Page 132 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 132
changing situation in society and notions of knowledge, lead to better teaching
practices and also improvement of the academic achievement of all learners.
Key words: teachers, students, competencies, subjective notions, professional
development
Introduction
Lifelong learning has become imperative for personal and social advancement
within the context of rapid social changes, perception of, and use of, knowl-
edge. It is necessary to be aware that in today’s world, knowledge rapidly be-
comes outdated, making the renewal and acquisition of knowledge the two
competencies that can make individuals more resilient, enduring and flexible.
This allows them to more successfully address the rapid and frequent chang-
es of living in the modern era. Adults, who are the current holders of knowl-
edge, i.e. those who pass on the knowledge, have grown up and been educat-
ed under different circumstances and gained different competencies during
132 that period of their lives than will be required by today’s youth in the future.
This means that they themselves must first acquire those competencies, with
personal and professional development being the central processes required
to achieve them. Teachers (as professional holders and passers-on of knowl-
edge) are also part of that generation and their professional development
must include acquiring the lifelong learning competence in a manner that
can be then passed on to students, especially those who are lacking in any of
the areas (economical, social issues, on account of their special needs…) and
therefore have a lower chance of successfully integrating into the social life of
adults. Apart from rapid changes in knowledge itself, its taxonomy and assess-
ment are also changing. What was once the most highly rated knowledge (e.g.
declarative knowledge) can nowadays merely form the basis for acquiring oth-
er types of knowledge (e.g. procedural and, in the future, self-regulative knowl-
edge) (cf. Schraw and Reynolds, 2009). One’s own view of teaching, knowledge
and learning is therefore the area that can be understood as a subjective fac-
tor that can be changed by every individual. In terms of education systems and
teachers, the view can mainly be amended during the course of teacher pro-
fessional development. In accordance with the dynamic model of educational
effectiveness (Creemers and Kyriakides, 2013), cognitive, affective, psychomo-
tor and meta-cognitive domains of student outcomes can be discerned, which
are impacted at various levels (by factors at the level of students, the classroom
or teachers, school and the system). Each of the levels should be directly and
indirectly linked to student outcomes and the model also facilitates links be-
tween its component parts. It is mainly the differences in student outcomes
that are to be explained by primary processes at a classroom/teacher level,
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
practices and also improvement of the academic achievement of all learners.
Key words: teachers, students, competencies, subjective notions, professional
development
Introduction
Lifelong learning has become imperative for personal and social advancement
within the context of rapid social changes, perception of, and use of, knowl-
edge. It is necessary to be aware that in today’s world, knowledge rapidly be-
comes outdated, making the renewal and acquisition of knowledge the two
competencies that can make individuals more resilient, enduring and flexible.
This allows them to more successfully address the rapid and frequent chang-
es of living in the modern era. Adults, who are the current holders of knowl-
edge, i.e. those who pass on the knowledge, have grown up and been educat-
ed under different circumstances and gained different competencies during
132 that period of their lives than will be required by today’s youth in the future.
This means that they themselves must first acquire those competencies, with
personal and professional development being the central processes required
to achieve them. Teachers (as professional holders and passers-on of knowl-
edge) are also part of that generation and their professional development
must include acquiring the lifelong learning competence in a manner that
can be then passed on to students, especially those who are lacking in any of
the areas (economical, social issues, on account of their special needs…) and
therefore have a lower chance of successfully integrating into the social life of
adults. Apart from rapid changes in knowledge itself, its taxonomy and assess-
ment are also changing. What was once the most highly rated knowledge (e.g.
declarative knowledge) can nowadays merely form the basis for acquiring oth-
er types of knowledge (e.g. procedural and, in the future, self-regulative knowl-
edge) (cf. Schraw and Reynolds, 2009). One’s own view of teaching, knowledge
and learning is therefore the area that can be understood as a subjective fac-
tor that can be changed by every individual. In terms of education systems and
teachers, the view can mainly be amended during the course of teacher pro-
fessional development. In accordance with the dynamic model of educational
effectiveness (Creemers and Kyriakides, 2013), cognitive, affective, psychomo-
tor and meta-cognitive domains of student outcomes can be discerned, which
are impacted at various levels (by factors at the level of students, the classroom
or teachers, school and the system). Each of the levels should be directly and
indirectly linked to student outcomes and the model also facilitates links be-
tween its component parts. It is mainly the differences in student outcomes
that are to be explained by primary processes at a classroom/teacher level,
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
