European Journal of Contemporary Education

390-400

Authors: Janka Majherová, Václav Králík

In the training of future informatics teachers the students obtain experience with different methods of programming. As well, the students become familiar with programming by using the robotic system Lego Mindstorms. However, the small number of Lego systems available is a limiting factor for the teaching process. Use of virtual robotic environments seems to be a suitable alternative for dealing with an insufficient quantity of hardware tools. The resulting programs are created and tested in the virtual laboratory and can be subsequently implemented into a real robot model. In such cases, teaching no longer depends on the available number of hardware kits and the form of teaching can be changed from group to individual. This paper describes our experiences with students’ learning with the robotic system Lego Mindstorms, programming environments Bricx and virtual educational environment ROBOTC. One approach to making teaching programming language attractive is the use of robotic kits and virtual environments in the classroom.

414-431

Authors: Seyedeh Zahra Aboalhasani Kumleh, Fereydon Rahnamay Roodposhti, Ahmad Shahvarani, Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi

In this paper, lower-order mathematical thinking skills within finance were studied from the viewpoint of financial employees in the Iranian Bank of Industry and Mine. To conduct this research, a questionnaire was developed after reviewing lower-order mathematical thinking skills in finance. In accordance with the revised Bloom’s taxonomy, the skills considered in the questionnaire were “remembering mathematics in finance”, “understanding mathematics in finance”, and “applying mathematics in finance”. In order to develop the questionnaire, we conducted interviews with employees and scholars, then a suitable sample familiar with mathematics and finance, consisting of 141 bankemployees, was studied. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Our findings show a hierarchical relationship between the first three mathematical thinking skills in finance, which confirms the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. In addition, the attitudes of participants were positive concerning the importance of these skills. Participants believed that, in order to achieve proper functioning, it is essential to improve the skills of financial employees. The results were analysed with a T-test and ANOVA. This showed that the gender, position, experience, department, degree, and field of study of participants did not affect their attitudes. This research indicates that, for the successful utilisation of skills, it is essential to form an effective relationship between mathematical science and its practical application in the banking world. It is recommended to hold on-the-job training courses for financial employees in banks to empower them to use their computational skills.

448-460

Authors: Robabeh Puran, Mohamad Hasan Behzadi, Ahmad Shahvarani, Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi

The purpose of this article is to identify the factors which affect students’ creative thinking in problem solving. The research which was performed was quasi-experimental. It used one experimental group and two control groups from three second-grade high school classes. They received either traditional, active or heuristic problem-solving training. In the traditional method, no teaching aids were used, and the material was taught traditionally. In the active method, 34 students were trained using teaching aids, such as coloured balls, and handicrafts, such as shirts and pants. They were trained to use the teaching aids in order to solve problems. In the heuristic method, the researcher introduced problems which the students thought about. After a few sessions, I commenced teaching the procedures — in each session, two heuristics were introduced. They learned to use these strategies to solve problems. Creativity and mathematics tests were given to the students, both before and after they received training in problem-solving. The findings show that parents’ education (but not gender) and parents’ job type affected students’ ability to think creatively. Students’ creative thinking was improved by active training, but not by the heuristic or traditional methods.

479-496

Authors: Yesen Bidaybekov, Guldina Kamalova, Bektas Bostanov, Indira Salgozha

Information competency is one of the essential qualities of a person living in the information age. It includes skills in information handling in both educational domains and the outside world, as well as readiness and capability to use modern information and communication technologies when involved in various types of information activities. Building and developing information competency in students during teaching and upbringing is one of the primary goals of education. This article describes possible ways of developing it in students within the framework of supplementary education when studying the mathematical heritage of Al-Farabi, one of the greatest scientists of the early Middle Ages, whose fundamental studies made a significant contribution to development of world science. It has been proven that integrated extracurricular classes in geometry and information science are one of the most useful patterns of teaching the scientist's heritage within the framework of supplementary school education. The article highlights the main components of information competency for the most effective organisation of its development process, provides geometric construction problems from the scientist's mathematical heritage, tasks related to his biography and scientific activities, as well as up-to-date educational and information and communication technologies to facilitate the most effective development of information competency in students.

