Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović The role and effectiveness of methodological education for reflective practices Prejeto 28.10.2017 / Sprejeto 12.04.2018 Znanstveni članek UDK 37.011.3-051:374 KLJUČNE BESEDE: reflektivni praktik, metodološko izobraževanje, metodološka kompetenca, reflektivne prakse POVZETEK – Izobraževalni sistem potrebuje učite- lja, ki je sposoben prispevati k razvoju lastne prakse in celotnega sistema z lastno inovativnostjo in kom- petenco. Le učitelj-reflektivni praktik je zmožen zado- stiti vsem potrebam današnje družbe, šole in učencev. Da bi lahko učitelji imeli reflektivno vlogo v poučeva- nju in vzgoji, morajo biti metodološko kompetentni in osredotočeni na raziskovanje lastne prakse. Bodoči učitelji bi morali med univerzitetnim izobraževanjem pridobiti osnovne metodološke kompetence, ki bi jih kasneje dopolnili s samoizobraževanjem in stalnim strokovnim izpopolnjevanjem. S tem prispevkom želi- va izpostaviti pomen metodološkega izobraževanja za razvoj kompetenc in reflektivne usmerjenosti učiteljev ter nuditi vpogled v trenutno stanje na pedagoških fa- kultetah Univerze v Nišu. Received 28.10.2017 / Accepted 12.04.2018 Scientific paper UDC 37.011.3-051:374 KEYWORDS: reflective practitioner, methodologi- cal education, methodological competence, reflective practices ABSTRACT – The educational system requires a teacher who can contribute to the development of one’ s own practice and the entire system with his/her innovation and competence. Only a teacher reflective practitioner can meet all the needs of today’ s society, school, and students. In order to play a reflective role in teaching and upbringing, it is necessary for teach- ers to be methodologically competent and focused on researching their own practice. During university education, future teachers should acquire the basic methodological competencies that will later be supple- mented by self-education and in-service training. With this paper, we would like to point out the importance of methodological education for the development of competencies and reflective orientations of teachers, as well as to give an insight into the current situation at the faculties of education of the University of Niš. 1 Introduction Modern society and a developed educational system are setting new roles for all participants, especially teachers. Bearing in mind that teachers are organizers and im- plementers of educational practice, they are now expected to take the initiative and directly contribute to the improvement of educational practice, in addition to their tra- ditional roles. In order for teachers to improve their practice, think critically and be directed towards continuous innovation, they need to develop reflective orientations. A reflective practitioner always moves from his/her own practice and constantly strives to improve it. In addition to using the research results other researchers have obtained, now the teacher becomes a participant in the research of others but also the initiator and implementer of his/her own research. Teacher education should be in line with the needs of society and the requirements placed before teachers after joining the labor force. In order to contribute to the formation of a reflective practitioner, future 132 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) teachers need to acquire enough theoretical and practical methodological knowledge that will enable them to develop reflexivity and acquire competencies necessary for carrying out independent research. Bearing in mind the importance of methodological education for the development of teachers’ reflexivity as well as insufficiently realized empirical research on this subject, in this paper we will examine the methodological competence and reflexivity of future teachers to determine their interconnection. 2 Who is a reflective practitioner in contemporary teaching? The concept of reflexivity is related to Dewey (1933), who stands out as the creator of reflective thinking in practice. In this primal sense, reflexivity means a problem- solving process, as well as continuous thinking about the causes of the problem and various everyday situations. Based on Dewey’s perception of reflection, Schön (1987) speaks of a reflective practitioner as a professional who applies the acquired knowledge in practice by drawing conclusions about the necessary changes aimed at improving practice on the basis of reflection. Conscious thinking and critical analysis, as components of reflexivity, usually oc- cur when the teacher’s work in practice encounters a problem, so it is necessary to ap- proach and think about the newly-emerging problem differently. When teachers take an active role in researching and improving educational practice, they become reflective practitioners. A reflective practitioner is a teacher who continuously researches his/her own practice by conducting small, micro or action research (Carr & Kemmis, 2002; Elliott, 2007). All teacher researches have the function of finding new solutions to the emerged problem, in order to encourage practice innovation and improvement. Based on an analysis of different literature on teacher’s reflexivity (Schön, 1987; Gorli et al., 2015; Ripamonti et al., 2016), we find that a reflective teacher is a person willing to critically view his/her own practice and the practice of others; who is trained to use the results of other researchers as well as to carry out research; who is capable of improvis- ing, constantly finding new ways of solving problems, monitoring and evaluating one’s own practice, and thinking about one’s own future actions. There are four models of reflective thinking, which include reflection on action, reflection in action, reflection before action, and reflection on reflection. Some of the common characteristics of all reflective thinking models are: capability for self-assess- ment, respect for previous actions in solving new problems, thinking about one’s own actions, observing oneself from another perspective, taking over the position of the other, searching for alternative ways to solve problems, critical analysis of one’s own actions and viewing one’s own actions in a wider context (Rodgers, 2002). During fac- ulty education of teachers, it is necessary to encourage the development of all models of reflective thinking in order to contribute to the emergence of the most complex model in professional work. Within teacher education, reflection is viewed as a natural companion of the teach- ing profession and is defined, in the broadest sense, as reflection on one’s own activity. A reflection-oriented teacher must be methodologically trained and trust in his/her ca- pabilities, which speaks of his/her methodological competence. 