ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Universities' Role in Regional Development: A Case Study of University for Development Studies, Ghana
Author: Abonyi, Usman Kojo
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Universities,College Role,Development,Human Capital,Innovation,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews

This study, employing an interpretive research paradigm, sought to investigate into how University for Development Studies (UDS) is responding to its regional development mandate with a specific focus on how it is responding to human capital development, innovation capabilities, and social and environmental development in northern Ghana. A study of this nature was deemed relevant and appropriate since UDS was established in 1992 under the PNDC Law 279 with an explicit mandate to blend its academic work with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for the total development of northern Ghana. Despite the deplorable state of development in Northern Ghana, the regional development mandate of UDS in such a challenging environment has not attracted much attention in the literature. Findings from the study suggest that while UDS has appreciably linked its teaching, research, and service roles to the development needs of northern Ghana, it has a stronger link with the human capital development and social, cultural, and environmental development compared to developing the innovation capabilities of northern Ghana. It is, therefore, recommended that if UDS is seen as a key player in the development of Northern Ghana through its policy mandate, then, government and regional authorities need to create an enabling environment and put in place appropriate policy support structures to stimulate an effective engagement of UDS with the industrial sector and local businesses.
Empirical Studies on Correlations between Lexical Knowledge and English Proficiency of Chinese EFL Learners in Mainland China over the Past Two Decades
Author: Zhou, Yao
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Foreign Countries,Reading Comprehension,Language Proficiency,Listening Skills,Vocabulary,Knowledge Level,Listening Comprehension

Knowledge of English vocabulary contributes to the learner's proficiency of English as a foreign language, but how the learner's lexical knowledge behaves in the contribution. Researchers in mainland China have conducted studies of various kinds in order to find out how the learner's lexical knowledge correlates with his proficiency. This article reviews the empirical studies on correlations between lexical knowledge and English proficiency over the past two decades. The correlations concerned in this review refer mainly to the relationships between lexical knowledge and the overall English proficiency, between the breadth and depth of lexical knowledge and the skills of listening, reading and writing in English as a foreign language.
Constraints Militating against the Implementation of Production/Service Work in Technical Colleges in North Central Nigeria
Author: Agu, Peter A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Vocational Education,Employment Potential,Vocational Education Teachers,Technical Education,Workshops,Technical Institutes,Administrators

Skill acquisition is a critical component of any vocational technical training program. When this component is missing or falls below expectation, it tends to defeat the objectives of the program. In Nigeria, many skill-oriented schools experience great challenges in trying to provide for the necessary facilities required for effective technical training of those enrolled in its program because of paucity of funds. The result often times, is that students are likely to graduate from the programs without adequate employability skills for meaningful productive/service work after leaving school. In realization of this predicament, the Federal Government of Nigeria directed all technological institutions to establish what is called Production/Service Work (PSW) into its curriculum. This is done in the event that there is shortfall in the supply of training facilities to school workshops by proprietors, schools can receive jobs from within or outside the school which would provide them the opportunity to acquire hands-on experience that would equip them with requisite skills for post- graduation work. As laudable as this innovation appears to be many schools in the North Central Nigeria are yet to implement the innovation in their schools and even where they have, they are not viable and do not seem to meet the objectives set out for them. The present study, therefore, sought to unravel the challenges (external and internal) constraining the effective implementation of PSW in technical colleges. When this is done, it might provide a framework for deliberate action towards ameliorating the challenges that are faced by the schools.
Quality-Oriented Management of Educational Innovation at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah
Author: Sofanudin, Aji
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Innovation,Educational Objectives,Research Design,Qualitative Research,Case Studies,Educational Quality,Educational Research,Statistical Analysis,Interviews,Observation,Focus Groups

