How do university teachers combine different approaches to teaching in a specific course? A qualitative multi-case study

Teaching approaches in higher education are at the general level well researched and have identified not only the two broad categories of content-focused and learning-focused approaches to teaching but also consonance and dissonance between the aspects of teaching. Consonance means that theoretically coherent teaching practices are employed, but dissonance occurs when two broad approaches are combined. Previous studies researched teaching approaches at the general level, whereas the present study, researched approaches to teaching at the course level. Three university teachers were interviewed in depth about their teaching approach to one particular course. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. While previous studies have found that dissonance occurs between different aspects of teaching, this multi-case study revealed that dissonance can also be found within a single aspect. The present study suggests that neither content- nor learning-focused approaches to teaching are mutually exclusive and therefore may co-exist in individual teachers’ practices.     

Professional development of kindergarten teachers in Croatia – a personal choice or an obligation

The quality of educational processes with children of preschool age and long-term educational outcomes are largely related to the work quality of teachers. Lifelong learning and professional development, as predictors of quality, need to be regarded as an ongoing task for kindergarten teachers. Findings of an empirical study of Croatian kindergarten teachers’ views (N = 388) on professional development point to a link between teachers’ intrinsic motivation and their professional development. Motivation explains 46.87% of the variance Personal commitment to professional development. A slight positive correlation was found between the level of formal education and the frequency of professional development (r = .216, p < .01). Although the level of education of kindergarten teachers is not a good independent predictor, it affects readiness to self-fund professional development (p < .01). As for the significance of conferences as a form of professional development, participants of the study identified them as an effective opportunity (M = 4.68, SD = .52), promoting both quality practices (M = 4.69, SD = .54) and exchange of experiences (M = 4.68, SD = .56). The length of participants’ professional work experience affects their assessment of the significance of practitioners’ networking as a way of improving the quality of everyday practices (F = 1.43, p < .05).     

How students perceive teachers’ nonverbal and verbal communication at agricultural universities in Austria,Slovenia and Albania

Purpose: This study attempts to close the research gap created by the fact that existing studies neglect the problem of how effectively agricultural professors from different European countries communicate. The aim is to identify similarities and differences in the numbers of agricultural professors perceived by students as engaging in verbal and nonverbal immediacy communication.

Methodology: An online survey was conducted among students of agricultural universities from Austria, Slovenia and Albania.

Findings: The results show that professors of agriculture from Austria, Slovenia and Albania should generally not be satisfied with their own communication patterns and should thus try to improve their communication. The result also reveals cultural differences in the shares of agriculture professors employing different communication patterns in Austria, Slovenia and Albania. Compared to Austrian and Slovenian students, their Albanian peers perceive that most of their professors use nonverbal immediacy communication. According to Austrian students, the majority of their professors use verbal immediacy. On the contrary, Albanian students assessed that some of their professors employ verbal immediacy.

Practical Implications: The results show the professors of agriculture should improve the way they communicate to students. In particular, the Albanian professors should improve their verbal communication especially in terms of providing timely and quality feedback to students.

Theoretical implications: The study reveals differences in immediacy communication among countries (Austria, Slovenia and Albania) which the scientific literature considers to have a high-context culture.

Originality/Value: Given that no study has yet examined how students perceive professors’ communication in different European countries, this research helps understand the characteristics of agricultural professors’ communication.     

Serbia and Montenegro: the catalytic effects of higher education

Brain drain has been a long‐lasting phenomenon. It existed in the former Yugoslavia, and was affected by various factors, from political through economic ones to the attractive offers for advanced studies and work in scientific institutions or firms in developed countries. Some ad‐hoc analyses were made concerning individual groups or periods, but there was no systematic monitoring and no complete and all‐inclusive data. It is however possible to draw a picture showing trends in the – mostly one‐way – movement towards highly developed countries.

Therefore, the current study has a mosaic character, which – we hope – shall throw some light and try to explain brain drain in the academic circles of Serbia and Montenegro (former SFRY). As the Republic of Serbia represents the largest component part (about 90 percent), most of the data is about Serbia.     

Understanding Leadership in Major Sporting Events: The Case of the 2005 World Aquatics Championships

The purpose of this paper was to begin understanding leadership within a major sporting event. A case study of the 2005 Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Aquatics Championships was built by means of interviews and archival material, using a multi-stakeholder perspective. Findings highlighted that core elements of upper-management level leadership in events were best described by the multiple-linkage leadership theory, which includes task commitment, ability and role clarity, work organization, cooperation and mutual trust, resources and support, and external coordination as the six intervening variables. While charismatic and transformational leadership styles surfaced as contributing to the overall success of an event, the multiple-linkage leadership theory offered a more comprehensive understanding of leadership in major sporting events from a multi-stakeholder perspective.     

Work-related burnout syndrome in special education teachers working with children with developmental disorders – possible correlations with some socio-demographic aspects and assertiveness

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research was to examine the levels of burnout syndrome dimensions in special education teachers and correlations with some socio-demographic characteristics, job characteristics, and levels of assertiveness. The research included 225 special education teachers from Serbia (82% were women, 18% were men, with the average age of 42.51 ± 9.23 years). Research instruments included Maslach Burnout Inventory, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. There were differences in all burnout dimensions in relation to types of students’ special needs. Higher levels of burnout symptoms were observed in teachers working with children with motor skill disorders. The assertiveness scores had a significant negative correlation with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and a positive correlation with a lack of accomplishment. The results obtained may help in the planning of the adequate preventative measures for improving the mental health of those professionals.     

The science(s) of adult education

This article deals with the problems of forming a scientific system for adult education. The first part contains different concepts of sciences of education in developed countries, with a special emphasis on the difference between pedagogy as ‘practical theory’ and the sciences of education than can withstand meta‐scientific criteria. This is followed by a survey of the educological system of the knowledge of education, and the scientific and non‐scientific knowledge of adult education are contrasted. To enable us to distinguish unambiguously between scientific and non‐scientific knowledge the survey contains some major criteria for determining whether a discipline is a science or not. In this context andragogy, as well as pedagogy, are defined as ‘technological’ disciplines with the task of applying the principles discovered by the sciences of adult education: the educational psychology of adults, the sociology of adult education, the economics of adult education and the educational anthropology. In other words, andragogy is the ‘praxiology of adult education’, i.e. the science of applying scientific knowledge about adult education in the practice of that education. Andragogy could become ‘the general science of adult education’ and acquire a supra‐technological character if it grew into a science of the effectiveness of systems of adult education. In that case andragogy would study the interaction between the elements of the system as well as the interaction between these elements and the subsystems of the educational environment.     

Evaluating the feasibility of remotely administered curriculum-based measurement for students with autism: A pilot study

Students with autism may struggle to develop the academic skills necessary for success in school and beyond. Understanding and improving academic skills performance requires appropriate measurement approaches. One such option that has been minimally studied with students with autism is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Coinciding with the need to study different approaches to academic skills measurement for students with autism was the global pandemic which forced a shift to remote service delivery with little warning. While some autistic students struggled with this shift, others thrived, raising questions about how to further support students with autism in virtual formats. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using remotely administered CBM for autistic students by studying both the practicality and acceptability of this approach. Five students with autism (Grades 2–5) participated in this pilot study, completing reading, math, and writing CBMs at three time points. Student behavior and assessor fidelity were collected to examine practicality; assessor ratings of usability provided insight regarding the acceptability of the approach. Results indicated that remotely administered CBM is feasible for some students with autism: all participants completed the study tasks with minimal behavioral difficulties, and assessor ratings of acceptability were high.