the iafor

journal of
education
Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018
Editor: Yvonne Masters

ISSN: 2187-0594

iafor
IAFOR Journal of Education
Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018

IAFOR Publications

The International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Education
EditorYvonne Masters, University of New England, Australia
Associate Editors
Lynda Leavitt, Lindonwood University, USA
Massoud Moslehpour, Asia University, Taiwan
Raimond Selke, Goethe-Institut Jakarta, Indonesia
Lucy K. Spence, University of South Carolina, USA

Published by The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
IAFOR Publications, Sakae 1-16-26-201, Naka-ward, Aichi, Japan 460-0008

Executive Editor: Joseph Haldane
Editorial Assistance: Nick Potts

IAFOR Journal of Education
Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018
Published February 28, 2018

IAFOR Publications © Copyright 2018
ISSN: 2187-0594
ije.iafor.org

IAFOR Journal of Education
Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018
Edited by Yvonne Masters

Table of Contents
From the Editor
Yvonne Masters

1

Notes on Contributors

2

The Implicit Role of First-Years’ Higher Education Faculties
Maurice Abi-Raad

7

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Scientific Literacy and Self-Efficacy
in Teaching Science
Adam Al Sultan
Harvey Henson, Jr
Peter J. Fadde

25

Ruptured Dreams: Female Students’ Talk About Boys as Past “Lovers”
Joanne Cassar

43

An Examination of Listening Acquisition: A Study of Japanese
University Students
Bryan Hahn

59

Teachers’ Knowledge Indices as Predictors of Secondary School Students’
Academic Achievement in Kwara State, Nigeria
Felicia Olasehinde-Williams
Lasiele Yahaya
Henry Owolabi

73

Why Is There a Disequilibrium Between Power and Trust in
Educational Settings?
Faruk Levent
Nehir Özdemir
Tuba Akpolat

91

Foreign Language Proficiency as an Asset for Japanese Graduates
Raimond Selke
Tomoki Sekiguchi
Ashlyn Moehle
Abdelrahman Elsharqawy
Philip Streich

103

Reviewers

121

Guide for Authors

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018

From the Editor
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first issue of the IAFOR Journal of Education (Volume 6 – Issue 1) for 2018.
This issue sees some changes in the editorial team. I took over as editor on January 1, 2018,
and two new associate editors were appointed on February 3, 2018. We are also currently inthe process of appointing new editorial board members and peer reviewers. This is an excitingtime for the journal and we are looking forward to building on the successes of the past.
It would be remiss of me to not pause in this editorial to acknowledge the immediate
contributions of both Bernard Montoneri and Lucy Spence as editor and co-editor of thejournal. Bernard took over as the editor with Volume 2 – Issue 1 in 2014 and remained editor
until the end of 2017. He had, however, been active with the journal in its first year in 2013.
Lucy became co-editor of the journal in 2016, but relinquished her position at the end of 2017.
We wish them both well in their continuing research and publishing futures.
Thanks are also due to Cassandra Atherton and Vasileios Paliktzoglou who have both served
as associate editors in the past. They are still members of the editorial board. Massoud
Moslehpour is also thanked for his work as an associate editor from Volume 5 – Issue 2 in 2017and he continues today as an associate editor.
We welcome Lynda Leavitt and Raimond Selke, both who have been previously active withthe journal, as new associate editors.
The IAFOR Journal of Education prides itself on being international, intercultural andinterdisciplinary, the three pillars of IAFOR. It draws its articles from a range of disciplines
and cultures, linked by a common interest in education in its broadest sense. In this issue wehave authors discussing education in Japan, Malta, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and theUnited Arab Emirates. While the contexts are different, the themes are relevant to educators
globally.
The articles in this issue cover a range of themes: the role of faculty members in the first yearof higher education; scientific literacy and self-efficacy among pre-service teachers; thediscussions of female students about their relationships with male “partners”; acquisition oflistening skills among Japanese students; teachers’ knowledge indices and student academic
performance in Nigeria; the juxtaposition of power and trust in educational relationships; andforeign language proficiency as an asset for Japanese graduates. Each of these topics haverelevance in other settings.
We hope that you enjoy these articles, find application for them in your own contexts, andconsider sharing your own research and experiences in the journal.
Yvonne Masters
Editor, IAFOR Journal of Education
ije.iafor.org

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Notes on Contributors
Article 1: The Implicit Role of First-Years’ Higher Education Faculties
Mr Maurice Abi Raad has background training in Information Technology (Master ofInformation Technology) and Education (Master of Educational Studies). Maurice is aninternational 30+ year industry, academic and training professional with expertise in service
and project management (ITIL expert & PMP certified), IT strategy and governance, andInformation Systems Management. He currently holds a Senior Lecturer position in the General
Education Department at Rabdan Academy (Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.), focusing on the area ofSystems and Technologies in Safety, Security, Defence, Emergency Preparedness and Crisis
Management, as well as soft skills. He is currently completing a PhD in Education at Deakin
University, Australia.
Email: mabiraad@ra.ac.ae
Article 2: Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Scientific Literacy and Self-Efficacy in
Teaching Science
Dr Adam Al Sultan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction
at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. He completed a BA in Education
at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. He received a MA in Curriculum and Instruction fromSouthern Illinois University, USA. In 2016, he received a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction,with an emphasis in Science Education, from Southern Illinois University, USA. Dr Al Sultan
mentors several undergraduate and graduate students in science education and research. His
research includes preservice science teaching, teacher professional development, and STEM
education.
Email: aaalsultan@iau.edu.sa
Dr Harvey Henson has a joint faculty appointment in Curriculum and Instruction and Geology
and also serves as Interim Director for the STEM Education Research Center at Southern
Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, USA. Dr Henson mentors several undergraduate andgraduate students in science education, geology and research, and partners with STEM
educators. He serves on multiple boards and committees which seek to advance STEM
education and research. His research includes preservice science teaching, teacher professional
development, science education assessment, earthquake seismology, and applied geophysics.
Email: henson@siu.edu
Dr Peter Fadde is Professor in Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University in
Carbondale, Illinois, USA. Dr Fadde studies expert learning and performance and has
developed patent-pending computer applications for training expert perceptual skills in sports.
His expertise-based training (XBT) approach, which adapts the laboratory methods of expertise
researchers for training purposes, has been applied in fields ranging from sports to truck driving
to classroom teaching. Dr Fadde also conducts research on video in teacher education andblended online learning.
Email: fadde@siu.edu

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Article 3: Ruptured Dreams: Female Students’ Talk About Boys as Past “Lovers”
Dr Joanne Cassar is a senior lecturer at the Department of Youth and Community Studies at
the University of Malta. Her research interests comprise sexuality education and youth studies,in particular female sexuality, gender, and the construction of sexual identities in multiple
contexts. Her academic publications examine the notion of young people’s sexualities as socialand discursive constructs, which reflect the myriad ways sexual behaviors are perceived andacted out. Dr Cassar has carried out various research studies about young people on a local
level as well as in collaboration with other European research partners. She is also an author ofchildren’s books.
Email: joanne.cassar@um.edu.mt
Article 4: An Examination of Listening Acquisition: A Study of Japanese University
Students
Mr Bryan Hahn teaches EAP coursework at Akita International University in Japan. He has
also taught classes in Second Language Acquisition at universities in Korea and to adultlearners for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Hahn earned an MA in TESL at
Loyola Marymount University. Other publications include Developing Automaticity in
Reading: A Study of University Students in Japan; The Education Crisis in South Korea: The
Impact on Three Daegu Families; and English as a Co-Language: Perspectives by the Foreign
Language Learner.
Email: bhahn@aiu.ac.jp
Article 5: Teachers’ Knowledge Indices as Predictors of Secondary School Students’
Academic Achievement in Kwara State, Nigeria
Professor Felicia Alarape Olabisi Olasehinde-Williams is a Professor of Educational
Psychology in the Department of Social Sciences Education, Faculty of Education, andUniversity of Ilorin, Nigeria. She teaches Educational Psychology courses in the Faculty of
Education; and also teaches Emotional Intelligence, as an adjunct lecturer, in the Centre for
Peace and Strategic Studies of the University. Prof. Olasehinde-Williams is currently the
Director of the University’s Centre for International Education; a member of the Board of the
University’s Institute of Education; and the Research Manager for the Faculty of Education.
Email: olabisi@unilorin.edu.ng or folasehindewilliams@gmail.com
Professor Lasiele Alabi Yahaya is a lecturer in the Department of Counsellor Education,
University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He was the Acting Director of Unilorin Counselling and Human
Development Centre from 2010 to 2014 and is the current Director, Institute of Education,
University of Ilorin. He has several publications at national and international levels. His
research interests include school counselling, career guidance, rehabilitation counselling,
health counselling and promotion of effective teaching and learning.
Email: lyahaya@uniloirn.edu,ng, yalasie@gmail.com
Professor Henry Olumuyiwa Owolabi is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University
of Ilorin, Nigeria. His area of specialisation is Educational Evaluation and his research interests
cover psychometrics, teaching-learning improvement and programme evaluation. His mostrecent research has focused on the effects of teaching and assessment for mastery, embedded
assessment and personalised instruction on students’ achievement in secondary schools. He has
also worked on test development processes and improvement of assessment practices in3

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educational institutions. Professor Owolabi is the current Director of the University’s Centre
for Open and Distance Learning.
Email: henryowolabi2000@yahoo.com or olumuyiwa.owolabi@gmail.com
Article 6: Why Is There a Disequilibrium Between Power and Trust in Educational
Settings?
Dr Faruk Levent is an Assistant Professor at the Atatürk Faculty of Education, Marmara
University, Istanbul, Turkey. He serves as the "vice chairperson" in the Educational Sciences
Department, Marmara University. He received his PhD on Administration, Supervision,
Planning and Economics at Marmara University. His research interests include teacher
education, gifted education, ethics education and human resources education. His publishedbooks and articles focus on teacher education, ethics education, gifted and talented education,
education policy, human resources management.
Ms Nehir Özdemir is an English Teacher at Tuzla Vocational and Technical Anatolian HighSchool in Istanbul. She received her MA on Educational Sciences at Yeditepe University andshe is currently a PhD student on Educational Administration, Supervision, Planning andEconomics at Marmara University in Istanbul. Her research interests are the social andeducational sciences, leadership, organizational psychology, quality, teacher and administrator
education. Her published book, articles and papers are related to leadership, school
administration, ethics, and organizational psychology.
Email: nehirozdemir@marun.edu.tr
Ms Tuba Akpolat is a Mathematics Teacher at Doğa Halkalı Middle School in Istanbul. She
received her MA on Educational Sciences at 19 Mayıs University in Samsun and is currently
a PhD student on Educational Administration, Supervision, Planning and Economics at
Marmara University in Istanbul. Her research interests are educational sciences, leadership,organizational behaviour, quality, statistics on social sciences. Her published book, articles andpapers are related to leadership, synergy, and organizational behaviour.
Article 7: Foreign Language Proficiency as an Asset for Japanese Graduates
Dr Raimond Selke has worked as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor indifferent parts of Asia (China, Malaysia and Japan). His last university post was Associate
Professor at Osaka University in Japan where he taught German as a foreign language at theGraduate School of Language and Culture. Since October 2017, Dr Selke has been working for
the Goethe-Institut Jakarta. He is charged with further developing the collaboration between
local Indonesian and German stakeholders in education and fostering the status of German asa foreign language in Indonesia. As a Course Expert, he ensures smooth teaching and quality
improvement for over 150,000 school students and over 1,500 teachers related to the teaching
and learning of German.
Email: raimond.selke@goethe.de
Professor Tomoki Sekiguchi is Professor at the Graduate School of Management, Kyoto
University, Japan. His research interests center around employee behaviors, organizational
justice, person-environment fit, hiring decision making, cross-cultural organizational behavior
and international human resource management. His work has been published in such journals
as Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, theJournal of World Business, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Applied Psychology: An

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International Review, and the International Journal of Human Resource Management. Email:Email: tomoki@econ.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Professor Ashlyn Moehle is a full-time Professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of
Language and Culture, where she obtained her MA and PhD in Japanese Studies. Her research
focuses on English-Japanese contrastive linguistics, and her dissertation examined patterns ofsemantic extension of spatial particles and Japanese compound verbs utilizing the theoreticalframework of cognitive linguistics. She has also participated in research on theinternationalization of higher education, as well as co-authored a popular book written forJapanese women on English conversation and American culture.
Email: ashlynmoehle@gmail.com
Dr Abdelrahman Elsharqawy is a specially appointed Associate Professor of Arabic at theGraduate School of Foreign Languages and Culture, Osaka University, Japan. He is currently
on leave from Cairo University where he received his PhD in the Arabic department. His
research interests are: Modern Arabic Literature, Comparative Literature, History in Literature,
Translation Studies and Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language. His professional experience
includes being a teacher trainer and a teaching coordinator. His administrative work included
being Deputy Director of Cairo University, Center for Arabic Language and Culture
Email: sharqawy@gmail.com
Dr Philip Streich is Associate Professor in the School of Human Sciences at Osaka University.
He primarily teaches courses in Politics, and Peace and Conflict Studies. He is the author ofseveral articles dealing mainly with Japanese foreign policy, migration in Japan, and East Asianinternational relations. He is currently performing research on island territorial disputes aroundthe world and deviant cases in international relations. Dr Streich has also held teachingpositions at Haverford College and Pomona College.
Email: philstreich@gmail.com

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The Implicit Role of First-Years’ Higher Education Faculties
Maurice Abi-Raad
Rabdan Academy, United Arab Emirates

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Abstract
The higher education experience is a challenge for first-year students. One of the challenges
facing a generation of youth is attaining professional skills, academic experience andoccupational training. In order to have a clear picture of the challenges involved in first-year
experiences it is important to examine elements impacting first-year students’ adjustment touniversity and in particular on the dual faculty role. This opinion paper posits that higher
education faculties play an important role in the successful adjustment of first-year students,
not only in facilitating their learning, but in impacting students’ well-being and their growth
as better citizens. The findings from this paper were drawn from various studies looking at
the importance of first-year faculties in higher education, which involved extensive literature
reviews and reported interviews with university stakeholders. The paper offers higher
education leadership insights into the complex factors at play and the dual role faculties hold.
Keywords: first-year student, higher education, quality teaching

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Introduction
Undertaking higher education is an important landmark for newly enrolled students in the
period of initial adulthood. The higher education experience is both an opportunity and achallenge for first-year students. If a first-year student cannot adjust to the new university
setting swiftly they may encounter difficulties in their learning and psychologicalprogressions (Stirling, 2017). The younger generation today faces the challenges of a multidimensional and competitive world of work and exceedingly specific roles. As such, they
spend prolonged periods in educational institutions to attain professional skills, academic
experiences and occupational training. (Symonds, Schwartz & Ferguson, 2011). Becoming afirst-year higher education student after being a final-year student at a secondary school
echoes the phenomenon of shifting from the oldest and most influential group of students inthe primary school to the newest and least influential group of students in secondary schools(Najdanovic-Visak, 2017). Correspondingly, the progression into a university setting
comprises moving to an extended, more equitable or learner-oriented faculty structure,communication with peers from more diverse geographical regions and sometimes morediverse backgrounds. Experience indicates a greater emphasis on academic performance andits evaluation (Radojicic, Milenkovic & Jeremic, 2017).
The university environment also requires the process of creating new social networks,
friends, altering existing associations with family members, and adapting to the new learning
setting. An effective adaptation to university settings implies an ongoing and flexible processof accepting a new lifecycle in college, appreciating psychological welfare and achieving
learning objectives (Najdanovic-Visak, 2017). This means that graduates who can manage astrong, universally competitive economy or transnational corporation perform better
compared with their poorly adjusted peers. Joining the university demands moreaccountability and some students may doubt their competency to be effective at the university
level, which may reduce their learning success and can cause an upsurge in their anxiety
levels. Scholars suggest that some students adapt well to the university environment whileothers encounter difficulties with the progression, some dropping out of university altogether(Uttl, White & Gonzalez, 2017). Nevertheless, the elements impacting first-year students’adjustment to university are multifaceted; in such cases, the dual role of the first-year faculty
emerges in the sense that educators not only fulfil their teaching role, but also their role asadvisors, mentors and supporters of students.
This reflective paper suggests that higher education faculties, particularly those in the firstyears of student transition, play a significant role not only in the successful transition of
students into higher education facilities by way of learning, but also in providing a significant
support role, impacting student well-being. The paper first discusses the benefits of higher
education and the general transition of students to higher education and the adjustments
involved. This is followed by a discussion on the concept of student-centred learning and thedual roles that faculties play during the student transition period: providing not only thefoundation for successful learning, but also in supporting students to have a sense of
becoming better independent learners.
The Benefits of Higher Education
The benefits and significance of higher education in the past decade have increased, andcontinue to expand, as examinations by various stakeholders aim to provide more specificresults in the higher education field (Noaman, Ragab, Madbouly, Khedra & Fayoumi, 2017).

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At present, the opportunity to advance one’s studies in higher education institutions is
considered a significant privilege, considering the role of the financial factor that is apersistent limitation for some students (Arbel, Bar-El & Tobol, 2017). One of the benefits ofhigher education is associated with achieving a high level of economic growth and stability(Schendel, McCowan & Oketch, 2014). Therefore, educators promote school reforms acrossdifferent countries in order to help them improve their existing economic systems(Sriarunrasmee, Techataweewan & Mebusaya, 2015). From this perspective, students haverecognized that investing in their higher education is an important and worthwhile
precondition for their economic success and the success of society (Blaskova, Blasko,
Matuska & Rosak-Szyrocka, 2015). In fact, researchers have assessed the long-term
implications of education, which implies that individuals may think from diverse perspectives
when it comes to achieving certain educational outcomes (Singh, Misra & Srivastava, 2017).
Another significant benefit of higher education relates to the idea that the respective
institutions foster lifelong learning, which is an essential factor in helping students become
better persons, leading healthier and meaningful lives (Jarvis, 2017). By improving thepersonal lives of individuals, higher education improves the entire social system in the senseof contributing to its smooth functioning (Ma, Pender & Welch, 2016). Highly educatedpeople tend to demonstrate an active involvement in different social activities (Griffiths,
2016). The reason why education improves people’s well-being is that such individuals
apparently realise that the potential and knowledge they have can help them change the world
in one way or another (Nolan & Molla, 2017).
In terms of major social benefits pertaining to higher education, educated individuals
contribute to expanding social unity and trust. In this context, society functions better as aunited community, which is possible only through the diverse values promoted by higher
education (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). The feeling of togetherness, along with the emphasis
in ongoing cooperation, has helped many people in a positive way by changing their views
about society and higher education (Gonondo, 2017). As a result, a substantial number ofindividuals demonstrate their willingness to work together on finding appropriate solutions toemerging social problems (de Kraker, Dlouhá, Machackova Henderson & Kapitulcinová,
2017; Kellett, & Goldstein, 1999). Being properly educated means that people are most likely
to have shared goals in terms of social development and improvement initiatives (Griffiths,
2016).
Therefore, the insights they may share can be quite helpful for further enhancing the role ofsociety in modernity. Higher education has emerged as the prerequisite for shared democratic
practices promoting the relevance of freedom, flexibility and creativity in society (Shephard& Brown, 2017). Individuals who are highly educated can have an opportunity to have a
successful career, indicating that such people are generally wealthier and more socially stablecompared to their uneducated counterparts (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). Thus, it appears that
pursuing higher education is related to both personal and social benefits that can significantly
multiply once individuals have recognised the limitless possibilities of learning in today’s
knowledge-based, digital society. Education is the right answer to all those who may haveany doubts regarding their future development as individuals and professionals in a certain
field (Linse, 2017). In this way, higher education institutions succeed at preparing people forthe challenges they may encounter by giving them the proper knowledge and tools to thrivein modern society.

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Student Transition to Higher Education
Scholars frequently utilise the term “transition” as an alternative word for “adjustment”,“integration” and “adaptation” (Uttl et al., 2017). It illustrates an individual’s efforts toendure in their societal and physical setting. Scholars describe the transition process to higher
education as a way in which the student tries to deal with anxiety, academic performance andconflict and attain their learning objectives (Najdanovic-Visak, 2017). In this progression, thestudent also tries to sustain coordinated relationships with the setting, which means that thehelp of the first-year faculty is crucial in such cases. In the process of transition to higher
education, the two key elements are the student and the university environment (classrooms,
faculty members, tutors, principal, administrators and student services). Students in higher
education typically come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and have diverse customs, norms
and ethics (Blaskova et al., 2015). The university and its faculties have their own objectives,
standards and principles that educators incorporate into the institution’s aim, vision and core
standards (Uttl et al., 2017). Students must fit in with the university setting through altering
their own attitudes, vision and activities to the appropriate level of those of the university.
The adaptation varies from one student to another depending on the progressive phase of thelearner. Newly enrolled university students have little knowledge about course scheduling.
For instance, new students have been in secondary school, where teachers arrange or program
every activity for them, as well as allocate school-work time – all students have to do isfollow the program (Hogan, Fox & Barratt-See, 2017). Therefore, faculty members ought toprovide these students with the mentoring and support they need to better adjust to their new
university environment.
First-year students join the university with unexpressed and indistinct enquiries about theirown personality and the globe – queries that academic institutions and parents never probe(individual personalities) further at the initial stages. They join the college community withan eagerness and passion that may soon become dissatisfaction (Sezer, 2016). During theirtime in university, students deal with a number of activities, many of which they areencountering for the first time, comprising new settings, friends, class mates, exposure todiverse cultures and a new outlook. Scholars argue that when students are unable to cope withthese initial activities they are likely to struggle (Uttl et al., 2017). If first-year students do notexperience a feeling of satisfaction or they are not ready to adapt to the new setting of acollege campus and faculty they could simply become vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
For most university students, the progression to the university classroom requires anadaptation to academic practices and expectations. They must study efficiently to enhancetheir learning habits. Classrooms may be larger, tutors have diverse instructing styles andteaching approaches, assignments are extensive and benchmarks are higher (Sezer, 2016).
Students need to stabilize their personal and academic priorities. The academic domain,courses and syllabus in higher education turn out to be rather sophisticated and complex forthe first-year student. The complexity can be predominantly greater for students coming fromethnic and language backgrounds that are dissimilar to those supporting the foremost
principles of higher education organisations (Khoshlessan & Das, 2017). Researchdemonstrates that educational demands increase with time and new societal relations develop
when students join higher-level education, thereby the dual role of the first-year faculty is an
important element in supporting students to become not only excellent learners but also better
persons (Poorman & Mastorovich, 2017); first-year students are often unclear of theircompetencies to attain these learning demands.

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Social Adjustment
First-year students may also be unable to adapt to the environment due to many social
reasons. In some instances, the sole support structure students have encountered prior tojoining college was in the home atmosphere; first-year students must encounter the university
experience individually, without the security of an accustomed and responsive support
system. Subsequently, numerous first-year students discuss feelings of isolation andhomesickness as an outcome of their lack of adaptation to the university environment (Uttl etal., 2017). Although these students may establish many social associations, this does notessentially prevent aloneness and homesickness (Blaskova et al., 2015). It is the value of theassociation that influences students’ aloneness in their new university environment. With
regards to the progression into university, student social support is the most vital component
in decreasing negative outcomes, such as anxiety, depression and loneliness (Baker &Robnett, 2012; Cho & Yu, 2015). Students’ social adaptation to college has been related to
students’ overall transition to higher education (Hogan et al., 2017). The assessment of social
adaptation refers to determining how efficiently students react in their environment,
demonstrate involvement in social programs and their gratification with several social factorsof the college experience (Simmons, Creamer & Yu, 2017; Trolian & Barnhardt, 2017). The
university social setting requires flexibility on the part of newly enrolled students. The
student union has a strong influence on new students' lives, typically because they have aneed to transform family and community networks with student support networks(Sriarunrasmee et al 2015). First-year students, hence, expect others to like and acknowledge
them, which contributes to their own satisfaction as being part of the new university
environment (Dornan, 2015). First-year faculties can clearly communicate such a need. As
stated previously, joining the university often signifies the youth's initial experience indeveloping and preserving the individual personality outside the home (Blaskova et al.,2015).
Personal – Emotional Transition to Higher Education
The personal-psychological transition of students to higher education refers to the emotionalanxiety and mind symptoms linked with the transition process itself (Gautam, Lowery, Mays
& Durant, 2016; Rahat & Ilhan, 2016). First-year students experience concerns of being a
stakeholder in the college. They also want to demonstrate themselves to their fellow
classmates. It seems that unsteady and distressed students tend to perform less efficiently intheir education in proportion to their ability than students who experience better adjustment(Uttl et al., 2017). Failure to comprehend the significance of adjustment at college may be acore factor in certain psychological issues (Nolan & Molla, 2017). Numerous first-year
university students encounter various psychological health problems, with higher education
institutions determined as “ideal” incubators of psychological health issues (Budescu &Silverman, 2016; Ceyhan, E. & Ceyhan, A. A., 2011). Scholars contend that there are
numerous reasons for these health issues such as lack of finance to attain fundamental needs(which is a common situation for college students in developing economies), along with otherfactors, for example adapting to college life, pressure to achieve success, time management
and task completion (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015).
New Models for Quality Teaching in Higher Education
The core transformation in education over the past five decades suggests an upsurge in the
demand for non-routine mental and interactive competencies and a fall in the demand for12

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long-established cognitive and craft competencies, non-skilled labour and tiresome physicalroles (Frey & Fisher, 2015). Graduates participate in a world of competitiveness, dominatedby greater uncertainty, flexibility, risk, globalisation and cross-cultural communication (Kim,
2016; Onnis & Dyer, 2017). Higher education institutions, and the approach of learning
promoted by educators whilst at college, need to help students adapt to such a setting andprepare them with appropriate competencies, insights, principles and qualities to flourish in it(Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). There is a strong determination to develop and boost knowledge,
together with comprehending the importance of professional life and restructuring the theoryof knowledge in academic situations (Blaskova et al., 2015). Strong connections withoccupational life through diverse academic initiatives provide reliable opportunities toacquire both generic and professional competencies, as well as to strengthen networks andjob pathways after acquiring an undergraduate qualification. Colleges/universities across theglobe face the challenge of discovering ways of demonstrating their quality, not only in theteaching of students but also how they connect to business objectives and industry (Linse,
2017).
Learning entrenched in occupational life could facilitate higher education institutions tounderstand and react more effectively to the issues of this setting, utilising other types ofschooling and learning models such as a project-based approach. Higher education can nolonger be preserved by a set of disciplinary specialists who share knowledge with students.
Both the difficulty and ambiguity of society and the competitive marketplace will require
higher education organisations to incessantly acclimatise while maintaining quality teaching
standards (Linse, 2017). Having become the central point of the education approach in many
regions of the globe, universities will have to comprehend how to efficiently serve students(Figure 1) (Bhardwaj & Kumar, 2017; Pescaru, 2017).