133 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... 3 Methodological education of reflective practitioners Taking over the reflective role in teaching practice should be encouraged and sup- ported by initial education. Schön (1987) was one of the first to talk about the need to educate reflective teachers, which has contributed to extending the idea of this concept to the whole educational context. Almost all of today’s empirical and theoretical research relates to Schön’s understanding of the education of reflective teachers. Many contem- porary pedagogues and methodologists (Car & Kemmis, 2000; Banđur & Maksimović, 2013) emphasize the need to perform reflection in action during teacher education. This reflection is the development of teachers’ readiness to act in new situations and to critically reflect on all aspects of their own practice, as well as the practices of others. Loughran (Loughran, 2002) points out that the key part of future teacher’s education should be based on reflecting on experience. Many authors (Car & Kemmis, 2000; Korthagen et al., 2006) emphasize the need for linking theory and practice during teacher education in order to encourage the de- velopment of their reflexivity and train them for designing and implementing research. Car & Kemmis (2000), in particular, point to the need for linking theory and practice in order to develop the criticalness of teachers, which is the basis for the development of reflexivity and continuous thinking about their own practice. Methodological education is necessary for all future teachers and it should include both theoretical-methodological and statistical knowledge in order to develop teachers’ methodological competence. Methodological competence is the capacity and expertise of teachers to study and research pedagogical reality and their own practice (Jakobi, 1991). Methodological education must contain statistical education, which includes knowledge of statistical vocabulary, concepts, and the application of statistical proce- dures for processing obtained data. Teachers’ faculty education plays a primary role in shaping their methodological competence as it should provide students with a general methodological competence (Branxton & Berger, 2000). However, the authors are not in full agreement regarding the content that should be provided by methodological edu- cation. Also, there was a discrepancy noted between the need for methodological com- petence imposed by practice and the methodological education that is present at facul- ties of education. Methodological education at faculties of education is based on various methodological subjects that are an integral part of all teacher education programs. Methodological education is an important part of future teachers’ education, and as such must exist. The level of adoption of different methodological contents and the experience acquired during the studies determines whether and to what extent teachers will conduct research in future practice (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005; Lodico et al., 2010; Levin & Greenwood, 2008). For the purposes of this paper, we will present a list of contents that should constitute the methodological competence of teachers formed dur- ing faculty education. The list includes twelve groups of contents contributing to the development of appropriate competencies: knowledge of epistemological features and scientific methods; use of the results of other research; understanding of the language of science; handling of intellectual work techniques that are the same for all sciences (literature study, knowledge of citations rules, bibliography writing, etc.); knowledge of basic methodological rules of classification and inference; knowledge of scientific 134 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) methods for data collection; scientific methods; standards for categorization and evalu- ation of scientific papers; knowledge of and respect for ethical rules; motivation for per- manent monitoring of the latest scientific findings; managing competencies important for participation in team projects; a developed criticalness towards educational theories and the results of one’s own scientific papers. 4 Method Based on the presented theoretical understanding of the reflective practitioner and the methodological competencies of teachers, the question of whether the preservice education of future teachers encourages the development of reflective practitioners ari- ses as the problem of this research. The subject of the research is the attitudes of future teachers about the need for methodological education aimed at forming their reflective orientations. The aim of the research is to point out the need for methodological educa- tion at faculties of education in order to develop methodological competencies and to form reflective practitioners. The tasks of the research are to: □ examine students’ attitudes about the importance of methodological edu- cation for the development of reflexivity; □ determine the level of development of methodological and statistical competencies that should be possessed by future reflective practitioners; □ examine reflective orientations of future teachers; □ examine students’ attitudes about the need for additional methodological education at faculties of education; □ establish the connection between methodological competencies and re- flective orientations of future teachers. To collect data under this research, we used a scaling technique and the MOBRP assessment tool, examining the needs for methodological education of future reflective practitioners. The tool was designed for the purpose of this research, consisting of four subscales that correspond to research tasks and contain 33 items. The 12-item subscale, examining the methodological and statistical competencies of future teachers, was de- signed according to the list of competencies, which should constitute the methodologi- cal competence of teachers formed during preservice education. The Cronbach’s Alpha Test, shown in Table 1, was used to examine the assessment scale reliability. Table 1. