Воспитание / Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice
Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice is an official publication of the “Goce Delcev” University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Stip, Republic of Macedonia. It is published twice yearly. The journal publishes original scientific papers, short communications, reviews, professional and educational papers from all fields of advance the empirical, theoretical, and methodological understanding of education and learning. Particularly, papers that are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to the study and survey of the problems in education.
“Goce Delcev” University, Stip , Faculty of Educational Sciences, Republic of Macedonia
Copyright (c) 2025 Воспитание / Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice
SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Inclusion in the educational process is a concept focused on providing equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their individual abilities, background, or needs. The primary goal of inclusive education is to create a school environment in which every student can develop and thrive, regardless of their specific needs or challenges. In order to ensure equal access to the educational process and to improve the academic and social outcomes of these children, it is important to implement specialized strategies and support methods in primary education. The application of these strategies and resources not only enhances the academic success of children with Down syndrome but also promotes their inclusion and social integration within the school environment. To achieve the best results, effective communication and collaboration between teachers, parents, and specialists are of crucial importance.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS FOLLOWING THE LOWER EDUCATIONAL STANDARD IN THE 3RD GRADE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL
The article discusses the assessment of knowledge in students enrolled in the program with a lower educational standard (NIS), with a focus on the third grade of primary school. It presents the specific features required for differentiated and developmentally appropriate assessment in accordance with the individual needs of children. Assessment in NIS programs must be designed to be multidimensional and inclusive, where formative assessment, clear performance criteria, and the use of various learning aids and approaches adapted to the cognitive and social abilities of students play a significant role. This study is theoretically grounded in the formative assessment literature, emphasizing feedback, self-assessment, and clear success criteria as levers for learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Shute, 2008). Alignment with Bloom’s revised taxonomy ensures that tasks address multiple cognitive processes from remembering to creating (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). The use of visual rubrics and multimodal supports is consistent with evidence that explicit criteria and well-designed artifacts improve students’ understanding of quality and support equitable participation (Brookhart, 2013; Mayer, 2009). The article emphasizes the importance of understanding assessment as a pedagogical tool to support learning and encourages the establishment of an inclusive and supportive learning environment for students with special needs.
THE NEED FOR MUSIC THERAPY IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
This paper aims to enrich the resocialization process in the prison of the Republic of Macedonia through the application of music therapy and the opportunities it offers to achieve positive results in the personality of the prisoners. Music therapy offers very useful methods and work that can be applied in working with this category of people serving a prison sentence. A large part of the time prisoners spend in prison is insufficiently used. The organization of time by employees in the resocialization sector and the regular general and specific programs intended for their resocialization while serving a prison sentence should also be filled with other useful activities. This primarily refers to the organization of free time, which is also of great importance and is an integral part of the socialization of prisoners.
AN ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE SOUND IMPROVISATION IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ MUSIC EDUCATION
It is widely recognized that the sound of vibrational percussive instruments could contribute to relaxation, mindfulness, and stress reduction. We attempted to introduce these instruments in the pre-service teacher music education. Workshops were designed to include listening instruments, improvisation, sound production and expression of the experience through drawing. A total sample of 130 students from two universities Faculty of Educational Sciences Sarajevo, the Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, and the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana, were enrolled in the study. The study aims to explore how students perceived our attempt and if their perceptions are related to the use of music in everyday life. Before the workshop students reported how they regulated mood through music (The Brief Music in Mood Regulation scale (B-MMR). Students’ experiences of the workshops were measured through three-dimensional (affective, cognitive, and conative) Connotative differential scales (CD-9). Results reveal that student’s workshop experiences have a positive meaning in the semantic space. The differences between students from different universities were not statistically significant. Positive affective- evaluative adjectives (pleasant, attractive, and good) have the most important role in describing experiences. Also, highly engaged music users who regulate different moods through music had a stronger tendency to describe workshops’ experiences with positive affective adjectives. The implications of the results for the future use of the introduction sound play and improvisation in teachers’ music education will be discussed.
