engleski

Middle School Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching and Their Perception of Initial Teacher Education

The aim of the research was to examine middle school teachers' perception and satisfaction with some aspects of their initial teacher education (ITE), as well as their beliefs about teaching considering the duration of their teaching practice and subject area they teach. This research was conducted on representative sample of 2134 primary school subject teachers from 15% of primary schools in Croatia, applying the questionnaire specifically developed for this study. Results indicate that teachers' satisfaction with the level of acquired professional competences during ITE is, in general, quite low, especially when it comes to teacher-beginners and those who teach humanities and social sciences. Considering organizational aspects of ITE, teachers-beginners' satisfaction is also lower in comparison to their mature colleagues. Teachers' beliefs about teaching indicate that the teachers, in general, express more student-oriented than teacher-oriented attitude, regardless to teaching experience or subject area they teach. Obtained results suggest the need for changes in curriculum for middle school teachers' initial education with the emphasis on professional competences necessary for teaching profession, since most of the teachers, especially less experienced ones, evaluate the level of specific competences acquired as not satisfying. These results indicate that there is the need for new and improved programme in educational sciences that should provide primary school subject teachers specific professional competences necessary for better understanding and addressing the learning needs and capabilities of students aged 11 to 14. Some organizational aspects of ITE should also be improved in order to provide more stimulating learning environment for prospective teachers.

middle school teachers; teaching experience; professional competences; approaches to teaching

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