IntroductionThe bioecological model refers to the basic social needs that a person has satisfied through social interactions. In individualist cultures, the need for independence is emphasized with the aim of self-realization and personal achievement. In collectivist cultures, togetherness is encouraged and it prevails over individuality.AimThe aim of this study was to determine whether there were differences in adolescents (n = 1033) from three different cultural environments (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia) with regard to the various aspects of the social interactions and behaviors these adolescents exercise with their parents and friends.MethodsThree groups of questionnaires were used: those that measure family interactions (the quality of family interactions, loneliness in the family, and family influence); those that assess peer interactions (quality of friendships, social loneliness, and influence of friendships); and those that examined behavioral variables (self-esteem, aggression, and prosocialness).ResultsDiscriminant analysis has shown that there are two significant functions that differentiate subjects from the three different cultural environments. The first discriminant function that adequately discriminates between subjects in all three cultural environments is related to social and family loneliness and the influence of friends. Loneliness in the family, social loneliness, and influence of friends are most prevalent among adolescents in Macedonia and least among adolescents in Croatia. The second function that distinguished adolescents in Croatia from those in the other two cultural environments was primarily connected with the quality of family interactions, aggressiveness, parent influence, and self-esteem. Finally, it was found that adolescents from Bosnia and Herzegovina were more likely to engage in family interactions, have greater levels of parental influence, and appeared to be less aggressive and had lower self-esteem than adolescents from the other two regions.

Cross national study on opinions on science teaching was revealed on a sample of 1799 (596 males, 1203 females) pre-service elementary and science teachers' enrolled in various departments at selected universities in Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. Three factors explaining 43.4% of variance were extracted from a pool of 22 items of affirmative statements. In combination with all three factors it was possible to construct a ghost teacher. Such teacher, constructed from the study, recognizes the importance of active student-centred teaching with respect to culture of the society, both in content and values, but will in practice teach with high achievements in mind and teacher centred practice as a vehicle towards success. Differences between teachers from different countries, between genders and between study tracks are statistically significant. The most influential factor determining opinions is the dominant teaching culture of the country.

1799 prospective elementary and prospective science teachers from six countries (Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey) participate in the study about the level of motivation toward science courses, pedagogy courses and self-efficacy. The most important findings were that choosing educational career as the first choice of prospective teachers depends on country and study track. The highest percentage of prospective teachers who choose teaching career and will probably stay teachers is in participating institutions from Slovenia and Croatia and the lowest in Slovakia and Turkey with Czech Republic and Lithuania in between. The percentages are higher for prospective elementary teachers than for prospective science teachers. Motivation of prospective teachers' regarding to the science courses and pedagogy courses vary. Differences between countries are small but as a rule future science teachers are more motivated for science courses than for pedagogy/didactics courses and the opposite is true for elementary A. Šorgo et al. / Relations Between Motivation For Science Courses6598 teachers. Differences on general self-efficacy beliefs vary within and between countries? On average values falls in the upper third range what can be predictor of good teaching. Correlation between students' motivation toward science courses, pedagogy courses and their self-efficacy beliefs is statistically significant but low, showing that good students are generally motivated for all courses but differences between motivation toward science and pedagogy exists and depends on study track. Conclusion of our study is that science teachers are better equipped to cope with problems than elementary teachers, but elementary teachers will most probably work at the working place they choose as their first will.

SAŽETAK Istraživanja pokazuju da je kvaliteta učitelja najvažniji pojedinačni čimbenik obrazovnog uspjeha učenika. Iako buduće učitelje na izbor profesije motiviraju prvenstveno intrinzični razlozi

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je usporediti bliske odnose dviju skupina roditelja, roditelja koji imaju dijete normativnog razvoja i roditelja koji imaju dijete s teškoćama u razvoju. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 193 roditelja muške djece starosti od četiri do pet godina od čega je 116 roditelja djece normativnog razvoja i 77 roditelja djece s teškoćama. U svrhu dobivanja odgovora na postavljena istraživačka pitanja korišteni su sljedeći mjerni instrumenti: Skala privrženosti kao stanja, Skala kvalitete obiteljskog funkcioniranja i Skala socijalne podrške, a obrada dobivenih podataka provedena je neparametrijskim statističkim postupcima. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na to da su bliski odnosi roditelja djece s teškoćama obilježeni većim traženjem sigurnosti. Kvaliteta obiteljskog funkcioniranja podjednaka je kod dvije skupine roditelja, dok roditelji djece s teškoćama u razvoju u manjoj mjeri dobivaju podršku prijatelja. Također rezultati ovog istraživanja idu u prilog zaključku da majke koje imaju dijete s teškoćom u većoj mjeri traže prisutnost bliskih osoba u odnosu na očeve iz te skupine roditelja. Dobiveni rezultati upućuju na važnost uzimanja u obzir obitelji kao sustava, osobito onih obitelji koji imaju dijete s teškoćom, što može uključivati različite programe s ciljem rada na obiteljskoj dinamici i partnerskim odnosima osobito u ranjivim obiteljima.