European Journal of Contemporary Education

381-389

Authors: Arturas V. Akelaitisa, Romualdas K. Malinauskas

Research aim was to reveal peculiarities of the education of social skills among senior high school age students in physical education classes. We hypothesized that after the end of the educational experiment the senior high school age students will have more developed social skills in physical education classes. Participants in the study were51 pupils of the ninth grade (15.15 ± 0.36). Experimental group consisted of 25 and the control group of 26 senior high school age students. Bulotaite and Gudzinskiene communication skills questionnaire; Social Skills Rating System (Student form); Snaider’s social self-control evaluation methods and Legkauskas subjective social adaptation scale were used. Repeated measures (RM) multivariate analysis of variance (2 × 2 (Group × Time) MANOVA) was used in order to analyse the effects of the educational program. During the experiment the applied measures of educational impact had a statistically significant effect on the components of experimental group senior high school age students’ communication, cooperation, assertiveness and social adaptation skills in physical education classes.

398-409

Authors: Galina A. Bakulinaa, Liudmila N. Vakhrushevaa, Olga B. Shelyginaa, Svetlana V. Savinova

The purpose of the article is to present of an innovative type of exercises in the Russian language, referred to as the complex intellectual-linguistic. The novelty of these exercises is: a) in an unusual arrangement of linguistic material which creates an educational research situation; b) in giving non-traditional tasks, aimed at simultaneously interconnected intellectual, linguistic and language development of students. The paper theoretically proves the possibility of stimulating effect of complex intellectual and language exercises on the formation of elementary schoolchildren’s cognitive abilities; characterizes types of this kind of exercises, discloses the specificity of their composition and use on different stages of the lesson of the Russian language in elementary school, presents the results of their application in the educational process.

418-429

Authors: Aleksandr A. Cherkasov, Michal Smigel

The article deals with the parish schools development in Russia in the last third of the XIX century. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the church schooldevelopment during the period of office of I. D. Delyanov as the Minister of Education (1880–1890) and the transition of the parish and peasant literacy schools under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod, thus giving the primary education an ecclesiastical character. The measures taken by the government and by the Synod in order to raise the parish educational level, the place of the parish schools in the educational process(spiritual, moral and intellectual education) and the contribution towards reducing the illiteracy of the population are considered in this work. The works of the researchers of late XIX – early XXI centuries are used as materials. The materials of the periodical press are the most essential, for example, the “Pribavleniya k tserkovnym vedomostyam”. Personal materials, such as letters and recollections were also used in the work. In conclusion, the authors sum up that in the last third of the XIX century the parish school underwent a complex transformation and became an important part of the pre-revolutionary national educational system. Due to this it was involved in the educational activities, especially for children.

438-451

Authors: Deniz Kaya, Hüseyin Cihan Bozdağ

The main objective of this study is to determine the predictive power of mathematics self-efficacy resources and perception of science self-efficacy on academic achievement. The study, adopting a relational screening model, was conducted with a total of 698 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade level of a state secondary school. Mathematics self-efficacy resources and science self-efficacy scales were used as data collection tools. Additionally, the half-terms report card grade point averages prior to the term when the study was conducted were also taken into account to determine students' academic achievements. Data analysis was performed by Pearson product-moment correlation technique and multiple linear regression analysis. According to the obtained results, resources of mathematics self-efficacy and perception of science self-efficacy were found to be significantly correlated with academic achievement in high, medium and low levels of influence. Belief in learning ability, belief in skills, mastery experiences, social persuasions and physiological states, which have significant impacts on the academic achievement, account for 48 % of the variance in the academic achievement. Indirect experiences, however, do not have a significant effect on academic achievement. Besides this, when examined the relationship between dimensions of science self-efficacy perception and mathematics self-efficacy resources; a significant relationship was observed between the belief in learning ability and mastery experiences, indirect experiences and physiological states, belief in skills and mastery experiences, indirect experiences and social persuasions.

