Search results for: support parents and teachers

Authors: Peshawa Jalal Mohammed

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Following the recent political conflict in the Middle East, the number of refugees and internally displaced people increased in the last decades. The flood of displaced people became a big issue for the host communities in the neighbouring countries and Europe. The need for research about the education and integration of the refugees became urgent. After the appearance of the Islamic State and displacing millions of Syrian people, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq became a safe shelter for hundreds of thousands of Syrians and international organisations helping the refugees. This study focuses on the factors of parental involvement among the host community and refugee parents and its role in the academic success of children. The setting is the three provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan (Erbil, Sulaimani, and Dohuk), including the refugee camps in the three provinces. Based on the purpose of the study, the study was designed as a descriptive survey study with a mixed approach, qualitative (open-ended), and quantitative (questionnaire) questions and both forms of data were integrated and analysed. The current study participants were 8th and 9th graders at the basic school level, studying at public schools and their parents. The sampling design was the selection of local schools and schools in the refugee camps in the region's three provinces. The number of participants for each of the two groups was 250 students and 250 parents. The results showed that parents' socioeconomic status, gender, and place of residency have significant roles in students' parental involvement and academic success of their students. The results also show the characteristics of parental inspiration to their children's future and their expectations from education.

Keywords: refugee, education, parental involvement, socioeconomic

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Authors: Urianni Merlin, Đeni Zuliani Blašković

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Inspired by the Reggio Pedagogy approach that explores light from physical, mathematical, artistic, and natural perspectives, emphasizes the value of visual tools in light exploring that opens up a wide area of experiential discovery and knowledge, especially if used in kindergartens with children. While there is some literature evidence of visual tool usage for light exploring in kindergartens in the Republic of Slovenia, in the Republic of Croatia there are few researches, and those published are focused at shadow exploring, exploring of physical characteristics and teatrical play of light and shadow. The objectives of this research are to assess how much visual tools are used for light exploring by preschool teachers from geographical Istria kindergartens as part of the activities offered to children and if the usage of the visual tool for light exploring it’s different regarding the work environment (Slovenian and Croatian Istria kindergartens; city vs. village kindergartens; preschool teachers age and length of service). One hundred one preschool teachers from Croatian Istria Region and 70 preschool teachers from Slovenian Istria Region responded to a self-made questionnaire regarding visual tool usage habits in their work. As predicted, results show significant differences in visual tool usage regarding preschool teachers' work environment, length of service, and age. Preschool teachers from Slovenian Istria that work in kindergartens located in the city that have from 15 to 19 years of service and are more than 30 years of age use significantly more visual tools for light exploring. The results highlight the differences in visual tools usage for light exploring in the small Istria peninsula that can be attributed to different University art curricula in Slovenia and Croatia or lifelong education offered in Slovenia that is more open to Italian reggio pedagogy influence and are further used by older preschool teachers with more service experience. Considering the small number of researches, this research significantly contributes to science and motivates preschool teachers and scientists to implement the use of light tools in the preschool and university curriculum, especially in Croatia.

Keywords: activities with light, light exploring, preschool children, visual tools

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Authors: Joyce Joas Kahembe

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The implementation of education assessment reforms in developing countries has been claimed to be problematic and difficult. The socio-economic teaching and learning environment has pointed to constraints in the education reform process. Nevertheless, there are existing assessment practices that if enhanced, can have potential to foster formative assessment practices in those contexts. The present study used the sociocultural perspective to explore teachers’ assessment practices and factors influencing them in Tanzania. Specifically, the sociocultural perspective helped to trace social, economic and political histories imparted to teachers’ assessment practices. The ethnographic oriented methods like interviews, observations and document reviews was used in this exploration. Teachers used assessment practices, such as questioning and answering, tests, assignments and examinations, for evaluating, monitoring and diagnosing students’ understanding, achievement and performance and standards and quality of instruction practices. The obtained assessment information functioned as feedback for improving students’ understanding, performance, and the standard and quality of teaching instruction and materials. For example, teachers acknowledged, praised, approved, disapproved, denied, graded, or marked students’ responses to give students feedback and aid learning. Moreover, teachers clarified and corrected or repeated students’ responses with worded/added words to improve students’ mastery of the subject content. Teachers’ assessment practices were influenced by the high demands of passing marks in the high stakes examinations and the contexts of the social economic teaching environment. There is a need to ally education assessment reforms with existing socio-economic teaching environments and society and institutional demands of assessment to make assessment reforms meaningful and sustainable. This presentation ought to contribute on ongoing strategies for contextualizing assessment practices for formative uses.

