Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science

134-142

Authors: Mohd Khata Jabor, Magaji Ibrahim Sale, Ahmad Aliyu Deba, Aede Hatib Musta’mal, Abubakar Sadiq Bappah

This conceptual reviewed paper looks critically at the trend of information and communication technology especially now that the implementation of e-learning is gaining more relevance in Nigerian tertiary institutions. It discusses the level of preparedness in terms of the required skills by Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) teachers, availability of infrastructures and other constraints in using the ICTs for effective teaching and learning. Beside, leadership strategies ranging from school administration, executive leaders and policy makers roles were also discussed as a vital component in line with the outlined barrier to TVE teacher preparedness to e-learning. Specifically, the study sought to answer four among the most critical questions that need to be addressed for effective implementation of e-learning in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The paper concluded by making recommendations based on the four questions statedin this study. Amongst the recommendations are that urgent step needs be taken by school and executive administrators and policy makers in the training of TVE teachers in the relevant ICTs areas through in-service training and seminars/workshops.

155-166

Authors: SEDLAČÍK, Marek; ČECHOVÁ Ivana; DOUDOVÁ Lucie

Applied mathematics and English language belong among consequential subjects within the Faculty of Economics and Management curriculum. The authors focused on these two subjects and apart from their description they deal with entrance exam analysis for bachelor degree at the Faculty of Economics and Management, which is a part of the University of Defence. In an endeavour to widen the understanding referring to factors predicting academic achievement in tertiary education, the authors compare the entrance test results and try to find out whether there is an independent relationship between success in the English language test and success in the Learning Potential Test. Exploratory statistics and methods of non-parametric statistics for testing of the hypothesis regarding this relationship is described in the last part of this article.

179-189

Authors: VNOUČKOVÁ, Lucie

The primary goal of all organisations is efficiency of human resources. Therefore activities as HR controlling, performance management but also cutting costs are the main theme. Current organisations need to monitor human resources to keep their competitiveness. Thus paper describes the key factor of organisational efficiency - employee education, talent management and the necessity to retain skilled employees. The aim of the paper is to reveal the current approach in organisations to education and learning based on primary survey of employees. The data were collected using quantitative primary survey in Czech organisations across sectors. The questionnaire was compiled based on the theoretical background. The paper has been processed based on the analysis of secondary sources, outcome synthesis and the evaluation of results of a questionnaire survey. The data were analysed using descriptive statistic, correlation analysis and factor analysis. The SPSS programme was used for the analyses. The outcomes were categorized and the analyses revealed the main factors affecting organisational approach to employee learning and development. The results identify three possible approaches in organisations to employee learning and development. The first type of organisations educates employees by their own rules, second type does not support education of employees in any way, it is only an interest of employees themselves and thirdly knowledgeable employees were identified as those employees do as much as possible to learn and grow and they choose job position in order to develop constantly. The results can be taken into account in further analysis and in organisation of adult education.

61-70

Authors: KÖPRÜLÜ,Özlem

This article focuses on action research study which was conducted with the third class students of English Language Teaching Department ,which was completed in four weeks.The aim was to introduce action research to teachers-in-preparation and encourage them to use it after their graduation to help them to become reflective teachers..Before this action research began,teachers-in-preparation had been tutoring for five weeks.In the first week of the action research study,in the classroom, students tried to find common teaching problems they had while tutoring and they used data collection techniques such as video-taping and peer observation, and in the second week they shared what they had learned about their problems and what their action plans were.In later weeks they shared the results of their the action plans and how successful their plans were.It was hoped that teachers-in-preparation would become more flexible in their thinking,be more open to new ideas and would learn to develop professional autonomy.

84-104

Authors: KOTEKOVÁ, Daniela

The aim of language learning is not only to achieve an academic success carried out by a fluent speaking; mastering the grammar and vocabulary but it should also focus on the psychological comfort and the intrinsic readiness of the students to participate in their education - to receive and perform. The learners’ self-esteem plays the fundamental role in any language classroom but gaining it is the task on its own and can be quite a challenge for the teachers. How students feel is closely related to their ability to learn. Teachers’ task is thus not only to provide knowledge and information but first of all they should immerse themselves into the student’s mind and discover the best way to awake learner’s will to communicate. This paper focuses on two kinds of aspects participating on the emotional state of the learner, academic and psychological. The students of two different levels of English have answered the questionnaire, assessing their attitude, anxiety and motivation towards learning English. Each opinion has been evaluated and put into relationship with the ability to relax, understand, learn and enjoy at the same time. Their analyses have become the base of several teaching techniques that would build and encourage the students’ confidence as the main condition to start any cognitive process. If confidence is the cause or the outcome of mastering a foreign language was the question asked and answered in this work. Confidence mastery has thus played the fundamental role in the present survey.

