The educator’s personal role in understanding children’s play is a key factor in planning organization of educational process in kindergarten. An educator´s personal paradigm is assumed to be an experiential and educational construct. This research examines the possible correlation of educators’ personal paradigms (N = 291) and contextual factors in the region of Dalmatia (Croatia). A questionnaire Q-EOCP (α = 0.78) was designed for this research. Research findings suggest that most educators are reluctant to introduce information and communication technology /ICT into the educational process (M = 2.25; SD = 1.02) or work with children with disabilities (M = 2.03; SD = 1.33). There was a slightly positive correlation between the educator’s professional work experience and the view that children with disabilities /CWD should be taught how to play (r = 0.35; p ≤ 0.05). Work experience is slightly negatively correlated with the opinion that natural materials encourage creative play in children more than the didactic toys (r = −0.29; p ≤ 0.05) and with the assessment of daily play in nature (r = −0.21; p ≤ 0.05). The research measured the correlation of assessments of daily play in nature and the educators’ level of education (F = 3.47; p ≤ 0.05). Findings suggest that early childhood and preschool educators need additional education on children’s play and the possibilities of augmentative technology.
The paper focuses on the analysis of the conditions for inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders in early and pre-school education by kindergartens teacher. The conditions relate to estimates of theoretical knowledge and attitudes of the educator, assessment of abilities and limitations of children with autism spectrum disorders, self-assessment of the competences of educators for their upbringing and education and assessment of other conditions for the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders. The survey results were analyzed by a questionnaire of 68 educators from 6 kindergartens in town of Split. There is a central level of knowledge about inclusion and low self-assessment of educators about their competence in which they are active participants in the inclusion of children with a disorder of the autism spectrum. Attractive factors for the implementation of inclusive education of children with autism spectrum disorder evaluated: inconsistent assurance of nursery assistants, lack of competent educators, and insufficient co-operation with parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. The analysis points to the lack of systematic education of educators for inclusive educational practice. The authors exclude the importance of the knowledge and skills of educators in the area of information communication technology, particularly augmentative and alternative communication.Key words: children with autistic spectrum disorder; information communication technology; competence of the educator; Educational and Teaching Inclusion
The study was conducted among students with developmental disabilities at three institutions in Split, Croatia. A total of 32 students a ged f rom 1 7 t o 21 participated in the study. A qualitative study employing the method of aesthetic transfer was conducted, aiming to encourage students to react, and to recognize differences between their reactions. The students communicated with the artworks of the modern painter Joan Miró. The research has shown that observing artworks as part of visual arts activity in institutions involving students with developmental disabilities fulfills its purpose, because a structured method for observing artwork served to self-activate students to assess their own competences and competences in visual arts expression.
This study aims to analyze and compare teaching practices in an inclusive setting. The study focuses on teachers’ self-evaluated teaching practices with students with seven or more predominantly inattentive symptoms associated with ADHD, depending on their beliefs about the values of inclusive education and some demographic factors. The results are situated in the context of current literature on inclusive education practices, teacher attitudes towards students with predominantly inattentive symptoms associated with ADHD and teaching practices/classroom strategies for work with them. The questionnaire was administered to 660 teachers from 13 Croatian counties. The participating teachers were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire, including a demographic questionnaire and two scales: Teaching practices self-evaluation scale – TPSE (Vlah & Grbić, 2017) and Teachers’ beliefs about the values of inclusive education scale – TBIES (Skočić Mihić, Gabrić & Bošković, 2016). In an attempt to answer the research question on the relation between teachers’ self-reported teaching practices used in work with students with some inattentive symptoms associated with ADHD, place of residence, and school size, classroom versus subject teaching, teacher education level, work experience and beliefs about the values of inclusive education, we used both a correlation and a hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated a correlation between teachers’ self-evaluated teaching practices described by three indices (student praise and supportive communication; adjustments to assessment for students; and comprehensive approach to inclusion of students with special needs), teacher education level, and classroom/subject teaching, which also related to teachers’ value of inclusive education. Next, we explored the relationships among the investigated variables in more detail using a hierarchical regression analysis in which different indices of teachers’ self-evaluated teaching practices served as the criterion. In the proposed model inclusive beliefs were revealed as significant predictors of teaching practices. These results extend previous research. Implications for teacher education are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.