The method of “Object Exclusion” is often used to assess a person’s ability to generalize and forms part of the pathopsychological and neuropsychological examination of children and adults. Nevertheless, there is no definite consensus as to which ratio of responses, which would reflect different generalization levels, is considered normative for children of different ages. Published data on the neuropsychological validity of this technique is quite inconsistent. The results of the investigation of 482 tentatively healthy children aged between 52 and 215 months (119 ± 43), of whom 316 were boys and 166 were girls, provided the standards of various categories of responses for different ages. Cross-analysis with neuropsychological diagnosis results revealed that the test performance indicators have to do with cognitive development, but the proportion of explained variance is no greater than 10%. Moreover, the neuropsychological validity of the method varies for each age group. Collating the responses from various categories allows predicting no more than 7% of neurocognitive development variability.
Journal Articles
Students and Aggression: Perception and Strategies of Behavior
The problem of aggressiveness of adolescents and young people is currently acquiring new aspects in connection with the expansion of their social contacts. The purpose of our study was to identify the characteristics of students’ aggressiveness, their attitude to aggressiveness (perception and evaluation of aggressiveness, behavior strategies when faced with aggression, ways to overcome their own aggressiveness). We also wanted to explore, whether the nature and level of aggressiveness changes from the first to the final year of study at the Institute. The study involved 253 students (149 first-year students and 104 fourth-year students). The study was conducted in an anonymous form using the questionnaire “Attitude to aggression” developed by us and the methodology for diagnosing aggressiveness by Buss–Darka’s test. The results of the study showed that in the student environment (in the age range from 17 to 22 years) there is no reliable relationship between age and levels of aggression and hostility. First-year students perceive aggression more in the emotional and energy aspect, they tend to continue communicating with an aggressive person, try to calm him or ignore his condition. Fourth-year students view aggression as a social behavior rather than an emotional outburst, and prefer a withdrawal strategy, begin to behave more carefully, try not to provoke. Their behavior is more appropriate from the point of view of safety. Fourth-year students are more likely than first-year students to “see” aggressive people in communication situations, more often note the positive role of aggression in defending their position in society, and more often openly show their own aggression towards people.
Problems and Opportunities for Training Specialists for Working with Children with Mental Retardation in the Higher Education System
In the modern rapidly changing world, there is a change in value orientations and educational paradigms, socio-economic, political, liberal-social and scientific conditions. These processes also affect the training system for working with different categories of children, including those with mental retardation. The purpose of this work is to study, analyze and objectively compare the structure of training bachelors who are capable of creating special conditions for education and upbringing for children with mental retardation, to identify common elements of this training. The study of the domestic practice of training specialists for working with persons with mental retardation is important for concretizing the content of specialized education.
The study used a comparative analysis of training profiles in the framework of defectological, psychological-pedagogical and pedagogical training areas. At the same time, the authors also analyzed the main professional educational programs and work programs of specialized disciplines aimed at preparing defectologists, teachers and psychologists to work with children with impaired mental function.
The study expanded the understanding of the dependence of the structure and content of personnel training for working with children with mental retardation on future areas of professional activity; the influence of research results, concepts of leading scientists who advocate the priority of defectologists in teaching and upbringing of children with mental retardation. Based on the results of the study, a versatile description of the structure of training psychological, pedagogical and defectological personnel was obtained by identifying factors that can affect the organization of optimal profile training for bachelors.
The authors declare the idea of a specialized professional defectological education of teachers who are ready to work with children with mental retardation. The obtained research results can be used to design training modules in the structure of courses, the content of which maximally effectively ensures the formation of core competencies for working with children with mental retardation.
