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VOLUME 19 NUMBER 8 August 2020 Table of Contents Training Professional Humanities’ Teachers: A Controversial Study about Generic Methods 1 Tamar Ketko The Effects of Mobile Learning on Listening Comprehension Skills and Attitudes of Omani EFL Adult Learners ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Abdullah Al Shamsi, Abdo Mohamed Al Mekhlafi, Saleh Al Busaidi and Maher Mohammad Hilal What about Study Motivation? Students´ and Teachers’ Perspectives on What Affects Study Motivation 40 Lena Boström and Göran Bostedt The Dragon, the Knight and the Princess: Folklore in Early Childhood Disaster Education 60 Maila D.H. Rahiem and Husni Rahim Lecture simulation combined Education Improve Nursing Undergraduates' Knowledge and Attitude for Palliative Care 81 Yan Wang Contextualising Computational Thinking: A Case Study in Remote Rural Sarawak Borneo 98 Nur Hasheena Anuar, Fitri Suraya Mohamad and Jacey Lynn Minoi Can Peer to Peer Interaction (PPI) be a Global Theme to Promote Engagement in Students of Diverse Characteristics and Country Contexts? 117 Nazlee Siddiqui, Khasro Miah, Afreen Ahmad Hasnain and David Greenfield Teacher Education Institutions in the Philippines towards Education 4.0 137 Rivika Alda, Helen Boholano and Filomena Dayagbil Influence of Demotivators on Acceptance of Technology: Challenges of Expatriate School Teachers while Imparting Online Teaching 155 Gokuladas V. K. and Baby Sam S. K. Conceptual Framework of Evaluation Model on 4 C'S Based Learning Supervision ............................................... 173 Eny Winaryati, Mardiana and Muhamad Taufik Hidayat The Effect of Classroom Climate on Academic Motivation Mediated by Academic Self Efficacy in a Higher Education Institute in China 194 Qiumei Wang, Kenny Cheah Soon Lee and Kazi Enamul Hoque Metacognitive Writing Strategies Used by Omani Grade Twelve Students 214 Ibtisam Sultan Al Moqbali, Salma Al Humaidi, Abdo Al Mekhlafi and Maher Abu Hilal Implementation of Online Learning during the Covid 19 Pandemic on Madura Island, Indonesia 233 Priyono Tri Febrianto, Siti Mas'udah and Lutfi Apreliana Megasari
Exploring the Content Knowledge of Accounting Teachers in Rural Contexts: A Call for a Decoloniality Approach 447 Habasisa Vincent Molise
Use of Augmented Reality to Improve Specific and Transversal Competencies in Students 393 Esteban
High School Students’ Difficulties in Making Mathematical Connections when Solving Problems 255 Jailani ., Heri Retnawati, Ezi Apino and Agus Santoso Application of Rasch Model to Develop a Questionnaire for Evaluating the Quality of Teaching for Students’ Creativity Development 278 Thi Le Thuy Bui, Vyacheslav I. Kazarenkov and Van De Tran The Challenges of South African Teachers in Teaching Euclidean Geometry 297 Simon A. Tachie Health Professional Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of Remote Learning During the COVID 19 Pandemic313
Baseline Assessment in the Elementary Mathematics Classroom: Should it be Optional or Mandatory for Teaching and Learning? 330
Fatmah Almoayad, Afrah Almuwais, Samiah F. Alqabbani and Nada Benajiba Mamsi Ethel Khuzwayo and Herbert Bhekumusa Khuzwayo Saienko Shevchenko V. Gordiychuk, Liudmyla M. Kalinina, Irena E. Snikhovska and Olga V. Goray Vázquez Cano, Verónica Marín Díaz, Wellington Remigio Villota Oyarvide and Eloy López Febriantina, Suparno Suparno, Marsofiyati Marsofiyati and Rusi Rusmiati Aliyyah Mageto, Rose Luke and Gert Heyns
Quality Management of Educational Activities in the Training of Specialists in the Field of Health Care: the Case of Ukrainian Medical HEIs 371 Svitlana
Meneses How School Culture and Teacher’s Work Stress Impact on Teacher’s Job Satisfaction 409 Susan
Authentic Videos in Teaching English to Engineering Students at Universities........................................................ 350 Nataliia
Investigating the Quality of University Education: A Focus on Supply Chain Management 424 Joash
and Mariana
Keywords: Generic studies; Interdisciplinary; Pedagogical attitudes; Professional training 1. Introduction The differentiation, isolation, and preventing the blurring of identity, were always the focal point of competition, tensions between tribes, peoples, cultures, and governing mechanisms. This idea is also present in the theological sources and the logic underlying division into categories. It is reasonable to assume that on these foundations, seven fields of human wisdom have been consolidated, and
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Training Professional Humanities’ Teachers: Study about Generic MethodsControversialA Tamar Ketko Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel 0001 7552 8545
https://orcid.org/0000
Abstract. In the 21st century, generic methods and synergetic learning have been widely embraced in the areas of pedagogical and professional studies. It is crucial, especially in school activity environments that involve technology and digital knowledge. Those who are capable of studying in teams and who promote ‘collective intelligence’ are likely to become influential and inspiring students and teachers. By understanding aligned visions from different viewpoints, students and teachers can maximize their efforts and talents. The idea of collective teacher efficacy (CTE) positively affects student outcomes and therefore is an essential tool in teacher training and practices. We live in the ongoing dynamics of integrated diverse thoughts, methods, disciplines, and activities. To create a better ecology for qualitative existence, numerous scholars and teachers, seek to devise necessary changes in education and social initiatives. In a world split by regimes and values, dealing with conflictual dilemmas is inevitable: preserving classical methods on the one hand, and encouraging innovative attitudes on the other. These contradictory approaches raise critical didactical questions about training future teachers and educators without prejudicing their fundamental essence. This article presents a three years research of a group of students, at the Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel Aviv, who were trained to become professional teachers in the humanities, and their pedagogical eco systems It discusses some dilemmas about progressive school methods and focuses on some of the advantages and disadvantagesof the genericalattitudesintheirpracticalwork, regarding the gap between their first year of studying and the first year of teaching.
chronologically to the Modern Age, it appears that the ability to manage knowledge and its fabric of combinations is manifested not only in the degree of aspiration to readjust it to present reality but also in the ability to respond to the unexpected. The idea of focusing only on what is relevant to human existence and the professional field questions the value of accumulated knowledge and the acquisition of basic concepts and introductory infrastructures. Response to a specific policy that each regime enforces, current events, and changing public trends, dictates what study content will remain, and what will be deleted Steps of this kind necessarily demand innovative research methods and skills of follow up and control for measuring the educational yardstick and risk evaluation. This is true because of the 21st century, which will most probably be characterized by political, social, and cultural uncertainty, the impact of the media and social networks on methods of choice, and the level of achievement and success in the field (Goleman, 2006; Brophy, 2006).
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We are now witnessing an ever developing trend of research and workspace that underscore the need for synergetic collaboration, which abandons professional isolation and fortification within spheres of interest solely on vertical axes. This is a horizontal perception that advocates spheres of knowledge relevant to improved results, mainly in subjects that pertain to human life, such as medicine, psychology, law, education, and teaching. Facing this contemporary global age demands more brainstorming processes which include high numbers of participants in the vein of the whole being greater than its parts (Plucker, Kennedy & Dilley, 2019). The variety of processes and technical and scientific possibilities creates opportunities for collaboration with people in faraway places, in tangential spheres, most notably in the academic and educational fields. The central discourse in this article examines different and contradictory aspects of the process of assimilation of generic and synergetic methods in the educational systems and the process of training teachers for the 21st century (Griffin & Care, 2014). The generic ecosystem demands the development of social and personality skills, such as advanced skills in digital technology, language command, and
separated from rituals and theology. These seven perceived components of a well balanced education system are divided into two groups The first comprised Latin, rhetorical language and logic, and the second, Mathematics, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music. In the 12th century, after the first universities were established in Western Europe, academic faculties also added Theology, Law, Medicine, and Philosophy as fields of study. Continuing the tradition of the guilds, which represented diverse skills in the Middle Ages, the importance of a profession grew as did the clarification of professional skills. These had to be studied in an orderly manner under the strict supervision of the “master,” to guarantee the necessary level of execution and knowledge. This led to the development of vocational schools and higher education institutions that taught building, engineering, architecture, all types of technology, and the accompanying practical fields of knowledge, which demanded accreditation and a degree following advanced international standards (Doolitlle, 2015; Bergman, Shifting2018).
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Synergy is a joint activity or study that involves two or more participants who come from different disciplines or professions. By collaborative work, they seek to increase the value of their mission and enrich one another with ideas and personal or guided knowledge. This process makes ‘the whole greater than the sum of its parts (1+1=3) and it creates many thoughts and encourages diverse discourse (Hattie, 2016). Moreover, it is a humanistic mechanism that explains how team participation reinforces the ability to identify, understand, and solve complex issues in almost every subject. Such sharing enables mediation and the completion of each one’s lacunas separately, overcoming the weak points of each. It is essential to underscore that the benefits of synergetic and generic collaborative activity depend on the need, the ecosystems culture, the participants’ abilities, and the risks facing those about to join. The importance of sharing methods has also been expressed in encouraging continuous learning from one another, seeing how others behave, think and operate, and viewing things from a new perspective (Fullan, 2016). How does this affect the education system and teacher training?
2. Personal success vs. group achievement: fostering generic learning
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The synergetic concept has been taken from the language of organizational management in diverse cycles: macro level–global governmental forums, public organizations, and academic institutions, and micro level municipal councils, political movements, community centers, and schools. It is essential tounderstand the uniqueness of the engendered perceptual change by incorporating the fields of knowledge, and entrepreneurship skills, and their execution. Knowing that, we can grasp the difference between the idea of one entrepreneur being innovative and groundbreaking as he or she may be, and the entrepreneurship process is undertaken by a team of several copywriters, each in his or her field. Recognize the contribution of a successful plan, both, by empowering partners and maximizing their skills is important in building mechanisms that guarantee the best kind of assimilation. At the same time there may be risks involved in the encounter of ideas and personal styles in every project, and doubtlessly in education and learning. Before examining the new teaching methods, it is necessary to clarify the foundations of the synergetic perception and what should, or should not, be adopted to empower teachers and learning processes in schools of the future generations.
The generic and synergetic approach became an essential part of many educational systems and teachers' training programs (Goleman, 2006; Rosiek & Kinslow, 2016). It seems that the study content and choice of specialization and
The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. interaction with people who come from different cultures and fields. This also mandates relinquishment of ego struggles, power positions, exclusivity, and the control over copyrights in favor of a multiplicity of intelligence and partnership in implementation and success (Plucker et al., 2019; Gamoran & An, 2016). It is reasonable to assume that a reality that fosters teaching through generic training, learning from afar, a decrease in the number of subjects and examinations, and a shift toward thematic “tasting” in the school space, is and will be rapid. The question is, will the result justify itself.
According to Hattie, a review of every learner, mainly those who were average or below average, made the management of expectations and examination of the complexity of the student’s character and abilities, imperative. He claimed that explicit teaching transformed teachers into role models, rendering them self critical, and self reflective vis à vis each student anew. In this way, in which teachers could become “a teacher of him, or herself” mentors, they examine the world through the eyes of their students, and sufficiently skilled to instill in them these abilities (Nir, Ben David, Bogler, Dan & Zohar,2016; Schofer, 2019).
With the overusing of the traditional models of teaching means, lesson structure, performance, and division into activity teams, the term “pedagogical innovation” became frequently required. The idea of making more sources accessible does not depend only on attractive digital and “less tiresome” appearances in contrast to “old methods.” The beginning of the changing process of the academic community considering the use of digital innovation was based mainly on an empirical pilot study performed in the alternative, democratic, or “natural” schools (Alammary, Sheard & Carbone 2014; Plucker, et al., 2019). At the same time, social movements emerged, calling to bring education back to “human nature,” eradicate the competition for grades and adjust achievement measures to the individual pace of each learner (Goodman, Joshi, Nasim & Tyler, 2015) In other words, assimilation of the technological means in the pedagogical and academic systems was carried out slowly, coupled with professional and research distrust. This was true despite the OECD findings of Paniagua & Istance (2018) that showed how approaches that combine generic knowledge clusters with digital innovation not only boost achievement but also help in cultivating values of collaboration, mutual responsibility, social and emotional empathy, and
professionalization streams have not been pursued obtaining a diploma, status, or a threshold for promotion. Teaching has become a changing interactive space, dependent on social, political, cultural, occupational, and interest driven context. Everything that takes place inside and between classrooms is a microcosm of what goes on outside, with the relevant, pragmatic direction which has practical implications on the community of learners (Carlson, 2017). The diversity of intelligence, thinking teams, and synergetic work, leading multidisciplinary initiatives and projects, has permeated the education system and teachers’ training. However, it is important to conduct an in depth observation of the dynamics of these frameworks, and the place of the individual within them. In the final analysis, we are speaking of the life, coping, and success of each student individually (Rothstein, 2017) The ultimate methods for qualitative learning, which will preserve a high standard of intellectual and professional curiosity, and address the needs of an ever advancing reality, shifts like a pendulum between the axis of time and findings that change from time to time. Until twenty years ago, the resultsof direct instruction, characterized by clear cut definitions of the lesson objective, the development of an individual relationship with learners, and skills for examining the level of their theoretical and practical understanding, were lauded. Findings show that personal and direct contact had the most significant effect on the level of achievement and the student’s success in later stages of life (Hattie, 2015).
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The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. readiness for the 21st century. Alex Paniagua and David Istance, OECD researchers, believe that this is closely linked to the degree of technological and communicational exposure. Their findings show that all these changes encouraged learning based on inquisitiveness, an in depth study based on experiential partnership, demonstrating an improvement in the level of achievement (Paniagua & Istance, 2018: 77 84).
In this context, education researchers Calarco (2019) and Schofer (2019), who deal with the development of schools affected by change over time, claim that thought should be devoted to the tension created between what is desirable and real. On the one hand, boundless openness concerning instilling skills for knowledge management is encouraged, still, on the other hand, the school is turning into a functional organization recruited to provide a precise response to a vital policy in its existential environment. The neo institutional theory that they explored tested the innovative approaches on a dual reality test of the achievements of the individual within the ordinary achievements of the team or group. The innovative pedagogical approaches offer differential teaching and enhancement of the motivation of students according to their abilities, together with online teaching from afar outside the classroom framework. In this way, learners’ achievements depend on them only, on their knowledge, literateand analytical skills, andability to concentrate. At the same time, circles of learning companions are encouraged, corresponding to the group project method that demands shared and synergetic responsibility for each study and research assignment. According to these methods, the greater the number of knowledge spheres and research sources and creativity, the greater the high level and trailblazing achievements (Sahlberg, 2015, 2018). In such instances, commendation is accorded to all group members, or the project, with no specific and special attention to one of them, only. The objective of changes to the perception of education management systems and its practical assimilation is to train students to become citizens and human beings They will be attuned to a future reality, not only on the product level. All forms of thinking may change,as well as the value hierarchy and measures of evaluation of success, decision making, and the choice of career and specialization (Fullan, 2016; Calarco, 2019; Schofer, 2019). Remaining for a lengthy period in a specific place to secure a higher position is no longer relevant in a dynamic reality that shifts people from one place to another in a short timeframe to meet the rapid pace of innovation. To this end, it is imperative to invest in a different language of thinking and implementation skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, problem solving strategies, partnership management, and practical synergy. Exploring innovative teaching methods shows that generic skills are used and needed in progressive schools and are necessary for free lessons and synergetic projects. This also relates to the PBL (Project Based Learning) method that reasonably represents the perceptual change in managing and instilling knowledge acquisition. Since coping with content and the completion of assignments is usually carried out in teams, it is essential to train moderators and teachers who will preside over learning and the implementation of this collective work, people who will be able to orchestrate a
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philharmonic work to guarantee the best well suited product (Brophy, 2006; Doolittle, However,2015)ina combined project, be it learning, research, or practical, it is imperative to be attentive to the inner and interpersonal dynamics within each team and group. This mandates an agreed upon contract with well defined definitions and clear cut conditions that relate to the strength of each participant, the scope of his or her contribution, and ability to meet schedules despite the individual pace, which is never identical. Also, it is crucial to relate to the capacity to accept criticism and feedback in a democratic and empathic way at every stage, mainly when it is mandatory to favor the success of the group or the assignment over individual promotion. It is important to remember that not everyone is fit to work in a team or a group (Goodman et al., 2015). This characteristic and the willingness to relinquish ego and special status is not entirely natural or self evident. It is often essential to assess thenature of the assignment, andsee whether it promotes synergetic and energetic group work Still, it obstructs a leap forward by one of the team members who possesses a unique trait (Rosiek & Kinslow, In2016).such an event, they need distant space for action and a route of activity that is separate from other group members so that they will not “interfere” their performances and revelations in specific fields. This is true of teams of teachers, members of the academic staff, or any other organization. We are witness to the natural behavioral components of jealousy, competitiveness, the ability to take genuine pride in the success of the other, and the ability to cope with human differences. Learning methods and research, brainstorming, and generic and synergetic endeavor may expose such human weaknesses and the gaps that may arise may, even on the covert level, obscure the final results and the profit of the collaborative process (Gamoran and An, 2016; Bergman, 2018; Virtanen & Tynjälä, In2019).thecollective circles of the 21st century, students are the ones who play a central role and not teachers, moderators, or principals. In these spaces, they are more the facilitators of studying and research mentors who encourage critical thinking and discover new concepts of creativity (Bauder & Rod, 2016), trying not to remove the needs of students and team members, abilities, or personal style. Accepting that this term is essential for any synergized process is it possible not to demand it, sometimes, in favor of the group’s interests and success? This issue boosted renewed deliberation on thinking strategies and the implementation of training professional teachers, particularly in middle schools and high schools. Through several case studies that were examined in the Humanities Department at a Tel Aviv Teacher Training College, several unexpected findings concerning the idea of synergy in teaching and generic learning will be presented. It will be compared with disciplinary training in separate streams according to “old” methods.
Given the accelerated changes in the “real” worldoutside school, therewasa need to tighten and make more precise the rational, pragmatic, and practical connection between content, values, and the shaping of the character of both students and teachers, between their role as citizens, each in his or her area. The aim was to leave the comfort zones of conceptual and ideological fixedness and cultivate inquisitiveness toward learning and innovation, and digital skills instead of rigidly preserving antiquated habits (Tamir, 2015; Doolittle, 2015; Ravitch, 2016). Thus, while breaking down the barriers in the workplace which were between
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3. Going back to disciplinary learning: Methodology and study characteristics In research, it is customary to speak of three different models of teacher training The first is behavioristic and attributes importance to the “teacher’s technical toolbox.” Regarding this approach, teaching is a profession measured by its qualities and achievements, and it examines how a teacher meets the demands of the subject and acts according to policy (Ashton, 1996; Ainscow, 2005). Here the thematic and pedagogical content precedes any practical activity and therefore comes before all experiential work. Training for the enrichment and the development of creativity will be carried out only after proving theoretical conversancy (Christianakis, 2010; Griffin & Care, 2014). The second model is rationalistic, which relates to teachers not only as of the “executors” of policy and an instrumental tool of the government, but as thinking, deliberating, and autonomous human beings. This is despite the fact that although the spheres of knowledge in which they are involved are defined by academic discipline and prescribed didactic methods. Nonetheless, a rational teacher is an intellectual who deals with the continuous transformation of the pedagogical experience in a humanistic liberal spirit, according to valuable cultural assets. The intention is to sharpen the thinking of teachers, and turn them into reflective and constructive human beings so that they can translate theoretical courses into the practice of the cultural ecology in which they live. The third model represents the teacher’s critical and reflective skills, which place the learner on center stage. The idea is that the responsibility of learning is passed on to the students, and knowledge acquisition, practice, and meeting evaluation examinations. It thus cultivates the independence to reach goals in ways that are suitable to their wishes. The core of this method is the nurturing of dialogic pedagogy and emotional involvement with the student during the learning process (Alammary, et al, 2014; Carlson, 2017)
Compared to previous methods, this method comes closer to liberal perceptions and open, democratic, and enabling education. The approach creates an equal process shared by teachers and students in the spirit of Freire (1997), according to which teachers do not oblige students to accept their standpoints, nor do they use their authority to impart their worldview. This type of teaching model envelops the personality andcharacteristics of students which are honesty and authenticity, motivation and responsibility, and the development of both introspective and reflective awareness (Freire, 1997; Grollios, 2016). As mentioned earlier, these are the three traditional models that serve as the foundation for developing learning methods that fall in line with the changes in human ecology in the Western world.
This research is based on a primarily qualitative study, and on a constructive paradigm that makes it possible to examine different aspects in the Humanities teachers' training department. Being the head of a department, eased to gather data and follow a group of selected students following with the “field based theory,” a method that made it possible to gather information from individual interviews of students during the process of their admission, training, and school experience in both forms. Generic lessons on one hand and disciplinary lessons, on the other. Let us consider a test case carried out at the Kibbutzim College of Education, the largest academic institution for teacher training in Israel. The dilemma concerns the lecturers and pedagogical counselors because of all that has been stated so far, about the graduate interns. Firstly, there is a desire to preserve a level of knowledge in the subject of specialization from all possible angles. Still, then, there is a commitment to provide training that is suitable to the 21st century: combined and online teaching, PBL skills, digital skills and “learning experiences,” and Internet and cellular capabilities that replace conservative frontal teaching. To investigate this conflict, individual interviews were conducted in a chosen group of 48 first year students 4. Methods and results As part of their studies, they had five practical hours a week in one of the high schools in one of their subjects of specialization. They were supposed to study for four years, and in their fourth year, begin a year of internship as specialized teachers in high schools in two selected subjects in the humanities. It merits note that this year students were trained according to the combined generic method, i.e., one lecturer, an expert in one of the humanities. It was taught in pedagogical seminars, with no specialized subject differentiation, with no differentiation between the language of writers or men and women of religion, and that of the historians. They expected to build the disciplinary lesson plans in history, literature, or the Bible studies, under the curricula and demands of the schools in which they worked. This approach stemmed from an interdisciplinary worldview according to which it is essential that all students in teacher training experience independent professional development and undertake responsibility for the degree of success or failure of the class. They have to encourage individual reflective skills to create “their own character” as teachers. This method makes it imperative for future teachers to find supportive theoretical bodies of knowledge on their own before they teach each chapter or topic in the classroom. It is crucial when they unrelated the didactic and technological skills which they amassed in generic training such as verbal analysis, content understanding, the encouragement of dialogue and discussion, and discussion of test cases and their relevance to reality.
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The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. classrooms, activity areas, and offices, concepts such as dialogue, openness, collaboration, transparency, genericism, empathy, and interdisciplinary synergy, began permeating pedagogical language. There was no doubt that the revolution in the education system was apparent in the entire learning process (Carlson, 2017; Hannon & Peterson, 2017).
At the end of their first year of practical work, arguments were raised about the scope of professional readiness and their sense of security as teachers who will, in the future, prepare students for the matriculation exams, or final papers in their field of specialization. The main argument raised in numerous variations was about their lack of scientific and disciplinary maturity beyond that which was required according to the curriculum. For example, anyone planning to teach literature in high school had to acquire broad intellectual, cultural, and artistic education. They had to be conversant in numerous styles of writing, be exposed to an enormous variety of writers, poets, and playwrights from different cultures and periods, and receive pedagogical and scientific guidance in inter textual and provocative reading. The majority felt that their teaching was detached from an in depth foundation of knowledge, and this could not be achieved independently in a way that would do justice to the profession. Their answers show that most of them proved conversance in teaching and the structural and digital changes in schools, in the PBL method, and in learning outside the classroom. Also, it was clear to them that the skills of teaching and learning had to fall in line with the synergetic and dynamic reality in which we live, and therefore the role of the school in the life of the children was critical. This state of affairs was manifested in the findings shown in Table 1: out of 48 subjects, 38 (approximately 80%) believe that generic learning diminishes comprehensive theoretical and research expertise. Out of these 48 students, 43 (90%) believe that combined generic training impairs the field of knowledge which they chose to professionalize as specialized teachers. The majority argues that a significant difference exists between training a specialized teacher and training a general (homeroom) teacher. Teachers of the humanities, who are more ‘verbal,’ should be given separate pedagogical guidance for each subject of their specialization. 1: Students’ attitudes to generic training in the humanities, 2017 aretechnologyandfitgenericlearningbecausetheylessverbal
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Table
teachinghumanitiesThedemandseparateduetomultiverbalcontentsSciences
andknowledgeprofoundlearningGenericreducesresearchimpairstrainingGenericthespecializedteacherdifferentteachersSpecializedarefromgenerictutorsofteams'projects 4443383142Yes 4510176No
Over the two years of their training, the students continued to acquire experience in different high schools, according to their academic planning and the demands of their degree. When this period was concluded, the same 48 students were interviewed again to discover the extent that this change contributed to their success in the classrooms in comparison with the way, they felt in the generic training framework. Findings left no room for doubt as shown in Table 2: over 90% reported a strong sense of security in teaching their specialized subject, and their success in creating curiosity among their students. Over 80% claimed that disciplinary guidance helped them decide which specialization they wanted to choose in the future, and perhaps even continue toward attaining a master’s degree. A similar percentage was found among those who claimed that the generic system was professionally detrimental to their training, and to the subject itself as a field of knowledge.
Figure 1: Students’ attitudes to generic training in the humanities, 2017
Given the findings as mentioned above, a decision was taken to change the process of the combined specialized pedagogical training of that group of students. To this end, the generic method was eliminated in the department for teaching the humanities in high schools. The academic staff undertook the task of building separate didactic seminars for each subject of specialization, based on a disciplinary division. For the three subjects, literature, history, and Bible studies, six professional pedagogical instructors were chosen for second and third year students; throughout the year they trained students in one field only. In this framework, students were provided with theoretical and scientific bodies of knowledge. They were exposed to research in their specific area and diverse methods of teaching. The objective was to turn them into expert specialized teachers who chose to specialize in this subject.
42 31 38 4443 6 17 10 45 The demandhumanitiesseparateteachingduetomulti-verbalcontentsSciences becausegenerictechnologyandfitlearningtheyarelessverbalGeneric knowledgeprofoundreduceslearningandresearchGenericimpairstrainingthespecializedteachergenericdifferentSpecializedteachesarefromtutorsofteams'projects Yes
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3810373944Yes 1038223No 00971sureNot
Table 2: Students’ attitudes to generic training in the humanities, 2020 skillsmanagerialimprovestrainingprofessionalSeparateimprovesteachingtrainingDisciplinaryinthe students’ achievements There is learningdisciplinarybasislearninggenericadvantageaninasaforThere is learningdisciplinarybasislearningindisadvantageagenericasafor
improvesDisciplinarytraininginteachingthe
There is a disadvantage in generic learning as a basis disciplinaryforlearning No Not sure
Yes
These discoveries necessitate new thinking about pedagogical methods that train teachers for future schools in the next generation. They also have implications on preparing students to become citizens in the 21st century, with cognitive, mental, and physical readiness to realize themselves and succeed in everything that life has in store for them. Realizing this, it appears that it is essential to equip teachers and students with as many methods and learning challenges as possible, without discrediting one way in favor of another. The most obvious conclusion, voiced by the majority of participants, relates to the importance of in depth theoretical and practical bodies of knowledge in their training as teachers who specialize in the humanities. Reflective descriptions of what went on in theirclassrooms reveal that students as well require more profound theoretical studies. This is counterto what is usually believed concerning this generation its lack of patience for in depth learning, reading, and writing.
3739 10 38 223 38 10
The conclusions mentioned above, do not underestimate the value of generic, synergetic learning and activity through projects and group assignments together with means that are not solely theoretical. It is reasonable to assume that this is 44 1 97 00 Separate professional improvestrainingthequalityofteaching Separate professional managerialimprovestrainingskillsstudents’ achievements There is an advantage in generic learning as a basis disciplinaryforlearning
oftheimprovestrainingprofessionalSeparatequalityteaching
Figure 2: Students’ attitudes to generic training in the humanities, 2020
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only the beginning of a study that will expand to other areas of specialization and other academic institutions. From all that has been stated in this article, it is crucial to examine the balance, dosage, and assimilation of these methods in coordination with the criteria of culture, location, social profile, time constraints, and mandatory policies. However, the case study presented above, and the arguments that have been raised from different and contradictory viewpoints, show that these subjects demand caution and close professional reviewing, mainly in teaching. It is imperative to focus on the overt and covert tension created between the will of the individuals to promote their abilities, separate from their commitment to invest efforts in promoting their group. Those who support PBL and generic learning guarantee all students that they will express themselves and contribute and will not be “devoured” by the group experience (Alammary et al., 2014; Rosiek & Kinslow, 2016). Those who harbor doubts concerning this method take care that the effort invested in learning means and methods, is greater than the effort of having all students broaden and deepen their knowledge and understanding, and encourage them to achieve self fulfillment.
Another issue, that we should be aware of, is the collaborative and innovative learning methods addressed to those who tend to be less prominent due to personal and social inhibitions, or difficulties in expression. At the same time, one should not ignore the fact that risk always exists that exceptional and gifted students, who possess natural leadership skills, will do everything in their power to curtail their natural characteristics. In their wisdom, they realize that this type of learning and research method sanctifies partnership and the mutual contribution of each one equally, and this, in turn, forces them to lower their profile. From this derives the supreme importance of training future teachers and enhancing their professional skills, so that they will possess the sensitivity and education needed to detect these difficulties and know how to resolve them vis à vis every student, both separately and as part of the group. These are the future teachers who are supposed to become specialists through innovative approaches, intending to be able to implement them in the schools where they will conduct their practical work and later permanent work. Alongside the understanding that to be a specialized teacher it is imperative to deeply study the area of specialization, and continue to do so in the years to come, these teachers are aware of the fact, that in the schools in which they will work the staff thinks differently. The study set ups include more multidisciplinary projects, learning ‘outside the classroom’ and online learning, and a free choice of classes and evaluation Itmethods.isobvious that the required hours for a degree in education diploma should contain more practical work in digital pedagogy, with all the media means and their incorporation into generic learning. However, this type of teaching eliminates the uniqueness of the discipline and directs them to become “service providers” and project managers in the classroom. It is reasonable to assume that a student who wishes to specialize only in history and becomes a history teacher, will find it harder to survive in his/her work at a school that changes its physical and systemic structure (Gamoran & An, 2016). On the other hand, a teacher who was granted accreditation to teach two or three subjects such as history and
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Theunderstanding.findingswhich are presented here, prove that the gap between theory and practice, which derives from the complexity created by generic perceptions, increases. These issues became critical for all graduators at the Israeli Colleges of Education and are been discussed in teams of experts in the educational systems Although it is still early to arrive at a definite conclusion about the data of continuous change in generic teaching, it performs in any pedagogical discourse with more extensively in recent years. This is mainly due to the socio cultural state of affairs and because of geopolitical events that define the reality of the background of all educational and disciplinary processes, and mostly, the face of the next generation. The discussion around these issues needs more researches for accomplishment to make better decisions in teachers' training, especially in the Humanities studies.
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5. Conclusions In modern classrooms, students participate in more active learning and are highly motivated by working in project teams and subject groups. By developing partnerships in understanding and analyzing failure, they are more likely to retain knowledge. This pedagogical approach accords them the freedom to learn in their way, and to solve common problems by carrying on open minded debates and brainstorming. Another important outcome of this article is that collaborative learning redefines traditional student teacher relationships, in and outside the classroom (Paniagua & Istance, 2018; Sahlberg, 2018). It is imperative to examine how demanding disciplinary learning (like in the past), more hours of reading and practicing and fewer hours of recreation and screen games, devoid of group background noise, and enhance the drive to explore and excel. This is essential to enable maximal concentration in reviewing and enriching memory reservoirs and the ability for greater and more complex analytical, cognitive, and mental
The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. literature through generic training will find it easier to adjust in this type of innovative school. The interviews' answers over three years of training and practical work, exposed more and more interesting facts regarding professional and mental difficulties. Their training process included all the advanced educational models, to introduce them to practical perception and reinforce their steps along an axis built between the academic world and its demands for a degree, and the school that adheres to the constraints of a policy determined each time anew. Thus, the question arises again: why should they engage in overqualified studies of their subject of specialization, as if they were medical students? Why do they need academic degrees, cultivation of research skills, and writing articles about professional and practical training, when in fact their status, and presence as “specialized teachers” is diminishing in the classroom and public? (Nir et al., 2016; Hannon & Peterson, 2017).
14 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 6. References Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: What are the levers for change? Journal of Educational Change, 6(2), 109 124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833 005 1298 4
Doolittle, A. (2015). The best of Many Worlds: Methodological Pluralism in Political Ecology. In L. B. Raymond (Ed.) The International Handbook of Political Ecology, (pp. 515 529). Northampton: Edward Elgar https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857936172.00047Publications. Freire, P. (1997) Teachers as Cultural Workers Letters to Those Who Dare Teach. New York: Routledge, Westview Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429496974
Fullan, M (2016) The New Meaning of Educational Change. New York: Routledge and Teachers College Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/1 4020 4451 8_12
Gamoran, A , & An, B P. (2016). Effects of school segregation and school resources in a changing policy context Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(1), 43 64. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373715585604
Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York: Bantam Dell. Goodman, A., Joshi, H., Nasim, B., & Tyler, C. (2015). Social and emotional skills in childhood and their long term effects on adult life. Washington: Institute of Education Griffin, P , & Care E. (Eds.) (2014) Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills: Methods and approach. New York: Springer. Grollios, G (2016) Paulo Freire. New York: Routledge. Hannon, V , & Peterson, A (2017) Thrive: Schools Reinvented for the real challenges we face London: Innovation Unit Press Hattie, J. (2015) What Doesn’t Work in Education: The Politics of Distraction. London: Pearson.
Carlson, D. (2017). Teachers in Crisis: Urban School Problem and Teachers' Work Culture. New York: Routledge. Christianakis, M. (2010). Collaborative Research and Teacher Education. Issues in Teacher Education, 19(2), 109 125 Calarco,J. (2019).SocialClassandStudent Teacher Interactions inT. Domina,B.G.Gibbs, L. Nunn & A. Penner (Eds.). Education and Society An Introduction to Key Issues in the Sociology of Education, (pp. 96 110) California: University of California Press https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpb3wn0.11
Alammary, A , Sheard, J., & Carbone, A (2014) Blended Learning in Higher Education: Three Different Design Approaches Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30(4), 450440 https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.693
Ashton, P. T. (1996) Improving the Preparation of Teachers Educational Researcher, 25(9), 21 35
Brophy, J. (2006). Observational Research on Generic Aspects of Classroom Teaching in P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 755 780). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203874790.ch33
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Bauder, J , & Rod, C. (2016) Crossing the thresholds: Critical information literacy pedagogy and the ACRL framework. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 23(3), 252 264. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2015.1025323
Bergman, M (2018) A Knowledge Representation Practionary Guidelines Based on Charles Sanders Peirce. New York: Springer International Publisher. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 3 319 98092 8
15 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Hattie, J. (2016). The applicability of Visible Learning to higher education. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1(1),79 91 https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000021 Nir, A , Ben David, A , Bogler, R , Inbar, D , & Zohar, A. (2016) School autonomy and 21st century skills in the Israeli educational system: Discrepancies between the declarative and operational levels. International journal of educational management, 30(7), 1231 1246. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM 11 2015 0149 Paniagua, A., & Istance. D. (2018). Teachers and designers of learning environments: The importance of innovative pedagogies Paris: Center for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264085374 en Plucker, J., Clint K , & Dilley , A, (2019) What we know about collaboration" In E. Eisenberg & O. Selivansky Eden (Eds.). Adapting Israel's Education System for The Challenges of the 21st Century, (pp. 31 42). Jerusalem: The Israel Democracy Institute. Ravitch, D. (2016). The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. New York: Basic Books. Rosiek, J., & Kinslow, K. (2016). Resegregation as Curriculum: The meaning of the new segregation in U.S. public schools. New York: Routledge. Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. New York: W. W. Norton. Sahlberg, P (2015) Finnish lessons. What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? New York: Teachers College Press. https://doi.org/10.17323/1814 9545 2014 4 260 268 Sahlberg, P (2018) Finnish ED Leadership: Four Big, Inexpensive Ideas to Transform Education. Carolina: Corwin. Schofer, E (2019). The Growth of Schooling in Global Perspective Education and Society An Introduction to Key Issues in the Sociology of Education, 8 22. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpb3wn0.5 Tamir, Y. (2015). Who's Afraid of Equality? Education and Society in Israel. Tel Aviv: Yedioth Ahronoth and Chemed Books. [Hebrew] Virtanen, A , & Tynjälä P (2019) Factors Explaining the Learning of Generic Skills: A Study of University Students’ Experiences" Teaching in Higher Education, 24 (7), 880 894. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1515195
Abstract. This study aimed to explore the effect of using mobile learning on improving adult learners’ listening skills in Oman, to investigate their attitudes, and to explore the factors that stand as barriers to its implementation. The study is quasi experimental consisted of two groups, an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=16) from a foundation program at a military educational institute. The research data included the results of two sets of listening tests and learners’ responses on an attitude questionnaire. The students in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group as a result of the mobile learning strategy. There was a statically significant improvement in the experimental group students’ listening ability. Also, the participants had positive attitudes towards using mobile learning in improving their listening comprehension skills. The participants found thatmobilelearningenhanced their motivation,increased their exposure, expanded their vocabulary repertoire, and provided easy access to “anytime” and “everywhere” learning. However, they emphasized some challenges that were related to mobile software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, network connections, and the appropriateness of the listening content. Based on the findings, the study suggested some educational implications and recommendations.
16 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 16 39, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.2 The Effects of Mobile Learning on Listening Comprehension Skills and Attitudes of Omani EFL Adult Learners Abdullah Al-Shamsi, Abdo Mohamed Al-Mekhlafi* , Saleh Al Busaidi and Maher Mohammad Hilal Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman https://orcid.org/0000 0002 5627 2609 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 2821 6199 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 9649 429X https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7026 498X
*
Keywords: Mobile learning; listening comprehension skill; attitudes; language exposure; autonomous 1. Introduction Mobile devices are the next generation of learning as they are extending into all areas of human life (Kim, 2013). Mobile learning is providing us with Corresponding author: Abdo Mohamed Al Mekhlafi; Email: raymoh123321@gmail.com
Therefore,classrooms.listeningskills must be investigated further in Oman. New approaches in teaching are needed to be adopted, and modern technologies are required to be exploited and utilized. Al Harrasi (2014) recommended that a less stressful environment is necessary for the classroom, and learners need more interactive listening activities. Al Belushi (1999) also recommended utilizing the latest technologies that are made available for language learning. He urged teachers to encourage students’ autonomy and independence in their learning process and to give opportunities for individual students to listen to what interests them and to listen in their own time and place. Thus, a shift towards integrating educational technologies is required to give learners some opportunities to practise listening comprehension skills outside the classroom independently. Therefore, to improve the learners’ listening skills, it is recommended to increase time exposure to the language by providing different listening materials for students to listen toin their
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. opportunities to change the existing learning methods and strategies and gives a more flexible approach to manage learning experiences on the move (Kukulska Hulme & Traxler, 2005). Mobile learning technologies “help produce learning that is personally customized, socially constructed, and which extends beyond the classroom” (Holden & Sykes, 2011, p. 4). Several empirical studies assert that mobile learning is a useful and instructive tool for language learning, and it can encourage students to be more autonomous and independent in their learning process (Chen, 2016; Liu & He, 2015). Chen (2016) emphasized that “Mobile learning apps provide multiple channels and modalities for adult learners to practice language skills” (2016, p. 40).
Regarding language learning, researches in the literature have shown that listening comprehension is crucial for second language acquisition (Feyten, 1991; Richards, 2005). Listening ability is an essential factor that contributes significantly to the second language learning process. Richards (2005) stated that “The development of good listening skills is seen not only as something valuable for its own sake but as something that supports the growth of other aspects of language use, such as speaking and reading” (p. 85). However, many language learners and teachers consider listening as the most difficult skill to be taught (Aryana & Apsari, 2018). In Oman, several studies assessed the students' listening comprehension skills. They found out that Omani students have difficulty in listening comprehension due to incompetent treatment of listening comprehension and insufficient exposure to listening outside the classroom (Al Busaidi, 1997). Also, the listening materials and conventional teaching methods are of poor quality (Al Belushi, 1999). Moreover, learners are unable to follow listening materials in a stressful environment because of the cognitively demanding listening activities (Al Issa, 2005). Likewise, Al Handhali (2009) claimed that content issues, lack of exposure, lack of encouragement, and teachers’ methodological decisions in classrooms all contributed to listening comprehension difficulties. Therefore, the problem of this current study lies in the weak performance of many Omani students’ in listening comprehension and their insufficiency of exposure to the English language outside
The growing popularity of the term mobile learning among language learners and the vitality of listening skill in language acquisition bring with them a shift in focus that may impact the teaching and learning process. This dramatic shift towards using m learning in teaching English language listening skills can provide access to listening materials from everywhere and at anytime. The literature review provides a theoretical background of English listening comprehension skills and information background about mobile learning and its impacts on EFL contexts.
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3. What challenges do students face in using mobile devices?
utilizing advanced technologies, several studies have reported the potential use of mobile based technology in enhancing language learning and accordingly have required EFL teachers to use mobile learning to perform languagelearning activities (AlAamri, 2011; Al Yafei & Osman, 2016; Beatty, 2010; Chen, 2016; Kim, 2013). Crompton and Burke (2018) urged higher education teachers to use mobile technologies to increase learning opportunities outside classrooms. Mobile devices can allow language learners to access different learning materials everywhere, flexibly, and at any time (Kim, 2013; Read & Kukulska Hulme, 2015). Also, they help to overcome many problems such as anxiety of language learning, inadequate language practices, and deficiency of language exposure (Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015). Furthermore, students can develop self regulation and self assessment through mobile devices (Gangaiamaran & Pasupathi, 2017; Liu & He, 2015; Zheng & Chen, 2018). Besides, some mobile learning applications can provide opportunities for immediate feedback and language analysis (Chen, Hsu & Doong, 2016). Mobile learning can establish an educational electronic learning platform that offers motivating educational experiences for instructors and students. It can also enhance the learners’ self regulated learning experiences and increase language exposure outside the classroom. Therefore, the importance of promoting listening comprehension skills and the great opportunities that mobile learning can positively offer has led to the need to investigate this issue further in Oman. The primary purpose of this study, thus, is to explore the impact of mobile learning on improving listening comprehension skills and explore the pedagogical attitudes of students towards the integration of the mobile learning in their classroom activities. The study addresses the following research questions:
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. free time outside the classroom. Also, it’s essential to utilize advanced technologies, online listening materials and to provide less stressful learning environments (Al Belushi, 1999; Al Busaidi, 1997; Al Handhali, 2009; Al Issa, Concerning2005).
2. Literature Review
2. What are the students’ attitudes towards using mobile devices in improving their listening comprehension skills?
1. Are there any statistically significant differences in listening performance between students who learn listening skills through mobile devices and students who conventionally learn listening skills?
The difficulties that EFL learners face when listening to the target language and the value of mastering listening skills for language acquisition emphasize the importance of seeking new strategies and techniques to facilitate listening comprehension skills. Teachers should help students improve their listening comprehension proficiency by reducing students’ concern about listening and providing a less worrying classroom environment (Al Handhali, 2009). Also, students should be encouraged to promote self regulated learning to seek listening opportunities outside the classroom (Gangaiamaran & Pasupathi, 2017; Yabukoshi, 2018; Vandergrift & Goh, 2012). Moreover, there has been an
Listening comprehension skill plays an active part in L2 learning (Brown, 2001; Feyten, 1991; Richards, 2005; Vandergrift & Goh, 2012). Listening is an essential skill in a way that exists in most of the activities we do throughout our lives (Al Belushi, 1999). A person cannot communicate or interact with others unless s/he understands the spoken language (Rivers, 1966). Therefore, the rationale behind teaching listening skills is to prepare English language learners for understanding the actual speech in real life communication contexts and for facilitating second language acquisition. Besides, listening ability contributes significantly to the predictability of foreign language acquisition process (Feyten, 1991) and creates a channel by which the learner gains access to a great deal of comprehensible input in the target language (Krashen, 2013; Rost, 2007). Furthermore, the development of listening comprehension plays a significant role in developing other language skills (Dunkel, 1986), expands the learners’ vocabulary repertoire and grammar knowledge (Rost, 1994), and improves learners’ pronunciation of the target language (Harmer, 2007). Listening plays an active part in the language learning process, and language learners cannot maintain acquisition until a certain amount of the listening input in the target language is intelligible.
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2.1.2 Contemporary Trends in Teaching Listening Comprehension
2.1.1 Learners’ Problems in Listening Comprehension Although listening plays a significant and constructive role in language learning, language learners confront several difficulties and problems when practising listening comprehension skills. Kim (2013) stressed that many English learners find listening skill a challenging skill as it demands a complex process of interpreting information from sound, especially when there are no visual aids. Also, students need to comprehend and process both content knowledge (data) and linguistic knowledge (language) simultaneously while they are doing the listening. According to Namaziandost, Ahmadi and Keshmirshekan (2019), limitations on learner’s listening ability are due to the listener’s limited vocabulary, length of the discourse, inability to understand the speaker’s accent, and the speaker’s speech rate. In his article, Goh (2000) notified that students tend to forget what they hear quickly, are unable to recognize the meanings of words, and tend to face difficulty to comprehend the intended purpose of the message even though they had understood the literal meaning of the words. Thus, learners’ problems in listening comprehension are due to personal cognitive differences, individual emotional statuses such as learners’ anxiety, and the context of the spoken language (Vandergrift & Goh, 2012).
2.1 Listening Comprehension Skill in L2 Learning
2.2 Mobile Learning (M-Learning) Many scholars andpractitioners have described mobile learning in differentforms (Grant,2019). Brown (2005) defined M learning as being a subset of E learning that is explicitly a form of web based delivery of content and learning management; moreover, it features with mobility, flexibility, and convenience when compared to online learning. However, Peters (2007) went further in defining m Learning as being a model of flexible learning that is ‘just in time, just enough and just for me’. Other scholars described mobile learning as a sort of portable education that uses portable devices to access learning and knowledge on the move without the time and location constraints (Kukulska Hulme & Pettit, 2009; Traxler, 2009). El Hussein and Cronje (2010) attempted to provide a comprehensive definition of mobile learning that is “any type of learning that takes place in learning environments and spaces that take account of the mobility of technology, mobility of learners, and mobility of learning” (p. 20).
2.2.1 Significance of Mobile Technology in EFL Context
M learning recognizes learners’ diversity and individual differences to determine the way of learning (Traxler, 2009). It has the potentials to provide authentic listening materials such as songs and news in English for language learners
Based on the above discussion, integration of mobile learning can enable students to reduce their anxiety, increase their language exposure, enhance independent learning, and develop some learning strategies so that learners are motivated to seek more opportunities outside the classroom (Al Aamri, 2011; Al Yafei & Osman, 2016; Chen, 2016; Kim, 2013; Kukulska Hulme & Traxler, 2005; Liu & He, 2015; Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015). Vandergrift (2007) emphasized that “Broader access to these new technologies will likely shift the focus from the classroom to independent learning” (p. 206). Mobile devices can be utilized outside the classroom to enhance the learning process and create a more self regulated learning environment (Zheng & Chen, 2018). Besides, mobile based learning can be a convenient tool in providing immediate feedback and assessment for students so that they track their self improvement in the language (Chen, Hsu & Doong, 2016). Therefore, this study intends to examine the effect of using mobile devices in improving listening comprehension skills.
To sum up, the previous studies in the literature show that listening comprehension is a complex process which requires much listening exposure and extensive practice outside the classroom. Therefore, teachers need to inspire learners to become independent, to look for listening opportunities outside the classroom through using English language media, to establish goals and means of self evaluation, and to keep a record of their performance. The use of mobile learning can facilitate a shift from teacher led education to student led one, so that students can listen to the language anytime and anywhere and be more self independent.
increasing call on employing more authentic materials in the learning process (Vandergrift, 2007), and on providing more extensive listening exposure to the target language outside the classroom (Lee & Cha, 2017).
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2.3 Emerging Mobile Technologies in the Omani context
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (Elfiona, Embryany & Pamela, 2019). Authentic materials can help the language learners see how the language is related to the real word (Brown, 2001), enhances their active involvement in the learning process (Hapsari & Ratri, 2014), and fosters their self confidence (Unver, 2017). Furthermore, mobile technology can contextualize the learning activities, and it can combine between formal and informal learning opportunities (Pulla, 2020). Thus, learning won’t only be limited to the classroom setting but also will be extended to learning in real life Moreover,communities.mobile technologygives students theflexibility andmotivation to learn at their own pace at a convenient time. It promotes autonomy and makes the learning process more independent (Al Hunaiyyan, Alhajri & Al Sharhan, 2018; Beatty, 2010; Kim, 2013; Read & Kukulska Hulme, 2015; Traxler, 2009). It also involves learners in determining their objectives, developing more useful learning strategies, and determining the method and timing that they decide on (Raya & Fernández, 2002). Besides, it can provide a variety of English expressions and vocabulary (Kim, 2013). Hence, mobile learning can fit different learning styles, directs learners to control their education, contextualize the learning experiences, and frees learners from the formality of conventional education. 2.2.2 Challenges Although mobile learning has proved to have significant merits in the learning process, it cannot stand without some drawbacks. Rogers and Price (2009) mentioned that overloaded information, distractions by mobile devices, and difficulty in designing appropriate learning experiences that encourages collaboration and interaction between learners are the three main challenges that may occur when employing mobile technologies. Therefore, language teachers must create mobile learning experiences which are not too bewildering or overly complicated and make sure that learners are not working in isolation from their counterparts. Likewise, Zhang (2019) found that a lack of internet access, a lack of continuity of mobile data transfer, weak cellular signals in some areas can hinder a real continuous learning experience on mobile devices Likewise,Alrefaai (2019) found that EFL learners face various challenges when they use mobile devices such as technical problems, small screen sizes, distractions, the accuracy of the information, health problems, and getting bored. In Oman, there is a shortage of technological aids or a failure of some teachers to utilize them due to their lack of knowledge or training on how to use educational technology (Al Issa & Al Bulushi, 2012; Al Musawi, 2007; Al Senaidi, Lin & Poirot, 2009).
Several studies in Oman examined the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards mobile based learning. Al Emran and Shaalan (2017) revealed that M learning could be adopted by all academics regardless of their age and qualifications. However, instructors’ attitudes towards mobile technology are determined by their beliefs about the effectiveness of mobile technology in education. The more positive perception they have towards mobile technology, the more optimistic they are towards the utilization of M Learning. Likewise, Al Aamri (2011) found that students like to use mobile devices while teachers do not want them to do so
This section discusses the research methodology and the procedures of designing and applying the research instruments including the statistical analysis that were adopted in analyzing and interpreting the results of the instruments, including a description of the participants, the research design, data collection, and data analysis.
In summation, the existing body of research shows that the use of mobile learning in language learning, especially in listening comprehension, is an essential contributor to second language learning. It increases the level of self awareness and ability of learners and decreases the level of anxiety. Moreover, the literature provides conclusive empirical studies supporting the idea of using mobile learning that helps language learners undertake the listening activities in a scaffolded way and offers possibilities for interaction and collaboration. Thus, as the assertion that M learning can enhance listening comprehension skills for L2 learners is assumed and demonstrated empirically, supporting the use of M learning as a means for increasing listening ability can encourage the appearance of this research in the future. Their unique features like portability, individuality, and connectivity make mobile based instruction an integrative, an interactive, and innovative experience. The primary of the present study, therefore, is to investigate the effects of M learning on the development of L2 learners’ listening ability.
The participants of the study were from the foundation program at a Military Educational Institute (MEI), Oman. They were about 48 students enrolled in level one. Two intact classes comprised the sample of the study, one as a control group (n =16 students) and the other one as an experimental group (n=15 students). All participants were full time students registered for a 14 week course. They ranged in age from 20 to 23. All participants had a similar educational background and the same learning environment. The comprehension listening pre test was administered to both groups before the intervention to determine the equivalency of the two groups in the English listening comprehension skill. The researcher conducted an independent samples t test to compare the mean scores between the two groups. Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations of the students' scores on the listening pre test before receiving the intervention.
Teachers think that mobile devices could be a big distraction for both teachers and students. Therefore, the researcher recommended fostering the use of mobile technology in education and emphasizing the merits of mobile phone in the classroom. In this respect, Al Yafei and Osman (2016) noted that m learning could be an effective medium for self learning as it promotes autonomy and increases learners’ motivation which helps in solving many motivational barriers that might occur under fixed and even monotonous educational routines. Both learners and language educators hold positive attitudes towards integrating mobile technologies in the Omani context. However, there should be more studies investigating the merits of mobile devices in the classroom to gain confidence in using it.
3. Methods
3.1 Participants
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The results showed that there was no significant difference in mean pre test scores between the control group (M = 16.19, SD = 4.215) and experimental group (M = 17 47, SD = 4.207) before the intervention, (t (29) = 0 845, p>.05). The p value is 0.405 (p>.05), which advocates that there is no significant difference between the two groups. These results indicate that the level of listening ability of the two groups was equivalent at the start of the intervention.
23 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 1 Independent Samples T test Results for Pre test before the intervention Groups n Mean* SD df t value p value Control group 16 16.19 4.215 29 0 845 0.405 Experimental group 15 17 47 4.207 *Total score=25
A panel of the Head of English section, four EFL teachers who were teaching in the foundation program, three evaluation experts from the Exam Cell in the institute, and an external examiner specialist validated the content of the test.
3.2 Research Design
Fraenkel, Wallen and Hyun (2011) affirmed that a quasi experimental design is an experimental design in which the researcher cannot assign individual participants to groups randomly. Based on this, the researcherselected the experimental group and control group without randomization. The control group students received the English listening materials lessons following a conventional way of teaching. In contrast, the students in the experimental group worked with the same listening materials through mobile devices using the mobile application (Google Classroom). After the experiment, the researcher compared the performance of both groups to gauge the effect of the mobile based learning treatment on the experimental group
3.3.1 Listening Comprehension Test
The comprehension listening test was developed based on the objectives of the English language program course and aims to gauge the effectiveness of using mobile based learning materials on the learners’ level of listening proficiency. The test was administered twice: as a pre test before the intervention to determine the equivalence of the participants Also, it was used as a post test for both groups at the end of the treatment to measure the effect of using mobile learning on students’ listening ability.
This study is a quasi experimental research design in which the researcher used a pre test and a post test to determine the effect of mobile learning on students’ listening comprehension skills. The research followed this sort of design as there is no control of the random assignments of the subjects to the treatment group.
To gather data, the researcher has administered a comprehension listening test and an attitude questionnaire. A brief explanation of each comes below.
3.3 Research Instruments
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3.3.2 The Questionnaire
3.4 Description of the Materials
In section two of the questionnaire, there were open ended questions, including what the participants liked most about using mobile devices in learning English listening skills, the difficulties they faced, and other suggestions to improve the implementation of m learning. Appendix 1 shows the sections of the Thequestionnaire.initialversion
of the questionnaire was reviewed and checked by twelve experts in the ELT and instructional technology field. The jury assessed the validity of the survey in terms of its relevance, clarity, and suitability. Based on their recommendations, the researcher made some modifications and changes
The questionnaire survey was developed to assess the learners’ attitudes towards using mobile learning forimproving their listening skills. The researcher designed the questionnaire based on the relevant literature and previous studies (Al Aamri, 2011; Al Hunaiyyan et al., 2018; Al Yafei & Osman, 2016; Kim, 2013). The questionnaire consisted of two main sections. In the first section, there were 20 statements scored on a five point Likert scale (1= strongly disagree; 2= disagree; 3= neutral; 4= agree; and 5= strongly agree). In this section, the participants indicate the level of their agreement and disagreement with the statements regarding their attitudes towards using mobile devices in improving their English listening skills. There are four main dimensions in this section: perceived usefulness, motivation, self management of learning, and intention to use.
There was an agreement among the panel about the suitability, clarity, and relevancy of the test scoring.
The study used the materials of the course textbook. The listening materials in the handbook are adapted from authentic sources to stimulate the learners’ interests and engage them in classroom discussions. A wide variety of recoding contents including lectures, radio interviews, news reports, and informal conversations are utilized to provide opportunities for extensive and intensive listening practices. The audio files are on a CD ROM that comes with the textbook.
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Theaccordingly.questionnaire
later was pilot tested on a sample of 30 students to check its reliability. Reliability analysis was calculated using Cronbach reliability coefficient; the coefficient was (α = 0.893) to the statements of the questionnaire. Thus, an alpha of 0.893 is an appropriate reliability coefficient as the statements of the survey reached the right level of internal consistency.
The listening test was pilot tested by the Exam Cell on a group of 73 level one students to establish its reliability. According to the results, the Cronbach alpha showed that the listening test reached the right level of internal consistency at about 0.87. Therefore, the researcher is confident that this test was reliable for data collection.
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The researcher used the SPSS program (version 25) to analyze the listening comprehension test scores and questionnaire data. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were computed for both instruments.
3.5 Procedures and Implementation
The researcher firstly administered the listening pre test for both groups, which showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups before the experiment. The researcher conducted a tutorial for the experimental group to explain the plan of the study and to practise on how to use the mobile application (Google Classroom). Also, the researcher explained the instruments to the participants, and consent forms were signed, too. The students in both groups were exposed to the same listening materials, exercises and assignments for eight weeks. The control group followed the usual teaching method of a paper and pencil, while the experimental groups used the Google Classroom App. In the last phase of the study, the post test was administered to both groups to determine the impact of the listening oriented mobile learning materials on students’ listening comprehension ability. Then, the students in the experimental group completed the attitude questionnaire and reflected on the use of mobile learning strategy.
An independent sample t test was conducted before and after the intervention to compare the scores of both groups. The researcher also carried out a paired sample t test to see if the students in the experimental group made significant improvements in listening proficiency after using the mobile App. Finally, to investigate the students’ attitudes towards the mobile learning strategy in learning English listening and the difficulties that they encountered, the participants’ responses to the questionnaire were tabulated and interpreted.
4. Results
3.6 Data Analysis
Regarding the mobile based listening materials, the researcher converted the original content of the course textbook into an electronic version. They emphasized the same course objectives and followed the same sequence of the teaching lessons. The mobile based materials were assessed and validated by the course coordinator and the course teachers. They checked the validity of the materials in terms of its relevancy, clarity, functionality, and presentation in the mobile App.
The study was based on a quasi experimental design in which two groups are involved with one group receiving the treatment. The results obtained from the research instruments were analyzed and presented. Tables were used to present and describe the data, and analysis and interpretations were followed.
This study aimed to investigate the students’ academic achievement in listening skills and their attitudes towards using m learning. Therefore, the researcher divided participants of the research into two groups, a control group (used the conventional method) and an experimental group (followed mobile based learning).
Table 3. Results of paired Samples T-test Groups n Test Mean* SD t value Df p value
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Experimental group 15 Pre 17.47 4.21 3.54 14 0.003 15 Post 20.20 2.83
The data of the questionnaire were analyzed and addressed in four dimensions to answer the second research question. The dimensions are as follows: perceived
*Total score=25
As shown in Table 3, the test results of the experimental group revealed a significant improvement in the post test (M=20.20, SD=2.83) over the pre test (M=17.47, SD=4.21). The results demonstrated that the mean scores were higher for post test after the intervention at a significant level (t(14)= 3.54, p <0.05). The results of the eta squared (2 = 0.47) also indicated a large effect size, according to Cohen’s (1988) three levels for interpreting this value. In other words, 47% of the variations in the post test scores were explained by mobile based learning practices, which also means that mobile learning treatment positively affected the learners’ listening ability 4.2. The Attitude of the Participants
The results show a clear significant difference between the mean score of the experimental group (M=20.20) and the control group (M=17.13). It resulted in a statistically significant difference between the groups (t= 2.093, p<0.05) and in favour of the experimental group. Thus, using m learning was more effective than the conventional method in improving the learners’ comprehension listening skill. The eta squared (2 = 0.19) indicated a large effect size according to the guidelines proposed by Cohen (1988) for interpreting this value: 0.01=small effect, 0.06=moderate effect, and 0.14=large effect. In other words, 19% of the variations in the post test scores were explained by mobile based learning practices, which means that mobile learning treatment was effective.
Control group 16 17.13 3.74 2.57 29 0.016
4.1 The Effect of M learning on Listening Comprehension Skill
To answer the first research question, the researcher administered a post listening test to both groups and used an independent sample t test to compare the scores of both groups. Table 2 presents the results of independent samples t test of the post test after the intervention by groups
Table 2. Results of Independent Samples T test for Post test after the intervention Groups n Mean* SD t value df p value
Experimental group 15 20.20 2.83
*Total score= 25
To further investigate the impact of m learning on the experimental group, the researcher also used a paired sample t test. Table 3 summarizes the results of the paired samples t test in both tests for the experimental group.
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4. I listen to audio materials using my mobile device more than once. 4.00 0.93
1. Dimension of Perceived Usefulness 4.32 0.42
2. Dimension of Motivation 4.15 0.37
3. Dimension of Self Management of Learning 4.05 0.42
Table 5. The dimension of Perceived Usefulness Statement Mean SD
usefulness, motivation, self management of learning, and intention to use. The respondents have shown different estimates of the statements of the questionnaire. Table 4 presents the overall mean of the survey
2. Listening practice through the mobile device improved my listening ability. 4.47 0.52
Dimension Mean SD
Overall Mean / Std. Deviation 4.17 0.39
Table 4. The Dimensions of the Questionnaire
12. Listening practice through mobile devices helped me learn a variety of English vocabulary. 4.47 0.74
As shown in Table 4, the participants generally tended to have a positive attitude towards using mobile learning for teaching English listening skills (M = 4.17, SD = 0.39). Thus, the results showed that the majority of participants had positive attitudes towards emerging mobile learning in the learning process as a useful tool for improving listening comprehension skills. Each dimension of the questionnaire is further analyzed. Table 5 shows the students perceptions of the usefulness of mobile learning.
Overall Mean / Std. Deviation 4.32 0.42
The results showed that the students generally had a positive perception of the usefulness of using mobile learning in learning the listening skill (M=4.32). The participants in the experimental group think that mobile learning was useful in improving their listening ability as mobile devices have successfully increased their exposure to the target language and have expanded their vocabulary repertoire.
Table 6 shows the students’ responses to the statements that tackled the motivation dimension towards mobile learning.
1. Mobile learning provided more extensive listening practice. 4.33 0.62
4. Dimension of Intention to Use 4.15 0.35
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Table 6 Dimension of Motivation
Overall, the results indicated that the students believed that mobile devices motivated them to practise listening exercises better than the conventional method of paper based tasks (M=4.15). The participants in the experimental group think that mobile learning has the potentials to encourage them to practise listening skills outside the classroom.
Statement Mean SD
19. Mobile devices encourage self studying outside classroom. 4.13 0.64
Table 7. The dimension of Self-Management of Learning
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9. Mobile devices assisted me in selecting listening tasks outside the classroom. 3.87 0.64
13. I believe I can improve my listening skills alone through mobile devices without the teacher’s help. 3.80 1.01
10. Mobile devices helped me manage my listening activities outside the classroom. 3.80 0.78
Generally, the students believed that mobile devices provide learning dispositional characteristics like anytime and anywhere sort of learning, provision of quick feedback and independency of teachers (M=4.05). Consequently, learners can develop a more independent and self directed style of learning. Therefore, mobile learning has the predisposition to provide a self management style of learning.
Table 7 shows the students’ attitudes on mobile learning effectiveness towards providing a flexible delivery of learning and directing the learners towards a more independent self management of learning.
Statement Mean SD 3. Mobile devices helped me to practise listening anytime and anywhere. 4.47 0.92
5. Using mobile devices motivated me to practise the listening skill. 4.27 0.59
18. I am satisfied with using the mobile device for practising listening skills. 4.27 0.59
17. I prefer mobile phone exercises to paper based listening exercises. 4.13 0.74
Overall Mean / Std. Deviation 4.05 0.42
8. Mobile devices provided immediate feedback while listening. 4.13 0.74
6. The mobile device reduced my anxiety in learning listening skill. 3.87 0.99
7. I enjoyed the exercises through my mobile device than the traditional way. 4.20 0.78
11. Mobile devices helped me evaluate my listening skills outside the classroom. 4.20 0.56
Overall Mean / Std. Deviation 4.15 0.37
However, the success towards shifting to a more self management of learning depends on the learners’ willingness and intention to seek their self directed style of learning outside the classroom. Therefore, examining the fourth dimension of the plan to continue using mobile learning is crucial. Table 8 presents the students’ intention to continue using mobile learning to practise language learning further.
Overall Mean / Std. Deviation 4.15 0.35
20. I’ll continue using mobile learning for learning English after the course. 3.93 0.96
complained about some issues related to the features of mobile software (Google Classroom). The design of mobile software did not allow the learners to play the recordings and view the questions on the same page on their mobile phones. Participant #3 said, “it was difficult to listen to the audio materials and answer the questions at the same time”. Due to this issue, the participants tend to forget what they heard quickly and faced difficulty to grasp the intended meaning of the recordings. Participant #11 added, “When listening to the audio materials, it was not possible to look at the question page at the same time, so we had to close the listening page and open the questions page. For this, we often forgot things or we were unable to answer directly”. Other students complained about some mobile features related issues. Most of the complains related to the screen sizes of mobile phones. The participants said that the screen sizes of mobile phones were small, which made it difficult for them to read and answer the questions. Participants #6 wrote, “The words were tiny and unclear due to the small screen of the phone”. Also, due to the small sizes, some students faced difficulty in typing the answer on the screen. Participant #10
The researcher used a thematic analysis of the open ended questions following coding methods to answer the third research question. There were four main themes emerged from the analysis of the data using the coding method. These themes are attributed to the following issues: mobile software related issues, mobile features related issues, technical issues, and listening to content related Someproblems.students
14. I would like to practise other English skills using mobile devices. 4.20 0.78
4.3 The Challenges of using Mobile Devices
Table 8: The dimension of Intention to Use
The results emphasized that the students had the willingness to engage with the language learning process through mobile learning (M=4.15). The highest score was on statement 15 (I encourage others to use mobile devices for English language learning, M=4.60) followed by statement 14 (I would like to practice other English skills using mobile devices, M= 4.20).
Statement Mean SD
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15. I encourage others to use mobile devices for English language learning. 4.60 0.63
16. I would like to listen to authentic materials through my mobile device. 3.87 0.74
The improvement of the experimental group students in listening comprehension skills might have been due to the potentials that mobile learning has provided.
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5. Discussion
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. added, “The screen size of the phone was small, and therefore, there was difficulty in reading some questions and answering them; the phone does not help much in writing”. Students also commented on technical issues and mentioned things including a wireless network service and lack of internet access. Some students had some difficulties accessing the Internet using the wireless network due to the lack of internet coverage. Participant #7 wrote, “Internet in the college was slow
The first research question asked, “Are there any statistically significant differences in listening performance between students who learn listening skills through mobile devices and students who conventionally learn listening skills?”
The findings to this question revealed that mobile learning had a statistically significant effect on the students’ listening comprehension skills. The learners in the experimental group significantly outperformed the learners in the control group in the post listening test even though the two groups were equivalent in the pre listening test before the experiment. The findings of the study indicate the usefulness of using mobile devices in enhancing English language listening learning which lends support to several previous studies (Al Yafei& Osman, 2016; Chen, 2016; Chen, Hsu & Doong, 2016; Lie & He, 2014; Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015; Read & Kukulska Hulme, 2015). They all provided support to the effectiveness of mobile devices in enhancing the language teaching and learning process.
. Opening the audio file took a lot of time”. Alternatively, they had sometimes to use their internet subscriptions to download the listening materials, which was inconvenient for them. Some students also mentioned some listening content related issues like the audio files were not very clear, and the speakers were very fast, which made it difficult to understand the audio files. Participant #9 mentioned, “Sometimes the speaker was not clear in pronouncing some words, and some recordings were high speed”. Summing up, the findings of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the post test mean scores of the experimental group and the control group. Moreover, mobile learning is a novel educational strategy that can bring effectiveness, incentives, and motivation to the learning process; however, its implementation has some limitations and challenges on software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, and networks connectivity.
The researcher noticed that the students in the experimental group were highly interested in exploring learning the target language listening skills through their mobile devices. The students translated their high degree of motivation towards mobile learning into a higher level of engagement, exposure, and inclination to explore more listening materials through their mobile devices. Read and
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Therefore, the findings of the study were in agreement with the results of most of the previous studies as more exposure to the target language is provided outside the classroom (Kim, 2013; Read & Kukulska Hulme, 2015). Also, mobile learning can reduce a lot of anxiety (Rahimi & Soleymani, 2015), enhance more self regulated learning (Gangaiamaran & Pasupathi, 2017; Liu & He, 2015; Zheng and Chen, 2018; Yabukoshi, 2018). All of these studies claim that the use of mobile learning technology makes the learning process enjoyable, valuable, and portable.
Furthermore, the findings of the present study demonstrated that mobile learning is a critical motivator in increasing the learners’ incentive to further practise listening activities outside the classroom, which are also supported by previous studies (Al Yafei & Osman, 2016; Read & Kukulska Hulme, 2015). Maria (2015) explained that the use of technology could motivate young learners during their EFL classes by creating a positive learning atmosphere as well as it can stimulate teachers to be innovative and creative in their materials design and teaching methods. The stimulating activities and the motivating use of mobile learning enable students to practise the target language and become active explorers of the English language; at the same time, they simultaneously improve their fluency and proficiency level. This present study revealed that learners’ motivation could be enhanced considerably through the use of mobile learning technology when
The students in the experimental group were able to learn listening skills anywhere and at any time rather than restricting themselves to a fixed place or a limited time, as the case with the control group. In contrast, the learners in the control group appear to have been less motivated and less exposed to the target language outside the classroom, judging from their failure to meet deadlines in submitting most of their homework. It seems that the self directing and portable attribute of the mobile learning strategy might demonstrate to be an essential motivational factor in increasing exposure and in enhancing autonomous learning over the non portable conventional method. Hence, sustaining motivation is required for language learners to keep on listening to a considerable amount of listening materials and getting constant exposure to the target language outside the classroom in a self regulation manner so that they gain significant improvements in their listening comprehension skills.
Kukulska Hulme (2015) claimed that using a mobile app to motivate students’ practice on listening comprehension promotes intrinsic motivation for prolonged exposure to the target language. Mobile learning has succeeded in creating a relaxing learning atmosphere as learners could self regulate their learning process.
The second research question asked, “What are the students’ attitudes towards using mobile devices in improving listening comprehension skills?” The findings to this question suggested that the learners were influenced by the experiment and showed a significant positive attitude towards mobile based learning. They believed that mobile learning was influential in improving their listening skills and they frequently mentioned anytime and anywhere learning, extensive practice, provision of a variety of vocabulary, motivation, and autonomy as the most favourable characteristics of mobile learning.
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The design of mobile software is related tothefeatures of mobile applications such as its functionality and ability to meet some specific requirements like flexibility and usability (Ismail, 2016). The failure of a mobile app to meet the needs of learners in mobile learning might contribute to some usability issues, and accordingly hinders any advantages of the mobile learning strategy. Hence, for learners tosee the potentials of M learning, it is vital to design and developmobile software that considers some desirable features such as convenience, usability,
The third research question asked, “What challenges do students face in using mobile devices?” The results of the study suggested that the majority of the learners reported challenges that are related to limitations of the mobile software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, networks connection, and the appropriateness of the listening content. A review of literature on this regard revealed that the main challenges of mobile learning are lack of network connectivity and ownership (Zhang, 2019). Also, there are problems related to difficulty in designing appropriate learning experiences, overloaded information, and distractions by mobile devices (Rogers & Price, 2009). Al Hunaiyyan et al. (2018) also found that institutional challenges, design challenges, technical challenges, evaluation challenges, and cultural and social challenges could hinder utilizing mobile learning effectively Likewise, Sophonhiranrak and Sakonnak (2017) mentioned some of the flaws of mobile learning including the insufficient size of mobile screens, network connections, learners’ knowledge and perceptions towards m learning, the appropriateness of the content provided, and the mobile applications used. In this respect, it seems that literature corresponded with the findings of this study as the challenges of mobile software design, mobile screen sizes, technology infrastructure, and appropriateness of the content are the main emerged themes when it comes to the real implementation of mobile learning.
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Another appealing attribute of mobile technology is the ability to enhance autonomous and self regulated learning. Thus, the findings of this study are consistent with the results of (Al Yafei, 2016; Chen, Hsu & Doong, 2016; Lie & He, 2014; Zheng & Chen, 2018; Vandergrift & Goh, 2012). These studies demonstrated that mobile learning could motivate learners to self direct their learning process outside the classroom and can maximize the exposure to the target language. Beatty (2010) emphasized that the predisposition of autonomy and self regulation enable learners to be independent of teachers and can manage and control their self learning, which engages learners in developing metacognitive strategies for listening comprehension skills. Maintaining a high degree of motivation stimulates continuity of self learning process. As a result, learners improve optimization of language exposure and increase regulation of language learning so that language listeners can achieve comprehension.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. compared to the paper based conventional teaching method. Substantially, the ingenious features of mobile learning, including availability, adaptability, individuality can generate multiple learning functions for our everyday life and can increase learners’ motivation. The uses of mobile technologies have shifted language learning from conventional teaching methods focused on rote learning to a more constructive, interactive, innovative, and portable learning experience.
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Regarding the content challenge, some students complained that some audio files were fast and incomprehensible. A similar problem was reported by Al Busaidi (1997) when indicated that speed delivery of the listening materials was one of the major causes of listening difficulties for the Omani EFL students. Brown (2001) also referred to this problem as a rate of delivery which is a factor that might block the process of comprehending a spoken message. Therefore, designers of mobile based materials must consider the appropriateness of learning content so that the benefit of mobile learning is attained. The listening materials must be understandable, meaningful and purposeful to the target group of learners. For the mobile learning method to arouse the learners’ desires to continue learning and to improve their listening ability, the listening materials should address the learners’ needs and be delivered in a non distractive manner.
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About mobile devices, the issue of mobile screen sizes can limit the sufficient display of the images and information on mobile phones. Besides, when thescreen sizes are insufficiently small, they make typing on mobile phones very inconvenient. Therefore, the content of information must be displayed sufficiently on the mobile screen. Alhajri (2016) mentioned that “the organization of elements and media on the mobile screen will undoubtedly influence the ease and quality of learning, and has an important impact on learners’ cognitive load” (p. 2). Thus, the sufficient display of information on the screen and a user’s interaction with the learning content determines the success of mobile learning. Besides, technology infrastructure such as connectivity and being able to get connected to networks is very critical in mobile learning so that real time and ubiquitous learning is possible. Mobile learning is impossible without internet access. The availability of technology and broadband infrastructure is essential if teachers and students are to make full use of what mobile learning can offer. Motiwalla (2007) mentioned that the promise of mobile devices in instant access to knowledge anytime and anywhere has enormous benefits to learners, but will be restricted until wireless data access becomes more efficient and widely available. Hence, the availability of broadband and internet access for mobile learning is an indispensable necessity.
reliability, performance and functionality. In this study, the participants complained about the difficulty to navigate between the audio files page and the questions page. In designing mobile applications, navigation is an important design element that stands as a success factor for a mobile app because it enables users to locate efficiently the information they need and to quickly get access to any learning content (Garofalakis et al., 2007). Therefore, in the instance of mobile learning, there is a need for mobile software that meets learners’ needs (Klimova, 2019), and gives special attention to functionality, usability, operability, and attractiveness issues. Future researchers should ideally investigate the expected quality characteristics of mobile software.
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The current study emphasized the effectiveness of contextualizing m learning practices on improving listening skills and revealed the merits of the integration of mobile phones in English language classes. Mobile learning can motivate language learners to be self regulated so that more practices of the language and exposure take place. Also, the findings of the studyshowed that EFL learners have a positive attitude towards the use of mobile phones in language learning. However, the participants in the study stressed some challenges that were related to mobile software design, screen sizes of mobile phones, network connections, and the listening content. The proper development of the mobile learning strategy requires pedagogically adjusted curriculum and approaches to fit the new features of the learning based mobile resources, and properly trained and motivated teachers and learners.
6. Conclusion
8. Recommendations
9. References Al Aamri, K. S. (2011). The use of mobile phones in learning English language by Sultan Qaboos University students: Practices, attitudes and challenges. Canadian Journal on Scientific & Industrial Research, 2(3), 143 152. Al Belushi, O. (1999). The Internet and Omani students’ English language learning problems: a critical study (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Manchester, UK. Al Busaidi, S. (1997). An investigation into the causes of students' listening comprehension problems in English at second secondary level in two schools in the Sultanate of Oman (Unpublished master’s thesis) University of Exeter, Britain.
The sample is limited to male students who were enrolled in English language program courses in a military training institute in the academic year 2019 2020. Also, the study is only tackling English listening comprehension skills; therefore, the results of this study will not be applied to any other content area, but rather confined to listening comprehension achievement. Besides, it was difficult for the researcher to control the listening exposure of the control group outside the classroom and limit that exposure to the normal listening classroom only as they might use other mobile listening oriented apps to improve their listening comprehension ability.
The findings of this study imply the need for more exposure and practices in the target language. Teachers should emphasize on extensive listening and encourage students to listen for pleasure through adopting mobile technologies outside the classroom. Furthermore, utilizing any mobile based strategy in ELT curriculum should be in line with a sufficient training of teachers on the method, design of resources, and policies of evaluation, too. Therefore, the study recommended more professional development training courses for all EFL teachers in the Omani context aiming at familiarizing language teachers with mobile learning applications. The study also suggested more investigations on the EFL teachers’ perceptions towards using mobile learning in their classroom activities in Omani schools.
7. The study limitations
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Pulla, S. (2020). Mobile learning and indigenous education in Canada: A synthesis of new ways of learning. In Indigenous Studies: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 175 199). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978 1 7998 0423 9.ch010 Rahimi, M., & Soleymani, E. (2015). The impact of mobile learning on listening anxiety and listening comprehension. English Language Teaching, 8(10), 152 161. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n10p152 Raya, M. J., & Fernández, J. M. P. (2002) Learner Autonomy and New Technologies. Educational Media International, 39(1), 61 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0952398021013124068. Read, T., & Kukulska Hulme, A. (2015). The role of a mobile app for listening comprehension training in distance learning to sustain student motivation. J. UCS, 21(10), 1327 1338. http://dx.doi.org/10.3217/jucs 021 10 1327 Richards, J. C. (2005). Second thoughts on teaching listening. RELC Journal, 36(1), 85 92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688205053484
Rivers, W. (1966). Listening comprehension. Modern Language Journal, 50(4), 196 204. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/322015 Rogers, Y., & Price, S. (2009). How Mobile Technologies Are Changing the Way. Mobile technology for children: Designing for interaction and learning, 1 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/b978 0 12 374900 0.00001 6 Rost, M. (1994). Introducing listening. London: Penguin. Rost, M. (2007). Listening. In D. Nunan & R. Carter (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages (pp. 7 13). Ernst Klett Sprachen. Retrieved from http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/id/eprint/8610 Sophonhiranrak, S., & Sakonnak, S. P. N. (2017, October). Limitations of Mobile Learning: A Systematic Review. In E Learn: World Conference on E Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 965 971). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education Traxler,https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/181279/(AACE).J.(2009).Currentstateofmobilelearning.
the
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Characteristics of
https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2016.1259080 Appendix 1 Students’ Attitudes towards Using Mobile devices in learning English Listening Skills First: In the following list, please indicate the level of your agreement and disagreement with the statements regarding your attitudes towards using mobile devices in English language learning. Statements Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 1.
6.
Yabukoshi, T. (2018).
Self regulation and self efficacy for the improvement of listening proficiency outside the classroom. The Language Learning Journal, 1 14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2018.1472626
and 4.anywhere.Ilistento audio materials using my
11.
and Learning. Handbook of Mobile Teaching and Learning, 13 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 981 13 2766 7_5
a mobile self regulated learningapproachon students’ learning achievements and self regulated learning skills. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(6), 616
Zheng,L.,Li,X.,& Chen, F. (2018).Effectsof 624. Mobile learning provided more extensive listening practice. practice through mobile improved my listening ability. Mobile devices helped me to practise listening anytime mobile device mobile motivated me to practise the listening skill. The mobile device reduced my anxiety in learning listening skill. I enjoyed the exercises through my mobile device than the traditional way. Mobile devices provided immediate feedback devices assisted me in selecting listening tasks outside the classroom. Mobile devices helped me manage my listening activities outside the classroom. Mobile devices helped me evaluate my listening skills outside the classroom.
8.
2. Listening
Zhang, Y. (2019). Mobile Teaching
7.
while 9.listening.Mobile
device
more than 5.once.Using
devices
10.
3.
39 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 12. Listening practice through mobile devices helped me learn a variety of English vocabulary. 13. I believe I can improve my listening skills alone through mobile devices without the teacher’s help. 14. I would like to practise other English skills using mobile 15.devices.Iencourage others to use mobile devices for English language learning. 16. I would like to listen to authentic materials through my mobile device. 17. I prefer mobile phone exercises to paper based listening 18.exercises.Iamsatisfied with using the mobile device for practising listening skills. Second: Open Questions: Please read and answer the following questions: 1. What did you like most about using mobile devices in learning English listening skills? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. What difficulties did you face when using mobile devices for learning English Listening skills? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. What do you suggest to improve the use of mobile learning in teaching English listening skills? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Do you have further comments you would like to add? >>>Thank you<<<
Abstract. One out of every four upper secondary school students in teachers’ perspectives. It is based on interviews in three upper secondary school programs that were analyzed with a qualitative approach and hybrid content analysis. Study motivation is set in relation to motivational strategies, achievement, and learning environment. The result showed similarities and differences in perceptions. Both teachers and students pointed to the importance of teachers, practical pedagogy, social relations, and the significance of grades for study motivation. An important difference between informants was that teachers put more emphasis on life skills and adapted study groups, whereas students pointed to the physical learning environment and teachers’ personalities as important. Conclusions in the study point to complex interplay between internal and external motivational factors and between situation, person, and learning processes. This leads to validity of interactive and transactional motivational perspectives. A broader and more in depth study is needed primarily to understand students’ perspectives.
Keywords: increasing motivation; decreasing motivation; students´ and teachers’ perspectives; study motivation; upper secondary school 1. Introduction One in every four students in Sweden drops out of upper secondary education. However, the intention of the new upper secondary school reform, Curriculum for Upper Secondary School (GY11), among other things, was to increase the
analyzesisthroughputCurriculumSwedeninterruptstheireducation,althoughtheintentionbehindthenewforUpperSecondarySchool(GY11)wastoincreaseofstudentswithcompletegrades.Lackofstudymotivationthemostimportantexplanationforstudentsdroppingout.Thisarticlestudymotivationfromstudentsand
40 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 40 59, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.3 What about Study Motivation? Students´ and Teachers’ Perspectives on What Affects Study Motivation Lena Boström Mid Sweden University, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9182 6403 Göran Bostedt Mid Sweden University, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4398 5394
Dropping out of upper secondary education has individual and national consequences. The National Agency for Education has therefore implemented activities that are close to business (Skolverket, 2016) to prevent drop outs. The National Agency for Education (Skolverket, 2019) has described the measures, which include conferences for principals and process support for schools. Several initiatives and key areas have been identified as necessary, such as early efforts to develop a systemic approach and to maximize the local scope for action. Motivation is a prerequisite for learning in school. However, scholars lack the main actors’ perspectives on these efforts, namely the students and the teachers. When students have low or non existent study motivation or if students lack the necessary prerequisites, schools must find ways to help them achieve the knowledge goals. This study examines how students and teachers think about students´ study motivation and how a school can match the students. According to Skolverket (2019): “Lack of motivation makes it difficult to take advantage of school education Conversely, those who do not qualify for teaching can suffer a lack of motivation. Assuming a lack of motivation and thus corresponding compensation needs motivation becomes something that needs to be added to the learning processes. ” (p. 154).
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Because the new upper secondary school we studied has not yet achieved the ambitions that existed with upper secondary school reform regarding increased throughput, and because causal analysis points to student motivation as an important explanation, we studied upper secondary school students´ and teachers’ ideas about student motivation. We gained in depth knowledge of students’ thinking about the issue of study motivation and compared their views with the teachers, who are the other important group of actors in classrooms.
Another important reason for the interest in study motivation is that few national studies in the field exist (Lundahl et al., 2015) and research on the interaction between individual and learning environments in Swedish schools is limited (Blomgren, 2016). Analytical models of learning (in this case, study motivation) require an understanding of the interplay between individuals, educational material, and the social context (Imsen, 2006). Another important incentive for the research area is that there are few contemporary studies based on students as informants about their study motivation (Giota, 2013, 2017). A recent study
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throughput of students with complete grades. Possible reasons for this trend are that the new system imposes higher requirements for admission to the upper secondary school’s national program, Swedish primary school students have declining knowledge results, and primary school students are less prepared for the increasing demands in secondary school (Skolverket, 2016). Lack of student motivation is the most crucial explanation for the drop out rate. More than half of the upper secondary school students indicated in a national study (Sveriges Elevkårer & Lärarnas Riksförbund, 2015) that they experienced low or non existent study motivation. The most important factors for increasing student motivation are stated to be teachers’ subject competence, teacher student relationships, educational support, and access to student health. In the study, teachers also pointed to students’ lack of prior knowledge from elementary school and the need to learn better study techniques to pass upper secondary school.
• How is study motivation linked to various aspects of education according to teachers and students?
• What experiences do teachers and students have about what increases students’ study motivation, and what is the cause of and explanation for possible low study motivation?
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (Hofverberg, 2020) points to several different perspectives on motivation that need to be integrated in order to capture the complexity that students' driving forces constitute and that research should be conducted close to practice in collaboration with teachers.
The internal factors regarding study motivation are often highlighted in research, but Håkansson and Sundberg (2012) warned seeing the issue of motivation as a purely individual trait. They pointed out that motivation is contextual, changeable, and arises in dynamic relationships between people. Furthermore, factors such as family background class affiliation and grades (Skolverket, 2019), socio economic belonging, gender, and ethnic origin (Skolverket, 2018) are cited as important for students’ study motivation. Several influencing factors can be assumed to both support and cause study motivation deficiencies. However, the responsibility for lack of motivation is often placed on the young people themselves, especially from many municipal representatives (Lundahl et al., 2015). Like Håkansson and Sundberg (2012), we believe that internal and external factors need to be considered in a discussion about study motivation. Thus, to analyze a lack of study motivation as a cause of low throughput in upper secondary school, a perspective is required that not only focuses on individual students but takes into account the entire school and classroom context (Imsen, 2006). This study contributes to the field by applying theories of educational psychology in practice related activities in school. This is justified based on various research results (Giota, 2013, 2017; Hattie, 2009) that show motivational factors influence students’ study results. In this article, we analyze study motivation based on didactic aspects and learning environments. Our interest in the issue of study motivation can be expressed as an interest in analyzing both internal andexternal motivational factors. Responses from students and their teachers from three academic programs in a municipal upper secondary school constitute the empirical material. The school was located in the central part of a large city. For 2015, the municipality reported it was eight percentage points below the value for all municipalities in Sweden In view of the above problem, the purpose is to describe and analyze the upper secondary school students’ study motivation or lack of motivation from the students´ and teachers’ perspectives. The selected issues are as follows:
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• What differences and similarities exist in teachers and students’ perceptions?
Externally motivated students adopt more surface learning strategies, often giving up when rewards and benefits are removed etc. (Giota, 2017). External motivation can be divided into two subcategories of controlled or autonomous motivation. Controlled external motivation is about being controlled by someone else through reward, penalties, or fear of failure. Autonomous external motivation implies in the context of a school that a student has taken on the values of the school and makes an effort even if the activity does not give pleasure. Non existent motivation is the third aspect of motivation; that is, study motivation is entirely lacking. Students give up, blame other factors than themselves, and do not see the relationship between performance and results (Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015)
2. Theoretical Overview Study motivation is a multifaceted concept. Therefore, we begin with a general overview of motivation theory in the school context and then discuss motivation in relation to three theoretical starting points: achievement, motivational strategies, and learning environment. These assumptions are not mutually exclusive but overlap in different respects.
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The article initially describes the theoretical framework we used, namely motivation theory, motivation strategies, and learning environment. Thereafter, methodological approaches andthe results are described. Finally, conclusions and educational implications are presented in a discussion that returns the result to the theoretical frameworks. The definitions that have been made are that the article focuses on students´ and teachers’ perceptions of factors that are directly linked to the school. Thus, how time outside the school affects students’ study motivation is not addressed
2.1 Motivation Theory Motivation is a research area found in various disciplines (Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015). There are different perceptions of what influences student motivation. One is that the interaction between teacher and student and access to student health are the most important factors in raising student motivation (Sveriges Elevkårer & Lärarnas Riksförbund, 2015). There are also different definitions and understandings of the concept of study motivation. It is often described with the dichotomous inner and outer motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2002). From within, controlled motivation arises when an activity feels engaging and rewarding. Internal motivation factors are about seeking and managing challenges based on an endeavor to satisfy personal interests and use one’s abilities (Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015). In school, students with strong internal motivation show greater endurance with the tasks, seek more understanding in terms of knowledge, and try different strategies to achieve their goals (Giota, 2017).
Motivation is more often based on control when the result determines how motivated the student is, or if there is a reward that attracts (e.g., credits, praise, or useful skills in working life) or a “punishment” (e.g., missing student support, delayed studies) that threatens them. External motivational factors imply an endeavor to meet expectations or demands that come from or are perceived to come from, outside the individual (Giota, 2017; Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015).
2.2 Achievement and Motivation
The interactive motivation theory focuses on achievements and expectations (Stensmo, 2005). It is about the desire of individuals to deal with a question and their fear of failure and how this is affected by the expectations that exist in the individual. This means that the interaction between the expectations of teachers, parents, and others, as well as their ambitions, shape students and their performance goals. Teachers’ significance for study motivation is well documented in research; that is, how they convey expectations of students (Giota, 2013), organize classroom activities (Hattie, 2009), stimulate engagement and effort, support individuals and groups, shape classroom climate (Hugo, 2011), choose didactic work methods (Boström, 2013), teachers´ subject specific enthusiasm (Mahler, Großschedl & Harms, 2018) and lead learning (Stensmo, 2005). These are crucial interactive motivational factors along with the inner and outer motivational factors. To analyze lack of study motivation as a cause of low throughput in upper secondary school, a perspective is therefore required that not only focuses the individual student but takes into account the entire school and classroom situation (e.g., the relationship between student, teacher, and educational materials (Imsen, 2006). Another, but partly overlapping, theoretical point of departure is that motivation is more about transaction than interaction (Perry et al., 2006). Motivation is then understood not only as an individual trait but is about negotiation of meaning in social interaction. Thus, motivation becomes an integrated process in a larger whole, impossible to separate from learning, individual differences, and the nature of tasks or social context. According to Perry et al. (2006), strong relationships exist between motivation and (a) communicated expectations, (b) clear feedback on results, (c) interactions between teachers and students and among students and their peers, (d) positive climate, and (e) teachers´ leadership. Blomgren’s (2016) summary regarding students’ perspectives on schoolwork, and the importance it has for study motivation, is that study motivation is primarily
Researchers have described the dichotomy of inner and outer motivation as clear cut, whereas others believe that internal and external factors are interdependent; that is, students internalize external causes (Vaanstenkiste et al., 2006) or internal and external factors constitute endpoints on a continuum (Covington & Mueller, 2001). Therefore, because there is an interaction between internal and external motivation, one can talk about motivation systems (Anderman & Anderman, 2009). The factors interact and, in many cases, depend on each other (Jerkeby, 2019). External motivation can be changed to the internal; they can exist simultaneously and vary between different times and tasks. Determining when students are driven by internal or external motivational factors is therefore tricky.
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The most important difference is the student’s motives for their actions (i.e., whether it is internally or externally motivated; Jerkeby, 2019). For students who find it challenging to find motivation in school, external motivation is a tool to get started with the studies. Furthermore, motivation is not a fixedtrait that one either has or does not have. It changes, develops, and varies during the studies, and there are many factors, both internal and external, that affect it. The interactive theory of motivation makes it possible to capture and focus on the interaction between a person and a situation (Stensmo, 2005).
The following strategies are mentioned by various researchers in the field: understanding and taking into account the complexity of events, students and groups in the setting of teaching (Giota, 2013), the design of the tasks to enable adaptation to individuals and groups (Boström, 2013), constructive evaluations, taking into account time aspects and didactic diversity (Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015), various teaching strategies and active work with metacognitive strategies (Boström, 2013), differences in students' perceived best learning and teaching strategies (Boström & Bostedt, 2020) and conscious leadership in the classroom (Augustsson & Boström, 2016; Hattie, 2009). Paying attention to the emotions that are brought about by success and failure and the teachers’ competence to handle them at both group and individual level is also relevant in this context (Giota, 2013; Imsen, 2006). Teaching strategies that impair student motivation include ineffective or no feedback (Giota, 2013), lack of connection, overly complicated tasks (Hugo, 2011), slow pace, focus on being transparent and not learning, poor planning, and punitive leadership. Other demotivating factors are unattractive classrooms and negative mood in the class (Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015).
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. shaped by perceptions of success and failure, as well as perceived self capacity. This conclusion are similar to Perry et al. (2006).
Factors that motivate students are also complex. According to Farrington et al. (2012), decisive factors that influence student learning outcomes are study oriented behavior, endurance in studies, academic mindset, constructive learning strategies, and social ability. One’s self esteem, experience ways of experience events, and individual goals (Hugo, 2011; Wery & Thomson, 2013) are crucial to study motivation, because allowing students to learn in their best individual way is of decisive importance for the results. Furthermore, previous research points to the importance of students’ perceptions of work tasks; that is, relevance, utility, level of difficulty, working methods (Granström, 2012), feedback, and grouping and group dynamics (Håkansson & Sundberg, 2012; Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015; Zimmerman, 2018). Also, students overall “experiences” of teachers’ didactic competence (Hattie, 2009) and the importance of relationships (Aspelin, 2018) are also considered to have a positive effect on study motivation.
Positive, neutral, or negative teaching strategies affect student motivation accordingly. If teachers can match teaching strategies with students’ learning strategies, then good conditions are created for student motivation and study results A concrete example is a student’s need for a clear teaching structure, which is not always in line with teachers’ perceptions (Boström, 2013). Both upper secondary school students and university students show a clear need for external structure to perform better (Boström & Gidlund, 2016). Students are motivated if they receive clear frameworks, instructions, deadlines, schedules, exemplary
Strategies to increase student motivation can be understood and analyzed from various perspectives (Jerkeby (2019). Motivation strategies interact with each other in many different ways. If teachers are to contribute to students’ study motivation, a “toolbox” of different motivational strategies is required (Augustsson & Boström, 2016).
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2.3 Motivational Strategies
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. examples and concretions, and regular feedback (Boström, 2013). This matching pedagogy seems particularly essential for students in need of support or in a classroom situation where behavioral problems occur (Gidlund & Boström, 2017). Grönqvist and Vlachos (2008) found that different types of students are affected in different ways, but that the match between student and teacher is crucial to students’ study motivation. However, they emphasized, “Figuring out which teachers are best suited in different situations is an open question” (p. 15).
2.4 Motivation and Learning Environments
The surrounding physical and social environment also affects students to varying degrees (Ahlberg, 2001; Valsö & Malmgren, 2019). For many students, study motivation is formed in the learning environment. According to Blomgren (2016), this is evident in students’ descriptions of feelings and perceptions of success and failure. Adapted learning environments with inclusive approaches are especially crucial for students who have not previously succeeded in school (Gidlund & Boström, 2017). Definitions of learning environment vary depending on scientific starting points and disciplines and include different perspectives on learning. Learning environments are described based on mental, social, and psychosocial dimensions (Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, 2017). Another definition of the concept which goes further is including psychological, educational, cognitive, socio economic, physical, communicative, social, and organizational aspects (Ahlberg, 2001). If environments are to motivate students, then they should in some sense be good, which in research has been described as working methods, attitudes, and the physical layout of the classroom (Ahlberg, 2001). These factors can help create good conditions for all students’ sense of participation in activities (Antonovsky, 2005). Insights into and knowledge of how good learning environments are established are needed to understand student learning processes (Ahlberg, 2001). The same goes for students, namely that they understand what constructive learning environments are for them so that they can take responsibility for learning (Boström, 2013; Jerkeby, 2019). Opportunities to meet students on their own terms are about the knowledge and understanding of individual differences and similarities regarding student learning. In a learning environment, mutual interaction takes place where people affect and are influenced by the social and physical environment (Björklid & Fischbein, 2011). Learning takes place between people in a physical context and in a social context. An indispensable ingredient in the learning process is the tools that teachers use, which can be either physical or intellectual (Säljö, 2014). A good learning environment must therefore be initiated, created, developed, and evaluated to best support a student’s study motivation.
3. Empirical Starting Points
3.1. Upper Secondary School Programs
Three upper secondary school programs selected for empirical material collection were the Social Sciences Program (SSP), the Health and Social care Program (HSP), and the Individual Program (IP). The selection principles thus include both academic and practical programs, as well as a representation of student groups
3.2 Data Collection and Data Processing
3.3 Method We used a hybrid content analysis method (Fereday & Muir Cochrane, 2006; Rising Holmström et al., 2015). We conducted group interviews as a data collection method. All contributors were informed about the project’s aims and current ethical research principles (Vetenskapsrådet, 2017). At the start of the interviews, all informants were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could cancel the interview at any time. The interviews focused on organizational conditions, perceptions of interpersonal processes, and individual characteristics. To achieve the purpose, we used a hybrid content analysis that began with deductive analysis based on selected theories and perspectives, and then moved on to an inductive analysis and finally connected the theoretical starting points with the empirical material in the result. A deductive (targeted) content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) was initially used to answer the research questions. The analysis was based on predetermined themes when the interview material was analyzed (Mayring, 2000) and was characterized by a more structured process compared with unconditional coding. The deductive content analysis enables comparisons with results from previous
The throughput figures for students at the upper secondary school in 2016 were about 8% below the national average, whereas the municipality’s Child and Education Board’s goals and resources plan (X Municipality, 2016) set high targets in terms of increasing the proportion of students completing their upper secondary studies in the course in 3 or 4 years. Thus, there was a clear political orientation that affects the children and education administration and the work of the municipal upper secondary school. In the local business plans for 2015 2016, a crucial area of development was found to increase student motivation. Such work was perceived by those responsible for the programs as helping to raise the results in the upper secondary school. The political ambitions of the upper secondary school are also reflected in an operational priority from the administration.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. with various past successes or challenges in their learning processes. To address our research questions, in spring 2017, we conducted six group interviews with 12 students, as well as three group interviews with 20 teachers from the three programs The study is limited to factors that are directly linked to the school. How time outside of school affects students' study motivation is not a primary part of the study's interest. Furthermore, the study is limited to the four participating upper secondary school programs and group interviews with teachers and students.
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The design of questions for the group interviews was adapted from Blomgren (2016). The teachers interviewedconsisted of those gathered at a work place meeting for the teachers’ college for the intended program or those who volunteered to participate. The students were selected by teachers based on the criteria that the group of students would include both boys and girls and students with varying academic success. The interviews were conducted on site at the school and were recorded and transcribed. The interviews lasted between 40 min and 1.5 hr. The transcribed interviews comprised approximately 250 A4 pages of text.
After a close reading, the parts of the text that expressed identifiable ideas or positions (units of meaning) were condensed by coding within each theme. The empirical content was examined methodically, the texts were interpreted step by step, and data were classified to distinguish patterns. The empirical material was broken down into meaning bearing units, which were condensed into shorter sentences and then abstracted into codes, describing the content of the meaning units. Codes with similar content were combined into themes and organized into categories. To make the analysis transparent, codes and categories were combined in an analysis scheme. These categories were interpreted and presented in their respective themes with some telling quotes, and finally, the two informant groups were compared The two researchers discussed the results of analysis thoroughly until we reached consensus, a process that resulted in the further refinement of categories and a final thematisation. To offer credible, generalisable results, we have reported our methodological approach, means of categorisation and analytical method herein.
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After an initial deductive analysis phase of the interview responses, the analysis turned into an inductive approach (see Figure 1). With selected themes as breaks, the categorization matrix was developed. Data were sorted via an inductive process (i.e., the text “spoke freely” within each theme and generated categories).
Figure 1: The analysis process
research and the results of discussions based on different selected theoretical perspectives (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008). This article tests theories in the field of study motivation that see motivation as a social and contextual interplay (Hugo, 2011; Perry et al., 2006). The analysis of the interviews was based on four themes: motivation, motivational strategies, learning environments, and more. Based on the four themes, a categorization matrix was developed that was then systematically used in the analysis of the interviews.
The analysis process was not linear but had more of an iterative character, where the process moved back and forth between the different phases. Through reflective dialogues between the researchers, the data processing was carried out. The participants were coded in the transcribed material with the numbers T1 T20 for teachers and S1 S12 for students to distinguish them more efficiently during the processing of the data set.
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Regarding the upper secondary school students’ study motivation, several influence categories were found. Teachers were the most important motivator, according to the informants: “I would say that perhaps the teacher’s most important task is to work with and improve and develop students’ motivation. But I would also like to say that it is the students’ most important task to become aware that their own motivation is so incredibly crucial, and that motivation is something that can change.” (T8).
tudents’ responsibility for study motivation was a prominent theme in the empirical material. However, students and teachers’ images differed from each other. The teachers placed more emphasis on the students’ inner motivation, with descriptions that study motivation can be controlled from within and the importance of students being responsible, wanting to learn, and seeing the benefits of going to school. In the teachers’ answers, there was also a strong belief that students work towards goals and sub goals and know the purpose of their Thestudies.students, on the other hand, did not discuss to any great extent their inner motivation. Two study motivating aspects for them were to experience the benefits of learning and participation in the planning of teaching. The interviews did not provide unambiguous or comprehensive answers regarding the students´ strategies for building their inner motivation. However, the empirical material showed that the teachers “views on how students should muster study motivation differed from the students” (T9). Important questions include whether students learned or understood the importance of mental strategies or whether teachers understand students’ cognitive strategy
The results are presented and analyzed based on the study’s purpose and its three research questions. The presentation of the result is based on the developed theme and categorization matrix. In the four themes (i.e., motivation, motivational strategies, learning environments, and more), there are common and distinctive categories within both the teacher and student groups, but also between them. The categories that were condensed were teachers, students, structure, social relations, and results.
4. Results and Analysis
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Teachers are perceived as the single most important factor that affects students’ study motivation and through their leadership they can influence students’ inner motivation is confirmed by other research (Hattie, 2009; Hugo, 2011; Håkansson & Sundberg, 2012). The approaches that describe constructive teachers are clarity and the ability to give constructive feedback and push students and to be “ Sinteresting".
Regarding the category of arrangements, students and teachers consistently showed that a more practical and laboratory arrangement of lessons has a positive effect on study motivation. This is in line with the results Boström and Bostedt (2020) present in a new study on vocational classes´ study motivation.
4.1 Motivation
Teachers and students agreed on the importance of grades for study motivation, namely that the presence of grades can both increase and decrease motivation: “If I get a high grade on one task, I will be motivated for the other. Grades give motivation” (S2); “If I get bad grades/. . ./ or if I am behind, then I cannot work at all. It will be a vicious circle” (S4). In summary, the results showed that study motivation could be seen as both a controlled and autonomous external motivation driven phenomenon (cf. Imsen, 2006; Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015). In the teacher interviews, the perception emerged that the students did not reflect sufficiently on what they had learned, even though information was submitted so they would not fail. This is a strategy that demonstrates control via external autonomous motivation (Wery & Thomson, 2013). If students do not reflect on what they have learned, then it can be seen as a rejection of the school’s mission to stimulate students’ metacognitive competence.
Teachers’ behaviors were of strategic importance, according to both teachers and students, which is in line with current research (Håkansson & Sundberg, 2012;
4.2 Motivational Strategies
The results are not entirely in line with international and national research on learning strategies (Boström, 2013; Niemivirta, 2004). This research indicates that at group level, there are differences in what are called perceptual preferences; that is, learning by doing (Dewey, 1897) is an approach that may suit some students well, others not. Boström (2013) showed, for example, that students in an upper secondary school’s vocational program preferred teaching that is based on learning by doing to a greater degree than students in academic programs.
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Motivational teaching planning was described as “learning for working life” (T4).
Motivational strategies were perceived as active behaviors or actions to create motivation in the students, which can include students’ thoughts, feelings, and actions, but also teachers’ actions or surrounding structures or cultures (Jerkeby, 2019). Similar themes that emerged about motivation can also be discerned within this theme (i.e., teachers, students, structure, and results). Here, however, social relations are also added as a category.
Work place learning was an example of how teaching methods in or about real life generate higher study motivation and higher student attendance compared with regular school lessons. According to T2, having “courses that you can do close to reality, it often becomes . . . easier for the students to become study motivated.” If the approach was not sufficiently well planned or too monotonous, students’ study motivation decreased. The design of assignments was also crucial for students’ study motivation (cf. Hugo, 2011; Håkansson & Sundberg, 2012). Another aspect of the teaching structure concerned the upper secondary school common subjects, which were not as popular with the students in the vocational programs as they were in the academic programs. These subjects lowered the study motivation. The time aspect was also emphasized by the students as an essential factor in increasing or decreasing motivation: “Time is more important than methods . . . but this is where you get a little time for certain things” (S5).
Students consistently mentioned that finding enjoyment in school work was a motivational strategy: According to S8, “Study motivation means to do what is fun. So it’s fun if you want to do it. If it’s boring, it’s not fun”. This was also commented on by teachers: “Everything should be pleasurable. In general, I think students today are pleasure driven young people” (T20). Here we can discern generational differences between teachers who prefer learning to be serious and young people who are motivated by the teaching being pleasure filled. This is a challenge to deal with in everyday pedagogical practice. According to the teachers and students, the motivation to study decreased or increased depending on the structure of the courses (e.g., through good planning and participation). Planning includes teachers’ lesson and course planning, joint planning, and the students’ planning. The students emphasized the importance of being able to choose a variety of working methods: “When I am motivated, there is a variation in the teaching, with varying tasks and subject areas” (S6). Another motivational strategy was “to get rid of the stamp of boredom” (T3).
