Individuals and societies continue and end their lives within the framework of values. One of the most important of these values is the concept of homeland. Homeland refers to the land, where the individuals were born and live in, a piece of which may also be owned by such individuals. The concept of homeland is always given utmost importance in the curricula. In this context, it is important to determine the perceptions of elementary and middle school students towards the concept of homeland in order for foreseeing the love they felt for, and the importance they attach to, the geography they live in. In this study, it is aimed to reveal what students understand from the concept of homeland through metaphors. Phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research patterns, was used in this research. The study group of the research comprises 580 students. “Convenience sampling” was used in sample selection. In this study, elementary and middle school students were given a form of incomplete sentences in the following format of “Homeland is like ............... Because .................” as a data collection tool, and then they were asked to write their opinions by filling the blanks. The results of the study revealed that the participants expressed a total of 59 metaphors in relation to the concept of homeland. Based on the metaphors developed by students for the concept of "homeland", 7 categories were created. These categories are; Administration, Vitality, Concrete Object, National Value, Security, Value, Social Environment. The results of the study indicate that particular attention should be paid to the synonyms of the word “Homeland”. It would be useful to organize certain activities in order to create a sense of belonging and national awareness among the students.

The current study aimed to identify the level of self-regulation and social intelligence among students of the College of Education at Prince Sattam University in Wadi Al-Dawasir, and to reveal the relationship between self-regulation and social intelligence, as well as the possibility of predicting social intelligence through self-regulation. A sample consisting of (204) female students at the College of Education, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University in Wadi Ad-Dawasir participated in this study. The measurement instruments included two researcher-made scales of self-regulation and social intelligence, and the SPSS program was used for statistical treatments. Results revealed that female students of the College of Education in Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Prince Sattam University, have a high level of self-regulation as well as social intelligence, and that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the scores of self-regulation and social intelligence among the study sample. In addition, it was found that social intelligence can be predicted through self-regulation. It is possible to benefit from the results of this study in directing university planning officials to the importance of transforming the self-regulation and social intelligence of students into a culture and systematic practice through courses, symposiums and workshops, or integrating them into academic courses.

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.

The primary purpose of this research was to determine the effect of principal instructional leadership behavior on several determinants: organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction through school health. Five instruments that had been used are the principal instructional management rating scale (PIMRS); organizational health inventory for elementary schools (OHI-E); online course questionnaire (OCQ); teacher satisfaction scale (TSS); teacher efficacy scale (TES). All of these instruments had high validity and reliability; with Cronbach’s alpha values of each was PIMRS (.83), OHI-E (.81), OCQ (.80), TSS (.86), and TES (.79). A total of 350 public primary school teachers in Surakarta had been selected as respondents in this study with satisfied random sampling. AMOS software version 6.0 is used to analyze CFA and SEM. The results of SEM analysis to the structural model built by the researcher was good, with Probability = .001; RMSEA = .043; GFI = .941; AGFI = .907; CMIN/DF = 1.522), so the relationship between the variables in the constructs was interpreted; (1) The Principal instructional leadership behavior had a significant direct influence on the school health, (2) The school health parameter had a significant direct influence on organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction, (3) The principal instructional leadership behavior did not have a significant direct effect on organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction through the variables and school health.

Teachers who can adapt and be ready for all changes will also be able to provide a balance to increase the competence of vocational high school students. This is also not denied when teachers become assessors in student competency tests. The objectives of this study were to produce an instrument for the readiness of teachers as assessors; to knowing good grain reliability; to know the characteristics of the instrument; and to know the difficulty level of the item. The method used in this research is instrument development. Respondents were vocational school teachers who were candidates for competency test assessors. Data collection techniques using a questionnaire. Analysis of construct validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. Test the instrument items using the Rasch model. The results are the readiness instruments of the vocational teacher as an assessor has 19 indicators that have been grouped into 5 factors with consistency values being in the same construct (proven construct validity). The result of the calculation of the reliability of this instrument is 0.852, which means that the reliability coefficient is high; There are two items, namely numbers 24 and 18 which indicate the absence of a fit item in the overall item fit criteria; At the item difficulty level, items 8 and 6 have a difficulty score of more than 2, while this indicates that items 8 and 6 have a high difficulty level.

