The purpose of doctoral education is not only to produce a thesis but also to develop graduates who are highly competent in research, publications and the norms and values of being a researcher. Only a handful of studies have examined early-career academics’ perceptions of doing research at the doctoral level. This exploratory qualitative study sought to fill the gap and contribute to understanding of factors contributing to early career academics’ research capability development. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore in-depth the issues concerning research, publication, supervision, and networking among early career academics. The data were collected from 19 early-career academics in the first year of their career, who are attached with different universities and in different disciplines in Malaysia. The findings from the thematic analysis identified that supervision, individual’s participation in scholarly research activities, and institutional formal learning supported the development of the participants’ research capabilities. Although the PhD programme lay emphasis on independent learning, it should be seen as a process that occurs in phases; hence, the research courses offered and support from the supervisor are important to assist the transition to becoming an independent scholar. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that universities be more sensitive to the demands and expectations of academic career so that the PhD programmes offered do not merely focus on research but also develop the skills required of future academics at university.

English teachers had to retrain and build a new normal in order to prepare for an online classroom while keeping their teaching pedagogy and professional identity as a result of the sudden changes brought by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in education. In this study, the effect of English teachers' professional identity transformations, attitudes toward online teaching was explored. The study's sample comprises 130 English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers from a state and a foundation university in Turkey. The research data was gathered from a questionnaire, the Teacher Professional Identity scale, and a semi-structured interview with 12 volunteers. Qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews were apportioned into pattern coding and analyzed through content analysis. EFL lecturers did not appear to be properly prepared for their online pedagogical and technological difficulties, which had a deeply corrosive effect on teachers' professional identities as they shift away from face-to-face education. The results showed that participants who were educated on EduTech during their undergraduate education or as professional development affected their perceptions of professional identity throughout the transition to online language teaching. Future studies can broaden the field of study by making use of exploratory action research, awareness of the teaching community, and continued professional development.

The response of most universities to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was Online Distance Teaching (ODT), which was a new experience for many educators and students. The aim of the study was to investigate the response of university teachers to ODT. A questionnaire was sent to all university teachers (N = 914). We received 290 usable responses. To create a Continuance Intention Model of Forced Online Distance Teaching (CIMoFODT), Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were used in addition to descriptive and inferential statistics. The main findings were as follows: (i) during the closure, use of the videoconferencing system MS Teams was the only item that increased significantly, owing to mandatory use; (ii) the increase in the use of other applications (e.g., Moodle, email) was minimal; (iii) after the reopening of the university, email, Moodle, and supplementary online materials will be used for ODT; MS Teams will be used for small group teaching and individual consultations; (iv) CIMoFODT can be applied to explain the intention to continue ODT. The main conclusion is that teachers will return to traditional teaching when classrooms reopen.

This paper investigates the quantitative literacy and reasoning (QLR) of freshmen students pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)–related degree but do not necessarily have a Senior High School (SHS) STEM background. QLR is described as a multi-faceted skill focused on the application of Mathematics and Statistics rather than just a mere mastery of the content domains of these fields. This article compares the QLR performance between STEM and non-STEM SHS graduates. Further, this quantitative-correlational study involves 255 freshman students, of which 115 have non-STEM academic background from the SHS. Results reveal that students with a SHS STEM background had significantly higher QLR performance. Nevertheless, this difference does not cloud the fact that their overall QLR performance marks the lowest when compared to results of similar studies. This paper also shows whether achievement in SHS courses such as General Mathematics, and Statistics and Probability are significant predictors of QLR. Multivariate regression analysis discloses that achievement in the latter significantly relates to QLR. However, the low coefficient of determination (10.30%) suggests that achievement in these courses alone does not account to the students’ QLR. As supported by a deeper investigation of the students’ answers, it is concluded that QLR indeed involves complex processes and is more than just being proficient in Mathematics and Statistics.

This study is an endeavour to explicate the dissonance of the linguistic quality outcome of study abroad (SA) experiences by exploring the second language (L2) motivation of six academic sojourners in Manchester. A person-in-context approach revealed that developing intimate relationships with ‘native-speakers’, providing L2-mediated interaction opportunities with international students, and social approval were key determinants of the extent to which SA students were invested in social practices. Such social engagements were found to stem from second language motivation that is part of identity construction process. In addition, the thematic analysis of the narrative inquiries suggests that the global status of the English language defies the traditional conceptualisations of L2 motivation as most participants’ motivations were formed despite their negative or neutral attitudes towards the English community. The findings also endorse the role of the other as a robust motivational source by which learners can replenish their motivation stream, leading to social identity investment to construct their ideological selves. The paper concludes with a recommendation to re-interpret the conceptualisation of the Ideal L2 Self system because ‘native-speakers’ are rarely the closest parallels to L2 learners, and it should incorporate explicit intrinsic orientations. Furthermore, language institutions in SA contexts should direct their focus on establishing conversation clubs and hosting social events for SA students to provide a safe space for their identities to be developed, enacted and reconstructed.

