Education Sciences — Open Access Journal

In this study we have attempted, firstly, to describe programming protocols developed for the teaching of an Electromagnetism course in the university degrees of Electrical Engineering and Energy Engineering, and secondly, to evaluate students’ satisfaction with the simulation practices through MATLAB® programming. The main objective of the protocols is to allow students to model and visualize the electric field and magnetic field (both static) and understand the approximation that is made when considering certain distributions of electric charges and electric currents. To evaluate the usefulness of this computational methodology, eighteen students from the two engineering degrees answered a questionnaire with seven questions related to the Electromagnetism course and to the benefits of using computer programming. Their answers are measured by a Likert scale. From the analysis of the results, we can conclude, in a general way, that the use of this methodology has positive effects in the learning of Electromagnetism in these two degrees. Full article

This article introduces Stein, Tolman, Porche, and Spencer’s concept of gender safety in schools (GSS) as a useful framework for providing a gendered analysis of safety and equality at the school level within the global context of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 goal of equitable, inclusive and quality education for all. This article examines practices that support as well as undermine GSS in two primary schools in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. In these schools, individual teacher agency was the main factor enhancing GSS. Teachers’ efforts were, however, constrained by competing discourses emphasizing hierarchical administration and a narrow understanding of the school’s responsibilities. Teacher agency, therefore, was insufficient to systematically protect students and foster gender equity. The article suggests that teacher agency to enhance GSS in Kenya could be expanded through teachers’ collective empowerment using community-based networks alongside the integration of monitoring and evaluation processes in existing gender equality and child protection policies. It further recommends the GSS framework as a means for monitoring SDG 4’s commitments to gender equality and child protection in schools. Full article

Journalism is in a state of perpetual change due to the implementation of technological tools on an everyday basis. In the contemporary news distribution environment, the boundaries between media are no longer distinct, therefore media/journalism educational institutions should adapt curricula according to the needs of each type of medium. The aim of this paper is to present the incorporated technologies in the radio journalism undergraduate course of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and evaluate their necessity according to the students themselves. After the completion of the course, which involves the use of specialized technological tools in audio recording and editing, a survey employing quantitative method based on the technology acceptance model was conducted. The results indicate that the students, despite the difficulties that were encountered due to the initial lack of knowledge on the technology applied, evaluated very highly both their satisfaction with the produced outcome and the usefulness of the procedure. In fact, the major result is that perceived usefulness is a key factor that determines the utilization of specialized technology. Full article

The aim of this article is to introduce an effective, evidence-informed, and developmentally appropriate framework of practice for Environmental Education (EE) in the early years, with the ultimate goal being to achieve environmental sustainability. Initially, the author will briefly examine the current state of EE in the early years, contextualising it within a gradual shift from EE to the more encompassing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The article then proposes that there is a need for a refocusing of EE in the early years that has as a central goal—the promotion of nature connectedness, benefiting both the next generation of learners, as well as our planet. A four-point draft of a pedagogy for connection will be outlined that comprises sustained contact, engagement with nature’s beauty, cultivation of compassion towards non-human nature, and mindfulness. The latest empirical research from ecopsychology and developmental psychology will be used throughout in order to synthesise this brief initial draft of a pedagogy for connection. Full article

Kuwait’s Constitution defines the small Arab Gulf nation as a constitutional democracy led by a hereditary emirate, although outside observers have questioned the degree to which it is indeed democratic. Despite such scepticism, Kuwait has undoubtedly taken some steps to promote democratization, including the introduction of the Constitution and Human Rights (CHR) module to the national curriculum to teach high students about civics, democracy and rights. While previous studies have explored the perspectives of Kuwaiti students and teachers towards democracy in general and the CHR in particular, the perspectives of Kuwaiti politicians have not been previously explored. To better understand their perspectives of and experiences towards democracy and education for democracy, this study employed a phenomenological approach involving 15-to-30-minute semi-structured interviews with five Kuwait politicians who have served as either Members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly or Ministers or both. The themes that emerged included Active Versus Passive Democracy, Homegrown Versus Imported Democracy, Culture and Democracy and Education for Democracy, which are discussed in greater detail in the article. Full article

We present research on the attitudes of seniors and juniors doing a major in English toward different grouping strategies for cooperative learning at Can Tho University, Can Tho city, Vietnam. The collected data is analyzed by a means of quantitative approach. The findings not only facilitate the further understanding of English majors’ opinions on different grouping strategies, but also provide teachers and lecturers who employ cooperative learning as one of their teaching strategies with useful clues on which group formation they should use. More importantly, we hope to give an insight to the characteristics of different grouping strategies, in order to find out the group forming method(s) that simultaneously boosts group dynamics, students’ satisfaction, and academic achievements. Full article

