ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Empirical Assessment of Effect of Publication Bias on a Meta-Analysis of Validity Studies on University Matriculation Examinations in Nigeria
Author: Adeyemo, Emily Oluseyi
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Meta Analysis,Foreign Countries,Exit Examinations,Effect Size,Bias,Publications,Validity,Universities,Research,Hypothesis Testing,Statistical Significance

This study examined the impact of publication bias on a meta-analysis of empirical studies on validity of University Matriculation Examinations in Nigeria with a view to determine the level of difference between published and unpublished articles. Specifically, the design was an ex-post facto, a causal comparative design. The sample size consisted of 30 empirical studies selected on the basis of empirical status and relevance. The characteristics of these studies were recorded, coded and analyzed. The results revealed that the impact of publication bias was minimal on the meta-analysis study since the two versions, i.e. published and unpublished articles yielded essentially similar estimates of effect sizes. (Mean Fisher Zr = 0.393, Weighted Fisher WZr = 0.398 with associated r = 0.375 for both). Even though the use of non-representative proportion of significant studies in the two positive directions led to a non-representative set of studies, published articles had a higher effect size than the unpublished articles. (Zr = 0.460 for published, while Zr = 0.279 for unpublished). The effect size of published articles was significantly different from unpublished articles (X[superscript 2] = 5.42 p &lt; 0.05 sig). This was an indication that studies with more significant results were the published. On the overall, there was no significant difference in the level of significance for both published and unpublished articles (X[superscript 2] = 0.0031 p &gt; 0.05). Hence, publication bias did not affect the results of this meta-analysis.
A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Approach in Natural Sciences Education Laboratory Lessons towards Reforming Teachers Training
Author: Kolokouri, Eleni
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Natural Sciences,Lifelong Learning,Learning Activities,Praxis,Early Childhood Education,Concept Teaching,Scientific Literacy,Class Activities,Laboratory Training,Magnets,Acoustics,Science Education History,Video Technology,Interviews,College Science,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Observation

This paper focuses on connecting natural sciences education with Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). In this sense, natural sciences education is considered as a lifelong learning procedure, not seen as an individual but as a collective activity. Moreover, learning becomes a human activity in which theory and praxis are strongly connected and learning outcomes are obviously seen in society and culture. The paper is a review of five years research on natural sciences education from a CHAT perspective in the Department of Early Childhood Education in the University of Ioannina, Greece. Effort is put on using CHAT as a theoretical framework in order to analyze and design natural sciences education activities. In this regard, teaching natural sciences in a university laboratory becomes a dynamic activity system which involves multiple participants (university teachers, lab assistants, students, early grade pupils etc.). All the participants act towards some common goals, considering scientific knowledge as cultural, historical and social process and using meditative and analyzing tools. Scientific concepts are taught as part of the natural curriculum of natural sciences education at the early grades which is strongly connected with CHAT. At this level scientific learning is connected with inquiring in authentic environments, practicing skills of observation, classification, communication etc., and making sense of the relations and interactions that take place in the world around us. The research question addressed in this paper is to highlight some qualitative dimensions of the socio-cultural aspect of teaching natural sciences in the early grades. Research data have been collected during practical application of lab activities in the early childhood classrooms by observing, video recording, interviewing and analyzing. This part involves university teachers, lab assistants, students, early childhood teachers, early grade pupils who work as a community towards reforming of natural sciences education.
Operation of the Handicraft Element of Primary and Junior Secondary Curriculum: Implications for Technological Advancement in Nigeria
Author: Abraham, Nath M.
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Technological Advancement,Handicrafts,Elementary Secondary Education,Concept Formation,Curriculum Development,Knowledge Economy,Relevance (Education),Indigenous Knowledge,Educational Needs

Technological advancement has been related to national economic growth and poverty reduction by both national and international analysts. Development of indigenous skills (handicrafts or handiwork) is seen as central to successful administration of indigenous skill development critical for solution of contemporary problems in society. In Nigeria, the desire to develop local craft as a basis for technology appreciation and application is well articulated in the National Policy on Education, especially in the basic (primary and junior secondary) education curriculum. It is expedient therefore, to examine the operation of the handicraft element of the basic education curriculum and determine the implications on the nation's strive to achieve technological advancement. Consequently, relevant terms were conceptualized; the implications for policy operation were treated, and parameters for better operation such as provision of basic infrastructures (libraries, laboratories, workshops, etc.), training of local craft teaching staff, in addition to adequate financing were recommended.
Using Interviewing to Explore Clinical Learning at Team Placements: A Pilot Study
Author: Gao, Lili
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pilot Projects,Medical Students,Clinical Experience,Student Placement,Longitudinal Studies,Case Studies,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Focus Groups,Student Experience,Foreign Countries

