Empirical directions to innovate e-assessments and to support the theoretical development of e-learning are discussed by presenting a new learning assessment system based on cognitive technology. Specifically, this system encompassing trained neural nets that can discriminate between students who successfully integrated new knowledge course content from students who did not successfully integrate this new knowledge (either because they tried short-term retention or did not acquire new knowledge). This neural network discrimination capacity is based on the idea that once a student has integrated new knowledge into long-term memory, this knowledge will be detected by computer-implemented semantic priming studies (before and after a course) containing schemata-related words from course content (which are obtained using a natural semantic network technique). The research results demonstrate the possibility of innovating e-assessments by implementing mutually constrained responsive and constructive cognitive techniques to evaluate online knowledge acquisition.

This study explored in a sample of 560 high level education students their judgment formation to perceived self-efficacy to solve mathematical tasks. Students had to read 36 experimental vignettes describing educative scenarios to learn mathematics. Each scenario presented four manipulated pieces of information (learning modality, task difficulty, task relevance, and structure). After reading each scenario students were required to provide judgments regarding their believed self-efficacy to solve mathematical tasks described in the vignette by using a scale. Results showed that in regard to how students perceived their self-efficacy they could be grouped in two clusters (high and moderate). Most relevant factors to their judgment formation were task difficulty, task relevance and structure. Here, both groups used the same cognitive algebra mechanism to integrate factor information. Here, students valuated academic performance and feedback (e.g. difficulty and relevance) as most relevant even when they are conscious that learning is a primordial target. These and other results are discussed in the paper.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of ethical leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction, and affective commitment in an education sector. This study proposes that ethical leadership has a significant and positive effect on overall job satisfaction and affective commitment. Moreover, it suggests that ethical leadership has an influence on overall job satisfaction and affective commitment. In this study, the relationships among the variables were evaluated using correlation, and regression analysis. The results which is based on a sample of 150 teachers from four private schools in Pakistan demonstrate that overall job satisfaction has a significant and positive influence on affective commitment, whereas, marriage as a demographic variable has a positive effect on overall job satisfaction and affective commitment.

The state of mathematical thinking is considered to have an effect on the formation of anxiety regarding teaching mathematics. It is hypothesized that with the formation of mathematical thinking, the anxiety in teachers regarding teaching mathematics will be reduced. Since mathematical thinking is a skill acquired starting from the early years of education, the anxiety in form teachers in primary school regarding teaching mathematics is important. Within this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of mathematical thinking states of form teachers on their anxieties regarding mathematics teaching. The sample group comprises 194 form teachers working in state schools of Bagcilar district, Istanbul province in the spring term of 2015-2016 academic year. As data collection tools, mathematical thinking scale and anxiety scale for the mathematics teaching anxiety of form teachers were used. To test the predictive power of mathematical thinking regarding the mathematics teaching anxiety, Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was used. It was found that the form teachers had high mathematical thinking scores and had low anxiety scores. A low degree, negative and significant correlation was found between the mathematical thinking and anxiety of form teachers regarding mathematics teaching. Moreover, it was found that mathematical thinking had an effect on the anxiety in form teachers regarding mathematics teaching.

This study examines the subjects and concepts in biology perceived to be difficult to learn and teach by 759 pre-service biology teachers registered in the pedagogical formation program at Uludag University Faculty of Education in the academic year of 2005-2016, as well as the associations that word “biology” first calls to their mind. The study was designed as a survey model, and a questionnaire of three scaled questions was used as a data collection tool. The data were classified into 10 different categories based on different branches of biology: Anatomy-Morphology, Biotechnology, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology, Genetics, Histology, Cytology, Systematics and Reproduction and Development. Following the classification, the data were analyzed using frequency and percentages. The subjects and concepts perceived to be difficult to learn by the pre-service teachers are respectively as follows: photosynthesis and its stages, genetics, circulatory system, aerobic respiration, respiratory system, anaerobic respiration, protein synthesis, phanerogams, DNA structure and function, cryptogams, mitosis, plant systematics, endocrine system, meiosis, ETC, urinary system, plant physiology, taxonomy, evolution and digestive system. The subjects and concepts perceived to be difficult to teach by the pre-service teachers are respectively as follows: photosynthesis and its stages, protein synthesis, circulatory system, endocrine system, meiosis, plant systematics, evolution, mitosis, reproduction, genetic crossing over problems, Latinization of names, urinary system, genetics, ecology, aerobic respiration, DNA structure and function, plant tissues, glycolysis and anaerobic respiration. These findings confirm the need for developing undergraduate programs in biology and promoting the research culture at the secondary education level.

