Percepcija faktora koji doprinose školskom neuspehu od strane budućih nastavnika i njihova povezanost sa prethodnim ličnim iskustvom uspeha u školi

Factors that pre-service class and subject teachers perceive as significant in explaining the occurrence of school failure were examined using mixed methods strategy. The qualitative phase of the study (N = 74) revealed that pre-service teachers recognize a wide range of causes for school failure (16 distinctive categories). The relative significance of the causes was established in the subsequent quantitative phase. The Scale of school failure causes was constructed, applied to 408 pre-service teachers and subjected to exploratory factor analysis, which pointed to the three latent groups of causes explaining 43% of variance. The lack of ability and motivation in students (1st factor) and the lack of educational support (2nd factor) were perceived as highly contributing to school failure, while moderate importance was attributed to the causes related to family and social context (3rd factor). Compared to pre-service subject teachers, pre-service class teachers were more willing to recognize the teachers' responsibility for the occurrence of school failure. Pre-service teachers' perceptions of different factors were related to prior experiences of school success.Faktori koje budući nastavnici razredne i predmetne nastave opažaju kao značajne za pojavu školskog neuspeha su proučavani pomoću miks metodske strategije. U kvalitativnoj fazi istraživanja (N = 74) se pokazalo da budući nastavnici razredne i predmetne nastave prepoznaju brojne uzroke školskog neuspeha (16 različitih kategorija). Relativni značaj ovih uzroka je ispitan u narednoj, kvantitativnoj fazi. Konstruisana je skala uzroka školskog neuspeha i zadata uzorku od 408 budućih nastavnika razredne i predmetne nastave, a zatim su eksplorativnom faktorskom analizom identifikovana tri latentna faktora koji objašnjavaju 43 % varijanse. Nedostatak sposobnosti i motivacije (1. faktor) i nedostatak obrazovne podrške (2. faktor) su opaženi kao faktori koji najviše doprinose školskom neuspehu, dok se umereni značaj pridaje razlozima koji su povezani sa porodičnim i socijalnim kontekstom (3. faktor). U poređenju sa budućim nastavnicima predmetne nastave, budući nastavnici razredne nastave pokazuju veću spremnost da prepoznaju odgovornost nastavnika za školski neuspeh. Percepcija značaja različitih faktora od strane budućih nastavnika je povezana sa njihovim ranijim iskustvima školskog uspeha

How math and language gender stereotypes impact educational outcomes in elementary school children

