Current interdisciplinary research points to a connection between the emotional relationship with nature and factors resulting from modern lifestyles, such as insufficient exercise and time spent in nature, and excessive use of information and communication technologies. These factors are often associated with the healthy development of school-age children. In the literature, ‘connectedness to nature’ is usually described as a term that measures the emotional and positive relationship between people and nature. The research was conducted on a sample of respondents consisting (...) of primary school pupils, their parents and teachers in primary schools in Croatia and Slovenia (N=1345). In the research, the adapted scale of the Connectedness to Nature Index (Chang and Monroe, 2012) was used as a measurement tool. It was found that connection with nature is rated with high scores, but also that there is no statistically significant correlation of the rating of connectedness to nature among pupils, parents and teachers in Croatia, but only among Slovenian respondents. The implications of the research results are reflected in the consideration of this topic for further research in the field of education. (shrink)

Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati iskustva stresa kod odgojitelja i nastavnika tijekom COVID-19 pandemije te ispitati prediktivnu vrijednost nekih osobnih obilježja odgojitelja/nastavnika, izvora stresa, strategija suočavanja i socijalne podrške u objašnjenju doživljaja stresa, sagorijevanja na poslu i nade u budućnost. Online upitnik primijenjen je na uzorcima od 491 nastavnika i 316 odgojitelja. Rezultati su pokazali da su odgojitelji i nastavnici najvišu razinu stresa doživljavali tijekom prvog vala pandemije korona virusa te da je razina doživljenog stresa tijekom pandemije veća nego prije (...) pandemije. Odgojitelji uobičajene izvore stresa doživljavaju snažnijim nego specifične izvore stresa vezane za pandemiju korona virusa, dok je kod nastavnika obrnuto. Osobna obilježja odgojitelja/nastavnika, izvori stresa, strategije suočavanja i socijalna podrška povezani su s razinom stresa i sagorijevanjem na poslu te nadom u budućnost, ali se prediktivna vrijednost odnosno značajni prediktori razlikuju ovisno o kriteriju i skupini ispitanika. Rezultati ukazuju na pozitivan doprinos samoefikasnosti, strategija suočavanja i socijalne podrške u doživljaju stresa kod odgojitelja i nastavnika tijekom pandemije korona virusa. (shrink)

Nations and states build their identity on cultural heritage, which in the public space becomes a symbol of society’s collective memory. Cultural heritage has always been understood as a trace of the embodiment of a nation in space and time, that is, in a certain historical context. Also, cultural heritage and its monuments are closely related to identity and regularly contain a series of symbolic messages that demonstrate the history and destiny of the people. Heritage is one of the important (...) factors in the process of globalization, more precisely in the preservation of the identity of an individual nation in that process. The globalization process takes place quickly and therefore it is necessary to quickly and permanently educate oneself about cultural heritage, which is also an important factor in recognizing the tradition and identity of a nation. Quality education is one of the important goals of sustainable development, and it also implies the preservation and presentation of heritage content. The paper examines the connection between cultural heritage, education and sustainable development. (shrink)

Human health is inextricably linked to the state of the environment, making it important to find ways to raise children’s interests in the topics of human health and the environment in which they live. The Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda addressing quality education offers a guideline on how it is necessary to provide education for sustainable development directed to promoting sustainable lifestyles. The research results show that students show a greater interest in human health topics compared to environmental topics. (...) Boys in grade 6, compared to girls, show a statistically significantly higher interest in environmental topics, the ones related to energy. Girls generally show a statistically significantly higher interest in environmental topics compared to boys. Therefore, in the educational system in general, including the subjects of Science and Biology, it is necessary to find methods of active and exploratory learning that will increase students’ interest in environmental topics that are not currently perceived as particularly interesting. (shrink)

