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Reflective practitioner teachers should critically review their own work and introduce innovations that should improve everyday educational practice. For this reason, the focus of the research is on the personal and professional empowerment of reflective practitioner teachers during the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. 355 teachers from the Republic of Serbia participated. The empirical research used descriptive methods and techniques of scaling and surveying with an instrument specially constructed for the needs of this research - Questionnaire with assessment scale (RP-COV-19). The results show that the most common form of empowerment is attending online seminars, while teachers rarely attended online classes of colleagues from the school where they work and colleagues from other schools. Teachers' perceptions on the use of the Internet in the aspect of personal and professional empowerment are very positive. Teachers generally rate their training and engagement during the pandemic with the highest marks (four and five), while there were no negative marks at all. Reflexivity accompanied by personal and professional empowerment must be given priority by teachers, because in today's process of education, reflective practitioners are considered successful teachers. Keywords: teacher reflective practitioner, professional empowerment, the Covid-19 pandemic, empirical research, improvement of educational practice.

Acquiring statistical education is a prerequisite for the professional and scientific work of every pedagogue. Institutional support for the statistical education of students is a fundamental starting point in the development of research competencies necessary for a future pedagogue. The subject of this study was focused on examining the effectiveness of the application of a program for statistical data processing in teaching. The research aimed to examine whether students gained adequate knowledge in the field of Statistics in Pedagogical Research by applying the experimental factor SPSS in teaching. This means that the use of the SPSS program may significantly facilitate the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge pertaining to the field of statistics in pedagogical researches. The objective was to analyze whether using the SPSS software as part of university education would yield better knowledge of statistics than teaching without it. This objective was accomplished by analyzing the differences in the respondents’ scores on the knowledge test using the pre-test and the post-test groups of students. Three generations of pedagogy students at the Faculty of Philosophy, the University of Nis in Serbia, participated in the experimental research. The results showed statistically significant differences in the participants’ achievement in the initial and final tests.

The new era of the 4IR requires changes in teachers’ initial education and in their professional advancement. Serbia is a developing country whose institutions of education are technologically underdeveloped and whose expansion in the field of digitalization is still insufficient to be on par with the developed western countries. The authors’ research goal was to determine whether potential improvement in teachers’ digital competences has occurred. The general hypothesis postulated implied a low level of the use of digital tools in schools on the territory of Serbia. The descriptive method and scaling technique were used. The research results show that science and technology teachers apply digital tools while teaching more frequently than the teachers of social sciences and humanities. The research implies that a strategic approach to Serbian teachers’ digital education is necessary even during their undergraduate studies by introducing digital technology courses and subjects in the conventional academic curricula. Keywords: Education, Digital competences, Teachers, Serbia, Fourth Industrial Revolution

The roots of today's education system stem from one of the most significant peda-gogists and thinkers, John Amos Comenius (1592-1670). His entire comprehensive and sys-tematic work represents a turning point, not only in the field of the development of pedagogy, as a science and its disciplines, but also in the field of the development of human thought in general. After a brief review of life and work of John Amos Comenius, the paper presents the basic concepts of pedagogical theory through the chapters they cover – his reforming and educational mission, contribution to the establishment and development of didactics and methodology of pedagogy, contribution to school, preschool and family pedagogy. Of particu-lar importance is the chapter that deals with pansophism as an ideological concept of univer-sal wisdom and pedagogy, because the central theme of the paper is focused on the relations-hip between pansophism and his overall pedagogical work. The aim of this paper is to theore-tically research the connection between these problems, as well as to understand their broa-der implications and current scientific achievements. The paper uses the method of theoreti-cal and historical analysis with the technique of content analysis of available and relevant historical and pedagogical sources and documents. The concluding remarks point to the im-portance of Comenius as a reformer important for the overall development of pedagogy as a science. His pansophism is permanently imprinted as a seal with a reflexive echo and reper-cussions on all later occurrences in the field of teaching and pedagogical educational activities. The ideas of John Amos Comenius that are practically tested and attested, carry a special strength and vitality even after three centuries, which makes him one of the true pedagogical classics.

