Facilitating effective mathematics learning and higher mathematics achievement have long been recognized as a key to the scientific and technological advancement of the African continent. While the central role that language proficiency plays in mathematics teaching and learning has received an overwhelming research attention in the literature over the past two decades, this is not the case among African policy-makers and political leaders. Drawing mainly from our professional experiences as mathematics educators and from the international research literature, our primary intent in this paper is to answer this question: How does the learning of mathematics in English at the basic school level help or hinder students’ mathematical proficiency? To answer this question, the paper is organized as follows. The first part, the introduction, gives a brief overview of the language of learning and teaching in Africa. The second part describes the method and conceptual framework undergirding the research. In the third section, we have analyzed the effects of mathematics learning and teaching through English for basic students whose mother tongue is a Ghanaian language. The conclusion offers four recommendations for developing and improving the mathematics proficiency of students in basic schools.

The present study aims to investigate information literacy and curriculum literacy levels of teacher candidates and to identify the relationship between them through their course of study at Faculty of Education. The research model was designed as quantitative one and general screening model was employed. The study group is 895 students, who were reached out of teacher candidates, attending the third and fourth grade in the Classroom Education, Preschool Education, Science Education and Social Sciences Education Departments of Pamukkale University and Sinop University in the 2017-2018 academic year. To achieve the goal of this research study, “Information Literacy Scale” and “Curriculum Literacy Scale” were used. In light of results obtained from the study, it is observable that there are meaningful differences between information literacy and curriculum literacy of teacher candidates in terms of the variables identified. Further, the mean of items measuring teacher candidates’ levels of information and curriculum literacy were examined and their levels of “frequency” and “agree” were determined. Ultimately, correlation analysis was performed between information literacy and curriculum literacy and positive relationship was determined at the low, medium and high levels. Also, predictive power of the level of information literacy on the level of curriculum literacy was tested. Aforesaid these four variables together explain 34% of the change in curriculum literacy levels.

The present study aims to explore the experiences of prospective physical education teachers on active gaming. The study, which used qualitative case study design enrolled 2 prospective physical education teachers (1 male, 1 female) who were included in extracurricular activities and physical education classes in 2015-2016 academic year. For data collection, semi-structured interview forms, diaries and extended field notes were used. For data analysis, the content analysis method was used: following the transcription process, coding was performed in two categories and themes and sub-themes were created that reflect common codes. The findings have revealed that according to prospective teachers, active gaming ensures active participation of students and facilitates classroom management in physical education classes, which, in turn contributes to the learning environment where every student can participate. It also has been found that active gaming in the extracurricular activities contributes to the arousal of the initial participation desire in students, and establishment of an environment suitable for the improvement of physical competence. According to prospective teachers, active gaming should be used not in every part, but in certain parts of classes or of extracurricular activities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate pre-service science teachers’ argumentation skills, attitudes and knowledge levels regarding organ transplantation and donation (OTD). Teachers play a fundamental role in providing information to children/adolescents and could influence their attitudes. Organ transplantation is a life-saving hope for many people, but shortage of organs for transplantation is a universal problem. Having a positive attitude and true knowledge are essential for teachers that affect students’ future attitude toward this topic. The research method was descriptive and cross-sectional. The sample of research was 472 pre-service science teachers, who were sampled by using convenient sampling method and are students of Science Education Department at four different public universities. Data collection instruments were developed by researchers as valid and reliable questionnaire in order to determine the attitudes, knowledge levels and argumentation skills of pre-service teachers regarding OTD. Results observed that the pre-service science teachers' argumentation skills in a socio-scientific subject such as OTD were at a very low level, their attitudes were at a moderate level, and their knowledge level was above the average. Results of the study have shown that graduated high school type and grade level have played important roles in the positive attitudes, high argumentation skills and high knowledge level about organ donation. No significant difference was found in the attitudes and knowledge level of pre-service science teachers toward OTD in terms of gender. The gender only affected the ability of argumentation.

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

Teacher education has been innovated in Brunei to support the ongoing inclusive education and curriculum reforms. This survey investigated the development of essential instructional skills in initial Brunei trainee teachers. The sample consisted of 109 student teachers (71 females and 38 males). Significant mean scores (Mean ≥ 4, p< .05) and 95% confidence intervals were used to identify the levels of proficiency and enablers of success in teaching. Participants were proficient on 15 of the 28 skills measured by the Teacher Behaviors Checklist (Approachable; Confident; Effective communicator; Encourages; Enthusiastic; Flexible; Good listener; Humble; Prepared; Professional; Rapport; Respectful; Sensitive; Striving to be a better teacher; Understanding). From independent groups, T-tests and One-Way ANOVA analyses, other significant trends in participants’ performance emerged at p< .05 level of evaluation. Females scored highest on Humble and Realistic expectations while males scored highest on Understanding. Trainee teachers aged 31-35 scored highest on: Promoting critical thinking; and Providing constructive feedback, than counterparts. Participants with higher degrees (e.g. Master of Arts) scored higher on Authoritative skills than those with lower degrees (e.g. Bachelor of Arts). Trainees with teaching experience scored significantly higher on: Accessible; Knowledge about the subject matter; and Technological competence, than those with no experience. The findings suggest the need to help pre-service teachers to gain proficiency in all teacher skills to improve the quality of education in the country. Further research was recommended.

