Search results for: private university student's education trip

Authors: Wade Ghribi, Abdelmoty M. Ahmed, Ahmed Said Badawy, Belgacem Bouallegue

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In higher education institutions, the most pressing priority is to improve student performance and retention. Large volumes of student data are used in Educational Data Mining techniques to find new hidden information from students' learning behavior, particularly to uncover the early symptom of at-risk pupils. On the other hand, data with noise, outliers, and irrelevant information may provide incorrect conclusions. By identifying features of students' data that have the potential to improve performance prediction results, comparing and identifying the most appropriate ensemble learning technique after preprocessing the data, and optimizing the hyperparameters, this paper aims to develop a reliable students' performance prediction model for Higher Education Institutions. Data was gathered from two different systems: a student information system and an e-learning system for undergraduate students in the College of Computer Science of a Saudi Arabian State University. The cases of 4413 students were used in this article. The process includes data collection, data integration, data preprocessing (such as cleaning, normalization, and transformation), feature selection, pattern extraction, and, finally, model optimization and assessment. Random Forest, Bagging, Stacking, Majority Vote, and two types of Boosting techniques, AdaBoost and XGBoost, are ensemble learning approaches, whereas Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Network are supervised learning techniques. Hyperparameters for ensemble learning systems will be fine-tuned to provide enhanced performance and optimal output. The findings imply that combining features of students' behavior from e-learning and students' information systems using Majority Vote produced better outcomes than the other ensemble techniques.

Keywords: educational data mining, student performance prediction, e-learning, classification, ensemble learning, higher education

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Authors: Nassim Dennouni, Yvan Peter, Luigi Lancieri, Zohra Slama

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The objective of this article is to make a bibliographic study on the recommendation of mobile learning activities that are used as part of the field trip scenarios. Indeed, the recommendation systems are widely used in the context of mobility because they can be used to provide learning activities. These systems should take into account the history of visits and teacher pedagogy to provide adaptive learning according to the instantaneous position of the learner. To achieve this objective, we review the existing literature on field trip scenarios to recommend mobile learning activities.

Keywords: mobile learning, field trip, mobile learning activities, collaborative filtering, recommendation system, point of interest, ACO algorithm

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Authors: David Barney, Francis Pleban, Muna Muday

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The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences of former physical education students related to reflective experiences of competition in physical education learning environment. In the school environment, students are positioned in competitive situations, including in the physical education context. Therefore it is important to prepare future physical educators to address the role of competition in physical education. Participants for this study were 304 college-aged students and young adults (M = 1.53, SD = .500), from a private university and local community located in the western United States. When comparing gender, significant differences (p < .05) were reported for four (questions 5, 7, 12, and 14) of the nine scaling questions. Follow-up quantitative findings reported that males (41%) more than females (27%) witnessed fights in physical education environment during competitive games. Qualitative findings reported fighting were along the lines of verbal confrontation. Female participants tended to experience being excluded from games, when compared to male participants. Both male and female participants (total population; 95%, males; 98%; and females 92%) were in favor of including competition in physical education for students. Findings suggest that physical education teachers and physical education teacher education programs have a responsibility to develop gender neutral learning experiences that help students better appreciate the role competition plays, both in and out of the physical education classroom.

Keywords: competition, physical education, physical education teacher education, gender

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Authors: Digby Warren, Jiri Kropac

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This comparative study seeks to develop a deeper understanding of what is meant by “education for social justice” (ESJ) - an aspiration articulated by universities, though often without much definition. The research methodology involved thematic analysis of data from in-depth interviews with academics (voluntary participants) in different disciplines and institutions in the UK, Czech Republic and other EU countries. The interviews explored lecturers’ conceptions of ESJ, their practice of it, and associated challenges and enabling factors. Main findings are that ESJ is construed as provision of equitable and conscientising education opportunities that run across the whole higher education (HE) journey, from widening access to HE to stimulating critical learning and awareness that can empower graduates to transform their lives and societies. Teaching practice featured study of topics related to social justice; collaborative and creative learning activities, and assignments offering choice and connection to students’ realities. Student responses could be mixed, occasionally resistant, but mostly positive in terms of gaining increased confidence and awareness of equality and social responsibility. Influences at the macro, meso and mico level could support or limit scope for ESJ. Overall, the study highlights the strong, values-based commitment of HE teachers to facilitating student learning engagement, wellbeing and development towards building a better world.

Keywords: higher education, social justice, inclusivity, diversity

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Authors: Angelina A. Tzacheva, Jaishree Ranganathan

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Interest in (STEM) Science Technology Engineering Mathematics education especially Computer Science education has seen a drastic increase across the country. This fuels effort towards recruiting and admitting a diverse population of students. Thus the changing conditions in terms of the student population, diversity and the expected teaching and learning outcomes give the platform for use of Innovative Teaching models and technologies. It is necessary that these methods adapted should also concentrate on raising quality of such innovations and have positive impact on student learning. Light-Weight Team is an Active Learning Pedagogy, which is considered to be low-stake activity and has very little or no direct impact on student grades. Emotion plays a major role in student’s motivation to learning. In this work we use the student feedback data with emotion classification using surveys at a public research institution in the United States. We use Actionable Pattern Discovery method for this purpose. Actionable patterns are patterns that provide suggestions in the form of rules to help the user achieve better outcomes. The proposed method provides meaningful insight in terms of changes that can be incorporated in the Light-Weight team activities, resources utilized in the course. The results suggest how to enhance student emotions to a more positive state, in particular focuses on the emotions ‘Trust’ and ‘Joy’.

Keywords: actionable pattern discovery, education, emotion, data mining

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Authors: Argyro-Maria Skourmalla

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Today’s reality is characterized by diversity in different levels and aspects of everyday life. Focusing on the aspect of language and communication in Higher Education (HE), the present paper draws on the example of the University of Luxembourg as a multilingual and international setting. The University of Luxembourg, which is located between France, Germany, and Belgium, adopted its new multilingualism policy in 2020, establishing English, French, German, and Luxembourgish as the official languages of the Institution. In addition, with around 10.000 students and staff coming from various countries around the world, linguistic diversity in this university is seen as both a resource and a challenge that calls for an inclusive and multilingual approach. The present paper includes data derived from semi-structured interviews with lecturing staff from different disciplines and an online survey with undergraduate students at the University of Luxembourg. Participants shared their experiences and point of view regarding linguistic diversity in this context. Findings show that linguistic diversity in this university is seen as an asset but comes with challenges, and even though there is progress in the use of multilingual practices, a lot needs to be done towards the recognition of staff and students’ linguistic repertoires for inclusion and education equity.

Keywords: linguistic diversity, higher education, Luxembourg, multilingual practices, teaching, learning

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Authors: Irshana Muhamadhu Razmy

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Education is one of the main necessities for a modern society to access wealth as well as to achieve social well-being. Education contributes to enhancing as well as developing the social and economic status of an individual and building a vibrant community within a strong nation. The student dropout problem refers to students who enrolled in a school and are later unable to complete their grade education due to multiple factors). In Sri Lanka, the tea plantation sector is a prominent sector. The tea plantation sector is different from other plantation sectors such as palm oil, rubber, and coconut. Therefore, the present study particularly focuses on the influencing factors of student dropout in the tea plantation sector in Sri Lanka by conducting research in the Labookellie estate in Nuwera Eliya District. this research has opted to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study examines the factors associated with student dropout namely the family, school, and the social by the characteristic (gender, grade, and ethnicity) in the plantation area in the Labookellie estate.

Keywords: student dropout, school, plantation settlement, social environmental

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Authors: Harriet Bothwell, Lowri Evans, Kevin Jones

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Background: The University of Bristol provides all medical students the opportunity to undertake student selected components (SSCs) at multiple stages of the undergraduate programme. SSCs enable students to explore areas of interest that are not necessarily covered by the curriculum. Students are required to produce a written report and most use SSCs as an opportunity to undertake an audit or small research project. In 2013 Swindon Academy, based at the Great Western Hospital, offered eight students the opportunity of a global health SSC which included a two week trip to rural hospital in Uganda. This SSC has since expanded and in 2017 a total of 20 students had the opportunity to undertake small research projects at two hospitals in rural Uganda. 'Tomorrows Doctors' highlights the importance of understanding healthcare from a 'global perspective' and student feedback from previous SSCs suggests that self-assessed knowledge of global health increases as a result of this SSC. Through the most recent version of this SSC students had the opportunity to undertake projects in a wide range of specialties including paediatrics, palliative care, surgery and medical education. Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire was made available to students following the SSC. There was a response rate of 80% representing 16 out of the 20 students. This questionnaire surveyed students’ satisfaction and experience of the SSC including the level of academic, project and spiritual support provided as well as perceived challenges in completing the project and barriers to healthcare delivery in the low resource setting. This survey had multiple open questions allowing the collection of qualitative data. Further qualitative data was collected from the students’ project report. The suggested format included a reflection and all students completed these. All qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Results: All respondents rated the overall experience of the SSC as 'good' or 'excellent'. Preliminary data suggest that students’ confidence in their knowledge of global health, diagnosis of tropical diseases and management of tropical diseases improved after completing this SSC. Thematic analysis of students' reflection is ongoing but suggests that students gain far more than improved knowledge of tropical diseases. Students reflect positively on having the opportunity to research in a low resource setting and feel that by completing these projects they will be 'useful' to the hospital. Several students reflect the stark contrast to healthcare delivery in the UK and recognise the 'privilege' of having a healthcare system that is free at the point of access. Some students noted the different approaches that clinicians in Uganda had to train in 'taking ownership' of their own learning. Conclusions: Students completing this SSC report increased knowledge of global health and tropical medicine. However, their reflections reveal much broader learning outcomes and demonstrate considerable insight in multiple topics including conducting research in the low resource setting, training and healthcare inequality.

