The relationship between humour types, assertiveness, self-efficacy, personality, and perfectionism in pre-service teachers

Teachers’ humour has a special place in the educational context with multiple benefits for themselves and their students. As a complex concept, humour is strongly related to individual personality, which is also complex and diverse. The current research aimed to investigate the correlations between four types of humour (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating) and assertiveness, perfectionism, and Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) in pre-service teachers. The obtained results show that the adaptive type of humour (affiliative and self-enhancing) positively correlated with assertiveness, Big Five personality traits, and the adaptive form of perfectionism, and negatively with the maladaptive form of perfectionism. Also, the maladaptive type of humour (aggressive and self-defeating) negatively correlated with assertiveness, Big Five personality traits, and positively with the maladaptive form of perfectionism. An intriguing finding was the positive correlation between aggressive humour and assertiveness

Assessing Education Needs at Tertiary Level: The Focus Group Method

The goal of the paper is to point out the advantages and disadvantages of the focus group method in assessing the education needs of teachers and students in veterinary medicine. It is the first stage of a wider research aiming at developing problem-based teaching and learning methodologies in the field of veterinary medicine. The materials used consisted of literature documents on focus group as a research method in social sciences. The authors studied the literature available in the field and synthesised its main advantages and disadvantages. The paper is the first of this kind in Romania. Results show that there is no agreement yet on the advantages and disadvantages of this method. The research limitation is that there is almost no Romanian literature on focus group as a method. The usefulness of the paper is obvious: it allows other researchers in the field of education see the benefits of using such a research method. The originality of the paper consists in the fact that there has been no such research so far in Romanian higher education. Based on the results of the focus groups organised, the authors will design and implement a problem-based learning methodology for the students in veterinary medicine

Teaching Taboo in the Classroom

The goal of the paper is to show how important it is to teach taboo in the classroom. The teaching of taboos is a rather new approach in education. Based on both classical (language dictionaries) and modern (internet sites) sources, the authors define taboo with the help of both English language dictionaries and specialised dictionaries and encyclopaedias, and provide the etymology and the typology of the word taboo (acts/actions/activities/behaviours, objects, people, places, times, and words) going from traditional to current ones. The degree of novelty of the paper is rather high. Research limitations are due to the lack of studies on this topic in Romanian literature. The implications are deep and closely related to the degree of relevance of the paper

Problem-based Learning in Veterinary Medicine: The Tutorial Process

The purpose is to show that Problem-based Learning (PBL) in the teaching of veterinary medicine-related disciplines needs specific tutorial processes and roles. Motivation is a key element in PBL – the tutorial process requires all students to be engaged in the learning process: chair (encourages all the members to participate, ensures that the group keeps to task in hand, ensures the scribe can keep up and make an accurate record, keeps to time, leads the group through the process, maintains group dynamics), group member (asks open questions, follows the steps of the process in sequence, listens to and respects the contributions of others, participates in the discussion, researches all the learning objectives, shares information with others), scribe (helps the group order their thoughts, participates in the discussion, records points made by group, records the resources used by the group), and tutor (assesses the performance, assists the chair with group dynamics and keeping the time, checks if the scribe keeps an accurate record, checks understanding, encourages all the group members to participate, ensures that the group achieves appropriate learning objectives, prevents side-tracking). The major conclusion of the paper is that tutorial processes need the use of a wider range of scenarios to be successful

Teaching Cultural Taboos and Taboo Language for Intercultural Awareness and Understanding