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test Cronbach’ s Alpha No. of items 0.895 33 Based on the values shown in Table 1, one can see that the Cronbach’s Alpha value (0.895) is greater than 0.700, indicating that the assessment scale is reliable and that the obtained data can be used for scientific purposes. The research was carried out on a 135 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... sample of 205 students of undergraduate and master’s studies of the Faculty of Philoso- phy and Faculty of Sciences who are being prepared for the vocation of teacher. The structure of the respondents is shown in Table 2. Table 2. Structure of respondents with respect to research variables f % Valid % Cumulative % Year of studies Year III 48 23.4 23.4 23.4 Year IV 75 36.6 36.6 60.0 Master’s 82 40.0 40.0 100.0 The subject being studied Natural – mathematical sciences 101 49.3 49.3 49.3 Social – humanistic sciences 104 50.7 50.7 100.0 As we can see in Table 2, the research sample consists of 104 students (50.7 %) of social sciences and humanities, and 101 students (49.3 %) of natural and mathematical sciences. As for the year of studies, the research covered 48 (23.4 %) students in the third year of studies, 75 (36.6 %) students of the fourth year of studies, and 82 (40.0 %) students of master’s studies. 5 Results The data testify to the importance of preservice education to stimulate the reflec- tion of future teachers (Car & Kemmis, 2000), which led us to examine the attitudes of future teachers about the importance of methodological education for the development of reflexivity in the first part of this paper. Based on the data obtained by the research, it was established that the respondents have positive attitudes in all items, which indicates that they are aware of the importance of methodological education for reflexivity devel- opment. This is important because it implies the existence of students’ awareness of the complexity of their future profession and of motivation to prepare themselves better for engaging in the same. The difference in the respondents’ attitudes with respect to the subject being studied is shown in Table 3. A statistical analysis of the obtained data shows that only in the items shown in Table 3: By analyzing literature and writing seminar papers and projects we are training ourselves for a critical attitude towards our own practice (p = 0.008; p < 0.010; M = 3.802 and M = 4.134), and Familiarization with techniques of intellectual work during studies (such as studying literature, knowing the rules of citation, writing bibliographies) is important for successful dealing with future teaching practice (p = 0.026; p < 0.050; M = 4.019 and M = 4.201), do the values of the t-test, df and p show that the respondents’ answers statis- tically significantly differ regarding the subject they are studying. The M values (Table 3) show that students of social sciences and humanities have more positive attitudes than students of natural and mathematical sciences. The results obtained can be explained with the assumption that methodological education and practice which include the writing of 136 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) seminar papers, literature analysis and familiarization with intellectual work techniques are more present during the studies of social and humanistic sciences. Table 3. Difference in future teachers’ attitudes about the importance of methodological education for the development of reflexivity in relation to the subject being studied N M sd t-test df p By analyzing literature and writing seminar papers and projects we are training ourselves for a critical attitude towards our own practice Natural – mathematical sciences 101 3.802 0.872 –2.698 203 0.008 Social – humanistic sciences 104 4.134 0.893 Familiarization with techniques of intellectual work during studies (such as studying literature, knowing the rules of citation, writing bibliographies) is important for successful dealing with future teaching practice Natural – mathematical sciences 101 4.019 0.529 –2.246 198.935 0.026 Social – humanistic sciences 104 4.201 0.629 In order to determine the differences in students’ attitudes with regard to the year of studies, the obtained data were analyzed by variance analysis (ANOV A) and presented in Table 4. Table 4. Difference in future teachers’ attitudes about the importance of methodological education for the development of reflexivity in relation to the year of studies Year of studies N M sd F-test df p The methodological education acquired at the faculty contributes to the development of critical thinking Year III 48 3.625 0.815 9.494 2 0.000 Year IV 75 3.773 0.815 Master’s 82 4.195 0.761 Developing competencies to use the results of scientific research in practice is needed to focus on improving and innovating teaching practice after joining the labor force Year II 48 3.937 0.522 7.608 2 0.001 Year IV 75 3.853 0.766 Master’s 82 4.280 0.725 The implementation of independent research or participation in the research of other researchers during the studies encourages us to explore our own teaching practice as future teachers Year III 48 3.875 0.703 3.590 2 0.029 Year IV 75 4.066 0.723 Master’s 82 4.219 0.703 Through the acquired methodological education, I have developed a focus on finding the causes of teaching problems and various ways to solve them Year III 48 3.541 0.713 3.421 2 0.035 Year IV 75 3.667 0.875 Master’s 82 3.926 0.940 137 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... Table 4 shows a statistically significant difference in the respondents’ answers to the item: The methodological education acquired at the faculty contributes to the devel- opment of critical thinking (p = 0.000; p < 0.010; M = 3.625; M = 3.773; M = 4.195); Developing competencies to use the results of scientific research in practice is needed to focus on improving and innovating teaching practice after joining the labor force (p = 0.001; p < 0.010; M = 3.937; M = 3.853; M = 4.280); The implementation of inde- pendent research or participation in the research of other researchers during the stud- ies encourages us to explore our own teaching practice as future teachers (p = 0.029; p < 0.050; M = 3.875; M = 4.066; M = 4.219); Through the acquired methodological education, I have developed a focus on finding the causes of teaching problems and various ways to solve them (p = 0.035; p < 0.050; M = 3.541; M = 3.667; M = 3.926). Based on the presented values, we note that students of master’s studies evaluated the examined items more positively, which indicates that faculty education has contributed to the students’ greater awareness of the importance of methodological education. 