This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
This person has a SecurePRO™ card. Because this person is not a ProZ.com Plus subscriber, to view his or her SecurePRO™ card you must be a ProZ.com Business member or Plus subscriber.
Affiliations
This person is not affiliated with any business or Blue Board record at ProZ.com.
Services
Translation
Expertise
Specializes in:
Advertising / Public Relations
Business/Commerce (general)
Cooking / Culinary
Education / Pedagogy
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Genealogy
History
Philosophy
Government / Politics
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
Rates
English to Slovenian - Rates: 0.08 - 0.10 EUR per word / 15 - 20 EUR per hour German to Slovenian - Rates: 0.08 - 0.10 EUR per word / 15 - 20 EUR per hour
English to Slovenian: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH IN EXPLORING CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT PUPILS’ INTELLIGENCE AND MOTIVATION: COMPARISON OF MACEDONIAN AND ENGLISH TEACHERS
Source text - English A QUALITATIVE APPROACH IN EXPLORING CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT PUPILS’ INTELLIGENCE AND MOTIVATION: COMPARISON OF MACEDONIAN AND ENGLISH TEACHERS
Ana Mickovska, MPhil in Psychology and Education, Center for Research and Policy Making (www.crpm.org.mk)
Abstract
A qualitative approach in exploring cross-cultural differences in teachers’ beliefs about pupils’ intelligence and motivation: Comparison of Macedonian and English teachers
The study represents a cross-cultural study of the similarities and differences in Macedonian and English teachers’ beliefs about pupils’ intelligence and motivational strategies used in the classroom. The methodology employed is based on conducting semi-structured interviews and developing cognitive maps of five teachers’ belief systems.
Introduction - teachers’ implicit theories
Many authors (e.g. Pajares, 1992; Kagan, 1992; Calderhead, 1996) consider the construct of teachers’ implicit theories (or beliefs)* to be highly significant for understanding teachers’ perceptions and consequently their behaviour in the classroom. It is assumed that teachers’ implicit theories about teaching and learning begin to develop during their personal schooling experience through ‘apprenticeship of observation’ (Lortie, 1975; according to Borg, 2004). During the many years spent as pupils, teachers have not only been learning the material from the subject areas they were taught in, but have also picked up pedagogical knowledge on the teaching and learning methods, strategies for motivating pupils etc. Since the pedagogical knowledge has not been formally transmitted to them and they are unlikely to have attended to it in a systematic way, it is assimilated in an intuitive, semi-conscious way and persists in the form of an implicit theory.
However, the main setback that researchers face is the difficulty of ‘measuring’ these beliefs, having in mind their complexity, frequent incoherence and existence below the level of consciousness. Therefore, qualitative methods are more highly recommended as a technique of exploration, since they provide possibilities for deeper analysis. Still, given that the complexity of these methods usually allows examination of small number of subjects, the generalisation of findings should be performed cautiously.
Theoretical background
The concept of implicit theories is very broad and needs to be limited to specific aspects of the belief-system in order to be effectively ‘measured’. Therefore, this research relies on one theoretical model - Dweck and Leggett’s (1988) Model of Implicit Theories of Intelligence, which offers a framework for analysing people’s conceptions of intelligence in relation to their achievement motivation. The model is built upon the idea that people basically differ in their beliefs about the nature of intelligence. It differentiates between individuals who believe that intelligence is fixed and hence out of one’s personal control and individuals who believe intelligence is malleable and can be personally controlled and influenced. The first group is referred to as ‘Entity theorists’ and the second as ‘Incremental theorists’. Which of the two theories people hold creates a framework of interrelated structures and fosters ‘judgements and reactions that are consistent with that framework’ (Dweck, Chiu and Hong, 1995a:268).
Elliott and Dweck (1988) suggest that people that perceive intelligence to be a fixed trait usually pursue ‘performance goals’ (attempting to create the impression of having adequate ability and avoid showing evidence of inadequacy); while the ones that believe intelligence to be a malleable characteristic pursue ‘learning goals’ (aimed at improving their skills and knowledge and adopting new competencies in any learning situation). The basic difference here, as Elliott and Dweck (1988) put it, is among actions directed towards proving ability as opposed to improving ability.
