The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of followership styles, and their connection with job satisfaction and satisfaction with extrinsic/intrinsic aspects of work in teachers. The sample included 206 secondary school teachers of three grammar and three vocational schools in three towns in Serbia. The results indicate that the most prominent followership styles were star followers (58.7%) and pragmatists (39.8%). Star followers attached greater significance to intrinsic aspects of work and reported a higher job satisfaction rate, while pragmatists placed more importance on extrinsic ones. Independent thinking correlated with intrinsic aspects of work and job satisfaction, and active participation with job satisfaction and both work aspects. The results also show that a higher degree of engagement (particularly when combined with economic satisfaction) predicted a higher level of job satisfaction. If dominant followership and motivational structures of teachers were learnt, the management of educational institutions would be improved because teachers who participate in making work decisions have a greater sense of empowerment and commitment to organizational goals. Although affected by types of personality, dominant followership structures of the teacher may be influenced during the course of professional training, thereby directing them towards the development of functional followership types.
The main aim of the research was to investigate the construct validity of L2 speaking proficiency in a paired testing format. 100 secondary school students and university students were recruited for the study (m=24, f=76), with a mean age of M=18.67. The participants were tested in pairs (compare-and-contrast task) by two independent raters on four trait categories: accuracy (A), fluency (F), word choice (WC) and turn taking (TT), on a pre-specified 6-point scale. The inter-rater reliability was computed using two approaches (Pearson's Product Moment correlation and Cronbach's alpha), and they both indicated the ratings were reliable. The average scores on the scale and subscales also showed high values of Cronbach's alpha, which confirmed the reliability of the measurement instruments as well. In order to examine the construct of the participants' speaking performance, we performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The final model, with very good fit indices, confirmed the initial hypothesis: the construct of L2 oral proficiency is comprised of all four assumed trait factors; however, the strength of correlations rather suggests that there are two facets of the said construct (linguistic: A, F, WC and sociolinguistic: TT).
Since student learning outcomes (SLOs) have assumed the central role in presentday teaching, and cooperative learning has been shown to bring many benefits to students, our main aim is to explore how students perceive SLOs in order to determine their key dimensions. The sample included 24 third-year female students attending a philological course. The participants" evaluation of the acquired knowledge/skills and their implementation was explored via content analysis. The results show that SLOs include: (1) knowledge, (2) capabilities, and (3) applicationof-the-acquired dimension (prompted by volition and affect). The main conclusion is that the participants appear to view learning English not as a primary means to learn the language per se, but as a means to learn different subject content through English. Other variables may have additionally contributed to such results: L2 as the language of instruction and positive attitudes to the learning environment.
Investigation into L2 attitudes is challenging within SLA research because they are: (1) highly complex, i.e. sociocultural, cognitive, and affective by nature, and (2) deemed a good predictor of behaviour. The study explores secondary students’ attitudes to learning English as a foreign language. The final sample involved N=55 participants (m=16, f=39), attending two grammar school courses (philological and general) in Serbia, with equal distribution (Phil=25, Gen=30). The participants were tested via repeated measures design on their L2 learning attitudes within a three-year period (Time 1, 2, 3). The main goals were to determine whether their attitudes change along secondary education, and whether the two main educational profile groups’ attitudes differ in their intensity. Тhe subsidiary goal was to test the validity of the EFLS-ALE scale employed in this research. The results indicate that general attitudes were positive in both groups, stable throughout secondary education (no differences were found between Time 1, 2, 3), Phil group had much more positive attitudes in every year of testing, and the EFLS-ALE scale showed a very good internal consistency (Time 1: α=.891, Time 2: α=.920, Time 3: α=.913). In conclusion, our sample attitudes have proven to be quite stable across secondary education, but we contend that it is the question of relative stability within one developmental period (mid-adolescence), not absolute stability. Finally, further research is needed to gain more valuable insights into the issue of L2 attitudes’ stability, due to sample size and its nature.
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