5.1 Development of methodological and statistical competencies of future teachers In order to examine the development of methodological competence in future teach- ers, we have been guided by a list of contents that should constitute teachers’ methodo- logical competence. The majority of respondents positively evaluated all the items that point to the development of methodological competence of students being educated for the teaching profession. The statistical analysis of students’ attitudes, shown in Table 5, showed a statistically significant difference (p <0.010) in the examined items in relation to the subject being studied. Table 5. Differences in the development of methodological and statistical competencies of future teachers in relation to the subject being studied N M sd t-test df p During the studies, I became acquainted with epistemologi- cal features and basic scientific methods used in the study of upbringing and education. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.108 0.773 –8.605 198.921 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.990 0.690 At the faculty, I have deve- loped the ability to use the scientific research results of other researchers. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.198 1.020 –5.812 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.990 0.930 During the studies, I have learned to understand and use the language of the di- scipline to which I belong. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.376 0.947 –8.233 186.788 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.346 0.721 138 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) N M sd t-test df p At the faculty, I have deve- loped the abilities necessary for managing intellectual work techniques, such as stu- dying literature, citing, and knowledge of the structure of writing scientific papers. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.000 1.105 –9.412 176.814 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.250 0.760 During the studies, I be- came acquainted with the basic methodological and logical rules of defining, classifying, and inferring. Nat. – math. sciences 101 2.871 1.055 –8.715 189.741 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.028 0.830 I am familiar with the basic scientific methods for collecting data: observing, interviewing, surveying, scaling, testing, etc. Nat. – math. sciences 101 2.712 1.052 –8.970 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.019 1.033 At the faculty, I came to ma- ster the following scientific research methods: descriptive, comparative, causal, historical. Nat. – math. sciences 101 2.792 0.962 –8.142 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.875 0.942 At the faculty, I became acquainted with the standards of the categorization and eva- luation of scientific papers. Nat. – math. sciences 101 2.594 1.168 –7.286 197.763 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.711 1.021 During the studies, I be- came acquainted with the ethical standards, rules, and norms of scientific work. Nat. – math. sciences 101 2.712 1.117 –8.104 190.514 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.855 0.886 I believe that I have deve- loped scientific criticalness at the faculty and have been trained for a critical attitude towards theory, as well as the results of my own research. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.405 1.022 –4.400 200.466 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.009 0.940 I believe that I have the com- petencies necessary for colla- borative work and participation in team research projects. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.425 0.931 –5.275 196.956 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.067 0.804 I am motivated to continuo- usly keep up with the latest scientific knowledge revea- led by education sciences. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.089 1.059 –3.362 203 0.001 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.615 1.177 139 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... Students of social sciences and humanities have more positive attitudes (see M and sd values in Table 5) than students of natural and mathematical sciences in the examined items, which shows a greater presence of methodological competence with- in this group of students. We highlight the competencies for using scientific language (M = 4.364) and handling intellectual work techniques (M = 4.250) as competencies that the students of social sciences evaluate more positively compared to the other ex- amined competencies. On the other hand, the competencies singled out by students of natural and mathematical sciences are the competencies required for collaborative work (M = 3.425) and developed scientific criticalness (M = 3.405). Table 6. Differences in the development of methodological and statistical competencies of future teachers in relation to the year of studies Year of studies N M sd F-test df p During the studies, I became acqua- inted with the ethical standards, ru- les, and norms of scientific work. Year III 48 2.916 1.164 10.455 2 0.000 Year IV 75 3.067 1.189 Master 82 3.719 0.985 I am familiar with the basic sci- entific methods for collecting data: observing, interviewing, su- rveying, scaling, testing, etc. Year III 48 3.104 1.134 5.644 2 0.004 Year IV 75 3.173 1.234 Master’s 82 3.719 1.210 I believe that I have developed sci- entific criticalness at the faculty and have been trained for a critical attitude towards theory, as well as the results of my own research. Year III 48 3.604 0.917 5.227 2 0.007 Year IV 75 3.480 1.057 Master’s 82 3.987 1.000 I believe that I have the competencies necessary for collaborative work and participation in team research projects. Year III 48 3.645 0.985 4.772 2 0.009 Year IV 75 3.560 0.887 Master’s 82 3.987 0.919 At the faculty, I became acquainted with the standards of the categorization and evaluation of scientific papers. Year III 48 2.875 1.231 4.477 2 0.013 Year IV 75 3.013 1.214 Master’s 82 3.463 1.188 At the faculty, I came to master the fol- lowing scientific research methods: de- scriptive, comparative, causal, historical. Year III 48 3.104 1.115 4.362 2 0.014 Year IV 75 3.200 1.065 Master’s 82 3.609 1.063 At the faculty, I have developed the abilities necessary for managing intellec- tual work techniques, such as studying literature, citing, and knowledge of the structure of writing scientific papers. Year III 48 3.458 1.129 3.947 2 0.021 Year IV 75 3.453 1.094 Master’s 82 3.902 1.129 During the studies, I became acqua- inted with the basic methodologi- cal and logical rules of defining, classifying, and inferring. Year III 48 3.208 1.091 3.188 2 0.043 Year IV 75 3.373 1.112 Master’s 82 3.682 1.087 140 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) Table 6 shows the values in which ANOV A values show a statistically significant difference in the attitudes of the respondents compared to the year of studies (p < 0.050). On the basis of the values shown, we note that students of master studies possess more developed methodological competencies in relation to students of years III and IV of studies. As competencies that are the most present among the students of master’s stud- ies we single out a developed scientific criticalness (M = 3.987) and the competencies necessary for collaborative work (M = 3.987). Regarding the items where the attitudes are more negative, we highlight the familiarity with the ethical standards of scientific work (M = 2.916) and familiarity with the standards of the categorization and evalua- tion of scientific papers (M = 2.875) for year III of studies. The collected data are not surprising given that methodological subjects are usually represented at higher levels and years of study, when it comes to teacher education. Students of master’s studies are expected to have a higher level of methodological competence in relation to students in the lower years of studies, which will facilitate their inclusion in the labor force that will happen in the near future. 5.2 Reflective orientations of future teachers An analysis of the obtained data has determined that the future teachers involved in the research show reflective orientation. In the case of almost all aspects of reflex- ivity, which are presented through nine items, about 70 % or more of future teachers have positive attitudes. The obtained data indicate the existence of a developed reflec- tion awareness of future teachers, which indicates their willingness to engage in future practice. The existence of reflective orientation in future teachers gives teachers room to critically analyze and improve their own practice, which is the core of the teaching profession. The statistical data analysis (Table 7) shows differences in respondents’ at- titudes with regard to the subject they are studying. Table 7. Differences in reflective orientations of future teachers in relation to the subject being studied N M sd t-test df p During practical work, it is important to make changes during the action itself to improve teaching Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.782 0.856 –5.034 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.355 0.775 I consider it necessary to perform self-evaluation on a continuous basis Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.089 0.736 –3.027 203 0.003 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.413 0.796 In teaching, it is important to have a developed ability to describe to others what we are doing and why Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.128 0.688 –2.038 201.571 0.043 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 4.336 0.771 141 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... Table 7 emphasizes items where there are statistically significant differences in re- spondents’ answers in relation to the subject being studied: During practical work it is important to make changes during the action itself to improve teaching (p = 0.000; p < 0.010; M = 3.782; M = 4.355); I consider it necessary to perform self-evaluation on a continuous basis (p = 0.003; p < 0.010; M = 4.089; M = 4.413); In teaching, it is important to have a developed ability to describe to others what we are doing and why (p = 0.043; p < 0.050; M = 4.128; M = 4.336). With the mentioned aspects of reflexiv- ity, the M values show that students of social-humanistic sciences have more positive attitudes than students of natural-mathematical sciences. The obtained data indicate a greater presence of reflexivity among social-humanistic sciences students, with the development of self-evaluation (M = 4.413) distinguished in particular as one of the aspects of reflexivity. As far as the differences in the respondents’ attitudes with respect to the year of studies are concerned, it is assumed that the master’s studies students are more reflec- tive compared to students in year III and IV of studies. However, the results of the sta- tistical analysis showed that the master’s studies students have more positive attitudes but that these differences in attitudes are statistically significant only in the items shown in Table 8. Table 8. Differences in reflective orientations of future teachers in relation to the year of studies Year of studies N M sd F-test df p I consider it is necessary to think about teaching practice to draw conclusions about the necessary changes Year III 48 3.937 0.633 4.818 2 0.010 Year IV 75 4.160 0.789 Master’s 82 4.329 0.787 I consider it necessary to perform self-evaluation on a regular basis Year III 48 4.167 0.834 4.041 2 0.019 Year IV 75 4.106 0.727 Master’s 82 4.439 0.771 As we can see in Table 8, the respondents’ attitudes about reflexivity statistically significantly differ with the year of studies for item: I consider it is necessary to think about teaching practice to draw conclusions about the necessary changes (p = 0.010; p < 0.050); the greatest difference in attitudes exists between students of master’s stud- ies and year III (M = 4.329; M = 3.937); I consider it necessary to perform self-evalua- tion on a regular basis (p = 0.019; p < 0.050) where there is a difference in the answers of students of master’s studies in relation to students of year IV studies (M = 4.439; M = 4.106). These data indicate the importance of faculty education for the develop- ment of reflexivity and at the same time confirm similar data from literature (Banđur & Maksimović, 2013; Car & Kemmis, 2000; Loughan, 2002). 