Search results for: primary science education

Authors: Muhammad Ashraf

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It is experimentally conceded reality that education not just promotes social and intellectual abilities yet, in addition, the incomes of people. The present study is directed to investigate the connection between education level and student income. Data of different education levels is acquired from 300 students through field review from four public sector Universities; two from upper Punjab (University of Gujarat and Government college university-Lahore) and two from lower Punjab (Islamia University-Bahawalpur and The University of Sahiwal). Two-phase estimation is based on the Mincerian human capital model. The first stage presents statistical/descriptive investigation, which shows positive linkage among higher education and income of the students. Econometric estimation is estimated in the second stage by applying Ordinary least Square Method (OLS). Econometric examination reaffirms the importance of higher education as the impact of higher education on students’ incomes accelerates as we move from lower-level education to higher-level education. Educational levels, experience, and working hours are sure and noteworthy with student’s income. Econometric estimation additionally investigated that M. Phil and Ph.D. students have a higher income than bachelor students. Concerning the students, the income profile study commended that the Government ought to give part-time jobs or internships to students as indicated to labor market demand.

Keywords: education, student’s income, experience, universities

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Authors: M. Umar Hafeez, Furqan Khursheed Hashmi, Nadeem Irfan Bukhari, Shahzad Ali, Muzammil Ali

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The trend of self-medication is increasing due to various factors and is associated with a large number of complications. A cross-sectional study was aimed to investigate self-medication trend in an urban community and its correlates such as level of education, gender and behavior of using psychoactive medicines. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from different locations of Lahore, provincial capital of Punjab, Pakistan. The trend of self-medication was noted in reference to difference in educational level and in gender. This study showed that total 110 respondents, all literate,were found to be self-medicating, and their educational status was as 73.13% primary, 63.15% secondary, 61.12% higher secondary and 62.15% university going. In this sample 74.99% were males and 48.00%were females. Twenty nine (26.36%) of the total sample were found to be using psychoactive agents without consulting the physician. The trend of self-medication was 10% higher in individuals having primary level education, whereas there was not much difference of self-medication trend in other levels of education. The main reasons involved in self-medication trend were socio-economic status, medicine accessibility, religious and cultural beliefs, lack of awareness about risks associated with medicine, non-prescription sale of medicines and previous medication experience. The trend of self-medication of psychotropic agents is quite significant.

Keywords: self-medication, educated community, psychotropic drugs, education levels

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Authors: Raliatu Mohammed Kashim

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The study investigated primary school teachers conceptual and procedural knowledge of rational numbers to determine how it effects on pupil’s achievement on rational number. Specifically, primary school teachers’ level of conceptual and procedural knowledge about rational number and its effects on their pupils understanding of rational number in primary school was explored. The study was carried out in Bauchi state of Nigeria, Using a multistage design. The first stage was a descriptive design. The second stage involves a pre-test post-test only quasi experiment design. The population of the study comprises of six mathematics teachers holding the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) teaching primary six and their two hundred and ten pupils in intact class. Two instrument namely Conceptual and Procedural knowledge Test (CPKT) and Rational number Achievement Test (RAT) were used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using ANCOVA and Scheffe’s Test. The result revealed a significant differences between pupils taught by teachers with high conceptual and procedural knowledge and those target by teachers with low conceptual and procedural knowledge.

Keywords: conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, rational numbers, multistage design

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Authors: N. Paparisteidi, D. Rodamitou

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This article focuses on the skills development and path planning of students studying computer science in EPITECH: french private institute of Higher Education. The researchers examine students’ points of view and experience in a blended learning model based on a skills development curriculum. The study is based on the collection of four main categories of data: semi-participant observation, distribution of questionnaires, interviews, and analysis of internal school databases. The findings seem to indicate that a skills-based program on active learning enables students to develop their learning strategies as well as their personal skills and to actively engage in the creation of their career path and contribute to providing additional information to curricula planners and decision-makers about learning design in higher education.

Keywords: active learning, blended learning, higher education, skills development

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Authors: Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, Rajesh Srivastava

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Human resource is the key point of success of any economy. From the past few decades, policies started to move in the route of expanding inclusive education with effective involvement of government.Governments of developing nations are generating policies for educational upliftment. Applying educational policies, the motive of the government is to maintain and develop the effective human resource within a society. The attention of the government includes primary education to higher education. It also involves professional training programmes related to every discipline. The aim of this paper is to find out the government policies in terms of expenditure and achievements for inclusive education to develop human resources in developing countries. A case of Indian experience has been taken into consideration. This approach generates a picture as to how India is enriching its educational system for human resource development and this research study will be useful for the policy makers to determine the appropriate level of overall spending of government and achievements in the education system for human resource development. Analytical research methodology has been adopted.

