Teacher Training in Technology Based on their Psychological Characteristics: Methods of Group Formation and Assessment

AbstractTeachers, despite adequate training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), appear to be reluctant to incorporate ICT into their teaching practices. This is an issue of major importance, not only for educational but also for career development reasons, since the acquisition of new skills broadens a professional's career identity and enriches his/her career opportunities. Research so far has tried to explore the factors related to teacher's reluctance and personality seems to be one of them. The paper presents the first stage of an extended research study on the specific field and discusses the research methodology used to explore personality traits, as well as other psychological characteristics, such as self-efficacy related to ICT use, and anxiety and attitudes towards ICT use. The sample consisted of trainee teachers who were divided into groups, according to their personality characteristics, based on the five-factor personality model of Costa and McCrae (1992). The instruments that were constructed for the present study and were used for the assessment of in-group cooperation and teacher's intention for ICT adoption in teaching are presented and discussed

Trainee Teachers’ Intention to Incorporating ICT Use into Teaching Practice in Relation to their Psychological Characteristics: The Case of Group-based Intervention

AbstractPersonality traits and other psychological variables have been found to influence the use of technology as well as group functioning and effectiveness. In this study it is hypothesized that the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality traits and psychological variables are related to teachers’ willingness to incorporate ICT into their teaching practices, as well as to within group interactions and outcome. The study employs a pre- and post- intervention research design, consisted of a training program in ICT in Education offered to a sample of 109 undergraduate trainee teachers which was divided into experimental (homogenous & heterogeneous) and control groups based on their personality traits and psychological characteristics, in order to examine the significance of these traits’ configuration in work groups, their intention to incorporate ICT into their future teaching practice and the quality of within group cooperation. Preliminary results revealed individual differences concerning gender and anxiety as well as group differences in favour of heterogeneous groups

Students’ Psychosocial Empowerment With The ‘Steps For Life’ Personal and Social Skills Greek Elementary Programme

Significant research has been conducted on skills’ enhancement school programs, since their importance has been well established. The pre-sented study evaluates “Steps for life”, a Greek, universal, annual, teacher-taught programme, designed to improve personal and social skills in young elementary students by the use of questions, diffusion in formal and hidden curriculum, and parental involvement. The experimental study was conducted in Greece during 2013-2014. The sample consisted of 2439 students, with 1516 forming the experimental group and 923 the control group. The study questionnaire included demographics, Personal and Social Skills Scale-Elementary, and the BASE scale. It investigated students’ self-esteem, concentration of attention, participation/cooperation, emotions’ identification and expression, emotions’ management, ability to control verbal and physical aggressiveness, ability to control victimization, empathy, friendship skills, problem-solving, ability to take responsibility, and use of spoken and written language. The experimental group exhibited significant improvement in all inves-tigated skills post-intervention, while the control group did not improve concentration of attention, emotions’ management, and their ability to control verbal and physical aggressiveness and victimization. The analysis also revealed that intervention students had significantly higher improvement than the controls in all dimensions. Appropriately designed mental health promotion programs can improve several children’s social-emotional skills and abilitie

Exploring friendship quality and the practice of savoring in relation to the wellbeing of Greek adults

Previous research findings demonstrate that both savoring ability and the presence of high-quality friendships play a significant role in enhancing one’s overall sense of wellbeing. However, these associations have not been thoroughly investigated within a diverse range of adults across their lifespans, nor have they been explored in the specific cultural context of Greece. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to delve into the relationships between close friendship quality, the utilization of savoring techniques, and wellbeing within the Greek cultural framework. The study involved 771 adults from Greece with an average age of 38.35 years, who completed the McGill Friendship Functions Questionnaire, the PERMA Profiler, and the Abridged Ways of Savoring Checklist. Results revealed that there exists a positive correlation between friendship quality and savoring strategies with overall wellbeing. Moreover, the study identified a significant association wherein a greater employment of savoring strategies was linked to higher levels of friendship quality. While this study contributes valuable insights, it also has limitations that warrant acknowledgment. Furthermore, suggestions for potential future research directions are proposed, and the implications of these findings are discussed in relation to interventions aimed at enhancing both friendships and the practice of savoring across various contexts

Teacher training in technology based on their psychological characteristics: Methods of group formation and assessment

Teachers, despite adequate training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), appear to be reluctant to incorporate ICT into their teaching practices. This is an issue of major importance, not only for educational but also for career development reasons, since the acquisition of new skills broadens a professional’s career identity and enriches his/ her career opportunities. Research so far has tried to explore the factors related to teachers’ reluctance and personality seems to be one of them. The paper presents the first stage of an extended research study on the specific field and discusses the research methodology used to explore personality traits, as well as other psychological characteristics, such as self-efficacy related to ICT use, and anxiety and attitudes towards ICT use. The sample consisted of trainee teachers who were divided into groups, according to their personality characteristics, based on the five-factor personality model of Costa and McCrae (1992). The instruments that were constructed for the present study and were used for the assessment of in-group cooperation and teachers’ intention for ICT adoption in teaching are presented and discussed. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd