European Journal of Contemporary Education

188-197

Authors: Emine Ahmetoglu, Ibrahim H. Acar

The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between Turkish preschool pre-service teacher’s personal and educational characteristics, and their social competence, empathy, and communication skills. A total of 385 state university Turkish pre-service teachers (age range 18 to 32 years) from the early childhood education field completed a Demographic Information Form on personal and educational characteristics, the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) Scale measuring their social competence, The Scales of Empathic Tendency for measuring empathy skills, and a Communication Skills Evaluation Scale measuring communication skills. Bivariate Pearson-correlations, independent t tests, and one-way ANOVAs were used to test study hypotheses. Results indicated that women scored higher on empathy and communication skills, and having more friends was related to higher social competence and empathy. Pre-service teachers who were members of a social club scored higher on communication skills than their peers. Additional associations among variables, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

205-216

Authors: Alexander Fedorov, Anastasia Levitskaya

The authors analyze the results of two universities students' survey aimed at finding out the respondents' media competence levels. The findings confirm a general tendency, that commonly, less than a quarter of the young audience reveals a high level development of the media competence's motivational index. A considerably larger part of respondents, about a half, demonstrates a low level of the motivational index. The analysis of the received data proves that a high degree of the media contact frequency and a high level of media competence’s motivational index are not directly linked with an ability level to analyze a media text comprehensively. Nevertheless, the levels of interpretational/evaluation parameters of the audience's media competence to a large extent reflect the levels of their informational and motivational descriptors. Moreover, it turns out that the high level of informational index does not necessarily correlate to the level of media competence’s evaluation index. On the whole, the survey shows that media competence of modern students needs to be developed. Therefore, university students (not less that school students) do need media literacy courses.

229-238

Authors: Konstantin Krechetnikov, Nina Pestereva, Goran Rajović

This study investigates the current process of internationalization of higher education in the countries of the Asia Pacific region (APR) through the example of China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Russia. The article aims to familiarize the reader with the experience of internationalizing higher education in APR states against a backdrop of global trends. The authors examine the major strategies for the internationalization of education, such as taking a coordinated approach, attracting qualified manpower, focusing on deriving profit, and expanding the potential. The paper analyzes the traditions, strengths and weaknesses, and general traits and characteristics of the above states’ national systems of education, as well as the major forms of international partnership and key dimensions of education internationalization in APR states. The authors show that over the last few years APR states have been increasingly active in entering into agreements in the area of education internationalization, which has facilitated the division of spheres of influence and zones of responsibility within the educational area, as well as the steering of educational approaches along a common course. The paper employs traditional methods of research, such as classification, comparative analysis, generalization, juxtaposition, and forecasting. The study suggests three possible scenarios for the future development of the process of higher education internationalization: sustainably diverse internationalization, convergence in the direction of the liberal model, and the triumph of developing economies. The paper also describes current trends in this area in APR states. The authors come to the conclusion that we are in for considerable changes in the international market of educational services, such as the reconsideration of spheres of influence and redistribution of key players in the market, dynamicity and heterochrony in development being among the key traits inherent to today’s market of educational services.

248-256

Authors: Yurii S. Tyunnikov

The paper solves the problem of the relationship of external diagnosis and self-diagnosis of readiness of teachers to innovative activity. It highlights major disadvantages of measurement tools that are used to this process. The author demonstrates an alternative approach to harmonizing the diagnosis, based on a modular diagnostic model, general diagnostic tools, to synchronize the management tasks of the process of readiness for innovation and self-innovation. The proposed approach, in the author’s opinion, creates the necessary conditions for improving the quality of innovative activity of both teachers and ongoing modernization of education.