Keywords: government policies, inclusive education, National Educational Policy, NCERT

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Authors: Dení Stincer Gómez, Zuraya Monroy Nasr

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Pedagogy of science historically has given priority to teaching strategies that mobilize the cognitive mechanisms leaving out emotional. Modern epistemology, cognitive psychology and psychoanalysis begin to argue and prove that emotions are relevant epistemological functions. They are 1) the selection function: that allows the perception and reason choose, to multiple alternative explanation of a particular fact, those are relevant and discard those that are not, 2) heuristic function: that is related to the activation cognitive processes that are effective in the process of knowing; and 3) the function that called carrier content: on the latter it arises that emotions give the material reasoning that later transformed into linguistic propositions. According to these hypotheses, scientific knowledge seems to come from emotions that meet these functions. In this paper I argue that science education should start from the presence of certain emotions in the learner if it is to form citizens with scientific or cultural future scientists.

Keywords: epistemic emotions, science education, formation of citizens and scientists., philosophy of emotions

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Authors: Denise Levy, Helen J. Khoury

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Nuclear technology is a controversial issue among a great share of the Brazilian population. Misinformation and common wrong beliefs confuse public’s perceptions and the scientific community is expected to offer a wider perspective on the benefits and risks resulting from ionizing radiation in everyday life. Attentive to the need of new approaches between science and society, the Nuclear Energy Museum, in northeast Brazil, is an initiative created to communicate the growing impact of the beneficial applications of nuclear technology in medicine, industry, agriculture and electric power generation. Providing accessible scientific information, the museum offers a rich learning environment, making use of different educational strategies, such as films, interactive panels and multimedia learning tools, which not only increase the enjoyment of visitors, but also maximize their learning potential. Developed according to modern active learning instructional strategies, multimedia materials are designed to present the increasingly role of nuclear science in modern life, transforming science education into a meaningful learning experience. In year 2016, nine different interactive computer-based activities were developed, presenting curiosities about ionizing radiation in different landmarks around the world, such as radiocarbon dating works in Egypt, nuclear power generation in France and X-radiography of famous paintings in Italy. Feedback surveys have reported a high level of visitors’ satisfaction, proving the high quality experience in learning nuclear science at the museum. The Nuclear Energy Museum is the first and, up to the present time, the only permanent museum in Brazil devoted entirely to nuclear science.

Keywords: nuclear technology, multimedia learning tools, science museum, society and education

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Authors: Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi, Mairas Abd Rahman

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Traditionally, literacy has been commonly defined as the ability to read and write at an adequate level of proficiency that is necessary for communication. However, as time goes by, literacy has started to refer to reading and writing at a level adequate for communication, or at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society. Meanwhile, visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media. This study aims to investigate the collaboration between visual literacy and literature, eventually to determine how visual literacy can enhance learner’s ability to comprehend literary texts such as poems and short stories and develop his intellectuality, especially critical and creative thinking skills, and also to find out the different impacts of literature in visual literacy at four levels of education: pre-school, primary and secondary schools and university. This study is based on Malaysian environment and involves a qualitative method consisting of observation and interviews. The initial findings show that people with different levels of education grasp visual literacy differently but all levels show outstanding impacts of using literature.

Keywords: visual literacy, literature, language studies, higher education

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Authors: Christia C. Baltar

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Everybody goes to primary education but not all proceed to secondary education because of poverty and it is evident in the Philippines. Moreover, the number goes down when they reach higher education. The researcher believes that higher education may improve the standard of living of the family looking at the economic benefits of it. Once one graduated from a particular degree, one may employ with higher wage than those who are non-degree holder. Every year the Philippines produce more than five hundred thousand graduates of higher education and it keeps on increasing every year. Thus, the competition in the employment is really high. It is then important to pursue higher education than settling to a high school graduate because a degree is what most of the employer is looking for. The Philippine government through the Department of Labor and Employment is offering job fairs to all cities as much as possible just to cater employment for those graduates away from urban areas like in Manila and even the privates sectors also proposing for job fairs. Researcher conducted a survey in her institution and she further used secondary information to strengthen the findings of her survey. Researcher used descriptive measures, chi-square test for independence, and the correlation coefficient to analyze the data in her survey. In the survey conducted results show that there was an increase on the income of the family of the graduates of higher education. The graduates believed that their standard of living improved because they were able to work in a better job. The data were analyzed and the results show that there was no significant relationship on sex, age and marital status of the graduates to their economic status but the degree program they enrolled in the tertiary education affects their economic status. The impact of earning higher education can be seen indirectly to the economic growth of the Philippines. Finally, researcher concludes that there is direct and indirect impact of the higher education to the economic status of the graduates.

