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number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,071
It is important for teachers to be experts in the content that they teach, and it will be helpful for professional development programmes to design suitable and fair assessments for teachers. The purpose of this study was to use Rasch analysis to improve the functioning of the items in an instrument designed to assess the trigonometry knowledge of mathematics teachers. The participants in the study were 168 high school mathematics teachers who were enrolled in an in-service programme. Fourteen items were rescored to resolve the disordered thresholds that they exhibited. The rescoring resulted in an improved fit of the instrument. Furthermore, this cohort of teachers struggled with higher-level trigonometry questions, especially those which required shifts between different registers of representations. It suggests that the Department of Education needs to provide support to teachers by offering workshops which focus on building up their knowledge in trigonometry by also developing their representational fluency in trigonometry.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,011
Our 18th PROMS meeting took place in Hanoi near the end of 2022. Now, I am delighted to report that, less than 12 months later, we are able to disseminate several key papers from that meeting to a wider audience in this special PROMS edition of the Vietnam Journal of Educational Sciences. I initiated the Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium in 2005 with the express purpose of mentoring the growth of Rasch measurement in developing countries on the western Pacific rim. The focus has been to encourage the adoption of equitable scientific measurement into university communities and to those responsible for educational and other testing in the region.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,238
Vietnam’s 2018 general education curriculum has been developed according to the competency approach. As a result, the instruction and assessment systems need to be adapted to align with the requirements of the new curriculum. Experience from other countries shows that one effective solution is applying psychometric theories in different assessment programs. In this paper, the educational assessment system in Vietnam will be introduced along with the history of psychometric theories, especially Rasch measurement, in Vietnam. After rehearsing some illustrated studies using psychometric theories as well as identifying some challenges of this field in the context of curriculum innovation, a proposal for developing instruments using psychometric theories will be discussed in relation to the requirements of assessment in the new general education curriculum in Vietnam.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,386
Conducting assessment is well-known for posing serious challenges to teachers, particularly with the pluralism in assessment approaches. In Vietnam, English language teachers recently are required to master specified pedagogical competencies, including assessment of students’ newly defined language competence, and the national English curriculum has been continuously updated, while most teachers are not prepared for conducting classroom assessment in a competence-based approach. Local English teacher training universities have responded to this need by implementing language assessment courses. The conceptualization of pre-service teachers’ assessment competence and the effects of these courses, however, remains fairly unknown. This study examines the construct of preservice teachers’ assessment competence and the results of one introductory language assessment course at a leading language teacher education institution in Vietnam, focusing on measuring the competence of teachers-to-be in language assessment. Both Rasch analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the functioning of the items in a localized construct of assessment literacy for preservice English teachers and these teachers’ self-assessment results, which revealed that a) many practical components of the construct of language assessment competence can function well, but some requirements need to be adapted and instructed with more attention for students in the future courses, and b) while many student teachers could sufficiently perform the required language assessment tasks and were fundamentally ready for the job, others faced serious difficulties in applying the more abstract principles. The findings shed light on the necessary adjustments to be made in defining assessment literacy for the target teachers and offer suggestions for the future professional development of both these teachers and in-service ones.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,071
In many studies in Malaysia, several issues in providing evidence toward construct validity have been observed. In most problem cases, studies only provided face validity, factor analysis and reliability index yet claimed their instruments have sufficient construct validity. Another issue was a mix-up on assessment-type and perception-type items. Finally, insufficient sampling and targeting during pilot fail to provide empirical evidence on content validity. This paper presents the construct validity requirements according to Messick’s construct validity framework and proposes several methods to deal with the above issues.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,162
