Problems of Education in the 21st Century

687

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 6, 2019

695-704

Authors: Kalai Selvan Arumugham

Alternative assessment plays an important role in gathering information about students’ learning. Introduction of new curriculum in Malaysian primary school education namely Standard Curriculum of Primary School has highlighted portfolio as an assessment tool. Therefore, research has been conducted to examine teachers’ understanding towards this new alternative assessment method. The qualitative data used in this research were gathered from three interview sessions and classroom observations. Five primary school teachers were selected as participants of this research. They are teaching core subject such as English, Mathematics and Science. Thematic analysis was conducted to examine the themes emerged to represent their understandings towards portfolio. Teachers’ understandings towards portfolio were grouped into three major themes: As students’ work collections, as feedback and improvement tools and as teaching, learning and grading tools. They used portfolio in classroom as they understood. Different understandings were revealed as these teachers are also teaching different subjects. This may be the reason why these teachers were having different understandings towards portfolio assessments. This research is significant to teachers, stakeholders, school administration and even society about portfolio assessment.

722-733

Authors: Luong Tran, Son Van Huynh, Hoi Duc Dinh, Vu Thien Giang

The self-awareness capacity has long been no stranger in the foreign education, but in Vietnam, self-awareness capacity has only been developed in education in recent years. The self-awareness capacity related problems among Vietnamese students have been exacerbated such as gender-based violence, gender bias, wrong career choices, disorientation and school counseling activities currently could not support this difficulty for students. Based on the theoretical framework of self-awareness capacity from previous studies in Vietnam and further developing the aspects of self-awareness by age, the questionnaire had been done to survey of 726 lower-secondary school students and 474 upper-secondary school students to find the situation of their self-awareness capacity problems, as well as the need for self-awareness capacity problems counseling. The results demonstrated a positive correlation between self-awareness capacity problems and students’ need for self-awareness capacity problems counseling. In addition, identifying self-awareness capacity problems encountered by students helps us to develop a new school counseling model, as well as a process to counsel self-awareness capacity problems for students to enhance the self-awareness capacity and support school counseling activities effectively, also meeting the requirements of renewing the general curriculum in the students’ capacity development orientation in Vietnam.

745-757

Authors: Angel Mukuka, Vedaste Mutarutinya, Sudi Balimuttajjo

Literature is replete with research confirming the benefits of cooperative learning on students’ academic achievement and attitude towards mathematics. Despite these benefits, cooperative learning implementation in most Zambian secondary school mathematics classrooms has remained a challenge. An explanatory sequential mixed methods research design was employed to determine the causes of teacher-resistance to cooperative learning implementation in selected schools. A cluster random sampling method was used to select 62 teachers (43 male and 19 female) of mathematics from six public secondary schools in Ndola district of Zambia. A questionnaire was administered to all the 62 teachers followed by lesson observations in six randomly selected grade 11 mathematics classrooms, whose teachers later attended a focus group discussion. Research findings revealed that the majority of participants prefer expository teaching to cooperative learning. More than 64% of the participants indicated that they resisted implementing cooperative learning in their classrooms due to shortcomings in; assessing learners, ensuring a disciplined class environment, completing the already bulky syllabus, handling large classes, students’ low reasoning abilities and preparation time versus high teaching loads. These results provide evidence on the need for more attention to how the identified challenges could be addressed not only in Zambian mathematics classrooms but in other educational settings elsewhere.

774-789

Authors: Happy Ngwira, Onoriode Collins Potokri

The quest of beginner teachers becoming experienced teachers remains a major issue within the educational terrain. Induction experience(s) of beginner teachers particularly women in selected community secondary schools in South Africa was the focus of this research. In this research, the problems that women beginner teachers face at some selected schools, as well as the types of induction programmes used to support them, as they grappled with the problems, were explored. A qualitative research approach involving semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation was used in the collection of the requisite data. A sample comprising two community secondary schools and four women beginner teachers were selected to take part in the research. To make meaning of the data which were collected, inductive analysis of the data was conducted. Communities of Practice was used as the theory that underpinned the research findings reported in this paper. Based on the data analysis and the communities of practice theory that served as the framework, the paper among other findings reports that induction programmes used in sampled/selected schools were highly ineffective in supporting the women beginner teachers to overcome the problems revealed. The research contributes to the body of knowledge on the lived experiences of beginner teachers at the beginning of their teaching career and provides recommendations on classroom management and dealing with ill-disciplined learners.