This study aims to use group technology to classify students at the classroom level into clusters according to their learning style preferences. Group technology is used, due to the realization that many problems are similar, and that by grouping similar problems, single solutions can be found for a set of problems. The Felder and Silverman style, and the index learning style (ILS) are used to find student learning style preferences; students are grouped into clusters based on the similarities of their preferences, by using multivariate statistical analysis. Based on the developed groups, instructors can use the proper teaching style to teach their students. The formation of clusters based on the statistical analyses of two sets of data collected from students of two classes at the same level, belonging to same engineering department indicates that each class has different learning style preferences. This is an eye-opener to educators, in that different teaching styles can be used for their students, based on the students’ learning styles, even though the students seem to have a common interest. Full article

Information technology (IT) is important to meet the needs of students with a hearing disability in special Thai school settings. The aim of this paper was to research the use and opinion of IT for communication and learning from students with a hearing disability in schools for the deaf. The IT in this study included information devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. This study used the stratified random sampling method for enrolling its participants. Data collected from 192 students with a hearing disability using a self-administered questionnaires. Results found that most of these students knew about chat applications, for example, Line, Facebook, Messenger and face-to-face conversation apps. Furthermore, most of these students contacted people with hearing problems by sending messages through Facebook, Line and face-to-face applications. The main reasons why they used IT was for convenience and general conversation. A study of opinions on the use of IT by students with a hearing disability found that most of them agreed that IT equipment contributed to their participation in various activities, including conversations with their relatives and friends on social networking. Conclusion and discussions were included. Full article

Using qualitative semistructured interviews, this study aims to analyse the satisfying and dissatisfying factors in a university–industry cooperation programme. Work experience, monetary benefit, HR policies, language and time are important factors determining the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of students towards a university–industry cooperation programme. Results help in evaluating and identifying the sustainability of a programme. Marketing practitioners can consider the results in designing corresponding marketing strategies, and HR managers and programme coordinators can formulate guidelines for future improvements of related programmes. Full article

One of the main objectives in education is to increase the motivation of the students to achieve meaningful learning. The use of technologies in classrooms which students are familiarized with such as the smartphone or the tablet, is a way to achieve this goal. On the other hand, it has been proven that the inclusion of scenarios supported by games and competition enhance the active participation of students. Therefore, in this work we present the results of a study based on of the application Kahoot with students of secondary education, in the subjects of mathematics, biology & geology and physics & chemistry, during the academic year 2017/2018. This tool allows students to answer to on-line questionnaires created by the teacher, through mobile devices, and check their results in a few seconds as well as those of their classmates. The results obtained on the assessment of the tool by students, in terms of the benefits in the learning process, have been very positive and help us to examine the potential of the use of on-line questionnaires in the classrooms. Full article

In this paper, the authors present their experiences from participating in a National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps L training program established for business startups, using Blank’s Lean LaunchPad, Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas, and associated tools. They used the entrepreneurial skills acquired through this training to scale-up their emerging innovation, the Cincinnati Engineering Enhanced Math and Science Program (CEEMS), which had been developed, implemented, and evaluated with successful results over a period of seven years in a targeted 14 school-district partnership in Greater Cincinnati. The overriding goal was to improve student learning and success rates in K–12 math and science courses by helping to accelerate the process of bringing effective educational innovation, CEEMS, to scale. In CEEMS, teachers were trained in using challenge-based learning (CBL) and the engineering design process (EDP), teaching pedagogies to transform their classrooms into student-centered, hands-on learning environments, while also assisting students to improve their evaluation scores related to science, math, and engineering instruction. CEEMS teachers acquired the necessary skills through coursework, professional development (PD) workshops, and longitudinal professional guidance provided by assigned coaches over a period of two years to become proficient in developing CBL–EDP curriculum, teaching it, and assessing student learning and reflecting after teaching. The authors have documented how they used customer market research conducted during the I-Corps L training to define their minimum viable product (MVP) to duplicate the successful CEEMS methodology through a condensed (≤16 week) self-paced, completely online training program with virtual coaching support. The authors also describe the process they used to move forward very quickly from an MVP to a more complete product offering, its branding, the process of trademarking it, and finally licensing it to an established non-profit organization (NPO) for future marketing. Details of the whole experience are presented with the hope that it will serve as a useful guide for other venture creators. Full article

