The aim of this research is to develop a scale to determine the language teaching methods used by English teachers. The research sample consisted of 300 English teachers who taught at Duzce University and in primary schools, secondary schools and high schools in the Provincial Management of National Education in the city of Duzce in 2013-2014 academic Year. Data collected were subjected to Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was computed. The Exploratory Factor Analysis results showed that the scale consisted of 5 factors. These factors were named as Active Teaching Method, Listening Based Teaching Method, Four Basic Skills Based Method, Speaking Based Method and Grammar Based Method. The total variance explained by the 5 factors was determined to be 54.69%. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis results confirmed the 5-factors structure. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was computed as .89. It is thought that this scale can be used to identify language teaching methods that English teachers use as a reliable and valid scale.

The aim of the present study is to identify primary school principals' self-monitoring skills. The study adopted the general survey model and its population comprised primary school principals serving in the city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, while 292 of these constituted the sample. Self-Monitoring Scale was used as the data collection instrument. In data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, homogeneity of variances, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test were used. The primary school principals' mean self-monitoring score was found to be 9.72. In addition, primary school principals' self-monitoring skills did not significantly vary in terms of gender and length of service. On the other hand, primary school principals who were class teachers had a higher level of self-monitoring skills than subject teachers; Faculty of Education graduates had a higher level of self-monitoring skills than those of other faculties', teachers serving as principals had a higher level of self-monitoring skills than both principals and assistant principals at a significant level.

The study developed and standardized an Inventory for measuring Students’ Integration into University Academic Culture named Inventory for Students’ Integration into University Academic Culture (ISIUAC). The increase in dropout rates, substance use, cultism and other deviant behaviours in Nigerian universities makes it necessary for one to ask the extent to which university students are integrated into the university academic culture. This necessitates the development of standardized instrument for the assessment of students’ integration into university academic culture. The Study employed an instrumentation design in which a five point scale inventory were developed and standardized. An initial draft of 60 item instrument was developed and standardized. After corrections a 58 item instrument emerged and was administered to 500 University students. The data collected were subjected to factor analysis. The result from factor analysis showed that 27 items loaded well on three factors with minimum loading of 035.  The 27 items were administered to 1,000 students to establish norms. The norm for the entire instrument was 105.19, the norms of male and female students were 100.96 and 109.21 respectively.  Cronbach alpha statistics was used to establish the reliability of the instrument, its result shows an internal consistency of 0.926 for the 27 items. Hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics; the result shows that there is a significant difference between the norms of male and female students. The manual of the ISIUAC shows the administration and scoring procedure of the inventory and its psychometric properties. The instrument ISIUAC is recommended therefore for assessing students’ integration into the university academic culture.

This study was designed to investigate the state of self-concept among Chilean and Portuguese university students with disabilities with the aim of introducing proposals to help their inclusion and academic performance. First, the two samples compared separately students with and without disabilities with their peers and subsequently both were compared with students with disabilities from both countries. The role of gender and participation in support programmes for students with disabilities was also examined. The instrument used was the AF5-Scale, which assesses five dimensions of self-concept (academic, social, emotional, family and physical) and a socio-demographic form. The results (applying a non-parametric analysis) showed that students with disabilities in both countries presented lower scores for physical self-concept than peers without disabilities, the Chilean students being those who obtained the lower scores when comparing only students with disabilities. Women showed higher academic self-concept, but worse emotional self-concept than men. Finally, it was found that students participating in support programmes have a higher physical self-concept than those who do not. It is concluded that a way to improve the deficit in self-concept in both samples could be associated with participation in these support programmes.