Keywords: economic, economic benefits, higher education, standard of living

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Authors: Christia C. Baltar

Abstract:

Everybody goes to primary education but not all proceed to secondary education because of poverty and it is evident in the Philippines. Moreover, the number goes down when they reach higher education. The researcher believes that higher education may improve the standard of living of the family looking at the economic benefits of it. Once one graduated from a particular degree, one may employ with higher wage than those who are non-degree holder. Every year the Philippines produce more than five hundred thousand graduates of higher education and it keeps on increasing every year. Thus, the competition in the employment is really high. It is then important to pursue higher education than settling to a high school graduate because a degree is what most of the employer is looking for. The Philippine government through the Department of Labor and Employment is offering job fairs to all cities as much as possible just to cater employment for those graduates away from urban areas like in Manila and even the privates sectors also proposing for job fairs. Researcher conducted a survey in her institution and she further used secondary information to strengthen the findings of her survey. Researcher used descriptive measures, chi-square test for independence, and the correlation coefficient to analyze the data in her survey. In the survey conducted results show that there was an increase on the income of the family of the graduates of higher education. The graduates believed that their standard of living improved because they were able to work in a better job. The data were analyzed and the results show that there was no significant relationship on sex, age and marital status of the graduates to their economic status but the degree program they enrolled in the tertiary education affects their economic status. The impact of earning higher education can be seen indirectly to the economic growth of the Philippines. Finally, researcher concludes that there is direct and indirect impact of the higher education to the economic status of the graduates.

Keywords: economic benefits, economic status, graduate, higher education

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Authors: Kumiko Inagaki

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Japanese society is experiencing an aging population and declining birth rate along with the popularization of higher education, spread of economic globalization, rapid progress in technical innovation, changes in employment conditions, and emergence of a knowledge-based society. Against this background, interest in career education at Japanese universities has increased in recent years. This paper describes how the government has implemented career education policies in Japan, and introduces the cases of two universities that have successfully linked career education to university education in Japan.

Keywords: career education, employability, higher education, japanese university, university education

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Authors: Yunos Zahri, Ab Hamid R. Susanty, Ahmad Mustaffa

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This paper explores the need for a national baseline study on understanding the level of cyber security situational awareness among primary and secondary school students in Malaysia. The online survey method was deployed to administer the data collection exercise. The target groups were divided into three categories: Group 1 (primary school aged 7-9 years old), Group 2 (primary school aged 10-12 years old), and Group 3 (secondary school aged 13-17 years old). A different questionnaire set was designed for each group. The survey topics/areas included Internet and digital citizenship knowledge. Respondents were randomly selected from rural and urban areas throughout all 14 states in Malaysia. A total of 9,158 respondents participated in the survey, with most states meeting the minimum sample size requirement to represent the country’s demographics. The findings and recommendations from this baseline study are fundamental to develop teaching modules required for children to understand the security risks and threats associated with the Internet throughout their years in school. Early exposure and education will help ensure healthy cyber habits among millennials in Malaysia.

Keywords: cyber security awareness, cyber security education, cyber security, school students

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Authors: Hongxia Wang, Yanjie Wang, Xiuqin Wang, Linlin Mo, Shuangshuang Niu

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Special Education Resource Center (SERC) is the localized product in the development of inclusive education in People’s Republic of China, which provides professional support and service for the students with special education needs(SEN) and their parents, teachers as well as inclusive schools. The study investigated 155 administrators, resource teachers and inclusive education teachers from primary and secondary schools in Beijing. The results indicate that: (1) The surveyed teachers put highest expectation of SERC on specialized guidance and teacher training , instead of research and administration function; (2) Each dimension of professional support needs gets higher scores, in which individual guidance gets highest score, followed by instruction guidance, psychological counseling, proposing suggestions, informational support and teacher training; (3) locality and training experience of surveyed teachers significantly influence their expectations and support needs of SERC.