1-13

Authors: TURČÁNI, Milan; KUNA, Peter

Nowadays, quality Mathematical basis - Informatics is an inherent part of study. Mathematical basis is provided by Discrete Mathematics that is taught as a compulsory subject in stated study program in the Department of Mathematics. Authors clarify significance and importance of simple thematic units of subject Discrete Mathematics in teaching technical-system subjects in study programme Applied Informatics. Mentioned subject is being taught in first year of University study and knowledge that students acquire during the study of this course are the "cornerstone" for their further development in technical-system study. Justness and importance of individual topics were analysed based on the evaluation of questionnaires, in which pedagogues teaching professional IT subjects alloted weighted coefficients to individual thematic units. Weighted coefficients were alloted based on the significance of the given topic of the subject Discrete Math, with regard to the IT subject they are teaching. Upon designing the e-course, experience with the creation of linear and branch teaching software were used. For the simulation of the transition of students through individual lessons as well as the whole course, authors employed the method of the teaching process simulation using Petri nets.

24-33

Authors: PROKÝŠEK, Miloš; RAMBOUSEK, Vladimír

The article deals with the issue of the impact of spatial visualization on education. It reports on some of the findings of a research project focused on defining the correlation between components of spatial intelligence and absorbing the information presented by planar or spatial visualization. The research examined educational impact of differences in mental models of lower-secondary school students watching spatial visualization in relation to mental models formed through watching planar visualization and also a level of cognitive strain of learners perceiving spatial and planar visualization in relation to their specific predispositions, namely to various components of spatial intelligence.

46-60

Authors: RAUCHOVÁ, Tereza; HOUŠKA, Milan

Texts are an important way to share and transfer knowledge. In this paper we analyse the impact of a specific form of texts, so called “knowledge texts”, on the efficiency of knowledge transfer. The objective is to verify or reject several hypotheses on the relationships among the style of educational texts (standard or knowledge styles), learning outcomes (performance of the students after learning) and subjective evaluation of conformity of working with individual styles of the texts. For this purpose, we carry out experiment with a homogeneous group of the students (n = 41) divided into an experimental group and a control group. We use statistical methods to process the results of the experiments; ability of the students to solve specific tasks and their opinions on readability and understandability of the texts subject to the time spent for learning. Even if we determine statistically significant relationships between the style of texts and accuracy of the problem solving in the experimental group only, the results allow us to improve the experiment and apply the methodology developed in a less structured branch than the Operational Research (Graph Theory) is. The methodology is another benefit of the paper, because it can be applied independently on a particular domain.

185-194

Authors: KUNSTOVÁ, Renáta

This paper summarizes the results of analysis which concerns new opened field of study with distance mode of study. The aim of analysis is to evaluate the comparability of full-time and distance mode of study and to answer three research questions. The first question concerns the characteristics of distance students who unsuccessfully ended their study already after the second semester. The second research question focuses on utilization of online tests and lists of control questions. The third question investigates how important are video records of lectures for distance students. The analysis is based on data obtained from the Integrated Study Information System. Results should be taken into account in the coming years, when lecturers will update e-earning study materials and prepare tutorials.

203-211

Authors: KASPŘÍKOVÁ, Nikola

Examination results are rather important for many students with regard to their future profession development. Results of exams should be carefully inspected by the teachers to help improve design and evaluation of tests and education process in general. Analysis of examination papers in mathematics taken by students of basic mathematics course at University of Economics in Prague is reported. The first issue addressed is identification of significant dependencies between performance in particular problem areas covered in the test and also between particular items and total score in test or ability level as a latent trait. The assessment is first performed with Spearman correlation coefficient, items in the test are then evaluated within Item Response Theory framework. The second analytical task addressed is a search for groups of students who are similar with respect to performance in test. Cluster analysis is performed using partitioning around medoids method and final model selection is made according to average silhouette width. Results of clustering, which may be also considered in connection with setting of the minimum score for passing the exam, show that two groups of students can be identified. The group which may be called "well-performers" is the more clearly defined one.

