Abstract:

The constantly evolving and changing society also has an impact on the changes in the requirements for the teaching profession. The changes result from the transformational changes in the Slovak education system, also in connection with the curriculum reform being introduced. Pedeutology (from Greek paideutos - educated and logos - word, doctrine), as a theory of the teaching profession, has in the last decades been devoted to the issues of teacher's competences and abilities, which finds practical application in the formulation of teacher's professional standards. The authors Kyriacou (1996), Helus ä1995), Vašutová (1997), Švec (1999), Spilková (2003),Kasáčová, and Kosová (2006) deal with teacher's professional competences and activities from different aspects. The basic activity of a teacher is to teach and educate, thus it is a didactic activity. However, the teacher is also the implementer of other activities in the contemporary school, e.g. organizes various extra-curricular activities, solves educational problems with pupils, cooperates with parents, participates in social events in the place of school. It follows that the work of a teacher is really demanding, requiring a professionally and personally skilled personality. Increasing demands can cause early burnout in the profession, not infrequently leading to teachers leaving the profession. One of the most sensitive aspects of teaching and the related professional activity of the teacher is the assessment of pupils. Assessment is essential for the pupil in forming his or her relationship to learning, to school and to him or herself. In this paper we present the results of a research conducted with primary education teachers, the aim of which was to find out the subjective perceived burden of teachers in individual activities related to the assessment of pupils. The research involved 117 primary education teachers. We used a questionnaire of our own construction, in its construction we relied on a research instrument developed by Kasáčová, B. et al. For the needs of the research carried out in the project VEGA 1/0415/22. We focused on several determinants (preparation, time, motivation, individual approach, specifics of teaching subjects, assessment tools, communication with parents and others) and their influence on the subjectively perceived teacher burden in the evaluation of students. We processed the data from the questionnaires into tables and graphs. In the frequency analysis, we described the findings in terms of absolute and relative frequencies - percentages. We used the MannWhitney U test and the Kruskall-Wallis test to test comparisons and relationships of the questionnaire items. The results showed that assessment is a key aspect of the pedagogical efforts of primary teachers. Almost half of the teachers (47%) indicated a medium value on a 5-point scale for the subjectively perceived burden associated with student assessment, even when compared to other professional activities. Teachers perceive pupil assessment as a complex process that causes emotional, time and cognitive strain.

Keywords:

Teaching profession, professional activities, teacher workload, pupil assessment, assessment in primary education.