Keywords: assessment, feedback, practices, formative assessment

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Authors: Marla Wendy Spergel

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The purpose of this qualitative study is to showcase graduated high school students’ to voice on the impact past teachers had on their motivation to learn, and if this impact has affected their post-high-school lives. Through a focus group strategy, 21 graduated high school alumni participated in three separate focus groups. Participants discussed their former teacher’s emotional intelligence skills, which influenced their motivation to learn or not. A focused review of the literature revealed that teachers are a major factor in a student’s motivation to learn. This research was guided by Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory of Motivation and constructs related to learning and motivation from Carl Rogers’ Humanistic Views of Personality, and from Brain-Based Learning perspectives with a major focus on the area of Emotional Intelligence. Findings revealed that the majority of participants identified teachers who most motivated them to learn and demonstrated skills associated with emotional intelligence. An important and disturbing finding relates to the saliency of negative experiences. Further work is recommended to expand this line of study in Higher Education, perform a long-term study to better gain insight into long-term benefits attributable to experiencing positive teachers, study the negative impact teachers have on students’ motivation to learn, specifically focusing on student anxiety and acquired helplessness.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, learning, motivation, pedagogy

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Authors: Santri Emilin Pingsaboi Djahimo, Ikhfi Imaniah

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Helping students recognize both their strengths and weaknesses is a beneficial strategy for teachers to be implemented in the classroom, and feedback has been acknowledged as an effective tool to achieve this goal. It will allow teachers to assess the students’ progress, provide targeted support for them, and adjust both teaching and learning strategies. This research has investigated the importance of feedback in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking class in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Through a qualitative study, it has shed light on the crucial roles of feedback in the process of English Language Teaching (ELT), especially, in the context of developing oral communication or speaking skills. Additionally, it has also examined students’ responses to feedback from their teacher by grouping them based on their semester, scores (GPA), and gender. This study, which seeks to provide insights into how feedback practices can be optimized to maximize learning outcomes in the English-speaking classroom, has revealed that these groups of students have different level of needs for feedback, yet all prefer constructive feedback. Looking at the results, it is highly expected that this study can contribute to a deeper understanding of the correlation between feedback and English language learning outcomes, particularly, in terms of speaking proficiency.

Keywords: feedback, English as a foreign language, speaking class, English language teaching

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Authors: Arvind Lal, Chumphila Bhutia, Bidhan Pradhan, Retika Sharma, Monisha Limboo

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There have been many proposals to optimize the students’ management system in higher education. Managing student attendance during lecture periods have become a difficult challenge. Manual calculation of attendance produces errors and wastes a lot of time. This proposed system manages the student’s attendance in a web portal and the records of the attendance will be stored in a database. The attendance of the students will be further forwarded to their HOD (Head OF Department), class teacher and their parents/guardians. This system will use MySQL for the database. The template of the website will be built using HTML and CSS (Cascading StyleSheet) code. JavaScript will be added to improve the use of the system. Student’s details will be stored in the database. Also, it will contain the details of the teachers according to their subjects and the classes they teach. The system will be responsive which can be used in mobile phones. Also, the development of this project will be user-friendly by facilitating with clear and understandable tabs. Hence, this website will be beneficial to institutes.

Keywords: website, student's attendance, MySQL database, HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript

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Authors: Paul Koffitse Agobia

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In 2020 the Ministry of Education in Ghana and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) rolled out a new curriculum, Common Core Programme (CCP) for Basic 7 to 10, that lays emphasis on character building and values which are important to the Ghanaian society by providing education that will produce character–minded learners, with problem solving skills, who can play active roles in dealing with the increasing challenges facing Ghana and the global society. Therefore, learning and teaching approaches that prioritise the use of digital learning resources and active learning are recommended. The new challenge facing Ghanaian teachers is the ability to use new technologies together with the appropriate content pedagogical knowledge to help learners develop, aside the communication skills in French, the essential 21st century skills as recommended in the new curriculum. This article focusses on the pedagogical approaches that are recommended by NaCCA. The study seeks to examine French language teachers’ understanding of the recommended pedagogical approaches and how they use digital learning resources in class to foster the development of these essential skills and values. 54 respondents, comprised 30 teachers and 24 head teachers, were selected in 6 Junior High schools in rural districts (both private and public) and 6 from Junior High schools in an urban setting. The schools were selected in three regions: Volta, Central and Western regions. A class observation checklist and an interview guide were used to collect data for the study. The study reveals that some teachers adopt teaching techniques that do not promote active learning. They demonstrate little understanding of the core competences and values, therefore, fail to integrate them in their lessons. However, some other teachers, despite their lack of understanding of learning and teaching philosophies, adopted techniques that can help learners develop some of the core competences and values. In most schools, digital learning resources are not utilized, though teachers have smartphones or laptops.

Keywords: active learning, core competences, digital learning resources, pedagogical approach, values.

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Authors: Isaac Yeboah, Emmanuel Osei Sarpong

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Physical activity (PA) is considered the best preventative tool for maintaining physical health and extending lifespan because it offers a range of benefits. However, for people to benefit from physical activity, it must be done at a level that can enhance fitness, health, and overall well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the link between physical activity participation levels and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). The study employed the descriptive correlational design. The census sampling technique included all 190-teaching staff from the two senior high schools in the Dormaa East District. An adapted International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and standardized physical fitness tests were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used to answer the research questions while inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the independent sample t-test were used to test hypotheses one and two respectively. A moderately negative (r = -.156) relationship existed between physical activity participation levels and CRF. Female teachers demonstrated a statistically significant value (p = .045) than males. The study concluded that the reported physical activity levels of the teachers did not reflect their CRF. The implication is that either the participants overestimated their physical activity participation levels, or the intensity of the activities was not high enough to affect physiological changes. For the teachers' CRF to improve, it was suggested, among other things, that regular physical activity sessions of the appropriate mixes of FITT be organized.