806-834

Authors: Ann-Christine Vallberg Roth, Ylva Holmberg, Camilla Löf, Catrin Stensson

In Swedish preschools teachers seem to struggle with the concept of “teaching” in their day-to-day practices. A three-year collaborative research project involving preschool teachers, managers and researchers therefore aimed to describe and further develop knowledge about what could characterize teaching and co-assessment based on scientific grounds and proven experience. The research was carried out in between 93 and 137 preschools/or preschool departments in ten municipalities in Sweden between 2016 and 2017. The method was based on a praxiographic approach where preschool teachers tested four different theory-informed teaching arrangements. The material consisted of about 895 co-plans, 740 co-evaluations and 110 hours of video. Analysis was based on a didactic premise and can be methodologically described in terms of abductive analysis. The analysis was merged and tested in a communicable entity through the “multivocal didactic modelling” concept. The results indicated that teaching is modelled through co-assessment. Multivocal traces related to didactic questions and didactic levels emerge from theory-informed teaching arrangements. The research stands to make a highly significant contribution to knowledge development concerning teaching and co-assessment in preschool. Theory-informed teaching arrangements, with integrated didactic models, have been tried and shown to support teachers in conducting teaching that is based on scientific grounds and proven experience. The concept “multivocal didactic modelling” paves the way for alternative (meta)theoretical trajectories for critical reflection and for more cohesive and finely tuned teaching. In conclusion, the contribution to the development of knowledge can be described in terms of theory-informed practical development and practically grounded conceptual development.

567

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 5, PEC, 2019

572-583

Authors: Guadalupe de la Iglesia, Alejandro Castro Solano

This research aimed at testing an explicative model of academic achievement of college students. Positive personality traits were hypothesized as the main predictors. Mental health and academic adjustment were tested as mediator variables. This model intended to reflect the main hypothesis that academic achievement is multi-determined and non-intellectual variables play an important role in explaining it. Sample was composed of 256 college students of different majors. The results obtained highlighted the importance of differentiating subjective and objective academic achievement in terms of academic adjustment (AA) and grade point average (GPA), respectively. The explicative model that included positive traits as background variables confirmed the mediating role of mental health and AA in explaining GPA. Sprightliness was the most important predictor of academic achievement in comparison to the other positive traits studied. It is concluded that positive personality traits play an important role in academic outcomes.

598-615

Authors: Nadiia Horishna, Hanna Slozanska, Olha Soroka, Lyudmila Romanovska

The importance of leadership is discussed widely in the social work literature. However, little is known about the leadership skills of social work students and factors affecting their development in the environment specific to higher educational institutions (HEIs). This research aimed to find out what skills pre-service social work students had related to leadership and to determine if significant differences existed in terms of such predictor variables as level and form of study, employment status, and involvement in co-curricular activities. The research employed the quantitative approach based on a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving a sample of 158 social work students from three Ukrainian universities. The research group consisted of 88% female and 12% male respondents, aged between 19 and 31. Data were obtained through the Student Leadership Outcomes Inventory, which contained 60 items measuring skills on 8 scales: (a) self-management, (b) interpersonal communication, (c) problem-solving and decision-making, (e) cognitive development and critical analysis, (f) organization and planning, (g) self-confidence, (h) diversity awareness, and (h) technology which served as outcome variables. All items were rated along a 5-point Likert scale, from poor (1) to excellent (5). The results of the research revealed lower than average levels of leadership skills and existing significant differences by outcome variables for the sample population. The findings suggest the need to strengthen the leadership skills of social work students through the implementation of formal and informal developmental activities and recognition of leadership participation within the social work curriculum.

