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VOLUME 19 NUMBER 10 October 2020 Table of Contents Using Systematic Synthetic Phonics to Accelerate Rural Indigenous Children’s Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills 1 Jia Rong Yap and Mellisa Lee Lee Chin Active Learning in Economic Subject: A Case Study at Secondary School ................................................................... 19 Ramlee Ismail, Marinah Awang, Seow Yea Pyng and Muhammad Ridhuan Bos Abdullah Inclusion of the FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE for Creating Effective Courses 32 Antonio Silva Sprock Supporting Natural Science Pre Service Teachers during Work Integrated Learning: A Case of a Lesson Study Approach 60 Wiets Botes, Boitumelo Moreeng and Moeketsi Mosia Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Achievement and Development of Critical Thinking Skills among Sixth Grade Science Students 77 Mohammad Salih Al Shehri Rethinking Privilege in Teaching English in Japanese Higher Education 100 Khatereh Hosseininasab The Power Sources and Influences of Secondary School Principals in Eastern Ethiopia 115 Birhanu Sintayehu Exploring Educators’ Challenges of Online Learning in Covid 19 at a Rural School, South Africa 134 Kananga Robert Mukuna and Peter J. O. Aloka Managing Continuing Education via Distance Learning and Face to Face Courses for Human Resource Development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam 150 Phuong Tam Pham, Tran Binh Duong, Thi Thuy Trang Phan, Thai Huu Nguyen, Minh Thanh Nguyen, Trinh Le Thi Tuyet, Nguyen Duong Hoang, Duong Hoang Yen and Tien Trung Nguyen Sociocultural Adaptation and Program Management Strategies for International Doctoral Students of the “Confucius China Studies Program” ............................................................................................................................... 172 Fan Yang Autonomous English Language Learning Beyond the Classroom: Indonesian Tertiary Students’ Practices and Constraints 194 Daflizar Computer Coding and Choreography: Contrasting Experiences of Learning About Collaboration in Engineering and Creative Arts................................................................................................................................................................ 214 Nicholas Rowe, Rose Martin and Nasser Giacaman

Instructional Leadership and Students Academic Performance: Mediating Effects of Teacher’s Organizational Commitment........................................................................................................................................................................ 233 Adeel Ahmed Khan, Soaib Bin Asimiran, Suhaida Abdul Kadir, Siti Noormi Alias, Batool Atta, Bukar Ali Bularafa and Masood Ur Rehman The Impact of Inclusion Setting on the Academic Performance, Social Interaction and Self Esteem of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Systematic Review and Meta Analysis............................................................................. 248 Sulaiman M. Alshutwi, Aznan Che Ahmad and Lay Wah Lee Teacher Support for Eliciting Students Mathematical Thinking: Problem Posing, Asking Questions, and Song . 265 Ary Woro Kurniasih, Isti Hidayah and Mohammad Asikin Move to Online Learning during COVID 19 Lockdown: Pre Service Teachers’ Experiences in Ghana 286 Ugorji I. Ogbonnaya, Florence C. Awoniyi and Mogalatjane E. Matabane Current Methods for Assessing the Level of Foreign Language Proficiency of University Students 304 Nataliia S. Ivasiv, Mariya S. Kozolup, Olena V. Oleniuk, Nataliia V. Rubel and Nataliya Y. Skiba Teaching through Experiential Learning Cycle to Enhance Student Engagement in Principles of Accounting 323 Rohaila Yusof, Khoo Yin Yin, Norlia Mat Norwani, Zuraidah Ismail, Anis Suriati Ahmad and Salniza Salleh The Value of Feedback in Primary Schools: Students’ Perceptions of the Practice.................................................... 338 Abatihun Alehegn Sewagegn and Askalemariam Adamu Dessie Digital Collaboration in Teaching and Learning Activities: The Reflexivity Study on Educational Digital Empowerment 355 Irwansyah and Sofiatul Hardiah “This is why students feel lost when they go into teaching practice”: English Language Teachers’ Views on their Initial Teacher Education 371 Sue Garton

https://orcid.org/0000 0002 5049 2205

Abstract. Studies focusing on the strategy of phonics in Malaysia have highlighted the insufficiency and ineffectiveness of SBELC phonics training received by teachers, resulting in confusion among them as to what really constitutes effective use of the phonics strategy. On the other hand, systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) has been proven beneficial in accelerating the performance of children in their early literacy. However, few studies have been conducted on English language learners as the majority of those research was focused on native speakers of the English language. Against this background, this article presents a description of a systematic way of teaching phonics that could inform teachers on how the strategy can be optimally utilised to accelerate the performance of students who are possibly at risk of being left behind. It then reports an investigation that compared the efficacy of SSP against SBELC phonics in accelerating the acquisition of early literacy skills with a group of indigenous children residing in the rural parts of Sarawak, Malaysia. Five instruments; (1) productive letter sound test, (2) free sound isolation test, (3) reading test, (4) spelling test, and (5) oral reading fluency test were administered to measure phonemic awareness, decoding, reading, and spelling ability. Data were collected from the pretest and the posttest. The results demonstrate that both groups recorded significant improvement in reading and spelling, but children in the experimental group (SSP) outperformed thecontrolgroup(SBELCphonics) significantly.Following this, SSP should be implemented in classrooms to help accelerate children’s early reading fluency and spelling ability.

Keywords: early literacy; English language learners; indigenous children; phonemic awareness; systematic synthetic phonics

https://orcid.org/0000 0002 8352 682X Mellisa Lee Lee Chin University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 1 18, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.12020

Using Systematic Synthetic Phonics to Accelerate Rural Indigenous Children’s Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills Jia Rong Yap University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. Introduction Throughout the course of the reformation of English Language Education (ELE) in Malaysia, various pedagogical approaches have been employed by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) to ensure the competent acquisition of the language among Malaysians (Hazita, 2016). One significant initiative is the introduction of the Communicative Language Teaching method in the 1982’s Primary School Integrated Curriculum (KBSR) to promote second language vocabulary acquisition. This method remains beneficial in the development of communicative competence (Chin, Karunakaran & Yap, 2019). Presently, the CEFR aligned Standards Based English Language Curriculum [CEFR aligned SBELC] (MOE, 2017) continues to map out “pedagogical approaches [that are] built on the foundations of communicative competences” (pp. 1 2). To achieve this, the CEFR aligned SBELC recommends the principle of going “back to basics” and states that “it is essential for teachers to begin with basic literacy skills in order to build a strong foundation of language skills” (p. 6). Based on this premise, the MOE’s move to incorporate phonics as a strategy for English teaching and learning is arguably a step in the right direction in providing a solid foundation for students’ subsequent successful acquisition of the English language. Indeed, phonics as a useful strategy for early literacy has been widely acknowledged by both international (e.g., Ehri, 2020; Wyse & Goswami, 2008) and local researchers (e.g., Su & Hawkins, 2013; Zulkifli & Melor, 2019) alike. First introduced in 2011 and as stipulated in the then newly revamped Standards Based English Language Curriculum (SBELC), “the Years 1 and 2 learning standards address basic literacy using the strategies of phonics to develop phonemic awareness in pupils to enable them to become independent readers by the end of Year 2” (MOE, 2011, pp. 8 9). This strategy is carried over into the CEFR aligned SBELC, with two dedicated documents now prepared by the MOE to guide teachers with classroom phonics teaching and learning practices. However, despite the Malaysian government’s substantial investment in revising the English language curriculum and providing continuous professional development courses to teachers, several key challenges remain to be addressed. Fundamentally, the implementation of CEFR aligned SBELC left much to be desired because teachers lack a full understanding of the suggested teaching methods, and have limited knowledge of the curriculum altogether due to the inadequacy of training (Sidhu, Kaur & Chi, 2018). Next, studies focusing on the strategy of phonics in Malaysia (e.g., Nadiah Yan, Napisah & Mariyatunnitha, 2014; Rabindra, Nooreiny & Hamidah, 2016) have similarly highlighted the inconsistency, insufficiency, and ineffectiveness of the SBELC phonics training received by teachers, resulting in misconceptions and confusion among teachers as to what really constitutes effective use of the phonics strategy. In this regard, systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) could be the answer to the abovementioned issues. Educational groups in Anglophone countries such as the United States of America’s National Institute of Child Health and Development, the United Kingdom’s Department for Education and Skills (through recommendations of The Rose Review, 2006), New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Literacy Experts Group, and Australian National Inquiry into the

Teaching of Literacy have acknowledged the centrality of SSP in accelerating the acquisition of early literacy (Bowey, 2011; Jolliffe, Waugh & Gill, 2019). As suggestedin the term itself, the superiority of SSP lies in its systematicity. It begins with developing learners’ phonemic awareness through the letter sound training (both productive and receptive), followed by the five phase phonics training, and the after phase blending and segmenting practices. Additionally, SSP includes pseudowords to ensure children apply the phonics strategy in reading and spelling. In comparison, the SBELC phonics conducts the letter sound training and phonics training concurrently. It uses only real words, with occasional blending and segmenting activities. Unsurprisingly, findings from the present study have shown the experimental group (SSP) outperforming the control group (SBLEC phonics) in their early literacy skills.

Having said that, for successful teaching of reading and spelling through phonics, the development of learners’ foundation in phonemic awareness should take precedence. According to Cunningham (1988, as cited in Griffith & Olson, 1992), phonemic awareness is the understanding that the sounds of a spoken language work together to make words. Specifically, phonemic awareness does not sound out words, but its skill enables children to use grapheme phoneme relationships to read and spell words by understanding the structure of the spoken language. Ukrainetz et al. (2000) propose that this can be achieved by carefully choosing the

2. Literature Review

2.1 Phonics for Early Literacy Fundamentally, phonics is a goal of enabling learners to associate sounds to the prints and subsequently to transfer this skill into reading or spelling. It is also an umbrella term that constitutes an organised set of rules about vowels, consonant blends and syllables, the key to which is to recover the sounds from the prints (Griffith & Olson, 1992). It reflects Rose’s (2006) Simple View of Reading that posits reading as a two process skill; (i) the automatic word recognition skills, and (ii) the ability to tap into prior knowledge and experience to gain comprehension. The fundamental step in achieving word recognition is decoding, whereby a child can associate the sounds (phonemes) represented by a letter or a combination of letters (graphemes), and to identify the complete word (Rose, 2006). Rose (2006) further emphasises that decoding is the precursor to comprehension and as such, children need to first acquire the decoding skills in their beginning reading before they are to progress to the task of comprehension.

Against this background, the purpose of this article is two fold. First, it advocates for and presents a detailed description of a systematic way of teaching phonics that could inform teachers on how the strategy can be optimally utilised to accelerate the performance of students who may be at risk of being left behind (or are still preliterate at Primary 1/Primary 2). Second, as a means of supporting the effectiveness of SSP, it reports an investigation that compared the SSP programme with SBELC phonics in imparting early literacy skills among young learners in the rural setting. In the study, early literacy was defined as reading fluency and writing in the form of spelling ability, whereby children’s performances were measurable for documentation purposes (Purewal, 2008).

2.2 Systematic Synthetic Phonics The term ‘Systematic Synthetic Phonics’ engaged in this study is composed of two major concepts; (i) systematic phonics instruction, and (ii) synthetic phonics. Exactly a score years ago, the US National Reading Panel (2000) released a 449 page report which reviewed more than 100000 research studies on reading and has recommended systematic phonics instruction for reading Correspondingly, Mesmer and Griffith (2005) explain that a systematic phonics programme encompasses three elements; (i) a curriculum with a specific, sequential set of phonics elements, (ii) instruction that is direct, precise and unambiguous, and (iii) opportunities for learners to use phonics to read words. As for synthetic phonics, this approach begins by teaching learners the identification of phonemes that are represented by graphemes in a word, before putting them together to form a complete word (de Graaff, Bosman, Hasselman & Verhoeven, 2009). It shares the principles in the bottom up processing of reading which views the ability to decode efficiently and to recognise words automatically as vital skills. De Graaff et al. (2009) suggest that once learners grasped these basic grapheme phonemes correspondences (GPCs), they can decode a number of words in English without much difficulty and hence expand their reading vocabulary.

2.3 Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme

The Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme in this study embraces all the elements of systematic phonics presented by Mesmer and Griffith (2005) and is inspired by de Graaff et al.’s (2009) computer assisted model which has been modified into a human model. This SSP programme contains two parts Firstly, the letter sound training introduces the phonemes and their represented graphemes and is organised into two sections: (i) the receptive and (ii) the productive. In the receptive way of training, the teacher says aloud a phoneme twice and then places four graphemes cards (1 target phoneme, 3 distractors) before their learners. The learners listen to the phoneme uttered and select its corresponding grapheme out of the four cards. In the productive way of training, the learners see the grapheme cards first and point at the corresponding graphemes as the teacher produces the phonemes orally. Once the learners have undergone the letter-sound training and successfully mastered all the phonemes and their corresponding graphemes, they advance into the phonics training. In this part of the programme (phonics training), learners are required to practise reading, blending, and segmenting randomly presented words and pseudowords.

type of phonics instructions, defined as teaching practices that are designed to help students acquire knowledge of the relationships between graphemes and phonemes, and the ability to do blending (Armbruster, Lehr & Osborn, 2001). An essential component of phonics, blending is the process of putting individual phonemes together to read a complete word and it requires phonemic awareness (Griffith & Olson, 1992). Beck and Beck (2013) further recommend scaffolding blending whereby this sequential process of learners sounding each phoneme, remembering the sequence, and blending the segments be developed. This scaffolding blending process was integrated into this study as part of the systematic synthetic phonics programme, which is discussed in further detail in the subsequent section.

Pseudowords are a pronounceable combination of graphemes that have the characteristics of a known real word but are not real words according to common English dictionaries (Cardenas, 2009, in de Graff et al., 2009). For instance, the phoneme ai/eɪ/ may form words such as ‘sail’ and ‘bail’, or pseudowords like ‘dail’ and ‘phail’. Their integration is unique to this SSP programme, as using both words and pseudowords will ensure learners acquire the intended phonics knowledge for reading, and the syllabic patterns for spelling (Harris & Hodges, 1995). This phonics training is planned to be carried out in stages, with a predetermined number of target GPCs in each stage. Nevertheless, despite the emphasis on adhering to the scope and sequence of introducing the GPCs, the teacher holds the autonomy in deciding the number of GPCs to begin with in the first stage, and the addition of new GPCs in the subsequent stages until all 44 phonemes are covered. The decision can be made depending on their learners’ capability and progress. Another important feature of this SSP programme is that each stage comprises five phases. In Phase 1, the graphemes at the beginning and the end of the word/pseudoword [(pseudo)word] are given. In Phase 2, only the grapheme at the end is given. In Phase 3, the grapheme at the beginning is given. In Phase 4, no graphemes are given and in Phase 5, a complete CVC (pseudo)word is given. Specifically, in Phase 5, learners have to select the corresponding (pseudo)word spoken by the teacher out of the four presented word cards (1 target word, 3 distractors). The construction of 15 words in the first four phases and the synthesising of 10 words in Phase 5 entitle the learners to proceed to an extended blending and segmenting practice In this after phase activity, the teacher will demonstrate smooth blending (the sounding of phonemes without pausing) and smooth segmenting (the automatic association of a phoneme to its grapheme) as a part of the skills training. For the next two sessions, learners practise blending to form complete (pseudo)words and segmenting them for spelling. When all the five phases within a stage are completed and the learners are able to blend and segment 10 (pseudo)words, they progress to the next stage. A summary of the phases and an overview of the SSP programme are presented in Table 1 and Figure 1, respectively.

Table 1: Summarised details of phases in a stage in SSP Phase Sample Item (CVC word) Description Example 1 maid jail train snail float foam goat toast ties lies pies dies sheep green cheek wheel torch sport fork form *words in italic are used as examples Graphemes at the beginning and the end are given m__df__m 2 Grapheme at the end is given __ __ d __ __ m 3 Grapheme at the beginning is given m__ __ f__ __ 4 No graphemes are given/presented 5 A complete CVC (pseudo)word is given Learners select the corresponding (pseudo)word spoken by the teacher out of the 4 wordcards given (1 target word, 3 distractors) 1.4.2.maid**foam3.formgreen **target word

1.training.What is the relative effect of SSP as compared to the SBELC phonics on children’s early reading fluency?

3. Method The experimental study, which was quantitative in nature, took place in a real life natural setting of an educational organisation. It intended to prove the hypothesis by determining whether or not the independent variable (the type of phonics

To date, despite the growing body of literature that supports the benefits of systematic synthetic phonics, little studies have been conducted on children who are English language learners as the majority of those research was focused on native speakers of the English language (McGeown, Johnston & Medford, 2012; Watts & Gardner, 2012; Wyse & Goswami, 2008; Yap, 2014). Therefore, as outlined in the purpose of this article, the next section presents a quantitative randomised comparison experimental study that investigated the effects of SSP and SBELC phonics on reading fluency and spelling ability with a group of indigenous children (Iban) residing in the rural parts of Sarawak. These children were likely to be at ahigher risk of falling behind their city peers in early literacy if their ability to read in the English language was not addressed in time (UNICEF, 2008). The hypothesis and research questions are as follows: The indigenous children who undergo SSP training will attain higher levels of reading fluency and spelling ability than the children who receive SBELC phonics

2. What is the relative effect of SSP as compared to the SBELC phonics on children’s early spelling ability?

Figure 1. An overview of the Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme

The participants in the present study consisted of 32 Primary 2 schoolchildren, in which they were equally and randomly assigned into either the experimental or the control group. They were from three neighbouring national schools located in the rural parts of Bintulu, Sarawak. This study had engaged a non probability sampling method in the recruitment of participants, as they were the researchers’ existing students and students of English teachers known to the researchers. Table 2 shows the participants’ mean age, socioeconomic status, and level of proficiency from the SBELC school based assessment.

7 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. training) caused an effect on the dependent variable (the children’s reading fluency and spelling ability). It followed the features of a true experimental study with the inclusion of three key components – (i) pre posttest design, (ii) a treatment (or experimental) group and a control group, and (iii) random assignment of study participants (Carpenter et al., 1989).

Table 2: Participants’ background Mean age 92.6 months (SD = 3.5 months)

The children were a homogenous group from the indigenous tribe of ‘Iban or Sea Dayak’ Before primary education, all 32 participants had received a year of kindergarten education and mastered all the 26 letter names in the English alphabet. However, formal learning and immersion into English language only began in Primary 1. As SBELC phonics began in Primary 1, they had learned and mastered 30 GPCs of 21 consonants, five short vowels, and four digraphs. This conclusion was made based on the results of the achievement test where all 32 of them received perfect scores, conducted at the beginning of 2013. The objectives and nature of the experiment were explained to the participants’ parents prior to obtaining their consent. They also met the following inclusion criteria: (a) indigenous children from the rural parts in Sarawak, (b) learning English as a foreign language, (c) undergoing SBELC phonics for reading, and (d), the ability to attend phonics training for 30 minutes a day.

3.2 Phonics Training Procedure

3.1 Participants

The experiment consisted of two types of training: the SSP and the SBELC phonics. Both phonics training programmes contained 40 sessions of 30 minute each that were executed over a period of eight weeks. The training duration and session were planned in conformity with the SBELC phonics scheme of work. The participants had 60 minutes of English lesson daily from Mondays to Fridays and learnt approximately nine GPCs in eight weeks. The researcher purchased commercially available Jolly Phonics products from the authorised distributor in Malaysia and conducted the SSP training with the experimental group. This study recruited the help of one phonics instruction trained teacher to act as the SBELC phonics trainer and also as the inter rater (Teacher X). Teacher X carried out

Socioeconomic status Good Average Hardcore Poor 15 8 9 Level of proficiency from SBELC assessment Band 3 Band 2 Band 1 7 20 5

3.3.1 Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) Training

3.3 Training Scope and Sequence Scope refers to the content of the phonics instruction and the range of GPCs covered, while sequence is the order for teaching the GPCs. Both the experimental and control groups were given the same 11 long vowel and diphthong sounds (phonemes) represented by 16 graphemes. Thus, both groups have 16 GPCs (ai/eɪ/, oa/əʊ/, ie/aɪ/, ee/iː/, or/ɔː/, oo/ʊ/, oo/uː/, oi/ɔɪ/, ou/aʊ/, er/əː/, ar/ɑː/, ay/eɪ/, ow/əʊ/, igh/aɪ/, ea/iː/, and ue/uː/). The IPA symbols were not introduced to the participants to avoid possible confusion.

SBELC Phonics training with the control group using the materials in the form of textbook and teachers’ guidebook provided by the MOE. Prior to the actual experimentation, the researcher and Teacher X (the trainers) simulated the training procedures in SSP and SBELC Phonics twice to ensure a uniform administration of the phonics training.

The letter sound training and phonics training ran concurrently in SBELC phonics training. Teacher X extracted the phonics components, the accompanying word list and reading texts from the SBELC Year 2 English textbook and followed the phonics instructions and activities stipulated in it. The SBELC phonics training procedure was repetitive in nature, beginning with the introduction to and practices of sounding out the target phonemes. The children were to associate a phoneme to its corresponding grapheme by choosing the correct letter card. Then, they were instructed to listen to a list of words presented to them by Teacher X and to orally identify the vowel sound in those words. For example, the vowel sound in ‘broach’ is oa/əʊ/. After that, they were expected to know how to blend and segment by using the list of words provided in the textbook. The phonics training of every unit ended with a reading text. The text integrated some of the target GPCs and encompassed CVC, CV and VC words. The reading texts also contained two and three syllable words that required Teacher X to demonstrate

Following the procedure as presented in Figure 1, the SSP training began with the letter sound training in which one GPC was taught in each session and altogether 16 sessions were allocated for this. The phonics training comprised 24 sessions and required the participants to practise reading, blending, and segmenting randomly presented (pseudo)words in five stages. At Stage A, children practised with randomly presented (pseudo)words with the five GPCs of ai/eɪ/, oa/əʊ/, ie/aɪ/, ee/iː/, and or/ɔː/. Each participant was given two attempts to listen to the (pseudo)words given by the researcher and fill in the blanks with the grapheme cards provided to form the complete CVC (pseudo)words. Upon the second erroneous attempt, the correct answer was given. Participants jotted down the correctly formed words into their personal logbooks as a record of their individual progress. This allowed them to proceed at an individual pace. The participants went through the five phases in each stage (see Table 1). Three new GPCs were added in Stage B (oo/ʊ/, oo/uː/, oi/ɔɪ/), Stage C (ou/aʊ/, er/əː/, ar/ɑː/), Stage D (ay/eɪ/, ow/əʊ/, igh/aɪ/) and lastly, two in Stage E (ea/iː/, ue/uː/). When all the five stages have been completed, children repeated the five phases in Stage E until all 24 sessions were fulfilled.

3.3.2 SBELC Phonics Training

Free Sound Isolation Test (FSIT) This test was conducted to test the participants’ phonemic awareness. They were presented with a list of 12 consonant vowel (CV) and 36 consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words (see Table 3). These words were selected from the SBELC Year 2 English textbook, and they included the vowel sounds presented in the experiment. The children were asked to segment the words on the word chart into their individual sounds or to identify the phonemes present in a word. For example, the word ‘pail’ has three phonemes /p/eɪ/l/. Those children who have achieved phonemic awareness would be able to identify and say /p/,/eɪ/ and /l/. The trainers gave a short demonstration and children practised orally with two non tested words before the actual test began. This test carried a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 132, with 1 point being awarded for each successful sound production.

The trainers attended two training sessions a fortnight before the pretest in April to ensure a uniform administration of the tests. The tests took place in the evening at the school’s library, after the day’s schooling session has concluded. The whole process was digitally recorded for all five tests, to allow for an after test review and cross examination between the trainers. Also, the Malaysian English curriculum uses Standard British English as a reference and model for teaching the language, as well as for spelling and pronunciation for standardisation (MOE, 2011). As such, the judgment of the pronunciation of phonemes cross referred to the phonemic chart from the British Council website. The judgment of the pronunciation of words was cross referred with oxforddictionaries.com. Nonetheless, following studies by Wang and Koda (2005), all acceptable pronunciations were scored correct. For example, the word ‘sail’ pronounced as /seɪl/ and /sɛl/ were both acceptable Pretest and Posttest. The participants were tested twice; before the experiment commenced in May (pretest) and after the experiment in August (posttest). Five tests measuring (a) productive letter sound knowledge, (b) phonemic awareness, (c) reading ability, (d) segmenting/spelling ability, and (e) sentence level reading ability were administered to each child individually for a maximum of 30 minutes each. Tests (a) to (d) and their scoring criteria were adapted from de Graaff et al. (2009). Test (e) and its scoring criteria were adapted from Eun (2012). The adaptations were necessary as the content needed to correspond to the phonemes introduced in this study. Each of the instruments is elaborated below.

Productive Letter Sound Test (PLST). This test measured the participants’ knowledge of the GPCs They were given letter cards containing the sixteen GPCs presented during the letter sound training and asked to produce the phonemes. The trainers gave a short demonstration (using the GPCs ur/ɜː/, ng/ŋ/) and the children practised with two non tested GPCs (a/æ/, ch/ʧ/) before the actual testing commenced. This test carried a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 16, with 1 point being given for each successful sound production.

10 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 3: Free Sound Isolation Test Demonstrated word: pail Practiced words: coat, fork CV words CVC words bow loud float stern lie farm sheep cart flow maid hook light tray dream boil jail die train herd foam day mouth room cheek grow form night shook true moon cream coin glue cloud boat nerd pie sharp green sport play torch look fight sue peak join stool Reading Test (RT) A total of 3 CV, 13 CVC words, and 3 CV, 13 CVC pseudowords were administered to gauge the children’s blending skills (see Table 4). The final list was derived from a combination of (pseudo)words formed from the 21 consonants, 14 digraphs acquired in Primary 1, and the 16 vowel sounds presented during the training. The items were both in accordance with the5 stages of SSP training and SBELC Phonics training. To elaborate, the vowel sounds from Stage A formed 10 items, Stages B to D formed six items each and lastly, Stage E formed four items. The children were presented with the list of 32 (pseudo)words and were required to read each (pseudo)word aloud. In the event of a child mispronouncing a word, they were instructed to engage their blending skills. However, if they still could not read the word after two additional tries, they would proceed to the next word. This test carried a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 32, with 1 point awarded for each successful (pseudo)word produced. Table 4: Summary of words formed from stages A E Stage Phoneme Word Pseudoword Number of Item A ai /eɪ/ oa /əʊ/ ie /aɪ/ ee /iː/ or /ɔː/ storksteepliegloatsaid chormcheelwiecoambain 10 B oo /ʊ/ oo /u/ oi /ɔɪ/ croo coildroopk poo moinflopk 6 C ou /aʊ/ er /əː/ ar /ɑː/ chartperchstout spartwernboust 6 D ay/eɪ/ ow /əʊ/ igh /aɪ/ flightgrowdray spightdrowglay 6 E ea /iː/ ue /uː/ gluespeak cruepleak 4

Oral Reading Fluency Test (ORFT) This test was administered to determine the participants’ reading fluency, defined as the ability to read a piece of text automatically and accurately with expressions. However, prosody was not included in the test as studies by Jiang, Sawaki and Sabatini (2012) and Lems (2003, in Eun, 2012) have reported on the difficulty to achieve an acceptable reliability given the subjective nature of deciding desirable prosody. The text was adopted from Jolly Readers Level 2, published by Jolly Learning Limited. It featured words that were phonetically decodable, and could be sounded out with the 21 consonants, 14 digraphs acquired in Primary 1, and the 16 vowel sounds presented during training in the current study. However, unlike the Reading Test (RT), ORFT assessed participants’ ability to read at the sentence level by counting the number of words the children read in a minute.

ORFT was conducted in this manner. The trainers and the children each had a copy of the same readingtext. The children were instructed to begin reading aloud and while they read, the trainers noted any errors the children made by circling the mispronounced words in their copy. Once the minute on the stopwatch held by trainers was up, they marked in their sheet the children’s progress at the 60th second and let them finish reading the text. The trainers then totalled the number of words read within 60 seconds and subtracted them with errors made by the children. For the purpose of this study, only errors made on the trained vowel sounds were considered. For example, if ‘Child A’ read 65 words in a minute but made a total of 6 errors (2 untrained vowel words, 4 trained vowel words), their reading rate would be 61 words correct per minute. The children’s oral reading fluency rate was compared against the benchmark adapted from Johns and Berglund (2009), which states that the average second grade or primary 2 students’ mean words targets is 50 correct words per minute in February, 70 in June, and 90 in October.

Data for this study were analysed using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The findings are presented in two parts. The first part consists of the analysis of the pretest for both the experimental (SSP) and control groups (SBELC Phonics) using independent samples t test. This was conducted in order to establish equality among both groups’ early literacy levels before the intervention. Levene’s test for equality of variance was applied. Next, the hypothesis and research questions were addressed through the analyses of paired samples t test for each outcome variable. A paired samples t test was used to compare the means of the pretest and posttest scores obtained from the experimental group and control group, in order to determine the effectiveness of the phonics training by looking at the significant difference between the two scores.

3.5 Data Analysis

Segmenting Skill/ Spelling Test (ST). The 32 items presented during the reading test were reemployed to determine children’s spelling ability. The children were asked to write the sounds they heard in a (pseudo)word, in sequential order. This test carried a maximum score of 32, with 1 point awarded for each (pseudo)word speltcorrectly.

test

levels of

at .05

12 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 4. Findings and Discussion 4.1 Analyses of Pretest The results of the pretest aimed at establishing the assumption of equality of variance are presented in Tables 5 and 6. The null hypothesis to be tested (Ho: µE = µC) states that the PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT pretest mean scores of the experimental group are equal to the pretest mean scores of the control group. Conversely, the alternative hypothesis (H1: µE ≠ µC) states that the pretests PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT mean scores of the experimental group are not equal to the pretests mean scores of the control group. The significance level alpha is specified at .05. Table 5: Descriptive statistics Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std.MeanError PLST Experimental 16 5.688 1.195 0.299 Control 16 5.750 1.390 0.348 FSIT Experimental 16 96.625 7.013 1.753 Control 16 96.938 6.547 1.637 RT Experimental 16 10.375 2.446 0.612 Control 16 10.750 2.206 0.552 ST Experimental 16 7.500 2.129 0.532 Control 16 8.125 2.306 0.576 ORFT Experimental 16 34.500 5.808 1.452 Control 16 34.438 6.491 1.623 Table 6: Independent samples t-test Levene’s Test EqualityforofVariances t test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig.tailed)(2 MeanDiff Std.DiffError 95% CI LowerDifferenceofUpper PLST .104 .750 .136 30 .892 .063 .458 .999 .874 FSIT .062 .805 .130 30 .897 .313 2.399 5.211 4.586 RT .239 .628 .455 30 .652 .375 .823 2.057 1.307 ST .085 .772 .797 30 .432 .625 .785 2.227 .977 ORFT .092 .763 .029 30 .977 .063 2.177 4.385 4.510

Results from

was greater than

fluency and spelling ability and so

4.2 The Relative Effect of SSP and SBELC Phonics Training To find out if there was a difference between the posttest scores of PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT assessments of the SSP group and SBELC phonics group, an analysis

pretest scores

As shown in Table 6, since all the significant value alpha level significance, there was no sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis. It can be concluded that there is no significant difference between experimental and control groups’ in PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT. the Levene’s also showed that the equality of variances is assumed. Therefore, participants in both groups had similar reading were deemed comparable prior to the intervention.

13 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of paired samples t test was computed. This was to analyse the mean scores of the pretest and the posttest of the experimental and control groups. The significance level is specified at .05 (alpha, α = .05). Results are presented in Tables 7 and 8 (for the experimental group), and Tables 9 and 10 (for the control group). To address the hypothesis that the children who undergo the SSP training would demonstrate a better improvement in their reading fluency and spelling ability than the children of SBELC phonics, a comparison was made by looking at the higher Partial Eta Squared value of the two groups. The null hypothesis to be tested (Ho: µ1 = µ2 or µ1 µ2 = 0) states that the PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT mean scores of the pretest are equal to the mean scores of the posttest. Conversely, the alternative hypothesis (H1: µ1≠ µ2 or µ1 µ2 ≠ 0) states that the PLST, FSIT, RT, ST and ORFT mean scores of the pretest are not equal to the mean scores of the posttest. Table 7. Paired samples descriptive statistics for the experimental group N Mean Std. Deviation Std.MeanError PLST Pretest 16 5.688 1.195 .299 Posttest 16 13.876 1.857 .464 FSIT Pretest 16 96.625 7.013 1.753 Posttest 16 118.750 9.842 2.461 RT Pretest 16 10.375 2.446 .612 Posttest 16 24.875 3.096 .774 ST Pretest 16 7.500 2.129 .532 Posttest 16 19.250 3.493 .873 ORFT Pretest 16 34.500 5.808 1.452 Posttest 16 44.375 6.956 1.739 Table 8. Paired samples t-test for the experimental group DifferencesPaired t df Sig. tailed)(2 SquaredPartialETA 95% CI Differenceof Mean SD Lower Upper PLST (PT PST) 8.188 1.109 29.54 15 .000 .880 8.778 7.597 FSIT (PT PST) 22.125 3.557 24.88 15 .000 .641 24.020 20.230 RT (PT PST)) 14.500 1.633 35.52 15 .000 .878 15.370 13.630 ST ((PT PST) 11.750 2.266 20.74 15 .000 .815 12.957 10.543 ORFT (PT PST) 9.875 2.825 13.98 15 .000 .388 11.381 8.369 Note. PT Pretest, PST Posttest On average, based on the descriptive statistics shown in Table 7, it seems that the experimental group performed better in the posttest. Since all mean differences are negative (see Table 8), the posttest results are better than the pretest results. The results suggest that there is sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis as all the significant value was smaller than alpha at .05 level of significance. Thus, it can be concluded that SSP had a significant effect on the children’s reading fluency and spelling ability.

4.3 Using Systematic Synthetic Phonics to Accelerate the Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills

14 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 9 Paired samples descriptive statistics for the control group N Mean Std. Deviation Std.MeanError PLST Pretest 16 5.750 1.390 .348 Posttest 16 10.188 1.940 .449 FSIT Pretest 16 96.938 6.550 1.637 Posttest 16 108.563 9.252 2.313 RT Pretest 16 10.750 2.206 .552 Posttest 16 20.313 3.005 .751 ST Pretest 16 8.125 2.306 .576 Posttest 16 14.063 2.670 .668 ORFT Pretest 16 34.438 6.491 1.623 Posttest 16 39.938 7.316 1.829 Table 10. Paired samples t-test for the control group DifferencesPaired t df Sig. tailed)(2- SquaredPartialETA 95% CI Differenceof Mean SD Lower Upper PLST (PT PST) 4.438 1.504 11.80 15 .000 .648 5.239 3.636 FSIT (PT PST) 11.625 4.745 9.80 15 .000 .359 14.154 9.096 RT (PT PST)) 9.563 2.309 16.57 15 .000 .778 10.793 8.332 ST ((PT PST) 5.938 2.462 9.65 15 .000 .602 7.250 4.625 ORFT (PT PST) 5.500 1.713 12.85 15 .000 .144 6.413 4.587 Note. PT Pretest, PST Posttest

Overall, based on the descriptive statistics shown in Table 9, participants in the control group appears to perform better in the posttest as compared to the pretest. From the results of the paired samples t test (Table 10), since all mean differences are negative, the posttest results are better than the pretest results. Since all the significant value was smaller than alpha at .05 level of significance, there was sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis. It can be concluded that SBELC phonics had a significant effect on children’s reading fluency and spelling ability. As can be seen, the mean differences between the pretest and posttest for all five assessments show a significant increase in the reading and spelling performances for both experimental (see Table 8) and control (see Table 10) groups at .05 level of significance. However, as seen in the Partial Eta Squared values, the experimental group gained significantly higher in all the five assessments (PLST = .880, FSIT = .641, RT = .878, ST = .815, ORFT = .388) compared to the control group (PLST = .648, FSIT = .359, RT = .778, ST = .602, ORFT = .144). This confirms the hypothesis that children who undergo SSP will attain higher levels of reading fluency and spelling ability than those who receive SBELC phonics.

Findings from this study have shown that synthetic phonics, whether systematic (SSP programme) or unsystematic (SBELC phonics), helps children to develop their decoding skills which apply in reading regular or phonetically decodable words. Children from the experimental and control groups recorded significant growth in their decoding ability (assessed through the RT, ST and ORFT). This

This study has examined the application of the phonics method in improving young children’s early literacy. As discussed previously, reading consists of two distinct components: (i) word recognition and (ii) comprehension. Phonics instruction supports the development of children’s decoding ability that enhances their word recognition and thus improves their overall early literacy. In this regard, the highly systematic strategies prescribed in SSP can provide a methodological sequence of introducing the synthetic phonics skills and letter sound training. Children in the present study had felt a sense of achievement when they used the SSP strategies and successfully read storybooks independently (Jolly Readers Level 1 and Level 2 had been given for reading after

As aforementioned, phonics training only comes after the letter sound training in the SSP programme. To elaborate, what this essentially means is that the superior performance of the SSP group could be attributed to the following strategies. The reading supporting strategies were presented in the productive letter sound training (from grapheme to phoneme), Phase 5 (from written word to oral form) and the after phase blending session of the phonics training. The spelling supporting strategies involved the receptive letter sound training (from phoneme to grapheme), Phases 1 through 5 (from oral form to written word) and the after phase segmenting activities of the phonics training. The success also lay in the implementation of phases and stages. Children were only allowed to progress to the next phase after completing the current phase, and were only promoted to the next stage after mastering the 5 phases, blending and segmenting sessions in each Tostage.encapsulate,

5. Conclusion

SSP could be the answer for teachers of learners who may be at risk of being left behind and those from a disadvantaged background such as the indigenous groups and/orrural schools (Johnson& Tweedie, 2010) to gainsimilar improvements in their learners’ early literacy in English language The empirical evidence gathered in thecurrent study also servesto confirmthe success of similar projects using systematic phonics for beginning reading (e.g., Hawkins & Su, 2013; Zulkifli & Melor, 2019). However, in addition to reporting the effectiveness of the SSP programme, this article has also thoroughly described the principles and step by step procedure of how teachers can carry out the systematic synthetic phonics training in classrooms with their learners. This corresponds with findings from Rabindra et al.’s (2016) study in which teachers are calling for “a specific training session on phonics” as information from courses is often “in a diluted and watered form” (p. 14). This too possibly answers Warid’s (2015) calls for more guidance and support for teachers of English Language in indigenous rural schools.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. indicates that both approaches were beneficial in building their blending and segmenting skills (two components of synthetic phonics) that had contributed to their improvement in beginning reading. Nonetheless, the experimental group had higher levels of attainment as compared to the control group in productive letter sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, reading at world level, and spelling, while achievinga similar level in passagereading with the control group.

The authors offer their sincerest appreciation to Kuang Ching Hei for her encouragement, and the blind reviewers for their assistance and constructive feedback that have led to the publication of this paper.

6. Acknowledgments

Chin, M. L. L., Karunakaran, K., & Yap, J. R. (2019). The role of negotiated interaction in L2 vocabulary acquisition among primary ESL learners. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 25(2), 1 21. doi:10.17576/3L 2019 2502 01 De Graaff, S., Bosman, A. M. T., Hasselman, F., & Verhoeven, L. (2009). Benefits of systematic phonics instruction. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(4), 318 333. Ehri, L. C. (2020). The science of learning to read words: A case for systematic phonics instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), 45 60. doi:10.1002/rrq.334 Eun, H. J. (2012). Oral reading fluency in a second language reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 24(2), 186 208. Retrieved from http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl

7. References Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read kindergarten through grade 3. Washington, D.C., WA: National Institute for Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.nifl.gov Beck, I. L., & Beck, M. E. (2013). Making sense of phonics: The hows and whys (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Bowey, J. A. (2011). Need for systematic synthetic phonics teaching within the early reading curriculum. Australian Psychology, 41(2), 79 84. Carpenter,doi:10.1080/00050060600610334T.P.,Fennema,E.,Peterson, P. L., Chiang, C. P., & Loef, M. (1989). Using knowledge of children’s mathematics thinking in classroom teaching: An experimental study. American Educational Research Journal, 26(4), 499 531.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. the training). This was achieved despite the children’s language disadvantaged Basedbackground.onthe findings, the followings recommendations are offered for further investigations. Firstly, as an improvement, future studies can be repeated for a longer period of time, possibly for the entire school year, and begin phonics training of all the 44 phonemes at the beginning of the school term. Doing so may provide a better idea of whether a complete SSP program helps rural children develop early reading fluency and spelling ability, and if the intervention helps in their overall acquisition of literacy skills in the English language. Another consideration for future research is to increase the sample size for the study, possibly by extending the intervention to other rural schools. Doing so will enable the researcher(s) to collect and analyse more data across more settings and enhance the generalisability of SSP in developing early literacy. Finally, this study focused on word recognition only and has yet to study the effects of SSP on reading comprehension. It is therefore recommended future research to explore this area by incorporating the assessments on complete reading processes; both word recognition and comprehension.

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National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Reports of the subgroups. Washington, D.C., WA: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Purewal, S. (2008). Synthetic phonics and the literacy development of second language young learners. A literature review of literacy ideologies, policies, and research. (Master’s dissertation). University of Leeds, Leeds, England. Rabindra, D. P., Nooreiny, M., & Hamidah, Y. (2016). Implementing phonics in Malaysia. International Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 1(1), 1 18. Rose, J. (2006). Independent review of the teaching of early reading: Final report Retrieved from www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/rosereview

Johns, J., & Berglund, R. L. (2009). Fluency: Strategiesand assessments (3rd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing. Johnson, R. C., & Tweedie, M. G. (2010). Could phonemic awareness instruction be (part of) the answer for young EFL learners? A report on the early literacy project in Malaysia. TESOL Quarterly, 44(4), 822 829. doi:10.5054/tq.2010.238131

Jolliffe, W., Waugh, D., & Gill, A. (2019). Teaching systematic synthetic phonics in primary schools (3rd ed.). London, England: Sage Publications. Malaysia Ministry of Education. (2011). Primary Standard Based Curriculum Dokumen StandardKurikulumSekolahRendah BahasaInggerisSKTahunSatu&Dua. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum. Malaysia Ministry of Education. (2017). KSSR:BahasaInggerisDokumenStandardKurikulum danPentaksiranTahun2 Putrajaya,Malaysia:BahagianPembangunan Kurikulum McGeown, S. P., Johnston, R. S., & Medford, E. (2012). Reading instruction affects the cognitive skills supporting early reading development. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(3), 360 364. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2012.01 Mesmer, H. A. E., & Griffith, P. L. (2005). Everybody's selling it: But just what is explicit, systematic phonics instruction?. The Reading Teacher, 59(4), 366 376. doi:10.1598/RT.59.4.6 Nadiah Yan, A., Napisah, K., & Mariyatunnitha, S. (2014). Implementing the teaching of phonics in Malaysian primary schools. Asian Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 2, 95 111 Retrieved from https://ejournal.upsi.edu.my/index.php/ AJELP/article/view/1103

Watts, Z., & Gardner, P. (2012). Is systematic synthetic phonics enough? Examining the benefit of intensive teaching of high frequency words (HFW) in a year one class. Education 3 13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 1 10. doi:10.1080/03004279.2012.710105 Wyse, D., & Goswami, U. (2008). Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading. British Educational Research Journal, 34(6), 691 710. doi:10.1080/01411920802268912

Yap, J. R. (2014). Using systematic synthetic phonics as an approach for early literacy. The case of rural indigenous children (Master’s thesis). University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Retrieved from http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5425/ Zulkifli, A., & Melor, M. Y. (2019). The effectiveness of using Jolly Phonics blending phonemes to Year 3 English Language classroom. International Journal of Humanities, Philosophy and Language, 2(8), 150 162. doi:10.35631/ijhpl.280011

Ukrainetz, T. A., Cooney, M. H., Dyer, S. K., Kysar, A. J., & Harris, T. J. (2000). An investigation into teaching phonemic awareness through shared reading and writing. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(3), 331 355. doi:10.1016/S0885 2006(00)00070 3 UNICEF. (2008). Education is a human right. Literacy and education in Malaysia: Key actions Retrieved from http://www. unicef.org/malaysia/index.html

Wang, M., & Koda, K. (2005). Commonalities and differences in word identification skills among learners of English as a second language. Language Learning, 55, 71 98. doi:10.1111/j.1467 9922.2007.00416.x Warid, M. (2015). The English language curriculum in Malaysian indigenous primary classrooms: The reality and the ideal. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies. 21(3), 1 12. Retrieved from http://ejournals.ukm.my/3l/article/view/8580

https://orcid.org/0000 0002 0511 0343 https://orcid.org/0000 0001 7734 6366 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7720 4875 Muhammad

Universiti

19 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 19 31, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.2

Abstract. This study aims to investigate the impact of active learning in the economics subject in Perak secondary school on students’ achievement, motivation, interest, and social interaction. This study applies a quasi experimental research design, which involves the control and the treatment groups with thirty and thirty four participants, respectively. The active learning materials for the treatment group were based on active learning methods provided by the Ministry of Education with support from structured lesson plans namely: simulations, discussions, brainstorming, case studies, and visits in the school’s compound. A questionnaire is also used to measure students’ motivation, interest and social interaction before and after the intervention. The results showed that students who had experienced active learning activities score higher than their counterparts significantly for topic 1 and 2. Besides, findings show that they were motivated and interested in learning economics through active learning compared to the traditional approach. However, the researchers find that the social interaction element is not as significant as the others. It has been concluded that the active learning method attracts student’s interest and motivation in the economic subject and subsequently improves their achievement. Students also will get benefit from the varieties of teaching method with a focus of learning outcomes to enrich student learning activities.

Keywords: active learning; economics education; experimental study; teaching economic Corresponding author: Ramlee Ismail; Email: ramlee@fpe.upsi.edu.my

Ramlee Ismail* ,

Active Learning in Economic Subject: A Case Study at Secondary School Marinah Awang and Seow Yea Pyng Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Perak, Malaysia Ridhuan Bos Abdullah Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia 0003 2018 8605

https://orcid.org/0000

A lower achievement in the economic subject is to certain extent related to students’ poor academic background in calculation, the negative attitudes towards the subject , unattractive teaching methods, and the teaching load (Becker & Watts, 1996, 2001a, 2001b; Watts & Becker, 2008; Backhouse, 2012).

The subject of Economics has long been taught in Malaysian secondary schools under the Secondary Schools Integrated Curriculum since 1991. This subject aims to provide the basic knowledge to students to enable them to understand its principles in the modern world. The fundamentals of economics for secondary schools will assist students in making rational economic decisions in their daily lives. It helps also to train them to be more critical and creative in their thinking (Ministry of Education, 2015). Add to this, Generic skills such as interpersonal skills, managing and problem solving would be emphasised through this subject (Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 2005). Typically, the economic subject is more likely to use traditional methods such as lectures (chalk and talk), note taking and it is teacher centered. Benzing and Christ (1997) and Allgood, Walstad and Siegfried (2013) emphasised that economics courses feature more chalk and talks than other courses. However, the survey done by Watt and Beckers (2008) had pointed out that some of the changes in the teaching method have slowed down, especially in the use of technologies among young economist. In this vein, the notion of active learning pedagogies, including peer learning, flipped classroom, problem based learning, cooperative learning, and blended learning, has shaped the teaching learning process. Accordingly, many studies revealed that the active learning method is successfully increasing the students’ understanding of economics contents (Tatsumi, 2012; Johnson & Meder, 2019). However, few studies investigate the effect of active learning in secondary or high school. In the secondary school contexts, learning economics is associated with the fact of memorising activities to prepare for the national examination, compared to student centered learning process. Consequently, students are less likely to be motivated and are reluctant to its learning. In comparison with another subject such as the Principle of Accounts or Business, the academic achievement in Economics subject is still behind and unsatisfactory. For example, the average numbers of students who passed this subject in the national examination (Malaysian Education Certificate) was 63%, from 2000 to 2010. In contrast, those who passed the Principle of Accounts and Business have scored 69.9% and 76.2% in the same period (Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 2010). Nevertheless, for the last five years, the results have increased by 5%to give 75.7% in 2014 and 80.20% in 2015.

1. Introduction

Many educationists believe that students’ attitude and motivation towards this subject should cooperate with an attractive teaching method. However, the likelihood of economic teachers using other methods of teaching is lower than teachers of other subjects (Becker, 1998; Watts & Schaur, 2011). As a reaction, the Ministry of Education in Malaysia (MoE) promotes and encourages active learning because it betters students' performance. Additionally, the teaching learning process that involves active learning in a classroom is more enjoyable

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. and exciting (Becker, 1997; Zheng, 2017; Schlehuber, 2017). Therefore, the MoE has introduced a module of Active Learning Practices in Economics since 2005 to help teachers involve in active learning in the classroom (Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 2005). This module covers all topics in the syllabus and teaching materials to support all activities. Yet, it has been observed that there have been no recent developments in active learning module in the secondary school economic subject. Therefore, the present paper aims to determine whether active learning in the Economics Module could improve secondary school students’ interest, motivation, social interaction, and their achievement.

2. Literature Review

Simply put, active learning is a method of teaching and learning that involves direct participation of students in the learning process (Ministry of Education, Malaysia, 2005). Students not only learn to do something, but they also think about the actions and decisions taken in those activities (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Roach, 2014). According to Silberman (1996) and McLaughin et al. (2013), learning is not about a plain absorption of information into the students’ minds, but it also needs the involvement of their minds and actions. The outcomes of active learning will be permanent because they are engaged in tasks that involve higher cognitive thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; McLaughin, 2013). Thus, students can solve problems that require higher cognitive levels as well as strengthening the skills to think critically and creatively. The benefits of active learning documented with the economics education literature have always been highlighted as one of the teaching method principals (Carlson & Skaggs, 2000; Ginsburg, 2009; Jensen & Owen, 2003; Maier & Keenan, 1994; Manning & Riordan, 2000; Watts & Schaur, 2011, Moon, Wold & Francom, 2017; Zheng, 2017; Bryan & Jett, 2018). Therefore, active learning in economics education is mandatory (Becker, 1997; Becker & Watts, 2001a; Hansen, 2001; Salemi, 2002) to be used in the classroom. This method of teaching requires the active involvement of students to achieve sustainable learning outcomes in the economics subject (Cross, 1987; MOE, 2005; Siegfried et al.; 1991; Whiting, 2006). Some empirical studies on active learning find that students who are involved in teaching and learning using this approach performed better than in the traditional approach (Gratton Lavoie & Stanley, 2009). Moreover, students’ interaction and collaboration in small groups do not only increase, but also will contribute to greater subject materials (Yamarik, 2007; Bryan & Jett, 2018). With regard to the above said, the traditional learning process carried out by teachers in the classroom does not highlight the concept of independent learning. Rather, in the teacher centered learning process, students are given less opportunity to apply or develop their cognitive and affective skills. They only receive the information from their teachers passively and are required to act on what is instructed by the teachers (Prince, 2004). This philosophy is old fashioned and does not align with the actual role students need to play to survive in the teaching learning process. In this respect, active learning activities such as group discussions, problem solving, simulations, games and case studies provide students with the opportunity to express and support their ideas as well

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. as to consider the thoughts and the opinions of others (Meyers & Jones, 1993; McCarty, Ford & Ludes, 2018). With this in mind, students can exchange their ideas and interact freely with their classmates. Additionally, active learning activities can attract students' interest and create a fun, lively and cheerful classroom atmosphere (Salemi, 2002).

In fact, active learning is not only useful in enhancing students' understanding, but it also increases students’ achievement (Carlson & Velenchik, 2006; Bartlett, 2006; Buckles & Hoyt, 2006; Yamarik, 2007; Filio et al., 2013; Calimaries & Sauer, 2015; Cavigllia Harris, 2016; Rita et al., 2016). Carlson and Velenchik (2006) demonstrate that the technique of discussions in the economics class could develop students' analytical thinking skills. Students can apply the economic theory using the information and data provided by their instructor. Meanwhile, Bartlett (2006) finds that the cooperative learning technique in economics education is effective in improving students' academic performances in examinations. Active learning activities provide opportunities for students to acquire higher thinking skills when interpreting economic concepts. In this sense, Rupp (2014) comes across the fact that elementary school students have significant improvements in their understanding of fundamental economic concepts. This situation sharply contrasts with the traditional learning situation where students are merely asked to understand the precise concept from the teacher's explanation (Salemi, 2002). In the same line of thought, many scholars also realized that active learning can improve students’ interest towards the economics subject (Brokaw & Merz, 2004; Dixit, 2006; Rotgans & Schmidt, 2011; Strow & Strow, 2006). Brokaw & Merz (2004) show that active learning could trigger students' interest in the critical concepts of the economy. Games technique, for example, can improve student's understanding of economic theories that are too abstract for them to comprehend (Dixit, 2006). Furthermore, role play can also enhance student's interest in the subject, as well as prevents boredom and sleepiness in the classroom. In parallel, teachers should provide guidance, coaching, and motivation that are necessary for students who have difficulties with active learning activities in class (Buckles & Hoyt, 2006). Also, rewards that are given by teachers to those who did well in a particular activity either in verbal forms, such as praises and encouragement or in material forms such as chocolates or small gifts, will make students more motivated to actively participate in group activities (Slavin, 1990). The latter do not only foster intrapersonal and interpersonal skills among the students, but also inculcate ethical values such as respecting the opinion of others, collaborating and, to be fair and equitable in emphasizing logical facts. In doing so, learner's autonomy and collaboration will increase (Becker, 1997; Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998; Salemi, 2010; Toh Wah Seng; 2008; Bailey et al., 2013; Bergmann et al., 2013), and their interaction improves academic achievement and interest (Brooks & Kandler, 2002). Which in return give more opportunities and flexibilities to identify their learning style, interests, and abilities (Fuller et al., 2015 & Mazur et al., 2015).

3. Methodology

Though the significant endeavour done by the MoE and the outstanding materials for effective outcomes, some economics teachers have almost forgotten the existence of this module as most of them prefer the traditional method of instruction which is ‘chalk and talk,'. In this context, Hansen at al. (2002) contended that economics teachers or instructors have been slow to adopt the new teaching methods. The common reasons for using the traditional approach in the economics subject includes the large class size, lack of materials, and the many topics covered in the syllabus. Goffe and Kauper (2014) suggest that the predominant reason why teachers prefer to use the lecturing method in the economics subject is the ability to control the delivery and coverage of content.

In the Malaysian context, teachers complained that they are reluctant with non related teaching activities at school such as too much clerical work, data entering, and preparing the students for various competitions at school, district, state and national levels. A survey has been carried out on the teacher’s workload in Malaysia and findings show that the average number of hours is 57 hours per week, but some of them have workload up to 76 hours per week. Unfortunately, the proportions of time spent in preparing teaching activities were low (MoE, 2013). Indeed, when the educational system is streaming into so called science and art, economics students then fall into the ‘second category’ wherein the likelihood of passivity and anonymity exists and therefore becomes a barrier of active teaching and learning ( Hoyt at al., 2010; Roach, 2014). The quality of learning also depends on learners' abilities to steer and control their learning processes (Niemi, 2002) and past performance (Denny, 2014). The outcome of students’ achievement is measured by “how many got A’s or how many per cent passed the economics subject” which is in fact not an encouraging statement teachers appreciate to spend more time on effective classroom management, solid planning teaching materials, and activities. However, these are not the ultimate reasons why the active teaching and learning module by MoE should be left behind. Hence, the researcher’s rationale is to study the effectiveness of the current teaching method, using the materials provided by the MoE, to improve students’ interest, motivation, social interaction and achievement in the Economics subject at secondary schools.

The conceptual framework for this study adopted the three phase learning model introduced by Biggs (1978). The first phase of the survey is a pre study, which refers to the pre review factors of active learning namely: student’s achievement, interest, motivation and social interaction of students in an Economic subject. The second phase involves the process of teaching and learning (T&L), which is active learning that was carried out in the Form Four economics classes. In hope to meet the intended results, discussions, simulations, brainstorming, case studies and visits within the school’s compound are the five active learning activities the researchers have used in this research paper. These learning activities are indeed extracted from the “Best Active Learning Practices in Fundamental Economics” as provided by MoE. The materials and tools for these learning activities will further enhance the effectiveness of student's learning in the final phase. Figure 1 shows the three phases.

The present study takes place in Perak secondary school where the researchers explicitly introduced the studied criteria and the materials to be used in both groups (treatment group, N=34 and Control group, N=30). The investigators have used random sampling method to group the participants based on their registration number, but those with odd registration number are reallocated to the treatment group, including those with registration number who are in the control group. The control class is used to eliminate the variation effect of the student's knowledge and economics background. The same teacher teaches both classes on the same topics but with different methods. The experiment lasts for four weeks, which covers Unit 5 with the Topic: Market. The teaching load is "2 + 1" per week, which is 80 and 40 minutes for each session. The materials and lesson plans used were Active Learning Module from page 148 to 167; covering

This research is a quasi experimental design which is used to test whether there are any significant effects of active learning and the traditional methods on the academic achievement of students in the Form Four FE subject. Also, the researchers used a questionnaire to obtain students’ feedback on the effectiveness of active learning methods in their economics class. The questionnaire is administered to sixty three participants and it consists of two sections. The first section covers information on the personal background of the respondents such as gender, parent’s educational level, and others. Whereas, section two is meant to collect data on the respondents’ interest, motivation, and social interaction using the five Likert scale. The questionnaire is adapted from Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire MSLQ research tool, which was developed by Pintrich and DeGroot (1990). This MSLQ survey tool has been widely used to measure the level of motivation in students' learning. Meanwhile, social interaction instruments have been modified from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) survey by Armsden and Greenberg Preliminary(1987).test(pretest) and performance tests (posttest) are used to measure students’ basic knowledge, and evaluate their academic achievement, respectively. These tests are developed by the researchers in which they are based on the Malaysian Certificate Education Examination and certified by an expert from the same state. Indeed, the preliminary test is used as a covariate to streamline the fundamental difference between treatment and control groups.

24 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Pre review of the effectiveness Teaching & learning process Active learning Output • Academic achievement • Interest • Motivation • Social interaction • Discussions • Simulations • Brainstorming • Case studies • Visit school compound • achievementAcademic • Interest • Motivation • interactionSocial

Figure 1. Active Learning Process in Teaching and Learning of Fundamental Economics

Active Learning Traditional Learning Students were introduced to study topics through an impressive set of Induction. The teacher introduced the lesson topic through a brief question and answer Teaching activities using active learning materials. The teacher presented the lesson content by using the lecture method.

Figure 2: The Intervention vs the Traditional Method

Table 1: Comparison of Active and Traditional Learning Methods

Source: Modified from Shadish, Cook, and Campbell (2002)

Students do the activities in the form of active learning The teacher gave a few questions for homework Sample (64 students)

11 teaching materials with four main activities namely: brainstorming, role play, simulation and group work. The control group uses a traditional method.

Students complete the individual and groups’ learning materials Students listen to while taking notes The conclusion made by students or teachers at the closing session The teacher made a summary at the closing session

Quasi experimental study and survey Treatment group (34 students) Control Group (30 students) Active learning Traditional learning Achievement Test Pre test Post survey Data

Summary/discussion/recommendationsanalysis Pre survey Achievement Test

The researchers have also provided plans to be used in daily lessons according to topics, reference materials, papers, and other group activities to help instruct others entirely. Also, guidance and answers for teachers are also provided to ensure that active learning activities are carried out smoothly in the economics class. A summary of the activities for both methods is shown in Table 1.

Table 2: Background Profile of the Study’s Respondents (n=64) Item Treatment Group Control Group n (%) n (%) Gender FemaleMale 19 (55.9) 15 (44.1) 13 (43.3) 17 (56.7) Parents’ education Primary TertiarySecondaryschoolschooleducation 7 25(20.6)(73.5)2(5.9) 7 23(23.3)(76.7) Parents’ / Guardian’s Employment Government Employees Private Sector Employees SelfRetireesemployed 11 (32.4) 6 13(17.6)(38.2)4(11.8) 8 (26.7) 7 11(36.7)(23.3)4(13.3) Total Monthly Household Income Less than RM 1000 RM 1000 RM 1500 RM 1501 RM 2000 More than RM 2000 21 (61.8) 8 (23.5) 41(11.8)(2.9) 20 (66.7) 7 (23.3) 3 (10.0)

Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographical factors of our sample. Table 2 depicts some students’ background for both groups. The male sample was slightly larger than the female sample in the treatment group compared to the control group. Table 2 summarises the collected data on the respondents’ background information.

Table 3: Analysis of Covariance Experiment Topic Group N Mean PerformanceTest F p learningActive 1 TreatmentControl 3330 61.5253.00 73.181 0.000 2 TreatmentControl 3330 67.4256.00 92.659 0.000

The differential in the mean score of active learning activities in the classroom is tested by the Paired Sample T Test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for the achievement test. The difference between the mean scores for the treatment group before and after involvement in the active learning process is compared and determined whether there were any significant differences between the two data sets. The Paired Sample t test is used to test whether there is any significant increase in interest, motivation and social interaction in the treatment group after they have experienced the activities that were carried out using the active learning method. While, the ANCOVA technique is used to eliminate the existence of economics knowledge of the two groups that were involved in the current attempt (Shadish, Cook & Campbell, 2002). A covariate uses the latest monthly assessment for both groups as the pre test. Column five in Table 3 depicts students’ achievement in the first and second topics.

This study concludes that the treatment group with the notion of active learning method performs better than those following the traditional learning process in the control group. In this regard, some studies also showed that active learning had improved students’ academic achievement, (Budd, 2004; Johnson & Johnson, 1994; Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998; Meyers & Jones, 1993; Roche, 2014 and Slavin, 1995). However, Malek, Hall and Hodget (2014) found that there is no statistically significant improvement when the traditional teaching methods were tested with the alternative teaching method. The findings of the current paper dictate that students become more motivated in learning economics using the active teaching and learning method. These findings are also found by other researchers namely, Bartlett (2006), Becker (1997), Bonwell and Eison (1991), Brokaw and Merz (2004), Carlson and Velenchik (2006), Dixit (2006), Hazlett (2006) and Salemi (2002).Students are fond of the active learning activities conducted in class mainly in simulations, group discussions, case studies and visits within the school’s compound. They approach these practices as being attractive and fun which help them to understand the concepts of economics better. More than that, active learning methods can also enhance students' motivation in the process of learning economics for Form Four. Although the application of motivational research to the economics subject is scarce, there is some evidence that motivation is an additional factor to successful output in economics among students (Arnold & Straten, 2012),

The significant or the non significant of the mean difference in these activities depends on the t value. Therefore, the t value for “Interest and Motivation” is, t (33, p = 0.000) = 14.24 and t (33, p = 0.00) = 10.57 respectively, which was smaller than 0.05 which indicates that both variables are significant. That is to say, the active learning activities conducted in the classroom enabled students to show more interest and motivation in learning the economics subject. However, as displayed, there is no significant difference in the mean score of “Social Interaction” before and after learning activities.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

As displayed, the mean score for the treatment group was higher than the control group in both topics. The findings show that the academic achievement of students who used active learning activities was significantly higher than their counterpart with the F=92.66.

Table 4 reflects the results of students’ experience in active learning. The mean difference between pre and post survey for "Interest, Motivation, and Social Interaction" are shown in column three. The positive value indicates that the average score for post test is higher than the pre test.

Table 4: Paired Sample t test

Variables Mean difference after and before treatment df t value Sig. (two tails) Interest 1.817 33 14.240 0.000 Motivation 1.425 33 10.572 0.000 Social Interaction 0.225 33 1.688 0.101

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. because the teaching aids and materials in active learning are rewarding and fun for students (Salemi, 2002). Nevertheless, results of the current endeavour do not show the mean difference before and after experiment on the aspect of social interaction. That is to say, it appears that there is no conclusive evidence that the active learning method is effective in improving the social interaction of students. Probably, changes in a class setting should be included in preparing class activities. Because, active learning classroom (ACL) is a common setting and arrangements for enhance effective learning process (Baepler & Walker, 2014; Metzger, 2015), the latter will contribute to make a significant impact on social interaction with new team members and foster a closer relationship with new friends. As far as economics teachers are concerned, they should not solely rely on traditional learning methods, as a reason, to complete the syllabus given for a large number of students in a class. The active teaching materials provided by educational department should be frequently used, diversified and blended with latest teaching and learning devices to motivate students. Indeed, further empirical studies should explore promising alternatives to enable learners understand the significant role social interaction plays and what pedagogies to develop for successful integration.

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32 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 32 59, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.20203 Inclusion of the FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE for Creating Effective Courses

Antonio Silva Sprock

Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela 0002 9911 4774

https://orcid.org/0000

Abstract. The work exposes the analysis of the effectiveness of courses in MOODLE when the course is developed with activities according to the learning styles of the students which have been determined using the FuzzyILS Method. The investigator has adapted the FuzzyILS method and designed the FuzzyILS questionnaire based on former attempts and the researcher’s observations to calculate the degrees of belonging of the fuzzy sets, and evaluate the activities of MOODLE, according to the learning styles of students. The investigator has used the experimental research with forty students from the Central University of Venezuela grouped into two groups, namely the experimental group and the control group with twenty students each. The results show evidence of improvement in learning and reflect greater participation in the proposed activities when the FuzzyILS Method and MOODLE techniques are used with the learning styles of students.

Keywords: FuzzyILS Method; Learning Styles; Fuzzy Sets; MOODLE 1. Introduction Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) continue to advance in education and makes it possible to extend teaching and learning environments. Its enrichment permits the development of collaborative and interactive virtual environments, with the use of different didactic materials, such as presentations, multimedia elements, intelligent tutors, among others. The use of ICT has also allowed the creation of new educational models, related to distance education, such as E Learning, Blended Learning, and Mobile Learning (Dorfsmani, 2012). Distance education is advancing, not only as an alternative in 2020, but also it becomes the only option in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic. That is to say, the new situation leads to new challenges to take place: to navigate the pandemic by maintaining classes without overloading the different actors mainly in finding ways to establish a pedagogical link remotely, and be attentive to all that is happening around this context (Artopoulos, 2020). Many tools favour the virtual environments in e learning, part of these are the Learning

2. Literature Review

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Management Platforms (Learning Management Systems or simply LMS), for example, MOODLE On the other hand, students, regardless of the learning environment, they structure their strategy for learning depending on their learning style, they use in a conscious, controlled, and intentional way, procedures (set of steps, operations, or skills) to learn and solve problems (Díaz Barriga & Hernández, 2010). Its effectiveness depends to a great extent on the instructional strategy used by the teacher (Ossandón & Castillo, 2006). Therefore, learning styles represent a determining factor of the teaching and learning process (Paredes, 2008). Felder & Silverman (1988) for example, argue that students with a strong preference for a learning style may have difficulties in the process if the teaching environment is not adapted to their learning style. In this concern, students learn and perform better if the learning environment includes activities in which they participate and apply knowledge, rather than being passive in the process and simply listening (Prince, 2013; Freeman, Eddya, McDonougha, Smithb, Okoroafora, Jordta & Pat Wenderotha, 2014), bearing in mind the fact that the effectiveness of a technique is related to the expected result when performing tests that measure the level of knowledge of the student about the knowledge imparted (Lozano, Suescún, Vallejo, Mazo & Correa, 2020). This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of a course MOODLE, using the techniques appropriate to the students learning styles being determined by the FuzzyILS Method, which broke with the dichotomy of the Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire (ILS) of Felder and Soloman (2007).

The modular object oriented dynamic learning environment (MOODLE) is a learning management platform (Learning Management Systems or simply LMS) where teachers can build courses using templates for contents developments, among them forums, chat, quizzes, glossaries, workshops, surveys, and exercises type multiple choice, true/false, and one word answers. The services provided generally include access control, educational content development, communication tools, and administration of student groups. The LMS has numerous advantages in the field of distance education, especially in creating a student teacher link which translates into educational and professional success (Díaz, 2009; Boneu, 2007). The LMS favours communication and interaction between the students of the subject and the teacher who dictates it. These tools overcome the barrier of shyness and favored the interaction and bonding among students. Such a fact generates collaborative work to occur (Silva & Vicari, 2016).

This section is meant to review the relevant concepts and elements related to this study. First, it begins with the MOODLE issue, the learning styles concept, the correlation among MOODLE and learning styles, and the FuzzyILS Method.

2.1 MOODLE

There are multiple conceptions of learning styles (Silva, 2018), among them the one proposed by James Keefe (1987), who defines them as "cognitive, affective, physiological traits, preferences for the use of the senses, environment, culture, behavior, comfort, development and personality, which serve as relatively stable indicators, of how people perceive, interrelate and respond to their learning environments and their methods or strategies in their way of learning" (Keefe, 1987). The importance of knowing learning styles is helpful mainly in adapting the way of teaching to each student's style, improving education, and making education more effective (Silva, 2018). The current research paper is based on the Felder and Silverman Learning Styles Model (FSLSM) (Felder & Silverman, 1988), since it is considered to be the most used in technologies and sciences students.

For this, MOODLE offers multiple activities and tools (Moodle, 2020):

• Chat: Allows participants to have a real time synchronous discussion

• Choice: A teacher asks a question and specifies a choice of multiple responses

• Wiki: A collection of web pages that anyone can add to or edit

• Survey: For gathering data from students to help teachers learn about their class and reflect on their teaching

• Workshop: Enables peer assessment. These functionalities support flexible and active learning under the constructivist approach (Cabero Almenara, Arancibia & Del Prete, 2019), and the teachers have much freedom concerning the format of the content they can create in MOODLE. They have access to a wider variety than when using traditional handouts (Szirmai, 2020); however they do not assist the teacher in the construction of the courses as it is often a challenge for a teacher to successfully structure courses and activities in the LMS (Silva, Ponce & Meneses, 2013). This happens because they must prepare the contents and the instructional activities and direct the learning. This process is efficient only when teachers consider the characteristics of the students and the previously established instructional objectives. These students’ characteristics include their profiles, and MOODLE is pedagogically neutral for it does not consider student profiles to structure the courses (Almeida, Romero & Arce, 2017). Then this is a deficiency of MOODLE because the instructional techniques must have different degrees of adequacy and effectiveness in the teaching and learning process. This effectiveness calls forstudents’ learning styles (Silva, Ponce & Meneses, 2013).

• Lesson: For delivering content in flexible ways

2.3. MOODLE and Learning Style Regarding MOODLE, two ways in incorporating learning styles in the LMS have been proposed. Firstly, some authors added learning styles questionnaire to MOODLE, such as the CHAEA questionnaire being associated with the Kolb Model (Torres, Molina & Álvarez, 2010; Lavigne, Díaz, McAnally & Organista, 2013; Rubio, 2009; Pacheco, Miranda & Alonso, 2020); others (Peña, Mendoza &

• Forum: Allows participants to have asynchronous discussions

• Glossary: Enables participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary

2.2. The Learning Styles

Yes Chat Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No Glossary Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Workshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Survey Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Choice Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Forum Yes

The FuzzyILS Method (Silva, 2020) is a system to evaluate the learning styles using a fuzzy questionnaire (Appendix), based on the FSLMS (Felder & Silverman, 1988) and as an alternative fuzzy to ILS (Felder & Soloman, 2007).

The FSLSM (Felder & Silverman, 1988) considers four dimensions of learning styles, wherein each dimension is dichotomous having two extremes, these are: Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, and Sequential/Global. After, Felder and Soloman (2007) developed the ILS, related to FSLSM, to determine the learning styles. The ILS has forty four questions, while each dimension of the FSLSM covers eleven questions. Each one has two possible answers, in which each answer corresponds with one of the extremes of the dimension. For example, in the Visual/Verbal "I prefer to read" meets the Visual extreme and "I prefer to hear" for Verbal extreme. With the ILS, Silva, Ponce & Villalpando (2013, 2014, 2014a), created the MeLOTS method for the development of Learning Objects based on instructional techniques and learning styles, where they relate thirty one

2.4. The FuzzyILS Method

Yes Yes Wiki No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes

The second way concerned its association with FSLSM (Felder & Silverman, 1988) which has been studied by Despotović Zrakić, Marković, Bogdanović, Barać and Krčo (2012) and more recently with Karagiannis and Satratzemi (2018) study. In fact, Rubio (2009) incorporated a learning styles module based on the CHAEA questionnaire in MOODLE, which was called LSTest. Subsequently, Puello, Fernandez and Cabarcas (2014) modified the LSTest and incorporated the Index Learning styles ILS (Felder & Soloman, 2007) to this LSTest. Both attempts serve as the basis for this proposal. In addition to these works, the study by Despotović, Marković, Bogdanović, Barać and Krčo (2012) shows the relationship between MOODLE activities and tools with the learning styles of FSLSM (Felder & Silverman, 1988), where they assigned "Yes", "No" or "Shortly" as indexes to display the adequacy of the MOODLE activities with the learning styles. Table 1 shows this relation.

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. González, 2015; Puello, Fernández & Cabarcas, 2014; Graf & Kinshuk, 2007; Graf, Kinshuk & Liu, 2008; Mohd, Yahya, Ismail, Jalil & Noor, 2019) associate it with the ILS (Felder & Soloman, 2007), while some others assimilate it with the Myers and Briggs model (Bignetti & Jasbinschek, 2011).

Table 1: The relationship of MOODLE activities with the learning styles (Despotović et al., 2012).

ActivitiesMOODLE FSLSM Dimensions Sens. Intui. Visual Verb. Sec. Glob. Act. Refl. Yes No Yes Shortly Shortly Shortly

Yes Yes Lesson Yes Shortly Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

instructional techniques to the dimensions of the FSLSM. This method is evaluated with students and their opinions as key foundations for the development of the FuzzyILS Method. In this respect, students indicated that some answers or options of the questions should not be exclusive. They said that the dichotomy cannot exist in some questions and that they wish that some of their answers were intermediate (Silva, Ponce & Villalpando, 2015). The same conception is also found by Cataldi, Figueroa, Méndez, Lage, Vigliecca and Kraus Taking(2006).theabovesaid

Question 1, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “I understand something better after:” a. Always practice b. Almost always practice, and rarely reflect on them c. Sometimes practice, and sometimes reflect on them d. Almost always reflect on them, and rarely practice e. Always reflect on them

Each option is value with fuzzy sets shown in Figure 1. The values of each answer using these fuzzy sets are displayed in Table 2.

Figure 1: Fuzzy sets used to establish the values of the FuzzyILS Questionnaire answers Table 2 shows the different values possible for the first answer in the FuzzyILS Questionnaire.

into consideration, Silva (2020) shows a way to break this dichotomy. The solution included the notion of intermediate answers what have different degrees of belonging to the sets associated with the four dimensions, wherein these degrees are calculated with fuzzy logic (Zadeh, 1965). In this sense, the author proposed the fuzzy sets as an extension of the ILS dichotomous sets which have been further developed and evaluated. Thus, unlike the original ILS put forward by Felder and Soloman (2007), each question has five options. The following is an example that is used to display how the options are organised, established, and how the values are distributed for each answer.

37 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 2: Values each answer using the fuzzy sets for the first question in the FuzzyILS AnswerQuestionnaire Active Reflective a) Always practice 1 0 b) Almost always practice, and rarely reflect on them 0.75 0.25 c) Sometimes practice, and sometimes reflect on them 0.50 0.50 d) Almost always reflect on them, and rarely practice 0.25 0.75 e) Always reflect on them 0 1 With the value of each question, FuzzyILS Method adds all values for each dimension. Table 3 shows the possible values for all questions in the Active/Reflective dimension. Table 3. Possible values for each question for the Active/Reflective dimension. Questions Active Reflective 1 0.75 0.25 5 0.5 0.5 9 0.75 0.25 13 0.25 0.75 17 0.25 0.75 21 0.5 0.5 25 0.75 0.25 29 0.25 0.75 33 0.75 0.25 37 0.5 0.5 41 0.25 0.75 Total 5.5 5.5 After calculating the total value of each dimension, manipulating the degree of belonging of each dimension is shown in the following figure. Figure 2: Fuzzy sets to evaluate the dimensions of the FSLSM in the FuzzyILS Method

3. Methodology

3.1. Objective As indicated at the beginning, the main objective of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of a MOODLE course taking into consideration students' learning styles being determined by the FuzzyILS Method. To validate its effectiveness, the researcher evaluates students’ participation in the MOODLE activities by considering grade they obtain in a content evaluation test. The idea that if a student participates actively in the activities, he will learn better, as indicated by other authors (Prince, 2013; Freeman et al., 2014) is the standing conception the researcher used. On the other hand, the investigator based the evaluation of the qualification on the fact that the effectiveness of a technique is related to the expected result when performing tests that measure the student's level of knowledge about the knowledge imparted (Lozano, et al., 2020). First, the FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE is integrated, then the questionnaire is added along with the fuzzy sets, values of degree of belonging, and the evaluation of MOODLE activities associated with values of learning styles. All these steps combine to validate the MOODLE course.

This section discusses the objective of the study, the incorporation of the FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE, the sample of the study, and the experimentation with this sample.

(1) With the degree of belonging, the learning styles are clearly obtained. For example, the value in table 3 (Active = 5.5 and Reflective = 5.5), corresponds with the second interval in Equation 1, and the degree of belonging is 0.56 for Active and reflective, and both values are in the Moderate set. Integrating the FuzzyILS Method with MOODLE to associate the LMS activities to the learning styles is the main concern in this research work. In any course development platform, one can integrate it as a move to relate instructional techniques with students’ learning styles (Silva, Ponce & Villalpando, 2014) in hope to offer support to the teachers for effective and appropriate courses.

These fuzzy sets make Equation 1 for displaying the sets (Weak, Moderate, and Strong) and the formulas for each interval in which X reflects the total value of the dimension.

3.2. FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE

The incorporation phase of the FuzzyILS Method in MOODLE takes some stages that are summarised as follows.

3. They added and modified several functions in the localib.php file, the file where the working logic of the Test and the reports of the Module.

5. They modified the report.php file to present the results of the ILS on a worksheet per student per course.

2. They modified the install.php and install.xml files to add the changes and optimize the module installation with the ILS.

Figure 3: LSTest module (adaptation of Puello, Fernández & Cabarcas, 2014) Puello, Fernández and Cabarcas (2014) did modifications which are described below:1. In the test folder > examples, they added the ILS.

3.2.1. LSTest adaptation As indicated, previous works were analysed to incorporate the FuzzyILS Method into MOODLE. In the first instance, the learning styles module (LSTest) was downloaded for MOODLE (Rubio, 2009), from the site http://innova.cicei.com/course/view.php?id=24, which consist of the programs, tables of the Database, and files to be incorporated to the LMS. Subsequently, the elements of the Module were modified, considering other work (Puello, Fernández & Cabarcas, 2014). Figure 3 shows the components of the LSTest Module, where modifications made by Puello and colleagues are reflected in light gray and the investigator’s modifications are displayed in dark gray.

6. They also modified the stylestatistic.php, teststatistic.php, and userstatistic.php files to present the results´ tables and the statistics according to ILS.

4. In the save.php file, they incorporated functions to store the results of the ILS.

3.2.3. FuzzyILS Questionnaire in Portuguese.

The FuzzyILS Questionnaire is added in the test folder, wherein Figure 4 shows the Test interface of MOODLE. Figure 4: FuzzyILS Questionnaire interface

3.2.2. Inclusion of FuzzyILS Questionnaire

The researcher incorporated the Portuguese into the MOODLE being developed in the lang folder > pt. Figure 5 shows the Test interface in Portuguese. Figure 5: The interface of the FuzzyILS Questionnaire in Portuguese

Actually, some functions are inserted and the localib.php file is modified to incorporate the fuzzy sets as shown in Figure 1. These modifications were used to modify the Questionnaire logic and Module reports.

3.2.4. Fuzzy Sets to Establish the Values of the FuzzyILS Answers

3.2.5. Degrees of Belonging to Each Dimension

MOODLEActivities FSLSM Dimensions Sens.

multiply the value with each student’s learning style, where:(2) 1. ti is each MOODLE technique 2. σ is the dimension value in the technique i (Table 4) 3. µ is the evaluation of dimension in the students (described in 3.2.5 and associated with Figure 2) For example, the values of the dimensions for a student are as follows: 1. Sensing = 0.69; Intuitive = 0.44 2. Visual = 1; Verbal = 0 3. Sequential = 0.94; Global = 0.19 4. Active = 0.56; Reflective = 0.56 Thus, with Equation 2, it is possible to evaluate the Moodle activities. For example, the evaluation of Forum activity is shown in Table 5. Table 5: Evaluation of the Forum activity in each FSLSM dimensions. ActivitiesMOODLE FSLSM Dimensions Sens. Intui. Visual Verb. Seq. Glob. Act. Refl. Tot. Forum 2*0.69 2*0.44 0*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 2*0.19 2*0.56 2*0.56 8.07

Visual Verb.

0 2 0 2 2 0 2 1

3.2.6. Evaluation of MOODLE Activities

As an endeavour, the grad_pert.php file is included to develop the logic of evaluation of the degrees of membership of the dimensions, according to Equation 1 and Figure 2so that students’ learning styles could be get.

Table

Act. Refl. Forum 2 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 Chat 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 Glossary 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 2 Workshop 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Survey 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 2 Choice 2 0 2 2 2 1 2 2 Lesson 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 2

The file eval_activ.php is a fixed, where the researcher incorporates the adaptation of Table 1 and change the “yes” value by numeric valor 2, the “no” value by numeric value 0, and the “shorter” value by 1. Table 4 shows the adaption made. 4: Valuation of MOODLE in each learning style Intui. Sec. Glob. Wiki (Adaptation of Despotović et al., 2012) With the valuation shown in Table 4 and the evaluation of the learning styles of each student, then Equation 2 is formulated. For each technique, we need to

Students

1 6.5 4.5 10 1 8.5 2.5 5.5 5.5 2 2.5 8.5 8.5 2.5 10 1 4 7 3 9.5 1.5 9 2 5.5 5.5 2.5 8.5 4 3 8 9 2 6 5 3 8 5 3 8 3.5 7.5 8.5 2.5 3 8 6 7 4 6.5 4.5 6 5 7.5 3.5 7 3 8 2.5 8.5 6 5 6.5 4.5 8 10 1 8 3 8.5 2.5 8 3 9 9 2 4 7 6.5 4.5 2.5 8.5 10 3.5 7.5 4 7 4.5 6.5 6.5 4.5 11 5 6 3 8 4.5 6.5 3 8 12 9.5 1.5 6 5 8 3 3.5 7.5 13 9 2 3 8 9.5 1.5 4 7 14 9.5 1.5 9.5 1.5 2.5 8.5 5.5 5.5 15 3.5 7.5 9.5 1.5 7 4 6.5 4.5 16 7 4 5 6 3 8 9.5 1.5 17 5.5 5.5 3.5 7.5 5 6 2.5 8.5 18 4.5 6.5 5 6 4.5 6.5 3.5 7.5 19 10 1 5 6 9.5 1.5 10 1 20 5.5 5.5 6.5 4.5 5.5 5.5 10 1 After applying the FuzzyILS Questionnaire, it is high time to evaluate the dimensions with the fuzzy sets to know each degree of belonging of each dimension using Equation 1. Table 7 displays the evaluation of the learning style of the experimental groups.

3.3. The sample A sample of forty students of an introductory computer course are used in this research work by dividing them into two groups (experimental and control group). Both groups took a mini Unified Modeling Language (UML) course structured in MOODLE. The experimental group used the MOODLE with FuzzyILS Method whereas the control group took the original MOODLE without FuzzyILS Method. The intention is to validate that a MOODLE course structured with techniques associated with the learning styles of the students is an effective course, and the students get better results than a course with techniques not associated with Learning styles.

All rights

Table 6: Evaluation of learning styles dimensions using the FuzzyILS Questionnaire Sens. Int. Visual Verb. Seq. Glob. Act. Refl.

3.4. The evaluation of learning styles of the experimental group Table 6 shows the result of the responses of the twenty students of the experimental group.

42 author and IJLTER.ORG. reserved.