This study aims to explore the quality-oriented management of educational innovation at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah. Quality-Oriented Management of Educational Innovation is the process of managing new resources (ideas, practices, objects, methods) in the field of education to achieve educational goals or solve the problem of education. New ideas, practices, objects, and methods mean that something is already underway, existing, already practiced in daily management processes in the framework of improving the quality of education. By using a qualitative approach case study, this study found that Madrasah Ibtidaiyah made several innovations in the field of education (1) Innovation in branding in the form of Integrated Elementary Madrasa (MIT), (2) Innovation at the reception of students, such as the deadline students admission (3) Innovation in the curriculum, such as the development of subjects: Quran Hadith, Fiqh, SKI, and Aqeedah Morals and (4) Innovation in learning, such as more attention to the students (student-centred) instead of the teacher (teacher-centred).
The Effect of Using the &quot;SQP2RS via WTL&quot; Strategy through Science Context to 10th Graders' Reading Comprehension in English in Palestine
Author: Qabaja, Ziad Mohammed Mahmoud
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Reading Comprehension,Grade 10,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Reading Tests,Achievement Tests,Gender Differences,Instructional Effectiveness,Reading Achievement,High Achievement,Secondary School Students,Teaching Methods,Quasiexperimental Design,Correlation

The study aimed at investigating the effect of using the &quot;SQP2RS via WTL&quot; strategy through science context to 10th graders' reading comprehension in English in Bethlehem district in Palestine. The study has been applied on a purposeful sample of 10th grade students at public schools in Bethlehem district in the academic year 2015/2016. The sample included (139) students (61 males and 78 females) at AL-Awda Basic School for Girls, Bethlehem Secondary Boys' School. Students were assigned to experimental and control groups, the experimental group was taught by using the &quot;SQP2RS via WTL&quot; strategy, while the control group was taught by the traditional method. The researchers have prepared a reading comprehension achievement test. Content validity and reliability were established for the test. The experiment has lasted three months, a pre-test and post-test were performed using the reading comprehension achievement test to measure the effect of using the &quot;SQP2RS via WTL&quot; strategy. The means and standard deviation, (3-way ANCOVA) test, were used in the study. The findings of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of 10th graders' reading comprehension in the English language due to the teaching method in favor of the experimental group, the level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement group, the interaction between group and gender in favor of the female in the experimental group, the interaction between group and level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement in the experimental group, the interaction between gender and level of pre-achievement in favor of the male in the high achievement group and the interaction between group, gender and level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement male students in the experimental group. And there were no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of 10th graders' reading comprehension in the English language due to gender. In the light of the results of the study, training programs should be offered to train teachers on using the &quot;SQP2RS via WTL&quot; strategy, students should be provided with opportunities to practice the strategy, and more studies should be conducted on different variables and different populations.
Promoting Students' Self-Directed Learning Ability through Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
Author: Voss, Richard
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Independent Study,Mathematics Instruction,Social Justice,Learning Disabilities,Foreign Countries,Secondary School Mathematics,Mathematics Education,Learner Engagement,Teaching Methods,Mathematical Concepts,Action Research,Research Methodology,Focus Groups,Mixed Methods Research,Mathematical Models,Concept Mapping,Grounded Theory

Mathematics is a subject which is often taught using abstract methods and processes. These methods by their very nature may for students alienate the relationship between Mathematics and real life situations. Further, these abstract methods and processes may disenfranchise students from becoming self-directed learners of Mathematics. A solution to this may be to teach Mathematics utilizing real world social justice issues and a social justice pedagogy promoting the use of Mathematics as a tool to further investigate, address and potentially to change issues involving social justice. This unique Australian study investigated a Western Victorian District High School year nine Mathematics class using social justice pedagogy to learn Mathematics. The class comprised of gifted students, mainstream students and students who had diagnosed learning disabilities. The learning content of the Mathematics unit required students to make comparisons between their own lifestyles and those of different families from around the world. This was socially and educationally important as Mathematics was used as a tool to investigate social inequality to improve numeracy and engagement with real world Mathematics tasks. One aim of the study was to determine if this pedagogy motivated students by allowing them to become more self-directed as learners. The findings from this study suggested that when mathematics is taught using a social justice pedagogy, both student learning and engagement improved and students became more self-directed as learners throughout the course of the study.
Using Electronic Portfolio to Promote Professional Learning Community for Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers at Alquds University
Author: Khales, Buad
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Student Teacher Attitudes,Portfolios (Background Materials),Electronic Publishing,Communities of Practice,Early Childhood Education,College Students,Teaching Methods,Professional Development,Qualitative Research,Reflective Teaching,Journal Writing,Focus Groups,Semi Structured Interviews,Observation,Data Analysis,Interrater Reliability,Information Dissemination,Dialogs (Language)

