The reasons students choose teaching professions

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.     

Cooperative learning and team culture in schools: Conditions for teachers’ professional development

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.     

Establishing paediatric reference intervals for thyroid function tests in Croatian population on the Abbott Architect i2000

IntroductionEvaluation of thyroid function is often requested and therefore defining paediatric reference intervals (RIs) is of vital importance. Currently, there is a distinct lack of paediatric RIs for thyroid function tests in Croatia. Thus, we established RIs for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) in the Croatian paediatric population.Materials and methodsReference intervals were calculated from 397 apparently healthy children, aged from 2 days to < 19 years. Serum samples were analysed for thyroid function tests on the Abbott Architect i2000. Age- and sex-specific 95% RIs with 90% confidence intervals were established according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. To express the magnitude of sex and age variation, standard deviation ratio (SDR) was calculated using two-level nested ANOVA. The criterion for considering partitioning reference values was set to SDR > 0.3.ResultsAll thyroid function tests required age partitioning, confirmed by SDR above 0.3. There was no need for sex partitioning, confirmed by SDR below 0.3. Still, FT3 was partitioned due to visually noticeable sex related difference for the oldest group (12 years to < 19 years).ConclusionThis is the first study to establish RIs for thyroid function tests in the Croatian paediatric population. We propose RIs for widely used Abbott platform, thus giving laboratories method- and population-specific paediatric RIs for thyroid function tests that should improve clinical test interpretation.     

Laboratory policies and practices for thyroid function tests in Croatia: survey on behalf of Working Group for Laboratory Endocrinology of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine

IntroductionLaboratory plays important part in screening, diagnosis, and management of thyroid disorders. The aim of this study was to estimate current laboratory preanalytical, analytical and postanalytical practices and policies in Croatia.Materials and methodsWorking Group for Laboratory Endocrinology of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine designed a questionnaire with 27 questions and statements regarding practices and protocols in measuring thyroid function tests. The survey was sent to 111 medical biochemistry laboratories participating in external quality assurance scheme for thyroid hormones organized by Croatian Centre for Quality Assessment in Laboratory Medicine. Data is presented as absolute numbers and proportions.ResultsFifty-three participants returned the questionnaire. Response rate varied depending on question, yielding a total survey response rate of 46-48%. All respondents perform thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). From all other thyroid tests, most performed is free thyroxine (37/53) and least TSH-stimulating immunoglobulin (1/53). Laboratories are using nine different immunoassay methods. One tenth of laboratories is verifying manufacturer’s declared limit of quantification for TSH and one third is verifying implemented reference intervals for all performed tests. Most of laboratories (91%) adopt the manufacturer’s reference interval for adult population. Reference intervals for TSH are reported with different percentiles (90, 95 or 99 percentiles).ConclusionThis survey showed current practices and policies in Croatian laboratories regarding thyroid testing. The results identified some critical spots and will serve as a foundation in creating national guidelines in order to harmonize laboratory procedures in thyroid testing in Croatia.