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JOB SATISFACTION AND CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE FOR INCLUSION IN EDUCATION
Zh. Milenovich
Abstract. Multiple inconsistencies in inclusive education led to a range of issues, and therefore the expected effect was entirely opposite to the final results. Studies revealed that many teachers lacked the professional competence which is required for inclusive education. Thus, to implement an inclusive approach in education, constant improvement of a teacher’s professional competence is needed and relevant. To estimate if general job satisfaction affects improvement in professional competence, a selective survey for elementary school teachers in the city of Nis (Serbia) was launched from the beginning of November to the end of December, 2012. The survey results are represented according to the data obtained through linear correlation, and the correlation ratio is specified. Eventually, we observed that teachers satisfied with their professional life paid greater attention to the personal aspect of professional development and its implementation in inclusive education. The most important results are represented in a table, and educational implications are suggested.
Theoretical approach to the research issue. Presently, schools as an independent general education institution have less and less possibilities to satisfy the needs of modern society within problem solving in inclusive education. This state of affairs was considerably induced by inclusive education organization and implementation in elementary schools. Inclusive education is a complex process requiring close cooperation between scientific, methodological and administrative resources. Inclusive education is an ultimately new didactic system, strategy and model of organized education for children with reduced capabilities and special educational needs. Organization of inclusive education provides equal terms for all children to obtain general education. However, many schools often lack the infrastructure needed, thereby conditions for inclusive education are minimal and teachers do not have sufficient experience to provide special education at public schools. Constant improvement of inclusive competence for teachers is required to correct the discovered defects.
Inclusive education raises special demands for personal and professional training of teachers who are experts in general special education and have basic knowledge (in school subjects, psychology and methodology). Based on the essence of inclusive education, constant improvement of inclusive competence must be based on a continuous development strategy with regard to socioeconomic and organizational support (Milenovich, 2010) and lifelong education and professional advancement. Constant improvement of inclusive competence must be mandatory for society, schools and teaching staff.
Objectives for constant improvement of teachers’ professional competence to implement inclusive education are : (1) acquisition of knowledge on psychological regularities and features of children’s age-specific and personal
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development in the inclusive education environment; (2) methodological competence for work in the inclusive education environment; (3) acquisition of knowledge in psychology and education science for early identification of children with special educational needs; (4) awareness of the essence, aims and differences of inclusive education from traditional education; (5) readiness to create conditions for inclusive education and children with reduced capabilities and special educational needs; (6) ability to organize pedagogical cooperation between all entities in the educational environment (each particular student, group of student, parents, teaching staff, experts and school administration); (7) ability to create interethnic relationships and a favorable socio-emotional climate for work in the inclusive education environment. Motivation is required for professional advancement to implement inclusive approaches in education. This ensures a teacher to be: (a) aware of new conditions of inclusive education as a basis for professional opinion; (b) satisfied with his or her own professional activity based on the results of inclusive practice; (c) able to fulfill his or he own cognitive abilities and recognize the relevance of information sharing and mastering new pedagogical methods, etc. Professional readiness is expressed in the teacher’s mind set and ability to appropriately understand the necessity of inclusive education. The community of inclusive education requires a teacher to be able to master methods which help to make education more individual, achieve planned results, and motivate continuous professional advancement and innovation development.
Methodological research framework. The research subject is a teacher’s job satisfaction and readiness for constant improvement for implementation of inclusive education. The research objective is to estimate a teacher’s qualimetry and readiness for constant improvement of inclusive competence. The research task is to identify the level of readiness to increase inclusive competence subject to job satisfaction. The research assumption is a teacher’s readiness to upgrade professional competence for realization of inclusive education for children with reduced capabilities at public schools. Historic and comparative methods as well as descriptive and transversal (probabilistic) research models have been used.
Teachers’ job satisfaction has been appraised with an ordinal scale of 5 positions. For this analysis we’ve used: (1) BRI-GJST = Brayfield & Rothe Index -General Job Satisfaction of Teachers, a scale for measuring general job satisfaction which is composed of 18 statements of respondents illustrating various opinions on the selected issue: the scale is standardized (Milenovich, 2011, p. 417); (2) PITWIE = Professional Improvement of Teachers for Working in Inclusive Education, a scale of teachers’ readiness for constant improvement of inclusive competence which is composed of 15 statements of respondents. With an ordinal scale, metrical characteristics are analyzed and estimated, and the required adjustment is provided. The research is empirically based on a survey which has been done among elementary school teachers in the city of Nis (Serbia) from November to December, 2012. The respondents were selected by a continuous sampling. There were 234 respondents. The methodological framework as created by the research author.
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Discussion and analysis of the research results. The research results are shown with regard to the data obtained through linear correlation. The correlation ratio is specified. The correlation ratio (r) is a quantitative ratio of closeness of linear dependence between 2 variables.
