Teachers Transformation Role in Distance Learning Conditions

Abstract

A modern society should base its development on investing in the quality of human resources. Teachers are the bearers of change, they have a great responsibility to implement the teaching process,to choose the approach to teaching, which will ultimately affect the students achievements. That is why it is important to invest in the development of teacher competencies. They should be ready to adapt to change, to be the bearers of change themselves, and to change their roles accordingly. It was distance learning during the pandemic that required teachers to take on a new role, leadership style, and a different approach to teaching. Teachers Zoretić, Čižmek Vujnović, and Ilić, conducted research among teachers of higher education institutions, the topic was work in pandemic conditions during the 2020/2021 academic year, and the goal of the research was to show that, in a distance teaching conditions, by increasing the need to apply teachers’ digital competencies, it reduces the needs to apply teachers’ social competencies.

1. Introduction

Investing in the quality of human potential and in knowledge strongly determines the future of humanity. The fact is that the personal and professional development of an individual is significantly affected by the education system, therefore developed countries strive to modernize their education systems to create quality conditions for everyone who joins the world of education (teachers and students).¹ Human capital is the individual property of an individual, and the results of investment through education are visible after a long period. Education plays a fundamental role in personal and social development, so in a dynamic and changing environment, accepting the concept of lifelong learning is a necessity. Therefore, those countries that were not satisfied with the efficiency of their educational systems-initiated reforms, introduced innovations, and adapted to today’s requirements. Current global social, economic, and technological changes have placed new expectations and complex demands on educational institutions regarding stronger support for the development of teacher competencies, through formal education, as part of lifelong learning. Human capital is the property of the individual, and the results of investment through education are visible after a long period. Education plays a fundamental role in personal and social development; therefore, in a dynamic and changing environment, accepting the concept of lifelong learning is a necessity. This is the reason why states, which were not satisfied with the efficiency of their education systems, initiated reforms, introduced innovations, and adapted to modern requirements. Current global social, economic, and technological changes have set new expectations and complex demands on educational institutions regarding stronger support for the development of teacher competencies, through formal education, and as part of lifelong learning.

The spread of knowledge is accelerated, and human ability should enable it to be adopted as successfully as possible. That is why it is necessary to learn how to learn, but also to accept the fact that job security can no longer be guaranteed on the labor market. The level of development of learning competence (“learning how to learn”) affects social inclusion and personal and professional development. This competence is not new in the teaching field and until recently it mainly meant learning how to learn independently from books.

In the twenty-first century, this concept implies the ability to learn from books, newspapers and other printed materials, radio, and with the help of new information media, such as cable or satellite TV and the Internet (includes text, sound, and images). It also includes awareness of one’s own learning process, motivation, self-confidence, knowledge of different learning strategies, criticality, solving work and life problems, and the ability to self-assess the learning process [1]. The teacher has a very important role in the process of education and learning because he participates in the formation of the personality and moral values of those he teaches. He has the role of a change agent and a great responsibility for the entire teaching process, which consists of several phases: pre-planning, planning, organizing, motivating, communicating, and evaluation. The teaching process is complex; therefore, it is important to take care of the quality of teaching, and thus the quality of the teachers work. Also, the teacher should consider the possibilities and ways of learning of the students. The most important student’s attitudes toward learning, as well as self-image, are formed in the early phase of basic education. For this reason, a teacher must have a wide range of teaching competencies, but also human qualities, such as empathy, patience, self-awareness, self-control, and consistency, along with highly developed social skills. Social skills, Goleman, include the ability to create the desired reactions in others and include influence, communication, conflict solving, leadership, encouraging change, creating connections, cooperation, and teamwork skills [2].

Considering the new conditions caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, new challenges in the teaching profession have arisen. The demands that are placed on teachers in these new conditions are very high, and the responsibility for the achieved learning outcomes is also high. In distance learning, the role of the teacher has changed for which it was necessary to adapt the approach to teaching and the methodological framework in a short time. In the European educational context, an important contribution to changing the understanding and approach to the implementation of the teaching process is the establishment of a system of external and internal evaluation of educational institutions, as well as modern knowledge of educational sciences. These empirically based findings have significantly guided the definition of quality standards related to learning outcomes, curriculum planning, and the process of learning, teaching, and evaluation of outcomes within the system of external evaluation of educational institutions [3]. In addition to changing the curriculum, it is also important to adapt the management of the educational institution, which includes several areas: development, service, administration, and finance [4].