The cooperative learning (CL) is an advanced instructional approach that uses different motivational procedures to make instruction significant and learners more responsible. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on students' achievement in chemistry among the advanced level in 12-year basic education schools; it engaged a quasi-experimental design with one treatment group and a comparison group (control); the first applied cooperative learning in teaching organic chemistry while in the control group, organic chemistry was taught by the conventional teaching methods (CTM). A sample of 257 students participated in the study. The data collected used an organic Chemistry Achievement Test, and its data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 and MS Excel 2016. The ANCOVA results showed that learners taught using cooperative learning achieved better than their counterparts in the control group (F=78.07, df=1, 256, p<.001) with the learning gains of 16.0% in traditional methods and 53.6% of cooperative learning approach, respectively. However, there was no statistically significant difference in gender of students. It is recommended that chemistry teachers be trained on cooperative learning and encouraged to apply it in their teaching methods to enhance students' academic achievement.

Research on instructional quality has been of great interest for several decades, leading to an immense and diverse body of literature. However, due to different definitions and operationalisations, the picture of what characteristics are important for instructional quality is not entirely clear. Therefore, in this paper, a scoping review was performed to provide an overview of existing evidence of both generic and subject-didactic characteristics with regard to student performance. More precisely, this paper aims to (a) identify both generic and subject-didactic characteristics affecting student performance in mathematics in secondary school, (b) cluster these characteristics into categories to show areas for quality teaching, and (c) analyse and assess the effects of these characteristics on student performance to rate the scientific evidence in the context of the articles considered. The results reveal that teaching characteristics, and not just the instruments for recording the quality of teaching as described in previous research, can be placed on a continuum ranging from generic to subject-didactic. Moreover, on account of the inconsistent definition of subject-didactic characteristics, the category of ‘subject-didactic specifics’ needs further development to establish it as a separate category in empirical research. Finally, this study represents a further step toward understanding the effects of teaching characteristics on student performance by providing an overview of teaching characteristics and their effects and evidence.

This research is a developmental research aiming at developing a good mathematical test instrument using polytomous responses based on classical and modern theories. This research design uses the Plomp model, which consists of five stages, (1) preliminary investigation, (2) design, (3) realization/construction, (4) revision, and (5) implementation (testing). The study was conducted in three vocational schools in Lampung Province, Indonesia. The study involved 413 students, consisting of 191 male and 222 female students. The data were collected through questionnaire and test. The questionnaire was used to identify the assessment instruments currently employed by teachers and to be validated by the experts of mathematics and educational evaluation. The test used an open polytomous response test numbering of 40 items. The data were analyzed using both classical and modern theories. The results show that (1) the open polytomous response test has a good category according to classical and modern theory. However, the discrimination power of test items in classical theory needs several revisions, (2) the assessment instrument using the polytomous response of open multiple choice can guarantee information on the actual competence of students. This is proven by the fact that there is a harmony between the analysis result obtained from classical and modern theory from the students' arguments when giving reasons for their choices. Therefore, the open polytomous response test can be used as an alternative to learning assessment.

The article discusses the topical issue of a model of digital competencies for a future teacher. The analysis of the composition and structure of the most relevant models of digital competencies of a citizen and a modern teacher is carried out. In addition, the article reveals approaches to the formation of the content of digital competence, and provides the results of an empirical study, which consists in analyzing the results of a survey of practicing teachers and teacher-training students in order to identify the most demanded digital competencies of a future teacher. The article substantiates the authors’ content of the competence of a future teacher, a university student. The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical model of digital competence of a future teacher, taking into account the dynamic technologisation of the modern world and the peculiarities of Russian education, based on an analysis of approaches to determining the content of its digital competencies. According to the analysis of studies, the issue of teachers’ digital competence is not sufficiently disclosed. Numerous studies on digital competencies of a person, teacher, etc. do not fully solve the problem of assessing the digital competence of future teachers.

This research aims to determine second-year university students’ understanding in interpreting and representing fractions. A set of fraction tests was given to students through two direct learning interventions. An unstructured interview was used as an instrument to obtain explanations and confirmations from the purposive participants. A total of 112 student teachers of primary teacher education program at two private universities in Indonesia were involved in this research. A qualitative method with a holistic type case study design was used in this research. The results indicate that a significant percentage of the participants could not correctly interpret and represent fractions. In terms of interpretation, it is found how language could obscure the misunderstanding of fractions. Then, the idea of a fraction as part of a whole is the most widely used in giving meaning to a fraction compared to the other four interpretations, but with limited understanding. Regarding data representation, many participants failed to provide a meaningful illustration showing the improper fraction and mix number compared to the proper fraction. Improvement of fraction teaching at universities - particularly in primary teacher education programs - is needed so that students get the opportunity to develop and improve their knowledge profoundly. We discuss implications for teaching fractions.