464-471

Authors: Olga N. Sezonova, Svetlana A. Galchenko, Valentina N. Khodirevskaya

The modern market relations open provide new opportunities of development for higher educational institutions, however the majority of universities aren't ready for effective and independent business management yet. At the turn of the 21st century many educational institutions faced such problems as scarcity of federal financing, fundamental changes in demand for educational services, decrease of the requirements to educational services and qualification of their consumers, and also lack of necessary knowledge and experience to manage universities in new conditions. The growing level of competitive struggle between educational institutions added complexity to the situation that led to a disproportion in training of personnel for regional economy. That’s why the successful functioning of modern higher educational institutions should considerably depend on their fast and easily adaptation to constantly changing external environment. In our opinion the most suitable method that allows to judge on the efficiency of higher education institutions is rating assessment. Within the research we offer to create a rating of higher education institutions of Central Federal District using the integrated indicator that allows to consider the heterogeneity of the estimated criteria. The used technique allowed to determine 7 cluster groups depending on the specifics of development of higher education institution (leaders, diversifiers, accumulators of scientific research, the international orientation, accumulators of financial resources and conservatives). In article conclusionsthat are made in the article show that the revealed disproportion in development of higher education institutions has an influence on the processes of forming and development of professional and competent personnel for the region and as a result on the level of social and economic development.

479-489

Authors: Irina I. Ukraintseva, Maksim S. Romanov, Nataliya I. Neskoromnykh, Anna L. Khovyakova

This paper features the results of a study conducted as part of the project ‘The Development of Universities as Centers for the Formation of a Local Environment for the Ongoing Education of the Adult Population of a City’, undertaken by Sochi State University in 2016 as an assignment commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The paper examines, via a comparative-pedagogical approach, the theoretical and practical foundations of putting together a local environment for adult ongoing education and provides a rationale for the role of universities in the development and operation of a municipal system of ongoing education. The authors share the results of an analysis and systematization of the major trends in adult ongoing education by reference to the current best practices employed domestically and internationally. Based on the findings of a theoretical analysis of relevant research and a problem analysis of the activity of institutions of higher learning operating in local markets for educational services, the authors single out several models for the formation by universities of a municipal educational environment for adult ongoing education and draw a conclusion about the need to develop a more comprehensive, integrative, and consistent model. The paper brings forward a new model for the university operating as a center for the formation of a local environment for adult ongoing education, characterizes its specific components (objective-and-function, content, structural-logistical, instrumental-technological, and organizational-managerial), establishes the prospects for it as a tool for managing the education system, and sets out the key strategies for putting together a local educational environment for adult ongoing education.

263-271

Authors: Henry Adusei, Jacob Owusu Sarfo, Portia Manukure, Josephine Cudjoe

Teachers form one of the essential professional groups in the development domain of every country. Although most senior high school teachers in Ghana complains about poor conditions of service, a lot of them are still at post. The key research goal was to explore the retaining factors of senior high school teachers, within their existing demotivating Ghanaian socioeconomic context. Eighteen individual interviews were conducted among senior high school teachers in the Eastern Region using an interview guide. By means of an Inductive Content Analysis, three major themes emerged; (a) teachers’ retention factors, (b) teachers’ motivation factors and (c) Helping factors. It is remarkable that, motivation to these participants did not necessarily mean job satisfaction and job retention. Intrinsic motivation was rather perceived as influencing job performance while extrinsic motivations were needed to retain them. In general, the absence of these extrinsic motives were replaced with other retention factors like less tress at work, increasing liberty at work, and absence of alternative employment opportunities.

