Problems of Education in the 21st Century

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 62, PEC, 2014

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Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas

The importance of science and technology is obviously increasing. Such spheres as biotechnology, environmental security, biochemistry, synthetic biology, neurobiology and other have been strongly affected and even changed by science and technology progress. And that affect is growing. It is paradoxical, but over the last decade a decreased youth interest in science and technologies has been observed in many world countries. One of the first serious research studies on that question was initiated and carried out by IOSTE (International Organization for Science and Technology Education, http://ioste.nmmu.ac.za/). The research “The Relevance of Science Education”, http://roseproject.no/) showed that there are essential differences among various countries. One of the most worrying problems is, that in so-called developed countries (e.g., Japan, Norway, Finland, Great Britain and other) the youth interest in science and technologies is poor, the biggest part of youth do not relate their career with science and technologies. Whilst, in so-called developing countries (e.g., Uganda, Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana and other) the youth relate their future career with science and technology development and think that this is a guarantee for better life and success. The first international comparative research was carried out in 2004 and repeated in 2008. The results, basically, were similar. Later, the researchers carried out various comparative research studies applying additional variables, for example, (Human Development index, HDI). Again, the same tendency was confirmed, to be more precise, an inverse correlation relationship was obtained. The countries, whose HDI is high, the youth’s interest in science and technologies is poor, and on the contrary, in the countries whose HDI is relatively low, the youth are interested in science and technology development. Though, these results are quite well known in academia, however, they are very important from the political and practical point of view (Lamanauskas, 2014). PISA and TIMMS research studies showed the same tendencies as well. Though the youth in developed countries understand the importance of science and technologies, however, this does not mean a lot to them. One of the most probable causes of such situation is, that at school it is not shown or (insufficiently shown) the importance of science and technologies for future career possibilities. Why isn’t this shown? Again, a lot of things determine such situation. First of all, science subjects and especially math are taught at school referring to formulas, theorems, blindly following the textbooks. Apparently, there is a lack of practical examples, real situations and problem solutions. It is understandable, that this requires much bigger resources – both material and intellectual. Thus, it is necessary to increase the possibilities for pupils to get acquainted with the practical appliance of sciences and math. This includes the attendance of university, plant laboratories, museums and other.

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Authors: Adela Bradea, Karla Peter

In Romania, the curriculum is traditionally strongly based on disciplines, the teachers being primarily specialised in one discipline only. Developing transferable competences requires new ways of teaching and learning, which transcend the traditional boundaries among disciplines. As they are being developed, these competences become important factors in the process of learning competences specific to certain disciplines, while also help the individual to adapt to the dynamics of a complex reality. Thus, given the importance of transferable competences, along with the reform of the curriculum, in the Romanian educational system optional disciplines were also included. The aim of this study was to analyse that, although there is a legislative framework, the development of activities that include multiple learning objectives or results that cross the traditional boundaries among disciplines, is still poor. The strategy used for the study was a complex one. It combined both quantitative research methods and qualitative ones: literature review (framework documents on educational policies), a statistic analysis, a questionnaire-based survey. The results have demonstrated the need for change in school organization and culture, so that the transferable competences acquired become indeed competences for life.

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Authors: Mati Heidmets, Kadi Liik

There is a widely recognized concern over the poor reputation of the teaching profession and lack of attractiveness of the school as a workplace. The aim of this study is to ascertain to what extent the leadership style of the school principal is related to the set of variables describing different aspects of teachers’ wellbeing at the school - teachers’ burnout, job insecurity, teachers’ emotional and cognitive identification with the school and turnover intentions. 305 teachers working in 12 public schools in Estonia were surveyed. Results indicate that the more transformational leadership style prevails over transactional leadership style, the stronger affective and cognitive identification with their school teachers perceive, while the level of teachers’ job insecurity and burnout is lower and they consider the likelihood of leaving their school smaller. Thus, the school principals’ leadership style can be considered as a factor shaping the teachers’ wellbeing at school as well as their emotional attachment to the school as a workplace.

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Authors: Aneta Mechi

With the aim of dealing with educational cross-domain problems that are likely to appear in each course regardless of the teaching domain, the teachers can either take the initiative to help or they can choose not to intervene. Despite the helpful recommendations to make all pupils participate (UNESCO) or no child left behind (NCLB in the United States), most teachers are unaware of their differential helping behavior when they are faced with an ambiguous or problematic educational situation. In line with the bystander effect literature and stereotype content model, the mechanism that underlies the decision of not helping is identified as the feeling that drives an individual to get into the given situation: the feeling of being concerned (FBC). FBC is supposed to redirect individuals away from hasty, biased conclusions and lead them to some distance from any information (i.e., social cognitive flexibility). It is hypothesized that the more one feels concerned by the situation, the more distance he or she tends to take based on the available information. In a current online survey, the participating teachers in training first gave their opinions about the proposed statements (i.e., the social cognitive flexibility measures), then they read one standardized scenario of the educational situation, and finally they responded to questions related to the perceived possibility of helping the pupils in the scenario. The quantitative results (according to ANOVA) show that the teachers with a high FBC report a higher perceived possibility to help and show a higher level of social cognitive flexibility compared to those with a low FBC. These results are supported by significant correlations and are discussed in terms of their implications for the teachers’ practice.

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Authors: Matthew Osaigbovo Ovbiebo

Around 20-24% of South African rural workers in the Eastern Cape are illiterate and unfamiliar with modern and more productive methods of practicing their occupations. Given the challenges that are associated with rural workers, it is important to determine the problems and the prospects they experience, and the ways of providing them with training and skills acquisition. The researcher used empowerment theory as the point of departure for a theoretical framework, and a qualitative explorative study was followed to gather and analyse the data. Data were collected by means of focus group discussions, analysed ethical issues were not left out. The findings from the study revealed that the education which the rural worker would require would contain both formal and informal education. The significance of the findings is to develop the creative ability of the rural worker, to ultimately assist him through the process in creating necessary skills and knowledge for maximum production in their work and standard of living. It is also an articulation of the diversified programmes, which could allow many rural workers to become more productive and fulfilled in their endeavour.

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Authors: Nyet Moi Siew, Chin Lu Chong, Kim On Chin

Testing creativity in general has been well researched, but little has been reported on the development of instruments to test scientific creativity among primary school students. This study describes the development and validation of scientific creativity test for primary school fifth graders. A Scientific Creativity Structure Model (SCSM) was used to guide the development of test items through three dimensions called trait, process and product. Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TCTT) were used to evaluate test item answers. Two equivalent, parallel scientific creativity tests were developed each of which consisted of 4 items posed in the form of: technical product, advances in science or scientific knowledge, understanding of scientific phenomenon and scientific problem solving. The scientific creativity test was validated through analysis of item response data of 206 fifth grade students from two Malaysian primary schools. The scientific creativity test was found to have high internal consistency, inter-scorer reliability and face validity. Both Form A and Form B of the test had an acceptable discrimination index range. The test showed a weak positive, but significant correlation between the items in product and process dimensions, but a very strong correlation between the three trait dimensions of SCSM. Test items on science problem solving have a strong indication loading on spatial analytical thinking. The Item analysis suggests that this test would be useful in assessing scientific creativity of the fifth grade students with further review on test items measuring science problem solving.

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Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 62, 2014, PEC