How Macedonian educational context supports leadership role of elementary school teachers

This paper deals with the problem of leaders and leadership in the educational context, particularly the leadership role of primary school teachers. Albeit we do not doubt that leadership is an essential teacher quality, a claim which is elaborated in this paper, nevertheless, it is beneficial to discuss the problem taking into consideration scientifically proven facts, as follows: the role of the teacher impacts the success/failure of any reform in the educational sector, the democratization of the educational environment, the success of the students, the professional development of teachers and their self-confirmation. This paper presents our analyses of the legal and sub-legal legislation regulating primary school education in the Republic of Macedonia. The purpose of the analyses is to scan the legislation for requirements which apply to leaders in the educational context. In order to confirm our hypothesis that teachers play a key role in the development process of school organization, we have analyzed the development plans and other pedagogical documentation of twenty-four primary schools

Теориските аспекти на социометрискиот статус на учениците (отфрлени/прифатени) и неговото образовно значење

Живееме во време на егзистенцијални парадокси. Од една страна милиони луѓе гладуваат, а од друга страна непроценливо големи финансиски средства се трошат за вооружување и војни. Милиони луѓе живеат во социјална, културна и технолошка изолација, а на другата страна се развиваат нано технологии и се истражува свемирот. Глобализацијата продира во секој сегмент од човековиот живот и создава скоро неразрешливи дилеми за суштината на човековото опстојување. Во вакви услови општествата кои се стремат да ги достигнат целите на побогатите, подемократичните и похуманите често се соочуваат со проблеми од вредносен карактер. Отсуствува компатибилност меѓу реалниот живот, прокламираните училишни цели и вековните напори на семејството да го зачува својот воспитен интегритет. Трудот претставува преглед и анализа на теориски концепции и истражувачки наоди кои го актуелизираат и потврдуваат значењето на социјалната интеракција во ученичкиот колектив како детерминанта која може да влијае на квалитетот на социјалната интеракција во поширокиот општествен контекст. Постојат неотповикливи докази дека социометрискиот статус на учениците во ученичкиот колектив влијае на нивниот социјален, емоционален и когнитивен развој. Дека статусот на прифатеност и отфрленост се временски релативно стабилни и преносливи во други групи.Оттука се поставува потреба од воспоставување на нова парадигма која ќе промовира уште еден показател (социјална интеракција) за мерење на квалитетот на училишното образование

THE INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

The research aimed to determine the intercultural competence levels of primary school teachers. The research questions examined problems of intercultural competence of teachers working in a multicultural school and in a monocultural school such as the level of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism and the level of intercultural competence in the dimension of global competence (substantive knowledge, perceptual understanding and intercultural communication). An online quantitative survey through the Intercultural Sensitivity Index (ISI) was used to collect data. The research was conducted on a purposive sample of 53 primary school teachers in multiethnic regions of North-West Macedonia. Data processing was performed using SPSS. Key findings reveal that the intercultural sensitivity of primary school teachers is middling (M=3.19). Teachers working in a multicultural school have developed a higher level of intercultural competence (M=3.22) compared to teachers working in a monocultural school (M=3.15). Teachers need professional development in the field of intercultural education. They also need international mobility.Keywords: ethnocentrism, ethnorelativism, intercultural competence, intercultural communicatio

Contemporary Pedagogical Approaches for Developing Higher Level Thinking on Science Classes

The school is the mirror of a society. To create and develop good education means to realize objectives that would reflect its sense. In current education, the hierarchy of values that should be set and implemented is asymmetrically positioned. In successful school, the student should become the meaning and the purpose of the content that will introduce him/her into the world of competition and competence in order to enable successful communication with it. How can a teaching lesson become a workshop in which new ideas, creative solutions, new forms of research and new knowledge are being undercrossed?! The research that has been done in this paper aims to investigate the introduction of practical teaching and application of reforms in teaching biology in the six primary urban schools in Stip, R. Macedonia. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews made with 11 experienced teachers of biology and were analyzed their class planes. The results showed that teachers occasionally introduced a small number of enhanced instructional strategies that explicitly match the formal curriculum in their classes, such as: presenting, analyzing and generalizing experimental results from practical teaching of biology in various forms. However, teachers have used fewer strategies that target encouraging higher level thinking, such as to induce students to ask questions or to learn about problem solving strategies used during lessons. Differences were identified between teachers regarding the use of rich teaching strategies during lessons, and their beliefs about the abilities of students to develop the ability to think at a higher level