43 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 7: Evaluation of learning styles using FuzzyILS sets Students Sens. Int. Visual Verb. Seq. Glob. Act. Refl. 1 0.69 0.44 1.00 0.00 0.94 0.19 0.56 0.56 2 0.19 0.94 0.94 0.19 1.00 0.00 0.38 0.75 3 1.00 0.06 1.00 0.13 0.56 0.56 0.19 0.94 4 0.25 0.88 1.00 0.13 0.63 0.50 0.25 0.88 5 0.25 0.88 0.31 0.81 0.94 0.19 0.25 0.88 6 0.75 0.38 0.69 0.44 0.63 0.50 0.81 0.31 7 0.25 0.88 0.19 0.94 0.63 0.50 0.69 0.44 8 1.00 0.00 0.88 0.25 0.94 0.19 0.88 0.25 9 1.00 0.13 0.38 0.75 0.69 0.44 0.19 0.94 10 0.31 0.81 0.38 0.75 0.44 0.69 0.69 0.44 11 0.50 0.63 0.25 0.88 0.44 0.69 0.25 0.88 12 1.00 0.06 0.63 0.50 0.88 0.25 0.31 0.81 13 1.00 0.13 0.25 0.88 1.00 0.06 0.38 0.75 14 1.00 0.06 1.00 0.06 0.19 0.94 0.56 0.56 15 0.31 0.81 1.00 0.06 0.75 0.38 0.69 0.44 16 0.75 0.38 0.50 0.63 0.25 0.88 1.00 0.06 17 0.56 0.56 0.31 0.81 0.50 0.63 0.19 0.94 18 0.44 0.69 0.50 0.63 0.44 0.69 0.31 0.81 19 1.00 0.00 0.50 0.63 1.00 0.06 1.00 0.00 20 0.56 0.56 0.69 0.44 0.56 0.56 1.00 0.00 3.5. Evaluation of MOODLE Activities After evaluating learning styles, valuing the MOODLE activities with Equation 2 is necessary Table 8 shows the evaluation of the MOODLE activities in the FSLM dimensions for the first student. The MOODLE activities for all students are evaluated and their values are summarised in Table 9. Table 8: Evaluation of the MOODLE activities in the FSLSM dimensions for the first student ActivitiesMOODLE FSLSM Dimensions Sens. Intui. Visual Verb. Seq. Glob. Act. Refl. Tot. Forum 2*0.69 2*0.44 0*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 2*0.19 2*0.56 2*0.56 6.76 Chat 2*0.69 0*0.44 0*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 0*0.19 2*0.56 0*0.56 4.38 Glossary 2*0.69 0*0.44 0*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 0*0.19 2*0.56 0*0.56 4.38 Workshop 2*0.69 2*0.44 2*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 2*0.19 2*0.56 2*0.56 8.76 Survey 2*0.69 2*0.44 2*1.00 2*0.00 0*0.94 2*0.19 2*0.56 2*0.56 6.88 Choice 2*0.69 0*0.44 2*1.00 2*0.00 2*0.94 1*0.19 2*0.56 0*0.56 6.57 Lesson 2*0.53 1*0.59 2*0.31 2*0.81 2*0.31 1*0.81 2*0.53 1*0.59 6.16 Wiki 0*0.53 2*0.59 0*0.31 2*0.81 2*0.31 0*0.81 0*0.53 2*0.59 4.60

44 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 9: Evaluation of the MOODLE activities in the experimental group Est. Forum Chat Glossary Workshop Survey Choice Lesson Wiki 1 6.76 4.38 4.38 8.76 6.88 6.57 6.16 4.60 2 6.88 3.50 3.50 8.75 6.13 6.88 6.81 5.75 3 6.88 3.75 4.88 8.88 6.50 8.19 8.25 2.81 4 7.00 2.50 3.50 9.00 6.50 6.75 7.50 4.63 5 8.38 4.50 4.88 9.00 7.88 7.06 7.19 6.63 6 7.63 5.25 6.25 9.00 6.00 7.75 8.00 4.81 7 8.63 5.00 6.00 9.00 7.25 6.75 7.50 6.69 8 7.00 6.13 6.50 8.75 5.25 8.56 7.81 4.38 9 8.25 5.25 6.13 9.00 7.88 8.31 8.19 4.44 10 8.25 4.38 5.75 9.00 6.88 6.69 7.75 5.81 11 8.50 4.13 5.50 9.00 8.00 7.06 7.94 5.25 12 7.63 5.38 5.88 8.88 7.00 8.50 7.94 4.31 13 8.38 6.50 6.63 8.88 7.63 8.56 7.75 5.50 14 6.75 3.63 5.50 8.75 5.63 7.69 8.50 2.31 15 6.88 3.63 4.38 8.88 5.50 6.88 7.31 5.06 16 7.88 5.25 7.00 8.88 5.88 7.25 8.25 4.56 17 8.38 4.13 5.38 9.00 8.00 7.25 7.94 5.06 18 8.00 3.63 5.00 9.00 7.38 6.94 7.88 4.94 19 7.38 7.25 7.38 8.38 5.38 8.31 7.38 5.25 20 7.38 5.13 6.25 8.75 5.38 7.06 7.63 5.13 Figure 6 shows the three best activities for the experimental group. Figure 6: Evaluation of MOODLE activities according to the learning styles of the experimental group After the evaluation, there are many coincidences in the most appropriate MOODLE activities. Figure 7 displays the intersections and numbers of students in these intersections.

Figure 7: The intersection of MOODLE activities, evaluated in the experimental group

Participation

For the twenty students of the experimental group, the best MOODLE activities, according to their learning styles, are: Lesson, Workshop, Choice and Survey; for eight students are: Workshop, Choice, and Lesson; for seven Forum, Workshop and Lesson; for three students Forum, Workshop and Choice and finally for two students are: Forum, Workshop, and Survey.

3.6. Present test and the evaluation of participation A face to face testis designed, along with analyzing students’ participation in MOODLE activities. Table 10 reflects the obtained data.

Table 10: Participation of the students in the MOODLE activities and grade of the present test of the experimental group Est. in MOODLE Activities Mean Grade MOODLE Forum

Forum Workshop Choice Lesson 1 85% 100% 100% 100% 96% 19 2 60% 95% 100% 85% 85% 19 3 50% 100% 100% 90% 85% 19 4 25% 75% 100% 100% 75% 18 5 10% 0% 0% 50% 15% 8 6 25% 80% 100% 100% 76% 17 7 33% 100% 100% 75% 77% 18 8 50% 60% 100% 100% 78% 18 9 33% 100% 100% 100% 83% 19 10 50% 85% 0% 100% 59% 19 11 75% 100% 0% 75% 63% 18 12 0% 25% 0% 50% 19% 10 13 100% 80% 100% 100% 95% 19 14 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 18 15 25% 100% 100% 75% 75% 19 16 50% 95% 0%% 100% 82% 17 17 75% 100% 100% 100% 94% 19 18 75% 80% 100% 100% 89% 18 19 75% 100% 100% 100% 94% 18 20 60% 75% 100% 75% 78% 16 Mean 52.8% 82.5% 75% 88.75% 75% 17.3 The

activity that most participants participate in is the Lesson, while the

Participation

is the lea stone. The mean of participation is 75%. The mean of the grade is 17.3, where the scale is 0 20. The results are shown in Table 11

46 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 11: Participation of students in MOODLE activities & grade of the control group Est. Participation in MOODLE Activities Activities Mean GradeForum Workshop Choice Lesson 1 100% 100% 100% 75% 94% 15 2 0% 0% 0% 80% 20% 12 3 50% 85% 0% 75% 53% 18 4 0% 100% 0% 80% 45% 16 5 10% 80% 100% 70% 65% 14 6 25% 100% 0% 75% 50% 13 7 0% 75% 0% 50% 31% 15 8 20% 80% 100% 50% 63% 18 9 50% 80% 100% 100% 83% 18 10 75% 25% 100% 75% 69% 17 11 15% 75% 100% 100% 73% 20 12 0% 25% 100% 80% 51% 18 13 0% 75% 0% 50% 31% 13 14 0% 80% 0% 50% 33% 16 15 100% 50% 0% 100% 63% 17 16 75% 75% 100% 100% 88% 15 17 100% 75% 100% 100% 94% 17 18 50% 100% 100% 75% 81% 15 19 100% 50% 100% 80% 83% 18 20 25% 25% 100% 60% 53% 17 Mean 39.75% 68% 60% 76% 68% 16.1 Similar to the experimental group, in the control group, the MOODLE activity with most participation was the Lesson, and the least was the Forum. The mean of participation was 68%. The mean of the grade was 16.1, where the scale was 0 20. Figure 8 shows the participation comparative of the two groups. Figure 9 shows the grade of the face to face test of the two groups. Figure 8: ComparingParticipants’ Participantion in Both Groups 52.80% 82.50% 75.00% 88.75% 39.75% 68.00% 60.00% 76.00% 40%30%20%10%0% 50% 100%90%80%70%60% Forum Workshop Choice Lesson participationof% MOODLE activities Mean participation of the 4 principals MOODLE activities groupControllExperimentagroup

Similar to the experimental group, in the control group, the MOODLE activity with most participation was the Lesson, and the least was the Forum. The participation mean was 68%. The mean of the grade was 16.1/20. The correlation

Participation in all MOODLE activities was greater in the experimental group than in the control group. Also, the mean grade of the face to face test was greater in the experimental group than the control group, showed in Figure 9.

Figure 10: Correlation between the students’ participation and their grade in the experimental group

Figure 9: Grade of the face to face test of the two groups 4. Results In the experimental group, the MOODLE activity with most participation was the Lesson, and with the least was the Forum. The participation mean was 75%, and the mean of the grade was 17.3/20. The correlation between the participation of students and their grades, results in a strong positive correlation of the variables (r=0.86), and the value of the coefficient of determination is (r2) = 0.75. This coefficient is the common variability between both variables. Figure 10 shows and explains the correlation.

between the student's participation and their grades was r = 0.41, which indicates a weak positive correlation of the variables. The value of the coefficient of determination (r2) = 0.17. This coefficient is the common variability between both variables. Figure 11 summarises these data.

5. Conclusion In this research paper, the FuzzyILS Method is incorporated into MOODLE as a starting point to the previous proposals of other researchers (Borga, 2009; Puello, Fernandez & Cabarcas, 2014), who added the Learning styles Test into the LMS.

The MOODLE Database is modified unlike to the previous existing proposals wherein new programs are created to assess degrees of membership in the fuzzy sets and to evaluate MOODLE activities with the FuzzyILS Method. In the experimentation, the Glossary, Chat, and Wiki activities were poorly evaluated in all cases in the sense that they were not selected among the first four MOODLE activities. Prince (2013), and Freeman and his colleagues (Freeman et al., 2014) affirm that students learn and perform better if the learning environment includes activities in which they participate and apply knowledge, rather than being passive in the process and simply listening. The results of the experimental group show evidence that when MOODLE is used, students use appropriate techniques learning styles, participate more in the activities, and obtain better grades. As far as the latter is concerned, students achieve good grades owing to their understanding of the content delivered and the participation they perform (Prince, 2013; Freeman et al., 2014). A strong positive correlation and a great coefficient of determination are met in the experimental group. Meanwhile, weak positive correlations along with students’ grades are less with the control group. Hence, it is safe to mention that the intervention brought interesting results and the hybridization process the present paper suggests is workable for effective course and meeting urgent needs. Further attempts need to cover large population in different contexts to collect evidences to elaborate references on this issue.

Figure 11: Correlation between the students’ participation and their grade in the control group

Felder, R., & Soloman, B. (2007). Index of Learning styles [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html.

Bignetti, J., & Jasbinschek, C. (2011, August 30 September 02). Estilos de aprendizagem e interfaces adaptativas em ambientes virtuais baseados na plataforma MOODLE [Learning styles and adaptive interfaces in virtual environments based on the MOODLE platform]. Conference proceedings of the 17º congresso internacional de educação a distância. Manaus. Amazonas, Brasil. Retrieved from http://www.abed.org.br/congresso2011/cd/250.pdf

Cataldi, Z., Figueroa, N., Méndez, P., Lage, F., Vigliecca, M., & Kraus, G. (2006) Herramienta automatizada para la determinación de los estilos en ingresantes cursos de programaciónbásica de aprendizaje [Automated tool for determining styles in incoming basic learning programming courses]. Conference proceedings of the XII Congreso Argentino en Ciencias de la Computación. Retrieved from http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/22529

Díaz, S. (2009). Introducción a las Plataformas Virtuales en la Enseñanza [Introduction to Virtual Platforms in Teaching]. Temas para la educación, 2, 1 7. Retrieved from https://www.feandalucia.ccoo.es/docuipdf.aspx?d=4920&s= Díaz Barriga, F., & Hernández, G. (2010). Teaching strategies for meaningful learning (3rd ed.). McGraw HILL: México. Dorfsmani, M. (2012). La profesión docente en contextos de cambio: El docente global en la Sociedad de la Información [The teaching profession in contexts of change: The global teacher in the Information Society]. RED Docencia Universitaria en la Sociedad del Conocimiento Universidad de Murcia,6, 1 23. Retrieved from http://www.um.es/ead/reddusc/6/marcelo_dusc6.pdf

Felder, R., & Silverman, L. (1988). Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education, Engr. Education, 78(7), 674 681. Retrieved from 1988.pdfhttp://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/LS.

Artopoulos, A. (2020). COVID 19: ¿Qué hicieron los países para continuar con la educación a distancia? [COVID 19: What did countries do to continue distance education?]. Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Comparada, 11(17), 1 11. Retrieved from http://www.saece.com.ar/relec/revistas/17/doc2.pdf

Cabero Almenara, J., Arancibia, M., & del Prete, A. (2019). Technical and Didactic Knowledge of the Moodle LMS in Higher Education. Beyond Functional Use. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (NAER Journal), 8(1), 25 33. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2019.1.327

6. References Almeida, G., Romero, W., & Arce, A. (2017). MOODLE una contribución para elevar la calidad del proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje [MOODLE a contribution to raise the quality of the teaching learning process]. Retrieved from http://www.eumed.net/rev/atlante/2017/10/Moodle

Boneu, J. M. (2007). Plataformas abiertas de e learning para el soporte de contenidos educativos abiertos [Open e learning platforms to support open educational content]. Revista de Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento (RUSC), 4(1), 36 46. http://dx.doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v4i1.298

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Despotović Zrakić, M., Marković. A., Bogdanović, Z., Barać, D., & Krčo, S. (2012). Providing adaptivity in MOODLE LMS Courses. Educational Technology & Society, 15(1), 326 338. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.15.1.326

017 9663 5 Keefe, J. W. (1987). Learning Style Theory and Practice. National Association of Secondary School Principals. Reston, VA, USA. Lavigne, G., Díaz, K., McAnally, L., & Organista, J. (2013). Navegar y aprender: una aproximación a las relaciones entre estilos de aprendizaje y la navegación en MOODLE [Navigating and learning: an approach to the relationships between learning styles and navigation in MOODLE]. Universities and Knowledge Society Journal, 10(2), 81 97. http://dx.doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v10i2.1402

Graf, S., & Kinshuk, K. (2007). Providing Adaptive Courses in Learning Management Systems with Respect to Learning styles. In T. Bastiaens & S. Carliner (Eds.), Proceedings of the World Conference on E Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education. Quebec City, Canada. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/26739/

Freeman, S., Eddya, S., McDonougha, M., Smithb, M., Okoroafora, N., Jordta, H., & Pat Wenderotha, M. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410 8415. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1319030111

Lozano, S., Suescún, E., Vallejo, P., Mazo, R., & Correa D. (2020). Comparando dos estrategias de aprendizaje activo para enseñar Scrum en un curso introductorio de ingeniería de software [Comparing two active learning strategies for teaching Scrum in an introductory software engineering course]. Ingeniare, Revista Chilena de Ingeniería, 28(1), 83 94. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718 33052020000100083 Mohd, F., Yahya, W. F. F., Ismail, S., Jalil, M. A., & Noor, N. M. M. (2019). An Architecture of Decision Support System for Visual Auditory Kinesthetic (VAK) Learning styles Detection Through Behavioral Modelling International Journal of Innovation in Enterprise System, 3(2), 24 30. http://dx.doi.org/10.25124/ijies.v3i02.37 Moodle. (2020). Retrieved from https://docs.Moodle.org/38/en/Activities

Paredes, P. (2008). A Proposal for Incorporating Learning styles into User Models in Adaptive Teaching Systems (Doctoral dissertation, the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Departamento de Ingeniería Informática, Madrid, España). Retrieved from http://arantxa.ii.uam.es/~pparedes/tesis.pdf

Graf, S., Kinshuk, K., & Liu, T. (2008). Identifying Learning Styles in Learning Management Systems by Using Indications from Students´ Behaviour. Paper presented at the 2008 eighth IEEE international conference on advanced learning technologies. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICALT.2008.84 Karagiannis, I., & Satratzemi, M. (2018). An adaptive mechanism for Moodle based on automatic detection of learning styles. Education and Information Technologies, 23, 1331 1357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639

Pacheco, J., Miranda, Y., & Alonso, R. (2020, March 16 20). Adaptación de un aula virtual en Moodle a los estilos de aprendizaje [Adaptation of a virtual classroom in Moodle to learning styles]. Paper presented at the XVIII Congreso Internacional de Informática en la Educación INFOREDU, La Habana, Cuba. Retrieved from 2020/EDU077.pdfhttp://www.informaticahabana.cu/sites/default/files/ponencia

Ossandón, Y., & Castillo, P. (2006). Propuesta para el Diseño de Objetos de Aprendizaje [Proposal for the Design of Learning Objects]. Revista Facultad de Ingeniería. Universidad del Tarapacá, 14(1), 36 48. Retrieved from 1http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S07183372006000100005&script=sci_arttext

Peña Estrella, N. F., Mendoza Moreno, M. A., & González Serrano, C. (2015). Diagnóstico de estilos de aprendizaje para favorecer la personalización de materiales

Silva, S A., Ponce, G J., & Villalpando, C M. (2014a). Sistema Recomendador de Técnicas Instruccionales, Basado en Objetivos Pedagógicos ReTIBO [Recommend System of Instructional Techniques, Based on Pedagogical Objectives ReTIBO]. Revistavenezolana de educación (EDUCERE), 60, 281 287. Retrieved from http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/123456789/38892/1/articulo9.pdf Silva, S A., & Ponce, G J. (2015). Evaluación del Método para el Desarrollo de Objetos de Aprendizaje. basado en Estilos de Aprendizaje: MeLOTS [Evaluation of the Method for the Development of Learning Objects. Based on Learning styles: MeLOTS]. Revista Tecnológica ESPOL RTE. Ecuador, 28(5), 39 53. Retrieved from http://rte.espol.edu.ec/index.php/tecnologica/article/view/424/290

Silva, S. A. (2018). Conceptualización de los Modelos de Estilos de Aprendizaje [Conceptualization of Learning Style Models]. Journal of Learning styles, 11(21), 1 33. Retrieved from http://revistaestilosdeaprendizaje.com/article/view/1088

Silva, S A., & Vicari, R. (2016). New Moodle Blocks for Knowledge Management. In F. Koch, A. Koster & T. Primo (Eds), Social Computing in Digital Education. SOCIALEDU 2015 Communications in Computer and Information Science (pp. 104 123). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 3 319 39672 9_8

51 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. educativos mediante redes bayesianas: servicios web para MOODLE [Diagnosis of learning styles to favor the personalization of educational materials through Bayesian networks: web services for MOODLE]. Revista Virtual Universidad Católica del Norte,46, 4 20. Retrieved from https://revistavirtual.ucn.edu.co/index.php/RevistaUCN/article/view/694 Prince, M. (2013). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of engineering education,93(3), 223 231. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168 9830.2004.tb00809.x Puello, P., Fernández, D., & Cabarcas, A. (2014). Herramienta para la detección de estilos de aprendizaje en estudiantes utilizando la plataforma MOODLE [Tool for detecting learning styles in students using the MOODLE platform]. Formación Universitaria, 7(4), 15 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718 50062014000400003 Rubio, R. B. (2009). Nuevo módulo de test de estilos de aprendizaje [New learning styles test module]. MOODLE Forum. Retrieved from https://Moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=140052

Szirmai, M. (2020). Moodle: The Ubiquitous Teacher. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 17(1), 190 204. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 1 4020 9732 4_12 Silva, S A., Ponce, G J., & Meneses, H J. (2013). Gestionando el Conocimiento en MOODLE [Managing Knowledge in MOODLE]. Proceedings of the VIII Conferencia Latino americana de Objetos de Aprendizaje y Tecnologías para el Aprendizaje (LACLO2013) (pp. 115 126). Valdivia, Chile. Silva, S. A., Ponce, G. J., & Villalpando, C. M. (2013). Hacia un Método Recomendador de Técnicas Instruccionales para el Desarrollo de Objetos de Aprendizaje [Towards a Recommending Method of Instructional Techniques for the Development of Learning Objects]. Proceedings of the VIII Conferencia Latinoamericana de Objetos de Aprendizaje y Tecnologías para el Aprendizaje (LACLO2013) (pp. 127 138). Valdivia, Chile. Silva, S. A., Ponce, G. J., & Villalpando, C. M. (2014). Development Model of Learning Objects Based on the Instructional Techniques Recommendation. International Journal of Learning. Teaching and Educational Research, 4(1), 27 35. Retrieved from http://www.ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter/article/view/42/pdf

Silva, S A. (2020). Towards a Fuzzy Questionnaire of Felder and Soloman for determining learning styles without dichotomic in the answers. Journal of

a. Always practice b. Almost always practice, and rarely reflect on them c. Sometimes practice, and sometimes reflect on them d. Almost always reflect on them, and rarely practice e. Always reflect on them Question 2, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "I consider myself:" a. Always realistic b. Almost always realistic, and rarely innovative c. Sometimes realistic, and sometimes innovative d. Almost always innovative, and rarely realistic e. Always innovative Question 3, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "When I think about what I did yesterday, I am more likely to do it based on:" a. Always an image b. Almost always an image, and rarely words c. Sometimes an image, and sometimes words d. Almost always words, and rarely an image e. Always words Question 4, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, "I tend to:" a. Always understand the details of a topic, but not see its complete structure b. Almost always understand the details of a topic, but not see its complete structure, and rarely understand the complete structure, but not see the details c. Sometimes understanding the details of a topic, but not seeing its complete structure, and other times understanding the complete structure, but not seeing the details

Question 1, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “I understand something better after:”

b. Almost always when dealing with real events and situations in life, and rarely dealing with ideas and theories

52 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Learning styles, 13(15), 146 166. Retrieved from http://revistaestilosdeaprendizaje.com/article/view/1853 Torres, S., Molina, B., & Álvarez, D. (2010). Integración de los Estilos de Aprendizaje en Moodle. para el Proyecto Guadalinfo [Integration of Learning styles in Moodle. for the Guadalinfo Project]. Proceedings of the I Congreso de Calidad de la Formación Virtual CAFVIR (pp. 413 418). Alcalá de Henares, España. Zadeh, L. A. (1965). Fuzzy Sets. Information and control, 8, 338 353. Appendix FuzzyILS Questionnaire

d. Almost always understand the complete structure, but not see the details, and rarely understand the details of a topic, but not see its complete structure e. Always understand the complete structure, but not see the details. Question 5, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, "When I am learning something new, it helps me:" a. Always talk about it b. Almost always talk about it, and rarely think about it c. Sometimes talk about it, and sometimes think about it d. Almost always think about it, and rarely talk about it e. Always think about it Question 6, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "If I were a teacher, I would prefer to give a course:" a. Whenever it deals with facts and real life situations

e. Always learn concepts Question 11, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "In a book with many images and graphics it is more likely that:" a. Always check images and graphics carefully

d. I almost always concentrate on the written text, and rarely check the images and graphics carefully

d. The total of something, I almost always understand how its parts fit together, and when I understand all the parts, I rarely understand the total

b. Almost always of images, diagrams, graphs, or maps, and rarely of written instructions or verbal information

a. All parties, I always understand the total b. All parties, I almost always understand the total, and when I understand the total of something, I rarely understand how their parts fit together

c. Sometimes participate and contribute ideas, and sometimes do not participate and just listen d. Almost always do not participate and just listen, and rarely participate and contribute ideas

c. Sometimes that deals with facts and real situations of life, and other times that deals with ideas and theories

e. Always concentrate on the written text Question 12, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, "When I solve math problems:"a.Ialways work on solutions one step at a time

e. Always written instructions or verbal information

e. The total of something, I always understand how its parts fit together Question 9, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, "In a study group that works with a difficult material, it is more likely that:" a. Always participate and contribute ideas b. Almost always participate and contribute ideas, and rarely do not participate and just listen

e. Never participate and just listen Question 10, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "It's easier for me:"

b. I almost always carefully check the images and the graphics and rarely focus on the written text c. Sometimes I carefully review the images and the graphics and other times I focus on the written text

a. Always learn facts b. Almost always learn facts, and rarely learn concepts c. Sometimes learn facts, and sometimes learn concepts d. Almost always learn concepts, and rarely learn facts

Question 7, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "I prefer to obtain new information:"a.Always of images, diagrams, graphs or maps

Question 8, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, "Once I understand:"

c. Sometimes of images, diagrams, graphs, or maps, and sometimes of written instructions or verbal information

d. Almost whenever he deals with ideas and theories, and rarely deals with facts and real life situations

c. All parties, sometimes I understand the total, and when I understand the total of something, sometimes I understand how their parts fit together

e. Whenever dealing with ideas and theories

d. Almost always written instructions or verbal information, and rare images, diagrams, graphs, or maps

b. I almost always think about the incidents and try to accommodate them to configure the issues, and rarely do I realize what the issues are when I finish reading, and then I have to go back and find the incidents that show them

c. Sometimes I think about the incidents and try to accommodate them to configure the topics, and other times I realize what the issues are when I finish reading and then I have to go back and find the incidents that show them

Question 13, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “In the classes, I have attended:”

a. I always think about the incidents and try to accommodate them to configure the issues

d. I almost always realize what the issues are when I finish reading and then I have to go back and find the incidents that demonstrate them, and I rarely think about the incidents and try to accommodate them to configure the topics

a. Always use many schemes on the board b. They almost always use many schemes on the board, and rarely take much time to explain c. Sometimes they use many schemes on the board, and sometimes they take a long time to explain d. They almost always take a long time to explain, and rarely use many schemes on the board e. They always take a long time to explain Question 16, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “When I am analyzing a story or a novel:”

e. I realize what the issues are when I finish reading and then I have to go back and find the incidents that show them Question 17, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “When I start solving a task problem, it is more likely that:”

c. Sometimes I work on the solutions one step at a time and other times I know what the solutions are, but then I have difficulty imagining the steps to reach them

b. I almost always work on solutions one step at a time and rarely know what the solutions are, but then I have difficulty imagining the steps to reach them

a. I have usually come to know how many of the students are b. Many times I have come to know how many of the students are c. Sometimes I have come to know how many of the students are d. I have rarely come to know how many of the students are e. I have rarely come to know how many students are Question 14, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, “When I read non fiction topics, I prefer:”

a. Always something that teaches me new facts or tells me how to do something b. Almost always something that teaches me new facts or tells me how to do something and rarely something that gives me new ideas to think about c. Sometimes something that teaches me new facts or tells me how to do something and sometimes something that gives me new ideas to think about d. Almost always something that gives me new ideas to think about, and rarely something that teaches me new facts or tells me how to do something e. Always something that gives me new ideas to think about Question 15, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, “I like teachers who:”

d. I almost always know what the solutions are, but then I have difficulty imagining the steps to reach them and I rarely work on the solutions one step at a time e. I always know what the solutions are, but then I have difficulty imagining the steps to reach them

c. Sometimes start working on your solution immediately, and other times try first to fully understand the problem

Question 21, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “I prefer to study:” a. Always in a study group b. Almost always in a study group, and rarely alone c. Sometimes in a study group, and sometimes only d. Almost always alone, and rarely in a study group e. Always alone Question 22, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "I consider myself:" a. Always careful in the details of my work b. Almost always careful in the details of my work and rarely creative in the way I do my work c. Sometimes careful in the details of my work and sometimes creative in the way I do my work d. Almost always creative in the way I do my work and rarely careful in the details of my work e. Creative in the way I do my job Question 23, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, “When someone gives me directions to new places, I prefer:”

a. Always certainty b. Almost always a certainty, and rarely the theory c. Sometimes certainty, and sometimes the theory d. Almost always the theory, and rarely certainty e. Always the theory Question 19, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "I remember better:" a. Always what I see b. Almost always what I see and rarely what I hear c. Sometimes what I see and sometimes what I hear d. Almost always what I hear and rarely what I see e. Always what I hear Question 20, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, "It is more important to me than a teacher:" a. Always expose the material in clear sequential steps b. I almost always expose the material in clear sequential steps, and rarely give me an overview and relate the material to other topics c. Sometimes exposing the material in clear sequential steps, and sometimes give me an overview and relate the material to other topics d. Almost always give me an overview and relate the material to other topics, and rarely expose the material in clear sequential steps e. Always give me an overview and relate the material to other topics

a. Always a map b. Almost always a map and rarely written instructions c. Sometimes a map and sometimes written instructions d. Almost times written instructions, and rarely a map e. Always written instructions Question 24, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “I learn:”

a. Always start working on your solution immediately

d. Almost always try first to fully understand the problem, and rarely start working on your solution immediately e. Always try to fully understand the problem first Question 18, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, “I prefer the idea of:”

b. Almost always start working on your solution immediately, and rarely try first to fully understand the problem

a. Always at a constant pace. If I study hard I get what I want b. Almost always at a constant pace. If I study hard I get what I want, and rarely in the beginning and pauses. I get confused and suddenly I understand c. Sometimes at a constant pace. If I study hard I get what I want, and other times in the beginning and pauses. I get confused and suddenly I understand d. Almost always in the beginning and pauses. I get confused and suddenly I understand, and rarely at a constant pace. If I study hard I get what I want

e. Always at the beginning and pauses. I get confused and suddenly I understand Question 25, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “I prefer first:”

d. I almost always think about how I am going to do something, and rarely do something and see what happens e. Always think about how I'm going to do something Question 26, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "When I read for fun, I like writers who:" a. They always say clearly what they want to imply b. They almost always say clearly what they want to imply, and rarely say things creatively and interestingly c. Sometimes they say clearly what they want to imply, and other times they say things creatively and interestingly d. They almost always say things creatively and interestingly, and rarely say clearly what they want to imply e. They always say things creatively and interestingly Question 27, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "When I see a scheme or outline in class, I am more likely to remember:" a. Always the image b. Almost always the image and rarely what the professor said about it c. Sometimes the image and sometimes what the professor said about it d. Almost always what the professor said about her, and rarely the image e. Always what the teacher said about her Question 28, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “When I face an information body:”

a. Always do something and see what happens b. I almost always do something and see what happens, and rarely think about how I am going to do something c. Sometimes do something and see what happens, and sometimes think about how I am going to do something

a. I always concentrate on the details and lose sight of the total b. I almost always concentrate on the details and lose sight of the total, and rarely try to understand the whole before going to the details c. Sometimes I focus on the details and lose sight of the total, and other times I try to understand the whole before going to the details d. I almost always try to understand the whole before going to the details, and rarely do I focus on the details and lose sight of the total of it e. I always try to understand the whole before going to the details Question 29, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, "I remember more easily:" a. Always something I have done b. Almost always something I've done, and rarely something I've thought about a lot c. Sometimes something I've done, and sometimes something I've thought about a lot d. Almost always something I've thought about a lot, and rarely something I've done e. Always something I've thought about a lot

Question 33, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “When I have to work on a group project, I first want to do:”

a. Always from the beginning and advance b. Almost always from the beginning and advance, and rarely in different parts and then order them

a. Always a “brainstorm” where everyone contributes ideas b. Almost always a "brainstorm" where everyone contributes ideas, and rarely the "brainstorm" personally and then join the group to compare ideas

a. Always master a way of doing it b. Almost always master a way of doing it, and rarely try new ways to do it

e. Always try new ways to do it

c. Sometimes master a way of doing it, and sometimes try new ways to do it d. Almost always try new ways to do it, and rarely master a way to do it

Question 32, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “When I write a paper, I am more likely to do it (think or write):”

c. Sometimes a "brainstorm" where everyone contributes ideas, and sometimes the "brainstorm" personally and then join the group to compare ideas d. Almost always the "brainstorm" personally and then join the group to compare ideas, and rarely a "brainstorm" where everyone contributes ideas

a. Whenever it is better to praise to call someone Sensing b. Almost always it is better to praise calling someone Sensing, and rarely is it better to call it imaginative

e. Always summaries with text

c. Sometimes it is better to praise to call someone Sensing, and other times to call it imaginative

a. Always graphics b. Almost always graphics, and rarely summaries with text

d. Almost always it is better to praise calling someone imaginative, and rarely calling him Sensing

Question 31, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, “When someone teaches me data, I prefer:”

c. Sometimes graphics, and sometimes summaries with text d. Almost always summaries with text, and rarely graphics

e. Whenever it is better to praise to call someone imaginative Question 35, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "When I meet people at a party, I am more likely to remember:" a. Always their appearance b. Almost always their appearance, and rarely what they say about themselves c. Sometimes what their appearance looks like, and sometimes what they say about themselves d. Almost always what they say about themselves, and rarely how is their appearance e. Always what they say about themselves

c. Sometimes from the beginning and advance, and sometimes in different parts and then order them d. Almost always in different parts and then order them, and rarely from the beginning and advance e. Always in different parts and then order them

e. Always "brainstorm" personally and then join the group to compare the ideas Question 34, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "I consider:"

Question 30, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, “When I have to do a job, I prefer:”

e. Always abstract material (concepts, theories) Question 39, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "To have fun, I prefer:" a. Always watch television b. Almost always watch television, and rarely read a book c. Sometimes watching television, and sometimes reading a book d. Almost always read a book, and rarely watch television e. Always read a book Question 40, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “Some teachers start their classes by outlining what they will teach. Those sketches are: ”

d. I almost always make connections between that topic and related topics, and rarely stay focused on that topic, learning as much as I can from it

c. Sometimes I stay focused on that topic, learning as much as I can from it, and other times make connections between that topic and related topics

a. It always seems good to me b. It almost always seems good to me, and rarely c. Sometimes it seems good to me, and sometimes it doesn't d. It almost never seems good to me and rarely does it e. It never seems good to me Question 42, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, "When I do large calculations:"a.Ialways tend to repeat all my steps and check carefully b. I almost always tend to repeat all my steps and carefully review my work, and rarely do I get tired of doing their review and I have to make an effort to do it

c. Sometimes I tend to repeat all my steps and carefully review my work, and other times I get tired of doing its review and I have to make an effort to do it

Question 37, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “I consider myself:”

e. Always make connections between that topic and related topics

a. Always something useful for me b. Almost always something useful, and rarely very useful for me c. Sometimes something useful, and sometimes very useful for me d. Almost always very useful, and rarely useful for me e. Always very useful for me

a. Always open b. Almost always open, and rarely reserved c. Sometimes open, and sometimes reserved d. Almost always reserved, and rarely open e. Always reserved Question 38, associated with the Sensing/Intuitive dimension, “I prefer courses that give more importance to:”

b. I almost always stay focused on that topic, learning as much as I can from it, and rarely make connections between that topic and related topics

a. Always concrete material (facts, data)

b. Almost always concrete material (facts, data), and rarely abstract material (concepts, theories)

d. Almost always abstract material (concepts, theories), and rarely concrete material (facts, data)

Question 41, associated with the Active/Reflective dimension, “The idea of doing a group task with only one qualification for all:”

a. Always stay focused on that topic, learning as much as I can from him

c. Sometimes concrete material (facts, data), and sometimes abstract material (concepts, theories)

Question 36, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “When I am learning a subject, I prefer:”

c. Sometimes easily and quite accurately, and sometimes with difficulty and without much detail

d. I almost always tend to repeat all my steps and carefully review my work, and rarely do I tend to repeat all my steps and carefully review my work

e. Always with difficulty and without much detail

Question 44, associated with the Sequential/Global dimension, “When I solve problems in a group, it is more likely that I:”

d. Almost always easily and fairly accurately, and rarely easily and fairly accurately

c. Sometimes think about the steps to solve the problems, and sometimes think about the possible consequences or applications of the solution in a wide range of fields

a. Always easily and quite accurately

b. Almost always easily and quite accurately, and rarely with difficulty and without much detail

Question 43, associated with the Visual/Verbal dimension, "I tend to remember places where I have been:"

e. I always get tired of doing his review and I have to make an effort to do it

e. Always think about the possible consequences or applications of the solution in a wide range of fields

a. Always think of the steps to solve problems

b. Almost always think about the steps for solving problems, and rarely think about the possible consequences or applications of the solution in a wide range of fields

d. Almost always think about the possible consequences or applications of the solution in a wide range of fields, and rarely think about the steps to solve the problems

1. Introduction and background to the study

The work integrated learning experience (WIL) is an experiential and practical learning process, whereby pre service teachers partake in an authentic teaching process that enables them to learn in and from their own teaching practice (Johnston, 2011). This approach allows pre service teachers to gain a hands on experience of the teaching profession (Barends & Nel, 2017). During this period,

Abstract. This paper is concerned with the issue associated with final year Natural Science pre service teachers’ lesson design abilities. This paper reports how the implementation of a lesson study approach served as an intervention to support the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a work integrated learning (WIL) process. The case study generated rich qualitative data from multiple sources such as e mail communications, WhatsApp responses, video capturing, and focus group team discussions. Couched within the critical emancipatory theory, the study found that the planning and preparation of innovative and inclusive Natural Science lessons are inseparably associated with the collaborativepracticesandinteractionthatexisted amongtheteam ofpre service teachers. The accommodative and engaging nature of the lesson study sessions empowered pre service teachers to share their diverse subjective experiences and contextual ideas, which were pivotal to the generation of knowledge and design of Natural Science lessons. Consequently, the lesson studyapproach notonly affected thepre service teachers’ lesson design abilities but also better positioned them for the WIL experience.

Keywords: Lesson study approach; critical emancipatory theory; work integrated learning; Natural Science education; pre service teacher development

60 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 60 76, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.42020 Supporting Natural Science Pre-Service Teachers during Work-Integrated Learning: A Case of a Lesson Study Approach Wiets Botes, Boitumelo Moreeng and Moeketsi Mosia Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3024 8969 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3644 3140 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7189 0018

pre service teachers are placed at schools and teacher educators are tasked to evaluate and assess the quality of their lesson presentations (DHET, 2015).

Serving as a link between academic theory and the practice of teaching (De Beer, 2017), the WIL process provides a sense of whether pre service teachers acquired the deemed teacher competencies required for the profession (Tran & Soejatminah, 2016). The rationale for WIL is thus to empower pre service teachers to engage in a real world teaching context with the hope to conscientise them about the practice of teaching (Jovanovic, Fane & Andrew, 2018). This is done to instil confidence in their ability to transfertheir educational knowledge developed as part of their initial teacher education into the practice of teaching, hence promoting workplace readiness (Matoti, Junqueira & Odora, 2011).

While some consider the WIL process a testing ground for pre service teachers to demonstrate their teacher qualities (Ngibe, Pylman, Mammen & Adu, 2019), others label the WIL process as a gruelling experience (De Beer, 2017). In the context of teacher education, researchers often refer to the WIL process as the “elephant in the room” because of various issues that manifest from the WIL process (Pham, Bao, Saito & Chowdhury, 2018). The literature is scattered with issues associated with the WIL process, that predominantly stems from the pre service teacher voice (Choy & Delahaye, 2011; Ngibe et al., 2019). To be specific, a study by Matoti, Junqueira and Odora (2011) reported how pre service teachers were subject to emotional stress, frustration and anxiety because of issues surrounding lesson preparation for the authentic teaching experience. It was this problem that sparked the researchers’ interest in this study. This study concerns itself with the issue associated with Natural Science pre service teachers’ competence in terms of Natural Science lesson preparation. Couched within the critical emancipatory theory, the aim of the study is to describe how a lesson study approach supported the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a work integrated learning experience. To achieve this aim, the study follows a qualitative case study research approach to respond to a couple of pertinent research questions. These include trying to understand “whether the Natural Science pre service teachers are experiencing issues pertaining to lesson preparation?” Secondly, “how can a lesson study approach serve to support the Natural Science pre service teachers’ development of Natural Science lessons for an authentic teaching experience?” The response to these research questions will not only be key in honing their lesson preparation skills but would ultimately put them in a good stead for their professional teaching career.

The lesson study approach has its roots in Japanese education from the mid 19th century (Pham, Bao, Saito & Chowdhury, 2018) but has since been adopted in other parts of the world to promote pre service teacher development (Bjuland & Mosvold, 2015; Fernandez & Zilliox, 2011). The lesson study approach is regarded as an intervention that enables teachers to formulate teaching goals collectively,

1.1 Envisioning a lesson study approach in a school of education

and final aspect involved in the lesson study approach includes ‘lesson reflection’ (Chizhik et al., 2017). Lesson reflection deals with how the pre service teacher enacted the Natural Science lesson during a WIL process. At the core of the lesson reflection process lies the opportunity for pre service teachers to share their “rich” subjective experiences of “what worked” and “what did not work” in terms of their Natural Science lesson presentations (Runesson, Martin & Clerc Georgy, 2015). Akerson et al. (2017) argue that this process allows individuals to learn from each other’s teaching practices and experiences. The interconnectedness of these three aspects is vital to the effectiveness of the lesson study approach.

Drawing on the views of Osanloo and Grant (2014) and Lysaght (2011), the selection of a theoretical framework for this study rests on the following personal beliefs and understandings. First of all, we share an awareness of the pre service teachers’ challenge associated with Natural Science lesson preparation and acknowledge that this challenge inputs negatively on their WIL experience.

Secondly,we are of the view that the lesson studyapproach could serve as a driver to overcome this particular challenge that they are confronted with. Thirdly, upon implementation of the lesson study approach, we are confident that the pre service teachers themselves are equipped with the knowledge to support each other in the preparation of Natural Science lessons because of their diverse teaching experiences stemming from diverse teaching contexts. Finally, we are confident that their ability to support each other in preparing Natural Science

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. prepare lessons and reflect back on past teaching experiences to improve future teaching practices (Larkin, 2017; Sims & Walsh, 2009) In the context of Natural Science teacher education, the ‘lesson preparation’ would serve as a means for Natural Science pre service teachers to brainstorm and share lesson ideas that would enable them to set the tone for the lesson structuring. The next step involved in the lesson study process deals with the ‘actual planning’ of the Natural Science lesson with a focus to make the lesson innovative and inclusive of nature to cater for the diverse learning needs of Thelearners.third

2. Aligning critical emancipatory theory with the lesson study approach Osanloo and Grant (2014) suggest that the selection of a theoretical framework for a study requires one to first confront your own individualised philosophical orientations about reality. Lysaght (2011) takes it a step further by arguing that the researcher’s choice of a theoretical framework is not arbitrary but reflects personal beliefs and understanding about the ontological and epistemological nature of knowledge within a study. This aligns well with the view of Shaull (1974), who decades ago suggested that the theoretical and philosophical orientations are inseparable from one another. Therefore, in an attempt to select a theoretical framework for this study, we first had to confront our own, personal beliefs and understanding about the nature of knowledge and reality as it existed within this study.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. lessons collectively would better position them in their quest to teach within an authentic teaching space. In light of these assumptions, which are linked to aspects of criticality, analyticity and education, critical emancipatory theory fits well as a theoretical framework for the study. Critical emancipatory theory, which emanates from critical theory (Creswell & Creswell, 2017) is concerned with research that emancipates the disempowered, cultivate hope and stimulate lifelong learning opportunities for individuals (Gordon, 1986; Shor, 1988). Drawing on seminal work of scholars such as Paulo Freire, Ira Shor and Cynthia Brown critical emancipatory theory serves as a paradigmatic framework that enables teachers to identify issues related to educational practice and seek practical solutions to overcome the issues identified (Freire, 1972; Shor, 1993; Brown, 2001).

The drive towards practical and transformative empowerment unlocks the concept of self determination. Fetterman (2015) defines self determination as the ability of an individual to demonstrate a range of capabilities. In this study, self determination among the pre service teachers surfaced in terms of their ability to identify and express the need for support in lesson preparation, partake in a plan of action to address the issue associated with lesson preparation, identify resources needed for the structuring of Natural Science lessons, implement the prepared lessons in an authentic teaching experience, and finally, re examine the effectiveness of the lesson study approach with the hope to better the initiative for future implementation

A series of lesson study sessions took place throughout the duration of the study. To document this systematic approach towards the planning of lessons and reflection on lesson presentations, a purposeful sampling qualitative case study research approach was followed.

Permission for this study was granted by the University of the Free State (Ethical clearance nr UFS HSD2018/0073) and the study formed part of the researcher’s PhD project. Thorough protocols were followed to ensure that the research participants from now onwards referred to as the research team gave consent and

3. Research approach and methodology

Nested in critical emancipatory theory, this paper describes how a lesson study approach supported the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a work integrated learning (WIL) process. This sharing of subjective experiences allows for the formulation of Natural Science lesson ideas, which, according to Fetterman (2015) aligns well with the concept of practical empowerment. Instead of following a conventional approach characterised by teacher educators assuming the role as the sole providers of absolute knowledge, we opt to turn the conventional approach upside down thus allowing for a stimulating way of information sharing that is innovative and developing in nature. Our roles in this study are thus driven towards facilitating their efforts in preparing lessons. This approach is also referred to a practice of transformative empowerment (Fetterman, 2001; Fetterman, 2009; Zimmerman, 2000).

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. was comfortable in participating in this study. As the principal researcher, I assured the research team confidentiality throughout the duration of the study. The team members’ actual names were withheld and their faces were blurred from photographs. The team members were also allowed to withdraw from the study at any point of time. All team members signed a consent form and all of the signed copies are safely stored.

The research site was situated in a School of Education at a South African University. The School of Education offers a Bachelor of Education degree with multiple areas of specialisation in intermediate phase (IP), senior phase (SNR) and further education and training phase (FET) teaching. In this study, the research team comprised eight 3rd year undergraduate students specialising in the teaching of Natural Science. This study relied on multiple data generation sources such as spontaneous free response e mail communications, photo voice methodology and a focus group team discussion to generate and capture empirical data. Critical discourse analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data since it allows for the deconstruction and meaning making of data in an interpretive, descriptive and exploratory manner (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Guba & Lincoln, 1988). This approach to analysing data allowed us to be receptive to the subjective, individualised and contextualised experiences of the research team.

To be specific, the use of spontaneous free response e mail communications shed light on the first research question of the study, which was to understand the types of challenges Natural Science pre service teachers encounter regarding lesson preparation. A response to this research question was crucial for justifying their need for lesson study support. Qualitative data that stemmed from the spontaneous free response e mail communications were digitally captured, thematically analysed to determine patterns from the team’s responses and then Moreover,transcribed.the

use of photo voice methodology assisted in clarifying research question two where the focus was to determine how a lesson study approach can serve to support the Natural Science pre service teachers’ development of Natural Science lessons? The use of photo voice methodology and a focus group team discussion enabled the researcher to have an depth look at the team’s lesson planning encounters. Striking features of the lesson planning sessions were visually captured, thematically analysed and transcribed. At the same time,verbal responses from the focus group team discussion were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed through an open and axial coding method. This approach allowed for the identification and description of patterns, trends and consistencies that existed within the data.

Following the data analysis process, the qualitative data were given back to the research team to evaluate whether the transcribed data were a true reflection of their subjective, individualised and contextualised experiences thus complying to the aspects of credibility, reliability and validity (Guba & Lincoln, 1988).

Themes

Whether the Natural Science pre service teachers experiencingare issues pertaining preparation?lesson freeSpontaneousresponse e communicationmail

Research

The research questions in this study yielded rich qualitative data. Table 1 outlines the two research questions with the corresponding findings in terms of themes and sub themes. 1. General overview of findings to the research questions questions Data techniquecollection Sub themes

4.1.1 Sub theme: Student anxiety, stress, hopelessness and frustration

Snippets of spontaneous free response e mail communication gave voice to the research team’s feelings of anxiety, stress, hopelessness and frustration associated with lesson preparation, as witnessed in Figures 1 and 2.

Table

Focus freeSpontaneousdiscussiongroupresponse e communicationmail reflectionsLesson Quality Natural Science experienceScienceQualityexperiencelearningNaturalteaching

The first step towards realising the aim of the study, which was to describe “how a lesson study approach supported the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a work-integrated learning experience”, was to determine whether the pre service teachers did, in fact, experience an issue associated with lesson preparation? A response to this question is crucial since it justifies the need to initiate a lesson study approach.

How can a lesson study approach serve to support the Natural Science pre service teachers’ development of natural science lessons for a WIL experience?

With this research question in mind, a series of spontaneous free response e mail communications from the team were collected and analysed, which resulted in one overarching theme titled “Realising the need for a lesson study support”. This theme was supported by two sub themes, namely “Student anxiety, stress, hopelessness and frustration” and “Unfavourable learning environments”.

Realising the need for lesson study support Student anxiety, stress, hopelessness and environmentslearningUnfavourablefrustration

Photo methodologyvoice Designing collectivelessonsNaturalstructuredwellScienceasa Team SciencestructuringTheideassharingbrainstormingcollaborativediscussions,andoflessondetailedofNaturallessons

4.1 Theme: Realising the need for a lesson study support

Figure 2. Electronic feedback provided by a pre service teacher.

4.1.2 Sub theme: Unfavourable learning environments In addition, another team member expressed concerns regarding the current status of her teaching during a school visitation opportunity. To be specific, the team member voiced her frustration of the “unfavourable learning environment”, which overshadowed her quality of teaching at a certain school. This can be witnessed in the e mail communication below: Figure 3. Electronic feedback provided by a pre-service teacher.

Figure 1. Electronic feedback provided by a pre service teacher.

A closer look at both these responses provided draws one’s attention to feelings of hopelessness and frustration with lesson preparation, which in this case is an outcome of the school visitation process. This assumption can be confirmed with the phrases “I don’t know where to start”, “before you come”, “lecturers are coming” and “I’ve been looking for you the whole week”.

An analysis of this response delivers multiple meanings. In the first instance, one finds the member’s wish to establish a more engaged and meaningful learning experience for the learners. This can be supported by the phrase “I just want to engage them more”. Besides boosting learner engagement in the classroom setting, the team member also wishes to better her classroom management for a sustained learning experience. This can be confirmed when the pre service teacher mentioned that “the class don’t take her serious” and “they just sit there”. All three electronic responses detailed the severity of the challenge associated with lesson preparation.

4.2 Theme: Designing well structured NS lessons as a collective With the challenge associated with lesson preparation confirmed, the next step was to address the second research question of the study, that deals with “How a lesson study approach can serve to support the Natural Science pre service

teachers’ development of Natural Science lessons?”. This time around the use of photo voice methodology and a focus group team discussion were key in determining striking features associated with the lesson study approach.

4.2.1 Sub theme: Team discussions, collaborative brainstorming and sharing of lesson ideas

During the first lesson study session, the team of pre service teachers got to work and planned their future NS lessons as a collective. A closer look at figure 4 provides evidence of the discussions, note making and brainstorming that took place.

4.2.2 Sub theme: The detailed structuring of a NS lesson

To be specific, an analysis of a series of photographs taken throughout the lesson study encounters, pointed to 1 broad theme: “Designing well structured NS lessons as a collective”. This particular theme was supported by two sub themes: “Team discussions, collaborative brainstorming and sharing of lesson ideas” and “The detailed structuring of a NS lesson”.

Besides the sharing of NS lesson ideas, a closer look at figure 5 suggests that the pair of pre service teachers described finer details surrounding the objective of the Natural Science lesson when they noted on the whiteboard that the lesson should be “simple, straightforward with one or two action verbs”.

A glance at these photographs reveals how the team of pre service teachers planned their lessons holistically by sharing details about the structure of future Natural Science lessons. They did this in a group format and the team agreed to brainstorm and share their teaching ideas with each other Part of the lesson planning included their prediction of how the teaching process should unfold. By the look of things, one gets the sense that the team could share ideas on how to make their teaching innovative and inclusive.

Figure 4. Pre service teachers preparing NS lessons as a collective.

Figure 6. A pre service teacher focusing on the structural design of a NS lesson.

Besides discussing the time span of the main section of the lesson, they could also brainstorm ideas that might affect teaching and learning dynamics of the lesson. This included a discussion that dealt with aspects such as teaching strategies, teaching aids, learner activities and practical demonstrations. Finally, the pair could also elaborate on a potential conclusion for the lesson when they noted that the conclusion should be “5 min long” and should be focussed on “wrapping up” the Coupledlesson.with

After that, they focused on the structure of the introduction by suggesting that it be “2 min” long and “catchy”. The pair of pre service teachers furthermore shared details about the main activity of the lesson when they suggested it be no more than “10 to 15 min long”.

Figure 5. Pre service teachers focusing on the structural design of a NS lesson.

the structuring of the Natural Science lesson outline, a pre service teacher could unpack finer details of her lesson, as found in figure 6 below.

An analysis of this photograph details how the pre service teacher structured a lesson that dealt with the topic “factors impacting on the human environment”. In her planning she could unpack the objective of her lesson (for example, learners should be able to draw a mind map based on the human factors that influence the

Following the planning of NS lessons, the team engaged in a focus group discussion to share their lesson reflections with their peers. An analysis of the verbal responses from the focus group discussion pointed to two sub themes “An improved NS learning experience” and “An improved NS teaching experience”, which seemed to correspond with the theme “lesson reflections”.

Given the opportunity to prepare lessons as a collective, a team member provided a personal account of her teaching experience during the WIL process: “Okay, so I had to do a lesson on the topics sorting and sieving of materials with the kids. [Didi] [a member of the research team] then helped me and we designed a lesson where I use a funnel with different materials such as small rocks, sand and different soil types to show the learners that we can sort and sieve things. What was nice about this lesson was that I could start the lesson by asking the grade 5’s how to sort the small rocks, fine sand and marbles from each other. They then had to identify different ways to sort it. Then I did a practical demonstration where we sorted the materials using a funnel. I threw the marbles in then the small rocks and then the sand and the sand went through. We could then see that the sand went down into the beaker while the rocks and marbles were stuck in the funnel. This really helped them to understand the concept of sieving. Also, it was really hands on. Oh of course this would not have been possible without you [Didi]”. (Team member 3; focus group team discussion)

This particular response confirms the influence of the lesson study intervention on both the lesson preparation and teaching experience of a pre service teacher. In a nutshell, based on the response provided, the assumption is that the lesson that the pre service teacher presented provoked the learners’ curiosity of the topic “sieving of materials” through acts of self discovery. The pre service teacher’s lesson objective was focused on allowing grade 5 learners to gain a better understanding of the sieving process by engaging them in a practical Todemonstration.bespecific,the pre service teacher prepared a lesson that required learners to observe how certain materials such as “small rocks, marbles and sand” can be sieved by using a funnel. Aspects of self discovery surfaced when the pre service teacheraskedthe learners the question “how canwe sort the small rocks, fine sand

4.3.1 Sub theme: An improved NS learning experience

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. environment), consider factors that affect the teaching and learning context (for example, time and language of instruction), refer to the topics that should be included in her lesson (for example, human factors leading to desertification, deforestation and water pollution), consider the teaching strategies that she wishes to implement in her lesson (for example, engage learners in a jig saw activity within pre determined groups) and, finally, identify potential assessment approaches (for example, using questioning, self assessment and learning logs to test learners’ understanding)

4.3 Theme: Lesson reflections

4.3.2 Sub theme: An improved NS teaching experience Besides the verbal feedback provided, another team member spontaneously reported how the lesson study intervention impacted his quality of teaching, as witnessed in an e mail response below: Figure 7. Electronic feedback provided by a pre service teacher. The phrases “I could not explain the feeling I had, how impresses I was” “was really helpful” and “fruitful help” confirm the effect of the lesson study approach on the Natural Science pre service teachers’ teaching practice.

From a teacher education point of view, the expectation is that pre service teachers develop the deemed teaching knowledge, skills and values within a specific period while enrolled in an initial teacher education programme. Unfortunately, as Hadi (2019) point out, not all pre service teachers develop these expected qualities at the same tempo. Learning to teach, through the eyes of Parfitt (2020) is a developmental process, where some pre service teachers develop teaching knowledge, skills and values sooner than others. As a result, pre service teachers often find themselves in a situation where they need additional time and support to develop the required teacher attributes, which in the context of this

service teacher provided a more spontaneous verbal response of her experience of her lesson presentation, when she mentioned that: “Their vibe was amazing it worked everybody wanted to give [an] answer to the introduction and everybody wanted participated in the problem solving”. (Team member 1; focus group team discussion)

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. and marbles from each other”. This open ended question was then complemented by the pre service teacher practically demonstrating how “sand went down into the beaker while the rocks and marbles remained stuck”. As part of her lesson reflection, the pre service teacher also admitted that the lesson was a “hands on”

This response confirms the enthusiasm and excitement of the pre service teacher of the lesson she presented as part of the WIL process. The phrase “their vibe was amazing” suggests that the learning environment allowed learners to be excited and motivated to learn. When the pre service teacher mentioned that “they all wanted to participate” confirms the learners’ eagerness to engage in the learning process which, in this case, required them to “solve problems”.

5. Discussion of findings

Anotherexperience.pre

Secondly, given the issue associated with lesson preparation, this paper describes how a lesson study approach practically empowered the research participants to develop Natural Science lessons within a group format with their fellow peers as a collective. The use of photo voice methodology and a focus group team discussion were helpful in detailing the key features associated with the lesson study approach. Evidence suggests that aspects of collective brainstorming and ideas sharing assisted the team of pre service teacher to collaboratively structure Natural Science lessons. Moreover, the team could also focus on structuring specific components of the lesson plan that includes, the lesson objective (i.e.

study include 3rd year pre service teachers’ skill to effectively prepare Natural Science lessons for an authentic teaching experience.

In light of this, Janssen, Knoef and Lazonder (2019) suggest that it is essential for teacher education programmes to mindfully prepare and support pre service teachers on their journey to becoming professionally skilled for the teaching profession. Mansfield and Beltman (2019) are of the view, that pre service teacher support is essential for entering teachers to cope with the expected teaching qualities and values portrayed in national educational policy documents. In response to the preceding argument, which shed light on the expected teacher qualities that pre service teachers should demonstrate as part of their teacher education, this study acknowledged the need to better support the professional development of Natural Science pre service teachers in their 3rd year of undergraduate study. This paper describes how a lesson study approach supported the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a work integrated learning (WIL) process. In the first instance, this paper recognises the need for a lesson study approach in a School of Education through acknowledging the emotional turmoil that the 3rd year pre service teachers endured that were associated with lesson preparation, particularly during school visitation intervals. This response aligns well with the view of Fetterman (2017) when he cautions that in doing critical emancipatory research, one should be critically conscious of the contextual factors that influence the wellbeing of individuals. The participants’ expressions of anxiety, stress, hopelessness and frustration with lesson preparation signalled their call for support and justified the need for the lesson study approach. Darling Hammond (2017) reminds us that the WIL process is characterised by teacher educators being tasked to observe and evaluate the pre service teachers’ teaching practice. During this process, the pre service teachers are expected to follow a school curriculum that requires them to teach specific subjects and perform teacher's duties similar to that of established teachers with vast teaching experiences. More often than not, the pressures of meeting the teaching expectations may have a negative effect on the pre service teacher’s self esteem, motivation and confidence (Beltman, 2015). This can be substantiated with the participants’ responses provided such as “I don’t know where to start”, “before you come” and “lecturers are coming”, “I just want to engage them more”, “the class don’t take me serious” and “they just sit there”.

as part of the lesson reflection interval of the lesson study approach, the participants’ verbal responses from a focus group team discussion suggested that the lesson study approach resulted in an improved Natural Science learning experience as one team member indicated that: “Their [learners] vibe was amazing it worked everybody wanted to give an answer to the introduction and everybody wanted to participate in the problem solving” (Team member1).Given this particular response provided, an expectation of quality Natural Science teaching includes teachers being equipped with the knowledge to develop tasks that would expose learners to acts of self discovery of scientific knowledge. Molefe, Stears and Hobden (2016) suggest that the aspect of self discovery can be sparked by engaging and exposing learners to a “hands on” practical investigation in the Natural Science classroom. Flores (2015) adds, that this approach to teaching allows for a deeperunderstanding of Natural Science subject matter and the development of scientific reasoning skills. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the lesson study approach allowed for an improved teaching experience. This assumption can be supported by a participant who mentioned that: “After the lesson presentation, I could not explain the feeling I had, how impresses I was” (Team member 3). A closer look at this particular response suggests that the lesson study approach impacted the pre service teacher’s self efficacy and confidence. Given this response, one could assume that the pre service teacher has undergone an element of transformative empowerment (Fetterman, 2015) since the lesson study approach enabled him to experience the liberating feeling of self determination in presenting a lesson with confidence. These reflections on lesson presentations provided correspond with the view of Chizhik et al. (2017) when it is suggested that lesson reflection allows teachers to share their “rich” subjective experience of what “worked” and “what did not work” in terms of their teaching practice. This approach, in turn, enables teachers to learn from each other’s teaching experience.

In addition, the participants could also describe their teaching approaches (i.e. “I want them to engage more”) that they wish to follow during these planned lessons. This particular focus on the various aspects that affect teaching and learning aligns well with the work of Larkin (2017), when it is mentioned that the lesson planning process entails a meticulous collection of thoughts and resources concerning what needs to be taught. Lesson planning, as a key feature of the lesson study approach, allows pre service teachers to proactively decide on the aspects that would be needed to establish a favourable teaching and learning environment aimed at accommodating diverse learner needs (Sims & Walsh, Finally,2009).

“lesson to be straightforward with one or two action verbs”), introduction (i.e. “catchy introduction that is 2min long”), main activity (i.e. “learner activities and practical demonstrations”) and conclusion (i.e. “wrap up of lesson that is 5min long”) of the lesson in detail.

6. Conclusion With the focus on the challenge associated with Natural Science lesson preparation, this study reported on how the implementation of a lesson study approach served as an intervention to support the lesson preparation abilities of pre service teachers during a WIL process. Couched within critical emancipatory research, implementing the lesson study approach allowed the pre service teachers to enjoy a significant number of benefits. Although the steps of the lesson studyinterventionwere meticulously followed, the accommodative and engaging nature of the lesson study approach allowed for the existence of the Natural Science pre service teachers’ multiple realities that relate to the WIL process. The study enabled the Natural Science pre service teachers to enjoy a sense of empowerment towards the sharing of diverse contextual experiences and ideas pivotal to the development of Natural Science lessons for the WIL process.

In this study, the generation of knowledge was inseparably associated with the collaborative practices and interaction that existed between the team of pre service teachers. Key to this free flowing of information sharing were the values of respect and trust that existed within the research team (Stebleton, Soria & Huesman, 2014). The lesson study approach allowed for an engaging space characterised by values of trust, respect, support and empathy for each other. The collaborative practices that formed part of the team dynamics challenged the conventional belief that teacher educators are the ones in power who poses absolute knowledge. Instead, recognition was given to the subjective experiences that the pre-service teachers’ voice offered. This approach allowed the team to be critically conscious of the contextual factors that impact their teaching experience during the WIL process. Drawing on Freire’s (1972) understanding of collaborative practices, the preparation of Natural Science lessons in this study were not carried out by one for another but rather by one with each other. This approach symbolises the collective role that the team of pre service teachers played in the structuring of lessons. Ultimately, the activities carried out promoted the principle of emancipation since the lesson study approach served as a means to better position the pre service teachers for the WIL experience.

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https://orcid.org/0000 0001 8098 6153

Students Mohammad Salih Al-Shehri Faculty of Education, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia

Keywords: differentiated instruction; academic performance; critical thinking; science subject 1. Introduction Each classroom has students at different levels in terms of previous experiences, background knowledge, learning methods, needs, tendencies, and interests. Using one method in teaching without responding to the differences between students may not bring out the desired results. This may result in neglecting essential segments of the classroom and in failure to meet students’ needs and diversifying the outputs. Low achievers may not find support and help to overcome the educational process and address their deficiencies. At the same

77 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 77 99, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.52020

Abstract. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of using a differentiated instruction method on the achievement and development of critical thinking skills among sixth grade students in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The study used the experimental method through the application of the instructional program on a sample of 50 students, who were chosen purposefully from one school in Abha city. The sample was divided into an experimental group (n = 25), which received instructions using differentiated instruction, and a control group (n = 25), which received instructions using conventional methods. Two tests were developed, an academic achievement test and a critical thinking test, to measure the performance of students before and after using the instructional program. Findings showed an improvement in the academic performance of the experimental group, which were taught using the instructional program based on differentiated instruction. Participants were able to increase their level of critical thinking skills in science. The study recommends using this instructional strategy in different school subjects other than science. The study also recommends training teachers on its implementation in classrooms.

Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Achievement and Development of Critical Thinking Skills among Sixth Grade Science

Differentiated instruction is the recognition of students' different backgrounds, aptitude levels, languages, interests, and learning profiles (Subban, 2007).

1.1.Differentiated instruction

Increasing students' interaction with their peers must go beyond the traditional methods that create a negative role from students. Instead, educators should work on creating a better learning environment by utilizing modern methods that increase interaction and students' ability to think, and involve them in obtaining knowledge, making conclusions, and developing positive relationships between students themselves. Such a procedure should also stimulate their potentials in being more creative. The big role relies on the teacher, as the teacher is one of the sources of the students' motivation. Students have different levels and types of intelligence, learning styles, interests, tendencies, aptitudes, and cultures, and this puts the educational process before a significant challenge to meet their different needs (Abu Jadu & Nawfal, 2010)

time, outstanding students will not find new materials to enrich their skills and experiences or even to develop them (Al Tuwairqi, 2013).

There is a need to understand students' learning styles, which is increasingly important in light of the call for group learning within the heterogeneous classroom. The teacher's responsibility here is to ensure that students absorb and engage in learning while identifying their preferred methods. The teacher should help and encourage students to learn while considering their preferred learning style (Al Rashud & Nawfal, 2017). Based on these needs, the concept of differentiated instruction emerged in the educational field.

Differentiated instruction aims at utilizing the abilities and skills of every student in the learning process. Additionally, differentiation techniques can be achieved through various activities when teachers use it as a philosophy in the classroom. Teachers are supposed to benefit from effective practices in response to the diverse needs of students (Subban, 2007). This practical definition of differentiated instruction reflects the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky that lies in the social and interactive teacher student relationship. Diversified education also provides an effective way to address disparity and differences between students.

In the process of using differentiated teaching, the teacher provides specific ways to teach each student according to their particular needs through employing different teaching strategies flexibly. Because differentiated instruction is drawn from theories of multiple intelligences and cooperative learning, it provides an appropriate educational environment through its diverse methods, instructions, and activities. Thus, students achieve the required goals with the method, tools, and activities that suit them (Fadel, 2018; Hakami & Al Amarin, 2015). This approach urges the teacher to exert the maximum of their practices and teaching methods to meet students’ needs to achieve the goals of learning (Muhammad, 2013). This type of education forms a philosophy or a method of thinking about teaching and learning through flexibility in setting learning objectives, presenting scientific content, providing a wide range of teaching strategies, and planning educational activities that are centered around the student (Hassanein, 2016). To achieve the main objectives of this method,

The main pillars of differentiated instruction are the teacher and the student, where the teacher is the coordinator and facilitator of the teaching process and the student is the recipient of the educational process. The teacher has a clear idea of the subject matter, and takes into account, appreciates, and builds upon the differences between students. The teacher also modifies content, processes, and product in response to the students’ aptitudes, tendencies, and attitudes, and according to the appropriate teaching style. One of the principles of differentiated instruction is the positive and active participation of all students in an environment characterized by mutual respect, where the student and teacher collaborate in learning and work together flexibly (Tomlinson, 2005).

1.3. Objectives and importance of differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction seeks to achieve several goals, including the provision of flexible approaches in content, processes, and outputs (Heacox, 2012). It also seeks to develop educational activities based on critical topics, concepts, processes, and essential skills, as well as on multiple methods of presenting the learning process. This kind of education takes into account students’ readiness levels, their teaching needs and interests, and the details of the learning process. It provides opportunities for students to work according to different teaching methods and agrees with curriculum standards and requirements for each student. In general, differentiated instruction aims at creating classrooms that include the responding student and the teacher facilitator of the learning process (Abu Qabytah, 2013). There are several justifications to apply differentiated instruction in education. It helps the teacher to see students according to the differences and variations among them. High achieving students have needs, demands, and interests in the same way as students who face learning difficulties. Therefore, differentiated instruction focuses on using modern teaching techniques through the diversification of teaching methods to help all students of different levels to achieve maximum levels of excellence in the light of their abilities (Fadel, 2018; Hakami & Al Amari, 2015). Eventually, students' self confidence increases, and

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. teachers need to take into account students' knowledge, preferences, and capabilities, and how they are organized for learning (Ismajli & Imami Morina, 2018).

Differentiated instruction stems from Vygotsky's social and cultural philosophy and his most important views. One of his basic ideas is that learners differ from each other in terms of characteristics, tendencies, home environment, previous knowledge, and learning styles and that each student has a mentality different from his classmates, as they learn in different ways and at different times. In addition, this theory provides methods, procedures, and activities that enable each student to achieve the required goals using the appropriate method and tools, and provides a suitable learning environment for all learners (Al Jamal, 2019). This kind of education also believes that feelings, emotions, and passions affect the learning process as well (Al Tuwairqi, 2013).

1.2. Principles of differentiated instruction

Critical thinking is one of the topics that educators are interested in because of its importance in empowering students with essential skills during the educational process. Part of this interest in critical thinking is evident in the tendency of educators of all scientific positions to adopt strategies for teaching and learning critical thinking skills (Abu Jadu & Nawfal, 2010). The definitions of critical thinking have varied due to the different theoretical perspectives of researchers. John Dewey made the first attempts to define critical thinking, where he argued that it is part of the contemplative thinking of the individual's ability to be active and persistent. He also believed that it is cautious thinking that deals with studying and analyzing beliefs and what is expected of knowledge based on the real ground, supported by the ability to deduce. On the other hand, Sternberg linked critical thinking with the ability to solve problems, as he defined it as mental processes and strategies that the individual uses to solve problems. Tishman, Parkins, and Sternberg believed that critical thinking directs individuals' minds to produce innovative results, decisions, and solutions to various issues (Al Shamlati, 2015).

Abu Jadu and Nawfal (2010) defined critical thinking as reflective, inferential, self evaluative thinking that includes a set of interconnected cognitive strategies and processes such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and making conclusions to examine opinions, beliefs, evidence, concepts, and claims. They argued that these processes are relied upon when issuing a judgment, solving a problem, or making a decision, taking into account the views of others. Al Jaber (2016) defined it as a group of mental practices that lies in the process of interaction between the individual and the different educational situations.

Critical thinking is of great importance in education for both teachers and students. It improves teachers' ability to teach and produce valuable and responsible practical achievements. It also helps teachers to create activities that allow their students to practice these skills in the classroom. Conversely, it helps in developing students' ability to be objective and adhere to clarity and accuracy.

Critical thinking also improves students’ achievement in various school subjects by allowing them to practice a wide range of thinking skills. It urges students to observe and control their thinking, which helps them in making important decisions (Abu Jadu & Nawfal, 2010). Using critical thinking skills encourages teachers in creating situations to elevate students’ interest by focusing on open questions, encouraging classroom discussions, respecting the opinion of colleagues, listening to others' points of view, and providing the opportunity for all students to express their opinions (Al yarbou, 2017). Critical thinking includes several central skills that need to be worked on. Peter Facione (2007) classified them into six skills: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, deduction, explanation, and finally, self organization. Saadeh (2011) believed critical thinking skills to include induction, deduction, comparison, classification, evaluation, priority setting, and unification of the links between relationship,

Critical Thinking

Several studies have been conducted on differentiated instruction. Magableh and Abdullah (2020) investigated the impact of using differentiated instruction strategies in improving the academic achievements of students in the English language. The study was applied to 60 students from the eighth grade, who were selected randomly from two schools in Jordan. The sample was divided into two groups. The control group (n = 30) learned English using the traditional method, whereas the experimental group (n = 30) learned using the differentiated instruction methods. The study tested participants’ performance before and after applying the experiment. The results revealed that differentiated instruction had a great impact on the performance of the experimental group in learning English language skills.

Dack (2019) collected data from 250 teachers working in the education field on the role of differentiated instruction. The study collected data through desk review, assignments, observations, and interviews. The interviews consisted of ten questions and the observations were done in the classrooms. The results revealed that a better understanding of the role of differentiated learning helps teachers and students to achieve better outcomes from the learning process.

cause and effect, analysis, succession, recognition of views, and analysis of arguments. 1.5. Previous studies

Al Rashud and Nawfal (2017) investigated the effectiveness of a differentiated instruction based training program in improving the academic achievement of science, self concept, and parallel thinking among third grade intermediate students. The instructional program was developed to include the dimensions of differentiated education, which is to modify the content according to the differentiation of students and to integrate parallel thinking skills. The study used the achievement test, the self concept scale, and the parallel thinking scale to test a sample consisting of 59 students. The results revealed the existence of differences due to the application of the training program in favor of the experimental group on the achievement test, the self concept scale, and the parallel thinking scale. Muhammad (2017) identified the effect of a proposed unit in science based on differentiated education to teach scientific concepts and scientific sense to second grade students. The study relied on descriptive, analytical, and quasi experimental approaches. The study sample consisted of 44 students. The results of the study indicated that teaching the unit using differentiated education developed students' awareness of relationships, knowledge, and scientific

Melese and Tinoca (2019) explored the instructor’s knowledge, attitudes, and practice of differentiated instruction at Bahir Dar University The study used the qualitative method. The sample consisted of faculty members. Date were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The results showed that the attitudes of faculty members were positive towards differentiated instruction The results also revealed that faculty members have a medium level of knowledge on differentiated learning and they do not practice it properly.

Abu Qabytah (2013) explored the impact of using differentiated education on acquiring scientific concepts and increasing tenth grade students’ motivation towards learning science. The study was applied to a sample of 136 tenth grade students in two schools, chosen purposefully. The results found differences in the scores of students in the test of acquiring scientific concepts and test of motivation towards science due to the teaching strategy. Female students achieved better scores than male students in both tests.

Al Mahdawi (2014) identified the impact of differentiated teaching on academic achievement in the biology course of secondary students. The study sample consisted of 45 students. The results of the study showed that the students who received training through differentiated teaching performed better than the students in the control group in the achievement test.

There is an urgent need to accomplish the objectives of any designed curriculum and the principles of equal educational opportunities among students in the

1.6. The problem of the study

concepts. Students received organized knowledge while their learning styles, abilities, and interests were kept in consideration Al Rashidi (2015) identified the effectiveness of differentiated education in improving levels of primary stage deaf students’ motivation towards learning science. The study used a quasi experimental method. The study sample (20 students) was divided into one experimental and one control group. The results of the study indicated that teaching according to differentiated instruction improved the level of motivation towards science learning among deaf students, as well as the existing differences between the level of the deaf students in the experimental group on the scale of motivation towards learning science as a Hakamiwhole.

Kinsberg (2012) examined the effects of differentiated education in teaching geology for sixth graders through three lessons within one unit of study. The study used the survey method, interviews, and teacher observations as tools to collect data. The results showed that there was an impact on student achievement, participation, and attitudes. Detailed instructions improved achievement for low achieving students, whereas the results for other students were mixed. Students had more negative attitudes. After applying differentiated instruction, this experiment yielded mixed effects on student and teacher engagement.

and Al Amarin (2015) investigated the degree of applying differentiated education for science teachers among their students during classroom teaching in Syria. The researchers built a questionnaire consisting of 30 items on the practice of science teachers for differentiated education, and it was applied to 125 science teachers. The results revealed that the level of practicing differentiated education by science teachers was very low. The results also showed no differences because of the gender variable. As for the experience variable, there were significant differences in favor of less experienced teachers as opposed to those with higher educational qualifications.

This main question has two sub questions:

• What is the effect of teaching science using differentiated instruction on the achievement and development of critical thinking skills among sixth grade students?

2. Methodology

Teaching methods vary according to students' academic levels and abilities. Therefore, choosing methods should suit student needs that stimulate their motivations towards learning and which are in a manner consistent with the nature of the material presented to them. The science subject can be presented in more than one advanced way to achieve the desired goals. The researcher noticed, during his visit to schools in Aseer educational region, as a supervisor of field education specializing in elementary education, the frequent complaints of many science teachers about the difficulty of teaching developed science curricula. Most of the teachers use conventional methods without activating the student’s role due to their lack of familiarity with modern techniques. Therefore, the study raised the following question:

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. education process. Students' motivation to learn must also be increased, while taking into account students' needs, preferences, previous experiences, and their differences in skills, interests, abilities, and intelligence capabilities. We find in the real application that science teachers mostly focus on middle level students, without taking into account the high and low achievers. Different studies and research (Al Qahtani, 2013; Al Shahrani, 2016; Al yarbou, 2017) have raised the importance of differentiated instruction. Therefore, science teachers must adapt teaching methods based on their knowledge of students’ abilities and mental capabilities and their levels of growth and achievement. They should also pay attention to students' scientific, economic, and social backgrounds, as well as possess knowledge of their attitudes, tendencies, and values. Science teachers rely heavily on the teacher's guide and curriculum, which leads to lower quality in teaching and fewer outcomes.

The importance of the current study lies in the fact that it aims to improve students’ performance in their academic achievement and to develop their critical thinking skills in science. The study raises and directs attention to the importance of addressing modern topics related to science education. It also raises the issue of the importance of preparing teachers and developing their teaching methods, in addition to developing the teaching performance of teachers through the use of modern techniques.

The study followed the quasi experimental approach. The study sample was divided into two groups: a control group, which studied the unit on space using the conventional method, and an experimental group, which studied the space unit using differentiated instruction. The variable of the study was an

1 What is the effect of teaching science using differentiated instruction in developing the academic achievement of sixth grade students?

2 What is the effect of teaching science using differentiated instruction in developing the critical thinking skills of sixth grade students?

The study population included sixth grade students who studied science in Abha during the 2019/2020 academic year. The sample included 50 male students from the sixth grade who were studying science at Habib bin Zaid Elementary School in Abha. The school was chosen purposefully due to the cooperation of the principal and its teachers and the availability of the necessary facilities to conduct the study. As for the two study groups, one experimental and one control, they were divided randomly into two equal groups.

The discrimination coefficients were calculated using the following equation: Eqn 1: Discriminationcoefficient = Numberofcorrectanswersfortheuppergroup numberofcorrectanswersforthelowergroup

Numberofstudentsinonegroup

3. Writing the test paragraphs of the multiple choice type. Their final number were 20 paragraphs.

independent variable, which was represented in the method of teaching and has two levels: differentiated instruction and the conventional method. The dependent variable was represented in the participants' responses to the academic achievement test and the critical thinking test.

2.1. Sampling

This test was designed to measure students' achievement in science before and after the experiment according to Bloom’s levels for academic achievement. It was built according to the following procedures:

1. Space unit content analysis and formulation of behavioral goals spread across Bloom's cognitive levels.

2.2. Instrumentation

2. Preparing a table of specifications for the test, taking into account the relative weights of the content dimensions and the levels of behavioral goals.

Validity of the achievement test

The following instruments were used to answer the questions of the study: Frist: the academic achievement test

The validity of the achievement test was tested by presenting it to a group of eight judges who are experts and specialists in science teaching methods. The judges provided comments on the correctness of alternatives and the accuracy of the language. In light of the judges' comments and suggestions, some adjustments were made to the test.

5. In light of the opinions of the judges, the test was finalized and applied to an exploratory sample outside the study sample to ensure its reliability and to calculate the discrimination and difficulty coefficients.

4. The content analysis, behavioral objectives, and test items were presented to the judges, where they were asked to review the content analysis, test items, alternatives provided for each paragraph, and linguistic accuracy.

1. Identifying the test objective to measure the critical thinking skills of sixth grade students in its five dimensions. The test items were distributed on these dimensions.

This test was designed to measure the extent to which sixth grade students acquire critical thinking skills in science before and after experimenting with five skills: interpretation, deduction, comparison, classification, and evaluation of arguments. It was developed based on the following steps:

Second: the critical thinking test

▪ Deduction skill, consisting of three questions, including 12 paragraphs.

▪ Comparison skill, consisting of three questions, including 12 paragraphs.

The discriminations coefficients for the test items ranged between 0.30 and 0.81, which are acceptable rates. The difficulty coefficients were calculated using the following equation: Eqn 2: Difficulty coefficients = Number of errors in the questions Number of participants

The reliability of the test was ensured using the test re test method. The test first was distributed to a sample consisting of 20 students other than the study sample, and was then re applied after two weeks. The stability coefficient was calculated and was 0.89, which is suitable for the study, and thus the test was put in its final form (see Appendix 1).

The difficulty coefficients for the test items ranged between 0.28 and 0.77, which are acceptable rates. Reliability of the achievement test

▪ Evaluating arguments, consisting of three questions, including 8 paragraphs.

3. The number of test items were 48 divided into 15 questions (see Appendix 2). Validity of the critical thinking test

2. The test items were as follows: ▪ Explanation skill, consisting of three questions, including 12 paragraphs.

The critical thinking test was presented to eight judges who are experts in curriculum design and teaching methods to consider the suitability of the test. They checked the test in terms of the correctness of the language and suitability for the study. In light of their comments and suggestions, some modifications were made.

▪ Classification skill, consisting of three questions, including 4 paragraphs.

Reliability of the critical thinking test

3. Preparing two study tools (achievement test and critical thinking test) in the subject of science.

6. Applying the pre achievement and pre critical thinking tests before conducting the study to the two study groups to assess the level of sixth grade students in critical thinking and achievement in science.

3. Presenting the preparation plans to a group of eight judges to express their observations and opinions Amendments were made from deletion and addition according to their observations.

The educational material focused on the space unit, which was prepared to suit the nature of differentiated instruction to be a guide for science teachers to use during preparation and application. The following are the steps for preparing the educational material:

7. Teaching the reformulated space unit using differentiated instruction to the experimental group, and teaching the control group the same unit using the conventional method

The test re test method was used to check the reliability of the critical thinking test. An exploratory sample (n = 20) from outside the study sample was tested, who received the test again after two weeks. The reliability coefficient of the test was 0.89 (see Appendix 2).

2.3. The educational material

2. Developing a daily preparation plan for each lesson according to the differentiated instruction (think pair share/brainstorming/cooperative learning).

2.4. Procedures

5. Identifying the time for conducting the study. It took three weeks to execute the study.

The following steps were applied to implement the study:

1. Analyzing the space unit content and setting behavioral goals for each lesson.

8. Applying the post achievement and post critical thinking tests to the two study groups to assess the level of sixth grade students in critical thinking and achievement in science.

4. The material was ready for implementation in the classroom on the experimental group, and was then presented to the teachers participating in the experiment, who trained to implement it.

2. Reformulating the lessons of the space unit according to differentiated instruction and presenting them to a group of judges and to make adjustments according to their opinions and observations.

4. Choosing the school of the study Habib bin Zaid Elementary School in Abha in a purposeful manner. The experimental and control study groups were divided randomly. The experimental group received instructions using differentiated learning, whereas the control group received instructions using the conventional method.

1. Reviewing the literature and previous studies related to recent trends in science education, in particular the use of differentiated instruction that is suitable for the age characteristics of sixth grade students

Table 1. t-test results for the responses of the two study groups to the pre-achievement test Variable Group No. scoreMean St. dev t value Sig. Pre test Control 25 14.52 3.5356 0.824 significantstatisticallyNotExperimental 25 15.04 2 1213

10. Discussing the results and coming up with recommendations.

2.5. Data Analysis: To answer the study questions, statistical analysis was done by extracting standard deviations and mean scores of participants' responses to the achievement test and the critical thinking test. The t test was used to answer the study’s questions related to the detection of any statistical differences between the two groups according to their scores in the post achievement and the post critical thinking tests.

Total 50 Table 1 shows that there were no significant differences in the overall mean scores for both the control (M = 14.52, SD = 3.5356) as well as the experimental group (M = 15.04, SD = 2.1213). After conducting the t test, the t value was 0.824, which is not statistically significant (at α = 0.05). Therefore, there was an absence of statistical differences between the two groups, which means that the two groups learned on approximately the same level.

3.1. Results before applying the study To ensure levels of the experimental and control groups were equal, the achievement test and the critical thinking test were applied to the two study groups before experimentation. Table 1 shows the extracted mean scores and standard deviations of the responses to the academic achievement test.

Table 2. t test results for the responses of the two study groups to the pre critical thinking test Variable Group No. scoreMean St. dev t value Sig. Pre test Control 25 14.88 3.6778 1.1157 Not significantstatisticallyExperimental 25 13.68 3.9234 Total 50 Table 2 shows that there were no differences in the overall mean scores for both the control (M = 14.88, SD = 3.6778) as well as the experimental group (M = 13.68, SD = 3.9234). The t value at 1.1157 is not statistically significant (at α = 0.05). This indicates that there are no statistically significant differences in the scores of the two groups, which means that the two groups learned on approximately the same level.

9. Correcting the two tests, recording their results, and conducting appropriate statistical analyses using SPSS to extract data for discussion.

3. Results and discussion

post

groups to the post achievement test Teaching method No. scoreMean St. dev t value Sig. instruction)(differentiatedExperimental 25 17.04 1.4854 5.0104 (Significantat α = 0.05) method)(conventionalControl 25 14.16 2.461 Total 50

were extracted as shown in Table 3. Table 3. t test results for the responses of the two

deviations

3.2. Results of the first question

3.3. Results of the second question

grade Tstudents?hemean scores and

The second research question was: What is the effect of teaching science using differentiated instruction in developing the critical thinking skills of sixth grade students?

The first research question was: What is the effect of teaching science using differentiated instruction in developing the academic achievement sixth standard of the participants' responses to the achievement test study Table 3 shows that the calculated t-value was 5.0104, which is statistically significant (at α = 0.05). This shows the existence of statistical differences between the mean score of the control and experimental groups. The experimental group outperformed the control group after having studied science using differentiated instruction. The mean score of the control group was 14.16, with a standard deviation of 2.461. This indicates the usefulness of using differentiated instruction in teaching science to the sixth grade. The reason for the better achievement of the experimental group could be attributed to the nature of differentiated instruction and its appropriateness to the science subject. The unit from the science curriculum was from newly developed material focusing on contemplating space and linking it to cosmic phenomena that students see in reality. Some cosmic phenomena require deduction, knowledge, and application in reality. Using this teaching method provided participants the desire to think, expand their knowledge, conclude, and link the information contained therein. In addition, the diversity of the differentiated instruction patterns was to facilitate the process of understanding information, assimilating it, and then recalling and remembering it by all participants. This was demonstrated through participants’ interaction and responses during the experiment, which facilitated the acquisition and retention of scientific materials and experiences and their transfer to similar new educational situations. They also developed their self-dependence in answering and correcting themselves when wrong and enriching their information when incomplete.

Teachingmethod

The study recommends extending the application of differentiated instruction to include the rest of the branches of science curricula in other educational levels.

Table 4.

The effect of using differentiated instruction in teaching science to sixth grade students in Abha, Saudi Arabia was investigated in this study. The researcher developed training material based on the differentiation strategy. The participating students received the training and were tested afterward. The results of the study revealed an improvement in the academic level of the experimental group after being taught using the differentiation strategy. This indicates the effectiveness of this strategy and its appropriateness to be used in classrooms, not only in science classes, but also in other subjects.

The mean scores and standard deviations of the participants' responses to the post critical thinking test were extracted as shown in Table 4. t-test results for the responses of the two study groups to the post-critical thinking test No. scoreMean St. dev t value Sig. instruction)(differentiatedExperimental 25 29 68 9.37959 5 65022 Significant (at α = 0.05) method)(conventionalControl 25 24.64 10.5154

Total 50 Table 4 shows that the t value was 5.65022, which indicates the existence of statistically significant differences (at α = 0.05) in the mean scores of the control and experimental groups. The scores of the experimental group that studied using differentiated instruction were better. The mean score of the control group that studied in the conventional method was 24.64, with a standard deviation of 10.5154, which the experimental group performed more superiorly in the post Ttest.his may be attributed to the great compatibility between differentiated education styles used (brainstorming, cooperative learning, and think pair share) and between critical thinking and its relationship with the science subject of space. This enabled the participants to practice various mental skills while applying the study, raising different discussions and expressing opinions, organizing ideas, and allowing them to meditate and think. It also provided participants the chance to link ideas and topics with each other, which helps in developing critical thinking skills. Using this strategy enabled all participants to delve into the sciences because this strategy is built on respect for students' minds and potentials and encourages them to present their ideas and opinions, listen to their colleagues, and discuss with them, thereby enriching them with multiple critical thinking skills.