The research was motivated by the necessity to examine the perspectives of STEM professions in Serbia. The aim of this research was to study students’ motives for career choices and their attitudes towards STEM sciences. The empirical scientific approach was applied, i.e. the quantitative and qualitative research method. The most frequently chosen undergraduate majors, the motives that determined that choice and the professional interests were examined by the interviewing technique in the first phase and the scaling and survey techniques in the second phase of the research. The participation in the research was voluntary and comprised of Serbian secondary school students. The research ascertained that a poor state of the national economy determined the students’ decision to be trained for “jobs of the future” rather than attend the desired studies. The professions in the IT sector, engineering and sciences proved to be the most profitable ones. These results proved a growing popularity of STEM professions among the Serbian students, but they also implied the prospective necessity to promote mathematics and engineering within the education system considering the present insufficient interest in these academic studies. Regarding the fact that this type of scientific research is still rarely conducted by Serbian experts in the relevant field, this research contributes to a more comprehensive review of the STEM education. Keywords: academic studies, professional interests, STEM, secondary school students

Modern educational work requires dedication, improvement and innovation of educational practice. Being a pedagogical worker (educator, teacher) reflective practitioner is a challenge of the postmodern age in the field of upbringing and education. The aim of this article is preventive action in the aspect of violent communication through the application of action research. A total of fifteen students participated. The research included certain phases and steps that we purposefully followed. We first noticed the educational problem and focused our attention on designing activities and content. With a range of detailed and selected activities (lectures, problem situations, workshops and interactive games), we tried to act preventively in the field of violent communication. Finally, in the summative evaluation of the program effects process, an overview of the results is given before and after the research. The obtained results show that the applied contents and activities had a positive effect on students in the field of reducing and preventing violent communication. Orientation towards the development of non-violent communication must take an honorable place in the modern system of upbringing and education, because in that way forms of violent and forms of successful communication can be reduced and eliminated.

This paper presents the pedagogical significance of John Amos Comenius and how his pedagogical ideas influenced the development of pedagogical research. By analyzing Comenius' ideas, we have shown their connection with the development of pedagogical research. Mankind still does not find more original ideas than his, but returns to his opus and finds more and more new knowledge in it, which builds on the existing educational theory and practice. The aim of this paper is to identify which of Comenius’ pedagogical ideas contributed to the development of pedagogical research and thus the Methodology of Pedagogy as a scientific discipline. Primarily, we want to place Comenius' philosophical and pedagogical views in the context of their importance for the development of pedagogical research. The tasks are formulated as follows: 1. Analysis of the pedagogical significance of John Amos Comenius, 2. Analysis of the historical development of pedagogical research in Serbia. 3. Pointing out the connection between the principles founded by John Amos Comenius and the development of pedagogical research. The method of theoretical and historical analysis with the technique of content analysis of historical and pedagogical sources and documents was used. After presenting Comenius’ pedagogical ideas, the paper presents the development of pedagogical research in Serbia and the principles of Comenius in which we found the basis for the development of pedagogical research.

This paper presents the pedagogical significance of John Amos Comenius and how his pedagogical ideas influenced the development of pedagogical research. By analyzing Comenius' ideas, we have shown their connection with the development of pedagogical research. Mankind still does not find more original ideas than his, but returns to his opus and finds more and more new knowledge in it, which builds on the existing educational theory and practice. The aim of this paper is to identify which of Comenius’ pedagogical ideas contributed to the development of pedagogical research and thus the Methodology of Pedagogy as a scientific discipline. Primarily, we want to place Comenius' philosophical and pedagogical views in the context of their importance for the development of pedagogical research. The tasks are formulated as follows: 1. Analysis of the pedagogical significance of John Amos Comenius, 2. Analysis of the historical development of pedagogical research in Serbia. 3. Pointing out the connection between the principles founded by John Amos Comenius and the development of pedagogical research. The meth-od of theoretical and historical analysis with the technique of content analysis of historical and pedagogical sources and documents was used. After presenting Comenius’ pedagogical ideas, the paper presents the development of pedagogical research in Serbia and the principles of Comenius in which we found the basis for the development of pedagogical research.

John Amos Comenius belongs to the most important thinkers in European theology, philosophy, and pedagogy. His thoughts and ideas, contained in numerous works, over the cen-turies have been the subject of research and study by authors all over the world and have been the basis for the development of pedagogy as a science, as well as many modern understandings about education. We especially emphasize pedagogical work Great Didactic (lat Didaktica magna) as his most significant and famous work, where is presented the whole educational system and organization of teaching, which many parts are still applied today. The most previ-ous authors who deal with analyzing the Comenius thought, in his works mentioned comeniolo-gy, but as a phenomenon, he doesn't have clearly definition and content. Today, scientists tend to point out the need for the existence of comeniology as a science. The aim of this paper is to ana-lyze the pedagogical thoughts and ideas of John Amos Comenius from the aspect of applying his original ideas in contemporary didactics and methodology of pedagogy. For the purpose of this study, we used the method of theoretical analysis and the historical method with the technique of analyzing the content of available pedagogical sources. The content of this paper leads us to emphasize the significant influence of Comenius on developing and the existence of methodolo-gy of pedagogy and to point out the methodology of pedagogy as a possible subject area of the comeniology as a science.