Figure 1: The Explicit Role of First Years’ Faculties

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Alternatively, students seem to have become more attentive about equality, and demand
student-oriented teaching and academic opportunities (Blaskova et al., 2015). They aim tocomplete their education to get a desirable job and strengthen their social attachment.
Students’ ability to influence learning quality is immense as they have access to the rightservices at the time they need them to improve their commitment (Sriarunrasmee et al.,2015). Student involvement can take diverse arrangements (on podiums and throughclassroom presentations, extended student gratification surveys, instantaneous feedback
approaches, among others.). Student involvement is mostly influential as a tool of quality
instruction when it comprises collaboration and not simply data on the student’s learning
experience. The implementation of modern teaching approaches, along with an increasingly
diverse student base, place the subject of equity at the very core of quality teaching issues(Tweddell, Clark & Nelson, 2016). With this assessment of learning, the responsibility offaculty members and teachers is transforming.
The Student-Oriented Approach of Higher Education: Helping Students to Adjust
Much of the capacity encircling undergraduate education and student learning refers to thetwo key functions of university or college faculties (departments within the academic
institution): schooling and research (Linse, 2017). The parameter of time assigned to these
two responsibilities is one of the most prominent issues in higher education (Khan, 2017). It
is unfortunate that much of the discussion on the structure of faculty work finds its basis in
myth, assessment and prediction. There is a myth, for instance, that how a faculty member
teaches and interacts with students in the higher education experience results in improved
student knowledge gains (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). However, it is important to debunk or
corroborate such a myth. Hence, evaluating the influence that faculty member behaviours andcommunications with students in the tutorial room have on classroom experience and student
performance is important.
The most vital role of faculty members (tutors, consultants and school administrators) is toimprove the student learning experience. Diverse teaching approaches can be found in many
institutions to improve student educational achievement, but tutors frequently lack thecomprehensive training or the support required to implement those approaches in theclassroom. University administrators should decrease the opportunity costs of testing in thetutorial room and permit faculty deans or members to develop unique and effective teachingapproaches across various departments (Linse, 2017). The use of faculty members in initialwarning systems has become a norm in many universities as they play a crucial role inidentifying vulnerable students depending on their adaptability and on their apparent impact(Morales, Grineski & Collins, 2017; Roksa & Whitley, 2017).
Research demonstrates that around 75% of colleges and universities in the United States havecreated or acquired an early warning framework, but there are certain problems in terms ofutilisation (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). Permitting faculty members to modify academic risk
and contribution protocols can facilitate the need to advance the levels of enthusiastic
participants. The university chancellor and academic deans must boost the significance ofprimary warnings among faculties and demonstrate their effect on facilitating students in an
appropriate manner (Linse, 2017). Student support programs tend to emphasise the mostvulnerable students; however, mentoring programs for students should also take into
consideration high-achieving students. If students are unable to establish a considerable
connection with their faculty in their first academic year they may experience difficulties as
they enter the higher level of education. Focusing faculty mentoring initiatives on groups

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018such as students who are educationally on track, but who lack involvement in a facultycommunity or student group, can assist in building extended participation among thisdecisive group (Byl, Struyven, Meurs, Bieke & Koen, 2016).
Utilising a learner-oriented methodology is an effective mode of designing instructive
materials to facilitate first-year students since it aims to encourage students by precisely
targeting their individual education needs (Blaskova et al., 2015). In contrast to conventional
teaching approaches, where the design of instruction is from the standpoint of the teacher, alearner-oriented approach aims primarily to meet the student’s educational needs from thestandpoint of the student (Linse, 2017). Internationally, colleges and universities discuss thesignificance of adopting new student-oriented learning approaches resulting in the growing
implementation of non-traditional techniques and strategies by progressive academic
institutions (Partanen, 2016). The student-centred methodology comprises more than the
pursuit of modern techniques; it involves an incorporated idea of education (Sriarunrasmee etal., 2015). Comprehending the knowledge-centred approach to instruction requires an insight
into the element of power in the tutorial room. In a learning-oriented setting tutors do notdiscriminatorily make all the decisions about teaching; rather, they discuss these decisions
with their students in order to bring consent.
A student-oriented classroom does not cater to student impulses in a way that decreases
academic consistency. As a substitute, it offers strong learning positions, facilitating students
to comprehend and apply knowledge. Many universities support their faculties in establishingstudent-centred tutorial rooms through their instruction, learner centres and student services(Blaskova et al., 2015). Faculties also collaborate with other faculty members in efficiently
creating and delivering first-year course outlines (Bryant, 2016). However, faculties
frequently encounter challenges in managing the time to join learning workshops or use
social media websites to offer tips on boosting accessibility and adaptation for first-year
students. Despite the advantages drawn in the literature, educators do not consistently utilise
Universal Instructional Design (UID) as the teaching framework (Pliner & Johnson, 2004).
Educators face several obstacles in adopting these approaches. Initially, implementing a newteaching structure needs collaboration, joint decision, leadership and administrative
assistance (Linse, 2017).
Without assistance, it is complicated for faculty members to acquire training on UID, getaccess to adequate facilities and modern technologies, or restructure course syllabi. From
time to time, universities may consider UID approaches as being too complex to adopt inpractice because of suggestions that emphasise the need to integrate modern technology into
each tutorial room (Bryant, 2016). Additionally, adverse attitudes from various students about
implementing these approaches in undergraduate education may act as an obstacle to utilising
UID. Accepting the UID framework requires that one adopt the standpoint thatapproachability issues exist within conventional teaching methodologies and that thisinfluences the academic performance of all learners (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). As
discussed above, tutors must take into consideration the variations in students’ individual
learning approaches. Research on learning approaches (e.g. surface vs deep learning), and the
3 Ps model (Pressage-Process-Product) developed to express the interactions between
lecturers and students from the point of view of the expectations that both would have of theteaching and learning process, is substantial, with changeable and sometimes inconsistentlearning systems (Ak, 2008).

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Effective teaching must comprise some reflection on the diverse ways in which students
learn, which can help students become better learners and persons over time. Scholars tend toagree that there are specific variations among students that considerably influence thelearning process (Sriarunrasmee et al., 2015). With these concepts as support, a rising numberof scholars and experts have gradually admitted that conceptualisation has a constructive
effect on the academic experience of students (Blaskova et al., 2015). Conceptual teaching
and academic activists indicate that, through this approach, students can develop initialknowledge (comprehending specific ideas or notions), process knowledge (the competency touse this knowledge practically), incorporate knowledge (comprehend the associations
between the knowledge acquired), and acknowledge their human aspects (the competency toacknowledge one’s self), boosting substantial learning by interacting with fellow students atevery phase (Linse, 2017). The subject of transferable abilities, or students’ abilities toexhibit the capabilities acquired through one framework in another, has become a clearer
objective in many contextualised initiatives. From a metacognitive standpoint, transferable
abilities reflect the outcome of “learning to learn”. In other words, the learner has establishedthemselves as an effective learner by becoming more cognisant and self-oriented, as well as
significantly competent in conducting more effective analysis and using that learning
approach in other arenas (Singh et al., 2017).
The Critical Roles of First-Year Faculties During the Student Transition Period
Innovation in the teaching and learning process can present certain challenges to higher
educational institutions. The dual role of the first-year faculty implies that the focus on
different responsibilities may be difficult for educators, as being in the position of a persistentchange mode may lead to substantial uncertainty (Abbott-Anderson, Gilmore-Bikovski &Lyles, 2016). The extensive focus on innovative practices in the educational field may bringthe opposite results in terms of frightening potential students and faculty staff. Thus, it isimportant to implement ongoing monitoring mechanisms and strategies in order to address
any emerging challenges.
Yet educators should constantly encourage experimentation in various teaching practices,emphasising the distinct role of educators to serve as change agents, mentors, advisors andpersons who support and guide students in their transition into higher education (Redmond,2015). In this way, it is possible to understand the faculty’s dual role as reflected in a wide
range of activities pertaining to the smooth transition of students into their academic
advancement at a later stage in their lives (Nolan & Molla, 2017). Academic educators arethose who promote the view that higher educational institutions fulfil their role external andinternal roles as learning organisations. From this perspective, faculty responsibilities havebeen progressively expanded to identify various teaching and learning situations that canfacilitate students’ transition to higher education (Blaskova et al., 2015). Faculty teachers
have the necessary skills and tools to anticipate different challenges during the process oftransition. Therefore, faculty teachers have been able to gain the trust of their students who
recognise the importance of following certain role models in their respective faculty.
Guiding students throughout their transition to higher education is among the most significant
roles of faculty teachers (Redmond, 2015). This means that such educators show substantial
dedication to the distinct purpose of education, which refers not only to the idea of teaching
students important concepts, but also in the overall understanding that first-year or general
education courses represent a relevant stage for learners to build the foundation for lifelong
learning. Moreover, such a stage is crucial for students to realise the potential they have to16

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become better citizens, which means that faculty teachers have complied with therequirements of their social role in education (Blaskova et al., 2015). Faculty educators needto ensure a holistic approach to education, which is the venue in which students can grow inboth personal and professional aspects. Such teachers tend to have a solid impact on students’decisions for professional realisation and academic progress (McNickle, 2014; Warr
Pedersen, Pharo, Peterson & Clark, 2017).
Educators in the role of change agents clearly understand their institutional contexts(Redmond, 2015). In this way, they present appropriate change initiatives that actively
involve students. Faculty teachers are responsible not only for making change happen in theirfield but also for emphasising the relevance of students taking individual responsibility for
their own actions (Willegems, Consuegra, Struyven & Engels, 2017). Moreover, facultyteachers may need comprehensive support structures, which show their distinct approach
towards the teaching and learning process as a whole. As a result, students will feel more
confident in undertaking the next stage of their academic growth and development (Blaskova
et al., 2015). Learners tend to feel empowered after they encounter highly responsible,
creative and inspiring faculty teachers who provide them with the right model for transition to
the higher education environment (Davies & Gonzalez, 2017; Del Gandio, 2017). In this way,
those students find it possible to rethink and even improve their approach towards education,
which is a multifaceted phenomenon that can bring about substantial change in people’s lives(Nolan & Molla, 2017).
In discussing the two paradigms pertaining to the dual role of first-year faculties, the support
expected by teachers at this time is crucial in facilitating students’ transition into higher
education. It is important to reconsider the dimensions of traditional faculty
appraisal/evaluation as a way to optimise the teaching and learning process (Orland-Barak,2014). The focus on conducting regular performance appraisals of faculty members implies
that educators undertake significant measures to improve the quality of instruction andguidance demonstrated to students. In addition, teachers can enhance different aspects ofscholarship and research after carrying out specific performance appraisals (Blaskova et al.,2015). The most important aspect is to ensure quality, integrity and flexibility of the entire
educational system. The role of self-assessment is that of a useful tool in emphasizing the job
requirements and responsibilities of faculty members. However, some educational evaluation
systems often ignore the critical role of “faculty as life coach”. This highlights the fact thatthe role of life coach has important implications for students’ professional lives at a laterstage and, as a faculty, we should aim to help students become better people (Hennissen,
Crasborn, Brouwer, Korthagen & Bergen, 2008).
Academic success is multidimensional, and the role of faculties in helping students become
successful in their lives is fundamental. In fact, educators need to assist students to have an
optimal college/university experience, implying that faculty members should demonstrate
dedication to student development and success (Nolan & Molla, 2017). As a result, students
can experience relevant opportunities to build life and leadership skills. At the same time, in
the role of life coach, faculties can help students create sufficient balance and manage stresseffectively, irrespective of the challenges they may encounter. Students’ self-confidence cansignificantly increase, which can further motivate them to pursue their goals for the future(Fazel, 2013).

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Conclusion
This paper explored two essential paradigms about the role of first-year faculties or general
education in undergraduate degrees in higher education institutions. The first paradigm
indicates that the first-year is crucial in setting the foundation for certain degree courses inwhich students can develop their learning potential (Blaskova et al., 2015). In fact, educators
can guide students through the ongoing process of building a foundation of knowledge on awide range of specialisation topics that can further help them refine their choice forprofessional realisation in their lives.
The second paradigm discussed in this paper is related to the belief that educators should
design general education courses in such a way as to help students become better persons(Fazel, 2013). As illustrated, these two paradigms reflect the dual role of first-year faculties.
On the one hand, teachers extensively focus on using optimal faculty practices to help
students obtain relevant knowledge of different educational concepts and ideas; on the other,
the intrinsic role of the faculty is to guide, support and assist in the student’s academictransformation to becoming a university student, irrespective of the major they pursue (Nolan& Molla, 2017). In this way, first-year faculty members are the unacknowledged change
agents who play the role of transition catalysts in the life of many students. As a result,students successfully adapt to their professional learning environment later in their lives(Blaskova et al., 2015). Educators also assist and guide students in becoming better persons
who can serve others with adequate self-confidence, empathy and understanding (Audrey,
2017; Elias, 2010; Stanford, 2014).
It is clear that first-year faculties play an important role not only in the successful transitionof students to the university environment but in assisting them to become better citizens.
Future research should therefore further explore the dual role of first-year faculties todetermine the most successful intervention strategies to positively impact students’ lives.

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Corresponding Author: Maurice Abi-Raad
Contact Email: mabiraad@ra.ac.ae

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Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Scientific Literacy and Self-Efficacy in Teaching
Science
Adam Al Sultan
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Harvey Henson, Jr.
Southern Illinois University, U.S.A
Peter J. Fadde
Southern Illinois University, U.S.A

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Abstract
Many educators and educational institutions worldwide have agreed that the main goal ofscience education is to produce a scientifically literate community. Science teachers are key
to the achievement of scientific literacy at all levels of education because of the essential role
they play in preparing scientifically literate individuals. Studies show that pre-service
elementary teachers need to build more confidence in teaching science and scientific literacy
during their teacher education programs in order for them to successfully teach scienceknowledge to their students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is threefold. First, preservice elementary teachers’ scientific literacy levels were examined. Second, pre-service
teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs were measured by distinguishing between their personal andsubject-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Third, the extent to which pre-service elementaryteachers’ scientific literacy levels and self-efficacy levels are related was investigated.
Participants were 49 pre-service elementary teachers registered in two science methods
courses (introductory and advanced) at a mid-sized university in the United States.
Quantitative data were collected using the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy, the Science
Teaching Efﬁcacy Belief Instrument-Preservice, and Beliefs about Teaching. Results showedthat participants had a satisfactory level of scientific literacy. However, pre-service teachers
had borderline scores on the Nature of Science scale. Regarding self-efficacy, findings
showed that both groups had the highest self-efficacy in teaching biology and the lowest inteaching physics. Participants in the advanced science methods course exhibited a moderate
preexisting positive relationship between scientific literacy and subject-specific self-efficacy
in teaching science.
Keywords: elementary education, pre-service teachers, scientific literacy, self-efficacy

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Introduction
Having an enriched, scientifically literate society is important because understanding andresolving many public issues require some scientific background. Since people encounterscience and its laws from the moment they wake up till the moment they go to sleep, allcitizens should have some level of scientific literacy (Hazen & Trefil, 1991). In the context ofthe public, scientific literacy refers to the understanding of science that allows an individual
to participate in socio-scientific topics and to make informed decisions on these issues, aswell as the appreciation of processes, values, and ethics related to science (Dawson &Venville, 2009).
Furthermore, science teachers are key to the achievement of scientific literacy at all levels of
education because of the essential role that science teachers play in preparing scientificallyliterate individuals (Chin, 2005). To achieve this goal of having a scientifically literatesociety, one must ask how to effectively prepare pre-service teachers for science teaching.
Despite the number of science methods courses and science courses taken, pre-service
teachers continue to enter their student teaching semesters and professional careers with low
science teaching efficacy beliefs (Harlen, 1997; Murphy, Neil, & Beggs, 2007; Tosun, 2000).
These studies attributed the cause of low self-efficacy among pre-service teachers to the lackof understanding of scientific ideas, challenges in applying certain required teaching skills, alack of science content, and misconceptions about science.
This study provides additional insight for educators in teacher-preparation programs seeking
to identify pre-service teachers who are experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect, a
psychological concept described by Kruger and Dunning (2009). Pavel, Robertson, andHarrison (2012) offered a useful explanation about this effect:
Kruger and Dunning identified a tendency for people with relatively lower skill
levels and knowledge to overestimate their ability to accomplish a task, whereas
people with relatively higher skill levels and knowledge would tend tounderestimate their ability to complete a task. (p. 126)
On the basis of this concept, educators in teacher-preparation programs should identify preservice teachers with high levels of self-efficacy in teaching science and those with lowlevels of scientific literacy. In other words, these pre-service teachers will have a false senseof confidence about teaching science. These groups of pre-service teachers are at high risk ofmaking errors and reaching mistaken conclusions when they teach science due to their low
scientific literacy levels. What makes the matter more concerning is that they will not realize
their mistakes due to overestimated levels of self-efficacy in teaching science (Kruger &Dunning, 2009). As such, educators in teacher-preparation programs should take into accountthe relationship between scientific literacy and self-efficacy beliefs toward teaching science
when evaluating their pre-service teachers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is threefold.
First, pre-service elementary teachers’ scientific literacy levels were examined. Second,
accurately measuring pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs by distinguishing between
their personal and subject-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Third, the extent to which pre-service
elementary teachers’ scientific literacy levels and self-efficacy levels are related wasinvestigated.

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Literature Review
Pre-Service Teachers’ Scientific Literacy
Many educators and science education organizations have attempted to define the termscientific literacy. Some researchers view scientific literacy as a person’s ability to thinkcritically and rationally about science in relation to potential personal, social, political, andeconomic challenges and problems encountered in everyday life (Bacanak & Gokdere, 2009;
Karamustafaoğlu, Cakir & Kaya, 2013). Other researchers argue that a scientifically literate
person should understand clearly both the impact of science and technology on society andthe nature of the science itself (Altun-Yalcin, Acisli & Turgut, 2011; Chin, 2005; Cavas, P.,
Ozdem, Cavas, B., Cakiroglu & Ertepinar., 2013; Ozdemir, 2010). Despite somedisagreement over the precise definition of scientific literacy, there is a consensus that an aimof science education is to ensure that learners are scientifically literate. In this study,scientific literacy will be defined in line with that of the National Research Council [NRC](1996), which stated that scientific literacy is an individual’s ability to identify scientificmatters underlying national and local decisions, to express positions that are scientifically andtechnologically informed, and to assess the quality of scientific information on the basis of its
sources and the methods used to generate such information. The NRC’s (1996) definition ofscientific literacy, unlike other definitions, includes the ability to discuss and assess scientificand technological material.
Several studies have examined the levels of scientific literacy of pre-service elementaryteachers in teacher preparation programs. The results, which compared the scientific literacy
levels of pre-service teachers in the first and fourth years of the teacher preparation programs(e.g., Cavas et al., 2013; Karamustafaoğlu et al., 2013), demonstrated that pre-service
teachers in both grade levels have borderline to low scientific literacy levels (e.g., 68 out of
110 items and 48.35 out of 100 items, respectively) and require improvement. Other studies
examining pre-service teachers throughout their four-year teacher preparation program (e.g.,
Altun-Yalcin et al., 2011; Ozdemir, 2010) demonstrated that pre-service teachers in their
final year have the highest scientific literacy levels.
The majority of research (Altun-Yalcin et al., 2011; Bacanak & Gokdere, 2009; Cavas et al.,2013; Chin, 2005; Karamustafaoğlu et al., 2013; Ozdemir, 2010) about pre-service
elementary teachers applies quantitative research approaches to examine scientific literacy
levels. For example, Karamustafaoğlu et al. (2013) sought to determine the level of scientific
literacy and information technology literacy among pre-service science teachers.
Additionally, the researchers intended to find out if there was a relationship between
scientific literacy and information technology literacy among the science teacher candidates.
Furthermore, the researchers collected data from the participants by administrating two
instruments: the Scientific Literacy Test (SLT) and the Information Technology Literacy
Scale (ITLS). The SLT consists of 100 items that focus on the participant’s knowledge inscientific literacy, which is closely related to this study. However, the ITLS aims to measure
the participant’s literacy in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), such asproblem-solving capabilities in ICT and technical skills in ICT. The researchers found thatthe participants had low scientific literacy levels (48.35 out of 100) and had satisfactory
information technology literacy levels. Finally, Karamustafaoğlu et al. (2013) encouraged
decision makers to enrich the teacher preparation program with additional topics that addressscientific literacy. Based on the reviewed literature, researchers seem to have reached aconsensus that pre-service teachers with low scientific literacy levels cannot be expected to
grow scientifically literate individuals or to apply the science curriculum effectively.

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Self-Efficacy
Based on the reviewed literature, researchers who conducted studies related to self-efficacy(Avery & Meyer, 2012; Aydin & Boz, 2010; Bayraktar, 2011; Bleicher & Lindgren, 2005;
Bursal, 2008, 2012; Ebrahim, 2012; Kahraman, Yilmaz, Bayrak, & Gunes, 2014;
McDonnough & Matkins, 2010; Murphy, Neil & Beggs, 2007; Onen & Kaygisiz, 2013;
Tosun, 2000; Yılmaz & Cavas, 2008; Yilmaz-Tuzun, 2008) are in agreement with Bandura’s(1977) definition of perceived self-efficacy as the belief “in one’s capabilities to organize andexecute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p. 2). Bandura (1986)
differentiated between self-efﬁcacy and outcome expectations in that “individuals can believethat a particular course of action will produce certain outcomes, but they do not act on thatoutcome belief because they question whether they can actually execute the necessary
activities” (p. 392). For example, individuals are motivated to act if they believe the action
will have a positive result (outcome expectation) and if they can perform that action
successfully (self-efﬁcacy).
Personal self-efficacy. Based on Bandura’s (1977) theory, Ashton and Webb (1986)
identified two types of teaching efficacy: personal teaching efficacy and outcome teachingefficacy. In this study, personal self-efficacy will be defined in line with Ashton and Webb’s(1986) definition of personal teaching efficacy, in which personal self-efficacy refers toteachers’ confidence in their experiences to develop strategies for overcoming obstacles tostudent learning.
Enochs and Riggs (1990) developed a research instrument based on Bandura’s self-efficacy
theory that stressed the critical importance of early detection of pre-service science teacherswith low self-efficacy levels. Enochs and Riggs’ (1990) contribution is the development of avalid and reliable instrument – the Science Teaching Efﬁcacy Belief Instrument for preservice teachers (STEBI-B) – which can be administered to measure personal self-efficacy
levels of pre-service teachers. Many studies of personal self-efficacy (Aydin & Boz, 2010;
Bayraktar, 2011; Bleicher & Lindgren, 2005; Bursal, 2008, 2012; Ebrahim, 2012; Kahraman
et al., 2014; McDonnough & Matkins, 2010; Murphy et al., 2007; Onen & Kaygisiz, 2013;
Tosun, 2000; Yılmaz & Cavas, 2008) have used the STEBI-B to measure the impact ofcertain variables on pre-service teachers’ personal self-efficacy levels.
Several researchers have investigated the impact of science methods courses on pre-service
teachers’ personal self-efficacy levels (Avery & Meyer, 2012; Bayraktar, 2011; Bursal, 2008;
Ebrahim, 2012). Some have reported that science methods courses have a positive impact onparticipants’ personal self-efficacy beliefs, attributing their results to the pedagogical use of
inquiry-based learning and authentic science teaching methods (Avery & Meyer, 2012;
Ebrahim, 2012). However, others reported no effect on participants’ personal self-efficacy
beliefs, which, in regard to science, remain low (Bayraktar, 2011; Bursal, 2008). The
researchers agreed that the participants’ low self-efficacy toward teaching science resultsfrom their limited teaching experience, which should be incorporated into science methods
courses.
A number of authors (Bleicher & Lindgren, 2005; Murphy et al., 2007; Tosun, 2000)
investigated the relationship between science-related knowledge and pre-service teachers’
personal self-efficacy beliefs. Bleicher and Lindgren (2005) found a positive relationshipbetween participants’ conceptual understanding of science and their self-efficacy beliefs
about teaching and determined that more science courses were needed in teacher preparation
programs to help future teachers maintain high levels of confidence in teaching science.

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However, Murphy et al. (2007) and Tosun (2000) concluded that, although study participants
had a good scientific background and high achievement levels in science, they still
demonstrated a negative attitude toward teaching science. The researchers attributed theirresults to insufficient professional development and previous personal failures during theteacher preparation program.
Subject-specific self-efficacy. Similarly derived from Bandura’s (1977) philosophy of selfefficacy, subject-specific self-efficacy refers to a teacher’s judgment of his or her capabilities
to effectively teach subject areas such as physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science(Yilmaz-Tuzun, 2008). Only Yilmaz-Tuzun (2008) addressed subject-specific self-efficacy
levels among pre-service teachers in a study devoted to developing an instrument to measurepre-service elementary teachers’ conﬁdence levels with assessment techniques, classroom
management, teaching methods, and Science Concept Knowledge (SCK). The SCK section isin line with this study’s definition of subject-specific self-efficacy with regard to teachingscience. Furthermore, Yilmaz-Tuzun (2008) concluded that pre-service elementary teachers“felt more conﬁdent teaching content in biology, earth science, or both than teaching content
in physics, chemistry, or both” (p. 197).
In summary, the researchers in this paper were unable to locate a study that investigated thedifference between pre-service elementary teachers’ personal and subject-specific selfefficacy beliefs. Studies that addressed self-efficacy focused primarily on the personal aspectof self-efficacy, which is pre-service teachers’ general self-efficacy towards teaching science.
As a result, pre-service teachers were usually labeled as having high, medium, or low levelsof self-efficacy towards teaching science without specifying (subject-specific self-efficacy)
the exact science subjects they lack confidence to teach, such as biology, chemistry, andphysics.
Methodology
ParticipantsParticipants in this study were undergraduates in an elementary teacher education program
known as the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at a mid-sized university in the Midwestern
United States. Two groups from the TEP participated in this study. The first group was preservice teachers enrolled in an introductory science methods course. These participants had
just started the TEP and had not yet experienced major education and teaching methods
courses. The second group was pre-service teachers enrolled in an advanced science methods
course. These participants, however, had experienced major education and teaching methods
courses.
Furthermore, the participants in this study responded to a demographic information survey,
which included three parameters as shown in Table 1. 49 pre-service elementary teachers
registered in two science methods courses participated in this study. This included 25
participants in the introductory science methods course (2 male and 23 female) and 24
participants in the advanced science methods course (2 male and 22 female). In addition,
53.1% of all participants reported having a good experience in science during high school.
Also, 51.3% of them reported having a good current experience with science during teacher
preparation at the university.