Keywords: special education resource center (SERC) , functional expectation, professional support needs, support system

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Authors: A. Kourou, A. Ioakeimidou, A. Gakou

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Greece due to its location in the Eastern Mediterranean region is characterized by a high degree of seismicity and occurrence of severe earthquakes. It is generally accepted that preventive planning is vital in mitigating impacts, protecting those who are the most vulnerable namely children and increasing the degree of resilience of local communities. Worldwide, States have highlighted the need to ensure the safety of early childhood environments in case of disaster. A great number of children are enrolled in daycare facilities, so building and improving the preparedness of pre-primary schools to prevent injuries and fatalities in case of an earthquake becomes an important policy issue. It is more than evident that preparedness in early preschool level will be increased through awareness and education of the people who work to pre-primary classes and provide early childhood care. The aim of the present study is to assess the level of awareness and preparedness of the Greek pre-primary schools staff concerning earthquake protection issues, as well as their risk mitigation behaviors and earthquake management in case of a strong event. In this framework, specific questionnaire was developed and filled by the abovementioned target group at 30 different municipalities of Greece (2014-2016). Also in the framework of this study it is presented the Pre-Primary Schools’ Earthquake Safety Initiative that has been undertaken by Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (EPPO) the last years. This initiative aims to develop disaster-resilient day care centers through awareness, self-help, cooperation and education. Recognizing the necessity of integration of the disaster safety concept at pre-primary environments, EPPO published practical guidelines that focused on earthquake planning of these workspaces. Furthermore, dozens of seminars are implemented in municipality or prefecture-level every year by EPPO, in order the early childhood schools’ staff to be appropriately educated and adequately trained to face the earthquake risk. Great progress has been made towards building awareness and increasing preschool preparedness in Greece but significant gaps still remain. Anyway, it is extremely important that the implementation of effective programs and practices and the broad collaboration of all involved parties have been recognized as essential in order to develop a comprehensive disaster management system at preschool environment.

Keywords: awareness, earthquake, education, emergency plans, preparedness, pre-primary schools

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Authors: A. S. V Polgampala, F. Huang

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This is an overview of what is entailed in an evaluation and issues to be aware of when class observation is being done. This study examined the effects of evaluating teaching practice of a 7-day ‘block teaching’ session in a pre -service science teacher training program at a reputed National College of Education in Sri Lanka. Effects were assessed in three areas: evaluation of the training process, evaluation of the training impact, and evaluation of the training procedure. Data for this study were collected by class observation of 18 teachers during 9th February to 16th of 2017. Prospective teachers of science teaching, the participants of the study were evaluated based on newly introduced format by the NIE. The data collected was analyzed qualitatively using the Miles and Huberman procedure for analyzing qualitative data: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing/verification. It was observed that the trainees showed their confidence in teaching those competencies and skills. Teacher educators’ dissatisfaction has been a great impact on evaluation process.

Keywords: evaluation, perceptions & perspectives, pre-service, science teachering

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Authors: Asmau Zarma Gogaram

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The paper examines adult education and how it can be employed as a strategy for transformation and security challenges in Nigeria. It defines the meaning of adult education and its objectives.The issue of the necessity of employing adult education as a strategy for transformation and security challenges was also examined in the paper.In doing this it discussed the different types of adult education programmes, i.e.continuing education, literacy education, retirement and pre-retirement education and civic education. The paper concluded by stating that if the programmes stated are internalizes and applied they can help to raise awareness. Finally the paper proffered some recommendations one of which was that government should at all levels increase their efforts or promoting acquisition of adult education.

Keywords: adult education, transformation and security challenges, Nigeria, education and human development

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Authors: Sara Fayez Fawzy Mikhael

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Inclusive education services for students with Autism remains in its early developmental stages in Thailand. Despite many more children with autism are attending schools since the Thai government introduced the Education Provision for People with Disabilities Act in 2008, the services students with autism and their families receive are generally lacking. This quantitative study used Attitude and Preparedness to Teach Students with Autism Scale (APTSAS) to investigate 110 primary school teachers’ attitude and preparedness to teach students with autism in the general education classroom. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data found that student behavior was the most significant factor in building teachers’ negative attitudes students with autism. The majority of teachers also indicated that their pre-service education did not prepare them to meet the learning needs of children with autism in particular, those who are non-verbal. The study is significant and provides direction for enhancing teacher education for inclusivity in Thailand.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, thailandsports activates, movement skills, motor skills