516-529

Authors: Alexander Fedorov , Anastasia Levitskaya,Olga Gorbatkova, Anvar M. Mamadaliev

The "thaw period" films (1956–1968) on the school/university topic can be conditionally divided into two stages: early (1956–1963) and late "thaw" (1964–1968), although, naturally, there was a somewhat diffusion between these periods. The "thaw" audiovisual texts about school and university life, according to the authorities, were to support the main course of the state policy in the educational and socio-cultural spheres of the time, that is, to show that the Soviet education and culture system is being reformed: 1) the educational process is out of the strict Stalin's framework (while retaining general communist landmarks and a rigid anti-religious orientation); 2) the relationship between teachers and students is becoming more democratic, to some extent, creative, based on the experience of Soviet educators / innovators of the 1920s; 3) there are problem zones at school and university (for example, the taboo was removed from the previous interpretation of a Soviet teacher's image as almost an ideal representative of the most educated part of the people). The first "thaw" stage was more or less characterized by a romantic reliance on the pedagogical experience of revolutionary Soviet pedagogy of the 1920s and the creation of touching lyrical stories, where, despite minor difficulties, the harmony of good teachers and, sometimes, flawed and misled at the beginning, but later good students, won. In the course of the second stage of the "thaw", new tendencies began to manifest themselves more often: on the one hand, the crisis, the disappointment and fatigue on the part of teachers, and on the other, the pragmatic cynicism of students.

542-556

Authors: Yusuf İnandi, Meryem Evşen Gün, Fahrettin Gılıç

The purpose of the study is to reveal the relationship between women teachers’ career barriers and their organizational silence, and also whether career barriers predict their silence. Study group is comprised of 522 teachers working at elementary and high schools in central districts of Mersin. In this descriptive study, data were collected through “Women Employees Career Barriers Scale” (WECBS) and “Organizational Silence Scale” (OSS). It is understood according to research results that there is a medium level relationship between women teachers’ career barriers and their organizational silence. Furthermore, women teachers’ career barriers are a significant predictor on dimensions of organizational silence.

565-573

Authors: Tatyana A. Naumova, Nadezhda I. Vytovtova, Nicholas W. Mitiukov, Teymur E. Zulfugarzade

The present paper represents the results of the studies done at the Udmurt State University with assistance of the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Fund (project 14-16-18004). In the course of studies e-learning educational methods for the students with special educational needs were developed, approved and implemented in educational process. Features of training and educational activity motivation, as well as attention span, time history of working efficiency and interpersonal relations, peculiar properties of logical thinking and coping behavior of the group of the students of "Law" department were revealed in the process of stating experiment.On the basis of psychology and educational features of the group under study, we developed the integrated educational methods of training matching the features of disabled students. The technology includes both traditional and innovative methods of training. During the pedagogical experiment it was proved that application of active methods of training in educational process increases educational motivation makes active informative activity and improves the interpersonal relations that positively influences the process of professional adaptation in modern society. The results received during the experiment can be used by the teachers realizing e-learning of disabled students, managers of educational sphere organizing e-learning of students.

586-592

Authors: Pavol Tišliar

This paper presents an outline of the history and the current orientation of informal learning in museums, museum pedagogy. This is the result of a lengthy process over the last two centuries, which became particularly intensive from the 1960s, in which museums looked for deeper ways to communicate with visitors, starting from basic presentation activity with occasional spoken commentaries. From this, modern museums have developed specialised ways of working with different age groups of visitors, which can be referred to collectively as museum pedagogy and museum education. These activities not only strengthen the experience of museum exhibits and exhibitions but also allow information to be communicated using collection items in a playful way, through informal learning. Museums’ current focus on communication and working with visitors owes much to the long development of heritage institutions, the stabilisation of their position in cultural and social systems, in cultural policy and strategy and the overall significance of the collections of museums and galleries for our modern knowledge societies. The aim of this paper is to outline the historical development and direction of museums’ educational activities to the present.