The COVID-19 epidemic affected changes in educational processes, and it can be assumed that it accelerated the implementation of some of the strategic goals determined by educational strategies. The fundamental purpose of the teaching profession is the upbringing and education of pupils/students/participants (regardless of the ratio in which upbringing and education/teaching are represented in the teaching process). Although the approach to teaching is an expression of the personality of the teacher himself, the approach of encouraging the discovery of meaning is more acceptable to today’s lifestyle, compared to the approach of information transmitting. With the first approach, the teaching process is focused on forming the student’s experience, which is student-oriented teaching², and with the second approach, the teaching process is focused on the transfer of content, which is teacher-oriented teaching.

Gordana Zoretić, univ. spec. oec., lecturer at the university, and Ondina Čižmek Vujnović, univ. spec. oec., professor advisor in a vocational high school, are supporters of the student-focused teaching approach and apply collaborative learning methods during their work. Due to the new conditions of conducting the teaching process caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were no longer able to organize live classes in the classroom. In these circumstances, their opportunities to apply collaborative learning and direct communication with students (face-to-face) were reduced during classes, where it was not possible to observe the student’s reactions and nonverbal communication. The new situation prompted them to choose the topic they wanted to cover for the 22nd International Scientific and Professional Conference “Accounting and Management”, which was to be held on September 9–10, 2021. They determined the topic of the professional work and decided to conduct research related to teacher functions and competencies, which in the atmosphere of the mentioned epidemic are determined by the digital transformation for distance learning.

The intention was to determine whether and to what extent some of the teacher’s functions have changed due to distance teaching, compared to classical teaching (live, face-to-face in the classroom). Also, this research should have provided guidelines for shaping the teacher’s role and associated functions with desirable competencies, to create an image of a successful teacher in new circumstances. The collection of primary data during the research was carried out using a survey questionnaire that included the following:

1. Assessment of personal competencies required for distance learning (12 questions).

2. The functions that the teacher normally deals with, which are the function of pre-planning (choosing the teaching content of the course - 4 questions), the function of planning the teaching of content (preparation of the teaching program and the teaching plan - 7 questions), the function of organizing the teaching process (conducting the teaching - 10 questions), the function of motivating and communicating during the teaching process (8 questions), and the function of checking the adopted teaching content and achieved learning outcomes (evaluation of student achievement - 7 questions).

Mr.sc. Mladen Ilić joined in conducting the survey, as a lecturer at a university.

2. Competency profile of a successful teacher in distance learning conditions

During the teaching process, the teacher has a significant influence on the development of the student’s competences, so it is very important to take care of the teacher and the development of his competences. The authors Wardoyo, Herdiani, and Sulikah [5] define the competence profile of teachers, which consists of groups of competences: pedagogical, personal, social, and professional. Also, they believe that the teacher’s way of thinking about the profession, the reasons why they should be professionals, and how they should behave and use their knowledge and skills related to their profession can also be included in that competence profile.

In this context, it is important to mention the project Educa-T (emphasis on developing and upgrading of competencies for academic teaching), within the framework of which in 2017 the “Analysis of the situation and activities at higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia” was carried out, with the aim of improving the quality of learning and teaching (available at: http://educa-t.hr/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/recenzija-izvjestaja.pdf). This analysis confirmed the tendency to neglect the training and development of teachers for teaching work due to other obligations and pressures, especially due to the conditions for advancement in the profession, which neglects the teaching aspect. There is also a lack of awareness and knowledge about the complexity of the modern context of learning and teaching, especially student-focused teaching. The Ministry of Science and Education initiated this project, the results of which showed the importance of investing in the quality of learning and teaching, and accordingly the competence profile of teachers in higher education was set, as well as the framework for the systematic development of teacher competences in the Croatian higher education system. Within the framework of the basic competencies listed in this project, the necessity of developing digital competencies was also mentioned, adapted according to [3].

The introduction of new technologies into the teaching process has advantages and disadvantages. New technologies can make teaching and learning in the classroom (classic live teaching and face-to-face) more effective, but also make the student passive, if his activity is focused only on memorizing what was shown and spoken. Teaching and learning at a distance, with the use of digital technology, can facilitate access to knowledge and skills for everyone and everywhere. However, for the individual development of students, especially those who have not yet developed independence in learning and found their own learning style, the teacher’s support is crucial. The teacher’s support prepares them for independent learning, encourages them to research, and find solutions to given problems, thus helping them to create personal attitudes and develop personal responsibility.

