ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Locating Continuing Professional Development within a Proposed Complex Dynamic Systems Model for Today&apos;s English Language Teaching Profession
Author: Tyers, Dianne
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers,Faculty Development,Systems Approach,Professional Identity,Socioeconomic Influences,Educational Environment,Context Effect

For novice and expert English language teaching professionals alike, it is important to understand the dynamic complexity of the context in which we work to intentionally and strategically forge a relevant and personally meaningful, continuing professional development path. English language teaching has long outgrown a &quot;one-size-fits-all&quot; continuing professional development model. Rather, the context in which we teach influences the knowledge and skills we need to develop and maintain as we move through our careers. This, in turn, drives the strategic choices we make for our continuing professional development. However, what does context in English language teaching actually mean, and how do we unpack its elements to locate ourselves within it? Using a proposed model of nested complex dynamic systems, we can first locate ourselves within a broad socioeconomic, complex dynamic system created by the ongoing interaction of a society's economy, politics, history, geography, technology, culture, language, and education. We can then locate ourselves within multiple complex dynamic systems in the professional, program, and classroom contexts that give shape to and, at times, constrain our agency. Finally, we can consider ourselves, English language teachers, as complex dynamic systems. Each of us is the unique creation of our interacting education and training, professional experience, and self. This complex dynamic systems model can be used to guide teachers, administrators, and funders to intentionally and strategically select, design, or support continuing professional development, leading to teachers' building knowledge and practice for ongoing success in a rapidly evolving profession.
Professional Self-Development Mediated by ePortfolio: Reflections of an ESL Practitioner
Author: Zuba Prokopetz, Rita
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Publishing,Portfolios (Background Materials),English Teachers,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Program Implementation,Professional Personnel,Professional Development

This reflective &quot;Perspectives&quot; article will give readers some insight into the professional self-development experiences of an English as a second language (ESL) practitioner after she recognized a significant shift in learning and teaching paradigms resulting from instructional tools available on the World Wide Web. It also attempts to describe the learning moments of an ESL practitioner in her role as a creator, curator, user, and implementer of an electronic portfolio, or eportfolio, as she experienced her own personal growth during her professional self-development.
The Efficacy of Academic Reading Strategy Instruction among Adult English as an Additional Language Students: A Professional Development Opportunity through Action Research
Author: Khatri, Raj
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Strategies,Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English for Academic Purposes,Academic Discourse,Instructional Effectiveness,Reading Instruction,Reading Comprehension,Intervention,Language Teachers,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes

This action research project empirically evaluated the efficacy of reading strategy instruction to help advance adult English as an additional language (EAL) students' development of academic reading skills and strategy use. The study involved 16 adult participants attending English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs in British Columbia. These participants received reading strategy instruction over nine sessions during a 6-week period. To capture participants' reading strategy use, Mokhtari and Sheorey's Survey of Reading Strategies instrument was used in the pre- and post-intervention stages. Similarly, to measure participants' reading comprehension abilities, an identical, standardized reading comprehension test was administered in the pre- and post- intervention stages. Participants' weekly post-task verbal reflections and post-intervention interviews provided qualitative data for the study. Findings showed that reported reading strategy use obtained from the instrument and reading performance increased significantly after the intervention. The results from the analysis of participants' reflections and interviews revealed a positive association between participants' strategy use and reading performance. Conducted as a part of professional development, this study aims to resolve EAP professionals' practical concerns about the use of reading strategies in academic reading as well as provide action researchers with suggestions for future implementation.
Student Satisfaction Regarding Service Quality at Ethiopian Public Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study
Author: Lodesso, Solomon L.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Satisfaction,Educational Quality,Higher Education,Undergraduate Students,Foreign Countries,Student Personnel Services,Scores,College Seniors