The article analyzes textbooks and offers an insight into the didactical manuals written in early socialism. Textbooks of modest volume, published at the end of the forties and in the fifties of the last century, reflected the basic requirements of educational policy. The main goal of music education was to educate students to sing by notes. The publications were conceived as theoretical instructions for musical literacy. The first didactical manual written by Joža Požgaj was published, which in its revised version (...) was used in music teaching for many years. Textbooks written in the first half of the 1960s, after the educational reform, were adapted to children’s age, while didactical manuals focused on enriching the lessons with songs, literary examples, games, stories, the use of school instruments etc. The attention shifted from music literacy to singing as dominant activity in music teaching, but again with the aim of acquiring basic musical vocabulary. (shrink)

The partnership of educators and parents of children with developmental disabilities is important for early intervention, as an integrated and interdisciplinary system of professional services intended for children of an early age with developmental disabilities and children who may be late in starting school due to inadequacy: nutrition, chronic diseases, biological and environmental factors. The aim of the research is to examine the assessments of educators and parents about the involvement of families of children with developmental disabilities in kindergarten activities. (...) It started from the general assumption that there is a difference in the assessments of educators and parents about family involvement in kindergarten activities. The research conducted in October 2022 included 167 educators and 167 parents in the area of Kikinda and Sombor (Serbia), who assessed family participation in kindergarten activities (PP) for 167 children aged five to seven. The quality of cooperation was examined with the Subtest Parents’ involvement in kindergarten activities. This subtest forms part of the Parental Involvement Questionnaire (Fantuzzo et al, 2000) adapted for this research (a = 0,921). The research results show that there is a significant difference in the assessments of educators and parents in the area of family involvement in kindergarten activities. It was concluded that there is a need for planning guidelines and implementation of procedures that would enable parents to participate in kindergarten activities. The application of the new Program Basis in the context of cooperation between preschool institutions and parents would contribute to the improvement of project planning of learning and teaching in pedagogical practice. This would help parents better understand project-based learning and the importance of participating in kindergarten activities. (shrink)

The Interconnected model of teacher professional growth elaborated by Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) is based on four intertwined domains of teacher action: the external domain, the domain of consequence, the personal domain and the domain of practice. The aim of the research is to examine how the model works in the Croatian education system using the example of a biology teacher’s case study. In the theoretical part, an overview of the theoretical foundations of the model is described with reference to (...) its application in studies on the professional growth of teachers. The empirical part of the paper presents the results of the research in accordance with the domains of the Interconnected model of the teacher’s professional growth. The results showed the complexity of teacher growth network processes that sometimes take place simultaneously in different domains and in different directions. The paper contributes to the deepening of scientific knowledge in the field of teacher professional growth, which is an important strategy in achieving the general well-being of students and schools, and thus the education system as a whole. (shrink)

Student dorminatory and institutions such as dormitories in the social welfare system represent the educational contexts in which certain groups of young people find themselves. In the education crisis of the modern society, it is necessary to empower young people to be autonomous and participative members of the society. The research question of this paper is: What are the pedagogical aspects of empowerment and how are they manifested in the context of the education taking place in dormitories? The objective of (...) this work is to determine the markers of education and empowerment of young people by observing their common characteristics and to emphasize the importance of educational work in the dormitory environment. The results of the research indicate that empowerment is an important and indispensable process in the upbringing of young people, especially within different forms of dormitory environment, with the aim of developing their further autonomy and participation in the community. (shrink)

Svrha ovog rada bila je utvrditi učestalost sudjelovanja učitelja Glazbene kulture u različitim aktivnostima informalnog cjeloživotnog učenja te saznati njihovo mišljenje o važnosti i doprinosu navedenog razvoju vlastitih kompetencija potrebnih za poučavanje Glazbene kulture. Utvrđeno je da učitelji najviše sudjeluju u informalnim aktivnostima učenja koje ne zahtijevaju dodatno izdvajanje vremena te shodno tome rjeđe sudjeluju u aktivnostima koje zahtijevaju veću njihovu pažnju. Osjećaju se kompetentnima u izvođenju svih glazbenih aktivnosti koje se provode u nastavi Glazbene kulture. Nadalje, vide doprinos i (...) važnost sudjelovanja u aktivnostima informalnog učenja, no podijeljeni su u razmišljaju trebaju li posvetiti više dodatnog vremena aktivnostima informalnog učenja te kada razmišljaju o tome bi li njihova nastava bila jednako kvalitetna da ne primjenjuju nova znanja stečena informalnim učenjem. (shrink)

