Problems of Education in the 21st Century

169

Authors: Editorial Board

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

172-178

Authors: Mirosław Kowalski

The beginning of the XXI century can be considered as the decade of “everything”. A crisis, by its own nature, causes destabilization in various areas of social and cultural functioning as it affects the entire system without bypassing any function or structure. As a consequence, the weaknesses of a given socio-cultural system are revealed, all the while pointing towards a need for change. The process in question also applies to education which is responsible for creating the appropriate environment and conditions for human learning in a given cultural-economic context. Therefore, a person - along with his surroundings creates a specific system - in which he becomes sensitive to changes in a sociocultural context both on the macro-, exo- and micro-level. Bearing in mind the assumptions of psycho-pedagogical and educational concepts, the individual along with the systems he creates is subjected to environmental influences not just directly - through entering specific interpersonal interactions, but also indirectly - through the influence exerted by its products

195-208

Authors: Nora A. Altaweel

Mobile technology (MT) may create new opportunities for teachers to enhance the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for students with emotional and conduct disorders (ECD) in United States. However, there remains a relative paucity of research reviewing the effectiveness of integrating MT into EBPs, also referred to as emerging practices (EPs). This integrative review provides a synthesis of the research on the effectiveness of EPs for students with ECD in the K-12 classroom environment. A total of 11 empirical studies, published from 2008 to 2018, were reviewed. Results suggest that EPs may increase academic engagement for students with ECD during academic situations. Yet, drawing conclusions remains challenging due to limitations in relation to: (a) the unique power of EPs in isolation from some interfering variables, (b) generalizability of documented findings to various settings. Future research studies should ideally further address the areas of limitation toward conclusive claims concerning the effectiveness of EPs for students with ECD.

228-243

Authors: Soonri Choi, Namjung Kim, Seohyun Choi, Dongsik Kim†

This research suggests emphasis manipulation on constituent skills of least-abled sets, improves coordination and integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes on cognitive load, transfer, and instructional efficiency. The participants were divided into two groups. Competency levels for the designated skill sets were evaluated, and a pre-test was performed on both groups. The research applied an educational design based on individual learner’s least-abled sets of constituent skills and identified the design’s effectiveness on complex learning. One group was provided with the whole learning contents according to emphasis manipulation sequencing method, and the other group was provided personalized learning contents according to a method based on the least-abled sets of constituent skills emphasis manipulation. The group received materials constructed with emphasis manipulation, learned the whole constituent skills of learning contents and carried out conventional tasks. However, treatment group received materials constructed with the least-abled sets of constituent skills emphasis manipulation, learned only the least-abled constituent skills and carried out conventional tasks. This research suggests that teaching with the least-abled sets of constituent skills helps to reduce expertise-reversal effect and improve results of cognitive load, transfer and instructional efficiency.

254-269

Authors: Yinusa A. Faremi, Loyiso C. Jita

Science teachers' career satisfaction and organisational climate, which influence their job performances, are very important. This research examined the extent to which science teachers' career satisfaction and organisational climate are related to their job performances in rural learning ecologies. Within a survey and correlational research design of a quantitative type, 250 science teachers were selected in Ondo State, Nigeria using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire on science teachers' career satisfaction, school organisational climate and job performance. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. The results showed that 65.2% of the science teachers in rural learning ecologies were satisfied with their careers while 34.8% were dissatisfied with their careers. It was discovered that a combination of career satisfaction and organisational climate significantly influenced their job performances. It was found that the teachers’ career satisfaction had a significant positive effect on their job performances while school organisational climate had a significant negative effect on their job performances. In light of the results, it can be concluded that science teachers' career satisfaction is the most effective significant contribution to their job performances. Further, it can be inferred that the school organisational climate does not significantly predict job performance in rural learning ecologies. To this end, results of the current research have some implications worth considering for the employers of science teachers, principals of schools and other stakeholders in creating a healthy school organisational climate and demonstrate good leadership behaviour in order to achieve improvement in the job performance of science teachers in rural learning ecologies.

292-306

Authors: Alejandro Valencia-Arias, Laura Duque Cano, Diana Arango-Botero

The current social dynamics perceive education as an impeller of social and economic change. However, there are problems of coverage, relevance and methodology in the educational process, mainly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Recently, tools have emerged that adopt and appropriate ICTS in learning processes, such as mobile learning, which seeks to meet the requirements of mobility, accessibility and interactivity that traditional teaching mechanisms have not covered satisfactorily. Based on the necessity to identify the factors that drive the adoption of mobile learning by different HEIs, this research identifies the factors that encourage the adoption of mobile learning in the institutions. For this, results of an exercise of technological surveillance in indexed database (Scopus) were analyzed by means of scientometric indicators. Some of the most significant factors detected are: preparation of the professor, perceptions and attitudes of students, technological culture, and technological environment that leverages new learning models.