7-23

Authors: Arzu Deveci Topal

The success of a distance education program can be evaluated according to student satisfaction, aside from comprehensive examinations, projects and presentations. The purpose of this research study is to determine both the relationship between e-course satisfaction and online learning readiness by ascertaining student levels, and the effect of the materials used in e-learning on student satisfaction. A general screening model was used in this study to determine the characteristics of a group and to clarify the existing situation in their own conditions. The study was conducted during the 2014-2015 academic year at Kocaeli University. The E-Course Satisfaction Scale (ECSS), consisting of 35 five-point Likert-type items, and the Online Learning Readiness Scale (OLRS) consisting of 18 five-point Likert-type items, were applied to 352 university students. The data were analyzed by methods of descriptive statistics, independent t-test and regression analysis in the SPSS program. According to the survey the satisfaction level of the students is moderate; when the sub-dimensions were examined, satisfaction was high in the instructor-student interaction and environment design sub-dimensions while it was moderate in the course content and teaching process, materials used and communication tools, and attitude towards e-learning sub-dimensions. When interaction and communication tools such as a virtual classroom, forum, chat, e-mail, web pages, animation, video, graphics and images as content tools, and questionnaire as assessment tool were used there was a difference in student satisfaction, and satisfaction was higher in these courses. There was not a significant difference in the students’ satisfaction with the exams and homework as assessment tools, or content of .pdf and text documents as content tools, but .pdf-text documents and exams were among the most-used tools in the courses. Student satisfaction was high when the number of materials used in courses was 7 and over, that is, as the number of materials increased, so did the satisfaction level. The levels of students’ readiness for online learning were high in all sub-dimensions in total, and there was a positive significant relationship between students’ levels of readiness and their satisfaction level. Moreover, the satisfaction levels of learners who were self-directed, had high motivation and could control their own learning appeared to be affected positively. In conclusion, to increase the satisfaction level of the students it would be useful to increase the number of materials used in the e-courses; give more importance to interaction; and use more tools such as animation, virtual classroom, video, forum, survey, chat and email. In order to increase satisfaction, student readiness should be considered, students should be able to use technology effectively.

34-50

Authors: Muzaffer Özdemir

This study investigates the relationships between the primary learning styles of students and different learning objects presented simultaneously in an online learning environment in the context of the usage levels of these objects. A total of 103 sophomores from a Turkish State University participated in the study. Felder-Solomon Index of Learning-Styles (F-SILS) was used to determine the learning styles of the participants. Four different types of learning objects (i.e. video lecturing, audio lecturing, PDF lecturing and subject comprehension tests) were prepared for the course ‘Basic database operations with MySQL’. Koper’s (2003) classification model was used in selecting these learning objects. Descriptive analysis methods were used to determine the distribution of the participants according to their learning styles. Independent-Samples T-Test and the Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test were used to test the differences between learning styles and learning objects. The usage levels of the learning objects were analysed in the context of interdimensional primary learning styles in the scale of the F-SILS. Those with sensory and visual learning styles were in the majority among the primary learning styles of participants. The study did not include the findings of students with other primary learning styles due to their small sample size. The findings of the study on the usage frequencies of subject comprehension tests and the duration of video lectures by primarily visual and sensory students demonstrated a significant difference on behalf of the primary sensory students. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference between students with primarily sensory styles and students with primarily visual styles in terms of the reading frequency of PDF lectures and the listening frequency of audio lectures.

65-75

Authors: Muharrem Duran, Tufan Aytaç

One of the most important tools for the integration of ICT in education, especially with tablet computers, has been employed in Turkey through the FATIH Project. This study aimed to determine students’ views on the use of tablet computers in learning and teaching processes. Eighty-four first-year high school students studying at three schools in service within the scope of the FATIH Pilot Project were selected as the sample of this study. The quantitative data obtained were gathered using the "Questionnaire for Students’ Opinions on the Use of Tablet Computers". The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire has been measured at .82. Frequency, percentage, and arithmetic mean values have been used for the data analysis. It was found that students mostly use tablet computers to access the Internet. Students stated that the content presented on tablet computers supports the topics in textbooks and that teachers encourage them to use tablet computers in the learning and teaching process. The students also agreed that tablet computers weaken communication between students and teachers. Most of the students stated that, during the teaching process with the use of tablet computers, they do not learn more quickly and easily, they have some difficulty understanding topics, learning is not permanent, and it does not contribute to increasing their level of success. Most of the students expressed that, when they study with tablet computers for a while, they face some adverse physical effects such as headache and eyestrain, and they are worried about radiation.

84-93

Authors: Bahar Dinçer, Süha Yılmaz

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceptions of the self-efficacy levels for both mathematics literacy and information literacy in pre-service primary mathematics teachers and the factors on which the relationship depends (variables include gender, class level, hours spent reading books and computer-access facilities). The research model is a relational-survey model of the quantitative patterns. According to the results, it was determined that there was a positive relationship between perceptions of the self-efficacy levels of mathematics literacy and information literacy in pre-service teachers. Separately, it was ascertained that mathematics literacy self-efficacy levels in pre-service teachers showed meaningful differences according to variables such as class level and book-reading frequency/rate, whereas their information literacy self-efficacy levels depended on variables such as gender and computer-access status. According to these results, when considering the factors influencing literacy levels, it is seen that the variables such as computer-access status and book-reading frequency/rate are significant in terms of the pre-service teachers having these positive features. In addition, for future researches it can be examine the relationship between perceptions of the self-efficacy levels for both mathematics literacy and information literacy in in-service primary mathematics teachers and the different factors on which the relationship depends.

