engleski

Positive orientation to education and critical friendship

Authors collaboratively conducted action research in a higher education context. First author (teacher) decided to include the positive orientation to education as the main topic in her seminars of pedagogy, attended by a group of students – the future teachers of the Croatian language – over a semester. Three students from this group accepted teacher’s invitation to be her critical friends. They discussed all the classes, which were videotaped and available over YouTube, and also used the web forums at Moodle. Teacher was particularly concerned to allow her critical friends freedom to express their opinions, to encourage them to take note of and develop strengths and creative potential in themselves and others, and to express positive emotions, empathy, humour and future orientation in their discussions. Although empathy, creativity, optimism and hope could be enhanced in students through teaching activities, it is necessary to foster those features in the case of their enrolment in a programme of future teacher education. The inclusion of more pedagogical and psychological topics in the teacher education curriculum is needed if students are to develop these necessary competencies for their future practice. Critical reflection is one of the key competencies of future teachers that could be developed through critical friendship and action research. For these reasons, we consider it crucial to urge students to deal with action research (e.g. for the purpose of their graduation thesis). This could contribute to the development of a positive orientation in education.

action research, critical friendship, higher education, pedagogy, positive orientation to education

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