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Table 1: Demographic Information
Category
GenderMale
FemaleScience experience in high school
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Current Science experience
Very poor
Poor
Acceptable
Good
Very good

N

%

4
45

8.2
91.8

0
4
14
26
5

0
8.2
28.6
53.1
10.1

1
2
15
26
5

2
4.1
30.6
53.1
10.2

Data Collection Instrument
This exploratory educational research study used a quantitative approach that employed
quantitative data collection, analysis, and procedures. Participants in this study completed
three instruments: Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL), Science Teaching Efﬁcacy
Belief Instrument (STEBI-B), and Beliefs About Teaching (BAT).
Created by Laugksch and Spargo (1996), the TBSL includes 110 items: the Nature of Science[NOS] (22 items), SCK (72 items), and the impact of science and technology on society[STS] (16 items). SCK covers four areas of test items: (a) earth science, (b) life science, (c)physical science, and (d) health science. The second instrument is the STEBI-B, developed
by Enochs and Riggs (1990) to determine the personal self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service
teachers toward teaching science. The STEBI-B includes two subscales, which are the
Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Belief (PSTE) and Science Teaching Outcome
Expectancy (STOE). Only the PSTE instrument was used because it is directly related to thestudy’s topic. The third instrument is the BAT, developed by Yilmaz-Tuzun (2008) todetermine the subject-specific self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers.
Research Questions
1. How did the participants in the introductory and advanced science methods course
perform on the TBSL?
1a. How did the participants in the introductory science methods course perform
on the six scales of TBSL?
1b: How did the participants in the advanced science methods course perform on
the six scales of TBSL?
2. What is the self-efficacy level among the four scales of the BAT in the introductory
and advanced science methods course?
3. What is the difference between the level of personal and subject-specific self-efficacy
among the pre-service elementary science teachers in both science methods courses?

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4. What is the relationship between scientific literacy and subject-specific self-efficacy
among the pre-service elementary teachers in both the introductory and advanced
science methods course?
Results
Level of Scientific Literacy
Descriptive statistical analysis was used to determine the performance level of the pre-service
teachers in the introductory and advanced science methods course. According to Laugkschand Spargo (1996), the satisfactory level (i.e. cut-off point) of the TBSL is expected to be 68
out of 110 items. The pre-service elementary teachers in both groups had a satisfactory levelof scientific literacy. The pre-service teachers in the advanced course (M = 84.29, SD =10.719) on average had a higher scientific literacy level compared with those in the
introductory course (M = 76.24, SD = 13.772). It is important to note that six of theparticipants from the introductory and two from the advanced science methods courses did
not achieve the satisfactory level of 68.
Level of Scientific Literacy across the Six Scales of TBSL
According to Laugksch and Spargo (1996), pre-service teachers are expected to obtain atleast 13 out of 22 on the NOS subsection, 45 out of 72 on the SCK subsection, and 10 out of
16 on the STS subsection. The SCK includes earth, life, physical, and health sciences.
Participants in the introductory and advanced science methods group achieved the scientific
literacy expectation. The difference between the two groups’ achievement across the six
scales of TBSL are highlighted in Table 2.
Table 2: Levels of Scientific Literacy across the six Scales of TBSL

Scale
Earth
Life
Physical
HealthNOSSTSSCKScience Methods Courses
Introductory
Advanced(N= 25)(N=24)
Mean
SD
Mean
SD
9.80
1.803
10.92
1.932
16.84
3.579
18.25
3.542
9.48
2.417
10.71
2.312
15.24
3.632
16.96
1.574
14.56
2.740
14.88
2.833
10.32
2.954
12.58
2.283
51.36
9.385
56.83
7.179

It can be seen from the data in Table 2 that the participants in the introductory science
methods course achieved the scientific literacy expectation by scoring 14.56 out of 22 on the
NOS subsection, 51.36 out of 72 on the SCK subsection, and 10.32 out of 16 on the STS
subsection. The participants’ teachers in the advanced science methods course also fulfilled
the TBSL criteria, which is scoring 14.88 out of 22 on the NOS subsection, 56.83 out of 72
on the SCK subsection, and 12.58 out of 16 on the STS subsection.
Table 3 provides the percentage of correct answers for the two groups. What stands out in thetable is that the highest percentage score for the introductory and advanced science methods
course was on health science (80.21% and 89.26%, respectively). The lowest percentage

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score for the introductory science methods course was on STS (64.5%) and NOS (67.63%)
for the advanced science methods course.
Table 3: Percentage of Correct Answers
Science Methods Courses
Scale

Introductory(N= 25)

Advanced(N= 24)Earth

65.33%

76.8%

Life

70.16%

76.04%

Physical

67.71%

76.5%

Health80.21%

89.26%

NOS

66.18%

67.63%

STS

64.5%

78.62%

Self-Efficacy Level among the Four Scales of the BATTable 4 shows the descriptive statistics of the participants’ responses in both science methods
courses. What is interesting about the data in this table is that the introductory and advanced
science methods course had the highest level of self-efficacy in biology (M= 4.1920, SD=.45270 and M= 4.35, SD= .624, respectively) and the lowest self-efficacy level in physics(M= 3.0914, SD= .71771 and M = 2.9464, SD =. 54409, respectively).
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of the Participants’ Responses on the BAT

Scale
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Earth

Science Methods Courses
Introductory
Advanced(N= 25)(N=24)
Mean
SD
Mean
SD
3.0914.717712.9464.544093.7867.534723.5000.461044.1920.452704.3500.624853.7360.713493.7667.62878A one-way ANOVA was conducted to investigate the self-efficacy level of the participants inthe four scales of the BAT. Table 5 indicates a statistically significant difference among thefour scales of the BAT, F (15.531, 36.361) = 13.668, p =.000 for the introductory science
methods courses. In addition, a statistically significant difference among the four scales forthe advanced science methods course was present, F (24.499, 29.771) = 25.236, p = .000.

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Table 5: One-way ANOVA test
Science Methods
Courses
Introductory
Advanced

Score
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total

Sum ofSquares
15.53136.36151.89124.49929.77154.270

df
3
96
99
3
92
95

Mean
Square
5.177
.379
8.166
.324

F

p-value

13.668.000

25.236.000*Significant at p < .05

In order to determine exactly where the differences were, the study included a Tukey post
hoc test (Morgan, Leech, Gloeckner, & Barrett, 2007). For the introductory science methods
course, the differences were significant between physics and chemistry, between physics andbiology, and between physics and earth science. The differences were significant between
physics and biology, between physics and earth science, and between chemistry and biology.
Comparing Personal and Subject-Specific Self-Efficacy
The researchers calculated an independent sample t-Test for the participants in the
introductory and advanced science methods course to determine if there was a statisticaldifference between the participants’ personal self-efficacy and subject-specific self-efficacy.
It can be seen in Table 6 that there is no significant difference in the score for personal selfefficacy and subject-specific self-efficacy in the introductory science methods course. The
participants had the same self-efficacy levels in both measurements of self-efficacy: STEBIB (to measure personal self-efficacy) and BAT (to measure subject-specific self-efficacy).
Regarding the participants in the advanced methods course, there was a significant differencein the score for personal self-efficacy and subject-specific self-efficacy t (-3.817) = 46, p =.000, d = -1.108. This indicates that the participants had different self-efficacy levels in bothmeasurements of self-efficacy. Specifically, the participants held a high belief that they could
teach science when they responded to the STEBI-B. However, the participants reported alower level of belief that they could teach science when they responded to the BAT.
Table 6: Comparison of Personal and Subject-Specific Self-Efficacy
Science
Self-efficacy
Methods Course Instrument
Introductory
STEBI-B(N=25)
BAT
Advanced
STEBI-B(N=24)
BAT

Mean (SD)tdfp-value

3.63 (.492)
3.69 (.460)
4.11 (.507)
3.58 (.447)

-.447

48

.657

-3.81746.000*Significant at p < .05

Relationship between Scientific Literacy and Subject-Specific Self-Efficacy
The study computed correlation coefficients between the participants’ scientific literacy
levels and subject-specific self-efficacy levels. A Pearson product-moment correlation was
calculated to investigate the strength of the relationship between the variables. Table 7 showsthat only the advanced science methods course had an existing relationship between the twovariables, r = .472, n = 24, p = .020.

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Table 7: Pearson Correlation for Scientific Literacy and Subject-Specific Self-Efficacy
Pearson Correlation (r value)
Science Methods Course
Introductory (Scientific Literacy)
Advanced (Scientific Literacy)

Scientific Literacy Subject-specific Self-efficacy
1
1

.225
.472

pvalue.279.020**Significant at p < .05 (2-tailed)
Discussion
The results of this study show that the pre-service elementary teachers had satisfactory
scientific literacy levels, which is calculated as 68 out of 110. Judging from the correct
response rate of the mean score for the introductory and advanced science methods courses(M = 76.24, M = 84.291, respectively), the basic scientific literacy of pre-service elementaryteachers is at a satisfactory level. This indicates that the TEP had a significant impact on the
pre-service elementary teachers’ knowledge in scientific literacy.
Comparing these results with results from other studies, the scientific literacy level of theparticipants in this study was higher than results from Cavas, P., Ozdem, Cavas, B.,
Cakiroglu and Ertepinar (2013) where the mean score for the pre-service teachers in theirfirst year was 68.47 and in their fourth year 73.79. However, the results were slightly lower
than Chin’s (2005) findings when scientific literacy was investigated among scienceeducation majors and elementary education majors with a mean score of M = 107.47 and M =99.11, respectively.
A possible explanation for these different results may be related to pre-service teachers’
achievement level in science in high school, which can be drawn from the participants’
response to the demographic question, “How would you describe your prior science
experiences in high school?” Approximately 63.3% of the pre-service elementary teachers
had a positive experience with science subjects. Chin (2005) stressed that “previous sciencerelated experiences in school will have an influence on their scientific literacy” (p. 1568).
Furthermore, the researchers found interesting results regarding the achievement level of the
pre-service elementary teachers on the six scales of scientific literacy. One of the unexpected
findings is that health science had the highest correct response rate in both the introductory
and advanced science methods courses (80.21% and 89.26%, respectively). A possible
explanation for the participants’ knowledge in “health” is due to their everyday life
experience with health-related issues such as hand washing, tooth brushing, bathing, anddealing with a fever (Lee et al., 2008). In fact, Sonu and Amarjeet’s (2007) study of highschool students’ health awareness showed that the majority of the participants had adequate
knowledge about management of injuries, skin infections, and drowning. The study by Sobal,
Klein, Graham, and Black (1988) of 831 high school students’ health concerns offeredanother explanation for the participant’s high achievement in health science: 92% of thestudents often thought about their health.
Furthermore, participants in the introductory science methods course had borderline scores in
NOS, STS, and SCK (i.e. earth science, life science, physical science). These results are

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likely to be related to the participants’ experience in the TEP. They have not yet experienced
major science and science education courses that will allow them to perform more positively
on the TBSL.
The pre-service elementary teachers in the advanced methods course, however, are expected
to have adequate correct response rates because they are a semester away from beginningtheir professional career as elementary teachers. They had sufficient knowledge in all of thescales except for the NOS subscale with a 67.63% correct response rate. Interestingly,
researchers in previous studies reported that pre-service teachers did not acquire adequate
conceptions of the NOS (Cavas et al., 2013; Chin, 2005). Lederman (1992) summarized thereasons for the low understanding of the NOS:(a) science teachers do not possess adequate conceptions of the NOS,
irrespective of instrument used to assess understanding; (b) techniques toimprove teachers’ conceptions have met with some success when they haveincluded either historical aspects of scientific knowledge or direct attention to
the NOS; (c) academic background variables are not significantly related toteachers’ conception of the NOS. (p. 345)
Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that the domains of the NOS require particular emphasis
in pre-service teacher education programs.
With respect to the level of subject-specific self-efficacy among pre-service teachers, very
little in the literature was found regarding this topic. However, one interesting finding is thatin both science methods courses the participants had the highest self-efficacy in teachingbiology and the lowest self-efficacy in teaching physics. These results are in agreement with
Yilmaz-Tuzun’s (2008) findings that pre-service elementary teachers had a higher selfefficacy level in teaching biology and earth science concepts than physics and chemistryconcepts.
A possible explanation for the low self-efficacy in teaching physics and the high self-efficacy
in teaching biology is the nature of this subject. Unlike biology, the main challenge ofteaching physics concepts at the elementary level is the abstract nature of this knowledge.
Elementary students are required to develop mental images of a complex subject that they
have never observed first hand. This raises a challenge for teachers to find out how to present
and explain such fundamental and abstract concepts such as circuits, conductors, insulators,
series circuits, among others, which are essential to a basic understanding of physics concepts
at the elementary level (Azaiza, Bar, & Galili, 2006). This explanation is in agreement withdata obtained from the BAT, specifically the participants’ response to the following question:“I believe that I am able to teach thoroughly the following concept: electrical energy.” Only
20.8% of the pre-service elementary teachers “agreed” with this statement, and none of them
picked the “strongly agree” response. This means that the TEP needs to empower pre-service
elementary teachers with teaching strategies and methods that can help them overcome their
low confidence level in teaching physics topics.
With respect to self-efficacy, many studies focused on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy inteaching science have applied the STEBI-B as a main indicator of pre-service teachers’ selfefficacy levels. Researchers made major decisions and conclusions based on its results. One
question that needs to be asked, however, is whether using the STEBI-B as a primary36

IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018measurement is enough to adequately measure pre-service elementary teachers’ self-efficacy
levels?
In the current study, the results of the introductory science methods course indicated nosignificant difference between the participant’s personal and subject-specific self-efficacy.
This means that on both instruments that measured self-efficacy – STEBI-B for personal selfefficacy and BAT for subject-specific self-efficacy – the participants had the same moderatelevel of self-efficacy in teaching science. This implies that both instruments were able tomeasure the overall self-efficacy levels of the participants. A possible explanation for thismight be that pre-service elementary teachers who have just begun the TEP have not had theopportunity to develop self-efficacy beliefs in teaching science.
What is surprising, however, were the results of the participants in the advanced science
methods course. The results showed a significant difference between the participants’personal and subject-specific self-efficacy. A note of caution is due here when explaining theresults, since the current study relied on quantitative data. However, a possible explanation isthat the participants in the advanced course had experienced a significant number of science
methods courses, science content courses, school observations, and field trips that allowed
them to re-evaluate their confidence in teaching specific science concepts (i.e. physics,
chemistry, biology, and earth science). By examining the BAT instrument, it can be seen thatthe instrument allows pre-service elementary teachers to document their challenges towards
teaching specific science topics. Regarding the high self-efficacy levels reported by theparticipants in the STEBI-B, this may be due to the participants responding to the questions
with a positive self-efficacy level in a certain science subject. For example, a participant may
have a high self-efficacy level in teaching biology and earth science concepts and a low selfefficacy level in teaching physics and chemistry. Therefore, this participant may respond to
the STEBI-B in either a positive or a negative way. These findings may help future
researchers find new ways to address the level of self-efficacy among pre-service teachersthat do not depend on one instrument to draw conclusions about self-efficacy.
Furthermore, the results of the Pearson product–moment correlation revealed a moderately
positive relationship between scientific literacy and subject-specific self-efficacy among theparticipants in the advanced science methods course. The score on the Pearson product–
moment correlation indicated that the pre-service elementary teachers with higher levels ofscientific literacy had high subject-specific self-efficacy levels in teaching science, and thepre-service elementary teachers with low levels of scientific literacy had low levels of
subject-specific self-efficacy.
To date, no study has been found that studied the relationship between scientific literacy andself-efficacy among pre-service teachers. However, if self-efficacy is considered a dimensionof attitude, then these current results agree with the findings of other prior studies ofscientific literacy and attitudes toward science. Cavas, P., Ozdem, Cavas, B., Cakiroglu andErtepinar (2013) and Chin (2005) came to similar results when they examined therelationship between scientific literacy and attitudes toward science. They found that the preservice teachers had a positive correlation among the participants in their study.
In future research, a mixed methods design is an appropriate approach. This approach will
provide qualitative interpretations, such as providing reasons why participants exhibit certain
scientific literacy and self-efficacy levels (e.g. high levels, low levels, or satisfactory levels).

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In addition, this study could be expanded to other teacher preparation programs that prepare
students to teach at the secondary level.
Conclusion
Pre-service teachers’ scientific levels and self-efficacy in teaching science could have aneffect on how pre-service teachers teach science. The teacher remains the most importantelement in providing high-quality and effective science education to the average student(Shamos, 1995). It is critical for pre-service elementary teachers to have high levels ofscientific literacy and confidence in teaching science; therefore, universities are encouraged
to help their students gain abilities and knowledge that will help them achieve this goal
(Avery & Meyer, 2012; Bacanak & Gokdere, 2009).
The findings of this study have implications for teacher preparation programs. Specifically,
pre-service elementary teachers at the end of the program (i.e. advanced pre-service teachers)
should make sure that they are adequately prepared for the teaching profession. The findingsof this study indicate that advanced pre-service elementary teachers have satisfactory
scientific literacy levels. However, the evidence from this study suggests that an emphasis on
the NOS domain is required in pre-service teaching education programs. In addition, thefindings of this study indicate that advanced pre-service elementary teachers have low selfefficacy levels in teaching physics. Therefore, decision makers in TEP are encouraged toprovide pre-service teachers with knowledge and skills on how to teach students the abstract
concepts in physics. The finding also revealed a positive relationship between scientific
literacy and self-efficacy among advanced pre-service elementary teachers. Therefore,
curriculum designers in the TEP are encouraged to stress the dimension of scientific literacy
in the curriculum, which may have a positive result on the pre-service teachers’ confidence
levels.
The findings of this study have implications for science education research. The current data
highlight the importance of distinguishing between personal and subject-specific self-efficacy
towards teaching science. The results of this study showed that there is a statisticallysignificant difference between subject-specific self-efficacy (measured by the BAT) andpersonal self-efficacy (STEBI-B) among this sample of advanced pre-service teachers.
Therefore, future research in self-efficacy is encouraged to consider the type of instrumentused to measure pre-service teacher self-efficacy levels.

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Corresponding author: Adam Al Sultan
Contact email: adam.uod@gmail.com

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Ruptured Dreams: Female Students’ Talk About Boys as Past “Lovers”
Joanne Cassar
Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, Malta

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Abstract
When romantic encounters come to an end they often evoke a plethora of feelings associatedwith “breaking up”. This article explores this issue in relation to a number of adolescent girls’
views on this topic which emerged during focus group discussions about Eminem’s song
Foolish Pride. The lyrics of this song convey resentment towards an ex-girlfriend andaccentuate racial elements which, in the words of the song, could be summed up as “Neverdate a Black girl because Blacks only want your money”. Data were collected in two school
settings, involving female students of different nationalities, in order to discover students’reactions to the provocative lyrics that demonstrate how meanings that surround the end of aromantic relationship are shaped and produced within the intersectionality of gender andrace. A diffractive model of analysis is adopted to explore the girls’ concerns with the
misogynistic tone underlying this rap song. The girls’ opposition to boys emerges as a central
theme. Underlying this resistance however there was also an affirmation of heteronormative
femininity. The girls’ perspectives suggest that although students do not passively absorb
racialised and heterosexualised constructions of gender, their apprehension of messages
mediated through popular media could affirm the gender divide. It could also reinforce
estrangements between teenage boys and girls that the media promotes.
Keywords: adolescent romantic relationships, adolescent friendships, race, gender,
diffractive analysis, Eminem

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Introduction
Adolescents think frequently about romantic relationships and intimate attachments. These
constitute a major topic of conversation for them, in particular among friendship groups ofadolescent girls at school (Kehily, 2002). Female adolescent students share gossip about boys
within school subcultures, which are exclusively for girls (Cassar, 2014) and their eagerness
to talk about romance, sexual attraction and dating demonstrates the central importance girls
attach to these topics (Cassar, 2015). In addition, adolescent romantic relationships,
friendships or hook ups are often short-lived and “transitional” (Galliher, Welsh, Rostosky &Kawaguchi, 2004, p.204). The experiences of breaking up therefore resonate with aconsiderable number of adolescents. For young adolescent girls, the end of their romantic
relationship has been associated with negative feelings brought about by worry,
disappointment and sense of rejection and betrayal (Richards, Crowe, Larson & Swarr,1998). Although considered trivial flings, romantic relations might be “central in adolescents’
lives” (Furman, 2002, p.177), since they occupy their thoughts to a considerable extent.
Adolescent romantic encounters constitute a contested site of gendered dynamics especiallyin normative, heterosexual relations.
This article explores schoolgirls’ talk about Eminem’s rap song Foolish Pride (FP), as it
occurred during focus group discussions. The study draws on field research conducted in two
secondary schools with female students in Malta. The article’s focus is on the emphasis
placed by the girls on the racialised power dynamics between Eminem and his ex-girlfriend.
The study aims to explore female students’ reactions to the provocative lyrics of the song
Foolish Pride with regards to its portrayal of a breakup. The inquiry focuses on meanings
surrounding the end of a romantic relationship shaped and produced within theintersectionality of gender and race as they emerged from the girls’ discussions. The theme ofFP, concerning the aftermath of a break-up, was regarded relevant to the purpose of thestudy. The criteria for choosing the song was based on the content of the lyrics, which
demonstrates how meanings surrounding the ending of a romantic relationship are shaped
and produced within heterosexualised notions of gender and race. Students’ explorations ofEminem’s song FP could contribute to an understanding of teen friendships and romantic
relationships and throw light on female students’ conceptualisations about boys and romantic
partners. The findings provide possibilities for understanding teenage girls’ perspectives ofthe lived relations of power between girls and boys in the context of ‘breaking up’ a romantic
relationship. The study does not present a content analysis of FP nor a critique of Eminem as
an artist.
Rap is not considered only a genre of music, but also as comprising an intricate system ofconcepts, beliefs, values and ideologies (Taylor & Taylor, 2005), which could be passed on
to listeners. A body of research documents the influence of music on adolescents’ views on
gender and sexuality (Aubrey, Hopper, & Mbure, 2011; Beentjes & Konig, 2013; Cobb &Boettcher, 2007). More frequent viewing of music videos by adolescents is associated withadopting more stereotypical and traditional gender roles (Ward, Hansbrough & Walker,
2005). Time spent watching music videos by adolescents has also been found to be related totheir perceptions on gendered, traditional attitudes such as men dominate sexual relationships
and women are sex objects (Beentjes & Konig, 2013). It is possible that music videos shape
the formation of sexual attitudes based on gender stereotypes and reinforce them (Beentjes &Konig,). Taking this empirical evidence into consideration, the current study aimed at
discovering students’ reactions to the provocative lyrics of FP, which repetitively blame andaccuse the ex-girlfriend in an aggressive tone. Rap and hip hop songs could evoke powerful45

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018sentiments and provide a means of introspection. Female adolescents are more likely thanmale adolescents to reflect on their emotions through music, particularly when feeling lonelyor ‘down’ (Roberts & Christensen, 2001).
The Funky Eminem
Eminem is one of the highest-selling musicians and one of the most popular rap artists.
Eminem “is the celebrated anti-hero of mainstream youth culture who has attained theincreasingly ‘postmortem’ American Dream” (Halnon, 2005, p. 442). He is considered acontroversial artist because of the dark, vulgar and chilling lyrics of his songs which presentharsh realities of violence and anger in ways which affirm misogyny and degradation of
women. Misogynist and sexist language in rap/hip hop pervade this genre of music (Adams& Fuller, 2006; Conrad, Dixon & Zhang, 2009; Enck & McDaniel, 2012; Weitzer & Kubrin,2009). Eminem’s misogynistic lyrics could be intended as a means for him to gain
acceptance, popularity and credibility as a rapper (Stephens, 2005). Racist messages in hissongs are mistakenly understood as a form of “advice” and are regarded as an integral part ofhis public persona, despite the fact that his status and popularity as a white rapper emerged
from a predominantly black genre. Over the past three decades, some aspects of hip hop/rap
music could have formed part of a wider cultural resistance against feminism and provided ameans to interrupt developments in favour of gender equality and reinforce male domination(Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009). Nevertheless, the graphic and sexually explicit derogatory
presentations of women through rap lyrics of Eminem’s and other artists’ songs have beenstrongly criticised numerous times for justifying the victimisation, objectification andexploitation of women (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009). Women are more inclined than men to
reject demeaning, misogynistic rap lyrics, which reinforce negative attitudes about women(Cobb & Boettcher, 2007).
Eminem's personal problems and afflictions are the subject matter of lyrics underlying a
number of his songs. His “unbridled hostility toward all women”, as presented in a number of
his songs, mentions his relatives. This has been considered “extreme” but not unique toEminem in the scene of rap music (Weitzer & Kubrin, 2009, p. 12). FP is one of Eminem’s
earliest songs, released in 1998. The lyrics convey strong resentments towards a black exgirlfriend, described as ‘Brutus’ and ‘big whore’. Black girls are compared with white girls
and described as ‘dumb chicks’ and ‘bitches’. The following excerpts of the lyrics indicatethat these degrading and insolent words are directed towards all black young girls in an
essentialising manner:... Blacks and whites they sometimes mix
But Black girls only want your money cause they're dumb chicks
So I'ma say like thisDon't date a Black girl... Black girls and white girls just don't mix
Because Black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks... I like white girls all over the world
White girls are fine and they blow my mind
And that's why I'm here now telling you this rhyme'Cause Black girls, I really don't likeI'm giving you a little advice
Don't date a Black girl, if you do it once you won't do it twice46

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You won't ever do it again because they'll take your money
I'll get straight to the point Black girls are bitches
And then you turn around and fuck another big, Black guy
Now that's pretty wrong, but you're just ganking
But that's okay because you need a goddamn spanking
From me, the funky Eminem
Alleged spousal abuse by Eminem of his (white) ex-wife Kim Mathers (Enck & McDaniel,2012) shows that ill feelings towards an ex-lover arise irrespective of race. In 2004 Eminem
released the song Yellow Brick Road, whose lyrics recounts that he wanted to go out with ablack girl in order to ‘become more popular’ and “piss off” Kim. The lyrics of Yellow Brick
Road mention that this black girl was the same one, whom he mentions in FP. An apology forthe racist lyrics in FP is put forward in Yellow Brick Road, despite its message that FP was
not “that bad” as a song:
The bombest goddamn girl in our whole school
If I could pull her, not only would I become more popular
But I would be able to piss Kim off at the same time
But it backfired, I was supposed to dump her
But she dumped me for this black guy
And that's the last I ever seen or heard
Or spoke to the ‘Oh Foolish Pride’ girlBut I've heard people say they heard the tape
And it ain't that bad – but it was, I singled out a whole race
And for that I apologize, I was wrong‘Cause no matter what color a girl is, she's still a ho
FP remained a topic of contention and, on numerous occasions, Eminem was confronted
about the disrespect he showed towards black women. When interviewed, he responded: ‘‘I’djust broken up with my girlfriend, who was African American, and I reacted like the angry,
stupid kid I was. I hope people will take it for the foolishness that it was, not for whatsomebody is trying to make it into today” (cited in Dawkins, 2010, p. 479).
The Study
The data emanated from focus groups discussions conducted in two state schools in Malta(School A and B). Focus groups allow for the sharing and exploration of collective andindividual experiences. A group setting provides the opportunity for informants to observe,interact and comment on their peers’ perspectives and beliefs and engage with possible
similarities and differences. At the time of the data collection both schools had only female
students. The majority of students of both schools were Maltese and predominantly ofworking class background. The informants were fifteen years old. Both groups were therefore
homogeneous in terms of age, social class and gender. The majority of students of school B
lived in a small town, renowned for being a red-light district. Migrant students attended bothschools. Those contributing to the study arrived from Belgium, China and the Philippines.
Compared with other state schools in Malta, the two schools chosen for the study had arelatively high number of migrant students. Migration flows to Malta have been increasing at
a steadfast rate from 2002, especially since 2004, when Malta joined the European Union.