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Hattie, 2009; Hofvenberg, 2020; Jerkeby, 2019). One difference between teachers and students was that they emphasized different teaching behaviors as important. The teachers pointed to their knowledge competence, the importance of being up to date on the subject, and the ability to enthuse the students and to see and build on students’ strengths (cf. Mahler et al. 2018). The students emphasized teachers’ personal qualities in the treatment as important for study motivation (e.g., teachers should be happy, understanding, and have the competence to provide support, but should not stress the students). According to the teachers, students’ motivational behaviors were that they are responsible and curious. Behaviors that reduce or remove motivation are, according to some of the teachers, different types of defense mechanisms or “repressed dissatisfaction” (T12).
Social relationships as motivational strategies recurred in the student and teacher interviews. If teachers and students can build good relationships, then the study motivation is affected in a positive sense. The pedagogical task is facilitated with good relationships, for example, by giving feedback and making the right demands. Similar to Hattie’s (2009) results, the interviews showed that relationships between teacher and student were the most important study motivating factor. According to T1, “One must build relationships, and the biggest obstacle to reaching students who do not have motivation, it is the absence. Because if they are not in place, then it is very tough to motivate them.” Results in the form of grades as a motivation strategy were problematized by both teachers and students. The overall picture was that grades could create study motivation, but that they could further inhibit motivation if they were low. “The whip, it is to reach the good grades then, because you should be able to apply to university or what ever ” (S10). The grades as a structurally inhibiting and stress related factor were also problematized by the informants. The new grading system created excitement and stress for the students, and the demands are very high. In this study, grades can be seen as an area where motivation can arise as controlled external or autonomous external motivation (Imsen, 2006; Woolfolk & Karlberg, 2015) and its effect on study motivation can be both promoting or inhibiting.
Some teachers emphasized that smaller groups of students were a motivating factor. However, this view did not emerge in the interviews with the students. On the other hand, well being, security, and the class were described as essential aspects in the learning environment by both informant groups. Well being was both about being comfortable with the teacher and the class, but also in the physical sense, namely being comfortable on the premises. The effect of the external environment on students’ study motivation was even described as underestimated. Security was also emphasized in the interviews with the two groups: “If you feel safe and comfortable and you enjoy being here, then homework and assignments are easier” (S1). Both teachers and students emphasized the importance of the class or group in the learning environment as an influencing factor for students’ study motivation. The results above confirm previous research on good learning environments (i.e., that social inclusion is important as a basis for safe learning; Ahlberg, 2001).
4.3 Learning Environments
Descriptions of the learning environment within the teacher group focused on the importance of adaptations for different groups of students at the individual level and from the perspective of disabilities, in other words, a special educational perspective (e.g. Ahlberg, 2001). This did not appear at all in the student group.
A distinctive perception between students and teachers in the category of social relations was the teachers ‘marking of “correct” parental support for students’ studymotivation. The right parental support was described as a dialogue between teachers and parents, where the parents do not sanction the students’ absences or negative behaviors and where they influence their children’s positive views of the school. The opposite was parents who more or less had given up or contributed to a reduced study motivation for their children. The students expressed that parental support could vary. Some students had parents who supported them; others did not have this support. A dilemma that the students described was that
4.4 Other Within the theme, there were several distinctive perceptions between teachers and students. The teachers emphasized that a consensus between school and parents is crucial to creating a good basis for students’ study motivation. It was seen as important that the teachers take the initiative for cooperation: “We have a reasonable consensus with the parents. That we call home and tell now is going well. Trying to push together. That it is not just that we have a discussion together, but we invite them” (T11). From a student perspective, teachers considered it crucial that parents are not “codependent” on their children’s negative school behaviors. Parents can understand or even sanction students’ failures because they may have behaved in a similar way when they were young. Regarding social relations, there were similar views among teachers and students. The right peers were stated to be decisive for study motivation in such a way that they could influence the study motivation positively, and with the wrong peers, the influence became negative. However, it seemed difficult to break away from a group of friends who do not want to study: “If I hang out with some friends and they do not even want to work, I lose the motivation. It is difficult to change friends. It’s up to me if I should follow them / / I still have my own responsibility” (S10).
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supportive parents could also lead to perceived pressure for the students to continue to perform well. This could be perceived as a negative or problematic expectation structure.
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4.5 Students´ and Teachers’ Equal and Different Perceptions
Figure 2. Picture of condensed codes within each theme of the teacher interviews
The importance of teachers in promoting students’ academic motivation is evident. Teacher leadership is also a crucial factor in study motivation. However, there is a difference between the interview groups; teachers point more to the importance of knowledge, whereas students emphasize more personal qualities such as being understanding, happy, and giving support.
There is a complex interplay between results and motivation regarding what teachers and students put in the concept of study motivation. Study results affect motivation and vice versa both in a positive and in a negative sense. Grades also affect the study motivation in different directions.
In summary, it can be stated that the four themes of the analysis partly overlap. The same applies to the five categories that were condensed based on the units of meaning in the interviews. Apparent differences and similarities emerge in the comparisons between students and teachers in terms of codes within each category. This provides indications of the answers to the research questions about students’ study motivation. Figures 2 and 3 below give an overview of the codes that were condensed from the empirical data in each group.
An substantial similarity between teachers and students regarding study motivation is that lessons or subjects that have more practical (life skill oriented) content are motivating and that the students have and see the benefit of the
The significance of social relations is confirmed by Ahlberg’s (2001) communicative relation oriented theory, which focuses on the concept of learning environment in a broader sense. It concerns cognitive, perceptual, socio emotional, and socio cultural aspects, as well as communicative and linguistic interactions. Regarding the surrounding environment, both teachers and students pointed out the importance of the right peers as a motivating factor. Peer friends can help increase or decrease study motivation. Distinctive within this theme was that teachers pointed to the right parental support, whereas the students pointed out that parental support can vary and have different effects.
Figure 3. Picture of condensed codes within each theme of the student interviews
5.1 Research conclusions To understand the phenomenon of study motivation, we require a synthesis of theories (Blomgren, 2016; Wery & Thomson, 2013) and practical studies in collaboration with teachers (Hofvenberg, 2020). Motivation can be analyzed from
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5. Conclusions In this final part the conclusions reflect the research questions, and implications from the results of the study are described.
knowledge. A major difference between teachers and students’ responses is that the teachers emphasized “life skills” in learning more, such as strategies regarding goals, objectives, and sub objectives, whereas the students did not touch on these strategies at all. A consistent view between teachers and students is the importance of well being and security in the learning environment and that the class, groups, or peers should offer a motivating environment. The teachers pointed out the importance of adaptations and smaller groups in the learning environment. The students believed that the external learning environment, such as rooms and benches, also plays an essential role in study motivation.
55 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. an interactive (Stensmo, 2005) or a transactional perspective (Perry et.al 2006). The perspective in this article is broader than a mere focus on individual Thecharacteristics.firstandthe second research question about teachers´ and students´ experiences about factors increasing/decreasing students’ study motivation, and differences and similarities between the populations, are answered in the study from different aspects.
The teachers appear as a very important group of actors for the students’ study motivation. Teachers play a crucial role for study motivation, i.e. particularly in how they convey expectations to students and organize classroom activities This conclusion is also found in Stenmos’ (2005) and Giota´s (2017) argumentation that teachers function as motivators by stimulating commitment and effort, strengthening teaching conditions, supporting individuals and groups, and shaping the classroom climate. The teachers’ approach, choice of didactic working methods, leadership etc. are an important interactive motivating factor. This is also confirmed in Blomgrens study (2016) where motivation is also linked to pedagogical approaches, learning environments, didactic issues, and the importance of teachers, and links this with planning of teaching, learning, and views on knowledge. Blomgren clarified that teachers’ didactic action competence is crucial for a successful school operation (cf Augustsson & Boström, 2016). In contrast to Mahler et al. (2018) and Blomgren (2016) we found no evidence that teacher's subject specific enthusiasm was crucial for study motivation The students in this study instead emphasized the teacher's personality as a motivating factor, while the teachers emphasized teachers' subject competence as Thecrucial.study
clearly demonstrates the need for a practically oriented and laborative pedagogy (cf. Boström & Bostedt, 2020; Boström 2013) such as pedagogy built on learning by doing (Dewey, 1897). The students especially emphasized that when the pedagogy was adapted to their way of learning, it was motivating. Thus, teachers' leadership in the didactic space is an important competence for teachers to be able to motivate students (Augustsson & Boström, 2016). Also need for variation in teaching, was also confirmed by the results.
The result show a number of learning strategies which support study motivation at a collective level, but these do not emerge as clearly at the individual. The teachers emphasized the importance of adaptations and smaller groups in the learning environment, whereas the students believed that the external learning environment also played an important role in the study motivation. According to Blomgren (2016), it is particularly important that “ students’ ability is strengthened by support that aims to get students to use effective learning strategies and make an effort” (p. 243). Blomgren, however, did not clarify what effective learning strategies are meant to include. In this study, a number of strategies have emerged, such as students' needs for structure, the teacher's personality, participation in planning, choices and appropriate learning methods.
In addition, the empirical results show that teachers and students have slightly different views on students’ ability and insight into taking responsibility for their own learning. The teachers believed in the students' own responsibility whereas students prefer to highlight pleasurable learning. We believe that the discrepancy between students ‘and teachers’ views should be clarified, problematized, and used in a constructive way to further explore the issue of study motivation.
A broader perspective, on study motivation as a composite phenomenon that affects internal and external motivational factors and the relationships between them, then becomes significant. One conclusion drawn from the empirical material is that teachers need to encourage inner motivation, while at the same time ensuring that external motivation promotes learning (Anderman & Anderman, 2009; Wery & Thomson, 2013). It is preferable to seek out lack of study motivation in such factors as environments, learning strategies, teaching planning, individual ambitions, home school interaction, didactic choices, and the physical environment (Giota, 2017). Both internal and external motivational factors thus need to be taken into account.
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To reconnect with motivation theories, the empirical evidence in this study points unequivocally to the validity of the interactive, as well as the transitive perspective. It proves that well being and security in the learning environment are important and that the class/ group/peers constitute a motivational context for the students. The conclusions in this article point to the validity of the interactive motivational perspective, in which the student’s own choice and responsibility for school work and learning (internal motivational factors) must be linked to external motivational factors. There is an interaction between situation and person (interaction), in which processes concerning negotiations of meaning in the social interaction (transaction) take place. Motivation can thus be seen as a process integrated into a larger whole, impossible to separate from learning, individual differences, the nature of tasks, or societal context.
The third research question about how is study motivation linked to various aspects of education according to teachers and students, is highlighted both in the theoretical framework used and the results of the study: motivating or demotivating factors, motivational strategies that support or inhibit students, learning environments that support or hinder students' study motivation and “other” factors. Good learning environments are thus important in school, as well as in other work places or learning situations (Björklid & Fischbein, 2011). To best support students’ ability to take responsibility for their own learning, knowledge is needed about the ways that good learning environments can be established because people interact, influence, and are influenced by the social and physical environment 5.2 Implications
Important research questions for further studies are to a) broaden the study to further study programs to find variations, b) conduct observational studies in the classroom to examine teachers' and students' interaction, c) deepen the interviews
57 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. with students with, for example, case descriptions or d) conduct case studies at different schools to examine school cultures. References Ahlberg, A. (2001). Lärande och delaktighet [Learning and participation]. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2009). Motivating children and adolescents in Schools Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Antonovsky, A. (2005). Hälsans mysterium [The mystery of health]. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. Aspelin, J. (2018). Lärares relationskompetens [Teacher’s relationship skills] Stockholm: Liber. Augustsson, G., & Boström, L. (2016). Teachers’ leadership in the didactic room: A systematic literature review of international research Acta Didactica Norge tidsskrift for fagdidaktisk forsknings og utviklingsarbeid i Norge, 10, 1 19. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.2883
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58 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Giotta, J. (2017). Den svårfångade motivationen, elevers välmående och skolprestationer [The hard captured motivation, student well being and school achievement]. Lecture 2017 10 30, Sundsvall. Giota, J. (2013). Individualisering i skolan vilken, varför och hur? [Individualization at school which, why and how?] Vetenskapsrådets rapportserie, 3. Stockholm. Granström, K. (2012). Tre aspekter på lärares ledarskap i klassrummet. In G. Berg, F. Sundh, C. Wede (eds.), Lärare som ledare [Teacher as leader](pp. 27 48). Lund: Studentlitteratur. Grönqvist, E., & Vlachos, J. (2008). Hur lärares förmågor påverkar elevers studieresultat [How teachers ‘abilities affect students’ learning outcomes]. IFAU. Rapport 2008:25 Håkansson, J., & Sundberg, D. (2012) Utmärkt undervisning. Framgångsfaktorer i svensk och internationell belysning [Excellent teaching. Successfactors inSwedish and international lighting] Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta analyses relating to achievement New York: Routledge. Hofvenberg, A. (2020). Motivation, students, and the classroom environment. Exploring the role of Swedish students´ achievement goals in chemistry (Diss) Umeå: Umeå Universitet. Hsieh, H. S., & Shannon, S. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277 1288 https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687 Hugo, M. (2011). Från motstånd till framgång att motivera när ingen motivations finns [From resistance to success to motivate when there is no motivation]. Stockholm: Liber. Imsen, G. (2006). Elevens värld. Introduktion till pedagogisk psykologi [The student’s world. Introduction to educational psychology]. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Jerkeby, S. (2019). Att redan vara motiverad om hinder och möjligheter för lärande [To be motivated already about barriers and opportunities for learning]. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Lundahl, L., Lidström, L., Lindblad, M., Lovén, A., Olofsson, J., & Öst, J. (2015) Osäkra övergångar. Resultatdialog 2015 (pp. 107 116). Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet. Mahler,D.,Großschedl,J.,&Harms,U.(2018):Doesmotivationmatter? Therelationship between teachers’ self efficacy and enthusiasm and students’ performance PLOS ONE, 13(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207252 Mayring, P. (2000). Qualitative Content Analysis. Qualitative Social Research, 1(2). Niemivirta, M. (2004). Skillnader mellan flickor och pojkar i inlärningsmotivation. Skola kön inlärningsresultat [Differences between girls and boys in learning motivation. School gender learning results]. Helsingfors: Utbildningsstyrelsen. Perry, N. E., Turner, J. C., & Meyer, D. K. (2006). Classrooms as context for motivating learning. In P.A. Alexander & P.H. Winne (ed.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 1 64). Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum. Rising Holmström, M., Häggström, M , & Kristiansen, L. (2015). Skolsköterskans rolltransformering till den hälsofrämjande positionen [The role of the school nurse in transforming the health promoting position]. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 25(4), 210 217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0107408315587860 Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2002). An overview of self determination theory. In E. L. Deci &R.M.Ryan(ed.), Handbookofself determinationresearch (pp.3 33).Rochester,NY: University of Rochester Press. Skolverket. (2016). Uppföljning av gymnasieskolan [Follow up of upper secondary school]. Skolverket: Stockholm. Skolverket.(2018). Frångymnasieskolatillhögskola [From uppersecondaryschooltouniversity]. Rapport 466. Stockholm: Skolverket.
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Keywords: folklore; culture; disaster risk reduction; disaster prevention and preparedness; early childhood education
1. Introduction Children often tend to be the most affected and vulnerable to disasters (Kousky, 2016; Tanner, Lazcano, Lussier & Polack, 2009; Winser et al., 2004). This vulnerability occurs both during and after a disaster. Young children are physically vulnerable to unexpected and chronic disasters due, in part or in full, to adult dependency (Peek, 2008). Disasters often result in the constant disruption of children's lives, from families, schooling, accommodation, health care, friendships and other core areas of their lives; they face the risk of parental separation, relocation, trauma, illness, and death (Fothergill, 2017) Disasters interfere with children's psychological health and social functioning (Norris et al., 2002), cause children to suffer from depression, while a severe trauma could affect themformany years tocome in termsof their mental health andwellbeing (Bryant et al., 2018). The psychological effects differ greatly across a vast range of challenges, spanning a long time, and are linked to the nature of the event; most people heal soon, while some progress to psychopathology, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depression, anxiety disorders, and even addiction problems (Shultz, 2014). Disasters impair the long term learning ability
Abstract. This research investigated the use of folklore in early childhood disaster education. A systematic analysis of the literature was used to evaluate early childhood disaster education. The researchers identified different concepts present in the literature; and examined patterns, parallels, and regularities The researchers synthesized the principle of folklore use in early childhood disaster education as part of this research. Folklores have a tremendous potential to make early childhood disaster education effective if interpreted, integrated, and demonstrated by science. This work provides a strong foundation for further study into the same research issue by using empirical data or research into how to make folklore an efficient tool for early childhood disaster education.
60 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 60 80, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.4 The Dragon, the Knight and the Princess: Folklore in Early Childhood Disaster Education Maila D. H. Rahiem and Husni Rahim UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 5618 2486 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 1797 5018
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of children (Gibbs et al., 2019). Children typically experience emotional and behavioral issues, nightmares and trouble sleeping, and stress inflicted anxiety attacks (Somasundaram & van de Put, 2006) Children need protection during a disaster, but children do have specific capacities that can lead to efforts by the home and community to minimize the disaster risks and impact (Fothergill, 2017). Initiatives to plan for disasters and mitigate risks can be implemented by people to eliminate long-term social and economic disturbances from the impact of these hazards. Education is regarded as one of the best media to create a society that is ready for disasters. Using education, we can raise awareness and understand the danger among children, teach readiness, and demonstrate how to respond in times of disaster (Twigg, 2003). Children's disaster education initiatives will reinforce disaster preparedness and resilience for both children andfamilies (Torani, Majd,Maroufi, Dowlati & Sheikhi, 2019) Curriculum on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) can enhance pre school quality, engage children in DRR programs (Proulx & Aboud, 2019). It would also increase children's understanding of disaster risks and preparedness in ways that might reduce such disaster risks (Amri, Haynes, Bird & Ronan, 2018; Johnson, Ronan, Johnston, & Peace, 2014; Proulx & Aboud, 2019). Disasters can happen when children are at home or in school, when they are with their family or friends or even alone. It is important to involve children in a disaster rescue plan and ensure they know what to do when or if a dangerous situation occurs. Encouraging children to think about the importance of precautionary action and preparedness can narrow the gap between knowledge and action (Bosschaart, van der Schee, Kuiper & Schoonenboom, 2016; Faber et al., 2014), and save many young lives. They may not fully understand everything and only comprehend a few points, as per their ability to cognize it. So, it is necessary to determine both what to teach and how to teach children these skills and knowledge. According to studies conducted in various countries, including Japan, there is a direct link between education, increased risk perception, and students' risk reduction measures (Torani et al., 2019). Disaster lessons are usually integrated intocurricula, includingscience, health, geography, literature andcivic education, and are organized according to the students' level. In Indonesia, it is integrated into science, social studies, language, mathematics or even religious studies (Rahiem, 2018). Thirty nine states in the USA, using the Michigan Model for Health, are integrating disaster preparedness curricula into their School Health Program (Eisman et al., 2020). Natural disasters are addressed in geography lessons in Australia and New Zealand (Duffy, 2014). In the United Kingdom, disaster education is incorporated into textbooks used in science and geography (Sharpe & Kelman, 2011). In Taiwan, a flood game was introduced to encourage the active learning of players through exploration (Tsai, Wen, Chang & Kang, 2015). In early childhood settings, Iran's disaster education includes posters, videos, role plays, exercises, and games (Izadkhah & Hosseini, 2005); while in the Philippines, teachers use animation videos, songs, and storybooks to teach about disasters and preparedness for disasters (Ani, Daquio & Aquino, 2015)
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Local knowledge of previous tragedies had been passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth. As a result of this, when the ground began trembling and the tide went out further than ever, the communities were aware of the initial warning signs of earthquake and tsunami, and were able to react accordingly before it was too late. Consequently, they had time to flee inland to higher ground to effectively avoid the direct effects of the disaster (Mercer et al., 2012). Culture has been a factor in the recovery of populations from disasters where, in some cases, culture has served as a deterrent to successful DRR activities (Kulatunga, 2010).
Previous scholars have discussed the importance of early disaster preparedness education for children (Amri et al., 2018; Bosschaart et al., 2016; Faber et al., 2014; Johnson et al., 2014; Proulx & Aboud, 2019); the role of culture in disseminating a major program such as disaster preparedness and response (Appleby Arnold et al., 2018; Bankoff, 2013; Donovan, 2010; Jha & Jha, 2011; Kulatunga, 2010); and how folklore, as one of the sources of local culture, has saved people from disasters as they were more conscious of the hazards of the disasters and also learned what to do when they occur (Mercer et al., 2012) . To the best knowledge of the researchers, scholars have not looked at using folklore in early childhood disaster education. As a result of this gap in existing knowledge, the researchers investigated the idea of using folklore in disaster education in early childhood in this Thisstudy.study is significant in providing an overview of the possibility of implementing a disaster prevention program in the kindergarten. This research is also becoming a preliminary or background study for further exploring the methods and strategies of using folklore in early childhood disaster education.
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Since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that affected several Asian countries on December 26, 2004, studies have been conducted concerning the use of local culture in disaster prevention programs. Donovan (2010) highlighted the need to investigate the connection between cultural reactions and natural events, otherwise known as 'geoculture.' Bankoff et al. (2013) argued that the root causes of vulnerability lie within the past and progress of our society; therefore, culture has a significant role in society the relations between the world and our ultimate survival. Jha and Jha (2011) emphasized the importance of indigenous knowledge as a valuable tool that can promote the prevention, preparedness and response to disasters in cost effective, participatory and sustainable ways. Integrating shared local values, common day to day experiences and local communal memories into risk communication strategies and behavioral guidelines can be effective in fostering citizen disaster preparedness (Appleby Arnold, Brockdorff, Jakovljev & Zdravković, 2018).
One form of culture that has been discussed as a potential for promoting disaster prevention, preparedness, and responses is folklore. Some work has been conducted that explores how indigenous people survived the destructive tragedy as they learned about tsunamis through stories or songs that are part of their culture. Indigenous people, including Thailand's Moken, Indonesia's Simeulueans and many island groups on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, were more prepared as they heard from their predecessors about tsunamis.
Disaster education, which encompasses disaster risk management, prevention and preparedness measures, is one method for minimizing negative disaster impacts (Mulyasari, Takeuchi & Shaw, 2011). According to the 2005 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action (United Nations, 2005), the goal of disaster education is to develop a culture of protection and resilience at all levels and reduce the adverse social and economic effects of hazards. Disaster awareness seeks to provide information for individuals and communities to take steps to minimize their vulnerability to disasters (Torani et al., 2019); to mitigate the risk concerning hazardous incidents by helping children and families learn about both exposure and building processes (Ronan, Alisic, Towers, Johnson & Johnston, 2015).
Education may increase children's perception of risk (Shreve et al., 2014). Disaster education should be specifically discussed as a means of improving child resilience and transmission of information to minimize the risk of disasters in their homes (Torani et al., 2019). Historically, disaster awareness initiatives and the media have provided adults with disaster risk information and ways to protect their families, such as developing family emergency plans, securing home and rental insurance, and storing food, water, and supplies (Mileti, 1995). Specially designed disaster education for children is also required. Children have a unique understanding of risks, and risk perceptions differ according to their age and also gender (Haynes & Lassa, 2010; Tanner et al., 2009)
Starting education at an early age is suggested because people never forget what they learn at an early age (Torani et al., 2019). According to the United Nations Children's Fund (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, 2011), children's disaster education services are meant to contribute to a dramatic shift in mentality and attitude and a behavioral improvement towards a more effective disaster reduction approach. If children are presented with the right information and resources and are assisted by adults, they have a greater chance of success. This notion is significant because almost one third of the world's population is children, and today's solutions can provide long term impacts to today's children and their societies. School is the perfect place to prepare pupils for emergency preparedness. Schools have both the physical resources and the personnel to respond to an emergency quickly. They can assist the communities in their efforts to carry out risk analysis and prevention of disasters. In the event of a disaster, schools are well positioned to play a wide variety of positions as emergency response and relief centers, communication centers, supply depots and hubs of managing partner (Mutch, 2014). Citizens need to be prepared to face disasters and develop detailed educational programs (Torani et al., 2019)
2. Background and Rationale
The researchers reviewed two sets of literature to establish the conceptual framework within which the study was conducted, namely: early childhood disaster education, and folklore in early childhood education.
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2.1 Early childhood disaster education
2.2 Folklore in early childhood education
Dan Ben Amos famously suggested a definition of folklore as artistic communication in small groups in his seminal essay, "Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context" (Ben Amos, 1971) A folklore, in its traditional and conventional form, is transmitted orally in most cases and serves as shared tradition based creations of a particular culture. The manifestations of modern folklores include folk festivals, numerous ensembles of traditional songs and dances, or folklore festivals held around the world (Harvilahti, 2004). Nowadays, folklores are not just found in books, but also include interactive folklore stories or folk based movies. Ben Amos (2014) re conceptualized the meaning of folklore as a specific kind of communication that is distinct in terms of language, image, sound, motion and performance.
Folklore oftenincludes ideas that gointocreating aculture at differentlevels, from
Folklore is one of the most popular children's narratives used for language programs in pre school, and has the power to influence children, teach behavior or good practice and is very similar to the lives of individuals. Researchers observed in many cultures, folklore is associatedwith stories of dragons, warriors, and princesses. For example, in Indonesia, Balinese, Javanese and Kalimantanese folklores depict an earthquake that is associated with an angered dragon. Another story involves a princess who resided in Mount Rinjani, Lombok, which, when she was disturbed by human attitudes, would lead to a volcanic eruption that destroys nature. A story from Siau, North Sulawesi, involved the main character, Sakeha, who was a brave warrior after a tsunami had occurred and helped everyone that had been affected to recover. Folklore is important in the study of repeatable practices that people deem conventional, connotative, and significant.
Narratives have been commonly utilized in early years’ education as a useful tool for the development of spoken language and literacy. Narratives support the development of literacy, as they help children to learn ideas on how to use language (Maureen, van der Meij & de Jong, 2018); and to encourage oral skills (Nicolopoulou, Cortina, Ilgaz, Cates & de Sá, 2015). A narrative can also encourage writing skills by inspiring children to create their own stories, change stories they have read, and even write plays based on popular tales (Cassell, 2004; Nicolopoulou et al., 2015)
Narratives depict social interactions, friendships and interpersonal relationships. Children also learn from the experiences of the characters in narratives because they offer an image of an individual's life and mind in the form of words (Rahiem, Abdullah & Krauss, 2020) Throughout this study, one type of narrative is explored in greater depth, folklore.
Narratives are often considered advantageous due to the support they provide to many other facets of children's growth, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and spiritual. A narrative can power cognitive involvement, critical thinking, and sequencing of stories (Agosto, 2016). It is a powerful tool for promoting self understanding (Lenox, 2000), fairness and diversity (Flewitt, 2017) and promoting inclusive classrooms (Mardell & Kucirkova, 2017). Narratives are also used frequently in kindergarten for Moral Education (Gunnestad & Thwala, 2011; Rahim & Rahiem, 2013; Thambu, 2017; Thompson, 2011; Woodard, 2005)
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By using folk stories to construct a dramatization of an imaginary scenario that is culturally prized, the children are on stage acting in the drama, and the audiences are watching the drama. They can see and hear the message within the story despite not having witnessed it themselves directly. This method of delivery helps children switch from a lower mental function to a higher mental, as they form conceptions of values that are central to social life function (Fleer, 2013). It shows that early childhood educators can use folk tale dramas and video with a stimulated recall to help children participate in imaginative recall to give them new insights. What about using folklore to involve children in the imaginary recollection of disaster incidents, giving them new insights into what to do if an emergency occurs so that they can respond with the awareness of the incident and the best way to defend themselves and others? The researchers used this thinking as one of two starting concepts to further examine and develop. Recognizing the importance of early childhood disaster education and that folklore is a valuable medium for early childhood education, the researchers focused on examining the use of folklore for early childhood disaster education. As a result of this framework, the concepts that were formed, which the researchers proposed to discuss conceptually, included:
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. person to nation (Bronner, 2019). Individually and socially, humans are continually in contact with different cultural powers and have a psychological need for tradition, and the reshaping of common practices (Bronner, 2011)
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Cultural psychologists theorize that, through interaction with people, material and symbolic artifacts, children grow into cognitively capable adults within their cultural groups (Tomasello, 2009). Folk tales constitute an essential part of the everyday life and traditions of many societies. These are used to reflect and illustrate particular social environments from which children learn social behavior patterns as interactive communicative events. Culture stimulates the mind, while folktales are cultural memories (Olajide, 2010). On the other hand, literacy seeks to make the human mind more functional so that it can most rewardingly solve life's problems. Agbenyega et al. (2017) examined the role of African folklore, specifically Ghanaian folk stories, in the development of child cognition and social life concept formation. They found that traditional oral storytelling can be an important part of early childhood education to improve critical thinking about social life for children.
What about using folklore in early childhood disaster education? This is the emerging question for this conceptual paper. The researchers explored this question and built a hypothetical concept via literature research and critical Athinking.conceptual paper is a powerful means of theory building (Jaakkola, 2020) Conceptual review papers can theoretically enrich the field by reviewing extant knowledge, noting concerns and inconsistencies, identifying important gaps in knowledge, key insights, and proposing agendas for future research (Hulland, 2020). The result of this process is a theoretical contribution that refines, re conceptualizes, or even replaces existing ways of viewing a phenomenon.
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This conceptual paper is the base study for the researchers’ larger empirical study on folklore for early childhood disaster education. Conceptual papers bridge existing theories in interesting ways, link work across disciplines, provide multi level insights, and broaden the scope of our thinking; another important consideration is the need to create rational and detailed arguments about these connections, rather than only testing them (Gilson & Goldberg, 2015).
In this conceptual paper, arguments are not derived in the conventional sense from empirical data, but involve assimilating and integrating information in the form of concepts and hypotheses that have been formed beforehand. Researchers examined previous empirical studies on the use of folklore for disaster education, then built concepts and theories based on the results of these previous studies.
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
What about using folklore in early childhood disaster education?
The discussion and analysis of this conceptual paper used one of four templates for conceptual papers offered by Jaakkola (2020). The four templates are Theory Synthesis, Theory Adaptation, Typology and Model. Due to the respective aims, approach for using theories and contribution potential, this paper employs the Theory Synthesis as the template.
3. Methodology
A theory synthesis paper offers conceptual convergence through several hypotheses or sources of literature. These papers provide a new or improved view of a concept or phenomenon through a unique linking of previously unconnected or incompatible parts. According to MacInnis (2011), summarizing helps researchers by encapsulating, digesting, and reducing what is known to a more concise and manageable area of study. The integration helps to enable researchers to see a concept or phenomenon in a new way by transforming previous findings and theory into a novel higher order perspective that links phenomena which may have been previously considered distinct (MacInnis, 2011). Such papers may also explore the conceptual underpinnings of an emerging theory or explain conflicting research findings by providing a more parsimonious explanation that pulls disparate elements into a more coherent whole.
To explore the use of folklore for early childhood disaster education, the researchers started by examining concepts of disaster education in early childhood education and folklore for early childhood education. These two concepts became the focus for further investigation. Then, the researchers investigated the focal phenomenon that is not adequately addressed in the existing research. The focal phenomenon was the use of folklore stories for early childhood education. The researchers identified differing conceptualizations of that phenomenon by analyzing literature that researchers gathered from Google Scholar using the keywords folklore disaster and folktale disaster. The studies observed did not specifically discuss the level of early childhood. The researchers examined the patterns, resemblances and regularities in the observed premises, looked for an explanation from the theoretical framework, and then finally concluded the study. As a result of this framework, the following concepts were formed, which the researchers proposed to discuss conceptually:
Figure 2. Methodology
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Fifteen articles were found that discussed natural disasters and folklore. Of the fifteen documents, only two addressed education, and even these were not comprehensive. The articles were reviewed before the relevant concepts were described inductively. Three keyconcepts emergedfromthe mentionedliterature, namely: 1) the disaster risk management that has six subgroup concepts; 2) disaster recovery and resilience that consists of two subgroup concepts; 3) indigenous knowledge and science that consists of two subgroup concepts.
4.1. Disaster Risk Management
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Folklore has acquired considerable popularity among community based DRR practitioners as one source of local knowledge for disaster mitigation (Mercer et al., 2012). Throughout this study, the researchers gathered and identified concepts fromprevious studies onthe use of folklore fordisasterprevention, preparedness, response, and disaster education programs.Thesegathered articles are notunique to early childhood education, while there also did not appear to be any specific research into the use of folklore in education in early childhood crises. This resulted in an expansion of the scope of existing research. The researchers searched for published Google Scholar studies using the keywords: folklore disaster education, folklore disaster mitigation, folklore volcano mitigation, folklore tsunami mitigation, folklore earthquake mitigation, folklore climate change, folklore environment, and folklore indigenous knowledge disaster.
Figure 3. Emerging Concepts
4. Findings and Discussions
There are seven articles on folklore that discuss disaster management three articles from Indonesia, two India, one from the USA and another from Japan. Gadeng, Maryani and Rohmat (2018) explored the indigenous knowledge Smong (folklore) in the community of Simeulue. Qualitative methods were used, Disaster risk management Disaster risk reduction Conserving the environment Mitigation and evacuation Early warning system
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Disaster awareness Disaster Prevention
Disaster recovery and resilience Resilient
Disastercommunitiesrecovery
Indigenous knowledge andDialogueScience
knowledgeindigenousofandscienceFolkloreissuperstition
Jha and Jha (2011) looked at the traditional knowledge of the Lepcha tribal community of Sikkim Himalayas on disaster management. Techniques for data collection include general observations over a 14 year period (1996 2010) and structured and unstructured interviews with indigenous Lepcha people. They assumed that the Lepcha people of Sikkim developed intricate philosophiesfurther to understand the existence of disasters and their causes. These beliefs appear folkloristic as depicted in their stories and are based on sound principles that help guide actions and behaviors that can actively communicate and limit the impacts of disasters. Such philosophies also help people build close knit social networks that make them more resilient when a tragedy affects them.
including data gathering using in depth questioning, participatory evaluation, analysis of the documentary and literature. The study revealed that the indigenous knowledge of Smong is a tsunami early warning system introduced by the Simeulue community in the forms of manafi nafi (folklore), mananga nanga (a cradle song often used to calm a baby to sleep) and nandong (humming). During the 2004 Tsunami, Smong helped save uncountable lives on Simeleu Island. The death toll on the island of Simeleu was just seven people, while on the island of Aceh, which was close by, the death toll reached 170,000.
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Sukmawan and Setyowati (2017) examined Indonesian folklore stories that include environmental messages, and explores the understanding of high school English teachers in using Indonesian folklore to teach language. Content analysis and interviews were used to assess the applicability and suitability of folklore for foreign language lessons. They collected 17 different Indonesian folklores with messages about the environment, either implicitly or explicitly. The messages are: tragedy occurs due to the ignorance and violence of humans against nature, and it is the man himself who can keep the disaster from occurring. Folklore help the teacher prepare students to read, speak and write foreign languages; develop students' knowledge of environmental protection; improve cultural literacy; foster positive behavior, and practice critical thinking. Troll et al. (2015) investigated the local climate at the Merapi volcano and combined this knowledge with recent developments in volcanology and volcanic control sciences. Researchers incorporated Merapi's historical, cultural, and scientific analysis in investigating Merapi folklore's geological background and obtained an enhanced underlying of Merapi's long term behavior. Researchers also studied the folklore's significance in strengthening the local communities' resilience andresponsiveness. Troll et al (2015) interpretedhow the ancientpeople used the Merapi Kraton South Sea axis in local folklore to explain and rationalize the dynamic interplay of geological processes. Though now enveloped in mystery, these oral traditions may be considered an ancient disaster mitigation resource, which makes them possibly useful in helping to promote successful dialogue with a range of target parties and community groups along the slopes of the volcano.
Pareek and Trivedi (2011) examinedhow people in the tribal societies in Rajasthan view and handle natural hazards and adverse weather conditions, including their methods for early warning and dealing with future events, as well as their views
Becker, Johnston, Lazrus, Crawford, and Nelson (2008) described the role of traditional knowledge and how it can assist in managing emergencies. They explored a specific case study in which a traditional Native American tale was paired with modern hazard prevention techniques to produce a tsunami hazard awareness film. They claimed that traditional knowledge can be successfully used to conduct disaster education and improve alert response. The video, entitled "Run to Higher Ground!" is an example, and indigenous communities and the public at large (both in the United States and internationally) have readily taken this as an instructional resource.
Four further articles discuss how folklore is useful for disaster recovery and King,resilience.Goff, and Skipper (2007) assessed the range of Māori Environmental Knowledge (MEK) relating to natural hazards and discusses this specific information for management and mitigation in New Zealand. Researchers discussed myths, poems, place names and legends related to natural disasters through a thorough examination of documents in literature. Māori narratives and songs convey their vulnerabilities and resilience. Oral traditions, place names and environmental indices include important sources of expertise and awareness that are ignored. The study discovered despite the difficulties of using MEK, this environmental experience has some contributions to promoting the preparedness and prevention of contemporary natural hazards in New Zealand. Cashman and Cronin (2008) investigated ways in which language, imagery, and metaphor explain volcanic events and may connect diverse cultures (both present and past) in their attempt to understand volcanic catastrophes. New Zealand Māori's have introduced volcanoes into the tribal and individual lineages. The study revealed Local tradition may provide a powerful community education resource and an important way of helping individuals and societies heal psychosocially from volcanic disasters.
Parsizadeh, Ibrion, Mokhtari, Lein, and Nadim (2015) examined how the socioeconomic environment and community values affected the understanding of earthquake risk and readiness of populations in Bam, Iran, before the major 2003 earthquake catastrophe.Data were obtained during two weeks in September 2013, nearly ten years after the Bam 2003 earthquake, using in depth interviews with 30 earthquake survivors in the Bamand Baravat districts. They observed that Poems, folktales, oral traditions, and legends in Iran have considerable ability to alert the
4.2. Disaster Recovery and Resilience
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of their short andlong termecosystemimpacts. Investigation approaches include analysis of the literature as a qualitative study, accompanied by informal conversations, open interviews, focus group interactions, workshops, cultural mappings and extensive interviews. The study showed that indigenous knowledge systems have allowed the different cultures in the region to live in harmony with their ecosystem for generations and that their traditional knowledge systems are valuable resources for conserving the environment and handling natural disasters.
Using folktales as narratives in their own right required making those activities intended for children. This also meant providing the children with an "imaginary" space to express the inexpressible and say the unthinkable.
disasters and recall past seismic incidents and to help create and establish an "earthquake culture" in Iran. Birkalan’s study (2001) describes the accounts of experiences at Story House — Masal Evi, Turkey,whereresearcherand teamsused traditionalfolktales as coping resources to help children overcome the hardships of this massive tragedy. The storytelling events included about 35 children aged 3 15 years. The study suggested that fairytales are useful instruments for children to learn, socialize, and interact with their outside world, particularly in a post earthquake crisis.
Four articles were also found that referred to traditional knowledge and science for disaster mitigation. King and Goff (2010) explored oral Māori traditions and how science explains the incidents portrayed in Māori tales. The study explained the crucial aspect that blends MEK and contemporary science to create new theories on massive environmental disruption along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. The initiative would require not only recognition of other ways of knowing but also open dialogue with Māoris, and respect them to share their own stories.
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4.3. Indigenous Knowledge and Science
Ludwin et al (2007) examined local myths and folklore related to earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in Cascadian oral traditions (part of North America’s northern Pacific coast) and Japanese written traditions, especially in the Edo area (now Tokyo). The study revealed the visual vocabulary of folklore and mythology could be a valuable addition to modern geological evidence to create a reliable historical record of volcanic development.
Orihara, Kamogawa, Noda & Nagao (2019) investigated the Japanese folklore that says rare sightings of deep sea fish are a reference to the earthquake. If this legend is proved real, the presence of deep sea fish may be valuable knowledge for minimizing disasters. The researchers created a directory of newspaper accounts, scholarly papers, and the naval museum. They analyzed the details on the presence of deep sea fish for the prevention of disasters. The study discovered the spatiotemporal link between the actions of deep sea fish and the earthquakes was barely noticed from this study. Therefore, this Japanese myth is believed to be a superstition due to the illusory connection between the two incidents.
Dube and Munsaka (2018) looked at the importance of indigenous knowledge to Zimbabwe's disaster risk management practices. Interviews and observations were used to collect data from 40 research participants from the district of Tsholotsho in Matabeleland, northern Zimbabwe. They noticed that local communities use the indigenous knowledge available to incorporate systemic steps as part of disaster risk management strategies. Nevertheless, this indigenous knowledge is often shunned by practitioners who say that indigenous knowledge lacks evidence, contextualized to particular populations and that knowledge cannot be confirmed scientifically.
Based on these findings, the questions remain concerning using folklore in early childhood disaster education. The researchers analyzed the trends, differences and inconsistencies of the reviewed literature to synthesize theory on using folklore in early childhood disaster education.
These fifteen papers, explained above, contain three critical points:
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3. Indigenous information such as that in a folklore needs to be combined and clarified by science to provide the provision.
Traditional or indigenous or local knowledge is a system of experiential information gained through constant environmental observation and contact. Many communities still retain this kind of knowledge, and this knowledge can make a major contribution to emergency management for natural hazards. Traditional knowledge can help understand the nature of local hazards, suggest appropriate mechanisms for risk reduction and response, and even provide recovery options based on past experiences (Becker et al., 2008). Local communities have continued to rely extensively on their systems of traditional knowledge in observing environmental and managing natural disasters. These communities have collectively created a large body of information on mitigation and prevention of disasters, early warning, preparedness and response, and recovery from disasters. This knowledge is acquired by observation and research and is also based on cumulative wisdom handed down from generation to generation (Grenier, 1998). Human reactions to hazards are affected by social, socioeconomic and cultural influences; societies evolve their unique approach. Consequently, a complete and unbiased vulnerability and risk assessment must take into account the cultural and social variables involved (Cashman & Cronin, 2008; Donovan, Suryanto & Utami, 2012; Harris & Ripepe, 2007) Traditional knowledge of disasters can assist in emergency mitigation by identifying unique characteristics of documented local hazards and, in some situations, by providing information on disaster response processes (Becker et al., 2008). Traditional wisdom in the context of oral histories, folklore, mythology, and songs could be a cross cultural appealing and a powerful way to convey contemporary messages about the danger and possible disasters. Hiwasaki, Luna, Syamsidik, and Shaw (2014) assured that local and indigenous knowledge are key to enhancing communities' resilience to hazards and climate change impacts. Nevertheless, scientists, practitioners, and policy makers have yet to develop a structure of it They believe that such knowledge needs to be integrated and clarified with science and technology before it can be used in disaster risk reduction policies, education, actions and adaptation to climate
2. Folklore is often believed to be the source of healing after a catastrophe has occurred.
4.4. Theory Synthesizing
1. Folklore is one type of indigenous or traditional knowledge that has been used since ancient times to warn about an impending catastrophe and to educate about mitigation.
change. Integrating traditional and indigenous knowledge with science is an important mechanism that enables practitioners and scientists to carry out research and practices to improve communities' resilience. The integration also helps decision makers to bring measures that enable these policies into practice.
Below is an illustration of how the researchers underwent this systematic process until a conclusion was reached.
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Such programs encourage the use of local and indigenous knowledge and enable communities to use their knowledge supplemented with outside knowledge to make educated choices on the implementation of their plans for mitigation and disaster risk reduction.
Folklore has the immense potential to make a successful contribution to early childhood disaster education. Besides entertaining, folklore is a strong socialization and communication device that can mold and enhance traditions, convictions, values and attitudes (Cocks, 2013). However, traditional and indigenous knowledge has to be combined and clarified with science before it can be used in disaster risk management and climate change policies, education, and initiatives. There should be empirical evidence in the stories for using folklore in early childhood disaster education; children should not blindly believe anything that has not been proven to be right. Children need to know if a story that is being told might not be true or is unproven. Teachers and parents should be knowledgeable about the tale and the facts behind it, and therefore the folklore is indeedinsightful andcould teach children betterto prevent, prepare, respond and recover after a disaster has occurred.
Mercer et al. (2012) suggest that local and "Western" knowledge should be incorporated and used in conjunction with each other to derive the best aspects of all understandings, in order to produce the most successful outcomes. They further propose that cautious community consultation and engagement is the best way to build solutions that accommodate this combination and thereby boost resilience. Local and indigenous knowledge that helps societies develop their resilience, which cannot be clarified or combined with science, is classified separately. Communities may continue to practice that knowledge, free from criticism from experts, politicians, and professionals (Hiwasaki et al., 2014).
Children show considerable and often overlooked capabilities, skills and strengths that can lead to efforts to minimize disaster risks and impacts (Fothergill, 2017)
Children are creative social beings and active agents and have played an important role in the preparation and recovery of their families and communities (Fothergill, 2017)
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Folklore disaster education Folklorevolcano mitigation Folkloretsunami mitigation earthquakeFolklore mitigation climateFolklorechange Folklore disaster mitigation environmentFolklore knowledgeindigenousFolklore&Disaster
What about using folklore in early childhood disaster education?
GATHERED & REVIEWED ARTICLES
Analyze the patterns, parallels, and regularities of the fifteen collected literature Folklore has been used for disaster preparedness,prevention,andreponse Folklore has been used for recovery and building resiliency Folklore needs to be communicated with, integrated to, and clarified by science Folklore has an enormous potential to make early childhood disaster education successful if it is also conveyed, incorporated and explained by science Synthesize Theory/Answering Question
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Figure 4. Process of analysis and theory synthesizing Culture has a significant role to promote disaster prevention, preparedness and response (Bankoff et al., 2004; Donovan, 2010; Kutalunga, 2010; Jha & Jha, 2011; Appleby Arnold et al., 2018) Folklore is important in the study of stylized, ritualized, and sometimes structured repeatable activities (Bronner, 2016) Folklore may help improve children's critical thinking about social life (Agbenyega et al, 2017); and enhanced memory to help children indulge in imaginative recall to give them new insights (Fleer, 2013) Education is one of the best media to create a society that is prepared for disasters (Twigg, 2003; Torani et al, 2019). School is the perfect location to educate children for disaster preparedness (Mutch, 2013 Children can benefit from DRR programs, in improving knowledge and understanding of disaster risks and preparedness (Johnson et al , 2014; Amri et al , 2018; Torani et al , 2019 )
Children are the worst affected and most vulnerable to disasters (Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon, & Davis, 2004; Peek, 2008; Tanner et al, 2009; Kousky, 2016)
5. Conclusion Traditional local knowledge, like folklore, is found to be a strong communication tool to help educate and mitigate disasters. In post disaster circumstances, many people also use folklore to help the community rebuild andbecome more resilient. However, scholars believe that if folklore is not conveyed, combined and explained with evidence, it functions less efficiently. This paper looks at the probability of using folklore in early childhood disaster education. Researchers found that folklore is potentially a promising platform for educating young children about disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. However, science should also help to convey, incorporate and clarify the texts and contexts of the folklore. This work used systematic analysis methods to examine the existing information. There are some drawbacks in the study design; from the papers studied, many do not address the whole matter comprehensively; others are often based solely on literature reviews, while others are empirical studies containing just a few samples. The number of papers found is also very limited. More detailed and well structured studies are needed for the continuation of this work. This research serves as a strong base for future investigation into how to make folklore a successful resource for use in early childhood disaster education.
Acknowledgment
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We thank the Center of Research and Publication (PUSLITPEN LP2M), UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Republic of Indonesia for the financial support provided to conduct this research. We would especially like to thank Adam Batten for his review and informative feedback throughout the production of this writing.
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
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https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4609 3033
Abstract. Continuous improvement for the teaching method is security for promoting the quality of palliative care. The didactic lecture and simulation based learning were always used independently, which may negatively affect the results of palliative care education. This research aimed to explore the effectiveness of lecture simulation combined education in improving nursing undergraduates' knowledge and attitude of palliative care. A quasi experimental single group pre/post test design was adopted to evaluate the variables with a sample of voluntary fifty two nursing undergraduates before and after an 18 hour lecture simulation combined palliative care course. The course was composed of two hours didactic lecture, ten hours of lecture simulation combined learning, and six hours of simulation practise. Two questionnaires, named Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing and Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying, were used to evaluate students' knowledge and attitude of palliative care before and after the course. By paired sample t test, the results showed increased scores in students' knowledge (p<0.05) and attitude (p<0.05) after the course. Lecture simulation combined education is an effective strategy to improve nursing students' knowledge and attitude of palliative care. Lecture simulation combined education could either be good at equipping students with theoretical knowledge, but also be capable of helping students to construct a positive attitude on palliative care.
Keywords: Palliative care; Lecture simulation combined; Attitude; Knowledge; Nursing undergraduates
Lecture-simulation-combined Education Improve Nursing Undergraduates' Knowledge and Attitude for Palliative Care Yan Wang Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao, China
1. Introduction According to the latest population projections, Macao will enter the "hyper aged society" in 2031 with the elderly's proportion reaching 22.4% (Statistics and Census Service of Government of Macao Special Administrative Region, 2014). With increasing ageing, the requirement for palliative care in Macao is demanding. Palliative care, as an essential part of continuum nursing care, is to secure dignity and comfort at the last stage of people's life. The American
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1.3 Medical simulation education
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1.1 The knowledge of palliative care Knowledge is defined as "knowing something with the familiarity that acquired through experiences such as understanding of a science or technique" (English Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2019). Palliative care, defined by the World Health Organization, is "an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life threatening illness" (World Health Organization, 2002). Palliative care knowledge includes basic concepts, ethical principles, and theories on terminal symptoms management (mechanism, assessment, medications, and supplementary treatment). Nurses' insufficiency knowledge is one of the main barriers to providing excellent palliative care, and nurses' knowledge deficit might originate from inadequate education during their undergraduate learning (Jaykumar, Karthikbabu, Karvannan, Kumar, Prem, Sisodia & Syed, 2012). Lacking a particular course, the knowledge of palliative care just "threaded" through the nursing curriculum; therefore, students' palliative care knowledge was not enough.
Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) identifies palliative care as one of the core competencies of qualified nurses (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2019). Because nurses accompany with the dying patients more than other medical staff, they become the centre and connection of the team (Smith, Macieira & Bumbach, 2018). Every nursing student needs to master seventeen palliative care competencies before graduation, which include symptom control, comfort supply, communication, team work, and self coping. Providing palliative care is not only challenging but also anxiety provoking because of incurable diseases and impending death. Still, Macao's nursing curriculum has been slow to integrate palliative care as a compulsory course. Nursing undergraduates were not educated enough to cope with the situation of dying. The under prepared nurses feel anxious and stressed when carrying out the palliative care, resulting in a poor quality of nursing and compromising patient satisfaction (Rodrigues, 2015; DʼAntonio, 2017; Cant & Cooper, 2017).
1.2 The attitude of palliative care Attitude is defined as "a settled way of thinking or feeling about something" (English Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2019). Attitudes are formed by evaluating favourable or unfavourable effects on specific entities. As experiences increases, attitudes change accordingly. The attitude of palliative care includes how the nurse regards palliative care and how about the position of nursing in palliative care (Frommelt, 2003). Feeling useless and unable to help dying patients and their families might accumulate into negative attitudes towards palliative care (Robinson & Epps, 2017). Exposure to the processes of patients' dying might remind nurses of their mortality, which may also result in a negative attitude towards palliative care. Passive attitudes will harm the quality of care and increase the burnout of nurses.
Medical educators defined simulation as "an event or situation made to resemble clinical practise as closely as possible" (Grossman, 2013). In other words, medical simulation means that educators and learners conduct learning and teaching activities in a simulated clinic scenario. The reported benefits of simulation
Initially, palliative care education predominantly carried out by theoretical lectures which may be complained by both students and educators for lacking in practising. For example, Berndtsson used a didactic five week palliative care course for the year three nursing students (Berndtsson, Margareta & Rejnö, 2019). Their study included 12 lectures: physical and psychological changes in the dying process, palliative diagnoses, terminal symptoms management, ethical issues, caring for families, and nurses' advocating roles in palliative care. Nevertheless, only with didactic lecture, students may find difficulties to use the knowledge. It has been concluded the didactic lecture was not good at training communication which was the most mentioned difficulty by researchers. On the other side, among the increasing numbers of palliative care simulation researches, most of them used simulation without enough theoretical preparation. For example, Dame and Hoebeke (2016) ran a 15 minute simulation scenario, followed by a discussing and sharing debriefing to teach palliative care. Researchers conducted two simulation scenarios to train students' competency of palliative care (Valen, Holm, Jensen & Grov, 2019). Students should not only be encouraged to be kind and patient but also they should be equipped enough with knowledge before they enter palliative situations.
2. Research design and method
including 1) improving critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills; 2) improving the knowledge acquisition; 3) improving putting the theory into practice; 4) improving the communication skills; 5) improving the problem solving skills and nursing techniques; and 6) providing supportive and nonthreatening learning conditions (Gillan, 2014; Carman, Sloane, Molloy, Flint & Phillips, 2016; Tamaki, 2019). With limited palliative care practice units and ethical considerations, students did not have enough chance to practise palliative care, so the medical educators used simulation more widely in recent years.
1.4 Lecture simulation combine education for palliative care
2.1 Design
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A quasi experimental single group pre/post test design was adopted to investigate the effectiveness of the lecture simulation combined palliative course in improving nursing undergraduates' knowledge and attitudes.
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Carman et al. (2016) suggested that the simulation should combine theoretical knowledge learning with practical application to provide palliative care education. Therefore, in this study, researchers designed educational interventions as a combination of theoretical lectures with simulation based learning. This research aimed to investigate whether the lecture simulation combined course could improve nursing undergraduates' palliative care knowledge and attitudes.
2.2 Hypothesis
The hypothesis generated in this research was that the nursing undergraduate' would have increased knowledge and attitude of palliative care after the 18 hour lecture simulation combined course.
The first two hour lecture introduced fundamental theories and communication principles of palliative care. In the next ten hours, we focused on the mechanism, assessment, medications, complementary therapies, and nursing interventions of terminal symptoms. The involved terminal symptoms were pain, dyspnoea, fatal arrhythmia, fatigue, unconsciousness, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, thrush, hiccup, ascites, intestinal obstruction, and malignant ulcer/fistulae. Each symptom was taught firstly by didactic lectures and then followed by students' practising on manikins to care symptoms while communicating with patients. Terminal symptoms were demonstrated mainly by the high fidelity manikin. Educators also used pictures and wounds apparatus to show symptoms which the manikin could not mimic. While students' practising, the tutor used the vocal system of the manikin to mimic the patient's voice, allowing the communication between the role players. Tutors merged the communication skills, cultural and spiritual assessment, and interdisciplinary cooperation into 10 hour learning. Table 2 showed the example of educational design in lecture simulation combined learning.
2.4 Interventions
• Hospice scenario simulation: un expectable death 3 hours
The 18 hour palliative care course included a 2 hour theoretical lecture, a10 hour lecture simulation combined terminal symptoms learning, and 6 hour simulation scenarios practising. Table 1 shows the course design. The course lasted for around one month, two times per week. To ensure every participant's active involvement, researchers divided fifty two students into five groups, and there were about ten students in each group. The research ran the 18 hour course five times, and each time had the same teaching contents and educators.
• Introduction for palliative care 2 hours
• Terminal symptom management for malignant wounds 2 hours
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2.3 Participants and setting Nursing students of Year 2 and Year 3 from a four year undergraduate nursing program in a Macao institute were invited to enrol in this research. The research ruled out students of Year 1 and because they were still learning fundamental nursing theories and are not ready for palliative care. Year 4 students have too many clinical practising hours to coordinate with the schedule of this research.
Table 1. The framework of lecture simulation combined course in palliative care Content Time
• Psychological, spiritual and social supporting in palliative care 2 hours
Fifty two nursing students enrolled in and finished the 18 hour palliative care course. There were 15 (28.8%) males and 37 (71.2%) females. Twenty three (44.2%) students were from Year 2 while twenty nine (55.8%) were students from Year 3.
• Terminal symptom management for unconsciousness and respiratory and cardiovascular problems 2 hours
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• Hospice scenario simulation: expectable death 3 hours
Total 18 hours
• Terminal symptom management for pain 2 hours
• Terminal symptom management for digestive problems 2 hours
• Pictures: an old man with painful facial expressions and body postures; thrush
• Practise oral hygiene.
Table 2. An example of lecture simulation combined learning for pain Content Time Lecture: pain management for terminal patients 60 min Simulation setting
• High fidelity manikin: moaning, sweating, heart rate: 146/min, blood pressure: 169/92 mmHg.
• Educator: complained pain through the vocal system of the manikin
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• Comfort the patient continuously according to the patient's background.
• Pain management strategy: Oramorph, oral solution, 10 mg, Bid. Students' practising in simulation 60 min
• Evaluate and explain the current pain management strategy
The last six hours were composed of a 3 hour scenario for the expectable death and a 3 hour scenario for the un expectable death. Educators grouped all learned symptoms in scenarios. At the beginning of the class, the educator introduced the case. Ten students were divided voluntarily into the Patient team, Nurse team, or Family team. Forty five minutes were used for group discussion. Based on the framework drafted by the tutor, students in the Patient team and Family team detailed the possible interactions between the patient, nurses, and families. Students in the Nurse team did not know the details of the scenario, and they just made the nursing care plan according to the background of the patient. Every team picked one student to participate in the scenario. The scenario lasted 60 minutes. The educator controlled the manikin, and three students from each team role play the patient (by manikin's vocal system), the family member, and the nurse respectively. The rest students were observers. The scenarios were followed by a 60 minute debriefing guided by the tutor and attended by all students. We invited the role played nurse, patient, and family member to share their experiences of the scenario, asking the observers to discuss their ideas about death. Table 3 showed the example of scenario design for un expectable death.
• Assess and document the pain through the Visual Analogue Scale, the patient's facial expression, body posture, and fluctuating vital signs
• Health educate: the usage of Xylocaine mouthwash before the dinner to control the pain of thrush.
• Suggest revising for the pain management strategy: medication adjustment and supplementary therapy
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• Identify various pain origins by communication with the patient: thrush because of chemotherapy, abdominal pain because of pancreatic cancer, pain in the bone because of metastasis, muscular pain because of long term bedridden
• Background: 54 year old, male, Buddhist, pancreatic cancer, stage IV, complaining "pain all over my body".
• The nurse o Persuade and help the patient defecate by using the bedpan
• High fidelity manikin (symptoms show chronologically)
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o R ON T phenomena, then ventricular fibrillation (ECG)
o Identify the fatal arrhythmia and inform the doctor instantly
The Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN) was used to examine palliative care knowledge. The scale was composed of 20 items. The dimension of philosophy and principles has four items, the dimension of pain and symptom management has 13 items, and the dimension of psychosocial and spiritual has three items. Students choose "true", "false" or "do not know" for each item, and the overall score is gained by calculating the number of correct responses. The overall scores range from 0 to 20, with higher scores representing higher levels of knowledge. The validity of PCQN was confirmed during its development with an acceptable alpha of 0.78. The correlation coefficient in test retest reliability was 0.56 (p>0.05) (Ross, McDonald & McGuinness, 1996).
o Inform the family member in time o Communicate with the family member.
2.5 Instruments
o Moaning, sweating, old inferior wall myocardial infarction (ECG), bowel sound hyperaction o Severe dyspnoea, vomiting
The Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale was adopted to evaluate students' attitudes towards end of life caring. It is composed of 30 items, rating on a five point Likert type scale. Item 1, 2, 4, 12, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, and 30 are all positively statements ranging from 1 for strongly disagree to 5 for strongly agree. All others are negative, scoring from 1 for strongly agree to 5 for strongly disagree. The final score ranges from 30 to 150, with a higher score representing a more positive attitude. The items were classified into the patient centred and family centred dimensions. The reported internal consistency of the FATCOD was alpha=0.89 (Frommelt, 2003).
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o Ensure oxygen supply o Monitor the electrocardiogram on the screen continuously and closely.
Table 3. An example of un expectable death scenario Simulation setting
o Prepare instruments and medicines for resuscitation
• Background: 67 year old, male, acute myocardial infarction with IV degree of heart function
• The family member o Panic o Cannot accept the deterioration of the patient.
Students' role playing
o Unconsciousness
• The patient o Refuse to use the bedpan and insist on going to the toilet for defecation
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3. Results
1.40 5
2.8 Ethical considerations
Participants were required to fill the demographic collecting questionnaires, the PCQN and the FATCOD before the course. They finished the post test of PCQN and FATCOD immediately after the closure of the course.
Mean
4
3 1.85 0.72 0 3
The data were analysed by SPSS version 26.0. The Chi square test and a paired sample t test were adopted to evaluate scores' differences between before and after the 18 hour course.
3.1 The knowledge of palliative care
.000*
2.47 8
2.6 Data collection
2.7 Statistical methods
3
Range t p
0 4
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The research obtained informed consent from all participants. Research informants have been informed of their voluntary participation, and they could terminate their participation at any time without penalty. The personal data of all participants were kept confidential by coding numbers. Institutional review board approval was obtained (Grant number RP/ESS 02/2018).
The pre mean score of PCQN was 8.98 (SD 2.46, range: 4 13). The post mean score of PCQN was 12.98 (SD 2.47, range: 8 18). Twenty two participants (42.3%) scored more than ten before the education, while forty seven (90.4%) scored more than ten after the education. Table 4 shows the sub total scores before and after the workshop for each dimension. Students' palliative care knowledge was improved after the course in the dimensions of philosophy and principles (p<0.05), pain and symptoms management (p <0.05), and psychosocial and spiritual care (p<0.05). The score details of PCQN were shown in Table 5. 4. Differences of the PCQN between pre-test and post-test (n=52) Post Mean SD Range SD Philosophy and principles 1.62 0.89 0 2.38 0.89 6.492 managementsymptomand 6.23 1.58 8.75 11 14.073 Psychosocial and spiritual 1.13 0.77 0 5.892 score 8.98 2.46 13 12.98 18 17.535 *: p<0.05
.000* Pain
3 10
.000* Total
Table
Dimension Pre
.000*
88 ©2020 TheauthorandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Table 5. The response of the PCQN (n=52) Item Pre correct number (%) Post correct number (%) χ2 p Philosophy and principles Q1 25 (48.1) 37 (71.2) 5.751 .016* Q9 17 (32.7) 28 (53.8) 4.740 .029* Q12 23 (44.2) 28 (53.8) 0.962 .327 Q17 20 (38.5) 31 (59.6) 4.656 .031* Pain and symptom management Q2 29 (55.8) 48 (92.3) 18.059 .000* Q3 13 (25.0) 19 (36.5) 1.625 .202 Q4 35 (67.3) 49 (94.2) 12.133 .000* Q6 19 (36.5) 32 (61.5) 6.502 .011* Q7 12 (23.1) 40 (76.9) 30.154 .000* Q8 39 (75.0) 46 (88.5) 3.155 .076 Q10 16 (30.8) 40 (76.9) 22.286 .000* Q13 1 (1.9) 13 (25.0) 11.886 .001* Q14 33 (63.5) 40 (76.9) 2.252 .133 Q15 46 (88.5) 42 (80.8) 1.182 .227 Q16 11 (21.2) 17 (32.7) 1.759 .185 Q18 48 (92.3) 44 (84.6) 0.848 .357 Q20 27 (51.9) 25 (48.1) 0.154 .695 Psychosocial and spiritual Q5 4 (7.7) 14 (26.9) 5.442 .020* Q11 34 (65.4) 48 (92.3) 9.743 .001* Q19 24 (46.2) 34 (65.4) 3.898 .048* *: p<0.05 3.2 The attitude of palliative care Before the course, students earned a mean score of 108.92 (SD 7.40) in the total score of FATCOD, 70.37 (SD 5.92) in the "patient centred" dimension, and 38.56 (SD 2.61) in the "family centred" dimension. After the course, students earned a mean score of 119.37 (SD 8.57) in total score, 78.89 (SD 6.84) in the "patient centred" dimension, and 40.48 (SD 2.30) in the "family centred" dimension. The differences between pre score and post score in FATCOD showed statistical significance (p<0.05). Table 6 showed the score of FATCOD. Table 6. FATCOD Score of pre/post course Items Pre Post Mean SD Mean SD t p Patient dimensioncentred 70.37 5.92 78.89 6.84 18.457 .000* Q1 4.40 0.66 4.94 0.73 5.156 .000* Q2 3.56 0.78 4.44 0.73 7.458 .000* Q3 2.90 0.87 3.52 0.75 4.657 .000* Q5 3.87 0.72 4.06 0.73 2.018 .049* Q6 3.92 0.74 4.39 0.63 5.196 .000* Q7 3.14 0.74 3.44 0.80 2.675 .010* Q8 2.50 0.64 3.10 0.77 5.080 .000* Q9 3.12 0.83 3.58 0.70 4.964 .000* Q10 2.75 0.88 3.67 0.76 8.724 .000* Q11 3.27 0.89 3.77 0.83 5.369 .000* Q13 3.75 0.71 3.89 0.73 1.188 .240
Q15
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*: p<0.05 4. Discussion 4.1 Course design Palliative care education was conducted through a variety of teaching methods, including traditional lectures, clinical case discussions, hospice care facilities visiting, and simulation. Although educators used the simulation increasingly, the theoretical lecture rarely combined with it. One or two hours of simulation, maybe not enough to teach enough knowledge and construct positive attitudes. The lecture was good at teaching knowledge, while the simulation did well in the application of knowledge and practising communications. The two teaching methods have equal value, and neither should not be neglected in palliative care education. This study designed the course with a suitable length of learning hours and reasonable learning process, aiming to make students benefit from the two methods. The objective of palliative care is not to cure but to relieve and comfort, and the medical and nursing principles should be changed accordingly. If we kept pushing our nurses to save the lives of human beings, enormous pressure and un avoided frustration would cause passive attitudes of nurses. We set the acceptance of death as the first objective of our course. We took some time to explain the philosophy of death by lecture and guided deep reflection after the simulation scenarios. The principles of therapeutic communication in a dying situation were taught firstly in the lecture. Then we set the dying situations which included the dying patient mimicked by the educator and the families mimicked by the students. Participants could practise communication without being afraid of making mistakes. Role playing family members allowed students to profoundly understand the families' dilemma, which may result in more Q14 3.56 0.83 3.75 0.62 3.120 .003* 3.85 0.83 3.98 0.92 0.961 .341 Q19 3.90 1.02 4.37 0.84 3.150 .003* 4.10 0.50 4.33 0.51 3.546 .001* 4.52 0.61 4.56 0.57 0.814 .420 3.10 1.00 4.00 0.63
Q21
Q23
Q25
7.138 .000* Q26 2.50 0.83 2.87 0.77 4.428 .000* Q27 3.50 0.70 3.87 0.69 4.696 .000* Q30 4.17 0.38 4.39 0.53 2.844 .006* Families dimensioncentred 38.56 2.61 40.48 2.30 7.937 .000* Q4 4.50 0.51 4.73 0.49 3.546 .001* Q12 3.94 0.61 4.19 0.53 3.244 .002* Q16 4.04 0.44 4.31 0.47 3.964 .000* Q17 1.58 0.67 1.39 0.49 2.018 .049* Q18 4.50 0.54 4.65 0.48 1.935 .059 Q20 4.08 0.62 4.25 0.48 2.901 .005* Q22 3.96 0.44 4.33 0.55 5.019 .000* Q24 4.10 0.63 4.35 0.68 2.360 .022* Q28 4.46 0.61 4.77 0.58 4.761 .000* Q29 3.40 0.87 3.52 0.78 2.579 .013* Total score 108.92 7.40 119.37 8.57 24.126 .000*
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4.2 Knowledge of palliative care
The low mean score of PCQN with a mean score of 8.98 (SD 2.46) before the course showed inadequate palliative care knowledge in Macao nursing undergraduates. Previous studies shared similar results and proved nursing students' insufficient knowledge. Al Qadire's (2014) research investigated 220 Jordan nursing students' palliative care knowledge. The results showed insufficient knowledge (mean=8 out of 20; SD 3.1). The same result was found in India's research (Chari, Gupta, Choudhary & Sukare, 2016). Four hundred and nine Saudi Arabia nursing students got a mean score of 5.23 out of 20 (SD 3.24) (Aboshaiqah, 2020). Dimoula surveyed 529 Greek nursing students, gaining a mean score of 8.2 (SD 2.8) (Dimoula, Kotronoulas, Katsaragakis, Christou, Sgourou & Patiraki, 2019). This course got a statistically significant improvement in students' palliative knowledge by an elevated mean score of 3.0 points. All dimensions in the PCQN showed positive changes. A similar result was found in Tamaki's (2019) study. They used a knowledge questionnaire, which was quoted from nation nursing examination in Japan, to prove the simulation intervention could improve nursing undergraduates' knowledge of palliative care. Researchers used an end of life simulation elevated students' PCQN scores by 2.34 points (Kirkpatrick, Melin Johansson & Bergh, 2017). In Myers' (2018) research, the group of lecture with simulation gained 1.23 points elevation in the mean score of PCQN.
tolerance. We constructed our course based on handling terminal symptoms. Although persons died of different diseases, different diseases share some common terminal symptoms. We would take more aggressive and sophisticated methods to make patients avoid suffering. For example, we taught particular pain assessment scales for severely ill patients, emphasised that addiction should not be the primary concern, and introduced the complementary techniques and spiritual console for the pains. Only when participants found themselves useful in helping the dying patients and their families, the positive attitude could be constructed. In recent five years, most studies made the simulation as the only intervention to carry out palliative care education. For example, Tamaki (2019) carried out an 80 min simulation in end of life education. There was an innovative study with a 6 week online virtual activity through Second Life®, which was composed of 3 hour in pre simulation learning, 1 hour in a virtual simulation, and 3 hour in guided refection (Sanborn, Cole, Kennedy & Saewert, 2019). Only one research combining lecture with simulation was identified. Myers (2018) gave participants a 90 min lecture, followed by a 45 min simulation in the experimental group while a 45 min case study in the control group. This research has also proved the lecture simulation combined method an effective method for teaching palliative care by students' positive changes in knowledge and attitude.
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There were four items in the dimension of philosophy and principles. Q1 showed the correction of the misunderstanding that palliative care was only for the person who was very near death. We emphasised the principle of palliative care in the first 2 hour lecture that palliative care should begin at the very beginning of diagnosing of a terminal disease. Before the course, most students
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thought nurses should stand neutrally and kept emotional detachment to avoid burnout (Q9). In the debriefing, the role played nurse shared his experience that it was impossible for a nurse to "detach" the terminal patient. His idea that not detaching but coping with the emotional connection was the only way to avoid nurses' burnout gained agreement from other students. Thirty two students originally agreed on the judgment (Q17) palliative care will cause the nurses' inevitable burnout. After the course, the number decreased to twenty one. We could induce that the confidence in coping palliative care increased in some students after the course. There were thirteen items in the dimension of pain and symptom management. The correct ratios were increased in six items while remained unchanged in seven items. Pain is the most serious and long lasting symptom affecting the quality of life of the most dying patients. Pain management is at the core of the terminal symptom control. We taught students the rules of medication should be adjusted in palliative care, with more focus on pain relieving rather than drug addiction (Q7, Q13). The pharmacy was taught in detail (Q2, Q8, 14), and some supplementary treatment, such as music therapy and aromatherapy, were introduced by the updated evidence (Q4). Although the results were not ideal, reciting the knowledge encouraged by a closed book exam and continuous practising may be a practical way to enforce the learned knowledge. There were three items in the psychosocial and spiritual dimension in which all items gained positive changing. For instance, most participants believed families accompany until the patient's death was crucial (Q5) firstly. In the course, we emphasised that families should be included in psychosocial caring, and nurses should try to help families avoiding severe suffering and tortures, which might last for the rest of their life. After the course, added students realised avoiding severe attacks for the patient's family was the nurse's duty. In summary, extensive and profound learning through the lecture simulation combined could obtain positive changes in students' knowledge.
4.3 Attitudes of palliative care
The FATCOD has been world widely used in earlier studies for nursing undergraduates and nurses. The reported mean score was 96.96 (SD 8.30) in Palestine (Abu el Noor & Abu El Noor, 2016), 123 (SD 10.1) in Sweden (Henoch, Melin Johansson & Bergh, 2017), 93.83 (SD 5.96) in Indonesia (Muhamad, Baskoro & Dicky, 2018), 95.81 (SD 8.03) in India (Paul, Renu & Thampi, 2019), and 111.9 (SD 10.2) in Greece (Dimoula et al., 2019). Compared with other countries, Macao's score was in the middle position with a pre test score of 108.92 (SD 7.40). Our study showed a statistically significant improvement in palliative care attitude after the 18 hour course by 10.45 points. This result is in line with Berndtsson's finding that the mean score was increased of 9.6 points after a dedicated five week course which covers 12 lectures (Berndtsson et al., 2019). Also, using theoretical education in five weeks, Henoch improved nursing students' attitudes by 6 points (Henoch et al., 2017). There were twenty items in the patient-centred dimension, and seventeen items have been statistically significantly improved. For example, most students reported difficulties in communication. Educators used every chance in simulation learning or practising, allowing students to practise communication. Especially, in the debriefing session, educators set the scenario, letting the
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patient ask the nurse "Am I dying?" Then, we discussed how to answer that question properly in the debriefing after the scenario. After the course, students gained higher scores in talking about the impending death with patients (Q3, Q11) and finding it more acceptable to construct an intimate relationship with the dying person (Q9, Q14). Students were found to be braver to take part in palliative care (Q5), no longer running away from the dying situation (Q15, Q26) after the course. It also has been noticed students become more acceptable about death, not regarding death as the worst things that could happen to a person (Q2), feeling less upset with patients' giving up hope of getting better (Q8). Before the course, students might be hard to accept the words "death welcomed by the dying (Q10)". After the course, more students chose a neutral attitude to this statement. In the simulation, we set a scenario requiring the nursing to discuss with patients' families, whether the honest answer should be given in response to the patient's asking. The role played nurse chose to support the ideas of being honest with the patient in the scenario. The student explained and shared her thoughts and behaviours in the debriefing, which aroused intense discussion. Accordingly, we found a positive change in Q27. We found there was no statistical difference in Q23, which indicated our students advocating flexible visiting time even before the course. Also, the scores of Q13 and Q15 were not improved by the course, showing students were still struggling on the edge of negative/positive. This result recommended that more extensive and profound educational intervention might be needed to construct a more stably positive attitude. When it comes to the family centred dimension, Q18 was the only item that was not changed statistically, because students got a high mean score before the course. We found before the course nursing students have already admitted the importance that we should not let the death of the patient harm the remaining life of the families. Our course corrected the misunderstanding that at the very last stage of the patient dying process, nurses need to withdraw and let families stay with the patient solely (Q17). After the course, students become more understanding of the idea that caring for families should be carried throughout the whole palliative period (Q7). Students have always been alerted when facing the patient' families under the pressure of behaving wrongly. After the course, students become more acceptable about the families' anxiety and would not regard the families as an interference to the treatments (Q29). Furthermore, we detected more cooperation that students were willing to invite families to attend the physical care and psychological connection with the dying person 5. Conclusion
This research showed an insightful picture of the Macao nursing undergraduates' knowledge and attitude in palliative care. Their knowledge and attitude of palliative care were not sufficient for the challenges in hospice situations. A compulsory palliative care course should be considered taking into the nursing curriculum.
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The course design focused on terminal symptom management, merged with the principles of palliative care and communication skills. Relieving terminal
Sincere thanks to Macao Polytechnic Institute (No: RP/ESS 02/2018) for sponsoring the research. I sincerely appreciate Dr Haobin YUAN, who helped to train students in the course, and to all students who participated in this study.
7. Limitation
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symptoms and supplying comfort may improve the quality of life for the patient who was at the last stage of life, also may make their dignity possible To be helpful, instead of being helpless, nursing students gained positive attitudes.
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Mainly, we conducted two educational methods: the didactic lecture and simulation practise. The lecture could teach knowledge comprehensively, profoundly and systematically. Students could apply the learned knowledge for the simulated patient right after the lecture. This connection between lecture and simulation decrease the gap between theoretic learning and application. Also, the simulation permitted students to practise communication with terminal patients, and role-playing allowed them to understand the sufferings of patients and their families. Debriefing played a vital role in the teaching process, which could guide students in sharing their feelings and reflect the life and death of human beings.
A small number of convenience samples from a single institution limited the generalizability of the research results. Only using self reported data may cause response bias. Objective methods, such as objective structured clinical examination, were needed to assess students' palliative care behaviour which belongs to the psychomotor domain. Follow up retest also should be carried to find the stability of the effectiveness of palliative care education.
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6. Recommendation Our study supported that palliative care education should be combined into the nursing bachelor curriculum to ensure undergraduates' competency in palliative care. The eighteen hours was, in fact, not enough for including all terminal symptoms. More hours were recommended for the future’s course. Although the simulation has been widely used in nursing education, the theory preparation should not be neglected. We strongly recommended lecture simulation combined method for future palliative care education. With positive changes in both knowledge and attitude, nursing students are expected to have better coping, which will benefit their future professional and personal career.
8. Acknowledgement
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Statistics and Census Service of Government of Macao Special Administrative Region. (2014). Trends and challenges of the ageing population. Retrieved from https://www.dsec.gov.mo/getAttachment/f5ecdbb4 ad4e 47fb 9937 98850909b844/pdf1.aspx?disposition=attachment Tamaki, T. I. (2019). The effectiveness of end of life care simulation in undergraduate nursing education: A randomised controlled trial. NurseEducation Today, 76, 1 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.01.005 Valen, K., Holm, A., Jensen, K., & Grov, E. (2019). Nursing students' perception on transferring experiences in palliative care simulation to practice. NurseEducation Today, 77, 53 58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.03.007
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sectional survey. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 18(2), 122 127. http://doi.org/10.4103/0973 1075.100832 Muhamad, Z., Baskoro, S., & Dicky, K. E. (2018). Nursing students' attitudes towards caring for dying patients. Nurse Media: Journal of Nursing, 8(1), 25 34. https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v8i1.17270
Paul, S. S., Renu, G., & Thampi, P. T. (2019). Creating a positive attitude toward dying patients among nursing students: Is the current curriculum adequate? Indian journal of palliative care, 25(1), 142 146. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_148_18
Rodrigues, S. G. (2015). Translation and validation of the coping scale with death: A study with nurses. Revista De Enfermagem Referência, (7),113 122. http://dx.doi.org/10.12707/RIV14084
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Sanborn, H., Cole, J., Kennedy, T., & Saewert, K. (2019). Practicing interprofessional communication competencies with health profession learners in a palliative care virtual simulation: A curricular short report. Journal of Interprofessional Education &Practice, 15, 48 54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2019.01.010
Smith, M. B., Macieira, T. G. R., & Bumbach, M. D. (2018). The use of simulation to teach nursing students and clinicians' palliative care and end of life communication: A systematic review. Am J Hosp Palliat Care, 35(8), 1140 1154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909118761386
Q16: Pethidine is not an effective analgesic for the control of chronic pain. (T)
Q18: Manifestations of chronic pain are different from those of acute pain. (T)
Q7: Drug addiction is a major problem when morphine is used on a long term basis for the management of pain. (F)
Q15: Suffering and physical pain are synonymous. (F)
Q11: Men generally reconcile their grief more quickly than women. (F)
Q3: The extent of the disease determines the method of pain treatment. (F)
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Q20: Pain threshold is lowered by fatigue or anxiety. (T)
Q6: During the last days of life, drowsiness associated with electrolyte imbalance may decrease the need for sedation. (T)
Q9: The provision of palliative care requires emotional detachment. (F)
Q4: Adjuvant therapies are important in managing pain. (T)
Q19: The loss of a distant relationship is easier to resolve than the loss of one that is close or intimate. (F)
Q1: Palliative care is only appropriate in situations where there is evidence of a downward irreversible deterioration. (F)
Q8: Individuals who are taking opioids should also follow a bowel regime (laxative treatment) (T)
Q5: It is crucial for family members to remain at the bedside until death occurs. (F)
Q2: Morphine is the standard used to compare the analgesic effect of other opioids. (T)
Q12: The philosophy of palliative care is compatible with that of aggressive treatment. (T)
Q14: In high doses, codeine causes more nausea and vomiting than morphine. (T)
Q17: The accumulation of losses makes burnout inevitable for those who work in palliative care. (F)
Appendix 1 Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing
Q10: During the terminal stages of an illness, drugs that can cause respiratory depression are appropriate for the treatment of severe dyspnea. (T)
Q13: The use of placebos is appropriate in the treatment of some types of pain. (F)
Q2. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person.
Q23. Caregivers should permit dying persons to have flexible visiting schedules.
Q15. I would feel like running away when the person actually died.
Q27. Dying persons should be given honest answers about their condition.
Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying
Q25. Addiction to pain relieving medication should not be a concern when dealing with a dying person.
Q21.member.Itis beneficial for the dying person to verbalise his/her feelings.
Q26. I would be uncomfortable if I entered the room of a terminally ill person and found him/her crying.
Q13. I would hope the person I'm caring for dies when I am not present.
Q22. Care should extend to the family of the dying person.
Q30. It is possible for non family caregivers to help patients prepare for death.
Q11. When a patient asks, "Am I dying?" I think it is best to change the subject to something cheerful.
Q24. The dying person and his/her family should be the in charge decision makers.
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Q29.responsibility.Familymembers who stay close to a dying person often interfere with the professional's job with the patient.
Q20.care. Families should maintain as normal an environment as possible for their dying
Q14. I am afraid to become friends with a dying person.
Q19. The dying person should not be allowed to make decisions about his/her physical
Q12. The family should be involved in the physical care of the dying person.
Q1. Giving care to the dying person is a worthwhile experience.
Q28. Educating families about death and dying is not a non family caregiver
Q4. Caring for the patient's family should continue throughout the period of grief and Q5.bereavement.Iwouldnot want to care for a dying person.
Q8. I would be upset when the dying person I was caring for gave up hope of getting Q9.better.Itis difficult to form a close relationship with the dying person.
Q3. I would be uncomfortable talking about impending death with the dying person.
Q7.person.The length of time required giving care to a dying person would frustrate me.
Q10. There are times when the dying person welcomes death.
Q16. Families need emotional support to accept the behavior changes of the dying person.
Q17. As a patient nears death, the nonfamily caregiver should withdraw from his/her involvement with the patient.
Q18. Families should be concerned about helping their dying member make the best of his/her remaining life.
Q6. The non family caregivers should not be the one to talk about death with the dying
98 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 98 116, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.20206 Contextualising Computational Thinking: A Case Study in Remote Rural Sarawak Borneo Nur Hasheena Anuar, Fitri Suraya Mohamad and Jacey Lynn Minoi Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3677 8514 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4460 8061 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 9464 2631
Keywords: Computational thinking; Remote classroom; Indigenous children; Penan community; Case study 1. Introduction Developing computational thinking skills from a young age has become crucial in today’s setting as it is seen to fulfil the demand of social and global economic growth (Wing, 2010; Grover, 2018; Haseski, Ilic & Tugtekin, 2018). At the macro level, ensuring an increase of uptake among young students to pursue STEM education, and later careers, has become a critical agenda in Malaysia’s Education
Abstract. The paper describes an exploratory case study on novice indigenous children’ s learning characteristics as they learn Computational thinking (CT) competencies, such as abstraction, decomposition, and algorithmic thinking It employs a quasi experimental research design with pre test and post test instruments. Twenty two children of an underprivileged Penan community living in a remote village in Sarawak Borneo participated Through the study, they learned Computational thinking skills using localised instructional strategies, with Scratch™ as their tool to programme. The study used observational field notes, comprehension checks, and participants’ learning products as primary data sources. Findings showed that indigenous children’s learning characteristics were primarily ‘learning by making’, collaborative, highly motivated, playful, curious, and imaginative while they attempted to learn Computational thinking The intervention (treatment) group performed marginally better than the control group in the pre test and were substantially better in the post test performance. Findings illustrate a direction in which novice indigenous children could learn and be informed about Computational thinking practices and skills through a mix of game based learning, collaborative learning, problem based learning, and project based learning. Findings also revealed how participants appeared to have gained self confidence, illustrated creativity on task and were self critical throughout their participation in the study.
system. ‘STEM For All’ initiative is a national strategy by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) to enhance the participation in STEM and STEAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Arts and Mathematics)” (Mustafa, 2019). The initiative was prompted by the decrease of STEM students to a mere 44% in 2019. Another STEM movement in Malaysia is the mydigitalmaker initiative, spearheaded by Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). MDEC leads Malaysia’s digital economy. The programmes and activities are designed in collaboration with private and public academia. They have collectively impacted 1.2 million students (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, 2019). Under mydigitalmaker initiative, “Hour of Code” programme has been organised countrywide to cultivate programming interest and skills among young students. In line with current demands for 21st Century Learning, MOE has revised its STEM initiative and Digital Economy, and both standard curricula of primary and secondary schools, as reported in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013 2025 (Ministry of Education, 2013). Beginning 2017, Primary One students have begun learning basic computer skills such as placing text and images into Word processors, making slides for the presentation and searching information via an Internet browser (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia [KPM], 2014; Ling, Saibin, Abidin & Aziz, 2017). Despite the aspirations of the newly revised curriculum, Malaysian students have not advanced to application level due to lack of technology access and exposure. They are still regarded as digital technology
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Theconsumers.term ‘computational thinking’ became popular when Papert first introduced LOGO programming to young children for training their procedural thought (Grover & Pea, 2013). Since then, educators have often begun teaching and implementing CT in K 12 by introducing computational skills and computational engagement (Kafai & Burke, 2017; Weintrop et al.,2016). Moschella (2019) defined computational thinking as mental abilities to perform problem solving, abstraction, using algorithms, restructuring processes, reformulating problems, and implementing solutions. Computational thinking skills are now considered as a fundamental skill, much like reading, writing, and counting while addressing real world issues (Wing, 2006). A fundamental concern is that educators are unmotivated to adopt computational thinking strategies in the classroom. Many educators generally are not inspired due to time limitations to using machine technology, coupled with the lack of pedagogical skills (Selby, 2014). Despite these challenges, the practices of computational thinking should be carried out with specific methods and tools as early as possible (Moschella, 2019). Similar context to this study, My Elephant Friend, was used as a game tool for education in programming and computational thinking to educate young novices in India (Unnikrishnan et al., 2016). Some of the popular tools used by teachers in schools to teach computational thinking and programming skills, include CSUnplugged, Code.org curricula, and Scratch (Israel, Pearson, Tapia, Wherfel & Reese, 2015). They mainly involve interactive and computerised exercises that facilitate the comprehension of
children’ s computing concepts. However, there is a dearth in the literature about how teachers at remote rural locations dealt with the teaching of computational thinking skills. To date, there is no research on how the teaching of computational thinking is localised to a context, especially for remote rural primary schools.
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Learners could create and be creative without being evaluated by the programme or receive syntax error messages from Scratch™
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Hsu, Chang and Hung (2018) suggested that project based learning, problem based learning, collaborative learning, and game based learning as the most effective teaching techniques used in early school years to facilitate computational thinking. They further explained how project based learning approach enables learners to learn CT skills in positive attitudes. As a project based approach is a group based activity, it may motivate the learners to work with their peers in achieving the goals. Through the problem based approach, students start by recalling prior knowledge related to a situational problem and apply CT skills into it. The main advantage of these learning strategies is that it enhances learners’ understanding of new knowledge while building a positive attitude towards learning and becoming self directed learners (Cantillon, Hutchinson, & Wood, 2003; Tseng, Chang, Lou & Chen, 2013). Inexperienced learners may face difficulty understanding concepts in the absence of problem solving and metacognitive techniques (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). It was also suggested that learning CT skills through game based approach increased students’ motivation and the ‘flow’ of a learning experience (Kazimoglu, Kiernan, Bakon & MacKinnon, 2012). In the present study, an unplugged game was developed by adopting a game-based approach as it was intended to help students to understand algorithms concept in a playful manner With Scratch™, novice learners are expected to encounter less difficulty as it supports low level programming and high ceiling learning environment.
The focus of this paper is to present a study on learning characteristics of a group of young novice underprivileged indigenous students, as they learn computational thinking skills for the first time through a deliberately localised instructional strategy. We targeted three CT skills: abstraction, decomposition, and algorithmic thinking, as they have the closest affinity to what primary school students could use in game based activities and programming tasks, based on their environmental setting and knowledge readiness. The CT capabilities in this study refer to cognitive skills rather than practical skills. The study incorporates an adaptive model for young novice children to learn CT concepts and practices through a redesigned CT activity. The data collected are meant to improve the way children are taught Computational Thinking in a remote learning Takingenvironmentacuefrom Hsu et al.’s findings, the study also adapted the problem based approach, in which drawing and colouring tasks were localised to a situational problem. Kafai and Burke (2014) stated that learning how to programme and skills to interact with others are crucial steps in broadening computational participation. However, computational participation may be challenging for
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Computational thinking has been associated with learning of computer science.
In middle and high schools of Western countries, CT is taught through a flexible approach in higher education (National Research Council, 2011). For instance, the CS Principles course (http://www.csprinciples.org/) attempts to incorporate the concept of computing and practices of computational thinking such as the development of digital artefact for creative expression targeted on high school students (Grover et al., 2013). Through the course, students were reported to be able to master computational skills and solve problems, communicate new ideas, and collaborate with others. However, at the point of writing, there is no known model which has been developed for teachers in remote rural schools to teach primary school students about Computational thinking skills.
According to Papert and Harel (1991), Constructionism is a ‘learning by making’ approach. It is a suitable approach to learning computational thinking skills. Robles et al. (2017) and Hsu et al. (2018) found that teaching CT skills through constructionism approach can implement with or without computers. For instance, CS Unplugged (https://csunplugged.org/) is a module that is used to teach young learners about computer science topics without using computers. The topics consist of CT elements implement through intriguing games and paper based materials. The advantage of Constructionism and unplugged approaches are cost-effective and suitable for all age (Durkin et al., 2018). For example, unplugged cybersecurity modules and activities developed by Durkin and his colleagues (2018) to promote engagement and understanding in K 12 educators of computer science issues. The result is promising as K 12 teachers are highly engaged with their students and allow rapid implementation into their classroom.
For decades, researchers and educators had teamed up to build a computational thinking model and define its definition, engage, and assess children’s capability to think computationally. Wing (2006, 2008, 2010) described CT as fundamental mental activity and skills to both human and machine in solving problems including logical thinking, analytical thinking, mathematical thinking, engineering thinking, scientific thinking, and algorithmic thinking to find a solution. Until today, there is no conclusive definition of CT for all as educators have various learning demands and objectives to achieve.
Asad, Tibi and Raiyn (2016) admit that learning programming is not easy for children, as it involves the use of computational and algorithmic thinking. Ben
2. Computational Thinking in the Classroom
students who come from low socio economic backgrounds and reside in distant schools due to their restricted Internet accessibility and technology usage (Mohamad, Yeo, Abd Aziz & Rethinasamy, 2010). Thus, the process of acquiring CT skills for students with various abilities, interest, and different learning paces, especially novices andunderprivileged, maybe highly challenging. Right from the beginning, we were aware of the challenges to conduct the study with the target group. Participants worked in a team and helped each other when working on assigned Scratch™ projects The learning tasks designed for the study seemed to have enabled them to build their confidence in dealing with digital technology.
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Moschella (2019) discussed the teaching of three programming elements (i.e., abstraction, decomposition and use of algorithms), and their correlation with young learners and methods adopted for computational thinking for primary school children She used a systematic literature review to extract standard tools commonly used by educators to teach algorithmic thinking, abstraction, and decomposition at the primary school level. She also found that and Scratch™ and game based learning were widely used to teach algorithmic thinking.
Game based learning (GBL) is a part of the wider gamification approach that use game mechanics or techniques to learn concepts in a serious but playful manner to engage learners (Paniagua & Istance, 2018). Kazimoglu et al. (2012) found that learning CT skills through GBL approach increased students’ motivation and the ‘flow’ of a learning experience. It helps students to understand concepts quickly and discover how algorithms work. Scratch™ is widely used by young and adult learners to create creative computational artefacts such as Pinball and Shooter games that have a similar approach to GBL
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Problem based learning (PBL) is a vital process for students to acquire knowledge and skills (Baharom & Palaniandy, 2013). They had claimed that students started to learn from problems that occur in their everyday life, which creates prior knowledge. Slowly, it builds the foundation to obtain new ideas and confidence in tackling existing problems. Hsu et al. (2018) found that project based learning is the most relevant strategy to introduce computational thinking skills at schools. Project based learning is a constructivist approach whereby students learn how to engage and solve problems with a scientific design within a group learning environment (Tseng et al., 2013). Students who participated in project based learning will tend towards positive in learning. Using a project based learning approach, students can advance their development of CT skills and develop a better understanding of the skills. Hsu et al. (2018) supported problem based learning is a widely used method in primary school to teach and develop CT skills of different subjects. It may involve students to develop the program design as their project based assignment. Collaborative learning has also been found to be useful in CT activities as students would discuss similar problems, communicate with common strategies and plan for solutions. According to Perković, Settle, Huang and Jones (2010), there are four dimensions of collaborative learning which are circumstances, interactions
Ari (as cited in Asad et al., 2016) suggested that Scratch supports the development of CT skills through low level programming with a highly supportive learning environment. Scratch is a visual programming tool that helps learners to retain information better when dealing with abstract concepts and ideas. It is designed to support a wide range of learners, including novice, low digital literate, and adult users (Lin, 2015), also, highly engaging. Learners will not encounter syntax error when using Scratch for building codes blocks A language selection function is included in Scratch, which enables students to choose their language preferences. Hence, researchers suggest that Scratch is the most suitable tool for novice learners to learn computational thinking skills.
The present study was designed to introduce localised instructional strategies to teach computational thinking skills such as algorithmic thinking, abstraction, and decomposition for a group of young indigenous Penan children in remote rural Sarawak. Findings from the study would not be generalised to other indigenous communities in the country as they may embrace dissimilar social, emotional, mental, and spiritual values.
between group members, learning systems, and outcomes of collaborative learning. It allows students to work together, to exchange ideas, and interacting throughout the learning process. It also helps them to develop teamwork and interpersonal skills when participating in computational activities.
3. Methodology
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The study employs a case study approach to observe, measure and analyse behavioural and learning impact among 22 young indigenous students who live in a remote rural location in Sarawak Borneo. Field observations were carried out to document interactions, behaviours and competencies of the school students and their teachers. A set of localised instructional strategies were then carefully selected and developed to introduce Computational thinking concepts to the participants. They were divided into two groups; one group received an instructional intervention, where an unplugged coding game was designed to facilitate the comprehension of Computational thinking concepts. Both groups
While most studies reviewed were conducted in developed nations, it is evident that the challenges in teaching Computational thinking skills in classrooms as diverse as Malaysia would be different. In the context of this study, teachers in a remote school may find teaching computational thinking skills to indigenous children exigent. While the push from the national curriculum toward a more progressively global trend in digitally integrated ways of learning, teachers in remote schools seem to affix to their rural learning environments. To date, there has not been any known research done to understand how indigenous children at Sarawak learn computational thinking skills such as algorithms, abstraction, and decomposition, especially in their social context of learning. Localising a relatively foreign knowledge such as computational thinking would impose a unique undertaking, as the rural students most likely do not grow up with digital tools nor simulated environments which would encompass the need to learn abstraction, decomposition and use of algorithms.
Yadav, Hong and Stephenson (2016) claimed that offering computer science subject in a rural school would serve a massive challenge as school administrators and the school board would not see it as a priority subject. In other words, computer science topics would not be considered in a school examination subjects’ list The rationale for excluding computer science subjects in remote schools may be due to the lack of resources to teach the subject (such as expertise from IT background, digital equipment, and Internet connectivity) It was suggested that such subjects could still be offered through the use of unplugged (non computer) materials and practical computer tools such as Scratch™
The school was built on a wooden structure, and it houses six classrooms and two administrative rooms. All students come from the same village, and they all live at the school’s hostel. They eat, sleep and study together, and undeniably their camaraderie with each other was formidable. During the time of the study, there are 56 students attended its Primary School. After they complete Primary Six, they would leave the community to live in a boarding school about one hour away by boat. There is no gravel road access to the village; the community rely on a river as their primary transportation route and for providing basic water needs. The electrical supply was provided by diesel fuelled single user generators and a small hydro-electric unit which was donated by the Government of Japan. Before the study commenced, we sought permission from the Research Ethics Committee of University Malaysia Sarawak, the Sarawak State Education Department, and the Educational Research and Planning Department of the Ministry of Education in Putrajaya. We have addressed all four main elements of human and ethics research respect for persons, respect for personal autonomy, beneficence and justice, throughout the conduct of the research. On top of the seeking ethics approval and permission from official channels, we also sought permission from the community elders using an established cultural protocol which was developed by Phoa (2009) (Minoi et al., 2018).
The location of the study is a remote rural village of just over 600 indigenous Penan, a once nomadic hunter gatherer tribe which has settled in the area in the past twenty years (Zaman & Falak, 2019). In 2010, it was estimated about 16,281 of Penan population had settled in Sarawak (Zaman et al., 2016). For Penan students, they prefer to speak in Penan language as their first language in the school, instead of the national language, Bahasa Melayu. It is common for rural communities such as these to use their language for communication due to the strong cultural influence and attachment in the community From their formal education, they gradually learn to use Bahasa Melayu as the primary communicative language with anyone outside of their tribe (Law, 2018).
were introduced Scratch as a tool to produce learning tasks which encapsulate an understanding of how computational thinking works.
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The study was conducted over three separate visits to the school and the community. In the three visits which took place over 12 months, we observed and interacted with the community members and leaders, and with the schoolteachers and from the school volunteered to participate in our study. They attended Primary Four (15) and Primary Five (7) classes, aged 10 and 11, eleven boys and eleven girls. None had any experience in programming and no background knowledge in computational thinking skills. We describe them as active, obedient, shy, and possess a high level of curiosity. Through a subject taught at school, called Information and Communication technology, they have learned about the critical functions of a computer, and they were familiar with word processing and digital multimedia. Unfortunately, they have minimal
Twentyprincipal.-twochildren
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We designed and deployed a set of localised instructional strategies to introduce computational thinking skills such as algorithmic thinking, problem decomposition, and abstraction (see Table 2).
access to computers because of the lack of technology tools at the school and their own homes. The students mostly preferred to play outdoor sports such as football and badminton, instead of sedentary games. Our initial interactions and analysis enabled the design of the localised instructional strategies, which we eventually used in the introductory sessions on Computational thinking (Minoi et al , 2018)
Participants are divided into two groups the control and treatment groups. The control group has ten students comprised of four boys and six girls, while the treatment group had 12 students, seven boys and five girls. For the setting (see Table 1), both groups shared one classroom space during Lesson 1, 2, 3, and 7 as they needed to collaborate in the activities. During Lesson 4, 5 and 6, both groups are separated into two classroom spaces. The treatment group received an instructional intervention in a classroom while a facilitator in another classroom monitored the control group The treatment group studied a more challenging CT concept and activities such as ‘variables’ and ‘creating a quiz using Scratch’ with an instructor’s guidance and facilitation. Using the ‘variable’ concept, they were required to apply it in the Scratch programme. Both groups were asked to construct a quiz program The control group studied at their own pace, with booklet provided andwithout much guidance. The control group are encouraged to explore Scratch and learn how to create any game they desired. A facilitator was available throughout the treatment phase to assist them when needed.
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Two key activities were designed and developed for the study. One was called “unplugged coding game” and the second one was focused on introducing Scratch™ as a tool for programming
Table 1: Setting for the study experiment
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Table 2: Computational Thinking activities and instructional strategies
Photos and videos taken during the lessons were analysed using content analysis. Narrative analysis was used to examine the interactions which took place during the lessons.
4. Results and Findings
We conducted the lessons on Computational thinking with both groups, and we observed their interactions, behaviours and comprehension while on task. Comprehension was measured through a pre test and a post test instrument, which assessed their level of knowledge about Computational thinking. The instrument consists of questions on algorithmic skill, abstraction, and problem decomposition. There is a total of five questions in the instrument; four items focused on knowledge about Scratch™ and Programming, and another item was written to look at algorithmic thinking (see Appendix). Participants were provided thirty minutes to undertake each test. The items were rated using scales ranging from 1 to 4 (from “beginner showing little understanding of the concept”, to “advanced fluent understanding of the concept” .
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Twenty one responses are collected from both treatment and control groups. One missing data is detected when one participant from the control group was absent during the post test (see Fig 1). The horizontal axis indicates an ascending order of participants from 1 to 10 while the vertical axis shows the percentage of CT score gained by each sample
The CT pre test results show that the treatment group performed better than the control group, with a difference of 3.5% (see Table 3). It shows that participants in the treatment group performed slightly better as compared to the control group.
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After the post test, the treatment group shows an improvement of 1.7% while the control group shows a decrease of 6.2%. It indicates that whole class instruction and open ended activities were helpful for these participants to learn CT skills, even though the results are not conclusive. However, other factors, such as personal language competencies and problem solving ability, might have also influenced the results. Based on Fig 2, the results of the treatment group show only six participants hadimproved their post test performance while others either showed a decrease or their scores remained unchanged. Group Pre test Post test
50403020100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Control
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Figure 1: CT results of the Control group
Table 3: The mean score and differences of scores for both groups
The unplugged coding game produced a mixed reaction among the participants. Although they are repeatedly reminded of the game mechanics, most still failed to comprehend them. Some of the female participants found it challenging to comprehend the mechanics of the game, and they eventually gave up playing.
50403020100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TREATMENT GROUP
Based on our observations, the game might not have resembled anything they have played before, and they might have lost interest in it because the game did not present a worthy challenge to them. The phenomenon was evident among those who did not notably score high in the pre test and post test. We assumed that their performance was slowed by the unplugged coding game, which had required participants touse abstract thinking skills to identify steps and directions to the desired goal (see Fig 3). In our observation, it was a challenge for them to think abstractly and systematically. We conclude that these participants might have required extended support and repetitive scaffolding to guide them to internalise the “foreign” algorithmic concepts
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Overall, participants demonstrated high motivation during all of the computational thinking activities. In the unplugged game based coding activity, 22 participants were dividedintofive groups andthese groups are furtherdivided into subgroups. Each group formed two more subgroups of two to three people, as they were instructed to compete with the other subgroups during the game based activity.
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Figure 2: CT results of the Treatment group
Figure 3: Participants attempting to play an unplugged algorithmic thinking game Pre test Post test
To measure participant’ s understanding of using Scratch™ as a tool for programming, questions such as “Do you know what the sprite was doing in the program?” and “Could you describe the flow of the blocks you generated just now?” were asked to the participants. A participant gave only a partial answer as he could not understand the flow of the Scratch™ programme Our observations revealed that some participants had needed more time and support to fully understand how Scratch™ works. Some had trouble understanding the value of basic steps when arranging code blocks in the programme. However, throughout all of the sessions, theydisplayed a high level of curiosity anddetermination. They intentionally made an effort to try parameters to test and play the sprites within Scratch, a sign of comprehension progress.
.
In the “Getting started with Scratch” activity, the Scratch™ programme was introduced to the participants to get them to familiarise with the blocks and utilise the tool. The Malay language is used as a medium to teach them Scratch. Notes are given to guide them getting started with Scratch in case they missed the steps demonstrated by the instructor. It was observed that during the sessions, the participants communicatedin their mothertongue, the Penan language. Thecode switching between Penan and Malay as they interacted with the facilitators and among themselves seemed to have supported their understanding of the assigned Intasks.the
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problem solving session, participants were assigned to draw a map based on a scenario given and label the vital information such as location, places (schools), object (boat), and time of departure and arrival (see Fig 4). This lesson aims to practice abstraction skill, decomposition skill, and algorithmic thinking. Before drawing the map, they were briefed with a familiar situation of a travelling problem. The facilitator used a similar example and demonstrated an illustration forthemtovisualise the intended situation. The details of information wereadded to the map as essential elements for mark up and problem solving.
Figure 4: A travel map was drawn by using Abstraction skills During the tinkering session, the participants began to use Scratch™ to complete the tasks given. Most of the groups managed to complete the tasks. Some of the participants have had to seek further guidance and support, as they were uncertain about the steps to add or change the sprites in Scratch™
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In another instance, one group successfully created a new sprite using a painting tool in Scratch. It was not taught in any of the sessions. While creating the sprite’ s design, one female participant from the group faced issues navigating with the mouse. Her limited navigational skills hampered her effort to complete the design of the new sprite for her team. It was interesting to observe the group interaction and support transpired throughout the predicament faced by the leader in their team, much of which contributed to the success of the group as a whole. Before any of the session started, the participants were divided into two different classes. Twelve participants are grouped as the treatment group in a classroom while the rest in the control group in another classroom. We only fully observed the treatment group while the control group was left on their own to manage the assigned tasks In the first session, the twelve participants in the treatment group were divided into four groups. A facilitator started to introduce the concept of variables to them and demonstrating on the whiteboard. All participants paid close attention throughout the explanation. Daily examples local to the participants were used to elaborate on the concepts introduced in the session. They learned to make connections between variables made up of their own names, favourite subjects in school and the daily items they used at home. In the following session, the participants learned how to create a quiz using Scratch™
At times, in between the sessions, we observed that some of the female participants showed anxiety and displacement. The male participants generally showed a higher interest in learning programming. When they were able to use the code blocks successfully to create new games, they displayed enthusiasm and excitement.