105-113

Authors: Hilal Karakış, Ayşen Karamete, Aydın Okçu

This study examined the effects that computer-assisted instruction had on students’ attitudes toward a mathematics lesson and toward learning mathematics with computer-assisted instruction. The computer software we used was based on the ASSURE Instructional Systems Design and the ARCS Model of Motivation, and the software was designed to teach fractions to fourth-grade students. The skill levels of these students were gauged before and after receiving the computer-assisted instruction. We structured our experimental design to use one group for both pre- and post-tests, which is considered to be one of the weak experimental designs. We conducted our research with 28 students studying in Balıkesir, Turkey, for a period of six weeks, using the specifically developed teaching material. We gathered our research data by applying an attitude scale to our mathematics lesson and to computer-assisted instruction. We also applied the Academic Achievement Test for Fractions Unit in Mathematics, a test we developed for our research. We analyzed our gathered data with the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (n<30) by using the statistical software SPSS 15. The conducted analyses showed that the activities of the developed instructional material had positively affected the attitude of the students toward computer-assisted instruction (z=-2.807, p< 0.05) and increased their academic success (z=-4.623, p<0.05). Although the attitude scale toward our mathematics lesson indicated an increase in their scores, this increase was not found statistically significant (z=-2.807, p>0.05). Based on the research results, we believe that similar materials can also be used for instructing other topics of mathematics, and similar computer-assisted activities can be developed for other courses.

123-135

Authors: Hasan Güner Berkant

This study investigates faculty of education students’ computer self-efficacy beliefs and their attitudes towards computers and implementing computer supported education. This study is descriptive and based on a correlational survey model. The final sample consisted of 414 students studying in the faculty of education of a Turkish university. The results show that male students have higher computer self-efficacy beliefs; major and class level variables do not affect students' computer attitudes and self-efficacies; students who have their own PC have more positive computer attitudes and higher computer self-efficacies; and the time spent on a computer each day and computer experience are correlated with computer attitudes and self-efficacies.

147-162

Authors: Gamze Yalavaç, Yavuz Samur

This study analyzes students' and teachers' perceptions of after school online courses (ASOC) undertaken by an institutional private middle school, which manages several campuses across Turkey. The aim of ASOC is to support students when they are home by helping them to revise the lessons, practice topics synchronously with hundreds of other students. The results of the survey, interviews, and observations show that both students and teachers prefer face-to-face lessons to online lessons. They think that ASOC can be effective only if it is implemented in small groups with more interaction and sound instructional design with engaging methods and adequate feedback is structured for students and teachers’ needs. This study may contribute to similar future research studies of online education in middle schools by revealing the upsides and downsides of this blended learning environment with recommendations offered.

173-184

Authors: İsmail İpek, Ömer Faruk Sözcü

The purpose of the study is to investigate teachers’ and students’ considerations, preferences, attitudes and awareness related to using Interactive Whiteboards in 7-12 grades and different courses, and learning. 1013 students from elementary and secondary schools and 65 teachers from different schools were selected to take questionnaire for defining their preferences and awareness for using IWBs in teaching and learning processes. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to investigate whether there were differences between students’ and teachers’ views based on the survey items. The tests of research questions generated discussion and conclusions were given at the end of the study.

216-222

Authors: Tomáš Kolofík

The aim of the research was to find out the attitudes of the pupils of the seventh, eighth and ninth year-classes of the elementary schools in Banská Bystrica to the physical and sport education. The research sample comprised 1092 pupils, out of which 584 were boys and 508 were girls. A standardised questionnaire according to Sivák et al. (2000) was used to gather the factual material. The research showed that 475 pupils (43.5%) took positive attitude to the physical and sport education, 531 pupils (48.63%) took indifferent attitude and 86 pupils (7.87%) took negative attitude. The pupils acquired majority of points in the questions focused on the cognitive part of the attitudes. On the contrary, they acquired the least number of points in the questions related to the emotional part of the attitudes. The highest average score of 67.1 points was acquired by the pupils of the 7th year-class, significantly lower value of 61.78 points was acquired by the pupils of the 8th year-class and the lowest value of 61.05 points was acquired by the pupils of the 9th year-class. The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) among the attitudes of the pupils of the 7th and 8th year-classes as well as among the pupils of the 7th and 9th year-classes. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were revealed through the chi-square test also among the attitudes of the boys and girls, while boys acquired the average score of 65.92 points and girls acquired the average score of 61.05 points.

