IJLTER.ORG Vol 20 No 4 April 2021

IJLTER.ORG

p-ISSN: 1694-2493 e-ISSN: 1694-2116

International Journal of Learning, Teaching And Educational Research

Vol.20 No.4

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research (IJLTER) Vol. 20, No. 4 (April 2021) Print version: 1694-2493 Online version: 1694-2116

IJLTER International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research (IJLTER) Vol. 20, No. 4

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VOLUME 20

NUMBER 4

April 2021

Table of Contents Factors Affecting Smart School Leadership Competencies of High School Principals in Vietnam ............................. 1 Duong Thi Hoang Yen, Le Ngoc Hung, Thi Thuy Hang Vu, Tan Nguyen Chatterpix Kids: A Potential Mobile App for Helping Primary ESL Pupils Improve Their Speaking Fluency ....... 18 Thirumangai Rajendran, Melor Md Yunus Enhancing Students’ Performances by Integrating Social Media in Undergraduate Learning .................................. 43 Thanuja Chandani Sandanayake Effectiveness of the WebQuest Strategy-Based Educational Platform and Learning Environment in Acquiring Biological Concepts and Systemic Thinking in the Biology Course among Pre-Service Teachers ............................ 61 Tahani Alebous What do College Learners Think of Synchronous Learning? ......................................................................................... 82 Gentjana Taraj Using Speaking Frames as Scaffolding Tools to Teach University Students to Speak in ESP .................................... 99 Nataliia Saienko, Iryna Nazarenko Project-based Learning as a Tool for Student-Teachers’ Professional Development: A Study in an Omani EFL Teacher Education Program .............................................................................................................................................. 116 Saleh Al-Busaidi, Fawzia Al-Seyabi The Development of Historical Competencies in Secondary Education: A Study Based on the Analysis of Sources in Spanish and Italian History Textbooks........................................................................................................................ 137 José María Álvarez-Martínez-Iglesias, Jesús Molina-Saorín, Francisco Javier Trigueros-Cano, Pedro Miralles-Martínez The Effects of Student Led Conferences on the Improvement of 21st Century Career and Life Skills ................... 152 Canan Şişman, Elif Bahadır Involving University Stakeholders in Upgrading the Fostering of Students’ Readiness to Embark on a Career .. 170 Taras O. Olefirenko, Valentyna I. Bobrytska, Nina G. Batechko, Tatiana D. Reva, Oksana M. Chkhalo Information and Communication Technologies as a Means of Developing Global Planetary Thinking among Students of Non-Humanitarian Specialties ..................................................................................................................... 190 Natalia V. Maiatina, Halyna V. Salata, Nadiia A. Bachynska, Olena M. Snihur, Halyna V. Haiovych Implementation of the Cross-Cultural Approach in the Modern School .................................................................... 210 Natalia P. Dichek, Igor M. Kopotun, Svitlana M. Shevchenko, Natalia B. Antonets, Daria V. Pohribna The Mediating Effects of Ego Resilience on the Relationship between Professionalism Perception and Technostress of Early Childhood Teachers ..................................................................................................................... 245 Sungwon Kim, Jiyoung Lee

Extent of Implementing the Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities at the UAE Special Education Centers.................................................................................................................................................................................. 265 Rami Abdallah, Rawhi Mraweh Abdat, Christopher Hill Revisiting Robert Axelrod: Cooperation, School Management and Teacher Unions ................................................ 284 Vuyisile Msila The Impact of the Academic Advising Style on the Development of an Academic Integrity Culture among Future PhD Candidates .................................................................................................................................................................. 302 Petro M. Boychuk, Olha L. Fast, Olha P. Shevchuk, Tetiana V. Horobets, Vasyl A. Shkoba The Knowledge Landscape of School Disciplinary Committees on Disciplinary Policies in Mopani Education district, Limpopo Province, South Africa ........................................................................................................................ 320 Rifumuni Nancy Mathebula, Tawanda Runhare

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 1-17, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.1

Factors Affecting Smart School Leadership Competencies of High School Principals in Vietnam Duong Thi Hoang Yen**, Le Ngoc Hung, Thi Thuy Hang Vu University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6685-4103 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8152-5236 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0262-3450 Tan Nguyen Thua Thien Hue Department of Education and Training, Hue, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2575-6296 Abstract. Leaders of high schools in the context of the fourth industrial revolution face many challenges and new opportunities. Schools need to become smarter, more flexible, and more secure, and, therefore, the principal’s leadership competencies are likely to have new elements and be affected by new influencing factors. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that influence the competencies of school leadership in today’s increasingly smarter school landscape. Research was conducted using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research sample consisted of 295 high school principals from five provinces and cities in Vietnam. The results showed that smart school leadership competencies depend on individual factors, school-level factors, and educational community-level factors. Smart school development policy and innovation of smart school infrastructure and facilities were identified as the most important factors.

Keywords: high school; leadership; leadership capacity; smart school

1. Introduction The general leadership competencies and capacities of high school principals have been identified as a decisive factor in the quality of general education (Dinham, 2005). In the present context, the smart school is a development trend of information and communication technology (ICT) in education (Wu et al., 2019).

*

Corresponding author: Duong Thi Hoang Yen; Email: duonghoangyen@vnu.edu.vn

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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It is very likely, therefore, that the competency structure of the smart school principal must also have new elements.

Vietnam is a developing country that is very active in the application of information technology (IT), science, and technology in socio-economic development, including education. It has been determined that the acceleration of modern scientific and technological revolution and formulation of information society in the coming decades are placing requirements on and facilitating the development of education and training (Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, 2006, 2012). The smart school model has been proposed and tested in a number of high schools in Vietnam. However, this was not based on a specific document or instruction from the Ministry of Education and Training. Moreover, in the field of educational management, there are only a few studies on the issue of developing the smart school leadership competencies of principals, especially in the context of fundamental and comprehensive education reform under the development of the open-market economy in Vietnam.

Some previous studies have also shown that the factors affecting the school leadership competency development of principals are claimed to include age and gender, professional competence, working experience, and school organization (Chen, 2003; Piaw et al., 2014). Still, there are other factors affecting this, including policy, cultural, and community-level factors, that need to be examined with systematic evaluative research. This research need has become more urgent in the context of the fundamental and comprehensive education reform in Vietnam since 2013 with the aim of more insightful understanding and effective solutions to enhance the smart school leadership capacities of high school principals.

This research aims to evaluate the influence of the above factors on the smart school leadership capacities of high school principals in Vietnam. The paper applies existing theoretical approaches and analyzes survey data collected from several high schools in Vietnam. The research findings are expected to clarify theoretical issues and inspire solutions to the development of principals’ leadership competencies in response to Vietnam’s new General Education Program.

In this article, we present a summary of some basic concepts and research results related to smart schools, smart school leadership competency and some factors affecting school leadership competencies. Next, the research process, research methods and research sample are described in detail. From the results of the data analysis, we come to a number of conclusions and discussions focusing on the factors that influence smart school leadership competencies.

2. Literature Review First, we present three key concepts of this research: school leadership, smart schools, and smart school leadership competency. Second, we analyze a number of studies related to the factors affecting smart school leadership competencies.

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2.1 The concept of school leadership As a decisive factor in maintaining the quality of school operations and learners’ learning, school leadership has been examined from various research perspectives (Marks & Printy, 2003; Pont et al., 2008; Robinson et al., 2007; Silins & Mulford, 2002). It is common to conduct comparative research between school leadership and management to highlight the features of leadership. Management is defined as the ability to employ decision-making power and capacity to achieve a goal.

Leadership, on the other hand, is defined as the ability of an individual or a group to exert power over and intentional influence onto others to achieve a goal (Bush, 2007; Bush & Glover, 2002; Kuhnert & Lewis, 1987; Pont, 2014; Pont et al., 2008; Yukl, 2002). According to Bush (1986, 2007), Bush and Glover (2002), and Le (2018), there are six management models, corresponding to eight leadership models. The six management models are the formal, collegial, political, subjective, ambiguous, and cultural models. The eight leadership models are the managerial, participative, transformational, transactional, postmodern, contingency, moral, and instructional models.

Many viewpoints on leadership in connection with school organization and learning improvement have been introduced. Educational leadership (Sellami et al., 2019) is represented in school leadership (Bush & Glover, 2002; Bush & Heystek, 2006) through various forms. These include transformational leadership (Allix, 2000; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2006; Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006), instructional leadership (Feye, 2019; Hallinger, 2003; Southworth, 2002), constructive leadership (Kuhnert & Lewis, 1997), cultural leadership (Hallinger, 2004; Muralidharan & Pathak, 2019), teacher leadership (Berry, 2014; Harrison & Birky, 2011; Howe & Stubbs, 2001; Smylie & Denny, 1990), and change leadership (Wagner, 2018). It also includes learning leadership (Reeves, 2006), learningcentered leadership (Goldring at al., 2007), shared leadership (Lambert, 2002; Pearce & Conger, 2003; Pearce & Sims, 2000; Pearce et al, 2007), distributed leadership (Bolden, 2011; Harris, 2004; Spillane et al., 2004; Timperley, 2005), democratic leadership (Woods, 2004), situational leadership (Thompson & Glasø, 2015), system leadership (Ramosaj & Berisha, 2014), and collaborative leadership (Hallinger & Heck, 2010).

Research has shown that at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, there was a noticeable transformation in the leadership competency model, from principals as managers to principals as managers and leaders (Pont et al., 2008; Townsend, 2011). As a result of this transition, school leadership involves the combination of transformational leadership and pedagogical (instructional and teaching) leadership. The major characteristics of the transformational leadership model are vision, restructuring, staff development, syllabus development, and external community-participation encouragement (Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006). For pedagogical (instructional and teaching) leadership, major characteristics are educational goal setting, program planning, and teacher and teaching evaluation. The top priority of pedagogical leadership is promoting learners’ learning outcomes, thus particularly emphasizing the task of teaching and learning management (Robinson et al., 2009).

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In the new context, the current school leaders are facing a number of issues, such as public-private competition, and needs and requirements of science and technology application in management and education. School leadership must be redefined with greater autonomy and new missions of school leaders in order to improve learning quality (Potter et al., 2002; West et al., 2005). In summary, there are four school leadership missions relating to factors affecting teaching and learning quality. These are: (i) supporting, evaluating, and developing teachers; (ii) identifying, evaluating, and justifying objectives; (iii) managing resources strategically; and (iv) leading the system – leadership beyond the school level.

2.2 The concept of smart schools ‘Smart’ means being able to think quickly (wording) and decide and act intelligently, promptly, effectively, and powerfully to solve problems in different situations (Gardner, 2011; Kim et al., 2013; Middleton, 2015; Zhu et al., 2016). The smart school, then, is defined as a teaching and learning institution based on modern ICT to educate children to become information society citizens in response to the fourth industrial revolution (Ibrahima et al., 2013; Majeed & Yusoff, 2015; Masrom & Selamat, 2012; Omidinia et al., 2012).

The smart school is the smart educational paradigm guaranteeing four smart factors: smart educational philosophy, smart educational methods, smart educational environment, and smart learners (Zhu et al., 2016). Through the smart school, smart education processes can be organized to improve smart learning quality and efficiency. Smart learning, rather than simply learning with modern equipment and facilities, refers to self-disciplined, motivated, adaptable, resourceful, and modern technology-supported learning (Kim et al., 2013; Middleton, 2015).

In the modern age with the development of ICT, a new feature of the smart school is the use of smart technology, including hardware and software, to search, process, store, and use necessary information in different circumstances. These include the use of a virtual desktop in a smart school technology (Reychav et al., 2016) and utilizing smart devices for sending data and receiving instructions (Abdel-Basset et al., 2018).

2.3 Smart school leadership competency Literature has shown that there are four subgroups of principal leadership competency (Pont et al., 2008). The first is technician leadership competency for effective school finance and facilities management. The second is personnel leadership competency for building safe, open, and mutually respectful relationships between teachers and learners, managers, administrative staff, and other employees in the school. The third subgroup of principal leadership competency is pedagogical leadership competency for instructing, managing, evaluating, and supervising the teaching, learning, and research activities of the school. The last subgroup is cultural leadership competency for developing a set of values and standards to improve the operational quality and efficiency of the school. Viewpoints regarding the different leadership sub-competency focuses

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can vary. For instance, if pedagogical and teaching competency is prioritized, one would select a competent teacher to be appointed as the school principal. Davis and Marquis (2005) believed that principals are competent managers, which means management and administrative competencies should be the most crucial factors to consider when selecting a principal. The question is to identify new leadership competencies to meet the new requirements of smart schools in the new context. Principals of twenty-first-century schools are expected to possess leadership competencies in the school paradigm with passion, skills, knowledge, career enthusiasm, and operational strategies to maintain school efficiency (Bush, 2007; Davis & Marquis, 2005).

Principals’ smart school leadership competencies are made up of several component competencies relating to different fundamental operational aspects of the school. These are teaching and learning instructional, cultural, strategic, educational managerial, and organizational managerial leadership competencies (Alvy & Robbins, 2005; Berlin et al., 1988; E-Lead, 2008; Fink & Resnick, 2001; Muralidharan & Pathak, 2019; Piaw et al., 2014; Robbins & Alvy, 2004).

2.4 Factors affecting smart school leadership competencies The principal’s leadership competencies are the decisive factor affecting the operating efficiency and learning quality of the school (Feye, 2019; Gaetane et al., 2009; Muralidharan & Pathak, 2019; Sebastiana et al., 2019; UNESCO, 2016). These competencies are subject to the principal’s personal traits and institution-level factors. The principal’s leadership competencies are profoundly influenced by two factors, namely years of working experience and qualified professional competence. Professional development is crucial to enhance leadership competencies prior to the appointment of principals (Chen, 2003; Piaw et al., 2014).

A literature review of existing studies on school leadership and related topics has revealed the fundamental theoretical background and research methodology for this research as follows. First, smart school leadership can be assigned either to multiple people in the school or a single individual, such as the principal, schoolboard president, or head of the school’s party committee organization in the case of Vietnam. However, under the scale of this research, the factors affecting principal leadership competencies are the focus due to the principal’s leading position in the school’s organization as well as their decisive influence on the schools’ managerial, administrative, and other staff.

Second, the term ‘smart school leadership competencies’ includes various components, from leadership to managerial and administrative competencies.

Apparently, it is difficult to theoretically separate leadership from managerial and administrative competencies. In reality, competent management and administration are integral to strong leadership. Third, following up on the existing research, this paper focuses on the individual, school-level, communitylevel, and policy factors affecting smart school leadership competencies.

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3. Research Methodology Figure 1 illustrates the steps followed to conduct this research.

Step 1: Sample selection

Step 2: Designation of survey

Step 3: Data collection

Step 4: Data analysis

Figure 1: Steps employed in the research

This study employed a non-experimental research design with survey questionnaire. The respondents of the survey were high school principals.

Respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire in a time of between 15 and 30 minutes. The survey sample included 295 high school principals from five cities/provinces, namely Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hue. Table 1 shows some general information of the respondents of this study.

Table 1. Characteristics of survey respondents (295 principals) on smart school leadership competencies Number

Percentage (%)

Gender Male

213

72.2

Female

82

27.8

Workplace Hanoi

99

33.6

Ho Chi Minh City

100

33.9

Other

96

32.5

Working experience (years) Under 10 years

18

6.1

Between 10 and 20 years

117

39.7

Over 20 years

160

54.2

Under 10 years Over 10 years

191

64.7

104

35.3

295

100

Leadership experience (years)

Total

The questionnaires were distributed and collected through the Department of Education and Training to the five cities/provinces. During the new school year assignment meeting in each province, school principals were convened. The questionnaires were distributed and received within the framework of each meeting. Naturally, the questionnaires were distributed only to public school principals. Finally, 295 valid questionnaires were returned and included in the analysis process.

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The questionnaire comprised of 17 questions, designed on a five-point Likert scale (see Tables 2–5). The questionnaire consisted of two parts. Part 1 related to smart school leadership competencies (four questions). The variable ‘smart school leadership competencies’ was measured with four capacity indicators as follows: Capacity 1 (C1): inquisitiveness and pride in leading a smart school; Capacity 2 (C2): adaptability to technology and artificial intelligence- (AI) driven changes in education and life; Capacity 3 (C3): influence on school staff as an example of smart gadget and advanced technology usage; Capacity 4 (C4): seeking for external support to one’s own smart school leadership competencies; and Capacity 5 (C5): Overall competencies (average of the four component competencies) was also measured as follows: C5 (all) = C1 + C2 + C3 + C4/4.

Part 2 related to the factors affecting the competencies of smart school leaders (13 questions). These 13 factors were divided into three groups as follows: Group 1: individual factors, including F1) knowledge, F2) strategic thinking, and F3) adaptability to modern technology and information; Group 2: school-level factors, including F4) requirements for smart school development, F5) smart school development resources, F6) teaching staff engagement, F7) teaching staff and other employees’ IT competence, F8) students’ IT competence, and F9) IT infrastructure; Group 3: community-level factors, including F10) government education policies, F11) Ministry of Education and Training policies, F12) community culture, and F13) approval of families and other educational parties; and The overall factor (F14 – the average of all 13 aforementioned factors) was also measured as follows: F14 (all) = F1 + F2 + F3 + … + F13/13.

4. Research Results In this section, the research results are presented, starting with the smart school leadership competencies of principals. The section continues with the factors influencing the smart school leadership competencies of principals, with each group discussed separately. Lastly, a correlation is made between the factors and competencies.

4.1 Principals’ self-evaluation on their own smart school leadership competencies Respondents’ rating of their smart school leadership competencies are depicted in Table 2. The majority of the principal respondents evaluated their component and overall competencies as good and very good. The competency with the highest mean (4.42) was inquisitiveness and pride in leading a smart school (C1), whereas the lowest mean (4.23) was attributed to C4 (seeking for external support to one’s own smart school leadership competencies).

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Table 2. Component and overall leadership competencies of principals C1 C2

Principal competency Inquisitiveness and pride in leading a smart school Adaptability to technology and AIdriven changes in education and life

Influence on school staff as an example of smart gadget and advanced technology usage C4 Seeking for external support to one’s own smart school leadership competencies C5 (all) Overall competencies (average of the four component competencies)

N

Min

Max

Mean

SD

295

1

5

4.42

0.695

295

1

5

4.30

0.684

295

2

5

4.34

0.685

295

2

5

4.23

0.685

295

1.5

5

4.32

0.597

C3

4.2 Factors affecting the development of leadership competencies The questionnaire results on Group 1 (individual factors) are displayed in Table 3.

All three individual factors were highly appreciated by the respondents as significantly and greatly influencing smart school leadership competencies, with the highest level of influence attributed to F1, ‘principals’ awareness of and interest in smart school development’ (mean = 4.52).

Table 3. Influence of individual factors F1 F2 F3

Individual factor Awareness of and interest in smart school development Strategic thinking to develop smart schools Adaptability to modern technology and information and competence of IT application in school leadership

N

Min

Max

Mean

SD

295

2

5

4.52

0.709

295

2

5

4.48

0.718

295

1

5

4.28

0.829

With regards to school-level factors (Group 2), results are depicted in Table 4. The respondents considered all six factors in this group as having a significant or great influence on smart school leadership competencies. The factor of ‘infrastructure of IT and smart equipment’ (F9) was rated as the most influential factor in this group (mean = 4.36) (Table 4) Table 4. Influence of school-level factors F4

F5

School-level factor Gaps between smart school development objectives and managerial, teaching, and working staff’s experience in using modern IT and smart equipment Ability to mobilize and exploit the school’s resources or finance and infrastructure of IT for smart school development

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N

Min

Max

Mean

SD

295

2

5

4.12

0.741

295

2

5

4.26

0.762

9

F6

F7

F8

F9

Teaching and non-teaching staff’s awareness of and interest in smart schools Teaching and non-teaching staff’s readiness for and competence in applying modern IT and equipment Learners’ readiness for and competence in applying modern IT and equipment School’s infrastructure for IT and smart equipment system for smart school development

295

2

5

4.25

0.732

295

2

5

4.22

0.698

295

2

5

4.19

0.750

295

2

5

4.36

0.804

Community-level factors include government education policies, the Ministry of Education and Training’s policies, community culture, and the approval and support of families and other educational parties. The results of this group (3) are depicted in Table 5. Respondents claimed all the factors in this group to be considerably or very influential in developing smart school leadership competencies. The factor ‘government and provincial authorities’ educational policies and attention’ (F10) was regarded as the most influential factor (mean = 4.51).

Table 5. Influence of educational community-level factors Community-level factor F10 Government and provincial authorities’ educational policies and attention F11 Ministry of Education and Training’s smart school development policies and attention F12 Community culture and local level of application of modern IT and smart equipment F13 Approval and support from families and relevant parties to optimize the use of current IT and smart gadgets in teaching and education F14 The overall factor (average of all 13 (all) abovementioned factors)

N

Min

Max

Mean

SD

295

2

5

4.51

0.728

295

2

5

4.50

0.760

295

1

5

4.03

0.820

295

1

5

4.25

0.787

295

2

5

4.31

0.561

4.3. Correlation between the factors and competencies of smart school leadership The Pearson correlation results between the four capacities and the first nine factors (Groups 1 and 2) are presented in Table 6. Both individual and school-level factors obtained correlations with high statistical significance (0.01) with smart school leadership competencies. Capacity 1 (principals’ inquiring competency) obtained the strongest correlation with F1 (principals’ awareness) (.336).

Capacity 2 (principals’ adaptability) correlated strongly with F9 (IT infrastructure) (.323). The results for C3 (principal setting a good example) showed a strong correlation between this capacity and F2 (strategic

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thinking) (.348). For C4 (seeking for external opportunities), the strongest correlations were established with F3 and F8 (adaptability and students’ IT competency, respectively) (.293 for both values). Moreover, the overall capacity in the principals’ smart school leadership competencies, C5 (all), had the highest correlation with F4 (requirements for smart school development) (.380).

Table 6. Pearson correlation between individual and school-level factors and smart school leadership competencies C1

C2

C3

C4

C1 C2 C3 C4

1 .706** .715** .562** .706** 1 .708** .653** .715** .708** 1 .701** ** ** .562 .653 .701** 1

C5 (all)

.859** .882** .898** .838**

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9

C5 (all)

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

.859** .882** .898** .838**

.336** .341** .280** .221**

.319** .337** .348** .227**

.250** .323** .263** .293**

.295** .364** .321** .341**

.253** .326** .236** .257**

.265** .312** .239** .205**

.302** .308** .298** .242**

.230** .327** .227** .293**

.323** .367** .306** .284**

1 .339** .354** .325** .380** .308** .294** .331** .310** .368**

.336** .341** .280** .221** .339** 1 .787** .479** .501** .319** .337** .348** .227** .354** .787** 1 .495** .445** ** ** ** ** ** ** .250 .323 .263 .293 .325 .479 .495** 1 .414** .295** .364** .321** .341** .380** .501** .445** .414** 1 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** .253 .326 .236 .257 .308 .474 .509 .372 .503** .265** .312** .239** .205** .294** .603** .501** .420** .526** .302** .308** .298** .242** .331** .564** .531** .430** .565** .230** .327** .227** .293** .310** .481** .461** .400** .509** .323** .367** .306** .284** .368** .605** .560** .453** .548** **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). N = 295

.474** .509** .372** .503** 1 .541** .593** .585** .546**

.603** .501** .420** .526** .541** 1 .609** .545** .610**

.564** .531** .430** .565** .593** .609** 1 .653** .626**

.481** .461** .400** .509** .585** .545** .653** 1 .552**

The Pearson correlation results between the four capacities and the last four factors (Group 3) and the overall factor are presented in Table 7. The communitylevel factors also obtained close correlations with the smart school leadership competencies of the respondents, with high statistical significance (0.01). Factor 10 (government and local authorities’ attention and policies to develop smart schools) was found to be the most influential component and overall smart school leadership competency of principals (with a mean value of 4.51).

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.605** .560** .453** .548** .546** .610** .626** .552** 1

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Table 7. Pearson correlation between community-level factors and overall factor and smart school leadership competencies C1

C2

C3

C4

C5 (all) .859** .882** .898** .838**

F10

F11

F12

C1 1 .706** .715** .562** .437** .436** .339** C2 .706** 1 .708** .653** .437** .426** .358** C3 .715** .708** 1 .701** .419** .377** .343** C4 .562** .653** .701** 1 .326** .246** .320** C5 .859** .882** .898** .838** 1 .466** .427** .391** (all) F10 .437** .437** .419** .326** .466** 1 .780** .558** ** ** ** ** ** F11 .436 .426 .377 .246 .427 .780** 1 .530** ** ** ** ** ** ** F12 .339 .358 .343 .320 .391 .558 .530** 1 ** ** ** ** ** ** F13 .362 .402 .353 .335 .417 .485 .487** .445** F14 .430** .481** .416** .374** .489** .747** .775** .659** (all) Note: **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). N = 295

F13 .362** .402** .353** .335**

F14 (all) .430** .481** .416** .374**

.417**

.489**

.485** .487** .445** 1

.747** .775** .659** .768**

.768**

1

5. Discussion The term ‘smart’ and the component competencies of smart school leadership are far from unfamiliar under reform school leadership in Vietnam. As a result, the respondents rated their own smart school leadership competencies as very good, with an average of 4.3/5.

In this study, the factors affecting smart school leadership competencies were classified into three level-based groups: micro-level (individual), meso-level (school), and macro-level (community). Analysis results showed these factors as attributors to Vietnamese high school principals’ smart school leadership competencies. The most influential factor at the individual level was found to be related to professional development. At school level, the most influential factor was related to IT infrastructure and equipment improvement. At community level, the factor of government and local authorities’ policies on smart school development was determined the most influential factor.

The findings exhibiting strong correlations between these factors and smart school leadership competencies in this study align with existing research acknowledging leadership competencies as an attribute of school organization (Ogawa & Bossert, 1995). Nevertheless, when studying and evaluating the development of smart school leadership competencies and the factors affecting it, it is crucial to take into account the context of fundamental and comprehensive education and training reform in Vietnam since 2013. The training of educational managerial staff, including principals, was designed to develop staff competencies, including ‘smart competencies’. This is amongst the objectives of this reform in response to the new learners’ competency-based General Education Program.

Traditionally in Vietnam, smart means the capacity to identify and solve problems quickly and effectively; yet, in this research, smart refers to the competencies to apply modern IT such as smartphones, computers, and internet-connected multimedia facilities and digital resources. In the 2003/2004 school year in Vietnam, one pilot ‘smart classroom’ was installed in a primary school in Dong

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Trieu district, Quang Ninh province. In that smart classroom, teachers and students used modern internet-connected multimedia facilities such as computers, interactive boards, and camera systems in teaching and learning. All 79 schools in this district now have at least one smart classroom (Vu, 2018).

Meanwhile, the project of developing smart schools has also been launched in some big cities in Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. It has been demonstrated both internationally and in Vietnam that managerial staff, especially principals, possessing smart school leadership competencies is a prerequisite for setting up a smart school.

Self-evaluation of the participating principals regarding their smart school leadership competencies yielded the level ‘good’, which should be interpreted as equal to knowledge and comprehension, the two basic levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956). This means that the respondents were well aware of the component competencies of smart school leadership. These competencies, however, are subject to further practice and development in the actual process of setting up and developing the smart school. In other words, high school principals’ self-evaluation of smart school leadership competencies as ‘good’ should be considered a prerequisite for smart school development. To develop the competencies in question, it is necessary to carry out projects to influence the relevant factors. This may especially take the form of developing policies and programs for smart school development, renovating smart school infrastructure and equipment, and training principals in their smart school leadership competencies.

6. Conclusion This study has indicated that high school principals in Vietnam tend to be confident in their smart school leadership competencies despite only a few ‘smart classes’ and pilot smart school projects in several cities. Aligning with previous studies, the findings also highlighted that smart school leadership competencies are dependent on individual factors, school-level factors, and educational community-level factors. Smart school development policies and smart school infrastructure and facilities innovation were identified as the most critical factors affecting smart school leadership competencies. The results of this research have emphasized the need to develop principals’ smart school leadership competencies to contribute to smart school development in accordance with practical conditions.

7. Acknowledgments This research is funded by the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam, under project number QG.18.32.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 18-42, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.2

Chatterpix Kids: A Potential Mobile App for Helping Primary ESL Pupils Improve Their Speaking Fluency Thirumangai Rajendran Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9113-5669 Melor Md Yunus Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7504-7143 Abstract. The mastery of all four language skills has become one of the topmost priorities among English as a Second Language (ESL) learners worldwide. Despite multiple efforts taken to master the necessary skills, speaking remains to the most challenging skill for many Malaysian ESL learners. Previous studies suggest that Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) for speaking has taken its first steps in Malaysian tertiary and secondary levels of education. However, there is still a paucity of research done on MALL at the primary level. The present case study therefore sought to fill in the gap by exploring how the ChatterPix Kids mobile app has helped 5 purposively selected Year 3 primary school pupils develop their speaking fluency. This was done through speaking practices conducted over 12 speaking lessons during the Movement Control Order (MCO) from their perspective. The pupils’ responses obtained through the semi-structured interviews were triangulated using the responses obtained from them through both a focus group and their parents’ feedback obtained through an open-ended questionnaire. The findings were thematically analysed. Seven themes were highlighted which indicate the crucial need to incorporate MALL for speaking among Malaysian primary school pupils. Further studies are recommended to be done on how ChatterPix Kids could be exploited when learning other language skills such as listening, reading, and writing. So far as the study’s limitations are concerned, there is a need to investigate how the pupils’ confidence could be sustained in the absence of the app when speaking in public.

Keywords: English as a Second Language (ESL); Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL); speaking; ChatterPix Kids; mobile app

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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1. Introduction The current demands of 21st century skills expect an individual to be proficient in English in order to be distinguished as a ‘global player’. This has raised growing concerns in the education system worldwide, particularly in countries which regard English as a Second Language (ESL) (Rao, 2019). Correspondingly, the term ‘bilingual proficiency’ has been coined by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE). This is the expectation that every Malaysian child should be proficient in both the Malay and English languages by the end of the 12-year schooling process. The MOE aspires to create students who are at least ‘operationally proficient’ in English as stipulated in the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013 - 2025). According to the current Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is used to describe a learners’ language ability against the international standard, being operationally proficient refers to the ability to use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes. At this point, Malaysian ESL learners are expected to have improved their communicative competence based on the 6 levels stipulated in the CEFR. This puts further emphasis on speaking (Azlan et al., 2019).

Amid achieving the above aspiration, the speaking skill is often regarded as one of the most demanding and challenging of the four skills whereby many Malaysian ESL learners are still struggling to achieve fluency when speaking (Darmi & Albion, 2017; Leong & Ahmadi, 2017; Azlan et al., 2019; Paneerselvam & Mohamad, 2019; Precintha et al., 2019). Recent studies suggest that this scenario is not only evident among adult ESL learners but that it is also an obtrusive issue among most primary ESL pupils in Malaysia (Nijat et al., 2019; Samat et al., 2019).

Generally, studies done in both global and local contexts have addressed similar factors contributing towards the poor speaking fluency among ESL learners. First, the learners are identified to be the victims of common psychological factors such as a lack of motivation and poor self-confidence, in addition to anxiety, a fear of criticism and inhibition (Leong & Ahmadi 2017; Abugohar et al. 2019; Azlan et al., 2019; Paneerselvam & Mohamad 2019; Nijat et al., 2019; Samat et al., 2019; Tonekaboni, 2019; Yin, 2019). A lack of speaking practice opportunities in their immediate surroundings is also prominent, as learners prefer using their mother tongue in their daily conversations outside the classroom (Shuangjiang & Jitpanat, 2017; Lutfi, 2020). Lutfi (2020) found that most of the classroom time is spent learning structures and forms instead of focusing on communicative activities, leaving a very limited amount of time for each learner to practice speaking the target language.

This phenomenon was evident among the pupils chosen for this study before they started using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app for speaking practice. They were observed to hesitate and have fragmented speech while speaking due to difficulties retrieving the lexical items, encoding the grammatical message, and correcting their own output. This condition makes them hesitate while speaking with frequent uses of pause fillers like “umm”, “mmm”, “uhh”, “errr”. They also tend to translate, repeat, self-correct, and rephrase words. Due to these issues in speaking fluency, the pupils scored in the lower bands in their CEFR classroombased speaking assessment. This issue becomes even more challenging to

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intervene in as schools have been closed during the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to Covid-19.

Over the past few decades, different technologies have been used as tools for enhancing the speaking skill among the ESL learners worldwide. One of the areas that has indicated positive outcomes is Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL). In Malaysia, a few studies have explored MALL at the tertiary education level in universities and colleges (Hashim et al. 2016; Ismail et al., 2019; Precintha et al., 2019). However, to the researchers’ best knowledge, there has only been one study done on MALL at the primary level to date (Azlan et al., 2019). This further supports Ismail et al.’s (2019) claim that there is still a paucity of research investigating the implementation of MALL in the Malaysian primary school context. Nevertheless, studies focusing on MALL, particularly on speaking among Malaysian ESL learners (Darmi & Albion, 2017; Azlan et al., 2019), are still limited.

A review done by Hashim et al. (2017) claims that mobile devices are finding their way into classrooms through the students’ pockets. This correlates with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (2017) survey which reported that telephones were the highest medium of communication being used.

Apparently, 83.2% of children aged 5 to 17 were Internet users, and 93% of the surfed the Internet using their smartphones. This study intends to fill in the literature gap by contributing meaningful insights to the field of MALL for those speaking predominantly in the Malaysian primary school context. The purpose of this case study is to explore how the ChatterPix Kids mobile app could help 5 purposively selected Year 3 primary ESL pupils in developing their speaking fluency through speaking practices conducted over 12 speaking lessons during the MCO from their perspective. These pupils were noticed to exhibit improved speaking fluency and positive language behaviours after using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app as a tool for practicing speaking. The pupils’ parents’ views were also explored as they had witnessed their child’s speaking practices which take place in informal learning situations. The pupils’ perspectives were obtained through semi-structured interviews and a focus group while their parents’ views obtained through an open-ended questionnaire. These views were triangulated to see if there was any possible relationship that could further strengthen the findings related to the current study’s proposed research question: i. How does the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app help pupils to speak English fluently?

This article opens with an introduction to brief the readers on the focus of the current study. Next, the literature review provides substantial theoretical perspectives and concepts relevant to the study with a detailed review of the past studies conducted in the field of MALL for speaking. At the same time, the literature gaps are identified to shed some light on the significance of this study.

This is then followed by the methodology which outlines the research design, instruments, participants, data analysis and the aspects of validity and reliability.

The findings of this study are presented and discussed in relation to the reviewed

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literatures and past studies. Finally, the findings are concluded by highlighting possible implications and recommending suggestions for future research.

2. Literature Review The Concept of Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) Trifonova and Ronchetti (2003) define mobile learning as the application of Information and Technology (IT) assisted by mobile devices to enhance the teaching and learning experience. MALL can also be defined as the use of diverse mobile technologies in language acquisition. Past researchers identified 6 learning theories associated with the employment of mobile technologies in language learning, namely behaviourism, constructivism, situated, collaboration, informal learning and lifelong learning, and support in teaching and learning (Karim et al., 2017; Rahamat et al., 2017; Cakmak, 2019).

Traxler and Kukulska-Hulme (2015) claimed that MALL has been widely advocated in the educational context. The reviews done by past researchers suggest that MALL has been developed into a field in its own right. This resulted in an increase in the number of studies examining the use of various mobile devices both inside and outside of formal language learning, as pointed out by Hashim et al. (2017). Klopfer et al. (2002) reviewed 5 unique educational attributes of mobile devices which add value to MALL: • Portability: the ability to learn on the move.

• Social interactivity: communication between the users is facilitated.

• Context sensitivity: the provision of real data that is relevant to the learners’ location and time.

• Connectivity: getting connected to each other or having a shared network.

• Individuality: the ability to perform independent learning.

In relation to the above attributes, Hashim et al. (2017) stated that technologies, particularly mobile devices such as handphones, iPods, and PDAs, are handheld devices. This makes it easier for the learners to use them as a tool to enhance their language learning. These handheld devices are considered suitable for modern education as they are small and exhibit portability, functionality, ubiquity, utility, and connectivity (Hashim et al., 2017). They provide a richer learning environment for learners by extending the learning environment beyond the classroom setting. This allows learning to take place anywhere at any time so then even learners on the move can improve (Kukulska, 2009). Klimova (2017) claims that the majority of learners nowadays own a mobile phone and about half of them own more than one. This indicates that mobile phones could be considered a potential tool as part of embracing the future of language learning prospects.

Speaking Fluency The current study adopts the idea of fluency which relies on the pupils’ ability to speak English with facilitation skills (filler, lexical phrases, ellipsis…etc.) and compensation skills (self-correction, rephrasing, or repeating) in order to cope with the ongoing fast communication as opined by Widdowson (1998) and Segaowitz (2000). This refers to “smoothness”. Smoothness pertains to the ease of regularity (Housen et al., 2012) with which a speaker can flow when delivering

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spoken content by joining sounds, syllables, words, and phrases together without stammering, stuttering, cluttering, or mumbling.

The Application of MALL and the Learners’ Speaking Fluency Several studies indicate that the learners’ speaking fluency improves when they use the audio and video recording features of a mobile phone to record and review their speaking performance either individually or as part of a class. A study done

by Moghaddas and Bashirnezhad (2016) among a group of Iranian higher education learners has proven that the learners’ utterance fluency improved when they recorded and listened to their voice recordings. Similarly, a group of Malaysian undergraduate learners in Darmi and Albion’s (2017) study reported improved speaking fluency. They were able to identify errors in their speech through the recording. Besides, their classmates’ feedback was regarded as helpful as they reviewed the recordings collectively. This is further confirmed by Soto and Zenteno’s (2019) study which discovered that there was progress in terms of the phrasing, volume, smoothness, and pace among 31 7th grade South American learners. They were noticeably putting in the effort to perform better in the upcoming speaking tasks after having their errors identified.

The learners’ speaking fluency is further improved as they actively participate in MALL environments. The learners in the work of Darmi and Albion (2017) and the 38 Indonesian learners at Borneo University in Kusmaryani et al.’s (2019) study were discovered to be actively taking part when they use mobile applications for speaking. Likewise, 86 Chinese learners at a civil aviation vocational college involved in Yin’s (2019) study actively engage in speaking through the audio and video recording features of a mobile phone. Azlan et al.’s (2019) study indicated that the infusion of the Instagram face-filter interface promoted active participation in the speaking performance among the group of pre-school and primary school pupils in Malaysia. This special feature is also believed to motivate and boost the pupils’ interest in continuing their speaking in English. Furthermore, Instagram is reported to be actively used as it has improved the communication skills of ESL adult learners from 42 different countries (Gonulal, 2019). Sherine et al. (2020), on the other hand, found that active speaking tasks among a group of Indian undergraduate engineering learners through the use of WhatsApp improved their fluency, coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. In terms of motivation, mobile apps have been viewed as a great tool for maintaining the learners’ interest and improving their confidence to speak the target language. In relation to this, the use of the “Speaking English 60 Junior” app installed with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) feature immediately demonstrated the consequence of the speech input with a virtual character via ASR. The learners in the work of Ahn and Lee (2016) showed great interest in it for speaking. Furthermore, the teachers in Abugohar et al. (2019) study found mobile apps such as ‘Talking Tom’, ‘Virtual Speaking Buddy’, ‘Voki’ and ‘Talking Angela’ as being helpful in motivating learners to speak English confidently. This mirrors the impact of using the “English Daily” mobile app among learners in Tonekaboni’s (2019) study.

A study conducted by Ahn and Lee (2016) examining a group of Korean middleschool learners reflected that the use of the “Speaking English 60 Junior” app

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installed with the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) feature has facilitated their speaking fluency achievement by contextualising the language use in specific social situations. Supporting this, contextual learning experiences positively affected the 209 Arabian undergraduate learners at the King Saud University who were involved in the survey conducted by Almarshadi et al.

(2019). The survey revealed that the use of the smartphone’s built-in features such as the dictionary, mobile apps, and SNSs such as WhatsApp and e-mail improved the learners’ pronunciation, grammar accuracy and oral comprehension. The significance of contextual learning is equally illustrated in Kusmaryani et al.’s (2019) study as the learners explored materials outside of the classroom. Roach et al. (2018) proclaimed that authentic learning materials will substantiate contextual learning as the learners integrate their previous experience into their current realities. Mobile apps are believed to provide authentic learning opportunities for learners, allowing them to obtain a better understanding as they get to apply speaking in real-world conversations (Ahn & Lee, 2016; Almarshadi et al., 2019; Kusmaryani et al., 2019). In addition, 49 Arabian teachers from higher education institutes in the work of Abugohar et al. (2019) proclaimed that mobile apps are believed to cater to shy and anxious learners as they create a less stressful teaching and learning environment.

Studies done by Moghaddas and Bashirnezhad (2016), Darmi and Albion (2017), Azlan et al. (2019) and Kusmaryani et al. (2019) indicate that MALL allows learners to learn in collaboration as opined by Vygotsky (1978) in his social constructivism theory. Learners are regarded as speaking better as they get their errors corrected by both their teacher and peers. Nevertheless, collaborative speaking tasks in WhatsApp have significantly reduced the fear of receiving feedback and taking language tests among 9 Syrian graduates at Aleppo University, thus improving their fluency.

MALL has allowed learners to get access to learning without place and time constraints, provided that the mobile devices can be explored ‘anywhere’ at ‘anytime’. An empirical analysis done by Wan (2019) among colleges in China has proven the “English Fluent” app as being beneficial for the learners. They were provided with rich learning content useful for speaking practices regardless of the place and time. Similar results were reported by Tonekaboni’s (2019) study which involved the use of the “English Daily” app among a group of Iranian elementary learners aged 14 – 17 years old at the Kish Language Institute. A recent study done

by Wang and Hsu (2020) using the “English Messenger” app among a group of Taiwanese undergraduate and graduate learners at the National Kaohsiung University reported a significant improvement in using conversational English for business among them. The mobility of mobile devices has further promoted autonomous learning. Lutfi’s (2020) findings implied that 30 tertiary level students in Yogyakarta were able to use the ‘Quizlet’ app to carry out speaking independently. Interestingly, a recent survey among 41 Indian learners at Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology (SRIT) by Nanjundan et al. (2020) indicated that such apps could fulfil the self-study concept.

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To conclude, it has been made crystal clear that the use of multiple mobile devices in various MALL contexts worldwide has positively contributed towards the development of speaking fluency among the studied learners. However, most of the studies were conducted among tertiary level learners and only one among the reviewed studies was done at the primary level (Azlan et al., 2019). This study aspires to fill in the existing literature gap by exploring how the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app could help a group of Malaysian primary ESL pupils in developing their speaking fluency.

ChatterPix Kids Mobile App The ChatterPix Kids is a free downloadable app for mobile devices that was created

by Duck Duck Moose, Inc, a part of the Khan Academy family. The family creates educational mobile apps for adults as well as young learners. The app can be downloaded on any mobile device including smartphones, iPads and tablets through either the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. Marciano (2018) views ChatterPix Kids as a fun and interesting mobile app that allows young children to snap a photo, record their voice and make images “talk”. The recording can later be replayed, edited, and saved to their device’s gallery. The researchers believe that ChatterPix Kids can be a potential tool to help the ESL learners develop their speaking fluency. However, there has only been one study done by Marciano (2018) using ChatterPix Kids as a tool for reading aloud and reducing stress among American teachers and students. This study intends to highlight the potential of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app in helping primary ESL pupils to develop their speaking fluency.

3. Methodology Research Design The current study employed the case study method under the qualitative approach. The data collected in this study was based on the pupils’ authentic experiences of interacting with the ChatterPix Kids mobile app for speaking activities and their parents’ feedback based on their observations. The pupils involved in this study experienced using the app for speaking practice during the MCO for 12 speaking lessons. They used the app to capture images related to the speaking tasks given and recorded their voice to create “talking” avatars. Upon recording their voices based on the topics given from the modules stipulated in the CEFR Get Smart Plus 3 Student’s Book, which was the main textbook, the recordings were shared in Google Classroom. These were reviewed by both the teacher and their classmates. Figure 1.0 below shows snapshots of the voice recordings done across the 12 consecutive speaking lessons.

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Figure 1.0 Snapshots of the voice recordings done by the pupils using ChatterPix Kids

Figure 1.0 above illustrates that the pupils used the app to snap pictures of living and non-living things in their surroundings before making them into “talking” avatars through a voice over. As the pupils continued doing this as part of their learning, their speaking fluency progressed.

Research Instruments It is important to note that qualitative research does not restrict the views of the participants. At the same time, Creswell (2014) claimed that the researcher never used someone else’s instrument. Instead, the researchers’ “record information on self-designed protocols that help in organising information reported by participants to each question” (Creswell, 2014, p. 227). In this qualitative case study, the data was obtained through one-on-one semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion with 5 purposively selected Year 3 primary ESL pupils.

This was in addition to collecting their parents’ feedback through open-ended questionnaire. The findings obtained from all three instruments were triangulated in order to enhance the credibility of the findings.

Semi-structured interviews (SSI) The semi-structured interviews were conducted on an individual basis with the pupils to discover their experience of using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app for speaking practice. Additionally, it was to gather insights on how to use the app as a speaking tool that could help them to develop their speaking fluency. The interview protocol was self-designed by the researcher (see Appendix A). The interview questions were also tested on the participants’ classmates and a few questions were made simpler to suit the participants’ proficiency level. Given that the participants were intermediate users of English, several questions were translated into their mother tongue and they were validated by the school’s Head of Language Panel. Semi-structured interviews allowed for a degree of flexibility to let the researcher probe and obtain answers on how the pupils’ speaking fluency could have been developed using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app. This was done by posing more enhanced questions than the initially drafted ones.

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Focus Group (FG) The findings obtained from the focus group are believed to further emphasise the pupils’ responses that were obtained through the semi-structured interviews. The interviews were on the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app and how it may have helped to develop their speaking fluency. The focus group discussion was carried out using the researcher-made discussion protocol (see Appendix B) as guidance.

During the focus group, the pupils were asked to practice turn-taking so then each of them would have an equal opportunity to respond. Several questions were translated into the pupils’ mother tongue and they were validated by the school’s Head of Language Panel. The focus group discussion was recorded to avoid overlooking or losing any of the information.

Open-ended Questionnaire (OEQ) In this study, open-ended questions (see Appendix C) were used as a means of collecting personal feedback from the parents of the pupils involved in the study.

Feedback from the pupils’ parents was essential in this study as the parents had closely observed their children’s activities when using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app as a tool for speaking practice conducted during the remote learning due to MCO. The open-ended questions were self-designed by the researcher by adapting the semi-structured interview and focus-group questions conducted among the pupils.

Research Participants The participants of this study consisted of 5 purposively selected Year 3 pupils who had experience of using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app as a tool for speaking practices conducted during the MCO. They had developed fluency in their speech, and their parents had closely witnessed these events. Prior to conducting the study, both the pupils’ and parents’ consent were obtained through written consent forms (see Appendix D - H). The pupils were from an urban national primary school in Selangor state. Pseudonyms were given to the pupils (P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5) and the parents (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 and Q5) to maintain their confidentiality. These pseudonyms were used throughout the discussion. The 5 Year 3 pupils who were purposively chosen for this study had poor fluency when speaking English and they scored in the relatively lower bands in the mid-term CEFR classroom-based speaking assessment. However, an improvement in their fluency was visible as they started practicing speaking alongside the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app. They were therefore recruited as participants due to their potential to provide substantial insights. Their parents were also included as participants to obtain their feedback on the effect of using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app on their children’s English-speaking fluency.

Data Analysis The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, a focus group and an open-ended questionnaire that were all transcribed in verbatim. The transcripts were then analysed using the 6-phased thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) in order to understand how the use of ChatterPix Kids could have helped the pupils develop their speaking fluency. First and foremost, the transcriptions were read multiple times to become familiarised with the participants’ responses. During this process, their theoretical and reflective

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thoughts were penned down, and potential codes were jot down based on the reviewed literature. Next, the initial codes were manually assigned to the data by highlighting words, phrases and sentences that appear important and interesting in relation to answering the research question. For example, responses such as “can speak English more” and “can speak English always” were highlighted as they were regarded as significant when forming the themes. In the third phase, the identified codes were sorted into relevant themes. To come up with the themes, the listed codes were linked to their associated extracts and then collated into groups. For instance, the codes mentioned above were collated into one single theme, ‘more engagement in speaking task’. The generated themes were then linked to the concepts involved in the respective theories and concepts referred to in this study. For instance, ‘active learning’ and ‘portability’. The themes were then reviewed and refined. The identified extracts were checked to see whether they support or contradict the themes suggested. Nevertheless, any overlapping themes were either split or the codes were shifted into the existing themes where they fit better. I the fifth phase, the identified themes were linked to the existing literature and the previous studies were reviewed as a basis for forming the theoretical and conceptual ideas in this study. At this point, the attributes of the mobile devices coined by Klopfer et al. (2002) appeared to complement the identified concepts. Finally, the discovered themes were reported in detail to adequately answer the research question. They were further justified by referring to the relevant extracts from the participants’ responses, reviewed literature, and past studies.

Validity and Reliability Guba and Lincoln (1989) argued that the “trustworthiness” of qualitative inquiry could be established by addressing the following characteristics of a research, which are credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. In this study, the credibility of the data was ensured by having the Head of the English Panel in the school in which the study was conducted perform member-checking on the instruments that were prepared by the researcher before the data collection process. In addition, the data was collected using 3 different instruments such as semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and an open-ended questionnaire for the purpose of data triangulation. This yields more rigorous findings and provides a better understanding of the findings from different perspectives. The transferability of the study’s findings was ensured by providing a detailed account of the context of the study and the participants involved. In terms of the increasing dependability, the researcher sought a colleague’s assistance when performing the audit trail on the data collected in this study. Finally, data confirmability was achieved by allowing the participants to read their transcriptions to ensure that their responses were reported without being fabricated. The participants’ identities remained confidential throughout the data reporting.

4. Findings and Discussion The findings of this study are presented by thematically analysing the responses obtained from the pupils through the semi-structured interviews (SSI) and focus group (FG) as well as their parents’ feedback obtained through the open-ended

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questionnaire (OEQ). The data obtained from all 3 instruments was triangulated to yield credible themes.

How does the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app help the pupils to speak fluently?

The findings obtained in this study suggest that the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app has helped the primary ESL pupils develop their speaking fluency.

Pupils who have been hesitating, stammering, stuttering, and facing difficulties to express themselves fluently in English were discovered to have smoothness when delivering oral messages after using ChatterPix Kids as a tool for speaking practice. The analysis of the findings resulted in 7 themes as shown in Figure 2.0 below.

Themes

Authentic tasks in meaningful contexts More engagement in speaking tasks Application of prior knowledge to current situations Self-reflection and error correction Flexibility in learning Reduced fear and anxiety Scaffolding from More Knowledgeable Others (MKO) Figure 2.0 Themes raised in the analysis

The themes illustrated in Figure 2.0 above suggest how ChatterPix Kids could help the pupils develop their speaking fluency. The themes were further discussed with close reference to the relevant literature and past studies.

Authentic tasks in meaningful contexts Roach et al. (2018) stated that authentic learning experiences could enable the pupils to process new information or knowledge in such a way that it makes sense to them in their frame of reference. Parallel to this, the pupils involved in this study comprehended the words or phrases used to describe both living and nonliving objects around them. The ability to practice speaking using authentic materials in meaningful contexts via ChatterPix Kids is made apparent through the participants’ responses.

“I make my TV talk, chair and my cat. I also make the car to talk. That day I take a picture of fruits and make it talk.” (P1, SSI) “I think ChatterPix can help me to speak better in English because I can let the things I like to talk in my voice.” (P2, FG) “He made our cat to speak in his voice and he also made a birthday wish for his brother by making his brother’s picture talk.” (Q1, OEQ) The responses above clearly indicate that pupils were able to practice speaking and were working towards developing their speaking fluency by exploiting the various authentic materials available in their immediate surroundings. This

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echoes the findings of the previous studies (Ahn & Lee, 2016; Abugohar et al., 2019; Almarshadi et al., 2019; Gonulal, 2019; Kusmaryani et al., 2019; Sherine et al., 2020). The mobile app being ‘context sensitive’ (Klopfer et al., 2002) is seen of as helpful when making authentic learning possible.

More engagement in the speaking tasks Constructivists believe that learners construct meaning only through active engagement with the real-world tasks being performed (Piaget, 1968). Similarly, the pupils in this study who were previously shy, anxious, less motivated, and timid to speak in English during the classroom presentations started developing confidence and an interest in the speaking tasks. This was because they could use the ChatterPix Kids to practice speaking in any situation, be it inside or outside the house because a smartphone is portable (Klopfer et al., 2002). The use of the app increased the pupils’ engagement and widened the pupils’ speaking opportunities. They proclaimed the following: “The app lets me to talk more in English at home and when I go out of my house. I can take picture of anything I like and speak in English to make the picture talk.” (P3, SSI) “(…) the app makes me to talk more English at home. I can talk in English when I play with the app always.” (P1, FG) Supporting this, one of the parents’ responded: “The app helps him to express himself in English as he always uses Malay at home.” (Q4, OEQ) The infusion of ChatterPix Kids has profoundly increased the pupils’ engagement with the speaking tasks. As the pupils become more engaged, their speaking fluency eventually develops as indicated in the other studies done in MALL environments (Darmi & Albion, 2017; Azlan et al., 2019; Gonulal, 2019; Kusmaryani et al., 2019; Sherine et al., 2020; Yin, 2019).

Application of prior knowledge to current situations Piaget (1968) argues that knowledge assimilation takes place as the learners incorporate new experiences into their old experiences. In other words, linking their prior knowledge to their current knowledge or vice versa. In this study, pupils were discovered to use the words, phrases, and sentences taught to them in both face-to-face and virtual speaking lessons in daily situations that they were currently facing. Along this process, pupils find a ‘fit’ between their prior knowledge and current knowledge thus helping them to orally produce smoother speech with less hesitations and distortions as they tend to have reduced fillers such as “umm”, “aah”, and “hmm” as they try searching for appropriate words to be included in their speech. Supporting this, the pupils confessed the following: “I can speak better because I use the sentences teacher teach me in class.” (P1, SSI) “(…) The app allows me to use the sentences I have learned in English.

I can practice saying the sentences more.” (P5, FG) In addition, one of the pupils noted that he was able to remember the words better as he uses them in his speech. He proclaimed that: “I can practice words and sentences teacher has teach me in class. I can remember better also.” (P3, SSI)

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The pupils’ claims are further supported by one of the parents’ confessions: “She is braver to speak in English freely because she can use the correct words.” (Q2, OEQ) As asserted by Perkins and Salomon (1988), it is important for learners to apply the knowledge learned in one situation to other situations as it will improve their comprehension. The pupils in this study were believed to gain a better understanding of the use of the words learned before, enabling them to convey their oral messages with ease and clarity. This echoes Darmi and Albion’s (2019) findings.

Self-reflection and error correction Next, the pupils in this study could have developed their speaking fluency as they could perform ‘knowledge accommodation’ to modify their existing knowledge when it does not fit the current situation (Piaget, 1968). As a matter of fact, the ChatterPix Kids mobile app has allowed pupils to identify mistakes that cause disfluency in speech such as long pauses, the wrong usage of words and too many fillers. They performed self-corrections. The feature of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app that allows pupils to re-record, play, pause, stop, and backtrack while listening to their voice recordings provides ample opportunities for them to meticulously listen and rectify their mistakes in terms of speaking fluency. Similar results have been seen in a few studies (Moghaddas & Bashirnezhad, 2016; Darmi & Albion, 2017; Soto & Zenteno, 2019) in which learners put in the effort to perform better in the speaking tasks as they recorded and reviewed their speaking performance. To substantiate this, the pupils were asked about what they normally do if they think that their voice recordings are not fluent. They mentioned the following: “I will practice, and I will do the recording again. I will read the sentences and remember then I will record my voice again.” (P1, SSI) “I will record again until I get correct.” (P4, SSI) Supporting this, one of the parents’ confessed: “My child likes to replay the recordings again and again to check if he has spoken correctly.” (Q1, OEQ) As the pupils noticed errors in their recorded speech, they immediately recorded their speech again to do better. Some of the pupils’ responses depict that they have applied various strategies such as reading the sentences repeatedly, memorising words, and self-rehearsing before recording their voice. This supports Nanjundan et al.’s (2020) claim that MALL could promote the self-study concept and provide self-learning opportunities.

Flexibility in learning The use of ChatterPix Kids is regarded as flexible. This is because the pupils were able to use the app for speaking practices in an extended learning environment beyond their classroom context (Kukulska, 2009). At this point, the portability and individuality features of the mobile devices (Klopfer et al., 2002) allow the personalised learning to take place anywhere and at any time. The pupils proclaimed that:

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“I can speak English always by using the app because I can use it anytime at different places. Like in my house, in my bedroom, at my garden, and in my father’s car.” (P1, SSI) “Yes, I can speak English more because the app is fun and interesting.

I make sure I speak only in English when I use the app.” (P5, FG) Parents’ feedbacks add better insights on how ChatterPix Kids offers convenient and flexible learning approaches to pupils.

“Yes, she can use the app anytime she wants. She will try speaking English using different things she finds at home.” (Q2, OEQ) The excerpts above support the findings of Tonekaboni (2019), Wan (2019) and Wang and Hsu (2020) in which the learners involved in their study have practiced speaking flexibly using mobile apps such as “English Daily”, “Fluent App”, and “English Messenger”. Nevertheless, the pupils in this study were discovered to be autonomous learners as they used ChatterPix Kids to carry out speaking activities on their own without being dependent on their teacher (Lutfi, 2020).

Reduced fear and anxiety Apart from that, the pupils’ responses depict that they have reduced fear and anxiety when speaking in English if they use ChatterPix Kids. Pupils who were initially shy, timid, and anxious about participating in speaking activities during the speaking lessons in the classroom were detected to have improved self confidence when speaking the target language with the help of ChatterPix Kids.

Moreover, the pupils proclaimed that the app allowed them to practice speaking in a fun, less stressful, and playful manner. This lowered their anxiety when uttering words in the target language. Accordingly, the participants responded as follows: “Not shy because I feel like playing the app is so nice and if speak wrong can play again.” (P3, SSI) “Yes, I can speak English more because the app is fun and interesting.

I make sure I speak only in English when I use the app.” (P5, FG) “She is braver to speak in English freely.” (Q2, OEQ) However, some pupils contended that: “Sometimes I feel shy if I talk in front of my mother...but if I talk in my room then I am not so shy.” (P2, SSI) “I feel shy sometimes, but I also feel happy when they say the recording is good.” (P5, SSI) The responses above suggest that ChatterPix Kids has the potential to lessen the pupils’ fear and anxiety, thus allowing them to speak the target language more fluently. This echoes the findings of several studies that have proven that mobile apps are a great motivational tool for learners to use to speak confidently (Ahn & Lee, 2016; Abugohar et al., 2019; Tonekaboni, 2019). Furthermore, it supports Azlan et al.’s (2019) and Shamsi et al.’s (2019) claims that the learners’ speaking performance improved in less stressful environments. However, P2’s (SSI) and P5’s (SSI) responses indicate that there is a need to further investigate how the pupils’ confidence when speaking can be sustained while speaking in front of others at the same time as in the absence of ChatterPix Kids.

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Scaffolding from More Knowledgeable Others (MKO) Throughout their speaking practices, the pupils were scaffolded by MKOs in their immediate surroundings. All of the pupils contended that they sought assistance from their teacher and family members such as their mother, father, sister, and brother. This was in order to listen to their recorded speech and to correct their errors. The feedback provided by their family members is believed to be useful and helpful when seeking to improve the pupils’ speech as well as the development of their speaking fluency. On this note, Vygotsky’s (1978) claim that cognitive development is a product of social interaction is supported. The pupils’ enhanced understanding, especially on the use of appropriate words to speak, could only be possible with the help of people around them as indicated by this study. Substantiating this, the pupils stated that: “(…) I ask my brother to check for me.” (P1, SSI) “Yes, I share with my mum. I feel nice because my mum can tell me what is wrong.” (P5, FG) At this point, it could be concluded that the concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as proposed by Vygotsky (1978) is applied, and that it complements the findings of the previous studies (Moghaddas & Bashirnezhad, 2016; Kusmaryani et al., 2019; Shamsi et al., 2019). These have proven that speaking fluency among the learners is a product of collaboration and cooperation among their peers. The scaffolding provided by MKO boosts the pupils’ performance in their speaking tasks (Vygotsky, 1978). For example, P5 stated that he felt ‘nice’ when his mother corrected his mistakes. Nevertheless, the aspects of social interactivity and connectivity (Klopfer et al., 2002) are proven to be helpful as pupils can share their recordings with others for both validation and entertainment purposes.

5. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that ChatterPix Kids could be one among the language learning mobile apps that are regarded as useful and helpful when developing the primary ESL pupils’ speaking fluency. The participants’ responses depict that the continuous usage of the app has resulted in smoothness in the pupils’ speech while speaking the target language. They were observed as being able to deliver oral messages in English with ease and confidence, which is distinct from how they were prior to using the app. Alongside that, their speech appears fluent with reduced speech fillers such as “umm”, “aah”, and “hmm”, in addition to reduced self-correction, rephrasing, and repeating. Based on the findings, it could be concluded that the primary ESL pupils’ speaking fluency has been developed by using ChatterPix Kids as the app allows room for speaking in authentic situations, provides more engagement with the target language, allows for the application of prior knowledge to current situations, fosters autonomy through self-reflection and error correction, provides flexibility in learning, allows speaking with reduced fear and anxiety, and encourages learning through scaffolding by more knowledgeable others (MKO). These themes are believed to support the concepts propagated by the constructivism theory developed by both Piaget (1968) and Vygotsky (1978) as well as validating the attributes of mobile

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devices: portability, social interactivity, context sensitivity, connectivity, and individuality (Klopfer et al., 2002).

6. Implications The findings of this study imply that the integration of mobile phones as a part of technology application in Malaysian mainstream schooling could be considered through a proper review and planning of the educational policies by both policy makers and curriculum developers. An instructional toolkit or module could be prepared to highlight the efficacies of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app in ESL learning. Courses, workshops and training could be conducted for the teachers, especially those teaching in primary schools, in order to buff up their skills and enhance their knowledge of integrating MALL. Teachers need to be knowledgeable, skilful, and approachable when embracing MALL in the process of infusing technology into their instructional practices for the current generation who are regarded as digital natives. As implied by the findings, ESL learners, especially primary school pupils, may use various English learning mobile apps that are readily available for both Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems. This is in order to enrich their language learning process. Meanwhile, parents are encouraged to be supportive towards the use of mobile phones for their children’s learning by providing the necessary guidance and at the same time, by constantly monitoring their learning activities.

7. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research The current study was conducted by exploring the views of 5 purposively selected primary ESL pupils and their parents regarding the use of the ChatterPix Kids mobile app as a tool for speaking practice. The findings are subjected to the context of the study and may not be generalised. Researchers are recommended to explore how ChatterPix Kids can be used to develop other language skills such as listening, reading, and writing. Since the current study was done among urban school pupils, similar studies ought to be conducted in sub-urban and rural schools to see if they complement or contradict the findings of the current study.

Finally, the findings of the current study imply that there is a need to investigate on how the pupils’ confidence could be sustained while speaking in public in the absence of the app.

8. References Abugohar, M. A., Rashid, R. A., & Yunus, K. (2019). Smartphone Applications as a Teaching Technique for Enhancing Tertiary Learners' Speaking Skills: Perceptions and Practices. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 7492. http://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v14i09.10375 Azlan, N. A. B., Zakaria, S. B., & Yunus, M. M. (2019). Integrative task-based learning: Developing speaking skill and increase motivation via Instagram. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(1), 620-636. http://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i1/5463 Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. http://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Çakmak, F. (2019). Mobile Learning and Mobile Assisted Language Learning in Focus.

Language and Technology, 30-48.

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Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design; Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Darmi, R., & Albion, P. (2017). Enhancing oral communication skills using mobile phones among undergraduate English language learners in Malaysia. In Mobile Learning in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 297-314). Springer, Singapore. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4944-6_15 Gonulal, T. (2019). The Use of Instagram as a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Tool.

Contemporary Educational Technology, 10(3), 309-323. http://doi.org/10.30935/cet.590108 Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Park: CA: Sage.

Hashim, H., Yunus, M. M., & Embi, M. A. (2016). Pre-University English as Second Language (ESL) learners’ attitude towards mobile learning. Creative Education, 7(08), 1147.

Hashim, H., Yunus, M. M., Embi, M. A., & Ozir, N. A. M. (2017). Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) for ESL learners: A review of affordances and constraints. Sains Humanika, 9(1-5). http://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v9n1-5.1175 Ismail, I., Azizan, S. N., & Gunasegaran, T. (2019). The Use of SMS in Promoting Inquisitiveness among Distance Learners. Malaysian Journal of Distance Education, 21(1).

Klimova, B. (2018). Mobile phones and/or smartphones and their apps for teaching English as a foreign language. Education and Information Technologies, 23(3), 10911099.

Kloper, E., Squire, K., & Jenkins, H. (2002). Environmental Detectives: PDAs as a Window Into A Virtual Simulated World. Proceedings for IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education, 95-98.

Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2009). Will mobile learning change language learning? ReCALL, 21(2), 157-165.

Kusmaryani, W., Musthafa, B., & Purnawarman, P. (2019). The influence of mobile applications on students’ speaking skill and critical thinking in English language learning.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1193, 1-6. http://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1193/1/012008 Leong, L.-M., & Ahmadi, S.M. (2017). An Analysis of Factors Influencing Learners’ English Speaking Skill. International Journal of Research in English Education, 34-41.

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). (2017). Internet Users Survey 2017. Selangor: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

Malaysian Ministry of Education. (2013 - k2025). Malaysian Education Blueprint. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.

Moghaddas, B., & Bashirnezhad, H. (2016). The Pedagogical Applications of MobileAssisted Language Learning (MALL) in Improving the Iranian EFL Learners’ Oral Performance. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 2(1), 8-14. http://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.12 Lutfi. (2020). The Integration of MALL to Enhance Students Speaking Skill: An Autonomous Learning Model. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, 5(1), 1-19.

Nanjundan, V., Senthilkumar, S., Jayasudha, T., & Sankar,G. (2020). Adoption of Mobile Learning to Enhance LSRW Skills For Learners of English as Second Language.

Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology, 2596-2610.

Nijat, N., Atifnigar, H., Chandran, K., Selvan, S. L. T., & Subramonie, V. (2019).

Psychological Factors that Affect English Speaking Performance among Malaysian Primary School Pupils. American International Journal of Education and Linguistics Research, 2(2), 55-68.

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Paneerselvam, A., & Mohamad, M. (2019). Learners’ Challenges and English Educators’ Approaches in Teaching Speaking Skills in an ESL Classroom: A Literature Review. Creative Education, 10(13), 3299-3305. http://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1013253 Piaget, J. (1968). Six Psychological Studies. New York: Vintage Books.

Precintha, R. A., James, P. P., Yong, K. L., & Yunus, M. M. (2019). Hear me out! Digital storytelling to enhance speaking skills. Int. J. Acad. Res. Bus. Soc. Sci, 9, 190202. http://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i2/5533 Rahamat, R. B., Shah, P. M., Din, R. B., & Abd Aziz, J. B. (2017). Students’readiness And Perceptions Towards Using Mobile Technologies for Learning The English Language Literature Component. The English Teacher, 16.

Rao, P. S. (2019). The Role of English as a Global Language. Research Journal of English , 4(1):65-79.

Roach, K., Tilley, E., & Mitchell, J. (2018). How authentic does authentic learning have to be?. Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), 495-509.

Samat, N. A. A., Muthu, S., & Yunus, M. M. (2019). Dubslinguistic Enhancing English Communication Skills among Malaysian Primary School Pupils. Creative Education, 10(01), 48.

Shamsi, A. F., Altaha, S., & Gilanlioglu, I. (2019). The Role of M-Learning in Decreasing Speaking Anxiety for EFL Learners. Online Submission, 2(1), 276-282. http://doi.org/10.32996/ijllt.2019.2.1.34 Sherine, A., & Seshagiri, A. V. S. (2020). Impact of WhatsApp Interaction on Improving L2 Speaking Skills. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(3), 250-259. http://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i03.11534 Soto, C. P., & Zenteno, C. C. (2019). Smartphone screen recording apps: an effective tool to enhance fluency in the English language. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 21(2). http://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.14202 Tonekaboni, A. M. (2019). Effects of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Speaking Proficiency (A case of Learn English Daily Mobile App). In 2nd International Conference on Advanced Research in Humanities and Art (pp. 1-13).

Venice, Italy.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge: MA: MIT Press.

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APPENDIX A SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW PROTOCOL No

Questions

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Do you like to use ChatterPix Kids mobile app?

Could you explain why you say so?

What else do you think you can do with this app?

Do you think the app is interesting? Why? What are the things that you have made talking using the app?

How do you normally select the things?

How do you feel when you record your voice using the app?

What do you do if your recording is not good enough?

What do you like about the app?

Do you think you can use the app on your own?

Does the app allow you to practice speaking English more? Why you say so?

Do you send the recording to others?

What do you feel when you do that?

Would you recommend this app to others? Why? Would you continue using this app?

APPENDIX B FOCUS-GROUP DISCUSSION PROTOCOL

Questions Good morning, everyone. Thank you for participating in this discussion. In this discussion, you will be asked a few questions based on your experiences of using the ChatterPix Kids mobile app for your speaking practices during the Movement Control Order (MCO). Your responses will be very helpful for my research and please note that your identities will be kept confidential. Before we start the discussion, let me ask if you agree to participate in this discussion.

Do you think the app allows you to speak in English more often? Explain your answer.

Do you think you can speak better when using the app? Why? How do you feel speaking using the app?

Does the app allow you identify your mistakes?

Do you think the app is important for you? Why? Is the app easy to be used? Why? Do you think the app is useful? Explain your answer.

Where do you use the app at?

Do you share the recordings to others?

How would you use the app in future?

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APPENDIX C OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PARENTS

No

Questions

1

Do you think the ChatterPix Kids mobile app is helpful for your child’s speaking tasks?

2

In your opinion, how do you think the ChatterPix Kids mobile app could have helped your child in gaining speaking fluency?

3

Do you think your child has more opportunities to speak in English at home with the use of the app? If yes, why?

4

Share an interesting event(s) that has taken place while your child uses the app for speaking.

5

Is there any noticeable difference in your child in terms of speaking English before and after using the app? Please elaborate your answer.

6

How do you think the app could have motivated your child to participate in English speaking tasks?

7

How do you think the app could have made your child to stay connected with his/her surroundings?

8

Do you think the app is easy to be handled by your child? Please explain.

9

Share some interesting features of the app.

10

Do you recommend your child to continue using this app for speaking? If yes, why?