In June 2021, teachers Zoretić, G., Čižmek Vujnović, O. and Ilić, M. conducted research among teachers of three higher education institutions in Zagreb, the topic was work in pandemic conditions during the 2020/2021 academic year, and the goal of the research was to show that, in a distance teaching conditions, by increasing the need to apply teachers’ digital competencies, it reduces the needs to apply teachers’ social competencies. 55 teachers participated anonymously in the research, and the structure of the respondents is shown in the following Table 1, edited by Zoretić and Čižmek Vujnović (2021). The results of the research were presented by Zoretić and Čižmek Vujnović at the 22nd International Scientific and Professional Conference “Accounting and Management”“, 9–10 September 2021, and were published in Proceedings, Vol. II. - professional papers in the Proceedings of Libertas University, No. 6, December 2021.

Gender structure (%)		Work experience in the teaching profession structure (regardless of status – employment in the institution, or engagement in the role of an external associate) in %
Male	54,7	Up to 5 years	18,2
Female	45,3	From 6 to 10 years	10,9
		More than 10 years	70,9

Table 1.

Structure of respondents by gender and years of work experience in the teaching profession.

In the first part of the survey, teachers assessed the importance of competences in the conditions of distance learning compared to traditional learning. The selected competencies are communication and related components: oral expression and persuasiveness, written expression, presentation of work, conflict prevention, conflict solving, planning, self-organization, implementation of goals/achievement of learning outcomes, student orientation, initiative, teamwork, and analysis. Competence descriptions are adapted according to [6] the authors classified these competences into groups of competences that include the teacher’s competence profile: personal, social, professional, and methodical.

Communication, as a key competence, can be classified in the group of social competences, as a prerequisite for the fulfillment of personal, professional, and methodical competences. Good knowledge of the professional field is an important prerequisite for the success of the teacher, and in addition, one should possess the already mentioned human qualities and the skill of choosing the right approach in establishing, developing, and maintaining relationships throughout the dynamic teaching process. Student orientation competence, which can be classified in the group of methodical competencies, is particularly emphasized. The teacher designs various activities, which activate the student’s senses for listening, seeing, and creating (making) with hands, in order to facilitate practical experiential learning and long-term memory, which in other words means to make the teaching interesting, dynamic, and effective, in accordance with the student’s needs and expectations. Therefore, in addition to continuous improvement in the professional field, teachers must be trained and continuously improve in the field of psychology and pedagogy, with an emphasis on didactics and methodology. In distance learning conditions, the methodological competence “student orientation” is significantly influenced by the level of development of digital competences. Planning competence is important in the entire teaching process, from beginning to end, and it can be classified as a group of professional, as well as personal competences. It is learned and perfected through practice. It is also necessary for success in the methodological area, for example, for evaluating and planning the duration of an individual activity while using the chosen teaching method. Self-organization is a necessary teacher’s personal and methodical competence. It affects the level of preparation of the teacher for the teaching process, which in other words means that it is important for the implementation of the set learning goals/outcomes. Implementation of set goals/learning outcomes can be classified into the group of professional and methodical competencies.

In distance learning conditions, when teaching methods and appropriate work materials need to be adapted, digital competences are important, but so are initiative (as a personal competence) and teamwork (as a social competence). The teaching process is teamwork, which includes the cooperation of teachers, students, and all others who are directly and indirectly involved in the process. The analysis determines the achieved results in relation to the planned, why there were deviations, what is their significance (positive or negative), and what and how can be improved in the future in the entire teaching process. This competence can be classified into the group of personal and professional, but also methodical. For example, no group of students is completely homogeneous, just as interest in a particular topic is not completely homogeneous, and the motivation of teachers and students is not always at the same level. The interdependence of students and teachers during the lesson is monitored through interest and reactions, and they can change several times, from passive to dynamic cooperation. Table 2 shows the results of the conducted research, edited by Zoretić and Čižmek Vujnović (2021).

Competencies	Group of competences	The importance of distance learning compared to traditional learning (live and face-to-face) in %
		More important	Equally important	Less important
Communicating
oral expression and persuasiveness	social	41,8	56,4	1,8
written expression	social	23,6	63,6	12,7
presentation of work	social	49,1	38,2	12,7
conflict prevention	social	10,9	52,7	36,4
conflict solving	social	10,9	63,6	25,5
Student orientation	methodical	36,4	54,5	9,1
Planning	personal/professional	32,7	67,3	0
Self-organization	personal/professional	36,4	61,8	1,8
Implementation of goals/achievement of learning outcomes	professional/methodical	16,4	81,8	1,8
Initiative	personal	40,0	60,0	0
Teamwork	social	20,0	58,2	21,8
Analysis	personal/professional/methodical	23,6	74,5	1,8

Table 2.