Iako su rodni akademski stereotipi označeni kao ključna psihološka barijera u ostvarenju punog akademskog potencijala žena u tradicionalno maskulinim, a muškaraca u tradicionalno femininim akademsko-karijernim oblastima, empirijski dokazi za ovu pretpostavku nisu konzistentni, dok su istraživanja mehanizama preko kojih bi stereotipi mogli da utiču na postignuća i akademsko-karijerne izbore retka. Stoga smo u ovom radu ispitali da li, u kojoj meri i na koji način implicitni i eksplicitni rodni stereotipi o matematičkoj i jezičkoj sposobnosti nastavnica razredne nastave i učenika/ca koje podučavaju doprinose rodnim razlikama u obrazovnim ishodima. Testirali smo tri pretpostavljena mehanizma uticaja rodnih akademskih stereotipa na postignuća i akademsko-karijerne aspiracije učenika i učenica u oblasti matematike i jezika. Na intrapsihičkom planu učenika/ca testirana je medijatorska uloga matematičkog i jezičkog self-koncepta, dok je u okviru socijalne interakcije između nastavnica i učenika/ca ispitan medijatorski status nastavničkih očekivanja i rodno diferencijalnog tretmana u učionici. U okviru ugnježdenog nacrta, u prvoj fazi studije ispitani su rodni akademski stereotipi 115 nastavnica razredne nastave, a prikupljeni su i podaci o postignuću (ocenama) i očekivanjima od 2295 učenika/ca koje ove nastavnice podučavaju. U drugoj fazi studije, na poduzorku od 16 odeljenja ispitani su rodni akademski stereotipi, akademski self-koncept i objektivno postignuće 412 učenika/ca. Uz to, na 56 časova matematike i srpskog jezika posmatrali smo i analizirali dijadnu interakciju nastavnica i učenika/ca. Rezultati su pokazali da se na osnovu eksplicitnih rodnih akademskih stereotipa učenika/ca mogu predviđati obrazovni ishodi, ali je njihova prediktivna moć mala i pronalazi se samo u onim oblastima u kojima bi se prema sadržaju stereotipa očekivala superiornost različitih rodova (postignuće i aspiracije dečaka u domenu matematike i aspiracije devojčica u domenu jezika). Potvrđeno je da se ovi efekti ostvaruju preko akademskog self-koncepta, iako rodni stereotipi imaju i nezavistan doprinos. I efekti nastavničkih rodnih akademskih stereotipa su veoma mali i moderirani rodom učenika/ca. Eksplicitni stereotipi nastavnica negativno utiču na očekivanja i ocene devojčica u oba akademska domena, ali ne i na njihovo znanje. Ista uverenja pozitivno utiču na znanje i aspiracije dečaka u oblasti matematike. Registrovali smo i rodno pristrasna nastavnička očekivanja i rodno diferencijalni tretman učenika/ca u učionici, ali ne i njihov medijatorski status u odnosu nastavničkih rodnih stereotipa i obrazovnih ishoda učenika/ca. Nalaze smo doveli u vezu sa rezultatima sličnih istraživanja i interpretirali oslanjajući se na postavke Teorije balansiranog identiteta. Iskoristili smo ih da formulišemo preporuke za buduća istraživanja i skiciramo smernice za njihovu primenu u obrazovnoj praksi.Even though academic gender stereotypes have been identified as a key psychological barrier to achieving full potential of women in traditionally masculine and men in traditionally feminine academic-career domains, supportive empirical evidence so far has been mixed, while findings on mechanisms through which stereotypes could influence achievement and academic-career choices have been scarce. This study set out to explore whether, to what extent and through which mechanisms implicit and explicit math and language gender stereotypes in primary school teachers and their students contribute to gender differences in educational outcomes. We tested three hypothesized mediating mechanisms to this relation: at the intrapersonal level, students’ mathematical and linguistic self concept; at the interpersonal level, teachers’ expectations from students and their gender differential treatment in the classroom. In a nested design, during the first phase of the study, we measured gender academic stereotypes of 115 primary school teachers, along with their academic expectations from 2295 students, and these students’ grades. In the second phase, we subsampled 16 classes comprising of 412 students, and measured their gender academic stereotypes, academic self-concept and test achievement. In addition, we observed the dyad interaction between the teachers and students in a total of 56 mathematics and Serbian language classes. We observed that educational outcomes can be predicted based on the explicit gender academic stereotypes of the students, albeit with small predictive and only in domains where the superiority of a specific gender would be expected according to gender stereotype (boys’ achievement and aspirations in the domain of mathematics and girls’ aspirations in the domain of language). These effects were mediated via academic self-concept in the corresponding domain, although a direct effect of gender stereotypes was still observed. The effects of teachers' gender academic stereotypes were also small and moderated by the students’ gender. Explicit stereotypes of teachers negatively affected the expectations and assessments, but not knowledge of girls in both academic domains, and positively affected the knowledge and aspirations of boys in the field of mathematics. Although teachers exhibited gender-biased expectations and gender-differential treatment of students in the classroom, we found no evidence of them mediating the relation between teachers’ gender stereotypes and students’ educational outcomes. We related the findings to similar research and discussed them in Balanced Identity Theory framework. Finally, we articulated guidelines for future research and educational policies

Struktura i prediktori stranačkih evaluacija za vreme izbora 2022. godine u Srbiji

Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispita latentna struktura evaluacija političkih stranaka za vreme izbora 2022. godine u Srbiji, kao i da se testira skup socio-demografskih (pol, starost, obrazovanje, životni standard), dispozicionih (politički stavovi, autoritarnost i religioznost) i kontekstualnih prediktora (informisanje posredstvom različitih televizija) ekstrahovanih dimenzija. U studiji sprovedenoj u nedelji uoči izbora na prigodnom uzorku od 636 punoletnih građana i građanki utvrđeno je da se simpatije prema strankama koje su učestvovale na parlamentarnim izborima organizuju u tri međusobno nezavisna faktora: 1) stranke režima (SNS, SPS, SRS), 2) stranke građanske opozicije (PSG, SSP, NDBGD, NS, DS, Ekološki ustanak, SDS) i 3) stranke nacionalne opozicije (Dveri, Suverenisti, DSS, Zavetnici). Regresione analize pokazale su da se evaluacije tri navedena stranačka bloka najbolje mogu predviđati na osnovu praćenja različitih televizija. Simpatije prema strankama režima najbolje predviđa praćenje televizije PINK i nisko interesovanje za politiku. Simpatije prema strankama građanske opozicije jedine se mogu predviđati pomoću dispozicionih faktora (stavovi i autoritarnost), pored praćenja televizije N1. Prediktivna moć svih navedenih prediktora bila je slabija u modelovanju simpatija prema strankama nacionalne opozicije, gde samo mlađe životno doba i praćenje TV RTS objašnjavaju skroman procenat razlika u stranačkim evaluacijama. Rezultati pokazuju da stranački rascep u Srbiji nije ideološke prirode, kao i da je u značajnoj meri proizvod socijalnog uticaja posredovanog medijima.The goal of the research was to examine the latent structure of evaluations of political parties during the 2022 elections in Serbia, as well as to test a set of socio-demographic (gender, age, education, standard of living), dispositional (political attitudes, authoritarianism and religiosity) and contextual predictors (information through different televisions) of extracted dimensions. In a study conducted in the week before the elections on a random sample of 636 adult citizens, it was determined that sympathy for the parties that participated in the parliamentary elections is organized into three mutually independent factors: 1) parties of the regime (SNS, SPS, SRS), 2) civil opposition parties (PSG, SSP, NDBGD, NS, DS, Ekološki ustanak, SDS) and 3) national opposition parties (Dveri, Suverenisti, DSS, Zavetnici). Regression analyses showed that the evaluations of the three mentioned party blocs can best be predicted based on the monitoring of different television channels. Sympathy for the regime’s parties is best predicted by watching PINK TV and low interest in politics. Sympathies towards civil opposition parties can only be predicted using dispositional factors (attitudes and authoritarianism), in addition to watching N1 television. The predictive power of all the mentioned predictors was weaker in the modeling of sympathies towards the parties of the national opposition, where only younger age and watching TV RTS explain a modest percentage of differences in party evaluations. The results show that the party split in Serbia is not of an ideological nature, and that it is to a significant extent the product of social influence realized through media

Understanding Sentiment Towards Russia-Ukraine War: The Role of the Militant Extremist Mindset (Mems) and Big Five Personality

Serbia’s political positioning towards the Russia-Ukraine war is a highly contentious public issue and thus there is importance in understanding the factors that predict attitudes in this domain. In the current study we sought to examine individual differences in the sentiment towards the Russia-Ukraine war with a particular focus on Militant Extremist Mindset (subscales: Proviolence, Vile world, Divine power) and Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness and Conscientiousness). The sentiment towards the war is operationalized through War Anxiety (WAS), positive and negative emotions in relation to war (self-reported on a Likert scale), accountability perceptions of different actors (Russia, Ukraine, NATO, EU, and USA) and attitude towards imposing sanctions against Russia. The data was collected in Aprile 2022 by combining face-to-face and online surveying, on a two-stage stratified (region and education) random sample of 917 adults. The predictive power of personality predictors was tested after controlling for socio-economic variables (age, education, urbanization). A total of 8% of variance in war anxiety (WAS) can be explained with neuroticism (ꞵWAS = -.23, p < .01), agreeableness (ꞵWAS = .13, p < .01), and Divine power (ꞵWAS = .13, p = .01). Emotions in relation to war can be explained by agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, Proviolence and/or Divine power (7% of variance in negative emotions and 16% of variance in positive emotions), with MEMS factors being particularly predictive for positive feelings in relation to war (13% of variance explained). Perceived accountability of the Ukraine, NATO, EU, and USA is positively predicted by Vile World (ꞵ = .33, p < .01, 10% of variance explained), while Russia's accountability is negatively predicted by all MEMS factors (Proviolence ꞵ = -.14, p < .01, Vile world ꞵ = -.12, p < .01, Divine power ꞵ = -.18, p < .01, 8% of variance explained). Agreeableness predicted positive attitude towards imposing sanctions against Russia, explaining 4% of variance (Wald = 5.35, p = .02). As expected, sentiment towards RussiaUkraine war reflects personality traits typically predictive of political behavior and even greater extent radical and violent extremism mindset. Relatively small percentage of criteria explained variation suggests that the explanations of the war related attitudes should be expanded to the domain of more specific political attitudes, social identity, as well as social influence processes shaping public opinion

