Chemistry is a school subject that is not viewed favorably among pupils. Before we can improve pupils' attitudes toward chemistry, it is important to find out the problem as to why the attitudes are relatively negative. The research was focused on Czech lower secondary and secondary grammar school pupils' attitudes to the subject of chemistry. Also, the difference between groups of variables (gender and grade) was examined. The sample size contained 931 Czech lower secondary and secondary grammar school pupils. The research tool was a questionnaire with 25 Likert type items. By the use of factor analysis, the items were distributed into four categories: 1) Popularity and difficulty of chemistry, 2) The relevance of chemistry, 3) Chemical aids and laboratory experiments, 4) The future life and chemistry. The overall score indicated neutral/slightly positive pupils' attitude toward chemistry. Girls received a lower score in comparison with boys in all grades, except the 1st grade, in secondary grammar schools. The opposite situation was among lower secondary school pupils, where girls achieved a slightly higher attitude score. It is possible to say that negative attitudes toward chemistry are also among lower secondary and secondary grammar school pupils, so it is needed to try to improve attitudes toward chemistry from the early age of pupils. The recommendations for the pedagogical practice are suggested in the conclusion.

The water birds are inseparable part of the environment and ecosystems. This group of birds has got an important role in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems make them sensitive indicators of the health of these environments. The main aim of the study was to find out the attitudes toward and knowledge about water birds among lower secondary school pupils. The partial aims were to find out the influence of demographic variables like gender, grade, residence and the ownership of pet on the attitudes toward and knowledge about water birds. The sample size consisted of 340 lower secondary school pupils from Czech Republic. The obtained data were analyzed by the methods of descriptive (mean score), inferential (analysis of variance) and also multidimensional statistics (factor analysis). The gender and grade level of pupils had got significant level on knowledge. All observed variables had got significant level on the attitudes toward water birds. And the relationship between knowledge and attitudes was negative. The implications to educational practice are discussed. Keywords: attitudes toward water birds; knowledge about water birds; lower secondary school pupils; water birds of the health of environments. The influence of human activities can lead to the declining of the water birds' occurrence and it can have got the influence on quality of environment. The effects of different factors were examined in some studies (e.g. Hockin et al. 1992). It is obvious, water birds are very important for the nature, for the people, so it is important to examine pupils' knowledge and attitudes toward this group of animals. Because it is important to protect water birds for the retention of the quality of our life. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The studies, which are focused on the attitudes toward and knowledge about water birds, are very rare. This group of animals is examined only as a part of bigger research. Authors Dauotopoulos & Pyrovetsi (1990) focused on the conservation attitudes of fishermen. Authors identified, the conflict was towards the fish-eating birds, particularly cormorants preying heavily on the fish ponds they have constructed. Problems with cormorants are according many authors exaggerated (e.g. Duffy 1995). According to author there is little evidence to suggest that cormorants seriously deplete commercial food sources. Klein (1993) warned on the disturbing behavior of the recreationists on the water animals. Author noticed, that the people, who spoke with refuge staff early during their visit caused the least disturbance. Authors highlighted the importance of educational programs. Educational programs, coupled with the use of observation blinds or guided tours, could help reduce bird disturbance. The similar study is possible to find out in the region of Australia, where authors (Glover et al. 2011) were focused on the disruptive behavior of the people on shorebirds in Australia. Respondents from the research reported an overall positive attitude to shorebird conservation. The similar results are possible to fi...

European policy has seen a number of changes and innovations in the field of early childhood preschool education over the last decade, which have been reflected in various forms in the policies of individual EU countries. Within the Czech preschool policy, certain innovations and approaches have been implemented in the field of early children education, such as the introduction of compulsory preschool education before entering primary school from 2017, emphasis on inclusive education, equal conditions in education and enabling state-supported diversity in the education concepts of kindergartens. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of various preschool education systems in the Czech Republic in the context of psychological variables reflecting selected children’s outcomes which may contribute to future school achievement. The monitored variables were the attitudes, motivations and executive functions of children in the last year of preschool education. A comparison was made between the traditional preschool education program and the so-called alternative types of preschool education, such as Montessori, Waldorf and religious schools. The total sample was divided into four subgroups, namely a group of children attending traditional kindergartens (731, 84.9%), religious (65, 7.5%), Montessori (35, 4.1%), and Waldorf (30, 3.5%) kindergartens. To determine empirical data, the following research methods were used: Attitude Questionnaire, School Performance Motivation Scale, and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The results of our survey show the fact that the type of kindergarten attended has a significant effect on the child’s level of school performance motivation, attitudes toward school as well as executive functions. Significant differences were found between the different types of kindergartens attended in the monitored variables.

The misconceptions about different scientific phenomena are persisting from childhood till adulthood and no method managed to transform it into the correct form. The study is focused on finding out the misconceptions about common facts of zoology and also human body. The respondents were 112 university students. Among these respondents were 22 science major students and the rest of the respondents were non-science majors. The number of females was 82. All respondents are potentially future teachers at elementary schools, so there is a great chance/ possibility they will teach pupils and present them the kinds of information which are investigated in this study. Research tool contained 7 items, most of them were from the field of zoology and one from the field of human anatomy. Obtained data were analysed by the proportional ratio of correct and incorrect answers and the chi-square test was used for the determination of differences between groups of variables gender and field of study. There was not found a significant difference between males and females and science major students often answered some items more. There were found many misconceptions about common facts of zoology and human body. Key words: animals, human body, misconceptions, persistence, university students.

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Critical thinking is necessary not only to understand the academic content, but also to effectively carry out activities related to one’s own profession. The aim of the research was to identify the level of critical thinking in university students and to determine the influence of selected variables on the level of critical thinking. The variables were gender, age, use of the media, necessity of the media, up-to-date information, up-to-date professional information, and health information on the Internet. Fifty respondents studying at university participated in the research. Both bachelor’s and master’s students at the age of 21 to 36 were involved in the study. In order to achieve the set goal, an quantitative approach was adopted using a critical thinking test (Criticatl Thinking Test for university Students - CTTUS) as a research technique. Descriptive, inductive and multivariate statistics were applied for the data analysis. Age and gender emerged as important factors. Information literacy, which can significantly affect the level of critical thinking, can also be an important factor in the education of pupils and students. Finally, the study limitations are presented.

The goal of the research was to find out the effect of using living animal in teaching on remembering and understanding acquired knowledge in students with special educational needs (SEN). In our experiment, students with SEN (n=24) were compared with students without SEN (n=56). The design of the research was experimental. The research tool consisted of a test which was made by the authors, and which served both as a pre-and a post-test. For the assessment, the methods of descriptive statistics (the average) and inductive statistics (t-test for dependent and independent samples) were used. Students in experimental groups which encountered living animals in teaching, acquired more information about animals, which were used during teaching process and because of that, their results were better than the results of students in control groups.