The aim of the study focused on assessing the relationship between student's financial knowledge and their relationship with the use and application of financial instruments. The test designed by Garcia-Santillan, Contreras-Rodriguez and Moreno-Garcia which integrates topics on money management, savings and investment, spending, credit and budgets, was used. 333 high school students were surveyed face to face and only 305 were validated. The internal consistency Cronbach’s Alpha of the scale was of α=.860 (34 items) and α=.855 (7 dimensions). For the hypothesis test, exploratory factor analysis and canonical correlational analysis were used. The main findings show the existence of three factors that explain the structure that underlies the phenomenon of financial knowledge and the use of financial techniques, and a significant relationship was found between the constructs of financial knowledge and the use and application of financial products.

This research aims to test (1) the effectiveness between problem posing learning model with Indonesian realistic mathematical education approach and problem posing learning model on written mathematical communication skills, (2) the effectiveness between field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles on written mathematical communication skills, (3) the effectiveness between problem posing learning model with Indonesian realistic mathematical education approach and problem posing learning model on the written mathematical communication skills from each cognitive style, and (4) the effectiveness between field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles on written mathematical communication skills from each learning model. This quantitative research employed a quasi-experimental method. The research sample consisted of 240 fifth-grade elementary school students in Jebres District, Surakarta, Indonesia. Data collection techniques included tests of written mathematical communication skills and cognitive styles. The data were analyzed using prerequisite (normality, homogeneity, and balance), hypothesis, and multiple-comparison tests. The findings prove that (1) PP model with Indonesian realistic mathematical education approach is more effective than the PP and direct instruction models, (2) field-independent cognitive style is better than field dependent, (3) PP with Indonesian realistic mathematical education is as effective as the PP model, but more effective than the direct instruction model, and the PP model is more effective than the direct instruction model in each cognitive style, and (4) in the PP learning model with Indonesian realistic mathematical education approach, field-independent cognitive style is same skill as with field-dependent, but field-independent is better than field-dependent cognitive style in the PP and direct instruction learning models.

The study aims to investigate the evaluation model of professional leadership and the characteristics of successful principals at an Indonesian secondary school. It is to further realize the effective learning and to produce instruments that meet the validity and reliability tests. It also aims to discover the correlation and the significance of the independent variables on the dependent variables, and the percentage of influence on the indicators in shaping the model of principals’ leadership. Quantitative data were obtained by distributing questionnaires to 100 students. The number of respondents was determined using a simple random sampling technique. The research findings showed that there was a significant correlation among the principals’ leadership, characters, and effective learning. It indicated that leadership evaluation influenced the school leadership and the principals’ characters on effective learning. The results of the measurement on formative relationships showed that the indicators of behaviour and actions of school principals who manage the teachers to conduct learning activity seriously in the classroom became a determining factor in shaping the effective learning paradigm in secondary schools.

The purpose of the study was to explore how technological advances incorporated into the Philology Studies curriculum could impact the students’ research skills and the quality of their research projects and what students’ and teachers’ impressions of the reshaped research component of the curriculum were. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods with the dominance of qualitative methods. It employed the baseline study, checklist to assess students’ research papers, assessment criteria, and the Triangular Assessment Method to assess the students’ papers. The consensus meeting was held to allow the experts to express their reasoning for the scores. The semi-structured interview was administered to the students’ and teachers’ to identify their impressions of the reshaped research component of the curriculum of philology. The technological advances incorporated into Philology Studies curriculum improve the students’ research skills and the quality of their research projects. Both students and teachers appreciated the reshaped research component of the curriculum. The analytical software can be successfully incorporated in the corpus analysis-purpose student research. The students found the intervention a challenging experience that ‘pumped up’ their intellectual, research, and technical skills. They reported improvement in interpreting corpus using correlations, frequencies, distributions, and collecting information using software to organise it in a professional way. The lecturers agreed that the technology-based instructional model incorporated into Philology Studies curriculum improved both students’ research skills and the quality of their research projects.

