by Pham Thi Yen, Pham Minh Hung, Nguyen Thi Huong, Nguyen Duc Vuong and Tran Thi Thuy Nga
Original Research
In the process of a fundamental and comprehensive renovation of education and training today, the task of properly assessing the status of students' professional competence is significantly important in the process of teaching and learning at schools. The research article presents the competency requirements and analyzes and assesses the current situation of professional competence of students majoring in Early Childhood Education. From the research results, several causes and limitations are pointed out, and some measures are proposed to improve learning results and teaching quality.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 579-583. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-10
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
by Silangwa Siakalima and Vincent Kanyamuna
Original Research
Community Schools play an integral part in the provision of formal education in Zambia. In the rural parts of Zambia, these schools were mainly set where there was long distance to the nearest government school, while in urban areas; they were mostly in places with large population of school age children who were unable to find access to a government school for various reasons. This work explores issues related to Community Schools (CS) in Zambia, their origin, existence, operations and how they were perceived by people. A compilation, diagnostic assessment and analysis were employed to conduct this study from existing literature. The results reveal that the concept of community schools originated in the pre-colonial days when they (CS) were known as village schools. While the demand for formal education was low during the colonial days, it skyrocketed after Zambia gained her independence in 1964. The desires of Zambians to find well-paying jobs seem to have accelerated the demand for formal education to the levels that the Zambian government was unable to cope. This motivated Zambian communities to establish community schools. From the time of origin, these schools have undergone various transformations in terms of curriculum, registration processes, management, government aid and collaboration, among others. Further revelations indicate that Community Schools were beset with numerous hardships like lack or dilapidated infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and shortage of many other school requirements. The Zambian government, churches, donors and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should expand the existing schools and build new ones throughout the country. They (GRZ and other stakeholders) should also consider increasing funding and other support measures to community schools like capacity building teachers in these schools using Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes and short funded teaching courses.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 571-578. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-9
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
by Süleyman Ök and Mustafa Tuncay Sarıtaş
Original Research
This study aims to seek the effect of flipped classroom method on students’ academic achievement in computer programming lessons and to find out the correlation between flipped classroom method and variables affecting self-regulatory learning skills (i.e., self-efficacy, anxiety, satisfaction, interactive learning environments, usability, and self-regulation). A pre-test and post-test control group quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Participants are 252 vocational college students registered to the electronics and communication technology department at a state university in Balıkesir, Türkiye. Computer programming achievement test and self-regulation scale which was developed by [1] and adapted to Turkish by the researcher were used as data collection tools. The findings of the study revealed that flipped classroom group has outperformed the traditional classroom in terms of academic achievement. Additionally, significant and positive correlations were found between academic achievement and variables affecting self-regulation for flipped classroom method while there is a significant and negative correlation between academic achievement and anxiety.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 560-570. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-8
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
by Dang Van Hai, Nguyen Thi Huong, Pham Van Son and Ho Thi Thuy Le
Original Research
According to Viet Nam's 2018 General Education Curriculum, career guidance and counselling is a critical factor that plays an important role in achieving the goal of comprehensive education and contributes to the effective implementation of job orientation for students after high school, meeting the needs of national human resources in the context of international integration. The article analysed the factors influencing career guidance and counselling for middle school students, specifically assessing the content and form of influence of factors on career guidance and counselling for middle school students. From that, the researchers have surveyed to investigate the impact of these factors on career orientation counselling activities for students in secondary schools in the North Central region of Vietnam. The research serves as empirical evidence to improve the quality of vocational education for secondary and high school students in this area.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 553-559. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-7
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
by Francis Simui
Original Research
The paper unveils themes in inclusive education discourse foregrounded in educational philosophy to inform the Sustainable Development agenda on education. The study adopts a systematic literature review search using multiple databases targeted at secondary data published within 10 years (2012 - 2022). Emergent from these study findings are themes among which include: Respect for cultural identities, inclusive leadership, curriculum for all, inclusive classroom culture and collaborative professional learning and practice. Given the current stance taken by the international community to adopt and adapt the concept of inclusive education as the leading voice within the education sector as demonstrated through Sustainable development goal number 4 whose thrust is to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by 2030. Thus, if this goal is to be attained by 2030, there is urgent need to fully embrace inclusive education from the social model point of view whose emphasis is on situating the challenges of exclusion within the environment. This is a sure precursor to ensuring that no child is left behind since every child matters equally.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 545-552. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-6
Pub. Date: September 14, 2022
by Ibrahim Nantomah, Mathias Agbeko and Abu Adam
Original Research