4. Conclusion

4.1.Recommendations

The study also recommends applying differentiated instruction to a larger sample or another sample of middle and high school students, or a sample of female students, or a sample from other educational areas.

Al Jaber, L. (2016). Critical thinking skills in the activities included in the chemistry textbook for secondary school students: An analytical study. Journal of Educational and Psychological Sciences, Qassim University, 9(2), 421 458. Retrieved from: http://search.shamaa.org/FullRecord?ID=121146

5. References Abdulqader, M. H. (2019). The effect of using the differentiated education approach on primary school students' acquisition of some linguistic structures and the development of their language performance skills. Sultan Qaboos University Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies, 13(2), 337 367. Abu Jadu, S. M., & Nawfal, M. B. (2010) Teaching thinking: Theory and practice (1st ed.). Amman: Dar Al Masirah. Abu Qabytah, S. M. (2013). The effect of using the differentiated instruction strategy on the acquisition of scientific concepts and motivation towards science learning among tenth grade students (Unpublished MA thesis). Al Quds University, Palestine. Retrieved from: https://dspace.alquds.edu/handle/20.500.12213/4498

Al Qahtani, M. M. (2013). The effect of using the septuple learning course in science teaching on developing critical thinking skills among sixth grade students (Unpublished master's thesis). King Khalid University, Abha. Al Rashidi, K. M. (2015). The effectiveness of differentiated education in improving the level of motivation towards learning science for deaf students in the primary stage. Journal of the College of Education Al Azhar University Egypt, 163(1), 1 52. Retrieved from: http://search.mandumah.com/Record/704962

Al Mahdawi, F. (2014). The effect of differentiated teaching strategy on developing biology course achievement among twelfth grade students (Unpublished master's thesis). College of Education, Umm Al Qura University: Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Thematic limitations: the study was limited to the Space Unit from the textbook of the sixth grade, edition 2019. The study focused on measuring the impact of differentiated instruction strategy on academic achievement according to Bloom’s levels. The critical thinking test was limited to the following skills: interpretation, deduction, comparison, classification, and evaluation of arguments. Human limitations: The study was conducted on a sample of sixth grade male students from Habib bin Zaid Elementary School in Abha. Time limitations: The study was conducted in the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year.

4.2.Limitations of the study

Teachers of science need to receive training on how to use differentiated instruction in teaching because of the positive impact on academic achievement and the development of critical thinking skills. It is important also to identify the effectiveness of using differentiated teaching in other learning outcomes such as creative thinking, reflective thinking, and attitudes towards the school subjects.

Al Jamal, L. (2019). Effectiveness of an enrichment unit based on differentiated education and teaching my beautiful language to develop critical thinking and life skills among sixth grade female students (Unpublished MA thesis). King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.

Al Rashud, J. S., & Nawfal, M. B. (2017). The effectiveness of using a training program based on the theory of differentiated instruction in academic achievement in science, self concept, and parallel thinking among third grade intermediate students. Educational Sciences Studies, 44(4), 249 269.

Magableh, I. S. I., & Abdullah, A. (2020). On the effectiveness of differentiated instruction in the enhancement of Jordanian students' overall achievement. International Journal of Instruction, 13(2), 533 548. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1249110

Al Shahrani, R. M. (2016). The impact of science teaching using the reciprocal teaching strategy on achievement and development of critical thinking skills among second grade intermediate students (Unpublished master’s thesis). King Khalid University, Abha. Al Shamlati, O. A. (2015). The effect of teaching interpretation using probing questions on achievement and development of critical thinking skills among intermediate second grade students. Journal of Human and Administrative Sciences, Majmaah University, 7, 64 95. Al Tuwairqi, H. M. (2013). Differentiated teaching and its effect on motivation, thinking, and academic achievement (1st ed). Khwarazm Scientific, Jeddah Publishers, and Libraries. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al yarbou, F. F. (2017). The effect of science teaching using probing questions on developing understanding and critical thinking skills among third grade middle school students (Unpublished master's thesis). King Khalid University, Abha. Dack, H. (2019). Understanding teacher candidate misconceptions and concerns about differentiated instruction. The Teacher Educator, 54(1), 22 45. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2018.1485802 Fadel, S. H. (2018). The effectiveness of differentiated education strategy on fourth grade literary achievement in history. Journal of the College of Basic Education for Educational and Human Sciences / University of Babylon, 38, 840 850. Facione, P. A. (2007). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press. Hakami, S., & Al Amarin, Y. (2015). The degree of practicing differentiated teaching by science teachers on their students during classroom instruction in the basic education stage in the province of Sweida. Al Baath University Journal, 73(11), 137 159. Hassanein, A. A. (2016) The effectiveness of teaching science using differentiated instruction in developing achievement and creativity skills such as critical thinking and communication among fourth grade female students. Arab Studies in Education, Psychology Egypt, 69, 208 359 Heacox, D. (2012). Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom: How to reach and teach all learners (Updated anniversary edition). Free Spirit Publishing. Minneapolis. Ismajli, H., & Imami Morina, I. (2018). Differentiated instruction: Understanding and applying interactive strategies to meet the needs of all the students. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 207 218. Kinsberg, B. R. (2012). The effects of differentiating instruction in a mixed ability middle school science class (Unpublished master’s dissertation). Montana State University, Montana. Retrieved from: https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/1641

Melese, S., & Tinoca, L. (2019). Instructors’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of differentiated instruction: The case of the college of education and behavioral sciences, Bahir Dar University, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Cogent Education, 6(1), 1642294. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1642294

92 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Muhammad, E. H. (2013). The effectiveness of the differentiated education strategy in the academic achievement of fourth grade primary students in literature and texts (Unpublished master’s thesis). Faculty of Education for Humanities, Diyala University, Iraq. Muhammad, K. A. (2017). A proposed unit in science based on differentiated education to provide scientific concepts and a scientific sense for second grade students. Scientific Education Journal Egypt, 20(1), 1 49. Saadeh, J. (2011). Teaching thinking skills with hundreds of practical examples (5th ed.). Amman: Dar Al Shorouk. Subban, P (2007). Differentiated instruction: A research basis International Education Journal, 2006, 7(7), 935 947. Tomlinson, C. A. (2005). Grading and differentiation: Paradox or good practice? Theory into Practice, 44(3), 262 269.

The academic achievement test

Appendix 1

B. The succession of the seasons C. Earth's rotation around the sun D. Earth's axis.

1. The apparent motion of the sun is caused by: A. Earths circulation around its orbit

5. The tide is a phenomenon that arises due to the force of attraction A.between:Earth and the Moon B. The Sun and Earth C. The Sun and the stars D. The ocean and land 6. Earth’s rotation around the sun is: A. The annual Earth cycle B. The earth’s monthly cycle C. Tides D. Gravity

7. The main reason for the occurrence of the four seasons is: A. The angle of inclination of the Earth's axis changes as it orbits around the sun.

B. The angle of inclination of the Earth's axis changes as it orbits around the moon C. The distance of Earth from the sun changed during its orbit around the sun D. Earth's circulation around its orbit.

4. The craters on the surface of the moon, which are in the form of deep plates, are called: A. Lunar seas B. Moon phase C. Nozzles D. The sun and the stars

2. The longitude that shows the change in dates is called: A. Baseline latitude B. International dateline C. Equator D. Standard time zone

3. The rotation of the earth around itself results in: A. The succession of night and day B. Solar eclipse C. Lunar eclipse D. Phases of the moon

8. Which of the following is not a galaxy form: A. Spiral B. Irregular C. Elliptical D. Square

11. The Milky Way galaxy is: A. Primitive galaxy B. An irregular galaxy C. Elliptical galaxy D. Spiral galaxy.

12. Astronomers call the small rocky bodies that collide with the surface of the moon as: A. Meteors B. Moons C. Meteorites D. Comets

14. The suitable unit for measuring distances between stars: A. meter B. kilometer C. mile D. light year 15. A planet that can have rings is: A. Mercury B. Saturn C. Neptune D. Venus 16. What separates the inner and outer planets of the solar system is: A. Asteroids belt B. Meteors and meteorites belt C. Stars D. An Atmosphere

13. Which of the following planets is closer to the size of the Earth: A. Mercury B. Mars C. Venus D. Jupiter

9. One of the following happens to the universe from the moment of the Big Bang until today: A. Overheating B. Contraction C. Expansion D. Explosion

10. The color.............indicates a greater surface temperature of the star: A. red B. yellow C. Bluish white D. Orange

17. If it is seven o'clock in the evening in Riyadh, then the time in Marrakesh A.is: 10 pm B. 4 pm C. 7 pm D. 6 pm

95 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 18. Sundial is: A. A simple tool to tell time using shadow length and direction B. A tool for measuring the distance between Earth and the sun C. A tool for measuring the length of the tides D. Standard timing instrument 19. The width of the standard time zone is: A. 15 degrees between the meridians of Earth B. 15 degrees between latitudes on Earth C. 24 degrees between the meridians of Earth D. 20 degrees between latitudes of Earth 20. The "large group of stars that are bound together by gravity" is called: A. Nebula B. galaxy C. comet D. Meteorite

96 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix 2 The critical thinking skills test Interpretation skill Place (√) in the box you consider the right answer: Some phrases may have more than one result, and you must specify them all. 1. If you travel west of the International Date Line, what happens? No. Interpretation Consequential ConsequentialNot 1 Delay in time 2 Advance in time 3 Time stays as it is 2. Earth is the only planet suitable for life. No. Interpretation Consequential ConsequentialNot 1 For the presence of water and air 2 There is a life that we do not know about on other planets 3 For its distance from the sun 4 Because of gravity 3. There are no crater edges on the moon's surface: No. Interpretation Consequential ConsequentialNot 1 Because of the ongoing erosion processes 2 There is no life on the moon 3 There is no water or air on the surface of the moon 4 Space objects collide with the moon 5 Spaceships land on the surface of the moon

1. Concept one: Earth Concept two: the Moon

97 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Deduction skill This test includes phrases followed by several conclusions that may be correct or wrong. You are required to read the phrase well and then read the conclusions resulting from it, and then put (√) in the box representing your 1answer.Alunar eclipse occurs when: No. Suggested conclusions Right Wrong

No.

1 Earth passes in the moon’s shadow Earth is located between the sun and the moon

2 Tide happens because of: Suggested conclusions Right Wrong Gravity between Earth and the moon Gravity between the sun and the moon solar eclipse Lunar eclipse What happens because of the moon's rotation around the earth? Suggested conclusions Right Wrong The tides 2 Moon phases A succession of the four seasons a succession of night and day

The following phrases and concepts have a commonality in a certain meaning. Identify what is unique about each concept and write it down in the space provided.

3 What is unique in the second concept?

3 The sun is between Earth and the moon The sun passes in the shadow of the moon

Comparison of skill

1 What is common between the two concepts? What is unique in the first concept?

3 What is unique in the second concept?

1 What is common between the two concepts? 2 What is unique in the first concept?

3 What is unique in the second concept?

1 What is common between the two concepts? 2 What is unique in the first concept?

2 What is unique in the first concept?

1. Which of the following is different from the others?

3. Concept one: Annual Earth Cycle Concept two: Daily Earth Cycle

4. Concept one: Spiral galaxy Concept two: irregular galaxy

2. Concept one: Meteor Concept two: Comet 1 What is common between the two concepts?

Classification skill This test includes lists of vocabulary, each list has one characteristic except for one vocabulary between that does not belong to the group. You are required to read the vocabulary lists, and then identify the different vocabulary and write it in the space provided.

List Different vocabulary Sun Mercury Venus Mars List Different vocabulary Phases of the moon lunar eclipse craters solar eclipse3.

List Different vocabulary Asteroid comet meteor light year 4. List Different vocabulary Reflecting astronomical telescope sundial refracting astronomical telescope

99 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Evaluation of arguments: The following are a set of issues related to the science course. Each case was placed in a special table and followed by four arguments, some of them are strong and some of them are weak. Place (√) in front of the argument that represents your answer. 1. We cannot live without stars: No. Evaluation of argument Strong Weak 1 They help in setting directions 2 They decorate the sky 3 They light the universe 4 They help in identifying seasons 2. We cannot live on Mercury because: No. Evaluation of argument Strong Weak 1 Very high temperature 2 Very low temperature 3 No gravity 4 No water on the planet

Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan 0001

7460 135X

Rethinking Privilege in Teaching English in Japanese Higher Education

100 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 100 114, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.6

Abstract. This article addresses the issue of native speakerism in teaching English in the context of Japanese higher education and the privilege arising from it. Previous research has shown that native speakers are often regarded as highly skilled and qualified teachers in teaching their mother tongue. This has often led to the marginalization of teachers who speak the language they teach as an additional language. In the case of Japan, however, there is doubt about the existence of such a privilege for native speaker teachers and some studies have shown that native speakers of English do not receive preferential treatment in this context as they are often perceived as replaceable and temporary. The present study aimed to further explore this issue by focusing on the varieties of English Japanese universities expect their teachers to speak. In so doing, the study has investigated hiring policies of Japanese universities with reference to the job advertisements they post on a designated portal. The results of the qualitative thematic analysis indicated that the majority of the advertisements demanded prospective candidates to be native speakers of English, which also meant that this subgroup of teachers has a privilege in landing academic jobs by token of the variety of English they speak. The article suggests that the critical pedagogical approach of teaching English as an international language (TEIL) can mitigate such privilege by raising awareness towards the validity and appropriateness of different varieties of English spoken in the world

https://orcid.org/0000

Khatereh Hosseininasab

Keywords: critical pedagogy; higher education; identity; privilege; teaching English as an international language

1. Introduction: Teaching English in Japanese higher education

Ever since English was accepted as the most frequently used language for international communications, it has become a symbol for globalization around the world (Seargeant, 2011). The consequences of this for education systems have been clear in the sense that they are expected to enable students to speak English as this will benefit not only the students but also their nations in the long run. In other words, the rationale for the current emphasis on the development of English language skills is that English is the language of science and technology and those who do not speak it will fail to be competitive in the global job market. That is

why teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) has attracted a lot of attention in the education systems of countries in which English is not spoken as the first language. Japan is not an exception in this regard. Pretty similar to many other countries, in Japan also, English is considered essential for participation in global economy (Crystal, 2003). However, there seems to be a mismatch between what is expected and what has actually happened in Japan, as the criticism is often heard that Japanese university graduates do not acquire sufficient English proficiency to meet the needs of the business sector (Aspinall, 2006).

This dissatisfaction with the English proficiency of Japanese youth triggered a change in the course of studies by the Japan Ministry of Education, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2003. The last revisions in 2003, also known as the Action Plan, emphasize the development of spoken communication skills in students through increasing secondary school teachers’ communicative and pedagogical skills as well as boosting students’ motivation and offering alternative methods of assessment for the English component in university entrance examinations (MEXT, 2003, as cited in Nagatomo, 2012). The extent to which such new concerns of MEXT have been successfully translated to the reality of language teaching in Japan is a legitimate question; however, another question to ask is why the ministry has remained indifferent to how English is taught at universities in Japan. Nagatomo (2012) argued that except demanding a change in university entrance exams and an increase in the number of university classes to be taught in English, the Action Plan does not address English education at universities. It makes no mention of the need to increase university teachers’ communication and pedagogical skills and neither does it mention the preferred methodology and desired outcome of English education at universities.

The Action Plan, some may argue, is not by definition supposed to address tertiary education. This argument is, of course, fair enough, as the section in charge of the plan is primarily concerned with secondary education in Japan. Nevertheless, it is still a legitimate question to ask MEXT why they have not had similar concerns for post secondary English education. The failure to instigate reform in English education at tertiary level may partly explain the current dissatisfaction with the proficiency level of Japanese graduates. The failure has become even more imminent after the introduction of the concept of “global jinzai” (global human resource) into the discourse of human resource development in tertiary education. The proposed definition for global jinzai introduces a range of competencies expected to be developed in graduates, of which one of the components is the development of foreign language (usually English) communication skills. According to the objectives stated for this particular component, students are expected to become proficient in English communication while still being able to appreciate the Japanese culture and its values. The burden of realizing these objectives is at least in part on the shoulders of English teachers in universities. In the absence of systematic pre service and in service teacher training programs at tertiary level, however, how have universities coped with the twofold goal of making their students fluent in English while assuring that they deeply understand and appreciate Japanese cultural values? One way to address this issue has been prioritizing Japanese English teachers over native speakers of English, or the so called Japanization of

Not a long time ago it was an unquestionable fact that the purpose of ELT was to enable learners to speak and use English like native English speakers (NESs) do for the obvious reason that this gave the learners the ability to communicate with NESs with ease (McKay, 2002). ELT, thus, has traditionally favored standard American and British varieties of English. The inherent flaw in this argument, however, is the assumption that all individuals who learn English as a foreign or a second language are doing so in order to communicate with NESs. In other words, what this viewpoint misses is that in a world that is constantly becoming globalized, the vast majority of such learners may need to speak English to communicate with other non native English speakers (NNESs) rather than NESs (Kirkpatrick, 2006). This very issue, along with findings of recent studies regarding the changing status of the English language, has raised a lot of criticism against the traditional approaches to ELT (Marlina, 2014; Matsuda, 2006; McKay, Moreover,2012).

Such a policy, one may argue, does not promote native speakerism as it does not privilege native speaker teachers of English in Japan. Holliday (2005) defined native speakerism as an ideology in the language teaching profession “characterized by the belief that ‘native speaker’ teachers represent a ‘Western culture’ from which spring the ideals both of the English language and of English language teaching (ELT) methodology.” Considering the aforementioned idea of the Japanization of language teaching, it looks like native speakerism is not relevant in the Japanese context. Such an argument is also consistent with what some studies have had to offer. Stewart (2005), for instance, believed that such a view has led to the deprofessionalization of native speaker English teachers, who are often regarded as temporary and replaceable (Nagatomo, 2012). As a result, native speaker teachers have been reported to face discrimination in hiring practices and are offered short term and non renewable contracts (Hayes, 2011). This paper does not intend to negate such arguments. It argues, however, that there are more subtle practices in the field of language teaching in Japan which may privilege certain speakers of English and marginalize others as language teachers. The argument is grounded in the fact that although there are many varieties of English (native and non native) spoken in the world, conventional ELT practices do not consider them all equally valid and hence privilege speakers of certain varieties of English and not others.

English teaching (Hashimoto, 2000). What Japanization of English has involved is the tendency of many higher education institutions to employ Japanese teachers who teach the language the Japanese way instead of using approaches such as communicative language teaching, which is believed to be a Western approach and even a colonizing force (Phan, 2008). Now, how can such a tendency explain privilege in language teaching in Japan?

traditional ELT approaches have also raised ideological and political concerns. As learners are constantly exposed to certain varieties of English (mainly American and British), they end up believing in the supremacy of those

2. The ideological choice Teaching English as a foreign language in the age of globalization has to reflect the new definitions for what it takes to be able to communicate internationally.

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. varieties over the others (Kirkpatrick, 2006). Along the same lines, there are scholars who believe that the traditional approaches to ELT have promulgated a form of linguistic imperialism (Phillipson, 2009) through which Western powers have maintained their colonial positions even in the present time. The recognition of new varieties of English as equally valid ones has been a reaction to traditional ELT in this regard. As Saraceni (2015) concluded, such recognition has created the belief among language teaching scholars that “[l]earning English need not to be seen as a strenuous journey whose ultimate destination is the achievement of ‘native like’ status or a linguistic ‘visa’ into a special ‘inner circle’. Learning English means, above all, making it easier to take part, actively and critically, in the practices and discourses that (re)present, (re)construct and (re )shape the global and local worlds we live in.” (p. 187) In response to the criticism leveled against traditional ELT, other approaches have emerged in the field that are more critical by nature and more sensitive to the varieties of English spoken in the world. One such approach is English as an international language (EIL). The proponents of EIL argue that as in a global world there is a much higher possibility for NNESs to communicate with other NNESs in English, language teaching has to embrace the diversity of the Englishes used in the four corners of the world. Emphasis must be placed here on equipping language learners with the skills to negotiate for meaning with other speakers of English who come from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Those approaches to language teaching that emphasize an acceptance of different varieties of English thus cry for providing students with more exposure to the diversity of the Englishes spoken around the world (Rose & Montakantiwong, 2018). In such a context, multilingualism and mutual intelligibility become the ultimate goal in communication instead of native like competency (McKay, 2012). The emphasis of EIL on accepting different varieties of English and considering them as equally valid leads to giving voice to speakers of those varieties which were once considered inferior to native speaker norms. Therefore, it can be regarded as a critical pedagogical approach to teaching and learning the English language (Pennycook, 2017). It strives to give voice not only to the speakers of such varieties of English, but also to the teachers who teach English but do not have the privilege of speaking it as their mother tongue Sharifian (2009) conceptualized EIL as a paradigm for thinking as well as research and practice in language teaching. Such a paradigm can serve as an analytical tool for educators and researchers to critically revisit the way they conceptualize English and the way they teach English, particularly with reference to the way its use has expanded globally in recent years (Marlina, 2013). EIL is therefore primarily concerned with the way English is used in international settings and by speakers coming from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds (Hino, 2019).

One important issue to bear in mind here is that EIL is not a single variety of English. It is rather a framework that considers English “with its pluralized forms […] a language of international and therefore intercultural communication” (Sharifian, 2009, p. 2). It also underlines the importance of linguistic negotiation

The present paper reports on a preliminary stage of a larger study investigating the issue of native speaker privilege in teaching English in Japanese higher education. In this preliminary stage, the main goal has been to explore the prevalent policies of universities in Japan in hiring English language teachers. The question of whether or not privilege is a relevant concern in teaching English in Japanese higher education institutions can be addressed with a number of different approaches. Surveys and interviews targeting language teachers from different backgrounds and cohorts as well as program directors can be among them. The researcher is aware of the need to collect data from all stakeholders involved in teaching English in Japanese universities and intends to do that in the next phases of the study. The present paper, however, is delimited to the exploration of English teacher hiring policies by doing document analysis on job advertisements posted by Japanese universities on an online portal hosted by Japan Technology and Science Agency, which serves as the main space for looking for academic jobs and positions in Japan.

For this purpose, all language teaching job advertisements posted by Japanese universities on the portal mentioned above (accessible at https://jrecin.jst.go.jp) in the timespan of early October to early November were documented and analyzed by the researcher. The researcher focused on the qualifications the job advertisements required the applicants to possess as well as other factors, including the type of university (national, public, or private), department (specialized in language teaching or otherwise), job type (part time or full time), and employment status (tenured or non tenured). Twenty four job advertisements for language teaching positions were documented and analyzed.

Thematic analysis, which is one of the most frequently used techniques in the analysis of qualitative data (Creswell & Poth, 2018), was employed to explore the required qualifications in the job advertisements. The whole dataset was first coded and then the relationships between codes were explored. As a result, a number of themes emerged that indicated the tendencies of Japanese universities in hiring English teachers. The data also underwent descriptive statistical analysis to determine the frequency of each of the emerged themes. Furthermore, the researcher used

for achieving mutual intelligibility by speakers of English who bring with themselves many different varieties of the language into the interaction. It is against this backdrop that EIL does not prioritize native speaker teachers of English over other teachers because of the varietyof English they speak. However, this theoretical potential of EIL for tackling the native speaker privilege in ELT has not always translated into practice (Matsuda, 2017). Theory and practice in language teaching have not always been convergent in language teaching, and for various reasons this mismatch has always been present in different areas within language teaching, including teacher education, assessment, and materials development (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018). Back now to the main concern of the present study, the question is whether or not ELT in Japanese higher education is concerned about native speaker privilege and has the intention to remedy it by resorting to EIL or other similar approaches.

3. Methodology and data collection

As Table 1 indicates, the 13 variables identified in the job advertisements posted on the portal could be categorized into three major types, namely institutional, job related and qualifications. There were also other categories in the advertisements, including documents to be submitted or the method of submission, but as these issues were not relevant to the issue of privilege, they were excluded from the list of variables. From this list, institutional and job related variables were included in all job advertisements in the dataset. However, the variables in the qualifications category were present in some advertisements and absent in others. That is to say, the qualifications required differed from one job advertisement to another. The variables included in Table 1, therefore, contain all variables identified in the whole dataset.

cross tabulation to test possible relationships between the identified variables.

Whereas some of the job advertisements did not mention looking for any particular nationality, others stated that they were exclusively hiring teachers either from countries in which English is spoken as the first language (NESs) or from Japan. Moreover, in terms of required English proficiency, whereas some of the advertisements did not refer to any required proficiency level for the prospective applicants, others either required sufficient proficiency or native like proficiency. Both of these variables (nationality and English language skills) were relevant to the theme of this research, which is the privilege arising from the variety of English spoken by teachers. Table 2 summarizes the calculated frequencies for three representations of the nationality variable.

To estimate the priorities of Japanese universities in hiring English teachers, the frequency of occurrence of all variables in the qualifications category was calculated. However, for the sake of space, Tables 2 and 3 present the calculated frequencies and percentages only for the two variables that are more directly related to the issue of privilege with regard to the variety of English spoken by the teachers. These two variables are nationality and English language skills.

Institutional University type, department Job related Job type, employment status

Table 1: Types of variables identified Type Variables

Qualifications Education, professional skills, interpersonal skills, nationality, Japanese language skills, English language skills, teaching experience, residence status, aspiration

4. Results and discussion

The first stage in the documentation of the whole dataset led to the identification of different types of variables that were referred to in the job advertisements These variables and their types are introduced in Table 1.

Finally, a chi square test was performed to determine whether the observed relationships between variables were statistically significant.

Table 3: Frequency of variables related to English language skills of prospective applicants English language skills Frequency Percentage Cumulativepercentage Not mentioned 11 45.8 45.8

Sufficient proficiency 7 29.2 75 Native like proficiency 6 25 100 Total 24 100 As Table 3 suggests, 11 advertisements (45 8%) took for granted that an applicant for an English teaching job must be proficient in the language. This can probably be explained by the fact that these universities were among those that looked for native speaker teachers. From the remaining universities, seven (29.2%) looked for applicants with English skills sufficient for teaching the language, and the other six (25%) required applicants with native like proficiency in English. The advertisements in this latter group, however, did not specify what exactly they meant by native like proficiency. What is interesting here is that besides the 13 universities which exclusively sought to hire native speaker teachers (Table 2), six more universities had the normative requirement that applicants must be able to speak English similar to native speakers of English. This reference to native speaker norms English use lies at the center of the argument for the presence of privilege with reference to the variety of English spoken by teachers in Japan and will be discussed in the subsequent sections of this paper.

Table 2: Frequency of variables related to nationality of prospective applicants Nationality Frequency Percentage Cumulativepercentage Not mentioned 9 37.5 37.5 Native English speaker 13 54.2 91.7 Native Japanese speaker 2 8.3 100 Total 24 100 As the figures in Table 2 indicate, more than half of the job advertisements (54.2%) required prospective applicants to be native speakers of English. There was no indication in the advertisements as of what being a native speaker of English means. For instance, it was not clear whether a teacher born in a country in which English is not the first language but raised in an English speaking country would be regarded as a native speaker. Despite this, 13 universities (54.2%) sought only native speakers for their English teaching positions. In addition, there were two universities (8.3%) that looked for Japanese applicants exclusively, whereas the remaining nine universities (37.5%) did not refer to nationality as a criterion for employment. Table 3 shows the frequency of three different representations of the English language skills variable.

In line with the goal of the study and after the descriptive analysis of the data, the researcher sought to find relationships between the qualification variables and the institutional and job related variables. The data were cross tabulated and a chi square test was performed to evaluate the significance of potential relationships among the variables. The results indicated that there was no significant relationship between any of the qualification variables and the institutional and job related variables. This means, for example, that the type of university or the department did not influence the tendency to hire native speaker teachers or otherwise. There was only one exception to this, however. The analysis indicated that there was a significant relationship between the nationality variable and the employment status variable. Tables 4 and 5 respectively summarize the results of the cross tabulation and chi square test for these two variables.

Table 4 summarizes the distribution of the three representations of the nationality variable in non tenured and tenured English teaching positions. Of particular interest to the topic of this research is the fact that all of the universities that looked at hiring native English teachers had non tenured positions available. On the other hand, 44.9% of the universities that did not mention a particular nationality as an employment requirement offered tenured positions to successful candidates. Table 5 shows the results of the chi square test to explore whether this observed relationship is statistically significant.

Table 4: Cross-tabulation of nationality and employment status status Non tenured Tenured Total Nationality Not mentioned Count 5 4 9 Expected count 7.1 1.9 9.0 % within nationality 55.6% 44.4% 100.0% Native English Count 13 0 13 Expected count 10.3 2.7 13.0 within nationality 100.0% 0% 100.0% Native Japanese Count 1 1 2 Expected count 1.6 .4 2.0 % within nationality 50.0% 50.0% 100.0% Count 19 5 24 Expected count 19.0 5.0 24.0 % within nationality 79.2% 20.8% 100.0%

Table 5: Chi square tests to explore the relationship between nationality and employment status Value df Asymp. Sig. (2 sided) Pearson chi square 7.495a 2 .024 Likelihood ratio 9.426 2 .009 Linear by linear association 1.542 1 .214 N of valid cases 24

Employment

Total

The second issue inferred from the results is that privilege cannot be regarded as an absolute concept. Based on the results, although there appears to be privilege for native speaker teachers with reference to the nationality variable in the hiring policies, employment status of teachers as referred to by universities proves the contrary. Native speaker teachers were mostly offered non tenured and limited term contracts, which left them in a disadvantaged position compared to their Japanese colleagues. This finding corroborates what previous research has found about discrimination in the workplace against different groups of foreign university teachers (Hayes, 2011; Nagatomo, 2012; Nagatomo, Brown, & Cook, 2020). The problem seems to be clear now: privilege exists in the field of language teaching in Japanese higher education. The following two sections deal with the ways this problem can be further studied and addressed.

Furthermore, the data also implies that in the job advertisements documented in this study, English teachers are regarded as either native speakers or Japanese applicants who are obviously non native speakers of English. In other words, a third possible category, namely teachers who are neither native speakers of English nor Japanese, seems to have been excluded from the advertisements as well as previous research.

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2 sided) Pearson chi square 7.495a 2 .024 Likelihood ratio 9.426 2 .009 Linear by linear association 1.542 1 .214 a. Four cells (66.7%) have an expected count of less than 5. The minimum expected count is .42. To interpret the results of the chi square test, a null hypothesis was first developed. According to the null hypothesis, there is no significant relationship between the nationality and employment status variables. As can be seen in Table 5, however, the p value in the calculated figures is less than 0.05 (p = 0.024), and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. In other words, universities that preferred to hire NESs offered the applicants only non tenured positions and this relationship was statistically significant. What can be inferred from these results is twofold. In the first place, the results indicate that hiring policies of Japanese universities grant privilege to native speakers of English. Teachers in this subgroup have more job opportunities to choose from compared to their colleagues who are either Japanese or non Japanese and non native speakers of English. This seems to be in line with what previous research on native speakerism has had to offer (Shiroza, 2020).

5. The relevance of studying teacher identity to challenge privilege Understanding policies behind language teaching practices is indeed key to exploring privilege in language teaching. Of equal importance, however, is making sense of who language teachers are and how they construct or perceive this privilege (Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005). Therefore, understanding “the professional, cultural, political, and individual identities which [language teachers] claim or which are assigned to them” (Varghese et al.,

As discussed earlier, the role of English is constantly changing in today’s globalized world. While not a long time ago it was considered as an unquestionable fact that learners of English have to imitate and emulate NESs in order to learn the language, recent critical approaches to language education, including EIL, have shown that native like proficiency is neither a requirement nor a desired attribute for individuals who seek to communicate in English internationally. The number of NNESs who need to interact with other NNESs is currently increasing and this entails raising awareness of the English spoken by

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 2005, p. 22) is the very first step in studying privilege in the language classroom. Language teacher identities are discursively constructed by the self as well as the discourses in the society and through the teachers’ interactions with their students, pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment (Glodjo, 2017).

Duff and Uchida (1997) studied language teacher identity in tertiary education in Japan and found that although their participants considered themselves teachers of the English language and not the culture, they were actually teaching culture in line with their sociocultural identification. The study found that “language teachers are very much involved in the transmission of culture, and each selection of videos, newspaper clippings, seating plans, activities, and so on has social, cultural, and educational significance” (Duff & Uchida, 1997, p. 476). What is more, as teaching the elements of culture is embedded in the teaching of the subject matter in the classroom, it positions students in a particular way either intentionally or unintentionally. The very fact that teachers’ intentional or unintentional pedagogical choices and preferences can influence student positioning and possibly identity formations opens up the issue of privilege in the language classroom. A number of scholars (Block, 2014; Vandrick, 2014; Yazan & Rudolph, 2018) have addressed the issue of identity and privilege with reference to Bourdieu (1986) notion of social reproduction which results from “the cultural and symbolic capital in a particular field and habitus” (Glodjo, 2017). It is assumed in these studies that the dominant group that possesses the social and cultural capital defines normality in the habitus. That is to say, the values, beliefs, and lifestyle of the dominant group become the norm in a habitus, and this normality is reproduced constantly by the dominant group. As it is reproduced constantly, it becomes legitimate to the extent that it can no longer be easily discarded or even criticized. Similarly, in the social context of the language classroom, the social reproduction of the values of the dominant group creates a “hidden curriculum” which shows “the tacit ways in which knowledge and behavior get constructed, outside the usual course materials and formally scheduled lessons” (McLaren, 2009, p. 75). As a result, those outside the dominant group are considered as other and are silenced to the extent that they are expected to follow the standards of the dominant group. In other words, individuals outside the dominant group are conditioned to be subordinate to those who possess the social and cultural capital. They are conditioned to “behave in certain ways, make certain interpretations about their place in society and the way the world functions, and adjust their expectations of their future opportunities accordingly” (Sanders & Mahalingam, 2012, p. 114).

Text and audiovisual supplements used in these materials almost exclusively uphold standard American, British, and Australian varieties of English as valid, normal, and standard and that must to be followed by English learners. The same is true about international tests of English. It is rare, if not impossible, for such tests to include Indian, Malaysian, South African, or even Arabic varieties of English. Such varieties of English seem to have been totally neglected and left behind. However, in the real world, a Japanese learner of English may need to interact with speakers of English from all these countries (and more) and hence has to be prepared for using and understanding English in such contexts.

6. A solution: EIL as critical pedagogy Central to the idea of critical pedagogy (Freire, 1999) is transforming the conception of knowledge as apolitical and neutral in education. It aims at empowering the students by teaching them how to challenge and defy domination and dominating discourses of power in society. From a linguistic point of view, EIL shares this concern as well. It strives to give voice to speakers of non native varieties of English. Its point of departure is the contention that all

For various historical reasons, the countries in which English is spoken as the first language hold economic, political, military, and even cultural dominance in many parts of the world. This has led to a state in which they are looked up to by many nations as having high levels of social and cultural capital. As they are wealthy nations, they have been controlling media as well, and this has led to the reproduction of the status associated with them. This may explain why, despite the fact that English is an international language in the world now, it is taken for granted that the native speaking countries have the ownership of English. Such a discourse obviously operates in favor of a system that seeks to create outsiders (speakers of non native varieties of English) that are subordinate to particular ingroups (NESs). One important question seems to have remained unanswered yet: how can the language classroom be liberated from such biased classifications? One way to address this issue is to resort to critical pedagogy. Giroux (2009), who is believed to be the founding father of critical pedagogy alongside Freire, argued that a prerequisite to such a liberation is the presence of teachers who can critically reflect on their positionality, identity and privilege. He calls such a teacher a “transformative intellectual […] who exercises forms of intellectual and pedagogical practice […] arguing that schooling represents both a struggle for meaning and a struggle over power relations” (Giroux, 2009, p. 439). This has clear implications for teacher education research showing the need for training teachers who can critically reflect on the way their identity is constructed, and value differences between their students and themselves as resources rather than deficits (Glodjo, 2017).

NNESs rather than narrowly focusing on how NESs use the language and see the world. This, however, is not consistent with the realities of the language classroom. Evidence for this claim can be found in the textbooks and audiovisual language learning materials published by well known publishers, as well as international tests of English such as TOEFL and IELTS. Many published language learning materials still primarily manifest the culture and lifestyle of a dominant group in Anglophone countries (Kazemi, Asadi & Davatgari, 2017).

This paper addressed the issue of privilege and how it may exist in teaching English at higher education institutions in subtle and less noticeable ways. Particularly in the case of Japan, despite research showing that native speaker teachers of English in Japanese universities do not enjoy any privilege and are even faced with discrimination, the results of this study showed the contrary. It was found that privilege in hiring policies of Japanese universities lies in the variety of English teachers speak The native speaker varieties of English showcased in language teaching materials used in Japanese higher education institutions as well as elsewhere result in the belief that the desired varieties of English to be learned by learners are those spoken by NESs. As a result, Japanese universities are more interested in hiring native speaker teachers. Whereas traditional ELT approaches have by and large remained insensitive to this issue, EIL and other similar approaches have addressed it. While privilege may well exist in other subtle ways that future research is encouraged to explore, this study

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. varieties of English are equally valid, and English should be taught without an undue reference to how NESs use it. Also, it emphasizes the fact that not all people who wish to learn English have the intention to learn and adopt the Anglo American culture, lifestyle, and worldview. They may well have instrumental motivation to learn the language as a tool for communication with other speakers of the language around the world. Pennycook (2017) thus argued that “[n]either the version of language produced by the discourse of ElL, nor the discourse of ElL itself can be accepted as neutral, for both language and discourse always imply a politics” (p. 301). The politics EIL stands against are that of superiority and dominance of certain varieties of English and their speakers (including the teachers who speak them and teach them) over the others. Broadly defined, critical pedagogy is a desire for bringing about social change through education, and so is the case with EIL. Schools, and the language classroom by extension, therefore cannot be regarded as a space for transmitting a neutral body of knowledge to the students or language learners. Akin to critical pedagogy that takes schools as areas for constant social, political, and cultural struggle, EIL rejects the traditional approaches of language teaching that deal with the language learning process merely as a psycholinguistic one isolated from its social and cultural context. Not reckoning the principles of critical pedagogy, Giroux (1998) argued that we need to oppose the notion of curriculum knowledge as sacred and impeccable and explore the many reasons why certain types of culture and knowledge are given precedence in educational settings. From an EIL perspective, for instance, the question would be why certain accents of English from particular varieties, values and cultures associated with them and their sociolinguistic norms are considered “standard” while others are not. In such an environment, teachers need to be what Geroux called “transformative intellectuals”

. A similar statement was made by EIL proponents (Hino, 2019; McKay, 2012; Renandya, 2012), who argued that teachers in this changing sociolinguistic landscape of English need to promote multiculturalism in the language classroom and decentralize the native speaker norms governing language use. That is what makes an exploration of the teachers’ perceptions and classroom practice relevant and significant.

7. Conclusion

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112 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. stayed focused on privilege arising from native speaker oriented hiring policies. It suggested the adoption of EIL principles to teach English in higher education as it both offers a more realistic outlook towards the way English is used in today’s globalized world and challenges the privilege it produces for speakers of certain varieties of English. In this sense, EIL can be regarded as a critical pedagogical approach to teaching English as it strives, in part, to bring about equity and inclusiveness in the profession. 8. References Aspinall, R. W. (2006). Using the paradigm of “small cultures” to explain policy failure in the case of foreign language education in Japan. Japan Forum, 18(2), 255 274.

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Phillipson, R. (2009). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.4324/9780203857175 Renandya, W. A. (2012). Teacher roles in EIL. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 1(2), 65 80. Rose, H., & Montakantiwong, A. (2018). A tale of two teachers: A duo ethnography of the realistic and idealistic successes and failures of teaching English as an international language. RELC Journal, 49(1), 88 101. doi:10.1177/0033688217746206 Sanders, M. R., & Mahalingam, R. (2012). Under the radar: The role of invisible discourse in understanding class based privilege. Journal of Social Issues, 68(1), 112 127. doi:10.1111/j.1540 4560.2011.01739.x Saraceni, M. (2015). World Englishes: A critical analysis. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. doi:10.1515/jelf 2016 0009 Seargeant, P. (2011). English in Japan in the era of globalization. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9780230306196 Sharifian, F. (2009). English as an international language: Perspectives and pedagogical issues Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781847691231 004 Shiroza, S. (2020) Changing language, continuing discourse: A shift toward ELF and persistent native speakerism in Japan’s ELT policy. In R. A. Giri, A. Sharma, & J. D'Angelo (Eds.), Functional variations inEnglish. Multilingual education. Springer, Cham. doi.org/10.1007/978 3 030 52225 4_18

113 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Marlina, R. (2013). Teaching English as an international language: Voices from an Australian university classroom (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Marlina, R. (2014). The pedagogy of English as an international language: More reflections and dialogues. In R. Marlina, & R. A. Giri (Eds.), The pedagogy of English as an international language: Perspectives from scholars, teachers, and students (pp. 1 19). Cham: Springer. doi:10.1017/s0266078419000488 Matsuda, A. (2006). Negotiating ELT assumptions in EIL classroom. In J. Edge (Ed.), (Re)locating TESOL in an age of empire (pp. 158 170). Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. doi:10.1057/9780230502239 Matsuda, A. (2017). Preparing teachers to teach English as an international language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781783097036 McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language: Rethinking goals and approaches. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. McKay, S. L. (2012). Teaching materials for English as an international language. In A. Matsuda (Ed.), Teaching English as an international language: Principles and practices (pp. 70 83). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781847697042 McLaren, P. (2009). Critical pedagogy: A look at the major concepts. In A. Darder, M. P. Baltodano, & R. D. Torres (Eds.), Thecriticalpedagogyreader (pp. 61 83). New York, NY: Routledge. Nagatomo, D. H. (2012). Exploring Japanese university English teachers professional identity Bristol: Channel View Publications. doi: 10.21832/9781847696489

Nagatomo, D. H., Brown, K., & Cook, M. (2020). Foreign female English teachers in Japanese higher education: Narratives from our quarter. Tokyo: Independent Publication. doi:10.47908/11 Pennycook, A. (2017). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Milton: Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315225593 Phan, L. H. (2008). Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. doi:10.21832/9781847690500

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https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7935 9264

The Power Sources and Influences of Secondary School Principals in Eastern Ethiopia Sintayehu Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia

Abstract. This study aimed to critically examine the power sources and influences of school principals in secondary schools of Eastern Ethiopia. A descriptive survey research design was employed to carry out the study. The participants of the study were 145 teachers, 78 principals, and 41 supervisors who were selected by using stratified and random sampling techniques The researcher adopted descriptive and inferential statistics to make sound interpretations of data The results revealed that school principals were mostly used expert, legitimate, and reward sources of power. Likewise, school principals have predominantly exercised a positional basis of power rather than personal power. There was a significant statistical difference in power sources of school principals regarding positions, gender, and service years. The findings also showed that school principals dominantly practiced proactive influencing tactics. Moreover, findings indicated that subordinates carried out school principals' compliance to obtain a prize or avoid punishment by applied reactive influence tactics. The study further discovered that subordinates were inclined to resist school principals' influence. This study suggests secondary principals should rethink how power is managed and deployed to make sound influence over subordinates to assure quality education. Hence, the results of the study may serve as a springboard to improve secondary school leadership and equip novice teachers to bring them a principalship position. Plus, this study may provide a clear picture for policymakers, scholars, and government officials to support and retain principals for long term school improvement, and it may also a theoretical benefit for future research on the area of study.

Keywords: Eastern Ethiopia; influences; leadership; power sources; secondary school; school principals 1. Introduction Power and influences are the most important areas of interest within the field of educational leadership. Leadership is an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and allow others to contribute to an organization's effectiveness and success (Leithwood, Harris & Hopkins, 2020; Northouse, 2013). To do so, a

115 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 115 133, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.7

Birhanu

In brief, power is the ability of a leader to influence subordinates to achieve institutional aims (Nelson & Quick, 2013). To influence others leader has to be grip power from true sources People often get confused on interrelated terminologies i.e. leadership power influence. In short, Aslanargun (2011) described the relationship between influence, authority, and hierarchy as follows: Power is the potential of “A” to influence “B” despite resistance. Influence is the result of “A’s” changeable act over “B’s” behavior. An authority is bound to position in an organization based on power and legitimacy. Control is compliance behavior that “A” manages over “B”. It is the success of the influence process. Hierarchy refers to the formal structure of an organization and emphasizes the structure, roles, and division of labor (p. 7). In brief, power represents the ability to induce someone to do something whereas influence is the exercise of that power. Power is the potential to influence, while the influence is power in action. “Authority is the leader’s power to influence others in a specific way, and an important basis for the influence of under formal organization” (Yukl, 2010: p.185). Although power and influence are interrelated in complex ways, they can be separate constructions (Lunenburg, 2012). Where does this power come from? What gives a person or group influence over others? Power can come from many sources. Based on the concept of leader power, Yukl (2010) pointed out that “the potential influence derived from a leader's position in the organization is the power of the position, and includes legitimate, rewarding information, coercive and ecological, while the characteristic of those in a leadership position is personal power, and includes expert and referent power (p. 185)”

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. leader uses power as a means of influence to achieve institutional objectives (Alsobaie, 2015) Leadership is an art of utilizing power to influence others (Aslanargun, 2011). Hence, power and leadership are different sides of the same coin. So, power is a leader’s capacity to inspire, direct, lead, and motivate others.

There are two sources of power which namely positional power and personal power (Yuki, 2010). The sources of power that derived from a leader's position are positional power which includes legitimate, rewarding information, coercive and ecological, and while the character of those in a leadership position is personal power, and it includes expert and referent power (Northouse, 2013) Positional power specified that reinforcement and punishment depended on the formal roles of the agent in the organization. Personal power mostly relies on one’s charisma, experience, and information based on the characters of the agents (Krause, 2004). Details of each power base and sources are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Different types of power

Information sources of power Referent sources of power

Position power

Personal power

Legitimate sources of power Expert sources of power

School principals applied different power sources in different circumstances with different situational factors. Most studies of power sources have found that legitimate, rewarding, and coercive powers were incompatible and that correlations with criteria are generally negative or insignificant rather than positive (Goshu & Woldeamanuel, 2019) Lunenburg (2012) argues that legitimate power could lead to disappointment and resistance if it is not supported by expertise or used excessively As a result, when a leader frequently relies on legitimacy power, the possible outcome of subordinate is resistance. It has also been found that the powers of experts and referents have a substantial influence on all interactive groups. The formal power only influences subordinates, and that there is little or no influence of the reward and coercive power on external groups in developed organizations (Singh, 2009).

Pertaining to power sources, an effective and efficient leader mostly used personal power than positional power (Northouse, 2013) However, "it remains important and interacts in a complex way with the personal power to determine the influence of a leader over his followers” (Weinstein, Raczynski & Peña, 2020: p. 72). Personal sources of power are more closely related to employees' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and employee job performance than organizational power sources. Furthermore, true leaders are likely to use power subtly and carefully that minimizes differences in status and avoids threats to the target person's self esteem (Northouse, 2013).

As pertains to school principals' influencing process, tactics, and outcomes of their influence over subordinates, and to be effective as a leader, it is essential to guide followers to comply with given assignments. School principals influence not only subordinates but also students (Dhuey & Smith, 2018). To influence others, leaders use four very fundamental influencing tactics that may differ in terms of purpose These are impression management tactics, political tactics, proactive tactics, and reactive (or resistance) tactics (Yukl, 2010). Any tactic can fail if it is not used skillfully and ethically or if it is not appropriate for the purpose and situation of influence.

Most scholars identified that there are two broad types of power; positional power and personal power (Yukl, 2010). An influence derived from the position of a leader in an organization is positional power that consists of the legitimate power, the power of reward, and the power of coercion, while the characteristics of a person who holds a position in leadership are personal power sources that comprise of information and ecological power (Yukl, 2010). Positional power specified that reinforcement and punishment depended on the formal roles of the agent in an institution. On the other hand, personal power typically relies on one’s charisma, experience, and information which is directly related to the

1.1 Literature Review Sources of Power

Reward sources of power Ecological sources of power Coercive sources of powerSource: Yukl (2010, p. 155)

Most scholars agree on this source of power as the power which derives from the position itself and formal authority overwork. This source of power is awarded by written or verbal contracts from higher officials, and it describes the responsibilities of the manager, and is based on this position sanctioned, authorized, and exalted (Singh, 2009). The amount of legitimate power is determined through the extent of the power the person possesses So, experienced leaders are inclined to have more power than novice managers and vice versa (Northouse, 2013).

The power of referral arises from the aspiration of someone to please an agent to whom they have strong feelings of adore, respect, and faithfulness (Cogaltay, Yalcin & Karadag, 2016). These charismatic leaders positively influence others since they are respected and admired by their followers. Likewise, the power of reference allows a leader a shared identity, the personification of the personality, the cult of the hero, the shared culture, or idolatry are some of the sources of power (Singh, 2009). Therefore, the advantage of having a reference power is that it can induce people to do things that may not translate into a tangible reward; the reward comes from the relationship with the charismatic person.

Coercive Power

Legitimate Power

This is the opposite of reward power. This source of power is not only managing prizes but dealing with penalties. So, the coercive power of a leader over his follower is based on the right over the penalty, which differs significantly between different types of organizations (Northouse, 2013). Subordinate mostly believe that he/she can be deprived of something if he/she does not comply (Singh, 2009). When leaders using this power in an institution could not implement sanctions such as arming and shooting, however, it can indirectly bring cancellation of the privilege of workers such as additional payments, a day off (Yukl, 2010). In brief, the manager executes coercive power either by taking away the most important thing from his/her suburbanites or by providing harmful things that may hurt him/her.

Referent Power

Reward Power

Many scholars agree that this source of power arises from a person's know-how, knowledge, or talent. Perception of people on an expert as he/she has superior knowledge, skill, and experience on a specific issue than they possess (Aslanargun, 2011). If a problem is fixed enduringly or others train to fix it on their own, the agent's experience is no longer valuable. Most challenging in any

Reward power is the manager's ability to award or hold back prize like money, privilege, endorsement, or status in itself carries official power (Singh, 2009). Likewise, this power mainly arises from grasping over tangible benefits, and if what a leader presenting as a prize is of no value to an individual, it is likely not to influence behavior (Northouse, 2013).

Expert Power

organization is substituting experienced personal and expert power that he/she possesses. Experience is a basis authority as long as people depend on the agent's pieces of advice and services Information power

This source of power implies figuring out vital information, and then organizing, analyzing, managing, dissemination to others by using his/her position, and communication skill, and network. Information is sources of power in the 21st century, having this power double advantage to the leader to lead a dynamic world (Tran, 2020). Ecological power

Investigating the school principals’ power sources and influences is a continuing concern within the field of educational administration in Ethiopian secondary schools, yet there is insufficient research that includes their perspective. School principals can play a major role in engaging the school community and other shareholders to participate in improving school (Mitchell, 2015). Despite the importance of school leadership, there remains a paucity of evidence on the school principals of Ethiopia. The main concern in Ethiopian schools is quantity rather than quality (Semela, 2011), and school leaders face more pressure to increase and maintain enrollment numbers than keeping quality education. Among the countless problems for the deteriorating education quality in Ethiopian secondary is school principals’ related problems. The enrolment rate of students from lower primary to higher education is accelerating, but the quality issue is under questing (Goshu & Woldeamanuel, 2019). Most scholars agreed on fundamental causes for deteriorating education quality is school leadership related problems One of the greatest challenges to the school leadership is a fatalistic picture for school principals. School principals lack the autonomy of administering funds, mobilizing resources, and determining important issues related to teacher recruitment and training (Mitchell, 2015). Utmost challenges for this may be that school principals are not aware of their sources of power and influencing process. In the long Ethiopian education history, there were no formal qualification criteria to lead schools, and school leaders simply elected appointed by government officials (Tekleselassie, 2005). Due to the reasons, the government should take first place for the failure of the quality of schools, school leadership, or principal ship (Goshu & Woldeamanuel, 2019). Another main challenge faced by many schools is the school principals’ improperly excising power and authority over subordinates (Goshu & Woldeamanuel, 2019). Further, the school management has a strong impact on the job satisfaction of subordinates especially teachers (Cogaltay et al., 2016). Overall,

This power derived from moral, Christian values and Confucian values by the principle of doing good for others as what you would like them to do to you ”(Singh, 2009; Trinh, Pham, Cao, Nguyen, Nghiem & Tran, 2019). It is once able to control physical surroundings, technology, assessing, and scanning the work environment, and sometimes it is known as situational engineering or ecological control.

In light of all the above, the aim of this study critically examines the power sources and influences of school principals in secondary schools of Eastern Ethiopia. Hence, this study answers the following basic research questions

4. What outcomes are observed among subordinates for the influences of their school principals? Principal’s Power Influences outcome Leader behaviorinfluence(Influences tactics) processesInfluence

Finally, to design a framework for the study, it is essential to differentiate leader power sources, influencing tactics, processes, and outcomes. There are three main influencing tactics that any leaders can possess to lead institutions like political, proactive, and reactive tactics. Furthermore, engagement, compliance, and resistance are the three main outcomes of influences (Yukl 2010). The following figure 1 indicates the framework of the study.

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. these studies highlight the need to examine the school principals’ power sources, and the influence of school principals in Eastern Ethiopian secondary schools. This study aims to fill the following research gaps in the context of Eastern Ethiopia secondary schools. First, there has been no detailed investigation of the mentioned concern, as stated by Mitchell (2012:12: p. 3), “the role of principals in educational leadership particularly proper application of power and influences is a vast field of study, yet little has been written from the perspective of Ethiopia”. The impact of educational expansion on the quality of secondary education is understudied, particularly for school leadership. For the past 20 years, the Ethiopian education system has been growing fast, and despite this expansion, however, it created a slew of new problems, such as funding shortages, and a deterioration of quality (Mitchell, 2015). Consequently, concerns for the quality of education under questioned because of rapid expansions of schools Minister of Education (MoE, 2008). Thus, this study provides new insights into power sources and influences of school principals and its implication on education quality.

Source: Adapted from Yukl (2010)

1.2 Basic Research Questions

1. What sources of power do school principals mostly use?

2. What kinds of tactics do school principals apply to influence subordinates?

Figure 1: Conceptual framework of school principals’ power sources, and influencing tactics, process, and outcome

3. Why do subordinates comply for school principals?

Sampling

This study used a descriptive survey research design. The basic ground behind applying this design is to collect data to answer questions about people’s opinions, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and demographic composition on the current study (Mills & Gay, 2016). Additionally, this design is appropriate to collect and analyze data with a limited timeline and budget. The researcher also used a quantitative approach for a research strategy that requires collecting numerical data, quantification of collected data, and analysis of data that were selected from school teachers, principals, and supervisors (Creswell, 2012). The participants of this study were made up of teachers, principals, and supervisors who have been serving in different secondary schools in Eastern Ethiopia.

�� =1015

Population and Sample / Study Group/Participants

After determining the sample size from the three groups of the respondents, the researcher used stratified proportional sampling techniques to select respondents from each category. 2: Stratified Sampling Frame Population size Sample size technique/s and random random and random

Table

Supervisors 173 49 stratified

Total 1,015 287

Strata

Teachers 541 153 stratified

Principals 301 85 stratified and

2. Methodology Research Design

This study was conducted in Eastern Ethiopia. It comprised of two zones of Oromia National Regional State (East and West Hararghe), one Administrative City (Dire Dawa), and two districts in Harari National Regional State. The study population (N=1,015) was composed of secondary school teachers (n=541), principals (n=301) and supervisors (n=173). The participating secondary school teachers had a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT) of the 2018/19 academic year batch. Participants were selected via stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The basic reason behind employing the stratified sampling technique was that study groups had different categories (teachers, principals, and supervisors), and it was important to take into account such diverse strata To determine sample size from study population, the researchers applied Yamane (1967) n=N÷1+NE2; which N=total population; n=sample size, E=error rate /margin of error (.05) provides a simplified formula to calculate sample sizes and guess: 95% confidence level P=.05. Thus, sample size determination was calculated as follows: 1+NE2⁄ (1+361∗0.052 ⁄)

�� =1015⁄3.5375 �� =287

The demographic data of respondents in this study can be described based on roles and gender The questionnaire was initially distributed to (n=153) secondary school teachers, (n=85) school principals, and (n=49) supervisors with a total of (n =287). Of the total number of the questionnaire distributed to the groups, 264(92%) i.e (n=145) teachers, (n=78) principals, and (n=41) supervisors were appropriately filled and returned. Even though the questionnaire retrieval rate is not at 100%, results could not have been affected by this retrieval rate and returned data has statistically sound to precede analysis (Cohen et al. 2007).

3. Results

The primary data were gathered via questionnaires (Appendix) from teachers, principals, and supervisors who worked the 2018/19 academic year of secondary schools of Eastern Ethiopia. The first part of the questionnaires was adapted from Hersey and Natemeyer (1979) entitled ‘power perception profile perception of others’; it includes 21 pairs of reasons frequently reported when asked why subordinates obey the orders of their school principals. The second part of the questionnaire was prepared by the researcher that aimed to measure school principals’ influencing process, tactics, and outcome of the leaders’ influence on their subordinates’ performance.

The researcher applied descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation) to describe the nature of the data and the characteristics of the sample in a meaningful manner. Also, inferential statistics (independent t test and one way ANOVA) were adopted to compare significant differences that may exist between and within groups of teachers, principals, and supervisors in their perception of principals’ power sources about their position, sex, service years, and academic qualification. Ethical Considerations

Based on gender, it was found that about 221 males and 43 females have participated in this study. The sources of power school principals mostly use Frequency counts and percentages were used to identify the power sources that school principals mostly applied, as perceived by teachers, principals, and supervisors. The summary of results presented in Table 3.

The instruments were converted to local languages, such as Afan Oromoo and Amharic to reduce language barriers To check the reliability of the items, a pilot test was conducted in Bate and Haramaya town secondary schools of Haramaya town. To check the validity of the instrument, area experts were consulted, and their comments were incorporated Data Analysis

The researcher had given full attention to the moral and ethical issues. Due consideration has been given to ethical concerns of the participants to ensuring and informing consent and developing confidentiality, maintaining anonymity, and other related ethical issues (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007) The researcher had communicated and assured the participants on their responses will be used only for academic purposes and will remain confidential.

123 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 3: School Principals’ Power Bases and Sources Power basis Sources power Categories Total Summary of power basis Teachers Principals Supervisors N % N % N % N % N % powerPositional PowerLegitimate 16 6.1 20 7.6 8 3 44 16.7 155 58.7 PowerInformation 8 3 5 1.9 7 2.7 20 7.6 Reward Power 14 5.3 16 6.1 3 1.1 33 12.4 PowerEcological 15 5.7 11 4.2 2 .8 28 10.6 PowerCoercive 27 10.2 2 .8 1 .4 30 11.4 powerPersonal Expert Power 51 19.3 19 7.2 15 5.7 85 32.2 109 41.3Referent Power 14 5.3 5 1.9 5 1.9 24 9.1 Total 145 55 78 29.5 41 15.5 264 100 264 100 Looking at the detailed power sources of school principals reported in Table 3, most participants perceived that school principals apply expert power (32.2%), legitimate power (16.7%), and reward power (12.4%) most of the time. On the other hand, ecological power (10.6%), referent power (9.1%), and information power (7.6%) are sources of power that school principals slightly used to influence their subordinates. The last column in Table 3 summarizes the seven power sources that school principals are executing and further categorizes them into two power bases. Accordingly, school principals are exercising positional power (58.7%) and personal power (41.3%). To elaborate more about sources of power that school principals mostly possessed, the following figure summarizes in detail Figure 2: Summary of Power Sources that School Principals’ Mostly Used

Sex N Mean SD t test for Equality of Mean F Sig. T Df Sig. (2 tailed) MD Male 221 3.53 .70 .011 .916 3.89 262 .000 4.893 Female 43 3.09 .71 3.85 58.28 .000 4.893

Table 5: Gender Difference in Sources of Power of School Principals

There was a significant statistical difference in scores for males (M = 3.53, SD = .70) and females (M = 3.09, SD = .71); t (287) = 3.89, p < .001). The degree of the differences in the means (mean difference = 1.03, 95% CI: 2.42 to 7.36) was very small (η2= .005). This clearly indicates that there is a difference in perceptions

Table 4: One Way ANOVA Test on Perceptual Differences in Principals’ Sources of Power by Position Descriptive ANOVA Summary Groups N Mean SD SV SS Df MS F Sig. Supervisors 41 3.90 .55 Between Groups 3323.71 2 161.85 33.08 .00 Principals 78 3.73 .51 Within Groups 13111.25 260 50.24 Teachers 145 3.15 .73 Total 16434.96 263 Total 264 3.47 .72 As Table 4 shows, there was a significant statistical difference in the perception of principals sources of power between the three groups: F (2, 263) = 33.08, p<0.001. Despite the statistically significant results, the real difference in mean scores between groups was quite slight (Group 1: M = 3.90, Group 2: M = 3.73 and Group 3: M = 3.15). To find out exactly where the differences between the groups occurred, post hoc comparisons was applied by using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for group 2 (M = 3.73, SD = 0.51 ) was significantly different from that of group 3 (M = 3.15, SD = 0.73). Group 1 (M = 3.90, SD = 0.55) did not differ significantly from group 2 or 3. Tukey HSD test which indicated that the mean score for supervisors was significantly higher than that of principals and teachers. This implies that supervisors perceive principals’ sources of power differently than teachers and principals. An independent sample t test was employed to compare whether there was a statistically significant difference in the sources of power of school principals between male and female participants. The results are presented in Table 5

Testing Variables on Perceptional Differences in Principals’ Sources of Power

The above bar graph described the power sources which school leaders mostly applied, as perceived by teachers, principals, and supervisors. From the graph, it can be seen that expert, legitimate, and reward power are the most utilized power sources by school principals. On the other hand, information, ecological, and referent power sources were reported as principals’ least utilized power sources.

One way ANOVA tests were conducted to uncover if there were statistically significant differences amongteachers, supervisors, and principals. The results of these tests are shown in Table 4 below.

Years 174 3.34 .70 Between

125 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. between males and females on exercising power sources of school principals. Female principals are more excises personal sources of power than positional than male school principals while leading schools. One way between groups analysis of variance was conducted to compare the mean scores of three groups that were categorized based on academic qualification with sources of power, and One way among groups ANOVA test results were summarized and presented in Table 6

Items N Mean SD SV SS df MS F Sig. Diploma 2 3.45 .13 Between Groups 10.403 2 5.20 .083 .92 Degree 261 3.43 .72 Within Groups 16424.55 261 62.93 Master 1 3.72 Total 16434.96 263 Total 264 3.44 .72

15828.32 259 61.11 11 15 Years 21 3.57 .52 Total 16434.96 263 16 20 Years 3 3.21 .51 >21 Years 2 3.77 .32 Total

Table 6: One-Way ANOVA Test on Perceptual Differences of Power Sources by Academic Qualification Descriptive ANOVA Summary

Table 6 displays the one way ANOVA results comparing participants’ reported perceptions of principals’ sources of power by using the mean scores of three groups categorized by participants’ academic backgrounds. Participants are categorized into three groups according to their level of academic qualifications (Group 1: Diploma; Group 2: Degree; Group3: Master’s). There was no statistically significant difference in perceptions of school principals’ power between the three groups: F (2, 263) = .83, p = .92. Moreover, the descriptive results of each group assured that almost there was no mean difference between groups; G1 (M=3.45, SD=.13); G 2 (M=3.43., SD=.72); G 3 (M=3.72, SD= ). The result indicates that level of academic qualifications has does not affect exercising different sources of power of school principals. One way between groups ANOVA with posthoc tests administered to see the difference among respondents that grouped according to years of service and perception of principals’ use of power, and the test results were summarized and presented in Table 7 7: One-Way ANOVA Test on Perceptual Differences of Power Sources by Service Mean SD SS Df MS F Sig. <5 Groups 4 Groups 264

606.64

Years Descriptive ANOVA Summary Items N

Table

151.66 2.48 .04 6 10 Years 64 3.64 .74 Within

3.44 .72

The respondents were asked about school principals’ tactics, process, and they were requested to choose one among the presented in Table

8. Table 8: School Principals’ Influencing Tactics, Process and Outcome Types influencesof Items Categories Total % Teachers Principals Supervisors N % N % N % N % School Principals’ tacticsInfluencing Reactive influence tactics 27 9.4 0 0.0 1 .3 28 9.8 Proactive influence tactics 68 23.7 42 14.6 32 11.1 142 49.5 Political tactics 36 12.5 13 4.5 6 2.1 55 19.2 managementImpression tactics 22 7.7 30 10.5 10 3.5 62 21.6 Total 153 53.3 85 29.6 49 17.1 287 100 School Principals’ ProcessesInfluencing Reactive influence tactics 76 26.5 31 10.8 13 4.5 120 41.8 Internalization 41 14.3 42 14.6 30 10.5 113 39.4 complianceInstrumental 36 12.5 12 4.2 6 2.1 54 18.8 Total 153 53.3 85 29.6 49 17.1 287 100 School Principals’ outcomesInfluence Commitment 23 8 15 5.2 5 1.7 43 15.0 Compliance 44 15.3 21 7.3 12 4.2 77 26.8 Resistance 86 30.0 49 17.1 32 11.1 167 58.2 Total 153 53.3 85 29.6 49 17.1 287 100 As indicated in Table 8, school principals are influencing their subordinates by using reactive influence tactics (9.8%), political tactics (19.2%), impression management tactics (21.6%), and proactive influence tactics (49.5%). These findings clearly indicate that most of the respondents noted their school principals applied influencing tactics, specifically proactive inflecting tactics.

influencing

and outcome,

Table 7 displays the results of the one way between groups analysis of variance were conducted to explore the impact of years of service in study group perception of the use of power by principals. Participants were divided into five groups according to their years of service (Group 1: <5 years; Group 2: 6 10 years; Group 3: 11 15 years, Group 4: 16 20 years; and Group 5 :> 21 years). The result revealed that there was a significant statistical difference in the perception of the use of power scores by principals for the year of service of the five groups: F (4, 259) = 2.48, p = 0.04Despite obtaining statistical significance, the actual difference in mean scores between groups was medium (3.34, 3.64, 3.57, 3.21 and 3.77, respectively). To find out exactly where the differences between the groups occurred, post hoc comparisons was employed using the Tukey HSD test which indicated that the mean score for group 1 (M = 3.34, SD = 0.70 ) was significantly different from that of group 2 (M = 3.64, SD = 0.74). Group 3 (M = 3.57, SD = 0.52), group 4 (M = 3.21, SD = 0.51) and group 5 (M = 3.77, SD = 0.32) did not differ significantly from group 1 or 2.

Influencing tactics, process and outcomes of school principals

given alternatives. The results are

The first key finding was that expert, legitimate, and reward powers are the power sources which school principals mostly applied to influence their subordinates. As Aslanargun (2011) argues, expert power is strongly accredited in an organization that leaders and followers trust one another. When school leaders appropriately applied the above mentioned sources powers, the leader’s behaviors could simply be internalized, leading to compliance. Likewise, if subordinates are internally motivated, they no longer need to be controlled as is the case with reward and coercion. Further, Singh (2009) conducted a study on 'Organizational Power in Perspective': results depicted that excessive use of legitimate and expert power, slows down motivation and creativity of workers, while the lack of power delay decision making. Likewise, Mitchell (2012) suggests the most powerful means of influencing others is having a positive Ironically,relationship.school principals slightly used referent, information, and ecological power sources to influence their followers. If school principals rarely apply the power of referent, subordinates cannot evoke a sense of trust, loyalty, fulfillment, and responsibility towards subordinates, as well as enthusiasm towards a leader (Aslanargun, 2011). Also, school principals are exercising positional power (58.7%) and personal power (41.3%). Likewise, principals mostly applied coercive influence of power over the teachers (Özaslan, 2018).

As seen in the above Table 8, school principals are mostly applying proactive influencing tactics to influence subordinates. Likewise, reactive influencing tactics are a reason for subordinates complying with principals’ requested actions. Furthermore, most of the time subordinates showed resistance towards their school principals’ influence.

Pertaining to school principals’ influencing processes, principals were liable to rely upon instrumental compliance (18.8%), internalization (39.4%), and reactive influence tactics (41.8%). Therefore, most of the respondents stated that school principals are predominantly using reactive influencing processes for persuading school subordinates.

Relating to the influence outcome of school principals on the job performance and satisfaction of their subordinates, the summary results of the respondents reported that commitment (15.0%), compliance (26.8%), and resistance (58.2%).

The major aim of this study was to examine school principals’ power sources, and influencing tactics, processes, and outcomes in secondary schools of Eastern Ethiopia. Four research questions guided the study.

School principals are steadiness applying a positional and personal basis of power. However, they are slightly exercising the positional power basis than personal sources of power. This finding directly contradicts the personal sources

Thus, statistically, data clearly indicated that subordinates are mostly resisting their school principals' influence. If the subordinates are dissatisfied by their respective leaders it is too hard to bring change and reform in an institution (Brezicha, Ikoma, Park & LeTendre, 2020).

4. Discussions

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of power is paramount important for employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance than positional sources of power (Lunenburg, 2012; Weinstein et al , 2020). Likewise, even though school leaders are expected to apply shared leadership to influence their followers, their level of application is not this much (Goksoy, 2016). Based on the result and discussions, it is possible to conclude that secondary school principals in Eastern Ethiopia mostly practice positional power. In particular from power sources perspectives they are highly exercising expert, legitimate, and reward power.

Another ﬁnding was that there was a statistically significant difference amongst teachers, principals, and superiors in their perception of power sources of school principals. The disparity in mean scores between principals and teachers was quite small. In addition to the gender variable, there was a significant difference in scores of males and females, and the degree of the differences in the means was very small. This clearly indicates that gender has a significant effect on male and female principals to apply different sources of power Regarding to academic qualification, there was no statistically significant mean differences in perception of the power of sources of school principals for the three level (Diploma, Degree, and Master’s) qualifications. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in the perception of principals’ use of power scores for the five groups’ service years. The actual difference occurred in mean scores of service years between (<5 Years) and (6 10 Years) were a small effect size. Based on the result and discussions it is briefed that there was a significant difference in power sources of school principals concerning positions, gender, and service years; however, there was no statistically significant difference in academic qualification.

The second key finding was that, even though school principals are using four basic influencing tactics namely impression management, political, proactive, and reactive influence tactics; they are predominantly applying proactive influence tactics. A certain situation may dictate the leaders what influencing tactics they should apply based on a given circumstance (Theron, 2020; Yukl, 2010). School administrators ought to recognize and give values to how they are exercising their power and influencing others (Stravakou, Lozgka & Melissopoulos, 2018). Based on the result and discussions it is concluded that school principals are mostly using proactive influence tactics than the rest types of tactics. Thus, school principals are using reasonable influence and factual evidence to make the request feasible (Aslanargun, 2011) The third important finding was influencing the processes of school principals are instrumental compliance, internalization, and reactive influence. Most of the respondents, however, reported that subordinates carried out compliance and principals’ requested action due to reactive influence, which suggests they obey to obtain a reward or avoid a penalty. Ironically, the result is reversed with stakeholders of the secondary are overloaded with resistance forces, while principals' experiences of change or leadership are more optimistic with fewer resistance forces (Van Wyk, Van der Westhuizen & Van Vuuren, 2014). School stakeholders resist while principals’ experiences of change or leadership are more optimistic with fewer resisting forces

5. Conclusions Based on the prior results and discussions, the researcher drew the following Itconclusions:ispossible to conclude that secondary school principals in Eastern Ethiopia are mostly practicing positional power. In particularly from power sources perspectives they are highly exercising an expert, legitimate, and reward power. Thus, it is recommended that school principals should balance both sources of power, and then apply personal sources of power to ensure employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance. There was a statistically significant disparity in power sources of school principals concerning positions, gender, and service years; however, there was no statistically significant difference in academic qualification. Also, higher education officials and policymakers at the MoE, Minister of Sciences and Higher Education (MoSHE), Regional Education Bureau, Zonal Education Bureau, and district education offices should take in to account staff seniority, gender, and service years when they assign and appoint principals (Tingle, Corrales, & Peters, 2019).

Most of the time, an organization does not succeed because attention had not given to how leaders’ power is managed and deployed (Twalh et al., 2016). School principals are mostly using proactive tactics than the rest two. Therefore, school principals should create a conducive work environment and positive school culture so that subordinates carry out requested action by recognizing compliance intrinsically, allowing them to maintain a relationship and favor with their leader. Teachers’ perceptions of school principals influenced school culture and affected the teacher’s work (Britton, 2018). Subordinates are obeyed by the school principals simply to reacting to order and instruction which they have given Thus, it is possible to conclude subordinates are obeying school principals intended to obtain a tangible reward or avoiding punishment. It is of paramount importance that all school shareholders should friendly work together for the realization of intuitional goals (Kolleck, 2019; Eyal & Yarm, 2018). Lastly, resistance influence outcome is mainly observed among subordinates for the influences of the power of their school principals. Thus, subordinates are mostly resisting their school principals' influence. Principals then need with teachers to maximize their potential and efficiently utilize their capacity (Tang, Chen, Knippenberg, &Yu, 2020; Heffernan,2018). School principals suggested motivating, encouraging, and inspiring subordinates to overcome unnecessary resistance and confrontation while managing schools.

The fourth major finding was that the influence of the school principals brings three types of influence outcomes on subordinates’ performance: commitment, compliance, and resistance. Most of the respondents, however, reported that subordinates mostly resisting their school principals' influence (Twalh, Alsolami, Cheng, & Islam, 2016). Further, the best way to lead employees as a manager is to become a storyteller meaning that leaders should always focus on creating user friendly and interactive environments, rather than tense environments, in which the storyteller (manager) always engages and puts the audience at ease (Yan, 2020).

(2007) Research Methods in Education (6th ed.). New York: Routledge. Retrieved from Creswell,https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.14678527.2007.00388_4.xJ.W.(2012). Education research; planning, conducting, evaluating, quantitative and qualitative research. United states of America, Pearson Education, inc. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educational Research Conducting Quantitative Qualitative/dp/0134519361

The study implies that there are only a few studies carried out in Ethiopia in general and Eastern regions in particular that are related to the power sources and influences of secondary school principals. Thus, based on the results, it is clear that how school principals’ power is managed and deployed to make sound influence over subordinates to assure quality education. Also, it is evidence based that the result of the study serves not only as a means of improving school leadership and teaching but also in rising and maximizing junior staff to shoulder responsibility in administrative areas for the future and to enhance their problem solving skills. This study would add new knowledge on the power of and sources of influences of secondary school principals. The findings of the study have theoretical, practical, and policy related benefits for the improvement of secondary school leadership. However, this study has its own limitations, firstly, due to the resource constraints, the research addresses only some selected secondary schools of eastern Ethiopia. As a result, the research finding may not be generalized for all secondary school principals of Ethiopia. Secondly, since the study secured only quantitative data from the respondents it has methodological limitations too. Future research is needed to gain a more general understanding of the power sources and influences of school principals in the same areas in depth (Yan, 2020) 6. References Alsobaie, M. F. (2015). Power and Authority in Adult Education. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(15), 155 159. https://doi.org/10.2304/power.2010.2.1.63 Aslanargun, E. (2011). The power sources that principals handle in school administration. Eğitim ve İnsani Bilimler Dergisi: Teori ve Uygulama, 2(3), 3 28. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article file/210634 Brezicha, K. F., Ikoma, S., Park, H., & LeTendre, G. K. (2020). The ownership perception gap: Exploring teacher job satisfaction and its relationship to teachers’ and principals’ perception of decision making opportunities. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 23(4), 428 456. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1562098

The Implication for Future Research

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Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 62, 255 282. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.14689/ejer.2016.62.13 Cohen,

Goshu, B. S., & Woldeamanuel, M. M. (2019). Education Quality Challenges in Ethiopian Secondary Schools. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 31(2), 1 15. https://doi.org/10.9734/jesbs/2019/v31i230147

Dhuey, E., & Smith, J. (2018). How school principals influence student learning. Empirical Economics, 54(2), 851 882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181 017 1259 9 Eyal, O., & Yarm, M. (2018), Schools in cross sector alliances: what do schools seek in partnerships?, Educational Administration Quarterly, 54(4), 648 688. Goksoy,https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x18765268S.(2016).Analysisoftherelationship

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Appendix HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT Questionnaire to be filled by: Secondary School Teachers, Principals and Supervisors Dear Respondents, the purpose of this questionnaire is to conduct a research entitled “The Power Sources and Influences of Secondary School Principals in Eastern Ethiopia”. The responses you provide will have a paramount importance for the successful accomplishment of this study. Thus, you are kindly requested to give your genuine response. Your responses will be used only for academic purpose and will remain confidential. Direction:  Please read each item carefully and record your genuine opinion based on your exposure and knowledge in the area of ethical leadership.  Please do not consult others while responding the items.  Please answer all questions in their order.  It is not necessary to write your name on the questionnaire.  Please return the completed questionnaire to the designated person/supervisor. Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation! Part I. General /Personal Information 1.1. Name of the school that you are working for__________________________________ 1.2. Your current job position___________________________________________________ 1.3. Sex: Male ❑ Female ❑ 1.4. Age: <20 ❑ 21 25 ❑ 26 30 ❑ 31 35 ❑>36 40 ❑> 41 ❑ 1.5. Total work experience in leadership position years: < 5 ❑ 6 10 ❑ 11 15 ❑ 16 20 ❑ >21 ❑ 1.6. Educational qualification: Diploma ❑ BA/BSC Degree ❑ MA/MSC Degree ❑ PhD ❑ 1.7. Field of specialization: Educational Leadership and Management ❑Educational/school Leadership and Management Others ❑ Instruction below, you will find 21 pairs of reasons frequently given by people when asked why they obey the leaders of a school leader. Read each of these pairs of answers and allocate3 pointsbetweenthe two alternative reasons in each pair Base your point allocation on your judgment of each alternative's relative importance (0=Not important, 1= less important, 2 important and 3=Very Important). This is in reference to your perception of why your subordinates follows and obey you. Remember, for each pair only allocate a total number of three points .i.e. A+B should be =3 1 A I can “punish” those who don’t co operate with me. B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people. 2 C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment, and experience. D They have access to information that is valuable to others. 3 E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work activities.F They appreciate me and what to please me. 4 G I can reward and support those who co operate with me A I can “punish” those who do not co operate with me.

16 B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people.

F They appreciate me and what to please me.

13 F They appreciate me and what to please me.

B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people.

G I can reward and support those who co operate with me.

C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment and experience. D I have access to information that is valuable to others.

A I can “punish” those who don’t co operate with me.

C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment, and experience.

B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people.

E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work activities.

10 C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment and experience.

E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work activities.

19 E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work.

G I can reward and support those who co operate with me.

B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people.

A I can “punish” those who do not co operate with me.

C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment and experience.

E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work activities.

F They appreciate me and what to please me.

17 C They respect my knowledge, capacity, judgment, and experience

18 D I have access to information that is valuable to others.

D I have access to information that is valuable to others.

B They realize that I am in contact with very important and influential people.

G I can reward and support those who co operate with me.

12 E My position in the organization confers me the authority to manage its work activities.

G I can reward and support those who co operate with me.

F They appreciate me and what to please me.

D. have switched roles with subordinates and subordinates resist and show unwanted behavior What do you think that your subordinates carry out your requested action?

B. By recognizing compliance is intrinsically desirable & committed to support their leaders.

C. Uses logical arguments and factual evidence to make request feasible

B. Deception, manipulation and influencing decision makers to promote your interests.

1. What kind of Influencing Tactics you are applying to influences your immediate fellow?

20 F They appreciate me and what to please me. A I can “punish” those who do not co operate with me. 21 G I can reward and support those who co operate with me. D I have access to information that is valuable to others. TOTALS:A B C D E F G Sum = 63 Key: Please read each statement, and show your position by putting a tick mark ( ) under 1=Never, 2=Rarely, 3=Sometimes, 4=Usually, 5=Always No A. Items prepared to assess influences Tactics of principals and supervisors adopted from Yukl (2010) Responses 1 2 3 4 5 No A.Items prepared to assess Proactive Influence Tactics of principals and supervisors 1. use logical arguments and factual evidence to make request feasible 2. explain how the person could benefit from carrying out a requested task. 3. arouse the target person’s emotions to gain commitment for a request 4. encourage the target to suggest improvements 5. offer an incentive and promise to provide an appropriate reward who carry out a difficult request. 6. provide relevant resources and assistance if the subordinates will carry out a request 7. ask the person to do a favor for you as a friend 8. use praise before or during an influence by expressing person’s ability while carry out request. 9. establish the legitimacy of a request by referring to rules, policies & contracts 10. use demands and frequent checking that the staff must do what I asked to do 11. seek the aid of others to persuade the subordinates to do something

A. Provide praise or offering unconditional help for your subordinate self promotion.

C. To gain approval, maintain a relationship , need for acceptance and favor from the leader

A. Obtaining a tangible reward or avoiding a punishment.

Direction: Read the following questions carefully and choose the best answer that describes your influencing tactics and process in your school?

Abstract. This study explored the perceived challenges of online learning encounter by rural educators in response to COVID 19 pandemic at a selected rural school in South Africa. Within the qualitative approach, a multiple case study was used as a research design. A sample size of six participants (N=6, two males and four females) was drawn from a rural school in a Thabo Mofutsanyana District in the Free State Province. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select participants in this study The participants had teaching experience ranging from 2 to 7 years. Data were collected through telephone interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The finding suggested that the Protection Motivation Theory was an insightful framework in responding to the challenges emanating from COVID 19 induced online teaching and learning. Thus, the study revealed that there are various challenges to online learning. These include poor parental involvement in children’s homework, incomplete work and poor performance, insufficientpersonalprotectiveequipment,poor access tonetworkaccess, and lack of learning devices. Subsequently, we recommend that stakeholders such as the Department of Education, Department of Basic Education, and School Governing Bodies, among others, should ensure that parents are sensitized about the need for learners to manage the resources at their disposal Furthermore, the provision of adequate resources such as; Internet connectivity and Information and Communication Technologies learning devices is imperative

Keywords: Online learning; COVID 19; Protection Motivation Theory; Rural school; Educators’ challenges

134 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 134 149, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.8

Kananga Robert Mukuna Psychology of Education, University of Free State, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0002 1787 4543 Peter J. O. Aloka Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4298 9211

Exploring Educators’ Challenges of Online Learning in Covid 19 at a Rural School, South Africa

1. Introduction Over the last 20 years, learning facilitated online through network technologies has emerged across South African Higher Education Institutions (Ravjee, 2007). However, online learning refers to learning taken partially or entirely through the Internet (Gilbert, 2015; Sharma, Bhardwaj & Bhardwaj, 2017; MS’Sakshi & Dhull, 2018). The use of online learning involves many technologies that allow knowledge delivery over computer networks in an educational context (Dorin, 2011; MS’Sakshi & Dhull, 2018). However, online learning is an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enhanced practice in institutions which include but is not limited to email provision, online journals, and networked libraries to developing creative software solutions for information management tasks in teaching, researching, and administrative systems.

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) responsible for primary school education acknowledges the importance of blended learning in South African schools (Green, 2011). Furthermore, the national Department of Education (2006) published its White Paper on E Education in 2004 and called together a ‘think tank’ that is based on an overview of research and delivery needs related to the ‘roll out’ of e Learning in schools. Thus, it is essential to mention that South African rural areas mostly lack the social and economic viability needed to sustain technological improvement (Cristobal Fransi et al., 2020). This is because governments find it morechallenging to supply quality education services in rural areas. Various factors weaken the quality of learning and teaching in South African rural areas (Du Plessis & Mestry, 2019). It has been realised that online learning is seen as a tool to address trajectories during the times of crisis, not only for survival (by communicating essential information on the fight against COVID 19) but also for teaching and learning by members of deprived communities, such as those of rural schools (Dube, 2020). In lieu of this, Du Plessis and Mestry (2019) recommended, there is a need to put strategies in place to improve teachers' working conditions and the teaching at rural schools to improve learner achievement across the rural areas of South Africa.

The Corona Virus Disease, otherwise known as COVID 19 pandemic, has affected all the nations globally. While some countries have gone past the peak, South Africa continues to experience the effects of this novel global pandemic. Various measures have been devised to mitigate the virus's spread, such as social distancing and the wearing of facemasks, among many other strategies (Scherbina, 2020) Effective implementation of these measures requires the cancellation of public events, educational and commercial activities, and limiting individuals’ freedom to non essential movement to encourage people to remain at home. However, the above-measures' effectiveness is critically based on the compliance of human behaviours in society (Delaney et al., 2013) A plethora of factors that include awareness of the measure, the severity of penalties, and the cost of isolation could affect these measures (Briscese et al., 2020). Among other spheres of life, COVID 19 has reconfigured the teaching and learning process, resulting in online learning as the dominant modus operandi

According to Dorin (2011), online learning facilitates transformative learning, which involves critical reflection, reflective discourses, and action. Such an approach encourages learners’ engagement with academia. It also ensures flexibility, which entails free learning conditions, self paced studying convenience, and a comfortable learning environment (Lim, 2004; MS’Sakshi & Dhull, 2018). Furthermore, several scholars have identified the various advantages of online learning that include easy accessibility, cost effectiveness, personalised learning, development of cognitive abilities, prompting computer skills, developing self pacing, and accessing globalisation (Bakia et al., 2012; Norman, 2017). Thus, online learning allows individuals to depend more on technology than human connection (Amichai Hamburger & Ben Artzi, 2003; Ranaeiy, Taghavi & Goodarzi, 2016). However, research has suggested that online learning is suitable for educational productivity (Bakia et al., 2012). To maximise the benefits of online learning, there is a need to harness the requisite resources, which are carefully managed. In the same vein, there is a need to inculcate such critical values as intensive self discipline and self direction among learners (Hickey, 2015). Online learning has changed the very traditional way of learning characterised by loneliness (Pappano, 2001). While online learning, as an alternative to traditional forms of learning, is associated with many advantages, some challenges are context specific. For example, learners in rural settings bear the burden of online learning. The lack of adequate resources may explain that learners in rural settings are uniquely disadvantaged by online learning. Furthermore, online learning does not effectively facilitate the affective domain in the teaching and learning process offered by face-to-face contact (Ali & Smith, 2015). Deducing from the above gaps, this paper explored the usefulness of the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to understanding the perceived challenges faced by educators in a rural setting in South Africa in the context of COVID 19 induced online learning.

Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, scholars had predicted that online learning styles would grow extensively, coupled with a sharp increase in demand for such programs (Beyer, 2013; Ali & Smith, 2015). In a way, online learning can be considered as a form of distance education where learners are physically or geographically separated from their educators. Some scholars have argued that in online learning, learners should be prepared to develop independent learning capability and motivate themselves to learn and engage in learning activities that make them persistent and successful (Zuhairi, Karthikeyan & Priyadarshana, 2019)

Online educational institutions are faced with challenges related to transformation, which entails the digitalisation of learning and teaching. Furthermore, the transition to digitalise the schools should consider the learning needs and the technological support required for learning (Zuhairi, Karthikeyan & Priyadarshana, 2019). However, an assumption exists that the use of online learning is beneficial to learners because it is convenient for them within the comfort of their home That is, its advantages are vast, and they have been significant to students’ development (Lim, 2004; Shimada, 2017; Guspatni, 2018).

2. Theoretical framework

3. Literature review

Several models have been developed to respond to life threatening situations, such as the outbreak of pandemics. These are useful for understanding individual precautionary behaviour to limit diseases' contamination (Jiang et al., 2009; Williams et al., 2015). Others have reviewed how awareness mechanisms might assist in preventing the outbreak of diseases (Redd, 2012; Ling, Kothe & Mullan, 2019). Some scholars have also considered the PMT as an intervention framework for various pandemics (Plotnikoff et al., 2010). Therefore, this study adopted the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) developed by Ronald Rogers in 1975 to comprehend educators’ responses to the challenges emanating from the COVID 19 pandemic. PMT is a psychological model developed to understand better the individual’s motivational responses to potential threats related to their health and safety (Rogers, 1975). This theory suggests that individual and environmental factors may affect or contribute to the development of protective behaviours, which should be mediated by individual cognitive processes (Clubb & Hinkle, 2015) It has generally been used to understand protective behaviours that people may adopt to reduce the perceived threat of pandemic diseases in various fields such as health, education, and psychology (Baghianimoghadam et al., 2014; Williams et al., 2015). Most of the studies on health psychology have focused on research that are mostly scared of the pandemic. However, the present paper demonstrated protective measures in response to COVID 19. PMT's relevance to online teaching and learning in the context of COVID 19 is reflected in considerable alignment. That is, the consistent implementation of protective measures is necessary to protect vulnerable populations in unaffected regions Hence, it averts unnecessary alarm and harm during outbreaks of emerging infections (Jiang et al., 2009). Therefore, we argue that PMT is critical because it motivates using individual protective equipment and actions to normalise human behaviour and enhance safety This theory is useful in exploring the perceived challenges to online learning encountered by educators in rural settings.

Several studies have focused on conceptualising social isolation feelings Social isolation is a lack of meaningful human contact with other persons (Hortulanus et al., 2006). Priego and Peralta (2013) highlighted that lack of face to face contact with others could cause social isolation. Studies have revealed that the face to face connection's quality is helpful because it allows individuals to express their emotions towards peers (Holmes & Reid, 2017) Currently, individuals struggle to connect with others due to COVID 19 related restrictions. For example, the need to maintain social distancing compels people to limit discretional movement. In online learning, communicating with fellow learners and educators is challenging, especially when all interactions occur remotely. It is essential to consider that the era of COVID 19 may contribute to increased feelings of anxiety. It is relevant to differentiate the cause of social isolation and its development. Some scholars revealed that social isolation could contribute to a high withdrawal rate during online learning compared to the traditional face to face approach to learning (Ali & Smith, 2015; Schaeffer & Konetes, 2010). Studies have suggested that social isolation could be an obstacle to academic performance and

Daniel (2020) adds that the COVID 19 pandemic is a huge challenge to education systems and suggested that the normal classroom subjects teaching should put COVID 19 in a global and historical context. Di Pietro et al (2020) suggested that COVID 19 influence negatively both cognitive and non cognitive skills acquisition and may have significant long term consequences in addition to the short term ones. Besides, Dube (2020) reported that online learning alternative in the context of COVID 19 excludes many rural learners from teaching and learning in South African primary schools. Due to a lack of resources to connect to the Internet, the learning management system, and low tech software. Furthermore, Ebrahim et al. (2020) argue that the state of lockdown halted learning in South African schools, and learners and educators in rural areas are helpless on approaching online learning during the COVID 19 lockdown. Finally, Ngogi (2020) concludes that blended learning practised in South African Schools is commendable but suggested that rural schools would be disadvantaged because of several challenges

Literature review on challenges of education delivery about pandemics like COVID 19 exists. For example, Wenham, Smith & Morgan (2020) reported that the closure of beyond might have a differential effect on women, who provide most of the informal care within families, with the consequence of limiting their work and economic opportunities. Similarly, McKibbin and Fernando (2020) found out that the pandemic could significantly impact the short run's global economy.

achievement (Bester & Budhal, 2001; Tingstad, 2019). It may lead to increased anxiety, depression, and feelings of sadness (Ali & Smith, 2015; Matthews et al., Despite2016). that other communication modes such as phone and email can be used for interactions where both audio and video messages can be exchanged, the real facial expressions and body movement cannot be detected during a phone call (Conrad & Donaldson, 2012; Lehman & Conceição, 2010) However, social distancing and social isolation are important strategies that an individual may adopt to mitigate the risk of acquiring or spreading COVID 19. Therefore, individual rights to free choice and to accomplish routine activities are limited to decreasing the risk of spread and contamination Research has shown that engaging in protective measures can significantly decrease the possible infection (Clubb & Hinkle, 2015). Considering the nexus between social isolation and online learning, it is important to link social isolation to online learning and teaching in schools Social distancing is an action taken to minimise contact with other individuals. It worth noting that social distancing measures comprise one category of Non Pharmaceutical Countermeasures (NPCs) aimed at reducing disease transmission, which translates to reduced pressure on health services (Anderson et al., 2020; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [ECDPC], 2020) There is a lack of knowledge to explain behavioural responses to the pandemic's cognitive of contamination risk. Social distancing might reduce social contacts, responding to the pandemic (Williams et al., 2015)

The self efficacy associated with PMT components was a strong predictor of the intention to stay at home in a pandemic using social distancing behaviours in a

5.1 Research design and participants

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. hypothetical pandemic. Similarly, Williams et al. (2015) found out that both PMT and social distancing behaviour were responded to simulated factors in reducing the infectious disease epidemics However, in rural locations of South Africa, the inability of learners to socialise may have affected their online learning capacities.

5. Methodology

Studies have shown that rural schools lack Internet connectivity, hence, learners in such environments have little or no access to the relevant tools required for online learning tools during the era of COVID 19 (Omodan, 2020; Dube, 2020). From the literature review conducted, little exists on the challenges of online learning in South African schools. Therefore, the present study explored the perceived challenges encountered by educators at a selected rural school in South Africa in meeting their mandate during the era of the COVID 19 pandemic 4. Current study This study explored the PMT's usefulness to understand educators' challenges of online learning in COVID 19 at a selected rural school in South Africa.

The study adopted a phenomenology research design. This design is suitable for research that seeks to describe the essence of a phenomenon by exploring it from the perspective of those who have experienced it (Teherani et al., 2015). The goal of phenomenology is to describe the meaning of experience in terms of what was experienced and how it was experienced (Teherani et al., 2015). This design was chosen because it helped the researchers to explore the individual challenges experienced by educators from a selected rural school. The population consisted of all educators from the rural schools in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District, Free State province, South Africa. The participants were selected using purposive and convenient sampling techniques due to accessible factors to the population's specific characteristics in exploring challenges educators encountered during the COVID 19 period at the rural primary school. These sampling techniques were important to select the participants who were available to participate in the study during the national lockdown level 3 in South Africa. During this phase, schools were closed, and participants were encouraged to work remotely from home. Thus, the participants had been contacted to participate in the study. Six educators (N=6, two males and four females) constituted the sample size All participants had at least two to seven years of teaching experience. They were responsible for Life Skills and Life Orientation subjects that empower learners to achieve their full physical, intellectual, personal, emotional, and social potential. Their experiences were considered phenomenal to enable juxtaposition of both pre-COVID and COVID-19 related experiences.

5.2 Instruments Data collection was made through qualitative telephone interviews. This technique was adopted because it provides a balanced distribution of power between interviewer and interviewee (Vogl, 2013). This method was applicable to the study because it aligned with the social distancing, as it was a strategy that

The thematic analysis approach was adopted for data analysis This method seeks to identify categories and to report patterns (themes) that may emerge within data. It minimally organises and describes the data set in (rich) detail. However, thematic analysis often goes further than this and interprets various aspects of the research topic (Boyatzis, 1998). First, the interview data were transcribed, and interviewee responses were coded as participants: Participant 1, Participant 2, Participant 3, Participant 4, Participant 5, and Participant 6 in line with their responses to each question. Researchers familiarised themselves with data by transcribing, reading, re reading, and taking notes We coded the data into potential themes and gathered all relevant data to each potential theme to measure the coding quality We reviewed themes generated from a thematic “map” of the analysis and checked the themes' relevancy from coded extracts and entire data. We named emerging themes refined from theme's specifics and the overall story; the analysis tells and generated clear definitions and names for each theme We finally produced integrated results, which assist the coherence of the write up report.

The Research and Ethics Committee of the University of Free State approved the study. The participants were informed of their right to voluntary participation and the right to withdraw from the study at any stage of the research process without expecting any negative consequences. All the interviews were conducted telephonically using English as the medium of communication. Each interview session was audio recorded. All the participants voluntarily provided their consent to be audio recorded. The individual interviews with the educators took approximately thirty to forty five minutes per participant. The study was conducted at a rural school in the Thabo Mofutsanyana district in Free State province, targeted Life Skills (LS)/Life Orientation (LO) educators, and used telephone interviews. The educators were interviewed during the day. They selected times that were convenient for them.

5.4 Data analysis

meant currently to reduce the spread of COVID 19. This technique was reasonable during COVID19 because it was not feasible for the researchers to travel to individual educators’ schools or homes to conduct the interviews. This study used open ended questions relatedtotheeducators’ challenges during the COVID 19 at a rural school. The interviews included parental involvement in children’s homework, network access, and learning devices. All participants felt comfortable participating in this study, and the interviews were naturally and friendly taken in English to facilitate the data collection process. Participants were asked more than once to ensure data credibility. The trustworthiness was made and followed up.

5.3 Procedure for data collection

The study explored the perceived challenges to online learning in the COVID 19 pandemic at a selected rural school in South Africa. The results suggested that as an approach, PMT is insightful for understanding intention in online learning and

6. Results

allowing the implementation of social distancing behaviours among rural school educators to reduce the spread of COVID 19. Several themes emerged, indicating that various challenges affect the efficacy of COVID 19 induced online learning and teaching These include poor parental involvement in children’s homework, submission of poor quality work, and incomplete tasks, insufficient personal protective equipment, poor network access, and lack of Information Communication Technology (ICT) devices to access the Internet

The lack of time could influence the poor parental involvement in children’s homework in lockdown at the rural school from the interview excerpt. However, most parents designated as essential workers, spending a lot of time at work, were not available to assist their children with homework. While most of them would be available only during the weekend, many be catching up with their work. As a result, they could not contribute meaningfully to their children’s education.

From the interview excerpt, the lack of technological gadgets could explain the poor parental involvement in children’s homework, the COVID 19 induced lockdown at the rural school. Participants mentioned that the parents are not much involved because they lacked the technological access, among other socio economic barriers. As a result, education changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of online learning, and the study materials were required.

“Parents do not have time as they are working during the lockdown, complained of lacking time” (Participant 3).

Poor parental involvement in children’s homework

Furthermore, online submissions required internet connection, and parents were unable to check their children’s work Participants indicated that it was difficult to join and communicate with the learners’ parents or guardians during the COVID 19 induced lockdown. “Study materials are available on the Department of Education’s website and also on other Internet platforms such as a worksheet, cloud, and other such platforms. Unfortunately, most parents are unable to help their children with school work” (Participant 1)

The results indicate that many factors influenced poor parental involvement in children’s homework in the COVID 19 induced lockdown at the selected rural school. Language barriers could be a factor of poor parental involvement in children’s homework. Most participants indicated that language barriers inhibited some parents from assisting their children with homework during the COVID 19 induced lockdown. This challenge mostly affected those that were always dependable on the educators and friends’ assistance their children needed help. For example, learners that reside in rural areas with their grandparents or other family members during this time had to endure the most of online learning. One participant reported that: “We have found that many parents do not want to help their children. They claim that it is the school’s responsibility to help learners. Hence, they are not supporting their children, the school or the educator” (Participant 2).

From the interview excerpt, the result of poor quality work submissions could be regarded as socio economic barriers. Most of the parents who live in rural communities are uneducated, unemployed, and faced serious challenges with limited infrastructure available for their children at home, making it difficult for teaching and learning to occur effectively. The below statement corroborates the above; “The ability to go outside and play with their friends is an easier option for them. I have spoken to some parents, and all of them say

Poor quality and incomplete work submissions

Regarding those mentioned above, the extract from one participant illustrates the following: “Subjects like Mathematics and Technology are the types of subjects where learners need the most intervention. Unfortunately, these topics suffer the most. Those schools that have been sharing work with learners cannot carry out assessments and observation, which is vital when educators want to continue with lessons. Feedback is impossible as the platforms are not interactive” (Participant 6).

From the interview excerpt, participants indicated that learners were produced and submitted incomplete or unfished works while others could not even attempt the tasks given to them. Participants indicated that they received learners’ work of poor quality suggesting that they would have rushed through the work to complete it. Furthermore, they complained that learners were not following instructions when doing tasks, and some were writing illegibly. “We also receive work that is of a very poor quality, where you can easily see that the learner has rushed the work to complete it. They also do not follow the instructions sent to them. Furthermore, they write illegibly. We also have some learners who have not submitted any work over 4 weeks after the due dates” (Participant 2).

From the above interview excerpts, Participant 1 confirms that online learning tools are available at the learners’ disposal. Still, they were not effectively utilised because of illiteracy among the parents, resulting in them failing to assist their children. This scenario is peculiar to schools in rural settings. Participant 6 did not only link the matter to parents but that some of the important subjects were not effectively discharged because of the technicalities involved. Therefore, poor parental involvement was not solely a result of parents' reluctance to assist their children. Lack of Internet connectivity was also a major challenge.

The participants' responses suggested that educators experienced poor work submissions because of using online teaching and learning as a method of content delivery during the COVID 19 induced lockdown They further mentioned that parents were unable to assist their children in delivering quality work. “Even under normal circumstances, most children struggle with their schoolwork because they live with old people who cannot help them. To them, the only place they should learn is at school; hence, home is only space where they must relax” (Participant 4).

The participants’ transcripts indicated that educators lacked sufficient personal equipment, such as personal computers and electronic devices, laptops, and smartphones. This equipment has become a learning device with extraordinary potential for both classrooms and outdoor learning. “Out of 48 learners, 28 parents have cell phones, which are smartphones, but they are not familiar with how to use them, and the rest have cell phones that can be only be used for phone calls (Participant 5).

From the above interview excerpts, it is clear that most of the participants lacked the relevant ICT devices, and some did not know how to use them to enhance online Participantslearningalso indicated that most parents and guardians were unfamiliar with ICT gadgets due to several factors such as the cost of purchasing mobile phones that are compatible with Internet connectivity, lack of electricity, low network coverage, and expensive maintenance requirements for data, Wi Fi. The participants reported that the lack of these devices affected online teaching and learning because even when trying to make means, it becomes a challenge to parents due to data costs. Regarding the school environment, these are the main challenges that hinder learning and for it to continue taking place during the

“The lack of devices makes it almost impossible to teach and learn during this time since we are not able to meet face to face. The lack of ICT devices means that children will miss out. In the context of COVID 19, working without these devices means that both educators and learners will not make any significant progress. Most learners cannot afford ICT devices, and that means they automatically become academically excluded. Not being able to get an education because you lack facilities constitutes a violation of one`s right to education.” (Participant 4).

Therefore, participants believed that perhaps some parents were helping or even doing the work for their children. The participants demonstrated that learners produced a high quality of work and performed better than they did in class. It is important to note that some parents inspired the high standard of work their children produced and did not accept any poor work. They mentioned that ‘online’ assessment should be continued to be a language of the educator, and the learners could still complete essays and other written tasks.

During the COVID 19 induced lockdown, we have also realised that some learners depended on others' help. For example, not doing their work but wait for others to do it for them. From the above analysis, it is clear that the outbreak of COVID 19 precipitated the ‘new normal’, which hindered learners’ productivity as confirmed by the participants that learners produced poor quality work. Insufficient personal equipment and poor network access

The response from Participant 2 demonstrated that poor network access was a challenge that affected online teaching and learning during the COVID 19 induced lockdown They recognised that most learners hailed from informal settlements and townships. In these settings, Internet access is considered aluxury compared to other things such as food and shelter. Most residents in informal settlements had no access to the Internet Lack of internet connectivity made it difficult for learners to access study materials. Furthermore, participants mentioned that network related limitations affected many learners, who struggled to submit their work before stipulated due dates. This, in our argument, can cause anxiety in the learners as they are scared that they will not get the marks they have worked for, and educators battle to mark and control work as they are constantly trying to gain access to learners' work.

Since the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic has redirected the teaching and learning spaces in the schools, adequate provision of online teaching learning material are imminent. In this regard, there is a need for personal electronic and Internet devices for learners to cope and meet up with their urban counterparts. Failure to access the online learning devices has many effects, such as withdrawal and feeling isolated due to the lack of needful material to support learning. The revelations from educators showed that the reverse is the case. The below statement contained the statements; “Unfortunately, learners’ parents do have some access to devices; however, they will not be prepared to share it with their children, and they will rather wait for schools to provide the necessary equipment” (Participant 5) “Some learners have to share devices with siblings and parents, often resulting in their work falling behind or causing friction in the households” (Participant 6).

The transcripts from participants’ responses suggested the lack of school provisions’ devices such as laptops and smartphones affect online learning and teaching during the COVID 19 The participants recognised that some parents had these devices Participants highlighted that learners who do not have access to devices could fall behind, as they do not have access to their work, causing them to wait for long periods. Another concern has also been that not all devices can access the various platforms used for online learning. This includes the devices' inability to access Microsoft Software, such as teams and forms and WhatsApp to receive work. From the above, Dube (2020) argued that one of the challenges learners face during COVID 19 is a lack of teaching and learning resources such as the Internet of things, gadgets, tools that could enhance their productivity towards their academic performances.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. COVID 19 pandemic. Participants mentioned that the lack of ICT devices made them frustrate both educators and learners. “Network limitations and Internet access have had a big impact on learning. Not all learners have easy access to the work sent to them. This results in their failure to keep abreast with the syllabus” (Participant 2).

Lack of learning devices

The study revealed that the selected schools' learners were submitting poor quality work to their educators during COVID 19 induced lockdown. In some instances, the learners were not serious about their homework. It was reported that learners could submit incomplete tasks to their educators, which was also linked to rural characteristics, including the poor socio economic status of parents who were unable to provide the necessary resources for their children to facilitate online learning Similarly, Omodan (2020) found out that the outbreak of COVID 19 increased rural dwellers' vulnerability because learners living in rural locations have the relevant infrastructure, such as the Internet, required to sustain the new normal. Furthermore, Dube (2020) also found out that, although the government of South Africa tried to provide various academic relief materials for learners to cope with online learning. Therefore, learners in rural communities lack access to Internet gadgets such as computers, phones, and other equipment to enhance their academic progress during COVID 19 (Dube, 2020). This finding is in tandem with the World Bank's (2020) observation that online learning disproportionately benefits the advantaged students ahead of their disadvantaged counterparts. In this context, learners in the selected location are regarded as disadvantaged. This is not only peculiar to secondary schools. For example, Cristobal Fransi et al. (2020) confirmed that rural universities had limited educational resources to sustain their students, especially those living in remote areas. Generally, rural

7. Discussion

The study sought to explore the perceived challenges of online learning during the COVID 19 pandemic. It focused on a selected rural school in South Africa. The findings revealed that the challenges to online learning in the context of COVID 19 were poor parental involvement in children’s homework, poor quality and incomplete class work submissions, insufficient personal equipment, poor network access, and lack of learning devices In terms of poor parental involvement in children’s homework, the study found out parents were not adequately involved and available to assist their children. According to the analysis, this was linked to poor socio economic backgrounds, rural characteristics, and illiteracy through argument within. It also emerged that some parents were busy doing their work and running errands; hence, they wereunable to attend to their children’s schoolwork during the COVID 19 lockdown The above finding contradicts Đurišic and Bunijevac (2017), who argued that parents' involvement in children’s education is significant to their academic performance. Similarly, Lemmer (2007) argued that some parents cannot read and write and can only communicate in their mother tongue, which presents a challenge when they are expected to assist their children at home. On the other hand, Lau, Li and Rao (2011) found that parents’ involvement in children’s education yielded positive outcomes in primary and high schools. These findings may have originated because the learners in lower education grades, such as primary and secondary/high schools, are still underage and needed to be guided both at home and in schools. However, this study confirms that the study area is faced with poor parental involvement in children’s schoolwork, which is not healthy for the academic development and productivity of the learners, especially in the context of COVID 19 lockdown.

9. References Ali, A., & Smith, D. (2015). Comparing social isolation effects on students attrition in online versus face to face courses in computer literacy. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 12, 11 20. Amichai Hamburger, Y., & Ben Artzi, E. (2003). Loneliness and Internet use. Computers in human behavior, 19(1), 71 80. Anderson, R., Heesterbeek, H., Klinkenberg, D., & Hollingswort, T. (2020). How will country based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID 19 epidemic? Lancet, 395(10228), 931 934. Baghianimoghadam, M. H., Sharifpour, Z., Lotfizadeh Dehkordi, M., Nadgarzadah, A., & Hashemi, A. S. (2014). The role of protection motivation theory in predicted of

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. locations suffer unequal distribution of academic resources (Grydehøj, 2016; Omodan, 2020) The study also found that learners lacked ICT related gadgets to work from home during COVID 19 lockdown. On the one hand, this was linked to parents' inability to share their devices with their children, and on the other hand, it was linked to schools' inability to provide devices for their learners. Learners living in rural locations, either by omission or commission, have little or no online learning access. Montrieux et al. (2015) argued that policy and curriculum planners should consider providing technical and pedagogical support to both learners and educators to enable them to cope with the demands of 21st century teaching and learning In line with this, we also argue that there is a need for increased personal protective equipment to redress the challenge faced by rural schools.

The study concludes that online learning was initially considered as a major problem for learners and affected learners’ completion of their academic programmes. Further, it also affected their academic performance because of several limitations related to the subjects offered. The recent COVID 19 pandemic increased the need for online teaching and learning and changed people's perceptions. It is important to understand the gravity of social isolation and online learning before we approach online education. This was unpacked with a qualitative approach employed by this study From the above reported results, we conclude that learners' challenges in rural communities during the COVID 19 pandemic included poor parental involvement in children’s homeworking, poor quality and unfinished academic works, insufficient personal protective equipment, and poor network access, and lack of learning devices Upon the exposition of the challenges, we recommend that all stakeholders such as the Department of Education, Department of Basic Education, and SGBs, among others, to ensure that parents are sensitised about online learning to ensure that they take charge of their children when they are working at home, should make a concerted effort. Secondly, the learners must be encouraged by both parents and the educators to always manage the resources at their disposal to ensure that their work is done perfectly and submitted on time Besides, the government should, as a matter of importance, rescue the learners living in rural communities by providing adequate resources in the form of internet access and ICT devices.

8. Conclusion and recommendations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.11.011

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Can

Thai-Huu Nguyen & Minh-Thanh Nguyen Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000 http://orcid.org/0000

0003 3869 8371

0003 3970 9773

0001 6685 4103

0002 9120 1566

Tien Trung Nguyen Duy Tan University, Vietnam Vietnam Journal of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3320-8962 Mekong Delta Vietnam

Trinh Le Thi Tuyet & Nguyen Duong Hoang Dong Thap University, Dong Thap, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000 http://orcid.org/0000

0002 7062 8341

150 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 150 171, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.9 Managing Continuing Education via Distance Learning and Face-to-Face Courses for Human Resource Development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam Phuong Tam Pham Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000 0002 1745 9067

0002 7839 3735

Duong Hoang Yen VNU University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000

as a means of ensuring a sustained and qualified workforce for the region. This research was conducted to investigate the input and output of continuing education

Tran Binh Duong Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000

Abstract. Continuing education has increased in importance and popularity in the

0001 6128 0171

Thi-Thuy-Trang Phan Tho Vocational College, Can Tho, Vietnam http://orcid.org/0000

Keywords: continuing education; distance learning; face to face training; human resource development

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. through distance learning and face to face courses at selected institutions in the Mekong Delta. Institutional strategies and capacity in managing continuing education via two course types were examined. The two main methods employed were demographic data analyses and quantitative analyses witha questionnaire of 70 Likert items distributed to100teachers and 20 administrators. The findings revealed an increase in the input quantity and quality of CE and the small gap between distance learning and face to face output. Regulatory management, finance, and promotion were the contents identified as areas that need improvement in managing continuing education; yet the unbalanced capacities of different sectors, favoring business and management, remained.

1. Introduction Continuing education (CE) has been recognized as an effort to implement life long learning for sustainable development. Despite being a non formal mode in the education system, CE is becoming increasingly popular as it supports rather than competes with the mainstream mode in solving the issue of enhancing the quality and quantity of human resources (Alamgir, 1999). More importantly, it applies to tertiary education and yields the potentials for producing desirable outcomes of qualified human resources (Lege, Bonner, Frazier, & Pascucci, 2020) In many inter governmental initiatives (Council of Europe, 2003; UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), 2006; UNICEF, 1993), CE is seen to contribute to changing educational and development landscape worldwide. Dated back in the 1970s and the 1980s, a massive outburst of interest regarding non-formal education in the world emerged (King, 1982; Rogers, 2004) In the 1990s, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) set up the first major initiative of CE, but until 2002, 50 free courses were made available through the CE initiative. One year later, MIT officially launched its CE course with 500 classes (Berti, 2018). This proves a successful model of CE and has widened the educational landscape as being accessible globally. Wickline (2013) estimates that around 263 million will be eligible for higher education in 2015 and this will require building 3 new campuses for 30,000 students every week for the next 15 years. Without CE, this number is unachievable in the face of the increasing demand for learners (Berti, 2018) For developing countries, however, the development of CE has been deemed slow and in need of better contextualization to make it more effective (Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), 2012; Khurshid, 2014; Ochukut & Omwansa, 2016; Situma, 2015) The two main means of conducting CE are distance learning (or online learning) (DL) and face to face learning (F2F). The widespread of CE is noticeably fostered with the advent of the Internet. Particularly, educational technology has advanced to an unprecedented extent and radically changed the ways lessons are delivered, which is via virtual CE classes. Distance learning, therefore, emerged and has made irreplaceable contributions to the implementation of CE (Allen & Seaman, 2011; Shelton & Saltsman, 2005; Urueta & Ogi, 2020). Due to the convenience and efficiency of online courses, it is estimated that “education will be cyberised” in the future (Sener, 2012, p. 157)

2. Literature Review

2.1. Continuing Education in human resource training

It is widely recognized that the development of human resources is the key to a country’s socio economic development and education lies at the core of the process (Gadekar, 2020). Enhancing educational quality and widening access to education enable the development of human resources and, thus, foster the development of society and economy. This lays the ground for continued support for CE alongside mainstream education. Compared with mainstream education, CE is a relatively new phenomenon and is considered a non formal variation of education and training. This type of education emerged following the promotion of life long learning (Faure, 1972) and has been regarded as a social policy for lifelong learning for both children and

Recognizing the benefits of CE and especially distance learning in training human resources, Vietnam has adopted CE in parallel with mainstream schooling, using both face to face and online mediums to cater to its increasing demand for higher quality human resources. The Higher Education Law 08/2012/QH13 demands

1. What are the differences in the input and output of CE through DL and F2F courses?

2. What are the institutional strategies in managing CE courses?

The current research was conducted aiming at providing a better insight into the administration and management of CE in the higher education sector in Vietnam.

3. How effective is the current management of CE at the specified institution in catering to the human resource needs of the Mekong Delta region?

Firstly, through examining relevant policy and institutional documents, the research provides an overview of the educational input and output of CE via DL and F2F courses at a university in the Mekong Delta. Following that, the research investigates the current management of CE implementation at the specified university. The findings help the authors find out the potential for developing CE at the university under its current management scheme. For that purpose, this study aims to find answers to the following three research questions:

tertiary institutions and trans institutional programs to supply learners with CE courses that are suitable for learners’ needs. Those programs aim at training human resources, increasing intellectual levels, and cultivating talented people. T. Pham (2018) finds that CE in Vietnam has provided a significantly large number of employees trained for a variety of disciplines at the tertiary level, accounting for approximately 3,000 graduates per institution per year. Recently, the Vietnamese Government has removed the classification between formal education and continuing education printed on diplomas. This has been regarded as the government’s formal recognition of CE, which can encourage and promote equality in education for learners nationwide. Despite a facilitative regulatory environment for the development of CE, administrators and educational institutions in Vietnam still encounter challenges in implementing this form of training including managing budgets, infrastructure, personnel, and materials for CE courses. Research into these aspects of implementing CE has not received compatible interest and investment.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. adults (T. Pham, 2018). CE contributes to a learning society by granting learners with wider access to education either full time or part time. It plays four major roles in the general education system, namely replacing, continuing, supplementing, and completing(Hoppers, 2006; UNESCO, 2002; IIEP, 2006). Once connected successfully to mainstream education, CE can create a breakthrough in education and make lifelong learning feasible (UNESCO, 2002). Nonetheless, CE features several drawbacks including small scale, short term programs with limited funding. These disadvantages limit the impact and sustainability as well as negatively affect the quality and effectiveness of CE. It is recognized that as CE is widely perceived as inferior to formal education, CE programs may not always be aligned with broader national education and development policies or demands from the world of work in many countries (Yasunaga, 2014) On that recognition, UNESCO IIEP (2006) requires equal stimulation to be provided for CE. Hoppers (2006) also suggests implementing CE in parallel with the mainstream model in an organized way to best serve learners from different backgrounds. In the increasingly interconnected world with cutting edge technological advances, CE should become the focus in development policies of the international community due to its capacity to satisfy multiple learning needs, particularly those who lack access to formal education or are unable to complete a full cycle of basic education (Yasunaga, 2014). Since CE can improve social cohesion and create responsible future citizens, it can contribute to building up extracurricular knowledge and skills for learners so that they can “learn to be” and “learn to live together” (Delors et al., 1996, p. 7). Individuals and societies in the world are putting higher expectations on the impact of CE on economic productivity, which can, in turn, lead to higher social productivity and economic growth (Yasunaga, 2014) CE has been delivered mainly through two mediums, brick and mortar (or face to face) classes, and online (or distance learning) classes. There has been a debate about the quality of these CE delivery modes (Bernard et al., 2004; Jahng, Krug, & Zhang, 2007; Magagula & Ngwenya, 2004; McGuire & Castle, 2010). Several researchers (Hong, 2002;Kleinman & Entin, 2002; Phipps & Merisotis, 1999; Rovai, 2002) suggest that there is no significant difference in the quality between DL and F2F. Both are considered as being equally effective in delivering content and methodology at tertiary institutions. Bernard et al. (2004) also share similar findings when investigating students’ achievement, attitudes, and retention rates of these two course types. In contrast, several other studies support the outcomes of CE courses conducted through DL over those taught F2F. For example, when reviewing 86 studies from 1990 to 2002 that compare students’ final grades in distance education with those in classroom based education, Shachar and Neumann (2003) found that students enrolled in distance learning achieved higher grades than those in face to face education. Such improvement in students’ performance is, according to the researchers, attributed to technological advances that allow better interaction among students and between students and teachers. While F2F has remained more preferable than DL courses, DL is gaining greater popularity in the tertiary education sector. Among advocates of F2F learning, Bernard et al. (2004) and Shachar and Neumann (2003) contend that online education is incapable of transferring personal knowledge as it ignores the

The Mekong Delta is located in the South of Vietnam and consists of 13 provinces. Despite playing a vital role in the economy of the South, the region’s education and training at the tertiary level are often a point of criticism for being unable to meet the region’s needs for human sources. As reported in the workforce and employment survey conducted in 2016 by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, as of 2016, the percentage of trained workforce of Vietnam was 20.9% whereas that of the Mekong Delta was 12.2%. The region was ranked the lowest among the surveyed regions (Statistics Directorate, 2016). The fact that the majority of the human resource in the Mekong Delta (87.8%) are unqualified for the region’s demands for the labor force makes it a concern for policymakers and institutions alike (Figure 1).

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. interaction between teachers and students, and therefore fails to fulfill the function of socialization. Similarly, in the same ground, Berg and Seeber (2016) further argue that online courses better serve as a promotion and awareness raising tool rather than a proper means of educating learners in intellectual terms. However, the ample benefits that DL brings to learners have been widely recognized. For one thing, content and instruction delivered through DL are renowned for being highly flexible and accessible to learners (McGuire & Castle, 2010). This creates an advantage for learners who have difficulty in accessing formal education due to geographical or time barriers. In this way, DL is capable of widening access to further education to a wider learning community and enhancing the educational level. Other benefits of DL are in terms of cost effectiveness and its ability to provide up to date content materials, stimulate self paced learning, and facilitate customized courses (Magagula & Ngwenya, 2004; Puthe, 2008). As a developing country, Vietnam is in great need of a qualified labor force that can help the country achieve its goals of sustainable development. CE has been implemented in Vietnam with the recognition of its potential in quickly expanding the quantity while ensuring the quality of education to less advantaged students (Vietnamese Government, 2011). Incorporating CE in tertiary education and recognizing its role has been considered a timely and effective resolution to fulfill the requirement of enhancing human resources for the country’s social and economic development (Dang & Nguyen, 2004). Several universities all over Vietnam have claimed success with CE in helping thousands of undergraduate and graduate students to receive a quality education. In 2017 2018, the number of students enrolled in CE courses was reported to account for over 20% of the total enrollments in tertiary education institutions (289,939). The figure for the academic year 2018 2019 was lower but nontrivially stood at 13% (180,494) (Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), 2019b). The statistics indicate the popularity of CE as well as its contribution to the human resource enhancement for Vietnam. In a word, CE has been playing an indispensable role in raising the educational level of human resources in the education and training landscape of Vietnam, which highlights the significance of investigating theextent to which institutions can be better supported in their implementation of CE. 2.2. Human resource needs of the Mekong Delta

Reflecting on the current issue of the higher education sector in Vietnam, the Mekong Delta is experiencing difficulties in meeting the training needs of students who have graduated from high school and are ready for higher education. Due to the limited training capacity of regional universities and colleges, only 22.2% of high school graduates have been offered places in training programs by local colleges and universities. The establishment of new universities in the region still has not been able to accommodate demands (Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), 2019b).

Whole country Red River Delta HighlandsCentral Mekong Delta

Another issue facing training institutions in the Mekong Delta concerns the training of a qualified labor force that can meet the region’s needs. Almost all the sectors in the region have reported a lack of qualified human resources (Hong, 2015). It has been estimated that, by 2025, the Mekong Delta will need up to 500,000 trained laborers to fully satisfy the requirement of trained human resources in all sectors, especially in the fields of aquaculture, technology, engineering, business, and agriculture (Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), 2019b). What this means for the region is that over 300,000 graduates (or three fifths of the total figure) will have to be trained to fill in the gap in the next 5 years. For healthcare, currently, only 60% of health centers have active nurses while the region aims for 90% coverage. Similarly, the tourism sector presently has only 100,000 qualified laborers while the targeted figure for 2020 is 236,000. With the currently low training capacity of universities and colleges in the Mekong Delta, MOET (2019b) contends that the region will remain short of a qualified human resource in the long run and accordingly fails to meet the increasing investments being poured into the region. According to a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), as of June 2019, the Mekong Delta has attracted 1,609 foreign direct investments with the registered capital totaling 22.3 billion US dollars (Ho, 2019). This entails an increase in employment from companies and entrepreneurs for a qualified human resource that can acquire not only a compatible insight into the theoretical bases but also a mastery of related skills.

20.9 28.9 13.6 12.2302520151050 35

Figure 1: Proportion of trained workforce by region in 2016 (Statistics Directorate, 2016) As of 2015, the Mekong Delta region has 17 universities and 26 colleges (Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), 2019a). These institutions host around 192,213 students, accounting for 8.13% of the total student population of the country.

To provide a sufficient and sustained source of qualified labor for the region, higher education institutions in the Mekong Delta needs to consider mobilizing resources to launch courses more efficiently. CE should be included in institutional initiatives for that purpose. Presently, out of 43 institutions in the region, only three have implemented CE for a total of 18 disciplines (P. Pham, 2017). At these three institutions, seven disciplines that have not taken enrolments for online CE training are crop science, industrial management, information technology, veterinary medicine, tourism, literature, and environmental and resource management. CE in the Mekong Delta region needs both urgent and on going improvement and completion in the management schemes since the gap in figures of graduates who need training is even higher than the current available. This task is more daunting when the needs for employment are increasing for qualified graduates with the mushrooming of foreign projects and companies. Markedly, education in the Mekong Delta region requires more investment in terms of appropriate policies and finance made by the authorities and educational managers from tertiary educational institutions.

2.3. The desired outcomes of continuing education in the Mekong Delta In the context of numerous shortages in terms of funds, cutting edge programs, materials, infrastructures, and legal systems that continuing education in the Mekong Delta is faced with, CE still undertakes the role of a reliable provider of human resources for society. The graduated laborers are, thus, expected to be sufficiently qualified to contribute to the social and economic development of the Mekong Delta region (Duong, 2015; P.T. Pham, 2017; Vietnamese Government, 2011). In other words, students graduating from CE courses should be recognized and efficiently employed in society. That does not mean any students holding a diploma can meet the requirements. Indeed, those students must not only be fully equipped with good theoretical knowledge but also with sound practical skills related to their majors to be effective workers in their future jobs. On top of that, a professional human source that can adapt to and keep pace with the international level and advancement is highly expected to be produced by continuing educational institutions (Duong, 2015;Vietnamese Government, 2011) To assess the outcomes of continuing education, Griscti and Jacono (2006) and Barriball, While and Norman (1992) find little evidence about tools to measure the effectiveness or frequency of CE. However, several criteria for assessment have been put forward (Brennan, 1997; Duong, 2015; Romi & Schmida, 2009) The major ones include enrolment, completion rates, output performance, access to disadvantaged, cost recovery, the motivation of students, acceptance of the program by the society, and social and economic benefits to the country (Welsh & Dey, 2002) To achieve the desired outcomes, CE management must always be prioritized. Edirisingha (1999) highlights the combination of managing in the input, the output, and the influential elements of management that are core to the development of CE. Rumble (1997) suggests the four main contents as the influential factors to the implementation of CE, including material, logistical, learning process, and regulatory management. Material condition is the management of the design, publication, and delivery of course books. The

3.1. Research instrument

Edirisingha (1999) also emphasizes the importance of the management combining the conditions above with the input and output of the whole CE system to bring about the most desirable outcomes. The Mekong Delta is a developing region of Vietnam, which requires a large amount of workforce who can live up to society’s and entrepreneurs’ expectations. Thus, managing a CE system that can attract higher level input and encourage the activeness of each condition to produce the desired output is both a must and a challenge to administrators of education in the Mekong Delta. For the purpose of sustainable development of the whole country, the achievements that the Mekong Delta has achieved and will achieve in CE education will play a pivotal role in boosting the social and economic chain of the whole country to develop.

This study employed a mixed methodology with document analysis and a quantitative research method to find answers to the three research questions. As far as the first research question is concerned, what are the differences in the input and output of continuing education through DL and F2F courses, demographic information based on the statistical data recorded by a university in the Mekong Delta was analyzed. The five indicators of the effectiveness of an educational program introduced by Welsh and Dey (2002) were utilized in the research. They include admitted enrolment (AE), average admission score (AAS), graduation (G), the average final score (AFS), and employment after graduation (EAG). These five aspects were investigated in two modes, face to face (F2F) and distance (DL) in eleven majors of the university which had enrolment for CE in both F2F and DL courses, namely law, veterinary medicine, accountancy, TESOL, resources and environment management, business management, construction engineering, vegetation protection, food technology, seafood processing management, and information technology. Drawing on those preliminary results, a questionnaire for 100 teachers and 20 administrators from the university was employed. The teachers and administrators selected were those having experiences in teaching and managing both DL and F2F courses in CE at the university. The questionnaire included 75 Likert items, which served to explore the priority in management that each content received and the current situation of CE. A score of 1 represented the least significant condition (the lowest level of agreement or satisfaction) and a score of 5 represented the most significant one (the highest level of agreement or satisfaction). Three more questions asking about explanations for their answers were also added. The core factors surveyed were based on those suggested by Rumble (1997), which were synthesized into four major conditions that need supervision to ensure the implementation of CE. They were material, logistical, learning process, and regulatory conditions each of which contained three elements that are coded in Table 1

3. Research methodology

logistical condition involves management in personnel, funding, and promotion. The learning process is managed through media, tutoring, and assessment. Regulatory management is focused on institutional structure, management structure, and collaboration with other institutions.

Regarding the document analysis, the statistics were collected from the training department of the university for the year 2019. A total of 1642 students admitted to CE courses and 1531 students were qualified for graduation in 2019. One hundred teachers surveyed from eleven faculties of the university were invited to participate in the survey. Besides, 20 administrators who, at the time of the survey, were serving as from the principal to associate deans of these faculties were involved in the survey.

processLearning(LP) Media Tools used for delivering lessons LP1

Content Sub-content Details of each content Code Material (M) Instruction Coursebook design M1 Production Coursebook publication M2 Distribution Coursebooks’ delivery M3 Logistical (L) Personnel Teacher, officers, and administrators L1 Finance Funding L2 Marketing Promotion (upgrade the image) L3

makingDecision Collaboration with other institutions, nationally and internationally R3

Tutoring Teacher student interactions LP2 Assessment Grade point average (GPA) based LP3 Regulatory (R) Planning Governance, administrative structure, institutional status R1 Managing Management structure R2

Additionally,courses.

3.3. Data analysis

Table 1 Coding of management contents and sub contents

According to Rumble (1997), the four contents illustrated in Table 1 are fundamental to construct and manage comprehensive and efficient online and face to face programs, the lack of any of which would lead to failure in implementations of the programs. Building these four contents is to facilitate learners and teachers with materials, infrastructure, methodology, and curriculum to implement course classes. To add, managing the implementation of these four contents is also core to successful educational management (Nolan, Owens, & Nolan, 1995). To this end, the current study took these four contents for both qualitative and quantitative research.

3.2. Sampling

The university surveyed was one of the biggest in the Mekong Delta. It was the first accredited educational institution to adopt CE in the region. And so far, the university has gained prestige for its quality and quantity of CE in the region.

The data collected from the Training Department were entered into a spreadsheet to provide an overview of the input and output of CE through DL and F2F

responses from the survey were coded and entered in SPSS Version 20 and checked for reliability using the Cronbach's α reliability estimate (α=Nρ/[1+ρ(N 1)]). A high reliability coefficient was achieved, with the Cronbach’s α estimates ranging from 0.722 to 0.911 (≥ 0.7) (Table 2). The corrected

to face courses

in distance learning courses,

159 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. item total correlation estimates were also higher than 0.3, showing good correlations between the variables The other two indices that improve the reliability of variables, namely composite reliability (CR) and average variance extract (AVE), were also examined. The results reveal high reliability of variables with CR ranging from 0.788 to 0.858 (≥ 0.5) and AVE from 0.523 to 0.636 (≥ 0.5). Table 2. Reliability estimates Factors Observed variables Cronbach'sAlpha correlationitemCorrectedtotal CR AVE M_DL M1_DL,M3M2_DL,_DL 0.722 0.728 > 0.3 0.788 0.794 0.523 0.534 M_F2F M1_F2F,M3_F2FM2_F2F, 0.727 0.731 > 0.3 0.804 0.811 0.551 0.558 L_DL L1_DL, L2_DL, L3_DL 0.883 0.886 > 0.3 0.829 0.837 0.609 0.618 L_F2F L1_F2F,L3_F2FL2_F2F, 0.879 0.892 > 0.3 0.854 0.858 0.614 0.636 LP_DL LP1_DL,LP3_DLLP2_DL, 0.731 0.737 > 0.3 0.796 0.805 0.527 0.558 LP_F2F LP1_F2F,LP3_F2FLP2_F2F, 0.765 0.786 > 0.3 0.816 0.823 0.578 0.593 R_DL R1_DL,R3_DLR2_DL, 8.893 0.902 > 0.3 0.823 0.842 0.568 0.589 R_F2F R1_F2F,R2_F2FR2_F2F, 0.894 0.911 > 0.3 0.844 0.851 0.583 0.604

LP1_DL: M1 in LP1_F2F: M1 in face

in distance learning courses,

to face courses

in distance learning courses,

R1_DL: M1 R1_F2F: M1 in

distance learning courses,

face to face courses Following a reliability check, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to determine the correlation between their factor loadings. Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) Test = 0.736 (satisfying 0.55 ≤ KMO ≤ 1), Sig Barlett’s Test = 0.000 (<0.05) (Table 3) showed good correlations between the observed variables. Table 3. KMO and Barlett’s Test Kaiser Meyer Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy .736 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi Square 3528.693 Df 372 Sig. .000 The Rotated Component Matrix (Table 4) showed that the 10 observable variables loaded on 4 factors and there were good correlations between the variables.

L1_DL: L1 L1_F2F: L1 in face

M1_DL: M1 M1_F2F: M1 in face

for CE were also markedly different in each sector of college. Specifically, the most preferable sector belonged to law with 61.2% and 52.4% in F2F and DL respectively. Yet, the least preferable belonged to information library with 1.2% in F2F and 1.5% in DL. This outcome shows a noticeable shift in choices of disciplines which was mainly economics (at 30%) in 2011 (MOET, 2010). The differences in choices of major also reflect an imbalance in employment structure in the society. This leads to redundancy in law graduation, yet shortages in the

160 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 4. Rotated Component Matrix Component 1 2 3 4 M1 .702 M2 .691 M3 .684 L1 .688 L2 .663 L3 .634 LP1 .651 LP2 .617 LP3 .603 R1 .615 R2 .592 R3 .589 The F ratio in the ANOVA table (Table 5) tests whether the overall model is a good fit for the data. The table shows that the independent variables statistically significantly predict the dependent variable, F = 62.720, p = .000 < .0005. Table 5. ANOVA Model Sum Squaresof Df SquareMean F Sig. 1 Regression 81.356 6 13.559 62.720 .000b Residual 84.313 390 .216 Total 165.668 396 4. Findings and discussion 4.1. The input and output of continuing education via F2F and DL courses In this research, the input of CE via DL and F2F was investigated based on admitted enrolment and average admission scores in 11 majors of the university. The document analyses reveal that though the number of students admitted to F2F classes was noticeably greater than that of DL classes, the students admitted to 2 types of classes had similar high school academic records. The finding confirms what was concluded in the research by P. Pham (2017) in which even though the DL courses do not attract as many students as F2F, there is an insignificant difference in the quality of students enrolling F2F and DL courses of PreferencesCE.

library. Such imbalance in choices of academic majors is affected by the lack of career orientation for high school students (Duong, 2015) or the trendy preference to work for managerial and office work in developing countries (Madhi & Barrientos, 2003). Such shortage leads to perspective or trendy rather than practical and necessary choices for future careers (Khurshid, 2014). When examining the data synthesized in the previous years (from 2016 to 2019), a reserve trend of enrolment is observed in both types of courses in CE. Specifically, from 2016 to 2019, there was a downward trend of enrolment in both F2F (from 2093 to 986) and DL (from 954 to 300) (See Table 6). However, in 2019, enrolment in F2F and DL classes experienced a remarkable rise to 1098 and 544 respectively. Such a reverse trend confirmed what Duong (2015) had found about the increasing popularity of CE in the Mekong Delta. Therefore, a foreseeable future of a bigger contribution of CE to human resource training can be revealed.

Three contents concerning the output of CE which were investigated in this research include graduation, average final score, and employment after graduation. Data analyses showed significant differences in the figures of graduated as well as employed students after graduation between F2F and DL courses. To be more specific, the percentage of graduate students from F2F courses was nearly twice as large as that from DL courses (68.8% to 31.2% respectively). Similarly, the employment rate after graduation of F2F courses was around two thirds of the total figure (68.9%). This finding is a confirmation that F2F courses dominated DL ones with a significantly higher figure of graduation and employment after graduation (Jahng et al., 2007) This is understandable due to the big difference in enrollment between the two course types that can entail the corresponding difference in the output in terms of graduation, employment, and major preference. On another note, despite its lower figure in both graduation and employment, DL courses experienced slightly higher final average scores. Besides, the highest limit of Grade Point Average (GPA) in DL courses was higher than that in F2F courses. Specifically, 2 cases of graduation in law_DL were qualified as the final good cumulative GPA (>3.2). Simultaneously, no final good cumulative GPA was found in any surveyed F2F courses. These finding illustrates the quality of students in DL courses which has been improved and is potential to surpass that in F2F courses. Also, the ratio of graduation (output) to enrolment (input) in F2F courses saw no significant difference to that in DL courses. A similar level of difference between the two course types was found in the ratios of

Table 6. Students admitted and enrolled in CE courses at the university (from 2016 to 2018) Course type Year Admitted Enrolled F2F 2016 2,577 2,093 2017 3,415 2,477 2018 1,235 986 2019 1,098 DL 2016 966 954 2017 634 588 2018 343 300 2019 544 4.2. Comparing the output of F2F and DL education

Additionally, logistical management in terms of personnel, finance, and marketing received the second highest priority in CE management in both DL and F2F courses (see Table 8). Finance and marketing are agreed to contribute to the wider accessibility and feasibility of CE while personnel to the quality and preference (Edirisingha, 1999; Rumble, 1997)

4.3. Managing the implications of CE in the Mekong Delta 4.3.1. Managing CE through DL and F2F courses In this regard, twelve elements of four core critical conditions were examined. Administrators were asked on the extent to which they agree on each element received priority in the management of the university during the implementation of CE through DL and F2F. The mean scores of answers reveal medium priority with little significant difference between the two mediums. Specifically, regulatory management in terms of managing, decision making, and planning received the highest appreciation respectively, whereas tutoring the lowest in both DL and F2F courses. The other contents had their mean scores of more than 2.7, which shows a middle level of appreciation. This finding is echoed by many studies on the issues of non formal education management. Edirisingha (1999), Khurshid (2014), Duong (2015), and P. Pham (2017) came to the similar conclusion that regulatory management receives the highest priority as it plays the most crucial role in continuing education. That is, if the framework of laws and policies for non formal education is invested initially, it will effectively integrate CE into the broader national education system (Nolan et al., 1995; T.D. Pham, 2018).

162 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. employment after graduation to graduation. Detailed figures are shown in Table 7 Table 7. Ratios of input and output of DL and F2F in CE Course type Ratio E/G Ratio EAG/G Qualified Unqualified Employed Unemployed F2F 93.2% 6.8% 67.9% 32.1% DL 85.5% 14.5% 67.3% 32.7%

Overall, the outcome reveals the high level of course completion as well as the capacity to provide the trained labor force for the Mekong Delta region through continuing education. The level also confirms the high competitiveness of distance learning to face to face learning in quality and expected results. In other words, DL, though attracting about half as many enrollments as F2F, proved to be valuable and of equally crucial contribution to fulfilling the employment to the F2F. However, the comparison between the numbers of human resource required for the whole Mekong delta region in 2025 (500,000 qualified laborers per year) with the current available graduated students from the university through CE (1489 students), it can be seen that CE in the Mekong Delta still has a long way to reach its targets in catering to the increasing requirements of the human resource of the whole region.

Table 9. Effectiveness of management of each condition in implementing CE Mean(DL) deviationStandard Mean(F2F) deviationStandard 3.16 0.78 3.21 0.74 M2 3.31 0.73 3.37 0.67 M3 3.28 0.74 3.33 0.69 L1 3.42 0.68 3.59 0.63 L2 2.52 0.85 2.64 0.83 L3 2.89 0.80 2.51 0.89 LP1 2.73 0.83 2.96 0.79 LP2 3.58 0.64 3.31 0.70 LP3 3.12 0.77 3.18 0.76 R1 3.21 0.80 3.35 0.68 R2 3.5 0.66 3.66 0.62 R3 3.33 0.71 3.58 0.65

On the one hand, when asked about the extent to which current management in each regulatory element is effective to the development of continuing education?” the respondents show a higher mean score in F2F than in DL courses. In other terms, while regulatory in F2F courses was rated the best managed group, it was the second best managed group in DL classes. In other words, the importance of regulatory was best realized by managers in F2F courses and second best in DL courses. This is also concluded in several surveys that recognize the efforts of the

4.3.2.

Table 8. The priority of each condition received in management of DL and F2F in continuing education Priority managementinDL deviationStandard Priority managementinF2F deviationStandard 3.12 0.67 3.17 0.63 2.83 0.71 3.01 0.67 M3 2.72 0.73 2.89 0.75 L1 3.51 0.58 3.6 0.54 L2 3.45 0.62 3.4 0.59 L3 3.56 0.57 3.61 0.55 LP1 2.92 0.76 2.95 0.71 LP2 2.56 0.88 2.75 0.85 3.17 0.69 3.21 0.61 R1 3.48 0.59 3.54 0.57 R2 3.62 0.53 3.77 0.50 R3 3.6 0.54 3.76 0.52 The current situation of non educational management via DL and F2F courses

The twelve elements were brought into the questionnaire to investigate the current situation of managing non educational operation via the two education mediums in the university. The results disclose a rather low satisfaction among 150 subjects in both course types (Table 9).

LP3

managing and authorizing board in building an effective framework of policies and strategies for the development of CE. Regulatory management was even highlighted as urgent due to the increasing demand for a qualified human source in the region (Duong, 2015; Edirisingha, 1999; Rumble, 1997).

On the other hand, despite the significant role that the logistical group played in the management of CE, this group received incompatible low ratings in finance and marketing. In detail, more than 95% of surveyed subjects agreed upon the limited funding and marketing that both DL and F2F courses received. This finding was previously confirmed by UNESCO (2008) which emphasizes the extremely limited budget and promotion for CE. Such limitations in budget and marketing create a huge obstacle for tertiary institutions to guarantee long term and equitable provision to people in the region, and thus negatively affect fulfilling the need for qualified human resources (MOET, 2010; P.T Pham, 2017; Vietnamese Government, 2011). Under that recognition, UNESCO (2014) recommended educational institutions involve the contribution of NGOs to supply funds for bettering the quality of CE. Exceptionally, personnel is one element of this group that received compatible management to its pivotal role. The content was rated the third most considered of all in DL and F2F courses. However, this result is a reverse of UNESCO (2014) stating that only about 25% of development plans included teacher training in CE. Again, UNESCO (2014) brought in NGOs as a reliable source of providing teacher and manager training and related services to enhance personnel quality. Materials and learning received medium satisfaction in management. Particularly, DL and F2F tutoring management was one of the best whereas media was one of the worst. Such a lack of media investment is explained to be caused by the lack and the uneven distribution in the budget for media (Duong, 2015; P.T. Pham, 2014, 2017). Shortages in media have particularly a direct impact on the implementation of DL classes, and thus needs more consideration from the authorizing bodies. 4.3.3. The capacity of training qualified human resources catering to the needs of the society. For this concern, five focuses namely seafood, technology, engineering, business, and agriculture on the employment structure of the Mekong Delta region were investigated. When asked the question “to what extent do you think that the needs of human resources majoring in each sector are high?” the answers revealed significant differences in their assessment for the requirement of human resources in each sector. Specifically, the sector that needs to provide the trained human resource the most was technology whereas the least was business. This is echoed by the conclusion of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) (2019b) which highlights the higher needs of technical rather than managerial and economic major laborers. The finding also matches with the current situation in the society where there is an uneven distribution of graduated students in different majors, favoring economics and management (P.T. Pham, 2017) When asked for their opinion about the extent to which they think that CE at the university can contribute to the completion of the educational system in

The table reveals that the biggest mean difference between the need for laborers in the society and the capacity that CE can train for the society belongs to technology (MD = 2.08) whereas business the smallest (MD = 0.82). Referring back to the analysis of the input and output, this trend can be explained to result from the unevenly distributed choices of majors among students. That means, more students enrolled in business majors than technology and engineering in both DL and F2F courses and therefore the number of graduate students in business majors was far higher than that in technology and engineering. More importantly, in the assessments of respondents, CE at the university did not have very high capacity in providing sufficient labors catering to the needs of society in all surveyed sectors (only from 2.53 to 3.07). The result poses challenges for administrators and teachers to make major shifts in CE to achieve the goal of 500,000 labors by 2025. It was recommended in several documents that CE management in both DL and F2F in Vietnam should focus on addressing the urgent problem in capital shortages and regulatory incompletion (P.T. Pham, 2017; T.D. Pham, 2018). One of the biggest efforts to be recognized is an amendment in Educational Law in higher education in July 2019, removing the distinction in the diplomas of formal and non formal education (P.T. Pham, 2018). Such a move is, agreed by 82% of respondents, considered important in triggering the development of non formal education if it is well managed. However, it is believed to be impeding and even reversing the development of the educational system in general if management in non formal education is ignored or loosened due to shortages in facilities, resources, and management capacity. In the context of a developing country, DL and F2F non formal education cannot be prioritized over the formal ones (Alamgir, 1999; Duong, 2015; Mnyanyi & Mbwette, 2009) In fact, non formal education received the least portion of the total budget for education from the Vietnamese Government with no more than 1.8% from 2008 to 2014 (Dinh, 2017). At the same time, the need for quality human resources in the Mekong Delta is increasingly high in terms of quantity and quality. Upgrading the quality and quantity of non education management is, as such, becoming more urgent than before. Also, the analysis of output in this research shows that even though the mean graduation score only ranged from 2.0 to 3.2, the rate of employment of the graduated students was quite high. When asked about the confidence in the success in building an effective CE, meeting the needs for human resources of 500,000 qualified laborers in 2025, 45.7% of respondents were confident whereas

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. generating 500,000 tertiary level laborers per year until 2025, responses reveal differences among the investigated majors. In detail, majors belonging to business received the highest rate of agreement in satisfying the human resource need (M=3.07). Simultaneously, those belonging to engineering and technology received the lowest rate (M=2.53) (Table 10).

Table 10. Correlation between labor needs and capacity to provide required laborers Seafood Technology Engineering Business Agriculture Needs of qualified labors 4.0 4.63 4.21 3.82 3.95 Capacity to provide the needed labors 2.61 2.55 2.51 3.0 2.75

Continuing education (CE) has been highlighted as a solution to educational development and socio economic sustainability. For the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, to achieve the goal of training 500,000 qualified labors by 2025, CE, in both DL and F2F trainingmodes, plays an indispensable role. The current research reveals an increasing enrolment trend in CE based courses in the Mekong Delta, with both DL and F2F actively contributing to the thriving of the region’s CE. DL courses, in particular, have managed to narrow the gap in enrolment and employment rates with F2F training courses and confirm their competitive quality. This study recognizes the effort of administrators and teachers in managing the implication of CE and delivering lessons via both DL and F2F modes. However, it points out that many CE courses still unevenly focus their intention on areas of training that do not require substantial investment in training facilities, for example, business and management disciplines, while failing to adequately invest in technological fields where the region is in strong need of qualified human resources. Among the four contents related to managing CE courses, namely the material, logistical, learning process, and regulatory aspects, the issues of regulatory management and logistical management are identified by key stakeholders to be at the top priorities. However, improvements in these two aspects are challenging due to a notable lack of financial resources and insufficient promotion of related CE courses. This substantially affects the capacity of the region’s education system in general and the region’s CE in particular. Despite the difficulties and challenges, the study confirms the confidence among stakeholders in the success of CE in developing a sustainable education system that caters to the increasing demand for a qualified and high quality workforce of the region.

6. Limitations and Implications

This study was conducted with several unavoidable limitations, which can be fruitful for further academic implications. Firstly, the scope of the study was limited to one university in the region with 130 subjects. This can be widened to more universities and involve more administrators from higher positions to have a broader and more reliable overview of the situation. Besides, the analysis of the output of the study can gain further investigation into higher academic advancement or professional promotion after graduation rather than only employment. Also, the study provides an overview of four contents in general, which can open to further research into each content or sub content.

5. Concluding remarks

In summary, although the fundamental role of F2F and DL continuing education in providing a timely and qualified human resource to the region is highly recognized among teachers and administrators, the reality is still having a long way far from the expected results. However, a majority of respondents are still confident in the success of the CE system in contributing to providing the required number of qualified human resources for the Mekong Delta region in 2025.

only 18.5% were totally and very confident. The rest of 31.8% were rather confident in the capacity of the university management in building a qualified non formal education system. The data reveal rather high level of confidence in the success of the system.

For managerial implications, this study mainly worked on management and thus it can contribute to the improvement of the management of F2F and DL continuing education by both the government and by institutional managers. To start with, it is a good sign that the national policies have re positioned the role of non formal education within the national education systems by recognizing no difference in its diploma with formal education. Nevertheless, it is important to explore more about the relevance of CE to formal education to make better coordination and supplementation between the two modes and thus strengthen the development of the tertiary education system in the region. Furthermore, the quality of the output remains controversial since there is no standard and fixed tools of measurement for this regard. As such, the administrators need to invest more in building an effective measurement for output quality to better assess the quality of CE in tertiary institutions. To add, the biggest challenge is mainly related to inadequate financial support, which hinders the implications of CE, especially DL courses. Therefore, managers need to encourage more coordinated partnerships from NGOs and the private sectors, donors, and communities. In the context of economic difficulties and uneven distribution of the Government budget, the assistance of non government and private organizations will be valuable. Since the Mekong Delta region is having its general economy stimulated and improved by foreign bodies, such financial assistance in education is mobilizable if educational administrators have an encouraging and opening strategy in fostering the investment of the external stakeholders. Regulatory management is believed to be improved the most among the investigated contents. Nonetheless, more efforts are required for further enhancement of national legal frameworks and full implementation of legislation, particularly at regional and institutionallevels. This can be done by developing further databases concerning non formal education and integrating monitoring systems for effective policy management for CE. Another step to be taken is enhancing the capacities of institutions and education personnel with training programs under the investment and guidance of the Government and NGOs. This should be carried out in parallel with designating clear objectives and reliable measures in realizing a vision in the curriculum, teaching and learning materials, and assessment in F2F and DL courses. For educational implications, this research makes a significant contribution to the fundamental shift in the operation of educational virtues from preferable brick and mortar classrooms to online classrooms under the impact of the global Covid 19 pandemic. The pandemic hitting almost every country, including Vietnam, has frozen many sectors, including education. Without the implementation of virtual classrooms, the effects of the downturn of education and thus of many economies would be immeasurable. However, according to Dinh and Nguyen (2020), the effectiveness of operating online classes of all educational levels, especially of higher education remains questionable. This research can therefore open up several issues to a more in depth investigation, including management of hybrid education, facilitation of technological platform, materials, and curriculums. By confirming the importance and the reasonability of continuing education by applying for online courses, the current study sets a steppingstone to a stronger development of online courses in the future in developing countries like Vietnam.

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Abstract. The purpose of this study was to understand the sociocultural adaptation status for international doctoral students of the “Confucius China Studies Program” (CCSP), as well as obtain suggestions from those students to the management of the program. This qualitative study applied an instrumental case study at a research site university in Beijing. Through distributing questionnaires to international students who participated in the program, as well as conducting one to one interviews with seven international students and two program management teachers, this study found that the sociocultural adaptation status of the international students of CCSP was generally high. The sociocultural adaptation status for doctoral students of the CCSP was analyzed from five aspects including interpersonal communication, academic performance, personal interest and social participation, environmental adaptation, and language proficiency. The interviewed international students proposed three suggestions to the management of the CCSP, including holding exchange and sharing activities for international doctoral students of the CCSP, compiling CCSP manual for international students of the program, and the establishment of a student writing center. This study also provides implications to administrators of the CCSP, international doctoral students, and policy makers of this issue.

Keywords: “Confucius China Studies Program”; sociocultural adaptation; international doctoral students; program management

1. Introduction Since China's acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2001, the number of international students admitted to China has been steadily on the increase. China has become the third largest study abroad destination country in the world and the largest in Asia (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018a).

172 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 172 193, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.102020

Sociocultural Adaptation and Program Management Strategies for International Doctoral Students of the “Confucius China Studies Program” Yang Fan Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2856-5957

The2019).Ministry

2.1 Sociocultural adaptation theory

Sociocultural adaptation is the adjustment of the sojourner to the local society, sufficient contact with local members, interaction, and negotiation with the local environment through the acquisition of culturally appropriate skills, based on the measurement of the difficulties experienced by the sojourner in the local society (Ward, 1996). The current academic classification of intercultural adaptation competence mainly follows Ward and Kennedy's view (Ward & Kennedy, 1992). Research indicates that the factors that influence sojourners' adjustment can be classified into four categories: 1) social elements of the native culture: including social, economic, and cultural aspects; 2) local cultural factors: including cross cultural elements in social and economics; 3) individual characteristics: such as personality, previous sojourn experience, cross cultural training experience, language ability, etc.; 4) individual and local cultural environment: includes factors such as length of cross cultural contact, amount of contact with local groups, social support, and some other factors (Ward & Kennedy, 1992).

According to the statistics from the Ministry of Education (MOE) in China, a total of 492,185 international students of various types from 196 countries and regions studied at 1,004 higher educational institutions in 31 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) across China in 2018, with an increase of 3,013, or 0.62%, over 2017 (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, of Education's Study in China Plan, introduced in October 2010, had proposed to build a system of international students studying in China services that is commensurate with China's global status and education scale (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2010). In September 2018, the Ministry of Education in China issued a talent cultivation objective on the Quality Standards for International Students in Higher Education (Trial), which states that international students in China should have the awareness, knowledge, and skills to adapt to cultural diversity (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018b). The purpose of this study was to understand the current sociocultural adaptation status of international doctoral students from the “Confucius China Studies Program” (CCSP), and obtain suggestions from international students of CCSP at the program management level.

2.Literature Review

In recent years, the Chinese government has been paying close attention to the development of international student education in China It has vigorously implemented various policies to recruit international students from other countries to come to study in China, such as the Chinese Government Scholarship, “One Belt and One Road” Scholarship, and the Confucius Institute Scholarship.

Intercultural communication theorist Collen Ward (1996) classifies intercultural adaptation competence into two dimensions: psychological adaptation and sociocultural adaptation. Psychological adaptation is based on emotional responses, pointing to psychological health and life satisfaction in a cross cultural environment, measured in terms of psychological health (Ward, 1996).

2.2 Sociocultural adaptation of international students in China

Research shows that the causes of a series of problems among international students in colleges and universities are closely related to cross cultural adjustment (Chen, 2004). Lei and Gan (2004) from at Peking University investigated the cross cultural adjustment status of 96 international students in Beijing and concluded that international students in China are a particular group of people who have more psychological problems and need to be targeted for primary prevention. Ding and Zhou’s (2019) research found that the main reasons for the emergence of cross cultural adjustment problems among international students in China include language barriers, lifestyle differences, social needs, and cultural differences.

The Chinese language level of international students is an essential factor that affects their sociocultural adaptation. A study on 68 international students in China found that interpersonal adaptation of international students with intermediate Chinese ability was significantly better than that of international students with primary Chinese ability (Li, 2009) There was no significant difference in interpersonal adaptation between international students with intermediate and advanced Chinese levels (Li, 2009). To a great extent, language difficulties hinder international students' learning process as well as social and cultural communication, make it difficult for them to participate in various academic activities at the university, also significantly affect their interpersonal adaptation situation. The country of origin for international students is also an essential factor that affects their cultural adaptation. Ward, Bochner, and Furnham (2001) analyzed the relationship between cultural distance and cultural adaptation. Based on the results of their study, the cultural distance between European and American countries and China is considerable, so the level of cultural adaptation should be relatively low; the cultural distance between Japan and South Korea and China is small, so the level of cultural adaptation should be relatively high However, a study conducted in nearly ten universities with 704 international students of all levels concluded that European and American students were more comfortable with Chinese people’s attitudes toward them (Chen, Zhu & Che, 2006) In contrast, students in Korea and Southeast Asian countries were sometimes uncomfortable with Chinese people’s attitudes towards them (Chen, Zhu & Che, 2006). The study shows that cultural distance is not the only factor that influences international students' adaptability, but also many other variables come into play. For example, because Chinese students are comparatively motivated to learn English, many Chinese students want to make friends with international students from countries where English is the native language. As a result, students from European and American English speaking countries received relatively more social support in China compared to international students from other countries (Chen, Zhu & Che, 2006). In terms of language adaptation, the level of adaptation of students from Korea and Japan is significantly higher than that of students from Europe, America, and other Southeast Asian countries, which is closely related to the social factors of international students’ home cultures (Chen, Zhu & Che, 2006).

Research suggests that international students' excessive expectations of the host country would increase their difficulties in intercultural adjustment. A better understanding of the host country could help international students to prepare for the problems they might face, thus forming the right expectations and reducing their problems in intercultural adjustment (Li, 2009). Also, other factors that influence international students' intercultural adaptability include subjective factors such as their characters, knowledge of the culture of the destination country, and their values (Zu, 2015). Much research on intercultural adaptation has been done in the field, but much of the existing research is based on international students study abroad in western countries. Philip Altbach (1991), an internationally renowned expert in comparative education states that the vast majority of the existing literature deals with the problems of adaptation and return of third world students in industrialized countries, which are only a part of the total international student research. Due to cultural and national conditions differences between China and the west, western research results and literature cannot adequately explain the problem of international students' adjustment in China.

Other factors that affect the cultural adaptation of international students to study in China include the expectations of sojourners and the purpose of study in China. Students who come to China for cultural analysis and research have a deep love for China and a strong interest in Chinese culture. On the other hand, those who come to China for study and employment in China are optimistic about China's rapid development, economy, and numerous employment opportunities, and wish to work and live in China in the future. Those different motivations may have other effects on international students' adjustment during their time in China.

3. Confucius China Studies Program (CCSP)

The Confucius Institute Headquarters established the CCSP to help young scholars from all over the world understand China and Chinese culture, promote the study of sinology, enhance the sustainable development of the Confucius Institute, and contribute to the friendly relations between China and the peoples of other countries. CCSP is a high end international exchange program launched by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in 2013, which aims to provide high quality training resources in China for overseas students, scholars, and elites from all walks of life who are studying China. The CCSP specializes in the humanities and social sciences which consists of six programs: the Joint Research PhD Fellowship, the PhD in China Fellowship, Understanding China Fellowship, Young Leaders Fellowship, Publication Grant, and the International Conference Grant (Confucius Institute Headquarters, 2020).

There are two types of doctoral student cultivation fellowships under the “Confucius China Studies Program”: the Joint Research PhD Fellowship and the PhD in China Fellowship. The target population of this study is international students currently enrolled in the Joint Research PhD Fellowship and the PhD in China Fellowship. CCSP provides financial support for non Chinese master’s degree holders to study their doctoral degrees in China for three to four years. Applicants are required to reach at least level 5 in the Chinese Proficiency Test

The research site was a university in Beijing, research participants were seven current doctoral international students who participated in the CCSP and two international student management teachers for this program. The seven participant students include five students who got the Joint Research PhD Fellowship and two students who received the PhD in China Fellowship. Among the seven students, there were four males and three females. The seven students came from seven different countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The majors they studied include International Chinese Language Education, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and Literary Studies. Among the seven students, three students are between the ages of 26 to 29 years old, two students are between the ages of 36 to 39 years old, and two

4. Research Methods

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (HSK). Still, in the actual admission process, those with excellent Chinese proficiency are given priority under the same conditions. The significant subsidies of the program include living allowance and accommodation, research expenses, round trip international travel expenses, tuition fees, training fees for Chinese universities, medical and accident insurance in China, and expenses for group activities and cultural experiences. The CCSP Joint Research PhD Fellowship for PhD students registered at foreign universities to study, conduct research, and write doctoral dissertations in China. According to the official website of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, applicants for the Joint Research PhD Fellowship is required to have a Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) score of Level 3, but applicants with excellent Chinese proficiency are given priority. For the Joint Research PhD Fellowship, the main subsidized expenses are the same as students who participate in the PhD in China Fellowship for the period of studying in China for the doctoral degree (Confucius Institute Headquarters, 2020).

The Ministry of Education (MOE) in China stressed the need to further implement the CCSP and expand the enrollment of outstanding young people from various countries to study doctoral degrees in China and to jointly cultivate doctoral students (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2017). Research on international students studying for postgraduate degrees in Beijing under the CCSP would benefit their sociocultural adaptation among international students in China, as well as to cultivate high level overseas talents for international Chinese language education. This study hopes to improve the management and serviceability of colleges and universities for international doctoral students in China. This study might also provide implications to policy makers of the CCSP, thus promoting this international student community to play a more significant role in the international arena in the future.

4.1 Research participants

According to the Confucius Institute Headquarters’ official website, there are 16 high level universities in China participating in the PhD in China Fellowship by 2020, of which five universities are in Beijing, including Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Beijing Language and Culture University (Confucius Institute Headquarters, 2020)

1. What are the sociocultural adaptation status for the currently enrolled CCSP international doctoral students during their study in China?

2. What are some suggestions from international doctoral students to the CCSP at the program management level?

A qualitative study was used since qualitative methods typically produce a wealth of detailed information about a smaller number of people and cases to increase the depth of understanding of the cases and situations studied (Patton, 2002). This research applied an instrumental case study research design to understand the sociocultural adaptation status for international doctoral students of the CCSP (Merriam, 1990; Yin, 2003). An instrumental case study is applied when the intent of the case study is to understand a specific issue, problem, or concern and a case selected to best understand the problem (Stake, 1995). Through organizing and analyzing the information in the collected questionnaire, the researcher plans to understand the personal information, social and cultural adaptation status, and needs of international students at the doctoral level.

4.3 Research methods and procedures

4.2 Research questions

Through conducting questionnaires and individual interviews with the nine research participants, this study focused on the following two research questions:

Through semi structured individual interviews, the researcher plans to gain further insight into the current situation and needs of international doctoral students’ sociocultural adaptation status, as well as to understand the suggestions of international students on the program management level of the CCSP (Creswell, Students2013)

enrolled in the CCSP is a relatively small population at the research site university, with a total of around 18 students enrolled in the program in the 2020 spring semester (including graduates in the class of 2020). Therefore, this study used a purposeful sampling strategy to select the intended participants of the study. The participants must be students who currently enrolled in the CCSP during the time of research. They must have been spent at least one semester at the research site university. The participants were recruited by contacting the program leader at the research site. After getting permission from the program leader, the researcher contacted ten international doctoral students of the CCSP through WeChat (a popular social networking software), and introduced the purpose of the study, research methods, confidentiality, and anonymity. Among the ten students, a total of seven international doctoral students agreed to participate in this study. The researcher sent the informed consent letter to all participants through WeChat and finalized nine research participants.

The researcher distributed an electronic version of the “Sociocultural Adaptation Questionnaire for CCSP International Students” to the international doctoral students The questionnaire consists of two sections: the first section is the basic personal information of the participants such as their nationality, years of stay in China, and major; the second section of the questionnaire was adapted from Ward and Kennedy's (1999) version of the Sociocultural Adaptation Scale by Wilson

After collecting the “Sociocultural Adaptation Questionnaire for CCSP International Students” from seven currently enrolled CCSP doctoral students, the researcher conducted one to one semi structured interviews with the seven students and two CCSP student management teachers. Each interview was scheduled for 45 minutes, while the actual interview length ranged from approximately 35 minutes to 1 hour and 23 minutes under the interviewees’ permission. All interviews were conducted in Chinese and were audio recorded throughout. Since this studywas conductedfromJune 2020 toAugust 2020during the COVID 19 pandemic, all student interviews were conducted online via voice communication. The semi structured interview protocols included open ended questions for the "Confucius China Studies Program" International Doctoral Students and International Student Management Teachers The sample interview question was, “please describe your adaptation in the aspect of interpersonal communication during your study of the program in China." The interview protocol designed for international doctoral students of the CCSP focused on five dimensions of the sociocultural adaptation of CCSP international doctoral students (see Appendix 2). The interviews for program administrators were conducted through face to face communication. The interview protocol for administrators of the CCSP program was divided into four sections: personal information, professional quality, sociocultural adaptation status of students in the CCSP, as well as questions related to the CCSP (see Appendix 2). The researcher transcribed all interviews verbatim in Chinese. The nine interviews lasted about nine hours in total, and the length of the interview transcripts is about 94,000 words.

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (2013) to assess students’ sociocultural adaptation status. The modified version highlights the academic performance dimension. It assesses the sociocultural adaptation status from five dimensions: interpersonal communication, academic performance, personal interest and social participation, environmental adaptation, and language proficiency (Wilson, 2013). To better understand the environmental adaptation dimension, the question “accommodate to food in the host country” was added to a total of 22 items (see Appendix 1). Scores are calculated by averaging the individual item scores, where higher scores represent greater competency in a new cultural environment (see Table 1). The internal consistency reliability of the adapted scale was 0.92, and the test result was greater than 0.7, indicating that the reliability of the scale was high. All question options were in Likert scale format, with five levels ranging from “completely inadaptable” to “very adaptable”. After collecting the information of the participants, the researcher applied descriptive analysis to analyze the sociocultural adaptation of the participants to measure their sociocultural adaptation status.

The researcher applied content analysis and thematic analysis to draw preliminary themes and conclusions of the study (Maxwell, 2013). After transcribing the interviews, the researcher repeatedly read through the transcripts several times and used NVivo 12.0 software for categorical aggregation and hierarchical coding (Chen, 2000). The questionnaires and transcripts were analyzed in Chinese and a large number of quotes were translated into English

5.1 The sociocultural adaptation status for CCSP international doctoral students Through analyzing the collected data from the Revised Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (Table 1), the results of the seven participants’ sociocultural adaptation ability were relatively competent. Among the seven participants, one student’s sociocultural adaptation status is in the scale of “extremely competent” (5) during his study and life in the CCSP in China, the sociocultural adaptation status for four students are between the scales of “competent” and “extremely competent” (4 5), one student is “competent” (4) of sociocultural adaptation while study and live in China, and one student perceives his sociocultural adaptation status as “moderate” to “competent” (3 4). 1: Results of the sociocultural adaptation scale

Number Gender Major InterpersonalCommunication AcademicPerformance PersonalandInterestSocialParticipation EnvironmentalAdaptation LanguageProficiency SocioculturalAdaptationStatus LivingofYearsChinain 1 PCF Female LiteraryStudies 4.14 4.75 4.25 5 5 4.55 12 years 2 PCF Female InternationalChineseLanguageEducation 5 5 4.75 4.6 5 4.77 7 years 3 PCF Male InternationalChineseLanguageEducation 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 years 4 PCF Female andLinguisticsAppliedLinguistics 4.14 4.75 4.5 4.4 4 4.36 4 months 5 JRPF Male InternationalChineseLanguageEducation 3.71 4.25 2.75 4.8 5 4 6 months 6 JRPF Male andLinguisticsForeignAppliedLinguistics 3.86 4 4.25 4.8 3.5 4.14 2 years 7 PCF Male andLinguisticsAppliedLinguistics 3.57 3.75 3.75 3.8 4.5 3.77 8.5 years Joint Research PhD Fellowship = JRPF PhD in China Fellowship = PCF Combining interviews with international student administrators of the CCSP, the

179 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. and included in the article. Combining information from the official websites of the research site and the introduction of the CCSP, the research questions were answered through questionnaires, individual interviews, and text analysis to generate themes. The researcherintends to ensure the trustworthiness of the study through rich and thick descriptions of the themes. 5. Findings

Table

In terms of interpersonal interactions, the international students in the program

study found that the sociocultural adaptation level of international students in the CCSP is generally high. The first reason is that many international students in the program have completed their master’s and even bachelor’s degrees in China. Therefore, they already possess some sociocultural adaptation competenceduring their doctoral level of study. Among the seven international students who participated in the study, four students have lived in China for six years or more, accounting for 57.1% of the total number of students surveyed. Secondly, as a high quality study abroad program from the Confucius Institute Headquarters, the international students admitted to the CCSP are elder than undergraduate international students, five of the seven students interviewed have about one to eight years of work experience, and five of them are married and have children. Those students have a mature and experienced way of coping with sociocultural adaptation. They can transferthe social interactions they have experienced in their home country to the country of study. During the interviews, two international student management teachers commented on the characteristics of the program students as having “high language and research proficiency, professional competence, all around development, and leadership skills.” In terms of sociocultural adaptability, they are able to use the perspective of “cultural relativism” to be aware of different standards of judgment and perceptions, and consciously change their reference standards in dealing with culture (Bennett, 1993). For example, international student 1 mentioned in the interview: “Many international students come to China with the concepts of ‘the self and the other’, and measure a country and its culture from his or her standard. I am not saying this is wrong, but this standard is not conducive to living in a foreign country for a long time. I feel that since I came to this country, I understand that this country has its own culture and some of its characteristics, and I accept these characteristics. But don't compare, ‘oh, how China is like this, in my country…’ You should look at a country's culture with a tolerant attitude, just understand and accept it.”

Interpersonal communication In terms of interpersonal communication, two of the seven international students evaluated their interpersonal communication adaptation in China as fully adapted Another two international students felt that their level of adaptation in interpersonal communication was between adapted to very adapted, the rest of the three students was between average to adapted. During the interview, one student from Japan shared his challenges in adjusting to the mono chronic culture while studying in China. He mentioned a typical case of being invited the night before a conference to give an oral presentation and another specific case of completing a 10,000 words research article within three weeks. The cases exemplify the discomfort in terms of time perspective and culture with the frequent changes in plans and schedules that characterize the monochronic culture in China (Hall & Hall, 1990). According to Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, Japan as a distinctive culture with a high degree of uncertainty avoidance is characterized by a low tolerance for uncertainty and an expectation of clear regulations and planning systems (Hofstede, 2001).

The doctoral dissertation topics of the CCSP include eight aspects related to China: 1) research on the Confucius Institute; 2) research on language, literature, and art, which involves sino foreign studies or sino foreign comparative studies; 3) research on history and philosophy, which involves sino foreign comparative studies; 4) research on sociology, which involves Chinese minority studies, women’s literature or women’s status, Chinese society, Chinese rural areas, etc.; 5) political science and law studies; 6) economics studies; 7) education studies, and 8) international relations and cross cultural studies. Among the above eight areas, international students often choose doctoral dissertation topics focusing on the second type of language, literature and art studies, and type four education studies, especially studies on language policy, overseas sinology, and localization of Chinese language education. In terms of learning motivation, the international students in the CCSP are mainly intrinsically motivated, supplemented by extrinsic motivation, with a combination of instrumental motivation. Among the research participants, four students were intrinsically motivated. They were interested in their research directions, wanted to better understand China through the doctoral program, facilitate research data collection in China, and had the experience of studying

were able to maturely cope with the interactions between classmates and teachers in their daily lives. The international students in the CCSP doctoral program spoke highly of the educational management teachers at their research sites, which demonstrated the students’ ability of empathy, for example, international student 2 stated: “Me and the supermarket aunties, the security guard at our school, we're all good friends. I respect them a lot, I respect their labor. I think what I like most about Chinese people is those most ordinary people, it's their labor that makes China so glorious.”

International student 5 noticed the lack of lunch breaks for staff members during the busy time and hopes to reduce the burden on some of the staff. Several other program students from different countries thanked the teachers work in all kinds of university departments to manage international students, with international student 1 stating: “I would like to express my special thanks to the teachers in the Division of Confucius Institute Development, they have been helping us with all kinds of problems. Whatever big and small businesses we will go to them, academically related and unrelated. The teachers are especially patient to give us answers every time.”

This study found that individual international students have some difficulties in adapting to the different customs, personal habits, and rest schedules patterns of different countries when it comes to roommates for on campus accommodation. Indicating that while adjusting to Chinese society and culture, international students also need to adjust to the social and cultural habits and customs of different countries among the international student groups, especially when it comes to personality characteristics and living habits.

Academic performance

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. abroad in China. Two international students were extrinsically motivated. They were attracted by the authority of the CCSP and the generous fellowship support provided by the program. One student was inspired by a combination of intrinsic and instrumental motivation, on the one hand, she would like to continually challenge and improve herself; on the other hand, she wants to have a better job position after finishing the program and back to her home country. The seven interviewed students learned about the program in several different ways, including recommendations from Chinese professors who came to study in Beijing, suggestions from mentors at foreign institutions or local Confucius Institute directors, and recommendations from their advisors while finishing their master's degree. The strong intrinsic motivation of international students isa good facilitator of their learning. For example, international student 2 is deeply interested in Chinese culture, and mentioned in the interview that her favorite course “Chinese Studies” is specifically designed for international students. The course introduces Chinese massage, Chinese medicine, tea ceremony, ancient poetry, and philosophy about Chinese culture, which satisfies the students’ understanding and interest in China. Of all the interviewed students, international student 1 and international student 3 believed that their biggest academic problem was self discipline, including strict adherence to a prescribed schedule and time management. The student indicated that the low credit requirements of the program also impacted students’ self discipline. International student 6 noted that participation in reading groups has a positive effect on promoting peer interaction and academic achievement. Studies have shown that field independent learners are mostly analytical, prefer independent learning, and focus on abstract and objective factors. In contrast, field dependent learners prefer to learn with others, focus on context and relationships, and expect guidance from teachers and peers (Brown, 2006). Brown’s (2006) study suggested that field independent and field dependent learning styles were related to the sociocultural characteristics of international students. International student 7’s elaboration of learning styles in the interviews is in line with Brown's findings that students from low context cultures, highly industrialized countries, and individualistic cultures are inclined to have field independent learning styles (Brown, 2006). However, field independent or field dependent learning styles are not absolute, and the following expressions reflect the shift from field independent to the co existing of field independent and field dependent learning styles of international student 7: “One of the big differences between undergraduate and master's study with a doctoral is that doctoral study centered on an individual... I sometimes write my dissertation behind closed doors, probably because I want to avoid socializing to make my dissertation better or to supervise my writing process However, social interaction can sometimes be beneficial for my dissertation and research. So how to strike that balance, I think, is also a challenge during the doctoral program.”