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. Using the variable concept they had just learned, they learned a numeric example and experimented on it to create a conditional statement (IF THEN). IF number > 1, THEN True, ELSE False. Using examples which have already been discussed, the participants learned to apply the information into a quiz in Scratch™. Then, the participants construct their arithmetic equation and write it on paper. All participants were able to complete the tasks without difficulties. In these initial sessions, both treatment and control groups were placed in the same classroom. Before the session began, the participants were given options to choose what type of project they want to create. Majority of them chose to create Scratch game, and only one group chose to create a Math quiz During the project creation phase, the participants used decomposition skills to arrange the blocks and designed the structures of their team’s programmes. They selected each block
The male participants overall presented a more serious commitment to the assigned tasks. When they found a problem, they would take the initiative to send someone from their team to ask for clarification from the facilitator.
Figure 6: A fish game built by one of the groups New sprite is drawn by one of participants.the
The Math quiz group, surprisingly, worked very well with each other and were on task. They were able to complete the Math quiz programme collaboratively and had asked for minimal assistance throughout the creation process. They invited the facilitators to try out their Math quiz as soon as they were done. The group showed excitement, relief and pride when their programme tested well. At this point, the group members began to explore Scratch™ even further. They started experimenting with creating new sprites on their own. We observed that they were able to cope with the task by referring to the guidebook provided.
carefully and connected it to the appropriate block to create a smooth flow of the intended action. Most of the groups who had opted to create a Scratch™ game were observed to have preferred to read a provided guidebook which contained all information about creating games in Scratch™.
Figure 5: A participant created a game in Scratch using Decomposition skills
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Participants then used decomposition skills during the project development to arrange the code blocks and design the program. Each block should be selected carefully and attached to the corresponding block to ensure a smooth output. They began to familiarise themselves with the use of a mouse and create a Scratch game without the help of the teacher and facilitator.
Fig 6 shows a new Fish sprite drawn by the participants without being instructed. Their unsupervised attempts demonstrated their ability and keenness to work independently and use available materials such as Scratch booklet to create new sprites
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During collaborative learning, the participants worked on an art based activity, exploration with Scratch™, and creating a Scratch™ project. We saw how most of the participants enjoyed drawing and colouring activity, notably much more than the programming tasks Brennan and Resnick (2012) described that not only pointing, clicking, browsing, and chatting as skills to develop a computational thinker. A computational thinker can do more than a consumer, whereby they use computation skills for computational expressions (Brennan and Resnick, 2012).
Although the students had never experienced working with numbers before they participated in the study, they were able to cope with the computational thinking tasks. Observations captured in the study were synonymous with Yadav et al. ’ s (2014) suggestion on young children being introduced early to computational thinking skills to solve computational problems. Scratch™ is a powerful tool for children who are inexperienced to practice CT and think like a designer. Throughout their use of computational thinking skills, these children were also becoming more interested in using technology for problem-solving
Figure 7: A participant drew a new sprite using the Editor tool in Scratch
As observed, many children enjoyed participating in art based activity (see Fig 7), which is comfortable and freer to do what they want. The study suggests that children can be creative and innovative if they are encouraged to explore the topic through art and active learning. Furthermore, they are more likely to recall their learning experience through meaningful experience, which linked to creative problem solving and discovery learning (Winner et al., 1888). The same authors also found that art education could enhance students’ learning motivation, reducing the number of students in absenteeism, and promoting greater participation At the end of the activity, these children can perceive technology as a powerful medium to express creative ideas rather than solely following the teacher’s instruction. When doing project based learning, they appeared to have
In summary, these participants able to adopt computation thinking skills such as abstraction, problem decomposition, and algorithmic thinking. After a few sessions, the participants able to familiarise with the use of Scratch and apply CT skills. Although each group created little during the task, they showed positive engagement during the activities such as asking questions, helping others and play with their peers. In contrast, these activities were not able to determine their level of CT skills because the instructor and facilitators guided all activities.
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Preliminary results from the control group’s post test suggest that an unguided instructional approach is less effective than guided instructional strategies. Future research is needed to pursue a deeper understanding of the development of CT skills among young novice learners such as these Penan school children. Computational thinking skills may not be an obvious schema in their living environment and teaching such concepts would require a deeper understanding of how teachers could make connections between indigenous knowledge and curriculum prescribed learning contents.
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7. References Asad, K., Tibi, M., & Raiyn, J. (2016). Primary School Students’ Attitudes toward Learning Programming through Visual Interactive Environments. World Journal of Education, 6(5), 20 26. https://doi.org/10.5430/wje.v6n5p20 Baharom, S., & Palaniandy, B. (2013). Problem Based Learning: A Process for the Acquisition of Learning and Generic Skills. The 4th International Research
The research project was funded by Newton AHRC MoHE (UK SEA NUOF JPTS (BPKI)2000/04/07/05(33). The authors appreciate the support of the Institute Social Informatics and Technological Innovations (ISITI) and Dr John Phua from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), the Ministry of Education, Sarawak State Education Department, and guidance from all teachers at SK Long Lamei throughout the study.
5. Conclusion
asked more questions as they were eager to know about which function blocks were required to make the sprites to move
Based on CT performance during the study, it showed that these novice indigenous children were able to learn and use the “foreign” concepts of abstraction, decomposition, and algorithmic thinking They exhibited learning characteristics such as ‘learning by making’, collaborative, highly motivated, playfulness, curiosity, and creativity. Although the CT post test results showed that understanding of computational concepts was poor, confidence and engagement levels have visibly increased during the construction of their programming projects. We observed their need for supportive peers, guided scaffolding to learn the contents, and a positive learning environment. Language proficiency also played a role in enabling the learning of “foreign” concepts such as computational thinking in a remote setting as such. The codeswitching from Penan to Malay in verbal interactions, and to English as they read prompts from Scratch, might have affected the way the participants understood computational thinking skills.
The study has illustrated the effectiveness of mixing game based learning, collaborative learning, problem based learning, and project based learning to present a new “foreign” concept to young novice indigenous children in engaging and understanding considered CT skills. These techniques, when used with localised examples which exist in the participants’ home environment, were deemed culturally adaptable to the learning of computational thinking skills
6. Acknowledgement
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A1 Appendix 1 Computational Thinking Questions Soalan Pemikiran Komputational (1) Nama: KelasJantina:____________________________Lelaki/PerempuanDarjah:__________ 2018
A2 Computational thinking pre-test questions
1. The plane needs to find its way to the circle. Write the steps on how to move to the destination. You may use instructions such as go forward, turn right, and turn left. Pesawat perlu mencari laluannya ke bulatan. Tulis langkah langkah bagaimana untuk bergerak ke destinasi. Anda boleh menggunakan set arahan ke hadapan, belok kanan, dan belok kiri. Jawapan
A3 2. The sprite is going forward when you press the ‘0’ button. But it cannot move backwards. Could you help to solve this problem? Write your solution at any space below. Sprit akan bergerak ke hadapan apabila anda menekan butang '0'. Tetapi ia tidak dapat bergerak ke belakang. Bolehkah anda membantu menyelesaikannya? Tulis penyelesaian anda di mana mana ruang di bawah. Bergerak ke hadapan BergerakJawapan:ke belakang B)A)
Jawapan
Guru kelas anda telah memberikan anda satu tugas iaitu menghasilkan satu program. Terdapat dua watak, John dan Esa dalam program ini.Syaratnya ialah John akan berkata "Apa khabar?"
kepada Esa dan Esa akan mengatakan perkara yang sama kepada John. Tetapi John dan Esa mengatakannya pada masa yang sama. Bagaimana untuk membetulkannya?
A4 3. Your class teacher has assigned you a task which is to create a program. There are two characters, John and Esa in the program. The condition is John will say “Apa khabar?” to Esa and Esa will say the same thing to John. But they say it at the same time. How to fix that?
A5 4. A cat has nine lives. If it collides with a squirrel, one life is lost. If all nine lives are lost, the game is over. Fill in the blanks in this script to make these rules work.
Seekor kucing mempunyai sembilan nyawa. Jika ia bertembung dengan tupai, satu nyawa akan hilang. Sekiranya semua nyawa hilang, permainan ini akan ditamatkan. Isi ruang kosong dalam skrip ini untuk membuat peraturan ini berfungsi. C)
Jawapan A) B) D)
A6 5. Your class teacher has assigned you to create a calculator machine by programming. The problem is “What number to add with 71 so that you get 203?” Guru kelas anda telah menetapkan anda untuk membuat matematik kalkulator dengan pengaturcaraan. Masalahnya ialah "Nombor apakah yang perlu ditambah dengan 71 untuk mendapatkan 203?" Definition (Istilah): • Ask (bertanya) • Wait (tunggu) Jawapan A) B) C) D)
A7 Appendix 2 Computational Thinking Questions Soalan Pemikiran Komputational (2) Nama: KelasJantina:_________________Lelaki/PerempuanDarjah:__________ 2018
A8 Computational thinking post-test questions
1. The plane needs to find its way to the circle. Write the steps on how to move to the destination. You may use instructions such as go forward, turn right, and turn left. Pesawat perlu mencari laluannya ke bulatan. Tulis langkah langkah bagaimana untuk bergerak ke destinasi. Anda boleh menggunakan set arahan ke hadapan, belok kanan, dan belok kiri. Jawapan
A9 2. The sprite is going forward when you press the ‘0’ button. But it cannot move backwards. Could you help to solve this problem? Write your solution at any space below. Sprit akan bergerak ke hadapan apabila anda menekan butang '0'. Tetapi ia tidak dapat bergerak ke belakang. Bolehkah anda membantu menyelesaikannya? Tulis penyelesaian anda di mana mana ruang di bawah. Bergerak ke hadapan BergerakJawapan:ke belakang B)A)
Guru kelas anda telah memberikan anda satu tugas iaitu menghasilkan satu program. Terdapat dua watak, John dan Esa dalam program ini.Syaratnya ialah John akan berkata "Apa khabar?" kepada Esa dan Esa akan mengatakan perkara yang sama kepada John. Tetapi John dan Esa mengatakannya pada masa yang sama. Bagaimana untuk membetulkannya?
A10 3. Your class teacher has assigned you a task which is to create a program. There are two characters, John and Esa in the program. The condition is John will say “Apa khabar?” to Esa and Esa will say the same thing to John. But they say it at the same time. How to fix that?
Jawapan
A11 4. A cat has eleven lives. If it collides with a squirrel, one life is lost. If all eleven lives are lost, the game is over. Fill in the blanks in this script to make these rules work.
Seekor kucing mempunyai sebelas nyawa. Jika ia bertembung dengan tupai, satu nyawa akan hilang. Sekiranya semua nyawa hilang, permainan ini akan ditamatkan. Isi ruang kosong dalam skrip ini untuk membuat peraturan ini berfungsi. B) D) C)
Jawapan A)
A12 5. Your class teacher has assigned you to create a calculator machine by programming. The problem is “What number to add with 71 so that you get 203?” Guru kelas anda telah menetapkan anda untuk membuat matematik kalkulator dengan pengaturcaraan. Masalahnya ialah "Nombor apakah yang perlu ditambah dengan 71 untuk mendapatkan 203?" Definition (Istilah): • Ask (bertanya) • Wait (tunggu) Jawapan A) B) C) D)
Abstract Investigating postgraduate students’ experience of peer to peer interaction (PPI) to promote engagement, across diverse student characteristics and country contexts, is rare, but a task necessary to improve outcomes for increasingly diverse students in higher education. This study implemented a questionnaire survey in an Asian developing (i.e. Bangladesh; n=65) and a Western developed country (i.e., Australia; n=28) to address two research questions: first, is student experience of PPI to promote engagement consistent across developing and developed country contexts? Second, do characteristics of students influence their experience of PPI? In both contexts, PPI facilitated students’ discussion of readings from different viewpoints, cognition to apply classroom learning to work and teamwork and practical problem solving skills. In the developed country, students’ age negatively correlated to engagement with readings (r= .644) and cognition of applying classroom learning to work (r= .649). In the developing country, age did not impact on the experience of PPI, whereas a lack of adequate technology had a negative impact. Working students in the developed country, unlike that of the developing country, were critical of relying on peers, reflecting the influence of individualism cultural orientation. The study implies PPIs can be a global theme to promote student engagement if developed in alignment with the pedagogy of social constructivism and academic and cognitive student engagement themes.
117 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 117 136, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.72020 Can Peer to Peer Interaction (PPI) be a Global Theme to Promote Engagement in Students of Diverse Characteristics and Country Contexts? Nazlee Siddiqui* University of Tasmania, Australia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 1841 3095 Khasro Miah North South University, Bangladesh https://orcid.org/0000 0002 6499 3545 Afreen Ahmad Hasnain Southeast University, Bangladesh https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4474 6942 David Greenfield University of Tasmania, Australia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 0927 6025
Authors find that studies of comparative assessment of PPI between students of different contexts are rare. An exception is a study of Lam et al. (2016) that
Furthermore, academics should design PPIs in partnership with students, accommodating the PPIs to the characteristics of relevant student cohorts and contexts. Future studies of a greater sample size will facilitate the agenda for effective PPIs for all students.
Keywords: Peer to peer interaction; Diversity of students; Pupils engagement; Student engagement; Developed country 1. Introduction Investigation of student engagement is a decades’ old journey, but at the same time, it is an ongoing agenda in education systems (Holmes, 2018). Scholars indicate a global trend of increasing student diversity in higher education (Andrew, 2019; Perez, Robbins, Harris, & Montgomery, 2020; Sanger, 2020; Tanaka, 2019; Universities Australia, 2019) How student diversity shapes the themes of student engagement is an evolving process. Peer to peer interaction (PPI) is recognised as a common theme of student engagement (Kahu & Nelson, 2018; Zhoc, Webster, Li, & Chung, 2018). Understanding of the PPI is also evolving, being an important aspect of ongoing investigations of student engagement (Siddiqui, Miah, & Ahmad, 2019).
PPI is a learning and teaching practice that is frequently used in higher education(Beaumont, Mannion, & Shen, 2012; Power & Vaughan, 2010; Stigmar, 2016). It involves students working collaboratively with a common purpose in real time, in one to one or small teams, either in the face to face or online mode. PPI has to negotiate with diversity factors at a contextual level such as the different technology platforms, teacher’s capability, and level of resource availability in the learning environment (Jawhar & Subahi, 2020; Kahu & Nelson, 2018). Moreover, PPI practices rely on students’ personal capability to socially interact with peers who are likely to be of different profiles, for example, by lifestyle (working versus non working) or culture (local versus international) or age (matured versus young).
It has become necessary to critically investigate the interrelation between PPI and enhanced student engagement, across students from different countries, to inform the macro contextual factors involved in this interrelationship Moreover, investigations are required to identify PPI learning and teaching approaches that can be accommodated to benefit all students, at a micro level, regardless of students’ personal capability and characteristics The premise of the investigations lies in PPI being a learning activity that is influenced by individual students and the surrounding social world (Broer, Bai, & Fonseca, 2019; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Academics who are aware of how PPI is experienced by students of divergent backgrounds at the macro, as well as micro levels, will be better equipped to facilitating an inclusive learning environment (Lawrie et al., 2017) Moreover, academics with such awareness can promote a generalised learner centered approach for collaborative learning (Hoidn, 2016).
118 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. reported an insignificant influence of PPI in school students’ engagement across twelve European, the United States of America (USA), and Southeast Asian countries. It is possible that the situation in higher education is different from what is reported at schools Previous literature evidenced the beneficial influence of PPI in higher education across different countries, but also pointed out that more than 60% of studies in the review belonged to the western education context (Stigmar, 2016) The study of PPI in Asian developing country contexts is underrepresented (Siddiqui et al., 2019) and a comparative assessment of PPI between contrasting education contexts (for example, developing versus developed country) is exceptional.
1.1 Research Questions
1.2 PPI and engagement of students of different characteristics and contexts
The literature provides consistent evidence of PPI’s role in student engagement in higher education. Globally, in developed countries such as the USA (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2019), United Kingdom (Neves, 2019), Australia (Coates, 2010; Quality indicators for learning and teaching, 2020); learning with peers is a common theme in the national survey of student engagement in higher education. A foundational literature to understand students’ experience of PPI is the pedagogy of social constructivism, which proposes students achieve deeper learning with constructive peer interactions (Powell & Kalina, 2009). Academics need to spend substantial time and
This study investigates students’ experience of PPI in promoting engagement, with an application of the same PPI assessment across students of two divergent country contexts. The two research questions addressed in this study are: Question 1: Is student experience of PPI to promote engagement consistent across developing and developed country contexts?
According to the contemporary framework of student engagement by Zhoc et al (2018), PPI builds student engagement through social interaction with peers. This theme includes collaborative academic learning, as well as, beyond the classroom interactions between student peers. The theme of PPI functions side by side to the other four themes of student engagement, which are: academic engagement, covering online and offline student behaviours to achieve academic learning; cognitive engagement, consisting of students’ psychological investment to master knowledge; social engagement with teachers, encompassing supportive interactions between teacher and student in the academic environment; and affective engagement, encompassing students’ emotional bonding with the learning institution (Zhoc et al., 2018).
Question 2: Do characteristics of students influence their experience of PPI?
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In the early literature of student engagement, for example in the work of Astin (1984); the phenomenon was described as students’ overall involvement in the learning experience to yield desirable academic achievements. Further research has clarified student engagement as a multi dimensional phenomenon; consisting of emotional, behavioural, cognitive and sociocultural themes (Bowden, Tickle, & Naumann, 2019; Zhoc et al., 2018).
Students experiencing effective PPIs were reported to have greater success with teamwork and enhancement of skills such as problem solving, communication, learning autonomy, work related cognition and ethical thinking (Siddiqui et al., 2019; Stigmar, 2016; University of the Free State, 2019)
2.Method 2.1 Research context and Participants
Kahu and Nelson’s conceptual framework of student engagement supports the notion that students’ experience of PPI is subjective to their cultural background and the learning institute’s resources (Kahu & Nelson, 2018). Previous research also reported students’ gender (Lam et al., 2016), working versus non working status (Creed, French, & Hood, 2015), cultural dimensions such as individualism versus collectivism (Morera & Galván , 2019) and developed versus developing country contexts (Ming Ming & Chow, 2011) are important considerations to understand students’ learning process. Furthermore, learning is a product of engagement between the person participating in education and the surrounding social world (Broer, Bai, & Fonseca, 2019; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Hence, the experience of an academic assessment of PPI is expected to be influenced by students’ various characteristics and country contexts.
resources to design PPIs with features of social constructivism such as critical thinking, collaborative tasks and the task being meaningful to students (Powell & Kalina, 2009; Siddiqui, Miah, & Ahmad, 2019; Van Bergen & Parsell, 2019)
However, current literature, as summarised above, provides a generalised appreciation of the interrelation between PPI and enhanced student engagement. It does not provide insights into how students’ age, gender, race, religion, cultural orientation, sexual orientation, working and non working and socioeconomic country contexts (developing versus developed) (Andrew, 2019; Sanger, 2020) influence the interrelation between PPI and student engagement.
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The sample students for this study were selected from two different postgraduate management units located in an Asian developing and Western developed country (United Nations, 2014) respectively, Bangladesh and TheAustraliadeveloping country education setting is a private university, with subject ranking for management, in the range of 401 450 by Quacquarelli Symonds(QS) World university ranking (QS World University Rankings, 2020) The developed country educational setting is a public university, with an overall QS ranking of 291(QS World University Rankings, 2020). Two of the authors are academics in the chosen universities in the two countries. Hence the universities and classes were chosen purposively, following the criteria of knowledge of the class’s course curriculum, and access to designing of the PPI assessment. Fulfillment of the selection criteria was essential to effectively develop the PPI assessment and investigate the research phenomenon
Sample students from the university in developing and developed countries were studying in face to face and blended learning mode, respectively. In terms of cultural orientation, the developing country is of the collectivism dimension, with a score of 20 (Hofstede Insights, 2020). This score reflects students in this
2.2 Research design and procedure
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. country belonged to a society that upholds strong relationships and commitment among group members. On the other hand, the developed country is high on the individualism dimension, with a score of 90 (Hofstede Insights, 2020). So, students in this country belonged to a self reliant society where a reward is based on individual merit. Upon comparing two cases in contrasting contexts, the study applied the extreme comparative method (Shelly, Ooi, & Brown, 2019) to draw learning on PPI’s functioning with student engagement.
This research collected quantitative and qualitative perspective of students’ experience of a PPI assessment, applying a cross sectional survey, within the convergent parallel mixed methods research design (Creswell, 2014). In both the study contexts, the survey took place after students experienced the PPI assessment. The assessment was part of the study in the semester. The study was first conducted at the university in the developed country, in 2017, and later in 2018, in the university in the developing country
The PPI assessment was designed with the concept of social constructivism (Powell & Kalina, 2009; Vygotsky, 1962). Accordingly, the assessment incorporated collaborative tasks, critical thinking, and content that was relevant to students’ topics of learning. The PPI was a real time learning activity (online/audio discussion in real time), where 3 5 students collaborated as a team and made two submissions. One, a submission of 350 400 words answer to a question that students wrote as a team. As explained in an earlier publication of the researchers (reference is withheld to facilitate blind peer review), to answer the question, the team members needed to be oriented with the unit readings. In this submission, each team explained how specific learning from the readings could be applied to manage real life workplace scenarios. The PPI assessment covered 5% of the total mark of the unit, with the same mark being applied to the whole team. The lecturers/unit coordinators arranged the class into teams of all working students or a combination of working and non working students. This arrangement was considered beneficial for students’ cognitive engagement towards the application of classroom learning.
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The sample cohort in the developing country comprised of sixty five students, representing 80% of the class. This cohort largely represented students aged below 30 at 60% and females at 58%. The developed country sample consisted of twenty eight students, representing 38% of the class. Out of this cohort, aged 30 years and older and females were 61% and 75% respectively. Around 35% and 96% of students were working and studying simultaneously, in the developing and developed countries, respectively There were no international students in any of the sample cohorts. Students from the developing country represented the Indian ethnicity at 100% and the religion of Islam at 97%. Students from the developed country largely represented the British ethnicity at 75% and the religion of Christianity at 89%. The extracted sample from each class provided sufficient information to answer the research questions regarding a student’s experience of PPI. Hence the sample size was justified by information orientation, being adequate to investigate the targeted phenomenon in this mixed methods education research (Ahrens & Zascerinska, 2014; Onwuegbuzie, & Collins, 2007).
Second, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was completed, at a 95% confidence level, to compare students’ experience of PPI in promoting student engagement between the developing and developed countries. Variables subjected to ANOVA were PPI enhances engagement with reading materials and PPI enhances engagement with thinking of applying classroom learning to work (Table 3). The homogeneity assumption was adhered to as the Levens test reported statistically insignificant variance by median on both the variables. Moreover, the data distribution was not of extreme nature as the absolute value of the kurtosis index for both the variables were below 7 (Byrne, 2016) Lastly, Pearson’s correlation, at 99% confidence level, was conducted within developing and developing country, between the variables of age, gender, ethnicity, religion and PPI enhances engagement with reading materials and PPI enhances engagement with thinking of applying classroom learning to work. The
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The ethics protocol of the study in the developed country was approved by the human research ethics committee at the Australian University (reference number H0015793). In the absence of a human research ethics committee in the university in Bangladesh, the study followed the guideline of the approved protocol from the Australian University. The survey was voluntary and confidential for all participants, which was important, as researchers were also unit coordinator/lecturer in the investigated units. All enrolled students were invited for the survey, through an announcement in the online learning platform of the unit, for the university in Australia, and the university website, for the university in Bangladesh. In these announcements, a link was provided for students to participate in the survey via survey monkey. Further information on the survey procedure in the developing country, is available in an earlier publication (Siddiqui et al., 2019).
The survey instrument was purposely built for this study. A sample of the survey questions is attached in Appendix 1. The survey included a section of nominal scales to capture a student’s age, gender, religion, ethnicity, and status of simultaneous work and study. Another section of Likert scales of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) to collect a students’ experience of an association between their experience of PPI and student engagement. Two single item variables in this section were: one, PPI enhances student engagement with reading materials. Two, PPI enhances engagement with thinking of applying classroom learning to work. There was also a section that collected students’ opinions in free text comments (qualitative), regarding their answer on the Likert questions and suggestions to improve the PPI assessment.
Quantitative data were analysed in three main ways. In all analyses, a respondent was excluded if any answer was missing in any question. First, a profile analysis was conducted, using percentage break down, on the factors of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, and the status of simultaneous work and study.
2.3 Survey Instrument
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2.4 Data Analysis
The quantitative and qualitative data analyses were done simultaneously by two separate researchers in this study. As shown in the result section, the research questions were answered, placing the quantitative and qualitative results side by side, with equal importance to each.
“Although I was only assigned a small component to report on, I read up on my other team members topics so I could fully engage with them during the discussion I liked the readings too (Respondent #27 from developed country)”.
correlation analysis assessed the association between students’ characteristics and their experience of PPI. The association between the variables was assessed as low, moderate, and high if the value of coefficient correlation (r) were below 0.3, between 0.3 to below 0.5 and above 0.5 respectively (Cohen, 1988).
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“Peers different point of views made the readings interesting (Respondent #30 from developing country).”
“It was great working with other classmates. Not only does it draw attention more closely to the reading materials, but it also was great to draw on the readings to provide support and be supported by others in the class. (Respondent #28 from developed country)”.
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“Through online collaboration we discussed so many issues related to our reading materials. I never found the reading materials so interesting before (Respondent #45 from developing country)”.
The qualitative data (free text comments) in the survey were analysed, taking guidance from the steps of thematic analysis, coined by Braun and Clarke(2006) The first step was to become familiar with the data, through a reading of each respondent’s comments and making notes of initial thoughts. In the second step, all comments were collated in an excel file, in two worksheets, one for the developing country and the other for the developed country data set. These datasets were then reorganised into a set of interesting statements or quotations, according to the research questions. This step ended with labelling a set of quotations into codes such as “different viewpoints of readings” and “readings made interesting”. A sample of the coding process is provided in Table 1 Table 1: Coding process Code Sample quotations from respondents interestingmadeReadings “When we discuss with each other, it is interesting as lots of things are there which we can connect with the reading materials (Respondent #3 from developing country).”
The third step involved identifying initial themes by merging different codes that reflected similar notions. For example, the codes of “different viewpoint of readings” and “readings made interesting” generated the theme of “Discussion of readings from different viewpoints” (Table 2). In the fourth step, the initial themes were reviewed further against all comments to decide the frequency of each theme in the individual data set of the developing and developed countries In the last two steps, the themes were finalised and named, upon reviewing these for commonalities and divergence between the developing and developed country data sets. If the review detected themes that were different between the two countries, then those themes were reported as “distinct themes”. The theme of “challenge with peers in the developed country” (Table 4) is an example of a distinct theme.
Table 2: Common themes in students’ experience of PPI in the divergent countries Common(Frequency)themes Sample Quotations
There were similarities in students’ experience of PPI in the two divergent contexts, as reported in the quantitative part of the survey. A substantial share of students, that is, 97% and 50% from developing and developed countries, respectively, found PPI promotes student engagement.
Theme 2: Sharing reading work with peers (90% in the developing and 89% in developed country)
“I believe group study or peer interaction helps us to quickly grasp the readings, as we could share the readings and teach each other what we read online (Respondent #40 from developing country).”
3. Results In this section, the quantitative and qualitative results are presented according to the research questions. The first two sections (3.1 and 3.2) have answered the first research question, “is student experience of PPI to promote engagement consistent across developing and developed country contexts?”
“It helped me to increase skills for my work by learning how to manage a group to be efficient and complete the work timely. I can apply the same approach with which I maintained coordination in this peer interaction (Respondent #22 from developing country)”
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3.1 Similarities in the experience of PPI
Theme 4: Workplace relevant skill of practical problem solving (88% in the developing and 62% in
“There are many issues for which there are no solutions in the book. Peer interaction helped to talk about these issues and find practical solutions just like what I do at work. (Respondent # 65 from developing country) “.
Theme 3: Workplace relevant skill of (82%learning/teamworkSharedinthedevelopingand73%inthedevelopedcountry)
. The third section (3.3) has answered the second research question, “do characteristics of students influence their experience of PPI?”.
“My other team member has a very different background to myself and works in a lesser clinical area, so it was good to hear examples form their workplace also. (Respondent #3 from developed country.”
“I find this subject incredibly difficult, so sharing the load with team members and being able to split the content …and teach each other what we have read about was great (Respondent #6 from developed country)
Students’ opinions, provided in the qualitative section of the survey, generated six common themes as presented in Table 2 In this table, the readers will also find the frequency of the themes and sample quotations.
Theme 1: Discuss readings from different viewpoints (89% in the developing and 98% in developed country) “Peers different point of views made the readings interesting (Respondent #30 from developing country).”
“I'm a clinician, so my level of experience in management is limited. I was lucky enough that the other members of our team had experience in this field and could discuss the readings from their views. I felt really supported in this format (Respondent #14 from developed country).”
as per the theme 5, few students, in both the contexts, resonated with the notion that PPI can make it easy to communicate with peers through online medium. These students found online interaction to be speedy (real time) and lesser intimidating (comments from respondent # 40 and # 9 in Table 2). Lastly, as per the theme 6, few students commented that PPI was not a significant influencer in their learning. This was the least frequent theme in both the contexts and were experienced by students who felt a common hurdle with the PPI assessment was the inadequacy of time (comments from respondents # 50 and #2 in Table 2).
“The online collaboration gave me the confidence to speak up as I am always nervous to do that (Respondent #9 from developed country).”
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. developed country) “At work, I always needed to but was afraid of looking into financial statements. But I found the concept of 'productivity' and 'efficiency’ in the financial statements interesting, as explained by the team, though a shared learning process. I plan to explore them for work issues in the future (Respondent #8 from developed country).
Theme 6: PPI had neutral impact (7% in the developing and 12% in developed country) “I believe the peer interaction was too short and had neutral impact on my readings (Respondent #50 from developing “Thecountry).”timeline was a little tough. We needed to have more time to learn from the team and apply the learning to work (Respondent #2 from developed country).”
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The two most frequent themes were the same across the students in developing and developed countries. Which were: theme 1, PPI helped to discuss readings from different viewpoints and theme 2, PPI facilitated sharing of reading work with team members. Students shared their experience of how the PPI was a supportive mechanism to understand the readings from different viewpoints of team members and making the readings interesting (comments from respondent #30 and #14 in Table 2). Moreover, across the two contexts, most students agreed that PPI helped to share the load of readings with team members (comments from respondent #40 and #6 in Table 2). In both countries, as shown in themes 3 and 4 in Table 2, PPI came across as a platform to attain workplace relevant skills of shared learning, teamwork, and practical problem solving. This happened, as during the PPI, students enjoyed learning about the diverse work environment of peers and engaged in joint coordination of the PPI assessment (comments from respondent # 22 and # 3 in Table 2). Students also felt an association between PPI and practical problem solving, since the team discussion allowed unpacking of complex problems in a language that they are familiar with (comments from respondent # 65 and #8 in Table Additionally,2).
Theme 5: Ease of online communication with peers (10% in the developing and 28% in the country)developed “Particularly, in last minute preparation, there is nothing to beat the advantages of online collaboration (Respondent #40 from developing country).”
Theme 1: Improving PPI with developingtechnologybetterinthecountry(8%)
“Skype, Facebook services are often not working here. We faced this problem and completed the task with group messaging and audio recording on phone (Respondent #46 from developing country).”
“We talked over WhatsApp/Viber. It was audio conversation, as the internet could not support video conversation. I wanted the PPI to be a video conversation, to make it more interesting with capturing of the facial expressions (Respondent #52 from developing country). “
“My reading of the provided materials was not instigated by the team project, with most read before the completion of the project. The group project provided a platform to discuss certain readings, though I found discussion on reading materials to be more engaging with workplace managers than with fellow students. (Respondent #4 from developed country).”
Members were difficult to engage early on. While I am very quick to reply to emails and correspondence back and forth, it was more difficult with other members who were not so engaged. (Respondent #8 from developed country).
Theme 2: Challenge with peers in the developed(18%)country
Table 3: Students’ experience of PPI between developing and developed country Students DevelopinginCountry Students DevelopedinCountry Meanbetweensquaregroups F value n (%) 62 (75) 21 (25) Missing value 3 7
There was a disparity in the level of endorsement for PPI between students in developing and developed countries, as reported in the quantitative part of the survey. As shown in Table 3, comparatively, developing country students provided significantly stronger endorsement on the two variables of PPI enhances engagement with reading materials (F value=12.99*) and thinking of application of classroom learning to work (F value= 15.83*).
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3.2 Differences in the experience of PPI
Variable: PPI enhances engagement with reading materials Mean (SD) 4.4 (.68) 3.6 (1.2) 9.25 12.99*
Variable: PPI enhances engagement with thinking of applying classroom learning to work Mean (SD) 4.5 (.69) 3.7 (.85) 8.53 15.83*
* The mean square difference is significant at P <.05 level (2 tailed) Table 4 presents themes that pointed to differences in the experience of PPI in the two countries. Table 4: Distinct themes in the experience of PPI in the divergent countries Distinct(Frequency)Themes Sample Quotations
.522** .644** 1 .920** 3. PPI worklearningclassroomofwithengagementenhancesthinkingapplyingto .07 .522**
3.3. Influence of student characteristics on students’ experience of PPI Table 5 presents the quantitative survey results regarding the influence of student characteristics in the experience of PPI
.649** .920**
2. PPI materialswithengagementenhancesreading .093
In the developing country, few students commented on PPI experience being compromised due to technology issues. This notion generated Theme 1, which is, improving PPI with better technology. This theme, as reported in Table 4, indicated students had difficulty in accessing Facebook/Skype and resorted to phone recording for the PPI (comment from respondent #46). A student also felt the need for video technology to make the PPI experience more interesting (comment from respondent #52). In the analysis of qualitative comments, few students in the developed country were found to be more critical of the benefits of PPI. Theme 2, challenges with peers, which is reported in Table 4, was drawn from this notion. According to this theme, students felt that discussion of readings with work colleagues was more engaging than the same with peers (comment from respondent #4). Some students also indicated that PPI can be ineffective if all team members do not equally engage with PPI (comment from respondent #8)
**
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Table 5: Influence of student characteristics in the experience of PPI Variables Students in Developing Country (n= 62; missing value =3) Students in Developed Country (n= 21; missing value =7) 1 2 3 1 2 3 Age 1 .093 .07 1 .644** .649** 1 1 1 Correlation is significant at P <.01 level (2 tailed) The data revealed no influence of gender, ethnicity, and religion on students’ experience of PPI across the developing and developed countries. However, as shown in Table 5, in the developed country, age had a significant and high negative influence on students’ experience of PPI. As per which, more aged students felt PPI reduces engagement with readings (r= .644) and thinking of applying classroom learning to work (r= .649). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation was noted between PPI induced engagement with readings and thinking of applying classroom learning to work. This relationship between the two variables applied to students in developing (r =.522), as well as, developed
1.
“Difficult to engage team members due to ranging work patterns. Would find it easier to review material on my own and submit a discussion post (Respondent #19 from developed country).”
“Since I am working in corporate environment, it definitely helped me to think how I should implement these theories in my workplace (Respondent #33 from developing country)”.
“Everyone comes to the Masters with their own reason and goals. You are not necessarily working with people that are like minded and this is always challenging when you are being assessed on group work (Respondent # 20 from developed country). “
“Same grade for all when the contribution was not equal by all members… My suggestion: submission of document with detailed outline of individual group members work; which would include a sign off from all group members. This would be helpful for markers to mark the assignment fairly and equally (Respondent #13 from developed country). “
Table 6: Themes for the influence of student characteristics on the experience of PPI
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (r=.920) country. This point is noteworthy, as a cumulative influence of the negative experience of PPI is expected for the aged students in the developed Analysiscountry of qualitative comments in the survey generated two themes regarding how student characteristics influenced the experience of PPI in both countries.
“It is difficult to process discussion with peers with openness. It could be good but that is not how we have worked all these years. At an organisational level, there is not much of taking on different views of how things could be done (Respondent #24 from developed country).”
Themes Sample Quotations
Table 6 presents these themes for students of each country, along with the frequency and sample quotations.
“I liked the PPI because it gave a better chance to know strengths and weaknesses of team members. This kind of online collaboration will help to networking and allow different walks of people to work as a team (Respondent #44 from developing country).
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Theme Characteristic1: of working versus Non working influenced students’ experience of PPI (26% in developing and 18% in country)developed
“My team members despite working full time and also doing masters full time, managed to match time with others and collaboratively completed the work. It was not an easy task, but we did it because we were committed to team’s success in this assessment (Respondent #63 from developing country).”
“I was hesitant with group discussions, as I am not working and can’t provide practical examples. (Respondent #53 from developing context).”
Theme Characteristic2: of Individualismcollectivismversus influenced students’ experience of PPI (40% in developing and 57% in country)develop
According to theme 1 in Table 6, the characteristic of working versus non working had varied influences on the experience of PPI in the two countries In the developing country, working students had a positive experience with PPI. This happened, as familiarity with the work environment helped them to imagine how to apply the learning from PPI to work (comment from respondent #33). Some non working students were also hesitant with PPIs, for not being able to contribute to the discussion due to lack of work experience (comment from respondent #53). In contrast, in the developed country, few working students struggled to synchronise meeting time with other working peers (comment from respondent #19). Moreover, they were hesitant to receive peer’s opinion with openness, claiming that such openness is at odds with their work practices (comment from respondent #24)
This study investigated the experience of PPI between students in an Asian developing country versus a Western developed country. Current literature on PPI and student engagement are skewed towards the western setting (Stigmar, 2016) and equally lacking of a comparative view of contrasting contexts This is a study that compared students’ experience of PPI in promoting student engagement, between developing versus developed country contexts, as well as, student’s age, gender, ethnicity, religion, cultural orientation, and working versus non working status.
The first core finding in this study is a substantial portion of students, across the developing and developed country, had a positive experience of PPI in promoting student engagement Common mechanisms behind the positive experience of PPI were the sharing of tasks and open discussion with peers. It was important that peers had the capability to offer different viewpoints or come from a variety of study or work backgrounds such as clinical versus management (Swain, 2013) This insight is aligned with the previous literature that reported how students benefit from active and collaborative tasks,
Theme 2 in Table 6, notes the cultural characteristic of Individualism versus collectivism influenced students’ experience of PPI. Students in the developing context exhibited a collectivism cultural dimension that positively influenced their experience of PPI. They commented on successful experience with PPI, due to all members’ commitment to the success of the team (comment from respondent #63). Few other students perceived PPI to be a good mechanism to know the capability of team members (comment from respondent #44). Moreover, they imagined PPI to facilitate networking and teamwork with people of different professions and contexts.
On the other hand, individualism characteristic was evidenced in students in the developed country. In line with the individualism characteristic, they were uncomfortable to rely on team members and the PPI assessment being assessed on the basis of group work (comment from respondent #20) Moreover, some students wanted to document all team member’s contribution, to enhance fairness in marking of the PPI (comment from respondent # 13)
4. Discussions
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The other core finding is that the interrelation between students’ experience of PPI and enhanced engagement is influenced by students’ cultural orientation, working versus non working status, and age. This finding is similar to certain previous literature (Creed et al., 2015; Morera & Galván, 2019) that reported these specific student characteristics to be important considerations in students’
The second core finding in this study is student’s experience of PPI to promote engagement is influenced by the technology in the context. It was seen that lack of adequate technology in the developing country, negatively impacted students’ experience of PPI. Unlike the previous literature (Holzweiss, Joyner, Fuller, Henderson, & Young, 2014; MacNeill, Telner, Sparaggis Agaliotis, & Hanna, 2014), this study did not find technical difficulties compromised students’ experience of PPI in the developed country. This could reflect advancement in technology enhanced education in the developed country i.e. Australia (Horvath et al., 2019). In comparison, the technology condition (for example, availability of a university’s own online learning platform or access to social media such as Facebook) is much inferior in higher education in the developing country (Siddiqui et al., 2019) However, most students in the developing country benefited from the tested PPI assessment despite the technical difficulties. This infers academics in the developing country should not refrain from PPI assessments on account of inferior technology. They should design PPI practices carefully, either face to face or online, mitigating possible influence of inferior technology to students’ cognitive, behavioural, and affective engagement (Bodily, Leary, & West, 2019).
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pedagogy of social constructivism and social engagement with peers (Powell & Kalina, 2009; Van Bergen & Parsell, 2019; Zhoc et al., 2018). Across the countries, PPI facilitated greater involvement with and understanding of academic readings. This is evidence of PPI’s linkage to the theme of students’ academic engagement (Zhoc et al., 2018). Furthermore, the study evidenced PPI to help students in attaining workplace relevant skills (for example, teamwork and practical problem solving) and enhancing cognition to apply classroom learning to work scenarios. This insight is in line with earlier reported benefits of PPI (Stigmar, 2016) and endorses PPI’s interaction with the theme of students’ cognitive engagement (Zhoc et al., 2018).
The above finding implies PPI can be used as a global theme to promote student engagement across developing and developed countries. It is seen that PPI has the universal capability to enhance engagement, regardless of students’ context or individual characteristics. However, a required precondition is that academics will need to design the PPIs within the pedagogy of social constructivism. Moreover, PPIs will need to be designed in alignment with the other themes in the student engagement framework, for example, academic and cognitive engagement, to ensure greater benefit for students (Zhoc et al., 2018) The above finding also contrasted the reporting of insignificant influence of PPI on school students’ affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement (Lam et al., 2016). The contrasting evidence supports PPI can differently function between the school and higher education contexts. Future study of how the role of PPI in student engagement is distinguished in higher education, against the school studies, can assist in developing more context suitable PPI practices.
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. learning. The study further clarified that the nature of the influence of a specific student characteristic, varied between developing versus developed countries For instance, in the developing country, students’ age did not influence the experience of PPI in promoting engagement. Whereas, for more aged students in the developed country, PPI reduced their academic as well as cognitive engagement. Hence, academics need to recognise students’ age as an important characteristic of influence when designing PPI. Academics in the developed country may need to give greater guidance throughout the PPI experience if the aged students are involved. Working students behaved differently in the two countries. This cohort of students in the developing country showed collectivism, in line with the country’s cultural dimension (Hofstede Insights, 2020), and reflected a stronger commitment for the success of the PPI assessment. In contrast, working students in the developed country portrayed individualistic cultural orientation and were doubtful of the team’s commitment to the PPI assessment. Therefore, PPI’s role to promote student engagement is shaped by the combined functioning of various characteristics, for instance, work status and cultural orientation of students. An overall implication of the study findings is academics should design PPIs in partnership with students to ensure enhanced student Theengagement.proposed partnership will help to accommodate PPI learning and teaching approaches to diverse characteristics of the relevant student cohort and context. For example, a partnership between academics and students can explore ways to empower mature students in a developed country or international students from Asian backgrounds towards inclusive and more effective PPI experience. PPIs could be designed with a combination of face to face and online interactions; if these students are finding it harder to open up to peers in an online environment. Academics in the developed country may provide more consultation hours to teams with working students, exchanging opinions on PPI design and associated benefits with greater clarity. The rationale of partnership, as authors have proposed here, resonates with recognising students as partners in learning and teaching (Higgins, Dennis, Stoddard, Maier, & Howitt, 2019) and will facilitate accommodating PPI exercises to the need of diverse student cohorts
5. Conclusion This study evidenced similarities and differences in students’ experience of PPI in promoting engagement in an Asian developing and a Western developed country. Notwithstanding, PPI was endorsed as a global theme that can promote student engagement across the divergent contexts. It was noted that PPIs will have the universal capacity to enhance student engagement if designed with alignment to academic and cognitive engagement themes Moreover, the pedagogy of social constructivism should guide the development and practice of PPI. Factors such as available technology in the country context and students’ age, cultural orientation and working status influenced the role of PPI in enhancing student engagement It was also seen that student characteristics of age and cultural orientation (i.e., individualism versus collectivism) had influenced the PPI experience differently between students in developing and
Broer, M., Bai, Y., & Fonseca, F. (2019). A Review of the Literature on Socioeconomic Status and Educational Achievement. In M. Broer, Y. Bai, & F. Fonseca (Eds.),
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. developed countries. Hence, the study confirms the characteristics of students influence their experience of PPI. The implication is academics and students should partner in PPI teaching and learning practices, facilitating the accommodation of the PPIs to the various need of diverse student cohorts.
There were a few limitations in this study. The sample profile of students in both the developed and developing country was female dominant. While the female dominance is reflective of the student population in higher education in the developed country(Universities Australia, 2019), that is not the case for the developing country(World Bank, 2019). Furthermore, the study has drawn sample from only one university and discipline from each country and did not mirror the respective population by characteristics such as age, work status, ethnicity, and religion. Hence, the findings of the study are not generalisable to the respective higher education population. The sample size of the study was also small for a quantitative check of the causal relationship between diversity factors and students’ experience of PPI. The study did not follow an experimental design, which raised restriction to apply in depth statistical comparisons of the experience of PPI between the different cohorts of students. Nevertheless, the study captured students’ empirical experience of PPI with mixed methods research design, highlighting critical considerations for the effectiveness of PPI with a diverse cohort of students. Future studies with a greater number of participants are needed to pursue the agenda for effective PPIs for all students.
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Amidst the growing diversity of students in higher education, such partnerships will promote PPIs that are inclusive and effective for all students.
6. Limitations
7. References Ahrens, A., & Zascerinska, J. (2014). A framework for selecting sample size in educational research on E Business application. 2014 11th International Conference on e Business (ICE B), 39 46. Andrew, P. (2019). The Quest for Diversity in Higher Education. Pepperdine Policy Review, 11(4). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/ppr/vol11/iss1/4 Astin, A. (1984). Student Involvement: A Development Theory for Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development, 40, 518 529. Beaumont, T., Mannion, A., & Shen, B. (2012). From the Campus to the Cloud: The Online Peer Assisted Learning Scheme. Journal of Peer Learning, 5(6), 20 31. Bodily, R., Leary, H., & West, R. E. (2019). Research trends in instructional design and technology journals. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 64 79. doi:10.1111/bjet.12712 Bowden, J. L. H., Tickle, L., & Naumann, K. (2019). The four pillars of tertiary student engagement and success: a holistic measurement approach. Studies in Higher Education, 1 18. doi:10.1080/03075079.2019.1672647 Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77 101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
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Horvath, D., Stirling, E., Bevacqua, J., Coldrey, M., Buultjens, P., Buultjens, M., & Larsen, A. (2019). Plan, prepare and connect : How investing in understanding and tracking the evolving needs of online students informs the development of targeted programs for transition and success. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 16(1). Jawhar, S., & Subahi, A. (2020). The Impact of Specialty, Sex, Qualification, and Experience on Teachers’ Assessment Literacy at Saudi Higher Education. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19, 200 216. doi:10.26803/ijlter.19.5.12
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Higgins, D., Dennis, A., Stoddard, A., Maier, A. G., & Howitt, S. (2019). 'Power to empower': conceptions of teaching and learning in a pedagogical co design partnership. Higher Education Research and Development, 38(6). Hofstede Insights. (2020). Country Comparison. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede insights.com /country comparison/ Hoidn, S. (2016). Student Centered Learning Environments in Higher Education Classrooms. New York, United States: Palgrave Macmillan. Holmes, N. (2018). Engaging with assessment: Increasing student engagement through continuous assessment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), 23 34.
133 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Twenty Years of TIMSS (pp. 7 17). Cham: Springer International Publishing. Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. Coates, H. (2010). Development of the Australasian survey of student engagement (AUSSE). Higher Education, 60(1), 1 17. doi:10.1007/s10734 009 9281 2 Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. New York, NY: Routledge Academic Creed, P. A., French, J., & Hood, M. (2015). Working while studying at university: The relationship between work benefits and demands and engagement and well being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86(Supplement C), 48 57. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.11.002
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National Survey of Student Engagement. (2019). NSSE 2019 overview. Retrieved from https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/resources/national survey student engagement 2019 overview Neves, J. (2019). UK Engagement Survey 2019. Retrieved from https://www.advance he.ac.uk /knowledge hub /uk engagement survey 2019 Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Collins, K. M. T. (2007). A typology of mixed methods sampling designs in social science research. The Qualitative Report, 12(2), 281. Perez, R. J., Robbins, C., Harris, L., & Montgomery, C. (2020). Exploring Graduate Students' Socialization to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 13, 133 145. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000115
Siddiqui, N., Miah, K., & Ahmad, A. (2019). Peer to Peer Synchronous Interaction and Student Engagement: A Perspective of Postgraduate Management Students in a Developing Country. American Journal of Educational Research, 7(7), 491 498. Retrieved from http://pubs.sciepub.com/ Stigmar, M. (2016). Peer to peer Teaching in Higher Education: A Critical Literature Review. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 24, 1 13. doi:10.1080/13611267.2016.1178963
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Power, M., & Vaughan, N. (2010). Redesigning Online Learning for International Graduate Seminar Delivery. The Journal of Distance Education / Revue de l'ducation Distance, 24(2), 19 38. QS World University Rankings. (2020). QS Top Universities. Retrieved from https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/north south university#923555 Quality indicators for learning and teaching. (2020). 2019 Student Experience Survey. Retrieved from https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default source/ses/ses 2019/2019 ses national report.pdf?sfvrsn=6486ec3c_10 Sanger, C. S. (2020). Diversity, Inclusion, and Context in Asian Higher Education. In C. S. Sanger & N. W. Gleason (Eds.), Diversity and Inclusion in Global Higher Education: Lessons from Across Asia (pp. 1 28). Singapore: Springer Singapore. Shelly, B., Ooi, C. S., & Brown, N. (2019). Playful learning? An extreme comparison of the Children’s University in Malaysia and in Australia. Journal of Apllied Learning and Teaching, 2(1), 16 23. Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ Playful learning An extreme comparison of the in in Shelley Ooi/ec66ffefbe4779f504a749f84b210e430f4b0d4f
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University of the Free State. (2019). Creating pathwy for student success. Retrieved from https://www.ufs.ac.za/sasse/sasse home Van Bergen, P., & Parsell, M. (2019). Comparing radical, social and psychological constructivism in Australian higher education: a psycho philosophical perspective. The Australian Educational Researcher, 46(1), 41 58. doi:10.1007/s13384 018 0285 8 Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. World Bank. (2019). Bangladesh Tertiary Education Sector Review: Skills and Innovation for Growth. Retrieved from Washington DC 20433 adeshhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/303961553747212653/pdf/BanglTertiaryEducationSectorReviewSkillsandInnovationforGrowth.pdf
Zhoc, K., Webster, B., Li, J., & Chung, T. (2018). Higher Education Student Engagement Scale (HESES): Development and Psychometric Evidence. Research in Higher Education. doi:10.1007/s11162 018 9510 6
Facts and Figures 2019 Final v2.pdf
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Tanaka, M. (2019). The international diversity of student engagement. In M. Tanaka (Ed.), Student Engagement and Quality Assurance in Higher Education,1, (. London: Rutledge. United Nations. (2014). World economic situation prospects. Retrieved from fication.pdf/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classihttps://www.un.org
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ii) The assessment that I experienced with my peers (other students in the course), as part of the study in this postgraduate course, made me think of ways to apply learning from this course to workplace choose any ONE of the and clarify the chosen Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii) I would like to recommend the following changes so that the assessment I experienced
Why:
options below
materials? Please
option 1.
Why: with peers useful gender: religion: b) Bachelor b) c)
1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree
options below and clarify the chosen option
• What is your age • What is your
i) The assessment that I experienced with my peers (other students in the course), as part of the study in this postgraduate course, enhanced my engagement with reading choose any ONE of the
• What is your ethnicity: • Education completed (Please choose only one option): a) Bachelor from Private University in Bangladesh
from a public university in Bangladesh c) Others • Are you studying (Please choose only one option): a) Part time
136 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix I. Survey Instrument (sample questions)
the
Studying and working simultaneously d) Others………………….
scenarios? Please
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
could be more
my
to enhance my overall learning experience in this course: …………………………………………………………………………………………… iv) Please answer the following questions • What is your
Full time
137 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 137 154, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.8 Teacher Education Institutions in the Philippines towards Education 4.0 Rivika Alda, Helen Boholano and Filomena Dayagbil Cebu Normal University, Cebu City, Cebu Philippines https://orcid.org/0000 0002 1546 9042 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4365 3370 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3373 9931
Abstract. Education must reflect the world it is training students for. Education 4.0 ensures that teaching learning experiences will take advantage of the limitless opportunities created by advanced technology. This study determines the readiness of teacher education institutions in the Philippines for Education 4.0 in the areas of faculty, teaching and learning, infrastructure, and research as perceived by the administrators and faculty members of teacher education institutions in the Philippines. This study made use of survey questionnaire indicating the four parameters mentioned, and data were analysed using quantitative method. The findings of this study suggest that administrators and faculty members perceived that they are ready in terms of their skills in selecting and integrating digital resources for teaching and learning as they are also given capacity buildings through seminars and conferences related to technological literacy. However, they are neither skillful in using the learning management system and other online class modality; nor in the utilization of augmented reality, robotics, and digital enablers like 3D printing. This finding may be attributed to the unavailability and inaccessibility of digital infrastructure and virtual laboratories in most teacher education institutions. The respondents also disagreed that the teacher education institutions are ready in terms of research programs and initiatives for Education 4.0. Thus, there is a need for teacher education institutions to rethink infrastructure planning, redesign research initiatives, and strengthen teacher training capabilities to be Education 4.0 ready.
Keywords: Industry 4.0; Education 4.0; Teacher education institutions; Teacher readiness; Teaching and learning 1. Introduction The fourth Industrial Revolution “blurs the lines among the physical, digital, and biological worlds” (Shahroom & Hussin, 2018, p. 316). It transforms the world through its impressive progress in creating technological breakthroughs and
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Data from Future of Jobs Reports, World Economic Forum (2016) in Haron (2018, p. 12) highlighted the top essential skills for 2020. These are “complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility”. With this, schools should also be able to connect education and employment, improve forecasts by establishing linkages to industry and labor market trends, and re examine education and labor policy for them to stay driven and relevant to the everchanging market realities (Lodder, 2016 in Haron, 2018). In the same context, Xing and Marwala (2017) had laid down the framework for Teaching in IR 4.0, which will be the focus of Education 4.0. They are the following: "teaching (wearables assisted teaching learning and training, embrace massive open online courses, cultivating innovative talent,
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. limitless possibilities. These technological advancements have dominated the lives and lifestyles of people. Schwab (2016), purports that these great shifts brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR) in human history offer either considerable promise or potential peril. The Global statistics in Whelsh (2018) reveal that in the fourth industrial revolution, 65% of the students in grade school will later on work in jobs that are yet to be invented. At least 49% of the existing posts can be replaced by machines as most activities are already automated. Machines will also outperform at least 80% of the skills people are trained in the last 50 years. While others may see that the future of the internet provides balance and equal access to almost everything, others warn that it may also be used for control and exploitation. “In the new manufacturing regime enabled by 4IR technologies, sometimes called the Internet of Things (IoT), nearly anything can be designed on a computer and then printed on 3D printers that create objects in countless materials or even biological tissues” (Penprase, 2018, p. 217). Industry 4.0 has posed a significant challenge to the educational landscape in the Philippines and worldwide. According to World Economic Forum Asian Development Bank (2017, p.7) that 4IR “is building on the digital technologies of the 3rd IR, and powered by a wide range of breakthroughs in the digital realm (such as artificial intelligence), physical realm (new materials), as well as the biological realm (bio engineering)”. With the shift in the world of learning brought about by the 4th IR, Education 4.0 - a model of education for the future emerges, affording educators potentially far reaching challenges (Fisk, 2017). It is an era of creating innovative knowledge that becomes obsolete the next day, and new knowledge emerges (Puncreobutr, 2016). Pangandaman et al. (2019) purport that Industry 4.0 necessitates that the educational system supports a globalized learning environment and experiences that are "automatized, networked, virtualized, and flexible." Schools should prepare students for the future of work. Students should be capable and ethical in the utilization of these new technological tools. They should also be critical, creative, self directed, reflective, and decent citizens and leaders. This scenario calls for higher learning institutions to keep abreast of these latest trends and come up with new and responsive ways to enhance teaching and learning.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. generalize blended learning); research (open innovation, evolutionary & revolutionary innovations, new technological advancement, driven research and development, shorten innovation cycles); and service (University as a Platform (UaaP), Education as a Service (EaaS), Internationally linked Programs)."
Third, students choose the delivery mode that they want; thus, flexible learning approach may be adopted. Fourth, students are exposed to project based tasks to develop their collaborative and problem solving skills which are beneficial in their future careers. Fifth, students are given more opportunities for participatory learning through field experiences such as practicums, mentoring, and cooperative projects. Sixth, students are given opportunities to apply their theoretical knowledge to practice and use their reasoning skills to make sound interpretations and judgments. Seventh, teachers use authentic assessments in evaluating learners' performance. Eighth, students will be involved in the conceptualization and enhancement of the curriculum. Lastly, students are encouraged to become responsible for their learning. These nine trends highlight the shift of the limelight of learning responsibilities from the teacher to the Furthermore,students.
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Second, there is a spiraling of contents tailored for each student. This allows for mastery of the competencies and facilitates learning from simple to complex.
Dunwill (2016) purports that the advancement of technologies provides limitless possibilities in education. Thus, it will keep on altering the teaching practices and the learning process in general. Other educational institutions from different countries around the world have also started to embrace these changes. In Malaysia, Hussin (2018) pointed out that tertiary education in the country supports a flexible seating arrangement that is more supportive of both individual and collaborative workspaces. Alternative assessments are used to accommodate multiple learning styles, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other online learning platforms are already utilized. Similarly, data from U.S. Government (2017) showed that the country had been leading foundational researches in artificial intelligence (AI) cascading it down to research initiatives on strategic computing, big data, and brain research. Likewise, Canada supports Learning in the Digital Age, highlighting Digital and Media Literacy, which gives students the adaptive capabilities to be an active part in the global digital society (Brown Martin, 2017). Penprase (2018, p. 211) cited that the “the proliferation of new educational institutions and new curricula after the first two industrial revolutions enabled the technical and managerial capacity to implement the massive expansion of the economy and manufacturing that arose in the twentieth century”. The most familiar exponential technology is the exponential increase in computer power and decreasing cost in storage, which obeys a geometric relation commonly known as Moore’s Law.
Moreover, Fisk (2017) also presented the following trends related to Education 4.0. First, learning is ubiquitous; thus e learning tools and flipped classroom approach provides greater opportunities for remote, and self directed learning.
Besides, the following initiatives and movements of various countries have also been recorded to address Education 4.0. The ASEAN Work Plan on Education 2016 2020 incorporated pertinent priorities, such as the utilization of ICT through the expansion of ASEANCyber University (ACU). Meanwhile, Singapore has also been very consistent with their remarkable results in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The country has put premium in its education system evident in its integration into its overarching national strategy (Brown Martin, 2017). On the other hand, Myanmar has undertaken ways to restructure their higher education institutions through these four phases “foundation building, interdisciplinary institutions, mainstreaming 21st century skills and multidisciplinary collaborations” (Mustafa, 2018, p. 31) In Malaysia, Higher Education Framework 4.0 (MyHE 4.0) was established for the universities to change their curriculum and delivery to ensure that universities will produce well rounded graduates who can easily adjust and fill in jobs that are yet to exist. Education 1.0 was teaching through lectures and memorization, Education 2.0 introduced the usage of technology and the internet, Education 3.0 was on knowledge production; while an innovative production is needed for Education 4.0 (Siltharm, 2017). With the demands of Education 4.0, are higher education institutions in the Philippines ready? The study of Pangandaman et al. (2019) described the current state of Philippine higher education in addressing Education 4.0. They have concluded that educational facilities, technological advancements, and research are important features of a tertiary institution in becoming an education 4.0 ready.
The study of Halili (2019) on teaching and learning in the fourth industrial revolution underpinned the following four components to meet the challenges of Education 4.0. First, redesigning of the learning spaces utilizing collaborative tables and smartboard. Second, employing varied education processes such as heutagogy, peeragogy, and cybergogy. Third, integrating an interdisciplinary and a flexible curriculum wherein schools can employ innovations without being constricted to traditional curriculum practices. Lastly, employing technological advancements such as robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, cloud computing, big data, 3D printing, and so forth to aid teaching and learning. Wallner and Wagner (2016) also purports the crucial drivers of complexity in teaching and research undertakings in Education 4.0. These are interculturalism and multiculturalism; mobile devices and media platforms; self paced and individualized study plans; a variety of available resources and technologies; innovation and production of new knowledge; and, creation of "enabling spaces" for students.
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It is the intent of this study to determine the readiness of teacher education institutions in the Philippines for Education 4.0 in the areas of faculty, teaching and learning, infrastructure, and research as perceived by the administrators and faculty members of teacher education institutions in the Philippines. The findings of the study could be used as a basis for policy formulation or strategic actions to enable teacher education institutions to meet the requirements of Education 4.0.
3. accept the vital role of technology in the 21st century and beyond 3.51 StronglyAgree
4. integrate digital technology in teaching and learning 2.6 Agree
5. attend seminars and conferences to enhance my technological and pedagogical skills 3.51 StronglyAgree
This study employed descriptive quantitative research design utilizing survey questionnaire as the main data gathering tool. The questionnaire (see Appendix 1) is composed of four parameters under study: faculty, teaching and learning, infrastructure, and research. The Likert scale is used as this provides an effective way for the researchers to draw out relevant responses from the participants. Each parameter has eight indicators wherein participants will choose from a multiple choice option strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. Before the conduct of the study, the researchers tried out the questionnaire to the faculty members and administrators of a teacher education institution to establish Thereliability.participants of this study are four hundred fifty (450) faculty members and administrators from different teacher education institutions in the country. The administrators, in the context of this study, are those teachers who also hold administrative positions in their school like the vice presidents, deans, and department chairs. Ethical considerations highlighted in this study include (a) informed consent, (b) beneficence, (c) confidentiality and anonymity, and (d) respect for privacy, and the right to withdraw from the study anytime. Before the participants answered the survey questionnaire, the researchers gave the rationale of such research undertaking. Informed consent was sought and the participants may or may not answer the questionnaire given. There were also informal interviews conducted to help the researches make sense of the responses in the questionnaire. The participants will not be linked to the data. Their identify and affiliation will also be kept confidential.
The study determined the readiness of teacher education institutions in the Philippines as perceived by administrators and faculty members in the areas of faculty readiness, teaching and learning practices, infrastructure requirements, and research programs and initiatives.
141 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
2. Methodology
Table 1: Faculty Readiness As a faculty, I am ready for Education 4.0 because I … WeightedMean Description
3. Results and Discussion
After the data were collected and summed up, results were tallied, collated, and tabulated for analysis and interpretation.
1. am technologically literate 2.89 Agree
2. am skillful in the use of learning management system, google classroom, and online class modality 2.4 Disagree
6. experiment new approaches using technology 2.63 Agree lead in the development of innovative materials 2.54 Agree collaborate and build partnerships from other institutions 2.81 Agree TOTALITY 2.86 Agree
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7.
8.
Educators play a significant role in any decision making and policy reform as they are the navigators and the direct implementers of these curricular changes. They need to be at the forefront of these innovations with their commitment to ensuring an all out effort forquality education. With Education 4.0, are the faculty members in teacher education institutions ready to be Teacher 4.0?
Table 1 shows the faculty members' perceived readiness for Education 4.0 as mostly determined by their skills in selecting, developing, designing, and integrating relevant digital resources for teaching and learning. In totality, with a mean average of 2.86, the faculty members agreed that they are ready for Education 4.0. They agreed in most statements that characterized Teacher 4.0 like being technologically literate, integrating digital tools in their classroom practices, experiment and lead in the development of innovative tools, and establish partnerships from other institutions. The result implies that faculty members in teacher education institutions do not only acknowledge the fact that they need to take advantage of the digital tools available but also to take the lead in adopting and conceptualizing new methods, a new concept of teaching, to keep abreast with the fast paced technological advancements. Moreover, teacher education institutions should be consistent in their role in fostering innovation and increasing higher order skills among their students for improved quality of life. It is for this reason that continuous training is afforded to faculty members. The result shows that the participants strongly agreed that capacity buildings through seminars and conferences related to technological literacy have helped them enhance their digital skills. Mostuniversities give importance tocapacity building programs according to the individual development plan of their faculty members and their strategic directions. A skilled teacher is a vital resource in any educational institution. Given this, a teacher's professional training and development is a necessary component that supports innovative and valuable However,teaching. despite the participants' claim that they are technologically literate, most of them, although they are good at manipulating digital tools, have little exposure to learning management systems and other online class modality. Learning Management Systems or LMS provides both teachers and students informational content and educational resources online. LMS is a way to ease the work of educators by giving them a chance to take advantage of numerous e Learning opportunities and platforms which are flexible. Options include google classroom, Moodle, Schoology, neo LMS, etc. which offers teachers an easier and faster way of tracking student records and in presenting course materials and documents. Teachers can use these tools for online, blended, or flipped classrooms. The result suggests that faculty members in teacher education have not extensively used online or blended learning in their classes. Most universities in the country still give premium to face to face interactions and not so much on
My
Table 2
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6.
7.
5.
8.
4.
The respondents claim that they are technologically literate and are capable of navigating through different digital tools as reflected in their teaching learning practices. Table 2 reveals that the faculty members in teacher education institutions agreed that their teaching and learning practices are Education 4.0.
1. use the following strategies in the delivery of instruction:a.individualized
2.
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been gaining popularity in today's educational institutions, where physical, cultural, and socioeconomic boundaries no longer stop students from continuing and furthering their studies. Xing and Marwala (2017), in their framework for Teaching in IR 4.0, highlighted blended learning and massive open online courses. In the Philippines, the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) has started offering MOOCs since 2013. In some universities, face to face courses are incorporated with some online components, like in flipped classrooms, in which traditional in class activities are complemented, rather than replaced, with online undertakings. However, MOOCs are getting more popular as this resolves student concern on accessibility and time. These are self instructional and self paced courses enabling students to have control over when and where to learn using the devices of their choice. In view of the learning opportunities and pedagogical advantages of online learning, school administrators need to give importance to teacher training on developing online materials, navigating in various online platforms, and looking for innovative ways of using such platforms to improve learning outcomes. Teaching and Learning Practices classes are Education 4.0 because I… WeightedMean Description teaching 2.70 Agree gamification and simulation 2.72 Agree c. problem and inquiry based teaching and learning 2.67 Agree d. augmented and virtual reality 2.00 Disagree boost students’ creativity through digital enablers like 3D printing and robotics 1.93 Disagree use technology based assessment tools (ex. Kahoot, Quizlet, etc ) 2.79 Agree develop 21st century skills (ex. problem solving, collaboration, reflection, critical thinking, communication) 2.96 Agree teach digital citizenship (technology ethics, social, ethical and legal responsibilities in the utilization of technological tools and resources, etc ) 2.77 Agree use individualized modular instructional materials 2.69 Agree expose students to more participatory learning through field experiences 3.08 Agree accommodate multiple learning styles through flexible assignments 3.08 Agree TOTALITY 2.67 Agree
3.
b.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. blended learning, online and, or distance learning. Most of them have not offered MOOCs as well.
However, it was also revealed that they have not fully utilized the use of digital enablers like 3D printing, robotics, and augmented and virtual reality. Teaching and the whole learning process in the context of Education 4.0 not only challenges universities to teach enduring understandings and relevant technologies but also to employ new ways to transfer learning among students quickly and simply. The whole community of learning needs to keep abreast of the current trends and employ teaching models to respond effectively in this new learning environment (Prieto, et al, 2015). With these rapid and spontaneous economic and social changes, teacher education institutions should see that they are preparing their graduates for a future that has never been this uncertain. What jobs will still be available years from now? What skills will still be relevant to them? What knowledge is considered the most essential considering the limitless possibilities and limitless access to data and information? What problems will arise years from now, and will they be ready to deal with these problems? With this so many uncertainties thus, teachers should not only be able to put up with the needs of the digital communities but also to see to it to teach students critical life skills (creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability, etc). Technological change may have the effect of undermining rather than empowering workers and their children (Berger & Engzell, 2020) especially in the teaching and learning practices. They added that the interplay between automation on one hand and the distribution of bargaining power and access to educational opportunities on the other should be studied
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They claimed that they use various teaching strategies like individualized teaching, gamification and simulation, and problem and inquiry based teaching and learning. Moreover, they also utilize personalized modular instructional materials, expose students to hands on learning through field experiences, and provide flexible assignments accommodating students' different learning styles.
Moreover, as reflectedin the results, educational institutions need to invest in new technology like 3D printing technologies and augmented reality. These help students develop the 4 C's of 21st century learning: creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. To add, augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) significantly “shifts the location and timing of education and training” (Lee, 2012, p. 1). In virtual reality, one is brought to a virtual space or in an artificial environment, while augmented reality (AR) allows students to view and interact with computer generated images in the real world. This brings teaching and learning to a different level and shows a lot of promise. Moreover, 3D printers provide real world application and knowledge and should also be standard tools in higher education and not just in STEM subjects. These immersive tools promote students' problem-solving and creativity skills as they become actively involved in the conception, design, and execution of their However,projects. the choice and use of any learning innovation depend on the availability of these technologies and infrastructure. Thus, universities should also make these tools and infrastructure available and accessible for both teachers and students. Moreover, the availability of these tools is complemented by
Table 3 shows that the faculty members and administrators perceived that teacher education institutions are not ready in terms of infrastructure requirements. Although there is an office that takes care of the ICT needs of their universities, and the availability of computer laboratories, they still have to establish reliable internet connectivity and the accessibility of remote and digital infrastructure. Moreover, there is also a concern about the availability of virtual laboratories and state of the art libraries and teaching learning spaces that allow for flexibility to be Education 4.0 ready. Most universities have already embraced several changes in the delivery of instruction, which includes the use of digital tools and digital applications. The most common cry among educators is the slow internet connection or limited to
6. has a computer laboratory with internet connection in which students can watch educational videos and collaborate with other students and other universities 2.51 Agree
7. has remote and virtual laboratories 2.17 Disagree
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. teachers' skills in using them. Some inhibitors and reasons for teachers not using these tools may include their lack of experience in ICT and the absence of support and mentoring given to them. Teacher capability programs should consist of training them with the skills in designing, creating, and applying these assistive and immersive tools to address the new and emerging paradigms of learning.
TOTALITY 2.40 Disagree
Table 3 Infrastructure Requirements
Corollary to this, universities need to maximize the power of these immersive technologies not only for effective teaching and learning but also for relevant and responsive research and innovation.
1. has an office that takes charge of the ICT needs of the university/college 2.93 Agree
4. has digital infrastructure which provides open access to the repository of information and scientific data. 1.85 Disagree
5. has technology that provides access to blogs, vlogs, wikis, google classroom, Edmodo, and other related sites and reference databases (e.g., Google Scholar, Ebsco Host, LISA, etc.) 2.47 Disagree
WeightedMean Description
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2. has a stable internet connection which is accessible both for teachers and students 2.39 Disagree
The institution where I’m currently employed is ready for Education 4.0 because it…
3. has available teaching and learning spaces that provide greater opportunity for collaboration 2.49 Disagree
The availability and accessibility of high quality and updated infrastructure among teacher education institutions is a crucial foundation of conducive learning environments. It facilitates instructional quality, thus improve student outcomes. Educational institutions can respond to Industry 4.0 by harnessing the potential of digital infrastructure, open educational resources (OER), networked education, and lifelong learning.
Education 4.0 is highly related to innovation. According to Morrar et al (2017, p 15), "industry 4.0 represents a shift toward an innovation based economy with knowledge, data, and the IoT as central concepts". Most colleges and universities in the Philippines do not have remote and virtual laboratories essential in the fourth industrial revolution. Some universities have virtual laboratories for electronics, manufacturing, and other areas but these are not enough for Likewiseinnovations.,new
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. no access from those who live in the provinces. This situation can be considered an educational setback and may significantly impact teachers' performance in delivering instruction as well as student's academic success and career opportunities. Also, virtual laboratories help students be exposed to and perform on real live online trials. Obtaining practical skills through experiments provides students a more profound sense of the concepts taught to them. Virtual laboratory activities can save money, time, and effort but still safe and interactive, thus allowing for more student involvement. Schools also need to envision the future of academic libraries through the availability of state of the art libraries. The scenario of so many piled hard bound books may no longer be the trend, but a wide array of e books that are all a click away. Acatech (2014), as cited in Morrar et al. (2017, p. 14) purported that “Industry 4.0 as the Internet of Things (IoT), data and services that will change future production, logistics, and work processes” This means that everything is connected to the internet be it device, processes, people, and even animals through embedded systems, and wireless connection. Most of the universities and colleges do not have a reliable internet connection and a stable learning management system (LMS) for online learning and distance education. Faculty members are willing to innovate, but they do not have the digital infrastructure, which provides unlimited access to the repository of information and scientific data. There are also limited resources for further commercialization of research outputs and innovations.
technologies are emerging faster, being adopted more quickly and delivering greater impact than ever before. Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will create new ways for citizens to connect, to trade with each other, and to access services that are currently not available (World Economic Forum Asian Development Bank, 2017). Many students and teachers have hopeful expectations for the future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution especially in the delivery of instruction and the outcomes of education. If people focus only on leveraging the information that they have and do not pay sufficient attention to building basic infrastructure, then it will be a failure to make the Fourth Industrial Revolution a reality (Yoon, 2017). An institution of higher learning must have a reliable internet connection, which is accessible both for teachers and students. "Though broadband users can get high quality video feedback, 56kbps modem users cannot get good video quality. Multicast video is another issue for Internet/Intranet video broadcasting. Multicast is a one to many connection in which multiple clients receive the same
2. there is an allocated budget for research activities 2.55 Agree
The institution where I’m currently employed is Education 4.0 ready because… WeightedMean Description
The country expects higher education institutions to lead in creating breakthroughs in education through research. Research production, dissemination, and utilization is even a critical predictor in university rankings. Moreover, faculty research production is also an essential element for their success as this is one basis for hiring or promotion and institutional reputation. Giving premium to research and innovation is also a reliable indicator that teacher education institutions respond to the needs of Industry 4.0 as they continuously explore and enable new possibilities where humans and technology are aligned. However, Table 4 reveals that the respondents disagreed on most of the statements, which means that the teacher education institutions are not ready for research programs and initiatives for Education 4.0. Although the respondents agreed that there is research mentoring and coaching, and some research outputs are used for policy recommendations, most of them disagreed that research undertakings are geared towards innovations and research outputs that generate new models for teaching and assessment. Education resources at this time are more focused on pedagogical and content knowledge and very limited to technological advancement and research undertakings and innovations. There is a need for educators to collaborate with both local and international researchers and take advantage of the limitless possibilities of communication channels. Institutions should also make international collaboration part of a university's culture. For some time, these partnerships have contributed endlessly to academic and scientific progress. A
TOTALITY 2.43 Disagree
1. research undertakings are geared towards innovations 2.11 Disagree
7. international partnership is evident in the conduct of research activities 1.96 Disagree
5. there is multidisciplinary collaboration in the conduct of research 3.03 Agree
8. there is a program for research mentoring and coaching 2.97 Agree
stream from a server”, Sheng, et.al. (2000, p. 53). Educators are excited about robotics, IoT, digitalization, automatization, and teleconferencing. They are also willing to help their institution attain its objectives in Education 4.0. Some of the respondents said that they are willing to innovate for their learners if there is considerable support for training and infrastructure budget to uplift their ICT resources. This statement implies that educators are proactive in Industry 4.0.
Table 4. Research Programs and Initiatives
6. there is a local partnership in research projects 2.15 Disagree
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3. research outputs are used for policy recommendations 2.66 Agree
4. some research outputs generate new models for teaching and assessment 2.01 Disagree
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This study tried to find out if teacher education institutions in the Philippines are ready for Education 4.0. The researchers determined the “readiness for Education 4.0” through the different identified areas based on an extensive review of related literature and studies. Various studies pointed out these four areas should be emphasized by teacher education institutions in responding to Education 4.0: faculty, teaching and learning, infrastructure, and research. Since there is now a significant shift in the future of learning, where the use of digital tools and digital platforms is no longer an option but a way of life, it becomes a necessity for educational institutions to prepare, embrace, and act on these changes. The symbiotic relationship between education institutions and society, in general, has transformed into a whole new level, and this calls for a dynamic transformation of both. Moreover, this study confirms the importance of technological and
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. social network, according to Newman (2001), is a “collection of people, each of whom is acquainted with some subset of the others” These people from different places or countries are glued together, for example as researchers, because they have the same expertise or interest. The goal is to expand the network creating more collaboration and communication. As the total number of connections and research collaborators increases, the best practices will be shared and utilized. These collaborations afford universities research opportunities and cultural awareness. “The workplace of the future will not necessarily be a fixed geographical location but may be geographically distributed and functionally divided” (Johannessen, 2018, p. 27). Thus, it is now easier to collaborate with researchers in the world. They will also pave the way for benchmarking best practices in teaching, and curriculum development among institutions.
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Johannessen (2018) mentions that the fourth industrial revolution will shape the workplaces of the future, which will be entirely different from the workplaces created by the first, second, and third industrial revolutions especially in terms of research and innovations. Hoeschl, Bueno and Hoeschl (2017) specified that ethics is very important in conducting research. In their study, they identified and evaluated very important issues and concerns that need to be considered to improve the connections between technology andsociety. There are also many things to consider especially in the maintenance of the equipment. Meckawey (2019) analyzed the maintenance concept that will be applied in maintenance process due to the 4th industrial revolution tools, which should also be implemented. Bland et al. (2005) concluded that, "when individual faculty's research productivity is the goal, nothing substitutes for these four factors: recruiting faculty with a passion for research; providing them with formal mentoring programs; facilitating their networks; and providing time for them to do research”. To answer the call of Education 4.0, high levels of research productivity as well as developing and maintaining an influential culture of research should be evident. Thus, institutions desiring to create a culture of research must give high regard in the acquisition of relevant resources for faculty development.
4. Conclusion
5. References Berger, T., & Engzell, P. (2020). Intergenerational Mobility in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/zcax3 Bland,C. J.,Center,B.A.,Finstad,D.A.,Risbey,K.R., & Staples,J.G. (2015).Atheoretical, practical, predictive model of faculty and department research productivity. Academic Medicine, 80(3), 225 237. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888 200503000 00006 Brown Martin, G. (2017). Education and the fourth industrial revolution. Retrieved from https://medium.com/regenerative global/education and the fourth industrial revolution cd6bcd7256a3 Dadios, E P., Culaba, A B., Albert, J R G., Paqueo, V B., Orbeta, A C., Serafica, R B., Bandala,A A.,&Bairan,J C A C.(2018).PreparingthePhilippinesfortheFourth Industrial Revolution: A Scoping Study. Philippines Institute for Development Studies. Discussion Paper Series No. 2018 11. Dunwill,E.(2016).4changesthatwillshapetheclassroomofthefuture:Makingeducationfullytechnological.Retrievedfromhttps://elearningindustry.com/4changeswillshapeclassroomofthefuturemakingeducationfullytechnological Fisk, P. (2017). Education 4.0 … the future of learning will be dramatically different, in school and throughout life. Retrieved from https://www.thegeniusworks.com/2017/01/future education young everyone taught together/ Halili, S. (2019). Technological advancements in education 4.0. The Online Journal of Distance Education and e Learning, 7(1), 63 69. Retrieved from http://www.tojdel.net/journals/tojdel/articles/v07i01/v07i01 08.pdf Haron, H. (2018). Education in the era of IR 4.0. Keynote Speech at the 2018 International Conference on Information Management and Technology (ICIMTech 2018), 3 5
149 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. pedagogical innovations, which can be achieved only if the Industry 4.0 is recognized simply in the form of technical, infrastructure, pedagogical, and research innovation. Education 4.0 sheds light on the bright side of its potential such as technological innovations, IT infrastructure, teaching and learning (pedagogical), and research engagement. With the transition to Industry 4.0, school administrators should emphasize the urgency to redesign the education system They should also work closely with people from the industry sectors in reskilling and upscaling their graduates.
Further, policymakers should think of the global impact of Industry 4.0 on the current education system and provide for appropriate human resource training and development, support for infrastructure acquisition, and enough budget for research and innovation. Moreover, with the sudden shift of most universities in the Philippines (because of the pandemic), from face to face and blended teaching, to online synchronous and online asynchronous teaching, this provides opportunities for future researches that would further elaborate the findings of this study. This study could be extended and expounded in terms of how higher education institutions respond now to the immediate need of upgrading their IT infrastructure and furthering research initiatives. Further work is also suggested to examine the practices of higher education institutions in responding to the call of Education 4.0 especially during this time of pandemic.
Lee, K. (2012). 56(2),13 0559 3 Meckawey, M. (2019, February). The Maintenance’s Strategy & the 4 th Industrial Revolution. In 2019 International Conference on Fourth Industrial Revolution (ICFIR) (pp. 1 8). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/icfir.2019.8894795 Morrar, R., Arman, H., & Mousa, S. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0): A social innovation perspective. Technology Innovation Management Review, 7(11), 12 20. Mustafa, Z. (2018, May 16). Asean experience for IR 4.0. New Straits Times, pp. 1 6. Retrieved from https://www.nst.com.my/education/2018/05/369959/asean experience ir 40 Newman,M.E.(2001).Thestructure of scientificcollaboration networks. Proceedingsofthe national academy of sciences, 98(2), 404 409. Overseas Research Report (2015). Current status on science and technology in ASEAN countries. Center for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science and Technology Agency. Retrieved fromhttps://www.jst.go.jp/crds/pdf/en/CRDS
Pangandaman,ORFY201402_EN.pdfH.K.,Ali, N. D., Lambayong, J. H. C., & Ergas, M. L. G. (2019). Philippine higher education vis à vis education 4.0: A scoping review. International Journal of Advanced Research and Publications, 3(3), 65 69. Retrieved from http://www.ijarp.org/published research papers/mar2019/Philippine Higher Education Vis vis Education 40 A Scoping Review.pdf Penprase, B. E. (2018). The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Higher Education. In N. Gleason(ed.), HigherEducationintheEraoftheFourthIndustrialRevolution.Palgrave Macmillan Singapore https://doi.org/10.1007/978 981 13 0194 0_9 Puncreobutr, V. (2016). Education 4.0: New challenge of learning. St. Theresa Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(2). Retrieved Shahroom,http://www.stic.ac.th/ojs/index.php/sjhs/article/view/Position%20Paper3fromA.A.,&Hussin,N.(2018).Industrialrevolution4.0andeducation.
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150 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. September 2018. Jakarta, Indonesia. Retrieved Hoeschl,%20of%204.0.pdfhttp://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/22486/1/Education%20in%20the%20ErafromM.B.,Bueno,T.C.,&Hoeschl,H.C.(2017,November).Fourthindustrialrevolutionandthefutureofengineering:couldrobotsreplacehumanjobs?Howethicalrecommendationscanhelpengineersruleonartificialintelligence.In 2017 7th World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) (pp. 21 26). IEEE. Hussin,https://doi.org/10.1109/weef.2017.8466973A.A.(2018).Education4.0madesimple:Ideas for teaching. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 6(3), 92 98. Johannessen,https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.6n.3p.92J.A.(2018). Automation, innovation and economic crisis: Surviving the fourth industrial revolution. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351039864
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Wallner, T., & Wagner, G. (2016). Academic education 4.0. In the Proceedings of the END International Conference on Education and New Developments, 12 14 June. Ljubljana, Slovenia. Retrieved from ON_40https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304115292_ACADEMIC_EDUCATI Welsh, B, (2018, April 18). Education 4.0 How we will learn in the fourth industrial revolution. Retrievedfrom https://medium.com/@brianna_91610/education 4 0 how we will learn in the fourth industrial revolution e17206b73016 World Economic Forum Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2017). ASEAN 4.0: what does the Fourth Industrial Revolution mean for regional economic integration? World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS179126 2 Xing, B., & Marwala, T. (2017). Implications of the fourth industrial age on higher education. Computers and Society, Cornell University http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.09643 Yoon, D. (2017). What we need to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution. Healthcare informatics research, 23(2), 75 76. https://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2017.23.2.75
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152 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix 1 Teacher Education Institutions in the Philippines Towards Education 4.0 The purpose of this survey is to determine the readiness of Teacher Education Institutions in the Philippines with regard to Education 4.0. This will only take approximately 5 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Name of Institution (optional) Category: _____SUC ___ LUC ____ Private ( Sectarian) ___ Private (Non Sectarian) Accreditation level: _______________________Accrediting body: CHED award: _____COE ____ COD ____ Not Applicable Position in the University/College:___________ Part I. Directions: Please check the appropriate column that best applies to you and to your Teacher Education Institution or College. A. Faculty Readiness As a faculty in the institution where I’m employed, I… AgreeStrongly Agree Disagree DisagreeStrongly 1. am technologically literate 2. am skillful in the use of learning management system, google classroom, and online class modality 3. accept the important role of technology in the 21st century and beyond 4. integrate digital technology in teaching and learning 5. attend seminars and conferences to enhance my technological and pedagogical skills 6. experiment new approaches using technology 7. lead in the development of innovative materials 8. collaborate and build partnerships from other institutions Others: D. Teaching and Learning Practices My classes are Education 4.0 because I … 1. use the following strategies in the delivery of instruction: a. individualized teaching b. gamification and simulation c. problem and inquiry based teaching and learning d. augmented and virtual reality
1. has an office that takes charge of the ICT needs of the university/college 2. has strong internet connection which is accessible both for teachers and 3.studentshasavailable teaching spaces with flexible layouts, equipped with technology that enables students and staff to connect to screens wirelessly for which provides open access to scientific data and knowledge, to blogs, vlogs, wikis, google classroom, Edmodo, and other related sites and reference databases (e.g. Google Scholar, EbscoHost, LISA, etc.)
4. develop the 21st century skills (ex. problem solving, collaboration, reflection, critical thinking, (technology ethics, social, ethical and legal responsibilities in the use of technology tools and resources, etc)
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5.innovation,commercializationfurtherofresearch,productsandservices.hastechnologythatprovidesaccess
7. expose students to more hands on learning through field experience such as internships, mentoring projects and collaborative projects
3.roboticsusetechnology
8. accommodate multiple learning styles through flexible assignments. Others: E. Infrastructure Requirements The institution where I’m currently employed is ready for Education 4.0 because it..
5.communication)teachdigitalcitizenship
4.collaborationhasdigitalinfrastructure
2. boost students’ creativity through digital enablers like 3D printing and based assessment tools (ex. Kahoot, Quizlet,etc)
6. use individualized modular instructional materials
154 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 6. has computer laboratory with internet connection in which students can watch educational videos and collaborate with other students and other universities 7. has remote and virtual laboratories Others: F. Research Programs and Initiatives The institution where I’m currently employed is Education 4.0 ready because.. … 1. research undertakings are geared towards innovations 2. there is an allocated budget for research activities 3. research outputs are used for policy 4.recommendationssomeresearchoutputs generate new models for teaching and assessment 5. there is multidisciplinary collaboration in the conduct of research 6. there is local partnership in research 7.projectsinternational collaboration is evident in the conduct of research activities 8. there is a program for research mentoring and coaching Others:
155 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 155 172, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.9 Influence of Demotivators on Acceptance of Technology: Challenges of Expatriate School Teachers while Imparting Online Teaching Gokuladas V. K. and Baby Sam S. K. Indian Schools Oman, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman http://orcid.org/0000 0002 5177 4351 http://orcid.org/0000 0002 7984 9167
Abstract. In the wake of the Covid 19 outbreak, academicians are resorting to technology enabled remote learning to impart education. The main objective of this study is to identify those factors that could potentially demotivate educators at primary and secondary levels of education during the remote teaching process. This study will also look at the impact of these demotivators on the perception of educators regarding the technology acceptance of E learning and attitude towards E learning. Data collected from 1174 school educators with respect to various challenges in E learning and their acceptance of technology as an alternative mode of teaching have been analyzed through correlation and regression analysis. This study identified major Extrinsic and Intrinsic Demotivators that affect the performance of school educators while imparting education through remote teaching. The results showed that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use played a mediating role in the relationship between Extrinsic & Intrinsic Demotivators and the Attitude towards E learning. The outcome of this study is of greater relevance to the School Management Committees and the School Administration to appropriately strategize their plans to implement E learning as an alternative mode of education in schools.
Keywords: Acceptance of Technology; Demotivators; E learning; School Educators 1. Introduction Technology has been of great assistance to many industries including education wherein considerable importance is being provided to students’ centric education encompassing the way they aspire to learn. It has been playing a critical role in 21st century education by assisting academicians to create, store, and disseminate explicit knowledge in the most efficient and accessible way (Oye, Salleh & Noorminshah, 2011). Since most of the educational institutions are resorting to remote teaching through flip sessions owing to the Covid 19 outbreak, it is the time to address concerns made by researchers like Ehlers and
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Hilera (2012) that more empirical pieces of evidence are essential to understand the potential factors that could ensure the success of these remote sessions. At this juncture, it is of greater research interest to identify those factors that could positively influence the successful implementation of e learning or remote teaching process. In order to effectively roll out remote teaching programs, teachers need to be convinced and acquainted with the technology and its worthiness in imparting education in the best possible manner. In a study conducted by Banas and York (2017) among pre service teachers, it was found that teachers’ motivation such as intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation developed through authentic learning process was one of the predictors of their intention to integrate technology for their instructional methods. For successful implementation of remote teaching, it is imperative that interactivity with students is maintained at the highest level. There are a number of other instructional methods such as the ‘Trialogical’ learning approach that have been found highly effective in imparting active and student centered learning even in distant learning (Sansone, Cesareni, Ligorio, Bortolotti & Buglass, 2019)
Therefore, educators also need to be conversant with technologies such as blogs, discussion forums, virtual meetings, etc., so as to ensure that they successfully deliver the sessions through remote teaching (Hadad, 2007). These studies point to the fact that remote teaching would be highly effective when it is properly designed and utilized. At the same time, it is a matter of great concern for educators whether they would be successfully utilizing the E learning technology to perform their functions. One of the reasons for this apprehension could be the feeling among most of the educators about their capability to utilize the technology most of them were taking technological assistance in teaching for the first time in their professional life. Ward, Peters & Shelley (2010) observed that while imparting E learning, faculty had concerns about the technical features of the Learning Management System or other educational related technologies. Teaching online could also influence image beliefs of faculty whereby they experienced the feeling of inferiority while conducting online courses as compared to the traditional classroom (Allen & Seaman, 2015). Wingo, Ivankova and Moss (2017) revealed faculty were concerned that their perceptions such as the effectiveness of online classes towards students’ success, the requirement of technical supports, expected extra workload, managing online classes, etc., could be detrimental to their job performance. These apprehensions would not only affect their performance but also result in low motivation and job satisfaction among educators. Therefore, identification of those factors that influence educators in their pursuit of imparting online education would help school administrators to adopt appropriate strategies for successful implementation of remote teaching. The main objective of this study is to identify those factors that could potentially demotivate educators at primary and secondary levels of education during the remote teaching process. This study will also look at the impact of these demotivators on the perception of educators regarding the technology acceptance of E learning and attitude towards E learning.
The Motivation Hygiene Theory proposed by Herzberg depicts two factors i.e., the factors that result in motivation or job satisfaction and the factors that could result in job dissatisfaction (Herzberg, Mausner & Snyderman, 2017). This theory proposes that these factors motivate individuals to perform better and attain job satisfaction would be different from those factors that demotivate them leading to job dissatisfaction. On the other hand, there is Expectancy Theory proposed by Vroom (1964) which postulates that people act consciously and rationally in their job so as to ensure that they get the right rewards for the same. In other words, individuals are generally driven not only by inherent motivations but also by stimulus from external sources that help them to achieve their professional objectives. In view of the above these theories, it could be reasonably assumed that while the employees work towards the goal with full efforts and commitment, there could be certain factors that could motivate and demotivate them during the course. It is the ability of an individual to overcome those demotivators through the help of those motivating factors that will ultimately decide the success of the employees in their profession
157 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 2. Review of related literature
2.2 Demotivators
2.1 Theoretical Framework
2.2.1 Intrinsic and Extrinsic demotivators
Another dimension of the concept of motivation is whether it is intrinsically or extrinsically motivating or demotivating. Ryan and Deci (2000) argued that motivation has its own role in the field of education because motivation in this field is related to various actions and intentions They also observed that while intrinsic motivation reflected the natural human propensity to learn and integrate, extrinsic motivation was roused as a result of external control with considerable variation. Intrinsic motivation such as enjoyment, excitement, and attachment towards a job would positively influence the effectiveness of the job. Also, any factor would be considered as intrinsic when the external supports are not required for the learner to continue the activity. Gange and Deci (2005)
Similar to the concept of motivators that help individuals to perform better, there could be demotivators that hinder such development. However, there are fewer studies that researched extensively on demotivators as compared to that of the studies on motivators. This is quite evident in the education sector as fewer studies are carried out on demotivators related to remote teaching. These demotivators could potentially affect the dissatisfaction of teachers with respect to their profession leading to weak learning outcomes (Hettiarachchi, 2013).
Johnson (2000) observed that the flexibility of teaching conditions and the corresponding curriculum that matches the teaching needs could prevent the demotivation of educators. Low quality teaching resources also contribute to the demotivation of teachers which in turn resulted in low performance (Menyhárt, 2008). Barın, Turgay and Sahin (2018) also identified that extrinsic factors such as teaching facilities, school administration, and the curriculum could adversely influence the motivation of educators. It was also identified that demotivators could result in a lack of self motivation. Han and Yin (2016) identified that the relationships with and qualities of colleagues played an important role in motivating or demotivating teachers at the workplace.
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identified that intrinsic reasons were more dominant than extrinsic reasons as far as the participation of the individuals in activities was concerned. The motivational factors for teaching fraternity could either help the educator to perform exceptionally well. Even though the E learning system currently being followed by various educators to impart education during these trying times has the advantage of connecting people from any part of the world (Kim, 2006), the readiness of the educator was the crucial fact for the success of remote teaching (Teddy So & Swatman, 2010) Seaman (2009) observed that faculty performed well in online teaching when they were trained, supported, and mentored appropriately. Sansone, Cesareni, Ligorio, Bortolotti and Buglass (2019) identified that training programs conducted through specific roles by the participants resulted in creating positive perceptions of collaborative learning as well as the use of technology in classrooms. Faculties were also found positive about using technology to impart education when they saw it as an avenue for professional development (McQuiggan, 2012; Panda & Mishra, 2007). On the other hand, it was observed in the study conducted by Barton and Haydn (2006) that just providing adequate information might not be ideal to develop the competencies of teachers in using Information and Communication Technology facilities as observed by the trainee teachers. Erkaya and Rocha (2013) suggested that teachers remain unaffected by the negative external factors when they are intrinsically motivated. Some of the motivators for online teaching faculty are flexible work schedules (Shea, 2007) and the flexibility of online instruction (Green, Alejandro & Brown, 2009). On the other hand, factors such as include inadequate technical support, increased workload, not having enough time to prepare, concern about course quality, feeling of not being technically competent, and concern over the quality of students’ work could demotivate educators in online teaching (Cook, Ley, Crawford & Warner, 2009). Glanz (2014) identified excessive time commitment in online teaching was one of the top demotivators for teaching fraternity. In the online mode of teaching, educators were apprehensive about the possibility of continuous communication with students in order to track the activities of the students (Glanz, 2014). However, intrinsic factors appeared to be more influential than extrinsic factors on educators. Increased workload has been identified as one of the top demotivators for educators in remote teaching (Shea, 2019; Lloyd, Byrne & McCoy 2012; Alsofyani, Aris, Eynon & Majid, 2012). The extra time that educators used for the preparation of their online session had adversely affected some of them (Chapman, 2011).
It was suggested by Ertmer and Ottenbreit Leftwich (2012) that when teachers change their approach from technology integration to technology enabled learning through implementing powerful instructional methods, they would be in a better position to engage the students in a more meaningful and relevant learning environment. At this juncture, the concept of learning motivation proposed by Gardner and Lambert (1972) appeared to be relevant even though it was related to language acquisition. According to them, there are two types of learning motivation i.e., instrumental motivation and integrative motivation.
Bolliger and Wasilik (2009) observed that the satisfaction of online teaching faculty was influenced by institutional issues such as higher workload and increased time commitment. Educators feel reluctant to online teaching mainly because of the fear of change, workload issues, quality of learning outcomes, and concerns about technological assistance (Bacow, Bowen, Guthrie, Long & Lack, 2012; Betts & Heaston, 2014). Training educators in E learning facilities did enhance their satisfaction (Lackey, 2011). Lee (2001) observed that educators required strong institutional support in various forms to run the E learning effectively since technical issues were found to be adversely affecting the satisfaction of teachers (Bolliger & Wasilik, 2009). Allen and Seaman (2015) observed that concern about the quality of teaching through online could also adversely influence educators.
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2.4 Attitude towards Technology Schechter (2000) asserted that the comfort and proficiency of teachers with the technology would positively influence the use of technology and further usage in the classroom. The attitude of teachers does influence the infusion of technology into the classroom environment (Demetriadis et al., 2003). There are few variables that contributed to the attitude of teachers towards technology such as experience in teaching, gender, and subjects handled (Jimoyiannis & Komis, 2007). ChanLin (2005) identified that teachers who possessed creativity were more likely to absorb the technology for imparting education and were also influenced by factors such as learning environment and curriculum related issues. It has been identified that the attitude of teachers towards technology acceptance would also be influenced by their familiarity with the usage of technology (Teo, Lee &Chai, 2008).
2.3 Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Venkatesh and Davis (2000) stipulated that Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness are predictors of the acceptance behavior of people towards technology. TAM has been proved to be successful in identifying the acceptance of technology by knowledge workers including educators (Lee, Kozar & Larsen, 2003). King and He (2006) identified through a meta analysis that TAM was a powerful predictive model that could be applied to various contexts. BurtonJones and Hubona (2005) asserted that the end-users of technology would develop cognitive responses based on their perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of technology. These responses would in turn result in the development of a corresponding attitude towards acceptance of technology and further behavioral intentions. It was also observed that PU is a significant predictor of attitude towards the acceptance of technology and further behavioral intention (Wong et al., 2013).
While instrumental motivation denoted learning the language as an instrument to achieve career goals, integrative motivation reflected the passion to learn a language to interact with that culture effectively. Similarly, the need of the hour is the integrative approach on the part of teachers to assimilate the technological advancement to the teaching process rather than the instrumental approach just to equip them to deal with the challenges of remote teaching.
3. Conceptual Model and Hypotheses
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Figure 1 Research Model
We defined demotivators as those factors that could potentially influence the teachers negatively during the process of handling sessions through remote learning. We also categorized these demotivators into two categories i.e., extrinsic demotivators and intrinsic demotivators. We classified factors such as ‘technical interruptions during E-learning sessions’ , ‘low bandwidth of internet connectivity’ , ‘long preparatory works before each session’ , ‘low control over students during E learning sessions’, and ‘lack of technical know how’ as the main extrinsic demotivators. Factors such as ‘the feeling of low connectivity with students’ , ‘perceived lack of physical presence’ , ‘feeling of not being able to provide hands on experience’ , ‘perceived difficulty in carrying out assessments online’, and ‘perceived difficulty in getting feedback’ are categorized as intrinsic demotivators. While Perceived Usefulness denoted as the usefulness of the E learning process for imparting teaching, Perceived Ease of use reflected the easiness of handling E learning sessions. Past research has identified that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had significant positive predictability in developing attitudes towards usage of technology which is categorized as the attitude towards E learning. Ghanghesh (2013) pointed out the intrinsic factors could also include a good relationship with people and job responsibility. It was also identified that intrinsic motivation exercised more influence than extrinsic motivation on the job performance of teachers. Such a positive influence of intrinsic motivation could in turn result in a better workplace attitude (Thatcher, Liu & Stepina, 2002). Boekaerts (2001) observed that an individual’s behavior is influenced by two types of motivation i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Teo, Wong and Chai (2009) observed that behavioral intention towards computers by teachers was significantly influenced by the Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU). In view of the above, the following hypotheses have been proposed in this study.
The research conceptual model proposed in this study is as given in Figure 1.
H3: Extrinsic and intrinsic demotivators will have significant negative relationships with the attitude towards the E learning process among school educators. Davis (1989) proposed the Technology Acceptance Model which postulates that the attitude of an individual towards technology is influenced by the Perceived Ease Of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) of the technology. Ma, Andersson and Streith (2005) explained that the intentions to use technology by educators were significantly influenced by their perceived usefulness of the technology. Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses also in this study.
H4: Perceived ease of use of the E learning process will have a significant positive relationship with the attitude towards the E learning process among school educators.
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H1: Extrinsic and intrinsic demotivators will have significant negative relationships with the perceived usefulness of the E learning process among school educators.
4. Methodology
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H5: Perceived usefulness of the E learning process will have a significant positive relationship with the attitude towards the E learning process among school educators.
4.2 Demographic descriptive Out of 1174 respondents, 946 are females and 228 are males which form 80% and 20% respectively. In this study, we categorized the respondents into four categories on the basis of their age i.e., within the age bracket of ‘20 to 30’ , ‘31 to 40’ , ‘41 to 50’, and ‘above 50 years’. While 6% of the respondents belonged to the age bracket of 20 to 30, 459 of them belonged to the age bracket of 31 to 40. The biggest number of respondents belonged to the category of 41 to 50 (40.9%) whereas the category of above 50 years of age consisted of only 14% of the respondents. 599 respondents (51%) are imparting education in rurally located
H2: Extrinsic and intrinsic demotivators will have significant negative relationships with perceived ease of use of the E learning process among school educators.
4.1 Sample As one of the consequences of the Covid 19 outbreak, academicians across the globe have been prompted to switch over to the online mode of teaching for a prolonged period, probably for the first time in their professional life. Even though educators in the field of higher education might have had the experience in remote teaching occasionally, most of the school educators must have been experiencing this phenomenon for the first time. Therefore, we approached 2400 school educators of Indian origin who are remotely teaching expatriate Indian students in the Sultanate of Oman with a self administered questionnaire. We resorted to a simple random sampling method as this was the only approach of data collection possible during this pandemic period. We received a total of 1174 correct responses after having eliminated duplicates through IP address.
162 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. schools whereas 575 (49%) of them are belonging to schools located in urban areas of the country. As far as the teaching level of the respondents is concerned, KG level represented 10%, Primary level with 32%, Middle level with 26%, Secondary level with 14%, and Senior secondary with 18% respectively. This representation shows that schools are adequately fulfilling the remote learning requirements of all sections of students. With respect to the educational qualifications of the respondents, 68% of them possess post graduate degrees and 28% of them are graduates. The details of the demographics of the respondents are summarized in Table 1. Table 1. Demographic profile Measure Items Frequency Percent Gender Female 946 80.6 Male 228 19.4 Age_Group 20 to 30 70 6.0 31 to 40 459 39.1 41 to 50 480 40.9 Above 50 165 14.1 Location Rural 599 51.0 Urban 575 49.0 Teaching level KG 115 9.8 Primary 374 31.9 Middle 307 26.1 Secondary 165 14.1 Senior Secondary 213 18.1 QualificationsEducational Trained Teacher 35 3.0 Graduate 333 28.4 Post Graduate 798 68.0 Doctorate 8 .7 4.3 Measurement Tools The items (Davis, 1989, Table 6, p. 329) for measuring Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease Of Use (PEOU) (revised 10 items each from the earlier original 14 items scale) were adopted as part of the questionnaire. These items were reported to have construct validity through multitrait multimethod and factor analysis (Davis, 1989). In order to measure the Attitude towards E learning, another 5 items on a seven point scale developed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) that measured five different types of attitudes were adopted in this study Based on the review of the literature, we also categorized the number of extrinsic and intrinsic demotivators and scored them as per the number of such demotivators experienced by the educators (0 for ‘no difficulties’, 1 for one difficulty experienced, and so on till 5 as we have categorized maximum of five
163 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. such demotivators as extrinsic and intrinsic factors. All these items have been displayed in Appendix A. 5. Results
5.3 Analysis As far as the extrinsic demotivators are concerned, 53% of the respondents felt that Technical Interruption during the session was the primary challenge for them. This is followed by Low bandwidth issues (40%), long technical preparation time (33%), less control over students during remote teaching (30%), and operational discomforts of being not so tech savvy (12%) as major extrinsic challenges faced by the teachers in online education. The details are as given in Figure 2.
Descriptive analysis of variables under this study has revealed that the respondents have scored above average level in respect of Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use (3.1 and 3.26 respectively). In the case of Attitude towards E learning also the mean score is well above the average marking. On the other hand, the respondents experienced fewer difficulties as far as both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators are concerned. However, it has been observed that the educators experienced more of intrinsic challenges than that of the extrinsic factors. In other words, these are indicators that it is more of psychological difficulties that bothered the educators than technical difficulties in running the E learning process. The details of descriptive statistics are as given in Table 2. Table 2. Descriptive Statistics (Means and S.D) n = 1174 Mean S.D Extrinsic_Demo 1.59 .962 Intrinsic_Demo 1.84 1.131 PU 3.10 .826 PEUS 3.26 .616 ATTITUDE 5.29 1.125 5.2 Reliability Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability analysis has been carried out in respect of all 25 items (10 items each for PU & PEOU, and 5 items for Attitude towards E learning) that confirmed the coefficient of .91 for these items. According to Cortina (1993), this range of co efficient is an excellent level of acceptance.
