The results of the research shows that more interventions are needed into the syllabus of the teacher training faculties as well as into the capacity building of the prospective teachers and pedagogues for working with homeless children.
The Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for the educational process, that is, the inclusion of all children children in educational institutions. For all students included This research, the results of which are outlined in the subsequent pages, was conducted in order to gain insights into how the students' attitudes and beliefs influence their readiness to work with homeless children.
Additionally, a broad-based analysis is made regarding “ethical dilemmas” as an umbrella term for all explicit and implicit issues arising in front of future educators in the field of homelessness.
The methodology of the research rests upon the preparation and design of a standard questionnaire adapted to the four mentioned categories. The representative sample comprises 30 students from the Faculty of Education in Bitola. Of the total number of interviewees, 10 students are enrolled in Elementary School Teacher Programme, 10 are enrolled in Pree-school Teacher Programme, 10 are enrolled in Social and Rehabilitation Pedagogy Programme. Questionnaires were handed out to all students selected to participate in the survey, providing enough time for their completion. Once completed, the questionnaires were collected in a way that ensured anonymity. Data collection was worked on from January 29th, 2018, through February 5th, 2018. Respondents were given two tasks. First, to evaluate the contents of curricula regarding the frequency of elements which are connected with homeless children education. Second, to explain their attitudes regarding homeless children education. Answering of the questions was by checking one of the offered options: "sometimes", "often" and "very often".
RESULTS
In order to explore student familiarity with homeless children education, the Figure 1 provides an overview of the responses of the three categories of students to the following question: Are you familiar with the contents of the curriculum that refer to the education of street children?
The survey data shows that students from the three diferent study progammes at the Faculty of Education in Bitola have an modest experience regarding learning contents connected with the homeless children education. Most of them (22 students) sometimes have learned about homeless cildren education issues. Only 7 students claimed that are familiar with such a curriculum content often, and only 1 student declared that very often is in the position to learn about above mentioned issue.
Figure 1. Overview of the responses of students participating in the research to the question: Are you familiar with the contents of the curriculum that refer to the education of street children?
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Figure 1. Overview of the responses of students participating in the research to the question: Are you familiar with the contents of the curriculum that refer to the education of street children?
Figure 2. Overview of the responses of students participating in the research with regard to the four affirmations:
To examine the students' attitudes and beliefs regarding their readyness to contribute for surpassing of homeless children abuse and neglect, the questionnaire offered four affirmations on which the students were asked provide their opinion with regards to the degree of his adoption. The affirmations are described in the Figure 2.
Figure 2. Overview of the responses of students participating in the research with regard to the four affirmations:
Of the total number of surveyed students (30), 24 agree with the affirmation that homeless children should be educated in special institutions, or 22 respondents disagree with the affirmation that homeless children should be educated in public schools. Also, only 8-10 students feel ready to create individualised support measures for homeless children and flexible approaches to learning for homeless children. Generally, all three categories of students show a low degree of development of competences for work with homeless children.
ANALISYS OF THE RESULTS
The results of the research shows that more interventions are needed into the syllabus of the teacher training faculties as well as into the capacity building of the prospective teachers and pedagogues for working with homeless children.
The Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for the educational process, that is, the inclusion of all children children in educational institutions. For all students included in primary and secondary education the Ministry of Education and Science provides free textbooks and scholarships to vulnerable children in order to improve their inclusion in education and the regular attendance at school. In that way the Ministry tray to improve the students success and reduce the dropout from compulsory education. But, in practice, there is missing many key elements regarding homeless children education: provision of reasonable accommodation, provision of individualised support measures, development of specific education plans and development of flexible approaches to learning.
The teachers are messengers of democratic knowledge, skills and values in the society. In that line, the most important role in the preparation of future teachers and pedagogues play the formal educational system.
Teaching social justice requires an understanding of demographic structure in various cultural communities and developing skills among students for social action. Also, teaching should put emphasis on "cleaning" the
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in primary and secondary education the Ministry of Education and Science provides free textbooks and scholarships to vulnerable children in order to improve their inclusion in education and the regular attendance at school. In that way the Ministry tray to improve the students success and reduce the dropout from compulsory education. But, in prac-tice, there is missing many key elements regarding homeless children education: provi-sion of reasonable accommodation, proviprovi-sion of individualised support measures, devel-opment of specific education plans and develdevel-opment of flexible approaches to learning.
The teachers are messengers of democratic knowledge, skills and values in the society. In that line, the most important role in the preparation of future teachers and pedagogues play the formal educational system. Teaching social justice requires an understanding of demographic structure in various cultural communities and developing skills among students for social action. Also, teaching should put emphasis on “cleaning” the myths and stereotypes associated with gender, age, race, religious affiliation or other kind of discrimination (Gulevska, 2015).
According to the findings, teacher training faculties in the Republic of Macedonia should to reconsider current curricula and create a possibility for its upgrading. The educational principles are fundamentally moral principles, i.e. each curriculum for edu-cation in democratic society has an ethical base. With other words, inclusive eduedu-cation is relevant to all subject areas. The integration of contents that comprehend homeless chil-dren education across a variety of subject areas will provides the students with a more coherent and richer learning experience. The need for changes in the curricula includes textbooks and teaching aids (theory and practice), the media and any other educational material that can be used by teachers and students.