284-294

Authors: Valentin P. Babintsev, Viktor А. Sapryka, Yana I. Serkina, Galina F. Ushamirskaya

This article discusses changes that actually occur in the Russian Higher Education in the process of reform. The thesis that the functioning of the educational system increasingly detects formal rationality, not focused on the senses, and their imitation. It is noted that the Russian system of higher education refers to a specific type, which can be rightly defined as “culture-centric”. This type have a number of traits: dominance conception of education as a complex of practices, with the aim of translation of cultural codes from older to younger generations; the idea of the sacred nature of the educational process as a student-deterministic; installation of universality, according to which university graduates must be not only professionally prepared and fully developed; priority of content and semantic aspects of education in relation to formal, often even to the detriment of the latter; belief in the special position of the higher education sector, as well as education in general in relation to other spheres of activity. It is emphasized that the logical consequence of the transition to the formal rationality becomes a management simulation in which real values and meanings are replaced and replaced by a formal reproduction of operations and procedures, followed by their demonstration, declaration and decoration. It is proved that the main source of formal rationalization is a corporate bureaucracy. What evidence, unwarranted expansion of the administrative apparatus of the university, which is a logical consequence of the formalization of the educational process, excessive standardization and regulation of educational activities, as well as the deformation of the controlling function.

311-323

Authors: Milka Elena Escalera-Chávez, Arturo García-Santillán, Arturo Córdova-Rangel, Santiago González-Gómez, Esmeralda Tejada-Peña

The aim of this research work is to analyze whether there is a difference in the degree of anxiety towards mathematics among students of different educational levels. The study is not-experimental and cross sectional, and it is based on difference of means between groups. The sample is not-probabilistic, and consisted of 226 students from Tuxtepec, Mexico of different educational levels: basic, middle, upper-middle and upper. For this purpose, the questionnaire designed by Muñoz and Mato-Vázquez (2007) was utilized. It comprises five factors: anxiety toward evaluation, anxiety toward temporality, anxiety toward understanding of mathematical problems, anxiety about numbers and mathematical operations, anxiety toward mathematical situations of the real life. The results shows that anxiety toward mathematics is different by level of study, that significant differences exist between groups, and that anxiety toward assessment is higher among upper, upper-middle and middle levels, while for elementary students there is no perceptible anxiety toward mathematics.

335-343

Authors: Evgeny A. Naumenko, Olga N. Naumenko

This article is based on the data cultivated from a teaching experiment carried out in one of the institutions in the city of Tyumen. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the necessity for education of religious and national tolerance through the study of special disciplines of the confessional and ethno-cultural content, for removing psychological barriers to religious and formation of a multicultural consciousness in the future. The authors emphasizes that the increase in tolerance level involves the use of teaching methods rooted into the structure of the educational process, the result of which would be the change of personal characteristics within an individual. Such personality changes included the system of relations, values and general outlook. This article deals with the impact of forms and methodical possibilities on the correction of inter-ethnic and inter-religious interaction of students, their normal behavior in different social situations. To appreciate the realization of this purpose, the authors developed a course on «Religions of the region under study». He emphasized the requirements of the educational standard which determines the necessity to study history, culture and religion of the region under study for the specialty «Regionalstudies» in the sphere of religious and interfaith relations. Historical and cultural aspects of the course content are harmoniously integrated into the context of religious relations. The experiment had been running for over four years and had shown positive benefits in the dynamics of formation confessional tolerance for students and elements of a multicultural consciousness.

357-367

Authors: Victoria A. Shershneva, Lyudmila V. Shkerina, Valery N. Sidorov, Tatiana V. Sidorova, Konstantin V. Safonov

The article presents the theoretical framework for a competency-based approach in higher education. It shows that the general didactic principles of professional direction, interdisciplinary connections, fundamentalization and informatization form the didactic basis for the competency-based training in university. The article also actualizes the integrated use of effective approaches to training, namely, competency-based, contextual, interdisciplinary, fundamental and subject-information approaches to training, among which the competency-based approach is leading. The basic organizational and pedagogical conditions promoting the formation of competence are defined in the form of the organization of polycontextual modules in training. Besides, the article outlines the ways to enhance the effectiveness of e-learning in the future.

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.