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After the schools were approached and the research objectives discussed, permission to
conduct the research was granted by the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Educationand heads of schools, who also acted as gatekeepers for the recruitment of the informants.
Parental and individual consent was sought and granted. In both schools, the informants
belonged to the same class and therefore they already knew each other and held a group
identity. The data were collected between February and May of 20101. One focus groupsession was held in each school and each lasted about one hour. The discussion was
conducted in Maltese and the researchers translated simultaneously into English in order forthe migrant students to understand. Nine and eleven students from School A and School B
respectively participated in the study. Apart from the Maltese informants, there was one
migrant student who was Chinese (School A). Two Belgian informants and one from thePhilippines took part in the other focus group (School B). The informants listened to FP
through a photo montage on video showing English subtitles of the song’s lyrics. The
photographs showing Eminem were chosen by the researchers. Observation notes taken after
the research sessions were also included in the data analysis.
Focus group material was transcribed and thematic analysis was employed according to theprocess outlined by Braun and Clarke (2008). This consisted of an initial familiarisation withthe data followed by the identification of codes that were employed to set up the formation ofthemes. Repeated themes within the data formed the basis of the reporting of findings and theanalysis. The data was further reviewed in order give an account of the patterns of meanings
derived from the informants’ discussions that were relevant to the research questions.
Pseudonyms, accompanying direct quotations have not been used, since through the audio
recordings it was difficult to decipher who was speaking. There were also numerous
instances when the students talked at the same time.
Ethical Concerns
Ethical measures concerning respect, care and confidentiality were taken into consideration
throughout the data collection procedure. The use of the lyrics of FP among the teenage
informants raised a number of ethical issues, due to the aggressive tone and bizarre content of
the song. There are a number of ethical implications which need to be taken in consideration
when deciding whether to present racist, misogynistic and offensive material for datacollection purposes. These revolve around the concern that the dissemination of this material
could have been harmful and disturbing to students. The song could have further reinforced
the negative messages it conveyed and accentuated the male-female divide. Another concern
was about the possibility of students feeling incited to compete with the messages of hate thesong contains. On the other hand, the option of not utilising this content could have enabled a
sense of alienation from the music cultures that surround young people. The decision torefrain from using FP could have perpetuated the silences that surround these sensitive topics.
It was decided that the lyrics merited discussion, because students could potentially benefit
from a critical exploration of issues related to the aftermath of romantic relationships. The
class teachers who granted permission for focus groups to occur during their Personal andSocial Development lessons were provided with the video clip and focus group discussion
questions before the sessions were conducted to ensure understanding of the research study.
1

The data for this paper was collected by Dr Michelle Attard Tonna and the author and formed part of the research project Young migrant
women in secondary education: Promoting understanding and mutual understanding through dialogue and exchange. This Project wascoordinated by the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (Cyprus). The Euro-Mediterranean Centre of Educational Research (Malta)
was a partner organisation in this research project, together with other partner organisations from Spain, United Kingdom andGreece. The Project was funded by the European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals of the European Commission.
Professor Simone Galea (University of Malta) coordinated the research carried out in Malta.

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Another pertinent ethical issue that was considered by the researchers was that students may
disclose they had previously been victimised by their dating partner or that, during the datacollection phase, they experienced intimate partner verbal aggression or some other form ofabuse. These situations required immediate care for these students, who needed professional
help. The questions were framed in a way which hypothetically asked them what they would
have done if they were in the situation described in FP. Although some of the participants
talked about their ex-boyfriends, none of them disclosed that they had experienced direct orindirect involvement with intimate partner abuse. Ethical clearance was obtained from the
University of Malta Research Ethics Committee.
Diffractive Methodology
The study is situated within a posthumanist theoretical framework, with particular emphasison ‘diffraction’ (Barad, 2007, 2014). In classical physics, diffraction refers to the bending oflight as it goes around the edge of an object. Barad explains that etymologically ‘diffraction’derives from a word which signifies “break in pieces” and “shatter” (Barad, 2014, p. 184). I
draw on this thinking to derive possible understandings of how the girls attempted to contest
the arrogant tone of the song in relation to situations revolving around ‘shattered’ dreams
associated with the ending of romantic relationships. A diffractive methodology (Van Der
Tuin, 2014) is employed to inquire about the interplay between the girls’ knowing and theirlack of knowledge about how to deal with boys and breaking up. Knowing and not knowing
overlap each other as diffractive waves do. Barad’s works (2007, 2014) inform the analysis
through a study of the girls’ entanglement with conceptualizations of the masculine other andto different meanings surrounding masculinities. I use this analytical approach to explore
gender norms that intersect with race. The analysis seeks to avoid generalisations based on
gender stereotypes which regard the positioning of boys and girls in romantic relationships tobe necessarily one of domination and subordination respectively. The analysis attempts togive possible interpretations of what the informants could have intended through a diffractive
methodology that “is respectful of the entanglement of ideas and other materials...” (Barad,
2007, p. 29).
Meaning and matter occur simultaneously (Barad, 2007). From this perspective the girls’
frayed, shabby and old-fashioned sweaters of their masculine-looking school uniform andtheir attempts to feminise their look by rolling up their skirts from the waist to perform “theteenager in the mini skirt” form part of the data. So do their eyes demarcated with eye liner,
their loud voices and glaring eyes. Other data which accompanied the girls’ words emerged
from instances such as when one of the teachers kept coming in and out of the classroom
during the focus group discussion presumably to check on the students’ behaviour andlooking at us suspiciously and finding students “unruly”. Data which is not made up of mere
words holds knowledge and contributes to insights on how to read masculinity from a lens offemininity. This approach however, does not diminish the power of the girls’ articulations.
Findings
In the introduction to the video clip it was explained to students what the song was about.
Caution was taken so that their opinions about the lyrics would not be shaped by how thesubject matter of the song was introduced. Nevertheless, at the start of the discussion the song
was described as “controversial” by the researchers. When the name of the song was
mentioned, the girls unanimously said that they didn’t like Eminem. After this spontaneous
reaction, they listened to the song, followed the images attentively and participated actively
in the discussion. Interaction amongst participants was encouraged as focus groups were49

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employed with this aim. In order to discern a group viewpoint attempts were made to ensurethat all the participants expressed their views by directing questions to those who were
holding back.
The findings from both schools show that students agreed that the contents of the song were
racist and that the message embedded in it was sexist, negative and repulsive. They assumed
that the lyrics referred to an episode which had actually happened to Eminem in real life andthat the message of the song corresponds to what he felt and thought about the situation. A
number of girls were dismayed and even shocked by his attitude and by the way he was
exposing his ex-girlfriend. Spreading rumours in that way was considered unacceptable: “I
don’t know how they allowed him (Eminem) to record this song” (School A). The possible
motives behind the song were questioned. Eminem’s preference for white girls built on theassumption that “White girls are good; I like white girls” was considered flawed. The
students were unsure of the validity of the accusations outlined in the lyrics against the “exgirlfriend”. For example, students of School A reasoned that perhaps she was not aftermoney, implying that there were lies behind the “story”. Students of both focus groups said
that skin colour alone does not determine one’s conduct and that blaming all black girls wassenseless. They reasoned that in general Eminem’s message was “wrong” and that heoverreacted. Although none of the students justified the racist lyrics, one girl from school B
deflected the criticism towards Eminem by arguing that “You don’t know what he wasfeeling when he was saying bad things”. Despite this comment, negative representations
about Eminem were put firmly in place during the discussions and the girls hardly contested
or negotiated this position. Students from school A in general said that if they wereEminem’s black ex-girlfriend they would take action following the release of the song. Theiranswers ranged from: “I would punch him in the mouth”, “speak to him about it”, “reporthim (to the police) on grounds of racism” and “would react violently”.
Most of the girls made it clear that they had nothing against black persons. A few girls,
however, claimed that they were afraid of “Arab men”, because they chased them in thestreets. Students of School B mentioned “terrifying” episodes when “Arab men” also
followed their female friends and relatives. Fear of black men was caused by “the way theylook” (School A). With regards to choosing a romantic lover who was black, different views
were held. A number of girls from School A stated that having a lover with dark (not black)skin was considered fine and even an asset, but some of them were against the idea of goingout on dates with a person with “black skin”. Whereas the character of the person and how
one treats one’s lovers were regarded more important aspects to consider, some of the girls of
School A stated that they would feel uncomfortable having a relationship with a black person
because their family members and other people would disapprove. The protection of theirreputation was perceived as being at stake. The counter arguments brought forward by otherstudents of the same school were that even “white guys might do wrong things” and that one
should not be influenced about what other people might think and say. The idea was put
forward that if one were to know black people, perhaps skin colour would not make adifference when it came to dating. They repeated that one should not generalise and assume
that all black men or all white men are the same.
The majority of girls of both schools positioned themselves in opposition to boys, according
to their perceptions about masculinities. Most of the girls expressed considerable resistancetowards boys. They articulated an othering attitude towards them by expressing their disgust“at having to deal with them” (School B). A sense of antagonism and hostility towards boys
arose during their discussions, which were devoid of positive representations of boys. A few

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girls said that it’s easier to make friends with girls than with boys, because “boys pretend to
be grown up and they are cruel” (School B). A number of statements indicate that some girls
had internalized notions of gender stereotypes: “Em boys em always try to em make fights
and girls mm they try to make friends” (International student, School B). One of thecriticisms against boys was that they pestered them relentlessly. Underlying some of thestudents’ statements, there was a sense of rivalry against boys: “I can wear heels and looktaller than my boyfriend” (School B).
Not all the girls had experienced a romantic relationship. One of the international students
from School B said that her only friends in Malta were her schoolmates and that she had no
male friends in Malta. In some instances, talking about ex-boyfriends created a painful site,arising from bad memories about past relationships. Underlying the girls’ statements, there
was a sense of relief that the relationship was over. Talk about missing their past boyfriend
was absent. Some girls made it clear that they did not accept verbal aggression: “I had an ex
and before I broke up with him he was offensive and saying bad things about my mother andI started being offensive with regards to his grandmother” (School B). Ending therelationship was not described as difficult by a number of girls: “I had one (a boyfriend) and
we broke up and all the time he was saying bad things to me. I got fed up of him and told him
to get lost” (School B). In general, strong words were used to describe how they dealt with ex
boyfriends: “Men are a pain... because they are pests. An ex-boyfriend he sent me a letter . . .
to go back and I told him I was single but that I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, because all
the time he pestered me” (School B). The majority however argued that in some cases one
could end the relationship in an amicable way and still remain on good, friendly terms withan ex-boyfriend, “even if this is difficult one should try” (International student, School A).
Others were adamant that it is not possible to remain friends. At the end of the discussion thestudents were asked to write their general feedback about the session. The comments were all
positive and indicated that they enjoyed the discussion. For the majority, watching the video
clip was their favourite part.
Discussion
The opening lyrics of Eminem’s song declare that “Foolish Pride has a lot of things to say”.
Even the girls of the study had their say and counteracted the message of the lyrics with anaggressive tone by challenging discourses of heterosexualised aggression which works tomake white girls compete with black girls. Students of both schools generally showed disgustwhen confronted with the lyrics of FP, in terms of its sexist, racist and misogynist content.
The majority held a clear notion of what racism entails and how destructive it is. In thisregard, these students showed that they do not passively absorb messages mediated throughpopular media and that they possess the ability to critique and resist them. The findings
however also indicated that racist ideas permeated the thinking of a number of girls. A
contradiction surfaced, indicating that whereas in general the students criticised the racist
attitude towards Eminem’s ex-girlfriend, as depicted in FP, a few of them exhibited
xenophobic sentiments. The approval of romantic partners by family members wasconsidered paramount, even if it reinforced racist views and systems. This indicates that somegirls might have internalised attitudes, which constitute black people as “others”. In a numberof cultures, there has been a decline in outward resistance to white female - black male
relations in recent years, but it has been taken over by “a more subtle form of resistanceaccomplished through surveillance and regulation of White female and Black male bodies
and the spaces in which these bodies interact” (Irby, 2014, p. 786). According to theinformants there were indicative attempts by a number of parents to distance them from black51

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male bodies. The parents justified their reasoning by positioning their daughters in need of
bodily safety and protection from the “Arab other”. The intersectionality of race and genderreveal the complex nature of girls’ conceptualisations of their interactions with boys. Race ispositioned alongside socio-cultural influences that link with personal emotions, gender, timeand space.
There might have been a myriad of ways through which the girls could have experienced
friendships and romantic relationships with boys. The personal and social environment of the
Maltese and migrant students, embedded within cultural aspects of their home and hostcountry and other countries they might have lived in, could have formed their understandingof boys. Being white or otherwise encompasses a diverse and wide range of cultures, due tothe dynamic nature of ethnicity (Nayak, 2001). The girls’ social backgrounds could havecontributed to the process of shaping their conceptualisations of race and gender in varying
degrees. The data indicates that gendered heteronormative discourses permeate theunderstanding of girls’ conceptualisations on teenage dating. At its core, the girls’ talk wasembedded within anti-boy discourses, which revolve around dominant and established normsof gender binaries. Notions of adolescent boys’ masculinities described as “strong, active,
hard, rational” Kehily (2001, p. 117) were however also put to the test and subjected to
scrutiny by the informants. The apparent discord, conflict and unease that was conveyed
might have concealed other hidden realities. For example, the girls’ expressions of resistanceoccurring in a group context could have served as means to regulate each other’sconceptualisations of boys. Research on how girls regulate each other’s femininity throughtheir dynamics in friendship groups suggests that they are often driven towards thecontainment of other girls by policing each other’s sexual behaviour, by defining theparameters of romantic relationships and friendships and by dictating the attributes ofphysical appearance (Brown, 2003; Kehily, 2002).
The designation of boys as the ones who “make fights” juxtaposed against “girls makefriends” conveys accusations which could have resulted from experiences of betrayal,anguish and pain. In general, the boys mentioned did not seem to have lived up to theinformants’ expectations. Consequently, the girls might have learnt that they are to maintainboundaries with males especially “black males”. The past recollections of bad memories withboys seemed to have remained alive and imprinted in their minds, as often happens:
Memory is not a record of a fixed past that can ever be fully or simply
erased, written over, or recovered (that is, taken away or taken backinto one's possession, as if it were a thing that can be owned). And
remembering is not a replay of a string of moments, but an enlivening
and recon figuring of past and future that is larger than any individual.
Remembering and re-cognizing do not take care of or satisfy, or in
any other way reduce one's responsibilities (Barad, 2007, ix,
parenthesis in original).
Past memories cause “diffractions” and dictate present and future circumstances. Emotional
barriers by girls towards boys could work to maintain the hegemony of genderedsubjectivities and interfere with their future relationships with them. Past experiences form
entanglements with future possibilities. In positioning themselves against the male otherthrough negative portrayals of masculinity, the girls could have reinforced their own
constituted defence mechanisms. This perspective regards the girls’ verbal expressions as
counterattacks against designated positions of subordination that they might have felt caught

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in. Their performance of an aggressive self could be read as a cry for help and as a way todemand respect. The ways they “othered” boys could be considered “epistemically violent inreproducing power relations of superiority and inferiority” (Phoenix, 2009, p. 101). Their useof voice could have echoed internalised cultural anxieties, possibly brought about by the
media’s oversexualising and objectification of girls. Verbal aggression could become themeans through which the girls (and Eminem) enacted and performed their gendered identities
to replicate and perhaps contest uneven social processes. As teen girls negotiate
contemporary discourses of sexual aggression and competition (Ringrose, 2008), theparameters surrounding the nurturing and accommodating qualities of females, which revolvearound standards that girls are expected to reach, become blurred and less defined.
Aggressive words articulated by girls are in discord with feminine “good girl” qualities,
associated with being nice, quiet, caring, passive, cautious, docile and modest. Feelings
arising from fear, anguish, insecurity and lack of self-esteem associated with sexual attraction
and dating have been found to dominate a number of Maltese adolescent girls (Cassar, 2013).
The students’ attempts at making meaning of masculinities did not seem to be linear but
rather fragmented and repeatedly torn apart as they engaged in the discussion of different
situations, alternating between experiences related to subordination and retaliation.
Nevertheless, the girls attempted to unpack, rupture and even “shatter” sexist discourses byresisting hegemonic and aggressive masculinities which work to instil submissive behaviours
around girlhood. Through the lyrics of FP they could have sensed the dominance of
patriarchy, accentuated through the international celebrity status of Eminem. The existingboundaries they described between boys and themselves seemed to draw them together
through the sharing of their understandings about their conceptualisations of boys. Theseboundaries “diffracted” and seemed to shift as a result of fluid power practices which were
easily destabilised by moods, expectations, pressures, conflict and revenge. In someinstances, the girls’ critique of the lyrics of FP replicated the same aggressive tone of thesong. These findings demonstrate the struggles that operate in relationships and how
estrangement and accusations easily arise in adolescent friendships between boys and girls.
The fragility of such relations is accentuated through the avoidance of direct communicationin person. The girls’ articulations suggest that they tried to defend themselves from emotional
hurt by shutting down communication with boys in order, perhaps, not to trigger confusionand feelings associated with being humiliated. A diffractive analysis of these findings points
towards the recognition that the girls might have wanted to assert themselves and establish
some form of power through their use of aggressive verbal expressions by “attending to andresponding to the details and specificities of relations of difference and how they matter”(Barad, 2007, p.71). In so doing they could have rejected opportunities to befriend caring,
decent boys. Acts of protecting themselves from being bullied by boys could have required
them to forgo relations. Expressions about the girls’ desires for meaningful connections withboys through friendship or romantic encounters were largely absent. A sense of enthusiasm,
desire, curiosity and interest in relation to forming relationships with boys was also felt to be
missing. The single life was generally described as a privilege and the girls’ articulations
about it contrast with the dominant discourse of “wanting a man”. This suggests a rupture in
their desire for connecting with boys. Rather than trying to make sense of their relationships
with boys, both Maltese and migrant students seemed to have enacted a defence mechanismor “obstacle” to protect their personal territory from them. Their explanations about how tohandle boys seemed to be based on assumptions that portray men as pests. This perspective
could lead to the suppression of sexual feelings. Although othering boys could empower the
positioning of girls in the dating scene, it could also stifle their desires. The implications of
distancing themselves from boys suggest that the girls did not comply with social scripts of53

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heterosexual femininity that dictated the importance of having a boyfriend. Living in avillage where men come seeking the services of prostitutes could have mediated theirunderstanding of what it means to be romantically coupled. The othering of boys could havestemmed from their refusal to be reduced to an object of sexual desire. Their resistancetowards boys could have acted as a form of protection to ward off any attempts by men toobjectify them for sexual pleasure. Their articulated preference for remaining “single” at thatparticular time in their life could have been the result of their perceived dangers surrounding
prostitution. Adolescent girls are more concerned than boys with protecting their sexual
reputation (Allen, 2004, p.162). This however contrasted with the mini skirt look. Researchwhich employed a discursive-new materialist approach examined how short skirts act as “apowerful non-human material agent” (Ringrose & Rawlings, 2015, p.92) in the making of“girls” in a school environment and “produced them as too sexy in the wrong ways” (p.103,
emphasis in original).
The negative overtone of FP could have influenced the students’ disposition in how theychose to answer the researchers’ questions. Their responses could have also resulted from thegroup dynamics during the data collection. A focus group setting might have hindered someof the girls from expressing dissent or differing opinions from their peers, who mainly talked
about boys in negative terms. Although questions were also asked directly to those girls who
were providing the least response, a number of girls in both groups dominated the discussion
and these expressed their need to disengage themselves from occupying spaces withinromantic relationships. The fact that the school settings were not constructed on a coeducation model might also have contributed to the girls’ sense of estrangement from boys
which was evident in their responses. No significant differences were found in the findings ofthe discussions held in both schools. The informants represented a range of similar social andcultural perspectives and positions in relation to the research agenda. The discussions wereembedded within a strictly heterosexual context and marked by an invisibility of references tolesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer relationships. The students followed theconventional, heteronormative path and gender nonconformity was not mentioned. The
power dynamics occurring between boys and girls described in both groups in general
positioned boys as losers and girls as not being accommodating of bad treatment by them.
Fear of being dominated by males seems to have consumed some of the girls and prompted
them to cultivate a defensive relationship with boys.
Conclusion
A posthumanist lens views girls’ claims and perceptions on masculinities as possibly beingtransitional. Their inclination to resist conformity and compliance with the stereotypical
dictates of girlhood could be temporary. The process of disentanglement from situations thatmake girls subservient in heterosexual romantic relationships does not entail a one-time
intervention. For some girls it is an ongoing struggle. Insights derived from the notion ofdiffraction (Barad, 2007, 2014) position heartbreak and disappointments in break-ups as“obstacles” which could potentially lead students to better understand the causes ofinterpersonal aggression that ensue in some cases and how it could be resisted by criticallyreflecting on the possible causes that enable it. Disappointments caused by ruptured dreams
in relation to teenage romantic relationships could make it possible for new circumstances toemerge. This means that relationality could be productive if reworked. Unpacking these“diffractions” is pertinent to understanding how girls respond and cope with racialised andintensified criticisms hurled at them through a number of rap and hip hop songs.

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Van Der Tuin, I. (2014). Diffraction as a methodology for feminist onto-epistemology: On
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Corresponding author: Joanne Cassar
Contact email: joanne.cassar@um.edu.mt

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An Examination of Listening Acquisition: A Study of Japanese University Students
Bryan Hahn
Akita International University, Japan59

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Abstract
English language learners seek strong speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. When it
comes to the last it is commonly assumed that if students have many opportunities to hear
spoken English then that exposure will improve their ability to comprehend it. Unfortunately,
this is often not the case since many second language learners do not get the opportunity todevelop their listening skills naturally. Despite this, classrooms dedicate little to no time in
English for Academic Purposes coursework towards listening strategies and techniques. One
strategy which has shown to be effective is “connected speech”. Students learn how to hear
the connection between words that native speakers develop naturally. In the Fall 2016
(September 16 – December 15), 43 students were the subject of a class dedicated to training
their listening skills to identify this technique. A pre-test and post-test control group design
analyzed listening interventions on listening fluency among English for Academic Purposes
students. An independent t-test was used to measure the mean average scores on the listening
section of the treatment group’s Test of English as a Foreign Language exams (n=35) taken
in December 2016 and were compared to scores taken in April and September 2016 (n=37).
The treatment group saw mean gains of +3.03, findings that were significant. The researchalso compared Test of English as a Foreign Language results taken in April and September
2015 (n=38) to those taken in December 2015 (n=29). Students had slightly higher mean
gains of +3.65, also significant, perhaps indicating other variables may have led to similarfindings.
Keywords: listening fluency, connected speech, Japan, ESL students, TOEFL

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Introduction
At Akita International University (AIU) in Northwest Japan, students are required to study
one-year abroad at one of the school’s 185 partner-universities as all coursework at AIU istaught in English. To qualify, learners must demonstrate proficiency in all learning domains
by scoring 550 or higher in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Thoughmost succeed, some students are left repeating English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
coursework and having to retake the TOEFL exam term after term in the hope of overcoming
another milestone towards graduation.
One learning domain which often gets ignored is listening. Some instructors take aprescriptive approach to teaching listening skills by inserting a compact disc into a player andinstructing students to shadow, transcribe, or just listen. Other past colleagues haveabandoned this approach to teaching, complaining that the practice is pedagogicallyineffective. Perhaps one reason we do not emphasize listening in the classroom is that itremains the most obscure and least understood among the four learning domains.
Research has shown that learners need to have effective strategies and techniques to become
sufficient listeners. Chamot (1995) argued there is a significant relationship between strategy
use and proficiency. However, many learners are unaware of how to improve their listening
comprehension skills especially when confronted with the speed of spoken English producedby native speakers. Some teachers also purposely enunciate words or slow their speech down
to facilitate the learner which will hinder development for students or cause them to listen tomaterials pronounced clearly and distinctly. As a result, from unfamiliar patterns of discourseto speech rates, to prosody, to vocabulary, learners face many challenges (Cross, 2009).
One listening strategy known to be effective is “connected speech” – a process in which
students learn how to listen to the connection of words that native speakers develop naturally.
The result, students become strategic listeners of English by understanding and anticipating
the connection of words that take place in spoken English. The implementation andunderstanding of this learning strategy could be a key component in the success of not only
improved listening for language learners, but also increased scores in TOEFL. Therefore, thiscurrent research hopes to shed light on how much listening time is necessary for students tomake significant strides in this learning domain.
Literature Review
Among the four learning domains, listening is arguably the most complex. In fact, listening is
the first encounter with the target language in a student’s endeavor to acquire a new language(Berne, 2004). Dunkel (1993) argued the listening process is highly complicated; it is hard
for a single instrument to measure all aspects of listening comprehension.
To make the classes student-centered, songs have been incorporated into classrooms byteachers with the idea that classes become active and fun. Though singing can be creative,
helps to build rhythmic patterns and taps into a particular culture, it can be argued the use of
singing to develop a second language (L2) improves speaking skills more than it does
listening. Also, it becomes a challenge for the instructor to find songs universally appealing.
Sometimes understanding the lyrics sung by the artist can be problematic even to a nativespeaker of English. Lastly, the use of songs to improve listening skills might be left best for
those with a musical background.