Keywords: physical activity, participation levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, sedentary lifestyle, teachers

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Authors: Iniye Irene Wodi, Kennedy B. Gibson

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Students’ poor performance in mathematics in both internal and external examinations has been a source of concern to researchers in Nigeria. The cause of this has been attributed to both teachers and students. To this end, this study sought to find out students’ perceptions of teachers’ attributes as a cause of mathematics phobia among secondary school students in Bayelsa State Nigeria. The population of the study comprised of all students of senior secondary schools in Yenagoa metropolis. A sample of 120 students was drawn from this population using clustering and simple random sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a researcher constructed questionnaire titled Mathematics Phobia Questionnaire (MPQ). Data were analysed, and the results revealed that students perceived teachers’ attributes such as methods and styles of teaching, difficulty in communication, etc. as causes of mathematics phobia among students in senior secondary schools in Bayelsa State. Based on the result, it was therefore recommended that mathematics teachers should be retrained periodically in order to learn new and innovative ways of teaching mathematics to prevent its phobia among students.

Keywords: mathematics phobia, teacher attributes, teaching method, teaching style

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Authors: Villiam Ambong, Kevin Banawag, Wynne Shane Bugatan, Mark Alvin Jay Carpio, Hwan Hee Choi, Moises Kevin Chungalao

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This survey research investigated the perception of primary school teachers on the efficacy of MTB-MLE in SLU-LES, Baguio City. SLU-LES has a total of 21 primary school teachers who served as respondents of this study in an attempt to answer the major questions regarding the efficacy of MTB-MLE among primary school teachers. A questionnaire was used in collecting the data which were analyzed using weighted mean and ANOVA. The questionnaire was validated by a statistician and it was administered to a school which does not differ from the intended respondents for further validation of the items. Findings revealed from the intended respondents that they perceive MTB-MLE as effective; however, they do not prefer the use of Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction. A research on the same topic was conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria by Dr. David O. Fakeye and although his respondents were students; the results came out that the respondents do perceive MTB-MLE to be efficacious. The results of this study also showed that years of teaching experience and the number of languages spoken by the teachers have no bearing on the preference of the respondents between MT medium and English medium gave that the respondents are in melting pot community. Comparative studies between rural and urban schools are encouraged. Future researchers should include questions that elicit reasons of the respondents on the efficacy of mother tongue as well as their preference between mother tongue medium and English.

Keywords: mother tongue, primary teachers, perception, multilingual education

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Authors: Osman Zorbaz, Selen Demirtas-Zorbaz, Ozlem Ulas

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The factors that cause adolescents to drop out school were several. One of the frameworks about school dropout focuses on the contextual factors around the adolescents whereas the other one focuses on individual factors. It can be said that both factors are important equally. In this study, both adolescent’s individual factors (anti-social behaviors, academic success) and contextual factors (parent academic involvement, parent academic support, number of siblings, living with parent) were examined in the term of school dropout. The study sample consisted of 346 high school students in the public schools in Ankara who continued their education in 2015-2016 academic year. One hundred eighty-five the students (53.5%) were girls and 161 (46.5%) were boys. In addition to this 118 of them were in ninth grade, 122 of them in tenth grade and 106 of them were in eleventh grade. Multiple regression and one-way ANOVA statistical methods were used. First, it was examined if the data meet the assumptions and conditions that are required for regression analysis. After controlling the assumptions, regression analysis was conducted. Parent academic involvement, parent academic support, number of siblings, anti-social behaviors, academic success variables were taken into the regression model and it was seen that parent academic involvement (t=-3.023, p < .01), anti-social behaviors (t=7.038, p < .001), and academic success (t=-3.718, p < .001) predicted school dropout whereas parent academic support (t=-1.403, p > .05) and number of siblings (t=-1.908, p > .05) didn’t. The model explained 30% of the variance (R=.557, R2=.300, F5,345=30.626, p < .001). In addition to this the variance, results showed there was no significant difference on high school students school dropout levels according to living with parents or not (F2;345=1.183, p > .05). Results discussed in the light of the literature and suggestion were made. As a result, academic involvement, academic success and anti-social behaviors will be considered as an important factors for preventing school drop-out.

Keywords: adolescents, anti-social behavior, parent academic involvement, parent academic support, school dropout

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Authors: Ya-Hsing Yeh, I-Chun Tai, Ming-Chieh Lin, Li-Ting Lee, Ping-Ting Hsieh, Yi-Chen Ling, Jhia-Ying Du, Li-Ping Chang, Guan-Long Yu

