Contextual influences on sources of academic self-efficacy: a validation with secondary school students of Kerala

This study investigates the theorized sources of Academic Self-Efficacy among the higher secondary school students of Kerala, India. Mastery Experience in the form of Academic Achievement, vicarious experience in the form of School Image and Social Persuasion in the form of Parental Encouragement are included as the predictor variables of Academic Self-Efficacy. Participants in the present study were 700 higher secondary school students of Kerala, selected using stratified random sampling. The findings of the study confirm the theorized correlation of Academic Self-Efficacy with previous achievement, vicarious experience (school image) and persuasory information (parental encouragement). In the total sample, the percent of variance in Academic Self-Efficacy that is predictable by the three-predictor variables is nearly one quarter (23.83?%). School Image is the best contributing variable (9.42?%) followed by Mastery Experience (8.67?%) and then by Parental Encouragement (5.74?%). The findings shows that apart from cultural differences, locale and gender difference also exist in sources of Academic Self-Efficacy. The superiority of School Image over Mastery Experience in predicting Academic Self-Efficacy is different from that found in the West, theoretically and empirically. In India, self-efficacy beliefs of youngsters continue to depend more on social and domestic factors than personal experience and mastery.     

Additive effects due to biochar and endophyte application enable soybean to enhance nutrient uptake and modulate nutritional parameters

We studied the effects of hardwood-derived biochar (BC) and the phytohormone-producing endophyte Galactomyces geotrichum WLL1 in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) with respect to basic, macro- and micronutrient uptakes and assimilations, and their subsequent effects on the regulation of functional amino acids, isoflavones, fatty acid composition, total sugar contents, total phenolic contents, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-scavenging activity. The assimilation of basic nutrients such as nitrogen was up-regulated, leaving carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen unaffected in BC+G. geotrichum-treated soybean plants. In comparison, the uptakes of macro- and micronutrients fluctuated in the individual or co-application of BC and G. geotrichum in soybean plant organs and rhizospheric substrate. Moreover, the same attribute was recorded for the regulation of functional amino acids, isoflavones, fatty acid composition, total sugar contents, total phenolic contents, and DPPH-scavenging activity. Collectively, these results showed that BC+G. geotrichum-treated soybean yielded better results than did the plants treated with individual applications. It was concluded that BC is an additional nutriment source and that the G. geotrichum acts as a plant biostimulating source and the effects of both are additive towards plant growth promotion. Strategies involving the incorporation of BC and endophytic symbiosis may help achieve eco-friendly agricultural production, thus reducing the excessive use of chemical agents.     

Considering mobile device constraints and context-awareness in adaptive mobile learning for flipped classroom

Today, the mobile technologies and Information and Communication Technology development opened the door on new methods and pedagogies of learning. We are talking here about the mobile learning and the flipped classroom approaches. The flipped classroom means that the activities that have traditionally taken place inside the classroom now take place outside the classroom and vice versa. The mobile learning and as its name suggests is done in a mobile and changeable environment by mobile learners. Therefore, the context notion plays a significant role in this type of learning. Hence, the usefulness of the context-aware mobile learning systems. These systems take into account the different context dimensions to offer to the learners an adapted learning according to their situations. The approach proposed in this paper called Smart Enhanced Context-Aware for Flipped Mobile Learning “SECA-FML” aims to provide learners with an adapted course content format based on their context by taking into account the different context dimensions and especially the mobile device context. The latter has a significant influence on multimedia content in adaptive mobile learning. The contribution was applied in the context of the flipped learning in order to manage the heterogeneity of context imposed by this approach. To validate our contribution, we have developed an Android mobile application. This application has been made available to learners to try and exploit it. At the end of the experimentation phase, the learner is asked to complete a questionnaire. Based on this questionnaire, we measured the reliability and effectiveness of our contribution, as well as the satisfaction of the learners towards the latter. The evaluation results showed that the use of the context dimensions and specifically the device context in adaptive mobile learning is more beneficial for learners especially in the flipped classroom.     

Effect of seedling age and water depth on morphological and physiological aspects of transplanted rice under high temperature

INTRODUCTION Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most im-portant crops in Pakistan. It is the third largest crop interms of area and production after wheat and cotton.Although rice in Pakistan is consuming large acreage,Pakistan is still far behind other rice producingcountries. The average yield is very low (2 t/ha) ascompared to Egypt (8.4 t/ha) and USA (6.6 t/ha).There are many reasons for this low yield. The mostimportant are high temperature (40?50 °C), low hu-midity at …     

Some reflections on education for rural development

The article stresses the significance of anti-poverty oriented rural development for developing countries and the need to identify the educational implications of such a strategy. Some of the assumptions derived from contemporary experience in development, and in particular rural development, which are vital for understanding and formulating the role of education, are presented and analysed. The indicators used in the measurement of anti-poverty rural development bring clarity to the concept of interlinking development and education in concrete terms. Some features of education for rural development are discussed and the significance of four areas of educational activities underscored, namely, primary education, functional literacy, human resources development and education related to the world of work. The article is concluded by stressing the need for establishing firm linkages between educational and developmental infrastructures with special emphasis on nonformal education and its flexibility of approach.