232-238

Authors: Arturas V. Akelaitis

The main purpose of the present study is to reveal the peculiarities of social skills expression of senior high school age students in physical education classes. The independent random sample consisted of 244 (15 – 16 years old) students and 258 (17 – 18 years old) students, of which there were 224 boys and 278 girls. L. Bulotaitė and V. Gudžinskienė communication skills survey questionnaire, Tromsø social intelligence questionnaire and I. Yusupov’s empathy diagnostic method were employed. It was found that 17 – 18 years old students have higher rate of social awareness abilities, while 15 – 16 years old students have higher rate of empathy abilities and girls have a higher rate of communication and empathy skills in physical education classes than boys.

245-255

Authors: Alexander Fedorov

Aesthetic analysis of media texts, ie the analysis of art concept of the media texts of different types and genres, is closely related to the aesthetic (artistic) theory of media (Aesthetical Approach, Media as Popular Arts Approach, Discriminatory Approach ). Aesthetic theory of media literacy education has been very popular in the 1960s (especially among active supporters of film education in the era of the triumph of "auteur"). Since the 1970s, it became rapidly superseded by theories of media literacy education as critical thinking, semiotic and cultural theories, when the media educators believe that art in media - not the most important target. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the media text, not primarily for its aesthetic qualities, but in fact the content on the ideas, the components of language, symbols and signs. However, many training programs in media culture are now trying to find a compromise solution to disputes "aesthetics" and "pragmatists", combining the sphere of artistic, experimental, analytical media literacy education with practice and creative approaches.

178-186

Authors: Alexander Fedorov

This article realized the Russian way of theological media education literacy andhermeneutic analysis of specific examples of Soviet anti-religiousaudiovisual media texts: a study of the process of interpretation of these media texts, cultural and historical factors influencing the views of the media agency / authors. The hermeneutic analysis suggests media text comprehension through comparison with historical, cultural tradition and reality; penetration of its logic; through comparison of media images in historical and cultural context by combining analysis of the structural, plot, ethical, ideological, iconographic / visual, media stereotypes and analysis of media text characters. An analysis of such audiovisual media texts, in our opinion, is particularly important for media literacy education in the training of future historians, culture, art historians, sociologists, linguists, theologians, psychologists and educators.

198-212

Authors: Robert V. Mayer

In this article we analyse: 1) one–component models of training; 2) the multi–component models considering transition of weak knowledge in strong and vice versa; 3) the models considering change of working efficiency of the pupil during the day. The results of imitating modeling are presented, graphs of dependences of the pupil’s knowledge on time are provided.

116-128

Authors: Natalia V. Andraphanova

The subject of the article is usage of modern computer technologies through the example of interactive geometryenvironment Geogebra as an innovative technology of representing and studying of geometrical material which involves such didactical opportunities as vizualisation, simulation and dynamics. There is shown a classification of geometric similarity transformations of the plane, computer tools of interactive geometry environment GeoGebrawhich are used for realization of similarity transformations. It is illustrated an opportunity of usage of these represented tools while studying of concerns and properties of geometric transformations, theorem proving, solving of construction tasks.

137-149

Authors: Evelyn AmaAssan, Jacob OwusuSarfo

The study investigated the influence of geographical location, gender and age on the performance of Piagetian Conservation tasks. Four conservation tasks; conservation of liquid, length, substance amount and number respectively were administered to children [4-6 years] from rural and urban Ghana and their performance on each task were recorded. Results indicated that there were no significant relationships among the performance of Piagetian conservation tasks and geographical location. Similar trends were noted in the performance of gender and age differences on Piagetian conservation tasks. Nonetheless, older children performed better on the conservation of liquid in a glass than younger children. Based on the results, both quantities and perceptual comparisons can be applied in future studies to examine some possible variations in children’s cognitive development.

158-162

Authors: Alexander Fedorov

Media Stereotypes Analysis is the identification and analysis of stereotypical images of people, ideas, events, stories, themes and etc. in media texts. Media stereotype reflects the well-established attitudes towards a particular object, it is schematic averaged, familiar, stable representation of genres, social processes / events, ideas, people, dominate in the media texts, designed for a mass audience. The plot and genre structure in media texts has specific stereotypes: fable situations of a media text action (scene, historical period, etc.) characters, their values, ideas, language, facial expressions, gestures, clothing, image pickup, etc.

169-173

Authors: Yelena B. Yarovaya

The article examinesthe standardization of primary education as one of the development trends of the British school at the present moment in the context of improving its efficiency and quality. It analyses the positive results of the standard-based reforms (modernization of primary education content, improvement of younger students’ outcomes, expansion of school autonomy, professional growth of a primary school teacher) as well as negative ones (increased load for students and teachers, inadequate assessment system).