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Abstract: The field of SLA is not without other distinguished contestants, but in the history of controversial concepts, motivation alongside emotion must, by any reckoning, emerge as the overall victor. Acknowledging the controversies surrounding the concept, this study aimed at presenting how foreign language learning as a motivated behavior can be investigated through a social theory with a different ontological outlook. The results revealed that learning English is a motivated behavior in which passing tests is the predominant goal and attending standard English classes is the primary path toward that goal. It turned out the social theory holds up for Iranian English learners and all types of motivated behavior were found and thematically described in the sample. There was a significant difference between different types, structural and nonstructural types, and males and females. Based on the results, the structural type, which is supposed to present the one that the educational structure aims to promote, does not appeal to both genders. The study concludes with the fact that the dominance of predefined structures in the educational setting, which could easily affect teachers’ mental framework, might lead to neglecting differences, wrongly labeling learners, and bringing frustrations for both themselves and their students. PubDate: 2023-04-29
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Abstract: This report includes the analysis of three chemistry textbooks in high schools in Iran for representation of nature of science (NOS). The analysis was framed by an analytical tool developed and validated by Abd-El-Khalick and a team of researchers in a large-scale study on the high school textbooks in the USA. The results indicated that NOS aspects of empirical, inferential and social dimensions of science were the most cited in all the three textbooks. The results revealed particularly, the aspects such as tentative, myth of scientific method and scientific theories were less mentioned and have not been addressed in all three textbooks. Generally, the textbooks fared poorly in their representations of NOS. The findings of this work are incommensurate with the strong emphasis in a reformed school science curriculum that underlies the need for learners to understand the scientific enterprise, and how scientific knowledge develops. The results of this study reinforce the need for a review on the mandate given to textbook publishers and writers so that a stronger focus be placed on the development of materials that better represent the tenets of NOS in educational content related to the chemistry textbooks. PubDate: 2023-04-29
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Abstract: Gifted education is a broken talent pipeline. Gifted programs in primary schools provide access to honors and advanced curriculum in middle schools, which lead to advanced courses in secondary schools, which are pipelines to higher education institutions (Milner & Ford, 2007; Patrick et al., 2020). Though gifted students exist in all backgrounds, the typical gifted-identified students are White or Asian, monolingual, are not economically disadvantaged, and are not students with a disability (U. S. Department of Education, 2020). Black students and students from other minoritized groups are severely missing from gifted education (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). This missingness is a significant loss to the talent pipeline. Despite decades of school reform meant to increase the representation of students from minoritized groups, gifted education programs in America continue to lack diversity. Equity must be built into the infrastructure from the onset and cannot be retrofitted to a system whose design was meant to segregate and exclude. Gifted education must be replaced in its current form as a talent pipeline. Creating a robust talent pipeline requires equitable education, especially for students with the highest potential to demonstrate talent. This paper discusses past challenges in creating a more equitable gifted education and a vision for future success. PubDate: 2023-04-26
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Abstract: The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the literature on the function of higher education and extract significant insights using the VosViewer and Citespaces tools. The findings reveal that higher education is a substantial worry for scientists, particularly in 2015–2019. Furthermore, research indicates a significant body of knowledge on the function of higher education in national development related to human resources, economic growth, and other social issues. Finally, the research suggests strategies for promoting higher education’s involvement in meeting the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. PubDate: 2023-04-18
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Abstract: Nowadays, with increasing competitiveness in every field, securing a good job may be difficult. In this connection, students aiming to get into the best educational institution (EI) would give them their best chance of quality education and good job opportunities. Institutional evaluation and selection are complex tasks that must simultaneously include different aspects and evaluation criteria. This work addresses the EI selection dilemma by formulating a multi-criteria decision-making computational model. This work utilizes the National Institutional Ranking Framework approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development India to rank higher education institutions in India. The problem was converted into a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model based on the accumulated criteria. This MCDM problem was further solved with the help of the Analytic Hierarchy Process by formulating a multi-criteria decision-making model for EI/university selection. Further, a new technique based on separated criteria benefits and recommendations (SCBR) has been incorporated with AHP, resulting in the advancement of the basic AHP method. The proposed technique allows comprehensibility of the qualitative method while maintaining the precision of the quantitative methodology for institutional selection of undergraduate and postgraduate students. This work is beneficial not only for the students but also for the academic job aspirants for choosing the appropriate institution. The proposed work is also applicable as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of higher education institutions. PubDate: 2023-04-13
