European Journals of Education Studies
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ASSESSMENT FAIRNESS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST: EVALUATING THE FACTOR STRUCTURE AND MEASUREMENT INVARIANCE ACROSS GENDER
Get PDFThe specific purpose of the study was to evaluate the factor structure of statistics assessment fairness inventory (SAFI) which was adapted for the Ghanaian context and further examine measurement invariance across gender. SAFI factor structure and construct validity were assessed with a sample of 735 Ghanaian university students through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Through an exploratory factor analysis, five dimensions were obtained which include: learning materials and practices, test design, opportunity to demonstrate learning test administration and grading, and offering feedback. A confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted to examine the factor loadings of the items. Further analysis revealed a partial measurement invariance of the fairness construct with equal means and equal variances in relation to gender. This suggested that the SAFI is valid, reliable, and can equally work across gender. It is recommended that SAFI has important implications for decisions regarding the conduct of especially, high-stakes examinations. Article visualizations
THE EFFECT OF CIRCULAR TRAINING ON MUSCULAR ABILITY AND SOME FUNCTIONAL INDICATORS OF THE KIDNEYS IN FENCING PLAYERS
Get PDFThe research study aimed to find out the effect of circular training style on muscle strength and some functional indicators of the kidneys in fencing players. The researchers used the experimental method and identified their research community, namely the players of Maysan governorate teams in fencing and for the three weapons (fencing sword, shish weapon, Arab sword weapon), and by (4) players for each weapon, which amounted to (12) players, and some procedures were adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. The study came to conclusions about the positive impact of the circular training method on the development of the muscular ability of the arm to carry the weapon and the legs. The study showed that measuring the functional indicators of the kidneys is within normal limits. The training method used has achieved positive results in adapting the functional indicators of the kidneys in the research variables. Article visualizations
USING ROLE PLAY TO MOTIVATE HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES
Get PDFThe recurrent problem among Vietnamese high school students in learning English is the ability to communicate effectively in the target language. The question of how to motivate students to speak English confidently and effectively has driven the researcher to search and experiment with various pedagogical techniques. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate to what extent using role play can increase students’ motivation in EFL speaking classes. The role play technique has been implemented with a group of 33 Math-majored students at a specialised high school in Vietnam. Data collected from observation notes and interviews with 6 student participants revealed that students’ motivation to speak English was high. The results also indicate that role play can be fruitfully deployed in EFL-speaking classes to increase students’ engagement in language production. Article visualizations
EFFECTS OF IDEA-GENERATION STRATEGIES ON VIETNAMESE EFL STUDENTS’ EXPOSITORY WRITING QUALITY AND SELF-EFFICACY
Get PDFThis quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of idea-generation strategies, group discussion, and freewriting on Vietnamese EFL students’ expository writing quality. Changes in these students’ writing self-efficacy after they used the two strategies were also explored. Forty-seven EFL sophomore students of Tra Vinh University were chosen to be the participants of this study. The students were divided into two groups: experimental group 1 and experimental group 2. In the pre-writing stage, while students in experimental group 1 shared their ideas in a group discussion, students in experimental group 2 generated their ideas through freewriting. Data were collected through two writing tests including a pretest and a post-test, and a self-efficacy questionnaire delivered before and after the six-week intervention. Analysis of the test results exhibited that both group discussion and freewriting enhanced the quality of students’ texts in terms of content and organization, with group discussion resulting in better content than freewriting. Specifically, both strategies helped students’ writing self-efficacy with respect to writing ideation, writing conventions, and writing self-regulation change positively. Finally, some recommendations for future researchers are also mentioned. Article visualizations
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING: A STUDY OF ENGLISH TUTORS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, GHANA
Get PDFUnderstanding and addressing teachers' perceptions are essential steps in promoting effective implementation of modern language teaching methodologies. While research on CLT practices and its associated challenges and perceptions is widespread among EFL communities, such studies are missing among ESL language teacher educators preparing the practising teachers to propel the pedagogy effectively. It is unclear in the ESL context whether the English language teacher educators can effectively employ the pedagogy to train their student-teachers to drive home new language teaching approaches such as CLT. In this study, I examined the perception that teacher educators hold about CLT in six thematic areas, using Eagly and Chaiken’s (1998) ABC Model of Attitude as analytical framework to measure teacher beliefs of CLT principles. A convergent parallel-mixed methods design was employed with questionnaire and focus group interview as research tools. The study found out, on a 7-point rater scale, that CELTs’ perception of communicative language teaching in the colleges of education is positive in five thematic areas: CLT as student-centered learning (6.372); teachers’ knowledge on CLT principles (6.068); CLT as integrated skills pedagogy (5.314); CLT as collaborative learning (5.307) and CLT being authentic and functional language use (4.498). In spite of this positive perception, the teachers hold the belief that assessment strategies in the college classroom are not aligned with CLT principles (2.407). The teachers also believe that CLT applicability in CoE classroom to achieve the literacy standard-based curriculum goals is threatened by tutors’ loyalty to product-based approach to language teaching. The study made some recommendations to enhance CLT applicability in the teacher training institutions. Article visualizations
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM IN MOZAMBIQUE