The goal of the paper is to show that language can support social and intercultural competence of both students and teachers: one of the ways to do it is teaching cultural taboos and taboo language for intercultural awareness and understanding. The current state of the art in the field points to an increasing interest in the teaching of taboos. The material we analysed consisted in 238 offensive, vulgar and obscene English words that both students and teachers should know to attain social and intercultural competence. The method used is the descriptive one. The degree of novelty is rather high in our cultural area. Results show that there are 134 offensive (slang) words and expressions (referring to the country of origin or to an ethnic group, to sex and sex-related issues (sexual orientation), to race, etc.), 75 vulgar words and expressions (referring to sex and sex-related issues, to body parts, to people, etc.), and 29 obscene words and expressions (referring to body secretions, to sex and sex-related issues, to people, etc.). There seems to be no research limitations given the lexicographic sources that we used. The implications of teaching cultural taboos and taboo language at tertiary level concern both the students and teachers and the organisation they belong to. The paper is original and relevant given the process of globalisation

Assessing the Needs of Students in Veterinary Medicine for Preferred Delivery Methods: Focus Group

The goal of the paper is to presents the results of a focus group with students in veterinary medicine, asked about their preferred delivery methods. The research is a preliminary one in a longer series of studies dedicated to the design and implementation of a problem-based learning methodology for the students. The materials used consisted in a series of questions that were submitted for debate during a focus group organised with 12 students in veterinary medicine. The method used was the focus group. The degree of novelty of the paper is high. Results show that students in veterinary medicine have already used problem-based learning without even knowing it. The research limitations consist in the fact that the authors organised the focus group on a small sample of students. The usefulness of the paper consists in the fact that it will help other academics see better through the eyes of their students and try to meet their expectations. The originality of the paper is real: there has been no such research in Romanian higher education in veterinary medicine. The importance of the paper resides in its disclosure of facts and feelings unknown to both the authors of the paper and readers

Problem-based Learning in Veterinary Medicine: Advantages and Disadvantages

The purpose of the research is to see if Problem-based Learning (PBL) can be successfully used in veterinary medicine. Research results show that PBL offers several advantages (it contributes towards the reduction of information overload; it develops generic skills and aptitudes; it facilitates an integrated core curriculum; it facilitates the relevance of curriculum content; it fosters active, deep learning, improved understanding, and retention and development of lifelong learning skills; it is a constructivist approach; it makes the students more responsible for their learning; and it motivates both teachers and students) over traditional teaching methods. However, it also has several well recognised disadvantages (it deprives students’ access to a particular inspirational teacher who, in a traditional curriculum, would deliver lectures to a large group; it is difficult and frustrating for the tutors who cannot “teach”; it makes students be unsure about how much self-directed study to do and what information is relevant and useful; it needs more human resources to take part in the tutoring process; it needs more material resources for the students to access simultaneously). The conclusion is that PBL can successfully be used in the teaching of veterinary medicine-related disciplines provided the teachers work on its disadvantage

Cognitive-behavioral correlates of pupil control ideology.

Teacher's pupil control ideology is a central feature for the quality of the teacher-student relationship, which, in turn, impacts the teacher's level of well-being. The pupil control ideology refers to a teacher's belief system along a continuum from humanistic to custodial views. Teachers with humanistic orientation view students as responsible and, therefore, they exert a lower degree of control to manage students' classroom behaviors. Teachers with a custodial orientation view students as untrustworthy and, therefore, they exert a higher degree of control to manage students' classroom behaviors. The relationship between pupil control ideology and dysfunctional beliefs originated from the cognitive-behavioral therapy framework has not been investigated, despite existing evidence suggesting that the pupil control ideology is linked to stress and burnout. One hundred fifty-five teachers completed a set of self-report questionnaires measuring: (i) teacher's pupil-control ideology; (ii) perfectionistic and hostile automatic thoughts; (iii) irrational beliefs; (iv) unconditional self-acceptance; (v) early maladaptive schemas; and (vi) dimensions of perfectionism. The result suggests that teachers who adopt a custodial view on pupil control ideology endorse more dysfunctional beliefs than teachers who adopt a humanistic view. They tend to present a higher level of perfectionism, unrelenting standards, and problematic relational beliefs, including schemas of mistrust and entitlement. They also present more often other-directed demands and derogation of other thoughts. Such results picture a dysfunctional view on pupils who misbehave, as adversaries who threaten their rigid and/or perfectionistic expectations