This study aimed to explore online and distance learning (ODL) issues related to higher education during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nepal. We applied an online survey design with a five-point Likert scale. We surveyed 71 (57 male and 14 female) postgraduate students in science education at a public higher education institution in Kathmandu, Nepal. A Principal Component Analysis identified four major constructs as the components of ODL issues. They are scarcity, efficiency, access, and inconvenience. The results of the Independent Samples Test (t-test and ANOVA) showed that participants' views about scarcity were significantly different across their gender (male and female) and device use (mobile, laptop, and desktop). They were not significantly different in their views about efficiency, access, and inconvenience across gender, device use, hometown, age group, ethnicity, and school type at .05 level of significance.

Technological tools are means by which online teaching could encourage the engagement of students, especially elementary students. The present research studies how elementary teachers develop their use of technological tools in their asynchronous and synchronous online teaching, specifically when this online teaching occurs during emergency education. The research was conducted in the academic year 2019/2020. We interviewed two elementary teachers, where one of them taught asynchronous lessons more than synchronous, while the second taught synchronous lessons more than asynchronous. We analyzed the data using two frameworks: one for interaction type and one for engagement type. The research results indicated that different interaction types influenced teachers’ decisions to use technological tools. In addition, what concerned the teachers’ use of tools at the beginning was the cognitive engagement, but they advanced towards focusing on behavioral and the affective engagement.

Online learning is an obligation in teaching and learning activities during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Game-based learning is a solution in improving student learning outcomes. This research aims to determine the level of acceptance of gamification in terms of Gamification quality (GQ), instructor characteristic (IC), and technology anxiety (TA). The target respondents were students taking information systems courses based on enterprises resources planning (ERP) Gamification. The sample used is a census. That is, the entire population is taken as a sample. A total of 93 students filled out the online questionnaire. Then, data analysis using Structural Equation Model - Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS). Student satisfaction (SS) and perceived ease of use (PEOUG) are the most influences. PEOUG is also the construct that has the most significant relationship impact, especially with the perceived usefulness (PUG). Meanwhile, two constructs do not significantly impact TA on PUG and PUG on Intention to use gamification (INTG). The obligation of students requires students to ignore the impact and function of gamification. The results of this research also show that technology acceptance model (TAM), the constructs IC, TA, and GQ have a positive effect on PEOUG. Then PUG and PEOUG can positively affect SS.

This study investigates the contribution of teachers’ willingness to their professional competence in adapting to digital learning transformation during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its relationship to instructional leadership and self-efficacy. Data were collected by distributing online questionnaires consisting of 4 constructs, namely instructional leadership, self-efficacy, teacher’s willingness to change, and professional competence, and distributed to 221 Indonesian High School teachers. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used for analysis using Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 23.0 to examine the hypotheses. The results showed that instructional leadership significantly influences teachers’ willingness to change with a positive impact on their professional competence. Furthermore, there is a significant effect on teachers’ willingness to change their professional competence, insignificant on self-efficacy with substantial impacts on their willingness to change. The analysis results through the Sobel test showed that the teachers’ willingness to change is an excellent mediating variable for self-efficacy in influencing professional competence. Conversely, it is not an excellent mediating variable for instructional leadership towards professional competence. The importance of teachers’ willingness to improve their professional competence is a new finding that significantly contributes to their professional development.

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.

The government has imposed social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the education sector, including the early childhood school. Distance education offers different methods from the conventional methods, as the students are expected to gain the same skills, including critical thinking skills. Therefore, teachers must provide distance learning innovations using relevant learning media, such as multimedia-based learning. This research aims to assess the efficacy of multimedia learning in early childhood distance learning. This research is a quantitative model with a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design. The data collection technique utilized questionnaires given to 30 samples of early childhood children. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software. The results confirmed that multimedia-based learning for distance learning could develop critical thinking skills in early childhood children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study offer exploration of learning strategies to improve children’s critical thinking.

This study focuses on online supervisory written feedback on PhD supervisees’ performance, given explicitly through online communication, particularly during the first wave of COVID-19. This unusual situation has brought many different effects on students’ academic lives. This scenario has influenced both students’ and teachers’ mutual communication. A directed qualitative content analysis (DQCA) approach was adapted from previous research and modified for the present context. The current study planned to bring forth the supervisee and supervisors’ perception of the communication and feedback process, considering that online feedback and communication has been a new experience for most students. According to the findings, teachers/supervisors give feedback on students’ production, whereas teacher-student communication also seemed crucial for the performance improvising of learners. The result brought forth a wide range of social, educational, and surprisingly psychological issues both supervisees and supervisors faced during online communication during COVID-19.