In this paper, we consider the notion of a moral model, trying to point out the important definitions of this status, as well as certain dilemmas that exist in terms of value determination in relation to this phenomenon. In the introductory part, the complexity of the sphere of moral action is considered, as well as the criteria that are relevant for determining the status of a moral role model. We tried to conduct our analysis of this notion in the context (...) of considering several areas of sociability (politics, religion, patriotism) within which the notion of moral model has its significant place. (shrink)

The paper analyzes the implementation of the “Bologna reform” of higher education in the Republic of Serbia during the last fifteen years. Emphasizing neoliberalism as the ideological basis of the reform, the authors subjected the reform to a critical analysis of its normative goals and achieved achievements. The authors conclude that the restructuring of universities based on market principles and their transformation into for-profit organizations leads to the gradual collapse of the basic function of a modern university embodied in the (...) search for truth and the production of knowledge. Contrary to the proclaimed “knowledge society”, the reform led to the lowering of scientific and educational standards and the neglect of immediately inapplicable knowledge, which completely changed the social evaluation of knowledge and science and resulted in the establishment of a “society of ignorance”. (shrink)

Singing is a way of musical expression interwoven into the human beings' very essence. Voice, as an intimate instrument invisible to the eye, demands as fuller use as possible, which includes muscular stamina and refined listening to sounds. In the educational system, singing is a part of a structured programme with the goal of developing singing abilities and musical culture of participants in the educational process in general. Feeling self-confident and having an image of oneself as a competent and qualified (...) expert in the singing area is of the utmost importance for quality work in the profession of preschool teachers or teachers. The goal of this study was to examine how students at the Teacher Education faculty perceive themselves and assess their singing abilities according to the singing elements we should nourish in working with children. The study aimed at examining how much the students enjoy singing activities, how they appraise their sense of self-confidence in singing, and to which extent the feeling of competence in singing is related with the time component of learning. It was investigated how teachers assess their satisfaction and self-confidence in singing, and whether the connection between these constructs and the type and year of study exists. The research involving 162 participants was conducted in the academic year 2021/2022. The results have shown that students of teacher education faculty are satisfied with their singing abilities and evaluate them well. On the other hand, they lack self-confidence and are not self-assured during singing activities. The results of the t-test showed a statistically significant difference in the assessment of satisfaction with singing abilities between students of early and preschool education and teacher education. The Kruskal-Wallis test determined the existence of statistically significant differences between students of higher years of study and those at lower year of studying according to their assessment of satisfaction with singing activities, wherein students at higher study years gave higher assessments. (shrink)

The paper presents the results of a preliminary study aimed at examining the validity and reliability of the newly constructed questionnaire Questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking. Conceptually, the paper is based on the generic model of teaching for critical thinking and its key dimensions. 209 teachers and educators (formal and non-formal education) in the Republic of Croatia participated in the study. The research participants were asked to complete an online survey questionnaire. The design of the questionnaire items followed the (...) mentioned generic model. The initial version of the survey questionnaire contained 46 items, and after the analyses, 36 items were retained. Factor analysis was performed and 6 factors were extracted (and 6 scales were constructed). Reliability of all scales is satisfactory – the coefficients of the internal consistency type Cronbach alpha range from.73 to.92. Through the conducted validation, the first research steps were taken in the confirmation of the validity and reliability of the questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking. In conclusion, the application of the questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking in further research can contribute to the improvement of teaching for critical thinking in the Republic of Croatia, and can thus contribute to the development of students’ critical thinking competency. (shrink)