DIMENSIONING OF STRATEGIES IN CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL WORK IN A HISTORICAL CONTEXT – FROM COMENIUS TO STREAM –
Quality in education has always been an imperative and a challenge for all educational systems. The development of educational theories and the advancement of practice should move in parallel and in step together with the aim of creating conditions for increasing the quality of education. In that context, new solutions are offered that will primarily be aimed at increasing the efficiency of the educational process, increased effectiveness and resultativeness in work. This, on the other hand, should produce new innovative solutions and creative opportunities that will be in the function of successful work and a happy life in future. One of those solutions is the stream strategy. Our attention in the paper is focused on several questions: Why this strategy, what it contains and what it refers to, how it is developing and what enables its application today in conditions of the existence of two worlds, real and virtual. Guided by the phrase that we must know the past in order to understand the present and plan the future, the focus of attention in this paper is directed towards the historical dimensioning of learning strategies in educational work, starting from Comenius to the present, to Stream - a strategy from the aspect of essence, meaning, basis and effects of application. Studies of the issue from this perspective lead to the conclusion that the values of the stream approach in modern educational work have a long history in their genesis in respective segments, but that it is also a solid foundation for a multitude of new challenges that will not only enrich the scientific and professional thesaurus but will also initiate new creative and efficient solutions for higher quality education.
REFLECTION AND SELF-REFLECTION, COMPONENTS OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION
Professional development for teachers, essential to successfully implementing the educational process, is intimately related to the quality of education. Professional growth includes various elements, including academic and educational training, enhancing instructional strategies, increasing emotional intelligence and managing emotions, growth of social and communication abilities, implementation of innovation in education, reflection and self-reflection, and establishing communities and networks for professionals. This paper focuses on reflection, and self-reflection as significant characteristics of teacher’s professional competence. In the paper, I tried to answer several crucial questions related to the existence of differences between these two concepts; their meaning and role; how they are implemented in the education of future teachers; and the benefits of their application.
PLAY AS AN ACTIVITY FOR FORMING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
As an independent children's activity, play is formed during the upbringing and education of children and it contributes to their assimilation of experience through human activity. As a form of organizing the life of children in kindergartens, play is important because it serves to form the child's psyche and personality. The main function of play is developmental: it increases intelligence, contributes to the sensory perception of the world and emotional well-being of the child. Therefore, in addition to all other types of activities, play is of primary importance in preschool childhood. Preschool age is considered the classic age of play. In the area of environmental education, ways are currently being sought to introduce elements of different types of games into the teaching process of preschool children so that they form a conscious and correct attitude towards nature and towards themselves as a part of it. The relationship between children's play (games) and other activities and the formation of ideas about nature is an issue that is poorly explored in science and disorganized in practice. Children of preschool age are happy to participate in theatrical games. By depicting different heroes (animals, birds), children get to know the natural world that surrounds them through images, colors, and sounds. The paper will present several games with environmental messages implemented in preschool institutions in Štip, North Macedonia, as activities that develop environmental awareness among preschool children.
play, environmental awareness, preschool children.
In the article, we discuss peer violence as a current problem that we face in regular elementary schools. First, we will define the concept of violence and what types of violence we know. We will pay special attention to one type of violence; we will elaborate on peer violence. The topic of peer violence has been particularly relevant in recent years, as the study of peer violence is changing due to the increased sensitivity of people to this issue, and there is also an increasing interest in researching peer violence, which enables more appropriate detection and prevention of violence. Being informed when dealing with this kind of violence is essential if we want to provide students with a safe and pleasant school environment. That's why we decided to check which types of peer violence are most common in regular primary schools. We were interested in who most often perpetrates violence, who are the most frequent victims, and when and where peer violence is most common. We will present the results of the structured interviews and the results of the survey we conducted among the students. The research is based on a sample of 449 pupils of the city's primary school in Ljubljana. All sections from 1st to 9th grade were covered. Class teachers helped the first-grade students understand the survey, while the rest of the students completed the survey electronically. The conducted research led to the results that various forms of peer violence occur at all ages, most often among students of the same class, when the teacher is not present.