Results of the assessment of the importance of selected teacher competencies.

The teaching process is actually a process of leading and managing the teaching and learning of those who do not know, and they are led (managed) by those who should have developed groups of competences: personal, social, professional, and methodical. The use of the teacher’s competences for the purpose of improving the student’s achievements is also illustrated through the adapted Ferguson and Ramsdell model, shown in Figure 1 [7]. According to this model, three “powerful tools” in the hands of the teacher are crucial for the successful improvement of the student’s achievements: professional knowledge, methodical skills, and social skills. Each of these components is extremely important for the success of the teaching process. It is important that they are mutually coordinated because if one of them is not adequately applied, it will affect the effectiveness of the teaching, as well as the satisfaction of everyone involved in the teaching process.

Figure 1.

Tripod conceptual model.

Through the conducted research, the mutual satisfaction of teachers and students during distance learning was also evaluated, where the difficulties experienced by the respondents are emphasized. According to the answers of the interviewed teachers, the objectivity of the student’s assessment of the teacher’s work and commitment (answered by 56.4% of the respondents), the possibility of expressing the teacher’s expertise and knowledge (answered by 52.7% of the respondents), the possibility of fulfilling the teacher’s expectations in a professional sense during distance learning (answered by 69.1% of respondents), and self-assessment of teacher work during distance learning (answered by 50.9% of respondents) was difficult.

The teaching process is two-way, it is a constant interaction between teacher and student, the goal of which is mutual satisfaction. Unfortunately, according to the results of the survey, some of the components of this interaction were missing in distance learning. Therefore, the respondents’ satisfaction during such classes was reduced. In this context, the teacher’s task is to continuously invest efforts in the development of their own competences, especially social ones, with the aim of achieving mutual trust and a positive influence on formatting the student’s behavior.

3. Application of teacher management functions as a challenge in the conditions of distance learning

Teachers, as initiators and creators of changes in educational practice, must be an example of the change they want to see in their students. Therefore, only when they really realize the necessity of improving personal and professional development, when they start living and working in accordance with the principles of the modern approach to “student-oriented teaching”, then they will be able to influence the development, change, and improvement of the teaching process. Managing the teaching process requires making quick and efficient decisions in the new circumstances caused by the COVID-19 epidemic (distance learning conditions). A teacher of a higher education institution is expected to successfully combine and develop managerial knowledge and skills, such as technical/professional, social, and strategic/conceptual. Conceptual skills include the ability to coordinate, direct, organize and supervise existing activities, to see a big picture, analyze the environment, and making solutions for the purpose of quick and successful adaptation to changes. Acceptance of changes in the educational institution is expected not only from teachers but also from all participants who are directly or indirectly involved in the teaching process. Many see a good educational institution as a place where students like to stay, where the climate is stimulating and encouraging, and the physical environment supports a sense of comfort (e.g. availability of necessary equipment, lighting, ventilation, heating, arrangement of rooms and furniture .). Therefore, it is necessary to encourage all those who are interested in improving the teaching process to become involved in the structured care of the quality of the educational institution.

The use of ICT in work requires the acquisition and continuous improvement of digital competences. In distance learning conditions, this improvement process also affects the development of teachers’ management functions in the preparation, organization, and conduct of classes: pre-planning/selection of teaching content; teaching planning; preparation of the curriculum; organizing the teaching process; leading – motivating and communicating; and valuation. In this context, appropriate changes are necessary within each teaching function. As part of the conducted research, the teachers evaluated the resulting changes in individual elements in the performance of teaching functions.