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Authors: Xiaoying Zhang

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Forest school – an outdoor educational experience that is undertaken in an outdoor environment with trees – becomes an emerging field of early childhood education recently. In China, the benefits of natural outdoor education to children and young people’s wellness have raised attention. Although different types of outdoor-based activities have been involved in some pre-school of China, few study and practice have been conducted in terms of the notion of forest school. To comprehend the impact of forest school for children and young people, this study aims to systematically review articles on the topic of forest school in preschool education from an ecological perspective, i.e. from individual level (e.g., behavior and mental health) to microsystem level (e.g., the relationship between teachers and children) to ecosystem level. Based on PRISMA framework flow, using the key words of “Forest School” and “Early Childhood Education” for searching in Web-of-science database, a total of 33 articles were identified. Sample participants of 13 studies were not preschool children, five studies were not on forest school theme, and two literature review articles were excluded for further analysis. Finally, 13 articles were eligible for thematic analysis. According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, there are some fingdings, on the individual level, current forest school studies are concerned about the children behavioral experience in forest school, how these experience may relate to their achievement or to develop children’s wellbeing/wellness, and how this type of learning experience may enhance children’s self-awareness on risk and safety issues. On the microsystem/mesosystem level, this review indicated that pedagogical development for forest school, risk perception from teachers and parents, social development between peers, and adult’s role in the participation of forest school were concerned, explored and discussed most frequently. On the macrosystem, the conceptualization of forest school is the key theme. Different forms of presentation in various countries with diverse cultures could provide various models of forest school education. However, there was no study investigating forest school on an ecosystem level. As for the potential benefits of physical health and mental wellness that results from forest school, it informs us to reflect the system of preschool education from the ecological perspective for Chinese children. For instance, most Chinese kindergartens ignored the significance of natural outdoor activities for children. Preschool education in China is strongly oriented by primary school system, which means pre-school children are expected to be trained as primary school students to do different subjects, such as math. Hardly any kindergarteners provide the opportunities for children and young people to take risks in a natural environment like forest school does. However, merely copying forest school model for a Chinese preschool education system will be less effective. This review of different level concerns could inform us that the localization the idea of forest school to adapt to a Chinese political, educational and cultural background. More detailed results and profound discussions will be presented in the full paper.

Keywords: early childhood education, ecological system, education development prospects in China, forest school

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Authors: Samwail Fahmi Francis Yacoub

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Inclusive education services for students with Autism remains in its early developmental stages in Thailand. Despite many more children with autism are attending schools since the Thai government introduced the Education Provision for People with Disabilities Act in 2008, the services students with autism and their families receive are generally lacking. This quantitative study used Attitude and Preparedness to Teach Students with Autism Scale (APTSAS) to investigate 110 primary school teachers’ attitude and preparedness to teach students with autism in the general education classroom. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data found that student behavior was the most significant factor in building teachers’ negative attitudes students with autism. The majority of teachers also indicated that their pre-service education did not prepare them to meet the learning needs of children with autism in particular, those who are non-verbal. The study is significant and provides direction for enhancing teacher education for inclusivity in Thailand.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, movement skills, motor skills, children, behavior.

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Authors: Philemon Wokoma Iyagba, Obey Onenee Christie

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From the hindbrain, which is responsible for motor activities, to the forebrain, responsible for processing information related to complex cognitive activities, the human brain has continued to evolve over the years. This evolution- has been progressive, leading to advancements in science and technology. However, the development of science and technology in Africa, where ancient civilization arguably began, has been retrogressive. Dialectics was done by dissecting different opinions on the reason behind the stunted development of science and technology in Africa. The researchers proposed that the inability to sustain the technological advancements made by early Africans is due to poor or lack of replicability of the African knowledge-based system, almost no or poor documentation of adopted procedures and the approval-seeking mentality that cheaply paved the way for westernization which also led to the adulteration of the African way of life and education without making room for incorporating her identity and proper alignment of her rich cultural heritage in education and her enormous achievements before and during the middle age. This article discussed conceptual issues, with its positions based on established facts, the discussion was based on relevant literature and recommendations were made accordingly.

Keywords: forebrain, hindbrain, dialectics from African perspective, development in science and technology

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Authors: Iva Buchberger, Vesna Kovač