604-611

Authors: Murat Yalman, Bulent Basaran, Selahattin Gonen

Also, e-learning environments, which integrate technology into education, have now become widespread and popular. Examining how students use this education management system is fairly important for the success of this system, and any possible results to be obtained are significant. For this purpose, the present study was conducted with 348 students attending an education faculty. In the study, the courses of ‘Introduction to Computer’ found in their curriculum were taught to the students for two academic terms with the e-learning management system. At the end of the academic year, a questionnaire was applied to the future pre-service teachers to determine their levels of satisfaction with e-learning. The results revealed no significant difference in the preservice teachers’ levels of satisfaction with e-learning in terms of their gender, their education program and their department. In addition, it was revealed out that there was a significant difference at the significance level of p<.05 between their levels of satisfaction with e-learning and their levels of knowledge of Internet technologies It was found out that the students’ mean score regarding their satisfaction with e-learning was calculated as =3.80, which referred to “I don’t agree”. The students thought that teaching a course with this method is important for learning new education management systems, and the students who were introduced to technology during their university education, reported that this education should be given following their university education.

196-209

Authors: Cenk Akay

The utilization of educational technologies in class applications and their reflections on the education have not reached to desired levels today; in other words, there are problems in the integration of technology into teaching and using technology in conjunction with the knowledge of subject field and pedagogy. The aim of this research is to facilitate the jewelry technology pre-service teachers’ integration of technology with pedagogy and content through video materials. The study was designed in a qualitative dimension and a pedagogical action research model was used. An open-ended questions form was developed as a qualitative data collection tool to be used in the process of action research. The study group consisted of 77 jewelry technology pre-service teachers of the classroom where the researcher lectured Instructional Technologies course in a state university. The following conclusions were reached after the application according to the pre-service teachers, the use of ob-videos; may have a positive effect on pedagogical applications in the process of teaching-learning, may make pedagogical applications more entertaining and interesting in the process of teaching-learning and may help technology integration into the knowledge of content and pedagogy in the process of teaching-learning.

221-228

Authors: Eser Çeker, Fezile Özdamlı

What “gamification” means and what it doesn’t has been addressed and described by many researchers from a variety of different perspectives in the past. Similarities and differences of the methods between “gamification” and “games” (as well as “gamification” and “game based learning”) have also been look upon up until now. However, “gamification” and “game” terms, are still being mentioned as substitutes for one another sometimes in many research articles. Although a mixture of methods are being used nowadays in the whole learning process (e.g. flipped learning together with gamification, mobile learning and infographics etc.), naming the “whole” learning methodology being used in an educational project/research only as “gamification” (or only as a game/GBL) – is yet another common issue that may lead us to misunderstand the gamification concept. These situations may be regarded as problematic issues in understanding the concept of gamification correctly. The number of educators and researchers keeps increasing in the world which are researching and trying to benefit from gamification applications in a variety of disciplines. Some of these disciplines (such as chemistry, health etc.) seems to be more benefitting and being more successful than others in their project states. Evaluating the level of success in various dimensions of learning may also differ from one to another largely in case of mixed learning methods being used in the research. Thus, in cases of using gamification method as well with others in a mixed manner of methods, the low level of success achieved may have been affected by a number of reasons. These reasons and conclusions have oriented the author to establish a research on articles and web resources on “gamificaiton” and its differentiations from “games” and “game-based learning” concepts. The intension is to better understand “gamification”, try contribute in drawing a clearer view of “gamification” for educators and researchers who are in the beginning stages of gamification/gamifying applications topic, or are planning to make use of them in the near future. With this perspective, a literature review was done, summerizing and commenting on the results which are reflected to this article aiming to clarify what “gamification” is, how it differs from “games” and “game-based learning”, familiarize with some successful gamification applications of today (in the education sector), underline how and why it is spreading in various application areas (including education) today and comment on the future of “gamification use”.

240-253

Authors: Arturo García-Santillán, Carlos Rojas-Kramer, Elena Moreno-García, Jesica Ramos-Hernández

The aim of this study was to determine the variables that explain the anxiety towards mathematics in college students. For this purpose, we used the scale RMARS that integrate 25 items. The sample is non-probabilistic by convenience and the questionnaire was applied to 100 student’s enrollment in the Instituto Tecnológico de Veracruz (ITVER). Exploratory factorial analysis with component extraction was used for data measurement. The internal consistency of the test was α=0.911. The Bartlett’s test of Sphericity with KMO (0.857), chi-square test X2 with 276 df(1404.084) and significance p < 0.000 as well as the values of MSA tending to 1, show a significant result that allow us reject null hypothesis Ho. The percentage of the 65.62% variance is explained by five components. The result shows that anxiety in the ITVER students is explained by a five factors model and not by the tridimensional model as stated by Richardson y Suinn.