636-649

Authors: Valentina Piacentini, Ana Raquel Simões, Rui Marques Vieira

The development of meaningful environments at school for the learning of Science as well as of foreign languages is an educational concern. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), aimed at the students’ acquisition of both the foreign Language and specific subject Content, is an approach that may promote the learning of English in use during subject classes and could result in the improvement of conditions and practices of Science education. Research, actually, reveals that teaching methodologies aware of language – such as CLIL – and other semiotic modes implied in Science are beneficial for the learning of Science. Studying a CLIL programme (“English Plus” project, EP), in which Science is taught/learnt with/in English, is thus relevant. A case study on the EP project and its participants (English and Science teachers, students involved in different school years) in one lower secondary state school in Portugal was carried out. In the present research, qualitative data collected through teacher interviews are presented and discussed, with the goal of understanding the role of Language(s) (verbal language in the mother tongue or English and other representation modalities) in the teaching of Science for EP teachers, both in conventional and project classes. A greater teacher awareness and use of Language(s), when an additional language (English, here) is also present for Science education, results from this work. This contributes to research on CLIL Science studies and teacher reflections on adopting a language-focused approach for Science education, also when the mother tongue is spoken.

667-679

Authors: Mehboob Ul Hassan

School is a subculture of any society having different educational diversity. This diversity affects on teachers and students achievements; pillars of teaching learning process. Teachers have great concerns towards students’ success. They deliver plethora of information to improve students’ achievements. Present quantitative ex-post-facto research was framed to explore the effect of teachers’ self-efficacy on students’ achievement scores applying multilingual instructions for students’ success on sample of randomly selected 1100 male respondents; 300 secondary school teachers and 800 students of District Kasur, of Lahore Division. Data from teachers were collected by administering long form of Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale whereas students’ achievement scores were obtained from annual gazette notification of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore. Cronbach’s Alpha Score was applied to confirm instrument’s reliability .851. Normality of the data were confirmed by calculating Shapiro-Wilk’s test. Findings of regression analysis depict that overall teachers’ self-efficacy has affected 65 % whereas students’ engagement 59 %, educational strategies 60 %, classroom management 59 % and teachers’ medium of education has affected 30 % on students’ achievement scores. Present research recommends that Government structure teachers’ self-efficacious believes through providing training, conducting workshops before joining teaching professions and ensuring certificates; once teachers’ confidence structure, less possible to alter to obtained desired achievements during teaching learning process. Furthermore, it is dire need to implement single medium of instructions; English / Urdu in public sector secondary schools of Punjab as bilingual medium of education have been remaining one of the barrier that lead students towards poor achievements.

455

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 4, 2019, PEC

463-477

Authors: Petr Benda, Jan Pavlík, Jan Masner

Education of adults with intellectual disabilities in labor activities can help them to successfully and repeatedly carry out their work tasks and significantly help their self-realization. The problem is that the need for frequent repetition of already learned skills requires the constant presence of a teacher or caregiver since such a worker is not able to work independently. This situation increases the cost of employing people with disabilities. The aim is to find a way to reduce the necessary number of caregivers needed in this kind of activity and enable greater self-sufficiency of workers. The presented research intended to verify whether a web course could be an effective educational tool for people with intellectual disabilities. During the research, a group of ten participants with intellectual disabilities was educated to acquire basic skills in horticulture. The first teaching was realized through practical demonstrations at the workplace in the university production garden by professional gardeners. After these demonstrations skills of all participants were verified and so the basic level for further verification and comparison of knowledge was set. Subsequently, using three approaches of repeating the already learned practical curriculum (verbal repetition, no repetition, and repetition using the web course) and different time intervals, the level of knowledge of each participant was verified. Statistical methods were used to compare the results of different repetition approaches. Research results demonstrated that a web course, with specific content that consists of video or animation, combined with the use of pictograms for confident navigation, can be used by people with intellectual disabilities with good results. At the same time, in addition to practical teaching, this was the second best-rated approach of repeating knowledge. Using a web course, participants achieved similar work results as they did in practical teaching.