Cognitive and psychomotor are two aspects that play an important role in children’s development, especially at the pre-school age. This study aims to create and test products in the form of learning methods with song and movement to improve children's cognitive and psychomotor aspects. This research is a research and development using 4D theory from Thiagarajan, Semmel, and Semmel. There are four phases in this research, namely the define phase, product design, product development, and dissemination. Data analysis used in this study was a qualitative and quantitative approach using instruments in the form of questionnaires, product validation sheets, and learning observation sheets. The collected data is then analyzed using two analytical techniques: (1) qualitative data with content analysis techniques and (2) quantitative data analyzed statistically with the help of SPSS. The results showed that this learning method was proven to have a level of validity, practicality, and effectiveness above the standard to improve children’s cognitive and psychomotor aspects.

This research aims to determine the relationship between the seven components of Pedagogical Content Knowledge possessed by kindergarten teachers. The animal theme was chosen to determine the pedagogical content knowledge component profile of 30 kindergarten teachers, with data obtained through classroom observation, interviews, learning plan documentation. This study employed a mixed-method design, a type of sequential explanatory research with the structural equation modeling-partial least squares and descriptive tests used to quantitative and qualitatively analyze the data obtained. The result showed that: the relationship between the components is specified in the context of using themes to learn in the kindergarten; analysis of the relationships between the components is carried out separately, such as the relationship of all 7 (seven) components to 1 (one) pedagogical content knowledge component of kindergarten teachers; Orientation of teaching has the strongest relationship with Knowledge of Instructional Strategies for Teaching; Knowledge of assessment of early childhood education has the weakest relationship with knowledge of early childhood education subject matter; pedagogical content knowledge components for kindergarten teachers that are often found and associated with other components in a learning episode are orientation of teaching, knowledge of early childhood education curriculum, and knowledge of instructional strategies; there are pedagogical content knowledge component for kindergarten teacher that often found and connection with other component in a learning episode.

This research aimed to develop a web-based application for teacher candidate competence instruments to prepare professional teachers in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) era. Teacher candidate competencies consist of pedagogical, professional, social, and personality competences. This is a research and development with 8 stages, involving the development of instrument grids/ construct, focus group discussions, instrument item development, instrument validation, manual instrument testing, application development, application assessment by experts, application trial, and final revision of the application. The initial focus group discussions involved 9 experts, while the instrument validation involved 35 experts consisting of 21 experts for pedagogical and professional competences, 7 experts for social competences, 7 experts for the personality competences, and 4 media experts. The trial involved a total of 107 Mathematics, Indonesian, and English student teacher candidates. Expert validation was analyzed using the Aiken formula; application effectiveness and readability were described based on expert judgment, and discrimination tests on the results of social and personality competence tests between the study programs used the Multivariate Analysis of Variants. The results showed that there were no differences in social and personality competences between Mathematics, Indonesian, and English prospective teachers. The developed instruments for pedagogical, professional, personality, and social competences were deemed valid. The application has met the readability aspect and is scored well by experts with an average assessment rating of  .78. These results suggest that the application can be used by the government as a solution to assess teacher candidate competences in the IR 4.0 era.

Metacognition in science teaching involves processes that include self-awareness and self-regulation. Metacognition enables the teachers to facilitate student learning and to reflect on their teaching in order to enable themselves to improve or to make any changes to their teaching. In particular, teaching activities, especially in the 21st century, do not merely involve the transfer of knowledge and then applying that knowledge into daily life, but teachers need to reflect, plan and evaluate learning outcomes to enhance further in teaching. This study attempts to gain the perspective and implementation of metacognition skills in teaching science in the primary school classroom. The data was collected through a qualitative research method based on interviews with six science teachers in primary school using semi-structured interview protocol. The interview data were analysed for emerging themes, guided by the research questions. Teachers have a similar perspective of the understanding of metacognition in science teaching. Further discussion focuses on the implementation of metacognition in science teaching. This discussion is divided into three aspects, which are constraints faced, overcoming the constraints, and efforts made to implement metacognition in science teaching. Hence, the understanding of science teachers in regards to metacognition in science teaching is important and gives a positive impact towards teaching and learning in primary science teaching.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the IPA KIT teaching aids for earthquakes science KIT in improving students' collaboration skills and creative thinking. The design of this research is a quasi-experimental research with a stratified random sampling technique. This study involved two classes, namely the experimental class (n = 32) and the control class (n = 33) with a pretest-posttest control group design. This research was conducted at SMP Negeri 5 Depok. The statistical analysis used to test the research hypothesis based on the pretest and posttest scores is the normality test, linearity test, homogeneity test, correlation test, effect size, and MANOVA test. The results showed that the use of IPA KIT teaching aids for earthquakes was more effective in improving students' creative thinking skills and collaboration. Therefore, teachers are advised to use the earthquake science KIT teaching aids for earthquakes to improve the creative thinking skills and collaboration of junior high school students.

