Non-traditional students represent an important group of university students, and that is why their motivation to study is an important factor that affects current university education. This study investigates the academic motivation of Czech students who are considered non-traditional because of their age (they are older than 26) and at the same time have experienced a break of at least one year in their formal educational trajectory. The Czech version of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) has been used to measure academic motivation. The purpose of this study is to examine the factor structure of the Czech version of the AMS on a sample of 1,885 first-year students at Masaryk University and determine if this tool is functional even on a specific group of non-traditional students and to identify differences in particular types of academic motivation between traditional and non-traditional students. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Czech version of the AMS is a valid scale with a factor structure corresponding to the original model, and based on measurement invariance analysis we can state that the Czech version of the AMS can be used to compare traditional and non-traditional students. The results of regression analyses suggest that non-traditional students had significantly higher values for all types of intrinsic motivation and lower values for most types of extrinsic motivation. In the case of amotivation, it was again the non-traditional students with significantly lower values, which suggests that the absence of a motivation to study tends to be more common in younger students who are continuously receiving formal education.
This article aims to identify, measure, and deeply understand the educational trajectories of non-traditional students (students over the age of 26 who are enrolled following a break in their formal educational trajectory) studying for education degrees in the Czech Republic. To fulfill the aims, we adapted previously identified types of educational trajectories that are traveled by non-traditional students to the circumstances of the Czech higher education system. We measured the distribution of three types (deferrers, returners, and recurrent learners) in a sample of 713 non-traditional students. We found that the types were nearly evenly distributed, with a slight prevalence of deferrers. For a deeper understanding of these types, we analyzed 30 narrative interviews. Qualitative data revealed each group's specific features, including their attitudes toward higher education studies, their academic enculturation, and their academic skills. We suggest that the returner type should be split into two categories for more specific quantitative analysis. On the basis of our research, we offer tailored recommendations for supporting particular groups of non-traditional students.
The paper draws on the theory of learning by Knut Illeris to interpret data from qualitative research in intergenerational learning at Czech primary and lower secondary schools. It is focused on describing the forms of interaction through which intergenerational learning among teachers takes place, i.e., perception, transmission, experience, imitation, and participation. The results of the analysis are interpreted in the school context in order to show how interaction research may contribute to the analysis of intergenerational learning in a specific institution.
Cílem článku je z jistit, na základě jakých kritérií konstruují zralí studenti (nad 26 let) kombinovaného studia pedagogických (učitelských i neučitelských) oborů hodnocení kvality svého vysokoškolského studia. K naplnění cíle využívám 28 narativních rozhovorů, v nichž kombinovaní studenti popisují svoji cestu studiem. Na základě tří kol kvalitativní analýz y (iniciální kódování, identifikace a analýza hodnoticích výpovědí, analýza významu jednotlivých hodnoticích výpovědí pro jednotlivé respondenty) představím čtyři pilíře kvality, které mají hlavní slovo v hodnoticích soudech zralých studentů pedagogických oborů. Prvním pilířem je partnerský přístup ke studentům indikovaný vnímavostí učitele a z působem nastavení pravidel. Druhým pilířem je vnímaná smysluplnost na úrovni kurikula předmětů a celkové koncepce studijního programu. Třetím pilířem je optimální náročnost studia indikovaná na jedné straně důstojnými standardy a na straně druhé podřízeností náročnosti cíli studia. Čtvrtým pilířem je didaktická kvalita prezenční výuky i online podpory. V závěru textu navrhuji postup, jak kvalitu studia v očích kombinovaných studentů efektivně zvyšovat. and The article aims to determine criteria that mature part-time students studying for education (teaching and non-teaching) degrees use to evaluate the quality of their higher education studies. Twenty-eight narrative interviews describing mature students' educational paths are analyzed (initial coding, analysis of evaluative statements, and contextualizing statements in narratives). The four pillars of quality perceived by mature students are identified. The first pillar, the attitude toward students, is indicated by interaction style and by ways of setting rules. The second pillar equals the meaning fulness of the subject curriculum and the program curriculum. The third pillar represents the optimal level of demands indicated by keeping educational standards and subordination demands to overall study goals. The fourth pillar depicts the instructional quality for both teaching and online materials. Finally, recommendations for significant quality enhancement are offered.
The objective of this paper is to show the way in which trust within a teaching staff translates into mutual learning among teachers. Using a qualitative investigation of two purposively selected schools representing a high and a low level of trust within the teaching staff, we illustrate that trust is a multi-layered phenomenon which in the context of learning among teachers is not necessarily productive to work with as a whole. We therefore separate trust within a teaching staff into the head teacher's trust in teachers, teachers' trust in the head teacher, overall trust among teachers, and finally trust between specific teachers in a learning relationship. We relate these levels of trust within a teaching staff and the three components of this trust—competencies, relationships, and reliability—to the characteristics of mutual learning among the teachers at the selected schools. We conclude that our data shows that the key relationship influencing learning among teachers is that between the head teacher's trust and trust in the head teacher, which has the greatest impact on whether teachers accept the head teacher's concept of professional development and act accordingly. Overall trust among teachers has an influence on the level of independence of learning interactions and awareness of colleagues' learning but not on shared learning content.