Changes within the teaching function “pre-planning/selection of teaching content” are reflected in the following elements: technical and content adaptation and theoretical and practical part of the course content. For example, according to the results of the survey, before the start of distance learning, 47.3% of the surveyed teachers stated that they would consult with colleagues who have experience working remotely regarding the use of digital tools, and 58.2% of the surveyed partially adapted the content of the course. Even 63.6% of the respondents did not change the proportion of the practical form of teaching as part of their course, but instead allowed the students to process it independently with consultation with the teacher. Changes within the teaching function “teaching planning/preparation of the teaching program and curriculum” are reflected in the following elements: goals and outcomes of learning and teaching; contents to be taught; teaching strategies, methods, forms and tools that will be used; activities that students should perform, tasks for evaluating students’ achievements and progress . For example, 87.3% of the surveyed teachers answered that the educational institutions where they work provided them all forms of help in using new technologies for distance learning (written instructions, organized workshops, and availability of technical support by call center). Due to distance learning, 50.9% of the surveyed teachers had to upgrade their computers, most of the surveyed planned to adapt the teaching methodology, and 52.7% of them planned to introduce other forms of collaborative learning. Changes within the teaching function “organizing the teaching process” are reflected in the following elements: structuring the time allocated for teaching; prediction of teaching methods; creation of an interactive working atmosphere and preconditions for independent work of students, their active involvement, cooperation and free presentation of their ideas, opinions, and examples. For example, distance learning requires working in conditions of reduced duration of the lesson, less than 45 minutes, and is usually organized in block classes. It is interesting that this kind of work is good for 61.8% of the surveyed teachers, who immediately successfully adapted to it, but 52.7% of the surveyed agree that remote teaching requires more time to prepare teaching content, and 69.1% of them does not agree with the fact that during distance learning they use the time allocated for teaching better than during traditional learning. Regarding the possibility of applying teaching methods during distance learning, 74.5% of respondents believe that they can not apply all teaching methods equally as during traditional learning, while 78.2% of them believe that it is difficult for them to monitor students’ activities in distance learning conditions. Changes in the framework of the teaching function “leading – motivating and communicating” are manifested in the following elements: the application of social competences of teachers (through, for example, setting challenging goals aligned with the assessed capabilities of students); designing tasks for students in accordance with their specific interests; consideration of their remarks and suggestions related to the improvement of teaching; and the possibility of empathic communication between teachers and students and their mutual enthusiasm during distance learning. For example, 52.7% of the surveyed teachers believe that distance learning reduces their ability to set challenging goals for students, 50.9% of the surveyed teachers believe that when designing assignments, they were not able to fully consider the specific interests of students, and 78.2% of the surveyed teachers claim that during distance learning students are less involved and participate less often than during traditional learning. The reduced possibility of applying social competences during distance learning also affected the reduction of empathy, that is, mutual enthusiasm in interactive communication. 78.2% of the respondents agree with this, also 92.7% of them stated that they miss live interacting with students (in the classroom). Changes within the teaching function “evaluation” are manifested in the following elements: evaluation of student activities or the results of activities in the teaching process; monitoring of their interests, independence, creativity, and responsibility expressed in their activities; and determination of the achieved level of student competencies in accordance with certain learning outcomes. Based on the results of the survey, it can be concluded that during distance learning, the entire evaluation process is extremely difficult. Although 56.4% of the surveyed teachers introduced new methods of checking the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills, 61.8% of them believe that distance learning does not allow them to perform a high-quality and comprehensive check of the acquired knowledge and developed skills of students, nor a high-quality assessment of the student’s progress (60% of respondents). Also, during the evaluation, teachers should pay special attention to the objective assessment of student achievements. However, it is obvious that in the conditions of distance learning, according to the opinion of 63.6% of the surveyed teachers, the knowledge and skills of students cannot be objectively assessed.

From all of the above, it can be concluded that the introduction of distance learning started the process of changes in the field of implementation of teaching functions. But, unfortunately, in practice, in distance learning conditions, due to the intensive application of digital competences, the successful application of social competences did not come to the fore. It is obvious that teachers still need a longer period to fully adapt to the changes, to successfully focus on the stronger development of student competencies, such as critical and argumentative reflection, research and problem-solving, and responsible and independent preparation and management of projects.