The present study aims to explore whether the electronic portfolio can influence pre-service teachers' education and to examine how professional learning communities develop through electronic portfolios. To achieve this, twenty-four student-teachers taking a course in early childhood education at Al-Quds University participated in a study to ascertain their views towards the use of electronic portfolios and the role of e-portfolios in developing and enhancing learning communities The findings reveal that the use of electronic portfolios allowed participants to work closely together, and enhanced their growth and development in course teaching strategies in early childhood.
Barriers vs Creativity in Translator Training
Author: Yazici, Mine
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Barriers,Creativity,Translation,Training,Language Skills,Competence,Decision Making,Problem Solving,Theory Practice Relationship,Universities,Standards,Cultural Influences,Scheduling,Case Studies

This paper discusses translation problems awaiting Turkish students as well as the creative solutions they develop in overcoming them. It consists of two parts; The first part studies the barriers concerning translation procedures from the perspective of translation theory and Turkish translation history; The second parts analyses the impact of translator training programmes by submitting a case study to disclose in what way they shape and affect creative decisions of trainees in dealing with translation problems. Within this framework, it first discerns linguistic skills from translation skills in consideration for theoretical account of translation competence. Second, it focusses on cultural distances and divergences, and their role in taking translatorial decisions in solving translation problems. Third, it studies the learning habits of Turkish students and their impact in acquiring translation competence from the point of &quot;logics of languages&quot;. Fourth, it discusses the scheduling of translator training programmes of the departments of translation studies in Turkey, and the way they bridge the gap between theory and practice to enhance functionality of translations. Accordingly, it discusses translator training programmes of Turkish universities in terms of international standards of translation and emphasizes network university understanding to reach universally acknowledged standards of translation, which surpasses the past notion of translation as an act of literal transfer of message from one language to another, thereby supporting creativity for the sake of functionality as long as they maintain the message of original text.
Global Warming and Measures to Be Taken: Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views
Author: Demir, Papatya
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Climate,Science Teachers,Preservice Teachers,Pollution,Teacher Attitudes,Qualitative Research,Environmental Education,Foreign Countries,Semi Structured Interviews,Test Items,Questioning Techniques

Insensitivity to environmental pollution and the environment has become a wide-ranging problem recently. One of the most important reasons for confronting with such a problem is due to the fact that individuals see the nature as a boundless resource. To composing favorable behavior to the living area, teachers are required to be competent with the aim of creating awareness about it. This generating awareness on environment and gaining permanent behavior as they have key roles in training individuals sensitive to environment starting from preschool education. This study aims at what preservice science teachers' views on environmental awareness and sensitivity. Used qualitative research method, which was conducted on pre-service science teachers', 3 and 4 grade, is to see how they awareness, perceptions and understating of effects of global warming and measure to be taken. Open ended questions were used to obtain data of the study. Research scope is 36 preservice science teachers who were selected randomly. According to their views made up there categories. Based on this research results, it was determined that environmental education preservice science teachers receive is not enough; moreover, they have difficulty in distinguishing the concepts.
The Self-Formation of Collaborative Groups in a Problem Based Learning Environment
Author: Raiyn, Jamal
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Problem Based Learning,Cooperative Learning,Thinking Skills,Problem Solving,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Accountability,Groups,Students