Socialization and education are fundamental processes that contribute significantly to an individuals development. With these processes, an individual can easily be included in various social circles and be facilitated in an cultural integration. While an individual may accept certain societal rules, this does not necessarily mean full compliance with them. Socialization is indeed key – without it, society could not thrive and progress. And the critical messure of the success in a society has been education. Education, therefore, can be defined as a specific social process in which young people acquire essential knowledge and skills that serve as a cornerstone in their future role in society. It broadens our mental horizon, it instills maturity and lays down the way to success in life. Education fosters self-respect and earns us respect from others. Last but not least, it teaches us how to navigate the world and understand the expectations of society. As Nelson Mendela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!"
Copyright (c) 2024 Воспитание / Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice
IDENTIFICATION OF LEARNING DIFFICULTIES AND SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS
In the paper, we describe the problem, purpose, goals and findings of our research. We focus on the two concepts of learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties. In the empirical part, we present a case study of a student in which we attempt to identify learning difficulties using questionnaires designed by Dr. Skaler and Dr. Hannell. At the end, we try to draw conclusions and find strategies for improvement, solutions or ways to mitigate certain problems. A student with specific learning difficulties faces challenges in Slovenian and mathematics, as well as emotional-social difficulties. Although the student is not officially diagnosed, our research indicates deficits in specific areas, particulary in reading-writing and emotional-social skills. The questionnaires revealed a pronounced and significant deficit in the areas of dyslexia and dyscalculia. The research was carried out in the school district. We had an expert interview with the 6th grade class teacher, an expert interview with the 3rd grade class teacher, and an expert interview with the pedagogue.
PREVENTION OF RISKY BEHAVIOR IN PRESCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
In order to one day develop into responsible adults, full of potential, ready for quality education, employment, creating and strengthening friendships and emotional bonds and starting our own family, we go through early social, emotional and cognitive development, which created us foundations for our functioning and achievement in all areas of life. Our development is influenced by the environment, which consists of family, peers, educational institutions and community. They provide guidance and support, cultivating within us the capacity to withstand adversity, maintain strong mental health, and flourish. By fostering resilience and protective factors, they empower us to overcome challenges and avoid harmful influences that could impede our development and negatively impact the child's growth. These wrong ways manifest as behaviors (such as aggression, reticence , etc.) that express that something is wrong and that we need help. The role of adults and the community is to recognize these calls for help and intervene so that these pathways do not develop into bigger problems and prevent us from fully realizing ourselves as healthy and happy individuals. There are numerous reasons why children begin to adopt risky behavior patterns. The need for early detection of risk factors from the child's immediate environment, which may be the cause of risky behavior, becomes increasingly important, especially because children in whom risky behaviors are detected early are exposed to a risk that -will later be recognized as social incompetence. In order to prevent the occurrence of risky behaviors in children, it is necessary to act preventively. In this paper, the risky behaviors of children are defined, some of the risk factors that encourage risky behaviors are presented, and the importance of quality prevention is emphasized.
NAVIGATING WAVES OF PROGRESS: HALLIWICK METHOD FOR AUTISM IN SCHOOL SWIMMING
This study explores the developmental characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and evaluates the effectiveness of the Halliwick method, an aquatic therapy approach, in enhancing their aquatic experiences and skill development. Children with ASD often exhibit challenges in social interaction, communication, play behaviour, adherence to routines, intellectual functioning, and sensory sensitivity. The Halliwick method, developed in the 1940s, utilizes water-based activities to promote movement, balance, and independence. Our research involved implementing and assessing specific adaptations and strategies of the Halliwick method tailored to children with ASD. Results indicated significant improvements in functional abilities, social integration, and cognitive and sensory skills. The study highlights the therapeutic benefits of the Halliwick method, emphasizing the importance of individualized approaches and the need for further research to generalize findings.
