This research aimed to analyze the levels of agreement between kindergarten teachers and principals in identifying the assessment of teachers’ teaching competencies and performance. The study was designed under a quantitative approach using a survey. It implemented a non-probability sampling technique with purposive sampling. The sample of the population comprised of 173 kindergarten teachers and 101 principals in Semarang District, Indonesia, or a total of 274 respondents. The data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient to measure the levels of agreement between raters and Pearson Chi-Square test was also utilized to determine the differences in perceptions among principals and teachers. The findings showed that the levels of agreement between raters were averagely in the no agreement category, implying the existence of differences in perceptions among teachers and principals. The involvement of a multi-rater strategy in such research is a rare effort, especially for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) level in Indonesia. Researches regarding teaching competencies and performance generally only involve single rater, either teachers or principals who judge themselves on their competencies and performance, thus the results tend to be subjective. In conclusion, the assessment of teaching competencies with the relation of cognitive abilities was conducted through a test that considered subjective questions and case analysis to evaluate the teachers’ skills based on their performance and self-description. Both personal and social assessments utilized self-assessment forms or autobiographies, which were completed with specific themes. Meanwhile, the performance assessment was observed with the assessment rubric and comparison with the learning process performed by an individual educator.

This study aims to analyze the implementation of holistic education and determining its supporting and hindering factors at a boarding high school in Malang, Indonesia. The method of this research is qualitative descriptive with a case study approach in the State Senior High School 10 Malang, Indonesia. The data collection technique was done through interviews and observations. The data analysis employed data reduction, data presentation, and conclusions making. The results showed that holistic education in the State Senior High School 10 Malang included the academic, leadership program, extracurricular, youth entrepreneurship, and environment caring programs. The supporting factors of the holistic education were curriculum, professional teachers, principal leadership, learning process, facilities and infrastructure, school management, three educational centers, and school culture. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factors included the low number of boarding teachers and the high operational costs. The results suggest that all schools should provide equal access to qualified education services to the whole nation through holistic education programs to produce intelligent and competitive students.

The purpose of the study is to identify how the instructional model influences students’ reflective disposition and how the students perceived the intervention. The study addressed the research questions through the ‘Artistic Reflection Scale’ for student pre-school educators that consisted of four domains such as students’ observation skills, critical analysis skills, evaluation skills, and the occupation application of artistic reflection, and the course satisfaction questionnaire. The study found that the technology of artistic reflection and image creation was effective in fostering students’ artistic reflective thinking comprising observation skills, critical analysis, their art output evaluation skills with a focus on sharing their reflective experience with the preschoolers. The artistic reflection scale was proved to be a reliable instrument in measuring students’ reflective thinking skills. The study found a change in the artistic reflective skills of the experimental group students was substantially greater than in the students of the control group. After the intervention, there was a shift from the basic level of artistic reflection to the higher levels in the experimental group students, and the proportion of the students being at this stage reduced, while the other proportions increased.

The teaching and learning in Indonesian elementary schools focus both on students’ concept mastery and character development.  Teachers are encouraged to implement a learning model that integrates character values and yet promote learning interest.  This study was aimed at investigating the mathematics learning interest of grade three elementary school students through the integration of thematic learning with character education, referred to as the character-integrated thematic learning model. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, this study involved 70 students and employed a questionnaire to obtain data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Descriptively, the average scores of students' learning interest before and after the implementation of the character-integrated thematic learning model are respectively 117.54 and 140.69 with the gain index of 0.44 in the fair category. While score obtained for thematic learning model are 116.11 and 120.23 with the gain index of 0.07 in the low category. The results of the statistical inference analysis using the independent sample t-test were obtained t-count of 4.98 > t-table of 1,667. This indicates that there has been a significant increase in students’ learning interest scores with the implementation of character-integrated thematic learning model. Thus, this learning model can be applied to pay attention to the development of student’s character which has an impact on increasing student’s learning interest.

This study aims at exploring the professional identities of six ELT students through the lens of critical incidents. For the sake of this aim, six ELT students took part in this research at an Anatolian High School in 2018-2019 spring semester. The teaching practicum process was conducted from April to mid of May 2019, once a week over six-week practicum. The main data collection of this study was the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). Additionally, two questions were asked to the participants to evaluate their actual and designated professional identities. The first question was answered before the practicum and the second one was answered at the end of the practicum process. The results showed that some internal and external factors influenced their professional identity. Additionally, it was found that critical incidents could be used to spot the changes in the participants’ professional identity formation processes. Results of the study indicated that not only negative but also some positive critical incidents contributed to the participants’ professional identity formation. As a result of the encountered incidents that influenced their formation of identities, it was observed that the actual identities of four students changed from positive to negative at the end of the process. Correspondingly, the findings of this study put forward that how the participants explored their identity formation process through the critical incidents.