Dweck and Leggett (1988) argue that peoples’ self-theories about intelligence are strongly related to the motivational style they are likely to develop. Entity theorists tend to adopt maladaptive motivational styles (learned helplessness or attenuated mastery), thinking there is nothing they can do to improve their ability and consequently their performance, so after a failure situation they simply give up trying or seek means for hiding their ‘incompetence’ from others. On the other hand, incremental theorists do not lose confidence in their ability after experiencing failure, but simply decide to make more effort the next time in order to improve their performance (i.e. adopt mastery motivational patterns).
Studies with pre-school children (e.g. Dweck and Leggett, 1988; Burhans and Dweck, 1995) have shown that implicit theories of intelligence seem to be activated very early in childhood. These self-beliefs are found to be strongly influenced by the characteristics of the environment and the socializing practices a child is exposed to, especially the feedback from adults (e.g. parents, teachers) after success or failure situations. Specifically, feedback from the adult indicating a child’s permanent characteristics (e.g. goodness, worth, intelligence etc.) might suggest that those traits are fixed and unchangeable. Alternatively, feedback directed towards the child’s performance in terms of strategy employed or effort invested, suggests deficiencies which can be modified (Dweck et al., 1995a).
Having in mind the abovementioned, it is likely to assume that teachers’ beliefs about their pupils’ intelligence may guide their classroom activities such as selecting tasks, providing feedback, and setting goals. Specifically, teachers who hold an entity view of intelligence would be likely to emphasize performance goals or ‘looking smart’, while teachers inclined towards the incremental perspective would be more likely to call attention to learning goals or ‘becoming smart’ (Dweck and Bempechat, 1983; according to Woolfolk Hoy and Murphy, 2001).
However, teachers do not exist in a vacuum, and their beliefs and practices are also influenced by the features of the schooling system and the wider socio-cultural context. The socially constructed conceptions (e.g. ability, effort) and the attributions for success and failure are believed to develop through the individual’s everyday experiences by means of internalising the cultural knowledge and values. Mugny and Carugati, 1989 consider the socialising and schooling practices and the ‘scientific’ theories dominant in a specific context to be the most dominant mediators of cultural meanings.
To put this in a specific cultural context, Boekartes argues that seen through the lenses of Dweck’s model, Western (e.g. English, American) socializing and schooling practices are more ‘in line with an entity view of intelligence’ (2003:17), while the Eastern (e.g. Japanese, Chinese) practices fit better into the incremental framework, which conceives of ability as malleable and improvable.
The present study aims to explore the possible cultural specifics in the teachers’ belief-systems and classroom practises among teachers from two culturally diverse contexts: Macedonia and England. The importance of the issue lies in its potential to provide a better understanding of the nature and the cultural variations in the teachers’ beliefs about pupils’ intelligence and motivation, which can be used when planning the teachers training.
Methodology
In the initial phase of the research* a questionnaire constructed by Dweck (1999) was standardised for the two samples separately and administered to 39 Macedonian and 35 English teachers of 11-16 year old pupils. On the basis of the score received on the questionnaire, teachers were categorised as holding:
1. Entity theory of pupils’ intelligence: Belief that pupils’ intelligence is a fixed trait, which cannot be changed through learning or hard work; accompanied with a belief that pupils’ abilities are primary factor for their success in school and/or later in life.
2. Incremental theory of pupils’ intelligence: Belief that pupil’s intelligence is malleable and can be changed through learning and hard work; accompanied with a belief that pupils’ effort is a primary factor for their success in school and/or later in life.
3. Mixed theory of pupils’ intelligence: Combination of the beliefs held by entity and incremental theorists, with predominance of one or other framework depending on the situation.
The second phase of the research was aimed at analysing the structure of the teachers’ implicit theories (i.e. their belief-systems about pupils’ intelligence) and their relation to the classroom practices. For that purpose, 3 Macedonian teachers (2 found to hold an incremental theory and 1 found to hold an entity theory) and 2 English teachers (1 incremental and 1 mixed theorist) were selected to be interviewed on the basis of their questionnaire responses.
