Page 101 - Kukanja Gabrijelčič, Mojca, and Maruška Seničar Željeznov, eds. 2018. Teaching Gifted and Talented Children in A New Educational Era. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 101
Relationship between Encouraging
Excellence in Pupils and Teachers’ Attitudes
towards Science: An Example from Croatia
Petra Pejić Papak
University of Rijeka, Croatia
petra.pejic.papak@uniri.hr
Jasna Arrigoni
University of Rijeka, Croatia
jarrigoni@uniri.hr
Željka Ivković
University of Rijeka, Croatia
zeljka.ivkovic@uniri.hr
Science is extremely important for the development of each country, but it
is also important for the development of children, especially gifted ones. In
this regard, teachers’ attitudes towards science, the development of excellence
and giftedness in children, play a significant role. Therefore, the purpose of
this research was to determine the attitudes of teachers on science, their as-
sessment of their importance for the development and advancement of soci-
ety, and to which degree attitudes are related to the promotion of excellence
among primary school pupils in three Croatian counties. The survey was con-
ducted on a sample of 220 primary school teachers on a questionnaire con-
structed for this research. Factor analysis of teachers’ attitudes towards science
extracted four factors: Educational-developmental dimension of science, Sci-
ence as a driver of social development, Positive feelings towards science, and
Negative feelings towards science. Results indicate that these factors are sta-
tistically significantly related to the constructed index of school excellence, the
length of teachers’ work service and the size of the place of residence and place
of growing-up. Teachers in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County evaluated the ed-
ucational practice of their school as more positive towards encouraging excel-
lence than teachers in the other two counties, and teachers from the Lika-Senj
County expressed more negative emotions towards dealing with science con-
tent in their work than their colleagues.
Keywords: attitudes towards science, excellence, giftedness, teachers’ atti-
tudes, Croatian educational system
Introduction
Science is extremely important for a country’s development. In addition, it
plays an important role in the development of children since it contributes
99
Excellence in Pupils and Teachers’ Attitudes
towards Science: An Example from Croatia
Petra Pejić Papak
University of Rijeka, Croatia
petra.pejic.papak@uniri.hr
Jasna Arrigoni
University of Rijeka, Croatia
jarrigoni@uniri.hr
Željka Ivković
University of Rijeka, Croatia
zeljka.ivkovic@uniri.hr
Science is extremely important for the development of each country, but it
is also important for the development of children, especially gifted ones. In
this regard, teachers’ attitudes towards science, the development of excellence
and giftedness in children, play a significant role. Therefore, the purpose of
this research was to determine the attitudes of teachers on science, their as-
sessment of their importance for the development and advancement of soci-
ety, and to which degree attitudes are related to the promotion of excellence
among primary school pupils in three Croatian counties. The survey was con-
ducted on a sample of 220 primary school teachers on a questionnaire con-
structed for this research. Factor analysis of teachers’ attitudes towards science
extracted four factors: Educational-developmental dimension of science, Sci-
ence as a driver of social development, Positive feelings towards science, and
Negative feelings towards science. Results indicate that these factors are sta-
tistically significantly related to the constructed index of school excellence, the
length of teachers’ work service and the size of the place of residence and place
of growing-up. Teachers in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County evaluated the ed-
ucational practice of their school as more positive towards encouraging excel-
lence than teachers in the other two counties, and teachers from the Lika-Senj
County expressed more negative emotions towards dealing with science con-
tent in their work than their colleagues.
Keywords: attitudes towards science, excellence, giftedness, teachers’ atti-
tudes, Croatian educational system
Introduction
Science is extremely important for a country’s development. In addition, it
plays an important role in the development of children since it contributes
99