Data Competence of Subjects of Pedagogical and Managerial Analytics for Evidence-based Development of Education
The relevance of the study is associated with the need to analyze the changing labor actions of education leaders and teachers in connection with the organization of the analysis of educational data accumulated by students in the digital educational environment. This, in turn, actualizes the need for the development of competencies in the analysis of educational data for a reasonable organization of human development and education. In the context of the digital transformation of education, the development of digital educational platforms, the development of digital services for assessing the quality of education, monitoring education, the issues of the methodology of data analysis and their competent application in pedagogical and managerial practice are being actualized. The article examines how educational analytics is used in the practice of schools, what problems educational leaders experience in pedagogy when working with data, what data sources they use. It was studied: what competencies are necessary for a teacher and the head of an educational organization in order to organize evidence-based development of education based on data. Leading research methods: structural and functional analysis, interviewing, polling, systematization, ranking, statistical analysis. The article summarizes the results of a study of the changing labor functions of teachers in the context of the digitalization of education, the competencies of teachers and managers in the application of data analysis in educational practice: digital competencies (digital competencies), data analysis competencies (data competencies), competencies for organizing development based on data (competence of a data-driven development organization). The problem is revealed: how the methodology and labor functions of teachers in the organization of education change based on the analysis of data: educational results, motivational choices of training profiles, levels of difficulty of educational tasks, topics of design and research work of schoolchildren, etc. Expansion of labor actions of teachers and heads of educational organizations and competences that ensure the implementation of labor actions are investigated. The development of data-competencies of teachers and education leaders for the evidence-based development of education and a person is analyzed. The research results presented in the article contribute to the theory and practice of teacher education, education management, as well as to the methodology of data science and the practice of its application in the field of education.
Educational and Professional Choice of Working Youth in Service Industries
The relationship between education, profession and social status in the modern global world is not obvious. A high level of education does not guarantee a professional career. The discrepancy between professional education and occupation is especially acute in the field of customer service. On the one hand, it reduces the quality of services provided and, on the other hand, causes tension among workers of this industry. The aim of the research is to study educational values, the choice of an educational trajectory and professional self-determination of modern working-class youth in the service industry.
The article is based on the materials of an empirical study using quantitative and qualitative sociological methods: a mass survey of working-class youth in the Ural Federal District and a biographical interview, the informants of which are employed in the real sector of the economy and the service sector.
The contradictory attitude of young service workers to education was revealed: not seeing the connection between the level and quality of education and the characteristics of their own life, young people are confident in the value of education and maintain a respectful attitude towards educated people. The personal significance of education for the new generation of working-class youth is small; the social prestige of education does not in any way affect personal life plans, including the professional choice.
The established relationships between the educational and professional choice of working-class youth – the basic layer of the social structure of any society – can be used to organize vocational guidance work in secondary school, and can be in demand by the state and regional authorities of vocational education.
Distance Teaching of Professional Intergroup Communication to Non-Linguistic Students
The relevance of this research is due to significant changes in the labor market caused by the transformation of the modern world, when the demand for professionals who can study in a digital environment, as well as carry out cross-cultural communication and interaction with remote business partners, has sharply increased. This article identifies the main difficulties arising in the process of teaching intergroup dialogue and professionally-oriented interaction to non-linguistic students and also proposes new organizational and methodological approaches aimed at overcoming these difficulties. The aim of the research is to test the experimental methods of distance teaching of dialogic speech as a means of adaptation of non-linguistic students to intergroup communication in the digital environment. Such research methods as the experiment, observation, and the method of open and closed-ended questionnaires were used. The statistical significance of the obtained data was tested with the help of the student’s paired t-test and the Fisher test. The article describes the experimental distance teaching of communication in a virtual environment simulating professional intercultural interaction. The organizational and methodological approaches elaborated by the authors give an opportunity to form an educational foreign language environment, which trains non-linguistic students in intergroup communication with remote partners. The pedagogical tools tested in practice contribute to the effectiveness of teaching students with a low level of foreign language proficiency. The materials presented in the article allow us to create new technologies of foreign language distance teaching and will be in demand by specialists in the field of higher education pedagogies.
Didactic Peculiarities of the Use of Learning Systems in Technical Universities
The topicality of the matter considered is conditioned by low didactic efficiency of existing technical learning software and hardware tools in technical universities. In this regard, the purpose of this article is the creation and practical application of new methods for increasing the didactic efficiency of automated components of the educational process. The methodological basis of the research is the complex application of mutually complementary approaches, the main ones of which are systemic, personality-oriented, axiological and anthropological.
The work describes the performance of the designed learning system and, on its example, considers the methods for increasing the didactic efficiency of learning systems subject to psychofactors of the participants of the educational process. In the proposed learning system, the results of psychodiagnostics of students’ personal characteristics and qualities are represented which are used to form new elements of system analysis – “cognitive elements of psychofactors”, which introducing made it possible to improve the system analysis. The perfection of system analysis expanded its functionality and qualitatively changed its capabilities, which in turn made it possible to increase the degree of reasonableness of decisions made by a teacher and learning system when analyzing pedagogical situations. In the presented research, a special emphasis is put on the use of psycho-corrective educational technologies of the educational process, which use gave a new pedagogical effect – students practicing psycho-corrective methods of work with their personal qualities began to successfully complete higher complexity educational tasks, which proves an increase in their cognitive motivation and cognitive abilities.