Understanding Resistance Against Gender Fair Language: A System Justification Perspective

Recent legislative efforts to introduce obligatory use of the gender fair language (GFL) in research, education and media in Serbia received considerable resistance from the public. In line with System justification theory (SJT), we hypothesize that GFL is perceived as an intergroup status threat, which activates motivated defensive mechanism that rationalizes the legitimacy of gender relations status quo and justifies linguistic gender discrimination. Because the recognition of an unprivileged status within the system can be threatening to self-esteem, within the SJT framework members of underprivileged groups can also be motivated to engage in system justification. In an online sample of 449 participants (55% female) we applied a 29 item scale measuring the acceptance of various critical arguments against the GFL and a scale measuring the frequency of GFL use (ranging from Never to Always). The arguments against GFL were identified within the previous studies, public narrative around the GFL in Serbia and within the qualitative pilot study in a student sample (N = 80). EFA revealed that critical arguments against GFL can be described by three latent variables: 1) perceiving GFL as a threat to national identity, Serbian language and men, 2) defending linguistic status quo and rejecting the effectiveness of GFL, 3) rejection of the GFL due to linguistic barriers and habits. All three factors independently negatively predict the use of GFL: threat perceptions account for 48% of the variance in use, defending linguistic status quo accounts for 7% variance, while language barriers and habits explain 4%. Through moderated mediational analyses we tested whether the rejection of GFL use among men and women can be predicted by perceiving GFL as a threat and mediated through status quo arguments. Previously described factors were used as the predictor and the mediator in the analyses. The negative effect of threat perception on GFL use was mediated through status quo arguments, and the mediation effect was stronger among women (Direct effect: B = -.47, p < .01, CI: -.62 to -.33; Indirect effect in men: B = -.31, p < .01, CI: -.41 to -.22; Indirect effect in women: B = -.43, p < .01, CI: -.56 to -.30). While threat perceptions are higher in men, women rationalize their rejection of GFL significantly more by defending the linguistic status quo. Different forms of resistance to GFL can be traced back to intergroup threat perception and mapped onto system justification beliefs

The Attitudes of Professional Workers of The Centers for Social Work in the Republic of Serbia Towards the Media Image and the Quality Of Reporting on Their Work

U skladu sa teorijom medijske reprezentacije, negativno medijsko izveštavanje o socijalnim radnicima/cama može uticati na formiranje negativnih stereotipa o ovoj profesiji u javnosti, umanjiti spremnost za saradnju kod budućih korisnika usluga socijalne zaštite, kao i zadovoljstvo profesijom i profesionalno zalaganje kod stručnih radnika/ca. Značajno je imati uvid u kvalitet izveštavanja i medijski stereotip o stručnim radnicima/cama socijalne zaštite iz vizure stereotipizirane grupe, kako bi ovi negativni efekti bili sprečeni i otklonjeni. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je da ispita kako stručni radnici/ce zaposleni u centrima za socijalni rad u Republici Srbiji opažaju stereotipnu sliku koju mediji stvaraju o njima, kao i kako procenjuju kvalitet izveštavanja domaćih medija o njihovom radu. Ispitano je 242 stručna radnika/ce iz 49 centara za socijalni rad u Republici Srbiji. Podaci su prikupljeni pomoću upitnika sačinjenog iz skala namenjenih merenju medijskog stereotipa o stručnim radnicima/cama i proceni kvaliteta izveštavanja o njihovom radu u različitim medijima. Podaci su analizirani deskriptivim, univarijantim i multivarijantim statističkim tehnikama. Rezultati pokazuju da stručni radnici/ce smatraju da je stereotipna medijska slika o njima pretežno negativna, kako u pogledu kompetentnosti, tako i u pogledu interpersonalnih odnosa sa korisnicima/cama. Dodatno, stručni radnici/ce procenjuju da svi najrelevantniji mediji u Srbiji izveštavaju o njihovom radu na nekvalitetan način. Rezultati su tumačeni u skladu sa tržišnim pristupom i pristupom profesionalne odgovornosti u izveštavanju medija, kao i principom okrivljavanja stručnih radnika/ca u ovkiru socijalne zaštit