The delivery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning to improve an individual’s competence and future career interests has become a critical scientific undertaking for teachers and researchers alike. A plethora of research has proposed various hands-on robotics activities built on constructivist theories, thereby facilitating the development of knowledge based on reality for scientific and non-scientific stakeholders. Robotics may become an essential focus point within technology provision, which is an essential underlying characteristic for the seminal development of computational thinking (CT). However, despite the potential benefit of CT in developing an individual’s problem-solving skills, strategies for improving this ability through hands-on robotics activities largely remain underexplored. This paper highlights the constructs drawn from hands-on robotics activities in a STEM workshop designed for pre-service teacher students. The qualitative research design involved eight participants to investigate the responses of pre-service teachers to a hands-on robotics activity intended to provide STEM material. The research findings emphasise the correlations between the CT principles and STEM learning phases and underscore the roles played by educational robotics to enhance previous literature on learning experience.

COVID-19 pandemic forces training for principals to be conducted online. This study aims to evaluate the context, input, process, response, study, behavior, and outcome to determine the effectiveness and make recommendations for training. The approach used in this study was a mixed method with a concurrent embedded design and a qualitative method as the main method. The subjects of this study were the principals, committees, and instructors. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and questionnaires and analyzed using Miles and Huberman's model, descriptive analysis, and a t-test. The results show that e-training is effective in context, input, and process. Response, learning, and attitude assessments prove that knowledge, skills, and attitude have improved. Participants will be able to implement the experience gained and impact school quality improvement. This study contributes to the combination of the two evaluation models proven to produce a complete result. The study for the e-training recommends needed assessment before the training, the activity before the training to acquire the skills in using the learning management system, and the monitoring and evaluation after the training.

The skill to solve mathematical problems facilitates students to develop their basic skills to solve problems in daily life. This study analyzes students' problem-solving process with a reflective cognitive style in constructing probability problems using action, process, object, and schema theory (APOS). The explanatory method was used in this qualitative study. The participants were mathematics students at the Department of Mathematics, Universitas Negeri Semarang. The researchers collected the data with the cognitive style test using the Matching Familiar Figure Test (MFFT), used a valid problem-solving skill test, and the interview questions. The data analysis techniques used were processing and preparing the data for analysis, extensive reading of the data, coding all data, applying the coding process, describing the data, and interpreting the data. The results showed that (1) the problem-solving process of students with symbolic representation was characterized by the use of mathematical symbols to support the problem-solving process in the problem representation phase; (2) the problem-solving process of students with symbolic-visual representation was characterized by the use of symbols, notations, numbers, and visual representation in the form of diagrams in the problem representation phase.

The vast technological development affects every layer of people’s daily life, including Education. However, Indonesia’s tertiary education status quo has not exhibited any rapid development in information technology-based learning media. This study aimed to develop and identify the effectiveness of Basic Pedagogy Material online learning material in improving students’ outcomes in pedagogy. It applied R & D design with a waterfall development model on second-semester students in Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia, during the educational year of 2020/2021. The data collected through interviews, observation, questionnaire, scale, and test were analyzed using independent t-test and n-gain. The findings indicated a significant difference between the average score before and after students used the Basic Pedagogy Materials mobile learning application during the learning process. Therefore, the mobile learning application developed effectively improves students' learning outcomes in pedagogy subjects effectively.

Diagnostic tests are generally two or three-tier and based on classical test theory. In this research, the Four-Tier Diagnostic Test (FTDT) was developed based on modern test theory to determine understanding of physics levels: scientific conception (SC), lack of knowledge (LK), misconception (MSC), false negatives (FN), and false positives (FP). The goals of the FTDT are to (a) find FTDT constructs, (b) test the quality of the FTDT, and (c) describe students' conceptual understanding of physics. The development process was conducted in the planning, testing, and measurement phases. The FTDT consists of four-layer multiple-choice with 100 items tested on 700 high school students in Yogyakarta. According to the partial credit models (PCM), the student's responses are in the form of eight categories of polytomous data. The results of the study show that (a) FTDT is built on the aspects of translation, interpretation, extrapolation, and explanation, with each aspect consisting of 25 items with five anchor items; (b) FTDT is valid with an Aiken's V value in the range of 0.85-0.94, and the items fit PCM with Infit Mean Square (INFIT MNSQ) of 0.77-1.30, item difficulty index of 0.12-0.38, and the reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha FTDT is 0.9; (c) the percentage of conceptual understanding of physics from large to small is LK type 2 (LK2), FP, LK type 1 (LK1), FN, LK type 3 (LK3), SC, LK type 4 (LK4), and MSC. The percentage sequence of MSC based on the successive material is momentum, Newton's law, particle dynamics, harmonic motion, work, and energy. In addition, failure to understand the concept sequentially is due to Newton's law, particle dynamics, work and energy, momentum, and harmonic motion.