A Model of Subjective Well-Being of a Teacher in the Context of the Safety of Educational Environment
Relevance of the problem. The study of well-being in education is an important area of scientific research and practical interventions. WHO declare the human right to well-being. The aspect of the students’ well-being was added to the OECD PISA profiles and in the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the Edu2030, which confirm the significance of this theme (UNESCO, 2016). The key role of teacher well-being for the well-being of students and the educational environment in whole has become the focus of scientific publications, in particular confirming the significant relationship between school safety and teacher well-being (Sürücü Atila, & Ünal, 2015). However, teachers’ well-being remains low, which is revealed in the problem of the mass dismissal of teachers from schools. This problem is especially relevant among young teachers (OECD, 2020). This situation leads to a social contradiction that updates the study of the problem of teachers’ well-being in the context of socio-professional conditions and the ethics of the profession. Current research of well-being is focused on an ecological approach as relevant to the modern requirements of science (Mercer, 2021). Thus, the purpose of this study is to define the concept of “subjective well-being of a teacher” and develop a model of the subjective well-being of a teacher in the context of the safety of educational environment using relevant scientific and methodological tools. Research methods: search and confirmatory factor analysis, comparative, correlation analysis. Technique: WHOQOL-100 Questionnaire, B. Tuckman Procrastination Scale”, Melbourne Decision Inventory, AVEM Questionnaire. The study sample consisted of N=600 teachers of secondary schools of the Republic of Tatarstan, noted by the type of settlement and their socio-economic zone.
Research results. A model of the teacher’s subjective well-being has been developed in the context of the ethics of the profession “The triangle of professional well-being of a teacher”, which includes ownership, professional aspirations and quality of life as system-forming peaks. Practical significance. The results of the study can be applied for the educational programs for teachers’ training and retraining, for the supervising and psychological and pedagogical support of a teacher as well as to ensure the psychological safety of the learning environment of the school.
Social, Psychological and Organizational Factors Affecting the Psychological Safety of the Educational Environment
According to data of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, various forms of violations of human behavior are seen in the education and youth environment, including through immersion in destructive ideologies on the Internet. These data write down the need to study the factors affecting the psychological safety of the environment, especially the educational and youth environment (students and schoolchildren). In this regard, the purpose of the study is to identify the influence of social, psychological and organizational factors on the psychological safety of the educational environment.
The study was conducted based on big data analysis of 164 schools. They include data from schools on the following indicators: “suicides”, “suicide attempts”, “crimes”, “psychological competencies of managers”, “staff turnover”, etc.
The statistical method of big data analysis is the leading one in describing the results of the study. Factor analysis was used to describe a multidimensional model of psychological safety of the educational environment. A two-sample F-test was used to compare the sample populations.
The results of the study allowed us to identify factors influencing the psychological safety of the educational environment: high turnover of teaching staff, lack of psychological competencies in the administration of educational organizations, the number of suicidal attempts, a large number of representations of the prosecutor’s office, etc.
The results of the study made it possible to form instructions to the executive authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan signed by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan – Chairman of the Anti-Terrorist Commission in the Republic of Tatarstan. The instructions are aimed at improving the effectiveness of the psychological service in education; the formation of psychological competencies of key managers responsible for the organization of psychological, social and educational activities; the inclusion in the job descriptions of key managers responsible for the organization of psychological, social and educational activities of new labor functions for the formation of psychological security of the educational environment, as well as the identification and support of students in need of socio-psychological support.