Mathematics educators have reported on many issues regarding students’ mathematical education, particularly students who received mathematics education at different departments such as engineering, science or primary school, including their difficulties with mathematical concepts, their understanding of and preferences for mathematical concepts. This study aimed to investigate the opinions of primary-school teacher education students in terms of their perceptions of difficulty level of the mathematics courses, change in their achievement, if there is any, and interest in mathematics after completing these courses, and factors affecting their achievement and interest level in these courses. Being qualitative in nature, this study was a case study. The data were analyzed using the content analysis and descriptive methods. According to the results, most students stated that they faced mathematics course content with unexpected level of difficulty. After taking basic mathematics courses, the percentage of students with decreased level of interest and achievement in mathematics was found higher than the students who experienced an increase in their interest and achievement. Students underlined such significant factors for the change of their interest and achievement in mathematics as prior knowledge, lecturer(s), and content coverage. Finally, most of the students viewed mathematics courses as a beneficiary tool for their professional development.

Teacher wellbeing and performance is affected by their ability to cope with the demands of the profession. This pilot non-randomized, waitlist-controlled study investigated the impact of a mindfulness intervention (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) on teachers' wellbeing, self-regulation ability and classroom performance applying a mixed-method design. The sample was comprised of 32 German school teachers (93% female) which were distributed to a control and intervention group. Compared to the control condition, the intervention showed medium to high effect sizes on most outcome variables at post-test and results were sustained at follow-up. Mediation analyses showed that changes in mindfulness at post-test mediated changes in outcome variables at follow-up. Unexpectedly, the intervention seemed to negatively affect teacher engagement. Qualitative interviews highlighted the way mindfulness may influence teacher engagement and improve performance. Limitations of this study and future directions of research are discussed. 

Anxiety that students experience during test taking negatively influences their academic achievement. Understanding how students perceive tests and how they feel during test taking could help in taking effective preventive measures. Hence, the current study focused on assessing children’s perceptions of tests using content analysis. The sample consisted of 1143 participants (566 females and 570 males) attending 3rd (n = 320), 4th (n = 420), 5th (n = 197), and 6th (n = 206) grade classes in three public schools in Istanbul, Turkey. The findings indicated that three main domains emerged from the data. The domains and the categories under each domain were as follows: evaluation (grades, success vs. failure, learning and development, and intelligence), emotions (excitement, fear and anxiety, happiness, curiosity, mixed feelings, and disappointment), and experiential process (answering questions, studying, difficulty, thinking, having fun, cheating vs. honesty, and silence). Understanding students’ experiences with testing early on in their education will give researchers and practitioners the chance to plan effective applications for treatment and prevention, which would influence students’ future achievement and experiences. The study findings could also help teachers and school counselors plan more effective teaching and counseling programs that take into account students’ anxiety levels during tests.

This research aimed to investigate relationships between quality of work life, burnout, school alienation, affective commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors. In this context, a model was proposed based on the literature review and the model was tested through structural equation model. The study group of the research consists of 314 volunteer teachers working in the state schools in Kilis in 2016-2017 academic years. The data was collected through work-related quality of life scale, burnout scale, school alienation scale, affective commitment scale and organizational citizenship behaviors scale. The analysis with descriptive, correlation, path and bootstrap methods were used to analyze the data. As a result of the analysis, it was found that teachers' perceptions for quality of work life have a negative effect on burnout and school alienation, whereas they have a positive effect on affective commitment. Besides, their perceptions for affective commitment have a positive impact on organizational citizenship behaviors. Another important result derived from the research is that teachers' perceptions for burnout and school alienation play partial mediation roles in the effect of their perceptions for quality of work life on affective commitment. Based on these results, it can be suggested that teachers' working conditions should be constantly improved.