Get PDFBecoming a professional English language teacher is a challenge in Mozambique, as it moves beyond a simple teacher training process and acquisition of language tools for teaching. In Mozambique, English language teachers are trained in universities to attain Honour’s Degrees in English language teaching. Indeed, this is happening in all the provinces with less control and intervention of the National Council for Quality Evaluation. Achieving academic levels, obtaining certificates for contracts, and access to employment in the education sector are the main goals for many English language teachers. Thus, this paper is a critical analysis of the English language teacher professionalism in Mozambique, considering English as a foreign language used in several contexts, such as: universities, secondary schools, embassies, public and private institutions. Therefore, professional English language teachers play an essential role in the teaching and learning process and communication through the English language. The National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) in India and the Commonwealth of Learning in Canada (COL) Document (2007) and review of the professionalism of the English language teachers from Richards’ perspectives (2003, 2011, 2021) constitute the framework for the development of critical analysis of the current English language teacher professionalism in Mozambique. This study's qualitative approach was chosen based on discussions and reviews of several authors who have written about the professionalism of language teachers and English language teachers specifically. Practical examples and current praxis of professionalism are contextualised and brought out for solid suggestions and further improvements on the English language teacher competences and praxis. The discussions found out that a clear benchmarking and English language teacher training framework can help the teacher trainees to perform professionally and competently during and when they start teaching in the schools and become professionals not only in Mozambique but in countries where English is learnt as a foreign language. Article visualizations
STRATEGIES IN ORAL ENGLISH INSTRUCTION: A PEDAGOGICAL STUDY OF SOME GHANAIAN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
Get PDFResearch on English language instruction, particularly on oral English, is increasingly growing in Ghana and in many countries where the English language is not only used as an official language but also as a language for the medium of instruction and a subject of study in schools. This can perhaps be attributed to the global demand for and use of the English language despite the many difficulties in its instruction. The current study investigates the instructional strategies teachers of English in selected senior high schools in Ghana employ during oral English instruction. Utilizing a mixed-method approach with a convergent parallel design, the study collected data through questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations involving 43 English teachers from five senior high schools. The findings reveal a predominant reliance on traditional and direct instructional strategies such as question-and-answer sessions and drills in lieu of more interactive and indirect methods like paired conversations, oral reports, debates, etc. Meanwhile, teachers attribute their instructional choices to large class sizes, teaching environment, instructional resources and the teacher’s pedagogical skills. Based on these findings, The study concludes by advocating for the integration of a diverse range of instructional strategies, especially interactive and experiential strategies, to enhance student engagement and improve oral language competencies both inside and outside the classroom. Article visualizations
ERROR ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN ESSAYS OF OMANI EFL STUDENTS
Get PDFThis study investigated the linguistic errors made by Omani EFL students in their written essays at a discourse level. A descriptive research method was utilized to gather information from twenty-five EFL undergraduate students’ essays, which were selected purposively to identify the linguistic errors from an error analysis viewpoint. The result shows that there are 15 linguistic errors found in the students’ essays which are caused by interlingual and intralingual interferences. The result also exhibited that of 15 linguistics errors, spelling (88%), capitalization (80%), and punctuation errors (72%) are the most serious. This indicates that these errors are mechanical in nature, which is the topmost error with 51.12% when grouped into the classification of errors due to the influence of the mother tongue. This implies that participants’ mother tongue (L1) contributed significantly to the mechanical errors committed. It can be gleaned that the participants are ignorant of the rules and restrictions on the proper use of punctuation and capitalization, as well as the rules on how to write the words correctly. Article visualizations
OUTDOOR EDUCATION, PROCESSES OF INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH ADHD AND LEARNING DISABILITIES
Get PDFThe aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the evidence literature showing the role played by Outdoor Education (OE) in the inclusion processes of elementary school children with ADHD, characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, and learning disabilities, in order to understand how active outdoor education, by virtue of its characteristics, can provide them with specific sensory integration (Ayres, 1972), an opportunity to explore the natural world, and the chance to interact with peers and engage in active tasks. Therefore, in this study, we sought to determine the influence of outdoor activity based on the classification of studies and categorization of influential factors on the possibility of OE to meet the precise learning needs of children with ADHD in school settings and inclusion processes. Article visualizations
CHILDREN AND BLESSING
Get PDFWhen a child is born, God (or whatever other force we believe in) smiles at us. In Greece, we have a word that we use when referring to some good luck that is associated with certain stages of our fate. This word is “gouri” (γούρι), essentially a “blessing”, or a “godsend” if you are more religiously inclined. We, therefore, decided to conduct this research because we regard it as highly important to determine and recognise the extent to which having children is indeed considered a blessing, as well as to identify mentalities, traditions, thoughts, views, and even fatigue and pain, not only in people who have children but also those we don’t – either because they never wanted to or because it never happened. These people, our cohort of subjects, are the key that unlocked the way to many beautiful things, as well as to some other, less colourful realities. Article visualizations