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Objective: To understand the connection between children/adolescents and those who they miss, as well as the correlation between connection and their emotions. Method: Based on the objective, a close-ended questionnaire was made into a formal questionnaire after experts evaluated its validity. In February 2017, the paper-based questionnaire was adopted. Twenty-one elementary schools and junior high schools in Taiwan were sampled by purposive sampling approach and the fifth to ninth graders were our participants. A total of 2,502 valid questionnaires were retrieved. Results: Forty-four-point three percent of children/adolescents missed a person in mind, or they thought a person as a significant other in mind, but they had no connection with them. The highest proportion of those they wanted to contact with was ‘Friends and classmates’, and the others were ‘immediate family’, such as parents and grandparents, and ‘academic or vocational instructors, such as home-room teachers, coaches, cram school teachers and so on, respectively. Only 14% of children/adolescents would actively contact those they missed. The proportion of what children/adolescents ‘often’ actively keeping in touch with those they missed felt happy or cheerful was higher compared with those who ‘seldom’ actively keeping in touch with people they missed whenever they recalled who they missed, or the person actively contacted with them. Sixty-one-point seven percent of participants haven’t connected with those they missed for more than one year. The main reason was ‘environmental factors’, such as school/class transfer or moving, and then ‘academic or personal factors’, ‘communication tools’, and ‘personalities’, respectively. In addition to ‘greetings during festivals and holidays’, ‘hearing from those they missed’, and ‘knowing the latest information about those they missed on their Internet communities’, children/adolescents would like to actively contact with them when they felt ‘happy’ and ‘depressed or frustrated. The first three opinions of what children/adolescents regarded truly connection were ‘listening to people they missed attentively’, ‘sharing their secrets’, and ‘contacting with people they regularly missed with real actions’. In terms of gender, girls’ proportion on ‘showing with actions, including contacting with people they missed regularly or expressing their feelings openly’, and ‘sharing secrets’ was higher than boys’, while boy’s proportion on ‘the attitudes when contacting people they missed, including listening attentively or without being distracted’ was higher than girls’. Conclusions: I. The more ‘active’ connection they have, the more happiness they feel. II. Teachers can teach children how to manage their emotions and express their feelings appropriately. III. It is very important to turn connection into ‘action.’ Teachers can set a good example and share their moods with others whatever they are in the mood. This is a kind of connection.

Keywords: children, connection, emotion, mental health

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Authors: Sobia Rana

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The study intends to explain the problems of English collocational use faced by college students in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and recommends some authentic ways that will help in removing the learning barriers in light of the concerning methodological issues. It will not only help the students to improve their knowledge of the phenomena but will also enlighten the target teachers about the significance of authentic collocational use and how it naturalizes both written and spoken expressions. Data from both the students and teachers have been collected with the help of open/close-ended questionnaires to unearth the genuine cause/s and supplement them with the required solutions rooted in the actual problems. The students fail to use authentic collocations owing to multiple reasons: lack of awareness about English collocational use, improper teaching methodologies, and inexpert teachers.

Keywords: English collocational use, teaching methodologies, English learning barriers, vocabulary acquisition, college students of Rawalpindi

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Authors: Jolanta Jonak

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Traditional classrooms are challenging for many students, but especially for students that learn differently due to cognitive makeup, learning preferences, or disability. These students often require different teaching approaches and learning opportunities to benefit from learning. Teachers frequently divert to using one teaching approach, the one that matches their own learning style. For instance, teachers that are auditory learners, likely default to providing auditory learning opportunities. However, if a student is a visual learner, he/she may not fully benefit from that teaching style. Based on research, students and their parents’ feedback, large numbers of students are not provided the type of education and types of supports they need in order to be successful in an academic environment. This eventually leads to not learning at an appropriate rate and ultimately leading to skill deficiencies and deficits. Providing varied learning approaches promote high academic and social-emotional growth of all students and it will prevent inaccurate Special Education referrals. Varied learning opportunities can be delivered for all students by providing Differentiated Instruction (DI). This type of instruction allows each student to learn in the most optimal way regardless of learning preferences and cognitive learning profiles. Using Differentiated Instruction will lead to a high level of student engagement and learning. In addition, experiencing success in the classroom, will contribute to increased social emotional wellbeing. Being cognizant of how teaching approaches impact student's learning, school staff can avoid inaccurate perceptions about the students’ learning abilities, unnecessary referrals for special education evaluations, and inaccurate decisions about the presence of a disability. This presentation will illustrate learning differences due to various factors, how to recognize them, and how to address them through Differentiated Instruction.

Keywords: special education, disability, differences, differentiated instruction, social emotional wellbeing

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Authors: Najib Ahmad Marzuki, Che Su Mustaffa, Johana Johari, Nur Haffiza Rahaman

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects and relationship of stress and social support towards the quality of life among flood victims in Malaysia. A total of 764 respondents took part in the survey via random sampling. The depression, anxiety, and stress scales were utilized to measure stress while The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was used to measure the quality of life. The findings of this study indicate that there were significant correlations between variables in the study. The findings show a significant negative relation between stress and quality of life, and significant positive correlations between support from family as well as support from friends with the quality of life. Stress and support from family were found to be significant predictors and influences the quality of life among flood victims.

Keywords: stress, social support, quality of life, flood victims

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Authors: Dena A. Hussain

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The objective of this project is to design an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tool based on a standardized platform to assist the work-integrated learning process of caretakers of disabled children. The tool should assist the intercommunication between caretakers and improve the learning process through knowledge bridging between all involved caretakers. Some children are born with disabilities while others have special needs after an illness or accident. Special needs children often need help in their learning process and require tools and services in a different way. In some cases the child has multiple disabilities that affect several capabilities in different ways. These needs are to be transformed into different learning techniques that the staff or personal (called caretakers in this project) caring for the child needs to learn and adapt. The caretakers involved are also required to learn new learning or training techniques and utilities specialized for the child’s needs. In many cases the number of people caring for the child’s development is rather large; the parents, specialist pedagogues, teachers, therapists, psychologists, personal assistants, etc. Each group of specialists has different objectives and in some cases the merge between theses specifications is very unique. This makes the synchronization between different caretakers difficult, resulting often in low level cooperation. By better intercommunication between professions both the child’s development could be improved but also the caretakers’ methods and knowledge of each other’s work processes and their own profession. This introduces a unique work integrated learning environment for all personnel involve, merging learning and knowledge in the work environment and at the same time assist the children’s development process. Creating an iterative process generates a unique learning experience for all involved. Using a work integrated platform will help encourage and support the process of all the teams involved in the process.We believe that working with children who have special needs is a continues learning/working process that is always integrated to achieve one main goal, which is to make a better future for all children.

