TEACHERS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ITS BENEFITS FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

Self-concept, understood as an impression or idea one has about oneself, represents a significant precondition for the professional improvement of teachers, as well as for the advancement of teaching itself and students' development of their own positive self-concept. This research aimed to examine the idea of self-concept with the purpose of determining the manner in which primary and secondary school teachers perceive themselves. The factors to be analyzed in relation to the variables, work experience and pay satisfaction, were defined by means of the scale of estimates and factor analysis. The obtained results showed that accepting oneself, self-improvement, self-satisfaction and job satisfaction, as well as the initiative and openness to change varied depending on work experience and pay satisfaction. Work experience, not pay satisfaction, proved to have an impact on the teachers' perception of the relationship with their colleagues, whereas the perception of personal and teaching qualities did not depend on the aforementioned variables.