Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development

Abstract Background Vocational education teachers are key participants in the renewal of the Hungarian vocational educational system. Their professional development (as indicated by their learning activities, learning targets and information sources) contains both the input for improving their teach...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Csaba Csíkos, Zsuzsa Kovács, Orsolya Kereszty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2018-02-01
Series:Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40461-018-0063-x
_version_ 1811300505353191424
author Csaba Csíkos
Zsuzsa Kovács
Orsolya Kereszty
author_facet Csaba Csíkos
Zsuzsa Kovács
Orsolya Kereszty
author_sort Csaba Csíkos
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Vocational education teachers are key participants in the renewal of the Hungarian vocational educational system. Their professional development (as indicated by their learning activities, learning targets and information sources) contains both the input for improving their teaching and the findings essential for affecting future improvements. The aim of this questionnaire survey was to explore Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views and judgements on three interrelated phenomena: their learning activities, their opinion regarding the importance of pedagogical knowledge and the efficiency and usage of information sources relevant to their professional development. Methods A total of 1131 teachers from 37, randomly selected vocational education schools completed a questionnaire based on five subscales, each containing five-point Likert-scales: (1) teachers’ learning activities, (2) judgment of their preparedness in pedagogical knowledge, (3) judgment on the importance of their pedagogical knowledge components, and (4) the efficiency and (5) usage of information sources in furthering their professional development. Results All subscales display appropriate reliability (Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .65 to .94). The study provides the descriptive statistical values for each questionnaire item, the relationships between subscales and the connections between the subscales and background variables, such as gender, career level and school type. Conclusion This explorative study possesses theoretical relevance in developing a questionnaire that consists of five reliable subscales, all of which can later be used for either detecting changes in teachers’ views or measuring the effectiveness of intervention programs and professional development training sessions designed for vocational education teachers. The study’s practical relevance lies in its explorative nature: decision makers are provided with ample evidence indicating the potential advantages and obstacles vocational education teachers face in their attempt to work more efficiently.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T06:53:06Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4f4f82fd921b40339794cf0506b15381
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1877-6345
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T06:53:06Z
publishDate 2018-02-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training
spelling doaj.art-4f4f82fd921b40339794cf0506b153812022-12-22T02:57:21ZengSpringerOpenEmpirical Research in Vocational Education and Training1877-63452018-02-0110111510.1186/s40461-018-0063-xHungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional developmentCsaba Csíkos0Zsuzsa Kovács1Orsolya Kereszty2Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education, ELTEFaculty of Education and PsychologyFaculty of Education and PsychologyAbstract Background Vocational education teachers are key participants in the renewal of the Hungarian vocational educational system. Their professional development (as indicated by their learning activities, learning targets and information sources) contains both the input for improving their teaching and the findings essential for affecting future improvements. The aim of this questionnaire survey was to explore Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views and judgements on three interrelated phenomena: their learning activities, their opinion regarding the importance of pedagogical knowledge and the efficiency and usage of information sources relevant to their professional development. Methods A total of 1131 teachers from 37, randomly selected vocational education schools completed a questionnaire based on five subscales, each containing five-point Likert-scales: (1) teachers’ learning activities, (2) judgment of their preparedness in pedagogical knowledge, (3) judgment on the importance of their pedagogical knowledge components, and (4) the efficiency and (5) usage of information sources in furthering their professional development. Results All subscales display appropriate reliability (Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .65 to .94). The study provides the descriptive statistical values for each questionnaire item, the relationships between subscales and the connections between the subscales and background variables, such as gender, career level and school type. Conclusion This explorative study possesses theoretical relevance in developing a questionnaire that consists of five reliable subscales, all of which can later be used for either detecting changes in teachers’ views or measuring the effectiveness of intervention programs and professional development training sessions designed for vocational education teachers. The study’s practical relevance lies in its explorative nature: decision makers are provided with ample evidence indicating the potential advantages and obstacles vocational education teachers face in their attempt to work more efficiently.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40461-018-0063-xVocational education teachersTeachers’ viewsProfessional development
spellingShingle Csaba Csíkos
Zsuzsa Kovács
Orsolya Kereszty
Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training
Vocational education teachers
Teachers’ views
Professional development
title Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
title_full Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
title_fullStr Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
title_full_unstemmed Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
title_short Hungarian vocational education teachers’ views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
title_sort hungarian vocational education teachers views on their pedagogical knowledge and the information sources suitable for their professional development
topic Vocational education teachers
Teachers’ views
Professional development
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40461-018-0063-x
work_keys_str_mv AT csabacsikos hungarianvocationaleducationteachersviewsontheirpedagogicalknowledgeandtheinformationsourcessuitablefortheirprofessionaldevelopment
AT zsuzsakovacs hungarianvocationaleducationteachersviewsontheirpedagogicalknowledgeandtheinformationsourcessuitablefortheirprofessionaldevelopment
AT orsolyakereszty hungarianvocationaleducationteachersviewsontheirpedagogicalknowledgeandtheinformationsourcessuitablefortheirprofessionaldevelopment