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APPENDIX D PARTICIPANTS’ CONSENT LETTERS (PUPILS AND PARENTS)

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APPENDIX E PARTICIPANTS’ CONSENT LETTERS (PUPILS AND PARENTS)

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APPENDIX F PARTICIPANTS’ CONSENT LETTERS (PUPILS AND PARENTS)

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APPENDIX G PARTICIPANTS’ CONSENT LETTERS (PUPILS AND PARENTS)

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APPENDIX H PARTICIPANTS’ CONSENT LETTERS (PUPILS AND PARENTS)

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 43-60, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.3

Enhancing Students’ Performances by Integrating Social Media in Undergraduate Learning Thanuja Chandani Sandanayake University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Sri Lanka https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5430-6070

Abstract. Use of social media among youth is growing rapidly around the world. This is more common among the young undergraduates. As a consequence of high usage of social media, ability to support learners via social constructed learning has increased. This study focuses on enhancing undergraduate’s academic performance via social media intervention. This was an action research and used mix methods inquiry employed quantitative and qualitative studies. Open face to face interviews, semi structured and structured questionnaires were conducted among 94 (n=94) undergraduates at the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Findings of the study will incorporate the new insights of learner on social media adaption in academic work in meaningful ways. The results of open-ended face to face interviews, semi structured and structured questionnaire demonstrate multiple contextual relationships exist in adaption of social media in formal academic setup. Furthermore, perceptions of undergraduates on social media intervention illustrate the prominent relationship between peer groups, instructors, and learning content.

Results of the study indicate that the learners are reluctant to adapt to the traditional learning setups and communication modes, but they appreciate the use of state of art social media connections in learning.

Findings will further offer better and important information for both learners and academics to uplift communication, collaboration, and development of conducive learning environments.

Keywords: student evaluations; student performances; social media; undergraduate learning; action research

1.

Introduction

At present, the use of social media has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, especially among young students (Gazi et al., 2017; Wilfred, 2017). Such social media platforms create a better environment via handheld devices such as smart phones, tablets or computers. One of the key advantages in many of social media is better communication as it connects students, teachers, parents, friends and ©Author This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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interested parties (Abella-Garcia et al., 2019; Bal, 2017). This collaborative environment of social media encourages the relevant stake holders for rapid-pace of information sharing while facilitating the students to uplift their creativity, analytical thinking, critical thinking, and effective communication process in a better way (Lim et al., 2014; Rajprasit et al., 2015).

Recent studies on social media integration on learning depict that many teachers and professionals in the education sector incorporate social media into their academic work, (Smith, 2016; Sutherland & Ho 2017) in both online and offline classes to engage students and provide academic support for their educational development (Wilfred, 2017; Zdravkova, 2016). Social media replaces the traditional tool of learning while enabling to share articles with comment functionality, a livestream of an important event, a survey related to course materials, or a question posed to the broader community, collaborative group sharing and communication (Abdillah, 2017; Parusheva et al., 2018).

Undergraduates face many problems due to numerous reasons. Fook and Sidhu (2015) mentioned that “…. attempts to turn the rhetoric into reality are seen as improvements to the teaching and learning process in higher education to further assist students to address their learning challenges”. Students face problems in learning when they need to perceive abilities in performing tasks in English (Rajprasit et al., 2015). Moreover, they face bigger challenges in communication with teachers and institution via learning management systems. Therefore, they hesitate to communicate with teachers for multiple aspects due to poor communication problems. However, use of social media among undergraduates is rapidly increasing. This was proven in research investigations on social media on academic success (Crossman & Bordia, 2011; Ericson, 2011; Hanson, 2011).

Doran and Anderson (2014) mentioned that the social media technologies fall under the umbrella of emerging web technologies and this is increasingly being adopted in higher education settings. Even though the social media integration in academic setting of undergraduate programmes seems effective and successful, some of the prevailing circumstances become an obstacle in such development.

Saeed et al. (2009) mentioned in their studies that although the adoption of social media technologies uplifts the academic settings, a major obstacle remains to be “the limited understanding of students’ characteristics and perceptions about technology use” (p. 98). Nevertheless, social media integration affords the students and teachers with multiple opportunities to improve learning methods, thus these networks can be incorporated in learning management systems via plugins which enable sharing and integration. Hence, the student gets benefited from the learning activities, materials, videos, tutorials shared through social media networks and LMS’s.

This research examined student evaluations through the integration of social media into blended learning of undergraduate students. Study has proven that social media can be incorporated in academic purposes in meaningful manner.

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2.

Review of Literature

Social media is an electronic media-based technology which facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information while building virtual networks and communities. Use of social media is rapidly growing among young generation around the globe as it impacts their private life and academic activities. Use of social media can be seeing increasing among undergraduates as well.

Undergraduate learning is the level of education where a learner completes his or her bachelor’s degree. Social media platform is a better technological option for students as it provides useful information to create and connect learning groups with a convenient learning environment (Mahdi, 2019). Some social media activities such as review of information, commenting, information classification, blogging, sharing, tagging, and creation of new information are beneficial to the users in learning. Numerous research studies were performed about negative and positive impact of social media on youth (Mushtaq & Benraghda, 2018; Smith, 2016; Lim et al., 2014; Miss et al., 2014; Powell et al., 2012).

Researchers have found negative impacts of getting addicted to social media.

Hence, this situation has to be analyzed and handled with care. Tamir and Mitchell (2012) found that the users are addicted to social media due to the brain activation and the derived pleasure from usage of social media. Hence, students might not provide adequate attention to academic work. Another serious issue in social media addiction is cyberbullying. Here the user experiences threatening or intimidating messages from another person, hacking of passwords of email accounts, sending malicious viral codes via social media (Wired Safety, 2009).

Another drawback in social media adaption is overload of information which disable the users to find credible information for them to use at the time of need (Kapoor et al., 2018). However, there are multiple positive impacts on students’ lives in using social media.

Use of Social media for academic activities are increasing among young undergraduates. This can be an effective mechanism to reduce frustration and boredom among the students hence they are able to share and connect with peers (Heffner, 2016). Impact of social media on academic studies were investigated by Helou (2014). According to the findings, the majority of undergraduates in Malaysia agree that the social networking sites have a positive impact on the academic performances. At the same time, Mushtaq (2018) argued that the positive impact of social media on the academic activities are much significant than the negative impacts, as many research participants suggested that social media is an advantageous and a beneficial tool in their learning process.

Lim et al. (2014) have investigated about different usages of social media technologies by undergraduates for their academic purposes. Found that both teachers and students explore and accept the use of social media as a tool to engage with the institution and peers in teaching and learning process successfully. Sutherland and Ho (2017) conducted a study to explore the undergraduates’ attitudes towards social media usage, used in learning pedagogy and perception on its impact on graduate employability.

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It was identified that the skills used in social media adaption in professional environment is highly positive. It was identified that social media adaption on higher education pedagogy shows the perceived benefits on exploring and entering the job market (Sutherland & Ho, 2017). As per the literature review by Chugh and Ruhi (2018) on use of Facebook in academic work, it was argued that Facebook is a better educational instrument for teaching and learning. It was further highlighted that peer interactions and teacher-student interaction is enhance through the use of Facebook. Thus, the convenience of learning and higher engagement has improved student performance. Mahdi (2019) argues that the social media platforms such as YouTube, Google Plus groups, Twitter as well as Facebook can act as platforms to resolve students’ problems.

Abella-Garcia et al. (2019) conducted a study on use of Twitter which can enhance perceived learning and promote critical thinking, collaborative learning, and active student roles in undergraduate learning (Abella-Garcia et al., 2019). Research on use of Twitter on academic purposes reveal that majority of senior students communicate via twitter and WhatsApp groups (Kimmons et al., 2017; Abella-Garcia et al., 2019). Also, tweets promote to convey information in short, by avoiding long, complex sentences in fully developed paragraphs which are easy to communicate (Gatenby, 2018) In adapting social media in academic setting, teachers and instructional designers needs to pass major hurdles due to lack of formal guidance in social media adaption such as lack of confidence, innovative design integration, uncertainty and lack of control (Zdravkova 2016, Collis & Moonen, 2008). Better models of social media to facilitate academic purposes are in need due to unresolved issues in academic settings. Therefore, teachers and instructional designers must be mindful in choosing the appropriate tool for the task. It was argued that social media integration in undergraduate academic setting must be implemented with a sound pedagogical foundation. Academic institutions can enhance traditional delivery modes via promotion of social media among students in learning (O’ Brien & Freund 2018).

3. Research Methodology Research Design Study has conducted as an action research. Educational action research is disciplined process of inquiry consists of reflective practice which allows inquiry and discussion. (Miskovic et al., 2012; Holly et al., 2009; Burns, 2007). It is also a popular collaborative activity among researchers who are looking for solutions for the problems experienced in educational context. Further, the action research is used by researchers or practitioners with the requirement of investigating and improving their practice (Hendricks, 2009).

Research was conducted to investigate the learning capabilities through the intervention of technology for a better learning context for IT undergraduates.

The study has been conducted with a systematic analysis of designing and development of intervention, conduct of intervention as per the research objectives, collection of data about social media intervention, analyzing data and

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reveal, reflect on the implications of data, and development of alternative solutions based on research data. The research has been conducted at the Faculty of Information Technology for 16 weeks. It has been planned to observe the student behavior in social media integration in the course module titled “EEducation”. This course is an elective course of 2.5 credits. Social media used in the study was Facebook and Twitter.

Research Objectives This study aimed at finding following objectives: (1) Create social media intervention as a communication and collaborative platform to support course activities in learning.; (2) Promote and encourage students to use social media in academic activities of the course through blended mode.; (3) Investigate the student responses and behavior in use of social media in the course activities.; (4) Improve the quality of learning by incorporating social media in academic work.

Participants Level 4 undergraduates who follow B.Sc (Hons.) in Information Technology and B.Sc (Hons) in Information Technology and Management took part in the research. Participants were in the age range between 22-24 years among 53 were female students and 41 were males; overall 94 participants (n=94). There are specific reasons for selecting the said course module for the research study and they are: The course content and the domain is directly connected to Education Technology; The students are studying at the highest level of the degree progamme; The course is offered as an elective course; hence the selected students willingly participated in the case study; Students are much familiar with the technology as they are IT undergraduates.

Research Implementation The action research was conducted as a cyclic process and multiple stages were involved. Based on the action research model (Kemmis & McTaggart 1988), the activities of the study have been aligned. Each phase of the action research model has been explained and illustrated by sub research objectives. The first phase is being illustrated as (i) Identify the learning needs and gap in commination through the formal channels.; (ii) Recognize the social barriers in use of LMS; (iii) Recognize the student’s technology competency with the teacher, peers and learning content. Sub objective of phase 2 is; Design and develop a social media intervention as a plug in to the LMS. The third phase is illustrated by sub objective; Identify the student responses and perceptions on the social media intervention. The sub objective of final phase is to identify a suitable method to evaluate the learner performance in future. All the phases consisted of different research activities which aligned with the sub objectives. Figure I, explains the different phases of action research and alignment of activities in each phase.

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⎯Comprehensive literature review. ⎯Pre-intervention interviews with the students

⎯Assessment grads, quiz marks ⎯Actions to implement in future

Phase 1 Plan

Phase II Act

Phase IV Reflect

Phase III Observe

•Design the social media groups as LMS plugins •Design the course activities •Design the assessment activities of the course

•Design the social media groups as LMS plugins •Design the course activities •Design the assessment activities of the course

Figure 1: Action research process and activities

4. Results of Action Research Phase I – Plan In phase I, two main activities were conducted and the activities are; 1. comprehensive literature review on social media intervention on learning; 2.

Conducted pre-interviews with the students. Fifteen (15) students were interviewed, and results are given in the Table 1.

Table 1. Results of the pre-intervention interviews on social media intervention Pre-intervention Interview Results Questions I am familiar with the social ⎯ 100% are familiar with social media media.

My level of social media usage ⎯ Excellent – 87% ⎯ Very Good – 11% ⎯ Good – 2% ⎯ Average – 0% ⎯ Poor – 0 ⎯ Not usually use the Moodle as a communication The problems uncounted by platform me in the current e-learning ⎯ Not very user friendly system in the university are; ⎯ Takes time to locate different activities ⎯ Very bored when using ⎯ Too much content ⎯ Cannot comment on the activities except discussion forums ⎯ Receiving too many Emails ⎯ Less social interactions ⎯ Cannot share much with the peers except forum

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My level of familiarity with the Moodle announcement regarding the learning activities.

Mostly used social media platforms at the moment are;

The social media channels I recommend for my undergraduate work are;

I believe that the impact of social media on learning at the University;

⎯ Very much familiar – 12% ⎯ Average familiar – 47% ⎯ Poor familiar - 41% ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯

Facebook - 100%, Twitter - 94%, Instagram - 73%, Skype - 54%, WhatsApp - 85%, Viber - 85%, LinkedIn - 32% Facebook - 92%, Twitter - 87%, WhatsApp - 73%, Skype - 42%, LinkedIn - 21% Can share with the friends Easy to communicate with batch mates Enjoy learning with teachers and friends social media provides plenty of information for assessments ⎯ Messaging, sharing, comments, news, articles, and books provide better opportunities for learning ⎯ Quick and easy access for information ⎯ Less effort on sharing information among peers

According to the data analysis, almost all the students are familiar with the social media and they are deeply used to it. Majority of the students use Facebook and Twitter as their regular social media platforms; hence they also communicate via WhatsApp groups. It was clearly identified that students show a reservation towards Moodle as a communication and social sharing platform even though it is the official LMS. Majority of students’ usage capacity shows a positive engagement as they are much used to social media. Participants commented on many drawbacks identified in the official LMS as it has negatively impacted on learning. According to the interview, one of the participants mentioned that “….we are not quite used to the Moodle since it is not very user friendly.

Sometimes we miss the announcements and messages passed by the lecturers.

Usually, our batch representative shares the Moodle announcements via Twitter message because that’s our usual batch communication mode.”

Another response was that the social media communication is much more relaxed and comfortable as they are used to it. The response said “… I don’t feel shy and embarrassed in communicating via Facebook and Twitter. But I don’t like and do not feel relaxed in Moodle communication because we have to use proper communication ethics and methods when speaking to our instructors and lecturers.” Students expressed their dislike on Moodle communication as, “… I don’t think Moodle is user friendly like Facebook. But we gain lots of advantages in using Moodle. Sometimes we get many emails from the LMS and feel stressed due to too much of content. We prefer social media platforms since it is a great experience to be with my friends’ community around always…”. Based on the

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interview results, it can be said that students prefer social media intervention in their learning as it enhances social interaction and communication. Moreover, it is enjoyable, provides quick and easy access and sharing is possible within the community.

Phase II – Design Objective of the second phase is to design and develop a social media intervention as a communication platform during learning. Three main activities were conducted in this regard: 1. Designing the intervention course plan, 2.

Development of the concept map, 3. Identifying activities to be implemented in the intervention.

Course Design The course is offered in blended mode, (classroom and online mode). Each week is consisted of two-hour face to face lecture session and one-hour tutorial session.

Apart from the face-to-face session, the online course has been designed and developed. Moodle has been used as the Learning management system. The online course on Moodle is consisted of many activities that can be conducted by the student such as downloading materials (text, video, audio), quizzes, assessments and discussions.

Social Media Intervention Apart from the blended learning modes, social media intervention was also introduced. A Facebook group and a twitter group were created as a closed group in the two social media platforms. The objective of using two social media platforms was to observe the student behavior in each mode. Mainly, the Twitter group was created for the communication purposes of the students and to facilitate the academic activities enhancing the relationship between different groups. Facebook group was mainly used for social interactions; to discuss the issues and build community connections.

Design Assessments The course consisted of multiple assessment activities, i.e. individual and group.

In the group assessment, the students were supposed to interact with each other in designing and developing the assessment. Social media groups were used in creating the collaborative and conducive learning environment. Assessments were communicated via Moodle and Twitter.

Concept Map The concept map of the intervention given in Figure 2 is developed based on four key components: course introduction, course lessons, course materials, assessment criteria and social media intervention.

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Figure 2: Concept Map of the Intervention Course

Phase III – Observe In the phase 3, student responses between 3-4 week and 9-11 week were observed.

Table 2 elucidates the demographics of social media usage of all the course participants. According to the results, the whole group of male participants is familiar with the social media, but the females are not very much familiar since nearly 11% of them are not regular participants.

Table 2: Social Media Usage of Participants

Participant Male Female

Regular users n (%)

Non regular users n (%)

Total N

41 (100%) 47 (89%)

0 6 (11%)

41 53

The next evaluation is about the average time spent in using the social media.

Figure 3 depicts that 50% of the participants use social media for 2 -3 hours per day. Nearly 23% of students use 1-2 hours.

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Figure 3: Daily Social media usage

The study has identified the different purposes of social media usage. Highest number of learners use social media for chatting, exchanging information, sharing and commenting. Figure 4 describes students’ preferences on different social media usage on a daily basis.

Figure 4: Use of social media for daily purposes It was important to know about the preferred social media platforms and its usage by the research participants. Figure 4 explains about the popular social media platforms among students. It shows that Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and

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Instagram are the most popular among the participants while the learners also use Viber, skype and LinkedIn occasionally.

Figure 4: Usage of Social Media Platforms

Student responses regarding the leaning materials, collaborative work in Moodle, assessment activities and social media integration were collected. The questions reflected five main categories and the feedback was given on the scale of 1-5 (Strongly Agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree and strongly disagree). Responses were received from all the participants (n=94). Table 3 depicts the student responses received from the questionnaire on Social Media Intervention.

1

2

3

4

5

Course Learning Materials Lesson learning materials shared via social media help to improve knowledge and skills Contents of learning materials are interactively presented Learning materials shared via Facebook are creative and resourceful Learning materials are useful to achieve learning objectives Use of audio and video lessons shared via social media are much effective Collaborative work in Moodle

n

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

Agree

Question

Strongly Agree

Table 3: Student Responses on Social Media Intervention Enabled Moodle Course

38

40%

55

59%

0

0%

1

1%

0

0%

94

12

13%

78

83%

3

3%

1

1%

0

0%

94

24

26%

70

74%

0

0%

0

0%

0

0%

94

15

16%

77

82%

0

0%

2

2%

0

0%

94

36

38%

56

60%

2

2%

0

0%

0

0%

94

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6 7

8 9

10 11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Discussion forum effective and help in knowledge sharing Discussion forums are timely Peers’ responses are motivational and help to enhance knowledge Peer learning discussions are enjoyable Assessment Activities Assessments are challenging Assessment activities encourage peer learning Peer facilitated assessments done through social media help in enhancing knowledge & skills Self-assessment quizzes are helpful to enhance knowledge in each lesson Assessment activities are integrated via social media intervention Social Media Integration Social Media platform is much helpful in collaboration Learning via social media is very interesting and encouraging Communication via social media is much more effective than the usual methods Social media platform does not distract my academic performance Engage in forums in social media enhances my skills and knowledge Academic performances are increased due to the following of learning process in social media

3

3%

18

19%

33

35%

27

29%

13

14%

94

1

1%

23

24%

24

26%

32

34%

14

15%

94

12

13%

32

34%

37

39%

10

11%

3

3%

94

10

11%

38

40%

22

23%

12

13%

12

13%

94

36

38%

54

57%

4

4%

0

0%

0

0%

94

18

19%

71

76%

2

2%

2

2%

1

1%

94

34

36%

57

61%

2

2%

1

1%

0

0%

94

46

49%

46

49%

0

0%

2

2%

0

0%

94

21

22%

67

71%

4

4%

2

2%

0

0%

94

44

47%

49

52%

1

1%

0

0%

0

0%

94

56

60%

33

35%

3

3%

2

2%

0

0%

94

58

62%

36

38%

0

0%

0

0%

0

0%

94

36

38%

55

59%

1

1%

2

2%

0

0%

94

33

35%

59

63%

2

2%

0

0%

0

0%

94

22

23%

69

73%

2

2%

1

1%

0

0%

94

According to the question category of course learning materials, 40% have strongly agreed and 59% have agreed (=99%) that the lesson learning materials shared via Facebook are useful in improving knowledge and skills. further, it could be said that these learning materials shared through Facebook are creative and resourceful as 13% have strongly agreed whereas 83% have agreed (=96%).

Student responses on creativity indicated that 24% have strongly agreed while 74% have agreed (=100%). The study examined the relevance of the learning objectives with the activities. There 16% of learners were strongly agreed and 60% of learners were agreed upon. At the same time, 38% of learners have strongly agreed while 60% of learners have agreed that audio and video materials shared via Facebook are extremely effective.

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Collaborative learning method enables students to engage in teaching and learning. This is useful for the groups of students in the same batch to work together and solve problems, complete assessments and produce knowledge (Hamalainen & Vahasantanen, 2011). It was observed that student responses related to the collaborative learning on the Moodle were not in a very positive note. It was observed that student responses on the effectiveness of discussion forums with respect to knowledge sharing, 29% have disagreed whereas 14% have strongly agreed on this regard. Moderate responses obtained on the statement stated that ‘discussion forums were timely’. At the same time, 27% strongly agreed and 70% agreed that the peer responses motivate and help to enhance knowledge in the discussion forums. 13% have strongly agreed and 34% have agreed that peer learning via discussions is enjoyable while some have disagreed. This indicates that formal discussion forums are not popular, and leaners have showed passive response towards such forums.

Online assessments are used to cover multiple aspects in learning and connected to achieve common goals and objectives. Here, 38% of learners strongly agreed and 57% of learners were agreed that the assessments were challenging. It was observed that 95% of the students were positive about assessment activities encouraging peer learning via social media. Moreover 36% have strongly agreed while 61% have agreed that peer facilitated assessments are useful in improving knowledge and skills. Self-assessment quizzes play an important and integral role in self learning hence 98% of students have strongly stated that self-assessment quizzes support in boosting knowledge in each lesson. Moreover, 22% have strongly agreed while 71% have agreed that the assessment activities are integrated via social media intervention.

One of the key objectives of the study is to observe the student responses on the social media integration. All most all the students (47% strongly agreed and 52% agreed) have agreed that Social Media platform is much helpful in collaboration.

Study has identified that the social media intervention on learning is interesting and encourages the students to pursue their studies. Hence, 60% of the students have strongly agreed while 36% have agreed upon that. Communication during learning is another key element that has been identified and the responses about the efficiency of the social media intervention could be observed as 62% have strongly agreed whereas 38% have agreed on that matter. Students are motivated to engage in forums via social media and 35% of students have strongly agreed and 63% have agreed that their knowledge and skills have improved. Finally, according to the study, 23% have strongly agreed while 73% have agreed on academic performances been increased due to social media intervention.

Phase IV – Reflect The fourth phase of action research was to conduct student evaluation after social media integration and to identify the potential actions in conducting future learning activities. The objectives were achieved through student feedback obtained through the intervention and measuring of the student performances.

Figure 5 provides an insight into the student performances in four assessment activities.

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Figure 5: Student Performance of Assessments

According to the evaluation of figure 5, more than 90% of the students have obtained more than 40 marks which is the lowest grade to be obtained for the eligibility for final examinations. The average mark of assignment 1 is 73, assignment 2 is 61, assignment 3 is 76 and assignment 4 is 71. Majority of the students have obtained higher grades for all the assessments and 37%, 26%, 53% and 35% have scored marks between 70 -100.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with some of the students in order to obtain their views on the social media intervention during the phase 4. Twelve students were interviewed and has been able to obtain the feedback on the pros and cons. According to the interviews, students positively commented about the enhancement of communication. One student commented that “… it was a wonderful experience I had in this lecture series. I was very weak in asking questions and talking to the lecturers during the lectures. Communication via Facebook and Twitter made me comfortable in communicating with my friends”.

The comment explains that despite many challenges during academic work, students enjoy collaborative peer learning via social media integration. “… We are facing many challenges due to heavy workload. We enjoy the collaborative learning via Face book and Moodle. I got support from friends in order to complete assignments, quizzes and other activities.” Study results shows a significant relationship between the teachers and peers as they conduct assessment activities and other academic work in the Facebook group. “… Our lecturer and instructor were very helpful in this course. They helped us in finding facts, meeting deadlines and completing assessments successfully by acting as good friends.”

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The study observed a variety of ways in which undergraduates perceive social media which facilitate their academic success. Hence, they rely on social media for communication purposes, logistical purposes to create peer groups, to complete assessment activities, to create and maintain relationships between peers and teachers and to share and discuss ideas when learning. These results would benefit both the students and teachers in terms of increasing awareness on enhancing performance via social media intervention addressing communication problems. At the same time academic institutions can pay attention in designing tailor-made blended courses which is perfect fit for student requirements with regard to creating conducive active learning environment. Incorporation of social media into undergraduate learning makes the learners motivated in self-study.

Further, the whole learning process has a positive reinforcement toward quality output of learning and teaching. This concept can be further extended into the adult learning especially into the areas of postgraduate learning in university.

5. Conclusions Aim of the study is to identify the impact of social media intervention on academic performance of undergraduates. In conclusion, social media is a very popular and a useful tool for undergraduate students in any academic context as it helps to enhance communication and resolve academic problems giving access to important and relevant information. Students believe that social media groups encourage and motivate them to create social and constructive academic relationships among peers, instructors and content. However, addiction of peer groups towards social media may lead to unnecessary time consumption, tend to share non-academic and irrelevant content or would feel stressed out due to less access to internet facilities.

It was clearly identified that social media applications can be accommodated in official LMS s such as Moodle as a plugin. Negative implications were obtained related to the collaborative activities hosted by Moodle but positive results were obtained with regard to the discussions conducted via social media intervention.

Moreover, assessments are integral part of learning which show a significant relationship in social media intervention. Thus, students tend to share information, create ideas, and comment on peer’s work, reminding deadlines and work collaboratively using Facebook and Twitter groups. At this point, Twitter acts as informal but regular communication channel and Facebook group acts as sharing, commenting, and collaborative working in the course activities. In the event of social media integration in academic setting, this research suggests accommodating it in a professional learning set up. In the blended mode teaching setup, it is recommended to accommodate the intervention as LMS plugin and address the learning needs carefully before designing learning activities. Further, study proposes teachers to demonstrate active and cooperative participation in social media groups created by the students in order to enhance, motivate and stimulate the interest in learning.

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6.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 61-81, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.4

Effectiveness of the WebQuest Strategy-Based Educational Platform and Learning Environment in Acquiring Biological Concepts and Systemic Thinking in the Biology Course among Pre-Service Teachers Tahani Alebous World Islamic Science and Education University, Amman, Jordan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9938-2859

Abstract. This study aims at uncovering the effectiveness of the WebQuest strategy-based learning environment in the teaching of biological concepts and imparting of systemic thinking. The participants of the study, 64 pre-service teachers (students) for the 2020–2021 academic year, were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. WhatsApp groups were used to communicate with the students.

To achieve the study’s objectives, a teacher’s manual for biological concepts was prepared following the WebQuest Model; the WebQuests were created using the Zunal computer programmes. Both biological concepts and systemic thinking assessments were prepared and the study tools were tested for accuracy and reliability. To answer the research questions, data were analysed using ANCOVA and MANCOVA. There were significant differences between the average performances of the two study groups on the scale of the acquisition of biological concepts in favour of the experimental group. Additionally, there were significant differences between the average performances of the groups on a scale of systemic thinking in favour of the experimental group. The results encouraged the educational supervisors to hold training courses and workshops for science teachers, training them in the use of the WebQuest strategy in science teaching and urging its implementation in teaching – through individual instruction and publications. The Ministry of Education must play a role in designing and writing the science curricula and provide a guide for the teachers explaining the ways to employ the WebQuest strategy in the process of teaching science.

Keywords: educational platform; WebQuest; biological concepts; systemic thinking; biology

1. Introduction Due to the prevailing coronavirus pandemic, severe challenges hinder the learning process which – additionally – coincide with the increase in knowledge, sciences, and technological revolution. Education must progress from passive ©Author This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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learning to utilising technology and e-learning to enrich students’ options, facilitate the building of sound concepts, support the willingness to learn, and instil and deepen learning values.

Under the new outlook of the learning process, grasping scientific concepts is crucial to retaining the fundamentals and main functions of any science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) considers the sound understanding of different scientific concepts as one of the main components of scientific culture for any individual, as it aids in making decisions and managing the issues of life (AAAS, 1993). Educational studies and research results in the field of science education highlighted certain difficulties in learning and acquiring scientific concepts – students often develop several misconceptions around the mechanisms of biological processes at the molecular level (Zuckerman, 1994). A few studies indicated that many secondary school and university students hold misconceptions about the main concepts of biology, such as osmosis and diffusion (Odom, 1995). They do not possess the right understanding of scientific concepts since most are not taught the correct scientific mental schemes and, thus, resort to memorising science subjects to pass exams (She, 2002) and (Yang et al., 2003). Students practice skills such as organisation, association, differentiation, defining common characteristics, abstraction, and defining major and minor characteristics in the process of acquiring scientific concepts. These skills are necessary in developing students’ systemic thinking, which has become one of the goals of teaching science. Therefore, modern science curricula tend to be a major tool in expanding students’ thinking, in addition to linking the thinking process with their performance skills.

Arnold and Wade (2015) argued that using systemic thinking skills enable the adequate understanding of the root cause of some complex behaviours in order to better predict them and regulate their results. Furthermore, there is an increased need for systemic thinkers to solve complex problems. The need for systems thinkers to deal with convoluted problems has increased, and this need extends beyond the fields of science and engineering to include all aspects of life.

Hence, to prepare for an increasingly complex future, people in decision-making roles must have a strong understanding of systems thinking. The interest in organising educational subjects on a basis that ensures the development of systemic thinking skills by synthesising various parts of any system is considered an essential prerequisite for outputs corresponding with the objectives of the learning process. Abd and Mohammad (2017) asserted that a large percentage of science teachers are not interested in developing students’ systemic thinking skills, which negatively affect their performance. To sustain the pace of the noticeable development in science curricula, teaching methods and strategies were developed to emulate global trends concerning the preparation of graduates who will be capable of dealing with the challenges of this era. Most prominently, the e-learning method allows for an interactive environment that suits students’ needs and increases their self-confidence which is regarded as a pivotal point in the learning process. Dodge, in 1995, brought the idea of the WebQuest strategy to light. Dodge (2001) explains that a WebQuest is an activity based on investigation, through which students participate in an interactive predefined task using available resources on the internet. The nature of this strategy allows

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students to use their skills to solve problems and engage with primary information resources as opposed to secondary resources. A WebQuest is considered an important strategy in the field of education as it helps students in research and investigation, encouraging them to develop various skills.

This study has applied the WebQuest strategy in teaching biology to bachelor’s degree students, whereas the whole world is now moving towards applying it in various other subjects. The researcher believes that the learning of biological concepts and development of systemic thinking occur as a natural consequence of some real practices during e-learning through an educational platform and the Microsoft Teams application. The changes in society during the coronavirus pandemic call for alterations in the learning process. Even at the undergraduate level – in an information technology era, the need for a shift in the learning process to shape students has become imminent to meet the needs of the era. WebQuests emerged because interactivity surpasses negative learning and takes students to new horizons, enabling them to take responsibility for learning as well as build and acquire knowledge, resulting in a deeper and richer comprehension and the enrichment of thinking methods due to its consistency with the constructivism theory of knowledge (Quinn & Wild, 1998). The WebQuest strategy via the internet is one of the most important practical applications of constructivism theory, changing the role of the teacher from a transmitter of knowledge to a facilitator of the educational position. The teacher prepares the educational material and sets the necessary instructions, allowing students to engage in selflearning (Bayram et al., 2019; Ulu & Ulusoy, 2010). WebQuests play an important role in improving the way students learn as individuals in this environment are exposed to the subject in different ways. Hence, this study is significant because it measures the impact of an educational platform and learning environment based on the WebQuest model on the learning of biological concepts and acquisition of systemic thinking at the university level. The WebQuest strategy are also consistent with constructivist theory in its view of content as content, according to cognitive journeys, is no longer limited to writers but rather the student attains knowledge through his interaction with the virtual content (Gurgil et al., 2019).

The WebQuest strategy is characterised by their simulation of students’ preferences and interests as well as the colours and images stimulating their interests and motivating them to learn (Badmus et al., 2019).

2. Problems The research problem arises from the on-going situation in Jordan’s higher education system. Despite what is described as the knowledge revolution era in life sciences, some of the concepts related to biology are difficult to understand due to the high level of abstraction and difficulty in envisioning their mechanisms, which lead students to several misconceptions about the mechanisms of biological processes at the molecular level (Zuckerman, 1994; Odom, 1995). Additionally, students do not have appropriate scientific schemes for concepts (She, 2002) and, therefore, resort to memorising the subject (Yang et. al, 2003). In relation to some scientific concepts, the researcher noticed that many pre-service teachers suffer from weaknesses in scientific courses and display negative attitudes towards

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learning them. About 90% of the pre-service teachers postpone scientific courses to the fourth (final) year of the program. Moreover, most of them do not choose the scientific stream in high school. Hence, the research problem lies in the urgent need to intensify efforts to increase students’ level of performance in science courses such as biology, pursue high-quality learning outputs, and prepare them before graduation in a way that positively reflects on their future students once they become immersed in teaching primary school classes. This has shaped the problem of this study that seeks to uncover the effectiveness of the WebQuest model-based learning environment for teaching biology and developing systemic thinking skills in pre-service teachers. This study aims to answer the following two questions: 1. How effective is the WebQuest strategy-based learning environment in acquiring biological concepts by pre-service teachers in the biology course?

2. How effective is the WebQuest strategy-based learning environment in developing systemic thinking skills in pre-service teachers in the biology course?

3. Objectives of the Study -

-

Employing the WebQuest strategy in improving biological concepts and systemic thinking among class teacher students during the COVID-19 pandemic Investigating the existence of statistically significant differences in the averages of systemic thinking and biological concepts between the experimental group and the control group students attributed to the use of the WebQuest strategy in teaching biology compared to the usual methods

4. Significance of the Study The significance of this study stems from the value of the subject it covers, namely, biological concepts and pre-service teachers’ systemic thinking in the biology course. It sets forth two psychometric measurement tools and technology based on e-learning, which may be of benefit for future research. Further, it proposes a theoretical framework and practical application of WebQuests for teaching biology to impart scientific concepts and develop systemic thinking at an undergraduate level. This study may provide those in charge of qualifying and updating teachers with new information and technology contributing to creating training programs and improving the competence of future teachers. It can potentially open new horizons for researchers in this field.

5. Limitations This study was conducted through Microsoft Teams and Zunal as part of the biology course and its teaching methods in the first semester of the 2020–2021 academic year for pre-service teachers. The study is limited by the measuring tools in terms of accuracy and reliability indicators as well as the objectivity of respondents.

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6. Procedural Definitions WebQuests: Jaqueline (2007) defined them as learning activities that rely on web search activities in the first place to find information efficiently and aims at improving and developing in students many mental capabilities (comprehension, analysis, synthesis, etc.). Operationally, it is defined as a group of student activities through web searches, available through a designed website that contains lessons constructed in accordance with Dodge (1995) and March’s (2003, 2004) educational model, consisting of five stages (presentation, tasks or activities, implementation or operations, evaluation, conclusion). The aim lies in searching for necessary information in biology topics such as plant reproduction, organism classification as well as human body systems. It contains original and real problems that motivate biology students/pre-service teachers to investigate and search for a participatory and collaborative learning environment.

Scientific Concepts: It is defined as “a term encompassing a group of existing ideas that are generalised from certain events, observations or situations; and it is a mental structure resulting from understanding the common relationships or characteristics between phenomena, events or things” (Zuytoon, 2007, p. 481).

Biological concepts are operationally defined as mental representations resulting from understanding the relationships and components of plant reproduction, organism classification, and human body systems which are expressed by a certain scientific term within the topics, of which biology students/pre-service teachers will learn, according to WebQuests and traditional learning methods.

Acquiring an understanding of these concepts was measured by the grades achieved by students in the assessment of the biological concept prepared for this study.

Systemic Thinking: It is an individual’s ability to form visualisations and models consisting of a group of interlinked elements and components (Afana et al., 2007, p. 10). Its predetermined skills in this study are: dissecting main systems to subsystems skills, recognition of intersystem relationships, bridging gaps in the system, and synthesising systems from their components. These skills are measured by the overall grade achieved by students in the systemic thinking skills assessment prepared by the researcher.

Pre-service Teachers: They are undergraduate students in their third and fourth years of the program in the 2020–2021 academic year.

7. Theoretical Frame & Previous Studies Web stands for websites and Quest stands for search. Hence, WebQuests refer to searching for information on the internet. They are learning activities based on internet search which enable the individual to acquire information adequately and efficiently. Mitchell (2003) believes that the rise of WebQuests enables the optimum use of the internet when searching for information for educational purposes, whereas using search engines such as Google and Yahoo may return a vast number of results which could distract students and exhaust time. This strategy is an organised web environment that helps in learning through primary resource links as well as original tasks motivating students to search and

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investigate in a participatory and collaborative manner to achieve meaningful learning and develop their mental capabilities.

The International Society for Educational Technology elucidated that the WebQuest strategy is one of the most important teaching strategies based entirely on modern technologies and one of the most important applications of constructivist theory (International Society for Technology in Education, 2020) The WebQuest strategy via the internet is one of the most important practical applications of constructivism theory. It has changed the role of the teacher from a transmitter of knowledge to a facilitator of the educational position. The teacher prepares the educational material and sets the necessary instructions, allowing students to engage in self-learning (Bayram et al., 2019; Ulu & Ulusoy, 2010).

The WebQuest strategy is based on educational theories such as Piaget’s theory of knowledge: when students acquire knowledge, they incorporate it effectively to attain cognitive balance, unlike in the case of negative learning, resulting in cognitive development and building relevant experiences; Vigotsky’s social constructivist theory: acquiring knowledge through encouraging group collaboration and sharing opinions and ideas to develop the students’ mental capabilities and research skills and obtain information effectively on the internet (Fargoun, 2014).

The nature of behaviourism displays its impact on WebQuests by engaging students with tasks along with words of encouragement through the stages of the quest, followed by the students’ responses to these tasks by utilising available website links. There are two types of WebQuests depending on the predefined time to complete them, assigned tasks, and students’ computer literacy (Dodge, 2001, 2011): Type 1: short-term WebQuests that range between 1–4 lessons, mainly focusing on one subject. This type is used for students with beginner-level computer skills; the aim is to find information sources, understand, and recall them.

Type 2: long-term WebQuests that range between 2–4 weeks, revolving around questions that require advanced cognitive processes such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; here, students are asked to complete advanced tasks using HTML coding language, image processing software (Photoshop), or presentation software (PowerPoint). This study will implement long-term WebQuests due to its suitability for the university undergraduate level.

Hassanien (2006) sets forth seven key elements for creating WebQuests: 1. Introduction: This contains a preamble that raises students’ motivation through interesting images that fit the WebQuest topic.

2. Task: This defines the required final result that students must accomplish with the aim of learning the scientific subject in question. It is considered a pivotal point for students to begin their quest.

3. Process: This part of the activity defines the steps of task completion by providing instructions, guidance, and tips. It involves dividing students into groups, distributing the workload among them, and setting deadlines.

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4. Resources: These specify carefully picked and trustworthy websites that suit students’ level of experience by the teacher who designs the WebQuest.

5. Evaluation: This establishes a set of standards to evaluate students, which include research methods, taking responsibility, distributing tasks, and presenting results.

6. Conclusion: This summarises learning outcomes, reminds students of the acquired skills, encourages them to benefit from the results they find, and to use communication to acquire knowledge.

7. Teacher’s page: This is added after the conclusion of the WebQuest for other teachers to benefit from it.

Our educational system is lacking when it comes to students’ ability to use knowledge in solving daily problems that they face, especially scientific problems that occur in the world and successive scientific changes requiring scientific subjects, such as physics and chemistry, to focus attention on the practical side of knowledge which entails utilising audio, video, and explanatory drawings of scientific phenomena. This can be achieved through a set of strategies based on technology overall, especially computers. One of these strategies is WebQuests, which provides a suitable environment for learning due to what it achieves in terms of gaining scientific thinking skills through educational tasks, based on questions that promote self-learning and adequate navigation of information sources.

Ikpeze and Boyd (2007) stated that WebQuests help improve learning, crucial to students’ acquiring advanced scientific thinking skills. Further confirming this, Mitchell (2003) concluded that WebQuests play a role in improving learning, positively affecting the students’ attitudes and use of the internet. Amini et al.

(2020) concluded that WebQuests provide teachers and students with many collaboration opportunities, thereby making the learning experience meaningful, empirical, and motivating.

Ismael and Abdo (2008) sought to measure the impact of using WebQuests on developing thinking styles and the shift towards using them for teaching science to students in the faculty of education. It was an empirical study where 76 students from the pre-service teacher faculty at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah were chosen for the experimental group and 68 students were chosen from the pre-service teacher faculty at King Khalid University in Khamis Mushait to represent the control group. The study tools consisted of the thinking styles test and attitude scale. The study indicated the following: 1. There was a statistically significant variance (α = 0.01) between the arithmetic means of grade marks for the experimental and control groups using the thinking styles test in favour of the experimental group, implying considerable growth and improvement in the level of subgrades of the test as a result of experiencing the WebQuest.

2. A statistically significant variance (α = 0.01) was observed between the arithmetic means of experimental group grades in the before and after of the application of the attitude scale in favour of the experimental group as a result of experiencing the WebQuest.

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The results of the study conducted by Salih (2014) confirmed that WebQuests increase students’ performance and develop fundamental thinking skills.

The term scientific concept has a specific meaning and it requires understanding the relationships between things, phenomena, and information that are linked to each other. Forming and developing scientific concepts is one of the most important aims of teaching science as it helps in understanding the subject and advancing the effects of learning. This requires the use of educational styles and strategies that revolve around students with varying capabilities in order to ensure learning and retention of scientific concepts (Ralph & Collen, 2008).

The researcher believes that the most relevant property of concepts is that it grows with individuals, and knowledge grows with the growth of concepts. Concepts increase in difficulty from one stage (age) to the next and depend on students’ previous experiences – which differ among individuals. Concepts can be considered as thinking tools that assist in dealing with the facts around us.

The first stages of systemic thinking started to appear in 1940 – a new concept – from the hands of Jay Foster. Arthur and Steaven (2015) defined systemic thinking as a mental process that visualises systems, with their components strongly interconnected and linked. Mastering our understanding of how things operate lies in explaining the interrelations and interactions between and within systems.

Ali (2009) indicated that the birth of biological sciences in the early 1900s by the Austrian scientist Ludwig Von Bertallanffy was a driving force in developing systemic thinking because these sciences describe organisms as complex systems consisting of interconnected subgroups for survival. He believes that this thinking could also be applied to organisms that are exposed to inputs in a changing environment. Inputs are then converted to outputs such as activities, behaviours, and products, called the General Systems Theory (GST). Systemic thinking is considered to fall under Gestaltism as it involves thinking about parts of the situation and their interrelationship and interactions with each other. This pattern of thinking differs from conventional patterns of thinking in that it combines analytical and synthetic thinking (Stephen, 2009). Systemic thinking is closely related to the constructivism theory as it assumes that students build on their knowledge and form relevant systems through interactions from previous and novel experiences, which results in constructing meaning according to knowledge backgrounds and awareness of systems that can be constructed and analysed based on the available forms of illustration (Al-Kamel, 2004). To overcome cognitive divergence between parts of a phenomenon or subject and isolation from the system to which they belong, systemic thinking handles the elements of the phenomenon comprehensively without discounting any of its particulars (Sarid, 2013). It is also an effective method that aids students to broadly and comprehensively envision systems and form an appreciation for its elements, patterns, and different cycles. It also assists with uncovering the real causes of problems within systems and identifying an appropriate starting point for these problems (McNamara, 2006).

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In the educational context, systemic thinking has a great impact on sustainable development as it assists in teaching systems’ dynamics and observing the development of systemic thinking in terms of thinking processes and learning progress. There are some advantages of using visual illustrations of causal relationships as an easy method of systemic illustration. Moreover, learning systemic thinking illuminates the value of forms and methods of systemic illustrations. Therefore, identifying systemic illustration tools (i.e., illustrative diagrams of casual relationships) and ways of dealing with them are the main considerations for learning systemic thinking (Ossimitz, 2014). Systemic thinking plays a crucial role, according to Judi (2004), and some of the roles are summarised as follows: problem simplification and interaction between a system’s parts enable students to clearly envision their properties, effects, and various relationships.

This aids students in developing capabilities to analyse and synthesise with flexibility despite the various methods of achieving objectives and acquiring metacognition skills, and cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor learning experiences systematically and holistically. On the other hand, Assaraf and Orion (2010) suggested that systemic thinking skills could be further particularised with such ability to identify elements and components within systems, identify dynamic relationships between these components, organise components and relationships within a particular system, and the ability to make generalisations, understand the circular and repetitive nature of systems, review past events, and predict the future.

The study conducted by Al-Ghamdi and Al-Afshi (2018) aimed to determine the effectiveness of a participatory e-learning environment in developing critical thinking skills for Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahamn University students. To achieve the objectives of this study, the semi-empirical method was used. The survey sample included 12 students divided into experimental and control groups. The results of the study presented a lack of statistically significant variance between the two groups in critical thinking, identifying assumptions, evaluating discussions, explanation and deduction assessments, which is attributed to the teaching method. On the other hand, the study conducted by Jumaa and Ahmad (2012) sought to identify the effectiveness of WebQuest strategy-based teaching on the academic achievement of third-year chemistry students of the University of Sulaimani. The survey sample was selected from a class of 65 students, out of which 40 were randomly selected and equally divided into experimental and control groups by flipping a coin. This study tool was an achievement test. It concluded that the WebQuest-based teaching strategy was effective in the academic achievement of the third-year chemistry students in the subject of biochemistry.

Additionally, Badmus et al. (2019) conducted a study aimed at identifying the use of the WebQuest strategy via the web in the acquisition of science concepts by students in Nigerian schools; to achieve the goal of the study, the use of an achievement test and the selection of the study sample (48 students) were randomly divided into a group with proven results. There were differences found in the experimental group.

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8. Methodology The quasi-experimental approach was used due to its suitability for this study.

Study Sample: The sample consisted of 64 intentionally selected students from first semester preservice bachelor’s degree students for the 2020-2021 academic year from two classes in the World Islamic Sciences and Education University. They were randomly divided into an experimental group (30 students) and control group (34 students). The experimental group was taught using WebQuests while the control group was taught following the traditional manner.

Study Tools: I.

II.

Biological concepts test: this assessment was prepared for biology and its teaching methods course. The researcher chose the following topics: plant reproduction, cell division, organism classification, and human body systems. The learning outcomes were specified and their cognitive, emotional, and skill-based aspects were clarified. A preliminary version of the assessment containing 25 questions was peer-reviewed and a final version containing 22 questions was adopted, taking into consideration the suggestions made by the reviewers to delete some questions and edit some others for clarity. A pilot study was conducted on 30 pre-service bachelor’s degree students to measure the length and reliability of the assessment as well as the difficulty coefficient and discriminant index of the questions. The difficulty coefficient results ranged between 0.45–0.80 which is considered acceptable and allows for differentiation between students, further confirmed by the discriminant index values ranging between 0.20–0.62 – also an acceptable level for the study. The pilot study was conducted a second time two weeks after the first on the same group – namely grade 9 school students – to ensure the reliability of the assessment. The correlation coefficient between the results from the two pilot studies was 0.82, a stable and suitable level for this study.

Systemic thinking: relevant research literature and studies, such as AlAklouk (2010) and Siam (2017), were reviewed. Afterwards, the assessment questions were written and constructed to measure the pre-service teachers’ capability to develop systemic thinking skills. The assessment consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions covering systemic thinking skills where only one out of four answers was correct. Four skills were specified: dissecting a primary system into subsystems, comprehending relationships within the system, bridging gaps inside the system, and synthesising systems out of their components. A preliminary version of the assessment was peerreviewed to ensure the accuracy of the assessment by 13 specialists – some were university science professors and the rest school science teachers. Based on their suggestions, some questions were removed, some replaced with other questions, and some drawings and shapes amended to make them more intelligible. To ensure the reliability of the assessment, the reliability coefficient was measured using the test‐retest method. A pilot study was conducted on 30 pre-service teachers, who retook the test after two weeks.

The internal consistency reliability coefficient was measured using

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Cronbach’s alpha at 0.808, which was considered a suitable level for this study.

9. Results Question 1: Is there any statistically significant variance in the arithmetic means of grade marks between the experimental and control groups in the measure of acquiring scientific concepts that can be attributed to the implementation of the WebQuest strategy?

Arithmetic means and standard deviations were calculated for the grade marks of both groups. The students took the test once before and once after learning, as can be seen in Table 1.

Table 1: Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of Academic Achievement of Both Groups in the Assessment of Acquiring Scientific Concepts in both the Pre- and Post-learning Tests Post-learning Test SD M 2.37 16.29 3.26 9.83 4.29

Pre-learning Test SD M 3.23 9.56 2.85 7.23

13.27

3.25

8.47

Max

No.

Group

22

34 30

Experimental Control

64

Total

Table 1 displays an apparent variance between the arithmetic means of the two groups in the study during the post-learning assessment of acquiring scientific concepts. The experimental group which taught using WebQuest’s strategy scored an average of “16.29”, whereas the control group which taught using the traditional method scored an average of ”9.83”. The covariance analysis (ANCOVA) was performed “at the α = 0.05 significance” level to confirm that the variance between the group averages is statistically significant. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: ANCOVA Results for Variance in Academic Achievement of Both Groups in the Post-learning Test of Acquiring Scientific Concepts Eta squared

Sig.

F

MS

0.001 12.783 85.453 0.513 0.000 64.348 430.152 6.685

Df

SS

Source of Variation

1 85.453 1 430.152 61 407.773 63 1158.484

Pre-learning Concepts Acquiring Teaching strategy Error Corrected Total

Table 2 depicts the (F) value (64.348) at the (α = 0.000) significance level for the variance between the academic achievement of the groups in the post-learning assessment for acquiring scientific concepts, indicating a statistically significant variance. The corrected means and standard errors for the groups’ academic achievements were calculated to identify which one was favoured by the variance.

Table 3 points out the variance.

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Table 3: Corrected Means and Standard Errors of the Groups’ Academic Achievement in the Post-learning Assessment for Acquiring Scientific Concepts Std. err.

0.46 0.49

Corrected Mean 15.88 10.31

max

No.

Group

22

34 30

Experimental Control

Table 3 illustrates that the experimental group taught using WebQuests had a corrected mean (15.88), while the traditionally taught control group had a controlled mean (10.31). This indicates that the variance is in favour of the experimental group, confirming that the WebQuest strategy-based learning environment is effective in acquiring biological concepts for pre-service teachers in the biology course. This is further confirmed by the eta-squared value (0.513) signifying the scale of the WebQuest strategy’s impact in acquiring scientific concepts. More specifically, 51.3% of the variance in acquiring scientific concepts is due to the WebQuest strategy. The other 48.7% of the variance is due to other variables outside the scope of this study.

Question 2: Is there a statistically significant variance between the arithmetic means of pre-service teachers’ grade marks in the experimental group and control group in developing systemic thinking skills which can be attributed to the use of WebQuests?

To answer this question, arithmetic means and standard deviations were calculated for the grade marks of both groups in the pre- and post-learning systemic thinking assessments. This is demonstrated in Table 4.

Table 4: Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of Academic Achievement of Both Groups in the Assessment of systemic thinking in both the Pre- and Postlearning Test Post-learning Test SD M 2.41 2.18 4.22

Pre-learning Test SD M

13.29 6.23 9.98

3.69 2.18 3.29

7.15 4.70 6.00

Max

No.

Group

20

34 30 64

Experimental Control Total

Table 4 depicts an apparent variance in the arithmetic means of the two groups based on the academic achievement on the post-learning assessment of systemic thinking. The experimental group was taught using the WebQuest strategy scoring an average of 13.29, while the control group using the traditional method scored an average of 6.23. ANCOVA was performed at the α = 0.05 level of significance to ensure that the variances between the two group averages are statistically significant. The results are presented in Table 5.

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Table 5: ANCOVA Results for the Variance between the Two Groups’ Averages of Academic Achievement in the Post-learning Systemic Thinking Assessment Eta Squared

Sig. 0.000

F

MS

Df

SS

14.182 61.953

1

61.953

0.669 0.000 123.181 538.102 4.368

1 538.102 61 266.472 63 1122.984

Source of Variation Pre-learning Systemic Thinking Teaching Strategy Error Corrected Total

Table 5 exhibits the F value (123.181) for the variance in the academic achievement of the two groups in the post-learning systemic thinking assessment, which is a significant value at a confidence level (α = 0.000). Hence, the variance in the academic achievement of the two groups in the post-learning systemic thinking skills assessment is statistically significant. The corrected means and standard errors of the academic achievement were calculated to identify which group was favoured by the variance. Table 6 reveals the variance.

Table 6: Corrected Means and Standard Errors of the Groups’ Academic Achievement in the Post-learning Systemic Thinking Assessment Std. err.

0.37 0.40

Corrected Mean 12.92 6.66

Max 20

No. 34 30

Group Experimental Control

Table 6 shows that the experimental group – taught using the WebQuest strategy –achieved a corrected average of 12.92, while the control group which taught using a traditional method achieved a corrected average of 6.66, indicating a variance in favour of the experimental group. This confirms that the WebQuest strategy-based learning environment was effective in systemic thinking for preservice teachers in the biology course. This result is further confirmed by the Eta squared value (0.669) which signifies the scale of impact of this strategy in systemic thinking. In other words, 66.9% of the variance in developing systemic thinking is attributed to the teaching strategy and the rest of the variance (33.1%) is due to other variables outside the scope of this study. Moreover, the arithmetic means and standard deviations of the academic achievement in the post-learning assessment for both groups were subdivided based on the specific skills. The results are displayed in Table 7.

Table 7: Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations for the Academic Achievement of Both Groups in All Skills Assessed Pre- and Post-Learning Post-learning

Pre-learning

SD 1.39 1.21 1.63 0.83 0.79

SD 1.38 1.10 1.25 1.02 0.85

M 3.79 1.83 2.88 2.18 1.00

M 1.56 1.43 1.50 1.53 0.90

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No.

6

34 30 64

3

34 30

Group Experimental Control Total Experimental Control

Skills Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Relationships

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1.00 1.75 1.29 2.00

1.63 4.82 2.30 3.64

0.99 1.95 1.37 1.79

1.23 3.00 1.83 2.45

1.02 1.03 1.24

2.50 1.10 1.84

1.04 0.82 0.97

1.06 0.53 0.81

64 34 30

7

64 34 30 64

4

Total Experimental Control Total Experimental Control Total

Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Systems’ Components

Table 7 depicts an apparent variance between the two group averages in all the skills assessed by the systemic thinking assessment. The experimental group had the following averages (3.79 and 2.18 and 4.82 and 2.50) across all skills, respectively, whereas the control group had the following averages (1.83 and 1.00 and 2.30 and 1.10) across all skills, respectively. The Wilk’s lambda tests were performed at a significance level of α = 0.003 to determine whether a statistically significant variance exists between the averages of the two groups. The results of the analysis are presented in Table 8.

Table 8: Wilk’s Lambda Test Results for the Variance between Academic Achievements of the Two Groups in All the Skills Assessed by the Post-learning Systemic Thinking Assessment Sig. Df F-test 0.003 4.000 25.945

Wilk’s lambda Variable 0.346 Teaching Strategy

Table 8 shows a statistically significant variance between the academic achievements of the two groups in all the skills assessed by the post-learning systemic thinking assessment. The multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was performed considering the F-test value (5.683) at the α = 0.003 significance level and to identify the variance in specific skills. The results of the analysis are presented in Table 9.

Table 9: MANCOVA for the Academic Achievement of the Two Groups in All Skills Assessed by the Post-learning Systemic Thinking Assessment Wilks' Eta Lambda Squared

0.236

0.764

Sig.

F

MM

Df

SS

0.005

8.533

11.893

1

11.893

0.481

0.502

0.215

1

0.463

0.545

1.286

1

0.120

2.497

2.277

1

0.705

0.145

0.202

1

0.000

33.930

14.505

1

0.520

0.419

0.988

1

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Source of Variation

Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Dissecting 0.215 Relationships Primary Systems Pre-learning Bridging Gaps 1.286 Within Systems Synthesising 2.277 Components Dissecting 0.202 Primary Systems Understanding Understanding Relationships 14.505 Relationships Pre-learning Bridging Gaps 0.988 Within Systems

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0.424

0.650

0.592

1

0.592

0.144

2.189

3.051

1

3.051

0.264

1.270

0.543

1

0.543

0.027

5.114

12.069

1

12.069

0.205

1.645

1.500

1

1.5

0.598

0.282

0.393

1

0.393

0.499

0.463

0.198

1

0.198

0.547

0.367

0.865

1

0.865

0.004

9.184

8.376

1

8.376

0.310

0.000

26.021

36.270

1

36.27

0.288

0.000

23.463

10.030

1

10.03

0.304

0.000

25.354

59.835

1

59.835

0.298

0.000

24.650

22.481

1

22.481

1.394

58

80.845

0.428

58

24.796

2.360

58 136.876

0.912

58

52.895

63

167

63

63

0.549

0.835

0.346

63 250.734 63

96.438

Synthesising Components Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Bridging Gaps Relationships Within Systems Pre-Learning Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Components Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Synthesising PreRelationships learning Components Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Components Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Teaching Relationships Strategy Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Components Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Relationships Error Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Components Dissecting Primary Systems Understanding Relationships Corrected Total Bridging Gaps Within Systems Synthesising Components

Table 9 depicts an F-test value (26.021) at a α = 0.000 significance level in relation to the teaching strategy for dissecting primary systems to subsystems, (23.463) for understanding relationships within systems, (25.354) for bridging gaps within systems, and (24.650) for synthesising systems from their components. This indicates a statistically significant variance in the average academic achievement

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of the two groups across all four skills assessed by the post-learning systemic thinking assessment. The corrected means for the academic achievement of the two groups were calculated to specify which group was favoured by the variance, the results are exhibited in Table 10.

Table 10: Corrected Mean and Standard Error for the Academic Achievement of the Two Groups across All Skills Assessed by the Post-learning Systemic Thinking Assessment Std. err.

0.22 0.23 0.12

Corrected Mean 3.69 1.95 2.05

0.13 0.28 0.30 0.18

1.14 4.68 2.46 2.48

0.19

1.12

Max

No.

Group

Skill Dissecting Primary Systems

6

34 30 34

Experimental Control Experimental

3

30 34 30 34

Control Experimental Control Experimental

30

Control

7 4

Understanding Relationships Bridging Gaps Synthesising Components

Table 10 presents that the experimental group had the following averages (3.69 and 2.05 and 4.68 and 2.48), respectively, across all skills, whereas the control group scored 1.95 and 1.14 as well as 2.46 and 1.12, respectively, across all skills.

This indicates that the variance is in favour of the experimental group which, in turn, confirms the effectiveness of a WebQuest strategy-based learning environment in acquiring systemic thinking skills by pre-service teachers in the biology course. The eta-squared values were 0.310 for dissecting systems into subsystems, 0.288 for understanding relationships within systems, (0.304) for bridging gaps within systems, and (0.298) for synthesising systems from their components. These values confirm the findings in this table represent the scale of the impact of the teaching strategy as well as showcase the percentages of variation across all the assessed skills as a result of the teaching strategy.

10. Discussion The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the WebQuest strategybased learning environment in acquiring biological concepts and all the skills of systemic thinking in favour of the experimental group which was taught the biology course using this method. This proves that the implementation of WebQuests led to a better understanding of biological concepts in topics such as ant reproduction, cell division, organism classification, and human body systems, aligning with the findings of Ikpeze and Boyd (2007), Ismael and Abdo (2008), and Salih (2014). This study was distinguished from Salih’s 2014 study as it was for a chemistry course for high school students and aimed at developing reflective thinking and achievement. Similarly, Ismael and Abdo’s (2008( study sought to develop general thinking methods and the trend towards using them, while the current study attempted to target undergraduate students in acquiring biological concepts and systemic thinking in the life science course.

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This result may be explained if one considers the possibility that WebQuests may have reduced the level of required abstraction which is a feature of the biological concepts from the biology course in question. Concepts such as plant reproduction and cell division and processes such as cell transport, cell breathing, and photosynthesis are abstract in nature. They require forming visualisations and mental models of how they occur in order to understand them. Relying solely on verbal explanations and still pictures is not an easy task for students. This is especially true for topics processed within cells, which were introduced to students through videos on the internet, thus, facilitating the formation of visual models and focusing efforts on following the processes in action. This is in line with Zuckerman’s (1994) findings on the positive impact of visual illustrations and models for phenomena that cannot be seen while understanding abstract concepts and processes. Students strive to understand them by forming mental models that may be incomplete. WebQuests assist in demonstrating the relationships between components and the sequence of processes, helping students in visualisation, comprehension, memorising, and systemic thinking.

This resulted in pre-service teachers understanding biological concepts and developing their systemic thinking. WebQuests engaged students and focused their attention on biological concepts one at a time. Students were able to control them by pausing, playing, and replaying as required. Pictures, colours, and animation help with concentration, attention, and linking the parts of a system which led to a better linking of biological concepts related to reproduction, meiosis, mitosis, organism classification, and human body systems such as the circulatory and respiratory systems. Consequently, information was securely stored, thereby resulting in better internalisation of the information into the longterm memory, better learning, and development of systemic thinking, aligning to the with the findings of Badmus et al. (2019) WebQuests provided entertaining websites which helped pre-service teachers understand biology topics in a collaborative and interactive environment.

Through an element of interest, they take into consideration various learning styles by diversifying sources of information to develop thinking in general and, especially, systemic thinking. The WebQuest strategy contains various teaching methods relying on students’ efforts. At the beginning of a lecture through Microsoft Teams, learning is individualised, then students merge in collaborative groups and collect task-relevant information, analyse the information, and use it to reach a conclusion. The Zunal website supplies enriching software for topics such as reproduction, meiosis, mitosis, organism classification, and human body systems such as the circulatory and respiratory systems, further deepening students’ knowledge. Moreover, social media sites birthed an interactive environment where students learn by way of discussions and comments. The satisfaction and comfort levels were high after the experience of learning by WebQuests through the university platform, Microsoft Teams, and Zunal, encouraging the implementation of this strategy for better learning of science at the undergraduate level.

11. Conclusion The WebQuest strategy appeal and innovation led to students developing and strengthening thinking skills, ensuring the retrieving of previous learning, and

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linking knowledge to the reality of their lives, utilised exceptionally during the pandemic. Additionally, it aided the development of systemic thinking skills, storing the scientific material after learning them. The nature of the educational material prepared in the educational environment based on the strategy explains the steps of implementation by text, sound, and image, with links to video clips arousing the students’ desire to compete, apart from the logical and sequential organisation of their skills. It gave them the freedom to train and practice them, with the ability to ponder carefully and comprehensively, as well as to define the main purpose of knowledge, link its parts to each other, and analyse the related information. Further, they were able to reorganise these parts through the educational tasks performed. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning – employed in the WebQuest strategy – is built on the assumption that the learner in purposeful learning builds his own cognitive images by creating a system for processing visual information and a second system for processing verbal information. By selecting verbal and visual information presented to him and organising it in a meaningful form by building connections between the visual and verbal system, he then merges his mental perceptions by linking the two systems.

Recommendations: - Science teachers can use the WebQuest strategy, within an educational environment in teaching biology concepts; because of their great effectiveness in acquiring scientific concepts and developing systemic thinking skills among students; -

Study the material obstacles that teachers may face in using the WebQuest strategy in schools, such as the infrastructure equipment for school laboratories and the existence of rapid internet communication connected to the computers in the laboratory.

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Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 2(7), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.73.2019.72.64.73 Bayram, D., Kurt, G., & Atay, D. (2019). The implementation of WebQuest supported Critical thinking instruction in pre-service English teacher education: The Turkish context, Participatory Educational Research, 6(2), 144–157. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.19.18.6.2 Dodge, B. (1995). WebQuests: A technique for internet-based learning. Distance Educator, 1(2), 0–13.

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Hassanien, A. (2006). Using Webquest to support learning with technology in higher education. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 5(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.3794/johlste.51.96 Ikpeze, C., & Boyd, F. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: Facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests.

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Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(1). https://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no1/burchum.pdf Judi, M. (2004). Living systemic thinking: Exploring quality in first-person action research.

Sage Journal, 2(3), 305–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750304045945 Jumaa, A., & Ahmad, Y. (2012). The effectiveness of teaching organic chemistry using the web quest strategy in the achievement of third stage students. Al-Fath Magazine, (49), 62–97.

Gurgil, F., Unal, M., & Aksoy, B. (2019). Social studies preservice teachers’ views on and experiences with WebQuest. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 7(4), 131– 141. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v7i4.4061 March, T. (2003). The learning power of Webquests. Educational Leadership, 61(4), 42–47. https://tommarch.com/writings/ascdwebquests/ March, T. (2004). What WebQuests are (Really). The Fulcrum for Systemic Curriculum Improvement. http://bestwebquests.com/what_webquestsare. asp McNamara, C. (2006). Field guide to consulting and organizational development: A collaborative and systems approach to performance, change and learning. Authenticity Consulting.

Mitchell, C. (2003). Using WebQuests as a guide and teaching the use of search engines in an 8th grade middle school classroom to improve student learning and increase student comfort when using the internet [MA project]. Graduate Division of Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan.

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2020). Curriculum assessment and ICT in the Irish context: A discussion paper. https://ncca.ie/en/resources/curriculum_assessment_and_ict_in_the_irish_context_a_discussion_paper Odom, A. L. (1995). Secondary & college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion & osmosis.

The American Biology Teacher, 57, 409–415. https://doi.org/10.2307/4450030 Ossimitz, G. (2014). Systemic thinking in the context of education for sustainable development [Ph.D thesis]. University of Freiburg, Germany.

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Quinn, C., & Wild, M. (1998). Implications of educational theory for design of instructional multimedia. British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8535.00047 Salih, S. M. (2014). The effectiveness of WebQuests over the internet for teaching chemistry in the development of reflective thinking and academic achievement among high school students. Journal of Arab Studies in Education and Psychology, 2(45), 127–178.

Sarid, A. (2013). Systematic thinking on dialogical education. Journal of Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44(9), 926–941. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14695812.2011.00757.x She, H. C. (2002). Concepts of higher hierarchical level require more dual situational learning events for conceptual change: A study of students’ conceptual changes on air pressure and buoyancy. International Journal of Science Education, 24(9), 981– 996. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690110098895

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Siam, B. A. (2017). The effect of employing the CABRI 3D program in developing the skills of systemic thinking in engineering among the eighth grade female students in Gaza. [MA Thesis]. Islamic University, Gaza, Palestine.

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Ulu, H., & Ulusoy, M. (2019). The development of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies through WebQuest based teaching. Journal of Education and Instruction, 9(3), 765–818. https://doi.org/10.14527/pegegog.2019.025 Yang, E. M., Andre, T., Greenbow, J., & Tibell, L. (2003). Spatial ability and the impact of visualization/animation on learning electrochemistry. International Journal of Science Education, 3(25), 329–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690210126784 Zlatkovska, E. (2010). WebQuests as a constructivist tool in the EFL teaching methodology class in a university in Macedonia. CORELL: Computer Resources for Language Learning, 3, 14–24.

Zuckerman, J. T. (1994). Problem solvers' conceptions about osmosis. The American Biology Teacher, 56, 22–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449737 Zuytoon, A. (2007). Constructivism theory and science teaching strategies. Shorouq publishing and distribution house.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 82-98, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.5

What do College Learners Think of Synchronous Learning?

Gentjana Taraj “Aleksander Moisiu” University, Durres, Albania https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9865-3058 Abstract. Advancements in educational technology and improvements in the internet’s connectivity has increased the interest of universities in elearning worldwide. Unlike many institutions around the world, the traditional form of teaching in Albania before the Covid-19 pandemic was face-to-face where both lectures and seminars were attended physically in the classroom. However, the Covid-19 pandemic imposed on them the necessity to move from auditoriums to e-learning immediately without any preparation. This paper aims to investigate the Albanian learners’ attitudes and perceptions of synchronous e-learning during the second semester of the 2019 – 2020 academic year. A survey consisting of 15 questions was distributed to a total of 168 undergraduate and graduate learners in 2 public universities in Albania. Results from the study showed that the learners preferred face-to-face learning over synchronous learning. The lack of motivation, low level of interaction with their instructors and peers, and the feeling of isolation were their main concerns. Meanwhile, the learners appreciated the fact that elearning helped them to improve their computer and internet skills. It is also less expensive and more comfortable than the traditional mode of teaching and learning.

Keywords: synchronous learning; face to face learning; motivation; interaction; Covid-19 pandemic

1. Introduction The digital arena has made it possible for anyone who has got the right device and internet access to easily retrieve any kind of information related to education, making it a great environment for e-learning services (Cojocariu et al., 2014). This has contributed to distance learning becoming a trend which has been widely adapted by academic institutions everywhere (Allen & Seaman, 2013; Kentnor, 2015). This increase in popularity has led to the writing of many research papers that analyse not only the different types of distance learning (Morris, 2014; Valverde-Berrocoso et al., 2020) but also the pitfalls and challenges that are necessary to be addressed by administrators and instructors for the effective

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adaptation of online programs (Lee, 2008; Bhuasiri et al., 2012; Cheawjindakarn et al., 2012; Porter et al., 2014; Alammary et al., 2014).

Unlike universities in developed countries, for Albanian IHEs (Institutions of Higher Education), e-learning is a completely new experience. In the last few decades, Albania has been going through major changes in many areas of its social life. One of these areas is education. It has been affected by many forms of transformation that have led to improvements and advancements in the teaching and learning process. Some of these changes concern the digitalization of the teaching process such as the use of smartboards, electronic class registers, the internet, video projectors, electronic libraries and so on. However, the most distinct experience was the shift from face-to-face instructions to online classes which did not come as a natural process but as a necessity due to the pandemic situation that has affected the whole world.

The present study aims to evaluate the Albanian learners’ attitude towards online learning during Covid-19 pandemic. An online survey was administered in late October 2020 exploring the learners’ perceptions of their experience. The factors that affect these attitudes, such as the internet and computer literacy, prior experiences with online platforms and social interactions, were considered.

2. Literature Review 2.1 Synchronous E-Learning Defined Synchronous learning is defined as “live, real time (and usually scheduled), facilitated instruction and learn-ing-oriented interaction” (Murray, 2007, p.1). It is also known by other names such as virtual classrooms, web conferencing, webinars etc. In a synchronous learning environment, the learners and instructors meet online at and for a predetermined time. It allows the instructors and learners to interact in real time, which creates room for instant feedback. Although e-learning has been the focus of research for a long time, its application during the Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented since for many countries the shift from face-to-face to the e-learning format occurred overnight. This explains the inconsistency in the results reported by studies on synchronous learning where its application was gradual and the findings coming from studies conducted on synchronous learning in the context of the pandemic. In this review, we will analyse e-learning effectiveness by considering the previous research and e-learning experience during the pandemic in IHEs that had no prior experience with online programs.

2.2 Synchronous Learning Before the Covid-19 Pandemic Synchronous e-learning offers many important advantages which makes it preferable in an educational environment. According to Murray (2007), synchronous e-learning connects users together no matter how far apart they live in relation to the university setting. It does not require physical participation which reduces the learners’ travel expenses and allows them to have a job (Yilmaz, 2019). Comparing asynchronous to synchronous e-learning, Hrastinski (2008) concluded that synchronous e-learning increases the learners’ motivation and psychological arousal. The same positive results were found in Park and Bonk’s study (2007), where the learners showed satisfaction with the immediate feedback, the instructors’ support and the meaningful interactions. Live meetings

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in small groups created meaningful and supportive collaborations which helped the learners take on an active role.

