An introduction to education research methods: exploring the learning journey of pre-service teachers in a transnational programme

Internationally there is interest in developing the research skills of pre-service teachers as a means of ongoing professional renewal with a distinct need for systematic and longitudinal investigation of student learning. The current study takes a unique perspective by exploring the research learning journey of pre-service teachers participating in a transnational degree programme. Using a case-study design that includes both a self-reported and direct measure of research knowledge, the results indicate a progression in learning, as well as evidence that this research knowledge is continued or maintained when the pre-service teachers return to their home university. The findings of this study have implications for both pre-service teacher research training and transnational programmes.     

Attitudes and Psycholinguistic Aspects of First Language Maintenance among Russian‐Jewish Immigrants in Israel

ABSTRACT This study investigated the social attitudes and academic skills in Russian and Hebrew of Russian‐Jewish immigrant students in northern Israel. The Russian community in Israel is unique in that its members maintain their language and culture and always show their singularity as a strong cohesive ethnic group. A total of 60 participants took part in the study. They answered an attitude questionnaire and the following tests in Russian and Hebrew: working memory, oral cloze, visual condition, phonological condition, orthographic condition, word attack, word identification and spelling test. Further, for validation of attitudes results beyond self‐report questionnaires, 30 open interviews were conducted. The results indicated that these Russian new immigrants were inslrumentally oriented towards learning Hebrew. They possessed moderate anxiety and did not learn Hebrew for army service purposes or to integrate into Israeli society. Their attitude towards the class‐learning situation was not very positive. The results of the linguistic skills in Russian and Hebrew indicated superiority of the former. Regression procedures indicated that only the spelling test score of the Russian language was a significant predictor of Hebrew word recognition.     

Optimising the blended learning environment: the Arab Open University experience

This paper will offer some insights into possible ways to optimise the blended learning environment based on experience with this modality of teaching at Arab Open University/Jordan branch and also by reflecting upon the results of several meta-analytical studies, which have shown blended learning environments to be more effective than their face to face and online only counterparts. Three key elements will be presented as important ways for improving the blended learning environment: forging genuine collaborative partnerships between institutions in terms of the team-writing of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) material, adopting a more theoretically based instructional approach, such as the cognitive apprenticeship (CA) model, which emphasises making thinking visible and developing a comprehensive understanding of blended education in order to help students achieve their educational goals.     

Education for Multiculturalism Among Arab Youth in Israel

Education for multiculturalism, founded on liberal-democratic values, is a frequent topic of educational discourse that has not been ignored by Muslim Arab schools in Israel. In general, Arab society is undergoing change processes, in transition from a traditional to a modern society; traditional values are challenged, engendering social crises. This paper discusses whether the multicultural approach can be successfully imparted in a society with preexisting structured values. It focuses on the school’s role as a socialization agent that needs to adapt itself to a changing sociocultural reality, discussing the school’s involvement in creating a value crisis, since it transmits the Islamic perception of the principles, foundations, and goals of education for multiculturalism. It is concluded that education for multiculturalism in Arab schools lacks internal logic, conflicts with and even undermines the Arab society’s sociocultural values system, is inappropriate as a means to supervise the necessary change processes, and thus contributes to a values crisis.     

Jordanian and Malaysian science teachers' prominent perceived professional needs: A comparison

The prominent perceived professional needs of 365 Jordanian and 1,162 Malaysian secondary-level science teachers were examined using the Science Teacher Inventory of Need. These were compared across subgroups of the respective samples and across the two samples. The Jordanian science teachers' needs were in the areas of delivering science instruction, managing science instruction, administering science instructional facilities and equipment, and improving one's competence as a science teacher. The Malaysian science teachers' needs came from those four areas plus the area specifying objectives for science instruction. Needs from the first four areas were shared across the two samples. These needs were similar to ones observed in U.S. samples. The reason for the similarities is questioned.     

Development of lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite composite cathodes for intermediate- to low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells(SOFCs) offer high energy conversion,low noise,low pollutant emission,and low processing cost.Despite many advantages,SOFCs face a major challenge in competing with other types of fuel cells because of their high operating temperature.The necessity to reduce the operational temperature of SOFCs has led to the development of research into the materials and fabrication technology of fuel cells.The use of composite cathodes significantly reduces the cathode polarization resistance and expands the triple phase boundary area available for oxygen reduction.Powder preparation and composite cathode fabrication also affect the overall performance of composite cathodes and fuel cells.Among many types of cathode materials,lanthanum-based materials such as lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite(La1-xSrxCo1-yFeyO3- have recently been discovered to offer great compatibility with ceria-based electrolytes in performing as composite cathode materials for intermediate-to low-temperature SOFCs(IT-LTSOFCs).This paper reviews various ceria-based composite cathodes for IT-LTSOFCs and focuses on the aspects of progress and challenges in materials technology.     

Provided information literacy instructions at private university libraries in Jordan and trends of Zarqa Private University students towards its objective achievements

This study aims to investigate the resources and methods used in information instruction provided at private university libraries in Jordan. It also investigates trends among Zarqa Private University students towards the achievement of its objectives. Data was collected via two questionnaires. The population of the study consisted of 19 administrators of private university libraries; 14 of them (73.7%) responded positively to the study, and of 600 first year students who were in the first semester of the academic year 2007/2008, 512 of them (85.3%) responded positively. Study findings have revealed that information literacy instruction programmes are not comprehensive in all target libraries. No more than five (35.7%) of the responding libraries offer the required lectures that inform students about the importance of libraries and libraries’ departments, the practical training of online access to databases through internet, or training on the usage of periodical indexes. The curricula offered by more than 78.6% of the respondents lacked courses or exercises that support library usage. Findings of “information literacy instruction programmes offered to students of Zarqa Private University, reveal that the programmes concentrate on theoretical aspects more than practical aspects. This study introduces some recommendations related to its findings.