489-501

Authors: Michal Podzimek

Modernism, which appeared as a result of industrialization, has since then developed further, resulting in a postmodern society, characterized by a significant change in values. This shift in values is particularly evident in the quality of education, and man's subsequent relation towards work as a result. Schools have become social institutions in which learners spend their time in the role of served clients. The teacher is therefore assigned the social role of the servant, in which he is to primarily satisfy the pupil in his personal needs. This kind of relationship stems from the phenomenon of narcissism, which is already a cultural phenomenon. Studies of cultural narcissism are presented here, sampling relevant research of American provenience (with special focus on the USA). These studies suggest that cultural narcissism may become a global phenomenon in the future.

515-527

Authors: Julius Ssegantebuka

Different educational contexts or learning environments differently influence visual arts tutor’s performance and pre-service teachers’ learning. The purpose of this research was to examine the role the college context plays in the tutors’ presentation of knowledge and the pre-service teachers’ learning in visual arts in National Teacher Colleges in Uganda. The researcher used interviews, observations, document reviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The results revealed that there were inadequate teaching resources, poor infrastructure and limiting educational policies and administrative support. The research recommended that the ministry of education and sports provide adequate teaching resources, review the limiting educational policies and conduct refresher courses and professional development programs for tutors in National Teacher Colleges in Uganda.

545-559

Authors: Robert Tomšik

The aim of the present research was to validate the Scale of motivation for choosing teaching profession (SMVUP-4-S), and to explore its basic psychometric properties on a sample of Slovak teacher trainee students. SMVUP-4-S scale was completed by 1235 respondents with a mean age of 20.1 years. SMVUP-4-S scale consists of 44 items arranged into 11 subscales, which are arranged into three main categories of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic and altruistic. A latent structure of SMVUP model that consists of two four-factor (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and a one three-factor model (altruistic motivation) was tested. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was calculated using the Maximum Likelihood estimation. To evaluate Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) χ2-test, CFI, RMSEA, SRMR, AIC, BIC and TLI indicators were used. SMVUP-4-S scale showed an acceptable internal consistency. Using EFA two four-factor and one three-factor model were extracted. CFA indicated that four-factor models had a good fit to the empirical data (Intrinsic motivation χ2/df = 4.925, Extrinsic motivation χ2/df = 4.781). Modifying indexes have shown that several items have correlated with residual variances which leads to low fit to the empirical data in three-factor-model. After the implementation of covariants between items this model has also shown a good fit to the empirical data (Altruistic motivation χ2/df = 4.715).

313

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 3, PEC, 2019

317-337

Authors: Lotta Anderson, Gunvie Möllås, Lisbeth Ohlsson

The aim of the research was to explore how 55 Swedish independent schools, directed at (or limited to) students in need of special support (SNSS), describe their organisation, work and visions. The empirical data of the research consisted of the schools’ website presentations, which were processed and analysed in consecutive steps. The results showed that the students’ complicated school- and life situations were often combined with disabilities mainly in the neuropsychiatric field. The majority of the schools (76%) practiced both schooling and methods for treatment and care, differentiating their role from the mainstream track. Neuropsychiatric and psychological perspectives had a significant influence, reflected in how the schools describe their daily routines, therapeutic methods of treatment and access to specific categories of staff. Small groups, individual instruction and competent staff were described as specific features. Teaching content and didactic aspects were seldom highlighted. The focus on the websites was on socialisation and subjectification while qualification, i.e. knowledge development, had a more limited role. The study points to a need for further research exploring daily pedagogical practice in more depth and calls for a greater focus on student perspectives. Consequences for learning contexts are discussed in the concluding part of the article. The specialist role, the independent schools in the present study tended to take on are most urgent issues to discuss in an educational context striving for equity and inclusive learning environments.

349-363

Authors: Citra Kurniawan, Punaji Setyosari, Waras Kamdi, Saida Ulfa

The purpose of this research was to build a classification model and to measure the correlation of self-efficacy with visual-verbal preferences using data mining methods. This research used the J48 classifier and linear projection method as an approach to see patterns of data distribution between self-efficacy and visual-verbal preferences. The measurement of the correlation of engineering students' self-efficacy with visual-verbal preferences using the data mining method approach gets the result that self-efficacy does not correlate with visual-verbal preferences. However, engineering students' self-efficacy influences the achievement of initial learning outcomes. Visual-verbal preference is more influenced by students' interest in images so it can be concluded that self-efficacy affects the initial results of learning but does not have a correlation with visual-verbal preferences. The results of the decision tree provide the results that are easily understood and present a correlation between self-efficacy and visual-verbal preferences in a visual form.