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Studies have shown listening comprehension is broken down into three stages. The first
involves perceptual processing, the encoding of the spoken message. The second stage is themental representation of the sentences or the parsing of words. The last is the understandingof meaning known as the utilization stage. In essence, learners will react specifically towhether the spoken words are a question, a statement or a command (Anderson, 2009). This
cognitive psychological approach is an alternative to the top-down and bottom-up process tolistening comprehension, but some researchers have argued whether this strategy improves alearner’s listening ability. Ridgway (2000) makes the point it is difficult for second-language
learners to implement taught strategies while listening simultaneously.
One research study investigated the consequences of simultaneously reading and listening to
the same material while learning English as a foreign language. It found that the redundancyof performing both tasks at the same time likely interferes with the learning, concluding when
redundancy is added to the learning, the brain is used unnecessarily to attend to both sourcesof information (Moussa-Inaty, Ayres & Sweller, 2011). This additional process generates
what cognitive load theorists call extraneous cognitive load, meaning too much unnecessary
information is being memorized. By eliminating redundancy, the brain could be freed up torecall salient aspects of the lesson which helps to improve listening but the results showed nosignificant improvement in the other domains.
A study of Malaysian students emphasized listening instruction methods based on processoriented approaches instead of product driven methods, placing a premium to facilitate thelearner. During think-aloud sessions, the researcher would notate the students’ overt listening
behavior. By using an observation matrix, the information provided a tacit understanding of
the listeners’ problems and issues (Nair, Koo & Abu Bakar, 2014). The aforementioned is
helpful to determine that change may be necessary to a specific curriculum but says nothing
about which teaching methodology would be best to improve the program.
Another approach gaining popularity in the classroom is strategy-based instruction (SBI).
SBI is a method of teaching in which strategies are selected for intensive learning in theclassroom. These strategies can include comprehension, monitoring, predicting, clarifying
and summarizing. SBI has two main elements: 1) Students are taught how, when, and why
strategies are used to facilitate language acquisition and 2) strategies are integrated into classmaterials and are embedded into the language task (Cohen, 2000).
SBI is often ignored in Japan since Japanese teachers of English (JTE) teach the learning
domains they feel comfortable with. In fact, Japan’s education system is well known for itsprescribed curriculum and high-stakes exams. Additionally, instead of teaching English “in”
English, it is often taught in Japanese. Even at the university level, there is a common belief
that the opportunity to hear spoken English improves comprehension naturally. Perhaps
teachers do not appreciate the difficulty that students face when confronted with the speed of
spoken English produced by native speakers. It becomes a challenge for students who have
had little to no exposure to natural English (Rosa, 2002), as is the case for the vast majorityof Japanese students who attend Akita International University (AIU).
The Research Study
The study investigated the impact of interventions on listening fluency between Japanese
students taking an 80-minute listening class over the course of one semester in Fall, 2016. A

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mixed-method research approach with a pre-test and post-test control group design was used.
There was also a post-research survey.
ParticipantsParticipants were first-year students at AIU taking Level 3 coursework in EAP as shown in
Table 1. To help students increase the listening section of their TOEFL exam scores,
participants in the Fall, 2016 term attended a strategy-based class. This class was held for 80
minutes every week in order to develop the ability to identify ‘connected speech’, wherestudents learned how to hear the connection between words that native speakers develop
naturally. The question remains how much exposure students need before there is asignificant improvement in listening comprehension. Forty-three Level 3 students were theparticipants for this research by taking one semester of a listening fluency class emphasizing
the use of this strategy. Participants attended the class for 15-weeks.
Table 1: EAP Level Placement
EAP Level

Level 1
Level 2
Level 3

TOEFL
Placement Score

479 or lower
480–499
500 or higher

Instruments
Two episodes from the fifth season of Friends were chosen. They included The One Where
Ross Can’t Flirt, and The One with Ross’s Sandwich. Students were also given deleted
transcripts of those episodes for transcribing purposes as shown in Appendices A and B. The
aim was expose students to the speed of spoken English with the following questions in
mind:
•
•
•

Does a weekly listening fluency class over the course of 15-weeks totaling 20
hours, significantly increase TOEFL listening scores?
Are TOEFL listening scores taken in December 2016 significantly higher
compared to scores taken in April and September 2016?
How do the results above compare to students’ scores from the year before?

Common listening instruments such as BBC News or other news programs were purposefully
avoided since the proper enunciation of words is emphasized to facilitate the listener. Also, inthe listening section of TOEFL the majority of questions are dialogue-based, testing thestudent’s understanding of meaning or implication.
Methods
The listening portion of the participants’ TOEFL exams was compared to Fall, 2015 students
who did not receive the intervention. Level 3 participants in Fall, 2016 learned the connection
patterns shown below:
1. Same consonant combination – students say one consonant sound as highlighted andunderlined in bold.
- Where is the bus stop
- I'll meet you at twelve o'clock.

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2. Different consonant combination or consonant ending sound – execute the glottal stop.
For Japanese students, hot dog in Katakana (one component of the Japanese writing
system for the transcription of foreign loan words) is pronounced ho-tu do-gu. By
executing the glottal stop, a four syllable compound noun is reduced in half. For thesecond example, nice dress is a simple adjective/noun combination with each word
containing one syllable. In Katakana, this adjective/noun combination is pronounced
na-i-su do-ri-su, each word containing three syllables.
- I ate a hot dog for lunch.
- That is a nice dress you're wearing.
3. Consonant vowel combination or consonant ending sound – visualize as one word
- Can you turn on the lights?
- I will take out the trash.
By visualizing turn on as turnon, the first syllable break occurs after the letter /r/ as
underlined in bold. In the second example, take out becomes takeout, the first syllable
break occurs after /a/ as underlined in bold, essentially reading these phrasal verbs inthe following way: tur non, ta keout.
The activity involved watching episodes of the television show Friends. Each conversation
would be played three to four times. While listening, students were instructed to dictate asmuch as they could comprehend on the deleted transcripts as shown in Appendices A and B.
They were then asked to read aloud back to the teacher to demonstrate how much of theconversation they were able to pick up. The instructor wrote down the words repeated by thestudents using Microsoft Office on a projector screen for students to see. If words were
missing, the students got additional attempts to listen to the dialogue. Once all the words
were correctly identified, they were then instructed to demonstrate connected text.
Afterwards, the teacher read each dialogue aloud with students reading and repeating. Eachreading was delivered faster and faster, the idea being reading old material allows thestudents to read and hear the speed of spoken English. The exercise would finish by having
the students hear the spoken dialogue from the sitcom one last time, so they could compare
the rate of spoken English before and after the “connected speech” was identified before
moving onto the next dialogue.
An independent t-test was used to measure the progression of both the treatment and thecontrol group using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to answer
the three hypotheses aforementioned.
A post survey using a five-point Likert scale (5: Strongly Agree; 4: Agree; 3: Neutral; 2:
Disagree; 1: Strongly Disagree) was administered to ascertain students’ attitudes about
whether or not the listening class helped to improve listening comprehension (see Appendix
C).
Participants answered one additional question asking in which week they noticed asignificant difference, if any, in improved listening comprehension.
Results
The purpose of this research was to determine if 20 hours of listening class time utilizing“connected speech” would significantly improve the listening section of TOEFL. The
participants’ mean listening scores taken shortly after the end of the fall term, in late64

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December, were compared to their mean scores taken in April 2016 or September 2016.
Students who took their exams in April 2016 would have been Level 2 students in EAP who
had matriculated up to Level 3. September 2016 students would have been first-semester
students who took the exams about a week before the beginning of the fall semester todetermine EAP placement. Those scores were compared to students who took the TOEFL theyear before.
Table 2 is used to show the mean difference between pre-test and post-test scores. Exams
taken in April and September 2016 (M=50.05; SD=4.42) were compared to exams taken in
December 2016 (M=53.08; SD=3.93). With an alpha level of .05 and a df of 70, and withequal variances assumed, December exams had a mean gain of +3.03 compared to April and
September exam scores; t(71)=3.03, p=.003. Based on the findings, the growth based on posttest scores of the treatment group is significantly higher compared to pre-test scores.
Table 2: Independent measures t-test Pre-test/Post-test 2016
Group
Apr/Sept 16
Dec. 16
t
3.06

N
37
35
df
70

Mean Gains
50.05
53.08

sig.(2-tailed).003

Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
4.42
.727
3.93
.665
95% confidence level
Mean Diff.
Std. Error Diff.
Lower Upper
3.03166.989-5.005 -1.058

Table 3 shows mean scores between April and September 2015 (M=49.55; SD=6.0) versus
scores taken in December 2015 (M=53.20; SD3.65). Based on the findings, with an alphalevel of .05 and a df of 62.28, the null hypothesis was rejected because the t score value fellwithin the critical region. The conclusion is that the growth based on the post-test scores isalso significantly higher compared to pre-test scores. December 2015 scores had mean gainsof +3.65; +.62 gain compared to December 2016 scores; t(66)=3.07, p=.003.
Table 3: Independent measures t-test Pre-test/Post-test 2015
Group
Apr/Sept 15
Dec. 15
t
3.07

N
38
29
df
62.28

Mean Gains
49.55
53.20

sig.(2-tailed).003

Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
6.00
.973
3.65
.679
95% confidence level
Mean Diff.
Std. Error Diff.
Lower Upper
3.65
1.18
-6.02 -1.28

Discussion
Despite significant improvement in the listening section of TOEFL taken by students at theend of December 2016, students who took exams in December 2015 also witnessedsignificant gains. The research concludes the listening fluency class for the treatment group
was not the primary reason for increased exam scores. Other variables such as EAP
coursework, an English-speaking environment in which 20-percent of students come fromoverseas, a facility providing students with movies, books, educational software and othermaterials likely contributed to significant gains in listening. Accordingly, this analysis has

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shown that 20 hours of intervention over 15-weeks is likely not enough time to makesignificant gains in TOEFL listening.
The research parallels a study of fifteen Japanese students who received slightly lessintervention compared to the current study and were also part of a quasi-experiment.
Participants received 90-minutes of listening intervention by watching a BBC news website
over 10-weeks totaling twelve hours (Cook, 2009). The participants self-selected one of two
Current Affairs classes forming the experimental group (EG) of seven students and acomparison group (CG) of eight students. EG received 90-minutes of strategy instruction
appropriate to the given listening task. Despite significant gains by both groups between pretest and post-test scores, the independent t-test did not indicate a significant difference
between the two groups (Cook, et al, 2009).
On the basis of these findings, it is evident that TOEFL should not be the only indicatorof improved listening comprehension since this learning domain remains largely ambiguous(Alderson & Bachman, 2001). In support of this, a quantitative non-experiment was
conducted seeking the attitudes of the treatment group on a five-point scale (5-Strongly
Agree; 4-Agree; 3-Neutral; 2-Disagree; 1-Strongly Disagree).
Table 4: Survey Questionnaire Results
Survey Questions
Connected Speech increased my ability tolisten to the speed of English.
The listening fluency class improved myability to comprehend English.
The listening fluency class is an effective way toincrease listening comprehension.
The listening fluency class increased my ability tounderstand spoken English with a native speaker.
The listening fluency class increased my ability tounderstand American humor.
The listening fluency class increased my ability tounderstand idiomatic expressions.

Mean Score
4.1
3.98
3.87
4
4.2
3.92

The results show the vast majority of students believed the listening fluency class improved
their listening skills as shown above in Table 4. When asked if the class improved theirability to hear spoken English, the mean score was 4.1 on a five-point scale. When asked if it
improved their comprehension, the results were also high with a mean score of 3.98.
Additionally, students were asked to estimate in which week they began to notice a
significant difference in listening comprehension. Students were invited to circle the answer
closest to their experience as shown in Appendix C. No student noticed any significant
difference between weeks 1 and 3. However, 90 percent of students answered they noticed asignificant improvement during the term with the largest percentage (33%) reporting gains
between weeks 7 and 9, as shown in Table 5”.

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Table 5: Significant Listening Improvement Gains
Weeks

1-3
4-6
7-9
10-12
13-15
No difference

Percentage

0%
10%
33%
13%
15%
10%

In consequence, it could be that learners were unfamiliar with the topic itself in TOEFL andmay have come across too many unfamiliar words to understand the recording. Moreover, alarge portion of the listening section requires that the listener understand intent as information
itself is often not enough. Test-takers must negotiate the speakers’ attitudes, the setting, andbe able to anticipate natural sequences. What is likely to happen next becomes much easier if
the learner can visualize where the conversation is taking place. Another factor to consider,
the exam taker is required to listen, understand, and maintain the information in memory toanswer a variety of questions related to the topic. Arguably, L2 learners are being tested fortheir ability to listen as opposed to being tested in their second language skills. The scorebased interpretation of TOEFL and its accuracy to determine a learner’s second-language
ability is a debate that has led to many academic research. Lastly, the instrumentation
selected may have had a washback effect in seeing gains for Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency (CALP) but positive survey responses perhaps is an indication students noticed
significant gains in Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) as AIU students often
engage with internationals.
Conclusion
Conceivably different instrumentation could have been used since much of the content
involved the understanding of colloquial and idiomatic expressions which may not be usefulin preparation for TOEFL. Moreover, with a class size of 43 students, this type of learning
environment lacks the discursive cues sometimes necessary to facilitate a large class(Camiciottoli, 2004). Furthermore, positive feedback from participants based on post-survey
results demonstrates the need for additional studies to determine if increased intervention
time would significantly increase scores between the treatment and control group and toassess how much listening intervention time is necessary to actuate those differences.

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References
Alderson, C., & Bachman, L. (2001). Introduction. In G. Buck (Ed.), Assessing Listening.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Anderson, J. R. (2009). Cognitive psychology and its implications. New York: WorthPublishers.
Berne, J.E. (1998). Examining the relationship between L2 listening research, pedagogicaltheory, and practice. Foreign Language Annals, 31(2), 169–90.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1998.tb00566.x
Camiciottoli, B. C. (2004). Interactive discourse structuring in L2 guest lectures: Some
insights from a comparative corpus-based study. Journal of English for Academic
Purposes, 3(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1475-1585(03)00044-4
Chamot, A. U. (1995). Learning strategies and listening comprehension. In D. Mendelsohn &J. Rubin (Eds.) Guide for the teaching of second language listening (pp. 13–30). San
Diego, California: Dominie Press.
Cohen, A. D. (2000). Strategies in learning and using a second language. London, UK:
Longman.
Cook, M. (2009). Factors inhibiting and facilitating Japanese teachers of English in adopting
communicative language teaching methodologies. K@ta, 11 (2), 99–116. Retrieved
from http://puslit2.petra.ac.id/ejournal/index.php/ing/article/shop/17887/ 17815
Cross, J. (2009). Effects of listening strategy instruction on news videotext comprehension.
Language Teaching Research, 13(2), 151–176.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168809103446
Dunkel, P., Henning, G., and Chaudron, C. (1993). The assessment of an L2 listening
comprehension construct: A tentative model for test specification and development.
The Modern Language Journal, 77, 180-191.
https://doi.org /10.1111/j.1540-4781.1993.tb01962.x
Londe, Z. (2008). Working memory and English as a Second Language listening
comprehension tests: A latent variable approach. ProQuest LLC, UMI 3347004.
Moussa-Inaty, J., Ayres, P., & Sweller, J. (2011). Improving listening skills in English as a
Foreign Language by reading rather than listening: A cognitive load perspective.
Applied Cognitive Psychology. 26(3), https://doi.org /391–402. 10.1002/acp.1840
Nair, S., Koo, Y.L., & Abu Bakar, K. (2014). Exploring the listening processes of preuniversity ESL students. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 118, 475–482.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.065
Ridgway, T. (2000). Listening strategies: I beg your pardon? ELT Journal, 54, 179–185.
https://doi.org /10.1093/elt/54.2.196
Rosa, M. (2002). Don'cha know? A survey of ESL teacher's perspectives on reduced forms
instruction. Second Language Studies, 21 (1), 49–78.

Corresponding author: Bryan Hahn
Contact email: bhahn@aiu.ac.jp

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Appendix A
Friends: The One with Ross’s Sandwich

Phoebe: ________________________________________________?

Chandler: _______________________________________________?

________________________________?____________________________________________.

Phoebe: Ew-eww!! Undies!

Rachel: _________________________________! ______________________________________? _________________________________?

Ross: Well, _______________________________________________!

Chandler: Well, they're Joey's! They gotta be Joey's!

(Rachel turns and stares at him.)

Joey: Yeah, they're mine.

Chandler: See? They're Joey's! J-J-J-J-J-Joey's!

Ross: ___________________________________________________?

Joey: ____________________________________________________.

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Appendix B
Friends: The One Where Ross Can’t Flirt

Ross: Hey!

Chandler: Hey!

Ross: Wow! _____________________________________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________?

Chandler: _______________________________________________________________________,

we’ve got reservations at Ja George.

Ross: Wow! _____________________________________________________________________?

Chandler: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Delivery Girl: Hi Chandler!

Chandler: Hey Caitlin! _____________________________________________________________.

Caitlin: Ugh! _______________________________________________________________!

________________________________________________________________________________.

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Appendix C
SurveyConfidentiality: This survey should take less than five minutes of your time. You will not be asked to attach
your name to your survey responses. Individual responses will be used for research purposes only and will bestrictly confidential. Please ask the surveyor to clarify any questions you don’t understand.

Instructions: Check the box that most closely matches the question.
Questions
Strongly
Agree
NeutralAgree
1. Connected Speechincreased myability to listen to
the speed ofEnglish.
2. The Listening
Fluency class
improved myability tocomprehend
English.
3. The Listening
Fluency class is aneffective way toincrease listening
comprehension.
4. The listening
fluency classincreased myability tounderstand spoken
English with anative speaker.
5. The Listening
Fluency classincreased myability tounderstandAmerican humor.
6. The Listening
Fluency classincreased myability tounderstandAmerican idioms.

DisagreeCircle the box that best applies to you.
I began to notice a significant difference in my listening skills during the following week.
Weeks 1-3
Weeks 4-6
Weeks 7-9
Weeks 10-12 Weeks 13-15

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Strongly
DisagreeNosignificant
improvement

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Teachers’ Knowledge Indices as Predictors of Secondary School Students’ Academic
Achievement in Kwara State, Nigeria
Felicia Olasehinde-Williams
University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Lasiele Yahaya
University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Henry Owolabi
University of Ilorin, Nigeria

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Abstract
That less than 40% of candidates who took the Senior School Certificate Examinations in
Nigeria between 2009 and 2015 had credits and above in English language and Mathematics
has become a source of worry to all stakeholders. Results of research efforts to provide
plausible explanations to the problem have been inconclusive. Also, not much had been doneto assess the contribution of teachers’ knowledge indices as likely sources. This study therefore
investigated the predictive value of Teachers’ Depth of Subject Content Knowledge and Depth
of Pedagogical Knowledge on Students’ Academic Achievement in English Language andMathematics. Specifically, the study investigated which category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed.
/B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc) had the deepest Depth of Subject Content Knowledge; thedeepest Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge; the deepest Depth of Subject Content andProfessional Knowledge; and the predictive ability of Depth of Subject Content andProfessional Knowledge for Students’ Academic Achievement. The sample comprised
seventy-eight English Language and Mathematics teachers from thirty-two randomly selected
secondary schools in Kwara State; and the intact SS II classes taught by the teachers.
Quantitative data were collected through tests, observations and vignettes; and analysed using
descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed that teachers with B.Sc. demonstrated
the deepest Depth of Subject Content Knowledge, Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge and Depth
of Subject Content and Professional Knowledge. Also, pedagogical and subject content
knowledge of teachers were found to be significant predictors of Students’ Academic
Achievement. Significant differences were observed between the Depth of Subject Content
Knowledge and Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge of the English Language and Mathematics
teachers in favor of Mathematics teachers. Similarly, students’ performance in English
Language was lower than that of Mathematics, though not statistically significant. Thesefindings raised concerns of profound implications for teacher education curriculum in Nigeria.
Keywords: teacher knowledge, subject content, pedagogical content, academic achievement,teacher attributes, teacher education curriculum74

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Introduction
Secondary education has remained a major gateway to higher education and employment for
those who may not proceed beyond that level. Most citizens attending schools have thus notconsidered themselves to have been sufficiently prepared to function in the Nigerian society
until they have graduated from secondary schools. Successful completion, and particularly
having credit passes in English Language and Mathematics, are necessary for all secondary
school graduates. Policy on education has made these subjects compulsory to be offered andpassed, as well being required to advance to higher levels of education. There is, however,unsatisfactory performance in certificate examinations at this level as the rate of failure has
been considered high by stakeholders.
The high rate of students’ failure in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) has
become a perennial source of worry to all stakeholders in the education sector in Nigeria. The
same is true of its equivalents, such as the General Certificate Examination (GCE), and the
University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). In 2015, for instance, more than 60%
of students failed English Language in the SSCE; while only 38.6% candidates obtained credit
in five subjects including English and Mathematics (West African Examination Council,
2015). There is a need to reverse this trend because poor performance in SSCE leads to colossal
wastage of educational investment and reduction in quantity and quality of candidates
accessing tertiary education. It also limits students’ learning effectiveness which, in turn,compromises quality of tertiary education products in terms of cognate ability and service
delivery competence.
Various efforts by education researchers to provide a valid explanation for the trend have notyielded conclusive results. For instance, Tella (2007) investigated the impact of motivation on
secondary school students’ Mathematics achievement in Nigeria. He reported that there was asignificant difference in Mathematics achievement of students on the degree of theirmotivation. McDonald (2001) also found that two thirds of high school students appeared tohave experienced an uncomfortable level of test anxiety which consequently had a negative
effect on their academic performance.
Any solution to the problem of high failure rates in SSC Examinations should also involve
critical assessment of the contributions of teacher quality in the discharge of their
responsibilities as learning facilitators. Although learning can take place without teaching, theroles of the teacher as facilitator of learning are indispensable in the field of education(Figure 1).

Figure 1: Components of the teaching-learning relationship(Source: Olasehinde-Williams, 2012)75

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As shown in Figure 1, teachers have responsibilities to gather information to determine what
subject content to teach, develop curriculum, determine the strategies and methods for teaching,impart knowledge, evaluate teaching and learning and finally provide feedback. Teachers canonly teach “what” they know in the ways they know “how” to teach. Thus, the significance of
having high quality teachers in the teaching-learning relationship cannot be over-emphasised.
Indeed, the pivotal roles of quality teachers in providing quality education are well documented
in the National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013). The Teachers
Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) also noted that “no education system can rise above
the quality of its teachers” (TRCN, 2004, p.8).
Agoro and Akinsola (2013) and Ladipo (2013), for instance, suggested that poor teacher quality
is one of the significant factors responsible for the consistently poor performance of secondary
school students in public examinations in the country. Teacher quality is generally believed to
be basically dependent on the nature of the training that teachers receive and there is no doubtthat teachers differ in their depth of knowledge of the “what” to teach and the “how” to teachbasically because of disparities in their own pre-service training. In Nigerian secondary
schools, for example, two categories of teachers (qualified and non-qualified teachers), fromthree different learning paths, are responsible for preparing students for public examinations.
Two of the three learning paths qualify individuals for the teaching profession in Nigeria.
Firstly, during training, individuals may combine core teacher education courses (Pedagogical
Knowledge) with minor teaching subject courses (Subject Content Knowledge) for a period of
three to four years, for the award of the Bachelor in Education Degree. Secondly, individuals
may first obtain an Honors degree (Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts) in one or two
subjects (Subject Content Knowledge) and later undertake a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in
Education (PGDE) Certificate (Pedagogical Knowledge). Although the proportions of teachingsubject and education courses both groups undertake are not the same, it is generally assumed
that both include sufficient proportions to produce competent teachers (Abimbola, 2012).
Consequently, both categories of teachers are accorded professional teacher status and are
qualified for formal admission into the teaching profession upon registration with the TRCN.
Non-qualified teachers, on the other hand, are individuals who also teach in Nigerian secondary
schools with Honors Degrees in Science, Social Sciences and Arts-related courses without
undertaking any education course at all in the university. Since such teachers have exposure to
Subject Content Knowledge only, without Pedagogical Knowledge, they are categorised as
non-professional teachers and are not qualified for formal admission into the teachingprofession.
These categories of teachers, professional and non-professional, have been receiving criticisms
from major stakeholders in the education sector. In respect to the learning paths to teacher
certification, there are concerns that the teaching subject courses offered by B.Ed/B.Sc. Ed.
/B.A. Ed. graduates, and the pedagogical content knowledge in the PGDE format may not be
sufficiently adequate to make for sufficiently competent and effective teachers. For instance,
education students minor in their teaching subjects and devote a substantial part of their training
to pedagogical knowledge and skills. In the same way, PGDE students would have acquired
more of subject content knowledge since they had earlier obtained their degrees and have thus
also obtained less pedagogical knowledge and skills. Similarly, there are concerns that
unprofessionally trained persons recruited as teachers in Nigerian secondary schools are mostly
graduates in various disciplines that may or may not even be related to the subject that they
were recruited to teach.