This paper reports the development of a pilot study which aims to identify a medical student's experience and perceptions towards team placement learning and how closely those experiences and perceptions link to the author's main project--a longitudinal, multiple-method case study, which is designed to investigate how medical students learn in a multi-professional clinical context, and how multi- and inter-professional contact influences the transition from &quot;thinking as a student,&quot; to &quot;thinking like a doctor,&quot; to &quot;thinking as a doctor,&quot; as an issue of identity construction. By using a reflexive account, the author delineates the strengths and limitations; practicalities and difficulties of in-depth interviewing, one of the qualitative data collection methods to be use in her further study.
Diffusing Education for Sustainability into Teacher Education Programme in Nigeria: A Theory in Use
Author: Ojedokun, Olalekan Elijah
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Sustainability,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Education Curriculum,Theories,Social Systems,Educational Innovation,Time,Information Dissemination

The benefits of integrated understanding of the issues, acquisition of the knowledge and the skills, understanding of the right perspectives, and development of appropriate values in respect of the intertwined actions and reactions of environment, economy and society make Education for Sustainability(EfS) an innovation that must be explored--more importantly for communication within the formal education sector, because such learning may be more sustainable than the one received through the informal system. This paper therefore explores an application of the &quot;Diffusion of Innovation Theory&quot; which identifies information, its communication, the social system and time as the four essential elements involved in the dissemination of information about an emerging problem; and in this context, an education that combines the study of development and environment as the innovation that should be communicated within the formal education sector, using the socially critical orientations and based on negotiations between the teacher and the recipients (learners). The paper thus reflects on the educational implications of the theory and suggests that curriculum of teacher education institutions must be reviewed to accommodate the learning content of EfS (e.g. climate change, green economy, democracy equity and social justice, structural change, reclamation of social bonds, waste disposal/management/recycling) and theorising more on learner-friendly approaches, so as to have a trickle down effects on the younger generation of school children who are the final recipients of environment and development-related education.
Minority Students&apos; Perceptions of Schooling and Teachers Quality to Support Their Learning in Norway
Author: Alhassan, Awal Mohammed
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Minority Group Students,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Surveys,Student Surveys,Immigrants,Questionnaires,Interviews,Likert Scales,Statistical Analysis,Barriers,High School Students,Dropouts

In this study we surveyed 98 migrant or minority students in the Oslo and Follo areas of Norway about their experiences of school. We also surveyed 50 teachers who were teaching in those schools about their background information and teaching practices and how that might impact on student learning. We then followed 32 of the 98 students 3 years later to find out what these students felt about the role of the school and teachers in supporting their learning and its contribution to their success or non-success in school. There were differences in the perceptions of those young people who finished high school and those who dropped out of school after the initial survey, who felt that schools were not very supportive.
Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Finance in Nigeria
Author: Alo, Ejikeme Nonso
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Local Government,Revenue Sharing,Federal State Relationship,Fiscal Capacity,Resource Allocation,Funding Formulas,Finance Reform,Financial Problems,Institutional Autonomy,Comparative Analysis

Fiscal federalism deals with the sharing of resources in a federated nation. Over the years problems about local government finance have become an important aspect of intergovernmental relations. Constitutionally, local government is the third tier of government which exists as an independent entity, possessing some degree of autonomy and sovereignty. However, its capability to perform its constitutionally mandated functions is beleaguered by the problem of inadequate revenue. In Nigeria, a number of factors have contributed to the financial setback experienced by most local governments and these include: overdependence on allocations from state and federal governments which in most cases are withheld by the same federal and state governments; lack of fiscal autonomy; creation of non-viable local governments, among others. The aim of this paper is to examine the problems of the local government in Nigeria, especially concerning its financial limitations, necessitated by the unequal share of resources, imbalance revenue-sharing formulae and lack of fiscal autonomy in the operations of the local government in Nigeria.
The Effect of Discourse Markers Instruction on EFL Learners&apos; Writing
Author: Aidinlou, Nader Assadi
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Foreign Countries,Writing Instruction,Teaching Methods,Semantics,Connected Discourse,Writing Tests,Cloze Procedure,Statistical Analysis,High School Students,College Students