Keywords: global health, medical education, student feedback, undergraduate

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Authors: Sadiq Habiba Alhaji

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This is a descriptive survey design intended to determine the level of usage of the learner centred methods by student teachers of Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two null hypotheses formulated by the researcher. The population of the study are students of Federal College of Education, Kontagora. The Target Population consisted of one hundred Teaching practice students drawn from sciences, Arts, and humanities who were posted to various schools practicing different teaching methods. The student teachers were supervised using the checklist designed by the researcher to determine their level of usage of learner centred methods. Data collected was analysed using t test of independent variables. It was recommended that pre service and in service teachers should be equipped with the skills of using learner centred methods.

Keywords: assessment, usage, learner centred, methods, student teachers

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Authors: Aneela Sheikh

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Private higher education institutes are challenged for their resilience and competitive edge in the globalized knowledge-based economy in the 21st century. Faculty retention plays an important role as a catalyst for addressing the current mega-developmental phenomenon in higher education institutes faced by developing countries. This study intends to explore the influence of servant leadership practice on faculty retention through the intervening role of job satisfaction towards minimizing the high faculty turnover in private higher education institutes, with the mediating role of job satisfaction. A sample of 341 faculty members from ten private higher education institutes in Lahore city of Pakistan, was selected through a stratified proportionate random sampling technique. A descriptive survey research approach was employed to collect data from 341 faculty members by administering a close-ended questionnaire based on a seven-point Likert scale as a self-administered research instrument. The study was conducted under the domain of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. The mediating role of job satisfaction was measured by bootstrapping technique. The results revealed that servant leadership has a statistically significant influence on faculty retention, with a statistically significant mediating role of job satisfaction, in private higher education institutes in Pakistan. Further, up to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic and empirical study on faculty retention conducted against the backdrop of servant leadership in an Eastern context, particularly in Pakistan.

Keywords: servant leadership, faculty retention, job satisfaction, higher education institutes

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Authors: Anna-Maria Saarela

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At the Savonia University of Applied Sciences (UAS), curriculum and studies have been improved by applying an Open Innovation Space approach (OIS). It is based on multidisciplinary action learning. The key elements of OIS-ideology are work-life orientation, and student-centric communal learning. In this approach, every participant can learn from each other and innovations will be created. In this social innovation educational approach, all practices are carried out in close collaboration with enterprises in real-life settings, not in classrooms. As an example, in this paper, Savonia UAS’s Future Food RDI hub (FF) shows how OIS practices are implemented by providing food product development and consumer research services for enterprises in close collaboration with academicians, students and consumers. In particular one example of OIS experimentation in the field is provided by a consumer research carried out utilizing verbal analysis protocol combined with audio-visual observation (VAP-WAVO). In this case, all co-learners were acting together in supermarket settings to collect the relevant data for a product development and the marketing department of a company. The company benefitted from the results obtained, students were more satisfied with their studies, educators and academicians were able to obtain good evidence for further collaboration as well as renewing curriculum contents based on the requirements of working life. In addition, society will benefit over time as young university adults find careers more easily through their OIS related food science studies. Also this knowledge interaction model re-news education practices and brings working-life closer to educational research institutes.

Keywords: collaboration, education, food science, industry, knowledge transfer, RDI, student

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Authors: M. Touhidul Islam Sarker, Mohammod Abul Kashem

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The purpose of this paper is to improve the e-learning system and digitize the learning method in the educational sector. The learner will login into e-learning platform and easily access the digital content, the content can be downloaded and take an assessment for evaluation. Learner can get access to these digital resources by using tablet, computer, and smart phone also. E-learning system can be defined as teaching and learning with the help of multimedia technologies and the internet by access to digital content. E-learning replacing the traditional education system through information and communication technology-based learning. This paper has designed and implemented integrated e-learning system architecture with University Management System. Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is the best e-learning system, but the problem of Moodle has no school or university management system. In this research, we have not considered the school’s student because they are out of internet facilities. That’s why we considered the university students because they have the internet access and used technologies. The University Management System has different types of activities such as student registration, account management, teacher information, semester registration, staff information, etc. If we integrated these types of activity or module with Moodle, then we can overcome the problem of Moodle, and it will enhance the e-learning system architecture which makes effective use of technology. This architecture will give the learner to easily access the resources of e-learning platform anytime or anywhere which digitizes the learning method.