142 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) 5.3 The need for additional methodological education Based on the analyzed attitudes, it has been established that future teachers recog- nize the need for additional methodological education at faculties of education. The data obtained are significant given the non-conformity of teaching practice needs for meth- odologically competent teachers and methodological education provided by faculties of education. Table 9 shows a statistically significant difference (p = 0.000; p < 0.010) in respondents’ answers to the subject being studied. Based on the values shown, we note that students of natural and mathematical sciences have statistically significantly more positive attitudes in all items, which indicates that they are more aware of the need for additional methodological education at faculties of education. Table 9. Differences in attitudes of future teachers about the need for additional metho- dological education in relation to the subject they are studying The subject I study belongs to N M sd t-test df p I believe that more teaching subjects devoted to research methodology are needed at the faculty Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.297 0.965 6.758 187.871 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.201 1.332 More opportunities are needed during studying for understanding and applying the results of scientific papers in practice Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.574 0.712 5.625 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.903 0.971 I think that during faculty education it is necessary to carry out research more often and study the problems of teaching practice. Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.306 0.745 5.655 174.418 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.528 1.182 At faculties of education, more attention should be paid to research methods, techniques, tools, the course of research, and its implementation Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.267 0.882 5.004 196.902 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.576 1.086 I believe that pre-examination obligations should more often be based on writing seminar papers and conducting research projects. Nat. – math. sciences 101 3.980 1.049 5.357 203 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.153 1.156 I believe that future teachers need more knowledge of the processing and analyzing of data obtained by research. Nat. – math. sciences 101 4.524 0.610 6.708 174.416 0.000 Soc. – hum. sciences 104 3.769 0.968 143 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... Students of natural and mathematical sciences, compared to students of social sci- ences and humanities, more positively evaluate the need for more methodological sub- jects (M = 4.297, M = 3.201); the application of scientific research results (M = 4.574, M = 3.903); more frequent research of practice problems (M = 4.306, M = 3.528); the construction, course and implementation of research (M = 4.267, M = 3.576); more frequent pre-exam obligations in the form of projects and seminar papers (M = 3.980, M = 3.153); and the need for greater familiarity with the processing and analyzing of research data (M = 4.524, M = 769). We believe that the differences in attitudes between the two groups of students were due to a different representation of methodological edu- cation at faculties, as well as due to the established higher methodological competence of students of social and humanistic sciences. As for the difference in the attitudes of future teachers regarding the need for additional methodological education in relation to the year of studies, Table 10 presents the results of the statistical analysis and ANOV A values. Table 10. Differences in future teachers’ attitudes about the need for additional metho- dological education in relation to the year of studies Year of studies N M sd F-test df p I believe that more teaching su- bjects devoted to research metho- dology are needed at the faculty Year III 48 3.729 1.250 5.062 2 0.007 Year IV 75 4.080 1.136 Master’s 82 3.439 1.371 At faculties of education, more at- tention should be paid to research methods, techniques, tools, the course of research, and its implementation Year III 48 3.958 1.010 4.552 2 0.013 Year IV 75 4.160 0.789 Master’s 82 3.670 1.218 More opportunities are needed during studying for understanding and applying the results of scientific papers in practice Year III 48 3.937 1.137 3.585 2 0.030 Year IV 75 4.373 0.851 Master’s 82 4.280 0.790 I believe that future teachers need more knowledge of the processing and analyzing of data obtained by research Year III 48 4.208 0.874 3.350 2 0.037 Year IV 75 4.306 0.753 Master’s 82 3.951 0.993 Based on the results of the variance analysis (Table 10), statistically significant differences were found in the attitudes of future teachers about the need for additional methodological education in relation to the year of studies in item: I believe that more teaching subjects devoted to research methodology are needed at the faculty (p = 0.007; p < 0.010; M = 3.729; M = 4.080; M = 3.439); At faculties of education, more attention should be paid to research methods, techniques, tools, the course of research, and its implementation (p = 0.013; p < 0.010; M = 3.958; M = 4.160; M = 3.670); More op- portunities are needed during studying for understanding and applying the results of scientific papers in practice (p = 0.030; p < 0.050; M = 3.937; M = 4.373; M = 4.280); I believe that future teachers need more knowledge of the processing and analyzing of data obtained by research (p = 0.037; p < 0.050; M = 4.208; M = 4.306; M = 3.951). 144 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) We notice that in all items students of year IV of studies have more positive attitudes, which means that they, in relation to the other groups of students, more often see the need for additional methodological education. 5.4 Relationship between methodological competencies and reflective orientations After we have established the existence of reflective orientations and developed methodological competencies in future teachers, guided by the data on the relationship between methodological competence and reflexivity, we assumed that students who are also more methodologically competent are more reflective. Table 11. Correlation of methodological competence and reflexivity of future teachers Methodological competencies of future teachers Reflective orientations of future teachers Pearson correlation coefficient 0.571** p 0.000 The correlation data presented in Table 11 were obtained by a statistical correlation between subscales related to the developed methodological competencies and reflec- tive orientations of our respondents. Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.571 and p = 0.000, we can see that there is a positive correlation that is statistically significant at the level of 0.010. The existence of a positive correlation between meth- odological competencies and the developed reflexivity of future teachers indicates that increasing methodological competencies contributes to reflective orientation. These data are highly important as they relate to already analyzed data that showed a higher methodological competence and reflection of master’s studies students. Also, these data can be the basis for future research, even after the teachers are included in the labor force, as they indicate that with each additional improvement of teachers in the area of methodology, their reflective orientation will increase. 6 Discussion and conclusions In this research, an assessment scale made of 33 items was used to examine the at- titudes of future teachers about their methodological education and developed reflective orientations. The analysis and statistical processing of the obtained data revealed that future teachers recognize the importance of methodological education for the develop- ment of reflexivity. The data obtained by further research showed the developed meth- odological competence of our respondents. The statistical analysis of the obtained data showed that students of social sciences gave statistically significantly more positive an- swers than students of natural and mathematical sciences (p < 0.010), and that students 145 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... of master’s studies have more positive attitudes in all items, but that this difference is statistically significant only in certain groups of contents. Based on the analysis of the attitudes of the respondents and the values of all statis- tical parameters, it has been established that respondents positively evaluate reflection, and that students of social sciences are more reflective than students of natural – math- ematical sciences, which is statistically significant (< 0.050) in three out of nine exam- ined aspects of reflexivity. The data that have been obtained by examining students’ attitudes about the need for additional methodological education are very interesting since in all items a statistically significant difference (p = 0.000; p < 0.010) was found in the attitudes between students of social – humanistic and natural – mathematical sciences. Data analysis has shown that students of natural – mathematical sciences have more positive attitudes and a greater awareness of the need for additional methodological education. The fact that this group of students recognizes the need for additional education is a good starting point for their further professional development and in-service training after joining the labor force. Given that the research has shown the existence of reflective orientations and a de- veloped methodological competence in future teachers, based on the results of the sta- tistical correlation procedure (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.571 and p = 0.000), there is a positive correlation indicating that an increased methodological competence of teachers leads to an increase in reflective orientations. The obtained data can be the basis for raising the awareness of students, as well as the expert public, of the need to favor methodological education at faculties. Also, these data can be used and appreci- ated when designing a new teacher education program. Dr. Jelena Maksimović, Jelena Osmanović Vloga in učinkovitost metodološkega izobraževanja za reflektivne prakse Vzgojno-izobraževalni sistem zahteva učitelja, ki s svojimi inovacijami in sposob- nostmi lahko prispeva k razvoju lastne prakse in celotnega sistema. Samo refleksivni učitelj lahko odgovori na vse potrebe današnje družbe, šole in študentov. Za udejanja- nje refleksivne vloge pri pouku in vzgoji morajo biti učitelji metodološko kompetentni in usmerjeni k raziskovanju lastne prakse. Da bi učitelji izboljšali svojo prakso, kritično razmišljali in bili usmerjeni v stalne inovacije, morajo biti refleksivno usmerjeni. Učitelj refleksivni praktik vedno izhaja iz lastne prakse in si jo nenehno prizadeva izboljšati. Poleg uporabe rezultatov raziskav drugih raziskovalcev učitelj sodeluje pri raziskavah drugih, hkrati pa je tudi pobudnik in izvajalec lastnih raziskav. Z aktivnim sodelovanjem pri raziskovanju in izboljševanju vzgojne prakse postanejo učitelji refleksivni praktiki. Refleksivni praktik je učitelj, ki nenehno raziskuje svojo prakso z mini in mikro raziskavami ali akcijskimi raziskavami. Številni sodobni pedagogi in metodologi poudarjajo potrebo po razmisleku o potrebnih ukrepih pri usposabljanju učiteljev. Ta razmislek nalaga razviti pripravljenost učiteljev 146 Didactica Slovenica – Pedagoška obzorja (1, 2018) sodelovati v novih situacijah in kritično razmišljati o vseh vidikih lastne prakse, a tudi o praksi drugih. Prevzemanje refleksivne vloge v učni praksi je treba spodbujati in podpirati že v za- četnem izobraževanju učiteljev. Poudarjena je potreba po povezovanju teorije in prakse v izobraževanju učiteljev, ki naj spodbudi razvoj njihove refleksivnosti ter pozneje za načrtovanje in izvajanje raziskav. Zlasti se kaže potreba po povezovanju teorije in pra- kse, kar pospešuje razvoj kritičnosti. Ta kritičnost je osnova za razvijanje refleksivnosti in stalnega razmišljanja o lastni praksi. Opazili smo neskladje med potrebo po meto- doloških kompetencah, ki jih zahteva praksa, in metodološko izobrazbo v programih pedagoških smeri študija. Metodološko usposabljanje na fakultetah sestavljajo različni metodološki predmeti, ki so del vseh programov izobraževanja učiteljev. Bodoči učitelji potrebujejo metodološko izobrazbo, ki mora vsebovati splošnejše teoretične metodološke vsebine in specifično statistično znanje za razvoj metodološke kompetence učiteljev. Metodološka usposobljenost pomeni sposobnost in strokovnost učiteljev za študij in raziskovanje pedagoške stvarnosti in lastne prakse. Stopnja usva- janja različnih metodoloških vsebin in pridobljene raziskovalne izkušnje med študijem