The main aim of this research is to examine the basic features of student teachers' professional beliefs about the teacher's role in relation to teaching mainstream pupils and pupils with developmental disabilities. The starting assumption of this analysis is that teacher professional development is largely dependent upon teachers' beliefs about various facets of their professional work. These concepts strongly influence the way that teachers teach and the way that they develop as teachers. The participants in the research are 314 student teachers at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb who are being prepared to teach in lower grades of primary school. The beliefs were explored using a metaphor technique derived from cognitive theory of metaphor. The differences between beliefs about the perceived teacher role in general, and the perceived teacher role in the education of pupils with developmental disabilities were analysed. The results indicate that the dominant belief about the teacher's role in teaching mainstream pupils is of the teacher as a transmitter of knowledge, while the findings regarding the dominant belief about the teacher's role in teaching pupils with developmental difficulties appeared to be self-cantered orientation. No differences were found between student teachers at different study levels. The findings are discussed in the light of the curriculum of initial teacher education.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, distance education became the only official form of instruction in all schools in Croatia for a period commencing 16 March 2020. This situation changed the expectations, roles and responsibilities of parents with regard to the teaching and learning process of their children. Understanding parents’ experiences during school closure is important for the development of recommendations for similar situations. This paper presents part of the results of an online survey investigating the opinions of 1,205 parents of primary school children on various aspects of distance education. The responses were analysed by researchers using the thematic analysis approach. The initial answers of parents regarding the positive and negative aspects of education during the lockdown were grouped into categories. The results indicate that distance education positively contributed to the development of children’s self-regulated learning and to providing greater parental support in learning, as well as empowering children in using ICT. Parents emphasise positive changes in the quality of family relationships, which are partly the consequence of joint learning with their children and partly due to changes in the way of life during the lockdown. Negative aspects can be divided into two general categories, the first of which is linked to children (e.g., lack of support from school, lack of children’s interest in learning), while the second refers to the challenges faced by parents (e.g., fear of school failure, undertaking the double role of custodian and teacher). The findings suggest the need for the development of recommendations that would provide support for parents and children in situations where the teaching and learning process take place in an online environment.

The main aim of this research is to longitudinally examine the shift in teaching students’ professional beliefs about the teacher-pupil role during the course of their studies. The starting assumption has been that teachers’ professional development is largely dependent upon their beliefs about various aspects of their professional role. The beliefs about the teacher-pupil role are the building blocks of teachers’ professional identity, which strongly influence the way they teach and communicate with pupils. The participants in the research are 62 student teachers, from three teacher education faculties, who were prepared to teach in the lower grades of primary school. The research was carried out in two waves, at the beginning and at the end of the five-year study programme. The beliefs were explored using a metaphor technique derived from the cognitive theory of metaphor. The results indicate that exposure to the study programme did not considerably affect the change in the belief orientations, meaning that pre-professional beliefs remained unchanged, especially in the perception of the pupil’s role. That finding has been discussed in relation to the possible implications for the initial teacher education curriculum and its implementation.

Uvjerenja se odnose na sklop konceptualnih predodžbi koje uključuju opća znanja o pojavama, ljudima i događajima vezanim uz profesionalni kontekst. Ovaj je rad usmjeren na utvrđivanje razlika u uvjerenjima studenata prve, treće i pete godine učiteljskog studija te zaposlenih učitelja o odgojno-obrazovnoj inkluziji i poučavanju učenika s teškoćama, u svrhu utvrđivanja odgovora na pitanje mijenjaju li se i na koji način uvjerenja različitih skupina ispitanika o učenicima s teškoćama i njihovoj inkluziji u odgojno-obrazovni proces. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku 585 studenata učiteljskog studija i učitelja zaposlenih u osnovnim školama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Primijenjena je metoda metafora koja uključuje poznati objekt ili događaj kao konceptualno sredstvo za razjašnjenje kompleksnih pojmova ili situacija. Sudionici istraživanja dopunjavali su rečenice ‘Inkluzija učenika s teškoćama u razvoju je kao …. jer …’ i ‘Poučavanje učenika s teškoćama u razvoju je kao … jer …’. Utvrđeno je da u ukupnom uzorku većina ispitanika izražava inkluzivna uvjerenja jer su njihovi odgovori usmjereni na oblikovanje i podržavanje učenika s teškoćama. Međutim, kada je u pitanju proces poučavanja, udio ispitanika koji iskazuju inkluzivna uvjerenja se smanjuje. Inkluzivna uvjerenja u najvećoj mjeri karakteriziraju studente 3. godine učiteljskog studija koji su netom bili uključeni u kolegij o inkluzivnoj pedagogiji, a u najmanjoj mjeri zaposlene učitelje. Ostale skupine studenata dijele gotovo ista profesionalna uvjerenja, što upućuje na nedovoljan doprinos inicijalnog obrazovanja i praktičnog iskustva na transformaciju od predprofesionalnih prema profesionalnim uvjerenjima o inkluzivnom obrazovanju.

No abstract