Computer technology is highly related to the success of the e-learning environment (Li & Lee, 2016). For example, Yuzer et al. (2009) found that computer literacy reduced the learners’ level of anxiety through the use of visual support (pictures, graphs, tables etc) which helped them with the comprehension of the reading material. Also, the learners’ participation was increased in virtual classes as each learner had the same amount of time to answer the instructors’ questions. Another study by Zabadi and Al-alai, (2016) investigated the relationship between the learners’ gender, technology usage and technology skills variables and the learners’ attitude towards e-learning. The study showed that each of them had a significant effect on the learners’ positive attitude.

Efforts to study the strengths and weaknesses in the adaptation of e-learning programs and the role of institutions in this process are found in many studies (Abel, 2015). Porter et al. (2014) described blended learning as a process that goes through three stages: awareness, adaptation, and implementation. They concluded that the advocacy among faculty members, university administrators and personnel is the key to success in this process. Sharing the same view, Betts (1998) considers the faculty to be an essential element in the successful implementation of e-learning programs. She identified the crucial factors positively related to this process: the faculty experience of education, the previous knowledge and experience with distance learning, administration support, training the teaching staff with a focus on distance education and above all, the faculty interest in developing a distance-education policy (Phelps & Vlachopoulos, 2019; Seifert, 2019).

2.3 Synchronous Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic The e-learning application during Covid-19 has not been without problems (Chen et al., 2020; Jan, 2020; Shukri et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2020). A lack of digitalization and unfamiliarity with online approaches has reduced the effectiveness of elearning in a number of ways (Muthuprasad, 2021; Karayaka et al., 2020). For example, the learners’ and instructors’ computer skills where they were below the satisfactory level were shown to have a negative impact on their motivation (Aytac, 2020). In addition, Ferri et al. (2020) found that a poor internet connection and a lack of electronic devices challenged e-learning as a practice across multiple countries as it related to the level of income within said countries.

Investigating the Romanian learners’ perception of e-learning, Coman et al. (2020) reported a negative attitude which was influenced by an impaired interaction between the teacher-student and student-student, poor technical skills and a teacher-inappropriate teaching style. A lack of motivation, increased anxiety and distractions were highlighted as the barriers for American learners (Gillis & Krull, 2020). Other reasons for preferring face to face learning over synchronous learning were the learners’ poor management of the study pace and minimal social interactions (Zhou et al., 2020). The same difficulties were reported by Greek learners (Raikou et al., 2020).

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However, despite the challenges reported in the application of e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been considered an opportunity to learn from previous experiences and to develop new pedagogical approaches and institutional policies to take the education system to a higher level (Ramola, 2021; Toquero, 2020). Studies carried out around the world conclude that policy level interventions are crucial to improve the e-learning situation. It has been suggested that governments should intervene to secure an internet connection, to provide free digital devices and to reduce the cost of computers whereas institutions should use proper virtual learning environments, train their instructors and learners on how to use the online platforms and provide tools for an effective learning experience, in addition to adapting the pedagogical approaches to the new learning environment by fostering more interactive and innovative teaching techniques. These are some of the lessons that have been learnt during this process (Pellegrini, 2020; Brereton, 2021; Ferri et al., 2020; Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021).

3. Research Method 3.1 Context and Participants The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate learners (N=168) pursuing a Bachelor or Master’s degree in two state universities in Albania. The majority of the participants were female (N=149) and most of them were undergraduate learners (N=115). They were enrolled in synchronous courses during the second semester of the 2019 - 2020 academic year in the field of humanities and sciences. Table 1 presents the profile of the participants who responded to the survey.

Table 1. Demographic profile of the participants Category Nr. of participants Percentage Gender Female 149 88.7 Male 19 11.3 Programs of Study Bachelor’s 115 68.5 Master’s 53 31.5 Region Urban area 110 65.5 Rural area 58 34.5 Age 18-27 years old

3.2 Instrument The researcher has opted to use a survey as the data collection instrument which covers 15 questions regarding the students’ experience of virtual classrooms. The learners were invited to participate in the survey via email which contained the link to the survey. They were informed that their participation was voluntary and anonymous. A copy of the survey can be found in Appendix A of this paper. In the survey, the learners were asked to respond to questions using a Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). In addition, there were questions which required a Yes - No answer. The online survey was administered using SurveyMonkey. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The descriptive statistics of the responses to the

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survey are presented in appropriate tables with the percentages and frequencies of the responses displayed.

4. Descriptive Results The research method used a descriptive quantitative survey. The purpose was to explore the perception of both graduate and undergraduate learners of synchronous learning. The learning experience during the Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that technology is not the only problem faced by Albanian learners.

The present survey explores two main areas of interest which might influence the learners’ attitude towards online learning, specifically (i) the technological challenges and (ii) pedagogical challenges. Each of them will be analysed in turn in the following sections.

4.1 Computer Infrastructure, Use and Internet Access

Data from the study shows that the majority of learners (63%) had access to the internet during the Covid-19 lockdown, whereas 38% encountered difficulties (Table. 2). This corresponds with the number of learners (29%) coming from rural areas which are still having problems related to maintaining an internet connection (OECD, 2020). However, the internet does not guarantee the quality of the connectivity which can vary widely depending on the area where the learners live (rural or urban) or the type of connectivity they use (ADSL, telephone connection, public facilities etc).

Regarding the question on what type of electronic devices they used to attend the online classes, half of the learners (55%) stated that they used their smartphone, whereas 43% of them used a computer. Only 2% reported possessing neither a smartphone or computer.

Table 2: Internet accessibility and digital devices Easy Neither easy nor Q1 Difficult difficult Frequency 105 48 15 Percentage 62.6 28.57 8.92 Q2 Computer Smartphone I don’t have any Frequency 72 92 4 Percentage 42.83 54.79 2.38 Q1. Is the internet easily accessible in your home and region?

Q2. Did you use a computer or your smartphone to attend the online courses?

The analysis results in Table 3 show that the learners’ level of confidence regarding the use of computers and the internet is very satisfactory. Based on the Likert scale question, 54.4% of the students were confident or extremely confident with their computer skills, whereas 10.7% them did not share the same opinion.

This finding creates the premise for a positive expectation since computer skills are positively correlated with the learners’ satisfaction with online learning and their learning success (Sanders et al., 2001).

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Table 3: Learners’ computer literacy Extremely Confident Somewha Not so Not at all Q3 confident t confident confident confident Frequency 22 71 57 16 2 Percentage 13.1 42.3 33.9 9.5 1.2 Q4 Elementary High school Universit Private None school y course Frequency 20 75 32 7 34 Percentage 11.9 44.6 19.0 4.3 20.2 Q3. What is your level of knowledge regarding using computers and the internet?

Q4. Have you taken a computer course at any level of your education?

The high number of learners feeling confident with their computer literacy is related to the efforts made by the Albanian Ministry of Education which has considered the digitalization of schools and digital competencies to be one of its priorities (OECD, 2020). The participants in the study admitted that they had been introduced to computer skills in elementary school. They had taken computer courses at different levels of their education as part of the school curriculum (mostly in high school - 45%) or taken it as a private course (20%). However, UNESCO (2017) underlined a number of gaps in the ICT course content and ICT infrastructure in Albanian schools which requires immediate attention. A significant evidence that supports the conclusions from this report is the number of learners (20.2%) in the study who said that they had never attended a computer course. This happens at schools which do not have the adequate ICT infrastructure.

4.2 E-learning - prior experiences In order to determine the extent to which the learners’ prior experience with online programs had contributed to their satisfaction with the online courses taken during lockdown, the students were asked if they had ever enrolled on any online courses before March 2020 (Table 4). A large number of the participants (73.8%) confirmed that they had never taken online courses before, which means that the majority of them were totally unfamiliar with any type of e-learning environment. Only a few of them had some prior experience (26.2%) with online courses, but we do not know for what purpose and for how long.

Table 4: Learners’ prior experience with virtual classes Q5 0 1 2 3 4 or more Frequency 124 17 14 8 5 Percentage 73.8 10.1 8.3 4.8 3.0 Q5. Have you taken online courses before March 2020? If yes, how many?

On the other hand, half of the learners (56%) reported having been introduced to some theoretical information on distance learning, whereas 44% of them knew nothing about virtual classrooms (Table 5). We believe that the former were students from the Faculty of Education where online learning is introduced in courses whose focus is on teaching methodologies and the use of new technology

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in education. However, the learners’ reaction to the next question suggests that in spite of having some idea of what distance learning is, it has not been enough to make them feel comfortable with online platforms and tools.

Table 5: Learners’ theoretical knowledge of virtual classes Q6 Frequency Percentage YES 94 56 NO 74 44 Total

168 Q6. Is e-learning part of your curriculum?

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From the students’ perspective, theoretical knowledge on distance learning was not enough to support them in the online environment. When asked if they needed some training before taking the online courses, 66% of the students agreed that they needed some training and only a small number of learners (13.7%) felt confident using the online platform (Table 6). This number might represent the learners who already have some prior experience with online learning.

Table 6: Learners’ need for training Strongly Agree Neutral Q7 Disagree Agree Frequency 28 82 35 19 Percentage 16.7 48.8 20.8 11.3 Q7. Do you think you need some training before taking online courses?

Strongly Disagree 4 2.4

Without an initial orientation on how to use online resources, the quality of the Albanian learners’ online experience decreased. The necessity of providing students with some technical training on the online learning platforms since the start of online programs is highlighted in many studies (Jones & Gallen, 2016; Pan & Sullivan, 2005). In addition, moving from one online platform to another in a short space of time is not a good strategy since it might have a negative impact on both the students and instructors. The learners in this study started their first online experience with the Zoom platform but during the spring 2020 semester, the teaching/learning shifted to the Moodle platform.

4.3 Learners’ perception of e-learning The learners were given 6 options for the advantages and limitations of synchronous learning (Tables 7 and 8). The most frequent advantages of elearning chosen by the learners were the lower cost of online programs (44%), not having to travel every day to campus (40%) and the feeling of being more comfortable at home (31%). About the same number of learners (28% and 27%) admitted that they liked the use of new technology in education and that synchronous e-learning had helped them improve their computer and internet skills. Only a small number of learners (24%) enjoyed the opportunity to study at their own pace.

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Table 7: Learners’ perception of the advantages of synchronous learning

Q8 I don’t have to go to school every day I improved my computer skills It is less expensive I have control over my study pace I am more comfortable at home I like technology in teaching and learning

Frequency

Percentage

68 40.29 47 28.35 75 44.77 40 23.88 53 31.34 46 27.61 Q 8. What do you think are some of the advantages of taking online courses? More than one answer is possible.

The results from Table 8 show that 41% of the learners lacked motivation which is a significant predictor of the students’ attitude toward online learning. Another reason for the students’ low positive attitude toward synchronous learning is poor access to online platforms (42%) that frequently manifested itself in signal and sound loss. A lack of immediate feedback (37.3%) and a feeling of isolation (29%) were among the factors that intervened in the students’ satisfaction with online learning. Finally, the Albanian students reported problems with time management (25%) and noises from the environment (25%).

Table 8: Learners’ perception of the limitations of synchronous learning

Q9 Lack of motivation Poor Internet connection No immediate feedback Problems with time management Feeling of isolation Noises and other distractions

Frequency

Percentage

69 41.04 71 42.13 63 37.31 43 25.37 49 29.10 43 25.37 Q9. What do you think are some of the disadvantages of online courses? More than one answer is possible.

Two third of the learners (75%) admitted that face to face interactions were better than online interactions (Table 9). One reason why interactions fail in online learning is related to the learners and instructors’ knowledge and skills related to coping with the online platforms (Coman et al., 2020). Many of them found themselves unprepared and with little to no knowledge of how to use the synchronous tools for effective communication and learning. In the face-to-face format, the instructor and learners are physically in the classroom and the amount of time they spend together is considerable enough to reduce the feeling of isolation. Another reason is the lack of instructor flexibility to adjust their teaching style to the online environment (Bower, 2011).

Table 9: Learners’ perception of instructor-student and student-student interactions

Q 10 Internet Face to face Total

Frequency

Percentage

42 25 126 75 168 100 Q10. Is it easier for you to interact with your instructors and peers via the internet or through face to face interactions?

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Finally, data from the survey indicates that overall, the Albanian students’ attitude towards online learning was not very satisfactory. More than half of the learners (54.7%) were not optimistic about taking online classes in the future (Table 10). Considering the challenges that they faced during 2020 online courses, the Albanian learners (61%) preferred that the teaching/learning process take place in a physical environment, that is face-to-face rather than online. The second choice was blended learning (29%) which is a combination of online and offline courses, while only 10.1% would prefer online learning.

Q 11 Frequency Percentag e Q 12 Frequency Percentag e

Table 10: Learners’ preference for face-to-face format Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Agree 10 17 49 54 6.0 10.1 29.2 32.1 Face to face Learning 102 60.7

Online Learning 17 10.1

Strongly Disagree 38 22.6 Blended 49 29.2

Q11. Would you like to have online courses in the future?

Q12. Which format of learning do you prefer?

5. Discussion and conclusion This study aimed to investigate the Albanian learners’ attitudes towards elearning in the context of the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic on the Albanian higher education system. The transition from face-to-face learning to the e-learning format was not easy. The students experienced difficulties during the transition to all courses being online and the findings from the study relate the students’ dissatisfaction towards the online learning with technological and pedagogical challenges.

Access to the internet at a fast speed and the availability of ICT devices seems to be a basic prerequisite for e-learning (Karakaya et al., 2020). However, the study showed that not all learners have a fast internet connection or a powerful electronic device. The results indicate that a considerable number of learners had problems with their internet connection and may not own a computer (UNESCO, 2017). Some European countries have addressed this problem by taking the initiative to assist families who cannot afford to have one (Ferri et al., 2020).

Unfortunately, the Albanian government has failed to provide free computers to disadvantaged learners but it has been able to reduce the cost of a decent internet connection for a short period of time.

In addition, studies have shown a positive correlation between the students’ level of computer literacy and their experience with online tools. Not surprisingly, the Albanian learners reported good computer skills as a basic computer course is part of their education curriculum. However, the ICT course in pre-university

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education covers a wide range of topics related to Microsoft programs and navigation on the internet which, as the results showed, were not enough to help the students cope successfully with online e-learning platforms and their tools.

Although the tools offered by the e-learning platforms are easy to use and intuitive, half of the Albanian learners (66%) agreed that they needed some training on how to use them effectively. One reason for their inability to use online platforms efficiently is the fact that half of them used smartphones which have many technological limitations compared to computers. This finding is consistent with the results reported in Xhelili et al.’s study (2021) where Albanian students studying technology-based programs were more satisfied with online courses than the students studying life sciences.

The most interesting finding from this study is the learners’ attitude towards synchronous e-learning. The Albanian learners showed a greater interest in traditional face-to-face classes rather than synchronous teaching. This finding is in line with the results from another study (Xhelili et al., 2021) where the Albanian students also showed a great preference for face-to-face learning. The two most favourite formats chosen by the learners as future trends in teaching and learning in higher education in Albania were face-to-face and blended models. The learners’ preference for blended learning is also consistent with the results reported in other studies (Kumari & Jayasinghe, 2021; Bordoloi et al., 2021). We believe that they favour blended learning over synchronous e-learning due to the fact that it preserves select face-to-face features.

Unlike the results reported in other studies (Fidalgo et al., 2020; Peck et al., 2018), the most highlighted benefit of online learning for Albanian learners was its cost.

Albania is still among the poorest countries in Europe (European Commission, 2019) which explains why Albanian learners are so sensitive towards the study tuition fee. The economic issues might partially explain the next choice. The learners were satisfied with the online courses since they did not have to go to school every day which meant a reduction in their daily expenses including bus tickets, food etc. In addition, due to the assertion that they feel more comfortable at home than at university, this also raises the question of the university infrastructure and how it might not be that satisfactory. The least chosen options were control over their study pace and time management. The Albanian learners failed to appreciate the learning independence offered by synchronous learning which requires the instructors to adapt face-to-face instructions to online learning features (Coman et al., 2020).

Regarding the disadvantages of synchronous learning, a poor internet connection and low motivation were highlighted by the students as the main reasons for their dissatisfaction. The loss of human interaction between the teachers and students and the lack of immediate feedback has also led the students toward feelings of isolation. It seems as though there is no tool in online learning to substitute for face-to-face instructor-student and student-student interactions.

The Albanian learners were used to face-to-face courses where they meet in person with their instructors and peers. Moving from traditional classes to online

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communication without any preparation on how to compensate for the lack of physical contact might have been hard for them. This was made worse by the quarantine (March-June 2020) when they were deprived not only of campus life but from any social contact other than their families. This leads us to believe that perhaps the instructors failed to use the virtual classroom features which are expected instead to promote collaboration, community and interaction (Cook et al., 2011; Martin & Parker, 2014). However, this is an issue to be addressed in the future not only by researchers but also by faculties and instructors. The feeling of isolation and the low level of interactions reported by the learners indicate a need for an immediate change in online teaching pedagogy.

There are several things we would like to suggest in order to overcome the technological and pedagogical challenges related to e-learning in Albania.

The technological challenges reported in this study were related to a poor internet connection, a lack of digital devices and computer literacy. The first two issues can be addressed by government policies, first to secure full internet coverage and the adoption of 5G throughout the country and second, to improve people’s financial situation while reducing the price of electronic devices. The third issue concerns the faculties regarding curriculum development so that they provide courses which support the students with the proper computer literacy and training on how to use e-learning platforms and their tools.

Pedagogical challenges are related to the use of an adequate online platform, the teaching materials and the teaching style (Ferri et al., 2020). It is crucial that online platforms have all of the necessary features allowing instructors to use a wide range of digital resources in order to maintain the learners’ interest and their motivation. Furthermore, it is necessary that the platforms are chosen carefully and not changed over a short period of time. In addition, the faculties should train their staff not only on how to use online platforms and their tools but also on how to construct a meaningful and well-planned online syllabus. Instructors need to apply different forms of online communication with their students in order to create a friendly online environment that can reduce the feeling of isolation. They should respond to the students more frequently by giving instant feedback which can increase their intrinsic motivation and participation in the e-classes.

Finally, the Albanian Ministry of Education should accredit online programs where all of the demands for qualitative online teaching are met so then this trend continues while improving itself. However, blended learning is for the moment the best option offered by Albanian IHEs as an effective learning format in the future since it satisfies not only the growing demand for e-learning but also the need by learners and instructors to maintain certain aspects of the face-to-face approach.

6. Limitations of the study This study is an attempt to shed light on the Albanian learners’ attitude towards synchronous learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. It provides some information on the challenges faced by Albanian learners during the spring 2020

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semester which need to be addressed in order to improve their online learning experience in the future. However, the present study has its limitations. First, the participants in this study were from two Albanian universities in the field of humanities and sciences. In total, there were 168 students which makes this sample not representative of the entire population. The findings from this study cannot be generalised to the overall population at large. Second, this study focused on the learners’ perceptions of online learning but there was no data from the actual virtual classrooms which would help us to better understand the learners’ perception of the online course design. Finally, longitudinal studies are needed to understand the progress made in online pedagogy and the effect of the institutional and government policies on online learning.

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Pellegrini, M., & Maltinti, C. (2020). ‘School Never Stops’: Measures and Experience in Italian Schools during the COVID-19 Lockdown. Best Evidence Chinese Education, 5(2), 649-663. https://doi.org/10.15354/bece.20.or021 Phelps, A., & Vlachopoulos, D. (2020). Successful transition to synchronous learning environments in distance education: A research on entry-level synchronous facilitator competencies. Education and Information Technologies 25(3), 1511–1527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09989-x Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A Literature Review on impact of COVID 19 Pandemic on Teaching and Learning. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631120983481 Porter, W. W., Graham, C. R., Spring, K. A., & Wech, K. R. (2014). Blended learning in higher education; Institutional adoption and implementation. Computer and Education, 75, 185-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.02.011 Raikou, N., Kaltsidis, C., Kedraka, K., & Karalis, T. (2020).

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Yang, X., Li, D., Liu, X., & Tan, J. (2020). Learner behaviors in synchronous online prosthodontic education during the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic. The Journal of prosthetic dentistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prosdent.2020.08.004 Yilmaz, A. B. (2019). Distance and face-to-face students’ perceptions towards distance education: A comparative metaphorical study. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, 20(1), 191-207. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.522705 Yuzer, V. T., Aydin, B., & Gonen, S. I. K. (2009). Learners' Perceptions Toward E-learning: An Application for a Synchronous E-Class. I-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 6(2), 30-40. https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.6.2.799 Zabadi, A., & Al-Alawai, A. H. (2016). University Learners’ Attitudes towards E-learning: University of Business and Technology (UBT)-Saudi Arabia-Jeddah: A Case Study. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(6), 286-295. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v11n6p286 Zhou, T., Huang, S., Cheng, J., & Xiao, Y. (2020). The distance teaching practice of combined mode of massive open online course micro-video for interns in the emergency department during the COVID-19 epidemic period. Telemedicine and eHealth, 26(5), 584-588. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0079

APPENDIX A: (Online Survey Questions) You are invited to participate in a research study that helps to evaluate Albanian students’ attitude toward synchronous learning during the period March- June, 2020. This survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous. Click on the link below if you provide your consent.

1. Your Gender Female Male 2. Choose the program level you are actually attending.

Bachelor-first year Bachelor-second year Bachelor-third year Master-first year Master-second year 3. Where do you live?

Urban area Rural area 4. How old are you?

18-19 20-21 22-23 24-27 Other (please specify)

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5. Is internet easily accessible at your home and region?

Easy Difficult Neither easy nor difficult 6. Did you use the computer or your smartphone to attend online courses?

Computer Smartphone I don’t have the necessary device to access internet 7. What is your level of knowledge in regard to using computer and internet?

Extremely confident Very confident Somewhat confident Not so confident Not at all confident 8. Have you taken computer courses at any level of your education?

Elementary school High school University Private course None 9. Have you taken online courses before March 2020? If yes, how many?

0 1 2 3 4 more than 4 9. Is online learning part of your curriculum?

Yes No 10. Do you think you needed preparation before taking online courses?

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

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11. What do you think are some of the advantages of taking online courses? More than one answer is possible.

I don’t have to go to school every day I improved my computer and internet skills It is less expensive I have control over my study time I am more comfortable at home I like the use of technology in teaching and learning 12. What do you think are some of the disadvantages of online courses? More than one answer is possible.

I lack of motivation I had problems with internet connection No immediate feedback from instructor or peers I had problems with time management I felt isolated Noises and other distractions 13. Is it easier for you to interact with instructors and peers via internet or face to face interaction?

Internet Face to face interaction 14. Would you like to continue having online courses in the future?

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 15. Which type of learning do you prefer?

Face to face courses Online courses Blended learning (a mix of learning online and face to face)

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 99-115, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.6

Using Speaking Frames as Scaffolding Tools to Teach University Students to Speak in ESP Nataliia Saienko National Technical University of Ukraine, Igor Sikorskiy Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8898-5198 Iryna Nazarenko National Technical University of Ukraine, Igor Sikorskiy Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7919-7939

Abstract. This paper deals with the issue of using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for teaching software engineering students to speak in an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) course. We believe that students’ knowledge of the process of learning, and developing their metacognitive skills, may influence their learning outcomes greatly. So, in the study, we used frames as generalized scaffolds, with the idea that, by assigning meanings to objects, images and representations, we could manipulate cognitive functions, such as remembering, perceiving and concentrating, which, in turn, could influence speaking production positively. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of using frames as knowledge representation elements for improving speaking skills of software engineering students in an ESP course, as well as determining the attitudes of these students to using speaking frames for developing their speaking skills. We applied the hypothesis that the quality of students’ monologues may increase considerably if they practiced using scaffolding tools such as speaking frames on a regular basis. We used a mixed research design, and combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach was aimed at collecting data about students’ attitudes to using speaking frames while developing professional communicative competence in spoken production. For that purpose, we used a questionnaire for students, containing open- and closed-ended questions. The quantitative approach was focused on evaluating the effectiveness of using speaking frames in experimental learning, by comparing the students’ monologue speeches before and after the experimental learning using speaking frames. The study took place in 2019–2020 and involved 41 third-year students of Heat and Power engineering faculty of the National Technical University of Ukraine Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The results of the study show that the use of speaking frames enabled a significant increase in the number of students who demonstrated a sufficient level of speaking ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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competence. Using frames helped students to reduce repetitions, hesitations, false starts and pauses, and to significantly increase the number of continuous utterances while delivering monologues. The use of speaking frames contributed not only to the improvement of grammar accuracy and formation of lexical fields, but also to the structuring of students’ speech.

Keywords: speaking skills; English for Specific Purposes; scaffolding; speaking frames; software engineering students

1. Introduction Present-day demand for skilled and highly qualified software engineers seems to have no limit. This demand is exacerbated by the increased reliance of people around the world on IT technologies, by the rise of complex technology-driven industries and, as a result, by the need for more sophisticated technological solutions. Ukrainian software engineers are active participants in many international software engineering programs and have great potential in this field.

Considering this, it has become necessary to train software engineering students at the tertiary level. Along with profound professional knowledge and skills, software engineering students have to possess an adequate English language proficiency level, as the effectiveness of their work, as well as their career development, strongly depends on their ability to analyze information in English, participate in meetings and discussions, work in international project teams, and communicate with colleagues abroad (Casañ-Pitarch et al., 2020; Мammadov et al., 2019). It should also be mentioned that software engineering students have to deal with an abundance of information, a large amount of which is in English, so they have to acquire a set of strategies for retrieving and processing information quickly and organizing it effectively. According to psychological studies of this category of students, they tend to be highly organized and responsible, have strong intrinsic motivation and cognitive abilities, possess self-directed learning skills, and have an inclination to plan and organize their activities, due to their algorithmic thinking abilities (Lytovchenko et al., 2018; Saienko, 2017; Saienko & Lavrysh, 2020; Synekop, 2018). Therefore, there is a need for new, effective ways of improving English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching at the tertiary level, with particular attention paid to effective ways of structuring knowledge.

In this context, we considered the use of scaffolding techniques as means of structuring learning activities and raising the effectiveness of ESP learning. The roots of scaffolding reach as far back as the sociocultural theory of mind by Vygotsky (1986). The basic idea behind the theory is that human psychology is a fundamentally mediated activity (p. 2). Vygotsky (1986) reasoned that people tend to create symbolic tools that can contribute to their psychological movement.

By assigning meanings to objects, images and, on a larger scale, representations, people are able to gain control of cognitive functions such as remembering, perceiving and concentrating. According to Wood et al. (1976), scaffolding refers to a form of just-in-time assistance that helps a student “to solve a problem which is beyond his/her unassisted efforts” (p. 90). Basically, scaffolding is identified as a means to retain the attention on the task, reduce frustration and model solutions

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(Wood et al., 1976). Scaffolding has progressed to teacher-student interaction, in which context it means the activity within teacher-student interaction that is aimed at teachers providing any kind of support to students (Gonulal & Loewen, 2018; Lytovchenko et al., 2018), so that students do not find the task too difficult, and become able to execute it effectively. Scaffolding uses clues, hints and prompts to help students develop their ideas and see the result as the outcome of their own thoughts.

The potential of scaffolding in second-language learning has been extensively investigated. Scaffolding represents a temporary, though essential element of supportive interaction, with the help of which novices are assisted by experts, who are represented by not only teachers, but by parents, other mentors or even peers (Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994). Unlike the primary meaning of scaffolding, scaffolding in education—which makes a positive contribution that has been extensively investigated (Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994; Antón, 1999; Askell-Williams et al., 2011; Cudd & Roberts, 1993; Donato & Adair-Hauck, 1992; Hong et. al., 2011; Li, 2012; Kiewra, 2002; Panselinas & Komis, 2009; Poehner, 2018)—is not a rigid structure, but a flexible means to support a person’s self-regulated educational activity; it is a means of keeping the focus on the task, reducing frustration and modeling solutions (Wood et al., 1976). Scaffolding can be put to use in several ways with students of English language. Popular instructional scaffolding techniques include modeling, schema building, contextualizing, bridging, and text representation.

It is modelling that provides students with illustrative examples of what they are to achieve, and provides them with explicit guidance. Teachers can provide students with tasks and activities, as well as with proper language patterns, to enable vocabulary diversity while students are completing tasks and activities.

Scaffolding in language teaching is perceived as teacher-student interaction that is aimed at prompting the acquisition of target language forms (lexical items, grammatical and sentence structures, etc.). Studies within the frame of ESL classrooms report positive effects of scaffolding on students’ learning of the second language. Li (2012) studied the use of scaffolding as facilitative assistance for dealing with English semantics while students were negotiating the meaning of unknown words. Li’s study showed the positive effect of scaffolding on college students’ acquisition of a second language. A recent study by Lantolf and Poehner (2014) show that the degree of explicitness of scaffolding that a student requires is an indication of how far he/she is from independent control over certain features of the language.

It should be mentioned that the basic understanding of the role of scaffolding as a supportive interaction has changed since its initial understanding by Vygotsky (1986). It has progressed to a specific teacher activity that assists students to master difficult tasks, with little respect to developmental issues (Poehner, 2018).

Wells (1999) and Maybin et al. (1992) highlight the importance of scaffolding, not as a task at hand, but as a means for developing students in the first place. They point out the importance of adjusting corrective feedback in relation to change

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brought about by students’ development, and recommend that flexibility should prevail over rigidity in teacher-student mediation.

Nonetheless, existing studies fail to provide sufficient evidence of the kind of collaborating mediation that could contribute to students’ independent learning.

In this context, individual learners’ characteristics play a significant role, as learners have different backgrounds and preferences. Few empirical studies on scaffolding in teacher-student interaction have been done in Ukrainian ESP classrooms. There is, thus, a need for empirical studies on the use of scaffolding as a means that can contribute to the development of the ESP speaking competences of software engineering students.

To achieve this goal, we used speaking frames as a scaffolding tool for communication in professional software engineering. We see scaffolding as a tool that will help students to keep their focus on the task and reduce frustration. We had two considerations in developing the idea of using speaking frames for the development of the ESP speaking competences of software engineering students.

Firstly, students’ monologues in English often lack organization and linking structures; sometimes there are problems with vocabulary choice, or sentences are grammatically incorrect. The second consideration was that software engineering students, who have extensive analytical skills, should be able to organize their ideas, and construct a plan of what they want to say. However, quite often, they have problems with the accuracy of their presentation. With this in mind, we made an effort to give students the task to build a scaffold, so that they could concentrate on the aspect being studied (on the semantic/sentence level) and apply a generalized idea of the text structure (on the text level).

Initially, frames act as a basic skeleton that emerges in people’s minds before they execute any activity. Frames are referred to as previously acquired experience, or existing knowledge of a person about an object or a process that could help them to take further decisions. The idea of frame-based systems was initiated by Minsky (1975), and elaborated further by Schank and Abelson (1977) as scriptbased systems. The key idea behind these notions is that our knowledge of concepts, events, and situations is based on our expectations of key characteristics of those concepts or events. Frames represent a core element and its peripherals.

Using frames to teach speaking can be justified by their correlation with the condensed quality of inner speech (Wiley, 2016, p. 177). Inner speech violates the linguistic rules of ordinary language – it can be squeezed, sentences are fragmentary, and semantics is irregular (Wiley, 2016). Using speaking frames is a way to motivate students to keep their attention on the core element of the frame, and generalize or model the interconnection between the core element and its peripherals by applying language units and grammar structures on the topic being discussed. Modeling allows us to depict events and objects for further representation (Justi & Gilbert, 2003). Frames are useful for accounting for generalization in spoken interaction (Fischer, 2011).

Frames as scaffolding tools were originally developed to support writing skills.

Research has been done on the application of so-called sentence frames (Donnelly

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& Roe, 2010). In their study, the researchers gave students sentence frames with the vocabulary underlined, and sentence frames with vocabulary removed.

Students were provided a word bank of the target vocabulary words, and had to fill in the blanks. Support was given to students on how to select vocabulary, insert it into the frame, and read the frames aloud.

The use of speaking frames to develop speaking, listening and writing skills is described by Palmer (2010), who used scaffolding tools for children to boost their confidence in the use of language patterns. His idea was to provide students with patterns of literate talk, because, during spontaneous speech, their language patterns and vocabulary are limited and speech is fragmented, incoherent and lacking in organization. We observed similar problems in software engineering students who study English within specific professional contexts. Studies by Donnelly and Roe (2010) and Palmer (2010) were applied to teach English to English-speaking students.

The aim of this paper was to determine the effectiveness of using frames for teaching speaking skills within the ESP course to software engineering students; and to determine the attitudes of software engineering students towards using speaking frames for the development of ESP speaking competence.

2. Methods Research Design This study used a mixed research design that combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach was aimed at collecting data about students’ attitudes to using speaking frames while developing professional communicative competence in spoken production. For that purpose, we used a questionnaire for students that contained open- and closed-ended questions. The quantitative approach was focused on evaluating the effectiveness of using speaking frames in experimental learning, by comparing the students’ monologue speeches before and after the experimental learning using speaking frames. For this part of the investigation, we used the oral testing and assessment criteria described below.

Participants The study took place in 2019-2020 and involved 41 third-year students of Heat and Power engineering faculty at the National Technical University of Ukraine Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, who were volunteers and could interrupt their participation in the study at any time. They were divided into two groups consisting of approximately the same numbers of students with low, sufficient and high levels of speaking skills, defined according to the criteria described in the Pearson Test of English score guide version 9 (March, 2019).

Procedure and Instruments Over three months, we worked with two groups of students: the experimental group (20 students), which used speaking frames when preparing for monologues, and the control group (21 students), which studied without the use of frames. After the students had studied three topics (communication systems,

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programming languages, and computer software), we assessed the achievement of students in both groups according to the list of chosen criteria (which will be described below). We also asked the students of the experimental group to fill in the questionnaire by expressing their personal attitudes to the use of the speaking frames, and to explain the difficulties they experienced while planning a speech before and after using the speaking frames.

The study comprised four stages. In the first, pre-experimental stage, the students had to make up a monologue according to the suggested professional situation, so that we could determine their English language proficiency level in productive ESP speaking according to criteria that we had we selected. At this stage, students were asked to produce monologues without preparation, on professionally based topics suggested to them (each student had a separate printout with a communicative task). There were seven suggested topics, all of which were related to the students’ curriculum. Students approached the teacher one by one and produced a monologue on a given topic; their speech was recorded in compliance with their prior agreement. Students were limited to speaking for two minutes while producing the monologues. The whole procedure of the first stage, for the two groups to produce the pre-experiment monologues, took four lessons.

We grounded our evaluation on the list of criteria described in the Pearson Test of English score guide version 9 (March, 2019). The students’ monologues were evaluated according to the following five criteria: native-like (the student was given 5 points if his/her speech flowed smoothly, there were no repetitions, hesitations, and false starts or non-native phonological simplifications); advanced (the student was given 4 points if his/her speech had an acceptable rhythm, with appropriate phrasing and word stresses, no more than one hesitation, repetition or a false start, and there were no significant non-native phonological simplifications); good (the student was given 3 points if his/her speech was at an acceptable speed, but might have been uneven or there were more than one hesitation, repetition or false start, yet most words were spoken in continuous phrases, there were no long pauses and speech didn’t sound staccato); intermediate (the student was given 2 points if his/her speech was uneven or staccato, had at least one smooth three-word run and no more than two or three hesitations, repetitions or false starts); or limited (the student was given 1 point if his/her speech phrasing or the sentence rhythm was irregular, the phrasing was poor, contained multiple repetitions, hesitations, or false starts, spoken performance was rather rough, the speech contained long pauses, and sentence-level word stress was inappropriate) (p. 62).

In the second stage, the students were taught English monologue speech with the use of speaking frames as a scaffolding tool. Before it is produced orally, any utterance is pre-planned and formed in inner speech; inner speech precedes the phase of speech production, and a person constructs inner contracted utterances before their production. Thus, inner speech is condensed and always precedes the actual speech. Because inner speech is difficult to observe, we would find it difficult to understand content if we structured it exactly as we experience it

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(Wiley, 2016, p. 11). As pointed out by Vygotsky (1986), inner speech represents a private language that only an individual speaker can understand.

We applied speaking frames at two levels, at sentence level and at text level. At the sentence level, we used speaking frames to practice using grammatical structures, to learn the terminology of a topic or a set of topics by organizing the terms in semantic fields (picturing them as mind maps, schemes etc.), and find synonyms or opposites, and so on. Students worked in groups, which provided peer assessment as well as teacher assessment. Students had to use the assessment criteria to evaluate their peers’ achievements in the use of language and grammar.

At the text level, students had to listen to or read the whole monologue as an ideal speech sample, seize the main ideas and then construct its speaking frame themselves. At this stage, they generalized ideas and drew a scheme of the monologue. Doing so was very helpful, as they paid greater attention to how the sample monologues were organized and what key elements made for a wellstructured monologue.

The second stage took six lessons, during which each student produced a monologue on the professional topic using speaking frames as scaffolding tools.

This stage had the aim of providing opportunity for practice. The monologues were not recorded. Different types of the tasks were given to students, depending on the level at which the task was introduced. At the text level, we required students to construct frames based on the main idea of the text they had read.

Then, we analyzed the text and discussed it at the sentence level, in order to focus the students’ attention on language units or grammatical structures. Finally, students had to produce their own texts by drawing their own frames for the ideas to be presented. Different kinds of scaffolds were produced by students, or generalized during group discussions.

A study by Donato and Adair-Hauck (1992) revealed the potential of coconstructing scaffolds in students’ peer-to-peer interaction during teaching of a second language to beginner-level university students. We fully support the idea that students should not be limited to the role of receivers in the process of constructing scaffolds and, in our study, we suggested that students feel free and were creative in constructing their own speaking frames (at both the sentence and text levels), and that they made use of self-assessment and peer-assessment lists.

Students could share their speaking frames with peers, if they wished.

In the third stage, we tested both the experimental and the control groups after the experimental studying. After studying the same topics, students of both groups had to make up monologues for a suggested situation. Their monologues were recorded and assessed according to the same list of criteria that was used at the first, pre-experimental, stage described above.

After this, the coefficient of effectiveness of learning according to Fisher (1992) was defined. The post-experimental results of the control group and the experimental group were compared. The coefficient of effectiveness of learning was defined according to the following formula:

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 * = (1 −  2 ) 

n1 n2 n1 + n2

In the fourth stage, a questionnaire was used to investigate the students’ attitudes towards using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for improving their ESP speaking skills (monologue speech). It took students 10–15 minutes to complete the questionnaire. Students had to answer open- and closed-ended questions, six in total. The questionnaire aimed to find out if students experienced difficulties structuring the monologue speech, what tools they usually used to plan a speech, if schematically represented information simplified their perception and helped the production, if speaking frames helped them to organize their speech, what kind of speaking frame they preferred, what other tools could assist them in producing monologues, and if they liked using speaking frames to prepare monologues. The students’ participation in the experimental learning was voluntary.

3. Results This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using speaking frames in teaching speaking skills to ESP classes, and used qualitative and quantitative research approaches. We defined the level of speaking skills in monologue speech as low if a student’s monologue presentation was limited according to the previously mentioned criteria, sufficient if the level of presentation was valued as intermediate or good, and high if it corresponded with the native-like or advanced level. Data obtained from the results of the oral testing shows that, at the beginning of the experiment, the levels of ESP speaking skills in the control and experimental groups were almost the same. After the experimental learning, students of the experimental group showed significantly better results in producing monologues than students in the control group. The overall results are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of using frames to teach ESP speaking skills Control group Number of students % (total 21) Before the use of speaking frames Low 9 43% Sufficient 8 38% High 4 19% Levels of speaking skills (monologue speech)

After the use of speaking frames Low 7 Sufficient 9 High 5

33% 43% 24%

Experimental group Number of students % (total 20) 8 7

40% 35%

5

25%

0 14 6

0% 70% 30%

As can be seen in Table 1, none of the students of the experimental group scored a low level of speaking competence after the experimental learning, while, in the control group, there were 7 (33%) such students. The use of speaking frames

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significantly increased the number of students who performed at a sufficient level of speaking competence (monologue speech) in the experimental group, compared to the control group (14 (70%) vs 9 (43%), respectively.

A high level of English speaking competence in monologue speech after the completion of the experiment was achieved by 6 (30%) students of the experimental group and 5 (24%) students of the control group. Thus, the results of the experiment indicate better dynamics in the development of ESP speaking skills in the experimental group than in the control group, which suggests that using speaking frames to teach monologue speech to software engineering students is effective and feasible.

To assess monologue speech, we analyzed the monologues according to the criteria and calculated the number of hesitations, repetitions and false starts and the number of pauses in monologues delivered before and after the experimental learning of the experimental group. The results are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Quantitative analysis of the total number of speech violations of students before and after the experimental learning

Hesitations

25

After the experimental learning (using speaking frames) 11

Repetitions

23

13

-10

False starts

16

5

-11

Pauses

18

6

-12

24

58

+34

19

9

-10

Criterion element

Number of continuous utterances Number of staccato utterances

Before the experiment

Difference (+/-) -14

As we can see in Table 2, the use of speaking frames enabled students to reduce the number of hesitations from 25 to 11 (-14) and repetitions from 23 to 13 (-10), and significantly reduce the number of false starts (from 16 to 5 (-11)) and pauses (from 18 to 5 (-12)). Moreover, the experimental learning enabled students to create more continuous utterances (increased from 24 to 58 (+34)) and reduced the number of staccato utterances (from 19 to 9 (-10)). The data in Table 2 shows that the use of speaking frames as scaffolding tools may contribute considerably to the development of the speaking competence of software engineering students.

We believe that achieving the learning outcome implies that the student has achieved a sufficient or high level of speaking skills. Failing to achieve the learning outcome implies that the student has a low level of speaking skills, determined in accordance with the criteria described in Pearson Test of English score guide version 9 (March, 2019). Table 3 represents the quantitative comparison of the number of students who achieved and failed to achieve the outcomes in the control and experimental groups.

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Table 3. Quantitative analysis of achieving or failing to achieve the learning outcomes in control and experimental groups Achieved learning outcome

Group

Failed to achieve learning outcome (low level of speaking skills) Number of % students (percentage)

Sum

Number of students

% (percentage)

20

100%

0

0%

20

14

67%

7

33%

21

Experimental group Control group Total number

34

7

41

The results were evaluated with the use of Fisher’s (1992) statistical method to establish if the number of students who achieved the learning outcomes in the experimental group was significantly bigger than the number of students with a low level of speaking skills in the control group.

We defined the coefficient φ₁ and φ₂ for the experimental and control groups, respectively. φ₁ (100%) = 3.142 φ₂ (67%) = 1.918 Then, we calculated empirical value of φ *еmp. according to the formula:

 * = (1 −  2 ) 

n1n2 n1 + n2

which produced 20∙21

420

φ*еmp. = (3.142–1.918) ∙ √20+21 = 1.224∙ √ 41 = 3.91 The obtained empirical value of φ * (3.91) is greater than the critical value of φ * (2.31): φ * emp. (3.91)> φ * cr (2.31). Thus, it is in the significance zone, which means that the percentage of individuals who achieved a sufficient increase in the level of the learning coefficient of monologue speech in the experimental group is greater than in the control group.

The next stage of the experiment was aimed at finding out students’ attitudes towards using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for creating monologues, and used a qualitative approach. The results of the questionnaire are presented in Table 4.

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Table 4. Students’ attitudes towards using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for monologue speech Questions 1. Did you have any difficulties in structuring your monologue speech before the experimental learning?

2. Before the experimental learning, while getting ready for a monologue what did you tend to use for structuring your speech?

3. Did speaking frames help you in production of monologues?

4. Did you like the experience of generalizing your ideas using speaking frames as scaffolding tools?

5. What role did speaking frames play in your preparation to speaking?

Answers Yes No It is difficult to say A plan A scheme Keywords Nothing Yes No It is difficult to say I liked it I found it acceptable I would rather consider different scaffolding tools

7. Would you like to use speaking frames in further studies?

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12%

Generally positive

100%

Generally negative

0%

No difference 6. What were speaking frames mostly helpful for? (mark the points that are true for you)

Percentage of students 54% 34% 12% 33% 12% 21% 34% 89% 9% 2% 76% 12%

They provided a foothold for a monologue thus facilitating task initiation They helped to concentrate on the topic They assisted in structuring the ideas They supplied with additional constructions for linking the ideas They allowed grounding the arguments in a variety of ways They provided with different ways to conclude a monologue They allowed raising selfconfidence while presenting a monologue They ensured stress reduction during the classroom learning Yes No Own answers: (I would use this approach for studying other disciplines; it was helpful, but now I know how to do it, etc.)

0% 57% 65% 61% 53%

47%

65%

72% 81% 83% 8%

9%

110

The results of the questionnaire show that 54% of students experienced difficulties in structuring their monologue speech, while 89% stated that schematically representing information simplified their perception and helped the production of the monologues. Before the experimental learning, while they were getting ready to present monologues, these students mostly used a plan (33%), a scheme (12%), keywords (21%) or nothing (34%) to help structure their speech. Most students (76%) agreed that the use of frames as scaffolding tools during the experimental learning helped them to organize their monologue speeches. All the students agreed about the positive role of speaking frames in preparing to speak.

The majority of students (76%) liked the experience of generalizing their ideas using speaking frames to prepare a monologue, 12% found it acceptable, and 12% of students would rather consider different scaffolding tools. As can be seen in Table 4, students acknowledged that speaking frames provided them with a foothold for their monologues and facilitated task initiation (57%); enabled different ways to conclude a monologue (65%); assisted in structuring their ideas (61%); supplied additional constructions for linking ideas (53%) and enabled them to ground their arguments in a variety of ways (47%). Moreover, students acknowledged the positive effect of using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for stress reduction during classroom learning (81%) and improving self-confidence while presenting monologues (72%). The majority of students, 83%, would like to use speaking frames in further studies, whereas only 8% would not. Some students (9%) acknowledged that they would consider applying this approach to study other disciplines, or that they had already mastered this scaffolding tool.

Thus, in summarizing the results, we can conclude that speaking frames can be considered as effective scaffolding tools for teaching ESP speaking to software engineering students. The quantitative approach allowed us to see better dynamics in the development of ESP speaking skills in the experimental group, than in the control group, whereas the qualitative approach exposed mostly positive attitudes in students in relation to using such scaffolding tools while mastering ESP speaking.

4. Discussion The results of our study, which was dedicated to the use of frames for teaching ESP to software engineering students, show that, when delivering monologues, students experience difficulties in structuring the speech. In this context, particular attention was paid to a scaffolding technique, namely speaking frames.

We agree with Gilbert and Justi (2016) that modelling appears to be a core process in all human thinking, and that we should not underestimate its value for education. We intended to apply scaffolding techniques that would allow IT students to activate their thinking while they were creating monologues by modeling the whole structure of the monologue in terms of its lexical and grammatical aspects. In support of Mayer’s (1998) idea of three broad factors of influence on learning, namely motivation (will), cognition (skill) and metacognition (metaskill), our study found that metaskills could contribute greatly to the language learning process. Based on our findings, we also agree with other researchers (Askell-Williams et al., 2012; Winne & Hadwin, 1998), who argue that, if students are to master some domain, they use prior knowledge from

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two domains: the subject-matter domain, and the domain of knowledge about how to go about learning itself (Winne & Hadwin, 1998). Consistent with studies that focused on positive learning environments (e.g., Lavrysh et al., 2020), we may conclude that linguistic support of students (use of scaffolding tools) contributed to the provision of psychological support and a friendly learning community, in which students could learn from one another and share their ideas.

Thus, we chose frames to model the aspect being studied, or the situation of professional conversation of a software engineering specialist as scaffolding units, with the initial understanding of frames as being organized packages of knowledge, beliefs, and patterns of practice that shape and enable people to make sense of their experiences (Gonulal & Loewen, 2018). The definition of frames also defines the way a person perceives and remembers information, because, by assigning meanings to objects, images and representations, we can manipulate cognitive functions such as remembering, perceiving and concentrating. So, by practicing speaking frames in the form of generalized scaffolds for further monologue presentation, students, to some extent, imitate a natural speech production process and gain confidence in speaking.

The experiment confirms the effectiveness of the use of such scaffolding tools as speaking frames for raising students’ English speaking competence. It enabled improving student’s monologue presentation skills, by providing a foothold for monologues by facilitating task initiation, helping the speaker to concentrate on the topic, assisting with structuring ideas, supplying additional linking constructions, providing different ideas for grounding the arguments, and concluding monologues.

Though the study was aimed at contributing to the development of software engineering students’ speaking competence, we also highlighted the positive functional role of frames as a scaffolding technique that can change the learning outcome. The experimental group showed that it is possible to significantly improve both speaking production and metaskills such as concentration, information structuring and remembering.

Similar research was done by Afitska (2015), who conducted a study on the development of materials to provide support to students learning science and language, whose native language was not English. The researcher introduced speaking frames as scaffolds at both discourse and lexical levels. Gap-filling tasks were introduced to help students concentrate on vocabulary and cohesion.

Diagram-labelling tasks were focused on vocabulary. Chart-filling tasks drew attention to discourse structure. The researcher highlighted two major targets: in particular, to provide support for target language development and to assist in subject knowledge development. The author points out that this structural organization allowed students to choose from familiar linguistic structures, or to apply the more sophisticated structures provided.

We share the views of Afitska (2015) about the necessity of using speaking frames as scaffolding tools for second-language learners, and agree that such techniques

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are valuable only if they are implemented systematically, on a regular basis.

Unlike the study of Afitska (2015), we offer speaking frames as more generalized ideas, to be implemented in students’ routine tasks in class as preparation for and/or presentation of monologues in English, taking into consideration the basic element of a frame—a core (a topic/situation for speaking activity) around which any set of language units and structures can be organized. At lower levels, the number of terms provided was bigger and students had more options.

In a similar way, we found the process of creating and then applying frames as means of scaffolding in speaking practice to be important, specifically for software engineering students, who generally possess high analytical problem-solving skills (Graziotin et al., 2014) and the natural ability to structure, generalize and classify knowledge. Taking into consideration the improved quality of monologues after the experimental studying, we may assume that speaking frames, as a typical form or pattern of the speech constructed in students’ minds, played a decisive role in this improvement. Thus, the results of our study can be of use in teaching speaking skills to software engineering students in the ESP classroom. They may provide a foothold for monologues, facilitate task initiation, and help students to concentrate on the topic, assist in structuring ideas, and supply additional constructions; thus, widening students’ lexicon usage.

5. Conclusions We found the developmental value of the use of speaking frames as scaffolding tools quite significant. Firstly, our study found that speaking frames may contribute greatly to software engineers’ English speaking competence. The study found that software engineering students do have a tendency to plan and organize their speech, and that schematically organizing material makes it easier for them to formulate a future utterance in English. Using frames enabled them to reduce repetitions, hesitations, false starts, pauses and the number of staccato utterances.

At the same time, the number of continuous utterances significantly increased.

The use of speaking frames contributed not only to the improvement of grammar accuracy and formation of lexical fields, but also to the structuring of students’ speech. An important characteristic of scaffolding is the shifting of responsibility from a teacher to a student. Speaking frames are flexible means of scaffolding, because students quite quickly get used to creating them in their minds before speaking, which results in more productive monologues. We believe that teachers should not underestimate the functional value of learning strategies, in general, and modelling, in particular, as it may lead to better results for students mastering English. The results of our study can be of use for teaching ESP to software engineering students. However, it has certain limitations, since it was conducted at only one technical university and among students of only one specialty, which means generalizing results is not possible, and that further studies in other academic and national contexts are needed.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 116-136, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.7

Project-based Learning as a Tool for StudentTeachers’ Professional Development: A Study in an Omani EFL Teacher Education Program Saleh Al-Busaidi and Fawzia Al-Seyabi Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9649-429X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1763-3467

Abstract. Project-based learning (PBL) helps students gain a deep understanding of the knowledge they acquire, develops higher levels of learning, and promotes the motivation to learn. Through self-inquiry, self-planning, and investigation, students learn to be independent thinkers and autonomous learners and pursue their learning needs by seeking solutions for real-life problems. The objective of this study was to explore the extent to which PBL approach helped 146 student-teachers at the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, develop their course design skills. The study utilized a questionnaire with multiple sections. The students were asked for their opinion about the approach, the difficulties they encountered, and suggestions for improvement. The results revealed that the students’ responses were positive. The students enjoyed the project and agreed that it helped them gain many of the principles of courses design, as well as a host of academic skills. The students also reported a few challenges faced during the project such as needs analysis and writing goals and objectives. Teacher preparation programs in other contexts can benefit from the course design and the study findings to introduce change to their courses. Researchers and practitioners can also benefit from the challenges faced in implementing PBL in higher education institutions where one would expect students to be highly independent.

Keywords: English language teaching; Oman; project-based learning; teacher education program

1. Introduction Universities and colleges around the world are expected to prepare a generation of students who are equipped with good communication skills, creative and critical thinking skills, and a mindset for problem solving and innovation in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable (Roessingh & Chambers, 2011). Although still dominant, the use of the lecture method in higher education institutions is far from adequate. in the last few decades there has been ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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a shift to more open-ended approaches to teaching that value inquiry, reflection, problem-based learning, discussion and collaboration, and self-directed learning (Harmer & Stokes, 2018; Holm, 2011; Bell, 2010). The literature on student learning revealed that learning by doing and experiencing is much more meaningful and permanent for the students than passive learning (Bell, 2010; Holst, 2003; Howard, 2002), and that this is one of the main constituents of contemporary education.

Project-based learning (PBL) can be defined as a student-centred teaching and learning model where students acquire content knowledge and skills through the design, development, and completion of projects (Vogler et al., 2018). PBL is one approach to education that emphasizes the learner and his/her role in the learning process. It allows students to control and have their own voice over their learning, which is an essential component of the learning process rather than teachers directing students’ learning (Habók & Nagy, 2016). PBL has been used in various educational contexts and levels starting with pre-school and primary education up to higher education levels including initial teacher preparation programs.

The PBL approach is an important tool to improve the synergy between theoretical and practical aspects of preservice teacher education (Nikolaeva, 2012).

Several studies have reported the impact of the PBL approach on pre-service teacher training (Baran & Maskan, 2010; Goldstein, 2016; Holst, 2003). Holst (2003) for example reports on how future English teachers in Singapore enjoyed the creative process of PBL and how they valued the opportunities for peer interaction. Other reported benefits of PBL in teacher preparation programs are the development of research, collaborative, speaking, and leadership skills.

Researchers have also maintained that pre-service teachers’ firsthand experience with PBL as learners will influence their own beliefs and practices as future teachers. They are more likely to transfer the skills they learnt to their own future classrooms (Holst, 2003; Howard, 2002).

PBL is not considered an extra or a supplementary material in the curriculum; it is a strategy for supporting learning and completing tasks (Bell, 2010). PBL is grounded on the basis of solving multiple problems with the provision of contextual and authentic experiences (Eskrootchi & Oskrochi, 2010), which will ultimately enable students to scaffold their learning, and draw realistic connections between a specific context and later outcomes (Susanti et al., 2019).

The existence of authentic learning tasks in PBL is stressed and marked as an important feature (Eskrootchi & Oskrochi, 2010; Holubova, 2008; Susanti et al., 2019). Through PBL, students are exposed to real and contextualized problemsolving environments and learning experiences that increase their skill, knowledge, and abilities. Since students investigate real-life problems and apply their knowledge in real contexts to solve a problem or create a product, they make meaningful connections between what they know and what actually happens in real life (Holubova, 2008). Therefore, learning is authentic as it relates directly to students’ life and the outcomes reflect a real-life problem (Eskrootchi & Oskrochi, 2010). This inclusion is also predicted to prepare students for higher education, which stresses what students are taught and what they actually do later in their jobs. Success in a job depends heavily on the interaction between knowledge that

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students developed through engagement in PBL during their studies and their application of this knowledge (Burlbaw et al., 2013). Bell (2010) points out that PBL is a student-centered and teacher-facilitated approach that allows students to seek knowledge by raising questions about contexts that interest them and attract their natural curiosity. Additionally, it requires teachers to be able to design high quality experiential learning activities. Once the learning goals are identified, the teacher designs expectations to complete the authentic task or the artifact (Holubova, 2008).

Projects are attractive to students and teachers because of their flexibility. They are designed according to diverse forms related to culture, development, cognition, and motivation. Students design their projects based on different standards such as their readiness to initiate them, their interest in designing them, and the project content and its processes. The flexibility it offers allow students to develop more skills as they proceed with working on their projects. They also foster collaboration, an important skill in the 21st century workplace (Holubova, 2008; Bell, 2010).

Engaging students in PBL yields several effective outcomes on students’ learning and life. Students gain a deeper understanding of a certain topic or a problem, deepen their learning to be highly familiar with and knowledgeable about the topic under investigation, develop higher level of reading and promote their motivation to learn. Students learn to be independent thinkers and autonomous learners who pursue their learning needs by seeking solutions for real-life problems (Bell, 2010; Habók & Nagy 2016). Through self-inquiry, planning, research organization, and use of different learning strategies, students become equipped to solve real-life problems. As a result, students may feel empowered.

The features of PBL presented above were implemented in an educational course offered to Omani student teachers in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University as part of a teacher preparation program. The project required students to design a mini English course of their choice for a specific group of learners. The project was introduced in Educational Curriculum in 2016. Since then, it has not been evaluated as a new addition to the course. In this study we explored students’ perceptions towards the project-based course-design approach. It specifically sought to answer two research questions: 1. What are the student teachers’ perceptions about the PBL course design project?

2. What difficulties did the student teachers face during the PBL course design project?

2. Literature Review 2.1. Theoretical basis of project-based learning The development of PBL has been underpinned by the cognitive learning theory, social learning theory (Thomas, 2000), and inquiry-based learning (Johnson and Cuevas, 2016), because PBL was developed based on the principles of these theories. It is believed that constructivism promotes deeper and meaningful learning as students engage in knowledge construction (Dolmans et al., 2005; Holubova, 2008).

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PBL has been linked with the principles of knowledge, thinking and doing.

Researchers believe that previous experiences contribute to learning because they engage learners in real-life situations where they learn by doing. There is a strong tendency to incorporate the 21st century skills (problem-solving, communication and collaboration) in the learning process to help learners acquire knowledge, skills and competencies required in the real world (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019).

PBL enables learners to acquire and use these skills in and outside the classroom.

(Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Burlbaw et al., 2013; Eskrootchi & Oskrochi, 2010; Thomas, 2000).

Constructivism has become a crucial component of PBL due to its emphasis on learners’ experiences (Mioduser & Betzer, 2007). Some researchers (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Bell, 2010; Burlbaw et al., 2013; Dolmans et al., 2005; Slough & Milam, 2013; Thomas, 2000;) explained that students build on their existing knowledge when they are exposed to different experiences and problems.

Students then connect the new knowledge to pre-existing knowledge to form a new schema. In the learning context, students acquire a new knowledge and build on a previous knowledge by analyzing it and connecting it with real-life contexts (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Doppelt, 2005).

Habók and Nagy (2016) indicate that social constructivism emphasizes the importance of social interaction as a learning theory. The social environment is a crucial element for learning since it prepares social interactions with skilful others (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Bell, 2010; Burlbaw et al., 2013; Dolmans et al., 2005; Habók & Nagy, 2016; Thomas, 2000). This predicts that learners can construct new understanding through interaction with the environment (Demian, 2007; Dolmans et al., 2005; Panasan & Nuangchalerm, 2010). Principles of social constructivism resemble those of the Zone of Proximal Development, also known as scaffolding, where learners are provided with the instructions and guidance needed to develop their skills to be able to use them later independently (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019). It is an essential element for students’ projects as it supports their self-confidence and the development of higher-order and critical thinking skills (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Bell, 2010; Jollands et al., 2012), where less competent learners learn from more competent peers (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019) through shared thinking and constructive feedback (Bell, 2010). In this context, learners have the opportunity to exercise higher-order thinking skills that develop their ability to inquire, plan, judge, scrutinize, make decisions, draw conclusions, and synthesize, which eventually enable them to evaluate their own projects (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019).

PBL is also based on the principles of inquiry-based learning where students are required to discover and build new knowledge by engaging in activities and investigations that relate to their personal life (Panasan & Nuangchalerm, 2010).

Students drive their own learning, which is believed to increase their motivation to learn and improve critical thinking skills (Johnson & Cuevas, 2016).

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2.2. PBL criteria Thomas (2000) maintains that there are five main criteria to the application of PBL. These criteria include students’ centrality, driving questions, constructive investigations, autonomy and realism. These criteria are established to identify aspects that a project must include in order to be called a “real project”. Following these criteria, Boss and Krauss (2007) provide the following descriptions of PBL. First, projects are integrated in the curriculum and form an essential part of it; they are not supplementary materials, nor can they be deleted. Second, PBL allows learners to practice authentic strategies through engagement in real-life activities.

Third, collaborative work helps learners solve real problems that interest them.

Fourth, learners use technology as an assistive tool in their discoveries, collaboration, and communication. Teachers consider technology as a new strategy to reach learning goals. Fifth, teachers are requested to work collaboratively to design and apply projects that go beyond geographic boundaries and time zones.

2.3. Studies examining PBL in learning/teaching in higher education There is a plethora of studies that investigated the efficacy of PBL as a learning and teaching tool in a wide range of disciplines and across different educational levels. In the context of language learning, studies found that PBL succeeded in the following aspects: richer engagement of students by working on a project; authenticity in their presentations; language skills improvement; time management and social interaction through teamwork, collaboration, and community (Assaf, 2018; Miller et al., 2012). In her study investigating the Syrian educational context during times of crisis, Assaf (2018) found that Syrian students’ engagement in project-based learning through video making had positive effects on their motivation and attitudes towards English courses. The author also reports how students’ writing of video scripts has improved their linguistic skills in addition to developing their oral presentation skills, teamwork, and their organization and planning skills. Several other studies in EFL contexts reported similar benefits (Suhroh et al., 2020; Shaalan, 2020; Sirisrimangkorn, 2018).

Studies on content area classes at the university level report several benefits for the use of PBL, such as the development of cross-curricular competencies including autonomy, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking (Pacheco et al., 2018), as well as student interaction and collaboration (El-Maaddawy et al., 2018; Gao & Avis, 2019; Huysken et al., 2018; Rooij, 2009). In the neighbouring Qatari higher education context, Khandakar et al. (2020) report on a case study where they employed a multi-course project-based learning (MPL) approach in two electrical engineering interdisciplinary undergraduate courses at Qatar University and investigated its impact on Education for Sustainable Development. Students participating in the study worked on a design project used to assess if they fulfilled the learning outcomes which focussed on engineering soft skills and project management skills including the ability to communicate effectively, to work collaboratively in a team, to think both critically and creatively, and to manage projects efficiently with realistic constraints and standards. Similar results were also reported in other disciplines such as geosciences and biology (Huysken, Olivey, McElmurry, Gao and Avis, 2019), economics (Pacheco, Guerra, Aguado and McGarry, 2018), social studies (Ciftsi,

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2015), medical education (Kim, 2020), and business (Huang & Lin, 2017). The benefits of adopting PBL has also surpassed learners to instructors. Wyatt and Nunn (2019) describe how the adoption of a holistic project-based learning at an engineering university in the United Arab Emirates helped develop and sustain a community of practice among faculty members and how it helped develop “collective pedagogy” (p.16) within the community of practice, with synergy between instructors’ cognitions and actual practices.

In the field of pre-service teacher preparation programs, Richards and Ressler (2016) report on the experience of a Physical Education curriculum course that integrated the principles of PBL into a curriculum-design project. The project, which hosted 15 PE pre-service students aimed to foster learning authenticity by situating the process of curriculum planning within real school contexts.

Lorraine (1999) believes that PBL should be an integral part of teacher preparation programs. Basing it on brain-based theory, Lorraine (1999) proposes the integration of PBL in early childhood teacher preparation programs and gives examples of various ideas such as “Inclusion in the Early Childhood Classroom”, “Designing Outdoor Nature Playgrounds for Early Childhood Programs,” and “Incorporating Drama in the Early Childhood Classroom.” According to Lorraine (1999), the use of PBL provides educational professionals with mechanisms to help teacher trainees achieve multiple goals in preparation focusing on the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and feelings that are necessary for successful interaction with young children, families, and other professionals inside and outside the classroom. In the South-African teacher education context, Du Toit (2017) reports on a qualitative case study where a Consumer Studies teacherpreparation module was restructured to utilise project-based learning as a primary teaching/learning strategy. Sudents of the module enjoyed PBL and found it beneficial for their personal development and their future careers as teachers.

In a teacher preparation program in a Saudi University, Alrajeh (2020) used a mixed-method approach to investigate the extent that faculty members in teacher preparation programs value and use PBL approaches in their teacher-preparation programs. The research showed that all faculty participating in the study indicated the likelihood to use PBL in teaching practices and confirmed PBL implementation through various forms: activity, problem solving, and doing a project. However, restrictions of the syllabus, financial burdens, and lack of time were highlighted as dilemmas that limit PBL implementation.

In the Omani educational context, there are very few studies that investigated the application of PBL in higher education institutions (Belwal et al., 2020; Dauletova, 2014) and as far as the researchers are aware, there have been no studies investigating the use of PBL in teacher-preparation programs. This study fills this gap.

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3. The Context of the Study This study was conducted at the College of Education of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in the Sultanate of Oman. It involved 146 undergraduate and teacherqualification diploma students enrolled in an English language teacher-education program. We investigated students’ perceptions towards the use of project-based approach to teaching course design principles as part of a course entitled Educational Curriculum offered to undergraduate students.

The course is normally taken during the third year of the four-year program. It is an introductory course in ELT curriculum design. It covers the basic theories, principles, and approaches in this discipline. It also covers the different stages of the process of curriculum design, such as needs analysis, formulation of goals and objectives, specification and sequencing of content, and methods of evaluation.

Furthermore, the course helps students develop the professional skills required for designing, developing, evaluating, and innovating language curricula. It also provides them with a variety of practical techniques for analysing and evaluating the English textbooks used in the Omani schools in order to see how far the covered theoretical framework achieves the general and national purposes of teaching the language.

The course instructors observed that the students had difficulty understanding the theories and principles underpinning curriculum design and development.

Further, many students could not see the significance of some of the course design stages. Many students pointed this out in their feedback on the course. Therefore, the researchers decided to adopt the PBL approach to facilitate learning. The course was restructured to integrate PBL in a way that involved students in various tasks and activities that deepened their understanding of the issues related to curriculum development. Students are assessed formatively and summatively. The former includes quizzes, reflections, presentations, and textbook analysis. Summative assessments include a midterm exam and a final exam. Students also have to work on a course design project that is worth 20% of the course marks. They work in groups of three (but occasionally four) to develop a mini course design. The course design should be based on a real-life issue or need. The students go through all the main stages of course design. The project is an opportunity for the students to apply the course design skills they acquired in the course. The project is assessed based on a presentation and a portfolio using a rubric.

Over the last few iterations of the course, the students presented very creative project designs. Through this PBL approach, the students go through almost all stages of course development starting from needs analysis to assessment and reflection. The only missing component is teaching, because of logistical constraints. Through this project-based course design approach, students get the opportunity to experience the various stages of course design, starting from determining the need or problem to needs analysis and goals and objectives and material development and ending with implementation and reflection.

Depending on their topic, they also have the chance to interact with the members of the community. Figure 1 shows a flowchart of the project. There are two main parts, the process and the product. The process part shows the course design

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phases students go through, starting from needs analysis to assessment. The product part displays what the students produce throughout the process. On both sides of the chart there are two types of support, instructor support and peer support. Instructor support is in the form of in-class lectures on course design, and the feedback provided throughout the different stages of the project. The course is divided in a way that reflects the different stages of course design. For each stage, the students are given the theoretical knowledge and skills with a lot of examples and practice. There are deadlines for submitting completed work for different sections of the projects for feedback from the instructor.

As for peer support, after each major stage of course design process, teams are requested to give a briefing to other teams in class (each member of a team joins another team to brief them). This allows for sharing of information and improvement based on constructive feedback between the teams. There are a few occasions when teams have to pilot their instruments/materials. In the absence of a real audience, teams pilot each other’s tools and activities with their classmates.

This has been shown to be interesting and constructive. Once the teams have completed their course designs, they present their work to the entire class and receive feedback from the instructor and their peers before the final submission to at the end of the semester.

Figure 1: Project-based course design flowchart

The products that the students produce are truly intriguing and meaningful. They are based on real life problems. Some of the these include the following: English for Omani taxi drivers, English for housemaids, English language for mothers of elementary students (1-4), an English course for Sultan Qaboos University graduates of library sciences, and English for patients.

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4. Methodology 4.1. Participants The participants were all English major students taking Educational Curriculum course as part of the requirements of their teacher education degree plan and doing the project-based course design as a requirement in the course. The students were in intact classes in the fall semester of two academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The total number of students was 146. Ninety-three percent of the students were females and 7% were males.

4.2. Instrument The study employed a questionnaire that solicited students’ perceptions about the project-based course. The questionnaire was developed based partly on the course design stages where the students had to build their courses, and partly based on the type of skills that PBL promotes, based on the literature. The questionnaire was validated by a group of experts who suggested a few minor changes. The suggested changes were incorporated into the final version of the questionnaire.

The questionnaire consisted of four sections. The first section was on demographic information. The second section was concerned with students’ perceptions towards the course. It contained 12 statements that asked about different aspects of the course. The students rated these statements on a five-point agreement Likert scale ranging from (5) strongly agree to (1) strongly disagree. The third section included nine statements about the degree of difficulty students encountered in undertaking the project. The difficulties mirrored the different stages of the project. The purpose of this section was to ascertain the phases that were the most challenging for the students. The students were asked to rate these statements on a five-point Likert scale ranging from (5) very difficult to (1) not difficult at all.

The fourth section consisted of three open-ended questions that asked about the aspects of the PBL course design the students liked the most, the aspects they found the most challenging, and suggestions for improvement.

4.3. Data analysis The demographic data in the first section of the questionnaire was analyzed using frequencies, while the data in sections two and three were analyzed based on means and standard deviation. As for the qualitative data from the open-ended questions in Section Four of the questionnaire, the researchers analyzed the data based on three main issues the questions targeted, namely: the aspects of the course design project the students liked the most, the aspects they found the most challenging and suggestions for improvement. The researchers looked for the highest emerging topics in the data. These were put into broad categories and then examples were provided.

5. Results Ninety-three percent of the participants were females. About half of the students were in their third year, and a little over one third in their fourth year while the rest was in their first year, with a very small percentage in their fifth year. The questionnaire was administered in the fall semester which is semester seven during which the ELT Curriculum course is offered according to the degree plan.

Students could be in their third or fourth year depending on their placement in

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the foundation program at entry. Those who score low in the foundation program placement testing spend one or two semesters studying foundational non-credit English, mathematics, and educational technology courses before joining the college. In terms of the degree level, more than two thirds (74%) of the students were enrolled in the bachelor’s degree program and the rest (26%) in the teacherpreparation diploma. The university admits about 80 students into the bachelor (English major) program and about 20 students into the one-year long teacherqualification diploma program every year.

