Contemporary Research in Education and English Language Teaching

Challenges students experience with inclusive education: Significance of listening and advocacy

Gabriel Julien — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Some experts, believe that the concept of inclusive education is still imprecise and nebulous and there is a nascent research and literature about this subject. When this non-empirical research was embarked upon there was no noticeable evidence to explicitly highlight that there is a meaningful understanding of the various challenges and obstacles that children face in inclusive education. Similarly, no evidence made the connection between inclusive education, listening, and advocacy. There is a gap due to the paucity of information and this research seeks to fill it. This author firmly believes that listening and advocacy are two major elements that enable and foster inclusion. Too often when policies are implemented those who are affected are not consulted. Educators and policymakers must pay more attention to the perspectives of children because they are quite capable of presenting their issues. In this way, inclusive education will be meaningful and cater to those who need it. This research analyzed and summarized recent published literature on the inclusion of children and the fieldwork is not novel. It is interesting to state, however, that research undoubtedly noted that there is a dearth of information that focuses on the various challenges that children encounter in inclusive education. It is crucial that everyone, especially professionals and policymakers, pay particular attention to the importance of inclusion. They also need to be cognizant of the experiences of these children and the role that advocacy plays, especially when they implement policies that relate to their growth and development.

Visually impaired students in both face-to-face and e-learning

Ghadeer Abdul Ghani Abu Dawud, Mohammed Farrah — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Visual impairments present significant obstacles for students in their everyday lives, particularly in academic settings. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has only heightened the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. However, instructors have been using a variety of teaching methods, both in-person and online, to better support visually impaired students. These approaches have yielded positive impacts on students' social, physiological, and educational development. Nevertheless, there are also drawbacks associated with both methods, which this study seeks to explore and overcome. The researchers conducted this research during the second semester of the 2022/2023 academic year in Hebron University. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researchers utilized qualitative techniques such as WhatsApp interviews to gather comprehensive data. They collected the data from six participants who voluntarily accepted to participate in the interviews. The study found that students enjoyed several advantages of online learning, such as easy access to course materials and effective communication with their instructors. However, they also encountered several challenges such as lack of support from the government, inadequate training for teachers, and insufficient knowledge about their rights as online learners. The researchers attempted to address the underlying causes of these issues. Based on the findings, the researchers proposed potential solutions to effectively address these issues and enhance the learning experience for visually impaired students.

Implementing different teaching methods in geography during the remote learning period in 2020

Janett Perv, Marelle Grünthal-Drell — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the teachers were required to adjust their previous teaching methods, test both their pedagogical skills and their digital competence, as well as the digital competence of the students. The purpose of the research was to map out teaching methods by geography teachers in Estonia, the efficiency levels of those methods, while also receiving feedback about the teaching process as it applied to remote learning. Mixed methods research was conducted amongst 76 geography teachers, data collection method was a questionnaire. The results revealed: if the most efficient methods of learning were forms of discussion which called for active communication between the students themselves, as well as between students and teachers, then the least efficient method was teacher-centered lecture. Forms of discussion were used by teachers most often in synchronized video lessons, but they requested suitable short educational videos and a uniform repository of teaching materials. Half of teachers didn`t use map-related work, minority used work with maps in the e-testing environments or into worksheets. More than half of teachers adjusted the assessment system without making any compromises in terms of learning outcomes. Half of the teachers were so far satisfied with the teaching process and with their contact with the students, half of the teachers believed that their students failed to achieve the planned learning outcomes.

The impact of information technology for online learning with the implementation and involvement of students in the creation of conditions and environment

Besnik Hajdari — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Adaptive e-learning is considered a stimulus to assist learning and increase student engagement. Hence, building suitable adaptive e-learning environments helps to individualize education to reinforce learning goals. This work aims to create an adaptable e-learning environment based on students' learning styles and examine the effect of the adaptive e-learning environment on student engagement. This study also contrasts the suggested adaptive e-learning environment with the standard e-learning strategy. The suggested adaptive e-learning strategy and findings may assist e-learning institutions in building and implementing more individualized and adaptable e-learning environments to increase student engagement. The work is based on mixed research methodologies used to examine the effect in the following manner: The adaptive e-learning environment is designed using the development technique, a quasi-experimental research methodology for performing the research experiment. The student engagement scale measures the following affective and behavioral factors: skills, participation/interaction, performance, and emotions. According to the data, the experimental group is statistically substantially higher than the control group. These experimental findings suggest that an adaptable e-learning environment can motivate pupils to learn. This study makes many practical recommendations: how to develop a foundation for adaptive e-learning based on learning styles and how to execute it; how to improve the impact of adaptive e-learning in education; and how to boost the cost-effectiveness of education.

Demonstration and discussion teaching methods on attitude and retention of urban and rural students in senior school biology in Yenagoa and Ogbia local government areas of Bayelsa state

Blessing Chinyere Cleopas, Patrick Chukwuemeka Igbojinwaekwu — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study was to investigate effects of demonstration and discussion teaching methods on attitude and retention of urban and rural students in senior school biology in Yenagoa and Ogbia Local Government Areas. Quasi-experimental research design was employed. The population of the study was 6,988 Senior School Two Biology students in Bayelsa State. The sample consisted of 323 Senior School Two students from 23 Senior Secondary Schools in the above Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Three validated and reliable instructional guides namely Instructional Guide on Demonstration Teaching Method (IGDTM), Discussion Teaching Method Guide (DTMG) and Guide on Lecture Teaching Method (GLTM) were used in training teachers to use the methods of teaching. Standardized Biology Achievement Test (SBAT) was used as a reliable instrument for data collection. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation and z-test statistics. The findings of the study showed no significant difference in retention mean scores of SS2 students in urban and rural schools when taught with demonstration and discussion methods. Also, there was slight increase in attitude of students in pretest and posttest in all the groups but when subjected to z-test analysis, it showed statistically not significant in all the groups. These implied that adequate consideration to teaching methods in biology is crucial to enhancing attitude and retention of students during lessons as school type does not affect students’ attitude nor improve academic achievement.

