Promoting basic arithmetic competence in early school years–using a response to intervention model

This study investigated whether mathematics education based on a multi-tiered response to intervention (RTI) model can support students' arithmetic competence in primary schools in Sweden. The intent was to identify and support students at risk of failure. In this study, 113 students participated in the intervention, and 30 students participated in the control group. Both groups were followed from Grade 1 to the end of Grade 2 and compared. During the first semester in Grade 1, all students were taught basic addition and subtraction with explicit instructions in Tier 1. Those who did not respond to Tier 1 after one semester were provided support within Tier 2 during the second semester. The same was repeated in grade 2 and the students that did not respond to Tier 2 were supported within Tier 3. At the end of Grade 2, students in the intervention group performed significantly higher on the basic arithmetic competence in the number range 1–9 than the control group. No significant difference was found in a test measuring basic arithmetic competence in the number range 10–19. This study shows that using multi-tiered RTI might be sufficient to identify and support students at risk in early arithmetic competence.     

The perspective of six Malaysian students on playing video games： Beneficial or detrimental？

This study provides a glimpse into understanding the potential benefits as well as harm of playing video games from the perspective of six Malaysian secondary school students, aged 16-17 years old. The rationale of the study is to enable parents, educators, administrators and policy makers to develop a sound understanding on the impact of playing video games before making any judgment on the contemporary youth culture. Thus, further decision on the acceptance of video games as a new innovation in school or at home could be considered. Although this study is not very extensive, the findings suggest that playing video games contributes to cognitive, social, motivational and emotional development. However, potential harms do exist. Parents play an important role in guiding their children either directly or indirectly, as indicated by the respective students. Caution is advised in the interpretation of the study＇s findings as it is solely based on the perspectives of the students, as the first person＇s views. Nevertheless, each student has their very own perspective on the impact of video games on them.     

WhatsApp use among African international distance education (IDE) students: transferring,translating and transforming educational experiences

ABSTRACT

Much of the research on how social media is embedded into the educational practices of higher education students has a Western orientation. In concentrating on a case study of the varied ways in which African International Distance Education (IDE) students actively use social media to shape their learning experiences, we discuss an under-researched group. The paper draws on analysis of 1295 online questionnaires and 165 in-depth interviews with IDE students at UNISA, South Africa, one of the largest providers of IDE globally. WhatsApp emerges as ‘the’ key social media tool that opens up opportunities for IDE students to transfer, translate and transform their educational journey when studying ‘at a distance’. Although WhatsApp does provide a ‘space of opportunity’ for some students, this is framed through socio-technical marginalisation, itself a reflection of demographic legacies of inequality. Exploring social media practices though the case of African IDE students places these students centre stage and adds to the awareness of the multiple centres from which international education is practiced.     

TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD DIFFERENT TYPES OF BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION IN TURKEY

In the present study, attitudes of elementary school teachers toward different types of bullying (verbal, physical, and relational) were investigated. Six written vignettes describing all types of bullying were given to 405 elementary school teachers (F = 218; M = 187). Results indicated that teachers perceived relational bullying, specifically, social exclusion, less serious than verbal and physical bullying. Unlike previous findings, however, the teachers considered verbal bullying behaviors more serious than physical bullying behaviors and were also more empathetic toward the victim physically bullied and the victim verbally bullied than the victim relationally bullied. Coherent with the findings of empathy, they were also more likely to intervene in verbal and physical bullying behaviors than relational bullying behaviors. Gender of the participant was a significant factor for all variables. The most rated intervention strategy was having a serious talk with the bully, regardless of the type of victimization. Multiple regression analysis illustrated that seriousness and empathy scores both predicted the need for intervention scores significantly in all types of bullying. The findings of this study highlight the importance of increasing teachers’ awareness and knowledge about all types of bullying, their consequences, and intervention skills to lessen bullying behaviors.     

e-Government adoption model based on theory of planned behavior: Empirical validation

The e-Government phenomenon has become more important with the ever increasing number of implementations worldwide. A model explaining the e-Government adoption and the related measurement instrument – a survey – had been developed and validated in this study. In a post Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach, theory of planned behavior (TPB) was extended to fit the requirements of e-Government context. The adoption of student loans service of the higher education student loans and accommodation association of Turkey (KYK) was investigated to obtain data for empirical validation. The instrument was administered to over four-hundred students and partial least squares path modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that the model was an improvement over TAM in terms of predictive power. The constructs trust, perceived behavioral control and attitudes successfully explained the intention to use an e-Government service. The findings presented in this study provide useful insights for researchers and policy makers when dealing with e-Government services.     