The quality of services rendered to stakeholders at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is of critical importance to the esteem of these institutions. Perceptions of the quality of such services can be measured in various ways. This study assesses the extent of service quality as evaluated in students' satisfaction with services received at Ethiopian HEIs. To this end, data was collected from final-year undergraduate students at Ethiopian Public Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs). The Service Quality (SERVQUAL) questionnaire was administered. The collected data was analysed using the methodology of the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) model. Findings indicated that the majority of the elements that constitute attributes of service quality were perceived by students to be very poor. This is reflected in low satisfaction scores. It is recommended that HEIs identify those service areas that have high perceived importance scores and low perception scores on service-experience in order to redeploy some of the resources and implement measures to improve service quality.
Holistic Health, Disadvantage, Higher Education Access and Success: A Reflection
Author: Morris-Paxton, Angela A.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Educational Opportunities,Access to Education,Success,College Students,Economically Disadvantaged,Low Income Students,At Risk Students,Health Promotion,Holistic Approach,Educational Attainment,Socioeconomic Status,Foreign Countries,Public Policy

The objective of this article is to reflect upon the relationships amongst health, disadvantage, educational opportunities, and higher education access and success. This is a reflective article taken from the literature review of a doctoral study on the relationship between health, access to, and success within, higher education. The importance of health in education and the practical implementation of programmes resulting in enhanced health and academic success amongst higher education students is reviewed. Literature for the doctoral study on which this reflection was based was sourced predominantly from Pub-Med Central, the U.S. National Institute of Health National Library of Medicine and The South African South-East Academic Library Services. From this discussion, the rationale for a holistic health promotion programme within the higher education setting, for students from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds, is given. The problem of educational failure of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education could be lessened by instituting a holistic health promotion programme within the first year of study. Evidence suggests that such a programme would have both health and educational advantages.
Quality Enhancement in Student Affairs and Social Justice: A Reflective Case Study from South Africa
Author: Luescher, Thierry M.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Quality,Student Personnel Services,Social Justice,Foreign Countries,Professionalism,Higher Education,Universities,Access to Education,Learner Engagement,Quality Assurance

Quality enhancement in student affairs is an integral part of professional practice, and its documentation and reflective evaluation are important in the ongoing professionalisation of student affairs in Africa. This article proposes a way of conceptualising a reflective scholarship of practice in student affairs in Africa and method to conduct reflective practice studies to build a relevant knowledge base. Based on this methodology, it then analyses a student affairs quality enhancement review at a South African university in detail, showing its conceptualisation and implementation, and reflecting on its outcomes. The article thus provides evidence of a 'home-grown', 'activist' quality enhancement review that focuses on key issues in the South African context and the context of the case university: the professionalisation of student affairs, the co-curriculum, and social justice models such as participatory parity, universal design for learning, and student engagement.
Who Are Our First-Year At-Risk Humanities Students? A Reflection on a First-Year Survey Administered by the Wits Faculty of Humanities Teaching and Learning Unit in 2015 and 2016
Author: Hundermark, Genevieve
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Freshmen,At Risk Students,Humanities,Student Surveys,College Faculty,Foreign Countries,First Year Seminars,Academic Achievement

Do we really know who our students are as they enter university? This was the question that the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand was grappling with. In response, the Humanities' Teaching and Learning Unit compiled a registration survey for first-year students to complete that gives an overview of who our incoming students are. The characteristics surveyed include students' demographic and personal variables, such as the regions they came from, parental and support influences, time demands, financial and technology considerations, motivation for attending university, reading frequency, and interests. The purpose of the survey was two-fold: firstly, to understand who our students are in terms of their background; and, secondly, to proactively determine what factors potentially place them at risk academically so that the Teaching and Learning Unit could identify, and direct students to or implement support mechanisms to assist them. This article reflects on the survey that was conducted in 2015 and 2016 and rather than report on the findings of the survey, looks at how the survey and the &quot;survey practice&quot; adopted can be improved. The aim of this article is to reflect on the process used by the Humanities Teaching and Learning Unit to implement and improve a survey to determine different factors that potentially place first-year students at risk. Reflecting on this process, as opposed to reporting on the results of the survey, is important because it contributes to an action research process where future praxis is informed by reflection on previous action. This process is helpful to identify survey questions and administration that can be improved so as to gain more accurate data, as well as to identify proactive interventions that can be implemented to address risk factors students present and support students to be successful in their studies.
First-Year College Students&apos; Emotional Intelligence and Help-Seeking Behaviours as Correlates of Their Academic Achievement
Author: Astatke, Melese
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Freshmen,Emotional Intelligence,Help Seeking,Correlation,Academic Achievement,Gender Differences,Foreign Countries