Writing is one of the four skills in language learning and it should be paid more attention. In this regard, creating contexts which is value coherence in pragmatic level, and cohesion in semantic level is important. Knowledge about the discourse Markers (DMs), amongst other things, be used to improve writing skill. DMs are expression such as &quot;now, well, so, which signal a sequential relationship between the current basic message and previous discourse. The present paper focuses on the instruction of the DMs and its effect on learners' writing ability. To do this, two groups as control and experimental were chosen from Shoukoh Iran English Institute in Tabriz, Iran. Both groups were asked to fill the gaps with the best option from among the DMs suggested. Then treatment sessions were conducted for experimental group while during that period, control group held back to receive such a treatment. Analyzing the misuse and inappropriateness of DMs occurring to their writing, pre-test, and investigating the relevant and suitable application of DMs appearing in their writing, post-test, and concludes with the suggestion that teaching text markers to learners should be paid more attention. And also the result reveals the effectiveness of teaching text markers to students in enhancing their awareness and sensitivity of discourse and consequently raising their writing levels.
The Effects of Direct Written Corrective Feedback on Improvement of Grammatical Accuracy of High-Proficient L2 Learners
Author: Farrokhi, Farahman
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grammar,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Accuracy,Feedback (Response),Error Correction,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Statistical Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Language Proficiency,College Students,Foreign Countries,Language Tests,Quasiexperimental Design

The present article reports the findings of a study that explored(1) whether direct written corrective feedback (CF) can help high-proficient L2 learners, who has already achieved a rather high level of accuracy in English, improve in the accurate use of two functions of English articles (the use of &quot;a&quot; for first mention and &quot;the&quot; for subsequent or anaphoric mentions); and (2) whether there are any differential effects in providing the two different types of direct written CF (focused and unfocused) on the accurate use of these grammatical forms by these EFL learners. In this study, sixty high-proficient L2 learners formed a control group and two experimental groups. One experimental group received focused written CF and the other experimental group received unfocused written CF, while the control group received no feedback. The statistical analyses indicated that both experimental groups did better than control group in the post-test, and moreover, focused group significantly outperformed unfocused one in terms of accurate use of definite and indefinite English articles. Overall, these results suggest that focused written CF is more effective than unfocused one, at least where English articles are concerned, in improving grammatical accuracy of high-proficient L2 writers and thus strengthens the case for teachers providing focused written CF.
The Relationship between Reading Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Reading Strategy Use and Reading Comprehension Level of Iranian EFL Learners
Author: Naseri, Mahdieh
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Self Efficacy,Beliefs,Reading Strategies,Reading Comprehension,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Correlation,Metacognition,Gender Differences,College Students,College Seniors,Language Proficiency,Language Tests

This co-relational study explored the relationship between reading self-efficacy beliefs, reading strategies use and reading comprehension level of Iranian EFL learners. In this study, Michigan reading comprehension test, a self-reported Reading Strategy Use Questionnaire, and a Reading Self-efficacy Questionnaire were administered to eighty Junior and Senior EFL students. The results of Spearman Correlation coefficient, descriptive statistics, and Canonical correlation indicated that a) there were significant strong positive correlation between reading self-efficacy beliefs and reading comprehension and also between reading self-efficacy beliefs and reading strategies use, b) the most frequent use of reading strategy was found to be cognitive strategy, followed by testing strategy, meta-cognitive strategy, and finally compensatory strategy, c) regarding the gender, the relationship between Reading Self-efficacy and Reading Strategies used by Iranian EFL senior and junior students made no difference.
The Integrated Multi-Level Bilingual Teaching of &quot;Social Research Methods&quot;
Author: Zhu, Yanhan
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Science Research,Research Methodology,Bilingual Education,Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Bilingual Teachers,Teacher Student Relationship

&quot;Social Research Methods,&quot; as a methodology course, combines theories and practices closely. Based on the synergy theory, this paper tries to establish an integrated multi-level bilingual teaching mode. Starting from the transformation of teaching concepts, we should integrate interactions, experiences, and researches together and focus on cultivating innovative and practical international talents.
A Research on the Beliefs about Mathematics Learning and Teacher Efficacy of Prospective Teachers in Turkey
Author: Memnun, Dilek Sezgin
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Mathematics Instruction,Teacher Effectiveness,Preservice Teachers,Preservice Teacher Education,Mathematics Teachers,Student Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Beliefs,Instructional Program Divisions,Gender Differences,Student Surveys,Likert Scales,Statistical Analysis