Keywords: database, e-learning, LMS, Moodle

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Authors: Emma Whewell, Lee Waters, Mark Wall

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This paper is a mixed methods investigation into the perceived barriers to attainment and progression. Initially entry level data was analysed to identify some of the key characteristics of the student cohort- for example entry route, age and ethnic background. Secondly, a phenomenological case study of the lived experiences of 15 level 5 sport and exercise students was conducted. It aimed to understand the complexities of success in higher education, far beyond entry qualifications, indices of deprivation and POLAR characteristics, to offer a first-hand account of student perceptions and interpretations of the barriers they face in progression, retention and completion on their programme. Using focus groups and interviews with students from a range of indices we offer a set of rich case studies exploring the interpretations of our students’ lived experiences and challenges. Findings demonstrate a complex set of circumstances that centre on managing workload, use of support services and aspirations of students that conflict with university priorities. Conclusions centre on the role of academic and pastoral support, assumptions about priorities of students and practical interventions to support achievement.

Keywords: access and participation, higher education, progression and retention, barriers

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Authors: Patrick Ebong Ebewo

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The trend of high unemployment levels globally is a growing concern, which suggests that university students especially those studying the creative industries are most likely to face unemployment upon completion of their studies. Therefore the effort of university in fostering entrepreneurial knowledge is equally important to the development of student’s soft skill. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance of perceived university environment and perceived educational support that influencing University students’ intention in starting their own business in the future. Thus, attempting to answer the question 'How does perceived university environment affect students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship as a career option, perceived entrepreneurial abilities, subjective norm and entrepreneurial intentions?' The study is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour model adapted from previous studies and empirically tested on graduates at the Tshwane University of Technology. A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design graduates took part in the study and data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Our findings seem to suggest the indirect impact of perceived university environment on entrepreneurial intention through perceived environment support and perceived entrepreneurial abilities. Thus, any increase in perceived university environment might influence students to become entrepreneurs. Based on these results, it is recommended that: (a) Tshwane University of Technology and other universities of technology should establish an ‘Entrepreneurship Internship Programme’ as a tool for stimulated work integrated learning. Post-graduation intervention could be implemented by the development of a ‘Graduate Entrepreneurship Program’ which should be embedded in the Bachelor of Technology (B-Tech now Advance Diploma) and Postgraduate courses; (b) Policymakers should consider the development of a coherent national policy framework that addresses entrepreneurship for the Arts/creative industries sector. This would create the enabling environment for the evolution of Higher Education Institutions from merely Teaching, Learning & Research to becoming drivers for creative entrepreneurship.

Keywords: business venture, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intent, university environment

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Authors: Lisa Graham, Kathleen Grant

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South Africa is a multicultural country with eleven official languages, yet most of the formal education at institutions of higher education in the country is in English. It is well known that many students, irrespective of their home language, struggle to grasp difficult scientific concepts and the same is true for students enrolled in the Extended Curriculum Programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), studying biomedical sciences. Today we are fortunate in that there is a plethora of resources available to students to research and better understand subject matter online. For example, the students often use YouTube videos to supplement the formal education provided in our course. Unfortunately, most of this material is presented in English. The rationale behind this project lies in that it is well documented that students think and grasp concepts easier in their home language and addresses the fact that the lingua franca of instruction in the field of biomedical science is English. A project aimed at addressing the lack of available resources in most of the South African languages is planned, where students studying Bachelor of Health Science in Medical Laboratory Science will collaborate with those studying Film and Video Technology to create educational videos, explaining scientific concepts in their home languages. These videos will then be published on our own YouTube channel, thereby making them accessible to fellow students, future students and anybody with interest in the subject. Research will be conducted to determine the benefit of the project as well as the published videos to the student community. It is suspected that the students engaged in making the videos will benefit in such a way as to gain further understanding of their course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, an enhanced sense of civic responsibility, as well as greater respect for the different languages and cultures in our classes. Indeed, an increase in student engagement has been shown to play a central role in student success, and it is well noted that deeper learning and more innovative solutions take place in collaborative groups. We aim to make a meaningful contribution towards the production and repository of knowledge in multilingual teaching and learning for the benefit of the diverse student population and staff. This would strengthen language development, multilingualism, and multiculturalism at CPUT and empower and promote African languages as languages of science and education at CPUT, in other institutions of higher learning, and in South Africa as a whole.

