The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid measurement tool which will reveal teachers’ self-competences in education process. Participants of the study are 300 teachers working at state primary schools in the province of Gaziantep, Results of the exploratory factor analysis administered to the scale in order to determine its construct validity, indicated that it has four sub-dimensions. In accordance with the results of confirmatory factor analysis RMSEA was measured .050 level fit index. The determined levels for GFI is found to be 0.88, whereas for AGFI, 0.85 for NFI, 0.94 for CFI 0.98 and 0.94 for RFI. Also, non normed fit index, (NNFI) has been observed as 0.97. Four dimensions of the scale which was composed of 23 items account for approximately 54% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was counted .86 for the first dimension; .82 for the second dimension, .67 for the third dimension, .70 for the fourth dimension, and .92 for the entire scale. The scale, developed in order to measure teachers’ self-efficacy in the teaching process, proved to be valid and reliable based on the results of the related analyses.

Measuring the quality of the ‘product’ is elemental in education, and most studies depend on observational data about student achievement factors, focusing overwhelmingly on quantitative data namely achievement scores, school data like attendance, facilities, expenditure class size etc. But there is little evidence of learner perceptions. 553 students from two different universities, who graduated from 3 high school types, were asked to respond to two fundamental questions to reflect on school and classroom level achievement factors. 2294 responses produced eight categories in question one, teacher factors being the most preferred (n=424), followed by individual factors (n=404) and then family factors (n=395). As for liking towards a course, 1362 responses were produced, most frequent one being teacher’s attitude (n=205). Results indicate student perspective of causes of achievement is somewhat different from those expressed in quantitative studies. Girls attributed more achievement to study habits, family support whereas boys attributed more to school and technology. More emphasis is needed on perceived achievement factors for a sound evaluation of effectiveness in school.

The paper presents an educative experience organized in a postgraduate course in a faculty of education with the aim of facilitating students’ “affective self-understanding”. Affective self-understanding is a reflective practice that allows people to comprehend their own emotions in order to gain awareness of them. Students were spontaneously engaged in a laboratory, where they were invited to reflect on their emotional lives. The educative experience was subdivided into different phases requiring writing and analysis tasks. At the end of the experience, students were asked what they thought they had learned, what had been difficult, and what had been the most important phase for learning. Students’ answers were analyzed on the basis of grounded theory through an inductive process of analysis. The theoretical framework of the research is the cognitive theory of emotions. According to this theory, an emotional education is possible because we can understand emotions by identifying their cognitive component and the actions they induce.

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.

Learner and teacher beliefs play an important role in second language (L2) learning. Furthermore, the role of grammar instruction and error correction in the L2 classroom is a topic that is still debated in the literature. This study explored the beliefs of EFL learners and teachers regarding the controversial role of grammar instruction and error correction. A total of 17 instructors and 60 students at a private Turkish university participated in the study. The participants completed an open-ended questionnaire and interviewed regarding their beliefs about grammar instruction and error correction. Themes emerging from the qualitative data were identified. As a result of this study, it can be said that both learners and teachers believed in the importance of grammar in language and error correction, however there were some differences between the learners and teachers regarding the use of native language in grammar teaching and other areas of grammar teaching.

Effective communication between faculty members and students is one of the concerns of the educational stakeholders at the Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia. This study investigates the relationship between teachers’ effective communication and students’ academic achievement at the Northern Border University. The survey questionnaire containing 26 items was administered on 100 students, 50 males and 50 females to ask about their perception towards the effective communication of the faculty members and their academic achievement at the Faculty of Education and Arts, Northern Border University in the City of Arar, Saudi Arabia. The results of the Descriptive statistics method showed that, almost more than half of the students agreed that, the friendly and understanding position maintained by their faculty members had helped them to highly achieve academically. The results of the independent sample T-test found no statistically significant differences between the students ‘academic achievement and their faculty members’ verbal communication across the respondents’ gender and year of study. The study recommended for the Northern Border Authority as well as the Saudi Government looking into other areas that might bring about the effective communication of the staff and the students’ academic achievement in the University.

Grolnick and Ryan assume that an autonomy supportive environment leads to higher learner engagement and thus to greater achievements and deeper understanding of content. In school, knowledge acquisition (rote learning as well as conceptual learning) are regarded as most important. In this study, we examined the effects of teachers’ autonomy supportive vs. controlling behavior on knowledge acquisition as measured by reproduction as well as at higher cognitive levels. The sample consisted of seventh graders (N=85; M=12.85 years; SD=1.6 years). One week in advance to the teaching unit, the students were tested for prior knowledge using two knowledge tests. Test 1 used multiple-choice items to address rote learning and Test 2 used an open response format to address conceptual learning. One week after the teaching unit, the same knowledge tests were used to assess the learning outcome. Analysis of the knowledge tests suggests that the students taught in an autonomy supportive environment develop greater conceptual knowledge than those taught in a controlling environment. Rote learning was not affected.

