Teachers\u27 perceptions of the influence of assertiveness and empathy on the academic achievement of special needs students

Socialne spretnosti so pomembne za posameznikovo učinkovito soočanje s socialnimi situacijami, socialno vključitev in ohranjanje kakovostnega življenja. Učenci s posebnimi potrebami se pogosto soočajo z določenimi primanjkljaji, kar lahko povzroča ali poglablja težave na področju njihovih socialnih spretnosti. Glavni namen magistrskega dela je bilo preučiti, kakšne so po mnenju učiteljev razrednega in predmetnega pouka socialne spretnosti učencev s posebnimi potrebami. Pri raziskovanju smo bili osredotočeni predvsem na področje asertivnosti in empatije. Namen dela je bil tudi raziskati, kakšen vpliv imata po mnenju učiteljev asertivnost in empatija učencev s posebnimi potrebami na njihov učni uspeh. Pri raziskovanju smo uporabili deskriptivno in kavzalno-neeksperimentalno metodo empiričnega raziskovanja ter kvantitativni raziskovalni pristop. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 47 učiteljev, ki poučujejo v programu rednih osnovnih šol. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da ni statistično pomembnih razlik med razrednimi in predmetnimi učitelji pri ocenjevanju vpliva asertivnosti in empatije učencev s posebnimi potrebami na njihov učni uspeh. Prav tako ni bilo ugotovljenih statistično pomembnih razlik pri učiteljevem ocenjevanju vpliva asertivnosti in empatije na učni uspeh glede na učiteljeva leta delovnih izkušenj. Statistično pomembne razlike niso bile zaznane pri učiteljevem ocenjevanju vpliva asertivnosti in empatije na učni uspeh učencev s posebnimi potrebami glede na skupino posebnih potreb, v katero so uvrščeni izbrani učenci. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da so sodelujoči učitelji v primerjavi z asertivnostjo empatiji pripisali malenkost večji vpliv na učni uspeh učencev s posebnimi potrebami.Social skills are important for individuals to cope effectively with social situations, to integrate socially and to maintain a good quality of life. Special needs students often face specific deficits which can cause or exacerbate difficulties in their social skills. The main aim of the master\u27s thesis was to investigate what, according to teachers of integrated primary and lower secondary education, are the social skills of special needs students. The main focus of the research was on assertiveness and empathy. The aim was also to investigate what impact teachers think assertiveness and empathy have on the academic performance of special needs students. The research used descriptive and causal non-experimental empirical research methods and a quantitative research approach. We used an opportunity sampling method. 47 teachers who work in public basic schools participated in the study. The results show that there are no statistically significant differences between teachers of integrated primary and lower secondary education in assessing the impact of assertiveness and empathy of special needs students on the latter’s academic achievements. Similarly, no statistically significant differences were found in teachers\u27 ratings of the impact of assertiveness and empathy on academic achievements when the ratings were sorted according to the teacher\u27s years of experience. No statistically significant differences were found in the teacher\u27s assessment of the impact of assertiveness and empathy on the academic achievements of special needs students when the assessments were sorted by special needs groups into which the selected students were classified. It was found that the participating teachers attributed a slightly higher impact to empathy than to assertiveness in regard to the academic achievements of special needs students