ASSERTIVENESS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS AND PRESCHOOL TEACHERS
Keywords:
assertiveness, classroom management, professional development of teachers and preschool teachers.Abstract
Assertiveness represents the aspect of social competencies related
to indicators of socially-adapted and self-reliable behaviour. Given
the importance of social competencies in the context of developing
professional competencies of teachers and preschool teachers and
the realization that assertiveness is a particularly important aspect of
social competencies, this research was aimed at examining the level
of assertiveness of prospective teachers and preschool teachers at the
beginning and during university studies. The total sample consisted
of 699 subjects (254 candidates for the study groups for teachers and
preschool teachers at the Faculty of Education of the University of
Kragujevac and 445 first, second and third year students of the same
faculty). The degree of assertiveness was measured by the Scale for
the Assessment of Assertiveness (A Scale) by Tovilovic and
associates. The results show that there is a significant difference in
the degree of assertiveness between the candidates and students, in
favour of the students (F=8.209; p> 0.001). It was also determined
that the degree of assertiveness significantly increases in parallel
with the year of study. Despite the fact that this increase is
encouraging, given that it indicates a rise in the level of assertiveness
over the course of the studies, the percentage of candidates and
students, prospective teachers and preschool teachers, with low and
extremely low assertiveness is troubling and indicates the necessity
for planned activity aimed at developing assertiveness during studies
at this faculty.
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