Students drop out of schools for many reasons, and it has negative effects on the individual and society. This paper reports a study using data published in 2015 from the Educational Longitudinal Study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics to analyze the influence of parental involvement on low-achieving U.S. students’ graduation rates from high school. Findings indicate that both students and parents share the same perspective on the need for parental involvement in their academic progress. For low-achieving high school students, parental involvement in academic work is a positive factor influencing students’ graduation from high school.

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.

The field of education was distinctly affected by the development of information and communication technologies, as they can make education more efficient, interactive, and available. Today’s students call for new innovative educational approaches. Digital communication technologies are the organic part of their life and they are group-oriented and experienced users of these technologies. Information and communication technologies must be used in a new and more interactive way to motivate this new generation of students. One of the ways might be gamified learning. The gamification of education is an approach, which uses game practices and elements in a process of learning. Its main objective is to increase students' interest in learned topics and to motivate them to endure in learning. The gamification of the educational process is introduced in the curricula of several courses at our faculty. The paper aims to give a short overview of tools and methods of gamification of the education process. In addition to that, the implementation of gamification in our learning management system Moodle-supported business informatics course is presented.

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.

Problem-solving process requires information processing, and the information processing is related to working memory capacity (WMC). This study aims to determine the effect of WMC on students' mathematical abilities and to describe the ability of the students with high and low WMC in solving mathematical problems. This research used mixed method with Sequential Explanatory Design. The quantitative data were collected through the provision of OSPAN tasks and math tests to 58 students aged 15-17 years, while the qualitative data were collected through interviews based on mathematical problem-solving tasks. The results showed that WMC had a significant effect on students' mathematical abilities (R=0.536; p=0.000). Researchers found differences in students' mathematical problem-solving abilities with high and low WMC. Students with high WMC can remember and manage information well which supports the determination of more advanced problem-solving strategies and have better attention control so that they find varied appropriate solutions. Students with low WMC experienced decreased attention control as the complexity of the tasks increased, missed important information in problem solving strategies, and did not recheck their work, leading to wrong solution/answer. The mathematical performance of students with high WMC outperformed the mathematical performance of students with low WMC.

Vietnam has a reputation for being a successful nation in preventing the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in 2020, with a lower number of illnesses than other ASEAN countries. However, to ensure that students are safe and informed about the coronavirus outbreak, Vietnamese higher education has developed online learning (OL). During the COVID-19 epidemic, this paper explores the relationship between elements such as learning readiness, learning strategies, and learning performance in the Vietnamese OL setting. Four hundred undergraduate students were randomly selected from Hong Duc universities, and Saigon University participated in this study in different zones. Analyzed data has applied structural equation modeling (SEM) using partial least squares (SmartPLS-SEM). The findings found that Vietnamese students were much more likely to believe in interaction in OL, to feel comfortable using a computer with their computer efficacy, and to have confidence in communicating in the digital environment, all of which were important variables in assuring the success of using OL. The factors of “motivation” and “test preparation” show a poor relationship with learning performance. Therefore, the OL process in Vietnamese, on the other hand, needs to be more inventive, with a greater focus on lecturers' awareness and practice of online teaching pedagogies such as motivation, techniques, and test arrangement. During OL, students' readiness in terms of learning control, self-directed learning, and engagement must be considered and supported.

Students' academic self-concept is a concerning concept in educational research. The purpose of this research is to examine the simultaneous influence and relationship of learning motivation, democratic parenting, and peer relations with academic self-concept in students. This is a correlational research with a cluster random sampling method used to collect data from 962 students. The result showed that learning motivation, democratic parenting, and peer relations had a partial and simultaneous relationship with students' academic self-concept. Furthermore, support from guidance and counselors, homeroom teachers, and parents is essential for students to actualize and develop their character optimally and effectively.  

This study aims to explain the success factors of e-learning. The participants were 427 students in public universities in Indonesia. To demonstrate the success of this e-learning, we developed a more comprehensive e-learning evaluation model that considers the system's characteristics, students, and instructors. The results show that higher student performance is associated with higher student satisfaction. However, the increase in performance is not due to the use of e-learning. Social and cultural factors influence the use of e-learning. Culture and social environment influence students' use of e-learning. The instructor's ability to implement e-learning has been shown to influence student satisfaction. The difference in the implementation of e-learning compared to classroom learning requires different teaching methods that affect student performance. In addition, e-learning is used in all courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present research aimed to test an Amharic version of the multi-dimensional Work Task Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST), which measures the five pillars of university instructors’ motivation toward teaching and student evaluation tasks based on self-determination theory (SDT). Therefore, the WTMST offers the first instrument to measure all five motivational elements, and today it is one of the most applicable instruments to assess teachers’ motivation. An Amharic version of the WTMST for teaching and student evaluation tasks was adopted and assessed in large-scale data (N=1,117). Our findings demonstrate excellent reliability and construct validity (convergent, discriminant, divergent and factorial). Besides, the results of the model comparisons provided that out of the four theoretically competing models (single-order factor, correlated factor, higher-order factor and bi-factor models), the bi-factor model was the most-fitted one used for measurement invariance across various groups. Results also suggest that the factor structure of the WTMST for both teaching and student evaluation tasks demonstrate consistency across gender (men, women), university types (research, applied, and general university), age and experience in teaching. Therefore, the WTMST for teaching and student evaluation tasks may be valid in Ethiopian higher education settings.