5.1 Descriptive Statistics
of
acceptance
Figure 2 Major extrinsic challenges of teachers in online teaching
learning
learning in
573 430 361 331 1337006005004003002001000 Technical
Correlation analysis was performed on the research variables and the output of the same is as provided in Table 3. All the research variables have been found to be significantly related to each other. A statistically significant a moderate to strong positive relationship was observed among the three research variables of technology i.e., perceived ease use E imparting E (r = .60, p < .0001). This indicates that with the increase in the perceived ease of Interruptions Bandwidth Technical Preparation time control over students Discomfort being not a tech-savvy
Low
Low
of E learning, perceived usefulness of
Figure 3 Major intrinsic challenges of teachers in online teaching
At the same time, there are also some intrinsic challenges being faced by these teachers in online education. These are explained in Figure 3. A whopping 75% of the teachers felt that low connectivity with the students through remote teaching was their major challenge in remote teaching. This is followed by challenges in teaching specific subjects that require more of the physical presence of the teacher (40%), lack of hands on teaching (35%), difficulty in assessments (30%), and the lack of feedback from students (16%). This result showed that lack of sufficient feedback from students through remote teaching aggravated the concerns of educators which otherwise would have been minimal in a traditional classroom.
education, and attitude towards
819 435 379 322 1696005004003002001000 700 800 900 Lesswithconnectivitystudents Subject necessity forpresencephysical Lack of learninghands-on Not suitable assessementsfor Lack of feedback
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165 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. use and perceived usefulness of E learning, it is very likely that the positive attitude towards E learning will also be developed. Yet another dimension in this correlation analysis is the significant moderate positive relationship between intrinsic demotivators and extrinsic demotivators (r = .59, p < .0001). This shows that any incremental changes in the number of intrinsic demotivators are likely to result in a corresponding increase in extrinsic demotivators. A probable cause for this positive relationship could be the result of the frustration of educators having encountered challenges of varying degrees while negotiating them. As far as the relationship between demotivators and the research variables are concerned, it has been observed that the demotivators exhibited a significant negative relationship with research variables (r ranging from .24 to .35, p < .0001). However, it is also important to note that extrinsic demotivators exhibited a significant negative relationship with perceived ease of use than intrinsic demotivators whereas intrinsic demotivators showed a significant negative relationship with perceived usefulness than extrinsic demotivators. This shows that the lesser the extrinsic demotivators, the higher will be perceived ease of use. Similarly, the lesser the number of intrinsic demotivators, the higher will be the perceived usefulness of E learning. Demotivators were also observed to be having a weak negative significant relationship with the attitude towards E learning. Table 3. Correlation Analysis Extrinsic_Demo Intrinsic_Demo PU PEUS Intrinsic_Demo .588** PU .311** .334** PEUS .350** .277** .604** Attitude .268** .239** .605** .601** **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed).
5.4 Discussion In order to get further insight into these relationships, regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses proposed in this study. First, we conducted a multiple regression model with Attitude towards E learning as a dependent variable and the rest of the research variables as independent variables. The results of the regression indicated the predictors explained 45.2% of the variance (R2 =.45, F(4, 1174)= 242.998, p<.0000). It was found that both Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use significantly predicted Attitude towards E learning (β= .51 and β= .67 respectively, p<.000). This is placed in Table 4. Thus, hypotheses H4 & H5 which postulated that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use respectively will have a positive relationship with Attitude towards E learning have been supported in this study. Subsequently, regression models that had Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use as dependent variables and Demotivators as independent variables have also been developed and placed in Table 5 & 6 respectively. With regard to the model with Perceived Usefulness as the dependent variable, the regression model reported F(2, 1174)= 88.623, p<.0000) and model with Perceived Ease of
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Use as the dependent variable, the regression model reported F(2, 1174)= 87.900, p<.0000). It was found that both Extrinsic Demotivators (β= .15, p<.000) and Intrinsic Demotivators (β= .17, p<.000) significantly predicted Perceived Usefulness. Similar findings were also observed with respect to Perceived Ease of Use wherein both Extrinsic Demotivators (β= .18, p<.000) and Intrinsic Demotivators (β= .06, p<.000) significantly predicted Perceived Ease of Use. These findings not only supported hypotheses H1 & H2 which proposed that Extrinsic and Intrinsic demotivators will have a significant negative relationship with the Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use of E learning but also revealed the mediating role of Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use in controlling the effect of Demotivators on the dependent variable Attitude towards E learning of school educators. However, H3 which postulated that Extrinsic and intrinsic demotivators will have a negative relationship with the attitude towards the E learning process among school educators has not been supported in this study. Analysis Variable: Variable: Variable:
ATTITUDE Table 5. Regression Analysis Perceived Usefulness of E learning as a dependent variable Model Unstandardized Standardized T Sig.B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.650 .047 77.412 .000 Ex_Demo .151 .029 .176 5.222 .000 In_Demo .168 .025 .230 6.837 .000 a. Dependent
PEUS In view of the above findings, the predictive model of hypothesized relationships among variables is as given in Figure 4.
Table 4. Regression
Attitude towards E learning as a dependent variable Model Unstandardized Standardized T Sig.B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 1.558 .167 9.310 .000 PU .514 .038 .377 13.576 .000 PEUS .668 .051 .365 13.156 .000 Ex_Demo .028 .032 .024 .871 .384 In_Demo .002 .027 .002 .067 .946 a. Dependent
PU Table 6 Regression Analysis Perceived Ease of Use of E learning as a dependent variable Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.666 .035 104.301 .000 Ex_Demo .183 .022 .286 8.498 .000 In_Demo .059 .018 .109 3.237 .001 a. Dependent
First, demotivators play an influential role in the morale of educators. While challenges such as technical interruptions and low bandwidth could be tackled through organizational support, various training programs could result in better acceptance of technology as identified by Sansone et al., (2019). Acquainting with the technology through such training programs could mitigate such feelings of not getting connected with students more realistically. In this study, we identified that the lesser the number of demotivators, be it extrinsic or intrinsic, the greater will be the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use of technology by educators for conducting online teaching. While the majority of the extrinsic demotivators could be tacked through administrative actions by the school management, adequate counseling and training programs could help the teachers to overcome the intrinsic challenges of imparting education through remote teaching.
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Second, though we identified that demotivators had a negative correlation with all other research variables, these demotivators did not have any direct influence on the Attitude towards the E learning of educators. However, mediation by Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use on the relationship between demotivators and Attitude towards E learning emphasized the importance of TAM in the educational sector when there is a paradigm shift in the teaching process. Therefore, blended learning, integration of face to face teaching & online approaches (Graham, 2006), and adopting innovative learning approaches such as the ‘Trialogical’ learning approach (Sansone et al., 2019) would be effective and flexible processes through which transformative changes could happen in the field of education (Hancock & Wong, 2012). The findings of this study would pave the way for educational institutions to chalk out different strategies to minimize the demotivators so as to ensure that academicians take
Relationship among variables
6. Conclusion A model to understand the influence of Extrinsic and Intrinsic demotivators on the Technology Acceptance variables has been presented and validated in this study. There are several implications of this empirical output which are explained in succeeding paragraphs.
Figure 4
This study focused only on teachers of primary and secondary education. A comparative study involving faculty in higher education institutions will provide further insights into various differing challenges being faced by these educators while implementing remote teaching. Another limitation of this study is that the participants of this study were the expatriate teachers of Indian origin. A detailed study involving native teachers is likely to provide various challenges of E learning in the context of culture.
168 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. the education to the next level of technology assisted teaching and learning. Various Extrinsic and Intrinsic demotivators identified in this study would be of greater relevance to the educational institutions which venture into E learning as an alternative mode of interacting with students.
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Hettiarachchi, S. (2013). English Language Teacher Motivation in Sri Lankan Public Schools. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(1). doi:10.4304/jltr.4.1.1 11
Lloyd, S. A., Byrne, M. M., & McCoy, T. S. (2012). Faculty perceived barriers to online education. Journal of online learning and teaching, 8(1). Available at https://jolt.merlot.org/vol8no1/abstracts.htm
Panda, S., & Mishra, S. (2007). E Learning in a Mega Open University: Faculty attitude, barriers, and motivators. Educational Media International, 44(4), 323 338. doi:10.1080/09523980701680854
Shea, P. (2019). Bridges and Barriers to Teaching Online College Courses: A Study of Experienced Online Faculty in Thirty Six Colleges. Online Learning, 11(2). doi:10.24059/olj.v11i2.1728
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Teddy So, K. K., & Swatman, P. (2010). The Diminishing Influence of Age and Gender on the e Learning Readiness of Teachers in Hong Kong. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 477 488. doi:10.1007/978 3 642 14657 2_43 Teo, T., Lee, C. B., & Chai, C. S. (2008). Understanding pre service teachers’ computer attitudes: Applying and extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24(2), 128 143. Doi:10.1111/j.1365 2729.2007.00247.x Teo, T., Lee, C. B., Chai, C. S., & Wong, S. L. (2009). Assessing the intention to use technology among pre service teachers in Singapore and Malaysia: A multigroup invariance analysis of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Computers & Education, 53(3), 1000 1009. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.05.017 Thatcher, J. B., Liu, Y., & Stepina, L. P. (2002). The role of the work itself Proceedings of the 2002 ACM SIGCPR Conference on Computer Personnel Research SIGCPR ’02. doi:10.1145/512360.512365 Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186 204. doi:10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926 Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1964 35027 000 Ward, M. E., Peters, G., & Shelley, K. (2010). Student and faculty perceptions of the quality of online learning experiences. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 11(3), 57. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v11i3.867 Wingo, N. P., Ivankova, N. V., & Moss, J. A. (2017). Faculty Perceptions about Teaching Online: Exploring the Literature Using the Technology Acceptance Model as an Organizing Framework. Online Learning, 21(1). doi:10.24059/olj.v21i1.761 Wong, K. T., Osman, R., Goh, P. S. C., & Rahmat, M. K., (2013). Understanding Student Teachers' Behavioural Intention to Use Technology: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Validation and Testing. Online Submission, 6(1), 89 104. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED539841.pdf
Schechter, E. L. (2000). Factors relating to classroom implementation of computer technology in elementary schools (pp. 1 128). St. John's University (New York), School of Education and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/123270/ Seaman, J. (2009). Online Learning as a Strategic Asset. Volume II: The Paradox of Faculty Voices Views and Experiences with Online Learning. Results of a National Faculty Survey, Part of the Online Education Benchmarking Study Conducted by the APLU Sloan National Commission on Online Learning. Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED517311.pdf
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5
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Candidate item for psychometric measures for perceived usefulness
5 item scale developed for measuring Attitude towards technology (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980)ItemNo.
10
5
1 Using e learning platform improves the quality of my teaching
8
5
ItemNo. Candidate item for psychometric measures for perceived usefulness
9 E learning platform makes it easier to do my work
2 Using an e learning platform gives me greater control over my work
6
Revised 10 item scale for perceived ease of use (Davis, 1989, Table 6, p. 329)
3 Interacting with the E learning system is often frustrating I find it easy to get the E learning system to do what I want it to do. The E learning system is rigid and inflexible to interact with. It is easy for me to remember how to perform my tasks using an E learning system
9 I find it takes a lot of efforts to become skillful at using an E learning system Overall, I find the E learning system easy to use.
The E learning platform enhances my effectiveness on the work
4
4
Interacting with the E learning system requires a lot of my mental efforts. My interaction with the E learning system is clear and understandable
7
The E learning platform supports critical aspects of my work E learning platform increases my productivity E learning platform improves my job performance The E learning platform allows me to accomplish more work than would otherwise possible
6
ItemNo.
8
1 I find it burdensome to use the E learning platform
3
3
Appendix A List of constructs used in the study
2
Revised 10 item scale for perceived usefulness (Davis, 1989, Table 6, p. 329)
4
The E learning platform enables me to accomplish tasks more quickly
10 Overall, I find the E learning system useful in my work
2 Learning to operate an E learning system is easy for me
1
7
All things considered, my using of E learning is my job is : Good …………………………………………………………….Bad Wise …………………………………………………………….Foolish Favorable……………………………………………………….Unfavorable Beneficial ………………………………………………………..Harmful Positive …………………………………………………………..Negative
173 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 173 193, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.10 Conceptual Framework of Evaluation Model on 4 C'S Based Learning Supervision
https://orcid.org/0000
Abstract. The 21st century learning requires the implementation of 4 character skills, including (1) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, (2) Creativity and Innovation, (3) Collaboration, and (4) Communication (4Cs) (MESp 4C's) This framework was used to evaluate the achievement of supervision on 4Cs learning by teachers. The research method used was Grounded theory, which focuses on building a conceptual framework through the inductive analysis of various data, phenomena, information, andtheories,usingseveral systematicprocedures.MESp4C'swasbuilt in 5 stages. The first is based on the relevance of the learning stages (planning, learning, and assessment processes) with the learning supervision stages (pre observation, observation, and post observation) and the evaluation stages of the Stake model (antecedent, transaction, outcomes). Second, it is necessary to modify the Stake evaluation model with other evaluation models through the Organizational Elements Model (OEM). The OEM is a stage for evaluators to determine the appropriate evaluation model to use. Proper modification of the evaluation model was obtained, namely TheDiscrepancy EvaluationModels (DEM). The Interim Product stage was more appropriate to use than the outcome so that the evaluation model stages became Antecedent, Transaction, and Interim Product (ATIp). Third, every step of the supervision implementation of 4C's will always be evaluated. Fourth, there were feedback activities (self, peer, superior) to produce continuous learning evaluation supervision activities, based on the 360o feedback theory. Five, MESp4C's wasbuiltasan evaluation modelwitha modified six cell Stake model. MESp 4C's was equipped with the data on the suitability of descriptions between instances and observations, assessment data between observations and standards, data on contingencies and congruence, and feedback activities. This study's
Eny Winaryati Universitas Muhammadiyah Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia 0002 4698 002X Mardiana Universitas Muhammadiyah Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia 0002 2227 1341 Muhamad Taufik Hidayat
https://orcid.org/0000
Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Surakarta, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7787 254X
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. recommendation is the need for the design and testing of MESp 4 in several schools.
The quality of education begins with the quality of learning, which will impact the quality of graduates. The teacher's role is very strategic because everyday teachers meet with their students to transfer knowledge and skills. Teaching is a complex, multidimensional, and dynamic endeavor, highly time dependent, and social and cultural. Measuring teacher quality, performance, or teaching effectiveness is much more important than measuring teacher qualifications (Martínez, Schweig, & Goldschmidt, 2016). The rate of teacher learning will increase when it is strengthened by the principal's quality of supervision (OECD, 2005; Sabandi, Strong2013). quality of supervision results in complete supervision information and better learning techniques. Conversely, weak supervision, such as incomplete, inappropriate, and inaccurate supervision, will impact the low quality of learning (Zhou, 2018). The research results above were corroborated by Daud et al (2018), stating that the implementation of high learning supervision can improve teacher teaching attitudes and competencies. Appropriate efforts need to be made to strengthen the implementation of supervision and supervisor support in learning to produce superior teachers with useful teaching competencies in the classrooms
1. Introduction
Keywords: Conceptualization framework; Evaluation model; Learning supervision; 4C’s based
1.1 Literature Review
In the 21st century, the world of education is required to have the readiness to face the increasingly complex challenges of life. The 21st century learning skills encourage broader knowledge, attitudes, and skills to succeed in school, at work, and in life more broadly (Wolters, 2010). Students should have the critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration (Griffin, McGaw & Care, 2012). Partnership for 21 Century Skills identifies 21st century skills, including (1) Communication, (2) Collaboration, (3) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and (4) Creativity and Innovation (4 C's) (Partnership, 2015). The success of supervision includes the supervision of learning, which is determined by feedback with formative assessment, provision of social and emotional support, good interpersonal relationships, positive supervisory alliances, clarity of measurable aspects of assessment, teacher involvement in evaluation, and sufficient time availability by giving adequate reflective space. The above conditions create a positive relationship in the evaluation process, which will impact adequate supervision (Kilminster et al , 2007; Bambling & King, 2014; Youngstrom & Gentile, 2018; OECD, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c; Bahri, 2014).
Principals are required to have skills in supervising teachers who impact improving teacher’s practice evaluation (Reinhorn, Johnson & Simon, 2017)
The studies related to evaluating learning practices were carried out, including the assessment implementation based on 360 degree feedback theory. Master (2014)
conducted a formative evaluation that impacted administrators' feedback to teachers regarding various aspects of teaching that influenced future decisions and students’ emotions. The above is confirmed by Martínez, Schweig & Goldschmidt (2016) that the aim of the teacher evaluation system's design is to predict student test scores optimally. It is an effort to improve teaching and teacher performance in the workplace with a significant focus on student achievement. Marsh, Bush, Strunk, Lincove and Huguet (2017) reinforce the above research evaluating teacher learning success by administrators, and their social relationships place a reciprocal interaction between the principal and teachers.
Administrators make observations based on the rubrics compiled with the teachers regarding teacher performance and opportunities for improving learning. The information generated will impact the adjustment possibility of repair facilities. Involvement in teacher learning evaluation process by administrators provides direction on how policies will influence implementation (Master, 2014). There is still a chance to develop an evaluation model that can be used to assess the achievement of supervision conducted by school principals with an assessment based on the 360 degree feedback theory. Given the learning demands that accommodate the 4 C's, supervision is expected to assess the implementation of 4C's by teachers to their students.
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1.2 Theoretical and Practical gaps
There were some findings related to the administration of learning supervision in the field, such as the principal who did not give the comprehensive explanation about teaching strategy, indirect feedback or suggestion, ineffective, no schedule, and no follow up action based academic (Winaryati & Mufnaety, 2012; Yunus, Lestari & Raharjo, 2016). The study results indicate that the unsupervised valuation of the learning process produces only typical values (Büchler, Brattoli & Ommer, 2018). Most teachers reported that the assessment and feedback they received beneficial and fair for the development of the profession (OECD, 2009b; Youngstrom & Gentile, 2018).
Figure 1: The correlation between supervision quality and learning quality
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Based on the explanation above, supervision is needed that promotes practical, efficient, impactful, and sustainable, reciprocal activities. This indicates the need for an evaluation tool used to assess whether the supervision carried out by the principal has been effective or not. The evaluation results are recommendations, which are followed up by supervision activities to improve learning (Winaryati & Mufnaety, 2012). Continuous evaluation is needed in assessing the learning supervision activities that occur through an evaluation model framework. Supervisors' role is very urgent, especially in the globalization era, which is full of dynamic changes in innovation and fast moving transformation. A supervisor is required to be able to follow the above developments. There are four character skills (4 C's) of 21st century learning that students, teachers, and principals must possess. (Partnership, 2015; Wolters, 2010). Griffin et al (2012) emphasize that the 4 C's are an urgent topic in the education system agenda. The Conference Board survey (Scott, 2015) found that professionalism, good work ethics, oral and written communication, teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving skills are essential skills. To face success in today's world, students must possess critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration (Partnership, 2009). The above needs require supervision activities that can encourage the improvement of 4 C's skills, and evaluation is carried out to obtain information on the extent to which the implementation of the 4 C's based supervision is carried out. Partnership (2009) states that monitoring and assessing teaching followed up with improvements as a result of feedback activities for sustainable programs is very important. The OECD research results (2009b); Youngstrom and Gentile (2018) revealed that most teachers reported that the assessment and feedback they received was useful and fair for their professional development. The results of this study indicate the need for feedback assessment from the principal to the teachers Cormack et al. (2018) reinforce the need for a 360 degree evaluation model to provide comprehensive student evaluations and essential information for many related groups. The 360 degree feedback is a system or process (teachers) receiving assessments from people who work around them (superiors, peers (other teachers)), subordinates (students), and colleagues (other staff) (Tee & Ahmed, 2014). The tabulation results of the 360 degree feedback help teachers identify strengths and weaknesses and motivate them to do better. Feedback recipients gain insight into how others see themselves and have the opportunity to adjust. It develops the skills, such as listening, planning, setting goals, providing the ability to work together in teams, character, and effective leadership (Kanaslan & Iyem, 2016; Cheng & Wu, 2020). The essence of the 360 degree feedback combines multiple evaluations using the input from various sources. The sources include coworkers, subordinates, customers, one’s self, and supervisors. Tee and Ahmed (2014); Hosain (2016) calls it through multi source feedback, multi rater feedback, multi level feedback, upward assessment, and peer review
The research results of the 360 degree feedback above encourage the need for a conceptual framework that analyzes the evaluation of 4Cs based learning supervision. It describes a comprehensive evaluation model's components and describes the main aspects that must be considered for designing a learning supervision evaluation model. The planned Model is framed in the context of the goal of overcoming the problem of supervision as well as the implementation of the continuous evaluation (Winaryati & Mufnaety, 2012).
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The evaluation model's output can evaluate, predict teacher performance, and recommend actions needed and that must be taken (Ola, 2013). Evaluation contributes to creating a teaching profession that is rich in knowledge and skills. An essential aspect is how the evaluation framework can complement each other, avoid duplication, and be consistent with objectives.
The research objective was to produce a conceptual evaluation model on the 4 C's based learning supervision implemented.Also, the study results obtained the data that the feedback had an impact on the quality of teacher learning and was strengthened by the stages of academic supervision (Kemendikbud, 2017). This becomes the basis for the learning evaluation supervision model built to accommodate the needs.
The evaluation model on learning supervision was performed to provide convenience for the user to use and positively impact the improvement of learning. The evaluation model was chosen to put forward an evaluation method approach consisting of formative and summative evaluation methods. Formative evaluation provides opportunities for improvement (Shute, 2008). Summative evaluation ensures that the required standards have been met and as a source of documentation that is indispensable for teachers' accountability for their professionalism and results in quality teaching practice (Ola, 2013; Tang & Chow, 2007). The Model presented is expected to describe the elements and relationships within the proposed conceptual framework and impact future policy practices (Attwel, 2006; Stufflebeam, 1969; Madaus et al., 1983).
1.4 Research Purpose
1.3 Theoretical Model
Figure 2. Correlation between evaluation learning supervision learning
2. Method
The studies on supervision were found a lot, but the 4 Cs implementation's supervision does not exist. The evaluation results' recommendations will have an impact on improving classroom learning by the teachers and the mastery evaluation of the principal as a supervisor regarding the implementation of the 4 C's. This article will direct the conceptual framework of developing an appropriate evaluation model based on learning supervision stages based on the 4 C's.
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This studyseeks to answer: how are the stages of building a conceptual framework for an evaluation model based on 4 Cs based supervision, based on theories, definitions, facts, phenomena, benefits, objectives, concepts, variables, etc. related to MEPs4Cs.
1.5 Research Questions
This study used the Grounded Theory (GT) method. This qualitative research method focuses on creating a conceptual framework by building an inductive analysis of various data, phenomena, information, and theories using several systematic procedures. The aim is to develop a theory.
The reasons for choosing the method are based on various references to the results of previous studies. Chun, Birks, and Francis (2019) state that the GT research method is a qualitative research method that uses several systematic procedures to develop theory. Glaser and Holton (2004: p. 43) convey that GT is a set of integrated conceptual hypotheses generated systematically to produce inductive theories on substantive areas. Charmaz K (2009) defines GT as a method of conducting qualitative research that focuses on creating a conceptual or theoretical framework by building an inductive analysis of data (page 187). The following is a description of the GT method's application chart and how the conceptual framework is buil Figure 3. The Flow Conceptual Framework Construction
How to Build a Concept Framework
4. A construct is a kind of concept which is to present a categorization or classification of objects or events into one symbol (Waller, Yonce, Grove, Faust & Lenzenweger, 2013). The constructs can be networked with one another (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955). In the conceptual framework, the concepts/constructs/variables can be added considered to be relevant, and then the relationship between them is explored or tested (Khoso, 2019; Wheeler, 2019). Construction is a fundamental concept that includes theory in which the constructs are inter related by propositions, and a theory is made if all these elements are united (Gregor, 2006). A concept can also be an idea (Weeler, 2019).
3. The theory explains a phenomenon that has been repeatedly tested and found to be consistent over a long period (Wheeler, 2019).
The conceptual outline (Figure 3) was used to construct the MEPs 4Cs. The research design began with selecting a theoretical research paradigm that can inform and guide the research process (Searcy & Mentzer, 2003). This process connected the chosen research paradigm with the empirical world, the existing domain to be developed, and the current reality phenomena. From this perspective, the research design was made in a schema. The conceptual framework serves as a "map" or "steering wheel" that will guide the realization of the objectives of the discussion (Masías, 2005).
5. Between theories, they are characterized by a unique network of constructs and relationships, and between similar theories, they are related based on their boundaries. The system of constructs, propositions, and the resulting assumptions is also referred to as nomological networks, which is a kind of fingerprint theory (Gregor, 2006).
2. A theory must explain "what a construct is, how and why it is related, and to whom it applies, when and where it applies, and how it works (Whetten, 1989; Bacharach, 1989, p. 496; Wheeler, 2019).
The paper was extracted from peer reviewed and open source journals reinforced by the research data conducted by researchers. The definitions from various sources were linked together so that a conceptual framework was designed according to the rules. The conceptual framework was built on the following keywords:1.Thetheory is a collection of variables, problems to solve, definitions, and related propositions, providing a systematic view of phenomena by specifying the relationships between various variables to explain existing phenomena. The theory has the components of concepts, facts, phenomena, definitions, propositions, and variables (Mullerl & Urbach, 2017; Jaccard & Jacoby, 2009; Gioia & Pitre, 1990; Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994; Suddaby, 2010).
The conceptual framework is a visual representation of the theory with the phenomena being studied. Concept maps consist of two things: concepts and the relationships between them (Maxwell, 1996). The conceptual framework is the researcher's understanding of how certain variables in his study are connected.
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There was a complete understanding related to the meaning, definition, goals, needs and expectations of learning supervision. It was about what the supervisor should do when the teachers prepared, how the learning process, assessment, and reflective feedback were carried out. Besides, it was the basis for how 360 degree feedback was implemented, what strategies were involved, and who were involved in the feedback. The questions of what, why and how were the basis for the researchers to develop the instruments for supervision and evaluation.
6. A concept is a hypothetical construct consisting of several variables, and it can also be networked with other constructs (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955).
7. This research contains real, actual, and empirical domains to include critical realismusing an abductive approach. The basic strategy was to interpret and recontextualize a phenomenon with a conceptual framework or several thought concepts, and it becomes a new conceptual framework. The abductive approach is defined as developing a preliminary working hypothesis prior to inductive data analysis (Peirce, 1998).
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The Model's conceptual framework was built based on the analysis of several theories, the facts obtained, the phenomena that occur, and then it was constructed using an inductive approach. There are several variables for which data must be obtained. In depth analysis was carried out during the research regarding the implementation of supervision. The phenomena were: the principal did not tell the whole of the teaching strategy, was not quick to provide feedback / suggestions, and implemented academic supervision was still ineffective, unscheduled and there was no follow up. In addition, several field data were obtained that reinforced the above phenomena. The field facts obtained a description that it is necessary to evaluate the implementation of supervision. A complete understanding related to several theories about learning, supervision, and evaluation was required. Also, the understanding and implementation were needed regarding planning readiness, learning and assessment processes and feedback. The definition of teaching, availability of the syllabus, lesson plans, learning objectives, indicators, methods and media used, and assessments must have been prepared. The skills characters (4Cs) of 21st century learning are the demands that must be understood and implemented. The teachers transferred the above skills to the students so that the students had 4Cs competence. It was expected that the students will have readiness to face the needs, problems and challenges in the future. The supervisors need to supervise the extent to which the teachers in their learning have implemented 4Cs. An evaluation was carried out to obtain data on the extent to which 4C based supervision was carried out.
There was an understanding and relevance between supervision and evaluation, i.e., how the evaluation model's construction was constructed to answer what, why, and how the evaluation activity was carried out. Some of the data, theories,
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3. Result Conceptual Framework for Building an Evaluation Model
initial concepts, and empirical evidence were the variables networked to form a construction and to become the expected conceptual framework for the Model. The selection of the evaluation model used was based on its definition, objectives, functions, benefits, and ways of implementing it. There are several evaluation models, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. It was the basis for the need for a combination of evaluation models. The evaluation model determined had accommodated its relevance to learning, 4 C's and learning supervision. The conceptual framework of this evaluation model was structured based on the steps with the flow based on a systematic sequence.
Figure 4. Concept Framework of Building Evaluation Model 4. Discussion 4.1 Building 4 C's-Based Learning Supervision Evaluation Content The preparation stages (MESp 4C's) are as follows; First, strengthening teacher competence to improve the teaching and learning process in schools is very important. Selvi (2010) states that the contribution of all teaching competencies simultaneously or together has a significant influence on improving the learning PhenomenaPlanning Assessment 4 C’s Learning Supervision The Model of the Sustainable 4 C’s based Learning Supervision Evaluation 4 C’s SupervisionLearning-basedModelEvaluationPreparationImplementation21st learningcentury Phenomena Facts Definition Purpose The Use PurposeModel EvaluationBenefit How implementto Purpose 4 C’s SupervisionLearning-based Benefit Phases Phases Feedback 360 0 EvaluationSelfFeedback Definition How implementto involvedWho
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process's performance quality. This means that learning process is a target that must be put forward. Therefore, the supervision of learning program must be carried out. Daresh (1989) and Glickman, et al (2007) argue that academic supervision is a series of activities to help teachers develop their ability to manage learning process to achieve learning goals. This indicates that academic supervision is inseparable from evaluating teacher performance in managing learning (Sergiovanni, 1987) and improving learning quality (Kemendikbud, 2017; Prabowo & Yoga, 2016). Learning supervision is carried out at the planning, implementation, and learning assessment stages, as well as post learning feedback. Supervision is a humane mentoring activity through democratic relationships, openness and friendship (Bafadal, 1992; Maralih, 2014).
Fifth, learning in the 21st century requires the possession of 4 skills consisting of: (1) Communication, (2) Collaboration, (3) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and (4) Creativity and Innovation. The four 21st century skills above are often termed 4C's skills. Students, teachers and school principals must own these 4 Cs. Then, the supervision carried out by the principal can assess the achievement of the 4 Cs in learning, and evaluation is carried out to assess the extent to which 4C based supervision is implemented.
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Sixth, based on the substance of the pre observation and observation stages above, it indicates: (a) Conformity between planning and implementation. (b) Supervision emphasizing the gap between the standard formulations that have been determined and the reality that occurs (results of observations). (c) Each of them has a phasing process (including input, process and output), until a product is produced. The products from the pre observation stage will contribute / influence the observation stage and the post observation.
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Fourth, the hope is that through the implementation of this learning supervision it can be carried out sustainably. This reflective feedback process is carried out through learning supervision. Weak supervision will have an impact on the lacking quality of teachers and the quality of learning is not optimal (Zhou, 2018). This suggests that based on the studies related to 360 degree feedback, there can be an assessment of the people who work around teachers from superiors, peers (other teachers), subordinates (students), and colleagues (other staff).
Third, the academic supervision stage consists of three stages: pre observation (observation/ meeting before learning), observation (observation of learning) and post observation (feedback meeting) (Depdikbud, 2017). Pre observation contains the preparation and planning of learning, while the observation stage is the implementation of the planning that has been prepared. Feedback can be used to increase its effectiveness in the classroom, as well as formative assessments (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Shute, 2008; Darto, 2014). The implementation of academic supervision by the principal is carried out in three stages: the initial survey before conducting academic supervision, class visits to find out the course of learning, and reviewing the results of class visits and providing the right solutions in overcoming problems faced by teachers (Ajasan, 2016).
4.2 Building MESp 4C's framework
ANTECEDENT
Congruence TRANSACTION
Congruence C o n ti n g e n c i e s
lanotiaR
seicnegntinoC
Figure 4. Implementation of Stake Model (Stake’s, 2000:351)
Congruence OUTCOMES
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There are two approaches to the Stake's Model: contingencies and congruence. Contingencies are logical relationships between the 3 dimensions above (antecedent, transaction, outcomes). Congruence is a conformity between what is expected (criteria) and what happens / the results in plans, processes and results (Popham, 1993: 5 15; Stake, 2000: 350 351). Outcome depends on the transaction and on antecedent conditions. Through simultaneous analysis of several aspects, evaluation will find significant interactions for improvement. The figure of evaluation flow is shown below.
Based on the learning supervision stages above, the Stake Model (Countenance Evaluation Model) is the right choice. Stake divides the evaluation object into 3 categories: Antecedents, Transactions, Outcomes. Antecedents are the sources / models / inputs that exist in a system to be developed, such as energy, finance, student characteristics, and goals to be achieved, conditions that exist before instruction that may be related to results. Transaction includes the activity plan and the process of its implementation in the field including the sequence of activities, time scheduling, teacher student interaction forms, how to assess learning outcomes, etc. Engagement in a dynamic sequence or meeting is a process of instruction. Outcomes are the results achieved by students, teacher's reaction to a system, the side effects of the system concerned, and the impact of instructional experiences, (Popham, 1993: 5 15; Stake, 1977: 372 390; Fernandes, 1984: 8 10; Wood, 2001: 18 27; Owston, 2008). Description Matrix Judgment Matrix Intention Observations Standards Judgement
LearningPlanningProcessAssessment PrePostObservaObservationtionObservation
Antecedent Transaction Outcomes
Intended Antecedents Observed Antecedents Intended Transactions Observed Transactions
CongruenceCongruenceCongruence
The results of the research above convey that the success of learning supervision includes constructive feedback and adequate reflective space. The results of this feedback provide the room for continuous evaluation. Related to this, MESp 4C's needs feedback so that cyclic activities will be carried out. The idea of the Model above is in line with what was conveyed by Tang and Chow (2007). The results of their research convey that feedback communication from the results of learning observations is a discussion of the results of mentoring and peer coaching. The feedback content is produced by an assessment oriented towards improving learning in the context of summative evaluation to produce deeper insights from the supervision of teaching practices.
Source: Stake, 1977: 372 390 Based on the relevance of the learning stagesthat the teachers must carry out, there is conformity with the learning supervision stages, and there is conformity with the Stake's evaluation model. The adjustment flow is as follows:
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Figure 6. Adjustment Flow of Learning Phases Supervision Stakes Evaluation Model
Intended Interim Product Observed Interim Product
Figure 5. Data Description Process of contingencies and congruence Stakes ModelSupervisionLearning Logical Contingency Logical Contingency Logical Contingency Logical Contingency
Figure 6.
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SumFormatiModelvemative Formative Summative -----CIPP InputContext Process Product CSE Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stake Antecedent Transaction Outcome ------------------------Tyler Goal Identification1 Attainment ----------------------------------------------(DEM)Provus Installation TionImplementa Objectives?Fulfil ------------Cost----------Benefit (Depending upon objectives) Sciven’s Goal Free ---Stake Resp ---
mapping to place an appropriate
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Roger Kaufman developed organizational Elements Model (OEM) as a tool that can be used to identify different elements in a system. A system is "a set of interrelated components that work together to achieve a common goal", (Porter, 2005a). OEM provides a systemic framework, designs and implements an effective way to achieve the desired result. Kaufman (1988) divides OEM into five elements that interact with each other: Inputs, processes, products, outputs, and outcomes. Products and outputs are the results that occur in an organization; outcome is the result outside an organization (Chyung, 2005). Input is raw material; process is how to do it; products are temporary results in process; and output is the organization's achievement. As a product delivered to society; outcome is an effect for society (Porter, 2005). Kaufman (2006: 6 16) affirms that OEM is a stage for evaluators to determine the right evaluation model.
to determine the appropriate
with Several Evaluations. Outcome s ProduOutputInputProcessct
Source: Kaufman and Thomas (1980: 137). OEM is a stage for evaluators evaluation model (Kaufman, 2006: 10 16). Based on this understanding, it is necessary to carry out a evaluation stage. Based on the OEM stage Relationship of OEM
The explanation strengthens the explanation above that a temporary product is produced to go to the next stage in the pre observation and observation stages. Post observation is a temporary product as a result of feedback for improvement at the next pre observation stage. In this sense, it means the production of temporary product. Besides, the outcome is a long term result. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the outcome stage with other evaluation models. Supervision is to assess the existing standards and the performance carried out, and then an assessment of the gaps that occur is an option. The evaluation model based on the gap theory is The Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM).
7.
DEM divides the evaluation stage into five stages: Program Design, Program Operation, Program Interim Products, Program Terminal Products, and Program Cost. Provus argue that all programs have a life cycle. Because a program consists of development steps, many evaluation activities mean integrating integration in each of its components.
(Source: Provus 1969: 13) Figure Flowchart of DEM Evaluation Process Phases 5
description, the appropriate DEM stage is the interim product (temporary product). The interim product describes the relationship between the program process and the temporary product. Mapping via OEM is compatible with the evaluation similarity that underlies the gap theory. The evaluation model with a substance based on the gap theory (between standards and observations, and between intention and implementation) of the Stake's Model is The Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM). These models emphasize the gap theory as a tool for making judgments based on standards and performance (Provus, 1969: 9,18).
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The Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM), designed by Malcolm Provus in 1969, is an effective way to evaluate academic programs. DEM is called program gap evaluation. The program gap is a condition between what is expected in the plan and generated in program implementation. Gap evaluation is intended to determine the level of conformity between the program's standards and the actual appearance of the program. Standards are the criteria that have been developed and established with significant results. Provus (1969) defines evaluation as a tool to make a judgment on the advantages and disadvantages of an object based on standards and performance. This model is also considered a constructive approach and oriented towards systems analysis (Provus, 1969: 10 14; Steinmetz, 2000: DEM135).offers a systematic pragmatic approach to a variety of evaluation needs. DEM can be utilized to structure important information gathering both for information and making decisions. The main emphasis of the DEM is on self evaluation and systematic improvement of a program.
32
S 1 DC4DC CDDC P PPP AAAA
Stake's difference is that there are additional congruence activities (conformity between instances and observations) and contingencies (logical relationships in Antecedents, Transactions, and Outcomes). DEM is in the process of repairing, recycling, or stopping the program.
ImprovementLearning
Based on the stages of the combination of the Stake's Model with DEM, the steps of the Antecedents, Transaction, Interim Product, abbreviated ATIp model is produced. In the ATIp evaluation model, there are several definitions related to standard, observation, and intensity. Standard is a benchmark/measure that must be met, and that is expected by the stakesholder / government and has been set. In this article, the standard formulation is based on the academic supervision guidebook (2017), fourcharacters of 21st century learning skills; Permendiknas RI, (No. 21,22,23,24, 2016). Intense is what the teacher means. Observation is what the observer feels. The stages of the ATIp evaluation process are described as follows:
There is some additional information from the figure: 1) judgment is the gap/conformity between standards and observations; 2) congruencies are the gaps/matches between intention and observation; 3) contingencies are the gaps/relationships in antecedents, transactions, and interim products. The assessment results of the activities of judgment, congruencies, and contingencies produce information used to improve learning.
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Based on the explanation above and clarified with the figure, an evaluation model's conceptual framework on 4 C based learning supervision is produced. The issue of post learning supervision feedback is adopted through continuous evaluation supervision activities. The MESp 4C conceptual framework results in the relationship of 6 cells of the Stake model modified and compatible with the learning supervision stages. The six MESp 4C cells are described as follows: Standard Transaction Interim Product Antecedent Observation Congruence Judgment Information Evaluation Process Phases through ATIp Intention Observation Contingencies
Figure 9.
ProductsInterim ProductsInterim AntecedentsTraAntecedentsnsaction TraProductsInterimnsaction Relationship of 6 Cells of MESp 4C’s and Learning Supervision Phases Congruence
INTENTION OBSERVATION
TraAntecedentsnsaction
Judgment Contingencies
Second, it is necessary to modify the Stake evaluation model with other evaluation models through the Organizational Elements Model (OEM). OEM is a stage for
Figure 8.
5. Conclusion
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The quality of teacher learning will have an impact on the quality of graduates; the quality of supervision will affect the quality of learning, and evaluation is carried out to assess the extent to which the supervision process is carried out. The learning in the 21st century era is required to create the learning with 4 (four) character skills including Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, and Collaboration and Communication (4 C's). The evaluation carried out is expected to provide information on the implementation of 4 C based Thesupervision.studies on supervision were found a lot, but the ones related to the 4 Cs implementation supervision did not exist. The evaluation results' recommendation will have an impact on improving classroom learning by the teachers and the evaluation of the principal's mastery as a supervisor regarding the implementation of 4 C's. This article will lead to the conceptual framework of developing an appropriate evaluation model based on the stages of learning supervision based on 4 C's. MESp 4C's is built based on five stages. The first is based on the relevance of the learning stages (planning, learning, and assessment processes) with the learning supervision stages (pre observation, observation, and post observation), as well as the evaluation stages of the Stake model (antecedent, transaction, outcomes).
STANDARD PRE OBSERVATION OBSERVATION POST OBSERVATION
189 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. evaluators to determine the appropriate evaluation model to use. Proper modification of the evaluation model was obtained, namely The Discrepancy Evaluation Models (DEM). The Interim Product stage was more appropriate to use than the outcome one so that the evaluation model stage became Antecedent, Transaction, and InterimProduct (ATIp). Third, every step of 4C's implementation supervision will always be evaluated. Fourth, there were feedback activities (self, peer, superior) to produce continuous evaluation supervision learning activities, based on the 360o feedback theory. Fifth, it made MESp 4C's like an evaluation model with a modified six cells of the Stack model. MESp 4C's was equipped with the data on the suitability of the descriptions between instances and observations, the assessment data between observations and standards, contingencies and congruence data, and feedback activity data.
The research recommendation is the need to compile the MESp 4C's design and to conduct trials in several schools. This study's limitation is that the data on the results of the mod,el effectiveness test cannot be obtained quickly because it requires an extended trial period and involves many schools.
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Youjiang
Abstract Learning theories and empirical findings have widely recognized academic motivation as the driving force behind student academicperformance.However,recentfindingshave indicatedthe need to pay attention to drive academic motivation among undergraduate students in China. Therefore, this present study examines the direct and indirect effects of classroom climate on student academic motivation in higher education. A total of 119 undergraduate students from a medical college in China was approached to respond to a survey questionnaire. The data analysis result shows that classroom climate significantly and positively affects student academic motivation and that the relationship is significantly mediated by academic self efficacy. Particularly, the relationship established in this study additionally indicates that a planned and cohesive classroom climate can effectively improve student academic motivation. Indicatively, a planned and fair classroom climate effectually builds students' self efficacy in their learning. This study highlights the indispensable and pivotal role that a positive classroom climate plays in motivating students to be more engaged and learn effectively. Also, the findings of this study provide guidance and references for stakeholders, school administrators, and lecturers in building and sustaining a positive and healthy classroom climate for better learning.
Qiumei Wang University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, China https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9698 059X Kenny Cheah Soon Lee University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9881 582X
194 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 194 213, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.112020 The Effect of Classroom Climate on Academic Motivation Mediated by Academic Self-Efficacy in a Higher Education Institute in China
Kazi Enamul Hoque University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 8152 9250
Keywords: Classroom Climate; Academic Motivation; Academic Self Efficacy; Academic Performance
1. Introduction Learning theories like Self determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and Self worth Theory (Covington, 1992), as well as empirical researches, have clearly posited the crucial role that academic motivation plays in facilitating students’ academic performance (Bailey & Phillips, 2016; Cleary & Kitsantas, 2017; Froiland & Worrell, 2016; Ladd & Sorensen, 2017). Effective learning process relies upon the triggering of academic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Students who find interest, value, and enjoyment in the learning process, indicate more engagement and persistence in learning activities (Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand & Brière, 2001; Ratelle, Guay, Vallerand, Larose & Senécal, 2007). Consequently, strongly motivated students exert more effort to complete tasks (Wolters, 2004), and display higher levels of academic achievement (Mega, Ronconi & De Beni, 2014; Supervia & Bordas, 2018). Evidently, the role of motivation in learning is heavily documented; however, the complexity and breadth of the notion of motivation requires an introspective lens using classroom climate and self efficacy. It is quite disturbing that researches have revealed a low level of academic motivation among undergraduate students (Gao & Gao, 2015; Liu, 2013; Qiu, 2013), especially among science students in China (Gou, 2016; Zhao, 2015). In addition, only 45 percent of undergraduate students conveyed that they only focused on their studies in professional course classes. When it came to the selective course classes, the percentage declined to 18 percent (Wang & Lin, 2018). This could be explained by the disconnection between the instructional goals employed in undergraduate courses and the classroom climate, which could have an influence on the academic and developmental motivation of learners (Lerdpornkulrat, Koul & Poondej, 2018). Instructional strategies are not sufficient to drive motivation (Wang & Lin, 2018) since motivation is individual driven. Therefore, personal factors like self efficacy could be a potential factor in improving students’ motivation through the classroom environment.
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Among various school factors, preceding studies tend to investigate the well known effects of teachers on students’ academic motivation (Maulana, Helms Lorenz, Irnidayanti & van de Grift, 2016; Saggaf, Nasriyah, Salam & Wirawan, 2018); however, limited information is offered to explain the effects of classroom climate on student academic motivation and how the effect happens in higher education setting in China. In a systematic review of literature on the effects of classroom climate, Wang, Degol, Amemiya, Parr and Guo (2020) established the abundance of studies relating a positive learning environment with psychological well being of students; however, it was noted that a great deal of these studies were centered on young learners as they cited the need to further examine this relationship in the higher education setting particularly in Asian countries. In response to this, an analysis of the relationship between classroom climate, academic self efficacy, and students’ motivation could establish the need to build and sustain a positive learning environment in higher education institutions in RecentChina
research conducted by Huang and Bai (2017) has found the positive influence of classroom climate on undergraduates’ academic motivation and the
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mediating effect that self efficacy exerts in their relationship. However, Huang and Bai (2017) did not take into account other factors regarding classroom climate except for classmate relation and teacher support, nor did they test the reliability and validity of the research instrument, which makes the findings questionable.
1. How are perceived classroom climate and academic self efficacy related to student academic motivation?
This study takes Self determination Theory (SDT) as an approach to understand student motivation in the classroom context. SDT presents a remarkable framework based on several motivation theories to understand the reciprocity of sociocultural conditions and individual personality (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Besides the conceptualization of motivation from external to internal, SDT also emphasizes the concept of basic psychological needs. SDT theorists believe that three internal psychological needs in human nature need to be met through interaction with the environment: autonomy or the desire to establish inner coherence and to feel self directed; competence or the needs to feel confident in one's interactions with the social environment through exercising and expressing one's abilities; relatedness or the desire to feel integral and connected with others (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan, Rigby & Przybylski, 2006). Accordingly, the environment that satisfies or fulfils students’ basic needs is predicted to support their self motivation, engagement, and well being. In organizations, the significance of motivation is determined by the extent it influences professional satisfaction, task performance, and holistic wellness (Deci, Olafsen & Ryan, 2017). That is to say, the extent to which students’ psychological needs are met by the perceived classroom climate is expected to be associated with their motivation to learn.
Thus, this study presents a specific and validated illustration of the relationship among classroom climate, student academic motivation, and self efficacy in the context of undergraduate medical students in China. On the strength of the above mentioned theoretical and empirical research approaches, three research questions are formulated for the present study:
2. Literature Review Self determination Theory
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2. Which dimension of perceived classroom climate significantly predicts student academic motivation and academic self efficacy?
3. Does academic self efficacy have a mediating effect on the relationship between classroom climate and student academic motivation?
Figure 1: The Hierarchical Model for Motivation (source: Vallerand, 1997)
In order to differentiate short term motivation from long term motivation, SDT maps the Hierarchical Model for Motivation to categorize motivation into three levels: global, contextual, and situational (Guay, Mageau & Vallerand, 2003; Vallerand, 1997; Vallerand, 2000) as shown in Figure 1. The global level is highly abstract since the motivational orientations of an individual are due to personal identity. The contextual level is less abstract as it describes the perceived relationship of an individual to other concrete materials or organizations like schools. The situational level, which is the focus of this study, is more specific compared to global and contextual levels because it depicts an individual’s motivational response to a specific activity. In the educational setting, students’ general feelings towards school and learning affect their approaches to the learning environment and tasks. Conversely, classroom learning activities can affect the students’ approaches to learning in general (Stolk, Jacobs, Girard & Pudvan, 2018).
Academic Motivation
Conceptualized in the context of SDT, academic motivation is the driving force that empowers students to learn or participate in the learning process (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Academic motivation is usually divided into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic motivation has been conceptualized as the internal driving force of an individual to participate in a particular activity for his curiosity, interest, or fulfilment (Deci, Cascio & Krusell, 1975). It is linked with other components like exploration, learning goals, and intrinsic intellectuality (Vallerand, 1992). In contrast, extrinsic motivation is an inducement for a person to participate in a particular activity so as to gain rewards or to avoid punishment (Dev, 1997).
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Classroom Climate
Academic motivation is recognized as one of the most effective driving forces of student learning (Tucker, Zayco & Herman, 2002) as well as the only factor that guarantees students’ academic achievement (Griffin, MacKewn, Moser & VanVuren, 2012). Among the numerous factors contributing to students’ performance and academic achievement, academic motivation is considered as one of the most significant elements (Tucker, Zayco & Herman, 2002). Subsequently, it helps to enhance students’ engagement (Pavlou, 2006), learning autonomy, and academic performance (Rana, Mahmood & Reid, 2015) in teaching and learning processes. More importantly, intrinsic academic motivation also has a positive significance on the reduction of stress and depression of undergraduate students, which could bring about a positive classroom atmosphere free from interpersonal conflicts (Huang, Lv & Wu, 2016).
Classroom climate is conceptualized as the intellectual, physical, emotional, and social environment in which students learn (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett & Norman, 2010). It includes the physical environment of the classroom, the interaction between teacher and students, and teacher’s behavioral and academic expectations of the students (O’Brennan, Bradshaw &Furlong, 2014). Wang et al. (2020) characterize a positive classroom setting as a safe, harmonious, and open environment, which could be influenced by the dynamics of the participants and the prevalent learning culture.
Empirical evidence suggests that a self governed and healthy environment in the classroom positively contributed to students learning outcomes (Barksdale, 2017; Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, White & Salovey, 2012), and academic motivation (Anderson, Hamilton & Hattie, 2004). A classroom with a teacher’s coaching and inspiration will lead to better coaching and encouragement among students, as well as motivation enhancement and prolonged student engagement (Seritanondh, 2013). Students in a teacher supported and teacher involved classroom indicate a higher level of motivation as students gain more enjoyment in the learning process and have more potential to achieve academic success; whereas, students in a classroom of teacher control and peer competition are more likely to face challengeslike learning weariness andanti school feelings (Fry & Coe, 1980). According to previous studies, a classroom climate of involvement, autonomy, and meaningfulness advances students’ motivational goal orientation (Ciani, Middleton, Summer & Sheldon, 2010; Lerdpornkulrat, Koul & Poondej, 2018). A classroom with good interpersonal relationship promotes student intrinsic motivation (Levy Tossman, Kaplan & Assor, 2007; Nelson & DeBacker, 2008). Conversely, a negative classroom climate with poor peer relationships deters the growth of students’ autonomous motivation in mathematics (Reindl, Berner, Scheunpflug, Zeinz & Dresel, 2015).
Additionally, in an agreeable and pleasant classroom climate, students feel safer, have more confidence in learning, and are not afraid of making mistakes (Morin, Marsh, Nagengast & Scalas, 2014). A classroomclimate of order significantly leads to the increase of reading motivation of efficacy, compliance, challenge, and aesthetics, and the whole process contributes to greater student academic
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A quantitative design and survey strategy were used to meet the research objectives. Data were drawn from 119 undergraduate students from a medical college located in Guangxi, China. Among the sample students, there were 25 males (21%) and 91 females (76.5%). The average age of the participants was 21 (SD = 1.4). The online questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate medical students via QQ email in different sessions. In PLS SEM, the needed sample size could be calculated by means of power analyses according to the part of the model obtaining the largest number of predictors (Hair, Hult, Ringle & Sarstedt, 2017).
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. achievement (Mucherah, Finch, Smith & Ambrose Stahl, 2014). Specifically, a teacher centered classroom climate facilitates undergraduates’ self efficacy in mathematics learning (Peters, 2013).
Academic Self-efficacy
Academic self efficacy is conceptualized as one’s confidence in his or her ability to complete learning tasks or achieve educational goals (Bandura, 2007). It is found to be multi faceted and could impact how individuals feel, think, and carry out instructive assignments (Sharma & Nasa, 2014). Self efficacy is developed on four bases of information, which are vicarious experiences, enactive mastery, physical and emotional states (Schunk & Pajares, 2002). As such, academic self efficacy could be pertinent in student educational performances as it comes along with corresponding behaviors and motivations that empower or debilitate compelling execution.
3. Method Research Design
Hair, et al. (2017) further suggested researchers use Programs such as G*Power to do power analysis specific to model set ups when utilizing PLS SEM. G*power is a free online software used to do power analysis and sample size calculation. The analysis result of G*Power shows that the required sample size of this study is 92 (effect size=.15, alpha= .05, beta=.80, No. of predictor=5), indicating that 119 samples are adequate for data analysis and the sample size does not have an effect on the result.
Scholars have posited that positive teaching and learning outcomes rely on affective and psychological factors like self efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Students, who believe that they have adequate capacity to complete tasks, tend to take specific actions to achieve their learning goals, which will bring about positive academic outcomes and success (Bandura, 1977). Additionally, Veresova (2016) argued that student academic self efficacy was resolutely associated with their academic motivation and contributed to their learning performance as well as academic achievement. Other empirical researches also confirmed the positive effects of student self efficacy on their academic motivation (Chi & Xin, 2006; Taheri Kharameh, Sharififard, Asayesh, Sepahvandi & Hoseini, 2018). These findings are reinforced by recent experimental research demonstrating that the training of self efficacy building strategies significantly contributes to the improvement of students’ academic self efficacy and motivation. In addition, the results also confirm the causal effect relationship between academic self efficacy and student motivation (Cave, Evans, Dewey & Hartshorn, 2018).
The CCQ is a 26 item questionnaire developed by Hu (2010) to assess undergraduate students’ perception of classroom climate in a college course. Classroom climate questionnaire includes five dimensions: a) cohesive, b) supportive, c) participative, d) planned, and e) fair. Cohesive dimension mainly reflects the extent to which students learn from each other, help each other, and support each other in the classroom. Supportive dimension focuses on the degree by which teachers are friendly, trustful, interested, and helpful to students in the classroom. Participative dimension reflects the degree of students’ concentration, interest, participation, and enjoyment in classroom discussion and learning. Planned dimension refers to the extent by which students complete classroom activities, goals, and tasks. Fair dimension refers to the degree by which students are treated fairly by teachers. Reliabilities of the five dimensions are .904 (cohesive, n=6 item), .921 (supportive, n=6 item), .911 (participative, n=4 item), .876 (planned, n=5 item), and .929 (fair, n=5 item). The results of confirmative factor analysis reveal that the indicator loading of each item is higher than .70, and AVE value of each dimension is in the range of .67 .80. In addition, the HTMT value of each dimension is smaller than .85.
Classroom Climate
Classroom climate was assessed with Classroom Climate Questionnaire (CCQ).
Instruments The current study used a questionnaire adopted from several scales. These scales consisted of a total of 43 items with a numerical rating scale ranging from 1 (not agree at all) to 9 (highest agreement). As a first step, the instrument was sent to three experts to validatethe content. Then, a panel of bilingual experts was invited to validate the translation via a double back translation technique (Zikmund, Babin, Carr & Griffin, 2010).
Student Academic Motivation
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Student academic motivation was measured by a sub-scale (i.e. goal orientation) of MSLQ. Goal orientation regards students’ goals in a subject or course as a whole, i.e. academic motivation. Intrinsic goal orientation assessed students’ self perceived degrees to participate in learning tasks out of reasons like interest, curiosity, and challenge. Extrinsic goal orientation regards students’ self
Academic Self efficacy Academic self efficacy was measured by a sub scale titled Self Efficacy for Learning and Performance of Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, and McKeachie (1991). The sub scale was utilized to measure the level of students’ perceived ability and confidence in a course. MSLQ was designed on the basis of a general cognitive perspectives on learning motivation and strategies and a theoretical framework proposed by McKeachie, Pintrich, Lin, and Smith (1986). This instrument has been widely used for many years and has been tested as reliable and valid in contemporary researches (Basila, 2016; Bibi, 2017; Rush, 2013; Taylor, 2012, Vaculíková, 2016). The reliability test indicates a high reliability of this scale. The reliability of the self efficacy is .936 (n=8 item). The result of confirmative factor analysis reveals that the indicator loading of each item is higher than .70, AVE value is .71, HTMT value is smaller than .85.
7.Planned
5.Supportive
.67
Construct
6.Participative
201 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. perceived degrees to participate in learning tasks out of reasons, for example grades, rewards, competing with others, or evaluation by others. Therefore, this study adopts intrinsic goal orientation to evaluate intrinsic motivation and extrinsic goal orientation to assess extrinsic motivation. Reliabilities of the two dimensions are .842 (intrinsic, n=4 item), and .866 (extrinsic, n=4 item). The result of confirmative factor analysis shows that the indicator loading of each item was higher than .70, and AVE value of each dimension is .68 and .72 respectively. Additionally, the HTMT value of each dimension is smaller than .85.
4.Cohesive
.57
7 8 9 1.
.63***
8.Fair
.61
.34 .48
.63
Table
.60*** .73*** 1
.59
.81
.60
.75
.60
4. Results Table 1 summarizes the descriptive statistics of classroom climate (CC), self efficacy (SE), academic motivation (AM), and the sub constructs of classroom climate and academic motivation. The means of all constructs were higher than 6.34, indicating that students showed a generally high level of perceived academic self efficacy, academic motivation, and classroom climate.
4
.41
.69
Table 1: Mean, SD, Skewness and Kurtosis of Constructs Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis Cohesive 7.49 .96 .54 .08 Supportive 6.42 1.29 .54 .47 Participative 6.64 1.29 .61 .74 Planned 7.31 .96 .37 .18 Fair 7.23 1.18 .62 .13 Intrinsic 7.34 .99 .64 .18 Extrinsic 7.52 1.08 .66 .18 SE 7.04 1.09 .39 .21 AM 7.43 .94 .17 CC 7.02 .96 With regard to the first research question, Pearson correlation was employed to analyze the relationship between perceived classroom climate, academic self efficacy, and academic motivation using SPSS 24. Inter correlations among the ten constructs are shown in Table 2. The result revealed strong correlation between classroom climate and academic self efficacy (r=.75, p < .001), classroom climate and academic motivation (r = .66, p < .001), and students’ self efficacy and their academic motivation (r=.75, p < .001). Unexpectedly, all the constructs were also strongly associated. 2: Inter-correlations among Constructs 1 2 3 5 6 CC 1 2. AM .66*** 1 3.SE .75*** *** 1 .79*** *** *** 1 .86*** *** .53*** .57*** 1 .89*** .48*** .61*** .62*** *** 1 .83*** .72*** .75*** .65*** *** 1 .83*** *** *** *** ***
10. Extrinsic .55*** .92*** .62*** .53*** .35*** .39*** .62*** .49*** .65***
In order to examine which dimension of perceived classroom climate significantly predicts student academic motivation and academic self efficacy, stepwise multiple regression technique was employed to explore the causal effect among the constructs. Table 3 illustrates the output of multiple regression analysis of the dimension of classroom climate on academic motivation and self efficacy.
The above result specified that among the five dimensions of classroom climate, two dimensions significantly correlate and contribute (55.7%) to student academic motivation. The dominant planned dimension (β=.546, p=.000) was found to contribute 51.8% of the variance to student academic motivation, and the cohesive dimension (β=.271, p=.002) contribute 3.9% of the variance to academic motivation. Accordingly, when the planned dimension and cohesive dimension of the classroom climate increase by one unit of standard deviation, student academic motivation will increase by .546 and .271 unit of standard deviation, respectively. Hence, the planned dimension and cohesive dimension have a strong and modest effect on student academic motivation (Muijs, 2011), Inrespectively.regardtothe
Note. *** Correlation is significant at the .001 level (2 tailed)
Table 3: Multiple Regression of Classroom Climate on Academic Motivation and Self efficacy Dimension of Classroom Climate b β t Sig. R² % Planned > AM .532 .546 6.526 .000 .518 51.8 Cohesive > AM .265 .271 3.244 .002 .557 3.9 Planned-> SE .602 .531 6.044 .000 .567 56.7 Fair > SE .281 .304 3.462 .001 .603 3.8
significant predictors of classroom climate to student academic self efficacy, the dimension of planned (β=.531, p=.000) and fair (β=.304, p=.001) were concluded in the prediction model. The planned dimension was found to contribute 56.7% of the variance to academic self efficacy (R²=.567), and the combination of planned and fair dimensions accounted for 60.3% of the student self efficacy (R²=.603). Based on the interpretation showed in Table 4, the two models demonstrated a large effect size on academic self efficacy as a whole. Additionally, the dimension of planned and fair had a strong and modest effect on self efficacy, respectively. Subsequently, software SmartPLS 3 was applied to examine the indirect influence that academic self efficacy exerted on the relationship between classroom climate and student academic motivation. Table 4 covers the relationship between variables in the model, and Figure 2 presents a structural illustration of the relationships. In Figure 2, the inner model depicts the path coefficients (β) and T values, and the outer model shows the T-values.
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9.Intrinsic .64*** .90*** .74*** .61*** .40*** .47*** .70*** .59*** 1
5. Discussion Results obtained from data analysis have a number of implications; however, they should be interpreted with SDT and previous related findings.
First, the classroom climate significantly and positively affects student academic motivation. The findings of this study affirm the research results of Huang and Bai (2017) and Lerdpornkulrat (2018), which indicated that a healthy and positive classroom climate was pivotal for the improvement of student academic motivation. Specifically, a cohesive classroom climate, in which students learn and support each other, significantly improves academic motivation. This is
203 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 4: Summary of the Direct and Indirect Effect in the Model Path β t Sig. CC > AM .242 2.454 .014 CC > SE .762 16.409 .000 SE -> AM .576 6.356 .000 CC > SE > AM 5.688 .000
Figure 2: The Structural Model Assessment
According to the output shown in Figure 2 and table 4, the direct effect of classroom climate on student academic motivation is estimated at β =.242, and the indirect effect which is the multiplication of both indirect paths (.762 × .576) equals to .439, leaving the standardized total effect (indirect + direct) at .681 (Hair et al, 2010). The direct path of classroom climate and academic motivation is supported; meanwhile, the two indirect paths (classroom climate academic self efficacy academic motivation) are also confirmed (see Table 4). The result reveals that academic self efficacy partially mediates the relationship between classroom climate and student academic motivation since both direct and indirect effects are established.
Second,learning.the influence of classroom climate on student academic motivation is mediated by academic self-efficacy. The result is consistent with SDT and the findings reported in the research conducted in mainland China context (Huang & Bai, 2017). Students, who believe that their psychological needs are met in the social environment or who study in a positive and healthy classroom climate, indicate a higher level of confidence in their ability and academic motivation.
Third, a planned and fair classroom contributed to the improvement of self efficacy. This is echoed by the research findings of Mucherah et al. (2014), which shows that a well planned classroom climate helps to increase students’ reading motivation. When the students complete classroom learning tasks and are treated equally, it helps them to build their self confidence to achieve their learning goals and then improves their motivation to pursue personal development.
Finally,students.the planned dimension of classroom climate has a very robust impact on student motivation (β=.546) and self efficacy (β=.531), indicating that among the three psychological needs, competence is the most important for undergraduate
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echoed by the findings of Anderson et al. (2004) noting that when secondary students felt a higher level of friendship in a classroom, they were more motivated to learn. More importantly, a planned classroom, in which students complete classroom tasks in high quality, greatly contributes to the improvement of student academic motivation (R²=51.8%).
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Nevertheless, this study also found that a supportive classroom climate was closely correlated with (p<.001) but insignificantly influences student academic motivation. This is aligned with the previous findings (Fry & Coe, 1980) that teacher support was indispensable for the enhancement of student academic motivation; however, this is inconsistent with the findings of Huang and Bai (2017) stating that teacher support significantly and positively influenced student academic motivation. A probable reason for this inconsistency could have been the participant characteristics. As adult learners, undergraduates are less affected by teachers compared with primary and secondary students. According to the latest research, medical students indicated a higher level of autonomy in learning (Su, Ye, Li, Wei, Du & Lu, 2014). They have heavy learning tasks and devote a long time in learning so as to meet their higher academic requirements, making them live in a comparatively strong and competitive learning atmosphere. This atmosphere consequences further facilitates the development of their autonomy
Fourth, the descriptive result recommends that the respondents of this study are highly motivated to learn. This is contradictory to the findings of Gao & Gao (2015), Liu (2013), and Qiu (2013) which indicate the insufficiency of academic motivation among college students. A conceivable explanation for this might be the better academic background of medical students compared with other disciplined students. In China, high school students need to get a higher score in the national college entrance examination so as to get the chance to be medical
7. References Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research based principles for smart teaching. CA: John Wiley & Sons. Anderson, A., Hamilton, R. J., & Hattie, J. (2004). Classroom climate and motivated behaviour in secondary schools. Learning Environments Research, 7(3), 211 225.
6. Conclusion After analyzing the data collected from 119 medical students from a higher education institute, the results concluded the significant influence that classroom climate exerted on student academic motivation and the mediating effect of academic self efficacy in the relationship. This study also indicated that among the five dimensions of classroom climate, a planned and fair classroom climate significantly improved student self efficacy and a cohesive and planned classroom climate helps to motivate students to learn. This stresses the essence of a healthy and well organized classroom climate in student learning. For policymakers and stakeholders, more related educational policies regarding classroom climate should be made, and they can also set classroom climate evaluation as a criterion to assess education practitioners. Standards regarding the management of positive classroom climates are heavily valued in America (Schonert Reichl et al, 2017); whereas, related standards and policies in China cannot be found in the present literature. For school administrators, they need to safeguard teachers’ actions within the classroom, which are consistent with research based factors advised by this study and previous literature to promote student academic motivation and performance. Also, school administrators can launch programs that can effectively facilitate the classroom climate to improve student academic motivation. For lecturers, they can obtain the message that the promotion of a positive classroom climate is highly crucial and beneficial for students’ academic performance. They can also build a classroom environment with a harmonious student relationship, treat the students in an equivalent way, and offer them more prospects to complete learning tasks. Despite the highlighted significant contributions of this study, further research could give a generalizable perspective by covering a larger sample size and population from different colleges and universities. In addition, exploratory studies could further explain the ways classroom environment are designed to further motivate students and improve their self efficacy. Nevertheless, the findings of this study accentuate the notion that more meaning should be embedded in the design of learningtasksto meetstudents’needs ofcompetence and to build their confidence and motivation.
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211 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix 1 Questionnaire for students Dear students, This survey is conducted to better understand the relationship between classroom climate, student academic self efficacy and learning motivation so as to provide reference for the improvement of teaching and learning Thequality.questionnaire only needs to be answered according to your actual situation, there is no right or wrong answer. This survey does not require you to provide your names, and your answers are kept confidential. We sincerely hope to get your cooperation and support. Thank you. Part I: Demographic Information Please tick or fill in your relevant information in the description below Gender: A. male B. female School Year: A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 Age: ________ Part PleaseII: circle one of the options that you think is most suitable in the following items in accordance with your actual situation. For example: not agree at all highest agreement classroom climate Item 1=not agree at all 9=highest agreement 1 I am very friendly to my classmates. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 Many of the students in this course are my friend 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3 I am very happy to work with my classmates on this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4 I will help my classmates in this course if they have trouble. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 The classmates in this course like me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 6 In this course, I got help from other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 The lecturer is concerned about me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 The lecturer took the trouble to help me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 The lecturer cares about my feeling. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The lecturer is happy to talk to me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 The lecturer is interested in the learning problems I have encountered. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 The lecturer walked around the classroom and talked to us. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
212 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 13 I put forward my own point of view in the discussion. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 14 My insights and opinions are used in class discussion. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15 Classmates and I discuss ways to solve problems. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 16 Everyone asked me to explain the solution to the problem. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 17 I follow the lesson plan to learn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 18 I understand the learning objectives of this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 19 I understand the goal I have to work on in this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 I always concentrate on my class. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 21 I try my best to understand the teaching content. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 22 The lecturer gave me as much attention as other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 23 The lecturer gave me as much help as other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 24 I have the opportunity to speak in class as much as other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 25 The lecture treats me as good as other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 26 I got the opportunity to participate in the discussion in class, as much as other students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Self efficacy Item 1=not agree at all 9=highest agreement 1 I believe I will receive an excellent grade in this class. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 I'm certain I can understand the most difficult material presented in the readings for this course 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3 I'm confident I can learn the basic concepts taught in this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4 I'm confident I can understand the most complex material presented by the instructor in this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 I'm confident I can do an excellent job on the assignments and tests in this course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
213 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 6 I expect to do well in this class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 I'm certain I can master the skills being taught in this class. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 Considering the difficulty of this course, the teacher, and my skills, I think I will do well in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Academic motivation Item 1=not agree at all 9=highest agreement 1 In a class like this, I prefer course material that really challenges me so I can learn new things. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 In a class like this, I prefer course material that arouses my curiosity, even if it is difficult to learn. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3 The most satisfying thing for me in this course is trying to understand the content as thoroughly as possible 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4 When I have the opportunity in this class, I choose course assignments that I can learn from even if they don't guarantee a good grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 Getting a good grade in this class is the most satisfying thing for me right now. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 6 The most important thing for me right now is improving my overall grade point average, so my main concern in this class is getting a good grade. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 If I can, I want to get better grades in this class than most of the other students 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 I want to do well in this class because it is important to show my ability to my family, friends, employer, or others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Salma Al Humaidi*, Abdo Al Mekhlafi and Maher Abu Hilal Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman https://orcid.org/0000 0001 8579 7749 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 2821 6199 https://orcid.org/0000 0002 7026 498X
Abstract. The current study investigated the extent to which metacognitive writing strategies are used by Omani EFL (English as a Foreign Language) grade twelve students. It also explored if there is a significant relationship between grade 12 students' use of metacognitive writing strategies and their language performance. Besides, it examined gender differences in the use of these strategies. The sample of the study was 263 Omani EFL grade twelve students from Batinah North Governorate in the academic year 2018/2019. Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS) and semi structured interviews were used to collect data. The results of the study revealed that students use the three types of metacognitive writing strategies; planning, monitoring and evaluating at high frequencies. However, the findings revealed no significant relationship between students' use of the three types of metacognitive strategies and their language performance. Moreover, students differ in terms of gender in using metacognitive writing strategies. Female students tend to use more metacognitive strategies in writing compared to male students. In light of these findings, implications for practice and future studies have been recommended.
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Keywords: Metacognitive strategies; Writing; Language performance; Oman 1. Introduction Over the past decades, writing has received more attention from researchers due to the growing recognition of language acquisition as well as professional demands. Researchers explain that possessing good writing skills has a positive impact on learners’ academic achievement (Abedin, Hossein, Naseri, and Taghizadeh, 2013; Binandeh, Rahmani and Raoofi, 2017; Briody, Shang, and Wei,
Ibtisam Sultan Al Moqbali Ministry of Education, Oman https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3669 170X
Metacognitive Writing Strategies Used by Omani Grade Twelve Students
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2012) as it helps learners “to remember, observe, think, and communicate.” (as cited by Barras in Briody et al., 2012, p.155). Moreover, getting better job perspectives and promotions in the world of globalization where English is considered a lingua franca, put more emphasis on writing skill as a fundamental requirement (Binandeh et al., 2017, Briody et al., 2012). Yet, writing in a second language is not an easy task. Unlike speaking, writing is a complex and challenging process in which writers try to transmit their knowledge, thoughts and ideas on papers to be read and understood by a reader who is not present.
Actually, several important gaps have been identified with regard to studies on metacognitive writing strategies. First, there is little research on school students’ metacognitive writing strategies as the majority of the work targeted learners in the higher education sector. Second, investigating metacognitive writing strategies in the Omani context is absent and there is a scarce descriptive study
2. Is there any significant relationship between the types of metacognitive writing strategies students use and their English language performance?
Indeed, there has been a popular agreement and recognition of the significant role of writing strategies in enhancing language performance (Diaz, 2013; Nasihan & Cahyono, 2017; Okasha & Hamdi, 2014; Binandeh et al., 2017). Compared to L1 in which writers can automatically access grammatical and lexical collections while writing (Binandeh et al., 2017), it is more challenging in the foreign language that compels writers to consciously use strategy to access the knowledge they have (Okasha & Hamdi, 2014). Writing strategies refer to particular processes, methods, or techniques deployed by learners to enhance and improve their writing (Baker & Boonkit, 2004; Bai, Hu and Gu, 2014). According to Riazi and Wenden (as cited in Xiao, 2016), there are four types of writing strategies: rhetorical, metacognitive, cognitive, and social/ affective strategies. Rhetorical strategies help writers to organize and present their ideas, whereas metacognitive strategies include monitoring and evaluating the writing process. Cognitive strategies are concerned with implementing the actual writing, and social/ affective strategies focus on interaction with others, motivation, emotions, and attitudes in writing (Xiao, 2016). Among these strategies, metacognitive is considered the most important as they assist learners to direct, guide, and control their learning as well as foster the way to be active, aware, independent, autonomous, and life long learners (Boghian, 2016; Bouirane, 2015; Haukas, 2018; Oz, 2005). This study attempts to investigate the metacognitive writing strategies used by grade 12 students in Oman through answering the following research questions:
Accordingly, it requires a proper choice, link, and sequence of sentences to ensure that the text “can be interpreted on its own” (Byrne, 1979, p.4, 5). Therefore, researchers in the area of second language learning have been trying to find techniques to help and support learners in writing, especially struggling writers.
3. Are there any significant differences between grade twelve males and females in the type of metacognitive writing strategies they use?
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1. To what extent do grade twelve Omani students use the different types of metacognitive writing strategies?
The second phase in the cognitive process is the writer's long term memory that includes his knowledge about the topic, the audience, the plans, and the problem that contributes to the flow of the writing process. The last phase is the writing process. This stage includes three processes: planning, translating, and reviewing. In the planning process, the writers make decisions and choices about the knowledge that will be used in their composition. It involves three sub processes: generating ideas, organizing, and goal setting. Translating refers to transforming ideas into "visible language" (Flower & Hayes, 1981, p. 373). Finally, reviewing includes two sub processes, which are evaluating and revising.
The Cognitive Process Model was introduced to fill the gaps in the Stage Model of Writing that puts great attention on the written product neglecting how the writers approach the writing task (Flower & Hayes, 1981). The advocates of this model were Linda Flower and John Hayes. According to them, the main unit in the writing process is the mental process, which learners focus on to generate their final written product (Flower & Hayes, 1981; Onozawa, 2010). The Cognitive Process Model encompasses three major units presenting writing elements: the task environment, writers' long term memory, and writing process. First, the task environment includes the rhetorical problem, and the text produced so far.
Byrne (1979) defines writing as "a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together in certain ways." (p.1). Hacker, Keener, and Kircher (2009) take this definition one step further by laying stress on the writing process. They note, "writing is the production of thought for oneself or others under the direction of one's goal directed metacognitive monitoring and control, and the translation of that thought into an external symbolic representation." (Hacker et al., 2009, p.154). Similarly, Flower and Hayes (1981) state that writing is a process of decisions and choices. However, it was not until the 1980s that researchers started to consider writing as a process rather than a mere product (Onozawa, 2010); transforming from focusing on accuracy to exploring writers’ progress through the writing task (Xiao, 2016). Hence, several models have emerged to describe and understand the complexity of the writing process.
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Rhetorical problem refers to the assignment from which the learners can identify the topic, audience, and their role. Solving the problem needs higher order thinking skills and strategies, which indicate the role of metacognitive strategies in this process. Besides, the text that is already written influences the writer's choice of either to continue to write or to stop to modify what has been written.
2.1 The Cognitive Process Model
2. Literature Review
The aforementioned processes are recursive, which is a key feature of the cognitive process model (Hacker et al., 2009; Victori, 1995). In this spiral and
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. exploring metacognitive strategies. Hence, because of these gaps, and to further contribute to this field of study, the results of the present research will hopefully assist teachers to be aware of the metacognitive writing strategies students use and could lead to a varied inclusion of these strategies in the future syllabus. Moreover, the study could provide suggestions for enhancing writing classes in light of the findings of this study.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. cyclical process, the writer plays the role of a monitor as he needs to check his composition throughout the process and thinks how to modify it to reach the intended meaning. For instance, in the translating process, the writer might monitor what he has already written which might lead to a "new cycle of planning and transforming." (Flower and Hayes, 1981, p.374).
The Knowledge telling process and knowledge transforming process were influential within the process model. Bereiter and Scardamalia introduced the model in 1992 to address the problem of how to translate thoughts into written form (Victori, 1995). They claim that "not all writers are able to transform those mental ideas into some kind of coherent written form" (Victori, 1995, p. 21). More specifically, the two models explain the differences between mature (expert) and immature (novice) writers in the way they transform their knowledge and ideas into the writing process.
2.2.2 Knowledge Transforming Model
This is a model of mature writers. It is also considered a process within which the former model is embedded (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 2013). In this model, the text is not transcribed immediately. Instead, it is preceded by problem solving aspects; e.g. problem analysis, planning, setting goals, and paying attention to the readers (Victori, 1995). Through this process, writers go through continuing revision and rethinking which leads to new sub goals for the text (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 2013). Mature writers who use this model are expected to use metacognitive strategies during their composition. Interestingly, Camps (as cited in Victori, 1995) argues that most of the students at school follow the knowledge telling model, which explains the obstacles students face in writing. Bereiter and Scardamalia (as cited in Victori, 1995) recommended that to improve students' composition, they should go beyond the knowledge telling model; use more knowledge transforming which requires applying higher
Despite paying less attention to grammar and structure and giving little significance to the final product, the cognitive process model helps in generating and increasing students' intrinsic motivation as learners feel free to manage their own writing without being stuck to the traditional controlled writing (Onozawa, 2010).
2.2 The Knowledge Telling and the Knowledge Transforming Models
Moreover, Hacker et al. (2009) explain that monitoring might include reading, re reading, reflecting, andreviewing. Theyargue that these strategies are monitoring strategies of thoughts, which presents writing as "applied metacognitive" (p. 161).
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2.2.1 The Knowledge Telling Model
It is a model of immature writers. In this model, the writer focuses his attention on the topic. He tries to find some cues to activate his passive knowledge stored in his memory and then starts writing directly. Once the writer starts composing, the produced units of the text act like another cue or identifier for getting another stored knowledge (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 2013). Accordingly, the writer generates a text without applying the problem solving strategies put forward by Flower’s and Hayes’s model.
2.4.1 Planning Planning involves thinking about and focusing on the goals to be accomplished and how to achieve them (Anderson, 2002). Self questioning strategies are used to identify various components such as purpose, audience, and strategies to be used ( Diaz, 2013; Xiao, 2016). Flower and Hayes (1981) listed three types of planning strategies: generating ideas, setting goals, and organizing. Generating ideas involve forming new information, using old ideas and information from long term memory, making connections, and thinking about examples. Setting goals include content goals (e.g. text structure and audience), and process goal (how to proceed). Finally, organizing refers to filtering and choosing the most useful content generated and putting them in a writing plan (Xiao, 2016).
Due to the transformation in the learning process that views learners as active thinkers, language learning strategies have been considered as a significant cognitive factor involved in writing acquisition (Victori, 1995 & Zhan, 2016). Writing strategies refer to particular methods, processes, or techniques deployed by learners to enhance and improve their writing (Baker & Boonkit, 2004; Bai et al, 2014). Victori (1995) noted that there is no agreement on these processes as well as the labels used for them. This has led to the emergence of a variety of writing strategy taxonomies; e.g. Arndt, 1987; Riazi, 1997; Sasaki, 2000; Victori, 1990; and Wenden, 1991 (as cited in Mu, 2005). Yet, one of the contributions that are worth mentioning is Mu's taxonomy (2005) as it synthesizes the aforementioned taxonomies. Mu classifies writing strategies into five types: rhetorical, metacognitive, cognitive, communicative, and social/ affective.
Metacognitive writing strategies can be defined as strategies that “are used to monitor the writing process consciously and evaluate the effectiveness of writing actions.” (Xiao, 2016, p.20). Metacognitive strategies play a vital role in language learning. Metacognitive writing strategies such as paying attention and overviewing help learners to stay focused and maintain concentration while writing (Oxford, 1990, p. 136). In addition, these strategies assist learners to plan their learning efficiently and effectively. Moreover, metacognitive writing strategies promote language acquisition, as the learner is aware of his learning (Rahimi & Katal, 2012). Moreover, learners’ ability to adapt their learning to new contexts and tasks will increase as they are exposed to more strategies (Chick, 2014). More significantly, metacognitive writing strategies contribute to more autonomous and independent learning (Diaz, 2013; Mu, 2005). Hence, metacognitive writing strategies “can lead to more profound learning and improved performance, especially among learners who are struggling.” (Anderson, 2002, p.2). Metacognitive writing strategies are categorized into three types: planning, monitoring and evaluating.
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2.3 Writing Strategies
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. level thinking strategies. In other words, students need to be aware of and use a variety of metacognitive writing strategies while completing writing tasks.
2.4 Metacognitive Writing Strategies
Razi (2012) investigated the metacognitive writing strategies of 250 Cypriot University students. The results demonstrated that less than half of the participants were aware of metacognitive writing strategies; indicating "lack of training in terms of strategy use" (Razi, 2012, p.10). However, a strong positive correlation was found between students’ grades and metacognitive writing strategies; successful students used more metacognitive strategies than medium and weak students did. For further clarification, the researcher interviewed six teachers who reported metacognitive strategies were confined by time, which might contribute negatively to students’ awareness of these strategies. Similar to Razi (2012), Briody et al. (2012) conducted a study to explore the relationship between English writing ability level and EFL learners’ use of metacognitive strategies. Majoring in applied English, 152 students at a university in Taiwan, completed a questionnaire designed by the researchers along with a composition test to classify their writing levels. The results revealed that high level writers use more metacognitive strategies than low level writers do, particularly in the planning and reviewing stages. Furthermore, by employing a multiple regression analysis, it was found that the planning stage is an important factor to predict the level of students’ writing. Accordingly, the researchers suggested that instructors train students on how to plan before writing; e.g. generating complete ideas and making an outline before writing. Zhan (2016), working with 93 Chinese college students, found that among four categories of metacognitive strategies, selective attention was the most frequently used while self evaluating was the least. The researcher also found that successful writers used metacognitive strategies more than unsuccessful writers, which shows the role of these strategies in improving students’ writing. In the same vein, Azizi et al. (2017) examined the correlation between the use of metacognitive writing strategies and writing performance. The study was based on a questionnaire and a writing test completed by 30 Iranian female EFL learners and it showed a strong and positive correlation between metacognitive strategies and students' writing performance. In addition, unlike Razi’s finding, the evaluating stage showed the strongest correlation to predict writing performance. In contrast to previous studies, a study by Abdollahzadeh (2010), on 230 undergraduate students in Iran, showed no significant differences in the
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2.4.2 Monitoring Monitoring, also identified as self monitoring, is "a conscious control and regulation of the writing process." (Xiao, 2016). It involves assessing, self questioning, verifying, controlling, directing, and arranging the writing performance while composing (Anderson, 2002; Diaz, 2013; Xiao,2016).
2.4.3 Evaluation/ self evaluating Evaluation is defined as checking back to decide about the effectiveness and the quality of one’s composition with respect to the intended goals (Anderson, 2002; Nemouchi, 2017, Xiao, 2016). It also encompasses reactions that should be taken based on the evaluation of the composition.
Monitoring helps learners to evaluate the effectiveness of writing strategies and to decide whether ideas need to be changed or added.
2.5 Studies on Metacognitive Writing Strategies
This study aims to investigate metacognitive writing strategies used by Omani EFL grade twelve students. To achieve this, the study adopted a quantitative descriptive design as the researchers “express the relationship between variables using effect statistics, such as correlations, relative frequencies, or differences between means” (Hopkins, 2000, p.1). A questionnaire was used as the main instrument to collect quantitative data. Besides, for further investigation, a semi structured interview was conducted with students to highlight the metacognitive strategies they utilize when writing.
3.3 Instrumentation
3.2 Sampling
The main instrument of the current study was the Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS) which was developed by the researchers after a review of the literature with special reference to Xiao (2016)’s Survey of Metacognitive Writing Strategies. The survey consisted of two parts (Appendix A). The first part
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3. Methodology 3.1 Research design
frequency of writing strategy use between high and low level writers. He attributed this to the role and effect of instruction they receive in their first year at university; e.g. taking notes, writing memos, and summarizing. Such findings are important because they suggest that teaching students to use strategies through explicit instruction and feedback has a significant impact on their writing performance. Moreover, the findings revealed no significant differences between males and females in using writing strategies; they both use metacognitive strategies at a similar frequency. Similar to the study by Abdullahzadeh (2010), Mutar and Nimehchisalem (2017) explored the frequency of using writing strategies among 132 Iraqi high school students using Petric and Czarl’s Writing Strategy Questionnaire. The results showed no significant differences between high and low proficient students in using these strategies. However, the study revealed that female students used more writing strategies than male students did.
The population of the current study was grade 12 students in the Omani governmental schools in Batinah North Governorate for the academic year 2018/ 2019. The governorate had 7927 grade 12 students (4080 males and 3847 females). Convenience sampling was used to select the sample of the study by which two male, and two female post basic schools were chosen, and two classes were selected from each school. Convenience sampling, also known as accidental sampling, is a type of nonrandom sampling techniques where a group of the population is chosen due to certain criteria; e.g. being easy to access, are willing to participate, or are available at a particular time (Etikan; Musa and AlKassim, 2016). The sample size comprised 263 students including 140 females (53.2%) and 123 males (46.8%). Their grades in the first semester's final test ranged from 14 to 70 with a mean of 41.14 and a standard deviation of 14.99. The rationale for targeting students in grade 12 is that grade 12 is the exit level from which students join higher education institutions, where being autonomous, independent and life long learners (the skills promoted by metacognitive strategies) is needed.
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3.3.1 The Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS)
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aimed to collect general biographical information about the participants. This information included gender, school’s name, and student’s number in the name list which was used to record his/ her mark in the first semester English final test. In the second part, students were asked to respond to a questionnaire of 27 items, divided into three categories presenting the types of metacognitive writing strategies, as follows: twelve planning items, nine monitoring items, and six self evaluating items. Students were asked to indicate to what extent they used the given strategies and their responses are obtained on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 1(never) to 5 (always).
3.3.2 The Semi Structured Interview To investigate deeper, the questionnaire was supported by semi structured interviews with fourfemale andfour male students. Among them, there were four high proficiency and four low proficiency students who were selected based on their grades in the Final English Language Test (semester one), their English teachers' evaluation, and their willingness to participate. The interview focused on eliciting the strategies employed by those students throughout the writing process and it was audio recorded. The researchers recommended the teachers to hold the interview in Arabic, so that the students from different levels are able to understand the questions clearly and respond accurately. The interview questions were validated by the same panel that validated the MSWS. They were also piloted by volunteering teachers to ensure clarity of the items. Two males and two females were selected from the piloting sample for the interviews. Two of them were high achievers (one male and one female) and the other two were low achievers. In response to the validation panel’s and the interviewers’ feedback, some items were reworded to make them clearer for the interviewees. Similar to the MSWS, the questions were translated into Arabic and reviewed by the same translators who recommended some minor changes in the Arabic statements to avoid any ambiguity.
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Content validity was verified for the questionnaire, which originally consisted of 37 items, by a number of experts who evaluated the relevance and clarity of each item. Based on their feedback, some modifications were made to the questionnaire items. The order of some items was also modified and some items were reworded to make them clearer. In addition, the questionnaire was translated into Arabic and validated by professional translators to avoid any misunderstanding caused by students’ proficiency level. The translators have good experience in translation and linguistics as they have been working at Sultan Qaboos University for more than 15 years. Furthermore, to verify the reliability of the instrument, the questionnaire was piloted on 32 students including 17 females and 15 males, and internal consistency reliability was found to be reliable at .926, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha.
3.3.3 Students’ Semester Grades
According to Nambiar (2009), language performance is one of the factors that affect students' use of learning strategies. Hence, addressing this factor is of great importance to understand students' use of metacognitive learning strategies in writing. In the current study, students' semester scores of the final English Language Test (semester one) were recorded and used as a measure of their
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. English language performance. End of Semester tests in Oman evaluate students' overall performance as their scores reflect their skills in reading, listening, and writing. Each student was requiredtowrite his/ her list number in the firstsection of the questionnaire which was used later to record their scores in the final test.
4.1 Omani EFL Grade Twelve Students’ Use of Metacognitive Writing Strategies
3.3.4 Analysis procedures
Table 1: Means and Standard Deviations for Grade 12 Students’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies in Writing (N= 263) Category M SD Planning 3.83 .69 Monitoring 3.82 .74 Evaluation 3.81 .89 Overall Use 3.82 .68
The Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS) was administered to the participants and the data collected was then analyzed through the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, and t test were computed to answer the three research questions, respectively. After questionnaire data were collected, the interviews were conducted and audio recorded in Arabic by the volunteering teachers. Then, the interviews were transcribed by the researchers. The most frequent patterns of responses were highlighted. These patterns as well as other responses were discussed with the students. The strategy types (planning, monitoring, and evaluation) served as themes for content analysis. Results
To answer the first research question, 'To what extent do grade twelve students in Oman use different types of metacognitive writing strategies?', the Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS) was administered to the participants, and the data collected was then analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics; namely means and standard deviations, of the entire metacognitive writing strategies, mean scores for the three types of metacognitive writing strategies, and individual strategies were calculated for the whole sample. According to Oxford's (1990) classification of the mean scores of the strategy use, there are three main levels to describe students' strategy use: high (ranging from 3.5 to 5), medium (ranging from 2.5 to 3.4), and low (ranging from 1.0 to 2.4). Table 1 displays the means and standard deviations of the overall metacognitive writing strategies and the three categories of these strategies. As shown in the table, the participants reported a high level of metacognitive writing strategy use as the overall mean of the metacognitive writing strategies use was 3.82. Similarly, all of the categories had mean scores above 3.5, indicating that all the participants utilize the three categories of metacognitive strategies at high frequencies in their writing.
4.
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4.2 The Relationship between the Type of Metacognitive Writing Strategies Students Use and their English Language Performance. To answer the second research question, "Is there any significant relationship between the types of metacognitive writing strategies students use and their English language performance?", Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were computed to explore the relationships between students' performance (measured by students' grades in English Language final exam of semester one, school year 2018/2019) and the three types of metacognitive writing strategies; planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Table 2 presents means and standard deviations of students' total use of planning, monitoring and evaluation strategies, as well as their grades in the English final exam of semester one along with the bivariate correlations among the variables.
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3.
Among the different categories of metacognitive writing strategies, planning strategies (M= 3.83, SD= .69) were reported as the most frequently used strategies, while evaluation strategies were reported as the least frequently used category (M= 3.81, SD= .89). This might be attributed to the frequent training of these strategies by teachers and the various planning tasks students come across in their textbooks (Engage with English). These tasks include different techniques to plan and organize writing texts such as graphic organizers, mind maps, diagrams, and tables. Yet, the differences between the mean scores of the three categories are not very high (3.83, 3.82, 3.81).
Table 2: Means and Standard Deviations of Students’ Total Use of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies, and Students’ Grades along with the Bivariate Correlations among the Variables Variable N M SD 1 2 3 4 Planning 247 45.92 8.31 .73 .68 .05 Monitoring 254 30.55 5.93 .77 .01 Evaluation 257 22.85 5.36 .03 245 41.14 14.99 **p < .01. The following guidelines, suggested by Cohen (as cited in Pallant, 2011), were used to interpret the coefficient values
2.
Table 3: Cohen’s Guidelines of interpreting Correlation Coefficients Correlation Coefficient (r) Strength .10 to .29 Small .30 to .49 Medium .50 to 1.0 large Results showed that there was a very weak negative relationship between the use of planning strategies and students’ grades. Similarly, there was a very weak negative relationship between the use of evaluation strategies and students’ grades. In addition, the analysis displayed a very weak positive relationship between the use of monitoring strategies and students’ grades. However, the
1.
4.Grades
1.Planning
• "I start to read the statements in the exam question to know the type of writing and the number of words I have to write. Secondly, I start to write points or ideas to help me (I write them in pencil). Then I start to put them in pen.”
4.4 Interview Findings
4.3 The Differences in Students’ Use of Metacognitive Writing Strategies with Respect to Gender
To answer the third research question, ‘Are there any significant differences between grade twelve males and females in the type of metacognitive writing strategies they use?’, an independent samples t test was run to examine gender differences on the students’ use of the three types of metacognitive writing strategies; planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Table 4 presents means, standard deviations, and p value of the three strategies use for males and females.
Table 4: Means, Standard Deviations, and p-value of the Three Strategies Use for Males and Females Strategies Gender N M SD p value Planning Males 117 3.60 .71 .000 Females 130 4.03 .61 Monitoring Males 120 3.63 .79 .000 Females 134 3.99 .66 Evaluation Males 121 3.5 .94 .000 Females 136 4.08 .75
Results showed that there were significant differences between males and females in the use of planning strategies (t(245) = 5.21, p = .000), monitoring strategies (t(252) = 3.95, p = .000), and evaluation strategies (t(228.68) = 5.45, p = .000). The average use of each category of metacognitive writing strategies of females was higher than the average use of males; female students use more metacognitive writing strategies than their male counterparts do. Oxford (1993) indicated that females are generally more active strategy users than males (as cited in Al Abri, 2017). Statistics also revealed that gender accounted for 9.98%, 5.83%, and 10.43 % of the variance in the use of planning, monitoring, and evaluation strategies, respectively. Accordingly, the magnitude of the differences in the means between males and females was moderate (Cohen, 1998).
224 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. relationship between the use of the three strategies and students’ grades were not significant (p > .01)
For a deeper understanding, semi structured interviews were conducted with eight students four females and four males. Among them, there were four high achievers and four low achievers. The strategy types (planning, monitoring, and evaluation) served as themes for content analysis.
The interview data was in alignment with the questionnaire results that all participants (100%) referred to planning strategies as the most used strategy in their writing. 75% spend more time planning for their essays and they pay more attention to generating and organizing ideas.
• “I think about the basics of writing that essay. Then I write the essay and the conclusion.”
On the other hand, 25% of students spend less time in the planning and, indeed, there is no clear indication in their responses about making an outline before starting to write their essays. In fact, they mostly think about grammar, structures, and words they need to use in the task.
• “I make sure the ideas are clear to the reader.”
• “I read it again two or three times to organize it and make the ideas clear to the reader. I also check grammar and vocabulary.”
• “I check my essay and words spelling.”
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All the students highlighted the significance of self evaluation as they indicated that they use a variety of techniques to evaluate their writing. For example, re reading their essays several times, reading their essays loudly to check if they make sense, and using programs and applications to help them in their evaluation. They explained that these techniques are of paramount importance to check the clarity of the essays to the reader and to check that ideas are sufficient to clarify the topic:
• “I count the words to check if I reach the required words, number and I check the layout of my essay.”
Nevertheless, similar to monitoring strategies, fifty percent of the students stated that their focus is the local errors; namely grammar, vocabulary, and spelling:
• “I check vocabulary and grammar.”
• “They are very useful strategies. I am glad they come up with strategies.”
• “They are wonderful. They help me to minimize the mistakes in writing”.
• "First, ideas, and then I think about grammar and vocabulary. “
3. Evaluation
• “Yes, this is one of the most important things to do. So, your writing is clear to the reader.”
Furthermore, all the students reported that the strategies mentioned in the questionnaire they completed (MSWS) are very useful to improve their writing:
2.Monitoring While writing, 87.5% of the students believe that it is very crucial to check their writing. For instance, they make sure that their vocabulary is right, their work is clear to the audience and they make sure that they remain focused on the topic.
Regarding the audience, only one interviewed student considered readers in the planning stage, which confirms the quantitative results where students reported items concerning the audience as the least used planning strategy.
• “Yes, I do. I read them aloud to make sure they make sense. If not, I do it again.”
However, twenty five percent of the respondents indicated that their main concern while writing is the local errors (grammar, vocabulary, spelling).
• “Yes, I check punctuation and verbs.”
Moreover, students were asked to describe the difficulties they encounter when they write essays. Fifty percent of the students refer to planning and generating ideas as the biggest challenge they encounter when writing.
5. Discussion
• “Yes, my handwriting is very bad.”
And a quarter of them i.e. 25% of them pointed out that they have an issue with handwriting which impacts the clarity of their compositions.
With regard to students’ use of the writing metacognitive strategies and their language performance, the results of the current study showed there was no significant relationship between the types of metacognitive writing strategies students use and their English language performance. This confirms the findings of Abdollahzadeh (2010) who found no significant differences between high and low proficient students in using writing strategies. This finding also supports what Mutar and Nimehchisalem (2017) reported on the differences between high and low proficiency level students. They concluded that the two groups use writing strategies in a very similar way. However, the findings of this study are not in line with those of Azizi, Estahbanati, and Nemati (2017), Bouirane (2015), and Razi (2012) who found that there is a strong positive correlation between students metacognitive writing strategy use and their grades; increasing the strategies corresponds to increasing students' scores or proficiency level. The findings of the present study also do not echo the studies by Zhan (2016) and Liu (2015) which revealed significant differences between successful and unsuccessful students i.e. high proficient students use more writing strategies than students with low proficiency levels. The reason for this lack of consistency could be the definition of students' language performance. While the current study used students' grades in an End semester final English test to measure students' performance, other studies identify students' performance based on their scores in writing tests administered to students before completing the targeted questionnaire. The current study also found that there were significant differences between males and females in the use of metacognitive writing strategies.
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• “I have problems with the subject itself. If the subject is new, I need more time to generate ideas.”
This study revealed that Omani EFL grade12 students use metacognitive writing strategies at a high level of frequency. It was also found that they utilize the three types of metacognitive writing strategies: planning, monitoring, and evaluation, at different frequency levels. Planning strategies were reported as the most frequently used strategies, whereas evaluation strategies were the least used strategies among all the participants. These findings were confirmed by the results of the semi structured interview, which showed that all the interviewee students begin writing tasks by planning and organizing their ideas. These results corroborate the findings of Razi (2012), Bai et al. (2014), and Zhan (2016), whose participants reported using planning strategies at a high frequency compared to other metacognitive strategies. They explained that students perceive planning as a vital element of good writing, which involves spending time thinking about ideas, words, phrases, and sentences they use in their compositions.
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
This study investigated the metacognitive writing strategies used by Omani EFL grade twelve students. The researcher administered a questionnaire and used a semi structured interview to determine the extent to which students use the three types of metacognitive writing strategies: planning, monitoring, and evaluation.
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Similarly, Bouirane (2015) explored the difference in using metacognitive strategies in relation to gender and found that female students use more metacognitive strategies than male students do. Likewise, Mutar and Nimehchisalem (2017) and Liu (2015) studied the writing strategies used by high school students in Iraq and China, respectively, and revealed that there is a significant difference between female and male students’ strategy use. Female students employed better and more writing strategies compared to male students. This result, however, does not seem to be conclusive. Surat, Rahman, Mahmod, and Kummin (2014) investigated the use of metacognitive strategies among university students in Malaysia and did not find any difference in the use of metacognitive strategies based on gender. The findings match to some extent those found by Abdollahzadeh (2010) who conducted a study to investigate writing strategies used by Iranian university students and concluded that male and female students use writing strategies with approximately the same frequency.
The current study also explored the relationship between students' English language performance and the types of metacognitive writing strategies they use. It also looked at differences between male and female students in using the three types of target strategies. The results of the study revealed that grade twelve students use the three types of metacognitive writing strategies at high frequency. The findings also indicated that there is no relationship between students' language performance and the use of the three types of strategies. Students with high performance levels and low performance levels use these strategies similarly. The results of the present study also disclosed that there are significant differences between males and females in the use of all the types of metacognitive writing strategies. Females tend to use more strategies than their male counterparts do. Although the present study revealed that students use the three types of metacognitive writing strategies at high frequencies, they reported using the individual strategies at different rates. Accordingly, there is a need to raise students’ awareness of various metacognitive strategies they can access to control and evaluate their writing. To achieve this, teachers should equip students with sufficient practice of these strategies explicitly through a systematic writing strategy instruction and implicitly through tasks, activities, and materials in writing classes targeting these strategies. Students also need to be taught how to monitor their writing, so they can identify the problems and shortcomings of their compositions which in turn helps them to take responsibility for their learning. This can be achieved by providing an ongoing practice to evaluate, modify, and correct their work, as well as by providing students with constructive feedback, by their teachers, which "enhance learning, promote the acquisition of skills, and
8. References Abdollahzadeh, E. (2010). Undergraduate Iranian EFL learners’ use of writing strategies. Writing & Pedagogy, 2(1), 65 90. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v2i1.65 Abedin, M., Hosseini, M., Naseri, E., & Taghizadeh, M. (2013). In the importance of EFL learners'writingskill:Isthereanyrelationbetweenwritingskilland contentscore of English essay test. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 6, 1 12. https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ilshs.6.1
Moreover, the results of the present study showed that students place emphasis on local errors, which is probably a result of adopting the product oriented approach in writing. Consequently, teachers should consider developing students’ monitoring skills to tackle global errors as well as local ones by adopting the process and genre approaches to writing.
Curriculum designers are also expected to consider these strategies when designing writing units. These units should include tasks and activities that enhance students’ metacognitive writing strategies. For instance, providing students with guidelines to check their performance in a form of a checklist can be a very effective technique by which students can highlight the aspects they need to evaluate in their writing. Moreover, the study revealed students' growing interest in using differentprogramsandapplications toimprovetheir writing skill which should direct curriculum developers' attention for integrating technology in writing classes to enhance students' writing, as well as raising their motivation. One of these promising applications is using Blogs to write diaries, which is very inspiring and encouraging to enhance students’ writing performance.
Al Abri, A., Al Seyabi, F., Al Humaidi, S., & Hasan, A. H. (2017). Grammar learning strategies in Omani EFL classes: Type and relation to student proficiency. Journal of Studies in Education, 7(2), 151 166. Anderson, N. J. (2002). The Role of Metacognition in Second Language Teaching and Learning. ERIC Digest. Azizi, M., Estahbanati, N., & Nemati, A. (2017). Meta Cognitive awareness of writing strategy use among Iranian EFL learners and its impact on their writing performance. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 5(1), 42 51. Baker, W., & Boonkit, K. (2004). Learning strategies in reading and writing: EAP contexts. RELC Journal, 35(3), 299 328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688205052143
Bai, R., Hu, G., & Gu, P. Y. (2014). The relationship between use of writing strategies and English proficiency in Singapore primary schools. The Asia Pacific Education Researcher, 23(3), 355 365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299 013 0110 0 Bereiter, C.,&Scardamalia,M.(2013). Thepsychology ofwrittencomposition.NewYork, NY: Routledge.
228 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. drives professional growth and development." (Omer & Abdulrahim, 2017, p. 45).
Furthermore, professional development and in service programs should consider the importance of metacognitive writing strategies and conduct workshops to raise teachers' awareness of the importance of these strategies. Teachers also should be equipped with techniques that assist them in implementing these strategies in writing classes.
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229 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Binandeh, M., Rahmani, S., & Raoofi, S. (2017). An investigation into writing strategies and writing proficiency of university students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(1), 191 198. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0801.24 Boghian, I. (2016). Metacognitive learning strategies in teaching English as a foreign language. Journal of Innovation in Psychology, Education and Didactics, 20(1), 53 62. Bouirane, A. (2015). Metacognitive language learning strategies use, gender, and learning achievement: A correlation study. International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies, 3(2), 119 132. Briody, P., Shang, H., & Wei, Z. (2012). The Relationship between English writing ability levels and EFL learners’ metacognitive behaviour in the writing process. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 1(4), 154 180. Byrne, D. (1979). Teaching writing skills. England: Longman. Chick, N. (2014). Thinking about one is thinking. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides sub pages/metacognition/. Cohen, A. (1998). Strategies in learning and using a second language. London: Longman. Diaz, G. (2013). Metacognitive writing strategies in academic writing: the path to enhance autonomy and to become expert writers (Master’s thesis). National University of Cordoba. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11086/1130
Quantitative research design. Sportscience, 4(1), 1 8. Liu, G. (2015). Investigating the English writing strategies used by Chinese senior high school students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(4), 844 850. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0504.21 Mu, C. (2005). A taxonomy of ESL writing strategies. Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/64/1/64.pdf
Mutar, Q. M., & Nimehchisalem, V. (2017). The effect of gender and proficiency level on writing strategy use among Iraqi high school students. Arab World English Journal, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol8no2.12
Hacker, D. J., Keener, M. C., & Kircher, J. C. (2009). Writing is applied metacognition. New York, NY: Routledge. Haukås, Å. (2018). Metacognition in language learning and teaching. New York, NY: Hopkins,Routledge.W.G.(2000).
Nambiar, R. (2009). Learning strategy research where are we now. Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 9(2) ,132 149. Nasihah, M., & Cahyono, B. (2017). Language learning strategies, motivation, and writing achievementofIndonesian EFLstudents. ArabWorldEnglishJournal, 8(1),250 263 Nemouchi,https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol8no1.18O.(2017).MetacognitivestrategiesforEFL writing. Revue Sciences Humaines, (48), 159 174. https://doi.org/10.34174/0079 000 048 080 Okasha, M. A., & Hamdi, S. A. (2014). Using strategic writing techniques for promoting EFL writing skills and attitudes. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(3), 674. Omer A., & Abdularhim M. (2017). The criteria of constructive feedback: The feedback that accounts. J Health Spec, 5(1), 45 48. https://doi.org/10.4103/2468 6360.198798
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230 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Onozawa, C. (2010). A study of the process writing approach: A suggestion for an eclectic writing approach. Research Note, 153 163 Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Oz, H. (2005). Metacognition in foreign/second language learning and teaching. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 29, 147 156. Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS survival manual (4th ed). Cross Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin Rahimi,M.,&Katal,M.(2012).MetacognitivestrategiesawarenessandsuccessinlearningEnglishasaforeignlanguage:anoverview.
