by Santiago Nieto MartíN and María Luisa Sevillano García
Original Research
In this article, I attempt to show the characteristics of the education system in Netherlands, doing so based on the educational performance revealed in different countries through the PISA 2006 Report. I describe the characteristics obtained by carrying out a comparison with other countries in the world, and I clearly define the benefits through four models that define the educational systems of the world to address their heterogeneity.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1046-1056. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-10
Pub. Date: September 08, 2016
14573 Views3724 Downloads1 Likes
by Bolapade Sinmi and Olubimpe Olasunmbo
Original Research
Series of papers have been written on the diverse challenges facing English language teaching in Nigeria which has led to the poor performance of students in the English Language. A lot of these works have concentrated on the Senior Secondary Education. They have identified as part of the problems, English Language (L2) teachers that are not academically qualified to teach are found in the classroom handling the teaching of the language, lack of adequate teaching materials, among others. A lot of these papers have failed to look at the competent of the English Language (L2) teachers at the Primary and the Junior Secondary level where the foundation of learning the language is expected to be laid. The quality of the English L2 teachers that have been certified, through the Nigeria Certificate in Education(N.C.E.) to teach at these levels. As a contribution towards ameliorating the drawbacks being experienced in the teaching and learning of the English Language in Nigeria, this paper attempts to investigate the quality of already certified teachers of English (L2) holding the Nigeria Certificate in Education. The sample of the study were fifty English Language students in 200 level, selected purposively. The criteria for selection is completion of Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E.) programme in the English Language (L2). The class of Ninety B.Ed. English Student is heterogeneous because it contains students who got admission through UTME and Direct entry (those who have done NCE before). The criteria for selection is completion of NCE degree. Common Error Tests in grammar usage was used as the instrument for data collection. Test items comprise grammatical errors ranging from commonly confused spellings and wrong usages of words, errors of preposition/particles. The result was analyzed using T-Test, Mean and ANOVA. The findings revealed that N.C.E English graduate teachers exhibit low performance in the English Language which they have been certified to teach. It further shows that gender has no influence on the quality of teachers produced but the quality of NCE teachers drop as the year progresses. It concludes that the quality of NCE teachers being produced at present cannot give the Students the necessary foundation that is expected in English Language (L2) learning which is expected to be built on at the Senior Secondary School level. This ineptitude cannot give the students the quality of English expected to be taught and used in the school system; as such cannot serve in attaining Nigeria’s educational goals and objectives for global challenges. This paper therefore recommends that the quality of Primary and Junior Secondary school teachers should be a concern for language educators. This should be improved upon by looking critically at the admission requirements into the College of Education as the three credits at one sitting that is being required at present can no longer stand the test of time. A policy that will encourage and attract intelligent students to seek admission into the College of Education system among others should be put in place by the government.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1041-1045. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-9
Pub. Date: September 08, 2016
7502 Views2332 Downloads1 Likes
by Epari Ejakait, Maureen Olel, Lucas Othuon and Ochanda Khasenye
Original Research
The past five decades have seen rapid expansion in academic achievement surveys with mixed findings and interpretation. Utilizing the education production function models, the surveys sought to test whether school or teacher-level variables explain academic achievement variance to a greater extent than student-level variables. Within this framework, we modelled teacher-level predictors of academic achievement in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination in Mumias and Kuria East Sub-Counties in Kenya. Using a three-level hierarchical linear model (with 1824 students at Level-1 nested within 305 teachers at Level-2 who were themselves nested within 61 schools at Level-3), the results suggest that adjusting for Level-1 and Level-3 covariates, teacher age, the number of short in-service courses attended by the teachers in their respective subject areas and the number of formal written tests in those respective academic subjects have statistically significant effect on student academic achievement in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1030-1040. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-8
Pub. Date: September 02, 2016
9480 Views3164 Downloads
by Chih-Hsien Huang
Original Research
This study explored students’ approaches to mathematical statements with unknown truth values. Task-based interviews utilizing the think-aloud method revealed students’ reasoning processes in depth. The students in this study used three distinct types of intuitive reasoning to decide the truth value of mathematical statements. The results of this study indicate that in each intuitive response there seems to be an underlying logical schema, or a mental model intuitively accepted by the students, which interacts with the specific restrictions of the presented mathematical statement.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1025-1029. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-7
Pub. Date: September 01, 2016
7547 Views2356 Downloads1 Likes
by Rukmini Manasa Avadhanam and Vijaya Sherry Chand
Original Research
The public system of elementary education in developing countries is often criticized for its poor performance, but a better understanding of the innovative teachers in this system who achieve their educational goals might offer insights for teacher development. What are the specific individual factors associated with the performance of such teachers? We draw on on-going work to identify the correlates of innovative work performance of government school teachers. It was hypothesized that intrinsic motivation and creative self-efficacy were high correlates of workplace innovative performance, openness to experience and proactivity, perceived job complexity and learning orientation of teachers were moderate correlates, and demographic factors were weak correlates. Three hundred and forty seven teachers were selected by systematic circular random sampling from 5650 teachers whose work had been peer-rated for innovativeness and performance. Intrinsic motivation of teachers was found to be the most significant correlate of innovative performance, along with qualification in a teacher eligibility test conducted by the government. All other factors did not seem to be critical. One implication for large-scale teacher training is the design of a model of professional development which relies on the principle of learning from the motivated teachers—those who have realized their educational goals, regardless of the constraints that are a feature of the more general educational context. This is best done through decentralized peer-driven teacher networks that seek to highlight the work of the innovative teachers as motivational triggers for the wider teaching community.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1019-1024. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-6