U Republici Hrvatskoj biti ravnatelj/ica odgojno-obrazovne ustanove nije više samo funkcija nego i zanimanje. Obveze i prava ravnatelja/ica odgojno-obrazovnih ustanova proizlaze iz zakonske regulative, dok su kompetencije ravnatelja od 2020. određene standardom zanimanja i standardom kvalifikacije. Ovim se radom na temelju Standarda zanimanja i Standarda kvalifikacije ravnatelja/ica odgojno-obrazovnih ustanova kojima su određene kompetencije ravnatelja/ica odgojno-obrazovnih ustanova želio utvrditi stupanj ravnateljskih kompetencija stečenih formalnim nastavničkim obrazovanjem. Formalno nastavničko obrazovanje podrazumijeva stjecanje kompetencija za rad u odgojno-obrazovnim ustanovama. Te se kompetencije u Republici (...) Hrvatskoj stječu u okviru nastavničkih smjerova sveučilišnih diplomskih studija. Istraživanjem se procjenjivala razina stečenih kompetencija odnosno znanja i vještina tijekom takvog obrazovanja, a koja je primjenjiva u poslovima ravnatelja, a provedeno je metodom ankete na uzorku od 200 ravnatelja/ica osnovnih i srednjih škola u Republici Hrvatskoj. Anketirani ravnatelji/ice iskazali su zadovoljstvo kompetencijama stečenim formalnim nastavničkim obrazovanjem posebice za poslove koji se odnose na organizacijsko upravljanje odgojno-obrazovnim procesom i suradnju s roditeljima i vanjskim okruženjem. Međutim, istraživanjem su uočene grupe kompetencija koje ravnatelji/ice ocjenjuju kao nedostatne, uz naglašenu potrebu za profesionalizacijom ravnateljske funkcije. Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na potrebu provođenja dodatnih programa edukacija ravnatelja/ica koji bi im omogućili stjecanje znanja i vještina koja nisu stekli formalnim obrazovanjem, a ključna su za upravljanje odgojno-obrazovnom ustanovom. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to present how an innovative approach to teaching philosophy can effectively meet the requirements of the prescribed curriculum, and contribute to achieving the expected learning outcomes, interdisciplinary teaching and learning links, formative monitoring and evaluation of student achievements, to achieve educational subject goals. In this paper, the authors, considering comics as a kind of teaching medium, i.e., the application of the comic method in teaching, on the example of a scenario for a philosophy lesson (...) in high school show how it is possible to combine a comics approach to teaching philosophy with philosophy for children. Philosophy for children as well as the comic book approach to teaching philosophy are extremely complementary (they are provocative and dialogical, stimulate students' intellectual curiosity, develop critical and creative thinking, create a positive and stimulating learning environment), which allows them to be combined effectively. (shrink)

The paper investigates the connection between the school architecture and didactic-methodical organization of teaching in the conditions of traditional (old) schools. School architecture was analysed regarding school premises (classrooms and equipment) and the school environment (playgrounds with special emphasis on school gardens). The traditional (old) school in Croatian conditions is situated in the period from the introduction of the state public education (General School Order 1774) to the 1930s. The research was based on the analysis of archival and published materials, (...) and field research. Field research was conducted in the school area of Velika Kopanica on two occasions, in 1980 and 2021. The descriptive and post-causal method was used in the research, and the connection between the school architecture and didactic-methodical organization of teaching was determined. School buildings (classrooms), school desks and equipment with a large number of students in the same class limited the didactic and methodological organization of teaching within traditional teaching (frontal, verbal, passive for students, asocial and repressive). At the same time, the school environment with special emphasis on school gardens opened up a number of possibilities that were characteristic of the new school movement: groups and individual activities, work of students, socialization and collaborative relationships, connecting theoretical with practical work. School gardens enable the introduction of a part of nature into classrooms, providing pupils with visual activity, systematic observation and the beginning of intellectual cognition. School architecture is in a direct connection with the didactic-methodical organization of teaching. How is it possible that in modern school architecture there are a number of forms characteristic of the traditional (old) school? (shrink)