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Abstract: Contemporary educational theory and practice increasingly emphasise the importance of integrated education in creating the conditions for success for primary school students. In Lithuania, as part of the 2020–2024 curriculum update and the development of general curricula, integrated education is highlighted as one of the priorities for achieving harmony between pupils’ academic achievements and the development of general competences, as well as the creation of a favourable emotional environment for pupils. This creates a strategic perspective on the content of education. However, there is a lack of research and insights into how such practices can be developed smoothly. For this reason, our research was carried out by targeting one of the Francophone institutes in southern France, which has successfully implemented an integrated education practice that enables learning for every pupil in the primary grades. The study analysed the context, i.e. the concept of the educational institution’s activities, which shows what should be done and how it should be done in order to achieve the quality of integrated education. In addition, the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 4 teachers at the Institute with experience in integrated education. Qualitative content analysis was used to inductively search for answers describing the essence of integrated education, the most important processes to reflect on before engaging with pupils, and to deductively identify how certain elements contribute to creating the conditions conducive to integrated education and pupils’ successful learning. PubDate: 2023-04-08
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Abstract: Developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is an important part of learning a foreign language, even though some second/foreign language (L2) teachers ignore adopting the intercultural approach to language teaching. Considering the pedagogical significance of intercultural knowledge, this study aimed at investigating Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teachers’ cognition, attitude, and practice in teaching ICC. For this purpose, 50 Iranian EFL teachers were non-randomly selected to fill in (Gonen and Saglam, International Journal of Global Education 1:26–46, 2012) adapted Teachers’ Familiarity with the Target Culture (TFTC) questionnaire, which was originally developed by (Sercu et al., Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence: An international investigation, Multilingual Matters Ltd, 2005). Next, a semi-structured interview was run with five selected Iranian EFL teachers to explore their attitudes toward teaching intercultural issues in EFL classes. Further, their practice of teaching intercultural issues inside the classroom was observed and recorded four times. The frequency analysis of the responses to the TFTC questionnaire indicated that the majority of Iranian EFL teachers were cognizant of the importance of teaching ICC. However, some discrepancies were found between their cognition, attitude, and practice in teaching intercultural issues. In practice, the teachers were not well aware of intercultural issues, and their teaching of these issues was limited to the course-books they taught. The most important implication of the study is for teacher educators to familiarize teachers with various intercultural issues to help them teach these issues in their classes more effectively. PubDate: 2023-04-08
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Abstract: This study investigated the mediating influence of lecturers and students’ characteristics on the acquisition of research skills among postgraduate students. We adopted a correlational research design involving (n = 628) postgraduate students who participated in the study. Two instruments, titled Postgraduate Lecturers’ Characteristics Form (PLCF) and Postgraduate Students’ Characteristics and Acquisition of Research Skills Questionnaire (PSCARSQ), were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS and WarpPLS computer-based statistical software. Results showed that the hypothesized causal model that describes the mediating influence of lecturers’ and students’ characteristics on the acquisition of research skills among postgraduate students in Nigerian universities was not significantly supported by the empirical data. It was also revealed that the magnitude of all the estimated direct effects of lecturers’ and students’ characteristics on postgraduate students’ acquisition of research skills were statistically significant. The lecturer-student relationship contributed significantly to students’ attitude towards research, time spent on studying and acquisition of research skills. The implication of this finding is that postgraduate lecturers and students need to establish and maintain a good interpersonal relationship, in order to foster mentorship and adequate acquisition of research skills among the students. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09481-5
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Abstract: Individual factors are critical in navigating adversity; however, the influence of social ecologies on resilience should not be undervalued. Factors such as a relationship with caregivers, and contextual factors (i.e. culture, spirituality, education), serve as resilience enablers. This article investigated the role of caregivers and context as mediators on the impact of individual factors on resilience among learners presenting with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) at schools for Learners with Special Needs (LSEN). An explanatory quantitative research design was adopted, and mediation model was employed as the conceptual framework. Mediation models were developed for this study and regression analysis was used to test the models. The sample (N = 217 respondents) of this study was purposefully selected. The hypothesis was that individual factors have an impact on resilience. However, caregivers and context factors mediate this impact. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) was used to collect data. Results confirmed that although there are individual factors that enable resilience, the individual’s caregivers, and other factors in their context, strengthen their resilience development. The results of the study revealed that resilience of learners with SLD was enabled by a combination of individual factors and social-ecological factors (such as, caregivers and context). Therefore, a combination of factors is involved in the development of resilience. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09484-2
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Abstract: This survey explores attitudes of 245 currently enrolled college students with disabilities regarding their comfort taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Results suggest most college students with disabilities are willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine if their institution requires it to return to campus in subsequent semesters. However, many students with disabilities would not feel comfortable with a vaccine mandate mid-semester and would consider withdrawing, especially among older students with disabilities and first generation college students with disabilities. Implications for postsecondary policy and leadership are addressed. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09482-4
