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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The sampling
was non-random. Two focus group interviews with 29 students
were conducted until the condition of theoretical saturation of
data was met (Strauss and Corbin, 1997). Two of the authors of
this paper (V. K. and T. T.) were moderators of the focus groups.

Methods of data collecting
With regard to the nature of the research problem and to the aim
to explore unique experience of students – future teachers the
method of qualitative focus group was employed. Qualitative
data is authentic, complex, and rich, and provide insight into
phenomenon of interest. A set of open-ended questions was
defined according to the previous research in this area. Group
interactions that arise during the moderated interview bring
dynamics into the process of phenomenon exploring – anything
that is said can be confirmed, supported or disproved in a group
discussion. Data of the focus groups were digitally recorded and
transcribed verbatim.

Methods of data analysis
Data were analyzed by means of grounded theory as proposed by
Strauss and Corbin (1999). Two independent coders (T.T. and
J.T.) analyzed the data to detect as many aspects of studied topic
as possible and also for validity check. Their partial results were
confronted to reach congruent view at the phenomenon. They
used multi-level coding of participants´ statements. In the next
phase central categories and sub-categories were created,
relationships among them were explored and the findings were
included in a model (Miovský, 2006).

3 Results

The analysis of focus groups data showed three categories that
explain how the perspective of students – future teachers about
themselves as researchers develops and what determines it. The
categories include – knowledge and education at the university,
practical experience with basic and action research, and personal
vision.

Overview of key categories and subcategories is given in the
following model (Fig.1). The relationships between the
categories and their definitions are presented in brief below.

Fig. 1 Main categories and subcategories

1 Knowledge and education at the university

quality of university education (theory)

models of the teacher's profession at the

university

complicated language of science and statistics

2 Practical experience with research

models of training teachers in teaching practice

cooperation with the supervisor in a diploma

thesis (trust and engagement)

3 Personal vision

personal objectives

attitude and activity

3.1 Knowledge and education at the university

The idea of students – future teachers about themselves as
researchers is determined primarily by the quality of university
education. Understanding the methodology is important for
students. Students perceive that more attention is given to the
theory and less to the process of applying knowledge.

“Although we knew everything about the methodology, we were
supposed to learn it, but only in theory.”

“The methodology was good. We were prepared theoretically.
We learned about all the research methods. But we did not really
learn how to work with them.”

“For example, I know that there are rules for formulating
hypotheses. But I still have problems creating hypotheses.”

to ensure the anonymity of research participants their identification data were

replaced by a number, it is placed as a superscript at the end of each statement.

Models of the teacher's profession at the university are another
important part of creating the idea of students – future teachers
about themselves as researchers: “The great motivation is, if the
teacher is active, communicative, and open to new things.”

Students also verbalize some deficiencies in the competence to
statistically process their own data: “We have solved
mathematical examples at the statistics lesson. However, I do
not know how to apply it to my research. This is a barrier for
me.”

“It would be better to learn statistics with our own data we have
in diploma theses than to count some fictional examples during
the lesson.”

Research respondents emphasized one more problem. The
language used in the methodology and research studies is often
complicated: “Recently we were reading a research paper and it
was very difficult. It bothers me if the author uses too
complicated language to describe the results.”

“Sometimes the professional language of the teacher is also a
barrier. The supervisor is trying, but there are situations when I
don't understand at all. I don't know what she's talking about.
She can't explain what to do in a clear way. ”

3.2 Practical experience with research

The idea of students – future teachers about themselves as
researchers is determined by their practical experience with
research: “Practical experience is a problem. Already at school,
we should do some action research. Maybe it does not need to be
complete, but at least demonstrative. We had nothing like that
during our teaching practice.”

„Yes, it's true. Educational practice is focused only on learning.
Less attention was dedicated to action research. In the future we
will have to do it. They should prepare us for this.”

Models of the training teachers are another important part of
creating the concept of future teachers about themselves.
Future teachers reported rather poor experience, suggesting
system changes are needed in this area: “If we wanted to teach
something in a different way, something new, the training
teachers disagreed. “

“Teachers gave us simple instructions. This has to be dictated,
explained, and taught. And that is the image of the teacher, when
he is not open to himself, to improve himself, so he will hardly
try to improve something through action research.“

Positive self-image of students is supported by confidence in
their abilities. Trust between the student and the supervisor is
created through their cooperation. An important motivating
element is confidence and encouragement: “The supervisor
trusted me. Recently, she has finished her own research. She
showed me how to do it. I have similar research design, so it
helped me a lot. We collected the data together.”

Effective cooperation between the supervisor and the student has
many aspects. It is important to support the student through his
or her involvement in further research work. It is necessary to
offer the students the opportunity to present the results of their
own work. An example of good practice can be the organization
of student conferences: “The supervisor supported me to attend
the student conference. It helped me. I have gained more
confidence in my ability to conduct research, for now and in the
future.”

Engaging the student in research of his or her supervisor is an
effective method of cooperation between tutor and student.
Publishing results of the research they conducted together can be
very motivating.

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