Ecological Humanism and Building Ecological Awareness through Children's Literature
Children's literature is essential for every young reader. It fosters the development of many important skills and abilities, especially when it comes to educational literature that positively influences children's emotional and mental development. "Rasho saves the Planet Earth" is a children's book by the author Mimoza Ristova, which tells the story of Rasho, a bear advocating for social responsibility in protecting the planet Earth. Through the engaging and entertaining narrative, the book educates children about the importance of ecological awareness and the responsibility we all should have to protect our planet.
"PIGGY BANK WITH LOVE" BY MARIA PETROVSKA OR LEARNING HOW LOVE IS MULTIPLICATED
The novel for young people “Piggy bank with love“ by the young author Marija Petrovska deals with the problem of insufficient closeness in everyday life. Through the character of the young girl Iskra, the author talks about the need for greater mutual tolerance, paying attention to the people with whom our lives come into direct contact in all its segments, at work, at home, in school, in social activities etc.
CREATIVE HISTORY TEACHING IS THE MAIN ENGINE FOR SUCCESSFUL AND SAFE TEACHING
The creative teaching of history has a broad and global character and refers to the improvement of the educational system as a whole and signifies a novelty that is inserted into the pedagogical reality. According to its quality, it will always be a progressive and developmental change in teaching. Special emphasis in the subject is given to the creative teacher who is never satisfied with ordinary results. He constantly researches, discovers and creates something new. The paper presents the results of this dynamic, which can be achieved by successful communication with the teacher and the student with a new style and own model of work.
DEALING WITH PEER VIOLENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A CASE STUDY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL HINKO SMREKAR
Peer violence has developed to a large extent in today's society. It starts at early age and continues in primary and secondary school. Professional workers is education meet with diffrent forms of violence. We perceive the most peer violence in elementary school, because pupils start to explore society in a different way. We can say that we start talking about it in the second triad. Some professional workers deal with violence almost every day. In this text, we present a qualitative research with a case study at Primary School Hinko Smrekar. In the theoretical part, we show what peer violence means and the forms and types of peer violence. In the case study, we present a protocol for dealing with the perception of peer violence at Primary School Hinko Smrekar. Given that society has changed a lot, and us, educators detect inappropriate behavior in individuals every day, which then turns into various forms of peer violence, we must be prepared to act in the event that we perceive this type of behavior. For this reason, it is necessary to be prepared and also to know how to act corectly.
LANGUAGE STRATEGIES IN BILINGUAL FAMILIES
Due to the increase in multinational marriages and immigrant families, there is a rise in the number of parents and children who are facing the challenges of bilingualism. Thus, some authors stress the need for bilingual family language strategies to be further explored. The aim of this article was to tackle some of the issues in early education of bilingual children by presenting different approaches to Family Language Policy (FLP) in bilingual families. After looking at all the language strategy approaches to raising a child in a bilingual environment, we can conclude that in the end it is mostly up to the parents and the children themselves how they will cope with the challenges posed by bilingualism. However, experts can agree on one thing, consistency in the rules of use of any of the language strategies is advised. But also, those rules should be natural and suitable for parents and consistent with their living situation.
SOCIOPEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OF PREADOLESCENTS AND ADOLESCENTS AS A FUNCTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
This paper deals with the topic of sociological and pedagogical aspects of young people’s education in the pre-adolescent and adolescent age in the function of sustainable development. The aim of our research is, from sociological and pedagogical aspect, to: Define the categories of ecologically sustainable education; Observe and categorize the forms of ecological education present in our contemporary practice; Analyze the contents of ecological education aiming to realize sustainable development; Measure the effects of school - as the most spread and most organized form of education – on attitudes of those being educated; Instead of a conclusion to offer hypotheses for modernizing ecological education in the function of sustainable development. In accordance with the abovementioned aims, we will be faced with a number of research methods. During defining the categories, we will combine the descriptive with the method of critical observation, and the usage of fundamental concepts in everyday life. It seems that such a combination is the most adequate one for a thorough understanding of the contents and influence of education on people as ecological beings. Using the contents analysis, we want to point at the school curricula for educating young generations about ecologically sustainable development. Comparisons and combinations will not only help us to clear up the complexity of ecological education, but also to point at a hypothetical possibility of overcoming some stereotypes in our manner of work so far.
The style of school leadership greatly affects the positive climate and atmosphere between school employees, which in turn affects the efficiency in the implementation of organizational goals and the ways that contribute to their achievement. In this paper we will examine the role of the principal in the management of human resources and school leadership style as a requirement for a work environment in which everyone contributes. Many management theorists emphasize the human side of the organization (school), the relationships between employees at all levels, how individuals and groups react and act in the organization, the nature of informal ties between employees, etc. The participative management system, one of the systems established by Likert, contributes to the establishment of a democratic style of school management, which offers the potential to overcome the weaknesses that tend to develop in other systems (primarily authoritative ones). A democratic school leader ensures that all members of the school community are involved the decision-making process – but participation will vary, depending on the context. Leadership and responsibility are shared, and frequently there are leaders of subgroups, as well as decentralization of authority. Such a school culture, with an open and friendly atmosphere, contributes to teachers and professional associates being more motivated and dedicated, formal and informal communication will develop, and the school will achieve higher academic results.
DIGITAL VIOLENCE: PERCEPTION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES FROM THE TERRITORY OF AP VOJVODINA
The goal of this research is to deepen the knowledge about the phenomenon of digital violence against children with and without developmental disabilities and to raise environmental awareness of the presence of digital violence in the population of children and youth with and without developmental disabilities in order to guide society in the direction of the possibility of protection from it. In the research participated 5227 elementary school age students with and without disabilities.The data was collected in elementary schools and schools for students with developmental disabilities in the territory of AP Vojvodina within the project of the Provincial Secretariat for Education, Regulations, Administration and National Minorities - National Communities "Violence on the Internet: How to prevent and fight against violence on the Internet?". The results of the research showed that digital violence among children and young people with and without disabilities in the territory of AP Vojvodina is represented in a significant percentage. Research data shows that the largest number of children and young people access the Internet through their mobile phones, which supports the fact that the risk of children and young people experiencing this type of violence is significant. Likewise, the data analysis showed that the largest percentage of children and young people believe that they, their parents and teachers are responsible for protecting children and young people from digital violence. From this arises a clear need for the education of children and young people, better communication between schools and teachers, students and parents and clearer procedures related to the prevention and protection of children and young people from violence on the Internet or procedures when violence occurs, all for the purpose of preventing numerous negative outcomes that digital violence can lead to.
SPEAKING AND WRITING SKILLS AFFECTING THE ACQUISITION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Many students express their inability and sometimes admit their failure in learning to speak a second/foreign language. These students may be good at other skills, but when it comes to learning how to speak another language, they claim to have a "mental block" (Horwitz et al., 1986: 125). The use of modern approaches in communicative teaching in language classrooms and the widespread use of English and German have increased the demand for good communication skills. Communication is the method by which people share their ideas, information, opinions, and feelings. People who share these can greatly contribute to teamwork and work of individuals. Communication is a two-way activity between two or more persons and it can take place in many different ways, depending on the situation or place. It implies the transfer of information and knowledge from the source to the recipient and is a process by which the sender/source reaches the recipient/destination with thoughts, ideas, feelings, facts, and values. Successful communication is said to occur when the receiver not only receives the message, but also accepts, interprets, and uses it in the manner intended by the source. This paper attempts to examine the impact that writing and speaking skills have on students' communication in English and German by examining the results obtained from the questionnaire. The questionnaire includes 10 questions responded by а total of 40 students from the Departments of English Language and Literature and German Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, Goce Delcev University - Stip.