In the last decade, vocational education in Indonesia has experienced problems in making career decisions for students, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this research aims to examine the role of self-efficacy and mediate digital literacy, social environment, and counselling guidance in influencing career decision-making. This is an ex-post-facto research design with data collected from a sample of 566 vocational education students in Indonesia through a questionnaire method distributed online using Google Form. The collected data was then analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM) with path analysis and bootstrap methods. The results revealed that self-efficacy plays a vital role in mediating digital literacy and guiding students in career decision-making. On the other hand, digital literacy, guidance, and counselling have a significant direct effect on self-efficacy and career decision-making. Meanwhile, the social environment only has a significant direct effect on students’ career decision-making. The real role of all elements of vocational education in strengthening self-efficacy, growing digital literacy, monitoring social environment interactions, and providing counselling guidance to students is needed to increase optimism and the quality of career decision-making in vocational education.

Character education is urgent in passing down the ethical and moral values in the cultured community life. The local cultural values are a source of ethics and moral education for elementary school students. The school keeps taking an essential role in cultivating the local values through online character education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the effect of implementing online integrated character education and parental engagement in local cultural values cultivation outcome. The method of this study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design. Collect qualitative data using interview forms, observation, documentation, and quantitative data using questionnaires and portfolios. Qualitative data interpretation used content analysis, and inferential analysis used multiple linear regression. Results revealed that parental engagement, teachers’ performance, and online learning obstacles affect local cultural values cultivation outcome in character education partially and simultaneously for sixth-grade students in Padang City. We suggested teachers improve character education management based on local cultural values by building good synergy and collaboration between them and parents to cultivate noble character behavior among students.

In the last decades, the notion of universal design for learning (UDL) has gained prominence in the Greek educational scene (former government plan in education, projects based on UDL). This educational philosophy is essentially a necessary inclusive practice given the new conditions, the extreme heterogeneity of the student population due to socio-political and economic factors, and the exceptional circumstances due to COVID-19 pandemic. The UDL aims to ensure access and equity in learning for all learners despite differentiating characteristics. With our study, we seek to investigate whether teachers in secondary and second chance schools (SCS) are ready to implement UDL, what their expectations are, what obstacles they face, and the results of implementation through their records in reflection journals, a practice that is fully consistent with the context of UDL.

Recent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced higher education institutions worldwide to transition to online courses. The challenges that the pandemic poses for microteaching are very significant, as it is highly application-based and complicates online implementation. The current study aims to examine prospective teachers' experiences with online microteaching. The participants (N = 21) were Greek university undergraduate students. Specifically, their experiences with online microteaching were examined through reflective texts and follow-up interviews. Data were analyzed based on a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) by two independent reviewers. The findings showed that the main advantage of the specific process is the collaboration with fellow students, while the main challenges concern technical difficulties and anxiety. Qualitative analysis revealed that anxiety overlapped with collaboration, while more detailed aspects of the process (e.g., video rehearsals and retakes) provided a unique framework.

COVID-19 has substantially affected the majority of work capabilities. Higher education is responsible for preparing graduates for employment and well-rounded individuals with varied talents. This study determined the acquired attributes of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) graduates and whether it is anchored to the required attributes by the industry. Descriptive and comparative research designs of the quantitative research method were used in this study. This study had two sets of participants. Data on acquired attributes were gathered from the BSIT graduates from 2017-2020 of the Private Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Santiago City, Philippines, who are presently employed. At the same time, required graduate attributes were provided by the representatives from the industry partners of the Private HEI. A total of 45 BSIT graduates and 26 companies participated in the study. Data were collected using a modified questionnaire through online surveys and drop and collect method. Through confirmatory factor analysis, mean scores, t-tests, and ANOVA, rankings, findings revealed the six-factor result, which tallies the latent variables used for this study. BSIT graduates confirmed that they acquired the necessary attributes to be competitive in the IT industry according to the prescribed attributes for BSIT graduates. The Graduates and the Industry agreed that Modern tool usage and resiliency are essential in these challenging times in the workplace. According to the findings, graduates' university-acquired skills and competencies considerably increased their opportunities in national and global markets and sectors, making them timely and relevant during COVID-19 and beyond.

The decline in student character is the result of low student learning outcomes. The common student learning outcomes are influenced by several factors, and one of them is teacher-centered, monotonous learning model. For this reason, it is deemed necessary to conduct research that aims to determine the effect of project-based assessment on values clarification technique (VCT) learning on improving students’ learning outcomes by controlling the family environment. This study uses a 2x2 factorial experimental design. The sample was selected through multistage random sampling with 120 students. The two-way ANCOVA data analysis technique was used to analyze the data. The findings obtained after controlling the family environment are: 1) civics learning outcomes from the group of students who used value clarification techniques are higher than those using conventional learning models and 2) civics learning outcomes from the group of students who were given project-based assessments are higher than the group who are given conventional assessments. Thus, it can be recommended that civics education teachers used appropriate VCT and project-based assessments to improve learning outcomes.