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Zusammenfassung Der Nachdruck in diesem Artikel liegt auf der Bedeutung, die der armutsbekämpfenden Orientierung ländlicher Entwicklungsprogramme beizumessen ist, sowie auf der Notwendigkeit festzustellen, welche Implikationen sich aus einer solchen Strategie für das Erziehungswesen ergeben. Einige für das Verständnis und die Formulierung seiner Rolle entscheidende Voraussetzungen, abgeleitet aus neueren Erfahrungen mit Entwicklungsprogrammen, insbesondere ländlichen, werden vorgestellt und analysiert. Die für die Bemessung armutsbekämpfender ländlicher Entwicklung benutzten Indikatoren bringen auch Klarheit in das Konzept einer konkreten Verbindung von Entwicklung und Erziehung. Dann bespricht der Autor einige Besonderheiten der Erziehung für ländliche Entwicklung und unterstreicht dabei die Wichtigkeit von vier Gebieten der Erziehungsarbeit: Primarerziehung, funktionelle Alphabetisierung, Entwicklung von Arbeitskräften und auf die Arbeitswelt bezogene Erziehung. Zum Schluß hebt der Verfasser die Notwendigkeit hervor, die Infrastrukturen für Erziehung und Entwicklung fest miteinander zu verbinden, mit besonderer Betonung der nicht-formalen Erziehung und ihrer Flexibilität.

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Résumé L'auteur de cet article met en évidence la signification du développement rurale envisagé comme une lutte contre la pauvreté dans les pays en développement et il souligne la nécessité de découvrir les implications de l'éducation dans une telle stratégie. Il présente et analyse quelques-unes des inductions tirées de l'expérience contemporaine du développement, en particulier du développement rurale, indispensables à la compréhension et à la formulation du rôle de l'éducation. Les indicateurs utilisés pour mesurer le développement rural anti-pauvreté apportent aussi une clarté au principe de conjugaison de l'éducation et du développement en termes concrets. Ensuite l'auteur examine quelques traits de l'éducation pour le développement rural, mettant l'accent sur l'importance de quatre zones d'activités éducatives, à voir, l'enseignement primaire, l'alphabétisation fonctionnelle, le développement des ressources humaines et l'éducation reliée au monde du travail. Enfin il souligne la nécessité d'établir des liens solides entre les infrastructures de l'éducation et celles du développement, en accentuant particulièrement l'éducation non-formelle et la flexibilité de ces moyens.

     

阿拉伯国家高等教育的新进展

文章主要介绍了阿拉伯国家高等教育的最新进展，并就其未来发展应给予关注的问题做了初步探讨。     

Differences Among Low‐, Average‐ and High‐achieving College Students on Learning and Study Strategies

Abstract The purpose of the present investigation is to examine the differences between low‐, average‐ and high‐achieving college students on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory scales. A total of 168 undergraduate students at the United Arab Emirates University participated as subjects. Subjects were classified into three achieving groups based on their grade point average (GPA) scores. Analysis of variance procedures indicated that low‐achieving students scored significantly lower than the average‐ and high‐achieving students on all of the scales. However, no significant differences were observed between the average‐ and high‐achieving groups on any of the scales. Furthermore, a stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that Motivation was the most powerful discriminating factor that separated low‐achieving students from their high‐achieving peers.     

Can images provide contextual support for prose?

This study sought to determine whether contextual organizers presented before prose passages can improve learning and retention among students who have no prior knowledge of the subject. The researchers used two types of organizers — an image and its verbal equivalent. Students who were provided the organizers scored better than control students on tests given two weeks later, but the predicted advantage of images over verbal learning adjuncts did not appear.     

Exploration De La Résilience éducationnelle Chez Des Enseignants

AN EXPLORATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCE OF TEACHING STAFF – This study focuses on the degree of resilience displayed by teaching staff with the aim of promoting their professional development and preventing job-related exhaustion. Seven underprivileged schools in Montreal were selected, and 24 teaching staff with contrasting personal profiles were interviewed on the subject of their work. The Alceste software was used to analyse the conversations, which revolved around techniques applied when dealing with critical incidents. The main analysis identified five different discourses among the respondents. Three of these were associated with the more resilient of the teachers and two were associated with the more vulnerable ones. Resilient teaching staff characteristically discussed dealing with aggressive behaviour, the teaching-learning relationship and the subject of social relationships, whereas vulnerable teaching staff focused on work beyond the classroom, people in positions of higher authority and the community. The authors note that teachers who are just embarking on their careers appear more vulnerable than more experienced teaching staff, which suggests that more resources should be provided to support teachers in their profession.