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Razı, Ö. (2012). An Investigation into the metacognitive writing strategies of Turkish Cypriot University students. Retrieved Metacognitive.pdfhttp://web.aou.edu.lb/files/lebanon/An%20Investigation%20into%20the%20from Surat, S., Rahman, S., Mahamod, Z., & Kummin, S. (2014). The Use of Metacognitive KnowledgeinEssayWritingamongHighSchoolStudents. InternationalEducation Studies, 7(13), 212 218. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n13p212 Victori, M. (1995). EFL writing knowledge and strategies: An integrative study (Order No. 9804043). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304279487). Retrieved https://ezproxysrv.squ.edu.om:2110/docview/304279487?accountid=27575from Xiao,Y.(2016).strategiesAnexploratoryinvestigationintothemetacognitiveknowledgeandmetacognitiveofuniversityEFLwritersinChina (Doctoral dissertation). New York University. Zhan, R. (2016). An investigation into the metacognitive strategy use in ESL writing: A case study. DEStech Transactions on Social Science, Education and Human Science https://doi.org/10.12783/dtssehs/hsc2016/3485
6. I make a plan for achieving my 7.goals.Igenerate ideas to include in my writing.
231 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix A
16. I check to see if the organization of my essay is 17.logical.Icheck to see if the language of my essay is clear.
Strategies I use in writing How frequent I use the strategies
11. I think about examples to support the ideas in my essay.
2. I pay attention to the purpose of the writing task (e.g., to express opinion, to thank someone, to complain about a 3.service).Iconsider the reader of the writing task (e.g., the teacher, supervisor, classmates).
14. I check if I consider the reader in my essay. 15. I check to see if the content of my essay is relevant to the topic.
12. I recall the model essays related to the writing topic.
4. I pay attention to the language of the writing task (e.g., the wording and grammar).
10. I think about the topic sentence of each paragraph.
13. I check to see if my essay meets the requirements of the writing task.
8. I make a plan for organizing the ideas of my essay. 9. I first decide what the thesis statement of the essay is.
1. Planning Never Seldom Sometimes Usually Always
Metacognitive Strategies of Writing Survey (MSWS)
2. Monitoring Never Seldom Sometimes Usually Always
1. I pay attention to the genre of the writing task (e.g., a letter, descriptive, a narrative).
5. I set up my goals based on the requirement of a writing task.
232 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 18. I check to see if my word usage is accurate. 19. I check to see if my grammar is 20.correct.Iadjust my writing plan. 21. I try to identify my problems during the process of writing. 3. Evaluation Never Seldom Sometimes Usually Always 22. I review the content of my essay to see if any addition or deletion is needed. 23. I mainly focus on reviewing the accuracy of my grammar. 24. I review my use of the words to see if they are correct. 25. I check the organization of my essay to see if it is clear. 26. I review my essay holistically to see if it achieves the goals of 27.writing.Ithink the English writing strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluating) mentioned in this survey are very helpful.
Abstract This study aimed to determine the online learning process and the associated obstacles experienced by students. With the background of the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic outbreak, this study sought to uncover what social constructions the students engage in related to the new policy for online learning that has recently been enforced by the Indonesian government. A quantitative study was conducted with a descriptive research approach There were 274 college student respondents from Madura, Indonesia. This study found that not all of the students prefer online learning, inclusive of expressing their disapproval that online learning is effective. Social, economic and cultural factors are important indicators that online learning has not been able to be effectively carried out in a number of regions in Indonesia. Rural communities are not ready to welcome the latest learning methods and they are still comfortable using conventional methods. Online learning on Madura Island is not only constrained by technical problems and facilities but also by the human resources that need to be encouraged to accept the latest learning models. Students consider this learning model to not be beneficial due to the presence of several obstacles, including the geographical area. This is because rural areas make it difficult to access the internet. They also have to buy an internet quota. Internet access in some applications requires a large quota so this becomes problem for some students, especially for those who come from lower middle income families. Therefore the availability of supporting facilities and infrastructure as well as the facilitated internet access among rural communities, financial assistance and the socialisation of the importance of online learning is necessary.
Keywords: Online learning; Students; COVID 19; Conventional learning; Obstacles *
Corresponding author: Priyono Tri Febrianto; Email: priyono.febrianto@trunojoyo.ac.id
233 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 233 254, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.132020 Implementation of Online Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic on Madura Island, Indonesia Priyono Tri Febrianto* Universitas Trunojoyo, Bangkalan, East Java Province, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 0753 1037 Siti Mas’udah and Lutfi Apreliana Megasari Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java Province, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000 0001 8715 4448 https://orcid.org/0000 0001 5689 7839
1. Introduction
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Known as e learning, online learning media creates community spaces among the students that are not merely educational but also entertainment. This is because they explore the student’s digital literacy (Tan, 2013). Through the benefits of social media and various platforms, students and teachers have the opportunity to optimise the learning process. Previous studies have suggested that e learning is focused on the students' understanding of collaborative work such as how to build meaning, how to negotiate together and how to understand each other (support) in a learning process that is conducted at a distance (Friedman & Friedman, 2020). E learning is also used to maximise the learning process even though it is carried out without face to face meetings. This type of learning is an alternative to accommodating traditional forms of learning. E learning is considered to be quite effective because it helps the teachers to build virtual classrooms in accordance with the conditions of learning in the classroom (Putranti, 2013). Typically, teachers in developed countries optimise their use of the current digital platforms in order to keep up with the platforms used by the students and to create comfortable learning spaces. Learning media focuses on how shared spaces can be used to communicate ideas and produce specific learning content so as to improve the skills of both the students and teachers (Hansch et al., 2015).
Learning media and systems are starting to shift from conventional learning to the latest learning process by utilising technological assistance. Schools and teachers strive to incorporate digital learning media in order to create a more effective and applicable learning environment. In the 20th century, the digital transformation has spread to almost all spaces and fields, including education.
A study conducted by Donelly (2006) stated that e learning is a medium where face to face learning interactions are used to create a virtual discussion area. Through e learning, teachers and students can remove the place and time barriers that can be a learning constraint. Learning can also be carried out by utilising social media such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Blogger and Quora by and for the students. E learning also offers networking ease and knowledge sharing opportunities but it has negative effect in terms of potentially wasting time (Salmon et al., 2015; Hollis & Was, 2016; Brownson, Moreover,2014).
the positive aspects of online learning allow students with limited time available and geographical distance to get an education. Meanwhile, the negative aspect is the difference in competition because electronic communication is not natural when creating learning spaces (Kock, Verville, & Garza, 2017). Through e learning, the teachers are not required to meet with the students in order to be able to create a learning space. However, by using one of the platforms available, learning space discussions can occur easily. In addition, e learning offers flexible hours as the teachers can send assignments at any time and from anywhere. If effective teaching and learning practices can be
Even though e learning is the latest learning system in use, not everyone accepts it well. The benefits of online learning face participation injustice because some teachers doubt the use of online media as a learning tool (Nacu et al., 2014).
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. performed automatically, this can support the process of improving the learning practices (Agostinho et al., 2011).
A study conducted by Herayanti, Fuaddunnazmi and Habibi (2015) determined that the benefits of e learning including overcoming the limitations of the face to face lesson frequency between the students and teachers through the features of online platforms. Learning spaces that are usually in one room can now be replaced by online learning. It is also beneficial for the teachers if they give additional lessons. Previous studies have suggested that e learning makes it easier for the students to share resources, record the learning material, and feel comfort when engaging in the discussion. However, the student’s ability to understand the lessons varies because e learning is not as natural as face to face learning (Dabbagh & Kitasantas, 2012). E learning is not applicable in all areas. In remote areas, internet signal constraints and a lack of access and tools for online learning make it difficult. Moreover, e learning in several places is not necessarily considered able to replace face to face learning. In e learning, teachers are not only engaging in a discussion about the study materials resulting in the students doing assignments as in the various levels of education including elementary through to high school. Learning also requires comprehensive content. Some of the content in online learning in the form of text, images, video and audio requires the students to use communication and information technology independently in a structured and valid learning syllabus (Prastiyo, Djohar & Purnawan, 2018; Hartsell & Yuen, 2006; KuangChih & Kriegman, 2018). Some subjects need content to support the learning that takes place. Images, videos and audio are needed to support their learning. This can be carried out through online learning.
On the other hand, social media like Youtube can be an alternative learning media. This video based form of social media brings in great benefits when it is part of the learning process. A study conducted by Kruse and Veblen (2012) found that the utilisation of Youtube for digital learning brings in opportunities for educators to increase the intensity of uploading videos to Youtube. This supports a participatory culture in terms of making circulatory videos, images and allowing for user expressions. This indicates that social media is not merely used as a means of expression. It is also used as part of an effective learning process. Previous studies have found that schools and universities use Youtube as a relevant learning medium because it is not only an academic learning medium. It is also an information and entertainment search tool (Moghavvemi, 2018; Chau, 2010; Lin & Polaniecki, 2009).
Teachers who are of the “baby boomer” generation are less able to use online media in the learning process. On the other hand, some social media also has shortcomings when it is used as learning media. Previous studies have mentioned that some educational institutions use social media such as Facebook
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Thoms and Eryilmaz's study (2014) mentioned that students experience higher interactions when using online learning media including sharing it with their social communities and a high level of satisfaction. This makes digital learning more interesting than face to face learning. This confirms that online learning is proven to have a positive influence on the students. By joining social media, students not only attend lessons but they also interact with fellow users, including their school friends. Previous studies have found that digital learning media offers an easier approach with a focus on content delivery and business as well as the ability to challenge the traditional learning models used in the classes (Yuan, Powell & Olivier, 2014; Liu, 2005).
On the other hand, digital learning does bring in significant benefits. Digital learning through videos is very effective because of the aspects of flexibility which can help with the depth and retention of knowledge, in addition to motivating an interest in learning. It can be used to illustrate the relevance of concepts (Thomson & Bridgstock, 2014). Not only on Youtube, but various other social media currently also offer video based and non video views. In fact, both the students and teachers can choose from various social media platforms. On the other hand, digital media constitutes the acceptance that there is a high prevalence of technology use among students including learning applications, Google, podcasts and e books (Gutmann et al., 2015; Bolliger, Supanakorn, & Boggs, 2010; Annad, 2008).
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A study conducted by Megan (2015) found that various universities are trying to develop the digital skills of prospective graduates through learning media in order to increase their resources. This is where social media can be used to enhance the positive online reputation and increase the opportunities for post tertiary employment. This implies that the students are prepared for both expertise based on their knowledge and mastering of technology and information for the implementation of the aforementioned knowledge. Digital learning can facilitate the students in being creative through the use and creation
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. to send the students work and promote it. However, there are limitations in terms of Facebook's ability to make albums and transmitting the student’s assessment scores (Whittaker, Howarth & Lymn, 2014; Madge et al., 2009; Selwyn, 2009).
Even so, teachers, academics and lecturers still try to use digital platforms as a learning tool. A study conducted by Greenhow and Lewin (2015) pointed out that social media as a form of online learning media has the potential to bridge the formal and informal aspects through a participatory digital culture where young people easily adopt the role of consumers. In this case, social media is used in such a way as to support learning. For example, a teacher can use applications like Zoom or Instagram Live video to broadcast a discussion. In addition, the use of e learning has penetrated smartphones that have eventually become a form of flexible learning media because they are integrated with the internet and all relevant applications (Martono & Nurhayati, 2014; Arista & Kuswanto, 2018; Irwansyah et al., 2017).
Constructivism theory is a view of constructivism in which the students have a goal, can be involved in their learning and are able to carry out or construct knowledge more individually. Learning activities in the classroom not only play a role in increasing the students' knowledge but they also involve setting the situation in the classroom. In addition, a curriculum can contain learning tools, materials and resources.
2. Literature Review
The essence of constructivism theory is that the students must discover and transform complex information by themselves, check for new information using old rules and revise it if the rules are no longer appropriate (Trianto, 2007). This is fully contained in online learning where students have the freedom to obtain information and organise their own learning. Students are no longer assisted by the teacher face to face when solving problems but they are encouraged to explore and solve problems or problems are assigned independently.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of interesting content, both informal and extracurricular, while providing competitive advantages. However, this can cause disparities (Brown, Czerniewicz, & Noakes, 2015; Peppler & Kafai, 2007; Greenhow & Robelia, A2009).study
Sagala (2008) also explains constructivism theory. The essence is that the students must discover and transform the information from the teacher
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This study has raised the issue of online learning among the students in Madura, East Java. It used the background of the Covid 19 pandemic outbreak because the learning process in Indonesia has recently shifted to digital learning. Digital learning in Indonesia still faces obstacles because of the limited internet access and supporting infrastructure. This study is important because not all regions in several countries around the world have adequate enough access to the internet to apply online learning.
The implementation of online learning is supported by several theories. Driver and Bell (in Susan & Tony, 1995) explained the theory of constructivism.
Although online learning is predicted to be a very effective learning system, it still has weaknesses. The weaknesses include the correlation between course structure and dialogue, therefore increasing the structure alone reduces the dialogue. Conversely, increasing the dialogue reduces the structure present in distance education (Horzum, 2015; Bound, 2010; Power, 2008). Therefore not all of the learning materials can be applied through distance learning.
conducted by Kirkwood and Price (2013) explained that e learning provides a highly structured context that engages the students successfully and supports the achievement of their skills, problem solving and teamwork. By using various platforms including social media, teachers can provide case studies within the learning material. Furthermore, digital media also provides space to work as a team.
Rusman (2011) stated in his theory that the characteristics of online learning include interactivity, accessibility, and enrichment. Even though the students and teachers do not meet face to face, they can carry out the learning process interactively by maximising the use of technology. Learning can run through various applications such as the use of video or audio and message based programs. Access to learning that is easily accessible can ultimately enrich the students' knowledge and the nature of education can be realised properly. Meanwhile, the use of instructional media is an important aspect in the running of education. The theory of Heinich et al. (1982) states that teachers need to consider the selection of appropriate learning media for students in order to create successful learning activities including objectives, content, motivation, technicality, ownership, and instructions for use. Therefore the teachers really have to understand what media is right for the students because not all digital media can be accepted and run smoothly to go on to become a learning medium.
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In addition, online learning is a learning system that is more open. It also fulfils the emotional needs of the students. Kaler (2012), in their learning needs theory, revealed that the learning needs of students and the online learning environment are the same. Students often feel bored in conventional learning because there is nothing new offered in face to face meetings. Through online learning, students encounter challenges and they get freedom and independence from learning online
Meanwhile, the behaviourist learning theory explains that in learning, there are changes in behaviour (Farooq & Javid, 2012). Online learning also provides a stimulus for the students to be actively involved in the learning process even though it is through virtual media. Changes also occur when conventional (face to face) learning switches to online learning, which causes major changes in the learning styles and systems.
In the learning theory of connectivism, this theory supports the existence of a new perspective on how learning can take place in a virtual space. This is in accordance with the concept of online learning where the virtual space is a place for learning activities where all involved are digitally connected to each other.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. independently. The teacher's job is to facilitate the students in obtaining and providing the information that will become relevant knowledge. Learning according to constructivism theory is a process of forming knowledge. This formation is done by the students themselves. All of the learning processes are directed to the students as the learning subjects so then students can be independent when developing their knowledge, drafting concepts, actively thinking, and giving meaning to something that is learned. The teacher acts as a designer and creates an environment that makes learning possible.
Data triangulation was conducting using in depth interviews with the students, lecturers and parents of students who were the respondents in this study. Some of the in depth interviews were conducted face to face with the informants while adhering to the health protocols by implementing social distancing and wearing masks. Some were carried out over the telephone because of the Covid 19 pandemic in which some people only wanted to be interviewed by telephone.
The data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires through a Google form that was sent to the students in remote areas on Madura. In addition to the survey data obtained from the Google form, this study also triangulated the data in order to reveal the reality of the study in more depth.
A quantitative study was conducted using a descriptive research approach. The study was conducted using structured interviews with 274 college students from Bangkalan, Sampang, Pamekasan and Sumenep. The study took on the social setting of the Covid 19 pandemic because the learning system in Indonesia has been directed towards online learning, even though this type of learning process is considered by some parties to be not ready in several places in Indonesia.
4.
4.1. Student’s Responses to Online Learning during the Covid 19 Pandemic
The data obtained was then processed and categorised based on the topics studied. After that, the data was analysed, interpreted, dialogued and discussed using the theories and previous studies relevant to the research topic. The conclusions and recommendations are based on the results of this study Results and Discussion
Since the Covid 19 pandemic has exploded in various countries, this outbreak has disrupted many sectors including that of education. In Indonesia, the ongoing pandemic has a major impact and influence on the education sector. Schools and universities are temporarily closed to prevent widespread transmission. The government has then decided to replace the conventional learning system with learning from home using online media. This study chose college students living in Madura, East Java as the respondents. The responses varied, ranging from liking to disliking online learning. While there is an ease in terms of the information technology that can be used to optimise learning, it turns out that online learning in some of the regions in Indonesia requires more serious handling to create a better learning climate. In fact, several Indonesians are not accustomed to using online media or digital media, including in the setting of education. The content presented on social media has not been able to be absorbed or even used to optimise education. So far, education in some of the regions of Indonesia is still conventional where the teachers explain things in front of the class. This condition strongly correlates with the gaps and inequalities found in the facilities in the country. Learning in Jakarta (capital of Indonesia) may be better and run well given all of the available facilities but learning in the outer and remote areas such as Papua,
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3. Research Methods
240 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Maluku and the tip of Nusa Tenggara cannot enjoy such effective facilities and Withlearning.theCovid 19 outbreak, people have been required to become able to follow the system set up by the government. In addition to learning through online media, students are also given access to learning through national television channels. However, this option is intended for elementary school students while the other levels depend on learning through the internet. Therefore society has no choice other than to follow the lessons on digital media.
Table l: Reasons for Preferring Online Learning (N=274) Reasons for Preferring Online Learning Frequency Percentage More effective 40 14.60% More efficient 69 25.18% Easier to conduct 162 59.13% Easier to understand the learning material 3 1.09% Total 274 100.00%
The responses given by the participants regarding online learning varied. There were respondents who considered e learning to be more effective and efficient because it has no time and place constraints. Table 1 shows several of the reasons why students like online learning. During the pandemic, they really took advantage and felt that the use of online media was very beneficial. This is also in accordance with Kaler's (2012) theory that students can lessen their boredom due to conventional learning. They are challenged by online learning.
Source: Primary data Although online learning is the best choice and it is very beneficial for some students, there were respondents who claimed that e learning is less enjoyable. One reason why they do not prefer e learning is because they cannot afford to access the internet. It should be noted that not all Indonesians enjoy internet facilities. As said by Rin (age 20, a college student): “Apart from being a pandemic reason, online learning also seems to be easier to put into practice. We have more study time and we can study freely at any time. If in class I only have to pay attention to the lecturers' explanations, with online learning, I have a lot of time reading books”. In this study, the college student respondents came from various regions in Madura Island. For some of the respondents from rural and remote areas, using the internet facilities is still difficult. Moreover, most of the students choose to go back to their hometowns and leave their rented house in the campus environment. While they can access Wi Fi and a fast internet network in the campus environment and rented houses, it is different when they return to their homes that are often located in rural areas. Apart from having to buy an internet quota, internet access in some of the applications requires a large quota. Therefore these factors inhibit the students from accessing e learning, especially those who come from lower middle income families.
Table
Too high of a cost to access the internet 37 13.50% Cannot understand the lessons through e learning because it is limited 88 32.12% Uncomfortable because not face to face 49 17.88%
Research by Crick et al. (2020) noted that the online learning switch that occurred during the Covid 19 pandemic suggests a much more positive attitude. Learning has more leverage and it is done more efficiently. However, this study also noted a number of concerns that could shift the role of the educational institutions, leading to a changing workload and job fragility.
Ahmad, Sosa and Musfy (2020) stated that online learning is indeed beneficial But, on the subject of architecture and design, online learning faces major obstacles. The design of the architectural education institutions used in the United Arab Emirates during the Covid 19 pandemic experienced difficulties in terms of the teaching design without contacting the students. In addition, they
Burdens students with assignments 100 36.50% Total 274 100.00% Source: Primary data Students are accustomed to conventional learning that involves listening to their lecturers speaking in front of the class and writing on the board. This condition is not found during e learning. Although applications such as Zoom offer share screen features, it cannot make the students feel as comfortable as studying in the conventional way does. In addition, there were also respondents who stated that online learning cannot take place optimally because it is different from face to face meetings. This is influenced by the habits of a society that still relies on face to face communication.
Table 2 shows that e learning in Indonesia still faces some obstacles. The responses given by the respondents varied in terms of their dislike of online learning. Apart from being limited to internet access, they also feel that online learning is not as easy as conventional learning. Due to the habits of conventional learning, many people consider the lessons given through e learning to be less optimal. 2: Reasons for Not Preferring Online Learning (N= 274) Reasons for Not Preferring Online Learning Frequency Percentage
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Some of the previous studies conducted in developed countries that have adopted online learning first, such as in the United States, initially experienced a number of doubts regarding cost, convenience, flexibility, and a lack of confidence in the abilities of the students. But at the end in 2011, education in America was innovated after considering the aspects of the delivery model, educational curriculum, the role of the faculty, student recruitment, and student support (Clerkin & Simon, 2014). Meanwhile, research by Moore, Dickson Deane and Galyen (2011) found that online learning systems and conventional learning in Europe and America have been run well.
Frequency Percentage PowerPoint 97 35.57% Module 45 16.33% Video 122 44.55% Assignment/Quiz 10 3.55% Total 274 100.00%
Based on constructivism theory, online learning provides opportunities for the students to explore more knowledge independently. This can be seen from the students in Madura who stated that online learning provides freedom in learning and the students find it easy to access learning. They stated that their learning is efficient because it is not obstructed by place and time, which means that the students could more freely participate in learning.
Preferred
Source: Primary data Table 3 shows that most of the respondents prefer video based learning materials. Learning through a video is considered to be an effective and fun method. Apart from displaying images, video is a tool that can convey information because it contains both audio and visual elements. Youtube is one
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Table 3: Preferred Method for Implementing Online Learning (N-274) method for implementing online learning
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. feel that online learning is something that is forced on students. In contrast to Western societies that are accustomed to distance learning, the present study shows that some people on Madura Island still consider that distance learning makes it difficult to improve the quality of education. As said by Mar (age 21, a college student): “Online learning imposes a variety of assignments on us. Study time is also not the same as on campus, so to make up for that shortcoming, our lecturers give more assignments than usual”. Distance learning is also interpreted as "self study" by some of the students and instructors. For some of the lecturers and teachers, giving additional assignments is their way of optimising learning. This is considered to be a substitute material for the learning that takes place face to face. However, many people judge that this kind of learning is placing a burden on students. Online learning is judged not to provide convenience for students. Instead, they are burdened by the variety of assignments given to them by their lecturers. On the other hand, the new methods applied during the outbreak were responded to by various respondents. Not all of the students like online learning that relies on certain applications. Some of them still like the conventional learning methods. As shown in Table 3, there are several methods that are preferred by the students on Madura Island. A study conducted by Kobayashi (2017) found that not all students understood and liked all of the different types of online learning application available. Some of the students do not prefer rich learning media. They prefer lean media in the form of online slide presentations recorded using internet based audio.
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Previous studies have explained that there is no significant difference between online learning and conventional learning (face to face). Online interaction fosters closeness and a better use of time to interact than face to face interactions (Fortune, Spielman & Pangelinan, 2011; Schoenfeld Tacher, McConnell, & Graham, 2001; Rovai & Jordan, 2004). However, this is clearly different from the results of this study. The respondents stated that conventional learning (face to face) was better than online learning. This is inseparable from the various problems that we have mentioned above. The use of digital media as an online learning tool can replace conventional learning. The online learning in this study is in accordance with Rusman's theory that online learning also implements interactivity, accessibility, and enrichment. Although most learning is done through Zoom videos, learning on Madura Island is still trying to be maximised. This is also in accordance with Heinich's theory that lecturers and educational institutions really need to consider what media is appropriate to use amidst the various obstacles.
While e learning abroad is easily accessible, it is different for Indonesians who live in remote areas who find it difficult. Not all learning in Indonesia can be conducted through face to face teaching and video conferencing. This is because there are many obstacles in terms of the supporting facilities such as the availability of personal computers and the internet networks. This makes online learning not so applicable in several regions in Indonesia, including in Madura.
On the other hand, Powerpoint is still the learning method favoured by the respondents. PowerPoint offers an effective and efficient learning system because the lecturers can summarise the teaching materials used which can then be shared with students. However, PowerPoint can make the students when it comes lazy to finding other material or reading original sources.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of the social media platforms that can be used to optimise online learning. As stated by Feb (age 38, a lecturer): “Learning on our university uses Zoom as a medium. Even though sometimes I feel that there are a lot of challenges, this is quite helpful so that education can continue during a pandemic”.
A study conducted by Abrami et al (2011) stated that there are three types of interactions in online learning, namely student student interactions, student teacher interactions and student content interactions. Student content interactions include reading informational texts, using study guides, watching learning videos, interacting with multimedia, participating in simulations and doing assignments. In an online learning system, the teachers do not monitor as closely as in conventional learning in schools. However, the teachers are required to try to provide educational and fun teaching so then the online learning feels like learning directly from the teacher.
On the other hand, the use of online media, which is expected to be an alternative to conventional learning, has not been able to be interpreted as a means of supporting the learning process. In online learning, students are asked to concentrate on the tasks given by the teacher. However, the use of the internet bothers them because they are involved in social media and other applications that make them want to play rather than learn (Hollis & Was, 2016). This happens in all students from low levels of education through to tertiary education. On one occasion, the students forgot to study and chose to open other applications such as online games and social media. Previous studies have suggested that digital learning media also uses social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Snapchat, which were originally social networks but are now fully utilised. This is because many people use the internet (Selwyn & Stirling, 2015; Veletsianos, 2015; Junco, Heiberger & Loken, 2010). This indicates that the synergy between the students and teachers can optimise the learning process. It should be noted that learning
244 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 4: Learning System Preferred by the Students (N=274) Learning System Preferred by the Students Frequency Percentage E learning 4 1.46% Conventional learning 270 98.54% Total 274 100.00% Source: Primary data
Table 4 shows that most of the students prefer conventional learning rather than e learning. This strengthens the assumption that certain regions in Indonesia, including Madura, are not ready for online based learning. Conventional learning is still an optimal system because it has been used for years. Although the students are young people who are familiar with the latest gadgets and information technology, in reality, they have not been able to accept online learning well.
When examined further, the respondents in this study had important responses such as an inability to take advantage of the available opportunities properly. The education system around the world is slowly changing, with all of the changes being increasingly influential for various countries, including Indonesia. Online learning has been used in various countries around the world. Even one of the universities in Indonesia, the Indonesian Open University, has been using this method for a long time. However, this learning system faces many obstacles to the goal of being adopted by many students living in rural or remote areas.
A study conducted by Moran, Seaman and Tinti Kane (2011) stated that digital learning media creates a business space for technology development companies that can offer effectiveness and efficiency through the technology used for learning to form a collaboration. Unfortunately, this has not been well utilised by society. Various social media platforms and other applications are still limited in their use for communication.
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Furthermore, the students' dislike of learning online is because the students are not familiar with online learning. Through online learning, new behaviours are formed. This is in accordance with behaviourism learning theory where learning creates behaviour change. In the end, students do not depend on the lecturers' explanations and they actively seek knowledge and develop insights through the digital media. On the other hand, this also relates to the theory of connectivist learning where digital learning also requires connectivity to achieve the learning goals.
Table 5: Emerging Impacts Related to Online Learning (N=274) Emerging Impacts Related to Online Learning Frequency Percentage Online learning is less effective 194 70.80% Overall learning experience is distracted 80 29.20% Total 274 100.00%
Table 5 shows that the respondents admitted that online learning has weak points for them. Online learning is considered to be less effective because the students are accustomed to using conventional media. In addition, online learning is still considered not to be the best solution during the Covid 19 pandemic. Those who feel the convenience of face to face learning cannot completely turn to online learning suddenly. As stated by Nur (age 49, a lecturer): “Online learning brings challenges for lecturers. Usually we can discuss in class for a long time and in an effective atmosphere. But online learning feels different because the discussion doesn't work as naturally as conventional learning” Although online media facilitates student learning, the online presence still encounters obstacles because the process is not like a face to face meeting, and therefore it makes use of online discussion facilities, wikis, and a blog system (Yang et al., 2016). Some lecturers use the public discussion rooms available on several platforms. Lecturers who master the various social media platforms easily adapt and follow a changing learning system. Those who are tech savvy
These things are different in Indonesia. Several universities in Indonesia provide a special platform to accommodate the students and lecturers so then they can meet in one place (the platform). The students and lecturers are required to use platforms that have been provided by the policy makers at the university. On another occasion, they used the Zoom application to discuss the lesson. This is different from other countries that use the latest social media as a discussion room. Some of the lecturers in Indonesia including Madura do not have social media, so this becomes an obstacle when the learning system is changed as suddenly as it happened during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Source: Primary data
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. media is a form of social media application that has the user’s characteristics. Facebook, for example, is used by baby boomers while Twitter is used by people of all ages. This indicates that teachers and students can collaborate when utilising social media so as to create a familiar learning space.
4.2.Problems Experienced by the Students during Online Learning Online learning is more flexible despite the limited supporting facilities. The lecturers and students are not bound by time and place when it comes to discussing the lessons. Although they do not meet using livestreaming, the lecturers can share explanatory videos or study materials in the form of text through e mails or other applications. Online learning makes it easy for the teachers to send material anywhere at any time, and the students can also follow the learning process anywhere and at any time while connected to the internet (Wardoyo, 2016; Bourne, Harris, &Mayadas, 2005). This learning can be done in Madura but it is indeed necessary to make even better efforts to implement this Apolicy.study
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. use social media like Youtube and Twitter as learning media. A study conducted by Batt and Cummins (2016) concluded that the social media platforms that can be used as digital learning media are Youtube and Facebook. This is because they are easy to use and familiar to almost everyone. In addition, education practitioners adopt social media to form an online community, especially on Twitter where online learning is easily digested because of the tweet/retweet facilities that are able to reach many people up to the point of trending (Shen, Kuo, & Minh Ly, 2017).
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The previous studies have explained that online learning media is easily accessible because almost every student or parents has a smartphone or laptop They use networking and social media as an online learning method (Hamilton et al., 2016; Melhuish & Falloon, 2010; Parker et al., 2011). The present study shows that some of the remote areas in Indonesia including Madura face many obstacles to implementing the online learning policies as confirmed by the government. In this case, this government needs to make a pretty hard effort to catch up with the learning system. The Covid 19 outbreak has also become a form of evaluation for the education system in Indonesia.
Davies and Graff's study (2005) found that a greater level of online interaction does not lead to better performance when it comes to achieving final grades. The students who fail at learning tend to interact less and are less able to utilise the digital learning media. This kind of interaction shows that online media cannot yet be positioned as an optimal learning method, particularly as there are those who are passive to the learning method itself. Social media such as Reddit can also be used as an online learning media in which there are questions and answers, debates, corrections and presenting information to other users (Haythornthwaite et al., 2018).
conducted by Marks, Sibley and Arbaugh (2005) stated that various online media that can be used as learning tools such as streaming media, PowerPoint and hyperlinks. They also found out the factors influencing the quality of online learning such as the quality of the distance learning (due to work, family flexibility and geography) and the student’s personal characteristics (experience and gender). In addition to PowerPoint, another media used as a learning tool is Prezi, one of the applications that is similar to
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Furthermorematerials.,thereare also problems with online learning among the families of the students. At the time of the Covid 19 outbreak, the government had not yet blocked inter city mobility. The students chose to return to their hometowns rather than to stay in their rental houses. In the end, they had to learn from home. However, this becomes a problem for some students as the atmosphere at home is not the same as where they live in the rental house near campus. Staying at home means that they do more homework and help their parents at work, so they sometimes neglect their tasks. In this case, the family has an influence on the learning process of the students.
PowerPoint that qualifies as a learning medium because Prezi's validity is secure, practical, and effective (Hartini et al., 2017; Akgün, Babur, & Albayrak, 2016; Rodhi & Wasis, 2014). The convenience offered by online learning actually has a big impact on both the students and teachers who are truly able to make the most of it, particularly due to the vast choice of streaming applications that are currently spreading across various platforms. Wikan Sakarinto, I Made Andi Arsana and Agus Affianto are some of the teachers from Indonesia who have used social media a lot, so that they are close to their students. Wikan Sakarinto, for example, has a Youtube channel that can be accessed by his students relating to the study
A study conducted by Yeboah and Smith (2016) explained that satisfaction and the use of social media have no relationship with the participants’ academic performance. However, there is an indication that flexibility and the convenience of time, self confidence, a lack of support, independent learning skills and language/linguistic differences can affect the way that students learn. In the case of the learning system in Indonesia, the community still considers social media to be a playground. This is influenced by the old assumptions that learning should involve books and that books are a source of knowledge. Meanwhile, education has experienced a shift in values and the methods of learning used from the point when e books were first introduced. However, people are still comfortable using conventional media compared to electronic devices as a learning support. Therefore the new learning system is not accompanied by a new perspective. At a time when the development of education in various countries is advancing rapidly, rural and remote communities are still faced with technical problems. This subsequently causes a problem in that online learning still cannot be utilised as an alternative to conventional learning.
In addition, society in some of the rural and remote regions of Madura Island still cannot understand that learning can take place anywhere and at any time. They still cannot "let go" of the teacher figure. For traditional societies, the teacher becomes a perfect example when they appear in front of the class, wearing a uniform, explaining the lesson, and interacting with the students face to face. This condition is different from the other countries that present teachers in a digital form. Even though Indonesia has developed an online based academic course platform, this application has not yet attracted a large number
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248 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of students. As shown in Table 6, the students feel uncomfortable using online media to access learning material for various reasons. Table 6: Reasons for online learning not benefiting the students (N=274) Reasons for online learning not benefitingstudentsthe Gender Frequency Percentage Female Male F % F % The lecturer cannot explain things directly in the class physically 40 14,60% 30 10,95% 70 25.48% Students are burdened with assignments 53 19,35% 21 7,66% 74 26.83% Need to buy an internet quota 27 9,85% 38 13,87% 65 23.90% Signal is difficult to access in certain areas 23 8,39% 42 15,33% 65 23.79% Total 274 100 %
Source: Primary Data
“But the problem is the internet signal. The signal is sometimes not smooth, because our house is in the remote area” . (Dew, age 55, parent of Andi).
“My child buys internet quota more often. Online learning looks simple, but it costs a lot for the internet”. (Sur, 57, parent of Dony).
Indonesian society adheres to a patriarchal culture where there is a sexual division of labour. As revealed by Rahma, she felt burdened by the domestic chores that were imposed on her because she was a woman. Therefore she felt that the large number of lecture assignments from the lecturers increased her life burden. This is in contrast to men who are generally free from domestic work. As expressed by the parents of Andi (age 20, student) and Dony (age 20, student), the male students complained more about the internet signal and quota fees that had to be bought.
A study conducted by Stiller and Köster (2016) found that the burden experienced by students when using online media as a learning tool includes multidimensional learning task models, differences in technological
Table 6 shows that for some of the respondents, conventional learning has not been able to be replaced by other methods. Online learning is considered to be something that is not yet effective and efficient, so they feel that online learning does not benefit them at all. The students are not familiar with the use of online learning media and they also feel that online learning is increasingly overwhelming the students with many tasks. Meanwhile, the male students revealed that the signal is difficult to access in remote areas. Rahma (age 21, female student) said the following: “There are many assignments given by lecturers. Even though during the pandemic I am at home and have to help my parent do household chores because I am girl”.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. understanding, and a lack of knowledge of how to use online media. Since there is a learning policy at home, it makes the teachers unable to provide direct material and control their students, so the learning process is left up to the parents and the teacher will make an evaluation afterwards. This is not appropriate in some communities in Indonesia, especially among the lower middle class or upper class where the parents are very busy at work. They therefore do not pay attention to their children's learning hours.
5. Conclusions and Implications
This study concludes that the online learning policies in some regions of Indonesia are still encountering a number of obstacles. Not only are these technical obstacles such as the availability of learning facilities but also the social and cultural conditions of Indonesian society that have not been able to follow this new system quickly. It takes time and consistent practice. This policy needs to be supported by the provision of facilities both technical and in the form of human resources in order to make the education system in Indonesia even better. The research implications are good starting points to use to conduct similar studies determining the appropriate learning delivery modality in such trying times. Online learning is a necessity especially in difficult times like the current Covid 19 pandemic. Efforts are needed to maximise the progress of learning. Educational institutions should pay attention to the fact that online learning requires internet access in order for the student to be connected. Meanwhile, there are many students in Indonesia who are constrained by the cost of doing this, including students on Madura Island. In addition, not all areas on Madura
Not all college students like online learning because of the ineffective methods involved. Social, economic and cultural factors are important indicators that online learning has not been able to be applied in a number of regions in Indonesia including Madura Island. In addition, the community is not ready to welcome the latest learning methods and it is still comfortable using the old methods.
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Previous studies have explained that one of the supportive factors of online learning is the use of infographics. These are visualisation tools used to increase retention and understanding in terms of student attraction. This is because infographics are a common visual medium used for presenting the learning material (Elena Gallagher et al., 2017; Matrix & Hodson, 2014; Akhamd et al., 2017). Unfortunately, not all teachers and lecturers can present infographics, so their online learning seems stiff and monotonous. The Covid 19 outbreak has had an important impact on education in Indonesia. Previous conventional learning has turned into online learning in order to prevent the spread of the virus. The policy applied in all schools and universities in Indonesia still faces a number of obstacles. Although almost all regions in Indonesia are covered by internet services, the community still faces obstacles when accessing online education.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Island can receive an internet signal well. There are remote areas that experience a limited internet signal. This is what hampers online learning. Because they are not used to it, students find it difficult to study online. In this case, the lecturers and students can innovate to create a learning atmosphere that is not boring and effective in terms of the knowledge transfer method used. Changes in the behaviour of both lecturers and students is needed so then the educational goals can be optimally realised. In addition, educational institutions also need to make their distance learning innovations more effective and Tefficient.hisstudy
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produce recommendations regarding online learning policies The Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia needs to pay attention when dealing with the problems of access to education in rural and remote areas. The central and regional governments should provide adequate facilities and access to education, especially in rural areas inclusive of financial assistance, especially for the poor who have difficulty accessing the internet.
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Keywords: mathematical connections; mathematical problem solving; students’ difficulties; mathematics learning; phenomenological study
255 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 255 277, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.120204 High School Students’ Difficulties in Making Mathematical Connections when Solving Problems Jailani, Heri Retnawati and Ezi Apino Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta State University), Yogyakarta, https://orcid.org/0000Indonesia00015552 255X https://orcid.org/0000 0002 1792 5873 https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9711 2807 Agus Santoso Universitas Terbuka (Open University) South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000 0003 3696 2132
Abstract. The primary purpose of studying mathematics is that students can solve problems, both mathematical and real life problems. In this toway,mathematicalconnectionsplayanessentialroleinenablingstudentssolvemathematicalproblems.Students ’ difficulties in mathematical connections can cause difficulties in solving problems. This study aims to describe the mathematical connections difficulties experienced by students when solving mathematical problems. This study is qualitative with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected by using mathematical connection tests and interviews after the test. The participants of this study were 31 high school students from five schools in Yogyakarta Special Region and Central Java Province, Indonesia. Data analysis began with analyzing all students’ answers in solving mathematical problems and categorizing the types of difficulties experienced by students. Thematic analysis of the interview data was conducted to reveal the causes of difficulties experienced by students when making mathematical connections. The findings showed that most students experienced difficulties in making mathematical connections, such as in different representations, part whole relationships, connections between mathematical concepts, and interrelationships between mathematicalprocedures.Severalcausesof suchdifficultiesand further actions were also discussed in this study.
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Mathematical connections are generally associated with three things, namely connections related to the application of mathematics to real life contexts (Blum, Galbraith, Henn & Niss, 2007; Monroe & Mikovch, 1994; Mwakapenda, 2008; Özgen 2016), mathematical connections with other disciplines (Blum et al., 2007; Mwakapenda, 2008; Özgen 2016), and connections between mathematical ideas
1. Introduction Mathematics is a compulsory subject learned from primary to higher education. This subject plays an essential role in the advancement and development of science and technology, and also contributes directly to human survival. Besides, mathematics is not just arithmetic, but it can also be used to practice a variety of thinking skills, such as critical thinking (Appelbaum, 2000; Lince, 2016; Suh & Seshaiyer, 2013), creative thinking (Leikin & Pitta Pantazi, 2013; Lince, 2016), logical thinking (Hodge, 2003; Lince, 2016), and higher order thinking skills (Apino & Retnawati, 2017, 2019). The importance of mathematics encourages many countries to keep creating innovations in strategies and approaches to learning mathematics to make mathematics more understandable and applicable in real life situations. One of the keys to learning mathematics is problem solving (NCTM, 2000; Palmér & Van Bommel, 2020; Van Zanten & Van den Heuvel Panhuizen, 2020). Problem solving is in line with the spirit of mathematics as a means to develop thinking skills. In the context of mathematics education, this problem solving is used to introduce and familiarize students with how to understand a phenomenon related to mathematical concepts and things associated with the application of mathematics in everyday life (Osman et al., 2018). By using problem solving, the students are then expected to be able to plan and find solutions to various problems systematically and logically (Albay, 2019). This ability is fundamentally important as it can help the students face increasingly complex challenges in life. Many kinds of literature categorize problem solving as one of the competencies that must be possessed for success in the 21st century besides critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication (Albay, 2019; English & Gainsburg, 2016; Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019). Today, problem solving is no longer seen as a written skill, but from a broader perspective, it evolves into an essential skill used to compete in the world of work and even to answer the challenges of this era. In order to reach this skill, other abilities are needed. As formulated by NCTM (2000), in mathematics learning standards, another ability such as mathematical connection must be practiced by students in addition to problem solving. NCTM (2000) highlights that the mathematical connection is a tool for problem solving. Mathematical connections help students recognize and use relationships between mathematical ideas and use them in different contexts (Dolores Flores, Rivera López & García García, 2019). Having strong mathematical connections will alsoenhance mathematicalunderstanding(García García & Dolores Flores, 2018; Kenedi, Helsa, Ariani, Zainil & Hendri 2019; Silver, Mesa, Morris, Star & Benken, 2009) and student achievement (Kartikasari & Widjajanti, 2017; Ndiung & Nendi, 2018). Hence, making mathematical connections is necessary for students to be successful in mathematics education.
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or concepts themselves (Blum et al., 2007; Eli, Mohr Schroeder & Lee, 2013; Monroe & Mikovch, 1994; Mwakapenda, 2008). The connection between mathematical ideas or concepts by Businskas (2008) is referred to as interconnections in mathematics, while García García and Dolores Flores (2018) mention them as intra mathematical connections. The ability to make connections between mathematical ideas or concepts themselves (interconnections or intra mathematical connections) is crucial for understanding mathematical concepts (Anthony & Walshaw, 2009; Berry & Nyman, 2003; García García & Dolores Flores, 2020; Mhlolo, 2012) and for their application to other scientific disciplines (Mhlolo, 2012; Mhlolo, Venkat & Schäfer, 2012). Thus, interconnection in mathematics becomes an interesting topic to discuss. Businskas (2008) suggests that most literature only focuses on examining the connection between mathematics and real world situations without exploring how interconnection in mathematics itself. Besides, García García and Dolores Flores (2020) reveal that there is still little research focused on investigating the mathematical connection process when students solve mathematics problems Hence in this study, mathematical connections are focused on interconnection in mathematics itself when students solve mathematical problems. Businskas (2008) suggests a framework for thinking about mathematical connections in practice. The framework of thinking can be operationally used as an indicator of mathematical interconnections consisting of five categories. The categories include (1) different representation as a form of mathematical connections; (2) part whole relationships; (3) connections where A implies B; (4) connections showing that A is a procedure for doing B; and (5) instructional oriented connection that shows how certain concepts are pre requisites for understanding related concepts (Businskas, 2008). García García and Dolores Flores develop a framework similar to Businskas and have implemented it in their research (e.g., García García & Dolores Flores, 2018; 2020). That framework includes several types of mathematical connections indicators, including the following: different representations, procedural features, reversibility, and meaning as a connection. Through these indicators, mathematical connections can be identified more quickly and the extent to which mathematical connections can be easily measured. Some other studies also report thatthestudents’mathematical connectionabilities at various levels need serious attention. Lapp, Nyman, and Berry (2010) report that undergraduate students encountered difficulties in making connections between various concepts, such as the connection between eigenvalues and eigenvectors in algebra learning. Dolores Flores et al. (2019) explore the mathematical connections of pre university students when solving tasks involving the rates of change The result showed that the students only made mathematical connections of procedural types. In contrast, the students scarcely made other types of mathematical connections, such as the common features and the generalization. Siregar and Surya (2017) analyze the junior high school students’ abilities in mathematical connections using tests of mathematical connections, and the result showed that their abilities were still low. Similarly, Kenedi et al. (2019) investigate the elementary school students’ mathematical connection ability in solving mathematics problems, and the result showed that
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Besides, García García and Dolores Flores (2018) argue that students have an important role in reflection for process and learning improvement related to mathematical skill connections. Thus, the findings from the results of identifying what students do in solving mathematics problems that require mathematical connection skills can be used as a reflection to improve mathematics learning.
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In practice, several studies report some obstacles in teaching mathematical connections. Dolores Flores et al. (2019) report that a lack of conceptual understanding and difficulties in manipulating algebra were the main obstacles in making mathematical connections. Arjudin, Sutawidjaja, Irawan, and Sa’dijah (2016) also report that students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections were caused by errors in connecting with conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge. Lack of familiarity with the mathematical connection problems also becomes another obstacle for students in developing their mathematical connection ability. In this way, Agustini, Suryadi, and Jupri (2017) suggest familiarizing students with mathematical connection problems by using open ended problems. These findings indicate that actions are needed to improve the quality of mathematics learning, which is oriented towards strengthening mathematical connection skills. The starting point for improvement can be made by identifying students’ difficulties in solving mathematics problems (Hadi, Retnawati, Munadi, Apino & Wulandari, 2018; Rafi & Retnawati, 2018; Wijaya, van den Heuvel Panhuizen, Doorman & Robitzsch, 2014). In this context, we view that investigating student difficulties when making mathematical connections in solving mathematical problems is urgent. Dolores Flores et al. (2019) point out that mathematical connections occur when students carry out specific tasks and, therefore, we can identify its processes from the writings or arguments produced by the students.
Payton (2019) conducts a study that focuses on interventions that aim to develop mathematical connections. Zengin (2019) examines the use of GeoGebra software for the development of mathematical connections skills. Other studies are conducted to explore mathematical connections involving various representations (e.g., García-García & Dolores-Flores, 2018; Mhlolo, 2012; Mhlolo et al., 2012; Moon, Brenner, Jacob & Okamoto, 2013). Based on this review, we are motivated to explore students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections,
their abilities were also low. The results of these studies can be used as a basis for improving the quality of mathematics learning that is oriented towards enhancing mathematical connections.
Even though there have been many studies related to mathematical connection, there are still a few studies that are focused on investigating the difficulties experienced by students in making mathematical connections when solving mathematics problems. The study of García García and Dolores Flores (2018) is more focused on exploring the types of mathematical connections made by high school students in performing Calculus tasks. Furthermore, the study of García García and Dolores Flores (2020) also explores the types of mathematical connections in solving Calculus application problems but involves pre university.
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especially when students interconnect mathematical concepts or procedures when solving mathematics problems. Based on the urgency and the review that has been put forward, this study aims to describe the students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections when solving mathematical problems. We hope that the findings of this study can provide a framework for educators to improve best practices in mathematics learning, especially related to the development of students’ mathematical connection skills.
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2. Methods
2.1. Type of Study
2.2. Participants
2.3. Data Collection
The participants of this study were 31 eleventh grade high school students from five schools in Yogyakarta Special Region and Central Java Province, Indonesia. We selected the schools as representatives with high, medium, and low academic achievement. Six students came from school with high academic achievement, 21 students came from school with medium academic achievement, and 12 students came from school with low academic achievement. When we conducted the study, the students involved in this study were between 15 and 17 years old.
We collected data through tests and interviews. The test consisted of mathematical problems (items) containing concepts that had been taught at schools. It comprised of three items, and each of them required a mathematical connection ability to solve it. We took these items from the college entrance exam questions in Indonesia that had been released and re validated. The validity of the test instrument was proven through content validation by asking experts to agree on the item’s suitability with the indicators. The experts were two high school mathematics teachers and two mathematics education lecturers. The indicators of mathematical connection abilities used in this study included different representations (DR), part whole relationships (PWR), connections where A implies B (IM), and connections showing that A is a procedure for doing B (PD). We used item 1 to measure the students’ mathematical connection ability to solve the problem of a two variable linear equation (see Figure 2). We used item 2 to measure the students’ mathematical connection ability to solve the problem of a trigonometric equation (see Figure 3). We used item 3 to measure the students’
This study was classified as phenomenology, a type of qualitative research methods. The primary aim of phenomenological research was to reduce the experiences of people with a particular phenomenon to find descriptions of the universal essence (Creswell, 2013). The phenomenon in this study was about the students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections, especially in solving mathematical problems. One common phenomenon which occurred when students solved mathematical problems was that students already knew a concept, but they had difficulty in connecting the concept with other mathematical concepts. This phenomenon often harms their understanding of mathematical concepts and their academic achievement in learning mathematics.
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mathematical connection ability to solve the problem of a circle (see Figure 4).
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Before taking the test, we informed students that the test results would not affect their academic achievement in school, but we asked them to take the test seriously. The test was not administered in the regular classroom but taken vacant or available time as agreed by the teacher, students, and researchers in each school. We gave students 30 minutes to complete the test. We conducted interviews with the students right after they finished the test. The interviews aimed to know the students’ perceptions of the problems being tested. In this case, we asked the students to show which difficult parts of the problem solving process they found. The interviews were also focused on finding obstacles or causes of the difficulties encountered by the students in solving mathematical connection problems. Before the study, we informed the students that the tests and interviews conducted during the data collection would not affect their academic achievement at school. We conducted interviews right after all students have completed the mathematical connection test in each school. Students have interviewed alternately one by one for about 15 minutes. The answers of each student during the interview were noted directly by the researchers.
2.4. Data Analysis
Data analysis was preceded by analyzing the answer sheet of each student. Scoring was done by referring to the scoring guidelines prepared by researchers. The scoring guidelines contained solutions and steps for solving (procedures) that students must take when solving problems. In this study, these procedures represent indicators of mathematical connections (see Figure 2 for an example). We gave a score of 1 for each correct procedure performed by students for each mathematical connection indicator, while for the incorrect procedure, we gave a score of 0. In Problem 1, there were two procedures of DR, one procedure of IM, and two procedures of PD (see Figure 2). Students were categorized as “High Mastery” if they performed all the procedures correctly for each indicator. If students only performedone correct procedure on the DRandPD indicators, then students were categorized as “Average Mastery”. In contrast, if all procedures performed by students did not meet the three mathematical connection indicators, then they were categorized as “Low Mastery”. In Problem 2, there were six procedures of DR, one procedure of IM, and two procedures of PD (see Figure 3). In Problem 2, if students performed at least four correct procedures on the DR indicator, students were categorized as “High Mastery”. If students only performed one to three correct procedures, then they were categorized as “Average Mastery”, meanwhile if all the procedures performed by students were incorrect, then students were categorized as “Low Mastery”. For the IM indicator in Problem 2, the categorization of students was the same as Problem 1. For Problem 3, there was one procedure of DR, two procedures of PWR, one procedure of IM, and three procedures of PD (see Figure 4). For DR and IM
In this study, we see the students’ mathematical connection ability through four primary indicators, namely different representation (DR), part whole relationships (PWR), connections where A implies B (IM), and connections showing that A is a procedure for doing B (PD). We categorized the ability of the students to master each of the mathematical connection indicators into three levels
indicators, students were categorized as “High Mastery” if they could perform the procedure correctly. In contrast, if the procedure was incorrect, then students were categorized as “Low Mastery”. For the PWR indicator, students were categorized as “High Mastery” if they performed two procedures correctly, “Average Mastery” if they performed only one procedure correctly, and “Low Mastery” if they performed all procedures incorrectly. As for the PD indicator, students were categorized as “High Mastery” if they performed three procedures correctly, “Average Mastery” if they only performed one to two procedures correctly, and “Low Mastery” if all the procedures were incorrect.
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The data obtained were then tabulated based on the students’ ability categories (High Mastery, Average Mastery, and Low Mastery) and mathematical connection indicators (DR, PWR, IM, and PD) for each problem. From this tabulation, we obtained the number and percentage of students for each category of ability and mathematical connection indicators for each problem. In this study, we considered students in the Average Mastery and Low Mastery categories as participants who experienced mathematical connection difficulties. Then some of their answers were selected to map the errors made by students for each mathematical connection indicator for each problem. We presented the results of the mapping narratively. The results of the interviews were qualitatively analyzed using an analytical technique developed by Bogdan and Biklen (2007) by analyzing the relationships between themes from the qualitative data obtained from the interviews. The transcripts of the interview data were then coded independently by two researchers. If there were differences in the coding results, the two researchers together reviewed the data then agreed to determine the correct coding. If there were no differences in coding results, all researchers analyzed the relationship between the coding so that we found the sub themes. The relationship between the sub themes was then analyzed so that we found the main themes. We presented the thematic results of the analysis in the tables.
This study involved all researchers during the data analysis processes to ensure the validity and reliability in interpreting the qualitative data. All researchers had experienced in the field of qualitative research, especially related to educational issues. Then we discussed the results of the data analysis in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) involving all researchers and two experts. The two experts were lecturers outside the researchers’ institution and had experienced in qualitative research related to educational issues. The FGD discussed research findings and its suitability and consistency with the data obtained from participants.
3. Results 3.1. Description of difficulties in students’ mathematical connection ability
262 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. of mastery, including the following: “High Mastery,” “Average Mastery,” and “Low Mastery”. We use the “Average Mastery” and “Low Mastery” levels as a basis for identifying students who experience mathematical connection difficulties. In other words, when the mastery of each indicator only reaches the level of “Average Mastery” and “Low Mastery,” the students were then categorized as experiencing mathematical connection difficulties. We present the percentage of students who experience mathematical connections difficulties and the level of student mastery of each indicator in each problem in Table 1. Table 1. Percentage of students experiencing mathematical connection difficulties Indicators of ConnectionsMathematical MasteryHigh AverageMastery MasteryLow Difficulties 1) n % n % n % n % Problem 1: Different Representation (DR) 16 42.11 7 18.42 15 39.47 22 57.89 Part Whole Relationships (PWR) 2) Connections where A Implies B (IM) 10 26.32 28 73.68 28 73.68 Connections that show that A is a procedure for doing B (PD) 17 44.74 6 15.79 15 39.47 21 55.26 Problem 2: Different Representation (DR) 18 47.37 10 26.32 10 26.32 20 52.63 Part Whole Relationships (PWR) 2) Connections where A Implies B (IM) 18 47.37 20 52.63 20 52.63 Connections that show that A is a procedure for doing B (PD) 10 26.32 9 23.68 19 50.00 28 73.68 Problem 3: Different Representation (DR) 5 13.16 33 86.84 33 86.84 Part Whole Relationships (PWR) 1 2.63 15 39.47 22 57.89 37 97.37 Connections where A Implies B (IM) 7 18.42 31 81.58 31 81.58 Connections that show that A is a procedure for doing B (PD) 2 5.26 13 34.21 23 60.53 36 94.74 Notes: 1) Difficulties in mathematical connection are the total number of students who have average and low mastery in each indicator. 2) The indicator is not tested in the item. n is the number of students. Table 1 shows that the percentage of students who have high mastery in each indicator tested for each question was under 50%. In general, this number shows that most students still experienced difficulty for each indicator of mathematical
Figure 1. The comparison between the students who had mastered and those who faced difficulties of a mathematical connection Figure 1 shows that the gap between students who had mastered the indicators and those who had not mastered the indicators was too big, especially in Problem 3. From Figure 1, we can see that the number of students who have not mastered the indicators is more prominent than those who have mastered the indicators of mathematical connection in each mathematics problem. Meanwhile, the gap for DR, PWR, PD indicators in all problems (Problem 1, Problem 2, and Problem 3) looked different. Thus, we conclude that for each mathematical connection indicator in each given problem, the number of students who experienced difficulty is higher than those who did not experience it.
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For Problem 4, when compared to Problem 1 and Problem 2, the percentage of student difficulties for each indicator of mathematical connection ability was much higher. Of the four mathematical connection indicators tested in Problem 4, more than 80% of the students had difficulty, and even 97.37% of the students had difficulty in the part whole relationships (PWR) indicator. For the PWR indicator, in particular, Problem 1 and Problem 2 have not accommodated this indicator, and therefore, we could not compare the students’ difficulty for this indicator in Problem 3. The fact that the PWR indicator reached the highest percentage showed that the students experienced great difficulty in constructing answers using this indicator. Overall, we concluded that the students’ mathematical connection difficulties occur in all indicators where PWR is the most difficult indicator, and PD is the second most difficult indicator for the students. The comparison between the students who had mastered and those who faced difficulties in making mathematical connections can be seen in Figure 1.
connection ability. For Problem 1, Connections, where A Implies the students perceived B (IM) as the most difficult indicator, where 73.68% of the students experienced difficulty in this indicator. For Problem 2, however, the most difficult indicator perceived by the students was connection showing that A is a procedure for doing B(PD), where 73.68% of students experienced difficulty in this indicator.
Qualitative data were also collected to confirm the findings. Based on the results of qualitative data reduction from students’ interviews, we present some difficulties faced by the students in solving mathematical connection problems in Table 2.
Table 2. Identification of students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections when solving problems
The students were unfamiliar with mathematical connection problems. The students had difficulty in reading mathematical Thepatterns.students had difficulty in connecting mathematical Theconcepts.students had difficulty in mathematic manipulation. The students were not well trained to solve mathema tical connection problems because of a lack of fami liarity.
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Based on Table 2, we can understand that there are three main causes of students’ difficulties in solving mathematical connection problems. The first is a lack of familiarity with mathematical connection problems, as seen in the following excerpts of student interviews. “... I’ve never worked on a problem about fractions like in Problem 1.” (Student 3) “... I’ve never met a problem about a circle with another circle. A problem with a circle usually asks for tangents only. That’s not about a circle intersecting another circle. The problem is difficult and unfamiliar to me.” (Student 1)
The student interviews showed that so far, the students were only used to working on routine problems. Thus, they faced difficulty when doing non routine problems, such as mathematical connection. Besides, they had difficulty in reading mathematical patterns, as expressed by two students in the following interview excerpts. “... if we can find the pattern, the trigonometric identity is actually easy, but it’s difficult for me to find the pattern because I don’t have the good sense to do that.” (Student 12) “... I have difficulty seeing the pattern because of its fraction, and in my opinion, solving linear equations in this problem is very difficult.” (Student 10)
The students did not understand several terms in the Theproblems.students had difficulty in understanding the problems completely. The students found it hard to identify important points from the problems. The students forgot mathematical formulas. The students lacked con ceptual understanding. The problems included too long words. The problems required repeated reading. The students were not in terested in word problems.
Identification of Student Difficulty Conclusion
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The difficulty of linking concepts and manipulating mathematical operations caused the students to fail in their attempt to determine the next procedure for solving the problem, as illustrated in the following interview excerpts.
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“... the word problem consisted of long sentences that demanded a lot of concentration on understanding the points. Well, I can understand the points. So, I separated the points first and then calculated the area.” (Student 9)
“... I’ve difficulty in this problem; I don’t understand the meaning of ‘radius’ and also the problem in general. So, I have no idea what the problem means.” (Student 2) “... I’m having a hard time understanding the problem; applying the trigonometric identity is quite difficult for me.” (Student 10) “... I don’t understand about calculating the area of a circle, and I find it hard to separate the parts of the circle.” (Student 5)
It appeared that the students did not enjoy reading the context or rather long information. This condition led to difficulty in understanding the problem as a whole and also planning mathematical procedures used to solve the problem. As a result, the students’ progress in problem solving related to mathematical connections would be hindered. To illustrate the students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections in solving mathematical problems, we will present examples of cases of student difficulties for each indicator of mathematical connection in the next section Table 1 shows that the percentage of students who had difficulty in mathematical connections for each indicator was higher than those who had no difficulty. Although the gap between these two groups varied for the three types of problems given, the percentage of students who had difficulty always dominated
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“... the problem is not too confusing, but I just don’t really understand the trigonometric identity and quadratic equation, then I find it hard to associate them.” (Student 5) “... I stopped at A and B because not find the comparison to calculate the value of A and B.” (Student 12) Lack of conceptual understanding is one of the causes of the students’ difficulty in solving mathematical connection problems, as stated by the students in the following excerpts.
The student interviews proved that the students were still weak in the basic concepts of mathematics. In this case, they did not know the term ‘radius’ and how to calculate the area of a circle. Their low comprehension of such fundamental concepts caused them to have difficulty in understanding the purpose of the problem. Therefore, they failed to plan the correct procedure for solving the problem. One of the common challenges faced by the students in problem solving activities was that they were lazy to read word problems. The following excerpts illustrate this.
“... what was asked in the problem was actually quite simple, but the description was not straightforward.” (Student 11)
3.2. Different Representation (DR) as a form of a mathematical connection
Of the three problems given to the students, the average percentage of students who experienced difficulty for different representations (DR) indicator was 65.79%. This percentage clearly shows that most students still experienced difficulty in applying this indicator. We present an example of student difficulty in this indicator in Figure 2.
those who had no difficulty. In the next section, we will describe some cases regarding the student difficulty in mathematical connections for each indicator.
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Figure 2. Example of student answer with difficulty in Different Representation (DR)
The example of student answer in Figure 2 shows that this student failed to solve the problem correctly. The failure started when the student made a mistake in designing a mathematical model appropriate to the context of the problem. In step 1, the student defined two new variables, namely �� and ��, where ��= 1 �� 2�� dan �� = 1 ��+2�� . It can be observed that these two variables could not be linked to the two initial equations found in Problem 1. Also, in step 2, it shows that the equation model made was out of sync with the results obtained in stage 1. Based on this finding, it is clear that the student’s problem occurred when he was not able to represent the form ���� ��2 4��2 Into another form, and therefore incorrectly took another procedure to solve Problem 1.
In Figure 3, we present another example of student difficulty in the different representations (DR) indicator. In Figure 3 [a], the error in representing a different form of trigonometric equation occurred in step 4 (inside the box). Likewise, the example of the student’s answer in Figure 3 [b], in the red box, it is clear that students incorrectly changed the form cos2�� sin2�� into tan��. Meanwhile, in Figure 3 [c], the error began in step 2, which the student manipulated the form of 2sin�� cos2�� and cos�� sin2�� by using the formula for multiplying sine and cosine, and we can see the error in the red box. Examples of these errors provide empirical evidence that the students still encountered difficulties in the different representations (DR) indicator for solving mathematical connection problems.
3.3. Part-Whole Relationships (PWR) In this study, the PWR indicator for solving mathematical connections problems was only found in Problem 3. The percentage of students who did not master this indicator was the highest among all of the indicators, at 97.37%. This finding strongly indicated that in the context of the given problem, the students’ ability to do part whole relationships was still low We present examples of student
Figure 3. Another example of student answer with difficulty in Different Representation (DR)
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Figure 4. Example of the student answer with difficulty in Part Whole Relationship (PWR) indicator
answers that indicate that they have difficulties with the PWR indicator in Figure 4.
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Figure 4 [a] shows that in step 1, the student actually understood the meaning of Problem 3. However, it appeared that the students had difficulty calculating the segment area of a large circle. Based on the student’s answer in Figure 4 [a], the student calculated the area of a large circle segment = the area of a large circle the area of 1/2 small circle. What the student did in this step indicated that he was not able to find the basic concepts used to calculate the area of segment (such as the rules of cosine, the area of the section, and the area of a triangle). In other words, the student encountered difficulty in finding part whole relationships to
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3.4. Connections where A implies B (IM) IM indicator in mathematical connections is operationally visible when students can show a relationship that a mathematical concept results in another concept. In the three problems given to the students, each procedure for solving these problems contains an IM indicator. Based on the test of the three problems having the indicator, there were only 30.70% of the students who mastered the indicator. In contrast, the remaining 69.30% of the students did not master the indicator. We present the examples of student answers with difficulties in the connections where A implies B (IM) indicator in Figure 5.
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Figure 5. Example of student answer with difficulty in Connections Where A Implies B (IM) indicator From algebra theory, the student’s work in Figure 5 [a] was correct, but it was ineffective and required more time to find the final answer. If we compare the student’s response in Figure 5 [a] with the solution to Problem 1 (see Figure 2), the difference is evident. The student’s work in Figure 5 [a] clearly showed that he/she was not able to simplify the equations given. This finding is because the student was not able to manipulate the form from ���� ��2 4��2 into �� �� 2�� × �� ��+2�� . As a result, the student failed to find another more straightforward concept (for example, doing mathematical modeling), leading to the discovery of the concept of a two variable linear equation system. If the student succeeds in finding a more straightforward form of the two variable linear equation system given, the procedure for solving Problem 1 will be more comfortable
find the segment range of the large circle. Next, Figure 4 [b] showed the other example of a student’s answer in solving Problem 3. In Figure 4 [b] can be seen that the student found it hard to analyze the parts (see step 1) or the basic concepts used to find the whole solution to Problem 3 (see step 2 and step 3).
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Another difficulty experienced by the students in mathematical connections is related to the indicator of connections showing that A is a procedure for doing B (PD). If the students were able to show that a mathematical procedure is applied to obtain another procedure, we consider them competent at this PD indicator. Each of the three problems tested contained the PD indicator, and we obtained the average percentage of the students who experienced difficulties for this indicator was 74.56%. We present the examples of student answers with difficulty in PD indicator in Figure 6. Figure 6. Example of student answer with difficulty in connections showing that A is a Procedure for Doing B (PD) indicator In Figure 6 [a], the student was able to find a solution to the trigonometric equation (see step 4 and step 5) resulted from the previous process, even though they did not assume first that tan�� =��. However, some errors still occurred in step 7 and step 8, when the student associated that the value of �� is the angle (see step 7). The angles were then substituted with the equation tan(��1 +��2) (see step 8), even though the intended final solution from Problem 3 was different. This finding clearly showed that the student was not able to connect between the
Meanwhile, as seen in Figure 5 [b], the student made a mistake in step 6. In this step, the student assumed/defined tan�� =��, so the trigonometric equation in step 5 could be changed into a quadratic equation ��2 +5�� 6=0. By dividing it into factors (factorizing), the solutions from the quadratic equation were ��= 6 dan ��=1 (in Figure 6 [b], the student wrote the solution as ��1 = 6 and ��2 =1). In this case, the solution of the quadratic equation found should be changed into the solution for the trigonometric equation. Because the student previously defined tan�� =��, the solution of the quadratic equation is converted into tan�� = 6 and tan�� =1. Due to some errors in performing the procedure, the final solution for determining the value of tan(��1 +��2) was also incorrect. From this case, it is clear that the students still had difficulty in connecting a mathematical concept that results in other concepts.
3.5. Connections showing that A is a Procedure for Doing B (PD)
Likewise, the student’s answer in Figure 6 [b], when the student calculated the area of a section (see step 3, inside of the box), they wrote that the section area of the large circle was 90° 360°×������������������������������������. However, the students did not show what procedure was appliedtofinda 90° angle. According tothe illustration drawn by the student (see step 1), a 90° angle was determined based on the assumption that the triangle formed was a right triangle, not associated with cosine rules (see the solution of Problem 3 in Figure 4). This finding showed that the students were not able to show what procedure should be previously applied to calculate the section area of the circle.
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of this study support the findings of several previous studies, which show that the students still experience difficulties in mathematical connection (Dolores Flores et al., 2019; Kenedi et al., 2019; Lapp et al., 2010; Siregar & Surya, 2017). Although previous studies involved participants at different levels, from elementary school toundergraduate levels, the obstacles faced by each participant were almost the same in general. Those obstacles consist of difficulty making representations in other forms, doing part whole relationships, making implications, and showing the interrelationships between mathematical procedures. These mathematical connection difficulties also occurred in this Ofstudy.the four mathematical connection indicators studied in this study, most students had difficulty making the part whole relationship (PWR). This finding is consistent with the findings of Mhlolo (2012) and García García and Dolores Flores (2020). When doing PWR in solving mathematics problems, students should see the connection between general concepts through specific parts in the
Whereas in other indicators, the percentage of students the master is still low. Many students have not mastered the mathematical connection indicators for each given mathematical problem, indicating clearly that most students still have difficulty making mathematical connections in solving mathematics problems. Students who have been able to make good mathematical connections show that they have a good understanding of using various mathematical concepts and procedures and their relationships to solve problems. This finding is consistent with the opinion of García García and Dolores Flores (2020) and Payton (2019). Conversely, students who have difficulties tend not to master the basic concepts and mathematical procedures needed to solve problems, as stated by students during interviews. Besides, the unfamiliarity of students in solving mathematics problems also causes them to experience difficulties. This unfamiliarity also impacts students’ low interest in word problems, where students admit to being lazy to read problems with too long words, as stated by students during Theinterviews.results
procedures performed in steps 4, 5, and 6 with the equation tan(��1 +��2) (step 8).
5. Discussion
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The results of this study generally indicate that most students have not mastered the mathematical connection skills well. For each mathematical connection indicator, most students have mastered the different representation indicator (DR) (47.37%) and the connection where A implies B (IM) (47.37%) in Problem 2.
One of the critical factors in making a mathematical connection is a deep understanding of its concept (Dolores Flores et al , 2019; García García & Dolores Flores, 2018; Silver et al , 2009) and obtaining such conceptual understanding also needs mathematical connections (Anthony & Walshaw, 2009). Dolores Flores et al. (2019) believed that poor understanding of concepts to be the leading cause of the students’ difficulty in making mathematical connections. As also confirmed from the interview conducted in this study, almostall of the students experiencing difficulties in making mathematical connections claimed that they did not understand the mathematical concepts needed to solve mathematical connection problems. For that reason, mathematics learning in the classroom should be focused on how to instill mathematical concepts in students to develop other mathematical skills. Lack of familiarity with mathematical connection problems also caused difficulties in solving the problems. Mhlolo et al. (2012) suggest that most students lack the opportunity to deepen the understanding of mathematical connections. Besides, the books used have not yet been explicitly linked to the topics with various contexts, mathematics with real life, and thus hinder the students from developing their mathematical connection skills (Salout et al., 2013). In this case, Baki, Çathoğlu, Coştu & Birgin. (2009) recommend the need to make changes in the mathematics class in terms of content and context that must be applied.
The findings of this study have implications for the development of the pedagogy of mathematics learning. We believe that the factors that cause student difficulties in making mathematical connections when solving mathematics problems can be used as a framework for teachers in designing mathematics learning. As stated by García García and Dolores Flores (2020), what students do and communicate when solving mathematics problems involving mathematical connections is essential as a reflection to improve the quality of learning. At least the research findings have implications regarding the importance of teachers developing skills in facilitating students to make mathematical connections and best practices that can be applied to develop students’ connection skills.
The teacher’s pedagogical competence in training the students to solve mathematical connections also needs immediate attention. It is crucial to ensure that the teacher is well prepared and has confidence that the students have sufficient initial abilities to develop various mathematical skills. Bowen (2014) reports that teachers tend to be hesitant about using their knowledge of mathematical connections because they doubt their student abilities. For this
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form of particular examples (Mhlolo, 2012). In this case, we understand that students are considered capable of making PWR if they apply specific concepts or procedures properly as part of the general concept to be completed. However, in this study, most students failed to do this. To overcome it, according to Mhlolo (2012), students need to be accustomed to doing and expressing generalizations both through deductive and inductive reasoning patterns. When students have good deductive and inductive reasoning skills, we expect that they will be able to do PWR well when solving mathematics problems.
5. Conclusions and Implications
Based on the study results and discussion, we concluded that the students still experienced difficulties in making mathematical connections when solving mathematics problems. These difficulties included making a different representation as a form of mathematical connections, part whole relationships (hierarchical nature of concepts), connections that show A is a procedure fordoing B (logical reasoning), and connections showing that A is a procedure for doing B (algorithms). In general, the indicators of mathematical connection difficulties experienced by the students as follows. First, lack of familiarity in solving
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reason, instilling confidence in teachers that their students can develop their ability in mathematical connection is very important. Besides, lack of assistance among the teachers regarding the planning and implementation of learning that facilitates students to make mathematical connections (Monroe & Mikovch, 1994) is of concern mainly to policymakers in the field of education. We can make various efforts to improve student ability in mathematical connections. As stated by NCTM (2000) that mathematical connection is a tool in problem solving. This statement means that practicing problem solving skills in learning mathematics participates indirectly in students’ practicing mathematical connection skills. Various studies have reported that some learning models were effective to develop student problem solving skills such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) (Kartikasari & Widjajanti, 2017; Malasari, Nindisari & Jaenudin, 2017), collaborative problem based learning strategy (Widjajanti, 2013), as well as using varied methods in learning such as direct learning, demonstration, practice and exercise, and also using modified instructional media (Jannah, Apriliya & Karlimah, 2017). Also, it is crucial to give the students more activities of problem solving so that they make a habit of it. Students of all ages are more motivated with problem situations that involve them and their classmates (Welchman Tischler, 1992); use three dimensional manipulatives (Safi & Desai, 2017); and use proof approaches (Jiang & O’Brien, 2012). Another strategy that can be applied is using writing strategies in learning mathematics such as making drawings, pictures, tables, and graphs; providing a clear explanation of problem solving methods and justifications of processes; and doing a reflection on learning (Haltiwanger & Simpson, 2013). The use of math software such as GeoGebra has also been recommended to develop students’ mathematical connection skills (Zengin, Although2019)this study succeeded in uncovering the types of mathematical connection difficulties experienced by students when solving mathematics problems and their causes, this study has not revealed the relationship between students’ academic performance levels and difficulties. This limitation provides an opportunity for future research to focus on uncovering the relationship between types of mathematical connection difficulties and the level of student academic performance. Besides, this study’s mathematical problems do not represent all mathematics topics studied at the high school level. Thus, to strengthen this study’s findings, it is necessary to replicate this study by using mathematical problems on other topics.
Our research findings are useful for educators in designing mathematics learning that facilitates the development of students’ mathematical connections skills. Educators can use our findings to construct a framework to rearrange learning objectives, adjust the depth of learning topics, select mathematics contents and contexts, choose innovative strategies, consider the use of technology, even design assessments that consider mathematical connections. We recommend that the topics used to teach mathematics contain problem solving activities that link some mathematical concepts and procedures and connect mathematics with other disciplines and real life situations. Regarding the limitations of this study, we suggest that future research investigate the relationship between types of mathematical connection difficulties and the level of student academic performance. Furthermore, the researchers need to conduct investigations related to students’ difficulties in making mathematical connections on other topics. We hope that replications can strengthen our research findings.
mathematical connection problems characterized by difficulties in recognizing mathematical patterns, linking mathematical concepts, and working out mathematical manipulations. Second, poor understanding of the concept characterized by difficulties in understanding some mathematical terms, comprehending the whole problem, identifying essential points of the problem, applying mathematical formulas. Third, the lack of interest in word problems.
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. Reston, VA: Author. Ndiung, S., & Nendi, F. (2018). Mathematics connection ability and students mathematics learning achievement at elementary school. SHS Web of Conferences, 42(9), 1 5. doi:10.1051/shsconf/20184200009 Osman,S.,Yang,C.N.A.C.,Abu,M.S.,Ismail,N.,Jambari,H.,&Kumar,J.A.(2018).Enhancing students’ mathematical problem solving skills through bar model visualisation technique. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 13(3), 273 279. doi:10.12973/iejme/3919 Özgen, K. (2016). A theoretical study on the mathematical connection. In W. Wu, M. T. Hebebci,&O.T.Öztürk(Eds.), InternationalConferenceonResearchinEducationand Science (pp. 220 230). Bodrum, Turkey: ICRES Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.2016.icres.net/ICRES_Proceeding_Book.pdf?rnd=333040543 Palmér,H.,&VanBommel,J.(2020).Youngstudentsposingproblem
Leikin, R., & Pitta Pantazi, D. (2013). Creativity and mathematics education: The state of the art. ZDMMathematicsEducation,45, 159 166. doi:10.1007/s11858 012 0459 1 Lince,R.(2016).Creativethinkingabilitytoincreasesetudentmathematicalofjuniorhighschoolbyapplyingmodelsnumberedheadstogether. JournalofEducationandPractice,7(6),206 212. Retrievedfromhttps://iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/29109/29873
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Mwakapenda, W. (2008). Understanding connections in the school mathematics curriculum. SouthAfricanJournalofEducation,28(2),189 202.doi:10.15700/saje.v28n2a170 NCTM. (2000). Principlesandstandardsforschoolmathematics
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solvingtasks:Whatdoes posing a similar task imply to students? ZDM Mathematics Education, 52(4), 743 752. doi:10.1007/s11858 020 01129 x Partnershipfor21stCenturyLearning.(2019). Frameworkfor21stcenturylearning http://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_Framework_Brief.pdf.Retrievedfrom Payton, S. (2019). Fostering mathematical connections in introductory linear algebra through adapted inquiry. ZDM Mathematics Education, 51(7), 1239 1252. doi: 10.1007/s11858 019 01029 9 Rafi, I., & Retnawati, H. (2018). What are the common errors made by students in solving logarithm problems? Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1097(1), 1 9. doi:10.1088/1742 6596/1097/1/012157 Safi, F., & Desai, S. (2017). Promoting mathematical connections using three dimensional manipulatives. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 22(8), 488 492. doi:10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.22.8.0488 Salout, S. S., Behzadi, M. H., Shahvarani, A., & Manuchehri, M. (2013). Student’s conception about the relation of mathematics to real life. Mathematics Education TrendsandResearch,2013(1), 1 7. doi:10.5899/2013/metr 00009 Silver, E. A., Mesa, V. M., Morris, K. A., Star, J., & Benken, B. M. (2009). Teaching
TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. mathematics for understanding: An analysis of lessons submitted by teachers seeking NBPTS certification. AmericanEducationalResearch Journal,46(2), 501 531. doi:10.3102/0002831208326559 Siregar,N.D.,&Surya,E.(2017).Analysisofstudents’ junior high school mathematical connection ablility. InternationalJournalofSciences:BasicandAppliedResearch,33(2),309 320. Retrieved fromhttps://gssrr.org/index.php/JournalOfBasicAndApplied/article/view/7363/3471 Suh, J., & Seshaiyer,P. (2013).Mathematicalpractices that promote 21st century skills. Mathematics TeachingintheMiddleSchool,19(3),132 137.doi:10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.19.3.0132 Van Zanten, M., & Van den Heuvel Panhuizen, M. (2018). Opportunity to learn problem solving in Dutch primary school mathematics textbooks. ZDM Mathematics Education,50(5), 827 838. doi:10.1007/s11858 018 0973 x Welchman Tischler, R. (1992). Making mathematical connections. The Arithmetic Teacher, 39(9), 12 17. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41195343 Widjajanti, D. J. (2013). The communication skills and mathematical connections of prospective mathematics teacher: A case study on mathematics education students, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia. Jurnal Teknologi, 63(2), 39 43. doi:10.11113/sh.v63n2.149 Wijaya, A., Van den Heuvel Panhuizen, M., Doorman, M., & Robitzsch, A. (2014). Difficulties in solving context based PISA mathematics tasks: An analysis of students’ errors. TheMathematicsEnthusiast,11(3), 555 584 Zengin, Y. (2019). Development of mathematical connection skills in a dynamic learning environment Education and Information Technologies, 24(3), 2175 2194. doi:10.1007/s10639 019 09870 x
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Thi Le Thuy Bui Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0000 0002 4561 612X Vyacheslav I. Kazarenkov Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000 0002 2808 6526
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Abstract. The purpose of this research is to develop a questionnaire for evaluating the quality of teaching for creativity development. We use three methods for creating the questionnaire, namely, interviews, literature review, and expert consultation. The Rasch model was applied to assess the psychometric properties of the questionnaire in the first phase with the participation of 112 students. The results of the study indicated that all items had a point measure correlation coefficient ranging between 0.312 and 0.757, Infit and Outfit MNSQ values were in the range of 0.62 to 1.54, item difficulty values were in the range from 1.54 to 1.12. The overall reliability index of the questionnaire was 0.955, the separation was 4.582, the scale’s number of strata was 6.442. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.963. The results of the study showed that the questionnaire was in good compliance with the Rasch model requirements. We used the questionnaire to assess the current status of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy in the second phase. This phase involved 300 first and second year students who were studying “Pedagogy” and they were grouped in 10 groups. A total of 10 teachers were evaluated, 1 teacher was evaluated by 1 group. The results showed that the quality of teachers’ teaching for creativity development was at an acceptable level We believe that teachers’ preparation according to the evaluation criteria for teachers’ quality teaching for creativity development is needed to improve teachers’ teaching for students’ creativity development
Van De Tran Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0000 0003 0421 5079
Application of Rasch Model to Develop a Questionnaire for Evaluating the Quality of Teaching for Students’ Creativity Development
Keywords: Rasch model; Questionnaire; Development; Creativity; Teaching process
Teachers’ teaching of creativity is among factors that would motivate the students to be creative. Although the focus on creativity in the teaching process has been increased since the 1990s, that did not yield the expected results (Craft, 2005; Beghetto, 2005). According to Shrivastava (2016), one of the main causes of this is related to teachers. Additionally, there were many studies all over the world on the formation and development of students’ creativity along with instruments to measure the different aspects of teaching creativity. However, there is limited research on psychometric properties analyses of these instruments which measure the degree of teachers' quality teaching for creativity Onedevelopment.ofthemodern
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approaches that allow creating a measuring instrument with adequate validation and reliability is the Rasch model (Assanovich, 2012). The Rasch model allows to evaluate the quality of the attributes of the scale within the theoretical framework of point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA Corr), item’s infit and outfit values, item’s level of difficulty, reliability, and separation and strata statistics of the questionnaire. Therefore, it can guarantee the consistency of the of the analyzed factor structure. Additionally, the Rasch
Creativity has a great role for each individual and society and is considered an important element of participation and contribution to life and society (Loveless, 2002). Creativity is increasingly seen as a vital attribute for work, thinking, and life in the 21st century (Mehta, Henriksen, 2016). The continuous changes that modern society is experiencing are raising new demands on higher education on the way to achieving the goal of initiating and developing creativity as a part of students' personalities. In this sense, promoting creativity among students is considered a very important purpose in higher education (Sadeghi, Ofoghi, 2011; Hamed, Preece & Hashim, 2016; Thuy et al., 2019; Bui, Kazarenkov, 2020).
1. Introduction
The issues related to teaching and initiating creativity through education among students have been studied for over the past twenty years. Modern psychologists and educators believe that creativity can be taught (Shrivastava, 2016; Beghetto, Kaufman, 2014; Pang, 2015; Kaplan, 2019; Richardson, Mishra, 2018); Tran, Ho & Hurle, 2016, Kazarenkov et al., 2020). Currently, educators are paying increasing attention to changes in the modern educational process and the role of teachers in the process of education. In this context, the teaching process has changed much in recent years and differs widely from what it was in the past (Biswas, 2011) to become in the form of discussions, seminars, projects, workshops, etc. The teachers have to play the role of moderators, facilitators, consultants, and tutors in a modern university. They should help, inspire, and encourage students whenever needed. Through these roles, the teachers create the conditions in which the independence, activity, and creativity of students are manifested. They require them to constantly change and adapt to the requirements and conditions of modern education. We can say that the teacher is a decisive factor who decides the education in general and students’ creativity development in particular.
Creativity and innovation in education are not only regarded as an opportunity, but also a necessity. These are considered an unalienable part of the purpose of the present and future educational system (Ferrari, Cachia & Punie, 2009).
Creativity is considered as a process involving the creation of new ideas (Esquivel, 1995) and is a potentiality that everyone can develop in any field (Trnka, Zahradnik & Kuška, 2016; Glaveanu, 2018). Creativity refers to people’s ability to solve problems and transform reality (UNESCO, 2015). In recent decades, research on creativity has become the central issue of many different scientific fields. Developing students’ creativity is becoming one of the most important goals in the modern global educational system (Shaheen, 2010; Pang, Plucker, 2012). Sternberg and Lubart (1999) place high value on novel and appropriate products of creativity. Glaveanu (2018) appreciates novelty, originality, significance, or value in creative results. Creativity arises as a result of the interrelation between many different internal (intelligence, creative thinking, abilities, internal motivation) and external (psychological atmosphere within the group in the process of interpersonal interaction, approaches in the educational process) factors. Glaveanu (2013) explores the interrelations between actors, actions, artifacts, audiences, and contexts in the creative process. Walia (2019) is interested in creative activities and the definition of creativity. Elisondo and Vargas (2019) pay attention to the relationships between people, processes, environments, and products. Creative processes involve interrelations between actors, actions, artifacts, audiences and contexts (Glaveanu, 2013). As Elisondo (2016) indicated, the process of human creativity is always associated with social context and other factors. Recently, researchers have developed a special interest in the relationship between creativity and the psychological state of people. They believe that creativity affects human’s health and well being (Richard, 2010; Corner, Silvia, 2015; Benedek, Bruckdorfer & Jauk, 2019). During and after creativity process, people feel happier, more active, relieved, relaxed, and satisfied (Silvia, et al., 2014; Conner, DeYoung & Silvia, 2017). On the contrary, people achieve greater creative effectiveness when they feel energetic, excited, enthusiastic, and joyful (Benedek, Bruckdorfer & Jauk, 2019; Elisondo, Vargas, 2019). These findings suggest that teachers should create positive emotions for students in the teaching process to increase the effectiveness of creativity development. This is closely related to building a learning environment that encourages the development of students’ creativity. Their creativity largely depends on teacher’s practices. Therefore, the issues of teaching for creativity development have been attracting a lot of attention by
2.1. Creativity and Teaching for Creativity Development
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. analysis provides multiple sources of evidence to test the quality of a scale. Furthermore, it not only tests theoretical constructs, but also clearly indicates the items that need to be adjusted or replaced to ensure the overall quality of the scale. In recent years, the use of this method to assess the psychometric properties of scales has grown rapidly in various fields. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire for evaluating teaching for creativity development based on the Rasch model and using it to assess the state of teaching for creativity development in the teaching process of discipline “Pedagogy” at Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam.
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2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
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2.2. Theoretical Concepts of Teaching for Creativity Development
Creativity requires inputs of knowledge, creative skills and attitude towards creativity. Knowledge about creative process, particular area and related areas are essential factors for creativity (Tran, Ho & Hurle, 2016). Thus, to develop creativity for students in the teaching process, teachers need to really pay attention to these factors. Teaching to develop creativity is a process of equipping learners with knowledge about the creative process and creating opportunities for them to express their creativity (NACCCE, 1999). Teaching for creativity development is
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. researchers in education around the world. Teaching to develop creativity is a process of equipping learners with knowledge about the creative process and giving opportunities for them to express their creativity (NACCCE, 1999). In this context, researchers believe that encouraging learners to believe in their own creativity is important in teaching for creativity (Moran, 2010; Ferrari, Cachia & Punie, 2009). Teaching for the development of creativity is inseparable from the assessment of (Tran, Ho & Hurle, 2016). Assessment is considered one of the most important factors to develop students’ creativity (Tran, Ho & Hurle, 2016; Ferrari, Cachia & Punie, 2009). The fact of teaching at universities shows that assessment of lecturers inhibits the development of students’ creativity due to many different factors. Traditional teachers often affect students' creative performance negatively, because they tend to restrain individual student independence (Ng, 2002). The creative expression of students in the learning process is considered nonconformist by teachers (Shrivastava, 2016). The aspect of building a learning environment that supports the creativity of learners has caught the attention of many researchers (Beghetto, Kaufman, 2014; Davies et al., 2013; Hong, Chang & Chai, 2014; Richardson, Mishra, 2018). Some authors concur with the idea that the learning environment that encourages creativity includes conditions of the physical environment, learning atmosphere, and student engagement. Hence, the ideal environment is to give learners a sense of security, comfort, excitement, and confidence to share ideas and personal thoughts. Other authors focus on researching creative tools in teaching to develop learners’ creativity. These include tools for curiosity (Engel, 2013; Starko, 2013; Conklin, 2012), imagination (Lehrer, 2012), creative thinking (Starko, 2013). Teaching methods to stimulate learners’ creativity are also discovered by Rankin, Brown (2016). The authors emphasize the empowerment of the learners and the learners’ willingness to participate in creative learning. This is seen as the key to the success of teaching methods for developing learners’ creativity.
The number of definitions of creativity is enormous. Each researcher approaches the nature of creativity differently. But most they believe that creativity is a process of curiosity exploring, imagining and thinking based on one’s knowledge, experiences, emotions and motivations to generate original and effective products (Vygotsky, 2004; Runco et al., 2012). According to this definition, the three most important personal traits for the student's creative development are imagination, curiosity and creative thinking. They have a strong correlation in the creative process and are embodied in creative products.
In the 1950s the concept of the item response theory (IRT) was first proposed by Frederic Lord (Lord, 1952). IRT includes mathematical models to explore validity and reliability of the questionnaire construct. Among IRT models, the Rasch model is most commonly applied and its theoretical basis is a description of the association between item difficulty and person’s ability (Spinou, et al., Currently,2017).
The more society develops, the more of new aspects of scientific research arise. Meanwhile, the previous tools and scales are no longer suitable for application to research in new issues. Therefore, the need to develop new scales is increasing. The role of the Rasch model in modern science is more widely accepted in various fields. This research contributes to the development of the teaching evaluation aspect of the development of creativity. The questionnaire is not only for evaluating the pedagogical activity of teachers but also constructed for managing the quality of education. Based on this questionnaire, educators, and education management organizations can have clear directions for enhancing the creative competence of students as well as the quality of education in general.
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the Rasch model is considered an effective and modern approach for assessing the validation and reliability of a new scale that is being used in various scientific fields (Assanovich, 2012). For example, the Rasch model is used to explore psychometric properties of measurement scales such as medication counseling quality (Tran, Dorofeeva & Loskutova, 2018); life (Tennant, McKenna & Hagell, 2004); teachers’ content knowledge (Jüttner, Boone, Park & Neuhaus, 2013). It is also commonly applied in assessing psychometric properties of the scales being used today, such as claim evaluation tools (Austvoll Dahlgren, et al., 2017) and creative achievement questionnaire (Wang, Ho, Cheng & Cheng, 2014).
a form of teaching aimed at developing the creative competence and behavior of students (Sahlberg, 2009) and is carried out in the teaching process (Gorshunova, Medvedev & Razdorskaya, 2014). According to these researchers, teachers should set the goals of developing students' creative competencies in teaching goals. Teaching for the development of creativity is inseparable from the assessment of students’ creativity (Tran, Ho & Hurle, 2016). Any teaching process includes the following factors: goals, content, methods, tools, forms, environment, teacher, students, results. Therefore, to evaluate teaching for creativity development, it is necessary to focus on the factors of the teaching process as well as the goal of the creative development of students. They are interwoven, mixed, and united in the teaching process and the learning outcomes. Therefore, evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development includes the following aspects: development of students' creativity; development of knowledge, skills, attitudes toward the discipline and interdisciplinary; teaching methods and tools; forms of teaching; classroom environment; classroom management and assessment of learning outcomes.
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2.3. Rasch Model
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3. Methodology Participants.
survey on the current situation of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy, we have invited 300 first and second year students of different faculties. They came from 10 different groups. Each group evaluated one teacher who has taught the discipline “Pedagogy”. Student identification information was not disclosed to ensure the objectivity of the assessment results. Design and model. We used both qualitative and quantitative methods in this study. The qualitative methods included interviews, expert consultation and analysis and synthesis of previous studies related to students’ creativity development topics in the learning process. A phenomenological approach used to explore the perceptions, perspectives and beliefs of teachers and students about the criteria for assessing the quality of teaching for creativity development. It allowed us to identify the specific perspectives of the respondents based on their perceptions and experience.
In the expert consultation method, we sent the questionnaire to the experts via e mail. The experts evaluated the structure, content as well as evaluation criteria of the questionnaire. In the research to assess the quality of the questionnaire “Evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development” based on the Rasch model, we invited 112 students of psychology and education. Questionnaires were distributed to students and were collected as soon as they finished their Inassessment.theresearch
The current study was conducted in two phases at Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam. In the first phase, 20 teachers and 30 third year students of faculty of psychology and education participated in the interviews on the criteria for assessing the quality of teaching for creativity development and 6 educational experts at 2 universities in Hanoi, Vietnam assessed the quality of the questionnaire “evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development”. Then the questionnaire was used to survey the assessment of 112 students of faculty of psychology and education. In the second stage, a research survey was conducted to assess the current situation of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy. This phase involved 300 first and second year students who were grouped in 10 groups and each group evaluated one teacher. Thus, a total of 10 teachers were evaluated. Procedures. In the interview study we invited teachers who research and teach in psychological and educational sciences and 30 third year students of the faculty of psychology and education. They are selected at random to answer open ended question "Which criteria should be used to assess the quality of teaching for creativity development?". We conducted face to face interviews in the classroom. All responses were carefully recorded and analyzed separately, then divided by themes.
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4.1. Developing a Questionnaire “Evaluation of the Quality of Teaching for Creativity Development” Based on The Rasch Model
Figure 1: Model of Research Methods
4. Research Results
The quantitative methods involved the Rasch analysis and research survey method. We assessed the psychological attributes of the questionnaire “Evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development” within the theoretical framework of point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA Corr), item’s infit and outfit values, item’s level of difficulty, reliability, and separation and strata statistics based on the Rasch model. It was applied using BIGSTEPS version 2.82 and jMetrik software version 4.0.6. Additionally, we used the survey method to assess the current situation of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy. The obtained results were processed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 20 for descriptive statistics (frequency, mean). Figure 1 shows a model that represents the research methods.
Based on the implementation of three methods, namely, interviewing, literature review, and expert consultations, we developed “Evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development Questionnaire” (see Appendix A). The questionnaire contains 43 items that reflect the quality of teaching for creativity development in 7 subscales: subscale I Development of students' creativity (items 1 14); subscale II Development of knowledge, skills, attitudes toward the discipline and interdisciplinary (items 15 24); subscale III Teaching methods and tools (items 25–29); subscale IV—Forms of teaching (item 30); subscale V Classroom environment (items 31 34); subscale VI Classroom management (items 35 37); subscale VII Assessment of learning outcomes (items 38 43). Each item was evaluated on a five point quality Likert scale: 1 Very Poor, 2 Poor, 3 Acceptable, 4 Good, and 5 Very good (Brown, 2010). The
285 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. questionnaire considered as a tool for evaluating teaching for creativity development that allows us to determine the degree of achievement of teachers in the development of students’ creative competence. Table 1: Mean Score, Item’s Difficulty, Fit Statistics and Point Measure Correlation Coefficient (N=108 students) Subscale Item Meanscore Difficulty MnSqInfit MnSqOutfit PTMEACorr I. Development of students' creativity 1 3.56 0.34 0.62 0.62 0.712 2 3.44 0.60 1.36 1.37 0.571 3 3.90 0.39 1.28 1.27 0.342 4 3.50 0.47 1.03 1.02 0.645 5 3.45 0.57 1.08 1.09 0.716 6 3.38 0.72 0.94 0.93 0.626 7 3.43 0.62 0.92 0.91 0.757 8 3.23 1.01 1.15 1.16 0.540 9 3.19 1.11 0.98 0.98 0.672 10 3.22 1.03 1.47 1.48 0.571 11 3.32 0.83 1.01 1.00 0.668 12 3.41 0.66 1.54 1.52 0.585 13 3.58 0.30 0.88 0.87 0.724 14 3.59 0.28 0.87 0.87 0.635 II Development of knowledge, skills, attitudes toward the discipline and interdisciplinary work 15 3.56 0.34 0.96 0.97 0.588 16 3.59 0.28 0.89 0.91 0.575 17 3.31 0.85 0.80 0.82 0.627 18 3.33 0.81 0.68 0.69 0.653 19 3.59 0.28 0.83 0.85 0.589 20 3.18 1.12 0.75 0.75 0.566 21 4.06 0.79 0.67 0.67 0.708 22 3.80 0.16 1.04 1.02 0.427 23 3.85 0.29 0.90 0.93 0.488 24 3.55 0.38 1.11 1.10 0.531 III Teaching methods and tools 25 3.81 0.20 0.79 0.78 0.692 26 4.04 0.72 0.89 0.84 0.656 27 3.75 0.06 0.78 0.80 0.618 28 3.85 0.29 0.83 0.81 0.635 29 4.07 0.81 0.85 0.81 0.618 IV Forms of teaching 30 4.34 1.54 1.21 1.20 0.463 V Classroom environment 31 4.09 0.86 0.82 0.82 0.685 32 3.96 0.54 0.96 0.94 0.642 33 3.99 0.61 0.99 1.02 0.604 34 4.06 0.77 1.44 1.42 0.437 VI managementClassroom 35 3.79 0.14 1.39 1.39 0.312 36 3.81 0.18 0.80 0.81 0.629 37 4.24 1.25 0.72 0.72 0.672 VII Assessment of learning outcomes 38 3.97 0.56 1.28 1.26 0.506 39 3.75 0.06 1.42 1.36 0.605 40 4.03 0.70 1.25 1.34 0.628 41 4.03 0.70 0.95 0.93 0.682 42 3.95 0.52 0.93 0.92 0.675 43 3.94 0.48 0.88 0.87 0.709
This questionnaire was used to survey the assessment of teachers’ teaching for creativity development by 112 students. Results were analyzed using BIGSTEPS version 2.82 and jMetrik software version 4.0.6 (for Rasch analysis) For conducting Rasch analysis, it is required a sample size with at least 100 participants. Therefore, this study sample of 112 students was considered as appropriate (Jackson, et al., 2020). Person fit statistic was conducted to find out outliers (misfitting persons) among 112 students. The result of the person fit statistics yielded that four students (No 38, 98, 105, and 109) were found as unfit persons because of their Infit and Outfit MnSq values >2.0. Therefore, the persons were removed from the study data. After eliminating these four persons, all the remaining students were found to be within the limits of acceptance. Infit MnSq values of 108 students ranged from 0.28 to 1.90 and Outfit MnSq value from 0.27 to 1.90. The analytical results of the psychometric properties of the questionnaire after removing misfit persons include validation assessment (item’s difficulty, item fit statistics, point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA Corr), response category statistics) and reliability assessment (reliability index, separation index, strata index, and Cronbach’s alpha) (see Tables 1, 2 and 3). Item polarity was estimated by using the point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA CORR). The acceptable range of values is from 0.3 to 0.8. Under this condition, the items are working in the same direction to measure a single basic construct (Allen, 2001). Any item with a PTMEA CORR value outside this range should be removed from the scale (Bond, Yan & Heene, 2020). Table 1 shows that the polarity of items ranges from 0.312 to 0.757. All items of the scale are in a scope consistent with the Rasch model which means that the questionnaire has a very good polarity of the correlated items.
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Infit and outfit mean square (MnSq) values are important statistics when using the Rasch model. They allow the identification of items that fit the Rasch model accurately. The MnSq fit statistic values in the range from 0.5 to 1.5 are optimal (Meyer, 2014). MnSq values below 0.5 or between 1.5 2.0 are considered to be ineffective for building the scale. However, they do not violate the overall measuring qualities of the scale (Wright, Linacre, 1994). An item with an MnSq value greater than 2.0 should be removed from the scale. Table 1 shows that the Infit and Outfit MNSQ values of all items ranged from 0.62 to 1.54, which reflects that the questionnaire has very good construct validity. There isn’t any item that needs editing or omitting. Item difficulty indicates the relationship between the person’s ability and the probability of a correct response (Baker, 2001). The range of the item difficulty value from 2.0 to 2.0 is considered appropriate in the Rasch model. An item with a difficulty value of less than 2.0 is interpreted as extremely simple, and an item with a difficulty value of more than 2.0 is considered extremely difficult (Assanovich, 2014). The results in Table 1 indicate that the difficulty values of all items were in the range from 1.54 to 1.12. Thus, all 43 items of the scale had an acceptable difficulty value within the Rasch normative model Among 43 items, item 9 which “students choose the most creative ideas to solve problems or create new products” (1.11) and item 20 which “development of the interdisciplinary skills” (1.12) proved to be the most difficult items. They reflect
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Table 3: Reliability, Separation Index and Strata Index, and Cronbach’s Alpha (N=108 students) Index Overall scale Person Reliability 0.955 0.961 Separation 4.582 4.984 Number of strata 6.442 6.979 Cronbach’s alpha 0.963
subscales, “development of students' creativity” and “development of knowledge, skills, attitudes of the discipline and interdisciplinary.” This shows that in teaching for creativity development, process of organizing students to come up with solutions, ideas to solve problems and choose the most creative ideas among them is a difficult skill. Besides, the development of interdisciplinary skills is also a challenge for teachers. Maybe because the content of the subject is too much, the time for studying the subject is limited and the teachers don't have good pedagogical skills in organizing creative classes. Item 30 which “the teacher uses individual and group forms” ( 1.54) and item 37 which “The teacher praises the good behavior and success of the students” ( 1.25) were the easiest items. They reflect subscales: “forms of teaching” and “classroom management”. This shows that in the teaching process, teachers often combine individual and group learning forms as well as promptly praise good behaviors of students.
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Table 2: Response Category Statistics of Items for the Questionnaire (N=108 students) Category Level Threshold Infit MnSq Outfit MnSq 1 Very poor 2 Poor 2.84 0.94 0.94 3 Acceptable 0.95 1.02 1.02 4 Good 0.82 1.04 1.02 5 Very good 2.98 1.03 1.02 The results of response category statistics of items for the questionnaire are shown in Table 2. Categories statistics found that there was a gradual increase in the difficulty level from category 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). In other words, it is difficult for students to get a category score threshold of 5 rather than 4. Similarly, category score threshold 4 is more difficult than 3, 3 >2, and 2 >1. The large difference between the two successive categories is considered as good (>1.7). Additionally, the categories had good Infit and Outfit statistics, with acceptable values from 0.94 to 1.04.
4.2. Application of the Questionnaire in Assessing the Real Situation of Teaching for Creativity Development in the Teaching of Pedagogy. In the second stage, we have applied the questionnaire to assess the current situation of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy. This phase involved 300 first and second year students divided into 10 groups, 1 teacher was evaluated by 1 group (30 students). According to the guidelines provided by Johannessen, Tufte and Christoffersen (2010), the number of respondents should not be less than 30 people. The obtained results were processed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 20 and are represented by the mean score of each subscale and each teacher (see Table 4).
According to Fisher (2007), separation values above 3 are considered good. The result presented in Table 3 shows that the separation of the scale was 4.582, separation of a person’s ability was 4.984. As suggested by Assanovich (2014), an index of the number of strata of the scale greater than 1 is considered appropriate. And, naturally, higher strata values are considered more reliable. In this study, the scale’s number of strata was separated into six distinct levels (6.442), strata of person’s ability was 6.979. This indicated a very good level of the questionnaire’s reliability in our study. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was also at a high level (0.963).
Table 4 shows the degree of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy to be at an acceptable: 3.05. The subscales with the highest score were IV Forms of teaching: 3.81 (rank 1); V Classroom environment: 3.49 (rank 2); VII Assessment of learning outcomes: 3.23 (rank 3). These are three aspects in which the teachers performed better than in other aspects. However, teachers still need to implement them more effectively in the teaching process to further develop students’ creativity. The subscales with the lowest score were I Development of students' creativity (2.73) and III Teaching methods and tools (2.96). These are two aspects that need more attention from the teachers to perform better in the evaluation of the teaching process.
Table 4 also shows the degree of teaching for creativity development of 10 teachers at an acceptable level. We see that they have diverse average scores ranging from 3.02 to 3.08. However, this difference was negligible. At Hanoi National University of Education, the discipline "Pedagogy" is a compulsory common subject for pedagogical all students. Each class usually has from 100 to 120 students with different majors. The creativity development for students in the teaching process was not focused. Hence, the actual assessment of the teaching for creativity development is considered necessary to bring
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The results of the reliability index and the separation are shown in Table 3. In the Rasch model, reliability values are in the range from 0 to 1. If the value is less than 0.5 the item is considered of unacceptable reliability; 0.5 to 0.6 poor; 0.6 to 0.7 questionable; 0.7 to 0.8 acceptable; 0.8 to 0.9 good; and more than 0.9 very good reliability. The scale of reliability of this study was 0.955 and the persons’ reliability was 0.961, which is indicative of the questionnaire having very good reliability (range greater than 0.9) and items had good internal consistency in the measurement construct of scale.
289 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. effectiveness to future experimental work. The results of detail assessment including each subscale and items for 10 teachers are shown in Appendix A (see Appendix A). Table 4: The Degree of Teaching for Creativity Development in the Teaching of Pedagogy among 10 teachers (N=300 students) Subscale Teacher (Mean) Subscalemean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I Development of creativitystudents' 2.83 2.75 2.71 2.72 2.71 2.70 2.71 2.74 2.73 2.72 2.73 II Development of workinterdisciplinarydisciplinetowardskills,knowledge,attitudestheand 3.16 3.14 3.23 3.25 3.20 3.11 3.18 3.18 3.11 3.05 3.16 III toolsmethodsTeachingand 2.88 2.91 2.80 2.99 2.87 2.78 2.99 3.07 3.17 3.11 2.96 IV Forms of teaching 3.90 3.77 3.73 3.83 3.80 3.93 3.77 3.67 4.03 3.67 3.81 V environmentClassroom 3.44 3.45 3.47 3.41 3.43 3.48 3.61 3.62 3.55 3.43 3.49 VI managementClassroom 2.99 2.94 2.97 3.14 3.13 3.09 3.22 3.24 3.10 3.08 3.09 VII Assessment of outcomeslearning 3.23 3.23 3.23 3.14 3.26 3.30 3.23 3.15 3.24 3.25 3.23 Overall scale mean for each teachers 3.06 3.03 3.03 3.05 3.04 3.02 3.07 3.08 3.07 3.03 3.05 5. Discussion The goal of current study is to clarify two research questions: 1) Does the questionnaire “evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development” conform to the requirements of the Rasch model? And 2) What is the current status of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy at Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam?. The questionnaire “evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development” contains 43 items. The Rasch model was applied to assess the quality of the questionnaire using BIGSTEPS version 2.82 and jMetrik software version 4.0.6. The measurement was carried out within the framework of the theory of point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA Corr), item’s infit and outfit values, item’s level of difficulty, reliability, and separation and strata statistics of the questionnaire.