This study provides a framework for the production of Hypermedia Instructional package. It also assessed the effectiveness of hypermedia instructional mode of delivery on students’ performance in Chemistry. This is with a view of improving the learning of Chemistry which may eventually help to improve students’ performance. The developmental study employed a pre-test, post-test control group design. The research sample consisted of 60 private secondary school students in Osun State with an enrolment of 30 students from each of the two schools selected. The students were thereafter assigned to experimental and control groups. The stimulus material used for the experimental group was the Hypermedia Instructional Package, while the Control group received instruction with similar content through the conventional method. The test instrument used was Hypermedia Learning Achievement Test (HLAT). Content and face validity of the instrument used was carried out by experts in the area of tests and measurement. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for the HLAT gave a value of 0.72. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results obtained showed that students exposed to the Hypermedia Instructional Package (HIP) performed significantly better than those exposed to the conventional teaching method (t = 5.458, df = 58, p < 0.05). Results also revealed a significant difference in the retention ability of students in Chemistry between those exposed to the package and those that were not (t= 6.842, df=58, p<0.05). The study concluded that the use of HIP was an intervention which improved students’ performance retention and attitude towards Chemistry.

Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), patterns of parental involvement were examined in selected OECD countries. The findings showed that, irrespective of educational qualifications, parents were frequently involved in their children’s learning at the start of primary school and at age 15. Cross-national analyses showed that a high percentage of parents were frequently involved in various ways with their children’s learning, with some OECD countries showing parental involvement to be very common. Less instrumental, more subtle forms of parental involvement such as parent-child conversations about topical social issues emerged as the strongest predictor for continuing parental literacy support at age 15. These findings have important implications for understanding patterns and forms of parenting and for guiding family policy to consider cultural, economic and educational explanations about the nature of parental involvement in children’s education.

Majority of NOS studies comprise of determination or assessment studies conducted with ordinary students. In order to gain further understanding on variation in NOS understandings among the students, there should be different research attempts focusing on unconventional students such as academically advanced students. The purpose of this study is to determine epistemological understanding of Finnish academically advanced science students concerning aspects of NOS. The study was a case study (N=39) conducted with qualitative perspective. Questionnaires on the students’ attitude toward science and motivation toward science learning plus a form for the teacher’s ideas and VNOS-C, were used as diagnostic tools and data collection instruments. The study revealed that the majority of the students were found to be naïve in aspects such as “empirical basis of science”, “observation and inference”, “subjectivity of scientists”, “social and cultural embeddedness”, “creativity in science”, “theories and laws” and “tentativeness”.

Advances in computer technologies and adoption of related methods and techniques in education have developed parallel to each other. This study focuses on the need to utilize more than one teaching method and technique in education rather than focusing on a single teaching method. By using the pre-test post-test and control group semi-experimental researchmodel, this study examined the effects of the web-assisted education method supported by six thinking hats technique on student achievement, on students’ attitudes towards science and their attitudes towards the use of computers in science classes. The working group of the study was composed of 7th graders in a state secondary school in the 2013-2014 academic year. A working group consists of two randomly selected classes assigned as the experimental and control groups. The working group comprised of 50 students with 25 experimental and 25 control group students. Paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and ANOVA techniques were used in analyzing the data collected via data collection tools to compare the experimental and control groups. The results showed that web-assisted education materials prepared with the use of the six thinking hats technique increased student attitudes towards science and computers. Students’ attitudes towards computers were similar based on the variables of owning a computer and gender. Paternal education levels had no significant effects on student attitudes towards computers and their academic achievement.

The study investigated the perception of teachers of agriculture about Supervised Agricultural Experience Programmes (SAEP) in secondary schools in Ekiti and Ondo States. The population used for the study consisted of 520 teachers of agricultural science in all the secondary schools in Ekiti and Ondo States. The sample used for this study was 136 teachers of agricultural science drawn through a proportionate stratified sampling technique to pick four(4) teachers from each of the 34 Local Government of the two states. The Instrument used was a structured questionnaire to investigate the extend to which the teachers agreed on disagree with statemenst regarding SAEP. The questionnaire were test and re-tested yielding a reliability co-efficient of 89. (Cronbach alpha). The data for the study were analyzed using mean, standard deviation t-test and two tailed probability statistics. The probability level was set at P<0.05. Thirty eight items were generated for the study. The study found out among others that the teaching of agriculture needs improvement; that though SEAP related contents are in the agricultural science curriculum the teaching and learning of agriculture are not vocationally oriented in Ekiti and Ondo States. It was recommended among others that agricultural programmes in all schools should include supervised agricultural experience programmes, while the State School Boards in collaboration with relevant Ministries should conduct informational workshop and orientation on SAEP for educational planners, administrator and teachers of agriculture in Nigeria.

