Problems of Education in The 21st Century, Vol. 76, No. 6, 2018

Problems of Education in the 21st Century, Vol. 76, No.
6, 2018
ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)
PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION
IN THE 21st CENTURY
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Dr. Milan Kubiatko, University of Zilina, Slovakia
Dr., Prof. Miroslaw Kowalski, University of Zielona Gora, Poland
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Dr. Eleonora Melnik, Petrozavodsk State University, Republic of Karelia, Russia
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Dr. Osman Pekel, Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey
Dr., Prof. Yuriy Pelekh, Rivne State University of Humanities, Ukraine
Dr., Raffaele Pisano, Lille 3 University, France
Dr. Costin Pribeanu, National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI
Bucuresti, Romania
Dr. Agneta Simeonsdotter Svensson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dr. Uladzimir K. Slabin, University of Oregon, USA
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Dr., Prof. Borislav V. Toshev, Sofia University, Bulgaria
Dr., Prof. Milan Turčani, Constantine the Philosopher University, Slovakia
Dr., Prof. Nicos Valanides, Educational Robotics and Science Organization, Cyprus
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PROBLEMS
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Vol. 76, No. 6, 2018
Contents 759
Editorial
TEACHING HOW TO LEARN

Ivana Z. Bogdanović ..................................................................................................760
Articles
RECOGNITION OF INDICATORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COGNITIVE

DIMENSIONS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION
Kateřina Berková, Jana Borůvková, Lenka Lízalová .............................................................762
BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS USING SANDWICH MAKING COMPUTER

SIMULATION GAMES AS A SUPPORTING TEACHING METHOD
Martin Bílek, Małgorzata Nodzyńska, Wioleta Kopek-Putała, Paulina Zimak-Piekarczyk ..................779
EMBRACING IDENTITIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING:

CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Lee Jin Choi ............................................................................................................800
IN-CLASS AND OUT-OF-CLASS ANXIETY IN SPEAKING TURKISH

AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Durmuş Karci, Cemal Özdemir, Nuri Balta ........................................................................816
THE ROLE OF ETHNOPEDAGOGY IN SHAPING POSITIVE ATTITUDES

TOWARDS TRADITIONAL VALUES OF KAZAKH PEOPLE AMONG MASTER’S
STUDENTS MAJORING IN EDUCATION IN KAZAKHSTAN
Rymshash Toleubekova, Engilika Zhumataeva ....................................................................834
PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF MATHEMATICS

FOR TEACHING: QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS
Ifunanya Julie Adaobi Ubah, Sarah Bansilal ...................................................................... 847
COGNITIVE LOADING DUE TO SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING, COMPLEX QUESTIONS

AND TASKS IN THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS
Ephraim Zulu, Theodore Haupt, Vittorio Tramontin .............................................................864
IMPACT OF CHARACTER EDUCATION IMPLEMENTATION: A GOAL-FREE EVALUATION

Zurqoni, Heri Retnawati, Ezi Apino, Rizqa D. Anazifa ..........................................................881
Information
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS ............................................................................. 900
QUALITY ISSUES AND INSIGHTS IN THE 21st CENTURY ..........................................903

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760
TEACHING HOW TO LEARN
Ivana Z. Bogdanović
University of Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
E-mail: ivana.bogdanovic@df.uns.ac.rs
The problem that teachers meet in every educational system is how to teach efficiently,
while at the same time students are facing the problem how to learn efficiently. These two
problems are closely related and if they are not treated well, they result in poor students’
performance. Teachers should find the way to help students to learn better and that should result
in better students’ performance. Moreover, if the learning process is efficient, students would
need less time for learning, and their mental effort would decrease, while their motivation for
learning would increase.
A number of students may struggle with learning because of the way how they are being
taught. Since different students react differently to particular teaching and learning strategies, it
is desirable to develop various strategies that are possibly useful in order to enhance students’
acquiring of knowledge (Zouhor, Bogdanović, Skuban, & Pavkov-Hrvojević, 2017). It is shown
that using an adequate learning strategy is in correlation with students’ performance in different
subjects (Sağlam, 2010). Learning strategies can be defined as “behaviors and thoughts that a
learner uses for processing information during learning” (Weinstein & Mayer, 1986; as cited
in Selçuk, 2010). Students use learning strategy in order to process, understand and adopt the
information during teaching and learning process or while learning independently (Tay, 2013);
it includes a number of activities that give meaning to information (Kafadar, 2013). The use of
learning strategies leads to greater learner’s autonomy and increases self-regulation (Griffiths,
2015). Can learning strategies be taught? Is the best way to find an appropriate learning strategy
for a student; to help him/her to master that strategy and to direct him/her to always use it?
Maybe although one learning strategy is fitting student’s learning style, it is not efficient to
use it for different teaching contents. Besides, it may be necessary for students to use different
strategies so that they would not perceive learning as uninteresting. The question then arises,
“How to help students to learn better?”
A very good way to improve students’ learning is to make a special effort to develop
students’ metacognition. Metacognition enables student to retrieve and deploy strategy that he/
she has learned, in order to solve an unfamiliar problem (Kuhn & Dean, 2004). The concept
of metacognition is attributed with different meanings, they have in common that they are
referring to one’s thinking process, monitoring and control of thinking. Flavell (1979) used the
term metacognition with the meaning “knowledge and cognition about cognitive phenomena.”
Simpler it is “thinking about thinking,” “cognition about cognition” or “knowing about
knowing”. Three components of metacognition can be differentiated: metacognitive knowledge,
metacognitive regulation and metacognitive experiences. Metacognitive knowledge includes:
declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional (strategic) knowledge (Schraw
& Moshman, 1995). These types of metacognitive knowledge refer to: content knowledge,
understanding one’s own capabilities and limitations; skills, strategies and resources required to
perform the task (knowledge of how to perform something); and knowledge of when to apply
certain strategy, respectively. Metacognitive regulation includes activities such as planning,
information management, monitoring, evaluation and debugging in the process of thinking and

Ivana Z. BOGDANOVIĆ. Teaching how to learn
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learning (Schraw & Dennison, 1994). Metacognitive experiences refer to feelings, estimates, or 761
judgments related to learning, for example: feeling-of knowing, judgments-of-learning, ease-
of-learning judgments (Hacker, 1998). In order to enhance students’ metacognition, teachers
should raise awareness of the strategies that students are using at the moment; develop and
present strategies so that the students would become aware of their own thinking and learning
processes; help students to move toward autonomous use of the strategies; and get students to
evaluate used strategies (Cohen, 2011).
Student with highly developed metacognition knows how to use different learning
strategies and also to recognize when particular strategy should be used in order to achieve the
best results. Accordingly, it can be suggested that teachers can make big improvement of their
teaching practice if they implement instructions that will both, help students gain good subject
knowledge and enhance students’ metacognition. In other words, besides teaching subject
contents, teachers should teach students how to learn.
References
Cohen, A. D. (2011). Second language learner strategies. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in
second language teaching and learning (pp. 681-698). Abingdon: Routledge.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental
inquiry. American Psychologist, 34 (10), 906-911.
Griffiths, C. (2015). What have we learnt from good language learners? ELT Journal, 69 (4), 425-433.
Hacker, D. J. (1998). Self-regulated comprehension during normal reading. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunloskey
& A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 165-191). New
Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kafadar, T. (2013). Learning strategies of 7th grade students in the course of social studies. The Journal
of Academic Social Science Studies, 6 (5), 417-431.
Kuhn, D., & Dean, D. (2004). A bridge between cognitive psychology and educational practice. Theory
into Practice, 43 (4), 268-273.
Sağlam, M. (2010). Students’ performance awareness, motivational orientations and learning strategies
in a problem-based electromagnetism course. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and
Teaching, 11 (1), Article 16, 1-18.
Schraw, G., & Dennison, R.S. (1994). Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 19, 460-475.
Schraw, G., & Moshman, D. (1995). Metacognitive theories. Educational Psychology Review, 7 (4),
351–371.
Selçuk, S. G. (2010). Correlation study of physics achievement, learning strategy, attitude and gender in
an introductory physics course. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 11 (2),
Article 4, 1-16.
Tay, B. (2013). Elaboration and organization strategies used by prospective class teachers while studying
social studies education textbooks. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 13 (51), 229-252.
Weinstein, C. E., & Mayer, R. E. (1986). The teaching of learning strategies. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.),
Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 315-327). New York: MacMillan.
Zouhor, Z., Bogdanović, I., Skuban, S., & Pavkov-Hrvojević, M. (2017). The effect of the modified
Know-Want-Learn strategy on sixth-grade students’ achievement in physics. Journal of Baltic
Science Education, 16 (6), 946-957.
Received: November 27, 2018 Accepted: December 08, 2018
Ivana Z. Bogdanović PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg
Dositeja Obradovića 4, Novi Sad, Serbia.
E-mail: ivana.bogdanovic@df.uns.ac.rs

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IN THE 21st CENTURY
Vol. 76, No. 6, 2018
762
RECOGNITION OF INDICATORS FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COGNITIVE
DIMENSIONS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION
Kateřina Berková, Jana Borůvková, Lenka Lízalová
College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Czech Republic
E-mail: katerina.berkova@vspj.cz; boruvkova@vspj.cz; lizalova@vspj.cz
Abstract
The aim of the research was to find out what factors influence the development of cognitive dimensions in
college students. The following factors were considered: field of study, academic achievement in a selected
economic subject and abstract visual intellectual level. The reason for doing this research was to increase
the quality of teaching economic subjects across bachelor study fields in the conditions of a practically
oriented College of Polytechnics, Jihlava in the Czech Republic. Two fields of study were selected - the
economic field - Finance and Management (N = 52 students) and the technical field - Applied Computer
Science (N = 30 students). Study plans of both fields included the subject Corporate Economy in the first
term of studies. Methodological research was based on the theory of problem-based learning. It was
built on a test method that was used to gain data to identify the context of variables with the development
of cognitive dimensions in the context of an internationally recognized framework for evaluating the
success - the Bloom’s Taxonomy. Two tests were used to collect the data: (a) a test measuring the abstract
visual intellectual level; (b) a non-standardized test to measure students’ achievement in the six cognitive
dimensions of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. The initial knowledge of students was comparable. The data were
analyzed by factor analysis, followed by the Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients. Cognitive
dimensions could be grouped into two factors. Factor 1 - Application-Evaluation Dimension that was
explained by the dimensions of Knowledge, Application, Evaluation; Factor 2 - Analytical Dimension
that was explained by the dimensions of Comprehension, Analysis, Synthesis. The results showed that an
individual did not have to be competent in the whole complexity of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. The development
of cognitive dimensions correlated with the field of study, the economic field was correlated with factor 2
and the technical field with factor 1. The development of cognitive dimensions did not correlate with the
abstract-visual intellectual level. Factor 2 weakly negatively correlated with academic achievement in
the subject Corporate Economy. This means that students who were successful in developing lower-order
cognitive dimensions had a weak analytical orientation in the economic area, and vice versa. The results
brought by the research will help improve teaching of economic subjects across the two disciplines,
especially with regard to the innovation of learning and teaching strategies with a positive impact on the
desired cognitive development of students.
Keywords: cognitive dimensions, problem-based learning, logical reasoning, tertiary education.
Introduction
Economic education today faces a large number of challenges that are closely related
to finding suitable ways to develop desirable students competencies such as competence to
solve problems, work with information, analyze the problem, find solutions, have creative
thinking ability, etc. In an international context, education is focused on constructivist learning
environment (Banchi & Bell, 2008; Cetin-Dindar, 2012). This constructivist learning model
includes teaching methods with an emphasis on learning experience. Case studies, reearch and

Kateřina BERKOVÁ, Jana BORŮVKOVÁ, Lenka LÍZALOVÁ. Recognition of indicators for the development of the cognitive dimen-
sions in tertiary education
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the problem based learning are dominant in it. They are used to encourage thinking about 763
solutions of practical problems and to develop competencies mentioned above. Constructivist
learning environment is a good way not only to attract students’ interest in education in economic
subjects (Steelová, Meredith, Temple, & Walter, 1997), but also to develop the professional
profile of students (Siew & Chin, 2018; Škoda, Doulík, Bílek, & Šimonová, 2016). At the same
time constructivist learning environment suppports gaining of practical experience, develops
analytical skills, critical thinking, but also strengthens social competence, improves students’
learning strategies (Broks, 2016; Koenig, 2011). On the other hand, the focus of Czech education
is more shifted to lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives (Anderson &
Kratwohl, 2001; Bloom, 1956;), which means that the development of higher thinking processes
(mentioned above) in the Czech conditions is receding into the background (Barrett & Moore,
2012; Berková, Krejčová, Králová, Krpálek, Krpálková Krelová, & Kolářová, 2018).
In the international environment, the demands on economic education have been
increasing. At a lower age (15 years old) students should already have a certain level of
economic knowledge. In particular, they should be able to analyze and make decisions in every
day financial situations (OECD, 2014). According to the international comparison of financial
literacy of students at the age of 15 at the level of all the world’s continent (Programme for
International Student Assessment) it was found out that Czech students managed to analyze and
make decisions in every day financial situations, but they were not able to analyze complex, not
very clear financial products and financial situations lasting a long period of time (OECD, 2014).
Czech students ranked among students with above-average results (other successful states were
Shanghai, Belgium, Estonia, Australia, New Zealand). In 2017 the OECD published further
results of international comparison of students. Czech students achieved almost average OECD
performance, which was set at 500 points. The total number of students in the Czech Republic
was at 499 points (OECD, 2017). The performance of Czech students has been oscillating
around the OECD average.
In terms of secondary education, international research was carried out (Zoller, 2015),
based on the presumption that school assessment and, in particular, academic achievement of
students might not fully represent their real economic abilities, since at secondary schools all
cognitive levels under the Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) - an internationally recognized
framework for the assessment of cognitive abilities - were not included. Research done in the
international environment (Zoller, 2015) and the Czech environment (Berková & Krpálek,
2017; Berková, Krejčová, Králová, Krpálek, Krpálková, Králová, & Kolářová, 2018) proved
that there was a weak relation between academic achievement which usually reflected the lower-
order cognitive levels and the real cognitive abilities of students that might not correspond to
those needed at school. This relation between academic achievement and achievement under
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Goals was also demonstrated in the academic environment by
Kiliyanni and Sivaraman (2016) and further confirmed in the USA (Little, Miyashita, Karasawa,
Mashima, Oettingen, Azuma, & Baltes, 2003). It demonstrates that students with good study
results not only at secondary school but also in college may not have the required competencies
such as critical, creative, analytical thinking, problem solving ability to identify a problem, etc.,
and on the contrary students who have these desirable abilities may not have good study results.
Additionally, the development of cognitive levels may also be conditioned by a study field (Buli
& Yesuf, 2015). However, the question remains: What other factors influence the development
of cognitive dimensions according to an internationally recognized framework for assessment
of cognitive abilities - Bloom’s Taxonomy? (Bloom, 1956)
Aim of Research
The aim of this research was to look into factors relating to the development of cognitive
process dimensions according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) in students of practically

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764 oriented college in economic subjects. The development of cognitive levels was researched in
an interdisciplinary way, in the economic and technical fields as well as from the point of view
of the abstract visual intellectual level of students and the academic achievement in the subject
of Corporate Economy. The subject Corporate Economy was chosen because of two reasons:
it was a common subject for both study fields and that the research was primarily focused on
improving the quality of teaching economic subjects across the two fields. At the same time,
it was essential to find out differences in students’ logical thinking of both fields of study in
an economic subject. Because of the representation of cognitive dimensions of the lower and
higher order, it was desirable to focus on the problem solving process (mentioned eg by Broks,
2016; Dasgupta & David, 1994). The original Bloom’s Taxonomy was chosen in the light of the
following facts: (a) the difficulty of the subject Corporate Economy, which reflected only the
basic level of the subject matter in terms of educational content; (b) students from both study
fields who passed the subject had no economic entrance knowledge. Therefore, it was desirable
to choose a simpler - one-dimensional taxonomy of cognitive dimensions.
Research Hypotheses
Following research hypotheses were verified:

1. The field of study influences the development of cognitive dimensions according to
Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy.
2. Academic achievement in Corporate Economy correlates with students’ performance
in cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
3. Abstract-visual intelligence correlates with the performance of students in cognitive
dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy.
Theoretical Foundation
In the historical context, the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives is considered

to be an internationally recognized framework for evaluating the achievement of students
in education (Bloom, 1956). The taxonomy distinguishes six cognitive levels: Knowledge,
Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation without a reference to a knowledge
domain which is used by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) after the revision of the taxonomy. At
the same time, this taxonomy categorizes the cognitive dimensions into: (a) the Dimension of the
Lower Order (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application), and (b) the Higher Order Dimension
(Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation) (Crowe, Dirks, & Wenderoth, 2008; Salomon, 1996). The
original taxonomy has been revised to the current, recognized and used form (Anderson &
Krathwohl, 2001). The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy has proven to be a useful tool for deeper
exploration of the alignment of learning strategies (Crowe, Dirks & Wenderoth, 2008), learning
goals and assessment (Allen & Tanner, 2002), which support the interest of teachers to include
more complex cognitive tasks across all educational levels and disciplines. In this study, the
researchers deal with the original taxonomy (Bloom, 1956), since its arrangement of cognitive
dimensions more closely corresponds to the research goal.
Cognitive dimensions relate to the process of thinking that can be defined as: Learning
is any relatively permanent change in actual or potential behaviour of an individual that occurs
as a result of experience. Cognitive approaches to learning focus mainly on the changes in
thought that are part of learning (Sternberg & Williams, 2010). The thinking process also
includes problem solving which can be defined by Plamínek (2008) using this algorithm: (a)
defining the problem, (b) analyzing the problem = formulating hypotheses, (c) generating
possible solutions, (d) sorting possible solutions, (e) assessing solutions and heading to phase
(f) decision making and implementation. Critical thinking is important for problem solving
through economic educational content as it guarantees effective knowledge acquisition (Siew

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& Chin, 2018). Indonesian teacher Subroto (2015), who explored cognitive approaches to the 765
development of critical thinking in students of economic disciplines, confirmed in his research
that higher professional profiling of students could be obtained by developing of this type of
thinking. It has also been confirmed by the complex research (Zoller, 2015) that the revision
of educational content is a precondition for successful development of higher-order cognitive
dimensions.
In general, for developing thinking the economic theories are the main pillar in the system
of logical thinking. This can be demonstrated by the example of sociological sciences which
come out of analogies of economic sciences (Mäki, 1992). Similarly, teaching theory uses the
interpretation of methods of economic science. Economic sciences are the carriers of rational
behavior and thinking (Dasgupta & David, 1994). The core of the approach to economic science
was described by American pragmatic philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1967) in his Note
on the Theory of the Economy of Research. Peirce (1967) stated that economic science used
an analytical apparatus derived from economic theory. This apparatus then used methods of
economic science and was applicable to other disciplines (Loužek, 2016, p. 496).
Among methods that are based on Corporate Economy and are the core of the development
of thinking, Jureček (2003); Sternberg and Williams (2010) mention the following ones: (a)
abstraction that enables to distinguish between essential and non-essential and the subject of
research to make accessible to analysis; (b) analysis enabling the complex to be taken apart
into manageable parts; (c) synthesis putting together phenomena, processes from taken apart
parts into more integral unity; (d) inductive reasoning „is the process of drawing reasonable
general conclusions from specific facts or observations. In other words, it is a process going
from the specific to the general. In induction, it is not possible to have logical certainty. There
is always the chance that the next observation you make will disconfirm what all the previous
observations have confirmed“ (Sternberg & Williams, 2010, p. 317); (e) deductive reasoning
„is the process of drawing specific, logically valid conclusions from one or more general
premises. In other words, it is a process of going from the general to the specific. By its nature,
deductive reasoning leads to conclusions that are logically certain“ (Sternberg & Williams,
2010, p. 317).
It is common that academic achievement of students is often not viewed by using
internationally recognized assessment framework of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Student outcomes are
therefore not an appropriate tool for assessing cognitive abilities, as they do not provide correct
information value. The academic achievement says more about the student’s current readiness
in the given subject (Berková & Krpálek, 2017). This is also proven by international research
(Kiliyanni & Sivaraman, 2016; Little, Miyashita, Karasawa, Mashima, Oettingen, Azuma, &
Baltes, 2003) that has shown that students with higher academic achievement can not often
think deeper, search for relations, structure, and put it together as opposed to those students
whose academic achievement is weak. Thus, the correlation between cognitive dimensions of
lower and higher order is weak.
Acquirement of higher cognitive levels can be best demonstrated on the basis of problem-
based learning, tasks or practical activities. Zoller (2015) has developed a conceptual model of
Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS) for the development of creative thinking that reflects
higher order thinking operations. It uses several suitable indicators experimentally verified in
secondary and tertiary education: (a) problem solving; (b) the transfer of experience, beliefs of
students through learning experience; (c) problem-based questions; (d) decision-making tasks
with the support of assessment, moral and creative thinking. The HOCS model is applicable to
different levels of education.
Similar research (Freeman, Eddy, McDonough, Smith, Okoroafor, Jordt & Wenderoth,
2014) was carried out at a university within technical disciplines testing the differences between
students who solved tasks based on active information processing. The scores of students taught

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766 by using active learning were 1.5 times higher than those who were taught in a traditional way.
According to Buli and Yesuf (2015), the trend of supporting cognitive dimensions of higher
order not only in economic but also in technical education has been rising.
Methodology of Research
General Background
Research was empirical, quantitative. This means that the data obtained can be summed
up for the conditions under consideration. Research hypotheses are established for verification.
The research focuses on comparing the development of cognitive according to Bloom’s
Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) up to the level of Evaluation in the students of the economic and
technical study field of the college. The research was conducted in 2018 from February to May
at the College of Polytechnics Jihlava in the Czech Republic, in the conditions of a practically
oriented college, which offers students work experience during studies. Methodological
research is based on several international studies on the development of problem-solving
thinking (Lamb, Vallet, & Annetta, 2014; Siew & Chin, 2018). Siew & Chin (2018) discuss
models of learning and teaching with a different historical and material context that is focused
on the timeless Constructivist Learning Theory since 1952 (eg Piaget, 1952; Vygotsky, 1978).
These models are based on learning theory based on problem solving and creative thinking
development, and are relevant to this research.
The research was based on a test method that obtained data to determine the impact
of variables (field of study, academic achievement, abstract visual intellectual level) on the
development of the cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Sample
The sample was created by nonprobability sampling technique. The selection was
conditioned by the realization of education in conditions of a practically oriented polytechnic-
type of college in the Czech Republic. Thus, it was a selection of such a type of higher education
institution, which offers more different fields of study and which has common fundamental
economic subjects in the study programmes. In the Czech Republic there are only 2 schools of
a similar type - in the Vysočina Region and in the South Bohemian Region. For this research,
Vysočina Region was selected, given that the researchers knew very well the conditions of
education of the mentioned school - the College of Polytechnics in Jihlava, because they
have been working as educators there. At the international level, the education has been more
practically oriented for longer period of time; study programmes include trends from the
application sphere, which are reflected in direct teaching, as published in the study, for example,
on practical training on the principles of New Taylorism, Teacher Au (2011). This educational
platform is becoming very popular round the world and today it also penetrates into the Czech
Republic across various tertiary education study programmes. That is why researchers consider
the choice of the college to be relevant as it increases the credibility of the results of research,
which is placed in the wider context of practical education in the conditions of technical and
economic study fields.
The research, which took place in the academic year 2017/2018, involved students of
the economic field Finance and Management (N = 52) and students of the Applied Computer
Science (N = 30). They were students of the first year of studies who completed an economic
subject for the fist time. The sampling was intentional. Selected students were the ones without
prior study of economic subjects at secondary schools. The phenomenon, when students from
non-economic secondary schools are coming to the College of Polytechnics in Jihlava, is very

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common, and therefore this research could have been carried out. The research sample was a 767
total number of students who finished a non-economic secondary school and at the same time
completed the subject Corporate Economy in the academic year 2017/2018 under the terms of
the College of Polytechnics. Considering age, students were included in the range of 19 to 20
years old.The research sample was divided into two independent samples, to which statistical
methods for data analysis were adopted. Overall, the research sample were 82 respondents
(Table 1). The selection of these two fields of study was intentional as well in the view of
targeting the research. That is, to find differences or concordances in the development of
cognitive dimensions of students of the economic field of Finance and Management and the
technical field of Applied Informatics.
Table 1. Characteristics of respondents in relation to the field of study.
Gender Intelectual Level (absolute Acad.

Achiev. in
(absolute frequency) frequency) Achiev. in
Cognitive
Field of Study Corporate
Above- Dimensions
Average Economy
Man Woman average (%)
intelligent (%)
intelligent
Technical (Applied Com-
27 3 15 15 84.48 42.79
puter Science)
Ekonomic (Finance and
15 37 27 25 74.19 53.82
Management)
Total 42 40 42 40 x x
The overall structure of the sample on behalf of students according to intellectual level
and gender is almost even, which the researchers consider as representative features.
Intelligence is understood in this research in accordance with the cognitive-contextual
definition of Sternberg (2005) as “(1) the ability to achieve one’s goals in life, given one’s
sociocultural context; (2) by capitalizing on strengths and correcting or compensating for
weaknesses; (3) in order to adapt to, shape, and select environments; (4) through a combination
of analytical, creative, and practical abilities” (Sternberg 2005, p. 189). The IQ value was
determined according to standards in the attached tables in the handbook considering age (for
the purposes of this research the age was up to 20). In the research, the focus was on abstract
visual intelligence, which can be described in these zones, which represent proband standards
from the age of 17 up to about 40 (Forman, 2002):
– over 125 – highly above average,
– 110 – 125 – above average,
– 91 – 109 – average,
– 75 – 90 – below average,
– under 75 – highly below average.
For ethical considerations of the research, each respondent expressed his written consent
to the use of the acquired data.
Descriptive Research
This research was conducted in four phases.
Analysis of educational content of Corporate Economy and assessment of the subject

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768 The purpose of this phase was to analyze the educational content of the subject Corporate
Economy in both fields of study taking into account Bloom’s Taxonomy of cognitive domains
(Bloom, 1956). The subject Corporate Economy is studied in the Bachelor’s studies in both study
fields in the first term as well as it is focused on basic topics relating to the business administration
in both fields of study. Students’ achievement in the subject is derived from the complexity
of the topics that fill the educational content. The course is taught by traditional teaching
methods developing mainly cognitive levels of the lower order - Knowledge, Comprehension,
Application (Bloom, 1956). Final test was conducted in the Moodle environment and consisted
of two examples of (a) calculating depreciation, and (b) compiling the balance sheet, and
further (c) a series of closed test questions on the Legal Forms of Business Entity and Property
and Capital Development of Business Entity. Academic achievement in Corporate Economy
only showed whether students were able to pass the subject on the basis of content presented in
one term. It did not show complex economic skills of the students. The reason for the research
came out of this fact and that was to find out in which cognitive dimensions students were
successful in terms of evaluation using the Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). The research
tried to prove whether students could be successful in higher cognitive dimensions, provided
they were weaker in cognitive levels of the lower order and vice versa.
Design of learning objectives and model of the problem-based process
Two tests were used to verify hypotheses. The first, standardized Vienna Test System
(Forman 2002) found the abstract visual intelligence. The test was chosen in cooperation with
the specialized Tescentrum in the Czech Republic which received the research goal and intent.
The content validity and reliability of this test has been guaranteed by research conducted
since 1993 (Forman, 2002). The administration of the test and its evaluation was provided by
psychologists. The test allows to quantify the general level of intellectual power in the level of
thinking. The time limit for the test is a maximum of 25 minutes. “The test consists of 24 items,
which are arranged with increasing difficulty. Each task contains a 3 x 3 image matrix with the
missing picture in the third row. The task is to complement the matrix by selecting one of the
eight solutions offered. The core of the solution is to discover a rule that determines the relation
between the images in each row, respectively. columns. The test contains several types of rules
that need to be applied correctly. Creating a rule consists in revealing and understanding the
interrelations among the elements, finding and deriving the relevant solution. The overall
strategy uses perceptions, thinking, attention, and short-term memory” (Forman, 2002, p. 8).
The second, non-standardized expert test was designed to cover all six cognitive
dimensions of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). This test looked at students’ performance
in individual cognitive dimensions. Dimension Knowledge was represented by an assignment
and a question with an open answer to define a concept. Dimension Comprehension included an
assignment with a graphical representation of the Break Even Point, in which it was necessary
to read the required numbers, for example, what profit the firm would achieve at a certain
volume of production. In the Application dimension, having described situation of an entity in
the course of a business year and the data from its initial and final balance sheets, the assignment
was to find out how some balance sheet items changed. These three dimensions include lower
order thinking processes (Bloom, 1956; Salomon, 1996).
Dimension Analysis was designed to distinguish between activities that had an impact on
the net income and to be able to quantify individual items of Expenses, Revenue and Profit and
Loss. Dimension Synthesis consisted of assessing the values of the entity indicators presented
in the spider chart and their comparison with the industry average. The example on dimension
Evaluation showed whether students were able to recognize risks from the business balance
sheet and some additional information about the value of the company’s working capital, out

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of which they had to select relevant data, and to provide recommendations for dealing with the 769
imminent crisis situation. These dimensions include higher order thinking operations (Bloom,
1956; Salomon, 1996).
Tasks reflected the problem-solving process. In the proposed model (Table 2), the ability
to solve the problem is gradually being developed. The nature of the task enabled students to
define the problem - to clarify what they already knew about the problem, analyzing the problem
more deeply to find its core. They formulated the hypothesis - the goals and questions leading to
solving the problem, what they were going to do and what they had to find out. Subsequently,
they performed the analysis in the phase of generating and sorting possible solutions. Cognitive
level Evaluation is important for determining the risks and recommendations and other
necessary facts in relation to the problem being solved. It has the character of decision-making
and implementation in new or modified conditions.
Table 2. A Model of problem-based learning and cognitive dimension in the

Bloom’s taxonomy.
Cognitive dimension Contents of curriculum Logical reasoning
Property and Capital Development of Busi- definition of the problem;

Knowledge ness Entity – terms, definitions. generating possible solutions;
Business Entity Financing – principles. sorting possible solutions.
definition of the problem;
Comprehension Break Even Point and its interpretation.
problem analysis;
generating possible solutions;
sorting possible solutions.
Information functions of the balance sheet definition of the problem;

Application problem analysis = hypothesis formulation;
in specific business conditions.
Expenses, Revenues, Profit and Loss – definition of the problem;

Analysis problem analysis = hypothesis formulation;
their quantification in terms of production.

problem analysis = hypothesis formulation;
Business indicators and their comparison
Synthesis generating possible solutions;
with the industry average – spider chart.
sorting possible solutions;
evaluation of the best solution.

problem analysis = hypothesis formulation;
Economic situation of the company, risk
assessment and recommendations. Sub
Evaluation sorting possible solutions;
topics - Balance Sheet, value of working
evaluation of the best risk-based solution;
capital.
decision making under modified conditions
as recommended.
Source: Researchers’ modifications based on Anderson and Krathwohl (2001); Plamínek (2008); Škoda,
Doulík, Bílek and Šimonová (2016).