Pub. Date: August 29, 2016
12013 Views4491 Downloads2 Likes
by Sarit Rashkovits and Yael Livne
Original Research
This study examines the effect of transformational leadership of school principals on teachers' level of burnout under two types of work conditions, i.e. extremely demanding versus normally demanding schools. Data were obtained from a sample of 263 teachers working in both types of schools, and the hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results supported all three research hypotheses, showing that (a) burnout level is higher in extremely demanding schools in comparison to normally demanding schools; (b) school principals' level of transformational leadership negatively affects the level of teachers' burnout; (c) this effect is moderated by school type (extremely- vs. normally demanding), such that transformational leadership is more effective in reducing burnout in less demanding schools rather than in high demanding schools. The finding shed light on contextual contingencies of the transformational leadership-burnout relationship.amoxicillin bivirkninger
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American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1015-1018. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-5
Pub. Date: August 22, 2016
9642 Views3809 Downloads1 Likes
by Tsetsos Stavros
Original Research
A plethora of studies related to science teaching and learning in the last two decades, has prompted the design and development of a new framework in order to improve the quality of scientific literacy for all students. The new framework incorporates the coexistence of three dimensions of learning: the scientific practices, the core ideas and the cross-cutting concepts. However, although the importance of the three dimensions of learning is paramount, the research that is focused on the analysis of the teaching material on the three dimensions is very limited. In this research, we focus on the dimension of scientific practices. The aim of this study was the analysis of the science textbook titled “Inquire and discover” (part of the teaching package) in the fifth grade of Greek Primary School on the scientific practices involved in its content. The term scientific practice does not coincide with the term practical skills because the participation in scientific research does not require only skills, but special knowledge and experience for every skill as well. The analysis was carried out by a grid that was structured by the scientific practices as conceptual categories. A part of the scientific practices of the new framework is not evident into the textbook content and important aspects of other scientific practices do not enter into units of analysis. The textbook is not satisfactorily aligned with the new framework of science learning and perhaps these findings negatively affect the scientific literacy of Greek students in Primary School.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 1008-1014. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-4
Pub. Date: August 22, 2016
10389 Views3500 Downloads3 Likes
by Cheon-woo Han
Original Research
Achievement goals play a principal role in enhancing learning gains and adaptive attitudes. Little is known, however, about changes and/or stability in achievement goals over time. This study focused on the research hypothesis that instructional tasks (e.g., exam, in-class quiz, writing a paper, in-class activates) of a course which are focused on competence influence differentially the adoption of college students’ achievement goals in a real classroom. A total of 186 college students from an introductory educational psychology course participated in this study. All achievement goals had high stability for each instructional task using a differential continuity analytic approach, while mean-level change analyses showed a considerable decline of each individual goal pursuit. Cluster analysis technique, which is a person-centered approach, suggested changes in cluster memberships between the pre- and post-measure of achievement goals. The results and findings of the current study provide important implications for both instructional design in a classroom and research methodologies used to investigate achievement goals.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 999-1007. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-3
Pub. Date: August 22, 2016
12078 Views3731 Downloads6 Likes
by Buad Khales
Original Research
This study aimed at investigating the impact of a teacher training program on mathematics teaching methodologies using student-centered learning. This study identified the teaching methods that math teachers used to implement learner-centered approach. To answer the research questions, the researcher chose a sample of ten teachers. The researcher employed several tools in order to triangulate the data to bring it to a degree of credibility. Classroom observation, videotaping, interviews and teachers' and students' reflection analysis were all used to gather the research data. The results of the study revealed that some teaching methods were used more than others and teachers attributed this to the LTD program. The program helped them choose suitable methods that could match their students' different learning styles and different learning interests. The study results also showed the satisfaction of most of the students on the teaching methods used by teachers.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 992-998. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-2
Pub. Date: August 19, 2016
10653 Views4467 Downloads1 Likes
by Jorge Reyna, Peter Meier, Francis Geronimo and Kenneth Rodgers
Original Research
At the Faculty of Science we introduced the use of digital presentations as assessment tools for third-year pharmacology students. A cohort of 167 students self-allocated into groups of four and were assigned a topic related to the pharmacology lecture material. A one-hour lecture was delivered to discuss digital media principles (visual design, video composition, multimedia learning principles, etc.) and how to apply these to create digital media projects. During practical classes, students developed a storyboard and received feedback and technical advice from tutors. Towards the end of the semester, students uploaded their preliminary presentations to a YouTube channel and received feedback from lecturers, tutors, and peers before submitting the final version. A marking rubric was developed and shared with students at the beginning of the semester. The study used a mixed-methods approach to evaluating the intervention. A comprehensive 35-step questionnaire was used, covering demographics, students’ attitudes towards technology, digital media support, understanding of the assignment, and knowledge construction and skills gained. It also contained five open-ended questions. A high response rate was achieved for the voluntary survey (97/167). Additionally, students reviewed contributions of group members using SPARKPlus, and the marks attained were used to triangulate the questionnaire responses. In summary, the data shows that students found the assignment was engaging, fostered learning and creativity, and that they gained additional skills relevant to their future careers.
American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(14), 983-991. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-14-1
Pub. Date: August 19, 2016
12495 Views4088 Downloads11 Likes