The purpose of the study was to identify how the Personal Branding Marathon with the involvement of the Ethics Supervisory Committee could influence the teacher self-branding in the settings of the digital environment if the ethics of communication is given paramount importance. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods such as a semi-structured in-depth interview, a self-assessment checklist, and an expert assessment checklist. The Triangular Assessment Method was used to obtain participants’ judgments about the importance of every specified component of the self-branding viewed from their perspective in terms of implementation. The yielded data were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0.0.1. Software. The novelty of the study lies in the way the teacher self-branding was organised and delivered. The Marathon created a community of individuals with similar needs and the environment facilitated and assisted by the experts to put the teachers in the ‘point of no return’ situation. The Marathon with the involvement of the Ethics Supervisory Committee was found to positively influence the teacher self-branding in the settings of the digital environment if the ethics of communication is given paramount importance. The intervention raised the teachers’ awareness of self-branding, enhanced/upgraded the tools and strategies of self-branding, and improved their communication and communication ethics, particularly. The teachers became more professionally advantaged, self-efficient, and confident as individuals. The intervention was found to help the teachers built-up a strong self-brand on the Internet and at the workplace. They also improved their communication skills in terms of ethics as the participants were assisted by the communication expert.

Central to the creativity development in elementary schools are competent teachers. Enhancement of teachers’ competence could be done through the provision of guidance handbooks for the teachers. As based on the problem statements, this research was aimed at developing handbooks of guidance and counseling that could improve teachers’ competence in providing quality guidance and counseling services; the handbooks were expected to help teachers in cultivating the creativity of elementary school students. In this research and development study, the designed handbooks consisted of book 1 Guidance and Counseling Implementation Plan, Book 2 Service Materials, Book 3 Teachers’ Guideline, and Book 4 Evaluation Guideline. The effectiveness of the handbooks was examined using a quasi-experimental method with one group pre-test and posttest. According to the results of experimental data analysis, the tcount and ttable arrived at 7.665 (significance level of 0.05 (14)) and 1.76, respectively, meaning that tcount > ttable. This result signified that the handbooks were practical to build teachers’ competence in providing quality guidance and counseling services, which was helpful in assisting the teachers in instilling the creativity of elementary school students. In brief, the handbooks are recommended to be used by teachers in promoting the creativity of elementary school students.

In several shows prepared for children and adults in the media, the representation of “individuals with special needs” can ensure that other members of the society empathize with disability and the characteristics of disabled people, and make it easier that prejudices are replaced by social acceptance through gaining information. Finding a place frequently used in children’s literature, children’s reality satisfies the curiosity and experience-gaining demands of children about the cases they encounter for the first time using various examples, and helps them internalize the information and experience they gain. Children’s shows and cartoons have an effective power in influencing the viewpoint of children as target group for disabled people within the framework of “children’s reality” by means of the representation of children with special needs who are socially disadvantaged. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and examine in terms of various factors the social representation style of main characters with Down Syndrome represented in “My Brother Ozi” and “Punky” cartoons broadcasted on local children television channels and internet sites where cartoons for children can be found. 51 episodes of both cartoons (26 and 25) were viewed in the framework of the study and findings were analyzed using “document analysis” method which is a qualitative research method.

This study aims to test proving the scale of measuring the character of students' curiosity using confirmatory factor analysis. This study uses a quantitative approach. The sample used was 325 randomly selected participants. The variable examined in this study is the character of curiosity. The curiosity variable is focused on elementary school students. In this study, this variable was measured by four indicators and 16 measuring items. The four indicators include: paying attention, taking notes, asking questions, and comparing. Data collection was carried out by distributing curiosity questionnaires to participants. The data analysis technique used was confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability analysis used was the composite score reliability analysis. The results of the study concluded that the constituent indicators of the latent variables of students' curiosity show that all loading factor values have a significant effect on the latent variables in the first order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Meanwhile, in the second order CFA, the variable of curiosity, the biggest contribution was the indicators compare. This student curiosity assessment model has fulfilled the goodness of fit aspect of the model and has been reliable based on construct reliability. This study recommends a scale measuring elementary school students' curiosity.