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770 Distribution of research tools for data collection
Between February and May 2018, data were collected through the distribution of research
tools among students. Both tests were identical for both study fields. The intellectual level test
was administered according to the instructions of the Testcenter (professional psychological
workplace in the Czech Republic) and the duration was 25 minutes. The administration of the
IQ test and its entire course was conducted by psychologists. Everything was done correctly
according to expert instructions. These experts were also examiners who evaluated the results
of the IQ test. The distribution of research tools was conducted in such a way as to prevent
leaking information among students. Similarly, the administration of both tests was conducted.
Evaluation
To maintain the correctness of the research, data were subsequently assigned to each
respondent. Thus, it was possible to analyze the influence of researched factors on the
development of cognitive dimensions in the fields but also within the field. Due to the larger
number of variables, data reduction was performed through exploration factor analysis,
specifically at six cognitive dimensions under Bloom’s Taxonomy. Generally speaking, factor
analysis from many variables can select those that are statistically related. In case of this research,
factor analysis was instrumental in associating cognitive dimensions into two factors. Using the
factor analysis it was possible to find out which cognitive dimensions were most related to each
other, i.e. whether students could be successful even in higher cognitive dimensions, provided
they were weaker in cognitive levels of lower order and vice versa (Kiliyanni & Sivaraman,
2016; Little, Miyashita, Karasawa, Mashima, Oettingen, Azuma, & Baltes, 2003; Marzano &
Kendall, 2007).
Data Analysis and Testing of Dependency
Categorical variables enter into the analyses: field of study and quantitative variables: (a)
abstract visual intellectual level (b) academic achievement in Corporate Economy, which was
consistent for both fields of study in terms of range and difficulty (c) performance at cognitive
dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
For numerical variables descriptive statistics was calculated using mean, median,
standard deviation, minimum, maximum and range, and the normality of these variables was
verified using the Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests.
Connection within the structure of cognitive dimensions of Bloom’s Taxonomy was
analyzed by using factor analysis. To determine the correlation between numerical variables,
the Spearman correlation coefficient and the Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated.
In all cases, the results of both correlation coefficients were similar. Null hypotheses were
formulated as follows:
• The field of study does not affect the development of cognitive dimensions
according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy.
• Performance in cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy does not
correlate with academic achievement in Corporate Economy.
• Abstract visual intellectual level of students does not correlate with the performance
in cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy.
Results of Research
The table below shows the measures of location (mean, median) and measures of
dispersion (standard deviations, range) for individual cognitive dimensions based on success
inthe test (Table 3).
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Table 3. Measures of location and measures of dispersion. 771
Cognitive dimension Mean Median Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum Range

Knowledge .73 .71 .14 .36 1.00 .64
Comprehension .63 .67 .23 .00 1.00 1.00
Application .53 .60 .31 .00 1.00 1.00
Analysis .60 .69 .22 .00 1.00 1.00
Synthesis .52 .38 .38 .00 1.00 1.00
Evaluation .20 .20 .14 .00 .60 .60
The original Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and

Evaluation variables did not have the same weight because the maximum draw points were
set for different variables differently. Therefore, the variables were standardized and factor
analysis was used for relative success (in per cent). Based on the results of the descriptive
statistics, the highest success rate in the cognitive dimension Knowledge was recorded, which
relatively reached the value of .73, the lowest success rate was detected for the Evaluation
dimension, namely .20. Success in cognitive dimensions, however, did not have a downward
trend, which might mean that individual cognitive levels were not mutually conditioned. Thus,
that success in higher cognitive levels (i.e. Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation) was conditioned by
success at lower cognitive levels (i.e. Knowledge, Comprehension, Application). The results of
descriptive statistics indicated this fact only, but of course they did not confirm it. Therefore, a
factor analysis was further selected for this research.
Exploratory Factor Analysis
The sample was first assessed for its suitability for factor analysis. Bartlett’s Test of
Sphericity was highly significant (p <.001) and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of
sampling adequacy value of .67 supported the factorability of the matrix. Principal Components
Analysis (PCA) revealed two eigenvalues exceeding 1, explaining 34.3% and 18.7% of the
variance respectively. Inspection of the screeplot also supported a two factor solution. Following
Varimax with Kaiser Normalization rotation the two factors showed not an intercorrelation (r
<.001). Inspection of the pattern matrix (Table 4) showed a relatively clear two-factor solution.
Using this analysis, cognitive dimensions were grouped into two independent factors (r
<.001).
Table 4. Pattern matrix for PCA using varimax with kaiser normalization rotation
of two factor solution.
Cognitive Factor
Dimension 1 – Application-Evaluation dimension 2 – Analytic dimension
Evaluation .747 -
Comprehesion .702 -
Application .659 -
Synthesis - .727
Analysis - .699
Knowledge - .653

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772 Each factor explains exactly the three cognitive dimensions that are conditioned (Table
4). The table shows the correlation between the factor and the relevant cognitive dimension.
The higher the correlation, the more this factor is saturated (the correlation must be higher than
.3, which is met). These factors, given the cognitive dimensions, can be named as follows:
Application-Evaluation Dimension (Factor 1) and Analytical Dimension (Factor 2). The first
factor is represented by the dimensions of Application, Comprehension, Evaluation. This means
that students cognitively oriented in this way will be able to solve tasks very well when using
comprehension, application and evaluation. The second factor is represented by the dimensions
of Knowledge, Analysis, Synthesis. Students with this cognitive orientation will be successful
in tasks using their knowledge, analysis and synthesis.
Bloom’s Taxonomy respects the logical hierarchy in the development of individual
cognitive dimensions (Bloom, 1956). It is necessary for students to develop a previous
cognitive dimension for the next cognitive shift. On the other hand, each individual is not
able to successfully complete the process of learning and problem solving across all cognitive
dimensions (Kiliyanni & Sivaraman, 2016). The results of the research showed that in each
factor there was a cognitive dimension of lower and higher order, which did not deny the
logic of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This research shows that the cognitive process in students can be
oriented in two directions: in the application-evaluation line or in the analytical line.
It was further analyzed which cognitive dimensions, or factor 1 or factor 2 were students
burdened by considering their field of study (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Factor analysis of respondents from the point of view of the field of
study.
Students of the economic study field Finance and Management (N = 52) are more
burdened with factor 2, that is they incline to analytical dimension, compared to students in
Applied Computer Science (N = 30). Technical students are more burdened with factor 1 – so
they incline to application-evaluation dimension.

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At the 5% level of significance, the researchers reject the null hypothesis: The field of 773
study does not affect the development of cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy
in Corporate Economy.
At the level of the research sample and in the conditions of a practically oriented
college, this means that the field of study affects the development of cognitive dimensions.
Students of the economic study field are oriented to the analytical line, which corresponds to
the profile and focus of the study field on finance and business management. Students in the
field of Applied Informatics are oriented to the application and evaluation line. Despite these
results, it is necessary to respect the logical hierarchy of Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom, 1956)
and to honor the development of lower cognitive dimensions and the development of higher
cognitive dimensions. The research results respect this principle, as each factor is explained by
the cognitive dimensions of the lower and higher order. However, the results indicate which
cognitive dimensions are dominant in each field of study and which dimensions which students
can be successful in.
Analysis of the Relation between Quantitative Variables
First data normality was tested. According to the S-W test, only the variable Academic
Achievement from Corporate Economy does not have a normal distribution (Table 5). Therefore,
a Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used for
all other variables. In most cases, both correlation coefficients are similar.
Table 5. Tests of normality.
Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk
Variables
Statistic df p Statistic df p
IQ value .111 70 .034 .971 70 .109

Achievement in Corporate
.107 70 .045 .943 70 .003
Economy
Factor 1 .084 70 .200* .988 70 .733
Factor 2 .089 70 .200* .976 70 .206

* This is a lower bound of the true significance.
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction
Furthermore, the correlation between quantitative variables was researched. These

were: (a) academic achievement in Corporate Economy, (b) abstract visual intellectual level,
(c) performance in cognitive dimensions in the structure of factor 1 Application-Evaluation
Dimension and factor 2 Analytical- Dimension
Table 6. Correlations - Spearman’s rho, correlation coefficient.
Achievement in
Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 IQ value
Corporate
Factor 1 1.000 -.030 .209 .208
Factor 2 -.030 1.000 .147 -.266*
IQ value .209 .147 1.000 .189
Achievement in Corporate Economy .208 -.266* .189 1.000
*. Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed).

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774 Table 7. Correlations – Pearson correlation.
Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 IQ value Achievement in Corporate

Factor 1 1.000 .000 .177 .164
Factor 2 .000 1.000 .161 -.301*
IQ value .177 .161 1.000 .127
Achievement in Corporate
.164 -.301* .127 1.000
Economy
*. Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed).
The analysis revealed that the variable academic achievement from the subject Corporate
Economy correlated weakly negatively (r = –.301) with factor 2, which was represented by the
following dimensions: Knowledge, Analysis, Synthesis. Those students who were successful in
the development of cognitive dimensions of lower order had a weak analytical orientation in
the economic area, while students whose performance in lower-order dimensions was weak had
stronger analytical capabilities. Correlation of performance in the test of the subject Corporate
Economy with factor 1 - Application-Evaluation Dimension was not proven (r = .164). Factor 1
was represented by the following dimensions: Comprehension, Application, Evaluation.
At the 5% level of significance, the researchers reject the null hypothesis: Performance
in cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy does not correlate with academic
achievement in the subject Corporate Economy for the following cognitive dimensions
Comprehension, Analysis, Synthesis. The proven correlation is negative, i.e. students with
low academic achievement at the level of lower cognitive dimensions have more developed
analytical skills, represented by the following partial dimensions: Comprehension, Analysis,
Synthesis. Students with higher academic achievements have less developed analytical skills.
The abstract visual intellectual level is not in correlation with any variable.
At the 5% level of significance, the researchers do not reject the null hypothesis:
The abstract visual intellectual level does not correlate with the performance in cognitive
dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy. That means that this type
of intelligence is not an important variable in the development of cognitive dimensions in the
given economic issues in both fields of study.
Discussion
The research of indicators of the development of cognitive dimensions in students of a practically

oriented college of economic and technical fields has revealed several important facts, which
need to be approached in a matter of fact and relations need to be explained with some caution
since the research was put into the conditions of a practically oriented college using a research
sample (N = 82). The following research hypotheses were tested:
• The field of study does not affect the development of cognitive dimensions
according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in the subject Corporate Economy. Accept. For
both fields of study, it was the same subject in terms of educational content, range
and difficulty. The students of both fields of study were equally aged between 19
and 20 and had not studied economically oriented secondary schools. Thus, their
initial knowledge from the point of view of economic issues was balanced.
• Academic achievement in Corporate Economy correlates with the performance of
students in cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Accept.
• Abstract visual intellectual level correlates with the performance of students in
cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy in Corporate Economy.

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Reject. This type of intellectual level is not related to the development of cognitive 775
dimensions according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy. Abstract thinking, working
memory, perception or visualization of students do not affect the development of
cognitive dimensions of lower and higher order.
It was found that the cognitive dimensions according to Bloom’s Taxonomy can be
grouped into two factors, each factor containing exactly three dimensions. This demonstrates
that degrees of cognitive processes are ranked with increasing complexity in Bloom’s Taxonomy
but are not cumulative (Bloom, 1956; Langer, 2016).
The first factor is represented by these cognitive dimensions: Application, Comprehension,
Evaluation. This means that students of this type of cognitive orientation will be able to solve
tasks very well in the situations where they use understanding, application and evaluation, but
they will not succeed in other cognitive dimensions. Students of the Applied Computer Science
field of study are burdened by factor 1 as well. The application-evaluation reasoning should
be mainly developed with these students. This is in line with the international research (Buli
& Yesuf, 2015). This can be achieved by an active way of learning, as confirmed by Freeman,
Eddy, McDonough, Smith, Okoroafor, Jordt and Wenderoth (2014).
The second factor is represented by the dimensions of Knowledge, Analysis, Synthesis.
The result can be interpreted as follows: Students with this type of cognitive orientation will
be successful in tasks where they will use knowledge, analysis and synthesis. Students of the
economic field Finance and Management are burdened by factor 2. In 2015, a similar perception
was found in the Indonesian college environment saying that students of economic fields could
develop cognitive levels of higher order with elements of critical thinking (Subroto, 2015).
However, this research does not question the logical Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956).
This is proven by the fact that in each factor there is a cognitive dimension of the lower and
higher order included. But, at the same time, every individual is not capable in the complexity of
Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is also confirmed by international research (Kiliyanni & Sivaraman,
2016, Little, Miyashita, Karasawa, Mashima, Oettingen, Azuma, & Baltes, 2003). This research
shows similar principles that the cognitive process can be oriented in two directions: on the
application-evaluation line or on the analytical line.
It was further confirmed that the development of the cognitive dimensions was influenced
by students’ study fields. Specific educational content on which the development of cognitive
levels was realized played an important role too. This was in line with the Zoller’s (2015)
research that explored cognitive levels in the context of reviewing educational content. The
subject Corporate Economy was used for the research and it was designed at a basic level but
it was as well suitable for solving problem-based tasks. For the learning process it means that
it is necessary to focus on ways of logical reasoning (Broks, 2016; Dasgupta & David, 1994).
Only factor 2 – Analytical Dimension, which is represented by the following cognitive
dimensions (Knowledge, Analysis, Synthesis), correlates with the achievement of students in
the subject Corporate Economy. Slightly negative correlation of variables means that students
with higher result in the school test in Corporate Economy, which was focused only on
the cognitive dimensions of the lower order, were less successful in tasks that reflected the
dimensions included in factor 2 and vice versa. This proves that academic achievement reflects
more the student’s current knowledge in the given subject (Berková & Krpálek, 2017). In other
words that students with higher academic achievement cannot often think more deeply, look
for relations, structures, and put them in one complex as opposed to those students whose
performance at school is weak (Little, Miyashita, Karasawa, Mashima, Oettingen, Azuma,
& Baltes, 2003; Kiliyanni & Sivaraman, 2016). The reason may be the predominant style of
learning that develops only the cognitive dimension of mechanical acquiring of information
and its reproduction (Taylor & Klein, 1998). This may mean that achievement in the subject
Corporate Economy is not given by the real abilities of students, but rather by their attitude to

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776 study and by motivation to graduate (Berková, Krejčová, Králová, Krpálek, Krpálková Krelová,
& Kolářová, 2018).
Factor 1 - The Application Evaluation Dimension which is represented by the dimensions
Application, Comprehension, Evaluation is not significantly correlated with the academic
achievement in the subject Corporate Economy. This may be related to the fact that students
in the technical field, who dominate in other cognitive dimensions, are burdened with factor 1.
The development of cognitive dimensions is not correlated with the abstract visual
intellectual level. On the other hand, there is research that proves the opposite. The higher-order
cognitive levels can be better developed at above average intelligent students who focus on
mastery goals (Sternberg & Williams, 2010). This group of students is able to penetrate deeper
into the information and to keep on the top of things over solving problems (Al-Baddareen,
Ghaith, & Akour, 2015). However, this finding has not been proven in this research since it has
been oriented on other intellectual level.
Conclusions
The research was focused on finding out about the connection of academic achievement,
study field and abstract visual intellectual level with the development of the cognitive
dimensions in Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). In education, it is necessary to solve the
problem of assessing students’ achievement. Not always the academic evaluation corresponds
to the real cognitive abilities of students. Therefore, this research problem has been dealt with
on an empirical basis.
This research was conducted in the context of economic and technical education.
Since students of practically oriented college have the subject Corporate Economy in the
study programme of technical field, as well as students of the economic field, this subject was
chosen in order to make a comparison. In subsequent period of time the research sample will
be extended and the research will be repeated because it was the initial research in a college
environment. However, there is still a problem of evaluating students’ academic achievement.
Students who were successful in the development of lower-order cognitive dimensions had
a weak analytical orientation in economic terms and vice versa. That is another research
issue that needs to be addressed to in the future. The results brought by the research will help
improve teaching of economic subjects across the two disciplines, especially with regard to the
innovation of learning and teaching strategies with a positive impact on the desired cognitive
development of students.

Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the College of Polytechnics, Jihlava, Czech under Grant
No. 1170/4/181 “Model of Permeability of Corporate Economy and Financial Accounting in
the Quality Improving System of the College of Polytechnics Jihlava”.
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778 Škoda, J., Doulík, P., Bílek, M., & Šimonová, I. (2016). Learning style as a factor influencing the
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Received: September 07, 2018 Accepted: November 22, 2018
Kateřina Berková Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Department of Economic Studies, College of Polytech-
nics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, Jihlava, 586 01, Czech Republic.
E-mail: katerina.berkova@vspj.cz
Jana Borůvková Ph.D., Vice-rector for Study, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, Jihlava, 586
01, Czech Republic.
E-mail: boruvkova@vspj.cz
Lenka Lízalová Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Department of Economic Studies, College of Polytech-
nics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, Jihlava, 586 01, Czech Republic.
E-mail: lizalova@vspj.cz

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BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS 779
USING SANDWICH MAKING COMPUTER

SIMULATION GAMES AS A SUPPORTING
TEACHING METHOD
Martin Bílek
Charles University, Czech Republic
E-mail: martin.bilek@pedf.cuni.cz
Małgorzata Nodzyńska
Pedagogical University, Poland
E-mail: malgorzata.nodzynska@gmail.com
Wioleta Kopek-Putała
University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
E-mail: wioleta.kopekputala@uhk.cz
Paulina Zimak-Piekarczyk
Polish Academy of Sciences, & State High School of Art, Poland
E-mail: p.zimak@ifr-pan.edu.pl
Abstract
Writing and balancing equations of chemical reactions is one of the \most difficult elements of chemistry
education for students, which is why it was decided to analyse part of the process which is the most
difficult. The process itself consists of multiple stages. it is important to highlight that the focus of research
was not only on balancing the chemical equations. This stage can be independent of chemical skills and
knowledge and is based on combinatorial and mathematical skills.
The aim of the research was to examine whether using computer simulations can help younger children
to balance chemical equations before they start to learn chemistry by using the psychological theory of
transfer. It was decided first to teach children how to “make sandwiches” using a computer simulation
game. When they have mastered in this activity, they can balance chemical equations. If the children
learned how many pieces of cheese, ham and bread would be necessary to “make sandwiches” they
began to learn how to balance chemical equations. The children were acquainted with the elements of
chemical knowledge necessary to understand the simulation, and then they worked independently with it.
Tests were carried out to check the acquired level of ability to balancing chemical equations.
The obtained results proved that the balancing of the simple equation of reaction was mastered by over
50% of the children tested.
It seems, therefore, a good solution that elements of reconciliation of chemical reaction equations should
be introduced at an earlier stage of education, for example during maths lessons.
Keywords: balancing chemical equations, computer simulation game, learning transfer, experimental
research design.

Martin BÍLEK, Małgorzata NODZYŃSKA, Wioleta KOPEK-PUTAŁA, Paulina ZIMAK-PIEKARCZYK. Balancing chemical equations using
sandwich making computer simulation games as a supporting teaching method
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780 Introduction
The experiences of teachers notice that majority of students have difficulty comprehending
chemistry. This dislike for chemistry may lead to a decision to pursue studies that do not
include chemistry (or chemistry related subjects) in their curriculum (Rius-Alonso & Gonzalez
Quesada, 2015). It seems that one of the most difficult elements in learning chemistry is writing
and balancing equations of chemical reactions. This is due to several reasons:
● The first of these is the number of subsequent elementary activities that the student
must perform to correctly write and balance on the chemical reaction equation.
As research conducted in our team shows, the number of elementary steps with
a typical double replacement reaction is over 40 (Cieśla & Paśko, 2006; Haduch
& Paśko, 1999; Nodzyńska & Paśko, 2008, 2010; Paśko & Jyż-Kuroś, 2008a;
2008b). It is too difficult for many students.
● The second factor hindering students from acquiring the ability to write and
balance equations of chemical reaction is the fact that students find it very
difficult to make connections between what they observe in the world around
them (macroscopic properties) and the sub-microscopic world of particles, atoms
and subatomic units. Yet in order to make sense of the macroscopic properties,
chemists switch to the sub-microscopic scale where they use explanatory models
to try and explain their observations. Balancing of chemical reaction requires
students to move freely on three levels:
• of the macro world - the world of observed chemical reactions;
• micro world - the world of chemical individuals and their transformations,
which allows us to explain the processes taking place;
• the world of symbolism (and mathematics) allowing to write equations of
chemical reactions.
Research (Schurmeier, Shepler, Lautenschlager, & Atwood, 2011) also explains why the
ability to write and balance chemical reactions is so difficult for many students. During 10 years
of research, these scholars identified 8 issues that cause students learning problems. Among
them are 3 topics, knowledge of which is necessary for students in the process of writing and
balancing equations of chemical reactions. These are:
● particulate nature of matter,
● molecular image problems,
● the mole concept.
Therefore, it can be added that the main problem with writing and balancing equations of
chemical reactions is the complexity and multistage character of this process.
Problem of Research
The process of writing and balancing equations of chemical reaction is considered

difficult and it consists of more than 40 steps, which is why it was decided to ‘disassemble’
this process into smaller parts and to examine whether it is possible to teach its individual
elements separately. The purpose of this action was to check which activities in this process
are the most difficult. As the first element, it was decided to examine the process of balancing
the already written reaction equations. This process is independent of the students’ chemical
knowledge and is based on the skills of logical thinking, the foundations of mathematics and
combinatorics. In order to ensure that previously acquired knowledge in the field of chemistry
had no influence on research (to avoid the negative transfer effect, stimulus generalization and
proactive and retroactive inhibition) primary school students were selected for the research,
i.e. students who had not yet studied chemistry. Due to the young age of students (9-12 years)

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to learn how to balance the equations of chemical reactions, it was decided to use computer 781
simulations based on the principles of gaming.
The process of balancing equations of chemical reactions should not be difficult for
students from the point of view of mathematics and logic (apart from the complexed equations
of oxidation and reduction reactions). For example, in maths classes children can be taught to
reconcile equations of chemical reactions before they start to learn chemistry. It was decided
to examine whether positive educational transfer can be used to teach balancing equations of
chemical reaction. So it was decided to check: would the teaching of students “how to make
sandwiches” help them how to balance equations of chemical reaction.
Research Focus
The justification for why the ability to write and balance equations of chemical reactions
is so important can be found in the 2015 edition of the Chemistry Education: Best Practices,
Opportunities and Trends handbook (Garcia-Martinez, Serrano-Torregrosa, & Atkins, 2015).
The basic of teaching of chemistry in higher and highest level is balancing on chemical
reaction. Chemical equations of chemical mass balances are one of the most important issues.
Chemical reaction is the process that one of more substances is converting into a new group of
compounds. Equalization is required to react, because in chemical reaction atoms are neither
re-created what nor destroyed. Similarly Bergquist and Heikkinen (1990, p. 1000) wrote: “Yet
equilibrium is fundamental to student understanding of other chemical topic such as acid and
base behaviour, oxidation - reduction reactions, solubility. Master of equilibrium facilitates the
mastery of these other chemical concepts.”
Agarwal (2004) draws attention to the importance of the ability to write and balance
equations of chemical reactions in the process of learning chemistry but also writes about the
difficulties students experience when writing and balancing equations of chemical reactions.
Particular attention is paid to the “mathematical” cause of these difficulties: The teacher
probably finds that some learners are almost incapable of writing correct equations. Increasing
familiarity with symbols, formulas and equations makes it necessary to warn pupils that merely
to be able to balance equations correctly is not learning Chemistry. Equations must be used as
tools, and it must be understood that each symbol represents a definite weight of an element,
and that the volumes of gases reacting and produced in an equation are clearly conveyed by
their coefficients. It is advisable for the learner to work out a number of suitable arithmetical
problems. At first the arithmetical operations involved should be as simple as possible. At every
stage the problems should be connected with the pupil’s own work and whenever possible with
everyday problems. Indeed the solution of suitable problems increases the pupil’s knowledge of
Chemistry, and makes him realize the advantages of teaming the use of equations.
Although, as shown above, the ability to write and balance equations of chemical
reactions is necessary in the process of learning chemistry, many students have problems with
this issue, as shown by numerous publications on the subject. E.g. Chandrasegaran, Treagust,
Waldrip, and Chandrasegaran (2009) described the research - to investigate the understanding
of the limiting reagent concept and the strategies used by students when solving four reaction
stoichiometry problems. Students’ written problem-solving strategies were studied using
the think-aloud protocol during problem-solving, and retrospective verbalisations after each
activity. Kern, Wood, Roehrig, and Nyachwaya (2010) made descriptive analysis of U.S. high
schools students’ particulate representations of a chemical reaction, specifically, the combustion
of methane. Naah and Sanger (2012) identify student misconceptions and difficulties in writing
symbolic-level balanced equations for dissolving ionic compounds in water. Cokadar and Hulusi
(2013) described the difficulties of Turkish students writing chemical formulas of reaction
products and also Marias (2014) described the difficulties of students from South Africa with an

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782 understanding of the molecular level of chemical equations. The amount and popularity of
video tutorials showing students how to write and balance equations of chemical reactions
contained, for example in Khan Academy, or on the YouTube channel (see Table 1) shows the
importance of this problem, too.
Table 1. Numbers and popularity of video tutorials showing students how to

write and balance of chemical reactions.
Creation Number of
The title of the video tutorial Author Website address
date views
7 years https://www.youtube.com/
Balancing Chemical Equations Khan Academy 2 070 313
ago watch?v=RnGu3xO2h74
4 years 1 165 741 https://www.youtube.com/

Writing Ionic Formulas: Introduction Tyler DeWitt
ago watch?v=URc75hoKGLY
Balancing Chemical Equations - The Chemistry 6 years 1 033 721 https://www.youtube.com/

Chemistry Tutorial Solution ago watch?v=UGf60kq_ZDI
Balancing chemical equations - 2 years

986 758 https://www.youtube.com/
Chemical reactions and stoichiom- Khan Academy ago
watch?v=TUuABq95BBM
etry - Chemistry
Equilibrium: Crash Course Chem- 3 years 874 442 https://www.youtube.com/

Crash Course
istry #28 ago watch?v=g5wNg_dKsYY
Note: (The first 5 video tutorials in terms of number of views - for a total of 72,300 for the query “Balancing
chemical equations” - access date 03/08/2017).
In many publications, as a remedy for the above-described difficulties of students, it

can be suggested using, for example visualization of chemical processes at the micro world
level (Belford & Moore, 2016; Ben-Zvi, Eylon, & Silberstein, 1987; Bilek, Cieśla, Nodzyńska,
Paśko, & Paśko, 2006b; Chang, Quintana, & Krajcik, 2010; Garnett, Hackling, & Oliver,
1996; Hsin-Yi Chang & Shi-Fang Tzeng, 2017; Hsin-Yi Chang, Zhihui H. Zhang, & Shu-
Yuan Chang, 2014; Jones & Kelly, 2015; Moore, 2016; Rosenthal & Sanger, 2012; 2013) or
virtual laboratories (Ramirez & Macias, 2013). Numerous articles also confirmed the impact
of computer simulations (Lamanauskas, 2011) on understanding the process of writing and
balancing chemical equations (Sarabando, Cravino, & Soares, 2016), many of which relate
to the PhET simulation (Carpenter, Moore, & Perkins, 2016a; 2016b; Clark & Chamberlain,
2014; Ganasen & Shamuganathan, 2017; Lancaster, Moore, Parson, & Perkins, 2013; Moore,
Chamberlain, Parson, & Perkins, 2014; Padilla et al., 2016).
However, other researchers propose the use of mathematical algorithms to balance
chemical reaction equations (Ceyhun & Karagolge, 2009; Nyachwaya, Warfa, Roehrig, &
Schneider, 2014).
It is widely believed that chemistry as an object requiring abstract thinking, can be
taught only at later stages of education (ISCED-2), but research shows that the process of
teaching chemistry at earlier stages is possible. For example, in studies conducted by our team in
Poland and the Czech Republic (Bilek, Cieśla, Nodzyńska, Paśko, & Paśko, 2006a) it has been
proved that it is possible to teach children from elementary school to build ionic structures of
inorganic compounds and in next research (Bilek, Cieśla, Nodzyńska, Paśko, & Paśko, 2006b)
it has been proved that it is possible to teach children from elementary school the understanding
of the natural phenomena in the micro-world level using appropriate visualization techniques
(ISCED-1). The possibility of teaching children’s chemistry at ISCED-0/1 level was also
examined (Moskal & Nodzyńska, 2014).

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Studies conducted by Rius-Alonso and Gonzalez Quezada (2015) also describe the 783
teaching of chemistry through simple chemical experiments of up to 2-3 year-old children
(ISCED-0). They teach children chemistry by present in everyday events of life as: the change
of colour with a natural colorant; changing the pH, from lemon, to water, to detergent; how to
produce large bubbles; why an egg when is dropped in a glass of water sinks but when salt is
added it floats.
It can therefore be assumed that the age of children aged 9-12 is a suitable age for
carrying out the planned research. In these studies, the following research question was posed:
whether the skill of “making sandwiches” will positively affect the ability to balance chemical
reactions.
The purpose of this empirical research was to check whether it is possible to introduce
the teaching of balancing of chemical reaction equations as a single element in maths lessons in
the 3rd – 5th grades of primary school.
In the research, it was decided to use a psychological theory of transfer in learning (Healy &
Wohldmann, 2012; Salaken, Khosravi, Nguyen, & Nahavandi, 2019). This idea was introduced
by Thorndike and Woodworth (1901). They explored, among others, how “improvement in
one mental function” could influence at another (similar) mental function. As a result, it was
decided to use the PhET simulation “Reactants, Products and Leftovers”. In this simulation
pupils first, learn a simple activity, known to them from everyday life - they learn to “make
sandwiches”. And then, after mastering this activity by the children, the transfer of learning was
used to teach children to balancing chemical equations. Using the Schunk taxonomy (2004), it
can be stated that the studies were based on the following types of transfer:
● far (little overlap between situations, original and transfer settings are dissimilar),
● positive (what is learned in one context enhances learning in a different setting),
● horizontal (knowledge of a previous topic is not essential but helpful to learn a
new topic),
● figural (use some aspect of general knowledge to think or learn about a problem).
Research Question
Main research question was formulated: Can the use of computer simulation game help
younger children to balance chemical equations before they start to learn chemistry?
General Background
The process of learning to balancing chemical equations was supported by the use of
visual models in form of computer simulation game. The use of this simulation allowed the
student to start from the activities known to the student from everyday life in a macro world
(making sandwiches), then go through the world of models (molecules of chemical compounds)
to the world of chemical symbolism (mathematical record of the reaction equation).
Experimental design was used for the research. The research tool was a question sheet
and children’s questioning lasted 45 minutes for each of the groups surveyed.
In the research, a computer simulation was designed and implemented in classes with
children of the “University of Children and Parents UP Krakow” and the “Children’s University
in Wadowice”. Mathematical ability to balance equations of reactions was evaluated using pre-
test and post-tests.
The research was conducted in the academic year 2016/2017 and covered children from
8 to 12 years of age. The children did not learn chemistry yet.

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784 Sample Selection
There are many educational activities for children at the Pedagogical University of
Krakow. Two groups of children were selected for the research, who attended the so-called
Children’s universities. These children have similar interests and are of comparable age.
Children from 8 to 12 years of age from two children’s universities took part in the research.
Krakow and Wadowice were selected for the research due to the decidedly different character
of both cities. Krakow is the second city in Poland with proximately one million inhabitants
(Agaciak, 2010; Główny Urząd Statystyczny, 2014) and Wadowice is a small city with 18,516
inhabitants (Urząd Miejski w Wadowicach, n.d.). Group of 91 children from two children’s
universities participated in the research: 38 children of the “University of Children and Parents
of the Pedagogical University of Krakow” and 53 children of the “Children’s University in
Wadowice”. Children from the University of Children and Parents from Krakow were children
of the academic staff of the Pedagogical University, while the children from the Wadowice
University of Children were children of small entrepreneurs and farmers. Researchers informed
participants of the research about the purpose of research in a simple and non-technical
language, they informed about potential benefits or risks. The children’s parents agreed to carry
out research (World Health Organization, 2011).
Experimental Treatment
The simulation “Reactants, Products and Leftovers” from https://phet.colorado.edu/ was

chosen as a tool. A PhET Interactive simulation is a project at the University of Colorado
Boulder. It is an open educational resource.
Using the simulation, children were able to create their own sandwiches (consisting
of bread, cheese and ham), they can check how many ingredients are needed to create
different number of sandwiches, how many sandwiches will be made with the given amount
of ingredients. Then they can compare the process of creating sandwiches to the process of
balancing of chemical reaction equations. Work cards and instructions that were given to the
children were placed in the appendix.
Instrument and Procedures
According to the research design (see Figure 1), children participating in the research took
a pre-test in order to characterize their knowledge regarding balancing of chemical reaction.
Pre-test Independent student work based Post-test

5 minutes on 30 minutes coaching session 15 minutes
Figure 1. Sequence of activities during classes.
The research was carried out in the building of the Pedagogical University in Krakow.
The activities of children were conducted by the same person. The main hypothesis of the
conducted research was:
H1 - The use of computer simulation, which is based on educational transfer, allows
children aged 8-12 to understand the ideas of balancing chemical equations.