226-238

Authors: NATOVOVÁ, Ludmila, CHÝLOVÁ, Hana

This study examines the particularities of various stress coping strategies (measured by standardized stress coping strategies questionnaire SVF 78) used by undergraduate university students (N=177). The first part was focused on gender differences. Part II compares groups differing in age and level of family-school-work conflict, drawing on the division according to the type of study: Part-time (N=102) and Full-time (N=75) students as well as on the age distinction (age<23: N=95, age>24: N=82). The findings indicate that there are age differences, as well as differences between the groups of part-time and full-time students, in the use of stress coping strategies, especially regarding the use of the positive triad: situation control, reaction control and positive self-instruction.

252-261

Authors: LAZÁR, Ivan, HUSÁR, Jozef

This article discusses the creation and use of known algorithms in production that uses a flow-shop system to monitor and verify its operability. It also describes the input data, which must be further opportunities for decision entered into the system. In the next section are described in detail the different parts of this procedure. Than it describes the sequential problems that are not yet at a practical level, few addressed, but thus methods shorten the processing time. The conclusion focuses on the validation of the serviceability of the manufacturing system using knowledge mentioned and their embedding and verification by simulation.

115-124

Authors: Jayawardena, L N A Chandana and Kuruppuge, R H

The objective of the study was to examine the impact of gender-wise and syllabus-wise study approaches in academic performances of high school students. Study involved ninety high school students (45 girls, and 45 boys) randomly selected from two high schools in Galle, and Gampaha, Sri Lanka. Study process of respondents was measured by employing the ‘revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire’ of Biggs et.al (2001). Descriptive and inferential analyses of data were conducted by using the SPSS software. The Study Approaches (including study motives, and study strategies) employed by respondents during the study process were examined. Relationships were tested among study process variables pertaining to the gender, and syllabus of respondents and their academic performances. High School girls have indicated deeper study methodologies in comparison to the boys. Science stream students recorded deeper study methodologies, and Arts stream students recorded surface study methodologies. Girls recorded superior examination results over boys. A positive relationship was found between the surface study approach and Academic performances of girls. Study highlights the necessity of defining, and applying integrated study process approaches, and evaluation techniques for the vitality of education.

135-147

Authors: CHÝLOVÁ, Hana; NATOVOVÁ, Ludmila

The aim of present study is to investigate the particularities of using various stress coping strategies by undergraduate students at the Czech University of Life Sciences (CULS) with a special regard to the balance between positive and negative stress coping strategies, and resulting consequences. Authors focused on comparing differences in the use of coping strategies between standardized scores of the Czech population and student population, as well as on identifying differences in the use of coping strategies between both genders. The data were collected using the standardized stress coping strategies questionnaire - SVF 78. Of the total number of 177 students, 63 were male and 114 were female undergraduate students of Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM) at CULS. The most important outcome of the current study research is a proven significant distinction between the positive-negative stress coping strategies employed by CULS undergraduate students and those of the Czech population sample. From the global point of view, the use of positive stress coping techniques seems comparatively high and might therefore be considered as satisfactory. However, significantly lower use of the most constructive and, in longer prospective, most approved group of strategies is rather disappointing.

157-172

Authors: Milos Maryska, Petr Doucek

This paper describes partial results of surveys realized among Czech universities and business units which aim has been to analyze current situation in demand and supply side of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) specialists at the labor market in the Czech Republic. The demand and supply side are compared through their requirements on knowledge of ICT specialists. The results present typical “product” of Czech education system in ICT competencies. General conclusions show that majority of undergraduates do not have appropriate knowledge profile to enter ICT corporate business as qualified employees - ICT specialist - without further additional training. The same fact is valid for a little less than a half of graduates at master level. During quantitative analysis, we have identified that at about 60 per cent of ICT specialists did not pass a formal ICT education. These facts show lacks in ICT oriented study programs and provoke requirement on further development of ICT oriented curricula in accordance to business requirements and needs.