KNOWLEDGE ON ACCELERATED MOTION AS MEASURED BY IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT TASKS IN 5 TO 16 YEAR OLDS

The present study aimed at investigating children's and adolescents' understanding of constant and accelerated motions. The main objectives were (1) to investigate whether different task formats would affect the performance and (2) to track developmental changes in this domain. Five to 16 year olds (N = 157) predicted the distances of a moving vehicle on the basis of its movement durations on both a horizontal and an inclined plane. The task formats involved: (1) nonverbal action tasks, (2) number-based missing-value word problems, and (3) verbal judgments. The majority of participants of all age groups based their reactions in the first two task types on the assumption of a linear relationship between time and distance—which is correct for motions with constant speed but incorrect for accelerated motions. However, in the verbal judgments that tapped conceptual understanding, children from the age of 8 years onwards correctly assumed that an object rolling down an inclined plane would accelerate. The role of the task format in evoking erroneous beliefs and strategies is discussed.     

Habitus and social class: a case study on socialisation into sports and exercise

According to Bourdieu, habitus is an important, and class-specific, foundation for behaviour. However, he hardly explained how the habitus is acquired. Based on Bernstein's elaboration on the various contexts in which group-specific behavioural principles are acquired, this article demonstrates how young children of two divergent social classes obtain their habitus underlying their sports and exercise behaviour. Although children in both groups acquire a habitus in which sports and exercise play a role, there are striking differences which arise largely out of differences in the impact of socialising agents. Within the higher social class, there is a clearly defined group, namely the nuclear family, which explicitly controls and regulates the children's exercise behaviour. These children learn specific skills at specific places. In the lower social class, the habitus is influenced by the extended family, the physical education teacher and peers, resulting in a broad range of less strictly ordered activities, undertaken at different places. These findings offer a valuable contribution to insight into class-specific socialisation processes, resulting in the acquisition of a specific habitus.     

A qualitative assessment of human cadavers embalmed by Thiel's method used in laparoscopic training for renal resection

Human cadaveric tissue is the fundamental substrate for basic anatomic and surgical skills training. A qualitative assessment of the use of human cadavers preserved by Thiel's method for a British Association of Urological Surgeons-approved, advanced laparoscopic renal resection skills training course is described in the present study. Four trainees and four experienced laparoscopic surgeons participated in the course. All participants completed a five-point Likert scale satisfaction questionnaire after their training sessions. The quality of cadaveric tissue and the training session were assessed with particular emphasis placed on the ease of patient positioning, the ease of trocar placement, the preservation of tissue planes, the ease of renal pedicle dissection, and the quality of tissue preservation. All of the participants highly rated the quality of the cadaveric tissue embalmed by Thiel's method (mean scores for quality on the five-point Likert scale were 4.5 and 4.3 by the trainees and experienced laparoscopic surgeons, respectively). All of the steps of laparoscopic renal resection were rated 4.0 or more on the Likert scale by both trainees and faculty members. The initial response rates for using a human cadaver embalmed by Thiel's method as a training tool for laparoscopic nephrectomy showed encouraging results. The performance of a laparoscopic nephrectomy on a human cadaver embalmed by Thiel's method bears close resemblance to real laparoscopic nephrectomy procedures, and thus demonstrates added advantages to the previously reported models.     

Factors affecting ICT integration in TURKISH education: a systematic review

Education and Information Technologies - This research aims to reveal factors affecting Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) integration in learning environments in Turkey. The...     

What is implied when researchers claim to use a theory?

The focus of this article is on the use of theories and on what we imply when we in research claim to use a theory. In this article, diverse uses of one theory will be illustrated with reference to 10 different studies. The aim is not to evaluate or judge how the theory is used in these studies, but to discuss how the diverse uses of one and the same theory may infer very different things in research. Questions are raised about what happens with the hierarchy and the coherence of an argument and what conclusions can be drawn when only some parts of a theory are used.