Research in Social Sciences and Technology
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Editorial: Technologization of Global Citizenship Education as Response to Challenges of Globalization
Get PDFCultural, linguistic, and economic exchanges between communities, including nations, are as old as civilization itself, but only recently did such exchanges receive an appropriate and universally recognized name: globalization. Naming the process caused a significant shift in how globalization came to be perceived, and it has become an important issue in political agendas, economic policies, and cultural aspirations. In other words, globalization helped shape and refine debates about global interconnections and interdependence, universality of human rights, and the importance of economic and social justice
#Education: The Potential Impact of Social Media and Hashtag Ideology on the Classroom
Get PDFCommon on social media platforms, the hashtag (#) organizes users’ ideas, emotions, and comments. Originally used to create a searchable platform, the hashtag and its ideology present interesting considerations for changes to education. As students using social media today most certainly use hashtags to converse, hashtag-informed teaching could connect education to students’ worlds instead of forcing students to fit into the pre-defined world of education. Prevalent in post-secondary education, K-12 educators have recently begun to integrate social media tools into their classrooms, but what are the pedagogical implications of the ideologies of these tools? In response, this study asked the following question: “How can the hashtag inform the K-12 classroom?” Using a systematic literature review and thematic analysis, this study analyzed eight articles that discussed the use of hashtags with K-12 students. Findings indicated four themes that could inform the alignment of K-12 classrooms with hashtag ideology: encouraging voice and user-generated content, the potential of self-organization, network hetero/homogeneity, and connecting to space without a common physical space. Suggestions are provided as to how classrooms (and education) may consider restructuring to better reflect hashtag ideology, meeting students in their social media-driven world
Learning about Sustainable Development Goals through English Language Teaching
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) and its goals to the students of the Faculty of Education, future teachers, in order to become skilled and knowledgeable and then introduce these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to their students. As such, this study tries to link the concept of English Language Learning (ELL), English Language Teaching (ELT), and the SDGs as a type of all-inclusiveness within the “3 Ps”: Planet, People, and Profit. The instrument used for the purpose of this study was an online questionnaire sent to the students of the Faculty of Education in Kosovo. The total number of participants was 89. The students’ responses revealed that 60 percent of the future teachers are aware of the SD concept; however, the results indicate that not all “3 Ps” are hit upon by the future teachers. Based on the results, the most common areas of interest and societal needs of learning about SDGs are related to education, gender equality, good health and well-being, alleviation of poverty, and decent work and economics. These same goals are also hit upon in ELT classes. The study concludes that Kosovo’s future teachers are more concerned about issues related to social issues—“P-People”—followed by goals related to “P-Profit,” while goals related to “P-Planet,” the environment, are left behind. Future teachers’ knowledge about SDGs is vital, for there is a significant direct impact of learning about specific SDGs in higher education institutions, and the application of SDG topics in English language classes can infuse the SD concepts
Assessing the Career Conflict Options of Senior Secondary School Students of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria
Get PDFCareer choice is one of the most important decisions that students make, and this decision will affect them throughout their lives. This study adopts a descriptive research survey method for assessing career conflict options of senior secondary school students in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria. The data contains questionnaires administered to 373 male and female secondary school students from three private schools and three public schools in the Ado-Odo Ota Local Government. The data obtained from the questionnaires were categorized into a Demographic Data Inventory, Career Choice Scale, and Support, Interference, and Lack of Engagement Scale. Demographic information was analyzed using descriptive statistics, and simple linear regression analysis was used to test the three hypotheses generated for the study at 0.05 alpha levels of significance. The findings suggest that parental formal education has a significant effect on the choice of careers of students, and that the profession of parents has a minor influence on the choice of careers of students. The results also indicate that the socio-economic status of parents does not affect the career choice of secondary school students. Based on the findings, this study recommends that parents be trained in career counseling to help parents direct their children in their career choices. Counseling units in the Ministry of Education should also coordinate orientation activities and provide information on the broad variety of career opportunities open to students. Finally, future research should be carried out on the contradictory effect of teachers and school counselors on the career choices of secondary school students
Leveraging Technology to Promote Global Citizenship in Teacher Education in the United States and Brazil
Get PDFWith globalization and the increase of technology, collaborative work between institutions from different countries is a reality. Beginning in 2018, two teacher education programs, one in the United States and one in Brazil, developed a partnership to promote collaborative activities in curriculum and instruction, scholarship and research, and for student and faculty exchange. Critical pedagogy and social justice approaches to global citizenship education in teacher preparation guided the partnership’s collaborative activities toward the development of pre-service teachers’ global competencies and ability to integrate technologies as users and educators. This empirical research article presents an exploratory case study of a transnational, collaborative curricular project that leveraged technology in courses for pre-service teachers in the United States (n=12) and Brazil (n=10). The study explores the extent to which course content and activities facilitated pre-service teachers’ development of global competencies and ability to employ emerging technologies for learning and offers implications for practice. 