In the following period, some other research in this area was carried out, which confirmed most of the obtained results of the conducted research. For example, a comprehensive and more extensive research entitled “university teachers and the pandemic: academic and psychological challenges” was conducted by the Agency for Science and Higher Education, in cooperation with the University Computing Center of the University of Zagreb and the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Rijeka, and the results were presented on March 15, 2022, in Zagreb. A summary of the presentation is available at Predstavljeni rezultati istraživanja "Visokoškolski nastavnici i pandemija" (azvo.hr) and the full results of the research are available at Visokoškolski_nastavnici_i_pandemija_akademski_i_psihološki_izazovi_AZVO_Srce_UNIRI.pdf,

A significant progress in research into the development of digital competences of teachers was also made within the framework of the European project coordinated by the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, entitled DIGI4Teach (“Challenges and practices of teaching economic disciplines in the era of digitalization”), at the end of 2021. The extensive results of this research were published in a special issue of the Business Systems Research magazine, entitled “digitalization in the teaching of economic disciplines: past, present, and future”. In the published works, the influence of digitization in the teaching of economic disciplines in higher education and secondary schools was analyzed and presented. A survey was conducted among students and teachers in four partner countries (Croatia, Germany, Poland, and Serbia) on the use of digital technologies in teaching, where the advantages and disadvantages of their application in teaching were primarily highlighted. In this special edition, emphasis is placed on digital competences, quality of e-learning, e-exams, digital tools, gamification, and digital and mobile technologies used in the teaching process in the field of economics and business, adapted according to [8].

4. The transformational role of the teacher in managing the distance learning process

The teaching process is a series of mutual activities of teachers and students during its duration, aimed at achieving learning outcomes. In accordance with the developmental changes in the teaching process, the role of the teacher also changed. The teacher leads and directs the teaching process in which the student, with his support, explores and builds his own knowledge. In this context, the teacher needs a good “formula” for the effective organization of the teaching process, which largely depends on his organizational and leadership competencies.

According to Brajša [9], in addition to knowledge and expertise, a teacher must have all the characteristics of a quality and successful leader. Various theories about leadership styles in teaching confirm the fact that leadership is a very complex and comprehensive phenomenon, and each teacher, by gaining experience, builds his own leadership style. For leadership to be as effective as possible, it should rely to a large extent on the cooperation of teachers and students. For a quality teacher to manage students “liberally”, first, it is necessary to create a quality atmosphere, include motivation, quality communication, and joint formation of goals. It is considered that the process of leadership is an influence on one or more people, with the aim of changing their point of view or behavior. Teachers can choose whether to influence students based on fear or trust [10].

During student-oriented teaching, teacher leadership relies heavily on cooperation and trust, where the teacher strives to create a motivational atmosphere and partnership relations with students. In a theoretical and practical sense, several styles of leadership can be distinguished, from autocratic, which completely ignores democracy in decision-making, to democratic, in which everyone participates in the decision-making process and in which the opinion of everyone is respected [11]. Therefore, about the use of authority in teaching, four styles of leadership in the teaching process are distinguished: autocratic, democratic, emotional, and laissez-faire, adapted from [12].

Numerous experts have dealt with the topic of the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between leadership style and the effectiveness of the teaching process. The fact that emerges is that the teacher, by choosing the appropriate leadership style, simultaneously chooses the behavior that will influence the relations with students, the working atmosphere, as well as the realization of the set learning outcomes. Therefore, choosing the right leadership style is of key importance for the success of the teaching process, and largely depends on the teacher’s personality, the characteristics of the student group and the situation in which the teaching process is carried out. For example, the dominant personality traits of teachers such as consistency, positivity, cordiality, sincerity, emotional stability, and communicativeness will significantly influence the behavior of students. However, the style of leadership will certainly depend on whether they are younger students, who have chosen regular studies, or older students, who are studying while working. Also, the conditions for live learning in a traditional classroom and distance learning are not the same, and each of these situations will require appropriate styles of teacher leadership (teacher roles). For example, according to the results of the research, distance learning encouraged teachers to make changes. 72.7% of the surveyed teachers saw themselves in a motivator role during live learning in a traditional classroom, 9.1% in a leadership role, and 18.2% in an authoritative role. In the new distance learning conditions, 23.6% of the surveyed teachers aspire to an authoritative role, 20% to a managerial role, and 56.4% of the surveyed teachers aspire to student-oriented teaching and a motivating role. The teacher’s role in teaching and the influence on formatting the student’s role after teaching is determined in accordance with the teacher’s personality and his approach to teaching. This is shown in Table 3.