5.1. Student-teachers’ perceptions towards project-based design The students had very positive responses to the statements (Table 1 which is a very positive outcome. More than 80% of the respondents said that they had enjoyed working on the course design project. In addition, more than 90% of the students “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with the statement: “Overall, I have learnt a lot from this project.” The other statements also attracted a very positive response. For example, more than 90% of the students agreed that the course design project helped them understand the different components of course design. Similarly, the majority of the students (91%) agreed that the course design project helped them understand the link between the different components of course design. This was one of the key objectives of the course, which is to link theory to practice. The percentage of the students who “strongly disagreed” or “disagreed” with the statements did not exceed 6.1% in all the fourteen statements; it ranged from 0.7% to 6.1%.

Moreover, there were a few statements with neutral responses. One of these statements was the one that read “The project helped me understand the potential challenges of course design in the Omani educational context.” Even though more than 80% of the students agreed, 17.4% did not seem to be sure this was achieved.

There were also a few other statements where the students had doubts. These are related to skill development, namely report writing skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking, teamwork skills, time management. The percentages of the neutral responses ranged from 11% in the statement about critical thinking skills to 19% regarding time management skills.

Table 1: Student-teachers’ perceptions towards the course

142

4.04

.862

2.8

.7

16.2

50.7

29.6

138

4.27

.769

1.4

.7

8.7

47.8

41.3

144

4.51

.669

.7

0.0

5.6

35.4

58.3

2.

3.

I enjoyed working on the course design project.

The course design project helped me achieve the outcomes of the course.

The course design project helped me understand the different components of course design.

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Strongly agree

1.

Agree

SD

Neutral

M

Disagree

N

Strongly disagree

Statements

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4.

The course design project helped me understand the link between the different components of course design.

5. The project helped me understand the potential challenges of course design in the Omani educational context.

6. The project helped me develop my critical thinking skills.

7. The project helped me develop my problemsolving skills.

8. The project helped me develop my report writing skills.

9. The project helped me develop my teamwork skills.

10. The project helped me develop my time management skills.

11. The scoring rubric guided me throughout the different stages of the project.

12. Overall, I have learnt a lot from this project.

143

4.38

.690

1.4

0.0

7.7

42.7

48.3

144

4.15

.722

0.0

.7

17.4

47.9

34.0

143

4.16

.635

0.0

.7

11.2

59.4

28.7

144

4.10

.683

0.0

2.1

12.5

59.0

26.4

143

4.06

.743

0.0

2.8

16.1

53.1

28.0

141

4.18

.973

2.8

3.5

12.1

36.2

45.4

141

4.10

.777

.7

.7

19.1

46.8

32.6

142

4.08

.859

.7

3.5

18.3

42.3

35.2

144

4.38

.793

1.4

1.4

6.9

38.2

52.1

5.2. Difficulties that students faced The second research question was about the difficulties students encountered during the project. The means of the students’ responses to the nine statements ranged from 2.41 (dividing the work among the team members) to 3.26 (finding participants for the needs analysis). The challenge in finding participants for the needs analysis is understandable as many of the projects involved participants from outside campus and as the majority of the students were females (92%) residing on campus they are bound to were unable to travel because certain transportation or social restrictions. With regards to the other statements, as Table 2 shows, overall, the students did not encounter serious problems during the project. However, a closer look at the results, we noticed that many of the responses were between ‘not difficult’ and ‘not sure’. This prompted us to look for another way to analyze the data. We decided to use frequencies to check for the distribution of responses. We noticed that in all the statements, there was at least 20% of the students who marked the statements as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’. This means that although, on average, the students managed the

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various stages of the project, there was a subset of the sample who encountered some difficulties at certain stages of the process.

Table 2: Students’ perceptions of the level of difficulty of different components of the project-based course-design Frequencies in percentages

38.4

12.3

27.5

4.3

136

2.41

1.250

24.3

41.2

14.0

10.3

10.3

136

3.26

1.301

11.0

23.5

11.0

36.8

17.6

138

2.93

.991

5.1

34.1

26.1

31.9

2.9

137

2.61

1.059

10.9

46.7

15.3

24.1

2.9

139

2.77

1.131

10.1

39.6

21.6

20.9

7.9

136

2.81

1.079

9.6

36.0

22.8

27.2

4.4

136

2.82

1.013

6.6

39.0

23.5

27.9

2.9

139

2.73

.997

7.9

39.6

26.6

23.0

2.9

Very difficult

17.4

Difficult

1.184

Not sure

2.63

Not difficult

138

Not difficult at all

Finding a topic for the project Dividing the work among the team members.

Finding participants for the needs analysis Designing suitable instruments for needs analysis.

Using the results from the needs analysis to plan the course.

Writing the goals and objectives.

Designing a sample unit/activity.

Deciding about the appropriate assessments.

The final writing of the project.

Std. D.

N

Mean

Statements

5.3. The most liked aspects of the course Based on students’ responses to the first open-ended question, there were four main aspects of the course that the students favoured. The first one was about the experience as a whole. As one student has said: “The freedom, the project was not restricting at all so it allowed a space for creativity.” Also, another student commented: “This is one of the few projects that I felt like I was applying the information I learned from the course. I appreciate that.” This shows that the students were engaged in the process and found it beneficial and meaningful. The fact that the project had a beginning and an end has given the students a sense of achievement. One student described what she liked the most: “Gathering all the information and seeing the final product.” Another related answer was about the sequential nature of the project, where she said: “Doing the project step by step which is very helpful.” The students felt that the idea of creating a course was

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beneficial to them as “it enables students of getting first-hand experience of course designing.”

One of the more specific aspects the students liked was the needs analysis stage.

Needs analysis involves creating an instrument, collecting data and analyzing results. Though challenging, needs analysis can be an interesting personal task, as students develop their own data collection instruments for a problem of their own choice. They collect data and try to make sense of what the respondents have stated so that they can make meaningful decisions for their own course. At this stage of their degree, this might be the first time that the students get the opportunity to collect data and analyze it. So, the students may feel enthusiastic about the process. As one student has said, “Distributing the questionnaires online and receiving the results because I was curious about them.” Other students mentioned specific data collection instruments, namely “distributing the questionnaire” and “conducting interviews.” This quote summarizes the students’ opinion towards needs analysis: “Needs analysis as I met new people and I had new experiences, everything was real and practical. I enjoyed meeting and interviews.” Another student added: “Need analysis because it allows us to interact with target people and listening to their need and how they are enthusiastic to learn English.”

Another aspect the students found equally beneficial was designing materials.

The students were given the choice of adopting/recommending materials from a commercial textbook or designing their own. It was interesting to see that many of the students chose to develop their own activities. The students liked the task of “Searching about the suitable activities for the topic that suit the goals and objectives.” This in fact shows a high level of understanding of the course design requirements. That is to say, students were taught to use the goals and objectives as the basis for material development. It seems they understood this essential requirement and implemented it. Some students liked “Collecting the activities from books” and “Deciding on the best materials to be used”, while others enjoyed “The construction of activities.”

The third aspect related to course design was assessment. In this course, the students were required to propose a simple assessment plan for their course. The plan should include formative and summative assessments. It seems that the students appreciated this aspect of the project. As one student has described it: “…it [the assessment part] makes me feel like a real teacher.”

In addition to foregoing aspects related to the different stages of course development, the students liked the fact that the course helped them improve their academic and professional skills. One student commented: “When we were collecting the data for need analysis because it allows us to contact different types of people and develop our interviewing skills.” Another student also said: “Doing the project since it improves many aspects such as managing time, work in groups, team working.”

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5.4. The most challenging aspects The students were asked to list the most challenging aspects of the course. They mentioned several challenges. One of these was needs analysis. It is true that needs analysis was listed earlier as one of the positive aspects. Many students enjoyed the construction of data gathering tools. However, the stages that followed the construction of the tools were found to be demanding. This includes finding and interacting with participants, as one student has put it: “Finding participants for the needs analysis was very difficult/ challenging.” Another student said: “Dealing with people who are busy and people who know nor Arabic neither English.” Other students mentioned the manipulation and processing of data from the needs analysis. They faced difficulty in analysing the data from needs analysis, deriving the goals and objectives from the data, matching the needs analysis with the course objectives and materials, planning the course from needs analysis, analysing the questionnaire because not all questions were answered, and analysing the results.

Another student added that: “Interpreting the results of needs analysis was challenging because according to the results the target group needed all the skills and we had to focus on all of them.” This is about filtering the data and deciding on the most relevant and important aspects based on learners’ needs, resources, and constraints.

The second aspect the students found demanding was writing goals and objectives. This issue was also among the ones that about two thirds of the students rated as being difficult or very difficult in the previous section. In this course, the students are trained in how to write goals and objectives. However, we have noticed during the course that this is one of the hardest things to learn.

For example, they had trouble distinguishing between goal and objective statements, writing measurable statements, choosing the right action verb, and limiting the objective statement to one action.

The third challenge the students cited was related to the selection of the syllabus type. In this course, the students are taught different syllabus types, such as grammatical syllabus, lexical syllabus, task-based syllabus, thematic syllabus, functional syllabus, and skills-based syllabus. The students were also familiarized with the idea of layered and integrated syllabuses, and the difference between product-based versus process-based syllabus types. Deciding about a suitable syllabus requires that the course designer is fully familiar with the syllabus type, the learners’ needs and goals and objectives, among other things. The students faced difficulty in two main aspects, choosing the right syllabus type and writing the content of the course syllabus.

There were other areas related to project management, such as time management, and working in groups. As mentioned earlier in the section on students’ perceptions, these are among the statements that some students had doubts about.

The students listed the following challenges: working in groups of four, working with a partner on the project, managing time, and managing time with all assignments they must do in other courses.

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However, some students have learned to cope with the time pressure, as shown in this statement by one student in response to the question: “Managing time to meet with each other since we have exams and many lectures at the day so we met at night.” At the beginning of the semester, the students were asked to create a work plan with deadlines. Many of them were hesitant to do that because they were not used to that in their lives or in other courses. There was no time to check individual work plans but the students were constantly reminded of adhering to their plans.

5.5. Suggestions for improvement The last question asked students for suggestions for improvement. The students offered many useful suggestions. The first suggestion was to provide a model for the final project. One student wrote: “Give more authentic samples during the lessons before doing the project to familiarize students with what they are doing”.

Another student suggested: “Include an example of an ‘A’ student paper, so we can use it as a model.” The second suggestion was about managing teamwork.

One student stated that: “It is better to check from time to time all members of the group are working the project because some of them rely on other members and do nothing.” Another student suggested: “To either make the project individual or the instructor should divide the parts of the design process among the group members because some of them are not working and they were all depending on one member only.” The third suggestion was about providing more guidance.

Students suggested that the teachers should monitor students’ work more regularly and provide more guidance and directions. The final suggestion was concerned with the submission procedure. The students suggested they are asked to finish each part in a certain time then submit it to the instructor so that the work will be more organized and completed on time.

As can be gleaned from the students’ suggestions, they are asking for more guidance and more structured support. While this could be provided and could be helpful for some students, it might be too limiting for others. The project constitutes a rather big chunk of the total marks of the course (20%) and so the students are concerned about the marks they earn but nevertheless the amount of guidance is an area worth exploring further. This is an issue that is not yet fully researched in the literature on project-based learning. The students are given a ‘flexible’ template for the final product and they are shown a few examples of completed projects from previous semesters. However, it seems students expect more guidance.

6. Discussion The study revealed that students showed very positive responses towards the use of PBL. Students’ positive responses towards the use of PBL in their course design project is supported by several other studies in the literature (Baghoussi and El Ouchdi, 2019; Bell, 2010; Hafner & Fun, 2012; Meyer & Wurdinger, 2016; Miller et al., 2012), which show that students overall prefer PBL over more traditional approaches to learning. For example, Gies (2017) found that students were motivated to learn via PBL, as they perceived it as an engaging strategy that develops problem solving and critical thinking skills. Students also reported that PBL helps connect them to their college study, and future job and helps them

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develop more positive attitudes towards course content. Students in the present study also reported the benefits of PBL in helping them understand the main concepts of the course and the connection between them, hence meeting its objectives (Assaf, 2018; Miller et al., 2012; Pacheco et al., 2018).

Furthermore, students reported their appreciation of the practical aspect of the course which allows them to come closer to the Omani community, hence constructing a new understanding of the course through interaction with the environment (Demian, 2007; Dolmans et al., 2005; Panasan & Nuangchalerm, 2010). This is especially important in the course Educational Curriculum where students are taught the importance of considering both micro and macro contexts and constraints before, during and after course design.

The findings of the study also revealed that the students encountered several challenges while working in their projects, such as conducting needs analysis and writing goals and objectives. Grant (2002) explains that the implementation of PBL could be a challenging and an overwhelming experience for students who are not familiar with its processes. The adoption of PBL changes both the general atmosphere and the nature of learning in the class, which consequently transforms the roles of both the teacher and students (Baghoussi & El Ouchdi, 2019; Bell, 2010; Dolmans et al., 2005). In PBL, students are expected to be more independent. In this study, the students enjoyed the process of needs analysis, yet the authenticity of the task presented challenges such as difficulties in getting an adequate number of participants, delays in getting responses and data analysis.

These are all authentic challenges. As for the writing of goals and objectives, it is well known that writing specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (what is known as SMART objectives) is not easy (Anderson et al., 2001). The ability to produce such specific outcome statements comes with experience (Graves, 2000). In addition, some students may not have had the time to contemplate on the data they had gathered, or simply they did not have enough knowledge about the needs of the target clients. In a normal situation, the course designer would have more time to gather information using multiple sources.

Based on their experiences, students made a number of suggestions for future revision and implementation of the course; one mainly focusing on the kind of support they felt necessary for the project, be it in the form of more guided instruction or in the provision of good models and examples of the project as a final product. The result aligns with those of Johnson and Cuevas (2016) who found that the autonomy provided to students in a PBL class could sometimes be counterproductive if there is no adequate monitoring from the teacher and suggest that students are provided with explicit instruction prior to engagement in inquiry PBL to make their experience valid. Teachers can design projects that meet the objectives if they start slowly and move gradually from a step to another (Zhang et al., 2009). Students also needed support in teamwork.

Although PBL, by nature emphasizes the principles of cooperative learning, some students may not have experienced group work and peer interaction, or do not know the principles of effective and productive group work. As a result, the

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teacher might be expected to teach students to work collaboratively, avoid conflicts, and share resources (Grant, 2002).

The findings revealed by this study support what has been reported in the literature in terms of the benefits obtained by students through the adoption of and engagement with PBL (Pacheco et al., 2018; Assaf, 2018; Miller et al., 2012). It particularly adds to the literature in teacher preparation programs in general, and the Omani context in particular, especially that no previous studies investigated the use of PBL in the Omani teacher preparation setting. In spite of the challenges faced by students, which we argue are adding to the authenticity of the experience, the advantages gained by them show that PBL can work effectively in achieving the outcomes of teacher preparation programs. In the case of Educational Curriculum at Sultan Qaboos University, the results showed that PBL can provide a realistic framework for students to contextualize curricular-related decisions and engage in practical application of the course’s content.

7. Conclusion and Limitations Project-based learning can be a powerful instructional method in teacher education programs. In this study, the aim of applying the project-based approach was to help the Omani teacher trainees understand course design. We believe that the best way for students to grasp concepts is by experience. This is what projectbased learning provides. Based on the findings of this study, it is clear that the students have found the approach effective. The approach helped students understand what would otherwise be abstract to them. The knowledge and skills the students have learned in this course will hopefully be beneficial for them when joining the teaching force. There were some challenges that have to be addressed in the future iterations of the course. The students have offered some useful suggestions for improvement. It is clear that students need more guidance in some phases of the project.

As with any research, it is important to highlight the limitations of the study. First, this study was essentially a self-report study and therefore its findings and conclusions are more relevant to the context of the study and may not be applicable to other contexts. Second, the questionnaire contained statements that tackled many concepts and skills some of which need to be objectively measured such as critical thinking and problem solving. Therefore, it would be good in future to assess acquisition of such content knowledge and skills using standardized tests or scales. Another way to study the effect of PBL is through an experimental research design where a control group of students receive some traditional instruction (with no PBL being used) and a group incorporating PBL methods and then compare results.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 137-151, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.8

The Development of Historical Competencies in Secondary Education: A Study Based on the Analysis of Sources in Spanish and Italian History Textbooks José María Álvarez-Martínez-Iglesias, Jesús Molina-Saorín, Francisco Javier Trigueros-Cano and Pedro Miralles-Martínez Murcia University, Murcia, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9633-3560 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9919-0910 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7098-0927 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9143-2145

Abstract. This work presents the results of research whose main objective was to analyze the sources present in Geography and History textbooks used in Spain and Italy in secondary education, as well as how they were designed for use by the teaching staff of this subject. This research was carried out for the benefit of teachers and for the improvement of the teaching-learning process. The sample was configured on the basis of a rigorous analysis of textbooks belonging to relevant publishers in Spain and Italy, whose selection was made using a quantitative and descriptive research method based on the interpretative paradigm, with the help of an SPSS statistical program. As for the main results obtained, the data indicated that the tasks requested from students (based on the use or analysis of sources) are of a low cognitive level, which makes it difficult to learn critical and reflective historical thinking. Finally, it was concluded that for students to strengthen the development and acquisition of critical thinking, the use of textbooks must be integrated with other, more active resources and more participatory teaching strategies, putting both competency-based teaching and its assessment in quarantine.

Keywords: historical education; historical thinking; key competencies; textbooks

1. Introduction Current educational research increasingly highlights the fact that customary education systems do not meet the educational needs of the younger generation, highlighting the limitations of using only the master class, amongst other methodological resources (Butchart et al., 2009; Lage et al., 2000; Schwerdt & Wuppermann, 2011). In this sense, the excessive prominence given to textbooks ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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as the main teaching resource for the teaching of History is questioned. This fact may have its origin in the fact that, throughout the years, textbooks have been identified as the most relevant source of documentary information in the classroom. This article deals with the importance of the use of sources for the teaching of the subject of Geography and History in the non-compulsory secondary education stage. This is because the use of these sources in the process of History teaching and learning constitutes a fundamental pillar for a deep knowledge of the past, as well as a means of developing historical-thinking skills amongst students, since not only must the historical discipline be learned (i.e. the acquisition of theoretical knowledge) but also the skills of the historian’s work must be developed (i.e. the ability to interpret sources and provide hypotheses and conclusions about past and present reality). As a consequence of this approach, the main objective in the teaching of History is to try to ensure that students are able to carry out a critical analysis of the society around them, to interpret sources of various kinds, as well as to question the past by applying their knowledge to current problems.

In the Spanish educational system, specifically in the subject of Geography and History (non-compulsory secondary education), one of the most important aims is to form historical thought by providing students with instruments of analysis, understanding and interpretation with which they can learn History with autonomy and a critical sense. Under this paradigm, appropriately using the different historical sources that can be used in the classroom (books, memoirs, letters, autobiographies, manuscripts, speeches, photographs, paintings, images etc.) aids in carrying out the process of teaching and learning whilst contributing to the development of key competencies. In this sense, the competency of cultural awareness and expression is developed through work with sources. This is because it implies knowing, understanding, appreciating, and valuing (with a critical spirit and an open and respectful attitude) the different cultural and artistic manifestations, whilst at the same time being able to use them as a source of enrichment, as well as being considered part of the wealth and heritage of peoples.

On the other hand, linguistic competence also develops from the use of sources insofar as, for their reading and analysis, various communicative practices are employed in various modalities, formats, and supports. Similarly, the appropriate use of historical sources contributes to the development of social and civic competencies, which involve the ability and capacity to use knowledge and attitudes about society – understood from different perspectives – in its dynamic, changing, and complex conception. Precisely for this reason, it can be said that historical-temporal awareness, the contextualization of sources, the historical perspective, and the ethical dimension (skills that are characteristic of historical thought) are related to the democratic training of citizenship. This relates to the extent that they promote understanding of society and critical thought in students, thus contributing to the development of this at a social and personal level.

If we look at the strictly methodological aspects, working with sources in the classroom can be motivating for students, especially for those who are used to

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using more mechanical methods that require less personal initiative. However, taking into consideration the intellectual activity involved in working with sources (analysis of the reliability of the source, contrasting different sources, contextualization etc.), it requires students to have certain previous skills. These include, for example, a sufficient capacity for linguistic comprehension and expression, skills which, due to the new communication systems, are detrimental in today’s society. For this reason, it is recommended that the use of this resource in the classroom should be frequent, whilst guided by the teacher. In this way, the student, in a progressive way, acquires the skills necessary for the use of sources in the classroom and perceives this methodological strategy as a motivating way of proceeding and useful for learning.

Amongst the authors who have stood out for their research on the use of sources, we can cite Wineburg (2001), who identified three phases experienced by students when interpreting sources. The first stage of interpretation, called provisioning, corresponds to the moment when the author of the text is sought, pursuing the reason for the event and trying to evaluate the content. In the second phase, called contextualization, an attempt is made to relate the data obtained (in the previous phase) to the social and historical context. Finally, the third level, called corroboration, is where students compare sources, looking for similarities and contradictions, with the purpose of getting to know the degree of truthfulness and realism that will help them with adequate construction and historical interpretation. As we know, many students in the subject of Geography and History find it difficult to investigate historical content. They find numerous contradictions in the sources of information, so much so that they even accept the information without having made a previous criticism for a good analysis and an adequate historical understanding. Nokes (2010) also reached this conclusion when he stated that students rarely question the reliability of sources.

Historical sources must be used appropriately to be effective resources for the teaching of History. This requires the development of basic skills in the use of historical sources that can be taught in Geography and History classes (Sáiz, 2014, 2015). In this sense, working with historical sources can therefore be a very valuable learning tool, although it is necessary to know how sources are used in the teaching of this subject. One fruitful way of approaching this is through the analysis of textbooks. The reason for this choice is that textbooks are still the main curricular material used in the classroom, as Valls and Parra (2016) pointed out is the case in Spain, and in a similar way to what has been done in other countries.

The CLIO 92 association (interested, for decades, in the effectiveness of historical didactics) highlighted three core factors for the transmission of learning or the teaching of History to students: school programs, didactic mediation, and learning processes (Trigueros et al., 2017). The three factors influence each other in such a way that the effectiveness of the structure facilitates didactic mediation (and motivates and facilitates learning), effective didactic mediation improves the quality of the structure (and deals with the learning process), and the learning process – well attended to – gives meaning to the structure of historical knowledge (and to the acts of mediation). Under this approach, it can be stated that History

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is taught and learned as a discipline in which the skills of memorization ordered from logical patterns, as well as the skills of oral expression, are substantially at stake.

After analyzing the cognitive needs printed in the educational programs of countries such as Spain or Italy, it can be seen that they are of a very simple level.

This inevitably triggers a memoristic learning of the contents, a fact that is often reflected in the assessment instruments used by the teaching staff (Gómez et al., 2018).

In the field of Social Science teaching, researchers have emphasized the need to focus the teaching of History from a very important perspective: the need to develop the skills and competencies necessary for young people to live the present by interpreting it consciously. The urgency of doing so is, if anything, exacerbated by the situation of high youth unemployment which currently punishes Europe, with 42% unemployment amongst young people under 25. This displays, in some cases, a worrying mismatch between the expectations of the system and the skills displayed by its graduates.

It should not be overlooked that, in recent years, although there have been positive developments in the definition of specific learning outcomes, it is no less true that these have also been the result of a better adjustment between the methodologies and assessment instruments that have been designed to support the learning process. Therefore, in the field of History teaching, an approach is sought which emphasizes the more disciplinary and methodological dimension of this subject. Such approach was born in England within the framework of alternative curricular projects to traditional History teaching, combining innovation and research. It spread in the 1980s and 1990s in the field of research and was restricted to countries such as the United States and Canada. It also spread in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Brazil and has been identified with the term “historical thinking” (constituting a paradigm of reference in the teaching of History) (Gómez et al., 2020).

In pursuit of this improvement and innovation in teaching, the path opened up by historical thought offers both opportunities for cognitive development and resources for responsible and critical citizenship education (Borghi et al., 2015; Pagès, 2009; Prats & Santacana, 2011). In the latest works on the subject, the international line of research followed in Italy for the teaching of History through this paradigm of historical thought has been formulated mainly by several authors (Borghi & Dondarini, 2013; Borghi & Galletti, 2020; Brusa & Cecalupo, 2000), in a similar way to what has happened in Canada and the United States (Clark, 2011; Lévesque, 2008; Seixas & Peck, 2004; VanSledright, 2014; Wineburg, 2001). Notwithstanding, the origin of this paradigm is an inheritance of those innovation and research paths that emerged in the United Kingdom between the 1970s and 1980s (Lee, 2005, 2011). Recently (in Spain), the proposals of historical thought have also been synthesized in various studies (Carretero & López, 2009; Gómez et al., 2014), which have been duly reformulated and directed based on

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proposing pedagogical practices that stimulate such historical thought (Domínguez, 2015).

2. Method 2.1. Objectives The main objective of this work was to analyze both the presence of sources in Geography and History textbooks used in Spain and Italy, and to evaluate the use of these sources by teachers during the secondary education stage. This objective has been divided into two specific objectives: SO1) to analyze the sources present in the teaching units of Geography and History textbooks in Spain and Italy (which deal with the subject of the Cold War), and SO2) to evaluate how the sources are used in these teaching units for the acquisition of the learning proposed in them. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, a quantitative and descriptive research method was chosen, framed by the interpretative paradigm.

2.2. Sample For the choice of the sample, it was decided to use textbooks corresponding to the second stage of secondary education (non-compulsory), since the curricular content of that stage amply demonstrates the use of the sources in such manuals.

Specifically, the educational level chosen for the selection of the textbooks was first year of baccalaureate for the Spanish case (corresponding to pupils of 16–17 years of age), and fifth year of secondary school (Human Sciences School) for the Italian case (corresponding to pupils of 17–18 years of age).

For the selection of the publishers of textbooks, a non-probabilistic procedure was followed, from which ten were selected from amongst those that met two basic criteria for inclusion: 1) manuals whose edition corresponded to the last current edition date (between 2015 and 2018), and 2) manuals that were amongst the best-sellers (in recent years) in Spain and Italy. For the Spanish case, the publishers chosen were Anaya, Oxford, Santillana, SM, and Vicens Vives; for the Italian case, the publishers selected were Pearson, Zanichellde, Palumbo Editore, La Nuova Italia, and La Scuola. (See Appendix for bibliographic information of the selected textbooks.)

To develop and achieve the specific objectives indicated above (SO1 and SO2), it was necessary to select content that, on the one hand, has the preceptive normative curricular reference to allow it to be approached as a subject of study and, secondly, that it is content with sufficient relevance (and with the capacity to motivate) to awaken in students the emotion to know. Precisely for this reason, and in accordance with the current curriculum (in Spain) for the baccalaureate stage (included in Real Decreto [Royal Decree] 1105 [2014] – which establishes the basic curriculum for compulsory secondary education and the baccalaureate), and also what is expressed (in Italy) through the national program of Geography and History (included in Decreto Presidente della Repubblica [Presidential Decree of the Republic] [2009], n. 81 and Legge [Law] 6 August 2008, n. 133), the theme selected was the Cold War. This theme was selected precisely because the Cold War was a broad historical period (1947–1991) in which the main powers of the twentieth century intervened, and which – with great ease – can be studied with

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simplicity from sources of various kinds (texts, photographs, posters, caricatures etc.). In the same way, and in the case of Italy, this topic is also duly included as curricular content for the subject of Geography and History.

2.3. Instrument For the collection of information from textbooks, an analysis tool was designed and validated, defined from the following eight categories: reference, location, nature, contextualization, provisioning, function, cognitive demand, and cognitive level. The “reference” category allows for the systematization of the bibliographical data of the work. In the “location” category, the position of the source is included in relation to the structure of the topic (specifically with the variables introduction, body, and end of the topic). Likewise, the “nature” category allows the information collected to be grouped according to the order of the source (primary or secondary) and its code (visual or textual). The fourth category, “contextualization,” makes it possible to indicate the relationship of the source to the content to which it refers (unrelated, relationship to the context, and direct relationship to the content).

The “provisioning” category facilitates the collection of information about the author, place, year, and genesis of the source (purpose or information related to the source context). In the final stretch, the category “function” allows for the indication of whether the source is used as an illustration of the content or whether it has a didactic use. Finally, the categories “cognitive demand” and “cognitive level” are closely related to the activities. As such, the first category classifies the activities according to the cognitive demand they require from the students (for which attention has been paid to the verbs included in the statements). The second category (cognitive level) makes it possible to classify the activities on an ordinal scale of 1 to 3 (according to the cognitive difficulty they possess).

As for the instrument, although its design is based on the review and adaptation of similar ones already published, it was also subjected to a validation process.

This process was carried out by six external experts (two university professors from the field of Didactics of Social Sciences, two professors of History – in high school, and two teachers of secondary education and baccalaureate from the department of Humanities).

Once the design was completed, the validation of this instrument was carried out through the development of another one specifically designed for the validation team. During this process, the experts enquired into the suitability of each of the categories involved in the objective of the research, as well as into the structure, substance, and form of this instrument. For the evaluation, a Likert-type scale was used with values ranging from 1 to 4 (1 – not suitable, 2 – not very suitable, 3 – suitable, and 4 – very suitable). The reliability of the instrument was determined through applying Cronbach’s alpha coefficient using an SPSS statistical program (version 19). As a result of this application, the coefficient reached the value of 0.83, surprisingly exceeding the optimum cut-off point for this type of study (0.70). For the analysis of the data, Microsoft Excel was used, by

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virtue of which it was possible to calculate both the absolute frequency and percentage of the variables under study, also allowing for the making of graphic representations that were incorporated in this work.

3. Data Analysis and Discussion Once the analysis of the data was completed and in response to the first specific objective that was set out in the research (SO1: to analyze the sources present in the teaching units of the Spanish and Italian Geography and History textbooks – which deal with the subject of the Cold War), it was concluded that, together, the ten publishers offered a total of 808 sources in the teaching units referring to the Cold War in their manuals for the subject of Geography and History (Table 1). In particular, 450 sources appeared in the Spanish textbooks, of which 69.3% were primary sources and 30.7% were secondary sources. In the case of the Italian History textbooks, 358 sources appeared, of which 79.1% were primary sources and 20.9% were secondary sources. These statistics are displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Sources present in Cold War units in the Spanish and Italian textbooks Publisher Spanish Anaya Oxford Santillana SM Vicens Vives Spanish total Italian La Nuova Italia La Scuola Palumbo Pearson Zanichelli Italian total Total

Total sources

Primary sources

Secondary sources

57 89 93 90 121 450

30 69 56 72 85 312 (69.3%)

27 20 37 18 36 138 (30.7%)

110 100 34 46 68 358 808

82 85 25 36 55 283 (79.1%) 595 (73.6%)

28 15 9 10 13 75 (20.9%) 213 (26.4%)

As for the typology of the primary and secondary sources included in the educational units related to the Cold War, we found that, for the Spanish textbooks, 72.4% were visual and 27.6% were textual. Therefore, we can affirm that photographs are most frequently used, followed by posters of the time and caricatures, whereas in the case of the textual primary sources, what were most abundant are fragments of political speeches of relevant characters, as well as treatises of the time. On the other hand, in the Italian History textbooks, 78.7% of the sources were visual and 21.3% were textual. This shows the same tendency as in the Spanish case, although the most frequent visual sources here were not photographs but maps, with a frequency of 51% (of the total visual sources).

Finally, and within the primary textual sources most frequent in the Italian textbooks – as in their Spanish counterparts – political speeches and treatises were the most frequent (61.4%).

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With regard to the second specific objective (SO2: to evaluate how the sources are used in these teaching units for the acquisition of the learning proposed in them), it is important to highlight that in the teaching units analyzed, we found that 60.2% of the activities (142 of a total of 236) had some kind of source present in the Spanish textbooks for their use by students. However, in the Italian case, this percentage was 32.18% (56 out of a total of 174 activities). This means that the distribution of activities by publishers is unequal. In this respect, Anaya (in the Spanish case) and Palumbo (in the Italian case) are the publishers which destined the least number of activities regarding working with sources, whilst Vicens Vives and La Scuola are the publishers (Spanish and Italian, respectively) which included the most activities with the requirement of the use of sources (Table 2).

Table 2. Activities and sources used on the subject of the Cold War Publisher Spanish Anaya Oxford Santillana SM Vicens Vives Spanish total Italian Palumbo La Nuova Italia Pearson Zanichelli La Scuola Italian total Total

No. of activities

Activities with sources

Sources used in activities

19 39 67 54 57 236

9 (42,9%) 22 (56,4%) 42 (62,7%) 25 (46,3%) 44 (77,2%) 142 (60.2%)

16 22 53 31 54 176

23 35

7 (30,4%) 8 (22,9%)

7 10

29 40 46 173 379

4 (13,8%) 15 (37,5%) 22 (47,8%) 56 (32.18%) 198

8 25 30 80 256

Of the sources included in the activities (cited above), 47.3% were for educational purposes, whilst 52.6% were used for illustrative purposes only, namely to accompany the story of the events, especially in the case of the primary visual sources (photographs, posters, drawings, paintings etc.). Therefore, it can be said that there is an almost equal distribution between the use of sources for illustrative purposes and their didactic use in the activities included in the Cold War themes of the Spanish textbooks analyzed. In the case of the Italian History textbooks, the proportion of sources with a didactic use was somewhat higher (51.8%), whilst the percentage of sources used with an illustrative function was 48.2%.

On the other hand, upon analyzing the statements of the activities, it can be seen that – for the selected publishers of both countries – the activities more often required students to answer direct questions such as “what”, “who”, or “when”, or to explain historical facts which are explained in the unit (Figure 1), requiring the students to learn operations based on the memorization of the contents.

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100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Spain

Italy

Figure 1. Most commonly used verbs in textbook activity statements

Furthermore, a comparison was made with similar studies carried out in other countries. We found that the number of sources included in the teaching units in the Spanish and Italian History textbooks was very similar to that obtained by Van Nieuwenhuyse (2016) in his comparative study on the Cold War in French and English textbooks, where the presence of primary sources was 72% compared to 28% for secondary sources. This author, however, pointed out notable differences in the typology of sources between England and France. In French books, the presence of primary sources in Geography and History textbooks reached 83%, whilst in English books, it only reached 17%. In the specific case of the Spanish and Italian textbooks analyzed, the figures were closer to the French case than to the English one. The main reason for this is the commitment of the English teaching system in favor of the promotion of critical historical thought based on the historiographic analysis of the facts.

On the other hand, it is important to point out that, in Spain and Italy, the historiographical debate hardly appeared in Geography and History textbooks.

In addition, despite the fact that the curricula of both countries include student analysis of sources, these are usually (and as the data show) primary sources. In fact, most of the secondary sources appearing in the textbooks analyzed are not texts but maps, which highlights the fact that there are very few instances where textbooks (Spanish or Italian) contain a historiographical text to present to students.

In the case of Spain, the abundance of maps was also due to the existence of an evaluation criterion included in the curriculum and referring to identifying and explaining the conflicts of the Cold War from historical maps. In the case of primary textual sources, what were most abundant (in both countries) are fragments of political discourses of relevant figures and treatises of the time.

These results are slightly higher than the data offered by Van Nieuwenhuyse (2016) for France and England, where the presence of visual sources reached 60%.

As for the role of sources in History textbooks in Spain and Italy, there was an almost equal distribution between the use of illustrative sources and their didactic

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use. These results are very similar to those obtained from research on English textbooks. In particular, Van Nieuwenhuyse (2016) estimated that, in English textbooks, 53% of primary visual sources have a didactic use, whilst 47% serve to illustrate content. Furthermore, the number of activities in a textbook is not significant in terms of whether or not they are used for teaching purposes. This can be clearly seen, for example, in the comparison between the presence of primary sources in French and English History textbooks, the former including more sources but assigning less didactic use to them in relation to the latter. In the Spanish case, the didactic use of sources responds, fundamentally, to the compliance with the curricular provisions referred to the subject of Geography and History. In particular, Real Decreto [Royal Decree] 1105 (2014) includes several learning standards related to the use of sources for learning about the Cold War. On the one hand, these refer to the location and explanation (from historical maps) of the countries belonging to the two opposing blocks and the main conflicts developed during the Cold War. On the other hand, they refer to the request of students for the identification and explanation of the two opposing blocks as a result of the extraction of information from different sources (texts, images, maps, and graphics).

The above fact makes it possible, in principle, to attain to the learning standards included in the current educational curriculum. However, the level of cognitive demand associated with these standards is very low insofar as work with sources is limited to students identifying the blocks they face and explaining their characteristics or specific facts of this period. In the curriculum, reference is only made to the reliability of the source when students are asked to search for sources in libraries or on the internet, a fact which may be related to the inclusion of digital competence in the secondary and baccalaureate curriculum. It is striking that textbooks hardly ask students to question the reliability of sources, at least where activities with sources are presented. This is not even the case when these sources are of a historiographic nature (or are posters and cartoons), where the understanding of the approach or the intention of the author is of vital importance.

In Spain and Italy, work with the sources present in the textbooks is practically non-existent, since analysis, with excessive frequency, showed that the key concepts did not appear to be related to historical thought. Students are thus kept from completing the acquisition of critical and reflective thinking by virtue of which they are able to analyze and discern the past history and the present that surrounds them. In the same way, in the published textbooks of both countries, primary sources were more frequent than secondary ones, undoubtedly due to the decorative and illustrative character of the former. However, this fact can sometimes be counterproductive for the teaching and learning process of students, since in this way they are not presented with clear contextual or bibliographical references. This is due to the inflexible nature of the curriculum and the somewhat erroneous conception that teachers may have of the interlocking nature and architecture of its different elements. Here, current educational legislation gives greater importance to theoretical and disciplinary knowledge, leaving the much-needed competency-based education proposed for

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this stage in the background. Teacher training is also linked to this, since both in universities and in the continuous training offered by the Administration, the necessary training is not being offered to carry out these procedural and attitudinal methodologies that favor the use of resources (such as sources). This leaves the Geography and History class relegated to a mere transmission of oneway information whereby, in the long run (with technological advances and the availability of information), the student would feel that he or she could do without the teacher.

As has already been demonstrated, there is no point in applying methodologies that favor procedural learning if resources, activities, or assessment are not subsequently adapted. As an example, the fact of working with a methodology that favors procedural and attitudinal operations in the students, and later evaluating the students with a conceptual exam, only causes them confusion and anxiety in the face of this contradictory way of presenting and working with knowledge. For this reason, on many occasions, the use of sources and their integration into the teaching program ends up being displaced to the sphere of exceptionality, and not as an ordinary means of teaching for the acquisition of content.

Another relevant aspect of the analysis carried out is that the verbs contained in the statements that define the activities with sources are, for the most part, announcers of actions that require neither a process of reflection nor a critical analysis. They are proposals that propose the carrying out of a whole series of intellectual actions based on the request for reproduction of the content already explained throughout the written subject. Unfortunately, this fact is repeated in both the Spanish and Italian Geography and History textbooks, enclosing, in turn, an implicit relationship between the curriculum and the programming of objectives of the subject of History for both countries. For this reason, to carry out the work with sources correctly, teachers must adapt the materials they use (or even the questions contained in the subject manuals), so that they can correct the lack of coherence between the proposal contained in the curriculum and teaching practice.

Furthermore, in these statements, we find that the learning objectives are mostly of a conceptual nature. Very rarely do they include skills associated with historical competencies that activate this greater cognitive capacity when it comes to solving the activities. This notes a relationship between the low cognitive level of the activities analyzed and the objectives and assessment criteria included in the curriculum of the subject of History. Consequently, and in general, the most demanding task for students is the search for information and its reproduction without any analysis of the information. In other words, there is a misuse of sources since they are used exclusively for the achievement of conceptual and memoristic learning. In fact, and despite the significant number (53.4%) of sources associated with the activities, on many occasions, students are not asked to analyze these sources. Rather, direct questions are asked, the answers to which (demanded of the students) already appear explicitly in the source itself and, as a

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consequence, could be acquired by making a descriptive reading of it with a low cognitive commitment for the student.

4. Conclusion The results obtained showed that most of the activities in the analyzed textbooks were not designed to analyze and develop second-order concepts related to historical thought. Rather, their purpose is to strengthen the memorization of dates, facts, or relevant historical figures. In other words, the aim is for the student to be able to reproduce an academic discourse (presumably illustrated) in which the institutional story takes precedence over other more socio-critical approaches.

This line of memorization of a standardized historical narrative is maintained, to a good extent, by the demands of the curriculum, and also by the nature of the university entrance exam. These propose to students the evaluation of learning based fundamentally on the sum of knowledge, leaving aside the acquisition of critical thinking skills and, more importantly, confirmation of the absolute oblivion of that great forgotten to this table: the transfer of knowledge. Certainly, in the scenario in which we find ourselves, and looking back over several decades in which this scenario of learning by competencies did not exist, if we believe that today (broadly speaking), it is evaluated in the same way – or furiously similar – as it was in 1990 (in the midst of the implementation of the General Organic Law of the Education System [GOLES]), surely and following the maxim of ‘tell me how you evaluate and I’ll tell you how you teach’ (Molina et al., 2017, p. 170), we will be able to say two things. First, not only are we not doing well (in terms of non-compliance with the regulations in force today), and second, conceptually speaking, if it is not evaluated by competencies, it will certainly not have been taught by competencies.

Evidently, this makes us suspect (as a line for future research) that, probably, what has been intended has been a simple semantic change. By virtue of this change, and after applying (Fierabrás’) balsam which grants a new language (apparently modern and well sounding), there would have been nothing left but mirages of a purpose that no one has finally proved (if it is really taught and assessed by competences). This will surely be because the capricious inventors of its engineering had as much faith in its destiny as intelligence showed when designing it.

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Valls, R., & Parra, D. (2016). Libros de texto: Una visión simplificada [Textbooks: A simplified view]. Iber: Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales, Geografía e Historia [Iber: Didactics of Social Sciences, Geography and History], 85, 15-19. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/ejemplar/441033 Van Nieuwenhuyse, K. (2016). Reasoning with and/or about sources on the Cold War? The use of primary sources in English and French History education. International Journal for History and Social Sciences Education, 1, 19-51. https://www.pacinieditore.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/karel-vannieuwenhuyse-reasoning-with-andor-about-sources-on-the-cold-war.pdf VanSledright, B. A. (2014). Assessing historical thinking and understanding: Innovation design for new standards. Routledge.

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Appendix Álvarez, L., Garcia, M., Gatell, C., & Gibaja, J. C., Palafox., J., & Risques, M. (2016). HMC. Historia del mundo contemporáneo [History of the contemporary world]. Vicens Vives.

Anderson, L. W., Cepeda, J., Cepeda, P., Gómez, F., Calvo, A., Herrero, M., & Martín, M. (2015). Historia del mundo contemporáneo [History of the contemporary world]. Oxford University Press.

Fernández, J. M., Gonzalez, J., & Ramirez, A. (2015). Historia del mundo contemporáneo [History of the contemporary world]. Santillana.

Fossati, M., Luppi, G., & Zanette, E. (2016). Senso Storico: Il Novecento e il mondo contemporáneo 3 [Historical sense. The twentieth century and the contemporary world] (Edizioni Scolastiche Bruno Mondadori). Pearson Italia.

Gentile, G., Ronga, L., & Rossi, A. (2016). Il nuovo Millennium 3 [The new Millennium 3].

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Otero, L. E. (2015). Historia del mundo contemporáneo [History of the contemporary world].

Ed. SM. Paolucci, S., Signorini, G., & Marisaldi, L. (2017). Di tempo in tempo 3. L´Età contemporánea [From time to time 3: The contemporary age]. Zanichelli.

Prats, J., Moradiellos, E., Gil, C., Rivero, M. P., & Sobrino, D. (2015). Historia del mundo contemporáneo [History of the contemporary world]. Anaya.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 152-169, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.9

The Effects of Student Led Conferences on the Improvement of 21st Century Career and Life Skills Canan Şişman and Elif Bahadır Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5414-9757 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1154-5853 Abstract. This study examined the contribution of student-led conferences to students ’acquisition of responsibility, self-management, self-expression, communication skills and leadership qualities, which are within the scope of 21st century life and career skills. For this purpose, the case study design was used in the study in which a total of 249 students, 280 parents and 22 teachers from primary school (4th grade), secondary school and high school levels in a private school participated. Data triangulation method was used to increase the validity of the research. In this context, the techniques of questionnaire, semi-structured interview and document review were used. Research findings have shown that studentled conferences have a positive effect on helping students acquire 21st century skills, and confirm that this is an important process for student development. In the future research, it can be focused on the effects of these student-led conferences on student achievement. The effects of the portfolio presentations made by the students at the conferences and the planning they made about learning goals at the conferences on their academic success in the long term can be investigated.

Keywords: student led conferences; 21st century skills; parent involvement; collaborative education

1. Introduction As the different skills expected from students are added to today’s conception of education, determining students’ demands, needs, fields of interest and future goals has become more important in student-centered education. Nowadays when the goals of education differ, the cooperation of the school and the parent, which directly or indirectly interact with each other, is inevitable, because it is difficult to separate clearly their responsibilities begin and end. For this reason, schools have started to develop systems that will enrich school-parent cooperation since the 1980s.

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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A positive communication between the student, parent and teacher can only be achieved by discussing the student’s development and problems and identifying their problems and needs. The most important source of providing this communication is efficient and functional school-parent conferences. These conferences gain students the idea of their being responsible for their own success by giving them the leadership and responsibility they need. Some study findings indicate that parent-teacher conferences are not efficient and functional.

There are many studies conducted in order to determine the contribution of school-parent cooperation in education (Guyton & Fielstein, 1989; Epstein, 1995; Hackmann, 1997; Davies, 2001; Borba & Olvera, 2001; Bailey & Guskey, 2001).

These studies mention the positive contributions of school-parent cooperation to many factors including academic success. Among these studies, the most spectacular and closely related to the research is the study by Epstein (1995). Epstein started with practices consisting of certain frameworks defined as “parent involvement” to support parent participation, and then this process turned into studentled conferences where students present their work and lead conferences. Studies have shown that student-led conferences support student success and contribute to qualifications such as leadership, social and cultural knowledge (Monroe, 2009). These conferences have enabled students to actively participate in the evaluation of their academic progress, thus, encouraging them to think in order to improve their learning, and to directly share their learning experiences with their teachers and their parents (Borba & Olvera, 2001). However, with the student-led conferences, students have become more visible and open to the communication environment (Tholander, 2011).

Today, when it comes to student-centered education, classroom practices and process evaluations applied to student products in alternative evaluations, it is an undeniable fact that the importance of student-led parent conferences is obvious.

However, in a system where student-centered education is mentioned so much, it is seen that there is not much effort spent in transition to student participated conferences. Whereas, students and parents’ active involvement in all stages of education, especially in topics that concern students themselves, is a requirement of student-centered education and, more importantly, democratic education.When the existing curricula in our country are examined, it is seen that such planned conferences are not included.

These conferences are functional and beneficial in many ways, from discussing the student’s development, problems and needs one by one, to sharing classroom activities with her/his parents. It is thought that the conferences with student participation are beneficial to bring functionality to the existing parent-teacher conferences as well as enabling students to be a part of the process evaluation. Student-led conferences are also important for that the parents know their students and participate in a part of the school life through these conferences. Organizing the school-parent conferences as teacher-student-parent conferences and including the planned teacher-student-parent conferences in the guidance dimension in education programs are important in terms of student success, teacher and student motivation as well as qualified parent support. These conferences can add

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functionality to existing parent-teacher conferences, enabling parents to be a part of the school system. To include students in the process of being an active part of the system, and to reveal young people’s full potential as adults; Students need to master the subjects they have learned at school and to develop their application skills. In addition, business world and political leaders expect from schools to develop “21st century skills” such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and self-management (NRC, 2012).

Figure 1: General Framework of 21st Century Skills (P21, 2019)

The general framework of 21st century skills referred to as P21 in the literature is shown in Figure 1. Life and career skills shown in the table as follows; (i) flexibility and adaptability, (ii) initiative and self-management, (iii) social and cross-cultural interaction, (iv) productivity and accountability, and (v) leadership and taking responsibility skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009; P21, 2019). (i) Adaptability; Being adaptive to different roles, job responsibilities, plans and working effectively in uncertain or changing environmental conditions; being flexible and having a positive attitude to praise, failure and criticism, (ii) initiative and self-management; Being able to determine goals with tangible and intangible success criteria, balance long and short-term goals, use time correctly, manage workload effectively, work independently, discover own learning opportunities, look at past experiences with a critical approach for future processes, (iii) social and cross-cultural communication; knowing when to talk and when to listen and being able to control the process (iv) productivity and accountability; being able to work in a planned way to achieve goals even against obstacles and rival pressures, to effectively manage time and targeted aims, (v) leadership and taking responsibility; being able to lead and guide others in order to achieve common goals, by acting in accordance with the principles of honesty and ethics in the use of influence and power, and to be responsible to others (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019).

When looking at the goals of student-led conferences, it can be clearly seen that they support the development of these skills. Some of the goals of these conferences are as follows; it enables students to take a lead role in these conferences, to accept their personal responsibilities in their learning, it teaches students the self-

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evaluation process, it helps students be organized and develop their verbal communication skills, it increases their self-reliance, it encourages students to establish an open and honest communication with their family and teachers, and it engages students in self-reflection, making them more aware of their strengths and weaknesses (Guyton & Fielstein, 1989; Hackmann, 1997; Bailey & Guskey, 2001; Davies, 2001).

In addition, that traditional parent conferences started to lose their function, participation in these conferences decreased, and students’ opinions were not taken because they were not actively involved in the conferences in which they evaluate their own learning process as a stakeholder, causes a negative effect on the establishment of the needed cooperation and makes it necessary to make parent conferences more functional. The necessity of making the conferences more functional and the necessity of students’ taking responsibility for this process by participating in their own educational processes created the need for this research.

According to Williams (2020) student progress and prepared students to share their achievement during a Student-Led Conference and Bailey and Guskey (2001) state the benefit of this practice is that SLC requires students to take most of the responsibility for reporting what they have learned.

Trilling and Fadel (2009) states that learning has the potential to increase significantly when students engage in activities through problems in daily life. Therefore, the need for other forms of teaching materials used to achieve learning activities that are in accordance with the curriculum and learning in the 21st century.

Based on the presentation of problems related to the conditions of teaching materials used in classroom qualitative research is aimed at analyzing the need to develop teaching materials to improve skills critical thinking of 21st century students.

When all these elements are taken into account, the student-attended parent conferences take an active role in many subjects from student motivation to parentstudent relationship and from academic success to developing 21st century skills.

Considering these issues, it is seen that there are many dimensions of the works to be performed for the student-attended parent conferences and it will be a right tendency to demand these studies. Increasing these studies and examining student and parent tendencies will contribute to the educational literature and applications, therefore, we think that this study is contemporary because it aims to examine the contributions of self-management, leadership, taking responsibility and communication skills that are from the 21st century life and career skills; and it is also unique because it will contribute to parent-school-student cooperation with a different initiative. Within the framework of all these aims, we believe that the effects and impressions of the research conducted with different grade levels on students, parents and teachers will contribute to the studies to be conducted about this subject. The research is being carried out by current researchers as a continuation of this study by deepening the research and examining the process effects.

21st century life and career skills are the skills that we wish our students to acquire, but these skills include processes that the student should realize by being

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aware of along with the parent-school cooperation. Many benefits have been described for SCL, which are categorized in (Laal et al., 2012) article to 4 main groups of: social, psychological, academic and assessment.

Chalkiadaki (2018) concern that special attention should be paid to the maintenance of an equilibrium between the personal and social needs of the individuals and their result-oriented skill development mostly related to professional achievement, especially in the context of the primary education.

By considering all these aims, the research problem was determined as: “What are the opinions of parents, teachers and students about the contribution of studentled conferences to students’ acquisitions of the skills of taking responsibility, selfmanagement, self-expression, communication, and leadership qualities that are within the scope of 21st century life and career skills?”

2. Method In this study, the case study design, which is one of the qualitative research designs, was used. Case study is a comprehensive research strategy that mainly qualitative but also uses quantitative data and allows researchers to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real life events (Yin, 2002). In order to increase the validity of the research, data triangulation was used. In this context, data were obtained using the techniques of questionnaire, semi-structured interview and document analysis. In order to increase the reliability of the study, expert opinion was taken for the interview forms of students, teachers and parents.

While preparing the interview questions, the Test-Retest reliability analysis method was used and the questionnaire form was applied under the same conditions on the same subjects at two different times (every other 4 weeks). The correlation between the observations at two different times, the total score scores and the consistency of each question were evaluated with Pearson-Spearman correlation. The questions below 0.3 were accepted as incompatible questions and were removed from the questionnaire. Correlations were checked for test-re-test for each subscale. The correlation was found to be 0.78 and the questionnaire was decided to be reliable. A pre-application was made with a teacher and a parent regarding the questions asked in the semi-structured interviews, and after making the necessary adjustments, the main interviews were conducted.

2.1 Participants The study group consists of a total of 249 primary school (4th grade), secondary school and high school students and 280 parents, 22 teachers in the first semester of the 2019-2020 academic year in a private school in Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul province. Since grading and exams start from the 4th grade, in some schools in Turkey, the 4th grade is considered as preparation groups from primary school to secondary school and the applications in secondary school also made to these groups. Research participants were determined randomly. In the interviews, 5 parents, 4 teachers and 1 administrator were selected among the teachers and parents participating in the research according to the convenience sampling due to most respondents answered close to average and some respondents did not want to participate in interviews.

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Table 1: Study participants by levels Participants

Primary School (4th Grade)

Secondary School

High School

Total

Students

29

146

74

249

Parents

33

143

104

280

Teachers

22

22

Administrator

1

1

Overall

552

2.2 Study Process and Data Collection Tools Approximately one month before the student-led conferences were held for the research, students and teachers were informed about the aim, content practices, schedule and implementation stages of the conference. Information letters were also sent to parents. Students were ensured to have prepared for the conference with the portfolio files containing their works they did during the semester and the rehearsals they made with the drama teachers before the conference.

In the research, after the conference, students, teachers and parents expressed their opinions by filling out the 4-Likert type questionnaire form prepared separately for each group. At the preparation stage of the survey questions, it was focused on which skills students could develop together with their stakeholders in their school lives. For this purpose, the survey questions were formed by taking expert opinions under the framework of different themes and these themes were organized within the scope of 21st century skills as taking responsibility, selfmanagement, self-expression, communication skills, leadership.” The survey questions were created in a way to cover the evaluations of parents, students and teachers within the framework of the same themes (taking responsibility, selfmanagement, self-expression, communication skills, leadership). Some of the survey questions applied to all groups are shown in Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4.

Table 2: Some of the statements expected to be responded by students in the questionnaires 1.

I think I was able to express myself holistically well at the conference.

2.

I realized my personal responsibilities.

3.

I evaluated my studying habits with a more constructive perspective.

4.

I was able to participate in the decision-making process about my education.

5.

It allowed me to plan what I should do by understanding the role I had to undertake for my development.

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Table 3: Some of the statements expected to be responded by parents in the questionnaires 1.

My child’s awareness of what s/he should do for her/his academic success and responsibilities increased.

2.

My child was able to demonstrate her/his learning goals.

Table 4: Some of the statements from the teacher questionnaires 1. My students’ awareness about their responsibilities increased.

2. My students’ awareness of what they should do for their academic success increased.

3. My students were able to determine what they had to do for their academic success.

4. I think my students could evaluate themselves objectively.

5. I learned about the expectations of my students from me.

6. We were able to determine my student’s future learning goals together.

The descriptive analysis of the data obtained from the data sources, some of which are given above, was made by using the data analysis program. In addition, teachers’ and parents’ opinions were included in the study by using semi-structured interviews prepared separately for parents and teachers. Some of the common questions addressed to parents and teachers are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Some of the common questions addressed to parents and teachers in these interviews 1.

What would you have missed if you had not attended this conference?

2.

What do you think distinguishes this conference from other conferences?

3.

If you were to summarize it in one sentence, what would you say about these conferences?

The results regarding the evaluation of the survey results applied to all groups participating in the research are explained in the findings section.

2.3 Analysis and Interpretation of the Data The subgoals of the research have been analyzed separately. Content analysis of the data was done. Participants who participated in the semi-structured interview allowed the use of audio recording. Notes were taken for non-verbal statements.

The recordings were later turned into a written document. The related chapters of interviews were transcribed verbatim. Teachers and parents’ names were coded.

The names of the teachers were coded starting from A1 to A4, the names of the parents starting from B1 to B5, and the name of the administrator as C1.

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3. Findings In this study, it was aimed to reveal the opinions of parents, teachers and students about the subject of student-led conferences’ providing students 21st century life and career skills such as initiativeness, self-management, taking the lead and responsibility, and social communication. In this section, the findings obtained from the surveys and interviews are included.

In the findings section, the results obtained from the questionnaires and the results obtained from the interviews are given under different headings.

3.1 Results of Student, Teacher and Parent Questionnaires In 4-point Likert-type surveys applied to students, teachers and parents, numbers from 1 to 4 means; 4= strongly agree, 3= agree, 2= disagree, and 1= strongly disagree. The results of the surveys conducted for all three groups were found to be significant, the results are given separately for each group below: 3.1.1 Student Questionnaire Results When the results of the student questionnaire were examined, it was seen that students of primary school (4th grade), secondary school and high school had positive opinions about the student-led conferences, and among these levels, primary and secondary school students were more positive than high school students.

The survey questions have been classified and analyzed under the created themes below.

Leadership and Self-Expression Table 6: Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of leadership and self-expression skills Themes

Survey Questions

Leadership and Self-Expression

I think I could express myself well holistically at the conference.

School Levels

N

Minim um

Maxi mum

Mean

Std. Devi ation

Primary

29

2.00

4.00

3.4483

0.63168

Secondary

146

2.00

4.00

3.5959

0.51967

High

74

1.00

4.00

3.4865

0.60235

Total

249

1.00

4.00

3.5462

0.55981

Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of leadership and self-expression skills is shown in Table 6 above. The average of the responses to the item of “I think I could express myself well holistically at the conference.” was 3.55 and the students mostly responded this item as “I strongly agree”. This shows that the students leading the conferences considered themselves successful in managing the process and expressing themselves well. The results of standart deviation indicate that the participants in the research mostly gave answers close to the average.

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Self-Expression and Communication Table 7: Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of self-expression and communication skills Themes

Survey Questions

School Levels

N

Minim um

Maxi mum

Mean

Std. Deviat ion

Self-Expression and Communication

I have established open and honest communication with my family and teacher.

Primary

29

3.00

4.00

3.7241

0.45486

Secondary

146

3.00

4.00

3.7945

0.40544

High

74

3.00

4.00

3.8243

0.38314

Total

249

3.00

4.00

3.7952

0.40438

Primary

29

2.00

4.00

3.3793

0.67685

Secondary

145

1.00

4.00

3.5931

0.65082

High

73

2.00

4.00

3.4942

0.64814

Total

247

1.00

4.00

3.5385

0.65452

I enjoyed expressing myself before my parents and my teacher.

Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of self- expression and communication skills is shown in Table 7 above. The item with the highest average response among the conference items was “I have established open and honest communication with my family and teacher.” The average of this item is approximately 3.79. While the average of high school students’ responses is 3.82, the average of secondary school students’ responses is 3.79 and primary school students’ responses is 3.72. The average response to the similar item of “I enjoyed expressing myself before my parents and my teacher.” is 3.54. The results of these items indicate that students’ self-expression and social communication perceptions are positive and they manage the process with pleasure.

Self-Management and Taking Responsibility Table 8: Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of self-management and taking responsibility Themes

Survey Questions

School Levels

N

Mini mum

Maxim um

Mean

Std. Deviation

SelfManagement and Taking Responsibility

It helped me to share about my strengths and weaknesses.

Primary

29

2.00

4.00

3.3103

0.60376

Secondary

144

1.00

4.00

3.4583

0.63549

High

74

1.00

4.00

3.3378

0.74534

Total

247

1.00

4.00

3.4049

0.66722

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I realised my personal responsibilities.

I evaluated my study habits more constructively.

I was able to participate in the decisionmaking process about my education.

I became aware of the factors that prevented me from learning and working effectively.

Primary

28

1.00

4.00

3.5357

0.88117

Secondary

145

1.00

4.00

3.4069

0.71197

High

74

1.00

4.00

3.2973

0.71634

Total

247

1.00

4.00

3.3887

0.73443

Primary

28

3.00

4.00

3.6071

0.49735

Secondary

143

2.00

4.00

3.5455

0.59015

High

74

1.00

4.00

3.4324

0.66376

Total

245

1.00

4.00

3.5184

0.60452

Primary

29

1.00

4.00

3.1724

0.96618

Secondary

143

2.00

4.00

3.5594

0.58889

High

74

2.00

4.00

3.4054

0.61753

Total

246

1.00

4.00

3.4675

0.66160

Primary

29

2.00

4.00

3.3793

0.62185

Secondary

145

1.00

4.00

3.4138

0.72252

High

74

1.00

4.00

3.2838

0.71232

Total

248

1.00

4.00

3.3710

0.70817

Analysis of the student questionnaires according tı the levels of self-management and taking responsibility is shown in Table 8 above. The average response for the item of “I realised my personal responsibilities.” was 3.38. For this item, while the average of the responses given by high school students was 3.29, it was 3.40 for secondary school students and 3.53 for primary school students. Primary school students generally responded this item as “I strongly agree”, while high school students responded it as “I agree.” The average response given to the item of “I was able to participate in the decision-making process about my education.” was 3.46. In this item, the average response given by high school students was 3.40 and secondary school students responded it as 3.55, while the response given by primary school students was 3.17. This item was the item that had the lowest average of the responses given by primary school students in the whole questionnaire. Other responses given to the survey questions of these themes are shown in Table 3. The average responses given by the students to the items that are about being closely involved with their own educational journey, increasing their awareness of their responsibilities, and managing their own development show us that students’ perceptions towards themselves on self-management and taking responsibility skills are positive.

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Leadership and Self-Management Table 9: Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of leadership and self-management skills Themes

Survey Questions

Levels

N

Minim um

Maxim um

Mean

Std. Deviation

Leadership and Self-Management

It allowed me to plan what I should do by understanding the role I had to undertake for my development.

Primary School

29

2.00

4.00

3.7241

0.52757

Secondary School

146

1.00

4.00

3.5274

0.65596

High School

74

2.00

4.00

3.3919

0.59259

Total

249

1.00

4.00

3.5100

0.62934

Analysis of the student questionnaires according to the levels of leadership and self-management skills is shown in Table 9 above. The average response given to the item of “It allowed me to plan what I should do by understanding the role I had to undertake for my development.” was 3.51. While the average response given by primary school students to this item was 3.72, it was 3.52 for secondary school students and 3.39 for high school students. In this item, it was observed that the student responses between the levels differed. It is seen that the students’ opinions about the leadership in reaching common goals and their determining their own goals and planning these goals in the long and short term are also strongly positive.

3.1.2 Parent Questionnaire Results When the parent questionnaire results are examined, it is seen that the parents gave positive responses to the questionnaire items. Parent questionnaires have been examined under thematic headings below.

Self-Management and Taking Responsibility Table 10: Analysis of the parent questionnaires on self-management and responsibility taking skills Themes Self-Management and Taking Responsibility

Survey Questions My child’s awareness of what s/he should do for her/his academic success increased.

N 280

Minim Maximu um m 2.00

4.00

Mean

Std. Deviation

3.4357

0.57062

Analysis of the parent questionnaires on self-management and responsibility taking skills is shown in Table 10 above. The average response given by the parents for the item of “My child’s awareness of what s/he should do for her/his academic success increased.” was 3.44. This shows that the parents mostly responded to it as “I agree.”

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Leadership and Self-Management Table 11: Analysis of the parent questionnaires on leadership and self-management skills Themes

Survey Questions

Leadership My child was and Self-Man- able to demonagement strate her/his learning goals.

I prefer this conference to traditional parents' conferences.

N

Minim um

Maxim um

Mean

Std. Deviation

276

2.00

4.00

3.4094

0.56161

275

1.00

4.00

3.3673

0.94349

Analysis of the parent questionnaires on leadership and self-management skills is shown in Table 11 above. The average response to the item of “My child was able to demonstrate her/his learning goals.” was similarly 3.4. Parents mostly responded to this item as “I agree.”. Similarly, they mostly responded as “I agree” to the statement of “I prefer this conference to traditional parents' conferences.”

This shows that parents find the student-led conferences effective, and they want these conferences to continue.

3.1.3 Teacher Questionnaire Results Self-Expression and Communication Skills Table 12: Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on self-expression and communication skills Themes

Survey Questions

N

Minimu m

Maxim um

Mean

Std. Deviation

Self-Expression and Communication Skills

My students were able to express themselves clearly and properly.

22

2.00

4.00

3.2273

0.52841

I think my students could evaluate themselves objectively.

22

2.00

4.00

3.2727

0.63109

Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on self-expression and communication skills is shown in Table 12 above. When examining the analysis results of the teacher questionnaires, it was seen that the responses were positive as in the student and parent questionnaires. The average response given by the teachers to the statement of “My students were able to express themselves clearly and properly.” was 3.22 and the average of the responses given to the item of “I think my students

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could evaluate themselves objectively.” was 3.27. This shows that teachers find their students successful in self-expression and communication skills.

Self-Management and Taking Responsibility Table 13: Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on self-management and taking responsibility skills Themes Self-Management and Taking Responsibility

Survey Questions

N

Minim um

Maxim um

Mean

Std. Deviation

My students ’ awareness about their responsibilities increased.

22

2.00

4.00

3.5000

0.59761

My students ’ awareness of what they should do for their academic success increased.

22

3.00

4.00

3.5000

0.51177

My students were able to determine what they had to do for their academic success.

22

2.00

4.00

3.3182

0.56790

Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on self-management and taking responsibility is shown in Table 13 above. The average of the answers given to the items of “My students’ awareness about their responsibilities increased,” and “My students’ awareness of what they should do for their academic success increased.” was 3.5. The teachers mostly responded this item as “I strongly agree.” The average of the answers given to the item of “My students were able to determine what they had to do for their academic success.” was 3.31. The teachers mostly responded to this item as “I agree”. Teachers strongly agree that their students’ awareness of what they should do for their academic success and their responsibilities have increased. Besides, although the students expressed positive opinions about determining what they should do at this point, there is not a strong consensus on this item as much as the previous items. This shows that these conferences contribute positively to the skills of self-management and taking responsibility, but the more development of these skills will depend on the repetition of the conferences.

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Leadership and Self-Management Table 14: Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on leadership and self-management skills Themes Leadership and Self-Management

Survey Questions

N

Minim um

Maxi mum

Mean

Std. Deviation

My students were able to reveal their expectations from their parents and me.

22

2.00

4.00

3.1818

0.73266

We were able to determine the future learning goals of my student with her/him.

21

2.00

4.00

3.0952

0.70034

I prefer this conference to traditional parents' conferences.

22

1.00

4.00

3.5909

0.95912

Analysis of the teacher questionnaires on leadership and self-management skills is shown in Table 14 above. The average response given to the item of “We were able to determine the future learning goals of my student with her/him.” was 3.09 and the average response to the item of “My students were able to reveal their expectations from their parents and me.” was 3.18. The teachers mostly answered as “I agree” to these items.

When examining the teacher, parent, and student questionnaires, it is seen that all three groups have very positive opinions about the student-led conferences. The average responses of the three groups are close to each other and positive about the students' increasing their awareness and responsibilities and planning their development processes by constructively evaluating their own educational processes and determining what should be done. In addition, students and teachers expressed positive opinions about students’ expressing themselves holistically, clearly and accurately, and evaluating themselves objectively, while it was observed that the students evaluated themselves more positively in these items of the questionnaire than their teachers. It is also seen that the survey results of all three groups are positive and close to each other in terms of the students’ being objective in managing the process correctly and evaluating themselves and ensuring an open and honest communication with their family and teachers.

3.2. Interviews In this section, the analysis of the interviews had 5 parents, 4 teachers and 1 principal selected among the parents and teachers according to the convenience sampling who participated in the study, and the analysis of the interviews prepared specifically for conceptual frameworks including communication skills, taking re-

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sponsibility, self-evaluation, self-management and leadership are included. During the interviews, parents and teachers shared their views on the positive effects of student-led conferences on students.

The parents have been asked the question of “Have you observed any differences in your child’s ability to manage and take responsibility since the conference? If yes, could you tell us briefly what the differences you think are?” and they have answered that their children's mentioned skills improved. The answer of B1, the parent of the primary school 4th grade student, was as follows: “My son looked in our eyes at the conference and said, ‘My parents don't want me to play football, they want me to play basketball, but I will be a football player.’ He expressed himself well about what he wants for football and made us aware of it. He realized his shortcomings and took very good steps forward to correct them.”

Similarly, in the interviews with the teachers, the answer given to the question of “Have there been any differences in your student’s skills of self-management and taking responsibility since the last conference? If yes, could you please briefly mention what they are?” was positive. High school literature teacher A2, “It surely happened. After students started to express themselves, this was reflected in their school behaviors. They could say what they wanted and what they needed more clearly and could express their expectations from the school more clearly.”

In the interviews, all of the teachers and parents stated that they observed that the student-led conferences made a positive difference in the students’ self-management and taking responsibility skills. Similar observations from the two groups show that this positive change in students is reflected in both their in-school and out-of-school behaviors.

The answers given by the parents to the question of “Do you think this conference was effective in using your child's communication skills actively?” were positive.

A secondary school student's parent B3 responded as; “Yes, I do. Personally, if I had not attended this conference, I would not have been able to see my child’s self-reliance or how my child was able to maintain his communication with you. I think their leading this conference is important in terms of expressing themselves more easily in public.”

B4, parent of another secondary school student answered the question as; “Of course it was. These conferences will be even more effective every time our children attend them.”

Teachers generally answered the questions of “Do you think this conference was effective in using your student's communication skills effectively?” as; “I strongly agree.” A high school physics teacher A1 responded it as; “I strongly agree. Some emotional moments were experienced between the two parents and the two students, as if there had not been any communication between them before, and a knot was untied after this conference.

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While the students expressed the most important value in their point of view on life, their parents’ reactions were interesting. Obviously, there has not been such a dialogue between them... They noticed the differences between their own perspectives for themselves and their parents’ perspectives towards them.”

Parents and teachers stated that the conferences held were effective for students to use their communication skills effectively. Additionally, both groups believe that if these conferences continue, these skills will improve more.

Parents answered the question of “Do you think your child was able to evaluate herself/himself constructively and objectively at this conference?” as; “Yes.” B1, parent of primary school 4th grade student responded it as; “My son evaluated himself very well, objectively and ethically. He told me what he didn't do, how he had to improve himself and so on... He was much more objective.”

The teachers' response to the question of “Do you think your student was able to evaluate herself/himself constructively and objectively in this conference?” was mostly positive. However, only the high school physics teacher A1 replied it as; “Some of the students sometimes made too many negative judgments for themselves while trying to be objective.”

Both groups stated that the students were objective in evaluating themselves.

However, they also stated that some students sometimes made too many judgmental comments about themselves with the concern of being realistic while making this evaluation.

When the parents were asked about the general evaluation of the conference, they stated that they preferred this conference to traditional parent conferences. When asked about the factors that distinguish this conference from other conferences, one of the responses was “This is the child’s participation in his/her own education. S/he makes her/his own decisions, s/he implements her/his own decisions. S/he also explains its results by herself/himself. We are trying to raise children who can express themselves.”