The main purpose of the study was examining the correlations of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour on students' academic achievement in Woldia College of Teacher Education (WCTE), Woldia, Ethiopia. The participants were 283 first-year regular diploma students of the college in the academic year of 2015/2016. The study employed a quantitative approach which followed correlation design involving four instruments to collect data for the study: Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, Academic Help-Seeking Behaviour Questionnaire, Psychological Help-Seeking Behaviour Questionnaire, and Cumulative Grade Point Average. To answer the research questions raised in the study, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and Pearson product-moment analysis, as well as inferential statistics such as independent sample t-test, multiple regression tests, and beta coefficients were conducted. The Pearson correlation analysis reported the following findings: (1) emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and, psychological help-seeking behaviour had a significant positive correlation with students' academic achievement; (2) emotional intelligence and academic help-seeking behaviour had a positive but not significant correlation with each other; (3) however, emotional intelligence was negatively but not significantly correlated with psychological help-seeking behaviour. The multiple regression analysis showed that there was a significant contribution of emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour and psychological help-seeking behaviour to the total variance of academic achievement. The beta coefficients revealed that the independent contributions of independent variables of the study to the total variance of academic achievement were found to be emotional intelligence, academic help-seeking behaviour, and psychological help-seeking behaviour, respectively. The independent sample t-test reported that there were significant gender differences in students' emotional intelligence and psychological help-seeking behaviour. The gender differences in academic help-seeking behaviour and academic achievement were not statistically significant. Finally, it was recommended that parents, instructors, counsellors, and administrative bodies should work on promoting students' emotional intelligence and developing students' help-seeking behaviours (academic and psychological help-seeking behaviours) to enhance academic achievement of students in WCTE.
Psychological Health and Optimism amongst Unemployed Graduates in Zimbabwe
Author: Mutambara, Julia
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Unemployment,College Graduates,Age Differences,Health,Positive Attitudes,Intervention,Mental Health,Health Services,Foreign Countries,Correlation,Gender Differences,Marital Status

The study sought to examine the relationship between optimism and general health amongst unemployed graduates in Zimbabwe. Most of the studies on unemployment have focused on job loss but this study is based on failure to get employment after graduating with a university degree in a resource-constrained environment. One hundred and twelve (112) graduates were selected using non-probability sampling methods. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilised to analyse data. Age and period after graduation were found to be negatively related to both general health and optimism amongst the unemployed graduates. Overall optimism and general health were found to be inversely related. The study calls for the need for psychological interventions for unemployed graduates in Zimbabwe.
Students&apos; Attitudes and Perceptions on Xenophobia: A Study of a University in Durban
Author: Akande, Olubunmi Damilola
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Stranger Reactions,College Students,Immigrants,Foreign Countries,Low Income,Age Differences,Socioeconomic Influences,Racial Bias,Social Differences,Stereotypes,Ethnicity,Social Change,Racial Segregation

The recurrence of xenophobic violence in South Africa has been attributed to the proliferation of antimigrant sentiments that stems from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions and cleavages. The study presents the results of a survey undertaken at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of DUT students on xenophobia in South Africa. A questionnaire was designed and employed to collect data from 547 registered students of a university in Durban. The result reflects the existence of satisfactory awareness on xenophobia and low levels of anti-migrant sentiments which show that the majority of the students are not xenophobic. Traces of xenophobic perceptions and attitudes were observed in the responses of entry-level students from low-income areas, thus pointing to entry-level students and younger students as being more disposed to xenophobic tendencies. This trend echoes normative conceptions concerning xenophobia in South Africa, particularly, as a phenomenon deeply ingrained in socioeconomic inadequacies. However, the positive disposition of most students towards xenophobia reaffirms the importance of educational institutions in intercepting negative ethnic/racial sentiments as well as calls for intensified integration programmes and the extension of such into the communities.
Analysis of Educational Quality, a Goal of Education for All Policy
Author: Madani, Rehaf A.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Quality,Access to Education,Educational Policy,Educational Indicators,Federal Aid,Educational Finance,Teacher Student Ratio,Teacher Qualifications,Scores,Attendance Patterns,Developing Nations,Educational Assessment,Educational Improvement,Nutrition,Parent Background,Child Development,Educational Environment,Class Size,Educational Facilities,Inclusion,Teacher Behavior,Safety,Discipline Policy,Daily Living Skills,Student Centered Learning,Literacy,Numeracy,Feedback (Response),Civil Rights,Citizenship Education,Cooperative Learning,School Effectiveness

