Stanislav Ježek

The Source and Impact of Appearance Teasing: An Examination by Sex and Weight Status Among Early Adolescents From the Czech Republic

BACKGROUND Some adolescents are victims of negative appearance-related feedback, and this may have lasting adverse effects on their self-evaluation. The aim of this study was to examine the frequency and impact of appearance teasing across sex and weight status. METHODS The participants were 570 Czech adolescents (47.9% girls) evaluated at age 13 during the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. Instruments used were body mass index and an adapted version of the Physical Experiences Survey that measures appearance teasing sources (parents, peers, among others), body part teased, and the impact of teasing. Chi-square test and multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to compare groups by sex and weight status. Logistic regression was then used for adjusted analyses. RESULTS Girls were more likely to report appearance teasing than boys. Overweight adolescents, both girls and boys, were more likely to be teased than non-overweight adolescents. Overweight adolescents compared with non-overweight adolescents reported higher levels of impact of body-related teasing. CONCLUSIONS Czech adolescents continue to adopt the societal standards of Western countries, stigmatizing overweight peers. This may affect more obese adolescents. Future research has to evaluate different sources of appearance-related teasing. Interventions in schools are suitable for the reduction of appearance-related prejudices.

Adolescents During and After Times of Social Change The Case of the Czech Republic

The paper introduces a set of four studies focused on adolescents in the Czech Republic. In the first part, authors reflect on the cultural background, the political, social, and psychological factors that have had influence on several generations of adolescents in the period of the communist totalitarian regime. They also describe the social changes brought by the democratization of Czech society since the early 1990s. Second part of the paper reviews the life and changes in the behavior of Czech adolescents over the past 20 years. Based the findings of three studies representing three cohorts of adolescents (1992, 2001, 2010), it is argued that current Czech adolescents are becoming more like their Western peers. Compared with the 1990s adolescents, the current cohort is more realistic in their expectations, oriented more on achievement, social pleasure, and material values. Their relationship to formal authorities is weaker; especially, the relationships with parents and teachers are more liberal.

Twenty Years After the Velvet Revolution: Shifts in Czech Adolescents’ Perceptions of Family, School, and Society

Families and schools are traditionally seen as substantial socialization agents forming adolescents’ social values and their views of society. Special attention is paid to the question whether the relative importance of these influences remains stable in times of major social changes. In this study, two different generations of Czech middle adolescents are compared: (a) the “post-totalitarian” generation that grew up in the last decade of the communist regime and entered adolescence during the time of rapid political and socioeconomic changes (data collected in 1995) and (b) the current generation without personal experience with the communist regime, raised in a stable democratic society (data collected in 2010). Both groups of participants (total N = 2,127, aged from 14 to 17 years) were administered an identical questionnaire. First, we examined the changes in adolescents’ perception and evaluation of the society over the last 15 years. Today’s adolescents perceive society more as a community and their future orientations are more focused on materialistic and less on environmental values. While the emotional relationship between the children and parents remains the same, adolescents learn a somewhat different message in the family, emphasizing self-reliance. School environment is perceived more as positive and engaging than 15 years ago. Second, we predicted adolescents’ social views and values from their assessment of family and school environment. Our results show that the effect of parental values on adolescents’ value orientations is higher in the current generation. Positive school environment contributes to the development of socially responsible orientations despite the changes in society.

Rezervované postoje učitelů k dalšímu vzdělávání jako jeden z rizikových faktorů kurikulární reformy

Klicovou podminkou uspěsneho zavaděni kurikularni reformy je vytvořeni takových podminek, ktere posiluji profesni autonomii ucitele a podporuji jeho přijeti změn a ochotu je realizovat. Jednim z významných faktorů tohoto procesu je oblast dalsiho vzdělavani ucitelů. Studie přinasi výsledky setřeni provedeneho na podzim 2006 v jihomoravskem regionu mezi uciteli zakladnich skol. Cilem setřeni bylo zjistit, ktere prvky považuji ucitele při tvorbě skolniho vzdělavaciho programu za problematicke a jakou formu dalsiho vzdělavani by v těchto problematických oblastech preferovali ze strany Pedagogicke fakulty Masarykovy univerzity.

Začínající učitelé jako informátoři o klimatu školy prizmatem tří metod

Různi ucastnici (stakeholders) nahližeji na skolu z různých perspektiv. Ať již klima skoly konstruujeme jako institucionalni (intersubjektivni) charakteristiku, nebo jako subjektivni individualni konstrukt, v obou připadech nas zajimaji specificke percepce různých kategorii informatorů. Studie zkouma, jake informace o klimatu skoly lze ocekavat od zacinajicich ucitelů. Jsou využity tři zdroje malo strukturovaných dat-deniky zacinajicich ucitelů, zaznamy z focus group se zacinajicimi uciteli a data z individualniho polostrukturovaneho rozhovoru. Výchozim ramcem pro kodovani je klasifikace charakteristik skoly jako ucici (se) komunity (Kruse et al. 1995). Množstvi výroků kategorizovatelných v ramci zvoleneho kodovaciho ramce bylo nizke, zvlastě u dotazovacich metod, tj. zacinajici ucitele reflektovali předevsim sebe mnohem meně skolu. Kategorizovatelne výroky se týkaly předevsim deprivatizace praxe, komunikacnich struktur a spolecneho reflektovani. Tyto výroky byly diagnosticky cenne. Zacinajici ucitele tak mohou být při diagnostice velmi užitecným zdrojem informaci o tom, jak ve skole funguje formalnějsi komunikace, vytvařeni (reflektovani) a předavani pedagogických zkusenosti. Jejich obecnějsi hodnoceni různých aspektů skoly vsak již může být meně validni, stejně jako rychla hodnoceni, vyžadovana některými formami dotazovani.Different school participants (stakeholders) may be viewed as informants able to provide us with different aspects of the school environment that they are familiar with. Whether we define school climate as an institutional intersubjective characteristics, or as a subjective individual construct, in both cases we are interested in the specific perceptions of the different categories of informants. The study looks at what kinds of infoirmation relevant to school climate assessment can be expected form novice teachers. Three methods are used: individual structured interviews, focus groups and diaries. The conceptual framework of schools as learning communities was used for thematic analysis. Only a small proportion of statements fit in the coding scheme, i.e. novice teachers reflected mostly themselves, much less their school. Statements that could be coded fell mostly in the categories of deprivatisation of practice, communication structures and shared reflecting. Such reflections can be very valuable for school climate assessment. Novice teachers can inform well about the more formal communications structures, how practice is reflected and shared among teachers. They are less able to form general evaluations at the school level, such as those frequently included in school climate assessment questionnaires.

