Teaching as a Calling and Well-Being of Slovenian and Croatian Teachers

Abstract

In a sample of 347 elementary school subject teachers from Slovenia (N = 176) and Croatia (N = 171), the authors investigated teachers’ orientations to work (as a job, a career, and a calling) and their well-being with respect to different stages of teachers’ professional development. Results have shown the presence of a calling orientation to work and its positive relationship to job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Although significant differences between Slovenian and Croatian teachers were not expected due to shared historical, cultural and political background, some interesting differences were observed. The results of MANOVA showed that teachers differed significantly in their work orientations regarding nationality and the length of their working experience. Results were discussed in the context of stages of professional development and the social status of teachers in both countries.

Motivations for Choosing a Career and the Expectations of Serbian and Slovenian Preschool Teachers of Their Own Career Development

“…Motives associated with a predominantly extrinsic motivation were rated lower, which is consistent with other research (Andrews and Hatch, 2002;Bastick, 2000;Brookhart and Freeman, 1992;Cencič and Čagran, 2002;Gradišek et al, 2020;Ivanuš Grmek and Javornik Krečič, 2005;Kyriacou and Kobori, 1998;Richardson and Watt, 2006;Tašner, Žveglič Mihelič and Mencin-Čeplak, 2017;Watt and Richardson, 2007;Watt and Richardson, 2012). The motive of being in a profession with a good reputation in society was shown as more important of these (Item 7; M SRB = 3.14, M SLO = 2.91).…”

“…As seen in Table 5, preschool teachers in both countries rated the motives associated with predominantly intrinsic motivation as the most important. On average, they rated the two socalled altruistic motives the highest: Item 5 ("I like working with children"; M SLO = 4.42, M SRB = 4.37) and Item 2 ("It offers an opportunity for socially useful work"; M SLO = 3.75, M SRB = 3.70), which is also confirmed for preservice and inservice teachers by other studies (Andrews and Hatch, 2002;Bastick, 2000;Brookhart and Freeman, 1992;Cencič and Čagran, 2002;Gradišek et al, 2020;Flores and Niklasson, 2014;Hobson et al, 2009;Ivanuš Grmek and Javornik Krečič, 2005;Kyriacou and Coulthard, 2000;Kyriacou and Kobori, 1998;Lin et al, 2012;Polak and Devjak, 2014;Richardson and Watt, 2006;Tašner, Žveglič Mihelič and Mencin-Žveglič Mihelič, M. et al (2022). Motivations for choosing a career and the expectations of Serbian and Slovenian preschool teachers of their own career development, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 10(1), 71-91.…”

“…In a more recent study among 176 Slovenian and 171 Croatian primary school teachers, Gradišek et al (2020) found that the respondents perceived teaching to the greatest extent as a calling, suggesting that socially useful work and investment in their professional identity is of the greatest importance to them. Marušić (2013) carried out a comparative analysis of the teacher education system in Serbia and Greece to identify motives for choosing the teaching profession.…”

“…Research on the motives of student teachers and teaching staff for choosing the profession in Slovenia (Cencič and Čagran, 2002;Gradišek et al, 2020;Ivanuš-Grmek and Krečič, 2005;Polak and Devjak, 2014;Tašner, Žveglič Mihelič and Mencin-Čeplak, 2017) and Serbia (Marušić, 2013) shows a strong presence of intrinsic and altruistic motives.…”