Education is recognized as a human right since the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 besides health and shelter. Education for All Goals was established where more than 150 governments have adopted world declaration on Education for All policy to support the universal right for education. The ultimate goal of many countries is to guarantee the optimum educational access rates for improving the quality. Similarly, quality is reflected by a range of indicators, including government spending on education, student/teacher ratios, teacher qualifications, test scores, and the length of time students spend in school. Every investment must be measured against how it can serve such aspects to ensure the ultimate quality of Education for All programs. Investing in education reinforces a society?s wealth and growth, where individuals can easily improve their own personal efficacy, productivity, and incomes. A major challenge lies in defining the ideal education indicators and circumstances among countries; especially poorly developed countries that strive to establish a quality evaluation theme. Therefore, there is need of multifaceted standpoint and reasoning framework to realize educational policy evaluations that can truly contribute to the improvement of educational situation in developing countries and around the world.
Anxiety in Classroom English Presentations: A Case Study in Korean Tertiary Educational Context
Author: Tian, Chunguang
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Anxiety,Speeches,Public Speaking,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Postsecondary Education,College Students,Majors (Students),Symptoms (Individual Disorders),Etiology,Negative Attitudes,Language Proficiency,Feedback (Response),Peer Evaluation,Error Patterns,Audience Awareness,Curriculum Design

The purpose of this study is to examine Korean students' anxiety in classroom presentations in tertiary educational context through classroom observation, self-reported questionnaire and semi-structured interview. In the stage of classroom observation, the potential responsivities relating with anxiety were explored through the analysis of fieldwork notes; the questionnaires were filled out by the students after they finished their presentations to unveil the students' perceptions of their anxiety and the causes for such anxiety; the semi-structured interview was carried out to provide further evidence for the above findings. The research participants were twenty two students majoring in English education in a Korean national university. The research findings indicated that Korean students suffered different degree of anxiety in the course of classroom presentations; the major responsivities to anxiety included repeatedly occurring subconscious behaviors, silence, speech disruptions and slow rate of speaking and so forth. Concerning the causes arousing anxiety in classroom presentations, there were four major sources, consisting of negative attitude towards classroom presentations, preparation time, language proficiency, negative feedback from peers, while other factors like making mistakes, attention from audience, and teachers' feedback were not the major source for students' anxiety. These research findings should shed new light on classroom teaching for language teachers to improve their curriculum design to relieve students' anxiety in classroom presentations.
A Student Led Investigation of the Landscape Dynamics of Campus Recycling
Author: McBride, Brandon C.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Environmental Education,Recycling,Student Leadership,Conservation (Environment),Natural Resources,Knowledge Level,Ecology

Two senior undergraduate students within the environmental science division at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) quantitatively diagnosed the environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic dynamics involved in plastic recycling. This study incorporated actively collecting recycled plastic bottles on campus to produce an enumerated analysis of recycling on campus; and to gain an understanding of the socioeconomics of recycling via an anonymous survey used to determine the recycling knowledgebase of natural resource students at SFASU. Undergraduate students, via their incorporation into a campus wide environmental site assessment of recycling plastic bottles, were able to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world environmental concern thus making them more well-rounded and society-ready environmental scientists.
Systematic Instruction of Early Math Skills for Preschoolers at Risk for Math Delays
Author: Hardy, Jessica K.
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Preschool Children,At Risk Students,Teaching Methods,Academic Achievement,Mathematics Skills,Student Needs,Mathematical Concepts,Generalization,Intervention,Developmental Delays,Children,Cognitive Ability,Young Children,Motor Development,Preschool Education

Early math instruction is the subject of increasing attention by early childhood researchers. There is evidence to suggest that early math skills are highly predictive of later academic achievement but that there are disparities in early math skills among young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a systematic instructional procedure on early math skills with two preschoolers who were at risk for math delays. Target math skills were selected based on the individual needs of each child and included sorting, patterning, and shape manipulation. The instructional procedure was effective for helping two children acquire early math skills, with a functional relation demonstrated for each participant. There were mixed results for generalization and maintenance. Contributions to the literature, limitations, and implications for research and practice are discussed.