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Abstract: Saudi Arabia has officially recognized learning disabilities as a new category of disability since 1996. The Saudi government has since developed policies to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities in the least restrictive environments. With the growing population of these students in Saudi schools, this search is thus focused on determining a means of identifying students with learning disabilities and providing them with appropriate services. School practices, which refer to the discrepancy between intelligence quotient and academic achievement, are still used for identifying learning disabilities and making eligibility decisions for special education services in resource rooms. This article examines the discrepancy model and suggests the usage of the response to intervention approach as an alternative model. Additionally, the article suggests the use of a multifaceted approach for identifying and supporting students with learning disabilities. Recommendations regarding investment in data, use of evidence-based practices, and monitoring of the progress of students with learning disabilities are provided. The recommendations underscore the need to create procedural guidelines to identify students with learning disabilities, offer relevant professional development programs, and improve the accountability of the education system. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09485-1
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Abstract: Childhood marginalization is the result of complicated processes that appears difficult to address for policymakers worldwide. Neo-institutional theory enables studies of the complexity of educational organizations, showing how they evolve in responses to their contradictory surroundings and generate unintended social inequality. Three Nordic municipalities are currently participating in a project that focuses on the increasing polarization between exposed and privileged schools in urban areas and on the significance of institutional and organizational factors in their local welfare models in ensuring childhood equity. The project we report on combines data in contrasting urban school areas. After showing some examples of voices in the project, the authors discuss how municipal actors are informed about social problems in school organizations yet lack research-based tools to counteract social inequality in education. They theorize how collaboration between researchers and welfare providers can contribute to counteract social inequality. Lessons from the project indicate a need for further collaboration between different stakeholders that includes different voices to ensure that research on childhood inequality is relevant and has an impact. PubDate: 2022-12-16 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09480-6
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Abstract: This article contributes to the on-going discussion of parental involvement in the education of children, with emphasis on new and unfamiliar roles of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case study undertaken focuses on parents of first graders who belong to non-vulnerable and vulnerable social groups, and the first-grade teachers of a public primary school in the north of Greece. Research questions address the experience of ‘parents–teachers’, the need for technological tools and the required digital literacy, as well as the impact of homeschooling on the wellbeing of the family unit. Data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews. The data analysis shows that parents of both social groups took on the role of the teacher to accommodate the learning challenges of first graders. Mothers from vulnerable groups, in particular, encountered various challenges when attempting to support their children mainly in language lessons. Regarding the use of new technologies, the pandemic found parents of both groups unprepared and unfamiliar with the process of distance education. Stress and worry were the dominant emotions from the very start of homeschooling during the early stages of the pandemic while towards the end of the first lockdown, exhaustion overwhelmed parents and pupils. The article concludes with emphasizing the importance of active parental involvement and coaching that enables parents to contribute substantially to their children’s education in emergency situations. PubDate: 2022-12-01 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09464-6
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Abstract: The 21st century has ushered in accelerated new technologies, new knowledge and new information and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) – causing rapid changes in the way humans live and work and resulting in an outcry for educational reforms globally. Many frameworks and debates centred on rethinking and reshaping the curriculum including what knowledge, skills, values and attitudes should be taught to prepare learners to thrive in the 21st century, have been developed. This study examined the students’ conceptions of 21st century education in four diverse schools in Zimbabwe. The study is framed by the powerful theory and the complexity theory. The study used a quantitative non-experimental correlation design to collect data from four secondary schools, three of which follow the ZIMSEC syllabus and the other, a private school that follows a Cambridge syllabus. The questionnaire was adapted from the Partnership for 21st century framework (P21) and (Ravitz, 2014) to fit the Zimbabwean context. A total of 236 students and 93 took part. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the students’ conception of 21st century skills is defined by three factors: the learning of self-management, learning skills and values and learning process. Students most strongly endorsed self-management. It is envisaged that the proposed model of Zimbabwean students’ conceptions of 21st century skills will act as a baseline for theory, policymakers, head teachers, teachers and teacher education colleges to realign the current teaching to fit the 21st century curricula. PubDate: 2022-11-10 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09483-3
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Abstract: Teachers’ professional competencies are essential abilities which assure the success of teachers in performing their responsibilities. The major purpose of the present study is to construct an EFL teachers’ professional competencies Questionnaire in Iran and to examine the relationship between teachers’ professional competencies and their students’ achievement. With this aim, all the steps and stages of questionnaire development and validation were done. The scale consists of six main categories: personality factors, interpersonal factors, professional factors, factors related to teaching materials, learner factors, and assessment factors. The first draft of the scale consisted of 51 items. After employing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), it was revealed that the questionnaire consists of a high validity. Also, for having a better fit for model and construct validity, one item was omitted out of the first draft of the questionnaire because of having low loadings. In addition, according to the findings, there were positive significant relationships between all six sub-constructs of teachers’ competencies and students’ achievement. Finally, findings are discussed, and implications are presented in the context of English language teaching. The findings contribute empirical evidence to provide a framework for assessing and evaluating EFL teachers’ competencies in their profession. PubDate: 2022-08-30 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09471-7