The aim of this paper is to present &quot;the three steps method&quot; of the self-formation of collaborative groups in a problem-based learning environment. The self-formation of collaborative groups is based on sharing of accountability among students for solving instructional problems. The steps of the method are planning collaborative problem solving, self-evaluation of students, and building collaborative groups. The planning comprises determination of the nomenclature of higher order thinking (HOT) skills, defining the instructional problems and their complexity levels, creating problem groups according to the complexity levels, setting the problem-relevant HOT skills, determining the accountability measure and the assessments of accountability for solving the problems. The self-evaluation includes self-detection of personal HOT skills, measurement of the diversity between the personal HOT skills and the problem-relevant skills based on the proposed diversity measure, and self-evaluation of willingness and desire of a student to take accountability for solving the instructional problems. The personal willingness is evaluated by the diversity measure. The desire is guided by the accountability assessments for problem solving. Coordination of the self-evaluation outcomes allows building collaborative groups. A group's composition is adjusted by the specific requirements of an instructor.
Binary Logistic Regression Analysis in Assessment and Identifying Factors That Influence Students' Academic Achievement: The Case of College of Natural and Computational Science, Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia
Author: Zewude, Bereket Tessema
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Regression (Statistics),Academic Achievement,Foreign Countries,Peer Influence,Research Design,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Predictor Variables,College Students

An attempt has been made to assess and identify the major variables that influence student academic achievement at college of natural and computational science of Wolaita Sodo University in Ethiopia. Study time, peer influence, securing first choice of department, arranging study time outside class, amount of money received from family, good life later on and father's education level are major variables which influence the academic achievement of students at college of natural and computational science of Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia using binary logistic regression model.
Qualitative Reforms in Indian Tertiary Education System
Author: Rizvi, Afroz Haider
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Educational Change,Educational Quality,Educational Policy,Policy Formation,Governance,Educational Finance,College Graduates,Skilled Workers,Research Universities,Scholarship,Educational Improvement

At one end, we are grappling with quantity i.e. enrollment but on the other hand the most serious concern is quality and relevance of higher education imparted to student. In terms of quality, the biggest lacuna in the system of higher education is mismatch between the need of society and what the students are taught in classrooms. Our universities and colleges produce a number of unskilled manpower every year that is not fit for corporate sector. It is due to lack of proper governance and commitment to work. So, there is need to paradigm shift to education. There is no dearth of intellectuals/professionals in India who may come with shining stars only if policy makers have patience and concern. Keeping the new education policy educate, encourage and enlighten in view, we must go ahead.
The Effectiveness of CPS-ALM Model in Enhancing Statistical Literacy Ability and Self Concept of Elementary School Student Teacher
Author: Takaria, J.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cooperative Learning,Problem Solving,Statistics,Literacy,Elementary School Teachers,Student Teachers,Models,Instructional Effectiveness,Learning Processes,Teaching Methods,Self Concept,Quasiexperimental Design,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Nonparametric Statistics,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries

The focus of this study is to examine comprehensively statistical literacy and self-concept enhancement of elementary school student teacher through CPS-BML model in which this enhancement is measured through N-gain. The result of study indicate that the use of Collaborative Problem Solving Model assisted by literacy media (CPS-ALM) model contribute to student's statistical literacy enhancement better than expository learning (EL). It is identified also that there is difference in student's self-concept enhancement between CPS-ALM group and EL group. CPS-ALM group achieve enhancement in medium category with N-gain average is 0.33, while EL group achieve enhancement in low category with N-gain is 0.16. One way which trigger enhancement of student's statistical literacy and self concept is the use collaborative mode. Indicators of statistical literacy and self concept are identified to experience enhancement when collaborating, in which students are demanded to have confidence toward statistic ability they have when delivering creative ideas. Exploration done by students toward self ability need a belief toward their ideas in Statistic Education course. A bibliography is included.
An Approach to Granting Subsidies to College Students in China Using Big Data
Author: Cao, Xuan
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Students,Grants,Poverty,Low Income Students,Student Financial Aid,Data Analysis

China has made great improvement on subsidizing poverty-stricken students, but the current approaches of granting subsidies is not scientific or humane. Poverty-stricken students who couldn't get sufficient subsidies in suitable ways need some new and more scientific granting approaches, which inspires me to go about this study. The approach, we have introduced, which has been adopted by University of Science and Technology of China, using Big Data, with which college grant subsidies according to scientific investigation and data analysis of students' consumption in school canteens, is the key to resolve this problem. By adopting this approach, colleges and universities will do a better job in aiding poverty-stricken students financially and emotionally, which will be a meaningful improvement.