Copyright (c) 2023 Воспитание / Vospitanie - Journal of Educational Sciences, Theory and Practice
Review of the scientific monograph PEER ACCEPTANCE IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Review of the scientific monograph Peer acceptance in inclusive education Milja Vujačić & Rajka Đević (2022). Belgrade: Institute for Educational Research, 205 pages
PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATIONAL WORK OF PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
The environment in which a child grows is of crucial importance for its development and learning. The provision of a quality and stimulating environment for children from the youngest age, especially in the period of transition from the parental home to a new environment, requires a high level of organization that relies on the perception of the importance of building favorable conditions to support and stimulate the development of children from a young age. The environment in which children live is a significant factor for the quality and effectiveness of their early development and later achievements and progress. Therefore, from the first years of early development, children should be given support in their development, which primarily comes from the family, parents, and further from the community. Right from here come the need and the obligation of the programs according to which preschool institutions work to offer content that will follow and encourage the development of the children of preschool age. The paper analyzes the programs that are used in preschool institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia from 1945 until today. The analysis is aimed at providing an insight into how the development of programs for preschool upbringing and education in Macedonia took place over a longer period of time of 77 years. From the review, it can be seen how our country follows the trend of innovating its programs according to the recommendations of modern professional-scientific knowledge from the theory and practice of preschool upbringing and education, as well as the Convention for the Protection of Children's Rights.
ATTITUDES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARD MOTHER TONGUE USAGE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
This paper sheds light on the students’ opinions and attitudes about mother tongue (MT) usage in the foreign language (FL) classroom. The purpose of the paper is to determine the students’ perception of MT usage and its impact on FL learning and the acquisition process. This research is a continuation and complements to the research conducted and analyzed in the article published in the international journal “Vospitanie” under the title “Teachers’ perspectives on the prevalence of the mother tongue in foreign language teaching”. For the purposes of this research, a survey was conducted to observe the students’ specific attitudes, i.e, how they actually experience the foreign language teaching process with and without the usage of the mother tongue, to highlight the reasons and factors for its use, to determine whether and how often the mother tongue is used, and whether it facilitates FL learning and content acquisition. The results of this paper conclusively indicate that MT usage is a common practice that is widely accepted by FL learners, respectively used consciously, and planned as an intermediary and auxiliary language. Understanding how the mother tongue can interfere in FL learning and being aware of its influence during classroom activities can significantly enhance the acquisition of a second or third foreign language. The results of this research will help improve the teaching of foreign languages, which will enable easier and more efficient learning and successful acquisition of the foreign language.
THE TRANSITION FROM KINDERGARTEN TO SCHOOL
Every transition to a new environment is an important step in life for the child and the family. To make this step as less stressful as possible, it is important that we think about it early enough and that everyone participates in the process: family, kindergarten and school. The article presents the cooperation between family, kindergarten and school. Here, the important question is how to prepare the child and help him enter school. Kindergarten teachers play an important role in getting to know the child, who accompany the child throughout the entire preschool period and support parents and teachers with their knowledge and experience. During the preschool period, the child is in a relationship with important people through play and is gaining experience and skills. The changes during the transition to school are greater or lesser, more or less pleasant for the individual. Quality education also includes a quality and smooth transition from preschool education to primary education. In Slovenia, we devoted a great deal of attention to the transition from kindergarten to school during the preparation of the major education reform in the 1990s. One of the major changes was the lowering of the age for children to enter school to six years of age in the calendar year. With the aim of making the children's transition to school smoother and adapting schools more appropriately to the needs of younger children, in the new (younger) first grade, educational work was gradually started to be carried out by two professionals: in addition to the teacher, the educator or another teacher.