When the teachers were asked about the general evaluation of the conference, some of the answers were as follows: High school literature teacher A2 replied it as; “The positive aspect of this conference is that it enables students to talk about their own learning and to express themselves well.”

On the other hand, high school physics teacher A1, responded it as; “The most positive aspects of the conferences were that there were no hierarchical differences between students, teachers and parents, that the student felt herself/himself at the center in the subjects related to her/him, and that such an opportunity was offered to her/him in order to find more creative solutions for her/his own problems.”

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Secondary school principal C1 answered the question as; “The students felt the need to keep their promises in these conferences.

Parents heard what they did not expect about their children's imaginations, ideals and future expectations.”

It is seen in the interviews that parents, administrators and teachers all expressed very positive opinions about the positive effects of student-led conferences on students. Participants consider these conferences as a necessity in the process of raising students who can express themselves well, have a developed sense of responsibility, and who can plan and manage their own development processes.

4. Discussion and Conclusion This research has confirmed that student-led conferences are an important process for student development. Restructuring the applications that have lost their functions at schools in accordance with the 21st century requirements is a must. To be able to grow up as individuals who can express themselves correctly, take the lead, take responsibility, manage themselves, and have developed their inner discipline, education systems should be arranged accordingly. As Wan (2011) stated Steven L. Paines’ words in his book: “Teaching our high school students 21st century skills is no longer an option, it is a necessity.” Considering all these, it is seen that parents' conferences should be replaced by student-led conferences.

The other important finding is, in the analysis of student questionnaires according to the levels, some items are seen to differ between the levels, although the average responses given to the questionnaire items were positive. One of the items that differed most is that high school students who grew up with traditional parents’ conferences, where they did not have a say, agreed less than primary and secondary school students with the statement of “It enabled me to understand the role I have to undertake for my development and to plan what I should do.” This situation shows that the system has not provided students with skills such as selfmanagement and leadership up to the present, on the contrary, it has made students dependent on the decisions that teachers and parents will make for themselves. This finding coincides with what Williams, (2020). The findings show that student-led conferences have a quite positive contribution in helping students gain 21st century skills, but the development of these skills also depends on the repetition of these conferences. Students, who will build the future, will develop these skills more in each conference.

5. Recommendations This study aimed to observe the contribution of student-led conferences to 21st century life and career skills of students. In the future research projects, it can be focused on the direct effects of student-led conferences on students’ academic success. The effects of the portfolio presentations made by the students at the conferences and the planning they made about learning goals at the conferences on their academic success in the long term can be investigated.

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6. References Bailey, J. M., & Guskey, T. R. (2001). Implementing student-led conferences. Corwin Press.

Borba, J. A., & Olvera, C. M. (2001). Student-led parent-teacher conferences. The Clearing House, 74(6), 333-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098650109599220 Chalkiadaki, A. (2018). A systematic literature review of 21st century skills and competencies in primary education. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.1131a Davies, A. (2001). Involving students in communicating about their learning. Nassp Bulletin, 85(621), 47-52. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F019263650108562106 Epstein, J. L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share.

Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 81-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171009200326 Guyton, J. M., & Fielstein, L. L. (1989). Student-led parent conferences: A model for teaching responsibility. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 24(2), 169-172. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42868910 Hackmann, D. G. (1997). Student-Led Conferences at the Middle Level. ERIC Digest. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED407171 Laal, M., Laal, M., & Kermanshahi, Z. K. (2012). 21st century learning; learning in collaboration. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1696-1701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.885 Monroe, T. A. (2009). Empowered Students: A Case Study of Student-led Conferences in Middle Level Education [New Britain: Doctoral dissertation, Central Connecticut State University].

National Research Council (NRC). (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century. National Academies Press.

Partnership for 21st Century Learning A Network of Battelle for Kids (P21). (2019). Frameworks & Resources. https://www.battelleforkids.org/networks/p21/frameworks-resources Tholander, M. (2011). Student‐led conferencing as democratic practice. Children & Society, 25(3), 239-250. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00277.x Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. John Wiley & Sons. http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/er.v0.1296 Wan, G., & Gut, D. M. (Eds.). (2011). Bringing schools into the 21st century (Vol. 13), (pp. 1).

Springer Science & Business Media.

Williams, C. (2020). Levels Of Feedback In Preparation For A Student-Led Conferencing Event: A Case Study Of Elementary Students' Experiences Theses and Dissertations-Curriculum and Instruction.

29. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edc_etds/29 Yin, R. K. (2002). Case study research: Design and methods, applied social research. 3rd Ed in ICSM’00, 1-18.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 170-189, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.10

Involving University Stakeholders in Upgrading the Fostering of Students’ Readiness to Embark on a Career Taras O. Olefirenko and Valentyna I. Bobrytska National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3278-8125 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1742-0103 Nina G. Batechko National University of Life and Environmental Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3772-4489 Tatiana D. Reva and Oksana M. Chkhalo Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3367-5931 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8874-4674 Abstract. The purpose of the study was to identify how stakeholders of higher education can influence the quality of the educational process and students’ readiness to embark on a career. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods sequentially with the quantitative method predominating. It relied on a survey research design and quasiexperiment with some features of a descriptive case study such as conducting observations by the external stakeholders and administering measurements. The study addressed the issues related to curriculum governance, instruction, learning assessment, and teaching resources. It also eliminated the loopholes in lecturers’ attempts to foster the students’ readiness to build a career. It enabled an objective and unbiased evaluation of the overall students’ professional efficacy during the students’ job internships. The baseline survey showed that the students and lecturers reported that they experienced limited satisfaction with the programmes. The self-branding project influenced the students’ academic efficiency and career development skills positively. The mean value for the effect size 𝑑 was 0.67, indicating that it was large and statistically significant. The observation report provided by representatives of the host organizations implied that the representatives of the host companies were generally pleased with the quality of the occupational readiness of the students. The study will benefit the researchers and practitioners in terms of building long-term relationships and sharing responsibility for the quality of professional training of the students.

Keywords: educational process upgrade; stakeholders; students’ career readiness

higher

education;

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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1. Introduction Undeniably, being career-ready for a student requires more than just being academically proficient. Employability has been a skill gap in the labour market and higher education in Ukraine for the past decade (OECD Eurasia, 2015).

Recent studies suggest that this gap can be addressed through reshaping skills strategy at the national and legislative levels, designing tailored skills’ policies based on the sector’s needs, developing and implementing a system of on-thejob training at the university level, establishing a dialogue between educational institutions and employers, and introducing educational reforms while monitoring and evaluating the policy change effects (Bobrytska et al., 2020; Carpio et al., 2017).

Involving both internal and external stakeholders of higher education in upgrading the educational process to make it focused on fostering students’ readiness to build a career is of growing importance (Bobrytska et al., 2020; Borg et al., 2017; Langrafe et al., 2020). This involvement of a variety of stakeholders is aimed at giving meaning to career-building which is leveraged by integrating that meaning into academic curricula and instruction. Furthermore, all stakeholders share responsibility for the students’ learning outcomes and facilitating the effective transition of the students from the university to work (Yamashita & Cheang, 2019).

However, though considered effective, the university educational process underperforms in equipping students with vital skills and tools for their career management. This increases the graduates’ vulnerability in the currently unstable labour market (Lynch, 2017). In the context of higher education in Ukraine, Savga et al. (2018) imply that this happens because higher education institutions need more efficient models and methods for identifying and classifying their stakeholders. The institutions should use reliable assessment methods to identify the interests, degree of involvement, and influence of their stakeholders. Moreover, the instructions should boost the involvement of stakeholders from just the context of the university activities to governance and quality assurance. The researchers conclude that these issues indirectly influence student recruitment and satisfaction, the university’s policies and strategies, and the university’s income which results in an unfavourable public image of the institution and a disadvantageous position of the students in the job market. It seems that institutions and stakeholders are generally interdependent.

Establishing and maintaining relationships between them is becoming a priority goal for universities in Ukraine.

The above shows that there is a need for more research and sharing of best practices in terms of consolidating the efforts of stakeholders of higher education to address the issues of students’ readiness to embark on their careers. This need is caused by the constantly increasing complexity of the university education system. This cooperation will benefit the students, instructors, and employers because the graduates’ professional efficacy itself will promote the institutional image as well as the image of the teachers. Employers, in turn, will reduce the costs of hiring the right people at a reasonable salary.

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2. Literature review The literature review found that, though not commonly established in practice, the internal and external stakeholders are involved in shaping higher education for a variety of purposes. This involvement takes different forms and modes (Franco et al, 2019). The recent trend of involving alumni, companies, and organisations in education is related to the transition from the elite status of education to mass education based on equality of opportunity with a focus on the future of universal education (Fagrell et al., 2020). Previous research on the involvement of the external stakeholders in higher education reveals this practice from the perspective of their participation in quality assurance of institutions and governance (Beerkens & Udam, 2017). The latter are both reported to increase the effectiveness of the overall functioning of the university, the education programmes, and the satisfaction of students and employers alike (Ulewicz, 2017).

The involvement of stakeholders is associated with their contribution to the quality of the overall educational output. Wiśniewska et al. (2014) outline both institutional internal and external benefits. These include transmitting the cutting-edge knowledge to the students, shaping the students’ particular traits and skills by serving as an example to graduates, adjusting students to their future professional settings and contexts, and enjoying institutional external benefits such as the competitiveness of the educational instruction and students in the job market.

The quality of education is related to the quality of teaching which is seen as a combination of a degree of perfection, the results of actions, and an assessment approach (Costa & Araújo, 2018). According to Filho and Brandli (2016), the consolidation of the efforts of experts in instruction and experts in graduates’ professional sphere can strengthen and boost the educational capacities of the universities. Concerning governance, studies highlight the involvement of the stakeholders of higher education in strategic planning and policy-shaping. This has proven to be an alternative to the conventional law-making procedure in the sphere of education (Bobrytska et al., 2020). However, some studies express scepticism about the effectiveness and necessity of involving external stakeholders in the governance of institutions. They label them as ‘Trojan horses’ or ‘imaginary friends’ who lack expertise in instruction. This practice is neither mandated nor regulated by the state (Magalhães et al., 2018).

The literature reveals the involvement of the stakeholders of higher education in upgrading the educational process through collaborative partnerships in research and lecturing, and facilities’ improvement that is important and efficient for institutional sustainable growth (Didham & Ofei-Manu, 2020).

Graham et al. (2012) contend that education crisis time is appropriate for fundamental curriculum development as institutions, educational systems, and instruction methods change owing to ‘external shock’. Bobrytska et al. (2020) found that this crisis has caused a shift from an input-based accreditation to an outcome-based scheme in higher education in Ukraine and that a new curriculum framework is needed.

The problem of fostering student’s readiness to embark on their careers is in the scope of the debate and research as well (Goins, 2018). This readiness has been

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labelled as ‘21st-century skills’ and given as much importance as skills of lifelong learning and innovation; skills of searching, selecting, using, and generating information; skills of using media and technology; and knowledge of core academic subjects (Alismail & McGuire, 2015). The students’ career readiness is described as a set of skills that can be formed and contextualised for the job within the classroom settings. However, the development of some of the skills requires experience that can be gained only through on-the-job training which necessitates the development of programs of work-related learning. These programmes can offer a range of tools based on the combined use of workrelevant learning within the classroom and the involvement of employers and former students in different forms. Fostering students’ career readiness still matters because fewer than one in ten students report that they are ready for employment in the relevant sphere (Busteed, 2015; Goins, 2018; Perna, 2020). The engagement of different stakeholders in reshaping the educational process, its content, and instructional methods improve graduates’ employability, learning, and self-renewal competencies (Abelha et al., 2020).

3. Theoretical framework The study relies on the stakeholder theory approach which implements a shift in paradigm in the management of educational organisations aimed at ensuring alignment with new social demands and trends (Freeman et al., 2020). The stakeholder theory attempts to address the issues of identifying and prioritising stakeholders, understanding their interests and demands, balancing the relationships, and engaging them in organisational activities. The theory is gradually gaining acceptance by higher educational institutions (considered to be quasi-commercial ones) because these institutions, in the long run, produce more significant societal value through generating new knowledge and transferring it to a broader community, thus raising the standard of living (Bilodeau et al., 2014; Ferrero-Ferrero et al., 2018). The theory specifies that the organisation becomes more competitive when it unites stakeholders to create tangible and intangible value within the organisation and for the external beneficiaries such as consumers and local communities (Freeman et al., 2020).

The essential principle of the theory is that stakeholders will cooperate with the institution when they benefit from that cooperation and when their interests are prioritised by the institution (Boaventura et al., 2020).

Given this context, engaging stakeholders in the strategic organisational and educational activities are regarded as the mechanism of leveraging the quality of both management and educational processes. This is achieved through the adoption of new approaches to establishing and maintaining relationships between internal and external educational stakeholders with a focus on benefits they can gain (Bobrytska et al., 2020; Tantalo & Priem, 2016; Turan et al., 2016).

Therefore, the purpose of the study was to identify how stakeholders of higher education can influence the quality of the educational process and how the stakeholders can effect students’ readiness to build a career.

The research questions sought to learn a) how internal and external educational stakeholders such as current students, non-academic and academic staff members, employers, and alumni could help the institutions in addressing the issues related to the curriculum governance, instruction, learning assessment,

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and teaching resources; b) how the adjustments made to the programme influenced the students’ readiness to build a career, and c) how the external stakeholders (employers and alumni) evaluated the overall students’ professional efficacy while the students were engaged in job internships.

4. Methods and Materials The study was conducted as cross-institutional collaborative research. It utilised mixed methods that made up a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to expand the evidence base and use triangulation in the confirmation of research output. The qualitative and quantitative methods were employed sequentially – the use of quantitative methods was followed by the use of qualitative methods – with the quantitative method predominating (Ivankova et al., 2006; Schoonenboom & Johnson, 2017).

The baseline phase relied on the survey that used both open-ended and closedended questions (accessible via the link: https://forms.gle/ynKjH6Eg8iBdUx3K6). The purpose was to identify how the internal stakeholders such as current students and non-academic and academic staff members perceived the quality of the educational process with the focus on its effectiveness in fostering students’ readiness to embark on a career. The lessons learned from the survey were then used in upgrading the curriculum and instruction methods. Three intervention projects were designed to address the issues related to fostering students’ readiness to build a career. These were evaluated by seven experts – instructors, employers, and alumni representatives – using the multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDMM) which is referred to in the literature as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) (Taherdoost, 2017).

One project was selected for the intervention. The university-based part of the intervention stage relied on the data drawn from students’ grade point average (GPA), students’ academic efficacy rated (reported) by lecturers (teachers), and the Career Competencies Questionnaire (CCQ) adopted from Akkermans et al.

(2013) (available via the link: https://forms.gle/HYTAdeyvkeWUWg5t5). The internship part of the intervention was based on the observations and reports of the representatives of the host companies.

4.1 Research design The study utilised the survey research design and quasi-experiment with some features of a descriptive case study such as conducting observations by the external stakeholders and administering measurements (McCombes, 2019; McCombes, 2020). Both quantitative and qualitative data were drawn from the baseline survey. The quantitative data were also drawn from the AHP method and the Career Competencies Questionnaire. The qualitative output was obtained from the reports of lecturers and representatives of the host companies.

The design strategy of a mixed-method embedded case study complemented the research methodology by focusing on a single context inquiry while drawing data from multiple sources but within a single context (Coulthard, 2016).

The quasi-experiment was of one-group pre-test – post-test type (McKinley & Rose, 2020). The study included a baseline survey, transitional phase, quasi-

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experiment consisting of the university-based part and internship part, and an analytical phase (see Fig. 1).

The study was conducted from February 2020 to the end of December 2020 at three higher educational institutions in Ukraine. These were as follows: the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University (NPDU) (Kyiv, Ukraine), the National University of Life and Environmental Science of Ukraine (NULESU) (Kyiv, Ukraine), and the Bogomolets National Medical University (BNMU) (Kyiv, Ukraine). The research focused on three different programmes run at the above institutions, namely Education Studies, Pharmacy, and Computer Engineering. The reason for choosing the programmes was that these suited the research team members’ expertise and major subjects.

Transitional phase

•Administering the surveys

Baseline survey

Analytical phase

•The universitybased part of the intervention •Pre-test and posttest measurements •Internship part of the intervention

•Upgrading the curriculum and instruction methods •Development of three customised interventions

•Data consolidation •Data processing

Quasi-experiment

Figure 1: Brief outline of the key phases of the study

4.2 Descriptions of the programmes Table 1 presents the data on programmes such as the title, cycle type, target duration, qualification, and host organisations providing internships for the graduates.

NPDU

(Dr.T. Olefire nko)

Programme title

Cycle type

Target duration of a degree

The institution (person(s) in charge)

Education and instruction: Secondary education, Technology

Second cycle (Master’s) degree

1.4 years

Table 1: Consolidated data on programmes under the scope of the study

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Qualification

Teaching school children

Host organisations for internships

State-owned and privatelyowned secondary schools

(Dr. N. Batechko)

BNMU (Dr. T. Reva, & Dr.O. Chkhalo)

Second cycle (Master’s) degree

Automation and computerintegrated technologie s

First and second cycle degrees (Bachelor’ s and Master’s degrees)

Pharmacy

Second cycle (Master’s) degree

1.4 years

NULESU

Educational policy

Expertise in education and instruction; Consultancy

5.4 years

NPDU (Dr. V. Bobrytska, head of the programme)

Power engineering, electrical engineering, and electromechan ics

1.4 years

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Pharmacist, drug store manager, production line manager, laboratory assistant, tester

National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education of Ukraine; Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; National Pedagogical Dragomanov University Oblenerho customer services: “Kyyivoblenerho”, “Cherkasioblenero” “Rivneoblenergo”, Regional electrical network offices, Privately-owned enterprises in various industries “KREOMA-PHARM” PJSC, State-owned Pharmacological Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, “Ekmi” Privately-owned Enterprise

4.3 Description of the interventions (see the executive summaries of the projects in Appendix A) Prior to the university-based part of the intervention stage, three projects were designed to upgrade the educational process that focused on fostering students’ readiness for career building. The projects were developed by three independent teams involving internal and external stakeholders such as current students, non-academic and academic staff members, employers, and alumni. Each team consisted of between five to seven people. Those people were supposed to deliver their project when it was selected by the board of experts. The projects were expected to meet the groups of criteria such as stakeholder engagement, output quality improvement, career readiness enhancement, sustainability, and societal benefits. These were used by experts as an AHP method when selecting the project for the intervention. The projects were as follows: visiting lectureship, self-branding, and promoting learning-purpose communication cases as a tool to develop specialism skills. The self-branding project was chosen by the experts.

Its outcomes were assessed by utilising peer assessment and expert assessment of the students’ profiles and content.

4.4 Sample The study population comprised the students of three majors such as Instruction, Engineering, and Medicine along with non-academic and academic staff members. These were selected because they were relevant to the expertise of the research team members.

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Simple random sampling and convenience sampling techniques were used in the course of the research. Random sampling was utilised in the baseline survey to ensure the anonymity of the respondents while convenience sampling was employed to form the experimental groups at the institutions. The baseline study sample consisted of 591 respondents who were current students (𝑛 = 538) and non-academic and academic staff members (𝑛 = 53). The respondents for the baseline survey were reached through institutional corporate emailing systems consisting of the link to the Google Forms-based questionnaire. The number of the returned completed questionnaires was used as the number of samples for this phase of the study. The demographic features of the respondents are provided in Table 2.

Table 2: Demographic features of the respondents for the baseline survey (𝒏 = 𝟓𝟗𝟏) Feature

Gender

Age

Males, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 243 Females, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 348 20-25, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 343 26-30, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 145 31-35, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 61 Older than 36, 𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 42

NPDU (%), 𝑛 = 233 94 (38.68) 139 (39.94)

University NULESU (%), 𝑛 = 143 127 (52.27) 16 (4.59)

71 (20.69)

113 (32.95)

94 (64.83) 42 (68.85) 26 (61.90)

12 (8.28) 11 (18.03) 7 (16.68)

BNMU (%), 𝑛 = 215 22 (9.05) 193 (55.45) 159 (46.36) 39 (26.89) 8 (13.12) 9 (21.42)

Mean

SD

81.00

43.84 74.06

116.00 114.33 48.33 20.33 14.00

35.93 34.12 15.36 8.52

Following that, three student classes from the programmes under the scope of the study were chosen to form experimental groups (EGs). EG1 for the NPDU consisted of 14 students (4 males and 10 females aged between 23 and 42), 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 32.35, SD = 6.90. EG2 for the NULESU involved 25 students (21 males and 4 females aged 21-23), while 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 22.16, SD = 0.8. EG3 for BNMU included 35 students (4 males and 31 females aged 25-36), 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 29.74, SD = 3.59. The total sample size (𝑛 = 74) was significant at a confidence level of 95% with the margin of error of ±10.70%. The groups were regarded as mutually homogeneous because the students were studying the same course, their GPA was higher than 75 (ECTS), and the mean values for the CCQ) were 3.58, SD = 0.52. This suggested that the students underperformed in their career building in terms of their reflections on motivation, qualities, networking, self-profiling, work exploration, and career control. Lecturers’ (teachers’) feedback on students’ academic efficacy (AE) was also considered and it (AE) was rated as satisfactory.

4.5 Ethical considerations The ethical considerations of unintended psychological, financial or social harm that might result from surveys, in-depth interviews, and observations were addressed by ensuring anonymity, confidentiality, and informed consent (Tolich & Tumilty, 2021). The internal and external educational stakeholders such as current students, non-academic and academic staff members, employers, and alumni provided informed consent before they participated in the human

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interventions. The participants were informed about the exploratory and evaluative purpose of the baseline phase of the study and the voluntary basis of their participation. Privacy and anonymity were ensured by preserving the participants’ identity and personal information when collecting and analysing the data and reporting the results of the study. When the survey questionnaires were drafted, they were examined for the existence of discriminatory or offensive wording in order to eliminate it from the questionnaires (Goodwin et al., 2019).

4.6 Instruments The baseline survey questionnaire, the AHP method, the GPA, students’ academic efficacy rated (reported) by lecturers (teachers), the CCQ, and observation reports of the representatives of the host companies were used as instruments to yield numerical and non-numerical data.

4.6.1 The baseline survey questionnaire (can be accessed through the link: https://forms.gle/ynKjH6Eg8iBdUx3K6) The survey was adopted from Northern University Bangladesh (NUB) because it covered the areas under study (Rahman, 2015). It consisted of eight subdomains such as programme governance (8 items), curriculum (4 items), teachinglearning (5 items), learning assessment (6 items), programme admission (3 items), structures and facilities (8 items), student support services (7 items) and research and extension services (4 items). These were followed by two openended questions to determine students’ opinions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the progamme. The respondents used a five-point Likert agreement scale to respond to the rate of their agreement with the core questions.

4.6.2 Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method The AHP method is a management tool that is used in the decision-making method process (Taherdoost, 2017). For this reason, the method was used by the experts to select three educational projects for the interventions. The criteria for prioritisation of the projects were designed and grouped as follows: a) stakeholder engagement; b) output quality improvement; c) career readiness enhancement; d) sustainability, and e) societal benefits. The two-level hierarchical structure of criteria for evaluating the projects is presented in Figure 2. After the criteria had been specified, the Saaty’s comparison (relative importance) scale (2008) that relies on a comparison of two alternatives was used to determine the relative weight of the groups of criteria. The scale uses numerical and reciprocal values from 1 to 9 to indicate the prioritised importance of one group of criteria over the other in a pair of compared groups.

When designing the comparison matrix, the recommendation to use the odd numbers rather than the even values was followed. The reason for this was that the calculations using odd numbers provide relatively different measurement values.

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Stakeholder engagement

Involvement in decisionmaking Providing/delivering content Hosting students for internships

Output quality improvement

Increasing students’ academic efficacy Improving programme governance

Upgrading curriculum and instruction process

Career readiness enhancement

Project

Enhancing student support and research services Enhancing students’ career competencies Stakeholders’ commitment

Sustainability

Improving institutional reputation Pursuing the goals of gaining competitive advantages Mutual benefits for all stakeholders

Societal benefits

Meeting societal demands Creating intangible societal values

Figure 2: Two-level hierarchical structure of criteria groups for evaluating the projects

Table 3 presents the comparison matrix to determine the relative weight of the groups of criteria.

Table 3: Comparison matrix of the relative weight of the groups of criteria Criteria group SE OQI CRE S SB

SE 1 5 9 5 1

OQI 1/3 1 7 1/9 1/5

CRE 1/9 1 1 1/7 1/9

S 1/7 1 1 1 1/7

SB 1/5 1/3 5 5 1

Note: SE - stakeholder engagement; OQI - output quality improvement; CRE - career readiness enhancement; S - sustainability, and SB - societal benefits.

The normalisation of the comparison matrix aimed at identifying the relative weight to each group of criteria was performed by dividing each table value by the total column value (see Table 4).

Table 4: Normalisation of the comparison matrix Criteria group SE OQI CRE S SB Total

SE 1 3 9 5 1 18.00

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OQI 1/3 1 7 1/9 1/5 8.64

CRE 1/7 1 1 1/5 1/7 2.48

S 1/7 1 1 1 1/9 3.25

SB 3 3 5 5 1 17

180

SE OQI CRE S SB

1/18=0.055 3/18=0.166 9/18=0.500 5/18=0.277 1/18=0.055

Results 0.038 0.115 0.808 0.012 0.023

0.056 0.402 0.402 0.080 0.056

0.043 0.306 0.306 0.306 0.033

0.176 0.176 0.292 0.292 0.058

The above was followed by calculation of the priority vector (or eigenvector) indicating the relative value of each croup which was based on computation on the mean value for each group of criteria. The results of the calculations are presented in Table 5.

Table 5: Priority vector (or eigenvector) calculation Criteria group SE OQI CRE S SB

Calculation [0.055 + 0.038 + 0.056 + 0.043 + 0.176]/5 = 0.0736 [0.166 + 0.115 + 0.402 + 0.306 + 0.176]/5 = 0.2330 [0.500 + 0.808 + 0.403 + 0.306 + 0.292]/5 = 0.4618 [0.277 + 0.012 + 0.080 + 0.306 + 0.292]/5 = 0.1934 [0.055 + 0.023 + 0.056 + 0.033 + 0.058]/5 = 0.0450

Eigenvector 7.36% 23.30% 46.18% 19.34% 4.50%

As can be seen in Table 5, the relative values of the groups of criteria were distributed as follows: career readiness enhancement (eigenvector = 46.18%) was considered the most important criterion in evaluation the projects. The second most important criterion was output quality improvement (eigenvector = 23.30%). Sustainability (eigenvector = 19.34%) of the project was rated as third important. The least relative value was assigned to the stakeholder engagement and societal benefits criteria. The AHP was validated by several researchers such as Asadabadi et al. (2019), Saardchom (2012), and Saaty (2009).

4.6.3 Career Competencies Questionnaire (CCQ) (borrowed from Akkermans et al., 2013, available via the link: https://forms.gle/HYTAdeyvkeWUWg5t5) The questionnaire consisted of 21 items distributed under the subscales such as reflection on motivation (3 items), reflection on qualities (4 items), networking (4 items), self-profiling (3 items), work exploration (3 items), and career control (4 items). It used the five-point Likert-type agreement scale ranging from 1 = ‘completely disagree’ to 5 = ‘completely agree’. The validation procedure used a six-factor CFA model which showed a good fit with values being 𝑥 2 (171) = 261.69, p<.001; CFI = .95, TLI = .94, GFI = .90, RMSEA = .05.

4.6.4 Reports of lecturers and representatives of the host companies The reports were consolidated as text and analysed using the Voyant Tools application (can be accessed via the link: https://voyant-tools.org/) which is open-source and used for scholarly reading and interpretation of texts or corpus.

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5. Results The study found the triple benefit of the involvement of internal and external stakeholders in the university educational process. First, it addressed the issues related to curriculum governance, instruction, learning assessment, and teaching resources. It also eliminated the loopholes in lecturers’ attempts to foster the students’ readiness to build a career. It enabled an objective and unbiased evaluation of the overall students’ professional efficacy while the students completed their job internships. The results are presented according to the flow of the research.

5.1 The baseline survey Its purpose was to identify how the internal stakeholders such as current students, and non-academic and academic staff members perceived the quality of the educational process with the focus on its effectiveness in fostering students’ readiness to build a career. Figure 3 presents the respondents’ perspective displayed as mean values.

Research and Extension Services Student Support Services Structures and facilities Student Entry qualifications, Admission procedure, Progress and Achievements Learning Assessment Teaching-learning Curriculum Governance 0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Figure 3: Perspectives of current students and non-academic and academic staff of the quality of educational process displayed as mean values

As can be seen from Figure 3, the overall satisfaction rate of the programmes by students and lecturers was below average with the highest values for structures and facilities (M=4.2) and the lowest ones for student support services (M=1.5).

The visual data suggested that students and lecturers rated the quality of student support service (M=1.5), students’ entry qualifications, admission procedure, progress and achievements (M=2.7), research, and extension services (M=2.3), and curriculum (M=2.5) as “second-rate”.

The students’ and lecturers’ most frequent comments on the advantages and disadvantages of the programme were as follows: […nice teachers with a positive attitude…] […the grades can be negotiated with most teachers…] […campus, sports facilities are good…] […too much theory and just few practical classes…]

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182

[…I never know whether my background makes me competitive…] […assessment system often confuses me…]

The results yielded from the baseline survey suggested that the intervention was feasible.

5.2 Results of the selection of the intervention project using the AHP method Three intervention projects such as visiting lectureships, self-branding, and promoting learning communication cases (PLCC) were designed to address the issues related to fostering students’ readiness to embark on a career. The results of the selection of the project for the intervention performed by seven experts – instructors, employers, and alumni representatives – using the AHP method are presented in Figure 4.

Visiting lectureship Self-branding Promoting learning communication cases Stakeholder engagement 5 4 3 Output quality 2 Societal benefits improvement 1 0

Career readiness enhancement

Sustainability

Figure 4: Results of the selection using the AHP method

As can be noted in Figure 4, the self-branding project scored the greatest mean values for all criteria groups and was selected for the intervention.

5.3 Results drawn from the intervention The purpose of the university-based part of the intervention was to identify how students’ grades, students’ academic efficacy, and their career competencies change owing to the self-branding project. The paired t-test (two-tailed) was used to perform calculations. The descriptive statistics of the intervention are presented in Table 6.

Table 6: Descriptive statistics of the intervention (𝒏 = 𝟕𝟒) Variable GPA Lecturers’ rate CCQ

Mean Before After 80.4 88.66 3.52 4.02 3.58

3.918

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𝑺𝑫 of difference

𝒑 normality

𝑡

𝑝

𝑑𝑓

2.614

0.1366

1.1603

0.0365

73

183

As can be noticed in Table 6, the average difference between the mean values for the variables after the intervention and before was –3.03, suggesting that it positively influenced the students’ academic efficiency and career development skills. The test statistic T equals 1.1603, which is in the 95% region of acceptance: [– 4.3027:4.3027] while 𝑥̅ =3.03, is in the 95% region of acceptance: [– 1.2458:11.2458]. The mean value for the effect size 𝑑 was 0.67, indicating that it was large and statistically significant.

5.4 Internship part of the intervention The observation reports of the representatives of the host companies were consolidated as a text corpus and analysed using the Voyant Tools software. The words ‘work’, ‘skills’, ‘great’, ‘excellent’, and ‘learn’ were the most frequent words in the corpus. The most frequent colocations in the reports were as follows: ‘accomplished workers’, ‘beyond expectations’, ‘high quality’, ‘a valuable asset’, and ‘confident professionals’. The above implied that the representatives of the host companies were generally delighted with the quality of occupational readiness of the students. Some of the quotes were as follows: [… a student is a quick learner with initiative in all aspects of working…] […did an excellent job… is adaptive, ready to challenges and changes that we experienced…] […will make someone at some company…] […demonstrated a good base knowledge…] […will achieve success in whatever endeavors they decide to pursue…]

Limitations The key limitation is related to the use of the one-group-only quasi-experimental treatment. It lacked the control group for comparative evaluation of the outcomes.

6. Discussion The strength of the study lies in involving stakeholders in the transformation of the educational process and the curriculum in the way these foster the fostering students’ readiness to embark on a career. The results yielded from the study proved the triple benefit of the involvement of internal and external stakeholders in the university educational process. First, it comprehensively addressed the issues related to curriculum governance, instruction, learning assessment, and teaching resources. It also eliminated the loopholes in lecturers’ attempts to foster the students’ readiness to build a career. It further enabled an objective and unbiased evaluation of the overall students’ professional efficacy while the students completed their job internships.

The baseline survey showed that the overall satisfaction with the programmes as rated by students and lecturers was below average with the highest values for the ‘structures and facilities’ area of evaluation and ‘student support services’ being rated the lowest. The results yielded at this phase suggested that the intervention was feasible. The self-branding project was scored the highest by the experts and was selected for the intervention. It implied that this project best corresponded to the study objectives. The results of pre-and post-intervention

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measurements of students’ GPA, academic efficacy, and career competencies showed the average difference between the mean values for the variables after the intervention and before it was –3.03. This suggested that it positively influenced the students’ academic efficiency and career development skills. The test statistic T equals 1.1603, which is in the 95% region of acceptance: [– 4.3027:4.3027]. 𝑥̅ =3.03, is in the 95% region of acceptance: [– 1.2458:11.2458]. The mean value for the effect size 𝑑 was 0.67, indicating that it was large and statistically significant.

The observation reports of the representatives of the host companies confirmed the effectiveness of the self-branding project in fostering students’ readiness to embark on a career. The words ‘work’, ‘skills’, ‘great’, ‘excellent’, ‘learn’ were the most frequently used words in the corpus of the reports. The most frequent collocations in the reports were ‘accomplished workers’, ‘beyond expectations’, ‘high quality’, ‘a valuable asset’, and ‘confident professionals’. The above implied that the representatives of the host companies were generally pleased with the quality of occupational readiness of the students.

The findings drawn for the survey, measurements, and observations agree with the previous research. These are consistent with the findings of Nizhenkovska et al. (2020) reporting that the project-based learning of the graduates fosters their self-directed learning skills and enhances their readiness for career building. The implications align with the views of Bobrytska et al. (2020), who found that the bottom-up approach that is related to involving all stakeholders in shaping institutional educational policy is a promising trend in Ukraine. Furthermore, the findings are in agreement with those of Khan and Zhang (2017) who view the visiting lectureship as leverage in upgrading the educational process and curriculum to engage students in building their career and public image. The study aligns with the results of a study by Collins (2012) who proved that selfbranding is not just a commercial phenomenon; it also promotes the reputation of a person or organisation, and it helps in a person’s career development and success.

6. Conclusion The study found the triple benefit of the involvement of internal and external stakeholders in the university educational process. First, it addressed the issues related to curriculum governance, instruction, learning assessment, and teaching resources. It also eliminated the loopholes in lecturers’ attempts to foster the students’ readiness to build a career. It enabled the objective and unbiased evaluation of the overall students’ professional efficacy while the students completed their job internships. The self-branding project was viewed by all stakeholders as the optimal way to foster students’ readiness to build a career through involving stakeholders in upgrading the educational process and instruction. The baseline survey showed that the overall satisfaction rate of the programmes by students and lecturers was below average with the highest values for structures and facilities and the lowest ones for student support services. The self-branding project showed the average difference between the mean values for the variables after the intervention and before it as –3.03. That suggested that it positively influenced the students’ academic efficiency and career development skills. The mean value for the effect size 𝑑 was 0.67,

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indicating that it was large and statistically significant. The observation report provided by representatives of the host organisations implied that the representatives of the host companies were generally pleased with the quality of occupational readiness of the students. The students reported that they felt more confident in communicating with their colleagues-to-be, planning their job activities, and performing job-related tasks.

Further research is needed in training the students in the self-marketing of their brands. The implication of the study for future research is that the educational policy and practice need to rethink ways of involving internal and external stakeholders in the university educational process in terms of building longterm relationships and sharing responsibility for the quality of the professional training of the students.

Recommendations It is recommended that the students should start building their brand as soon as they commence their studies at university. They are expected to learn to use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for this purpose. In addition, the students should subscribe to several experts’ pages, blogs, or professional communities to gain experience and enhance their expertise. The instructors are advised to set an example for their students to follow and share their experiences.

Acknowledgement We are thankful to students, staff members, employers, and alumni students for their whole-hearted support in every phase of the study to make it flow smoothly and be scientifically significant.

Conflicts of Interest The authors do not have any conflicts of financial or research presentationrelated interest to declare.

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Saardchom, N. (2012). The validation of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) scoring model. International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 5(2), 163-166. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijlse.2012.048472 Savga, L., Krykliy, O., & Kyrychenko, K. (2018). The role of internal and external stakeholders in the higher education system in Ukraine. Business Ethics and Leadership, 2(1), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.21272/bel.2(1).32-43.2018 Schoonenboom, J., & Johnson, R. B. (2017). How to construct a mixed-methods research design. Journal for Sociology and Social Psychology / Kolner Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie], 69(2), 107–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-017-0454-1 Taherdoost, H. (2017). Decision making using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP): A step by step approach. International Journal of Economics and Management Systems, 2(1), 1-4. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3224206 Tantalo, C., & Priem, R. L. (2016). Value creation through stakeholder synergy. Strategic Management Journal, 37(2), 314-329. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2337 Tolich, M., & Tumilty, E. (2021). Finding our ethical research self: A guidebook for novice qualitative researchers.

London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429056994 Turan, F. K., Cetinkaya, S., & Ustun, C. (2016). A methodological framework to analyze stakeholder preferences and propose strategic pathways for a sustainable university. Higher Education, 72(6), 743-760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-0159973-8 Ulewicz, R. (2017). The role of stakeholders in quality assurance in higher education.

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Wiśniewska, M., Szymańska-Brałkowska, M. & Zieliński, G. (2014). Determinanty jakości usług edukacyjnych [Determinants of education services quality]. Research papers of Wrocław University of Economics/Prace Naukove, 271–280. https://doi.org/10.15611/pn.2014.354.25 Yamashita, G. L., & Cheang, M. (2019). Moving from the classroom to practice: University student interns’ readiness for the workplace. In L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, & I. Candel Torres (Eds.), Proceedings for the 13th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (pp.

1227-1238). https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2019.0394

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Appendix A: Executive summary of the projects for the intervention Visiting Lectureship This project was planned to last two semesters. The purpose was to involve the employers and alumni in curriculum upgrade and instruction. The employers and alumni were also supposed to provide at-request consultancy to the students. The students and academic staff members were involved in the selection of the four to five guest speakers and visiting lecturers through polling and voting. They were expected to be 30 to 50 years old, have relevant background and experience of more than six years, have a strong brand in social media, and be charismatic. The guest speakers and visiting lecturers were further expected to have a plan of events and present it to the students. The host organisations for internships were also selected through voting.

Self-branding The marathon format was supposed to be used to involve current students, academics, employers, and alumni in a cooperative learning process design and delivery. The process was based on developing students’ skills in professional storytelling based on/according to their professional background, management of reputation, and tracking the growth of their brand in Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. The guest speakers and visiting lecturers (employers and alumni) were to be selected and involved in training the students in career building, copywriting, framed messaging, persuasion, video making, and editing. The guest speakers and visiting lecturers should also deliver professional purpose lectures, workshops, and labs. Self-branding-purpose videos, webinars, or Zoom (Google Meet, Webex) sessions were supposed to be conducted to train students and evaluate their work. The incorporated statistical tools were employed to analyse and track the effectiveness of the students’ work. Telegram app was utilised to manage and facilitate the class.

Promoting learning communication cases as a tool to develop specialism skills These were expected to deepen students’ professional knowledge and skills through the use of cases that were delivered and interpreted by employers or alumni representatives. Each case relied on five components such as the introduction of the concept (case), reflection, consolidation, information-inquiry stimulation, and skills training. The students were expected to complete the research assignments followed by writing essays, participating in a debate (discussion), or delivering a presentation. Simulations were to involve the students in experiencing their career development skills and job functions.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 190-209, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.11

Information and Communication Technologies as a Means of Developing Global Planetary Thinking among Students of Non-Humanitarian Specialties Natalia V. Maiatina Kyiv Cooperative Institute of Business and Law, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1417-8390 Halyna V. Salata Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2673-8463 Nadiia A. Bachynska Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3912-7108 Olena M. Snihur National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3515-9372 Halyna V. Haiovych Institute of Public Administration and Research in Civil Protection, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0135-6191

Abstract. The aim of our work was to investigate the impact of the use of information and communication technologies on the development of global planetary thinking of future specialists of multiply nonhumanitarian specialties (by educational areas of training in economics, tourism and programming). The general scientific methods, developed by the authors’ model of testing with open and closed questions, pedagogical experiment, methods of mathematical data processing were applied while conducting the current study. The model of diagnostics allows obtaining such results at the stage of the Control Experiment: a Good and Excellent Level of knowledge generally have about 35% of the respondents (quite low). We have developed training courses for the following subjects: Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics with the use of information and communication technologies. Formative Experiment test allows distinguishing that quite a high level of unsatisfactory perception have about 11%. At the stage of the formative ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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experiment, the positive effect of the course implementation became obvious. Approximately 61% of respondents found out Good and Excellent level of knowledge, Level of unsatisfactory perception decrease almost in twice and was about 6% (quite a low). The results of the of the Control Experiment stage allowed determining that the courses of the fundamental, natural sciences and general economic training are built to give students a strong foundation of basic knowledge in each subject, but without proper development of planetary thinking. We consider experimental testing of other effective innovative learning technologies for the development of planetary thinking among future specialists to be the prospect of further research. In addition, there is a need to conduct comparative studies in order to check initial and after-experiment results of planetary thinking concept as one of the central.

Keywords: planetary thinking; noosphere education; information and communication technologies; professional training; non-humanitarian specialties

1. Introduction The higher education system is on the way to modernization and search for new competencies necessary for the graduate not only to carry out professional activities properly, but also for his self-realization in the context of globalization processes. In this regard, the most important role in the success of this process is the noosphere-based modernization of the higher education system (Khairullina et al., 2019). The concept of the noosphere as an ideal “thinking” shell was introduced in the early 20th century by Teihard de Chardin and Le Roy (Savary, 2007). In addition, Vernadskyi developed the meaning of the concept of noosphere in the context of developing the doctrine of the biosphere, humanistic ideology and the role of scientific thought as a planetary and cosmic phenomenon (Trubetskova, 2010). The concept of noosphere education is a system of innovative scientific theoretical, epistemological, methodological and practical views on the nature of education and the possibility of its effective implementation in modern globalized society (Kurochkina & Vladlenova, 2012). Noosphere education, being based on the high achievements of science at the beginning of the 21st century, substantiates and offers tools for mastering the neurosomatic capabilities of the brain, which allows individuals to realize their higher positive aspirations. The purpose of noosphere education is to motivate a harmonious, holistic, environmentally healthy type of thinking, based on a conscious mastery of logical and figurative thinking. This is the type of thinking that can give a person a holistic picture of the world and can become a tool for solving global problems in the transition to sustainable development of society (Maslova, 2016). Thus, the main task of pedagogical education in terms of the concept of the noosphere is the formation of a holistic noosphere consciousness (holistic thinking, ethical bioadapted behaviour and ecological world outlook) (Gorbunova et al., 2020).

Planetary thinking involves more than following the slogan: “Think globally, act locally” (Mickey, 2015). Planetary thinking determines a person’s ability to connect images, ideas, concepts through a natural combination of relative equilibria formed in philosophical systems, religions, scientific concepts, works of

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literature and art, in which these equilibria complement each other and form, in terms of planetary scale, a single worldview (Danilova & Kozhevnikov, 2001).

Developing planetary thinking in future specialists in the course of the educational process allows developing the following qualities: the ability to correctly assess various situations related to moral assessments and future risks, that is the ability to predict the situation; ability to think in terms of globalization processes; ability to define and adjust goals according to new requirements and circumstances; act with a view to several alternatives (Kurochkina & Vladlenova, 2012). We agree with the interpretation (Kurochkina & Vladlenova, 2012; Terentieva & Yashnik, 2017) that planetary thinking should be considered as strategic, ecological and economic thinking, which reflects the understanding of the general patterns of development of modern civilization.

Informatization of society is a strategic factor in the development of civilization (Fedorenko et al., 2019), which gives humanity a chance to solve global problems and move to a new paradigm of sustainable and secure development due to the special properties of information. The development and use of new information and communication technologies in education opens up unprecedented opportunities for the discovery of the creative potential of the individual and the development of his planetary thinking (Reddy & Bubonia, 2020). This is achieved through the following features of these technologies (Çaglar & Akçin, 2016; Hamidi et al., 2011): (1) modern information technologies allow giving quick access to large volumes of necessary information. This allows you to quickly get an idea of existing approaches to solving problems, avoid duplication and identify the most interesting analogues and prospects; (2) modern information technology allows the user to work with different types of images; (3) modern information technologies allow more active use of figurative thinking of people to solve global problems of modern society.

Multimedia technologies make it possible to combine meaningfully and harmoniously different types of information, to present it in different forms (Balu, 2020). Presentations accompanied by vivid images or animation are visually more attractive than static text, and can maintain the required level of student cognitive activity (Putra, 2018). We can say that multimedia is a synthesis of three elements: digital information (texts, graphics, animation), analogue information of visual display (video, photos, pictures, etc.) and analogue sound information (language, music, other sounds). Thus, it is important for people of the 21st century to develop such qualities that will help them get an adequate idea of its other dimensions, about which little is known today. Pedagogical practice shows (Saydullayeva & Alangova, 2020; Azarova et al., 2020; Erkisheva, 2016; Dostovalova et al., 2018) that the use of information technology and its various combinations creates a real technological breakthrough in the methodology, organization and practical implementation of educational process.

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The topicality of our study is dictated by the following contradictions: (1) between the structure and content of fundamental, natural science, general economic training and the lack of a proper methodological background for this training to ensure the development of planetary thinking in future specialists (Rosa, 2017); (2) between the objectively growing volume of scientific knowledge and the impossibility of their systematic assimilation in modern conditions of structuring and teaching subjects (Zainuddin et al., 2020); (3) between the existing subject approach to the organization of professional training of future specialists and the objective of developing planetary thinking; (4) between the development of modern information and communication technologies and insufficient scientific substantiation of didactic background and conditions of their introduction for the development of planetary thinking in future specialists.

Thus, it is necessary to develop and introduce a number of new subjects using ICTs into the education system, which contribute to the development of planetary thinking. By this thinking we mean a qualitatively new level of knowledge of the reflected reality, in which there is a close relationship between the laws of nature and society, which is realized in the creation of new ideas, in predicting events and solving particular problems of society and nature from the standpoint of ecologically centric worldview. This should allow future specialists to independently find and make responsible decisions under the conditions of uncertainty, in critical and stressful situations, as well as in cases where future professionals will face new complex natural and social phenomena. Thus, the aim of our study is to determine the impact of the use of information and communication technologies on the level of development of global planetary thinking of future specialists.

This aim requires fulfilling the objectives of the study: (1) study thoroughly with these girls; (2) develop prospect of the study; (3) conduction the stages of the experiment; (4) talk over the results of the experiment; (5) discuss the results of their academic and planetary thinking contexts; (6) point out the themes for future investigation in the niche.

2. Materials and Methods According to the tasks of each of the stages, we used the following methods: (1) general scientific methods (were applied to determine the theoretical foundations of the development of planetary thinking among future specialists, i.e. in the process of theoretical working over of the concept of global planetary thinking; conducting literature review to find out the gaps in current scientific

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knowledge of the problem and understand perspective directions of the problem solving; design of the experiment and study model development; generalizing the obtained results and pointing out the perspective directions of solving the actualized problem in the context of education area); (2) empirical methods (were applied while conducting all practical stages of the experiment implementation and interpretation of the obtained results, i.e.testing and pedagogical experiment with qualitative and quantitative analysis of results, which allowed obtaining data on the level of development of planetary thinking in students.

(3) mathematical methods — statistical processing of the obtained data (in particular, they were applied for a deeper assessment of students’ knowledge, i.e., we applied the coefficient of assimilation of the learning material (Ca) (Kanivets, 2012); and the x2 criterion was used to test the effectiveness of the courses we developed (Pearson, 1900). Statistica software package was used for quantitative data analysis.

2.1. The stages of the experiment conduction The study was arranged in three stages during 2016-2020.

The first stage — preliminary search (during 2016) — involved the theoretical substantiation and search of approaches/technologies of development of planetary thinking in students, as well as the review of the basic researches in this area. The methodical literature was studied, the curricula on subjects taught to students in higher educational institutions were analysed. The result of this stage was the assumption about relevance of usage of information and communication technologies for the purposeful development of students’ planetary thinking among.

The second stage— theoretical working over of the question and development the design of experiment (2017) — involved the reflection on the theoretical and methodological background of research, identification of the object, subject, purpose. The programs of the subjects Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics were developed with the use of information and communication technologies, as they are the subjects of the cycle and have the potential for the development of planetary thinking. In our study, ICTs means all software, Internet resources, and the use of computer equipment that can be used in the educational process.

The third stage —implementation of the experiment and generalization of the obtained results (2018-2020) — involved testing the hypothesis and effectiveness of the developed courses of Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics using information and communication technologies. At this stage, a pedagogical experiment (summative and formative) was conducted and the results of the research were documented. Let us visualize the course of the study (see Figure 1).

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Tentative search stage Theoreti cal and design stage Experimen tal and generaliza tion stage

literature review

planning of the research summative stage of the experiment (testing)

analysis of curricula

search for the techniques of the development of plenetary thinking

development of courses with the use of ICTs introduction of the courses with the use of the courses with the use of ICTs

knowled ge assessm ent

documentin g results and drawing conclusions

Figure 1: Course of the research

2.2. Participants The participants of the study were as followed from the Table 1. The respondents are studying at four different specialties.

Table 1: Research participants

Specialties

076: Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities 072: Finance, Banking and Insurance 242: Tourism 121: Software Engineering

Amount of students Control Experiment Group Formal Experiment Group 247 students 232 students (studied in the 3rd year of (studied in the 3rd year of the 1st level of higher the first level of higher education (Bachelor’s education (Bachelor’s degree) in 2018) degree) in 2019) 86 69 49 53 59

58 57 49

We selected third-year students because they have already underwent a cycle of fundamental, scientific and general economic training and the results of their worldview upbringing and system of values and attitudes are mostly formed and might be informatively evaluated in order to achieve the aims of the current study.

The study involved 479 students. Besides, 24 teachers who taught Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics for these specialties, were also involved into the experiment.

The students studied at Kyiv Cooperative Institute of Business and Law, Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Institute of Public Administration and Research in Civil Protection, which were chosen as the experimental base of the study.

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The specialties weren’t chosen by random selection. Instead, the choice of nonhumanities students is associated with the widespread belief about the anachronistic nature of the anthropocentric model of thinking that dominates among non-humanities students (Sishchuk et al., 2019). Thus, in the study Bauman (2020), which appeared at the stages of completing the experimental part of our study, these two concepts are antagonized, opposed in the sense that planetary thinking should become an alternative to anthropocentric for the benefit of all mankind. According to scientists (Kent, 2011; Ellison, 2018), the crisis of anthropocentric thinking and, as a consequence, the modern lack of humanity, the low level of ethical attitudes are most pronounced in students of nonhumanitarian specialties. This causes a crisis of inconsistencies between the positions on human exclusivity in the world, epistemological optimism, the use of science tools for aggressive and expansive impact on the environment and the prospects for the implementation of global directives on sustainable development (United Nations, 2015). The principles of sustainable development can be implemented only on the basis of the principles of tolerant-democratic planetary thinking. Thus, the prospect of conscious worldview retraining is often complicated under the influence of various related circumstances. This became another of the insights for conducting and verifying the results of our study. The aim was not only to study the generalized scientific and theoretical experience on the trends and worldviews of the education of planetary thinking among HEIs’ students, but also to track the empirical results of the success of such experience in our experimental sample.

2.3. The experimental courses development An important stage of our study was the development of courses in Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics with the use of ICTs. The prepared courses were aimed at developing a planetary thinking, eco-centric worldview, laying the foundations for a deeper study of specific sciences in the process of professional training, taking into account the specifics of educational programs of applicants for higher education. Let us consider some methodological and organizational features of the developed training courses.

Multimedia presentations and videos from modern information resources were widely used in the study of Philosophy during lectures in the course of formative experiment. Students checked the assimilated material with the help of tests created in Mytest software. This software is used to create and conduct computerbased knowledge testing, collection and analysis of results. The applicants accessed the test material by scanning the generated QR code. Students were offered differentiated reproductive, productive and creative assignments (optional), which involved ICTs, in the course of their independent and individual work. These types of work at the reproductive level included working with dictionaries, encyclopaedias, reference books, e-books and textbooks. The students were recommended websites that contain journal articles for their independent work.

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The reproductive level also includes the work of students in the Moodle system, which provides the possibility of repeated re-solving of test assignments, access to the texts of the correct solution, tips for incorrect answers.

The productive type of independent and individual activity of students with the use of Internet technologies can include the creation of a public page on a social network or running one’s own blog. These materials were used during the discussions at seminars, business games, when writing essays. Students were also asked to create a personal or group website with separate sections of subjects. For example, the following sections on Philosophy were proposed: “Philosophy in its historical development. The problem of the evolution of human thinking”, “Philosophical problems of cognition”, “Modern philosophical problems of science and technology in the context of global planetary thinking”. Students who chose to blog noted the opportunity to search for primary sources and special literature on issues of interest to them personally, to freely post information, discuss philosophical issues, communicate with other students on educational issues. Students who chose to develop the website had the opportunity of creating new documents, reference diagrams, media materials, links, compiling dictionaries, etc. Thus, the students themselves improved the course using ICTs. In the course of study of Environmental Economics, which has great social significance, we used ICTs during lectures and practical classes. Lectures were also presented in the form of a multimedia presentation. Given the specifics of the subject, the presentation of the learning material shall be accompanied by large arrays of legal, reference and statistical information that describes the socioeconomic processes and illustrates modern environmental problems during.

Thus, we used infographics — data visualization, the main purpose of which is to provide complex information in the simplest and most illustrative way. Its arsenal, in addition to static images (drawings, photographs, graphs, tables, charts, diagrams, maps, etc.), may also include dynamic tools (animation, video).

Due to its illustrativeness, infographics allows to significantly facilitate the perception and analysis of information, graphically represent the dynamics of economic, environmental and social processes.

The peculiarity of conducting practical classes in Environmental Economics is the need for students to master the methodological tools to regulate the nature management. In particular: the method of calculating the amount of compensation for damages caused to the state by the violation of legislation on protection and rational use of water resources; methods for determining the amount of damage caused by pollution and littering of land due to violations of environmental legislation, etc. To speed up the calculations under these methods, we have created a special database containing the values of the required regulatory factors, as well as to automate the calculation process, for example, using MS Excel spreadsheets.

When developing the training course of Ecology, we used the same ICTs that we did for Environmental Economics. However, we asked students to create, in the context of individual work, a creative project using ICTs on one of the topics:

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“Processes and tools for environmental protection" or “Rational use and protection of water resources.” In our opinion, this type of work will contribute to the development of practical skills of planetary thinking. Thus, the courses developed with the use of ICTs were aimed at intensifying the process of obtaining and assimilating new knowledge and practical skills, acquiring basic knowledge of future specialists in economics, ecology and philosophy, in order to develop creative abilities and spread planetary thinking in society.

2.4. Checking the appropriateness of the courses In addition, to test the appropriateness of our courses, by random selection we involved 2 groups: 25 third-year students who took courses following the traditional program, and 27 third-year students who studied subjects by experimental methods. The x2 criterion was used to test the effectiveness of the courses we developed (Pearson, 1900). Statistica statistical analysis software package was used for quantitative data analysis.

2.5. Data processing and analysis We developed diagnostic tests based on the theoretical material of the subjects of Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics, in order to clarify the level of knowledge of these subjects in terms of planetary worldview. The test consisted of 120 closed and open questions: 40 questions in Philosophy, 40 questions in Environmental Economics, and 40 questions in Ecology (20 questions for each module). Before testing was used for practical purposes, it was verified by a number of formal criteria — reliability and validity.

To describe the assimilation of learning material (Ca), we have identified the following levels (see Table 2): Table 2: Levels of learning material (Author's development) Level Unsatisfactory - Levels 1 and 2

Ca* meaning 0<Ca<0,5

Satisfactory – Level 3

0.5< Ca<0.75

Good – Level 4

0.75<Ca<0.95

Excellent Level 5

0,95 < Ca<1

–

Characteristics The student does not know a number of rules and laws, does not know how to analyse a particular situation, and does not understand the importance of environmental problems, does not show the ability to transfer knowledge, can not apply them when considering particular problems of society and nature , where.

The student has assimilated the basics of the course, but cannot always use theoretical knowledge to explain and solve particular problems of life .

The student has well assimilated the studied material, well masters interdisciplinary connections, uses them in the process of solving problems or explaining theoretical material, considers the problems of interaction between society and nature from the standpoint of a holistic global planetary worldview, shows interest in self-education.

The student has deeply and fully assimilated knowledge of the subjects, is able to apply them creatively, is guided by them in assessing new

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phenomena, in solving particular problems. The student is actively engaged in self-education and seeks to improve ways of acquiring knowledge. The student uses the acquired knowledge to set topical problems and their solutions, has the skills of experimental and research work. * Ca is a coefficient of assimilation of the learning material

2.6. Hypotheses of the research A deep theoretical analysis of the question of planetary thinking nature and process of its formation allows formulating the hypotheses: (1) Н0 - the level of development of planetary thinking is the same in the control and experimental groups after the experiment; (2) Н1 - the level of development of planetary thinking in the experimental group is higher than in the control one after the experiment.

3. Results We carried out planning and conducted the pedagogical experiment in accordance with the goals and objectives of our study.

3.1. Control Experiment At the initial stage of the pedagogical experiment, we tested students for theoretical material, which they studied in the courses of Ecology, Philosophy and Environmental Economics in order to determine the level of knowledge of these subjects in terms of planetary worldview.

This testing showed that students have a fairly good understanding of the concepts of these subjects, know a number of laws and rules, but not all issues are considered in terms of planetary thinking, students do not always understand the importance of acquired knowledge to solve current problems. The identified subjects have significant potential for the implementation of interdisciplinary links, as well as for the development of planetary thinking in students. For example, only 10% of students gave answers to the question “Give examples of how you can, in your opinion, carry out environmentally friendly activities at home, on vacation, in industry, agriculture, transport?”, however, those answers were vague and incomplete.

None of the students gave a complete answer to the following questions: “How nature and the economy can benefit from a fuller use of waste?”, “Why the production of machinery and materials with high reliability and long service life is considered one of the effective means of nature protection and rational use of natural resources?”, “Can we speak about completely waste-free technologies?

Will they not be an analogue of the eternal engine?” The obtained answers also give grounds to say that the teaching material is outdated.

When developing curricula, teachers are guided by standard programs, try to give basic knowledge of academic subjects, do not include relevant and current topics

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in the thematic plan, do not use current information. Thus, upon passing the cycle of fundamental, natural science and general economic training, future specialists only acquire knowledge, and cannot use it in practice in the light of modern scientific trends, in the context of planetary thinking. That is, the practical component is almost absent in these subjects. Students usually prepare essays on given topics in practical classes, or reproduce the material recorded in lectures by retelling, which promotes the reproduction of knowledge, rather than the development of critical and nonlinear thinking.

Teachers who participated in the testing at the stage of the summative experiment noted that the following sections caused the greatest difficulties for students: noosphere strategy of human survival; environmental problems related to the use and regeneration of materials; principles of creating non-destructive production; global problems of mankind, their solution and comprehension by future generations.

The final test results can be presented in the chart (Figure 2). The number of rays in the chart is determined by the modular units of each academic subject, where: 1MF — the first module of Philosophy, 1ME — the first module of Ecology, 1MEE — the first module of Environmental Economics, etc.

1MF 5 3.5 4 3

2MEE 2.9

3.8 2MF

2 1 0

2.7

3.2 1MEE

1ME 3.1 2ME

Figure 2: The level of planetary thinking of future specialists in academic subjects by modules at the control stage of the experiment

The length of the ray (radius of the circle) is determined by the level of knowledge and skills estimated on a five-point scale. Table 3 provides the results of the control experiment conducted in 2018.

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Table 3: The results of the distribution of students in terms of the levels of planetary thinking by specialties at the summative stage Speciality

Number of students

The percentage of answers corresponding to the level of knowledge and skills of planetary thinking 0 <Ca<0.5 0.5 < Ca<0.75 0.75 < Ca<0.95 0.95 < Ca<1).

076:Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities 072: Finance, Banking and Insurance 242: Tourism 121: Software Engineering Total Mean value

86

8

53

33

6

49

10

54

32

4

53 59

13 10

56 55

28 30

3 5

247

10

55

31

5

The results of the Table 3 show that a good and excellent level of planetary thinking in general is quite low, about 35% of the respondents. The level of unsatisfactory perception is quite high —about 11%. Figure 3 generalizes the results of the levels of planetary thinking in students.

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 unsatisfactory

satisfactory

good

excellent

Levels of planetary thinking of students at the summative stage Figure 3: The chart of levels of planetary thinking of future specialists at the control stage of the experiment

3.2. Formative Experiment At the next stage of the study, we developed and implemented the declared courses in Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics with the use of ICTs. This stage of the study was to verify the findings in practice in the course of professional training. The declared problem was solved by means of control experiment, implementation and approbation of the developed courses and technologies of their realization in practice of professional training of specialists (are presented in details in Material and Methods paragraph above).

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Carrying out the analysis of open questions, we noted that future experts have own vision of the solution to ecological problems, global problems of mankind, have current knowledge, are able to operate concepts from the position of planetary thinking. Most of the answers were characterized by original views, clear wording and relevance of information.

The results of the formative experiment conducted in 2019 are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: The results of the distribution of students in terms of the levels of planetary thinking by specialties at the formative stage Speciality Number The percentage of answers corresponding to the level of of knowledge and skills of planetary thinking students 0 < Ca<0.5 0.5<Ca<0.75 0.75<Ca<0.95 0.95<Ca<1).

076: Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities 072: Finance, Banking and Insurance 242: Tourism 121: Software Engineering Total Mean value

83

8

31

36

25

46

6

18

42

34

50 53

3 7

28 32

36 33

33 28

232

6

27

37

24

The results of the table show that the good and excellent level of knowledge in general has increased to about 61%. Quite a low level of unsatisfactory perception — about 6%. Figure 4 shows the generalized results of the levels of planetary thinking in students.

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

0 unsatisfactory

satisfactory

good

excellent

Levels of planetary thinking of students at the formative stage

Figure 4: Chart of the levels of planetary thinking of future specialists at the formative stage of the experiment

We built a circular chart (Figure 5), which gives a comparative description of the formation of planetary thinking.

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Analysing the diagram, we conclude that the study of courses using ICTs gives a clear positive result. A deep knowledge of the material is observed for almost all modules of academic subjects. Students use that knowledge in assessing new phenomena, solving particular problems from the standpoint of planetary thinking.

2MEE3.8 2.9

1MEE4

1MF 5 4 3.5 4 3 2 1 0

4.3 2MF 3.8

2.7 3.5 1ME

3.2 3.1 3.6 2ME

Figure 5: Comparative chart of the levels of planetary thinking in future specialists for academic subjects by modules before (control stage) and after (formative stage) the experiment

3.3. Checking the appropriateness of the courses This type of work helped to test the hypothesis that courses with the use of ICTs contribute to better learning of theoretical material and students gain better practical skills from the standpoint of planetary thinking. The results of students’ work were evaluated in four categories: unsatisfactory, satisfactory, good and excellent.

Given that the samples were random and independent, and the measured property has a continuous distribution and measured on an order scale with four categories, we used chi-squared test (x2) to test the hypothesis for situations where the experimental data are recorded in the form of table 2xC, where C4. The results of students’ work in both samples are recorded in Table 5.

Table 5: Generalized data on the levels of planetary thinking of control and experimental groups n1=25 n2=27

unsatisfactory О11=3 О21=1

satisfactory О12=9 О22=4

good О13=10 О23=8

excellent О14=3 О24=14

In Table 5, О1i means the number of students in the first sample who received a score and (i=1, 2, 3, 4), О2i means the number of students in the second sample who received a score and (i=1, 2, 3, 4); n1 and n2 are the number of students in the first and second samples.

The obtained value of X²emp=10.201 is greater than critical, which for the significance of p=0.95 and the number of degrees of freedom C=3 equals to X²=7.815. Thus, 10.201>7.815 (X²emp>X²) for p=0.95. Therefore, hypothesis Но is rejected, we accept hypothesis Н1. The difference between the distributions is statistically significant.

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Thus, the obtained results give grounds for accepting hypothesis Н1 . We experimentally proved that the use of ICT-assisted courses had a positive effect on the development of planetary thinking in students, improved students’ training, contributed to the assimilation of scientific knowledge and skills, acquisition of stable noosphere universal human qualities, ecology-centred worldview. We supported the conclusions by empirical data that prove the positive dynamics of planetary thinking development after appliance of the experimental model of education.

4. Discussion The conducted research dealt with environmentally friendly learning technologies as a basis for building a noosphere consciousness (Maslova et al., 2017; Ovchinnikova et al., 2020; Khairullina et al, 2019). A theoretical analysis of the noosphere concept in the methodology of modern environmentally oriented higher education is conducted (Çaglar & Akçin, 2016).

The study of the impact of information and communication technologies within higher school education as a means of developing global planetary thinking in the future specialist of non-humanitarian specialties was carried out for the first time.

The analysis of scientific works allowed determining that the problem of developing planetary thinking is usually studied at the level of primary or preschool education. In light of trends in higher education, research focuses not only on the development of ecological thinking (Albrecht, 2020; Sharafutdinova et al., 2020; Goodyear & Ellis, 2019), which is inherently much “narrower” than planetary thinking. Concept of planetary thinking refers generally to the person’s worldviewand up-to-date world’s direction of sustainable development support.

Higher education experts also focus on the development of nonlinear thinking, and identify it with planetary one (Luzik, 2014. Nevertheless, we would accent that nonlinear thinking and planetary thinking which are not identical concepts in our opinion. And they demand distinguishing what might be a vector for future investigations.

Analysis of the results of the study support the thesis that ICT and special programs of developing planetary thinking in the paradigm of higher educational programs are mutually beneficial. Comparative analysis the results obtained through entrance and final diagnostics of planetary thinking prove the effectiveness of the develop programs. Also there were significant some general improvement of academic success in the context of experimental group. This allows us to conclude not only that ICTs have significant potential for the development of planetary thinking in students, contribute to the modernization of the educational process in light of current trends. But to enhance results of studying as well. However, this direction needs special empirical studies and theoretical generalizations.

It is important to admit that teachers who participated in the testing at the stage of the formative experiment noted that the following sections caused the greatest difficulties for students: noosphere strategy of human survival; environmental problems related to the use and regeneration of materials; principles of creating

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non-destructive production; global problems of mankind, their solution and comprehension by future generations.

Analysing the results of testing students upon completion of their advanced courses, we concluded that the level of knowledge and skills compared to the initial testing has become higher, students have become more competent and more accurate in answering questions in terms of planetary thinking, have started showing the ability to apply facts, laws, theories in the new situation, use interdisciplinary links in solving particular problems.

Based on the results of the study and on the discussion of the results of the experiment with students’ involved into the experimental part of study (232 participants) we can conclude that ICTs help to create a positive internal, motivational attitude to the importance of learning subjects, make students interested. ICTs have significant opportunities to develop students’ creativity without restricting students in choosing and processing information. ICTs promote interest, establishing links to global issues and future professional activities. ICT-assisted courses help to implement joint activities of teachers and students, solve creative problems, promote the development of students’ abilities to independently find, systematize and generate (produce) knowledge, intellectual skills, integrated skills.

In our opinion, it is important that global planetary thinking must be developed taking into account the specifics of the educational program for which the applicants study. For example, the ecological component of planetary thinking is more relevant for technical specialists (future architects, production technologists, etc.), and understanding the problems of humanity on a global scale through the prism of philosophical doctrines is relevant for future specialists in the humanities.

This moments are also interrelated to the declared results of study by Bauman (2020) and his position about “primary disciplinary split we know today: humanities and sciences” (Bauman, 2020, p. 4). Due to this, students of sciences specialties which were taken into account in the current study, are prone the traits of outlook that are characterized by semantics of Omni-God concept, hyperindividualism, and anthropocentrism. All these in turn complicates the process of formation of planetary thinking. And in the process of our study some of them were pointed but detailed analysis also requires conducting special comparative studies concerning traits and process of implementing planetary thinking model among students of humanitarian and non-humanitarian specialties.

Planetary thinking is a qualitatively new level of cognitive activity of future specialists, which is realized in the creation of new ideas, in solving problems of interaction between society and nature from the standpoint of ecology-centred worldview. The development of planetary thinking, which ensures the sustainable development of society and the preservation of life on earth, requires modernizing education, which is based on the integration of knowledge, informatization and humanization of the educational process. This approach will promote building noosphere universal values, the foundations of scientific

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knowledge and skills, improving professional training. Such personality qualities will allow finding and implementing optimal solutions for the functioning of the natural and industrial complex.

The conducted research differs in theoretical and empirical novelty and complexity, that is the study of two pedagogical categories and their correlation.

The outlined results will be useful for teachers of fundamental, natural science and general economic subjects, guarantors of educational programs for their modernization, heads of internal higher education quality assurance departments, employees of the departments of information and communication technologies in higher educational institutions, as well as scholars dealing with this problem.

In our opinion, it is important to develop a strategy for the development of planetary competence in future specialists at the regulatory level, taking into account the specifics of their skills profile.

5. Conclusions Innovative education and e-learning, which have embraced the pedagogical process in higher educational institutions, contribute to changes, additions and modernization of traditional education. Currently, the preparation of students in the context of the development of their planetary thinking solves the main contradictions of higher education and meets the modern needs of society. Today, ICTs, their rapid development and improvement in the context of scientific and technological progress are distinguished and divided to initial thinking. To solve a number of problems in professional education, and their implementation to improve the training of specialists in various specialties is urgent. Bringing experts closer to global planetary thinking is a necessary condition for ensuring the sustainable development of the country.

Formative Experiment test allows distinguishing that quite a high level of unsatisfactory perception have about 11%. At the stage of the formative experiment, the positive effect of the course implementation became obvious.

Approximately 61% of respondents found out Good and Excellent level of knowledge, Level of unsatisfactory perception decrease almost in twice and was about 6% (quite a low).

We believe that in the context of the development of planetary thinking of students, ICTs stimulate the development of humanistic and democratic principles in the educational process, help to implement cooperation, the priority of positive stimulation; individual approach, develop abilities and make learning student-centered— give the opportunity to choose their own learning trajectory.

The results of the summative experiment showed that a good and excellent level of knowledge in general is quite low, about 35% of the respondents. Quite a high level of unsatisfactory perception was about 11%. After the introduction of ICTassisted courses in the educational process, the good and excellent level of knowledge in general increased to about 61%, and the level of unsatisfactory perception became quite low — about 6%.

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Using qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results obtained in control and experimental groups, as well as indicators of knowledge and skills of students before and after the experiment, their statistical processing, allowed drawing well-founded conclusions about the positive impact of developed courses using ICTs on development of students’ planetary thinking, creative abilities and readiness for independent professional activity.