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Research hypotheses: 785

Ha - The results of children from different social and educational backgrounds are
different.
Hb - The results achieved by children affect interest in the subject.
Hc - Due to the identical logical and mathematical actions needed to “make sandwiches”
as well as balancing equations of chemical reactions, there are no statistically significant
differences in children’ performance regarding both activities.
Pre-test and Post-test
The pre-test and post-test contained identical tasks. The test to check the ability to
“make sandwiches” using a computer game and to balance the equations of chemical reactions
contained four open questions. Two of them concerned the skills of making sandwiches and two
of them balancing the equations of reaction. The task of the children was to enter numbers in
the empty space in the text.
I. If you use 8 slices of bread, 5 pieces of cheese, how many sandwiches [...] will you make? How many and
what ‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? bread [...], cheese [...].
II. Make 2 such sandwiches:
III.
how many pieces of bread [...], how many hams [...] and how many pieces of cheese [...] would you need to make
them?
IV. Build 4 water molecules (H2O). How many hydrogen molecules (H2) [...] and oxygen molecules (O2) [...] do
you need to complete this task?
If you use 3 molecules of hydrogen (H2) and 2 molecules of oxygen (O2) - how many molecules of water (H2O) will be
formed [...]? How many and what ‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? water [...], hydrogen [...], oxygen [...].
Figure 2. Task used in pre-test and post-test.
None of the tested children attempted to solve these tasks in the pre-test. Children
found that they never encountered such problems and did not know how to solve them. Even
encouragement from the teachers conducting these activities did not help. Therefore, it can be
assumed that none of the children has ever encountered this problem - therefore, we assume
the children’ initial knowledge at zero level. This situation did not happen again with the post
test. All the respondents decided to solve it. Further data analysis concerns only the increase of
knowledge - post-test.
After the post-test, children evaluated the simulation used in the classroom (see Figure 3).

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786 EVALUATION
1. Mark how much you liked today’s classes:
2. Select which part of the class was the more interesting: ,
3. Select which part of the classes was less interesting: ,
Figure 3. Simple evaluation form of classes for participating children.
Data Analysis
Each answer was evaluated in the following categories: correct - 1 point, incorrect - 0
points. In total, the student could get 12 points:
- six points for two questions about making sandwiches (three points for the first question
and three points for the second question),
- six points for two questions regarding the balance of chemical reaction equations (two
points for the third question and four points for the fourth question).
The results obtained from the post-test were subjected to statistical analysis. Student’s
t-test and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied. In the analysis of qualitative
variables, the χ2 test was used. Null hypotheses were rejected at the level of significance p ≤ .05.
All calculations were performed using Sigma Plot 11.0.
Results of Research

The first detailed hypothesis was Ha - the results of children from different social and
educational backgrounds are different, but conducted statistical analysis using the ANOVA
test did not show differences between the tested samples (i.e. children of the “University of
Children and Parents from Krakow” and children of the “Children’s University in Wadowice”)
due to the type of simulation used for sandwiches (p = .685) and for molecules (p = .941).
We can therefore state that this hypothesis has been rejected. And that in this test, children’
achievements are independent of their place of origin.
Therefore, the results from both trials for individual simulations were combined for
further analysis (n = 91).
Confirmation or falsification of the next hypothesis (Hc - due to the identical logical
and mathematical actions needed to “make sandwiches” as well as balancing equations of
chemical reactions there will be no major differences in children’ performance regarding
both activities) requires a comparison of the correctness of the answers to questions about the
‘making sandwiches’ and ‘balancing of chemical reaction equations’. Statistical analysis of
children’ responses to individual questions (Q1 - Q6 in Figure 4 in Appendix) showed that the
percentage of correct answers to questions about ‘making sandwiches’ was stable regardless
of the question and remained within 64.1% - 74.4%, while the percentage of correct answers
regarding ‘balancing of chemical reaction equations’ depended on the type of question (Q7-
Q12 in Figure 2 in Appendix). Percentage of correct answers to questions Q7-Q8 and Q9 was
stable and remained at a similar level (64.8% - 71.4%) analogically to the questions of making
sandwiches. On the other hand, the percentage of correct answers to the next three questions
regarding the balance of chemical equations is definitely lower (Q10 - Q12).

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Legend:
I. If you use 8 slices of bread, 5 pieces of cheese, how many sandwiches [.Q1.] will you make? How many and what
‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? bread [.Q2.], cheese [.Q3.].
II. Make 2 such sandwiches:
how many pieces of bread [.Q4.], how many hams [.Q5.] and how many pieces of cheese [.Q6.] would you need to
make them?
III. Build 4 water molecules (H2O). How many hydrogen molecules (H2) [.Q7.] and oxygen molecules (O2) [.Q8.] do you
need to complete this task?
IV. If you use 3 molecules of hydrogen (H2) and 2 molecules of oxygen (O2) - how many molecules of water (H2O) will
be formed [.Q9.]? How many and what ‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? water [.Q10.], hydrogen [.Q11.], oxygen [.Q12.].
Figure 4. Percentage of correct answers to questions in the test.
Summing up this part of the results analysis it can be stated that questions Q1-Q6 regarding
‘making sandwiches’ and questions Q7-Q9 regarding ‘balancing of chemical reactions’ have
a similar level of correct answers (between 64.1% - 74.4%). Questions Q11 and Q12 on
“balancing of chemical reactions” were more difficult - the level of correct answers is between
54.9% - 57.1%. The most difficult question for children (only 26.4% correct answers) turned
out to be question Q10. It concerned the ‘Leftovers’ water in the reaction of water synthesis.
Taking into account the number of tasks and their scores, the respondents could receive
from 0 to 6 points in each part of the post-test. The analysis showed that the maximum results
from a given part of the test (6 points - all correct answers) were obtained by 44% of children
working on simulation making sandwiches. An analogous result for the balancing of chemical
reaction equations was received only by 17% of the children tested. This is due to the difficulty
of question 10 in the section on balancing of chemical reaction equations.
Analysis using the Student’s t-test showed statistically significant differences between
the simulations used (t = -2.836, df = 180, p = .005). The average point score in the post-test for
children working on the “sandwich” simulation was 4.3 points (71%), for particles 3.4 points
(57%) (Figure 5).

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Figure 5. Results obtained by the respondents in particular point ranges after

the use of “making sandwich” and “balancing of chemical reaction
equations” simulation.
Note: Comparison of effects in the post-test after the simulation of “sandwich” and “molecule”. Data represent
the mean ± SE (n = 91). Asterisks were statistically significant differences according to Student’s t test (*) p
< .05. “Sandwiches” means “making sandwich” and “molecules” means “balancing equations of chemical
reactions”.
The results showed that the Hc hypothesis is not true, despite the need to perform
identical logical and mathematical activities, however, “making sandwiches” was more difficult
for children than agreeing on the amount of cheese, bread and ham in “making sandwiches”.
In this situation, it is example of the use transfer of education - High Road / Forward Reaching
(which means abstracting situations from a learning context to a potential transfer context).
The third hypothesis concerned the satisfaction on the level of learning new content (Hb
- on the results of children, the interest in the subject). This was examined by comparing the
evaluation of classes by children (after the post-test, children were asked questions about the
evaluation of both types of simulations and of the general evaluation of the classes) with their
results.
A total of 73 respondents rated classes using simulations as interesting, 6 children
remained neutral, 1 child did not like the course and 11 children did not answer this question
(Table 2). The level of satisfaction with the simulation was compared with the number of points
obtained from the test. After analysis using the χ2 test, it was found that the general assessment
of the course did not affect the obtained test result (χ2 = 3.310, df = 2, p = .191).

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Table 2. The results of the class evaluation by the children. 789
The number of children and the score from the post-test
Class evaluation by the children Low Medium High

(0-4 points) (5-8 points) (9-12) points
12 22 39
Class evaluation
6 6 6
no answer
A total of 26 children determined that they liked the simulation of ‘making sandwiches’
more, and 18 children indicated that they preferred simulation for ‘balancing chemical
equations’. Many children did not answer this question (19) or provided the answer that both
simulations are equally interesting (28) (see Table 3).
Table 3. The results of the class evaluation by the children.
The number of children and the score from the post-test

Class evaluation by the children
Low Medium High
(0-4 points) (5-8 points) (9-12) points
7 7 12
Choosing a better
simulation
4 4 10
The level of satisfaction with the simulation was compared with the number of points
obtained from the test. The χ2 test showed that the simulation assessment did not affect the result
obtained in the whole test (χ2=0.376, df = 2, p = .829).
Discussion
The lack of statistically significant differences in the post-test results of children of

the “University of Children and Parents run by the Pedagogical University” in Krakow and
children of the “Children’s University run by the House of Culture in Wadowice” shows that
the use of proposed simulations for children aged 8-12 is possible regardless of the cultural
environment, from which children come from. Therefore, these simulations can be used in any
primary school.
The results obtained by participated children (see Figures 4 and 5) showed a relatively
high level of correct answers - the average score in the post-test for the children working on the
‘sandwich simulation’ was 71%, for the ‘balancing of the reaction’ to 57%. Considering that it
was a completely new subject for children with whom they had never met before (answers from

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790 a pre-test) and a very short time of classes (30 minutes), it seems that the obtained results are
satisfactory. Therefore, it can be stated that the children understood what is involved in the
reconciliation of the number of elements on the left and right sides. That is why the proposed
activities can be carried out on a typical lesson at school (45 minutes) even by a teacher who
does not know chemistry, e.g. maths teacher (during the experiment, the children worked
individually with the work cards).
It also seems that a much lower percentage of correct answers was to the last 3 questions
regarding ‘balancing chemical equations’:
● How many and what ‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? water [...],
● hydrogen [...],
● oxygen [...].
It results from the much greater difficulty of this question compared to the other questions.
All questions about sandwiches and the first two questions about chemical reaction equations
only concerned the amount of ‘Reagents’ and ‘Products’ (the number of ‘Leftovers’ was equal
to 0). In question 4 it was different. Detailed analysis showed that children, who did not answer
this question correctly, left this field blank. This is probably due to their confusion. In this
reaction equation water is a ‘Product’ and not a ‘Leftover’. Without knowing what to write -
they left the answer to this question empty. This interpretation seems to be correct, because in
answering the question 3 also regarding the number of water molecules in this equation - only
formulated differently (If you use 3 molecules of hydrogen (H2) and 2 molecules of oxygen
(O2) - how many molecules of water (H2O) will be formed [...]?) in most cases they answered
correctly (69.2%). It can therefore be considered that this type of question is too difficult for
children of this age.
Figure 6. Simulation screen showing problems related to question IV.

(If you use 3 molecules of hydrogen (H2) and 2 molecules of oxygen (O2) - how many molecules of water (H2O)
will be formed [...]? How many and what ‘Leftovers’ will be left to you? water [...], hydrogen [...], oxygen [...].)
In the analysis of results - answers 4-6 correspond to him.

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From the above considerations, it appears that at the level of primary school, the tasks in 791
which ‘Leftovers’ remain. You also can not ask questions that confuse children.
Considering the better results for ‘making sandwiches’ (Figure 4 in Appendix), it is
recommended to translate children’ balancing of chemical reactions started from their closer
everyday phenomenon (making sandwiches) to go to a more abstract one (matching the number
of molecules in the reaction equations).
Because the research showed that the obtained results are not affected by the student’s
preference for simulation or the assessment of classes by the respondents - it seems that
regardless of the children’ interests, this simulation can be used and bring positive results.
The obtained results showed a positive example of using the PhET simulation in a similar
way as in the previously quoted studies (Carpenter, Moore, & Perkins, 2016a; 2016b; Clark &
Chamberlain, 2014; Ganasen & Shamuganathan, 2017; Lancaster, Moore, Parson, & Perkins,
2013; Moore, Chamberlain, Parson, & Perkins, 2014; Padilla, Lynch, Diallo, Gore, Barraco,
Kavak, & Jenkins, 2016).
Conclusions
The conducted research confirmed the main hypothesis and showed that the use of
computer simulation allowed children aged 8-12 to understand the ideas of balancing chemical
equations. Therefore, the process of teaching writing and balancing equations of chemical
reactions can be divided into several stages. In the first stage children were familiarized only
with the mathematical and combinational side of this process (using simulations that further
visualize this process). This stage can take place in math or nature lessons, children do not have
to be familiar with chemistry. The next step is to familiarize children with chemical formulas
and principles regarding chemical changes (formation of new substances). Only at the end,
children combined these skills - by writing and balancing equations of chemical reactions.
The spread of learning ‘writing and balancing chemical equations of reactions’ for a few
years allowed children to better assimilate this activity. In chemistry classes, children writing
equations of chemical reactions don’t think about the mathematical side of the process, they
only focus on chemical knowledge (transformation of one substance into another).
Because the studies have shown the effectiveness of the use of this simulation regardless
of the social and educational environment of children and regardless of their interest in the
subject - this simulation can be used in any primary school.
Research has shown that for children it is easier to “make sandwiches” than “balancing
chemical reactions”, so when working with this simulation, it is better to start with the activity
known to children in everyday life “making sandwiches”. Obtained results have shown that
it is possible to teach children how to balance equations of chemical reactions (without a
chemical context). This allows the introduction of balancing chemical reactions at lower levels
of education (e.g. on math lessons). In further chemical education, these children will have
fewer problems with balancing chemical reactions. Further research should concern subsequent
stages balancing chemical reactions.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by program PROGRES Q17, part 5 “Teachers Education
and Teacher’s Profession in Science and Research Context” at Faculty of Education Charles
University (Czech Republic) and research project No. BS-463/G/2018 at Pedagogical University
in Cracow (Poland) and specific research project No. 2108/2018 at Faculty of Science University
of Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic).

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Appendix
Instruction
The students worked independently, each on their own computer, according to instructions
provided to them. The teacher was helpful when the students needed help.

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The manual contained 3 parts: 795

1. introduction to the subject,
2. learning to “make sandwiches”,
3. learning to balance the equations of chemical reactions on the models.
Part 1 - introduction to the subject
The students did not know the term “chemical reaction” before. This concept was
explained by referring to the already known reactions from everyday life (see Figure 1 in
Appendix).
There are various chemical reactions around us. You know them from everyday life, such as
burning gas in the oven, pickling cucumbers, baking a cake. In order for these reactions to
take place correctly, so that the dinner will be cooked and the pot will not be sooty, pickled
cucumbers were tasty and the dough did not have a sad cake. The proportions (quantities) in
which we add the individual ingredients are important.
To learn how to chemically save these proportions, we will first learn to “make sandwiches”.
Figure 1. The beginning of instructions for students - the introduction of the

term “chemical reaction”.
Part 2 - learning to “make sandwiches”
The second part of the manual referred to the students’ daily skills of making sandwiches
and, step by step, described how to make different sandwiches with given parameters using the
simulation (Figure 2 in Appendix). Three such activities are described (Figure 3 in Appendix).

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Part 2
Let’s make a sandwich with only 2 pieces of bread and 1 slice of cheese:
If in the field “Reagents” we choose 2 pieces of bread and 1 slice of cheese we will get 1
sandwich:
However, if we take, for example, 3 pieces of bread and 2 pieces of cheese, then we will
still have only one sandwich, but we will have “Remnants” - an extra 1 slice of bread and an
additional 1 slice of cheese.
If we add 1 slice of bread, we will get 2 sandwiches:
Figure 2. The instructions for students - part 2 - learning to “make sandwiches”.

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1.
2.
3. Any sandwich - designed by the student.
Figure 3. The instructions for students - part 2 - three tasks for students.
Part 3 - learning to balance the equations of chemical reactions on the models
Part 3 of the instructions described, in an analogous manner, three chemical reactions:

● synthesis of the water molecule,
● synthesis of the ammonia molecule,
● and burning methane.
In the case of each of these chemical reactions, the students were tasked with performing 3
simulations according to a detailed instruction (compare Figure 4 in Appendix).

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Part 3
First, let’s build a water molecule:
The model of the water molecule looks as follows:

The red circle is oxygen and white hydrogen
- this means that 1 molecule of water consists of 1 oxygen atom and 2 hydrogen atoms, just
like our first sandwich (2 pieces of bread and 1 piece of cheese):
However, oxygen and hydrogen do not exist as single atoms (free ball) - they can only be
observed when they are combined into molecules of 2 atoms:
1 hydrogen molecule is composed of 2 hydrogen atoms; 1 the oxygen molecule is composed

of 2 oxygen atoms
At the top of the screen we have a “recipe” to receive a water molecule,
at the bottom is explained using models (balls) how to understand this record: from 2
molecules of hydrogen (2H2) and one molecule of oxygen (1O2), 2 molecules of water
(2H2O) are formed::
Figure 4. The instructions for students - part 3 - description of the formation of

a water molecule.

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799
Received: July 07, 2018 Accepted: November 17, 2018
Martin Bílek Ph.D., Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Education, Faculty
of Education, Charles University, M. D. Rettigove 4, Prague, 116 39, Czech
Republic.
E-mail: martin.bilek@pedf.cuni.cz
Website: http://www.cuni.cz
Malgorzata Nodzyńska Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Didactics of Natural Sciences,

Faculty of Geography and Biology, Pedagogical University, Podchorazych 2,
30 084, Krakow, Poland.
E-mail: malgorzata.nodzynska@gmail.com
Website: http://www.up.krakow.pl/
Wioleta Kopek-Putala Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitan-
skeho 62, 500 03, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
E-mail: wioleta.kopekputala@uhk.cz
Website: http://www.uhk.cz
Paulina Zimak-Piekarczyk Ph.D. Student and Secondary School Teacher, Institute of Plant Physiology,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow and State High School of Art, Zako-
pane, Poland.
E-mail: p.zimak@ifr-pan.edu.pl

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800
EMBRACING IDENTITIES IN SECOND
LANGUAGE LEARNING: CURRENT STATUS
AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Lee Jin Choi
Da Vinci College of General Education, South Korea
E-mail: choileejin@cau.ac.kr
Abstract
Despite increasing scholarly interest in language learners’ identities, little effort has been devoted to
critically reviewing the latest research on second language learners’ identities and providing future
directions for study. This recent increase in research then raises an important set of questions: (a) How
have second language learners’ identities been portrayed and explained in empirical research?, (b) What
are the general trends in language identity research, and what are the key factors that have driven such
development?, and (c) What are the limitations of current studies and the future directions for research
on second language learners’ identities? To answer the above questions, the paper critically reviewed
and analyzed 109 major studies about second language learners’ identities since the 1990s. This critical
review of current studies of second language learners’ identities aimed to address an important issue
related to ESL/EFL students’ identity, which may be used to shape an international agenda on how to
best support and meet the needs of these students. It also enables educators, school administrators, and
policy makers at all levels to better understand the increasing number of second language learners and
their multiple identities, as well as providing researchers a new perspective on conducting research in
language learners’ identities.
Keywords: bilingual literacy, English language learners, language learner identity, multiple identities,
second language acquisition.
Introduction
English has become a global language in the last century. Since the process of globalization
has accelerated the spread of English as a global language, the number of English language
learners has been dramatically increasing throughout the world. In fact, there are approximately
400 million speakers of English as a first language, 600 million speakers of English as a second
language, and 600 million speakers of English as a foreign language (Crystal, 2010). Even
though English language learners have different purposes for learning English and different
sociopolitical backgrounds surrounding English language teaching and learning practices, it is
clear that both English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL)
learners enter the classroom with previously acquired linguistic and cultural repertoires from
diverse backgrounds. Because second language acquisition and practice entail not only the
acquisition of new linguistic skills and conventions but also acceptable ways of using languages
and of behaving, valuing, and thinking to be a successful member of the new discourse
community (Gee, 1996), second language acquisition often includes a multilayered and on-
going negotiation of identities (Davidson, 1996; McKay & Wong, 1996; Norton, 2000, 2010,
2017; Norton Pierce, 1995). Not only ESL learners physically exposed to the new cultural and
linguistic community but also EFL learners gradually learning new cultural and linguistic norms
experience a process of identity negotiation, renegotiation, and transformation throughout their
language learning trajectory.

Lee Jin CHOI. Embracing identities in second language learning: Current status and future directions
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Despite the current growth in literature on second language learners’ identities, little 801
attention had been paid to this issue until quite recently. Since earlier approaches tend to focus on
the cognitive and linguistic aspects of second language learning, the issue of language learners’
identities had been rarely addressed in studies published before the 1990s (Block, 1997).
Even though previous approaches can demonstrate various linguistic and cognitive aspects of
ESL and EFL learners’ language acquisition, such as the acquisition of different vocabularies,
phonological and phonetic variation, and linguistic conventions of the English language, they
fail to conceptualize how language learners interact with the variety of sociocultural discourses
they encounter and construct their identities in the process of language acquisition. Norton
Pierce (1995), who problematizes the lack of research on the issue of language learners’
identities, argues that researchers need to develop a theoretical framework to understand second
language learners’ identities in relation to their language learning context. Other scholars have
also criticized the essentialist and oversimplified views of previous studies of language learners’
identities (e.g., Blackledge & Pavlenko, 2001; Braine, 1999; Firth & Wanger, 1997; Norton &
Toohey, 2011; Pavlenko, 2006), which depict the language learner as a mere recipient who
“must be willing to identify with members of another ethnolinguistic group and take on very
subtle aspects of their behavior” (Gardner & Lambert, 1972, p. 135).
With the increasing acknowledgement of the socially contextualized nature of language
learning (Fairclough, 1995; Kress, 1988), a large volume of recent literature has examined
various issues of language learners’ identities. While Norton Pierce’s (1995) work on language
learners’ social identities, investments, and language learning has stimulated other researchers
to conduct empirical research on the issue of second language learners’ identities, Firth and
Wagner’s (1997) article arguing for more research on the interrelations between identity and
language learning initiated the rise of identity studies in the field of second language learning
(see Block [2007] for more details). Combined with different theoretical approaches, the issue of
language learners’ identities and language learning has become a vibrant one that has generated
numerous synonyms of identity, including “subjectivity” (Weedon, 1987), “agency” (Butler,
1993), and “a stylized persona” (Rampton, 1991).
Despite the increasing interest in language learners’ identities, little effort has been
devoted to critically reviewing the latest research on second language learners’ identities or
to indicating future directions of research. Since the last significant review was made in 1997
(Firth & Wagner, 1997), over 200 articles have been published on language learners’ identities.
In addition, there has been a considerable increase in research, focusing on diverse groups of
language learners, not merely those who use English as a first language. Based on the critical
analysis of 109 major studies about second language learners’ identities, this study critically
analyzed and reviewed the recent increase in research on second language learners’ identities,
and discussed potential future directions for research on second language learners’ identities.
Methodology of Literature Review
The literature review was conducted following five-stage grounded-theory method

(Wolfswinkel, Furtmueller, & Wilderom, 2013). Based on the grounded theory approach
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998), Wolfswinkel et al. (2013) introduce five-
stage grounded-theory method for rigorously reviewing literature, including (a) define: defining
the criteria for literature selection and determining the appropriate materials, (b) search, (c)
select: refining the sample, (d) analyze: analyzing the selected literature using coding, and (e)
present: (re)structuring the content based on the analysis.

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802 Data Collection: Define & Search

In order to identify and critically review research that is pertinent to this research, five
major databases were used as a main tool of data collection, including Elsevier, ERIC, Google
Scholar, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, and Proquest, to search for relevant
research. These databases were selected because they are frequently used to researching the
second language learning and teaching literature, and provide comprehensive international
coverage of the given topic. The search was limited to peer-reviewed articles and books
published in English; any unpublished dissertations and working papers were not included.
The literature review was conducted using three criteria: (a) each study uses language learner
identities as its primary focus of analysis, (b) the participant(s) of each study is an English
language learner who uses English as a second or foreign language, and (c) each study contains a
comprehensive method section, offering details of the research procedure. The literature review
did not include literature on students with special needs such as deaf students, as supporting the
language acquisition of these students requires more specialized attention and care.
Data Analysis: Select, Analyze and Present
The search returned 220 articles. In order to select studies appropriate for inclusion
in the review, the editorial comments and abstracts were used as a guide. 109 studies were
identified as major and significant studies that required in-depth reading and further analysis.
In addition, researcher consulted various scholars and colleagues who specialize in second
language learning and teaching for insightful comments and sources. The selected studies were
analyzed and categorized using open-coding, the analytic process of examining, comparing
and contrasting, conceptualizing and categorizing data. While the initial open-coding analysis
provided possible patterns and emergent categories, the axial coding allowed the researcher to
identify main categories and topics, and to make connects among different literature. Using the
grounded theory approach of constant comparison (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin,
1998), the researcher enabled to work with data and draw generalizable patterns and meanings
from the data themselves rather than imposing constructed hypotheses.
Second Language Learning and Identities: A Post-1990s Perspective
Despite the impression that might be conveyed by the aforementioned increase in

research linking identity and second language learning, the issue of language learners’ identities
is not in fact a brand-new issue in the field, as the notion of identity has been discussed and
explained in terms of different definitions and theoretical paradigms over the years. Three
major paradigms have previously been used to explain language learners’ identification with
the target language and their attitudinal manners: (a) the socio-educational model of motivation
introduced by Gadner (1985), (b) a variationist sociolinguistic approach that argues for pre-
given and fixed identities, and (c) the sociopsychological paradigm of social identity theory
introduced by Taijfel (1974, 1981) that explains identity as based on group membership and
in-group identification. Even though the significance of these paradigms may lie in how they
help researchers shift their focus from the linguistic and cognitive aspects of language learning
to language learners, many researchers have criticized the oversimplified and over deterministic
nature of these paradigms (e.g., Benwell & Stokoe, 2006; Blackledge & Pavlenko, 2001;
Canagarajah, 2006; Firth & Wanger, 2007; Pennycook, 2001, 2010).

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Challenges to Earlier Approaches 803
In problematizing the simplistic, static, and reductionist approaches of previous

studies of language learning, recent studies have started to apply more critical approaches
to examining language, language learning practices, the language learning environment, and
language learners’ identities. In recent years, many scholars have begun to adopt theories
from other academic domains, largely from psychology and sociology, to destabilize the static
view of previous identity studies and to conceptualize the multilayered and dynamic nature of
individuals’ identities. In particular, Lave and Wenger’s (1991) seminal work Communities of
Practice and their theory emphasizing individuals’ active participation in language learning
have been widely taken up in identity studies to explain the on-going and constant tensions and
transformations in the second language learning trajectory (e.g., Marx, 2002; Morita, 2004;
Norton & Kamal, 2003). Their theory helps researchers reorient identities to power-laden social
practice and see the language learner as “an actor articulating a range of forms of participation
in multiple communities of practice” (Eckert & McConnell-Cinet, 1998, p. 490), not a member
of one group or community.
While Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory challenges the essentialist categories of the
earlier approaches discussed above and acknowledges language learners’ social engagement,
Weedon’s (1987) conception of subjectivity broadens our understanding of language learners’
identities. By emphasizing the interrelationships among language, individual consciousness,
and social power, Weedon (1987) defines subjectivity as “the conscious and unconscious
thoughts and emotions of the individual, her sense of herself and her ways of understanding
her relation to the world” (p. 32). Many scholars have adopted a notion of subjectivity that
entails a multiple, controversial, and changing nature of the subject to capture the development
and negotiation of the identity of second language learners (e.g., McKay & Wong, 1996;
Morgan, 2004; Norton Pierce, 1995, 1997, 2000; Siegal, 1996). Various theoretical frameworks
advocated by Anderson (1991), Bakhtin (1934), Bourdieu (1977, 1991), and Foucault (1972)
have also frequently been taken up in empirical research linking second language learning and
identities in relation to power, social positioning, and political arrangement.
Language Ideologies and Poststructuralist Identities
The poststructuralist approach and its conceptual framework have been widely adopted
in the field of second language learning to capture the complex nature of second language
learners’ identities. Because poststructuralism values deconstruction, reflexivity, and
multivocality and rejects generalizability or absolute truth (Grbich, 2004), it views individuals’
identities not as fixed and pre-given entities, but as contextualized, unfinalized, and fragmented
ones. As the poststructuralist approach views language learners’ identities as fluid, multi-
voiced, and conflictual, it provides a useful lens to examine how second language learners who
have already acquired a linguistic and cultural repertoire and previously developed identities
may find themselves marginalized or destabilized and undergo a process of identity conflict,
negotiation, renegotiation, and transformation in their language learning trajectory (e.g., Duff,
2012; Golombek, 2005; Norton & Toohey, 2011; Pavlenko, 2002)
From a poststructuralist perspective, Kramsch (2000) states that the term language
learner identity in second language research includes language learners’ cultural identity, social
role, and discursive voice, which explain their selective choice of which role or identity they
would like to display and claim across different contexts. Norton (2000) defines identities as
expressing individuals’ own understandings of their relationship to a world that is socially
constructed and constantly negotiated. Elsewhere, Norton (2010) also describes individuals’
identities as a site of struggle in that “[e]very time we speak, we are negotiating and renegotiating

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804 our sense of self in relation to the larger social world, and reorganizing that relationship across
time and space” (p. 2). Similarly, Pavlenko and Blackledge (2004) argue that language learners’
identities and negotiation of identities are closely interwoven with power relations, political
arrangements, and language ideologies. In elaborating these characteristics of poststructuralist
identities, notions of a floating identity (Canagarajah, 2009), identity politics (Woodward,
2002), and a third space (Bhabha, 1994)1 have newly emerged to explain the complex nature of
second language learners’ identities.
Second Language Learning and Identities: Post-1990s Research
As previously discussed, empirical research examining second language learners’

identities has gradually increased since the 1990s by critiquing the epistemological narrowness
and essentialist approach of previous studies. Although the socio-educational model of
motivation and socio-psychological paradigms are still used in second language research, recent
studies have increasingly utilized poststructuralist theoretical conceptions such as community
of practice, symbolic and cultural capital, language ideologies, imagined communities, and
negotiation of identities in order to conceptualize second language learners’ identities (e.g.,
Giampapa, 2003; Hunter, 1997; Kanno, 2003; Kinginger, 2003; Lam, 2000, 2004; Marsh, 2002;
McKay & Wong, 1996; Morita, 2004; Norton, 1995, 1997, 2000; Norton & Kamal, 2003; Park,
2009; Pavlenko, 2003; Ryan, 2009; Tsui, 2007).
Motivation vs. Investment in Second Language Learning
Before the notion of identity came to be widely used and discussed in the field of second
language learning, previous research mainly used the socio-educational model of motivation
to conceptualize language learners’ identification with the target language and their attitudinal
manners. With a growing recognition of the multiplicity and diversity of individual language
learners, many scholars, however, started to realize that not all language learners are motivated
by the same factors or conditions but have different desires to satisfy by learning and acquiring
the target language. In particular, recent studies that integrate psychological considerations of
individual language learners with their sociopolitical contexts have challenged the traditional
constructs of intrinsic vs. extrinsic and integrative vs. instrumental motivations on the grounds
of their oversimplified and overgeneralized approach.
In problematizing the static nature of motivation, Norton Pierce (1995) and Norton
(2000, 2010, 2017) introduce the notion of investment to explain the multi-layered and agentive
nature of language learning and use. In her analysis of Canadian immigrant adult language
learners, Norton Pierce (1995) and Norton (2000, 2010, 2017) found that language learners
selectively invest in target language learning, and their investment decisions were largely based
on whether language learning could eventually bring about a symbolic and material resource as
a reward. In criticizing a notion of motivation that cannot explain language learners’ dynamic
and multiple traits of personality and inspired by Bourdieu (1991), she introduces the concept of
investment to complement the traditional construct of motivation. Unlike the traditional notion
of motivation, which views language learners as ahistorical and unitary, the newly coined notion
of investment explains language learners’ selective efforts in developing their target language
1 The notion of a third space, coined by Bhabha (1994), explains how language learners create and
construct their own hybrid space and identities rather than being assimilated or acculturated into one particular
language or culture. Drawing on insights from the idea of floating signs in cultural studies, Canagarajah (2009)
introduces the notion of a floating identity, which views an individual’s identity as a floating signifier that al-
lows people to move across different identities and communities. Taking a more radical approach, Woodward
(2002) proposes a conception of identity politics that argues for examining the politically and historically con-
structed and imposed dimensions of individuals’ identities.