Personal interest and social participation Combining the results of the interviews and the survey, five of the seven interviewed international students perceive that their personal interest and social

Of the two international students who self rated their involvement in social activities as low, one student chose to focus more on her doctoral dissertation and thus deliberately avoided or reduced socializing. The other student was less involved in on campus and social activities due to his living off campus and brought his children while studying in China, combined with the influence of a comparatively elder age. This indicates that age, family situation, length of study in China, and academic pressures of international students in the program had some degree of influence on their personal interests and social involvement.

participation had been accommodated and satisfied during their study in China.

In terms of personal interest, thanks to the program’s fellowship in the forms of living and research stipends and the convenient campus facilities at the research site, all international students generally felt that their personal interests in travel, sports, reading, calligraphy, music, and learning a new language other than Chinese were satisfied. The social involvement of international students showed a rich and varied character.

Environmental adaptation In terms of environmental adaptation, whether students live on or off campus is an essential factor in influencing their sociocultural adaptation. As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic in the spring semester of 2020, the research site university waived the accommodation fees for international students who did not live on campus during that semester, which was practical assistance for international students. In terms of accommodation, six students chose to live on campus during their stay in China because of the convenience of campus facilities, and one student decided to live off campus for family reasons. One student thought that giving stipends as a package and self pay accommodation fees is not as convenient as the Chinese Government Scholarship. The Chinese Government

In terms of student activities on campus, international students in the CCSP have participated in the annual school gala, spoken at academic conferences as representatives of international students, hosted school events, and participated in the Association of International Student Union (AIU). In terms of social participation in off campus activities, the Confucius Institute headquarters (current name Center for Language Education and Cooperation) has created lots of opportunities for students to participate in a variety of social activities and symposiums. During the interview, the international students mentioned that they have been invited by events at Chinese embassies, interviewed by China Central Television and People’s Daily newspaper, selected as delegates in the International Chinese Language Education Conference, joined the open day ceremony from Confucius Institute Headquarters, enjoyed the cultural experiences (Chinese Studies Tours), participated in student exchanges between China and other countries, traveled throughout China, honored as international student representatives in the 70th National Day parade, presented in the Doctoral Student Forum of the CCSP, and so on. Living in China also allowed the international students in the program to gain a better understanding of the Chinese language, culture, customs, and experiences of Chinese people’s lives, such as finding an apartment, applying to the Internet, exercising at the gym, and shopping online.

During the interviews, three of the international students suggested that the research site should provide opportunities for doctoral students to meet and know each other by organizing CCSP freshman orientations, CCSP experience sharing sessions, and scheduled seminars. Those events could invite current or graduated students of the CCSP to share their experiences in research methods, dissertation writing, study methods, and so on. Through senior students sharing experiences, freshman or sophomore doctoral students could gain learning experiences and form a professional learning community. International Student 7 expressed: “I think the CCSP doctoral program could have a certain kind of experience sharing event. It could be in the form of a seminar or report session. I think one of the things I'm more concerned about is at the research level, including what problems my colleagues encountered, and what kind of process they experienced while conducting the research. I am

Scholarship, which is another competitive scholarship compared with the CCSP, directly waives students’ on campus accommodation fees. CCSP, on the other hand, provides students with a certain amount of stipend and students still need to pay for accommodations themselves, which adds a certain financial burden to the students’ lives. However, two students in favor of this payment method since they were not required to live on campus and that they could bring their children and families to live in China with them, so they prefer this flexible way of accommodation. In terms of adapting to living in the city, one student suggested that the amount of stipend should take into account the price level of the city. The compensation provided by the CCSP would be sufficient for living in a small city in China, whereas in a large city like Beijing the compensation would be tight. Five students, on the other hand, felt that the living and academic stipends sponsored by the CCSP were generally sufficient to cover their life in Beijing.

5.2 Suggestions for management of CCSP CCSP experience sharing events for international doctoral students

In the interviews, all interviewed students indicated that there were no significant obstacles in communicating with their Chinese teachers and classmates in Chinese, understanding the course content, and meeting the course credit requirements. In terms of Chinese listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, one student said that it was difficult to fully understand the content when someone speaks fast in Chinese. In addition, three students indicated that the biggest obstacle in language proficiency was Chinese writing, especially dissertation writing. One advisor also required the student in the CCSP to publish one or two articles in Chinese. Some students said that their professors had commented that their writing was simple and lack of logic. They regarded the primary cause of the situation as a lack of specific training in Chinese writing. This was also agreed by the international student administration teachers, who were interviewed and believed that the obstacles in Chinese writing were influenced by the large difference between oral and written Chinese. It was more difficult for international students to write in Chinese. Besides, two students also believed that their academic research ability needs to be improved.

Language proficiency

Many of the interviewed students said that they most often contacted the two teachers at the Division of Confucius Institute Development at the research institution. Teachers of the Division of Confucius Institute Development handled a series of matters including new student registration, program extensions, graduation, suspensions, end of term supervisors’ evaluations, annual summaries, training plans, and a series of documents required by the program. Those teachers are also responsible for distributing living and academic stipends, airline ticket reimbursement, accommodation arrangements, and invitation letters for students and their families to obtain visas. The Division of Confucius Institute Development is also responsible for informing the students about specific information from the Confucius Institute Headquarters through WeChat.

One student suggested that the experience sharing session could be conducted in small groups to provide opportunities for interactions among the presenter and the students for the best effectiveness.

When teachers in the Division of Confucius Institute Development were unable to answer the students’ questions, they would contact other departments. Departments such as the International Student Administration Office, students’ graduate schools, and the Accommodation Center could help resolve problems related to new student registration, visas, course selection, and so on. During the interviews, two interviewees mentioned that they often encountered the problem of not knowing which teacher in which department to contact for specific questions and through what means. International student 4 and international student 6 suggested making a detailed manual for international students of the CCSP based on the existing manual for all international students from the International Student Administration Office. The manual for CCSP could explain in more detail the procedures involved in the program, such as orientation, class selection, accommodation, etc., so that students would know which specific department to contact, whom to contact, and by what means. On the other hand, the manual could reduce the workload and pressure of international student staff, avoid repeated inquiries from different students on the same issue, and improve working efficiency.

Compiling a manual for international students of the CCSP

International student 6 believes that dinner or orientation could be held when the CCSP students entered the program. Therefore, new students could get to know the program management teachers as soon as possible and close the distances among each other. This could also benefit the new students to adapt to their study and life in China. Several interviewed students also suggested that after the fifth or tenth anniversary of the international students’ graduation, the research site could invite the international students to share their experiences, introduce their latest research, maintain contact with the university, and at the same time better publicize the CCSP. Afterthe international students return to their home countries, it is important to strengthen the ties with the alumni of the program, promote the development and the output of the CCSP through various means.

6. Conclusions This study focuses on understanding the sociocultural adaptation of international students in the CCSP through questionnaires and one on one interviews, as well as their suggestions on program management. All research aims have been accomplished through this study. It is found that the social and cultural adaptability of international students in the CCSP is generally high. This study provides implications to policy makers and the research site university to hold exchange and sharing activities for international doctoral students of the CCSP, compile CCSP manual for international students of the program, and establish a student writing center at the research site university. This study also has several limitations, the first limitation is the small sample size of the participants. Because of the relatively small population of students enrolled in the CCSP in the research site university, it was difficult to recruit a large number of students to participate in this study. The second limitation is that because of the COVID 19 pandemic, all student interviews were conducted online via WeChat voice communication. The third limitation of the study is that if possible, a triangulation of the research methods such as observation and document analysis could be used to enhance the trustworthiness of the study. As a high level international student program in China, understanding the social and cultural adaptability of international doctoral students of the CCSP during their study in China, obtaining suggestions and demands of the international students in program management could help promote the standardization and long term effectiveness of international student management and contribute to the development of international student affairs in Chinese universities.

Establishing a student writing center

In response to the academic writing difficulties raised by a number of international students, international student 7 noted that the current methods of learning academic writing include self study, advisor’s guidance, and help from colleagues. However, he mentioned that seeking support from Chinese colleagues caused some trouble and added workload for them. He wished to get more professional and efficient help with writing. International student 7 suggested that the university could create a student writing center at the research site institution. The writing center would be staffed with professional teachers or graduate students to tutor international students in Chinese academic writing. In addition, currently enrolled Chinese students and university faculty members could also get assistance from the Writing Center. Possible services the center could provide include text proofreading, editing, essay formatting, workshops about writing skills, as well as bilingual writing tutoring in both Chinese and English. Regular lectures, seminars, salons on academic writing, and books on writing skills could also facilitate students’ learning. The Writing Center could set up a support group for essay writing, where monthly meetings can be held to discuss the progress of their reading and dissertation writing, as well as the problems they may face during their writing process. Through the creation of a student writing center, the Chinese writing skills of international students, not only for students in the CCSP but also the international student group in the research site in general, could be effectively improved.

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Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2019). Statistics on international students studying in China in 2018. Retrieved from 2.htmlhttp://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/201904/t20190412_37769

189 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix Questionnaire on the Sociocultural Adaptation Status of International Doctoral Students of the “Confucius China Studies Program” Dear Thankstudent,youso much for agreeing to participate in this study. I am conducting a survey to understand the sociocultural adaptation of international doctoral students in China under the Confucius China Studies Program. The questionnaire will be anonymous and all information will be kept confidential. The obtained data will only be used for this study. Please read each question carefully and select the option that best fits your situation. Your completion of the questionnaire will be very helpful to my research, thank you for your participation and support! Section 1: Basic Personal Information 1. First three letters of your name: _________ 2. Gender: Male Female 3. Nationality: ________ 4. Age: _________ 5. Major of study in the CCSP: _____________ 6. How long have you been living in China so far: _________ 7. Which type of CCSP are you in: Joint Research PhD Fellowship PhD in China Fellowship 8. HSK level: ______________ 9. Years of study in the doctoral program: ____________ 10. Native language: ________ 11. Besides yournative language, how many languages can you speak and what are the languages: _______________________ 12. Before joining the CCSP, do you have any work experience? If so, what was your job and how many years have you been working? 13. Before joining the CCSP, do you have any experience in studying and working in overseas countries? If so, which country have you been living, and for how many years? 14. Before joining the CCSP, what is your major(s) during your undergraduate and master’s degree of study: __________________________ 15. Have you ever suffered from economic difficulties during your study of the CCSP? What is your primary income during your study at the CCSP? 16. Have you got married during your study at the CCSP? Do you have any children?

190 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Section 2: Sociocultural Adaptation Scale Thank you for answering the basic information questions in Part I. In Part II, the questions will focus on understanding your intercultural adaptation while studying in China. There are five level options for each question and you will be asked to select the one that best fits your situation. The options on the left are not at all appropriate for your situation and the options on the right best fits your situation. To ensure the accuracy and validity of the data, please answer the questions based on your real situation. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding! SCAS RevisedR Sociocultural Adaptation Scale Living in a different culture often involves learning new skills and behaviors. Thinking about life in [country], please rate your competence at each of the following behaviors (1 = Not at all competent; 5 = Extremely competent). 1. Building and maintaining relationships. 1 2 3 4 5 2. Managing my academic/work responsibilities. 1 2 3 4 5 3. Interacting at social events. 1 2 3 4 5 4. Maintaining my hobbies and interests. 1 2 3 4 5 5. Adapting to the noise level in my neighborhood. 1 2 3 4 5 6. Accurately interpreting and responding to other people’s gestures and facial expressions. 1 2 3 4 5 7. Working effectively with other students/work colleagues. 1 2 3 4 5 8. Obtaining community services I require. 1 2 3 4 5 9. Adapting to the population density. 1 2 3 4 5 10. Understanding and speaking [host language]. 1 2 3 4 5 11. Varying the rate of my speaking in a culturally appropriate manner. 1 2 3 4 5 12. Gaining feedback from other students/work colleagues to help improve my performance. 1 2 3 4 5 13. Accurately interpreting and responding to other people's emotions. 1 2 3 4 5 14. Attending or participating in community activities. 1 2 3 4 5 15. Finding my way around. 1 2 3 4 5 16. Interacting with members of the opposite sex. 1 2 3 4 5

191 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. SCAS R Scoring SCAS R items are based on a Likert scale of 1 (= Not at all competent) to 5 (= Extremely competent). Scores are calculated by averaging the individual item scores, where higher scores represent greater competency (skills or behaviors) in a new cultural environment. Scores for each of the SCAS R subscales may also be calculated: Interpersonal Communication: Items 1, 3, 6, 11, 13, 16, 21 Academic Performance: Items 2, 7, 12, 17 Personal Interest and Social Participation: Items 4, 8, 14, 18 Environmental Adaptation: Items 5, 9, 15, 19, 22 Language Proficiency: Items 10 and 20 Appendix 2 Interview ("ConfuciusProtocolChina Studies Program" International Doctoral Students) Interview questions: 1. Please tell us why you joined the “Confucius China Studies Program” (hereinafter referred to as “the program”). 2. Please describe the training model and graduation requirements (e.g. credits, dissertation, other requirements, etc.) of the program. Intercultural adaptation: 3.What do you think was the biggest challenge you encountered during the 4.Whatprogram?do you think is the most important thing you have achieved during the 5.program?Pleasedescribe your adaptation in the aspect of interpersonal communication during your study of the program in China. 6. Please describe your adaptation of academic performance during your study of the program in China. 17. Expressing my ideas to other students/work colleagues in a culturally appropriate manner. 1 2 3 4 5 18. Dealing with the bureaucracy. 1 2 3 4 5 19. Adapting to the pace of life. 1 2 3 4 5 20. Reading and writing [host language]. 1 2 3 4 5 21. Changing my behavior to suit social norms, rules, attitudes, beliefs, and customs. 1 2 3 4 5 22. Accommodating to food in the host country. 1 2 3 4 5

9. How would you evaluate your Chinese language proficiency while participating in the program? Program Management strategies for the CCSP:

15.WhatChina?

7. Please describe in what ways the needs of your personal interest and social participation have been accommodated and met during your participation in the program in China.

II. Interview questions

4. Have you ever felt overwhelmed in managing international students? Were there times when you felt fulfilled with this work?

12. If possible, what advice do you have for the university's administration and services to better serve future international students participating in the program?

4. If you have overseas experience, the country in which you previously studied or worked overseas is: ________ and the number of years you have worked or studied overseas is: ________

8. How would you evaluate the level of your adaption to the local environment during your study and life in the program?

I. Basic personal information

11. How do you think the international student affairs administrators at your university have helped you in your study and life during the program?

The professionalism of international student managers:

3. What are the main administrative challenges for international doctoral students in the CCSP?

13. If possible, what suggestions do you have for the policies of international students coming to studyin China for the betterment of the program in the future?

1. Your field of study: ___________

10. How do you think the Confucius Institute headquarters has helped you in your study and life during your participation in the program?

Interview (InternationalProtocolStudent Management Teachers)

3. Did you study or work overseas before working in the field of international student management: ________

2. Number of years you have worked in international student management:

1. Please tell a little bit about the main tasks of your work in the "Confucius China Studies Program".

2. Did you have any professional training or work experience before engaging in the management of international students, if so, can you tell us about it?

are some questions that I hadn't thought of, but that you think I should know about or should be Thankexplored.youfor your support of this interview and research!

14. If possible, what advice would you give to future international students participating in the program to help them better adapt to their study and life in

7. What do you think are the differences and characteristics of the international doctoral students in the CCSP compared to other international students?

10. Do you have any suggestions for the development of the CCSP at the policy and management level?

12. Are there any issues that I haven't thought of, but you think I should know about or discuss? Thank you for your support of this interview and research!

The “Confucius China Studies Program”:

Intercultural adaptation of doctoral students:

9. In your opinion, what measures can universities take in the future to improve the intercultural adaptability of international doctoral students in the CCSP?

5. The sociocultural adaptation dimension of intercultural adaptation consists of five aspects: interpersonal communication, academic performance, personal interest and social participation, environmental adaptation, and language adaptation. In your work, have you encountered any problems with any of the above dimensions of intercultural adjustment among the doctoral students of the CCSP? If so, can you tell us about them?

11. Do you have any advice for international students who are participating in the CCSP to improve their adjustment to study and life in China?

6. Has your department taken any measures or organized any activities to improve the intercultural adaptation of international doctoral students under the CCSP during their study in China, and if so, what measures and activities have been taken and organized?

8.What do you think are the differences between international students at the doctoral level and other undergraduate or non degree international students in terms of learning and adjustment during their study in China?

Abstract. In response to the interest in learner autonomy in recent years, educational research has been increasingly paying attention to students’ out of class autonomous learning activities. This study aims to (1) describe the extent to which Indonesian tertiary students engaged in autonomous English language learning outside the class, (2) explore their perceived constraints in practicing autonomous learning, and (3) examine whether there are any significant differences in the autonomous learning activities between female and male students and between the English major students and non English major students Employing the explanatory mixed method design, a total of 402 first year students completed a questionnaire, and 30 of whom were interviewed. The questionnaire data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non parametric tests, and the interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the students did engage in several out of class English learning activities, however many of the activities were more receptive than productive. The interviews echoed the questionnaire results, and the students claimed that they were not autonomous in their learning due to several constraints The results also revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of practice of autonomous out of class activities based on gender but a significant difference was found concerning majors of study Practical implications for the Indonesian context are put forward Keywords: learner autonomy; out of class autonomous learning; perceived constraints; gender; majors of study 1. Introduction Learner autonomy, which is often defined as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning” (Holec, 1981, p. 3), is increasingly regarded as an imperative in foreign language learning. An escalating interest in learner centered approaches to language teaching, coupled with recent advancements in technology based approaches, makes clear the point that learner autonomy is an essential element

Autonomous English Language Learning Beyond the Classroom: Indonesian Tertiary Students’ Practices and Constraints State Islamic Institute of Kerinci, Indonesia 0003 3625 5315

194 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 194 213, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.112020

https://orcid.org/0000

Daflizar

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. in foreign language learning. In response to these trends, educational research is increasingly paying attention to students’ out of class autonomous learning activities (Benson 2011). Out of class language learning is often used to describe “non prescribed activities that students carry out independently to broaden their knowledge of a subject” (Benson, 2011, p. 9) Unlike classroom discourse that tends to be structured and hierarchical involving simple rituals and routines as well as display language, discourse beyond the classroom is somewhat unstructured and its contexts of use generate multifaceted rituals and routines resulting in the authentic language (Nunan, 2014). Previous studies in a variety of contexts suggest that students’ active engagement in language learning beyond the classroom leads to the improvement in learners’ proficiency, confidence, motivation, along with intercultural awareness, and compensates limitations of classroom based learning (Benson 2011; Nunan, 2014; Ushioda 2001; Yorozu, I2001).nany investigation into out of class English language learning, context is of essential consideration (Hyland, 2004). This is because learners of English take part in particular local contexts with particular practices that create English learning opportunities (Norton & Toohey, 2001, p. 311). In other words, a different learning context may provide learners with different learning experiences, including the amount of exposure to the target language In the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) like Indonesia, classroom teaching and learning may be the only venue where students have contact with English. Once the students leave the classroom, they are immersed in their first language environment, in which opportunities to use English in real settings are limited.

The challenges of English language teaching (ELT) in Indonesia have been well documented. Although many efforts have been made to improve ELT quality, including the introduction of different curricula, there still has been widespread dissatisfaction with the English achievements of Indonesian students (Dardjowidjojo, 2000; Madya, 2002; Marcellino, 2008; Nuh, 2013). Several studies argued that the continuing problems do not only stem from the curriculum but also from several other factors, such as limited time allocation for English instruction, students’ lack of opportunity to use English out of the classroom, and lack of teacher’s encouragement for students’ participation in the classroom activities (Dardjowidjojo, 2000; Musthafa, 2001; Nur, 2004; Weda, 2018). It is widely accepted that in the Indonesian context, the amount of exposure to the target language, which is the most fundamental prerequisite of language acquisition (Rowland, 2014), is very limited. The total number of hours allocated for English instruction for the entire six year period of secondary schools (junior high school and senior high school) is 720 hours (Mustafa, 2018) with no more than four contact hours per week (Yulia, 2014). To compensate for this limited number of hours, therefore, students need to extend their engagement in English language related activities outside the classroom for more language exposure

2. What perceived constraints did the students have in their autonomous learning outside the class?

1. To what extent did Indonesian tertiary students engage in autonomous English language learning activities outside the class?

3. Are there any statistically significant differences in the autonomous English language learning activities outside the class between females and males and between the students who are English majors and the students who are non English majors?

However, while learner autonomy requires students’ acceptance of responsibility to take control of their learning (Benson, 2001), several studies on learner autonomy in the Indonesian context showed that Indonesian students’ learning behavior is otherwise. In a study of secondary school students, Cirocki, Anam and Retnaningdyah (2019) found that many students were not familiar with the concept of learner autonomy. Based on their dependency on teachers, only 1.4% of the students appeared to be autonomous learners. The results also showed that the students had fairly low motivation to learn English and were not ready to act as autonomous learners due to a lack of typical competencies. At the university level, Hermagustiana and Anggriyani (2019) found that most students perceived that their teachers had a dominant role in controlling teaching and learning, which eventually led the students to become less autonomous both inside and outside the classroom. In an investigation of teachers’ beliefs, Saraswati (2019) found that more than 80% of the teachers agreed that they were responsible for the teaching and learning process and less than 60% thought that their students’ are autonomous learners. These results suggest that learner autonomy is an essential measure to pursue in the Indonesian context. It is suggested in the literature, however, that the development of learner autonomy is a gradual and intricate process (Benson, 2011; Blidi, 2017; Little, 2007). Learner autonomy is the product of an interactive process in which teachers gradually expand the scope of their learners’ autonomy by gradually allowing them to take more control over their learning (Little, 2007, p. 26) Its intricacy derives from several factors, including culture, learner’s beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and personality (Chen & Li, 2014). This suggests that the development of learner autonomy will likely be different from culture to culture and will depend on students’ readiness to exercise autonomous learning, which may be reflected in their behaviors and beliefs Thus, before any interventions aiming to promote learner autonomy are implemented, exploring students’ practice of autonomous learning outside the class and perceived constraints they have in performing their learning is an important step to take. A better understanding of students’ learning beyond the classroom can assist in the implementation of learner autonomy as a goal and make guidance given by teachers to learners more effective (Pearson, 2004). Based on this framework, the current research attempted to answer the following questions:

Previous Studies on Out of class Learning

2. Literature Review

Over the last few decades, an increasing number of studies into students’ out of class English language learning have been conducted. One earlier study was conducted by Chan, Spratt, and Humphreys (2002) with a group of tertiary students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The results showed that the major out of class activities the learners engaged in were related to communication and entertainment, such as watching movies and television in English and using the internet. In a similar context, Hyland (2004) found that students spent considerable time on receptive activities such as listening and reading, rather than speaking and writing. In a study of 324 students, Wu (2012) found that the most frequently practiced activities are watching films and television, reading, and listening to English songs, music, and radio channels

In a study involving 121 students at an English Language Institute in Saudi Arabia, Tamer (2013) found that watching English movies and listening to English songs were the top most frequently practiced activities among the students, followed by reading English signboards, watching TV in English, and using the internet in English. In the Turkish context, Inozu, Sahinkarakas and Yumru (2010) found that students most frequently practiced their English doing internet activities, such as e mailing or chatting, listening to music, watching TV programs and movies, and reading books or magazines. In a similar context,

Learner Autonomy Learner autonomy has been defined in many ways, indicating that it is a multidimensional concept whose meaning can take many different forms and be viewed from many different standpoints (Benson, 2001; Smith, 2008). The term ‘learner autonomy’ was first coined by Holec (1981), and he defined it as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning” (p. 3). Since then, many definitions have arisen but researchers have not agreed on one straightforward definition that sufficiently describes the concept. Interestingly, learner autonomy has also been described in terms of levels and versions. Littlewood (1999), for example, proposed a two level category of autonomy, i.e. ‘proactive’ and ‘reactive’ autonomy. The former refers to circumstances where learners are able to take charge plan, monitor, and evaluate of their own learning. The latter, the second level of autonomy, is “the kind of autonomy which does not create its own directions but, once a direction has been initiated, enables learners to organize their resources autonomously in order to reach their goal” (p. 75). Benson (1997) identified three versions of autonomy: technical, psychological, and political. Technical autonomy is defined as the act of learning a language outside the context of an educational institution and without the involvement of a teacher. In the psychological version, autonomy refers to an ability that allows learners to take more responsibility for their learning. The political version is related to control over the process and content of learning. The main concern in this version is “how to achieve the structural conditions that will allow learners to control both their own individual learning and the institutional context within which it takes place (Benson, 1997, p. 19).

Orhon (2018) found that learners were mostly engaged in listening to songs in English, followed by watching TV programs, videos, or movies in English. Maros and Saad (2016) conducted a study in the Malaysian context. The results showed that the participants preferred to learn English through watching television programs or movies and make use of tools mainly technology affiliated in advancing themselves in the language. In a similar context, Hashim, Yunus, and Hashim (2018) found that listening to talk shows on the radio, watching TV shows, or seeing movies in the English language were the highest rated activities the students engaged in for improving their listening and speaking skills.

3. Research Methodology Design To collect the data of this research, the explanatory mixed methods design, which comprises a quantitative phase, followed by a qualitative phase, was employed The explanatory design requires two different reciprocal phases beginning with the collection and analysis of quantitative data, followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). The overall purpose of this design is to be able to use the qualitative data collected in the second phase to help explain initial quantitative results Participants The quantitative phase of the research involved 402 first year students from four higher educational institutions in Jambi province, Indonesia; two institutions of Islamic studies, an institution of administrative studies, and an institution of economics studies. The participating students consist of 192 males and 210

In the Indonesian context, very few studies on the issue of out of class English language learning have been published (e.g. Ardi, 2013; Muthalib, Ys & Mustafa, 2019; Sutiono, Saukah, Suharmanto & Oka, 2017) and each had a different focus from the present study in some ways. Ardi (2013) investigated the autonomous behaviors and out of class English language learning activities of 192 first year university students Muthalib et al. (2019) looked at the methods for language exposure outside the language classroom context among 50 first year university students who were considered successful language learners as measured by their TOEFL scores. Sutiono et al. (2017) explored the out of class activities employed by six successful and three unsuccessful students of the English major. The present study is of significance as it attempted to fill the gaps in the projects mentioned above. Besides investigating students’ autonomous learning beyond the classroom, it explored students’ perceived constraints in practicing autonomous learning, the matters that have been little or not explored in previous research. Also, this study examined whether there are any statistically significant differences in the autonomous learning activities outside the class regarding gender and major of study. In terms of methodology, this study employed a mixed methods approach and involved a larger number of participants. The participants were EFL students from four different institutions of higher education spreading over 20 majors of study.

A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect the data. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire adapted from Chan et al. (2002) was used. The adapted questionnaire consists of 22 items that explore students’ autonomous English language learning activities outside the class. The participants rated their answers on a four point scale ranging from ‘never’ to ‘often’. In the qualitative phase, semi structured interviews were conducted with 30 purposefully selected participants to explore the perceived constraints they had in performing autonomous English learning outside the class.

Data Analysis

The data obtained through the questionnaires were first organized into a suitable form for its analysis. Since the questionnaire items were closed ended questions, steps proposed by Dörnyei (2010) were followed to process the

Before deciding whether to participate in the study, all the participants were provided with an information form, which explains the purposes and benefits of the study. The students who agreed to participate in the study returned the signed consent forms Before the administration of the questionnaire, the participants were requested to complete the questionnaire as honestly as they could. The students who were chosen for the interviews were contacted to make arrangements for the interviews. Before the interviews, the interviewees were also requested to be sincere and honest in answering the interview questions. To avoid miscommunication due to the low English proficiency level of the participants, the interviews were conducted in Bahasa Indonesia. Lopez, Figueroa, Connor and Maliski (2008) suggested that researchers’ interviews should be conducted in the participants’ preferred language so that they will have a clearer understanding of the issues under investigation. The interview was conducted in a quiet classroom to help maximize its quality. Each interview was planned to last about 15 minutes but some of the interviews lasted longer and each interview was audio recorded as all the participants had consented to this.

females that spread over 20 major fields of study, 52 of whom were doing English major. The participants were about 18 to 20 years of age and were with different English proficiency levels In the qualitative phase, 30 of the students were selected for interviews. To select the sample in the quantitative phase, both stratified sampling and purposive sampling were used. To obtain a representative sample of the whole population in terms of gender, the students from each of the majors were divided into two groups: male and female. After that, the males and females in each of the majors were randomly selected according to their proportion. The purposive sampling was used to include all the students of the English major in the sample to address one of the research purposes i.e. to examine if there were differences between the students of the English major and those of non English majors in their autonomous English language learning activities outside the class. In the second phase of the study, 30 participants were selected from those who indicated their availability to take part in an interview in the consent forms. The selected participants had varied autonomous English language learning practices outside the class. Research Instruments

Data Collection Procedure

language learning activities outside the class No. Activities Often(%) Sometimes(%) Rarely(%) Never(%) 1. Reading grammar books on your own 11.19 54.73 29.10 4.98 2. Doing exercises which are not compulsory 11.44 36.07 36.82 15.67 3. Noting down new words and their meanings 37.81 33.08 21.14 7.96 4. Reading English notices around you 20.65 36.57 30.35 12.44 5. Reading newspapers in English 6.72 20.40 37.06 35.82 6. Sending e mails in English 8.96 18.66 26.87 45.52 7. Reading books or magazines in English 12.44 28.61 40.55 18.41 8. Watching English TV programs 43.28 33.58 20.15 2.99 9. Listening to English radio 7.21 17.66 32.59 42.54 10. Listening to English songs 63.43 25.12 8.46 2.99 11. Talking to foreigners in English 4.98 13.43 31.34 50.25 12. Practicing using English with friends 19.65 38.06 32.84 9.45 13. Doing English self study in a group 13.93 31.09 39.30 15.67 14. Watching English movies 61.69 26.37 9.20 2.74 15. Writing a diary in English 6.97 15.42 26.37 51.24 16. Using the internet in English 29.60 32.84 27.11 10.45 17. Doing revision not required by the teacher 6.47 26.12 35.57 31.84 18. Collecting texts in English (e.g. articles, brochures, labels, etc.) 12.69 23.38 35.07 28.86 19. Going to see the teacher about your work 9.95 26.37 39.80 23.88 20. Attending meetings in English 4.73 11.69 28.36 55.22 21. Watching videos/DVDs/VCDs 45.77 28.86 18.91 6.47 22. Reading English news online 15.67 27.61 35.32 21.39

activities

The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. information. These steps include data check and cleaning, data manipulation, reduction of the number of variables, measurement of data reliability and validity, and statistical analyses The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and non parametric tests with the help of SPSS. The data obtained through the interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis following the steps proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). Before the analysis was conducted, the audio recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. After all the interview data were transcribed, the transcripts were rechecked to verify that there were no obvious mistakes made during the transcription process. Then, the analysis was conducted in the source language (Bahasa Indonesia). Pseudonyms were used in reporting the interview results to keep the anonymity of the participants. Findings Autonomous English Language Learning Activities outside the Class Table 1 shows the percentages of the students’ responses to items probing their autonomous English learning outside the class. As shown in the table, 9 out of 22 appeared to be frequently (‘often’ or ‘sometimes’) practiced by more than half of the students. Meanwhile, 13 activities were infrequently (‘never’ and ‘rarely’) practiced. Students’ autonomous English

Table 1:

Collecting texts in English (e.g. articles, brochures, labels, etc.) (63.93% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’) Going to see the teacher about your work (63.68% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’) Reading books or magazines in English (58.96% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Doing English self study in a group (54.97% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

The results in the interview confirm those obtained in the questionnaire, which indicated listening to music was the highest rated activity. When asked whether the activity was done more to learn or just for fun, some of the students said that they did it for both, others said it was more for fun, and the rest claimed that they did it more for learning. Kartika and Ahmad, for example, said that they listen to music more for pleasure than a learning purpose. Kartika stated, ‘Saya sering mendengarkan musik tapi hanya untuk hiburan saja. Saya hanya mendengarkan dan menikmati lagunya, tidak pernah menterjemahkan liriknya’ (I often listen to English songs but just for fun. I just listen and enjoy the songs, never translate the lyrics). A similar sentiment was that of Ahmad. He said, ‘Saya cuma mendengarkan lagu bahasa Inggris sekedar untuk hiburan saja’ (I just listen to English songs for fun only). Shinta, on the other hand, said that she listened to music more for learning than for fun. She commented, ‘Saya biasanya menterjemahkan lirik lagu yang saya dengarkan. Sering mendengarkan musik akan memudahkan saya menghafal liriknya’ (I usually translate the lyrics of the song I listen to. Listening to music frequently will allow me remembering the lyrics easier).

Watching videos/DVDs/VCDs (74.63% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Doing revision not required by the teacher (67.41% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Writing a diary in English (77.61% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’) Listening to English radio (75.13% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’) Reading newspapers in English (72.88% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

The students indicated that ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ engaged in the following activities: Attending meetings in English (83.58% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Talking to foreigners in English (81.59% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Noting down new words and their meanings (70.89% ‘often’ or Reading‘sometimes’)grammar books on your own (65.92% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Doing exercises which are not compulsory (52.49% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Perceived Constraints in Performing Autonomous Learning outside the Class Semi structured interviews were conducted with 30 selected students to ask about the constraints they had in performing autonomous learning outside the

Sending e mails in English (72.39% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

Watching English TV programs (76.86% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

The most frequently (often or sometimes) practiced activities are listed below in the order of Listeningfrequency:toEnglish songs (88.55% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’) Watching English movies (88.06% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Using the internet in English (62.44% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Practicing using English with friends (57.71% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Reading English notices around them (57.22% ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’)

Reading English news online (56.71% ‘never’ or ‘rarely’)

class. First, the students were asked whether they considered themselves autonomous learners. A vast majority of the interviewed students admitted that they were not autonomous learners When asked the reason for not exercising autonomous learning, the students gave various answers. Andika, for example, commented that he did not know how to learn autonomously. He said, ‘Saya tidak tahu bagaimana belajar mandiri itu dilakukan’ (I don’t know how autonomous learning should be done) Riana shared similar reasoning but added that she needed to learn how to learn autonomously from others She commented, ‘Saya masih belum mampu untuk belajar secara mandiri, saya masih ingin belajar dari orang yang lebih tahu daripada saya’ (I can’t learn autonomously, I still need to learn from those who are more able than me). Sintia, Rinjani, and Amanda shared another different reason, stating that English is hard to learn. As Sintia said: ‘Ya jujur saja bagi saya Bahasa Inggris itu sangat sulit dipelajari. Tulisan dan bacaannya beda, tidak seperti Bahasa Indonesia’ (Frankly speaking, for me, English is very hard to learn. Unlike Bahasa Indonesia, English words are pronounced differently compared to how they are written). A similar opinion was given by Rinjani, saying, ‘Saya kurang minat belajar bahasa Inggris. Saya tidak suka. Sudah pernah mencoba belajar seperti menghafal kosa kata, tapi sangat sulit, terutama pengucapannya’ (I am not interested in learning English. I just don’t like English. I have tried to learn, like memorizing vocabulary, but I find it very difficult, especially pronunciation). Meanwhile, Amanda related this difficulty with English grammar. She commented, ‘Salah satu alasan kenapa saya tidak belajar mandiri itu karena bahasa Inggris sangat sulit, terutama tenses nya’ (One reason why I do not learn autonomously is that English is very difficult, especially its Ekotenses).and Bambang remarked that they did not engage in autonomous English learning activities because they have limited time after class. Eko explained, ‘Waktu sata sangat terbatas karena saya harus bekerja sepulang kuliah’ (I have very limited time because I have to work after class). For Bambang, much of his time after class was spent on some off campus social activities. He said, ‘ saya sangat sibuk diluar. Saya aktif dalam kegiatan kegiatan sosial diluar kampus’ ( I am quite busy outside. I am active in the activities of social organizations outside the campus). For Melani, most of her time after class was used for helping her parents doing housework. However, she tried to learn English if she had spare time. She said, ‘Meskipun saya sangat sibuk melakukan pekerjaan di rumah, kadang kadang saya belajar bahasa Inggris bila saya punya waktu senggang disela sela kesibukan’ (Although I am very busy at home doing housework, I sometimes study English if I have spare time in my busy days).

Another reason given by the students for not practicing autonomous learning outside the class was that learning resources were limited. This point was made by Budi who commented, ‘Sumber belajar seperti buku sangat terbatas’ (Learning materials, such as books, are very limited)’. On this same matter, Eva remarked: ‘…buku bukunya terbatas Dan juga, saya sulit mencari teman yang mau berdiskusi, belajar bersama, dan lain lain’ (…the availability of books is limited Also, it is very hard for me to find a friend who wants to discuss, study together, and so on).

Two different Mann Whitney U tests were conducted to examine if females (n=210) and males (n=192) and the students doing an English major and the students doing majors other than English differed in autonomous English learning activities outside the class (See Table 2 and Table 3) Table 2: Mann-Whitney U test results of the differences in students’ perceptions of their autonomous English learning activities outside the class regarding gender (N=402) Activities outside the class Mann Whitney U 18412.500 Female mean rank 209.82 Male mean rank 192.40 z score 1.502 p value .133

Interestingly, out of 30 interviewed students, only few who thought that they were autonomous learners. Putri, for example, commented, ‘Diluar kelas insya Allah saya dapat belajar bahasa Inggris sendiri. Saya merasa bahwa belajar dengan arahan dari orang lain sangat sulit. Namun bagi saya belajar sendiri itu lebih mudah’ (Outside the class, God willing I can learn English by myself. I feel learning through a guide is difficult. I found that learning English on my own is easier) Zaskia also believed that she had already undertaken autonomous learning. She said that although she did not have a class on campus, she often came and attended other courses. ‘Saya sangat menyukai bahasa Inggris… Maksud saya, bersama teman, saya sering mengikuti kelas lain di jurusan Bahasa Inggris. Kami hanya duduk dan mengikuti pelajarannya. Menyenangkan dan kita dapat memperoleh pengetahuan baru karena kelasnya diajarkan oleh dosen yang berbeda’ (I really like English… I mean, with a friend of mine, I often attend other courses in the English major. We just sit and follow the lesson. I find it enjoyable and we can get new knowledge because the courses are taught by different teachers). These comments indicate that, although the majority of the students did not engage in autonomous learning after class, a small minority were determined to learn and find learning opportunities.

Table 3: Mann Whitney U test results of the students’ autonomous English learning activities outside the class depending on major of study (N=402) Activities outside the class Mann Whitney U 6222.500 English major mean rank 256.84 Non English major mean rank 193.28 z score 3.682 p value .000

Autonomous English Learning Activities outside the Class Concerning Gender and Majors of Study

The first research question focused on the extent to which Indonesian tertiary students engage in autonomous language learning activities outside the class. As shown in the previous section, there were 9 out of the 22 activities appeared to be more frequently (‘often’ or ‘sometimes’) practiced by more than half of the students. In contrast, 13 activities that infrequently (‘never’ and ‘rarely’) practiced by more than half of the students.

As can be seen in Table 2, there is no significant difference in the level of practice of autonomous out of class activities between female students (Mean rank = 209.82, n = 210) and male students (Mean rank = 192.40, n = 192), U = 18412.500, z = 1.502 (corrected for ties), p>.05, two tailed. Meanwhile, as shown in Table 3, the level of practice of out of class activities of the English major students (Mean rank = 256.84, n = 52) is significantly higher than that of the non English major students (Mean rank = 193.28, n = 350), U = 6222.500, z = 3.682 (corrected for ties), p< .05, two tailed 5. Discussion

It is interesting to note that the four activities that were ‘often’ practiced involve the use of technology. These results confirm the results obtained by Ardi (2013) in a study conducted in the Jakarta context, Indonesia, in which most of the widely practiced activities were also related to the use of technology. In terms of the type of activities, these results are consistent with the results achieved in several studies conducted in different contexts (e.g. Chan et al., 2002; Koçak, 2003; Pearson, 2004; Tamer, 2013), which have generally highlighted some similar out of class activities, and most of the activities involved receptive rather than productive activities. It appears that the advancements of technology have provided the students with access to a variety of English programs and facilitated their engagement in language learning without the presence of a teacher. This was confirmed in the interviews where the students took advantage of the ease of access to technology for language skill practice and this was not only for entertainment purposes. The benefits of using technology for language learning have been endorsed in the literature. Kessler (2009) stated that technology provides opportunities for students to use language in authentic contexts. “Such activities encourage students to strive for autonomy in the target language” (p. 79). Quite evidently, the use of technology for out of class language learning is a means of enhancing students’ exposure to the target language by providing opportunities for language practice in different contexts (Lai, Yeung & Hu, 2015). Furthermore, “Technology has the potential to not only provide access to resources for learning in a superficial sense but also to offer increased affordances for autonomous learning” (Reinders & White, 2011, p. 1). However, previous research has suggested that students lack a good understanding of how available technologies can be used effectively for language learning purposes (Lai et al., 2015). Therefore, it may be necessary for teachers to consider providing students with support on how to make the most of such resources for effective English learning.

The third question asked if there are any statistically significant differences in the autonomous English learning activities outside between females and males and between the students who are English majors and the students who are non

The results of this study also showed that there were 13 activities in which more than half of the students said that they ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ practiced. One reason why some of the activities were infrequently practiced could be due to the limited access to the resources in students’ living environment. For instance, the students are unlikely to find foreigners in their daily life with whom they can practice their English. They also have limited access to resources such as English newspapers or radio programs. Of note here is that the present study was conducted in two regencies in one of the many provinces in Indonesia where access to the resources such as English radio, English newspapers, and foreigners are scarce. The low frequency of participation in other activities such as attending meetings, writing a diary, sending e mails, and reading books or magazines in English may indicate that these learning activities are also not a common part of students’ learning experiences in this context.

Although the questionnaire results indicated that the students did engage in some out of class activities, the majority of the students in the interviews admitted that they were not autonomous. There was apparent conformity among them regarding the reasons why they did not practice autonomous learning. Lack of capacity to learn autonomously was one of the most mentioned reasons, and there was apparent agreement that they needed guidance from the teacher. Some of the students also commented that for them, English is hard to learn. This perceived difficulty of English influenced their attitude towards English and made them not interested to learn it. For several students, time shortage outside the class was regarded as another constraint to engaging in autonomous learning. Although an enormous amount of time is available after class, some students were using it for other activities, including work commitments, social organization, and doing housework This suggests that the limited time is more due to the students’ environmental factors than the workload they carry in their educational institutions. It may be interesting to note that although some of the students suggested that they had the intention to study after class, they had to help their parents do housework. This is very common in the Indonesian context, where children, especially women, are supposed to help their parents with in house related work. Some of the interviewees also mentioned that learning resources for English learning were limited. In this respect, the students mentioned that there were very few hard copy books available and a lack of interest from friends in studying together. In this regard, researchers have suggested that learning resources are indeed an essential element in developing learner autonomy. Zhao and Chen (2014) stated that materials play a pivotal role in developing and breeding learner autonomy, predominantly because they motivate learners for their English study. Dickinson (1987) believed that for learner autonomy to be exercised, materials need to be made available in a site where learners can have access to them.

The purpose of the present study was three folds: (1) to describe the extent to which Indonesian students engaged in autonomous language learning beyond the classroom, (2) to explore the students’ perceived constraints in performing their autonomous learning, and (3) to examine whether there are any statistically significant differences in the autonomous English learning activities outside between females and males and between the students who are English major and the students who are non English majors. The results showed that the students did engage in several out of class English learning activities; however many of the activities were more receptive than productive. In the interviews, the students claimed that they were not autonomous learners and offered several reasons for not exercising autonomous learning. The results also revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of practice of autonomous out of class activities between female students and male students, but there is a significant difference in the level of practice of autonomous out of class activities between English major students and non English major students.

English majors. The results of the analysis in the previous section showed that there is no significant difference in the level of practice of autonomous out of class activities between female students and male students These results confirm the results obtained in Koçak’s (2003) study done in a different cultural context. However, the results of the current research contradict those achieved by Varol and Yilmaz (2010), which showed that there were significant differences between female and male students in their autonomous learning activities outside the class in favor of females.

All these findings formed the basis for offering recommendations for the

Regarding the majors of study, the results showed that the level of practice of out of class activities of the English major students is significantly higher than that of the non English major students. These suggest that the students of the English major accept more responsibilities and engage more in autonomous English learning activities outside the class than the other group does. One possible explanation is that, unlike the students of non English majors, the students of English majors are expected to have stronger motivation to learn English as they have chosen the career as English language teachers. English major students were students enrolled in a teaching degree which was preparing them to be English teachers. Thus, they assume greater responsibilities in their English learning compared to those of non English majors. In this respect, it may be important to consider Locke and Latham's goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1994) which states that human activity is stimulated by purpose, and for action to happen, “goals have to be set and pursued by choice” (Dörnyei, 1998, p. 120). The goals, according to Dörnyei, are regarded as “the 'engine' to fire the action and provide the direction in which to act” (p. 120). In other words, while for non English majors, the subject of English was a compulsory part of their degree, for English major, it was a personal choice or drive. This personal interest in the language might have fuelled their engagement in out of class learning activities and their adoption of taking more responsibilities towards their learning.

6. Conclusion and Limitations

Also, since social interaction is an integral part of the development of learner autonomy, teachers should encourage more social interaction and collaboration among students either inside or outside the classroom or both.

The results highlighted that most of the activities the students frequently engaged in involved the use of technology. Therefore, teachers are expected to provide students with support on how to make the most of technology for effective English learning. The role of teachers could be in forms of encouragement, recommendations on which resources to use, tips on how to use the resources, advice on metacognitive and cognitive strategies, using technology in the classroom, and assigning homework involving the use of technological resources. Drawing the students’ attention to the benefits of technology would be a step toward increasing their motivation in language learning and discovering a range of online resources that would likely trigger their excitement and interest, which in turn would lead to autonomous learning.

teaching and learning context. Since the teacher plays a vital role in the effort to promote learner autonomy, focusing on what the teacher can do to help students develop their autonomy is imperative.

The results also showed that the students’ perceived constraints in performing autonomous learning are both extrinsic and intrinsic. While some of the problems such as the shortage of time and learning resources are conditional on external factors, students’ lack of capacity to learn autonomously and difficulties experienced in learning English can be addressed in the language learning classroom. Providing the students with training in autonomous learning and motivating them are critical initial steps that the teacher could take to support the students In the institutions of higher education, especially in the English teaching programs, training on learner autonomy should be given to pre service teachers. They should be provided with the skills to promote learner autonomy and be given the first hand experience of learner autonomy in their training Rigorous training not only would enhance their autonomous ability for their learning as pre service teachers but also improve their professional development giving them knowledge and skills they could apply in their teaching in the future.

Additionally, since the development of learner autonomy is dependent upon the development of teacher autonomy, teachers should be autonomous themselves before they can give training to their students. Thus, the teachers who have inadequate knowledge of strategy training should update their knowledge and skills either through self study or professional development programs.

As with any research, it is essential to acknowledge that the present study has some limitations. The first limitation is that the data were collected through student reporting, i.e. questionnaires and interviews. Using other types of instruments, such as observations and learner diaries, could give more detailed information about the students’ autonomous English learning realities beyond the classroom. Secondly, the data were collected only from four out of many institutions of higher education in Indonesia and focused only on one

Recommendations for Further Research

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The present study provides a better understanding of Indonesian tertiary EFL students’ out of class autonomous English learning and their perceived constraints in performing their English learning beyond the classroom. Moreover, it has identified some potential lines of inquiry that future research should explore. Future research should investigate English teachers’ beliefs about learner autonomy, which will provide information on teacher readiness to promote learner autonomy. Future research could usefully explore the relationships between autonomous learning and other variables such as geographical areas, proficiency levels, socio economic background, and personality traits to give a better picture of the factors that potentially affect learner autonomy. Future research could also extend its scope to younger students, such as those of junior and senior high school, to give a better understanding of students’ perspectives on autonomous learning More information on this topic could assist efforts to promote learner autonomy, implement appropriate tasks and strategies to promote it as early as possible.

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212 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. AppendixAPPENDICESA Students’ Questionnaire Student Name: Student Identification Number: SexMajor:(Please tick):  Male  Female Please tick the appropriate box. In this last academic year, how often have you: often Sometimes rarely never 1. read grammar books on your own?     2. done exercises which are not compulsory?     3. noted down new words and their meanings?     4. read English notices around you?     5. read newspapers in English?     6. sent e mails in English?     7. read books or magazines in English?     8. watched English TV programs?     9. listened to English radio?     10. listened to English songs?     11. talked to foreigners in English?     12. practiced using English with friends?     13. done English self study in a group?     14. watched English movies?     15. written a diary in English?     16. used the internet in English?     17. done revision not required by the teacher?     18. collected texts in English (e.g. articles, brochures, labels, etc.)?     19. gone to see the teacher about your work?     20. attended meetings in English?     21. watched videos/DVDs/VCDs?     22. read English news online?    

213 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix B Interview Questions 1. To what extent do you consider yourself an autonomous learner? Explain your answer. 2. What constraints do you face in practicing autonomous learning outside the class?

There are significant distinctions however, on student perceptions of the teaching and learning of collaboration, their learning achievements about group work, and the relevance of group work in their discipline.

Abstract. This article argues that how collaboration is taught can have a significant impact on the ways in which collaboration is experienced, understood and valued. In doing so, the study draws attention to performing arts studio pedagogies, and their potential relevance to enhancing creativity within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Through a mixed methods study of teachers’ and students’ experiences of group work, this article compares two disciplines that maintain distinct discourses on teaching collaboration: Software design and choreography. The quantitative data reveals that despite significant demographic differences, students from the two disciplines maintain a common enthusiasm for group learning.

Keywords: collaboration; choreography; group work; pedagogy; software design

https://orcid.org/0000

214 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 214 232, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.122020 Computer Coding and Choreography: Contrasting Experiences of Learning About Collaboration in Engineering and Creative Arts

Qualitative commentaries from students and teachers extend the arguments across both the distinctions and the similarities, emphasizing the impact of particular teaching practices and establishing standpoints for further research into the pedagogy of collaboration in higher education.

Nicholas Rowe University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 0001 7304 1047 Rose Martin Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway https://orcid.org/0000 0003 1732 2666 Nasser Giacaman University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand https://orcid.org/0000 0001 6885 1571

The ability to collaborate has often been assumed by educators to be an innate behavior or characteristic, which can simply be enhanced by practice (Hesse, Care, Buder, Sassenburg & Griffin, 2015). Evidencing this practice within the curriculum has generally involved the assessment of small group tasks, in which students collaborate to solve problems and/or design solutions (Griffin & Care, 2015). In many contexts, the assignment of a collaborative task is where the teaching of collaboration starts and ends, following the educational proposition that “the best way to learn about working together is by doing it” (Horder, 1995, p.158). Collaboration is a complex skill and disposition however, which can actually be taught and learnt through exposure to diverse approaches, guidance into deeper reflection and relevant application within specific disciplinary contexts (Hesse et al, 2015). Within this article we argue that students can experience significantly different teaching approaches to collaborative group work assignments, which can impact how they subsequently value those learning experiences, and how they perceive the relevance of collaboration within their Todiscipline.deeply understand the ways that teaching through small group tasks can impact on students’ experiences of learning about collaboration, we engaged in a multi phase cross faculty study. This study investigated teaching practices within two programmes in our institution that approach collaborative coursework in very distinct ways: Software design and choreography. While previous research has investigated the significance of integrating arts learning within engineering education to enhance creativity, our cross disciplinary comparative analysis seeks to go a step further: to enhance understandings of how and why specific creative arts studio-pedagogies (rather than practices) might be transferred across disciplines, to advance the teaching of creativity and collaboration within STEM subjects in tertiary education. The pedagogic distinctions between choreography and software design presented here extend beyond the particular practices of individual teachers, and can be seen as rooted within the educational discourses of these two disciplines, and the wider educational discourses of engineering and creative arts (Rowe, 2019). Our article

1. Introduction

The ability to effectively collaborate is a key professional competence within the knowledge economies of the 21st century As a result, ‘collaboration’ has become ubiquitous as a graduate attribute across tertiary education programmes (Burbach, Matkin, Gambrell & Harding, 2010). While often referred to as a ‘soft skill’, an ability to collaborate can be as valuable to employers as the ‘hard skill’ comprehension of domain specific knowledge, as group collaboration can develop more creative ideas than individuals working in isolation (McMahon, Ruggeri, Kammer & Katsikopoulos, 2016). Collaboration allows professionals to contribute to creative strategies and ideas, extend a sense of purpose, agency and motivation to others in the workplace, and thereby enhance the prospects of a collective venture (Hung, Durcikova, Lai & Lin, 2011). How students experience learning about collaboration can therefore have a significant impact on their professional future.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. therefore begins with a consideration of how collaboration has been theorized within educational literature, and its relevance to the domains of dance and software design. This leads into a review of our mixed methods approach to this Westudy.then explore the themes that emerged from our research into students and teachers of software design and choreography. Interviews with teachers and classroom observations revealed that teachers from both groups value collaborative coursework as relevant to the students’ professional futures, yet their approaches to teaching group work are markedly different. Our student data reveals that while students in both groups hold generally similar attitudes towards group projects in class, there is a marked difference in how the two student groups feel that they are taught about collaboration, what they feel that they learn aboutworkingin groups, andultimately how relevant they think group work is to their discipline. These findings support our argument that how collaboration is taught can have a significant impact on how students learn and value group tasks within coursework. This suggests the need for further research into how tertiary educators teach collaboration, and the potential transference of pedagogic strategies from creative arts to engineering.

Small group learning is not new in education: such peer to peer activity has been a central tenet of progressive education systems for the last half century (Rodgers, 1982). It is important to note however, that such peer learning relationships were not introduced into formal education in order to enhance students’ abilities to

Within education, collaboration is often associated with small group learning, in which students interact on creative tasks related to the subject being studied.

2. Collaboration in work and education: software design and choreographic arts

In professional contexts, collaboration requires individuals to contribute (and accommodate) divergent perspectives within the development of innovative products and services. This distinguishes collaboration from more pervasive, industrialized models of professional collective endeavor, like cooperation. Through cooperation, individuals provide (often highly skilled) labour to an enterprise, without necessarily engaging in processes of collective deliberation on the nature of that enterprise (Mattessich & Monsey, 1992). The collective deliberation that distinguishes collaboration from cooperation can require individuals to engage in promotive relationships (Johnson & Johnson, 2009) that maintain a sense of symmetry (Dillenbourg, 1999) and value pluralism (Owen, 2015) when making collaborative decisions. Participating in such creative decision making can be self actualizing for individuals within an enterprise (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Research has further shown that the more motivated that collaborators are to support the success of the collective enterprise (rather than motivated by just an economic exchange for their contributions), the more valuable their contributions tend to be towards the creative outcomes (Hung et al, 2011). Developing a collaborative disposition can therefore be seen as an important professional competence, which can require learning processes that enhance both collaborative skills and collaborative motivations.

collaborate; small group work was introduced with the goal of advancing individual student achievement (Hennessy & Murphy, 1999). The need for students to learn to collaborate (rather than through collaboration) came later, in response to industry demands that graduates have an enhanced capacity to effectively innovate in teams (Boden & Nedeva, 2010). The distinction between learning to and learning through collaboration has not been pervasively recognized within much of the literature on collaborative learning in higher education (Griffin & Care, 2015). This can lead tertiary educators to suppose that simply engaging in small group tasks is sufficient to learn about collaboration, sustaining the belief that “the sheer amount of interaction [. . .] is a powerful predictor of learning” (Cohen, 1994, p.16). Transitioning into a collaborative mindset can be a complex process, requiring students to adapt their social relationships, conceptual understandings and personal inclinations. This can demand deliberate pedagogic actions that constructively align the graduate attribute of collaboration with curricula design, teaching activities, learning resources and assessment strategies (Biggs, 1996). So how and why is collaboration relevant to professional contexts and tertiary courses in software design and choreography? The teaching approaches to collaboration in dance and engineering will inevitably vary across classrooms and institutions, and our research does not seek to establish firm pedagogic categories within software design and choreography. It is possible to note, however, that the teaching practices that are described within this study are not random illustrations of personal pedagogic preferences but fit within the predominant discourses associated with teaching collaboration within these disciplines, which we summarize below.

Software design involves the development of digital programs that provide a service to the users of digital devices. While writing code is an integral part of software design, software engineers also engage in non coding tasks such as gathering requirements from clients, brainstorming concepts, executing designs, testing new programs and documenting processes. Due to the increasing complexity of modern software, development requires the participation of multiple individuals working together and consulting each other (Whitehead, 2007). The concept of collaboration is therefore not new to the profession of software engineering, as the process of partnering in code writing and engaging stakeholders in the design process has long been encouraged (Beck, 2000). Project management systems such as Agile have evolved from software design (Cockburn, 2006), promoting the use of collaboration within other project management contexts, as a means of enhancing productivity, innovation and social capital within the knowledge economy workplace (Barksdale & McCrickard, 2012; Dawson & Jones, 2003). The valuing of collaboration within the profession of software engineering has led to a valuing of collaboration within tertiary education programmes that teach software design. This has involved the integration of small group tasks within the assessments of software engineering degrees, to emulate scenarios that students will encounter in professional life. Incorporating these group tasks into the

The discipline of choreography involves the design of dance movement for presentation by dancers (Lavender & Predock Linell, 2001), within dance contexts that range from professional performances to more social/participatory events (Nahachewsky, 1995). While the physical interaction of dance inevitably requires social engagement, the choreographic process does not inherently involve collaboration, and the creative leadership of choreography can range from authoritarian to egalitarian (Butterworth, 2004). Within the 21st century however, professional choreographers are increasingly required to engage in collaborative processes with other choreographer/performers from diverse genres, cultural backgrounds and physical capabilities, and artists from other disciplines, during diverse phases of the creative production process (Foster Sproull, 2017). With the expansion of dance as a professional practice beyond concert hall contexts, the development of choreographic competencies has come to include education, social development and entrepreneurial applications of dance (Lehikoinen, 2018).

In tertiary degree programmes, choreography is taught as both a specific subject and as an integral component of general courses on performance, exploring how to improvise to generate or interpret movement (Rowe & Zeitner Smith, 2011) and pedagogy, exploring how to facilitate the creative practices of others (Lavender, 2009). Choreography is generally taught through experiential learning in studio settings, where students review the dances and creative processes of others and actively create their own dances (Van Dyke, 2005). This can involve collaborative practices with other students to explore ideas, and develop group choreographic work for assessment. Such learning generally involves a scaffolding of collaborative processes, so that students are actively collaborating with each other on small, non assessed tasks in lessons before moving to assessed group work (Buck & Rowe, 2015). These teaching practices have sought to emphasize the importance of collaboration amongst students, as a means of engaging in social animation (Thapalia, 1996) with diverse groups, cultures and body types (Amans, Both2017).software design and dance value collaboration as a graduate attribute in alignment with wider trends in 21st century creative economies, yet our research suggests that how tertiary educators approach the teaching of this graduate attribute can be markedly different. Within the classrooms participating in our study, collaborative innovation in software design is generally valued as a means of enhancing productivity (Giacaman & Sinnen, 2018), whereas collaborative innovation in choreography is generally valued as a means of enhancing self actualization, pluralism and inclusion (Buck & Snook, 2018). This opens questions as to how these differing mandates may play out in the classroom. What do these

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. software design curriculum has increasingly involved the use of online communication systems, which identify the quantity and quality of each collaborator’s contribution (Soller, Martinez, Jermann & Muehlenbrock, 2005), allowing teachers to monitor and measure free riding (Jermann & Dillenbourg, 2008). While a growth in digital tools have sought to support parity in assessment, less scholarly attention has been given to the deliberate teaching of collaboration in these classrooms (Hesse et al, 2015).

To investigate student perceptions of collaboration in coursework, we subsequently developed an online survey, which included five closed ended demographic questions, 20 statements seeking agreement or disagreement along a 5 point Likert Scale, and four open ended questions seeking qualitative commentary. The survey sought responses from students in the first four years of degree study in Dance Studies and Software Engineering at the University of Auckland, and data was gathered from approximately one third of the students enrolled in each of the disciplines (111 participants). The research was undertaken under the auspices of the University of Auckland Human Participant Ethics Committee. To maintain participant anonymity and mitigate coercion, postgraduate research assistants were employed to interview the teachers, administer the survey and collate the data through Qualtrics (Rowe, Martin, Buck & Mabingo, 2020) for an application of the process and outcomes) Within this article, we draw on the quantitative and qualitative data from the interviews and survey to compare Software Engineering and Dance Studies students’ perspectives on their experiences of learning about collaboration at university. We have selected 15 of the questions most relevant to collaboration and group tasks and clustered these into four thematic sections based on A) attitudes towards collaboration, B) the pedagogy of collaboration, C) perceived learning about collaboration, and D) relevance of collaboration to discipline. The quantitative results are presented in bar charts at the beginning of each section. A 5 point Likert Scale (5=Strongly Agree, 4=Agree, 3=Neutral, 2=Disagree and 1=Strongly Disagree) is used to map the range of responses to each question, allowing for a two-tailed t-test to be performed comparing the two independent samples. The resulting t value is a standardized score representing the difference between the two groups, while the p value is the probability these results occurred purely by chance. Through this process we sought to reveal contrasts and similarities between students in Software Engineering and Dance Studies, with the nullhypothesis being that there are no differences in perspective between the two groups. We extend our quantitative analysis of these points with a

3. Methodology

219 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. two cohorts of students feel about group work in general? How do they experience the teaching of collaboration? How do they feel that small group learning has helped them develop relevant, professional skills?

To address these questions, our mixed methods research engaged a grounded theory approach, with an iterative, hermeneutical literature review into the teaching of collaboration in higher education. This occurred in tandem with a qualitative exploration (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998) of the teaching of collaboration in Dance Studies and Software Engineering within our institute, including classroom observations (Dingwall, 1997) and semi structured interviews (Weiss, 1994) with 4 teachers in each discipline. This revealed significant differences in the approach to teaching collaboration within our institution, which led us to posit that how students are taught collaboration can impact on their experience of learning about collaboration.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. qualitative analysis (Creswell, 2016) that draws on relevant quotations from the teacher interviews and the open ended qualitative commentary of the students.

The only null hypothesis we could confidently reject in figure A was A1 (t= 2.3443, p= 0.0209). This evidenced that dance studies students were less likely to dread group learning activities than their software engineering peers. Both groups showed little difference in opinion in relation to their preference of not working on coursework alone (A2 t = 1.0293, p = 0.3056); to view group work as conducive to a positive in class environment (A4 t = 1.4056 p = 0.1627); and to view group interactions positively (A5 t = 1.0247 p = 0.3078). Despite this, both groups’ responses were comparably negative for prompt A3 (t = 0.4068, p = 0.685). In this regard, there was no statistically significant difference in both groups’ opinion in viewing workloads as unevenly distributed in class.

4. Discussion

It is worth noting that there were significant demographic distinctions between the two groups of participants. In the Choreography cohort, 78% identified as female and 38% as ethnically Māori/Pasifika. In contrast, in the Software Engineering cohort, only 23% identified as female and 3% as ethnically Māori/Pasifika. As the following analysis reveals, these demographic and disciplinary distinctions do not appear to transform into differences in attitude towards collaboration. As evidenced in the first section, students in Dance Studies and Software Engineering share a common feeling towards learning and working in groups and the null hypothesis is retained. This supports our proposition that demographic factors such as gender, cultural background or even chosen discipline are not a significant factor in determining student attitudes towards engaging in group work in class. The null hypothesis is subsequently rejected, and greater distinctions emerge between these two groups within the following sections however, which examines how collaboration has been taught in each discipline, what students feel they have learnt through group work, and how students subsequently value group work in their studies and profession. This supports our proposition that students’ sense of learning about collaboration and their valuing of collaboration as a professional skill can be impacted by how they experience learning about collaboration within their discipline. What does learning and working together feel like?

Figure A: Learing and working together

This corresponded with the comments from teachers in both disciplines, and how they perceived student attitudes towards group work. As a software design teacher reflected, “I'd say in general they're quite keen and excited to be working together.” Within our student commentary, both groups expressed the enjoyment experienced working in groups, with numerous Software Engineering students expressing a desire for “more of them!”. Their comments emphasized how socialization can increase the enjoyment of a course, through the idea of having “fun with friends” and the suggested equation “social aspect = more fun”.

While the socialized learning was enjoyed by both groups, half of the Software Engineering students did not refuse the proposition that group learning and projects gave rise to dread. This prompts questions as to what is it about group learning that these students dread (especially given their more positive expressions towards socialized learning activities), and how might this dread be extended or mitigated by pedagogic actions. As both groups identified the uneven distribution of workloads in group tasks, this may be a starting point for understanding student apprehensions towards group work. A choreography student expressed concerns over “people who slack off”, and a software design student emphasized the need to “ensure people pull their weight”. This concern over ‘free riders’ (Fehr & Gachter, 2002) was a sentiment shared by students in both groups, although amongst software design students there were comments seeking punitive actions to “enforce participation” and “keep people more accountable for their contributions”. A desire for external monitoring of contribution aligns with the broader discourse in software design education literature, and the development of extensive software programs for engineering courses that measure and quantify an individual’s communications and contributions to group projects (Jermann & Dillenbourg, 2008).

Activating people to effectively work together can be considered central to the theme of teaching (and qualifying) students to collaborate. How teachers rationalize student non engagement in collaboration can, however, vary. A software design teacher associated this ‘free riding’ with student capability, explaining how “Weak students could surf through the course with group work, because

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. sometimes the strong ones pull them through and many students will not feel comfortable to complain.” By contrast, the choreography teachers tended to attribute student non contribution to the complexities of engaging in collaborative endeavour, identifying how “all the social stuff combined with the creative stuff can cause a bit of confusion and discomfort.”

This perceptual difference might be associated with notably distinct pedagogic approaches. From our interviews with teachers and observations of classes in both disciplines, two factors might be considered here: when group work takes place, and how it is scaffolded.

Firstly, within the software design courses, the small group tasks took place entirely outside scheduled lesson time. As a software teacher explained, “…it's not like group work where we expect them to do the work in front of us. … these assignments take a long amount of time and it's kind of implied that they'll be doing that as their homework.” This contrasted with the choreography course, in which small group tasks occurred extensively during class time. As a choreography teacher described, “most of what we do is small group based learning.” While experiential learning is an established convention within the studio based learning of dance, the progression to more active learning environments is becoming increasingly promoted in software engineering (Chen, Wang, Kinshuk & Chen, 2014). The idea that more class time should be dedicated to group tasks was a recurrent theme within the comments offered by Software Engineering students, who sought, “more facilitated time allocated for collaboration” “Less lectures, more meetings” “More in course opportunities for group work”. This aligns with research that affirms student interest in more collaborative activities within class time (Freeman, Eddy, McDonough, Smith, Okoroafor, Jordt & Wenderoth, 2014).

Secondly, within the choreography courses, these in class tasks allowed students to progress from smaller, unassessed group tasks to more complex, assessed group tasks. A choreography teacher described how “…we are trying to just scaffold them as much as we can, so they can build up to that.” Another choreography teacher rationalized the importance of non assessed group tasks, explaining that “the whole premise behind that incremental development is to build confidence” in collaboration By contrast, within software design, group tasks were only introduced as assessment items, usually halfway through the semester. This was rationalized by a software design teacher as logistical issue within the time frame of the institutional learning, explaining that “There’s no time to do group activities that are not leading to a grade.” When an assessed group activity is suddenly introduced to an otherwise private learning experience however, students can feel underprepared for both the social and cognitive challenges presented by the task (Hesse et al, 2015). As a software student suggested, “Start earlier in the degree. Start in the classroom, with smaller exercises that aren't worth grades. Do it often. Build up a culture of working together. Extend that out to assessments as soon as you can, trying to get students to work together as often as it makes sense.”

Choreography students were also significantly more likely to agree that teachers outlined effective theories and practices for collaboration (B3, t = 7.1950, p<0.0001) and that course outline and materials outlined effective theories and practices for collaboration (B4, t = 5.0956, p<0.0001). Relative to the software design student group, the high t values for both B3 and B4 indicate both a meaningful and pronounced difference between the groups in their responses. These four points suggest that students within choreography perceived a more deliberate teaching of collaboration than software design, which supported our observations and interviews with teachers. Figure B: teaching collaboration

Figure B shows the results for prompts on the teaching of collaboration. Statistically significant differences were evidenced in all figure B prompt results, leading to our rejection of each null hypothesis these results illustrating a marked difference in positive responses in favor of choreography students. Prompt B1 confirms choreography students were significantly more likely to agree that teacher enthusiasm motivated their collaboration (t= 4.8248, p<0.0001). This distinction is extended within B2 as choreography students more positively identified the role of teachers in facilitating collaboration (t= 4.8248, p<0.0001).

As teacher’s attitudes and behaviors towards a subject can significantly impact student attitudes to the subject (Ađalsteinsdóttir, 2004), how the teacher expresses enthusiasm for collaboration may spread to students. This might involve an enthusiasm for ongoing processes of collaboration, that create, in the words of a Dance Studies student, “a focused environment that urges us to keep going, where we might've thought finished”. Another Dance Studies student expressed the importance of the teacher’s energy in this process,

From the two programmes studied within our research, the scaffolding of group tasks and the incorporation of group activities into class time represent significantly contrasting pedagogic strategies. Do these distinctions explain why software students expressed a greater sense of dread towards group work? As the following section reveals, there were also significant distinctions in how collaboration was actually taught. How was collaboration taught?

From our observations of classes and interviews with teachers, the software design student groups tended to be composed of more ethnically and culturally homogenous groups than the choreography student groups. The value of teacher guided selection of heterogeneous groups is promoted by a student comment from software design, “Make sure the people working together are always changing. We need to work with a diverse range of people, including differing backgrounds and skill levels.”

“I think group work can be improved by whoever facilitates the space and allows the group work to happen. This can be done by the energy they set from the get go.”

By contrast, in software design, a teacher explains how “They get told ‘get into pairs’ and they decide who they want to work with.” This was rationalised as a means of avoiding student contentions over who they are placed with, but also a belief in the value of similarities within small groups, as a software design teacher rationalized, “The groups that take the task seriously often have likeminded individuals together.” This familiarity lead to issues monitoring free riders however, as a software design teacher reflected, “They'll tend to buddy up with their friends and sometimes it's very difficult for them to dob in their mates.”

The teachers also presented very contrasting approaches to the management of problems within the groups. As a choreography teacher explains, “I'm always looking for social stuff, I'm always looking for the two in the corner who are standing there kind of staring into space not looking at each other with not much action going on and I'll go over and I'll try and figure out what's happening, whether they just don't have the right language or they don't know where to start work or they don't like each

Student comments from both groups emphasized a preference for the teacher’s selection of groups, an idea supported by previous research (Hansen, 2006).

The concept of “allowing” the group work to happen is an interesting insight, in that it acknowledges that this pedagogical attitude can involve a giving of permission, rather than an establishing of boundaries and rules. In the context of socializing classrooms, such a giving of permission can be a necessary step to allow students to move away from a culture of privatized learning. This can require, as one software design student suggested, activating socialization in the classroom, through “more encouragement to meet new people, work with them”.

Central to this socialization is the way that groups are formed and how differences are valued within the groups. A choreography teacher explains how and why she purposefully constructs the groups based on differences: “I try and really mix them up all the time because they will always want to work with their friend… they're forced to figure it out and they don't necessarily figure out their social stuff by talking about it but they figure it out through the creative stuff, so just by doing the task.”

The ways in which collaborative work was theorized was also distinct within the course designs and teaching practices. Within software design, the theorization of group tasks tended to focus on the management of the production process, through reference to differing theories of project management such as Agile and Waterfall (Balaji & Sundararajan Murugaiyan, 2014). A software teacher explained, “They have a project briefing, but as a group they have to develop a plan how they want to implement the task at a hand, I don’t tell them how to do it.”

Another software teacher expressed, “I didn’t really think about any differences about how groups might work together.”

This proactive engagement with student interactions was reiterated by all of the dance teachers we interviewed. As a software design teachers suggests, this was not perceived as a convention within software design teaching “I think it's fair to say that I don't really follow the groups closely unless there is like, really serious concerns”. This is connected to the practice of the group work happening predominantly outside the classroom, as a software design teacher explains, “it can be quite hard to sort of for us to up front know who is communicating and who is not… in terms of keeping an eye on them all I don't think a lot of that happens…. I would say most of the time where there are issues, they tend to be brought to our attention late.”

Within choreography, the theorization of group work tended to focus more on creative deliberation, through reference to theories on choreographic decision making processes (Butterworth, 2004). In alignment with this, the choreography teachers explained the importance of deliberately focusing on interpersonal skills. As one teacher describes, “the collaborative skills are things that you can learn to do, and if we can break them down into some real life actions, not just thinking about them hypothetically, we can know what the strategies are.”

That teachers might provide more active guidancein collaboration was repeatedly expressed by software design students, who sought “more facilitation from lecturers and guidance towards group work”. A Software Engineering student further explains why such assistance is necessary at a tertiary level, “I think, especially early on in our degrees, it’s worthwhile having staff supervise group work. The level of professionalism required at a tertiary level isn’t necessarily a skill built up in schools. There needs to be some supervision when building a culture of collaboration, so it doesn’t spiral away from being useful.”

These differing approaches to the theoretical support for group work appears to have significantly impacted on how students perceived their learning about collaboration. Software design students expressed numerous comments seeking further readings and curricula resources to enhance their understandings of collaborative interactions, including: Structured guides on group work and interacting with others.

Figure C provides additional evidence for a difference of opinion between the dance and software engineering students. The null hypothesis for C1 is rejected (t= 4.7710, p < 0.0001), suggesting that choreography students are significantly more likely to agree that group work has helped with their people skills. Similar resultswere evident forprompts C2 and C3, rejecting thenull hypothesesforboth. Choreography students were significantly more likely to agree that their knowledge of how to participate in small group collaborative tasks had expanded (t= 4.8532, p < 0.00001) and that group work helped them understand course content (t= 4.7545, p < 0.00001). All three prompts from figure C show that choreography students held more positive learning outcomes regarding collaboration than students in software design.

Education resources on how to better interact with partners such as examples, success stories.

Figure C: Learning about group work

To develop shared understandings and expectations of effective collaboration within the class, the software design students also emphasized their desire for the teacher to provide: More teaching on how to program in groups. Better discussion for tactics on how to have an effective group.

More guidance towards group work so everyone is on the same page.

Extending upon these quantitative results, a choreography student further commented that group work helped in “understanding how others work”. While the value of observing others in a group was acknowledged as an effective means of developing greater social sensitivity, some students also noted the skills gained by responding to others in a group. A choreography student explained, “I enjoy giving constructive feedback as well as developing materials as a group”. Such comments reflect how the students gained a deeper sense of social regulation and

The responses from choreography students expressed a stronger sense that guidance is currently provided, which aligned with our classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The ways that the teacher takes responsibility for both facilitating and educating about collaboration therefore appears to be important and worthy of further consideration. These perceived differences in teaching subsequently leads to significant differences regarding the students’ sense of learning achievement from group tasks. What was learnt about group work through these tasks?

These comments suggest that group work processes were cooperative, with individuals working separately and in parallel, rather than collaboratively. As the students explain, this division of labour minimized effort and maximized productivity.

This distinction in students’ perceptions of the learning value of group tasks may relate to the teachers’ understandings of what is being evaluated through group tasks. For the software design teachers interviewed, the function of group tasks was predominantly framed in terms of the productivity, as one described how “We tell them that the grade is about what at the end they produce.” At the same time, software teachers identified problems that emerged from this focus on productivity. A teacher recalled a “dysfunctional” group that was “kind of a dictatorship” in which one individual did all the work and marginalized the other group members. He describes how the final product “….was good in terms of software implementation, but was very bad in terms of teamwork and learning about the development process, which is an essential part of this course.” Another software teacher noted how this focus on productivity meant that some students “not only did not participate, but even did not have a good understanding of what the others had one.”

By contrast, choreography teachers explained how the collaborative process was a specific and important item within assessment. As a teacher describes, “that's an objective within the assessment rubric…the criteria was based on how they were discussing their idea, their level of organisation, their ability to critically reflect upon the process and how that went.”

By contrast, the comments of the software design students reflected a belief in the benefits of group tasks in terms of a division of labour: Delegation of tasks for maximum competency. Being able to specialize on particular tasks. Workload is distributed, each person can focus on simpler aspects.

The speed things can be completed. Having to do less work. The only comment from a choreography student relating to the scale and effort of group work challenged this assumption, suggesting “just because there is a bigger group working on it doesn't mean it takes less time.”

Through understanding what the students perceive that they are actually learning regarding group work, and what teachers perceive that they are actually teaching, further distinctions between the two programmes emerged regarding the pedagogic approach to collaboration. These distinctions underpin the contrasting survey results, and ultimately relate to how students perceive the relevance of small group tasks.

perspective taking (Oztop, Katsikopoulos & Gummerum, 2018), as suggested by another choreography student, this involved a balance of “learning when to follow and contribute”.

Despite reporting that group work did less to enhance their professional interpersonal skills, software design students nevertheless emphasized the significance of group course work as “very helpful for future industry work” and “industry group tools”, emphasizing the belief that, “especially for Software Engineering, group work and ability to work in a team are essential”. Both groups presented comments that emphasized the instrumental function of cooperative learning, as a means of enhancing knowledge in the discipline (Nuthall, 1997). One dance studies student expressed, there is “more analysis of things, talking about a concept or task” and another suggested “[i]t makes learning more fun and easier. It also helps you get a better understanding of the tasks”. That students can make valuable contributions to knowledge acquisition was emphasized by a Dance Studies student, who wrote, “learning off each other is what I value because your peers are your greatest teachers.”

These sentiments were shared by Software Engineering students, who valued “learning new things from partner” and “learning new solutions to problems from other team members and being able to teach things to other team members that they haven't seen before.” This was seen as particularly relevant to enhancing comprehension, “I like how people can build ideas off of each other… in terms of coding, we are able to help each other if one person misses out on a certain aspect of the problem.”

One point for consideration from these comments might be that the comments by Dance Studies students predominantly rationalized the importance of this group

How relevant is learning and working together?

Figure D illustrates that while students from both groups think that small group task based learning is relevant, students from dance were more likely to present positive responses. We were unable to reject the null hypothesis for prompt D2 (t = 1.1457, p = 0.2545) with this showing that both groups were similarly likely to agree on the necessity of group learning to their respective disciplines. Stronger contrasts emerged in the responses to D1 (t= 3.1696, p=0.002) and D3 (t= 3.3914, p=0.001), both illustrating that choreography students were more likely to perceive group tasks as good practice for professional life and necessary to their learning. While both groups leaned towards a positive perspective, these p values evidence a difference of opinion between the groups, allowing us to reject the null hypothesis in each case.

Figure D: Relevance of learning and working together

learning in terms of how such tasks allowed them to gain more diverse perspectives, rather than ‘right’ answers As a choreography student expressed, “Everyone’s ideas are different but still relevant to the task given. I also like how people agree with what you say and can incorporate that within other ideas that are said.”

5. Conclusion We acknowledge that the research presented in the previous pages does not comprehensively represent the diversity and complexity of pedagogical approaches to Dance Studies and Software Engineering (in our university or in tertiary education in general). This study is limited in both scope and scale, conducted in a particular institutional context and within a limited timeframe. Others who may engage in similar studies might discover very different insights.

How students value group work might in this way be associated with how teachers assess group work, with a focus on the product (rather than process) leading to a valuing of group work in terms of productivity, rather than pluralism and Theseinnovation.distinctions

While pluralism was also valued by the Software Engineering cohort, the students emphasized how diversity can enhance the final product for assessment, rather than how the diversity can more generally enrich students’ perspectives. A software student quantified this as “The ability to use other's ideas. Double creativity.”

are of significance to institutions that claim that (through group work) students are expanding not only their abilities, but also their dispositions, to collaborate. So long as the value of group work remains focused on the efficacy of the productivity, an individual’s motivation to engage in group work can remain limited to a sense of economic exchange (Hung et al, 2011).

We also acknowledge the logistical contrasts between teaching large student cohorts within lecture halls and teaching smaller student cohorts in studios. However, while the disciplines, cohorts and educational logistics present distinct differences and limitations, we follow Biggs (1996) in arguing for a constructive alignment of curriculum and pedagogic practices; the way we teach should be guided by what are the required graduate outcomes, not by the traditions and logistics of the institute.

Our mixed method approach therefore provides quantitative and qualitative data that reveals that student interest in collaboration is not necessarily guided by their disciplinary interest or demographic background. Such a methodological approach has limitations in what can be explored with the data that is discovered and the scope of one scholarly article, and future studies might dive further into the qualitative or quantitative aspects of what this research opens as starting points. Nevertheless, the data reveals that students who experience a more deliberate teaching of collaboration, experience a greater sense of learning about group work, and subsequently value an ability to work well in groups as a relevant professional skill. This research therefore establishes a platform for further evidenced based research into how the teaching of collaboration may lead to a shift in the experience of small group learning tasks. Such research might involve further analyses into how pedagogic practices can support or diminish

230 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. collaboration within groups, and how effective pedagogical approaches to collaboration might be transferred across disciplines. Ultimately, this may provide an effective higher education response to the demands of industry; allowing graduates to enter the workplace with a strong capacity, and inclination, to collaborate on creative endeavors.

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233 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 233 247, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.132020 Instructional Leadership and Students Academic Performance: Mediating Effects of Teacher’s Organizational Commitment Adeel Ahmed Khan, Soaib Bin Asimiran, Suhaida Abdul Kadir and Siti Noormi Alias UPM https://orcid.org/0000Malaysia0001 6145 5760 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 2981 9509 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 2761 6265 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4324 182X Batool Atta UAJK https://orcid.org/0000Muzaffarabad00020601 3983 Bukar Ali Bularafa CABS https://orcid.org/0000Nigeria0002 7068 8600 Masood Ur Rehman https://orcid.org/0000 0002 1713 7244 Abstract This study investigates the mediating effects of teacher organizational commitment on the relationship between principal's instructional leadership and students' academic performance. Principals' effective leadership performance is assumed to be responsible for students' academic performance. However, many findings from the literature indicate no significant direct effect between instructional leadership and students' academic performance. Therefore, the current study hypothesized that principals' instructional leadership indirectly enhances students' academic performances through teacher organizational commitment. Data obtained from 440 primary school teachers from the state of Azad Jammu & Kashmir of Pakistan and pre existing school academic performance data obtained from each school participated. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, employing AMOS. The study's findings indicate that there is an indirect positive effect of principals' instructional leadership and students' academic performance through teacher's organizational commitment. Hence, schools with higher instructional leadership levels had better teachers, commitment to school, teaching work, teaching occupation, workgroup, and higher student's academic performances. Therefore,

Keywords: Instructional leadership; Primary school; Principal; Students’ academic performance; Teacher organizational commitment

increasing the instructional leadership practices in schools through teacher organizational commitment contributes to Pakistan's overall student academic performances. Therefore, it is recommended to use instructional leadership components in the curriculum that effectively train new principals.

Alongside principals, teachers are the prevailing variable correlational to enhance students' academic performances. The ever salient process of transforming teaching practice and especially in low performing schools are correlational to students' academic performances (Hines, Moore, Mayes, Harris, Vega, Robinson & Jackson, 2017). Educators have to undergo the various opinions of those assessing whether they can positively influence students and their academic progress. Conversely, what may be more critical is how teachers evaluate themselves regarding their talent to affect student academic performance. Likewise, achieving school objectives depends on a considerable part of the enhanced comprehension of the sources, nature, and increase of a teacher's organizational commitment (Tentama & Pranungsari, 2016). Awareness of

Excellence is determined predominantly on the way schools are managed more than on the significant number of existing resources. Proficiency in schools and expansion of teaching and learning is primarily inﬂuenced by the quality of leadership delivered by the head teacher (Louis et al., 2016). Principals are supposed to take responsibility for setting targets, guaranteeing coordination and team spirit, managing the organization established on shared values, creating opportunities, demonstrating practices, and supervising (McLeskey, Billingsley & Waldron, 2016). Researchers concluded that one of the leadership styles that has garnered interest in the principal job and its different dimensions to improve students' academic performance is instructional leadership (Hallinger, Hosseingholizadeh, Hashemi & Kouhsari, 2018). Instructional leadership investigators agree that teaching and achievement are the core of instructional leadership (Boyce & Bowers, 2018).

1. Introduction Educationists, mentors, and investigators have long been concerned about finding factors contributing to learners' performance. In order to produce a knowledgeable nation, the better factor to be confronted is the student's academic performances and different factors that affect a student's academic performances (Wahlstrom, Thomas, Leithwood, & Anderson, 2010). State funded schools always confronted with challenges of improving student academic performances in Pakistan (Hayat, Nisar, Sajjad, & Abbas, 2018). The documented investigation about the role of factors established back in the seventeenth century. Researchers indicated that along with classroom instruction, an essential element in students' academic performance, leadership contributes better than any other factor (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson & Wahlstrom, 2004). Several researchers have echoed this idea stating the importance of leadership, particularly instructional leadership in an educational institution (Louis, Murphy & Smylie, 2016)

Empirical studies have shown a strong correlation among instructional leadership, teachers, and students' academic performances (Bush, 2017; Paletta, Alivernin & Manganelli 2017). Many studies indicated the inconsistency of these variables in size and direction. Thus, it is essential to observe the relationship between principal instructional leadership, teacher's organizational commitment, and students' performances. In this study the researcher has re analyzed formerly reported databases to test numerous models associating instructional leadership with student academic performance. Hence, the researchers focused on the mediating effects of teacher organizational commitment as a mediating variable that has not been earlier perceived as a source of indirect effect on the relationship between instructional leadership and students' academic performance. The researchers investigated by assembling what was observed as a model and then established numerous variants of it. The researchers anticipated that instructional leadership impacts student academic performance by enhancing the organization's capacity in terms of a teacher by their commitment to the organization's goals. In the current study, the researchers expanded the model to inspect the indirect effects of instructional leadership on student academic performance, using earlier research on instructional leadership and school improvement to hypothesis routes structured into the model.

teachers' level of commitment is vital because it reveals their understanding of how captivating and meaningful their work experiences (Zhang & Jing, 2016).

