Abstract
This paper focuses on the topic of self-strenghtening in students of pedagogical majors at Pedagogical Faculty of University of Hradec Králové. In the academic year 2019/2020 a project on pedagogical practice innovation took place.
Students who chose to take part in the project had a chance to experience a different form of pedagogical practice - one where they were supported by their faculty teacher, a mentor, a didactic, and reflective seminars (group sessions of all the students and lecturers that were focused on sharing of the students experience) on a weekly basis. This project lasted for two semesters and thus enabled the students to be in touch with the same faculty teachers and their pupils for the whole time.
The purpose of this project as well as of the research presented in this paper was to show different and innovative ways towards the pedagogical practice that would help the students in the process of self-strenghtening. Self-strenghtening is a term derived from Gestalt psychotherapy and designates a process than enables us to go through difficult life situations using inner and outer resources of support.
The research therefore sought to answer the question of which sources of support offered by the project are perceived by the students as the most supportive, i. e. supporting the process of self-strenghtening during various difficult situation in the pedagogical context. Because we needed as broad a perspective as possible, qualitative methodology was chosen.
Ten students participating in the project were asked to attend three rounds of semi-structured interviews. The first one took place at the beginning of the project, the second after the first semester finished, and third after the second semester and the project as a whole ended.
The data that were obtained were then analyzed and coded using the interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results offer many insights into the way how students perceive their pedagogical practice.
The students perceived the faculty teachers as being the most supportive part of the project. Their relationship with the faculty teacher proved to be a source of both emotional and intellectual support.
However, students and faculty teachers often went through a difficult process until they reached a point of mutual understanding. A big part of this process was ensured by their cooperation with mentors who were perceived as a sort of relationship therapist as well as a guide in pedagogical and didactic questions.
Mentors also visited students' lectures and cooperated with the faculty teacher on the feedback for the student. The reflective seminars were also deeply appreciated by the students as a form of meeting which was perceived to be safe and full of understanding, acceptance and motivating their further growth by sharing with their peers and lecturers.
The results of this (and other) research lead to a birth of new subjects that are designed to help students to go through their practice more smoothly and with a greater sense of self-strenghtening.