You are here
Articles
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,100
Despite the availability of professional counselling services at the Samtse College of Education, it has been documented that majority of the staff and students do not avail it. This study investigated the factors determining staff’ and students’ motivation in seeking counselling services of the college. A mixed research method specifically convergent parallel design was adopted for this study. A total of 64 staff of the college and 395 students across all the academic programme have responded to the survey questionnaire. Likewise, a total of 10 focus group interviews (2 FGI with staff and 8 FGI with students) was conducted. The findings revealed that although both staff and students understand the importance and possess positive attitudes towards counselling, they indicated numerous factors affecting their motivation to seek such services. The results showed lack of basic knowledge about counselling of students, awareness of services, infrastructural facilities, the culture of the college, professionalism of counsellors and belief systems of an individual person as the significant factors determining their motivation in seeking counselling services. Several recommendations are also proposed such as conducting separate orientation of counselling and instituting different modes of counselling services in the college.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,153
Test equating becomes essential to safeguard the test fairness for sitting for the actual national examination. Thus, this paper describes a proposal to help teachers in Malaysia to ascertain the relative efficiency of test score equating methods in comparing students’ high stakes examinations. The proposal addresses the practical implications of score equating by describing aspects of equating and item anchoring process which can be used by teachers. This study examined Principles of Accounting (PA) subject with Rasch measurement framework for dichotomous data analysis. A nonexperimental quantitative research approach was adopted in which a set of equivalent test instrument were administered to two different groups of respondents comprising 429 students. Data collection was through stratified random sampling method and analysed using Winstep software. Results showed a good fit study by using Common Item Non-Equivalent Group Design (CINEG) also named as Non-equivalent Groups with Anchor Test (NEAT) design. Both test forms were reasonably predictable good fit of measurement. No single student’s destiny should rely upon a single test paper (Wu et al., 2016). Hence, multiple sets of equivalent test papers should be developed by teachers in schools with the same standard as the actual exam papers. Subsequently, students will be more well prepared for the national examination and will be able to achieve desired grades.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,920
This study sought to explore implementation of the continuous assessment learner activities (CALA) in marginalized secondary schools. Transformative paradigm, and qualitative approach formed the methodological framework that guided the data sourcing, analysis and discussion of the findings. In this context records were identified from grey literature, duplicate sources were removed before screening, thereafter screening was done with some being excluded based on either their abstracts or content. The articles, which met the inclusion criteria were interrogated through content analysis. Findings indicate that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education through policy circulars has conventional efforts to reorient marginalized secondary schools’ CALA. Though the decision to introduce CALA in marginalized secondary schools was noble, it was negatively affected by ineffective planning, and preparation. These in one way or the other have contributed negatively to the implementation of CALA in marginalized secondary schools. In light of these findings, the study recommends that alternative CALA implementation strategies that are inclusive and further staff development activities that address misconceptions on this new approach to assessment.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 4,460
Writing is a vital skill in the formation of language. The present study explored the factors that affect students’ writing skills by employing a convergent mixed-methods research design guided by a pragmatic paradigm. A survey and an interview were used to collect data. Simple descriptive and statistical analysis for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data analysis were employed. The finding showed that writing develops communication, critical thinking, creativity, and imagination in students. The finding also identified intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional factors as affecting students’ writing skills. It is recommended that relevant stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, teachers, and parents work collaboratively to enhance the writing skills of the students
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 2,393
The internationalisation in Vietnamese universities has emerged as an effective vehicle to reform the higher education system. In this process, the intercultural adaptability of students studying in internationalised programmes has been regarded as being critically important for their experiences and outcomes. Drawing on 80 in-depth interviews with education policymakers, programme coordinators, lecturers, students and employers of eight internationalised programmes in five Vietnamese universities, this article addresses four major solutions to student intercultural adaptability development: (i) strong personal dynamics of students; (ii) supportive conditions from academic institutions; (iii) promising employment prospects and preparation; and (iv) adequate supporting legal spaces from policymakers.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,134
This paper describes the literature review of research about digital safety competency of school students. Review and analysis of more than 90 research papers and government documents concerning the topic were conducted using various search engines as well as through access to printed legal and guiding documents of Vietnamese Government. . In the one hand, review of the literature shows the complexity of the DL concept, on the other hand, it proves the importance of activities to reinforce the knowledge and skills and reorientation or strengthening the attitudes regarding digital safety and positive use of the new media at home and in school. The presented results also provide opportunities to enrich the insights into the educational processes which take place in the family environment in the digital age. The prospect of digital safety education in Vietnam is also discussed in relation with the global progress.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,546
Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in primary education whereas secondary education is still far from its expected targets. Along with the low level of participation, noticeable incompletion rates, high drop-out and poor performance have remained constant over the years. Among students who manage to complete their secondary school years, a significant portion is unable to pass the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or equivalent examinations every year. This study, which is a part of a larger-scale study, aims to explore the trends and issues of poor performance in SSC/equivalent examinations. A quantitative approach was employed to explore the research objectives. A total of 3072 students from secondary educational institutes of 8 divisions participated in completing the survey questionnaire. The findings of the study show persistent trends of unsuccessful and poor performance in the examination and the number of students who failed in the SSC/Equivalent examination is considerably large. The study found major issues including family financial and attitudinal support, schools’ infrastructural facilities, impacts of classroom teaching-learning styles, values of education, and sense of safety which related to achieving expected outcomes of secondary education. Similar issues were found among the students with ethnicity regarding their poor performance in the examination. The study suggests that along with the financial and policy support, awareness, and attitudinal change through media, the empowerment of the local community in cooperation with non-governmental organizations may remarkably contribute to enhance students’ desired academic performance.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 910
English as a foreign language (EFL) student-teachers’ teaching competency (TC) development can be affected by different factors, one of which is student-teacher agency which can play a decisive role in shaping their TC self-development. This mixed methods study aims at scrutinising how EFL student-teachers enacted their agency to facilitate their TC selfdevelopment during English language teaching (ELT) methodology courses at a higher education institution context in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A cohort of 118 student-teachers majoring in ELT methodology got involved in answering the closed-ended questionnaires, and 15 student-teachers in semi-structured interviews. The data analysis was based on the direct approach in which the quantitative data were processed by the SPSS in terms of descriptive statistics, and the qualitative data were analysed using the content analysis approach. The findings revealed that EFL student-teacher agency played a pivotal role in their TC self-development. Student-teachers allocated much of their effort to self-leveraging their ELT knowledge and positive attitudes towards ELT more than their ELT skills and English language skills. Such preliminary findings can shed light on the further research on the role of student-teacher agency in TC self-development in tandem with other factors of teacher trainer and learning environment.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,944
Psychological well-being and mental health among higher education students are prevalent and increasing on university campuses. Evidence suggests that students are vulnerable to mental health problems which have generated increased public concern (Chao, 2012; Bewick et al., 2010). This study aims to explore the psychological well-being of students in one of the colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan. An explanatory two-phase mixed method design was employed. 210 students responded to the survey questionnaire and 10 students from six different programmes and four levels in the college participated in the interview. A convenient stratified and purposive sampling technique was applied. Ryff’s scales of psychological well-being (Ryff & Singer, 2008) were used to measure multiple facets of psychological wellbeing. The findings indicated that students involved in the study possessed mixed levels of overall psychological well-being as the participants were from six courses and five levels of varied ages. The quantitative results of this study showed a positive attitude toward Ryff’s six dimensions of psychological well-being across ages and programmes (M=4.70, M-4.92). However, the findings indicated that undergraduate students possessed higher levels of psychological well-being than the Master of Education students. Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed amongst the six dimensions of psychological well-being. The qualitative findings highlighted environmental mastery and positive relations with others as critical in the promotion of the psychological well-being of the college students
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,152
Reflective practices have become an important part of the teaching and learning process. When teachers practice it, they are considering their own practice, examining curricular choices, incorporating students’ feedback and making changes to improve students’ learning. This study aimed at exploring reflective practices of Physics teachers in Bhutan. In addition, it also examined the challenges that affected Physics teachers’ reflective practices. This qualitative study gathered data from seven Physics teachers teaching in two Higher and Middle Secondary Schools located in the eastern part of Bhutan. Data for this study were obtained from four sources; semi-structured face-to-face interviews, class observations with post-observation conferences and analysis of documents. The study revealed that Physics teachers incorporated different reflective practices such as self-reflection, different strategies and skills and feedback. Factors promoting reflective approaches included different classroom activities, questions, and responses by students while challenges in the process of reflection were lack of resources, large student number, bulky syllabus, and workload. This study recommends the need for an ICT-enabled environment in the schools to promote reflective practices. In addition, it recommends the Ministry of Education to review the workload of Physics teachers.