Researchers have long been concerned in determining factors contributing commendably for the excellence of learner's performance. There are some internal factors in schools and also some external that affect students' academic performance. Studies of effective schools have concluded that school leaders and teachers affect student's academic performances more than other factors (Gannouni & Ramboarison Lalao, 2018). Theoretically, a trustworthy and robust combination of school leaders and teachers can increase student academic performance. From the last many years' number of different innovative benchmarks and milestones in studying educational leadership have been made, but one of the most prominent with a high rate of empirical studies focused on it is instructional leadership (Hallinger et al., 2018). Difficulties of restructuring educational institutes have been noted as reasons for supporting Instructional leadership in schools (Kulophas & Hallinger, 2019). Instructional leadership progressed substantially across the past number of years in Western countries and evident higher students' academic performances (Hallinger et al., 2018; Leithwood, Patten & Jantzi, 2010).

2. Literature Review

Empirical investigations of instructional leadership have likewise started to appear in the emerging societies of Asia as well (Hallinger et al., 2018). Instructional leadership is a multifaceted progression, which varies across settings, based on individual style, school background, and components. Based on local empirical research, most of the principals in Pakistan had insufficient time to provide innovation to the school due to their administrative duties and day to day matters (Adeel, Soaib, Suhaida & Ramli (2020); Nasreen & Odhiambo, 2018).

3. Model Instructional leadership was anticipated for this study for the reason that it is harmonious with broadly based tendencies of teacher authorization, various stakeholders’ contributions to school improvements. Also, substantial evidence exists that revealed teacher’s organizational commitment has a positive impact on student academic performance (Xiao & Wilkins, 2015). Improving the visibility of classroom implementation through teachers undoubtedly associated with such benefits as better quality instruction, enhanced teacher organizational commitment and developed teacher attitudes toward professional development (Hallinger et al., 2018; Azodi, 2006).

Academic work has progressed in determining leadership impacts on student academic performances, but the literature is distributed on leadership's direct or indirect effects on student academic achievements. The recent research indicated that correlation among principals' direct leadership and student academic performances is little (DiPaola & Hoy, 2015). Research emphasizes indirect leadership impacts and such focus is heavily mediated by external variables like the dynamism of relationship and connections between leaders and the subordinates, teacher's organizational commitment, and other factors (Sebastian & Allensworth, 2012). One such influential aspect that is highly effective is the teacher's organizational commitment. Ross and Gray (2006) verified a model postulating that principals can enhance student performances indirectly through teacher commitment and beliefs. It is associated with many encouraging outcomes, comprising negligible absenteeism, work engagement, and greater job contentment (Hallinger et al., 2018). Research has revealed that teacher commitment has a positive impact on student academic performance (Xiao & Wilkins, Improving2015).the visibility of classroom implementation through teachers undoubtedly associated with such benefits as better quality instruction, enhanced teacher commitment, and developed teacher attitudes toward professional development (Hallinger et al., 2018). Many researchers have recognized the same inferences for principals who used to be in classrooms and form instructional competence through comprehensive feedback (Thoonen et al., 2011). However, this method needs the principal in numerous classrooms maximum times, which rapidly converts into an incontrollable assignment. Therefore, a core issue for leadership is the enacting of potent leadership mediators that offer modest guidance to practising leaders, so they would be more focused on their efforts that will affect classroom practices and student learning to foster student's academic performance.

In Figure 1 above, four dimensions of organizational commitment were observed thus; commitment to school, commitment to teaching work, commitment to teaching occupation and commitment to the workgroup. The Figure further, recommends that all the dimensions of instructional leadership will contribute to each of the dimensions.

Figure 1. Hypothesized model linking Instructional leadership to student academic performance through teacher organizational commitment. The model estimates that instructional leadership will affect teachers' organizational commitment delineated here as a commitment to school, teaching work, teaching occupation and workgroup. Zikhali and Perumal (2016) discovered from their empirical statistics that principal's instructional leadership practices had an encouraging influence on employees' commitment level in schools. A study conducted by (Ail, Taib, Jaafar, Salleh & Omar, 2015) using quantitative approaches explored instructional leadership and teachers' organizational commitment in Pahang Malaysia. The results displayed a significant relationship between the two variables. Concerning the implications of the study, the principal must practice his aptitude in instructional leadership expertise to nurture teachers' organizational commitment.

3.1 Path from organizational commitment to student’s academic performance

It is anticipated that learner is a vital component of the educational process. Conferring to Tentama and Pranungsari, (2016) effective teachers require a high level of organizational commitment. It ultimately advocates that a high level of student accomplishment needs devoted teachers who contribute commendably. There is no uncertainty that the high level of student attainments is intensely

4. Method In its basic framework, this study is quantitative research with a descriptive correlational research design. The researchers requested all primary teachers in the Muzaffarabad Division (three districts) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan to participate. Schools were engaged if at least five teachers’ responses were received from a school. Keeping in view the criteria we received responses of at least five teachers from (N = 79 schools; 440 teachers) out of total 217 schools and 1301 total teachers. To fulfill ethical considerations a consent letter was given to every participant to read and understand his/her right before participating in the study 4.1 Sampling For the present study cluster and simple random sampling was used to select an appropriate sample for the study. Campbell and Stanley (2015) identified that random selection of between 4 to 10 respondents in institute sufficiently represents the frame of mind and insights of the whole school. Accordingly, the researcher tried to get at least 5 from each school. To ensure the adequacy of the sample, a sample is chosen by noting the utmost quoted rules of thumb contained by multivariate analysis and the needs of data analysis using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS).

4.2 Instruments

The instruments for the study was adopted from prior studies (Celep, 2000; Hallinger & Murphy, 1985; Hallinger, 2013). Instructional leadership involved 50 items in determining teacher observations that their principal leads by defining the school mission, managing the instructional program and developing the learning climate of the organization and motivates its members to adjust to the demands of a competitive environment. Teacher commitment to an organization comprised of four variables: commitment to school, commitment to teaching work, commitment to teaching occupation and commitment to the workgroup. All dimensions consisted of five (05) items, each a total of 20 items to measure the overall organizational commitment of the teachers. Likert Scale with a 5 point scale (from 1 strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree) were used to measure respondent’s responses. The adequacy of the variables was tested with confirmatory factor analysis. Teachers completed the survey in November 2019. In this study student’s academic performance characterized by the overall performance in each subject taken by the grade 5th students in a standardized examination across the state and culminated in a Grade Point Average (GPA). The GPA score was taken into account student’s academic performance in course

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. associated with a high level of organizational commitment. A study conducted by Avalos, (2011) found a positive relationship between teacher organizational commitment and students’ academic performances. Also, in a study piloted by Joffres and Haughey, (2001) recommended that student performances, mainly in mathematics, are associated with specific components of communal schools. Students’ performances in school appeared to be correlated to teacher commitment, cooperation, and concentration on students

readings

variables

items

and 1.534

data

The studyhas been subjected fornormality test, the skew of all and items were laid between ±3 while the kurtosis was laid at ±7 (Byrne, 2013). Such reading can be interpreted as the data set of all having normal distribution and thus, can be considered as well modeled. Specifically, the skew and kurtosis can be seen within the range of .299 .208 to 1.433 respectively. Results

239 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. work and examinations. The example method of calculating the student’s academic performances is as shown below: GPA = Sum of (number of grade *grade point) /Total number of the student taking the subjects. The minimum and maximum GPA scores are 1.0 (Grade A) and 5.0 (Grade E) respectively. This GPA score infers that the lower the score, the better the students had performed academically. Table 1 describes the variables. All were reliable (alphas ranged from .84 to .93). Student academic performances correlated with all variables in the model. Table 1: Results of Individual Reliability Test of the Constructs in the Instruments Variables Variable Items Cronbach’s Alpha(PilotStudy) Cronbach’s Alpha(MainStudy) InstructionalPrincipalleadership FSG 5 0.934 0.911 CSG 5 0.702 0.867 SEI 5 0.867 0.846 CTC 5 0.913 0.927 MSP 5 0.874 0.932 PIT 5 0.902 0.894 PPD 5 0.907 0.913 MHV 5 0.892 0.925 PIFT 5 0.898 0.935 PIFL 5 0.926 0.933 Techer’s OrganizationalCommitment CTS 5 0.802 0.866 CTW 5 0.842 0.876 CTO 5 0.894 0.885 CTWG 5 0.899 0.895

The process of determining appropriate methods in analyzing data was based on the hypothesis of the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 23 and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 23 based SEM was utilized to analyze the obtained in this study. Furthermore, the study of discriminant validity and convergent validity through CFA and AMOS was used to validate the model of measurement. Conducting path analysis, the AMOS software was used again to examine the research hypotheses and construct the structural model. The SPSS was used to detect univariate outliers and conduct the frequency analysis (i.e., sample profile), descriptive analysis and internal reliability/Cronbach Alpha.

240 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. The path statistics displayed in Figure 2 are standardized regression weights. Figure 2 offers support for the indirect effects model of principal assistance to student's academic performance. The figure indicates that principals who implement instructional leadership styles contribute to teachers' organizational. There was an indirect effect of instructional leadership on student's academic performance. The path coefficients and the results of examining hypothesized mediating effects are presented in Table 3. Figure 2. Base model linking instructional leadership to student academic performance through teacher organizational commitment Table 2: Summaries of the Goodness-of-fit Indices of the Overall Measurement Model CMIN DF CMIN/DF RMSEA AGFI GFI CFI NFI TLI 23.849 18 1.325 .035 .957 .978 .998 .991 .997 Each of the criteria for the goodness of fit was met. (Table 2 displays the summaries of the goodness of fit statistics for the model, for the exploration and validation samples). Table 3: Results of Examining Mediation Effect of (TOC) on the Relationship between (PIL) and (SAP) 95% Confidence BC CI Model /Hypothesized Path Beta P LB UB Direct Model PIL → SAP .550 .000 Full Mediation PIL → SAP .103 .097 Std. Indirect Effect (SIE) .447 .000 .035 .560 The result showed that there is a significant relationship between Principal Instructional Leadership (PIL) and Student Academic Performance (SAP) in the

6. Discussion

have potent effects on school processes than on student’s academic performance, and statistically significant assistances to academic performances dependent on indirect effects have been demonstrated. These findings advocate that principals should exhibit instructional leadership practices as this expertise help to develop unity of vision and mission through the commitment and teamwork amongst teachers. Instructional leadership practices can bring teachers out of isolation and lead towards a commitment to teaching occupation for improvement. Principals can improve cooperation, production, and commitment by encouraging strong organizational commitment that emphasis improving the school environment and ultimately, student’s academic performances. These findings are consistent with the findings of past studies. Empirical studies have discovered that school principal’s work as instructional leaders has been associated indirectly with student’s academic performances (Alig Mielcarek, 2003; Hallinger, 2003). Alig Mielcarek (2003) proposed that performing the dimensions of instructional leadership offers goodfoundations for

241 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. absence of Teacher Organizational Commitment (TOC), by way of the standardized total effect of .550 and P value of 0.000. Therefore, the total effect of Principal Instructional Leadership (PIL) as IV on Student Academic Performance (SAP) as DV without the inclusion of Teacher Organizational Commitment (TOC) as M was statistically significant. This relation remains insignificant after the inclusion of Teacher Organizational Commitment (TOC) into the model, with a standardized direct effect of 0.103 and a P value of 0.097. Hence, the direct effect of Principal Instructional Leadership (PIL) as IV on Student Academic Performance (SAP) as DV with the inclusion of Teacher Organizational Commitment (TOC) as M was statistically not significant. Further, the results revealed that Principal Instructional Leadership (PIL) had a full mediation effect on Student Academic Performance (SAP) through Teacher Organizational Commitment (TOC) with the standardized indirect effect of 0.447 and P value of 0.000 with LB .035 and UB is .560 and degree of mediation of teacher organizational commitment was full mediation.

The results of the mediation analysis indicated that Teacher Organizational Commitment mediated the effects of Principal Instructional Leadership on Student’s Academic Performance, i.e. full mediation. The results indicated that principal instructional leadership had a significant indirect positive effect on student’s academic performance through teacher organizational commitment with standardized indirect effect (SIE) of 0.447 and P value of 0.000. These findings remained consistent with previous research that has explored direct effects of leadership on student learning outcomes has stated weak effects, while research that has incorporated mediating variables has reported significant effects (Leithwood & Jantzi, 1999). Principals in this data analysis observed by their teachers as a practitioner of instructional leadership and enhance teamwork and commitment among teachers that improve Teacher’s organizational commitment to generate new idea and knowledge, in turn, promotes student’s academic Principalsperformance.generally

7. Implications

7.1 Theoretical Implications

The focus area of this study, student’s academic performance, is one of the educational development agendas of societies, regions, and nations as a whole. Therefore, the main contribution of this study concerns empirical literature by modifying and testing a framework that improves our knowledge, which indicates that instructional leadership and teacherorganizational commitment are indeed antecedents to students’ academic performances in the context of Pakistan. This studyfills the existing gapin muchwestern context literature on instructional leadership, teacher organizational commitment and students’ academic performances, and it has proven that teacher organizational commitment is a valid mediator in this relationship. Hence, no doubt this study extends the Hallinger and Murphy, (1985) instructional leadership model and Celep (2000) model of organizational commitment.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. creating a climate that presses for academic consistency. On the other hand, principals will also require to offer resource support, through monitoring and informal discussions, that teachers have resources and classroom materials to teach curriculum efficiently.

7.2 Practical Implications

As contained in educational reform there is an amplified emphasis on holding schools responsible for all student performances at all levels. Principals and teachers are under huge pressure to nurture student’s performance scores that indicate school academic outcomes. Nevertheless, findings of this study have provided evidence base information that may be useful to assist practitioners and administrators to develop and manage policy directions regarding human resource management in the institutions. Also to regulate policies and practices that would have a positive impact on instructional leadership, teacher organizational commitment and students’ academic performances such that principals, teachers, policymakers and stakeholders can make transformations to meet these challenges. By displaying behaviors consistent with instructional leadership through developing a positive organizational commitment will increase student academic performances. Accountability is now filtering down to individual schools and classroom levels. Leading a school to meet these demanding standards is becoming imperative, not an exception. Leaders in schools need tangible activities they can implement to nurture a climate for accomplishments to flourish. This study offers principals with numerous suggestions for implementing instructional leadership behaviors and building a strong commitment that can establish a vision of academic success

The findings of the current study also underscore the importance of respondent’s demographic background (such as teachers experience, years of service with the current principal), also finding indicates that these demographic factors influenced the perceptions of instructional leadership, teacher organizational commitment and students’ academic performances, which then tried to explain the Pakistani level of response to the theories and models.

for all students. Principals may start, in association with staff, students and community, to cultivate and communicate common goals (Murphy, 1990). Practitioners may offer mastery experiences forteachers by working together with them to develop school goals and curriculum; by ensuring the accessibility of instructional resources and by giving ample preparation time with associates. Instructional leaders may sort out vicarious experiences for their resources by displaying instructional strategies for educators who have had challenges enhancing student academic performance. Principals can also provide mediated experiences by targeting teachers with low levels of commitment to learn and observe an exemplary model of classroom instruction devised by the lead teachers and administrators. The present study has successfully developed a sound operational model and it is hoped to address the problem of students’ academic performances by using a new model on the relationship between instructional leadership, teacher organizational commitment, and students’ academic performances. Principal working towards improving instructional leadership skills in managing instructional programs might improve their organizational commitment and could, in turn, possibly improve student’s academic performances (Blasé & Blasé, 2000).

8. Limitations

The study is not an exception like other research has some limitations the first involved the data collection method. Methodologically, restraint to quantitative research infers that relationships among leaders and other factors can be documented but cannot be completely understood. The second limitation of the study researcher concentrated solely on primary schools situated in a single state of Pakistan. Because of reduced size and complication, primary schools are generally considered as a more encouraging environment for instructional leadership than other school levels (Bellibas, Bulut, Hallinger & Wang, 2016). Thus, it is possible that to some extent, different patterns might be established in other schools levels or primary schools sited somewhere else in Pakistan. The third limitation is to quantify Students' Academic Performances (standardized examination across the whole state of grade V). To determine comprehensive academic performances, it would be required to administer several tests during a student's academic career. The fourth limitation is the instruments that were used in the studyare from the western country, which is already established. The researcher had minimal time to adopt and adapt a few tools and develop a new instrument that will suit with Pakistani context.

9. Conclusion

The purpose of the article is to investigate the mediating effect of teacher organizational commitment on the relationship between principal’s instructional leadership and students’ academic performance. The article made a valid hypothesis Principal’s instructional leadership enhances students’ academic performance indirectly through teacher organizational commitment. For the study, cluster and simple random sampling were used to select the samples. The sample data from 440 primary school teachers have been collected. The data has been analyzed through structural equation modelling, employing AMOS.

The findings of the study appear very useful to the academic world. It is proved that there is an indirect positive effect of principal’s instructional leadership (IL) on students’ academic performance (SAP) through teachers’ organizational commitment (TOC). It is also proved that teacher organizational commitment is a valid mediator in the relationship between instructional leadership and students’ academic performance. The implication is that with higher levels of instructional leadership have better teachers commitment to schools, pedagogy works, and higher students’ academic performance. Hence investing in instructional leadership (IL) practices in schools through teacher organizational commitment makes a vital contribution to overall student performances.

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3) Future research should examine the use of instructional leadership components in the curriculum that effectively train new principals.

10. Recommendations

The current study promoted research about principal leadership by the contribution of an effective and reliable path that affects a student’s academic performance. The student’s academic performance model hypothesized in this study was supported by structural equation modelling. Through the exercise of monitoring the teaching and learning process, principals may work with teachers to categorize professional advancement needs. This study indicated that principals who promote professional development impacted academic performance. Base on the findings and their interpretations, the current study recommends the following for future research:

4) Future studies should be conducted to replicate the current study using different instruments for instructional leadership and teacher organizational commitment.

1) Future research should be conducted using different measurements of academic performances.

2) Future study should do a case study using mixed methods that gathers insight from the principals on how they perceive their instructional leadership behavior effects on student’s academic performance.

The study makes some practical insights as there is pressure on schools from parents and society to enhance the student performances. The study also makes a scope for further research using different measurements of academic performances. The instructional leadership components can be probed.

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Adeel, A. K., Soaib, A., Suhaida, A. K., & Ramli, B. (2020). Principals' instructional leadership practices in Pakistan elementary schools: Perceptions and implications Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(1A), 16 23 Bellibas,https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.081303.M.S.,Bulut,O.,Hallinger,P.,&Wang,W. C. (2016). Developing a validated instructional leadership profile of Turkish primary school principals. International Journal of Educational Research, 75, 115 133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.10.002

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Sulaiman M. Alshutwi, Aznan Che Ahmad and Lay Wah Lee School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

The Impact of Inclusion Setting on the Academic Performance, Social Interaction and Self-Esteem of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

https://orcid.org/0000https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2604-482100031691925Xhttps://orcid.org/0000000206847902

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.14

Keywords: Inclusion setting; Academic Performance; Social Interaction; Self Esteem; Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Abstract. This research investigates the impact of inclusion setting on academic performance, social interaction, and deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students’ self esteem. As opposed to the traditional nature of conducting a literature review, meta analysis has the advantage of offering a critical evaluation of several previous studies with a common theme and combining their results. This has the potential of increasing statistical power which improves the generalizability of findings to a wider population. Thus, this study provides important conclusions that are likely to influence future research and decisions made by policymakers regarding the impact of inclusion setting on academic performance, social interaction and self esteem of D/HH students. Guidelines of PRISMA (2009) was adopted for searching relevant studies by using keywords. The websites of World Library World Cat, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Biomed Central, Psyc INFO, Global Health, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant research conducted from January 1st, 1990 to February 28th, 2020. Therefore, the present study is a systematic review of the studies followed by a meta analysis of proportions carried out using Med Calc online software. The results of the present findings have demonstrated that inclusion setting improves academic performance, social interaction, and self esteem of D/HH students. Based on our findings, we recommend that D/HH children should have access to a ‘good inclusion setting’. Therefore, policymakers and practitioners ought to advocate the need for developing special strategies for such children.

Background of the Study

More than 5% of the world’s population suffers from D/HH (432 million adults and 34 million children). By 2050 there will be more than 900 million hearing impaired (HI) people. That is to say, one out of every ten people shall suffer hearing impairment (WHO, 2020). The condition of hearing loss in adults whereby hearing loss exceeds 30 40 decibels (dB) is referred to as disabling hearing loss. ‘Deaf’ people have a hearing impairment and customarily communicate with the aid of sign language (WHO, 2020). Experts opined that the impact of hearing loss on children’s educational achievements and development could be reduced if the disorder is detected early and timely intervention is applied. For instance, Callow Heusser (2011) reported that early detection as well as management of hearing loss improves language and educational outcomes for D/HH children. Evidence in literature identifies various effects of hearing loss. For example, functional, social, emotional, and economic are a few among the effects (National Research Council, 2004). A major effect of hearing impairments is evident in the ability of individuals while communicating with others. The spoken language development in children with unwanted hearing loss is often delayed. There are several detrimental effects concerning the inability of individuals to communicate causing a significant impact on their daily life such as experiencing feelings of loneliness. The estimated value of about $ 750 billion is believed to be the annual global cost of hearing loss according to the WHO (2020) report. These include costs of educational support, productivity reductions, social and health care (without the cost of hearing aids). D/HH children tend to have less self esteem because of differences in the audience regarding social maturity, physical appearance, and communication skills. Since successful communication skills are not always coupled with excellent living standards, professionals, and clinicians working with D/HH children need recognition, counseling, and external counselling for children in this population. As a result, it is critical to understand the components which contribute to self esteem to improve communication skills (Warner Czyz, Loy, Evans, Wetsel & Tobey, 2015). D/HH children tend to display improved performance in literacy skills, ability to speak, and language development with appropriate intervention at an early stage. However, despite the aforementioned successes, several pupils continue to display disturbances in emotional, cognitive, and behavioural control, executive functioning, and self regulation. Even though developmental learning is a complex process, it becomes necessary for educational settings to make available services that promote skill development in multiple dimensions, via ongoing assessment and revision. A model that involves articulated curriculum approaches for early intervention and special education programs can be considered and adopted in educating D/HH students (Mellon, Ouellette, Greer & Gates Ulanet, 2009). The adoption of higher education policies in many developing countries is opening up higher education for D/HH students. However, available data indicates that the participation of D/HH students in higher education is low, and research indicates that allocation support is insufficient for those receiving benefits (Bell, Carl & Swart, 2016). There is considerable research investigating

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. social skills training and its effectiveness. However, there is a paucity of information about the impact of such training on deaf adolescents (Naeini, Arshadi, Hatamizadeh & Bakhshi, 2013). Further, evidence in the study by Jaiyeola and Adeyemo (2018) demonstrates that D/HH students attending general education classes face difficulties in social skills and relationships and those consistent expectations of social outcomes include students' classroom communication and participation in extracurricular activities.

2. Methodology

Following the guidelines of PRISMA (2009), a comprehensive search of various studies around the world was conducted using five keyword search terms: "inclusion setting", "academic performance”, “social engagement”, “self esteem” and “hearing loss". The websites that were searched for systematic reviews included World Library WorldCat, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, BiomedCentral, PsycINFO, Global Health, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Google scholar. Search dates were for studies carried out from January 1st, 1990 to February 28th, 2020. This was followed by a meta analysis using MedCalc online software.

The following research questions guided the conduct of this study:

1.2 Rationale of the Study

• What are the key themes in the selected studies involving inclusion setting as the independent variable and academic performance, social interaction, and self esteem of deaf and hard of hearing students as the dependent variables?

• What is the effect size of the selected studies?

2.1 Data Sources

2.2 Inclusion criteria

The study was limited to include settings D/HH for students at any age only on their academic performance, social engagement, and self esteem. This includes January 1, 1990, to February 28, 2020 (> more than 30 years). The major websites selected for systematic review and meta analysis are Google, PubMed, Embase, Medline, Global Health, Psych Info, Biomed Central, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, World Library, and World Cat.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

Inclusive learning is a range of strategies that help students’ learning, but some specific strategies can be used to teach a group that includes D/HH students. Research suggests that deaf children may exhibit social difficulties in comparison with their listening contemporaries. Therefore, there is a need for a review of factors that influence these social interactions to design possible interventions (Batten, Oakes & Alexander, 2014).A limited number of studies (e.g. Batten et al., 2014) have investigated the phenomenon, but they fall short to investigate the critical role of ‘inclusion setting’ on academic performance, social engagement, and students' self esteem in D/HH. The present study makes use of systematic review and meta analysis to unify those that have been done before. The outcome is likely to contribute to theory, practice, and policy.

2.4

2.3 Exclusion criteria

The Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta Analysis (PRISMA) was used for the systematic review. PRISMA consists of a checklist and a diagram of a set of evidence based topics that enables authors to conduct systematic reviews and meta analyses (PRISMA, 2009). Figure 1 is a flow diagram showing the systematic review strategy following the PRISMA (2009) Guidelines.

2.5 Meta-Analysis Strategy

Studies that did not involve deaf or hard of hearing students were excluded, as well as those without the remaining keywords. Any study published outside the period January 1st 1990 and February 28th, 2020 did not qualify for inclusion.

Arsenic square root transformation was used to calculate summary proportions weighted under fixed and random effects models according to the procedure described by Negeri, Shaikh & Beyene (2018). The equation is embedded in MedCalc software. Approaches suggested by Campbell, Braspenning, Hutchinson and Marshall (2003) as well as Moher et al. (2015) were adopted in this study. The systematic review involved five steps; finding good evidence by visiting relevant sites, doing a search using keywords, digging deeper, reading

Figure 1: Systematic Review Strategy based on PRISMA (2009) Guidelines

Systematic Review Strategy

The results of this study are presented in two sections: [i] systematic review and [ii] meta analysis. These are presented below.

Numerous studies have highlighted key elements for the success of inclusion settings on students such as (a) availability of the interdisciplinary intervention services in areas such as motor and cognitive development, psychosocial functioning, communication and language (Mason, Williams & Cranmer, 2009), (b) the academic environment needs to motivate students to examine their hearing impairment in order to support them on the learning process. (Bell et al., 2016), attending regular schools, and having a well spoken language high test score (Marschark, Shaver, Nagle & Newman, 2015), (c) the total perceived ability score of adolescents with deafness and their ability to learn social skills (Soleimanieh, Arshadi, Hatamizadeh & Soleimanieh, 2013), (d) The use of strategies to support communication, language, education and social/emotional development for their involvement (Borders, Bock, Giese, Gardiner Walsh & Probst, 2018).

The level of asymmetry in the funnel plot was used to establish the degree of publication bias. A study conducted by Sterne and Egger (2001) evaluated several possible measures for the vertical axis in funnel plots, found that the use of standard error was likely to be the best choice as it is easy to interpret. For this reason, the funnel plot was used to assess publication bias with standard error in the vertical axis and proportion in the horizontal axis.

The findings of a study by Theunissen, Netten, Briaire, Soede, Kouwenberg & Frijns (2014) revealed that hearing impaired children participating in mainstream education had better language skills (t = 3.17, p < .001), higher intelligence scores (t = 2.22, p < .001) and improved communication skills (t = 22.69, p <.001) as compared with children participating in special education. Like Chia Fen (2013), there are a few authors who have highlighted issues on inclusion. Their findings suggest that D/HH students experience less family stress despite low educational difficulties or a good GPA and family. Furthermore, contextually, the findings reveal the importance of relationships for assessing academic achievement and social competence between Taiwan’s D/HH college students. The findings by Antia, Jones, Luckner, Kreimeyer & Reed (2011) also revealed major positive effects of inclusion setting on disabled students and their teachers. Some studies have highlighted new models of inclusion teaching for D/HH students. For instance, Kathleen and McCain (2005) emphasize that D/HH students can achieve sustained academic progress over the years to include D/HH students. Some studies have asserted that D/HH children are associated with equal levels of attention, while children with specific hearing have emphasized domains of social participation and role function and engagement

3.1 Systematic Review

3. Study Findings

the forest and funnel plots, and applying the evidence to address the research Thequestions.forest plot served two purposes; [i] to determine the effect size and [ii] to assess the level of difference (or heterogeneity) among the different publications.

11.

12.

(Constantinescu Sharpe, Phillips, Davis, Dornan & Hogan, 2017). This study also found that the majority of child friendly social inclusion outcomes were for those with normal hearing and good hearing. From the Master’s Thesis study by Allison (2015) also appears that teaching teachers about the opportunities for development in all students when disabled students are integrated at the high school level, is further required.

13.

10.

A review of the study by Dalton (2011) also highlighted the fact that how teachers can support autonomy, competence, and relatedness for students with MMHL. A study by Rachel (2012) revealed that inclusion classrooms generally promote desired behaviours and social skills and ESE inclusion practices are effective. Liversidge (2003) found that many factors can significantly help the students in their ability to decide to enroll and stay in a mainstream university such as level of commitment to attaining a college degree, past experience from the mainstream, ability to self advocate, support systems and development of study skills. Davis (2004) observed that there is a need for a multi method approach to teaching pupils with special educational needs. King and Ryan (2019) suggested that in a suitable physical and cultural environment, improvement in social interaction with their peers is possible. The scientometric analysis is utilized to objectively map the scientific knowledge area while the critical review aims for the identification of the research themes as well as the resultant challenges based on the result of scientometric. Table 1 is a scientometric analysis of the eligible studies. The studies were published between 2005 and 2019. They included three surveys, two theses, one cohort pilot study, one longitudinal study, one qualitative study, two cross sectional studies, two exploratory studies, one retrospective study, one quasi experimental study, one evaluation case study, and one secondary analysis. The theme synthesis for the studies is presented in Table 2. Table 1: Scientometric Analysis of Eligible Studies in SR and MA (n=16). N Author(s) Country of Study Year Type of Study Ameye, et al. Nigeria 2015 A cohort Pilot study Eriks Brophy, A., & Whittingham, J. Ottawa,Canada 2013 Survey Mapolisa & Tshabalala Zimbabwe 2013 Qualitative study Alasim, K. N. Saudi Arabia 2018 Exploratory Study Marschark et al. . US 2015 Secondary Analysis Soleimanieh et al. Iran 2013 Quasi experimental Jaiyeola, M. T., & Adeyemo, A. A. Nigeria 2018 Cross sectional study Chia fen, L. Taiwan 2013 Thesis Antia et al. UK 2011 Longitudinal study Prakash, S. S. India 2012 Survey Schmidt, M., & Čagran, B. Slovenia 2008 Evaluation case study Kathleen, G., & McCain, S. A. US 2005 Cross sectional study Theunissen et al. Netherlands 2014 multicenterRetrospective,study

The teachers had favorable attitudes, knowledge and teaching skills for students with hearing loss For inclusion to succeed, should:educationteacherprograms

S/N Author(s) methodologyStudy Key findings Implications of the studies Key synthesizedthemes from the studies

2. Eriks Brophy, A. Whittingha,& J. (2013). 63 teachingknowledge,rightteachersdetermineinteachersclassroominvolvedthestudytowhetherhadtheattitudes,andskills

• More than 33% of the students were denied privileges as a result of being deaf.

3. Mapolisa (2013).Tshabalala& Qualitative Inquiry of teachers’ experience in handling sampling.usingn=50childrenimpairmenthearingamongteacherspurposive

• Inclusion is important for hearing impairment children

• Minor impact of inclusion setting

Economic neededucationalandpoliciessensitization

• Provide requisite support for both students and teachers. Minor impact of withofinclusionchildrenhearing loss

Findings indicated that teachers can appropriately target their instruction by recognizing the diverse strengths and needs of hearing impaired students Teachers need to develop approachesinstructionalqualitythat take into account the diverse needs of hearing studentsimpaired

1. Ameye, et al. (2015). A cohort pilot study involving deaf students in special (n=50)secondaryeducationschools

• A significant percentage of the students were not satisfied with the placement.

• The provision of equipment for effective teaching of children with impairmenthearingis a necessity.

• Minor impact of inclusion setting

• Inclusion improves the participation of Deaf and hard of hearing students

• Be provided with proper equipment for effective teaching children with hearing impairment

• A significant percentage of the students had a limitation in achievement.

5. Marschark et al. (2015). The study involved analysis of data from the (n=11,000)by(NLTS2),TransitionLongitudinalNationalStudy2fundedtheU.S

• Majority of the regular teachers were lacking adequate resources and the necessary expertise. Regular teachers should: • Undergo in service training

• Major impact of inclusion setting

The study found that:

254 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 14. Alegre de la Rosa, O. M. A., & Angulo, L. M. V. Spain 2019 Exploratoryanalysisfactor 15. Constantinescu Sharpe et al. Australia 2017 Survey 16. Rachel, E. US 2012 Thesis

• Hearing impaired children in ordinary schools had various problems.

Minor impact of ofinclusiondeafchildren

Table 2: Theme synthesis in the systematic review

• Emphasize more on the needs of learners with hearing impairment

4. Alasim, K. N. (2018) The study was to identify strategies that participationfacilitate and interaction of Deaf and hard of hearing students. The study found that DHH students face barriers to participation and interaction in the general education classroom. There is a need for specific strategies to facilitate participationthe of d/Deaf and hard of hearing students

•losschildrenperformancepositivelyqualityInstructionalimpactsontheofwithhearing

• Major impact of inclusion setting

There was perceivedimprovementsignificantintotalcompetence scores of adolescents with deafness due to intervention (P < 0.001) in addition to three domains of socio emotional competence (P = 0.003), school adjustment (P = 0.018) and competencecommunication(P<0.001).

• There were significant differences in teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion across their teachingteaching,managementqualification,level,levelofgenderandexperience. Interventional needs to bring out teachers’ more attitudes.positive

8. Chia fen, L. (2013). The objectivethesiswas to identify the factors influencing the academic and social adjustment of college students with hearing loss in Taiwan The study found that students with hearing loss experienced less family stress and had fewer academic difficulties leading to better GPAs. Als, the family relationship was altogether related with achievement.academic

11. Schmidt, M. & Čagran, B. (2008). This was studentsselfinvestigatedstudyevaluationancasethattheconceptoffrom7th grade in regular primary schools.

7. Jaiyeola, M. T. & A.A.Adeyemo,(2018). The investigatesstudy the quality of life of DHH students in Ibadan, Nigeria using a sectionalcrossstudy. (n=110) The study found that the majority of deaf and hard of hearing students (57.8%) had poor quality of life. Factors influencing the quality of life for DHH to.shouldstudentsbeattended

9. Antia et al. (2011). This was a 5 year longitudinal study that examined the social skills and behavioursproblem of D/HH students The study found that some students placed in inclusive settings did not realize positive outcomes. The impact of inclusion attention.needsimportantonoutcomesmoreresearch

• Major impact of inclusion setting

• There was a noticeable advantage for the students from the class with integrated learners over the other class serving as control group Students with hearing impairment need supportadequate

6. Soleimanieh et al. (2013). This was a pre post quasi (n=69)withfemaledesignexperimentalinvolvingstudentsdeafness

• Major positive impact of inclusion of children with hearing loss.

• Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion varies managementlevelexperience,qualification,acrossgender,ofteachingandlevel.

• Poor quality of life for Deaf and hard of hearing students may affect their achievement.academic

10. Prakash, S.S. (2012) This was a survey • Most teachers were for the inclusion of students with disabilities.

• impairmentHearing impacts negatively on self concept.

• Social skills among adolescent students with deafness impacts positively on their emotional competencecommunicationand

• Integrated students with hearing impairment in regular conceptacademicshearingperformedclassroomsbelowtheircounterpartsinandsocialself

• Inclusion of children with hearing loss impacts positively on their self concept

In the university level have to develop a helpful program and an studentsDHHenvironmentencouragingforundergraduateinTaiwan.

Academic achievement and social aspect of DHH students’ remains obscure in Taiwan.

• Major impact of inclusion setting

Improvement in the adolescents’ sense of competence and emotional wellbeing through learning social skills.

• Greater focus on the characteristics of effective instruction in inclusion settings is a necessity.

• Major impact of inclusion setting

• Enhancement of self esteem is important for children with hearing impairment.

• Positive impact of inclusion of children with hearing loss

• Major impact of inclusion setting

14. Alegre de la Rosa, O. M. A.& Angulo, L. M. V. (2019). This was a study which made use of exploratory factor analysis relevancereliabilitydeterminetotheandofICAQ

The result indicates four factors of students’ attitudes towards IE: collaborationFamilyandutilize of technology, inclusion of the students in the ofprofessionals,communicationcentre,withmedicalandevaluationthesupportingtechnology

12. Kathleen, G. & McCain, S. A. (2005). The study (n=28)classroom3cohearingnondisabled,(D/HHdisabilitieswithD/HHD/HHsocialachievement,academicparticipation,communicationinvolvedandbehaviorof5students,5studentsadditionalD),and18peersinaenrolled,Grade45combination

• Promote skills.behavioursdesiredandsocial ESE effective.practicesinclusionare

16. Rachel, E. (2012). This was a doctoral thesis Findings indicated that inclusion classrooms: • Do not hurt a student’s self esteem.

The students’ attitudes towards IE was significant. The scale (ICAQ) valid to measure the attitudes of students theimpairmentswithtowardsinclusivesetting. Major impact of inclusion setting

The use of LSL approach in the teaching of children with hearing loss may be beneficial.

• Positive impact of inclusion of children with hearing loss

• Students with D/HH differed significantly from their hearing peers in the variables under study. Co enrolment is a possible model of inclusion for D/HH students.

• Major impact of inclusion setting

15. (2017).SharConstantinescupeetal. This is a study that involves parents of children with betweenimpairmenthearingthe age of 4 5 years who learnt through LSL (approach n = 78). The majority of the children with hearing loss are as well equated in terms of outcomes with those with typical hearing in terms of education, interaction with society, and fulfilment of social roles’ aspects of social inclusion.

• Findings indicated that differences did exist in academic achievement across disability type.

• Approach to teaching needs to be considered by teachers withteachingwhenchildrenhearingloss.

• Major impact of inclusion setting

13. Theunissen et al. (2014). This was (n=252)multicenterretrospective,astudy Hearing impaired children experienced lower levels of self esteem than those with no hearing impairment. Children with hearing impairment need theirsupport.toadequateimproveselfesteem.

• Major impact of inclusion setting Two themes emerged from the systematic review; studies in which inclusion setting had a minor impact on deaf children and those in which inclusion setting had a major impact on deaf children. The two themes are discussed below.

Table 3 contains summary statistics of studies included in the meta analysis. A total of 12 studies which were found to be eligible for meta analysis had a mean sample size of 539.7 (95% CI= 402 to 1481.5), Median value of 55.0 variance of 4974537.50 (SD=2230.3), SE Mean=455.2, Coff. of Skewness=4.8 (p<0.0001) and Coff. of Kurtosis=23.8 (p<0.0001).

Figure 2: Studies with major impact of inclusion setting on hearing impaired children

Theme 1: Minor Impact on Deaf Children (n = 4) Following the conduct of a systematic review of literature, four studies were found in which inclusion setting had a minor impact on academic performance, social participation, and students' self assessment. These were studied by Ameye, Adeyemo, Eziyi, Amusa, Ogunniyi and Otoghile (2015); Eriks Brophy and Whittingham (2013); Mapolisa and Tshabalala (2013) and Alasim (2018). These studies suggest that teacher education programs should be tailored to suit deaf children. Students with hearing impairment should be taught in a way that mitigates hindrances in general education classrooms. Further, these studies emphasize the use of appropriate pedagogical skills and the availability of resources for teachers so that they can manage hearing impaired children. Thus, there must be specific strategies for deaf and hard of hearing students to ensure their participation in classroom settings.

3.2 Findings for Meta Analysis

Theme 2: Major Impact on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children (n = 12) Figure 2 presents the studies which displayed a major positive impact of inclusion setting on deaf and hard of hearing children. Nine of the studies (75%) showed a positive impact of over 30%.

Figure 3: Forest Plot for the impact of inclusion setting on D/HH students (n=12)

The relationship between effect sizes in the studies and their statistical power was assessed by examining the funnel plot (Fig. 4). The plot displays a huge asymmetry caused by eleven studies. This suggests the possible presence of publication bias which means that the outcome of the studies influenced the

258 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 3: Summary Statistics of Studies Included in meta analysis. Statistic Value Sample size 24 Lowest value 14.0 Highest value 11000.0 Arithmetic mean 539.7 95% CI for the Arithmetic mean 402.0 to 1481.5 Median 55.0 95% CI for the median 37.4 to 83.5 Variance 4974537.5 Standard deviation 2230.3 Relative standard deviation 4.1322 (413.2%) Standard error of the mean 455.2 Coefficient of Skewness 4.8 (p<0.0001) Coefficient of Kurtosis 23.8 (p<0.0001) D'Agostino Pearson test for Normal distribution Reject Normality (p<0.0001)

Figure 3 is a forest plot for the 12 studies. All the studies except that by Marschark et al. (2015) had similar effect sizes. Incidentally, the study by Marschark et al. (2015) was the most reliable in the meta analysis yet it was the same study that exhibited the least impact of inclusion setting among the 12 studies that were in the major impact category. The least reliable was that Kathleen and McCain (2005).

The proportion for the total fixed effect was 6.6% and that of the total random effect was 44.3% (See Table 4). The combined value for I2 was 99% suggesting that there existed a high degree of heterogeneity across the studies included in the analysis (p<0.0001).

Study Sample size Proportion(%) 95% CI Weight (%) Fixed Random Ameye et al. (2015). 50 56.0 41.2 to 70.0 0.4 8.2 Eriks Brophy & Whittingham (2013). 63 52.3 39.4 to 65.1 0.5 8.3 Marschark et al. (2015). 11000 4.5 4.1 to 4.9 91.7 8.5 Soleimanieh et al. (2013) 69 40.5 28.9 to 53.0 0.5 8.3

Table 4: Effect of inclusion setting on D/HH students

Jaiyeola & Adeyemo (2018) 110 53.6 43.8 to 63.1 0.9 8.4 Chia fen, L. (2013) 132 46.2 37.5 to 55.0 G. & McCain, S.

259 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. decision of whether to publish them or not. Such bias may be reduced by having journals publish high quality studies on inclusion setting regardless of novelty or unexciting results, and by publishing protocols or full study data sets.

1.1 8.4 Mapolisa Tshabalala&(2013) 50 40.0 26.4 to 54.8 0.4 8.2 Prakash, S. S. (2012) 100 51.0 40.8 to 61.1 0.8 8.3 Maida, S. (2013) 42 50.0 34.1 to 65.8 0.3 8.2 Kathleen,

Figure 4: Funnel plot for the effect of inclusion setting on D/HH Students

A. (2005) 28 50.0 30.6 to 69.3 0.2 8.0 Theunissen et al. (2014) 252 50.0 43.6 to 56.3 2.1 8.4 Sharpe,ConstantinescuC.G.(2017) 78 50.0 38.4 to 61.5 0.6 8.35 Total (fixed effects) 11974 6.6 6.2 to 7.1 100.0 100.0 Total effects)(random 11974 44.3 23.4 to 66.3 100.0 100.0

4. Discussion Scientometric analysis in this research involved 16 studies. The studies were conducted in diverse countries using diverse research designs. When all these studies were further analysed through a systematic review, two themes emerged; which are the studies with minor and major impact.

The findings of our systematic review are in line with previous research. For example, a systematic review by Warner Czyz. et al. (2015) reported that children with hearing loss rated global self esteem significantly more positively compared to hearing peers and a significant positive relationship was established between self esteem ratings with both affiliation (r=.42, p =.002) and attention (r =.45, p =.001). Whereas, a significant negative relationship was established between global self esteem and depressive mood in the present study (r= .60, p =.001).

Numerous studies (Ameye et al., 2015; Rachel, 2012) have systematically highlighted the key to the success of inclusion settings on D/HH students. For instance, the role of trans disciplinary intervention services (Mellon et al. 2009), facilitating staff's understanding of 'identity' (Bell et al., 2016), attending regular secondary schools, and the role of good spoken language (Marschark et al., 2015) in their ability and emotional well being and studies on improving intervention (Solaimanih et al., 2013; Ameye et al., (2015). However, contrary to studies by Mapolisa and Tshabalala (2013) who conclude that there are no specific strategies in inclusion settings for deaf and hearing students. In addition, some studies also emphasize factors that encourage D/HH students to have uncontrolled attention before a lecture (Warner Czyz et al., 2015). Previous studies have suggested that attitudes of teachers toward disabled students in inclusive classrooms settings are highly significant and do influence these students with respect to the reporting of low loneliness, maintaining their self esteem, and acceptance of peers (Luftig, 1985; Campbell, Dodson & Bost, 1985). The study by Pavri and Luftig (2000) also indicated the urgent need for the preparation programs to be able to provide and address social support for students with disabilities in the general classroom. Therefore, it appears certain strategies are needed to facilitate social work for students in all educational settings. Therefore, it is imperative for students with learning disabilities to receive active and intentional coaching that could result in acceptance in learning social behaviour. Mellon et al. (2009) found that educational programs need to provide children with social emotional learning, innovations for auditory perception, access to the full range of basic skills essential for social and academic achievements. Another study by Warner Czyz et al. (2015) concluded that children with hearing disabilities were significantly more positive in global self esteem ratings compared to hearing individuals (t = 2.38, p = .02). Similarly, they found significant positive correlations between self esteem ratings with affiliation (r = .42, p = .002). Consequently, it indicates an urgent need for professionals and clinicians working with children suffering from hearing loss to recognize components responsible for self esteem. A study by Pujari and Annapurna (2015) in Indian primary schools on mental retardation cases also came with a similar conclusion of the need for an adequate support system for the success of inclusive education in different kinds of patients.

It was widely reported that self esteem is highly significant for psychosocial functioning. Hypothetically, hearing impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self esteem, due to the frequent experience of lower language and communication skills (Theunissen, et al., 2014). The special education services legal and scientific basis was based on the positive outcomes for students with disabilities when exposed to inclusive versus segregated education (National Council on Disability, 2018). Experienced teachers do not have challenges to structure lessons in advance, however, planning in teaching inclusion classes is vital and considered a valuable procedure. To be specific, the procedure of how to figure out the best strategies to engage and accommodate students' challenges, physical needs, interests, developmental levels, and gifts that can help teachers in achieving realistic inclusion for all students (Willis, 2007) Surprisingly, a few findings of our systematic review have displayed contradictory results as compared to prior studies by Ameye et al. (2015) and Alasim (2018) A systematic review of literature by Yu Han, Potměšil and Brenda (2014) identified two broad themes including process and interactions with peers and intervention programs. Studies have indicated that D/HH children are liable to encounter difficulties in managing, initiating, and communicating with hearing peers in an inclusive environment. For the social participation of DHH children, co enrollment and social skills training programs were reported to be effective interconnections. The communication and social skills of D HH children, children with general hearing reactions, and the influence of encyclopaedias are described as important features as far as social interactions are a concern. A study by Batten et al. (2014) also reveals that a wide range of factors are associated with social relationships between deaf and hearing children. A study by Antia et al. (2011) also reported that deaf and hearing children differed in social competence and that deaf children heard less on social and socially re trained behaviour than hearing children. All these studies show the variability of the data in the literature, which is evident in our study. We can, therefore, conclude from our meta analysis that overall the impact of inclusion setting is significant (6.6% to 44.3% in the fixed and random effect models, respectively).

5. Conclusion

The combined proportion impact of ‘inclusion setting’ ranged from 6.6 percent (fixed effect) to 44.3 percent (random Effect) as per calculated effect sizes in meta analysis. Data also displayed statistical significance [p <0.0001, Q=1153.8, 95% CI for I2=98.8 99.9]. Thus, we can conclude from the findings of the present study that the inclusion setting improves academic performance, social interaction, and self esteem of D/HH students. Furthermore, based on the outcomes of the present study, we recommend that there is a need to handle D/HH students not only appropriately but also understand the fact that it is difficult for many such children to develop a language unless they have access to a ‘good inclusion setting’. Therefore, practitioners and policymakers must advocate the need for devising special strategies for such children. Consequently, the inclusion of D HH children in mainstream classrooms needs to focus more on extensive research in ‘inclusive education’ in the future for better communication and social interaction of D/HH students.

https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent052

https://doi:10.3390/educsci9030244

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264 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Pujari, J., & Annapurna, M. (2015). A study on available support systems in inclusive setting for the students with mental retardation. Indian Journal of Cerebral Palsy, 1, 35 41. Rachel, E. (2012). Inclusion Classrooms as it Relates to Self Esteem, Behavior, and Social Skills (PhD Thesis) Trampler Southeastern University Lakeland. Soleimanieh, N. T., Keshavarzi, A. F., Hatamizadeh, N , & Bakhshi, E. (2013). The effect of social skills training on perceived competence of female adolescents with deafness. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 15(12):e5426. https://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.5426

265 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 265 285, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.152020 Teacher Support for Eliciting Students Mathematical Thinking: Problem Posing, Asking Questions, and Song Ary Woro Kurniasih, Isti Hidayah and Mohammad Asikin Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Semarang State University, Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000 0003 1674 4226 https://orcid.org/0000 0001 8462 3376 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 1121 3629

Keywords: guiding question; mathematical thinking; problem posing; song; students thinking 1. Introduction The enforcement of education in Indonesia has followed its 2013 curriculum since the academic year 2013/2014. Because mathematical thinking and reasoning are at the core of mathematics learning, strategies to facilitate their development are global issues for various countries and organizations, including the Australian

Abstract. Mathematical thinking and reasoning are at the core of mathematics learning, strategies to facilitate their development are global issues for various countries. This qualitative study aims to describe the fifth grade elementary school teacher’s stimulus form, to expand students’ thinking ability in mathematics learning and obtain a stimulus formulation of the fifth grade elementary school teacher in developing students’ mathematical thinking ability. Data were obtained by using open ended questionnaire methods and passive participation observation. The study results showed that the stimulus form of the fifth grade elementary school teacher in expanding students’ thinking skill in learning the mathematics comprises problem posing, asking guiding questions, facilitating technology (learning videos/PowerPoint/Plickers), and song. The recommendation of fifth grade elementary school teacher stimulus for developing students’ mathematical thinking ability was asking the probing question, playing, and games. Furthermore, the results of the second year’s research were widely disseminated to teachers. Primary school teachers who are part of the teacher working group also need to improve their professionalism, especially concerning developing stimulus thinking and applying it in learning. Therefore, the follow up as the management of learning in the form of INNOMATTS training.

Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (Harrington, 2008) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (2017a). In Indonesia, the country has followed its 2013 curriculum since the academic year 2013/2014. This curriculum is based on Regulation of Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia No. 21 of 2016 (Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia, 2016), which concerns elementary and secondary education content standards. It identifies three graduate competencies: attitude, knowledge, and skill. These three competencies are further broken down into four dimensions, or core competencies: spiritual, social, knowledge, and skill. Regulation of Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia No. 37 of 2018 (Ministry of Education and Culture Republic of Indonesia, 2018) states that for the fifth grade elementary school student, the core competency of knowledge means the ability of the students to comprehend knowledge both of factual and conceptual by inspecting and questioning based on curiosity about himself, God’s creatures and their activities, and the objects found at daily life. Students’ questioning activity is, therefore, the way in which they will attain knowledge competency. According to Tofade, Elsner, and Haines (2013), a question is a learning tool that can stimulate critical thinking. Questions asked must be analytical, essential, and creative so that the questioning activity conducted by the students has a role in encouraging high thinking competency (Samo, Darhim, & Kartasasmita, 2017). Such activity is thus seen as critical to developing a student’s ability to think and thereby learn in the mathematical context.

LevelBelow1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE Indonesia 37.9 1.68 30.7 1.12 19.6 1.01 8.4 0.72 2.7 0.38 0.6 0.17 ‡ †

‡ Reporting standards not met due to coefficient of variation over 50 percent. Based on the OECD (2019), there are six proficiencies in mathematics on the PISA scale (from Level 1, the lowest, to Level 6, the highest). Based on Table 1, 68.6% of students in Indonesia attained Level 1 (i.e., they were proficient below Level 1 and at Level 1). Based on Table 2, 71.9% of students in Indonesia attained Level 1 (i.e., they were proficient below Level 1 and

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide program by the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD). In terms of Indonesian students’ mathematics performance, PISA scores in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018 were 360, 391, 371, 375, 386, and 379, respectively (OECD, 2019). Overall, the performance trajectory in mathematics performance is hump shaped, i.e., it is more negative over more recent years (OECD, 2019). The 2015 percentage distribution of 15 year old students on the PISA mathematics literacy scale is presented in Table 1, and that of 2018 is presented in Table 2. Table 1: The distribution of 15 year old Indonesian students recorded in the PISA mathematics literacy scale, based on the proficiency level and education system, in 2015 systemEducation

† Not applicable.

Table 2: Indonesian student performance in mathematics (OECD, 2019) Education system All students LevelBelow1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE % SE Indonesia 40.6 (1.6) 31.3 (1.2) 18.6 (1.0) 6.8 (0.7) 2.3 (0.5) 0.4 (0.2) 0.0 (0.0) The description of proficiency mathematics performance at Level 5 are: (a) students can develop and work with models for building complex berth, identifying constraints and specifying laying claims; (b) students can select, compare, and evaluate appropriate problem solving strategies for transaction with complex job related to these models; (c) students at this grade can work strategically using broad, well developed thinking and reasoning science, appropriate linked internal representation, symbolic and formal characterization, and brainstorm about these situations; (d) students have begun to develop the ability to reflect on their work and to communicate determination and rendering in written form; and (e) students master a high level of conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning (OECD, 2019). Based on Tables 1 and 2, Indonesian students' performance at Level 5 was only 0.6% and 0.4% for 2015 and 2018, respectively; this means that they did not yet have maths skills at Level 5.

The description of proficiency mathematics performance at Level 6 are: (a) students can conceptualize, generalize, and use information based on their investigations and moulding of coordination compound job situations and can use their cognition in relatively non standard contexts; (b) students can linkup different information sources and representations together and move flexibly among them; and (c) students at this level are capable of advanced mathematical thinking and reasoning. Based on Tables 1 and 2, Indonesian students' performance at Level 6 was 0% for both 2015 and 2018; this means that their math skills at this level need to be explored and developed.

267 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. at Level 1). Based on Table 1, 31.4% of students in Indonesia attained Level 2 or higher (i.e., they were proficient at Levels 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6). Based on Table 2, only 28.1% of Indonesia's students attained Level 2 or higher. According to OECD (2019), students who scored below Level 2 are considered “low achieving students”; thus, most Indonesian students fall into this category. Based on the OECD (2014), there are six proficiencies in mathematics on the PISA scale (from Level 1, the lowest, to Level 6, the highest). Based on Table 1, 68.6% of students in Indonesia attained Level 1 (i.e., they were proficient below Level 1 and at Level 1). Based on Table 2, 71.9% of students in Indonesia attained Level 1 (i.e., they were proficient below Level 1 and at Level 1). Based on Table 1, 31.4% of students in Indonesia attained Level 2 orhigher (i.e., they were proficient at Levels 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6). Based on Table 2, only 28.1% of Indonesia's students attained Level 2 or higher. According to OECD (2019), students who scored below Level 2 are considered “low achieving students”; thus, most Indonesian students fall into this category.

Mathematics teachers’ skills for eliciting students thinking is crusial because those skills as a foundation for teaching to help the students get deeply understanding about mathematical ideas. Eliciting student thinking is a core teaching practice

Many researchers in maths education assert the importance of such thinking in assessing the quality of mathematics learning (Cai & Jiang 2017). Focusing on students’ mathematical thinking remains a powerful mechanism for bringing pedagogy, maths, and student understanding together. High quality mathematics instruction includes three aspects: the teacher's role, classroom discourse, and mathematical tasks (Munter, 2014). Concerning the first aspect, there are three teachers’ roles: (a) teacher should engage with educatee in mathematical argument; (b) they should play a proactive role in supporting and scaffolding students’ talk by utilizing students’ explanation and questions as lesson content, choosing appropriate moment to share essential information such as conventions and alternative methods or articulating important ideas in students’ methods; and (c) teachers should ensure that “the responsibility for determining the validity of ideas resides with the classroom community” and not solely with the teacher or the textbook (Munter, 2014).

Moreover, one of the professional skills that mathematics teachers should develop is professional attention. The professional noticing pr professional attention demands that instructor attend to students’ thought, interpret their thinking, and decide how to respond based on their own assertions. Noticing student thinking is an important part of the teacher’s skill set and in particular, professional noticing about mathematical thinking has garnered the attention of many researchers (Lee, 2018). By adopting this approach, teachers facilitate the learning that in turn leads to the development of mathematical thinking. As they are expected to provide erudition programs from kindergarten through grade XII, teachers or instructors can enable students to recognize reasoning and proofs as basic aspects of mathematics; then further make and investigate mathematical conjectures; also develop and evaluate mathematical arguments and proofs; and choose and use various types of reasoning and verification methods (NCTM, 2017b). Due to the PISA data, NCTM statement, and statements of the experts above, this study conducted on fifth grade elementary school students. These students are accustomed to developing mathematical thinking naturally and gradually in their classroom environments.

To accomplish this goal, mathematical thinking ability must be nurtured at the earliest stages, from basic to secondary education. Mathematical thinking increases the capacities of making estimations and rounding error, measure and constructing, collecting and handling information, representing and interpreting data, recognizing and representing relationships mathematically, using algorithm and relationship, solving trouble, and making decisions among students. When mathematical thinking is at a high grade, students manifest a positive position toward mathematics, encouraging them to approach and solve all mathematics problems.

In the classroom setting, teachers use various methods to help their students develop mathematical thinking skills. As many as 76% of questions asked by elementary school teachers (two second grade, one third grade) in Southern California are four types of questions (i.e., general question, specific questions,

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. that is useful in many contexts and content areas (Shaughnessy & Boerst, 2017), using student thinking to inform the teacher instructional decisions and interactions with students in ways that support student learning (Teuscher et al., 2016). Specifically, learning mathematics equips the student with the ability to develop critical, logical, and abstract thinking skills as well as the confidence to analyze and solve problems in school and daily life situations through the use of creative strategies (Nurlu, 2017). As stated by Harel and Soto (2017) that the way of thinking for each person in terms of making mathematical conclusions and deductions, both as an individual and as a community member, always develops naturally and gradually, with cultural and social interventions. Constructivism views mathematical learning as an active mental construction and understanding process, where students construct the intellectual, knowledge, and understanding abilities not given by the teacher (Lui & Bonner, 2016). Therefore, mathematics teachers must design classes. Mathematics teachers have become ‘designers’, or act as ‘partners’ in the design of curriculum materials not as a ‘implementers’ of curriculum materials (Jones & Pepin, 2016). Teachers design and interact with curriculum resources to prepare and set up their teaching in class. They also work with colleagues in school or across schools in local, regional, or international professional development collectives to design and adapt curriculum materials for their own teaching and that of their colleagues (Pepin, Gueudet & Trouche, 2017). So that students can construct their knowledge through inquiry and discovery, thereby enabling them to develop mathematical creativity. In addition, the teacher provides scaffolding to help with the development of meaningful knowledge. According to the constructivist paradigm, teachers create the context of mathematics learning and pose the questions that will guide students to thinking actively and arguing logically. The mathematical learning activities best suited to this paradigm are probing inquiries and/or discussions; investigations, explorations, and/or discoveries; learning from peers and groups; real world applications; learning games; using manipulations; and visual representations (Lui & Bonner, 2016). In learning practice, the teachers’ efforts to elicit student thinking will coincide with their interpretations and responses to such thinking. Teachers help the students bring up ideas; they then make interpretations to pose additional questions to elucidate the students’ thinking process, giving responses that encourage the students to learn (Shaughnessy & Boerst, 2018). This ability, teacher noticing, is referred as a professional vision or lens through which teachers come to view teaching. In this regard, the teacher needs to have the ability to respond to students’ thinking during the learning experience. Teacher professional noticing or attention toward children’s mathematical thinking involves three simultaneous processes: attending to children’s strategies of using their ability; interpreting student responses, work, and solution methods; and deciding, at that moment, how to respond based on student understanding.

The research was conducted from May 2018 to September 2018. The research involved 9 teachers of grade 5 elementary school from 9 different schools (in phase 1) and 2 of those 9 teachers (in phase 2) in Gunungpati district, Semarang Indonesia. This study used a descriptive qualitative method and occurred in the academic year 2018/2019. Research activities were divided into several phases. The first phase was a discussion group forum with fifth grade elementary school teachers, which took place on Saturday, May 12, 2018. Nine teachers participated, and there was no selection activity in UPTD (Unit Pelaksana Teknis Daerah) Gunungpati Semarang. The teachers filled out a questionnaire to illustrate the thought stimulus they had done in class.

2. Methodology 2.1 Research Design

Teachers of mathematics in schools must understand the mathematics being taught and be cognizant of students’ mathematical thinking processes (Carpenter & Lehrer, 1999). To this end, their planning and implementation of mathematics material should open discourse concerning students’ thinking and involve students’ active participation in learning. Mathematics learning is designed to incorporate several activities to find concepts, ideas, procedures, or principles. Thus, the teacher's activities act as a stimulus to facilitate an improvement in students’ thinking abilities (Pratiwi, Herman & Lidinillah, 2017). However, because it is the teacher’s responsibility to develop these activities, organizing a mathematics class is not easy (Anthony, Hunter & Hunter, 2015). The teachers have to provide challenging mathematical activities that involve the students in asking, justifying, and reflecting, thereby providing a stimulus for fifth grade students to think.

The research question associated with this study takes two forms: viz. first, what a fifth grade elementary school teacher uses stimulus for developing students’ mathematical thinking abilities; and second, what is the stimulus recommendation of a fifth grade elementary school teacher for developing students’ mathematical thinking abilities. These formulations also become the limitation of this study. As the questions indicate the uniqueness of mathematic teachers undertaking a stimulus for their students’ mathematical thinking, any discussion related to students' achievement by applying the stimulus is therefore excluded in this study. This study illustrates how teacher stimulus brings up students’ mathematical thinking in elementary school. Furthermore, it serves as a reference point for the second year of research. Various thought stimuli were implemented to develop students' students’ mathematical thinking and test their effectiveness.

probing sequences of specific questions, and leading questions, 67% of explanations from second and third grade students in Southern California were true and complete, and 82% of students’ explanations were incomplete, ambiguous, and unclear. Thus, even though the teachers provided a stimulus to encourage student thinking, the further direction was needed to make student responses clear, complete, and unambiguous.

stimulusaboutparticipationPassiveobservationthinkingdonebytheteachers

ThirdPhasePhase

Figure 1: The research phase 2.2 Instruments

The second phase involved the research conducted at two elementary schools. This phase described the fifth grade elementary school teacher's stimulus for developing the students’ mathematical thinking abilities that occurred in the field. The elementary schools involved were Plalangan 01 and Pakintelan 01 public elementary school in Gunungpati Semarang. Observation of the implementation of mathematics learning in each of the schools was carried out four times during face to face learning in August September 2018. The result of the second phase is a triangulation of the result of the first phase.

Description about the stimulus teachers had done to facilitate students’ thinkingmathematical Description about the doneteachersstimulushadtofacilitatestudents ’ mathematical Technical triangulation

The research subjects were fifth grade teachers of state elementary schools in the Regional Technical Implementation (Unit Pelaksana Teknis Daerah) in Gunungpati, Semarang. Both methods of sampling including purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used. For phase 1 activities, research subjects were determined by purposive sampling, a data source sampling technique with specific considerations. Nine fifth grade elementary school teachers were selected Discussion group forum (9 teachers of fifthResearchgrade) at 2 elementary schools (2 teachers) byaboutQuestionnairethinkingstimulusdonetheteachers

The final result involved descriptions of the stimulus form of a fifth grade elementary school teacher on mathematics learning in developing students’ mathematical thinking abilities. The third phase was the recommendation of a thinking stimulus, which was suitable for mathematics learning for fifth grade elementary schools. The research phases are presented in Figure 1 below.

Descriptions of the stimulus form of a fifth grade elementary school teacher on mathematics learning in developing students' mathematical thinking abilities

Recommendation of thinking stimulus, which was suitable to be applied in mathematics learning for fifth grade elementary schools First Phase Second

(4) Nine fifth grade teachers from nine public elementary schools were willing and open to be the subjects of research. For phase 2, the research subjects were determined by snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is done by searching for subjects that are likely to get information in phase 2. Using snowball sampling, two fifth grade elementary school teachers were selected out of the nine fifth grade elementary school teachers involved in phase 1. Both of these fifth grade teachers volunteered to serve as research subjects in phase 2.

from nine different elementary schools, with the following considerations:

2.3 Data Validation Data are required to meet standards of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Siswono, 2007). In this study, credibility of the data was carried out by persistent observation of the implementation of learning in Plalangan 01 public elementary school and Pakintelan 01 public elementary school. The research also used technical triangulation to validate the data i.e., comparing the data from the questionnaire and observation results, as technical triangulation aims to obtain the data regarding the types of teacher stimulus. For the other activity, the researcher held discussions with the research team. Transferability described, in detail, the stimulus types given by the teacher in mathematics learning. Dependability was carried out by an audit technique that maintains the honesty and the accuracy of the researcher's perspective. This research satisfied confirmability because it was based on data exploration of the truth.

(2) The school's location is close to the university and needs to be involved in higher education research activities.

(3) Advice from the head of the Dewi Kunthi cluster.

(1) In the Teacher Working Group in the Regional Technical Implementation (Unit Pelaksana Teknis Daerah) Gunungpati Semarang, there are four clusters (gugus): Dewi Kunthi, Laras Asri, Drupadi, and Srikandi. Nine of the selected fifth grade elementary school' teachers are teachers in state primary schools in the Dewi Kunthi cluster and the Laras Asri cluster.

Data collection methods used in this study were open ended questionnaires and passive participation observations. The questionnaires were teacher stimulus questionnaires in the first phase. Passive participation observations were carried out by observing teacher learning in the second phase of the study through participatory observation. The researcher presents in the learning activities carried out by the two elementary school teachers each during four mathematics learning meetings in class. With this participant observation, the thought stimulus data provided by the teacher is clearly visible. The type of participatory observation of this study is passive participation observation—i.e., the researcher comes to the place of the observed activity (fifth grade of Plalangan 01 public elementary school and Pakintelan 01 public elementary school), but is not involved in the teaching and learning activity.

3. Research Findings

Due to the reasons above, this study involved teachers working group to obtain the data. The first phase of the research was a discussion group forum with nine teachers of the fifth grade elementary school in a teacher working group setting. Teachers were given questionnaires to find out teachers’ stimulus types in

2.4 Data Analysis

This study used descriptive analysis to describe the stimulus types given by the teachers in mathematics learning. Miles and Huberman model was used to analyze the data. This model involved data reduction, data display, and conclusion phases. Interview data analysis was performed with data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing steps. Reducing data means summarizing,choosing the main things,focusing on the important things, looking for themes and patterns, and discarding unnecessary ones (Sugiyono, 2016, p. 338). All data information obtained using questionnaires and observation sheets in phases 1 and were collected, then reduced to obtain the data needed for the analysis process; data that did not support the analysis process was discarded. This study's reduction activity was to simplify the questionnaire and observation sheet results into a suitable arrangement of languages and then transform them into notes, discarding those found unnecessary. The presentation of data is done in brief descriptions, charts, relationships between categories, and others. The reduced data will be organized and arranged in a relationship pattern through the presentation of data to be more readily understood. The presentation of data will make it easier for researchers to understand what is happening and plan the next steps based on what has been understood. The research data will be presented tabularly to make it easier for readers to understand; specifically, this presentation includes data classification and identification. Conclusions are drawn using the results of questionnaires and observations to coalesce the stimuli thought by the teacher.

3.1 Finding of The First Phase Regarding the Act of the Government Regulation No. 74 of 2008 (Government Regulations, 2008) mandated that teachers must have a minimum qualification academic S 1 or D IV, competencies (pedagogic, personality, social, and professional) as learning agents, and educator certificates. Therefore, teachers have to continuously improve their competencies continuously improve their competencies through various training, scientific writing activities, workgroup meetings, and workshop discussions, including the teacher working group. The teacher working group, one of the professional forums for teachers (both class and subject teachers) in a regency/city/district/studio/school group, is a nonstructural school organization that is independent, family based, and has no hierarchical relationship with any other institutions (Al Rasyid, 2017). The teacher working group is a forum for the teachers. Working group activities included exchanging ideas for solving learning problems, sharing learning information, and discussing the challenge of difficult learning material such that a mutual solution is needed. Thus, the teacher working group serves as a strategic effort to improve teacher performance and teaching ability.

Teacher stimulus percentage based on a questionnaire Ayo kawan Kita Bersama menanam jagung di kebun kita ambil cangkulmu, ambil pangkurmu kita bekerja tak jemu jemu cangkul, cangkul, cangkul yang dalam tanah yang longgar, jagung kutanam Come on, friend, we’re together planting corn in our garden take your hoe, take your pick we work not get bored hoes, hoes, deep hoes loose ground, I plant corn a b

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

thinking development. Based on the questionnaire results, the teacher's stimulus most often given in mathematics learning is presented in Figure 2 below. Based on Figure 2, student utilization of technology, self made manipulative props, math games, investigations, and adventure activities outside the classroom were not optimal.

Figure 2: The percentage of teachers’ stimulus by questionnaire 3.2 Finding of The Second Phase

Figure 3: a) Lyrics of “Menanam Jagung” song, b) Lyrics of “Planting Corn” song

The second phase was conducted in two elementary schools, namely Plalangan 01 and Pakintelan 01. This phase was conducted to confirm the results of the first phase. The questionnaire result was technically triangulated with the learning result observation in the field. Based on field research in Plalangan 01 public elementary school and Pakintelan 01 elementary school for four occasions of learning, data on the teachers' stimulus follow. The fifth grade mathematics teachers in both schools always used a thinking stimulus that asked guiding questions. The teacher gave the guiding question to help the students identify concepts and strengthen their understanding of those concepts. The Plalangan 01 elementary school teacher taught multiplication and division of fractions and percentages by providing a stimulus in the form of a song. The song used is “Menanam Jagung” (translation: “Planting Corn”) by Mrs. Sud (Figure 3a, b), and the lyrics of “Pecahan” song were changed by the teacher to embed the concept of fractions (Figure 4a, b).

Figure 4: a) Lyrics of “Pecahan” song, b) Lyrics of “Fractions” song

Ayo kawan kita bersama Membagi angka jadi pecahan Atas pembilang, bawah penyebut Janganlah sampai terbalik balik Kali dengan bilangan yang sama akan jadi pecahan senilai Bagi dengan bilangan yang sama akan jadi pecahan senilai

Also, the teacher provided a stimulus in the form of problem posing, giving several numbers in the forms of integers, decimal numbers, and percents (Figure 5). Figure 5: Numbers for problem posing In learning about addition and subtraction of fractions, the teacher presents contextual math problems unusually. As a variation in giving the mathematical problem to develop thinking, the teacher provided several contextual problems about fractions presented using Plickers application. Plickers stands for Paper Clickers. Plickers technology is a web based application that uses synchronization between a smartphone and a computer or PC. The free Plickers application allows teachers to get answers from students quickly. At the beginning of learning, the teacher gives a special paper containing the answers A, B, C, and D. After the teacher raises the questions and students finish working on them, students are asked to show the teacher the Plickers paperwith the answers they selectedabove. After that, the teacher only has to scan the answer paper using the smartphone's camera. Students’ answers and true mistakes will automatically appear on the computer screen. Figure 6 below shows some of the teacher's problems in class and the name of the student who worked on it. 3;5;6;8;12;15;20;25; 20%; 25%; 30%; 45%; 020; 025; 045 a b Come on, friend, we're together Divide numbers into fractions The top is numerator; the bottom is a Don'tdenominatorturnitupside down Times with the same number will be equivalent fractions Divide by the same number will be equivalent fractions

The teacher of Pakintelan 01 public elementary school taught distance using the song “Naik Ke Puncak Gunung” (translation: “Climb up to the Mountain”). The songwriter was Mrs. Sud, whose lyrics were changed and became the song “Tangga Ukuran” (translation: “Units Stairs”). The teacher stimulated students' thinking about changing the units of distance. Original lyrics of the song “Naik Ke Puncak Gunung” (and then translated as “Climb up to the Mountain”) as well as the song “Tangga Ukuran” (and then translated as “Units Stairs”) are presented below (Figure 7a, b; Figure 8a, b, respectively).

......................

Figure 7: a) Lyrics of “Naik Ke Puncak Gunung” song, b) Lyrics of “Climb up to the Mountain” song

Figure 6: Display of mathematical problems using Plickers. The other facilitation technology used by the teacher for teaching distance, time, and speed units were PowerPoint and miscellaneous learning videos

Figure 8: a) Lyrics of “Tangga Ukuran” song, b) Lyrics of “Units Stairs” song Naik Naik Ke Puncak Gunung Tinggi Tinggi sekali.......................2x Kiri Kanan Ku lihat saja Banyak pohon cemara.............2x Climb up to the top of the mountain So high 2x Look left, look right, I’ll see Lots of pine trees 2x a b a b Naik naik Tangga ukuran Tinggi tinggi sekali......................2x Mili senti desi dan meter deka hekto dan kilo................2x Kalau naik bagi sepuluh Turun kali sepuluh.......................2x Climb up to the unit stairs So high 2x Milli centi deci and meter deca hecto and kilo ................ 2x If it goes up divided by ten Goes downtimes by ten

................

......................

................2x

Asking questionsguiding Asking questionguiding Facilitating technology Facilitating technology (Plickers, PowerPoint, learning videos) Manipulative prop that has existed Song Song Based on the research in the field, the teachers' thinking stimuli are problem posing, asking guiding questions, facilitating technology (learning videos, PowerPoint, and Plickers), and using songs. The teachers' teachers’ stimuli are problem posing, asking guiding/challenging questions, facilitation technology (learning videos/PowerPoint/Plickers), and song based on technical triangulation.

2. Fadil has a 500 centimeters band. Then, Nofal asks for a 200 centimeters long ribbon. Fadil's father asks for a 100 centimeters long ribbon. How many meters of the rest of the band did Fadil have?

To train the students in understanding distance units, the teacher provided a stimulus in the problem posing form. Students in the groups made questions as well as the answer keys. Also, the teacher gave a stimulus in the form task of contextual problem posing. The following data in Figure 9 resulted from students’ was the result of students' work on the contextual problem of changing the distance unit.

Based on the observation in the field, the teachers' thinking stimuli are problem posing, asking guiding questions, facilitating technology (learning videos, PowerPoint, and Plickers), and using songs. Based on technical triangulation, the teachers’ stimuli were problem posing, asking guiding/challenging questions, facilitation technology (learning videos/PowerPoint/Plickers), and song (Table 3).

1. The distance from Winong village to Kepil village was 7 kilometers. The paved road is 5,000 meters. How many meters did the rest of the way go from Winong to Kepil that unpaved?

Figure 9: Contextual problem posing made by the students

3.3 Finding of The Third Phase

3. Mr. Eko has 300 centimeters of wood. Mr. Eko cut the wood into two equal lengths, and then the mother used one part of the wood as firewood. How many decimeters of the rest of the wood does Mr. Eko have?

Table 3: Triangulation for teacher stimulus based on questionnaire and field research (Plalangan 01 and Pakintelan 01) Questionnare Plalangan 01 Pakintelan 01 Open ended task Problem posing Problem posing Problem posing Asking (guidingquestionsandchallenging)

4. Discussion Mathematics learning activities in the classroom carried out by students and designed by the teacher. Teachers need to encourage learning as a cognitive process of students. The teacher points out mistakes, mismatches, cognitive conflicts so that students gain a deep understanding of mathematics. The teacher encourages representation and encourages students to think about thinking.

The teacher provides a stimulus in the form of tasks, activities, activities to help students develop their thinking. The first teacher’s stimulus is problem posing.

Various strategies for problem posing can be conducted by the teacher to develop students’ thinking; in particular, it is a helpful tool for understanding the thinking ability of students’ regarding mathematics. By understanding it while posing problems would able to inform the instructional choices that teachers make when teaching in this manner (Xu, Cai, Liu & Hwang, 2019). This study's first recommendation was that the teacher gives the stimulus of problem posing with another strategy. In other words, making the problem based on the context, and the calculation given, making the problem based on the solution provided, making the sub problemin finishing the bigger problem, and making thequestion a “what if” scenario. Based on this research, the results of the teacher's mathematical thinking stimuli were problem posing, asking guiding/challenging questions, facilitation technology (learning videos/PowerPoint/Plickers), and Thesong.teacher played an important role in mathematical learning as a facilitator by asking the question. Submitting teacher questions to students helped students develop their level of thinking. Moreover, the teacher's quality of the questions

Strategies that can be done are demonstration and teaching, connecting and exploring giving examples, encouraging students to test ideas, discussing and using mathematical language, encouraging representation and visualization, problem posing, encouraging predictions and providing feedback, raises errors and misconceptions, models and encourages reflection on his thinking, and so on.

Problem posing helps the students to understand mathematics (Cai, Hwang, Jiang & Silber, 2015), and the students' learning styles are changed from passive to active with its use (Chinese Ministry of Education, 2011). Problem posing conducted by the teacher in this study was something that can be freely done by friends i.e., the students created the story problem about the distances (see Figure 9). Students in this research were also asked to formulate the question of the problem with the question not being stated, and were provided many integers, fractions, and percentages in order to do so (see Figure 5). This method seemed effective for enabling students to make math problems using a variety of basic mathematical operations (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing).

In this study, the two teachers only used free situation problem posing as shown in Figures 5 and 9. The instruction of the two teachers was "Please create free questions using numbers in the form of fractions, percent, decimals, and integers and then answer it". The numbers provided by the teacher are shown in figure 5. Then, "Make daily life questions about the distance to the students". The results of the questions made by students are shown in figure 9). Teachers need to learn and try a semi structured situation or structured situation problem posing.

The questions given by the teachers included those that explored a fact or student understanding, called factual questions, and those that gave hints or scaffolding, called guiding questions. Both teachers asked about fractions, distances, times, and speeds in the form of a short answer, low level question exploring the associated fact, rule, and procedure. One of the criteria of guiding questions is that it asks for a specific answer or for the next step of a solution after facing problem

: How to solve the problem?

Student : Pattern 1 has 1 triangle, pattern 2 has 2 triangles, pattern 3 has 3 triangles, and pattern 4 has 4 triangles

Teacher : Right. Then pay attention to the number of matchsticks in each pattern. How many matchsticks are used in each pattern?

To answer the problem above, the teacher asks guiding questions. The following are examples of question and answer activities between the teacher and students (Figure Teacher11).

affected the development of students’ thinking. This question was the main component in the mathematical learning interaction (Hähkiöniemi, 2017) and influenced the students’ learning results. The questions asked by both teachers in this study were to guide concept discovery, and these questions subsequently guided the students’ conceptual understanding.

The following are examples of teachers’ guiding questions to help students solve the problem by such criteria (Figure 10).

Student : (silent) Teacher : Look at the picture above. How many triangles can be made in each pattern?

Figure 10: Example of problem used for teachers’ guiding question

Students : Pattern 1 there are 3 matchsticks, in pattern 2 there are 5 matchsticks, pattern 3 there are 7 matchsticks, and in pattern 4 there are 9 matchsticks. Teacher : Good. Then how many triangles can be made in the 5th pattern? The 6th pattern? 7th pattern? Student : (draw 5th pattern, 6th pattern, 7th pattern)

Figure 11: The examples of question and answer activities between the teacher and students Use matchsticks to make a triangle pattern as follows 1st Pattern 2nd Pattern 3rd Pattern 4rd Pattern Investigate the relationship between the number of triangles and the number of matchsticks

Number of matchsticks 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 ... 2n + 1

Students : In the fifth pattern, there are 11 matchsticks, in the sixth pattern there are 13 matchsticks, and in the seventh pattern there are 15 matchsticks.

The low level question aimed to test the students’ understanding. Most of the teacher's questions only needed a short answer and explored the related fact, rule, and procedure. Both teachers rarely asked a high level question asking the students to give the thinking explanation. Much of the research showed that most of the teacher’s questions were low level questions and that only a few were a high level question (Alkhateeb, 2019). Most teachers asked questions that measured students’ thinking aspects of knowledge and understanding, and few asked questions that measured thinking aspects of analysis and evaluation (Alkhateeb, 2019). In this research, both teachers rarely asked students a question that required them to explain/elaboration/justification, which is referred to as a probing question. The percentage of sixth grade mathematical teachers asking probing questions ranges from 17% to 42%. Viirman (2015) noted that the teacher often posed routine inquiries in the form of control questions, asking for facts, inquiries, and rhetorical questions in the mathematical learning context to engage students in the learning process. In this study, the teacher used the song stimulus. The teacher arranged the song “Naik naik Ke Puncak Gunung” (translation: “Climb up to the Mountain”) by Mrs. Sud to introduce the concept of distance units. In this way, the teacher created the thinking stimulus to make the abstract distance unit concept easier for students to understand. The use of songs in learning helps students remember because it is an effective way to store information for a long time (Bahrami, Izadpanah & Bijani, 2019). Thus, the song can be used to introduce various mathematical concepts (Noviyanti & Suryadi, 2019). As singing is a play activity that can be integrated into education and used by the teacher to teach basic mathematical learning, teaching mathematics to the children can be conducted by using a singing technique (Rosli & Lin, 2018). Mathematics teachers have used the chant “Pleases Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” for helping students learn about the order of mathematical operation i.e., adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing,

Student : if there are many triangles, where many matchsticks become 2n + 1

Teacher : Yes, the picture is very correct. Okay, now count how many matchsticks/sticks were used in the 5th pattern? The 6th pattern? 7th pattern? (5th pattern is called 5th term, 6th pattern is called 6th term, etc.)

Student :Number(writing)of triangles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... n

Teacher : Very smart. Now, write down the numbers that show the number of triangles in sequence. Then write down the numbers that indicate the number of matches/sticks in sequence.

Teacher : Right. Now, consider the relationship between the number of triangles and the number of matchsticks.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. squaring, and so forth. Moreover, children develop the ability to understand and manipulate models using simple rhythms and chants. The teacher’s stimulus in the form of asking a question has various purposes (Warshauer, 2015). These include serving as a means of discussion interaction between the teacher and students, and allowing the students to organize mathematical ideas in finishing a mathematical task The question is asked sequentially and is carefully developed and built based on the students’ ideas, helping evaluate students’ thinking. The stimulus form's recommendation for developing mathematical thinking ability was asking the probing question that explains and sheds light on the students’ thinking process. This is because the probing question required intellectual effort and led to an increase in student learning to a greater degree than the other type of question. Given that theprobing question can be defined as the question that asks students to explain or justify mathematical justification (Kosko, 2016), its influence on students’ mathematical achievements tends to be higher. Asking the probing question in mathematical learning was recommended to construct in the inquiry environment because, in that environment, the teacher can bring up the students’ high level thinking. The learning environments that were planned based on the modeling perspectives had a positive influence on the teacher’s ability to qualitatively ask different questions to explore thestudents’ high level thinking (Aydogan Yenmez, Erbas, Cakiroglu, Cetinkaya & Alacaci, 2018). The teacher developed a math talk community by increasing the use of probing questions, which in turn reduces teacher effort in providing explainations while increasing support for students’ mathematical autonomy.

Mathematical learning in elementary education must be carried out so that mathematics becomes beneficial for children. The strategy that can be conducted is through the use of play and games. Play activity allows children to interact with the concrete object to build their knowledge. Playing gives children valuable experience i.e., children experience using language and symbols, create and carry out the rules, and learn abstract thinking. As a result, children’s cognitive abilities (attention, memory, and problem solving) increased. The game is one of the play activities that is useful for developing children’s mathematical knowledge. Games are exciting, and they provide the structural experience necessary to helping children to achieve learning purposes (Ramani, Daubert & Scalise, 2019); they are also socially interactive and utilize children’s interest (Hassinger Das et al., 2017). Games facilitate learning for children with a variety of mathematical abilities, enabling them to interact and learn from each other; in addition, they increase motivation and build a positive attitude towards mathematics (Ramani et al., 2019). For this reason, the recommendations of further thinking stimulus for fifth grade elementary school students are play and games.

The Teacher Working Group is a forum for elementary school teachers' professional activities at the cluster or sub district level, consisting of several schools. Teachers need to improve their level of professionalism, especially in terms of developing stimuli to thinking and applying them to classroom learning.

5. Conclusion The in field stimuli that a fifth grade elementary school teacher in mathematical learning uses to develop students’ mathematical thinking abilities were diverse. Teachers used problem posing, asking guiding questions, facilitating technology in learning videos/PowerPoint/Plickers, and Sing a Song. A fifth grade elementary school teacher would use the stimulus forms to develop students’ mathematical thinking abilities in mathematical learning comprised asking the probing question, play, and games. Further research based on this study result (second year) was developing valid, practical, and effective learning tools to accommodate the thinking stimulus for asking the probing question, problem posing, and mathematical games in the fifth grade elementary school. Furthermore, the results of the second year’s research were widely disseminated to teachers. Primary school teachers who are part of the teacher working group also need to improve their professionalism, especially concerning developing stimulus thinking and applying it in learning. Therefore, the follow up is the management of learning in the form of INNOMATTS training. Since Asikin et al. (2015) state that the INNOMATTS training model can improve the competition

Teacher professional improvement programs that need particular attention are competency improvement through training, in service training programs, and increased experience through an internship program or on the job training. The bottom up training model, which is based on the real needs and problems of mathematics teachers in the field, involves developing stimulus thinking problem posing, asking the guiding question, Plickers/PowerPoint, and Sing a Song; thus, this training helps teachers develop mathematical activities that facilitate students thinking mathematically. The intended training can also be carried out independently through the mathematics teacher community, teacher working groups, or other programs that do not always depend on central or regional government programs. One of the training models available is INNOMATTS. Since 2013, Asikin, Junaedi and Cahyono (2015) have developed the INNOMATTS model as a training model for Mathematics teachers. The strategy for implementing INNOMATTS is threefold. First, INNOMATTS training can be carried out as part of routine activities scheduled at the Teacher Working Group. A KKG can also carry it out under the auspices of the Education Foundation. Second, INNOMATTS is designed and implemented as a cycle model (as an application of the Deming P D C A/Plan Do Check Act cycle), with activities based on group and individual work. For example, group based activities (activities carried out in clusters) comprise teachers together with other members in one cluster designing (plan) learning tools, and followed up by implementing (do) learning, one as the other model teachers observing and observing results are discussed together again (check). Furthermore, each teacher implements (action) these learning strategies in their respective schools without being observed by peers, and repeatedly (according to the program that is designed as a whole). Third, mentoring by tutors occurs during the training process, both in the cluster and individual activities. Therefore, INNOMATTS can be applied in the teacher working group setting to encourage and foster professional development.