Research has shown that in today’s world, Social Media Platforms (SMPs) have become an almost indispensable part of our daily life with majority of users who are mostly students in institutions of higher learning relying on them to interact and communicate with one another. Through SMPs, these users are able to create and share messages, personal information, ideas, audio and video content. In education, SMPs are tools that can positively or negatively impact on students’ academic achievement. In this study, we explored pre-service teachers’ engagements on SMPs and the possible effects it has on their academic achievement. Using an online social media usage Test Scale consisting of 14 items, data was obtained from 241 pre-service teachers in selected Ghanaian teacher training institutions. The data was analyzed quantitatively, and the results were presented in tables and graphs for straightforward interpretation and understanding. The study revealed that pre-service teachers used the Internet for varied reasons and prevalent among them was entertainment. It also showed that most students used WhatsApp more than any other SMP. The study also revealed that pre-service teachers were addicted to SMPs to the extent that they always felt bored when they are not online and go online at the slightest opportunity.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 539-544. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-5
Pub. Date: September 05, 2022
by Jared Cassibba
Original Research
Academic interventions to increase student success are hard to find and are often mostly ineffective, and possibly even detrimental to the student’s success [1,2,3,4,5]. The purpose of this descriptive quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine if academic interventions in the form of lecture style instruction and paperwork, in place of the digital format that the students are being provided, is beneficial to digital learners. The interventions only increased student progress by 7.69%, which is not a significant impact (p=0.21, p>.05). Additionally, either intervention method resulted in students earning roughly half (.6±0.2) a credit more than if they did not participate in either intervention. However, intervention 2 should still be implemented due to greater number of students that can potentially be positively impacted, over intervention 1.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 536-538. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-4
Pub. Date: September 05, 2022
by Maria Cecilia Hernandez-O’Reilly
Original Research
The study aimed to develop strategies on instructional delivery method and pupils’ proficiency of the pull-out service model in special education setting in the three Maryland elementary schools of the research district in the eastern state of USA by determining the extent of utilization of instructional delivery method in terms of information processing, behavioral, social interaction, and personal, the level of proficiency of pupils in terms of Mathematics and Reading, and the issues and concerns in the pull-out service model in elementary special education setting. The subjects of this study were 65 teachers of the three Maryland elementary schools which were selected using purposive sampling. The study utilized descriptive and inferential statistics after data collection and tabulation. Weighted mean was utilized to describe the instructional delivery method and pupils’ proficiency of the pull-out service model in elementary special education setting. F-test was employed to determine the significant difference in the assessment of the utilization of instructional delivery method and pupils’ proficient indicators. T-test was employed to determine the significant difference between the pupils’ proficiency in Mathematics and Reading. Pearson’s determined if the instructional delivery method related to the proficiency of pupils. Results revealed that social interaction is not widely utilized. Meanwhile, the pupils have low level of proficiency in reading followed by mathematics. Further, the major issue in the pull-out program is the self-esteem of pupils with disability.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 529-535. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-3
Pub. Date: September 05, 2022
by Ivo P. Janecka
Original Research
Background: The first two decades of 21st Century found major dominance of poor health in all global societies with consequential pandemic and war. It is a seeming enigma why so much physical and cognitive illness still exists while so much is known about human biologic systems. The purpose of this study is to explore the dilemma. Material/Method: Public domain records, related to biologic systems in health and disease, have been studied. Systems science methodology was used; it offered corresponding method for the examination of living systems in health/peace or war. Results/Conclusions: The perception of self, how we see ourselves and the world around us, the human perceptional reality, has a parallel influence on our decisions and relationships, and, in a feedback loop, impacts the state of health. It is not what the eye can see but how it is interpreted that affect the creative epigenome for health or disease. The combined outcome of ‘what you see and what you do’, especially on a global level, leads to the prevalence of similarly tainted global decisions-from poor health to pandemics and wars. A foundational positive shift in world’s affairs can only come from ever-increasing optimizing individual decisions, which would eventually diffuse up, from ‘people working in the trenches’ to the ‘governing vertical societal hierarchies’.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 523-528. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-2
Pub. Date: September 05, 2022
by Alina Kotchetkov and Karen Dockeray
Original Research
In early 2020, schools across North America and globally have closed their doors for students either partially or completely for in-person learning due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. To allow continuous learning for students, a virtual style of education was adapted as the most popular alternative. However, many students, particularly in younger grades, found it difficult to adjust to this mode of education; sudden change and unpreparedness being the most common reasons. Since online learning started, negative impacts on students¡¯ mental health and reduced physical activity have been reported. To understand more in depth the impacts of online learning on real-life elementary students, we conducted a survey. We designed a questionnaire to characterize the common issues that arose during online learning, relating to social interactions, learning engagement, health habits, parental support and technology that were available during this time. An online survey was sent electronically targeting elementary students from grades 4-8. We analyzed 112 responses. The majority of grades 4-8 students expressed no confusion during online lessons, had a good understanding of what to do to complete assigned tasks, and found it easy to complete assignments. Nevertheless, analysis of students¡¯ responses revealed that online learning had negatively impacted elementary school student¡¯s physical health due to reduced peer-interaction and physical activities with increased snacking. Some students believed they were often distracted during online learning and did not feel comfortable with cameras on, which may have also affected these students¡¯ mental health and learning abilities. There were still some students who lacked technology and/or parental support and their needs should not be overlooked.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2022, 10(9), 515-522. DOI: 10.12691/education-10-9-1
Pub. Date: September 02, 2022