Keywords: educational videos, multiculturalism, multilingualism, student engagement

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Authors: Ioannis I. Αngeli

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Worldwide and mainly in the European Union, many standards, regulations, models and systems exists for the evaluation and identification of stakeholders’ requirements of individual universities and higher education (HE) in general. All systems are targeting to measure or evaluate the Universities’ Quality Assurance Systems and the services offered to the recipients of HE, mainly the students. Numerous surveys were conducted in the past either by each university or by organized bodies to identify the students’ satisfaction or to evaluate to what extent these requirements are fulfilled. In this paper, the main results of an ongoing 6-year joint research will be presented very briefly. This research deals with an in depth investigation of student’s satisfaction, students personal requirements, a cup analysis among these two parameters and compares different universities. Through this research an attempt will be made to address four very important questions in higher education establishments (HEE): (1) Are there any common requirements, parameters, good practices or questions that apply to a large number of universities that will assure that students’ requirements are fulfilled? (2) Up to what extent the individual programs of HEE fulfil the requirements of the stakeholders? (3) Are there any similarities on specific programs among European HEE? (4) To what extent the knowledge acquired in a specific course program is utilized or used in a specific country? For the execution of the research an internationally accepted questionnaire(s) was used to evaluate up to what extent the students’ requirements and satisfaction were fulfilled in 2012 and five years later (2017). Samples of students and or universities were taken from many European Universities. The questionnaires used, the sampling method and methodology adopted, as well as the comparison tables and results will be very valuable to any university that is willing to follow the same route and methodology or compare the results with their own HHE. Apart from the unique methodology, valuable results are demonstrated from the four case studies. There is a great difference between the student’s expectations or importance from what they are getting from their universities (in all parameters they are getting less). When there is a crisis or budget cut in HEE there is a direct impact to students. There are many differences on subjects taught in European universities.

Keywords: quality in higher education, students' requirements, education standards, student's survey, stakeholder's requirements, mechanical engineering courses

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Authors: Duaa Al Maani, Andrew Roberts

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Students in higher education are expected to learn actively and independently. Whilst quite work has been done to understand the perceptions of students’ learning transition regarding independent learning, to author’s best knowledge, it seems relatively few published research on independent learning in studio-based subjects such as architecture. Another major issue in independent learning research concerned the inconsistency in terminology; there appears to be a paucity of research on its definition, challenges, and tools within the UK university sector. It is not always clear how independent learning works in practice, or what are the challenges that face students toward being independent learners. Accordingly, this paper seeks to highlight these problems by analyzing previous and current literature of independent learning, in addition, to measure students’ independence at the very begging of their first academic year and compare it with their level of learning independence at the end of the same year. Eighty-seven student enrolled in 2017/2018 at Cardiff University completed the Autonomous Learning Questionnaire in order to measure their level of learning independence. Students’ initial responses were very positive and showed high level of learning independence. Interestingly, these responses significantly decreased at the end of the year. Time management was the most obvious challenge facing students transition into higher education, and contrary to expectations, we found no effect of student maturity on their level of independence. Moreover, we found no significant differences among students’ gender, but we did find differences among nationalities.

Keywords: autonomous learning, first year, learning independence, transition

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Authors: Marlon B. Espedillon

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This qualitative study examines practice teaching as an important component of teacher education and its entanglement with the teacher quality discourse. How the key actors -student teachers, supervising instructors, cooperating teachers, and school principals- construe teacher quality is essential in understanding how the student teachers articulate their voices and challenge the cultural myths in teacher education. The ethnographic method of research was used to provide an ecological picture of field experiences. Three cultural myths were uncovered based on the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, observations, and documents.

Keywords: teacher quality, practice teaching, student teacher agency, cultural myths

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Authors: Kumiko Inagaki

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In recent, years, Japanese universities have begun to face a dilemma: more than half of all high school graduates go on to attend an institution of higher learning, overwhelming Japanese universities accustomed to small student bodies. These universities have been forced to embrace qualitative changes to accommodate the increased number and diversity of students who enter their establishments, students who differ in their motivations for learning, their levels of eagerness to learn, and their perspectives on the future. One of these changes is an increase in awareness among Japanese educators of the importance of active learning, which deepens students’ understanding of course material through a range of activities, including writing, speaking, thinking, and presenting, in addition to conventional “passive learning” methods such as listening to a one-way lecture. 　The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the teaching method adapted to improve active learning. A teaching method designed to promote active learning was implemented in a social science course at one of the most popular universities in Japan. A questionnaire using a five-point response format was given to students in 2,305 courses throughout the university to evaluate the effectiveness of the method based on the following measures: ① the ratio of students who were motivated to attend the classes, ② the rate at which students learned new information, and ③ the teaching method adopted in the classes. The results of this study show that the percentage of students who attended the active learning course eagerly, and the rate of new knowledge acquired through the course, both exceeded the average for the university, the department, and the subject area of social science. In addition, there are strong correlations between teaching method and student motivation and between teaching method and knowledge acquisition rate. These results indicate that the active learning teaching method was effectively implemented and that it may improve student eagerness to attend class and motivation to learn.

