Th e text presents partial results of research on theory and practice integration in future teachers' undergraduate training. Th e aim was to fi nd out respondents' opinions on the level of theoretical and practical training integration in the processes of developing specifi c professional competences during study. Research tools consisted of a self-designed questionnaire and interviews (only partial questionnaire outputs are included because of limited content of study). Th e research sample was composed of 171 students of a master's degree in teaching at three MBU 1 teacher training faculties. Th e obtained data were processes by tools of descriptive and multi-dimensional statistics. Results indicate great discontent of the respondents with the low level of connection between theoretical and practical training in the processes of developing special professional competences during study and provide starting points for necessary system changes in the theoretical and professional practical training of future teachers.

The main aim of our research was to determine whether the teacher is one of the factors influencing students’ perception of biology as a school subject. The study also aimed to identify the influence of certain other factors in this regard, specifically: students’ gender and place of residence, the number of biology teachers who have taught the students, and theteachers’ gender. The sample consisted of 261 lower secondary school students (ISCED 2) in Slovakia, aged 14 and 15 years. A questionnaire with Likert-type items was used as a research instrument. The findings confirm the impact of the biology teacher on students’ perception of the subject. After removing the influence of the teacher, the students’ gender and placeof residence did not have any significant influence on their perception of the subject. Two additional significant variables were the number of biology teachers who had taught the students and the teachers’ gender. The research confirmed that the teacher’s personality is one of the significant factors that can influence students’ perception of school subjects.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relations between the frequency of reflexive method implementation by teachers and their self-efficacy. To find out the frequency of reflexive method implementation by teachers our own scale questionnaire was used. Its internal structure was analysed using exploratory factor analysis which showed the existence of two dimensions (traditional and non-traditional reflective methods). Reliability of dimensions was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and the result varied between 0.71 and 0.73. To map self-efficacy of teachers, OSTES (The Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale) was used; and it was adapted to Slovak conditions by Gavora (2012). In this case, exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that it is appropriate to consider two dimensions (teacher efficacy in using teaching strategies and manage class). Their reliability varied between 0.84 and 0.86. 345 lower secondary school teachers – ISCED 2 participated in the research. The average length of work experience of male and female respondents (n=45) was 12.80 years (SD=10.70) and (n=300) 16.20 years (SD=9.88) respectively. Statistically significant moderate positive relation was identified between the implementation frequency of traditional reflective methods and self-efficacy of teachers in using teaching strategies. Similar relation was proved between the implementation frequency of non-traditional reflective methods and the mentioned component of self-efficacy of teachers. A weak direct dependence proved to exist between implementation frequency of both reflective method groups and self-efficacy of teachers in class management.

The goal of the research survey was to determine whether the teacher represents one of the possible factors which influence the perception of the subject (attitude to it) using the example of Science among lower-secondary students. In the research survey, 261 students of the 9th grade participated. To fulfil the goals of the research survey a questionnaire with interval questions based on Lickert scaling was used. To determine the influence of the teacher on the perception of Science among lower-secondary students—ISCED 2—analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed. As independent variables, items from the demographic section of the research tool were used (gender, residence, the number of Science teachers the student had and gender of the current teacher). As the dependent variable, average scores in the questionnaire items for individual groups were used in this case. The average score in the items related to the opinion on the teacher served as a covariate. From the results of the study, it is evident that the teacher’s personality influences the perception of the subject. After filtering out the influence of the teacher, the difference in gender and residence of the student didn’t prove as significant. A significant difference could be identified in the number of Science teachers the student had and the gender of the teacher who taught the students during the realisation of the research survey. In the final part implications for teaching practice and further possibilities of the research concerning this topic are provided.

The textbook is published under the project entitled "Increasing professional competencies in students of health care and physical education study programmes in relation to persons with disabilities", reg. No.