Communication and professional development as predictors of attitudes of teachers (Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian ethnicity) towards social contents in the teaching nature and society

Abstract

The research aimed to examine the contribution of two important factors, communication and professional development, to the formation of attitudes of teachers of different ethnicities towards the realization of social content in the teaching of nature and society. The sample included a total of 301 teachers of Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian ethnicity. The results obtained by the research show that the developed communication between teachers, through their actions, contributes to the development and improvement of positive attitudes towards social content in the teaching of nature and society, which results in increased efficiency of the educational process. The results show that there is a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of teachers' attitudes towards social content in teaching nature and society by the factors of professional development, too, in such a way that the more pronounced presence and quality of professional development significantly affects the development and formation of positive attitudes about society contents. In addition to the theoretical explanation of the role and importance of important concepts related to social content and teachers' attitudes towards them, in practical terms, the contribution of this research is reflected in the implications of significant relations between various factors in the field of educational outcomes in the region (Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). In line with that, the practical implications indicate that through educational policies, greater mutual communication between educators should be encouraged and better conditions should be provided for continuous formal and non-formal education of teachers, through lifelong learning in the countries of the region.