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 longitudinal changes of the average grades in four study semesters before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning are presented in the current study. 11th grade students’ (n=586; age M=17.38, SD=0.53) average grades were assessed, as well as their verbal and non-verbal reasoning abilities, and self-evaluations of problem-solving and self-management skills. The main findings of the study are: 1) There is a general pattern for the grades to increase during the four semesters from the autumn 2019 to the spring 2021; 2) The general tendency of changes in the grades is similar to various students’ groups based on their level of skills; 3) Higher level of students’ skills and cognitive abilities determined that students’ grades were higher and were more likely to increase during the “second wave of the pandemic”, compared to the middle and low-level skill groups. Results of the current study show a tendency for the average grades to increase during the pandemic and distance learning, however, there are group differences in the findings, relating the grade level to the individual level of students’ skills and abilities.

The pandemic era has caused changes in the learning system. The situation demanded online learning and triggered students to have learning difficulties. The research aims to examine the impact of social media, social environment, and student learning potential on student learning difficulties. This study utilizes a quantitative approach. The respondents were university students experiencing online learning in West Java, Indonesia. A questionnaire validated by four experts was distributed to 539 of them. Accommodating structural equation modeling (SEM) by evaluating the measurement and structural models was used in data analysis. This study revealed that the instrument had good construct validity and reliability. A good instrument will produce a good measurement process so that the instrument can get the data needed. Hypothesis testing shows that high media activity can inhibit students from learning. However, social media activity directly influences learning difficulties. Meanwhile, the variables of learning potential and social environment positively influence student learning difficulties directly or indirectly. There are a few things to note on learning potential, social environment, and social media to delve into their influences on students' learning difficulties.

COVID-19 affected all education stakeholders and led to school closures at the beginning of the spread of the pandemic. During the pandemic, principals had to manage their schools and faced many problems during the closure. Although there are numerous studies on school principals' challenges and difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, no systematic review study analyzes research about the principals' challenges and problems in the current literature. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of the challenges and problems of principals during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. The researcher analyzed 395 articles indexed in the ERIC and SCOPUS databases between 2020-2022. The results were analyzed using content analysis. The research results showed that 26 articles were suitable according to the analysis criteria. The results revealed that, in general, researchers focused on understanding principals' experiences regarding their challenges and problems during the pandemic. The results also showed that most articles were published in 2021, and most studies were conducted in The United States of America and Turkey. The results also show that qualitative studies are higher than quantitative. In addition, we found that the biggest challenges are inadequate equipment and lack of access to the internet and online resources during the pandemic. At the same time, the most common problems were identified as the adaptation of online teaching and inadequate infrastructure. The results from this research contribute to the body of the existing literature through a systematic review of the challenges and problems of principals during a pandemic and identifying the research gaps revealed from the analyzed studies.

Crises like COVID-19 affect organizations as well as employees' well-being. Leaders, in this sense, have a critical role to play in reducing the challenges and promoting a healthy workplace. With employees feeling overwhelmed and anxious to cope, leaders should provide the appropriate support and guidance. This quantitative study examined the relationship between different leadership styles, which are participative, directive, supportive, and Laissez-Faire, and teachers' well-being in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study adds insights into the UAE's public school context, where 101 teachers were surveyed following a snowball sampling technique. Findings revealed that Laissez-Faire and directive styles were the most dominant among the four leadership styles examined. In terms of the relationships between leadership styles and well-being, correlation and regression analyses were done through SPSS, and findings from the Generalized Linear Model analysis revealed that although the four styles correlated positively with well-being, the participative leadership style had the most decisive influence. The results showed that none of the demographics had any significant influence on well-being, and no differences in well-being in terms of demographics were reported.

In recent years, there is a growing number of Vietnamese students applying to study abroad at a younger age. Instead of waiting until adulthood, many Vietnamese parents decide to send their offspring to study abroad early from high school. This study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the intention of Vietnamese parents to send their children to study abroad. The dataset includes 350 responses, in which parents of middle and high school students having the intention and willingness to send their children to study abroad are respondents. The research results show that perceived value, perceived risk, and three variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model affect the intention to send their children to study abroad with the ability of explanation 53.4%. In detail, Attitude (influenced by Success, Modern self, and Traditional self) has the most significant influence (30.9%) on the dependent variable. On that basis, some suggestions are proposed for international educational organizations and study-abroad counseling centers to help them give the right orientation to Vietnamese parents about studying-abroad. Besides, proposing some recommendations for domestic educational institutions, international educational institutions, and educational management agencies in Vietnam, in order to improve the quality of education and training, creating an ideal learning environment that meets international standards for students, and simultaneously attracting international students to Vietnam.

This study aims to investigate lecturers' needs for academic writing learning materials and determine their prototypes. This study is qualitative research in the form of an exploratory case study. The research instruments were semi-open-ended questionnaires and unstructured and open-ended interview guides. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results show that the developed learning material for academic writing skills contains seven needs for lecturers in the Department of Indonesian Language and Literature. Four of them have not been found by previous researchers. The results from this study provide new knowledge and contribution to the literature about the need to prototype the learning materials. The lecturers or other researchers can use these seven needs in prototyping learning materials for academic writing skills, such as the needs of learning materials, their forms, presentation system, language use, evaluation form, main menu design, and the way of creating learning materials.