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proficiency in relation to their sociocultural histories and environment, personal desires, and 805
multiple identities. Because the notion of investment posits language learners as continuously
(re)organizing their identities and their relation to the world while speaking, it explains language
learners’ identities as constantly changing across time and space and views language learners
as an active agency. Investment in the target language can thus be understood as investment in
language learners’ identities, which are a site of constant struggle and negotiation.
McKay and Wong (1996) also show the complex relations between identities, investment,
and agency among four adolescent Chinese immigrant students in grades 7 and 8 in the United
States. Their findings demonstrate that language learners have multiple and contested identities
beyond their imposed identity as ESL students, and their historically constructed needs and
different desires lead them exercise different identities and determine their investment in
the target language learning. Based on their findings, McKay and Wong (1996) argue that
language learners’ investment is highly selective in learning and developing the language
skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, in that each language learner values each of
these language skills differently according to his or her desires, agency, and identities. Other
scholars have also adopted the construct of investment to understand second language learners’
selective investment in learning the target language in relation to their memberships in different
communities, their multiple identities, and their personal interests (e.g., Flowerdew & Miller,
2008; Haneda, 2005; Hunter, 1997; Skilton-Sylvester, 2002).
Multiple Identities, Negotiation of Identities, and Identity and Power
The trend of recent research is to broaden the older ideas of fairly unitary or binary
identities to recognize identities as socially shaped and contextual. Before the 1990s, traditional
conceptions of acculturation or group identity2 were widely used to describe language learners’
attitudes, personal variables, and identity-related characteristics in their language learning
process. Because these approaches explain identity as based on group membership and in-
group identification, they tend to generate a dichotomy between the in-group and out-group or
associate one language/ethnic group with only one identity (Benwell & Stokoe, 2006). These
previous approaches do not recognize multiple memberships or identities of language learners,
but allow language learners the single identity option of being an insider or outsider and treat
them simply as language learners who need to assimilate/acculturate in order to become insiders.
This binary and essentialist division, for example, generates the group categorizations of native
speakers of English and non-native speakers of English, one of the most vibrant and on-going
topics of discussion in the field of second language learning (see Braine, 1999; Holliday, 2005,
2006; Holliday & Aboshiha, 2009). With an increasing acknowledgement of the important
role of language learners’ multiple identities, the traditional approach of categorizing language
learning into a certain identity group has been criticized for its unidirectional perspective on
acculturation and its reductionist, static, and homogeneous views (Blackledge & Pavlenko,
2001). In critiquing this oversimplified and essentialist grouping of native and non-native
2 Based on the basic premise of group identity propounded by social identity theory and Schumann’s
(1978) Acculturation Theory, the Acculturation Model posits that language learning entails an acculturation
process and that to be successful language learners, they need to acculturate to the target culture and community
by fully acquiring appropriate language skills, social norms, and cultural rules (Hamers & Blanc, 1989). Sec-
ond language studies based on the Acculturation Model explain language learners’ identities as a type of social
integration with the target language group.
Along with the nature of intergroup identification derived from social identity theory and language
attitude studies, some scholars theorize language learning as “a process of becoming a member of a certain
community” (Sfard, 1998, p. 6). With the rigid categorization of “ingroup” and “outgroup,” this approach
defines identities as “what we are” and “what we are not” (Wenger, 1998). Because it generates a binary group
categorization and inherent group affiliation, second language studies based on the theoretical framework of
group membership have viewed language learners as members of one particular group that is divided by lan-
guage, ethnicity, culture, and other variables.

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806 speakers of English, Firth and Wagner (1997) argue that researchers need to frame language
learners as having multiple identities and as undergoing a continuous process of identity
negotiation, construction, and transformation.
Negotiation of Identities in Second Language Learning
To conceptualize second language learners’ multiple identities and their identity

construction in learning the target language, many scholars have taken up the conception of
negotiation of identities in their research (e.g., Fuller, 2007; Giampapa, 2003; Kanno, 2003;
McKay & Wong, 1996; Miller, 2003; Morita, 2004). Negotiation of identities explains language
learners’ identities as being constantly contested, negotiated, and renegotiated in relation to
different ideologies of language, sociopolitical arrangements, power relations, and language
learners’ perceptions of themselves and others (Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2003). The role of
negotiation of identities is particularly important in second language learning contexts where
language learners bring their previously acquired identities into the class. Because language
learners’ previously acquired identities and repertoires may conflict with dominant norms
or not be recognized in a new discourse community, language learners tend to go through a
process of negotiation and renegotiation of their identities, which sometimes causes a process
of transformation or resistance.
While McKay and Wong’s (1996) study shows how adolescent immigrant students
selectively invest in and display their identities based on their desires and social position,
Hunter (1997) demonstrated how Robert, a Portuguese-speaking ESL student in grades 4
through 5, developed multiple identities across different contexts, including an ESL class, peer
group, and discussions of pop culture. Based on these findings, Hunter describes Robert as
undergoing a constant struggle over multiple positions and continuously negotiating between
different identities that he has developed and acquired through school, social relationships
with his peers, and his interests in pop culture. Moving from the classroom to digital literacy
contexts, Lam (2000) examines how an adolescent Chinese immigrant student actively
engages in the construction, negotiation, and transformation of social identities on the Internet,
which are somewhat different from those she displays in the classroom. In a recent study
of language learners’ use of instant messaging, Lam (2009) also shows how an adolescent
Chinese immigrant student negotiates her social relationships and identities affiliated with
the multiple communities of a local Chinese immigrant community, Asian American youth,
and relationships with her friends in China. The findings of her studies (Lam, 2000, 2009)
successfully demonstrate the dynamic process of second language learners’ construction and
negotiation of their multiple identities, and their agentive role in selectively constructing and
claiming their identities across different discourse communities and domains. Some scholars
who frame their research using a more linguistic-oriented approach have explored second
language learners’ negotiation of identities based on their language choice, code-switching/
mixing, and crossing (e.g., Androutsopoulos, 2006; Bailey, 2001; Creese & Blackedge, 2015;
Fuller, 2007; Miller, 2000; Otsuji & Pennycook, 2010).
Identity and Power in Second Language Learning
Under the influence of critical thinkers such as Bourdieu (1991), Foucault (1972), and
Simon (1992), poststructuralist approaches allow researchers to understand language learners’
identities in relation to power and ideological discourses. In fact, many scholars insist that
language is irreducibly ideological, reflecting the sociopolitical interests of dominant groups and
embedded power relations (Bourdieu, 1977, 1991; Gal, 1989; Heller, 2003, 2010; Pennycook,
2001, 2017), and the language learning context is thus a locus of the production and reproduction

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of symbolic domination (Bourdieu, 1991; Heller, 1995). Revisiting Eckert’s (2000) Belten High 807
data on jocks’ and burnouts’ identity1 practices, Davies (2005) argues that individuals may not
always have the option of accessing the linguistic and cultural practices of the target community
or an open choice to develop and negotiate their identities accordingly. While acknowledging
the multiple identities of language learners and the possibility of negotiating identities, Davies
points out that not all the identities that language learners have are negotiable.
A similar view can be found in Wenger’s (1998) article, which states that the inability to
negotiate identities can occur under asymmetrical power relations by causing nonparticipation
and marginalization. In emphasizing the power-laden nature of language and identity, Pavlenko
and Blackledge (2003) propose three types of identities: imposed identities (non-negotiable
identities in a particular context), assumed identities (accepted and non-negotiated identities),
and negotiable identities. Bringing these critical discussions into the field of second language
learning, Norton (2000) articulates the complex relationship between power and identities,
stating that “power can serve to enable or constrain the range of identities that language learners
can negotiate in their classrooms and communities” (p. 9). Inspired by these critical views,
recent studies linking second language learning and identities have examined second language
learners’ identities while taking into consideration power relations, sociopolitical arrangements,
and surrounding ideologies.
In emphasizing the active role of language learners, some scholars have studied how
individual language learners actively engage in negotiating their identities against imposed
ideological discourses, and thereby find their own identities through transformation (e.g., Choi,
2017; Flowerdew & Miller, 2008; Morita, 2004; Phan, 2008; Shin, 2012; Tsui, 2007). Morita
(2004), for example, explored how six first-year master’s students from Japan negotiated their
identities, claimed their agency and positionality, and brought about a personal transformation
while entering and studying at a Canadian university. Using a notion of agency2 that emphasizes
the active role of individuals, Morita demonstrates that these six students actively shaped their
own positionalities and negotiated different identities in second language learning contexts
rather than accepting their imposed roles and positions. Because these students constructed
and negotiated their identities based on the difficulties they faced in a new academic discourse
community, she explained that the negotiation of second language learners’ identities is not
limited by socially and institutionally imposed roles but is affected by individuals’ agency and
personal desires that eventually help them develop locally constructed identities and positions.
With an increasing number of EFL teachers participating in teacher education conducted
in ESL educational settings, researchers have started to pay attention to the issue of how these
EFL teachers/students negotiate and construct their identities in these new academic discourse
communities. In a study of Vietnamese teachers of English, Phan (2008) shows how EFL
teachers, who can be perceived as second language learners in an Australian educational setting,
construct and negotiate their professional, social, and personal identities throughout their
language learning trajectory. Based on two years of observing these teacher participants, Phan
reports that their professional identities as English teachers were challenged and marginalized
in their new academic discourse community, but they gradually negotiated, renegotiated, and
reconstructed their identities by actively interacting with different discourses and bringing
their multiple identities into a negotiating process. These findings highlight the fact that EFL
teachers/students do not passively accept their imposed identities and social roles but go
1 This ethnomethodological study of Eckert’s (2000) shows how different communities of practices
have somewhat different practices (e.g., the type of activities associated with them, linguistic behavior, and the
use of particular phonological variants) to display and maintain their identities as jocks and burnouts, which can
limit or allow new incomers to develop and negotiate their identities as jocks or burnouts.
2 According to Lantolf and Pavlenko (2001), agency is “never a ‘property’ of particular individual” but
is rather “a relationship that is constantly co-constructed and renegotiated with those around the individual and
with the society at large” (p. 148).

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808 through an intense process of identity conflict, fragmentation, accommodation, negotiation, and
renegotiation in order to shape their own positionalities and identities.
While such an emphasis on the active negotiation and renegotiation of language learners
and teachers’ identities can be found in other empirical studies (e.g., Canagarajah, 2004;
Ortaçtepe, 2015; Pavlenko, 2003; Tsui, 2007; Xu, 2013; Zacharias, 2010), recent studies have
captured language learners/teachers’ resistance against imposed ideological labels. Using an
autobiographical narrative, Braine (1999) shows his resistance against the power-laden and
imposed label of a “non-native speaker of English learner and teacher” and his own struggle
not to be perceived as such. Focusing on ESL high school students in the United States, Tamil
(2008) reports the resistance of English language learners positioned as ESL students. Unlike
school-sanctioned ESL students who follow instructions and participate in classroom activities,
some students in this study showed their resistance to being positioned as an ESL student by
not preparing for classroom activities or by participating in proscribed activities. Similarly,
Canagarajah (2004) demonstrates how language learners resist the unfavorable identities
imposed upon them through their literacy activities.
Identities, Imagination, and Imagined Communities in Second Language Learning
To extend language learners’ identities beyond socially contextualized positionalities,

the poststructuralist notion of imagination has been taken up in second language research to
explain the complex relationships among language learners’ desires, investment, and identities.
The initial discussion of imagination in an educational setting stemmed from Vygotsky’s (1978)
insight that imagination as a high mental function plays a significant role in children’s and later
adults’ language development. More recently, Simon (1992) addresses the fact that imagination
can be a central component of language learning because it makes learners determine what
kinds of practices are worth struggling for and urges them to put forth efforts to achieve their
desired or anticipated visions of community life in the future. Developing his claim, Wenger
(1998) highlights the crucial relationship between imagination and identity, conceptualizing
imagination as “a process of expanding our self by transcending our time and space and creating
new images of the world and ourselves” (p. 176).
Adopting notions of imagination and imagined communities provided by Anderson
(1991), Norton (2001) explains ESL adult language learners’ selective investment in learning
the target language and inherent participation/non-participation in English class. While viewing
the concept of imagination as ideological and identitarian, Norton argues that second language
learners’ non-participation in the language classroom can result from a disjuncture between
their imagined communities and their teacher’s pedagogical aims, and their unique investment
in the target language is closely related to the imagined communities they want to join in the
future. Echoing this contention, recent studies have also examined the unique role of second
language learners’ imagined communities and inherent imagined identities in second language
learning and teaching contexts (e.g., Early & Norton, 2012; Kanno, 2008; Kendrick & Jones,
2008; Kinginger, 2003, 2008; LoCastro, 2001; Norton & Kamal, 2003; Pavlenko, 2003; Ryan,
2009; Song, 2012).
Using notions of imagination and imagined communities, Norton and Kamal (2003)
explored how Afghan refugee students aged 12 and 13 who participated in an English language
learning program in Pakistan viewed developing English literacy and becoming competent
speakers of English and how their perceptions affected their English language learning. Their
findings show that these students have three imagined communities related to English language
learning: (a) imagining a literate community, where being literate is considered a major key to
personal and national development, (b) imagining English as a language of possibility, in that
English as an international language can provide them greater opportunities to participate in the
global world, and (c) imagining a global future in which advanced technologies and globalization

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break down national and ethnocultural boundaries. Norton and Kamal (2003) insist that these 809
imagined communities and imagined identities envisioned by language learners reflect their
current social and political instability and afford them the chance to situate themselves in future
imagined communities where proficient English literacy allows individuals to attain success
and national development.
While Norton and Kamal’s (2003) study conceptualizes the dynamic relationship between
language learners’ imagined communities and sociopolitical arrangements, Pavlenko’s (2003)
study connects language learners’ imagined communities and identities with the discourse of
native-speakerism.1 Drawing on an insight from Anderson (1991), Vygotsky (1978), and Wenger
(1998), Pavlenko examines the imagined communities and identities of pre- and in-service ESL
and EFL teachers/students who participated in a second language acquisition seminar as part
of an MA TESOL program at an American university. This analysis of 44 teachers/students
revealed that the participants tended to have two imagined communities at the beginning of the
seminar: (a) a native speaker community, where the discourse of native-speakerism is prevalently
exercised by validating the superiority and professional legitimacy of native speakers of English,
and (b) a non-native speaker/second language learner community, which those who could not
become legitimate members of the native speaker community are forced to join. She explains
that the dominant discourses of native-speakerism in the field of second language learning
have resulted in language learners’ unavoidable internalization of these essentialist discourses,
which eventually allow them no choice but to create binary imagined communities of native
and non-native speakers and label themselves non-native speakers/second language learners.
The second language acquisition seminar reported in the study, however, exposed students
to various academic theories and discourses and allowed the students to interact with them
through classroom discussion, as well as helping them develop a critical lens that eventually
freed them from the essentialist discourse of native speakerism. Pavlenko (2003) stated that
the seminar and classroom discussions gave students the chance to reframe their own identities
and reimagine themselves as members of an imagined multilingual/second language user
community where their multicompetence and multilingualism were considered an asset. In other
words, language learners’ imagined communities and identities can be expanded and altered by
interacting with surrounding discourses, which can bring about a process of transformation.
Other scholars have also adopted notions of imagination and imagined communities to explore
second language learners’ identities across different educational settings, including computer-
mediated communication (e.g., Spiliotopoulous & Carey, 2005), multimodal communication
(e.g., Dagenais et al., 2009), pre-immigrant programs (e.g., Barkhuizen & de Klerk, 2006), and
study abroad (e.g., Kinginger, 2004).
Second Language Learning and Identities: Future Directions
Recent studies linking language learners’ identities and second language learning have
successfully shifted a major focus of second language research from a cognitive and linguistic-
oriented approach to a sociocultural and critical approach that allows researchers to understand
second language learning in relation to sociopolitical arrangements, the diverse background
of language learners and their agentive roles, and power relations. In order to conceptualize
the multilayered identities of second language learners in a constantly changing and evolving
world, future research needs to address and critically discuss the following issues.
1 Phillipson (1992) defines native-speakerism as a power-laden and ideological discourse that depicts
native speakers of English as ideal teachers of English language and culture and marginalizes non-native speak-
ers of English teachers by questioning their professional legitimacy compared with their native counterparts.

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810 From Multiple Identities to Metro-Identities
Many scholars have used the notion of multiple identities to describe second language
learners’ multi-memberships and belongings across different communities. Most research
findings have successfully conceptualized different identities that second language learners
develop, negotiate, and construct in their language learning process. Norton (1995), for
example, explains that Martina’s (one participant’s) investment in English stems from her social
identity as a mother and main caregiver in her family among her multiple identities. If language
learners are in constant negotiation of multiple identities, as previously posited, how can we
make a clear-cut distinction between identity A and identity B? How can we say that Martina’s
investment in English is directly and solely explained by her identity as a mother, and not by
anything else? In problematizing the overwhelming use of the term multiplicity, Otsuji and
Pennycook (2010) argue that notions of multiplicity, diversity, and hybridity tend to pluralize
languages, cultures, and identities rather than complexify them. In the same vein, Zuberi (2001)
insists that “the notion of ‘hybrid’ can become as fixed a category as its essentialist nemesis”
(pp. 239–240). Similar concerns have been raised by other scholars who warn of the hidden
danger of using the notions of multiplicity and hybridity, as these terms can create fault lines
and boundaries (e.g., Heller, 2007; Kubota, 2014; Makoni & Pennycook, 2005).
To prevent researchers from creating another essentialist perspective dividing language
learners’ identities into static categories, such concerns and critical examinations of the
overwhelming use of multiple identities need to be addressed in second language research that
examines second language learners’ identities. In fact, some researchers point out that “multiple”
identities cannot fully explain the complexified identities of transnational language learning or
new global elites1 (see Reyes & Lo, 2009; Vandrick, 2011). Avoiding the fixity indexed in the
notion of multilingualism, Otsuji and Pennycook (2010) propose the term metrolingualism,
which can be conceived of as “the paradoxical practice and space where fixity, discreteness,
fluidity, hybridity, locality and globality coexist and co-constitute each other” (p. 252). The
newly coined notion of metrolingualism, inspired by the term metroethnicity (Maher, 2005),
includes the mobilization of fixity and the possibility of alternation that cannot be explained
by multilingualism. Following this argument, I suggest that researchers conduct research using
the term metro-identities to conceptualize the identities of second language learners, including
ESL, EFL, and other transnational language learners.
From Research to Teacher Education and the Classroom
Even though many scholars recognize the importance of language learners’ identities
in second language learning contexts, little literature has discussed how theories of second
language learning and identity can be applied to classroom instruction and language teaching
practices. As the previously reviewed literature demonstrates, classroom practices can
assign institutionally imposed identities upon language learners, result in non-participation
or resistance, and expand the identity options of second language learners and bring about
transformation (e.g., Dagenais et al., 2009; Hunter, 1997; McKay & Wong, 1996; Norton, 2001;
Pavlenko, 2003). Norton (2010) emphasizes the urgent need to connect identity research and
theories with classroom pedagogy:

Despite the best intentions, classroom practice can recreate subordinate student identities, thereby
limiting students’ access not only to language learning opportunities, but to other more powerful
identities (p. 361).
1 The term new global elite was introduced by Vandrick (2011) to refer to a group of students who
have lived or studied in more than three countries, claiming that these students have recombinant identities and
a strong sense of cosmopolitanism.

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Other research has also highlighted the important role of teachers or classroom practices 811
that may or may not allow second language learners’ negotiation of different identities and
access to the target language practices. In order to prevent the danger of the classroom becoming
a site reproducing essentialist discourses and imposing institutionally and socially constructed
identities on second language learners, more pedagogical discussion needs to address this
matter along with well-designed research.
Another area that future research must address is teacher education for EFL teachers. As
many scholars have reported, the discourse of native-speakerism has strongly influenced the
professional identities of EFL teachers whose first language is a language other than English
(e.g., Braine, 1999; Canagarajah, 1999; Holliday & Aboshiha, 2009; Kim, 2011; Llurda, 2009;
Rivers & Ross, 2013). Pavlenko’s (2003) study clearly demonstrates EFL teachers/students’
internationalization of native-speakerist discourses and their negative influences on their
professional identities, but it also shows that these essentialist identities that have been imposed
and internalized by EFL teachers/students can be removed and reframed through appropriate
teacher education. Samimy and Brutt-Griffler (1999) also point to the urgent need to prepare
a special program for EFL teachers/ students that can help them eliminate native-speakerist
discourses. Future research, therefore, needs to examine the actual needs of teacher education
for EFL teachers/students, explore possible curricula and materials for appropriate teacher
education programs for them, and conceptualize the effects of different programs and curricula.
From Macro vs. Micro to Macro-Micro Research
Despite the increasing body of identity research that has been published in the past two
decades, most studies have explored second language learners’ identities at the microsocial
level. Even some research that captured learners’ identities and second language learning in
relation to power, political arrangements, and ideologies has not considered the interrelationship
between micro and macro contexts. Although many studies have shown how different language
policies affect second language teaching and learning practices and how language learners
negotiate and construct their identities in their second language learning, little research has
demonstrated the interconnection of these aspects of second language learning.
As previously discussed, legitimacy is not the choice of individual language learners, but
rather that of socio-politically constructed power in macro-level contexts (see Davies, 2005).
Similarly, Canagarajah (2006) argues that it is time for identity studies to move from a romantic
perspective that argues for “empowering” students without considering macro contexts to
strive for a more macro-level understanding of language learners’ identities, stating that even
though language learners may still negotiate their identities at the micro-level of the classroom
or educational setting, where relative autonomy exists, they may not allow such negotiability
under the influence of more macro contexts. Such an emphasis on the urgent needs of micro-
macro research can be also found in Pennycook (2001) and Hornberger and Johnson (2008).
To provide a broader picture of the complex relationship between second language learners’
identities and language learning, future studies need to demonstrate the interrelationship
between the micro- and macro-contexts.
Conclusions
The notion of identity is hard to define, and the conceptualization of individuals’

identities is even harder. Despite the complex nature of language learners’ identities, the current
education system tends too easily to label them “English language learners,” “learners with
limited English proficiency,” “English as a second/foreign language learners,” or “learners
at risk” without further consideration of their diverse backgrounds or identities. Living in a

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812 globalized world where the border-crossing becomes a mundane practice, the critical analysis
and discussion presented in this paper urge educators, policy-makers and school administrators
at all school levels to become critically aware of the importance of second language learners’
identity construction and negotiation. As previously discussed, the oversimplified and over
deterministic impositions of identities cannot fully conceptualize or appreciate the complexified
identities of second language learners, and indeed can marginalize them.
The first step in appreciating diversity is to acknowledge second language learners’
different backgrounds, voices and identities rather than treating these differences as a source
of interference in language acquisition and school adjustment. Further, educators and school
administrators need to develop appropriate classroom instruction and language teaching practices
that could embrace second language learners’ diverse backgrounds, and help them develop their
unique voices and identities. On a macro level, language policy makers and practitioners should
be aware of the significance of second language learners’ identities in their language literacy
acquisition and practice, and make principled decisions about how to promote multilingualism
and metrolingualism. In addition, future studies need to address the ways in which educators
and researchers could help second language learners not become trapped in institutionally or
socio-politically imposed identities, how they could better support second language learners
in finding their positionalities and identities in second language learning contexts so that their
voices can be heard, and how they bring about a true appreciation of second language learners’
diverse backgrounds and identities.
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Received: June 25, 2018 Accepted: September 22, 2018
Lee Jin Choi PhD, Assistant Professor in Da Vinci College of General Education at Chung-Ang
University, 84 HeukSeok-Ro, DongJak-Gu,Seoul,South Korea.
E-mail: choileejin@cau.ac.kr

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816
IN-CLASS AND OUT-OF-CLASS ANXIETY
IN SPEAKING TURKISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE
Durmuş Karci
International Burch University, Bosnia and Herzegovina
E-mail: dkarci44@hotmail.com
Cemal Özdemir
Suleyman Demirel University, Kazakhstan
E-mail: cemal.ozdemir@sdu.edu.kz
Nuri Balta
University of International Business, Kazakhstan
E-mail: baltanuri@gmail.com
Abstract
Turkish is spoken by a large number of people in a wide geographical area and teaching Turkish as a
foreign language is a subject that gains importance nowadays. This research employed a quantitative
survey strategy to address the issue of anxiety in learning Turkish language in and outside the classroom.
Participants were 356 students of two high schools, one college and one university in Kazakhstan.
Participants were given the Second Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (SLSAS), which was analyzed
with: correlation to search for possible relations between anxiety, age, duration of studying Turkish, and
Turkish course grades; MANOVA to assess the effect of gender and school type on students’ anxiety in
speaking Turkish; and an exploratory factor analysis to identify factor structure of SLSAS. Additionally,
an ANOVA was carried out on a second data set with 52 students to see any differences between students’
anxiety in speaking Turkish and English. The results of this research indicated that anxiety in speaking
Turkish is weak and not related to students’ age, gender, years studying Turkish, and Turkish course
grades. In addition, no significant differences were found between students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish
and English. The only significant result was the relatively high anxiety of college students in the classroom.
This research implies that anxiety in speaking Turkish does not differ so much from anxiety in speaking
English.
Keywords: language anxiety, anxiety in speaking, Turkish as a second language.
Introduction
Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language
Language is a living and natural system that enables the exchange of feelings and
thoughts between people, develops in an unknown time in an unknown form, and reflects every
aspect of the society in which it belongs to (Bayraktar, 2006). The need for foreign language
learning (FLL) is growing in parallel with the strengthening of inter-communal relations and
the progress of mass media. At the same time, today, knowing foreign languages are accepted
as one of the criteria of modernity (Doğan, 2008).
Teaching and learning Turkish as a foreign language is becoming increasingly more
important in parallel with Turkey’s developments and initiatives in various fields. Parallel to the
progresses in teaching Turkis as a foreign language, the related scientific studies are increasing
(Şen & Boylu, 2015).
Durmuş KARCI, Cemal ÖZDEMIR, Nuri BALTA. In-class and out-of-class anxiety in speaking Turkish as a second language
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In the past several decades, the area in which Turkish is spoken has expanded. Along 817
with this expansion, there has also been an increase in the demand for people to learn Turkish.
Currently in Turkey, foreign language teaching centers at universities are at the forefront of
the centers where Turkish language activities are systemically conducted for foreigners. The
first center was opened in Ankara University in 1984, it was opened in 1987 at Ege University,
and in 1992 at Gazi University (Şahin, 2008). In the following years, many universities have
opened these centers at their own institutions and have been involved in the teaching of Turkish
language activities for foreigners. In 33-year time, almost all universities opened these centers
within their institutions. There are 85 Turkish education centers at universities in Turkey for
teaching Turkish as a second language (Boylu & Başar, 2016).
After the disintegration of the USSR in 1989, the Turkish government and some private
enterprises opened a number of elementary and high schools in Central Asian countries (Demir,
Balci, & Akkok, 2000). At the moment, Turkish language is taught as compulsory or elective
courses in about 1000 schools in the world’s five continents and 120 countries (Zorlu, 2010).
Problems encountered in teaching Turkish language in universities in Kazakhstan were
searched by Turumbetova (2013). The researcher evaluates the schools that continue their
educational activities in Kazakhstan, as follows:
Turkish is one of the leading foreign languages in Kazakhstan. In our time, people are more
curious about Turkish language compared to other languages, that is why people are trying to
learn this language. Currently, growing and developing economy of Turkey in the international
arena also has a huge impact on this issue. Another reason why Turkish is preferred is the fact that
the language and culture of the Kazakh - Turkic nations, which originated from the same root,
were the same in the past. (p. 1)
An Important Factor in Learning Languages: Anxiety
Anxiety in language learning has been extensively studied for more than fifty years (He,
2017). Anxiety is a state of alertness that manifests itself through physical, emotional, and mental
changes that an individual has experienced when he or she meets a stimulus (Aiken, 1976).
“Anxiety in general can be associated with threats to self-efficacy and appraisals of situations as
threatening” (Pappamihiel, 2002, p. 331). Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is defined as a fear
that arises when the language is used by an individual who is not fully competent in the foreign
language (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993).
Variables regarding FLL anxiety fall into two core groups: situational variables
and learner variables (Williams & Andrade, 2008). Variables such as course level, course
organization, course activities, teacher characteristics and attitudes, and social communication
between learners constitute the situational ones while age, attitudes, beliefs, culture, gender,
learning styles, and personality variables compose the learner variables.
Liu’s (2012) findings negatively correlate the FLA with learning motivation, listening
proficiency, reading proficiency, and learner autonomy. More than a few studies have revealed
that FLA does have an opposing effect on learning (Daley et al., 1997; Ehrman & Oxford, 1990;
Gardner, 1985; Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993).
Scovel (1978) thinks anxiety both in positive and negative contexts. According to him,
the anxiety, which activates the student’s willing to learn is positive. The anxiety that shakes the
confidence of the learner, and that provokes the feeling of sadness is negative. Although there
are no shortcomings in the mental sense, if the student brings himself to be overly alerted by
FLL, he/she will be distracted. It is this anxiety that leads to the failure of students to use the
target language in the classroom or social environment in FLL.