The questions referred to the teachers’ understanding of a high and low achieving pupil(s) in terms of ability, effort and possibility for improvement; opinions about different motivational practices used in the classroom (e.g. grouping techniques, methods of rewarding pupils for investing effort, goal setting, techniques for motivating high and low achieving pupils etc.)
The data-analysis included combining the questionnaire responses of the interviewed teachers with the interview data to develop their cognitive maps. The method of cognitive mapping is based on detecting the main concepts which constitute an individual’s belief-system on a particular topic, and identifying their interrelatedness (Farsides, 2003)........
Translation - Slovenian KVALITATIVNI PRISTOP PRI RAZISKOVANJU MEDKULTURNIH RAZLIK GLEDE PREPRIČANJA UČITELJEV O INTELIGENCI IN MOTIVACIJI UČENCEV: PRIMERJAVA MED MAKEDONSKIMI IN ANGLEŠKIMI UČITELJI
Ana Mickovska, mag. psihologije in pedagogike, Center for Research and Policy Making (www.crpm.org.mk)
Povzetek
Kvalitativni pristop pri raziskovanju medkulturnih razlik glede prepričanja učiteljev o inteligenci in motivaciji učencev: primerjava med makedonskimi in angleškimi učitelji.
Študija je medkulturna študija o podobnostih in razlikah med pojmovanji makedonskih in angleških učiteljev glede inteligence učencev in uporabi motivacijskih strategij v razredu. Uporabljena metodologija temelji na izvajanju polstrukturiranih intervjujev in izdelavi kognitivnih zemljevidov vrednostnih sistemov petih učiteljev.
Uvod – implicitne teorije učiteljev
Mnogi avtorji (npr. Pajares, 1992; Kagan, 1992; Calderhead, 1996) menijo, da je tvorba implicitnih teorij (ali prepričanj) učiteljev zelo pomembna za razumevanje nazorov učiteljev in posledično njihovega vedenja v razredu. Domnevajo, da se prično implicitne teorije učiteljev o poučevanju in učenju razvijati na podlagi njihovih osebnih izkušenj s pomočjo »vajeniškega opazovanja« (Lortie, 1975; po Borg, 2004). Tekom let, ko so sami učenci, se učitelji ne naučijo le predmetne snovi, ampak si pridobe tudi pedagoško znanje o metodah poučevanja in učenja, strategijah za motivacijo učencev itd. Ker pa pedagoškega znanja niso prejeli na formalen sistematičen način, si ga prisvojijo na intuitiven, polzavesten način, ki jih nato spremlja v obliki implicitne teorije.
Vendar pa so morali raziskovalci kot glavno oviro premagati težavo kako »izmeriti« ta prepričanja, saj so se zavedali njihove kompleksnosti, pogoste nedoslednosti ter dejstva, da obstajajo na nezavedni ravni. V ta namen so veliko bolj priporočljive kvalitativne metode raziskovanja, saj nudijo možnosti za globljo analizo. Ker te metode zavoljo svoje kompleksnosti običajno omogočajo preučevanje zgolj omejenega števila primerov, je potrebno posplošitev rezultatov izvesti nadvse previdno.
Teoretske osnove
Pojem implicitnih teorij je zelo širok, zato ga moramo omejiti na specifične vidike vrednostnega sistema, če ga želimo učinkovito »izmeriti«. Pričujoča razprava se torej opira na en sam teoretični model – na Dweckov in Leggettov (1988) model implicitnih teorij inteligence, ki nudi okvir za analizo posameznikovih pojmovanj inteligence glede na motivacijo za doseganje rezultatov. Model temelji na prepričanju, da se ljudje temeljno razlikujejo glede svojih prepričanj o tem, kaj je prava narava inteligence. Model loči med posamezniki, ki menijo, da je inteligenca fiksna in je nihče ne more osebno nadzorovati in vplivati nanjo, ter posamezniki, ki so prepričani, da je inteligenca raztegljiva, zato jo je mogoče osebno nadzorovati in vplivati nanjo. Prvo skupino običajno imenuemo »teoretiki fiksne entitete«, druge pa označujemo kot » inkrementalne teoretike«. Od teorije, na katero posameznik pristaja, je odvisen okvir med seboj povezanih struktur, ki določa »sodbe in reakcije, ki so v skladu s tem okvirjem« (Dweck, Chiu and Hong, 1995a:268).