Mobile phones are getting smarter and the usage through university students becoming more popular. University students using mobile phones for talking, for texting message, for Internet search, for listening music, watching videos, playing games, using social media etc... Mobile phones are not accessory any more, they are integrated like our clothes. There are studies examining the effects of using mobile phones frequently. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between mobile phone usage, satisfaction with life, academic achievement and metacognitive awareness. Metacognitive awareness inventory used to measure the awareness. Total GPA was used to measure the academic achievement and the mobile phone using time, the number of text messaging and callings are used for indicating the mobile phone usage. 250 total university students attended voluntarily to the study. The study carried out in private university in the southeast region of Turkey. The results indicated the usage of mobile phones are very frequent through university students. Many of the students are using mobile phones heavily. There was a positive relationship between mobile phone usage and academic achievement, also between mobile phone usage and metacognitive awareness.

This study investigates the effect of the project based learning approach on 8th students’ attitude towards statistics. With this aim, an attitude scale towards statistics was developed. Quasi experimental research model was used in this study. Following this model in the control group the traditional method was applied to teach statistics wheras in the intervention group project based learning approach was followed. The attitude scale towards statistics was applied as pre-test and post-tests to 70 students studying at two different 8th grade classes of a middle school in Trabzon during the 2011–2012 Academic Year. The results of the study revealed that the project based learning increased students’ attitude towards statistics in the intervention group. Therefore, the use of project based learning approach during statistics course in mathematics classes is recommended.

It is well established that girls and boys perform differently in traditional examinations in most countries. This study looks at a sample of 754 school students in Kuwait (aged about 13) and explores how boys and girls differ in the performance in a range of tests related to learner characteristics. The fundamental question is how boys and girls differ in these learner characteristics and do any of the differences relate to examination performance. If the development of such learner characteristic is open to experiences in the formal learning situations, then this opens the door to possible ways to encourage the development of such characteristics, with possible concomitant enhancement of academic performance. It is found that girls outperform the boys in tests which measure extent of field dependency, extent of divergency and skills with the visual-spatial (all at p < 0.001). Confirming previous studies, the girls markedly outperform the boys in all school subject examinations but there are no differences in their measured working memory capacities. In looking at the relationships between various combinations of the measurements made, it is found that boys are much more dependent on working memory than girls in performing in examinations, and the boys are also much more dependent on employing skills related to divergent thought in achieving success in examinations. These observations are interpreted in terms of the way boys and girls learn, with girls being more conscientious and willing to memorise than the boys who, in turn, have to rely on working things out for success: girls tend to memorise; boys tend to try to work it out. This may offer an explanation of the greater success of girls in typical examinations where the accurate recall of information is so often the key to success.

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.

Due to Finnish pupils’ achievements in international comparisons, also Finnish teacher training has been widely acknowledged. Today’s educational policies aim at making teacher training more effective in Finland. However, in order to realize this in practice, not only reforms in educational policy or institutions are enough. More attention should be paid on student teachers’ study processes as a whole. In this article, we introduce an illustration of the factors that comprise student teachers’ study processes at universities. Based on the illustration, we will discuss what makes a good study process as the teacher’s academic degree and how teacher educators can make students’ progress on their study paths motivating and fruitful. We argue that teacher educators should be more thoughtful and willing to genuinely help and confront students as individuals: teacher educators should act as mentors who further students’ engagement in studying.

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.

Motivation to learn foreign languages is a significant determinant of successful language acquisition. The subject has been widely researched in the past, and since the early 1990s a great deal of empirical research related to the classroom environment has been proposed to expand theory into everyday classroom practice. I present an empirical, longitudinal (3-year) study to explore the relationship between and changes in foreign language learning motivation, learning motivation and self-concept in the 5th, 6th and 8th forms of elementary school. The same tests (Kozéki-Entwistle’s Learning Motivation Questionnaire, the Tenessee SelfConcept Scale, and Clément, Dörnyei and Noels’ Foreign Language Learning Motivation questionnaire) were administered three times, so I was able to compare the results and draw conclusions about developmental tendencies. A strong correlation was found between motivational and self-esteem scores, and between learning and foreign language learning motivation subscales. It is necessary to highlight the importance of the Moral, Family and Social Self, which draws our attention to the family values and beliefs students are equipped with, when they enter the school. The significant decrease in motivation and self-esteem in the period under investigation focuses our attention on problems of adolescence, and challanges language teachers to establish a highly motivating classroom practice.