Impact of chemistry teachers’ qualification and years of experience on academic performance of secondary school chemistry students in Ogbia local government area Bayelsa state

Blessing Chinyere Cleopas, Favour Chigozirim Onwuchekwa — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study was to examine impact of chemistry teachers’ qualification and years of experience on academic performance of secondary school students in Ogbia Local Government Area in Bayelsa State. The study adopted an expo-facto survey research design. Two research questions were raised and answered. The population of the study was 35 secondary schools and 3,116 chemistry students in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. 184 students and 10 teachers were used as sample in the study. A teacher questionnaire titled, "Teachers’ Qualification and Experience" was used for data collection and it was validated by two science education experts. There was no reliability since students’ previous scores were used. Frequency, percentage and mean were used to answer the research questions. The findings showed that teachers’ qualification and years of experience have a significant impact on students’ academic achievement in senior secondary schools in Ogbia Local Government Area. Hence, teachers' qualification and years of experience are major determinants that affect students' performance in senior secondary schools in Ogbia Local Government Area. This implied that government should establish policies that increase the number of teachers with B.Ed in chemistry and schools should prioritize hiring teachers with appropriate qualifications and years of experience in chemistry education so as to enhance academic performance in chemistry.

Critiques of learner-centered teaching

Rajendra Kumar Shah, Samjhana Basnyat — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The discourse surrounding learner-centered teaching has been a focal point since the 1980s, with particular intensity during the 1990s. Following this period, dissent emerged from some educational theorists who criticized learner-centered teaching from various angles. One faction argued that learner-centered teaching disproportionately emphasizes the learner, thereby diminishing the role of the teacher, while another group contended that the model's focus on the learner's interests and needs comes at the expense of the content's importance. Many educators advocate for a teacher-centered, formalistic approach, positing that it is more effective in environments where resources are ample and the professional capabilities of teachers are exceptionally high. These divergent viewpoints have led to significant uncertainty among policymakers, curriculum developers, and educators regarding the implementation of educational strategies. Consequently, the ambiguity surrounding learner-centered teaching poses substantial challenges in its practical application within the classroom setting. Thus, how can these contradictions in the curriculum be effectively resolved? How can a lay parent, who may struggle to grasp these conflicting viewpoints, actively engage in their child's education? Additionally, how can a primary school teacher, who may lack sufficient qualifications, comprehend these concepts and deliver instruction effectively? It is urgent solve these problems. Therefore, the major intention of the present study is to revisit these major criticisms associated with learner-centered teaching. This study entirely based on the analysis and examination of the existing literature. This study has focused on nine criticisms of learner centered teaching to examine its deficiencies and weaknesses. These nine criticisms are- extreme contradiction in ideologies; legitimacy of learner centred teaching; more emphasis on the need, interest, freedom of learner; excessive attention on the learner; developmentally appropriate practice; practicality of learner centered teaching; individual and society; teacher's roles and responsibilities; and natural sequence of child development. An effort has been made to delve deeply into each criticism to reveal its underlying reality. The study concludes that while learner centered teaching is appealing in theory, its implementation is notably challenging. This difficulty is particularly pronounced in both developed and developing countries where there is a significant lack of resources and infrastructure, making the adoption of this pedagogy quite arduous.

Language support for academic writing: exploring the use of hedges and boosters in student research and designing language interventions

Cecille Luyun — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Research has been embraced in the Philippines for many years now. In education, due to its importance among college students, the researcher aimed at knowing how far students know about devices that they use in research writing. The researcher had used descriptive interpretation by employing frequency count and independent sample t-test to compare the significant difference in the use of hedges and boosters between the two programs. Hedges and boosters were sourced out from a total enumeration of 41 research papers from both programs, 31 from BSED and 10 from BEED. The most frequently used hedging devices in the research papers both introduction and conclusion sections of BSED Program are Type III. “This study” ranked as first, “It” ranked as second, “The study” ranked as third, and “may”, a Type I hedging device, ranked as fourth whereas in BEED program, “It” ranked as no. 1, “This study” ranked as no. 2, and “The study” ranked as no. 3. The most used boosting device in both BSED and BEED programs is “should”. The most used hedging device across all programs is “This study”. The boosting device, “should”, gained the highest number of use and ranked as the most frequently used booster. This study rejects the claim that there is significant difference in the frequency of the use of hedges and boosters when grouped according to program. The language intervention activities constructed by the researcher were directly compared against the result of the study. These activities are as follows: lecture about metadiscoursal devices, scouting hedges and boosters in authentic materials, debate, essay writing, and feature article writing. In conclusion, the study of hedges and boosters helps to portrait an important component of academic argument since claims and argumentation are tried to be included by writers in their academic writing (Bruce, 2005, as cited in Tran, 2013). The language intervention activities might be of big help to these students after all both programs will mandate their 4th year students to write research paper, an academic write-up, as a requirement for graduation.