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Global education policy trends and recommendations underline the importance of (distributive) school leadership as a school effectiveness key factor. In this context, the broader aim of this research (supported by the Croatian Science Foundation) is to identify school leadership characteristics in Croatian schools and to examine the correlation between school leadership and school effectiveness. The aim of the proposed conference paper is to focus on the school leadership characteristics which are additionally explained with school leadership facilitators that contribute to (distributive) school leadership development. The aforementioned school leadership characteristics include the following dimensions: (a) participation in the process of making different types of decisions, (b) influence in the decision making process, (c) social interactions between different stakeholders in the decision making process in schools. Further, the school leadership facilitators are categorized as follows: (a) principal’s activities (such as providing support to different stakeholders and developing mutual trust among them), (b) stakeholders’ characteristics (such as developed stakeholders’ interest and competence to participate in decision-making process), (c) organizational and material resources (such as school material conditions, the necessary information and time as resources for making decisions). The data were collected by a constructed and validated questionnaire for examining the school leadership characteristics and facilitators from teachers’ perspective. The main population in this study consists of all primary schools in Croatia while the sample is comprised of 100 primary schools, selected by random sampling. Furthermore, the sample of teachers was selected by an additional procedure taking into consideration the independent variables of sex, work experience, etc. Data processing was performed by standard statistical methods of descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical program IBM SPSS 20.0 was used for data processing. The results of this study show that there is a (positive) correlation between school leadership characteristics and school leadership facilitators. Specifically, it is noteworthy to mention that all the dimensions of school leadership characteristics are in positive correlation with the categories of school leadership facilitators. These results are indicative for the education policy creators who should ensure positive and supportive environment for the school leadership development including the development of school leadership characteristics and school leadership facilitators.

Keywords: distributive school leadership, school effectiveness , school leadership characteristics, school leadership facilitators

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Authors: Tryfon Mavropalias, Anastasia Alevriadou

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Co-teaching is a relatively recent model of providing teaching services to students with disabilities in Greece. According to recent studies, it seems that the largest number of students who take part in the Greek co-teaching programme are children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The aim of the suggested study is to investigate the effectiveness and usefulness of co-teaching to students with ASD as well as skills students with ASD develop during co-teaching in primary education classes. To conduct the research, quantitative method of research was used, with the means of research being a questionnaire including open and close type questions. The sample of this research consists of 142 primary school co-teachers from all over Northern Greece (71 general education teachers and 71 special education teachers). Given the results, it was concluded that co-teachers believe that including and educating children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in the general class benefits those who autism is measured from the middle to the upper end of the spectrum. Additionally, children develop social skills first, followed by emotional and cognitive skills. Ultimately, educators declared that they are prepared only to a limited degree to effectively support students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in general classes.

Keywords: Autistic spectrum disorders, co-teaching, co-teachers, co-taught class

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Authors: Martina Dickson, Hanadi Kadbey, Melissa Mcminn

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Research has shown that anxiety and trepidation towards learning about science is prevalent among elementary school teachers in Western countries. It has also been shown repeatedly that pre-service and in-service teachers who show signs of anxiety towards science are; a) less likely to teach it at all, where they have some autonomy over this, b) less likely to teach it effectively c) ultimately that their students have lower attainment scores in science. It is therefore critically important to gauge pre-service teachers’ science anxiety levels early on whilst there are still possibilities to overturn some of the reasons behind these fears and avert these serious issues occurring later on. This study takes place in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) in the context of training local elementary school teachers. In the U.A.E., where Emirati teachers are already in the vast minority and attrition rates are high, it is important to offer as much support to pre-service teachers as possible. If pre-service teachers are graduating with high levels of science anxiety unabated, according to the research there is a very real concern that as generalist primary school teachers, their science teaching will be far from optimal. The aims of this research study were to ascertain the science anxiety levels of pre-service elementary teachers and to identify particular areas of their science anxiety, if appropriate. We surveyed 200 Emirati pre-service teachers and found that levels of science anxiety were directly related to their perceptions of performance in science exams, laboratory experiments and inquiry approaches to science learning. Whilst some studies have shown that science anxiety can decrease as students gain confidence in science knowledge by studying courses, we did not see this effect in our study. This is based upon a theoretical framework which holds that in some cases, science anxiety is related to lack of exposure to, or insecurity with science content itself which in some cases is alleviated by the students’ covering of material and greater confidence in the subject. Exploring this variable allowed us to explore whether students educated in schools influenced by the educational reform in Abu Dhabi have differing science anxiety levels from those who were educated prior to the reforms. We discuss the possible implications of these findings to the future teaching of science in Abu Dhabi public schools.