The aim of this research is to determine the thoughts of the teachers about the concepts of "Smart Board", "Computer", "Internet" and "Social Media" from the Instructional technologies of the secondary school teachers with different branches through metaphors. In the research, a qualitative research model was used to identify teachers' thoughts in metaphor analysis from various branches about the use of instructional technologies in the national field. Within the scope of the qualitative research model, the phenomenology design was used. In order to find out what kind of thoughts teachers have about teaching materials from the participants "Smart Board / Computer / Internet / Social Media is like / similar to…..; Because ..." they were asked to complete their covenants. As a result of the research, 25 valid metaphors belonging to the concepts of smart board, computer, social media and 27 of internet concept were obtained from secondary school teachers. The most book (f = 4) metaphor for smart board concept, brain and memory (f = 2) metaphors for computer concept, most air (f = 3) and medicine, ocean, water (f = 2) metaphors for internet concept and the drug and virus (f = 2) metaphors related to the concept of social media. The metaphors of the concept of smart board are classified into 5 conceptual categories with common characteristics related to each other, 6 categories with common features related to computer and internet concepts, and 7 conceptual categories with social media concept related to each other. In the research, it was reached that the secondary school teachers expressed positive opinions about the concept of smart board and computer, partially negative about the concept of the internet but more negative opinions about the concept of social media.

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.

Higher education institutions increasingly seek to promote students’ intercultural competence (IC), yet its conceptualization remains a challenge. The first aim of this study was to explore how a purposive sample of n=77 domestic, undergraduate students at a public university in Germany define IC. The second aim was to assess to what extent such definitions are context-dependent by comparing IC definitions provided by domestic students (with predominantly German nationality and little international experience/exposure) with those provided by n=130 international, undergraduate students at a private university in Germany (with predominantly non-German nationality and more extensive international experience/exposure). A qualitative content analysis showed that domestic students defined IC mostly in terms of attitudes followed by external outcomes while the opposite was true for the international students. Differences in IC definitions between the two samples are discussed with regard to various contextual factors. Our results suggest that such contextual factors should be considered when designing measures to promote IC development in university students.

According to Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model, school is an essential microsystem of the developing child. Schools provide important developmental contexts for children and adolescents, as they constitute environments that might either foster or evoke students’ emotional instability. In particular, less is known about the precise and dynamic interplay of students’ socio-environmental aspects in school (i.e., sense of school belonging, social relationships with teachers and peers) and emotional instability (i.e., depressive symptoms, perceived stress, feelings of loneliness) during adolescence. To close this gap, this study examined within- and over-time cross-lagged associations based on data from a quantitative questionnaire-based survey of adolescent students (T1: N= 1088; Mage = 13.70, SD = 0.53) from 23 secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Results of latent cross-lagged panel design supports the mutual relations for within-time associations, which is in line with Bronfenbrenner’s model. However, only the over-time association between school belonging and teacher-student relationship was found to be reciprocal.