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The Rasch analysis showed multiple sources of evidence to test the quality of the questionnaire. Results indicated that the questionnaire was in good compliance with the Rasch model requirements. It may be used to measure the quality of teaching for creativity development and improve teachers’ teaching for creativity development in higher education. We used the questionnaire to assess the current status of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy. The results showed that the degree of the teachers’ teaching for creativity development at an acceptable level (3.05). This shows that students' creative capacity has not been developed in the teaching process. In order to improve teachers’ teaching for creativity development, we believe that it is necessary to do the following: Build an environment that encourages creative teaching and learning in universities.Organizeteacher training on teaching for creativity development. Actively organize attractive creative activities associated with teaching and creative development goals in the classroom, in university as well as in society for students to participate.
6. Recommendations Based on the analyzed results, we make the following recommendations for future research: It is necessary to organize the teacher training focusing on methods, tools, forms, building a classroom environment, assessment of learning outcomes for creative development. Equip students with knowledge and skills about creativity to motivate them to develop creative capacity in the learning process at the university. It is necessary to carry out empirical studies to determine the effectiveness of teachers’ teaching for creativity development in enhancing learning outcomes and student developing creativity.
The acceptable range of PTMEA Corr values is from 0.3 to 0.8 (Allen, 2001). In this study 43 items had PTMEA Corr values between 0.312 and 0.757. The MnSq fit statistic values in the range from 0.5 to 1.5 are optimal (Meyer, 2014). All items had Infit and Outfit MNSQ values in the range from 0.62 to 1.54. The range of the item difficulty value from 2.0 to 2.0 is considered appropriate in the Rasch model (Assanovich, 2014). All items had item difficulty values in the range from 1.54 to 1.12. The scale reliability of this study was 0.955 and the persons’ reliability was 0.961. Separation values above 3 are considered good (Fisher, 2007). The separation of the scale was 4.582, separation of a person’s ability was 4.984. An index of the number of strata of the scale greater than 1 is considered appropriate. And, naturally, higher strata values are considered more reliable (Assanovich, 2014). In this study, the scale’s number of strata was separated into six distinct levels (6.442), strata of person’s ability was 6.979. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was also at a high level (0.963).
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7. Conclusions In this study, the questionnaire “evaluation of the quality of teaching for creativity development” was created to assess the current status and improve teachers’ teaching for creativity development. We used three methods to develop the questionnaire: interviewing, synthesizing documents, and expert consultation. It consisted of seven subscales: development of students’ creativity; development of knowledge, skills, attitudes toward the discipline and interdisciplinary work; teaching methods and tools; forms of teaching; classroom environment; classroom management; assessment of learning outcomes. The items are rated on a five point quality Likert scale.
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The Rasch model was applied to assess the quality of the questionnaire using BIGSTEPS version 2.82 and jMetrik software version 4.0.6. The measurement was carried out within the framework of the theory of point measure correlation coefficient (PTMEA Corr), item’s infit and outfit values, item’s level of difficulty, reliability, and separation and strata statistics of the questionnaire. The results showed that the questionnaire conformed closely with the Rasch model’s requirements and may be used to measure the quality of teaching for creativity development in different subjects in higher education. The questionnaire has been applied to assess the current status of teaching for creativity development in the teaching of Pedagogy at Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam. The results showed that the degree of the teachers’ teaching for creativity development at an acceptable level (3.05). Therefore, further research is needed to conduct experimental pedagogical work on the formation of students’ creativity in the teaching of Pedagogy.
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Spinou, A., Siegert, R. J., Guan, W., Patel, A. S., Gosker, H. R., Lee, K. K., Elston, C., Loebinger, M. R., Wilson, R., Garrod, R., & Birring, S. S. (2017). The development and validation of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire. Eur Respir J, 49(5): 1601532. http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01532 2016 Starko, A. J. (Ed.). (2013). Creativity in the Classroom Schools of Curious Delight. New York: Routledge Sternberg, R. J. & Lubart, T. I. (1999). The concept of creativity: Prospects and paradigms. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 3 15). New York: Cambridge University Press. Tennant, A., McKenna. S. P., & Hagell, P. (2004). Application of Rasch analysis in the development and application of quality of life instruments. Value in health, 7(Suppl 1): S22 S26. Tran, L. T. B., Ho, N. T., & Hurle, R. J. (2016). Teaching for Creativity Development: Lessons from a Preliminary Study of Vietnamese and International Upper (High) Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Lessons Plans. Creative Education, 7, 1024 1043. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.77107
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2.1.
+
+
+
+
1.3.
2.2. Development of skills of the discipline and interdisciplinary 3.49 0.59 + Development of the discipline's skills 3.51 0.76 + Development of the interdisciplinary skills 3.18 0.75
1.1. Development of the ability of curiosity and discovery 2.62 0.51 Students ask questions and answer 2.26 0.73 The teacher asks questions, students answer 2.97 0.76 Development of imagination competence 2.48 0.53 Creative imagination 2.12 0.73 Reproduced imagination 2.83 0.78 Development of the creative thinking competency 2.35 0.51 Students comment on scientific critical ideas 2.25 0.72 Students choose the most creative ideas to solve problems or create new products 2.45 0.69 Students have creative products 2.56 0.4 Creative ideas/solutions 2.42 0.71 Creative pictures, diagrams, products 2.42 0.68 New questions, views, perspectives 2.84 0.7
Appendix
II.
3.2. The teacher uses ICT fluently to save time and help students to be more active, positive and creative. 2.63 0.71
3.1. Creative, diverse, integrated methods and tools enable students to deepen knowledge and practice skill development. 2.91 0.68
295 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. A: The questionnaire “Evaluation of the Quality of Teaching for Creativity Development” and the results of detail assessment including each subscale and items for 10 teachers (N =300 students) Item Content Mean SD Development of Students' Creativity
3.3. The teacher uses the students' experiences 3.46 0.8
1.4.
III. Teaching Methods and Tools
+ Development of the interdisciplinary knowledge 2.59 0.74
+
1.5. Creative attitude: students desire and have a creative consciousness. 3.04 0.74 Development of Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes toward the discipline and interdisciplinary Development of knowledge of the discipline and interdisciplinary 3 0.55 + Deep understanding of the discipline's knowledge 3.42 0.76
+
1.2.
+
+
I.
+
+ Development of skills: communication, presentation, self study, teamwork ... 3.8 0.78
+ Students work seriously, collaborate with other students and teacher 3.59 0.65 + Students are aware of the good or limitations of the problem they have learned to take the right action. 3.46 0.89
2.3 Consciousness, civic attitude 3.52 0.59
3.4. The teacher uses real life situations. 3.34 0.8
IV. Forms of Teaching
5.3. The teacher and students listen to, respect, explore, and support the diverse, different ideas that each student brings to the class. 2.56 0.75
VII. Assessment of Learning Outcomes
7.5. The teacher appreciates creative ideas, products, and valuable practical applications. 3.48 0.66
7.6. The teacher asks the students to respect each other's ideas. 3.46 0.56
6.3. The teacher praises the good behavior and success of the students 2.68 0.6
VI. Classroom Management
3.5. The teacher encourages students to discuss and solve problems with multiple solutions. 2.46 0.71
5.2. The classroom has a positive and exciting psychological atmosphere. 2.76 0.93
7.1. The teacher uses different types of assessment 3.84 0.78
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4.1. The teacher uses individual and group forms 2.37 0.72
V. Classroom Environment
6.1. Establishing behavioral rules in the classroom. 3.65 0.79
7.2. There is a combination of teacher assessment with student assessment. 3.21 0.98
5.1. The teacher and students have a positive relationship during school hours. 2.78 0.73
7.3. The teacher provides public assessment criteria and results. 3.37 0.8
6.2. The teacher observes, embraces students, and responds to students' different needs and abilities. 2.38 0.63
7.4. The teacher ensures value, reliability, fairness and efficiency in the assessment process. 3.46 0.66
5.4. The teacher ensures a good temperature and lighting in the classroom 4.06 0.87
1 Very Poor, 2 Poor, 3 Acceptable, 4 Good, and 5 Very good.
Keywords: Euclidean geometry; Subject content knowledge; Pedagogical content knowledge; Teacher challenges; Mathematics teaching
Related studies have increasingly emphasized geometry education research, which recommends the use of technological tools such as dynamic geometry software in the teaching and learning of geometry. These studies have indicated how the use of technologic tools impacts on learners’ geometrical thinking skills
Abstract. The current study identifies challenges confronting teachers in the teachingof Euclideangeometryinschools.Thisqualitativecasestudy
297 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 297 312, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.162020
1. Introduction Since the birth of democracy in South Africa in 1994, education has experienced curriculum reforms with changes affecting all levels of education, mathematics included. These changes have retained the review and reform of the mathematics curriculum, and this has impacted on teachers’ content knowledge as many teachers, during both their secondary and teacher education, did not study some of the newly introduced mathematical concepts such as Euclidean geometry. Morris (1985, p.92) argues that “the root cause of poor geometry teaching lies in the mismatch between teacher education courses and the needs of the learners in the school,” meaning that teachers have been trained on some aspects of geometry which are not related to what they are to teach in a classroom situation. These teachers, in most cases, find themselves inadequately prepared to teach Euclidean geometry as expected of them since they are not conversant with the use of relevant skills and strategies (Luthuli, 1996).
Simon A. Tachie University of the Free State, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0003 1535 7312
The Challenges of South African Teachers in Teaching Euclidean Geometry
purposefully selected ten schools situated in the Motheo District of Education, Free State, South Africa Data was generated using classroom observations and focus group interviews. The findings revealed that the majority of the teachers lacked mathematical subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge to teach geometry effectively. In many cases, redeployment of teachers led to teachers being ill equipped to teach specific subjects, such as mathematics. Recommendations have been made to enhance effective teaching and learning of mathematics (geometry in this case) in schools.
2. Teaching of Geometry
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Studies have shown that geometry is not only difficult for learners who have to learn the subject, but similarly for the teachers who have to teach it. Teachers lack subject content knowledge and also the understanding of other strategies to teach the subject to perfection since it deals with practical activities. Focus on geometrical skills is also vital in areas of construction work, architectural design, and engineering (Ubah & Bansilal, 2019; Alex & Mammen, 2018). Much of the geometry teaching in the country has been based on immersive and adaptive instruction and learning where teachers move from a conceptual approach (the sensible application of procedures) to a procedural approach (calculation accuracy). Scholars such as Brown (1999) and Khoo and Clements (2001) affirmed that learners have an inadequate understanding of geometrical concepts, reasoning, and problem solving skills The afore mentioned statement supports the analysis of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) diagnostic report per question, which shows a declining performance of learners in Mathematics paper 2, particularly in Euclidean geometry (Chihanbakwe, 2017).
Brannan et al. (2002) stated that geometry is a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of configurations of points, lines, angles, circles, and the most basic of these figures. It deals with axioms and proofs of theorems through deductive thinking (Mamali, 2015). Bassarear (2012) defined geometry as “the study of shapes, their relationships, and properties.” In the same way, Güven and Kosa (2008) maintain that geometry is the study of space and shape in which more excellent reasoning capability is necessary to understand the concept well. From these definitions of geometry, it is quite clear that when dealing with geometry, the focus is on identifying shapes, measuring different aspects of those shapes, and categorizing such shapes according to their properties.
The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. (especially on the teaching and learning of geometrical reasoning and proving), on teachers’ geometric content knowledge, and teacher development for geometry education (Jones & Tzekaki, 2016). However, little is known about how South African mathematics teachers use those technological tools since geometry had not initially been included in the curriculum. To throw more light on the above issue, teachers graduating from the universities from 2013 had not studied Euclidean geometry during their formal education, either in their secondary school education or in tertiary training. The challenges of handling Euclidean geometry by these teachers are, therefore, more problematic than for those teachers who have studied the subject and who have not trained adequately for teaching classroom Euclidean geometry. This under teaching or non teaching of Euclidean geometry poses a severe threat to the performance of the learning of mathematics, hence the current study. This study aimed to identify all challenges experienced by these teachers in the teaching of geometry in schools and to find solutions to the problem at hand. In this case, it was to support mathematics classroom teachers in the teaching/learning of mathematics in the schools of the Motheo education district of Free State, South Africa. In light of the preceding, this primary research question is: What are the main challenges faced by teachers in teaching/learning of geometry in schools?
Studies have shown that geometry occupies a significant role in the teaching of mathematics in global perspectives. For example, it provides a rich source of visualization for understanding arithmetic, algebraic, and statistical concepts, as indicated by Binti et al. (2003). Furthermore, in the scientific world, the importance of geometry appears naturally in many sectors of the planet, such as the structure of the solar system, in geological information, rocks and crystals, flowers, and even in animals for specific purposes. The importance of geometry in the lives of people cannot be overemphasized. However, many teachers find it challenging to teach the concept in South Africa due to the lack of subject content knowledge and lack of cognitive skills. Adolphus (2011) stated that one of the problematic ideas that teachers struggled to teach in mathematics is Euclidian geometry, because of the technicalities related to the language, visualization of objects for better identification of properties, and inadequate conceptual understanding.
Freudenthal (1991) asserted that teaching and learning of mathematics must be connected to reality, meaning that in the teaching of geometry, teachers should try to make use of available materials at their disposal to convey the meaning of geometrical concepts which pose a threat to the learning of geometry in schools.
According to Kotzé (2007), Euclidean geometry (or bodies of knowledge consisting of statements justified by proofs, which depend on mathematical axioms and an underlying logic) requires educators to assist learners in linking new knowledge to existing knowledge and develop instructional techniques that would facilitate cognitive growth and change during teaching and learning.
Geometry originated from several ancient cultures, including Indian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures (Ding & Jones, 2006; Jones, 2002). These ancient cultures used geometry to measure lengths, heights, angles, directions, and distances. Geometry is an axiomatic and deductive study of mathematics is linked to critical thinking and logical reasoning. There are different types of geometries depending on the planes, angles, and approaches they take. Coordinate (analytical geometry), as an example, is Cartesian plane driven.
The British Mathematician, Sir Christopher Zeeman saw geometry as that which comprises those branches of mathematics that exploit visual intuition, the most dominant of our senses, requiring remembering of theorems, understanding of proofs, inspiring of conjectures, perceiving of reality, and giving global insight (Jones, 2002). Indeed, those who are geometrically inclined tend to have a high level of memory restoration and can easily link or relate events and occurrences, and this is one of the reasons why Euclidean geometry was introduced as a core topic in the South African school curriculum.
It was evident from the assertion of Sanni (2007) that instruction of geometry concepts was bedevilled regimented mathematics classroom practices such as checking homework, followed by teacher lecture and demonstration, followed in
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2.1 The teaching of Geometry in South African schools
Researchers such as Freudenthal (1991), Sanni (2007), Van Den Heuvel Panhuizen (2003), and Wigley (1994) have disputed the notion that a teaching approach which connects to reality helps learners develop and apply mathematics to problem and help makes sense.
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Learners distinguish between necessary and sufficient conditions for a concept. They can also form abstract definitions and classify figures by elaborating on their interrelationships.
Level 1: Recognition /Visual Level: Learners recognize figures by their Levelappearance.2:Descriptive/Analytic: Learners recognize/analyse figures by their Levelproperties.3:Abstract/Relational/Ordering:
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Level 4: Formal Deduction: Learners establish theorems within an axiomatic system. They recognize the difference between undefined terms, definitions, axioms, and theorems. They can construct original proofs.
Van Hiele (1986) believes that these five sequential geometric levels are needed for identification and sorting, developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, formulating conjectures, intuition, postulation, deductive reasoning, logical arguments, and proof formulation. The question that comes to mind is whether teachers are applying the above level as indicated by Van Hiele (1986), and also to establish what teachers are currently doing in the teaching and learning of geometry in schools. Mcyntire’s (2018) views are confirmed when he states that Van Hiele’s theory of geometrical thinking is the theory behind the teaching of Euclidean geometry in schools. Many educators still prefer using the traditional teaching approach in the education of geometry in schools South Africa has seen various curriculum reforms as one Minister of Education replaced another, and that has affected the teaching of Euclidean geometry in schools. The curriculum reform phenomenon has also affected other countries. China is one of the countries that underwent curriculum reforms and has seen a great deal of changein its mathematics curriculum. According to Xei (2005), China has had to adapt to curriculum reforms for the benefit of the development of society, and this was done by changing mathematics content taught to elementary (primary) and middle (junior) learners in the People’s Republic of China. Xei (2005) explained that the reforms brought both successful experiences and frustrating lessons in that, through adopting a foreign mathematics curriculum from the Soviet Union (the 1950s), their cultural identity and national conditions were compromised. On the other hand, they needed to examine the superiority and limitation of Chinese mathematics education by looking at the tendencies in international mathematics education so that China’s curriculum could be recognized internationally. The current study aimed to establish the applicability of the China and Soviet Union experience to that of the South African experience.
turn by learner practice in a sequence of classroom instructional activities (Sanni, 2007). Such an approach does not take into account Van Hiele’s (1986) five levels of geometry thinking, which serve as a rational basis for the teaching of geometry in schools. These levels are:
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Level 5: Mathematical Rigor: Learners understand the relationship between various systems of geometry. They can describe the effect of adding or deleting an axiom on a given geometric system and can compare, analyse, and create proofs under different conditions.
A similar issue has been observed in South African schools where Euclidean geometry has seen less emphasis, if any, at some tertiary institutions resulting in education graduates having not been educated in the topic of Euclidean geometry.
One such focus area meant that Euclidean geometry was compulsory for all learners. The reason for this was that it had been observed that in the traditional Chinese culture, logical thinking ability had been rare, doing mathematics related training, especially about Euclidean geometry, a great need. This indicated the importance of deductive reasoning, which is extractable from the teaching of Euclidean geometry for a nation doing it as a core topic in mathematics. However, many teachers faced challenges in teaching Euclidean geometry as it was newly introduced into the school curriculum.
In Zimbabwe, Euclidean geometry has suffered the same fate, as was the case in China. Wessels (2004, p.70) confirmed the fact that “geometry is one of the poor relatives in the field of mathematics and it is only in the past five years that its status has improved in Zimbabwe. This common occurrence has been observed in Zimbabwe’s General Certificate of Education (GCE)”. Students with this qualification, however, had a deficient level of understanding of Euclidean geometry as it was not comprehensively taught, which led to challenges being experienced in teaching Euclidean geometry in Zimbabwean secondary schools.
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Several Mathematics teaching studies focus on teachers’ content knowledge, curriculum implementation, instructional strategies, teachers’ competency in teaching the new mathematics curriculum, and teacher education programs (Maree & Van der Walt, 2007; Masinga et al., 2007; Strawderman, 2010; Webb, 2010). Some teachers have already qualified as teachers yet did not undergo training on some of the newly introduced topics such as Euclidean geometry.
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Teachers who had not studied this topic in their secondary schooling or their teacher education programs found themselves teaching the subject, but with little knowledge and understanding. Their preparations were affected because preparing useful lessons for teaching mathematics depends on how one understands the mathematics content itself. Brodie et al. (2009) found that there is always a significant decline in the cognitive levels of mathematics content whenever a teacher is not comfortable with the topic, and so knowledge transfer is compromised. The same situation occurred with the teaching of Euclidean geometry.
The Chinese Ministry of Education listed six focus areas in mathematics teaching.
In 2012, the South African curriculum for Grades R 12 saw the introduction of a new curriculum, which was an amendment of the existing National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and which did not offer Euclidean geometry as the core topic for Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Grades R 12. According to CAPS (DBE, 2011, p.11), “Mathematics is a language that makes use of symbols and notations for describing numerical, geometric, and graphical relationships. It is defined as a human activity that involves observing, representing and investigating patterns and qualitative relationships in physical and social phenomena and between mathematical objects themselves.”
Turik (2000) contended that inadequate teacher knowledge in teaching such a topic becomes a challenge. The lack of subject content knowledge of Euclidean geometry and resources leads to compromising understanding of geometric concepts, and thus poor lesson preparation and teaching. This lack of subject content knowledge of Euclidean geometry affects the teachers of the Motheo Education District, hence the current study.
3. Theoretical Framework
The understanding of geometry and its concepts requires a great deal of basic knowledge on the part of the person learning it. Saxe (1991) quotes Piaget’s work, stating that learning involves the elements of discovery and scaffolding to elevate the learner’s activities to a level. In turn, this indicates that anybody who is trying to learn an aspect must use concrete objects when introducing and investigating phenomena to help the person grasp the task at hand quickly and easily pertaining to the teachers who have not studied Euclidean geometry as their level of development is unsatisfactory. The participant teachers, therefore, engaged themselves in collaborative discussions about geometry problems for a better understanding of some concepts. Thus some of their challenges in teaching the concept (geometry) were exposed.
Effectiveness in geometry teaching has been the subject of considerable theorizing. Still, teachers should draw on both subject content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, which is embracing theory and practice gained from ongoing teaching activities for a better understanding of a concept (Solis, 2009). Much research has been conducted on the validity of Van Hiele’s (1986) theory and has focused on teachers' emphasis on geometrical reasoning. Alternatively, Pusey (2003) considered that each of Piaget’s five stages of development the sensorimotor, iconic, concrete symbolic, formal, and post formal stages has an important role to play in the learning of geometry. The current study underpins the constructivist approach based on Piaget’s cognitive theory as well as Van Hiele’s theory (Piaget, 1962; Van Hiele, 1986). Even though Van Hiele’s theory is intended for learners’ education of mathematics, it was used in this study to identify challenges faced by teachers in the teaching of Euclidean geometry as many experience challenges in solving problems in Euclidean Thesegeometry.challengeswere
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identified with pre test activities completed before the start of this research. In defense of the teachers, many claimed that they had been forced to teach mathematics due to redeployment and were neither qualified nor equipped to teach this aspect of mathematics. This study emphasized building or constructing knowledge from small existing pieces of the knowledge base. For concrete geometric understanding, one must have spatial thinking and geometric abilities which, just like Piaget’s developmental stages in learning, also involves four phases of spatial developmental thinking (Stephenson et al., 1996)
The primary mission of the Department of Basic Education is to produce competent teachers. They can offer the necessary services in the community, such
The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. as in the Motheo district,through quality teachingand learning (Teacher’s Forum, 2009), calling for the Department to recruit teachers who can teach critical subjects like mathematics and science. However, the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in the district has been compromised since some teachers, especially mathematics teachers, are not equipped to teach specific topics such as geometry and probability, despite government reform efforts in the development of learning activities in mathematics and science. Such reforms include the introduction of geometry and other topics as compulsory topics in the CAPS curriculum.
4.1 General background
4.2 Sample Ten mathematics teachers were purposively selected from ten schools through a cluster sampling technique. The participant teachers were grouped into three groups, with at least three participants in each group. Convenience sampling technique was used for the selection of the teachers into their respective groups to ensure that each group comprises a member from each cluster to elicit different views based on the problems they experienced in the teaching of geometry in their various clusters. The other motive was to assist the participant teachers in sharing their opinions experienced in their individual clusters to generate at least one thought that represented that particular group during focus group interviews.
A research approach comprised approaches that are used in educational research to collect data that may be used for inferences and interpretations (Cohen et al., 2009; Ayoola, 2017). The primary purpose of the research methodology is to help understand the process of research. Creswell (2009) stated that choosing the correct method in addressing a challenge or a problem in any study plays a vital role in achieving the purpose of the study. In this study, a qualitative research approach with a case study design was used to identify and detail challenges facing teachers in the teaching of Euclidean geometry through observation and focus group interviews to find tangible solutions to this problem in the district of Motheo.
4. Research Methodology
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The research methodology section highlights the following aspects: general background, sample, instruments and procedures, data analysis, and ethical considerations.
4.3 Instrument and procedures
Observation and focus group interviews were used for data collection. Class observations were conducted using the participant teachers in their respective schools and video recorded Teachers were observed on the methods they used to present their lessons and the problems they faced in delivering the content to the learners. How learners were questioned and how they discussed and debated with their peers was alsonoted Theway andmanner inwhich learners responded to their teachers’ questions and how they solved problems given to them by their teachers were also noted to see how the teachers’ methods of teaching contributed to learners’ understanding of geometry concepts. The teachers were later invited to participate in a collaborative discussion using the recorded videos to examine
4.5 Ethical Considerations
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Ethical approval was received from the various authorities before the study was conducted. Ethical clearance was issued from the University of the Free State; approval letters were obtained from the Free State Department of Education as well as from the principals of the participating schools where observations were conducted. Consent forms were signed by participant teachers confirming their willingness to participate in the study. Further consent forms were received from the parents of the under aged learners, indicating their consent for their children to participate in the study.
5. Research Results In reporting on this research, the direct responses of the ten (10) participants who were observed and interviewed are captured to illustrate the findings. The results are presented according to the following themes: the chalk and talk method, the attitude of the teachers and language used, lack of content knowledge, and availability of materials.
The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. the phenomenon through discussions and interviews. During focus group interviews, when a question was directed to a particular group, each member of the group was given equal opportunity to respond In contrast, other group members attentively listened to their responses. If that group had no valid or pertinent response, the question was transferred to another group for their opinion until all questions were exhausted. The data gathered offered evidence of teachers’ practice in the teaching of Euclidean geometry, bearing in mind Van Hiele’s levels of geometric thought (cited in Van de Walle et al., 2013). This pavedthe way for participants to deliberate on the issues of concern to identify a reliable solution to the problem identified or discussed.
4.4 Data analysis
In this study, relational content analysis was used. After repeatedly read through to identify the main themes, the data were examined in depth to provide detailed descriptions of the participant teachers. The data were coded, categorized, and grouped them into themes for interpretation and reporting Nili et al. (2017) stated that focus group data can be analyzed quantitatively (e.g., through participants vote counting) after or in parallel with the primary/qualitative analysis. In this study, the researcher prepared the data gathered through observation and focus group interviews; the transcripts and field notes were also read through to understand the whole context, bearing in mind that the study aimed to understand individual teachers’ challenges faced in the teaching of Euclidean geometry in schools, as demonstrated through data collection. The aim was to increase the researchers’ understanding of the phenomenon experienced by the participants. In the next stage, the researcher constituted the content areas through extracting and bringing together the text about each topic into one text, whichhelpedthe researcher to identify the themes for discussion. Each condensed meaning unit was extracted and labeled with a code and was sorted into subcategories and further extracted into categories. The categories were labeled with content characteristic names, which were formulated into themes (Nili et al , 2017).
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The participating teachers indicated they faced many challenges in the teaching and learning of Euclidean geometry in schools. Regarding teaching and learning strategies, it was evident in the research that the teachers used different teaching and learning strategies in teaching Euclidean geometry. For instance, some of them talk and write during teaching and learning without any explanation for the conceptual understanding of learners. Thus, they only teach without soliciting the opinion/attention of the learners. They completely dominate the teaching and learning processes, which is termed as the talk and chalk method of teaching
5.1 Chalk and talk method of teaching geometry
The teachers indicated that they followed a traditional method of teaching, drawing of how mathematics was taught at school and college. Also, teachers were not introduced to other teaching methods during training, and thus their pedagogical content knowledge is not well developed to implement during the
Responses from the teachers’ focus group interview indicated that the way they were taught geometry while at schools did not develop a good understanding of mathematics. According to the teachers, their teachers read from the textbooks hoping the whole class would understand what was being taught. This was observed when many of the participating teachers make frequent use of mathematics textbooks. It seems that teachers were dependent on texts to write formulae and other theorems on Blackboard before explaining certain concepts to the learners. In many cases, teachers would request learners to open their textbooks to check answers to questions, not feeling confident enough in their answering this way of teaching modelled how teachers were taught at school where the textbook is vital. Restricting teaching to just the textbook without further application and discussion often results in learners’ understanding of not being fully developed. Lack of knowledge of mathematical concepts and inadequate training in the teaching of mathematics at school andhigher education level has led to teachers not being well qualified or experienced in teaching mathematics, particularly challenging topics such as Euclidean geometry. In other words, relevant explanations were inadequate for the teaching of geometry in schools. The following excerpts support the assertion: Teacher A: As for me, I was forced to teach mathematics since I was redeployed to my current school. I only have a Grade 12 mathematics background, which in most cases, I find it difficult to explain some concepts properly to the learner. I wish the department would send only teachers with mathematics background from the university or diploma to handle this critical subject. This was observed during classroom observation conducted by the researcher and captured in the video recording. The researcher observed that Teacher D: In my college, where I graduated as a teacher, my mathematics lecturer/teacher always uses telling and the textbook methods to teach us whereby individual attention was not given because he always complained about time and finishing of the syllabus. I have stick to that method as the only way I can teach my learners this geometry since I was not introduced to different kinds of teaching strategies during my training.
Two teachers indicated that in their schools, they used one on one methods of teaching geometry using many practical activities. They had acquired the skills from the technical colleges where activities/projects were encouraged. They further indicated that they paid attention to the individual styles of learners in the class, which helped focus attention on their learners when teaching Euclidean geometry since it involves various practical activities. The excerpts below support this: “Sometimes if learners do not understand the concept (geometry), something I try my best to help them individually by making reference to the practical activities that I displayed on the blackboard.”
Learning involves the elements of discovery and scaffolding to elevate the learner’s activities to a particular level. The scaffolding emphasizes the five levels of geometry thinking and serves as a rational basis for geometry taught in schools. Also, teachers should align their teaching of geometry to the ideas of Piaget (1962) and Van Hiele (1986), who remind us that geometry is needed to enhance and develop learners’ skills of visualization needed for identifications and sorting, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, formulating conjectures, intuition, postulation, deductive reasoning, logical arguments, and proof formulation.
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5.2 The attitude of the teachers to teaching geometry and mathematical language
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The research study showed that some of the teachers displayed negative attitudes towards the teaching of Euclidean geometry since they did not have confidence in teaching mathematics, having been forced to do so by the Department after redeployment. The respondents indicated that those teachers who understood the practical aspects have more confidence in teaching Euclidean geometry than those without practical experience. Most respondents also agreed that teachers’ methods of teaching and personality have a considerable impact on the enthusiasm of learners for learning mathematics. Also, the use of mathematical
teaching of Euclidean geometry. The teachers felt that the Department was not supportive, that the teachers are often redeployed and placed in schools where they have to teach specific subjects even if they have had little or no training at higher education levels, and felt that they needed to use traditional chalk and talk methods of teaching being guided by the textbook. It was evident during observation where teachers were throughout dominant the lessons without given opportunities to learners to express their views or to indicate if they needed clarification on problem areas. In some cases, learners were not attentive and lost focus during teaching and learning. Some teachers had no resources apart from textbooks, and when they were asked why about other resources and materials, they indicated that many resources had been stolen; hence the department has refused to provide them with new resources. The participants also claimed that their colleagues, who were teaching in other schools also used the chalk and talk methods and did not allow learners to make use of any practical activities that could help develop their understanding of a concept. The following comment from one of the teachers in one group, Teacher K supports this claim: “We wish we could use different methods of teaching geometry that would make it easy for learners to understand the concepts.”
5.3 Lack of content knowledge of teaching and learning of geometry
It also emerged from this study that knowledge of instructional practices for participant teachers was not up to expected standards. As previously mentioned, many teachers were forced to teach mathematics even though mathematics was not their area of specialization, which meant that they lacked subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge that would assist them in using a variety of instructional practices. The limited understanding and application of mathematical practices in teaching geometry were also revealed when teachers were observed; for instance, during lesson observation, it became apparent that most participant teachers lacked practical skills, such as planning, demonstration, and organizational skills as well as being able to develop their learners understanding through involvement. Pedagogical content knowledge is the integration of subject expertise and skilled teaching and is considered instrumental in ensuring that teachers deliver effective teaching of geometry. The observation also revealed that some teachers also apportion the blame on learners since learners found it difficult to remember some theorems and as well as basic concepts, which made it difficult for them to teach the concept effectively in schools.
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language to express a concept should be learner friendly. Both these aspects are essential since they help learners to understand what is being taught. Teachers’ use of mathematical language in the teaching of Euclidean geometry should not be a threat to learners and not contribute a negative attitude towards the subject.
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6. Discussion In developing learners’ conceptual understanding of Euclidean geometry, Van Hiele’s (1986) five levels of geometry thinking should be taken into consideration and followed. It emerged from this study that the knowledge of instructional practices of participant teachers for teaching and learning of Euclidean geometry did not embrace the vital five levels and, therefore, both teaching and learning were poor. Only a few teachers exhibited acceptable standards of teaching. In
This sheds more light on the claim by Adolphus (2011, p.144) when he states that Euclidian geometry is the most problematic area to teach and learn due to the language used, visualization of objects for better identification of properties, and lack of conceptual understanding. Freudenthal (1991) believes that teaching and learning of mathematics geometry need to be precise and should be connected to reality. This means that in the teaching of geometry, teachers should make use of available materials at their disposal to convey the meaning of geometrical concepts which poses a threat to the learning of geometry in schools. Researchers such as Freudenthal (1991), Sanni (2007), Van Den Heuvel Panhuizen (2003), and Wigley (1994) contend that the teaching approach that connects to reality helps learners develop and apply mathematics to a problem that makes sense to them.
In this regard, one teacher had this to say: “The way we teach mathematics influences learners’ enjoyment in mathematics. Therefore, when you teach mathematics without any practical activities, it does not help learners to understand the concepts, which contribute to poor performance in the subject. We must do our best to make the teaching of mathematics enjoyable by making it practical in your teaching.”
Teaching such a topic was, therefore, a challenge. It was observed that both teachers’ content knowledge and the pedagogical content knowledge of teaching mathematics were questionable since many of them could only teach some geometry concepts with the help of textbooks and were unable to use a variety of approaches or strategies to apply the mathematical knowledge. Given this, one teacher had this to say: “Indeed, a lot of mathematical modelling activities which they think will play an essential role in teaching mathematics could have been given by the departmental officials through workshops and seminars. This could have helped our skills in teaching geometry in schools. We teach those topics with no prior knowledge simply because we are being forced to teach due to redeployment. “
Practical instruction in geometry teaching, and learning and any topic in mathematics for that matter, requires a teacher to develop sound mathematical knowledge as well as instructional skills and strategies making use of useful resources and activities that guide the teaching activities and further assist in the effective delivery of the lesson (Luneta, 2014). Teaching without good instructional skills and modelling activities and sound knowledge of the concept usually puts the teacher in a challenging situation, and learners tend to lose interest in the topic. As a result, quality teaching is compromised. It is, therefore, crucial that mathematics teachers are fully equipped with sound knowledge and are aware of the teaching environment and their learners. This will ensure that appropriate modelling activities are used in problem solving. Teachers need to adapt their instructional approach or strategy to teaching various concepts by engaging in a variety of practical ways that assist in developing learners’ understanding of the concepts under discussion. Teachers should also try to draw learners’ attention to alternative solutions to mathematical problems through reflection on action. It is believed that teachers are more likely to reflect on their teaching to improve teaching practice when they understand
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many cases, deployment has meant that teachers were forced to teach subjects like mathematics despite having had little or no training. This confirms a statement by Turik (2000), which alluded to a lack of basics and inadequate teacher background in mathematics topics, thus engendering negative attitudes towards the latter.
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This excerpt reveals that lack of support from the Department of Basic Education created uncertainty among some teachers as they were put in positions where they were ill equipped to teach the specific subject, resulting in negative attitudes, mainly towards the teaching of mathematics. This is in line with the findings by Maree & Van der Walt (2007); Masinga et al. (2007), Strawderman (2010), and Webb (2010), who stated that there are several Mathematics teaching studies, which focus on teachers’ content knowledge, curriculum implementation, instructional strategies, teachers’ competency in teaching the new mathematics curriculum and teacher education programs. However, some teachers are qualified as teachers but have not undergone training on newly introduced topics like Euclidean geometry and therefore find it difficult to teach due to lack of support and training offered by the Department of Basic Education as well as institutions of higher learning for development.
7. Conclusions
Teachers who are capable of making detailed and explanatory lessons plans can address misconceptions of mathematical concepts that learners experience in the classroom. They can explain the difficulties that learners encounter during teaching and learning by pre empting them. Knowledge of instructional practices involves curriculum, tasks, and tools for teaching and incorporates both subject and pedagogical content knowledge (Ball et al., 2008; Shuman, 1986).
The findings of the research revealed that teachers’ performance in class was due to a lack of knowledge of mathematical knowledge and instructional practices. Teachers face challengeswhen teaching Euclidean geometry in schools. Thus their lack of knowledge and application has led to the chalk and talk method predominantly being used guided by textbooks. Teachers felt there was a lack of support from the Department, little training, and the issue of redeployment, which means that teachers lacked content as well as pedagogical knowledge due to being required to teach a subject with which they were not familiar. As a result, teachers’ attitudes towards mathematics and the teaching of Euclidean geometry, specifically, were affected. The findings of the study have helped the researcher to embark on developing training for mathematics teachers in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education using mathematical modelling activities as well as relevant skills and strategies in the teaching of geometry in schools for a better understanding of learners.
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The analysis of the study further revealed that lack of understanding of mathematical concepts and inadequate training in the teaching of mathematics at school and higher education level has led to teachers not being well qualified or experienced in teaching mathematics, particularly challenging topics such as Euclidean geometry. This is in line with the assertion by Brown (1999) and Khoo and Clements (2001) that in many instances, geometry teaching is based on immersive and adaptive instruction and learning where teachers shift from a conceptual approach (the sensible application of procedures) to a procedural approach (calculation accuracy). However, many learners fail to develop an adequate understanding of geometrical concepts or demonstrate reasoning and problem solving skills. This contradicts the primary mission of the Department of Education, where much emphasis is to produce competent teachers. They can offer the necessary services in the community, such as in the Motheo district of the Free State, through quality teaching and learning (Teacher’s Forum, 2009).
the curriculum visions (Khoza, 2016). Practical instruction in any topic requires teachers to develop sound instructional strategies and knowledge of useful resources and activities (Luneta, 2014) as this allows teachers to gauge the depth of their learners’ understanding of a concept. This contradicts the findings by Sanni (2007), which stated that instruction of geometry concepts was bedevilled regimented mathematics classroom practices such as checking homework, followed by teacher lecture and demonstration, followed in turn by learner practice in a sequence of classroom instructional activities. These aspects do not take into account Van Hiele’s (1986) five levels of geometry thinking, which serve as a rational basis for the teaching of geometry in schools.
From the findings of this study, it is essential for further research of the same kind to be conducted on a large scale (that is a quantitative manner) where different opinions of teachers from other areas can be hard to establish whether or not the same problems occur when teaching Euclidean geometry in schools. As South Africa needs suitably qualified mathematics teachers who can teach the subject effectively to overcome the problem of poor performance and the high failure rate in mathematics, further research is required. Findings from such a study could assist in ensuring quality mathematics education, which will develop the necessary skills needed by doctors, scientists, and many other scientifically oriented professionals.
9. References Adolphus, T. (2011). Problems of Teaching and Learning of Geometry in Secondary Schools. Nigeria, Department of Education: River State University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1893/26189 Alex, J., & Mammen, K. J. (2018). Students’ understanding of geometry terminology through the lens of Van Hiele theory. Pythagoras, 39(1), pp.1 8. https://doi.org/10.4102/pythagoras.v39i1.376
Brown, A. R. (1999). Geometry's giant leap. The Mathematics Teacher, 92(9), 816 819. https://doi.org/10.5951/MT.92.9.0816
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Ball, D., Thames, M., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content Knowledge for Teaching What Makes It Special? Journal of Teacher Education. 59. Bassarear,https://doi.10.1177/0022487108324554T.(2012). Mathematics for elementary school teachers (5th Ed.). Cengage Learning. Binti, N., Tay, I., & Lian, B. (2004). Teaching and Learning of Geometry: Problems and Prospect. Masalah Pendidikan Jilid, 27, 165 178. Brannan, D. A., Esplen, M. F., & Gray, J. J. (2002). Geometry. Cambridge University Press. Brodie, K., Jina, Z., & Modau, S. (2009). Challenges in implementing the new mathematics curriculum in Grade 10: A case study. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(1), 19 32. https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2009.10740648
Chihambakwe, T. (2017). Impact of national senior certificate examination diagnostic report on learner performance in mathematics (Unpublished Masters dissertation). University of Zululand, Pietermaritzburg Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2009). Research methods in education. Routledge. Creswell,J.W.(2009). Research design:Qualitative, quantitative, and mixedmethodsapproaches (3rd Ed.). SAGE Publications. Department of Basic Education (DBE). (2011). Curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS), Grade 10 12, Mathematics. Government Printing Works. Ding, L., & Jones, K. (2006). Teaching geometry in lower secondary school in Shanghai, China. Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics. Freudenthal, H. (1991). Revisiting mathematics education: China lectures. Kluwer Academic Publishers Güven, B., & Kosa, T. (2008). The effect of dynamic geometry software on student mathematics teachers' spatial visualization skills. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology TOJET, 7(4), 100 107. http://doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.169 Jones, K. (2002). Issues in the teaching and learning of geometry. Routledge.
M.Clements, Proceedings EnergisingoftheSixthAnnualConferenceoftheDepartmentofScienceandMathematicsEducation:Science,MathematicsandTechnicalEducationforall (pp. 213 222). University of Brunei. Khoza,S.B.(2016).Isteachingwithoutunderstandingcurriculumvisionsandgoalsahighrisk?
South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(5), 104 119. http://doi:10.20853/30 5 595 Kotzé, G.(2007).Investigatingshape andspace inmathematics:a casestudy. SouthAfrican Journal of Education, 27(1), 19 35. Luneta, K. (2014). Foundation phase teachers'(limited) knowledge of geometry. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 4(3), 71 86. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v4i3.228 Luthuli, D. (1996). Questions, reflection and problem posing as sources of inquiry in Euclidean geometry. Pythagoras, 40, 17 27. Mamali, N.R. (2015). Enhancement of learner's performance in geometry at secondary schools in Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province (Doctoral dissertation). Maree, K., & van der Walt, M. (2007). Do mathematics learning facilitators implement metacognitive strategies? South African Journal of Education, 27(2), 223 241. Masinga,A.,Mhlongo,M.,&Luneta,K.(2007). ImplementingCurriculumchange: Addressing poverty, gender equity and optimizing learning. University of Witwatersrand. Mcintyre, R. N. I. (2018). Analysing geometry in the Classroom Mathematics and Mind Action Series mathematics textbooks using the van Hiele levels (Unpublished Masters Dissertation). University of Witwatersrand Morris, R. (1985). Studies in mathematics education: The education of secondary school teachers of mathematics. UNESCO. Nili, A., Tate, M., & Johnstone, D. (2017). A Framework and Approach for Analysis of Focus Group Data in Information Systems Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 40(1), 1 21. https://doi.org/10.17705/1cais.04001
311 ©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Jones, K., & Tzekaki, M. (2016). Research on the teaching and learning of geometry. In A. Gutiérrez, G. Leder & P. Boero (Eds.), The Second Handbook of Research on the Psychology of MathematicsEducation: The Journey Continues (pp. 109 149). Sense. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978 94 6300 561 6_4 Khoo, S. C., & Clements, M. A. (2001). A level Students' Understanding of Lower SecondarySchoolgeometry.InK.Y.Wong,H.Tairab,&
Piaget, J. (1962). The stages of the intellectual development of the child. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 26(3), 120. Pusey, E. L. (2003). The Van Hiele model of reasoning in geometry: a literature review. Retrieved from pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yhttps://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/bitstream/handle/1840.16/2275/etd. Sanni, R. (2007). Teaching geometry in schools: an investigative rather than instructive process. Pythagoras, 2007(65), 39 44. https://doi.org/10.4102/pythagoras.v0i65.90 Saxe, G. B. (1991). Culture and cognitive development, Studies in mathematical understanding. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational researcher, 15(2), 4 14. Solis, A. (2009). What matters most in the professional learning of content teachers in classrooms with diverse student populations. IDRA Newsletter by the International Development Research Association.
Strawderman, V. W. (2010). Math anxiety model. Math Goodies. Retrieved from https://www.mathgoodies.com/articles/math_anxiety_model Tirosh, D., & Graeber, A. O. (2003). Challenging and changing mathematics teaching classroom practices. In A. Bishop, M. K. Clements, C. Keitel Kreidt, J. Kilpatrick & F. K. S. Leung (Eds.), Second international handbook of mathematics education (pp. 643 687). Springer. Ubah, I., & Bansilal, S. (2019). The use of semiotic representations in reasoning about similar triangles in Euclidean geometry. Pythagoras, 40(1), pp. 1 10. https://doi.org/10.4102/pythagoras.v40i1.480
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Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., & Bay Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally (8th Ed). Pearson. Van Den Heuvel Panhuizen, M. (2003). The didactical use of models in realistic mathematicseducation:Anexamplefromalongitudinaltrajectoryonpercentage. Educational studies in Mathematics, 54(1), 9 35. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EDUC.0000005212.03219.dc
Van Hiele, P. M. (1986). Structure and insight. Academic Press. Webb, D. C. (2012). Teacher change in classroom assessment: The role of teacher content knowledge in the design and use of productive classroom assessment. In S.J. Cho (Ed.), Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education: Topic Study Group (pp.6773 6782). Springer. Wessels D. C. J. (2004). Subject didactics mathematics/mathematics education, Tutorial Letter SDMATO 4/501/2004. Unisa. Wigley, A. (1994). Models for mathematics teaching. In A. Bloomfield & T. Harries (Eds.), Teaching and learning mathematics (pp 22 25). Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Xei, M. (2005). Postmodernist, mathematical view and mathematics education. Normal University Press.
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia attending the College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (CHRS) at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), Saudi Arabia, virtual COVID ’s student of responsibility and independence emergency remote (ERT), of ERT on goal student anxiety 66.5% of independence 54.3% of the students their 20.9% of students that they Nada Benajiba; benajibanada@gmail.com
perceptions
https://orcid.org/0000 0002 5533 7626 Abstract. This research aims to investigate the learning experiences and anxiety levels of students
learning in response to
https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4495 5047
the impact
participants scored moderate in their perceptions of
reported
Department
achieved
https://orcid.org/0000 0002 8424 5229
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
had * Corresponding author:
2774 868X
* Department
Samiah F. Alqabbani
teaching
Afrah Almuwais of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
https://orcid.org/0000
19. A cross sectional descriptive study wasconductedamongCHRSstudents(N =254).Datawascollectedusing an online questionnaire. Pearson
achievement, and
learning
Email:
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
and responsibility in their learning experiences In addition,
Nada Benajiba of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences of Basic Health Sciences, Deanship of Preparatory Year
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationships between
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 0002
during the sudden shift to
in their learning during
learning goals Moreover,
Department
313 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 313 329, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.172020 Health Professional Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic Fatmah Almoayad Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
levels. Results showed that
Similar to other allied health colleges at PNU, the CHRS was affected in several ways by the sudden implementation of ERT In particular, its practical and clinical training courses were cancelled; these courses provide students with hands on experience to master clinical skills through clinical training in different clinical settings, practical training, and roleplay simulation. As a replacement, students were provided with videos and case study reports Albarrak (2011) demonstrated
Keywords: Emergency remote teaching; Remote learning; Health professional students; COVID 19 pandemic
However, in March 2020, the Saudi Ministry of Education imposed emergency remote teaching (ERT) on all educational institutions across the country (MOE, 2020) By definition, ERT is ‘a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances’ (Hodges, Moore, Lockee, Trust & Bond, 2020). It was used as a preventive measure to limit the spread of COVID 19 and keep both staff and students safe. ERT was part of the anticipatory preventive and precautionary measures taken by the Saudi government, which also included social distancing and complete lockdown (SPA, 2020) The College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (CHRS) at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) has 13 different allied health profession specialisations (PNU, 2020).
1. Introduction E learning refers to education that is delivered using technology either fully or partially independent from fixed time and space (Hawkins & Oblinger, 2005) E learning was established in the late 1990s and has since been gradually integrated intohigher education (Al Asmari & Khan, 2014; Hubackova, 2015). In 2005, higher education was expected to evolve progressively from in-person to online, leading to a revolutionary transformation (Hiltz & Turoff, 2005) E learning is becoming an essential part of health professional education: many educational institutions have incorporated it into their learning strategies (Ellaway & Masters, 2008). In Saudi Arabia, higher institutions started adopting e learning at the beginning of the 21st century (Al Asmari & Khan, 2014). Since then, the Saudi Ministry of Education has established the National Centre for e Learning and nearly every university in Saudi Arabia has created an e learning unit or department (Al Shehri, 2010) In addition, allied health colleges in Saudi universities also incorporated e learning into their curriculums to create blended learning and not as complete e learning (Sajid et al., 2016; Zakaria, Jamal, Bisht & Koppel, 2013).
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. not experienced anxiety, while 24.4% had experienced severe anxiety. There was a significant negative correlation between student anxiety levels during ERT and their perceptions of responsibility and independence in learning (r = 0.30, p < 0.001). In conclusion, student anxiety levels during the sudden shift to ERT moderately influenced student perceptions of independence and responsibility in their learning as well as learning goal achievement. Further studies are needed to explore the types of assistance to provide to students to improve the learning process during the current COVID 19 pandemic and similar circumstances where ERT is imposed
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Students around the world were concerned about the sudden shift to ERT it caused psychological distress and anxiety (Gallagher & Schleyer, 2020; Odriozola González, Planchuelo Gómez, Irurtia & de Luis García, 2020; Zhai & Du, 2020)
studies have reported inconclusive findings on the effectiveness of e learning (Algahtani, 2011). During these discussions, it is crucial to consider the perspectives of both students and instructors as well as the learning context (Khan, 2005) Researchers should also clarify which aspects of effectiveness they are assessing and whether they are focusing on accomplishments of learning goals or learning perspectives (Algahtani, 2011). Moreover, George et al. (2014)
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. that e learning training alternatives, such as virtual patients, videos, and animations, are common and effective in health profession education. However, students do not perceive them as sufficient in medical education and prefer to use them as complementary resources.
Aside from the seemingly inevitable psychological effects of ERT, e learning has been reported to have several benefits: it helps support student autonomy, accommodates different learning styles, motivates student teacher interaction, and provides flexibility and accessibility (Algahtani, 2011). Autonomy refers to students taking responsibility for their own learning, which, according to Drew (2018), is an important characteristic of learning that facilitates learning goal achievement and learner development (Algahtani, 2011). However, poorly designed courses could hinder the learning process (Edwards & McKinnell, 2007), which could be the problem in the sudden shift to e learning. Therefore, realistic expectations should be set and training should be provided to instructors. During its ERT period, PNU invested a great deal of time and effort to ensure that high quality teaching processes and assessments with minimal issues were provided to instructors and students. It focused on providing support and training, ensuring that not only were learning materials provided through learning management systems, such as Blackboard, but also to encourage flexible learning environments and improve communication and interactions between students and Overinstructors.theyears,
The psychological impact was caused by many factors. A study conducted among university students in China showed that students experienced feelings of frustration, anxiety, and betrayal as a result of the loneliness and loss of social connections, shelter, and homelike environment. These feelings were further amplified among students who stopped receiving mental health support from their universities which could increase the negative consequences of their mental health conditions (Zhai & Du, 2020). Likewise, university closure had a moderate to severe impact on 50% of students’ mental health at a Spanish university (Odriozola González et al., 2020). In the United States, feelings of anxiety were exacerbated among health professional students who served on the front line during the COVID 19 pandemic as part of their clinical training (Gallagher & Schleyer, 2020) The sudden implementation of ERT also caused tension to rise due to the new technologies deployed in teaching. In addition, e assessments became an important component of remote teaching, which is usually challenging for both students and instructors (Ellaway & Masters, 2008).
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While e learning had a positive impact on the knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction of health profession students (George et al., 2014; Haslerud, Tulipan, Gray Jr & Biermann, 2017), its effectiveness in practical skills development was not demonstrated (George et al., 2014; Ngan, Tang, Chan, Chen & Tang, 2018) For example, when comparing a group performing hands on lab work to a group performing simulation based lab work remotely, (Corter, Esche, Chassapis, Ma & Nickerson, 2011) found that while the simulation group achieved better results, the hands on group had a higher motivation. Their study concluded that properly designed and coordinated remote learning could improve learning goal achievement (Corter et al., 2011). Tinio (as cited in Edwards and McKinnell (2007) emphasised that when e learning is carefully designed and implemented, it can empower students in terms of skills development as well as knowledge acquisition. Also, some positive outcomes were associatedwith proper e learning, including improved student instructor and student student interactions, improved active and independent learning, improved time management, and the ability to accommodate different learning styles (Edwards & McKinnell, 2007), showing that students are taking on a higher level of responsibility for their Edwardslearning.
and McKinnell (2007) identified five crucial areas in e learning activities: planning and design, teaching or providing learning support, student assessment and feedback, facilitating effective learning environments and guidance, and research and professional activities. PNU has addressed the first four activities; this study was conducted to address the fifth by investigating learning from the perspective of students attending CHRS This research investigates students’ perspectives of learning and anxiety levels during the sudden shift to ERT in response to the COVID 19 pandemic at the CHRS. Our objectives were to (1) assess student perceptions of responsibility in learning during ERT, (2) assess student perceptions of the impact of ERT on learning goal achievement, (3) investigate student anxiety levels during ERT, and (4) evaluate the correlation between students’ perceptions of learning and anxiety levels. We hypothesised that the overall learning experience would be positive and anxiety levels would be high among students The findings of this study will contribute to the literature by helping educational institutions better prepare online learning programmes during emergencies. It can also help develop appropriate plans to overcome possible challenges to strengthen the experience of e learning.
2. Methods 2.1. Study design and subjects
This was a cross sectional descriptive study. The study population included students from 13 different applied medical sciences and public health programmes at the CHRS at PNU. The study sample was calculated to be 251 of 720 students (95% CI; p = 0.5) attending the CHRS. A total of 54 students participated in the study. Data was collected in May 2020 using an electronic
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evaluated the effectiveness of e learning for students from five different health professions and found that it was as effective as or superior to in person learning. Consequently, they recommended the adoption of e learning in a variety of contexts, particularly where there was a shortageof faculty members or resources.
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The questionnaire was developed using previous literature Ghenghesh, Croxford, Nagaty & Abdelmageed, 2018; Uziak, Oladiran, Lorencowicz & Becker, (2018) to suit the objectives of this study It consists of the following four sections Section 1 focuses on collecting sociodemographic and sample characteristics, including age, department, programme of study, level of study, and GPA. Section 2 measures student perceptions of responsibility in learning during ERT. Students answered six questions using a Likert scale (Likert, 1932). The questions focused on student responsibility and independence in their learning, student instructor interactions, time management, and organisation. Participants were categorised into groups based on their scores: low (range: 6 14), moderate (range: 15 22), and high (range: 23 30) Section 3 assesses student perceptions of the impact of ERT on learning goal achievement and learning quality. It consisted of five questions that were answered using a Likert scale (Likert, 1932). The questions aimed to determine if ERT improved the quality of their education, enabled them to complete assignments faster and more efficiently, helped them better understand the subject material, helped them develop knowledge and skills and improved their motivation when learning. Students were categorised into three groups based on their scores: low (range: 5 11.6), moderate (range: 11.7 17.2), and high (range: 17.3 25). In Sections 2 and 3, total scores were used instead of the average scores for each item, as recommended by Warmbrod (2014) This was done because total scores have been reported to provide congruent interpretations of obtained results. Section 4 assesses student anxiety levels during ERT using the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD 7) tool (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams & Löwe, 2006). It is a self administered test that measures the severity of anxiety using seven questions Each question gives a score from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day); total scores ranged from 0 to 21. Respondents were categorised into groups based on their scores: no anxiety (range: 0 4), mild anxiety (range: 5 9), moderate anxiety (range: 10–14), and severe anxiety (15–21; (Spitzer et al., 2006)
2.3 Validity and reliability
All components of the research tool were tested for validity by six academic teachers involved in e learning that were fluent in both English and Arabic. The tool was piloted with 24 CHRS students before it was shared online; no amendments were needed as students stated that the questions were clear and
questionnaire distributed to students through the CHRS student mailing list. Students were recruited using the method of non probability sampling for a known population. Students from all study levels were included. Preparatory year students and students who were not registered for the academic semester during which the study took place were excluded. Since a non probability sampling was used, available primary data from participants was used in this research until the requested sample size (N=251) was reached This type of sampling was selected because it was the most convenient method to collect data during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown. The study was conducted after obtaining ethical approval from the IRB committee at PNU (IRB Log Number: 20 0162). All recruited students gave their consent before taking part in the study. They were provided information about the study, including its objectives, voluntarily participation, anonymity, and confidentiality of data collected.
2.2. Study instruments
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Table 1: General characteristics of
2.4 Statistical analysis
318 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. easily understood. The questionnaire’s reliability was tested using Cronbach’s α; coefficient values were 0.91, 0.72, and 0.82 for anxiety, responsibility, and goal achievement, respectively. This indicated a good internal consistency, as reported by Nunnally (1975). The questionnaire’s feasibility was evaluated during the pilot study with 10% of the sample group; minor modifications were needed.
Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 22), and results were presented in terms of frequency and percentage. The Kolmogorov Smirnov and Shapiro Wilk tests were conducted; they showed that the data for anxiety and perceived learning had an approximately normal distribution. The Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to assess the correlation between different studied parameters. One way ANOVA was used to assess the differences among the groups. Bonforroni post hoc analysis was applied to determine which groups were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05).
3. Results 3.1 General characteristics A total of 254 students attending the CHRS (mean age: 21.1 ± 1.6; mean GPA: 4.4 ± 0.3) participated in the study. Students from the Rehabilitation Science Department and the Health Sciences Department account for 35.8% and 45.3% of the total sample, respectively, as they are the two largest departments at the CHRS (Table 1). the study population ( = 254)
N
Variable N % Academic department Rehabilitation Science 91 35.8 Health Sciences 115 45.3 Communication Sciences 22 8.7 Radiology Sciences 26 10.2 Academic program Doctor of Physiotherapy 59 23.2 Physiotherapy 10 3.9 Occupational Therapy 22 8.7 Epidemiology 27 10.6 Health Education 31 12.2 Clinical Nutrition 36 14.2 Clinical Psychology 21 8.3 Speech and Swallowing Disorders 11 4.3 Audiology and Balance 11 4.3 Nuclear Medicine Technology 13 5.1 Radiation Therapy 3 1.2 Diagnostic Imaging 10 3.9 Level of study Entry 81 31.9 Intermediate 79 31.1 Graduate 94 37
Student perceptions of responsibility and independence in their learning during ERT are presented in Figure 1. Roughly 67% of students selected the response ‘Shifting to remote learning made me more responsible about my own learning’. Moreover, 74.8% selected ‘Shifting to remote learning helped me to become an independent learner’ and 71% selected ‘Shifting to remote learning helped me to work at my own pace’. However, only 30% selected ‘Shifting to remote learning helped me manage my time more effectively’.
319 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Grade point average (GPA) Excellent (> 4.5) Very Good (range: 3.75 4.5) Good (range: 2.5 3.75) Poor (< 2.5) 128105140 50.441.35.50.0 Mean SD Age (years) 21.0 ±1.6 3.2 Student independence, responsibility, goal achievement and anxiety
The results in Table 2 show that 66.5% of participants had a moderate perception of their independence and responsibility in their learning, while 26% had a high perception. Learning goal achievement was high among 16.1% of participants and moderate for 54.3% of participants. Anxiety level results revealed that 20.9% had no anxiety and 24.4% had severe anxiety.
Table 2: Student scores for responsibility and independence in learning, learning goal achievement, and anxiety levels (N = 254) Variable N % Independence and responsibility Low (range: 6 14) 19 7.5 Moderate (range: 15 22) 169 66.5 High (range: 23 30) 66 26.0 Goal achievement Low (range: 5 11.6) 75 29.5 Moderate (range: 11.7 17.2) 138 54.3 High (range: 17.3 25) 41 16.1 Anxiety levels No anxiety (range: 0 4) 53 20.9 Low anxiety (range: 5 9) 90 35.4 Moderate anxiety (range: 10 14) 49 19.3 Severe anxiety (range: 15 21) 62 24.4
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Shifting to remote learning improved the quality of my studies Shifting to remote learning enabled me to accomplish assignments more quickly and efficiently Remote learning helped me understand the subject’s material well Remote learning helped in knowledge and skills development Remote learning motivated better learning
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Figure 2: Impact of ERT on goal achievement (N = 254)
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Figure 1: Student perceptions of responsibility and independence in their learning during ERT (N = 254) In contrast, student agreement on the impact of ERT on learning goal achievement was lower. Only 54.3% selected the response ‘Shifting to remote learning enabled me to accomplish assignments more quickly and efficiently’, 13% selected ‘Remote learning motivated better learning’, and 26% selected ‘Remote learning helped in knowledge and skills development’ (Figure 2). When assessing anxiety levels, we found that ‘several days’ had the highest selection rate for all questions, except ‘Being so restless that it's hard to sit still’, where 40% stated that they did not experience this at all.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Shifting to remote learning made me more responsible about my own learning Shifting to remote learning helped me to be better organized Shifting to remote learning improved the interaction between me and the course instructor Shifting to remote learning helped me to become an independent learner Shifting to remote learning helped me to work at my own pace Shifting to remote learning helped me manage my time more effectively
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Figure 3: Student General Anxiety Disorder-7 scores (N = 254) 3.3 Scores or independence and responsibility, goal achievement, and anxiety The score results indicated that students’ levels ofstudy significantly affected goal achievement and anxiety levels (see Table 3). There was a significant difference in mean GAD 7 score among the three levels (p = 0.024). Post hoc analysis indicated that the mean anxiety level was significantly lower for students at the intermediate level compared to those in the entry level (p = 0.035). There was also a significant difference in mean learning goal achievement among the three study levels (p = 0.011), and the mean was higher for intermediate level students than for graduate level students (p = 0.008).
Table 3: Mean (± SD) scores for independence and responsibility, goal achievement, and anxiety levels for study levels (N = 254) Range Study level (Entry n = 81) Intermediate( n= 79) Graduate( n= 94) p-valuea Responsibility and independence 6 30 19.6 ± 3.6 20.4 ± 3.7 19.6 ± 3.2 0.283 Goal achievement 5 25 13.7 ± 3.9 14.7 ± 4.1b 12.9 ± 3.6b 0.011 Anxiety level 0 21 10.6 ± 5.5c 8.3 ± 5.9c 10.2 ± 5.9 0.024 SD = Standard deviation. ANOVA was used to assess differences between scoring groups for each study level. Mean scores were compared using the Bonferroni post hoc test a = ANOVA p value. b = Significant difference in mean goal achievement between students in the intermediate and graduate levels (p = 0.035). c = Significant difference in mean anxiety levels between students in the intermediate and entry levels (p = 0.008) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge Not being able to stop or control worrying Worrying too much about different things Trouble relaxing Being so restless that it's hard to sit still Becoming easily annoyed or irritable Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen Not at all Several days Over half the days Nearly every day
322 authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 4: Mean (± SD) scores for independence and responsibility and goal achievement for different anxiety levels (N = 254) Range Anxiety level (None n = 53) Low (n = 90) Moderate (n = 49) (Severe n = 53) p-valuea Responsibility and independence 6 30 21.3 ± 2.3b,c 20.3 ± 3.6d 19.3 ± 3.4 18.4 ± 3.8 < 0.001 Goal achievement of goals 5 25 16.1 ± 3.2b,c,e 13.9 ± 3.7 d 12.8 ± 4.1 12.1 ± 3.8 < 0.001
Table
SD = Standard deviation. ANOVA was used to assess differences between scoring groups for each study level. Mean scores were compared using the Bonferroni post hoc test. a = ANOVA p value. b = Significant difference between students with no anxiety and moderate anxiety (p = 0.025) c = Significant difference between students with no anxiety and severe anxiety (p < 0.001). d = Significant difference between students with low anxiety and severe anxiety (p < 0.001). e = Significant difference between students with no anxiety and low anxiety (p = 0.007). Mean student perception scores for independence and responsibility, as well as goal achievement, are sorted by anxiety level in Table 4. There was a significant difference in mean independence and responsibility scores among the four anxiety levels (p < 0.001). Mean scores were significantly higher for students with no anxiety than moderate (21.3 ± 2.3 vs. 19.3 ± 3.4; p = 0.025) and severe anxiety (21.3 ± 2.3 vs. 18.4 ± 3.8; p < 0.001). They were also higher for students with low anxiety than severe anxiety (20.3 ± 3.6 vs. 18.4 ± 3.8; p < 0.001). Differences in mean learning goal achievement were also significant for the four anxiety levels (p < 0.001; see Table 4). Bonferroni post hoc analysis revealed that mean scores were significantly higher in the no anxiety group compared to all other levels. In addition, there was a significant difference in mean learning goal achievement between the low and severe anxiety groups (13.9 ± 3.7 vs. 12.1 ± 3.8; p = 0.019).
Table 5: Correlation between independence and responsibility, goal achievement, and student anxiety levels during ERT (N = 254) Independence and responsibility achievementGoal levelAnxiety Independence and responsibility 1 .68** .30** Goal achievement 1 .36** Anxiety level 1 Pearson’s r was used to calculate the correlation strength between each set of variables. **Significant at p < 0.001
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3.4 Correlation between independence and responsibility, goal achievement, and anxiety level Table 5 summarises the correlation between each study variable. Pearson’s r revealed a strong positive correlation between student perceptions of independence and responsibility in their learning and learning goal achievement (r = 0.68; p < 0.001). However, there was a moderate negative correlation between anxiety level and student perceptions of independence and responsibility (r = 0.30; p < 0.001) as well as learning goal achievement (r = 0.36; p < 0.001). GPA did not have a significant correlation with any variables (Table 5).
4. Discussion
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In contrast, a substantial number of students in this study perceived e learning as adversely affecting the quality of their knowledge and skill acquisition as well as their understanding of the subject material. In fact, it has been well demonstrated that knowledge acquisition is an essential factor for interpreting the success of an e learning experience. Rodríguez Ardura and Meseguer Artola (2016) confirmed that students are more concerned about the quality of knowledge in e learning than the quality of the learning management system itself. Some disadvantages of
The findings of the study revealed that students considered the effect of the sudden shift to remote teaching on their responsibilities and their independence towards their learning to be high. Indeed, agreement on ‘Shifting to remote learning helped me to become an independent learner’ and ‘Shifting to remote learning made me more responsible about my own learning’ was reported as 74.8% and 67.7%, respectively. Student recognition of responsibility towards learning is an important factor (Joo, Lim & Kim, 2011). Ilic, Hart, Fiddes, Misso and Villanueva (2013) indicated that there was no difference in student competency between the blended learning and traditional dictation. However, Joo et al. (2011) reported that student recognition of their responsibilities in the e learning environment was a predictor of learning persistence and learning flow. Furthermore, the perception of achievement of learning goals was strongly related to the perception of independence in learning in this study. Yang and Cao (2013) concluded that self regulation was related to learning achievement. In the learning context, self regulation refers to the degree to which students engage in the learning process using metacognition and to proper motivation (Zimmerman & Martinez Pons, 1988) Moreover, it has also been demonstrated that achievement of learning goals was a predictor of successful learning (Yang & Cao, Motivation2013). is a key element for students to engage in e learning. Only 13.8% of the students participating in this study reported that shifting to ERT improved their motivation towards learning. However, a moderate achievement of goals was obtained by 54.3%. Several studies have linked students’ motivation to achievement oflearning goals (Pekrun, 2006; Yang & Cao, 2013). Although the percentage of students agreeing to the statement ’Remote learning motivated better learning’ was not high, this did not reflect their overall perception regarding the accomplishment of learning goals. In fact, half of the students reported agreement on the statement ‘Shifting to remote learning enabled me to accomplish assignments more quickly and efficiently’ Yang and Cao (2013) indicated that a task approach goal was not influenced by intrinsic motivation. Student assessment is a major concern, and this may explain the higher level of accomplishment regardless of motivation, as students may have focussed on getting the task done and proceeding regardless of their sense of motivation.
This study assessed the learning process from the CHRS students’ point of view during the sudden shift to virtual learning in response to the COVID 19 pandemic, measuring aspects related to anxiety, achievement of learning goals and the perception of independence/responsibility toward their e learning.
Moreover, the minimal interaction and direct contact with instructors in the e learning environment has a considerable influence on student perception of effectiveness (Bouhnik & Marcus, 2006) Muilenburg and Berge (2005) indicated that a lack of social interaction is a major barrier in terms of student perception of e learning effectiveness. In our context, the shift towards e learning was sudden and without prior planning, which may have increased student concerns for their education. The suspension of all practical and clinical training may also have contributed to student disagreement on the quality of their study. The alternatives provided for practical and clinical training may not have been enough to alleviate student concerns regarding their clinical skill acquisition and may also be related to the higher levels of student anxiety. This study revealed the existence of a negative and significant correlation between the level of anxiety and the perception of learning effectiveness; the higher the anxiety, the lower the perception of learning effectiveness. You and Kang (2014) investigated the impact of emotions in the academic setting, including anxiety, on perceived academic control. They reported the existence of a significant relationship between anxiety and academic control. Perceived control is ‘ an individual’ s believed capacity to predict and influence events in their environment’. (Perry & Smart, 1997, p. 12) It is also considered an important predictor of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006) as well as academic motivation and performance (Perry, Hladkyj, Pekrun & Pelletier, 2001). Conversely, anxiety is one of the most frequent emotions reported as a result of e learning (Hara, 2000; Hara & Kling, 2001; You, Kang & Pahng, 2013). The current study assessed anxiety using GAD 7, while anxiety in the previous studies was part of a comprehensive questionnaire involving other academic emotions related to e learning. However, higher anxiety levels had already been reported by college students in general (Beiter et al., 2015). Moreover, several studies indicated that anxiety is one of the most frequent emotions reported due to e learning (Hara & Kling, 2001). Additionally, concerns regarding the COVID 19 pandemic could be a contributing source to the overall anxiety reported by students (Cao et al., 2020; Liu, Liu & Zhong, 2020). The results showed that the perceived independence/responsibility of students towards their learning and their achievement of learning goals were significantly impacted by the level of anxiety. Perry et al. (2001) indicated that perceived academiccontrolwas affected by a student’s anxiety. Additionally, students at the graduate and entry levels showed higher anxiety than those at the intermediate level. Similarly, Beiter et al. (2015) reported higher anxiety in students at higher levels. Furthermore, Moore, Madsen and Trans (2019) demonstrated high anxiety in first year medical students. Consequently, the perception of achievement of learning goals and student responsibility were greater at intermediate levels, which could be influenced by anxiety Cao et al. (2020) investigated anxiety levels
324 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. e learning may contribute to the dissatisfaction of the students in relation to e learning effectiveness. It is highly recommended in e learning strategy that students should have a high level of self discipline, and they are expected to spend more time and effort understanding the subject material on their own.
6. Strengths and limitations
in college students using GAD 7. They reported that anxiety in students during the COVID 19 pandemic impacted academic activities and could lead to delays in their learning However,theyreported lower anxiety levels compared tothe levels obtained in this study, as only 0.9% of their subjects had severe anxiety. However, Saddik et al. (2020) investigated the anxiety level in relation to e learning among university students using GAD 7. The percentages for the anxiety levels were similar to this study. They indicated that medical students had higher levels of anxiety before shifting to e learning; interestingly, they demonstrated that the anxiety levels were lower after the introduction of e learning when compared to non medical students. Also, female participants in their study demonstrated higher anxiety levels compared to male participants. However, female participants demonstrated lower anxiety levels with the shift to ERT in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Therefore, during a crisis that causes a shift to e learning, such as the COVID 19 pandemic or a similar emergency, educational institutions should support student mental health along with student learning.
5. Conclusion Taken together, the findings of this study highlight the connection between anxiety levels and the perception of the learning experience during the sudden shift to virtual learning in response to the COVID 19 pandemic among health profession students in CHRS (PNU). Anxiety levels were significantly high, which could be considered a logical outcome of the ERT and the total lockdown in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. This anxiety had a moderate effect on the perception of both the independence and responsibility of students towards their learning as well as on their achievement of learning goals. Furthermore, as 24.4% of the students reported severe anxiety, it is recommended that there should be a plan to deliver both specific education and psychological support to help mitigate any potentially negative consequences on the learning process during the COVID 19 pandemic. Findings can also be extrapolated to similar emergencies where ERT is imposed. Additionally, while e learning is generally encouraged in the case of health profession education, well designed blended learning could be considered a preferable learning strategy to ensure the benefits of e learning while accommodating clinical and practical training. However, further studies are needed to explore in depth the type of assistance that would improve the student learning experience during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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The study instrument used for data collection was highly reliable, as demonstrated by good internal consistency: α = 0.91 for anxiety, α = 0.72 for responsibility and α = 0.82 for achieving goals. Moreover, the survey was conducted during the COVID 19 pandemic and hence represents precise insight from CHRS students in relation to their e learning experience. Lastly, reviewing the literature, this study seems to be the first to focus on the learning process from the perspective of health profession students at Saudi universities. Thus, evaluating this experience could bring valuable results and provide guidance for the decision making process at CHRS concerning which aspects and components of learning should be prioritised to improve e learning from a long term
Conflicts of interest/Competing interests: There are no conflicts of interest.
Consent to participate: The consent to participate was displayed on the first page of the online questionnaire and included the objectives of the study. Participants were recruited voluntarily, and anonymity was maintained through all stages of the research. Participants were assured of the confidentiality of their data and that it would only be used for research purposes. Participants were informed that by answering the questionnaire they were giving their consent to participate in the study.
Author contributions: All the authors (Fatmah Almoayad, Afrah Almuwais, Samiah F. Alqabbani, and Nada Benajiba) did the following: made a substantial contribution to the design of the work and the acquisition and statistical analysis of the data; contributed significantly to the interpretation of the data and the drafting of the contributedarticle;in collating the supporting literature, adding to and improving the scientific merit of the study and revising the manuscript for English language grammar, syntax and flow as well as correct revisedformatting;and approved the version to be published; and participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. perspective. However, due to the sudden shift, the research could not compare results to data pre ERT. The data was collected through a non probability sampling for a known population; the inclusion criteria were clear and students belonged to the same college (CHRS), which indicates that this sampling procedure would have a reduced bias. Consequently, the findings of this research can be generalised beyond the study population.
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Ethics approval: Ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University was obtained prior to conducting the study (IRB Log Number 20 0162).
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Acknowledgments: This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University through the Fast track Research Funding Program.
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1. Introduction The democratic education dispensation in South Africa is in keeping with the international trend to acknowledge diverse learners’ needs. White paper 6 (DBE, 2011) was promulgated by the Department of Education to enforce the principle of inclusivity in the teaching and learning programs in mainstream classrooms.
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Baseline Assessment in the Elementary Mathematics Classroom: Should it be Optional or Mandatory for Teaching and Learning?
Herbert Bhekumusa Khuzwayo University of the Western Cape, Cape Town in Belville, South Africa http://orcid.org/0000 0002 6732 1787
Mamsi Ethe Khuzwayo Cape Peninsula University of technology, Cape Town in Mowbray, South Africa http://orcid.org/0000 0002 4084 8773
Abstract. Too few mathematics teachers have the expertise to apply baseline assessment for differentiated learning in mathematics classes. This empirical study was conducted in a focus group of sixty learners and three teachers in a grade four mathematics class. It proved that teachers of mathematics in elementary grades could profitably learn to conduct baseline assessments; developing activities to benchmark learners’ abilities and learning needs. The exploratory research design was utilized to set up the general sample and the focus group, and mixed research methods; qualitative and quantitative instruments to collect data and analyzing data. The records of scores obtained by learners from the assessment activities and the interviews with teachers were the main sources of data. Data analysis followed quantitative procedures and presented in figures and categorized them in frequency distribution tables. Findings highlighted that learners can reach their optimal levels in learning mathematics in a free and flexible environment. This paper concludes that the lack of knowledge about how to conduct baseline and its value is one of the attributes of the high failure rate of children in the middle class. This article recommends the consideration of baseline assessment to be an essential aspect of a continuous professional development program for mathematics teachers.
Keywords: Assessment; Baseline; Differentiated; Learning; Styles
2. Background
The narrative about inclusivity and diversity often centers on the issues of socio economic background, physical challenges, and cognitive abilities (Tomlinson, 2013; Aghamdi, Jitendra & Lein, 2019). This article relates issues of the poor performance of learners in mathematics too, poor preparation of teachers in the subject content knowledge and pedagogy, to consider diverse learning needs in mathematics classes. The perspective, which we have adopted in this work emphasizes that mathematics classrooms are composed of multiple groups of learners; some do not have difficulties with mathematical knowledge and skills but who experience challenges with learning styles that are not aligned with their cognitive structures.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) produced curriculum guidelines for teachers and school based curriculum specialist and district based subject advisors yet research points to a deteriorating performance among learners in grade 3 and grade 6 (Department of Basic Education, 2011; Venkat & Spaull, 2015; Department of Basic Education, 2019). Intermediate (middle grades) learners are often unable to perform necessary, elementary cognitive numerical and mathematical skills (Mullis, Martin & Hooper, 2017). Venkat and Spaull (2015, p. 127) revealed the results of the analysis of data gathered by, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) that, 61% of South African Grade 5 learners could not do basic mathematics, for example, performing of addition and subtraction of the whole numbers, multiplication by one digit numbers, and cannot solve simple word problems.
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Research highlights, however, that implementing principles of inclusivity in curriculum delivery at the classroom level is a challenge to many teachers (Donohue & Bornman, 2014; Hazel, Spencer & Robert, 2019). An in depth review of the mathematics curriculum innovation called: Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement called, (CAPS) informed this work and shows gaps between the curriculum blueprint and multi level teaching and learning. Mathematics teachers are expected to bridge these gaps for multi level and differentiated learning to take place in mathematics classes.
According to the principles stipulated in the White Paper 6; mathematics teachers are expected to perform the following pedagogical roles; design learning activities that are sensitive to the varying needs of both the subject and the learners, create a supportive and empowering environment for the learners, and integrate assessment between teaching and learning (Department of Basic Education, 2011; 2019). Rhetorically, the attributes and the roles for the competent teacher related to inclusive education system indicate that: first, educators must have an understanding of the; purposes, methods, and effects of assessment and be able to provide helpful feedback to learners. Second, design and manage both formative and summative assessments in ways that are appropriate to the level and purpose of the learning. Third, understand how to interpret and use assessment results to feed into processes for the improvement of learning programs. Fourth, keep detailed and diagnostic records of assessment results (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2019, p.58).
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This work recognizes the findings reporting the inadequacy of the initiative of the DBE to increase the performance of learners in mathematics at elementary grades. Documents produced by the National Department of Education explain the initiative called ‘The Foundations of Learning Campaign’, a project introduced by the Department of Education in 2008 to increase the performance of all primary school learners in Numeracy/Mathematics to no less than 50%.
The Foundations for Learning Campaign culminated in a national evaluation at the end of 2011 to assess the Literacy (Languages) and Numeracy (Mathematics) levels of grade three and six learners in South Africa to determine the impact of the campaign (Department of Basic Education, 2019).
The problem identified after the critical synthesis of the findings and recommendations is that, there seems to be little information said in the literature regarding accommodating diverse learning styles in the specialized mathematics pedagogical content knowledge to support the implementation of inclusive policy in classrooms in South Africa. The curriculum change policy indicates that the envisaged teacher should:(i) demonstrate an ability to prepare and develop activities that complement diverse learning styles in the classroom, (ii) be a subject and phase specialist and, be able to conduct assessments.
The question that this study sought to address was: Is baseline assessment significant to benchmark diverse learning needs in the elementary mathematics classes?
The analysis of the results of the Foundations of Learning Campaign revealed that the campaign did not focus on the alternative pedagogical approaches; instead teachers were merely given material. Research continued to point at the inconsistencies in the pedagogical approaches, emanating from the unaligned and uninformed practices in mathematics classrooms nationally (Hazell, Spencer & Robert, 2019; Henning et al. (2019). In the same, vein (Graven, 2014) agreed that the campaign did not yield positive results to implement alternative pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning of mathematics in elementary classes. Amidst, the challenges that threatened the effective implementation of the campaign and other innovations to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, the main issue of concern is the incompetency of teachers to address multi level abilities and diverse learning difficulties experienced by individual learners in classrooms (Reddy, 2006; Department of Basic Education, 2019; Fleisch, 2008; Schollar, 2008). Research shows that the challenge of overcrowded classrooms, lack of resources, and rapid changes in the alignment of the curriculum are the attributes of a high rate of failure in mathematics (Tomlinson, 2020; Blomeke, Kaiser & Koning, 2020) Spaull and Kotze (2015), however, argue that the issues of the language comprise the root course of the high failure rate in mathematics classes in South Africa. Henning et al. (2019) in the same vein write that there is a great need for the use of home language to teaching and learning other than the second language which has a profoundly negative impact upon the acquisition of mathematical concepts in elementary Concernsclasses. are mounting about the poor performance of learners in mathematics.
3. Literature Review
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Relevant literature posits that the perspective of assessment held by the National Department was that of integrating assessment to teaching and learning. The rationale to integrate, to monitor learning progress was to provide necessary feedback to individual learners in the process of teaching and learning of mathematics content knowledge (Department of Basic Education, 2011, 2019).
The advocacy document on assessment policy pioneered a view of formative and developmental assessment and emphasized continuous assessment where a variety of techniques and methods could be applied to collect or gather evidence on learners’ performance (Aghamdi, Jitendra & Lein, 2019; Andrade & Brookhart, 2019; Department of Basic Education, 2019). Teachers of mathematics are expected to conceptualize in their practices of pedagogy is that of a continuum that serves to highlight the learning needs of individual learners concerning the goals and objectives of the mathematics curriculum. The practice of continuous assessment in South African schools stresses three purposes of assessment (baseline, formative and summative) in the learning environment.
The problem statement for the study was, to explore the approaches applied by learners to acquire mathematics content knowledge; concepts, cognitive skills, and application in the multiplication activities designed by teachers.
The most critical purpose of assessment is to identify gaps in learners’ previous knowledge and identify learners’ levels of cognitive and affective abilities. According to the guidelines of the Department; for the evaluation to serve the baseline purpose, teachers are expected to design activities which benchmark levels of skills, proficiency, expertise, existing knowledge gaps and misconceptions at the beginning of the new grade, and before embarking on the new theme of learning context (Henning et al., 2019; Bondie, Dahnke & Zusho, In2019).the same narrative, Tiymms (2013), and Tomlinson (2020) highlights the results of the baseline assessment, which provides the teacher with information about learners’ abilities and knowledge gaps. Based on that information, the teacher can structure the learning content, select and align strategies of teaching and learning with each learner, or a group of learners’ learning needs. A synthesis of policy documents for teacher qualifications in South Africa shows that pre service and in service programs should equip teachers with competences in assessment, program designers, and subject/phase specialists (Department of Basic Education, 2019, Department of higher education, 2019). Semana and Santos (2018) posit that the proposed new approaches to assessment and teaching depend on the eagerness and commitment of teachers to track the progress made by individual learners in the classroom. Proponents of baseline assessment hold that assessment tasks should provide adequate opportunities for learners to express their individuality. Research suggests that in a group of mixed abilities and learning styles, teachers should first have mastered the knowledge and skills for diagnosing learners’ difficulties along with styles of learning before making judgments about the capabilities of learners in the mathematics class (Tomlinson & Tonya, 2013; Sausa & Tomlinson, 2011; Wright, Martland & Stafford, 2006). For teachers to be competent assessors, they are
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expected to use these opportunities to develop learning profiles for individual learners which points to the conditions under, which some learners learn best. The information gathered during the assessment enables teachers to create and adjust subject content knowledge and contexts of learning concepts and skills to suit learners’ interests, experiences, and abilities (Baubeng, Atingane & Amoako, 2019; Goulet Lyle, Voyer & Wershaffel, 2019; Amoako, Brembong & Bartey, 2019; Kim, 2019; Nguare, Hungi & Mutisya, 2018)
The theoretical framework for the research project was established from the principles asserted in the theory of multiple intelligences, Multi levels, and differentiated learning (Tomlinson, 2020; Bondie, Dahnke & Zusho; 2019; Tomlinson, 2013; Davis, Christodoulou, Seider & Gardner, 2011). These theories explain the formation or composition of a classroom as a community of individuals who come from different socio cultural and economic backgrounds, and individuals who have bits of intelligence, experiences, and interests are Drydennurtured.and Vos (2005, p.146), indicate that bits of intelligence are certain traits and propensities for learning specifics skills that everyone possesses at birth. The development of the potential bits of bits of intelligence in learning is determined by how they are nurtured to become sets of skills and abilities. According to Sternberg (1985) in Dryden and Vos (2005, p. 146), intelligence takes three forms: analytical, creative, and practical. Gestalt Psychologists uphold a similar theoretical view about the development of cognitive and affective skills: they point out the importance of interest, experience, configuration, patterns in the stimuli, and relations (Bondie, Dahnke & Zusho, 2019).
4. Theoretical framework
Advocates of baseline assessment in the context of education assert that the principal reason for a baseline in teaching and learning is to get to know children at the entry level of a new phase of schooling (Tiymms, 2013; Nguare, Hungi & Matisya, 2018; Tomlinson, 2020). The purpose of baseline assessment, according to the Department of Basic Education (2019) is to help teachers to develop learning activities that are inclusive of the differentiated learning styles, and to identify the special needs of children at an early stage, so that the remediation program can be put in place. Tomlinson and Moon (2013, p. 182) agree that baseline assessment is supposed to be at the heart of curriculum innovations since it establishes a baseline for gauging future progress, not only for individual learners but for the entire class. According to some researchers, baseline assessment may be organized in various forms which, could be: a test written by all learners in a class at the beginning of the learning program, which could be carried out in 20 to 25 minutes. Alternatively, baseline assessment could be carried out through easily manageable activities that are carefully developed to measure subjective and objectives values and indicators necessary for future development and progress (Henning et al., 2019; Kim, 2019; Nguare, Hungi & Mutisya, 2018).
Conceptualized framework for baseline assessment
5. Methodology and Research Design
Grade 4 teachers from each of the three schools selected twenty mathematics learner books, and the total number of books analyzed in this study was 60. The rationale for choosing class four learners in this sample is that class four is an entry grade in the middle schooling or intermediate phase. Instruments Tymms (2013, p.233) suggests three types of instruments for gathering data: employing, observation schedule and assessment activities for quantitative data and in depth interviews for qualitative data. Observations alone, however, cannot provide objective comparative data, nor can they probe indicators of individual learners’ learning styles (Tymms, 2013). Observations and assessment activities were used in this study to complement subjective and objective data and to ensure that good productive validity was monitored. In the same vein, Bondie et al., (2019) state that in mathematical learning, particularly, observation may not reveal indicators, hence carefully chosen activities are required to supplement data. In depth interviews were conducted after the collection of data from the learner workbook, and the results of baseline assessment activities were analyzed.
Ethics for this study were considered, and that entailed permission from gatekeepers, the Kwazulu Natal Department of Education, and school principals. The consent of the participants was given in writing. Anonymity and confidentiality of all participants were assured.
This study employed a mixed method research paradigm drawing from the ideas and views of Creswell and Creswell (2018, p.265) quantitative and qualitative methods allow the researcher to gather numerical and narrative data from the same sample. According to Henning, Van Rensberg & Smit (2013, p.35) qualitative, the methods of data collection can be personal narratives or participatory observation. The phenomenological case design was appropriate for the selection of participants, managing the phases of qualitative data collection and data analysis. This study had two sources of data gathered through the quantitative and qualitative procedures, the learners’ scores comprise quantitative and narrations of the qualitative data from interviews. Sampling A purposive sampling strategy was used to select participants in the sample and focus groups. The purpose was to gather reliable and valid data upon which findings could address the research problem and the purpose of the study.
Multi level and multi intelligence theories advert to the critical principles to be reckoned with when identifying traits and propensities of learners: (i) flexibility in the organizations of learning material (ii) reading and comprehension of the language of teaching and learning and (iii) familiarity with the context of in which learning of content knowledge takes place (Wright, Martland & Stafford, 2006).
6. Data collection procedures
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Data gathered from learners’ Mathematics learner books.
The second phase of data collection focused upon learner performance in learning activities designed by teachers under the supervision of the researcher.
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40%25%15%20% Categories of learning difficulties experienced by learners with multiplicationN=60 difficulties with concept "multiply" 25% diffuclties with calculating skills in multiples difficulties40%with symbol "X" in mathematics 15% difficulties with reading instructions from the learner book 20%
Procedures of data analysis
The first set of data was gathered from the analysis of learners’ performance in three multiplication activities. Recorded data were classified under the categories in the pie chart below, indicating difficulties experienced by learners with the multiplication activities in grade 4 learner books.
First stage data collection: Meetings were arranged with three grade four mathematics teachers in three different primary schools in a selected township in the Northern KwaZulu Natal province, respectively. Schools were visited on different days during the second term. The topic which was chosen was on multiplication according to the school’s work schedules. It was selected because it was part of the work which was covered during the term in which the study was conducted. Schools A, B, and C were using the same workbook. Learners completed the same activities in the grade 4 learners’ book as prescribed by the Department of Basic Education.
Figure 1: the pie chart showing the types of difficulties recorded from learners’ performance in the multiplication activities. Data gathered from baseline assessment activities.
The quantitative data was coded, categorized, and organized according to the trends and patterns manifested. Trends from the coded data were identified through the observed frequency showing similarities from each category. The categories focused on the descriptions of techniques from the Multiple Intelligences, and they were of assistance for aligning learners’ differentiated approaches to solving problem applying mathematical operations in different contexts of the activities. The pie chart and tables were generated to present the summaries of data. Qualitative data was also coded and classified under categories and thereafter patterns of thought manifested were organized into themes.
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• Cut a picture from the worksheet and paste it on the sheet of paper provided and write two on top • Next to the margin write numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
• Count any grouping of two you see on the picture or objects you have chosen using the numbers 1,2,3 7
The learning outcome for the activities: by the end of the learning activities, learners should be able to: Differentiate between continuous addition and multiplication, count items in groupings, and to understand the concept of times, multiples through repeated counting. Assessment Criteria or expected performed knowledge and skills from the activities were to; (i) apply the concept multiple as groupings (ii) Substitute items with symbols Repeating counting of 1 grouping in the context of times to develop tables of 2 and 4 on their own Count any grouping of four you see on your picture or items using the numbers 1, 2, 3 Visual7spatial learners: used objects to count in multiples of 2 and 4. They scored the groupings on the one object repeatedly until they completed developing their tables. According to Davis et al. (2011), the visual spatial learning style is characterized by an interest in working with real objects and pictures or photographs. The physical object e.g., counters and pictures, as well as drawings, were provided. For example: 2 Ears of the dog (x) multiple 4 legs of the dog Counting in (times) totals One time =ears 1x2= ears one time = 1x4= legs Two times = ears2x2= ears Two times= 2x4=legs Three times = ears 3x2 = ears Three times= 3x4= legs Four times = ears 4x2= ears Four times= 4x4= legs Five times = ears 5X2= ears Five times= 5x4=legs Six times = ears6x2= ears Six times = 6x4=legs Seven times7x2 = ears Seven times = 7x4=legs Instructions:
The researcher and teachers were guided by three critical principles recommended in the Department of Basic Education (2019), Tomlinson (2020), and Bondie et al. (2019) where they developed and organized activities on worksheets: flexibility in the organizations of learning material, reading, and comprehension of the language of teaching and learning and familiarity with the context of Education. Learners were allowed to choose worksheets which they liked the most as long as they had the groupings of two and four. Below is the set of activities developed per differentiated learning styles for grade four learners, respectively.
Verbal Linguistic and Interpersonal learners were allowed to solve problems by reading story sums, pictures, and drawing they have created. Davis, Christodoulou, Seider & Gardner (2011) asserted that the following interests and capabilities characterize the verbal linguistic style of learning: Interpret pictures, graphs, and charts well; enjoy drawing, painting, and the visual arts, as well as recognizing patterns easily.
Bodily Kinesthetic Learners: used baking pans and cookies to develop their tables of the multiples of 2’s and 4’s. Davis et al. (2011) describes bodily kinesthetic learning styles, to be physical movements. Enjoy creating things with his or her hands, remember by doing, rather than hearing or seeing
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The game was about sorting cupcakes into boxes. Sorting began with One box of 2cupcakes, 1x2= Two boxes of 2 cupcakes 2x2= Three boxes of 2cupcakes 3x2= Four boxes of 2 cupcakes 4x2= Five boxes of 2 cupcakes 5x2= Six boxes of 2 cupcakes 6x2= Seven boxes of 2 cupcakes 7x2= One box of 4 cupcakes 1x4= cupcakes Two boxes of 4 cupcakes 2x4= cupcakes Three boxes of 4 cupcakes 3x4= cupcakes Four boxes of 4 cupcakes 4x4= cupcakes Five boxes of 4 cupcakes 5x4= cupcakes Six boxes of 4 cupcakes 6x4= cupcakes Seven boxes of 4 cupcakes 7x4= cupcakes
The data gathered through observation of learners' patterns of behavior and identified traits and propensities of learners demonstrated by individual learners during the learning activities, were classified under trends using Davis, Christodoulou, Seider & Gardner (2011) descriptions of visual-spatial learning styles, verbal linguistic learning style, interpersonal and body kinesthetic learning styles in the multiple intelligences theory.
The summary of data on the bar graph indicates the frequency of learners in the sample of 60 learners from three schools under each of the three learning styles, respectively.
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The summary of raw scores obtained by learners under each category was classified in table 1 below. The data recorded during the learning and assessments were classified under each type of event. Individual Learners’ learning styles were identified from the scores they obtained from each activity.
Table 1: shows the analysis of the feedback to the performance of diverse learning styles on each criterion, respectively.
Figure 2: The bar chart shows the frequency distribution of behavioral patterns indicating learning styles identified from the combined group of grade four learners in the sample. Data gathered concerning the expected performance stated in the performed goals or standards of the learning outcome.
Number of entries 60 (N=60) Analytic assessment rubrics with descriptors Achieved (A): (abilities to understand the concepts of groupings and multiples in the context of time/s (first time, the second time, etc.), are demonstrated. The skill of identifying clusters counting, and calculating accurately are performed. Abilities two substitute words with numerical symbols in performing calculations following instructions were displayed. Partial achieved (PA): abilities to understand concepts of clusters and multiples have partially improved; however, more practice is required. The skills of identifying groupings, counting, and calculation are still essential, and more training is essential. Guided reading to comprehend instructions is necessary. The abilities to develop a table of 2 and 4 have been mastered. Not Achieved (NA): (abilities to understand the concepts of grouping and multiples
bodilylearningkenastheticstyle verballearninglinguisticstyle visual spatialstylelearning frequency distribution of learners learning styles (n=60)
20%10%0% 30% 60%50%40%
The Performance was analyzed to understanding the class composition in terms of learning techniques
The data gathered through analytic rubrics comprised a rating of the performance of individual learners against performance objectives (criteria and the learning outcomes). The objectives or criteria set the expected achievement of learners in the mastery of subject content knowledge, cognitive skills, and practical or applications.
linguisticVerbalinterpersonal& achieved achieved partial achieved KinestheticBodily- achieved partial achieved achieved Visual spatial achieved achieved achieved
Teacher B: “I have learned that over the years, I have been unfair in my judgment of learners, because due to my lack of knowledge about their learning
Teacher C: "I think, participating in this research was a golden opportunity for me. From this experience, I know that learners are judged unfairly by us, teachers. Honestly, I have not bothered about my slow learners. I will use this experience to continue to support my learners in the class.”The third and the last question asked: Do you think are the advantages of considering different learning styles in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in grade 4? The responses which we got from the teachers were the following: Teacher A: “The excitement and joy I witnessed in learners indicated to me that they loved what they were doing. I have also noticed that their participation and commitment to the activities improved”
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Teacher A: “Yes, it was. It has been my view that not all learners are intelligent to grasp the knowledge of Mathematics, as the teacher of Mathematics in this over the years, some learners take time to differentiate between addition and multiplication.”
concept of ‘multiply’ skills of counting and calculations withsubstitutionsymbols
Data Gathered from In-depth Interviews with three Teachers of 25 learners.
The following three questions were asked to three teachers participating in the sample. The first question asked: What can be the reasons for these learners’ poor performance in these multiplication activities? This question was asked during the analysis of three activities carried out by learners in the learner workbook. This is what teachers had to say: Teacher A: “Mathematics is a difficult subject to those learners who are less gifted, as a teacher; I cannot create something that is not there.”
Teacher B: “learners who experience difficulties are, those who are lazy to think and to reason even when you give them simple math problems to solve.”
Teacher C: “CAPS learner books and teachers’ guides provide activities that learners should do in the first term; therefore we steak to them.” The second question was asked: Was your participation in baseline assessment activities of value to you as the mathematics teacher in grade four? This question was asked to teachers after the activities.
Teacher B: "I am a new teacher, and I am teaching grade four for the first time. I learned from inclusive education that we should attend to individual learners learning barriers. I, also know about the theory of Gardiner. The problem, however, is that I did not have practical experience. This research has trained me in something of value. The challenge though, that our curriculum is restricted to learners’ mathematics workbooks.”
7. Findings
Results of baseline assessment expose diverse learning styles other than learning difficulties
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The positive results obtained from a variety of activities confirmed assertions made by Kim (2019) and Tiymms (2013) that baseline assessment tasks provide adequate opportunities for learners to express their individuality in the learning process. Planning and development of diverse activities offer learners opportunities to master multiplication skills at their level of cognitive processing.
styles, I concluded they have learning barriers and, there is no miracle to change those barriers. The heads of the department do not have a solution, and we subsequently promote them to the next grade with their barriers.”
Learners who met all four criteria were considered to have mastered multiplication set out in the learning outcome. This finding confirms Piaget’s assertion that mastery of skills begins with the coding of concepts in the short term memory before proceeding to the working memory in the mind where meaning and understanding are accomplished Bondie et al. (2019). Such positive results endorse the principles of multi level abilities teaching and multiple intelligences that learning of any knowledge and skills is determined by; flexibility of organization of material and familiarity with context (Tomlinson, 2020; Baubeng, Atingane & Amoako, 2019) This finding suggests strongly that the results of the baseline assessment are the performance indicators (PI) for differentiated learning (Tymms, 2013) Findings were elucidated from data gathered from in-depth interviews with participating teachers. The findings that emerged during the process of data analysis and its collection highlighted various issues about the learners and teachers participated in the sample. These issues were translated into themes for discussion.
Teacher c: The mathematics learner workbooks do not provide activities based on these different learning styles. The assessment activities should not be the event of one size fits all.” This thing of barriers and inclusivity and learner should be left behind; I consider this as just a slogan of the DBE. But what we have experienced worth it.
The traits and propensities presented in the bar chart, figure2, and andtable1 indicate a change in the learners ‘performance, to the four criteria of the multiplication activities, respectively. The activities exposed learners to opportunities to master knowledge and skills of multiplication at their own pace and learning styles. The results highlighted the population of learners in the sample of 60 represented the demographics of the diverse learning styles in the bar chart, figure 2. The performance which could have been declared weak in the four aspects of multiplication appeared to have improved drastically. Improvements in learners’ performance highlight the importance and usefulness of baseline assessment in identifying the learning styles of learners in mathematics class. The analysis of the learners’ performance provided informed the development of activities that accommodated diverse capabilities, interests, and frameworks for learning mathematics skills, knowledge, and logos.
Theme 1: Inadequate theoretical and practical knowledge of baseline assessment
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Theme 2: Misconstrued understanding of differentiated learning styles versus learning Analysisdifficultiesofresponses
The participants highlighted reliance on the prescribed learners’ mathematics books and curriculum guidelines when conducting assessments. Textbook based activities in this argument are generic and are not suitable for implementing inclusivity in the mathematics classroom. The findings of this study confirm that teachers’ creativity and flexibility could bring about fruitful intervention to promote equity and equal learning opportunities for all learners in the learning environment. The tendency of the Department of education to prescribe assessment tools for all learners in the grade is proven in this study to be an obstacle to teachers’ critical and creative thinking about what their contextual reality demands. The study also, proved that teachers are capable of developing activities that suit their learners' experience and interests, and capabilities as well.
The responses of the participants to the main question highlighted that their knowledge of baseline assessment did not resonate with the principles of inclusivity and differentiated learning advocated in the White Paper 6 (DBE, 2011). The responses of teacher, A, and C to the question on the reasons for the high rate of failure in mathematics in the intermediate phase (middle classes) highlighted the lack of knowledge of the varying capabilities in the learning environment. This finding, therefore, answered the question asked in this article on how teachers in elementary mathematics classes identify differentiated learners’ learning styles in mastering conceptual knowledge of multiplication and the application of numerical cognitive skills. The repeated mentioning of the Activities from textbooks as a means of baseline assessment indicated that participants were not certain about the rationale for conducting baseline assessment as part of implementing inclusive policy in teaching and learning.
8. Discussion This section discusses the synthesis of the findings of the research concerning the question, which was the main focus of the collection and analysis of data. The question sought to Is baseline assessment a reliable procedure to benchmark diverse learning needs in the elementary mathematics classes?
Theme 3: dependence on textbooks and curriculum guidelines for assessment activities.
highlighted that participants held the perception that differentiated learning styles refer to learning difficulties. The misconception of differentiated learning styles led other learners to state that they failed because they could not fit into the mainstream teaching and learning styles preferred by the teacher in the mathematics class; something highlighted in the utterance made by one participant: “learners who experience difficulties are those who are lazy to think and to reason even when you give them simple math problems to solve.”
The findings of the research proved that baseline assessment activities provided diverse opportunities for learners to demonstrate their capabilities and interests.
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The results and the findings presented in this paper highlight the value of baseline assessment to benchmark learning needs which prevail in mathematics class. The results of the baselines assessment were of assistant to teachers to develop mathematics teaching and learning activities in elementary classes. Teachers participating in the sample were eager to cooperate in learning about strategies of baseline assessment to identify distinct learning styles
9. Limitations Even though, the fact that the findings shared in this article are of value and importance it is worth noting, however, that the sampling focused on three schools in a district with over 50 primary schools. The researcher could not access other schools due to time and financial constraints.
. The inability of mathematics teachers to develop baseline assessment activities was interpreted as a threat to inclusivity in learning, the result of which is the disadvantaging of other learners. The proposals and recommendations made on the grounds of this finding are two fold: empowering mathematics teachers with strategies (i) to develop baseline activities and (ii) to analyze results according to learning styles.
The findings presented in this paper highlighted the possibility of improving the performance of learners in mathematics through careful planning and organizing activities driven by the abilities, needs, and interests of the learners.
The activities were able to benchmark the interests, needs, and abilities which can guide further development of learning activities for the learners. According to Tomlinson (2020) baseline in the form of the formative assessment provide teachers feedback about the diverse needs and abilities to be considered when designing teaching and learning activities in the subject. The results of the study highlighted that, despite the argument of Henning et al (2019 regarding the negative impact on the learning of mathematical content knowledge, the issue of pedagogical approach proved by this research to be the obstacle to learners with special learning techniques to demonstrate their capabilities.
The success in the improvement of underperforming learners scored through the baseline assessment activities confirmed the principle of a continuum in a performance highlighted by Armstrong (2009 p.146) that; flexibility in the organization of learning and assessment material and familiarity with the context are critical principles in differentiated learning styles. The evidence in Tables 1 and figure 2 proved that active involvement with objects engages learners in working with mathematical logos made learning of multiple of four practical and contextualized. Learners reckoned that logos are the mathematical language to communicate knowledge in different contexts. This finding was the realization of the idea that productive and meaningful learning of concepts and experience is possible in a framework that is familiar to learners.
Second, in addition to focusing on the reliability of the results, was that performance proved that teachers should reckon; flexibility in the organization of learning material contextualized learning of mathematics concepts, skills, and operation abilities, particularly for the intermediate phase (middle phase of school. Third, upon reflection, baselines activities appeared to be developing interest and positive attitude in learners toward mathematics. While acknowledging, the concerns of the rapid and radical curriculum change since 1997, and a lack of resources, and parental support highlighted by the Department of Basic Education (2019), Spaull & Kotze (2015), the findings of this research, however, proved that consideration of differentiated learning techniques is lacking in mathematics teaching and learning, in some primary Thisschools.study recommends that future studies could use the findings highlighted by this research to study, the application of baseline assessment to identify teaching techniques in mathematics classes on a larger scale and highlight other learning styles that are not part of this article. The study recommends the serious consideration of baseline assessment to be an essential aspect of a continuous professional program for mathematics teachers. Furthermore, the research highlighted that learners can reach their optimal levels in learning mathematics in a free and flexible environment. This paper concludes that the lack of knowledge about how to conduct baseline and its value is one of the serious attributes of the high failure rate of children in grade four. These findings highlighted in the article suggest that the department of education in South Africa should provide the teacher of mathematics in elementary classes with pedagogical content knowledge and training to handle issues of differentiated learning in mathematics class; this does not mean remedial teaching but an ability to develop activities to accommodate all styles of learning. According to the findings of the research, the claim can be made that pedagogical strategies proposed for integrating teaching, learning, and assessment have not found their way into the practices of teachers in classrooms
The analysis of the principles underpinning baseline assessment and the findings of this study, lead to the following conclusions about the process of benchmarking learners' approaches to acquiring mathematical knowledge. First, the principles of the theory of Multiple Intelligence which guided assisted this study to understand the implications of baseline assessment in practice. The principle of uniqueness of learners in the process of learning suggested by the advocates of differentiated learning techniques was confirmed by the results and the findings in the work (Dryden & Vos, 2005; Bondie, Dahnke & Zusho, 2019).