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818 Anxiety and Foreign Language Learning
In the literature, the expression of FLA was first used by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope
(1986). They developed a 33-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale to measure
students’ anxiety in learning foreign language. In this context, FLA is explained as a set of
feelings and actions peculiar to language learning classes arising from the uncertainties in the
FLL process (Baş, 2013).
The primary goal of foreign language learners is to effectively and fluently speak the
target language. The main aim in language teaching is to have students to gain the ability to
understand and explain the target language. In this respect, unlike other skills, speaking skill
is the ability that people need mostly in daily life. For this reason, in the process of acquiring
speech skills in language teaching, the main goal is to enable language learners to express their
emotions and thoughts accurately and fluently (Boylu & Çangal, 2015).
Since anxiety is a factor affecting language teaching (Gardner & Maclntyre, 1993), it is
an important concept emphasized in the language teaching-learning process. Numerous studies
have been carried out on the outcome of speaking anxiety, especially on students’ achievement
and performance (Doğan, 2008; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986; İşcan, 2011; Öner &
Gedikoğlu, 2007; Yoğurtçu & Yoğurtçu, 2013).
Studies in general have shown that students with high levels of anxiety have lower levels
of achievement in second language learning. Gardner, Moorcroft, and MacIntyre (1987) aimed
to find the association between levels of achievement and different levels of anxiety. They
found that anxiety was a barrier to the student’s success. According to MacIntrye and Gardner
(1991), when compared to other academic areas, intense anxiety in foreign language classes
negatively affects the language learning process and the success of students. Students who
meet a new language environment feel themselves in a completely different environment, and
this feeling leads to anxiety in language learning. The anxiety slows the learner’s language
learning process. This suggests a negative correlation between FLA and language achievement
(Horwitz, 2001).
The phenomenon expressed as language anxiety has a remarkable feature in foreign
language teaching research (Dörnyei, 2005). Particularly in the process of second language
acquisition, individual differences, motivation, language aptitude and linguistic performance
(Gardner, 1985; Liu & Cheng, 2014; MacIntyre, MacKinnon, & Clément, 2009) are the most
important variables that determine the success.
There are two different types of anxiety; the trait anxiety is about the structural
characteristics of the individuals, and the state anxiety is about the experiences in the social and
physical environments (Cattell & Scheier, 1960; Scovel, 1978; Spielberger, 1966). In addition,
there is also a third category, situational anxiety, which is about the anxiety that the individuals
may encounter in different conditions.
Scovel (1991) suggested a distinction between facilitating and preventive anxiety after
researching many studies related to anxiety and achievement relationship. While facilitator
anxiety leads to struggle in new learning environments, preventive anxiety causes the individual
to adopt evasive behavior in new learning environments. For aforementioned reasons, to be
able to understand if the anxiety is positive or negative, first of all the level of anxiety should be
determined (Şen & Boylu, 2015).
FLA is distinguished from general anxiety because it is closely related to the beliefs,
attitudes and perceptions of the individuals in language education (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope,
1986). Language anxiety is divided into three groups: communication anxiety, test anxiety and
fear of negative evaluation. Communication anxiety is experienced by individuals who have
mature opinions and thoughts, but who have not got developed communication skills on the
target language. The test anxiety that arises in the process of academic evaluation is defined as

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the fear of failing exams. Finally, the fear of negative evaluation is a fear of foreign language 819
learners who are not successful in making a proper social impression (Horwitz & Young, 1991).
It has been determined that the failure of students to speak leads to an increase in
the speech anxiety over time (Huang, 1994). Speech anxiety may reveal itself physically as
sadness, anger, fear or rapid heartbeat and sweating. Speech anxiety can be due to mental,
physiological, emotional, and inherited-biological reasons (Özkan & Kınay, 2105). Speech
anxiety is a common fear (Breakey, 2005). Approximately 14% of people in a community are
faced with speech anxiety. For some people, speaking at stage is a phobia, and they prefer to
stay away from such situations (Ayres & Hopf, 1993).
MacIntyre and Gardner (1995) reported that speech practices increased the anxiety
because during the conversation, people who learn foreign languages had to communicate
with other people. Williams and Andrade (2008) argue that an individual who learns a foreign
language can easily come to disappointment when he or she tries to express himself in front
of others, and for some reasons does not achieve it. In the next step, communication becomes
alarming and worrying for that person. This causes the person to experience anxiety intrinsically.
According to Pong (2010), the attempt to use the language in accordance with foreign language
rules causes individuals to feel themselves incapable about correct pronunciation, which creates
additional anxiety among students. Gregersen and Horwitz (2002) suggest perfectionist students
“that the classroom is not merely for demonstrating knowledge and skill, but also for gaining
it, and that errors are a normal and acceptable part of everyone’s language learning experience”
(p.570).
The effect of anxiety on the foreign language is sometimes beneficial and sometimes
harmful, and there is no consensus on this issue (Aydın & Zengin, 2008).
Anxiety in Learning Turkish as a Second Language
Studies about anxiety in learning foreign languages are mainly related to learning
English; however, research regarding anxiety in learning Turkish is really limited (Aydın &
Zengin, 2008).
Şen (2017) made a research to find the level of language anxiety of the Turkish language
teacher candidates and to determine the level of this anxiety with respect to gender and grade.
He found that the general anxiety levels of the students were weak. A similar research by Mert
(2015) also revealed similar weak anxiety. Şen also stated that the speech anxieties of Turkish
teacher candidates participating in the research did not differ according to the gender but found
that the speech anxiety levels differed according to the grades. In some other studies on the
language anxieties of Turkish teacher candidates, it was found that gender has no effect on
speech anxiety (Baki & Karakus, 2015; Karakuş, 2015).
In the research conducted by Batumlu (2006), it was shown that the level of anxiety of
the students during learning did not change according to gender; but it was understood that there
was a negative relationship between FLA and achievement both in male and female students.
In the research conducted by Sevim (2014), it was seen that male and female students had the
same amount of anxiety in speaking Turkish.
According to research results of Sallabaş (2012), the gender of the students did not make
a significant difference on the anxiety in speaking Turkish. This result also overlaps with the
research done by Doğan (2008), Boylu and Çangal (2015), and Melanlıoğlu and Demir (2013).
In this context, it can be said that gender has no effect on speech anxiety of learners of Turkish
as a foreign language.
The degree of anxiety of students has been found not to vary according to the school
type, major, grade, and whether they know another language. It is noteworthy that the average
degree of anxiety of students who do not speak another language other than Turkish is higher
than the average level of anxiety of students who also speak in another foreign language (Sevim,

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820 2014). In another research, Sevim (2012) found that anxiety did not differ according to major.
Research by Şen and Boylu (2015), showed that there was no statistically significant difference
between anxiety in speaking Turkish and the variables: age, gender, education level, Turkish
language level, frequency of watching Turkish TV channels, and frequency of listening Turkish
music.
Most research related to language learning is about classroom-based anxiety (Woodrow,
2006). Distinctively, this research handles second language anxiety from both within the
classroom and outside the classroom perspective. The anxiety in learning a second language has
been searched for many languages. However, studies concerning anxiety in learning Turkish as
a second language are limited. This research aimed to determine the anxiety level of students
in learning Turkish as a foreign language, and whether the in-class and out-of-class anxiety
differs according to various variables. Depending on the literature review, following research
questions guided this research:
• Is there a relation between the course grade, the number of years of learning Turk-
ish and the anxiety in speaking Turkish?
• Do students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish differ across students’ gender and type
of school?
• Do students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish differ across in-class and out-of-class
communication?
• Is there a difference between Turkish and English language anxieties?
• What is the observed factor structure of SLSAS found from exploratory factor
analysis?
•
Research Methodology
General Background
This quantitative research surveyed a sample of Kazakh students from four high
schools about their level of in-class and out-of-class anxiety in speaking Turkish. An
instrument comprising 12 slightly modified items from the SLSAS (Woodrow, 2008) was
used to gather data, which were collected at the end of the spring semester of 2017-2018
academic year.
Participants
There were two groups of participants in this research. The first group was 354 volunteer
students (110 females and 244 males) at four schools in Kazakhstan with an age range of 12-20,
and an average age of 15.40 (SD=2.23). The number of participants from gender and school
groups with their percentages are displayed in Table 1.
Table 1. Gender and schools of the participants.
Variable Category ƒ %
Female 110 30.9
Gender
Male 244 68.5
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys 116 32.6
BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls 75 21.1
School
Suleyman Demirel College 75 21.1
Suleyman Demirel University 88 24.7

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The second group was 52 volunteer students from BILIM-Innovation High School for 821
Boys (18), BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls (12), and Suleyman Demirel College (22).
The data collected from this group was used to compare students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish
and in English. All students from both groups speak Kazakh and Russian, and they also speak
Turkish and English at the upper intermediate level.
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys and BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls:
These two schools are implementing an educational system called gymnasium. While some
of the courses such as physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and computer are taught
in English, and except Russian, and Russian Literature the rest of the courses are taught in
Kazakh. There are about 400 students in each of these schools and each year approximately
75 students are enrolled. Students are mostly from middle and upper socioeconomic status.
Students are admitted from the 7th grade and the schools last for five years. There are weekly six
hours of English, and four hours of Turkish in the 7th and 8th classes and two hours of Turkish
in the 9th, 10th and 11th classes. Graduates from these schools usually prefer universities outside
Kazakhstan such as China, Korea, USA, UK, and Singapore. Since they are state schools, the
state meets all expenses of the students except food. Parents are only charged to pay for lunch.
Suleyman Demirel College: This is a private college which has courses such as computer
programming, elementary school teaching, and finance. Courses such as physics, mathematics,
biology, chemistry, and computer are taught in English, and regular Kazakhstani curriculum
is implemented for the rest of the courses. There are approximately 350 students and each
year about 120 students from middle socioeconomic status are registered. The College accepts
students from 9th class, and education lasts for four years. There are weekly six hours of English,
and four hours of Turkish in the 9th class and two hours of Turkish in the 10th, 11th and 12th
classes. Since the College is private, the parents pay all the costs of the students.
Suleyman Demirel University: University students who participated in this research were
from a private university in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The population of the students in the university
was about 3500. Each year approximately 1200 students from middle socioeconomic status
are enrolled to this university. About 90% of these students have a governmental scholarship.
Students are accepted after finishing the 11th class at high school. There are four faculties and 21
departments in this university. The education language is generally English. Turkish language
is mandatory for the first two years of education in this university. There are weekly three hours
of Turkish course in the first year and two hours in the second year.
Instrument
For measuring the students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish, the second language speaking
anxiety scale (SLSAS) was employed. The SLSAS was developed by Woodrow (2008) and it
was adapted to this research (permission was taken from Woodrow by email). In adapting the
SLSAS all “English” words were replaced with “Turkish’’. For instance, the first item (The
teacher asks me a question in English in class) was changed to “The teacher asks me a question
in Turkish in class’’. Moreover, since 10th and the 11th items were not proper to the sample of
this research, they were slightly amended too. For example, the 11th item (Asking for advice in
English from a lecturer/supervisor in my intended university faculty of study) was changed it to
“Asking for advice in Turkish from a teacher in my school.”
Since the education language in all schools of the participants is English, and since
SLSAS’s items are expressed in simple words, it was not translated. However, for validity four
students (two girls and two boys) read and supplied their responses while thinking aloud. This
observation detected no misunderstanding in SLSAS items.
The SLSAS items were prepared in the form of statements that one could not be anxious
at all or be extremely anxious on a scale of 1 (not at all anxious) to 5 (extremely anxious) with 3

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822 signifying a moderately anxious response. This means that the lower the score, the less anxious
is the condition. The maximum score that could be obtained from SLSAS is 5.
The instrument has two levels: in-class language anxiety, and out-of-class language
anxiety. Woodrow calculated the reliability for in-class anxiety as .89 and for out-of-class .87
and for the combined scales .94. Similarly, in this research, the reliability was calculated for
in-class anxiety as .79 and for out-of-class .81 and for the combined scales .88. Thus, reliability
indices in both cases indicated that the SLSAS is a reliable instrument. As an indicator of
validity, factor analysis presented in the results section also yielded a similar structure with that
of Woodrow.
Data Collection and Data Analysis
Data were collected at the end of the spring semester of 2017-2018 school year during
class time. Initial data were collected from 379 volunteer students from four schools. Before
administering the survey, students were told that the participation was on volunteer basis, and
they can stop responding to the survey items at any time. After data cleaning, some students
supplied the same answer such as ‘’1’’ for all questions, responses of 25 students were removed.
The pages including the adapted SLSAS items were given to the teachers. They described to
students that the survey was for research purposes to develop education. Students were not
given any course bonus points for participating in the survey. The data were collected from
university students via an online Google Survey.
To compare students’ anxiety in Turkish and English, separate data were collected
from 52 high school students. A typical item asked to these students was as follows: Speaking
informally to my Turkish/English teacher out of class (2nd item). In other words, each student in
this group scored the SLSAS for both Turkish and English.
Initially, some descriptive statistics were carried out on item bases and on the group
(gender, school type) bases. Then, correlational analysis was conducted between anxiety and
variables: the number of years of learning Turkish, age and Turkish course grade. Next, a 2x2
MANOVA was performed to search the effect of gender and school type on in-class and out-of-
class anxieties. Finally, a repeated measure ANOVA was performed for students’ in-class and
out of class anxiety for both speaking Turkish and English.
Research Results
Initial descriptive statistics were conducted in order to disclose the item average scores
on each level of the SLSAS for each gender, and school type.
On the item bases: Table 2 shows participants’ anxiety levels about learning Turkish as
a second language represented by the percent of students who endorsed each possible answer
(1 to 5); items are listed in order of mean score. Responses for 1 and 2 were grouped together
because they both represent non-anxious conditions. Responses for 4 and 5 were grouped
together because they both represent anxious conditions. The level of anxiety can be categorized
as: high - 70% or more; moderate - 40–70%; and low - below 40%. The average of all the items
revealed that students have low anxiety in speaking Turkish as a second language.

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Table 2. Mean and standard deviations of SLSAS’s items. 823
1&2 4&5
Items Mean (SD) 3 (%)
(%) (%)
7. Talking to administrative staff of my language school in Turkish. 2.40 (1.17) 59.21 23.8 17.00
12 A native speaker I do not know asks me questions. 2.29 (1.28) 64.12 17.51 18.36
4. Taking part in a role-play or dialogue in front of my class. 2.25 (1.26) 67.99 13.6 18.41
5. Giving an oral presentation to the rest of the class. 2.25 (1.21) 65.54 17.23 17.23
6. When asked to contribute to a formal discussion in class. 2.25 (1.13) 63.84 21.47 14.69
8. Taking part in a conversation out of class with more than one native
2.11 (1.14) 67.51 19.21 13.28
speaker of Turkish.
2. Speaking informally to my Turkish teacher out of class. 2.10 (1.22) 68.27 17.28 14.45
1. The teacher asks me a question in Turkish in class. 2.05 (1.21) 75.14 10.17 14.69
9. Starting a conversation out of class with a friend or colleague who is
2.03 (1.17) 69.77 18.36 11.86
a native speaker of Turkish.
10. A native speaker of Turkish asks me a question in Turkish out of
2.00 (1.13) 72.88 14.97 12.15
class.
11. Asking for advice in Turkish from a teacher in your school. 1.95 (1.20) 74.86 12.99 12.15
3. Taking part in a group discussion in class. 1.90 (1.19) 73.73 13.28 12.99
On the item basis, the average scores ranged from 1.90 (item 3) to 2.40 (item 7). The
seventh item referring to ‘‘talking to administrative staff of my language school in Turkish’’ was
rated highest (M = 2.40) and the third item referring to ‘‘Taking part in a group discussion in
class’’ was scored the lowest (M = 1.90).
Recall that first six items of SLSAS were related to in-class anxiety and last six items
were about out-of-class anxiety. Thus, according to the participants the most anxious condition
(Taking part in a group discussion in class) occurs in the class while the least anxious conditions
(Talking to administrative staff of my language school in Turkish) occurs out of the class.
On the school type: Participants’ average points on the two levels of SLSAS for each
type of school are shown in Table 3. The values indicated in the parenthesis just after the names
of the schools are the number of participants from each school. The average anxious levels for
students from four different schools were 2.02, 2.20, 2.38, and 2.01 as seen in Table 3. The
mean overall scores were 2.16 on in-class anxiety, and 2.15 on out-of-class anxiety. These
values indicate that participants in all schools reported slightly anxious conditions in speaking
Turkish with respect to the two levels of SLSAS. Average scores of participants in SLSAS’s
two dimensions are approximately the same.
Table 3. Mean statistics of SLSAS’s levels for each school type.
Out-of-Class
In-Class Anxiety Total
School type Anxiety
M (SD) M (SD)
M (SD)
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys (116) 1.98 (1.22) 2.07 (1.18) 2.02 (1.20)
BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls (75) 2.27 (1.25) 2.12 (1.22) 2.20 (1.23)
Suleyman Demirel College (75) 2.40 (1.26) 2.36 (1.28) 2.38 (1.27)
Suleyman Demirel University (88) 2.00 (1.03) 2.02 (1.05) 2.01 (1.04)
All (354) 2.16 (1.19) 2.15 (1.18) 2.15 (1.19)

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824 The average anxiety levels of all participants were 2.15. Thus, the anxiety level for all
the students corresponds to a slightly anxious degree. Among all four schools that of college
students were the highest (2.40 and 2.36 for in-class and out-of-class anxieties respectively)
while that of BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys students were smallest for in-class (1.98)
and that of the university students were smallest for out-of-class (2.02).
Average in-class anxiety and out-of-class anxiety slightly changed according to school
type while in average in both conditions, the anxiety levels were approximately the same (2.16
and 2.15 respectively).
On the gender: Scores for each of the two levels of SLSAS across gender groups are
listed in Table 4. The data shows that males on average (Min-class = 2.14, Mout-of-class=2.16) reported
more anxiety than females (Min-class = 2.13, Mout-of-class=2.07).
Table 4. Descriptive statistics of SLSAS’s levels for gender groups.
In-Class Anxiety Out-of-Class Anxiety Total

Gender
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)
Female (110) 2.13 (0.84) 2.07 (0.79) 2.10 (0.86)
Male (244) 2.14 (0.85) 2.16 (0.88) 2.15 (0.89)
A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated to evaluate the relation

between the anxiety level and students’ age. There was a negative insignificant relation between
the variables, r = -.068, n = 354, p = .201. Likewise, the coefficient was computed to assess
the connection between the anxiety level and the duration of students’ learning Turkish. There
was also a negative insignificant relation between the variables, r = -.054, n = 354, p = .311.
Similarly, the coefficient was calculated to measure the relation between the anxiety level and
students’ course grade for Turkish language. There was also a negative insignificant relation
between the variables, r = -.001, n = 354, p = .989.
A two-way MANOVA was carried out to measure the effect of gender, and school type
on students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish (Table 5). Assumptions of MANOVA–normality,
independence of observations, homogeneity of covariance matrices of each group, and the
random and independent sampling from the population – were tested. Kolmogorov-Smirnov
test result was significant in both levels of SLSAS indicating non-normal distributions.
Homogeneity of covariance matrices for each group was not violated due to the insignificance
of Box’s M test (p = 0.13). Pillai’s trace was utilized for the analysis of MANOVA because the
normality assumption was not met, and it is more robust to violations (Tabachnick, & Fidell,
2007).
A two-way between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was
performed on the variables; gender (IV), school type (IV), in-class anxiety (DV), and out
of class anxiety (DV). First of all, the effects of each independent variable on the dependent
variables were analyzed by ignoring the effects of all other independent variables. MANOVA
results for the main effects indicated that gender was found to have no influence on the students’
overall anxiety in learning Turkish. However, a significant variance was found between the
students in terms of the stages of SLSAS with regard to their school.

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Table 5. MANOVA results for gender and school type. 825
Effect Pillai’s Trace F df p ƞ2
Gender .008 1.449 (2, 348) .236 .008
School .057 3.416 (6, 698) .002 .029
Gender * School .000 (0, 0)
Then, two univariate analysis of variances (ANOVA) were performed. The a level was
adjusted to prevent from committing Type I error using Bonferroni’s correction in which a level
is divided by the number of dependent variables (Pallant, 2007). An initial level of .05 was
chosen for the analysis. The adjusted alpha value for ANOVA analysis was reduced to a = .025
because there were two dependent variables.
As indicated in Table 6, statistically significant differences were detected in the in-class
anxiety F(3, 349) = 6.084, p< .05, among school types. However, no significant difference was
observed in the out-of-class anxiety F (3, 349) = 2.342, p= .073, among school type groups.
Furthermore, in terms of the gender, no significant differences were observed both for in-class
and out-of-class anxiety.
Table 6. ANOVA results.
Source Dependent Variable df F p ƞ2

In-Class 1 2.298 .130 .007
Gender
Out-of-Class 1 .259 .611 .001
In-Class 3 6.084 .000 .050
School
Out-of-Class 3 2.342 .073 .020
In-Class 0 . . .000
Gender * School
Out-of-Class 0 . . .000
In-Class 349
Error
Out-of-Class 349
The interaction effects were also analyzed: the dependence of effect of one independent
variable on the different levels of a dependent variable. Table 6 shows that no significant
influence of interaction of gender and school type on students’ anxiety were found.
ANOVA results were significant for school types. Thus, Bonferroni post-hoc analysis to
reveal the differences between each pair of school type (Table 7) was conducted.

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826 Table 7. Bonferroni post hoc analysis results.
(I) School (J) School Mean Difference (I-J) p
BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls -.2863 .123

BILIM-Innovation High School
Suleyman Demirel College -.4203* .004
for Boys
Suleyman Demirel University -.0184 1.000
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys .2863 .123

BILIM-Innovation High School
Suleyman Demirel College -.1340 1.000
for Girls
Suleyman Demirel University .2679 .245
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys .4203* .004
Suleyman Demirel College BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls .1340 1.000
Suleyman Demirel University .4019* .013
BILIM-Innovation High School for Boys .0184 1.000
Suleyman Demirel University BILIM-Innovation High School for Girls -.2679 .245
Suleyman Demirel College -.4019* .013
As seen from Table 7, the significant differences appear between BILIM-Innovation High
School for Boys and Suleyman Demirel College, and between Suleyman Demirel University
and Suleyman Demirel College. In other words, college students are statistically more anxious
in speaking Turkish in the class when compared to both BILIM-Innovation High School for
Boys and Suleyman Demirel University students.
Anxiety in Speaking Turkish versus English
To search any differences between students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish and English a
one-way ANOVA was conducted. Normality checks and Levene’s tests were carried out and the
assumptions met. No significant differences were observed between both in-class anxiety and
out-of-class anxiety (Table 8).
Table 8. ANOVA for anxiety in speaking Turkish and English.
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p
Between Groups 1.298 3 .433 .895 .444
Within Groups 199.245 412 .484

Total 200.543 415

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In performing ANOVA, four groups (two groups were in-class and out-of-class anxieties 827
in speaking Turkish, and two groups were in-class and out-of-class anxieties in speaking English)
were used. In-class and out-of-class anxiety statistics for Turkish and English languages are
displayed in Table 9, and no significant differences were found with these average scores on
SLSAS.
Table 9. Groups statistics for in-class and out-of-class anxieties.
N M SD
In-class-Turkish 52 2.19 0.80
In-class-English 52 2.20 0.76
Out-of-class-Turkish 52 2.15 0.60
Out-of-class-English 52 2.30 0.61
As seen from Table 9, students’ out-of-class anxiety was the highest in speaking English,
however, this was not a significant difference. Students’ in-class and out-of-class anxieties were
higher for English when compared to speaking Turkish, however, this difference was also found
to be non-significant.
Results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis
Initially, the factorability of the 12 SLSAS items was tested by looking at several known
measures. Firstly, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .913, above the
commonly recommended value of .6 (Pallant, 2007; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007), and Bartlett’s
test of sphericity was significant (χ2 (66) = 1404.84, p < .00). Secondly, the diagonals of the
anti-image correlation matrix were also all over .5. Finally, the communalities were above the
excepted value .3.
Twelve items relating to both in and outside the classroom anxieties were factor analyzed
using principal component analysis with Varimax (orthogonal) rotation. Instead of extracting
factors based on eigenvalues > 1, two fixed numbers of factors were used because the SLSAS
was two-dimensional. As hypothesized the analysis yielded two factors explaining a total of
50.79 % of the variance for the entire set of variables. Item loadings on groups was in consensus
with the categorization of SLSAS by Woodrow (2006).

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828 Table 10. Factor loadings and communalities of SLSAS items.
Item Factor Loading Communalities
Factor 1: In-Class Anxiety a=.787

q4 .816 .680
q3 .723 .599
q5 .623 .452
q6 .577 .467
q1 .561 .417
q2 .500 .325
Factor 2: Out-of-Class Anxiety a=.812
q12 .377 .384
q7 .780 .626
q10 .709 .586
q8 .697 .568
q9 .671 .562
q11 .620 .529
As seen from Table 10, items are grouped according to the categorization of Woodrow
(2006) who suggested first six items for in-class and next six items for the out-of-class anxiety.
Factors’ percentage of variances were 25.48 and 25.31 respectively. The reliability coefficients
of the factors were .787 and .812 respectively. These values are within the range of acceptable
reliability values in social sciences (Cortina, 1993).
Discussion
In this research, the language anxiety regarding students learning Turkish as a second
language was examined with a sample from Kazakhstan. SLSAS (Woodrow, 2008) was used
to determine both students in-class and out-of-class anxiety. Initial descriptive analysis was
done on the item bases. Further inferential statistics were conducted on gender, school type and
language (Turkish-English) variables.
The analysis of the data showed that participants’ average scores on SLSAS were 2.15
out of 5, which indicates a slight anxious condition for students that learn Turkish as a second
language in Kazakhstan. Similar findings were reported by Gulmez (2012), Şen and Boylu
(2015), Sevim (2014), Sallabaş (2012), and Boylu and Çangal (2015). The weak anxiety can be
attributed to; (1) the youth of Kazakhstan is growing up in many social activities since the early
ages, (2) Kazakh and Turkish are similar and related languages, and (3) students who participate
in the survey grow up in a multilingual environment. The weak anxiety state also appears
in some other studies conducted out of the territory of Turkey. For instance, the research by
İşcan (2011) in India showed that Turkish learners of Indian students indicated low anxious
conditions.
As expected the analysis on the item bases revealed that while students were less anxious
within their classmates (Taking part in a group discussion in class), they were relatively highly
anxious against administrative staff (Talking to administrative staff of my language school in
Turkish).
No gender differences were detected in terms of students’ anxiety in speaking Turkish.

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In similar studies it has been understood that gender has no effect on FLA (Batumlu, 829
2006; Boylu & Çangal, 2015; Doğan, 2008; Melanlıoğlu & Demir, 2013; Sevim, 2014). In
addition, no significant correlations were detected between anxiety in speaking Turkish and
age, duration of learning Turkish, and Turkish course grades. The results are in consensus with
the findings of Sevim (2014), and that of Melanlıoğlu and Demir (2013). In terms of duration of
learning Turkish, similar results were reported by Yassin and Razak (2017).
The data were also analyzed in terms of in-class and out-of-class anxieties. While no
significant differences were observed between gender groups and school type groups for the
out-of-class anxiety, there was a statistically significant difference between schools for in-class
anxiety. While there was no significant difference between Suleyman Demirel College students
and Bilim-Innovation School for Girls students, there were statistically significant differences
between Suleyman Demirel College and Suleyman Demirel University students, and between
Suleyman Demirel College and Bilim-Innovation School for Boys students for in-class anxiety.
To have an explanation about this finding, the ideas of college teachers were asked for the
relatively high anxious results of their students. The possible reasons stated by teachers were;
(1) relatively low number of Turkish course hours, (2) Turkish courses were at the end of the
day, (3) many courses were replaced with social activities, (4) no Turkish courses were executed
during internship training programs, and (5) students’ unwillingness towards Turkish courses.
The causes expressed by teachers are in agreement with the findings of Sallabaş (2012), who
found that students’ anxieties were related to amount of the courses that students attend.
Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research
The aim of this research was to determine participants’ in-class and out-of-class Turkish
language anxiety. The literature search revealed that anxiety in speaking a foreign language
is widely studied, however, studying in-class and out-of-class anxiety in speaking a foreign
language is a virgin area for researchers. This research can be a starting point for future
researchers.
The outcomes of current research showed that anxiety in speaking Turkish is not related
to students’ age, gender, and duration of studying Turkish, and Turkish course grades. The
only significant result was the relatively high in-class anxiety of college students. The high
consensus between the findings of this research with that of previous research on anxiety in
speaking Turkish, implies that future research should focus on variables other than age, gender,
and course grades.
The results indicate that the SLSAS is reliable and valid and thus, it can be recommended
to researchers as a new instrument to measure both in and outside classroom speaking anxiety.
This is recommended because no other instruments exist to measure in-class and out-of-class
anxieties.
An important result of this research is the finding that there is no significant difference
between students’ anxiety in learning Turkish and English. Kazakh and Turkish languages
are close to each other; however, our result did not support the hypothesis that the anxiety in
speaking Turkish will be less than anxiety in speaking English. Further research is needed to
dissolve this finding; however, it can be attributed to students starting learning both languages
at the same time and continuing in the same period.
Some restrictions to this research must be noted. Only a group of learners from private
schools in Kazakhstan was searched, which is a limitation for generalizing the results. It is
completely likely that further Turkish speakers in the similar or diverse learning conditions
would have unlike responses.
For future research, Turkish language anxiety should be studied in different learning
groups at many phases of Turkish learning with many learning objectives. It is possible that in-

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830 class and out-of-class anxiety vary in many fundamental ways other than the variables surveyed
here. Upcoming researches should focus on the connection of anxiety with other variables as
well as its connection to students’ stages of foreign language success.
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Zorlu, K. (2008). Türk Okulları [Turkish schools]. Yeniçağ Gazetesi. Istanbul, Turkey. 833
Received: June 25, 2018 Accepted: September 22, 2018
Durmuş Karci PhD Student, International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
E-mail: dkarci44@hotmail.com
Cemal Özdemir Assistant Professor, Suleyman Demirel University, Kaskelen, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
E-mail: cemal.ozdemir@sdu.edu.kz
Nuri Balta Professor, University of International Business, Abay Ave. No: 35/37 KB: 41, 050000
Almaty, Kazakhstan.
E-mail: baltanuri@gmail.com

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834
THE ROLE OF ETHNOPEDAGOGY
IN SHAPING POSITIVE ATTITUDES
TOWARDS TRADITIONAL VALUES OF
KAZAKH PEOPLE AMONG MASTER’S
STUDENTS MAJORING IN EDUCATION
IN KAZAKHSTAN
Rymshash Toleubekova
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan
E-mail: galiya008@mail.ru
Engilika Zhumataeva
S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University, Kazakhstan
E-mail: kazresearch@mail.ru
Abstract
Since gaining independence in 1991, the Republic of Kazakhstan has been consistently working on
restoring the national identity. An important role in this process is played by education, therefore, there
is a growing Government interest in instilling national values in pre-service and in-service teachers.
The aim of the research was to establish whether the attitudes towards the traditional values of the
Kazakh people held by Master’s students majoring in Education would change as a result of studying an
elective course in Ethnopedagogy. Based on an analysis of the traditional values of the Kazakh people
undertaken by Kazakh researchers, a classification of these values was developed and used as a basis
for a questionnaire designed to identify attitudes towards these values. A survey was conducted with
the students from two universities. The sample of the research was 119 people: 59 students formed the
experimental group (the one where the elective course was taught), the remaining 60 were in the control
group (that did not study the course). The survey was conducted twice: before the beginning and after the
end of the course. The results of the first survey showed no statistically significant differences between
the experimental and control groups. The second survey clearly showed positive changes in the attitudes
towards the traditional values of the Kazakh people in the experimental group, while in the control group
the results remained approximately at the level of the first survey. A conclusion was made that it is
necessary to strengthen the national and cultural components in the content of pedagogical education in
the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Keywords: attitude formation, postgraduate education, ethnopedagogy, Master’s degree students,
survey-based methodology, the Republic of Kazakhstan, traditional values.
Introduction
In the era of globalization, countries are becoming increasingly interconnected and

interdependent. Intensification of international contacts has led to a significant growth in
world trade, acceleration of the pace of scientific and technological progress, and overcoming
information inequality. These developments have had a serious impact on virtually all spheres of

Rymshash TOLEUBEKOVA, Engilika ZHUMATAEVA. The role of ethnopedagogy in shaping positive attitudes towards traditional
values of Kazakh people among master’s students majoring in education in Kazakhstan
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life of modern society. The authorities in Kazakhstan understand the advantages of international 835
cooperation and therefore consistently implement the policy of integration into the global
community.
Growing international contacts lead to the interpenetration of cultures, and yet one
dominant culture still exerts a particularly large impact on the whole world – the Western culture.
Smith and Ward (2000) noted that it is the Western ideas, ideologies, values and lifestyles that
are broadcast all over the world. Gibson (2007) argued that the youth is always most affected by
the influence of the West. Young people have not yet fully formed their own ideas about values,
so they are vulnerable to an outside influence to a much greater extent than adults. Thus, there
is a ‘clash of cultures’ (Triandis, 2006) in their minds, and if the influence of the native culture
is not strong enough, then Western values and behavior patterns begin to look more attractive.
Continuity of generations is ensured by the transfer of national values, which is of key
importance for any nation. If each generation does not analyze the previous experience of its
nation, does not preserve and develop it, then it might not have a future and may be degraded.
Arslanov and Fattakhova (2016) correctly noted that “a generation that has not preserved its
past and for whom the history starts from themselves inevitably leads the state to a spiritual
crisis” (p. 5). Unfortunately, this problem is relevant for the modern-day Kazakh nation. In
the Soviet period (1917-1991), ethnic traditions and customs were regarded as retrogressive
remnants of the Middle Ages. Young people throughout the whole Soviet Union were brought
up in the same way (in the spirit of communist ideals), without taking into account the national
and cultural background. This led to the fact that many people lost touch with their culture and
did not even speak their native language.
After gaining independence in 1991, the Republic began large-scale work to revive the
ancestors’ cultural heritage. Since then, the number of educational institutions with the state
language of education has been growing, much attention has been paid to teaching Kazakh
language and literature, and many cultural projects have been implemented. However, another
external influence is now felt by people - the expansion of the Western culture. Through
the mass culture (cinema, TV shows and series, music), the Internet and other modern
technologies, Kazakhstan’s youth are constantly faced with ideas, attitudes and behaviors that
are uncharacteristic of Kazakh culture.
However, intercultural exchange can also be beneficial. Labeş (2014) argued that
globalization and the preservation of cultural identity are not mutually exclusive. Two cultures
can coexist in the minds of individuals. There are tools for harmonizing the native and foreign
cultures, with ethnopedagogy being probably the most effective one. Burger (1971) believed
that the goal of ethnopedagogy is the attainment of syncretism, or the “reconciliation of two
or more cultural systems or elements with the modification of both” (p. 21). Researchers in
Kazakhstan agree with this idea. For example, Akhmetova (2014) argued that ethnopedagogy
makes it possible to develop the right attitude towards the cultural heritage, national and
universal values. At the same time, she noted that ethnopedagogical education is especially
important for future teachers, since they are the ones who are to revive, develop and strengthen
cultural traditions in the course of their professional activities.
Thus, the ethno-cultural component must be integrated into the content of pedagogical
education. It can be done in the form of a course on Ethnopedagogy, the purpose of which
is to familiarize students with the history and traditions of folk education. Moreover, since
the foundation of ethnopedagogy is the people’s wisdom and their rich cultural and historical
heritage, it can be hypothesized that such a course can contribute to the development of positive
attitudes towards traditional national values among teachers.
A detailed analysis of the works by Kazakh researchers (historians, culturologists,
ethnologists, sociologists and educators) made it possible to single out seven main groups of
traditional values characteristic of the Kazakh ethnos:

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836 1. Family and clan1: the interests of the family, the clan are always put above one’s own
interests. This is expressed in respect for the woman and her role of a mother and preserver of
the hearth; the cult of honoring the father as head of the family and the bearer of the family
name; respect for the elders; honoring the spirit of the ancestors (“Aruakh”), and respecting the
memory of previous generations. In addition, such concepts as Fathers’ Lands (“Ata Meken”
and “Ata Konys”) occupy a central place in the value system of Kazakhs. A Kazakh cannot exist
in isolation from the family and clan.
2. Morality: this includes such qualities as kindness, fairness, humanity, openness, and
willingness to help. According to the nomadic worldview, a person’s life is a transition from the
current, temporary state to the eternity (“Baki Duniye”). Everyone in this life is given a chance
to become one with eternity, absoluteness. There is only one condition: to be a Human. The great
Kazakh poet, educator, philosopher and thinker Abai Kunanbayev came to the conclusion that
love and fairness are the beginnings of humanity. Therefore, throughout history, Kazakhs have
always sought to help each other, live in harmony with their neighbors, and show friendliness
and hospitality to absolutely everyone.
3. Striving for knowledge: special importance has always been attached to exploring the
surrounding world. Knowledge was accumulated and transmitted from generation to generation
orally. Since the eighteenth century, the idea of the need for nationwide enlightenment was
actively promoted. For example, Shal-Akyn Kuleke-uly was one of the first Kazakh thinkers
who put forward the idea of spreading
knowledge (as cited in Zinnyatullina, 2013). In his
opinion, education is a value and a necessary prerequisite for the intellectual, cultural, moral and
spiritual development of an individual, as well as a condition for the formation and development
of a mature society. Abai Kunanbayev, Ybrai Altynsarin and other outstanding enlighteners also
urged their compatriots to acquire knowledge (as cited in Beisembiyev, 1954).
4. Harmonious coexistence with nature: the tradition of respectful and caring attitude to
nature has its roots in the era of Tengrism, when there were cults of the sky, earth, water, and
other elements. Since then, every Kazakh knows that it is necessary to live in harmony with the
native land.
5. Mother tongue and culture: M. Kashgari claimed that the native language is the most
important means of communication and unification of the people, an instrument of expressing
the spiritual and social experience of the nation (as cited in Zinnyatullina, 2013). A. Baytursynov
said, “The people who have lost their language will disappear” (as cited in Ibraimova et al.,
2017) Language is an important part of culture. It is customary to treat culture as a priceless
treasure which must be carefully preserved and passed on to the next generations.
6. Industriousness: children of the nomads had to become mature very early. At the age
of 13-15 they were already considered adults and allowed to public meetings. They actively
participated in economic and social activities. Therefore, it was important to introduce young
people to trades and crafts at a young age, encourage diligence and industriousness.
7. Beauty and creativity: Shal-Akyn Kuleke-uly asserted that it is necessary to be
able to see beauty in everything, so as not to drown in ignorance and untidiness (as cited in
Zinnyatullina, 2013). A special form of beauty is creativity and art. Poetry, singing and national
music are of primary importance here. The Kazakh people are a singing people. Academician
V. Bartold once said, “It feels like the Kazakh steppe is singing” (as cited in Toleubekova &
Zhumataeva, 2018, p. 355).
Cultural values can fulfill their role only if the society perceives them as meaningful,
important, useful and mandatory for use in everyday life. Consequently, the key concern is what
attitudes towards the traditional values of the Kazakh people prevail in society.
1 Broadly speaking, historically there were three main tribes of Kazakhs: Elder, Senior, or Great Horde
(Ulı Juz); Middle or Central Horde (Orta juz); and Junior, Younger, or Lesser Horde (Kişi juz). Each tribe (juz)
consisted of certain number of clans (i.e., people united by kinship and descent). It is traditional for every Ka-
zakh to know what clan he or she belongs to and to respect one’s clan.

