This is the English language contents page for E&SD 16(2)
Nick Rushby
Editorial: The Shape of an Article 6
Amera Seifu Belayneh
Science Teachers’ Integrative Practices in Teaching, Research, and Community Services: The Case of Three Universities in Ethiopia. 10
Raed Zedan
Student Feedback as a Predictor of Learning Motivation, Academic Achievement and Classroom Climate 27
Ayesha Khatun, Babu George, Sajad Nabi Dar
Knowledge Management Practices in the Higher Education Sector with Special Reference to Business Schools 47
Andreja Istenic, Ivan Bratko, Violeta Rosanda
Pre-Service Teachers’ Concerns about Social Robots in the Classroom: A Model for Development 60
Ali Nawab, Nasima Zainulabidin
‘Satiating Hunger with Water’: Perceived Features of Professional Development for Teachers in Rural Pakistan 88
Olga A. Romanova
Competence-based Approach in Vocational Education and Training: Systematic Review of the Russian Literature 105
Nadezhda A. Avdeenko
Teachers’ Beliefs about Creativity and Its Nurture at School 24
Elena V. Kuznetsova
How do Students of Mathematics Relate to Their Learning? Research into Individual and Motivational Factors 139
Tatyana P. Budyakova, Angelika N. Pronina
Problems of Developing the Ecological Consciousness of Modern Schoolchildren 153
Daniya Z. Akhmetova, Ilona G. Morozova Maksim A. Suchkov
Ethno-Cultural Aspects of Inclusive Education Development in the Context of Globalization and Digitalization 165
There has been some discussion and proposals, from members of the reviewer panel and within the editorial team, of the format of articles submitted to Education & Self Development.
It is generally accepted that research articles have a standard structure with six key sections: an introduction, a literature search, the method; results, discussion and a conclusion. These are prefaced by the title, abstract and keywords, and concluded by a list of the references cited in the text. This structure helps the author ensure that all of the key components have been covered, and also helps the reader who knows what to expect as he or she reads through the article. It works well for a traditional research article – and after all, Education & Self Development is mainly a research journal.
This study examined university science teachers’ integrative practices in teaching, research and community service at Bahir Dar, Dire-Dawa and Wolkitie universities. The data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews from randomly selected teachers. Interview data was also secured from purposively selected managers and teachers. The one sample t-test revealed that, except in their teaching practices, science teachers performed poorly in their research, community service and integrative practices among the missions (teaching, research and community service) of the university. The multiple regression analysis showed that the multiple contributions of teaching, research and community service practices towards these integrative practices was 44.12%, in which research took the major share (34.56%). The questionnaire data showed that institution-related factors (e.g., rigid financial rules) posed serious challenges in practicing research and community services. The interview data did not minimize the challenges related to personal factors (e.g., interest and motivation). This article shows that the university management are committed to providing practical encouragement to science teachers for research and community service. These are important for promoting better teaching delivery and integrative practices within the missions. Instead of attributing most of the challenges to institutional factors, science teachers should acknowledge their own personal problems and work to cope with the available external/institutional challenges. This will enhance the integrative practices among the missions which build the capacity for an effective science academic unit.
This research was conducted to examine students’ perceptions of their teachers’ dominant characteristics – the feedback they provide, how feedback is related to students’ achievements and learning motivation level, and how all of these relate to classroom climate. It was conducted with 2,599 elementary school, junior high and high school students. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires. The results were significant: learners attribute much importance to the feedback they give their teachers and they evaluate them positively regarding pedagogy and didactics. In addition, learners reported an average or slightly above average score for the general classroom climate. Girls reported more positive perceptions than boys at all age levels. Elementary school students reported more positive perceptions than junior high and high school students. Mathematics was more highly rated than other disciplines. Female teachers were preferred to male teachers and younger teachers to older teachers. Positive teacher evaluations resulted in a higher motivation level and improvement in learning achievements, as well as a positive perception of classroom climate, but teacher feedback and motivation were found to be the most important factors in predicting learning achievement.
