In the absence of state adaptive programmes, the key role in the inclusion of migrant children in the educational environment is assigned to the school teacher. The attitudes and educational strategies of the teacher are important competences for working with foreign students at school. This problem is little covered in the Russian context and requires special scientific analysis. The paper presents data from a qualitative study designed to identify and characterise teachers’ attitudes and practices in their work with migrant children, as well as to determine whether there is a relationship between the variables. The empirical data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and categorized using deductive and inductive content analysis. The study participants were school teachers from the Republic of Tatarstan who had experience in working with foreign students. The findings revealed three types of educational practices, i.e. language support, academic support, and creating a friendly environment in the classroom. Analysing teachers’ attitudes toward migrant schoolchildren in the interview responses, the authors have found that teachers’ positive attitudes mostly lead to high expectations for the academic achievement of migrant students. The study also revealed the conceptual orientation of teachers’ attitudes that predominantly reflected a pluralistic approach to the ethnocultural diversity in the classroom. The paper concludes that positive attitudes, high academic expectations, and pluralistic ideas favourably influence teacher practices, which contributes to the academic success of migrant children in school. The research findings will be used in the joint professional development programme for teacher education institutions and universities, following the introduction of modules on the adaptation of foreign minors and children from the families with migration history.
Keyword(s) : attitudes
How do Slovenian Educators feel about Gamification? Interested to Know More
Research examining teachers’ attitudes toward gamification is scarce, although attitudes play a critical
role in implementing a new pedagogical approach. The aim of this study was to understand whether
Slovenian educators are familiar with the concept of gamification, whether they have experience
using it, and what their attitudes are towards its use. A secondary goal was also to construct an
instrument that can capture the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of teachers’
attitudes toward gamification. Based on survey results from 103 Slovenian educators, teachers did
not have a good understanding of gamification and had difficulty distinguishing it from game-based
learning, although more than 60% reported using the principles of gamification at least once in the
past year. However, teachers’ attitudes toward gamification are quite positive and they expressed an
interest in learning more about how to use it in their teaching. They would use it mainly to make
learning content more interesting and motivate their students but have concerns that it is difficult to
implement and that it would overwhelm them. The main findings of the study show that Slovenian
educators lack familiarity with gamification and competencies to effectively take advantage of its
benefits but are open and positive about adopting this innovative method to motivate their students.
Vocational-Education Students’ Attitudes towards Their Academic Specialization in Jordan
The aim of the study was to identify the attitudes of vocational education students at Al-Balqa
Applied University towards enrollment in their academic specialization from their perception,
relating them to variables such as gender, the student’s academic year, and academic rating.
A descriptive approach was used with a questionnaire which comprised 33 items that measured
the students’ attitudes towards the vocational education specialization. The study comprised
221 male and female students to whom the questionnaire was distributed in the first semester of
the academic year 2019-2020. The study found that the students’ attitudes towards the vocational
education specialization for the instrument as a whole were positive: 24 items obtained positive
attitude scores and 9 items showed an average attitude. It was found that there were no statistically
significant differences among vocational-education students’ attitudes towards their enrollment in
their academic specialization in terms of the study variables: gender; the student’s academic year
(first and second year, third and fourth year); or academic rating (acceptable, good, very good,
and excellent). It was also found that there were no statistically significant differences among the
vocational education students’ attitudes towards their enrollment in their academic specialization.
These differences are attributed to the study variables: gender, academic year, and academic rating.
It is recommended that: the study plan should be developed to be more comprehensive, and
incorporates a diversity of experiences, knowledge, and activities to achieve differentiation of the
student’s personality. This requires the university and the college to provide diverse and flexible
activities to suit the characteristics of students in light of the principles of respecting, meeting and
satisfying their inclinations and desires.