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In this research, an attitude is understood as a relatively enduring organization of 837

beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events
or symbols (Vaughan & Hogg, 2005). Although attitudes are quite stable, they may still be
modified over time with exposure to training or new experiences which serve to challenge
the existing beliefs. Johnson (2012) argues that certain beliefs about how teaching should be
carried out are formed at the stage of learning and then, consciously or not, transferred into
one’s own teaching. This means that if teachers develop a positive attitude towards the national
and cultural values while studying for their degrees, they are likely to preserve this attitude in
the future when teaching their students.
The existing research in this area in Kazakhstan focused mainly on pre-service teacher
training at the level of Bachelor’s degree programs (for example, Daiker, 2015; Vakhitova &
Nugusova, 2015; Utesheva & Yerkibayeva, 2014). However, one cannot ignore the fact that the
importance of postgraduate education in Kazakhstan has been growing consistently, and the
number of Master’s degree holders in institutions of education of all levels has been growing
yearly. Therefore, the content of Master’s degree programs also needs to be carefully studied
and supplemented with the course(s) that would help Master’s degree students develop positive
attitudes towards their national values.
The hypothesis of this research was that development of a more positive attitude towards
the traditional national values can take place if Master’s degree students study a course on
Ethnopedagogy, where teaching and learning are carried out in accordance with the main
principles of constructivism. Constructivism as a modern educational theory is largely based
on the ideas expressed by Vygotsky (1978), Piaget (1976) and Bruner (1960). Constructivism
recognizes the uniqueness of each individual as the main value assuming that throughout our
lives, each of us constructs his or her own unique understanding of the world around us. The
key idea of constructivism lies in the fact that knowledge cannot be transferred to the learner
in a «ready-made» form. The true interiorization of knowledge is possible only when it is the
learner who creates (constructs) his or her knowledge. The role of the teacher in this case is
to make certain changes in the learning environment, through which the student could build
such cognitive structures that the teacher wants to transfer to him or her. In constructivist
understanding, learning is an active process, not a passive one. Such learning environments
may also lead to development of more positive attitudes (see, for example, Kim, 2005).
Thus, this research aimed to answer two questions:
1. What attitudes towards traditional values of Kazakh people are held by Master’s
degree students majoring in Education?
2. Do these attitudes change as a result of studying the elective course of Ethnopedagogy?
General Information
This research utilized quantitative methodology, since its purpose was to determine the
presence or absence of statistically significant changes in the attitudes towards the traditional
values of
the Kazakh nation, rather than explain the cause or describe the nature of these
changes. According to Aliaga and Gunderso, the use of a quantitative methodology implies
“explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically
based methods (in particular statistics)” (as cited in Muijs, 2004, p. 1). More specifically, the
present research utilized the survey method. A survey was conducted twice in the experimental
and control groups: before the beginning of the Ethnopedagogy course in the experimental group
and after its completion. The survey enabled statements of opinion to be directly translated into
numerical data and analyzed.

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838 Research Sample
Master’s students majoring in Education at L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University

and S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University were selected as the target population. The sample
of the research included the experimental and control groups. All Master’s students majoring in
Education at the two universities were offered to study the elective course of Ethnopedagogy.
The experimental group included those who chose to study this elective course. The total
number of participants in the experimental group was 59. The control group was formed from
those Master’s degree students who chose another elective course, and did not study the course
of Ethnopedagogy (60 people in total). It is important to note that the Kazakh language was the
language of tuition for all participants in this research. Therefore, the Ethnopedagogy course
was also taught in the Kazakh language. Prior to the research, the goals, content and procedure
of the research were explained to the participants in detail. Participation was voluntary. All
participants provided written consent to participate in the research.
Instruments and Procedures
The research was conducted with the use of the Questionnaire for Determining Attitudes
towards Traditional National and Cultural Values of Kazakhs. The questionnaire was developed
by the authors of the present research based on the results of their previous research in this
field (Toleubekova & Zhumataeva, 2018) and piloted in the two mentioned universities. The
questionnaire contained 35 questions (statements) divided into 7 sections corresponding to
the seven groups of values described above. Research participants were asked to rate how
much they agreed with each of the statements on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 was ‘strongly
disagree’ and 5 was ‘strongly agree’. The Questionnaire for Determining Attitudes towards
Traditional National and Cultural Values of Kazakhs showed good psychometric properties
(Cronbach’s alpha of .82).
In order to encourage participants to give honest answers, the survey was anonymous.
Participants were not asked to provide any personal data, the only information that was processed
in this research was their answers given in the form of numbers from one to five.
The first measurement was conducted in the experimental and control groups at the
beginning of the semester before the commencement of the course (September 5, 2017). It
was aimed to reveal the initial state of the attitudes held by research participants. Then, within
one semester (15 weeks), the experimental group studied the course of Ethnopedagogy, which
included lectures and practical classes. Not only did the course offer the fundamentals of
ethnopedagogics as a science, but also emphasized the connection of folk education with the
rich cultural and historical heritage of the Kazakh people. During the course, the role of rites,
traditions, national games, music and folklore in the upbringing of the younger generation was
shown. The pedagogical traditions of our ancestors were considered in unity with the national
and cultural peculiarities of Kazakhs as a nation. Thus, within the framework of this course,
there was an integration of axiological and subject content: the values of the people were
considered as the foundation of people’s traditions in the field of education and upbringing.
Teaching was carried out in accordance with the basic principles of constructivism in
education. Therefore, the learning process within the framework of this course was completely
student-focused: there were a lot of independent, pair and group work, discussions, projects and
presentations. Conditions were created for each student to take on the role of a researcher and
explore the rich world of national culture and traditions.
After the completion of the course (December 12, 2017), the second measurement was
conducted among the Master’s students of the experimental group (who studied the course) and
the control group (who did not study the course) using the same questionnaire.

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Data Analysis 839
The score for each answer was in the range from one to five points. Each section of the
questionnaire contained five questions (statements). Mean scores were calculated for each of
the seven sections in the experimental and control groups. The total mean scores for all 35
questions were calculated as well. The higher the result, the more significant the traditional
values are for the respondent.
According to the key to the Questionnaire for Determining Attitudes towards Traditional
National and Cultural Values of Kazakhs, the mean scores from one to three points indicate
a low level of acceptance of these values by a person. These values are not considered as
personally significant.
A result in the range from three to four points corresponds to the medium level of
acceptance of the values. Such a person in general identifies himself or herself with the native
culture, outwardly demonstrates respect for its values, but does not always use these values
as an internal guide in everyday life. This result indicates that the values are accepted by the
person rather outwardly and superficially than internally and deeply.
The result in the interval from four to five points shows a high level of the values
acceptance. Such a person does not just respect the values of his or her people and culture –
these values determine their everyday life and become an integral part of themselves.
In order to identify the presence (or absence) of statistically significant differences
between results of the first and the second measurement, a paired-sample Student’s t-test was
carried out. The pre-course and post-course results (mean scores) for each of the seven sections
of the questionnaire were compared in the experimental and control groups. The null hypothesis
was that there were no significant differences between each pair of means. The calculated
t-value was compared to the critical t-value with the degree of freedom of 58 (df = n – 1) for
the experimental group and 59 for the control group. The critical t-values were taken from the
t-distribution table. The confidence level was 99% (p ≤ .01). If the calculated t-value exceeded
the critical t-value, it was concluded that the null hypothesis must be rejected and that the means
were significantly different.
An independent samples Student’s t-test was carried out to identify the presence (or
absence) of statistically significant differences between the total mean scores in the experimental
and control groups after each measurement.
Results of Research
Results of the First Measurement
Figure 1 shows mean scores from the first measurement in the experimental and control
groups in each of the seven sections.

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840
Figure 1. Mean scores for each of the seven sections of the questionnaire inthe
experimental and control groups after the first measurement.
Note: in points, the possible interval: from one to five.
All participants’ results were within the range from 2.8 to 3.83 points. Students of the
experimental group showed slightly better results in the sections “family and clan”, “morality”,
“striving for knowledge”, “mother tongue and culture”, and “industriousness”, while research
participants from the control group scored slightly higher in “harmony with nature” and “beauty
and creativity”. It should be noted here that in all of the seven sections, the differences between
the mean scores of members of the experimental and control groups did not exceed 0.43 points.
The total mean score for all 7 sections was slightly higher in the experimental group –
3.39 points against 3.25 points in the control group. According to the key to the Questionnaire
for Determining Attitudes towards Traditional National and Cultural Values of Kazakhs, both
these results corresponded to the medium level of values acceptance.
In order to determine whether the mean scores of the experimental and control groups
were significantly different, Student’s t-test was carried out. The results are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Results of Student’s t-test after the first measurement (in points).
Total mean score Total mean score

Critical
of the experimen- of the control Calculated
Measurement t-value
tal group after the group after the t-value
(p ≤ .01)
first measurement first measurement
Measurement 1 3.39 3.25 0.6 2.61
As can be seen from Table 1, the calculated t-value is considerably lower than the critical
t-value, which indicates that there were no statistically significant differences between the
results of the experimental and control groups after the first measurement.

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Results of the Second Measurement 841
Figure 2 shows the mean scores from the second measurement conducted in the experimental
and control groups after the finish of the course of Ethnopedagogy.
Figure 2. Mean scores for each of the seven sections of the questionnaire in the
experimental and control groups after the second measurement.
Note: in points, the possible interval: from one to five.
Speaking about the results of the second measurement, three important points should be
noted.
Firstly, in all seven sections of the questionnaire, the experimental group scored more
points than the control one, while the results of the first measurement were approximately
similar in both groups.
Secondly, compared with the results of the first measurement, the results of the control
group did not undergo any significant changes, which is clearly evidenced by the results of
Student’s t-test presented in Table 2.
Table 2. The difference between mean scores from the first and second
measurements in the control group (in points).
Results of the Critical

Results of the Calculated
Section of the questionnaire second measure- t-value
first measurement t-value
ment (p ≤ .01)
Family and clan 3.63 3.6 0.2 2.66
Morality 3.05 3.22 0.7 2.66
Striving for knowledge 2.98 2.83 0.6 2.66
Harmony with nature 3.22 3.2 0.1 2.66
Mother tongue and culture 3.42 3.62 0.8 2.66
Industriousness 3.23 3.43 0.7 2.66
Beauty and creativity 3.22 3.25 0.1 2.66

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842 As can be seen from Table 2, the calculated t-value was always considerably lower than
the critical t-value, which means there were no significant differences between the results of the
first and the second measurement in the control group.
Thirdly, more pronounced changes were identified in the experimental group. The
difference between the results of the first and the second measurements is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. The difference between mean scores from the first and second
measurements in the experimental group (in points).
Results of the Results of the Critical

Calculated
Section of the questionnaire first measure- second measure- t-value
t-value
ment ment (p ≤ .01)
Family and clan 3.81 4.44 3.7 2.66
Morality 3.42 4.42 5.9 2.66
Striving for knowledge 3.41 3.81 2.3 2.66
Harmony with nature 3.03 3.8 4.2 2.66
Mother tongue and culture 3.83 4.24 2.1 2.66
Industriousness 3.44 3.61 0.8 2.66
Beauty and creativity 2.8 4.22 8.4 2.66
The results of Student’s t-test presented in Table 3 clearly show the presence of statistically
significant changes in four of the seven sections of the questionnaire, namely in “family and
clan”, “morality”, “harmony with nature” and “beauty and creativity”. However, as for “striving
for knowledge”, “mother tongue and culture” and “industriousness”, the calculated t-value is
below the critical level, which means that it cannot be claimed that statistically significant
changes were achieved there.
The total mean score for all seven sections in the experimental group was 4.08 points. This
value was within the interval corresponding to a high level of the traditional values acceptance
(4-5 points). Compared with the results of the first survey, there was a 0.69-point growth.
The mean score in the control group was 3.31 points. Compared to the results of the first
survey, it grew by only 0.06 points and remained in the range corresponding to the medium
level of the traditional values acceptance (3-4 points).
In order to determine if the change in total mean score was statistically significant,
Student’s t-test was carried. The results are presented in Table 4.
Table 4. Results of Student’s t-test after the second measurement.
Total mean score Total mean score of Critical

of the experimental the control group Calculated t-value
Measurement
group after the sec- after the second t-value (p ≤
ond measurement measurement .01)
Measurement 2 4.08 3.31 3.6 2.61
As Table 4 shows, the calculated t-value is above the critical value, which means that
the difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups after the second
measurement was statistically significant.

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Discussion 843
The results of the first measurement showed that, even before the start of the experiment,
most participants demonstrated a medium level of the traditional values acceptance, which
applied to both the experimental group and the control group. Such relatively good results can
be explained by the growth of the national consciousness among Kazakhs over the past 27
years. Since the country gained its independence in 1991, the state has implemented a number
of large-scale programs aimed at reviving the cultural heritage of the past (for example, Madeni
Mura (Cultural Heritage), Rukhani Zhanghyru (Spiritual Revival), Tughan Zher (Native Land),
etc.). All these programs have contributed to popularization of the national culture, consolidation
of the society and strengthening of patriotism.
In addition, the number of schools and classes with the Kazakh language of instruction
has been growing. In the early 1990s most of the students were taught in Russian, now the
opposite is true: more than 70% of schoolchildren study in Kazakh. The number of college and
university students enrolled in programs with the Kazakh language of instruction also grows.
Language is a mirror of culture and its most powerful tool. The language has accumulated
centuries-old wisdom and experience of the people. Thus, immersion into one’s native language
means immersion into the culture of one’s native people and, therefore, their values.
Thus, the first measurement showed that in general, the research participants held positive
attitudes towards the traditional values of their people. The results of the second measurement
were supposed to give an answer to the question whether studying a course in Ethnopedagogy
could cause further improvements in these attitudes.
As mentioned earlier, one of the two sections where the most significant growth was
shown was “morality” (the mean score in the experimental group grew from 3.42 to 4.42). Such
growth was made possible by the fact that the system of people’s moral values constitutes the
very foundation of ethnopedagogy. The goal of education and upbringing is to prepare young
people for life in society, which would be impossible without introducing them to the system
of moral norms in this society. Therefore, the central place in the content of the course was
occupied by the problem of moral qualities development by means of folk pedagogy.
It should be noted that other researchers also emphasize the positive influence of
ethnopedagogy on the development of morality in students. For example, Valiakhmetova
and Salpykova (2015) proved that the course of ethnopedagogy has a beneficial effect on
the development of empathy in students. Makhsudzhonova (2014) also stresses the role of
ethnopedagogy in the spiritual and moral development of students and emphasizes that adherence
to the principles of ethnopedagogy in teaching contributes to harmonious development of the
individual.
“Beauty and creativity” was the second area in which a significant growth was noted
(from 2.8 to 4.22). It is important to point out that the lowest results after the first measurement
were shown in this area. Modern young people may know quite a lot about contemporary
Western music bands, actors and other celebrities and at the same time, not be familiar with
the works of their fellow country-men. The same is true about the creative heritage of the
previous generations. Ethnopedagogy, on the contrary, recognizes national art and folklore as
an important tool for upbringing and education. Consequently, one of the course aims was to
introduce the students to the richness of the cultural heritage of the Kazakh people, with special
attention to national arts, crafts and folklore. This exposure was likely to be the cause of a
significant change in attitudes evidenced by the results of the second survey.
Getting familiar with the folk art contributes to the development of a sense of beauty
in students. Therefore, creativity plays an important role in the upbringing and spiritual
development of students. Utesheva and Yerkibayeva (2014) came to a similar conclusion in
their research.

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844 An important role in the achievement of this result was played by applying the
constructivist approach to teaching this course. Due to this, Master’s students were actively
involved in all types of learning activities. They participated in the search for new information,
made presentations, held discussions, and formulated their own conclusions. Such independence
allowed each of them to construct their own vision and understanding of the traditional values
of Kazakhs. New knowledge was not presented to them in a ready-made form, it had to be built
through independent research, personal experience, and exchange of opinions with group mates.
Therefore, it is not surprising that such knowledge was perceived as important and meaningful
for them personally, which is clearly evidenced by the results of the second measurement.
However, it is important to note that there were no statistically significant changes in
three areas (“striving for knowledge”, “mother tongue and culture” and “industriousness”).
This might be due to the length (15 weeks) and intensity (45 hours) of the course. According to
Johnson (2012) “a change in attitudes and beliefs is unlikely to occur in the short term... more
extended timeframe was deemed necessary in order to produce observable changes of worth”
(pp. 57-58). Therefore, such a relatively short-term exposure was not enough to cause profound
changes in all seven areas under consideration.
Nevertheless, the second survey clearly showed that the course of Ethnopedagogy
contributed to the formation of a more positive attitude to the traditional values of the people.
Significant changes were observed in the experimental group regarding most of the areas under
consideration.
Conclusions
Preserving one’s cultural identity in the era of globalization has become a topical issue
for many nations around the globe. A solid foundation of spirituality was laid by Kazakhs
in the past, and it forms an axiological basis for the nation’s subsequent development. It is
therefore evident that the traditional values accumulated over the long history of the nation’s
development can ensure the survival and strengthening of Kazakhs’ national identity. It is thus
important to develop a respectful attitude to the traditional values of Kazakhs, first of all, among
teachers. Only then they will be able to help their students build the same attitudes.
It can be stated that the main goal of the research was achieved. A significant change in
participants’ attitudes towards traditional national values took place, which is evidenced by the
statistical analysis result. The change was caused by the elective course on Ethnopedagogy that
was taught in accordance with the constructivist approach. Having been shown the history of
folk pedagogical thought and its inseparable connection with the culture, traditions and customs
of the people, the Master’s students were challenged to rethink the importance of their people’s
traditional values in their own lives.
It is important to note some limitations of the present research. The first one is the time
and intensity of the intervention. As it was already mentioned earlier, developing a certain
attitude is a long process. Only one course lasting one semester may not be enough. A more
long-term intervention is needed to see if significant changes can be achieved in all of the
seven areas under consideration. The second limitation consists in the size of the sample.
Before making final conclusions regarding the quality of the designed course and its ability to
cause changes in attitudes towards traditional national values, the number of institutions (and
consequently the Master’s degree students) taking part in the research needs to be increased.
Nevertheless, in spite of existing limitations, the present research makes its contribution
to the development of research on patriotic education in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Even
though the topic has become quite popular recently, so far there has been no research devoted
to the development of positive attitudes towards traditional values of Kazakh people among
Master’s Students Majoring in Education. More extensive research in this field might help

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understand what changes need to be made in the educational programs to instill traditional 845
national values in Master’s degree students.
Speaking about the prospects for further research in this area, it should be noted that
there is a need to develop and implement courses of a new type at both pre-service and in-
service levels of teacher training. In such courses, current issues of teaching staff training
should be systematically integrated with issues of instilling patriotism, love for the Motherland
and respect for the culture and traditions of one’s people.
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Arslanov, A. N., & Fattakhova, G.R. (2016). Moralnyye tsennosti narodov Rossii kak «dukhovnyy
immunitet» ot radikalnykh techeniy v islame [Moral values of the peoples of Russia as “spiritual
immunity” from radical movements in Islam]. Ufa: Publishing House of BSPU.
Beisembiyev, K. (1954). O filosofskikh vzglyadakh Abaya Kunanbayeva [On Abai Kunanbayev’s
philosophical views]. In M. Akhinzhanov, & Z. Akhmetov (Eds.) Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo Abaya.
Sbornik statey [Life and work of Abai. Collection of articles] (pp. 38-64). Alma-Ata, Kazakh
SSR: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR.
Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Burger, H. G. (1971). Ethno-pedagogy: A manual in cultural sensitivity with techniques for improving
cross-cultural teaching by fitting ethnic patterns (2nd Ed.). Albuquerque, NM: Southwestern
Cooperative Educational Laboratory.
Daiker, A. F. (2015). Etnopedagogicheskaya podgotovka budushchego uchitelya [Ethnopedagogical
preparation of the future teacher]. Retrieved from http://group-global.org/ru/node/16366.
Gibson, S. (2007). Globalization and its effect on cultural diversity. Retrieved from http://etec.ctlt.ubc.
ca/510wiki/Globalization_and_its_Effect_on_Cultural_Diversity#Negative_Influences.
Ibraimova, Zh. Zh., Shaimaganbetova, Zh. Zh., & Aktayev, E. (2017). Buduscheye Kazakhstana – v
kazakhskom yazyke [The future of Kazakhstan is in the Kazakh language]. Retrieved from http://
www.rusnauka.com/45_NIO_2017/Philologia/7_231765.doc.htm.
Johnson, M. (2012). Bilingual degree teacher’s beliefs: A case study in a tertiary setting. Pulso Revista
de Educación, 35, 49-74.
Kim, J. S. (2005). The effects of a constructivist teaching approach on student academic achievement,
self-concept, and learning strategies. Asia Pacific Education Review, 6 (1), 7-19.
Labeș, S. A. (2014). Globalization and cultural identity dilemmas. CES Working Papers, 6 (1), 87-96.
Makhsudzhonova, A. K. (2014). Rol’ etnopedagogiki v razvitii sovremennoy sistemy vospitaniya [The
role of ethnopedagogy in the development of modern education system]. Fan-Nauka, 7 (34), 27-
29.
Muijs, D. (2004). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS.London, UK: SAGE Publications.
Piaget, J. (1976). To understand is to invent: The future of the education. New York, US: Penguin Books.
Sarzhanova, G. B., et al. (2016). Information competence as a means of developing leadership qualities
in student-teachers. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11 (9),
2887-2899.
Smith, C., & Ward, G. (2000). Indigenous cultures in an interconnected world. Vancouver, Canada: UBC
Press.
Toleubekova, R. K., & Zhumataeva, E. (2018). Etnopedagogika [Ethnopedagogy]. Almaty, Kazakhstan:
CyberSmith.
Triandis, H. C. (2006). Cultural aspects of globalization. Journal of International Management, 12 (2),
208-217.
Utesheva, A. Zh., & Yerkibayeva, G. G. (2014). Rol narodnoy muzyki v dukhovno-nravstvennom stanovlenii
budushchikh uchiteley. [The role of folk music in the spiritual and moral formation of future
teachers]. Retrieved from http://www.rusnauka.com/17_PMN_2014/MusicaAndLife/1_172103.
doc.htm.

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846 Vakhitova, R. M., & Nugusova, A. (2015). Didakticheskiye usloviya podgotovki budushchikh uchiteley
matematiki k ispolzovaniyu idey etnopedagogiki v uchebno-vospitatelnom protsesse [Didactic
conditions for training future teachers of mathematics to use the ideas of ethnopedagogy in the
educational process]. Bulletin of KazNPU, 45, 78-83.
Valiakhmetova, A. N., & Salpykova, I. M. (2015). The role of ethnopedagogics in the development of
empathic culture in students. Review of European Studies, 7 (6), 289-294.
Vaughan, G., & Hogg, M. A. (2005). Introduction to social psychology. Sydney, Australia: Pearson
Education Australia.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Zinnyatullina, G. F. (2013). Dukhovnyye tsennosti kazakhov v kontekste globalizatsionnykh protsessov
[Spiritual values of Kazakhs in the context of globalization processes]. Bulletin of the Moscow
State Linguistic University, 11 (671), 188-196.
Appendix. List of lecture topics within the Ethnopedagogy course
1. The concept of “ethnos” and its main features

2. Ethnopedagogy as a science about history, theory and practice of folk education
3. The role of family and clan in the life of Kazakhs. Family education in ethnopedagogy
4. Spiritual and moral development in ethnopedagogy
5. Striving for knowledge as a characteristic of Kazakhs. Traditional games contributing
to the cognitive development of children
6. The concept of “native land”. Nature as a factor of folk education
7. Traditional culture of Kazakhs: everyday life, traditions and customs
8. National holidays and ceremonies as a means of introducing children to their native
culture
9. Ethnopedagogical potential of national games and sports
10. Mother tongue as the wealth of the nation. Centuries-old wisdom in the language:
proverbs and sayings
11. Work as a factor of folk education. National crafts
12. Folk art as the key factor in aesthetic education
13. Ideas of ethnic education in the works of great Kazakh thinkers
14. The influence of ethnopedagogy on the development of national identity
15. The relevance of ethnopedagogy in the context of the XXI century
Received: August 22, 2018 Accepted: November12, 2018
Rymshash Toleubekova Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National
University, 010000, Satpayev Street 2, Astana, Kazakhstan.
E-mail: galiya008@mail.ru
Engilika Zhumataeva Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State

University, 140008, Lomov Street, 64,Pavlodar, Kazakhstan.
E-mail: kazresearch@mail.ru

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PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ 847
KNOWLEDGE OF MATHEMATICS FOR

TEACHING: QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS
Ifunanya Julie Adaobi Ubah, Sarah Bansilal
University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
E-mail: adaichieify2000@gmail.com, BansilalS@ukzn.ac.za
Abstract
Many researchers and education stakeholders in South Africa point to the need to develop teachers’
personal knowledge of the mathematics concepts that they teach to their learners. In this research
study we explore the understanding of 42 pre-service mathematics teachers of one aspect of school
level mathematics, that of quadratic functions. Data were generated from the written responses to an
assessment as well as semi-structured interviews. The purpose was to explore the methods used by
pre-service mathematics teachers to derive a symbolic equation for a quadratic function expressed in
graphical form. Furthermore, we looked at whether the pre-service teachers were able to use different
methods to generate the symbolic equation. The results showed that 25 participants were able to
determine the equation of a parabola using one method, while 11 of them were able to use two different
methods. The most common method used was based on the intercept form of the equation. Some students
identified different forms that the equation of a quadratic function could be expressed as but were unable
to apply this to derive the equation. These results indicate that these students are not yet ready to teach
these school level concepts even though they have studied advanced mathematics topics as part of their
pre-service training. The study recommends that pre-service teachers should also be provided with more
structured opportunities to help develop pedagogic content knowledge of the school level content as part
of their teacher training programme.
Keywords: graphical representation, parabola, pre-service mathematics teachers, quadratic functions,
symbolic representation.
Introduction
In many developing countries such as South Africa, teachers who do not have a sufficiently
robust knowledge of basic mathematics are recruited into the teaching profession because of
the large demand for qualified teachers (Bowie & Reed, 2016; Deacon, 2016; Ndlovu, Amin, &
Samuel, 2017). Hence many teacher education institutions are struggling to break the “cycle of
mediocrity, where school leavers who were themselves poorly taught are returned to the schools
as poorly prepared teachers” (Deacon, 2016, p.25). This research is situated in the context
of under-prepared pre-service mathematics teachers who are struggling themselves with the
school level mathematics that they are expected to teach.
Changes in the mathematics curriculum for South African schools brought in a more
flexible and connected way of looking at quadratic functions as the curriculum includes the
study of translations of various graphs, where learners are expected to understand the effects
of various parameters on the graphs (Kunene & Bansilal, 2015). These curriculum changes
place further demands on teachers so that they can facilitate this flexible understanding of the
quadratic function. Kunene and Bansilal found out that the learners preferred to generate new
graphs by going through a step by step procedure based on substitution using a table instead
of carrying out vertical or horizontal translations on the original graph to find the quadratic

Ifunanya Julie Adaobi UBAH, Sarah BANSILAL. Pre-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge of mathematics for teaching: Quad-
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848 equation. This was similar to the results found by Lopez, Robels and Martinez-Planell (2016)
who observed that learners who knew some rules related to solving quadratic functions, were
able to apply these rules without thinking about why they did so, or whether what they were
doing was mathematically correct.
Since the concept of quadratic equations and the graphs of parabolas are important ideas
that permeate much of the mathematics studied in the further education and training (FET)
band in South African schools, there is a need to explore pre-service FET mathematics teachers’
knowledge of the concepts. Many research studies argue that teachers’ understanding of the
concepts should go beyond what is taught to their learners, because they have to respond to
demands different from just being able to solve a problem (Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008;
Ndlovu et al., 2017; Bansilal, Brijlall, & Mkhwanazi, 2014). Some of the demands are associated
with the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of these concepts (Shulman, 1986). For
example, teachers need to understand the various representations of functions; to move flexibly
between different representations; to know different methods of solving problems; to know
which method is easier than another; to recognise whether different methods are equivalent
or not; and, to be able to explain under what conditions certain procedures are appropriate or
not. The purpose of this research was to explore the methods used by pre-service mathematics
teachers to derive a symbolic equation for a quadratic function expressed in graphical form.
Furthermore, we looked at whether the pre-service teachers were able to use different methods
to generate the symbolic equation.
The Quadratic Function
Variables can be expressed in terms of lists of numbers, tables, set of order pairs, a flow
diagram or a graph. A function is an expression which describes the relationship between two
or more variables; where an independent (input) variable has exactly one dependent (output)
variable. When expressions between variables can be expressed as functions, they can be
visualised in the form of graphs which are usually easier to read than lists of numbers, tables,
flow charts or sets of ordered pairs. A quadratic function is one of the form f(x) = ax2 + bx +
c, where a, b, and c are numbers with a not equal to zero (Nielsen, 2015; Pender, Saddler, Shea
& Ward, 2011). In a quadratic function, the greatest power of the variable is 2 and may be one,
two or no real roots. The graph of a quadratic function, y = ax2 + bx + c, is a parabola (Yeo,
Seng, Lee, & Chow, 2013).
The quadratic function, can also be expressed in factored or Intercept form if it has roots
as f (x) = a(x- x1) (x- x2), where x1 and x2 are the roots of the quadratic function and the solutions
of the corresponding quadratic equation (Ousby, Cross, & Bowman, 2008). The intercept form
of a quadratic equation is one by which you can easily tell the x intercepts of the quadratic
function. It is also very easy to get the equation of the axis of symmetry of a parabola from
the intercept form of a quadratic function (Parent, 2015). A quadratic function could be in
vertex form as f(x) = a(x – p)2 + q, which is so named because p and q directly give you the
coordinates of the vertex or turning point of the function since the vertex of the graph is located
at the point (p, q). The vertex of a parabola is the place where it turns; hence, it is also called
the turning point.
The concept of quadratic function is one of the most important ideas in school mathematics
as graphs and equations are important parts of mathematics (Benning & Agyei, 2016; Nielsen,
2015; Parent, 2015). The idea of quadratic function plays an important role in the development
of mathematical concepts in that it cuts across a range of mathematics content domains including
those of algebra and geometry (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), 2000).
Mathematics teachers’understanding of quadratic functions is critical for student success in
mathematics and there appears to be agreement that for many high school students, solving