Conceptions and perceptions of student initiative held by elementary school teachers and students

The aim of this study is to provide empirical analysis of teachers' and students' understanding of the term student initiative and their perceptions of its manifestations in school environment. A total of 182 teachers and 223 8th grade students were asked to (1) provide associations to the term 'initiative', (2) to specify personal characteristics and behaviors of students with high initiative and (3) to report on the importance and levels of student initiative manifested in different domains of school functioning. Both teachers' and students' associative fields for the term initiative are extremely large and with weak associative strength, implying various diverse meanings. However, both groups consider student initiative as an important feature for school functioning and report on student initiative being manifested in different domains of school life. While there are some differences, both groups connect student initiative with success in school but not with the gender of the student, pointing out prosocial behavior in the school environment and dedication to learning, as well as readiness for additional engagement in the class. Implications for school practice are discussed in terms of changing teacher - student patterns of conversational activities and inclusion of complex and challenging tasks connected to learning material

Činioci socijalnog uključivanja starijih osoba u Beogradu

Social inclusion and social exclusion of the elderly belong to the concepts the operationalization of which has started recently. The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors of social inclusion of the elderly who live in Belgrade. Therefore, a research, using a questionnaire, which included 781 elderly persons living in Belgrade, was conducted in 2019. The dimensions of their health, living standard and financial situation, as well as the quality of life and social participation, were in the focus of the research. Basic findings point to a negative correlation between years of life and all measured outcomes; a positive correlation between their education and subjective assessment of the quality of life and objective measure of social participation in the community; as well as an absence of gender differences in dependent variables, except for the mobility.Socijalno uključivanje i socijalno isključivanje starijih osoba predstavljaju koncepte čija je operacionalizacija novijeg datuma. Cilj ovog rada je analiza činilaca socijalnog uključivanja starijih na primeru Beograda. Zbog toga je tokom 2019. godine sprovedeno istraživanje metodom upitnika u kom je učestvovala 781 starija osoba s teritorije Beograda. Ispitivane su dimenzije zdravlja, životnog standarda i finansijskih prilika, kao i kvaliteta života i društvene participacije. Osnovni nalazi ukazuju na negativnu povezanost godina života sa svim ishodima koji su mereni; pozitivnu povezanost obrazovanja sa subjektivnom procenom kvaliteta života i objektivnom merom društvene participacije u zajednici; te na odsustvo rodnih razlika u zavisnim varijablama, sa izuzetkom mobilnosti