Keywords: pre-service teachers, science anxiety, United Arab Emirates, educational reform

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Authors: Mohammad Mushir Khan, C. Satyanarayana

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Education is considered as one of the prime bottlenecks in the economic growth of India. The Ministry of Human Resource & Development, Government of India has, therefore, given special attention to this issue and the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education has increased marginally during last five years, with the efforts and various policy decisions like Right to Education (RTE) and other fee reimbursement schemes, initiated by the State Governments. But still this is one of the lowest, if assessed at the global level. It is true that the GER has improved but the survey reveals that the quality has been badly affected. This paper tries to assess the impact of lack of quality education in various sectors that affects Indian Economy and thereby signifies the need of immediate policy decision at the government level. It is to be noted that in higher education, science, management, engineering and technology plays vital role as far as shaping country’s economy is concerned and as such the quality needs to be addressed, particularly, in these streams. The paper, after carefully studying lots of survey reports and other government/ non-government documents recommends measures to be initiated by the Central Government, on priority, for improving quality of education. The quality up-gradation in higher education single handedly provides real fuel to the India’s growth Engine, as it has potential to touch each and every sector that strengthens country’s economy.

Keywords: higher education, economy, accreditation, industry, technology

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Authors: Chinonso Jude Ugwu

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This study examines education as a global business, primarily focusing on the boom of college students worldwide. It adopts a mixed-technique approach, using primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was obtained using questionnaires and interviews focusing on international college students, academic staff, and recruitment corporations from pre-determined universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The secondary information was collected from relevant literature, professional reports, and databases. The study ascertained that the boom in worldwide college students is a huge trend within the training enterprise, arising primarily from the growing call for better education worldwide. The studies additionally found that different factors are responsible for the decision of international students to consider studying abroad, such as high schooling satisfaction, cultural exposure, professional opportunities, and the popularity of universities. Furthermore, the study highlights the challenges college students face worldwide, including economic difficulties, social and cultural adjustments, and visa regulations. Based on the findings, the study concludes that Education as a Global Business is a profitable enterprise with substantial potential. However, universities and governments should handle global college students’ demanding situations by creating welcoming surroundings promoting diversity and inclusivity. The study recommends that universities put money into programs and offerings that assist worldwide college students’ welfare. Governments should ease visa regulations to inspire more extraordinary worldwide college students to observe abroad.

Keywords: education, business, profitability, global students

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Authors: Elizabeth Oyenike Abegunrin

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This study is borne out of the dire need to improve the academic achievement of pupils in social studies. The paper attempted to reconcile the lacuna in teacher’s gender and primary school pupils’ achievement. With specific reference to Social Studies classroom, the aim of this study was to detail how pupils’ achievement is a function of the teacher’s gender as well as to establish the link (if any) between teacher’s gender and pupils’ educational achievement. The significance of this was to create gender-template standard for teachers, school owners, administrators and policy makers to follow in the course of engendering pupils’ achievement in Social Studies. By adopting a quasi-experimental research design, a sample of two hundred pupils was selected across five primary schools in Education District I, Lagos State and assigned to experimental and control groups. A 40-item Gender and Social Studies Achievement Test (GSSAT) was used to obtain data from the pupils. Having analyzed the data collected using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), a reliability of 0.78 was obtained. Result revealed that teacher’s gender (male/female) had no significant effect on pupils’ achievement in Social Studies and that there was significant interaction effect of teacher’s commitment devoid of gender on the general education output of pupils in Social Studies. Taken together, the results revealed that there is a high degree correlation between teacher’s commitment and pupils academic achievement in social studies, and not gender-based. The study recommended that social studies teachers should re-assess their classroom instructional strategies and use more innovative instructional methods and techniques that will give the pupils equal opportunities to excel in social studies, rather than their gender differences.

Keywords: gender, academic achievement, social studies, primary school

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Authors: Olugbade Damola, Adekomi Adebimbo, Sofowora Olaniyi Alaba

Abstract:

One of the major problems facing education in Nigeria is the provision of quality Science and Technology education. Inadequate teaching facilities, non-usage of innovative teaching strategies, ineffective classroom management, lack of students’ motivation and poor integration of ICT has resulted in the increase in percentage of students who failed Basic Science and Technology in Junior Secondary Certification Examination for National Examination Council in Nigeria. To address these challenges, the Federal Government came up with a road map on education. This was with a view of enhancing quality education through integration of modern technology into teaching and learning, enhancing quality assurance through proper monitoring and introduction of innovative methods of teaching. This led the researcher to investigate how MOODLE LMS could be used to enhance students’ learning outcomes in BST. A sample of 120 students was purposively selected from four secondary schools in Ogbomoso. The experimental group was taught using MOODLE LMS, while the control group was taught using the conventional method. Data obtained were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The result showed that MOODLE LMS was an effective learning platform in teaching BST in junior secondary schools (t=4.953, P<0.05). Students’ attitudes towards BST was also enhanced through MOODLE LMS (t=15.632, P<0.05). The use of MOODLE LMS significantly enhanced students’ retention (t=6.640, P<0.05). In conclusion, the Federal Government efforts at enhancing quality assurance through integration of modern technology and e-learning in Secondary schools proved to have yielded good result has students found MOODLE LMS to be motivating and interactive. Attendance was improved.