The belief is that families of the homeless children were dysfunctional because of differ-ent reasons, usually economic conditions. Thus such children “placed outside of the nor-mal flow of urban life in the developing world, and the street then becomes their home with their own secret code (their own idiom) and values (crime, drugs and prostitution), confront traditional life and values. Thus, the description of street children is more than defining a social group; it includes the demise of their families and the moral values of the children. It stigmatizing and perpetuating their exclusion and low status” (Aptekar &
Stoecklin, 2014, p.96).
Surprisingly, of the total number of surveyed students (30), 24 agree with the affirma-tion that homeless children should be educated in special instituaffirma-tions. From this point of view, It is exceptionally important that the students acquire knowledge for what is segre-gation contrasted with the inclusion in the schools. It is a larger educational philosophy in the acceptance of diversity in educational systems, i.e.in the helping all children who face some kind of barrier to learning. Therefore, the future teachers and pedagogues sould create own values and beliefs that allow them deal with different children and their needs in regular school system. Thus, they will enhance their competencies for work with homeless children.
Conclusion
Generally, the research shows that students’ perceptions regarding homeless children edu-cation are focused on the several ethical dilemmas. According to the opinion of the inter-viewed students, many of above mentioned issues have to do with questions of value, and many straightforwardly have to do with educational ethics. On the other hand, the analysis of the obtained results shows that the students believe that they need ethical knowlede in the first instance to enhance their competencies for inclusive education. In this context, “civic virtues” such as: community awareness, civility, service, volunteering and so on are struc-tured on the very low level in their worldview. The same is situation with “moral virtues” i.
e. compassion, gratitude, honesty and integrity. The experts claim that civic virtues require looking outward from within. They are concerned with fairness and community, with oth-ers outside one’s self. They require individuals to come together, relate with one another, and feel each other’s joy and pain (Stronks & Stronks, 2014). Also, there is the little doubt that the moral virtues are important for the inclusive equality and competitive individualism responsible for much of the innovation and growth incubated in a global world (Ignatieff, 2017). Because of that, more interventions are needed into developing community culture that will motivate and promote inclusive education. The educational institutions also should provide environment (in and out of the classroom) that will equip students with the lan-guage, knowledge, understanding about different children obstacles towards education.
Finally, it seems that helping students connect with their strengths and giving them more autonomy, power, and control over their work, lead to the boosting of their intrinsic mo-tivation for character development (Anderson, 2016) and, also, it will lead to the enhanc-ing their competencies for work with homeless childran.
For the education of homeless children a key role plays the teacher who can create an at-mosphere for children inclusion in the school. Many children can find their warm home in the classroom and with the help of the teacher to achieve successful academic results.
According to our opinion, every education system should strive towards this goal.
References
Anderson, M., (2016). Learning to Choose, Shoosing to Learn: the Key to Student Motiva-tion and Achievement. Alexandria: ASCD
Aptekar, L., Stoecklin, D. (2014). Street Cildren and Homeless Youth: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.
Costa, M. M., Galeman, S., Earnest, D., Mceneaney, E., Lovett, L. (2016). Educational Implications: Homeless Children’s Perception Of Resilience. Amherst: University of Mas-sachusetts Libraries
DeCandia, C. J., Bassuk, E. L., Riccard, M. (2017). Assessment of Families Experienc-ing Homelessness: Analysis of current Practice. In M. E. Haskett (Ed.). Child and Family
Well-Being and Homelessness: Integrating Research into Practice and Policy. New York:
Springer
Gulevska, V. (2015). Harmony in Differences as Educational Value. In Conference Pro-ceedings from First International Conference Contemporary Challenges to the Science of Education. Sofia (Bulgaria): Faculty of Education
Ignatieff, M., (2017). The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World. Massachu-setts: Harvard University Press
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (2010). A Multidisciplinary Protocol for Treatment of Street Children in the Republic of Macedonia. Skopje: Ministry of Labor and Social Policy Peters, R. S., (2015). Ethics and Education. New York: Routledge
Rivlin, L. G. (2014). Home and Homelessness in the Lives of Children. In N. A. Boxill (Ed.).
Homeless Children: the Watchers and the Waiters, New York: Routledge
Stronks, J. K. and Stronks, G. G., (2014). Teaching to Justice, Citizenship, and Civic Virtue.
Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Abstract: One of the areas to which it is necessary to take into special consideration al-ready at an early age, is the issue of prevention of socially negative phenomena, including addictive behavior. The contribution discusses the results of the questionnaire survey, which aim was to determine the knowledge of selected students studying bachelor stud-ies in the fields, which ensures the, from the field of primary prevention of addictive be-havior. This part of the research is only one part of a long-term research, which should serve to improve the quality of teaching in subjects relating to the prevention of addic-tive behavior and addiction treatment. A questionnaire survey is being attended by 180 students of the third year of the bachelor study program studying in full-time study and combined forms of study.
The questionnaire contained 13 closed questions and one open question, in which re-spondents described how they would behaved, in the case that the pupil will be under the influence of addictive substances in the classroom. The questionnaire was presented within the first hours of the course Seminar on Addictions Prevention. The largest er-rors were seen in questions relating to effective primary prevention, school documents, which relate to the prevention of addictions and in the case of expressions describing the syndrome of addiction. Expected output long-term research will be study support to the subjects that relate to addictive behavior.
keywords: knowledge, prevention of addiction, questionnaire survey, students