Keywords: information and communication technologies (ICT), work integrated learning (WIL), sustainable learning, special needs children

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Authors: Manal Rauf

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Trained medical practitioners are produced from medical colleges serving in public and private sectors. Prime responsibility of teaching faculty is to inculcate required work ethic among the students by serving as role models for them. It is an observed fact that classroom incivility behaviours are providing a friction in achieving these targets. Present study aimed at identification of classroom incivility behaviours observed by teachers and students of public and private medical colleges as per Glasser’s Choice Theory, making a comparison and investigating the strategies being adopted by teachers of both sectors to control undesired class room behaviours. Findings revealed that a significant difference occurs between teacher and student incivility behaviours. Public sector teacher focussed on survival as a strong factor behind in civil behaviours whereas private sector teachers considered power as the precedent for incivility. Teachers of both sectors are required to use verbal as well as non-verbal immediacy to reach a healthy leaning environment.

Keywords: classroom incivility behaviour, glasser choice theory, Mehrabian immediacy theory

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Authors: Al Muneef Maha, Al Tamimi Dana

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Introduction: Child maltreatment was proven to negatively impact children’s and adolescent’s academic performances; showing less academic achievements, problems completing homework assignments, and was marginally associated with being frequently absent from school (1). Objectives: To identify the impact of child maltreatment on school performance among adolescents in National Guard Schools. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at National Guard schools in Riyadh. Students aged 12-19 years were invited to participate. Participants (N=674) completed the survey instrument which included demographics, exposure to different types of abuse, and overall level of academic performance. Results: Participants’ mean age was 15.6±1.6 years and males (53%). Ninety-five percent lived with both parents, 2% with single parent, and 3% with step parents. Four percent lived with alcoholic parents or guardians, and 7% have lived with a family member who has been arrested or imprisoned. Poor performance (failure in exam) were more likely among the students who lived with alcoholics vs. non-alcoholics (33% vs. 11%, p<0.01), imprisoned family member vs. non-imprisoned (26% vs. 11%, p<0.01), psychologically abused vs. not abused (21% vs. 10%, p<0.01), physically abused vs. not abused (19% vs. 9%, p<0.01). Predisposing factors to poor performance in school included living with alcoholic parents or guardians (OR=2.8, CI=1.1-6.7), psychologically abused (OR=1.7, CI=1.0-3.0), and physically abused (OR=1.7, CI=1.0-2.8). Conclusions: The results suggest that child maltreatment may adversely impact school performance. These findings highlight the importance of increasing the awareness about the impact of child maltreatment on school performance among families, schools, and the community. Recommend to the Ministry of Education to consider counseling of students with poor performance due to adverse child experiences or maltreatment.

Keywords: child abuse, child maltreatment, school performance, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: S. Art-in

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This research was a survey research. The objective of this study was to study current situation and need in learning management for developing the analytical thinking of teachers in basic education of Thailand. The target group consisted of 400 teachers teaching in basic education level. They were selected by multi-stage random sampling. The instrument used in this study was the questionnaire asking current situation and need in learning management for developing the analytical thinking, 5 level rating scale. Data were analyzed by calculating the frequency, mean, standard deviation, percentage and content analysis. The research found that: 1) For current situation, the teachers provided learning management for developing analytical thinking, in overall, in “high” level. The issue with lowest level of practice: the teachers had competency in designing and establishing the learning management plan for developing the students’ analytical thinking. Considering each aspect it was found that: 1.1) the teacher aspect; the issue with lowest level of practice was: the teachers had competency in designing and establishing the learning management plan for developing the students’ analytical thinking, and 1.2) the learning management aspect for developing the students’ analytical thinking, the issue with lowest level of practice was: the learning activities provided opportunity for students to evaluate their analytical thinking process in each learning session. 2) The teachers showed their need in learning management for developing the analytical thinking, in overall, in “the highest” level. The issue with highest level of the need was: to obtain knowledge and competency in model, technique, and method for learning management or steps of learning management for developing the students’ analytical thinking. Considering each aspect it was found that: 2.1) teacher aspect; the issue with highest level of the need was: to obtain knowledge and comprehension in model, technique, and method for learning management or steps of learning management for developing the students’ analytical thinking, and 2.2) learning management aspect for developing the analytical thinking, the issue with highest level of need consisted of the determination of learning activities as problem situation, and the opportunity for students to comprehend the problem situation as well as practice their analytical thinking in order to find the answer.

