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Although the construct of teacher engagement is acknowledged as important for positive student and teacher outcomes, evidence about its determinants is still scarce. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between transformational leadership, dimensions of teacher academic optimism (i.e., self-efficacy, teacher trust in parents and students, and academic emphasis), and teacher engagement. Data obtained from 420 primary and lower secondary school Serbian teachers were analyzed by utilizing structural equation modeling with latent variables. The results revealed that transformational leadership has positive effects on all dimensions of teacher academic optimism. Transformational leadership was directly associated with teacher engagement, although this relationship was not strong. Also, transformational leadership was linked to teacher engagement indirectly, via teachers’ trust in parents and students and academic emphasis. The present study suggests that transformational leadership plays an important role in enhancing teacher engagement. Therefore, by strengthening transformational leadership in the school, the engagement of teachers is likely to be improved.

School connectedness is a significant construct that has various positive outcomes for students, so it is important to investigate its determinants. Students’ connectedness to school depends on their interaction with teachers. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ support and students’ perceptions of school connectedness. Participants were 325 students from 29 high school classes. Data were collected using research tools for assessing students’ perceptions of teachers’ support, homeroom teachers’ support, and school connectedness. Multilevel modeling was applied, since students were nested within classrooms. The obtained results revealed that, after controlling the effects of gender and type of school, the teacher’s support significantly predicted the students’ connectedness to school at the individual (student) level. In addition, class-level homeroom teacher’s support was positively associated with students’ school connectedness at the class level. The relation between teachers’ support and students’ school connectedness did not significantly vary across classes. This study indicates that teachers’ support plays an important role in fostering students’ connectedness to school. Implications of this study are relevant for teachers’ initial education and professional development.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have the potential to enhance teaching and learning and influence the development of students' digital competencies. However, harnessing the potential of ICT in a way that contributes to positive student outcomes poses a challenge for many teachers. The question arises as to whether providing adequate ICT infrastructure in schools facilitates access and, therefore, the use of ICT in teaching. Additionally, it is significant to examine the role of teachers' knowledge and beliefs in this context. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the relationship between teachers' perception of ICT infrastructure in schools, ICT self-efficacy, and ICT integration. The study involved 590 teachers from primary and secondary schools in Serbia. By conducting multiple regression analysis, significant effects of teachers' ICT self-efficacy and perception of available ICT equipment in schools on the use of ICT in teaching activities were obtained. ICT self-efficacy explains the criterion variable to a greater extent. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Behavior and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS) was developed to assess the bidimensional construct of classroom management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the BIMS using Serbian teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the data collected from a sample of 660 teachers, with results supporting a two-factor model of the BIMS. Both subscales of the BIMS demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Furthermore, results indicated that the two-factor model of the scale has good convergent validity. In conclusion, the BIMS can be recommended to researchers interested in measuring teacher classroom management in Serbia. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 179037: The significance of participation in social networks for adjustment to euro-integrational processes]

Given that teacher self-efficacy has been recognized as a significant predictor of desirable outcomes at the student as well as at the teacher level, it is necessary to address the lack of a robust measure of this construct in Serbia. The present study examined the reliability, factor structure, and criterion validity of the 12-item Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) among a sample of 452 Serbian teachers. Internal consistency estimates for scores on the TSES varied from .77 to .88. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model of the TSES yielded the best fit to data. Criterion validity of the TSES was supported by relationships of all its subscales with teacher job satisfaction. Primary school classroom teachers reported significantly higher self-efficacy for student engagement compared to secondary and high school teachers. No significant differences were found with gender and years of teaching experience. Our results confirm that the TSES is a reliable and valid instrument, and thus potentially useful for research within the Serbian cultural context. Both areas for future research and practical implications are discussed. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 179037: The Significance of Participation in Social Networks for Adjustment to Euro-integrational Processes]

The understanding of the teacher's perspective is an important prerequisite for the functional implementation of inclusive education in schools. The research presented in this paper aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of their roles in educating students with developmental disabilities, alongside the roles of school psychologists and education experts, as well as their perceptions of their own competencies for inclusive education, and of possible barriers to implementing inclusive education. The sample consisted of 102 teachers in regular primary schools, 60.8% of whom reported having professional experience with working with children with developmental disabilities. The questionnaire used in the research was developed for this purpose, and its properties were evaluated and subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The findings indicate that teachers believe school psychologists and education experts play a primary role in implementing certain aspects of inclusive education. Teachers' responses also indicate a general sense of lacking the necessary competencies for working with children with developmental disabilities. The greatest barriers to inclusive education identified by teachers are their own initial education and negative school culture. Finally, the research found no significant correlation between teachers' experience of working with students with developmental disabilities and their years of service, on the one hand, and their perception of various aspects of inclusive education, on the other. The concluding discussion emphasizes the need for teachers to accept their roles and to feel competent to work with students with developmental disabilities. The implications of the research relate to the directions in which teachers' initial education and professional training for inclusive education can be improved.