	Teacher-oriented teaching, adapted from [1, 13, 14, 15]	Student-oriented teaching, adapted from [1, 13, 14, 15]
Higher education teaching approach according to Ramsden, P.– description, adapted from [1, 13, 14, 15]	Teaching as transfer of information - teaching focused on content transfer; one-way transfer of knowledge, teaching is a lecturer-reactive approach.	Teaching is like encouraging the discovery of meaning, it is aimed at formatting the student’s experience; the teaching content is important, but an active attitude toward learning and the possibility of applying the content is more important – a proactive approach.
The role of the teacher in teaching	The teacher is superior to students, knows the professional field well and is in the centre of attention, uses rewards and punishments to motivate students, uses his authority, and emphasizes his relationship with students – authoritative and transactional role.	The teacher encourages the student to independently create knowledge and meaning, tries to recognize and remove obstacles in understanding the content by giving the student clear and complete corrective remarks/feedback with encouragement and motivation; believes that one learns from mistakes, supports the position that he is a partner with the students (the student is in the center of attention); uses charisma and enthusiasm to motivate students to new ideas and solutions, emphasizes values, ideals, morals, and needs of students – motivational and transformational role.
Student’s role after teaching	During classes, students are passive recipients, focused on consuming content and a lot of facts, and are responsible for their success/failure; they need encouragement and control from outside; this approach creates an expert with a lot of knowledge in the professional field, who routinely performs the work.	This approach creates an expert capable of solving problems in the professional field, providing creative ideas and solutions, and who is ready for lifelong learning.

Table 3.

Higher education teaching approaches.

As can be seen from Table 3, there is a difference between the transactional and transformational roles of the teacher. According to Bass [14], in the first role, the teacher bases his behavior toward students on a transaction that takes place so that the teacher explains to his students what is expected of them in terms of learning and the realization of assigned tasks, and for the completed task, the student receives a kind of compensation (reward or punishment), depending on whether the task was completed or not. A teacher who manages the teaching process in a transformational sense is focused on achieving positive changes in students. In doing so, he uses key tools such as inspiration, enthusiasm, empathy, charisma, and flexibility. The tendency to adapt to new situations, which is characteristic of this role, is very important in accepting the changes that have arisen in the conditions of distance learning caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, in these new conditions, one should strive more for a transformational role, which is characterized by multidirectional communication, and in which, with great confidence, students are offered content that they should independently prepare and creatively present using the offered tools, while creating new ideas and solutions. For this reason, it is particularly important that the teacher dedicates himself to self-motivation to work with students, that teaching is always a challenge and an opportunity to stimulate the personal and professional development of the students, and an opportunity to create quality interpersonal relationships, from which new experts will emerge, who can create new values and are ready for lifelong learning.

How do teachers approach the learning process, how do they create the teaching process, are they guided by the principles of imparting or creating knowledge, and do they apply approaches that engage and motivate students, these are all issues that directly affect learning outcomes and the development of competencies for all participants in the teaching process [16].

5. Conclusion

Modernization of the education system is not possible if there is no investment in the use of ICT, and all of this would not be possible without the professional development of teachers, which implies the development of their competencies (digital and other). The balance between teacher competencies, the continuous strengthening of personal and social competencies, as well as the improvement of professional and methodical competencies, will significantly affect the overall development and well-being of students. In the new conditions of distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to the new possibilities of communicating with students, the need to invest in the development of digital competences of teachers dominates. According to the results of the research, it is evident that in distance learning, due to the intensive use of ICT, the use of social competences is difficult, and that there is a need to achieve balance in the application of these competencies. Prerequisites for the development of the teacher’s motivational role and quality interaction with students have been made difficult, and the fulfillment of the teacher’s professional expectations in distance learning is largely impossible. Therefore, it would be useful for teachers, to continue applying some of the methods of collaborative learning, to increasingly master new communication skills with digital tools. But it certainly requires changes in the implementation of teacher management functions.

To create preconditions for more intensive application of social competences, changes are needed, both in the style of teacher leadership and in the dominance of his role in the teaching process. In this context, the challenges of teachers in the conditions of distance learning are to encourage self-motivation for proactive communication with students, as well as to continuously encourage the student’s personal and professional development. Also, there is a need for a motivating role or transformational role of the teacher, which is exclusively focused on the needs of the students, which has a more direct impact on the learning outcomes, but also on the formation of the student’s attitude toward learning and education. The teacher is autonomous in the choice of methods he applies in the teaching process, he is its moderator and leader and accepts responsibility for achieving learning outcomes. Therefore, in a modern teaching approach, hybrid teaching would be a good choice because elements of classical teaching (classroom teaching) and distance teaching elements (use of digital tools) are combined. In this, the teacher needs a lot of support from the educational system, but also from the whole society, which will ultimately be reflected in the willingness of students to enter the labor market independently and responsibly after completing their education.