Ecological concepts are not a recent matter; international organizations have already increased their efforts to provide better environmental education and ecological consciousness, although despite these efforts, a lack of attitudes and concepts were detected in the northeast of Spain. We evaluated the acquisition of concepts related to environmental education in the students as proposed by current legislation, as well as their relation to different parameters, such as geographical location, type of school, and gender. The result suggests that the students achieve a meaningful learning of the concepts proposed by legislation and that acquisition of this knowledge is related to gender and geographical location, but not to the type of secondary school. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to explore a capacity-building pedagogical approach to human rights education as a complement to the “declarationist” approach. The basic premise of this philosophical paper is the idea of human rights as justified claims and/or demands; as such, ethical and moral justification is presupposed in the very idea of rights itself. It is argued that a dialogical turn in moral and political philosophy, in particular theoretical justifications of principles of justice, such as rights, has taken place. Given that ethical and moral justification is central to the meaning of human rights, the significance of this dialogical turn for the idea of human rights and human rights education is explored from within the idea of the logical structure of disciplines of knowledge, a discipline’s fundamental ideas and forms of thought (methods of inquiry). From within this perspective, it is argued that the dialogical nature of justification central to rights should structure the pedagogy of human rights education. It is suggested that this pedagogy entails three forms of normative dialogue—ethical, moral, and critical—that can form the normative structure of a pedagogy of human rights education. It is concluded that while awareness and respect are necessary conditions to the realization of human rights, the development of the capacity of future citizens to make, to justify, and to critique human rights claims is also necessary for the realization of human rights. Full article

Artificial intelligence has experienced major developments in recent years and represents an emerging technology that will revolutionize the ways in which human beings live. This technology is already being introduced in the field of higher education, although many teachers are unaware of its scope and, above all, of what it consists of. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to analyse the scientific production on artificial intelligence in higher education indexed in Web of Science and Scopus databases during 2007–2017. A bespoke methodology of bibliometric studies was used in the most relevant databases in social science. The sample was composed of 132 papers in total. From the results obtained, it was observed that there is a worldwide interest in the topic and that the literature on this subject is just at an incipient stage. We conclude that, although artificial intelligence is a reality, the scientific production about its application in higher education has not been consolidated. Full article

Results from a metasynthesis of the relationships between 14 different types of preservice teacher preparation practices and teaching quality, preschool to university student performance, and university student and beginning teacher belief appraisals are reported. Each type of preservice practice (e.g., course-based student learning) included different kinds of instructional methods (e.g., problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and project-based learning). The metasynthesis included 118 meta-analyses and 12 surveys of more than three million study participants. Findings clearly indicated that active university student and beginning teacher involvement in mastering the use of instructional practices and both knowledge and skill acquisition by far stood out as the most important preservice teacher preparation practices. These included extended student teaching experiences, simulated instructional practices and microteaching, faculty coaching and mentoring, clinical supervision, different types of cooperative learning practices, and course-based active student learning methods. The pattern of results helped identify high leverage and high impact teacher preparation practices. Implications for future research and improving teacher preparation are described. Full article

Science educators have begun to explore how students have opportunities to not only view and manipulate simulations, but also to analyze the complex sources of data they generate. While scholars have documented the characteristics and the effects of using simulations as a source of data in face-to-face, K-12 classrooms, how simulations can be taken up and used in such a way in fully-online classes is less-explored. In this study, we present results from our initial qualitative investigation of students’ use of a simulation in such a way across three lessons in an online, Advanced Placement high school physics class. In all, 13 students participated in the use of a computational science simulation that we adapted to output quantitative data across the lesson sequence. Students used the simulation and developed a class data set, which students then used to understand, interpret, and model a thermodynamics-related concept and phenomenon. We explored the progression of students’ conceptual understanding across the three lessons, students’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the simulation, and how students balanced explaining variability and being able to interpret their model of the class data set. Responses to embedded assessment questions indicated that a few developed more sophisticated conceptual understanding of the particle nature of matter and how it relates to diffusion, while others began the lesson sequence with an already-sophisticated understanding, and a few did not demonstrate changes in their understanding. Students reported that the simulation helped to make a complex idea more accessible and useful and that the data generated by the simulation made it easier to understand what the simulation was representing. When analyzing the class data set, some students focused on fitting the data, not considering the interpretability of the model as much, whereas other students balanced model fit with interpretability and usefulness. In all, findings suggest that the lesson sequence had educational value, but that modifications to the design of the simulation and lesson sequence and to the technologies used could enhance its impact. Implications and recommendations for future research focus on the potential for simulations to be used to engage students in a variety of scientific and engineering practices in online science classes. Full article