Higher education institutions are creators and disseminators of knowledge, yet, it is questionable whether they follow scientifically established knowledge management practices. The paper attempts to review the knowledge management practices appropriate for business schools and highlights key enablers and barriers. There is a special need in business schools versus rest of the higher education ecosystem in respect of knowledge management in business schools, given the differences in the value of diverse kinds of knowledge and their storage and retrieval. This paper lists the major parameters of knowledge management relevant to higher education and presents a framework for managing knowledge as a strategic tool for developing and maintaining sustainable competitive edge for business schools. It observes that business schools hold in higher regard current and up- to-date applied, actionable, and context-rich kinds of knowledge, whereas other constituencies of a university value less transient kinds of knowledge. Also, knowledge in business schools is found more in networks than in nodes and hence effective leveraging of such knowledge calls for different strategies. The integration with knowledge ecosystems outside the institutional libraries is crucial. The nature of knowledge expected by business schools is scholarly yet rooted in practice. The contexts provided included globalization, higher education internationalization, and there is special mention of their implications for knowledge management.
Social robots are being tested in the educational arena with current thinking in two main directions. One is arguing for the benefits of robots in affective and efficient instruction and is more teacher- centered. Within the second, more student-centered oriented, proponents of human uniqueness are raising long-term concerns. Teacher-centeredness and student-centeredness form pedagogical beliefs underpinning teachers’ attitudes guiding technology integration. Limited research has explored teachers’ underlying beliefs and attitudes to social robots, with some presenting mixed feelings identifying some concerns with some identifying more positive attitudes. Preservice education is critical in forming beliefs, and this paper presents a qualitative study of Slovene pre- service pre-primary school and primary classroom pre-service teachers’ attitudes and underlying beliefs. Students were asked to reflect on their perception of social robotic educational technology in which they would highlight at their own discretion the positive, neutral and negative aspects. Students’ reflections predominantly expressed concerns. The research model was designed in part, drawing from participants reflections and on related studies. Previous studies indicated the concerns teachers hold about robotic technology, but lacked a more holistic model. We built a threefold model distinguishing instructional, social-emotional, and legal concerns. Our findings differ from related studies because they identified participants’ negative attitudes and a clear rejection of robot technology with a human-like appearance and social skills in the classroom. Previous student- centered studies reported on single groups of concerns within specific contexts without developing a holistic view relating diverse concerns in one picture. Related teacher-centered studies were arguing for refinements anticipating robot’s social intelligence affordance in the classroom. The participants in our study are not rejecting social robots as such, but in their view, the robot is not granted the status of a social entity capable of engaging in student-centered teaching and taking care of child wellbeing and development. The findings of our study call for action and informed robot development, taking into consideration teachers as co-designers.
Aimed at understanding what makes Professional Development (PD) effective and valued for teachers, this research examines the perceptions of key stakeholders in rural Pakistan. A qualitative case study approach was used to draw on the experiences of the key stakeholders including providers of PD, officials of education department, school principals and teachers. Focus group interviews were used as the major research tool to generate data. The research findings revealed that stakeholders value a PD program that is relevant to teachers’ immediate needs, focuses on both content and pedagogy, involves active learning experiences, extends over a long period and includes follow-up support. It is found that the majority of the PD programs on offer for teachers lacked most of these features. Based on these findings, the research argues that the existing PD programs offered for teachers in rural Pakistan are externally driven and less informed by the views, needs and experiences of stakeholders. The research also highlights that context is a significant influential factor in determining features of PD for a particular region.
The article is devoted to analysis of the Russian literature related to the implementation of the competence-based approach in vocational education and training (VET). The objective of the study is to systematize existing publications on this issue and to formulate an agenda for future research. The paper presents a systematic literature review: a uniform description of a sample of publications from the most influential Russian journals for the period 2005-2019 within a pre-defined category system. Moreover, the research includes an in-depth study based on content analysis that reveals how different aspects of the competency-based approach are currently elaborated in the literature. The results include some basic conceptual features of the construct that underlies the competence- based approach in Russia. It summarizes the data on the conceptual and terminological apparatus used in the discussion on competency-based vocational education. The paper also presents the data on the dominant research methods and the target audience of the articles in the sample. The most important result of the study is an evidence of deficiencies in research that support the introduction and adaptation of competence-based approach in the Russian VET. In particular, there are practically no judgments, which indicate that researchers understand or delve into changes in assessment of educational outcomes that are reformulated in terms of competences.