264-279

Authors: Cigdem Hursen, Funda Gezer Fasli

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the efficiency of scenario based learning and reflective learning approaches in teacher education. The impact of applications of scenario based learning and reflective learning on prospective teachers’ academic achievement and views regarding application and professional self-competence perceptions are also searched. This research is both qualitative and quantitative oriented and is conducted with two different groups: one is scenario based learning group and the other one is reflective learning group. Besides, the research is carried out with 62 prospective teachers who take “Teaching Practice” course. The group of reflective learning is composed of 30 prospective teachers whereas the scenario based learning group is composed of 32 prospective teachers. The applications which are lasted 12 weeks are supported with one of the educational social networks called edmodo. The findings of the research revealed that the scenario based learning is more effective than reflective learning in terms of prospective teachers’ academic achievement. However, there is no significant difference found in the professional self-competence perceptions of both scenario based learning group and reflective learning group.

289-296

Authors: Romualdas K. Malinauskas, Dalius R. Juodsnukis

Research aim was to analyze peculiarities of education of social responsibility among football sports school students. We hypothesized that after the educational program sport school students will have more developed social responsibility. The total sample comprised 52 male students.Experimental group consisted of 26 and the control group of 26 football sports school students. Statistical analyses revealed that after educational program experimental group had significantly higher scores of social responsibility components: “respect” and “caring and helping”. Overall results showed significant higher effects on social responsibility in experimental group and no significant effects in control group.

308-316

Authors: Fatih Saltan

The aim of this study is to investigate whether, and if so how, online case-based learning influence pre-service classroom teachers’ self-confidence on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). To achieve the goal, a control group pretest–posttest quasi experimental design was used. Participants of the study consisted of 160 pre-service classroom teachers studying in a public university. There were two classes which were randomly assigned to experimental (n=78) and control (n=82) groups. The eight video cases were developed by the researchers based on an analysis of relevant learning content and real stories. During 10 weeks only pre-service teachers in the treatment group were participated in an online case-based learning environment and investigate video cases. An “Academic Motivation Scale” consisting of 20 Likert-type questions was used to measure pre-service teachers’ academic motivation. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA statistical analysis with SPSS 20 packet program. The results showed that using online case-method significantly improved TCK and TK subdomains. However, pre-service classroom teachers’ self-confidence on technological pedagogical content knowledge did not improve significantly.

328-340

Authors: Alexandra A. Vorozhbitova, Galina M. Konovalova, Tatiana N. Ogneva, Natalia Y. Chekulaeva

Drawing on the function of Russian as a state language the paper proposes a concept of continuous linguisticrhetorical (LR) education perceived as a means of optimizing language policy in Russian multinational regions. LR education as an innovative pedagogical system shapes a learner’s readiness for self-projection as a strong linguistic personality of a dialogical, democratic, multicultural type transformed into a professional linguistic personality at the higher school level. From the standpoint of parity and mutual complementarity of languages in the context of national-Russian bilingualism and multilingualism the article outlines principles of bi (poly) linguistic education. The latter contributes to the formation of substructures of a learner’s "primary" and "secondary" linguistic personalities on the complex basis of the integral LR competence of a mixed type with a successive formation of a learner as an active and conscientious subject of the discursive processes of the 21st century Russian multiethnic socio-cultural and educational space at all educational levels. From the process-dynamic perspective the goal of the innovative pedagogical process suggested by the system of continuous LR education in multi-national regions consists in forming a learner’s readiness for effective communicative-cognitive activity on the basis of bi(poly) linguistic LR competence of a mixed type. The components of this readiness include motivation-volitional, informational-semantic, operational-actional, empirical; the criteria for the readiness level are motivational, reflexive, theoretical, practical.