Prior research has demonstrated that different noncognitive factors influence students’ science literacy. The present research investigates the relationships among students’ perceptions of their science teachers, their non-cognitive outcomes (epistemological beliefs, science interests and usefulness of science) and the influence of these factors on students’ science literacy. The data includes 5,826 15-year-old students (52.2% male and 47.8% female) who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015. The research revealed a meaningful pattern of complex relationships among non-cognitive factors and their influence on students’ science literacy, enhancing and clarifying previous research findings with both theoretical and practical significance. The results of confirmatory factor analysis show that all items in each non-cognitive outcome had reasonable factor loading, and the model had good fit indices [RMSEA = 0.037; CFI = 0.931: TLI = 0.923; SRMR = 0.032]. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) show good fits, suggesting that students’ science interests directly influence their science literacy. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of their science teachers, epistemological beliefs and usefulness of science indirectly influence science literacy through their science interests. Evidence from PISA Vietnam 2015 data also shows the insignificant path of the usefulness of science to science literacy.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,267
A growing number of studies utilising the Rasch model have been published, spanning various disciplines. This paper delves into five key domains where Rasch measurement is applied, namely: developing new instruments, creating short-form instruments, developing vertical scales, combining Rasch analysis and path analysis, and applications to classroom testing. Within each area, this paper presents research studies as illustrations of how Rasch measurement can effectively address measurement issues and advance practices. These studies provide concrete examples for reflection, highlighting typical procedures and potential pitfalls to avoid when employing the Rasch model for different purposes in diverse contexts.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,481
This mixed-method study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of 115 English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) lecturers regarding research at different universities in Vietnam. Data were collected through online surveys distributed via Google Forms, and 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted among the participants. Results provided evidence that EFL lecturers were fully informed of the benefits of research and the close relationship between research and teaching. The study revealed important findings: generally poor research experience among lecturers with master and bachelor degrees, unsupportive conditions for research practices at higher institutions, and struggles over the cited conditions in conducting research. The study provided certain valuable suggestions at varying levels. At the micro level, EFL lecturers need to strengthen their motivation in conducting research by attending online research courses, forming the habit of reading scholarly articles, and intrinsically building a passion for conducting research. At the meso level, the faculty should aim to establish research groups with experienced researchers to help young lecturers participate in research activities. At the macro level, universities are advised to ensure the correct identification of research objectives and subjects in accordance with the content of the training program. Finally, universities should increase funding for research., especially by allocating more sources for social science programs.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,211
In reality, reading plays an important role in the academic and career development of learners. Learners need to work through a large number of foreign language books for their general and specialist subjects at school. Therefore, reading skills have been the subject of many investigations in the field of English language teaching and learning so far. Most researchers have been trying to find effective ways to improve learners’ reading skills. With a new perspective, this study aimed to discover the use of reading strategies among non-English majors at NLU. The methods of the research used both a quantitative and qualitative approach based on the theory of the case study. A total of one hundred and fifty university freshmen took part in answering the questionnaire, and five students responded to the semi-structured interview questions. The results revealed that students at NLU frequently used reading strategies when they had reading lessons. Among reading strategies, cognitive strategies were used more frequently than metacognitive and socioaffective strategies. Based on the findings, several implications were made to contribute to teaching and learning reading skills.
number: /2023
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,480
This study examined the state of multicultural teaching and teachers’ perception of their preparedness for it in secondary schools in Benin City, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The one hundred and twenty-nine (129) English Language teachers in Benin City constituted the population of the study. A sample of 98 English Language teachers selected through multi-stage sampling participated in the study. Data for the study were obtained using the ‘Questionnaire on English Language Teachers’ Awareness and Perception of Integrating Cultural Contents in ELT’ (r = .78). Data collected were analysed using Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test and ANOVA. Results revealed that teachers integrated culture in ELT. Additionally, although teachers felt adequately prepared to integrate culture in ELT, they indicated a need for further training in multicultural education. Teachers were not found to significantly differ in terms of their perceptions of preparedness for multicultural teaching based on sex and qualification. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teacher education programs be reviewed to accommodate multicultural education in ELT while in-service training should be provided for employed teachers.