379-395

Authors: Natalia M. Mezhennaya, Oleg V. Pugachev

This research presents the analysis of image of the popular program packages: CAS (Computer Algebra Systems) Matlab, Mathcad, Mathematica, and the spreadsheet ‘Microsoft Excel’ among students of engineering specializations studying in Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU). The research has explored perception of program packages by all students (N=164), and by male students (N=110) and female students (N=54) separately. Image of the program packages, convenience of their interfaces, usage scenarios, and applicability for solution of tasks of certain types have been explored via questioning the students. Moreover, the students assessed likelihood of using the programs in the future. It was established that all the program packages under consideration can be successfully used in the process of education, but some of them (Matlab and Mathematica) require additional lessons to learn their interface and peculiarities. Gender differences in perception of the program packages do not determine the education outcomes. The differences of perception of the programs are mainly caused by their popularity and the students’ skills of using certain programs. The following gender differences have been detected: in the female students’ sample, the programs Mathcad and Excel are leading, Matlab is performed a little worse; Matlab is associated with the statement “difficult / inconvenient interface”. In the male students’ sample, the three programs Matlab, Mathcad, and Microsoft Excel got nearly equal grades. Female students estimate future usage of Microsoft Excel higher than male students do. The CAS Mathematica takes the lowest places for both samples; as a possible cause of such result, it has been found that Mathematica is not widespread as compared to the other programs under consideration.

410-423

Authors: Lindelani Mnguni

Science is generally expected to respond to students and societal needs by adopting student and social accountability principles. Therefore, school science curricula are revised regularly to address emerging socio-economic, political, and scientific issues. Similarly, the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement of South Africa was introduced to foster a student and social accountable education that adopts relevant curriculum ideologies. Partly, it attempts to equip students with relevant skills and knowledge related to emerging societal challenges such as HIV/AIDS. The aim of the present research, therefore, was to determine the extent to which the curriculum is student and social accountable concerning HIV/AIDS. The current research explored the extent to which HIV/AIDS knowledge was presented in the CAPS Life Sciences curriculum and selected textbooks, and how curriculum ideologies informed this presentation of HIV/AIDS knowledge. Data were collected from the Life Sciences CAPS document and selected textbooks. Results revealed several HIV/AIDS-related topics, which were taught in Life Sciences. While the literature suggests that the citizenship-centered ideology is most relevant for student and social accountability, the present study found that the Life Sciences curriculum adopted a predominantly discipline-centered ideology. It is concluded that Life Sciences may not provide students with HIV/AIDS-related skills and knowledge required in a student and socially accountable curriculum.

437-448

Authors: Eva Stranovská, Anikó Ficzere, Silvia Hvozdíková, Beáta Hockicková

This research focusses on the analysis of learning experience. Together with the other factors of motivational structure: Intrinsic motivation, Personal goals, Attractivity of foreign language community, and Worries about learning, it creates motivational profile of foreign language (FL) learners. The analysis is based on the theoretical concept of foreign language motivational self-system by Dörnyei. The research aim was to find out the perception of learning experience and the level of its dependence on the category of the Associations with the expression “German” in the selected categories. Moreover, it was to find out the differences in perception of learning experience, motivational structure, and the length of foreign language studying. The research sample consisted of German FL learners from six different lower-secondary schools within Slovakia. Motivational Structure Questionnaire was used as a research tool to obtain the research data. The data were processed by the selected quantitative and qualitative research methods. The research results supported ambivalence of learning experience. The statistical significance was found in the two categories: the category of Negative emotions related to the category negative perception of educational situation, and the category of German speaking countries related to the higher level of motivation in the factor of learning experience. Furthermore, significant relations were found between the factor of learning experience and the factors of the ideal self of the motivational structure and the length of studying a foreign language. The results in the qualitative part of the research opened up a possible intervention steps towards foreign language motivation reinforcement.