The aim of this study is to measure the consistency of beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning, and the perception of the effectiveness of prospective teachers. A total of 554 prospective teachers studying in the Kocaeli University, including 306 mathematics and 248 elementary prospective teachers participated in the research. Mathematics Beliefs Instrument was applied to the mathematics and elementary prospective teachers. In conclusion, it has been understood that majority of the prospective teachers have positive beliefs about mathematics. Mathematical beliefs of freshmen and sophomores or juniors change significantly. Similarly, significant differences appeared in the belief average points of female and male prospective teachers.
Improving Science, Technology and Mathematics Education in Nigeria: A Case Study of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
Author: Alaba, Sofowora Olaniyi
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Science Education,Technology Education,Mathematics Education,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Human Resources,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Case Studies,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Faculty Development,Technological Literacy,Teacher Competencies

The study assessed the impact of a World Bank Assisted Project &quot;STEP-B&quot; on teaching and learning of Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STM) in Nigeria. It also described the contribution of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife to the improvement of STM through research development, utilization of ICT, human resources and Educational Technology infrastructure in Post Basic Education Institutions (PBEIs) in Nigeria. A sample of 360 participants was used. They were selected from all the PBEIs through stratified sampling technique based on gender, course, department, unit and job prescription. Data was collected using a-34 item questionnaire designed by the researcher with six sections. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that there was a remarkable improvement in the teaching and learning of STM in PBEIs (F[subscript (4,233)] = 6.112, P&lt;0.00). A new creative, participatory and competency based learning method that is flexible, robust that incorporate web-based instruction (F[subscript (4,235)] = 2.248, p&lt;0.04) was used. There was an increase in female enrolments in STM as a result of the different motivation and sensitization workshops (F[subscript (4,231)] = 8.109, p&lt;0.01). The project was effective in building staff and students capacity to utilize WBLS (F[subscript (4,234)] = 5.569, p&lt;0.01). There was also a reduction in the drop-out and failure rates among female students (F[subscript (4,233)] = 7.360, p&lt;0.05).
A Look at EFL Technical Students&apos; Use of Learning Strategies in Taiwan
Author: Chu, Yu-Wei
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Learning Strategies,Metacognition,College Freshmen,Language Teachers,Language Proficiency,Affective Behavior,Foreign Countries,Correlation,Academic Achievement,Student Motivation,Learning Motivation,Memory,Statistical Analysis

253 freshmen taking Freshman English from a university of technology in the central Taiwan participated in this study. The purposes of this research were to explore what learning strategy was used more frequently by college students and to investigate the variance of using learning strategies among students of different English proficiency levels. The results indicated that the most frequently used strategy in learning English was Compensation and followed by Affective, Social, Memory, Metacognitive, and Cognitive strategies respectively. High proficiency students used these six learning strategies more frequently than low proficiency ones. All the six learning strategies existed positive correlation with English academic achievement individually. It is suggested that teachers should explore a variety of different learning strategies with their students, and think carefully about which strategies offer the greatest prospect for improvement for students within a specific educational environment. Instructing learning strategies in class by EFL teachers will also promote students' motivation in learning English and enhance their learning effectiveness and efficiency.
From the Traditional to the Modern: The Culture of Kindergartens Communities That Learn (The Croatian Experience)
Author: Ljubetic, Maja
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Kindergarten,Cultural Awareness,Cultural Influences,Child Development,Power Structure,Community Characteristics,Democratic Values,Holistic Approach,Traditionalism,Educational Practices,Educational Philosophy

Even though the tradition of kindergartens in Croatia is a long one, it is only since the last decade that kindergartens in the Republic of Croatia have been regarded as communities that learn. For many years, the function of traditional kindergartens was determined by the philosophy and the beliefs of a totalitarian socialistic social order which, with the transition to democracy, accepted new paradigms about a child's development, learning, institutional upbringing and the education of pre-school aged children etc. New democratic values have become an integral part of early childhood and pre-school education institutions and have also initiated changes in educational programmes for kindergarten-school teachers. An important segment in this &quot;new vision&quot; of institutions for early childhood and pre-school education is the culture of the institution. All participants in the upbringing-educational process play an active role in the development of this culture. The quality of the community's culture determines the quality of life and learning of both adults and children in that community. Therefore, it is necessary to dedicate greater attention to raising awareness of and improving culture.