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Abstract: Lack of development in different societies of the world has been attributed to university education in recent times. Degrees are envisaged to be synonymous to skill acquisitions which are expected to be reflected in the society. Meanwhile, it remains controversial whether university education is actually responsible for development of skills and societies or not. Thus the reason for this study which adopts a review method. Relevant literatures were reviewed with regards to the subject matter. The findings show that university education can aid skills acquisition, promotion, amongst others. However, the findings also show that acquirement of degrees is not necessarily synonymous to skills acquisition and may not be a determinant to development in the society in some instances. Meanwhile, the relevance of degrees in skills acquisition is largely dependent on the type of designed education provided. The study recommends that focus and due attention should be given to education that enhances skills acquisition and promotes glocalization where students are trained to acquire and put to use skills that are needed in their society while using global standard. PubDate: 2022-08-29 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09477-1
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Abstract: The question of love and its place in pedagogy has brought diverging views and disagreement. It would appear to be creating more problems than it solves. On one hand, the contention lies on the discussion of love as something extraneous to our being by using an either-or approach. On the other hand, it lies on the understanding of love as something bereft in our shared human experience especially in moments of suffering. These problematic approaches have led to disagreements among those who subscribe to the place of love in pedagogy and those who propose that love does not have any place in education. I hereby propose an alternative approach; one that encourages willing the good of the other for the other. If all educational endeavours and all the opposing positions on love and its place in pedagogy is done based on promoting the good of the other, then love is essentially and existentially integral in education because love is for the good of the other. This became apparent to me through a ‘poor pedagogy’ that opened the door for a transformative learning curve. I explored this insight philosophically through a discussion of the Socratic way that shaped the ancient Greeks’ understanding of love and education. I relate this understanding to my personal teaching experience and then examine the implication of love for education as something that influences positively the educational experience of both teachers and students in their pursuit of the highest good, manifesting in the reward of love as love. PubDate: 2022-08-25 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09474-4
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Abstract: This paper is based on an online experiment, conducted with bachelor students of educational sciences during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the spring of 2020. The experiment, which took place on a daily basis for a whole workweek, consisted of a series of what we have come to call “artistic-scientific interventions”. These constituted a pedagogical praxis in which over a longer period of time students are challenged to collect and ‘think with’ artistic media as alternative ways of experiencing, studying, and evaluating the corona crisis. Our paper describes the structure and proceedings of this experiment against the background of efforts to develop a new philosophical idea of what it means to do pedagogy. This idea, inspired by philosophers of science like Bruno Latour, contests some of the classical divides that run through the educational sciences, and that we believe pose a great threat to their relevance in current times of crisis: empirical/speculative, quantitative/qualitative, natural/social, facts/meaning, object/subject, etc. What our experiment shows, beyond all obsession with validating hypotheses or consistency of results, is that art, as an education of the senses, can afford science with a much needed platform for (re)creating and/or (re)arranging circumstances in which those problematic divides may be overcome. However, what it also shows is that often this only works when art is approached, not through the lens of predominantly respresentationalist aesthetics, but as a full-fledged part of a scientific (c.q. pedagogical) discipline. Especially in a diffuse digital environment, this entails a need for transindividual, impersonal protocols which allow for both repetition, variation, and feedback, and instil a strong sense of transformative gathering and study. PubDate: 2022-08-08 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09458-4
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Abstract: The abolition of corporal punishment (CP) in South African schools in 1996 has continued to generate heated debates among all concerned stakeholders in the educational sector. While some support the ban of corporal punishment, others have vehemently protested its abolishment. Unfortunately, irrespective of the line of debate, legislative instrument has forbidden teachers to use CP on learners and educators have been advised to employ Alternative to Corporal Punishment (ATCP) methods in schools. Regrettably, educators’ capabilities and the effectiveness of ATCP in lieu of CP, especially in the KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, is yet to be established. Hence, this study is based on the Stimulus-Response Theory and has explored educators’ perceptions and their capabilities of using ATCP in secondary schools. This study employed a qualitative research design to collect data through semi-structured interviews with 12 educators which comprise of three principals and nine teachers from three secondary schools and two circuit managers within the City of uMhlathuze municipalities in the King Cetshwayo district, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Data collected were analysed using thematic content analysis with an iterative process. Findings revealed that educators use ATCP, but they are dissatisfied because: They cannot make use of CP; there are no specific effective ATCP strategies; they need active involvement of parents/guardians to promote expected behaviour among learners, and they have reduced capacities to discipline learners with ATCP. Based on the findings, the study recommended capacity building programmes for educators for effective use of ATCP to maintain discipline in schools. Also, there is a need for concrete synergy between the schools and parents/guardians to foster self-discipline in learners. PubDate: 2022-08-08 DOI: 10.1007/s10780-022-09460-w
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