E&SD 17(3) September 2022
Shamil F. Sheymardanov, Aydar M. Kalimullin
Editorial: Getting New Horizons of Partnerships in Education Research 6
Andi Arif Rifa’i, Winarno Winarno, Ari Wibowo, Ahmad Fadholi, Priyanggo Karunia Rahman
The Students’ Responses toward Implementation of Quality Management Principles and Service Quality in Higher Education 14
Musa Nushi, Ali Momeni
A Comparative Study of University and Private Language Institute EFL Teachers’ Familiarity with and Classroom Practicality Perceptions of Dynamic Assessment 25
Hadi Hamidi, Danial Babajani Azizi, Mohammad Kazemian
The Effect of Direct Oral Corrective Feedback on Motivation to Speak and Speaking Accuracy of EFL Learners 50
Svetlana E. Gaidukevich
Methodological Training of Special Education Teachers in Belarus: State and Development Strategies 64
Elena A. Lemekh
The State of Professional Development Programme of Specialists in Correction and Development Training Centres regarding the Assessment of Quality Education among Pupils with Severe Multiple Disorders in the Republic of Belarus 72
Violeta Rosanda, Tina Kavčič, Andreja Istenič
Digital Devices in Early Childhood Play: Digital Technology in the First Two Years of Slovene Toddlers’ Lives 83
Oksana V. Vashetina, Elena V. Asafova, Balwinder Kaur, Balwant Singh, Parveen Sharma, Martha Maria Prata-Linhares, Vania Maria de Oliveira Vieira, Maria Alzira de Almeida Pimenta, Marilene Ribeiro Resende, Tatiana V. Sibgatullina
Professional Development of Teachers and Future Teachers: Factors and Challenges 100
Bozhidara Kriviradeva, Yonka Parvanova
Intersections between Education and Social Work in Working with Children at Risk: The Perspective of Pedagogical Specialists 119
Ildar R. Abitov, Inna M. Gorodetskaya, Alexey M. Dvoinin
Interrelation of Predictors of Irrational Behavior, Individual-Typological and Personal Characteristics 131
Svetlana N. Bashinova, Oksana I. Kokoreva, Natalya A. Peshkova, Venera A. Khamdamova
Determination of the Development of Social Behavior of Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder by the Type of Parental Attitude 141
Gulnara F. Biktagirova, Gulnara B. Tazhenova, Aray A. Konyrova, Meruert S. Utegenova, Anargul Zh. Abdikarimova, Maria A. Dvinskikh
Formation of Professionalism of Future Social Teachers in the System of Training in Russia and Kazakhstan (Comparative Aspect) 157
Roza A. Valeeva, Gulfiya G. Parfilova, Irina D. Demakova, Elena I. Adamyan, Faina M. Kremen, Sergey A. Kremen, Vadim N. Lesev, Olga I. Mikhailenko, Rimma Kh. Bagova, Lyubov G. Pak, Nadezhda A. Ivanishcheva, Lyubov A. Kochemasova, Anastasiya P. Eremina, Nadiya G. Yusupova, Galina N. Skudareva
Motivation of Student Teachers’ Professional Career 169
Vera K. Vlasova, Ranija R. Khamatvalieva, Venera G. Zakirova, Aziya E. Zhumabayeva, Albina V. Sadikova
The Development of Integrative Qualities of Primary School Teachers in the Context of Distance Learning 187
Inna I. Golovanova, Aleksei Yu. Alipichev, Timur A. Ayupov, Tatiana V. Baltina, Tatiana Yu. Gorskaya, Olga I. Donetskaya, Maria A. Lapina, Elmira N. Uteeva, Florida A. Fazlyeva, Enge N. Khasanova
Digital Educational Environment and Online Learning Format Through the Lens of Students: Pros and Cons 202
Albina R. Drozdikova-Zaripova, Nadezhda Yu. Kostyunina, Liliia A. Latypova, Anastasiya O. Luchinina, Aleksei P. Zolotykh
Personal Determinants of Selfie Addiction in High-School Students 222
Lera А. Kamalova, Raushania Gaifullina, Makhabbat Zh. Umbetova, Irina V. Novgorodtseva
Telehealth Communication Strategies of Medical Students in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic 242
Nina A. Koval, Venera G. Zakirova, Nikolay A. Utochkin, Stanislav N. Savinkov, Leysan R. Kayumova, Elena Zlateva, Nataliia S. Surenskaya, Boris I. Tenyushev, Anna E. Zavalina, Marina A. Lobach, Jordan Gjorchev
The Study of Socio-Psychological Factors Contributing to and Hindering the Retention of Teachers in the Profession 264
Nataliya Lebedeva, Victoria Ismatullina, Shamil Sheymardanov, Talgat Zhussipbek
The Teacher is a Guide or Barrier to Mathematics: Case Studies in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan 278
Irina A. Nigmatullina, Elvira A. Sadretdinova, Aisha R. Dolotkazina, Elizaveta Y. Davydova, Artur V. Khaustov, Ulyana A. Mamokhina, Elena A. Chereneva, Evgenia V. Dergacheva, Natalia A. Medova, Anna V. Vinevskaya
Comprehensive Support System for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Regional Experience 296
Vera Khotinets, Evgeniya Shishova, Enge Zinnurova, Oksana Kozhevnikova, Daria Medvedeva, Yulia Novgorodova, Rimma Kumysheva
The Development of Cognitive Regulation in Connection with the Communicative Competence of Monolingual and Balanced Bilingual Children 317
Editorial: Getting New Horizons of Partnerships in Education Research
The events of recent years have produced unique circumstances for the development of the Russian scientific and educational community, requiring significant changes in the topics, subjects, and methods of study. Numerous issues persisted in this field despite the rapidly rising number of educational studies, most of which were caused by their inconsistency with the demands of current educational practice. The excessive theorizing, passion for Russian pedagogy’s history, compilation, and other negative aspects of research are signs of its declining quality. Contrarily, when educational conditions changed quickly, there was a corresponding rise in the demand for pertinent research, the materials and outcomes of which have become crucial to the current educational process. This is especially important when it comes to the need to make decisions and adjustments regarding educational policy based on data obtained from scientific study.
