Profili nastavnika osnovnih škola u Srbiji prema opredeljenju za nastavni model tokom pandemije COVID-19

Abstract

The quality of the teaching process highly depends on teachers and their qualifications, and the teacher's role plays a very important part in the implementation of the new teaching methods. The results presented in this paper are part of the quantitative study which investigated the primary teachers' perception of the online teaching model that has been realized in Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic, in comparison to the traditional teaching model. The paper aims to define and present the teachers' profiles, based on their preference for a certain teaching model: the profile of the teachers who prefer working in the traditional teaching model, and the profile of the teachers who prefer working in the online teaching model, or do not make any difference between the two, based on the professional data and their statements and attitudes regarding the comparison of traditional and online teaching models. It was assumed that the teachers with less work experience, more professional training and higher education level would generally prefer the online teaching model. For the research purposes, the specialized two-part questionnaire was designed. The first part included questions concerning the socio-demographic background, while the second part investigated the teachers' attitudes towards the characteristics of the teaching process in both traditional and online teaching models. The independent-sample t-test was used to estimate the influence of previous training on the choice of the preferred teaching model. The research was conducted during January and February 2021. The research sample included 609 examinees. The research results showed that the choice of the preferred teaching model depends on the self-assessment of the teachers' competencies required for the online teaching model, as well as on the duration of the training in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, as a part of the regular professional improvement training. The initial assumption was only partially confirmed by the research results.