352-366

Authors: Irina V. Kornilovaa, Timur A. Magsumov

The focus of the article is on one of the turning points in the education development in Russia of the late imperial period, i.e., the establishment of women’s higher education in the second half of the 19th century. The researchers involved various sources, including periodicals, ego-documents, documents of management and record keeping obtained from regional archives, regulatory documents and directories for a systematic study of the formation process of women’s higher education against the backdrop of the socio-political life of the Russian empire going through modernization. The combination of macro- and micro approaches in the context of the theory of modernization and gender-based history made it possible to consider the first women’s higher courses as one of the most outstanding achievements made by the progressive public in the struggle for the equality of women as well as the development of women’s education. The subject of the study was the women’s higher courses, opened in the capital cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg) as well as provincial ones (Kazan and Kiev). The issues under study, being covered in the article, are the ones related to the socio-cultural aspects of the Russian movement for the right to obtain higher education and pedagogical profession up to the beginning of the 20th century. It is shown that Russian women in the struggle for equality with men initially demanded equal rights in the field of education in order to gain the opportunity to expand their professional activities and, consequently, to use their abilities for the benefit of society and achieve economic independence. Instability and constant attack on women’s higher courses by the government, concerned about the growth of the revolutionary movement among women and inability to exercise their rights prevented students of women’s higher courses from becoming full-fledged students, while the degree they got after graduating from the courses failed to provide them with equal civil and political rights with men. The results of the research can be applied in the practice of modernization of higher education and in studies on the history of Russian education.

14-21

Authors: Elena Bendíková, Beáta Dobay

The study explains the importance and the role of physical and sport education in development of a positive attitude toward physical activity and health in adulthood. The empirical study was aimed at finding the factor that contributed to the transfer of respondents’ physical activity into their adulthood with regard to their health status. The group of respondents comprised 742 middle-aged inhabitants of the districts in Southern Slovakia, including 403 women (age = 37.2 ± 3.04 years, height = 167.9 ± 3.2 cm, weight = 65.3 ± 6.8 kg) and 339 men (age = 36.5 ± 4.54 years, height = 179.6 ± 6.3 cm,weight = 89.1 ± 7.9 kg). Their selection was intentional. We conducted the study in three stages by means of the standardized questionnaire. The results significantly show (χ² = 37.5297, p < 0.01) that the men enjoyed physical and sport education classes more (χ² = 26.9684, p < 0.01) than the women (only 1/3). The men were also more active as far as physical and sport education is concerned (r = 0.8363). Physical and sport education contributed to the transfer of physical activity from school years to adulthood more significantly (χ² = 112.47, p < 0.01) in the men (67.6 %; n = 229) than the women (33.7 %; n = 136). In this regard, the men also evaluated their present health status (r = 0.9139) and physical condition (r = 0.8300) better as compared to the women. The aforementioned findings prove that targeted education of population from childhood along with other effective preventive measures in health policy can approximate Slovakia to the developed European countries. These findings are partially included in the grant VEGA no. 1/0242/17 Physical activity as prevention of functional disorders related to the musculoskeletal system of secondary school students.

39-47

Authors: Alexander Fedorov, Anastasia Levitskaya

Media criticism and media education have a lot in common. For example, both media education and media criticism attach great importance to the development of analytical thinking of the audience. Indeed, one of the most important tasks of media education is precisely to teach the audience not only to analyze media texts of any types, but also to understand the mechanisms of media texts' creation and functioning in society. Actually, the same is emphasized by media criticism, addressing experts, and a wider audience as well. Therefore the synthesis of media criticism and media education is vital. Hence it is very important to debate on the role and functions of the media in society and analysis of media texts of different types and genres in classrooms of schools and universities.

57-63

Authors: Nataliya I. Neskoromnykh, Nataliya V. Chernenko, Anvar M. Mamadaliev, Aleksandra A. Vorozhbitova

This paper brings to light the essence, characteristics, and role of educational-cognitive barriers in the preparation of college-attending future social pedagogues that may arise in the process of their mastering social-pedagogical skills related to the prevention of social dependencies. The authors share the findings of their study of a typology of such obstacles in the educational process. Special attention is devoted to typical educational situations in the preparation of students (e.g., getting engaged in methodological activity related to preventing social dependencies, testing mastered methodological schemes and algorithms in activity related to preventing social dependencies, and discovering methodological knowledge) and specific educational-cognitive barriers dominating these situations.