Báze moci učitele: česká adaptace dotazníku Teacher Power Use Scale

Přestože předpokladem uspěsne realizace didaktických a výchovných cilů ve výuce je ustaveni adekvatnich mocenských vztahů mezi ucitelem a žaky, byl koncept moci ucitele ve skolni třidě do odborneho ceskeho pedagogickeho prostředi zaveden až nedavno a byl zatim zkouman prostřednictvim interview, pozorovani, reflektivnich textů a jejich kvalitativnich analýz (např. Makovska, 2010, 2011; Seďova, 2011, 2015). Nasim cilem je představit ceskou adaptaci dotaznikoveho nastroje Teacher Power Use Scale – TPUS (Schrodt, Witt, & Turman, 2007), ktera měři pět tradicně odlisovaných bazi relacni moci (expertni, referencni, legitimni, donucovaci a odměňovaci) dle teorie Frenche a Ravena (1959). Přinosem tohoto kvantitativniho přistupu je relativně rychle z jistěni daných bazi moci ucitele u velkeho poctu respondentů a srovnatelnost výsledků. Adaptace se zaměřovala na rozsiřeni věkoveho spektra pro užiti nastroje (tj. na žaky a ucitele druheho stupně zakladni skoly) a přiz působeni nastroje ceským podminkam. Pětifaktorový model byl redukovan na ctyřfaktorove řeseni, protože legitimni a donucovaci baze moci byly ceskými žaky vnimany jako jeden faktor. Vysoke korelace těchto bazi moci jsou z jisťovany i v jiných, zahranicnich studiich. Koeficienty reliability dosahovaly pro vsechny baze moci hodnot nad 0,70. Ceskou verzi dotazniku Baze moci: verze pro ucitele (BMS) je možne použivat jak pro výzkumne ucely, tak v praxi (uciteli ci vzdělavateli ucitelů, kde může obohatit jejich pohled na vlastni pedagogicke působeni).

Factor Validity and Internal Consistency of the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory – Revised (ESI-R): The Czech Context

This study is the first attempt to examine the validity of the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI-R) for use in the Czech context. Data were obtained via online survey from 222 emerging adults (18-25 years; 82% women), with a background in helping professions. Structural equation modelling revealed reasonably good support for structural validity of the ESI-R factor model. In addition, all of the dimension scores showed acceptable interitem consistency. However, our findings presumptively point to problems with measurement non-invariance as some items were observed to correlate with different dimensions than expected. Overall, these findings are consistent with cross-cultural research on ESI-R showing that the ESI-R has structural but not measurement invariance at the item and dimension level and provide support for further use of the ESI-R with Czech respondents.

Déjà Vu Experiences in Healthy Czech Adults.

Abstract The study examines the prevalence of déjà vu in healthy Czech adults and explores its relationships with a number of variables: age, sex, neuroticism, depression, the degree of irritability in the limbic system, perceived stress, and finally attachment avoidance and anxiety. The participants were 365 healthy adults ranging from 18 to 70 years recruited in the Czech Republic (mean age = 29.05; SD = 11.17) who filled out online questionnaires. Déjà vu experiences were reported by 324 (88.8%) of them. Persons who experienced déjà vu were younger than the persons who had not experienced it. We found that sex, levels of neuroticism, depression, perceived stress, and attachment did not serve as predictors of experiences of déjà vu phenomena. Finally, those who had reported déjà vu experiences reported more limbic system irritability symptoms. We discuss the possibility that déjà vu reports together with other studied variables mainly reflect the participants’ willingness to report “extraordinal” experiences.

Z posluchárny za katedru: Mocenské vztahy ve výuce studentůučitelství

Monografie prezentuje výsledky výzkumu ustavovani a uspořadani mocenských vztahů ve výuce studentů ucitelstvi, kteři se při sve dlouhodobe praxi ocitaji ve skolnich třidach coby nastavajici ucitele. Autoři vychazeji z tradicni teorie relacni moci Frenche a Ravena a na zakladě videonahravek vyucovacich hodin, rozhovorů se studenty ucitelstvi, jejich reflektivnich deniků z praxi a dotaznikoveho setřeni výuky studentů ucitelstvi prostřednictvim výpovědi žaků popisuji, jak studenti ucitelstvi v interakci se žaky pracuji s legitimni, donucovaci, odměňovaci, expertni a referencni moci. Kniha představuje typicke situace, s nimiž jsou studenti ucitelstvi při sve praxi konfrontovani, a může tak sloužit budoucim ucitelům stejně jako těm, kdo je na tuto drahu připravuji.