Keywords: current situation and need, learning management, analytical thinking, teachers in basic education level, Thailand

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Authors: Sajee A. Gamage, Champa J. Wijesinghe, Patricia Burtner, Ananda R. Wickremasinghe

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Background: Teachers working in the context of special education have an enormous responsibility of enhancing performance skills of children in their classroom settings. Fine Motor Skills (FMS) are essential functional skills for children to gain independence in Activities of Daily Living. Children with Down Syndrome (DS) are predisposed to specific challenges due to deficits in FMS. This study is aimed to determine the teachers’ experience on improving FMS of children with DS in the context of special education of Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among all consenting eligible teachers (n=147) working in the context of special education in government schools of Southern Province of Sri Lanka. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on literature and expert opinion to assess teachers’ experience regarding deficits of FMS, limitations of classroom activity performance and barriers to improve FMS of children with DS. Results: Approximately 93% of the teachers were females with a mean age ( ± SD) of 43.1 ( ± 10.1) years. Thirty percent of the teachers had training in special educationand 83% had children with DS in their classrooms. Major deficits of FMS reported were deficits in grasping (n=116; 79%), in-hand manipulation (n=103; 70%) and bilateral hand use (n=99; 67.3%). Paperwork (n=70; 47.6%), painting (n=58; 39.5%), scissor work (n=50; 34.0%), pencil use for writing (n=45; 30.6%) and use of tools in the classroom (n=41; 27.9%) were identified as major classroom performance limitations of children with DS. Parental factors (n=67; 45.6%), disease specific characteristics (n=58; 39.5%) and classroom factors (n=36; 24.5%), were identified as major barriers to improve FMS in the classroom setting. Lack of resources and standard tools, social stigma and late school admission were also identified as barriers to FMS training. Eighty nine percent of the teachers informed that training fine motor activities in a special education classroom was more successful than work with normal classroom setting. Conclusion: Major areas of FMS deficits were grasping, in-hand manipulation and bilateral hand use; classroom performance limitations included paperwork, painting and scissor work of children with DS. Teachers recommended regular practice of fine motor activities according to individual need. Further research is required to design a culturally specific FMS assessment tool and intervention methods to improve FMS of children with DS in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: classroom activities, Down syndrome, experience, fine motor skills, special education, teachers

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Authors: Xi Zhang

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Much has been written about the promotion of Standard Mandarin and the negative effects it may have had on the development of non-Mandarin dialects. Less discussed, however, is the fate of northern Chinese dialects that are only marginally different from Standard Mandarin and the effect Standard Mandarin promotion may have had on such dialects. In this paper, we seek to bridge this gap by looking at language preferences in the family and the generational differences that they reflect. Specifically, we survey Mandarin dialect speakers from Xinle county in Hebei province, whose local dialect is similar but not identical to Standard Mandarin. We sample more than 160 families with pre-middle school children and ask the parents a series of questions that probe language behavior, language ability, and language attitude within the family with regard to educating the young. Our study shows that although most parents still speak the Xinle dialect, Standard Mandarin has become the language taught to the majority of children. We also show that only one-third of parents choose to preserve elements of Xinle dialect in the language they teach to their children. We analyze the possible factors (e.g., subjective, geographical, social, and external) that influence language choice and show how these factors collectively contribute to the current state of family language choice for educational purposes. Finally, based on our findings, we offer recommendations for coordinating the promotion of Standard Mandarin and dialect preservation in similar Mandarin-speaking regions.

Keywords: Diglossia, language planning, Mandarin, standard-with-dialects

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Authors: Papitchaya Papangkorn

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Matching the expectations of teachers and learners is significant for successful language learning. Moreover, teachers should discover what their learners think and feel about what and how they want to learn. Therefore, this study investigates International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students’ preferences toward error corrections in order to help SSRUIC teachers match their expectations and their learners because it is important for successful language learning. This study examined the learners’ attitude and preference toward error correction through 50 first year SSRUIC students both male (25) and female (25) in Bangkok, Thailand. The data were collected from a questionnaire and interviews to investigate the necessity and frequency, timing, type of errors, method of corrective feedback, and person who gives error correction in order to answer the overall research question and sub-questions. The findings indicate five suggestions regarding the overall research question. Firstly, errors should be treated, and always be treated. Secondly, treating errors after finish speaking is the most appropriate time. Thirdly, “errors that may cause problems in an understanding of listener” and “frequent spoken errors” should be treated. Fourthly, repetition and explicit feedback were the most popular types of feedback among males, whereas metalinguistic feedback was the most favoured types amongst females. Finally, teachers were the most preferred person to deliver corrective feedback for the learners. Although the results of the study are difficult to generalize to a larger population, which are Thai EFL learners because of the small sample, the findings provide useful information that may contribute to understanding of SSRUIC learners’ preferences toward error corrections and it might reduce the gap between what teachers employ and what students expect when receiving corrective feedback. The reduction of this gap may be useful for the learning process and could enhance the efforts of both teachers and learners in a Thai context.