The teachers of HEI students can use the obtained results in the context of the development of courses in fundamental, natural science and general economic training in order to develop the planetary thinking among students of higher educational institutions. We consider the experimental testing of other effective innovative learning technologies for the development of planetary thinking in future specialists to be the prospect of further research.

In addition, planetary thinking nature in Ukraine has a number of favorable and sharply unfavorable factors in the process of implementation. The model developed by us can be fully studied by children.

6. Research Limitations The main limiting factors of the study are that the experimental work was conducted only for students majoring in 076: Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities, 072: Finance, Banking and Insurance, 242: Tourism, 121: Software Engineering. Another limiting factor is that the formative experiment was carried out only for the following subjects: Philosophy, Ecology and Environmental Economics.

7. Recommendations The study was the first attempt to determine whether information and communication technologies are a means of developing students’ global planetary thinking. We recommend to improve methodical tools of diagnostics of planetary thinking among people of different age groups for further development of the raised problem.

In addition, planetary thinking nature in Ukraine has a number of favorable and sharply unfavorable factors in the process of implementation. The model developed by us can be fully studied by students of all the levels of academic thinking.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 210-244, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.12

Implementation of the Cross-Cultural Approach in the Modern School Natalia P. Dichek Institute of Pedagogy of National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2185-3630 Igor M. Kopotun Academia HUSPOL, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2947-8599 Svitlana M. Shevchenko and Natalia B. Antonets Institute of Pedagogy of National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0432-8893 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7772-9364 Daria V. Pohribna State University of Infrastructure and Technologies, Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6333-8576

Abstract. High-quality interaction on a personal or educational, professional level is possible in today’s world only through enhanced cultural exchange. It is based on the principles of intercultural tolerance and mutual enrichment. The cross-cultural identity of a student’s personality provides for psychological openness to interact with other cultures without losing one’s own national or ethnic identity. Evidence of the effective application of the cross-cultural approach in the education of schoolchildren is the high-level cross-cultural competence (CCС). Aims. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of a cross-cultural approach to the organization of the educational process in senior school. Methods: general scientific method, molding experiment, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data obtained through diagnostic methodic of the experiment, statistical and mathematical interpretation of empirical data and their representation in the visual (table, diagrams) form, functional analysis of the data (while generalizing empirical data and making conclusions).

Results. Effective, complex (multicomponent) models of primary (input) and secondary (output) diagnostics of CCC were developed. A model of an integrated school environment aimed at intensifying the CCC was also defined. Secondary diagnostics revealed a tendency to improve

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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CCC in both groups. However, the percentage increase in the level of CCC was 4 times greater in the experimental group, than the level of the control group (+ 4.3% vs. + 17.8%, respectively). The mean values of CCC in the experimental group were confidently at a Good Level (85.7%), that is improved by one order. CCC in the control group was detected at 73.0% (within the Sufficient Level of CCC). The relationship between the level of CCC and the level of foreign language proficiency is proved: CCC is higher in respondents with higher academic achievements in foreign languages. Conclusions. The implementation of a cross-cultural approach to the curricula of school-age children requires close attention of scholars and qualified practical support by the staff of the school. It is advisable to implement a cross-cultural approach in the context of modern schooling through the tactics of facilitation and multicultural modelling. The modern information age opens new horizons for the implementation of the cross-cultural approach in modern schools. Prospects. Further research on the topic involve the effectiveness of integrated learning tactics to increase CCC at other levels of school education, taking into account the variability of the interdisciplinary component (for example, involving also potential of Geography to develop and impove CCC).

Keywords: cross-cultural approach; modern school; senior pupils; multicultural communication; cross-cultural competence

1. Introduction The thoroughly globalized and integrated world of the 21st century significantly intensifies transcultural interaction between numerous groups of the world’s population. It is common that each participant translates numerous cultural codes in the course of verbal and nonverbal interaction. The interaction between the participants of communication is stimulated in the process of performing a range of personal, educational, professional tasks. In strategic terms, each individual should acquire knowledge and skills in the process of socialization that could potentially be needed in the context of a multicultural environment that is associated with the whole modern world. Cross-cultural competence is composed of multicultural psychological attitudes (understanding the value of each culture and in the broadest sense — a tolerant attitude to the multiplicity of thoughts, views, attitudes, etc.), together with multicultural knowledge and skills of interaction with different cultures. Cross-cultural competence in the modern scientific literature is interpreted as a set of semantic orientations, knowledge, practical skills, experience of personal, educational or professional activities that an individual needs for quality cross-cultural communication (Solodka, 2014a; 2014b).

Acquiring cross-cultural competence is an integral part of modern curricula at all levels of education. Including school education, as it is the first institutionally compulsory environment in the drastically necessary modern paradigm of “lifelong learning”. The cross-cultural competence developed and maintained throughout life is the key to rapid and harmonious cross-cultural adaptation of a pupil in today’s society at all stages of maturing and adulthood.

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In the context of modern scientific and methodological discourse, it is necessary to differentiate semantically similar concepts: multicultural, intercultural, and cross-cultural. Schriefer (2016) aptly notes that these three terms are like three branches of one whole. The difference lies in the prospects of communication with the bearer of another culture. In general, they can be used as synonyms.

Lexicographic interpretations of these tokens allow doing so. Collins Online Dictionary interprets these concepts as follows: multicultural means consisting of or relating to people of many different nationalities and cultures; intercultural— existing between, relating to, or involving one or more cultures; cross-cultural— means involving two or more different cultures. Webster’s New World College Dictionary qualifies cross-cultural as relating to different cultures, nations, etc. or to comparisons of them.

The comparative sema in the latter definition is most fundamental to perception of the term. Although implicitly it is present in other interpretations of this concept. Exactly through comparison the intention to consider two or more cultures in the same plane is actualized, hence from the relation of the “object under consideration” to the “object/objects being compared with it”. Cultural differences are not levelled within cross-cultural interaction. Instead, all participants in communication understand and recognize them, having the potential to cause individual worldview changes, without pretending to the niche of collective transformations. In the process of cross-cultural interaction, one culture is usually considered dominant, normative (usually it is a national culture that is state and territorially determined within the intercultural interaction), while other cultures are compared or contrasted with a culture that is determined as dominant in a particular situation of interaction (Schriefer, 2016). In our opinion, this perspective allows for maximum integration with other cultures, while preserving the authentic national “the I” of each of the participants in the interaction. Thus, the introduction of this competence in the structure of competencies of the modern student will not devalue the basic national-patriotic competence. In the structure of school education, it is appropriate to talk not about cross-cultural competence in general, but about cross-cultural educational competence. This means the formation of only those components that can be covered in the learning process (that is outside of professional activities, the sphere of private activity of an adult, etc.).

Cross-cultural educational competence is in the plane of eight fundamental transversal skills and competencies. AEGEE (European Students’ Forum) determine one of them as cultural awareness and expression. In Europe, crosscultural learning is regulated by special policy documents and programs. For example, Intercultural Competence for All: Preparation for Living in Heterogeneous Worlds (Huber, 2012); Intercultural Competences. Conceptual and Operational Framework (UNESCO, 2013). At the initiative of the Association of National European Delegations, a special web resource focused on cross-cultural learning was also created: http://intercultural-learning.eu/.

Despite the clear focus on interaction and mutual enrichment of cultures in the educational space recognized at the level of international educational

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organizations at national ministries, the issue of implementation of crosscultural markers directly in the learning process, in particular in school, is still not solved. Therefore, the main direction of this study is to integrate the theoretical foundations of the formation of a sufficiently high level of CCC in modern schoolchildren directly with the practice of implementing all aspects (and generalized desired level) of CCC development. This idea qualitatively distinguishes the model of our study from most scientific works on CCC (they will be discussed below in the Literature Review paragraph), which present the problem too theorized. Or, conversely, in the form of cases with a lack of generalized findings and theoretical conclusions that can be deduced from the analysis of empirical data in the process of practical experience of CCC achieving. Two particularly relevant areas of the unsolved problem of CCC formation are outlined: first, the diagnostics of the level of cross-cultural competence of pupils; second, ways to intensify the readiness of the modern pupils for cross-cultural interaction. They are the central subject of this research.

2. Literature Review The rapid evolution of society and worldviews of mankind in the second half of the 20th century raised the issue of pragmatically high-quality, effective, tolerance-based interaction between culturally diverse communicators (both at the group and individual level). At this time, the concept of “culture shock” in the scientific and practical literature is actively used; it is introduced to denote the psychological discomfort caused by the loss of familiar signs and symbols familiar to a particular actant of the social environment (Oberg, 1960). This stimulated the theoretical and practical development of the problem of building and developing cross-cultural competencies, where the primary purpose was to overcome the negative manifestations of cultural shock. These negative manifestations are identified as culturally determined communicative discomfort and, as a result, communicative failure.

The logic of the evolution of the issue of building cross-cultural competencies corresponds to the logic stages of the intentional implementation of the crosscultural approach to learning through the next steps: 1) step 1: a) identification of potential problems of cross-cultural interaction (analysis of cases and prevention of problematic situations during cross-cultural contact); b) providing participants with information about perceptual differences (worldview, situational ones, etc.) in the representatives of different cultures; 2) step 2: building a model of culturally determined situation of interaction, which requires participants to apply certain knowledge about the culture of their communicative partner and adhere to the appropriate line of conduct in order to successfully achieve the communicative goal.

The psychological prerequisite for constructive communication between representatives of different national and ethnic cultures is a psychological attitude (cross-cultural psychology: psychology of cross-cultural communication) to understand the value of their cultural beliefs (Mittelmeier et al., 2018), and respect for cultural beliefs of others (Haas, 2019; Fernandez et al,

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2020). This forms the psychological background of the so-called intercultural communication awareness (Liu & Gallois, 2014). The theoretical prerequisite for successful cross-cultural interaction is a set of theoretical cross-cultural knowledge. It is the broadest information about the cultural context of the communication partner. The basic factor in the practical implementation of cross-cultural interaction is verbal tools.

A well-built speech context of communication is the basis for establishing mutual understanding between the participants in the situation. However, the nonverbal behaviour of communicators (that is, proxemics, sign language, facial expressions, even the nature of communicative pauses) is no less important. It is the context that is often determined by the most difficult to control and most difficult to train aspect of cross-cultural interaction. In particular, the difficulties in the process of cross-cultural interaction mean the obstacles that are caused not by the language code, but by the context, which, in fact, realizes and details immanently more culturally neutral language code. Accordingly, the founder of intercultural communication Hall (1989) divided all cultures into high-context (Russia, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Spain, France, Hungary, etc., Eastern countries, Latin America, African countries), and low-context (Israel, Finland, Scandinavian historical and cultural region, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, England, New Zealand, Canada, USA). It is important for our study that the countries whose languages are mainly studied in order to organize crosscultural communication, mostly belong to low-context (English-speaking, German-speaking countries). Representatives of low-context cultures are more contactable and less culturally biased. In addition, it is an axiom that the study of the language of a cultural region has a very significant impact on the successful implementation of a cross-cultural approach in learning (Conway et al., 2017; Meiramova, 2017; Lee et al., 2020).

Nordgren (2017), Chapman (2021) substantiate the appropriateness of implementing cross-cultural markers through the lessons of History. This is the so-called method to incorporate knowledge in the discourses of intercultural education, which is the basis of “powerful knowledge” (Young, 2014).

The perspective of Banik and Dasgupta (2017) is of interest, who study the impact of cross-cultural marriages on building consciousness in pupils of secondary school of Kolkata. Of course, this unique rather than universal tool for building cross-cultural consciousness in pupils is effective because it is based on the practice of assimilating cross-cultural experience.

Poole (2019) considers the cross-cultural principle of selecting teaching staff of schools as a precondition of cross-cultural competence. The identity of a school teacher is interpreted not only as a vital part of the development of the professional self, but also as a complex project that does not have a statute of limitations. With the development of globalization, the teaching profession includes not only cognitive, affective but also intercultural patterns. The works in the form of arranged cases from the practice of implementing cross-cultural principles of learning (Graham et al., 2019; Wagle et al., 2018) play an important role.

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Wahyudin and Suwirta (2017) introduce cross-cultural learning in the context of Global Citizenship Education. This makes it universally binding and emphasizes the need for system approach to cross-cultural education in conceptual approaches to educating the younger generation (Hes & Švecová, 2021).

Numerous scientific papers (Elaish et al., 2017; Moll et al., 2017; Shadiev et al., 2019) emphasize the connection between the study of foreign languages and the level of cross-cultural psychological attitudes. They also emphasize the positive effect in the development of the cognitive component of the multicultural worldview of pupils.

Despite numerous studies that summarize the theoretical and practical experience in understanding and deliberate implementation of the cross-cultural approach in the education system, the procedural component of the issue needs close attention. This is due to a number of approaches and circumstances that significantly affect the process of introducing cross-cultural learning, in particular, regarding the models of diagnosing, regulating, intensifying the readiness of students for full-fledged communication in a multicultural environment. Therefore, any specific situational experience on this issue can provide keys to understanding the tactics of cross-cultural approach under the influence of a range of variable factors. That is why the task of this article is to comprehensively consider the issue of CCC formation at the generalizedtheoretical and concrete-practical levels, to develop a diagnostic system to determine the formation of CCC in school-age children and give it a rationale.

And also with the help of the developed evaluation system to experimentally determine the potential of educational work of the teaching staff in schools, which is aimed specifically at stimulating the CCC. This is only the most general announcement about the innovative nature of our study and how much and in what a way it intends to fill the gaps identified during the review of current literature on the subject.

3. Aims and Objectives The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of a cross-cultural approach to the organization of the educational process in modern high school. This aim involves a number of research objectives to be fulfilled: 1) study the current scientific literature on the topic in order to generalize the experience of developing the issue of implementing a cross-cultural approach in the system of teaching pupils; 2) select the respondents to participate in the empirical part of the study, divide them into control and experimental groups; 3) develop a model of primary and secondary diagnostics of cross-cultural competence (CCC) of pupils in grades 10-11, and apply it to determine the level of CCC within certain groups of respondents; 4) analyse the obtained empirical data, compare the results and draw conclusions from the experiment; 5) check the thesis of the researchers (exactly Elaish et al. (2017), Moll et al.

(2017), Shadiev et al. (2019) etc.) on the connection between the study of

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foreign languages and the level of cross-cultural psychological attitudes.

According to it CCC must be higher in respondents with higher academic achievements in foreign languages studied under the curriculum of the selected secondary school (English —the first foreign language, German — the second foreign language). In this context our assignment is: By summarizing the empirical data to confirm or deny the thesis about some direct relations between the level of knowledge of a foreign language and the level of the CCC; 6) experimentally prove or disprove the effectiveness of the proposed integrated model of intensive development of CCC in senior pupils; 7) outline the prospects for further research within the chosen topic.

4. Methods This study involved the following special scientific methods: - the method of summative experiment (the model is given below); - the method of formative experiment (the model is given below); - qualitative and quantitative analysis of the obtained data, testing the research hypothesis; - statistical and mathematical interpretation of empirical data, their functional analysis.

A detailed description of the content and method of application of each of these methods is given later in this section and directly in the Results section.

A total of 116 respondents were involved in the study. They were students of grade 10 (later — grade 11). We’d like to pay attention that the name of the school where the investigation was based is omitted by ethical reasons. The age category of senior pupils (15-17 years) was chosen for several reasons: a) the ability to involve settings of conscious attitude to learning, motivational aspects of learning cross-cultural communication, mechanisms of individual self-consciousness and self-reflection that are important for building crosscultural competence; b) knowledge of a foreign language at the stage of teaching senior pupils allows involving a wide range of integrative interdisciplinary links and information practical methods of stimulating CCC; c) for most senior pupils, education is a transitional period between basic and higher education, professional training: the level of CCC developed throughout schooling plays an important role in the further development of CCC by initial education means; d) the period of study in senior school is decisive for those who do not want to continue their education: in this case, the level of CCC at this stage is crucial.

The duration of the study is 1.5 years (three semesters of 2018-2019, 2019-2020 school years). The stimulus for the study was pupils’ complaints about the difficulties of communication in a multicultural environment (for example, during recreation and self-education of pupils in summer in Ukraine and abroad), as well as the initiative of teachers of foreign languages, foreign literature, history, implemented with the support of the administration of V.

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Belinsky School No. 25, as well as partner support of research centers of the departments of History and Philosophy of Education, Foreign Languages for Specific Purpose and Humanitarian Subjects.

The initial diagnostics was made in September 2018. Students of four 10 grades were randomly divided into control (grades 10-A, 10-B: 60 respondents) and experimental groups (grades 10-V, 10-DG: 56 respondents). The model of primary diagnostics is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Model of input diagnostics of CCC Foreign language proficiency score (total score for English and German)

Acquaintanc e with Foreigners

Name of the method Resource

Test your English For Schools Cambridge Assessment English (n.d.)

Test Your German Goethe Institut (n.d.)

Average school score Education Certificate for Grade 9

4 Englishspeaking foreigners were invited.

Pupils’ assignment: learn as much as possible about the partner during the time provided for conversation

Duration

30 min

30 min

-

Evaluatio n

25 points

30 points

•0-3 scores: 0 points; •4-6 scores: 15 points; •7-9 scores:

4 min for each conversation (pupilsjoined in groups of 3-4 people) The evaluation was made by specially trained invited foreigners

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Virtual Communication for Educational Purposes The participants were divided into 20 groups (5-6 participants in each, divided randomly).

Communication method: Skype.

Assignment: have a conversation with similar groups of pupils from England (there were a total of 4 groups of foreign pupils).

Topic: World War in Ukraine and England: the International Context. The Theme of War in English Literature 30 min

The quality and content of communication were evaluated by the authors of the study in order to avoid subjectivity in the evaluation. Each

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30 points; •10-12 scores: 45 points.

Scoring Total Interpreta tion

respondent was rated on a scale of 0-100 points.

Emphasis on: • openness, emotional state of the speaker (0-25 points); • number of questions (0-25 points); • correctness of speech (0-25 points); • logic of communication (0-25 points).

100 points max 100 points 100 points max max 300 points max.

270-300 – high level of CCC 221-269 – good level of CCC 180-220 – sufficient level of CCC ≤179 – unsatisfactory level of CCC

Table 2 presents the model of secondary diagnostics.

Table 2: Model of output diagnostics of CCC

Name of the method

Foreign language proficiency score (average for English and German)

Ukrainian Main Session 2018-year External Independ ent Evaluatio n Test (English language)

Ukrainian Main Session 2018-year External Independe nt Evaluatio n Test (German language)

Psychologic al crosscultural attitudes evaluation

Basic CrossCultural Knowled ge

My Crosscultural Knowledge and Skills*

Basic CrossCultural Knowledge**

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Communica tion in crosscultural environmen t Group presentation “Countries from all over world” (9-10 respondents for each of 12 groups) of randomized chosen country*** while 3 adolescent foreigners cooperating with every respondent group****

Essay writing

Theme “Future of National Cultures in Globalized World”

Duration

Resource

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Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

List of countries****

-

150 min

150 min

20 min

80 min

75 min

50 points max

50 points max

50 points max: a = 1 point b = 2 points c = 3 points d = 5 points

50 points max: 1 correct answer=1 point

2 days for preparation, 20 minutes for each group 50 points max for estimation of crossculture communicat ion skills of each respondent separately

Scoring

100 points max

100 points max

Interpretatio n

Tota l

50 points max taking into consideration language usage, comprehensi ve coverage of the topic, content, respondent’s openness to cross-cultural interaction, etc.

100 points max

300 points max 270-300 – high level of CCC 221-269 – good level of CCC 180-220 – sufficient level of CCC ≤179 – unsatisfactory level of CCC

** Source

of the test: Compiled by the authors based on My World Abroad (2018).

Source of the test: Compiled by the authors based on The London School on International Communication, (2018); Commisceo Global (2019a, 2019b, 2019c). *** The assignment is creative. The groups might choose the form of representation of the country by their own preferences. Nevertheless, in the artistic manner. *** The task was to present the country in some accurate and creative way. ***** List of countries for group presentation: Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK (separately England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy. **

Both stages of diagnostics involved a separate assessment of each respondent. It was followed by the calculation of average scores for each group of respondents and the interpretation of data on the CCC scale. Evaluation at all levels described and at all stages was performed by an independent jury. The jury included teachers of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Department of History and Philosophy of Education. None of them had personal contact with the pupils involved in the study outside the experiment.

All works were encoded. Since the CCC was measured using the same methods in both the control and experimental groups, the jury was also not told about the

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attribution of the respondents to one of these groups in order to obtain the most objective results.

5. Results Table 3-4 provides the input diagnostics results of the control and experimental group of respondents.

Control group Experime ntal group

74.6 points

Average scores Acquainta Virtual nce with Communication Foreigners for Educational 100 max Purposes 100 max

Total 300 max

69.0 points

58.0 points

206.2

68.7 %

72.2 points

56.8 points

203.6

67.9 %

Verbal Interpretation of the data

Foreign language proficiency score (total score for English and German)10 0 max 79.2 points

% Interpretation of CCC

Table 3: Input Diagnostics Results

Sufficien t level of CCC Sufficien t level of CCC

Table 4: Rate Interpretation of the Input Diagnostics Results Level of CCC 270-300 points – High level 221-269 points – Good level 180-220 points – Sufficient level ≤179 points – Unsatisfactory level

Control group Number of % of Respondents Respondents 8 13.3%

Experimental group Number of % of Respondents Respondents 7 12.5%

15

25.0%

18

32.1%

27

45.0%

22

39.3%

10

16.7%

9

16.1%

Figure 1 presents graphical interpretation of the distribution of respondents by the level of CCC according to the data of the primary diagnostics. From the diagram form, it is obvious how distributed the results of input diagnostics among control and experimental groups.

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Figure 1: Distribution of respondents by CCC level (Input Data)

The results of the initial diagnostics of the level of CCC in both groups of respondents were expectedly low. However, this added to the topicality and determined the space for further implementation of the survey. The difference between the two groups of respondents in the level of the CCC averaged only 0.8%. This error can be considered acceptable. Both groups can be seen as having equal potential to increase CCC. This makes the research as objective as possible in the long run, and the data obtained are reliable.

It should be noted that the greatest difficulties in both groups arose during the Acquaintance with Foreigners and Virtual Communication for Educational Purposes. That is, those who needed to apply cross-cultural skills by means of a foreign language. Since the essence of competence as a concept lies not only in theoretical knowledge, but primarily in the ability to successfully apply this knowledge in practice, the CCC is insufficient in both groups. Special attention should be paid to this side of the problem when applying the tactics of the formative experiment.

After receiving the results of the initial diagnosis, the control group (60 pupils) continued their studies according to the usual curriculum. Let us recall that cross-cultural competence is included in the curriculum as a component of the following competencies of pupils (based on the resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: The State Standard of Basic and Complete General Secondary Education of November 23, 2011 (Resolution No. 1392) as amended of August 7, 2013 (Resolution No. 538) and February 26, 2020 (Resolution No. 143): general cultural competence, social competence (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 2020). The typical curricula of secondary schools of Level III, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on April 20, 2018 (Order No. 406) contain a separate competence in the list of ten competencies of cross-cultural attitudes — awareness and self-expression in the field of culture. The implementation of this competence is most common in such educational areas

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as: Languages and Literatures, Social Sciences, Art (Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 2018). Thus, the fact that the control group was not involved in the formative part of the experiment does not mean that the CCC within the group could potentially remain without the dynamics of change. The development of the CCC is provided by any current curriculum. Therefore, after the formative experiment, it is expected that the CCC rates increase in both groups of participants, but it should be monitored to what extent this will happen in the experimental and control groups.

However, an experimental group of respondents (56 students) took a course designed for 3 semesters to intensify the level of CCC as part of the fulfilment of the research objectives. It was implemented through cross-culturally determined integration of the following subjects: Foreign Language (English + German), Foreign Literature, World History. In addition, the experimental group created a hobby group Youth Crossing World’s Cultures (under the guidance and with the assistance of the school administration, subject teachers and the team of authors of this study). Table 5 briefly summarizes activities in these areas.

Table 5: The content of the experimental course on the intensification of CCC Item No. 1.

2.

Name of the direction Foreign language (English + German)

World Literature

Activities

Work organization methods

Stimulation of oral and written activities in order to expand theoretical knowledge and verbal practical communication skills in a multicultural environment.

- use of special resources to deepen crosscultural knowledge. For example, https://www.commisceo-global.com/ https://www.globalcognition.org/ https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/ehrafe / https://bibliotheksportal.de (Intercultural library work from A to Z) https://www.ikf.ch (Transcultural Communication & Skills); - the predominance of dialogic and group forms of in-class interaction (conversations, discussions, creative projects); - viewing videos about the culture of different peoples of the world; - acquaintance and regular communication with foreign web-friends; - regular online conferences and offline meetings with English-speaking representatives of different countries, etc.

- the method of careful reading of texts; - problematic conversation; - discussion; - reader’s diary; - research of textual models of representation of cultural features in texts.

Study of authentic works provided by the curriculum and extracurricular works.

Emphasis on the ways of representation

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3.

World History

4.

Youth Crossing World’s Cultures hobby group

5.

Integrated lessons

of national culture in texts, the study of phraseological units, traditions, features of language used by writers.

In-depth study - culturological report; of national - preparation of reports and abstracts; cultures and - problematic conversations and cultural features discussions; of the peoples of - historical simulation; the world in - visiting museums around the world accordance with online; historical - regular 5-minute political information. periods.

Creative - creative workshops; understanding - theatrical performances; of the acquired - brain rings; knowledge - regular information polemical publication about the Youth Crossing World’s Cultures, etc. cultures of the peoples of the world.

Regular combined lessons with active involvement of interdisciplinary links. For example, the study of the First World War (history) + geography (European countries) + foreign literature (study of the works of writers of the war era — E.-M. Remarque, E. Hemingway). Presentation and reflection of the content of educational material in English and German.

The authors of this article were developing methods, prepared teaching materials, special training of subject teachers on a regular basis during the implementation of the formative experiment.

The groups of respondents were re-diagnosed at the end of the time provided for the formative experiment. Tables 6-7 present the results of the secondary diagnostics.

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Tota l 300 max

Verbal Interpretation of the data

Average score Foreign Psychol Basic Commu Essay language ogical Cross- nication writing proficiency cross- Cultur in cross- 50 max score cultural al cultural attitude Know- environ Germ s ledge ment Eng. . evaluati 50 max 50 max 50 50 max on max 50 max

% Interpretation of CCC

Table 6: Output Diagnostics Results

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Control group

40.

2

34

42.3

31.0

34.0

37.5

219.0

73.0 %

Sufficient level

Experim ental group

43.

3

37

46.1

45.0

43.0

42. 6

257.0

85.7 %

Good level

Table 7: Rate Interpretation of the Output Diagnostics Results Level of CCC 270-300 points – High level 221-269 points – Good level 180-220 points – Sufficient level ≤179 points – Unsatisfactory level

Control group Number of % of Respondents Respondents 9 15.0% 21 35.0%

Experimental group Number of % of Respondents Respondents 12 21.4% 29 51.8%

23

38.3%

12

21.4%

7

11.7%

3

5.4%

Figure 2 is a graphical interpretation of the distribution of respondents by the level of CCC according to the secondary diagnostics data.

Figure 2: Distribution of respondents by CCC level (Output Data)

It is obvious from Figure 2 that the qualitative differences between the two initially more homogeneous groups deepened as a result of the formative experiment. By the middle of the chart (“CCC quality zone”), the indicators of the experimental group are higher: the differences in favour of the experimental group were 6.4% for the High Level of CCC, and as much as 16.5% for the Good Level of CCC. Let us recall that at the stage of primary diagnostics, the highest difference between the data of the two groups was found at the Good Level (7.1% in favour of the experimental one). On the contrary, the indicators of the control group are in the lead from the middle of the chart (“CCC problem area”): the difference was 16.9% at the Sufficient Level and 6.3% at the Unsatisfactory Level.

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At the stage of the formative experiment, the most problematic assignments for the control group were Basic Cross-Cultural Knowledge (62% of quality rate), Communication in Cross-cultural Environment (68% of quality rate) and Germany knowledge test (68% of quality rate). Similarly, the experimental group faced the greatest difficulties with Germany knowledge test (74% of quality rate) and Communication in Cross-Cultural Environment (86% of quality rate). In the long run, the data of the experimental group have space for improvement, but still are not as low as in the control group in the qualitative terms.

It should also be noted that in both groups of respondents high level of attitudes towards cross-cultural openness was found out. This was mostly during the process Psychological Cross-Cultural Attitudes evaluation and Essay Writing (Nationality and Internationality in the Globalized World). However, the essays of the experimental group respondents differed by greater argumentation and in-depth understanding of national culture and multiculturalism in the modern world. While in the essays of the control group of respondents the the desire to fully integrate into the world of multiculture and assimilate in was found out as dominant. Instead, the line of preserving national identity in multicultural discourse, which was urged in the Introduction section of this study, is clearly traced in most of the works of the experimental group pupils. Table 8 summarizes the dynamics of CCC changes for both groups of respondents.

OD

Control group

206.

2

219.

0

Experimen tal group

203.

6

257.

0

% Interpretati on of CCC

Verbal Interpretation of the data (Level of CCC) ID OD

Dynamics

ID*

Dynamics

CCC in Scores 300 max.

Dynamics

Table 8: Dynamics of CCC changes according to the Input and Output Diagnostics Data

ID

OD

+12.

8

68.7 %

73.0 %

+4.3%

Sufficie nt level

Sufficie nt level

No changes

+53.

4

67.9 %

85.7 %

+17.8 %

Sufficie nt level

Good level

1 Level Improvi ng

*ID = Input Diagnostics; OD = Output Diagnostics

Thus, the secondary diagnosis of CCC allowed identifying a generally noticeable tendency to improving the initial level of CCC (comparably to the results of Input Diagnostics) in both groups. However, in the experimental group, the percentage increase in the level of CCC was 4 times greater than the level of the control group. If we compare the indicators of primary and secondary diagnostics in points, it becomes obvious that the control group also came very close to the threshold of overcoming the Sufficient Level by the number of CCC points scored. There are 2 points left to overcome the barrier. Understanding the

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possible inaccuracies in the study, we can say that the control group also showed positive dynamics for a period of one and a half years in terms of quality. Thus, the results of mathematical and statistic interpretation of diagnostic data of both studied groups were quite expected, which confirms the correctness of the proposed approaches. However, the indicators of data analysis by individual respondents in both groups were not that much straightforward.

There were 3 respondents of the experimental group and 6 respondents of the control group who showed a negative trend towards the reduction in the level of CCC. It was found later, in a conversation with the organizers of the experiment, that the reason was problems with motivation to learn in general.

According to the objective no. 5 (see Aims and Objectives paragraph), two stages of diagnostics (input and output stages) also confirmed the thesis of the study on the potential relationship between the level of CCC and the level of foreign language proficiency. The CCC of respondents with excellent and good scores in a foreign language (English — the first foreign language, German — the second foreign language) was evidently higher in 74% of cases. The hypothesis was not confirmed in 3% of cases: respondents with excellent and good scores for a foreign language showed a Sufficient Level of CCC. A careful analysis of the essays of senior pupils and post-factum interviews allowed revealing some cultural bias (ethnocentrism) of these participants.

In general, the method of intensified development of CCC and implementation of CCC in the modern school proved to be effective and can be further applied with adaptations and necessary concretizations in accordance with the specific pedagogical environment.

6. Discussion Official statistics confirm that it is almost impossible to find a school or even a separate class which is homogeneous in terms of socio-cultural background of pupils in European metropolises today (Huber, 2012). Purposeful development of the CCC in the modern young generation is a prerequisite for ensuring the quality functioning of pupil’s personality in a modern integrated and globalized society (Poole, 2019; Mittelmeier et al., 2018).

The study provided sound insights for understanding of the fact that the implementation of a cross-cultural approach in the paradigm of school education has a number of features. The level of CCC is influenced by numerous factors. CCC is inevitably associated with cross-cultural communication (Meiramova, 2017; Lee et al., 2020). It is in the cross-cultural communication where CCCs become relevant. As a result, knowledge of foreign languages significantly deepens the CCC and enables effective cross-cultural interaction. In fact, learning a foreign language creates the most favourable pedagogical environment for the intensification of CCC. Foreign languages are both tools and knowledge sources for CCC. In the process of the research conduction we checked and confirmed the thesis of the researchers (Elaish et al., 2017; Moll et al. 2017; Shadiev et al., 2019, etc.) on

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the direct interdependence between the study of foreign languages and the level of cross-cultural psychological attitudes. Accordingly, CCC is really higher in respondents with higher academic achievements in foreign languages studied in the paradigm of the curriculum of the selected secondary school (English —the first foreign language, German — the second foreign language) However, the sphere of CCC development is not only foreign languages. We think about a modern cross-culturally competent young person only as wellinformed, open to multicultural interaction, ready for cultural mutual enrichment. Therefore, such subjects as World History, Foreign Literature, Geography, specialized electives, etc. can be called the cognitive and ideological centers of the development of the CCC in the paradigm of school education, in addition to foreign languages. When developing the CCC, one should remember that the actual cross-cultural approach to schooling in no way undermines ethnic or national identity. On the contrary, they are an integral part of the CCC. National identity and ethnoidentity is what a person broadcasts to the world in an environment of multicultural interaction. They express the cultural self-worth of the individual as a carrier of a particular culture. National and ethnic cultural peculiarities are what a person, as their carrier, extrapolates to the multicultural world and how he/she identifies himself/herself. A person with erased national and ethnic traits is culturally inferior, he/she has nothing to share with the world, if it is about the cross-cultural dimension of understanding the concept of intercultural contact. Therefore, the background of the CCC is also school subjects that form pupil’s cultural identity (native language, literature, history, folklore, etc.).

The implementation of the cross-cultural approach in school should begin with the involvement of low-context cultures in cross-cultural interaction. A successful tool for implementing a cross-cultural approach is to create an authentic cross-cultural space in school, in particular, through the realization of school partnership opportunities (Teutsch, 2012; Wagle et al., 2018; Conway et al., 2017). In other cases, the implementation of the cross-cultural component in learning (especially the development of practical skills that make up the CCC) should be organized on the principle of cross-cultural modelling. However, our experience of the success of cross-cultural modelling and intensification of CCC by means available in the context of schooling (that is without travelling abroad and experience of living in a multicultural environment outside pupils’ country) contradicts the scientific position of Minick and Seeberg (2012), Mansilla and Jackson (2011). In particular, Minick and Seeberg (2012) emphasize that the successful and stable development of the CCC requires direct interaction with the cross-cultural world. Active engagement with the world provided more direct experiences rather than just learning about them (Mansilla & Jackson, 2011). Such theses are difficult to refute.

Therefore, in the process of discussing the results, the authors of our study further found that the highest level of CCC were students who often visit abroad and communicate with foreigners, conduct direct intercultural dialogue outside of purely school activities on the formation and development of CCC spectrum.

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At the same time, the lowest level of CCC was found in students with a very narrow and limited range of out-of-school communication, in particular, those who had never been abroad and did not communicate directly with representatives of other cultures. This confirms the thesis (Huber, 2012; Graham et al., 2019) that the school is not the only source of CCC formation. However, the main task of the school is not only to stimulate the CCC, but also to fundamentally correct, democratic laying the foundations for the further development of the CCC. The school should integrate influences on the foruming of multicultural attitudes and direct them in the right direction.

Because to take a direct part in laying the same direction for the direct development of the CCC. In this context, the main problem of implementing such an approach to CCC stimulation is the limited resources of schooling. At the present stage of educational development, not every educational institution has the opportunity to introduce new experimental CCC-oriented curricula with the practice of intensifying CCC in a multicultural space outside the school (ideally — frequent travel abroad, close cooperation with foreign partner schools). The intercultural component is a component of communicative competence in any modern standard curriculum (Ikpeze, 2015). Minick and Seeberg (2012), continuing the theme of CCC development, write about the maximum use of Web 2.0 technologies in multicultural learning. Although online communication cannot, according to the authors, fully compensate for the benefits of direct crosscultural contact.

The process of purposeful pedagogical influence in order to develop the CCC should be interpreted through the prism of facilitation as a process of planning the development and transformation of the individual in the process of interaction with other cultures. Pedagogical facilitation in the cross-cultural education has an initiating, supporting, facilitating, developmental function (Solodka, 2014a). This is a planned action of immersing the individual in the world of other cultures. Facilitation is based on knowledge of value-driven behaviour of representatives of other cultures, focuses on the congruence of communication strategies, the impact on the development of modification attitudes of the individual’s perception of other cultures. Cooperation and participation are the foundations of facilitation (Solodka, 2014b).

It is also important to note that the process of CCC formation is not uniform (Ikpeze, 2015) and in the future in the context of wider time ranges may tend to decrease or increase. However, these deviations are often not too radical and significant. However, the identification of fluctuations and the causes of such fluctuations could be an interesting area for further research on the theoretical and practical aspects of the formation of the CCC. As the analysis of the obtained results showed, an important background for the implementation of the cross-cultural approach in school is the psychological openness of pupils to multicultural interaction (ethnorelativistic position — Bennett (1993). Such factors as cultural receptivity, readiness for cross-cultural

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communication are integral components of CCC (Solodka, 2014a; Glasbeek, 2017).

CCC in a broad sense is a synergy of: - psychological, socio-cultural, linguo-cultural knowledge; - verbal, nonverbal, paraverbal communication skills; - behavioural attitudes, mechanisms of imitation, identification, stereotyping, generalization (Solodka, 2014a).

All outlined aspects of cross-culturality were taken into account in the development of diagnostic methods of this study. On the one hand, the multivector research approach to the interpretation and diagnostics of CCC allows us to talk about the objectivity and reliability of the data. On the other hand, CCC is an abstract concept that is determined by the specific situation of multicultural interaction. Therefore, the transitional stages of CCC development (for example, Sufficient Level of CCC) can be expressed in higher (Good level of CCC) or lower (Unsatisfactory Level of CCC) forms in real, unforced cross-cultural situations.

6. Conclusion The implementation of the cross-cultural approach in the modern school in the context of the modern educational paradigm has sharply shifted from the category of recommendations, propaganda to the category of clear, documented requirements. The method of intensive implementation of the cross-cultural approach in the modern school has shown significant effectiveness provided that there is enough time for its implementation (for example, 1.5 years, as suggested by the study). The developed models of diagnosis of CCC in various ways (cognitive, activity, psychological) assess the formation of this competence in secondary school students. They can continue to be used in empirical research to measure CCC in high school students. In an adapted (simplified) form, these techniques can be used for research in junior school classrooms.

The innovative nature of the current study is: - high-quality and mutually beneficial, mutually beneficial integration of theoretical and practical research aspects of the formation of the CCC in the learning process in secondary school; - developed and implemented on an experimental basis a program to stimulate the CCC; - developed and implemented author's system of complex diagnostics of CCC; - the integrative nature of research based on advanced scientific papers on the categorization of CCC in modern contexts of the globalized world; - interaction and subject dialogue with researches of modern authors concerning CCC; - multi-vector coverage of research results and the depth of scientific generalizations about the nature and manifestations of CCC, as well as the peculiarities of CCC development in the context of school education.

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Some other innovative generalizing aspects of the general problem of coordination of the phenomenon of CCC and the phenomenon of school education are given below.

It is advisable to implement a cross-cultural approach in the context of modern schooling through the facilitation tactics. Motivational and activity attitudes of pupils and teaching staff also significantly influence the development of pupils’ CCC. CCC requires integrity, systematization, synergy of pedagogical action.

Therefore, cross-cultural education of the younger generation is effective through the integration of school subjects, in-class and extracurricular activities.

The difference in the level of the CCC at the stage of secondary diagnostics between the control and experimental groups indicates the potential of activities towards stimulating the CCC. On the other hand, this indicates the shortcomings of typical school curricula for the development of the pupils’ CCC. Only a person who stays in a multicultural environment and successfully realizes the range of his/her intentions can speak about a properly and fully developed CCC. Outside the direct practice of CCC, it is impossible to reliably assert the equivalence of the indicators that we obtained and the real crosscultural potentials of schoolchildren. However, the digitalized modern educational space opens new horizons for the implementation of the crosscultural approach in modern schools. This is partly reflected in this study. Other opportunities for the development of the issue of cross-culture and school education in this way can be promising areas for further research on the topic.

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relationships. Higher Education, 75(1), 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734017-0131-3 Moll, L. C., Diaz, S., Estrada, E., & Lopes, L. M. (2017). Making contexts: The social construction of lessons in two languages. In Cross-cultural literacy: Ethnographies of communication in multiethnic classrooms (pp. 339-366). Taylor and Francis. https://arizona.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/making-contexts-the-socialconstruction-of-lessons-in-two-languag My World Abroad. (2018). My cross-cultural knowledge and skills. https://myworldabroad.com/quizzes/gsa/10290 Nordgren, K. (2017). Powerful knowledge, intercultural learning and history education.

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Appendix A Method of determining the score for English language proficiency: UA Main Session 2018-year External Independent Evaluation Test (fragment)

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Appendix B Method of determining the score for German language proficiency: UA Main Session 2018-year External Independent Evaluation Test (fragment)

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Appendix C Psychological cross-cultural attitudes evaluation “My Cross-cultural Knowledge and Skills” (fragment) Assess your cross-cultural openness with this quiz 1.

How diverse is your social circle? Do you have social relationships with people from different religions, cultures, ethnicities and/or sexual orientations? a) No, I don't. I prefer to socialize with people I can relate to. b) Sort of. I talk to people from different backgrounds in school-related situations, but I usually find it difficult to become good friends with them. c) I have one or two friends from different backgrounds. I don’t go out of my way to make friends with people who have different perspectives or beliefs. d) Yes, my social circle reflects the diversity around me. I think a diverse group of friends can really enrich your life.

2.

Are you curious about international issues? Do you inform yourself about key issues in the international news? a) Not really. I generally just pay attention to local news. b) Sort of. I follow major international news stories that are reported on national stations. c) Yes, I seek out any international news stories reported through sources in my home country. (US sources: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBCAmerica, The Daily Beast; Canadian sources: The Globe and Mail, CBC, National Post, Le Devoir.) d) Yes, I follow the media and regularly consult Websites or publications from outside North America. (International sources: BBC World, The Economist, The Guardian Weekly, Al Jazeera, etc.)

3.

Are you an adventurous eater? What would you do if a foreign student prepared you an elaborate, spicy meal with ingredients you’d never even heard of? a) Yikes! I’d probably thank them but wouldn’t try it. I don’t like eating strange foods. b) I’d be uneasy, but would try a few bites in order not to hurt her feelings. I’m sure I wouldn’t really like it. c) I would eat what the student made. Even if I didn’t like it, I would try to think of it as a learning experience! d) I would eat it, of course! If you don’t try new things, you’ll never know if you like them. Whether I liked it or not I’d be sure to ask about the ingredients and other food customs from the student’s home country.

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4.

Could you share living space with an international student or host family abroad? How would you adjust to living with an international student or local family while abroad? a) I don't think I would deal with it particularly well. My personal space is very important to me. b) It would be fine as long as we had some rules in place about personal space, kitchen usage and other parts of home life. c) I think I'd be good at compromising. It might even be interesting to see how other cultures do things at home. d) I'd love to live with someone from another background. What better way to learn about the intricacies of their culture and understand, for example, how others define the concepts of personal space?

5.

What experience do you have of living abroad? Have you been abroad to volunteer, intern, study, work or for cross-cultural travel? a) No, I have done none of the above. b) No, but I am considering going abroad to volunteer, intern, study, work or travel. c) Yes. I have spent time in another country for up to three months. d) Yes. I have spent time in another country for more than three months.

6.

Can you travel independently? How would you deal with traveling alone in a foreign country? a) I’d be very anxious, especially if I didn’t speak the language. I’d rather stay home than go alone. b) I would be nervous. I’d want to plan all the details of my journey before leaving and would try to make sure local people show me around. c) I might find some parts of it challenging, but I think I could rise to the occasion if I pushed myself. d) Traveling alone is the best way to experience a foreign culture. I’d be confident and open to any unexpected opportunity that presented itself.

7.

Can you travel in a way that is “street smart?” If you were traveling alone in a foreign city, and weren’t sure which areas were safe, what would you do? a) I’d probably just go wherever I wanted, no matter the time of day. Worrying about safety would ruin my trip. b) I would go wherever I wanted, but I’d make sure I always knew my location and had a sense of my surroundings. c) I would consult my guidebook to see if there were any areas to avoid and I’d steer clear of those areas. If I got lost, I’d approach local merchants for directions. d) I’d talk to local people about safety before exploring the town. I’d try to make my dress and body language blend in to avoid drawing attention to myself and hire a guide if necessary.

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8.

Do you consider yourself to be self-aware? If you were traveling in a foreign country where you got the impression that everyone was staring at you, what would you do? a) I would get angry and make it clear that I didn’t want to be looked at.

Tourists should be allowed to go where they like without people making them feel uncomfortable. b) I would leave the area fairly quickly. I don’t like being looked at. c) I would look to see what other people were doing and try to see whether I was in some way drawing attention to myself. d) I would ask a local person to help me behave appropriately, and I’d have to accept that I might get attention simply because I’m a foreigner.

9.

Are you resourceful in frustrating circumstances? Imagine that you have twice submitted paperwork requesting an extension on your visa while interning abroad; now the government official says that you have to return with yet another document. What do you do? a) I would storm out of the office. My time is too valuable to waste on bureaucratic procedures. I skip getting the visa extension and prepare to take my chances without it. b) I would comment on how inefficient the place was and ask to speak to a supervisor. c) My body language might show my disappointment, but I would comply with the request. d) I would ask the official to write down what was needed and ask whether I could bring my documentation back to him directly. A personal touch might make the process run more smoothly!

10.

Would you be respectful of other cultures’ traditions abroad? a) How would you feel in a country where you had to be very conscious of your clothing, gestures, etc.? (For example, in a country where traditional, modest dress was the custom.) b) I would feel anxious. I’d only change how I dress and behave if I was forced to. c) I would feel a little uncomfortable, but I could tolerate it, especially if it was only for a short period. d) I might not feel like myself in the beginning, but I’d be aware that showing respect would help me become integrated into my host culture. e) I understand the importance of being respectful and culturally sensitive about my appearance and gestures. I’d learn how to recognize my host country’s cultural cues as quickly as I could and enjoy adapting to them as necessary.

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Appendix D Cognitive Test “Basic Cross-Cultural Knowledge Test” (fragment) 1. In what country is it considered a compliment to slurp loudly while eating soup? a) Iceland b) Russia c) Japan d) Colombia 2. You are in Amman, Jordan, and you are invited to go to the souk. Where will you be going? a) Mosque b) Market c) Park d) Turkish bath 3. In Italy, mums and roses are the favored flowers to take when invited to dinner. True or False? a) True b) False 4. In many countries, it is perfectly normal for men to be physically affectionate with each other. True or False? a) True b) False 5. In which country would showing up half an hour late for an invitation be considered rude? a) Greece b) Switzerland c) Panama d) Guinea 6. If you are having dinner with a business partner in Argentina, when is it appropriate to talk business? a) As soon as you sit down at the table b) After some polite table conversation c) After the meal is through d) Never 7. In Egypt, you have been invited to a meal at a family home. Towards the end of the meal you are very full. Your hostess offers you more food. What should you do? a) Politely refuse. b) Accept and eat everything on your plate. c) Accept and take a small bite. d) Accept and ask if you can take it with you.

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8. While in South Korea for a business meeting, you present a gift to a business associate to thank him for his hospitality and to build the relationship. He refuses to accept the gift. You should: a) Apologize for offending him b) Insist he takes the gift until it is accepted c) Quietly keep the gift 9. In India, you are invited to a friend’s house to share a meal of rice and curry. What is the best way to eat? a) Using a spoon b) Using your left hand only c) Using your right hand only d) Using both hands 10. In which country would you expect to see students knock on their desks after a particularly good lecture or presentation? a) Brazil b) Uganda c) Thailand d) Germany 11. Which of the following is considered poor etiquette in Japan? a) Offering a gift with two hands b) Placing your chopsticks upright in your food c) Taking off your shoes before entering someone's home 12. Which colour should you avoid wearing in Brazil? a) Red b) Purple c) Yellow 13. In India, what do vegetarian Hindus typically not eat? a) Meat, fish, seafood, eggs and any dairy products b) Meat, fish, seafood and eggs c) Meat, fish and seafood 14. In which country is the number 4 considered unlucky? a) China b) Mexico c) Iran 15. In which country does nodding the head up and down mean 'no' rather than 'yes'? a) Bulgaria b) Russia c) Thailand 16. Which country has the most time zones?

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a) b) c)

Russia China France

17. Which of the following is not one of the five pillars of the Islamic religion? a) Haj b) Ramadan c) Puja 18. What is the Chinese term used to describe the concept of having a network of reciprocal relationships? a) Kegi b) Mianzi c) Guanxi 19. Which of the following would you not offer as a gift to a Chinese business partner? a) A clock b) Wine c) A pen 20. What is Jewish New Year commonly known as? a) Rosh Hashanah b) Yom Kippur c) Hanukkah 21. You are managing a local team in China. How do you respond to the fact that after several weeks in your role nobody in the team seems able to make eye contact with you? a) You are worried that the team don't trust or respect you as they can't look you firmly in the eye. b) You aren't concerned as you know that in China firm eye contact is not expected and is seen as inappropriate between managers and their teams. c) You think that perhaps there is a language issue and the team is embarrassed that they don't understand everything you say.

22. What one piece of advice would you give to a colleague embarking on their first professional international assignment? a) Be yourself and remain true to your own values and principles. When you are working internationally it's important to be authentic as it can be very stressful to try to be someone you're not. b) Do everything you can to learn the local language and become fluent. You will only understand how people operate if you speak their language. c) Be aware that your new colleagues may work differently to how we do and be ready to adapt your usual style.

23. You have taken over the management of an international team based in Dubai. Halfway through your first formal meeting with the team one of them

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picks up all his things and leaves the room without saying anything. What do you do? a) Immediately follow them out to find out exactly what they are doing. b) Ask the rest of the team what they think the problem is it. c) Let the moment pass and continue the meeting then later speak with a trusted colleague to try and understand what might have caused them to leave the meeting.

24. When communicating with new team members who don't speak your language as their first language what is the best strategy? a) Speak more slowly and loudly than usual to avoid any misunderstanding. b) Speak naturally but make sure you avoid using colloquial language, jargon and idioms that may be difficult to understand. c) Identify the person who speaks your language best and get them to translate for the team.

25. You are on business overseas for two days and have the evening to yourself. How might you best spend your evening? a) Writing up your notes from your meetings while everything is fresh in your mind and preparing in detail for tomorrow's meetings. b) Taking a walk around town and having dinner in a restaurant frequented by locals and with no menus in translation. c) Checking out a local expatriate network social event.

26. You are delivering training to a group of Japanese expatriates on secondment at your offices and you notice that most of the group have their eyes closed while you are explaining a technical process. How do you interpret this? a) They are concentrating and listening hard. b) They are suffering from jet lag and struggling to stay awake. c) They have disengaged from your session.

27. You are spending a week visiting clients around Latin America where you understand there is a more relaxed attitude to time. When do you aim to arrive at your meetings? a) A few minutes ahead of the scheduled time just as you would at home. b) Within five to ten minutes after the scheduled time. c) Anywhere up to half an hour late as that is what you have experienced when these clients visited you at home.

28. What do you understand by ethnocentrism? a) Operating in an environment where everyone is from the same culture. b) Judging people from another culture only by the values and standards of your own culture. c) Experience your own and other cultures as relative to the context.

29. You are preparing for the launch meeting of a new international project team. How are you planning to run the meeting?

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a) To present the team with clear objectives, a detailed plan and to make clear your expectations about how the team will work together. b) To listen and observe as you invite the team to introduce themselves and brainstorm how they would like to work together and create team ground rules. c) To ask each team member to prepare a short presentation about their own experience and expertise and what they would like to achieve from working on the project.

30. Humour across cultures is: a) Best avoided as some cultures have a very different sense of humour and some cultures don't really have a sense of humour. b) Best used only if you share the same language otherwise humour is likely to get lost in translation. c) A great way to break the ice and build rapport providing you are careful about using complicated word play or cultural references that could be misunderstood.

31. What’s the most linguistically diverse COUNTRY in the world? (Hint: It’s actually not in Africa.) a) Papua New Guinea b) Dominican Republic c) New Zealand 32. In South Korea it is considered polite to: a) Finish all the food on your plate b) Refuse offers of more food at least 3 times c) Pay for the meal even if you are the guest 33. Who pays for a meal in France? a) Everyone shares it b) Host c) Guest 34. In India one should never offer someone food from their plate? a) True b) False 35. Jews are forbidden from eating which of these? a) Duck b) Lobster c) Tuna 36. At a dinner in Hong Kong where will the guest of honour be seated? a) b) c)

To the left of the host To the right of the host Opposite the host

37. In Bolivia bananas should be eaten with a knife and fork

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a) b)

True False

38. In the Middle East which of these should you avoid when eating?

Drinking anything a) Eating with a full mouth b) Using your left hand 39. In Belgium how many times should you raise your glass when toasting? a) b) c)

Once Twice Thrice

40. What is so special about July the 4th in the USA? a) Thanksgiving Day b) Columbus Day c) Independence Day d) War Veterans Day 41. Eating with your hands is considered impolite in the USA. a) True b) False 42. Which religion is most practiced in the USA? a) Shamanism b) Islam c) Christianity d) Judaism 43. What is the American national anthem called? a) Star-Mangled Spanner b) Star-Spangled Banner c) Star-Lighted Flagger 44. Americans tend to stand close to one another when talking. a) True b) False 45. Which of these would be inappropriate to take as a gift to someone’s home (in the USA)? a) Chocolates b) Alcohol c) Plant d) Cash 46. In terms of business dress, which is considered the more relaxed and casual? a) West Coast

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b)

East Coast

47. Which would you say best describes American communication style? a) b)

Direct Indirect

48. Which of these are taboo in public? a) Showing affection b) Spitting c) Talking business 49. Which of the following may be construed as a sign of weakness in Canada? a) A weak handshake b) Making direct eye contact c) Wearing gloves 50. When doing business in Quebec it is a requirement by law that it be conducted in which language? a) English b) Canadian c) French

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 245-264, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.13

The Mediating Effects of Ego Resilience on the Relationship between Professionalism Perception and Technostress of Early Childhood Teachers Sungwon Kim Chongshin University, Seoul, South Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4123-5204 Jiyoung Lee Tarlac State University, Tarlac, Philippines https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6972-1282

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to provide information regarding the effects of professionalism perception and ego resilience, the dependent variable and mediator respectively, on the technostress of early childhood teachers. The research subjects were 200 early childhood teachers teaching at kindergartens or childcare centers in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province. The data were analyzed through a reliability test, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and structural equation modelling. Research findings were as follows: First, there were significant differences in professionalism perception by type of institution, teaching experience, education background and age of teachers, differences in technostress by type of institution, teaching experience, age of child in care, and age of teachers; and differences in ego resilience by type of institution and age of child in care. Second, there were negative correlations between professionalism perception and technostress, as with technostress and ego resilience, while there is a positive correlation between professionalism perception and ego resilience. Third, ego resilience has a mediating effect on the relationship between professionalism perception and technostress. The findings suggest that the effect of professionalism perception on technostress can be strengthened further by ego resilience.

Keywords: early childhood teacher; ego resilience; mediating effects; professionalism perception technostress

1. Introduction Korean schools have recently postponed their on-campus start dates due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and have started the school year online (Price, 2020).

Teleclasses, which were thought to be possible only decades in the future, have become a reality due to COVID-19 (Lee & Shin, 2020). Students meet with teachers ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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and friends through monitors and attend classes online. Students and teachers can freely access the necessary materials by using devices such as personal computers and smartphones, and submit assignments on subject content online (Collins, 2020; Zhong, 2020). Since the outbreak of COVID-19, utilizing a remote education system in the education field has now become a necessity, and is not an option anymore (Lee & Shin, 2020). However, when teachers are unfamiliar with realtime online video programs, there may be problems with class management.

Teachers employ various technological devices in this work, and those who have difficulty dealing with these technological devices or business applications experience stress (Lee, S. H., 2015).

Early childhood teachers also use these devices, and the internet, to perform educational or childcare tasks and administrative work, and to consult parents. In addition, early childhood teachers use multimedia teaching materials, including smart TVs and electronic blackboards, for large-group activities, such as story sharing for educational work (Lee & Yang, 2016; Yoo et al., 2013). In Korea, kindergarten teachers use Nice and Edupine, and childcare teachers use integrated childcare information systems for administrative work (Lee, 2018a). Parent counselling methods are also adopting social media or smartphone apps (Lee, 2018b). A study that explored the possibility of remote kindergarten classes during the COVID-19 period reports that teachers provide play-related support for young children by posting videos, with content in line with the YouTube. The Kids Note app, which was previously used only as a means of information and notice delivery, is now used more actively by parents for uploading videos or photos of their children playing at home, on which teachers give feedback (Lee, 2020). In childcare centers, education on Coronavirus itself, and some activities, are being filmed by teachers and sent to parents. Afterwards, parents upload their child’s home activities on Kids Note (Kim, 2020). Research shows that kindergartens and childcare centers are conducting similar forms of education.

However, it has been reported that early childhood teachers are having difficulty using these tools at work, due to a lack of teacher training related to smart devices (Kim, 2017). Consequently, they can experience stress in the process of exposure and adaptation to new technologies.

Technostress, a term that combines technology and stress, was first proposed by Brod (1984). This term refers to the mental burden that arises from doing business by relying on information systems once technology has become part of the daily routine of an individual living in the information technology era. Tarafdar et al.

(2007) expound further on the concept, by identifying the components of technostress, namely, techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-uncertainty. Also, the stressed worker in the process of using technology experiences low job satisfaction, which has a negative effect on organizational productivity (Tarafdar at al., 2007). Other studies have also been conducted on teachers, such as on factors that influence environmental support variables, like TPACK (technological, pedagogical and content knowledge), and on school support and technostress (Joo et al., 2016).

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Technology is reported to be related to the development of professionalism. GessNewsome et al. (2003) found that teachers can enhance their professionalism by utilizing learning opportunities presented by e-learning. Considering that teachers use technology every day, Byrd (2017) proposes a technology-based platform for developing differentiated professionalism. In other words, technology can be used to enhance the professionalism of teachers, and it can be predicted that teachers with high levels of professionalism will have low levels of fear or stress about technology. Early childhood teachers’ perceptions of professionalism are negatively correlated to job stress, and have a negative influence on it (Kim & Cho, 2010; You & Hwang, 2014). Based on previous findings, it can be inferred that there will be a significant relationship between the professionalism perception and technostress of early childhood teachers. In addition, the ego resilience of early childhood teachers is related to their professionalism perception (Hwang & Kim, 2016; Park & Jun, 2010), and it affects job stress (Jwa & Oh, 2019; Kim & Moon, 2016; Lee & Lim, 2017). Overall, these findings suggest that ego resilience has a mediating effect between professionalism perception and technostress.

2. Literature Review 2.1 Professionalism Perception Because of Korea’s low birth rate, and women becoming more active in society, raising the national birth rate and supporting parenting has become a priority.

This situation has led to a quantitative growth of childcare centers and a rapid increase in the number of teachers. Against this backdrop, the government recently implemented supporting policies, such as extensive spending to pay for childcare benefits and expanded free childcare. Such short-term quantitative expansion of childcare and early childhood education is likely to lead to a decline in the quality of education (Mo & Kim, 2013). Considering that early childhood is a crucial period of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, and these developments are planned for, carried out, and greatly influenced by teachers (Mo & Kim, 2013; Nicholson & Reifel, 2011), teacher professionalism and teaching quality need to be enhanced, for the future benefit of society.

The professionalism of early childhood teachers is defined as the knowledge and skills that a childcare teacher must possess in order to provide high quality education and childcare. The actual teaching performance of early childhood teachers depends on the perception of their level of professionalism (Durkin, 1987; Hargreaves, 2000). Having such a perception of professionalism in one's job increases job satisfaction (Kim, 2005; Koo, 2004) and decreases stress (Kim, 2003; Myung, 2006). Other studies assert that professionalism perception is related to technostress (Gess-Newsome et al., 2003; Kim & Lee, 2017). Perception of professionalism, especially regarding the sub-factors of work ethics, professional knowledge, and technical requirements, were the predictors of early childhood teachers’ interaction with young children, reports Ku (2017). Shim and Shim's study (2019) found that teachers’ professionalism perception affects children’s internalization and externalization of problems. From existing literature regarding the topic, enhancing teachers’ professionalism perception can, thus, be

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seen as critical, not only for the teacher's individual growth, but also for children’s development.

2.2 Technostress Technostress refers to negative psychological behaviors and attitudes caused directly or indirectly by technology (Weil & Rosen, 1997). Ayyagari et al. (2011) describe technostress as the psychological inability to effectively handle information technology. Ragu-Nathan et al. (2008) define technostress as the stress caused by the dependency, working knowledge, user-level differences, and cultural change of information technology managers who work in conditions where they use new information technology. To sum up, technostress is a common symptom found in information technology workers. It is psychological pressure that arises from the difficulties caused by and inability to adapt to new information technology situations characterized by excessive amounts of information, and their inability to digest it. The devices people use often in their work – laptops, tablets, and smartphones – can increase technostress, especially when they are overused (Kim & Shin, 2016; Lee et al., 2014). Tarafdar et al. (2007, p. 315) suggest five factors that constitute technostress, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Definitions of sub-factors of technostress Factor

Definition

Technooverload

Increased work volume, faster work speed and changes in work habits caused by new information technology

Technoinvasion

New information technology invading one’s life, requiring one to spend time on acquiring new technology

Technocomplexity

Lack of competence in learning technology or dealing with complex new information technology

Technoinsecurity

Job anxiety caused by new-information-technology-induced job anxiety, fear of being replaced by more skilled people

Technouncertainty

Continuous change in new information technology

Çoklar et al. (2017) developed a teacher technostress scale, and present the factors involved as types of orientation: learning-teaching process, profession, technical, personal, and social. They found that teachers experienced high stress levels in technical issue orientation and social orientation. It has been reported that early childhood teachers also experience technostress (Kim & Lee, 2017), and teachers experience stress when they are afraid of using technological devices at work (Lee & Tsai, 2010). Based on these findings, this study aimed to examine the variables that predict technostress for early childhood teachers.

2.3 Ego Resilience One of the factors that lowers teacher stress is termed ego resilience. Ego resilience refers to people’s dynamic capacity to modify their level of self-control in response to the demanding characteristics of some environments. It has implications for one’s adaptive or equilibrative abilities under conditions of environmental stress, uncertainty, conflict or disequilibrium (Block, 1993). The

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common conceptual feature of ego resilience is the ability to respond in a flexible way to stress caused by environmental difficulties (Choi et al., 2016). The ego resilience of early childhood teachers is a psychological characteristic that minimizes the effects of stress caused by various problems at educational institutions, and that maintains positive emotions during new experiences, thereby enabling effective teaching activities or problem-solving (Lee & Pang, 2015). The ego resilience of early childhood teachers is negatively related to job exhaustion, and positivity – a sub-factor ego resilience – influences job exhaustion (Yang & Paik, 2017). In addition, there are significant correlations between job stress, the quality of the program of educational institution, and ego resilience.

Ego resilience of early childhood teachers plays a partially mediating role in the relationship between job stress and quality of program (Kim, 2018). To sum up, ego resilience is an influential variable in relation to stress and job exhaustion.

In this regard, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of variables that affect stress caused by technology-based approaches to education in early childhood education, and to propose alternatives based on the results. To accomplish these objectives systematically, this study raised the following research questions: 1.

Are there differences in the professionalism perception, technostress and ego resilience of the research respondents by personal background?

2.

What are the relationships between teachers’ professionalism perception, technostress, and ego resilience?

3.

What is the mediating effect of ego resilience in the relationship between professionalism perception and technostress?

3. Model This study was conducted to verify whether ego resilience has a mediating effect in the relationship between the professionalism perception and technostress of the early childhood teacher. In addition, the researchers investigated whether significant differences between each variable appear for type of institution, age of child in care, and teaching experience, education background and age of teacher.

Note. KNO: Knowledge and skills, CUM: Community service, AUT: Autonomy, INP: The importance of education, PRO: Professional organization, PRE: Professional ethic, SOC: Socioeconomic status, CON: Confidence, INT: Interpersonal efficacy, OPT: Optimistic attitude, AGE: Anger control, OVE: Techno-overload, INV: Techno-invasion, COM: Techno-complexity, INS: Techno-insecurity, UNC: Techno-uncertainty

Figure 1: Research framework

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4. Method 4.1 Respondents The number of study subjects was calculated using the G*Power selection number calculation program (Faul et al., 2007). The research respondents were 200 early childhood teachers working in kindergartens and childcare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The research data were collected through convenience sampling. Table 2 shows the results of frequency analysis to examine the demographic information of the research respondents.

Table 2. Demographic information

Institution type

Teaching experience

Child’s age

Category

N

%

Category

N

%

Private childcare center Public childcare center Private kindergarten

101

50.5

High school

13

6.5

31

15.5

College (2~3years)

82

41.0

62

31.0

University (4 years)

81

40.5

Public kindergarten

6

3.0

Graduate school

24

12.0

Under 5 years

83

41.5

20s

61

30.5

6~10 years

69

34.5

30s

88

44.0

11~15 years

34

17.0

40s

43

21.5

Over 16 years

14

7.0

50s

8

4.0

3 years

71

35.5

4 years

84

42.0

5 years

45

22.5

200

100.0

200

100.0

Total

Teacher’s education

Teacher’s age

Total

4.2. Measures Professionalism perception. To measure the professionalism perception of early childhood teachers, a scale originally developed by Lindsay and Lindsay (1984), revised and supplemented by Wi (2008), was used. The sub-factors of this scale are knowledge and skills (4 items), social service (4 items), autonomy (4 items), the importance of education (3 items), professional organizations (3 items), work ethics (3 items), and socio-economic status (4 items). There are 25 items in total, which are measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The higher the score, the higher the perception of one's professionalism as an early childhood teacher, and vice versa. In this study, Cronbach's α values were knowledge and skills 0.76, social service 0.79, autonomy 0.75, importance of education 0.83, professional organizations 0.85, vocational ethics 0.76, social and economic status 0.73, and overall, 0.92.

Technostress. To measure the technostress of early childhood teachers, the technostress scale developed by Tarafdar et al. (2007), modified and supplemented by Lee (2017), was used. The sub-factors of this scale are techno-

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overload (5 items), techno-invasion (4 items), techno-complexity (5 items), technouncertainty (5 items), and techno-insecurity (4 items). There are 23 items in total, measured with a 4-point Likert scale. A higher score means teachers' technostress is high. In this study, Cronbach's α values were techno overload .76, technoinvasion .87, techno-complexity .89, techno-insecurity .85, techno-uncertainty .87, and overall, .91.

Ego resilience. To measure ego resilience of early childhood teachers, Klohnen's (1996) scale, translated by Park (1996) and used in E. S. Lee’s study (2015), was used. The sub-factors of this scale are confidence (7 items), efficiency of interpersonal relationships (7 items), optimistic attitude (7 items), and anger control (2 items). There are 23 items in total, that are measured with a 5-point Likert scale. A higher score means teachers’ ego resilience is high. In this study, Cronbach's α values were confidence .85, efficacy of interpersonal relationships .93, optimistic attitude .93, anger control .75, and overall, .95.

4.3. Data Analysis Data analysis in this study was conducted using the SPSS 22.0 program and the AMOS 24.0 program. The procedures for research analysis were as follows. First, the mean value, distribution, and standard deviation and normality test of each variable were confirmed by descriptive statics, and the differences according to personal background were checked through t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to verify the correlations between variables. Second, the research model was constructed and analyzed by applying a structural equation model. The structural equation model has the advantage of being able to control measurement error by using common variances extracted using multiple measured variables as latent variables, and making it easier to use mediating variables (Kim et al., 2009). Model fit verification was determined by model fit indices, such as χ², GFI, TLI, CFI, and RMSEA. The mediating effects of ego resilience on professionalism perception and technostress were tested by the bootstrapping method.

5. Result 5.1 Descriptive Statistics The mean of professionalism perception is 3.61 (± .45), the mean of technostress is 2.40 (± .33) and the mean of ego resilience is 3.82 (± .50). Kline (2005) suggests that the normality assumption cannot be satisfied when the absolute value of the skewness is 3.0 or more, and the kurtosis value is 10.0 or more. In this study, skewness was between -.66 and .70, and kurtosis was between -.78 and 2.70, which satisfied the normality assumption.

5.2 Group Difference Analysis The differences in professionalism perception according to type of institution, teaching experience, age of child in care, and education background and age of teachers are shown in Table 3. The professionalism perception of early childhood teachers was significantly different by type of institution (F=3.89, p<.05), and posthoc analysis showed that the professionalism perception of public childcare center teachers was higher than those of private kindergartens. Differences in

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professionalism perception of early childhood teachers also appeared by teaching experience (F=2.71, p<.05). There was also a difference in professionalism perception by education background (F=4.65, p<.01), and post-hoc analysis showed that professionalism perception of high school graduates was significantly lower than counterparts in other groups. Differences in professionalism perception also appeared according to the age of the teacher (F=8.43, p<.001), and post-hoc analysis showed that professionalism perception of teachers in their 20s and 30s was significantly higher than that of teachers in their 40s.

There was a significant difference in the technostress of early childhood teachers by the type of institution (F=6.36, p<.001), and post-hoc tests showed that the

technostress of teachers working in private childcare centers was higher than that of teachers at public centers, and that of private kindergarten teachers. There was a significant difference in the technostress of early childhood teachers by teaching experience (F=7.95, p<.001). The score of teachers with 6~10 years of teaching experience was higher than that of teachers with less than 5 years and 11~15 years of teaching experience. There was a significant difference in the technostress by the age of children (F=4.78, p<.01). The score of teachers teaching 3-year-olds was higher than that of teachers of 4-year-olds. Technostress differed significantly according to the age of teacher (F=8.67, p<.001), and the scores of teachers in their 30s and 40s were higher than that of teachers in their 20s.

Results show a significant difference in ego resilience according to the type of institution (F=4.03, p<.01). Post-hoc tests showed that the ego resilience of teachers working in private childcare centers and public childcare centers was higher than that of teachers working in kindergartens. There was a significant difference in the ego resilience of early childhood teachers according to the age of children in their care (F=5.21, p<.01). The ego-resilience of teachers teaching 3-year-old children was higher than that of teachers of 5-year-olds. There was a significant difference in the ego resilience of early childhood teachers according to the age of the teacher (F=5.18, p<.01), and a post-hoc test showed that the ego resilience of teachers in their 20s was significantly higher than that of teachers in their 30s and 40s.