The Students’ Responses toward Implementation of Quality Management Principles and Service Quality in Higher Education
This study aims to examine the implementation of quality management principles and service quality in higher education institutions (HEI’s) based on student responses. This study involved 570 students from public and private universities in Bangka, the province of Bangka Belitung, Indonesia. This is a quantitative study with a correlational research design. The results showed that the implementation of quality management principles in universities had a very high correlation with service quality (r = 0.88). The results of this study prove that improving the implementation of quality management principles, such as development of cooperation, HR (human resources) focus, continuous development, process approach, leadership, process focus, and goal consistency of higher education will improve the quality of service rendered to students.
A Comparative Study of University and Private Language Institute EFL Teachers’ Familiarity with and Classroom Practicality Perceptions of Dynamic Assessment
The widespread prevalence of dynamic tools to assess English language achievement has led to burgeoning research on exploring different aspects of teachers’ beliefs toward Dynamic Assessment (DA). In the educational system of Iran, experts and researchers who have undergone second language education may verify that there is very little, if any, attention given to the perceptions held by instructors and teachers regarding Dynamic Assessment (DA). In an attempt to remedy this gap, the current study aimed to investigate the familiarity with DA of Iranian EFL teachers working in two educational settings (e.g., language institutes and universities). The study also set out to explore the teachers’ attitudes toward the practicality of DA in the two settings. To address the research questions, a sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed. The instruments of this study comprised a questionnaire and an Email interview with 12 ELT assessment experts in order to have their interpretations of the research findings. The results of the t-tests showed no significant difference between the two groups of teachers in terms of their familiarity with DA and their attitudes toward the practicality of DA in the two contexts. In addition, content analysis of the Email interview data revealed that the ELT assessment experts’ primary arguments for the insignificant difference between the two groups in terms of the two variables related to the fact that DA has remained at the theoretical level, that there is a lack of teacher training in DA and the strict rules of Iran’s educational system which prohibit teachers from applying DA principles and procedures in their classes. The implications of the findings for teacher education, materials development as well as for program administrators, EFL teachers, and learners will be discussed.
The Effect of Direct Oral Corrective Feedback on Motivation to Speak and Speaking Accuracy of EFL Learners
Considering the significance of corrective feedback to improve language learners’ speaking performance, the current study aimed to examine the impact of direct oral corrective feedback on speaking accuracy and motivation to speak of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 46 EFL learners who were preparing themselves for the IELTS exam, both male and female, were invited to participate in this study. Having homogenized the participants through the Oxford Placement Test, the researchers divided them into one experimental and one control group. As to the pretest, a valid IELTS speaking test and a motivation to speak questionnaire were administered to both groups in order to measure the learners’ speaking ability and motivation to speak level. The experimental group received direct oral corrective feedback on their speaking performance for 15 sessions. The control group did not receive any special kind of corrective feedback. A posttest, equivalent to the pretest, was administered after the end of the treatment sessions to both groups to find whether direct oral corrective feedback affected the learners’ speaking accuracy and motivation to speak. The results of statistical data analysis indicated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on both speaking accuracy, and motivation to speak. Pedagogical implications are suggested to language teachers and teacher trainers.
