“May god have mercy on your soul!” Exploring and teaching a course on the death penalty

Teaching a course with emotive content presents faculty with a number of challenges. This article reflects on the lessons learned when teaching a semester-long course on the death penalty at a liberal arts university in the U.S. South. The course explored cultural, religious, historical, national, and international perspectives on the nature of punishment and the right to execute, the methods used in the death penalty, the efficacy of the death penalty, and future directions. The organization, presentation and teaching aids employed throughout this course sought to ensure an objective stance and focused on improving critical thinking among students.     

A Guide to Analyzing Message–Response Sequences and Group Interaction Patterns in Computer‐mediated Communication

This paper proposes a set of methods and a framework for evaluating, modeling, and predicting group interactions in computer‐mediated communication. The method of sequential analysis is described along with specific software tools and techniques to facilitate the analysis of message–response sequences. In addition, the Dialogic Theory and its assumptions are presented to establish a theoretical framework and guide to using sequential analysis in computer‐mediated communication research. Step‐by‐step instructions are presented to illustrate how sequential analysis can be used to measure the way latent variables (e.g., message function, response latency, communication style) and exogenous variables (e.g., gender, discourse rules, context) affect how likely a message is to elicit a response, the types of responses elicited by the message, and whether or not the elicited sequence of responses (e.g., claim → challenge → explain) mirror the processes that support group decision‐making, problem‐solving, and learning.     

Filipino parents’ school choice and loyalty: a factor analysis

This quantitative study aims to ascertain the significant relationship existing between parents’ profile, and their school choice and school loyalty. Data were gathered using the researcher’s two-part made instrument. Respondents were first asked to fill in a robotfoto for purpose of profiling their baseline characteristics and were later asked to rate listed indicators, using a modified 8-point Likert scale. Using statistical tools such as the ANOVA, factor analysis, correlation, mean, and standard deviation, data were treated indepth. It is interesting to note that although parents are loyal to their alma mater, this does not have a much impact on their choice of school for their children. On the whole, parents’ choice of school is based on its indispensable qualities. Among the three interval-scale profiles of the parent respondents such as age, income, tuition fee payment and number of children, none of these relate to school choice, but age, income, and tuition fee payment negatively relate to school loyalty. From their nominal-scale profiles, significant differences were noted in their school choice when grouped according to civil status, place of work, and terms of payment. With respect to school loyalty, significant differences occurred in their responses when classified according to gender, terms of payment and their active participation in the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).     

Eye movements of monkeys during performance of ambiguous cue problems

Learning & Behavior - Eye movements of four stumptailed monkeys were measured during performance of simple and ambiguous form discriminations. Duration of fixations increased during learning of...     

Portrait of Filipino teachers’ classroom practices: traditional or constructivist?

The intent of this qualitative study is to narrate (Brodkey, (1987a). Education Quarterly, 18, 67–76; Written communication, 4, 25–70; Qualitative communication research methods. (1987b). Lindlof, (1995). (pp. 172–174): London Sage Publications) the master teachers as aggregate sample subjects’ pedagogical understanding and classroom practices. A qualitative analysis of the classroom activities and journal entries of 13 teacher-participants in the Basic Education Curriculum core learning areas is included. Findings reveal that the subject participants’ pedagogical practices still verging toward the formal suggest a traditional inclination. However, the importance of change should be realized. Various concepts of teaching and learning, today, are imperative. Teachers must be resocialized on their new roles and make their students have a more active role in the teaching-learning process.     

What shapes the self-esteem of elderly Filipinos working beyond the retirement age? A structural equation model (SEM)

Previous studies have indicated that major transitions in life such as retirement or exit from working life may contribute to the normative decline in self-esteem. A growing trend on elderly’s labor force beyond retirement invites the conduct of more empirical studies on the dynamics of self-esteem among the elderly group. Anchored on the Self-Determination Theory, this study is an attempt to test a model that examines the impact of social support, health promotion, activities of daily living and anxiety on the self-esteem of a select group of Filipino elderly working beyond the retirement age. Two-hundred eighteen (218) working elderly from the capital of the Philippines participated in this exploratory study. Data gathered from a multi-aspect questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS version 19 and AMOS version 19. Results of structural equation model (SEM) indicated that social support; activities of daily living and health promotion have direct effects on self-esteem, thus supporting the hypotheses. A direct relationship exists between elderly activities of daily living and their social support and anxiety. Notably, an inverse relationship exists between elderly anxiety and factors such as health promotion and self-esteem. The emerged model in this study could serve as valuable tool for nurses in enhancing nursing care aimed at promoting the psychological-well-being and occupational health among the elderly.     

The Impact of Globalization on Teacher Education: The Philippine Perspective

This qualitative study is an attempt to describe how administrators, teachers and researchers in a select group of teacher education institutions (TEIs) in the capital of the Philippines collectively view globalization. Specifically, concepts of a globalized teacher education, impact of globalization in teacher education, and problems of teacher education in the context of globalization were the delineated factors investigated in this study. A total of 23 respondents comprising 13 university teachers, 6 deans and 4 educational researchers were asked to participate in an audio-taped interview and written responses. Data yielded by the interview were transcribed and categorized based on saliency, meaning and homogeneity. Clearly, this study has disclosed efforts initiated at both pre-service and in-service education levels in response to the challenges of globalization consistent with the collective view of the various sectors. This research segment is part of a research project submitted to the Asia-Pacific Education Policy Research Initiative/KEDI (AP-EPRI/KEDI) and funded by the World Bank/GDN.     

Correction to: Cultural divides in acceptance and continuance of learning management system use: a longitudinal study of teenagers

Educational technology research and development - In the abstract, the second “FG” in the sentence below should be “SG”: The sample was classified into three cultural...     

Production blocking in brainstorming arguments in online group debates and asynchronous threaded discussions

Educational technology research and development - Online group debates hosted in asynchronous threaded discussions can facilitate critical thinking between discussants (and increase deeper...