Elliott in Dweck (1988) menita, da ljudje, ki so prepričani, da je inteligenca fiksna danost, običajno zasledujejo »cilje učinka« ( saj poskušajo ustvariti vtis, da imajo potrebne sposobnosti ter se izogibajo temu, da bi razkrili kakršenkoli dokaz o lastni nesposobnosti) medtem ko tisti, ki so prepričani, da je inteligenca raztegljiva lastnost, zasledujejo »učne cilje« (z namenom, da bi izboljšali svoje sposobnosti in znanje ter si v vsaki učni situaciji pridobili nove kompetence ). Bistvena razlika, kot menita Elliott and Dweck (1988), vlada tu med dejanji katerih namen je dokazati sposobnost ter med dejanji, katerih namen je izboljšati sposobnost.
Dweck and Leggett (1988) trdita, da so lastne teorije posameznikov o tem kakšna je narava inteligence, tesno povezane z motivacijskim stilom, ki ga razvijejo. Teoretiki fiksne entitete se nagibajo k usvajanju neadaptivnih motivacijskih stilov (kot so naučena nemoč ali zmanjšana zmožnost), ker menijo, da ne morejo ničesar storiti, da bi izboljšali svoje sposobnosti in s tem svojo učinkovitost. Po neuspehu preprosto obupajo, oziroma prenehajo iskati sredstva, s pomočjo katerih bi lahko »nesposobnost« prikrili pred drugimi. Po drugi strani pa inkrementalni teoretiki, ko dožive neuspeh, ne izgubijo zaupanja v svoje sposobnosti ter se preprosto odločijo, da se bodo naslednjič bolj potrudili z namenom, da bi izboljšali svojo učinkovitost ( odločijo se za obvladovanje motivacijskih vzorcev).
Študije opravljene na predšolskih otrocih ( npr. Dweck in Leggett, 1988; Burhans in Dweck, 1995) so pokazale, da se implicitne teorije o inteligenci oblikujejo že v zelo zgodnjem otroštvu. Odkrili so, da na ta lastna prepričanja močno vplivajo značilnosti okolja in socializacijske prakse, katerim je bil izpostavljen otrok. To še posebno velja za povratne informacije, ki jih prejme od odraslih (npr. staršev, učiteljev), ko doživi uspeh ali neuspeh. Ko odrasli kažejo na otrokove stalne značilnosti (npr. dobroto, vrednost, inteligenco itd.), s takimo povratnimi informacijami morda nakazujejo, da so te lastnosti stalne in nespremenljive. V nasprotju s tem pa povratne informacije, ki se nanašajo na otrokovo učinkovitost glede uporabljenih strategij ali vloženega napora, nakazujejo pomanjkljivosti, ki jih je mogoče odpraviti (Dweck et. al., 1995a).
Na podlagi zgoraj povedanega, lahko predpostavimo, da prepričanja učiteljev o inteligenci učencev lahko vplivajo na njihove aktivnosti v razredu, kot so dajanje nalog, povratnih informacij in zastavljanje ciljev. Učitelji, ki so pristaši teorije o fiksni entiteti inteligence, bodo najverjetneje poudarjali cilje, ki so usmerjeni na učinke oziroma »dajanje videza bistrosti«, medtem ko bodo učitelji, ki se nagibajo k razvojnemu pojmovanju, najverjetneje več pozornosti posvečali učnim ciljem, oziroma »temu, kako postati bister« (Dweck in Bempechat, 1983, po Woolfolk Hoy in Murphy, 2001).