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286 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 286 303, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.16 Move to Online Learning during COVID-19 Lockdown: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences in Ghana Ugorji I. Ogbonnaya University of Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0002 6243 5953 Florence C. Awoniyi Department of Teacher Education, School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9806 1837 Mogalatjane E. Matabane University of Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0001 7953 6729

The findings suggested that the pre service teachers were digitally literate and mostly accessed online learning using smartphones. Besides, online learning enabled them to communicate and collaborate actively with their course mates and lecturers. It was found that the flexibility of online learning increased the students’ motivation to learn. However, poor internet connectivity, the high cost of data, erratic power supply, lack of appropriate devices, inability to effectively manage their time, and family interruptions were some of the challenges experienced by the pre service teachers.

Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID 19; E learning; online learning; pre service teachers

Abstract The coronavirus pandemic (COVID 19) has brought another dimension to teaching and learning across the levels of education. The lockdown imposed in many countries to curtail the pandemic forced many institutions of learning to shift to the online mode of teaching and learning. Using a descriptive survey research design, this study explored the online learning experiences of pre service teachers at a Ghanaian university during the COVID 19 lockdown. The study focused on the pre service teachers’ preparedness for online learning in terms of their digital literacy and technological devices used for online learning, their positive online learning experiences, and the challenges they encountered learning online

1. Introduction The coronavirus pandemic (COVID 19) has brought another dimension to teaching and learning across the spectra of educational levels and systems in a way that was never envisaged (Goh & Sandars, 2020; Tanabe, 2020). To minimize the loss of teaching and learning time due to the lockdown imposed in many countries to curtail the spread of the pandemic, many institutions of learning adopted online modes of teaching and learning (Burgess & Sievertsen, 2020; Rose, 2020). Most of these institutions were unprepared (both in material and human resources) for the unprecedented online teaching delivery, and most students were mentally and materially unprepared for the switch to online learning. Many teachers and lecturers have never been formally trained to teach online, neither have students been trained or had prior experience of learning online. Hence, most institutions, lecturers, and students were caught off guard by the sudden radical move to online education. Effective engagement in online teaching and learning requires some necessary information and communication technology infrastructure (hardware and software) that most colleges and universities, especially in developing countries, might not have. It requires teachers’ and lecturers’ knowledge and skills of not only computer operations but also of the platforms used for online teaching and learning However, at many institutions of learning in Africa, some teachers and lecturers do not have enough knowledge of how to use a computer, and many might not know how to teach using online platforms. Additionally, most of the students might not own computers (desktop or laptop) nor smartphones to enable them to access online learning Besides, lack of or erratic power supply and access to the internet could be other challenges many people in some parts of Africa experience. Hence, meaningful online teaching and learning during the pandemic lockdown was a serious challenge to many students and teachers in Africa. This study explored the online learning experiences of pre service teachers at a Ghanaian university. More specifically, it explored the students’ preparedness for online learning concerning their digital literacy and ownership of technological devices, positive online learning experiences, and challenges encountered when learning online during the COVID 19 lockdown

2. Background Online learning is a complex term and there have been extensive debates about its standard definition (Halverson & Graham, 2019). According to Watson (2008), there is no single definition of online learning. In its broadest sense, online learning is any access to learning through the use of some technology (Kalpokaite & Radivojevic, 2019; Mahama, 2016; Watson, 2008). Both Watson (2008) and Mahama (2016) describe online learning as a version of distance learning, which improves access to educational opportunities for students who cannot attend the traditional face to face classroom tuition.

Enrolments for online learning expanded rapidly in higher education in the last two decades as the online mode of learning appeals to a diverse population of students with different needs that traditional face to face classes are incapable of meeting (Thomas, 2010). The growth of online learning not only enables opportunities for flexible learning environments but is a global initiative to

Online learning has been very effective for self regulated learners. According to Thompson (2010, p 24), “Online learning is more self guided ” The ability to self regulate one’s learning is critical in online learning as self regulation allows students to use various metacognitive and cognitive strategies to accomplish learning objectives and goals (Greene & Azevedo, 2010; Sealander, 2016). Online learning allows students to work at a place and time compatible with their learning needs and enables students to have sufficient time to focus on content and not on issues like traffic and other problems that may arise in the traditional classroom environment (Hartini et al., 2020; Thomas, 2010) Online learning not only offers flexibility in terms of time and place but also provides students with expanded opportunities to register for credit bearing courses at universities and colleges while they are still at secondary school (Shea & Bidjerano, 2014). Online learning is an excellent platform to allow master teachers to teach students from different schools and opens pathways to learning for more rural students from poor socio economic districts with unqualified and under qualified teachers Thus, teaching and learning online creates educational opportunities for individuals who may have faced unsurpassable barriers to study through traditional face to face learning (Sealander, 2016; Watson, 2008).

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. provide quality education for all students, irrespective of their location (Casey, 2008). Proponents of online learning suggest that the quality of online learning is embedded within the method of delivery, asserting that the quality of instructions impacts learning outcomes (Figueroa et al., 2020; Mahama, 2016)

While Ferdig (2007) argues that social media allows effective communication between faculties and students with students getting to know their lecturers better, he also warns of the likelihood of lecturers losing professionalism as students delve into their postings and personal profile information. According to Casey (2008), Straub (2009), and Figueroa et al. (2020), while much is known about the outcomes and characteristics of students who take online courses, less is known about their experiences.

While there are many benefits of online learning, the absence of quality interaction when learning online can negatively affect some aspects of learning, as social and emotional aspects of learning are equally important as technical information (Donlevy, 2003; Traxler, 2018). Contrary to this view, some researchers (e.g. Fogel & Nehmad, 2009; Ogbonnaya, 2019) argue that the use of social media platforms such as Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn play a critical role in providing students with opportunities for interactions and expressions of ideas. Thus, social media networks play an essential role in reshaping traditional face to face education systems by allowing students to collaborate and share information through audio and virtual communication. Effective interaction and collaboration amongst students provided by online learning platforms are in line with Vygotsky’s theory which focuses on the sociocultural perspective, suggesting that cognitive growth is highly influenced by society and culture (Vygotsky, 1962). Thus, as Ferdig (2007) posits, social media networks promote interaction between learners, and improves active learning in the student centred constructivist environment.

Objective of the study

This studyused a descriptive survey research design which describes the opinions of the pre service teachers regarding their online learning during the COVID 19 lockdown. The design involves the collection of data as presently constituted to describe a phenomenon, without a conscious effort to control any variables (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Dempsey, 2018). Theparticipants were the pre service teachers (faculty of education undergraduate students) at a university in Ghana The university was purposely chosen because it is generally believed to be the most technologically advanced public university in Ghana and therefore expected to be more adaptive to the reality of online learning. It is also renowned for its academic excellence Consequent to the lockdown in the country due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the university switched to an online mode of teaching and learning to complete the academic work for the semester. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the 300 third year level students who could easily be reached through some of their online courses. A sample of 147 pre service teachers (Table 1) participated in the study. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percent) were used to analyse the data from Likert scale type of questions while thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2013) was used to analyse data from the open ended questions.

The study was expedient because the pre service teachers of today are the classroom teachers of tomorrow. There is the possibility that education will mainly be online in the near future, hence the need to explore pre service teachers’ online learning experiences to understand how to help them to learn online and prepare them to effectively teach online in the future. The pre service teachers’ experiences might help them understand the possible struggles of their potential students, thereby helping them to perhaps accomodate any future students’ challenges. Besides, studies are yet to report the online learning experiences of pre service teachers in a pandemic situation such as that of COVID 19. 3. Methodology 3.1 Research design and sample

Table 1: Demographic profile of students Variables Frequency Percentage Gender Male 57 38.8 Female 87 59.2 *Not indicated 3 2.0 Total 144 100.0 Age 15 20 26 17.7 21 25 111 75.5 26 30 10 6.8

The objective of this study was to explore pre service teachers’ online learning experiences during the COVID 19 lockdown concerning their preparedness for online learning in terms of their digital literacy and use of technological devices for online learning, their positive online learning experiences, and the challenges they encountered learning online

The students were asked to indicate the devices they used to connect to the internet for their online learning, the devices they owned personally, and the devices and online platforms they found the most valuable for their online Regardinglearning.

The findings of this study are presented and discussed according to the themes: students’ digital literacy, online learning devices, time spent on online learning, positive experiences, and online learning challenges

3.2 Data collection instrument

Data were collected using an online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 35 items. It was divided into four sections. Section A had two items dealing with the demographic data (gender and age) of the students. Section B consisted of eight items that dealt with their digital literacy and devices for online learning. Section C, which focused on their online learning experiences, had 23 items. The students were expected to respond to the 23 items by expressing their level of agreement, or otherwise on a four point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree). The last section of the questionnaire had two open ended questions on the positive experiences and challenges regarding online learning these items allowed the students to express their opinions in their own words. The instrument was developed from items used in online course evaluations and from some experienced education evaluation researchers. The items were reviewed and edited by some scholars. The reliability of the instrument, namely internal consistency, was established using Cronbach alpha. A value of 0.926 was obtained, meaning that the instrument could be judged reliable (George & Mallery 2003). The link to the survey questionnaire was sent to the students via the learning management system.

4. Findings

4.1 Students’ digital literacy, devices, and time spent on online learning Digital literacy

To delineate the students’ digital literacy, they were asked to rate their digital literacy by choosing from excellent, very good, good, adequate, limited, poor, and not sure. Out of the 147 students that attended to the rating, 22 respondents, representing 15%, rated their digital literacy excellent; 47 (32%) rated it very good; 53 (36%) rated it good; 10 (7%) rated it adequate; 10 (7%) rated it limited, and five (3%) rated it poor. Thus, the findings showed that the students were digitally literate. Online learning devices

*Three of the respondents did not indicate their gender

the devices they used to connect to the internet for their online learning, 134 (92%) students used smartphones; 74 (51%) used laptops; 10 (7%) used tablets; and only five (3%) used a desktop computer. It could be seen that the

The students were also asked to indicate the platform they found most valuable for their online learning. Seventy two (49%) of the respondents found both the Zoom and Sakai learning management systems worthwhile. This was followed by WhatsApp, valued by 40 (27%) students, while Screencast, Google meet, and Google classroom were found most valuable by seven (5%) of the students. Furthermore, students were asked to list the tools they found the most valuable for their online learning. As many as 58 (39%) valued Forum; Chatroom 51 (35%); Test and Quizzes 49 (33%); Commons 7(5%); Zoom four (3%); Sakai three (2%), lecture videos two (1%), and WhatsApp one (less than 1%). One of the respondents did not value any tool for online learning. The student declared, “I found none valuable because it is not easy for me to afford the technology and data for it ”

The number of hours of online lectures per week received attention from the 147 students. Twenty four students, representing 16%, received lectures for one to two hours per week; 38 (26%) for three to four hours per week; 36 (24%) for five to six hours per week; 21 (14%) and 28 (19%) for seven to eight hours, and more than eight hours per week, respectively. Out of the 146 students who responded to the item on the number of hours spent learning online daily; 73 (50%) spent one to two hours; 41 (28%) spent three to four hours; 25 (17%) spent five to six hours; 4 (3%) spent seven to eight hours, and 3 (2%) spent more than eight hours learning online daily 4.2 Students’ positive online learning experiences

The participants were asked to share their positive experiences of learning online in an open ended question. The data were coded for common themes amongst the responses. Although theauthors planned to use predetermined codes, some codes emerged during the data analysis (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), thus, a combination of emerging and predetermined codes were used. There was also an inter coder agreement where two or more codersagree on codes used for the same statement The coding occurred in two phases. The first phase identified overarching themes in the data. The second phase identified sub themes within the overarching themes. In this case, the focus was on four overarching themes: active learning and collaboration, flexibility, self regulated learning, and improved digital communication skills.

Time spent on online learning

total frequency (223) was above the number of respondents (147). This is an indication that some of the students used more than one device for their online Outlearning.ofthe 146 students that responded to the ownership of the devices item of the questionnaire, 143 (98%) owned a smartphone; 74 (51%) owned a laptop; 14 (10%) owned a tablet, and two (1%) owned a desktop computer Regarding the devices used to connect to the internet, 83 (56%) used their smartphone for connection; 42 (29%) used mobile phone hotspots; 19 (13%) used Wi fi routers, and three (2%) used modems.

According to Sam, “Lecture videos sent by the lecturer can be replayed at any time” The view was also shared by Lesedi, “I could go back to the chatroom to see all that we've discussed to get myself abreast of the topic.”

Active learning and collaboration

Flexibility

Self-regulated learning

In this study, 108 (72%) respondents found online learning improved their digital communication skills and appreciation of using technology to learn. According to Mensah, “Learning online has enhanced both my typing and presentation skills. I have learned how to use various learning platforms ” Rose and Annan had a similar experience, Rose said “it helped me enhance my presentation skills”, while Annan said, “online learning has helped with constant communication between students and lecturer to facilitate learning.”

The self pacing nature of online learning increased students’ motivation and satisfaction. The most frequently reported positive aspect of online learning was the flexibility of time and place to learn. One hundred and twenty one (121) participants, representing 82%, reported that they enjoyed online learning as they had a choice of places to learn and time compatible with their learning needs.

The ability to self regulate and acquire independent learning skills is crucial at university (Mahama, 2016; Zimmerman, 2002). While being able to regulate oneself is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill, it is a critical “self directive process in which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills” (Zimmerman, 2002, p 3). In this study, 112 participants, representing 76%, indicated that they enjoyed online learning because it encouraged them to take control of their learning and continuously evaluate their progress. According to Anita, “Online learning taught me that I don’t have to be taught to learn, one could check many resources from YouTube, and so on ” Thus, the participants in the study reported online learning as an opportunity to take ownership of and self direct their learning.

Improved digital communication skills

4.3 Challenges to the students’ online learning

Amidst the positive online learning experiences that the participants in this study had during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown were some challenges they encountered with online learning. The students were asked an open ended

While many studies highlighted a lack of collaboration and active learning as a deficit for online learning (Crosta, 2016), in this study, there was high active engagement and collaboration among students. One hundred and fifteen (115) participants, representing 78%, reported that online learning enabled them to communicate actively with classmates and they were free and comfortable to ask questions to fellow students and lecturers. Angela stated, “During online learning, one can easily ask questions without timidity or fear, it encourages me to ask questions since I won't see any student.” The participants also reported that learning online allowed them to hear the voices of other students who were mainly quiet during face to face interactions. As George reported, “I got to know many students’ views on topics that if it were to be the face to face class, they wouldn't have contributed ”

Cost The cost of data to engage in online learning was found to be another challenge experienced by some of the students. Even though Vodafone© provided 5GB of data monthly to the students andlecturers to support online teaching and learning during the lockdown, the data were insufficient for some of the students. Hence, they had to buy more data for their online learning. Kwasi stated, “I'm not able to afford data anytime, and the data given by the university finishes in a week ” In all, 50 students (34%) found the cost of data to access the internet a challenge they encountered to engaging effectively in online learning. Power (electricity) outage In most developing countries, including Ghana, the power supply is very erratic (Atta Obenga & Dadzie, 2020). However, contrary to expectation, only five respondents (constituting less than 4% of the participants) in this study reported that power outages was a challenge to their online learning during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown. Devices Some of the respondents (9) did identify having challenges relating to a device to access online learning. Pointing out the challenge, one student said, “I have faced many challenges in terms of the digital device to use ” Another respondent opined that, “I did not have a laptop and a good phone with enough space.” Most of the students stated that they used only their smartphones to access the internet for their online learning. As a result of this, one student said, “because I use only the phone for everything, I sometimes miss information ” Similarly, another student said that “some of the learning tools such as go to meeting app [were] not compatible with my tablet. ”

Internet connectivity

The study revealed that most of the respondents (105 71%), encountered challenges in learning online that were related to internet connectivity. The internet connectivity challenges ranged from a slow internet network connection to a complete internet network failure. Kofi expressed that “unstable internet connectivity is one of my biggest problems.” Similarly, Rose said that “the network wasn't stable” and Kwado noted, “the network the school gave us isn’t working in my area. ” Another respondent expressed how internet connectivity leads to the digital divide between people in different cities and towns. According to the respondent, “The internet connectivity at my area is so bad to the extent that sometimes I have to travel to another town to do my quizzes or submit assignments which also affects my income ”

Time management Time management was a challenge experienced by some of the respondents in this study. Thirty three respondents (approximately 22%) stated that they found

question to indicate the challenges they faced with online learning. Their responses to the question were analysed to identify common themes that emerged. The themes identified were: internet connectivity, cost, power (electricity) outage, devices, IT knowledge, time management, and family interruptions.

5. Discussion of findings

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. it challenging to manage their time with online learning. One student said that it was difficult for her to allocate time for her studies, while another student said that online learning was time consuming. Yet another student commented that different assignments from different lecturers made it difficult for her to manage her time effectively.

It was found that the participants in this study were digitally literate and most owned smartphones that they used for online learning. Hence, it could be said that digital illiteracy was not a threat to their online learning. Also, the portable nature of smartphones and their easy internet access might have helped the participants spend more time (at least one hour a day) learning online. However, the use of smartphones by most of the participants for their online learning probably impacted negatively on the online learning experiences of some of them. As observed by Morgan (2015), the use of smartphones can distract students from learning as they can easily switch over to social networks and other non learning related websites. Besides, the use of mobile phones for online learning by most of the participants might have also contributed to some of their internet connectivity issues and other challenges they experienced with access to online learning platforms. While most mobile phones have great features for accessing the internet, some of them might not have the capabilities to access some of the online learning platforms. Most participants in this study reported active engagement and collaboration as part of their positive experiences of online learning. This finding is contrary to the lack of collaboration and active learning in online learning reported in some previous studies (Crosta, 2016; Gilbert, 2015). The active learning opportunities reported by most of the respondents in this study suggest that online learning eliminates some barriers that limit participation during face to face instruction. As observed in some past studies, online learning allows students to easily interact and build communities, even when they are a thousand miles away (Brown, 2001; Tang & Lam, 2014).

The result of this study indicates that 82% of the participants found online learning flexible. The students reported being able to replay the lecture videos at times convenient to them and that put them in charge of their learning as they could work at their own pace. The flexibility of online learning could have accounted for 76% of the students reporting that online learning made them take control of their learning. This finding corroborated the view of Casey (2008) that the most important characteristic of online learning is that it is flexible and student centred. This view is also corroborated by Arkorful and Abaidoo (2015),

Interruptions from family members and chores at home challenged some of the students’ online learning. This view was expressed by seven participants as a challenge they encountered. Akuba said, “Parents don’t even care they still give us a heap of chores to do, and it’s irritating,” while Kwami said, “interruption from family members” was a challenge to his learning online during the lockdown.

Interruptions from family members

While power outages could be a major challenge to online learning (Atta Obenga & Dadzie, 2020), only a few of the participants in this study reported power outages as a challenge to their online learning. This could be because most of the participants used smartphones for online learning, so they were able to continue their learning even when there were power outages using stored energy in their phone batteries or power banks. Similarly, a few participants reported challenges relating to devices for online learning. This challenge might have been because not all technological devices work well with certain online learning platforms as affirmed by Orlando and Attard (2015), that “teaching with technology is not a

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. who suggest that students perform better during online courses because they support student centred instructional strategies and are flexible with time and place of Anotherstudy.major positive of the online learning experience found in this study was students’ improved digital communication skills reported by 72% of the respondents. The world revolves around communication, and digital communications have revolutionised and changed traditional communication both personally and academically (Berry & Fagerjord, 2017; Waisbord, 2019). The need for students to hone their communication skills and exchange information meaningfully and on digital platforms is a critical skill in the 21st century. The students’ improved digital communication skills reported in this study corroborated with the view of Kelentrić et al. (2017) that frequent digital communication not only helps students to become better acquainted with the forms of communication required by various professional and academic disciplines, but also enables students to think critically and construct new Poorknowledge.internet connectivity was one of the major challenges found in this study that the students encountered in online learning. This corroborated the findings of some recent studies (for example, Atta Obenga & Dadzie, 2020; Bekoe et al., 2018; Mahama, 2016) that poor internet connectivity poses a challenge to internet usage in some parts of Ghana. The finding also corroborated the view of Narh et al. (2019) that poor internet connectivity is a challenge to e learning in Ghana. Four years ago, Baylon and Antwi Boasiako (2016) acknowledged that “Ghana also has a significant urban rural digital divide, with the majority of the country’s Internet connectivity (and especially faster fibre optic connections) concentrated in the capital city of Accra and other large cities” (p. 2). The findings of this study confirmed that the digital divide still exists in Ghana, as is the case in most African Thecountries.costof data for online learning was found to be a challenge to the students’ online learning in this study. Though the students were given some free data, it was not enough for most of them and some could not afford to buy additional data for their learning. This agreed with some earlier studies (e.g. Atta Obenga & Dadzie, 2020; Baylon & Antwi Boasiako, 2016; Mahama, 2016) that the cost of internet access is unaffordable to many in Ghana.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. one size fits all approach as it depends on the types of technology in use at the time and also the curriculum content being taught” (p. 119) Time management and interruptions from family members were found to be other challenges the students encountered in online learning. In agreement with these findings, students’ inability to manage their time effectively when learning online has been found in other studies to be a challenge to some students (Roper, 2007; Yen et al., 2016). Some of the students’ time management challenges were not unexpected because they were accustomed to face to face learning, where the time allocated to learning activities is predominantly controlled by their learning institutions. Similarly, lack of concentration due to distractions from family members and family responsibilities has been found in some previous studies to be a challenge to meaningful online learning (Figueroa et al., 2020; Kara et al., 2019). This could even be more pronounced during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown when most family members were together at home over a long period.

7. Implications of the findings and recommendations

Lecturers and students need to keep pace with new online learning technologies In a recent study, Ogbonnaya (2019) advocates the upskilling of students and faculties for effective teaching and learning using educational technologies. This upskilling is needed now more than ever. Various information and communication technologies are at the fulcrum of online teaching and learning. Most of the participants in this study revealed having challenges with the technology/devices used for online learning. We, therefore, recommend that lecturers and students be regularly trained to ensure that they are well skilled on how to use technology to teach and learn. Lecturers and students need to be knowledgeable about using various information and communication technology platforms, not only in the face to face teaching and learning mode, but also in blended and fully online learning modes. This will make it easy for lecturers and students to quickly adjust to the needs of any teaching and learning mode that may arise

6. Conclusion This study explored the online learning experiences of pre service teachers at a Ghanaian university concerning the students’ preparedness for online learning in terms of their digital literacy and ownership of technological devices, positive online learning experiences, and challenges encountered while learning online during the COVID 19 lockdown. The study found that the students were digitally literate and that they were very aware of their level of digital literacy. Most of the students used smartphones to learn online and this limited their online learning activities. It was also found that online learning enabled them to communicate and collaborate actively with course mates and lecturers Besides, the flexibility of online learning increased students’ motivation to learn However, low internet connectivity, cost of data, regular power (electricity) outages, lack of appropriate devices, time management, and family interruptions were some of the challenges experienced by the pre service teachers.

Limitations of the study

Just about 50% of the third year pre service teachers participated in the study. Hence, there is the possibility that those who did not participate in the study had a different experience with online learning from those who participated. Hence, the findings might have been different if all the students participated in the study.

Besides, the participants were third year students from one university, the online learning experiences of students in different levels of study and from different institutions might differ from the experiences of the students in this study. We, therefore, suggest that the finding of this study be interpreted considering the context.

Need for a rethinking of the education model

8. References Arkorful, V., & Abaidoo, N. (2015). The role of e learning, advantages and disadvantages of its adoption in higher education. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 12(1), 29 42. Atta Obenga, L., & Dadzie, P. S. (2020). Promoting sustainable development goal 4: The role of academic libraries in Ghana. Information & Library Review, 52(3), 177 192. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2019.1675445

To all stakeholders in education, especially in Africa, the COVID 19 pandemic has underscored the need for a rethink of the teaching and learning models in the current century. It is evident that the education landscape is no longer what it used to be in past decades, hence, there is a need for a paradigm shift in our philosophy of education.

The study revealed that most participants had challenges learning online because of a shortage/lack or inefficient infrastructure to engage in meaningful online learning. Most of the students accessed online learning via smartphones. Smartphones may not offer the flexibility and capability needed for meaningful online learning. Hence, we further recommend that learning institutions and the government invest more into acquiring relevant infrastructure to enhance online learning and teaching. These mayincludehigh speed internet devices, computers, and tablets to enable easy and fast access to online learning materials and platforms.

Providing students with devices and data

Investment in technology infrastructure and training

Furthermore, we recommend that the government of Ghana and learning instituions consider finding ways to provide students with devices and sufficient data for online learning. Providing students with devices and data has minimized students’ online learning challenges during the COVID 19 crisis in some countries (Radha et al., 2020). Learning institutions could also make devices part of the tuition package to ensure that every student has a device upon registration.

Training student on time management

This study showed that some students lacked time management skills. Hence, there is a need for students to be helped to develop time management skills/strategies to enable them to effectively self regulate their online learning.

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301 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Data Collection Instrument Student Online Learning Experience Questionnaire This questionnaire is designed to obtain information about your online learning due to the COVID 19 pandemic. There are no right, or wrong answers and your response will be anonymous, and the information gathered will be used for academic purposes only. We thank you in advance for taking out your time to complete the questionnaire. It will take you about 10 minutes to complete. Demographic data Gender: Male Female Age: 15 20 years 21 25 years 26 30 years 31 40 years Over 40 years Engagement with online learning How would you rate your own Digital Literacy? • Excellent • Very good • Good • Adequate • Limited • Poor • Not sure Which of the following devices do you use for online learning? • Desktop • Laptop • Tablet • iPad • WhichSmartphoneofthefollowing devices do you personally own? • Desktop • Laptop • Tablet • iPad • HowSmartphonedoyouconnect to the internet for your online learning? • Wi Fi • Modem • smartphone • Cell phone hotspot About how many hours of online lectures do you receive weekly? 1 2 hours 3 hours4 5 hours6 7 8 years More than 8 hours About how many hours did you spend on your own learning online daily? 1 2 hours 3 hours4 5 hours6 7 8 years More than 8 hours

302 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. List the online platforms you used for online learning (e.g. Zoom, Screencast, WhatsApp, Sakai, google meet, etc.) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Which tools did you find most valuable for online learning (e.g. chartroom, Forum, commons, collaborate, clickup, test and quizzes, etc.)? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Statements about online learning StronglyAgree Agree Disagree DisagreeStrongly 1. I could easily access the Internet as needed for my studies. 2. I am comfortable communicating online 3. I am willing to actively communicate with my classmates online 4. I am willing to actively communicate with my lecturers online 5. I find it easy to set aside time for learning online 6. I could manage my online learning time effectively. 7. I could easily complete my online assignments on time. 8. I enjoy online learning 9. I enjoy working with other students in online groups 10. I have enough computer skills for doing online learning. 11. I feel comfortable communicating online 12. I feel comfortable to ask my lecturers questions during online learning activities 13. I receive a quick response during online learning activities 14. I feel that face to face contact with my lecturers is necessary to learn 15. I can discuss with other students during online learning activities 16. I can collaborate with other students during online learning activities 17. Online learning is as good as face to face class learning 18. I believe that learning online is more motivating than face to face learning 19. I believe a complete course can be taught online without any difficulty. 20. I can pass a course online without any face to face class lecture 21. I found it difficult to adjust to the online learning context 22. Online learning encouraged the exchange of ideas 23. Online learning enhanced my learning

303 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Explain some of your positive experiences of the online learning ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Explain some of the challenges you had learning online ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keywords: associative relations; associative experiment; associative semantic field; monitoring; evaluation

Nataliia S. Ivasiv, Mariya S. Kozolup, Olena V. Oleniuk, Nataliia V. Rubel and Nataliya Y. Skiba Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine 0001 6243 0709 5892 6696 0002 6203 9344 0003 1924 6580 0002 3899 3189

https://orcid.org/0000

Abstract. The associative technique is a traditional method to estimate a student’s foreign language proficiency. The aim of this article is to review the current methods for monitoring and assessing the level of foreign language proficiency of students; the arguments in favour of choosing the associative methodof testing forknowledge oflexicalsemantics; andhow assessments are conducted using this method through an associative experiment. The article is based on semantic analysis and field constructionoftheassociativeconceptatthepost experimental stage.The experiment involved two groups of Ukrainian speaking students studying German as a foreign language. Each group (control and experimental) consisted of 20 people. The results demonstrate that the assessment of the students’ linguistic and communicative competencies requires consideration of parameters in multiple aspects: paradigmatic, syntactic, syntagmatic relations; knowledge of typical idiomatic and phraseological correlations and all possible logical associative relations. The experiment revealed shortcomings to include: contamination; weak knowledge of phraseology and moderate ability to establish logical relationships. In order to avoid the above shortcomings, there is a need to use associative experiment in foreign language learning and computer programs to achieve traditional associative learning methods. Lexical semantic concept analysis revealed different content for semi peripheral, peripheral and extreme peripheral zones The article also outlines further promising areas of research, including psycholinguistic and metalinguistic ones. The research is potentially useful for the development of didactic computer programs, for the improvement of associative diagnostic methods in foreign language teaching, etc.

304 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 304 322, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.172020 Current Methods for Assessing the Level of Foreign Language Proficiency of University Students

https://orcid.org/0000 0002

1. Introduction The assessment of students’ human achievements has always been impeded by the difficulty of measuring and determining the relationship between the quantity and quality of socionic knowledge. Since the second half of the 19th century, there have been universal criteria, indicators, and scales developed for assessing the language competencies of future specialists in Europe (Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020). The result of detailed methodological work was the development of six levels of language proficiency. They have been used since the late 1990s: A1 Breakthrough; A2 — Waystage, B1 — Threshold, B2 — Vantage, C1 — Proficiency, C2 Mastery. A “third wave” of revisions of the principles and methods for assessing foreign language competence is currently taking place, taking into account new digital, communicative and cross cultural requirements (Turnbull, 2020). This requires new valid methods for diagnosing the quality of language proficiency in the context of bilingualism. In the context of the humanisation of education, leading governments are revising and transforming traditional test methods that primarily take into account quantitative characteristics of language proficiency: knowledge of grammar rules, the volume of personal vocabulary, and the ability to use language units at the syntagmatic level (McNamara, 2011). Thus, at the Ministerial Conference in Germany in December 2016, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) recognised that a trilateral approach should be the basis for training foreign language teachers. This approach consists of three dimensions: electronic resources, language communication, and intercultural communication. It can lead to a language competent person achieving higher than expected results (Kultusminister Konferenz, 2017). This approach correlates with metalinguistics, as communication concepts based on both approaches can be both intracultural and cross cultural (universal) (Serrano, 2011). It is also associated with psycholinguistic types of diagnosis which reveal personal linguistic tools that are built as a result of personality development.

It has become clear that innovative methods for diagnosing foreign language competencies, as well as modern teaching, implement a bottom up approach (Aristizábal, 2018). This corresponds to the learning and representation of competencies from the native language (natural environment). The diagnostic process itself is intelligent and includes equal and open queries that the student can select and formulate himself (Turnbull, 2020). This determines how modern higher education is monitored, with the prerogative given to self monitoring and self regulation (Chang, 2010; Fabriz, Dignath van Ewijk, Poarch & Büttner, 2014).

One of the problems with university study of a foreign language is a low or satisfactory level of spontaneous and improvised (not on given topics) oral speech (Güzel, 2017). Unfortunately, we found the lowest results for such indicators as: flexibility, lack of tension, and the ability to switch to extraneous topics within the discourse. However, students can show good or excellent knowledge in testing, translation of texts, and knowledge of grammar (Chang, 2011). Obviously, a lack of deep interiorisation of the material, a lack of knowledge of figurative and contextual uses, and, as a result, a lack of naturalness are issues here. Since the

Monitoring as a didactic process Mishra (2005) In addition to diagnostic function, monitoring performs didactic systematising, and repetitive function in academic data collection

Stages and knowledgeassessmentgradualofquality Mertens (2009) Initial, current, intermediate and stage by stage control are distinguished Comprehensivediagnostics Kissling (2012) This involves complexity of using teaching and assessment methods, which are parallel rather than separate stages.

Table 1: Basic scientific approaches to the assessment principles as a subject of didactics Assessment aspect Reference to the source Notes

The study intends to review current methods for monitoring and assessing foreign language proficiency among students; the arguments in favour of choosing the associative method for testing knowledge of lexical semantics; and how to conduct an assessment using this method through an associative experiment. Based on the results of the associative experiment, the associative semantic field for one German language token will be constructed in parallel.

Application of smart technologies in teaching and assessment Program capabilities of in class control and self diagnostics are analysed

Self assessment Lorenz (2018) Creating open resources for self study and self assessment

Philosophical basis of assessment Bibik (2017) Regularity, complexity, completeness and objectivity of the obtained data are considered to be the main indicators of acquiring the forecast competencies

confirm the relevance of the study of current methods for assessing the level of foreign language proficiency of university students.

Types of assessment Noh (2006) Regardless of the type, actual data are always subject to assessment

Thecompetences.aboveconsiderations

2. Literature Review

Diagnosis of motivation Njiru (2003) Academic motivation, confidence, mobility and flexibility, creative ability to learn something new are determined

objective of this study is not the formation but the assessment of foreign language competence, the aim is to find an effective method of testing foreign language

The system for monitoring the dynamics of foreign language competencies consists of general assessment approaches and principles, assessment methods and a system of expected results. Table 1 presents a broad overview of the variety of scientific approaches to assessment.

consider assessment to be the most controversial component of higher education due to various assessment related problems. In his publication, Purpura (2016) summarised the main problems, contradictions and shortcomings in so called L2 (Second and Foreign Language) assessment. The research covers current approaches to L2 assessment and predicts their prospects in the future. It also analyses methodological experiences of assessing foreign language knowledge and concludes that knowledge should be assessed in accordance with time requirements; and knowledge should be assessed to make decisions and solve practical problems (Aghababyan, 2016; Aristizábal, 2018; Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020) The simplified analysis of the most common assessment types is presented below in the form of dichotomous oppositions (Table 2).

Table 2: Dichotomous classification of current assessment types for foreign language competence Assessmenttype Notes

Quantitative/qualitative Quantitative indicators are easily diagnosed through testing, listening and translation, while non linear means, syntagmatic range, and communicative efficiency require qualitative parameters.

Continuous / at atimecertain Continuous types of assessment include self assessment, current in class control.

Formative summarisingand Any detailed assessment is also a formative factor. The final types include all types of academic control (stage by stage control, modular, etc).

Mutual assessment in the course of communicationonline Bock (2018) This involves team forms of mutual control based on communicationsnetwork.

Monitoring within a determinedenvironmenteducational Goyal Siddiqui,(2017);Alam,KhanandGupta(2019) Assessment through free access to electronic platforms of a particular educational institution. As we can see from the table, evaluation and monitoring correlate as subnotions and generic terms. Assessment refers to determining the quality of specific didactic manifestations and results of activities (facts). Monitoring and assessment also correlate as general and partial (monitoring is carried out through a number of assessment acts). Assessment of knowledge and competencies performs both diagnostic and formative functions. Assessment procedures can be organised externally or by an individual him/herself; it can rely on specific facts, criteria and Researchersindicators.

Subjective/objective Subjective assessment always takes place when diagnosing knowledge in the humanities (it focuses on flexibility, expressiveness, and a general impression produced by the speaker).

Direct assessmentindirect/ In direct assessment, the teacher perceives the student’s discourse directly. In indirect assessment, the teacher studies results presented in the form of written work and project presentations

By others / assessmentself The combination of external assessment and self assessment is most in line with the modern personality oriented approach.

By skills / performedactivityby This opposition to assessment correlates with a process and an outcome. For example, a student speaks well but does not achieve communication goals well

Currently the tools and conceptual framework formonitoring linguistic education are well developed. Discussions mainly centre around its effectiveness and validity: managerial effectiveness when monitoring teaching and learning in school didactics (Mngomezulu, 2015); and methods of assessing university and extracurricular management effectiveness (Victoria Primary School, 2018).

As part of a diagnostic experiment in non linguistic specialties, scientists propose to test, first, communicative competence. Such assessment contains informational, organisational, regulatory and communicative components. Assessment criteria and methods based on these aspects are selected Mathematical methods, quality assessment methods and graphical presentation of the results are widely used in modern knowledge monitoring. The stages of modern students’ knowledge monitoring, according to Hoover (2009), are presented in Table 3.

Partial aggregate/ In a partial assessment, certain aspects, such as pronunciation, are subject to testing.

Source: Author’s research

Relative to the criterion / relative to the norm The criteria selected for different language styles may also contain obscene components (slang, jargon, individual word usage).

ёAnalytical / holistic Analytical assessment allows you to assess individual parameters (knowledge of grammar rules, pronunciation, personal vocabulary). Holistic assessment gives an overall impression of an individual’s knowledge of the relationship of different parameters and a general impression of language proficiency.

By criteriarational/byimpression Impression based assessment is more holistic and focuses mainly on nonverbal aspects (speech rate, intonation, lack of tension, etc).

Assessment performanceof/skill Assessment of skill is used at higher levels of language proficiency or in the creative (artistic) use of a foreign language.

Among the modern methods of testing students' foreign language competence, the test approach still dominates. However, modern tests are significantly different from classic ones: they are mostly open, flexible, focused on current knowledge and meet four criteria: validity, authenticity, reliability and positive “washback” (Aristizábal, 2018). Moreover, the concept of “washback” is becoming more common in didactics. It refers to formative and motivational feedback from the performance of diagnostic tasks.

Algorithmic Development of a monitoring program and its planning in time.

The literature discusses the gradual departure from traditional approaches to testing grammar and vocabulary knowledge (Siddiqui et al., 2019). Testing (closed and open) is supplemented by elements of constructing spontaneous oral and written speech, and establishing the volume of learned meanings and associations (Turnbull, 2020). Assessment of foreign language competencies should be diagnostic and formative, and the main element of diagnosed skills should be communicative. This approach allows knowledge to be tested, and conclusions to be drawn about the acquisition of bilingual status by students, even those who study a foreign language on their own (Turnbull, 2020).

Instrumental Development or selection of valid and compact methods over time and techniques for identifying competencies.

Procedural Conducting monitoring taking into account the results of training in the previous stages.

Progressive This is to determine the dynamics, and positive or negative changes in language competences according to criteria and indicators.

Source: Hoover (2009)

Permanent This consists of planning and regularly conducting the next stages of monitoring or self monitoring. This stage is permanent.

Table 3: Stages of modern monitoring of knowledge monitoringKnowledgestage Explanation

Presentational At this stage, the assessment results are presented after mathematical development by means of visualisation (graphs, charts, digital data).

Criterial Identification of competencies, criteria and indicators of their manifestation.

Modern linguodidactics considers a foreign language in the context of bilingualism and translanguaging. A truly bilingual person has the ability to authentically and naturally speak his native and foreign languages (Creese, Blackledge & Takhi, 2014; García & Wei, 2014). They study issues relating to epistemological (scientific) approaches to the transformation of linguistic education in the context of native languages (García, 2019) such as mastering a foreign language before obtaining a degree (in the context of scientific propaedeutics). Kaplow (2017) believes that specialised competencies in a foreign language can be considered valid and sufficient when the native speaker can read a complex scientific text, argue and verify the facts for authenticity. Competencies sufficient in a case include a speaker being able to put forward hypotheses, prove them and draw conclusions. A competent speaker can participate in scientific discussions and illustrate theory with examples, demonstrate contexts, clarify and formulate epistemes as basic units of scientific knowledge.

Corrective Adjustments are made to the educational process based on the results of the analysis of dynamics.

3. Methodology

According to scholars (Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020), such an experiment reveals not so much semantic connections in students as connections between external stimuli irritants, which are instantly verbalised (Khirzoeva, 2008). The associations' speed and range allow conclusions to be drawn about the quality of an individual’s knowledge and the degree to which foreign language units have been internalised A simplified dichotomous approach to linguistic professional competencies reduces the number of criteria to two: knowledge of language units (language) and mastery of language units (language). While the first level of achievement is easily diagnosed through tests, translation of written texts and listening (representative level), the second requires a more personal and irrational approach. Acquiring foreign language competencies means using them similarly to the native language to the maximum possible extent. Cognitive learning of the native language is well diagnosed by constructing concepts in the form of a lexico semantic field or, using an associative experiment, an associative semantic field. Since the authors do not research natural mastery of a foreign language during studies for a bachelor’s degree, this article proposes that an associative structure of the word should be built by analogy with the structure of the concept. The

Foreign language proficiency depends on a student’s individual mental development, the richness of his/her native individual style, and the formation of thinking based on deep knowledge of the native language. These processes develop in a linear way through connection of the referent and its verbal objectification. Such a relationship can be diagnosed in a fast, indirect mode using the associative method as an element of tests or as a separate didactic experiment.

According to Khirzoeva (2008), such an experiment diagnoses not only knowledge of a foreign language, but also flexibility in thinking, the ability to establish syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, to feel the peripheral semantics of tokens and to use linguistic richness to generate coherent oral text. Research on association experiment began to be developed in the nineteenth century (Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020). German scholars were the first to propose associative experimentation as a method of studying and diagnosing language competencies in the early 20th century (Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020). It correlates with the theory of neural connections (neurolinguistics), the theory of functional fields, cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics, and other theories. The closest linguistic theory that complements this experiment is mental linguistics According to that approach, key concepts together with a set of logical, metaphorical, associative and other linguistic connections make up the lexical semantic field (concept). The lexical semantic concept can be considered a common language (national concepts) or a personal (personal concepts) formation.

This raises the problem of finding the best overall method of assessing foreign language competence or several methods that could complement each other. Modern scholars, on the basis of their experience, indicate that associative experimentation may be such a method. It can be both diagnostic and formative.

3.1. The Course of the Experiment An associative experiment assessed foreign language competencies and determines the coefficient of bilingualism at the Faculty of Foreign Languages for specialisations where the main language was German. From the thesaurus of the most commonly used meaning bearing words (over 5,500), 40 tokens were selected (nouns, adjectives and verbs in approximately equal proportions) by random sampling (random machine generation). The authors informed participants about the experiment and they gave verbal consent to participate in it. After that, the teacher read the tokens in a random order, and the students had 5 7 seconds to write down the blitz associations. There was no maximum limit for this; they ranged in number from 2 to 5 for the control and experimental groups. The second stage of the experiment involved collection of the maximum number of associations for a limited number of tokens with no time limit. The aim was to find out the language associative competencies and levels of students’ personal language vocabulary for the control and experimental groups. The second stage also intended to collect lexical associative material to construct an associative semantic field for a widely used token in the German language. At this stage, we offered each student one token and an unlimited amount of time (up to an hour or more). The student had the opportunity to comprehend and arbitrarily explain the meaning and essence of the selected associations. At this stage, we clarified the maximum scope of the individual concept.

The authors selected the respondent’s age category according to the most relevant neurodidactic indicators. Thus, late adolescence and early preadult age were relevant to the acquisition of linguistic richness. At this time, a person’s linguistic

associative structure process will be final in the reflection of the associative Theexperiment.experiment involved two groups of Ukrainian speaking students studying German as a foreign language. They were in their first year of a bachelor’s degree (control group) and the fourth year of a bachelor’s degree (experimental group). Each group (control and experimental) consisted of 20 people. This choice was due to the gradual expansion of personal experience in the use of the most commonly used words over time. The set of tokens selected for analysis during the associative experiment was mandatory for basic proficiency at both level A2 (first year) and level B2 (fourth year). Such a set of tokens means that the participants in both the control and experimental groups have approximately the same knowledge of at least the primary meanings of these tokens. Therefore, the experiment was designed not so much so that individuals could recognise the meaning, but to clarify conceptuality (of words as concepts) and the scope of Aftermeaning.obtaining the results of the assessment in the associative experiment, the authors used the semantic analysis method. Such an analysis clarifies the relations that students have established between tokens. The authors also applied a field modelling method to the associative concept of individual tokens based on the results of these relations.

Mentalinguistics (the doctrine of language concepts) correlates with the actual psycholinguistic approach to teaching and assessing individuals’ knowledge of foreign languages. A number of subjective, connotative and associative meanings

The third stage of the research involved concept construction based on all the maximum possible meanings of a single word and determination of its associative and subjective meanings. Such meanings have a relatively weak correlation with their primary lexical and semantic variants, so they illustrate logical and emotional thinking (emotional intelligence) by type of native language. The authors applied the free associations method proposed by Sternin (2001) in order to carry out an inductive assessment on language proficiency on the basis of the analysis of rare lexical semantic variants. The researcher proposed to make an inventory of linguistic and non linguistic associations, to establish types of connections and to explain their origin from the point of view of personal development (formation). All types of associative words and their relations were taken into account. After data collection, we constructed the associative semantic field forthe token Fabel (fairy tale). Figure presents the results for that construction (see Appendix A). Thus, during the experiment the authors assessed the personal foreign language competencies of participating students in their early and final stages of study. The article structured one of the concepts in the mind of a modern student.

4. Results

Psycholinguistic indicators of foreign language proficiency result from an assessment of vocabulary diversity within the areas of discourse, the volume of speech production, the average or appropriate size of sentences (depending on speech style), the inclusion of clichés, speech stereotypes, word parasites (the less, the better), and the ratio of verbs to the total number of tokens. These indicators make up so called “verbal intelligence”. In fact, the psychological indicators are spontaneity, richness of associations and involvement of words from related topics, emotional inspiration and personal orientation (Khirzoeva, 2008).

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. personality, his verbal tools are formed and language acquisition includes a range of meanings, uses and images that make up a personal individual style.

The analysis of methodological sources allowed a number of preliminary preexperimental conclusions to be drawn. Thus, modern foreign language competencies consist of two key components. The first is a social order and the second is personal orientation. Both components can have a narrow specialisation (agricultural translation, technical translation, guide translator), but must include intercultural (sociocultural) orientation. The latter is associated with the acquisition of relevant political, social, artistic, ethical, communication knowledge. The initial competence involves intercultural communication skills. A full assessment of foreign language competence should consistently take into account the following gradation aspects: personal prerogatives mandatory program requirements interpersonal communication intercultural communication intercultural dialogue dialogue of cultures.

The graph (see Appendix B) shows that a higher rank correlated with less success in terms of assignment completion in the experimental group. However, an increase in extremes reflects figurative meanings, the selection of free associations, and the subjective meaning of a word. This testifies to the moderation of logical relations and knowledge of typical usages, and proves the validity of the thesis about the dominance of emotional, subjective and personal word usage. Students often find associations both within the syntagmatic laws of the German language and by analogy with the native language. Sometimes this is detrimental to a normative phraseologically or syntagmatically related meaning, because these meanings may not coincide in different languages.

in the mind of a native speaker of a foreign language, along with the denotative meaning, indicate the relative completeness (sufficiency) of the vocabulary available to an individual. Students should develop knowledge of foreign words not in the form of one or multi component definitions, but concepts.

A concept is a psycholinguistic individual and group formation that contains all the paradigmatic, syntagmatic, and possible associative relations of a single notion. Field construction of the concept helps to distinguish the center, semi periphery, periphery and extreme periphery (up to subjective associations that cannot be explained extrovertedly).

During the first part of the experiment, students in the control and experimental groups were offered a number of meaning bearing words in German. First order associates (selected during the first seconds) included one to two, less often three, lexico semantic variants, typical syntagmatics, standard expressions (clichés, less often phraseological units), personal associations, etc. Before the first part of the diagnostic experiment (selection of blitz associations) was undertaken, we arranged the types of meaning according to their complexity: direct meaning — typical syntactics — typical syntagmatics — lexico semantic variants derivational relations figurative meanings phraseologically related meanings free associations subjective meanings. Hypothetically, the degree of associative complexity increases in such a series. Thus, this ranking can determine fluency level in terms of the vocabulary. We assessed of the varied associative use of tokens by scoring them from 1 to 9 (according to the number of components from the above ranking used).

Unfortunately, we identified a number of negative trends during the experiment. They were caused by semantic contamination, literal translation, ignorance of

Qualitative and quantitative assessment methods can be applied using psycholinguistic and mentalinguistic approaches in the analysis of the initial experimental data. This assessment is based on an associative method for determining the meanings selected from a foreign language glossary, which is mandatory for a student at this stage of study. In this regard, scholars note that results in the study of the humanities are monitored using quantitative data only initially and in an auxiliary way. The very dynamics of competencies can only be measured as quality dynamics in the context of other competencies (Hu, 2002).

2. Some associations indicated a literal translationof a word or cliché into German. For example, students chose the lexico semantic associations breaking stereotypes, persuading someone, playing hard to get (slang) for the verb brechen (break). Such analogies do not correspond to German language laws and are, in fact, calques from Ukrainian.

Type of association and/or its mechanism Examples Number of students EG CG Hypo relations/hyperonymic Die Wand das Gebeude, Wall structure 18 16 Part of the (synecdoche)whole Die Wand das Haus, Wall house 17 14 Antonymous association Die Wand die Zerstörung, Wall ruin 11 7 Association by function Die Wand hangen, Wall hang up 13 8 Spatial contiguity Die Wand das Bild, Wall picture 16 14 Predicative association Die Wand wird gebaut (steht), Wall is under(stands)construction 14 10 Association by relationssubsection Die Wand das Dach, das fundament, Wall roof, foundation wall 13 8

314 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. lexical and semantic variants, calquing at the level of words and phraseologism, etc. The main conclusions after the first part of the experiment (selection of blitz associations) are as follow:

1. In the control groups, 75% (15 people) gave only 1 2 lexico semantic variants of meaning bearing words.

3. Some associations (approx. 7%) related to paronomasia a similar, but not related meaning in terms of word creation: dick (thick), deckel (cover), dichte (density) etc. These are formal associations that donot correspond to any semantic or word forming correlations. Therefore, we need to carefully analyse free associations, as some of them are not valid. The results of the second part of the experiment give a generalised picture of the knowledge and associative abilities of students in the experimental and control groups. Semantic analysis of these results (establishment of meaning, paradigmatic, syntagmatic and associative relations) allowed the results to be presented in the form of a table indicating the mechanism of associations, the frequency of their manifestation and examples (Table 4). (wall)

Table 4: Classification of typical associations found during the experiment on the example of the token Die Wand

1. Students in the experimental group found more associations than students in the control group; 2. All students in the control and experimental groups found a wide range of attributive, predicative associations, as well as hypo /hyperonymy relationships; “part of the whole” relations; associations by function and by subsection relations. This indicates flexibility in thinking, even among the first year students.

3. The students in the control group did not find any paronomastic and phraseological relations, which indicates less knowledge of vocabulary and phraseology at the initial stage of learning.

4. Students in both groups showed equally weak (satisfactory) competencies in establishing relations by similarity (metaphor), associations by subsumption, grammatical transpositions, connotative (evaluative) judgments, idiomatically related associations, associations by property (feature) and determinant relations. This indicates a low level of functional use of lexical units.

5. All students found consistent associations by analogy with their native (Ukrainian) language. This aspect needs to be addressed didactically, as figurative and phraseologically related meanings are different in different languages. Linguistic interference must be weakened in the process of acquiring foreign language competencies. In this regard, we recommend improving the content of curricula in terms of functional linguistics and phraseology by including an associative experiment in the didactic tools (educational, not just diagnostic). There is a need to intensify the study of typical syntagmatic, clichéd, phraseological word usages in the German language.

315 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. By similarity (metaphor) Die Wand das Hindernis, der Schirm, Wall barrier, obstacle, shield 18 16 Paronomasia (consonance) Die Wand die Wende, Wall boundary 11 8 Grammatical transposition Die Wand wandlich, Wall wall mounted, wall type 10 7 Connotativejudgment(evaluative) Stark wie ein Wand strong as a wall 5 Phraseologicallyassociationrelated Sich wie ein Mann erheben make a stand for 7 4 Idiomaticallyassociationrelated Die Wand Die Berliner Wand, Wall Berlin Wall 6 3 Association by featureproperty, Die Wand Die starke Wand, Wall strong wall 4 Determinant relations Die Wand bauen, zerstören, Wall build, destroy 7 4

According to the results shown in Table 4, the following preliminary conclusions about the second stage of the associative experiment are made:

1. Level (core) the primary meaning, as well as basic lexical and semantic variants. In the form of synonyms, they can be rendered by two representatives a fable, a plot. Overall, 17 out of 20 students showed knowledge of these secondary meanings.

5. The level of occasional associations (outside the concept: fear, childhood, evening, wolf, comfort, remember, end, joy, mother, country) is quantitatively open and varies depending on the student. The development and significant fullness of this outside the concept zone indicates the dominance of subjective meanings and associations.

The result of the third part of the experiment involved the construction of an associative semantic concept in the form of a field. Figure (Appendix A) shows the structure and content of this concept for the example of the token Fabel (fable, Figureplot).

4. The level of typical associations (victory, ancient, believe, childhood, seven, three, past, doubt, hero) is quantitatively limited, which indicates a weak development of associative-logical thinking with the number of logical or associative links over 2.

6. The number of students who selected associates is declining in the direction of the periphery. In the area of outside the concept subject associations, the number of associations increases. The number of students who selected them also increases. The selection of phraseologically related meanings, which imply knowledge of stable expressions, rather than an association between tokens, is particularly difficult.

(Appendix B) shows the quantitative and qualitative content of the associative semantic concept as summarised by the experimental group. Let us analyse the structure of the associative field of the token Fabel (fairy tale).

2. Level (semi periphery) the ratio of hypo and hyperonymy folklore, fiction, lies, literature. Most students perceived these associates as synonyms, although they are related generally and partially by presupposition: each fairy tale is folklore; every fairy tale is a fiction, and so on.

5. Discussion

The obtained results correlate with a number of similar studies on foreign and native languages. Associative experimentation is a part of foreign language competence development and diagnostics. It is a tool for constructing a concept or associative semantic field for the native language (Mubarakshina, Fedorova & Fattahova, 2016). This testifies to the wide functionality of the associative method in the humanities. The presented results and the principles indicate the essence of associative experimentation and previous discourse confirmed the using sense language theory and practice by students or those who acquire foreign language skills. The

3. Level (periphery) figurative meanings and related actions (metonymy): forgery, tell, untruth, transformation, listen, charming, Grimm brothers, legend, good, myth, curiosity. This zone turned out to be the most productive, which indicates a high level of metaphorical and metonymic mechanisms in the reflected pictures of the concept by students in both groups.

The data obtained as a result of the experiment have demonstrated the possibilities of an associative experiment for constructing universal, national and personal concepts in the form of an associative semantic field, which extends from lexico semantic variants (core) to the far periphery (the latter contains subjective associations with the original token). The word association technique is a basis for exploration of lexicon content and structure, and can be used as a method for understanding the bilingual brain, and a technique for assessing vocabulary knowledge, among other research aims (Fitzpatrick & Thwaites, 2020).

Based on the associative experiment results that record and evaluate a student’s sense of language, this research indicates an effective assessment method for the development of foreign language competence. For this, the student would learn the obligatory paradigmatic relations, gain experience in establishing typical associations during training and communication, and generate new relations during professional activity (Aghababyan, 2016). Flexible use of connections is possible in a formative associative experiment, involving the first word reaction, the second word reaction and the whole chain of self consistent associations, each following from the previous one. This is how associative semantic memory is Asformed.aresult

of generalisations of experimental data, the research has proved that the connection between thematic relations and conceptual representations for particular concepts does not always coincide, since there are individual differences. However, both vertical and horizontal relations between a word and its associates play an important role in the development of semantic memory, and these associations complement each other and contribute to the spontaneous unprepared generation of a new text (Mukhametzyanova & Shayakhmetova, The2014).experiment revealed the negative aspects of the associative method in assessment, and especially in training. Rose and Rahman (2016) predicted that the constant use of the associative method leads to semantic interference between associations (mixing of meanings) and cumulative (directed to a particular aspect) selection of associations. Negative effects from an associative experiment can be avoided by encouraging students to change contexts, to select associations in terms of expansion, rather than deepening subsumptive semantics.

Associative relations between language elements can be used not only as a methodological tool, but also a way to study semantic processes: connotation, language interference and individual language modality (individual style). The cumulative effect of associative fields, units of which stimulate the emergence of an increasing number of associations in a certain direction, was confirmed by means of an associative experiment (Rose & Rahman, 2016). This effect can be

main indicator of this approach is the dynamics of students’ sense of language; such dynamics are regularly assessed using the associative experimentation method (Aghababyan, 2016).

Creese, A., Blackledge, A., & Takhi, H. K. (2014). The ideal ‘native speaker’ teacher: negotiating authenticity and legitimacy in the language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 98(4), 937 951. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12148

The diagnostic part found that students in the experimental group completed the assignment for the selection of associations 15% better than the control group. At the same time, we revealed that there were a number of shortcomings of Ukrainian speaking students in learning a foreign (German) language. This applied to both the control and experimental groups. Most of the shortcomings related to native language analogies and ignorance of typical associations in German. Thus, further methodological improvements in German language research are required. The constructed associative semantic field for the Fabel token showed that the peripheral zone and the zone of subjective associations are the most developed, which indicates a sufficient syntagmatic level of word usage and a developed subjective meaning. At the same time, paradigmatic relations and remote periphery indicate the need for active work with the vocabulary and the development of logical relations between denotations. Further research on this topic could develop software to automate the associative experiment, and could supplement this type of assessment with others (establishing paradigmatic relations between words, the use of words in context, etc). Associative methods of teaching foreign vocabulary and phraseology also need further development.

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The associative method is the most valid tool for undertaking a comprehensive knowledge check of lexical material and foreign language competence for a student assessment. The associative experiment has been demonstrated to be a universal tool that allows assessment and the formation of foreign language competencies, while providing valuable material for constructing associative semantic fields for particular tokens. This could be a starting point for constructing lexical concepts in the language consciousness of young students

6. Conclusion

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. used in linguodidactics: new tokens will be layered on the knowledge of tokens of a certain semantic field in the process of applying the associative method.

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Gradation of associative uses of autonomous words in the experimental group

323 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 323 337, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.182020 Teaching through Experiential Learning Cycle to Enhance Student Engagement in Principles of Accounting Rohaila Yusof* , Khoo Yin Yin, Norlia Mat Norwani, Zuriadah Ismail and Anis Suriati Ahmad Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000 0001 5304 8970 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4850 2184 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 6795 906X https://orcid.org/0000 0002 9721 3402 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4070 3398 Salniza Salleh Universiti Utara Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4518 7721 Abstract This paper aims to investigate structuring classroom activities in experiential learning cycles to facilitate first year Business and Accounting students’ engagement in principles of accounting course

The levels of student engagement and achievement in understanding accounting concepts are measured at the end of the course. The content of fundamental accounting is structured into experiential learning cycles to provide a practical model for learning accounting concepts Two models of students learning are tested in this study are the Kolb Experiential Learning Model and Burch Engagement Model. A quasi experimental study is implemented to test the effectiveness of an experiential learning model in improving student engagement. Lessons on Business Accounting is structured into an experiential learning cycle and delivered to an experimental group to measure the improvement in students’ engagement. Burch Engagement Model which measures students’ cognitive, emotional, and physical engagement is applied in measuring their engagement level. A pre and post test design are employed to measure the difference in their engagement level between the control and the experimental group. The respondents of this study are a total of 112 students in Principles of Accounting course. Questionnaires and test sets are the measurement instruments used for data collection. After an eight week exposure to experiential learning strategy, the post test score for students’ engagement show an increase in means of the four dimensions of student engagement, with the * Corresponding Author: Rohaila Yusof, Email: rohaila@fpe.upsi.edu.my

Keywords: Kolb Experiential Learning Strategy; Students Engagement; Business Accounting; Cognitive in class Engagement

1. Introduction

The aspiration of the Ministry of Education in Malaysia through the Malaysian Educational Blueprint 2015 2025 aims to nurture entrepreneurial graduates with the attributes of financial sustainability. It is significant to improve the delivery of basic accounting courses to prepare students with basic financial management skills to choose and start their initiatives that align with nurture holistic graduates. The National Entrepreneurship Policy targets 15% of graduates to become entrepreneurs Thus, financial skills acquisition need to be strengthened to equip graduates with venture into their entrepreneurship process. Hence, the teaching methods in Higher Education Institutions in the field of accounting and management need to be enhanced. It is inevitable to mention that accounting is a significant concept in financial management to help these potential entrepreneurs in the act of planning, organizing, directing and controlling economic activities.One of the main financial activities in business includes the process of procurement and utilization of funds of the enterprise (Juneja, 2017), wherein specific accounting knowledge, skills and values are required Unfortunately, reality reveals that many entrepreneurs have not taken this matter seriously to the degree that sales proceeds is used to fund their expenditures rather than to prioritize company needs.Indeed, studies on the failure of entrepreneurs of small and medium businesses also found that 83% of businesses failed due to cash flow management weaknesses (Arditi, Koksal & Kale, 2000). This situation indicates the insufficient skill and level of awareness of financial management among entrepreneurs 2. Background of the Study Business Accounting course is one of the many names given to fundamental accounting courses offered in accounting degree programs to all accounting majors and non majors in most HEIs (Higher Education Institutions). It comes under different names such as Introduction to Accounting, Principles of Accounting, and other terms that reflect the nature of the course as fundamentals and basic. Accounting is a field that requires a careful systematic approach to recording, reporting and analyzing diverse business transactions. Accounting subjects are often seen as more conceptual than procedural (Wyhe & Arthur, 1991) ,and an excessive emphasis is on finance rather than accounting management (Roudaki, 2016). The course syllabus is specifically designed to provide students with basic knowledge in accounting, namely: technical classifications, recording transactions, and preparing financial statements. The

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. highest mean in the cognitive in class engagement, followed by cognitive out of class, physical and emotional engagement. Improvement in the cognitive score is concluded to be significant across the cognitive levels of Bloom Taxonomy mainly in understanding, application, and analysis. The implications of this study involve improvement of the support system to materialize the experiential learning strategy.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) of the course is for students to prepare a full set of accounting and probably some additional generic skills incorporated into the course to meet the overall Programme Learning Outcomes (PLO). However, past research on students’ achievement shows that students' achievement in the first accounting course is not convincing and dependents on various factors, especially prior learning experience (Garkaz, Banimahd & Esmaeili, 2011) and students' interest and career aspirations (Kamaruddin, 2015). Students’ achievement results from various interacting factors such as intellectual capacity, quality of delivery, motivation, learning approaches, students' socio economic factors, and other factors. Nevertheless, students’ engagement could be one of the factors determining their retention (Ndege, 2010), skills development (Kapur, 2018) and student interest (Ghasemi, Moonaghi & Heydari, 2018). Student engagement also includes comprehensive aspects of achievement besides cognitive,and cognitive engagement inside and outside the classroom. In this line of thought, Student engagement is a critical factor worth studying,as it is believed to drive students to work independently.Add to this, engaged students are expected to be inquisitive and carry their thinking beyond the classroom (Taylor & Parsons, 2011). A close attempt by the quality assurance framework to measure student engagement is the compliance of 40 hours SLT for each credit assigned to a course, applied as the standard measurement in MQA. Various learning activities are suggested to fill the 120 hours SLT for a three credit system, with the biggest portion on non face to face learning. The SLT concept demands motivation, ability and monitoring of independent studies to take place among students Business accounting course has to be relevant and effective in preparing holistic graduates The practical or hands on method is believed to be the most effective delivery method for suitable classes. Thus, experiential learning is a method that could provide relevant in class experience for better engagement among students Fundamental Accounting course content ranges from technical book keeping skills to financial statement preparation, which requires analytical skills.The business examples used are often based on textbooks and less relevant to real business situations. The textbook approach is not effective in engaging students in learning, because students need to be engaged through meaningful and challenging activities to see the big picture of accounting skills in solving real problems. The study by Kraukuer, Serra and De Almeida (2017) found advantages regarding experiential learning in entrepreneurship learning, such as greater student engagement and a sense of empowerment. Students can apply knowledge management theories to their team experiences combining theory and practice and use them in their work (Pauleen, Marshall & Egort, 2014). The AACSB Guidelines (AACSB,2013) strongly recommend applications of experiential learning in the business curriculum. It is more fitting to attain learning outcomes that require more successful areas or practical abilities such as strategic decision making, coordination, leadership, collaboration and many other skills.

Effective delivery methods provide new experiences to students to link existing knowledge to the desired knowledge. Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience (Kolb, 1984).

3. Literature Review

Beard and Wilson (2002) stated that when receiving a stimulus, be it an external or internal one; a form of learning from experience is generated. Figure 1 represents the complex process of perception being interpreted and responded as an experiential learning process.

Figure 1. The process of perception and experiential learning (Beard & Wilson 2002)

Kolb’s(1984) learning cycle is an experience based learning strategy in which each student should be given the opportunity to undergo the four phases of learning for each topic. Kolb Learning Cycle (1984) originates from a theory that learning style can be ranked along a continuum. Many studies attempted to show the relationship between learning styles and achievement, yet there is little evidence to support teaching according to individual learning styles as differences and preferences in the way individuals learn exist. Hence, a variety of experiences in learning provides students with a rich understanding of knowledge. Such a conception is elaborated and therefore different learning styles are met through the four cyclical phases namely: concrete /abstract, and experimental /reflection being organised in two opposite continuum Figure 2 reflects the four phases in respect to their continuum.

Figure 2. Kolb learning cycle

The Kolb learning cycle model (1984) is applied in learning Principles of Accounting by providing four different activities with related resources. Firstly, students need to understand the big picture, 'Why' to stimulate their interest in the subject matter, 'What' is the significance of this lesson to their everyday life, 'How' to understand the concepts and related theories. In return, students should apply the newly learned concept and ideas into a situation; that is the 'What if' phase. These four questions represent the learning cycle's internal structure which implies a pattern for learning new concepts. A combination of the learning modes from all four learning styles produces the highest learning level (Harb & Terry, 1995). Among the teaching challenges in a cycle is preparing suitable materials to provide relevant experience In another terms, each quadrant offers a learning experience that suits one out of four learning styles according to the Kolb Learning Styles Model (KLSM); assimilators, divergers, convergers, and accommodators. KLSM is based on how students perceive and process information in learning through two opposite continuum; feeling and thinking in the perceiving continuum, while reflecting and doing is in the processing continuum. The first quadrant refers to suitable activities to assimilate learning inclination through feeling and doing, such as motivational stories, group problem solving, etc. The second quadrant is for those who learn through feeling and watching, such as textbook reading assignments, seminars, etc. Whereas the third learning style assimilates who learn through thinking and watching, including field trips, group discussions, and the like. Finally, the fourth style consists of convergers that calls for who learn through reflection and doing, which is best supported by lectures with demonstrations, examples, problems, etc. These activities are not mutually exclusive; meaning that the same types of activities can provide a different learning experience. In this regard, educators can give various learning activities to offer small experiences in class for better student engagement. Table 1 indicates the type of learning activities to provide students with rich learning experiences (Harb & Terry, 1995).

Figure 3 illustrates the cycle for the first chapter, which is budgeting. For the first quadrant, Concrete Experience (CE), known as the "Why" phase, students are exposed to business failure due to failed budgeting. Taking the case of Muslim Awang, the students go through the 'big picture' before answering six reflective questions in the second quadrant, the so called the "What" phase. Moving on to the third quadrant, Active Experimentation (AE), students are provided with complimentary notes on budgeting before preparing a budget of Muslim plans to set another branch up in the campus with more students in the last quadrant (Concrete Experience (CE).).

328 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 1 Learning activities for each quadrant FIRST QUADRANT SubjectiveGroupSocraticRoleFieldFormalGroupInteractiveBrainstormingJournalGroupClassSimulationsMotivationalACTIVITIESLEARNINGStoriesDiscussionDiscussionWritingLectureProblemSolvinglecture,feelingtoneTripsPlayingLectureExperimentsTests SECOND QUADRANTACTIVITIESLEARNING Formal lecture, thinking tone Lecture with Visual Aids Lecture with Programmed Notes Textbook Reading Assignment Problem Solving by Instructor Example Problem from Textbook Professional Meetings Large Seminars TV GatheringLibraryObjectiveIndependentDemonstrationsResearchExamsSearchesData THIRD QUADRANTACTIVITIESLEARNING Example Problems Worked by HomeworkStudents Problems Guided LecturesComputerIndividualLaboratoryObjectiveFieldComputerLabsSimulationsTripsExamsTestReportsAidedInstructionwithDemonstrations FOURTH QUADRANTACTIVITIESLEARNING Open Ended Problems Open ended Laboratories Student Prepared Problems Field Trips Student Presentations Semester Long Design Projects Socratic Questioning Group GroupGroupSimulationsThinkSubjectiveRoleBrainstormingStudentDiscussionLecturesPlayingExamsTanksProblemSolvingProjects/Reports

Source: Harb and Terry (1995) Based on four chapters in the accounting syllabus, namely: budgeting, bookkeeping, cashflow, and profit and loss statement, a comprehensive approach is presented by utilizing all 4 phases of the Kolb Learning Cycle.

Figure 4. Kolb learning cycle for bookkeeping

Figure 3. Kolb learning cycle for budgeting Figure 4 depicts the Kolb Learning Cycle for the second chapter, which is bookkeeping. The Concrete Experience (CE) or the "Why" phase engages the students through a news article and role plays on Pn Husna, who owns a bakery, and her business partners. For the Reflective Observation (RO) quadrant, students must answer several reflective questions for all three scenarios.In this context, students are supplied with notes on bookkeeping being discussed in class for the "How" phase or Abstract Conceptualization (AC). Lastly, students are required to prepare bookkeeping for bigger scale bakery business by Pn Husna.

Figure 6 below explains the Kolb Learning Cycle for the fourth chapter, the profit and loss statement.In the first quadrant or the "Why" process, students are introduced to the circumstances of a stall owner who does not manage to figure out where the profit has gone even though their profits are increasing. Moving on to the next quadrant, namely the Reflective Observation (RO) or the What step, they are invited to give their opinions and perspectives on the respective issues based on various thought provoking questions. In the third quadrant, the Abstract Conceptualization (AC) or the How to process, they are expected to read the necessary materials, such as textbook notes and presentation slides in hope to solve problems in the last quadrant, Constructive Exploration (AE) or "What If" process

Figure 5 respectively shows the Kolb Learning Cycle for the preparation of cash flow.The use of interactive stimuli for the Concrete Experience (CE) is manifested through cafe businesses' video. Next, the students are expected to reflect on four issues surrounding Bob and his newly opened cafe “The Wired Cup” for the Reflective Observation (RO) phase. Using the journal articles and presentation slides in the Abstract Conceptualization (AC), students will gather the necessary knowledge to prepare a good cash flow to help Bob increase the revenue while minimizing the costs simultaneously for the last quadrant, Active Experimentation (AE).

Figure 5. Kolb learning cycle for cash flow

The activities put forward befit the definition of experiential learning which stands on an interdisciplinary approach based on management, education, and psychology, and implicating a holistic process of action/reflection built on experience/abstraction (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Past research in applying experiental learning models in entrepreneurship and business education results in positive learning outcomes achievement, measured by the Students Course Experience Scale (Yusof et al., 2019) One of the expected outcomes of experiential learning is student engagement which is defined as the interaction between time, effort, and other resources invested by students and institutions to optimize students’ experiences and increase learning outcomes for their performance development and institutional reputation (Trowler, 2010). Efforts towards student participation can be seen through a diversified pedagogical approach to attracting and unburdening accounting topics, including activity based courses, sports, internet studies, and computer simulations that combine to enable students to learn through real time accounting circumstances (Jaijaram, 2012). The ability for students to learn by experience is recognized by AACSB (2013), which defines experiential learning as one of the meaningful means of engaging students.

4. Methodology

This research is a quasi experimental study which is used to study relevant teaching and learning materials development to enhance students’ engagement. Quasi experimental research involves the manipulation of an independent variable without the random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions. In this research paper, the researchers have implemented Kolb

Figure 6. Kolb learning cycle for profit and loss statement

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. learning cycle which takes eight weeks. 112 first year students in Business Accounting field are selected to participate in this study In hope to meet the aim of this study, important modifications are done on the course outline to ensure that the class activities focus on enhancing students' experiential learning.

The T&L tasks are conducted differently where students have to go around the loop in a clockwise direction in which the treatment group receives the intervention (Kolb learning cycle) of learning in a process while participants in the control group go through the usual lecture and demonstration method. A pre test questionnaire and a test set are designed and administered to students from the Business Accounting course, in which the pre test consists of a test set with 24 item questions on students’ engagement and a test set of 9 items on existing knowledge of business accounting. The same set is repeated to students as a post test after the intervention. At the end of the cycle that takes eight weeks, 24 hours of lessons, students' level of engagement is measured using a 24 item scale adapted from Burch et al. (2015) who proposed a conceptualization of student engagement grounded in A. W. Astin’s Student Involvement Theory and W. A. Kahn's employee engagement research where student engagement is built on four components: emotional engagement, physical engagement, cognitive engagement in class, and cognitive engagement out of class. Early findings indicate that students put a significantly high amount of time and energy on experiential learning, which leads to increased engagement in feeling and cognitive continua. On the other hand, classical instructional approaches are effective if one finds the exam score to be the final learning indicator. Exam score and drilling are successful opportunities to improve thinking abilities, such as analytical skills in accounting. Four main topics in Business Accounting are delivered through the Kolb Learning Cycle (KLC). The topics are as follows: I Budgeting, II. Bookkeeping, III. Cash Flow, IV. Profit and Loss. These four topics are delivered in four different cycles in eight (8) weeks 5. Findings

The goal of the paper is to create a Business Accounting course in an experiential learning loop that could offer a realistic model for learning fundamentals in acco unting for entrepreneurs. It is assumed that as a lesson is prepared, it will address Why, What, How, and What if that improves students’ learning and increases their engagement. Each additional loop should be in the target position to offer deeper awareness and dedication to lessons. This research believed that experiential learning could contribute to student participation and therefore improve achievement of learning outcomes. The course helps students to demonstrate the practical knowledge of learning fundamentals in accounting for entrepreneurs and improve their application of accounting experience in entrepreneurship through physical, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Business accounting content is grouped into four main topics designed into experiential learning cycles to maximize students' learning experience. Understanding why the issue is important motivates them to know more. Going through the quadrant of concrete experience provides students with a big picture which helps them see the topic's importance. The ‘Why’ quadrant offers actual cases and circumstances for students. Next,the students learn through

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. their reflections of the big picture through the cases provided. Reflection is shown to be a good engine of learning. Instructors prepared significant leading questions to direct students through reflections. For example, answers such as, "business fail because the owner did not anticipate steep competitions from other food outlets that would cause him to lose sales volume, should therefore provide more variations or extend business hours to be competitive. Students directly relate their perceptions and information to the lecture. In the meantime, engagement is at an emotional level. The students' answers show that they even discuss the issue after class. Out of class discussions strengthen cognitive engagement through the "How" quadrant. The latter is the core concern of the syllabus and resources suggested by the instructors. Emotionally engaged students find more examples and ask questions about the new information they have discovered.The 'What if' quadrant would take the students to what happens if any action is taken, and a simulation of the predicted outcomes if any changes are made. The fourth quadrant requires students to gather information from reliable sources. At the end of the course, students' engagement is measured using Burch's (2015) Model of Engagement, which has three sub dimensions: physical, emotional, and cognitive.

Figure 7. Four phases of the learning cycle. Measurement of cognitive achievement is done through a test set consisting of three cognitive ability levels, understanding, application, and analysis. This study applies four dimensions of student engagement, considering the nature and limitations of the students' experience to go through in this teaching cycle. There is a difference in the level of engagement among the students after the intervention. Simultaneously, there is an improvement in the cognitive score for all three cognitive levels, understanding, application, and analysis. Findings of this study conclude that experiential learning activities provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate practical knowledge in accounting, and students are physically, emotionally, and cognitively engaged while learning through the various phases of experiential learning. Table 1 indicates the difference in means for the four areas of students’ engagement. The largest mean is for physical engagement (mean 4.21, n.d. .42),

There is a small increase recorded in the four dimensions of student participation; cognitive in class (.37), cognitive out of class (.33), physical (.31), and emotional involvement (.30). There are also educational tools available to educators, such as cases and challenges with developing teaching and learning practices. As a consequence, educators using traditional teaching strategies may, at some stages, use tools that provide an opportunity for students to experience one or more of the four experiential learning quadrants. The results are confirmed by Kraukuer, Serra, and de Almeida (2017), who observed greater student participation and a sense of empowerment. Similarly, Pauleen, Marshall and Egort (2014) found a complete learning experience by integrating theory and practice through experiential learning.

334 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. cognitive in class engagement (mean 4.20, n.d. .46), cognitive out of class engagement (mean 4.20, n.d. .47), and mental engagement (mean 4.14, n.d. .51).

Table 2. Domains of students’ engagement Domains of student engagement Pre test Post test Mean s.d. Mean s.d.

Cognitive-in class I am interested in the material I learn in this class/course. 3.83 0.79 4.27 0.53 I am excited about coming to this class/course. 3.73 0.86 4.28 0.52 When I'm in the classroom for this lesson/course, I pay a lot of attention to class topics and events. 4.01 0.58 4.23 0.43

I often explain course material to one or more students for this class/course. 3.73 0.73 4.12 0.52

I connect learning in this class/course to societal problems or issues. 3.74 0.81 4.21 0.52 I reviewed my notes after class in this class/course. 4.05 0.61 4.10 0.51 This class/course allowed me to learn challenging real world problems. 3.86 0.31 4.25 0.42

Cognitive-out of class I exert my full effort towards this class/course. 3.82 0.32 4.22 0.43

I've memorized the course materials for assignments and exams in this class/course. 3.91 0.55 3.92 0.31 This class/course taught me to think objectively and analytically. 3.82 0.32 4.23 0.46 This class/course helped me learn the financial expertise of a small company. 3.91 0.71 4.36 0.57

I use the knowledge and skills I have gained from this class/course to deal with other students studying in the classroom. 3.72 0.42 4.16 0.34

I have drawn results based on my study of numerical knowledge (numbers, tables, figures, etc.) in this class/course. 3.82 0.97 4.10 0.61 I used numerical information to examine a real world problem or issue in this class/course. 3.87 0.98 4.10 0.63 This class/course helped me speak clearly and effectively. 3.93 0.83 4.11 class/course helped me work effectively

with others. 3.91 0.97 4.13 0.31 Table 3. Total difference of means and standard deviation. Domains of student engagement Pre test Post test Difference of meanMean s.d. Mean s.d. Cognitive in class 3.83 0.62 4.20 0.46 0.37 Cognitive out of class 3.87 0.51 4.20 0.47 0.33 Physical 3.90 0.52 4.21 0.42 0.31 Emotional 3.84 0.86 4.14 0.51 0.30 Table 4 displays the test score on comprehension of the basics of financial management for entrepreneurs.There is growth in the cognitive score for all three cognitive stages, understanding (13%), application (25%) and analysis (15%). Table 4: Test score on students' knowledge Types of questions Pre test score (%) Post test score (%) Difference (%) Understanding 70 83 13 Application 35 60 25 Analysis 45 60 15

I work harder to produce good products in this class/course during difficult assignments. 3.91 0.69 4.42 0.53

I sometimes ask questions or add to a class/course debate. 3.73 0.83 4.10 0.64

I discussed class/course topics, ideas or concepts with friends outside of class. 3.85 0.87 4.21 0.53

0.34 This

Emotional I am enthusiastic about this class/course. 3.81 0.74 4.15 0.42

When I'm in this class/course, I feel energetic. 3.81 0.72 4.18 0.56

I feel positive about the assignments I have completed in this class/course. 3.91 0.53 4.21 0.45

I work harder than I thought I could meet the instructor's expectations in this class/course. 3.92 0.43 4.12 0.35

This study attempts to adapt to the Kolb Learning Cycle Model to design lessons for Business Accounting. Four main topics areorganized into four different cycles, which provide a different learning experience for the students. Students participate in the four learning cycles and are offered alternative ways of perceiving and processing the information. The materials used for the lessons play an important role in engaging the students. Students will receive current and popular types of business as stimuli because of their familiarity and interest in the subject. Awareness of the 'Why' do I have to learn this sub topic becomes the driver for students to further understand. The stimulus must be relevant and current to make students curious enough to do further research and discussions on the subject matter Variation of experiential learning programs can offer more opportunities for participation, such as fieldwork and on site learning. Improving students’ engagement, particularly on emotional and cognitive out of class engagement make the learning process more productive. The quadrant of What is an important reflection in which educators direct students through their reflections. Answers given by students demonstrate their thinking and the ability for educators to know their previous understanding of the subject. In the 'How' quadrant, showing students notes and slides allow them to get a better idea of the relevant topics. The 'What if' quadrant allows them the to apply their experience from the three preceding quadrants to one major implementation of practical situations customised to brief problems or case studies.These activities can be unstructured, where students have to justify their acts. Business Accounting is an applied functional subject that should be delivered in a practical way. Creating an environment in the classroom is a way to address time constraints and opportunities for students to do field study or work based learning. The limitations of this analysis are the number of samples involved. Extending the study to other HEIs would serve to make the results of this study more effective. Another study area to be discussed will be applying the experiential learning approach to online learning for more analysis. Well planned experiential learning lessons can be provided by online learning leveraging multimedia tools that are more attractive to the z generation. The implications of this research is the support a sound framework for the introduction of an experiential learning approach. Flexible scheduling of classes will provide enough time for class events. A strong internet connection for connecting online services as part of the classroom experience is important.

6. Conclusion, limitations and Recommendations

This study was supported by UPSI Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant (GPU) 2017 0255 107 01.

8. References AACSB. (2013). Eligibility procedures and accreditation standards for business accreditation. Tampa, FL. Arditi, A., Koksal, A., & Kale, S. (2000). Business failures in the construction industry Engineering, Construction, and Architectural Management, 7(2), 120 132

7. Acknowledgement

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Abstract. Feedback is a crucial aspect in assessment that enables students to learn from assessments received. The perception of the practice of feedback has an impact on the fruitfulness of the teaching learning process. Hence, the main purpose of the study was to assess primary school students’ perceptions of the practices of feedback. To attain this purpose, a descriptive survey design was used, and 474 students from two government and two private primary schools participated. Questionnaires and document reviews were used to collect data and analysed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results indicated that students favourably perceive the value and practice of feedback. Most of the students considered feedback as a provision of marks, grades, and correct answers. Yet, judgmental feedback using words such as “excellent”, “very good” and “good” used in the students’ exercise books have little value in showing learning gaps and as such, this type of feedback is not useful in improving students’ learning. Therefore, for feedback to be useful, students should have a positive perception of feedback and take the feedback into account for future learning to enhance their knowledge and understanding.

Keywords: feedback; perception; practice; students; value 1. Introduction Feedback refers to “commentary, verbal or written information that a student receives about their performance” (Marrs, 2016, p. 7). In the academic environment, feedback is an essential component and a vital strategy of the teaching learning process (Ansari & Usmani, 2018). If there is an assessment in the teaching learning process, then there is feedback, and it is given in different forms to the students. Helping students to learn from their activities, mainly through encouraging dialogue, is a crucial aspect of feedback (Irons, 2008).

338 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 338 354, October https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.192020 The Value of Feedback in Primary Schools: Students’ Perceptions of the Practice Abatihun Alehegn Sewagegn University of Johannesburg, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0003 0147 5190 Askalemariam Adamu Dessie Debre Markos University, Ethiopia https://orcid.org/0000 0001 8440 8879

Effective feedback starts a thought process for students as it allows them to evaluate the quality of their work against that of their teacher or peers and empowers them to become self regulated learners which effectively improves their learning abilities (Fautley & Savage, 2008; Lee, 2006; Moss & Brookhart, 2009; Sadler, 2010). According to Li and De Luca (2014), for feedback to be effective it should be timely and relate to the focus of the learning; it needs to acknowledge where the student has been successful and identify where and how improvement can take place. It also needs to be able to be clearly understood by the student, allowing them the time needed for improvement. According to Amua Sekyi (2016), the feedback given becomes useful when it is provided quickly enough and acted upon to improve student’s work and learning. The feedback should be of value to the student by ‘closing the gap’ on their understanding and providing an opportunity for dialogue to occur (Irons, 2008).

However, research evidences indicated as assessment results are not utilized effectively for the purpose of providing timely and constructive feedback rather used for grading purposes (Amua Sekyi, 2016; Acar Erdol & Yildizli, 2018; Tan, Whipp, Gagné & Quaquebeke, 2019). Therefore, this study assessed primary school students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback. Unlike in other studies, in this research both quantitative and qualitative methods were used and students were the primary sources of the data. In other words, feedback should provide information about how the student did with regards to the desired aim or outcome and then further highlight how their performance could be improved (Tan, Whipp, Gagné & Quaquebeke, 2019). Therefore, this study assessed primary school students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback.

The topic of students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback is an under researched area, and there has been little empirical research published which focuses on students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback at primary schools in

According to Irons (2008) and Sadler (2010), the feedback given should be constructive to bring about improvement in students’ learning. Constructive feedback helps learners to become more self regulated, develop intrinsic motivation and positive self esteem, identify and fill gaps in their current and future understanding, and encourages dialogue between teachers and students (Irons, 2008; Nicola & Macfarlane Dick, 2006). Therefore, a key aspect of effective feedback whether written or oral, is that the students need to learn what is required of them.

Feedback is central to the development of effective educational practice (Sadler, 2010) and the students’ perceptions of the practices of feedback have an impact on the fruitfulness of the teaching learning process. The students’ perceptions, understanding of the purpose, and beliefs about feedback are crucial determinants for achieving educational outcomes (Ansari & Usmani, 2018). In the absence of meaningful feedback, good practices are not reinforced, poor performance is not corrected, and the path to improvement is not identified (Ansari & Usmani, 2018).

• How do students use feedback to improve their learning?

Quality feedback needs to be relevant to what is being assessed and to the learning process of the individual student. There are several ways of measuring the quality of feedback such as the timeline in which it is given (immediacy) and if it encourages students’ learning and by how much (either too little or too much) (Irons, 2008). The most effective feedback is that which is given as close to the completion of the task as possible (Cowan, 2003 cited in Irons, 2008). As regular constructive feedback can have a positive impact on students’ academic performance, not providing timely feedback will hamper their progress (Irons, 2008).

