Sources of flow in 4th and 8th-grade primary school students

Zanesenost je ugodno psihičko stanje koje će pojedinac doživjeti u situaciji kada su izazovi, kao i njegove kompetencije vrlo visoki. Za vrijeme takvog stanja prisutna je velika koncentracija i intrinzična motivacija. Pojedinac dobiva osjećaj potpune kontrole, istinski uživa u aktivnosti te gubi pojam o vremenu. Neke od posljedica takvog stanja su doživljavanje više pozitivnih emocija, mogućnost usavršavanja u aktivnosti te poboljšanje dobrobiti. Provedena su mnoga istraživanja zanesenosti sa srednjoškolcima i studentima, dok su istraživanja s osnovnoškolcima u velikoj manjini. Stoga je cilj ovoga rada bio ispitati situacije u kojima su učenici 4. i 8. razreda osnovne škole doživjeli zanesenost, kao i postoje li razlike između djevojčica i dječaka te starijih i mlađih učenika. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 124 učenika dvije zagrebačke osnovne škole. Ispitanici su ispunjavali upitnik u kojemu su prema Csikszentmihalyijevom opisu zanesenosti trebali navesti jesu li se ikada tako osjećali te u kojim situacijama. Rezultati su pokazali kako manji dio učenika 4. i 8. razreda nije bio zanesen. Vrlo mali dio učenika je zanesen u školi. Štoviše, svi učenici zanesenost najčešće doživljavaju u aktivnostima izvan škole. Naglasak je na sportskim aktivnostima, a zatim slijedi igranje i druženje te učenje i pisanje zadaće. Nema većih razlika u aktivnostima zanesenosti između djevojčica i dječaka, osim da je kod dječaka naglasak na doživljavanju zanesenosti za vrijeme igranja računalnih igrica. To dovodi do zaključka da učenici osnovne škole zanesenost doživljavaju uglavnom u aktivnostima izvan škole što ukazuje na potrebu mijenjanja sustava obrazovanja te stvaranja više prilika za zanesenost u školi.Flow is an extremely pleasant mental state which someone experiences in a situation when his/her challenges and competences are very high. High concentration and intrinsic motivation are present during that state. Individual gets a sense of total control, truly enjoys in the activity and loses perception of time. Some of the consequences of this state are experiencing more positive emotions, the possibility of perfecting in a specific activity and improving someones' well-being. Many studies of flow have been conducted with high school and university students, while studies with primary school students are in the minority. Therefore, this paper aimed to examine situations in which fourth and eighth-grade students of primary schools experience flow, as well as are there any differences between girls and boys, older and younger students. The research was conducted on a sample of 124 students from two primary schools in Zagreb. Respondents filled out a questionnaire based on Csikszentmihalyi's description of flow in which they had to state whether they had ever felt that way and in which circumstances. The results have shown that a smaller number of fourth and eighth-grade students weren't in the state of flow. Also, few students experienced flow in school. Moreover, all students experienced a state of flow in activities outside of school. The emphasis was on sports activities, then playing and hanging out with friends and studying and writing homework. There were no major differences in flow activities between girls and boys besides the fact that the boys emphasized experiencing flow while playing computer games. That leads to the conclusion that primary school students experience flow mostly in activities outside of school, which points out the necessity of changing the school system and creating more opportunities for flow in school