GENDER AND LEVEL OF TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE ON KEY FEATURES OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

The paper explored the level of teachers’ knowledge on key features of intercultural education. The research was led by three questions: wether there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of female and male teachers on the meaning of notion of interculture, on the goals of intercultural education and on the values promoted by intercultural education. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire applied to 217 primary school teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia. Respondents rated themselves on a 5 point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to determine levels of knowledge on intercultural education. When interpreting the level of knowldge on intercultural education, the interval 1.00–1.79 was evaluated to be “very low”, 1.80–2.59 to be “low”, 2.60–3.39 to be “middling”, 3.40-4.19 to be “high”, and 4.20– 5.00 to be “very high”. Differences in the level of knowledge on teachers’ intercultural education were tested using t-test at p = .05. Both female and male teachers show a middling level of knowledge on the notion of interculture (M = 3.06), a high level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.48) and a high level of knowledge on the values promoted by intercultural education (M = 3.55), the research results show. Female teachers show a statistically lower level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.37, p <.05) than male teachers (M = 3.75, p <.05)

MENTORING IN TEACHING PROFESSION

Mentoring as a form of strengthening the competencies of teachers is widely accepted in the educational system of the Republic of Macedonia. Generally, experienced teachers and those who are new perceive this process as inevitable for strengthening and retaining quality staff. The goal is to explore what teachers think about mentoring novice teachers in teaching. In line with the stated goal, we tried to answer the following questions: Are there differences in teachers’ views and opinions about the mentoring process regarding their work experience? Does mentoring as a process contribute to/for teachers’ professional development? Are there differences in views and opinion of teachers for the mentoring process regarding their experience and involvement in the mentoring of novice teachers? The obtained results pointed to the weaknesses that the mentoring process in our country is facing with. Although mentoring as a process is regulated by law, in practice there are still inconsistencies in its realization, both from the aspect of the approach and from the aspect of effectiveness. The recommendation to schools is to try, in addition to mentoring, to offer other forms of support to novice teachers and to try to support the teaching profession through a continuous investment (staff and financial).&nbsp

Family and School - Creators of a Child

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Integrating intercultural education in the primary school curriculum

The paper investigated through which subjects intercultural education can best be applied in the primary school curriculum. Teachers' attitudes were investigated through 5 variables such as school cultural structure, gender, seniority, teacher’s prior intercultural education and teacher’s education degree. A 5 point Likert scale consisting of 6 items was used for data collection. This scale was applied to 217 primary school teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia. The ranking of subjects through which intercultural education is implemented was done through descriptive statistics. Differences in teachers' attitudes on subject ranking were tested through t-test and One Way ANOVA. The research results showed that teachers require another form of implementation of intercultural education (M=3.55) in addition to implementation through extracurricular activities (M=3.46). Teachers working in a multicultural school think that intercultural education should be implemented through an another form, while teachers working in a monocultural school think that intercultural education should be implemented in homeroom class. Teachers with "combined" intercultural education think that this education should be implemented through extracurricular activities, while teachers who have independently studied intercultural think that intercultural education should be implemented through an another for

Gender and level of teachers’ knowledge on key features of intercultural education

The paper explored the level of teachers’ knowledge on key features of intercultural education. The research was led by three questions: wether there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of female and male teachers on the meaning of notion of interculture, on the goals of intercultural education and on the values promoted by intercultural education. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire applied to 217 primary school teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia. Respondents rated themselves on a 5 point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to determine levels of knowledge on intercultural education. When interpreting the level of knowldge on intercultural education, the interval 1.00–1.79 was evaluated to be “very low”, 1.80–2.59 to be “low”, 2.60–3.39 to be “middling”, 3.40-4.19 to be “high”, and 4.20– 5.00 to be “very high”. Differences in the level of knowledge on teachers’ intercultural education were tested using t-test at p = .05. Both female and male teachers show a middling level of knowledge on the notion of interculture (M = 3.06), a high level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.48) and a high level of knowledge on the values promoted by intercultural education (M = 3.55), the research results show. Female teachers show a statistically lower level of knowledge on the goals of intercultural education (M = 3.37, p <.05) than male teachers (M = 3.75, p <.05)