Self-concept, understood as an impression or idea one has about oneself, represents a significant precondition for the professional improvement of teachers, as well as for the advancement of teaching itself and students’ development of their own positive self-concept. This research aimed to examine the idea of self-concept with the purpose of determining the manner in which primary and secondary school teachers perceive themselves. The factors to be analyzed in relation to the variables, work experience and pay satisfaction, were defined by means of the scale of estimates and factor analysis. The obtained results showed that accepting oneself, self-improvement, self-satisfaction and job satisfaction, as well as the initiative and openness to change varied depending on work experience and pay satisfaction. Work experience, not pay satisfaction, proved to have an impact on the teachers’ perception of the relationship with their colleagues, whereas the perception of personal and teaching qualities did not depend on the aforementioned variables.

The COVID-19 virus pandemic also had a significant impact on the educational system. This article presents the results of a research aimed at examining teachers' attitudes about the quality of online teaching during the COVID-19 virus pandemic. A descriptive research method and survey technique were applied. The sample included 274 teachers from the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The presented results indicate that the largest number of teachers with online teaching met for the first time during the pandemic and that until then they had no experience with distance learning. The platforms most often used by teachers in working with students are: Google Classroom, Zoom, Edmodo, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Also, a large number of teachers answered that they will partially apply online teaching after the pandemic, emphasizing that contact teaching is irreplaceable and of much higher quality, because students are more engaged, prepared and committed to school obligations. Looking at it objectively, teachers most often rated the quality of online teaching during the pandemic as average, more precisely with a grade of three. Online teaching during the pandemic required great dedication and teacher engagement, as well as good management of information and communication technologies and developed digital competencies of both teachers and students. The realization of online teaching was a challenge for teachers, but also the only possibility and solution to continue and actively carry out educational work during the pandemic and emergency situation.

At present it is almost impossible to imagine formal and non-formal education without the use of computers and information and communication technology (ICT), and we can rightly say that modern education is increasingly taking place in a multimedia environment and relying on multimedia teaching and learning. In fact, multimedia with its existence and progress continually poses new challenges to educational technology, but also to the teaching process itself. As a result, classical traditional learning and teaching leaves classrooms, while parallel to that, multimedia becomes an unavoidable segment in the process of acquiring knowledge. The multimedia display provides a better understanding and understanding of teaching content that can be presented in many ways, and which gives a higher educational value. The focus of work is the importance and contribution of the theory of multimedia learning with a focus on activating cognition among students, as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of the use of media in teaching. Also, a special emphasis in the work is focused on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques for examining the role, significance and efficiency of multimedia teaching and learning in the educational process.

In order to explore the role and influence of media on the quality of educational practice, and to generalize the role / influence of the media on the subject of research, it is necessary to subject them in detail to a qualitative and quantitative approach. In the study of the media, one-dimensional approach can't be used, and this is why we advocate the possibility of generalizing the data by examining the influence / role of the media on education and emphasizing the methods of quantification of the media. In recent years, media research has focused on thinking processes, updating materials, and involving students in more practical activities. Media education in education is focused on students being able to interpret results and be aware of possible prejudices or limitations of generalizations that can be derived from data, not to be data users, but researchers. The paper deals with the quantitative approach of media research in education that takes place in the new social context.

The Roma are an ethnic group that is spread throughout the world. Although there are poor ethnographic and historical notes about the origin of Roma on the basis of a study of legends and oral traditions, researchers who are engaged in Roma studies, often confirm that they originate from India. Their culture, habits, customs were mostly transmitted through the living word, from generation to generation. This research analyzed case studies of integration of the Roma minority in the social system. Special emphasis in research is aimed at analyzing stereotypes that arise from cultural patterns of Roma, given the fact that for them there are many different prejudices, while on the other hand, there is no access with critical analysis and does not indicate their specialty, which has its downside exactly in culture and patterns of behavior. The study analyzed how the traditional culture is important in the lives of Roma and how the social system treats this ethnic minority. Being a Rom in its original sense means to be human and to be equal with everyone, but paradoxically it is expected that non-Roma nation sets free of stereotypes and prejudices and to contribute to the integration and acceptance of Roma in our social system.