Professional teaching competence is significantly influenced by beliefs about teaching and learning. Prospective teachers start their teacher training with quite persistent beliefs about learning processes. These beliefs are mainly influenced by the way they experienced their own lessons as a student at school. Previous biology lessons at school might be linked to the imagined biology lessons of prospective teachers. We interpret these future lessons as a representation of their beliefs about teaching and learning. The present study investigated how prospective teachers remembered their previous biology lessons as well as how they imagine the lessons they will conduct in the future. The drawings of 181 prospective biology teachers in Germany (Mage = 22.1; SD = 3.6; 64.1 % female) were analyzed using the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C). Results of the study indicate that the lessons they experienced were mainly teacher-centered, whereas the lessons they imagined were mainly student-centered. Results of a chi-square-test indicate that there is no connection between these two drawings of biology lessons. This suggests that experiences from one’s own schooling may have no connection with the way prospective teachers would like to teach in the future. The results of this study might be used as a basis for further studies examining the development of prospective biology teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning.

The aim of this study is to find out the influence of online project collaborative learning and achievement motivation on problem-solving ability in the area of citizenship. This study uses a quasi-experimental design. The total of study subjects is 71 students of higher education; consist of 36 students as the experimental group and 35 students as the control group. Data of problem-solving ability is obtained by using an essay test, while data of achievement motivation is obtained by using a questionnaire. Data analysis is done with ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). The study results show that online based-project collaborative learning strategy has a positive influence on civic problem-solving ability. There is a difference in civic problem-solving ability between students with high achievement motivation and students with low achievement motivation. Online project collaborative learning strategy and achievement motivation interact in influencing the civic problem-solving ability of students. It is recommended that further study corroborate this finding by testing again the effectiveness of using online-based project collaborative strategy in the aspect of problem-solving in a similar field of study.

The purpose of the research was to identify whether the English language e-classes that are automated and delivered through the Smart Sender platform influence the students’ attendance and procrastination rates, their motivation, time management skills, cognitive processing speed, and satisfaction. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods to monitor students’ attendance and procrastination rates, motivation and engagement, time management skills, thinking speed, and satisfaction. The questionnaire on learning motivation, engagement, and competence, the time management skills test, the mental speed test, and the course satisfaction questionnaire were used to collect data. The focus group discussion questionnaire was used to obtain verbal feedback for the participants. The Smart Sender platform proved effective as an instructional tool for teaching the English Language to students majoring in Philology, International Business, and Law. The automated delivery of the English language e-classes was effective in addressing the issues of dropouts and procrastination in distance learning through automation of the lesson delivery based on the ‘push’ factor. It increased students’ motivation, improves time management skills, and satisfaction. The quantitative findings showed that the students experienced a positive change in attendance, motivation and learning engagement, time management skills, and thinking speed due to the intervention. The students perceived the automated delivery-based approach to language teaching positively. They reported that the delivery approach content met the participants’ expectations and needs. Focus group discussion revealed that the intervention changed their learning behaviour and strategies which were considered the improvements of the quality learning outcomes.

The aim of the study is to adapt Preschool Children’s Science Motivation Scale (PCSMS) developed by Oppermann et al. into Turkish and conduct the validity and reliability analyses. This scale is considered important in terms of evaluating the science motivation of preschool children through the science concepts they are familiar with, based on their daily life experiences. The research data were obtained from 303 children attending preschool education in central districts of Adana. The findings of exploratory factor analysis, a two-factor structure named self-confidence and enjoyment consist of 28 items was determined in accordance with the original structure of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that this two-factor structure showed good fit. Subsequently, the study proceeded to reliability analyses and Cronbach’s α and Composite Reliability values were calculated. In consequence of the study, it was seen that the original form of the scale and the goodness of fit and internal consistency values obtained within the scope of the adaptation form coincided. The findings of the study indicate that the Turkish version of the PCSMS is valid and reliable for Turkish preschoolers.

People have needed mental health services more and more during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Due to the contagious nature of the COVID-19 virus, online counseling has been preferred more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who need such mental health services might take actions to seek help by demanding psychological assistance from psychological counselors or mental health institutions. However, these people might avoid seeking and receiving such help when they think that they have a weak personality or they somehow will be criticized by the society or experience social stigma because they seek psychological help. This study aims to examine the mediating role of self-disclosure between attitudes towards online counselling and perception of social stigma due to receiving psychological help. Participants of the study consist of 519 adults who live in Turkey and are older than 18 years old.  The data for the study were collected through “Distress Disclosure Index”, “Online Counseling Attitudes Scale (OCAS)”, “Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH)” and “Personal Information Form”. The hypothetical model developed in order to determine whether self-disclosure mediates in the relationship between perception of social stigma due to receiving psychological help and online psychological counselling attitudes was tested through SEM (Structural Equation Modeling). The results of the study revealed that self-disclosure play partial mediating role between perception of social stigma and value of online counselling and discomfort with online counselling.