Seveda pa se učitelji ne nahajajo v brezzračnem prostoru, zato na njihova prepričanja in dejavnosti vplivajo tudi značilnosti izobraževalnega sistema ter širše družbeno kulturno okolje. Vendar se družbeno ustvarjena pojmovanja (npr. kaj je sposobnost, napor) ter pogoji, ki določajo kaj je uspeh in neuspeh razvijejo s pomočjo vsakodnevnih izkušenj posameznika, na ta način, da ponotranji kulturne vrednote in znanje. Mugny in Carugati, 1989 menita, da so socializacijski in izobraževalni dejavniki ter »znanstvene« teorije, ki so v nekem konkretnem primeru prevladujoče, najbolj odločilni posredovalci kulturnih pomenov.
Boekartes trdi, da se ob konkretnem kulturnem kontekstu, ki ga opazujemo skozi Dweckov model pokaže, da so socializacijske in izobraževalne prakse Zahoda (npr. angleške in ameriške) bolj skladne s »pojmovanjem inteligence kot fiksne entitete« (2003:17), medtem ko so Vzhodne (tj, japonske in kitajske) prakse bolj skladne z inkrementalnim okvirjem, ki pravi, da je mogoče sposobnosti povečati in izboljšati.
Cilj pričujoče študije je raziskati možne kulturne specifike vrednostnih sistemov in prakse učiteljev iz dveh različnih kulturnih kontekstov: Makedonije in Anglije. Omenjeno vprašanje je pomembno, ker nam omogoča boljše razumevanje narave in kulturnih raznolik v prepričanjih učiteljev, ki se nanašajo na inteligenco in motivacijo, kar lahko kasneje uporabimo pri načrtovanju izobraževanja učiteljev.
Metodologija
Na začetni stopnji raziskave * je bil vprašalnik, ki ga je izdelal Dweck (1999), standardiziran za dve različni vzorčni skupini in poslan devetintridesetim makedonskim in petintridesetim angleškim učiteljem, ki poučujejo učence stare od 11 do 16 let. Na podlagi rezultatov vprašalnika smo učitelje razvrstili v skladu z naslednjimi teorijami:
1. Teorije o fiksni entiteti inteligence učencev: to je prepričanja, da je inteligenca nespremenljiva lastnost, ki je ni mogoče spremeniti s pomočjo učenja ali trdega dela. To pojmovanje spremlja prepričanje, da so sposobnosti učenca primarni dejavnik njegovega uspeha v šoli in pozneje v življenju.
2. Razvojne teorije o inteligenci učencev: to je prepričanja, da je mogoče inteligenco učencev spremeniti s pomočjo učenja in trdega dela, kar pa spremlja tudi prepričanje, da je učenčev vloženi napor primarni dejavnik za doseganje uspeha v šoli in pozneje v življenju.
3. Mešane teorije o inteligenci učencev: ki predstavlja kombinacijo prepričanj teoretikov fiksne entitete in inkrementalnih teoretikov, pri čemer glede na situacijo prevladuje eden ali drug teoretski okvir.
Druga faza raziskave je bila usmerjena na analizo strukture implicitnih teorij učiteljev (tj. njihovih vrednostnih sistemov, s pomočjo katerih ocenjujejo inteligenco učencev ) v povezavi z njihovo prakso v razredu. Na podlagi njihovih odgovorov na vprašalnik smo za intervju smo izbrali tri makedonske učitelje (dva, ki se nagibata k inkrementalni teoriji in enega zastopnika teorije fiksne entitete) ter dva angleška učitelja ( enega pristaša inkrementalne in enega mešane teorije).
Vprašanja so se nanašala na učiteljevo razumevanje dijakov z dobrimi in slabimi dosežki z vidika spretnosti, vloženega napora in možnosti izboljšanja. Vprašanja so se nanašala tudi na njihova mnenja o različnih motivacijskih tehnikah, ki jih uporabljajo v razredu (npr. skupinske tehnike, metode nagrajevanja učencev za vloženi trud, zastavljanje ciljev, tehnike motivacije dobrih in slabih učencev itd.).