In this study we modeled the environmental literacy of Vietnamese preschool teachers. 324 in-service preschool teachers from Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam contributed to the study via an online survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses of the relationships between environmental knowledge (KN), environmental awareness (AS), decision attitude (DA), personal behavior (PB) and environmental teaching activities (ACT) of these teachers. The results showed that the level of environmental literacy of preschool teachers in Vietnam was moderate with mean score for AS, DA, PB, and ACT ranged from 3.18 to 4.32 on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The results also indicate that the preschool teacher’s KN had a positive impact on AS and DA; PB was influenced by AS, but not by KN or DA. In addition, a correlation analysis showed AS and PB had a positive impact on ACT, while DA had a negative influence on ACT. These findings imply that preschool teachers with certain desirable environmental literacy had more tendencies to implement ACT. Based on the findings, recommendations and implications are provided for policy makers, preschool teachers, and researchers in Vietnam and other countries.

In today's World, data-driven methods are behind the determination of potential action plans in every area of life. These data-driven methods help individuals or policymakers to figure out the strengths and weaknesses on the subject that are worked on and to make a comparison to the best practices. Thus, actions can be taken immediately on the specific factors that have a huge impact on the topic investigated. In the educational area, countries are using the same approach to measure, monitor, and improve the quality of education by attending international studies. In this study, for both Turkish and Singaporean students, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is performed to predict the students' mathematics achievement and to identify factors that have a high impact on achievement using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2019 with the data of 3,586 Turkish and 4,750 Singaporean students. The reason behind comparing the results of Turkey to Singapore is that Singapore is the best-performing country in terms of mathematics achievement in the TIMSS in 2019. The model results show that the top two crucial factors in both countries are the frequency of absenteeism from school, and students’ confidence in mathematics with the accuracy of 75%. In addition, relevant policy implications are given based on the importance level of significant factors.

This study used the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to test a model that hypothesized the influence of self-efficacy, self-control, emotion, and engagement on student academic performance. The structural equation modeling model was developed to link all the study variables with a literature review to describe the interrelationship. Data collected were from 413 college students in their second year. The results show that self-efficacy, self-control, emotion, and engagement predict student academic performance. And through emotion and student engagement, both self-efficacy and self-control predict student academic performance indirectly. Practically the measures used in this study give more information about the learning environment in higher education settings than those usually come from traditional practices faculty received in the classroom, such as student rating forms and feedback. The main findings of this study have some implications for higher education, theory development, measurement, and future research.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of online social support (OSS) on the psychological well-being (PWB) of caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The role of gender as a moderator variable in the relationship between online social support and psychological well-being was also investigated. A quantitative research design was used to collect data from 154 caregivers of children with ASD in Indonesia using PWB and OSS questionnaires adapted into Bahasa Indonesia. Data were analyzed using SMART PLS 3.0. Online social support influences the psychological well-being of caregivers of children with ASD. At the dimension level, several OSS dimensions also affect PWB. The effect of online social support on psychological well-being is the same in both the male and female groups. This means that male and female groups benefit equally from online social support. Future research should combine the study with a qualitative method to gather data from caregivers on how OSS affects their PWB in order to gain a holistic perspective. It could be a suggestion to policymakers to provide beneficial online social media for caregivers of children with ASD.

The objective of the study was to develop a structural model that explores the relationship between Mathematics Performance and students’ self-regulated learning skills, grit, and expectancy-value towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The research collected survey data from 664 senior high school students from 17 STEM high schools, and conducted a covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The results of the SEM analysis indicate that the Re-specified Self-Regulated Learning Skill – Expectancy-Value towards STEM – Grit – Mathematics Performance (Re-specified SRL-EV-GR-MP) model is the most parsimonious fit, offering the best empirical support for the theoretical model of the study. The research findings suggest that the mathematics performance of senior high school students in STEM curriculum is attributed to their high expectancies for success and perceived values of the STEM tasks, high grit, and high self-regulated learning skills. Moreover, the research also observed evidence of mediating and moderating grit effects in the concurrent effects of expectancy-values towards STEM and self-regulated learning skills towards students’ mathematics performance.

This study analyzes the narrated reflection of the students in relation to their learning, based on the perceptions that emerge from their experience in the development of the project. Participants were 53 fourth year Pedagogy in Physical Education students, with an average age of 24.3, who were divided into 13 groups. A qualitative study that used the narrated reflection of the students in relation to learning, based on a driving question. In order to help guide the students’ work, and to collect the perceptions they experienced during their participation, the following four components were integrated into the development of the project and included in the final product: a) historical and heritage sites, b) technology used to measure energy expenditure, c) type of active commuting, d) reflection on what was learned. The students designed 13 routes of active commuting through the city, which included different cultural, heritage and historical landmarks. The students analyzed the learning experience, highlighting the importance of knowing and caring for the heritage of the different cities around which they traveled. PBL can be a didactic alternative in initial Physical Education teacher training to achieve learning by linking subject content with the motivations and interests of the students.