This exploratory study is concerned about the extent to which a sample of 163 pre-school, primary and secondary Brazilian school teachers, expressed their opinion on how neuroscience might help their teaching and pupils´ learning. Evaluation instruments for Brazilian pupils were analysed. Two questionnaires were completed by the teachers. Results of a quantitative analysis indicated that in general teachers believe that neuroscience may contribute to the teaching and learning of their subject matter. An outline for an elective neuroscience and education course is presented. Educational implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of gender and knowledge on scientific creativity among form three biology students (third year in secondary school cycle) in Nakuru district in Kenya. The cross- sectional survey research was employed. A sample of eight schools with a total of 363 students was selected from the population using stratified sampling technique. Two instruments, namely, Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Biology Scientific Creativity Test (BSCT) were used to collect data. The psychological definitions of creativity tested are sensitivity, recognition, flexibility and planning. The mapping of these psychological definitions of creativity onto scientific meanings is explained using the model that guided construction of items in BSCT. Data analysis was done using quantitative methods. The findings of this study indicate that the form three biology students who participated in the study had a low level of scientific creativity. Secondly, the level of scientific creativity is knowledge and gender dependent. The findings may help teachers and other stake holders in education in inculcating creativity skills amongst science students.

The concerns of this article are the unacceptable status of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) Education in the Caribbean and how to improve the students’ achievement in the subjects involved through the instrumentality of better preparation of teachers by the Colleges and University faculties training teachers in the region. The index for measuring development among nations of the world is the level of scientific and technological advancement because the factors that influence development are based on human ability to explore, invest and utilize the natural endowments available in the nation. In other words, no nation can attain any reasonable level of development without meeting the vital demands of development particularly in the areas of science, technology and mathematics. Therefore, the article begins with the presentation of the importance and the status of STM education using the mirror of science students’ achievement at global level. Moreover, it is established that the Caribbean education also has some challenges to deal with in the areas of science, technology and mathematics education. The tertiary institutions, particularly the colleges training teachers and the universities are then challenged with suggestions of what they can or should do in teacher preparation that may have direct impact on improving the science students’ achievement in the Caribbean.

This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to enhance ethical evaluation literature. The tool consists of two subscales named ‘Bases of ethical evaluation’, and ‘Grounds of ethical evaluation’. In order to determine the factor structure of the scales, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. The results revealed that Ethical Evaluation Questionnaire is a valid and reliable scale. The results presented that there was a positive correlation between the factors and the total ‘Bases of ethical evaluation’ scale. Similarly, there was a positive correlation between the factors and the total ‘Grounds of ethical evaluation’ scale. Since the Ethical Evaluation Questionnaire is a valid and reliable scale, it can be generalized for the other professions. The instrument is developed with respect to Islam religion in Turkish culture. However, scholars and managers can use the instrument for different cultures and religions. While there have been many studies examining ethical decision-making with different factors, intentions for examining religiosity as an underlying reason for ethical evaluation has been inadequate. So, studying Muslims in Turkey, this study is supposed to contribute to the literature related to ethical ideology and religiosity with regard to Islamic perspective.

Instrument design is a powerful research approach to answer questions on a unique research topic.  If the design was crafted to gather demographic information, and included open-ended remarks from respondents, the instrument could gather data that could be used in primary and secondary analyses on the same topic.  Further, the quantitative data could establish independent and dependent variables for statistical tests, while the open-ended questions could garner qualitative data. This researcher created a 35-question instrument on workplace bullying for American higher education and conducted a study on 142 American community colleges. The findings revealed that 64% of respondents endured workplace bullying (Hollis, 2016).  This data set supported several book chapters that included descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, and qualitative data from the respondents. Further, by using the demographic data, the researcher was able to conduct a variety of analyses regarding workplace bullying and the association in community colleges involving race, gender, and sexual orientation. This practical essay will discuss insight to instrument development including a reflection on the literature review that informed the instrument design.

