The thesis examines the personal conceptions and subjective theories of educators and assistant educators. Personal conceptions are our ideas about phenomena that help us understand the world and play an essential role in responding to a particular situation. Together, they are organized into subjective theories, i.e., relatively unchanging relations of various concepts. These are often based on emotions and values and are not entirely logical and conscious. The education staff form subjective theories about crucial issues for their work and the dilemmas they face there. As the staff develop personally and professionally, they develop specific ideas about various aspects of pedagogical work, which are then formulated as concepts. The formation of these concepts is influenced by education, personal experience and personal history, in-service training, work colleagues, and the prevailing practices in kindergartens.
The thesis aimed to determine the personal conceptions and subjective theories about learning, knowledge, and teaching held by educators and assistant educators. We were particularly interested in the relationship between age and personal conceptions and length of service and personal conceptions. The respondents were asked to identify which factors influenced the formation of subjective theories and how the professional staff understood the concept of active learning.
We put together a survey questionnaire and sent it to educators and assistant educators. One hundred four completed questionnaires were returned. Open and closed-ended questions and agreement scales were used. We found that the personal conceptions of educators and assistant educators were at a higher cognitive level compared to past research. No statistically significant correlations were found between the age of the education staff and their perceptions, or their length of service and personal perceptions. According to the respondents, their perceptions were influenced mainly by the following factors: their experience with children, informal conversations and exchanging experiences with colleagues, in-service training, reading professional journals, and personal background and history.
Subjective theories and personal conceptions impact how educators plan and perform activities and behave in the class unit. Personal conceptions and the subjective theories derived from them need to be more complex and at a higher level, making it possible for children to play a more active role in kindergarten.
|