Supporting Development of Resilience Among Children in Foster Care

Savremeni koncept hraniteljstva usmeren je na osnaživanje dece i mladih na porodičnom smeštaju. Kako je reč o deci i mladima čiji je razvoj ugrožen promenama i gubicima koji često imaju odlike traumatskog iskustva, od izuzetnog je značaja razvijati njihove kapacitete za suočavanje i prevladavanje životnih nedaća. Kreiranjem pogodnih uslova u različitim aspektima porodičnog života može se pružiti podrška razvijanju rezilijentnosti kod ove osetljive grupe. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je da ispita iz kojih domena porodičnog života deca i mladi na hraniteljstvu crpe snagu i podršku. Analizirani su izveštaji hranitelja o 53 dece i mladih osoba o kojima brinu. Prigodni uzorak je činilo 42 hranitelja (o čega 33 žene, a 11 hranitelja srodnika) sa područja Beograda i Valjeva. Utvrđeno je da mladi najviše snage i podrške crpe iz snažnih porodičnih odnosa ispunjenih toplinom, ljubavlju i konkretnim vidovima podrške, kao i obrazovanja koje je redovno, prilagođeno potrebama deteta i odvija se uz saradnju škole i hranitelja. Implikacije ovih nalaza razmatrane su u okviru rada.The modern concept of social protection is directed towards empowerment of children and youth in foster care. As developmental trajectories of these children and young people are frequently marked with experiences of change, loss and trauma, it is of utmost importance to foster their capacity to cope with and overcome life’s difficulties. The development of resilience in this vulnerable group can be supported by providing suitable conditions in different aspects of their foster care functioning. The aim of this study was to examine which domains of foster family life are sources of strength and support for children and young people in foster care. Foster carers’ reports on 53 children and young people they care for wereanalysed. The sample consisted of 42 foster parents (33 women and 11 foster relatives) from Belgrade and Valjevo. Finding show that children and young people in our study drew the most strength and support from strong family relationships filled with warmth, love and concrete forms of support, as well as education that iscontinues, designed to meet the needs of the student and carried out through cooperation of the school and the foster parents. No differences were found between reports of foster parents from different cities, whilefoster care families based on the kinship relations were better suited to support resilience in children and young people. The implications of these findings are further discussed in the paper

Anxiety in the Time of Elections: Electoral Behavior Of Voters in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Predizborna kampanja uoči izbora 3. aprila 2022. godine odvijala se u specifičnim uslovima. Svega devet dana nakon što je 15. februara 2022. godine predsednik Republike Srbije, Aleksandar Vučić, raspisao prevremene parlamentarne izbore, Ruska federacija izvršila je invaziju na Ukrajinu. Rat koji je trajao je tokom čitave predizborne kampanje, kreirao je specifičan komunikacioni izazov za političke stranke. Osim toga, rat je uticao i na glasače, pobuđujući anksioznost usled eventualnog prelivanja negativnih posledica rata (bezbednosnih, ekonomskih, političkih, emotivnih) na Srbiju. U ovom radu upravo analiziramo uticaj ratom indukovane anksioznosti na izborno ponašanje glasača. Kvantitativni istraživački dizajn podrazumevao je analizu istraživanja javnog mnjenja sprovedenog neposredno nakon održanih izbora. Upitnik postizborne sondaže bio je fokusiran na proveru dve hipoteze o uticaj anksioznosti na izborno ponašanje: (1) preusmeravanje pažnje glasača sa unutarpolitičkih na spoljnopolitičke teme; (2) promenu preferencija glasača kada je u pitanju donošenje odluke za koga će glasati na izborima.The campaign for the 2022 elections in Serbia took place under specific circumstances. Just nine days after the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić announced parliamentary elections on February 15, 2022, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. The war created a specific communication challenge for political parties. In addition, the war also affected the voters, causing anxiety due to the possibility of a spillover of negative consequences of the war (security, economic, political, and emotional) to Serbia. In this paper, we analyze the impact of war-induced anxiety on the electoral behavior of voters. The quantitative research design involved the analysis of a public opinion survey conducted immediately after the elections. The post-election survey questionnaire was focused on testing two hypotheses about the impact of anxiety on voting behavior: (1) redirecting voters’ attention from domestic to foreign political topics; (2) a change in voter preferences when it comes to deciding who to vote for in elections. The theoretical foundation of this paper is a cognitive approach to emotions. The descriptive and inferential findings of our study indicate that anxiety related to the Russian-Ukrainian war was a significant factor in voting behavior in the 2022 parliamentary elections in Serbia. Regardless of party affiliation, it was empirically confirmed for the first time in the Serbian local context that anxiety induced by crisis situations increases voters’ interest in relevant political information, increases the probability of changing voting preferences, and promotes involvement in the electoral process (turnout), as well as gathering around political options that guarantee stability or offer protective security policies (parties that were in power until the election and right-wing parties). However, these effects were not left to the spontaneity of political-psychological processes but were also successfully instrumentalized by the Serbian Progressive Party. Simultaneously increasing the anxiety of the voters and offering messages of reassurance, this party managed to divert the attention of the voters from other relevant issues and to keep its former voters together. The findings of this analysis contribute to the open debates in the field of Elections and Voting Behavior, as well as in the field of Foreign Policy Analysis