In this paper I try to indicate particular elements of Socrates’ philosophy by which educational practice should be guided, as well as certain harmful implications of Sophistic approach to education. In analysis of Socrates’ position, I especially rely on Vlastos’ interpretations, and particularly I refer to Socrates’ thesis that virtue cannot be taught. Among other things, it suggests a non-doctrinal approach to moral-educational practice, which cannot result from Protagoras’ opposite beliefs. Nowadays Sophistic particular- and utilitarian-oriented education occurs especially in the (...) educational (or better: manipulative) transmission of national, business and similar so-called ethics, which are not able for recognizing and overcoming of the existing socio-economic framework, and for which Socrates’ moral-educational philosophy contains critical force, arising primarily out of the emphasis on autonomy. (shrink)

The concept of a comprehensive language curriculum provides an important basis for the development of student's plurilingual competence. It ensures the inclusion of all students' language skills in language education, the creation of cross-linguistic connections, and the development of language awareness and awareness of language learning. Factors that influence the implementation of this concept at the school level are, amongst others: school leadership, collaboration among school staff, appropriate teaching methods, and beliefs and attitudes of all members of the school as (...) an educational community. To determine possibilities for the implementation of comprehensive language curricula in Croatian primary schools, qualitative methods were used to investigate beliefs of language teachers, professional associates, and school principals about the development of students' plurilingual competence, as well as language teachers' teaching practice and the ways plurilingual education is supported at school level. Data analysis shows that the participants mostly have monolingual beliefs when it comes to the development of students' plurilingual competence. Also, although most teachers state that they make comparisons between languages in their teaching, a systematic cross-linguistic comparison and cooperation in the planning and implementation of language education are almost completely absent. (shrink)

The history of the school required reading shows us how and why pupils approached literature and how it impacted their convictions about reading, art and identities. The education systems were not only working on the strictly personal development of pupils, but were also implementing certain political values and ideas. The literature education thus encouraged ideas about national and supernational communities. The Yugoslav system presented the wide and complex notion of culture and literature, but in the demanding and counterproductive fashion. The (...) Croatian system implemented the mononational approach to literature, while retaining the rigidness of the old system. For those reasons it is likely that pupils didn't connect with their national identities through literature and that they didn't develop reading habits. (shrink)

The question of education is as old as life itself, and its elements, which have been questioned throughout history, still occupy the minds of many pedagogues, psychologists, philosophers and sociologists today. There are many different experts dealing with education, but one name is particularly important, the name that links the notion of contemporary education and education reform – John Dewey. The aim of this paper is to present his theory and its application in the domain of the philosophy of education, (...) emphasizing the importance of education as a social function in the service of civilizational survival and progress. Social and technological advancement prompted Dewey to the idea of education reform, with focus on practical work and experimental method and with the aim of achieving a balance between knowledge and skills. A significant part of Dewey's philosophy of education is devoted precisely to education. This paper presents general reflections on education, its goals, purpose and definition, and morals as a significant educational aspect, all combining pragmatic approach, making experience and knowledge gained with practical work a priority. (shrink)

A genesis of media didactics was deconstructed through a theoretical-comparative and historical methodological approach, with the aim of gaining insight into its history and characteristics, defining the discipline, and recent development trends. The study elaborates the role of media in education, schooling, teaching, and learning. The anatomy of the social circumstances of the emergence of certain curriculum innovations and their consequences for global education as well as the development of media didactics is systematically explained. A synthesis of the facts obtained (...) from the analysed concept makes it evident that the development of media didactics was influenced by the concept of instructional technology transferred from the USA, as well as several social and technological factors. Theoretical and practical essence of media didactics is established in the application of various media with the purpose of arranging individualized, i.e., student-centred teaching. Over time, the characteristics and role of media in teaching have changed in accordance with the dominant didactic theories. A crucial challenge for media didactics is foreseen in the form of the application of artificial intelligence in education and schooling. (shrink)