An exploratory study on Turkish EFL pre-service teachers’ subjective wellbeing

Subjective well-being (SWB) has been an intensely studied domain of psychology, predominantly in the field of positive psychology. Due to the nature of teaching as an intellectually, physically and emotionally demanding profession, the last few decades have also witnessed a growing interest in teachers? SWB. The pres?ent study investigated pre-service teachers? (PTs) SWB and explored its relationship to teaching efficacy beliefs and occupational anxiety. A total of 261 PTs enrolled in English Language Teaching departments of five different universities in Turkey participated in the study. Data came from the scales of SWB, teachers? self-efficacy beliefs and occupational anxiety. The findings indicated that PTs had a high level of perceived SWB; female PTs had a significantly higher level of SWB than male ones; PTs? academic year and the type of university they were enrolled in had no signif?icant relationship with their SWB; and both self-efficacy beliefs and occupational anxiety served as significant predictors of PTs? SWB, together explaining 16.2% of the variance in their scores.

Barriers to implementation of distance learning during the COVID-19 outbreak: Teacher perspective

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, distance learning has become one of the main educational issues globally. With the transition of all instruction to the online environment, teachers in Serbia have faced a number of challenges and barriers that have affected the quality of their work. In this paper, we wanted to analyse the barriers that teachers faced during the first months of distance learning. The research was conducted combining quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected on a sample of 122 high school teachers from the Southeast Serbia (Nis, Leskovac). The results show that teachers recognise evaluation barriers as the predominant ones, followed by organisational-administrative ones, while the least represented were material-technical barriers to distance learning. The findings also confirm that material and technical barriers are most common among teachers with the longest work experience, as well as that organisational-administrative and socio-emotional barriers are the least common among teachers of vocational subjects. Although the focus of the paper was on the barriers in the implementation of distance learning, it can be concluded that teachers recognise certain benefits of this type of instruction and indicate that it can be used as a supplement to regular instruction. The main pedagogical implications of the paper refer to the empowerment of teachers through professional development in the field of distance learning, but also to the need to create new professional development programmes in this field which will enable the development of functional knowledge and relevant competencies for the immediate situational context of modern instruction.

Propensity for unjustified analogical transfer

One of the biggest problems related to the application of analogies in teaching and learning relates to the possibility of misunderstanding the content of learn?ing, which in such cases is caused by unjustified analogical transfer. The paper presents the results of research on unjustified analogical transfer in the application of analogies in situations that are typical for learning in an academic context. The aim of the research was to examine the extent to which the tendency towards unjustified analogical transfer was expressed in the learning with the application of analogy. A quasi-experimental research with elements of a field experiment was realised on a sample of 140 students. Respondents read two texts. In one, a fictional animal was compared to a known animal, and in the other, a fictional game was compared to a known game. The experimental factor was an explicit indication of the differences between the compared objects. Knowledge tests measured how much the respondents remembered about the characteristics by which the compared objects were similar, i.e. not similar. By analysing the responses from the tests, we registered the presence of unjustified analogue transfer. The results show that the propensity for unjustified analogical transfer is present to a significant extent. This tendency can be reduced if, in addition to the similarities on which the analogy is based, there are also differences between the objects that are compared in the analogy, but even then it will not be completely eliminated. The basic pedagogical implications that follow from the obtained results are the need to strengthen the awareness of teachers and textbook authors about the potential danger of unjustified analogical transfer and the recommendation to point out to students the differences between the base and target domain. This significantly reduces this danger.

The experience of teachers in realisation of project-based learning based on interdisciplinary approach

Preparation and realisation of project-based learning with interdisciplinary approach in educational practice is a complex and challenging process which de?mands flexibility, openness, and persistence. The motivation of teachers to try, by means of reflection and experimentation, to innovate their educational practice pre?sents the base for this qualitative study. The goal of our research was to understand the experience of the teachers in preparation and realisation of project-based learning based on interdisciplinary approach, with the support of facilitators. The research was carried out by using the process of facilitation during school year 2018/2019 in a primary school in the centre of Belgrade. The participants were three teachers (of Serbian language and literature, Russian language, and music culture), as well as associates of the Institute for Educational Research with roles of facilitators and researchers. We used the group interview technique and semi-structured guide for the facilitation of group meetings. The interviews were audio-recorded, and their data were transcribed. We identified three themes in the narratives of the teachers: (1) beliefs of the teachers about project-based learning; (2) motivation and emotions of the teachers and students engaged in project-based learning; (3) challenges during preparation and implementation of project-based learning. It was concluded that the beliefs of the teachers about project-based learning had been changing over time with the support of facilitators, that their experience had been marked by motivational and emotional oscillations and that there had been numerous and various challenges during preparation and realisation of the learning. Project-based learning demands professional, motivational, emotional, and organisational support of various partici?pants in autonomy-supportive climate at school.

Contemporary culture of parenting: Pedagogical implications

The possibility of improving parenting practice in raising children became a very popular topic in the scientific literature during the last few decades. The focus is on raising children at an early age and the problem is thematised primarily from the psy discourse point of view. Within this framework, a modern parenting culture is established, which reduces family upbringing to dyadic parent-child interactions outside the context of social structures and values. The aim of this paper is a critical analysis of the pedagogical implications of contemporary parenting culture, considering two key characteristics. The first refers to the conceptualisation of parenting as a depersonalised individual competence. Raising children is understood as an individual competence of achieving predefined outcomes of child development, which neglects the complexity of education both as an intergenerational and as a personal relationship. Another characteristic is the scientification of parenting in the sense of referring to the evidence of empirical scientific research and relying on the so-called parental determinism model. Raising children is becoming a scientific endeavour, and parenting is the most important ?profession? that shapes the future of the child and society. Neglecting the socio-historical dimension of education in terms of structural and ethical frameworks, articulated by the context and the goal of upbringing, makes the pedagogical voice irrelevant in the contemporary culture of parenting.