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and understanding quadratic functions can be conceptually challenging because of the need 849
to make connections between various representations of the function as well as connections
between the various forms in which the quadratic equation can be expressed as. (Didis, Bas, &
Erbas, 2011; Kilic, 2009).
Literature Review
In South Africa, there is little evidence to show that much progress have been made at
the level of the learners as revealed on results of summative national and international learners’
achievement, such as the Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality
(SACMEQ), and the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations (Alex & Mammen,
2016; Pournara, Hodgen, Adler, & Pillay, 2015). Learners’ low levels of progress in national
and summative examinations can be attributed, at least in part, to teachers’ poor mathematical
knowledge (Taylor & Taylor, 2012) and there are instances where it has been shown that
teachers don’t know well enough, the mathematics their learners need to learn (Bansilal,
Brijlall, & Mkhwanazi, 2014; Lowrie & Jorgensen, 2016; Taylor & Taylor, 2012). One of the
expectations of the Department of Basic Education (2011) is that the teachers be knowledgeable
of the content they are teaching. Across the world there are concerns about improving teachers’
mathematical knowledge (Agyei & Voogt, 2012; NCTM, 2000; Pournara, Hodgen, Adler, &
Pillay, 2015; Shulman, 1986).
Considering these concerns, there is a need to understand pre-service mathematics teacher
education (PSMTE) programmes offered in South Africa and how these prepare teachers to
teach in schools. This study was located within a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree which is
a four- year programme designed to prepare students to become teachers. The B.Ed programme
comprises a mix of courses based on the students’ specialization subjects, educational theories,
teaching methodologies and teaching practice. In the case of mathematics teachers, the modules
focus on university level mathematics content; knowledge about school level mathematics
content and how to teach it; as well as educational, psychological and sociological principles
and theories about students and how they learn. Modules based on methods of teaching school
mathematics form a small part of the degree comprising about 10% of the required credits
needed to complete the degree.
The concept of quadratic functions and parabola chosen for this study was because
it serves as an entry point to the study of polynomial functions in mathematics (Iben, 2012;
Zaslavsky, 1997). Moreover, functions are the foundation for all mathematics fields and
have many uses in career-related courses. A sound understanding of quadratic functions will
enable learners to deal with different types of functions such as trigonometric functions, linear
functions, exponential functions and logarithmic functions, leading to an understanding of
real-life uses of this concept. In view of these reasons, the concept of quadratic functions and
parabola was chosen for this research. The task used for this research was adapted from the
National Certificate mathematics examination for Grade 12 learners. The aim is to find out
if the proposed teachers who will teach these learners after graduating in few months really
understand the content that they are meant to teach.
Some research focus on procedural aspects of solving quadratic equations, how students
understand variables, graphs and quadratic functions (Leinhardt & Zaslavsky, 1990; Siyepu,
2013; Yuksel & Danyal, 2011). Mudaly and Rampersad (2010) conducted a study with
Grade 11 learners in South Africa, exploring learners’ conceptual understanding of graphical
representations of functional relationships. The findings indicated that the learners relied on
procedural knowledge to explain simple concepts and their visual understanding was weak
and dependent on diagrams that teachers use in the classroom. Mudaly and Rampersad
recommended that teachers should focus on developing visualization skills in the teaching and

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850 learning of graphical representations of functions that they believed was essential for conceptual
understanding.
Dede and Soybas (2011) carried out a study on the experience of mathematics pre-
service teachers in relation to function and equation concepts and the relationship between
them. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and analysed
through existential-phenomenology. The study revealed that many pre-service teachers have
incorrect conceptions and vague ideas about quadratic function and only a few students gave a
mathematically sound definition of equation.
Bansilal (2012) explored how a teacher with poor mathematical knowledge taught
mathematics for understanding. Bansilal found that the teacher did not formulate clear
explanations, and also omitted key ideas when trying to help students. Bansilal suggested that
a collegial and supportive environment is important for such teachers’ further development.
Teachers with poor content knowledge also need more detailed explanations, and such
explanations are also important for the students.
Sibuyi (2012) studied teachers’ knowledge of learners’ conceptions and misconceptions
on the topics of quadratic functions using questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The
findings revealed that many teachers were unable to detect misconceptions of the learner when
analysing their learners’ responses to the questions. In addition, Prediger (2010) found out that
pre-service teachers have difficulties in properly analysing their learner’s responses so as to
diagnose misconception.
Parent’s (2015) study examined how students develop a conceptual understanding of
the graph of the quadratic function. Qualitative research methods that utilized think-aloud
protocols while students were engaged in four tasks pertaining to the quadratic function were
employed. Results suggested that students preferred the standard form to vertex form when
solving problems on quadratic functions and often confused the y-intercept of the standard
form with the y-coordinate of the vertex when the function was in vertex form. Celik and
Guzel (2017) conducted a study on students’ thoughts of a quadratic function using a clinical
interview. Celik and Guzel observed that it is necessary for students to convert the standard
forms to factorized forms or the vertex forms and to relate them with the graphical properties
for improving their thinking about quadratic functions. The results suggest that explicit teaching
of quadratic functions and the tasks related to the concept are important for conceptual learning.
The review of the literature revealed a small amount of research on pre-service teachers’
understanding of the graphs of quadratic functions and links between the graphical and symbol-
ic representations. The studies indicated that learners at all levels of education have difficulties
in determining the relationship between drawing the graph of a parabola and using the graph to
find the equation of the parabola. Moreover, it has been a challenging task for teachers to help
their learners understand the connections between the graphical and symbolic representations
of the quadratic function in a flexible way. Hence there was a need to explore the understanding
of pre-service mathematics teachers in this area. This research used an exploratory framework
that can be used to find out more about how students work with equations of quadratic func-
tions.
Research Questions
This research responded to the research questions:

1. What methods do pre-service mathematics teachers use to derive a symbolic equation for a
quadratic function expressed in graphical form?
2. To what extent can the pre-service teachers use different methods to generate an appropriate
symbolic equation?

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Research Methodology 851
Research Design
A qualitative research method in general and case study approach in particular were
used to find out pre-service mathematics teachers’ main difficulties and weakness in finding
the equation of a given parabola. Qualitative research methods permit an in-depth investigation
of single or small number of units at a point (over a period) in time (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).
Selecting Participants
This exploratory research was carried out with 42 pre-service mathematics teachers
(purposively sampled) who were enrolled in a mathematics method course forming part of
their Bachelor in Education (B.Ed.) degree at a South African University. In this research, the
participants for the interview were selected based on the purposeful sampling strategy. The
purpose of purposeful sampling is to select information-rich cases whose study will illuminate
the questions under study (Ratcliff, 2016). Six pre-service teachers were selected for the semi-
structured interview based on their responses to the written test administered.
Ethical considerations
Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the university which has a strict
protocol that had to be adhered to. While the written test was part of continuous assessment
at the end of the module, informed consent was sought from the pre-service teachers. They
were asked to give consent to having their scripts analysed and to be interviewed as well as
to have the interview recorded. The purposes of the study were explained at the beginning of
the semester and the participants were aware that participation was voluntary. However, all the
pre-service teachers who registered for the module, participated in the research. To protect the
participants’ identities, all names used in this article are pseudonyms.
Data Collection
The data collected from the pre-service teachers’ written responses to a task which
formed part of an assessment that was intended to probe their knowledge and understanding
of quadratic functions and parabola. Six pre-service teachers were purposefully selected for
interviews based on their written responses to the assessment item. The participants for the
semi-structured interview consisted of one high achiever, two average achievers and three
lower achievers.
Data Analysis
Analysis of data entails breaking down the information gathered into elements in
order to obtain responses to research questions (Sauro, 2015). In this study, the quantitative
data from written responses and interviews were analysed using content analysis. The
interview data were organized in order to get an overview of what it revealed, and test
responses were grouped into manageable themes (Ratcliff, 2012). The details of the task
are presented below in Tables 1 and 2 and Figure 1.

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852 Task.
Table 1: Assessment Task
A parabola (in figure 1 below) intersects the x-axis at B and C and the y-axis at E. The axis of symmetry of the parabola
has equation = 3. The line through E and C has equation g(x) = - Using the information on the graph; find the
equation of the parabola using two different methods.
x
3
Figure 1. Graph of a parabola.
Expected Responses to the Task
There are three different forms of the quadratic equation that can be used to find the
equation of the graph of the parabola. The pre-service teachers were expected to use any two
different methods to find the equation of the parabola above. The methods are named according
to three basic forms of a parabola equation namely:
1. Vertex form: when the parabola is in vertex form, the equation is written as y = (x-p)2 + q,
where (p;q) are the coordinates of the turning point of the parabola.
2. Intercept form: sometimes referred to as the factor method. It involves the points where the
curve cuts x-axis. The parabola equation at this form is factored and it is written as y = a(x –
x1) (x – x2), where the coordinates of the x-intercepts are (x1, 0) and (x2, 0).
3. Standard form: this is the general form of parabola equation; the equation is written in the
form y = ax2 + bx + c.
There were three different methods that could be used in solving the problem—the intercept
method (IM), the vertex method (VM) and the standard form method (SM). These are
explained in further detail together with comments in Table 2 below:

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Table 2. Possible responses. 853
Different Methods Possible Responses

Note that p = 3, since x=3 is the equation of symmetry
Using the given equation of the line, g(x) = - , one can find the coordinates
of the points E and C
To find the coordinates of E, set x = 0
y= - ,y=- E(0, - )
To find coordinates of C, set y = 0
(a). Using the vertex method to
derive the equation of the pa- Then 0 = - , therefore, = hence x = 7 C (7, 0)
rabola in the form y = a(x-p)2 + q.
Substituting the points E and C into the equation, two equations can be gener-
ated in terms of a and q:
= 9a+q…… eqn(1)
0= 16a +q…..eqn (2)
By solving these equations simultaneously, it can be seen that a= ½ and q =-8.
Finally, we substitute the values of a, q and c into the vertex form to get equation
f(x) = a (x-p)2 + q that is, f(x) = ½ (x – 3)2 – 8 or f(x) = ½x2 -3x – .
Using the given equation of the line g(x) = - , one can find the coordinates
of C by solving for x in the equation, g(x) = 0
0= - ,0=x-7 x = 7 C(7, 0)
By inspection the coordinates of B (-1, 0)
(b). Using the Intercept method Hence the equation will be g(x) = a(x +1) (x – 7).
to find the equation in the form:
y = a(x – x1) (x – x2). Substituting the point E (0, – ) to find ‘a’:
- = a (0 + 1) (0 -7), a= ½
Hence the complete equation is:
g(x) = y = ½ (x +1) (x – 7), that is
y = ½ (x2 – 6x – 7) then y = ½ x2 – 3x – .
Using the given equation g(x) = - , find the coordinates of point C by solving
for x in the equation, g(x) = 0
(c). Finding a, b and c using
three points to find the equation 0= - , then = , hence x = 7 C(7, 0)
in the standard form y = ax2 +
bx + c By inspection, the coordinates of B is (-1,0)
By substituting these coordinates into the standard form of the equation, values
of a and b can be found
So, f(x) = ½ x2 – 3x - .

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854 Research Results
Overall Summary of the Results of the Written Responses
In reporting the results, the references to the pre-service teachers contain a number from
1 to 42, so T5 for example, refers to the fifth teacher. The scripts were not arranged in any
particular order, and a higher or lower number does not indicate any difference in ability or
performance.
There were three different methods that students could use to find the equation of the
quadratic function from the graph as explained in Table 2 and are referred to as the intercept
method (IM), the vertex method (VM) and standard form method (SM). The researchers looked
at the different methods chosen by the students and whether the solution they obtained was
correct or not, for each of the methods they chose. Table 3 presents the results for all these
categories:
Table 3. Results based on methods of finding the equation of the parabola.
Number of partici-
Number of partici- Number of partici-
Number of participants pants that provided
pants that provided pants that provided
Method that identified any cor- correct solution for
correct method but incorrect method
rect method any of the method
incorrect solution and solution
identified
4
Vertex 10 7 3
7
Intercept 22 15 7
Standard 5 3 2 1
From table 3, it can be seen that the most common method was the intercept method,
which 29 out of the 42 participants opted to use, while 14 used the vertex method and six 6
participants chose the standard form method. It was found that of the 29 participants who chose
the intercept method, 22 participants presented the correct intercept form of the equation while
7 presented an incorrect formula. With respect to the vertex method, 10 correctly stated the
vertex method while 4 gave an incorrect formula. For the 6 out of 42 participants that identified
the standard form method; 5 identified the correct standard form method while 1 gave incorrect
method (y = x2 + bx + c = 0). Hence, it can be seen that many students did not know the various
formulae that could be used to derive the equation of a quadratic function.
Following up, it can be seen that many of the students who correctly identified the formula
were able to use it correctly in deriving the equation of the function. For the intercept method,
15 out of the 22 that stated correctly the intercept form were able to use it to find the parabola
equation of the parabola, while 7 that provided the correct intercept form could not find the
equation of the parabola. From the 10 participants that stated the vertex method correctly, 7
used it to find the correct equation of the parabola while 3 used the correct method but could not
find the equation of the parabola. Out of the 5 that stated the standard form correctly, 2 could
not use it to find the equation of the parabola while 3 used the method to find the equation of the
parabola. Hence it can be seen that irrespective of which method the students chose; more than
half of them were able to use their method to find the equation of the quadratic function. Table
3 also indicate clearly that 25 students were able to solve the problem using one method. This
number dropped by more than half to 11 when it came to using two different methods to solve
the problem correctly (see Table 4).

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Table 4. Results based on two methods of finding the equation of the parabola. 855
Number of partici- Number of partici-

Number of Number of partici-
pants that provided pants that provided
participants that pants that provided
Method correct solution for correct methods
identified any two incorrect methods
any two identified but incorrect solu-
correct methods and solution
methods tion
Vertex & Intercept 26 9 17 16
Vertex & Standard 7 1 6 35
Intercept & Standard 4 1 3 38
Table 4 revealed that out of the 26 participants that identified the vertex and intercept
method to find the equation of the parabola; 9 participants used the two different methods
correctly to find the required equation of the parabola while 17 were unable to use the methods
correctly to find the equation of the parabola. 7 participants identified the vertex and standard
methods to find the equation of the parabola; out of which 1 used the two methods correctly,
while 6 were unable to use the two different methods to find the equation of the parabola.
Consequently, 4 participants identified the intercept and standard form to find the equation
of the parabola; out of which, 1 used the methods correctly; while 3 of them could not. An
indication that fewer participants could use varied methods to find the equation of a given
parabola.
Results of the Interviews
When one of the participants (T21) were probed during the interview about his
performance in the written task, he replied that he “was blank” and preferred using an equation
to draw the parabola but struggled to use the parabola to find equation which is a difficult task.
The dialogue between the researcher (R) and participant (T5) appears in Box 1.

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856 Box 1: Dialogue between participant T5 and the researcher.
R: What do you observe?

T5: We are given the y-intercept of the straight line equation. x- value of the parabola is given, that is the turning point.
I will now get the equation from what is given.
R: How do you then get the equation?
T5: The paper said provide two different methods.
R: Can you provide the two different methods?
T5: Different methods mmmm, but why not the reverse which is better mm; ok , y =ax2 + p, then another is the turning
point method.
R: What method do we call y = ax2 + p, and what is the values of the parameters in that method you stated?
T5: let me solve it from the equation g(x) = - (sketch on a paper) yea p is x = 7.
R: Where is p from? How did you get p from x =7?
T5: p is the turning point because the vertex is at the point (p, q). I Cross multiplied g(x) = - (Illustrating) to get 2x
= 7 × 2, which is 2x = 14, then x = p which is p = 7.
R: If your method is the vertex method, Where is the position of q in your formula and where is the vertex from the
graph?
T5: (whispering): I don’t know.
R: You know that (p, q) are the coordinates of the turning point on x-axis and y-axis (illustrating from the graph)
Hence, p = 3 and not p = 7 as you calculated.
T5: Ok. So, the turning point is p, but what if it is not given?
R: Yes, if the value of the turning point is not given, there will be other information that will enable you to find the
value. Using your identified vertex method, how do you find the equation?
T5: From the vertex method y = ax2 + p, am looking for x but my worry is how to get ‘a’ and that is why it is confusing.
R: Could you remember another method used in finding equation of a parabola?
T5: Oh no, the factoring, that is y = (x - x1) (x - x2). Problem here is to find this entire x
R: What is the difference between the three different x or are they the same?
T5: (Not able to answer)
The dialogue appearing above showed that the student was confused between the
parameters p and q in the vertex form of the equation. The student considered the vertex
form as y = ax2 + p instead of y = a(x – p) 2 + q, and the intercept form was stated as y = (x
-x 1) (x - x2) instead of y = a(x – x1) (x – x2). The first misconception is that the equation of
the parabola that the student used, describes a parabola whose axis of symmetry is the y-axis,
whereas in this question, the parabola is not centred on the y-axis. Secondly, the student seems
to be confused about parameters p and q. He mentions p but cannot connect it to the point on
the graph. Thirdly, the student in describing the intercept form disregarded the parameter ‘a’
that determines the vertical stretching of the graph. Another interesting misconception was
the confusion between the equation of the straight line and the calculation of the parameter p
which usually refers to the x- co-ordinate of the vertex of the parabola. The student in Box 1,
has explained that he solved for x in the equation g(x) = 0 to obtain the answer x = 7 which he
then took as the p- value in the function f(x), however x = 7 is the x-intercept of the line as well
as the parabola.
Analysis of Individual Written Responses to the Task
The written responses of participant T5 and T21 that mentioned during the interview that
he was blank at the time of the written task are shown in figures 2 and 3.

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Figure 2. Written response of participant T5 .
Figure 3. Written response of participant T21.
In figure 2 the participant (T5), could not identify the point (0, 3) as the mid-point of
line BC, hence was not able to get the correct coordinates of point B (-1, 0) but found point
C(7, 0) correctly. Using an incorrect formula for the intercept form, he struggled to substitute
numbers and arrived at an incorrect equation. The response of participant T21 in figure 3 reveals
confusion which he described in his interview. His comment was that he could not think and
was blank at that point when presented with the task. The response shows a reference to the
x-intercepts followed by an incorrect formula for the vertex form of the equation—confirming
that he did not quite know what to do. The two responses of (T5 and T21) show that they both
ignored the parameter ‘a’ which determines the vertical stretching of the graph.
Responses by three participants (T38, T10 and T24) appearing in Figures 4, 5, 6 and
7, shows how they used incorrect methods to find the required equation. When the researcher
probed T38 during the interview session, about the vertex and intercept forms of the equation,
he was able to provide specific examples; for the vertex form he gave the equation g(x) = 2(x-
1)2 +3 while an example of a quadratic function in an intercept form was given as g(x) = 2(x+3)
(x-1). However, he could not effectively use them to find the equation as is shown in figure 4.

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858 The written response of the pre-service student (T10) showed a different vertex form but
she provided the appropriate standard form of the equations. With the standard form she used
the correct coordinates of point E and calculated the value of c in the equation as -7/2. She then
substituted correctly into the equation using the coordinates of C to arrive at an equation in
terms of the unknowns a and b, but struggled in going further, because she needed to substitute
a further point to arrive at a second equation in terms of a and b which would have enabled
her to solve the two equations simultaneously. Finding herself stuck, she then moved to using
the vertex form of the equation, which was incorrectly formulated. During the interview, the
participant T10 admitted that she had conflicting issues with the standard form and the incorrect
vertex form. She explained that she learnt how to find equations of quadratic function using the
standard form only and now realized the importance of being familiar with the different forms
of representing the same equation.
The approach of T24 appearing in figure 7, in providing two different methods of

working out Question 1 is very interesting. The participant stated the intercept form but omitted
the parameter ‘a’ and could not identify that x1 and x2 are the roots of the parabola and instead
associated them with the straight line equation g(x) = - that was given. The participant
explained as part of her written response that she took the gradient of the straight line (½) and
the y-intercept (-) as the roots of the parabola. Her response is shown in figure 6, where she
(T24) writes that she has identified the values x1 = ½ and x2 = .
Figure 6. Written responses of participant T24.
In participant’s T25 response in figure 7, an incorrect vertex form [a(x-p)2 + q1/2] was
stated. An interesting revelation is found in her explanation of the process of finding the equation
of the parabola using the incorrect vertex form, where she refers to the use of the equation of the
line [g(x)] as a method and then refers to the incorrect vertex form.

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Figure 7. Written response using vertex method by participant T25.
In T25’s response in figure 8 about her use of a second method to find the quadratic
function, she presented the correct standard form of the equation. Again, an interesting
explanation is given about the process of using the standard form to find the equation of the
parabola.
The participant was confused about many of the details stated. When asked during the
interview, why she could not engage constructively on the question, T25 said she did not know
such question will be asked and has forgotten the process of using the different methods to find
the required equation of the parabola. It is hard to imagine how this concept will be taught in
her classroom, if she does not receive any further instruction on the teaching of the concept.
Although there were some differences that were observed between male and female participants,
the issue of gender is beyond the scope of this research.
Discussion
The research showed that most common methods chosen by the participants, in trying
to solve the problem on the quadratic function was the intercept method based on the equation
y = a(x – x1) (x – x2), where x1 and x2 are the x-intercepts of the graph. The use of this method
required them to identify the coordinates and then substitute into the intercept form of the
equation, which may have been the least complicated option. This is similar to the findings of
Ousby and Bowman (2008) who observed that the intercept form is the easiest way to find the
equation of a parabola with two specific roots. However, it is a little different to the finding
of Parent (2015) were participants preferred using the standard form to vertex and intercept
methods.

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860 The study by Bansilal et al., (2014) found that of the 253 practising teachers in their
study, only 53% could present the equation of a quadratic function in vertex form. Similarly
in this study, students also struggled with this form of the equation and only seven of the ten
students who provided a correct form were able to complete the task correctly. Parent (2015)
noted particular problems with the use of the vertex form. A common error made by the students
in Parent’s study was the confusion between the intercepts of graph and the coordinates of
the turning point, which was also evident in the response by T5 in this study. Students had
difficulties in identifying the various parameters associated with the different forms of quadratic
functions. For instance, the written response of T24 in figure 7 shows that she associated x1 =
½ and x2 = in the intercept method. Some participants displayed great difficulties in stating
correctly the vertex and intercept forms of quadratic function, which indicates deep seated
problems about the meaning of these parameters. Tall, Lima, & Healy, (2014) observed that
when learners have gaps in knowledge and skills that should have been developed earlier on,
conceptual development of more complicated concepts is severely retarded.
In this study only 25(60%) were able to correctly work out the equation of a quadratic
function. In terms of using two different methods, only 11(26%) successfully applied two
different methods to find the equation. This raises an important issue about the kind of
knowledge that teachers need. Shulman seminal description of pedagogic content knowledge
(PCK) described this phrase as: “subject matter knowledge for teaching…the ways of
representing and formulating the subject that make it comprehensible to others… [It] includes
an understanding of what makes the learning of specific topics easy or difficult; the conceptions
or preconceptions that students of different ages bring with them to the learning of those most
frequently taught topics and lessons.” (Shulman, 1986, p. 9). Being able to produce the correct
answers to questions based on school level content is just one small part of a mathematics
teacher’s task. Beyond that, a teacher should be able to decide upon a sequence of activities to
introduce learners to new concepts; to link new content to big ideas in mathematics, to provide
clear and unambiguous explanations; to design practice exercises and other consolidation
activities as part of the teaching. Moreover, a teacher should be able to draw upon links between
examples focusing on particular examples, counter examples, while also bringing in and
making links across different representations so as to deepen their learners understanding of the
concept. As research on teachers’ pedagogic content knowledge indicates, there is much more
than just knowing the common content knowledge (Shulman, 1986; Ball, Thames, & Phelps,
2008). Teachers, who struggle to solve problems based on basic applications of well-known
procedures, will be severely hampered in trying to teach their learners. They will not be able
to recognise the demands of assessment items and will not be able to design well-structured
assessments; neither will they be able to provide appropriate feedback to their learners, because
PCK skills are constructed on the foundation of their content knowledge. Thus, the teachers’
limited understanding is an impediment to the pedagogic content strategies that they will be
able to draw upon in the class.
As research on teachers’ pedagogic content knowledge indicates, there is much more
than just knowing the common content knowledge (Shulman, 1986; Ball et al. 2008). This
study showed that some pre-service teachers did not develop the insight that was necessary to
make connections between the equations of the quadratic function and the graph of the corre-
sponding parabola. The conditions under which the pre-service teachers learnt quadratic func-
tions may be a factor that has made it difficult for them to acquire the necessary skills. Perhaps
learning opportunities that are more conceptually grounded instead of the rule based method
may be more successful and hence programs for pre-service teachers may need to offer such
opportunities to students with poor mathematics backgrounds.
This research study has provided significant insights to the existing literature by identi-
fying and analysing the pre-service teachers’ knowledge of quadratic functions. The in-depth

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interviews provided evidence of how students struggled with making sense of the parameters 861
used in the various forms that a quadratic function can be expressed. The results point to the
need for pre-service teachers to be given challenging tasks which can help them interrogate
their understanding of these fundamental concepts that they will be teaching in future. This
is in line with Kilic’s (2009) finding that suggested; teacher education programs need to of-
fer courses that provide pre-service teachers with opportunities to review fundamental topics
taught in secondary school mathematics.
Conclusions
This research focused on the written responses of 42 pre-service mathematics teachers

to an item based on quadratic functions. The results showed that although 25 participants were
able to determine the equation of a parabola using one method, most participants were unable to
use two different methods to find the equation of the given parabola. The most common method
chosen by students was the one based on the intercept form of the equation. Some students
identified forms that the equation of a quadratic function could be expressed as but were unable
to apply this to derive the equation. Many of the students were unable to even express the
general equation in a form that correctly represented a quadratic function.
However, a large number of the pre-service teachers in this study struggled with finding
the equation of a quadratic function using two methods. These results show that the pre-service
teachers have not developed a robust understanding of this school level concept that they will
be required to teach. This is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed especially because of
the large numbers of under-prepared students who are training to become mathematics teachers
even though they were not high achievers at school mathematics. It is clear that all stakeholders
need to work together in devising interventions that can be used to offer greater support to those
students and teachers who do not have a strong background in school mathematics.
As noted in the introductory remarks in this paper, that in some countries such as South
Africa, students who do not have a sufficiently robust knowledge of basic mathematics are
recruited into the teaching profession because of the large demand for qualified teachers. This
raises a concern about whether it is possible for mathematics teacher education programmes to
help pre-service teachers improve their understanding of the school level concepts they will need
to teach. Most university programmes focus on developing knowledge of advanced mathematics
because of the need for compliance with university accreditation structures. The assumption is
that pre-service teachers have developed an understanding of the school mathematics content
they need and hence this cannot form the focus of instruction at university. Based on this reality,
it is important that pre-service teachers be given opportunities to improve on their knowledge of
basic mathematics concepts in supportive of a well-structured intervention program. It is clear
that newly qualified teachers still need sustained support and mentorship at their schools so that
their mathematics knowledge for teaching can be improved.
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Received: July 01, 2018 Accepted: October 09, 2018
Ifunanya Julie Adaobi Ubah PhD, Post Doctoral scholar, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Private
Bag X54001, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
E-mail: adaichieify2000@gmail.com
Sarah Bansilal PhD, Professor, Head of Department of Mathematics Educa-

tion, School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban,
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
E-mail: BansilalS@ukzn.ac.za

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COGNITIVE LOADING DUE TO SELF-
DIRECTED LEARNING, COMPLEX
QUESTIONS AND TASKS IN THE ZONE OF
PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS
Ephraim Zulu
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
E-mail: ephraimzulu2000@yahoo.co.uk
Theodore Haupt
Mangosuthu University of Technology, South Africa
E-mail: theo.haupt@mut.ac.za
Vittorio Tramontin
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
E-mail: Tramontin@ukzn.ac.za
Abstract
The aim of the research was to explore the levels of cognitive loading induced by certain tenets of
constructivist pedagogy namely self-directed learning complex questions and zone of proximal development.
The study also sought to investigate the associations between these constructs and with cognitive loading
and complex questions. Data for the research were collected using a questionnaire survey of a sample of
students studying towards undergraduate degrees in construction-related studies at - public universities
in South Africa. The data were factor analyzed to determine the factor structure of the constructs and to
assess instrument validity and reliability. The relationships between the various constructs were analyzed
using structural equation modeling (SEM). Consistent with other studies, the research found that complex
questions induce a statistically significant amount of cognitive loading in students. The study also found
that self-directed learning does not induce cognitive loading while subjecting students to tasks which are
in their zone of proximal development is likely to induce some cognitive loading albeit much less than
that from complex questions. Locating tasks in the zone of proximal development of students is likely to
lead students to engage in some self-directed learning. It was also found that complex questions had
a small significant association with self-directed learning. To reduce the amount of cognitive loading
which students are subjected to, complex questions should be avoided for students with little subject prior
knowledge, otherwise, students should be appropriately scaffolded. Students should be encouraged to
engage in self-directed learning in order to reduce cognitive loading. Learning tasks assigned for self-
directed learning should not be complex relative to the knowledge of the students as this discourages
students from persisting with self-directed learning due to high cognitive loading.
Keywords: cognitive loading, complex questions, self-directed learning, zone of proximal development.
Introduction
Constructivism with its associated pedagogy is becoming the widely accepted approach
to teaching and learning due to its reported efficacy of being student-centered. Constructivist
pedagogies typically engage students in active learning through asking questions on a topic and
proposing hypotheses about the questions and collecting, investigating and analyzing available
information to answer the questions thereby discovering knowledge previously unknown to the

Ephraim ZULU, Theodore HAUPT, Vittorio TRAMONTIN. Cognitive loading due to self-directed learning, complex questions and
tasks in the zone of proximal development of students
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students (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007; Kori, Mäeots, & Pedaste, 2014; Lazonder & 865
Harmsen, 2016; Mäeots & Pedaste, 2014; Pedaste & Sarapuu, 2006; Scanlon, Anastopoulou,
Kerawalla, & Mulholland, 2011; Spronken-Smith, Bullard, Ray, Roberts, & Keiffer, 2008).
In constructivist pedagogies, students engage in self-directed learning by actively collecting
information and investigating the problem.
Constructivist approaches include Inquiry Based Learning (IBL), Problem Based
Learning (PrBL), Project Based Learning (PBL), Studio Based Learning (SBL), Case Based
Learning (CBL), Discovery Learning and Action Learning. All of these approaches are based
on students learning while working proposing a solution to a problem. Problems that may be
investigated can be a group or individual project, a case study, field work, research activities
or any type of problem for students to explore (Lim, 2004; Meijerman, Storm, Moret, &
Koster, 2013; Spronken-Smith & Kingham, 2009; White & Frederiksen, 1998). For example,
Spronken-Smith (2005) used an authentic problem developed with a potential employer. At the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Hansman (2009) used a real world engineering
project to develop a flight vehicle that would serve as an airborne sensing platform for high
precision antenna calibration commissioned by a government entity. Other examples include
a project commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for
students to conceive, design, and build Estes Model rockets and launch them with the goal of
launching the most massive payload possible to 300ft at minimal cost (CDIO, 2018). Another
one was to design and fabricate a skyscraper capable of sustaining a load capable of handling
an “earthquake,” by first and second year engineering students (Gray, 2011).
In constructivist pedagogies, students are often exposed to questions which are fairly
complex relative to the knowledge they possess. Questions may be classified as complex when
their answers need to be collated from information scattered in many different documents (Chali,
Hasan, & Mojahid, 2015) or from different bodies of knowledge in different disciplines. Using
complex questions is expected to challenge students to acquire knowledge they previously did
not possess. Therefore, complex questions are located in what Lev Vygotsky called the zone of
proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978).
There is some disagreement about the most appropriate types of problems to address
in constructivist pedagogies. Kahn and O’Rourke (2004) suggested that IBL questions should
be complex and open ended with a variety of solutions. Spronken-Smith et al. (2008) felt that
questions need to be broad to allow for multiple perspectives and exploration scope. Harinarain
and Haupt (2016) suggested that problems should be authentic, ill-structured, complex, open
ended, messy and ambiguous in beginnings, means and ends with neither correct nor incorrect
multiple solutions.
However, when they used complex and ambiguous questions, Harinarain and Haupt
(2016) reported that students felt negatively about this type of inquiry problem. Spronken-
Smith et al. (2008) felt that it was not necessary to have a variety of solutions. Lim (2004)
argued against having too many diverse tasks stating that this may not help students focus on
learning tasks and if activities are too complex, students may easily lose interest in the module.
Lim (2004) therefore suggested that it is important to avoid too many complex questions and
necessary to make tasks or processes manageable because tasks which are too complex easily
overwhelm the students.
Research from cognitive science agrees with the suggestion by Lim (2004) arguing that
complex tasks induce high levels of cognitive loading in students. Situations of high cognitive
loading have been found to impede meaningful learning (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006;
Sweller, Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998; Yuan, Steedle, Shavelson, Alonzo, & Oppezzo, 2006).
Since solving or attempting to solve complex problems leads to high cognitive loading, more
so in students with little prior knowledge, highly complex problems may not be the most
appropriate problems for students to engage with.