2.1 The link between assessment and feedback Assessment and feedback are the main components of the teaching learning process, and there is a close link between the two. Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 1) noted that “feedback is an essential component of assessment for learning”, and when it is “used appropriately, can support students’ learning and lead to substantial learning gains”. Brookhart (2008) and Irons (2008) also stated that feedback is an essential component of the formative assessment process. Specifically, formative assessment and formative feedback are closely related (Irons, 2008). Irons (2008) also added that formative assessment and formative feedback are compelling and potentially constructive learning tools. According to Oluwatayo, Irene and Appah (2014), feedback is the central function of formative assessment, and teachers’ good feedback practices strengthen the students’ capacity to self regulate their performance. Feedback on assessments is an effective and efficient teaching and learning tool that is powerful in enhancing and strengthening students’ learning (Sadler, 2010).

2. Review of Literature

2.2 Students’ perceptions on the value of feedback

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. the Ethiopian context. Moreover, to the knowledge of the researchers, in this study area and topic, no complete research has been done to assess students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback to improve their learning at primary schools. Thus, based on these issues, the following research questions were raised.

Student’s perceptions of feedback include what they believe the purpose of feedback is, how they feel about or value feedback that is given, and their interpretation of that feedback (Van Der Kleij & Adie, 2020). Students might often find teachers’ feedback confusing and very challenging to understand; often they might think they have understood the feedback when they have not, and even if they do manage to understand it, they may not know how to put it into practice (Sutton, Hornsey & Douglas, 2011).

• To what extent do students’ perceptions influence their use of feedback in their learning?

• How do students perceive the value of feedback on their learning?

Due to their perceptions and beliefs about feedback, students may not understand the importance of it and pay it little attention, focusing on getting good grades rather than on the comments received (Ansari & Usmani, 2018; Carless, 2006) If the student does not know how to use the comments received to improve their work it undermines its effectiveness this needs to be considered by teachers and schools when deciding on the format of their feedback practices (Bevan, Badge, Cann, Willmott, & Scott, 2008 cited in Ansari & Usmani, 2018) As Irons (2008, p. 38) stated, “students can be demotivated as a result of feedback particularly when: they perceive the feedback to be unfair; feedback is unclear; they don’t understand the feedback; the feedback doesn’t seem to relate to the work they have done; they don’t receive feedback in time; feedback is overly critical, and feedback is non constructive”. Spiller (2014) also noted that the following are the concerns of students regarding the feedback they are provided:

According to Di Costa (2010, p. 2), the characteristics of acceptable or good feedback practices are that they “clarify what good performance is; provide opportunities to close the gap; deliver high quality information to students about their learning; facilitate the development of self assessment (reflection) in learning; boost teacher and peer dialogue around learning; encourage positive

▪ Feedback can motivate students in their studies;

• Feedback does not point them in the right direction so that they can improve their work;

• Feedback comments can upset or embarrass a student.

▪ Feedback helps students to more fully understand their learning requirements and their subject understanding;

• The reason why that specific feedback is given is unclear and

2.3 Value/use of feedback to improve students’ learning Feedback can only be useful if students understand it and are willing and able to act on it (Price, Handley, Millar & O’Donovan, 2010). As Marrs (2016) argues, it is most beneficial when students actively use the feedback they receive. Properly given feedback enhances the students’ learning and has positive impacts on their performance. Irons (2008) listed the following positive benefits of feedback from the students’ perspective:

▪ Feedback is used to learn;

• There are no opportunities to talk about the feedback;

• Feedback is not timely and therefore is not helpful;

• Feedback is either too much or too little;

▪ Students are encouraged to try new ways of learning and

▪ Feedback can be used to reflect on learning practices and activities.

• The relationship between the comments received and the grade given may create confusion;

• The purpose of feedback is not clear to them;

• Feedback comments are not understandable;

The main purpose of the study was to assess students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback to improve their learning in primary schools. To attain the purpose, a descriptive survey design was used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the study.

3. Methods

The study was carried out at Debre Markos primary schools Government and private second cycle primary schools (grade 5 to 8) students were the population of the study. Biruhi Tesfa and Dibiza government primary schools and Lingerh and Selam Academy private primary schools were randomly selected. To determine the sample size, stratified random sampling was employed. In the strata, school and grade levels were considered. Finally, the sample sizes for each school were determined based on the sample size determination guidelines proposed by Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2018). Thus, the nearest sample numbers to the guideline were proposed for each school.

Table 1: Sample size from each primary school School name Total No. students Students f % Biruhi Tesfa 358 138 29.1 Dibiza 341 146 30.8 Lingerh 104 99 20.9 Selam Academy 89 89 18.8 Total 892 474 100.0 Note: f =frequency; % = percentage As indicated in Table 1, 138 (29.1%) and 146 (30.8%) students were selected from Biruhi Tesfa and Dibiza primary schools, respectively. Besides these, 99 (20.9%) of the students were selected from Lingerh primary school, whereas 89 (18.8%) of them were selected from Selam Academy. 474 students were selected in total from the four primary schools. 3.3 Instruments To answer the research questions, data from questionnaires and document reviews were collected. A 5 point Likert scale questionnaire was used for the quantitative section of the study. The questionnaire (see Appendix 1) had three sub scales (students’ perceptions on the value of feedback which had 15 items, students’ perceptions on the practice of feedback which had 14 items and feedback usage sub scale which had 13 items). The questionnaire had 42 items, including the background information. For the qualitative aspect, document review was used. The document review mainly focused on students’ exercise books to assess the content and form of the teachers’ feedback, whether it was judgmental or constructive.

3.2 Population, Participants and Sampling Techniques

3.1 Research Design

Table 2: Students’ perceptions on the value of feedback No. Items Responses Agree Neutral Disagree f % f % f % Mean 1 Feedback is helpful to show gaps in knowledge and understanding. 425 89.3 16 3.4 32 6.8 4.32 2 Feedback rarely provides me with useful suggestions for improvement. 42 8.9 48 10 378 79.8 2.01 3 I consider that peer feedback is essential for learning. 303 63.9 94 19.8 73 15.4 3.66 4 Teacher feedback is effective in 422 89 17 3.6 31 6.5 4.37

3.4 Data Analysis

4.1 Students’ perceptions on the value of feedback To determine the students’ perceptions on the value of feedback on students’ learning, 15 items were used, and the analysis was done using frequency, percentage, and mean as indicated in Table 2.

To analyze the quantitative data, descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, and mean) and inferential statistics (one sample t test and multiple regression) value were employed. Moreover, correlation was computed to see the relationship between students’ perceptions on the power of feedback and practice. To enhance clarity at the descriptive analysis level, specifically for percentage, it was decided to collapse the original 5 point Likert scale into three categories (Agree, Undecided, and Disagree) and (Often, Sometimes, and Rarely). According to Babbie (2010), collapsing Likert responses is acceptable when one wants to see a clearer pattern in the findings. The document review was analyzed qualitatively using words to triangulate the quantitative data.

The findings were organized based on the research questions. In this section, students’ perceptions on the value of feedback, perceptions on the practice of feedback and their use of feedback are presented.

3.5 Reliability and Validity Reliability refers to the dependability, stability, and predictability of responses (Creswell, 2007; De Vos, Strydom, Fouche, & Delport, 2011). To test the reliability of items in the questionnaire, a pilot study was conducted using 20 students, and Cronbach Alpha was used to analyze the reliability and the results for the three sub scales were 0.594, 0.588 and 0.706 for students’ perceptions on the power of feedback, students’ perceptions of feedback practice, and its usage, respectively. After revision, the reliabilities of the students’ questionnaire for the main study were 0.73, 0.71 and 0.756 for the above three sub scales respectively, which is acceptable based on George and Mallery’s (2003) standard. To increase the validity of the questionnaire, three selected experts in education and psychology helped in reviewing the questions. De Vos et al. (2011) established that content validity and face validity of the instrument can be established on the basis of researchers’ and other experts’ judgments 4. Findings

344 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. promoting students’ learning. Constructive criticism is needed to know how to improve my work. 299 63.1 56 11.8 114 24 3.58 Feedback given at the end of the subject is not useful. 106 22.4 48 10.1 319 67.3 2.32 The feedback which is given should be clear to be helpful. 442 93.2 15 3.2 17 3.6 4.49 Feedback encouraged me to improve my work. 369 77.8 61 12.9 39 8.2 3.99 Positive comments increase my confidence. 381 80.4 39 8.2 46 9.7 4.15 I thought about giving up when I got negative feedback. 52 11 74 15.6 340 71.8 1.93

13 I need to receive positive feedback to progress. 366 77.3 35 7.4 68 14.3 3.97

As indicated in Table 2, most students perceived that teachers’ feedback is useful to promote their learning, to reflect on what they have learned, and to identify the learning gaps. Besides this, according to the perception of students, feedback should be clear, positive, and constructive to improve their learning and 80.4%confidence.and77.3% of students agreed on the value of positive feedback to increase their confidence and showed their interest in receiving such feedback to improve their learning, respectively. Even if 28.3% of the students agreed that negative feedback demoralizes them and affects their future learning, 43.7% of them perceived that the negative feedback given has the power to help them perform better in their future learning.

11 I felt demoralized or angry after reading negative feedback. 134 28.3 85 17.9 248 52.4 2.58 Feedback has helped me to reflect on what I have learned. 363 76.6 60 12.7 36 7.6 4.02

2 Teachers give me immediate feedback for each assessment. 227 47.9 81 17.1 163 34.4 3.20

14 I need to receive negative feedback to progress. 207 43.7 62 13.1 200 42.2 2.99

4.2 Students’ perceptions on the practice of feedback In Table 3, 14 items were included to assess students’ perceptions on the practice of feedback by their teachers, and the analysis was done using frequency, percentage, and mean. Table 3: Students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback No Items Responses Agree Neutral Disagree f % f % f % Mean 1 On the subject that I am learning, I get plenty of feedback on how I am doing. 251 52.9 103 21.7 114 24 3.40

15 Teachers’ comments are vital in my learning. 448 94.5 10 2.1 15 3.2 4.66

14 I can seldom see from the feedback given what I need to do to improve. 409 86.3 18 3.8 44 9.3 4.20 As indicated in Table 3 above, most of the students perceived that the more feedback they receive from their teachers, the better they learn. The feedback given to the students helps them to understand things better (82.7%) and shows how to do tasks better the next time (86.1%). Even if 41.8% of the students sometimes do not understand some of the feedback given to them from their teachers, 86.3% of them perceived that they sometimes do understand the feedback given and what they need to do to improve their learning.

10 The feedback given helps me to understand things better. 392 82.7 35 7.4 40 8.5 4.20

12 Once I have read the feedback, I understand why I got the mark I did. 326 68.8 72 15.2 67 14.2 3.80

13 I don’t understand some of the feedback given. 198 41.8 97 20.5 172 36.3 3.10

5 I would learn more if I received more feedback. 372 78.4 49 10.3 47 9.9 4.10

3 There is hardly any feedback on my assignments when I get them back. 93 19.6 67 14.1 311 65.6 3.56 When I get things wrong, I don’t receive much guidance in what to do about it. 98 20.7 51 10.8 318 67.1 3.63

11 The feedback given shows me how to do better next time. 408 86.1 25 5.3 37 7.8 4.20

As shown in Table 3, 68.8% and 70.9% of the students agreed that the feedback given to them indicates why they got the mark they did and how well they are doing when compared to other students, respectively. Most students agreed that their teachers provide enough and timely feedback for different assessment tasks and provide guidance/support on how to do better the next time. However, 34.4% of the students agreed that their teachers do not provide immediate feedback to them.

9 Teachers’ feedback is rarely written with reference to the assessment criteria. 289 60.9 102 21.5 72 15.2 3.50

6 Teachers’ feedback that comes too late is not useful for learning. 186 39.3 98 20.7 185 39 3.00

8 The feedback mainly tells me how well I am doing in relation to others. 336 70.9 61 12.9 69 14.6 3.80

Results from document review (students’ exercise books) showed that the feedback which is given is general and judgmental such as excellent, very good, good, etc. In addition, teachers provide feedback in the form of marks or numbers. However, such types of feedback are less powerful in improving students’ learning and do not clearly show what students did and did not do or highlight the learning gaps.

7 Teachers provide enough feedback on my work. 307 64.7 62 13.1 93 19.5 3.60

10 I have ignored negative or critical feedback. 302 63.7 86 18.1 75 15.9 3.73

346 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 4.3 Students use of feedback to improve their learning Feedback was useful when we used the comments to identify learning gaps and to propose strategies for future learning. Here, 13 items were used to examine whether students were using the feedback given to improve their learning or not. The analyses were made using frequency, percentage, and mean. The results are indicated in Table 4 and 5 below. Table 4: Students’ use of feedback to improve their learning No. Items Responses Rarely sometimes Often f % f % f % Mean 1 I read the feedback carefully and try to understand what the feedback is saying. 65 13.7 107 22.6 295 62.3 3.70 2 I use the feedback to go back over what I have done in the assignment. 78 16.4 88 18.6 303 64 3.70 3 The feedback given with any subsequent assignments helps me. 68 14.4 80 16.9 316 66.7 4.00 4 The feedback prompts me to go back over material covered earlier in the course. 57 12 64 13.5 344 72.5 3.90 5 I read the comments carefully and identify the gaps in my learning 60 12.7 96 20.3 312 65.8 3.80 6 I use the feedback to compare my progress with other students 84 17.7 127 26.8 254 53.6 3.70 7 I do not use the feedback for revising my work 370 78 43 9.1 46 9.7 4.28 8 I acted on suggestions to improve my coursework. 63 13.3 50 10.5 354 73.9 4.00 9 I have good intentions, but forget comments for improvement next time. 373 78.7 55 11.6 40 8.4 4.26

13 I read comments and plan strategies for future learning. 52 10.9 76 16 333 70.2 4.00

11 I tend to only read the marks compared to other students. 324 68.3 75 15.8 66 13.9 3.89 After reading comments, I re work any assessment task. 91 19.2 127 26.8 252 53.2 3.50

Note: f =frequency; % = percentage In Table 4, the mean values showed that the students use the feedback given by their teachers to improve their learning for the future. However, compared to other items presented to them, the tendency of doing their assessment tasks again after reading comments is low. While 12.7% of the students hardly use the feedback given by their teachers, 65.8% of students regularly read their comments and identify the gaps in their learning for future success. Most students use the feedback given to revise their work (78%), to improve tasks given (73.9%), and to plan strategies for improvement the next time (78.7%). A reasonable number of students (53.6%)

Note: PPFL= Perception on the power/value of feedback on their learning; PPF= Perception on the practice of feedback

The qualitative data result that was obtained from document review showed that feedback given to students is in the form of marks and words such as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, and ‘very good’ for correct answers. These have no value in showing where students might have learning gaps and does not help them with strategies for future learning.

Table 6: Inter correlation between students’ perceptions and usage of feedback Usage PPF PPFL Usage Pearson Correlation Sig. (2 tailed) N 472 PPF Pearson Correlation .425** Sig. (2 tailed) .000 N 472 473 PPFL Pearson Correlation .451** .388** Sig. (2 tailed) .000 .000 N 472 473 474 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed).

347 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. use the feedback given to compare their progress with that of their peers; however, using feedback for comparative purposes has little value for learning, rather, such type of usage undermines the confidence and self esteem of low achieving students. Table 5: One sample t test Participants Variable Expected Mean Observed mean SD t value Sig (N=474)Students PPFL 45 57.06 7.12 174.58 .000* PPF 42 47.89 6.59 158.08 .000* Usage 39 49.94 7.62 142.32 .000*

Note: PPFL= Perception on the power/value of feedback on learning; PPF= Perception on the practice of feedback; PP = Perceived practice

The one sample t test result shows that the observed mean is greater than the expected mean in the case of students’ perceptions on the power of feedback to improve their learning and significant difference was observed (t = 174.58, 158.08, 142.32; p = 0.000). Thus, we can conclude that students have high and positive perceptions on the power of feedback on their learning. Moreover, students perceived positively the practice of feedback in their schools. The one sample t test also shows that a significant number of students use the feedback provided by their teachers to improve their learning.

The result of Pearson correlation in Table 6 strengthens the above finding. It indicates that there is a significant relationship between students’ usage of feedback to improve their learning and their perceptions on the practice of feedback in the classroom (r = 0.425, n= 472, p < 0.01). Moreover, as indicated in

Table 6, students’ perceptions on the power of feedback on their learning has a significant relationship with their perceptions on the practice of feedback (r = 0.388, n = 473, p < 0.01) The multiple regressions model summary and analysis variance Model Sum Squaresof df SquareMean F Sig. Multiple R 0.52 87.84 R Square R 27371.22 471 SEM 6.52 Note: SEM= Standard Error of the Estimate; df = Degree of freedom; F = F test

Note: B =Beta for unstandardized coefficient; SE = Standard Error; t = t test; PPFL= Perception on the power/value of feedback on their learning; PPF= Perception on the practice of feedback

To provide students with the best opportunity to improve their knowledge and necessary skills in a required subject, it is essential that teachers are aware of their feedback styles, nature, and purpose. According to Weaver (2006), the nature and style of feedback provided by teachers can affect the way students

The t test result showed that from the two independent variables (PPFT and PPF), students’ perceptions on the power of feedback on their learning makes a major significant contribution to explain the dependent variable when the variance accounted by all other variables in the model is controlled for (beta = 0.35). Students’ perceptions on the practice of feedback in the classroom also made a statistically significant (p = 0.000 < 0.01) contribution (beta = 0.282) to the regression model.

.000

Regression 7458.92 2 3729.46

0.273 Residual 19912.30 469 42.46 Adjusted

Table 7:

0.269 Total

Multiple regression was employed to assess how much variance in students’ usage of feedback can be explained by their perceptions on the power of feedback on their learning and the practice of feedback in the classroom (by the two independent variables). The result of the multiple regressions or the adjusted R square in Table 7 indicates that 26.9% of the variance in students’ feedback usage is attributed to the variance of the combination of the two independent variables (i.e. students’ perceptions on the power of feedback and practice of feedback). Moreover, F test was employed to determine whether the result was statistically significant or not. The result showed that the relationship between the dependent variable and the combination of the two independent variables (perception on the power of feedback and perception on the practice of feedback) was statistically significant at F (2,469) = 87.84, p = 0.000.

Table 8: Significance of the predictor variable Variable B SE Beta t Sig PPFL .375 .045 .350 8.290 .000 PPF .302 .045 .282 6.676 .000

5. Discussion 5.1 Students’ perception on the value and practice of feedback

5.2 Students’ use of feedback to improve their learning Hattie and Timperley (2007) argued that the main purpose of feedback is to reduce the gap between students’ current understanding and the learning objectives stated in the subject. Therefore, for Hattie and Timperley, feedback must help students answer these questions: where am I going, how am I going, and where to go next? However, as indicated in different literature, all types of feedback do not assist students to improve their learning. For example, even if the results of this study indicates that students are perceived as they are using the feedback given by their teachers to enhance their learning, they did not get the feedback on different assessment tasks on time and the tendency of doing their assessment tasks again after reading the comments given by their teachers is low. According to Amua Sekyi (2016, p. 4), “when feedback on students’ work is delayed, it loses its relevance”. On the other hand, a reasonable number of students (53.6%) in this study use the feedback given to compare their progress with that of their peers; however, using feedback for comparative purposes has little value for learning and this type of usage can undermine the confidence and self esteem of those students that are low achievers (Dinnen & Collopy, 2009). Lee (2006) suggested that for feedback to be effective it must inform the student how to improve; specific suggested actions must be clearly stated so that the student can act on them.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. perceive and use feedback in their learning. Thus, the way teachers value and provide feedback will affect students’ usage and perception of it. The results of the study showed that students positively perceive the value of feedback in improving their learning. This result is in line with Weaver (2006) and recommends that improvement in learning occurs when students perceive feedback as enabling learning, and not just as a judgment on their level of achievement. Moreover, most students in this study positively perceived the practice of feedback in their schools, yet the qualitative data indicated that the provision of feedback to improve students’ learning is not practiced in the way it should be. This mismatch between the qualitative and quantitative result suggests that students might not really understand the nature, form, and content of the feedback needed to improve learning. Most of them consider effective feedback as a provision of marks, grades, and correct answers, but it is more than Researchthese.evidence shows that teachers need to review their beliefs and understanding on the purpose, language, and content of feedback they provide (Weaver, 2006), as it will then have a better connection with that of students and help address their main concerns. According to Orsmond and Merry (2011), student responses to feedback were influenced by their perception of the teacher giving the feedback. For example, the results of this study suggest that students considered the provision of marks, correct answers, and praise as effective feedback to improving learning.

Similarly, Weaver (2006) claimed that students might not use feedback to improve their learning; some feedback may be limited and not point the way forward or motivate students to take further action, or they may have insufficient understanding of the subject matter to interpret comments accurately.

6. Conclusion Most of the students in the selected schools perceived that teachers’ feedback is effective to promote their learning, to reflect on what they have learned, and to identify the learning gaps. To improve students’ learning and confidence, the feedback given should be clear, positive, and constructive. The feedback given to students helps them to understand things better and shows how to improve on their future tasks. The results of this study show that the students use the feedback given by their teachers to improve their learning, however, the tendency of doing their assessment tasks again after reading the comments given by their teachers is low. A reasonable number of students use the feedback given to compare their progress with that of their peers; however, using feedback for comparative purposes has little value for learning, especially as such comparisons undermine the confidence and self esteem of low achieving students. Students have a high and positive perception on the value of feedback on their learning. Moreover, students positively perceive the practice of feedback in their schools. The results also showed that students, to a large degree, use the feedback provided by their teachers to improve their learning.

The significant relationship observed between students’ usage of feedback and students’ perceptions on the practice of feedback in the classroom helps improve their learning. Moreover, the significant relationship between the students’ perceptions on the power of feedback and their perceptions on the practice of feedback also improves their learning. Judgmental feedback using words such as ‘excellent’ , ‘very good’, and ‘good’ , were used in the students’ exercise books which has little value in showing learning gaps and strategies for future learning and this type of feedback is not effective in improving students’ learning. Effective feedback is constructive and shows the gaps in understanding and suggests ways for the students to fill those gaps in the future by themselves. Therefore, for feedback to be meaningful, students should have a positive perception of feedback and take the feedback into account for future learning to enhance their knowledge and understanding.

When a teacher corrects all mistakes or copyedits written work, the student does not get an opportunity to figure anything out and to implement different strategies in their next steps in learning.

Generally, even if students perceive they are using feedback to improve their learning, the way they use the feedback provided is not appropriate for their further learning. This happens because of the nature, content, and purpose of feedback provided to them and teachers’ misconceptions on the nature of effective feedback.

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7. References Acar Erdol, T., & Yildizli, H. (2018). Classroom assessment practices of teachers in Turkey. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 587 602. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.11340a

Practice.’’ Thus, the main objective of

information for

questionnaire is to assess

Appendix 1

Weaver, M. R. (2006). Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors’ written responses. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), 379 394. Questionnaire to be filled by Students Dear students, This questionnaire is designed to gather the research entitled “The Value of Feedback in Primary Schools: Students’ Perception of the this students

352 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: Developing student’s capability in complex appraisal. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 535 550. Tan, F. D. H., Whipp, P. R., Gagné, M. & Quaquebeke, N. V. (2019). Students’ perception of teachers’ two way feedback interactions that impact learning Social Psychology of Education, 22: 169 187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218 018 9473 7 Spiller, D. (2014). Assessment: Feedback to promote students learning. Teaching Development Unit, The University of Waikato Sutton, R., Hornsey, M. J., & Douglas, K. M. (2011). Feedback: The communication of praise, criticism, and advice. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Van Der Kleij, F., & Adie, L. (2020). Towards effective feedback: An investigation of teachers’ and students’ perceptions of oral feedback in classroom practice. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 27(3), 252 270. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2020.1748871

’ perceptions and practice of feedback to improve students’ learning. So, you are kindly requested to provide genuine information, which is very important to the quality of the research. Your cooperation in this regard will be highly solicited. All of your responses will be kept confidential. Thank you in advance for your cooperation Part I: Students’ perceptions on the value of feedback Direction፡ Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements putting a tick mark (√) in the box Level of agreement 5 = Strongly Agree 3 = Unable to decide 4 = Agree 2 = Disagree 1 = Strongly Disagree No. Statement Level of Agreement 5 4 3 2 1 1 Feedback is helpful to show gaps in knowledge and understanding. 2 Feedback rarely provides me with useful suggestions for improvement. 3 I consider that peer feedback is essential for learning. 4 Teacher feedback is effective in promoting students’ learning. 5 Constructive criticism is needed to know how to improve my

10 The feedback given helps me to understand things better.

3 There is hardly any feedback on my assignments when I get them back.

14 I can seldom see from the feedback given what I need to do to improve.

11 The feedback given shows me how to do better next time.

5 I would learn more if I received more feedback.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. work. Feedback given at the end of the subject is not useful. The feedback which is given should be clear to be helpful. Feedback encouraged me to improve my work. Positive comments increase my confidence. I thought about giving up when I got negative feedback.

8 The feedback mainly tells me how well I am doing in relation to others.

1 On the subject that I am learning, I get plenty of feedback on how I am doing.

Part II: Students’ perceptions of the practice of feedback Direction፡ Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements putting a tick mark (√) in the box Level of agreement 5 = Strongly Agree 3 = Unable to decide 4 = Agree 2 = Disagree 1 = Strongly Disagree

12 Once I have read the feedback, I understand why I got the mark I did.

Teachers provide enough feedback on my work.

I felt demoralized or angry after reading negative feedback.

No Statement Level of Agreement 5 4 3 2 1

9 Teachers’ feedback is rarely written with reference to the assessment criteria.

13 I don’t understand some of the feedback given.

2 Teachers give me immediate feedback for each assessment.

12 Feedback has helped me to reflect on what I have learned.

15 Teachers’ comments are vital in my learning.

6 Teachers’ feedback that comes too late is not useful for learning.

14 I need to receive negative feedback to progress.

4 When I get things wrong, I don’t receive much guidance in what to do about it.

13 I need to receive positive feedback to progress.

I acted on suggestions to improve my coursework. I have good intentions, but forget comments for improvement next time. I have ignored negative or critical feedback. I tend to only read the marks compared to other students. After reading comments, I re work any assessment task. I read comments and plan strategies for future learning.

I do not use the feedback for revising my work

354 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Part III. Students use of feedback to improve their learning Direction፡ Judge to what degree you are using feedback and give your response by putting a tick "√" mark in one of the boxes under the alternative scales given. 5 = Always 4 = Often 3 = Sometimes 2 = Rarely 1= Never No. Statement 5 4 3 2 1 1

I read the feedback carefully and try to understand what the feedback is saying.

I read the comments carefully and identify the gaps in my learning

I use the feedback to go back over what I have done in the assignment. The feedback given with any subsequent assignments helps me. The feedback prompts me to go back over material covered earlier in the course.

I use the feedback to compare my progress with other students

Keywords: Information and communication technology; digital empowerment; collaboration; education 1. Introduction The integration of technology in the learning process encourages teachers and students to adapt new media in the teaching learning and communication process

Activities:

Irwansyah* Communication Department, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta https://orcid.org/0000 0002 5047 1746 Sofiatul Hardiah Anthropology Department, Universitas Indonesia, Depok https://orcid.org/0000 0002 8910 9170

Abstract. This research examines digital empowerment in high schools in Indonesia. Based on the reflexivity perspective, digital empowerment is described as the effort to respond to changes in learning systems in digital based schools. This research was conducted qualitatively through observations and in depth interviews. The participants of this study included school principals and the teachers of information and communicationtechnology inthreeIndonesianpublicseniorhighschools in different cities, namely Banda Aceh, Padang, and Banjarmasin The results highlighted the need to understand the context and projections of the teachers' and student's ability and self access to information and communication technology elements, in which appropriate measures can be formulated in response to the digitisation of the teaching learning process in the schools. Self awareness and information and communication technology competence shape digital empowerment efforts in schools based on their respective needs and abilities. As such, the digital based collaboration of teaching and learning can be construed as a form of contextual digital empowerment, which is applied at the micro level adapting to dynamic changes in digital competence, especially in teachers and students.

355 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 355 370, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.20

Digital Collaboration in Teaching and Learning The Reflexivity Study on Educational Digital Empowerment

* Corresponding author: Irwansyah, email: irwansyah09@ui.ac.id

As such, it is essential to develop training for teachers to refine and hone their competence and creativity in using ICT tools. This ability is useful for modifying effective learning material in this digital age (Lowther, Inan, Strahl, & Ross, 2008) The implementation of the 2013 Curriculum (Hermawati, 2020) in Indonesia, projects the government's efforts and intention to accommodate the role of ICT to improve the quality of education (Fitriyadi, 2013) Moreover, the curriculum can be effectively implemented with the view that teachers and students are ICT competent and literate. The integration of ICT in the learning process should consequently model teachers into facilitators, collaborators, mentors, trainers, directors, and study partners while providing students with great choices and responsibilities to experience learning events (UNESCO, 2007). This integration makes students in many respects, the centre of learning, sharpening their communication, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, adaptive and reflective skills (Gray, 2003)

There is no doubt that teachers experience obstacles in integrating ICT in learning due to internal and external factors (Ertmer, 1999, 2003). External barriers relate to time, support, resources, and training provided by the school, while internal

Likewise, self confidence in using ICT devices arises from the teachers' persistence in understanding how to use such devices and ICT competencies of students (Ekayanti & Irwansyah, 2019) Moreover, ICT allows teachers to balance the perceptions and competencies of educated ICT students (Jones, 2004), and also helps teachers improve ICT based teaching productivity (Sánchez & Alemán, 2011). In addition, teachers and students can exchange understanding around ICT and competence to shape creative and effective learning outcomes (Birch & Irvine, 2009; Honan, 2008) The tendency of students to use the internet for personal needs necessitates integrating digital technology in order to enhance activities and behaviour more positively (Austin, 2017). Three measures can be applied to support and produce meaningful changes in the teaching learning process, which include building collaborative structures, effective technology use models, and reflection on the practices and beliefs lived (Ertmer, 1999). Furthermore, autonomy, capability, and creativity are required to develop the quality of ICT based teaching and learning.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (Casal, 2007). Information and communication technology (ICT) are advantageous in various ways. For instance, it provides a lifetime learning space (Aubert, 2013), and brings about a change of role in teaching learning activities, allows access to internet based learning materials and information, eliminates space time limitations, supports education, and opens opportunities for the collaboration of teachers and students (Fitriyadi, 2013)

Government policies and the efforts of school management to incorporate ICT in schools' teaching learning process (Ekayanti & Irwansyah, 2019) are laudable. The process improves the attitudes of teachers' and students' towards learning because self control and focus are practised for the proper use and application of computer technology (Teo, 2008). Teachers' competence in interacting with ICT devices (Weckert & Lucas, 2017) tends to be in line with the level of experience acquired, boosting their confidence in using technology related tools.

2.2. Reflexivity Reflexivity defines the character of all human behaviours with a fundamental identity that continues to be reproduced and modified over time, along with life changes. Giddens used the expression "reflexive monitoring" of action to describe human behaviours that change consistently but continue to reflect essential traits (Giddens, 1990). The concept of reflexivity emerges from individual responses based on quick life changes (Cohen Cole, 2005). The concept of reflexivity underlines an individual's response to a given situation with a particular impact on one’s life. The effect occurs in the context of self development and the availability of choices for the individual's future (Giddens, 1990) Reflexivity is a process of self definition based on social and psychological information in the dynamics of life, resulting in active and creative actions in response to life changes (Elliott, 2014).

Information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly evolving in today’s society by facilitating connections among different communities (Mäkinen, 2006) The process of digital integration occurs within the spheres of consequential and dynamic digital empowerment (Safira & Irwansyah, 2019). The indicators of empowerment include technology awareness, motivation in technological devices, technical access to digital technology, competence in using technology, and constructive participation in creating interactive roles (Kuyoro, Awodele, & Samuel, 2012).

The concept of empowerment originated as a reaction to the power imbalance in society (Hage & Lorensen, 2005). It is a multidimensional social learning process that controls life using knowledge and ability (Payne, 1997; Saleebey, 2006), and occurs in individual and community contexts. Empowerment also relates to how people think and consider themselves, their capacities, abilities, and mastery over what they have (Staples, 1990). The community context shows the psychological cognition of a group of people in response to challenges and the capacity to change their social positioning by participating in collective actions and helping others (Boehm & Staples, 2004) Group empowerment is achieved through collaborative effort (Hur, 2006).

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. obstacles include attitude, self confidence, and the willingness to try. However, these barriers can be overcome by acting on the need for ICT facilities by schools, offering ICT training to teachers, and collaboration between teachers and students (Samuel & Zaitun, 2007)

2. Literature Review

2.1. Digital Empowerment

The obstacles encountered by teachers and students in responding to changes in learning systems are attributed to unpreparedness in terms of ICT knowledge and practice. These blocks or obstacles call for digital empowerment efforts by teachers and students to create effective ICT based teaching and learning activities. In the context of Indonesia, digital empowerment in education has not been extensively undertaken or enacted, especially from the reflexivity perspective. Therefore, this research examines how reflexivity functions in digital empowerment in Indonesian high schools.

3. Research Methodology

The rapid change in people's lives has two value sides. However, there is both an opportunity as well as a danger due to overlapping situations and choices in life Changes cannot be avoided or appropriately addressed due to the unpreparedness of information and knowledge (Ferguson, 1997) As such, reflexivity is an essential component forindividuals to respond to life changes and provides an opportunity for individuals to shape themselves and their lives. Indeed, reflexivity is having the competence to act in the world, reflected through the formation and reshaping of actions and identities (Ferguson, 2003)

The coding process of the primary data was carried out in three stages: open, axial, and selective coding (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Selective coding shows informant behaviour repetition, which was grouped as a theme in answering the research questions (Irwansyah & Triputra, 2016). The data analysis was conducted using a thematic approach to identify, analyse, and determine a specific social phenomenon theme (Braun & Clarke, 2006) The data and results were validated by triangulating qualitative and quantitative data communication between researchers and supplementing secondary data accessed through online literature in order to obtain a holistic explanation (Yeasmin & Rahman, 2012).

A qualitative method is employed in this study using in depth interview techniques for data collection. These techniques are appropriate in studying a group of individuals' behaviour in response to a phenomenon (Alshenqeeti, 2014; Baker, 2006). There are two categories of informants in this study, namely school principals and ICT teachers. Each is represented by one principal, three to six ICT teachers, and between eight to 12 students. The information provided in this study explains teachers, students, and school authorities' behaviour regarding education digitalisation and empowerment. The implementation in this study was based on three stages: (1) Gathering initial information on high schools that implemented ICT based learning. The search for necessary information was not limited to the sites provided by the search engine (Levene, 2010); (2) Visiting three high schools identified as research locations, specifically public senior high schools in Banda Aceh (SMA Lab School), Padang (SMAN3), and Banjarmasin (SMAN9). The schools selected from institutions that had integrated ICT since the enactment of the 2013 Curriculum. ICT lessons at the junior and senior secondary levels were replaced as extracurricular activities in the schools; (3) Conducting in depth interviews with the informants to obtain information on several research questions such as the availability of technology based facilities, technology based learning activities, and digital empowerment efforts in the teaching learning Reflexivityprocess. provides a perspective on digital empowerment having a variety of data patterned on the following themes (Giddens, 1990): (1) ICT Technical access, (2) ICT awareness of teachers and students, (3) ICT motivation of teachers and students, (4) ICT initiative of teachers and students, (5) ICT competence of teachers and students, (6) ICT barrier of teachers and students, and (7) Digital empowerment efforts of teachers and students

Digital technology involvement in the three schools occurred in several forms, including the availability of digital access, extracurricular facilities, and ICT based competitions. The integration of ICT can be seen in teachers' and students' ICT competencies in the teaching learning process. Interestingly, teacher student ICT competencies were at different levels, based on individual ICT access, motivation, and initiative. This gap in ICT competencies was addressed by seeking digital empowerment facilitated by the school authorities and teachers and students directly in their daily interactions.

4.1. Digital Access at School

Digital access in the context of a school demonstrates its technological awareness and motivation related to the teaching learning process, achieved through the availability of ICT facilities, extracurricular and ICT based competitions and the implementation of teaching and learning activities in digital based classes. Table 1 summarises the information on digital access in the three schools of this study. Table 1 shows the similarity in the provision of ICT based facilities, specifically computer laboratories, and limited internet Wi Fi access in specific locations, such as public seniorhigh school (Sekolah Menengah Atas SMA) Computerlaboratories and Wi Fi access were used in teaching and learning activities within set times and rules. The schools implemented technological awareness and motivation through digital based activities.

access the internet, andanimation,editingoperatingsocialappropriatedetermineandsafemedia,videoapplications,screening,webdesign. cinematography.programming,design,material,Extracurricularnamelyand andmakingmaterial,Extracurricularnamelyemailelearning.

Three laboratorcomputerieswith

computer units, direct (digitalstudy(PC)personalaccessinternetoneachcomputer,headset,andmaterialviavideodiscDVD). Two wifi.idcomputeralaboratoriescomputerwithtotalof65units;access. ICT

4. Research Findings

material

Table 1: Information Technology and Facilities Based Activities in Several Public Senior High Schools in Indonesia Facilities SMA Lab School in Banda Aceh SMAN3 in Padang SMAN9 Banjarmasinin School Facilities Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) in each class; Wi Fi; laboratoryComputer 35 ExtracurricularBased (compulsoryextracurricularComputerfor class of 10); on how to

These facilities provide opportunities and a place for students to learn about technology in education and develop interests and talents in ICT. The availability of technology based facilities provides teachers access to explore their ability to design and deliver digital based subject matter. For instance, senior public high school in Banda Aceh and Banjarmasin, teachers, and students are encouraged to use email and Google Forms in the teaching learning process, such as sending school assignments. The school provides digital access through facilities and extracurricular and digital based competitions for students The Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia established the competition as an alternative to ICT learning in the 2013 Curriculum (K 13). In carrying out K 13, students communicate the knowledge acquired in the learning

360 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Facilities SMA Lab School in Banda Aceh SMAN3 in Padang SMAN9 Banjarmasinin ICT Based Contest Types of postergraphicshortcinematography/competitions:films,anddesign/design. Types Olympiadcomputerdesignincludingcompetitions,ofgraphicand Types posterspecifically,competition,ofdesign. ICT Based Subject Use email and Google Forms assignments;for E report card. Unknown Some Mathematics,Sociology,English,includingteachers,subject use Google laboratories.computerexaminationscomputerconductSchoolsactivities.teachinglaboratoriesandGoogle,Translate,ebooks,computerforlearningonlybasedin Other Unknown. Personal activities are based on digital students,technologysuch as becoming seller.Blogger,Vlogger/YouTuber,aandonline A content.producingcopyrightandWebsiteFacebookInstagram,YouTubeschool'smanagesteacherthe,,andaccountsappliesin

convenes

Source: Irwansyah, 2020

In SMA Banda Aceh, young civil servant teachers were shown to have good ICT competency since they selected educators to understand basic ICT knowledge. Elderly teachers, however, were not adept at using technological devices. Age barriers and physical inabilities account for this inexperience in the field of Subjecttechnologyteachers

4.2. Teachers ICT Competence

in SMA Banda Aceh and Padang having ICT competencies use digital based classes, especially in the use of computers Technology is utilised to provide a varied and enjoyable learning experience and atmosphere for students. Additionally, they use email technology or Google Drive to send assignments to students. Similarly, the teachers at SMA Banda Aceh use email and Google Form to minimise distraction in the learning process and provide convenience and variety in an atmosphere of learning for students. The school supports digital motivation by providing e report based facilities in making grading much easier.

About 10% of subject teachers with ICT competencies permit students to access technology devices. The 2013 Curriculum requires students to conduct a critical analysis of a case in a subject. Here, teachers digitising teaching and learning activities help students understand the learning material. For instance, teachers use Google Translate and Google search to translate text conversations or practice listening displayed on an overhead projector or LCD.

Teachers and students have technological competencies having varying degrees of proficiency which is useful in developing technological devices through related experience and individual awareness. Furthermore, it aids motivation and related activities based on digital technology. The findings from the study show that teachers and students used digital technology in their education ecosystem, though not all had acquired the motivation and competence needed to operate technological devices. In SMA Padang, 85% of teacherswere shown to be proficient in operating Microsoft Word.

In SMA Banjarmasin, out of 26 teachers, 16 were proficient in technology tools and applications. However, ten were not proficient given their older age. In this school, ICT competent teachers help incompetent colleagues, given it is not a requirement for teachers to be proficient in using technological devices. However, they strive to distribute the technology capabilities of teachers equally.

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. process to others, both orally and in written form. This is one approach of utilising network access to the internet to deepen their understanding (Ahmad, 2014) Extracurricular materials are provided through Microsoft Office applications, accessing the internet, via social media, operating video editing applications, animation, screening, and web design. For this reason, supportive steps are taken to provide basic ICT knowledge and skills. The school supports students talented in specific ICT fields to participate in competitions, such as cinematography and graphic design. The application of K 13 changes the role of teachers from instructors to facilitators, in guiding ICT based activities.

Students having no or little access to technology devices often have slow learning rhythms when using ICT. There is also the transformation of student learning behaviour due to the rapid development and emergence of advanced technologies, shaping them into digital generations or being digital naïve. This generation is dominated by digital devices, especially to access information. For this reason, it tends to have more significant learning opportunities than previous generations (Prensky, 2001). The development of digital technology among students and teachers can be further facilitated through digital access, such as through ICT knowledge, facilities, and opportunities to practice ICT in daily activities. Students and teachers with limitations in accessing these facilities face significant obstacles in ICT based teaching and learning activities. Therefore, there is a need for increased digital accessibility for students and teachers to address their digital needs.

In the three schools, students with ICT competence initially acquired ICT knowledge while in junior high school. However, their level of proficiency varied depending on the frequency of interaction with smartphone devices and PCs

Notwithstanding, students access Google to find answers to questions and other subject matter during their break times For informal learning, they tend to use e books accessed via PCs situated in school laboratories or smartphones. Moreover, they actively search for information on the internet to build social networks with students from other schools through social media. They also share information with teachers through digital communication applications in seeking directions or instructions in their learning

On the other hand, students with limited access to digital technology have low ICT competencies. Consequently, they face obstacles in understanding ICT material and digital empowerment that is provided and encouraged in schools.

4.3. Students ICT Competence

Students at SMA Banda Aceh and Padang having ICT competencies utilise their skills in achieving personal development and creative needs, such as graphic design, cinematography, and uploading to YouTube, selling online, and for blogging. These students use digital communication applications, such as Line and Instagram, to build communication networks and working relationships with school alumni currently studying at universities.

However, there is a gap in ICT competencies between students in SMA Banjarmasin. About 25% of students do not own or have access to technological devices, given economic constraints. Teachers conduct assessment among students on different technological capabilities beginning from their first day at school. Although some students understand ICT material relatively easily, others need several in depth explanatory sessions. The explanatory sessions are necessary since they cannot practice at home using a laptop or smartphone device

Students with ICT competence typically use technological devices to achieve their daily needs in learning, entertainment, and talent development.

Student competencies in using technological devices are developed and shaped through their interactive learning experience using the technology each day; for example, some students own and use devices, such as smartphones and laptops.

Form: facilitators.withcuniversities,presentersempowermentonpackagedsocialiDigitalsationinseminarsdigitalwithfromandomputertrainingICTteachersas

Result: The teachers already have their laptops and can operate the features on the independentlylaptop to create digital learning media.

Targets: Teachers and Students Material: learning.PowerPoint),Microsoft(MicrosoftapplicationsoperationsComputerandWordandande

Target: Teachers Material: How to use teacherthereanymorenotsimilarworkshopsHowever,Excel,Word,MicrosoftMicrosoftandemailwithmaterialdidcontinuebecausewerenoenthusiasts.

Result: Unknown.

Results: The training of the teachers had increased skills in operating technology sets and applicationtheirto make learning media and presenting material in technology based classes.

Target: Teachers Material: How to make learning media elaborated following the character and teaching techniques of each teacher; make slides in traineesubjectsforPowerPointMicrosoftandemailsomedigitalbasedchosenbytheteacher.

StudentsTeachersTrainingCompetencyDigitalforand

Form: Training or workshops every year with material about trainwithcomputerfacilitatedstrategassignmentteacherOnlinetechnologybasedsandies(ereport)bytwoteacherscomputeringinapilot.

School authorities, teachers, and students at SMA Banda Aceh, Padang, and Banjarmasin schools respond differently to digital accessibility and ICT competence. They put in significant effort towards micro digital empowerment and implementation adapted to each school's context and digital needs. The following table presents a matrix of the types of digital empowerment in the three schools: Table 2: Types of Digital Empowerment in School Types of EmpowermentDigitalinSchool SMA Lab School in Banda Aceh SMAN Padang BanjarmasinSMAN

Form: Face to face training in groups with school computer teachers presenters,as and discussion forum with presenters from outside the school.

Form: teacher.thecompetitionsforminformationDeliveringintheoflessonsorfrominternettothe

Form: Helps teachers with difficulty to rename a document and presentationsmake in PowMicrosofterPoint.

Types of EmpowermentDigitalinSchool

Digital Literacy for Students

Form: BanjarmasinSMA guides the teachers to monitor learning and YouTubetheirbeforeteachers'developmentcomputerofteninStudentsacademictheactivitiesstudentthroughschool'swebsite.workingthecreativefieldsolicitopinionspublishingworkon

Source: Irwansyah, 2020 Table 2 above presents the types of digital empowerment conducted by the school authority, teachers, and students in respective schools. Teachers help organise digital empowerment through competency training for fellow teachers and students and digital literacy and assistance for students. Empowerment is formed

Form: Helps teachers use classroom,devicestechnologyinthesuch as laptops projectors.and

Form: The school has not deepened digital literacy, such as enacting (ItransactioninformationtheandelectronicTE)Lawinschools.

Form: Provision of information on hoaxes to students in the classroom by a school computer teacher, contentcreatestudentsurgednottocreativerelated to the government; information about copyright in making digitalactivitiesscammingInformationcontent;creativeaboutinintheworld.

Form: The school urges parents to pay attention to the digital activities of children at home because the school is not a place to care for and improve

Transfer of KnowledgeDigital ICT and StudentsTeachersbetweenPracticeand

Digital StudentsAssistanceActivityfor

SMA Lab School in Banda Aceh SMAN Padang BanjarmasinSMAN

Form: The world.activitiesthemselvesresponsibilitythemselvesthatstudents'tactivitiestoencouragesteacherstudentscarryoutdigitalpositively;heteacherbuildsthinkingsotheycancontrolandtakeforintheirinthedigital

Form: Appealing about digital ethics to students in the class, such as how to deal with hoaxes. Provide information about password security of a student's digital account.

devicesstudents'suddenschoolindividuals;behaviourchildren'stobebettertheconductsaraidonelectronicinclass.

4.5. Discussion: Reflexivity Study on Digital Collaboration between Students and Teachers in Teaching and Learning Activities

The integration of digital technology in the education system requires teachers and students to facilitate digital based learning following the introduction of the 2013 Education Curriculum. Practically, this enactment is not similar in all schools in the context of Indonesia since it varies based on the social cultural context, needs, and digital accessibility. For this reason, two situations arise from the efforts to integrate ICT in learning in schools both in terms of the inequality and the adaptation of ICT.

The initiative of students to share knowledge and help operate ICT tools enabled the teachers to achieve good performance in applying such devices during

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. and implemented based on digital access, the schools' financial capacity, the absorption of digital knowledge, and teachers' and students' needs. The digital socio cultural context in each school shapes teachers, students, and the perspective of authorities' and behaviour towards digital technology and empowerment.

There is no doubt that teachers and students are involved in a digital learning ecosystem (Sarnok, Wannapiroon, & Nilsook, 2019) and experience gaps in adapting ICT, and carrying out direct and two way digital collaboration actions (Lopes, Oliveira, & Costa, 2015). Moreover, they assist each other in the use of ICT tools and share knowledge on digital literacy. This collaboration arises from their reflection on ICT access and competencies (Kopaiboon, Reungtrakul, & Wongwanich, 2014) According to reflexivity, humans make observations on primary individual behaviour in order to adjust and establish their fast changing life systems; these changes in human behaviour occur consistently. Humans respond to situations in order to gain the development of self abilities that are both useful now and in the future (Giddens, 2006). People with reflexivity ability exhibit dynamic and creative behaviour in order to meet their needs and societal changes (Elliott, 2014).

Students at SMA Banda Aceh, Padang, and Banjarmasin reflected on the gaps faced in ICT competency during the learning process (Kopaiboon et al., 2014) The ICT competency disparity between teachers and students; however, hindered the process of knowledge delivery in learning sessions (Samuel & Zaitun, 2007). They respond to this challenge by sharing ICT knowledge on how to operate related devices and applications. For instance, when teachers had difficulty connecting a laptop to the projector, in order to create slides using Microsoft PowerPoint, or displaying slides on the projector screen, they were assisted by students with ICT knowledge and competencies.

The forms and materials of digital empowerment in each school are adjusted following the teaching and learning techniques. This adjustment can be created via a two way communication process on the competencies, initiatives, and digital barriers in the teaching learning process. The communication process helps to shape teachers' and students' self awareness with varied digital access and competencies, though they are in the same learning ecosystem. Self awareness drives the teachers and students to share knowledge and practices integrated into various subjects' through digital collaboration.

learning. Mentoring helps teachers adapt their abilities to the needs of teaching (Cherian, 2007) Superior competence in a particular field and implementation is normally through direct collaboration between the teacher and the mentor. In the context of digital collaboration, students act as mentors to guide teachers in the transition to ICT based teaching in the classroom.Therefore, self evaluation forms reflective teaching. Self evaluation (Dewey, 1933; McNamara, O'Hara, Boyle, & Sullivan, 2009); and mentoring (Cherian, 2007) are methods used by teachers, and students to engage in responsive teaching and learning. Self evaluation requires teachers and students to assess such practices. However, it needs to be persistent in teaching learning experiences to produce new perspectives and teaching learning practices, such as integrating digital technology in classroom learning (McNamara et al., 2009)

Some ICT teachers in SMA Padang and Banjarmasin having useful ICT competencies, practice reflexivity by conducting digital literacy to students. Digital literacy was initially developed in the 1990s when information became more easily compiled, accessed, and disseminated through information technology networks (Bawden, 2001). An ICT teacher at SMA Banjarmasin, initialised as informant RD, discovered that about 60% of students lacked the understanding of data security and digital privacy. Therefore, the digital literacy material was shared among students on the avoidance of hoaxes, data privacy on the internet, data security on digital student accounts, content copyright, and scamming. According to informant RD, in creating email passwords, the use of birthdays, home addresses, or parents' names should be avoided in order to minimise password hacking. Students accessing online content such as songs, videos, and images on YouTube were also asked to pay attention to copyright and were advised not to trust strangers on the internet without having a transparent and verifiable background. Digital collaboration is a form of digital empowerment that is due to teacher and student reflexivity towards ICT competencies and the need to conduct teaching and learn more responsively (Lopes et al., 2015) Moreover, it helps teachers to understand student behaviour and the different ways of learning to accommodate their responsibilities concerning digital culture and student pedagogy (Ramanan & Mohamad, 2020). It also models students to be individuals having sensitivity to the differences surrounding them, aside from empowering them to become active and creative in fast evolving digital technology (Bruno & Canina, 2019). In many respects, students are directly involved as digital empowerment agents with meaningful learning experiences (Giddens, 2006) Accordingly, schools should be transformed into learning communities that bring together learning activities, direction, and cooperation between teachers and students (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, Donovan, & Pellegrino, 2000). From the findings of this study, it was shown that teachers and students upheld digital collaboration as community centred digital empowerment. As such, the surrounding ecosystem provides space that allows practising digital skills interactively and cooperatively.

Practically, this research may help to motivate the government to initiate and implement digital empowerment policies for the education system in Indonesia. This study has explained about digital empowerment that focuses not only on the provision of sophisticated digital access but also on how the schools authority, teachers, and students receive and integrate digital technology in the learning ecosystem. The implementation of these policies can be based according to the community's socio cultural context in various regions in Indonesia.

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., Cocking, R. R., Donovan, M. S., & Pellegrino, J. W. (2000).

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6. Acknowledgement We are grateful for the support of research funding from PDUPT DIKTI No. NKB 1519/UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2019; NKB 132/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2020; NKB 2731/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2020

This study has both academic and practical contributions Academically, it motivates further studies on digital empowerment in education from elementary to secondary schools. Advanced qualitative research may be used to focus on measuring instruments, unit of analysis, the geographical and socio cultural context of informants, and analytical perspectives.

5. Conclusion This study examined digital collaboration between teachers and students concerning digital empowerment. The results show that self reflection in teachers and students helps to shape ICT awareness and supporting initiatives In other words, the critical sustainability of digital empowerment through digital collaboration in the teaching learning context. However, in the context of Indonesia, future studies should develop an analysis unit to gain a much broader understanding of digital empowerment.

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Keywords: language teacher education; Russia; Uzbekistan 1. Introduction

371 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 371 387, October 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.10.21 “This is why students feel lost when they go into teaching practice”: English Language Teachers’ Views on their Initial Teacher Education Sue Garton Aston University, Birmingham, UK https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7421 0858 Abstract. The last 20 25 years have seen a significant shift in the views about what teachers need to know to be able to teach. This shift has led to new developments in the theory of second language teacher education (SLTE) and a growth in research in this area. One area of research concerns the attitudes and expectations of those learning to become teachers. While most studies in this area focus on teacher education programmes in BANA varietiesSLTEremainthelanguagelinguisticsrespondentswhatteacherstheinThroughresearchancountries,thisarticlelooksatdatafromstudentteachersstudyinginRussiadUzbekistan.Thestudyemployedaquantitativeandqualitativedesign,usingaresearcherdesignedonlinequestionnaire.snowballsampling,datafrom161studentsandrecentgraduatesthetwocountrieswerecollected,analysed,andcomparedtoinvestigatecontentofSLTEprogrammes.Thestudyidentifiedwhatthenovicefeltwerethestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirprogramme,andchangestheywouldliketosee.Resultsshowedthatwhiletheweremainlysatisfiedwiththeirmethodology,andtheoreticalcourses,theyfelttheneedformorepractice,bothteachingandpractice.Thedataalsorevealedthat,inUzbekistaninparticular,ideaofglobalEnglishstrugglestotakeholdasnativespeakermodelsthenorm.TheimplicationsofthestudyunderlinetheneedfortoexplicitlylinktheorytopracticeandtopromotetheideaofofEnglish,ratherthanfocusonnativespeakernorms.

The rapid spread of English as a global language in the last 25 30 years has been accompanied by the reform of school language curricula away from grammar focused teaching towards the development of communicative competence. Numerous studies have focused on the issues that such a shift has raised, and especially the challenges for language teachers (see, for example, Copland, Garton & Burns, 2014). Graves and Garton (2017) note that there is often a gap between the principles of communicative curriculum reform and actual classroom practice, and identify both ideological and practical reasons for the gap. These reasons

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. include socio cultural appropriacy, clashes with teachers’ beliefs and experience, large classes, lack of appropriate materials, and the impact of national examinations. However, perhaps the biggest obstacle to the successful implementation of curriculum reform is the lack of teacher training (Rahman & Pandian, 2018) or provision of training that does not facilitate a real understanding of new methods of teaching (Hardman & A Rahman, 2014).

At the same time, changes have taken place in second language teacher education (SLTE) with a shift in views around three fundamental questions (Johnson, 2016): what do teachers need to know? What do teachers need to be able to do? How best can they learn? In particular, there has been a move away from the idea of teacher education as a set of prescribed behaviours to be followed to teacher learning as social practice (Freeman, 2020; Johnson, 2016) These two interlinked phenomena have led to a rich and diverse field of research in SLTE with studies on, for example, teacher identity, reflection, and observation and feedback, to name just a few (see Walsh & Mann, 2019, for a comprehensive overview of research into English language teacher education). Another area is that of the attitudes and expectations of novice teachersi concerning their training programme, and their perceptions of its effectiveness.

As Johnson (2016) notes, the spread of English and the increased demand for English teachers has led to ever greater numbers seeking teacher education in so called BANA countries (Britain, Australasia, and North America) (Holliday 1994). However, this mobility has given rise to concerns about the extent to which teacher education programmes prepare novice teachers for the contexts in which they teach (see, for example, Barnawi & Le Ha, 2015). As Johnson (2016, p.130) asserts, “understanding the extent to which the language learning settings in which language teacher education takes place adequately prepares language teachers for any and all instructional contexts is an under researched yet highly relevant emerging area of debate.”

Far fewer studies have examined the attitudes and expectations of novice teachers who have studied locally. Moreover, the few existing studies are concentrated on a limited number of countries such as Turkey (see, for example, Akcan, 2015) and Spain (Martínez Agudo, 2017) Yet, in the context of widespread curriculum reform and the ever increasing demand for English teachers in public state school systems, it would seem important to research whether SLTE programmes in a variety of contexts outside BANA countries prepare language teachers Thisadequately.article, therefore, focuses on teachers from two countries of the ex Soviet Union whose SLTE programmes have not so far been widely studied: Russian and

Johnson appears to be mainly concerned with how SLTE in BANA countries prepares teachers to teach when they return to their local contexts, and to date, the majority of studies on the attitudes of novice teachers concerns those studying in BANA countries (see, for example, Copland et al., 2017; Faez & Valeo, 2012).

Uzbekistan. Part of a larger project aimed at strengthening language teacher training programmes in these countriesii , the article presents data from 161 students and graduates to investigate the content of their training programmes. The research questions guiding the study were:

2. Literature review

Formal programmes in higher education institutions are still the main form of language teacher education (SLTE) around the world and maintain an important “professional gate keeping function” (Wright, 2010, p.262), determining who will teach, particularly in state education systems.

1. What do novice teachers perceive as the strengths of their SLTE programme?

2. What do novice teachers perceive as the weaknesses of their SLTE programme?

The second issue identified by Richards (2008) is the external pressures brought about by globalisation and the spread of English as the international language. This spread has led ministries to formulate new national policies for language curricula and language teacher education. As the role of English changes in the world, so too does what the knowledge base needs to address, particularly concerning what is taught and who is teaching (Freeman, 2020).

Richards (2008) identifies two issues that he maintains shape SLTE. The first is the development of the knowledge base of teaching and our understanding of what teachers need to know. Freeman (2020) identifies two problems associated with this knowledge base: one is how theory becomes practice and the second is who defines what is valued as knowledge, what Freeman calls ‘positionality’. For the most part, practices in BANA countries have defined SLTE (Freeman, 2020).

3. How can SLTE programmes better prepare teachers for the language classroom?

Traditionally, SLTE has been grounded in linguistics and applied linguistics with a clear separation between the theoretical knowledge gained in classes in the institution and the application of that knowledge during a practicum (Wright, 2010). This was a one size fits all model, based on the assumption that general theories could be translated into practice whatever the context (Johnson 2016) It was in the 1990s that the view of language teacher education began to change (see Wright, 2010, for a detailed overview). The publication of Freeman and Johnson’s (1998) reconceptualisation of SLTE marked a paradigm shift from a behaviourist, knowledge transmission view of teacher education to a constructivist approach, which considers the nature of teacher learning. SLTE was viewed as “a dialogic process of co constructing knowledge that is situated in and merges out of participation in particular socio cultural practices and contexts.” (Johnson, 2016, p.122) Despite the shift in the nature of SLTE and the academic debates around it, there remain doubts about the impact that these developments have had on actual teacher education programmes and whether teachers are equipped for the realities of the classroom (Farrell, 2015).

Hennissen, Beckers and Moerkerke (2017) cite several studies from different disciplines showing the difficulties that pre service teachers have in making the connections between the theory they have learned on their courses, and the demands of the practicum, including difficulties in linking their own beliefs and ideas about teaching to the practicum. Whilst not specifically about SLTE, Hennissen et al.’s (2017) study implies that teacher education programmes are still not taking a constructivist approach. They conclude: “Pre service teachers apply theory, as offered in curriculum courses at the teacher education institute, only to a limited degree in educational practice. Theory is part of teacher education, but it is not embedded in teaching practice and not anchored in the actions of pre service teachers.[…] pre service teachers receive information they cannot transfer, because they lack relevant experiences. This is a feed forward problem.” (Hennissen et al., 2017, p.314)

Within SLTE many programmes include what are considered to be practical courses, such as methodology, but they are often ‘knowledge about’ methodology, rather than ’knowledge how’ to teach (Richards, 2008). Such theoretical approaches can leave teachers unsure as to how to bridge the gap from the course to the classroom. This was the case, for example, with the Malaysian primary school teachers in Hardman and A Rahman’s (2014) study. The teachers were aware of suitable activities for children, such as songs and games, but they did not know how to use such activities in a language classroom. Even more recently, studies such as Yin (2019) are still finding limitations in how SLTE prepares teachers for the reality of the classroom. Yin researched pre service teachers in Korea as they tried to apply what they had learned in their theoretical courses to their practice during the practicum. Her results showed that, while the trainees felt that they were prepared in the classroom skills that they needed, they were not ready to deal with the realities of the classroom. A similar result was noted in Vietnam by Canh (2014) who found that, during the practicum, student teachers tended to imitate their cooperating teacher rather than trying to apply or adapt what they had learned on their programme. Canh (2014) concluded that student teachers were not prepared for the transition from their programme to the realities of the classroom. These studies were concerned mainly with the practicum and novice teachers’ experiences and practices. A related area of research focuses on novice teachers’ views about their formal preparation and in particular what they see as the strengths and weaknesses of their programmes and how to improve their learning Aexperiences.numberof studies in this area have been carried out in BANA countries. Copland et al.’s (2017) study, for example, found that the most popular courses for TESOL master’s students in the UK were Methodology, Second Language Acquisition, and Teaching Practice. Li and Tin (2013, cited in Copland et al., 2017, p. 9) looked at the general perceptions of students on a Master’s programme in TESOL in New Zealand. Their participants identified several strengths of their programme, including applied linguistics knowledge, opportunities for reflection, and the realisation that learning to teach is an on-going process. The

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. weaknesses they found were a lack of teaching practice and the fact that the programme did not consider the socio cultural context to which the students would be returning Focusing on a different type of programme and context, Faez and Valeo’s (2012) participants were enrolled in a Canadian TESOL certificate programme preparing teachers to teach ESOL in Canada. The trainee teachers in this programme found the practicum to be the most useful aspect and suggested that it should increase in duration. Least useful were the theoretical elements (SLA and theoretical linguistics), mainly because theory was not linked to practice.

A more limited number of studies have been carried out on SLTE in non English speaking countries. One exception is Turkey, where three studies found similar results (Akcan, 2015; Coskun & Daloglu, 2010; Seferoğlu, 2006). Similar to Li and Tin (2013, cited in Copland et al., 2017), the trainee teachers in Coskun and Daloglu’s (2010) study saw the theoretical aspects of their programme as a strength. However, they also lamented the lack of opportunities for practice, both in courses on the programme and during the practicum. The lack of connection between theory and practice was also identified by participants in Seferoğlu’s (2006) study. Whilst the trainee teachers were generally positive towards the methodology courses, they perceived a lack of opportunity to implement theory, and they called for more micro teaching and opportunities to practice. Akcan’s (2015) participants were generally positive about their programme and, like the trainees in Faez and Valeo (2012), they saw the practical teaching experience as a strength, but they also expressed the need for more practice. They stated that there was too much theory and not enough practice on the programme. They put forward several suggestions for improvement, including specific areas of classroom practice such as more on classroom management, and dealing with learning disabilities, behavioural problems, and lack of motivation in learners; better language improvement courses; use of videos of real classrooms; participation in exchange programmes such as Erasmus; participation in on line fora to interact with teachers from other countries. In a different context and with slightly different results, Martínez Agudo (2017) looked at TESOL education in Spain. Generally, the participants in this study were satisfied with the teaching skills, pedagogical knowledge, and practice they obtained, and they felt prepared to teach. The biggest weakness was the lack of emphasis on English proficiency, and participants felt there was a lack of balance among linguistic, pedagogical, and managerial competences. They called for more specialist subjects related to English as well as for opportunities to teach abroad and to interact with native speakers. As with the other studies mentioned above, overall satisfaction with the practical aspects of the programme did not exclude calls for more practice and less theory. Lack of consideration of context was another common theme. Despite the numerous calls for context appropriate approaches and methodology, together with calls to move away from native-speaker norms, SLTE still seems to struggle to adapt to such needs. In a number of the studies cited above, student teachers refer to the context appropriacy of their TESOL programmes. Various studies have noted the lack of fit between BANA based teacher education and

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. local realities when teachers return home (see, for example, Chowdhury, 2003; Barnawi & Le Ha, 2015). This possible mismatch raises the question as to whether teacher education outside BANA countries better reflects the local context.

So far this article has given an overview of developments in the theory and principles of SLTE. It has also presented a summary of key findings in previous research on the attitudes and expectations of student teachers on programmes in both BANA and non BANA contexts. In the next section, the current situation in Russia and Uzbekistan is briefly outlined.

3. Teacher education in the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan Teacher education in the countries of the Ex Soviet Union was generally characterised by teacher centred approaches, at least until the 1990s. Aydarova (2014) notes that until that time, in Russia, how language teacher knowledge was conceptualised was indicative of a view of the ‘teacher as knowledge producer’ in which teachers were also seen as subject specialists and scientists. In the early 2000s, Russia signed the Bologna Declaration, leading to reforms in the higher education system and teacher education. Whilst the Bologna Process is not explicitly concerned with teacher education, its principles are in line with the constructivist views of SLTE outlined in the previous section. The most recent curriculum plan for language teacher education at the Bachelor level in Russia dates back to 2011 and is based on a 4 year programme. In an analysis of the effects on the Bologna Process on teacher education in Russia, Aydarova (2014) outlines some criticisms of the most recent plan. These include an increase in the number of independent study hours, seen as problematic “due to a lack of material provision for independent work and an absence of a culture of individual responsibility” (Aydarova, 2014, p. 71). The number of electives, well over half the subjects, is also seen as an issue leading to a lack of consistency in the knowledge base that teachers have. Uzbekistan did not sign the Bologna declaration, but it does adhere to many of its principles in formulating its educational reforms. As in Russia, initial teacher education consists of a 4 year bachelor’s degree. In 2013, a new bachelor’s curriculum, developed by a partnership between the Ministry of Education, the British Council and the Norwich Institute for Language Education, was introducediii. The purpose of the reform was to improve both the pedagogical practice and the English language proficiency of teachers (see, for example, Gulyamova, Irgasheva & Bolitho, 2014; Isamukhamedova, 2016, for detailed descriptions of the new curriculum and a comparison with the old one).

Independent research into the outcomes of this reform is not yet available However, anecdotal evidence suggests that it may not have been as successful in bridging the theory practice gap as hoped and, similar to reform attempts in other countries, the new ideas and approaches may not be widely finding their way into EFL classrooms. Hasanova and Shadieva (2008) note the highly bureaucratised system in Uzbekistan, together with the lack of resources as challenges faced by both schools and higher education institutions. Although Hasanova and Shadieva

4. Methodology

The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (2008) were writing before the most recent reform, it would seem some of the obstacles remain, and Isamukhamedova (2016) notes there were considerable limitations on what aspects of the degree programme could be changed.

The closed questions are presented as raw numbers and percentages to show general trends. The open questions were coded and categorised to identify the

4. opinions of the training course (strengths, weaknesses, proposed changes).

The survey items drew on the literature on survey design (see, for example, Dörnyei & Taguchi, 2009) and were constructed in close collaboration with local partners to ensure greater local relevance. The survey was distributed in English, but project partners advised on phrasing and appropriate expression to ensure mutual understanding as far as possible. Even so, it cannot be discounted that words such as ‘practicum’ or ‘teaching practice’ may have been interpreted differently by different respondents. Questions focused on four different areas relating to:

These were not separate sections in the questionnaire, but rather questions were given in order of importance of the information for the study on the assumption that response rates would drop off towards the end of the survey. For example, country, place of work, and questions concerning the content of the programme and the respondents’ opinions were the first questions, while questions on gender and experience came at the end. A range of closed and open ended items was used to gain both quantitative and qualitative responses. The introduction to the questionnaire explained the purpose and that all responses were anonymous. No personal details were collected and researcher contact details were given if participants had any questions or wanted further information. The final data set includes 115 responses from Uzbekistan and 46 from Russia.

As mentioned in the introduction, this study is part of a larger project. The part of the study reported in this article uses both quantitative and qualitative data, but is primarily a qualitative study situated within a social constructivist paradigm (Cresswell & Poth, 2016). The study used a researcher designed on line questionnaire to ascertain perceptions of the content of SLTE programmes in Russia and Uzbekistan, together with the attitudes and opinions of those who have experienced them. The survey was provided electronically through Survey Monkey. It combined open and closed questions and was distributed through local project partners using snowball sampling (Taherdoost, 2016). Thus, whilst the survey was initially distributed amongst students and graduates from the participating institutions, they were also asked to distribute amongst their wider networks to obtain a broader view.

1. demographics (gender, country/place of work, language(s) spoken; 2. qualifications and experience (qualifications obtained, years of experience, languages taught, experiences overseas); 3. content of the training course (modules, the practicum);

Of the 17 subject areas, seven were common to more than 50% of the respondents in both countries (see Table 1 percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.). Language teaching pedagogy/methodology was the most common with over 90% in both countries saying it was part of their course. Teaching practice and Psychology were also relatively common to both countries.However, there are notable differences amongst the other areas.

To ascertain the content of current teacher training provision, a list of 17 common subjects was given for respondents to say which were covered in their programmes. The wording of the question (which of the following areas do you/did you cover on your teacher training courses?) was designed to avoid words such as ‘module’ or ‘course’, which may have different meanings in different contexts. Therefore, the answers do not give any indication as to whether the subject was a whole course, just a few classes, or even one class. There were 44 responses from Russia and 96 from Uzbekistan for this question.

This section presents the key findings from both the closed and open questions. It starts with a brief overview of the experience of the respondents and the subjects that are offered in their programmes. The majority of the section then focuses on the responses to the open questions about the successful aspects of the programmes, what was missing, and what the respondents would change. For each question, the data are presented first in tables showing the main themes together with the numbers and percentages of responses. The tables are followed by examples from the data which add explanatory power to the numerical elements. The examples are reproduced exactly as they were written by the respondents. The numbers in the tables do not correspond to the overall numbers of responses as many responses contained more than one theme, while other responses were unique. The majority of questionnaire respondents in both countries were already working, with just 19% saying that they were not currently teaching. Of those who were working, 70% had between one and five years’ experience. This means that most participants had some understanding of how relevant their programme was to actual classrooms.

Table 1 Courses covered in the programmes Country RF Uz N= % N= % Language Pedagogy/Teachingmethods 41 93% 87 91% Teaching practice 35 80% 62 65%

5. Findings

main themes, and themes are included in the discussion where there are at least five responses from one of the countries. The analysis was also carried out by country to investigate where there were notable differences, enabling comparisons to be made. Given the snowball sampling and the different number of responses from each country, the study does not aim at generalisability. Rather, it intends to give a snapshot of SLTE in particular settings at a particular time.

Interestingly, there were two subject areas that no course covered: classroom management or learner strategies. These gaps could be an indication that the very practical aspects of language teaching are lacking (see below). were 78 responses from Uzbekistan 34 responses from Russia to the open question about what was felt to be the most successful aspects of the programme. were varied but covered four main themes (see Table 2): Methodology, both in general and specific aspects of teaching Learning the language or about the language Theoretical educational courses/topics Theoretical linguistics 2. The most successful Ru

Answers

courses/topics Table

Uz N= % N= % Methodology 21 62% 45 58% The language 7 21% 28 38% educationTheory 7 21% 16 21% linguisticsTheory 4 12% 13 17%

There

aspects of programmes Theme/country

379 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Psychology 33 75% 64 67% Linguistics 36 82% 53 55% Literature 31 70% 52 54% Culture 27 61% 50 52% Second language acquisition 22 50% 52 54% Government requirementsstandards/ 33 75% 44 46% Materials 24 55% 41 43% Knowledge about the target language 23 52% 36 38% Special educational needs 22 50% 19 20% Motivation 22 50% 27 28%

While a total of 12 subject areas were common to more than half the Russian respondents, that number was only seven for Uzbekistan. Moreover, the percentages in the latter were relatively lower. This result would seem to imply that there is more consistency across teacher training programmes in Russia.

Given Aydarova’s (2014) observations that Russian teacher education is traditionally highly regimented and based on continuity, coherence, and systematicity, it may be that there is more consistency in the knowledge base of Russian language teachers in the recent reforms of SLTE than Aydarova (ibid) believed. However, the numbers are far from implying a standardised experience. More difficult to interpret is the apparent variety in coverage in programmes in Uzbekistan. It may be that there is a greater number of electives on the programmes or that the curriculum is not being implemented consistently. Further research is needed here, but there would appear to be a certain fragmentation in the knowledge base of novice teachers in both contexts.

Methodology, or methods of teaching, was by far the most common answer in both countries, with 58% of the Uzbek respondents and 62% of the Russian respondents listing this aspect as most successful. Whilst most answers did not give details, simply writing ‘methods’ or ‘methodology’, some were more specific, for example: New approach (student centred, skill oriented) (Uz) Content based learning, language teaching methodology (Uz) Lesson plans, teaching skills, usage of different types of assessment (Ru) New technologies, planning lessons, teaching speaking (Ru)

with mixed abilities (Ru) Learning to use the whiteboard and corresponding software (Ru)

with groups of

While methodology was given as one of the successful it also figured strongly in what was missing programmes. In particular, respondents picked out specific aspects of how to teach that they did not learn. For example: Some modern approaches and methods should be added to teacher training courses such as learner centred teaching. (Uz) Material design sessions assessment (Uz) How to deal students

Theoretical linguistics courses, such as lexicography and stylistics, and what might be called theoretical educational courses, such as psychology and pedagogy were also mentioned. However, the numbers were much smaller (between 12% and 21%). The question concerning what was missing from the programme elicited 30 responses from Russia and 78 from Uzbekistan. There was a wide range of very specific answers, the majority of which could loosely be grouped around four themes, but with different responses from each country (Table 3)

and

aspects,

1. Language practice 2. Aspects of methodology 3. Education content 4. Linguistic content Table 3 Elements missing from the programme Theme/country Ru Uz N= % N= % Language 4 13% 32 41% Methodology 13 43% 14 18% Education 4 13% 5 8% Linguistics 1 3% 7 9%

from

The second most common theme was learning the language or learning about the language, although this was more of a strength for the Uzbek teachers (38%). In particular, they listed learning about different aspects of language such as grammar, lexis, and phonetics, as well as opportunities to practise. Knowledge about the target language (Ru) Study of vocabulary, lexis grammar (Uz) English practice (Uz)

Finally, respondents were asked what they would change in their teacher training programme if they had the opportunity, with 72 responses from Uzbekistan and 35 from Russia. To an extent, the responses mirrored what was identified as missing from the programme. However, there were important differences, and there was also a more limited range of answers, which would seem to indicate a clear set of priorities for these novice teachers. The majority of responses from both countries can be categorised into four main themes (Table 4): 1. Internationalisation 2. Methodology 3. Teaching practice 4. Language practice

One Uzbek respondent felt that the focus of methodology on the course was too narrow: Some training programmes are based only on the principles of the communicative approach in language teaching (Uz)

These answers would seem to indicate that programmes may be giving students a good overview of methods and approaches to language teaching, but they are lacking in the more practical, classroom based aspects of teaching. It would also seem that teacher training programmes outside the BANA countries are adopting western Respondentsapproaches.identified a number of content areas that were lacking. Seven Uzbek respondents wanted more theoretical courses, with the history of language, lexicography, and stylistics all mentioned. Intercultural communication, teaching young learners, and special education needs were the more educational content courses requested. By far the most common missing element in Uzbekistan concerned language practice, which was identified by 32 of the 78 respondents, with 16 using the word ‘communication’ in their reply. Answers concerned communication in general as well as different aspects of language proficiency, especially speaking. For example: communication (speaking) (listening) (Uz) oral speech practice (Uz) Moreover, 13 of the answers specified that the language practice should be with native speakers: Communication with native speakers (Uz) Live talks with Englishmen (sic) was missing from the programme (Uz) Connected to this, both Russian and Uzbek respondents felt that the involvement of native speakers and international experts was missing from their training experiences: Training by other (international) specialists who can share their experience; more lessons with native speakers (Uz) observation of a teaching/learning process in a target language country (Ru)

What might be termed ‘Internationalisation’ covered different aspects. These included international exchange programmes, visits/practice overseas, as well as more communication and exchanges with native speakers or international experts. Some typical comments included: Add more classes with a native speaker professional in the field of TEFL I(Ru)would send teachers to the country whose language they are teaching, to practise (Uz) I would add the opportunity of participation in international programms Practice(Ru) with native speakers (Uz)

Generally, the Russian responses focused more on in country initiatives, while there was a greater call to be able to go overseas from the Uzbek teachers. This may be because Uzbekistan is currently undertaking an extensive programme of overseas training for its language teachers, and so this is a more realistic possibility than perhaps it is for the Russian teachers.

The second area was around methodology and a more practical approach to teacher education. Some teachers made quite general comments about the methodology aspect of their programme and what they would like to change. For example: Not enough attention was given to methodology this is why students feel lost when they go into teaching practice (Uz) I would try to raise training participants’ awareness about different approaches in language teaching (Uz) Add more practice oriented subjects (Ru)

However, some respondents also identified very specific areas of English language teaching as needed, most of which are very practical, and classroom based. For example: Learning how to use more English in English lessons (Ru) Teaching by the help of multimedia would be more interesting and useful Add(Uz) more specific topics such as assessment, target language, time management and content based learning. (Uz)

382 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 4. What is missing from programmes Theme/Country Ru Uz N= % N= % Internationalisation 5 14 21 29 Methodology 4 11 19 26 Teaching practice 13 31 7 10 Language practice 3 9 14 19

Overall, the data raise potentially interesting issues around teaching practice and the practicum. Only three replies from Uzbekistan and five from Russia indicated this aspect as successful on their programme, and even fewer indicated it as something that was missing (just one from Russia and one from Uzbekistan).

Various specific practical areas such as techniques for teaching young learners, using technology, or managing classes were identified. These results are in line with previous studies (see, for example, Coskun & Daloglu, 2010; Faez & Valeo, 2012; Martínez Agudo, 2017; Seferoğlu, 2006) and it would seem that, from a student’s point of view, programmes and courses can never be too practical. However, the theoretical underpinnings of practice are an important part of the knowledge base of teaching, and, while theoretical courses were seen as a strength of the programmes by some respondents (see also Li & Tin, 2013, cited in Copland et al., 2017), it seems likely that they fail to make the links to practice. As one Russian participant put it: Too much theory and not enough exercises or sample tasks which can help teach according to this theory. (Ru)

The final area that respondents would like to change concerns language practice, especially speaking practice. Russian respondents called for more hours of English in general, while the Uzbek teachers also identified the aspects they wanted to improve, especially speaking and listening. spend more time on the language practice (Ru) more speaking and listening (Uz) Make much hours of speaking clubs (Uz)

I would give more time to teaching practice and specialist subjects (Uz)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, methodology figured strongly in all aspects of this study. It was seen as a strength of the programmes, but there were relatively frequent calls for both more on methods of teaching and more practical approaches to it.

One slight caveat here is that it was not always possible to distinguish whether ‘practice’ referred to teaching practice or language practice. However, there were enough specific calls for more of each to conclude that these are both areas where change is desired.

Teaching practice and the practicum, whilst mentioned by respondents particularly as something to change, were nevertheless given less importance than in previous studies (Akhan, 2015; Faez & Valeo, 2012). While there were calls for more school based practice, this was not among the most commonly identified areas, nor was teaching practice seen as a strength or as something that was missing from the programmes. These data are difficult to interpret withoutfurther research, but one explanation could be that participants see school based teaching practice as something separate from their institutional programmes and therefore not within the scope of the questions. If this is the case, then it indicates a significant disconnect between formal classes and the practicum.

More responses indicated it as an aspect that teachers would like to change, but these are still fewer than may have been expected, given the findings of previous research outlined above. Comments included: Pay more attention to the school practice (Ru) More practice at schools less theory (Ru)

5. Discussion and Implications

The results of the study have several practical implications for SLTE, which formed the basis of the response of the project in which this study was embedded.

Like the Spanish respondents in Martínez Agudo’s (2017) study, Uzbek respondents, in particular, were concerned with language proficiency and opportunities to develop their language skills. The current study also found a strong desire for contact with native speakers and experience overseas, which is similar to Faez and Valeo’s (2012) findings and implies that native speaker competence is still seen as the benchmark, even in these days of English as a Lingua Franca. This reflects Cameron and Galloway’s (2019) assertion that, despite the recognition in academic circles that English classrooms need to reflect multilingual norms and how English functions globally, a bias towards native speaker norms is still strong in TESOL.

(1) Methodology and specialist courses should have a sound theoretical basis, but the theory needs to be explicitly linked to practice. The project prepared a series of very practical content coursesiv based on the idea of loop input (Woodward, 2003). Novice teachers, therefore, experienced first hand the type of learner centred teaching, as well as the specific strategies and techniques that they could use in their own teaching.

(2) To address concerns about language proficiency, and increase opportunities to use the target, as well as increase practical input, the principles of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) (Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010) can be used in language preparation courses. The project prepared an English language improvement course based on CLIL principles with the dual aim of improving both English proficiency and practical teaching skills. This means that all the content of the course is related to the SLTE programme, so that, for example, all reading and listening texts were on topics related to language teaching.

(3) Novice teachers need to be exposed to the idea of English as a Lingua Franca and the acceptance of varieties of English outside so called native speaker varieties to relieve the pressure of achieving the often unattainable goal of native like proficiency. In the project, debates around varieties of English and ELF, as well as research into language acquisition, were introduced in the Methodology and Age Appropriate Pedagogy courses. Students were presented with the arguments against both the feasibility and desirability of native speaker norms in ELF contexts and the value of their own experiences as proficient speakers of English was promoted to build confidence.

(5) The content of SLTE programmes needs to reflect the realities of classroom teaching and educational cultures of the local context and not unquestioningly follow models imported from BANA countries. All materials in the project

(4) Opportunities for practical adaptation/implementation of theories, and reflection on them, need to be built into all aspects of teacher training, through, for example, the use of creative assessments. Whilst making changes to the practicum or teaching practice was beyond the remit of the project, opportunities for practical applications were built in to all the new courses. These took the form of, for example, preparing lesson plans or designing materials with a specific theoretical rationale, designing and evaluating uses of software, and so on.

There are, however, a number of limitations to the research reported here. First of all, the data are only from two countries and the number of participants is relatively small. Moreover, snowball sampling was used, so findings cannot be generalised. It would be useful to carry out much larger scale quantitative studies to generalise findings. The research instrument used also has its limitations. Although the open questions allow the teachers’ voices to be heard to an extent, interviews would have enabled a deeper and more detailed understanding of the issues. Interviews would also have allowed for clarification of unclear or ambiguous responses. Finally, this study did not collect data from teacher educators. Such data would be useful to enable comparisons between the perceptions of the novice teachers, and those of their teacher educators. Whilst it may be the case that no programme can ever be too practical from a novice teacher’s perspective, it is also important not to sacrifice theory to practice. Ultimately, sound theoretical underpinnings will give teachers the knowledge base they need to make informed decisions during their careers. Training programmes, therefore, need to focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice, whilst managing trainee teachers’ expectations. Although SLTE has been moving in this direction, at least in principle, for over 20 years, it seems there is still some way to go.

385 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. were prepared by teams of teacher trainers from the three project partner countries (including Ukraine) to ensure that all materials were appropriate to the local context in both content and approach. The final results can be described as a balance between transmission and constructivist approaches which is more appropriate to the contexts for which they were prepared.

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6. Conclusion This article has investigated the content of initial teacher training programmes in Russia and Uzbekistan, and has identified some trends that merit further research

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iiThe original project also included institutions from Ukraine. However, only 14 questionnaire responses were obtained from Ukraine and almost half of the respondents taught in a university context. Therefore, responses have not been considered here iiihttps://www.britishcouncil.uz/en/teach/reform project iv These were Age Appropriate Pedagogy, Course Design and Evaluation, Foreign Language Teaching Methodology, Technology and Language Teaching.

Johnson, K. E. (2016). Language teacher education. In G. Hall(Ed.), The Routledge handbook of English language teaching (pp. 139 152). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315676203

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research is an open access journal which has been established for the dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of education, learning and teaching. IJLTER welcomes research articles from academics, educators, teachers, trainers and other practitioners on all aspects of education to publish high quality peer reviewed papers. Papers for publication in the International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research are selected through precise peer review to ensure quality, originality, appropriateness, significance and readability. Authors are solicited to contribute to this journal by submitting articles that illustrate research results, projects, original surveys and case studies that describe significant advances in the fields of education, training, e learning, etc. Authors are invited to submit papers to this journal through the ONLINE submission system. Submissions must be original and should not have been published previously or be under consideration for publication while being evaluated by IJLTER.

Chief Editor Dr. Antonio Silva Sprock, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Editorial Board Dr. Fatima Zohra Belkhir Benmostefa Dr. Giorgio Poletti Dr. Chi Man Tsui Dr. Fitri Suraya Mohamad Dr. Hernando Lintag Berna Dr. Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh Dr. Abu Bakar Dr. Eglantina Hysa Dr. Mo'en Salman Alnasraween Dr. Hermayawati Hermayawati Dr. Selma Kara Dr. Michael B. Cahapay Dr. Bunmi Isaiah Omodan Dr. Vassiliki Pliogou Dr. Meera Subramanian Dr. Muhammad Kristiawan Dr. Wahyu Widada Dr. Som Pal Baliyan Dr. Reem Khalid Abu Shawish Dr. Froilan Delute Mobo Dr. Mohamed Ali Elkot Dr. Anabelie Villa Valdez Mr. Teody Lester Verdeflor Panela International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

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PUBLISHER Society for Research and Knowledge Management

IJLTER.ORG Vol 19 No 10 October 2020

Articles inside

Initial Teacher Education

Teaching through Experiential Learning Cycle to Enhance Student Engagement in Principles of Accounting

Digital Collaboration in Teaching and Learning Activities: The Reflexivity Study on Educational Digital Empowerment

The Value of Feedback in Primary Schools: Students’ Perceptions of the Practice

Commitment

Teacher Support for Eliciting Students Mathematical Thinking: Problem Posing, Asking Questions, and Song

The Impact of Inclusion Setting on the Academic Performance, Social Interaction and Self-Esteem of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Current Methods for Assessing the Level of Foreign Language Proficiency of University Students

Move to Online Learning during COVID-19 Lockdown: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences in Ghana