Motivation to learn foreign languages is a significant determinant of successful language acquisition. The subject has been widely researched in the past, and since the early 1990s a great deal of empirical research related to the classroom environment has been proposed to expand theory into everyday classroom practice. I present an empirical, longitudinal (3-year) study to explore the relationship between and changes in foreign language learning motivation, learning motivation and self-concept in the 5th, 6th and 8th forms of elementary school. The same tests (Kozéki-Entwistle’s Learning Motivation Questionnaire, the Tenessee SelfConcept Scale, and Clément, Dörnyei and Noels’ Foreign Language Learning Motivation questionnaire) were administered three times, so I was able to compare the results and draw conclusions about developmental tendencies. A strong correlation was found between motivational and self-esteem scores, and between learning and foreign language learning motivation subscales. It is necessary to highlight the importance of the Moral, Family and Social Self, which draws our attention to the family values and beliefs students are equipped with, when they enter the school. The significant decrease in motivation and self-esteem in the period under investigation focuses our attention on problems of adolescence, and challanges language teachers to establish a highly motivating classroom practice.

School dropout is a growing concern in Central America, and in Latin America as a whole, because of its consequences for economic productivity, the inclusiveness of growth, social cohesion, and increasing youth risks. This paper utilizes more than two decades of household survey data to construct a systematic overview of school dropout at the primary and secondary levels in Central America, focusing on recent trends in dropout patterns and their underlying causes. Within each country, poverty, rurality, and indigenous group membership are the strongest correlates of dropout, reflecting several underlying factors that affect the marginal benefits and costs of staying in school.  Global and regional evidence increasingly points to common policy priorities for reducing dropout across Central America, including addressing remaining gaps in access at the pre-primary and secondary levels, improving the quality of education at all levels, and strengthening the coverage, targeting, and coherence of existing programs aimed at improving education outcomes.  However, additional rigorous evaluations, including cost data, are needed to identify the most effective specific approaches in each country.  JEL Classification: I2, I24, I25, I26, I28, O15

This study investigated the resilience levels of parents with children with multiple disabilities by utilizing different variables. The study, conducted with survey model –a qualitative method- included a sample composed of a total of 222 voluntary parents (183 females, 39 males) residing in Bolu, Duzce and Zonguldak in Turkey. Parental Information Form and Family Resilience Scale, consisting of 4 sub dimensions (Challenge, Self Efficacy, Commitment to Life and Control) and a total of 37 items, were used in the framework of the study which included reliability and validity studies of the scale as well. Differences between sub groups were not statistically significant for the following variables:  gender of children with multiple disabilities; age of children with multiple disabilities; support received for child care by parents of children with multiple disabilities; health problems of parents of children with multiple disabilities; psychological support received by parents of children with multiple disabilities; age of parents of children with multiple disabilities; income levels and education of parents of children with multiple disabilities (p>0.05). However, significant differences were observed in Challenge dimension in terms of gender of the parents and the type of disability.

The aim of this study was to explore the degree to which a professional development (PD) program designed using GeoGebra influences a group of Turkish middle school teachers’ beliefs in relation to mathematics and role of GeoGebra in mathematics education. In order to collect the required data, the PD course was established to provide six teachers with an opportunity to obtain practical experiences with and necessary knowledge about the use of GeoGebra in mathematics education. In this context, a multiple case study approach was utilized, in which mathematics teachers were observed and interviewed using a variety of procedures to expose qualitative data about their beliefs and the dynamics of their beliefs changes during the course. The main findings illustrated that teachers’ beliefs were transformed to some extent in favour of the use of GeoGebra, as well as using constructivist ideas in their mathematics teaching and learning can be attained through the GeoGebra based PD course. In fact, the relationship amongst stated beliefs and intended teaching practice is complex and the social issues were very influential on teachers’ pedagogical decisions. This research also introduces some suggestions for researchers who focus on professional development of mathematics teachers relative to their beliefs..

The aim of this study is to determine the problems, the solutions and the suggestions of the school principals and teachers towards the Syrian refugee students in the primary schools in Turkey. The research group of the study included four school principals and six teachers. The research was conducted by qualitative methods. The results revealed that the school principals mostly live communication, adaptation, accreditation, absenteeism, psychological and financial problems related to Syrian refugee students. Teachers also have problems such as communication problems with these students. Principals have opened ‘support rooms’ for these students; have worked for adaptation of these students, have been in contact with the families. The teachers opened literacy courses and worked to socialize these students with their classmates. Both principals and teachers have primarily proposed the creation of specific curricula for these students and the activities to solve the problem of language and cohesion for these students.