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It was assumed in this study that such discrepancies in the professional and academic
qualifications of teachers will likely be reflected in the teachers’ depth of subject content andpedagogical knowledge; in the ways they discharge their roles as facilitators of learning(Henze, Driel & Verloop 2008); and consequently in the ways they impact their students’
academic achievement.
High rates of failure will be unexpected when the teachers and their teaching are very positive,
and the results obtained contradict their input. It is unwanted when effort by the teacher is notstrong enough to bring about expected success. Though the study of secondary school students
in Kenya by Waseka, Simatwa and Okwach (2016) showed the expected result that teacherswith the Bachelor of Education qualification significantly influenced their students’performance, it also revealed the unexpected outcome with the discovery that teachers with the
Master of Education or Diploma qualifications did not significantly influence the performanceof their students. There is a contradiction when holding a higher degree like Master of
Education does not contribute significantly to the prediction of students’ performance. It isnecessary to clarify contradictions like this with research and to particularly determine whether
the teachers have deficiency in subject content or pedagogical knowledge.
The holistic learning theory stressed by psychologists such as Piaget and Bloom provide thetheoretical underpinning for this assumption. Piaget (1936) and Bloom (1956) identified threelearning domains to which students must be exposed: Cognitive Learning (acquisition ofknowledge through direct teaching); Affective Learning (acquisition of feelings, values,
motivation and attitudes through the process of observation); and Psychomotor Learning(acquisition of skills through observation and practice). However, effective and holistic
learning must involve all the three: that is stimulate critical thinking, stimulate interest anddevelop skill.
For instance, Hill, Rowan and Ball (2005) explored whether and how teachers’ mathematicalknowledge for teaching contributes to gains in students’ mathematics achievement. Findingsof the study showed that teachers’ mathematical knowledge was significantly related to
students’ achievement gains in both first and third grades; and provided support for policy
initiatives designed to improve students’ mathematics achievement by improving teachers’
mathematical knowledge. Baumert et al. (2010) investigated teachers' mathematicalknowledge, cognitive activation in the classroom, and student progress. Findings of the study
showed that teachers with a higher PCK score created better lessons, which had positive effects
on the students’ content knowledge and test results.
Adediwura and Bada (2007) investigated perception of teachers’ knowledge, attitude andteaching skills as predictors of academic performance in Nigerian secondary schools. They
found that students’ perception of teachers’ knowledge of subject matter, attitude to work andteaching skills were significantly related to students’ academic performance. In an ongoingstudy related to teacher professional knowledge, Olasehinde-Williams, Yahaya, Sanya,
Owolabi & Jimoh are investigating the comparative effectiveness of teaching strategies(Collaborative, Critical thinking and Technology-integrated teaching strategies) in reducing
secondary school students’ failure in Senior School Certificate English Language Examinationin Kwara State, Nigeria. Preliminary findings of the study suggest the superiority of eachstrategy over the traditional teaching strategy.
Studies by Abell (2007) and Baumert et.al. (2010) have focused on the impact a single teacher
variable on students’ academic achievement. Abell (2007), Park and Oliver (2008) Lee and77

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Luft (2008), and Baumert et.al. (2010) have investigated the impact of teacher variables on
students’ academic achievement in one subject only and they focused especially on Science
subjects. Findings of most of the studies are generally inconclusive (Park & Oliver, 2008).
Besides, most of the studies were conducted in other settings and as such their findings are notdirectly applicable to Nigeria because of socio-cultural differences. Thus, the apparent dearthof studies on the extent to which teachers’ subject content knowledge and pedagogicalknowledge relate to students’ academic achievement in Nigeria made this study imperative.
Literature Review
Critical insights for the study were gleaned from extant literature related to teacher professional
knowledge, data gathering techniques and study approach as conceptualized in this study. As
early as 1987, Shulman had distinguished seven categories teachers’ professional knowledge:
content knowledge; curricular knowledge; pedagogical content knowledge; generalpedagogical knowledge; knowledge of learners and their characteristics; knowledge ofeducational contexts; and knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values (1987).
Subsequently, researchers identified specific components for study, which also informed theirchoice of measurement techniques. For instance, Kirschner, Borowski and Fischer (2010)
focused on three levels of teachers’ knowledge areas (i) declarative knowledge, (ii) proceduralknowledge and (iii) conditional knowledge including teachers’ reactions to critical teachingsituations, which they measured through experiments, teaching strategies and vignettes (thatis, describing short situations in a classroom).
Baumert et al. (2010) focused on teachers’ knowledge of science and the teaching/learning
process as components of teacher professional knowledge and gathered data through paper andpencil tests as well as observation of videotaped lessons. Henze, Driel and Verloop (2008)
focused on teachers’ knowledge about instructional strategies concerning a specific topic;
students’ understanding of the topic; ways to assess students’ understanding of the topic; andgoals and objectives for teaching the specific topic in the curriculum. To measure thesecomponents, in the Netherlands, the researchers followed nine teachers for a period of three
years in their natural settings to see if, and how, their initial Pedagogical Content Knowledge(PCK) developed while they were teaching a new subject.
The Research Study
To address some of the gaps in our current understanding of the important factor of student
academic achievement, this preliminary study investigated the relative contributions ofteachers’ training background to their depth of subject content and pedagogical knowledge aswell as the extent to which teachers’ subject content and pedagogical knowledge improvestudents’ learning outcomes in two core subjects, English Language and Mathematics ,which
are compulsory for all secondary school students in Nigeria. The goal of the study was toestablish the impact of teacher professional knowledge on students’ learning outcomes.
Specifically, 4 research questions were addressed and 3 hypotheses tested in the study.
Research Questions
1. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has thedeepest Subject Content Knowledge?
2. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has themost adequate DPK?

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3. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has thestrongest DSCPK?
4. What is the predictive ability of teachers’ DSCPK for students’ success in examination?
Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference in the depth of pedagogical knowledge between
sampled English Language and Mathematics teachers.
2. There is no significant difference in the subject matter content knowledge between
sampled English Language and Mathematics teachers.
3. There is no significant difference in the performance between sampled senior secondary
school English Language and Mathematics students.
To these researchers’ minds, empirically determining what mix of teacher subject content andpedagogical knowledge best predicts students’ learning outcomes is critical to reversing thecurrent trend of high failure rate of students in public examinations in Nigeria. Such a reversal,
it was hoped, would enhance the quality and quantity of candidates accessing tertiary
education, enhance the quality of tertiary education products in terms of cognate ability andservice delivery competence and, consequently, boost the nation’s developmental status.
In this study, three components of teachers’ professional knowledge and the extent to which
they impact student learning outcomes were investigated:
1. Depth of Subject Content Knowledge (DSCK);
2. Depth of Professional Knowledge (DPK);
3. Depth of Subject Content and Professional Knowledge (DSCPK), patterned after GessNewsome’s (1999) integrative knowledge category;
4. Students’ Academic Achievement (SAA);
5. Differences in DSCK and DPK of teachers and their SAA in English Language andMathematics; and6. Difference in students’ academic achievement in English Language and Mathematics.
Figure 2, developed by the researchers, presents the schematic representation of how thevariables were controlled.

Figure 2: Schematic representation of DSCK, DPK, DSCPK and SAA(Note:
DSCK: Depth of Subject Content Knowledge, whether Deep or Shallow
DPK: Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge, whether Adequate or Inadequate
DSCPK: Depth of Subject Content and Pedagogical Knowledge, whether Strong or Weak
SAA: Student Academic Achievement, whether High or Low)

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Methodology and Methods
The research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey because of its capacity toallow assessment of certain attributes, properties or characteristics in a situation at one or morepoint in time (Hassan, 1995). Originally, the plan was to sample two hundred Senior Secondary
II (SSII) English Language and Mathematics teachers from 10 randomly selected secondary
schools across the three Senatorial Districts of Kwara State (that is, Kwara North, Kwara
Central and Kwara South), but the reality of the situation in the field altered this plan because
most of the schools had only 1 teacher each for SSII English Language and Mathematics.
Consequently, the number of secondary schools was increased to 32, randomly selected acrossthe three Senatorial Districts of the State. This was done to ensure fair representation of every
part of the State. Thus, all the available SSII teachers of English Language and Mathematics ineach of the 32 schools, totaling 78, participated in the study. These purposively sampled
participants provided data on DSCK and DPK for the study. At the learners’ level, classes of
SSII students of each teacher-participant took part in the study so that their test scores could bereadily matched with their teachers’ DSCK, DPK and DSCPK.
Instruments employed for data collection were paper and pencil tests, used to measure teachers’
DSCK and students’ achievement in both subjects, and observation of teaching strategies andvignettes, that is short classroom situations to which teachers responded to measure their DPK,
because of the potential of such multiple data sources to yield valid, rich, comprehensive andreliable data. Face and content validity, as well as test-re-test reliability measures of theobjective tests and vignettes were determined. Observation of class teaching and management
were subjected to inter-rater validity. The internal consistency reliability measures of the
DSCK and DPK objective tests were 0.94 and 0.82 respectively, while 0.62 and 0.63 wereobtained for the English Language and Mathematics objective tests respectively. All the
instruments yielded quantitative data.
Members of the research team and trained research assistants, comprising lecturers and Ph.D.
students of Educational Measurement and Evaluation, were involved in the data collection.
Ethical guidelines for research and data collection were carefully observed. Data gathering
spanned three weeks and occurred in the second school term to enable substantial coverage ofthe syllabus to enhance the validity of students’ academic achievement. Measures of students’
academic achievement were obtained about one week into the schools’ official examination
period so as not to disrupt the school program and to fall within a period when students
naturally prepared for end-of -term examinations. The maximum possible score on the test ofteachers’ DSCK and DPK was 100%, where 60–100% indicated Deep Knowledge and lessthan 50% indicated Shallow Knowledge. Similar rating was adopted for the students’
Academic Achievement Test, with 60–100% indicating high achievement and less than 50%
indicating low achievement.
Results
Seventy-eight SSII teachers of English Language and Mathematics were sampled as
participants in the study from the three Senatorial Districts of Kwara State, Nigeria. However,
only 75 of them participated fully in the study by making their lesson notes available forinspection, subjecting their lessons to observation, completing the paper and pencil test,
responding to the vignettes and having the students taught by them assessed. The 75
participants comprised 33 female and 42 male teachers. Thirty-nine of the participants were
English Language teachers while the other 36 taught Mathematics. Their ages ranged from 21–

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 201860 and they had between 1 and 30 years of teaching experience. Answers to the four researchquestions are presented below.
1. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has the deepest
Subject Content Knowledge (DSCK)?
Assessment of the sampled teachers’ DSCK was carried out through observation of the content
of lessons, taught using the Faculty of Education’s, University of Ilorin, teaching practiceassessment format, and also by responses to a cognate test scored in percentage. The meanscore on both measures was calculated and each category of teachers compared with the mean.
A summary of the assessment is presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Mean Scores of teachers’ Depth of Subject Content Knowledge (DSCK)
Qualification

Frequency

Mean Score in Percentage

PGDE
NCE
B.A. Ed.
B.Sc. Ed.
B.A.
Others
B.Sc.
Total

2
4
21
11
16
8
13
75

44.00
44.75
49.43
57.83
59.69
62.19
65.42
Grand Mean = 56.59

As shown in Table 1, the grand mean of DSCK among teachers was 56.59%. The lowest meanscore was observed among teachers with a PGDE (44%); mean score of 49.43% was obtainedby holders of a B.A. Ed and this was lower than the grand mean. Teachers having a B.Sc. Ed.
degree with a mean score of 57.83% were better than their B.A, Ed counterparts (49.43%);
while teachers with a B.Sc. had the deepest mean DSCK of 65.42%.
2. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has the mostadequate Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge (DPK)?
Sampled teachers were exposed to an assessment of DPK through observation of theirinvolvement in classroom processes, responses to vignettes and personal interview. Based on
their responses, each of them was scored in percentage and the mean score for each categoryof teachers was calculated. A summary of the assessment is presented in Table 2.

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Table 2: Mean Scores of tTeachers’ Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge (DPK)
Qualification
B.A.
NCE
OthersB.A. Ed.
PGDE
B.Sc. Ed.
B.Sc.
Total

N
16
4
8
21
2
11
13
75

Mean Score
41.13
44.75
49.63
50.90
53.00
54.73
56.08
Grand Mean = 49.87

Table 2 shows that, despite generally low levels of depth of pedagogical knowledge, of themean scores demonstrated by the sampled teachers, those holding the B.A. degree had thepoorest mean score of 41.13%; while B.A. Ed., PGDE, B.Sc. Ed. and B.Sc. teachers recorded
above average mean scores of 50.90%, 53%, 54.73%, and 56.08% respectively. The teacherswith the most adequate depth of pedagogical knowledge were those holding the Bachelor of
Science degree (56.08%).
3. What category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) has thestrongest Depth of Subject Content and Pedagogical Knowledge (DSCPK)?
Scores on the measures of DSCK and DPK were added and the mean score for each categoryof teachers summarized as presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Mean scores of teachers’ Depth of Subject Content and Pedagogical Knowledge(DSCPK)
Qualification
NCE
PGDE
B.A. Ed
B.A.
OthersB.Sc. Ed.
B.Sc

Frequency
4
2
21
16
8
11
13

Mean score out of 200
89.50
97.00
100.33100.81111.81112.55
121.50Grand Mean KSCPK = 106.45

The mean DSCPK score was found to be 106.45 as shown in Table 3. Holders of a B.Sc.
demonstrated the strongest DSCPK of 121.50 and they were followed by those with a B.Sc.
Ed. with 112.55. On the other hand, NCE holders had the weakest depth of DSCPK (89.50).
4. What is the predictive ability of teachers’ DSCPK for students’ success in examination?
Students taught by the 75 teachers who participated in this study were tested in those same
subjects and their scores regressed on the assessment of their teachers’ subject content andpedagogical knowledge to determine their predictive value. The results of the regression
analysis are summarized in Table 4.

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Table 4: Prediction of students’ performance by teachers’ Depth of Subject Content andPedagogical Knowledge
Model

R

R
SquareAdjusted
R SquareStd. Error of
the Estimate

R Square
Change

1

.327a

.107

.082

14.43578.107

Table 4 shows a coefficient of multiple correlations (R) of 0.327 which indicated that both
pedagogical and subject content knowledge of sampled teachers were significant predictors ofstudents’ success in examinations. Findings of the study further revealed that the two variables
accounted for 10.7% of the total variance of students’ success in examinations as shown by theR2 of 0.107. An analysis of variance was carried out to ascertain the significance of theprediction of students’ success by their teachers’ subject content and pedagogical knowledge(Table 5).
Table 5: ANOVA of prediction of students’ success by teachers’ Depth of Subject Content
and Pedagogical Knowledge
Model1

Regression
Residual
Total

Sum
of
Squares1768.126
14795.820
16563.946

df
2
71
73

Mean
Square884.063
208.392

F

Sig.

4.242

.018

As shown in Table 5, the F ratio of 4.242 and df of 2, 71 was significant at 0.018 indicatingthat the sampled teachers’ depth of subject content and pedagogical knowledge significantly
predicted their students’ performance. Table 6 contains the summary of the test of thecontribution of each predictor in the regression analysis.
Table 6: Strength of teachers’ Depth of Subject Content and Pedagogical Knowledge in theprediction
Model

1

(Constant)
Pedagogical
ScoresKnowledge
Scores

Unstandardized
Coefficients
B
Std.
Error
44.944
6.859
-.186
.114

Standardized
Coefficients
Beta

.219

.082

t

Sig.

-.186

6.552
-1.633

.000
.107

.304

2.669

.009

As shown in Table 6, the unstandardized regression coefficients of pedagogical and subject
content knowledge were -0.186 and 0.219 respectively and their standardized regression
coefficients were -0.186 and 0.304. Though the two variables were joint predictors of students’achievement, pedagogical knowledge did not contribute significantly to the prediction with at-value significant at 0.107.

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Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in the depth between pedagogical knowledgeof sampled English Language and Mathematics teachers.
The F-ratio of the Leven’s test of equality of variances revealed a difference between variancesof depth of pedagogical knowledge of English Language and Mathematics teachers (5.668, p< 0.05) as shown in Table 7. It was further observed that difference existed between the meanof the depth of pedagogical knowledge of teachers of English Language and that ofMathematics teachers (t = -2.034, p < 0.05). These results indicate that there was significant
difference between the depth of pedagogical knowledge of English Language and Mathematics
teachers.
Table 7: Results of Independent Samples Test of Depth of Pedagogical and Subject
Knowledge of Teachers of English Language and Mathematics and their Students’ Scores
Leven's Test
for Equality of
Variancest-test for Equality of Means
95% ConfidenceInterval of theEqual variances
ScoresassumedScoresassumed

t

5.668

.020

-1.99873.049-6.7735

3.39077 -13.53130-.01571-2.03464.389.046-6.7735

3.33091 -13.42699-.12002-2.871

73.005-13.1880

4.59359 -22.34304-4.03303-2.82660.087.006-13.1880

4.66657 -22.52229-3.85378-1.85572.068-6.4000

3.45006 -13.27758.47758-1.85470.934.068-6.4000

3.45250 -13.28419.4841915.712.000

Equal variances
not assumed

2tailed Mean Diff

Diff

DifferenceSig.

not assumed

df

Std. Error

F

Equal variances
Equal variances

Lower

Upper

Equal variances
ScoresStudents’

Knowledge

PedagogicalSigassumedEqual variances
not assumed

0.411

.524

The summary in Table 8 shows that the teachers of Mathematics demonstrated a deeper levelof pedagogical knowledge compared to the teachers of English Language.

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Table 8: Group statistics of teachers’ Depth of Pedagogical and Subject Content Knowledge
and their students’ scores
Variables
Pedagogical
ScoresKnowledge
ScoresStudents’
ScoresSubject
TaughtEnglish Lang.
Mathematics
English Lang.
Mathematics
English Lang.
Mathematics

N

Mean

39
36
39
36
39
35

46.615453.388950.2564
63.444445.0000
51.4000

Std.
Deviation
17.44407
10.88716
15.66545
23.61016
14.72735
14.91781

Std. Error
Mean
2.79329
1.81453
2.50848
3.935032.35826
2.52157

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in the subject matter content knowledge
between sampled English Language and Mathematics teachers.
The F-ratio of Leven’s test of equality of variances indicated a significant difference forEnglish Language and Mathematics teachers’ subject matter content knowledge (15.712, p <0.001). There was also a significant difference between the mean of depth of subject content
knowledge of English Language and Mathematics teachers (t = -2.826, p < 0.05). Table 8 also
shows that Mathematics teachers had a significantly deeper knowledge of their subject matter.
Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference in the performance between sampled seniorsecondary school II English Language and Mathematics students.
The Leven’s test of equality of variances revealed no significant difference in the variances ofstudents’ performance of senior secondary school II in English Language and Mathematics(0.411, p > 0.05) as shown ion Table 7. Also, no significant difference was observed in themean scores of students in English Language and Mathematics (t = -1.854, p > 0.05). Students’performance was found to be better in Mathematics than English Language.
Discussion
Findings in this study suggest that teacher training tends to have a debilitating influence on
subject content knowledge as those who obtained their degree in the same or even a related
subject to the ones they teach tend to have lower scores in the test of knowledge of subject
matter content. This may also question the observation by Abimbola (2012) that the exposure
to courses in Faculties of Education is adequate to produce competent teachers. It should be
noted that a subject in which one majors at the university level carries the heaviest weight interms of credits offered and hours spent for lectures and practical sessions. The other subjects
or courses are subsidiary and thus the hours spent receiving lectures or being exposed topractical are lower thus informing the use of major and minor to describe them. Viewed fromthis perspective therefore, the offering of education courses in the university as their major
tends to make it difficult for education students to accommodate as many courses and hours as
those of their counterparts that major in the teaching subjects like English Language andMathematics investigated in this study. At the point of graduation, those who obtained degrees
in the teaching subjects are more knowledgeable and skilled in those subjects than theircounterparts whose major is education because they have actually offered more courses andhave been exposed to more practical sessions in the subjects. The question of adequate

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018knowledge comes in only when considering issues of competence to teach at the secondary
school level. What is considered adequate for use by them in teaching students needs proper
analysis.
In relation to teachers’ DPK, the results of this study generally fell in the expected direction as
the DPK of most untrained teachers was found to be weak. It is, however, surprising that a
category of untrained teachers, for example those holding the Bachelor of Science degree, still
had the most adequate depth of DPK. Though it was discovered that a few of those with a B.A.
or B.Sc. as their highest educational qualifications had earlier gone through the Nigeria
Certificate in Education (NCE) training, which is also a professional teacher qualification, thefact that the Bachelor of Science or Art in Education curriculum offers deeper professional
exposure should imply that products still perform better. Could the fact that many teachers ofEnglish Language and Mathematics might have had some measure of pedagogical knowledge
passed through specialized seminars, workshops and other training programmes, which are
regularly organized to stem the tide of mass failure in schools, have been responsible for thisunexpected result? The critical issue here is that professionally trained teachers are expected to
be clearly better and more competent in DPK. There is a problem when trained teachers andthe untrained have comparable depth of pedagogical knowledge. The exposure of the untrainedto specialized seminars and workshops may not be sufficient factor to explain this observation.
Findings in this study also indicated that teachers who had received professional training
demonstrated weaknesses in subject content and pedagogical knowledge combined with meanscores just barely half of the mark obtainable. Plausible explanation could be that these very
important skills are treated with levity when teachers start practicing thus supporting reports ofstudies by Harris and Sass (2007), Agoro and Akinsola (2013), and Ladipo, (2013), pointing
in the direction of poor quality of teachers in secondary schools. The role of teachers as
researchers may be threatened by the absence of good libraries to support their preparation for
instruction. Merely obtaining teacher’s copy of recommended textbooks and access to it cannot
be afforded in some institutions, not to talk of having access to alternative textbooks for crossreferencing, depth and balance. Reading and revising topics to be taught to students (which theteachers themselves learned many years earlier) may thus be taken for granted. Coupled withthis is the years of teaching experience during which teachers have repeatedly taught the same
topics. The teachers may then be working under the assumption that the topic is known andproceed without serious preparation. When this happens, teachers rely on residual knowledge
and thus weakens their effectiveness and delivery. This implies that the teachers may downplay
the basic principles of instruction in their preparation for the lessons they need to deliver. Amidthese, teachers of Mathematics and English Language have the tendency to have many morelessons to teach which places more demand on their time for preparation.
As expected, the subject content and pedagogical knowledge of teachers significantly predicted
students’ performance in English and Mathematics examinations. However, the variance ofstudents’ performance accounted for by both variables was found to be 10.7%. This suggested
that there are several other variables that account for students’ level of success traceable, forinstance, to the students themselves, their teachers, the school, home environments and suchother sources.
Teachers of Mathematics were observed to be having deeper pedagogical and subject matter
content knowledge. The differences in the depth of their knowledge in these two components
were found to be significant. Whereas a wider selection of graduates of related fields could feelcompetent to teach English, it is not so with Mathematics. Not many teachers are ready to86

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accept teaching Mathematics as could happen to English Language. There is therefore thetendency to have teachers from varied related fields teaching English Language but not
Mathematics.
The grand mean of students’ performance in English Language was found to be lower than thatof Mathematics. This outcome seems to be the likely combined effect of a deeper pedagogicaland subject matter content knowledge observed among teachers. It confirms the initial hunchthat informed this study and the general feeling that teachers with better knowledge of thesubject they teach will likely impact performance of students more than those with little
knowledge. The same applies to pedagogical knowledge.
Conclusions
Main Findings
1. Teachers with Bachelor of Science degrees had the deepest subject content knowledge(DSCK) with a mean of 65.42%.
2. Teachers with the most adequate depth of pedagogical knowledge (DPK) were thoseholding the Bachelor of Science degrees, with a mean of 56.08%.
3. Holders of B.Sc. degrees demonstrated the strongest DSCPK, with a mean of 121.50.
4. Sampled teachers’ depth of subject content and pedagogical knowledge significantly
predicted their students’ performance in examinations.
5. Sampled teachers of English Language were significantly weaker in terms of DPK and
DSCPK compared with teachers of Mathematics.
6. Sampled SSII students were generally better in Mathematics than English Language
although the difference in their academic performance was not statistically significant.
Implications
The overall mean score of 56.59% in DSCK showed that the sampled teachers were generally
weak. Without being strong in this skill, their competence to teach the subject is also affected.
Their delivery of instruction to learners may not be sustainable and many times, questions
raised by inquisitive and intelligent learners may not be well addressed. To probe deeper into
the causes of this low performance may require taking a look at the training received by theteachers in Faculties of Education. What is considered as adequate knowledge in their teachingsubjects and courses offered in them must be thoroughly investigated. Knowledge may be taken
for granted especially if one had gone through school and had acquired certificates or
qualifications as proof.
Also, the finding indicating that the DPK of professionally trained teachers holding B.A. Ed.
and B.Sc. Ed. fell close to the mean calls to question what happened to the teachers while intraining and after they had been certified. It also calls to question whether they are in position
to utilize their professional training while practicing in the school system. If training and skills
acquired are inadequate, delivery is weakened even before the product of such institutions
begin to work. A national study across many other school subjects should be helpful indetermining the validity of the current findings.
Limitations
A preliminary study was embarked upon to achieve the following objectives: identification of
the category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc. Ed /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc.) that has the deepest
DSCK; the most adequate DPK; and the strongest DSCPK. The study also investigated the87

IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018predictive ability of teachers’ DSCPK for students’ performance in English Language andMathematics. Seventy-eight teachers of Senior Secondary II English Language andMathematics in thirty-two randomly secondary schools in Kwara State and classes of SSII
students taught by the teachers who constituted the sample. Data were collected through tests,
observations and vignettes, patterned after Kirschner, Borowski and Fischer (2010) andBaumert et al. (2010); and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics to compare theteachers’ DSCK /DPK/DSCPK in both subjects. Findings of the preliminary investigation
showed that teachers with B.Sc. demonstrated the deepest DSCK; the most adequate DPK; andthe strongest DSCPK. Findings of the study further indicated that both pedagogical and subject
content knowledge of sampled teachers were significant predictors of students’ success in
examinations; and the two variables accounted for 10.7% of the total variance of students’success in examinations.
However, illuminating as the findings of this study may appear, the fact that it was only apreliminary study, limited in scope and subject coverage, means that no conclusive statements
about the findings reported here can be made. Neither can the findings be taken as valid
representation of the depth of subject content and pedagogical knowledge of SSII English
Language and Mathematics teachers in Nigerian secondary schools. A large-scale national
study is therefore imperative.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the roles of the following individuals:••

The secondary school English Language and Mathematics teachers involved in thedevelopment and validation of students’ academic achievement tests.
The academic staff and doctoral students of the Department of Educational
Measurement and Evaluation, University of Ilorin, Nigeria involved in the datacollection and analysis.