The aim of this study is to verify the psychometric properties of the translation of the questionnaire which is designed for self-assessment of students’ motivation toward science learning, SMTSL. Besides being translated and adapted to Serbian language, the questionnaire was adapted to the specific properties of chemistry as a school subject. The administered questionnaire consisted of 29 items in the five-point Likert scale and contained five subscales which assessed a sense of self-efficacy for learning chemistry, active learning strategies, chemistry learning value, performance goal and achievement goal. The suitability of the theoretical model and psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire were assessed on the sample of 741 grammar school students. The results show that the tested model has good fit indicators. The calculated values of the indicators of reliability and representativeness indicate quite satisfactory psychometric properties of the questionnaire and it can be used in further research.

This paper discusses the phenomenon of parenting in families with adolescents. Special emphasis is placed on the exploration of the concept of parenting rearing practices through the dimensions of parental emotional warmth, control and monitoring. Based on that, starting from the standpoint about the importance of child's perception of parental behaviour, this paper presents the results of the research aimed at examining adolescents' view of parental rearing practices. The instrument used in the research consisted of three subscales (emotional warmth, monitoring, control), as well as the questions about socio-demographic variables. The sample included 154 second grade students of secondary school, i.e. adolescents. The findings have shown that adolescents perceived parental warmth as the most present and parental monitoring and control as less present parental rearing practice. Mother's parental rearing practices were perceived as significantly more present compared to those of the father. Also, it was found that the gender of respondents is a significant variable in the perception of parental rearing practices, while family characteristics (family social status, family structure, parent's educational level and the number of children in the family) have not been proved as statistically significant variables. The concluding part emphasizes the need for further research of the factors that determine father's role in the family with adolescents, and the need to develop parent's awareness of the benefits related to adolescent's self-disclosure in the process of parental monitoring.

