaching and Learning Activities (RTLA) have emerged in the aftermath of the sudden closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic around the world. Multimode RTLA is slightly suited to the students of secondary and tertiary education. Nevertheless, it is questionable to use with primary school children whose learning is designed mostly child-centred. In addition, it is vital to investigate teachers' readiness and training and access to facilities for conducting remote learning activities. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate Primary school teachers' perception towards RTLA during the lockdown period in Sri Lanka. This study was employed a survey research design, and data were collected using a google form-based questionnaire. The questionnaire contained 40 items to collect teachers' demographic information, facilities and training available to them, attitudes towards RTLA, teaching methods and techniques they used, and participation of parents and students in RTLA. Sixty-two primary teachers were selected using the snowball sampling technique from two districts, namely Gampaha and Kandy. Collected data were analyzed using mean and standard deviations and percentages. The analysis of results shows that most of the respondents (92.9%) used mobile broadband services to access the internet and 69.5% of the respondents used pre-paid services to access the internet. Furthermore, most respondents (69.4%) claimed they could afford it. Data analysis in terms of devices and apps for RTLA showed that most respondents (72.6%) relied on their smartphones for conducting RTLA. Likewise, many of them (64.5%) had been used WhatsApp and Zoom (64.5%) to reach their students who were at home. However, it is revealed that 98% of the respondents mentioned that they did not receive any facilities and training from authorities to conduct RTLA. Teachers' attitudes toward RTLA (M=3.52, SD=1.21), parental participation (M=3.2, SD=1.14), and student participation (M=3.89, SD=1.13) had lower mean values. Moreover, most of the respondents claimed that the RTLA is not suited to the students in Primary education. Many primary teachers stated that they faced challenges regarding access to the internet and devices, getting parental support for the RTLA. Therefore, researchers recommended that the National and Local authorities provide clear guidelines, training, and necessary facilities and resources to conduct a meaningful RTLA to the primary education teachers.