engleski

The assessment of vocational competences

The aim of this research was to examine differences in self-assessment of the vocational competences of teachers-beginners (up to 5 years of experience) and students of final year of teachers' academies in Croatia. We were also interested to identify the teaching orientation of these two groups: is their approach to teaching more teacher- oriented or more student-oriented? Out of 20 areas of knowledge and skills needed for teaching profession, mentioned in our questionnaire, students assess themselves as more competent than teachers in ten areas, for eight items there is no statistical difference, and teachers assess themselves as more competent in only two areas. It seams that teachers-beginners experience a kind of "reality shock". When they are students, they have some expectations about teaching profession that are not compatible with the experience of teachers-beginners. Both teachers-beginners and students are more teacher-oriented in their teaching approach. However, students express this tendency to a greater extent. The results indicate the need to change the general approach to initial teacher education, with the emphasis on the values and skills underlying student-oriented approach to teaching.

teachers-beginners; students; vocational competences; teaching orientation

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