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Working Paper 3, Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.
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Ladipo, A. (2013, February 12). Education sector in crisis. Vanguard. Retrieved fromwww.vanguarding.com.
Lee, E. & Luft, J. A. (2008). Experienced secondary science teachers' representation of
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Educational Psychology. 21(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410020019867
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Nigeria. [Presentation] 112th Inaugural Lecture, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
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Ibadan: Emola-Jay Incorporated
Park, S. & Oliver, J.S. (2008). Revisiting the conceptualisation of pedagogical content
knowledge (PCK): PCK as a conceptual tool to understand teachers as
professionals. Research in Science Education, 38 (3), 261–284.
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Piaget, J. (1936). Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard
Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22.
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Corresponding author: Felicia Olasehinde-Williams
Contact email: olabisi@unilorin.edu.ng

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Why Is There a Disequilibrium Between Power and Trust in Educational Settings?
Faruk Levent
Marmara University, Turkey
Nehir ÖzdemirMarmara University, Turkey
Tuba Akpolat
Marmara University, Turkey

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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between school administrators' powersources and teachers' organizational trust levels according to the teachers’ perceptions. The
sample of the study, which employed a survey research method, consisted of 401 school
teachers, working in both the private and public sectors in Istanbul, Turkey. One data
gathering instrument of the study incorporated the “School Administrators’ Organizational
Power Sources Scale” developed by Zafer (2008) and the other was the “Organizational Trust
Scale” first developed by Daboval, Comish, Swindle and Gaster (1994) and adapted toTurkish by Yılmaz (2005). Descriptive statistics and parametric analysis tests were used todetermine the relationship between the power and trust dimensions. According to the researchfindings a moderately positive relationship was found between power sources except coercive
and all organizational trust subscales. There is a positively low level of relationship between
coercive power and all organizational trust sub-dimensions. There is a positively moderate
relationship between sensitivity to employees and communication environment subdimensions of organizational trust and legitimate power, as well as a low positive relationshipwith openness to innovation and trust to administration subscales. Thus, the results revealed
that sub-dimensions of organizational power significantly predicted organizational trustscores.
Keywords: trust, education, power, administration, teacher, leadership

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Introduction
Today, increasing technological, economic and political developments make organizationalchange inevitable, including in educational organizations. During this process of change, theways in which educational leaders use the power sources they have gain importance.
An education system’s ability to fulfil its functions effectively at school level depends on theknowledge and abilities of the school administrator first of all. A head-teacher who canprovide this success needs to be well trained in behavioral sciences as well as having
knowledge about the concepts and processes related to school management. At this point,
educational administration is not only an expertise, but also a combination of personal skills,
experiences and knowledge (Nathan, 2013). Within this knowledge and skills, the ability ofschool administrators to influence the teachers and other staff is very important and illustrates
their form of power. Ability to influence with power is one of the basic ways to create
behavior change in subordinates and this causes productivity to increase because the essenceof the power concept consists of the ability to have control over the behavior of others(Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2002). According to Raven and Kruglansky, the concept of
power is a form of influence that controls over the conflict and chaos (cited in Benzel, 1983).
In this way, the use of power sources is regarded as a factor to reduce mistrust in the chaotic
environment of organizations. In this context, the problematic question of this study is; Is
there any significant relationship between the power sources used by administrators and theorganizational trust that teachers feel in educational organizations?
Educational organizations, like other organizations, should be able to adapt to the everchanging and evolving conditions. It should be taken into consideration that the power sharedby the organization during the modernization of schools is the winning power and that thesharing of power by the administration will create an environment based on trust and synergy(Taymaz, 2005). The concept of trust is a significant influence that increases the level ofproductivity of educational organizations and basically this concept is the product of a
relationship based on honesty and integrity. According to contemporary approaches, theconcept of trust is the most fundamental resource for the coordination of individuals who
have common goals (Shrum, Chompalov & Genuth, 2001). In terms of organizational trust, it
is seen that the variables such as a leader's capabilities, prestige and philanthropy are thebasic preconditions for creating an environment based on trust in organizations. Therefore, it
is seen that this trust environment influences employees’ skills such as creativity andorganizational commitment (Tan, H. & Tan, C., 2000). According to the literature, Daboval,
Comish, Swindle and Gaster’s (1994) Organizational Trust Scale consists of four subdimensions of trust: sensitivity towards the employees, trusting to the principal, openness toinnovation, and communication environment (as cited in Yılmaz, 2005, see p. 84).
Organizational trust provides positive outputs for the organization and employees directly
and indirectly. In the determination of the trust level, one of the important variables is theorganizational power sources used by the administrations. Even though there are limited
studies which examine the organizational trust perception and organizational power sources
relationship effect on educational organizations (Karadag & Bektas, 2013; Altınkurt &Yılmaz, 2011), there have been different studies related to this subject for different
professional groups in different organizations (Bachman, 2001). The research is important for
explicating the relationship between these two variables (power and trust) in terms ofeducational organizations. In fact, it is believed that the relationship between the trust93

IAFOR Journal of Education

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Literature Review
According to Weber, power is defined as “the ability of an individual to achieve their own
goals or aims when others are trying to stop them from realising them and having influenceon others” (as cited in Ordonez Asenjo, 2014, p. 7).
According to the French and Raven, social power in some systems is defined as the
maximum potential ability of social agent to influence others and they classified the power infive different categories as legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and referent power sources(1959, p. 261). Even though information power is added as a sixth power source to thisclassification later on, in some sources it has still been included in the field of expert power(as cited in Goethals, Sorenso & Burns, 2004, p. 210). ‘Expert’ and “Referent” power sources
are related to personal properties of the administrators and expert is based on a person's highlevels of skill and knowledge whereas referent is based on a person's perceived attractiveness,
worthiness and right to others' respect. The “Legitimate”, “Reward” and “Coercive”
dimensions are positional power sources and they are defined as: legitimate power source isbased on the formal right to make demands, and to expect others to be compliant andobedient, reward power source results from one person's ability to compensate another forcompliance, and coercive power source comes from the belief that a person can punish others
for noncompliance (Daft & Marcic, 2014, pp. 489–490).
On the other hand, the concept of trust, that is considered to be influenced by power sources,
is defined as an attention to the sensitivities of the other side. According to Zucker, it isviewed as a confidence that cannot be harmed or put at risk by the actions of the other party(as cited in Jones & George, 1998, p. 531). In addition, the feeling of trust, which is seen as
the most important social capital of school organizations, will lead to a culture shared throughthe suitable power used by school administrators and this shared culture will contribute to thecreation of trust in the staff (Zalabak, Morreale & Hackman, 2010).
There are sub-dimensions of trust defined in the literature. The most common sub-dimensionsof trust are defined by Daboval, Comish, Swindle and Gaster (1994). They have come to theconclusion that there are four different sub-dimensions of trust. These sub-dimensions are (ascited in Yılmaz, 2005, p. 54):••••

Sensitivity towards the employees: It refers to administrator’s understanding andrespect of staff. For this sub-dimension, the support of the managers raises staff interms of productivity and feeling trust.
Trusting to the principal: It refers to staff’s trust of the administrators’ fairness andexpertness. The emphasis of the administrator is to be generous in sharing informationand to develop a sincere and honest relationship with his staff.
Openness to innovation: It refers to administrator’s eagerness and effort in creating
effective and positive organizational change and development, thus the environmentof trust can easily be created.
Communication environment: It refers to staff’s right to share ideas and feelings forthe organization without hesitation and the importance of conveying the information
to the employees in a correct and timely manner.

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MethodThe target population of this study were 4877 primary, middle and high school teachers,
working in private and public schools in Eyup/Istanbul and Tuzla/Istanbul during the 2016–2017 academic year. The research sample size can be assessed in an approximate 95 per centconfidence interval for different size of populations and the participant number wasdetermined in accordance with the relating sampling table (Anderson & Olkin, 1994). A totalof 4877 teachers should be represented by a sample of 356 participants according to the 95%
certainty level. Considering the problems that may be encountered during the completion ofquestionnaires, 450 questionnaires were distributed of which 401 were returned. The total
number of participants according to demographic values is provided in Table 1.
Table 1: The Number of the Questionnaire Respondents
GenderFemale
Male

N
258
183

%
54
46

Class
Branch

59
342

15
85

0-5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
16 years and over

170
108
77
46

42
27
19
12

Undergraduate
Graduate

298
103

74
26

PublicPrivateUnion Membership
MemberNon-member

253
143

63
37

167
234

42
58

BranchSeniority

DegreeSchool TypeOf the subjects, 54% of them were female (258 participants) and 46% were Male (183participants), 15% participant teachers (59) worked in primary schools and 85% participantteachers (342) worked in middle and high schools. As a seniority variable, 42% of them had
0-5 years of experience (108), 27% of them had 6-10 years of experience (108), 19% of themhad 11-15 years of experience (77), 12% of them had experience over 16 years (46). Of thesubjects, 74% of them had a bachelor degree (298) and 26% of them had a master or PhD
degree (103), 63% of them worked in public schools (253) and 37% of them worked in
private schools (143), 42% of them had membership in teacher unions (167) and 58% ofthem did not have membership in teacher unions (234).
One of the data collection instruments used in the research is the “Organizational Power
Sources Scale” developed by Zafer (2008) and this scale has five different power sources:
expert, referent, reward, legitimate, coercive power. This scale performed well in validity andreliability analysis and as a result of the exploratory factor analysis of the scale, it has been

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found that explanation variances of each dimension varied between 53% and 62% whereas
Cronbach Alpha coefficients, which were the indicators of reliability, were between .82 and.94.
The other data collection instrument is the Organizational Trust Scale developed by Daboval,
Comish, Swindle and Gaster (1994) and adapted to Turkish by Yılmaz (2005) after
displaying good validity and reliability and it has four subdimensions: sensitivity towards theemployees, trusting to the principal, openness to innovation, communication environment.
Total variance explained by the scale is found to be 52%, whereas Cronbach Alphacoefficient is .97.
For this study, data was analyzed by SPSS (23.0 version). In order to determine which
statistical techniques should be used to analyze quantitative data, the Shapiro-Wilk H Test
was first conducted. As a result of the test, parametric techniques such as Pearson ProductMoment Correlation Analysis were applied during the analysis of data on the normality of
research data.
Findings
As a result of the analysis of the data, basic findings were obtained for the problematic
situation to be answered. In this context, the mean scores and the standard deviation scores of
the teachers' perceptions of sub-dimensions of Trust Scale scores are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Mean and Standard Deviation Values for Organizational Trust Sub-dimensions
Sub-dimensions

Mean

Standard Deviation

Communication environment
Sensitivity towards the employees
Trusting to the principal
Openness to innovation
Total Trust Score

3.53
3.29
3.52
3.38
3.42

1.36
1.25
1.47
1.02
1.20

As shown in the Table 2, it is seen that the organizational trust levels were perceived in theform of communication environment (X = 3.53), sensitivity towards the employees (X =3.29), trusting to the principal (X = 3.52), openness to innovation (X = 3.38) and the total
trust score (X=3.42). Accordingly, teachers perceive the communication environment subdimension as the highest of all.
For this study, according to the participant teachers, the mean and the standard deviation
values of the power sources used by the administrators are given in Table 3.
Table 3: Mean and Standard Deviation Values of Power Resources Used by Administrators
Sub-dimensions
Expert Power
Referent Power
Reward Power
Legitimate Power
Coercive Power

Mean
3.55
3.43
3.41
3.83
3.53

96

Standard Deviation
.84
.94
.95
.71
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According to the perceptions of the teachers, it is seen that the power source used at thehighest level is the legitimate power (X = 3.83), then expert power (X = 3.55), coercive force(X = 3.53), referent power (3.43) and the last one is reward power (X = 3.41).
According to the teachers’ perceptions; the results of the Pearson Product-Moment
Correlation Analysis, conducted to determine the direction and dimension of the relationshipbetween the organizational trust attitude’s subdimensions and the power sources used by theadministrators are shown in Table 4.

Openness toinnovation

Communication
environment

Total Score of trust

Expert power

Referent power

Reward power

Legitimate power

Coercive power

Sensitivity
towards
employees
Trust toprincipal

r 1p.838**.000.399**.000.870**.000.952**.000.390**.000.389**.000.388**.000.321**.000.254**
.000

r
p

1

.306**.000.924**.000.954**.000.315**.000.287**.000.289**.000.217**
.000

.086
.087

Openness toinnovationrp

1.304**.000.430**.000.839**.000.914**.000.898**.000.743**.00.538**.000

Communication environmentrp

1.957**.000.341**.000.307**.000.307**.000.285**.000.157**.002

Total score of
trust

r
p

1

.425**.000.412**.000.411**.000.340**.000.216**.00

Expert Powerrp1.906**.000.784**.00.783**.000.526**.000

Referent powerrp1.804**.000.763**.000.495**.000

Reward powerrp1.754**.000.495**.000

Legitimate
power

r
p

1

.665**.000

Coercive
power

r
p

Sensitivity towards
employees

Trust to principal

Table 4: Results of Correlation between Organizational Power and Organizational Trust

1

As shown in Table 4, it is seen that there is a positively moderate relationship between thesensitivity towards employee sub-dimension and the power of expert, referent, reward andlegitimate power, while there is a positively low relationship between sensitivity towards theemployee’s sub-dimension and coercive power. There is a positively moderate relationship97

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between organizational trust’s sub-dimension, trust to principal and expert power andpositively low relationship with referent power, reward power, and legitimate power, but nosignificant relationship with coercive power. Organizational trust’s openness to innovation
sub-dimension has a positively high level of relationship with expert power, referent power,
reward power, legitimate power and coercive power. Organizational trust’s communication
environment sub-dimension has positively moderate relationship with the expert, referent andreward power sources while it has positively low relationship with legitimate power andcoercive power.
When the relationship between organizational trust and power source types is examined
separately, it can be said that there is a positively moderate and significant relationshipbetween expert, referent power, reward power and organizational trust total score from thefindings; expert power (r = 0.425), referent power (r = 0.412), reward power (r = 0.411),
legitimate power (r = 0.340) and coercive power (r = 0.216). Accordingly, it can be said thatthe effective use of expert, referent and reward power sources increases the level of trust
environment in educational organizations. There is a much lower relationship between
legitimate power, coercive power and organizational trust in comparison with the other powersources.
Discussion and Conclusion
Today, organizations that are under the influence of globalization need to envisageorganizational change and innovation in order to meet growing expectations and make adifference from their competitors in increasingly competitive environments. For
organizations that want to keep up with the 21st century conditions, change can sometimes
create pressure and stress due to employees' self-renewal and development efforts. Thissituation which is inevitable for almost all organizations is also valid for educationalorganizations. Organizations’ and schools’ complex structures, the problems created by theinability to share corporate resources, differences in worldviews and judgments of values,
sense of self or power battles originating from work position, communication problems
between employees and their goal differences can create a chaotic and insecure atmosphere inorganizations. It is important to work in a peaceful and safe environment between theteachers and the administrators at the point where educational organizations fulfill their goals.
Creating this environment of trust is one of the main tasks of the administrators and this ispossible with the correct and effective use of the power sources of the ones at the
management level of schools.
In the light of these thoughts, the aim of this study was to clarify if there is any significant
relationship between the power sources used by administrators and the organizational trustthat teachers feel in educational organizations. At this point, it will be a contribution to therelated literature area whether the power sources used by school administrators in educationalorganizations affect the atmosphere of trust affecting teachers and if so, it is also necessary toknow the level of this effect. It is also useful to see which power sources influence the trust
environment in educational organizations.
According to Kratzer's (1997) research there is a positive relationship between open
communication and organizational trust in educational organizations. Also, it has been foundthat creating a trust environment in schools depends on the teachers’ ability to establish clear
relationships with each other. As a result of this trust environment, it has been observed thatteachers can share their professional secrets with each other, establish their strategies and98

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fulfill their tasks successfully and can share materials and plans with each other (Kratzer,
1997, p. 26). In a study they conducted together, Jones and George aimed to identify factorsthat contributed to organizational trust in educational organizations and found that these were
the factors of employee qualifications, environment, organizational structure, organizational
climate and interpersonal relationships (Jones & George, 1998, pp. 542–543). When the levelof organizational trust is examined in this study, it is seen that the average scores of thecommunication environment are the highest among organizational trusts sub-dimensions
score. As a result of this research and on the basis of the study of the literature, it is seen thatinter-teacher communication is an important element in providing an environment of trust at
schools.
In a study conducted by Sheehan, teachers’ feelings of trust toward the school administrator
contribute their improving positive attitudes toward the school and their involvement inschool management. Also, as a result of the high organizational trust in educationalorganizations, the teachers’ level of risk and initiative taking increases (Sheehan, 1995, pp.
136–137). In this study, feeling trust towards the principal was encountered as an elementthat increases organizational trust level and it is seen that trust to principal sub-dimension is
the most perceived one after the communication environment sub-dimension.
This study, which was conducted in order to determine the relationship between school
administrators' power sources and organizational trust according to teacher perceptions in
educational organizations, shows that the bureaucratic, decentralized and vertical hierarchicalstructure of the National Ministry of Education in Turkey has the legitimate power source as
the most used by school administrators. School administrators who are responsible for
implementing the laws and regulations coming from the Ministry have to develop a lawbased management approach to ensure the general operation of schools. Since politicalinterventions are frequently carried out in Turkey through legislation and regulations, it ispossible for law enforcement officials to use legitimate power as a way of ensuring that
employees adapt to these frequently changing educational policies. Other power sources usedby school administrators in this study are respectively expertise, coercive power, referent
power and the lowest one is reward power. When the related literature is examined, Altınkurt
and his colleagues (2014) conducted empirical studies on power sources used by school
administrators in relation to power preferences of school administrators show that according
to the teachers’ perceptions, school administrators used the legitimate power most of all(Altınkurt, Yılmaz, Erol & Salalı, 2014, p .51). Similarly, Kocabaş (2016), in his master’s
thesis study, examined the views of teachers about the power sources used by the school
administrators. Participant teachers stated that school administrators first received their powersource from laws and regulations (Kocabaş, 2016, p. 121). In a study of school
administrators' power sources, conducted in Washington State, it has been determined thatthe most used power sources are referent power and expert power (Benzel, 1983, p. 101).
In another research study, according to Lyons and Murph, when school administrators'
experience in the same institution increases, it has become clear that the school
administrators use the authority powers (especially the legitimate power), which are moreorganizationally sourced ones. It has been argued by the researcher that administrators havelost their teaching and learning activity skills as they gain managerial experience and thus
have lost the ability to use the expert and referent power sources, which are the ideal powersources for their organizations to achieve their goals (as cited in Tschannen-Moran & Gareis,
2004, pp. 574–575). However, the use of personality powers such as expert and referent plays
a more effective role for successful management of schools in the related literature (Benzel,

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1983, pp. 7–8). Moreover, as mentioned before, legal regulations in Turkey cause school
administrators to use legitimate power more effectively than the usage of referent and expert
power.
Based on the results of this study, there is a moderate and positive relationship between
organizational trust and expertise, referent, rewarding and legitimate power; there is a low
positive relationship between organizational trust and coercive force. Also, a moderate
positive relationship between school administrators' power sources and organizational trust,causes the concepts of power and trust to be considered as concepts has similar effects on
educational organizations. Similarly, other investigations have shown that organizational
power is a concept that greatly affects organizational trust (Bachman, 2001; Altinkurt &Yilmaz, 2011; Karadag & Bektas, 2013).
Considering the effects of organizational trust on the organizational outcomes, theexplanatory effect of power sources used by the school administrators should be taken into
consideration in a broad sense, that’s why it may be useful to carry out more studies in thisarea in educational organizations.

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Sakarya, Turkey).
Zalabak, P. S., Morreale, S., & Hackman, M. (2010). Building the high-trust organization:
Strategies for supporting five key dimensions of trust (Vol. 7). John Wiley & Sons.

Corresponding author: Nehir ÖzdemirContact email: nehirozdemir@marun.edu.tr

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Foreign Language Proficiency as an Asset for Japanese Graduates
Raimond Selke
Goethe-Institut Indonesien, Jakarta
Tomoki Sekiguchi
Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University
Ashlyn Moehle
Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University
Abdelrahman Elsharqawy
Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University
Philip Streich
Graduate School of Human Science, Osaka University

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Abstract
The present study discusses the findings from a survey of BA students in their 3rd year or
higher, as well as MA degree program students, regarding their perception of Western
corporate culture and internationalisation in relation to their foreign language major. The
students surveyed (n=445) belong to one of 24 different foreign language programs. Besides
demographics, the respondents were asked to state their level of agreement or disagreement
concerning different scenarios they might expect to encounter during their first full-time
position in a corporate firm. Data analyses were conducted with SPSS. A sample of students
in non- foreign language majors was used as a control group (n=112). Significant findings
are discussed within the theoretical framework of Stakeholder Theory in Education. Foreign
language students have a higher perception and understanding of internationalisation than
non-foreign language students. A statistical analysis of internationalisation among foreign
language students showed the highest correlation for the following factors: Evaluation ofEnglish for Career, Status of Foreign Language, and Business Interest. The findings have apractical implication for human resource managers, as they indicate which type of students
have the highest theoretical potential to help a firm striving for greater internationalisation.
One limitation of this study is that survey respondents are affiliated with only one university.
A future tracer study could test the model to see whether students with the highest level ofagreement to internationalisation really are involved after graduation in theinternationalisation process of the firms they are affiliated with.
Keywords: human resource management, western corporate culture, internationalisation,
stakeholder theory in education, status of foreign language

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Introduction
Internationalisation has reached the attention of Japanese stakeholders such as politicians,
human resource (HR) managers of multinational corporations [MNCs], as well as smallerorganisations, university administrators, students, and consumers. Internationalisation
concerns an organisation’s internal and external measurements to conduct business and trade.
Stakeholder groups affect each other in terms of opportunities and actions regarding
internationalisation. For example, a weak economy renders negative repercussions forsociety, manifesting as growing hardships for constituents, for example increasingly fragile
infrastructure. Similarly, in an underperforming education sector, underachieving graduates
failing to conform to market demands inflict negative consequences upon society. Suchnegative factors are currently compounded by a rapidly aging Japanese society, a low birthrate, a shrinking domestic market, increasing competition from foreign markets, andresistance to integration and migration (Sekiguchi, Froese, & Iguchi, 2016).
To provide a sustainable economic framework, bureaucrats are dependent on the performanceof the industrial sector and educational institutions (Lilles & Rõigas, 2017). Within
education, universities secure more funds via government or industry grants in a flourishingeconomic environment. In return, universities can provide better education, teaching, andresearch outputs. HR managers subsequently rely on graduates with a high potential tocontribute to their organisations’ internationalisation and increased profitability.
Embracing English language proficiency in human resource management (HRM) often
becomes synonymous with internationalisation. However, graduates must achieve proficiency
before they enter the job market. In Japan, learning techniques, teaching methods, andeducational outcomes remain varied, and English language proficiency is below theinternational average. For example, a report shows Japan ranking 40th from 46 countries inmean total scores for listening and reading (2015 Report on Test Takers Worldwide. The
TOEIC Listening and Reading Test, 2017). Japan remains a monolingual country, principally
due to the homogeneous nature of society. However, some companies (e.g., Rakuten, Nippon
Sheet Glass, Nissan) have promoted “Englishization” to make English the corporate
language. This is longstanding accepted practice for many foreign MNCs supporting a crucial
internationalisation strategy and contributing to a “modern” corporate culture. The rationale
for this change, in particular for MNCs, relates to the need for a more competitive businessmodel to address ongoing concerns (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989; Sekiguchi et al., 2016). For
this research purpose we, therefore, consider besides internationalisation also Western
corporate culture as an important depending variable. MNCs have conducted significant
research into internationalisation, although a gap remains between perceptions of current
students concerning internationalisation and expectations of organisations seeking theirtalents. Investigation is required to understand how FL majors may make significant
contributions to internationalisation goals.
Academics have also addressed the need for internationalisation in the university
environment (Arimoto, Cummings, Huang, & Shin, 2015). In this respect, internationalisation
has other implications, depending upon whether it is applied to individual fields of study or toa university-wide curriculum and administrative structure. In the case of foreign language(FL) programs, the primary goals consist of improving language proficiency whilst
developing cultural intelligence (CQ). The success of such programs in executing the latter
impacts upon the level of internationalisation. However, the strong focus of previous researchis upon scholars and academics, whilst largely neglecting students as stakeholders. By

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018considering students and identifying which factors are correlated with a positive perception ofinternationalisation, this study aims to fill the practical gap for HR managers. Thereby,
educational solutions can contribute significantly to the debate upon Japaneseinternationalisation strategies and FL proficiency.
This paper addresses the following research questions:
1. What are the perceptions of FL students regarding Western corporate culture andinternationalisation in comparison with their peers in non-FL majors?
2. What effect do features of FL major students and programs (study abroad experience,the status of the language, personal interest in the FL, future outlook, and perceptionof utility) have on the scores for Western corporate culture and internationalisation?
Literature Review
The research review focuses on internationalisation and its chosen predictors, career choice,
FL education, and Stakeholder Theory in education.
Internationalisation and its Chosen Predictors
Arimoto et al. (2015) detailed the changing Japanese academic profession. Various authors
considered the phenomenon of “change” due to demographic factors, and a realignment of
stakeholder relationships. These discussions concern a 1992 survey, repeated in 2007.1 Huang(2015) points out that by 2007 more than 70% of faculty members in both national andprivate universities rejected the necessity for a fresh impetus to internationalise their
university curriculums. Within the changing university environment, institutions have moved
from catering exclusively to society’s higher echelons to achieving universal provision ofhigher education, stimulated by a shrinking population. Superfluous capacity ensures thatapplicants achieving the minimum entrance requirement can find a place. This will impact
upon teaching quality due to varying levels of student readiness to embark upon higher
education programs. Private universities and those in rural areas must cope with these issues
sooner than National Universities and institutions with a prestigious reputation. Arimoto et al.
(2015) conclude that internationalisation of Japanese university research and educationrelated activities has improved since 2000. However, awareness of internationalisation overthe same time period has not kept pace. Arimoto et al. (2015) suggest there may be negative
associations among Japanese university educators regarding internationalisation.
Academics also emphasise the need for change in the Japanese economy and point to thepressure many firms face from globalisation (Lippert & Kenichi, 2015; Lippert, 2016; Yamao& Sekiguchi, 2015). Such research provides a comprehensive overview of companies’
internationalisation strategies and resulting issues concerning staff demotivation. For Lippert
and Kenichi (2015), hesitation paired with resistance to change is traceable to the Kaishacompany mind-set rooted in a high-context culture with unwritten rules. It therefore becomesa barrier to successfully adapting to internationalisation. Today, the Kaisha-mind-set, which
helped Japanese growth during the 1960s and 1970s is, for Lippert (2016), often no longer
appropriate. According to Lippert and Kenichi (2015), hesitation over sending employees
abroad stems from inadequate FL proficiency and consequent low CQ.
1

The First International Survey of the Academic Profession in 1992, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching in the United States and including 14 countries. Arimoto along with Futau
conducted a similar survey in 2007.

