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Social and Communication Competences of Students – Future Teachers

Numerous studies have shown that teachers significantly shape student's learning context. Socially and emotionally competent teachers tend to develop supportive and encouraging relationship with their students by promoting intrinsic motivation, focusing on student's strengths and abilities, mediating through conflict situations and encouraging appropriate communication and prosocial behaviour. Teachers with good communication skills will create a more successful teaching and learning ambience for the students, and without communication, the teaching and learning process will not take place. Educators, parents and public today recognize the need for an educational agenda to improve academic performance, but also to enhance students' social and communicational competence. The aim of the present study was to examine social and communication competence of the students of educational sciences and teacher education at the University of Zagreb Department Of Croatian Studies. As part of the most important aspects of the future educational work, the participants pointed out independence at work, the awareness that they would contribute to the future of the society and the awareness that they play a useful role in society. Participants also expressed optimism about their communication skills with students, planning and organizing teaching process and maintaining discipline, and to some less extent their competences for successful cooperation with students’ parents. Results were discussed in terms of possibilities to contribute to future teachers’ education.


Introduction
Quality, expertise and pedagogical competencies of teachers significantly determine the level of educational achievement of the students, so future teacher education is an important aspect of education policy of each country. Educational systems in European countries differ in many specificities, but what they all have in common is a strong tendency for harmonization (Vidović, Vlahović-Štetić, Pavin, Rijavec, Miljević-Riđički and Žižak, 2005).
Studies of perception of the students' needs emphasize the need for social and communication competencies development; the skills of cooperation with students, parents and other participants of the educational process, while the opinion polls of high school teachers indicate the need for quality fundamental psycho-pedagogical training and methodology with the purpose of preparing to face real and concrete situations and problems.
The requirement for educational work with students is formal pedagogical-psychological-didactic-methodical education, in other words, acquired pedagogical competencies. Individual characteristics of the educational process, such as teaching practice, monitoring and evaluating students' obligations and further professional training, are also regulated by specific regulations. In addition to professional-pedagogical alterations and new trends, there is an increasing need for systematic professional training of teachers in the field of information-communication technologies and the corresponding methods.
In order for teachers to do their job successfully, their education must be in line with the expectations of practice. Building a knowledge-based society is based on the quality and continuous improvement of the system of education and science, the meaning recognized by the most developed states, and education and science were proclaimed as the basis of development (Zrno, 2012). Requirements of the modern educational system are focused on the continuous development of pedagogical competencies: the teacher should be communicative, develop informatic literacy; it is necessary to continuously evaluate their own level of competence, and to develop personal emotional and social adaptation at the same time (Ninčević, 2013). Teacher takes new tasks and appears in a new role, rarely following given concepts and increasingly using reflective practice and the exploratory, critical and creative situational approach (Sučević, Cvjetičanin & Sakač, 2011).
Therefore we have examined students' perceptions of the teaching profession of competencies that are important for teaching, with the purpose of facilitating assessment of the area that should be specifically emphasized in teacher education, in the opinion of those participants directly involved in educational process. In the present study students of teaching studies were asked about importance of competencies for quality teaching and on the quality of the education in which they participate or have participated. Participants were students of University of Zagreb.

Methodology Participants
Participants in the present study were students of teaching studies whose Master's Programs were in Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Pedagogy, Latin, History, Croatology, Croatian language and literature and Religious science. A total of 201 students of the University of Zagreb participated in the study. Their age ranged from 19 to 28 years (M=24.1). Seventy-two percent of the participants were female and twenty-eight percent male participants. The selection of participants was based on willingness to participate in the research.

Instrument and procedure
Questionnaire used in the present study was Pedagogical competence profile of students. Participants assessed their personal level of specific pedagogical competences. Demographic questions examined age, gender, college, study and study year. The study was conducted by the method of online surveys. The paper used empirical results obtained by selfassessment. Participants were asked to assess the importance of specific aspects of teaching profession. They assessed the importance of individual knowledge and skills by evaluating their agreements with a total of 10 statements on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 was completely irrelevant and 5 was absolutely important. As shown in Table 1, students assessed independence in work, awareness of doing good for the future of society as well as making a useful role in society as most important. Salary and social status were assessed as least important aspects of work.