One of the central aspects of displacement and migration is resilience on behalf of the affected individuals. UNHCR reports that the number of displaced people around the world reached 65 million by the end of 2015. In another report UNHCR states that the number of Syrian refugees in Iraq is 233,224. While IOM reports that the number of the internally displaced persons in Iraq between 2014 and 2016 reached to 3.4 million. As it is crucial to communication and, thus, survival, language is vital to promoting resilience of such people. Nowadays, English language learning provides numerous opportunities for individuals to succeed; hence, it is essential in building resilience among displaced populations. The current study aimed to explore resilience level of the displaced adolescents in Iraq, also to verify the impact of English language learning on their lives. The study has been conducted in camp and non-camp schools via the delivery of a CD-RISC-25 questionnaire as quantitative method, followed by interviews as qualitative method. The results concluded that the participants had medium resilience level, and learning English plays different roles in building resilience of the participants.

The purpose of the present study is to test a hypothetical model in order to examine the association between students’ sense of classroom belonging along with four other university class-level variables including faculty-student relationships, connected classroom climate referring peer relationships, loneliness and classroom identity. It is intended to draw attention of teacher educators to the importance of creating sense of community at classroom level through this study in order to improve the quality of teacher education. With this aim, pre-service teachers attending the faculty of education were selected as sample of the study (N= 1425). Each measures used in this study was adapted for college-level students through confirmatory factor analysis in order to test specific predictions concerning each measure’s structure and the results revealed that  all measures have adequate psychometric properties. The model examined with structural equation modeling was an excellent fit with the data, and the results indicated that the fitted model explained 50% of the variance in classroom identity; 47% of the variance in sense of classroom belonging; 14% of the variance in classroom climate; and 9% of the variance in loneliness. Results and implications are discussed.

Summative assessment of students' writing predicts not only the extent to which the course learning objectives have been achieved but also reveals the relevance of the assessment design with the construct of writing being assessed. Any dichotomy between the assessment criteria and the construct of writing or between the assessment criteria and test scoring procedures can produce unreliable and invalid interpretations of the students' writing proficiency. Assuming cohesion as a measure of writing quality, the present study chose samples of academic writing which did not specify cohesion as a descriptor in the assessment scale. A cohesion index was, therefore, developed to investigate how cohesive devices created texture in the sample texts and correlated with the test scores. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric correlation analysis revealed that cohesive devices were positively associated with appropriate use to create texture; however, they only weakly correlated with the test scores. The findings imply that there is the need for developing assessment criteria which consistently measures the text-forming resources to reliably ascertain the writing proficiency of the students. The study recommends a research initiative based on an analytical assessment criteria to ensure a more accurate analysis of the role of cohesion in text-formation and writing quality.

This research aims to find out: (1) the more effective learning model on students' divergent-thinking skills; (2) the better adversity quotient on students' divergent-thinking skills; (3) the better adversity quotient to improve students' divergent-thinking skills in each learning model; and (4) the better learning model to improve students' divergent-thinking skills in each adversity quotient. This research uses a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental type. The fifth-grade students were selected as the research subjects. This research was carried out at the public elementary schools in Laweyan District, Surakarta, Indonesia. Test and questionnaire techniques were used to collect data. The data analysis was performed with the analysis prerequisite, hypothesis, and multiple-comparison tests. The results showed that the learning model and adversity quotient have an influence on divergent-thinking skills; for each adversity quotient, the thinking actively in a social context learning model is better than the creative problem solving and direct instruction learning model; the creative problem solving learning model is better than the direct instruction learning model; and adversity quotient of the climbers is better than that of the campers and the adversity quotient of the campers is better than that of the quitters in each learning model.

This study aims at exploring the problem of the readiness and competence of new teachers to teach in primary schools. This study specifically focuses on identifying the readiness of new teachers to conduct teaching professionally, and analyzing their competence in conducting teaching. This study employs a mixed-method research design with data collected from two different approaches: a qualitative approach by conducting interviews and observation, and a quantitative approach by conducting a survey. The data were collected from lecturers, graduate teachers working as teachers, graduate teachers working not as teachers, and users of graduate teachers. The results of data collection and analysis were made into several themes. The results showed that the majority of graduates were ready to join the workforce as professional teachers with the risk that they had to accept the lack of welfare and legitimacy as unprofessional teachers because they had to attend further professional education programs. The education provided by the lecturers during their study in their institution in the aspects of knowledge and skills in the field of study and pedagogy became the foundation for new teachers in starting their careers as professional teachers in schools. A good educational process had produced teachers who have competencies with good categories in various aspects.