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To fill the practical and academic gap and consider why many firms still follow traditionalroutes by relying upon the local market, Yamao and Sekiguchi (2015) measured the impact
on “change” and “progress” with English as an organisation’s internationalisation language.
Whilst the authors assume that English-speaking employees have the potential to support
internationalisation, their findings illustrated difficulties for non-Anglophonic countries, inparticular Japan, in switching to English. Such development can change the power
relationship within an organisation by severely affecting the authoritative hierarchy and,
consequently, the Kaisha-mind-set. HRM practitioners and academics see this as one of the
major barriers to effective Japanese internationalisation. Building on insights provided by thisresearch, the question is raised: how can CQ skills and assets of FL graduates contribute tosolve such dilemmas?
Career ChoiceRegarding the age factor, Humburg (2017), like Lee and Ohtake (2014), investigates career
choice using the BIG 5 characteristics. He argued that assessing behavioural characteristics of
14 year-olds permits comparison with the subsequent choice of subject studied, as personality
has yet to be influenced by pursuing a particular field of study, for example through either
peer pressure or stricter adherence to stereotypes. Therefore age, as an influencing factor thatshapes undergraduates’ perceptions of corporate culture and internationalisation, is
considered as they advance in the curriculum and age is included as a control variable.
Schaar, Selke, Ang, & Ogasa (2015) investigated career choice, and a tracer study examined
career paths of FL graduates in a Malaysian-German BA program. The survey questioned
curriculum improvement and established that graduates sought additional courses with “reallife” relevance (e.g., business aspects). The possibility exists to conceptually develop thestudy by including “business as personal interest in language” as an indicator for career
success, or at this stage, as a marker for greater aptitude for internationalisation. The tracer
study also revealed that lifelong learning and in particular further studies in Master or MBA,which are providing additional international flair and knowledge for the learners, have apositive impact on income and career development.
Foreign Language Education
In the English Education Reform Plan Corresponding to Globalization (MEXT, 2013),
Japanese policy makers outlined steps for improving English as a FL education program in
the public school system. This was a galvanized response to globalisation and indicatespolicy makers’ underlying assumption that English and FL proficiency contribute toeconomic development. Japan remaining a monolingual society questions past measures
aimed at improving English proficiency, such as the Japan Exchange and Teaching program.
The English Education Reform Plan is not immune to criticism (e.g., Kobayashi, 2013),
discussion of low English proficiency relating to Japanese economic performance from 1970
to 2012. A key organisational concern is that Japanese graduates are becoming less inclined
to work overseas. Many Japanese companies seek foreign talent that can help them cope with
globalisation challenges. However, Japanese graduate FL skills are not readily utilised andare not viewed as an asset. This approach, which ignores FL skills as a career enhancer andincludes a male gender bias for managerial promotion, is ultimately detrimental. Female
employees with high FL proficiency experience find difficulty in achieving appropriate peer

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018recognition, (Kobayashi, 2013). Therefore, Kobayashi’s paper is highly relevant to theresearch project as female students achieve higher FL grades.2
Scholars have called for analyses of English education within a broader framework of policy,
politics and ideology (Kobayashi, 2013; Morizumi, 2016). To establish a balance between
progressive and conservative thinking among policy makers, Morizumi (2016) notes that
improving English proficiency is paired with the affirmation of Japanese identity in English
education. However, for Kobayashi (2013), recent efforts in expanding English education are
too late. Such Japanese academic opinions concerning language education highlights the
problematic Japanese mind-set regarding English.
The literature also indicates mounting pressure upon previously important foreign languages
in Japan. Schöningh (2015) discussed the shift in language policy and interest in Japan forGerman, traditionally the second most-studied FL in terms of numbers after English. Other
studies support this pessimistic analysis and demand a modernized curriculum, (whichcorresponds with students’ aspirations in Schaar’s et al. (2015) findings). For example,
Chinese has become more prominent, and some companies established special training
programs within their headquarters (Nakamura, 2016). Therefore, it is relevant to include FL
status within this study, and to raise the question: does a role remain for shrinking foreign
languages in the changing Japanese university environment?
Stakeholder Theory in Education
Stakeholder Theory has received, since its introduction by Freeman in 1984, more attention(Freeman, 1984; Freeman, Harrison, & Wicks, 2010). One of the main misunderstandings
with this theory is often its mixing up with corporate social responsibility due to its aversive
concept against shareholders' wealth maximization. The theory explains that anorganisation’s success and survivability depends upon its capability to satisfy both its
economic and non-economic objectives. Therefore, the concept is applicable in the university
performance context. A university which does not serve the needs of society fails to succeed
in its reason for being in business. Upon implementation of the National University
Incorporation Law in 2004, Japanese national universities, which were formerly government
controlled, became “national university corporations”. A primary legislative goal was tomake universities more responsive to society’s needs in an increasingly competitive andglobalised age. Understandably, stakeholder management plays a crucial role in the operationof higher education institutions, as multiple stakeholder groups and their attendant aspirations
require close monitoring, plus inclusion in decision making processes (e.g., curriculum
design, evaluation, and internationalisation). The extent to which implementation of
stakeholder management has been successful remains underexplored. Woolgar (2007)
investigated university-industry linkages after the 2004 law. He measured how industry
generated income varied depending upon university staff competency. One finding was that
universities often failed to provide graduates with industry required skills, despite this being a
legislative driving rationale. The phenomenon of changing expectations within higher
education, and sometimes the failure of institutions to meet such expectations, is not peculiar
to Japan. In many countries, universities previously under government control are facing
mounting pressure due to a growing awareness of stakeholder management and expectationsof greater commitment to people and society (Mampaey & Huisman, 2015). Murasawa’s
2

Tollefson (2016) discusses the language policy direction for Japan in another direction, i.e. foreign workers in
the care and health sectors. It could be investigated how Japanese foreign language graduates benefit from thepresence of such foreign language speakers, (e.g., Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia) in internalinternationalization.

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Volume 6 – Issue 1 – Spring 2018(2015) analysis of academic professions reaches similar conclusions concerning stakeholder
responsibility. With decreased governmental oversight, universities attempt to accomplish
effective staff evaluation, partially by setting individual Key Performance Indices. Hammond(2016) suggests that pressure on higher education staff is rooted in the effort to remaininternationally competitive in response to economic globalisation, which is linked back to
Stakeholder Theory. For Murasawa (2015), the absence of significant results is not surprisingwhen analysing the impact of evaluation on research input, such as grants, and output, such as
publications and patents, and on teaching orientation. The incorporation of national
universities and its consequences for university management exhibits parallels to tensions
between eastern and western work culture in some Japanese companies. For example, agebased remuneration may be favoured over western pay-by-merit, and perceived as a better
incentive. Similarly, notions of responsibility in Japanese firms often differ from western
standards (Takahashi, 2004; Todeschini, 2011). These findings relate to the present research,as they indicate further risk of conflict within internationalisation.
Western corporate culture
Organisational corporate culture serves to maintain integrity within company subsidiaries. In
a 1968 study, repeated in 1972, Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G., & Minkov (2010) explore
differences in national cultures and consequent divergent views upon management in 72
countries within one MNC (IBM). Such differences are predicated upon deeply-rooted values
and traditions of respective cultures. Managers’ and employees’ values shape their
expectations of how companies should be managed and how relationships between individual
members should be defined. Fukuyama, (1996) and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner(2012) further developed cultural diversity by demonstrating that Japanese HRM practices
are fundamentally different to those of companies originating or operating in North Americanand European cultures (Kopp, 1994). For example, they claim that organisations with rigid
hierarchies survive best under stable conditions. In turbulent times, as Japan is currently
experiencing, organisations with flat hierarchies cope more effectively. They believe that
failure to address causes of counterproductive trends before their effects appear can prove
detrimental to organisations and their entrenched cultures. Western corporate culture isfundamentally different from that in Japan. Based upon required HRM practice change
illustrated above, acceptance of Western corporate culture was measured as an indicator of
students’ potential to support internationalisation. However, the feasibility of alternative
approaches is acknowledged, for example measuring willingness to adopt Chinese corporate
culture, with its heavy governmental and political influence as an indicator of potential tocontribute to internationalisation.
Internationalisation
No common definition of internationalisation exists. Dülfer and Jöstingmeier (2008) define it
as the process of export, licensing or overseas direct investment. Perlitz (2004) considers
internationalisation as a phenomenon encompassing various aspects of commercial enterprisesuch as products, customers, and employees. Within Japanese HRM, both internal andexternal internationalisation are demarcated. Yoshihara (2005) describes internalinternationalisation as foreign employee involvement in headquarters decision making.
Alternatively, external internationalisation concerns all aspects of MNCs operating overseas,
which is achieved through either localisation, such as employing host country nationals tomanage Japanese MNC subsidiaries, or globalisation, providing fair and equal promotional
opportunities regardless of nationality. Both strategies achieve greater internationalisation byeither increasing local responsiveness or promoting global integration (Bartlett & Ghoshal,1989). In this study the term is used to refer to both internal and external internationalisation.

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Status of a foreign language
Languages are normally grouped by measuring either the number of native speakers or the
economic strength of the countries where they are spoken. Linguists divide languages into
broad categories: “growing” and “shrinking” or “big” and “small” (Ammon, 2015; Swann de,2001). In this study, languages are categorised as either “growing” or “shrinking” according
to the number of current native speakers. Growing languages include English, Arabic,
Chinese, Spanish, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, and Farsi, and shrinking languages include
German, French, and Danish.
Based upon impediments discussed above, raised issues, previous findings, and gaps in the
research, the following hypotheses are developed:
H1a: Japanese FL major students are more likely to accept Western corporate culture thantheir peers in non-FL majors.
H1b: Japanese FL major students are more likely to accept tasks and efforts related tointernationalisation than their peers in non-FL majors.
H2a: Factors related to features of the FL (overseas study experience, language status,
personal interest in FL, future outlook, and perception of utility) have a positive correlation
with scores of readiness for Western corporate culture.
H2b: Factors related to features of the FL (overseas study experience, language status,
personal interest in FL, future outlook, and perception of utility) have a positive correlation
with scores of readiness for internationalisation.

Figure 1: Theoretical Framework
Independent Variables (IV): (1) personal interest in FL major, (2) overseas study, (3) future outlook, and (4)perception of the utility of English/FL
Control Variables (CV): (1) Gender, (2) Age
Dependent Variables (DV): (1) Western corporate culture, (2) Internationalisation

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Methodology
The selected target population were undergraduate students from Osaka University in the 3rd,
4th, or higher years (as well as several MA students). The sampling was made from all
students by individual approach in public places like the library, canteen, waiting lounge andby asking co-academics to distribute the questionnaire before or after class. The School of
Foreign Studies at Minō campus (headed by the Graduate School of Language and Culture)offers BA programmes in 24 FLs to approximately 3,000 students.3 Osaka University Schoolof Foreign Studies offers the most comprehensive Japanese FL programme after Tokyo
University of Foreign Studies.
To understand attitudes towards Western corporate culture and internationalisation, apreviously tested questionnaire was adopted and modified for use in the Japanese context.
Herstatt et al. (2007) developed a tool to measure the potential for international marketing insmall and medium sized German companies. Their questionnaires target managers andemployees. Part 1 issues were chosen to measure the socio-cultural gap within companies.
The questions in the original questionnaire described typical scenarios within the concept ofWestern corporate culture such as directness of addressing issues to superiors. As Japanese
adoption of Western corporate culture presents a potential conflict due to clashes withJapanese traditional management styles on several fronts, many of the topics used wereapplicable to the research questions. Responses to Part 2 are important indicators regarding
internationalisation. The questions in the original questionnaire were very similar and meant
to measure the capability of a firm to adopt to international assignments. Both were amended
and extended, and the 1 to 5 point Likert Scale was extended to 9 points to permit greater
variance. Responses were translated from German into Japanese and back by two separate
individuals. The anonymous questionnaire was in three parts: (I) demographics, including
respondents’ expectations of FL future requirements (Q1–Q9); (II) items regarding Western
corporate culture (Q10.1–Q10.7) internationalisation (Q11.1–Q11.11); (III) general items
regarding job seeking strategies (Q12–Q21). The questionnaire included a concluding
qualitative statement which respondents were to complete, “I study my foreign language
major because . . .” Respondents could also provide their contact detail for consideration as
participants in a further research focus group. The same procedure was applied in the non-FL
major control group questionnaire.
In the first stage of analyses we gathered demographic data, followed by a comparison offoreign language versus non-foreign language students’ perception towards Western
corporate culture (Model 1, Table 2) and internationalisation (Model 2, Table 2). In thesecond analyses we than compared FL students’ perception towards Western corporate
culture and internationalisation according to the status of the FL (Table 3). The variables ofinterest were: overseas study, business interest, status of FL, English for career, gender, andage. Finally we conducted a qualitative analysis and did a frequency count on field of interestin the studied FL (Table 4) to support our possible findings and recommendations.

3

FLs offered are English, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Farsi, Urdu, Swahili, Hindi, Chinese Mandarin, Burmese,
German, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese,
Mongolian, Tagalog, and Turkish.

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Data Analyses
Data were collected at Minō and Toyonaka campuses of Osaka University in July 2016 withassistance from Japanese and foreign academic staff, plus supporting students who received
compensation. The response rate was over 90% both for FL major respondents (n=445) andthe control group of non-FL major respondents (n=112).
Table 1: Foreign Language Major, (+) growing (-) shrinking, responses for all 24 FL majors
in total number and percentage (n=557), with control group of non-FL majors (n=112)

Frequency
English (+)
51
Arabic (+)
14
Bahasa Indonesia (+) 15
Farsi (+)
22
Urdu (+)
14
Swahili (+)
9
Hindi (+)
16
Chinese (+)
20
Burmese (-)
27
German (-)
42
French (-)
6
Spanish (+)
32
Hungarian (-)
10
Italian (-)
22
Portuguese (+)
3Danish (-)
10
Swedish (-)
15
Russian (-)
17
Korean (-)
12
Thai (-)
11
Vietnamese (-)
18
Mongolian (-)
18
Tagalog (-)
19
Turkish (-)
22Non- FL Major
112
Total
557

Percent
9.2
2.5
2.7
3.9
2.5
1.6
2.9
3.6
4.8
7.5
1.1
5.7
1.8
3.9
.5
1.8
2.7
3.1
2.2
2.0
3.2
3.2
3.4
3.9
20.1
100.0

Valid Percent
9.2
2.5
2.7
3.9
2.5
1.6
2.9
3.6
4.8
7.5
1.1
5.7
1.8
3.9
.5
1.8
2.7
3.1
2.2
2.0
3.2
3.2
3.4
3.9
20.1
100.0

Cumulative
Percent
11.7
14.4
18.3
20.8
22.4
25.3
28.9
33.8
41.3
42.4
48.1
49.9
53.9
54.4
56.2
58.9
61.9
64.1
66.1
69.3
72.5
75.9
79.9
100.0

Cronbach’s Alpha (CA) tests for datasets dealing with Western corporate culture (Q10.1 10.7) and internationalisation (Q11.1 - Q11.11) were .790 and .847, respectively. One item
targeting internationalisation, Q11.9, was removed as it was negatively correlated or nearzero with other Q11 components; this improved CA to .888.

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Test of Hypotheses 1a and 1b
Testing Hypotheses 1a and 1b, t-tests was performed on the means for Western corporate
culture and internationalisation for FL majors and non-FL majors, shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Means Comparison between FL Majors and Non-FL majors
Model 1 (Q10)
Model 2 (Q11)
Major
N
Mean (S.D.)
N
Mean (S.D.)
FL majors
442
41.97 (7.96)
441
60.79 (12.79)
Non-majors
112
41.76 (8.37)
104
50.88 (13.82)
t-scores.241
7.00****p<0.10; **p<0.05; ***p<0.01
For comparison of means of perception of Western corporate culture, there is no significant
statistical difference between FL majors and non-FL majors. FL majors do not score on
average significantly higher on issues in Q10 (Western corporate culture) and the t-test (.241)
fails to reject the null hypothesis. However, the mean for FL majors is almost ten points
higher for Q11 (internationalisation), and the difference is statistically significant (t=7.00).
With regard to Q11, Q11.2 was not distributed to non-majors (in addition to Q11.9) as it
pertained exclusively to language utilisation. This test confirms support for Hypothesis 1b;
Japanese FL major students are more likely to accept tasks and efforts related tointernationalisation than their peers in non-FL majors. However, the test does not support
Hypothesis 1a; Japanese FL major students are more likely to accept Western corporate
culture than their peers in non-FL majors.
Test of Hypotheses 2a and 2b
To test Hypotheses 2a and 2b, an OLS regression was performed for FL major students using
the dependent variables Q10 (Western corporate culture) and Q11 (internationalisation), plus
independent variables Overseas Study, Business Interest, Status of FL, and Utility of English
for Career. As control variables, Age and Gender were used as in Table 3.
Table 3: OLS Regression of Q10 & Q11 on the Independent Variables
Model 1 (Q10)
Model 2 (Q11)
Independent Variables
Unstandardized/Standardized Coeff. (St Error)
Overseas Study
2.972 / .107 (1.21)**-.013 / -.001 (.82)
Business Interest
6.596 / .231 (1.17)***2.805 / .161 (.79)***Status of FL-2.597 / -.094 (1.12)**-1.558 / -.092 (.76)**
English for Career
4.254 / .392 (.44)***1.475 / .223 (.30)***Gender-2.811 / -.099 (1.16)**-1.803 / -.105 (.78)**
1.916 / .170 (.49)***Age
1.556 / .227 (.33)***
Constant
31.66 (3.08)
32.565 (4.58)
32.76***
F
13.72***
Pearson's R
.400
.559
R Squared.160.313
Adjusted R Squared
.148
.303
*p<0.10; **p<0.05; ***p<0.01

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The regression models in Table 3 indicate convincing results. Test of Hypothesis 2a isrepresented by Model 1, the regression of acceptance of Western Corporate Culture (Q10)
into independent variables. The model is statistically significant (F=13.72) with a strong
positive correlation of .400. All independent variables are statistically significant at least at
the 5% level except for Overseas Study, a dichotomous variable (0=no, 1=yes). The
coefficients for Business Interest and Utility of English for Career (the perception that
English is important for career development) are both positive, which indicates that the more
highly held beliefs resulted in higher acceptance of Western Corporate Culture. Status of
Foreign Language (coded as 1=shrinking, 2=growing) has a negative coefficient, which
results in those studying shrinking languages scoring higher on acceptance of Western
Corporate Culture.
Of the two demographic variables, Age and Gender (coded as 1=male, 2=female), Ageperforms as expected, with older students more readily accepting Western Corporate Culture.
For Gender, coding orientation and the negative coefficient indicates that male respondents
more readily accept Western Corporate Culture.
For Model 2, Hypothesis 2b was tested with a regression of acceptance of Internationalisationon the same independent variables. The model is also statistically significant (F=32.76) witha strong, positive correlation of .559. Unlike Model 1, Overseas Study is statisticallysignificant, and all independent variables are statistically significant at least at the 5% level.
The coefficients for Business Interest and Utility of English for Career are both positive,
which indicates that respondents with higher scores will also do so on acceptance of Western
Corporate Culture. Status of Foreign Language has a negative coefficient, signifying thatstudents studying shrinking languages score higher on Internationalisation. The demographic
variables have matching sign coefficients to Model 1, leading to corresponding
interpretations for Model 2: male students score higher on acceptance of Internationalisation,
as do older students.
The last analysis was regarding interest in the studied language. The qualitative results weretwice re-coded and show that fields of interest are generally more focused on utilization of
FL skills in the business world outside academia (Table 4).

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Table 4: Q20 “I study my foreign language because . . .”Re-code 1
Key words
Counted numbers
personal interest
70
intercultural interest
68
career38
communication25
degree22knowledge
21
opportunities
14
geopolitics
14
business
9
language
9
linguistic2
art/culture3

Re-code 2
Key words
Counted numbers
culture99
personal interest
89
career79
knowledge
40
language40
communication
23
education
22
study and research
20business
17
linguistics
7
history
7
international relations
4
literature3
job hunting
3
work
2
arts
2
politics, economy
2music, graduation,
1 eachgrammar, UN, hobby,
travel, translation,
globalisation, fun

Discussion of Findings
Responses have been provided to the two questions formulated in the literature review: (1)how can the CQ skills and assets of FL graduates contribute to internationalisation?; (2) does
a role remain for shrinking foreign languages in the changing Japanese university
environment? Research findings associated with questions and hypotheses are detailed below.
The Importance of the Studied Subject (RQ1)
The analyses (Table 2) indicate significant difference in the perception and understanding ofinternationalisation between two groups of respondents, i.e. FL majors (n=445) and non-FL
majors (n=112). As indicated above, internationalisation is often considered synonymouswith English biased foreign language proficiency in relatively monolingual Japan. The
findings illustrate the relationship between FL proficiency and the potential to support anorganisation in achieving internationalisation, (H1b was supported). These findings suggestthat organisations may benefit from language and CQ assets offered by FL graduates. The
successful comparison of the two student groups makes the discussion of other findings
meaningful. Contrary to expectations, the results for perception of Western corporate culture
were not significant and thus H1a was not supported.
The unequivocal consensus that English is key to future careers supports the current researchdebate surrounding Japanese university English language education from the perspective of
ELF and global business education (Terauchi & Araki, 2016).

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Features of Foreign Languages (RQ2)
The regression models for Western Corporate Culture and Internationalisation are significant(Table 3). Only a minor difference between the two with respect to overseas study. The initial
objective was to test whether the changing status of FL has an impact on either of thesevariables. It was established that students of shrinking languages score higher on acceptanceof Western Corporate Culture and Internationalisation (H2a and H2b). Students of growing
languages may consider it less important to exhibit flexibility, as many are from “privileged”
languages and principally focus on their studied language. Shrinking language learners may
inherit a more flexible and pragmatic approach to challenging circumstances due to either ashrinking population or an increasing dominance of English.
Respondents may also consider the economic strength of the locations in which their FL isspoken when responding to questions concerning their potential future career. Countries suchas Germany and Italy, with a higher GDP than all Arabic countries, offer improved financial
security and a stable economy in which students can rely on a fare market with law and order.
Students having completed study abroad time in those Western countries may have a better
positive opinion. In addition, potentially improved trade with richer countries may induce a
superficial sense of security and make internationalisation less attractive. Further toNakamura’s (2016) description of Chinese and Russian FL training programs in Japanesecompanies, it can be added that FL speakers possess the requisite CQ in addition to linguistic
proficiency.
Students ranking business of significant interest within the FL curriculum also have higher
age and overseas study experience, (control variables), and therefore greater acceptance ofinternationalisation. Future implications suggest that increased emphasis should be placed on
business-related courses within FL curricula. If appropriate, the established English forSpecial Purposes approach could be modified for other FLs. In Japan, Western European
languages, such as German or French, were held in high esteem, and their status only
declined over the last 15 years as English, Chinese and Korean gained popularity. The focus
upon learning German, for example, is under mounting pressure both from competing
languages and students’ subliminal disinclination to study traditional and less admiredsubjects (e.g., literature and linguistics) (Table 4). In considering keywords extracted fromthe questionnaire qualitative question, it becomes apparent that career and personal interest
are among the main drivers motivating students’ choice of foreign language major. In posthoc e-mail discussion with respondents who had expressed interest in participating in a focus
group, the meaning of their statements was queried, although only two responses werereceived.
The former Head of the Tokyo, Goethe-Institut Language Section requested consideration to
reinvigorate the attractiveness that initially drew students to these languages, (Schöningh,2015). However, FLs such as Chinese and Spanish may simply adjust their curriculums due
to a weaker focus on one particular field because of the relatively short time during whichthese languages have experienced growing interest. This has resulted in a less developed
network of subject experts and less powerful organisations that favour traditional language
teaching, such as the grammar translation method which remains common in Japan.
Overseas study features of the foreign language programs and significantly impacts upon
acceptance scores for internationalisation. Understandably, Japanese students who havestudied abroad have gained greater exposure to environments away from home. However,Japan is experiencing a reverse trend whereby less able students are willing to study overseas,

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which has a consequent negative impact upon the internationalisation of Japanese companies.
As Kobayashi (2013) and Lippert and Kenichi (2015) indicate, Japanese corporations hire
more foreign graduates and experts as their Japanese counterparts are less amenable to accept
burdensome foreign assignments. There is a consequent future risk that fewer ambitious andforeign trained Japanese graduates will be available to support organisations’internationalisation processes.
Recommendations and Implications
From the findings and literature review we can see that in theory Japanese foreign language
students have a good understanding of internationalisation and possess a high potential to
give firms aiming for expanding business abroad more strength. The Japanese economy
needs such fresh spirit to maintain competiveness. In a broader context, university boards ofother Asian countries can learn from this paper that it is advisable to increase andstrengthening international exchange programs. The findings deliver new arguments tonegotiate for more funds and scholarship initiatives for students willing to study abroad.
Another aspect of general application is the future strategy should become the possible
inauguration of new foreign language programs versus maintaining those of erroneous, less,or shrinking importance. Internationalisation is still probably best learnt in fully developed
market economies with less constraints by political or religious turmoil. Hence, countries like
Denmark, Germany or France are still valid players in the global economy.
Regarding the academic gap, issues concerning changes in university operational processes
are mentioned above (Mampaey & Huisman, 2015). As Japanese universities are now
compelled to focus on key stakeholders needs, including students and labour markets, thefindings can assist decision makers to improve their university’s role society by updating FL
curricula to meet society’s changing needs.
Limitations
Samples consisted of respondents from a single university, and respondents’ answers are selfproclaimed. Another possible limitation concerns social pressure respondents felt to ratecertain items as important or to appear open to internationalisation. For example, due topervasive rhetoric within government policy, university mission statements espousecommitment to such ideals. In addition, respondents may have grouped the FL statusaccording the economic strength of the locations rather than the number of native speakers.
Conducting a similar survey, including additional universities with foreign language majors
in order to achieve a larger sample, is an option that would test and validate the model. Most
importantly, a tracer study of FL graduates should reveal if the model is consistent with thereality of Japanese professional life.
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by a Research Grant (Kakenhi 16K02960). We owe sincere
appreciation for fruitful comments to all unknown reviewers.

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Corresponding author: Raimond Selke
Contact email: raimond.selke@goethe.de(Author’s note: The corresponding author worked previously as Associate Professor at theGraduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University, Japan.)120

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Reviewers Volume 6 – Issue 1
The editorial team would like to thank the following reviewers for their contributions to peer
review for this issue of the journal. Their dedication and assistance are greatly appreciated.
Santosh Behera
Christina Belcher
Angelina Borican
Bachir Bouhania
Yilin Chen
Ivy Chia
Shiao-wei Chu
Joanie Crandall
Luisa Daniele
Raymond Datuon
Ilaria De Santis
Denise de Souza
William C. Frick
Beena Giridharan
Intakhab Khan
Linda Leavitt
Marcel Lebrun
Eddy Li
Jillian Marchant
Alyson Miller
Bernard Montoneri
Massoud Moslehpour
Suja Nair
Heloísa Orsi Koch Delgado
Elena Raevskikh
Ilana Ronen
Sonal Mobar Roy
Akihiro Saito
Alice Schmidt Hanbidge
Bethe Schoenfeld
Raimond Selke
Lucy Spence
Yoshihiko Yamamoto
Tony Yeigh
Links to full lists of editorial board members and peer reviewers for the IAFOR Journal of
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