This study focuses on the evaluation of academic conferences and ways of improving them. The study includes a case study of one university in Israel. Sixty two academic faculty members from varied departments completed a questionnaire, including 61.7% women and 38.3% men. The research participants were asked a single open question: "What do you think could be improved at conferences?" In addition, age, seniority, and the number of times the respondents had initiated or served as a partner in initiating a conference were also examined. The main findings are as follows: Age predicts seniority. Seniority has a positive effect on the number of times the respondent organized or was a partner in organizing a conference. Seniority has a negative effect on time, i.e., the more senior the faculty member the more he or she would like conferences to be short and to the point. Moreover, the amount of initiatives to organize a conference or to be a partner in establishing a conference has a negative effect on interaction, i.e., the more initiating the faculty member the less he or she is interested in interpersonal interactions at conferences. The wish to space out sessions and lectures has a positive effect on the need to improve the quality of the lectures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lessons conducted in out-of-school learning settings on 5th graders science achievement within the scope of a guidance material that was prepared to be used in out-of-school learning settings in accordance with the “Let’s Solve the Riddle of Our Body” chapter objectives. The pretest / posttest equalized control group design, which is one of the quasi-experimental designs, was used in this study. The sample of this study was composed of a total of 31 5th grade students (15 were in experimental group, 16 were in control group) that were selected from secondary schools in the first semester of the 2015-2016 academic year in Tokat Province. Let’s Solve the Riddle of Our Body Chapter Achievement Test (LeSROBAT) was administered before and after the implementation of the guidance material to measure the students’ achievements and retention. The lessons were conducted as suggested by the current curriculum in the control group. The data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and covariance analysis (ANCOVA). As a result of the analyses, it was found that the LeSROBAT post-test scores of experimental group were significantly higher than the control group. Within this context, it was concluded that the out-of-school learning settings positively contributed to academic achievement and the guidance material that was developed within the scope of this study was effective. The results of retention test analyses didn’t reveal any significant difference between the posttest and retention test scores of experimental and control groups. When the LeSROBAT retention test scores were examined, it was observed that the scores of experimental group was higher than the control group.

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.

In this research, it is aimed to study the correlations between perceived supervisor supports (PSS), organizational identification (OI), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and burnout of teachers. The research was conducted from the perspective of social change and identity theories. The study group of the research consists of 234 teachers working in the public high schools in Giresun city center during the 2016. In order to collect data in the research, Perceived Supervisor Support Scale developed by Kottke & Sharafinski, Organizational Identification Scale developed by Mael & Ashforth, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Scale developed by DiPaola, Tarter & Hoy, and "Burnout Scale" developed by Pines were used. The correlations between variables are tested with the structural equation model. According to the results, PSS positively affects the OI and OCB and negatively affects the burnout. OI positively affects the organizational citizenship behavior and negatively affects the burnout.  OI plays a partial mediation role in the correlation between PSS of teachers and their OCB and burnout level. The results contribute to the integration of social change and social identity theories in description of organizational behavior.

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 effectiveness of schools, that is, their ability to achieve their pre-determined goals depends on many variables but especially the effectiveness of the administrators who are responsible for the implementation of the educational programs and curricula. An administrator must have a healthy perception of being "an effective administrator" in order to be able to demonstrate expected roles successfully. Concerning school effectiveness, in addition to the emphasis of self-efficacy of administrator, the leadership role of the educational administrators has gained importance with modern educational administration approaches. If an administrator wants to be effective, he/she must act as a leader and convince followers. In this context, when questioning the effectiveness of schools, it is important to determine the level of self-efficacy perceptions of administrators and to determine the leadership styles displayed by them. In this study, it was aimed to examine whether there is a significant relationship between the perceived self-efficacy belief and leadership style. The results show that self-efficacy perceptions of the administrators make a difference in their leadership style and there is a relationship between the self-efficacy belief and exhibitors of transformational leadership behaviors; the more administrators feel themselves efficient, the more they exhibit transformational leadership behaviors.

The purpose of the study is to reveal the effect of cooperative learning on language skills in an English course. The study was carried out for 5 weeks with 66 students studying at the 10th grade at an Anatolian high school in the district of Karadeniz Eregli in Zonguldak during the fall term of the 2015-2016 academic year. The design of the study was ‘nonequivalent control groups pre-test post-test’ which is one of quasi-experimental designs. Data were gathered using an achievement test measuring students’ vocabulary knowledge, grammar knowledge, reading comprehension and listening skills. Results showed that cooperative learning had a larger effect on vocabulary knowledge, grammar, listening and reading skills compared to traditional method.