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. Teachers in this study were seldom able to develop and plan learning and teaching activities sensitive to learners’ diverse learning styles. The positive results indicate that baseline assessment could be of assistance to mathematics teachers to establish diverse learning styles in their classrooms; so that they can widen opportunities in their teaching of mathematics conceptual knowledge and algorithms. It was proven in the study that the principle of inclusivity in education promulgated by the Department of Basic Education (2011) in the
10. Conclusion and recommendation
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858
019 01078 0 Amoako, I., Brembong, D. A., & Bortey, J. (2019). Knowledge of Formative Assessment practices among senior High School Mathematics Teachers in Ghana. Open JournalofSocial ScienceResearch, 3(3), 8 13. Andrade, H. L., & Brookhart, S. M. (2019). Classroom assessment as the co regulation of learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 27(4), 350 372 Baubeng,https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2019.1571992I.Atingane,A.B.,&Amoako.(2019).Practices, challenges, and Perceived Influence, of Classroom Assessment on Mathematics Instruction. International JournalofAssessmentToolsinEducation,6(3), 476 486. Blomeke, S., Kaiser, G., & Koning, J. (2020). Profiles of mathematics teachers’ competence and their relation to instructional quality. Mathematics Education, 52(2), 329 342.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858 01128 y
11. References Aghamdi, A., Jitendra, A. K., & Lein, A. E. (2019). Teaching students with mathematics disabilities to solve multiplication and division word problems: the role of schema based instruction. Mathematics Education, 52(1), 125 137.
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The data and the findings presented in this article point out that a new and viable approach to teaching and learning of Mathematics knowledge and skills is necessary.
020
This paper recognizes the demographics of diverse learning styles in mathematics classes, and the question was how the demographics contributed to the poor performance of learners in grade four in mathematics learning. The findings of the study indicated that learners’, performance was focused on sound, weak and poor categories. The results presented in this work point to the inadequacies of mathematics teachers in the entry grade of intermediate phase to plan, and organize learning, and assessment activities to accommodate diverse learners' needs in mathematics classes.
The first activity provided learners with the different settings to make their own choice and to count one cluster of objects in cycles and record the cycles of counting and the increase they observed in the rise in numbers.
Bondie, R, S., Dahnke, C., & Zusho, A. (2019). How does changing "One Size Fits All" to differentiated Instruction Affect Teaching? Review of Research in Education (chapter 12, 43(1), pp. 336 362). SAGE Publication. Davis, K., Christodoulou J. Seider, S., & Gardiner H. (2011) The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In R. J. Sternberg & S. B. Kaufman (Eds.) Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Department of Basic Education. (2019). Mathematics Teaching and Learning Framework for South Africa: Teaching and Learning mathematics for understanding. Department Printers: Pretoria RSA. Department of Higher Education. (2019). Minimum RequirementforTeacherQualificationin South Africa. Pretoria. Government Press. Department of Basic Education. (2011) South African curriculum and assessment policy statements, Department of Education, Pretoria.
White paper 6 regulations on inclusive education are not considered in the planning and organization of learning material, and subsequently, it is not implemented due to the lack of empowerment of mathematics teacher.
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019 01098 w Hazell, E., Spencer, G., & Robert, N. (2019). Improving Grade R mathematics teaching in South Africa: Evidence from an impact evaluation of a province wide Balzer, L., Ragpot, L., Herholdt, R., & Fritz, A. (2019) Marko DSA: Assessment of number concept development. University of Johannesburg printers: Johannesburg RSA. Henning, E., van Rensburg, W., & Smit, B. (2013). Finding your way in qualitative research Pretoria: Van Schaik Kim, H. J. (2019). Teacher learning opportunities provided by implementing formative assessment lessons: Becoming responsive to student mathematical thinking. InternationalJournalofScienceandMathematics Education,17, 341 361 Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., & Hooper, M. (2017). Measuring changing educational context in a changing world: Evolution of TIMMS and PIRLS questionnaire. In M. Rosen, K. Y. Hansen & U. Woff (Eds). Cognitive abilities and educational outcomes Nguare, M. W., Hungi, N., & Mutisya, M. (2018). Assessing Learning: How can classroom based teachers assess students’ competences in Numeracy. Journal of Assessment in Education, 26(2), 222 244. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1503156 Reddy, V. B. (2006). Mathematics and science achievement at South African schools in TIMMS 2003. Cape Town. Schollar, E. (2008). The primary mathematics research project 2004 2007: Towards evidence based educational development in South Africa. Primary Mathematics Project, Semana,Johannesburg.S.,&Santos, L. (2018) Self regulation capacity of middle school students in mathematics. Mathematics Education, 50(6), 743 755. 0954 0 Spaull, N., & Kotze, J. (2015). ‘Starting behind and staying behind in South Africa InternationalJournalofEducationalDevelopment, 41, 13 24 Tomlinson, C. A. (2020). Fulfilling the promise of the differentiated classroom: Strategies and tools for responsive teaching. Alexandria Retrieved from Tomlinson,http://www.ascd.org/publicationsC.A.&Moon,T.(2013).Differentiation and classroom assessment. In J. H. McMillan (Ed.), SAGE handbook of research on classroom assessment (pp. 415 430). Los Angeles: SAGE. Tymms, P. (2013). Baseline Assessment and Monitoring in Primary schools: Achievement, Attitudes,andValue addedindicators. New York: Routledge. Veldhuis, M., & van den Heuvel Panhuizen, M. (2019). Supporting primary school teachers’ classroom assessment in mathematics education: effects on student achievement. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32, 449 471 00281 2
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Donohue, D. K., & Bornman, J. (2014). The challenges of realizing Inclusive Education in South Africa, South African JournalofEducation,34(2),1 14 Dryden, G., &Vos, J. (2005) (Eds.). New learning Revolution. United Kingdom: Network Educational Press Ltd. Fleisch, B. (2008). Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve inreadingandmathematics. Juta, Cape Town. Goulet Lyle, M., Voyer, D., & Wershaffel, L. (2019). How does imposing a step by step solution method impact students' approach to mathematics word problem solving? Mathematics Education, 52(1), 139 149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858
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Henning,intervention.E.,Ehlert,A.,
Early
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Venkat, H., & Spaull, N. (2015). What do we know about primary teachers' mathematical content knowledge in South Africa? An analysis of SACMEQ 2007. International Journal of Educational Development, 41, 121 130. Wright,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.02.002R.J.Martland,J.,&Stafford,A.K.(2006). numeracy: Assessment for teaching andintervention London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd.
348 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Appendix A: Activities of multiplication problems for baseline assessment Activity One: multiples of two ⚫ Problem is counting objects in pairs or in the groupings of two, in a number of times and recording solutions or number patterns. ⚫ Example: Counting a pair Once (1x2 objects) Counting a pair twice (2 times x2 objects) Activity Two: Multiples of four ⚫ Problem is counting objects in the groupings of four Intelligences Techniques of solving problems. Material chosen skills knowledge Verbal Linguistic Reading words and listening Picture/ diagrams / words recognisingOrganisingSortingCounting ConceptspatternsNumber of increase multiplicationandBodily Kinaesthetic Move sensationsthroughprocessaround,informationbodily Games, role playing Visual spatial Imagine imagesworkingthings,withvisualandpictures Pictures/ drawings Appendix B: Observation schedule forPseudonymsstudents Interests Technique for solving mathematics problems (e.g. games, drawing) Performance Learner R Learner V Learner M Learner P
349 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Appendix C: in-depth interview questions (i) How do you assist learners who are not performing well in your mathematics class? (ii) What can be the reasons for these learners’ poor performance in these multiplication activities (iii) Was your participation in baseline assessment activities of value to you as the mathematics teacher in grade four? (iv) Do you think are the advantages of considering different learning styles in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in grade 4?
Keywords: Authentic video; Teaching; English; Engineering student; University
Abstract. The article provides the study of authentic videos effectiveness in teaching English to future engineers, focusing on listening and speaking skills advancement. Being created primarily for native speakers, authentic videos (movies, TV shows, and programs) present real life issues and communication examples. Therefore, such records may become indispensable for engineering students, who often have limited English vocabulary. The 6 week research was conducted at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” in February March 2020. The sample was 50 full time 3rd year engineering students During the research, the participants received surveys and tests. The obtained post experimental test results revealed that the introduction of authentic videos in the English course regularly helps improve the technical students’ listening and speaking skills by almost two times. The average total mark, comprising the outcomes of listening, reading, writing, and speaking tasks, increased by 1.5 times. In the post experimental questionnaires, the students stated that authentic videos advanced their English proficiency significantly and improved their understanding of the studied topics, including specialty related vocabulary and issues The vast majority of engineers to be expressed the desire to continue the work with videos at home. The study allows us to conclude that authentic videos are useful in English teaching since they help boost engineering students’ skills, motivation, positive characteristics (concurrently amending their weak points), knowledge in the field of specialty, and increase their interest in studying English The research results may be employed for further studies concerning English teaching with videos at university and the subsequent lifelong learning of English.
Nataliia Saienko and Mariana Shevchenko Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kyiv, Ukraine 0001 8898 5198 0002 5881 0263
https://orcid.org/0000
Authentic Videos in Teaching English to Engineering Students at Universities
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National
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2. Literature Review
1. Introduction Present times require up to date forms of study at university, especially a technical one. Students need a unique approach to get modern education and relevant expertise that will be flexible and acceptable in the constantly developing scientific field in the time of the ever changing world. Besides, future professionals should acquire lifelong learning skills as they are among the most needed ones now for career advancement. Teaching English requires keeping up with current trends. Recently, the ongoing shift towards a mainly communicative approach to teaching English at non linguistic faculties has become visible. Therefore, it is important to analyze personality types and traits of technical students and find suitable means and aids to boost their incentive to improve their skills and knowledge of English at university and after graduation.
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There is a current trend towards adding audio visual materials in the classroom of both humanities and technical students to boost the teaching/studying process (Malhotra & Verma, 2020; Muslem et al., 2017). Among others, engineering students express a positive attitude to the use of videos in class (Babu H et al., 2019; Månsson, Löfgreen & Warfvinge, 2017; Sun, 2020) During the training of future engineers, videos are mainly used for demonstration of a device, a technological process, or an issue and not for teaching English (Zabalza et al., 2020; Zhou, 2005). However, relevant authentic videos used in English lessons as educational aids can also potentially improve the levels of foreign language proficiency of the students in question and make such classes more effective. Yet, this aspect has not been sufficiently studied, making our research Scientistsopportune.from different countries across the globe are investigating the positive and negative sides of videos as a supplement to foreign language teaching. The role of video records in teaching English oral speech at university has been covered widely in scientific works. The findings are provided further. Polat and Erişti (2019) examined the impact of authentic video aids on foreign language listening skill development. According to the scholars, authentic videos demonstrate the ‘real’ language (spoken by native speakers of English) and give communication samples, and thus have a highly effective influence on the development of English listening skills. Also, they relieve the foreign language listening anxiety of the students who have low levels of English proficiency. Ismaili (2013) explored the beneficial nature of films for the work of students in the EFL class. The results of the investigation showed a direct connection between motion pictures and the boost of students’ listening comprehension and communication skills development. Kalra (2017) described the same outcomes of the study. It was determined that films in English are motivating aids that present the speech in a close to authentic way, as it is done by the native speakers; thus, they significantly contribute to the enhancement of students’ listening and speaking comprehension. Wang (2015) believes that authentic videos stimulate students’ proactivity in English lessons and the incentive to study the foreign language, focus their attention on the educational means, and
3. Engineering Specialists’Place in the Modern World
The employment and usefulness of authentic videos in English lessons may depend on the learners’ personality traits and skills. Tordai and Holik (2018) have analyzed the engineering sector and pointed out that engineering informatics students display a low level of social skills and activity, implying that most of them are introverted and inactive. This may complicate the foreign language study at university. It has been recommended to augment the mentioned skills by oral interaction and presentations. However, no possible ways of advancing their communication and collaboration skills using videos were specified.
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Before the examination of the role and efficiency of authentic videos in English lessons of technical students, it is crucial to identify the personal characteristics of such individuals. The present article deals with engineering students since their specialty is one of the most in demand majors at present and is regarded as a top career. Among other things, modern engineers pay special attention to the development of energy saving technologies and the creation of environmentally friendly devices and manufacturing processes. Due to the specified line of work, engineering skills are viewed as ‘profitable’ or ‘valuable’ worldwide now (Freitas et al., 2012, p. 2) It often triggers off ‘brain drain’ (highly trained or qualified individuals emigration), which is a big issue for every country. Each state wishes to retain their brilliant minds to be a worthy competitor in the field of technology and scientific innovation. Skilled migration
depict realistic circumstances and foreign cultures. In the researcher’s scientific work, movies were mentioned as handy learning materials. However, it was recommended that teachers should design many varieties of classroom activities to take full advantage of videos. Hadijah (2016) expressed a similar thought about the importance of abundant techniques application in teaching English with multimedia. That means that videos should be used in diverse, compelling, and meaningful ways to be considered advantageous educational aids in the English classroom
The foregoing literature review allows us to conclude that the subject matters of audio visual materials use in foreign language lessons of humanities students and the communicative approach to teaching have been examined by various researchers, creating prerequisites for further study. Yet, there is a pressing need for an in-depth analysis of authentic video clips efficacy in teaching English to students of technical faculties. Among such are engineering students. In their lessons at university, videos are mainly used for specialty related purposes, not for teaching English However, authentic videos used in English classes may provide the opportunity to teach general and specialized English vocabulary, scientific concepts, issues, slang, and idioms that appear and are updated almost every day, being in permanent use by native speakers. The examination of the authentic videos use effectiveness for English studying (at university and after graduation) of engineers to be should be conducted together with the study of engineering students’ characteristics, and their future employers’ requirements for them.
At present, the issue of education and preventing the migration of specialists in industries that are rapidly gaining value in the international arena, such as environmental engineering, is urgent. Such specialists are engaged in preserving the environment and developing new technologies to improve people’s lives and even save them. Now, almost every country has a plan for the development and large scale implementation of ‘green’ technologies, based on renewable sources (solar , wind , wave energy, biomass, etc.). It is done by engineers in various fields. Therefore, it is essential to update the university education of engineering students that are non native speakers of English per the needs of today, showing the real possibilities of applying the acquired knowledge, including English. Often engineering students view it as the possible way to immigrate to other countries that offer them more career prospects. However, teaching English with modern means can help them find many opportunities without a radical change in their lives. It can help gain new expertise, knowledge, and practice even in the students’ homeland, opening the world to them from a different perspective, including the world of science. Moreover, adequately studied English – utilizing modern audio-visual materials currently available in abundance helps engineers to be gain access to the global scientific community of innovators without effort, promoting mobility, i.e., the ‘circulation’ of specialists within a global labor market (Freitas et al., 2012), and lifelong learning of English.
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of engineers may provoke deterioration or even collapse of specific technology sectors of a country. Consequently, a decline in the country’s scientific value, socio economic development, as well as economic and financial losses may happen. The outflow of engineers can occur for various reasons: low wages, underestimation by management, search for better prospects, superior training and working conditions, etc.
4. Relation between Engineering Students’ Characteristics and Authentic Videos Effectiveness in English Lessons
The new tendencies have a significant impact on student engineers’ personalities and cognitive characteristics. Among them, researchers (Kline & Lapham, 1992; Tordai & Holik, 2018; Van Der Molen et al., 2007) uniformly determine such most distinctive ones as capability of independent (autonomy) and dependent work, emotional stability (anxiety control), tough mindedness, conscientiousness (i.e., showing accuracy and precision in activities), responsibility and reliability, moderate cooperation, as well as a low level of such social skills as effective communication and self expression. Engineering students, who have work experience, have defined skills vital for their future profession. The highest ratings have problem solving, causal relationships understanding, ability to apply knowledge, work precision, adaptation to change, goal orientation, and flexibility (Tordai & Holik, 2018, pp. 35 37). Graduates emphasized that communication skills, problem solving, and interpersonal skills (cooperation) are among the most valued generic competencies for employability (Markes, 2006, p. 18; Tordai & Holik, 2018, p. 37). The students viewed this expertise as more critical in the engineering
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analysis revealed that employers in the various branches of engineering usually require their employees to comply with standards and have the following competencies (Eldeen et al., 2018, p. 965; Yusoff et al., 2012): inter personal skills; intra personal skills; basic (computer) skills; specific (professional) knowledge. Considering the ranking of the employability skills currently required by worldwide engineering industries, university lecturers of English can prioritize the student skills that should be improved in the course of the foreign language study, as well as choose the most suitable means of teaching. Understanding and being able to speak English and other languages are among the top benchmarks of a modern specialist in any technical field. That defines the vital role of English for engineers. The key criteria that employers in engineering branches utilize for worldwide staff selection were gathered (Yusoff et al., 2012, pp. 498 499), categorized, and are provided further. It is possible to develop and advance the majority of them with the introduction of authentic videos in English language lessons of engineering students on an ongoing basis: communication skills; teamwork; knowledge of contemporary issues; professionalism; problem solving and decision making skills; competency (making use of modern engineering devices and software, continuous acquisition of in depth technical competence in a particular engineering branch); lifelong learning (recognition of the importance of engagement in lifelong learning, and setting personal goals) The investigation results determine the course of English language teaching at a technical university. It is clear that to train successful and versatile engineering specialists, it is essential to incorporate the development of non technical competencies and soft skills across curricula (Itani & Srour, 2016; Riemer, 2003) and motivate students for lifelong learning, using modern aids. Non technical competencies and soft skills are the interpersonal attributes you need to succeed in the workplace: communication abilities (listening, presentation, public speaking, storytelling, persuasion, verbal communication, reading body language), critical thinking (creativity, flexibility, curiosity, logical thinking,
Skills and Competencies of Engineering Students to Be Advanced
profession than hard skills. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents said that usually the least important skill for their success in the professional field is written communication.
There is no doubt that students’ abilities, opinions, and needs are essential for differentiated English teaching at university. However, that is the employers who dictate what is needed in engineering branches at the moment. Thus, they indirectly determine the competencies and skills to be promoted in the course of English teaching. The following are skills and competencies of engineering students that can be developed and advanced simultaneously with four basic language skills in the course of English teaching with authentic videos at Auniversitythorough
problem solving, research, innovation), leadership (giving clear feedback, delegation, decision making), positive attitude (cooperation, confidence, patience), and teamwork.
It is important to remember that an individual’s learning usually happens not solely in a formal ambience (university classroom). It occurs at every moment of their life, including non formal (professional associations) and informal (library, museum, cinema, family, etc.) settings. As regards lifelong learning, it is a continuous process, among key features of which are diversity, flexibility, and availability at any time and place. Learning opportunities can be found everywhere. The mentioned kind of learning emboldens people to acquire all the knowledge and skills they may require throughout their lives (both personal and professional) and apply them with creativity, assurance, and satisfaction in any circumstances and environments (Djebbari & Djebbari, 2018, p. 9). In the process of continuous learning, people should regularly update their competencies, not allowing their knowledge and skills to become obsolete. For instance, via utilizing mobile assisted technologies that can be integrated into an English course at university and used by students anywhere off campus. Technologies were proven to be a powerful tool to develop self directed learning skills when adequately used (Saienko & Lavrysh, 2020).
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To be considered a successful lifelong learner, a person must possess the following traits (Djebbari & Djebbari, 2018, p. 10): be interdependent and independent (autonomous), logical and analytical, methodical and disciplined, curious, motivated to learn and grow, responsible for their learning and its evaluation, able to think critically and respond to various situations, as well as willing to collaborate with others. Well developed communication skills, higher order thinking skills, and information seeking and retrieval skills are also vital. That makes lifelong learning perfect for engineering students, taking into account their characteristics mentioned in the article earlier.
To encourage engineering students to be proactive while doing activities aimed to develop or improve the aforementioned soft skills, it is better to use authentic videos most diversely. Such videos promote active study in English lessons and represent one of the main elements of student centered learning environments.
Turning English language classrooms into ones with lifelong learning objectives may emphasize technical students’ English language proficiency, expand their experiences through attaching state of the art technology; boost creativity, initiative, responsiveness, adaptability, innovation, and ability to change. Thus, to prepare engineering specialists with high skills in English, the lecturers need to not only provide the students with theoretical and practical knowledge of the foreign language but also arouse their interest in the studied subject. Besides, English lecturers should inspire technical students for continuous learning: at first off campus, and after graduation as lifelong learning. That can be done only via the employment of modern studying aids and demonstration of their efficiency and usage variety.
Lifelong Learning of Engineering Students
Authentic Videos in English Lessons of Engineering Students
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That is because such a type of teaching usually allows students to get authentic tasks and gain relevant learning experiences (Elen et al., 2007, p. 105) By the word ‘authentic,’ a non educational character of any tool is meant.
Authentic aids are created, in the first place, for native speakers primarily by individuals speaking a language as their mother tongue. Verbal, audio visual, and written elements (e.g., subtitles) of authentic videos reflect the real life communication examples (Polat & Erişti, 2019, p. 137). That is the reason why the rate of speech and vocabulary heard on them are never artificially reduced to be more comprehensible (Shahani et al., 2014, p. 44), unlike on the records created purposefully for language teaching (for non native speakers). The examples of such materials are present in abundance in any format everywhere now movies (and their fragments), TV shows, programs, etc. on the Internet platforms (YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime), DVD/Blu Ray disks, in the form of digital releases. Foreign language lecturers often discard authentic videos in English. It happens since they subjectively regard such records as too time consuming and difficult to understand for their technical students, who presumably have a limited volume of general English. The mentioned foreign language vocabulary may be limited in terms of shortenings (e.g., such as ‘ad’ for advertisement, ‘vid’ for video), slang, idioms, and, especially, abbreviations and acronyms used by English speaking countries in written and oral communication sometimes even more often than their full forms (e.g., ASAP as soon as possible, CEO Chief Executive Officer). However, they are just as needed as the standard dictionary. If they are commonly used by native speakers of English, they are most definitely utilized in the workplaces, and so, by the potential foreign colleagues of the now students.
Secondly, the cultivation of the students’ intercultural communication competence is essential. When an authentic video is shown in the classroom, it does not only present information about the language but also demonstrates the culture of English native speakers and ultimately serves as a support for
To meet the requirements of the employers while simultaneously taking into account the personality characteristics of engineering students, an English language lecturer needs to set three aims of teaching with authentic videos (Wang, 2015, pp. 23 24). Firstly, it is necessary to facilitate the development of the students’ language skills (primarily, listening and speaking). It is a fact that students get tired much quicker of strictly listening than when the audio is accompanied by some visual. Videos can enhance their attention focus on the audio material, providing much more information through the visual and auditory receptors concurrently. Besides, authentic video aids can create a more realistic language learning environment and stimulate students’ interest in English studying and improvement of their comprehensive linguistic competence. Since the development of technical students’ language abilities is generally connected with their incentive and interest in what they are studying, it is motivation, namely instrumental and integrative, that plays a vital role in the foreign language training of future engineers (Saienko, 2017). It is confirmed by the cognitive theory of motivation, according to which our expectations guide our behaviors, usually, in ways that would lead to desirable outcomes.
skills improvement can be put into action through problem based learning, case study, student presentations, and projects on the subject matters of lessons structured around video clips that are thematically relevant to students’ field of specialization. Discussions of compelling and relevant engineering issues seen on video records help to boost students’ oral interaction using general English vocabulary and specialized terminology. At the same time, reflection on the lesson’s topic promotes students’ critical thinking and, ultimately, advances their proficiency in interaction with a degree of fluency and spontaneity. It is recommended to organize it in the form of cooperative learning (teamwork and collaboration) to stimulate proactive rather than reactive English study with feedback and encourage active participation in the foreign language learning process. It creates the basis of the student centered approach to education, which, in turn, motivates technical students and prepares them for the employment challenges of today.
students’ communicative competence in English. And finally, videos in question have to develop students’ aesthetic values and ability to appreciate English artistic videos (including movie fragments) in their foreign language lessons. Technical students should understand that the not inherently technical character of a film or show does not downplay its significance and does not mean pure entertainment in the class. Authentic videos exist in multiple genres, and various engineering subject matters can be found frequently in virtually any of them, even in Hollywood movies. Clips selected correctly (meaning those that depict an aspect of the students’ field of specialization an issue, a process, a device, etc.) can expedite engineering students’ deep thinking, critical review, and technical discussions.
Of all the mentioned characteristics of engineering students and the requirements of employers in their professional sphere, the main emphasis in the majority of examined scientific works (Shevchenko, 2015a; Reddy, 2019; Riemer, 2003; Van Der Molen et al., 2007) is on the importance of paying more attention to the development and enhancement of communication abilities (interpersonal skills) of students. The reason for that is that engineers, being typical realistic individuals, prefer to work with things rather than ideas or people and enjoy physical labor more than mental activities, and so, have a lower level of social skills than humanities students. It highlights the significance of technical students’ English oral speech advancement at Communicauniversity.tion
Authentic videos in English are multifunctional. They can serve the English teaching process at university in various ways: to improve engineering students’ listening and speaking skills (vocabulary practice), information recall, prediction, writing, knowledge of speech structure and grammar, teamwork, and even English pronunciation. In the auditorium, authentic video clips stimulate discussion (of a wide range of depicted issues/situations/subjects) with the justification of one’s viewpoint, argument provision and persuasion, critical thinking, as well as problem solving. Moreover, the videos under consideration may also serve as the basis for such subsequent independent work
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For the 6 week experiment in February March 2020, two groups of 3rd year engineering students of the Institute of Energy Saving and Energy Management (IEE) of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” were selected. Each group had 25 full time students with an equal number of male and female persons. The level of proficiency of the majority of the students chosen for the experiment was B2 (Upper Intermediate). Group 1 was experimental, and therefore was studying with authentic videos as educational aids. In its turn, Group 2 (a control one) was utilizing mainly
The study employs a mixed methods research approach. The quantitative research method relied on collecting and processing data through the use of pre and post experimental questionnaires and tests (B2 level). The qualitative research method focused on interpreting the information. The theoretical data collected and presented in the current work were experimentally verified. The results are provided further in the article.
of students as preparation of presentations and clear and logical speeches on the lesson’s topic or a related one. Assignments based around video records introduce interest and incentive boost in the English language lessons, showing the authenticity of specialty relevant topics/issues, learning material, and the studied foreign language vocabulary. The information above demonstrates the productivity of video records for the introduction of the communicative approach to teaching English: they create the conditions for focusing on communication in class via showing a real conversation process and promoting learning by doing after the viewing; provide rich and meaningful input in the form of authentic language discourse, and stimulate collaborative learning (Shevchenko, 2015a) The role of authentic videos in teaching English at technical universities has been examined previously (Shevchenko, 2015b). The current article’s topic is its logical continuation, studying the effectiveness of the use of authentic videos in teaching English to a specific group of technical students future engineers The research is done via exploring the characteristics of engineering students, the requirements for them from employers, and the features of authentic videos utilization in English lessons at universities to achieve positive results However, the matter would not be thorough enough without an experimental verification of the obtained results.
This article aims to study and experimentally verify the effectiveness of using authentic videos in teaching English to engineering students at universities Hypothesis We hypothesize that introduction of authentic videos in the English course regularly will improve engineering students’ listening and speaking skills.
Participants and Procedure
6. Materials and Methods Research Design
5. Aim of the Study
conventional printed materials on the same topics as Group 1 and only several times they listened to audio recordings when it was needed for the coursebook exercise doing. Each group was provided with various tasks to check their comprehension throughout the experimental study.
The groups’ pre experimental surveys were identical, whereas the post experimental ones were different for each group, aiming to clarify students’ opinions about their learning experience during the experiment. The pre experimental questionnaire (Appendix 1) aimed to get the students' views on different aspects of their English lessons and thoughts concerning the level of their skills development at that moment After the survey, both groups passed a pre experimental test to check their listening and reading comprehension, as well as writing skills. Following the test, students’ speaking skills were analyzed during an interview on the subject of their specialty, corresponding to the description of B2 level by Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Listening comprehension in the tests was checked using short podcasts available in free access on the Internet, for instance, on the British Council Preliminarywebsite.test
results showed an approximately equal level of English knowledge of both groups. Engineering students of Group 1 (experimental) were studying with the use of authentic videos in English and performed tasks based on the information from them to check listening and reading comprehension, as well as the use of English, grammar, speaking, and writing. Each activity was a logical continuation of the previous one, differing in difficulty level and varying in the form of fulfillment (individual , pair , team , the whole group work). That was done to develop and improve as many skills as possible while corresponding to engineering students’ characteristics and levels of English proficiency. The selected authentic video aids were fragments of feature films (clips from top rated Hollywood movies thematically relevant to their specialty) and short scientific programs related to the lessons’ topics: ecological catastrophes, energy conservation, and modern technologies. As the research results provided in the current article imply, engineering students’ social skills are usually the least developed ones. Therefore, during the
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Before and after the experiment, the engineering students received links to Google Forms with two questionnaires prepared by us, both with open ended and closed ended questions. Group 1 and Group 2 also received two printed tests (pre and post experimental) each was the same for both groups. The pre experimental test was prepared by us, taking into account the terminology the students had come across in their coursebook (‘Cambridge English for Engineering’ by Mark Ibbotson). In the post experimental test, we used the information and vocabulary studied during the experiment and the lexis from the coursebook. The tests contained various tasks for students with B2 level. Our identification of the students’ English competence was conducted per Cambridge B2 First (FCE) exam format. That is, our pre and post experimental check of the students’ knowledge of English consisted of Listening, Reading and Use of English, Writing, and Speaking (interviewing).
Besides, there was a post experimental printed test followed by oral interaction (an interview) with the lecturer to check whether the engineering students’ common and specialized knowledge, as well as listening , reading, writing, and speaking skills had improved.
Data Collection and Data Analysis Tools
The students were informed about the aim and procedure of the experiment and gave their agreement for the participation and academic achievement processing. Students could refuse to participate at any stage of the experiment without any academic consequences. The procedure of the research had been approved by the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Linguistics, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The experts ensured that the investigation was performed in proper conditions and confirmed the reliability of the obtained results.
experiment, special attention was paid to the advancement of oral communication skills, i.e., listening and speaking. After the experiment, the procedure was the same. A separate post experimental questionnaire for each group (Appendix 2; Appendix 3) had been prepared on Google Forms to ask the students about their study during the experiment.
7. Research Results
Table 1: Comparison of pre and post experimental tests results Listening Reading Writing Speaking Total average mark ratio per activity max. 3 max. 2 max. 2 max. 3 max. 10 G1 G2 G1 G2 G1 G2 G1 G2 G1 G2 Pre exp. test 1 32 1.16 1.56 1.64 1.28 1.24 1.4 1.28 5.56 5.32 Post exp. test 2.48 1.2 1.8 1.8 1.52 1.28 2.4 1.32 8.20 5.60
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All the pre and post experimental questionnaires and tests were prepared by us and are protected by copyright. The analysis of the data contained two stages. The students’ results of pre and post experimental tests were checked, analyzed, and summarized by us in the form of a comparison table of tests results provided further in the article The surveys of students were conducted with the help of Google Forms service, and the answers were automatically systematized, analyzed, and graphically presented. The questionnaires comprised both closed ended and open ended questions. Ethical Issues
After six weeks, a post experimental B2 level test (the same for both groups) was conducted. The purpose was to check students’ recall of the studied topics, listening and vocabulary comprehension, and ability to put it in use (speaking and writing tasks). Most attention was paid to testing students’ listening and speaking skills to confirm or refute our hypothesis about the effectiveness of authentic videos introduction in the English course regularly for improvement of engineering students’ listening and speaking skills A comparison of the pre and post experimental tests results is presented in Table 1.
The results of the research and experimental verification demonstrate the considerable influence of authentic video records on various aspects of English teaching. The similarity of the positive outcomes of researchers from different countries confirms the productive nature of authentic video records. In a short time, they have proved to be efficient for the advancement of engineering students’ competencies and skills, being just the right aids for their personal qualities (characteristics) and to their liking. Thus, the current study has the potential for further examination of authentic videos’ long term effectiveness in teaching engineering students English at university and their role in the students’ lifelong learning of English.
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The positive change of Group 1’s (G1) results was noticeable: the average total mark during the pre experimental test was 5.56 out of 10 and became 8.20 after the experiment. The average listening and speaking ratios increased the most, by 1.9 and 1.7, confirming the benefits of using authentic videos to advance these skills of engineering students. Reading and writing skills ratios of G1 increased concurrently by 1.15 and 1.19, respectively. Group 2’s (G2) outcomes did not show significant changes: 5.32 (pre experimental total average mark ratio) and 5.60 (post experimental one). Among G2’s skills, only the improvement of reading comprehension was apparent by 1.1, whereas the other three (listening, writing, and speaking) demonstrated growth within the range of 1.031 Before1.034.andafter the experiment, all students (G1 and G2) were asked to fill out the questionnaires (Appendix 1; Appendix 2; Appendix 3). They had been prepared by us and posted on Google Forms, comprising both closed ended and open ended questions It was done to discover their opinions concerning different aspects of work in English lessons. They displayed contrasting answers. Both groups expressed their neutral satisfaction with the amount and diversity of tasks aimed to improve their communication skills before the experiment. The level of motivation to do some further English study off campus was average (50% 60%). However, after the experimental study with authentic videos and various assignments for boosting their social (oral interaction) skills, as well as language in use practice, Group 1 voiced other opinions. Qualitative data have shown that 88% of G1 students expressed the desire to continue the work with videos at home. 90% stated that exercises with authentic videos used as teaching aids had improved their understanding of the studied topics, including specialty related vocabulary and issues. Furthermore, 94% believed that assignments with content prediction, role plays, and argumentation based discussions using the lesson’s lexis had advanced their English proficiency significantly. Yet, the control group’s responses did not show a similarly high percentage of satisfaction. According to them, their incentive to continue English study at home was 64%, the ease of comprehension averaged 70%, and the ease of speaking tasks fulfillment amounted to 60%.
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are records created primarily by individuals speaking a language as their mother tongue, in the first place, for native speakers of some language, not for educational purposes. On such videos, verbal, audio visual, and written elements reflecting the real life communication examples are presented, so their speech rate and vocabulary are never specially reduced to be more understandable for non native speakers. The most popular among authentic videos are feature films (and movie clips), TV shows, and programs, which are available on the Internet platforms, DVD/Blu Ray disks, and in the form of digital releases. An English language lecturer’s aims of teaching with authentic videos are the facilitation of the students’ language skills development (primarily, listening and speaking); cultivation of students’ intercultural communication competence; development of students’ aesthetic values and the ability to appreciate authentic videos in English lessons along with the understanding that the not inherently technical nature of a movie or show does not downplay its significance in class since engineering issues can be found in them frequently. The advancement of communication skills (oral speech) of engineering students is believed to be paramount. Such skills can be improved through problem based learning, a project method, discussions of compelling and relevant engineering issues seen on authentic videos, reflection on the lesson’s topic (promotion of critical thinking); student presentations, and projects on the subject matters of lessons, using general English vocabulary and specialized terminology (Saienko, 2017; Shevchenko, 2015b). We recommend organizing the work in class in the form of cooperative learning (teamwork) to stimulate proactive English study.
The use of authentic videos in English lessons should advance approximately 90% 95% of the competencies and skills of students, prioritized by employers in
Engineering students usually have such qualities as capability of independent and dependent work, emotional stability and tough mindedness, conscientiousness, responsibility and reliability, moderate cooperation, a low level of such social skills as effective communication and self expression. The students majoring in engineering (with work experience) and graduates regard oral interaction skills, problem solving, ability to apply knowledge, and interpersonal skills as the most valued generic competencies for employability in their professional sphere, while written communication skills are believed to be the least significant (Kline & Lapham, 1992; Tordai & Holik, 2018; Van Der Molen et al., 2007). These fully correspond to the key criteria that employers in engineering branches utilize for comprehensive staff selection: communication skills (native and foreign languages), teamwork, knowledge of contemporary issues (current events and technologies), professionalism, problem solving and decision making skills, critical thinking, competency (general and in a specific engineering field), motivation, lifelong learning. It is to the improvement of them the most attention should be paid in English lessons with authentic audio visual Authenticmaterials.videos
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The experimental verification of the article’s topic confirmed the effectiveness of authentic videos in English lessons of engineering students. The study of the experimental group was organized with the use of authentic videos, taking into account the characteristics of engineering students (skills and personal traits).
Based on our experience of using authentic videos in the English classroom, we recommend some practical ways to boost engineering students’ collaboration and oral speech using authentic video clips in English. They may be taken from feature films but are always thematically relevant to the students’ specialty
the engineering sphere around the globe. Simultaneously, they should boost the positive characteristics of engineers to be and amend their weak points.
Simultaneously, the outcomes of the control group, who studied without videos, remained practically unchanged.
The results of the post experimental test demonstrated the noticeable rise of the experimental group’s recall of the studied topics, listening and vocabulary comprehension, and ability to put it in use in oral and written form, which is in line with other studies (Ismaili, 2013; Kalra, 2017; Polat & Erişti, 2019)
Also, the majority of the experimental group’s engineering students mentioned the significant increase of satisfaction with their English proficiency advancement, improvement of their understanding of the studied topics with terminology and issues relevant to the specialty, and expressed the desire to continue the work with videos at home, as well. The opinions of the control group were far from equally unanimously high.
• Translation and Putting in Order (this activity draws on students’ linguistic repertoires translanguaging; the task’s goal is to enrich engineering students’ vocabulary and knowledge of English dialogue structure and develop logical thinking). Each group of students receives from their lecturer a set of papers. On each, a sentence is written in their native language. These are the dialogue lines from the authentic (English) video, which the lecturer has translated into the learners’ language. The students should translate them back into English and quickly put in the right order. After that, everybody watches the record in English and checks if their translation and the order of the lines were correct.
These results are supported by other studies. For example, Ismaili (2013), after the experimental verification of the effectiveness of using movies in the EFL classroom, revealed the improvement of students’ listening comprehension and speaking ability, increased English vocabulary, as well as learning interests and motivation through demonstration of real life situations and conversations. The findings of Ardiansyah (2018) also proved the positive influence of authentic videos implementation on the students’ listening skills According to the researcher, such audio visual aids may bring the content and the studied subject matter to life for students, enabling them to make important connections in the world beyond the classroom.
• Dialogue Guessing (this activity aims to develop students’ prediction, writing and speaking skills, as well as provide the opportunity to practice
• Sequence of Events (the assignment improves engineering students’ prediction and oral communication skills, and expands their general and technical English vocabulary). Students work in pairs. They get cards on which the events from the video are written in English. The pair reads them and consults with their foreign language lecturer if there is a problem with the understanding of some words or collocations. Then, one of the pair sits their back to the screen, on which the video will be played, and the other one sits facing the screen. After the record has been set going (without sound) by the teacher, the latter student tries to explain what they see, and the former looks for the suitable card with an event and puts one card after the other to form the logical succession in the end. When all is done, the lecturer plays the clip with sound, and students check their accuracy.
The obtained positive results demonstrate the practicality of authentic video records in teaching engineers to be English, boosting their positive characteristics, and amending the weak points. The outcomes of the study prove our hypothesis about the effectiveness of authentic videos in improving engineering students’ listening and speaking skills when such audio visual materials are introduced in the English course regularly Authentic videos increase students’ motivation and interest in studying English, as well as their knowledge in the field of specialty, providing examples of real life situations,
• Shadow Reading (the task is beneficial for students’ pronunciation practice in English, especially if repeated several times). The lecturer chooses a video in English with two or more characters. After the students have watched the clip and familiarized themselves with the plot, vocabulary, and grammar used, they get the printed transcript from the teacher and try to do the dubbing of the same video (played muted), i.e., do shadow reading (speaking at the same time with the characters on screen). While performing such an assignment, engineering students will be replicating key features of native speakers’ connected speech, intonation, speech rate, etc. We recommend dividing the group into sub groups, depending on the number of roles to be played.
9. Conclusion
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• Recall and Putting in Order (the exercise is useful for training technical students’ recall ability). The work can be done with the whole group, teams, or pairs. Having watched an authentic video (a movie fragment) in English, students receive a set of event cards which they should arrange in order. When the whole group is doing the task, one student reads their card aloud, and someone in the class reads theirs if they think that their card is a logical continuation. In pairs and teams, the work is the same but with the possibility of time limitation.
English in use). Students watch a muted fragment with actively changing events or facial expressions/body language on screen. They need to write down possible dialogues of the characters, utilizing the handouts with the word list in English they have received from their teacher. Afterward, they can read their dialogues synchronously with the video (still played without sound). Then, the video is replayed once more unmuted, and everyone checks whether they were right.
communication, and issues. Moreover, videos in question stimulate students’ critical thinking, various kinds of oral interaction, and collaboration However, to take full advantage of videos in lessons, the foreign language lecturers should bear in mind the importance of multimedia use in diverse, compelling, and meaningful ways, always together with the variety of classroom activities (tasks), and necessarily per the technical students’ specialty. In that way, the authentic video records will be considered advantageous educational aids and will bring about the desirable outcomes of the study The conducted research creates an opportunity for further examination of authentic videos’ long term usefulness in teaching the foreign language at university and their role in each engineering student’s lifelong learning of English.
Kalra, R. (2017). The effectiveness of using films in the EFL classroom: A case study conducted at an International University in Thailand. Arab World English Journal, 8(3), 289 301. doi:10.24093/awej/vol8no3.19 Kline, P., & Lapham, S. L. (1992). Personality and faculty in British universities. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(7), 855 857. doi:10.1016/0191 8869(92)90061 s Malhotra, R., & Verma, N. (2020). An impact of using multimedia presentations on engineering education Procedia Computer Science, 172, 71 76. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2020.05.011
10. References Ardiansyah, L. D. S. (2018). Using videos in the teaching of listening. Jurnal Ilmiah MandalaEducation, 4(1), 290 304. doi:10.36312/jime.v4i1.552 Babu H, R., Buddayya, R., & Gujjarappa, N. L. (2019). Benefits of videos in YouTube for the undergraduate students in engineering and technology in India. Webology, 16(2), 57 71. doi:10.14704/web/v16i2/a190 Djebbari, Z., & Djebbari, H. (2018). Promoting innovation and change in English education: Towards a philosophy of lifelong learning International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (IJLLT), 1(4), 8 11. doi:10.32996/ijllt.2018.1.4.2 Eldeen, A. I. G., Abumalloh, R. A., George, R. P., & Aldossary, D. A. (2018). Evaluation of graduate students employability from employer perspective: Review of the literature International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(2.29), 961 966. doi:10.14419/ijet.v7i2.29.14291 Elen, J., Clarebout, G., Léonard, R., & Lowyck, J. (2007). Student centred and teacher centred learning environments: what students think. Teaching in Higher Education,12(1), 105 117. doi:10.1080/13562510601102339
Freitas, A., Levatino, A., & Pécoud, A. (2012). Introduction: New perspectives on skilled migration. Diversities. Skilled Migration and the Brain Drain, 14(1), 1 7. Retrieved from http://newdiversities.mmg.mpg.de/?page_id=2024
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Hadijah, S. (2016). Teaching by using video: Ways to make it more meaningful in EFL classrooms Proceedings of the Fourth International Seminar on English Language and Teaching (ISELT 4), 4(2), 307 315. Retrieved from http://ejournal.unp.ac.id/index.php/selt/article/view/6990 Ismaili, M. (2013). The effectiveness of using movies in the EFL classroom A study conducted at South East European University. Academic Journal of InterdisciplinaryStudies,2(4), 121 132. doi:10.5901/ajis.2012.v2n4p121
Itani, M., & Srour, I. (2016). Engineering students’ perceptions of soft skills, industry expectations, and career aspirations Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering EducationandPractice, 142(1), 04015005. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943 5541.0000247
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Muslem, A., Mustafa, F., Usman, B., & Rahman, A. (2017). The application of video clips with small group and individual activities to improve young learners’ speaking performance. Teaching English with Technology, 17(4), 25 37. Retrieved eo_clips_with_small_group_and_individual_activities_to_improve_young_learnhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/320805845_The_application_of_vidfrom ers’_speaking_performance
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Polat, M., & Erişti, B. (2019). The effects of authentic video materials on foreign language listening skill development and listening anxiety at different levels of English proficiency. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 6(1), 135 154. doi:10.33200/ijcer.567863 Reddy, K. J. (2019). Relevance of listening and speaking skills for engineering students in their professional career. Language in India, 19(11), 150 159. Retrieved ineeringstudents.pdfhttp://www.languageinindia.com/nov2019/kattajanlisteningspeakingskillsengfrom Riemer, M. J. (2003). Integrating emotional intelligence into engineering education. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, 2(2), 189 194. Retrieved )/Riemer51.pdfhttp://www.wiete.com.au/journals/WTE&TE/Pages/Vol.2,%20No.2%20(2003from Saienko, N. (2017). Cognitive development of students in foreign language acquisition. Advancededucation,7, 4 8. doi:10.20535/2410 8286.77570 Saienko, N., & Lavrysh, Y. (2020). Mobile assisted learning for self directed learning development at technical university: SWOT analysis. Universal Journal of EducationalResearch,8(4), 1466 1474. doi:10.13189/ujer.2020.080440 Shahani, S., Tahriri, A., & Divsar, H. (2014). EFL learners’ views towards video materials and viewing techniques International SAMANM Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2(1), 42 60. Retrieved from ws_towards_Video_Mahttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/285581685_EFL_LearnersVieterials_and_Viewing_Techniques
Markes, I. (2006). A review of literature on employability skill needs in engineering. European Journal of Engineering Education, 31(6), 637 650. doi:10.1080/03043790600911704
Van Der Molen, H. T., Schmidt, H. G., & Kruisman, G. (2007). Personality characteristics of engineers. European Journal of Engineering Education, 32(5), 495 501. doi:10.1080/03043790701433111
Månsson, J., Löfgreen, J., & Warfvinge, P. (2017, November 22 23). Effective use of video in engineering education Paper presented at the 6:E Utvecklingskonferensen För Sveriges Ingenjörsutbildningar [6th Development Conference for Swedish Engineering Education], Chalmers Tekniska Högskola [Chalmers University of Technology], Göteborg, Sweden. Retrieved ihttps://www.lth.se/fileadmin/cee/Documents/Effective_use_of_video_in_engfromneering_education_FINAL.pdf
Shevchenko, M. V. (2015a). Communicative approach to teaching English at technical universities AdvancedEducation,3, 101 107. doi:10.20535/2410 8286.44302 Shevchenko, M. V. (2015b). The role of authentic videos in teaching English at technical universities. AdvancedEducation,4, 66 70. doi:10.20535/2410 8286.57306 Sun, L. (2020). Students’ attitudes and perspectives towards using videos in technology assisted English class Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology, 4(1), 1 11. doi:10.23977/aetp.2020.41001 Tordai, Z., & Holik, I. (2018). Student’s characteristics as a basis for competency development in engineering informatics education International Journal of EngineeringPedagogy(iJEP),8(4), 32 42. doi:10.3991/ijep.v8i4.8133
Appendix 1 Pre Experimental Questionnaire “
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Zhou, J. (2005, June). Effective use of videos to enhance the teaching and learning of Environmental Engineering. 2005 Annual Conference Proceedings. 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. doi:10.18260/1 2 14893 English Studying (Engineering
Specialties)” 1. Your sex: • male • female 2. Name of your department: ______ . 3. Which activity in English class do you find most difficult? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 4. Which task is usually the most difficult for you to do during tests in English lessons? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 5. Which task do you like to do the most in English class? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 6. Which task do you dislike to do in English class? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 7. What knowledge do you think you lack the most to be able to speak English easily? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 8. Do you like the way English is taught at the university now? • yes • no 9. Are you satisfied with the amount and diversity of tasks aimed to improve your communication skills in English lessons now?
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Wang, Z. (2015). An analysis on the use of video materials in college English teaching in China. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 2(1), 23 28. doi:10.5430/ijelt.v2n1p23 Yusoff, Y. M., Omar, M. Z., Zaharim, A., Mohamed, A., & Muhamad, N. (2012). Formulation in evaluating the technical skills of engineering graduates. Procedia SocialandBehavioralSciences,60, 493 499. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.413 Zabalza, I., Aznar, M., Uche, J., Zalba, B., Peña, B., Marín, J. M., Llera, E. M., & Usón, S. (2020, July). Students’ feedback on the use of educational videos to support the study of Thermodynamics. EDULEARN20 Proceedings, 3832 3840. doi:10.21125/edulearn.2020.1047
368 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. • yes • no 10. How often do you do some further study of English at home? • very often • often • rarely • never 11. What would you change in terms of studying English at university now? 12. Does your English lecturer use videos in class to present the educational material? • yes • no 13. How often does your English lecturer use English language videos in class? • every week • several times a month • several times a semester • several times a year • videos in English are not used at all 14 Would you be interested in studying English with the help of authentic videos in English relevant to your specialty, such as fragments from movies, shows, programs? • yes • no 15. Would watching authentic videos in English encourage you to improve your diligence and the absence of missed (for no good reason) English lessons? • yes • no Appendix 2 Post Experimental Questionnaire of the Experimental Group “English Studying with Authentic Videos” 1. Your sex: • male • female 2. Name of your department: ______ . 3. Did you enjoy studying English using authentic videos? • yes • no 4. Were you satisfied with the amount and diversity of tasks aimed to improve your skills in English lessons with authentic videos? • yes • no 5. In your opinion, which skill did you improve the most while studying with the use of authentic videos? (select no more than 2) • listening • reading • writing • speaking 6. In your opinion, have you improved your knowledge of issues in the specialty field in the process of studying with authentic videos? • yes • no 7. After the experiment, you believe it is easier for you to recall in detail the information studied in English class .
369 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. • after reading a text • after watching a video 8. After the experiment, can you say it has become easier for you to speak English? • yes • no 9. Did authentic videos used in English class help you to improve your competency? They ______. (select as many as you wish) • helped to expand vocabulary • helped to improve comprehension of oral speech • helped to improve the quality of my English speaking • helped to improve knowledge of grammar and its use • helped to improve writing • helped to improve reading • helped to improve knowledge of my specialty • helped to improve knowledge of the foreign culture • did not help me to improve anything 10. In your opinion, after lessons with authentic videos, your English proficiency ______. • has increased significantly • has increased slightly • has not increased 11 Has your interest in studying English grown after lessons with authentic videos? • yes • no 12. After studying English using videos, what kind of activity in class would you prefer in the future? • studying with the predominant use of authentic videos in English • using only printed materials (textbook, handouts, etc.) while studying • studying with the use of printed materials and videos (50/50) 13. Do you plan to watch authentic videos in English at home, as well, to improve your English proficiency? • yes • no 14. What did you like most about the English lessons with authentic videos? 15 What did you dislike about English lessons with authentic videos? 16. Do you have any recommendations for improving English lessons with authentic videos? Appendix 3 Post Experimental Questionnaire of the Control Group “English Studying with Text Information” 1. Your sex: • male • female 2. Name of your department: ______ . 3. Did you enjoy studying English using text information about engineering issues? • yes • no 4. Were you satisfied with the amount and diversity of tasks aimed to improve your skills in English lessons with text information? • yes • no
•
•
•
• has increased significantly • has increased slightly has not increased Has your interest in studying English grown after lessons with the text information provided? yes • no 12. After studying English using text information about engineering issues, what kind of activity in class would you prefer in the future?
• yes • no 7 After the experiment, is it easy for you to recall in detail the information studied in the English class? yes • no 8. After the experiment, can you say that it has become easier for you to speak English?
•
•
13 Do you plan to continue studying English at home via reading text information on your specialty, similar to the one provided in class?
6 In your opinion, have you improved your knowledge of issues in the specialty field in the process of studying with the text information provided in English class?
• yes • no 14. What did you like most about English lessons with text information about engineering issues? What did you dislike about English lessons with text information about engineering 1issues?6.Doyou have any recommendations for improving your English lessons?
5. In your opinion, which skill did you improve the most while studying with the use of text information? (select no more than 2) listening • reading • writing • speaking
•
•
11.
15.
• did not help me to improve anything
• studying with the predominant use of authentic videos in English
10. In your opinion, after studying with the text information provided in English lessons, your English proficiency ______.
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•
• yes • no 9 Did the text information provided in the English class help you to improve your competency? It ______. (select as many as you wish) helped to expand vocabulary helped to improve comprehension of oral speech • helped to improve the quality of my English speaking helped to improve knowledge of grammar and its use helped to improve writing • helped to improve reading helped to improve knowledge of my specialty • helped to improve knowledge of the foreign culture
• continue using only printed materials (textbook, handouts, etc.) while studying studying with the use of printed materials and videos (50/50)
•
•
Zhytomyr Medical Institute of Zhytomyr Regional Council, Zhytomyr, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000 0003 4609 7613 Liudmyla M. Kalinina Institute of Pedagogy of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Kyiv, https://orcid.org/0000Ukraine 0003 0534 6089 Irena E. Snikhovska Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000 0001 6775 274X Olga V. Goray Zhytomyr Medical Institute of Zhytomyr Regional Council, Zhytomyr, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000 0002 2389 1366
Abstract. The paper addresses the current background, shortcomings and improvement perspectives for the quality management system in training nurses, paramedics and midwives in HEIs of Ukraine To reach the aim of the study, the authors analysed the legal and regulatory documents, website documentation and electronic resources of 23 medical HEIs The methods of mathematical data processing and criterion analysis were used to analyze the effectiveness of the quality management system implementation medical HEIs. The survey of the managerial and administrative staff (n=398) was conducted The aim of the survey was to gain insight into the internal quality management principles and procedures in medical higher educational institutions of Ukraine, to identify the main tools used for internal auditing of educational quality, the measures taken to assess the education quality at the institutional level. The research findings are discussed with due regard to the surveyed managerial staff needs and quality assurance guidelines in medical education. The results of the article have a few significant implications for practice of quality management system in medical colleges and its perspectives for enhancing Ukrainian higher education system The conclusion was made that with introducing an effective quality management system in medical HEIs, continuous monitoring of quality assurance by HEI leaders, commitment to quality
Svitlana V. Gordiichuk
371 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 371 392, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.20 Quality Management of Educational Activities in the Training of Specialists in the Field of Health Care: the Case of Ukrainian Medical HEIs
All
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Accordingexception.toworld
Keywords: Quality management; Quality assurance; Medical higher education institution; Total quality management; Competence Introduction
Morover, given the falling of Ukraine's position in international rankings, in
1.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. rights reserved. as an organizing factor in education management, future medical specialists will be competitive, demonstrating a sustainable growth in academic performance, developing relevant practical skills and professional mindset.
In this article, we shall probe into QM practices in Ukrainian medical HEIs. This study aims to substantiate the rationale for the current background and improvement perspectives for the quality management in training nurses, paramedics and midwives in HEIs of Ukraine in connection with the shift of the education paradigm to instill the culture of quality. We shall highlight the premises and goals of the QMS at medical HEIs in Ukraine and illuminate the insight of its implementation drawing on the authors’ model of the QMS of educational activity The findings should help HEI leaders pursue the idea of quality awareness and develop the framework for quality management in their department, college, institute, or university. Currentlly, we witness an unprecedented drive for innovation and quality in education worldwide, an urgent need to enhance the competitive advantage of higher education institutions (HEIs) The effective Strategic Program for European Cooperation in Education "Education and Training 2020" directs EU member states to create high quality lifelong national education systems for the varied population segments. Quality education underpins the development of sustainable societies and personal development, professional careers and safeguards against unemployment and poverty. In the European context, this will not only contribute to the EU’s economic and social goals, but will have a positive impact on its member states’ socio oriented capital The outlined problem has a priority social significance as evidenced by the pandemic on a global scale, and undoubtedly is relevant for Ukraine and for all countries without practice, one of the most effective methodologies for achieving this goal is the use of total quality management (TQM), which includes a set of strategies. In this regard, the category of quality of medical education is decisive as a result of quality management of educational activities in the training of specialists in the field of health care. The strategy for the development of quality higher medical education in Ukraine draws on global and European trends to enhance its essence, mechanisms and results of its acquisition, which in many countries has become the basis for a resilient nation and accelerator of their economic prosperity. Ukrainian researchers are well aware and take account of the international experimental studies conducted worldwide, in particular the correlation between the level of the national education system and the competitiveness of the country, thus the need to pursue high quality higher education (including medical education) is obvious.
The hypothesis of the study was as follows: the competitiveness of the healthcare professionals depends on the quality of educational activities of the institution of higher learning and the level of formation of general and special competencies. Competence is viewed as a basis for the preparedness acquired in
particular the Human Development Index, the Freedom of Education Index (Miller et al , 2020), the Global competitiveness Index, etc., the quality of Ukrainian higher education should become an organizing factor.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the state of the quality management system of educational activities in the training of specialists in the field of health care in Ukraine during 2014 2019 and to monitor the implementation of the quality management system among medical HEIs training future nurses, midwives, paramedics. To reach the aim of the study, the authors analysed the legal and regulatory documents, website quality management documentation and electronic resources of 23 medical public HEIs.
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The recent years have witnessed a surge of efforts to upgrade educational services in Ukraine to international standards of excellence. According to Ukraine’s legislative documents, the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (NAQA) is responsible for setting out requirements for quality and transparency for institutions, programs, and standards, implements state policy in the field of higher education and withstands modern challenges.
To actualize these priorities and the ESG 2015 standards developed within the frame of the Bologna Process (Bologna Process Implementation Report, 2018; ESG, 2015) as well as European best practices [QUAERE, 2018a; QUAERE, 2018a], NAQA has developed the Regulation on Study Programs Accreditation (Regulations, 2019) and it was adopted in August 2019 by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers
The procedure of the new study programs accreditation began in September 2019 and is currently in progress, carried out by the NAQA experts. The establishment of the National Agency was an important stage in the reform of Ukrainian higher education, aimed at aligning the accreditation procedure with that of the European higher education and research area (EHEA), developing quality assurance system at both national and institutional levels (Strategy, 2020). NAQA is performing some of the key powers of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The first role of NAQA is viability analysis of the study programs at higher educational institutions, responsibility for their evaluation and accreditation according to measured criteria, issuing a relevant opinion and recommending measures for improvement, etc. Apart from that, the institutional accreditation and accreditation of independent accreditation agencies are an essential function of NAQA, as well as promoting academic integrity, ensuring transparency in university rankings, fostering internal quality assurance of Ukrainian universities (Sydorenko, 2016). In the renewed accreditation process, the ability of higher education institutions to provide a quality teaching and learning process based on the principles of university autonomy is studied and evaluated (Stukalo & Dluhopolsky, 2020).
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. the process of professional training in the field of health care, as well as a component of quality medical education. The data used for the study to test the hypothesis were obtained through questionnaire sent to the management staff of medical HEIs in Ukraine. The hypothesized relationships were tested with data collected from 356 respondents by using the Spearman's rank correlation method.
2. Literature review
In this section, the international scope of the quality management philosophy is highlighted, as well as the quality assurance context in Ukraine is outlined. Extensively used in business, manufacturing and services, the total quality management (TQM) methodology provides effective tools to manage change in education (Sallis, 2015) to produce educational services in the best, effective and efficient manner by way of enhancing managerial control over HEI quality assurance (Lubwama, Onen, & Kasenene, 2017). Exemplifying the Greek case, Psomas and Antony (2017) emphasize that all educational activities should be aimed at ensuring excellent academic performance, while HE quality management must arise from the entire academic community awareness. Exploring TQM in emerging economies, London argues that in managing for quality, an achievement raising factor the concept of quality itself may be reconceptualized as a way of enforcing the QM practices and strategies to be adopted for effective management (London, 2006). As Sciarelli et al. show, to implement QM properly and achieve its effectiveness, HEIs shoud establish both soft and hard QM practices, adopting the multidimensional approach of QM in HE which could help directors understand the interdependencies of soft and hard quality practices (Sciarelli et al., 2020). An important point is made by Tarí and Dick (2016) regarding the trends in quality management research at HEI In particular, the authors make efforts at a thorough analysis to show that the indispensable prerequisites for high quality in higher education are a long term planning, formulating yearly quality programs and executing such quality programs to the letter annually so that the vision of the higher education institutions can be accomplished. The implementation of TQM practices is viewed as a crucial factor in reviving HEI by way of entrenching awareness about quality into all undertaken procedures (Johnson, 2019) According to Karuppusami and Gandhinathan, critical success factors present essential constructs proceeding from the statistical analysis can be carried out further to guide the researchers in using the reliable set of factors for empirical studies (Karuppusami & Gandhinathan, 2006). To this end, Tarí and Dick identify several critical success factors, namely: organizational management, communication as a means of enhancing quality, the involvement, training and professional development of the employees, and university recognition and culture. All these must be given proper consideration by HEI before total quality can be achieved or become successful (Oluwafemi & Laseinde, 2020) Also, in our research we take account of the literature review done by Sila and Ebrahimpour, who identified twenty five critical success factors of TQM based on survey studies conducted in different countries and published in a variety of journals (Sila & Ebrahimpour, 2002).
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It is grounbreaking that NAQA has achieved international recognition through a full membership in the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), affiliation with the European Association for Quality Assurance Agencies (ENQA) and was included in the relevant list of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). It gives every reason to consider the approaches towards accreditation in Ukraine to be consistent with the requirements common in European practice.
3. Methodology At the level of methodology, the subject of consideration is the managerial activities of medical HEIs in Ukraine to ensure quality medical education. The systemic analysis in higher medical education also requires: policy and mission
In the European Association for Quality Assurance Agencies context, accreditation of the study programs includes some institutional elements, such as the functioning of the internal quality assurance system, objectivized with due regard to a robust and reliable education management system to ensure the quality of provided educational services (Al Ababneh & Alrhaimi, 2020; Sari, Hadiyat, & Beatrice, 2015).
However, in medical HEIs there are numerous concerns as regards the stage by stage integrated learning outcomes framework, assessment mechanisms (Macha, 2018). As Cumming (2010) notes, “application of the Bologna principles to medicine can help to drive educational development and quality enhancement in European medical education” . Patrício and Harden (2010) argue that medical education in the Bologna Process serves as a catalyst for necessary changes.
The overview of management practices in Ukrainian medical HEIs convincingly demonstrates the drive to the strategic and information management, quality assurance system development at the institutional level and their efficient practical implementation (Mazurkiewicz, Liuta & Kyrychenko, 2017; Kovtun & Stick, 2009). To achieve this goal, a TQM methodology in higher education has been introduced (Knutson & Kushnarenko, 2015). The institutional policy and mission on education quality as well as the procedures and tools, progress controls and performance indicators (European Standards and Guidelines, 2015; EHEA Report, 2018 Bucharest Communique, 2012) of internal QA system of education are being elaborated in Ukraine (Kuruch, 2018;Gordiichuk, 2018;Gordiichuk, 2019a, Mazurkiewicz, 2016; Finikov, 2018). In Ukrainian medical colleges and schools, after their transition to a system of professional pre university education, efforts are made to create more integrated reinforced curricula similar to those at the European medical schools, however the model is currently under construction and has yielded no feasible results yet (Kondrashov, 2018) That is why the creation of a QMS for educational activities at the medical college has become urgent in recent years (Gordiichuk, 2017) In Ukrainian context, the evaluation approach based on QA is used, and the prerequisite of QMS is paramount to understand for an effective operation in the sphere of higher education in Ukraine (Bilokonenko, 2018).
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The study was a succession of three stages: Stage 1 (the initial stage), Stage 2 (the intermediate stage), and Stage 3 (the final stage). At different stages of the research the following methods were used to address the tasks set: Stage 1: theoretical analysis of literature, content analysis of the basic concepts, synthesis and summation of the relevant normative and legal documents in EHEA regulating the quality management of educational activity were carried out, as well as drawing on the relevant research done by the European scholars Wibisono (2018), Camilleri (2017), Fonseca (2015) and Ukrainian researchers Kovtun and Stick (2009). Also, modeling was performed at this stage to develop a framework for the survey of medical HEIs; Stage 2: empirical observations, questionnaires, testing to determine the indicators for the model, experimental survey to test the effectiveness of the authors’ method of quality management; Stage 3: prognostic independent expert evaluations for the purpose of implementation and approbation of the developed criteria for assessing quality; and statistical methods of mathematical processing of quantitative research data. In this study we focused on the effectiveness of the health care specialists training using Spearman's rank correlation method, which allowed determining the strength and correlation direction between the formed competencies in academic disciplines and methods of mathematical processing of the data set on the rank correlation coefficients. At the initial stage of the research, the unit of analysis was taken to be the educational achievements of medical students, which they obtained by mastering basic disciplines. At the intermediate stage of the study, the unit of analysis was the relation between performance in basic and fundamental disciplines. At the final stage after the introduction of the content of education, the unit of analysis was the formation level of professional competencies in medical education. To address the existing state of implementing the quality management system of educational activities in medical HEIs, a survey of the managerial and administrative staff was conducted on the principles and procedures of the quality assurance system of educational activities at the institutional level. The total number of respondents was 398, including 23 rectors of medical colleges, 63 vice rectors, 89 heads of departments, 24 experts in teaching methodology and 199 chairpersons of final examination boards. The main sample inclusion criterion was to be a representative of a medical HEI. The questionnaire used for the study was a modification for medical institutions of a questionnaire developed by the International Charitable Foundation "International Foundation for Educational Policy Research" which the Ukrainian Catholic University conducted within the framework of the project "Educational Initiatives Space" (Finikov and Tereshchuk, 2018) The questionnaire took into account the specifics of medical colleges and management of educational activities, training of specialists in health care.
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. of the institution to ensure quality education, organizational structure of quality management of educational activities; procedures, tools, success factors and indicators of effectiveness
Thestakeholders.secondobjective
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The first cluster aimed at collecting the general information on HEI, its teaching staff, the availability of structural units responsible for the implementation of the internal quality management system of educational activities at the medical institution of higher learning. The questions of the second cluster made it possible to gain insight into the presence of the internal quality assurance system in medical HEIs, the main tools used for internal auditing of educational quality, the measures taken to assess the education quality in medical HEIs. The third cluster included the questions that determined the feedback from the main
To analyze the effectiveness of the quality management system of educational activities in medical colleges, the academic performance of the degree seeking students in medical education during their programme’s life cycle from 2014 to
of the intermediate stage of the study was to analyze the relevant information and the data on quality management of educational activities, available on the official websites of higher medical education institutions participating in the survey. Further, a comparative analysis yielded the results about the actual state of implementing the internal quality management system in medical institutions as compared with the data provided by the medical colleges’ management. In total, the structure and content of the official webpages of 23 medical schools and colleges throughout Ukraine were
The survey (Appendix 1) comprised 28 questions, which were subdivided into three clusters and provided for selective, constructive and alternative answers.
Theanalyzedconceptual component of the authors’model allowed implementing the concept of the overall quality management of educational activities in medical educational institutions. The methodological and fit for purpose component of the quality assurance system of educational activities in medical educational institutions provided for the formation of strategy as well as strategic and tactical goals and objectives of quality assurance of educational activities in medical colleges. The subjective and contentual component of the model ensured a quality management of the educational activities in the medical college on the basis of national educational standards and quality management system. The activity and procedural component of the model made it possible to gain insight into the compliance of educational services provision by the medical institution of higher learning with licensing and accreditation requirements in higher education and a reasonable provision of resources for the teaching and learning process. This component of the model was considered from the standpoint of system management in terms of the quality assurance using the system based, the process based, the situation based, the innovative, the informational, the competency based, the resource, the creative, and the standardized approaches, as well as relying heavily on internationalization and academic integrity. In its turn, the evaluational component of the system of quality assurance of educational activities of the medical college provides for an analysis of the effectiveness of the quality of educational activities of the medical college and the quality level of medical education.
Based on these findings, further conclusions can be drawn. In the course of the research, we determined that the management of 23 medical schools and colleges claims to have its own internal system for quality assurance of
2019 in 4 medical colleges was analyzed, in particular: Zhytomyr Medical Institute, Berdychiv Medical College, Mykolayiv Basic Medical College and Vinnytsia Medical College named after acad. D.K. Zabolotny. Basically, the key indicators taken account of in the study were as follows Indicator 1: The prospective students’ success in the subject of biology as a major discipline when entering the medical college, as attested by the completion certificate of the basic general secondary education or the certificate of complete general secondary education; Indicator 2: The prospective students’ success rate in the subject of biology of based on the results of entrance examinations (for persons who were enrolled on the ground of the basic general secondary education) and the results of external independent evaluation (for persons who were enrolled on the ground of the basic general secondary education); Indicator 3: The students’ success rate in fundamental disciplines: "Human Anatomy", "Physiology", "Medical Biology", "Fundamentals of Medical Genetics" belonging to the cycle of general training; Indicator 4: The students’ success rate in professionally oriented disciplines (majors): "Internal Medicine", "Surgery", "Pediatrics", "Obstetrics", "Gynecology", "Nursing in Internal Medicine", "Nursing in Surgery", "Nursing in Pediatrics" "Nursing in obstetrics", "Nursing in gynecology". Indicator 5: The undergraduate students’ success rate in passing the mid tests both in the subject cluster "Internal Medicine", "Surgery", "Fundamentals of Nursing" and "Patient Care", "Pediatrics", "Obstetrics and Gynecology" within the framework of the national integrated exam KROK M.
In total, in the course of the final stage of the study, the academic performance of 895 students was analyzed, including 284 students who were enrolled in the medical college on the ground of the basic general secondary education (111 people studied at the department “General Medicine”, the qualification of a paramedic; 173 people – at the department of "Nursing", the qualification of a nurse), and 611 people who entered the program on the score of complete general secondary education (246 people studied at the department "General Medicine", the qualification of a paramedic, 206 people at the department "Nursing", the qualification of a nurse; 159 people at the department "Obstetrics", the qualification of a midwife). To explore the effectiveness of the quality management system of educational activities in medical colleges, the success rates of each student in the course of their educational life cycle were compared by determining the Spearman correlation coefficient (the direct and inverse strong correlations ± 0.1 ± 0.29, average strength ± 0.3 ± 0.69, weak ± 0,7 ± 0.99, ± 1 complete dependence).
The reliability of the received results was verified by means of Student's criterion Due to the methodology used in our empirical analysis it should be emphasized that the following findings reflect the relevance of quality assurance management in medical HEIs. 4. Results
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One of the problematic issues of procedures and measures to ensure the quality of educational activities is to assess the quality of teachers’ work
. The basic measures taken during the audit of the teaching staff activities at medical HEIs are as follows: the use of systematic or periodic surveys of students on the quality of teaching (91%); conducting open lectures with their subsequent evaluation by the colleagues and administrators (95%); conducting the final control in the discipline (test / exam) by another teacher (73%); executing the rector's test papers (94%); monitoring the volume and quality of the educational and methodological support of the discipline developed by the teacher (textbooks/manuals, workshops, tests, etc.) (92%); evaluation of the teacher's
to the research data, it was shown that in all the surveyed medical HEIs there is no separate structural units responsible for the management and quality assurance of educational activities. The structural units that are in charge of periodical monitoring of the quality of educational services are as follows: the Department of Teaching and Learning, the Department of Practice, the Final Exams Commission, and administrative officials (Vice Rectors for Educational Work, heads of departments, the chairpersons of final examboards, experts in methodology, etc.).
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The management of medical education institutions uses various audit methods and plans measures to eliminate the identified shortcomings, clarifies problematic issues, but does not take into account the results of self assessment of their own activities by teachers. The heads of medical schools and colleges unanimously agree as regards the necessity for consistent review of educational programs. For a qualitative revision and correction of the content of the educational program, the opinions of stakeholders are monotored: teaching staff (52.2%); HEIs administration (43.5%); students’ parents (56.6%); employers (39.2%); students (34.8%); professional public associations, unions (30.5%), entrants (13.1%). Notably, analyzing the respondents' answers to the measures taken as a result of the review of educational programs, we found that the removal of unnecessary subjects is systematically or periodically carried out in 21% of institutions; 26% of medical colleges and schools introduce the new compulsory subjects based on the results of the audit; 78% transfer disciplines to another year of study; 39% expand the list of the student’s elective disciplines; 47% develop new educational programs.
5. Discussion
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. educational activities and the implementation of procedures and measures provided for by the regulatory documents. At the same time, the heads of medical HEIs that took part in the survey noted that at the institutional level there are only elements of internal quality assurance systems for educational activities. Moreover, rectors ad vice rectors of 22 medical schools and colleges expressed their intention to build local quality assurance systems. In our opinion, the resulting imbalance of answers is associated with a lack of awareness, motivation, interest in the need to implement internal QA system to ensure the quality of educational activities by the top management of medical AccordingHEIs.
The subsequent part of the study was to analyze the completeness of the published information on the HEIs official websites. The criteria for the analysis were as follows: the availability of regulatory documents (an organization charter, a corporate agreement, information on the activities of structural units,
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The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. research activity (number of publications, participation in scientific conferences, etc.) on quality assurance of education (90%); assessment of the teacher’s extracurricular activity (arranging academic competitions and contests, supervising students’ reserch, etc.) (93%). Thus, the management of medical HEIs with different degree of frequency (systematically/periodically) tries to audit the teachers’ educational, methodological, practical, educational, scientific Ofactivities.aparticular concern is consistency and systemic character in the use of information obtained during the audit to improve the quality of educational activities, as we found the following frequency of measures based on the results of teaching quality assessment: an personal interview with the head of medical institution (systematically 69.5%, periodically 21.7%), formation and making public the teachers’ rankings of HEIs based on the results of the teaching quality audit (systematically 34.9%, periodically 47.9%); the salary differentiation depending on the results of the audit of the teaching quality (systematically 17.3%, periodically 8.9%); introducing financial incentives in the form of awarding the best performing teachers based on the results of the audit of the teaching quality in medical schools and colleges (systematically 52.1%, periodically 34.7%); mandatory teacher’s certification at the advanced training courses, extention courses, etc. based on the results of the audit of the teaching quality in medical HEIs (systematically 60.8%, periodically 8.7%); dismissal of teachers based on the results of the audit of the teaching quality in medical schools and colleges (systematically 4.5%, periodically 13%). Thus, as a rule, the main incentives to increase the motivation and quality of teaching are financial rewards, while in the identification of shortcomings in teaching and learning process the management of medical HEIs focuses only on individual interviews and recommendations for the training enhancement (Gordiichuk, 2019) In our opinion, one of the criteria for the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance system of educational activities is the extent to which the general and special competencies in medical education are formed. We also found out what the tools are and how often they are implemented to audit learning outcomes. Thus, it is determined that 86% of medical colleges and schools systematically carry out internal measurement of the competence formation level by conducting rector's tests, internal testing and review procedures, etc.; 47.8% of medical HEIs systematically and 30.4% periodically conduct external evaluation of the quality of students learning outcomes; 43.4% of the surveyed medical HEIs conduct surveys of graduates and maintain feedback with them; the top management of 30.4% of medical colleges and schools systematically and 56.5% periodically conduct surveys among the employers (enterprises, institutions, etc.) in order to obtain an assessment on the alumni employees’ skills, abilities, knowledge quality.
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provisions on the organization of the educational process, regulations on the internal quality assurance of educational activities, information on degree programs and relevant study programs offered in medical HEI; the details as regards the admission and enrollment, etc.); information about the department or structural unit in charge of monitoring the quality of education; interaction with stakeholders; the results of the annual surveys of students and teaching staff; information on the conducting of educational activities at medical education institutions.
The information published on the official websites of medical HEIs basically highlights the history of the institution, the composition of the administration, departments as structural units of medical institutions, cycle subject commissions as structural units responsible for methodological activities, licensing and accreditation, enrollment, etc. The websites of 17% medical schools and colleges do not provide any information about the organization charter, the corporate agreement, internal provisions regulating teaching and learning, methodological, educational, practical and scientific activities. Only a scanned copy of the regulations on the educational process is posted on the official websites of 15 medical education institutions (65%). In our perspective, the following aspects are particularly striking and presented a challenge for the objective dta collection. Analyzing the official websites of 23 medical HEIs that train nurses, midwives, paramedics, we found that only the websites of the two of them (8.5%) published the provisions on the internal quality assurance system, the websites of still two more medical colleges and two medical schools (17.3%) contain provisions on internal control, on internal school control, on monitoring the quality of the educational process, on conducting rector's tests, which is an element of the internal quality assurance system of education. No medical education institution has a separate structural unit responsible for quality assurance. Moreover, there was no information in terms of feedback from health care institutions in charge of internship training, nor stakeholders (employers, students and their parents, alumni, etc.). Furthermore, we did not find any ratings assessing the educational activities of the HEI teaching staff (in one institution of medical education there was a provision in place on the rating of teachers, the website of another institution contained information on the regulations of preparation for certification of teachers). The websites of 12 medical schools and colleges (52%) provided the documents informing about educational programs for training students on the basis of both complete and basic general secondary education. Analysis of the effectiveness of the implementation of the quality assurance system of educational activities in the Zhytomyr Medical Institute” revealed the presence of strong direct correlations at the Departments of the General Medicine, the Department of Nursing and the Department of Obstetrics (Table 1):
382 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Table 1: Correlation between performance, of competence formation level and medical education quality in Zhytomyr Medical Institute Department Discipline Competencies formed by the discipline Correlationstrength MedicineGeneral Human Anatomy Internal Medicine 0.77 Surgery 0 76 Gynecology 0 77 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Internal Medicine 0.73 Obstetrics 0 75 Infectology Microbiology 0 75 Patient Care Internal Medicine 0.76 Gynecology 0 72 Nursing Human Anatomy Nursing in Pediatrics 0 78 Nursing in Surgery 0 85 Nursing in Gynecology 0 73 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Nursing in Surgery 0.79 Nursing in Pediatrics 0 77 Fundamentals of Nursing Nursing in Obstetrics 0 75 Obstetrics Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Gynecology 0.86 A comparative analysis of other indicators revealed the presence of direct correlations of the average strength between the studied phenomena in students of the three departments. The analysis of the results of student success in the life cycle in Berdychiv Medical College at the Department of General Medicine, the Department of Nursing gave an opportunity to establish strong direct correlations between competencies formed by general training in the disciplines and students’ competencies in the fundamental disciplines (Table 2): Table 2: Correlation between performance, of competence formation level and medical education quality in Berdychiv Medical College Department Discipline Competencies formed by the discipline Correlationstrength General Medicine Biology Human Anatomy 0 72 Surgery 0 76 Human Anatomy Internal Medicine 0.77 Surgery 0 70 Nursing Biology Human Anatomy 0 70 Medical Biology 0.77 Human Anatomy Nursing in Pediatrics 0 90 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Nursing in Gynecology 0 76 Physiology Nursing in Pediatrics 0 90 Nursing in Obstetrics 0 75 Nursing in Gynecology 0 81 Biology Nursing in Internal Medicine 0.72 The comparative analysis of student performance based on the implementation of the model of quality assurance of educational activities at the Department of
383 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. General Medicine, the Department of Nursing, the Department of Obstetrics at Mykolayiv Basic Medical College yielded strong correlations between competencies formed by the fundamental disciplines (Table 3): Table 3: Correlation between performance, of competence formation level and medical education quality in Mykolayiv Basic Medical College Department Discipline Competencies formed by the discipline Correlationstrength General Medicine General Care Gynecology 0.74 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Gynecology 0 74 Pediatrics 0 73 Nursing Biology Medical Biology 0.76 Human Anatomy 0 74 Human Anatomy Nursing in Internal Medicine 0 73 Nursing in Pediatrics 0.76 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Nursing in Obstetrics 0.72 Obstetrics Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Surgery 0 76 General Care Obstetrics 0 79 Analysis of efficiency indicators of introducing the system of quality assurance at Vinnytsia medical college named after acad. D.K. Zabolotny enabled to reveal that the educational achievements of medical students who studied at the Department of General Medicine, the Department of Nursing, the Department of Obstetrics showed strong direct correlations between the competencies formed at the level of general education disciplines and the competencies formed at the level of professionally-oriented clinical disciplines (Table 4): Table 4: Correlation between performance, of competence formation level and medical education quality in Vinnytsia medical college named after acad. D.K. Zabolotny Department Discipline Competencies formed by the discipline Correlationstrength General Medicine Biology Medical Biology 0 73 Human Anatomy Gynecology 0 71 Nursing Human Anatomy Nursing in Pediatrics 0.73 Nursing in Internal Medicine 0 73 Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Nursing in Obstetrics 0 73 Physiology Nursing in Pediatrics 0 73 Obstetrics Pharmacology and Medical Prescription Pediatrics 0.74 Physiology Internal Medicine 0.71 Patient Care Obstetrics 0 74 Among other indicators analyzed, in the departments where the training of future paramedics, midwives, nurses is provided, should be mentioned the
In the medical HEIs that participated in the study, there are no structural units responsible for quality management of education, such functions are additionally assigned to certain administrators, usually vice rectors in charge of educational work or experts in methodology, who have a number of other functions, and therefore the process of internal quality assurance is of a formal nature, it is reduced to conducting rectoral tests and assessment analyses of the students’ grades. The prevailing number (86.0%) of medical schools and colleges note that the process of introducing the internal quality assurance system of educational activities requires the elaboration of the pattern of local quality assurance system that would take into account the uniqueness of a medical institution, would be adapted to the specifics of the medical school or college learning environment and would be made public in the form of methodical recommendations. The management of 20 medical schools and colleges (86%) admit that the process of introducing internal quality assurance systems requires the creation of a certain model of a local quality assurance system
presence of direct orientation correlations of medium (86%) and weak (2%) Tstrength.hus,based on the results of the study, we have drawn some inferences about the state of implementation of quality assurance in Ukrainian medical HEIs. The management of medical schools and colleges only declares the implementation of an internal quality assurance system or its elements, but a detailed analysis drawing on the answers of respondents and monitoring of official websites shows that most medical HEIs do not have the necessary information, methodological, incentive and human resources to implement effective quality assurance system at the institutional level.
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Medical HEIs have elements in place for assessing the quality of teachers' work, but the results of such audits are closed and are not published on websites. In addition, the main activities carried out based on the results of the audit are
Medical education institutions have taken on board the commitment to study of the interests and opinions of stakeholders (students, entrants, teachers, administration, governing bodies, students’ parents, employers, professional and public organizations, etc.). However, even if there is a quality feedback from the stakeholders, in most cases, the obtained results are not taken into account when reviewing educational programs. The problem of quality and adequate response to the results of the quality audit of the existing educational programs is provided by the educational standard for training students in the field of health care is a unified qualifying exam and its component, namely the licensed comprehensive qualifying exam "KROK". The elimination of the "unnecessary" disciplines, the introduction of new compulsory disciplines, the expansion of the list of electives is not virtually realized in medical HEIs. The possible reason is that the State Institution "Testing Center at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" forms the pool of test tasks on the basis of the estimated curriculum for the training of medical personnel. In doing so, the cycles of natural sciences and professional training are deemed obligatory.
The overriding limitation of this study was that even though medical HEIs have the tools for assessing the quality of teachers' work, the results of such audits are
individual interviews of the head and the teacher. Only 47.0% of medical colleges and schools out of 23 use the technological innovations in educational activities, which indicates the inadequacy of information and educational environments and the need for its introduction for both external and internal quality assurance system of the educational process, which was evidenced in the conditions of quarantine COVID 19. An analysis of the official websites of medical schools and colleges gives the ground to conclude that most sites are overloaded with reports about activities and events at educational institutions, but they have minimum information for students, applicants and other stakeholders to ensure quality, content of educational programs and disciplines, as well as the evaluation criteria.
6. Conclusion Based on the findings of the study, we drew some conclusions about the state of the QMS and QA implementation in medical HEIs of Ukraine. With this current study, we determine that there is a discrepancy between the information on the implementation of internal quality assurance system declared by the management of medical colleges and schools; issues of ensuring the quality of educational activities are dealt with by officials at different levels of the management structure. The major issues to be addressed are: 1) a consistent coordination and monitoring of quality management; 2) the provision of quality feedback from the HEI to all stakeholders for reviewing the educational programs. It should be emphasized that the major recommendations for medical HEIs are to improve the management of educational activities, the implementation of the internal QA system, the monitoring of the key competencies, the quality feedback from stakeholders. In addition, the implementation of a QA model of educational activities at medical HEIs that train nurses, midwives, paramedics provides for the development of a consistent formation of the professional mindset It is demonstrated by strong and medium direct correlation links between the competencies’ formation in both fundamental and major disciplines in the educational programs. The data obtained during the study and analyzed and generalized results provided an opportunity to determine the state of the quality management system of educational activities in the training of health care professionals in Ukraine during 2014 2019.
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Taking a closer look at the effectiveness indicators of the quality assurance system, it should be noted that the correlations between the academic performance data indicate the systemic dependence of the of general and special competencies formation in students on managerial decisions on educational quality, pedagogical skills and awareness of the faculty, as well as commitment to the efficient management of HR, information, innovation, methodological, and financial resources.
7. Limitations of the study
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Retrieved from http://www.edupolicy.org.ua/_dx/assets/images/Analit18ua_08
386 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. not in open access on websites. Another limitation was the scarcity of feedback from the stakeholders, the obtained feedback is not taken into account when reviewing educational programs majoring in nursing. Directions for future research Further research prospects may be monitoring studies of the effectiveness of quality assurance systems in Ukrainian HEIs in 2020 2021, in particular to find how the principles of total quality management are applied in comparison with the survey of 2014 2019, what best practices the HEI leaders benchmarked and adopted to assure quality; whether all relevant stakeholders such as students and employees are engaged in managing quality at the HEI. References Al Ababneh, H., & Alrhaimi, S. (2020). Modern Approaches to Education Management to Ensure the Quality of Educational Services TEM Journal, 9(2), 770 778 Bilokonenko, H. V. (2018). Tools for Designing, Monitoring and (Self)Evaluating the Efficiency of Internal Quality Assurance System by Hei. Adaptive Management: Theory and Practice. Series Pedagogics, 5(9). Bucharest Communique (2012). Making the Most of Our Potential: Consolidating the European Higher Education Area, Bucharest Communique 2012. Retrieved
9.
J. Qual. Res., 9, 167 180 Freedom of Education Index (2016).
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Gordiichuk, S. V. (2019b). Management of the quality of educational activities of a medical educational institution on the basis of an innovative approach. Bulletin of Zhytomyr I. Franko State University, 2(97), 35 42 (In Ukrainian) Johnson, D. (2019). Assessing Quality Assurance Practices in Institutions of Higher Learnings International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 18(12), 30 45. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.12.3
Karuppusami, G., & Gandhinathan, R. (2006). Pareto analysis of critical success factors of total quality management: A literature review and analysis. The TQM Magazine, 18(4), 372 385. https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780610671048
387 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
Knutson, S., & Kushnarenko, V. (2015). Ukraine: The New Reforms and Internationalization. International Higher Education, 79, 18 19. Kondrashov,https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2015.79.5850N.(2018).Interactionofthehigher education and school in the future teacher to continuing professional education Indywidualistyczny і wspolnotowy obraz ksztalcenia doroslych w swiecie terazniejszosc і perspektywy. Monografia wieloautorska; redakcja naukowa Leszek Ploch, Matgorzata Myszka, Aneta Nieweglowska, Malgorzata Wisniewska: Siedlce (pp. 139 147) Kovtun, O , & Stick, S. (2009) Ukraine and the Bologna Process: A Case Study of the Impact of the Bologna Process on Ukrainian State Institutions, Higher Education in Europe, 34(1), 91 103. https://doi.org/10.1080/03797720902747066 Kuruch, A. V. (2018). Ensuring the quality of higher education in Ukraine: the challenges of today. Science and Education a New Dimension. Pedagogy and Psychology, VI(70)(170), 27 32. https://doi.org/10.31174/SEND PP2018 170VI70 06 London, N. A. (2006). The management of quality in education in an emergent society: a case study. Journal of Education Policy, 1(3), 303 317 https://doi.org/10.1080/0268093960110303 Lubwama, J., Onen, D., & Kasenene, E. S. (2017) Influence of Management on Quality Assurance in National Teacher's Colleges. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 16(11), 138 156. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.16.11.8 Macha, W. (2018). Incompatible With Bologna? The Two Cycle Degree Structure in Medical Education in the EHEA. Education Policy, Dec. 11. Retrieved from https://wenr.wes.org/2018/12/two cycle degree structure in medical education in the ehea Martin, M. (2018). Internal Quality Assurance: Enhancing higher education quality and graduate employability. Paris: IIEP UNESCO Mazurkiewicz, M. (2016). Quality Assurance in Higher Education Institutions in Ukraine 2016 through the prism of European Guidelines and Standards ESG 2015. Wrocław: EXANTE. Retrieved from http://quaere.pwr.edu.pl/wp content/uploads/QA in Ukraine reports.pdf Mazurkiewicz, M., Liuta, O., & Kyrychenko, К. (2017). Internal Quality Assurance System for the Higher Education: Experience of Ukraine and Poland Business Ethics and Leadership, 1(4), 74 83. https://doi.10.21272/bel.1(4).74 83.2017. Mission and Strategy. (2020). The National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (Ukraine). Retrieved from https://en.naqa.gov.ua/?page_id=642 Oluwafemi, I., & Laseinde, T. (2020). Useful Total Quality Management Critical Success Fundamentals in Higher Education Institution. Human Systems Engineering and Design, II, 1066 1074. https://doi.10.1007/978 3 030 27928 8_158. Patrício, M., & Harden, R. M. (2010). The Bologna Process A global vision for the future of medical education. Med Teach, 32(4), 305 315. https://doi.org/10.3109/01421591003656123
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Psomas, E., & Anthony, J. (2017). Total quality management elements and results in higher education institutions: The Greek case Quality Assurance in Education, 25(2), 206 223. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE 08 2015 0033 Sallis, E. (2015). Total Quality Management in Education (3rd Edition) Routledge Sari, Y., Hadiyat, M. A., & Beatrice, C. (2015). The design and implementation of Lean Quality Management System National, Conference Proceedings of Production System XI and Quality Engineering Management, VI (pp. B123 B136) Sciarelli, M., Gheith, M. H., & Tani, M. (2020) The relationship between soft and hard quality management practices, innovation and organizational performance in higher education. The TQM Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM 01 2020 0014 Sila, I., & Ebrahimpour, M. (2002). An investigation of the total quality management survey based research published between 1989 and 2000: A literature review. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 19(7), 902 970. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656710210434801
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP 10 2014 0230 The European Higher Education Area in 2020: Bologna Process Implementation Report (2018). Retrieved from http://www.ehea.info/page ministerial conference paris 2018 Wibisono, E. (2018). The new management system ISO 21001:2018: What and why educational organizations should adopt? International Seminar on Industrial Engineering and Management, Makassar, Indonesia, 11.
Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. (2015). Кyiv: CS Ltd. Strategy of the National Agency For Higher Education Quality Assurance to 2022 (2020) Retrieved from https://en.naqa.gov.ua/wp content/uploads/2020/04/Strategy to 2020.pdf Stukalo, N , & Dluhopolskyi, O (2020). Peculiarities оf Educational Programs Accreditation in Pandemic Times (Case оf Ukraine). Implementation of European Standards in Ukrainian Educational Research: Conference proceedings of the materials presented at the Forth UERA Conference, June 26, 2020. Drohobych: Тrek. Sydorenko, N. (2016). Internal quality assurance of higher education in Ukraine as social and educational priority Public Administration and Local Government, 4(31), 81 86. Tarí, J J , & Dick, G P. M. (2016) Trends in quality management research in higher education institutions. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 26(3), 34 70.
389 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix 1 Questionnaire
This questionnaire addresses the monitoring of the internal quality assurance system of education in medical colleges / institutes / academies. The results of the questionnaire will be used for scientific purposes to improve the quality management system of educational process.
5. Please indicate the number of students studying in your HEI.
9.1 ensuring the quality of educational programs; 9.2. ensuring the quality of teaching and assessment; 9.3. ensuring the quality of learning outcomes; 9.4. ensuring the quality of students' work.
9. Please indicate which elements of the internal quality assurance system of education (principles and procedures) are used in the HEI that you head or in which you work (please give one answer in each line):
for heads or deputies for educational work (vice rectors) of medical higher education institutions Dear colleagues!
10. What difficulties did the HEI, which you lead or work in, face in the process of implementing the internal system of quality assurance of education and/or its 11.elements?Please, name the main documents that regulate the functioning of the internal quality assurance system of education and its individual elements in the HEI, which you head or in which you work (regulations, orders of the rector, etc. (please specify)?
8. Does the HEI you head or work in intend to establish an internal quality assurance system of educationalactivity? If not, what hinders your intentions?
12. Has the HEI which you lead or in which you work, received a certificate certifying the compliance of the quality management system with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001: 2015?
3. Please indicate the number of teachers who work in your HEI (as the main the number of teachers working in your HEI.
13. Do you carry out preparatory work to obtain a certificate proving compliance of the quality management system with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001: 2015?
4.employment).Pleaseindicate
1. Indicate the form of ownership of the HEI, which you head or in which you work (public or private).
14. Is there a separate structural unit in the HEI that you head or work in that is responsible for managing the quality of education?
2. Please name the management structures in the HEI that you head or in which you work.
6. Does your educational institution have an internal quality assurance system?
7. Are there elements of the internal quality assurance system of education in your HEI?
17. What tools are used to audit / evaluate the quality of existing educational programs? (Please give one answer in each line): (Systematically / Periodically / Not implemented / There was no need for implementation)17.1.Ongoing surveys of students on the quality of educational programs in 17.2.general;Survey of students on the level of their satisfaction with the content of 17.3.curricula;Survey of employers on the quality of existing educational programs;
16. How were the interests and opinions of stakeholders / stakeholders studied when reviewing the set of educational programs (specialties)? (Please give one answer in each line): 16.1. students; 16.2. entrants; 16.3. faculty; 16.4. HEI administration; 16.5. management bodies of the HEI; 16.6. students’ parents / entrants’ parents ; 16.7. employers ; 16.8. professional, public associations, unions, agencies, etc.
(Systematically / Periodically / Not implemented / There was no need for implementation)18.1.removal of unnecessary disciplines
18.2. introduction of new compulsory disciplines
18.3. transfer of disciplines to another course 18.4. expansion of the list of elective disciplines
19. Is there an audit / evaluation of the quality of teachers' work in the HEI that you head or in which you work?
20.1. ongoing surveys of students on the quality of work of specific teachers;
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1. Yes 2. No. 20. What tools are used in the audit / evaluation of the quality of teachers' work? (Please select one answer in each line)?
18.5. creation of new educational programs
18. What activities are carried out in the HEI, which you head or in which you work, based on the results of the audit? (Please give one answer in each line)?
17.4. Creating an expert panel of professionals practitioners in this field; 17.5. Evaluating the content of plans / programs with the help of graduates of this specialty / educational program; 17.6. Comparison of the content of educational programs with similar programs of Ukrainian HEIs; 17.7. Comparison of the content of educational programs with similar programs of foreign HEIs
1. Yes (Please indicate the name of the unit) (Please indicate the title of its head) (Indicate if this is a separate position) (Additional function of a certain 2.administrator)No.
15. Are the functions of quality management of education assigned to certain structural units of the HEI that you head or in which you work?
23. What tools are used in the audit of learning outcomes? (Please give one answer in each (Systematicallyline)?/Periodically / Not implemented)
.
20.2. conducting open classes with their subsequent evaluation by teachers and 20.3.administrators;conductingfinal control in the discipline (test/exam) by another 20.4.teacher;rectoral tests; 20.5. assessment of the volume and quality of the educational and methodological support of the discipline developed by the teacher (textbooks / manuals, workshops, tests, etc.); 20.6. evaluation of scientific activity of the teacher (number of scientific publications, participation in scientific conferences, etc.) on issues of quality assurance of education; 20.7. assessment of extracurricular activity of the teacher (conducting competitions and contests, tutorials on students’ research, etc.)
23.3. Receiving feedback from graduates on the application of the level of 23.4.competenciesReceiving assessment from organizations and enterprises where graduates work, by means of feedback.
24.2. Analysis of the staff that provides teaching in this educational program 24.3.(speciality)Replacement of the head (curator) of the program (speciality)
391 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
23.2. Carrying out external measurements of the level of formation of competencies (external review of the course / diploma, tests, etc.)
24. What measures are taken as a result of the audit of the quality of acquired professional (special) competencies of graduates of the institution? (Please give one answer in each line)? (Systematically / Periodically / Not implemented / There was no need for implementation)24.1.Considering to keep the educational program (speciality)
22. Is there an audit / evaluation of learning outcomes in the HEI you lead or work2.1.in?YesNo.
25. What are the procedures for reviewing student complaints in the HEI that you head or in which you work?
21. What actions are taken based on the results of the audit of teaching quality? (Please give one answer in each line): (Systematically / Periodically / Not implemented) 21.1. interview with the head /rector; 21.2. publication of teachers’ ratings
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21.3. wage differentiation depending on the results of the quality audit; 21.4. awarding the best teachers; 21.5. obliging the teacher to pass advanced training courses, trainings, etc.; 21.6. dismissal of a teacher.
23.1. Carrying out internal measurements of the level of competence formation (rector's control, internal testing, internal reviewing, etc.)
392 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. 26. What documents regulate the procedures for reviewing the complaints of students in the HEI, which you head or in which you work? 27. Can the students’ complaints in the HEI, which you head or in which you work, result in: 27.1. correction of the content of the educational program 27.2. correction of the content of the curriculum 27.3. replacement of a teacher 27.4. transferring the discipline from the curriculum (one year / several years later / earlier) 28. Does your HEI use an electronic environment for student learning (MOODLE, services and information tools, etc.)? (Please select one answer)? 1. Yes 2. Not yet, but we are at the stage of choosing a system and its Date___________________________3.implementation.No. Responsible for the survey: Vice Rector for Academic Affairs: Svitlana Gordiichuk Contact phone: (097) 2887464, e mail: stepanovasvg77@gmail.com
Wellington Remigio Villota Oyarvide
Keywords: Augmented reality; Specific and transversal competences; University students; Digital competence; App
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.21
Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain https://orcid.org/0000 0003 0741 5367
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 19, No. 8, pp. 393 408, August 2020
https://orcid.org/0000 0002 6694 7948 Verónica Marín Díaz University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain https://orcid.org/0000 0001 9836 2584
Eloy López Meneses
Vol.
Use of Augmented Reality to Improve Specific and Transversal Competencies in Students Esteban Vázquez Cano National University of Distance Education, Madrid, Spain
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Santiago de Guayaquil Catholic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador https://orcid.org/0000 0002 0081 4704
Abstract. Work in higher educational centres implicates the use of different types of methodology. The digital society demands students with a digital competence, and it is the responsibility of the university institution to ensure they succeed in obtaining it. This article presents an innovative immersive experience developed in a seminar on emerging technologies with 231 university students, and records their perceptions of some augmented reality apps used on the Social Education degree course and the Social Work and Social Education joint degree course at Pablo de Olavide University in Seville (Spain) in the academic years 2016 2018. A qualitative exploratory descriptive study was used to analyse the experience. The study presents the most important findings of this experience with augmented reality at the university, and proposes some didactic uses for the most interesting of these apps, with attention to their usability, ease of use and capacity to help early stage learners to acquire new knowledge. Students considered that AR apps would provide educational scenarios that were more stimulating, collaborative and interactive, and would foment a more open type of education (N= 159/68.8%). The principal conclusion is using this technology in the psychosocial treatment of problems could help social area professionals to sharpen their competences and, at the same time, reinforce support and improve the conditions and treatments of aspects identified in these at risk groups.
The technological imperative in education mirrors a more general evolution and digitalisation in society and the need to acquire new competences (Kettil, 2019).
A connectivity and ubiquity model of online learning could also foment a digital attitude based on sharing, constructing and exchanging digital resources that places collective intelligence at the service of knowledge and the enrichment of the educational community (Moreno, Leiva & López Meneses, 2017; Rauschnabel, Felix & Hinsch, 2019). Technology is driving constant continuous transformation in people’s lives, in the way they search for information, interact with others and generate content, as well as in resolving everyday problems; and technology used in education provides benefits and possibilities that affect traditional content transmission methods (López Belmonte, Pozo, Morales Cevallos & López Meneses, 2019) At the same time, a wide range of technologies is emerging in education, such as augmented reality, which is having a major impact on this field especially in
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Today, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education facilitates the shared creation of knowledge through learning communities (Vazquez Cano, León Urrutia, Parra González & López Meneses, 2020). For its part, the European Commission (2018) has long considered that young citizens must possess certain key competencies to prepare them for adult life, to enable them to be active participants in society and to encourage continuous learning throughout their lifetimes. Digital competence is vital for activating today’s citizens and must be adopted by all education systems across all areas (curricula, resources and support for training, updating competences by continuous learning, teacher training, equality, special needs, educational policies…).
1. Introduction
2. Augmented technology: new possibilities for innovation in education
The development of specific and transversal competencies in higher education is one of the fundamental objectives of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). This type of training approach in higher education subjects allows us to deal with things in a transversal and interdisciplinary way, such as content and skills for treatment, creation and dissemination, as well as the reflections and conclusions derived from the entire teaching learning process. In this context, Augmented Reality (AR) emerges as a catalyst tool for content and competencies with great didactic potential. With AR, we can design more enriched educational environments that bring the student closer to realities and situations in an immersive and video simulated way, allowing them a greater understanding and reflection in inquiry in their learning. For this, it is necessary for teachers to acquire new roles that would enable didactics and evaluation under the new learning scenarios: tutor, counsellor, designer of mediated learning situations, evaluator, and content creator, among others In this research, we propose and analyse new ways of dealing with content and competences in a combined way with the use of different augmented reality tools in higher education through the analysis of an educational experience at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville / Spain).
395 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. higher education (Barroso & Gallego, 2017; Fernández, 2017; López Belmonte et al., 2019; Moreno & Leiva, 2017) The Horizon Reports of 2015 and 2016 predicted that AR would be used extensively in education (3 to 5 years) in the future. Different authors and reports (Barroso & Gallego, 2017; Fernández, 2017; López Belmonte et al., 2019; Moreno & Leiva, 2017) have stated that AR would be potentially adopted in the next years in all educational stages. What is more, this emerging technology is spreading thanks to the use of mobile digital devices that enable everyone to access AR (Aznar Díaz, Romero Rodríguez & Rodríguez García, 2018; Blas, Vázquez Cano, Morales & López, 2019) Several authors (Bursalia & Yilma, 2019; Cabero & Barroso, 2016; Nadolny, 2017; Villalustre, 2020) have shown how AR represents the environment that integrates the real and the virtual worlds, combining digital and physical information in real time through technological devices. Augmented technology in education has huge potential, such as its application in the various learning stages (Bacca, Baldiris, Fabregat, Graf, & Kinshuk, 2014; Garay, Tejada & Maiz, 2017) its capacity to transfer experiences to different areas of education work with collaborative and constructivist methodologies (Blas et al., 2019; Cochrane, Narayan & Antonczak, 2016) create simulated scenarios (Fabregat, 2012) enrich the use of printed material with a range of resources (Moreno & Leiva, 2017), and transform the student into a technology designer (Cabero & Barroso, 2016). This immersive technological scenario also facilitates the creation of a constructivist educational context, and invigorates active teaching environments. Jee, Lim, Youn, and Lee (2014) stated that the tools traditionally used in the classroom can now be used in tandem with AR to draw daily reality closer to education, make learning more interesting and stimulating, and more relevant to students’ everyday lives. Cabero, Leiva, Moreno, Barroso and López Meneses (2016) pointed to AR’s potential to activate students’ cognitive learning processes, develop cognitive and spatial skills regardless of age and academic level, and provide learning scenarios that are more motivating, collaborative and RAinteractive.isan educational instrument that allows students to be absorbed in immersive environments in which the simulated context is mixed with real objects and supports that certain more abstract contents could be explained and visualised in a more visual and enriched form. AR was first introduced as a training tool for airline and air force pilots during the 1990s (Caudell & Mizell, 1992). Since Tom Caudell coined the term augmented reality in the early 1990s (Lee, 2012), this technology has experienced a great application in educational Accordingsettings. to Dunleavy, Dede and Mitchell (2009), AR's most significant advantage is its “unique ability to create immersive hybrid learning environments that combine digital and physical objects, thereby facilitating the development of processing skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communicating through interdependent collaborative exercises” Augmented
reality has a wide variety of fields of applications, such as art (Amakawa & Westin, 2018), maths (Cai et al., 2019), medicine (ChanLin, ChiChan & Wan, 2019), tourism (Kourouthanassis, Boletsis, Bardaki & Chasanidou, 2015), entertainment or education (Villalustre, 2020). In this line and according to Chiang, Yang, and Hwang (2014a), AR technology provides relevant information, guidance to the students and supports motivation. On the other hand, this method is also perceived by students as more satisfying than classroom lessons (Marín Díaz, 2017b; Villalustre, 2020). By displaying virtual elements alongside real objects, AR facilitates the observation of events which cannot easily be observed with the naked eye. Among other reasons, this is due to the ease of accessing information offered by this tool, as it is normally accessed by way of mobile devices (Murat & Gökçe, 2017). In this sense, its combination with apps on mobile digital devices, such as a smartphone, allows teachers and students to have an educational tool inside and outside the classroom with which to simulate different educational experiences (Vázquez Cano & Sevillano García, 2018). As Chang, Wu, and Hsu (2013) and Jee et al. (2014) establish, AR could enhance students’ motivation and promote situated learning, which may, in turn, result in students making more informed Indecisions.short,its use in education, as pointed out by different authors (Chang & Hwang, 2018; Pejoska Laajola, Reponen, Virnes & Leinonen, 2017; Rauschnabel, He & Ro, 2018), could provide different possibilities such as: a) To identify relevant information and avoid information that hinders the assimilation of significant information; b) Locate in reality the fundamental constitutive elements that allow the student to understand how it works; c) Being able to observe an object from different points of view and from different perspectives; d) To promote ubiquitous and mobile learning; e) Be able to have simulated and safe laboratory practices; f) Provide students with diverse learning systems that complement other, such as audiovisual and printed proposals; g) Turning the student not only into a content viewer, but also in the creation of proposals based on augmented reality; h) Complement other didactic approaches such as the Flipped Classroom methodology AR employment outside the formal educational area can provide the citizen, in general, with great educational and entertainment possibilities (experiments, museums, etc.).
However, some authors (Cai, Liu, Shen, Liu, Li & Shen, 2019; Han, Jo, Hyun & So, 2015; Fernandez Robles, 2018; Marín Díaz, 2017a; Villalustre, 2020) stress AR’s limitations: teachers’ shortcomings in technological competence, the lack of resources and the failure to provide clear objectives for learning with AR. However, the limitations or disadvantages of AR are not the objective of this article(). The principal aim is to detect the possibilities of using AR in mobile applications with university students as this could improve or achieve the competencies needed for the final grade. This answers the hypothesis of the principal project that this article proposes: the use of AR with students will allow to detect the needs of students by using it to improve the student’s competencies and create social attitudes for professional activities.
