The text discusses the impression that the Bologna reform puts studies in a paradoxical situation emphasizing the need for critical thinking, as the most significant teaching aim, while, on the other hand, it actually leaves little space to reach it. The descriptors of European qualification framework provide legitimacy for critical thinking-oriented models to be developed within higher education teaching, but the step from rhetoric to reality seems to be too big. Basic findings of an explorative research (purposive sample, N=204): students estimate their critical thinking development level as high, but it is found that it had not been manifested in the situations demanding the application of the very same aspects, which can be considered a significant indicator of higher education quality indicator.

The paper aims to investigate the relationships between foreign language learning strategies (FLLS) and personality traits among students of education and engineering sciences. Quantitative survey of self-report questionnaire was used to evaluate learning strategies and individual personality traits. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated and six linear regressions were conducted to test the predictive role of personality dimensions when language learning strategies were used as a criterion. The findings propose that students with different personality traits have different preferences when it comes to learning strategies. Two out of five personality traits from this study seem to have an important role in the prediction of the FLLS type used. While low Conscientiousness was predictive of more frequent usage of Cognitive and Compensation strategies, high Intellect was predictive of more frequent usage of Cognitive and Metacognitive strategies. The study points out the significance of managing students by meeting their personal differences in choosing learning strategies, and not by relying on the personality stereotypes that are predominant. The obtained results can help teachers to select appropriate learning strategies that match students' different personality types.

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Theoretical basis of this paper is the heuristic L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). The research aims to determine the degree to which the ideal L2 self can be regarded as a significant factor with regards to its power to make a difference in students’ actual motivated behaviour in L2 communication. The research sample consists of 396 students. The ideal L2 self is a predictor variable. Willingness to communicate and the obtained grades are criterion variables. Gender, period of time spent learning English / German, and whether students are residing in the country where the target language is spoken are all moderator variables. Systematic non-experimental observation method based on Dörnyei and Taguchi´s survey was used in this study. Cronbach’s alpha indicated high reliability in the presented sample (.92). Willingness to communicate was investigated using McCroskey´s questionnaire. The findings indicate a rather complex picture of the observed L2 MSS constructs and the importance of their components in the field of L2 learning. Therefore, for further research, it is suggested that the ideal L2 self should be divided into two constructs: obligations that the individual would like to comply with and obligations that others expect him/her to comply with. The contribution of the L2 learning experience should also be considered because otherwise, it is difficult to determine the progress of the model design and what to do with it in practice.

This paper presents the findings of explorative research undertaken on an intentional sample consisting of 112 master’s students of pedagogy in Serbia, assumed to be potentially gifted and to have demonstrated academic giftedness, since their average mark during their studies was above 9.00 on a scale of 1.0 to 10.0. The intention was to examine the influence of didactic strategies and methods on the competencies of gifted students and thus verify the hypothesis on the significance of certain didactic strategies and methods for the contribution of higher education teaching in order to encourage intellectual autonomy in learning in the case of gifted university students. The method of systematic non-experimental observation was used, accompanied by an assessment scale used by students to estimate the level of the presence of the listed strategies, methods or procedures during studies and to what an extent learning and teaching strategies used in lectures, exercises, seminars, and consultations addressed their needs and contributed to the development of competencies. When making a choice between didactic strategies, methods and procedures, particular attention was paid to the 52 offered methods in order to include 30 of those that refer to problem learning,creative approaches to learning, critical autonomy etc., and for the list of 35 competencies of which 30 refer to independent thinking and are elements of critical thinking and indicators of, above all, approaches to the learning of gifted students. The essential finding was that the achieved competencies with higher average values were, mostly, those that are important for intellectual functioning, but that were not directly connected to what explains critical thinking, intellectual autonomy, as well as to the knowledge of basic concepts, the understanding of facts, and the giving explanations of events.