Keywords: basic science and technology, MOODLE LMS, performance, quality assurance

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: R. M. Kashim

Abstract:

The study investigated primary school teachers’ conceptual and procedural knowledge of rational numbers and its effects on pupil’s achievement in rational numbers. Specifically, primary school teachers’ level of conceptual knowledge about rational numbers, primary school teachers’ level of procedural knowledge about rational numbers, and the effects of teachers conceptual and procedural knowledge on their pupils understanding of rational numbers in primary schools is investigated. The study was carried out in Bauchi metropolis in the Bauchi state of Nigeria. The design of the study was a multi-stage design. The first stage was a descriptive design. The second stage involves a pre-test, post-test only quasi-experimental design. Two instruments were used for the data collection in the study. These were Conceptual and Procedural knowledge test (CPKT) and Rational number achievement test (RAT), the population of the study comprises of three (3) mathematics teachers’ holders of Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) teaching primary six and 210 pupils in their intact classes were used for the study. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance and t- test. The findings indicated that the pupils taught rational number by a teacher that has high conceptual and procedural knowledge understand and perform better than the pupil taught by a teacher who has low conceptual and procedural knowledge of rational number. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers in primary schools should be encouraged to enrich their conceptual knowledge of rational numbers. Also, the superiority performance of teachers in procedural knowledge in rational number should not become an obstruction of understanding. Teachers Conceptual and procedural knowledge of rational numbers should be balanced so that primary school pupils will have a view of better teaching and learning of rational number in our contemporary schools.

Keywords: conceptual, procedural knowledge, rational number, pupils

Procedia PDF Downloads 426

Authors: Alaina Caulkett, Audra Selkowitz, Lauren Harter, Aimee DeFoe

Abstract:

Educational robotics is an effective tool for teaching and learning STEM curricula. Yet, most traditional professional development programs do not cover engineering, coding, or robotics. This paper will give an overview of how and why the VEX Professional Development Plus Introductory Training courses were developed to provide guided, simple professional development in the area of robotics and computer science instruction. These training courses guide educators through learning the basics of VEX robotics platforms, including VEX 123, GO, IQ, and EXP. Because many educators do not have experience teaching robotics or computer science, this course is meant to simulate one on one training or tutoring through video-based instruction. These videos, led by education professionals, can be watched at any time, which allows educators to watch at their own pace and create their own personalized professional development timeline. This personalization expands beyond the course itself into an online community where educators at different points in the self-paced course can converse with one another or with instructors from the videos and learn from a growing community of practice. By the end of each course, educators are armed with the skills to introduce robotics or computer science in their classroom or educational setting. The design of the course was guided by a variation of the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework and included hands-on activities and challenges to keep educators engaged and excited about robotics. Some of the concepts covered include, but are not limited to, following build instructions, building a robot, updating firmware, coding the robot to drive and turn autonomously, coding a robot using multiple methods, and considerations for teaching robotics and computer science in the classroom, and more. A secondary goal of this research is to discuss how this professional development approach can serve as an example in the larger educational community and explore ways that it could be further researched or used in the future.

Keywords: computer science education, online professional development, professional development, robotics education, video-based instruction

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Hasan Coruk, Recep Cakir

Abstract:

This study aimed at investigating the effect of multimedia containing ‘the structure and properties of matter’ unit on students’ academic achievement level and self-efficacy relating to science and technology course. The study used an experimental design with pre-test and post-test groups. The data collection tools were ‘Science and Technology Course Achievement Test’ and ‘Science and Technology Self-Efficacy Scale’. The sample of the study consisted of 8th grade students at a primary school in Tokat Province. The study was carried out with 42 students from two classes, 21 (8 males, 13 females) from experimental group and 21 (13 males and 8 females) from control group. The data were analyzed in SPSS.18 software. The findings of the study indicated that the use of multimedia increased the students’ academic achievement in science and technology course in comparison with traditional teaching methods. It was also determined that there was not a significant difference in students’ course-oriented self-efficacy levels regarding the two methods. Necessary and feasible suggestions were put forward for whom it concerns.

Keywords: multimedia learning, science and technology, the structure-properties of matter, self-efficacy, academic achievement

Procedia PDF Downloads 422