Keywords: active learning, Japanese university, teaching method, university education

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Authors: Livingstone Makondo

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This ongoing research explores what could be the components of a comprehensive First-Year Student Experience (FYSE) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the preferred implementation modalities. In light of the Siyaphumelela project, this interrogation is premised on the need to glean data for the institution that could be used to ascertain the role of FYSE towards enhancing student success. The research proceeds by examining prevalent models from other South African Universities and beyond in its quest to get at pragmatic comprehensive FYSE programme for DUT. As DUT is a student centered institution and amidst the ever shrinking economy, this research would aid higher education practitioners to ascertain if the hard earned finances are being channelled to a worthy academic venture. This research seeks to get inputs from a) students who participated in FYSE and are now in second and third years at DUT b) students who are currently participating in FYSE c) former and present Tutors d) departmental coordinators e) academics and support staff working with the participating students. This exploratory approach is preferred since 2010 DUT has grappled with how to implement an integrated institution-wide FYSE. This findings of this research could provide the much-needed data to ascertain if the current FYSE package is pivotal towards attainment of DUT Strategic Focus Area 1: Building sustainable student communities of living and learning. The ideal is to have DUT FYSE programme become an institution-wide programme that lays the foundation for consolidated and focused student development programmes for subsequent undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study. Also, armed with data from this research, DUT could develop the capacity and systems to ensure that all students get diverse on-time support to enhance their retention and academic success in their tertiary studies. In essence, the preferred FYSE curriculum woven around DUT graduate attributes should contribute towards the reduction in the first-year students’ dropout rates and subsequently in undergraduate studies. Therefore, this on-going research will feed into Siyaphumelela project and would help position 2018-2020 FYSE initiatives at DUT.

Keywords: challenges, comprehensive, dropout, transition

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Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, Gehan Azam

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The current study presents an electronic test to measure teaching skills. This test is a part of the admission system of the Faculty of Education for Early Childhood, Cairo University. The test has been prepared to evaluate university students who apply for admission the Faculty. It measures some social and physiological skills which are important for successful teachers, such as emotional adjustment and problem solving; moreover, the extent of their love for children and their capability to interact with them. The test has been approved by 13 experts. Finally, it has been introduced to 1,100 students during the admission system of the academic year 2016/2017. The results showed that most of the applicants have an auditory learning style. In addition, 97% of them have the minimum requirement skills for teaching children.

Keywords: electronic test, performance, early childhood, skills, teacher student

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Authors: HU YINYAO

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Learning and using a second language have become more and more common in daily life. Understanding the complexity of second language proficiency can help students develop their interpersonal relationships with their friends and professors, even enhancing intimacy. This paper examines Wenzhou-Kean University students' second language proficiency and interpersonal relationships. The purpose of the research was to explore the relationship between second language proficiency, extent of intimacy, and interpersonal relationships of the 100 Wenzhou-Kean University students. A mixed methodology was utilized in the research study. Student respondents from Wenzhou-Kean University were chosen randomly by using random sampling. The data analysis used descriptive data in terms of figures and thematical data in the table. The researcher found that Wenzhou-Kean University’s students have shown lower intermediate level of second language proficiency and that their intimacy is middle when using a second language. Especially when talking about some sensitive topics, students tend not to use a second language due to low proficiency. This research project has a strong implication on interpersonal relationships and second language proficiency. The outcome of the study would be greatly helpful to enhance the interpersonal relationship and intimacy between students and students, students and professors who use.

Keywords: Interpersonal relationship, second language proficiency, intimacy, education, univeristy students

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Authors: Henry R. Troy

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Corpora are becoming more prevalent in the language classroom, especially in the development of dictionaries and course materials. Nevertheless, corpora are still perceived by many educators as difficult to use directly in the classroom, a process which is also known as “data-driven learning” (DDL). Action research has been identified as a method by which DDL’s efficiency can be increased, but it is also an approach few studies on DDL have employed. Studies into the effectiveness of DDL in language education in Japan are also rare, and investigations focused more on student and teacher reactions rather than pre and post-test scores are rarer still. This study investigates the student and teacher reactions to the use of SkELL, a free online corpus designed to be user-friendly, for vocabulary learning at a university in Japan. Action research is utilized to refine the teaching methodology, with changes to the method based on student and teacher feedback received via surveys submitted after each of the four implementations of DDL. After some training, the students used tablets to study the target vocabulary autonomously in pairs and groups, with the teacher acting as facilitator. The results show that the students enjoyed using SkELL and felt it was effective for vocabulary learning, while the teaching methodology grew in efficiency throughout the course. These findings suggest that action research can be a successful method for increasing the efficacy of DDL in the language classroom, especially with teachers and students who are new to the practice.