Keywords: attitude, corrective feedback, error, preference

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Authors: Annie Devault

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Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) can be beneficial for the well-being of children. MBIs offered for children in contexts of vulnerability (poverty, neglect) report positive results in terms of emotion regulation and cognitive flexibility. Anxiety is a common issue for children living in a vulnerable context. It has a negative impact on children’s attention span, emotional regulation and self-esteem. The MBI (12 weeks) associated with this research has been developed for a total of 30 children suffering from anxiety (7 to 9 years old) and receiving services from a community center over the last seven years. The first objective is to describe in details the content of the mindfulness-based intervention. The second purpose is to document what helps and what hinders the practice of mindfulness for children living in a context of vulnerability. A special attention will be given to the importance of the way that the intervention is offered and the principles that are followed by the practitioners. Perceived effects of the intervention on children were collected through an individual semi-structured interview with each child at the end of the program. Parents were also interviewed to have their point of view on the effect of their children’s participation in the group. Anxiety was measure with the Beck youth pre-post and at follow up (2 months). Qualitative analysis of the interviews with children showed that most of them mentioned that the program helped them become calmer, more confident, less scared and more able to deal with difficult emotions. Almost all of them reported having used the material provided to them to practice at home. This result has been confirmed by parents. They reported that their child had gained confidence and were better at verbalizing emotions. Children also grew calmer, even though all anxiety was not gone. They would have liked more material to practice at home. The quantitative instrument used to measure anxiety did not corroborate the qualitative interviews about anxiety. Discussion will question the use of this questionnaire for children who have important cognitive limitations. Discussion will also report the importance of the personalized contact with children, along with other consideration, to enhance the adherence of children and parents. The MBI seems to have benefited children in different ways, which is corroborated by most parents. Since the sample was limited, we will need to continue documenting its effects with more children and parents. The major strength of this research is to have reported the subjective perspectives of children on their experience of mindfulness.

Keywords: anxiety, mindfulness, children, best practices

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Authors: Yohannes Bisa Biramo

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This study examined the meditational role of surface acting and deep acting on the relationship between calling orientation and work engagement of teachers in secondary schools of Wolaita Zone, Wolaita, Ethiopia. A predictive non-experimental correlational design was performed among 300 secondary school teachers. Stratified random sampling followed by a systematic random sampling technique was used as the basis for selecting samples from the target population. To analyze the data, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the association between the independent variables and the dependent variables. Furthermore, the goodness of fit of the study variables was tested using SEM to see and explain the path influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the validity of the scales in the study and to assess the measurement model fit indices. The analysis result revealed that calling was significantly and positively correlated with surface acting, deep acting and work engagement. Similarly, surface acting was significantly and positively correlated with deep acting and work engagement. And also, deep acting was significantly and positively correlated with work engagement. With respect to mediation analysis, the result revealed that surface acting mediated the relationship between calling and work engagement and also deep acting mediated the relationship between calling and work engagement. Besides, by using the model of the present study, the school leaders and practitioners can identify a core area to be considered in recruiting and letting teachers teach, in giving induction training for newly employed teachers and in performance appraisal.

Keywords: calling, surface acting, deep acting, work engagement, mediation, teachers

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Authors: Ivy Jeralyn T. Andres, Eva B. Macugay

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Using a descriptive research design utilizing the Research and Development (R&D) methodology, this study focused on the development of Reproductive Health Education (RHE) Toolkit for Science Teachers that provides a guide in teaching reproductive health. Based on the findings, the teacher-respondents identified nine topics that can be included in the development of the RHE toolkit. The topics included are The Male Reproductive System, The Female Reproductive System, The Roles of Hormones in Male and Female Reproductive System, Menstrual Cycle, Fertilization, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Breastfeeding, Human Reproductive and Developmental Concerns and Reproductive Health Management and Diseases. The developed RHE Toolkit is remarked as very highly valid and very highly acceptable learning material. The validators and evaluators acknowledged the developed RHE toolkit as clear, creative, and academically useful supplemental material for educating reproductive health. Moreover, it follows the principles of SMART objectives, factual, timely, and relevant content for both learners and the community as a whole. Science teachers should employ the RHE Toolkit in teaching reproductive health education into their respective classes. It is also suggested that the developed RHE toolkit can be implemented to elementary pupils and the community, particularly in rural areas.

Keywords: reproductive health education, toolkit, science teachers, supplemental material

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Authors: Suriani Oxley

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All teachers aim to conduct a successful and an effective teaching. Teacher will use a variety of teaching techniques and methods to ensure that students achieve the learning objectives but often the teaching and learning processes are interrupted by a number of things such as noisy students, students not paying attention, the students play and so on. Such disturbances must be addressed to ensure that students can concentrate on their learning activities. This qualitative study observed and captured a video of numerous tricks that teachers in Labuan have implemented in helping the students to pay attentions in the classroom. The tricks are such as Name Calling, Non-Verbal Clues, Body Language, Ask Question, Offer Assistance, Echo Clapping, Call and Response & Cues and Clues. All of these tricks are simple but yet interesting language learning strategies that helped students to focus on their learning activities.

Keywords: paying attention, observation, tricks, learning strategies, classroom

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Authors: Ana Campina, Maria Manuela Magalhaes, Eusebio André Machado, Cristina Costa-Lobo

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Inclusive school advocates respect for differences, for equal opportunities and for a quality education for all, including for students with special educational needs. In the pursuit of educational equity, guaranteeing equality in access and results, it becomes the responsibility of the school to recognize students' needs, adapting to the various styles and rhythms of learning, ensuring the adequacy of curricula, strategies and resources, materials and humans. This paper presents a set of theoretical reflections in the disciplinary interface between legal and education sciences, school administration and management, with the aim of understand the real inclusion characteristics in a balance with the inclusion policies and the need(s) of an education for Human Rights, especially for diversity. Considering the actual social complexity but the important education instruments and strategies, mostly patented in the policies, this paper aims expose the existing contexts opposed to the laws, policies and inclusion educational needs. More than a single study, this research aims to develop a map of the reality and the guidelines to implement the action. The results point to the usefulness and pertinence of a school in which educational managers, teachers, parents, and students, are involved in the creation, implementation and monitoring of flexible curricula and adapted to the educational needs of students, promoting a collaborative work among teachers. We are then faced with a scenario that points to the need to reflect on the legislation and curricular management of inclusive classes and to operationalize the processes of elaboration of curricular adaptations and differentiation in the classroom. The transdisciplinary is a pedagogic and social education perfect approach using the Human Rights binomio – teaching and learning – supported by the inclusion laws according to the realistic needs for an effective successful society construction.