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Social Efficacy and Outcome Expectations Scale (SEOES) on Turkish. The sample group included two groups of university students (ns= 440, 359). The validity of the scale was assessed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity, and the reliability was assessed using Cronbach Alpha’s internal consistency coefficient, test-retest method and item discrimination. The findings obtained from the exploratory factor analysis showed that 51.2 percent of total variance of the scale was explained and the scale consisted of two sub-dimensions like the original one. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit to the data. The concurrent validity of the SEOES was respectively studied using (.65) Scale of Perceived Social Self-Efficacy; (.29) Satisfaction With Life Scale; and (-.36) UCLA Loneliness Scale. As for the scale’s reliability, the internal consistency was determined to be .91; .92 for Social Efficacy Scale; and .81 for Outcome Expectations Scale. The results of test-retest result (.90) and the findings of item analysis showed that the items in Turkish version of the scales were compatible with the original one. The present results provide evidence supporting the validity and reliability Turkish version of the SEOES.

This qualitative study was designed to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) activities to pre-service science teachers and identify their views about STEM materials. In this context, a competition was organized with 42 pre-service science teachers (13 male- 29 female) who took Instructional Technologies and Material Development course in Elementary Science Education Department in Siirt University. The competition consisted of 5 categories: balloon powered car, mousetrap car, water rocket, spaghetti bridge 1 (durability) and spaghetti bridge 2 (visuality). Structured interview form developed by researchers was used as data collection instrument. The results were analyzed with the conventional content analysis. Results indicated that participants (especially females) are more willing to use STEM materials in their future teaching life. Participants mostly believe that STEM materials facilitate learning, enhance retention and increase self-confidence. However, there are also pre-service science teachers who believe that preparation of STEM materials is difficult, takes too much time and not appropriate to students’ levels.

This study aims to present the design and pilot testing procedures of the two specific self-report questionnaires were used to measure the two key aspects of reading motivation, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in the field of literary (narrative) reading, and the partial factors that jointly shape them. These instruments were outlined in advance, tested on a small scale and finally administered in a pre-post (quasi)experimental-control group research study, in order to investigate the effect of an intervention reading program to 6 graders. The measurement tools have good validity and reliability evidence, but further construct validity analysis should be done.

This study aims to examine the effect of feedback strategies on understanding and applying the concept of National ideology to students who have different achievement motivation, on learning Citizenship Education in vocational high schools. This research uses quasi experiment research design (Quasi Experiment). The subjects of this study were 133 vocational high school students. The research instrument used the achievement motivation questionnaires and test appraisal tools of understanding and application of the concept. Research data were analyzed using MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance) method with 2x2factorial. The results reveal three findings, namely: (1) there are differences in posttest score of understanding and application of concepts between groups of direct and indirect feedback strategies; (2) there is difference of posttest score of understanding and application of concept between high and low achievement motivation group: (3) interaction between feedback strategy with achievement motivation does not influence simultaneously to understanding and application of concept.

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.

This study was conducted within the scope of the General Biology Laboratory II course, which was taught in the Science Teaching Department in the Spring semester of the 2016-2017 academic year. The study group consisted of 40 teacher candidates in their second year in the Science Teaching Department at a state university in Konya. The purpose of the study, in which case study design was used, was to determine the views of teacher candidates concerning the V diagrams used in the General Biology Laboratory II course. To this end, experiments were conducted for a period of 10 weeks and reports for the experiments were formed by the teacher candidates in the form of V diagrams. The views of the teacher candidates regarding V diagrams were collected through open-ended questions and analyzed via content analysis.