171

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, Vol. 77, No. 2, 2019, PEC

179-194

Authors: Oluwakemi Ayodeji Adebayo, Ronicka Mudaly

A plethora of debates about intellectual imagination regarding decolonised curriculum development has dominated the South African higher education discourses. There is a need to purge Africa of the marginalisation that has been perpetuated by curricula established during the past century. The aim of this research was to add a practical dimension to this discourse, by altering traditional curriculum activities in a biology module, in order to address the issue of food insecurity among university students. In this qualitative inquiry, the following questions were asked: “How can pre-service teachers engage with decolonised curricular activities, in order to address food insecurity among students?” and “What are the consequences of pre-service teachers’ engagement with decolonised curricular activities which respond to food insecurity?” Thirty-six pre-service biology teachers and 12 non-biology university students were purposively selected to participate in a food gardening activity. Data were generated using individual interviews, focus group interviews and the development of portfolios. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ consciousness of the social reality of food insecure students was raised, and their feelings of empowerment to enable others, and themselves, to become self-reliant, were enhanced through decolonised curricular activities. This is significant because it signalled a freeing of pre-service teachers from material and intellectual shackles which is critical to decolonised thought and action. This research has implications for higher education science teacher education modules, which can incorporate science from Western and indigenous sources, to create transformed curricula which are socially responsive and reflect epistemic justice.

209-227

Authors: Shu-Chen Cheng, Shing-Lin Chang

This research focuses on the approach adopted by a university of science and technology in Taiwan (hereinafter the university) to develop students’ employability indices and to explore the questionnaire analyses. The university developed the “Employability Map; E-Map” by weighting the learning hours, which was used to evaluate students’ various employability items over the course of their schooling. Considering it not so appropriate to use students’ credits on courses to be the standard of judgment, the Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering (hereinafter the department) proposed an innovative method to convert the E-Map of weighting by learning achievement to conduct assessments that is more reflection students' employability indices for graduate, and analyzed the questionnaires of alumni and their employers’ various core employability indices. From those questionaires, finding the graduating students and alumni are lack of self-confidentce. The statistical data shall serve as a reference for guiding students at course selection, as well as improving department courses and planning.

244-253

Authors: Radka Dofková

Positive perception of one’s efficacy among teachers is a crucial factor affecting the quality of the teaching process. Many research studies suggest that self-efficacy in prospective teachers can be acted upon. It is therefore very important to focus on the preparation of prospective teachers in the context of undergraduate courses. The objective of the research study was to identify the level of self-efficacy among primary pre-service teachers of mathematics. The research sample comprised 77 students of primary teacher training enrolled in two study programmes aged between 21 and 26 years. The results were obtained by means of a newly developed tool Self-Efficacy of Prospective Teachers in Mathematics (SEPTM), which contained 37 items. The results of the research suggest that prospective teachers assess their readiness for future mathematics teaching in a positive way and trust their own abilities to use various teaching methods and procedures.

270-291

Authors: Marjanca Kos, Janez Jerman

Learning through gardening is known to be an educational strategy in which a garden is used as a teaching tool. Systemic reviews of the impact of school gardening on academic performance and dietary habits foreground the need for additional quantitative studies that would use strong experimental designs. The aim of the present research was to establish the impact of school gardening on children’s knowledge of and attitude to the consumption of garden vegetables. A quasi-experiment was conducted including one control and one experimental group, with each group consisting of 15 children aged 6–7 years. The children’s prior knowledge and attitude toward the consumption of garden vegetables was identified through individual interviews. Participants in the experimental group then carried out their activities in a school garden that was built in co-operation with an organic farm located in close vicinity of the school. Following these activities, interviews were repeated in both groups to establish any newly acquired knowledge of and changes in the children’s attitude to garden vegetables. The results revealed that the children in both groups had poor general knowledge about garden vegetables at the beginning of the experiment. After their work in the garden was concluded, the knowledge of garden vegetables in the experimental group of children improved to a statistically significant degree. The children’s attitude to consuming garden vegetables also became more positive than before they engaged in the gardening activities. The results of this research indicated that school gardening activities improved academic outcomes and the children’s attitude to the consumption of vegetables. Therefore, the research suggests that gardening should be considered a vital part of school education.

310

Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 77, No. 2, 2019, PEC