The purpose of the present study was to identify current issues related to Greek Minority Education in Albania and its potential as considered from the part of the teachers’ and principals’ perspective. The current situation of Greek language education was recorded, problems encountered by the educational institutions and the teachers were highlighted and the prospects for teaching the Greek language in Albania were considered. 45 Teachers of Greek language and eight school principals participated in the study. For the purpose of the present study, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approach was employed. The data from the target groups were collected through two basic research instruments: (a) teacher questionnaires and (b) principal interviews. The findings raised a number of issues related to the Greek language education: the student language level, the need for providing systematic training to teachers who work in bilingual environments, as well as the deficiency of strong incentives for the teacher secondment from Greece to Albania. The data indicated the teachers’ concern about the effectiveness of the existing curricula and language textbooks in accomplishing the goals of teaching the Greek language in bilingual contexts.

This study aimed to explore the implementation and impact of the Flipped Learning Model (FLM) and STEM Approach in elementary education. The advancement of technology and the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the importance of e-learning, including in elementary schools. The literature review analyzed 193 academic works published in the past six years using NVivo, Mendeley, and VOSviewer software. The validity of the data was verified through the analysis of five online databases. The results showed that STEM research has been well-developed with innovative approaches that improve learning outcomes, while FLM research in elementary schools is limited. The study suggested that combining FLM with STEM Approach (FLM-SA) can optimize learning in the technological era. By integrating FLM-SA, students can engage in active learning experiences in class and acquire fundamental knowledge outside of class, offering a solution to e-learning challenges. The study emphasized the strong connection between FLM and STEM Approach and how they can support each other to enhance student learning.

Teachers' learning styles are a crucial part of the learning process as they determine how teachers' brains capture and integrate information linked with the senses. Kurnia, identified as an auditory teacher, was expected to capture written information in a provided numeracy problem. Nevertheless, she prefers to capture visual information, like tables or figures, and utilize them to develop thought-provoking questions. Thus, this study intends to investigate her reasons and the factors affecting Kurnia's decision to utilize visual information as a reference in developing questions. This research adopts a qualitative design covering a case study. Kurnia was selected from 32 teachers from 28 schools; roughly 43% were from public schools, and 57% from private schools. Kurnia placed more emphasis on pictorial information before proposing questions, which was caused by situational factors: the subject matter, the grade level, the student's engagement in the class, the teacher's experience, the teaching experience, and the diversity of students' learning styles. This article recommends that teachers recognize their learning styles to know their strengths and weaknesses in teaching mathematics, and that they convey understandable information utilizing effective instructional methods that represent each learning style of students in the classroom.

Situational interest is an important factor that has a great influence on learning success in both in-school and out-of-school learning situations. Although there has been extensive research on interest in its diverse forms for decades, an evaluated measurement instrument for situational interest that covers the three theoretically defined components of interest (emotional, cognitive, value-related) is still missing. Therefore, in this study, based on person-object theory of interest, a short scale was developed that can be used in a variety of learning programs independent of content or methods. In study 1, eight suitable items were selected and their structure was examined using exploratory methods. In study 2, the results of study 1 were verified using confirmatory factor analyses. Study 3 shows an example of a practical application of the newly developed scale in two different learning settings. The findings provide evidence that the scale developed here is a practical instrument to measure situational interest taking into account all its components. On the one hand, the scale can help teachers evaluate their educational programs; on the other hand, it can be used by researchers to empirically investigate the construct of interest. Thus, the scale makes an important contribution to research and practice.

It is known that the COVID-19 pandemic led to learning losses among students both domestically and internationally. Therefore, situational and casual factors were examined to discover and understand them so that learning loss could be reduced or recovered from. This research aimed to: (a) study learning loss situation; and (b) develop and examine the causal model of learning loss among lower secondary school students affected by the pandemic. The sample included 650 Grade 7-9 students selected by multi-stage random sampling. The data was collected using a self-developing questionnaire as a research instrument. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and structural equation modeling (SEM) through the LISREL program. The findings were: (a) Lower secondary school students had an average academic achievement learning loss at the moderate level with the highest mean of learning loss in mathematics (M=3.012, SD=1.074), and an average learning characteristics learning loss at the medium level (M=2.824, SD=0.842). Several situational factors had a different effect depending on the school size with a statistical significance of .05.; and (b) the causal model showed the learning loss of grade 7-9 students was consistent with the empirical data (χ2=46.885, df=34, p= .069, GFI=0.991, AGFI=0.964, CFI=0.999, RMSEA=0.024, SRMR=0.014).