Keywords: action research, corpus linguistics, data-driven learning, vocabulary learning

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Authors: Mehmet Cogal

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Students with disabilities perform historically lower than their peers on standardized assessments. There needs to be more work in the literature providing strategies to improve student scores on standardized assessments and how they are connected to teacher in-service programs. This quantitative causal-comparative study measured the impact of a teacher in-service program geared toward special education teachers. The study was conducted at a small public charter school serving grades 6-12 in Massachusetts. The students were given a pre and post-test before and after the teacher in-service program. Data were collected from 34 students’ reading scores in grades six, seven, eight, and 10. A paired t-test was conducted to measure if there was an increase in reading scores after the teacher in-service program. The study assumed that the teachers had implemented the strategies they learned during the teacher in-service program. The study also had limitations, including a small sample size, and the findings may not be generalized for the entire special education population. Although the study indicated no significant difference in the test scores, the teacher in-service programs and their effects on student achievement can still be further investigated.

Keywords: student achievement, standardized testing, teacher in-service, special education

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Authors: Kanyakorn Sujarittnetikarn, Surangkana Pipatchokchaiyo

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The objective of this research was to study the pro-active public relations of according to the characteristic of Faculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The sample group for this research report was students from 4 year curriculum and continued / extended curriculum, made a random distribution proportion as follows: a group of 400 students who are working while studying and a group of non – working students. The tools used in this research were questionnaires, asking about the acknowledgement of public relations information of Faculty of Management Science in the academic year 2007. The result found that friends were the most influential in choosing the education institute. The differences of method to receive information of non-working student and working student were the entertainment magazine which was interested mostly by working students and they preferred to search the information on the website after 24:00 O’clock. However, the non-working students preferred 21:00-24:00 O’clock the most.

Keywords: development guidelines systems, faculty of management science, public relation planning, proactive public relations

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Authors: Araceli Martínez Ortiz

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An educational research effort is analyzed using systems theory to document the power of collective impact when addressing multiple factors contributing towards the retention of students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academic programs. This research promotes understanding on how networked communities may work effectively toward a shared vision and mutually aligned activities that result in sustained, large scale change. The actions of a team of researchers in their third year of collaboration are presented to describe a model that positively aligns work efforts resulting in greater total gains. The goals of the multiple programs managed by the funded program team are to: 1) expand the number of students who choose to study a STEM field of study; 2) promote student collaborative learning; 3) support faculty understanding of the funds of knowledge of diverse students and 4) establish innovative and robust STEM education research that will lead to the development of nationally replicable, scalable models for broadening participation in STEM. The impacts of this research effort are measured through quantitative statistical analysis of the changes in second-year STEM undergraduate student retention rates and representation rates of women, Hispanics and African American STEM majors.

Keywords: collaborative impact, diversity, student retention, systems theory, STEM education

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Authors: Frazer McDonald Ng'oma

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Online Learning in Malawi has only immersed in recent years due to the need to increase access to higher education, the need to accommodate upgrading students who wish to study on a part time basis while still continuing their work, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure of schools resulting in academic institutions seeking alternative modes of teaching and Learning to ensure continued teaching and Learning. Realizing that this mode of Learning is becoming a norm, institutions of higher Learning have started pioneering online post-graduate programs from which they can draw lessons before fully implementing it in undergraduate programs. Online learning pedagogy has not been fully grasped and institutions are still experimenting with this mode of Learning until online Learning guiding policies are created and its standards improved. This single case descriptive qualitative research study sought to investigate online postgraduate students’ perceptions and experiences with Student to student interactive pedagogy in their programs. The results of the study are to inform institutions and educators how to structure their programs to ensure that their students get the full satisfaction. 25 Masters students in 3 recently introduced online programs at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES), were engaged; 19 were interviewed and 6 responded to questionnaires. The findings from the students were presented and categorized in themes and subthemes that emerged from the qualitative data that was collected and analysed following Colaizzi’s framework for data analysis that resulted in themes formulation. Findings revealed that Student to student interactions occurred in the online programme during live sessions, on class Whatsapp group, in discussion boards as well as on emails. Majority of the students (n=18) felt the level of students’ interaction initiated by the institution was too much, referring to mandatory interactions activities like commenting in discussion boards and attending to live sessons. Some participants (n=7) were satisfied with the level of interaction and also pointed out that they would be fine with more program-initiated student–to–student interactions. These participants attributed having been out of school for some time as a reason for needing peer interactions citing that it is already difficult to get back to a traditional on-campus school after some time, let alone an online class where there is no physical interaction with other students. In general, majority of the participants (n=18) did not value Student to student interaction in online Learning. The students suggested that having intensive student-to-student interaction in postgraduate online studies does not need to be a high priority for the institution and they further recommended that if a lecturer decides to incorporate student-to-student activities into a class, they should be optional.