Keywords: rights, transdisciplinary, inclusion policies, education for diversity

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Authors: Arkadiusz Gut, Joanna Afek

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The first issue that we discuss in this paper is a battery of research demonstrating that culture influences children’s performance in tasks testing their theory of mind, also known as mindreading. We devote special attention to research done within Chinese culture; namely, studies with children speaking Cantonese and Mandarin natively and growing up in an environment dominated by the Chinese model of informal home education. Our attention focuses on the differences in development and functioning of social abilities and competences between children from China and the West. Another matter we turn to is the description of the nature of Chinese early childhood education. We suggest that the differences between the Chinese model and that of the West reveal a set of modifiers responsible for the variation observed in empirical research on children’s theory of mind (mindreading). The modifiers we identify are the following: (1) early socialization – that is, the transformation of the child into a member of the family and society that set special value by the social and physical environment; (2) the Confucian model of education – that is, the Chinese alphabet and tradition that determine a certain way of education in China; (3) the authoritarian style of upbringing – that is, reinforcing conformism, discouraging voicing of private opinions, and respect for elders; (4) the modesty of children and protectiveness of parents – that is, obedience as a desired characteristic in the child, overprotectiveness of parents, especially mothers; and (5) gender differences – that is, different educational styles for girls and boys. In our study, we conduct a thorough meta-analysis of empirical data on the development of mindreading and ToM (children’s theory of mind), as well as a cultural analysis of early childhood education in China. We support our analyses with questionnaire and narrative studies conducted in China that use the ‘Children’s Social Understanding Scale’ questionnaire, conversations based on the so-called ‘Scenarios Presented to Parents’, and questions designed to measure the ‘my child and I’ relation. With our research we aim to identify the factors in early childhood education that serve as moderators explaining the nature of the development and functioning of social cognition based on mind reading in China. Additionally, our study provides a valuable insight for comparative research of social cognition between China and the West.

Keywords: early childhood education, China, mindreading, parenting

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Authors: Huang Ying

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The present study was to investigate factors affecting children's improvement through the first two years of elementary school on a population-based sample of children with autism in Taiwan. All the children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by clinical psychologists according to DSM-IV. Children's development was assessed by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Chinese version (VABS-C) on the first and the third grade. Children's improvement was measured by the difference between the standardized total score of the third and the first year. In Taiwan, school-age children with special-education needs will be arranged into different classes, including normal classes (NC), resource classes (RC), and special classes (SC) by the government. Therefore, type of class was one of the independent variables. Moreover, as early intervention is considered to be crucial, the earliest age when intervention begins was collected from parents. Attention was also included in the analysis. Teachers were asked to evaluate children's attention with a 3-item Likert Scale. The frequency of paying attention to the class or the task was recorded and scores were summed up. Additionally, standardized scores of the VABS-C in the first grade were used as pretest scores representing children's developmental level at the beginning of elementary school. Multiple regression was conducted with improvement as the dependent variable. Results showed that children in special classes had smaller improvement compared to those in normal or resource classes. Attention positively predicted improvement yet the effect of earliest intervention age was not significant. Furthermore, scores in the first grade negatively predicted improvement, which indicated that children with higher developmental levels would make less progress in the following years. Results were to some degree consistent with previous findings through meta-analysis that the effectiveness of conventional intervention methods lacked sufficient evidence to support.

Keywords: attention, early intervention, elementary school, special education in Taiwan

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Authors: Kanu Priya Mohan

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Innovation in education is one of the essential pathways to achieve both educational, and development goals in today’s dynamically changing world. Over the last decade, coaching and mentoring have been applied in the field of education as positive intervention techniques for fostering teaching and learning reforms in the developed countries. The context of this research was Thailand’s educational reform process, wherein a project on coaching and mentoring (C&M) was launched in 2014. The C&M project endeavored to support the professional development of the school teachers in the various provinces of Thailand, and to also enable them to apply C&M for teaching innovative instructional techniques. This research aimed to empirically investigate the learning outcomes for the master trainers, who trained for coaching and mentoring as the first step in the process to train the school teachers. A mixed method study was used for evaluating the learning outcomes of training in terms of cognitive- behavioral-affective dimensions. In the first part of the research a quantitative research design was incorporated to evaluate the effects of learner characteristics and instructional techniques, on the learning outcomes. In the second phase, a qualitative method of in-depth interviews was used to find details about the training outcomes, as well as the perceived barriers and enablers of the training process. Sample size constraints were there, yet these exploratory results, integrated from both methods indicated the significance of evaluating training outcomes from the three dimensions, and the perceived role of other factors in the training. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the training of C&M, and also their impact in fostering positive education through innovative educational techniques in the developing countries.

Keywords: cognitive-behavioral-affective learning outcomes, mixed method research, teachers in Thailand, training evaluation

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