More and more student trajectories involve an academic stay abroad. To achieve the intercultural, personal or linguistic objectives associated with such placements, social inclusion with peers and faculty in the place of study is needed. This paper applies Bourdieu’s theory of capital as a conceptual framework to examine the experiences of students who have competed a placement abroad, in particular students from educationally disadvantaged families, students with disabilities, and migrant students. Longitudinal data were taken from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS) with N=8.469 students. The findings show the interrelatedness of social inclusion and a placement abroad: students who experience high social inclusion with peers and faculty at the beginning of their studies are more likely to study abroad. Social capital with faculty increases after such a placement, in particular for at-risk student groups, while no difference in the increase in social inclusion is observed between student groups. The findings imply a need for early interventions as some of the effects already take place in the first semester.

The current study investigated Student-Teacher Relationship Measure (STRM) psychometric properties using Rasch analysis in a sample of middle school female students (N = 995). Rasch Principal Components Analysis revealed psychometric support of two subscales (i.e., Academic and Social Relations). Summary statistics showed good psychometric properties. The category structure and individual statistics (i.e., items and person infit and outfit) were not ideal. Category structure showed that the distances between adjacent thresholds were lower than optimal criteria. Even though findings indicated that items mean square statistics (MNSQ) were optimal, standardized fit statistics (i.e., ZSTD) reflected many misfit persons and items in each subscale. After eliminating the misfit persons and items, the two subscales met the Rasch optimal criteria. The updated short 22-item scale had good psychometric properties, high item and person separation, and good item and person reliability for the two subscales and can be used as a reliable and valid scale.

The progressive integration of mobile technology in the classroom is generating new scenarios to innovate teaching methods. The aim of this study was to analyse the perceptions of university students toward the use of Socrative and its implications in gamified learning situations. This is a descriptive-survey investigation, complemented with content analysis techniques. The data were collected using a questionnaire designed ad hoc by Quiroga-Estévez et al. and structured interviews. The sample consisted of undergraduate students (n=472) of the degree of Primary Education from the Faculty of Education Sciences of a Spanish university. The results show significant changes in the learning process of the students, in social relations and in the teaching methodology.

The mastery of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is very important for teachers in order to achieve qualified learning. Analyzing the mastery of TPACK by teachers in Indonesia seems to be imperative to provide baseline data to Indonesian government. This study aimed to examine the mastery of TPACK, in particular among biology teachers in terms of their teacher certification status, educational level, and academic background. This research involved 68 biology teachers obtained through proportional random sampling in five districts of Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. The data collection was conducted through a multiple-choice test consisting of 33 items. The results showed that although the teacher’s mastery of TPACK was categorized as fair (60.13), it does not meet the work performance standards as a good teacher in Indonesia which has a minimum score of 76.00. Using Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis Tests (p< 0.05), the evidence revealed that the mastery of TPACK among biology teachers is likely influenced by the academic background, educational level, and teacher certification status.

This study examines the basic underlying structure of burnout experiences among teachers in Malaysia by discovering the challenges which lead them to experience burnout. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the current study explores the coping strategies that these teachers used to remain in their profession. Ten teachers from two public high schools participated in the study. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using the constant comparison method. The findings revealed challenges that cause teachers to experience burnout, which are student misbehaviour, insufficient parental collaboration, occupational stress in the teaching environment, and negative emotions. The themes related to the coping strategies used to remain in the teaching profession are understanding teaching and learning, positive approach, individual factors, and support system. This paper lists some recommendations for managing the issue of teacher burnout and facilitate teacher retention is proposed, which includes providing training and development activities for teachers, increasing salaries, helping teachers develop coping strategies, and creating adequate support systems.

This paper explores misconceptions and errors (M/Es) of eighth-grade students in Nepal with a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control and experimental groups. The treatment was implemented with teaching episodes based on different remedial strategies of addressing students' M/Es. Students of control groups were taught under conventional teaching-learning method, whereas experimental groups were treated with a guided method to treat with misconceptions and errors. The effectiveness of treatment was tested at the end of the intervention. The results showed that the new guided treatment approach was found to be significant to address students' M/Es. Consequently, the students of experimental groups made significant progress in dealing with M/Es in mathematical problem-solving at conceptual, procedural, and application levels.