Mathematics is well known as a subject area where there can be problems in terms of understanding as well as retaining positive attitudes. In a large study involving 813 school students (ages approximately 10-12) drawn from two different school systems in Pakistan, the effect of limited working memory capacity on performance in mathematics was explored along with a survey of areas of difficulty and student attitudes. This involved looking at student perceptions of their experiences, the nature of the difficulties they have with mathematics and possible reasons for these difficulties. The overall aim is to explore the extent of the effect of working memory and to gain insights so that practical ways forward to enhance mathematics education can be identified. It was found that limited working memory capacity has a very strong influence on performance, confirming other studies. Indeed, if the cognitive load exceeds the capacity of working memory, understanding becomes a casualty, with consequent attitude deterioration. Students need to be able to see that mathematics has a purpose in being able to be applied to real-life situations. However, attempts to develop applications may often generate further working memory overload. Curricula devised by those outside the classroom can sometimes be inappropriate while topics causing the greatest problems at these ages and include areas of geometry, statistics and the applications of mathematics.

Emerging evidence indicates that culture influences pupils learning of science. However, the influence of culture on science learning is usually not considered when developing science curricular for both primary and secondary schools. This study investigated the extent to which primary and secondary school pupils believe in cultural interpretations of the physical phenomenon of ‘heat’ associated with anger and the influence of education level, ethnic communities and gender on cultural beliefs. Cross-sectional survey research design was used. The target population was Standard Seven, Form one and Form Three pupils in ten districts selected from Nyanza, Rift Valley, Central, Eastern and Coast Provinces in Kenya. The ten districts were selected purposively to represent 10 different ethnic communities from the five provinces. A total of 2837 secondary and 625 primary school pupils participated. The pupils were drawn from 15 primary and 31 secondary schools .A questionnaire was used to gather information from pupils. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in analyzing data. Hypotheses were tested using the chi square ( X 2) statistic at α = 0.05 level of significance. Some of the results obtained give statistically significant relationship between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of scientific phenomenon of heat associated with anger and the communities where they come from. This implies that such beliefs are confined to specific communities studied. There appears to be no significant association between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of the scientific phenomenon of heat and level of education in some of the communities. The implication is that education reduces beliefs in cultural interpretations in such communities but does not eradicate such beliefs. There was also no statistically significant association between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of the scientific phenomenon of heat and gender, implying that both boys and girls equally believe in cultural interpretations. The findings from this study inform curriculum developers of some of the cultural beliefs that are likely to influence the learning of science. It is recommended that teachers discuss cultural interpretations of scientific concepts before introducing them in their lessons.

Entrepreneurship has been an intriguing issue as an indicator of economic development and social welfare particularly being focused on last decades. Furthermore, the issue of immigration has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Nowadays, the quality of the workforce and it's training processes are not getting only progressively important but as well the participation of migrants in the labor market will be a great problem in the future. Migrant’s entrepreneurial tendencies and career expectations designation are the main objectives of this research. This research was designed as a comparative qualitative model, and the structured written interview technique was used in order to collect the data. Randomly sampling study groups were formed according to methods of maximum diversity. The sampling group was formed by the participation of 12 Syrian migrant high school students who live and get trained in Altindag, a district of Ankara, Turkey and 13 Syrian migrant high school students who live and get trained in Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin, Germany. The collected data were analyzed by content analysis technique. The results of the research reveal that immigrant students have a high level of entrepreneurship in Germany, the nonetheless low level of the expectations of future career prospects in Turkey. Thus, the absences of sociocultural and economic areas where they will use entrepreneurial tendencies are a serious obstacle to them. Moreover, participants argue that they do not want to stay in Turkey anymore, and most of them intend to emigrate to Europe or another country if they can do so. Unlike Germany, many of the participants in Turkey neither know what they want to be nor how they want to live in the future and nor have they made any career planning.

The study investigated differences in students’ reported overall test anxiety before, during, or after test taking among two school-levels and gender. Differences among three test anxiety components (thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions) were also examined. Participants were 725 primary (349 females, 376 males) and 375 middle (180 females, 195 males) school students from a metropolitan city in Turkey. Turkish students’ reported overall test anxiety declined from primary to middle school, with females showing higher test anxiety throughout school years. Whereas students rated thoughts high, autonomic reactions were rated low; followed by off-task behaviors. Female and male students did not differ in thoughts and autonomic reactions. School-level differences were found in off-task behaviors and autonomic reactions. The pattern of Turkish students’ overall test anxiety derived as a combination of thoughts, off-task behaviors, and autonomic reactions was discussed, and educational implications were offered.

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 study presented a secondary analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dataset. The paper explored the differences between fourth grade reading scores by examining (1) how often the fourth graders discuss their school work at home with family and (2) how often the fourth graders discuss what they were reading with friends. The results by NAEP Data Explorer indicate that the average scale score (M=214, SD=36) of students who report “never or hardly ever” talking about studies at home was significantly (p <0.001) lower than all other groups. The results of how often they talked to their friends about what they were reading were mixed: Students reporting talk with friends once or twice a month (M=228, SD=35) had significantly (p<0.001) higher average scale scores than those in the never or hardly ever and almost every day groups and slightly lower than those talking once or twice a week.