This study aims to assess learning outcomes and identify students’ misconceptions in plant classification. We conducted a questionnaire survey with undergraduate and master’s students. The qualitative analysis of the students’ responses made it possible to shed light on the difficulties of assimilation of many notions and also to identify the different misconceptions constructed during their learning courses about plant organisms. The findings indicate that some students are not motivated to take the course on plant classification. This demotivation is reinforced further by students’ perceptions of plant classification, especially that it is not important and not useful for learning other biology specialities. The findings also show that more than half of the students who participated in this study consider plant systematics a difficult subject. We also note that some of the students surveyed seem not to have acquired many concepts of plant biology including concepts related to the biology, reproduction and evolution of plants. Thanks to this, we could see different types of problems in plant classification, which constitute misconceptions hindering learning. Initial training in plant biology does not appear to have a significant effect in modifying students’ misconceptions related to plant classification. Full article

An international consensus seems to have developed in educational research—and among educational planners and policymakers—during the last 10–15 years proclaiming that learning is, and must be, a visible phenomenon. This paper questions this predominant view and serves an assemblage of points offering educational scientists at least four profound perspectives to reflect upon. First of all, learning is not immediately visible to the learning subject. It demands and deserves a qualitative lifelong perspective and—not to be underestimated—autonomous reflections to come to know and acknowledge what learning is and can be in an existential perspective. For the individual, it is always worth asking the question whether or not the things ‘learned’ in the first place were worth learning. Secondly, no one can examine the complex synaptic wiring process in the changeable and ‘learning’ brain (i.e., human neuroplasticity); the body-phenomenological depths and growth of a human being; or the manifold processes constituting the totality of historical social interactions surrounding the learning process and reduce them to something simple and already ‘known’ (a figure, a score, an effect, an answer in a test, an evaluation statement, etc). Thirdly, so-called visible learning for teachers has to be differentiated from both conscious and unconscious learning for pupils and students. The attempts to objectify and sometimes even instrumentalize learning risk running into obvious problems and fostering serious mistakes. Besides, the teacher and the ‘learner’ do not share the same perspectives and they often also have different interests. Fourthly, the concept of learning is not a value-neutral term and should only be used with an awareness of its historical development as a concept. I will argue that character formation—edification of character (Bildung), in light of the rich German geisteswissenschaftliche tradition—and the capability to think and become a vivid language user and creator demand much more than learning. Moreover, teaching is much more than a method to ‘produce’ learning, and to reproduce learning goals, and the purpose of education must transcend a teleological implementation of strategic national and international learning goals. In this paper, the revitalized concept of Bildung both serves as a critique of the visible learning paradigm and as a take-off of an alternative and more fertile way to conceptualize the task and possibilities of education. The line of the argument and ambition of the paper is to depict how blindness seems to be an inevitable part of educational seeing. The thesis is that powerful scientific and political adherents of learning cannot see what they cannot see—neither when they see what they (think they) see, nor when they do not see what they do not (want to) see. Full article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a mother’s motivation for providing English education to a young child on the provision of English education and the child’s interest in learning English. Also, the mediating role of the type of English education provided (English interaction at home and English private lessons) between a mother’s motivation and a child’s interest in learning English was examined. In total, 414 Korean mothers of 3-to-5-year-olds reported their motivation for providing English education to their child, frequency of English interaction at home, and the duration of English private lessons the child experienced. The degree of a child’s interest in learning English was measured by both the child’s mother and the teacher. The main results are as follows. First, a mother’s integrative motivation had a positive effect on the provision of English education. On the other hand, a mother’s instrumental motivation did not have a significant effect on the provision of English education. Also, a mother’s integrative motivation had an indirect effect on a child’ interest in learning English through English interaction at home. A mother’s integrative motivation had a direct effect on a child’s interest in learning English as well. This study is theoretically meaningful in that the concept of integrative and instrumental motivation of foreign language learners is extended to the mothers who provide foreign language education to their young children. Also, this study provides practical implications for early childhood mothers by highlighting the importance of integrative motivation and English interaction at home to enhance the child’s interest in learning English. Full article