STAVOVI STUDENATA O ZNAČAJU, NAČINIMA I MOGUĆNOSTIMA RAZVIJANjA FUNKCIONALNIH ZNANjA UČENIKA U NASTAVI PRIRODE I DRUŠTVA

Abstract

With a responsible and active attitude towards their work, teachers have the opportunity to help students acquire knowledge, develop skills and habits, build quality personality traits. From an early age, through practical and social experience, students build functional knowledge that allows them to plan, perform, explain and anticipate. Functional knowledge represents the application of theoretical knowledge, providing students with the opportunity to use it in their everyday life and learning. The aim of the research was to examine the attitudes of students of the Faculty of Pedagogy in Bijeljina about the importance, ways and possibilities of developing pupils’ functional knowledge in teaching nature and society. The sample consisted of 73 students attending third and fourth year of study. For the purposes of the research, a survey questionnaire was created, and the collected data were processed using the methods of descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The students’ answers indicate their awareness of the importance of functional knowledge, both for children and adults. They believe that the key role in the acquisition of functional knowledge in teaching nature and society is played by the teacher, and that it is crucial to connect theory with practice. Some of the students’ attitudes are correlated with their average grade during the course of study, their year of study and/or study program. Further research should investigate how well the concept of ’functional knowledge’ is known by in-service teachers, and how they deal with problems imposed by everyday practice.