določajo, ali bodo in v kolikšni meri učitelji izvajali raziskave. V času študija je treba spodbujati razvoj vseh oblik refleksivnega razmišljanja. Refleksijo je treba obravnavati kot naravno spremljevalko učiteljskega poklica, saj je v najširšem pomenu opredeljena kot preudarek o lastni dejavnosti. Če naj bo učitelj refleksivno usmerjen, mora biti me- todološko usposobljen in mora zaupati v svoje sposobnosti; to pa potrjuje njegove me- todološke kompetence. Raziskave učiteljev naj bodo usmerjene k iskanju novih rešitev problema, k spodbujanju uvajanja inovacij in k izboljšanju prakse. Predmet raziskave so stališča bodočih učiteljev o potrebi po takšni metodološki izobrazbi, ki naj pripomore k njihovi refleksivni usmeritvi. Namen raziskave je poudariti potrebo po metodološkem izobraževanju na pedagoških fakultetah s ciljem razviti me- todološke kompetence in oblikovati učitelje kot refleksivne praktike. S to raziskavo smo želeli poudariti pomen metodološkega usposabljanja v razvoju kompetenc in refleksivne usmerjenosti učiteljev ter hkrati ugotoviti, kakšno je stanje glede opisane problematike na pedagoških študijih Univerze v Nišu, Srbija. Podatke v raziskavi smo zbrali s pomočjo ocenjevalne lestvice MOBRP za ugota- vljanje potrebe po metodološkem usposabljanju bodočih učiteljev – refleksivnih prak- tikov. Instrument, ki smo ga sestavili posebej za namene te raziskave, vsebuje 33 po- samičnih lestvic. Te tvorijo štiri vsebinsko zaokrožene celote (podlestvice), skladno z raziskovalnimi vprašanji. Osrednja celota, sestavljena iz dvanajstih vprašanj, preučuje metodološko in statistično usposobljenost bodočih učiteljev. Sestavljena je kot odraz seznama tistih kompetenc, ki tvorijo metodološko usposobljenost učitelja oblikovano med študijem na fakulteti. Vrednost koeficienta Cronbach alfa (0,895) kaže na viso- ko zanesljivost lestvice in njeno ustreznost za raziskovalne namene. Raziskava je bila opravljena na vzorcu 205 študentov prve in druge stopnje pedagoških smeri študija na Filozofski in Naravoslovno-matematični fakulteti. Na podlagi podatkov, pridobljenih v raziskavi, je bilo ugotovljeno, da imajo anke- tiranci pozitiven odnos pri vseh vprašanjih letvice, kar kaže, da se zavedajo pomena metodološkega usposabljanja za razvoj refleksivnosti. To je pomembna ugotovitev, saj pomeni, da se študentje zavedajo zapletenosti svojega bodočega poklica. Za ugotav- 147 Jelena Maksimović, PhD, Jelena Osmanović: The role and effectiveness... ljanje razlik v stališčih študentov glede na letnik študija je bila uporabljena analiza variance (ANOVA). Študenti magistrskega študija imajo višje vrednosti na ocenjevalnih lestvicah, kar kaže, da je študij na prvi stopnji pomembno prispeval k večji ozaveščeno- sti študentov o pomenu metodološkega usposabljanja. Študenti na magistrskem študiju imajo bolj razvite metodološke kompetence kot študenti tretjega in četrtega letnika. Najbolj razvite so prav kompetence, ki kažejo na znanstveno kritičnost in kompetence, potrebne za timsko delo. To, da je stopnja meto- dološke usposobljenosti pri študentih magistrskega študija višja kot, pri študentih prve stopnje je pričakovan rezultat. Srednje vrednosti na lestvicah refleksivnosti kažejo, da imajo študentje družbenih in humanističnih smeri bolj pozitivna stališča kot študentje naravoslovno-matematičnih ved. Zlasti pri tem izstopa samoevalvacija kot eden od vi- dikov refleksivnosti. Bodoči učitelji prepoznavajo potrebo po dodatnem metodološkem usposabljanju v pedagoških smereh študija. Študenti naravoslovno-matematičnih ved imajo, nasproti temu, bistveno bolj pozitivna stališča pri ostalih vprašanjih lestvice, kar kaže, da se zavedajo potrebe po dodatnem metodološkem usposabljanju. Dobljeni rezultati so pomembni za razumevanje neskladja med potrebami šolstva po metodološko kompetentnimi učitelji in metodološkim usposabljanjem na pedagoških smereh študija. Prepričani smo, da so razlike v stališčih med obema skupinama študen- tov posledica različne zastopanosti metodoloških vsebin na fakultetah, pa tudi ugoto- vljenih višjih metodoloških kompetenc študentov družboslovja in humanistike. Statistična analiza podatkov je pokazala, da so odgovori študentov družboslovja in humanistike bistveno bolj pozitivni kot odgovori študentov naravoslovno-matematičnih ved (p < 0,010). Prav tako so stališča študentov magistrskega študija bolj pozitivna pri vseh vprašanjih lestvice, vendar je razlika statistično pomembna le pri nekaterih vprašanjih. Raziskava je potrdila povezavo med refleksivno usmerjenostjo in razvitimi metodo- loškimi kompetencami bodočih učiteljev. Ugotovili smo pozitivno korelacijo, ki kaže, da z večanjem metodološke usposobljenosti učiteljev narašča tudi povečanje refleksivne usmerjenosti. V pričujoči raziskavi smo se usmerili na raziskovanje metodološke usposobljenosti študentov pedagoških študijev zaradi pomena metodološke usposobljenosti in refleksiv- nosti učiteljev kot tudi zaradi nezadostne empirične raziskanosti te tematike. Refleksivni učitelj je tisti, ki kritično ocenjuje svojo prakso in prakso drugih, ki je usposobljen za uporabo rezultatov drugih raziskovalcev, ki je sposoben raziskovati svojo prakso, ki je sposoben improvizirati, ki vedno najde nove načine za reševanje problemov, za spremljanje in vrednotenje lastne prakse in ki razmišlja o svojih prihodnjih dejanjih. Rezultati raziskave so pomembni tudi zato, ker potrjujejo in dopolnjujejo dosedanje raziskave o višji metodološki usposobljenosti in refleksivnosti študentov magistrskega štu - dija. Prav tako so lahko rezultati raziskave izhodišče za nadaljnje raziskovanje zlasti še po vključitvi v pedagoško delo po zaključenem študiju, saj kažejo, da se obogatitev progra - mov metodološkega usposabljanja učiteljev obrestuje s povečanjem njihove refleksivnosti. Dobljeni rezultati so lahko podlaga za ozaveščanje študentov in strokovne javnosti o pomenu metodološkega usposabljanja v pedagoških smereh študija. 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(1987): Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Jelena Maksimović, PhD (1977), associate professor at the Faculty of philosophy in Niš, Serbia. Address: Ćirila i Metodija 2, 18000 Niš, Serbia; Telephone: (+381) 064 592 770 E-mail: lenamaksimovic@filfak.ni.ac.rs Jelena Osmanović (1989), assistant at the Faculty of philosophy in Niš, Serbia. Address: Ćirila i Metodija 2, 18000 Niš, Serbia; Telephone: (+381) 062 861 74 63 E-mail: jelena.osmanovic@filfak.ni.ac.rs