Table 3. Differences by teachers’ personal backgrounds Category Type of institution

N

Professionalism

Technostress

Ego resilience

M(SD)

M(SD)

M(SD)

Private childcare centera

101

3.65(.44)

2.50(.25)

3.88(.38)

Public childcare centerb

31

3.78(.40)

2.28(.26)

3.97(.39)

kindergartenc

62

3.47(.46)

2.33(.40)

3.66(.67)

Public kindergartend F Turkey

6

3.56(.31)

2.26(.40)

3.65(.40)

Under 5 yearsa

83

6.36*** b, c<a 2.35(.31)

4.03** c<a, b 3.85(.60)

Private

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Professionalism

Technostress

Ego resilience

M(SD)

M(SD)

M(SD)

69

2.53(.29)

2.53(.29)

3.82(.39)

11~15 yearsc

34

2.25(.39)

2.25(.39)

3.82(.22)

Over 16 yearsd

14

2.46(.16)

2.46(.16)

3.60(.79)

2.71*

7.95*** a, c<b

.99

Category Teaching experience

6~10

N

yearsb

F Turkey Age of child in care

3 yearsa

71

3.60(.42)

2.48(.30)

3.95(.32)

yearsb

84

3.67(.40)

2.32(.35)

3.80(.53)

5 yearsc

45

3.53(.55)

2.44(.28)

3.65(.62)

1.59

4.78** b<a

4

F Turkey Education

High schoola College

c<a

13

3.18(.08)

2.60(.02)

3.88(.04)

(2~3years) b

82

3.62(.27)

2.36(.24)

3.90(.36)

(4years) c

81

3.66(.56)

2.43(.40)

3.74(.63)

24

3.64(.51)

2.37(.37)

3.78(.55)

4.65** a<b, c, d

2.43

1.55

University

Graduate studiesd F Turkey Age of teacher

5.21**

20sa

61

3.76(.45)

2.34(.27)

3.99(.59)

30sb

88

3.65(.41)

3.35(.37)

3.76(.39)

40sc

43

3.35(.43)

3.62(.23)

3.65(.53)

50sd

8

3.48(.04)

3.41(.07)

4.00(.00)

8.43*** c<a, b

8.67*** a<b, c

5.18** b, c<a

F Turkey *p <.05, ***p<.01, ***p<.001

5.3 Correlation Analysis Correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationships among professionalism perception, technostress, and ego resilience. Professionalism perception showed a significant negative correlation with technostress (r=-.41, p<.001) and a significant positive correlation with ego resilience (r=.64, p<.001).

Technostress showed a significant negative correlation with ego resilience (r=-.43, p<.001), as shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Correlations between variables

1 1. Professionalism perception

2

-

2. Technostress

-.41***

-

3. Ego resilience

.64***

-.43***

***p<.001

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5.4 Mediating Effects Analysis Each of the criteria of the goodness of fit was met, as shown in Table 5. As a result of the analysis of the measurement model, χ²=205.143(p=.000), GFI=.895, TLI=.909, CFI=.933, RMSEA=.079, most of the fits met the criteria.

Table 5. Summaries of model fit CMIN

df

CMIN/df

RMSEA

AGFI

GFI

CFI

NFI

TLI

205.143

88

2.331

.079

.837

.895

.933

.890

.909

The path statistics shown in Figure 2 are standardized regression weights. Figure 2 offers support for the indirect effects of the model of childcare teachers’ professionalism perception in relation to technostress. The figure indicates that childcare teachers’ professionalism perception affects ego resilience. There was an indirect effect of ego resilience on technostress. The path coefficients and the result of examining hypothesized mediating effects are presented in Table 6.

Figure 2. Structural modeling Table 6. Mediation effects of ego resilience Beta

p

-.268

.010

PP → TS

-.153

.021

Std. Indirect Effect (ER)

-.115

.010

Model/Hypothesized Path

95% Confidence LB

UB

-.184

-.051

Full Mediation PP → ER → TS Direct Model

Note. PP professionalism perception, ER ego resilience, TS technostress.

The results in Table 6 show that there is a significant relationship between professionalism perception and technostress, if a standardized total effect of -.153 (p<.05) is used. In other words, the total effect of professionalism perception as independent variable on technostress as dependent variable, without the inclusion of ego resilience as mediator variable, was statistically significant.

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This relation remains insignificant after the inclusion of ego resilience in the model. With a standardized direct effect of -.268 (p<.05), the direct effect of professionalism perception as independent variable on technostress as dependent variable, with the inclusion of ego resilience as mediating variable, was statistically significant. Further mediation effects on technostress through ego resilience, with the standardized indirect effect of -.115 (p<.05) with LB -.184 and UB -.051, and mediation of ego resilience, was partial mediation.

6. Discussion This section will discuss the results of this study. First, differences were found in professionalism perception depending on type of institution, teaching experience, education background, and age of teacher. These results correspond, in part, with No’s (2013) finding that the professionalism perception of early childhood teachers differed depending on age, marital status, academic background, and age of children being taught, with high scores at 31 years of age or older, married, four-year college degree or higher, and infant class teachers. The findings that the teaching experience of early childhood teachers directly affects their professional development, and their educational background indirectly affects professional development through self-supervision and role-playing (Kim & Lee, 2008), also provides a rationale for the findings of this study.

Differences were found in technostress by type of institution, teaching experience, age of children taught, and age of teacher. Teachers at private childcare centers and those who have 6–10 years teaching experience, who are in their 30s and 40s, and in charge of 3-year-olds had technostress. These findings are partially in line with the literature, namely that there is a difference in technostress depending on the age of children being taught, and the certification of the teacher. In particular, infant and childcare teachers and kindergarten teachers with second-class licenses registered higher technostress than kindergarten teachers with first-class licenses (Kim & Lee, 2017). The results were also supported by the assertion that older people showed higher technostress than younger people (Kim & Chung, 2017).

Differences in ego resilience were found by type of institution, age of children being taught, and age of teacher. It was higher for childcare center teachers, teachers of 3-year-olds, and teachers in their 20s. These results are inconsistent with a result found by Park et al. (2018), that there was no difference in resilience between kindergarten and childcare center teachers, and that those aged 36 to 40 were more resilient than those aged 26 to 30. The results of this current study imply that, when planning teacher education related to professionalism perception, technostress, and ego resilience, factors related to type of institution, teaching experience, age of child in care, education background, and age of teacher should be considered.

Second, professionalism perception showed a negative correlation with technostress and a positive correlation with ego resilience. In addition, technostress showed a negative correlation with ego resilience. Similarly, the study of Kılınç et al. (2015) found a negative correlation between teacher

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professionalism and perceived stress. The result of this current study is consistent with the finding of You and Hwang (2014), that the professionalism perception of early childhood teachers showed a positive correlation with ego resilience. It is also in keeping with the result reported by a study by Elzohary et al. (2017), that there is a negative correlation between perceived stress and ego resilience.

Third, ego resilience has a mediating effect on the relationship between professionalism perception and technostress. This is partially consistent with previous studies that argue that early childhood teachers’ professionalism perception has a significant effect on stress (Kim & Cho, 2010; Yoo & Hwang, 2014). The result is also supported by a study by Sandilos et al. (2018), which considered professional development as a variable to lower the stress of teachers.

The result of the current study is partially consistent with the finding that the professionalism perception of early childhood teachers had a significant effect on ego resilience (Hwang & Kim, 2016; Park & Jun, 2010), and similar to the finding that the ego resilience of early childhood teachers had a significant effect on stress (Lee & Lim, 2017; Jwa & Oh, 2019). Studies examining the relationship between job stress and self-resilience report that the job stress of self-flexible teachers was relatively low (Kim & Hong, 2013; Yoo & Hwang, 2014). In other words, people with high ego resilience have a high regulatory ability to strengthen or weaken their level of tension and impatience, depending on the situation, so, they adapt successfully by responding flexibly to changing situational demands. People with low resilience, in contrast, have low control and lack flexibility in stressful situations, so, they cannot cope effectively (Block & Block, 1980; Block & Kremen, 1996). Based on these findings, the researchers recommend planning programs to increase ego resilience levels, in order to lower the technostress experienced by early childhood teachers.

7. Limitations First, the data in this study were collected in a self-reporting manner using questionnaires. It is possible that the research respondents could have failed to express their experiences and feelings sufficiently. Conducting in-depth studies through various qualitative methods, such as case studies, in-depth interviews, and participation observation, is recommended. Second, the technostress scale used in this study is one developed for the general public. Therefore, developing and using a technostress scale specifically for early childhood teachers could be helpful to expand understanding of their technostress, specifically.

8. Recommendations This study is meaningful in that it empirically analyzed the relationship between technostress and related variables. By contextualizing the results in an early childhood education setting, educational programs for enhancing professionalism need to be developed as the way to reduce the technostress of teachers, and to help them perform their roles more effectively. Plans to enhance teachers’ ego resilience, so that they can cope with technostress flexibly, need to be explored.

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9. Conclusion In this study, the differences in professionalism perception, technostress, and ego resilience, based on teachers’ personal backgrounds, correlations among variables, and the mediating effect of ego resilience on professionalism perception and technostress of early childhood teachers, were examined. The difference validation shows that the type of institution, the age of teachers, and the age of children in care are important factors that cause variability. The application of technology in the field of education continues to increase rapidly. This is especially true at this point in time, when, due to COVID-19, online teacher education is requested for support (Park & Bae, 2020), video clips of educational content and activities are being filmed, and social network service-based communication with parents are being strengthened for early childhood education. Therefore, this study is significant in that it was conducted at a time when remote classes became common. Considering this shift and the needs of the times, exploring alternatives to lower the technostress of early childhood teachers is essential, to ensure the successful application of technology and the delivery of quality early childhood education. Therefore, studies regarding teacher technostress need to be continuously conducted.

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Appendix Measurement Technostress Factor Questions Techno1. I am forced by this technology to work much faster overload 2. I am forced by this technology to do more work than I can handle 3. I am forced by this technology to work with very tight time schedules 4. I am forced to change my work habits to adapt to new technologies 5. I have a higher workload because of increased technology complexity Techno6. I spend less time with my family due to this technology invasion 7. I have to be in touch with my work even during my vacation due to this technology 8. I have to sacrifice my vacation and weekend time to keep current on new technologies 9. I feel my personal life is being invaded by this technology Techno10. I do not know enough about this technology to handle my job satisfactorily complexity 11. I need a long time to understand and use new technologies 12. I do not find enough time to study and upgrade my technology skills 13. I find new recruits to this organization know more about computer technology than I do 14. I often find it too complex for me to understand and use new technologies Techno15. I feel constant threat to my job security due to new technologies insecurity 16. I have to constantly update my skills to avoid being replaced 17. I am threatened by co-workers with newer technology skills 18. I do not share my knowledge with my co-workers for fear of being replaced 19. I feel there is less sharing of knowledge among co-workers for fear of being replaced Techno20. There are always new developments in the technologies we use in our uncertainty organization 21. There are constant changes in computer software in our organization 22. There are constant changes in computer hardware in our organization 23. There are frequent upgrades in computer networks in our organization Professionalism perception Factor Questions Knowledge 1. Early childhood teachers require a high level of teaching ability and skill 2. Early childhood teachers should continue to study new and unique methods of guidance for the development of children 3. I am voluntarily participating in various training sessions or classes 4. Early childhood teaching is a job that requires long-term professional education Social service 5. Early childhood teaching is important for future societies 6. I have a spirit of service to which I can devote even if the early childhood teaching position is underpaid.

7. Our institution is trying to benefit local adults by providing parent education 8. The facilities and human resources of our early childhood education institution are open to the community Autonomy 9. My mission is being accomplished without interference from the boss 10. I believe classroom classes are left to my autonomy 11. I am actively participating in important decisions on the management of early childhood education institutions

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Importance of education

Professional organizations

Work ethics

Socio economic status

12. I am responsible for the incidents in my class 13. The people around me are concerned about the importance of the early childhood teacher's profession 14. There are times when I feel that a childcare teacher is a nanny 15. I think it is important for early childhood teachers to protect and educate children 16. I think professional organizations are needed to improve professionalism in teaching 17. I believe that standards for licensing early childhood teachers should be strengthened to improve professionalism 18. I think there is a need to strengthen the qualification criteria for teachers in the field of early childhood education 19. Early childhood teachers require high ethical standards of conduct 20. I believe that I am committed to my role by defining my own practice as an early childhood teacher 21. I think protecting the private information of children is one of the essential roles of early childhood teachers 22. I have no regrets about choosing an early childhood teacher job 23. I think I am well paid compared to other jobs that can have the same educational background 24. I think the working conditions are good 25. I believe that the teaching position in our early childhood education institution is stable

11.3. Ego resilience Factor Questions Confidence 1. I tend to give up easily when I encounter a difficult problem 2. I cannot wait to give up if things do not work out 3. I lack confidence 4. I have difficulty concentrating compared to others 5. I am caught up in useless thoughts 6. I sometimes feel like I cannot make it 7. I have not lived my life right Efficiency of 8. I am embarrassed when I am with strangers interpersonal 9. I do not like to talk a lot unless I know someone well relationships 10. It is hard for me to talk to strangers 11. It is hard for me to talk in front of the class 12. I cannot think of what would be appropriate to talk about when there are a lot of people around me 13. It is hard to tell someone about me 14. I'm not sure I can lead others well Optimistic 15. It seems to me that there is no hope for the future attitude 16. I have a feeling that I am useless 17. I'm not as happy as other people think 18. I feel that my life is meaningless 19. I have a feeling something terrible is about to happen to me 20. I have a feeling that the world is just passing by 21. I feel like I made a mistake in choosing a job Anger control 22. I often get angry 23. When I'm angry, I lose my temper

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 265-283, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.14

Extent of Implementing the Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities at the UAE Special Education Centers Rami Abdallah British University in Dubai, UAE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1449-0173 Rawhi Mraweh Abdat Ministry of Community Development, Dubai, UAE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6917-555X Christopher Hill Faculty of Education, British University in Dubai, UAE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2436-1006

Abstract. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are formed on the basis of the perception that collaboration among educators is an essential factor to improve and develop the learning environment and students’ outcomes (Hord, 1997; DuFour, 2004). Accordingly, the purpose of this study is twofold: First, we investigated the extent of practicing the characteristics of PLCs at special education (SE) centers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Second, we determined whether the PLC skills among SE educators vary on the basis of the type of educator, educational level, years of experience, and students’ disability. We collected our data using Google Forms and with a pre-existing and tested questionnaire (Abdallah, 2021). After collecting filled-out forms from (151) educators, we conducted descriptive analysis and inferential statistics, including Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Our results revealed that educators working with students with disabilities in SE centers have a high level of PLC skills in all domains. Educators’ educational level, years of experience, and students’ disabilities create significant differences in the practice of the PLC characteristics in SE centers. However, the type of educator has no significant difference in implementing these characteristics. Overall, this study can serve as a basis for further research on PLCs within the SE field and addresses the lack of knowledge of this topic. We conclude the effectiveness and readiness of PLCs as a new approach to handling and teaching students with disabilities in the UAE context.

Keywords: Professional learning communities (PLCs); characteristics; special education; disability; teachers; educators

PLC

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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1. Introduction Several schools of thought have emphasized the necessity of collaboration and collegiality among educators to enhance their students’ learning environment (Haggquist, 2018; Lippy, 2013). By contrast, isolation is considered the enemy of education and the most serious barrier to school transformation (Abdallah & Hussein, 2016). Therefore, the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) has emerged as a new culture and practice that reinforces cooperation and significantly affects student outcomes (Brown, 2019). In recent years, considerable research has addressed PLCs within general education, but only a few have focused on their implementation in special education (SE; Abdallah, 2021). PLCs can significantly improve teaching practices in general education and SE classes (Blanton & Perez, 2011). At the national level, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to develop its SE provision and ensure equal learning opportunities for all citizens. Consequently, the UAE government launched the national policy to empower people of determination (persons with disabilities) in 2017, which guarantees equal education under one of its main pillars as clear evidence of the governmental interest in the rights of people with disabilities, including the right to education.

The Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) in the UAE focuses on delivering high-quality and relevant services for persons with special needs to empower and prepare them to tackle their current and future challenges. The national policy to empower people of determination aims to support people with disabilities in different aspects and allow them to acquire education within a comfortable atmosphere. The policy follows a rights-based approach to ensure the availability of all requirements, enabling the SE field to deliver the required standards of learning to students with special needs. For this reason, improving SE teaching practices is a dire necessity to achieve comprehensive reform in such a relevant field. Currently, six federal governmental centers cater to special needs in the UAE, serving 655 students with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and multiple disabilities (Ministry of Community Development, 2021). Given these facilities, the MOCD can implement PLCs as a new approach to enhance the SE environment and learning outcomes for students with special needs in the UAE. Jones et al. (2013) indicated that implementing the PLC components within general education or SE can positively affect teachers’ classroom practices and increase their participation in school activities, which leads to improved students’ learning.

Prior studies confirmed that PLCs increase the efficacy of teachers and school capacity (Larson, 2016). Koonce (2018) described how operating the school with PLCs played a significant role in student learning and achievements. Accordingly, scholars attempted to present a comprehensive definition of PLCs, which mostly agreed on the idea of collaboration among educators as an essential factor to improve and develop the learning environment and students’ outcomes (Hord, 1997; DuFour, 2004).

As the concept of PLCs can bring a new collective culture to schools, educators should grasp the characteristics of operating their schools as PLCs. Hord (1997) identified six dimensions that can assist teachers in implementing PLCs at their

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schools. These dimensions include shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, supportive conditions and relationships, and supportive conditions and structures. DuFour and Eaker (1998) also outlined six essential characteristics for operating schools as PLCs. These characteristics can be achieved through the presence of common goals and vision for all educators, a collaboration among educators regarding their self-improvement and students’ learning, gathering information about the current practice and methods of improvement at the school level, the tendency to take actions for improvement among learning institutions, and working in accordance with the available results.

Vescio et al. (2008) reviewed ten studies about collaboration within PLCs. They described how all effective PLCs shared the following characteristics: participation in open collaboration, focus on students’ learning among the groups, the empowerment of participants to exercise some authority in their learning and school leadership, and the continuous learning of participants to achieve their common goals.

PLCs focus on students’ achievement as the essential goal of education (Manning, 2018). They can foster equity in learning, decrease absenteeism and the dropout rate, and improve student results in various subjects, including history, math, reading and language, and science (Cox, 2011).

SE can benefit from implementing the PLC components to work efficiently and effectively. For instance, Blanton and Perez (2011) explained how PLCs affect the integration of the efforts of SE teachers with other teachers at school by declining the isolation. Abdallah (2021) referred to the possibility of assigning SE teachers as the center of the PLC activities as they have considerable experience in handling students’ learning problems.

Shipley (2006) confirmed the importance of collaboration between SE and general education members and how special educators should shift from isolation into teamwork to improve outcomes. The benefits of this collaboration are threefold: First, special educators possess several strategies that can support classroom management and solve students’ behavioral problems. Second, they can help the general learning students who are at risk. Third, they can present new instructional methods for general educators. Another vital element in implementing PLCs is the role of SE administrators. After reviewing a group of studies on PLCs, Blanton and Perez (2011) provided the following five recommendations for administrators to benefit from implementing PLCs in SE: - Support and facilitate collaboration among their teachers.

- Direct the efforts toward improving student learning for students with disabilities.

- Ensure a safe environment for teachers to discuss issues concerning students’ learning and classroom.

- Use different motivational strategies to support their teachers’ involvement in PLCs to improve their classroom practices.

- Understand that the occurrence of conflict is inevitable during collaboration.

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Day (2016) tried to identify the understanding of general education and SE teachers for PLC dimensions at two public elementary schools implementing PLCs. The above study used a quantitative descriptive design to investigate the existence of any differences between the perspectives of SE and general education teachers about PLCs. The sample consisted of ten SE teachers and 23 general education teachers. The results revealed that both teacher groups comprehend the process of PLCs and had positive perceptions toward PLCs with no significant differences.

Thacker (2013) analyzed the achievements of the fifth-grade SE students and teacher longevity in two Texas school districts. The findings revealed that the achievements of SE students increased at schools implementing PLCs because of the collaboration between general and special educators. Moreover, the results confirmed a relationship between the personal focus of teachers on their learning and the improvement of academic outcomes for students with special needs.

However, the above study did not indicate any correlation between the implementation of PLCs and teachers’ longevity.

East (2015) conducted a mixed-methods study to identify teachers’ perceptions regarding the implementation of PLCs and their subsequent effects on improving students’ learning. The site of this study was West Virginia, and the population was 211 educators from one K-8 school and three primary schools. The findings showed a strong and significant relationship between the level of implementation of PLCs and their level of effectiveness. The above study also suggested a group of procedures, which can enhance the influence of PLCs, such as scheduling and training among educators.

A further quantitative study (Topper, 2016) investigated the relationship between implementing the PLC components and students’ literacy achievements. The above study was conducted in the urban school district in the south-central region of the US. The research participants were from middle and high schools. The results indicated a strong relationship between operating the schools as PLCs and enhancing adolescents’ literacy.

Another mixed-methods study by Bitterman (2010) identified teachers’ perceptions about the effect of PLCs on improving their teaching and learning skills. The above study included three middle science schools. The survey questionnaire was distributed to the selected participants composed of teachers in seventh grade. Then, the interviews were utilized to collect qualitative data from the participants. The results proved the possibility of enhancing teachers’ skills and learning by involving them in PLCs. Accordingly, a group of requirements was determined for the effective implementation of PLCs. These requirements were motivation and interest in learning, appropriate organizational support, practicing inquiries, and work in accordance with a wellorganized development plan.

Al-Dhaheri and Mohammed (2013) examined the practice of different characteristics of PLCs at primary schools in Al Ain City in the UAE from the teachers’ perspective. They determined whether responses related to the demographic variables vary using the professional learning assessment

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developed by Hipp and Huffman (2010) as a quantitative instrument. The survey involved 229 teachers. The results revealed a great extent of the PLC characteristics at Al Ain City primary schools.

Similarly, a mixed-methods study of Al-Taneji (2009) examined the realities and obstacles of the PLC characteristics at a group of elementary and secondary schools. Fifteen elementary and secondary schools were selected for the quantitative study, and semi-structured interviews for three teachers from six schools formed the qualitative element. The results of the quantitative data indicated that supportive and shared leadership and a supportive structure were the only PLC characteristics implemented among the surveyed schools.

Accordingly, the above study shed light on the necessity of increasing the level of practicing PLC characteristics in schools.

Another qualitative study conducted by Jones et al. (2013) identified how implementing PLCs can contribute to building the cultural proficiency of educators and enhance their ability to respond to the needs of students within diverse and impoverished communities. The findings revealed that implementing PLCs could decrease the bias and cover the learning needs of students with general and special needs. Jenkins (2016) confirmed that the productive environment of learning and collaboration, an effective school leadership practice, the best use of teachers’ capabilities, the reinforcement of teachers’ efficacy, and the identification of school goals could support creating and sustaining PLCs. Spencer-Johnson (2018) identified the effect of practicing collaboration among educators who adopted PLCs on their skills of instruction, level of knowledge, and pedagogy. The finding of the above study revealed that training increases the performance of educators. Moreover, shared vision and effective school leadership were essential factors in creating effective PLCs. Previous studies confirmed that PLCs could improve the learning environment for students at general education and SE and expand the reach of classroom practices. However, only a few investigated PLCs at SE centers in the UAE or other Arab countries (Day, 2016; Thacker, 2013; Topper, 2016). The present study uses the results and models of previous studies to investigate the extent of practicing the PLC characteristics at SE centers within the UAE context and present crucial recommendations and implications for practice. Our results contribute to the literature on the implementation of PLCs in the SE field in the UAE, as this research topic is still new in Arab countries.

With the above literature review, this study investigates the PLC characteristics at SE centers in the UAE and highlights the differences among SE educator practices in teaching students with disabilities. We aim to identify the perceptions of SE teachers in the UAE about the extent of practicing the PLC components at their centers. We also determine whether teachers’ perceptions on the type of educator, educational level, years of experience, and students’ disability vary regarding the practice of the PLC characteristics in the SE field.

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2. Methodology This study utilized a quantitative research methodology, specifically, a crosssectional survey.

2.1 Sampling The total population of this study included 191 educators working in SE centers under the UAE government during the academic year 2020/2021. Among them, (154) were females, and (37) were males, with ages ranging from 26–50 years. All educators were surveyed to ensure the collection of sufficient data related to the study purpose. After reviewing the filled-out questionnaires received from the educators, we considered (151) responses valid for statistical analysis. This study sample represented (79%) of the total population. The participants included 151 educators ([84%] SE teachers and [16%] rehabilitation therapists). They were from six SE centers from different emirates. The majority had a bachelor’s degree, and 52 (34%) reported more than 15 years of experience. Finally, most participants indicated that they had been teaching students with intellectual disabilities (46%).

Table 1 presents the above participants’ demographic information.

Table 1. Educators’ demographic profile Variable Type of educator Educational level

Years of experience

Students’ disability

Category SE teacher Rehabilitation therapist Diploma Bachelor’s degree Graduate degree 1–5 years 6–10 years 11–15 years 16 years and above Intellectual disability ASD Multiple disabilities

Total

N 127 24 17 122 12 35 27 37 52 70 53 28 151

2.2 Instrumentation We used the PLC questionnaire of Abdallah (2021), which combined the PLC dimensions mentioned by Hord (1997) and Dufour, Dufour, and Eaker (1998), to collect our data. This questionnaire included 36 close-ended questions that follow a five-point Likert scale: strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neither agree nor disagree (3), agree (4), and strongly agree (5). We employed this survey questionnaire to examine the extent of practicing PLCs at SE centers in the UAE as perceived by educators. We also investigated the existence of any significant differences between educators’ perceptions related to the category of educator, educational level, years of experience, and students’ disability.

Validity refers to the extent to which any test accurately fulfills its objectives (Tatcher, 2010), and reliability is the degree of test consistency in measuring whatever it measures (Creswell, 2012). To achieve the validity of the research instruments, Abdallah (2021) consulted a panel of experts of educational

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management, leadership, and SE. The experts provided feedback regarding the questionnaire validity and its relevance to the research questions.

To achieve reliability, the author of the PLC questionnaire confirmed the internal consistency by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all subscales (n = 510) and determined an overall reliability coefficient of 0.97, indicating high reliability (Abdallah, 2021). The questionnaire also included many variables, such as the presence of common goals; the vision, values, and mission for all educators at the school related to students’ learning; and collaborative culture among educators. It also measured the extent of implementing collective inquiry by all educators about the current reality of the school and the recommended best educational practices, the extent of action orientation where all educators learn by doing, a commitment to continuous improvement, results orientation, and school leadership. We utilized social constructionism theory because it matches well with the concept of PLCs. Galbin (2014) mentioned that the main objective of social constructionism theory is to comprehend the experiences of individuals that formed collectively to understand the real world. Vygotsky (1978) explained how social constructivism theory considers the social interaction occurring within a particular culture or context a source of deep learning. The core of social constructionism is “the rejection of assumptions about the nature of mind and theories of causality and emphasizing the complexity and interrelatedness of the many facets of individuals within their communities” (Galbin 2014, p. 83).

Therefore, social constructionism theory informs and supports the development of indicators of the data collecting instrument of the current study. It is compatible with the concept of PLCs as it perceives the collaboration between educators as a vital factor of professional development (Topper, 2016).

To facilitate the data collection, we reviewed the required procedures for conducting survey research. Gay et al. (2009) suggested the following steps of conducting survey research: stating the problem, constructing the questionnaire, pilot testing the questionnaire, preparing a cover letter, selecting participants, distributing the questionnaire, conducting follow-up activities, dealing with nonresponse, and tabulating questionnaire responses.

In light of the above steps, we translated the questionnaire into Arabic under the supervision of three expert translators because all the participants were native speakers of Arabic. Five bilingual professors from the College of Education, University of UAE, reviewed the Arabic version to ensure that the content was suitable and clear for all the participants. We also requested an official letter from the MOCD to distribute the questionnaire to the teachers electronically. The online questionnaire fully outlined our research objectives and the time required for completing the questionnaire.

2.3 Data analysis We collected our data from the questionnaire and analyzed them using SPSS version 23.0. The results were represented in the form of descriptive statistics, including percentages, means, and standard deviation. We conducted Mann– Whitney U test to determine differences between two independent variables and Kruskal–Wallis tests to check the differences in mean scores for three or more independent variables. Moreover, we employed the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test to

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verify whether our data have a normal distribution. For the score interpretations, we used an interpretative scale, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Interpretive scale for the scores’ degree Mean Score

Degree

1–1.79

Extremely low

1.8–2.59

Low

2.6–3.39

Moderate

3.4–4.19

High

4.2–5

Extremely High

3. Results 3.1 Levels of PLC characteristics Table 3. Educators’ level of the PLC characteristics Domains of PLCs

Mean

Std. Deviation

3.71

1.26

4.09

1.20

4.06

1.07

Learning by doing

4.05

1.08

Continuous improvement

4.06

1.09

Results orientation

4.07

1.08

3.79

1.28

3.97

1.08

Common goals, vision, values, and mission Collaborative culture Collective inquiry

Center leadership Overall PLCs

Level

Rank

High

7

High

1

High

3

High

5

High

3

High

2

High

6

High

—

The analysis results (Table 3) showed that the means of educators’ responses were almost within the high level in all domains and the overall average of the PLC characteristics. The collaborative culture among educators ranked the highest (M = 4.09), followed by results orientation (M = 4.07). By contrast, the presence of common goals, vision, values, and mission (M = 3.71) and center leadership (M = 3.79) were the lowest domains. From the findings, the overall mean of 3.97 indicated that the educators in SE centers who participated in this study have a high level of PLC skills.

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3.2 Testing differences among educators in the PLC characteristics The normal distribution of the results was checked by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, which indicated that the data drawn from this study were not normally distributed but had unequal variances. Therefore, we used non-parametric inferential statistics in testing differences in PLCs among educators in SE centers.

We implemented Mann–Whitney U test to determine differences for two independent variables and Kruskal–Wallis tests for three or more independent variables.

Table 4. Mann–Whitney U test between the type of educator and PLC characteristics Category Type of Educator

Mann–Whitney U test

1241.500

Z

−1.471

Asymp. sig. (two-tailed)

0.141

SE teacher, M = 4.06 Rehabilitation therapist, M = 3.51

Educators’ implementing PLCs

Table 4 shows the differences between educators’ demographic profile and their practice of the PLC characteristics. The type of educator (U = 1241.500; p = 0.141) had no significant differences with their practice of PLC characteristics at SE centers.

Table 5. Kruskal–Wallis test between educators’ demographic profiles and PLCs Category Educational level Diploma, M = 3.24 Bachelor’s degree, M = 4.01 Graduate degree, M = 4.63 Years of experience 1–5 years, M = 2.82 6–10 years, M = 3.86 11–15 years, M = 4.39 16 years and above, M = 4.51 Students’ disability Intellectual, M = 3.34 ASD, M = 4.56 Multiple, M = 4.45

Chi-square test do Asp. sig.

Educators’ implementing PLCs 11.239 2 0.004

Chi-square do Asp. sig.

49.600 3 0.000

Chi-square do Asp. sig.

60.769 2 0.000

The Kruskal–Wallis test results (Table 5) revealed significant differences among educators in terms of the educational level (X2(2) = 11.239; p = 0.004). The highest and least mean scores were by educators with graduate degrees (M = 4.63) and those holding diplomas (M = 3.24), respectively.

Likewise, the results revealed significant differences among educators regarding years of experience (X2(3) = 49.600; p = 0.000). Generally, educators with long experience demonstrated more readiness to practice PLCs in their SE centers.

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Educators with 16 years of experience and above had the highest mean score (M = 4.51), and those with less than five years of experience obtained the least mean score (M = 2.82). Finally, the educators who participated in the study exhibited significant differences concerning their students’ type of disability (X2(2) = 60.769; p = 0.000). Educators of students with ASD reported the highest mean scores (M = 4.56), followed by educators of students with multiple disabilities (M = 4.45).

Educators of students with intellectual disabilities yielded the least mean scores (M = 3.34).

4. Discussion This study investigated the extent of practicing the characteristics of PLCs at SE centers and determined how significant the influence of educators’ and students’ characteristics on the implementation of PLCs. We determined that educators working in SE centers implement the basic principles of the PLC skills in their educational system. This finding reveals the existence of a fertile and encouraging educational environment in SE centers that paved the way to the PLC implementation as a new approach to enhancing the collaborative learning environment in the SE field.

Our results also showed that the domains related to common goals, vision, values, and mission, and center leadership were lower than the other domains. A possible reason is that SE centers follow the vision and mission of the MOCD and not their independent vision or mission. This reality highlights the need to train SE centers’ principals on the basic principles of the PLC system and its implementation and follow-up mechanisms. The above findings on common goals and vision, values, and mission were similar to those of Spencer-Johnson (2018) and Jenkins (2016).

Spencer-Johnson (2018) stated that having a shared vision and common goals and values is crucial in establishing PLCs among schools. Jenkins (2016) established a group of procedures for school leadership, which include the importance of having a shared vision and common goals and values to create and sustain successful PLCs. However, we observed no significant differences among educators’ perceptions of implementing PLC principles in terms of the type of educator. Thus, SE teachers and other therapeutic specialists follow a collaborative approach in the course of education and rehabilitation as their work requires them to be a team in establishing, implementing, and evaluating individualized educational plans for each student. This sequential process also requires every team member to know about the educational goals of all members outlined in the joint plan and work collaboratively to achieve them.

By contrast, we determined significant differences among educators regarding their educational level. A highly educated staff is more likely to implement PLC characteristics than those with low educational levels. Thus, educators with more years of experience are using the PLC techniques more than those with shorter years of experience. These results confirm the significance of having a commitment to continuous improvement by educators to enhance their level of pedagogy and achieve improved student outcomes (Abdallah, 2021; Abdallah & Hussein, 2016).

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Finally, the type of students’ disability significantly affects the implementation of the PLC characteristics by educators in SE centers. Educators of students with ASD and multiple disabilities are more likely to implement the PLC principles in their work than those of students with intellectual disabilities. This finding confirms the effectiveness of PLCs in facilitating the presence of shared personal practice, supportive conditions and relationships, and supportive conditions and structures among educators in SE centers and improving the level of collaboration as required (Haggquist, 2018; Lippy, 2013).

5. Conclusion Almost all of the educators who participated in this study were highly aware of the PLC principles and ready to implement them in their respective SE centers.

The overall PLC score (M = 3.97) and the seven subdomains (M = 3.71–4.09) indicated high levels of PLC characteristics among educators of students with disabilities. Thus, educators in SE centers in the UAE are ready to implement such a collaborative learning environment that can enhance their students’ learning practices.

We determined statistically significant differences among educators’ perception of the extent of the significance of the PLC characteristics found at SE centers pertinent to the educational level in favor of educators with graduate degrees and among educators regarding years of experience in favor of those with long years of experience. The study also found significant differences regarding students’ type of disability in favor of educators of students with ASD and multiple disabilities. However, we observed no significant differences regarding the type of educator. These findings imply the existence of collaborative culture at SE centers and the possible shift from the traditional to the PLC model. Overall, the educational community is mentally prepared to adapt the PLC characteristics and new collaborative ways of imparting knowledge. Further training focusing on early career educators, diploma holders, and those who teach students with intellectual disabilities is required on the PLC skills to build upon this attitude.

Additional training for principals regarding implementation, orientation, and follow-up is likewise recommended.

Overall, our findings provide valuable knowledge to decision-makers and stakeholders at the Supreme Committee for People of Determination Services in the UAE regarding the possibility of implementing the PLC principles in SE centers and the essential professional development requirements to ensure the best practice. However, this study is limited to educators of SE centers under the government. A replication of this study involving educators and principals from private centers in the UAE would provide further support for the generalizability of our findings.

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Abdallah, R. (2021). The Effectiveness of School Leaders’ Professional Development Programs in Promoting the Components of Professional Learning Communities in Jordan Public Secondary Schools According to School Leaders’ and Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices [Doctoral dissertation, The British University in Dubai]. BUiD bspace. https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/1781 Al-Dhaheri, M. & Mohammed, F. (2013). The Extent to which the Characteristics of Professional learning communities are found in cycle one Schools in Al – Ain from Teachers prospective [Doctoral dissertation, United Arab Emirates University]. UAEU scholarworks. https://scholarworks.uaeu.ac.ae/all_theses/80 Al-Taneiji, S. (2009). Professional learning communities in the United Arab Rmirates schools: Realities and obstacles. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 6(1), 16-29. https://search-proquest-com.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/scholarlyjournals/professional-learning-communities-unitedarab/docview/203201635/se-2?accountid=62373 Bitterman, T. (2010). Teacher perceptions of the impact of professional learning communities on teaching and learning in middle school science (Publication No. 758398458) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Alabama]. PQDT Open. https://search-proquestcom.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/dissertations-theses/teacher-perceptions-impactprofessional-learning/docview/758398458/se-2?accountid=62373 Blanton, L. P., & Perez, Y. (2011). Exploring the Relationship between Special Education Teachers and Professional Learning Communities. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 24(1), 6-16. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Exploring-theRelationship-between-Special-Teachers-BlantonPerez/358fe1995145b8fdca9c9e97a84228496dccf1cc Brown, R. L. (2019). The Elementary Principal's Role in Professional Development and Learning Communities: How to Support Continual Professional Growth [Doctoral dissertation].

University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cox, T. D. (2011). Teachers' Perspectives on Building a Professional Learning Community (Publication No. 857926432) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University].

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Day, K. M. (2016). General Education and Special Education Elementary School Teachers' Understanding of Professional Learning Communities (Publication No. 1761843945) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. PQDT Open. https://searchproquest-com.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/dissertations-theses/general-educationspecial-elementary-school/docview/1761843945/se-2?accountid=62373 DuFour, R. (2004). "What is a professional learning community?". Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6-11.

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Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E. & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications. Pearson.

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Jenkins, C. (2016). Principals' processes of creating successful professional learning communities in high-performing elementary schools (Publication No. 1879697966) [Doctoral dissertation, Capella University]. PQDT Open. https://search-proquestcom.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/dissertations-theses/principals-processes-creatingsuccessful/docview/1879697966/se-2?accountid=62373 Jones, L., Stall, G., & Yarbrough, D. (2013). The importance of professional learning communities for school improvement. Creative Education, 4(05), 357-361. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.45052 Larson, J. (2016). The relationship between South Dakota public school superintendents' perceptions of professional development principles and student achievement [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of South Dakota.

Koonce, M. J. (2018). Principal engagement in the professional development process: The identification of barriers, resources, and supports. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arkansas].

Lippy, D., & Zamora, E. (2013). Implementing effective professional learning communities with consistency at the middle school level. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 29(3), 51-72.

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Ministy of Community Development. (2021). Annual report for the department of rehabilitation and welfare for people of determination. Department of Rehabilitation and Welfare for People of Determination. https://www.mocd.gov.ae/en/opendata/statistics.aspx Shipley, J. B. (2006). Professional Learning Communities: Where Does Special Education Fit in?

[Doctoral dissertation, Eastern Michigan University]. EMU Senior Honors Theses & Projects. https://commons.emich.edu/honors/31/ Spencer-Johnson, E. J. (2018). Professional Learning Communities: An Examination of Teachers' Perspectives on Professional Conversations and Student Learning (Publication No. 2055230592) [Doctoral dissertation, Western Connecticut State University]. PQDT Open. https://search-proquest-com.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/dissertationstheses/professional-learning-communitiesexamination/docview/2055230592/se-2?accountid=62373 Thacker, T. D. (2013). Professional learning communities: An analysis of fifth grade special education student achievement and teacher longevity in two Texas school districts (Publication No. 1443858060) [Doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University-Commerce].

PQDT Open. https://search-proquestcom.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/dissertations-theses/professional-learningcommunities-analysis-fifth/docview/1443858060/se-2?accountid=62373 Thatcher, R. W. (2010). Validity and reliability of quantitative electroencephalography.

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Three new solution tree books spotlight professional learning communities and their power to improve schools. (2008, Jun 03). Business Wire. https://search-proquestcom.uaeu.idm.oclc.org/wire-feeds/three-new-solution-tree-booksspotlight/docview/444596784/se-2?accountid=62373 Topper, J. C. (2016). The Relationship between Secondary Schools' PLC Characteristics and Literacy Achievement. Electronic Theses and Dissertations [Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Southern University].

GSU Campus Repository. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1498 Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning.

Teacher and Teaching Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 24(1), 80-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004 Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard university press.

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Appendix Questionnaire for Educators Working at Special Education (SE) Centers Dear educators, This questionnaire is part of a study that aims to investigate the extent of practicing the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) at SE centers in the UAE. PLCs are the fruit of collaborative commitment among educators (teachers and rehabilitation therapists) working as a team. They develop their capabilities to implement collective inquiry continuously and take appropriate measures to improve learning outcomes for their students. Your participation in filling out this questionnaire is highly appreciated, which will be of great significance in achieving our research objectives and improving professional practices in SE centers in the UAE. We ensure that the provided data will be dealt with in complete confidentiality, and their use will be limited to carrying out statistical analysis for research purposes. If you have any inquiries related to the topic of the study or the items of the questionnaire, please contact the researchers via email at 20170028@student.buid.ac.ae or phone number 0558507631.

Your collaboration is highly appreciated.

A. Participant’s demographic data: Kindly encircle the most appropriate answer.

1.

2.

Type of educator SE teacher Rehabilitation therapist

1.

2.

3.

4.

Years of experience 1–5 years 6–10 years 11–15 years 16 years and above

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

Educational level Diploma Bachelor’s degree Graduate degree Students’ disabilities Intellectual disability Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Multiple disabilities

B. Presence of common goals and vision, values, and mission for all educators at their respective centers related to students’ learning Statement

1.

2.

3.

We aim to accomplish common goals at our center.

We work in accordance with a clear vision known by all educators at our center.

All educators at our center seek to achieve a group of educational values.

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Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

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4.

5.

All educators at our center agree on one clear educational mission.

All educators at our center are involved in writing the common goals, vision, values, and mission.

C. Presence of collaborative culture among educators Statement

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

We work as a team with no isolation from one another.

Every educator at our center is familiar with teaching methods and techniques utilized by other educators from different disciplines.

We share experiences and knowledge to enhance the learning outcomes of our students.

The current concepts, behavior, and habits of educators foster teamwork.

Every educator is aware of his/her responsibilities within the team.

D. The extent of implementing collective inquiry by all educators about the current reality of their respective centers and the recommended best educational practices Statement

1.

2.

3.

4.

All educators conduct a collective inquiry about the current reality of our center.

All educators conduct a collective inquiry about the recommended best educational practices.

All educators participate in designing a collective plan to cover the different needs of students.

All educators collect and analyze the available data

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Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

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5.

to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented strategies.

Our collective inquiry is based on dialogue and respect for diverse views.

E. The extent of action orientation where all educators learn by doing Statement

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

All educators tend to transfer their aspirations and thoughts into real practices within our center.

All educators believe in taking action and working to increase their knowledge and experiences.

All educators at our center consider themselves learners.

All educators utilize what they learn by doing in setting the improvement plan for our center, which is connected to students’ learning.

All educators believe that collaboration and collective inquiry will not be beneficial without working and taking action.

F. Commitment to continuous improvement Statement

1.

2.

Strongly disagree

All educators are committed to the continuous improvement of their students.

All educators realize the relationship between the continuous professional development that they receive and their students’ learning outcomes.

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Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

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3.

4.

5.

All educators receive internal professional development training at our center, covering our actual professional needs.

All educators participate in the process of designing their professional development programs inside our center.

All educators participate in systematic and continuous processes to develop the current levels of student learning.

G. Results orientation Statement

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Strongly disagree

All educators understand that results are the most reliable evidence of students’ improvement.

All educators are continuously involved in the assessment processes that include all educational activities at the center.

We have an efficient process to document and save all results of activities and initiatives at the center.

The decision-making process at our center is based on the available results.

All educators are permitted to access the results.

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Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

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H. Center Leadership Statement

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The principal at our center continuously ensures that all educators understand our center’s common goals and vision, values, and mission related to students’ learning.

The principal promotes collaborative culture among educators.

The principal follows up the implementation of collective inquiry by all educators about the current reality of our center and the recommended best practice.

The principal fosters the action orientation where all educators learn by doing.

The principal facilitates all requirements that encourage all educators to be committed to continuous improvement.

The principal ensures that all educators are working in accordance with the available results.

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Disagree

Neither agree or disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 284-301, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.15

Revisiting Robert Axelrod: Cooperation, School Management and Teacher Unions Vuyisile Msila University of South Africa, Tshwane, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8875-0644

Abstract. The militancy of teacher unions is frequently associated with the disruption in schools where unions are antagonistic to management.

The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of cooperation between teacher unions and school management. Using Axelrod’s theory of the Evolution of Cooperation, the instrument explored whether school principals can forge successful cooperation between school managers and union site committees. Several studies are showing that cooperation among staff is critical for learner achievement and collegiality. Furthermore, cooperation enables the school’s role-players to work towards a shared vision. The conclusions point out that school managers should consciously engender cooperation to run successful schools where teachers would not betray one another. A methodical cooperation plan could be the missing tool required to turn unsuccessful schools around to become successful.

Keywords: cooperation; school effectiveness; school management; teacher professionalism; teacher unionism

1. Introduction and background The cooperation of all education role-players in society is critical in enhancing school effectiveness. Mafisa (2017) contends that teacher unions ought to work in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) if teachers are to improve the quality of education in schools. Yet, paradoxically, there are sometimes adversarial relationships between teacher unions and the DBE (Heystek & Lethoko, 2001; Whittle, 2007; Amoako, 2014; Msila, 2014). These antagonistic relationships are compounded by the concepts of professionalism and unionism, and frequently this tends to be the cause of disagreement among teachers. Heystek and Lethoko (2001) point out that unionism was incorporated in education with characteristics such as industrial action and collective bargaining. Unionism is frequently perceived, however, as the creator of problems for the professional development of teachers (Eberts, 2007; Msila, 2014; Sibiya, 2017; Baron, 2018). In an attempt to professionalize teaching, several roleplayers have called for the reduction of unionism among teachers in South Africa (Heystek and Lethabo, 2001; Eberts, 2007). Teacher unionism is blamed for the ©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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absence of cooperation among role-players in education, including between union members and school managers (Seekings, 2004; Smith, 2013). Weingarten (2012) underscores the need for strong teacher unions, claiming that successful educational changes will be those supported by strong unions, rather than those that keep the union role weak. Heystek and Lethoko (2001: 224) explored the ways in which teacher unions can forge cooperation through the combination of professionalism and unionism. They aver: A development towards professional unionism may be a possible solution in this situation. Professional unionism is when teachers and management work together; it is no longer “they versus us”, but “we”.

Joint committees, peer review, training and development, and changes in bargaining are characteristics of this professional unionism.

Literature points out that for teacher professionalization to occur unions, such as the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), need to collaborate with government and other education stakeholders (JET, 2017). The South African Democratic Teachers Union is frequently criticized for the decline in quality and standards in South Africa’s basic education (Masondo, 2016). In 2017, however, it was reported that SADTU sought to produce leader teachers who could steer transformation for quality in schools. This initiative from SADTU was to collaborate with the National Education Collaboration Trust (Education Dialogue South Africa, 2013), where schools in the Butterworth and Sekhukhune regions were to combine in their attempts to create the lead teachers who would champion teacher professionalism (Educational International (EI), 2017).

This article explores the complexities of cooperation and collaboration among teacher unions, school managers and teachers in South Africa. When one traces the existence of cooperation and the objectives thereof between teacher unions and school managers, one has to understand the historical underpinnings. Mafisa (2017) states that there are three main teacher unions and these are the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), the South African Teachers Union (SATU), and the National Professional Teachers Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA). There are others such as the Professional Educators’ Union (PEU) and the National Teachers Union (NATU). Political ideology and how they view teacher professionalism distinguish these teacher unions. SATU and NAPTOSA associate themselves with teacher professionalism and are generally opposed to industrial strikes. On the contrary, SADTU is associated with teacher strikes and, in most cases, shows disregard for the performance of the learners. Heystek and Lethoko (2001), as well as Amoako (2014), argue that for SADTU, that openly identifies itself with the ruling ANC, its history, like that of the ANC, points to its liberation struggle credentials in fighting the apartheid system for social justice in education. When SADTU was established, principals were excluded because union members perceived them as apartheid government collaborators (Mafisa, 2017). Under the apartheid government, teacher unions reflected the dynamics of a divided society such as race and political ideology. Of all these unions, SADTU appears to be the one whose name has been tarnished by media and society (Harper, 2015; Sibiya, 2017). Yet, it needs to be highlighted that SADTU played a critical role in the mid-1990s when the new post-apartheid curriculum was formulated. With unions such as NAPTOSA, SADTU helped shape education

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policy; however, unlike NAPTOSA, SADTU continued to be unionist rather than professional in its approach (Govender, 2013; Sibiya, 2017).

In investigating the dynamics of cooperation in schools, this study sought to answer the following research questions: • What is the impact of meaningful cooperation between teacher unions and school managers?

• What role can school principals play in engendering successful cooperation between teacher unions and school managers and teachers?

2. Teacher unions’ position in South Africa The theoretical framework elucidated in this section provided the foundation for conducting this study. The rationale for investigating the research problem highlighted above, was to find a solution for the complexities of cooperation among teacher unions, school managers and teachers in South Africa. School managers need sufficient and appropriate knowledge and skills to enhance organizational cooperation. Effective principals require models that support cooperation to enhance shared leadership and collegiality. Today school management needs to be professionalized, hence learning about aspects such as conflict management and cooperation is essential and should be undertaken positively. School principals should realize that for cooperation to succeed, the other parties must see that the principal is favourably inclined towards them.

Organizations have become unstable, and promoting competition only increases the severity of the context. “The success of the organization of today and citizen happiness of tomorrow will depend on its capacity to develop, enhance and maintain a cooperative culture as a strategic choice in managing the environment with its definition” (Soliman & Antheaume, 2016: 16).

Soliman and Antheaume (2016) also opine that sometimes on the surface people may pretend to be cooperative, whilst they are intent on competing and winning.

Furthermore, these authors point out that this is a distorted version of cooperation for it carries more competition and this combination is referred to as coopetition. In today’s schools one cannot think of line managers in schools without thinking about the powerful position of teacher unions. Over the years, school principals have found themselves occupying vulnerable positions when there have been disputes between themselves and their teachers (Mahomed, 2014). Additionally, Mahomed adds that school principals frequently face active and militant teacher unions hence a constant need to appease teacher unions’ demands. Some authors attribute this to the past. Under apartheid education, there was no democracy or involvement of teachers in making school decisions. To some teachers, the role of school principals as government agents or collaborators has never ended. Heystek and Lethoko (2001) point out that in the struggle against the apartheid government and its education system, black principals were perceived as collaborators of the illegitimate system, hence they were not acceptable to more militant unions such as SADTU. Researchers alluded to the militant stance of SADTU, whilst understanding the role that SADTU played throughout the history of education in South Africa (Seekings, 2004; Whittle, 2007; Amoako, 2014; Sibiya, 2017). Arguably, history is to blame for the suspicion and mistrust between union members and some principals.

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Now, new debates have surfaced, showing how unions have taken over this traditional role of principals, as people now argue that unions are the bullies in schools (Mahlangu, 2013; Sibiya, 2017). Ramokgotswa’s (2015) and Khumalo’s (2021) findings indicate how unions tend to bully other members, including the principal, in the selection of teachers for appointments. Research shows that crises in schools, especially in historically black schools in the townships, are blamed upon SADTU (Liwane, 2017; Sibiya, 2017; Khumalo, 2021). Furthermore, this union has been criticized for handpicking their members for management positions. As a result, many teacher union members tend to be more loyal to their union than to the improvement of education, because they know that their unions are more likely to reward them (Pattillo, 2012; Sibiya, 2017; Liwane, 2017; Khumalo, 2021). Even strong school managers need the support of the other roleplayers for school success or effectiveness. Among these role-players are teacher unions, but usually confusion exists as to what school managers can do to work with unions whilst ensuring diligence and commitment from teachers. The school managers’ endeavours to instil cooperation with teacher unions are affected by external pressures as well.

Successful schools are schools that have a vision, and teachers who follow a vision are those who work together as they try to realize learner achievement. However, Wills (2016) argues that teacher strikes have adverse effects on learner achievement. In addition, according to Wills, “the most marginalized students in rural areas, and those that are weaker academically are most at risk of learning losses as a result of teacher strikes” (2006: iv). Furthermore, Wills perceives the strikes as widening existing inequalities in learner achievement. Teacher strikes have negative consequences for cooperation, because strikes heighten conflicts between school managers and their teachers. Yet, the existence of teacher unions is crucial, because they serve a critical purpose for teachers as employees. Some of the concepts that are critical in this study are cooperation, vision, school effectiveness and success. However, what is critical now is to explicate Robert Axelrod’s theory which forms the basis of this study.

3. Robert Axelrod’s Evolution of Cooperation Euchner (2018) argues that long-term interactions with other groups can persuade even antagonists to develop trust for each other. Furthermore, Euchner cites Robert Axelrod’s theory (1984) of the Prisoner’s Dilemma that stipulates that people usually respond to other people’s actions with a “tit-for-tat” strategy, for people tend to reciprocate others’ behaviour. Negative gestures will elicit negative responses, while goodwill draws goodwill. “The more people interact with each other, the greater the chances of cooperation. If people know that they must deal with friends and adversaries in future, they will behave more cooperatively” (Euchner, 2018: 100). Euchner also mentions a number of factors that help build an organization and productive cooperation. These include maintaining membership, managing factions, communication and leadership.

Maintaining membership - Leaders need to engage followers at all times. It is critical to keep members involved and happy to realize goals and strategy.

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Managing factions - Differences in any organization are necessary because they reflect the institution’s diversity and potential creativity. Effective leadership should expose the differences and find common ground, as this is vital to make rifts constructive.

Communication - Without effective communication there can be no coordination in the organization and members will drift away from one another.

Leadership - Leadership is at the centre of coordinating group action and it creates the necessary tension that challenges people to change their attitudes and behaviour. Euchner (2018) cites MacGregor Burns’s phrase that good leadership is “dissonant”. He explains that change requires an experience of cognitive dissonance, “a disorienting and sometimes painful realisation that one’s understanding of the world does not fit with the reality of the world” (Euchner, 2018:135).

Makgetla and Shapiro (2016) point out that Axelrod’s conditions that can promote cooperation were not present in apartheid South Africa. These authors explain that Axelrod’s computer game suggested that the major strategy is Tit-for-Tat (TFT); cooperating for the first round and then imitating the other side. After 1960 in South Africa mutual defection was the order of the day and TFT reinforced it (Makgetla & Shapiro, 2016:7). In many organizations, including schools, there is this antagonistic relationship between school managers and teacher unions in particular. The principal occupied an unenviable position where he/she was seen as representing the illegitimate government (Christie, 1988). These feuds were always protracted, as Axelrod (1984:138) puts it, “once a feud gets started, it can continue indefinitely”. Yet, cooperation in Axelrod’s theory means that actors will be better off individually and collectively if they rationally decide to cooperate with each other (Sarakinsky, 2000). Although the actors are aware of their mutual interdependence, they do not necessarily like each other. The focus below is on the actual game in Axelrod’s theory, the prisoner’s dilemma and the dynamics of cooperation.

3.1. Prisoner’s Dilemma

Robert Axelrod (1984) introduced the Prisoners’ Dilemma, a game used to analyse why two normal people may not cooperate even when it is clear that they need to. The game is summarized as follows: Two criminals, A and B, from the same gang are arrested and taken to prison.

These two are then separated into different cells and they cannot communicate.

The prosecutors do not have adequate evidence to imprison the two men. Both hope to get one-year imprisonment on a lesser charge. The prosecutors bargain with each of the two prisoners – each prisoner can betray the other, either by testifying that the other committed the criminal act or by cooperating with the other by remaining silent. The game means: • If A and B each betray the other, each of them will serve 2 years in prison.

• If A betrays B and B remains silent, A will be freed and B will serve three years in prison; • If B betrays A and A remains silent, B will be freed and A will serve three years in prison;

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•

If A and B both remain silent, both of them will serve only one year in prison.

Therefore, the players have two choices - either to cooperate or to defect. Each of these players chooses what to decide without knowing what the other’s choice is.

Tung (n.d.) summarizes this: If both players cooperate, they are awarded 3 points each. If they both defect, they are awarded 1 point each. There is a reward for mutual defection. When one player chooses to cooperate and the other chooses to defect then the one who has cooperated receives 0 points and the one who has defected receives five. The temptation to defect gives 5 points while the 0 points are called the sucker’s payoff. If you think the opponent is going to defect then you must defect or you will receive 0 points. Therefore, no matter what the other does, it pays for you to defect. The other player is also in the same situation meaning you should both defect, but if you do, then both of you get 1 point, which is less than the 3 points you would get by cooperating.

Through this game theory of the evolution of cooperation, Robert Axelrod (1984) developed a theory to uncover what really is necessary for cooperation to evolve in an organization. Nowak (2013) claims that cooperation is necessary for evolution to build new levels of an organization. He points out that cooperation denotes that those who are selfish relinquish some of their reproductive potential to be of assistance to one another; yet competition occurs and it tends to oppose cooperation unless there is an emergence of a specific mechanism.

4. Research Methods This qualitative study, like all qualitative studies, focused on the richness of the data and understanding the practice of school managers pertaining to teachers’ unions and cooperation. As a researcher, I was more interested in securing a sample of information-rich participants. The eight principals selected displayed certain characteristics in which I was interested. In the eight secondary schools teacher unions were present, although in some less pertinent than in others.

Purposeful sampling was employed; this refers to sampling that is not so much concerned with random sampling, but rather with providing participants who will be information-rich (Struwig & Stead, 2004). Brink (2000) points out that the advantage of purposive sampling is that it allows the researcher to handpick the sample based on their knowledge of the topic under study. Purposeful sampling assists in gathering relevant data. Several strategies can be applied, namely extreme case sampling, intensity sampling and maximum variation sampling. The type of purposeful sampling strategy used in this study was maximum variation sampling. Benoot et al. (2016) define this as a maximum variation constructed by identifying key dimensions of variations and then finding cases that vary from each other as much as possible.

The sample was diverse in terms of socio-economic status of the schools, race of participants, and the intensity of union activity in each of the schools. A highly diverse sample was selected with the purpose of discovering vital experiences among the participants (cf. Struwig & Stead, 2004). In this study, I sought to

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sample school managers from various schools to determine their shared perspectives about cooperation and trade unions.

In each of the eight schools, the principal was interviewed, as well as two teachers from the same school. Apart from individual interviews, focus group interviews were conducted with six participants each. Therefore, in addition to the school principal, one union representative and one teacher from the school management team (SMT) were sampled from each school. The SMT members in the sample comprised six heads of department and two deputy principals from the eight schools. Table 1 below shows the characteristics of the 24 sampled participants from the eight schools.

Table 1: Characteristics of the sampled participants School 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Participants P1 P1a P1u P2 P2a P2u P3 P3a P3u P4 P4a P4u P5 P5a P5u P6 P6a P6u P7 P7a P7u P8 P8a P8u

Gender & Race Male/Black (MB) MB Female/Black (FB) FB MB MB FB MB MB MB Male/Coloured (MC) MB MC Female/Coloured (FC) MC MC FC FC Female/White (FW) Male/White (MW) MW MW MW MW

P1-P8 – 8 school principals from each school P1a – P8a – 8 school management team members from each of the schools P1u – P8u – 8 union members based at each school Documentary analysis was conducted to examine a number of aspects linked to cooperation and teacher collaboration. Documents that were examined were minutes of meetings, especially those between union site committees and school management, teacher journals, learner results, and teacher portfolios. The paradigm employed in the study was interpretivism. Rosman and Rallis (2003) define a paradigm as a shared understanding of reality. In this study, the researcher obtained the understanding of the phenomenon of unionism from individual teachers. I used the emic view, which explicates the views of the people

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from the community or individual teachers. After collection, the data were transcribed and manually coded into some overarching themes. I used content analysis to draw the data from the study, and I also used O’Leary’s (2017) guide, that contains six steps for qualitative data analysis and, of these, the researcher employed the reduction and coding of the data into themes, which involved building categories. A search for commonalities and divergences in the eight schools from which the participants came was conducted before building the themes. Then, before drawing conclusions, the researcher built and verified theories mainly exploring the evolution of cooperation themes.

5. Findings The instrument used for collecting data for the study was based on Axelrod’s Evolution of Cooperation theory (1984). Using the game theory and the thought experiment called the Prisoner’s Dilemma, the instrument sought to eventually develop a theory that could be utilized in schools to reveal what can be done for cooperation to emerge between school managers and teacher unions. As was evident from the participants, cooperation is critical in effective schools. When school managers and unions do not cooperate with each other (that is, betray each other), they are unlikely to achieve effectiveness and well-run schools. When unions and school managers are driven by selfish interests, they are hurting themselves and the school’s progress will be impacted badly by this ‘defection’.

It would be better to protect one another rather than to act in irrational selfinterest. The instrument also was used to determine whether there were instances of what Axelrod and Hamilton (1981) refer to as ‘collective stability’. The findings are explicated under four subtopics below: Cooperation, the missing link? When union and managers cooperate; Professionalism, activism and school progress, as well as Document analysis.

5.1 Cooperation, the missing link?

The participants’ responses demonstrated that when teacher unions work with school management towards the same goals there is bound to be progress. In fact, the eight principals and the rest of the participants stated that optimism reigned when unions worked closely with school management teams. Furthermore, the participants pointed out that cooperation in managing schools goes beyond the schools themselves. School managers need cooperation from district officials, parents, non-governmental organizations, businesses, religious groups and parents. In schools, teacher union site committees exist, and in four of the schools in this research there were up to three teacher unions. All eight union representatives pointed out that teacher unions will always be necessary to collaborate with management to boost the schools’ progress. Two principals, P1 and P6 mentioned that “strong, progressive teacher unions” would increase teacher commitment. P2 summed up what she believed in stating: I always wish that we had strong unions that would empower our teachers with skills. We need learners who will lead in future but we cannot achieve the necessary support when we have unions that disrupt schooling. I will strongly accept any union that supports professional development of teachers and learner success. My union is not activist oriented but it does not adequately support professional growth that would lead to school improvement.

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P8, who is a principal of a ‘fairly successful school’, pointed out that his recipe was to balance cooperation and competition, because schools need both. He stated that “teachers within schools have to cooperate intensely, before they could be able to compete with other schools. I have made sure that I work closely with unions in my school and this has worked for my school management teams.”

Several of the participants also maintained that closer relationships between unions and school management would enhance school management functions.

It was significant to note in focus groups, however, that from the twenty-four participants eleven maintained that teacher unions’ existence was not necessarily pivotal when it came to the attainment of school progress. These participants reiterated what some referred to as the “destructive nature” of union activities.

They stated that the unions were opposed to various forms of school progress, including the introduction of some programmes that would be beneficial for teachers’ professional growth. Those who were against teacher unions also highlighted aspects such as the unions’ politicisation of school processes. They were concerned about the “over-involvement” of unions in school activities, including teacher appointments, especially appointments of school managers.

Nine participants also were concerned about what they referred to as the disruptive labour union activities, when teachers embark on “chalk-down” strikes that would see them leave their classrooms until their demands were met, especially by the education department. The participants stated that these actions usually put the teacher unions at loggerheads with other stakeholders, thus making cooperation almost impossible. They also concurred that union allegiance frequently leads to staff divisions when staff may make decisions in the staffroom according to their union affiliation.

5.2 When unions and managers cooperate Despite some negative views on teacher unions, the participants also pointed out what worked when teacher unions and school management cooperated. Several participants proclaimed that teachers would cooperate when the vision was clear and this would bring significant transformation and success to the school.

Participants also pointed out that when teacher unions and school managers worked together, it was bound to ensue in improvement in learner results and teacher morale. Six principals (P1, P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7) stated that cooperation amongst all the school’s role-players, including teacher unions, might also lead to an improved culture of teaching and learning. Some participants added the possibilities of shared management in schools, because meticulous managers might use effective management styles. The argument was raised that it would be much easier for teachers in a school to share the school’s vision if there were cooperation. P2, P4, P5, P6, P7 and P8 also declared that there usually were challenges in understanding department of education policies and procedures.

Yet the eight participants who were union members proclaimed that their role was to work closely with school management teams to understand and enhance the implementation of policies.

Participants maintained that when there is a lack of cooperation between teacher unions and school managers the “agenda of empowerment of all teachers is

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negatively affected”. Almost all participants concurred that unions should be the core stakeholders to lead teacher empowerment. The principals, including members of union site committees, agreed that unions usually are preoccupied with workers’ rights and rarely fight for other forms of social justice in education, including a just curriculum. P4u pointed out: It is an open secret, our fundamental purpose is to stand for teachers’, our members’, labour issues. After all, we are a union. But if you look at our documents that spell out our vision, we are for learner excellence as well as teacher development. We were borne out of struggle and we want to see the fruits through (the instilling of) excellence.

All the participants maintained that unions that are well run, are critically important for any school management team. P6a, a school management team member, explained it: School managers who are supported by the teacher union site committees in their schools are more likely to experience less problems. However, the problems in many schools are caused by the challenge of not having any collaboration and understanding between unions and school management. Unions can enhance school management; I have seen that in my school …

5.3 Professionalism, activism and school progress

One union participant (P1u) added that usually the school managers thwarted progress when it came to creating a healthy relationship between teacher unions and school managers. He said that, because of the history of opposition between unions and management, school managers should “break the veil of suspicion and lead the way to effective cooperation”. The majority of participants concurred with P7a who declared that cooperation would happen where there is a “special relationship between unions and management”, because then “success is bound to happen”. Four school principals (P2, P4, P5 and P7), who had a strong relationship with the unions in their schools, also agreed that union members needed reasonable managers who would be sympathetic to their cause and, if this happened, better cooperation with school managers would occur. P4 contended: The union members will see when you are genuine. When I arrived here as a principal, they told me how disruptive some members could be. I had a meeting with each of the two union member representatives in my school. One belonged to my union, but I am very fair to both and that is critical. Treat unions the same way, they need to see that you understand them but if it comes to putting the foot down and manage the school I do not compromise. For example, union meetings cannot disrupt my school, something that happens in many schools. Therefore, school managers need to build this understanding right from the beginning.

Three other principals maintained, though, that unions are frequently the cause of confusion, especially in historically black schools where management can easily feel disrespected. Fourteen participants who are union site committee members concurred that cooperation needs to be planned well and incorporated into the vision of the school. The principals maintained that when unions take any militant stance against the department it is very difficult to cooperate with them. They find

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that unions usually renege on agreements and plans during the times of teacher strikes. Yet P5 explained the union’s position as follows: Unions are full of activists, people who are teacher advocates. In my school, I think I have been successful because I tap on this vibrant activism, which can also inject dynamism in how we strive for success.

Unions and managers should not necessarily be opposed. Activism and professionalism can easily be married for success.

However, three principals (P2, P3 and P8), and seven school management team members stated that by their nature some unions do not support school managers, even when they come up with progressive programmes for the school. They pointed out that this might be aggravated when the manager is not a member of the union. One participant, P2, claimed that she had observed how unions operated in two schools where she was a middle manager. She was a head of department and then became a deputy principal in the other school. In both, she said, she experienced various challenges when working with teacher union site committees. P2 maintained: Cooperation will never be possible when you look at unions, all unions.

As a manager, you take decisions with them today and they agree. Then you do not know after school who they consult because they come back saying to you in the morning: No, we have a different position now. It can be a challenge and sometimes you can just believe that they are not for progress, these people.

Linked to the arguments in the above section, participants agreed that teachers have human rights and among these rights is the right to strike. They have a right to go into the streets to demand salary increases, for example. However, when these actions become prolonged, they affect learners’ progress. In South Africa, people would know about the teachers’ strikes in 2008, when teachers went on a prolonged strike. All the participants stated that there was a link between teacher unions’ actions and the poor achievement of the learners.

Fourteen participants stated that, although they were aware that unions mainly stand for labour issues, they maintained that they should play a role in engendering cooperation in schools, thus helping the school managers. They also pointed out that several teachers who were union members were very loyal to their unions and very indifferent towards their school managers. In different ways, they expressed the argument that caring unions are those that would also have “an agenda that ensures that their members are in working schools”.

Participants pointed out that in historically black schools teachers rarely initiate professional development programmes. Two teachers (P5a and P5u) from a historically coloured school who stated that they rarely had any professional development programmes “initiated by the school” also reiterated this.

The participants further proclaimed that teacher unions usually interfere with the school governing bodies’ (SGB) appointment of teachers. They claimed that union members frequently fought for their own members within or from outside the school to be appointed. As a result, the union members would turn the appointment of teachers into a ‘dirty’ political lobbying that could frustrate school

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managers. Two participants (P1a and P3a) even stated that, after appointing candidates who were not favoured by powerful unions within their schools, it was clear that the new colleagues would not get support from a section of the teachers.

The participants stressed that cooperation needs solidarity and belief in one another. In the absence of this support, productivity will be deferred and teachers will all feel disempowered because they are not working together.

5.4 Document analysis In three of the four historically black schools (P1, P2 and P3) as well as two of the historically coloured schools (P5 and P6) there was no cooperation and the school management teams were ineffective and powerless. Documents in these schools also reflected grade 12 learner achievement that was below the expected level. (In South Africa grade 12 represents the final school year, for the passing of which learners obtain the National Senior Certificate (NSC), a high school diploma and school-leaving certificate). The grade 12 average pass percentage in these five schools over the past three years was 48%. In these schools cooperation between school managers and teacher unions was poor. In School 4, 98% of the staff members belonged to one union, SADTU, and the principal was an executive member of the branch. The grade 12 pass rate of an average of 70% over the past three years showed that the cooperation between the school’s principal and the unions was among the advantages of the school. The school’s progress also attested to the fact that union activities in his school were allowed only after school and they never disturbed the learning and teaching programme. The documentary evidence on the two historically white schools (7 and 8) also reflected high learner success of the grade 12 classes. In both schools, the pass rate on average was more than 91% over the three-year period. In both schools, the principals stated that union activities did not in any way deter the school programme. All teachers worked closely together to support the school programme. Both schools also had constant professional development programmes. In one of these two schools, the principal stated that the teachers were not even active in teacher unions even though they were registered members. Two unions of choice in these two schools were NAPTOSA and SATU. The other documents that were examined were the minutes of meetings between school management and union site committees. The minutes of meetings display the kind of resolutions arrived at and one can sense whether there was team understanding in arriving at certain resolutions, even though there might have been disagreements at certain times. Apart from memorialising the meeting, the minutes helped to show accountability, as well as delegation. Meetings were not held very often in three of the schools (Schools 1, 3, 5) and even when they happened, they ended quickly and abruptly. In several instances, the principals and their management teams made the decisions. In one school (School 2), the minutes reflected how union site committee members dominated the principal and her management. Decisions were more dependent upon union members than school managers, and the minutes reflected the silence of the managers. In one entry, the appointment of a head of department was recorded and this showed how two unions who each wanted their own preferred candidate overwhelmed the school managers. In six of the schools (Schools 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) teachers kept

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some form of journals, although journaling was not up to date in all the schools.

Yet journal entries showed instances where reflection demonstrated peer cooperation and the involvement of the principals’ offices in supporting aspects, such as teacher management and teacher commitment. In three of the schools (4, 7, 8), the journals showed the involvement of committees such as curriculum committees and union site committees. In each of the schools a sample of five teachers’ journals were examined. There were no journals supplied in two of the schools (1 and 3). Some teachers supplied evaluation files that had a few notes on personal development journals.