Keywords: online learning, interactions, student interactions, post graduate students

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Authors: Dadang Gunawan, I. Dewa Ketut Kertawidana, Lufthi Noorfitriyani

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For the last 5 years, there is the never-ending violent act and increased cases regarding aggressive behavior among high school students in Bogor, Indonesia. Those cases caused harm to many people, even death, and lead to the continuation circle of violence. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of using peace education and media literacy in enhancing student’s understanding about aggression, as an effort to prevent aggressive behavior. In terms of methodology, this research was done by quasi-experiment with one group pretest and post-test design. A number of 38 students who were at risk of aggressive behavior from 3 vocational high school were involved to receive a 10 learning session about peace and media literacy. The aggression questionnaire was used to identify participants, supported by student’s record in school. To collect data, the questionnaire for measuring understanding about aggression has been developed and was used after the validity and reliability of this questionnaire tested. Post-test was carried out after the session ended. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding result showed that the mean score of student’s understanding of aggression was increased, therefore learning session of peace education and media literacy is significantly effective to enhance student’s understanding of aggression. It also showed a meaningful difference of understanding between male and female student’s whereas female students have a better understanding of aggression.

Keywords: aggressive behavior prevention, aggression, media literacy, peace education, peacebuilding

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Authors: Kunyu Yan

Abstract:

Early childhood music education plays a significant role in an individual’s growth. Music can help children understand themselves and relate to others, and make connections between family, school, and society. In recent years, with the development of early childhood education in China, an increasing number of kindergartens have been established, and many of them pay more attention to music education. This research has two main aims. One is to discover how and why music is used in both public and private kindergartens. The second aim is to make recommendations for widening the use of music in kindergartens. In order to achieve these aims, the research uses two main methods. Firstly, it considers the historical background and cultural context of early childhood education in China; and secondly, it uses an approach that compares public and private kindergartens. In this research, six kindergartens were chosen from Qingdao city in Shandong Province as case studies, including 3 public kindergartens and 3 private kindergartens. This research was based on using three types of data collection methods: observation, semi-structured interviews with teachers, and questionnaires with parents. Participant and non-participant observational methods were used and included in daily routines at the kindergartens in order to experience the situation of music education first-hand. Interviews were associated with teachers’ views of teaching and learning music, the perceptions of the music context, and their strategies of using music. Lastly, the questionnaire was designed to obtain the views of current music education from the children’s parents in the respective kindergartens. The results are shown with three main themes: (1) distinct characteristics of public kindergartens (e.g., similar equipment, low tuition fee, qualified teachers, etc); (2) distinct characteristics of private kindergartens (e.g., various tuition fees, own teaching system, trained teachers, etc); and (3) differences between public and private kindergartens (e.g., funding, requirements for teachers, parents’ demands, etc). According to the results, we can see that the main purpose of using music in China is to develop the musical ability of children, and teachers focus on musical learning, such as singing in tune and playing instruments. However, as revealed in this research, there are many other uses and functions of music in these educational settings, including music used for non-musical learning (e.g., counting, learning language, etc.) or in supporting social routines.

Keywords: differences between private and public school, early childhood education, music education, uses and functions of music

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Authors: Roman Knizek, Denisa Knizkova

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This paper describes the development of a nanofiber membrane for sport and outdoor use at the Technical University of Liberec (TUL) and the following cooperation with a private Czech company which launched this product onto the market. For making this membrane, Polyurethan was electrospun on the Nanospider spinning machine, and a wire string electrode was used. The created nanofiber membrane with a nanofiber diameter of 150 nm was subsequently hydrophobisied using a low vacuum plasma and Fluorocarbon monomer C6 type. After this hydrophobic treatment, the nanofiber membrane contact angle was higher than 125o, and its oleophobicity was 6. The last step was a lamination of this nanofiber membrane with a woven or knitted fabric to create a 3-layer laminate. Gravure printing technology and polyurethane hot-melt adhesive were used. The gravure roller has a mesh of 17. The resulting 3-layer laminate has a water vapor permeability Ret of 1.6 [Pa.m2.W-1] (– measured in compliance with ISO 11092), it is 100% windproof (– measured in compliance with ISO 9237), and the water column is above 10 000 mm (– measured in compliance with ISO 20811). This nanofiber membrane which was developed in the laboratories of the Technical University of Liberec was then produced industrially by a private company. A low vacuum plasma line and a lamination line were needed for industrial production, and the process had to be fine-tuned to achieve the same parameters as those achieved in the TUL laboratories. The result of this work is a newly developed nanofiber membrane which offers much better properties, especially water vapor permeability, than other competitive membranes. It is an example of product development and the consequent fine-tuning for industrial production; it is also an example of the cooperation between a Czech state university and a private company.

Keywords: nanofiber membrane, start-up, state university, private company, product

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