The aim of the action research conducted is focused on professional training and creating a favorable climate in the classroom for the development of each student. The paper emphasises how important and efficient action researches are in improving teachers’ reflective practice, as well as in providing support for its practical application. The research presented in this paper involved four stages of action research: teachers’ training, creation and realization of activities, evaluation of teachers and students and of the complete programme, as well. The formative evaluation was done by means of the questionnaire for the assessment of the accomplishments of workshop activities and interview conducted with the teachers after each of the activity was completed. The summation evaluation was done by means of the questionnaire for the assessment of the initial knowledge of the students and the ultimate knowledge they acquired regarding types and forms of violence, and reacting to and reporting peer violence. Finally, third questionnaire was used for the self-assessment of the teachers’ practice. The workshop activities included: active methods, the method of experiential learning, cooperative and problem method. The activities were realized through simultaneous individual activities, work in small groups, group discussions, talking circles and frontal forms of work. The results obtained showed positive changes among teachers regarding the acquisition of knowledge related to the preventive measures against peer violence. With regard to the students, the observed changes were related to their expansion of knowledge about violence, improvement of their mutual cooperation and higher level of tolerance in resolving conflicts.

The implementation of digital education technology into the school subject of physical education (PE) has become a challenging trend of contemporary pedagogy. This paper emphasises the importance of the pedagogical, cognitive and methodological aspects of digitalisation in PE. The research presented examined the attitudes of PE teachers in primary and secondary schools towards digitalisation in PE. The research has three goals: 1. Theoretical-the review of all the international and national sources relevant for the perception of the theoretical aspects of introducing digitalisation into physical education teaching; 2. Cognitive-the study of PE teachers’ attitudes towards digitalisation in PE as a school subject; 3. Applicable-a contribution to raising awareness about the importance of PE improvement. The methods used in the empirical research were the descriptive method, the survey and scaling technique with a questionnaire as the instrument and the assessment Likert-type scale (DOUF/DEIP). The questionnaire comprised of four closed-ended questions and the scale containing 40 items. The sample included 126 PE teachers from Serbia. The obtained results were calculated by the SPSS software version 24, used for the statistical data processing. The following statistical parameters for displaying results were used: frequency (f), percentage (%), arithmetic mean (M), standard deviation (SD), Pearson’s chi-squared test (χ2), the t-test and ANOVA F-test. The research results show that PE teaching is undergoing digitalisation and that teachers have positive attitudes towards digital competences, technologies and the connection between digital education and quality of teaching, schoolchildren’s academic achievements and the teacher’s role.

This paper emphasizes the important place that physical education and sport have in the system of education, as well as the significance of health, physical and functional abilities and interests for physical activities. This research examines the attitudes of secondary schoolchildren towards sport and physical activities. The research is focused on three basic goals: 1. Theoretical, which analyzes the relevant reference materials with the purpose of recognizing theoretical and methodological aspects related to the study of the importance of sport and physical activities among young people; 2. Cognitive, which examines the schoolchildren’s attitudes towards sport and physical activities; 3. Applicable, which means that this research is expected to contribute to the increase of the secondary schoolchildren’s awareness of the importance of sport and physical activities. The methods used are descriptive and the Likert-type scale (SASS-FAS) containing 28 items. The research was conducted with the sample of 1013 secondary schoolchildren on the territory of the Nišava District. The obtained results show that schoolchildren have positive attitudes towards physical education and sport. However, their responses prove that they spend their free time doing some other, non-physical activities. The secondary schoolchildren’s responses are characterized by a high level of consistency with no statistically significant difference evident regarding the school grade they attend, p>0.05.

The worldwide expansion of higher education introduced the problem of quality of knowledge that graduate students possess, as well as question whether they are competent to fulfill the requirements of their future profession. Education and training for professional work, in our educational system, is realized in various ways: through lectures, exercise classes, seminar paper writing, research projects, consultative work and practice in educational methodology. These are only some of the key themes concerning university education of pedagogues-to-be that should be considered if we are to train them to perform a high-quality educational work. The purpose of this research is to construct an evaluation scale that will examine the importance of competencies the future pedagogues are acquiring during studying. It is constructed on the basis of different classifications of competencies of a pedagogue. The research has shown that the students highly value professional knowledge that is necessary for a high-quality educational work, and that they are familiar with the area of work and the requirements of their future profession. They also acknowledge the importance of acquisition of competencies in scientific and professional research. All of the statistical parameters give quite encouraging and affirmative data, since the purpose of university education, after all, is to train the future pedagogues for high-quality educational work and to develop their personalities so that they can manage a variety of situations. Particular significance of this paper resides in the fact that the research performed was conceptualized in such a manner as to emphasize the analysis of the pedagogy studies program from the students' point of view. Timely information regarding the profession's requirements and encouraging interest in research of educational practice can encourage further development of young pedagogues' professional competencies as well.