During the analysis of the data, the researcher categorized and coded the common themes. The themes were linked to Axelrod’s game theory and they demonstrated how the existence or absence of cooperation influenced various aspects of managing schools. The need for a guiding vision, the ability to deal with conflicts, and working towards a common goal are part of the themes teased from the findings. These are tabulated in the school managers’ cycle in Figure 1 below.

Whilst some schools, such as 3 and 6, were struggling to engender cooperation, the managers understood the need to develop a strategy of building cooperation.

6. Discussion: Learning from Axelrod The study showed the need for unions to build their ability to enhance teacher growth. The school principals occupy an unenviable position because in many South African schools the conditions do not allow distributed leadership.

Effective principals will use Axelrod’s and similar theories to draw up a strategy to inculcate cooperation in their schools. It is of vital importance for school managers to plan this continuously:

Freezing & Delegation.

Addressing Conflict and Competition

Understanding and Sharing the School's Vision

Maximizing Cooperation

Magnifying the Future

Tit-for-Tat Enhancing Adaptation Strategies

Building Networks

Figure 1: School Managers' Cycle for Instilling Cooperation

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Three principals (P4, P7 and P8) in the study used similar stages although it may

not be easy to compartmentalize the stages because one straddles the next. Schools have become so complex that principals need to plan all aspects of their management, especially in relation to other stakeholders. School management courses for school management teams should teach the principles about how to prevent and annihilate tit-for-tat behaviour and the negative impacts of defection and betrayal in a school as an organization. Several programmes have shown the importance of preparing school managers to implement formal management and leadership practices. Below the stages are briefly explained: Understanding the school’s vision The school’s vision is critical and can be one important document that brings school managers and union site committees to work closely together. The vision of the school must communicate achievable goals and should inspire all roleplayers. School role-players should cooperate towards an agreed-upon vision.

Magnifying the future As the school managers plan transformation in the running of the school, they need to magnify the future for both the unions and the rest of the teachers.

Axelrod contends that magnifying the future can bring employees to cooperate for the success of the organization. Magnifying the future means bringing opponents together to believe in one common dream; this is the best way to maintain cooperative membership.

Building networks The meticulous school manager trying to build cooperation in her school will engender consensus and forge networks. Teachers working in silos generate problems in many schools, especially between unions and school managers. The isolation creates hostilities and misunderstandings. Employees betray one another because of the lack of interaction, and negative competition. Effective managers will be able to dumb-down extreme hostilities without dismissing necessary conflict.

Tit-for-tat: Enhancing adaptation strategies When interactions have been strengthened, the teachers need to learn to lead the school through Axelrod’s “reciprocating”. School management should always make the teams aware of the dangers of defection and ways of avoiding following contradictory policies. Perceptive and skilled school managers would deal effectively with factions that thwart progress by equipping teachers with relevant strategies.

Maximizing cooperation One of the most overlooked strategies by school managers is building more leaders in their schools through participative leadership and shared leadership.

Good leaders create more leaders who will have the necessary maturity to cooperate with colleagues. The creation of motivators and leaders in any school helps in engendering trust and commitment. It is easy for school managers to nurture motivators and leaders when they have inculcated teacher maturity

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among their teachers (Msila, 2002). Furthermore, teachers who have reached professional maturity would be able to embrace cooperation (Msila, 2002).

Freezing approach and delegation The best experiences need to be solidified and replicated throughout the six stages. If one were applying Kurt Lewin’s (1947) Model of Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze in instilling cooperation, then the first five stages would be a reference to unfreezing and changing the organization. The last stage, which is refreezing, refers to establishing and sustaining the changes. Refreezing may be the most challenging stage because schools, like all organizations, will experience conflicts and competition which may be contrary to the objectives of cooperation. It must, however, be part of a school’s culture if the school seeks to be successful.

Rowlinson (1997) points out that Axelrod shows that cooperation does not need coercion. This is what some principals pointed out, as illustrated in Figure 1, claiming that school managers need to consciously work with their union staff to achieve cooperation. Furthermore, Rowlinson (1997) adds that cooperation is promoted when members are prepared to engage in frequent interactions. In many schools, teachers tend to work in isolation, as several participants stated in the interviews. Yet Axelrod (2000) posits that people need to be brought together in the long term and increase interactions to promote the emergence of cooperation.

Figure 1 above helps in understanding the dynamics of cooperation in schools and answering some of Axelrod’s (2000) questions that actors searching for cooperation should ask. These questions also are critical for all managers striving for cooperation: i.

Under what conditions can cooperation emerge and be sustained among other actors who are egoists? ii.

What advice can be offered to a player in a given setting about the best strategy to use? iii.

What advice can be offered to reformers who want to alter the very terms of the interaction to promote the emergence of cooperation?

The study also demonstrates that only schools where unions cooperate with school managers and other team members will reap the benefits of effectiveness.

Many schools fail because of cultures that thwart cooperation, especially between unions and school managers.

7. Conclusion Apart from showing the way, teachers should understand the dynamics of cooperation in their schools. The study demonstrated that the impact of cooperation between the school management and the schools’ teacher union site committees is critical to the achievement of school effectiveness. Studies cited indicate that teacher commitment, learner success and increased parental involvement are among the factors that will be enhanced when managers cooperate with teacher unions in their schools. Conscientious members of teacher unions would not betray other role-players by not cooperating for the success of their schools when the future is magnified and their roles are justified. Effective

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managers who build successful schools would know what they need to do to ensure that cooperation emerges, and this includes managing factions and honing management skills. These skills include knowing how to build cooperation among various role-players. School managers who are lifelong learners will also continue learning various aspects of management and leadership, including conflict management, financial management and entrenching cooperation. Teachers betraying one another damage the organization. The study indicated that schools with broken-down cultures and little cooperation still have much to achieve.

There was evidence of cooperation in the three schools that excelled in effectiveness.

Finally, teacher labour unions, school managers and teachers in general need to cooperate without coercion from district or provincial officials. Axelrod’s game theory clearly shows that government cannot enforce effective social contracts.

School managers ought to understand that it is the need for a shared sense of community, solidarity and dependability that will transform teachers in schools.

The belief in learner success and well-run schools that address the ills of society will encourage meticulous teachers to cooperate with other role-players. Only schools that survive through cooperation will be able to maintain the necessary stability.

Like most qualitative studies, this study’s main limitation is the small sample, which makes it impossible to generalize results to all schools. However, the findings are useful for understanding the circumstances of the schools under study. More studies with larger samples need to be conducted to assist school managers who seek to enhance school effectiveness through cooperation.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 302-319, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.16

The Impact of the Academic Advising Style on the Development of an Academic Integrity Culture among Future PhD Candidates Petro M. Boychuk, Olha L. Fast, Olha P. Shevchuk, Tetiana V. Horobets and Vasyl A. Shkoba The Municipal Higher Educational Institution “Lutsk Pedagogical College” of the Volyn Regional Council, Lutsk, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7451-1995 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7216-0044 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5499-9548 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-1119 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0441-2363 Abstract. Our research studied the impact of academic advising style on the development of a culture of academic integrity among PhD candidates. The study involved 52 postgraduate students and their 52 academic advisors. The results obtained were analyzed through general scientific methods. We used a closed-ended questionnaire to gather data from academic advisors, open-ended questions for postgraduate students, mathematical data processing techniques, and the Statistica software package to interpret data. The empirical data indicates that a pastoral academic advising style was applied by 17,3% of advisors, a laissez-faire style by 11,5%, a contractual style by 40,4%, and a directorial style by 30,8% of advisors in this study. Correlating these results with data on postgraduate students’ level of academic integrity culture lead to the conclusion that the contractual style of academic advising could be regarded as the most beneficial for raising the level of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students (33,3% of students of advisors with this style had a high level of academic integrity culture). The weakest style for improving the level of academic integrity culture of students is the pastoral style (11,1%). Moreover, it is obvious that most academic advisors (40,4%) use the mutually beneficial contractual style. The quantitative increase of advising style indicators corresponding to the contractual type entails higher values for students’ academic integrity culture. The relationship between advising style and level of academic integrity culture is not linear, and we cannot argue that an academic advisor with a contractual leadership style adheres to all the desirable principles of academic integrity culture. Further investigations are required if more specific and diversified conclusions are to be made.

Furthermore, we should take into account that other members of the

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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academic staff also have an impact on the formation and improvement of the academic integrity culture of postgraduate students.

Keywords: postgraduate studies; training PhD candidates; academic advisor; scientific advising styles; academic integrity culture; education quality assurance

1. Introduction In recent years, academic dishonesty has become a major problem throughout the educational space (Sheard et al., 2018). Academic dishonesty refers to behaviour that is aimed at providing or receiving information from others, using unauthorized materials, and circumventing an authorized evaluation process in an academic context (Faucher & Caves, 2009). Sefcik et al. (2019, p. 35) emphasize the need for “growing global recognition of the importance of academic integrity,” and for higher education institutions to “redouble their efforts to address academic integrity issues.” Adherence to the foundations of academic integrity should become well-established institutional policy in higher education institutions (Artyukhov & Liuta, 2017). Bretag (2018) notes that academic integrity is much more than a “student issue,” and that achieving academic integrity requires the commitment of all stakeholders in the academic community. Thus, the issue of building academic integrity concerns all levels of education and all entities.

However, special attention should be paid to the issue of violation of academic integrity in research activity. For example, in South Africa, the training of PhD students is perceived as playing a crucial role in addressing the country’s need to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality (Jili & Masuku, 2017). Thus, poor quality research hinders the development of science and technology, and hampers social progress.

According to statistical studies, plagiarism is the most common violation of academic integrity in research activities. It has been found that 93% of postgraduate students practice plagiarism in some form, and, on average, 50% of dissertations do not meet minimum academic quality standards, or contain plagiarism, or both (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2017).

Reviewing research papers enables identification of the main factors that create opportunities for violation of academic integrity principles: (1) Regulatory uncertainty. Among the problems of regulations are uncertainties about the algorithms used to detect academic dishonesty, and penalties for dishonesty at the legislative level. There is also a problem of withholding Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees or titles for violations of academic integrity.

(2) Culture of dishonesty. Academic integrity is an ethical issue (Simola, 2017).

Developing intolerance for manifestations of dishonesty in research papers is primarily about developing a system of personal values and motivation for learning and professional activities. It should be noted that

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(3)

(4)

(5)

developing a culture of academic integrity is not the task of higher education only, but of all levels of education.

Impunity. Even for proven cases of dishonest research practice, the relevant authorities often fail to enforce accountability for academic dishonesty (Rezvan et al., 2020). Acting with impunity regarding plagiarism usually implies other violations too (Kvit, 2020). Consequently, scientists continue to commit academic integrity violations in their research activities, apply new tactics to ‘bypass’ software to detect plagiarism, and continue publishing and defending low-quality research papers that have little scientific novelty and practical significance.

Lack of effective tools. Software with the technical ability to detect signs of plagiarism in papers is central to the detection of academic dishonesty (Sobhagyawati, 2017). The lack of clear algorithms for verifying research texts, and lack of repositories for their storage contributes further to manifestations of academic fraud.

Distance online education presents even more opportunities for academic dishonesty, especially for ensuring academic integrity (Gamage et al., 2020).

The issues of regulatory uncertainty, impunity and lack of tools are objective factors that should be considered when developing a culture of academic integrity. Mastery by students of the educational component of curricula that train PhDs, and executing supervised research activities directly influence the development of a culture of academic integrity. Thus, the academic advisor not only monitors the postgraduate student’s adherence to academic integrity principles, but also directly shapes its culture. Research has found that, “after the first year, most graduate students do not want to continue their studies due to low interest and support from their scientific advisor” (Semenog, 2016, p. 42). Gray and Jordan (2012) note that there is now a need for enhanced study on the role academic advisors play in shaping students’ perceptions of academic integrity.

The literature provides no single classification of forms/styles of behavior required of academic advisors and postgraduate students. Semenog and Vovk (2016) identify three forms of academic advising: supervision, discussion, and counselling, while Kuklina (2006) distinguishes only two forms of academic advising: minimalist and formal. In their research on the views of postgraduate students and academic advisors on academic advising, Murphy et al. (2007) conclude that most attitudes and beliefs are related to a need for and expectations of regular monitoring. Talanova (2010) identifies eight roles of an academic advisor: assistant, teacher, psychologist, organizer, scientist, consultant, tutor and expert. Piekhota and Yermakova (2013) suggest levels for specific, appropriate pedagogical influence and assistance in the organization and during implementation of research: 1) full advising; 2) partial advising; 3) full counseling; 4) partial counseling.

A topical study is that by Agné and Mörkenstam (2018), which investigated the effectiveness of either collective or individual advising. They found that, during the first year of PhD studies, collective advising significantly increased the

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probability of a student completing the dissertation, and reduced the time needed to complete.

The model proposed by Gatfield (2005) is of interest to our study. It takes into account aspects of the interaction between the advisor and the postgraduate student, such as control and support. Based on these two dimensions — support and control (supervision) — Gatfield describes four styles of academic advising: pastoral, contractual, laissez-faire, and directorial. According to Gatfield (2005), none of these four styles should be considered undesirable or incorrect.

Thus, the growing need for scientists to adhere to the principles of academic integrity necessitate a study on the impact of academic advising style on the development of an academic integrity culture among PhD candidates, which was the aim of this study. The topicality of this direction was stimulated by social challenges resulting from the research problem, gaps in the practice of academic advising, the importance of preparing a new generation of academic staff, ensuring their mastery of skills related to conducting ethical research and defending postgraduate dissertations at the PhD level, and existing problems relating to plagiarism in research. The main questions arising from the topicality of this article and the problems of training PhD candidates, are the following: 1.

What style of academic advising is the most common?

2.

Is there a relationship between the academic advising style and the levels of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates?

2. Methods and Materials The study was conducted between September 2019 and September 2020.

2.1. Participants The subjects of the study were second-year postgraduate students of different specializations. The reason for targeting second-year students is that, by this time, postgraduate students have usually completed the education component of the Individual work plan of the graduate student, and are preparing the theoretical part of the dissertation.

The Volyn Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education was chosen as the experimental base of the study. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, 25 245 postgraduate students were studying in Ukraine at the end of 2019 (Ukrstat, 2020). This number comprised the general population of our sample. Using an online calculator (with the parameters 85% confidence probability, 10% error), the size of a valid sample was determined to be 52 people.

The study, thus, involved 52 postgraduate students and their 52 academic advisors. The study involved academic advisors who supervised only one postgraduate student each, in order to study the impact of academic advising style on the level of academic integrity of postgraduate students more effectively.

2.2. Procedure of the Study The study was executed in three stages. The first (preparatory) stage included

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(1) The choice, justification and theoretical interpretation of the problem and research topic, as well as the study of previous research on the selected problem; and (2) Development of the program and methods of conducting the experiment.

The second (main) stage involved (1) Conducting a survey of academic advisors to determine their advising style (Appendix A); (2) Conducting a survey of postgraduate students in order to determine the level of their academic integrity culture (Appendix B).

The third (final) stage involved (1) Processing data that had been collected, using the Statistica software package; (2) Interpreting statistical indicators; (3) Comparing the actual results with those expected, and relating it to previous research on the selected problem; and (4) Developing recommendations and documenting research outcomes.

2.3. Data Processing In accordance with the objectives of each stage of the study, we used general empirical scientific methods of analysis, i.e., we conducted an experiment with qualitative and quantitative analysis of results, applied methods of mathematical data processing, in particular Pearson’s rxy correlation coefficient, to determine the dependence and ANOVA (analysis of variance) to confirm the relationship between academic advising style and levels of the academic integrity culture among PhD candidates. The statistical analysis software package Statistica was used for quantitative data analysis.

Based on the Gatfield study (2005), we developed a closed-ended anonymous questionnaire with answer options on a 10-point scale for academic advisors, which allowed us to determine their dominant academic advising style (pastoral, contractual, laissez-faire or directorial). The survey consisted of 16 multiple choice questions, with each answer representing one of the four types of academic advising style for postgraduate students’ work management and advisors’ personal interaction with them. The maximum possible points is 160, which relates to an extremely high level of pastoral advising style. Other types of academic advising were estimated in a diversified manner. For instance, advisors with a laissez-faire style are characterized by low levels of support and providing limited levels of motivation and management skills (low motivation and management skills of supervisors impact postgraduate students’ behavioral traits). Advisors with a low level of directorial style of academic supervision do not engage in high levels of personal interaction – these advisors may appear uncaring and uninvolved (for detailed information see Gatfield, 2005). Before the

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survey was used for practical purposes, it was tested by a number of formal criteria to determine reliability and validity.

The next step was to determine the tools for measuring the levels of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students (Appendix B). Based on the conducted analysis of scientific work we determined that the main components of academic integrity are knowledge of academic integrity, academic writing skill and ability, motivation, and values regarding the commission of academic misconduct. The components, furthermore, served as material for determining the criteria and indicators of the level of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students.

The level of the academic integrity culture of postgraduate students was determined using an open-ended questionnaire (Appendix B), which had been created and implemented using MyTest software and which diagnosed multiple aspects of academic integrity culture and the leading motives for research activity, such as social utility, professional advancement, material wellbeing, comfort, career benefits, creativity, and communication. These motives were determined using the measure called Motivation of Research Activity (Reheilo & Bazeliuk, 2015). The level of the activity and cognitive criteria was determined using the questionnaire that required postgraduate students to give their own explanations of the research problem. After the questionnaire had been administered, the results were scored by the authors of the current study to determine students’ levels of academic integrity culture. The number of points scored was categorized according to certain levels of academic integrity culture.

3. Results Criteria for the levels of academic culture are axiological and motivational, cognitive, and activity. According to these criteria, the indicators and three levels of the academic integrity culture among PhD candidates were determined as either high, sufficient or medium (Table 1).

Table 1: Criteria and indicators for determining the levels of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates (developed by authors) Criteria Indicators

High level

Sufficient level

Axiological and motivational Postgraduate students aim to obtain professional knowledge; they carry out high-quality scientific research, and work in the research field. They are internally motivated to obtain quality professional knowledge.

Postgraduate students want to

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Cognitive

Postgraduate students have perfect academic writing skills and ability, and carry out high-quality research activities.

Postgraduate students have extensive knowledge and understanding of the laws and general and group norms that govern issues of academic ethics, and are well aware of their responsibility to avoid violating academic integrity.

Postgraduate students have sufficient

Postgraduate students have sufficient

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Medium level

acquire professional knowledge and defend a dissertation, but are not sure about further work in the research field. Their motives for scientific activity are unstable.

academic writing skills and abilities, but may make minor mistakes. They carry out research activities at an adequate level.

Postgraduate students are not keen to obtain professional knowledge, or to carry out high-quality scientific research.

They plan no further work in the research field, and their postgraduate studies are driven mostly by external motives.

Postgraduate students have academic writing skills and abilities, but make significant mistakes when citing sources.

They carry out research activities at a medium level.

knowledge and understanding of the laws and general and group norms that govern issues of academic ethics. They do not fully realize their responsibility for avoiding violating academic integrity.

Postgraduate students have mediocre knowledge and understanding of the laws and general and group norms that govern academic ethics. They do not realize their responsibility for avoiding violating academic integrity.

The study used various diagnostic techniques, taking into account the peculiarities of the studied phenomenon, to determine the levels of the components of the academic integrity culture among PhD candidates, namely, axiological and motivational, activity, and cognitive.

We also surveyed 52 academic advisors to determine their advising styles. Table 2 shows the data obtained.

Table 2: Results of a survey of academic advisors to determine their advising style Academic advising style Pastoral style Laissez-faire style Contractual style Directorial style

Number 9 6 21 16

% 17.3 11.5 40.4 30.8

The diagnostics show that 40.4% of academic advisors applied the contractual advising style, and 30.8% of academic advisors preferred the directorial style. The pastoral style was less common (17.3% of respondents), and 11.5% of surveyed advisors practiced the laissez-faire style. Thus, most academic advisors exercised detailed control over postgraduate students’ research activities. The main difference between the two most prevalent styles is the personal communication style involved; it is either a formal (directorial style) or friendly relationship (contractual) between the academic advisor and the PhD candidate.

Table 3 presents the results of the experimental measurement.

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Table 3: Levels of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates by criterion Criteria Axiological and motivational Activity

Cognitive

Levels High

Number 19 28 5 15 31 6 13 34 5

Sufficient Medium High Sufficient Medium High Sufficient Medium

% 36.5 53.8 9.7 28.8 59.6 11.6 25 65.3 9.7

Analysis of the axiological and motivational criterion shows that the majority of postgraduate students exhibited a sufficient level of this criterion — 53.8% – while 36.5% of postgraduate students exhibited a high level, and 9.7% of respondents a medium level. Thus, postgraduate students aimed to gain professional knowledge and obtain PhD degrees, though their research was mostly guided by personal motives.

The results of the respondents on the cognitive criterion indicate that PhD candidates were well aware of the concept and principles of academic culture, knew the laws and norms governing academic ethics, and were aware of their responsibility for avoiding violating academic integrity. A quarter of respondents exhibited a high level on the cognitive criterion, 65.3% of respondents had a sufficient level, and 9.7% of postgraduate students had a low level.

Diagnosis of the activity criterion found that 28.8% of postgraduate students adhered to the principles of academic integrity culture at a high level, 65.3% exhibited a sufficient level of adherence, and 11.6% among PhDs adhered at a medium level. Thus, graduate students need further training to master the skills of academic writing, as they make mistakes in presenting the results of their research, which affects the quality of scientific work.

These results were generalized and systematized, which enabled us to determine the number of postgraduate students at each of the three levels of academic culture (see Table 4).

Table 4: Levels of academic culture among PhD candidates Levels High Sufficient Medium

Number 16 30 6

% 30.7 57.8 11.5

The distribution of the surveyed postgraduate students by level of academic integrity culture is as follows: 57.8% of respondents had a sufficient level of academic culture, 30.7% had a high level, and 11.5% of PhD candidates had a medium level. This distribution suggests that it may be necessary to continue developing an academic integrity culture at the level of PhD in higher education.

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Mistakes by postgraduate students could degrade the quality of scientific research. It should be noted that most postgraduate students who enter PhD studies have Master’s degrees with excellent scores. The results could, thus, indicate gaps in the Master’s program, during which students failed to develop an academic integrity culture.

The results obtained for the academic integrity culture of postgraduate students were correlated with the data obtained on the academic advising style of advisors (Table 5).

Table 5: The ratio of the levels of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students to the number of academic advisors with different advising styles Item No.

Academic advising style

Number / % of academic advisors 9 / 17,3%

1.

Pastoral style

2.

Laissez-faire style

6 / 11,5%

3.

Contractual style

21 / 40,4%

4.

Directorial style

16 / 30,8%

Levels of academic culture High Sufficient Medium High Sufficient Medium High Sufficient Medium High Sufficient Medium

Number of postgraduate students

%

1 5 3 1 3 2 7 14 0 5 8 3

11.1 55.6 33.3 16.6 50 33.4 33.3 66.7 31.3 50 16.7

The results show that the academic advisors with: (1) A contractual style had the highest percentage of postgraduate students with a high level of academic integrity culture — 33.3%; (2) Advisors with a directorial style had 31.3% of the postgraduate students with a high level of academic integrity culture; (3) Advisors with a laissez-faire style of academic advising had 16,6% of postgraduate students with high level of academic integrity culture.

(4) Academic advisors with a pastoral advising style had the lowest percentage (11,1%) of postgraduate students with a high level of academic integrity culture.

According to this data, the contractual style of academic advising might be regarded as the most advanced in terms of encouraging a high level of academic integrity culture (33,3% of students of advisors with this style had a high level of academic integrity culture). The weakest style in terms of encouraging a high level of academic integrity culture was the pastoral style (11,1% of students with a high

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level of academic integrity culture). Moreover, it is clear that most academic advisors tend to use the contractual style, which seems to have the greatest mutual benefits for advisors and students.

The data shows that personal relationships with and control over the research of postgraduate students create conditions that could prevent violations of academic integrity. If postgraduate students know that their work will be thoroughly checked by their academic advisors, they are likely to deliberately prevent plagiarism or falsifications.

Most postgraduate students with a sufficient level of academic integrity culture have advisors with a contractual advising style — 66.7%. It is noteworthy that the representatives of this advising style have no postgraduate students with a medium level of academic integrity culture. The data allows us to conclude that friendly relations and clear control and guidance of postgraduate students’ work are favorable for preparing high-quality, relevant research that is scientifically novel. Of the postgraduate students with advisors with a pastoral advising style, 56% were students with a sufficient level of academic integrity culture; similarly, 50% of the students of advisors with laissez-faire and directorial styles had a sufficient level of academic integrity culture.

Equal percentages of students with a medium level of academic integrity culture (33.3%) had advisors with pastoral and laissez-faire styles of advising. Limited interaction on personal and education levels fails to stimulate postgraduate students to adhere to academic integrity principles, and limited control by the advisor contributes to shortcomings in the preparation and conduct of research.

To determine whether there is a relationship between academic advising style and level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates, we applied the Pearson rxy correlation coefficient. The value of the Pearson’s rxy correlation coefficient is determined by the formula:

We advanced the following hypotheses: (1) Н0 is based on the assumption that there is no relationship between academic advising style and the level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates; (2) Н1 is based on the assumption that a relationship between academic advising style and the level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates exists.

The empirical value of Pearson’s rxy correlation coefficient is 0.343. Let us check its statistical significance. According to the table of critical values of Pearson’s rxy, correlation coefficient for df = n = 52 and given α = 0.05, we find rcrit. = 0.273. Since |remp| > rcrit. (0.343> 0.273), hypothesis H0 is rejected.

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The effect size is estimated by the coefficient of determination r2 = rxy2 = 0.3432 = 0.118. According to J. Cohen’s interpretation, the size of the effect corresponds to a large extent. In other words, the total variability of the variables is 11.8%.

Pearson’s correlation coefficient enabled us to reject the null hypothesis for a given data set (rxy = 0.343; p<.05; n = 52). There is a statistically significant positive correlation between academic advising style and the level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates. According to J. Cohen’s interpretation, the size of the effect corresponds with the average level (r2 = 0.118).

Figure 1 demonstrates the relationship between the estimated values of the level of academic integrity of students and advisors’ advising styles.

Integrity level

In addition to correlation analysis, which only shows the data correlation density, but not its direction, a regression analysis was conducted to determine the percentage of the academic advising style that explains the level of academic integrity culture, and whether this relationship is direct or inverse.

Academic advising style Figure 1 : The relationship between the academic integrity culture level and the academic advising style

To estimate the dependence, which we assumed to exist at a theoretical level, the best specification was a nonlinear quadratic dependence. The method of regression analysis involves building an equation that determines the dependence of one indicator (dependent variable, Y) on a particular factor (independent variable, X). The ordinary least squares (OLS) method was used to estimate the coefficients (parameters) of the regression equation. The regression equation was as follows:

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𝑌𝑖 = 𝑏0 + 𝑏1 𝑋 2 𝑖 ,

where 𝑌𝑖 – dependent variable, the academic integrity level; 𝑏0 – cross-section coefficient; 𝑏1 – coefficient for the dependent variable; and 𝑋𝑖 – independent variable, academic guidance style.

Tables 6 and 7 present the main econometric results of the estimated model.

Table 6: The main results of the linear regression model Model

R

R Square

Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1

.442a

.317

.300

10.97239

Table 7: Estimated coefficients of the model

Model

1

(Constant) Academic integrity

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

B

Std. error

Beta

55.185 .294

8.714 .114

.342

t

Sig.

6.333 2.576

.000 .013

Therefore, the specified model was as follows: 𝑌𝑖 = 55,19 + 0,29𝑋 2 𝑖 That is, the double change of the independent variable 𝑋𝑖 has a direct positive effect on the dependent variable 𝑌𝑖 0,29 ∗ 4 = 1.16 times.

The most important calculation of the regression model is the coefficient of determination R Square, which shows how much the variance of the dependent variable (Academic integrity level) is due to a change in the variance of the independent variable (Academic advising style). In our case, it is 32%, which is considerable, and confirms the relationship between variables. Since the significance level for the two coefficients is much less than 0.05, both coefficients are statistically significant, therefore, our model is adequate.

A variance analysis was also performed, according to which hypothesis H0 is the equality of the mean at different levels, that is, the independence of the values of advising style and, accordingly, academic integrity culture level (see Table 8).

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Table 8: ANOVA univariate tests of significance for academic integrity culture level

Effect SS 1

Intercept Advising style Error

253051.1 4790.8 2027.8

Sigma-restricted parameterization.

Effective hypothesis decomposition Degrees of MS Fisher Freedom 1 253051.1 2495.779 31 154.5 1.524 20 101.4

p 0.000000 0.016331

Integrity

level

Thus, for hypothesis H0, the critical value of p-value=5% is rejected, because Table 8 shows the differences in means by Fisher’s criterion are statistically significant, and the possibility of error is close to 0. We present the graph in Figure 2 to show how the means changed. Analysis of variance confirms the results of other analyses: an increase in the values of advising style corresponding to the contractual type entails increased values of the academic integrity culture level.

Academic advising style Figure 2: Change in the mean value of the level of academic integrity culture Note: Academic advising style; LS Means; Current effect: F(31,20) =1,5242, p=,16334 Effective hypothesis decomposition; Vertical bars denote 0.95 confidence intervals.

4. Discussion In answering the questions of our study, we must note further positions.

Diagnostic results show that 40.4% of academic advisors used the contractual advising style, and 30.8% of advisors used a directorial style, thus, these two are the most common academic advising styles. The results obtained coincide with the results obtained by Zerchaninova and Tarbeeva (2020). However, we agree with Gatfield (2005) that none of the styles can be considered ideal and correct, and that styles can and should change according to the situation or an advisor’s

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own advising model (Qureshi & Neelofar, 2016). Other researchers have found that managers should be dynamic and not use only one approach (Jili & Masuku, 2017); the approach should be determined by changes in the postgraduate students’ work style . We share the opinion of Zerchaninova and Tarbeeva (2020), that the academic advisor should regulate the advising style in accordance with the year of study of the postgraduate student, and the peculiarities of the educational and scientific component of training.

As far as the second research question is concerned, there is a medium relationship between the academic advising style and level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates. This relationship is not linear, and we cannot argue that academic advisors with a contractual leadership style (who had the most students with high levels of academic integrity culture) adhere to all the principles of academic integrity culture. In our opinion, and according to the data obtained, an academic advisor has a direct influence on the development of an academic integrity culture, because advisors work directly with postgraduate students during the preparation of their dissertations.

After all, according to Gatfield (2005), the contractual style assumes that academic advisors provide personal support to postgraduate students, and manage the process of preparing students’ research papers effectively. Thus, the nature of the interaction of the academic advisor with the postgraduate student plays a significant role in the process of professional training of the student, and affects the personal satisfaction of postgraduate students related to the process of PhD training. A study conducted by Cockrell and Shelley (2011) found a positive correlation between the level of satisfaction of postgraduate students in the process of training at postgraduate level and the nature of the relationship with the academic advisor. This also confirms an assertion by Igumbor et al. (2020) that it is important for a student to ‘match’ with the academic advisor, both personally (have a good relationship), and academically, which is, to a large degree, the case for the contractual advising style.

We agree with Gray and Jordan (2012) that there are two separate and interrelated roles that an academic advisor should play to promote an academic integrity culture in students. On the one hand, the academic advisor should be a mentor who promotes academic integrity among students in general and, on the other hand, the advisor should promote ethical principles, so that students will act honestly at a particular/practical level.

Previous research has not, to date, addressed the problem related to the relationship between academic advising style and the level of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students – this study was a first. The study was complex, as it involved two pedagogical categories and their relationship. The outlined results will be useful for academic advisors, highly qualified specialists, guarantors of educational programs and heads of postgraduate departments, as well as professionals who provide psychological services at universities. In our opinion, it is important to enshrine the performance indicators of academic advisors at the regulatory level, and to provide sufficient academic and

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psychological support, in order to prevent the manifestations of academic plagiarism.

5. Conclusion The need to develop an academic integrity culture in PhD candidates is urgent.

The factors that create opportunities for violation of academic integrity principles, as well as an absence of studies on the impact of the academic advising style on the development of academic integrity culture in postgraduate students, created the background for this experiment.

The level of training postgraduate students at PhD level receive depends mainly on the requirements of academic advisors, their knowledge of the research topic, and the frequency and effectiveness of beginner researchers’ consultations with their academic advisors. The academic advisor must apply a creative approach to working with postgraduate students. Literature suggests that the academic advisor should be flexible when working with postgraduate students, and should choose advising styles according to emerging conditions or circumstances. The results obtained by this study helped us to determine the main guidelines.

The main findings of the study are as follows. The diagnostics of academic advising style determine that the pastoral academic advising style was applied by 17,3% of advisors, the laissez-faire style by 11,5%, the contractual style by 40,4%, and the directorial style by 30,8% of advisors. Сomparing these findings with postgraduate students’ level of academic integrity culture lead us to conclude that the contractual style of academic advising could be regarded as the most beneficial in terms of raising the level of academic integrity culture of postgraduate students (33,3% of students with advisors with this style of advising, had a high level of academic integrity culture). The weakest style for promoting academic integrity culture is the pastoral style (only 11,1% of students with advisors with this style had high levels of academic integrity culture). Moreover, most academic advisors (40,4%) applied the mutually beneficial contractual style.

Analysis of variance confirms the results of other analyses: a quantitative increase in the indicators of advising style corresponds with the contractual type, and entails increased values in the academic integrity level. This relationship is not linear, and we cannot argue that an academic advisor with a contractual leadership style adheres to all the principles of good academic integrity culture.

The study concludes that there is a medium relationship between academic advising style and level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates.

6. Recommendations The study was the first attempt to determine whether there is a relationship between the academic advising style of advisors and the level of academic integrity culture among PhD candidates. To develop the problem further, we recommend conducting this type of research at the first (Bachelor’s) and second (Master’s) degree levels of higher education.

The results obtained can serve as background for further research, and can be used to improve the training of PhD candidates. The experiment did not, however,

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cover all aspects of the problem. Further research could investigate trends in the choice of academic advising style in accordance with the postgraduate students’ further teaching and research experience, and explore, in detail, the relationship between the level of academic integrity culture of the academic advisor and postgraduate student respectively. In addition, it is advisable to determine whether there are differences between the dominant types of academic advising styles, the levels of postgraduate students’ academic integrity culture, and areas of training (and academic specialties) at postgraduate educational levels.

According to the findings of the research, it is advisable, when training PhD candidates, to (1) conduct constant monitoring of graduate students’ satisfaction with the style of their advisors’ academic advising; (2) carry out professional training of academic advisors who conduct academic advising for the first time; (3) develop an appropriate program to promote an academic integrity culture in PhD candidates; (4) determine, revise and constantly improve training programs for postgraduate students, in view of current trends in the development of an academic integrity culture in PhD candidates.

While conducting further studies, it is essential to take into account the level of influence of other staff in postgraduate students’ level of academic integrity culture. In general, the number of variables should be increased, to provide more complete and reliable data.

7. Research Limitations The main limiting factors of the study are as follows: The experimental work was conducted for second-year postgraduate students only, the study did not take into account the work experience of academic advisors, and the limited time allocated for the experiment.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 320-339, April 2021 https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.4.17

The Knowledge Landscape of School Disciplinary Committees on Disciplinary Policies in Mopani Education district, Limpopo Province, South Africa Rifumuni Nancy Mathebula University of Venda, School of Education, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0780-563X

Tawanda Runhare University of Venda, School of Education, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6142-7858

Abstract. Despite the clarity of the South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996 on the need to craft and implement a learners’ Code of Conduct by school governing bodies (SGBs), there seems to be a gap between the espoused learner disciplinary policies and practice at schools. Using the case study research design, the knowledge scope on education policies by the school disciplinary committees (SDCs) was examined at two secondary schools in a predominantly rural South African district. The study employed a qualitative approach to gather data from purposefully selected informants using focus group and face-to-face interviews. The study sample was composed of 35 participants who were school disciplinary policy duty bearers, comprising 10 SGBs, 10 school management teams (SMTs) and 10 SDC members, as well as f i v e class teachers. The main findings from the thematically analysed narrative data pointed to inadequate knowledge of policies by most SDC committee members. In addition, although the two schools had learners’ codes of conduct that were aligned to SASA, the SDCs were loosely adhering t o the provisions of the disciplinary policies in their operations. The gap between the espoused policy and policy in action was found to be due to the policy duty bearers’ inadequate knowledge of the national policy that governs school discipline. This calls for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to offer policy enhancement workshops for SDCs and to employ a policy monitoring instrument on the functioning of SCDs.

Keywords: duty bearers; knowledge landscape; learners’ Code of Conduct; policy-in-action; school discipline

©Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

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1. Introduction One significant attribute which determines the effectiveness of a school is good discipline (Burton & Leoschut, 2013). Therefore, it is obligatory for schools to establish inclusive and respectful values that encourage and uphold the respect for human rights as this contributes to a conducive, safe and child-friendly teaching and learning environment (Republic of South Africa, 1996a; Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Du Plessis, 2010).

Whereas an atmosphere of safety is an essential for teaching, learning and educational growth (Department of Education, 2008; Mgijima, 2014), there is a challenge of a high prevalence of violence in South African schools (South African Council of Educators [SACE], 2011; Netshitangani, 2014; Mncube & Steinmann, 2014; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017; UNESCO, 2017).

Maphosa (2011) concurs that the occurrence of unruly behaviour is rapidly becoming a severe problem for teachers because a dangerous school atmosphere diminishes the quality of education in any school setting. On the same note, Joubert and Squelch (2005, p.23) attest that “to enable effective learning to take place, it is critical that a safe, secure and positive environment is created”. The right to education is one of the fundamental human rights stated in virtually all international declarations and conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1989, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of 2000 (Runhare et al., 2014).

After 1994, the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA) was passed into law, and among other provisions on school management, school governing bodies (SGBs) were established to deal with learner discipline (Republic of South Africa, 1996a). SASA, Section 10(1) indicates that inflicting corporal punishment on learners is prohibited and educators are required to find alternative means of maintaining school discipline (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017). It is in this regard that to maintain learner discipline, SASA Section 30(1) directs all SGBs to establish a legally structured and functional SDC as its key sub-committee (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008).

Studies have shown that functional school leadership is essential to establish and maintain a friendly teaching and learning environment (Joubert & Bray, 2007; UNICEF, 2017). Rosen (1997) also acknowledges that maintaining a disciplined environment conducive for learning requires professional ethics which are provided by policies such as the school code of learner discipline, and the regulations that govern the operations of SGBs and SDCs. Therefore, schools need nationally aligned and detailed disciplinary codes to inform the management of learner discipline. It is also imperative that all SDC members have adequate knowledge of education policies on school discipline to design and implement their codes of learner discipline effectively at the school level. It was against this background that this paper reports on the knowledge base of SDC members at two rural South African schools on education policies that they should apply in maintaining learner discipline.

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2. Literature Review Studies conducted confirmed that school violence is a global challenge (Burton & Leoschut, 2013; Dunne et al., 2013; UNESCO, 2017; Ngidi, 2018). Similarly, in South Africa, the issue of indiscipline and unsafe school environments is of great concern (UNESCO, 2017; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017; Mgijima, 2014). Other studies conducted in South Africa found that school violence results in a loss of teaching and learning because the interruptions require to be attended to (Mkhize et al., 2011; Ncotsa & Shumba, 2013; Netshitangani, 2014; Ngidi, 2018). On the same note, the Department of Education (2008, p.1) avows that “the school must be committed to provide an environment for the delivery of quality teaching and learning by promoting the rights and safety of all learners, educators and parents”. Therefore SDCs, as policy duty bearers who are vested with powers to maintain school discipline, need to be knowledgeable about education policies as well as ensuring the proper implementation of and adherence to such policies by all school-based stakeholders, including learners.

Media reports regularly inform the community of the increase of misconduct occurrences in South African schools. Incidents of learners wounded and murdered within school boundaries are on the upsurge. To cite a few extreme incidents: on 07 June 2019, it was reported that a 16-year-old learner from a high school in Johannesburg was stabbed to death by a fellow learner. On 07 October of the same year, three learners from a secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal also stabbed a 16-year-old learner to death (Grobler, 2019; Sihlangu, 2019). Besides the school violence, there are other common forms of learner indiscipline. Earlier studies found that the commonest forms of disciplinary problems in schools are cheating in tests or examinations, insubordination, intimidation, watching pornographic material, inappropriate school uniform as well as classroom disruptions (Nene, 2013). However, learner misconduct is not unique to South Africa. A study conducted in Nigeria by Magwa and Ngara (2014) concurs that acts of indiscipline are also widespread in schools. The most predominant kinds of learner misconduct in Nigeria include unauthorised speaking, teasing other learners, absenteeism, verbal abuse of fellow learners and teachers, graffiti on school walls as well as drug abuse. In South Africa, Mncube (2014) observed that a lack of professionalism by teachers also results in violent discord in schools.

It is evident that the SDCs must be knowledgeable about disciplinary policies in order to manage school discipline and to handle serious cases which do not only violate the learners` Code of Conduct but breach the law as well. Based on the cited incidents, a well drafted learners` Code of Conduct cannot maintain discipline alone; SDCs must be knowledgeable to implement both national and school policies effectively. Similarly, Maphosa and Mammen (2011) supported

by Smith et al. (2015) also indicated that managing learner discipline is a serious educational challenge and the SDCs should consider legal principles on discipling learners.

Such severe prevalence of school misconduct among learners implies that schools should have a strong knowledgeable governance structure to maintain

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and promote positive school discipline.

2.1. Legislation of school disciplinary committees (SDCs) in South Africa As mentioned earlier, one major provision of the SASA 84 of 1996, Section 10(1) is the abolition of corporal punishment (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017). In 2000, the Department of Education published a document titled, Alternatives to Corporal Punishment: A Practical Guide for Educators (Department of Education, 2002; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008) which is meant to assist educators on non-violent means of maintaining learner discipline. These alternatives to corporal punishment include detention, time-out, behaviour management contracts, a points system and others.

However, a study conducted by Nkabinde (2007) found that teachers failed to adopt available alternative methods to corporal punishment when disciplining learners because most of them still held that corporal punishment was the most suitable way of dealing with learners’ ill-behaviour. A recent study by Mathebula et al. (2021) observed that corporal punishment or physical abuse of learners is still reported in South African schools.

Reflecting on the education system of South Africa before democracy in 1994, Morrell (2001) and Holdstock (1990) indicated that Bantu Education exposed black children to corporal punishment in South African schools. Morrell (1998) and Kubeka (2004) also concurred that corporal punishment was an integral part of school life for most teachers and learners in South African schools before the democratic dispensation in 1994. Similarly, in Botswana, Tafa (2002:17) revealed that “[a] horrendous form of discipline was also a common feature within the Botswana education system. Students complained that they were being beaten anywhere the teacher pleased for no reason, with sticks, ‘sjamboks’ [whips] and board dusters”.

With the criminalisation of corporal punishment at schools, SDCs are vested with powers to maintain school discipline while considering the Constitution, SASA and Provincial Education Department`s Regulations (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017). SASA endorses the key fundamentals of the Constitution o f the Republic in the education system.

According to SASA Section 30(1), SGB must establish a legally structured SDC as its key sub-committee (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008). The SDC comprises delegated members from the SGB, the SMT, the representative council of learners (RCL), parents or guardians of the child and class teachers. In this way, the state aims at adopting democratically nominated management for promoting acceptance, sensible discussion and shared decisionmaking. Harber and Mncube (2011) concur with SASA; they pointed out that a functioning school is one that works constitutionally to support democratic practices in the broader society.

SASA Section 8(1) also indorses that it is the legal obligation of the SGB to adopt a school Code of Conduct for learners after involvement of key school-based stakeholders, namely educators, support or non-teaching staff, parents and learners in a secondary school context. SASA Section 8(2) further upholds that

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the learners` code of ethics must aim to establish a disciplined and purposeful learning environment which protects the interests of all education stakeholders (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Bray, 2007). Based on this, the South African Children’s Act (2005, p.34) also endorses that “In all matters concerning the care, protection and well-being of a child, the standard that the child’s best interest is of paramount importance, must be applied”. Consequently, the schools need well constituted policy-literate disciplinary committees to maintain and promote good discipline which enhances a conducive teaching and learning environment.

As a way of promoting children`s human and constitutional rights, the SDCs must be knowledgeable about education policies and the proper implementation of such policies in order to avoid the split between policy and practice. The SDCs must acquire knowledge through formal training at different levels. According to SASA, it is the duty of the principal and the school governance to offer training to all the sub-committees of the SGB (Republic of South Africa, 1996b).

The availability of the Schools Act and well drafted learners` codes of conduct at schools do not guarantee the proper implementation of education policies to curb learner misconduct. Therefore, there is still a high prevalence of unruly behaviour in South African schools (UNESCO, 2017; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017; Ncotsa & Shumba, 2013; Netshitangani, 2014; Ngidi, 2018).

Regarding the improper implementation of education policies, Mugabe and Maposa (2013) observed that some teachers protected ill-disciplined learners during disciplinary hearings on the basis that strict monitoring of learners limited their freedom and creativity, which can negatively affect their academic performance.

Therefore, knowledge of the SDC on education policies is crucial; it affects the implementation of the national policy as well as the effectiveness of the SDCs as the policy duty bearers. On this note, this paper examines the knowledge landscape of the SDCs on disciplinary policies at the two selected rural secondary schools in the Mopani district.

2.2 Operation of SDC for conducting school disciplinary hearings The major responsibility of school authorities and educators is the safety and well-being of all learners and staff members (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Squelch, 2005; Department of Education, 2008; Du Plessis, 2010; Dune et al., 2013). As mentioned earlier, SASA directed the SGBs to establish a lawfully structured SDC as its key sub-committee. The main duty of the SDC is to conduct a fair disciplinary and impartial hearing while considering the due processes. These are procedural processes which refer to fair procedure and substantive processes relating to the appropriateness and fairness of disciplinary rules and any action taken against an alleged infringement by a learner (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008).

According to SASA, a disciplinary hearing must take place when a learner is alleged to have committed a very serious misconduct which may require suspension or expulsion. Examples of very serious misconduct are threats using

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dangerous weapons, forging documents, using or selling drugs and alcohol, assault, rape, robbery, sexual harassment, burglary, murder and others (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; SACE, 2011; Mncube & Steinmann, 2014; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017). To promote fairness, the disciplinary hearing must be conducted in line with Constitution, SASA and provincial education department regulations.

Taking into consideration due process and the principle of fairness in all the actions taken against the alleged infringement by a learner, the SDCs are mandated to fulfil their delegated responsibilities to uphold democratic values when handling disciplinary cases. In order to improve efficiency and fairness, the SDCs must always ensure that ill-disciplined learners are treated equally and impartially and are protected against unfair treatment during disciplinary hearings. A study by Maphosa and Mammen (2011) revealed that handling issues of discipline is a challenge that requires proper and meaningful disciplinary measures that produce the desired results. In the same vein, Smith et al. (2015, p.2367) concur that “Disciplinary proceedings can have very serious results for learners, and it is therefore very important and that those conducting them should respect legal principles”. Therefore, the SDC must be knowledgeable on education policies and uphold impartiality by considering the rules of natural justice which are given under Section 33 of the Constitution (Republic of South Africa, 1996a; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008).

Similarly, the education policies of South Africa and neighbouring Zimbabwe, both members of the Southern African Developing Community (SADC) on school discipline are comparable. Zimbabwe has, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE), encouraged schools to use positive discipline practices on learners and to adopt democratic policies and measures to protect children from maltreatment, neglect or any form of abuse (Government of Zimbabwe, 2013; Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts & Culture, 1999) as endorsed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Chapter 2 Article 2, 11 (UNCRC, 1989). Mugabe and Maposa (2013) indicated that various methods to manage learner misconduct include codes of conduct and rules, the prefect system, parental involvement, counselling and disciplinary committees. Punishment to ward off misconduct includes manual work, detention and exclusion and expulsion as the last resort used for extreme cases of indiscipline. In the United States of America (USA), zero tolerance policies on learner discipline were introduced in 1990 and 1994 for schools to deal with serious cases such as possession of firearms (Martinez, 2009; Brand, 2015). The zero tolerance policies recommend the suspension of a learner for one year without provision of home-based educational support. However, the policies were withdrawn in 2001 because school administrators abused them as they were used in handling less serious transgressions (Martinez, 2009).

3. Research Problem The scourge of school-based violence is source of concern in schools in South Africa (Burton & Leoschut, 2013; Leach et al., 2014; UNESCO, 2015; UNESCO, 2017; Ngidi, 2018). Mncube and Steinmann (2014) maintained that possession of

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dangerous weapons has become part of everyday life in South African schools.

This is attributed to the magnitude of school violence which adversely affects the teaching and learning environment. In the same vein, Mkhize et al. (2011, p. 40) indicate that “School violence has an undesirable impact on the lives of young people, educators and parents, and it also negatively influences effective teaching and learning”. Literature indicates that while SDCs, education policies and constitutional provisions on school discipline do exist in South African schools, the challenge of learner indiscipline still remains (Ncontsa & Shumba, 2013; Burton & Leoschut, 2013; UNESCO, 2015). All this implies that for effective operational teaching and learning, schools must have knowledgeable school management, disciplinary organs and procedures to monitor the proper implementation of school policies and measures that maintain school discipline. Based on a case study at two secondary schools in rural South Africa, this paper examines the results of an examination of SDC members’ knowledge of the nature and implementation of espoused school disciplinary policies.

4. Research Procedure In pursuit of the objective of this study, a case study research design was regarded as the most suitable (Yin, 2016) because this is a scientific study of a contemporary phenomenon in its natural situation or setting. The qualitative research approach that endeavours to comprehend phenomena in their natural context or real-world settings was employed for this study (Creswell, 2010). The study participants were drawn from two purposively selected secondary schools to represent rural schools with dysfunctional SDCs and more cases of learners’ indiscipline. The schools were not chosen as quantitative representations but were selected because they provided rich and relevant data as they had high rates of learner indiscipline. However, findings from this study may not be generalised to a wider population of South African schools which may not have similar characteristics or situations as at the selected schools (Cohen et al., 2007).

However, the results may be applicable to schools facing similar challenges as those found at the study sites of this research.

4.1 Sampling approach and study sample Purposive sampling was used to select the 35 study participants according to their relevance to the specific research objective of this study (Cohen et al., 2007), namely that they were assumed to have knowledge of the policies and functioning of SDCs as they were office bearers at the time when the study was conducted. The 35 study participants included 10 SGBs, 10 SMTs, 10 SDC members and five class teachers who were active duty bearers in learner disciplinary cases that were brought to the SDC for adjudication.

The SGB is comprised of parents, teachers, support staff, the representative council of learners (RCL) in the case of secondary schools, and the principal as an ex-officio member. The SGBs were sampled because they are duty bearers and responsible for adopting the learners’ Code of Conduct. The SGB also ensured that the discipline practices of the school take place within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and SASA

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(Republic of South Africa, 1996a; Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008). Members of the SMT included the principal, deputy principal, heads of departments (HODs), senior teachers and co-opted members. The SMTs were sampled because they are policy implementers. The SMTs ensure that education policies, legislations and school policies are implemented, including the policy regarding discipline.

As alluded to earlier, the SDC is a sub-committee of the SGB which is mandated to conduct a disciplinary hearing if a learner had committed a very serious offence which violates school rules or breaches the law (Republic of South Africa, 1996b). SDC members were therefore sampled because they had conducted disciplinary hearings within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and SASA. Class teachers were sampled because they are in direct charge of teaching, interacting with learners and maintaining learner discipline in their classes and during extra-curricular activities. Class teachers teach and maintain discipline in accordance with the learner`s Code of Conduct. The grade nine and ten class teachers were sampled because their learners were highly recorded in school discipline records.

4.2 Data collection instruments Data were gathered using individual and focus group interviews ( FGIs) to complement each other, and as a triangulation measure which strengthened study findings. The study opted to use focus group interviews as the main instrument for the research as most participants were involved, that is the SGBs, SDCs and SMTs. According to Robson et al. (2001), a focus group is an interview with a small group of people interviewed together rather than singly.

Class teachers participated in individual interviews because of the sensitive and personal nature of their experiences on this topic. According to Creswell (2002), a face-to-face interview is a data collection process in which the researcher asks questions of and records answers from only one participant in a study at a time. Subsequent to the individual interviews, follow-ups were conducted on issues that emerged from a study of documents and the FGIs. The SDCs, SMTs and SGBs participated in focus group interviews because they may not be emotionally or personally affected by the issue being studied. FGIs deal with less sensitive issues and discuss the formulation of school policies.

Moreover, focus group interviews assisted in triangulating data collection methods, such as face-to-face interviews and the documentary analysis used in this study.

Triangulation is defined as the use of two or more methods of data collection in the study of some aspect of human behaviour (Cohen et al., 2007). Semistructured interviews were employed in this study to validate data emerging from school records. Thereafter, focus group interviews were conducted followed by the individual interviews. For both individual and focus group interviews, interview schedules with open-ended questions to allow probing (Maree, 2011) were used. The interviews were audio-taped after permission to use an audio tape had been granted by the participants. Notes w e r e m a d e to support the

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recordings on issues that could not be captured orally. In addition, observations were noted during the interviews, especially about non-verbal cues. The composition of each interview group was homogenous with regard to authority differences or status differences. Care was taken to ensure that the various categories of individuals fell into separate focus groups, for instance, SGB members did not mix with the SMT members. All the interviews took place in the interview room (in this study it was a classroom). A copy of the interview schedule and the contact details of the researcher were provided to each interviewee for possible future enquiries.

Documents were also used to collect textual data. McMillan and Schumacher (2006) stated that an analysis of documents is a method of collecting data which is non-interactive and involves the investigation of cases by reviewing artefacts of collections from archives such as photos, diaries, minutes of meetings, video clips and other types of records in organisations. This study used circuit records on learner indiscipline, records of school discipline and attendance registers.

Administrative documents such as the learners` Code of Conduct of the two secondary schools were also studied for a deeper understanding of what offences were committed by learners and how learner discipline is managed at the two participating schools.

4.3 Data analysis The purpose of data analysis is to outline the data clearly; identify what is typical and atypical of the data; bring to light differences, relationships and other patterns existing in the data; and ultimately answer research questions (Creswell, 2002). Both thematic and content analyses were used in this study.

Dawson (2009) explains this as an inductive method because themes emerge from the data and are not imposed upon it by the researcher. Following a thematic analysis process, data were collected and analysed concurrently. An interview summary form was produced for both individual and FGIs which was completed immediately after each interview session. Background analyses were also included, such as descriptions of the two participating secondary schools, their backgrounds, t h e i r socio-culture and school ethos, the interview rooms and t h e general environment of the schools. These formed part of the thematic analysis processes. The background analyses also helped to explain an emerging theme. Themes were generated from the views of the participants.

Maree (2011) explains content analysis as a logical approach to the analysis of qualitative data. Content analysis was used to identify, summarise, and make inferences on the content of views expressed by study participants. Content analysis was used because it enabled a large volume of quoted statements to be dealt with as well as identifying and monitoring inconsistencies or any change in the views of participants (Cohen et al., 2007). Data were analysed manually by looking for categories emerging from the responses. Both textual data from the school documents and the narrative data from the audio-recorded interviews were analysed. It was also noted how non-interactive information from school records related to or collaborated with interactive data which had been collected from the conducted interviews.

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Themes were generated from the views of the SGBs, SMTs, SDCs and class teachers on how education policies and disciplinary measures were implemented to manage learner discipline at their schools. The data were coded and content analysis was conducted by looking for specific words from which themes were identified. In this study, content analysis included the establishment of codes and breaking down data into themes and categories that could be used to constitute the findings of the study (Babbie & Mouton, 2001; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006). Content analysis enabled huge volumes of verbatim statements to be managed, as well as locating and monitoring inconsistencies and changes in the perceptions of participants (Cohen et al., 2007).

5. Quality Criteria Measures The researcher is a data-gathering instrument in qualitative research (Maree, 2011; Merriam, 2009). According to Lincoln and Guba (2005), trustworthiness relates to the way the researcher can convince the audience that the research is of high quality and worthy of recognition. The trustworthiness of this research phase was ensured by applying the following criteria: credibility, dependability, authenticity and confirming as briefly discussed below: •

•

•

•

Credibility of research instruments: According to McMillan and Schumacher (2001), credibility is the extent to which the results approximate reality and are judged to be accurate and reasonable. In this study, credibility was ensured by triangulating methods of data collection and sources of data and prolonging the engagement with participants in the study sites.

Transferability of the study results: Transferability refers to the ability to apply the findings in other contexts or to other participants (Grix, 2004). Since the research was a case study involving only two schools, the study findings could not be generalised to all the schools in South Africa. However, the findings of this study can be transferred to schools and participants whose descriptions tally with those provided in the study. To improve transferability, the findings of the study, as recorded in the tape-recorder a n d written u p in the field notes and a reflective journal, were defined in the form of themes and detailed explanations.

Dependability of data collection instruments: Durrheim and Wassenaar (2002) state that dependability concerns the extent to which the findings of the study reflect the actual processes that occurred. Member checking was employed and the identified themes were discussed with the participants to ensure that they were accurate and dependable (Creswell, 2002). Comprehensive field notes were taken throughout the study.

Those notes also included the general environment of the two schools, a study of documents and the interviewing process. In addition, the verbal and non-verbal cues of the participants were captured in detail during the interviews.

Conformability of data sources: According to Merriam (2009), conformability means ensuring that the data findings represent the

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perspectives, meanings and views of the participants instead of the views and understanding of the researcher. The findings were scrutinised, and analysed, and self-critical accounts were considered. Data were recorded accordingly, interpreted and presented correctly and accurately.

6. Results From collected data, the extent to which the knowledge of the SDCs on the knowledgeable implementation of education policies on school discipline at the two schools was aligned to SASA 84 of 1996 and democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution Bill of Rights (Republic of South Africa, 1996a) was examined.

In line with this, the collected narrative data were summarised and discussed into three themes in this section, namely non-alignment of SDCs operations to national school policy, unprocedural disciplinary hearings and the employment of unlawful school office bearers handling disciplinary cases.

The objective of the study was to examine SDC members’ knowledge of education policies on school discipline. As mentioned earlier, the school disciplinary hearing meetings are generally instituted when a learner commits a very serious misconduct which is in violation of school rules or a breach of the law. Ideally, when an undisciplined learner is brought before the SDC for a disciplinary process, delegated members from the SGB, SMT and RCL, parents or guardians of the child brought before the SDC and class teachers should be present to conduct an impartial disciplinary hearing. Impartiality depends on objective adherence to policy; this can happen if the representatives in the SDC are knowledgeable about the national policy. For the SDC to function effectively, the representation must be policy literate. The representatives must have knowledge of SASA, and the knowledge must be acquired through proper training at different levels (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Basic Education Handbook, 2017; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008).

6.1 Non-alignment of SDCs operations to national school policy Interviews with study participants revealed that SDCs had inadequate knowledge of what SASA 84 of 1996 entails. This implied that the implementation of school discipline policies at school level is more of a windowdressing activity by the principal-dominated SMT, with inadequate visibility of the actual SDC members. In this regard, a learner in the RCL who should be a sitting member of SDC proceedings confessed that “everything is done by the principal and teachers. We as learners have no say in how other learners are disciplined, we only hear about it”. Also sidelined were parents who claimed that they only came to attend the SDC hearings when their children were in the wrong.

On another important disciplinary provision, narratives by most SDC members confirmed that the schools had learners’ Codes of Conduct that were aligned with SASA though the policy duty bearers displayed unlawful policy practices, which implied inadequate knowledge of disciplinary policies that should guide them. However, as most South Africans would know, there was general acknowledgment by SDC members at both schools that every child has a right

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to education as enshrined in the country’s Bill of Rights and SASA. This was made clear from the explanation by one SDC member that “We consider all learners’ right to education. Even if a learner has committed [ a] very serious offence, such learner is brought to [a] disciplinary hearing and not expelled from school”. This was regarded as a positive indication and not surprising as most South Africans are conscious of their democratic rights.

On another positive note, almost all participants of this study were aware that no child could be punished using corporal means. This knowledge was illustrated by one SDC member from one of the schools who indicated that “Since SASA abolished corporal punishment, it is also outlawed in our learners` Code of Conduct.

Teachers do not administer corporal punishment. They can use other forms of punishment that do not cause much pain on the child”. From these narratives, it is evident that the several SDC members had relevant knowledge of what national constitutional and educational policies on education constituted as a human right and that inflicting pain on children is unlawful.

The distinction between SDC and SGB roles and responsibilities was not clear to many interviewed participants. According to policy, the SDC should be a subcommittee of the SGB with a special mandate to maintain and promote school discipline (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008). However, a worrying statement which demonstrated confusion on the workings of the SDCs was disclosed by one participant who indicated that “ We had a learner who refused to cut his long hair (dreadlocks) and he was not co-operating. The matter was handled and resolved by the SDC”. A matter which was supposed to be handled by the SDC according to policy was handled by the SGB.

A similar inappropriate working of the SDC was indicated by another SDC representative who concurred that “We work together with SGB; most of learner indiscipline cases are handled by them as the SGB works closely with the school principal.

They help us to resolve such difficult cases”. Another conflicting statement on how SDCs work was provided by an SGB who confirmed that “as [a] SGB, we monitor how the school is running, including disciplining learners”.

The aforesaid statements revealed that the SGBs at the study sites operated as if they were the SDCs in maintaining learner discipline. The disclosure by study participants demonstrated a misunderstanding of the Schools Act regarding the roles and responsibilities of the SDC, whose role was confused with that of the SGB. Moreover, school principals did not help to educate the community representatives.

Such misapprehension from members who are supposed to be custodians of school policy was evidence that both the SGBs and SDCs at both schools had insufficient knowledge of school discipline; thus disciplinary procedures were not adhered to. Despite the clause in the Schools Act which endorses that the learners’ Code of Conduct should clarify the roles and responsibilities of various school-based stakeholders (Republic of South Africa, 1996b), from the gathered narratives, it appeared that there was inadequate demarcation between SGB and SDC on the responsibility of maintaining school discipline, which was indicative of knowledge gaps among school policy duty bearers.

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6.2 Unprocedural process of disciplinary hearings To assess the upholding of democratic principles by the SDCs, the SDCs’ level of knowledge on conducting disciplinary cases should be aligned to the provision of SASA which directs that if there is serious case committed by a learner, the principal should report the case to the SGB. The SGB should then constitute an SDC as a sub-committee and hand over such a case to the SDC to conduct a fair disciplinary hearing process (Republic of South Africa, 1996b). However, although interviews with members who had participated in SDC disciplinary proceedings established that they claimed to have knowledge of education policies on school discipline, there was inadequate following of laid-down procedures for conducting disciplinary cases. This was a revelation of inadequate knowledge of what was claimed by the interviewees. Despite the fact that the Schools Act mandates the SGB to form a democratically constituted SDC, th e principals and their deputies were regarded or acted as SDCs at the two schools. The fact on the ground was that SDCs were not functional because the principals handled disciplinary cases without involving the SDC members or other key school-based stakeholders such as class teachers and parents. The nonprocedural practice was disclosed by an SDC member who revealed that “Some cases are not worth the involvement of parents; the principal and the SMT usually handle such cases within the school without involving parents”.

A comparable statement which also demonstrated procedural practice was disclosed by another SDC member who outlined that “ In some cases, parents are called [on the] same day to meet with the principal and the SDC for disciplinary hearing meeting”.

The narratives revealed that the SGBs involved parents informally in cases where their children were to be disciplined. Moreover, this process is managed by the school principal and the SGB without a formally instituted SDC as provided by the policy (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008). The Schools Act provides that for a fair hearing to take place, a parent or guardian of a child or a delegated person must attend a disciplinary hearing unless there is a valid reason given by the school governors for the continuance of the disciplinary proceedings in the absence of a parent (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017; Joubert & Squelch, 2005; Department of Education, 2008). According to the Schools Act, the SDC must be well constituted and form a quorum and the disciplinary hearing meeting must be formal, civil as well as professional (Republic of South Africa, 1996b; Joubert & Prinsloo, 2008). In contrast to this official principle, arm-twisting of the law by the school principal and the SGB were observed in violation of learners and parents’ consent, formal procedures and composition of the SDC for hearing disciplinary cases.

6.3 Unlawful school office bearers handling disciplinary cases Owing to their professional and governance responsibilities, the SDC policy duty bearers are expected to be more knowledgeable about SASA. By virtue of their professional and governance status, both SMTs and SGBs are policy and office bearers who are expected to advocate the implementation of education policies within schools. However, the study found that both the SMTs and SGBs

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had insufficient knowledge of education policies on school discipline which resulted in unlawful functioning and interference in learner discipline by school management.

One statement which demonstrated improper reporting procedure was revealed by a head of department in the SMT at one school who specified that “We report serious cases to the deputy principal or the principal. Then the principal reports to the SGB which conducts the full disciplinary hearing”. This indicated that the school principal and the SGB did not constitute a formal SDC to conduct a disciplinary hearing.

This was also reported by Mncube (2009), namely that school principals take precedence over all matters that should be handled by other managerial structures of schools in South Africa. Such domination could translate to inadequate dissemination of information on policy and procedures on learner discipline. This may be prevalent not only at the two schools where this study was conducted but at others as well.

The central role of school principals in disciplining learners was confirmed by class teachers from both schools who revealed that “I just go to the office and explain what happened. The principal or deputy principal normally send[s] illdiscipline]d] learners to call their parents. If the parent is available, they solve the case [the] same day or suspend the learner [at the] same time”.

A similar statement indicating the inappropriate reporting and handling of disciplinary processes was shared by another class teacher from the other school who concurred that “We remove the ill-disciplined learner from the class. The principal deals with the case; if the learner is not co-operating, they issue [a] suspension letter [at the] same time”.

However, a different practice on reporting and administering disciplinary cases was shared by a SGB representative member from the other school, which indicated involvement of the SDC. It was reported that “When a learner commi ts a serious offence, the teacher reports to us during the SGB meetings and we question the learner to prove if the allegations are true. Then we call the SDC to conduct the disciplinary hearing on the learner”. Contrary to what happens at the other school, this indicated that at one of the schools, there was a democratic application of school disciplinary policy which revealed some level of dissemination of information on policy.

From the narratives, it appeared that class teachers only reported severe cases which they cannot handle to the school principals, who then acted at their own discretion rather than use the formal disciplinary procedures which are outlined in the school learners’ disciplinary code. It therefore emerged that principals and deputies unilaterally acted as the SDCs and the school learners’ disciplinary codes were espoused policies and not enacted policies. This noted domination of principals and their deputies in disciplinary procedures resulted in SDCs’ being dysfunctional and ineffective in managing learner discipline.

The narratives by respondents revealed that the SGBs were more prominent than the SDCs in maintaining learner discipline. It was noted t h a t the

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reporting procedures were not procedural and therefore unfair to learners as policy rights beneficiaries. Owing to the benefit of their academic status, it was concluded that the teachers and school principals, as SMTs, were sufficiently knowledgeable of the Schools Act; however, it was disturbing that there seemed to be inadequate distribution of responsibilities with other policy duty bearers such as the representative council of learners (RCL) and non-academic members in SGB and SDC. This resulted in prejudicing learners and contravening the Bill of Rights which protects their right to just and democratic hearings when they are found to have committed an act of misconduct (Republic of South Africa, 1996a; Du Plessis, 2010).

7. Discussion of Results Data gathered from narratives revealed functional inefficiencies and discrepancies regarding the working of the SDC due to policy misapprehension at the two participating schools. The study revealed that SDCs were minimally knowledgeable of what SASA requires in terms of having a learner disciplinary code at their schools. Moreover, there was a clear gap between this basic knowledge and the implementation of the school codes in practice. In other words, there was no policy-in-action at the schools where the study was conducted. The national policy exists on paper; however, it was not implemented satisfactorily in practice owing to a lack of or inadequate training of SDCs at different levels. On the same note, Smith et al. (2015) pointed out that the SDC members generally have a sound knowledge of disciplinary processes which was gained through years of experience rather than through formal proper training.

The study revealed that the non-teaching members in the SGBs had inadequate knowledge of how disciplinary cases should be conducted; therefore there were no proper procedures on conducting disciplinary cases. Although SASA Section 8(5) indorses due processes which need to be followed when conducting disciplinary hearing of a learner (Republic of South Africa, 1996b), the SDCs were not clearly defined or constituted by the SGBs at the two schools. Instead, the SMT, especially the principals and their deputies, took on the roles of SDCs. This is contrary to national policy and has resulted in the disciplinary committees being non-existent, ineffective and dysfunctional. Similarly, Tallam et al. (2015) also found that most SDCs are ineffective in managing learner discipline as provided by stated national policies.

While the role of the SDC is to ensure that the disciplinary hearing is objective and unprejudiced, unlawful acts by the SDCs were noted which resulted in unfair treatment of ill-disciplined learners. Even though the most significant principle of the disciplinary hearing process is fairness, in practice, it appears that the national policy is not generally applied correctly which has resulted in unlawful and unconstitutional practices by the SDCs. The dominance of the principals and their deputies in handling disciplinary cases while excluding the SDC members was found to be the major factor contributing to unlawful

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practices by the SDCs. Section 12(1) endorses that the disciplining of learners must be fair and justifiable (Republic of South Africa, 1996a). Meanwhile South Africa’s endorsement of international resolutions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) (1990) have all emphasised the state’s commitment to safe-guarding children from all violations of their rights (Basic Education Rights Handbook, 2017).

This study revealed that while stakeholders had general knowledge on child rights, there was no evidence that these principles were practised at school level or applied in learner disciplinary procedures. It emerged from the study that due processes were not adhered to when handling disciplinary cases at the two participating schools. Data revealed that there were no proper procedures of reporting and conducting disciplinary cases using properly constituted SDCs as sub-committees of SGBs. This unlawful and unconstitutional practice of not employing SDCs is against the Bill of Rights as endorsed in Section 33 subsection (1) which ratifies that an individual has a constitutional right to a legal, rational and impartial hearing (Republic of South Africa, 1996a). Meanwhile the national development plan espouses that education districts should provide support to improve appropriate policy and practices within schools (Republic of South Africa, 2011).

8. Conclusion This paper concludes that there were discrepancies between policy implementation and common practice regarding how schools manage learner discipline. Considering the objective to examine the knowledge of SDCs on education policies on school discipline, the following common findings were identified from the two study sites: Both schools had sound learners’ Codes of Conduct (LCCs) aligned with SASA; however, in practice, the SGBs did not have formal SDCs and did not adhere to the national policy on learner discipline owing to inadequate knowledge of the formal application of their LCCs. It was therefore concluded that the actual SDCs were dysfunctional owing to the domination of school managers when conducting disciplinary hearings. From narratives obtained from school disciplinary committees (SDCs), school management teams (SMT), school governing bodies (SGBs), representative councils of learners (RCLs) and class teachers, it is evident that disciplinary hearings are mostly handled in an informal, unfair and unconstitutional way which infringes on children’s human and constitutional rights. In view of the improper interpretation and implementation of national policy by the SDCs due to inadequate knowledge, it is recommended that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) should offer training and monitor the structure and functioning of the SGBs, SDCs and LCCs. This should ensure appropriate alignment and implementation of SASA on how learner discipline should be administered by the SDCs.

Acknowledgement This work is based on research supported by the National Research Foundation

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of South Africa (Grant Number: 120744). However, opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the authors. The NRF accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard.

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