Table
Teachers’ general job satisfaction and readiness for constant improvement of inclusive competence (correlations)
Job satisfaction Readiness to constantly improve inclusive competence
Job satisfaction Pearson correlation ratio 1 ,846(**)
p ,000
N 234 234
Readiness to constantly improve inclusive competence Pearson correlation ratio ,846(**) 1
p ,000
N 234 234
The data in the table shows a positive correlation between variables which indicates a direct dependence. A positive sign in front of the given ratios (К=0,846) denotes this dependence. The strength (closeness) of linear relations between the variables is rather large. It’s also absolute and positive (r=1). Statistical accuracy between the compared variables is p<0,001 (p=0,000). Thus, with sampling volume, we can estimate the distribution of opinions with high accuracy. The research data clearly validates the results and conclusions made in previous research studies of foreign scientists. Complete evidence proves that teachers with a well-formed job motivation (Bickmore, 2012), greater creative job potential (Murawski & Lochner, 2011) and job satisfaction (Anari, 2012) tend to more constantly improve their inclusive competence. Generally, the studies affirmed the accuracy of the conclusions that general job satisfaction is an essential precondition for constant improvement of a teacher’s inclusive competence.
Conclusions. We established in our research that inclusive education has been implemented in all departments and general education schools of Serbia, but no conditions have been provided for its successful implementation. Furthermore, teachers are not sufficiently competent to work with children with reduced capabilities and special educational needs. Many factors affect teachers’ readiness to constantly improve their professional competence, among which creative potential and commitment expressed in readiness for dedicated work, as well as job satisfaction, hold the leading positions. In the study of the effects of teachers’ job satisfaction on their readiness for constant improvement of inclusive competence, we identified that teachers who are more satisfied with their job are at the same time ready to professionally advance for the implementation of inclusive education. The research results underline the importance and relevance of developing teachers’ competence for their educational work with children with reduced capabilities and special educational needs.
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References
1. Anari, N. (2012). Teachers: Emotional Intelligence, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment. Journal of Workplace Learning, 24(4), 256-269.
2. Bickmore, D. (2012). Professional Learning Experiences and Administrator Practice: Is There a Connection? Australian journal of Adult Learning, 51(2), 355-373.
3. Миленовиб, Ж. (2011). Положаj, функц^е и стил рада наставника у традиционалноj и инклузивно} настави. Докторска дисертац^а, одбражена 09.11.2011. године, на Студ^с^ групи за педагог^у Филозофског факултета Универзитета у Бажалуци.
4. Илиб, М. (2010). Инклузивна настава. Источно Сараjево: Филозофски факултет Универзитета у Источном Сараjеву.
5. Миленовиб, Ж. (2010). Професионално и стручно усавршаваже наставника основне школе за рад у инклузивноj настави. У: М. Арнаут (ур.) (2010). Тематски зборник радова са меГ|ународног научно-стручног скупа Едукацф наставника за будубност, одржаног у Зеници 22-23.04.2010. године, (255-265). Зеница: Педагошки факултет Универзитета у Зеници.
6. Murawski, W., Lochner, W. (2011). What to Ask for, Look for and Liston for. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46(3), 174-183.
7. Stevanovic, M. (2003). Nastavnik odgajatelj, umjetnik. Varazdinske Toplice: Tonimir.
8. Freiberg, J., Driscoll, A. (2005). Universal Teaching strategies. Boston: Allyin & Bacon Inc.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau
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DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL SKILLS OF JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN IN THE EDUCATION PROCESS
М. Sultanov
Among other characteristics, the aspect of self-regulation of junior teenagers is characterized by development of a new attitude to the world, objects and phenomena, the emergence of a specific cognitive relation to one’s self, manifesting itself as the will and ability to analyze and evaluate one’s own and other people’s actions, to understand the viewpoints of other people, and to see and perceive the world from the perspective of other persons. With this regard, it is necessary to teach students methods of self-analysis of productive activities, to organize independent activities of students and facilitate their analysis, control and correction. First of all, the aspect of self-regulation is characterized by the freedom of choice of purposes and means of their achievement, awareness of the choice, etc. This should be taken into account when constructing methods of pedagogical support of intellectual development of students in the course of their education. The connection between development of the intellectual aspect with development of the aspect of self-regulation, in our opinion, may be explained with the help of diagnostics of the learning ability.
It’s noteworthy that despite the attention of teachers, psychologists, didactic specialists, and methodic specialists to the issue of creating conditions for development of intellectual skills of schoolchildren, taking into account the importance of this group of skills for development of productive methods of work for the organization of the full-fledged educational process, which is mentioned in modern literature, in reality, teachers most often build their work in traditional conditions based on methods and forms of a reproductive character and choice of subject-object relations in the education process.
The success of education to a large extent depends on the conditions in which it is organized. We have determined that the most efficient learning and intellectual skills may be developed under conditions of personality-oriented education built on the basis of subject-subject relations between the participants of the pedagogic process. As we all know, for organization of such education it is necessary to change the professional position of a teacher, to create the atmosphere of “free education” in the class, to use methods promoting activity of a student and his/her development. That is why the following conditions were accentuated among the conditions for development of learning and intellectual skills: focus on humanistic principles of education in the process of educational activity, organization of the system of lessons devoted to the problem of development of learning and intellectual skills of junior schoolchildren, use of best combination of methods of education and forms of academic work in the system of lessons.
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