Scholarly record

POSITIVE EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: IS IT POSSIBLE TO FOCUS ON STUDENTSВ’ POTENTIALS AND TALENTS?

S. S. Pranjic

Abstract

The topics and research related to positive education have become increasingly widespread over the last couple of years. Psychologists were the first ones to conduct research within this field, mostly focusing on primary and secondary schools, and to a lesser extent on higher education. However, studying this topic within the higher education system, especially teacher education, from a pedagogical perspective is of the utmost importance because teachers are the ones who will one day practice positive education. It is therefore important for university professors to also undertake such education, i.e. to focus on students' potentials and talents and encourage their development. Only then will the students truly realize the importance of the teacher's role in student self-realization - by experiencing it themselves. Therefore, the aim of this descriptive study was to identify and describe the ways in which university professors focus on the potentials and talents of students and the possibilities for their realization (e.g. through different forms of teaching, additional activities, co-participation in teaching etc.). The instrument used in this research was a survey, which consisted mainly of open questions. Data obtained from open questions was classified into categories. The results of the research have shown that university professors recognize the importance of their focus on the potentials and talents of a student. They affirm them in a variety of ways, depending on the student's interests, the type of study and the year of study. However, at the same time, they recognized certain obstacles and constraints in this process, pointing out that there is certainly room for improvement.

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