Problems of Education in the 21st Century

455

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 4, 2019, PEC

463-477

Authors: Petr Benda, Jan Pavlík, Jan Masner

Education of adults with intellectual disabilities in labor activities can help them to successfully and repeatedly carry out their work tasks and significantly help their self-realization. The problem is that the need for frequent repetition of already learned skills requires the constant presence of a teacher or caregiver since such a worker is not able to work independently. This situation increases the cost of employing people with disabilities. The aim is to find a way to reduce the necessary number of caregivers needed in this kind of activity and enable greater self-sufficiency of workers. The presented research intended to verify whether a web course could be an effective educational tool for people with intellectual disabilities. During the research, a group of ten participants with intellectual disabilities was educated to acquire basic skills in horticulture. The first teaching was realized through practical demonstrations at the workplace in the university production garden by professional gardeners. After these demonstrations skills of all participants were verified and so the basic level for further verification and comparison of knowledge was set. Subsequently, using three approaches of repeating the already learned practical curriculum (verbal repetition, no repetition, and repetition using the web course) and different time intervals, the level of knowledge of each participant was verified. Statistical methods were used to compare the results of different repetition approaches. Research results demonstrated that a web course, with specific content that consists of video or animation, combined with the use of pictograms for confident navigation, can be used by people with intellectual disabilities with good results. At the same time, in addition to practical teaching, this was the second best-rated approach of repeating knowledge. Using a web course, participants achieved similar work results as they did in practical teaching.

489-501

Authors: Michal Podzimek

Modernism, which appeared as a result of industrialization, has since then developed further, resulting in a postmodern society, characterized by a significant change in values. This shift in values is particularly evident in the quality of education, and man's subsequent relation towards work as a result. Schools have become social institutions in which learners spend their time in the role of served clients. The teacher is therefore assigned the social role of the servant, in which he is to primarily satisfy the pupil in his personal needs. This kind of relationship stems from the phenomenon of narcissism, which is already a cultural phenomenon. Studies of cultural narcissism are presented here, sampling relevant research of American provenience (with special focus on the USA). These studies suggest that cultural narcissism may become a global phenomenon in the future.

515-527

Authors: Julius Ssegantebuka

Different educational contexts or learning environments differently influence visual arts tutor’s performance and pre-service teachers’ learning. The purpose of this research was to examine the role the college context plays in the tutors’ presentation of knowledge and the pre-service teachers’ learning in visual arts in National Teacher Colleges in Uganda. The researcher used interviews, observations, document reviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The results revealed that there were inadequate teaching resources, poor infrastructure and limiting educational policies and administrative support. The research recommended that the ministry of education and sports provide adequate teaching resources, review the limiting educational policies and conduct refresher courses and professional development programs for tutors in National Teacher Colleges in Uganda.

545-559

Authors: Robert Tomšik

The aim of the present research was to validate the Scale of motivation for choosing teaching profession (SMVUP-4-S), and to explore its basic psychometric properties on a sample of Slovak teacher trainee students. SMVUP-4-S scale was completed by 1235 respondents with a mean age of 20.1 years. SMVUP-4-S scale consists of 44 items arranged into 11 subscales, which are arranged into three main categories of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic and altruistic. A latent structure of SMVUP model that consists of two four-factor (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and a one three-factor model (altruistic motivation) was tested. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was calculated using the Maximum Likelihood estimation. To evaluate Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) χ2-test, CFI, RMSEA, SRMR, AIC, BIC and TLI indicators were used. SMVUP-4-S scale showed an acceptable internal consistency. Using EFA two four-factor and one three-factor model were extracted. CFA indicated that four-factor models had a good fit to the empirical data (Intrinsic motivation χ2/df = 4.925, Extrinsic motivation χ2/df = 4.781). Modifying indexes have shown that several items have correlated with residual variances which leads to low fit to the empirical data in three-factor-model. After the implementation of covariants between items this model has also shown a good fit to the empirical data (Altruistic motivation χ2/df = 4.715).