Methodological Training of Special Education Teachers in Belarus: State and Development Strategies
The widespread dissemination of humanitarian ideas, integration and inclusive processes create new challenges for the professional education of special education teachers. The focus is on methodological training, the ability to work with different children, organizational and methodological heterogeneity. A new social order is the methodological competence of a specialist who does not have just knowledge and skills, but experience in effectively solving the pedagogical problems of students with special education needs. The aim of the article is to identify the state of the methodological competence of Belarusian future special education teachers (graduates of higher educational institutions), to see the features of the existing methodological training, to determine the main strategies for increasing its effectiveness at the national level. The leading method is self-assessment of students’ state of methodological competence. The study involved 578 students from four Belarusian universities. The article describes the structure and content of future teachers’ methodological competence (4th year students) in the context of the ability to implement the educational process in the new conditions of variable educational practice. The research materials allow us to see the problem areas of the existing practice of methodological training in Belarusian universities and to assess the possible directions of its modernization.
The State of Professional Development Programme of Specialists in Correction and Development Training Centres regarding the Assessment of Quality Education among Pupils with Severe Multiple Disorders in the Republic of Belarus
In 1999, the Republic of Belarus began to educate children with severe multiple disorders (SMD). For this purpose, new special educational institutions – correction and development training centres (CDTC) – were opened across the country. Curricula for preschoolers with SMD appeared only in 2011, and curricula approved by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus appeared in 2014. Before 2011, teachers were more engaged in the care and supervision of preschoolers with SMD than in the actual educational process. Currently, changes are taking place in preschool education. The education of children with SMD should be built on a competency basis where the formation of their life competencies should play the leading role. The need to assess the quality of such education has emerged, and, consequently, the issue of professional training of specialists of CDTC in this direction. The aim of the article is to determine the possibilities of the system of professional development of teachers of specialized institutions on the issues of quality assessment of education of pupils with severe multiple disorders at the present stage in the Republic of Belarus. The basic methods in the study of this problem were questioning and content analysis. The experimental base of the study is represented by 63 state educational institutions “Centre for Corrective and Developmental Education” (Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk regions and the city of Minsk, Republic of Belarus), as well as 8 institutions providing professional development of CDTC personnel (Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk regions, the city of Minsk, Republic of Belarus). The study involved 345 respondents: 334 teachers of CDTC and 11 employees of professional development institutions. The study was conducted in 2020. The article presents the author’s view on assessing the quality of education of preschool children with SMD, highlights the results of the empirical study, and substantiates the possibility of changing the training of teachers of CDTC in the context of professional development institutions. The obtained data allow us to see a holistic picture of the modern system of professional development for special teachers on the problems of assessing the quality of education of preschool children with SMD, which further allows to adjust the training programs of professional development in specialized institutions (Academy of Postgraduate Education, Institutes of Education Development), to include the most popular topics in their content.
Digital Devices in Early Childhood Play: Digital Technology in the First Two Years of Slovene Toddlers’ Lives
This article offers a first insight into the digital environment of Slovenian toddlers. We report on the use of digital technology and toys allowed by parents in their children’s home environment. The study is based on the results of an online questionnaire completed by parents of 26 Slovenian children up to 2 years of age (M = 17.8 months; SD = 5.6). On average, 9% of all children’s toys are digital toys and they spend 10% of their play time playing with digital toys. Among the most commonly, but still only occasionally, used digital toys or technology are smartphones and tablets. Compared to other types of digital technology, parents believed that screen-based digital toys in particular supported their child’s skills development. Ultimately, parents do not strongly associate digital technologies with positive developmental and educational effects, but rather they believe that digital technology provides entertainment, enables information-seeking and keeps children busy. Nevertheless they allow, or will allow, the child to use digital technology mainly because they believe it enables learning. Further research, if needed, will be carried out to look closely at the children’s use of digital technology and its effects on young children’s development.
Professional Development of Teachers and Future Teachers: Factors and Challenges
The article discusses the features of professional development and self-development of teachers and students of pedagogical educational institutions in Russia, India, Brazil.
Russian researchers analyze the influence of activity of future teachers in digital environment on their professional development and self-development, as well as the relationship of professional development with students’ self-determination, namely, goal setting. Empirically, the relationship between the digital activity of students of the pedagogical magistracy and the desire for professional self-development was revealed, which, in turn, depends on the severity of the goals and their orientation on obtaining a teaching profession.