Reading habits of secondary school students in Serbia

Reading habits are an essential aspect for creating a functionally literate society and for its positioning at the global level. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to examine quantities and contents that high school students read, including compulsory reading and other books that do not belong to this corpus. We also tried to examine students? opinions about ways that could contribute to their motivation to read books, to consider their reading habits keeping in mind the family context and the use of library services, as well as to determine whether reading books is related to gender, academic achievement, the type of school that the students attend, the class and the education of their parents. Students (N=1378) from high schools and secondary vocational schools from several cities in Serbia participated in the research. A questionnaire was used, constructed for the purposes of this study. The results show that adolescents are reluctant to read reading materials contained in the curriculum. The majority of students read books outside of this corpus, and they most often read comics, science fiction, crime and romance novels. More than one fifth of students do not recognise any way that would motivate them to read books. Since there has been no visible improvement in this area in teaching practice over the last decade, it would be desirable to introduce and affirm optional subjects that would contribute to improving the reading habits of high school students (especially in secondary vocational schools).

Modern learning approaches in higher education: A review of the literature

This paper provides a review of the literature on the evaluation of two learning approaches in higher education: problem-based learning (PBL) and student-centred learning (SCL). We were interested in dissemination of these learning approaches in higher education in both developing and developed countries. We identified 47 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published before March 2020, from medical, engineering and other fields of higher education. Historically PBL has been mostly applied in medical, health and related disciplines. Over the years, PBL and SCL have been successfully applied in other disciplines as well. Articles on university policy-making and historical-analytical ones are included too. Around 70% of the articles have an experimental design. Sample sizes range from 15 to 1404 persons, including both students and tutors. Most of the studies report positive outcomes. We aimed to show whether PBL and SCL can be effectively applied in engineering and other fields worldwide (in both developing and developed countries), as many polytechnic and engineering universities are debating concerning new learning approaches. It is evident from the articles in the review that these approaches need to be adapted depending on the field of education and the initial conditions (evaluation rules, level of familiarisation with these approaches of students) in the university. Besides, most authors are interested in the modernisation of these approaches.

Dropout at university level in Serbia: Analysis of measurement, research findings, services and prevention measures

Dropout in higher education attracts great attention due to serious effects on an individual and on society. This is an exploratory study aimed at: analysing drop?out measurement and tracking in the Serbian higher education, reviewing studies on dropout causes, and identifying available services and prevention measures. Various techniques are used to achieve these goals (statistics analysis, literature review, qualitative content analysis). Our results show that: 1. There are no accepted dropout definitions nor official statistics, but some rate estimate could be given; 2. Research is not systematic, but covers three major dropout factors (individual, socio-demographic, studying conditions); 3. Services are sporadic and not visible enough; 4. Legislation reveals state interest in promoting higher education, but implemented measures are not adequate enough. We see establishment of the Unified Education Information System as an important step in precise dropout measurement. There is a need for flexible studying routes and increased financial support orientated more towards vulnerable student groups. International studies highlight the importance of intensification of teacher-student and peer interaction built in modern student-centred teaching practice. At the end, we advocate creating a new educational policy by combining two major frameworks in this field and relying on inclusive research.

The relationship between school climate and students’ engagement at school

The school climate is a construct that can adequately represent the quality of school life. School climate is the sum of perceptions of teachers, parents, students and administration about different aspects of school functioning and has an impact on their lives. The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between the school climate and student engagement. The sample consists of 332 high school students from Sombor and Novi Sad. The Delaware School Climate Scale was used, namely the School Climate and Student Engagement subscales. Prior to data processing, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm the latent dimensionality of the used instruments. Then, descriptive indicators were presented. According to descriptive indicators students assess the school climate moderately, and on average they are more cognitively/behaviourally engaged than emotionally. The intercorrelation table indicates low to moderate correlations between variables. In order to respond to the aim of the study, two multiple regression analyses were performed. Regression analysis shows that teacher student relations are statistically sig?nificant predictor of all three types of student engagement, while fairness of school rules appears as a statistically significant predictor of cognitive/behavioural student engagement, and the factor respect for diversity of students? emotional engagement. Similar results are found in other studies conducted around the world.

Value added of schools in Serbia

Value added (VA) is one of the measures to assess the quality of school work; when calculating this value, the individual characteristics of students are statistically equalised in order to focus on the factors that are under the jurisdiction of the educational system. The basic value of VA is seen in providing as fair information as possible about the contribution of teachers and / or schools to student achievement. In this paper, we investigate the value added of schools in Serbia. We have set the following research goals: (1) examining the contribution of students? individual characteristics on student achievement in seven subjects, (2) establishing the connection between the student achievement and the expected VA, (3) examining the representation of school groups selected by the expected student achievement and VA and (4) determining the variability of VA of subjects in a particular school. The study was conducted on the sample of 125 elementary schools, with participation of 5065 8th grade students and 5021 parents of these students. Data on student variables were collected through a questionnaire, and from student achievement from the 2011 TIMSS and 2015 final exam databases. Hierarchical modelling was used for the analyses. The results, among other things, show that the expected student achievement and VA are unrelated for most schools, that most schools have both negative VA and below-average expected achievement, and that VA varies between school subjects. The limitations of this study are also given, as well as the implications that the obtained data have on educational policy in Serbia.