The article deals with mathematical literacy in relation to mathematical knowledge and mathematical problems, and presents the Slovenian project NA-MA POTI, which aims to develop mathematical literacy at the national level, from kindergarten to secondary education. All of the topics treated represent starting points for our research, in which we were interested in how sixth-grade primary school students solve non-contextual and contextual problems involving the same mathematical content (in the contextual problems this content still needs to be recognised, whereas in the non-contextual problems it is obvious). The main guideline in the research was to discover the relationship between mathematical knowledge, which is the starting point for solving problems from mathematical literacy (contextual problems), and mathematical literacy. The empirical study was based on the descriptive, causal and non-experimental methods of pedagogical research. We used both quantitative and qualitative research based on the grounded theory method to process the data gathered from how the participants solved the problems. The results were quantitatively analysed in order to compare the success at solving problems from different perspectives. Analysis of the students’ success in solving the contextual and non-contextual tasks, as well as the strategies used, showed that the relationship between mathematical knowledge and mathematical literacy is complex: in most cases, students solve non-contextual tasks more successfully; in solving contextual tasks, students can use completely different strategies from those used in solving non-contextual tasks; and students who recognise the mathematical content in contextual tasks and apply mathematical knowledge and procedures are more successful in solving such tasks. Our research opens up new issues that need to be considered when developing mathematical literacy competencies: which contexts to choose, how to empower students to identify mathematical content in contextual problems, and how to systematically ensure – including through projects such as NA-MA POTI – that changes to the mathematics curriculum are introduced thoughtfully, with regard to which appropriate teacher training is crucial.

Considering the low achievement of Indonesian students in international studies (PISA), which measures Higher-Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) in solving the problem, improving the quality of mathematics learning in Indonesia is very important. The purpose of this research was conducted to explore the variations in students’ learning strategies and students’ Self–Regulated Learning (SRL) in solving mathematical HOT problems. The study employed a mixed-method, namely quantitative and qualitative methods were applied through five tests and seven interviews for over eight weeks. Two types of instruments were employed in this study, and they include tests and interviews. At the initial stage, we randomly selected 30 students from all those in grade 10 (Senior High School ), after which 12 were chosen purposively after the pre-test for an interview, having satisfied all complete group, middle group, and lower group. All of them were treated using metacognitive questions. Data analysis techniques used were percentage, data reduction, presentation, and conclusion. The quantitative results showed the students could generally use orientation, organization, and elaboration learning strategies as observed with 68.3%, 60%, and 56.7% for complete, middle, and lower groups. Moreover, the students were also observed to have conducted three cognitive processes in selecting the rules for solving the mathematical HOT problem, namely using models and drawing, written texts, and combining both. Furthermore, their final solution failures were affected by their misconceptions and errors in creating the mathematical model. The interview results on designing the learning procedures, monitoring the progress, and evaluating the outcomes, show that the students’ SRL level is good for complete (89.3%), middle (75%), and lower groups (60.7%).

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.

This research seeks to evaluate the degree of inclusion of the gender perspective and the promotion of education in and for equality in the historical narratives of students in Chilean Secondary Education (n = 105). The study focuses on the analysis of the discursive-narrative mechanisms employed by the students and, in particular, of their representations of gender relations. To this end, the place given to men and women in past and present societies is analysed in the narratives generated by the students (n = 780). A mixed methodology is applied, combining quantitative (descriptive and inferential) and qualitative analyses of the manifest content. The results obtained report the persistence of stereotypical, exclusionary and androcentric perspectives, evidenced in hegemonic gender attributions and in the maintenance of the sex/gender system. These data confirm the need to implement specific teacher training programmes aimed at the acquisition of critical competences and the effective inclusion of the gender perspective in history education.

This study aimed to analyze the Research-Based Learning (RBL) model implementation in the natural sciences in improving students’ analytical thinking skills. This study employed a mixed-method with a sequential exploratory design. Data collection began with qualitative data and then continued with quantitative data. Qualitative data collection techniques used observation and interviews, while quantitative data collection used essay tests. Sampling was carried out before the research implementation. The samples were students of the PGMI IAIN Surakarta Study Program, Indonesia, which consisted of 34 pre-service elementary school teachers. The research was conducted in the odd semester of the 2019/2020 academic year. Quantitative data analysis techniques used a quasi-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest. Based on the results of four observations on the research treatments, the mean was 3.714, in which the values of preliminary activities were 3.625, core activities were 3.714, and closing activities were 3.75, used a rating scale (1-4) with the very good category. The RBL model implementation in the natural sciences in the concept of energy can improve the analytical thinking skills of students, as evidenced by the N-gain value was 56.57%in the medium category. This increase was obtained from the mean of the pretest score (46.84) and the post-test score (76.9), by using a rating scale (0-100). The research findings provide ideas to lecturers and researchers in improving the student's analytical thinking skills through the application of innovative learning models in the topic of the concept of energy.