The practical use of the results will fill the gaps in scientific support for the implementation of the competency-based approach in the Russian VET. The article will be useful for representatives of the research community, pedagogical and managerial personnel of vocational schools as well as for decision-makers in the field of VET policy.
The article presents the concept of teachers’ beliefs, and particularly their issue of implicit theories, about creativity and its nurture. It aims to identify whether teachers’ beliefs are consistent with modern theories of creativity and research on creativity-fostering practices. A second aim is the evaluation of potential barriers for implementation of creativity-fostering practices in Russian schools. A survey of 115 teachers from Kaluga region and Yaroslavl region was undertaken after 2 days of specific training. The analysis of their answers shows that their beliefs are only consistent with modern theories of creativity at a basic level. However, teachers still experience a high amount of uncertainty in how to implement nurture of creativity into everyday teaching practice and the ways to combine it with delivery of disciplinary knowledge. The results of this study may inform educational policy.
Many publications discuss the means and methods that allow schoolchildren and university students to cope with negative experiences and anxiety when studying mathematics. How do those students for whom mathematics is part of life and their future profession relate to studying at a university? The paper researches the attitude of mathematics students to learning and identifies the influence of motivational and individual factors on their development. This survey involved students in applied mathematics and the results were studied through correlation, factorial, regression, and cluster analysis. The study revealed that individuality in activity planning affects the attitude of mathematics students to learning, while features that reflect the temperament do not. Attendance depends more on their internal motivation (recognition of abilities and the importance of study) and less on their assessment of the level of teaching, the fairness of grading, and perception of difficulty of the material studied. It showed that the students, in general, have a positive attitude towards their learning, and that the educational process meets the expectations of students with high motivation and assessment of their abilities. Nevertheless, cluster analysis revealed the presence of a problem group of students who need the support of teachers. The results obtained allow us to formulate the direction of further research and outline measures to eliminate existing shortcomings.
The article considers the issues of ecological education of schoolchildren, in particular, the development of environmental awareness and environmental competence. An analysis of theoretical and applied research led the authors to conclude that the concept of environmental consciousness and the environmental competence developed on the basis of that competence are incomplete. It lacks an element that reflects the safety of the subject of environmental activity. Foreign concepts of ecological consciousness are critically evaluated, including as a necessary element of such consciousness a “guilt complex” for former non-ecological behavior. The paper demonstrates the harm of such concepts to the psychological health of the student. It shows empirically that the problem of the safety of environmental actors is especially relevant for schoolchildren. Lacking sufficient environmental competence in the field of hygiene and hazard assessment of household waste, survey data shows that they are unprotected in environmental terms. The paper concludes that modern environmental education programs should include, as a necessary element, provisions on reasonable prohibitions on environmental activities. Sections on teaching safe behavior when participating in environmental activities should also be included in environmental education programs for schoolchildren.
The growth of globalization and digitalization leads to the development of educational environments in which people of different cultures, mentalities, traditions, worldviews, possibilities and abilities meet with each other. We need to find ways and educational strategies which will support such multi-dimensional diversity. The relevance of the study is the need to take into account ethno- cultural factors in order to build inclusive education environments which will promote respect for other cultures, considering the abilities, health status, and at the same time, facilitate knowledge about own ethno-cultural identity.
The purpose is to justify theoretically the model of inclusive professional education development taking into account the ethno-cultural specificity of the countries of Russia and Kyrgyzstan, to test this model experimentally in the Kyrgyz Affiliated Campus of Kazan National Research Technological University (Kant, Kyrgyzstan) and in the Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov (Kazan, Russia).
The methodology is based on the concept of geographical determinism (Montesquieu), the principle of unity of consciousness and activity (Rubinstein), cultural-historical theory of personal development (Vygotsky), dialogue of cultures’ theory (Bakhtin and Bibler).
The novel aspect of the work is that the model of inclusive education development in the vocational educational institutions is developed for Russia and Kyrgyzstan taking into account the ethno- cultural specificity of these countries, as well as the system of enhancing the psycho-pedagogical and intercultural competence of students and teachers.
The results have been implemented in the vocational educational institutions in Russia and Kyrgyzstan through the inclusive teaching technologies and methods in the Elective course for students ‘Ethno-cultural aspects of inclusive education’ and methodological seminars and the training course ‘Inclusive Education in ethno-cultural context’ for teachers and directors of educational institutions.