77-88

Authors: K.G. Krechetnikova, N.M. Pestereva

Theobject of this study is the characteristics of the development of the present-day national education systems in two leading economies of the Asia-Pacific region (APR), Japan and the Republic of Korea (Korea). Its main purpose is a comparative analysis of the aspect of the state’s education policy dealing with enhancing the national markets for educational services by means of internationalization. The study’s methodology is founded on the analysis of the logic behind the development of the national education systems based on an evolutionary approach that is inclusive of history, culture, demographic policy, the market for educational services, and the idea of integration of education systems. The authors employ classification and comparative analysis. They use as source information open data from the official websites of companies specializing in worldwide university rankings and of institutions dealing with education, culture, sports, and technology in Japan and Korea. Results and discussion. Over the last couple of decades, the development of the education system in Korea has been distinguished by a revolutionary and innovative spirit, propelling the nation into leading positions within the education market in the APR. The Korean government is encouraging the nation’s colleges to take on a primary role as regional centers engaged in the production of new knowledge and skills, which may help drive technological and regional growth throughout the APR. Based on the World University Rankings, South Korea is currently ranked 9th and Japan 10th globally in higher education. Conclusion. The findings of the authors’ analysis of the major aspects of the internationalization of the education systems indicate that both in Korea and in Japan the process of education internationalization is increasingly gaining momentum. The reasons here are pretty much the same – globalization and demographic declines. The two systems differ in that in Korea preference is given to the scientific component of universities, while in Japan it is the development of the educational segment. In Korea, international education is entirely regulated by the state, while Japan’s current internationalization model is transitive – there is a shift taking place from government regulation to market freedom. The prospects for the continuation of this research, apparently, lie in expanding the cross-border networked interaction of APR universities.

100-125

Authors: Goran Rajović, Jelisavka Bulatović

In allEuropean Union countrieshaveharmonizedattitudeson the needandimproving the qualitygeographicof educationand hisinnovating. Modernizationof geographiceducationisunthinkable withoutqualityprofessional and personal developmentof teacher’sgeography. Renewal, modernization and supplementprofessionalknowledgeand skills acquiredinframeworkof the initialof geographiceducationit is consideredimperative ofcontemporary education. This paper analyzes thegeographicaleducationresearchon the example ofSerbia, from the perspective ofgeography teachers, and makes an attempt to determine the extent to which teacher’s geography use geography education research in their courses and which possible barriers prevent them use the results of geography education research in Serbian classroom environment. The results showedthat 26 % of teachers reported that theysubscribe toacademic journalsabout geography education research,while62.4 %of themsaid that theyjustfollow thepublications geography education research. More than87.6 % of respondents believe that the use of geography education research improveslearning,students' motivation andquality ofcourses, and almost half of the respondentsdoes not thinkthat it is timeand excessiveclass sizes, a reason not touse geography education research intheir courses.Geographiceducationresearchis a multidimensionalconceptand cannot beeasilyestimateonly on the basisone study, and solutionsshould be soughtin advocating foronemultimodal approach, in which thequalityof geographiceducationresearchdefined throughlarger number of different, relevantdeterminants.

138-148

Authors: Josefina C. Santana, Arturo García-Santillán, Milka Elena Escalera-Chávez

This study explores different variables leading to proficiency in English as a second language. Level of English on a placement exam taken upon entering a private university in Mexico was correlated to several variables. Additionally, participants (N=218) were asked their perception of their own proficiency. A linear regression and a one-factor ANOVA were carried out. Three variables best explain the level obtained on the placement exam. These are: number of instruction hours, type of school, and how frequently the learner reads in English. Findings also show that the participants’ perception of their proficiency corresponds to the results obtained on the placement test.

159-166

Authors: Pavol Tišliar

This paper examines the development of museum studies and museology as a field of scientific inquiry and a university course in Slovakia. First I examine the role of memory institutions in the formation of this field in response to the need for the specialized education of their staff and describe the fundamentals and the development of program and course design and the motivation behind them. I then analyze the current program and course offerings in the field of museology at various institutions in Slovakia and the differences between them, concluding with a number of proposals for improvement and providing a brief forecast for the future development of the field.