Copyright of TEME: Casopis za Društvene Nauke is the property of TEME: Casopis za Drustvene Nauke and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although scholars have acknowledged the role of collaborative relationships of teachers in improving the quality of instruction, teacher collective efficacy continues to be a neglected construct in educational research. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between transformational school leadership, teacher self-efficacy and perceived collective teacher efficacy, using a sample of 120 permanent secondary-school teachers in Serbia, whose average age was 42.5. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that transformational school leadership and teacher self-efficacy were independent predictors of teacher collective efficacy. The research findings also showed that individually-focused transformational leadership contributed significantly to an explanation of collective efficiency after controlling specific predictor effects of group-focused dimensions of transformational leadership. It is argued that the results have a double meaning. First, this study expanded the understanding of the relationship between different dimensions of transformational school leadership and collective teacher efficacy. Second, a contribution of teacher self-efficacy to collective efficacy beliefs was established, confirming the assumptions of social cognitive theory on reciprocal causality between two types of perceived efficacy: individual and collective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past twenty years, social cognitive theory has received a great deal of attention from educational researchers. This theory postulates that teacher self-efficacy affects a number of important outcomes for both teachers and students. International education assessments indicate a universal relevance of this construct, regardless of differences in national contexts. The results of previous studies have shown that teacher self-efficacy is a predictor of numerous desired outcomes, including student achievement, teacher job satisfaction and commitment. An insight into the results of existing research enables understanding of the role of teacher self-efficacy in the shaping of the quality of teaching, which is a significant factor in the success of every educational system. The aim of this paper is to present the most significant ideas about the sources and outcomes of teacher self-efficacy and classroom processes that mediate the relationships between this construct and important educational outcomes. The most important sources of teachers' self-efficacy are mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional states. The effects of teacher self-efficacy are mediated by different classroom processes, such as instructional support, effective classroom management, and emotional teacher support. It is evident that the researchers have agreed that teacher self-efficacy is a multidimensional construct whose examination involves the application of assessment tools that take into account the domain specificity of the teachers' beliefs about their own capabilities necessary to achieve the desired outcomes. Despite this fact, there are still some conceptual difficulties in measuring this construct. Social cognitive theory supports the idea of a reciprocal relationship between two forms of teachers' efficacy: individual and collective. In the final part of the paper, it is concluded that the research of teacher self-efficacy in Serbia would not only enable a comparison of the results with foreign studies, but also have significant practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is an evolutionarily-preserved developmental stage which is characterized by dramatic physical, hormonal, neurological, and behavioral changes. One of the basic characteristics of adolescence is an increased tendency towards participation in reckless and risk behavior. However, greater youth involvement in risk-taking, in comparison with adults and children, cannot be entirely explained by reckless disregard of risk, irrationality, the illusion of own invulnerability, or rather by the wrong perception of risky situations. In this paper, the risk behavior in adolescents is discussed from the perspective of two theoretical-empirical frameworks - social neuroscience and evolutionary biology. The first part of the paper explicates the necessity of de-dramatization of adolescence. In the second, central, part of the paper, the basic findings of neurobiological research on adolescence are presented, as well as the basic postulates of the evolutionary model of risk behavior in adolescents. Finally, the authors elaborate on the potential social-pedagogical implications of modern knowledge of adolescence. The presented conceptual framework enables the interpretation of what is already known about risk behavior in adolescents and, at the same time, provides new assumptions, suggests new research directions, and presents a unique platform for the creation of comprehensive preventive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates on the application of the quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodological approaches in social sciences are mainly driven by the need to justify meaning and scope of qualitative research in the context of modern science. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to discuss the possibilities of application of one of the qualitative methodological approaches to researching the problems of social pedagogy -- the grounded theory research design. In the first part of the paper, the authors examine the development, constitutive properties and methodological assumptions of grounded theory by the authors Glaser and Strauss. The methodology and very design of the grounded theory are presented in relation to its main assumptions and key elements (phases): the collection of qualitative data, the constant comparison method, coding and theoretical sampling. In the second part, the authors explicate the methodologically concise but coherent interpretation of this type of qualitative research, which could have significant potential in the process of understanding social-pedagogical phenomena, in the way that enables generating more integrated theories and their greater applicability by social pedagogues/practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For proper organization of sport and physical education in general, it is necessary to obtain empirical evidence on how sport influences youths' social and moral development. To that effect, the research aim was to provide empirical data on the existence or non-existence of a connection between doing sport and prosocial behavior of the young. An appropriate questionnaire of pro-social behavior estimation was implemented on the sample of 61 students aged 12-14. The research findings show that there is a significant difference in the level of display of certain forms of prosocial behavior among the young athletes and their peers that are not engaged in some organized sport activities. Further, it was established that the type of sport influences the level of pro-social behavior manifestation. It was not found whether the length of doing sport is correlated with the pro-social behavior of adolescents. The results obtained point that organized sport activities represent the context having positive effects on the development of pro-social behavior of the young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ljetopis Socijalnog Rada / Annual of Social Work is the property of Pravni Fakultet Sveucilista u Zagrebu, Studijski Centar Socijalnog Rada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper analyses the problem of the compulsory education in the Republic of Serbia (1992-2003) from the point of view of the interpretative paradigm, and based upon the comparative approach. In that sense, the field of compulsory education, the same as the state itself, permeate through the processes of transition, modernization and reform. Since the compulsory education represents a base for development of every individual and a society in the whole, the authors of the paper tends to objectively introspect the situation of the compulsory education system in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the moments necessary for the process of creation of its reform: previously acquired experiences, experiences from other countries, needs of the individual and a community, as well as the national interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses situations, conditions of social discourse and necessary actions for the implementation of multicultural education and human rights education in the education system of the countries in transition (Republic of Serbia), from the perspective of interpretative paradigms, and on the postulations of critical pedagogy. In the first part of the paper, the authors explain a theoretical understanding of the term multiculturalism as a public asset, and as the term which does not go in line of the traditional ethical principles. The second part of the paper focuses on the importance of creation of different conditions for the social discourse of the countries in transition in order to make the multiculturalism and the human rights order not only the ethical option, but also the ethical need. In that sense, the basic thesis of this paper is that education, as a reference point, and the interactive relationship of individuals, with their own reality, is the only possible way to understand the world in the continuous change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]