Analiza podatkov je bila izdelana na podlagi povezovanja odgovorov, ki so jih učitelji navedli v vprašalniku in podatki dobljenimi s pomočjo intervjuja, kar so uporabili za izdelavo kognitivnih zemljevidov. Metoda izdelave kognitivnih zemljevidov temelji na odkrivanju glavnih pojmov, ki tvorijo vrednostni sistem posameznika glede na neko specifično temo ter odkriva njihovo medsebojno povezanost (Farsides, 2003).......
More
Less
Experience
Years of experience: 24. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2008.
The rates are negotiable and discounts can be agreed.
Rates may change according to the field,
scope; file format and timeframe of the projects.
Payment:
Bank transfer to business account.
Acceptance conditions:
I never accept work from the field that is beyond my expertise.
Latest Bibliography - Books
dr. Carol Ritberger, Love...What's Personality Got To Do With It?, Hay House, 2007. (220p.), from English to Slovene language.
dr. Carol Ritberger, What Color Is Your Personality?: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green... Hay House, (70 p) from English to slovene language
dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, 2007, 250 p, from English to Slovene language
Glennie Kindred, The Alchemist's Journey, Hay House. (200 p.) from English to slovene language
H.Wesselman in J. Kuykendall, SPIRIT MEDICINE, Healing in the Sacred Realms, Hay House, (70 str.), from English to Slovene language
mag. Erika Rustja (Ed.), Education for Sustainable Developement, Examples of good practice in Slovenia, National Education Institute Slovenia, 2007, 95 p, from Slovene to English language
Ute Haderlein, Debbie Richardson, Teddy und sein Feuerwehr, Teddy und sein Bagger, Teddy und sein Laster, Teddy und sein Traktor, from German to slovene language.
Saro de Iglesia: Willst Du wissen …? , from German to Slovene language
Fischer Gisela, Mein grosses Natur-Bildwörterbuch. Im Wald , from German to Slovene language .
Fischer Gisela, Mein grosses Natur-Bildwörterbuch. Tierwohnungen, from German to Slovene language
Fisher Gisela, Von früh bis spät, from German to Slovene language.
This user has earned KudoZ points by helping other translators with PRO-level terms. Click point total(s) to see term translations provided.
Keywords: Keywords: angleški jezik, prevod v angleški jezik, prevod iz slovenskega v angleški jezik, prevodi iz angleščine v slovenščino, prevodi iz slovenščine v angleščino, target language English, target language Slovene, target language Slovenian, source language English, source language Slovene. See more.Keywords: angleški jezik, prevod v angleški jezik, prevod iz slovenskega v angleški jezik, prevodi iz angleščine v slovenščino, prevodi iz slovenščine v angleščino, target language English, target language Slovene, target language Slovenian, source language English, source language Slovene, source language Slovenian, Slovenian translator, slovenski prevajalec,, English translator, angleški prevajalec, angleška prevajalka, Slovenian to English translator, Slovene to English translator, Slovenian to English translation, English to Slovenian translator, English to Slovene translator, English to Slovene translations, translations Slovenia, translations Slovenija, Slovenian translation, English to Slovenian translation, English to Slovene translation, Slovenian to English translation, Slovene to English translation, reasonable translation prices, Slovene, Slovenian, fast translations, express translation, instant translation, hitri prevodi, ekspresni prevodi, takojšnji prevodi, prevodi angleščina slovensščina, prevodi slovenščina angleščina, prevajanje, prevajalstvo, lekture, lektoriranje, proofreading, website translation, prevod in priredba, translation and adaptation, rojeni govorec, naravni govorec, native speaker, prevod v angleški jezik, prevod iz slovenskega v angleški jezik, prevodi iz angleščine v slovenščino, nutrition, prehrana, translation of menus, prevodi jedilnikov, prevod jedilnika v angleščino, prevodi iz slovenščine v angleščino, target language English, target language Slovene, target language Slovenian, source language English, source language Slovene, source language Slovenian, Slovenian translator, slovenska prevajalka, slovenski prevajalec, English translator, angleški prevajalec, angleška prevajalka, translations Slovenia, translations Slovenija, računalniško podprto prevajanje, prevodi oglasov, prevodi reklam, prevodi navodil, prevajanje navodil za uporabo, children books, books, general . See less.
Portfolio