Interpersonal Competences and Attitude to Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) among Future Pedagogues and Educators—A Polish and Portuguese Perspective

Abstract

Interpersonal competences in relationship building, collaboration and teamwork are essential both in F2F education and in distance or hybrid styles of education. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as previous trends, some or all of the higher education didactics were transferred to the online environment. In this context, the Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) model, now known as collaborativism, is gaining importance. This research aims to diagnose and compare the level of interpersonal competences and attitude in the OCL model among students preparing for the profession of an educator, pedagogue or teacher in the autonomous region of Madeira and in Poland. Quantitative studies were conducted using the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire by D. Buhrmester, W. Furman, M.T. Wittenberg and H.T. Reis—as adapted by Poland and Portugal. In addition, the respondents expressed their views on OCL in the self-written questionnaire. According to the research findings, the highest level of competence in the Portuguese group was achieved by the respondents in terms of: Emotional Support (EW), Conflict Management and Resolution (RK) and Negative Assertion—Asserting Influence (AO). In the Polish group, EW was the lowest. The highest level of interpersonal competences was observed for Conflict Management and Resolution (RK), Disclosure (US) and Initiation (IR). The largest group of the surveyed students in both countries expressed a positive attitude towards implementing OCL in their courses of study and declared their willingness to be a member of a group that learns online together.

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“…It should be noted that among the three highest dimensions of interpersonal competences in the Portuguese group, EW was statistically high, and the other two were statistically medium. The Polish group's three highest dimensions (RK, US, IR) were statistically at the medium level (Frania & Correia, 2022).…”

“…Future teachers and educators from the surveyed group certainly use social media to build such relationships today. This article is a significant part of the broader research on interpersonal competences among Polish and Portuguese students (Frania & Correia, 2022). The above considerations present a part that concerns the use of social media in relation to the interpersonal competences held.…”

“…The study results are part of a broader quantitative scientific research that compares the characteristics of the community trained to be a teacher and educator in Poland and Portugal (Frania & Correia, 2022).…”

“…A result below 40T was interpreted as significantly low, and above 60T -as significantly high. The results between them were referred to as medium (average) (Frania & Correia, 2022). At the next stage, only the dimension in which one or the other group of students had a significantly increased level was chosen to compare the use of social media in building relationships.…”

“…At the next stage, only the dimension in which one or the other group of students had a significantly increased level was chosen to compare the use of social media in building relationships. These were competences in terms of skills and readiness to provide emotional support to others (EW), as the Madeira group achieved a high result in this dimension (Frania & Correia, 2022).…”