An Evaluation of Teachers' Views of Primary School Principals' Practice of Democratic Values

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate teachers' views about the level of practice of democratic values by primary school principals. Participants were 300 primary school teachers from four different regions of Turkey. The data were collected through a questionnaire, and analyzed by using t test and ANOVA tests. Results indicate that gender, educational level, and membership of a union make a difference in terms of practicing democratic values. Furthermore, some meaningful differences were noted in the subdimension of the questionnaire depending on the teachers' professional experience and on the present number of students as variables.In the late 19th century and in the early 20th century many nations endeavored to practice democracy and others still have that goal. As it is in many countries, the process of being democratic has been continuing in Turkey. However, it is not accurate to say that the level of democratic education is adequate. It is necessary to train individuals who have democratic behaviors in order to see the effects of democracy in every part of society in Turkey, as well as in other countries which have been developing democratic societies. Democratic values can be taught only through a democratic education.

Relationship between Professional Values and Critical Thinking Disposition of Science-Technology and Mathematics Teachers

“…In parallel to this finding, Tunca (2012) also found out that teachers' having certain professional values differed in terms of the seniority variable. Additionally, it was reported that democratic values of elementary education teachers , high school education teachers (Yurtseven, 2003), and administrators (Genç, 2008) varied at sub-dimensions as the seniority variable was concerned. Besides, there are studies in the literature that resulted in organizational values of teachers not varying according to their service years (Zoba, 2000).…”

Demokratsko školsko vođenje

“…Ta skupina istraživanja odgovara na pitanje zašto je važno razvijati demokratsko školsko vođenje, odnosno koji su njegovi pozitivni efekti te postoje li negativni. Druga skupina istraživanja navodi primjere kako se razvija i provodi demokratsko školsko vođenje (Rusch, 1995;Møller, 2006;Genc, 2008;Jwan, Anderson i Bennet, 2010;Hope, 2012; Mncube, Davies i Naidoo, 2015) te koji su izazovi i problemi koji se pritom javljaju. Posljednja skupina istraživanja istražuje razvoj demokratskih školskih zajednica, no pritom poseban naglasak daje ulozi voditelja škole u tome procesu (Harber i Trafford, 1999;Normore i Jean-Marie, 2008;Kensler i sur., 2009;Jwan, Anderson i Bennet, 2010;Delgado, 2014;Gülbeher, 2016).…”

“…Skupina istraživanja koja proučava kako razvijati demokratsko školsko vođenje može se svrstati u dvije kategorije: istraživanja koja kao cilj imaju istraživanje karakteristika, stavova i vrijednosti voditelja koji njeguje demokratsko školsko vođenje (Genc, 2008;Rusch, 1995) te studije slučaja koje detaljno opisuju primjere škola koje su razvijale demokratsko školsko vođenje s ciljem boljeg razumijevanja struktura, praksi i vrijednosti u njima (Møller, 2006;Jwan, Anderson i Bennet, 2010;Hope, 2012;Mncube, Davies i Naidoo, 2015). Cilj, metodologija, uzorak i rezultati navedenih istraživanja predstavit će se u nastavku.…”

“…Cilj, metodologija, uzorak i rezultati navedenih istraživanja predstavit će se u nastavku. Genc (2008) je proveo istraživanje u osnovnim školama kojim je ispitao percepciju učitelja o postojanju demokratskih vrijednosti i demokratskih praksi njihovih ravnatelja. Demokratskim vrijednostima ovaj autor smatra pravednost, jednakopravnost, slobodu, poštivanje života, suradnju, samopouzdanje, iskrenost, toleranciju, osjetljivost i težnju za srećom.…”

“…Nekoliko istraživanja dubinskih studija slučaja (Jwan, Anderson i Bennet, 2010;Mncube, Davies i Naidoo, 2015) pripisuje neuspjeh škola u transformaciji u demokratske oblike vođenja upravo nemogućnosti škola da nadiđu tradicionalne tipove vođenja i uzdignu se iznad hijerarhijski postavljenih školskih struktura. Pitanje koje spominje nekoliko autora (Genc, 2008;Hope, 2012), a vrijedno je daljnjeg istraživanja, jest jesu li manje škole pogodnije za razvoj demokratskog školskog vođenja ili i veće škole mogu ostvariti jednako dobre rezultate u tom području.…”