ACEID2023 Pre-Recorded Virtual Presentations

Counselling, Guidance & Adjustment in Education

66955 | Why Does a Student’s Perspective Matter? Understanding the Relationship Between College Transition and Academic Wellbeing: A Critical Realist Perspective

Lasha Khojanashvili, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Mzia Tsereteli, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia

Shalva Kikalishvili, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Transition to college is a multifactorial process entailing the reciprocal interaction of dispositional and situational factors. This relation is reflected in the experience of an individual and creates unique construct of Adjustment. In turn, this influences academic well-being of the learner and in the long term, the achievement of the learning objectives. Interaction of constructs of a transition and academic well-being is a dynamic process and is reproduced in the constructed reality of an individual. Accordingly, This is a unique experience and requires in-depth assessment, in order to call for intervention and to create programs focusing on students' successful adjustment. Notably, study of such concept is oriented around positive ontological framework, which in some way limits the assessment of learners' distinctive perspective. Following the above mentioned, the aim of the study was: to describe a connection between academic well-being and a person-centered transition model based on the critical-realistic ontological framework. The study was conducted on 14 students from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University by means of a qualitative method applying semi-structured interviews. The data was processed by Big Q approach to the thematic analysis. As a result of the study three key issues were identified: (1) Learner's subjective construct of transition included cognitive, communicative, self-regulatory and psycho-social components. (2) Cognitive and communicative constructs of the transition is related to academic satisfaction. (3) During transitional process, constructs within physio-social component, specifically “difficulties of independent life” and “loneliness and stress” are connected to academic stress.

Education & Difference: Gifted Education, Special Education, Learning Difficulties & Disability

68980 | Characteristics of Executive Function and Its Relationship With Mastery Motivation in Young Children With Global Developmental Delays

Pei-Jung Wang, Asia University, Taiwan

Chien-Lin Lin, China Medical University, Taiwan

Executive function encompasses multiple functions of brain related to cognitive constructs such as self-regulation and mastery motivation. Whether there was group difference executive function between young children with global developmental delay (GDD) and with typical development (TD) was unclear. The relationship of child mastery motivation with executive function has rarely been examined by previous studies. Therefore, two purposes of this study were: 1) to investigate differences in executive function between young children with GDD and those with TD; 2) to examine the relationship between mastery motivation and executive function in GDD and TD groups. This study design was cross-sectional. We recruited each 26 children with GDD aged 2 to 5 years and 26 children TD to participate in this study. The participants were invited to our laboratory in order to conduct child behavioral tests, and their mothers were asked to fill in questionnaires, including the revised Dimension of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ 18) with preschool version to assess mastery motivation, and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function with preschool version (BRIEF-P) to assess executive function. Paired-t test was used to examine group difference, and correlations were used to examine association (p<.05, two-tailed). Children with GDD showed lower executive function abilities than those with TD (t = 2.20 to 5.53, P <.05). Young children with high persistence showed better executive function (r = -.38 to -.59, P <.05). Therefore, how to work cooperation with parents to enhance mastery motivation in order to facilitate development of executive function in early education/intervention settings.

69056 | Psychological Challenges as Factors of Learning Difficulties Among Cambodian Children

Virak Uon, VVOB Camboda, Cambodia

Thearom Ret, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Vanna Op, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Thida Kim, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia aceid.iafor.org/aceid2023-virtual-presentations

Given growing evidence indicating correlation between children's learning issues and problems at home, this qualitative study aims to understand potential factors influencing learning difficulties in Cambodian primary education. In this way, the study informs ministries and decision makers to address the effect of the home environment on learning performance.

With a qualitative design, the sample size of this study included 21 students, 30 caregivers, 23 teachers, 4 school leaders, and 8 school officers from four areas and schools located in two Cambodian provinces—Battambang and Kampong Cham. The data were collected using in-depth interviews, a series of focus group discussions, and classroom observation. With responses from 46 interviews with the target groups, the findings were typically comprehensive.

Results from this study highlighted some psychological challenges as factors of learning difficulties among Cambodian children. These factors involved financial distress, family separation, domestic violence, child abuse, parental distress and disengagement, leading to academic failure or low performance at school. Generally, low school performance is related to multiple factors, including lack of parental involvement and low quality of teaching. Based on the study, parent-teacher collaboration is lacking at all four schools. Such a collaborative mechanism is crucial in addressing children’s learning difficulties. Whereas teachers were aware of learners’ learning difficulties, few teachers linked low learning performance and psychosocial challenges.

Recommendations include developing a tool to identify psychosocial challenges for school leaders and teachers to respond more effectively to children’s needs and to reinforce parent-teacher collaboration by including it in the school development plan.