Abstract
The constructivist approach emphasizes the active role of the pupil in the educational process and his/her ability to construct new knowledge based on experience and previously acquired knowledge. The presented research is aimed at investigation of primary education students' attitudes towards constructivism and whether there are any differences between Slovak and Slovene students in this context. Study programs in both countries have their own specifics and emphasize different aspects of teaching and learning. Therefore, the study plans of the primary education program in both education faculties were taken into consideration. Q method was used as the research method, which enables objective discovery of individuals’ notions of a certain research problem. The research revealed that most of the students have a positive opinion about constructivism as a teaching approach. Some education areas show a Slovak and Slovene students have a different attitude towards constructivism. The groups have a distinctively different opinion regarding the role of the teacher, group work and the use of experiments in class.
Highlights
The modern educator must be self-directed, creative, and innovative (Šorgo et al, 2012), and teacher education should enable students as prospective teachers to become creative and innovative through analysis, conceptualizations, and synthesis of prior experience to create new knowledge (Lamanauskas, 2007)
The constructivist approach emphasizes the active role of the pupil in the educational process and his/her ability to construct new knowledge based on experience and previously acquired knowledge
The presented research is aimed at investigation of primary education students' attitudes towards constructivism and whether there are any differences between Slovak and Slovene students in this context
Summary
The modern educator must be self-directed, creative, and innovative (Šorgo et al, 2012), and teacher education should enable students as prospective teachers to become creative and innovative through analysis, conceptualizations, and synthesis of prior experience to create new knowledge (Lamanauskas, 2007). The educator’s role, especially in science education, is to guide the students during heuristic solving of ill-defined problems by enabling quested learning to modify existing knowledge and allow for creation of new concepts. The learning goals must be oriented toward the highest levels of learning, such as heuristic problem-solving, metacognitive knowledge, creativity, and originality, which calls for new methods and strategies of education (Science Education in Europe, 2011). Among the most promising methods and strategies for higher-order thinking and acting are those based on constructivism, especially social constructivism.
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