Analysis of the initial education of chemistry teachers and their attitudes towards teaching in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

This research was aimed to analyse the current state in primary and secondary schools in the Republic of Serbia, regarding chemistry teachers’ initial education and self-perceived competencies. As an instrument, a questionnaire of 20 questions was used, which was prepared in the form of a Google questionnaire. The questions were divided into five groups to examine data on the structure of chemistry teachers (gender, age, place and school where they teach), the level of education obtained and the method of acquisition and acquired competencies, and finally the personal opinion of chemistry teachers about the teaching profession, advantages, disadvantages and possible recommendations to his/her students in terms of choosing this profession as a possible career. The questionnaire was sent to 1537 schools and 497 chemistry teachers took part in the questionnaire. The results showed that chemistry teachers are predominantly women, mostly aged 36–55, full-time employed and with an average working experience of over 11 years. Most teachers have appropriate education and acquired competencies. They cite working with children as the biggest advantage of the teaching profession while as the biggest disadvantage, they report a constant increase in the amount of administration from year to year.

Keywords

• chemistry education
• teachers' attitudes
• teachers' competencies
• teachers' opinions