The study of Indian scientists is aimed at studying the quality of life of teachers on the effectiveness of professional development. It was found that the majority of Indian teachers has a low level of professional development. Factors that negatively affect the level of professional development were identified, namely: low financial status, unfavorable family environment, physical and psychological well-being, job security. Researchers also consider reasons for professional development, including lack of time, lack of accountability for professional development activities etc.
The Brazilian study examines the features of social perceptions of teachers about teacher education and their professional development. The authors depicted social perceptions of teachers about teacher education based on four categories: planning, didactic procedures; assessment and teacher-student relationship.
The article also provides recommendations for the successful application of pedagogical practice and the creation of an environment for the teachers’ professional development, taking into account the results of all three blocks by countries participating in this study.
Intersections between Education and Social Work in Working with Children at Risk: The Perspective of Pedagogical Specialists
The article presents results from an empirical research study with 208 pedagogic specialists. Its main objective was to find teachers’ views about their cooperation with specialists from social work system regarding working with children at risk in Bulgaria, as well as to find the extend of such cooperation and its future perspectives.
Children at risk learn, educate, and socialize in different types of educational institutions and they also receive support and protectio0n from different organizations for social protection at their residence territory. That is why the development of effective cooperation between those two systems is especially important.
Empirical research was done with a survey questionnaire designed for the research itself. The questionnaire includes questions in three main areas: teachers’ evaluation about the challenges they face when working with children at risk; characteristics of their interaction with social protection system; changes which need to be made at both systems so work with children at risk to be more effective.
Research results show that teachers are mainly dissatisfied with their interaction with social work system due to lack of information, additional workload, and lack of effective support for those working at school level.
More and more teachers state that children at risk create new challenges in their work and teachers face unusual requirements when they interact with social workers. In addition, teachers are not familiar with institutions for social work and social services, and they contact them only in severe cases of family dysfunction and aggression, while expecting social workers to practically solve the problem of the child. They want to transfer all this type of work to social services and outside of educational institutions. Teachers also state that there is a lot of documentation which complicates the interaction between the two systems (educational and social work). They think that there is a need of change in social workers’ work, while work of teachers should not be changed.
Interrelation of Predictors of Irrational Behavior, Individual-Typological and Personal Characteristics
A number of studies in cognitive psychology indicate that human behavior is largely governed by irrational factors (heuristics, cognitive biases, attitudes). These factors influence vital decisions, which can subsequently affect a person’s life and behavior in a broad temporal perspective. There is a lack of research on identifying the individual-typological and personal characteristics that make the irrational behavior more likely to occur. Our research is aimed at revealing the interrelation of predictors of irrational behavior (superstitiousness, “prelogical” defense, unconstructive, categorical, personally superstitious and esoteric thinking, naive optimism), individual-typological and personality characteristics of respondents. We used I. R. Abitov’s questionnaire, J. Tobacyk’s Paranormal Belief Scale adapted by D. S. Grigoriev, I. Y. Stoyanova’s Beliefs and Superstitions Questionnaire, and S. Epstein’s Constructive Thinking Inventory (adapted by S. N. Enikolopov and S. V. Lebedev) to reveal the expression of irrational behavior predictors. The individual-typological characteristics were identified using the Temperament Accentuation Test and the Individual-Typological Questionnaire, while the personal characteristics were identified using the G. V. Zalewski Psychological Rigidity Questionnaire and the C. Scheyer and M. Carver Test for Optimism. It was found that a decrease in the constructive thinking is associated with the expression of such characteristics as shyness, aggression, neuroticism (anxiety), sensitivity to external influences, various manifestations of rigidity, emotional instability and pessimism. It was also found that the expression of these characteristics, as well as pessimism and aversion to changes in self-esteem and personal position, is associated with a tendency to show categorical (“black and white”) thinking. Naive optimism is more often shown by respondents with such characteristics as hyperthymia and increased social activity. The relationship of personality-superstitious thinking with pessimism, fear of new situations, shyness, neuroticism (anxiety), and a tendency to exaggerate one’s difficulties were found. The novelty of our study lies in the discovery of complexes of characteristics that can increase the likelihood of irrational behavior. Reviewing the literature on the topic of the research, we did not find any works made in the mainstream of such an approach. The complexes of individual-typological and personal characteristics revealed in the given research can be considered as “targets” of psychological correction and prevention to decrease the risk of socially dangerous behavior.