Unravelling Cooperative Learning in Higher Education
Get PDFTeaching and learning have evolved over the years. While the use of lecture is still the dominant mode of teaching in educational institutions, there has been consensus that students need to be active in learning, for which traditional styles of teaching may not be well suited. This calls for an alternative instructional mode: cooperative learning to promote active learning among students. In higher education, interest in cooperative learning has gained momentum since the early 1980s, and this kind of teaching and learning can be conducted in many ways. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of existing evidence pertinent to cooperative learning. In this review, cooperative learning is defined and elements inherent in this pedagogy are discussed. Theoretical perspectives relating to cooperative learning are also outlined. The outcomes pertaining to cooperative learning are then presented, followed by the influence of context on cooperative learning. This review is organized and structured as such to serve as a basis of reference for further research in the field
eHealth Systems' User Experiences from Healthcare Workers
Get PDFThis article analyze how healthcare workers experience the use of eHealth systems. The empirical data is from a qualitative case study, is derived from a number of eight participating health clinics use of eHealth systems, by healthcare workers. Our analysis shows that by adopting a simple, small-scale and user-oriented approach, and by focusing on the needs and circumstances of users instead of advanced technology, it was possible to reveal domestication of eHealth systems. While these findings cannot be generalized, they provide insight into and shed light on trends concerning the negotiations of healthcare workers with eHealth technology. Themes related to the experience of user interfaces in eHealth systems have generally not been explored in detail. This research thus contributes new insight to the field
Critiquing a Qualitative Study Using Tracy’s Big-tent Criteria
Get PDFThis paper critiques an article, which sheds light on the internationalisation of the curriculum. When classified within the main Western paradigms: positivism, interpretivism, critical theory and postmodernism, her article can be within the interpretivism. These paradigms are highlighted in this paper to engage the reader in critical reflection and to emphasise the differences between these paradigms. Big-tent markers, which are applied to evaluate the quality of qualitative research, are then critically implemented to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of that article in line with providing relevant suggestions
Polysemy in and of the Science Fiction Film Arrival (2016)
Get PDFPolysemy has always become a significant issue in interdisciplinary studies, mainly because particular words or phrases tend to have multiple meanings and the way to decide on the intended meanings involves cultural understanding that may be problematic for different groups of people. This paper divides the main research questions into two inquiries: (1) What is the meaning of the micro-unit polysemy in the science fiction film Arrival (2016)? and (2) What is the interpretation of the macro-level of polysemy in the film? The purpose of this research is to describe the interrelation between the polysemy in the film and the polysemy of the film. It is assumed that revealing the phenomena of polysemy found in the film helps to construct a better comprehension of the objective of the polysemy of the film. This has been done by implementing two stages of procedures in this research: (1) identifying the translation of the most significant polysemous words, phrases, clauses, and sentences found in the film by using meaning patterns and contextual patterns (Schmidt, 2008) and (2) discovering the three potential themes of polysemy of the film that include resistive reading, strategic ambiguity, and hermeneutic depth (Ceccarelli, 1998). The analysis shows that examining the phenomena of cognitive linguistic meanings from the 30 micro-unit polysemy to the rhetorical criticism of the polysemous text opens up multiple interpretive possibilities that may go unnoticed
ICT and its purpose in the pedagogical practice
Get PDFInformation and communications technology (ICT) is currently inserted in the daily activities of a human being and has become a necessary resource, vital for their development up to the point of not conceiving activities without using these. In this sense, the education field is not the exception and has been partially including ICT as support for the teaching practice; however, there is an increasing demand from the students to implement more resources and activities supported by these technologies. A significant distance exists (the known digital divide) between the possibilities offered by different web applications that can support the pedagogical practices and the actual reality of the teaching practice, where the students realize the flaws and the necessity of strengthening the technology skills of the teachers to efficiently develop and orientate such use. In this regard, it is necessary to critically reflect on the possibilities that are offered by different web applications and their impact, their purpose in the pedagogical practice in a way that can serve as a pretext to motivate the teachers in their use and application in the development of their classes, achieving real formative processes. By doing this, students can be offered real, significant learning experiences from the technological, social, and pedagogical view, consolidating in a first instance the abilities of the teachers in the ICT area, as well as the comprehensive learning of their students, being updated on the advances that ICT offers globally, and implementing these permanently in their job as teachers, thus innovating their classes and motivating students towards learning and toward consolidating the use of ICT in the different disciplines, with the human and social component that must characterize us, accomplishing from this standpoint and reflection a pedagogical practice of quality