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This innovative immersive experience was developed in a seminar on emerging technologies in January and February 2016 2017, and again in 2017 2018. The two courses were Information Technologies and Communication in Social Education, both of which formed part of the first year curriculum of the degree course in Social Education and the joint degree course in Social Education and Social Work, in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Pablo de Olavide University in TheSeville.AR apps used in the practical sessions with the students in the seminar were:
2.1 Objectives
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This is a qualitative exploratory descriptive study. The methodological concept is based on a virtual collaborative investigation action performed by university students to foment their generic and specific competences in the European Higher Education Area (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992; Pool Cibrian & Martínez Guerrero, 2013). One of its objectives was to know the most useful and stimulating AR apps for educational purposes among those used in a seminar on immersive technologies in the academic years 2016 2017 and 2017 2018 for the university degree course in Social Education and the joint degree in Social Education and Social Work.
The qualitative analysis was based on a coding and categorisation process in two stages, descriptive and interpretative. The procedure was organised in three phases: Phase 1: ’Segmentation and identification of the units of meaning, and grouping in descriptive categories’; Phase 2: Construction of a system of emerging thematic nuclei and metacategories’; Phase 3: ‘“Identification of qualitative dominions (sequential and transversal analysis of the metacategories’ .
The objectives were: 1) To know the new AR apps in educational settings, and the pedagogical potential of these AR apps in learning contexts. 2) To generate proactive attitudes in students towards augmented technologies. 3) To develop students’ competencies in the use of these AR apps in didactic settings.
2.2 Procedure
2. Materials and method
• Anatomy 4D. This AR app enables the student to explore inside the human body on a virtual journey to study the body’s organs and systems (see Figure 1)
• Quiver. This is an augmented reality and virtuality based app that enables the user to colour printed sheets. These sheets can be photographed on any mobile device and then transformed, as the students generate augmented scenarios that enhance their learning processes (see Figure 2).
• Chromville. This app is similar to Quiver, with the same dynamic of printed sheets for colouring and immersive technology. The sheets act as markers for the creation of augmented fantasy settings via the mobile device’s camera (see Figure 1)
2.3 Sample
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• Zookazam. With this app, the user can select from a wide range of animal species from our real habitat to create scenes from fables. It is similar in dynamic to the previous two and is available from Apple’s app store and Google Play (see Figure 1)
The sample consisted of 231 students attending Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, with the following characteristics: 60 students (8 men, 58 women) in 2016 2017, and 58 students (5 men, 53 women) in 2017 2018, studying ICT and Social Education as part of their first year joint degree course in Social Education and Social Work; 57 students (6 men, 51 women) in 2016 2017, and 56 students (4 men, 52 women) in 2017 2018, studying ICT and Social Education as part of their first year degree course in Social Education.
3. Analysis of the results obtained and the drafting of a new list.
The possible existence of a bias in the population with regard to the gender variable could be detected, but as Cheng and Chang (2006) and Gialamas, Nikiolopoulu, and Koutromanos (2013) point out, studies in the field of social sciences present an eminently feminised profile, affecting this variable worldwide, that is why we consider the non existence of said bias in our sample
4. Second round of the Delphi study.
5. Analysis of the results obtained and drafting of the validation scale.
2. First round of the Delphi study.
1. Drafting of the first list of topics, with the descriptors that could be included.
2.4 Instruments At the end of February in both years, the students completed a questionnaire, The didactic use of AR, available at: https://goo.gl/forms/STik3sI9KdPzZi773) on challenges and didactics uses of AR. The questionnaire design was based on the theoretical considerations discussed by Barroso and Gallego (2017). To design the questionnaire, we have used a modified version, the two round ‘Modified Delphi’. In its implementation, we must pay special attention to a series of aspects: ensuring the anonymity of the participants, and, more specifically, their answers; using different iterations; establishing feedback control by the coordinating group; and using statistical techniques in the analysis of the responses (Rowe & Wright, 1999).
To implement the Delphi method, five phases were applied:
Twenty one participants were asked to evaluate them according to a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is equivalent to not at all important and 5 is very important. They were also asked to give their opinion on a series of aspects: a block of contents that they would eliminate or include or any items they would suggest eliminating, including or modifying within the proposed blocks of contents. The final mean and standard deviation of the dimensions of the questionnaire are shown in Table 1.
399 ©2020TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Table 1: Mean and standard deviation of the dimensions of the questionnaire. Questionnaire dimensions M SD Augmented Reality: app characteristics 4.30 0.73 Augmented Reality: educational functionalities 4.08 0.65 Augmented Reality: advantages and limitations 4,21 0.64 One of the aims of the survey was to collate the students’ opinions on the most useful and stimulating AR apps used in the immersive technology seminar. Our study specifically analysed the impressions of the 231 students of the AR apps used in the classroom, and their responses to an open question on the advantages of the didactic use of AR at university (see images 1 and 2). Image 1. Students using Augment and Anatomy 4D Image 2. Students using Quiver
According to the students on the Social Work and Social Education joint degree course in 2016 2017, the best AR apps to apply to significant learning processes were: Quiver (45%); Zookazam (23%), Chromville (17%) and Anatomy 4D (15%).
The majority of students stated that Quiver was the most interesting from a didactic point of view, as it was easy to use, and highly intuitive and appropriate for young learners, enabling them to colour in the sheets then convert them into animated objects. Second placed Zookazam was also easy to use and fast and helped students to learn about a wide range of animals. The students on the Social Education degree course (2016 2017) who tried out the AR apps during the emerging technologies seminar classified them for their motivational qualities as follows: Quiver (44%), Zookazam (23%), Chromville (14%) and Anatomy 4D (19%) (see images 1 and 2). They stated that Quiver and Zookazam were the most interesting and educational for ease of use, usability and user friendliness, as well as their clear orientation to educational processes. The results for the students on the Social Work and Social Education joint degree course in 2017-2018 were similar to those of their counterparts a year earlier for Quiver (45%) and Zookazam (24%). However, they differed from the previous year by placing Anatomy 4D in third place ahead of Chromville, at 17% and 14%, respectively.
The students on the Social Education degree course in 2017 18 scored Quiver at 43% and Zookazam at 21%, as the most interesting for use in a socio educational setting due to their usability and applicability to a range of contexts for young Figurelearners.1presents the results of the frequencies for 2016 2018 in order to observe the oscillations about the most useful and innovative AR apps for educational processes that were tested by the participants in the emerging technologies seminar.
This section presents the results of the analysis and interpretation of the contributions by the 231 students on the Social Education degree course and the Social Work and Social Education joint degree course between 2016 2018 with regard to the most useful and stimulating AR apps that they experimented with during the practical sessions of a seminar on emerging technologies.
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4. Results
It can be inferred that the students in both years who experimented with the AR apps at the emerging technologies seminar, as part of the course on ICT and Social Education, considered Quiver and Zookazam to be the best in terms of usability and ease of use, and were deemed the most appropriate for early learners to acquire new knowledge. Students on both degree courses considered that these AR apps would provide educational scenarios that were more stimulating, collaborative and interactive, and would foment a more open type of education (N= 159/68.8%). Similar results were found in teacher training for primary education (Moreno & Leiva, 2017; Nielsen, Brandt & Swensen, 2016; Villalustre, 2020). The motivation to create AR apps for educational processes has also been cited in diverse studies (Chiang, Yang & Hwang, 2014a; Cochrane, Narayan & Antonczak, 2016) and follows the same line as these results. Nevertheless, both studies considered that the focus of the students’ attention should never be on how well they can handle the technology, but on the didactic function at the heart of that technology, in order for such apps to be applied correctly in both the learning and professional context (Cabero Almenara, Vázquez Cano & López Meneses, 2018; Rahman, Ling & Yin, 2020) The results from the students’ perceptions on the relation between the advantages and disadvantages of AR for the educational environment can be observed in the Atlas Ti network in Figure 2.
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Figure 1. Comparison of frequencies for students at the emerging technologies seminar in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
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Figure 2. Atlas Ti network. Advantages of AR applied to university student learning Discussion Firstly, the present study’s findings are in line with those in other research (Aznar Díaz et al., 2018; Cabero, Llorente & Gutiérrez Castillo, 2017; Cozar, de Moya, Hernández & Hernández, 2015; Villalustre, 2020), in that the students reacted favourably towards the use of this type of emerging technologies because they considered them to be good motivational tools for learning (Chiang et al., 2014). AR apps also foment a proactive environment in teaching (Rauschnabel et al., 2019) and produce a high level of satisfaction among students (Chen, 2019). Likewise, as other investigations have testified (Barroso & Gallego, 2017; Cabero et al., 2018), AR is useful for developing emerging competences in ICT, strengthening group work, and for discovering new useful, immersive didactic resources in social education and social work scenarios that were previously unknown to the majority of the students; this can generate new educational processes based on an investigative, constructivist and ubiquitous perspective. In this sense, we wish to emphasise that AR based didactic activities are especially useful for pre university and degree level education, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences, because they allow students to access content in a different way to that frequently presented in a one directional printed form that does nothing to motivate them or raise their ability for abstract thinking on the subject. AR apps allow content to be visualised in a way that is more creative, dynamic and real, which makes the teaching of a subject more attractive, innovative and stimulating for students at all levels of education (Marin Díaz, 2017a,b; Moreno & Leiva, 2017; Villalustre, 2020).
5.
The analysis of the AR didactic experience with the university students provided us with an initial conclusion that the use of objects based on augmented technology in higher education arouses considerable interest in students. Our study is in line with others that corroborate a high degree of satisfaction among students who use this technology and demonstrate a considerable increase in motivation when they are immersed in educational activities involving AR (Yip, Wong, Yick, Chan & Wong, 2019) In line with Fernández Robles (2018), AR can be presented as a genuinely useful technology for training students at university, allowing them to work with active constructivist methodologies, providing them with the opportunity to visualise objects from different perspectives, facilitating the acquisition of knowledge that is difficult to access, enabling the presentation of simulated scenarios and enriching traditional printed material (Moreno, Franco Mariscal & Franco Mariscal, 2018) This aspect could be very useful for students with any kind of disabilities. People with disabilities that negatively impact their social skills can use virtual reality to practise and improve their social skills (Bridges, Robinson, Stewart, Kwon & Mutua, 2019; Cascales Martínez, Martínez Segura, Pérez López & Contero, 2017). At the same time, the opinions of the Social Sciences students in this study show that the use of AR based activities generates deeper reflection and a more positive attitude, and boosts the cognitive processes applied to the content in the Social Education and Social Work degree courses that they were taking. Also, it was interesting to see how students not only found AR to be applicable to the teaching learning process, but also discovered how useful it was in the development of their own professional competencies as educators and social workers. In terms of applying AR as professionals in education and social work, the students emphasised that AR could be a particularly interesting tool in the treatment of drug addiction and its prevention among teenagers, in managing dementia related disabilities in older people, and in the education of infants and adolescents within formal and informal educational settings. As Lindsey Getz (2018, p.6) points out, authors such as Patrick Bordnick are “currently exploring the ways in which we are training the next generation of social workers to prepare for disaster scenarios. If they never have any previous exposure, it's quite possible that they will present with anxiety when exposed to extreme situations or from a social work perspective, imagine the possibilities involved when students get an opportunity to interview a family and assess their needs post trauma all in a virtual world.” on the other hand, without adequate teacher training in emerging technologies, their use in the classroom could even be counterproductive, acting as a brake on the development of competencies and content in the curriculum (Barroso & Gallego, 2017; Blas et al., 2019; Marín Díaz, 2017a,b). Likewise, it is important to be mindful of the resources available to educational institutions and students in order not to widen the digital divide or discriminate against students for lack of finance or access to technology. It is also important to ensure that this technology can be used for, and adapted to, the various special needs of students
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7. Limitations
The principal conclusion of this research is that using this technology in the psychosocial treatment of these problems could help professionals to sharpen their competences and, at the same time, reinforce, support and improve the conditions and treatments of aspects identified in these at risk groups. In addition, AR was found to be useful for building emerging competences in ICT, for bolstering group work and for discovering new immersive didactic resources in social education and social work settings that the majority of students had not previously known about; such resources could help develop new educational processes from an investigative, constructivist and ubiquitous perspective. In this sense, the study emphasises that AR based didactic activities can be particularly useful in pre university and higher education settings in the fields of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, since they allow students to access content that improves on the one directional printed form that often fails to stimulate or encourage students to think in a more abstract way about the subject. AR resources enable students to visualise content in a form that is more creative, dynamic and real, and teachers to present a didactic that is more attractive, innovative and motivational at all levels of education. Despite these apparent benefits, we believe it is vital to go further in generating proposals and models for AR integration, with the development of AR firmly grounded in the educational context, taking into account subject areas and resources available, as well as the extent of teacher training in such technologies.
8. Acknowledgement
This study is part of the Project: Design, implementation and evaluation of mixed reality materials for learning environments (PID2019 108933GB I00) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
This study has been approached from a qualitative approach of descriptive research in which the main purpose has been to know the opinion and perception of the university students about the educational possibilities of augmented reality for the development of content and competences in higher education. Future studies should contemplate the evaluation of the academic performance of students with the use of statistical inference techniques.
6. Conclusions
in the classroom. In this sense, the ease of use of virtual reality applications on smartphones favours the development of immersive learning spaces and provides access (Fombona, Vázquez Cano & Del Valles, 2018). What seems more important than the economic cost is the need to train teachers and professors in the new digital skills with this technology in order to take advantage of the educational and social potential of augmented reality applications to develop generic and transversal competencies among students (Blas et al., 2019; Marín & Sampedro Requena, 2019).
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Cabero Almenara, J., Barroso Osuna, J., Llorente Cejudo, M. C., & Fernández Martínez, M. (2019). Educational uses of Augmented Reality (AR): Experiences in Educational Science. Sustainability, 11(18), 4990. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184990 Cai, S., Liu, E., Shen, Y., Liu, Ch., Li, S., & Shen, Y. (2019). Probability learning in mathematics using augmented reality: impact on student’s learning gains and attitudes. Interactive Learning Environments, Cascaleshttps://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1696839Martínez,A.,MartínezSegura,M.J.,PérezLópez, D., & Contero, M. (2017). Using an augmented reality enhanced tabletop system to promote learning of mathematics: A case study with students with special educational needs. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(2), 355 380. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00621a
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Keywords: School culture; Teacher stress; Teacher satisfaction; Vocational teacher 1. Introduction The role of the teachers as one of the crucial human resources in the school organisation will significantly determine the success of achieving the goals of the
Susan Febriantina, Suparno, Marsofiyati Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia http://orcid.org/0000 0001 7661 8227 http://orcid.org/0000 5518 0489 http://orcid.org/0000 0002 6842 6046 Rusi Rusmiati Aliyyah Universitas Djuanda Bogor, Indonesia http://orcid.org/0000 0002 4908 4677
409 ©2020 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.22Vol.InternationalTheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved.JournalofLearning,TeachingandEducationalResearch19,No.8,pp.409423,August2020 How School Culture and Teacher’s Work Stress Impact on Teacher’s Job Satisfaction
0002
Abstract. This study examined the impact of school culture and teachers’ stress on satisfaction among vocational teachers. Vocational school as a school with the development of work ready skills, combine learning dual system by learning in school and work in the industry, needs to be examined as the effectiveness of teacher abilities and overall education policy. Teacher satisfaction in this study is regarding teachers' feeling level of pleasure as an upbeat assessment of the work and its environment (school). Data were collected through a survey into 142 teachers of vocational high school in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. Data were analysed bypathanalysistodetermine the effectsamongvariablesandprocessed by SPSS 24. Theresultsshowedthat schoolculture whichnowimpactsteacher stress equal to 1,795%, the contribution of teacher stress which is directly teacher’s job satisfaction equal to 43,296%, the contribution of school culture to teacher’s job satisfaction skill through teacher stress is 5,198%. The findings are that teacher’s job satisfaction is directly influenced by the teacher’s pressure with a dominant influence. Physical condition is the leading indicator in developing teacher’s job satisfaction skills for school in policy making as well as a teacher. Simultaneously school culture and teacher’s stress affect teacher’s satisfaction skills by 52.3% and 47.7% influencedbyothervariables.Thisstudyalsorecommendsfurtherresearch to develop variables on aspects of teacher’s competence and creativity in measuring teacher satisfaction skills, both in direct and indirect influence.
school organisation. One of the main reasons for this statement is that the success of teaching and learning at school will create a qualified human resource The teachers are ever considered as the most critical agents in the school system, for they are the main actor who deals with students as an educational object (Baumert et al., 2013). Recently, the teacher has several demands related to inside and outside school tasks which he must carry out well. Internal functions are associated with the role of the teacher as a designer and facilitator in the learning process, which requires high creativity. Moreover, the students today called the millennial generation are no less creative than their teachers in any kind of understandings of the materials and technology (Kotz, 2016). This phenomenon can be one challenge for teachers nowadays to create effective learning methods and approaches The second one is related to additional tasks which are non academic tasks, such as fostering extracurricular activities, attending meetings, self upgrading through teacher training, and helping school leaders in achieving school goals through school accreditation which quite burdens for some teachers. The ability of a school organisation that has a competitive advantage is also urgent to be able to compete with other schools, both public and non public school. In addition to this, the school organisation must also have a good synergy among education elements included principals (Borman & Maritza Dowling, 2008), teachers and staff, students, parents, society, government, and another business world (Erichsen & Reynolds, 2019). Thus, the school organisation system will run effectively and resulting in a quality school.
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On the other hand, each teacher has the characteristics and uniqueness in determining their perceptions, views, seen, and feelings towards all their needs and desires in the school organisation. Therefore, the school management needs to pay attention to these conditions for the teachers having reasonable job satisfaction (Ryan et al., 2017). To support the synergy among school elements which ultimately also affect the achievement of school goals, the school has to increase its teachers' satisfaction. There are three kinds of teachers in Indonesia based on status, which perhaps will be different in their satisfaction. The first is a public teacher who is paid by the government with a standardized government salary. In the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta general teachers get the highest salary based on provincial minimum wages compared to teachers in other regions. One of the reasons is that they received a regional performance allowance which does not receive by another teacher in the other areas. This regional performance allowance can reach 8 to 10 million per month. Teachers in Jakarta regions have higher work pressure and public attention than others. The second is a non general teacher whose salary is paid by a foundation. The wage of this kindof teacher is varied based on foundation ability and regional minimum wage. The last is an honorary teacher whose compensation could be paid by a school both public and non general school, but the number is still far from the two one. The interesting thing in this study, that we explore teachers’job satisfaction among capital city public teachers who claimed to get the highest salary than another. Teacher’s job satisfaction is not only related to the compensation but also feelings, as well as promotions, and many other indicators. It is an individual thing that has a different level of job satisfaction regarding each adopted value system (Cirocki & Farrell, 2019). The more tasks in their work following their assumed value, the more satisfied with their work the
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researchers have studied the impact of school culture on teachers ‘job satisfaction. For example, Bellou (2010) found certain cultural traits as job satisfaction amplifiers. Some other researchers in corporate culture agree that organisational culture influences job satisfaction One example is on school culture, which will give many impacts on teacher’s job satisfaction (Belias, Koustelios, Vairaktarakis & Sdrolias, 2015). The study about the school, as an organisation, and its culture has not been so much recently. Hence, in terms of the school level, this present study also hypothesized that school culture impacts on teacher’s satisfaction.
teacher will be. Vice versa, the more functions in their careers incompatible with their adopted value system, the more dissatisfied with the outcome the teacher will be. The previous study explains many factors influencing teacher’s job satisfaction such as school culture (Zavyalova & Kucherov, 2010), work stress (Rizwan, Waseem & Bukhari, 2014) (Riaz et al., 2016) (Eichinger, 2000), principal leadership (García Torres, 2019), work motivation (Sohail et al., 2014), work loyalty(Waqas et al., 2014), work performance (Jalagat, 2016), compensation and empowerment (Asmawi-, 2017), and teacher’s self efficacy (Sun & Xia, 2018). This present article aims to enrich the study of job satisfaction relate to school culture and teacher’s work stress.
2. Literature Review
2.1. School Culture Hoy (1990) states that school culture is talking about feeling, character, and organisational ideology within school complexity. It is relevant to the professional community, organisation learning, and trust (Louis, 2006). Some other previous studies rarely used the phrase “school culture” which may be partly due to organisational culture. They find that school as an education organisation is a system within its culture concepts. Schein (2004) defines some patterns of belief and perception of students, teachers, staff, principal, stakeholders, and school values as school culture. Organisational culture is considered more applicable and related to measurement problems that accompany it, especially when the quantitative approach used, besides it has its roots in the field of sociology (Lee & Louis, 2019). As a systemic organisation in education level, the school has some beliefs, ideology, and special characters that may be different from one other school. Every school leader needs to ensure their school culture can control school beliefs, personalities, and habits (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015). Thus, school culture within their characteristics existing in schools relates to value, norms, morals, and behaviours based on the school itself (Deal & Peterson, 2016)
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School culture includes norms, values, beliefs, rituals, traditions that distinguish one school from another school. This system is often formed by what people think and how they act. The people of the school organisation consist of the principal, teachers and staff, students, student’s parents, school committees, and some stakeholders. School culture functions as a school framework in acting, interacting, thinking, and feeling, including individual discussion way, school physical appearance, and how they serve their social standards, values, expectations, and behaviours (Guthrie & Schuermann, Previous2011).
The first difference tends to relax and ignore the problems, while the second is becoming it into huge problems. Female teachers indicated more detailed in designing the learning process in the classroom; they also are very strict in conducting class management and roles. Then, when they could not manage it correctly, most of them think these as big problems. Even though they consider those big problems will not end when some administrative tasks and other assignments outside of their teaching obligations increase and accumulate. Stress in any kind of terms has impacts on job satisfaction, included at school. Teachers’ work stress influences on their job satisfaction as a teacher (Troesch & Bauer, 2017). Yin et al., (2019) also stated that the expression of naturally felt emotions reduced teaching satisfaction. This study presents the hypothesis that teacher stress impacts on teacher satisfaction
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2.3. Teacher’s Job Satisfaction
Uncomfortable conditions at work may cause teachers frustrated and depressed. They even feel angry, worry, and negative thinking about their careers. If this happens, teachers cannot control the problems which undoubtedly affect their job. These bad feelings among teachers are what we call teacher job stress (Chris, 2001). Previous studies showed that many factors cause the teacher’s job stress. One clear example is that relates to unsatisfied salary, low promotion, unclear career, problems with principle and colleagues, insufficient appreciation of teaching, and inadequate learning facilities (Abel & Sewell, 1999) Teacher’s issues not only relate to the students but also connect to partners, as well as environment and workloads. Another previous study, Liu & Ramsey (2008) stated that teachers’ work stress is influenced by workload and students' misbehaviour. If the teachers cannot solve their pressure well, as an effect, they are a bad time for planning and preparing a heavy teaching workload. Furthermore, if they still on that stress without any solutions, perhaps it may cause some physical and physiological pain. Chaplin (2008) explains three factors identified as teacher’s work stress are management system, overlapping, and inadequate support. Some other factors also reveal that inappropriate student’s behaviour, too many jobs, school rules system, poor colleagues, and the way how school leaders give supports are some other causes making teacher’s job stress (Wilson, 2002) Uniquely, what founded is that several studies state about female teachers who have more work stress than male teachers. Klassen and Chiu (2010) who did previous research about it, stated that there are differences between male and female teachers in facing stress during teaching
Most of the researchers used job satisfaction as the basic theory of teacher satisfaction. Positive feelings, including positive emotions and happy for doing the works defined as job satisfaction (Locke, 1976) said. It means that when we think, we have feelings about what we believe. Then when we have feelings, we think about what we feel. Regarding this statement, we can find that teachers' satisfaction, including the intrapersonal judgment process, which appears from positive emotions. However, this only measures the affective condition of the teacher, nor fully measure teaching satisfaction (Ho & Au, 2006). Job satisfaction describes the emotional state of a person
2.2. Teacher’s Job Stress
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However, by a separate study of two different variables, this study hypothesizes that both school culture and teacher anxiety impact on teachers’ satisfaction. Thus, based on the model, the conceptual framework of this present study can be seen in Figure 1
associated with positive and negative assessments from within the individual of his work (Ma & MacMillan, 1999). Chiu & Chen (2005) mentioned that the teacher’s job satisfaction derived from intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and both of them are complex concepts. The first one relates to the level of the work, and the second one relates to the level of job conditions, school policies, and other factors which no relations with the job. On the other side, Demirtas (2010) explains the teacher’s job stress as a positive emotional state resulting from teaching experience. Not much research demonstrates the influence of both school culture and teachers' work stress on teachers' job satisfaction at school.
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Figure 1. The Framework of The Conceptual 3. Method
This study was carried out through a survey method, using questionnaires as the main instrument (Appendix) The population was 240 vocational teachers in Jakarta Indonesia with 142 teachers as the sample. Both public and private vocational teachers including in this research, and Isaac, and Michael formula are also used to determine the significance level of 5%. This study used a simple random sampling technique in determining the sample. The sampling technique choosing is as regarding Chauvet & Do Paco (2018) that this technique is for all populations with a similar opportunity. The study used a questionnaire to collect the data, as this is a survey study which analyed by using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA). We use the Lilliefors test, as stated by Malhotra (2009), to test the normality of regression estimation of the data. In this test, generally, the data is normally distributed if the significance value is higher than 0.05, while below than this value indicates not normally distributed. We also use ANOVA to test the significance of the coefficient of regression and its correlation. Meanwhile to try the validity test, that each item arithmetic should larger than 0.30, we use the Product Moment correlation between Pearson and the reliability test of Cronbach’s’ Alpha, that each item should be higher or same as 0.5 (Hair et al., 2010; Eisingerich & Rubera, 2010). To analyse the impact of patterns among endogenous variables, this study uses path analyses. According to Hair et al., (2010) when p value < 0.05, the independent variable will be significantly impacted by the dependent variable.
414 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. 4. Results and Discussion In Table 1, we can see the characteristics of respondents in this study. The sample consisted of 60 male vocational teachers (41.4%) and 82 female vocational teachers (58.6%) around Jakarta regions It indicates that most of the Indonesian teachers are dominated by female teachers who are assumed to have more work stress than the other one. Most of the respondents are aged 25 to 34 years old (42.1%). This age indicates a productive age for teachers to full of their performance at school, but it is still regarded as unstable in determining teacher’s satisfaction perception. The educational background of the respondents is a bachelor's degree (83.2%) which describes the educational experience of Indonesian teachers generally. 85.7% of the respondent is also married, which indicates that the respondents with multiple roles as a teacher, wife or husband, father, and mother, have a significant impact on their satisfaction at school. Different from married teachers, unmarried teachers or teachers with divorce background and a single parent may have a different level on how much job satisfaction they have. Table 1. Characteristics of Respondent Demographic factors number Per cent (%) Sex: Male teachers 60 41.4 Female teachers 82 58.6 Age (years old): < 25 21 15.0 25 34 59 42.1 35 44 28 20.0 45 54 20 14.3 > 55 14 8.6 Education: Bachelor 124 83.2 Master 18 16.8 Marital Status: Single 12 7.9 Married 121 85.7 Divorce 9 6.4 Total n=142 100.0 School culture as an independent variable is the primary data obtained through a questionnaire tool using a Likert scale. The instrument with four indicators contained 18 statements that tested its validity and reliability namely school values, school beliefs, school assumptions, and school norms (Table 2)
415 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Table 2. School Culture Dimension Indicator Number correlationCorrecteditemtotal Cronbach’s Alphanumberswhendeleted ScoreTotal % CultureSchool School Values 1 0.143 0.824 506 134.22 2 0.045 0.831 523 3 0.618 0.798 519 4 0.579 0.803 486 School Beliefs 5 0.163 0.824 516 136.87 6 0.605 0.803 562 7 0.367 0.813 503 8 0.513 0.805 503 AssumptionsSchool 9 0.318 0.817 574 152.25 10 0.613 0.799 508 11 0.564 0.804 578 12 0.292 0.818 526 13 0.414 0.811 416 School Norms 14 0.601 0.798 465 123.34 15 0.483 0.807 501 16 0.526 0.804 466 17 0.313 0.816 357 18 0.270 0.818 325 Based on the data above, school assumptions with a total score of 152.25 % places the highest level as the most influential factors on school culture while the lowest total rank is the school norms indicator. School assumptions relate to how the teachers perceive their school system assumptions, including environmental culture, rules and regulations, etiquette, and spiritual culture. School beliefs define as an eclectic mix of practical rules, generalisations, opinions, and structured expectations. The more it is positioned at the centre of the belief system, the less this belief is subject to change (Herman et al., 2008). School values relate moral order hold by a school including the commitment to fairness, consistency, care ethics, and inclusion. School norms relate to legal principles, rules, humanity, and inspirations (Bipath & Moyo, 2016). In addition to school culture, this research also measures teacher stress which measured by three indicators consisted of emotions, thinking processes, and physical conditions, as shown in Table 3.
The primary dependent variable in this study is teacher satisfaction which measured by some indicators such as the teacher’s feelings, teacher’s work, salary, supervision, teachers’ partner, and teacher’s promotion. The highest rank of teacher’s wages shows that the respondents have a higher perception of it than others. They considered that salary is the most factor in determining their job satisfaction (see Table 4).
According to the data, physical conditions became the highest indicators in teacher’s stress, while the thinking process is the lowest rank. Physical conditions related to stress symptoms, such as feeling the pain of some parts of the body, headache, stomachache, back pain, and other physic problems The data above surprisingly show us that most of the teachers feeling pain physically when they are stress in their works. These physical problems are mostly found in school teachers who represent an occupational group within a high prevalence of neck and/or shoulder pain, and low back (Yang, Ge, Hu, Chi & Wang, 2009) Yang et al., (2009) state that occupational stress and strain cause worsening physical and mental conditions for teachers. Emotions at work also received attention, since it relates to the activation of the cardiovascular system, stress, exhaustion, and other physical symptoms, such as headache. In general, the factors that cause teacher’s emotions are emotional links between school leaders and teachers, students, partners (Nono et al., 2007). Idris (2011) also states that teachers who are trapped in negative emotions, such as angry, and depression may intend to feel dissatisfaction with their job, and leave their organisation
416 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Table 3. Teacher’s Stress Dimension Indicator Number Corrected item total correlation Cronbach’s Alpha when item deleted ScoreTotal % Teacher'sStress Emotions 1 0.464 0.525 377 85.49 2 0.132 0.570 309 3 0.340 0.538 298 4 0.091 0.572 434 5 0.320 0.538 311 6 0.056 0.604 483 ThinkingProcess 7 0.372 0.527 348 78.91 8 0.363 0.529 278 9 0.185 0.561 290 10 0.418 0.519 303 11 0.062 0.603 532 12 0.458 0.518 253 ConditionPhysical 13 0.231 0.554 411 93.20 14 0.108 0.575 293 15 0.322 0.630 445 16 0.240 0.553 339 17 0.205 0.558 421 18 0.184 0.561 459
417 ©2020 TheauthorsandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved. Table 4. Teacher Satisfaction Dimension Indicator Number corCorrecteditemtotalrelation Cronbach’s Alpha when item deleted ScoreTotal % SatisfactionTeachers'Job Teachers’ feeling 1 441 0.785 441 16.642 549 0.795 549 3 468 0.784 468 Teachers’ work 4 524 0.775 524 16.52 5 478 0.777 478 6 560 0.772 560 7 468 0.791 468 8 576 0.783 576 9 416 0.776 416 10 335 0.788 335 11 502 0.779 502 Salary 12 596 0.777 596 19.59 13 572 0.768 572 14 610 0.772 610 15 510 0.782 510 Supervisor 16 460 0.774 460 14.3017 382 0.788 382 18 411 0.775 411 Teachers’ partner 19 502 0.782 502 17.14 20 506 0.786 506 21 462 0.788 462 22 539 0.778 539 23 494 0.796 494 24 500 0.788 500 Teachers’ promotion 25 506 0.775 506 15.81 26 489 0.777 489 27 452 0.788 452 28 452 0.776 452 29 409 0.784 409 Based on the normality test, teacher’s satisfaction (Y) has a significance value of 0.764, while the significance of school culture (X1) of 0.918, and teacher’s stress (X2) of 0.985. Therefore, using the normality Shapiro Wilk to the significant value of the residual standard data, we found that the data generally normal since the significance of those three variables is more than 0.05 The table also means that H0 is accepted; hence the regression model has fulfilled the normality assumption The linearity of school culture and teacher’s satisfaction also indicates the significance value of the standard residual of 0.639. Since this is more than 0.05, it means that school culture has a linear effect on teacher’s satisfaction The linearity test of teacher stress and teacher’s satisfaction results in a significant value on the residual standard of 0.510 is greater than 0.50. Thus, the teacher stress and teacher’s satisfaction have a linear effect. The result also shows the experimental data of school cultures (X1), teacher stress (X2), and teachers’ satisfaction (Y) into 142 vocational teachers using validity tests with the Product Moment correlation of
According to those calculations, the value of path coefficient ρ21 is 0.134, hence the structural equation form is X2 = 0,134 X1 + ε1. With R22.1 is 0.18, the magnitude of variables that affect the model into endogenous variables of teacher work stress is ε1= 0.82.
t F Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 136.193 6.309 21.587 62.4 0.000 School Culture (SC) 0.147 0.066 0.140 2.249 0.026 Teachers’ Work Stress (TWS) 0.942 0.089 0.658 10.547 0.000
a. Dependent Variable: Teachers’ Job Satisfaction (TJS)
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Pearson. Since we found that r arithmetic > 0.50, it means each item can be measured Cronbach’sAlphashows thatthevalueof school cultures is 0,85, teacher stress is 0,88, and teacher satisfaction is 0,83. Hence, the measuring instrument used is valid and reliable by using a statistic reliability test. To know the direct influence between school culture and teacher’s work stress, we put school culture (X1) as an exogenous variable and teacher’s work stress (X2) as endogenous variables on hypothesis testing between variable structure and substructure 1 with structural equation X2 = ρ21+ε1. This calculation uses SPSS 24, and we can see the result in Table 5. Table 5. Coefficients Sub Structure Test 1; Influence of School Culture to Teacher’s Work Stress Model UnstandardizedCoefficients StandardizedCoefficients t F Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 53.250 3.953 13.472 2.533 0.000 School Culture 0.099 0.062 0.134 1.591 0.114
a. Dependent Variable: Teachers’ Work Stress (TWS)
Further analysis to study the indirect influence of school cultures (X1) on teachers’ satisfaction (Y) which is mediated by teacher stress (X2) uses SPSS 24, and the result as shown in Table 6. The model path coefficient analysis of this substructure 2 is X3=ρ31X1+ρ32X2+ε2.
Figure 2. Path Coefficient Substructure Model 1
Table 6. Test Coefficients Sub-Structure 2. Influence of School Culture, Teachers’ Work Stress toward Teachers’ Satisfaction Model UnstandardizedCoefficients StandardizedCoefficients
c. School culture impacts on teacher’s job satisfaction mediated by teacher stress as 5.198%
Based on those calculations, the value of path coefficient ρ31=0.140 and ρ32= 0.658, hence we found that X3 = 0.14X1 0 658X2 + ε2. Since the value of R23.12 is 0.477, then the magnitude of other variables that affect outside the model towards endogenous variables X3 is ε2= 0.523.
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Figure 3. Coefficient of Path Substructure Model 2
Table 7. Path Coefficient, Direct and Indirect Impact Impact Causal effect totalTraversed Variable Direct X2 Indirect SC to TJS 0.14 0.14 ( 0.134) ( 0.658) 0.088 0.228 TWS to TJS 0.658 0.658 SC to TWS 0.134 0.134
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We also analyse total influence which is a combination of both previous effects According to the coefficient value, as shown in Table 7, we can conclude that all of these paths are significant.
a. School culture impacts on teacher’s stress directly and significantly as 1.795%.
b. Teacher’s stress impacts on teacher’s job satisfaction directly and significantly as 43 396%.
Based on some data above, we can reveal that school culture components like beliefs, norms, assumptions, and values having a significant and positive influence on teachers ‘job satisfaction. Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, school beliefs have a higher impact on it. If organisational culture goes up, then the job satisfaction of the teacher and the faculty members of the universities will also go up. School culture has many more influences on school performance by impacting the psychological of individual teachers and groups (Zhang & Li, 2013). On the other side, De Ruyter, Wetzels and Feinberg (2001) revealed that job stress impact on job satisfaction directly. The ambiguity of stress and conflict stress significantly impact on job satisfaction. In addition to this, teachers’ workload at school, causing physical symptoms effects on job satisfaction (De Simone, Cicotto & Lampis, 2016).
Regarding the analysis above, we found the form as follows:
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6. Acknowledgment
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5. Conclusion The result of the study concluded that school culture and teachers’ work stress significantly impact on teachers’ job satisfaction These school culture indicators consist of teachers’ feelings, career, salary, supervision, partner, and promotion.
Educational change and current curriculum initiatives caused teachers to work stress which impacts their job satisfaction (Moriarty, Edmonds, Blatchford & Martin, 2001). Thus, as shown in Table 4, both school culture and teachers' work stress can influence teachers’ job satisfaction.
We would like to express our gratitude to the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Jakarta for funding this publication.
High and conducive school beliefs, norms, assumptions, and values will directly impact teacher’s feelings whether they are pleased or not to work as a teacher. Teachers’ emotions, physical symptoms, and thinking processes are kinds of teacher’s work stress that also can impact on their job satisfaction. Thus, to increase teachers’ job satisfaction, effective school management not only needs to build and create positive school culture but also analyses as well as solve teachers’ work stress concisely. This finding is also could be a study in developing teachers’job satisfaction in theoretical aspect studies, namely the development of scientific studies forteacher’s job satisfaction, as well as practical in developing teacher’s quality. In developing teacher’s satisfaction skills among vocational teachers, it was found that physical aspects as the leading indicator of teacher’s stress variables. Thus, both the government and school need to analyse and evaluate teacher development policies. It is also an input for the government in taking the system of developing vocational teacher competencies, especially in optimizing and synchronizing between vocational schools and industries so that they become pro.
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Sun, A., & Xia, J. (2018). Teacher perceived distributed leadership, teacher self efficacy, and jobsatisfaction:AmultilevelSEMapproachusingthe2013TALISdata. International Journal of Educational Research, 92(April), 86 97. Troesch,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.09.006L.M.,&Bauer,C.E.(2017).Secondcareer teachers: Job satisfaction, job stress, and the role of self efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 389 398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.07.006 Waqas, A., Bashir, U., Sattar, M. F., Abdullah, H. M., Hussain, I., Anjum, W., … Arshad, R. (2014). Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction and Its Impact on Job Loyalty. International Journal of Learning and Development, 4(2), 141 161. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijld.v4i2.6095
Yang, X., Ge, C., Hu, B., Chi, T., & Wang, L. (2009). Relationship between quality of life and occupational stress among teachers. Public Health, 123(11), 750 755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2009.09.018
5.
The school support me to believe that the result never betrays the effort
The school apply the discipline strictly The school convince me about my next carrier The school motivates the teachers well
Theschoolgivemea chancetomybest
11
Appendix Questioners How School Culture and Teacher’s Work Stress Impact on Teacher’s Job Satisfaction SNoteA : Strong Agree A : Agree N : Neither Agree nor Disagree D : Disagree SD : Strong Disagree 1. School Organisation Number Statements SA A NAND D SD 1 School support the works with values 2
3
13
The school suggested the teachers be always productive in reaching school goals The school support the teachers to be creative in doing the duty The school applies well system in preventing the pressure
19
20.
15.
7
12
9
The school support me to decide any decisions relates to my responsibility as a teacher I do not understand my school values
School leader asked me to have the initiative to work School leader support me to increase the creativity School leader support me to have innovation in sharing the ideas
6
The school roles support the goal enrichment The school roles are relevant to school goal The school roles support me to do better in my duty
17
The school roles made me stress The school roles are relevant to my value
10
16
I am ready to take the risk in my duty
4
8
18
14.
2. Teacher’s Stress Work Number Statements SA A NAND D SD 1. I feel high tension facing my works 2. I cannot control my emotions when facing my works 3. I always feel angry when my students ignore me 4. I have difficulties in working, but I am afraid to tell them about my principles nor my partners 5. I enjoy and feel comfortable in my workings 6. I have no emotional distractions in doing my job 7. I feel dizzy in facing my works 8. I had diarrhea in facing my works 9. I cannot sleep well because thinking of my works 10. I feel very tired when teaching 11. I do not feel any pain in facing my jobs 12. I always take care of my health even though I have many works 13. I have a stomachache both at work and afterward 14. I think positively about the policies given to works 15. I felt that the demands on the quality of my works were unreasonable 16. I suspect things were badly planned 17. I am passionate and excited to think about the school progress 18. I am not excited to think about my job 19. Unwell explained authority or responsibility makes me feel depressed 20. I felt the workload assigned to me was reasonable
3. Teacher’s Job Satisfaction Number Statements SA A NAND D SD 1. I feel happy to work at this school 2. I felt the school atmosphere was fun 3. My school environment was fun 4. I feel unhappy to work at this school 5. IfeelhappywhenImeetstudentswho are ready to study 6. I do not like facing naughty students 7. My working is relevant to my expectations 8. I feel this job is what I dreamed of long ago 9. My job is relevant to my educational background, competency, and skills 10. My job gives me a better challenge 11. I understand my jobs and responsibility well 12. Working at this school made my days 13. This school is my best place to work 14 My works are interesting and challenging 15. The salary I got is relevant to my workload 16. The salary I got was huge 17. The salary I got is relevant to my educational background, experiences, and skills 18. Ialwaysfeelbeingsupervisedatwork 19. I was annoyed by the school supervisor 20. The school superviser is good 21. Theschoolleadersuperviseasneeded 22. The school leader support me to increase my skills 23. My partners support me well 24. In general, the relationship among partners is harmony 25. Theconflictwithschoolpartnermade me difficult to work 26. The school give some awards to the achievement teachers 27. The opportunity to get the promotions at this school tends to be easy 28. I feel my school appreciate me well in working 29. I think the school did not give enough rewards if I do well job 30. When I complete my job well, my school leader praises me well too
Keywords: Service quality; Supply chain education; Factor analysis; SERVPERF; Analysis of variance 1. Introduction Increased competition among universities, globalisation, and the continued waning of government funding has forced higher education institutions to offer excellent service to attract and maintain a sustainable student base (Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015; Shabani, Okebukola & Oyewole, 2014; Yusoff, McLeay &
Joash Mageto* , Rose Luke and Gert Heyns Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 0002 3678 2986 0003 1915 6956 https://orcid.org/0000 0003 0881 6525
424 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 19, No. 8, pp. 424 446, August https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.8.220203
Investigating the Quality of University Education: A Focus on Supply Chain Management
https://orcid.org/0000
https://orcid.org/0000
Abstract While the quality of higher education has received attention from researchers globally, its focus has been mainly on universities in ‘developed country’ contexts There has been limited research on the quality of higher education in African universities, and even less that has focused on the discipline of supply chain management In this paper, the quality of supply chain education of five universities in Kenya is investigated using a SERVPERF model. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 781 students enrolled for a supply chain management qualification. The data were analysed through confirmatory factor analysis and one way analysis of variance The findings are fourfold: (1) the service quality of supply chain education is at medium level in terms of the SERVPERF metrics; (2) four dimensions were identified by students as the most important aspects of service quality: course centeredness, academic and support staff helpfulness, service excellence and learning facilities; (3) a four factor SERVPERF model ofsupplychain servicequalityisdeveloped and(4)servicequality was significantly different across the selected universities. Although the service quality was rated at a medium level overall, the variability in quality across universities should alert educators and management to the need for a coordinated effort to improve particular aspects of students’ learning experiences. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by establishing that SERVPERF is a four factor model in the higher education sector.
Previous studies have observed that, in some cases, supply chain graduates are ill prepared to handle current supply chain issues, based on assessments of the modules taught (Leon & Uddin, 2016). Also, there is a limited understanding of quality issues in supply chain education at the tertiary level (Sun & Song, 2018).
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Woodruffe Burton, 2015). To create memorable encounters for students in higher education, universities measure service quality in their various programmes to identify problem areas and to improve (Abdullah, 2005; Yusoff et al., 2015). The instruments used to measure service quality in higher education include
2. Literature review
SERVQUAL (Galeeva, 2016; Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988), SERVPERF (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Luke & Heyns, 2018), and HEdPERF (Abdullah, 2006; Silva, Moraes, Makiya & Cesar, 2017). Brochado (2009) compared all the three instruments and concluded that SERVPERF and HEdPERF are better placed to measure service quality in higher education because they offer excellent measurement capability, have high reliability, and explained variance. Previous studies have measured service quality institution wide, that is, surveying the general student population to collect their perceptions on the service quality dimensions (Brochado, 2009; Abdullah, 2006; Teeroovengadum, Kamalanabhan & Seebaluck, 2016). Studies that have examined supply chain education have generally focused on research methods used (Sun & Song, 2018), supply chain skills (Lorentz, Töyli, Solakivi & Ojala, 2013), and service quality in supply chain education (Luke & Heyns, 2018). Previous studies have left a lacuna regarding the current state of service quality in supply chain education. Academics and practitioners are also unfamiliar with the service quality aspects that supply chain students value, as well as whether there are any service quality differences across universities. Therefore, academics and educationalists must measure the service quality of supply chain education regularly, especially given the pivotal role that supply chain management plays in the contemporary business environment.
In this section literature review is conducted on service quality of supply chain education, service quality models, and related works. The literature review helps
Finally, perspectives on the quality of supply chain education from students have notbeeninvestigatedadequately(Yusoffetal.,2015),although studiesfromsingle universities, covering all faculties, have been highlighted (Nadiri, Kandampully & Hussain, 2009). The current study furthers the discourse on the quality of university education by (1) focusing supply chain education in a developing country, (2) drawing a student perspective of the quality of supply chain educationand(3) applying the SERVPERF model making possible forcomparison with similar future studies. Therefore, the study aims at investigating student perspectives on the service quality of supply chain education in selected public universities using the SERVPERF instrument As such, this study answers the following questions: 1) What is the level of service quality of supply chain education?, 2) What aspects of service quality do supply chain students value?, and 3) Is the service quality of supply chain education uniform across universities? This study is likely to enhance the supply chain body of knowledge regarding the quality of training; from both student and developing country perspectives
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2.2 Service quality models
A supply chain education (SCE) can refer to systematic instruction in the area of supply chain management to meet the requirements of the business environment. It includes designing a curriculum and continuous improvement of the methods of instruction, to transfer knowledge in an excellent manner (Sun & Song, 2018).
Service quality as a construct has received attention in both the manufacturing and service industries for decades. Seth, Deshmukh, and Vrat (2005) identified 19 different service quality models including SERVQUAL, technical and functional quality model, attribute service quality model, SERVPERF, ideal value model of service quality, and PCP attribute model. Among researchers and practitioners, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) presented significant guidance on how the service quality construct can be measured in firms. They decomposed service quality into five dimensions, which are tangibility, responsiveness, reliability,
The quality of education can broadly be defined as the relevance of the training to industry requirements, in terms of the employability and entrepreneurship of trainees (Mittal, Garg & Yadav, 2018; Mohamedbhai, 2014). Quality of education depends on many factors including infrastructural facilities such as the availability of furniture and adequate classroom facilities, the availability of Wi Fi, a library equipped with relevant information and search systems, ICTequipped classrooms (with projectors, public address systems, and other suitable teaching aids), computer labs with appropriate learning applications, and adequate provision of light (Verma & Prasad, 2017; Amini Philips & Mukoro, 2016) Thus, adequate infrastructure iscritical tothe quality of education provided by tertiary institutions (Mittal, et al., 2018; Yusoff et al., 2015). Therefore, having the right educational infrastructure is likely to improve student teacher interaction, which mightresult in bettereducational outcomes (Sun& Song,2018).
2.1 Service quality of supply chain education
Also, academic staff in higher education institutions who conduct teaching and research as well as administration should have the right skills to promote high quality university education (Lubwama, Onen & Kasenene, 2017).
Currently, professional SCE is offered by tertiary institutions, which award diplomas and degree qualifications in Kenya (Commission of University Education (CUE), 2018). Globally, supply chain management as a discipline has developed tremendously over the last three decades owing to factors like globalisation, innovation, and advancements in technology (Akbari, 2018) The growth has also been observed in developing countries, and universities have responded by training students to handle supply chain management (SCM) related issues in the business environment. The rapid changes are still ongoing, implying that SCM professionals should be well trained, to be able to handle the increasing complexity (Sun & Song, 2018). The challenge is that, although the quality of business education has been examined (Yusoff et al., 2015), researchers have not adequately interrogated the service quality of supply chain education from the perspective of a student (Sun & Song, 2018)
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to discuss the main research concepts by presenting what is known and identify the gap that this study will help fill. The next section presents a discussion on the service quality of supply chain education.
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SERVPERF is a performance based method used to measure service quality (Cronin & Taylor, 1992). They argued that service quality should be measured using an attitude scale, preferably the performance based SERVPERF metric, which is better than that of SERVQUAL. The SERVPERF metric has 22 items that are measured using an attitude scale as opposed to that of SERVQUAL, which measures the gap between expectations and perceptions using 44 items (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Yusoff et al., 2015). The 22 items are the indicators of the five dimensions of service quality, that is, tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. In the performance based SERVPERF model, service quality is measured using the following formula provided by Seth, Deshmukh, and Vrat (2005): ���� =∑ (������) �� ��=1 SQWhere:=Overall service quality; k = the number of attributes; Pij = performance perception of stimulus (i) , in relation to attribute (j)
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. assurance, and empathy. They argued that service quality could be measured by finding the gap (expectations minus perceptions) between customer expectations and the perceived service delivered at the firm’s facilities using the SERVQUAL (service quality) model (Seth et al., 2005). A negative value will imply that customer expectations have been met, while a positive value indicates that they have not. Although the SERVQUAL model has had many different applications over the years (Parasuraman et al., 1985), some scholars (Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015; Yusoff et al., 2015) have argued that the model cannot be applied in every industry. Thus, new models have been developed for application to specific industries, such as education. The service quality of an educational institution can be measured using different metrics, including SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, and HEdPERF (Abdullah, 2005; Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015). The selection of a model is subjective, although Rodrigues, Barkur, Varambally, and Golrooy Motlagh (2011) claim that SERVPERF metrics are better when measuring service quality in more intensive, service orientated contexts, such as higher education institutions because they are performance based In agreement, Cronin and Taylor (1992) observe that, when measuring service quality in higher education institutions, the SERVPERF metrics are likely to offer reliable estimations with less bias when compared to those of SERVQUAL. However, Brochado (2009) argued that SERVPERF and HEdPERF produce almost similar results; thus, any of them can be applied to measure service quality in highereducation institutions. Besides, Souca (2011) claimed that SERVQUAL measures customer satisfaction rather than service quality. Therefore, Jain and Gupta (2004) find the SERVPERF model to be psychometrically sound with greater “instrument parsimoniousness” and is therefore appropriate for adjudicating an organisation’s overall service quality.
The relevance ofusing SERVPERF metrics tomeasure the servicequality ofhigher education has received considerable attention from researchers, who, in most cases, have favoured SERVPERF over SERVQUAL (Rodrigues et al., 2011; Yusoff
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Several studies have considered service quality in higher education, however, searches through several databases, including SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, EBSCOHost and SABINET using the terms “quality”, “supply chain” and “education” have revealed few related studies. The “quality” term was dropped and the results indicate that the majority of research relates to curriculum development and the identification of skills to incorporate in supply chain education (Mageto & Luke, 2020; Purnomo, et al., 2020; Luke & Heyns, 2019; Colicchia, et al., 2018; Lorentz, Töyli, Solakivi & Ojala, 2013; Gonzalez et al., 2008; Sauber et al., 2008). Others highlight the importance of supply chain education (Erturgut & Soysekerci, 2011), building specific skills into supply chain education (Pekkanen, et al., 2020), tools for supply chain education (Holweg & Bicheno, 2002), and educational content development for modern supply chains (Li, 2020)
2.3 Related work
In this study, the service quality of supply chain education is described from the perspective of the student, to help guide university academics and stakeholders in identifying areas for improvement. This section presents a discussion on research design, respondents, instrument, data collection, and statistical analysis, in that order. Research design
3. Methodology
The study followed a survey research design. A survey design was selected because (1) it was best suited to answer the research questions at hand, (2) it allowed the collection of data from a large sample of the student population within a short time when compared to the qualitative approach (Ponto, 2015), and (3) it was easy to convert the students’ opinions and attitudes towards the quality of supply chain education they receive into numbers.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. et al., 2015). Many studies have used SERVPERF to measure service quality in higher education, for example, Brochado (2009), Yusoff et al. (2015), and Mahmoud and Khalifa (2015). The users of SERVPERF favour it because it provides results that can guide future decisions, given that it assesses perceived performance; provides the real state of service quality, as perceived by customers; uses fewer indicators comparedtoSERVQUAL; is likely tobe less biased; explains more variance; and holds higher validity and reliability (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015; Yusoff et al., 2015). Based on the reviewed literature, this study selected the SERVPERF metric to measure the service quality of supply chain education in universities.
Because so few studies have addressed the specific issue of the service quality of supply chain education, previous studies on the service quality of higher education, in general, were consulted to form a framework for this research. In this regard, there are numerous studies to rely on. Early works by Gustafsson & Larsson (1997) used two total quality models, namely the Total Perceived Quality Model and Quality Model in conjunction with the SERVQUAL model to describe the service quality elements in higher education. Thus, the current study serves to bridge the gap that has been left in the literature regarding the quality of supply chain education.
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The instrument used to collect data for this study is an industry accepted SERVPERF model and had been utilised over the years. However, given the significance of a pilot phase in research (In, 2017), the instrument was piloted on 50 students. There was no issue identified on all the 22 items of the instrument. As such, the pilot data was included in the main research. Data collection
Instrument
The questionnaire items were adopted from the SERVPERF instrument used by Luke and Heyns (2018), which had been adapted from the Cronin and Taylor (1992) instrument. The questionnaire items focused on service performance and collected student perceptions across five dimensions, that is tangibility (four items), reliability (five items), responsiveness (four items), assurance (four items), and empathy (five items). All of the items were measured on a five point Likert type scale (where 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree). The respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed with the statements. Only perception data was collected, as was also done by Luke and Heyns (2018) in South Africa
The number of returned valid questionnaires was 781, resulting in a 39 per cent response rate, which was comparable with other logistics surveys, as observed by Wagner and Kemmerling (2010). Nonresponse bias was tested according to the procedure provided by Armstrong and Overton (1977). Nonresponse bias was ruled out as there was no statistical difference in responses received early in the survey, and those collected in the last two weeks. To establish the level of service quality, descriptive statistics were applied, specifically the mean rating and standard deviation in SPSS version 26. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify the latent factors as well as the service quality aspects that supply chain students value.A confirmatoryfactoranalysis (CFA)was performed in Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 26, which established a four
The university management, lecturers, and their support staff are service providers, while the students are considered to be the customers. A study on service performance was likely to benefit from surveying the customers; as such, the respondents were students enrolled for a supply chain management qualification. This means that students targeted were at least in their second year of study. This is because first year students take general modules and only start specialisation in the second year of study.
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Respondents
A paper based survey was conducted between May and August 2018 at five selected major universities offering supply chain related courses. The survey was part of a wider study on supply chain skills gaps. During data collection, lecturers were requested to allow the students some time at the end of their lectures to respond to the questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed in the last 20-30 minutes of the lecture and collected at the end The students were requested to volunteer to complete the questionnaire, and the objectives of the study were explained to them. A total of 2 000 questionnaires were distributed across five universities. Statistical analysis
The descriptive statistics of the SERVPERF dimensions per university, and overall, were examined, and the results presented, as shown in Table 1. The highest ranked item overall is under the reliability dimension, “Courses are taught by highly knowledgeable teaching staff” (M=4.15; SD=0.820) This item was also highly ranked in universities A (M=4.20; SD=0.796), B (M=3.86; SD=0.939) and C (M=4.23; SD=0.803). The highest ranked item in university D was “Library (including online) has the latest literature in your area of interest” (M=4.23; SD=0.913), and “Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are accurately captured and recorded” (M=4.48; SD=0.814) in university E. The lowest ranked item overall was also under the reliability dimension, “When something is promised by a certain time, it is always provided” (M=3.10; SD=1.093) signifying the variability of perceptions across universities regarding the dimension. The lowest ranked items per university included “Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are made available timeously” (M=2.66; SD=1.407) in university B; “The lecture venues have modern and latest equipment” (M=2.94; SD=1.135) in C; and “When students have problems, staff are polite, even if not able to help” (M=2.83; SD=1.149) in university D. The results Fpresentedsofarindicatethatthereisservicequalityvariabilityacrossuniversities.urtherresultspresentationqualifiesthisclaim
factor SERVPERF model. Finally, service quality differences across the surveyed universities were tested using one way ANOVA. The results are presented in the next section. Results
4.
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The five universities were labelled A, B, C, D, and E, and actual names were withheld as only a general permit to conduct research had been obtained from the Kenyan National Commission of Science, Technology and Innovation Respondents per university were distributed as 26.6 per cent, 11 per cent, 37.4 per cent, 21.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent for A, B, C, D, and E, respectively. The majority (52.1%) of the respondents were male This may be indicative of the overall student distribution within the institutions surveyed. Age distribution revealed that 77.7 per cent of the respondents were 18 to 27 year olds with 7.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent of the population being in the 28 37, and above 38 years age groups, respectively. The age distribution was expected since students at this level are generally young. Among the respondents, only 25 per cent were employed with the majority being unemployed. This huge unemployment status was expected since most students only secure jobs after obtaining their qualifications. The unemployed proportion might be an indicator of vast youth unemployment in Kenya (Hall, 2017). The respondents with jobs were employed in various positions, including in logistics and supply chain management (49.3%), accounting and finance (13.4%), customer service (15%), and marketing (13.4%); while 8.9 per cent indicated that they were self employed
Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are accurately captured and recorded 3.71 1.127 3.64 1.124 3.10 1.203 3.86 1.030 3.74 1.165 4.48 .814
Reliability When something is promised by a certain time, it is always provided 3.10 1.093 3.16 1.004 2.94 1.141 3.03 1.182 3.13 1.001 3.73 .935
Staff has students' best interest as a major objective 3.65 1.006 3.59 1.025 3.41 1.165 3.80 .933 3.54 1.004 4.05
Responsiveness Students are informed of schedules and changes in schedules in advance 3.75 1.023 3.74 1.015 3.32 1.132 3.81 1.030 3.82 .942 4.18 .733
Students are able to trust the administrative staff 3.54 1.022 3.55 .979 3.23 1.108 3.63 .988 3.48 1.085 3.81 .814
Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are made available timeously 3.52 1.136 3.48 1.085 2.66 1.407 3.58 1.048 3.80 1.025 4.09 .750
SERVPERF
Overall
The lecture venues have modern and latest equipment 3.12 1.104 3.23 1.079 2.87 1.200 2.94 1.135 3.34 .961 3.95 .722
Service hours of learning facilities accommodate all students 3.74 1.028 3.70 1.048 3.51 1.142 3.80 .992 3.74 1.025 4.09 .750
Administrative staff are quick to respond to student requests 3.19 1.161 3.24 1.134 2.78 1.207 3.32 1.134 3.05 1.199 3.59 .854 Assurance
Empathy Teaching staff are approachable to assist with coursework queries 3.93 .940 3.89 .937 3.65 1.076 3.99 .912 3.99 .922 4.27 Staff members give students individual attention when needed 3.66 1.038 3.62 1.041 3.49 1.152 3.76 .989 3.56 1.066 4.14
.910
.785
Staff understands the specific needs of students 3.52 1.058 3.52 1.005 3.29 1.143 3.63 1.041 3.38 1.098 4.00 .873
Tangibility
When students have problems, staff are polite, even if not able to help 3.13 1.148 3.09 1.091 3.04 1.131 3.32 1.167 2.83 1.149 3.68 .894
.813
The appearance of the physical facilities is attractive 3.31 1.080 3.39 1.013 3.25 1.057 3.02 1.106 3.71 .993 3.77 .922
The teaching staff respects lecture and exam schedules 4.08 .913 4.04 .897 3.66 1.009 4.20 .878 4.10 .908 4.38 .669
items
The behaviour of teaching staff instils confidence in you 3.76 .967 3.74 .965 3.58 .885 3.78 .967 3.80 1.028 4.05 .740
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The course material is up to date and relevant 3.90 .988 3.91 .911 3.46 1.172 3.86 1.047 4.17 .803 4.09 .750
Teaching staff is dependable 3.83 .949 3.83 .958 3.48 1.108 3.92 .883 3.84 .940 3.86
and
Library (including online) has the latest literature in your area of interest 3.78 1.122 3.81 1.048 3.26 1.225 3.65 1.174 4.23 .913 3.59 .908
Courses are taught by highly knowledgeable teaching staff 4.15 .820 4.20 .796 3.86 .939 4.23 .803 4.09 .805 4.32 .646
Administrative staff is friendly and polite 3.46 1.065 3.52 1.043 3.22 1.105 3.64 1.001 3.16 1.118 3.76 .944
.703
The department’s operating hours are convenient to students 3.88 .938 3.88 .934 3.67 .957 3.91 .943 3.88 .927 4.23
All rights reserved. Table 1: SERVPERF dimensions - Descriptive
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. statistics reliability A B C D E scale Mean DeviationStd. Mean DeviationStd. Mean DeviationStd. Mean DeviationStd. Mean DeviationStd. Mean DeviationStd.
.774
Source: Research data
The five SERVPERF dimensions, as identified in the literature, were ranked based on the mean statistic. Overall, empathy (M=3.73) was ranked highest, as well as in universities A, B, and C and second in D and E. In contrast, tangibility (M=3.53) was ranked lowest overall, as well as in universities C and E. Reliability was ranked third by universities A, B, and C. The findings imply that the responsiveness dimension required attention in universities A and B; tangibility needed attention in C and E; while assurance required attention in D, although it was also ranked second overall and in A, B and C The dimension rank statistics are shown in Table 2. The overall service quality score was calculated based on the full SERVPERF model items and presented in Table 2. The findings indicate that, in general, the service quality of supply chain education in universities is moderate, with students from the only surveyed private university revealing higher service quality levels. The findings further indicate that the service quality of supply chain education at university B is relatively lower than that of its peers, and this may call for attention from the management. Mean statistic
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Table 2:
and rank per dimension Overall A B C D E SERVPERF scale itemsMeanRankMeanRankMeanRankMeanRankMeanRankMeanRank Empathy 3.73 1 3.701 1 3.514 1 3.815 1 3.669 2 4.136 2 Assurance 3.65 2 3.661 2 3.377 2 3.741 2 3.572 5 3.869 4 Reliability 3.64 3 3.628 3 3.333 3 3.721 3 3.584 4 4.142 1 Responsiveness 3.55 4 3.540 5 3.056 5 3.631 4 3.607 3 3.988 3 Tangibility 3.53 5 3.590 4 3.210 4 3.370 5 3.870 1 3.850 5 Service quality score 3.62 3.620 3.300 3.660 3.660 4.000 Source: Research data The reliability of the SERVPERF items was examined using the Cronbach’s alpha per dimension resulting in, tangibility (0.805), reliability (0.724), responsiveness (0.792), and empathy (0.866) all being above the minimum acceptable value of 0.6 Assurance was 0.528, indicating low internal consistency in this dimension. All the dimensions had significant and moderate positive correlations, signifying that the scales measured service quality in the same direction. These are shown in Table 3. Table 3: DimensionsCorrelations Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Tangibility 1 Reliability .580** 1 Responsiveness .567** .703** 1 Assurance .432** .521** .550** 1 Empathy .512** .658** .685** .575** 1 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed). Source: Research data
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The theoretical model underpinning this study is the SERVPERF as presented by Cronin and Taylor (1992). To understand the current data better and to gain more insights, factor analysis was performed to identify the pattern structure of the items. Factor analysis was conducted on all of the 22 SERVPERF metrics using principal component analysis and an equamax rotation technique by suppressing all indicators with a less than 0.5 factor loading The Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.944, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was statistically significant (p value < 0.001), revealing that the data was suitable for factor analysis. Four factors were extracted, based on Eigenvalues greater than 1. The overall variance explained by the four factors was 62.303 per cent, revealing that the data explained more than 50 per cent of the variance (the factors extracted are shown in Table 4). The reliability of all of the four extracted factors was tested, resulting in Cronbach’s alpha (α) values for factors 1, 2, 3, and 4 as 0.802, 0.761, 0.821, and 0.895, all well above the threshold value of 0.6 (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Pallant, 2010), as illustrated in Table 4. The values reveal high internal consistency and uni dimensionality of the latent variables Three indicators; “When students have problems, staff are polite, even if not able to help”; “The behaviour of teaching staff instils confidence in you”; and “The department’s operating hours are convenient to students”, were excluded from further analysis due to cross loading problems. This exclusion did not prejudice the results. The overall scale reliability for all of the 19 retained indicators resulted in α = 0.931, indicating uni dimensionality of the scale. The indicator loadings were generally strong, ranging from 0.503 to 0.830. The extracted factors 1, 2, 3, and 4 were interpreted based on the indicators loading onto them, and previous literature (Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015; Yusoff et al., 2015) as facilities, course centeredness, service excellence, and academic and support staff helpfulness respectively. The interpretation helped to identify the factors that students value regarding service quality in higher education. Table 4: Rotated Component Matrix
loadingFactor Eigenvalue % of explainedvariance Reliability (α) Factor 1 Facilities 9.835 18.616 0.802
Service quality model development
T1 The lecture venues have modern and latest equipment .820 T2 The appearance of the physical facilities is attractive .830 T4 Library (including online) has the latest literature in your area of interest .648 RL1 When something is promised by a certain time,itisalwaysprovided .538
434 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Factor 2 Course centeredness 1.524 15.042 0.761 T3 The course material is up to date and relevant .600 RL3 Courses are taught by highly knowledgeable teaching staff .685 RL4 scheduleslectureTheteachingstaffrespectsandexam .701 E1 Teaching staff are approachable to assist with coursework queries .602 Factor 3 Service excellence 1.327 14.637 0.821 RL5 Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are accurately captured and recorded .690 RS1 Students are informed of schedules and changes in schedules in advance .536 RS2 Service hours of learning facilities accommodate all students .555 RS3 Assignment, test and exam feedback and marks are made available timeously .692 RS4 Administrative staff are quick to respond to student requests .621 Factor 4 Academic and support staff helpfulness 1.021 14.007 0.895 A2 Students are able to trust the administrative staff .602 A3 Administrative staff is friendly and polite .672 A4 Teaching staff is dependable .503 E2 Staff members give students individual attention when needed .706 E3 Staff has students' best interest as a major objective .744 E4 Staff understands the specific needs of students .742 Source: Research data A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was run using the analysis of moment structures (AMOS) 26 to statistically test the linkages between the four latent
435 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. variables and indicators based on the SERVPERF model structure (Byrne, 2010). The Chi Square value was statistically significant, and the value ��2/degree of freedom (df) was largerthan 5, signifying that the data was notfit for the specified model. To improve the model, three low loading indicators were eliminated stepwise while monitoring improvements of the model fit indices. Elimination of the three indicators did not prejudice the theoretical underpinning of the model. Modification indexes were examined and used to improve model fit. The final model parameters and fit indexes are shown in Table 5, and the final structural model in Figure 1. All the model estimates were statistically significant as the critical ratios (CR) were greater than 1.96, as illustrated in the model parameters in Table 5. The model Chi square value was statistically significant, implying that the data wasnotfitforthe specified model. Otherfit indexes, thatis, the goodness of fit index (GFI), normed fit index (NFI), and comparative fit index (CFI), were, however, all above 0.9, indicating that the specified model was fit for the data (Mahmoud&Khalifa,2015; Schreiber, Nora,Stage, Barlow&King,2006) The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value of 0.08 indicated that the final model was fit, as advised by Schreiber et al. (2006), though marginally. Table 5: CFA four factor model parameters and fit statistics variableObserved Latent variable Estimate S.E. C.R. P SSQT4 < Facilities 1,000 SSQT2 < Facilities 1,433 ,098 14,545 *** SSQT1 < Facilities 1,533 ,105 14,634 *** SSQE1 < Course 1,000 SSQRL4 < Course ,990 ,064 15,521 *** SSQRL3 < Course ,886 ,057 15,530 *** SSQT3 < Course ,852 ,063 13,435 *** SSQRS4 < Service 1,000 SSQRS3 < Service 1,027 ,052 19,811 *** SSQRS2 < Service ,742 ,047 15,943 *** SSQRL5 < Service ,873 ,051 17,159 *** SSQE4 < Helpfulness 1,000 SSQE3 < Helpfulness ,988 ,039 25,292 *** SSQE2 < Helpfulness ,925 ,040 23,021 *** SSQA3 < Helpfulness ,886 ,043 20,448 *** SSQA2 < Helpfulness ,882 ,041 21,370 *** Chi square 561.893, df=95; p<0.05 GFI 0.913>0.9 NFI 0.910>0.9 CFI 0.924>0.9 Source: Research data
Figure 1: Supply chain education service quality model
The four factor model obtained, as well as the reduced number of indicators from the original 22, was found to be consistent with previous studies that have
Source: research data
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437 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. investigated service quality in higher education using the SERVPERF model (Mahmoud & Khalifa, 2015). By implication, the complexity of the model varies from one higher educational context to another. Correlations between the four extracted factors were tested. All the correlations were statistically significant, positive, and substantive, as presented in Table 6 The correlations are indicative of the interrelationships between the extracted factors, implying that to achieve expected service quality levels, the four factors should be addressed jointly. Table 6: Dimension correlations Factor extracted Facilities centerednessCourse excellenceservice helpfulnessstaffsupportandAcademic Facilities 1 Course centeredness .569** 1 Service excellence .603** .634** 1 Academic and support staff helpfulness .571** .642** .720** 1 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed). Source: Research data The difference in student perceptions on the SERVPERF scale between the various universitieswastestedusingone wayANOVA.The results revealeda statistically significant difference in all of the four extracted factors, that is, Facilities (F4,748 =10.874, ρ<0.05), Course centeredness (F4,746 =7.233, ρ<0.05), service excellence (F4,753 =11.686, ρ<0.05) and academic and support staff helpfulness (F4,750 =5.138, ρ<0.05). The post hoc tests were conducted using the Tukey test to reveal the specific groups that had significant differences. The test results were examinedfor each of the four factors. Under facilities, specific differences were observed between all the universities, except between university A and E (ρ=0.602), university B and C (ρ=0.546), C and E (0.065), and D and E (ρ=1.00). The specific differences are illustrated in the post hoc test Table B in the Appendix. Table 7: Results of the one-way ANOVASum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Facilities BetweenGroups 31.264 4 7.816 10.874 .000 Within Groups 537.625 748 .719 centCourseeredness BetweenGroups 13.653 4 3.413 7.233 .000 Within Groups 352.036 746 .472 excellenceService BetweenGroups 31.025 4 7.756 11.686 .000 Within Groups 497.116 749 .664 Academic and support helpfulnessstaff BetweenGroups 13.854 4 3.464 5.138 .000 Within Groups 502.917 746 .674 Source: Research data
Source: Research data 5. Discussion
The specific significant differences were identified from the post hoc tests for each of the factors. For facilities, University A was significantly different from B and C; B was significantly different from D and E; and C was significantly different from D and E, as illustrated in Table A (Appendix).
The objectives of this study were: firstly, to determine the level of service quality of supply chain education in universities; secondly, to establish service quality factors that supply chain students consider important in universities and model the factors based on the SERVPERF model; thirdly, to establish whether there were service quality differences across the selected universities. Each of the objectives is discussed in the following paragraphs. The measurement of the service quality of higher education is essential in identifying the areas or dimensions that students are not satisfied with, to take corrective action. Yusoffet al.(2015) establishedthat servicequality isa significant determinant of customer satisfaction in higher education. Overall, the service quality of supply chain education is rated at a medium level. This finding agrees with other studies that have investigated service quality in higher education, although the contexts differ, given that some originate from developed countries (Rodrigues et al., 2011; Galeeva, 2016). Whilst service quality relating to the course centeredness was high, signifying that the content and instructional methodologies were up to date, universities should improve facilities. Facilities may include adequate and conducive lecture venues, modernised libraries as well as the availability of recreational facilities. The finding that universities are struggling with inadequate facilities, that are key to offering high quality education, supports Munene’s (2016) observation that many public universities do not have adequate Underlyingfacilities.dimensions of service quality from the perspective of a student were identified as 1) course centeredness, 2) academic and support staff helpfulness, 3) service excellence, and 4) facilities This finding supported the observations of Sultan and Yin Wong (2012) who identified academic, administration, and facilities as core
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Table 8: Factor rankings Extracted factors Mean Std. Deviation Course centeredness 4.0223 .69827 Academic and support staff helpfulness 3.6105 .83008 Service excellence 3.5846 .83749 Facilities 3.3303 .86977
The extracted factors were ranked using the mean statistic. Course centeredness is ranked top, while Facilities were ranked lowest This might imply that service quality issues related to facilities require immediate attention to improve the teaching and learning of supply chain management in universities. To better understand the meaning of the responses, as shown in Table 8; the service quality levels were categorised as: low (<3.0), medium (≥3.0<4.0), and high (≥4.0), according to Rodrigues et al. (2011). As such, the overall service quality of supply chain education is at medium (Mean = 3.637) level.
In addition to identifying the factors that students value, a four factor supply chain education service quality model was developed. The model is based on 16 indicators, which were clustered into facilities (3 indicators), course centredness (4 indicators), service excellence (4 indicators), and academic and support staff helpfulness (5 indicators) as opposed to the 22 in Cronin and Taylor (1992) study. The indicators identified are likely to be the most relevant measures of the service quality of supply chain education. The resultant model is expected to encourage research on this area given that the SERVPERF model applied in developed countries (for example, Cronin and Taylor model) may not be used or fit directly in another context, more especially in a developing country context.
The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. aspects of service quality in higher education as well as Mahmoud and Khalifa (2015), who identified faculty individualised attention, support staff helpfulness, and support staff empathy as critical factors for students However, the current model is more enriched having identified four factors including course related materials, general service excellence, and staff helpfulness when compared to Sultan and Yin Wong (2012) and Mahmoud and Khalifa (2015) models. Course centeredness refers to the service quality elements that relate to supply chain modules; such as the relevance of the learning materials as well as the quality of the teaching staff in this area. The extraction of course centeredness as one of the factors of service quality supports Abdullah’s (2005) study, in which course content was also identified as a service quality aspect in higher education. The students rated this factor highly, implying that highly qualified staff teach the supply chain courses and that the course materials are up to date. The finding supported the claim by Purgailis and Zaksa (2012), that study content is a significant consideration when assessing the service quality of higher education. Academic and support staff helpfulness was identified as a measure of service quality in supply chain education. Staff helpfulness generally refers to the readiness to understand the individual student’s needs and meeting them. In support of this study’s findings, Yusoff et al. (2015) identified staff helpfulness as one of the critical factors that influence student helpfulness perceptions The contributions of staff to service quality was also expressed by Mahmoud and Khalif (2015), who categorised it as faculty individualised attention, and support staff helpfulness and empathy, which they termed as the main dimensions of service quality in higher education. Besides, the finding on the excellence of academic staff as a measure of quality in higher education supports Atwebembeire, Musaazi, Ssentamu and Malunda (2018) study that established a positive link between academic staff excellence and quality of university education. The students rated the service excellence aspect as being of average quality, implying that it requires attention from management. Issues affecting service excellence might include not keeping to schedules of service hours; administrative staff not responding adequately to student requests; as well as late feedback and low accuracy, especially in tests and assignments. Finally, the facilities aspect of service quality was the lowest rated, possibly echoing the various reports on higher education issues, as observed by Munene (2016). Facilities may relate to inadequate library resources, including online access, unattractive lecture rooms, a lack of appropriate furniture, lowlighting, anda lack ofequipmentlikeprojectors.Inadequatefacilitiesaffectservicequality negatively, as also claimed by Brochado (2009) and Yusoff et al. (2015).
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6. Conclusion, implications and future research
The generic five dimensions of service quality, as expounded by Cronin and Taylor (1992), might not be directly applicable to every context. As such, supply chain students identified four factors or dimensions that influence their perceptions of service quality, that is, course centeredness, staff helpfulness, service excellence, and facilities. Therefore, supply chain education managers could be guided more specifically on areas or factors that students value and on which they can consequently focus to improve student perceptions of service quality. The differences might imply that supply chain students experience a highly varied service quality environment across different universities. Supply chain education managers are called upon to coordinate efforts to improve the learning experience of students, especially in terms of facilities and commitment to service This study’s contributionto the body of supply chain skills knowledge canbe seen as four fold. First, the service quality of supply chain education has been established using the SERVPERF tool. Second, four aspects of service quality considered as essential to students were identified; third, a modified SEVPERF model of supply chain education service quality has been developed; and fourth, service quality was found to be different from one institution to the other, based on the four extracted factors that students value, calling for a coordinated approach in the management of supply chain education in Kenya.
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The differences in service quality between the universities were established using a one way ANOVA test. There were statistically significant differences in service quality between the universities, as tested for each of the factors that students value. The test factors were course centeredness, academic and support staff helpfulness, service excellence, and facilities. The differences indicate that universities deliver varying levels of service quality to supply chain students. By implication, there is little uniformity in terms of the quality of course materials, learning facilities, staff helpfulness, or commitment to service excellence. However, it is also essential to observe that there could be other factors that were not surveyed in this study, which could have contributed to the differences; for example, class sizes, the appearance of facilities, and the general perceptions of support staff readiness (Brochado, 2009). It is worth highlighting that universities can improve overall service quality by addressing the four factors identified jointly, as opposed to individually.
The measurement of service quality is important to higher education managers as it has a direct influence on student satisfaction as well as on performance (Yusoff et al., 2015). In this study, the service quality level of supply chain education from the perspective of a student is considered to be medium. This could imply that the students are generally indifferent to the service they receive from the universities. This finding should inform management that supply chain students might not be impressed with the overall service quality, especially in areas related to learning facilities, service assurance, and empathy. The areas mentioned above are recommended as focus areas for university management to improve students’ perceptions of service quality.
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The current research findings might be limited to the selected context; however, given the convincing inferential statistics obtained, it can be generalised to all universities in Kenya Based on the findings of this study there are opportunities for further research, for example, (1) advancing theory on quality of supply chain education through a comparative analysis of students’ perceptions from other contexts among the developing countries; (2) application of different research methodologies and instruments such as HEdPERF, and comparing results across universities and countries; and (3) replications of the study in future to monitor changes in service quality of supply chain education in the same context. This will measure whether managerial decisions are taken in the universities to improve the service quality of supply chain education.
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445 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Appendix Table A: Multiple Comparisons TukeyDependentHSDVariable (I) Name Universityof (J) Name Universityof DifferenceMean (I J) Std. Error Sig. 95% Confidence Interval Lower Bound Upper Bound Facilities A B .31119* .11093 .041 .0078 .6145 C .23540* .07775 .021 .0228 .4480 D .22137 .08978 .100 .4669 .0241 E .36481 .19029 .309 .8852 .1555 B A .31119* .11093 .041 .6145 .0078 C .07578 .10616 .953 .3661 .2145 D .53256* .11526 .000 .8477 .2174 E .67600* .20356 .008 1.2326 .1194 C A .23540* .07775 .021 .4480 .0228 B .07578 .10616 .953 .2145 .3661 D .45677* .08381 .000 .6860 .2276 E .60021* .18755 .012 1.1131 .0874 D A .22137 .08978 .100 .0241 .4669 B .53256 .11526 .000 .2174 .8477 C .45677* .08381 .000 .2276 .6860 E .14344 .19285 .946 .6708 .3839 E A .36481 .19029 .309 .1555 .8852 B .67600 .20356 .008 .1194 1.2326 C .60021* .18755 .012 .0874 1.1131 D .14344 .19285 .946 .3839 .6708 centerednessCourse A B .34522* .08989 .001 .0994 .5910 C .05945 .06309 .880 .2320 .1131 D .09327 .07262 .701 .2919 .1053 E .27586 .15747 .403 .7065 .1547 B A .34522* .08989 .001 .5910 .0994 C .40466 .08609 .000 .6401 .1693 D .43849* .09330 .000 .6936 .1834 E .62108* .16801 .002 1.0805 .1617 C A .05945 .06309 .880 .1131 .2320 B .40466* .08609 .000 .1693 .6401 D .03383 .06786 .988 .2194 .1517 E .21642 .15533 .632 .6412 .2083 D A .09327 .07262 .701 .1053 .2919 B .43849* .09330 .000 .1834 .6936 C .03383 .06786 .988 .1517 .2194 E .18259 .15944 .782 .6186 .2534 E A .27586 .15747 .403 .1547 .7065 B .62108* .16801 .002 .1617 1.0805 C .21642 .15533 .632 .2083 .6412 D .18259 .15944 .782 .2534 .6186 Service excellence A B .50379 .10707 .000 .2110 .7966 C .11183 .07471 .565 .3161 .0925 D .07152 .08583 .920 .3062 .1632 E .54877* .18675 .028 1.0594 .0381 B A .50379 .10707 .000 .7966 .2110 C .61562* .10250 .000 .8959 .3353 D .57531* .11086 .000 .8785 .2722 E 1.05256* .19950 .000 1.5981 .5070 C A .11183 .07471 .565 .0925 .3161 B .61562* .10250 .000 .3353 .8959 D .04031 .08006 .987 .1786 .2592 E .43693 .18417 .124 .9405 .0667 D A .07152 .08583 .920 .1632 .3062 B .57531* .11086 .000 .2722 .8785 C .04031 .08006 .987 .2592 .1786 E .47725 .18895 .086 .9939 .0394 E A .54877* .18675 .028 .0381 1.0594 B 1.05256* .19950 .000 .5070 1.5981 C .43693 .18417 .124 .0667 .9405 D .47725 .18895 .086 .0394 .9939 A B .25662 .10736 .119 .0370 .5502 C .12032 .07536 .500 .3264 .0857
446 ©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved. Academic and support helpfulnessstaff D .10725 .08671 .730 .1298 .3443 E .34617 .18817 .351 .8607 .1684 B A .25662 .10736 .119 .5502 .0370 C .37693* .10293 .002 .6584 .0955 D .14936 .11151 .667 .4543 .1556 E .60279* .20081 .023 1.1519 .0537 C A .12032 .07536 .500 .0857 .3264 B .37693* .10293 .002 .0955 .6584 D .22757* .08116 .041 .0056 .4495 E .22586 .18568 .742 .7336 .2819 D A .10725 .08671 .730 .3443 .1298 B .14936 .11151 .667 .1556 .4543 C .22757* .08116 .041 .4495 .0056 E .45342 .19057 .122 .9745 .0677 E A .34617 .18817 .351 .1684 .8607 B .60279* .20081 .023 .0537 1.1519 C .22586 .18568 .742 .2819 .7336 D .45342 .19057 .122 .0677 .9745 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. Source: Research data
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The results show that there are deficiencies relating to teachers' content knowledge and competence. This finding suggests that teachers in rural areas should undergo professional development to prepare them to teach learners at rural schools. This development should include establishing professional learning communities for sharing scarce instructional resources between various schools
1. Introduction The curriculum practice of economics and management sciences (EMS) remains a challenge to teachers, mainly due to their lack of content knowledge (Pereira & Sithole, 2020; Alhassan, Abukari & Samari, 2018). Teachers have inadequate content knowledge because of teaching subject mismatches, because they lack of qualifications, and did not major in accounting (Ward, He, Wang & Li, 2018; Modise, 2016). Accounting teachers in rural schools do not possess sound knowledge of the subject content they teach (Ward et al., 2018; Ngwenya, 2014).
Exploring the Content Knowledge of Accounting Teachers in Rural Contexts: A Call for a Decoloniality Approach Habasisa Vincent Molise Sol Plaatje University, Kimberly, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000 0002 3971 0718
Keywords: Accounting education; Accounting teachers; Content knowledge; Competence; Decoloniality approach
Abstract. The purpose of this paper was to investigate deficiencies in the teaching andlearning of financial literacy, whichisthe accounting partof the subject economic and management sciences in Grade 9 in South Africa. The content knowledge of Grade 9 accounting teachers at rural schoolscomparedtothoseaturbanschools,remainsa challenge,asmany of the former lack qualifications. Teachers at rural schools are considered to have inadequate content knowledge of accounting, owing to a lack of training and continuous professional development. The sample comprised 89 Grade 9 teachers. The study used secondary data that was collected with a questionnaire on different accounting topics to diagnose the difficulties teachers experience teaching accounting content. The items of the questionnaire were clustered into three constructs: analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation, understanding accounting concepts and connections between topics and application of accounting principles, and analysis of transactions in subsidiary journals.
These teachers are not professionally supported to improve their content knowledgeandpractice,which compromises thequality of teaching in accounting (Mohangi, Krog, Stevens & Nel, 2016). According to Hlalele (2012), rural schools are regarded as deficient, because teachers are incorrectly placed and they teach subjects they did not specialise in during training. In most cases, teachers are unwilling to work in rural schools because they struggle with transport from their places of residence to these schools (Manda, 2014) I decided to investigate deficiencies in the content knowledge of accounting teachers at rural schools. Kwarteng (2016) suggests that all teachers ensure they have mastered the content knowledge they teach. I argue that ensuring this mastery is the responsibility of subject advisors/learning facilitators (Diseko & Modiba, 2018). Subject advisors are Department of Basic Education officials who provide professional development support to in service teachers in the form of workshops. Therefore, subject advisors have a vested responsibility in identifying the content gaps that teachers may have regarding the teaching of accounting (Gegenfurtner, Lewalter, Lehtinen, Schmidt & Gruber, 2020), and should support teachers by providing the necessary training/workshops. Mukeredzi (2015) explains that professional development of teachers is considered crucial if teachers are to fulfil the requirements for quality teaching and learning of accounting, especially regarding financial literacy, which is part of accounting, and which is being neglected by teachers in their teaching (Ngwenya & Arek Bawa, Accordin2019).gto Ngwenya and Arek Bawa (2020), effective teaching requires teachers to have a deep understanding of the concepts of the subject they teach, in this case, accounting equations, accounting concepts and accounting principles This view is supported by Modise (2016), who asserts that, “ an understanding of accounting concepts and how they are related and organized, enables teachers to draw on the content knowledge of the subject in teaching”. However, Ngwenya (2019) asserts that teachers are left to struggle with content knowledge challenges and receive little support. Therefore, I argue that rural school teachers are not prepared for their lessons and do not clearly understand what is expected of them in every Akpanobonglesson.and Asuquo (2015) assert that effective teaching of accounting requires knowledge integration and skills across topics, and the ability to manipulate accounting equations (Matos, 2020). Findings of a study by Ngwenya and Maistry (2012) indicate that teachers lack the necessary accounting skills to teach the content, which provides learners with few opportunities for logical reasoning in accounting (Hine & Thai, 2019). Similarly, Manda (2014) confirms that this shortcoming is problematic, as it leaves accounting lessons being taught with a deficit approach, and compromises quality teaching in the subject. Ngwenya’s findings corroborate that “teachers who lack subject content knowledge are ill-equipped” to explain and present topics in ways that make sense to learners (2014). I argue, therefore, that when teachers lack subject content knowledge, they tend to promote surface learning, instead of deep learning.
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Therefore, using a decoloniality approach in this study allowed teachers to speak openly about the challenges they faced in teaching accounting.
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The researcher is of the view that some challenges teachers face relate to subject allocation mismatches, lack of suitable qualifications, and ineffective support by the district, which are drawbacks that position teachers to fail to execute the accounting curriculum as intended by the Department of Basic Education (Lockley, 2018). Decoloniality is also about gaining and building curriculum consciousness on these shortcomings, which, independently and progressively, encourages optimum implementation and curriculum delivery in rural contexts, so that a Eurocentric environment, similar to that of the oppressor, is circumvented (Seehawer, 2018). In this paper, decolonising the accounting curriculum meant using local, relevant examples of accounting and applying knowledge of accounting in the teachers’ contexts, or reorienting certain accounting concepts to address content problems, such as analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation, understanding accounting concepts, linking topics, applying accounting principles and analysing transactions in subsidiary journals (South Africa, Department of Basic Education, 2011). Le Grange (2016) concludes that decolonised curriculum practice for accounting in rural contexts would require discarding the wrong writings of the oppressor, and interrogating distortions of
2. Decoloniality as a theoretical lens
Da Costa (2020) maintains that teachers with adequate content knowledgeare able to make important connections among topics, including using context based examples when explaining the content to learners (Ngwenya & Arek Bawa, 2020; Shepherd, 2013). In turn, Asadullah (2016) found that rural school teachers struggle to show how the content they teach connects to the learners’ real life experiences (Bietenbeck, Piopiunik & Wiederhold, 2018). I argue that there is a need to reconsider the way teaching and learning of accounting are conceptualised, especially in rural schools, to deal with teachers’ content knowledge deficiencies.
This paper is grounded on decoloniality, which serves as a theoretical lens. Decoloniality was used as an approach to deconstruct and dismantle the narratives and discourses that exist in the curriculum practice of accounting teachers in rural contexts, and the main challenges they face in their classrooms (Dube & Molise, 2018). Decoloniality is a vehicle for human emancipation, as it considers suppressed voices (Ndlovu Gatsheni, 2013); in this case, it is meant to rehumanise accounting teachers, who have been subject to systemic oppression by colonisation, which is prevalent in rural classrooms (Vorster & Quinn, 2017). This view is corroborated by Luckett (2016), who explains that teachers are usually forced to accept and implement the curriculum by district officials, without the opportunity to provide inputs or to share best practices they have acquired from teaching in rural contexts. However, Zipin, Fataar and Brenann (2015) state that subject advisors' knowledge is considered to be the only powerful knowledge (Adam, 2020), because of the powerful status advisors assume in relation to their rural school based counterparts (Exley, Whatman & Singh, 2018).
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According to Qhosola (2015), accounting subject content knowledge includes “knowledge of facts, concepts, procedures, and the relationships among them; knowledge of the ways that subject ideas can be represented (Ward et al., 2018; Manda, 2014), and knowledge of the subject as a discipline” (Ngwenya, 2019; Kwarteng, 2016. Research has shown that the lack of subject content knowledge is likely to influence the way teachers teach content in their lessons (De Lange, Khau & Athiemoolam, 2014). Lindsjö (2018) emphasises that teachers’ subject content knowledge is important for ensuring that relevant content is taught to the learners
people's life experiences, negative labelling, deficit theorising and genetically or culturally deficient models that pathologise rural accounting teachers; retelling stories of the past and envisioning the future (Ndlovu Gatsheni, 2013). This idea is supported by Fataar (2012), who calls for reinvigorating production of knowledge that is relevant, effective, and empowering for accounting teachers in rural Therefore,contexts.tocounter the Eurocentrism of accounting teaching in rural schools, we need to decolonise the curriculum and content in accounting classrooms (Hlalele, 2012). I hold the view that doing so will maintain a social order and rules through which an effective culture of accounting teaching can evolve; foster an understanding of rural teachers’ consciousness; facilitate a critical emancipatory approach to solving accounting problems teachers experience in accounting lessons; and produce material and capacities for accounting teachers to know how the content should be presented effectively in their classrooms (Pereira & Sithole, 2019). The knowledge system that was geared to promote colonisation of the accounting curriculum paid little attention to affirming the indigenous knowledge of rural teachers, which resulted in “book knowledge” production (Seehawer, 2018). Salami and Okeke (2017) argue that knowledge production is not about memorising facts, but is, instead, a learning experience that arises from contextualised experiences. I argue in this paper that decolonising accounting teaching should incorporate inclusion, recognition, and affirmation of rural contextual knowledge, which is seldom considered by subject advisors when they provide opportunities for the professional development of accounting teachers, so that teachers can execute curriculum effectively during their lessons.
3. Unpacking realities in the teaching of accounting in rural contexts “Rurality” has always been associated with “lack and characterized by loss” (Alhassan, et al, 2018; Hlalele, 2012). However, rural schools have always survived, regardless of the material conditions of teaching, such as lack of resources, which exist in that context. Thus, accounting teachers need to view these shortcomings as an opportunity to try out new ways of teaching, instead of complaining about the support they receive, to ensure effective curriculum delivery (Pereira & Sithole, 2020). For instance, accounting teachers need toensure that the curriculum they teach is relevant to the context in which they teach, by taking advantage of the unique experiences of the learners, to utilise learners’ prior knowledge about accounting concepts (Lindsjö, 2018). I argue that, unless the content taught to learners in rural contexts is made relevant to their real life experiences, then teaching and learning will remain deficient.
4.1 Participants
The data were generated through the administration of a questionnaire to Grade 9 EMS teachers from 15 schools in Thabo Mofutsanyane education district in the Free State province. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section A comprised 25 accounting questions, which were structured so that different accounting topics were assessed, to diagnose whether teachers experienced difficulties in understanding the content of accounting. Section B investigated the biographical characteristics of teachers. A total of 89 Grade9 teachers participated: 45 men and 44 women
(Ngwenya & Arek Bawa, 2019). This means that the mastery of content knowledge is key to ensuring effective teaching and learning in the accounting Quancurriculum.Baffour and Arko Achemfuor (2009) assert that, “accounting teachers are not in touch with market expectations. In addition to teaching accounting topics, teachers are expected to have a broad range of knowledge, skills, and abilities (Ward et al., 2018)”. If learners perform well, the honour goes to the school and teachers; however, if they perform badly, the blame ultimately falls on the teacher alone (Da Costa, 2020). I argue that, if teachers receive proper training in, for instance, workshops on the content, they are likely to teach effectively, with confidence, and can motivate learners to like their subjects and work harder and, subsequently, improve accounting results. Mastery of the content can reduce anxiety in accounting teachers and their learners, because both parties become more familiar with the course material and incorporate new methods of teaching and learning accounting (Hine & Thai, 2019). Omotayo (2014) maintains that it is important for accounting teachers to understand the motives, expectations, and preparedness of learners (Matos, 2020), so that teachers can develop learning environments that promote high quality learning outcomes. I am of the view that, if teachers are to satisfy the requirements of curriculum reform in accounting, they need to refine their content knowledge.
A quantitative research approach that incorporated a content based questionnaire was used to investigate the content knowledge deficiencies of accounting teachers. The participants, data collection instruments and analysis are described as follows.
4. Research design and methods
4.2 Instrumentation
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The content based questionnaire was used to generate data on the content challenges that accounting teachers experience as a result of lack of content knowledge. The questionnaire was used to identify the specific problem areas of accounting content, so as to understand the kind of support teachers need to improve their content knowledge. The questionnaire was structured in a way that that ensured that respondents understood the questions, and how they were supposed to respond to questions. To ensure clarity, questions were arranged from simple to complex questions phrased at different cognitive levels.
The data were collected by administering thequestionnaire at the selectedschools, which were sampled because the EMS curriculum was taught at these schools. It was easy to administer the questionnaire at schools, because the centres were easily accessible to teachers in the location and their neighbouring schools. I involved other people to help administer and invigilate the questionnaire at certain schools, and the university involved always had a representative overseeing the specific centres.
Table 1: Frequencies of applicable content knowledge
Theme1: Analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation Profit mark up 27.5% 72.5% Bad debts 27.5% 72.5% Debtors/creditors 32.5% 67.5% Average % per construct 29.2% 70.8% Assets 10.9% 89.1% Income 12.5% 87.5%
The accounting content items included in the questionnaire were selected to assess different cognitive levels. The questionnaire was moderated by the senior subject advisor for accounting in the Free State province. Furthermore, the questionnaire was administered under the supervision of the researcher and research assistants.
5. Findings This section will discuss the analysis and interpretation of data that were gathered through the content based questionnaire that was organised according to the following themes: analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation; understanding of accounting concepts and connections between topics; application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in the subsidiary journals.
The content based questionnaire was structured such that it addressed three main constructs of Grade 9 accounting themes. From the themes, the following constructs were developed to determine the content knowledge level of accounting teachers: analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation; understanding of accounting concepts and connections between topics; application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in the subsidiary journals. These three constructs served as important elements in assessing the teachers' content knowledge. The data collected through the questionnaire instrument were captured in Microsoft Excel files which were imported into the Matlab software package for analysis. In this paper, I use a quantitative approach. I calculated the frequency for each answer given per question, and express it as percentages. I use frequency table to visualise the frequencies.
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4.3 Validity and reliability
Themes/Constructs Transactions based on accounting content % responsescorrect responsesincorrect%
453 ©2020TheauthorandIJLTER.ORG.Allrightsreserved.Theme2 : accountingUnderstandingconceptsand the connection between topics Expenses 17.5% 82.5% Equity 27.5% 72.5% Liabilities 50% 50% Average % per construct 23.7% 76.3% Theme3: Application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in subsidiary journals Posting to ledger 17.5% 82.5% Drafting of final accounts 62.5% 37.5% Subsidiary journals 77.5% 22.5% Average % per construct 52.5% 47.5%
The frequencies of correct and incorrect responses regarding applicable content knowledge are displayed in Table 1, in decreasing order. Furthermore, Table 1 addresses the three themes, which are expressed as percentages of the total number of 89 respondents, organised as follows: analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation; understanding of accounting concepts and connections between topics; and application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in the subsidiary journals. The first theme provides data on the analysis and recording of transactions in the accounting equation. Theme 1 is based on transactions relating to the content of profit mark up, bad debts, and debtors/creditors. On average, 70.8% of the respondents gave incorrect answers, while 29.2% gave correct answers under this theme. The first transaction required the respondents to calculate the profit mark up, and 72.5% gave incorrect answers, while 27.5% calculated the profit mark up correctly. The second transaction required the respondents to calculate the amount to be written off as bad debts, and 72.5% gave incorrect answers, while 27.5 calculated the amount to be written off as bad debts correctly. The third transaction required the respondents to record the debtor's amount in the general journal by showing the account to be debited/credited; 67.5% gave the incorrect answer while 32.5% recorded the correct journal entry.
The second theme provides data on teachers' understanding of accounting concepts, and their ability to link topics. Theme 2 is based on transactions relating to the content of assets, income, expenses, equity, and liabilities. On average, 76.3% of the respondents gave incorrect answers, and 23.7% gave correct answers on all the content in this theme. The first transaction required respondents to define what assets are, and 89.1% gave incorrect answers, while 10.9% defined the concept of assets correctly. The second transaction required the respondents to classify whether rental income is an expense or income, and 87.5% gave incorrect answers and 12.5% classified the amount received from leasing a property correctly as rent income. The third transaction required respondents to record insurance on the accounting equation, and 82.5% gave the incorrect answer, while 17.5% recorded insurance correctly as part of expenses on the accounting equation. The fourth transaction required the respondents to define the concept of equity; 72.5% gave incorrect answers, while 27.5% defined equity as an accounting concept correctly. The fifth transaction required the respondents to classify whether a loan is an asset, equity, or liability, and 50% gave incorrect answers, and 50% classified a loan correctly as a liability.
5.1 Discussion of findings
This paper investigated deficiencies in the teaching and learning of financial literacy, which is the accounting part of EMS in Grade 9. The findings from the thematic analysis presented in Table 1 confirm that the respondents had inadequate accounting content knowledge. The implication of this finding is explained by Omotayo (2014), namely, that teachers’ content knowledge and learners’ academic performance are positively related (Matos, 2020; Ngwenya & Arek Bawa, 2019). The teachers’ content knowledge, in the first instance, influences teachers’ performance, which, in turn, enhances learners’ achievement (Diseko & Modiba, 2018). I concur that there is a logical link between these two Akpanobongvariables.
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Shepherd (2013) focused on the qualifications of teachers, the findings of this paper are unique, because they reveal the content knowledge challenges experienced by accounting teachers (Bietenbeck et al., 2020) and how teachers
On average, 47.5% of the respondents gave incorrect answers, with 52.5% giving correct answers on this theme. The first transaction required respondents to post the transaction for the purchase of new machinery to the general ledger, and 82.5% of the respondents gave incorrect answers, while 17.5 posted the equipment account correctly in the general ledger. The second transaction required respondents to balance off the debtors' control account; 37.5% gave incorrect answers and 62.5% correctly balanced off the debtors' control account, with clear identification of balance carried down and balance brought down. The third transaction required respondents to analyse and record a transaction relating to rent received from a tenant in the cash receipt journal; 22.5% gave incorrect answers and 77.5% recorded the rent income amount correctly in the cash receipt journal, by transferring the rent amount to the sundry accounts column.
The third theme provides data on the application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in the subsidiary journals. Theme 3 is based on transactions relating to the content of the posting to the general ledger, drawing of final accounts, and subsidiary journals (cash receipt and cash payment journal).
and Asuquo (2015) report that teachers’ content knowledge is a good predictor of students’ achievement in school subjects (Ngwenya, 2019). This finding is in agreement with that of Qhosola (2015), who found that teachers’ mastery of their content knowledge is consistent with learners’ achievement in accounting (Pereira & Sithole, 2020). Other factors may also influence teachers’ lack of content knowledge these factors are beyond the scope of this study. The length of service of teachers does not guarantee mastery of content knowledge and learner achievement. Instead, continuous training that teachers receive helps them to apply and display the proficiency acquired from the training/workshops and, thus, leads to quality teaching and learning in their classes (Ngwenya & Arek Bawa, 2020). Certain motivational factors, such as financial (salary and other emoluments) and non financial matters (contentment, passion for teaching, or an interest in the profession) may encourage teachers to be more productive, which may lead to an improvement in academic performance of learners (Ward et al., While2018).
Implementing these measures will provide rural teachers with opportunities to develop an interest in teaching under different conditions and in various cultures. Thus, the “emphasis on background and adequate early exposure for prospective teachers to the rural environments in which they will teach is crucial for teaching in rural schools” (Mukeredzi, 2015). I strongly recommend that rural school teachers facilitate learning in a learner centred way, in order to accommodate the diverse needs of learners. To do this effectively, teachers should use learner centred strategies and methods that fit the instructional challenges in the rural context best (Modise, 2016; Qhosola, 2015)
apply their understanding of accounting content on topics, such as analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation; understanding accounting concepts and connections between topics; and application of accounting principles and analysis of transactions in subsidiary journals.
This paper investigated deficiencies in the teaching and learning of financial literacy, which is the accounting part of EMS in Grade 9. In this paper, data were organised and the findings were discusses per the constructs that were identified. It is evident from the discussion that these constructs are intricately interwoven and, therefore, it is imperative to integrate the different knowledge areas, especially when developing possible solutions for the problems experienced by teachers. This integration can be achieved by establishing the prevalence and impact of the different causes of each problem that was identified. The implication is that diagnosing accounting teachers' problems needs to be done accurately, and identification must be approached thoughtfully. A detailed analysis of the findings should assist in developing teacher development material that is responsive and relevant to addressing the challenges of teacher competence The study recommends that teachers from rural and urban schools work together by establishing professional learning communities. By enabling rural and urban teachers towork togetherby setting upa support group, the isolation that teachers often experience can be ended. Teachers working together can find solutions to
6. Conclusion
Several studies have revealed that the poor performance of Grade 9 rural school accounting learners compared to those at urban schools, is caused by unqualified teachers. After all, “they have inadequate content knowledge of Accounting (Ngwenya, 2014) probably, because they were not properly trained and equipped to teach it competently” . Newly qualified teachers do not receive the necessary support and, thus, they lack career development opportunities (Gegenfurtner et al., 2020), especially those at rural schools, which compromises effective teaching to a greater extent in rural than in urban schools. There is a need for professional development workshops meant specifically for rural school teachers, to address their context based challenges (Diseko & Modiba, 2018). These workshops should include establishing professional learning communities for rural school teachers, to enable them to share instructional resources and best teaching practices (Lindsjö, 2018). In addition to advanced training, “rural teachers should also have access to distance learning, seminars, and workshops” (Diseko & Modiba, 2018).
5.2. Ways of improving teacher competence in rural school
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Bietenbeck,J.,Piopiunik,M.,&Wiederhold, S. (2018). Africa’s skilltragedy:Does teachers’ lack of knowledge lead to low student performance? Journal of Human Resources, 53(3), 553 578. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.53.3.0616 8002R1 Da Costa, D. A. (2020). Knowledge to teach and knowledge for teaching in teacher education research. Pedagogical Research, 5(3), em0059. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/7936 De Lange, N., Khau, N., & Athiemoolam, L. (2014). Teaching practice at a rural school? Andwhyshouldwe go there? SouthAfricanJournalofHigherEducation,28(3), 748 766. Diseko, R., & Modiba, W. (2018, June 25). Authentic online assessment in assessing basic accounting content knowledge of Grade 10 learners. In T. Bastiaens, J. Van Braak, M. Brown, L. Cantoni, M. Castro, R. Christensen … O. Zawacki Richter (Eds.), EdMedia World Conference on Educational Media and Technology Proceedings. Association or the Advancement of Computing in Education. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/184556
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7. References Adam, T. (2020). Between social justice and decolonisation: Exploring South African MOOC designers’ conceptualisations and approaches to addressing injustices. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1(7), 1 11.
A limitation of this study is that the data was generated through the use of a content based questionnaire alone. If interviews could have been conducted, much richer data could have been collected by eliciting respondents’ own views on what informs their content knowledge deficiencies in accounting.
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Alhassan, S. N., Abukari, M. A., & Samari, J. A. (2018). Exploring the pedagogical content knowledge of experienced senior high schools' science teachers on “states of matter and its changes”. East African Journal of Educational Research and Policy, 15, 105 122. Akpanobong, U. E., & Asuquo, E. E. (2015). Teacher quality and students’ achievement in financial accounting in senior secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
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the common problems they face by sharing resources and insight. Using social networking sites for teacher support and learner support could provide continuous professional development (workshops) for accounting teachers.
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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
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.
PUBLISHER Society for Research and Knowledge Management