This study aimed at analyzing the implementation of authentic assessments and constraints faced by junior high schools' teachers in mathematics teaching. A qualitative approach was applied in the study. The data on the implementation of authentic assessments and constraints were obtained from 50 mathematics teachers in several public junior high schools in Malang City, East Java Province-Indonesia, trained by the 2013 curriculum. Documentation, questionnaires, observations, and interviews were used to collect the data. The study results showed that most teachers implemented authentic assessments in mathematics teaching as designed in the learning plan. The obstacles faced by the teachers in the implementation of the authentic assessment included the time limit and accuracy. The efforts made by the teachers varied, but the teachers tried to administer the authentic assessment properly following the demands of the curriculum.

The main topic of the presented article is the pedagogical concept of self-reflection of students of Social Education. The authors understand the pedagogical concept as primarily educational determinants that influence and shape students’ self-reflection. To identify this aim, the authors formulate the main research question: How do social education students reflect on themselves as students, and what are the determinants of study self-reflection for social pedagogy students? The authors used the qualitative research strategy, specifically The Grounded Theory, through which sixty self-reflecting essays were analysed. These written self-reflections were further complemented with six in-depth interviews in which we acquired clarifying information on self-reflection and self-assessment of social education students. It was ascertained that students’ self-reflection is shaped through an awareness of internal and external study factors, which subsequently influence the overall concept of their study, motivation to perform, study style, and self-assessment.

This study aims to explore non-English speaking major student’s perceptions of Motivation and Grit and the relationship between these two factors and students’ English language performance at a public university in China. The research was conducted by quantitative research design to collect 624 non-English speaking Major students’ answers to multiple questionnaires at a public university in China. Data analysis is used by SPSS and AMOS. The study shows that Motivation and Grit all have a positive correlation with English language performance. One major conclusion of this study is Grit has the most significant effect on the English language performance of non-English speaking major students in multiple regression analysis and is also the best predictor of the relationship between these two factors and English language performance in the path analysis in Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The finding also revealed that male students’ perception of motivation and grit is slightly stronger than that of female students. These findings highlight the need for English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher to understand students’ affective factors in learning English, and hence help them utilize different teaching methods to enhance students’ English learning and promote sustainable development of English learning in a public Chinese university.

This research investigated the correlations among problem-solving, coping styles, and stress levels of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and typical development. We used a correlational survey model design and collected the data with the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), and the Parent Stress Scale (PSS). The study group consisted of 350 parents. The research findings revealed that stress levels were negatively correlated with functional coping strategies and problem-solving. We found no significant difference between parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and typical development in terms of problem-solving approaches. Considering the relationships between the parents in terms of WCQ scores, there was no statistically significant difference in the subscales of self-confidence approach, submissiveness, optimistic approach, and seeking social support. Only the subscale of helplessness differed statistically based on the disability. Regarding the correlations between the groups in terms of stress levels, we found that the typical developmental group had lower PSS scores than the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder groups. We believe that preventive support programs for stress management can make significant contributions to efficient coping methods and problem-solving.

Collaborative learning has been identified as an essential aspect in the process of learning. As accelerated advancement continues to characterize the developments of technology, innovative mobile technology appears to be transforming the way collaborative learning is taking shape. This study focused on identifying whether mobile technology has a significant impact on collaborative learning in engineering studies in a private University in Malaysia. Using a quantitative approach, an online survey was administered for the data collection. Some 221 participants were selected randomly among undergraduate engineering students in the University. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS. The research findings revealed that mobile technology has a significant impact on collaborative learning. The findings also indicated that two of the mobile technology dimensions, namely mobility and immediacy have significant impact on collaborative learning. Consequently, this research suggests engineering educators can integrate mobile technology into their future instruction for more collaborative learning and create a smart workforce consisting of fast and adaptive engineers as well as other learners in Malaysia.

It is important for students who learn history to have the skills to think, read and analyze historical sources because past events can only be reconstructed and understood from these numerous resources. Various media methods are needed to support the development of these skills, especially in online learning. Therefore, this research aims to create a virtual field trip (VFT) based history learning media to help students improve their thinking skills using primary source evidence. It was carried out by using the research and development (R&D) method consisting of four stages, namely analysis, designs, conducting trials, and testing media effectiveness. The sample subjects consisted of six teams as expert validators, seven history teachers, 70 and 280 Class X students who assessed the product's practicality and determined the developed media's effectiveness. Data were collected through expert validation, student and teacher response questionnaire sheets, as well as description exams. The level of validity and practicality of the medium were determined using descriptive analysis, while the N-Gain approach evaluated the media's effectiveness. The expert validation result is very good, with an average score of 3.77. The teacher and student response tests showed an average score of 4.67, indicating that the VFT medium is practical for learning history. The N-Gain value of 72% showed that the students' abilities to use primary source evidence are increasing. Therefore, using VFT based history classes to develop explanation skills using primary source evidence is feasible, practical, and useful.