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866 Problem of Research and Research Focus
According to cognitive science, cognitive loading should be a major consideration in any

pedagogy. The association between complex questions and cognitive loading has been widely
researched and it is widely accepted that complex questions induce high levels of cognitive load
(Kirschner et al., 2006; Sweller et al., 1998; Yuan et al., 2006). However, the level of cognitive
loading induced by some tenets of constructivist pedagogies is not reported in literature. For
example, the association between Self-Directed Learning (SDL) and cognitive loading are not
reported in extant literature. The effect of complex questions and locating learning tasks in the
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of students on their cognitive load and the aptitude of
students for SDL is also not investigated. The specific research questions addressed were:
1. What is the level of cognitive loading induced when students engage in SDL and
when their assessment questions are located in the ZPD?
2. How does the cognitive loading from complex questions and questions located in the
ZPD affect the aptitude of students for SDL?
The research is important because it has implications for constructivist pedagogy.
Constructivist pedagogy often uses complex questions while expecting students to engage in
self-directed learning. However, the consequent cognitive loading in is largely ignored and often
not even acknowledged. Therefore, the results of this research are expected to have practical
implications by providing empirical evidence of the consequent cognitive loading on students
due to some of the tenets of constructivist pedagogy. It is expected that this empirical knowledge
can lead to recommendations on how to deal with the cognitive loading. The research is also
expected to add to the growing body of knowledge on cognitive loading in general.
Cognitive Loading
Cognitive loading is the mental load on working memory expended in executing

cognitive functions such as perceiving, thinking and learning among others (Sweller & Paas,
2017). Because working memory has a very limited capacity, it tends to get overloaded and
overwhelmed when its limits are stretched (Leppink, 2017). Educational approaches which
induce lower levels of cognitive load result in better learning outcomes for students while
those which ignore the limits of working memory often inhibit learning (Kirshner, 2002; Van
Gerven et al., 2002; Tasir & Pim, 1994). Therefore, lower levels of cognitive loading induced in
students will work to yield more effective learning than when the memory limits of students are
ignored, and the cognitive load is left to exceed the memory limit. This is based on the cognitive
load theory (CLT) which posits that since working memory has a very limited capacity, it can
be easily overloaded with activities that impede rather than aid learning. Subsequently, effective
learning happens when the cognitive load in working memory is directed towards construction
and automation of relevant schemata (Pollock et al., 2002; Sweller et al., 1998). Scheiter et al.
(2009) found that students with lower levels of cognitive load exhibited better problem-solving
performance.
Cognitive loading is an important consideration in educational practice since learning
will hardly take place if the limits of working memory are ignored (Sweller et al., 1998; Van
Gerven et al., 2002). Therefore, pedagogies which ignore cognitive loading are unlikely to
achieve maximum efficiency in learning since the working memory capacity of students is
likely to be exceeded (Bannert, 2002; Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998).

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Zone of Proximal Development 867
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is ‘the distance between the actual
developmental level of a student as determined by independent problem solving and the level
of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in
collaboration with more capable peers’ (Vygotsky, 1978: 86 cited in Berkiryazicic, 2015).
Therefore, learning consists of challenging students to perform tasks located in their ZPD and
providing them with assistance in performing the task until the students are able to perform
the task on their own (Naeini, 2014; Shooshtari & Mir, 2014). This allows the students to
continually increase the range of tasks they can perform on their own. Therefore, challenging
students with tasks in the ZPD ensures that students are cognitively challenged to broaden
the range of tasks they can confidently perform without supervision. The change in the range
of tasks which students can perform quintessentially defines cognitive development and so
learning (Christmas, Kudzai & Josiah, 2013).
Self-Directed Learning
Self-directed learning (SDL) refers to the ability for students to engage in independent
learning activities without any explicit direction from anyone (Alharbi, 2017; Din et al., 2016).
It involves students identifying their own learning needs, setting learning goals, identifying
appropriate learning resources, choosing and applying appropriate learning strategies and
evaluating learning outcomes (Alharbi, 2017; Din et al., 2016). It is a strong predictor of and
enhances academic performance and learning (Alharbi, 2017; Alotaibi, 2016; Lee, Yeung, &
Ip, 2017) and can also improve quality of life (Din, Haron, & Rashid, 2016). Its importance has
been argued in many studies (Alharbi, 2017; Alotaibi, 2016; Din et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2017;
Louws, Meirink, van Veen, & van Driel, 2017; Rashid & Asghar, 2016; Slater & Cusick, 2017;
Zhoc & Chen, 2016). SDL is becoming increasingly important in the current era of knowledge
explosion being experienced due to the rapid developments in technology and information and
telecommunications. This knowledge explosion is placing a huge burden on both lecturers and
students to stay abreast the large volume of knowledge and its application which are being
constantly generated (Alotaibi, 2016; Zhoc & Chen, 2016). Consequently, it is becoming
increasingly difficult for lecturers to teach, and for students to learn, all the disciplinary
knowledge in class. Subsequently, SDL is becoming a critical avenue through which the gap
between what can be taught and learnt in class and what ultimately needs to be learnt can be
bridged (Alotaibi, 2016).
Cognitive Loading in Minimally Guided Pedagogy
Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) classified problem and project-based learning
approaches as minimally guided pedagogical approaches and argued that they are less effective
than instructional approaches which are more strongly guided. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark
(2006, p. 75) argued that minimally guided approaches:
“ignore both the structures that constitute human cognitive architecture and evidence
from empirical studies over the past half-century that consistently indicate that minimally
guided instruction is less effective and less efficient than instructional approaches that
place a strong emphasis on guidance of the student learning process. The advantage of
guidance begins to recede only when learners have sufficiently high prior knowledge to
provide ‘internal’ guidance.”

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868 Fundamentally, Kirshner, Sweller, and Clark argue against the use of problem or project-
based learning in students with little prior subject knowledge due to the resulting levels of
cognitive loading. Proponents of the cognitive load theory argue against instructional approaches
which require some level of complex reasoning from students in the absence of adequate
subject prior knowledge which is often the case in constructivist pedagogies (Amadieu, van
Gog, Paas, Tricot, & Mariné, 2009; Ayres, 2006; Kirschner, 2002; Paas & van Gog, 2006).
The argument by Kirshner, Sweller, and Clark and others led to the research hypotheses and
conceptual framework.
Hypothesis Development and Conceptual Framework
Complex Questions and Cognitive Loading
Based on the cognitive load theory, asking students to solve complex questions induces
high levels of cognitive loading (Amadieu, van Gog, Paas, Tricot, & Mariné, 2009; Ayres,
2006; Kirschner, 2002; Paas & van Gog, 2006). This led to the first research hypothesis which
can be stated as:
H1: There is a positive association between complex questions (CQue) and cognitive loading
(CogLd)
ZPD and Cognitive loading
No empirical studies on the association between ZPD and cognitive loading were found.
Nevertheless, since working in the ZPD means working with tasks which students cannot
perform on their own unless with appropriate help (Naeini, 2014; Shooshtari & Mir, 2014),
it is expected that tasks located in the ZPD will induce some amount of cognitive loading.
Therefore, assessment tasks located in the ZPD of students will also induce cognitive loading
but less than that induced by complex questions. This is because tasks which are located in the
ZPD can be resolved with help from a more experienced person while complex tasks may in
fact be located outside the ZPD. Therefore, the second research hypothesis was stated as:
H2: There is a positive association between ZPD and cognitive loading (CogLd)
SDL and Cognitive Loading
There were no empirical studies found on the relationship between SDL and cognitive
loading. Notwithstanding, since in SDL, students control the pace and amount of work engaged
and so the mental effort expended (Alharbi, 2017; Din et al., 2016), it is not expected to induce
a significant amount of cognitive loading. Therefore, it is unlikely that the cognitive load while
engaging in SDL would exceed the limits of the working memory of students. This is because
cognitive load induces stress and students will naturally limit the amount of stress they will
expose themselves to voluntarily. This argument led to the third hypothesis which was stated as:
H3: There is no statistically significant association between SDL and cognitive loading (CogLd)
Complex Questions and ZPD
There were no studies found relating complex questions to ZPD. It can be argued that
since solving complex questions requires the collation of information found in different sources
and often from different bodies of knowledge, the students will fail to solve the complex
problems unless with guidance from a very knowledgeable person. Therefore, complex
questions are located in the ZPD closer to the zone of tasks which students cannot perform even

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with supervision. This argument led to the hypothesis that: 869

H4: There is a positive association between complex questions (CQue) and the ZPD.
ZPD and SDL
Learning consists of students increasing the range of tasks which they can perform
without guidance from a more knowledgeable person. Essentially, it consists of converting
some of the ZPD into the zone of what can be done without help. Therefore, when students
engage in SDL, rather than attempting to solve problems which they can already handle on their
own, they will most likely work on problems which are in the ZPD. This led to the hypothesis
that:
H5: There is a positive association between ZPD and SDL.
Complex Questions and SDL
When engaging in SDL, students are expected to attempt questions located in the ZPD
rather than what they can already do comfortably on their own. Considering that complex
questions are expected to be located in the ZPD, it should also be expected that SDL will lead
students to attempt some complex questions. However, it is also expected that the resulting
high levels of cognitive loading and subsequent stress will cause students to abandon many
such attempts. Therefore, it is expected that there will be few and abortive attempts to engage
with complex questions in the absence of sufficient guidance. Therefore, since some attempt at
working on complex questions can be expected, albeit little and abortive, it was hypothesized
that:
H6: That there is a small positive association between SDL and complex questions (CQue)
Following from the proposed hypotheses, the proposed conceptual model can be
presented as follows:
Figure 1. Conceptual model of the research constructs.

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870 Methodology of Research
General Background of Research
A quantitative research design with a positivist philosophy and a deductive research

approach were used because the research sought to test hypothesized associations among
the study variables to which the quantitative design, a positivist philosophy and a deductive
approach are all well suited. The research was descriptive in nature and so the hypotheses
tested are non-causal. While constructivist pedagogy has many distinct tenets, the scope of
the research was delimited only to the constructs presented in the conceptual model in Figure
1. The favored data collection method was a cross sectional questionnaire survey due to the
objectivity and low cost associated with its use compared to other methods of data collection.
The data were collected from August to November 2017. Non probability sampling was used
for convenience and economy.
Sample and Data Collection Procedures
The target population for the research were students undertaking construction studies at
public universities in South Africa. Three public universities in the KwaZulu-Natal province
were conveniently selected for the research. One university had a total population of interest
of 248 students, the second one a population of interest of 658 students and the third one, 523
students. All students present in class at the time of the data collection were included in the
sample. The students were not informed beforehand that a questionnaire would be circulated,
and so attendance was not influenced by the study. Therefore, absconding students were purely
random, and it can be concluded that the available sample of students was representative of the
population of interest. The questionnaires were circulated to students at the start of lectures.
Arrangements were made with respective lecturers responsible for different classes to allow 30
minutes at the start of their lectures to administer the questionnaires. Students were requested to
fill in the questionnaire after explaining to them the details of the study and the instructions for
filling in the form. The students were informed of their right to not participate in the study and to
withdraw at any time for any reason. The students were also assured of both confidentiality and
anonymity if they chose to participate. A sample of 543 students studying towards bachelor’s
degrees in either Construction Management, Quantity Surveying or Property Studies at the
three public universities was obtained.
Demographic Statistics of Sample
Table 1 shows the profile of the respondents. All academic years of study from first to
fourth year were represented in the sample with first years accounting for the highest number
(34.10%) followed by fourth years (23.00%) and then second years (23.20%). With no single
year of study being markedly larger or smaller than any other, the distribution of the academic
year of study is representative of a typical four years’ university program.

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Table 1. Sample demographic statistics. 871
Year of Study Population of Interest Sample Frequency Percentage of Sample

1 475 185 34.10
2 356 126 23.20
3 300 107 19.70
4 298 125 23.00
Total 1,429 543 100
Gender Sample Frequency Percentage of Sample
Male 324 59.80
Female 219 40.20
Total 543 100
Program of Study Sample Frequency Percentage of Sample
Construction Management 259 47.70
Quantity Surveying 155 28.60
Property Studies 48 8.80
Architecture 81 14.90
Total 543 100
The gender distribution has more males (59.80%) than females which is consistent with
the general gender distribution in the population of interest. Therefore, the gender distribution
is also representative of population of interest. The programs of study sampled were from
the disciplines of Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Property Studies and
Architecture. The highest number of respondents came from the discipline of Construction
Management (47.70%) while Property Studies accounted for only 8.80% and Architecture only
14.90%. Arguably, the Property Studies sample is small compared to the rest, given that the
Property Studies qualification is a foundation degree for a specialization in either Construction
Management or Quantity Surveying at fourth year level at the particular university. Therefore,
the Property Studies in this sense is in fact quite the same as either Construction Management
or Quantity Surveying. The Architecture sample, however, is rather underrepresented because
only two of the three sampled universities offered Architecture, and also the Architecture classes
had much fewer students than the other classes.
Measurement Instrument and Procedures
The scales in the questionnaire were developed based on the operational definition of
the research constructs. Cognitive loading was operationalized mainly as the extent to which
students are overwhelmed by the amount of assigned work and the extent to which they are
expected to remember too much information which was complex, difficult and confusing to
understand. This conception is shared by others (Çolak & Kaya, 2014; Hadie & Yusoff, 2016)
and is also supported by the findings which show that high levels of cognitive loading lead
to students being overwhelmed (Scheiter et al., 2009; Çolak & Kaya, 2014). The concept of
complex questions was operationalized by extent to which students were given assessment
problems which were difficult to understand, hand no defined solution and required combining
information from different subject areas and sources. Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
was operationalized as the extent to which students were presented with problems which were
beyond what they could comfortably solve without further guidance. Self-directed learning
was operationalized by the extent to which the students were expected to engage in learning
activities on their own and without further guidance. All the resulting scales are shown in
Table 2. The instrument was anchored on a 5-point Likert scale with 5=almost never; 4=often;
3=sometimes; 2=seldom; and 1=almost never. The questionnaire, along with the entire research,
were reviewed by the university research ethics committee and approved.

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872 Measurement Instrument Assessment
The measurement instrument was assessed for reliability and validity. Firstly, factor
analysis with principle components extraction rotated using Promax with Kaiser normalization
was used for data reduction to examine the factor structure of the measurement instrument.
The cut off of eigenvalue-greater-than-one rule suggested by Kaiser (1974) was preferred
for determining the number of factors to return. Prior to this, the data were assessed for their
adequacy for factor analysis using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling
adequacy and the Bartlett’s test of sphericity.
The KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.883 while the Bartlett’s test of
sphericity was significant (p=.0001) with a chi-square statistic of 4326.258 and a degree of
freedom of 210. The factor analysis produced a four-factor solution which explained 58% of
the total variance. All the items loaded on their a priori constructs when factor loadings of .50
were suppressed as recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1998). Item 6 under Cognitive
Loading (CogLd6) had a factor loading less than .50 while item 7 (CogLd7) cross loaded onto
Complex and Ambiguous Questions. These two items were omitted from subsequent analyses.
The remaining factor loadings ranged between .51 and .88 and so all the factor loadings meet
the minimum threshold. Item-to-total correlations, which measure how well individual items
correlate with the rest of the items in the scale, ranged between .44 and .75 which exceeded the
recommendation of .30. All these statistics are shown Table 2.
Table 2. Measurement model assessment.
Factor
Research Constructs Mean Std. Dev Item-correlations
Loadings
Cognitive Loading CogLd
I was expected to remember too many things from
1 CogLd1 3.49 1.07 0.57 0.78
each lecture
I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I
2 CogLd2 3.45 1.06 0.55 0.86
was expected to remember
3 I was given too much information during the lectures CogLd3 3.28 1.03 0.65 0.86
The information I was given during lectures was
4 CogLd4 2.78 1.10 0.61 0.54
confusing
The information I was given in class was complicated
5 CogLd5 2.77 1.10 0.61 0.54
and difficult to understand
I was overwhelmed with the amount of work I had
6 CogLd6 3.30 1.11
to do
I was given too many projects, assignments and
7 CogLd7 3.22 1.21
tests
Complex and Ambiguous Questions CQue
I was given assignments and tests which were dif-
1 CQue1 2.87 1.73 0.44 0.51
ficult to understand and solve
I was given problems which did not have enough
2 CQue2 2.68 1.13 0.72 0.81
information for me to solve them
I was required to solve questions which were not
3 CQue3 2.84 1.13 0.75 0.87
clear as to what I was expected to do
I was given questions which could be interpreted in
4 CQue4 3.09 1.074 0.57 0.79
more than one way
I was given problems which were not easy to under-
5 CQue5 2.87 1.122 0.73 0.88
stand clearly
I was given questions which were not expressed
6 CQue6 2.77 1.185 0.71 0.83
clearly

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Zone of Proximal Development ZPD 873

1 I found tests and assignments to be very challenging ZPD1 3.46 1.011 0.41 0.64
I was given work which was beyond what I could
2 ZPD2 2.68 1.175 0.49 0.72
manage to do on my own
I was given work which required further guidance
3 ZPD3 3.16 1.121 0.54 0.82
from the lecturers in order to complete it
I was given work which required consulting with more
4 ZPD4 3.58 1.060 0.45 0.70
knowledgeable people in order to do it well
Self-Directed Learning SDL
I was required to find additional knowledge and
1 SDL1 3.94 0.998 0.64 0.80
information on my own
I was given work which required me to learn new
2 SDL2 3.81 0.984 0.65 0.79
concepts on my own
I was expected to expand on what was taught in class
3 SDL3 3.89 0.985 0.67 0.84
on my own
4 I was required to learn on my own SDL4 3.78 1.141 0.49 0.64
Table 3 shows the results of the reliability and validity statistics of the measurement
instrument. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Composite Reliability (CR)
while validity was assessed using Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Cronbach’s alpha for all
constructs ranged between .69 and .81. Three of the constructs exceeded the recommendation
of .70 by Byrne (2006) while one construct (ZPD) marginally fell below this threshold. Hulland
(1999) recommended a threshold of .60 for CR and all the constructs exceeded this threshold.
Therefore, based on the Cronbach’s alpha and the CR, the study constructs exhibit good
reliability. Fornell and Larcker (1981) recommend AVE values to be greater than .50 and all the
constructs which exceeded this threshold indicate of good instrument validity.
Table 3. Reliability and validity.
Construct Cronbach’s Alpha CR AVE

1 CogLd .81 .71 .54
2 CQue .85 .81 .63
3 ZPD .69 .70 .52
4 SDL .80 .78 .60
The constructs were further assessed for discriminant validity. For discriminant validity
to exist, the square root of the AVE should be less than the shared variance (inter correlation)
between the two constructs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Evidence of discriminant validity can be
seen in Table 4, which shows the square root of the AVE in the diagonal and the inter-construct
correlation in the remainder of the table. All the inter-construct correlations are less than the
square root of the AVE indicating good discriminant validity. Further, all the inter-construct
correlations are less than .80 suggesting that there is no multi-collinearity among them.
Table 4. Inter-construct correlations and discriminant validity.
CogLd CQue ZPD SDL

CogLd .73
CQue .47** .79
ZPD .34** .35** .72
SDL .20** .22** .29** .77
**. Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the.05 level (2-tailed).

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874 Data Analysis
The hypotheses among the research constructs were assessed using structural equation
modelling (SEM). SEM is a multivariate data analysis approach used to assess complex
relations among constructs. It graphically models hypothesised relationships among constructs
with structural equations (Byrne, 2006). The primary goal of SEM is the assessment of model
fitness against empirical data and the estimation of the regression parameters (Byrne, 2006;
Hu & Bentler, 1999). SEM was performed using IBM SPSS AMOS v25 software. While other
software for performing SEM are available, the AMOS software was preferred because it was
the available software at the time of the research.
Results of the Research
Structural Equation Modelling
Prior to assessing the structural relationships among the constructs, the measurement
model was assessed for fitness. This two-step approach was suggested by Anderson and
Gerbing (1998). The measurement model was assessed for fitness with thresholds as suggested
by Bentler (1990), Browne and Cudeck (1993) and Marsh et al. (1996). The recommended fit
indices and the measurement model fit indices are shown in Table 5. All but one index exceeded
the minimum recommended thresholds. However, since the index which did not exceed the
minimum equaled the threshold, the empirical data perfectly fit the measurement model.
The structural model fit was evaluated and the relationships between the study constructs
assessed through path modelling. The structural model also showed a perfect fit based on
thresholds suggested by Bentler (1990), Browne and Cudeck (1993) and Marsh et al. (1996).
All the fit indices retained exactly the same values as the measurement model
Table 5. Measurement model fit summary.
Model Fit Index Acceptable Threshold Study Threshold Met/Not Met

Chi-Square value: X/df <3 2.154 Met
Comparative Fit Index (CFI) >0.900 0.958 Met
Incremental Fit Index (IFI) >0.900 0.959 Met
Normed Fit Index (NFI) >0.900 0.926 Met
Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) >0.900 0.944 Met
Relative Fit Index (RFI) >0.900 0.900 Not Met
Random Measures of Sample Error
<0.080 0.046 Met
Approximation (RMSEA)
Hypothesis Evaluation
Having checked the structural model for fitness with the primary data structure and
accepted the model as being a representation of the empirical data, the hypothesized structural
relationships among the variables were tested. The results of the hypothesis testing are shown
in Table 6. The first hypothesis postulated that there is a positive relationship between Complex
Questions and Cognitive Loading. The results provide support for the hypothesis with a
statistically significant relationship at 99% confidence interval.

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Table 6. Hypothesis evaluation. 875
Proposed Hypothesis Hypothesis Factor Loading Rejected/Supported

CQue CogLd +H1 .59** Supported
ZPD CogLd +H2 .14** Supported
SDL CogLd H3 -.05 Supported
CQue ZPD +H4 .42** Supported
ZPD SDL +H5 .32** Supported
CQue SDL +H6 .07** Supported
Complex Questions contributed 59% of the explained variance on Cognitive Loading.

The second hypothesis postulated that there is a positive relationship between ZPD and Cognitive
Loading. The results support the hypothesis with a statistically significant relationship between
the two variables with ZPD contributing 14% explained variance to cognitive loading. The third
hypothesis postulated that there is no statistically significant relationship between Self-Directed
Learning and Cognitive Loading. The results support the hypothesis with a non-significant
association between the two constructs. The fourth hypothesis postulated that there is a positive
relationship between Complex Questions and the ZPD. The results support the hypothesis with
a statistically significant relationship between the constructs with complex questions explaining
42% of the variance in ZPD. The fifth hypothesis postulated that there is a positive relationship
between ZPD and SDL. The results support the hypothesis with SDL explaining 32% of
variance in ZPD which is statistically significant. The sixth and last hypothesis postulated that
there is a positive relationship between Complex Questions and SDL. The results support the
hypothesis with a statistically significant association with complex questions explaining 7%
variance in SDL.
Discussion
When complex questions are used in learning tasks, students are likely to experience
high levels of cognitive loading. This is evidenced by a strong association between complex
questions and cognitive loading whereby complex questions account for almost 60% variation
in cognitive loading. This is consistent with several other research findings which showed that
when students are presented with complex tasks, they will experience high levels of cognitive
loading (e.g. Amadieu, van Gog, Paas, Tricot, & Mariné, 2009; Ayres, 2006; Kirschner, 2002;
Paas & van Gog, 2006). The high levels of cognitive loading which result from complex
questions are likely to severely stress students to a point that they will hardly learn.
The findings also suggest that tasks which are in the ZPD of students also induce cognitive
loading albeit significantly less than that induced by complex questions. The cognitive loading
due to tasks located in the ZPD is about a quarter of that due to complex questions. This shows
that whenever students are required to complete tasks which require help from others, and so
are located in the ZPD, the students will experience some cognitive loading. Previous research
findings on cognitive loading mainly focused on cognitive loading due to complex questions.
Cognitive loading due to questions which are within the ZPD of students have not been reported.
Rather, research findings suggest that simpler learning tasks such as worked examples induce
little to no cognitive loading (Leppink, 2017). However, since learning consists of mastering
tasks which are in the ZPD until the tasks can be performed without the help of someone more
knowledgeable, the findings from this research suggest that all meaningful learning will yield
some amount of cognitive loading. This argument resonates with the statistically significant
relationship found between complex questions and ZPD which indicates that complex questions

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876 are in fact located in the ZPD of students. Being a zone, the ZPD accommodates a range of
learning tasks of differing levels of complexity. Complex tasks would be located most at the
outer edge of the zone next to the edge with what students cannot do even with some help.
Simpler tasks, but which require to be scaffolded, would be at the edge next to what students
can do on their own. The results therefore suggest that tasks in the ZPD will induce some
cognitive loading relative to their level of complexity. The findings also suggest that engaging
in SDL does not induce high levels of cognitive loading. This is because when engaging in
SDL, students monitor their own learning and so have the option of abandoning tasks which
induce high levels of cognitive loading.
The findings further suggest that subjecting students to tasks which are in their ZPD
is likely to lead them to engage in SDL. While presenting them with complex questions also
significantly leads to SDL, complex questions only accounted for about 7% variation in SDL
while tasks in the ZPD accounted for 32% variation in SDL. That is to say that tasks which
are in the ZPD, but are not perceived as being complex, are at least 4 times more likely to
encourage students to engage in SDL than when the tasks are complex. This is because the high
levels of cognitive loading associated with complex questions are likely to deter students from
persevering with the complex tasks when students have to direct their own learning. On the
contrary, because tasks which are in the ZPD induce far less cognitive loading than complex
questions, students are likely to persist with SDL when the tasks are in the ZPD and are not
complex.
Therefore, contrary to recommendations by Kahn and O’Rourke (2004) and Harinarain
and Haupt (2016) that assessment tasks in constructivist pedagogy should be complex and
ambiguous, it may be appropriate to avoid learning tasks which are too complex. This suggestion
is consistent with the recommendation by Lim (2004) that complex tasks should be avoided as
students may lose interest in the learning task. Complex tasks induce high levels of cognitive
loading and do not encourage SDL. Less complex tasks located in the ZPD of students are more
appropriate because they induce less cognitive loading compared to complex questions and
encourage students to engage in SDL.
Conclusions
Consistent with other research findings, this study found that complex questions induce
a statistically significant amount of cognitive load in students. This study also found that self-
directed learning does not induce cognitive loading. Subjecting students to tasks which are in
their ZPD is likely to induce some cognitive loading albeit much less than that from complex
questions. It was also found that locating tasks in the ZPD of students is likely to encourage
students to engage in some self-directed learning up to as much as four times more than when
the tasks are complex.
Therefore, based on these findings and consistent with other studies, to reduce the
amount of cognitive loading which students are subjected to, complex questions should be
avoided for students with little subject prior knowledge. Otherwise, the resulting high levels of
cognitive load will stress the students and interfere with learning. However, when exposed to
questions which are perceived as complex by students, to mitigate the resulting high levels of
cognitive load, students should be appropriately scaffolded. Otherwise they will not persist with
the learning task especially if they are expected to engage in SDL which is often the case with
pedagogy based on constructivism.
Also, in order to encourage students to engage in self-directed learning, the learning
tasks assigned for SDL should not be complex relative to the knowledge level of the students
as this discourages students from persisting with SDL. Even when students are given tasks
which are not complex but in are in the ZPD, it is important to ensure that the resulting level of

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cognitive loading is manageable for the students. This is because tasks in the ZPD of students 877
also induce cognitive loading. Given that students are always working on tasks which are in
their ZPD, they should be appropriately scaffolded at all times because they will experience
some cognitive loading

Limitations and Future Research

While this research makes contributions to the body of knowledge and to educational
practice, it has some limitations. Firstly, the research is based on self-reported measures of
the constructs and so suffers from all the draw backs of self-reported measurement. Secondly,
the data were collected from one province using instruments which have not been extensively
tested. Therefore, future studies may validate the instruments used in this study or develop other
instruments for the constructs under study to test the validity of the results and conclusions
arrived at by this research. Thirdly, the conceptual model proposed in this study is not the
only plausible representation of the data notwithstanding that model fit indices showed that
the data perfectly fit the measurement model. Therefore, future studies can test other possible
relationships among the constructs and also include other constructs to the model and even
establish the effect of moderator variables on the model. Lastly, the research was cross-
sectional and descriptive in nature and so does not suggest that the associations found among
the constructs are causal. Longitudinal exploratory research designs can assess the impact of
subjecting students to different levels of question complexity in order to establish the effect on
their aptitude for self-directed learning.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Teaching and
Learning Competitive Research Grant (TLCRG) awarded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Teaching and Learning Office (UTLO) in conducting this study. The authors also thank the
universities which gave gatekeeper permission for the study and the students who responded to
the questionnaire.
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Received: May 17, 2018 Accepted: September 28, 2018
Ephraim Zulu MSc, PhD Candidate, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, 238
Mazisi Kunene Rd, Glenwood, Durban, 4041.
E-mail: ephraimzulu2000@yahoo.co.uk
Theodore Haupt PhD, Research Professor, Mangosuthu University of Technology, 511 Griffiths
Mxenge Highway, Umlazi, Durban, 4031.
E-mail: theo.haupt@mut.ac.za
Vittorio Tramontin PhD, Senior Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, 238
Mazisi Kunene Rd, Glenwood, Durban, 4041.
E-mail: Tramontin@ukzn.ac.za

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IMPACT OF CHARACTER EDUCATION 881
IMPLEMENTATION: A GOAL-FREE
EVALUATION
Zurqoni
State Islamic Institute of Samarinda, Indonesia
E-mail: zurqoni@iain-samarinda.ac.id,
Heri Retnawati, Ezi Apino, Rizqa D. Anazifa

Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia
E-mail: heri_retnawati@uny.ac.id, apinoezi@gmail.com, rizqa2011@gmail.com
Abstract
Many studies reported the importance of character education for students to support their future success.
Currently, the countries have strengthened the implementation of character education in their educational
system, including Indonesia. Related to the previous statements, this research aimed to describe the impact
of character education implementation as well as challenges and strategies of teachers in implementing
the character education. This research was an evaluation research type using a goal-free evaluation
model (impact evaluation) with a qualitative approach. The participants of the research were principals,
teachers, students, parents, and community members from three provinces in Indonesia; East Kalimantan,
Special Region of Yogyakarta, and West Nusa Tenggara. Data were collected through Focus Group
Discussion (FGD) and also in-depth interviews. The data were then analysed using a model of Bogdan
and Biklen to find out the refinement among themes and generate a detailed understanding. The findings
showed that character education had a positive impact on increasing the students’ character values
including religiosity, personality, social attitude, and competitive attitude. Role-modelling by teachers
and other members of the school community and parents, character-oriented activities, and moral and
material support from educational stakeholders are key factors in character education implementation.
However, some improvements need to be made, such as improving the teacher training and workshops
and giving financial support (funding) for character education implementation.
Keywords: character education, character value, goal-free evaluation, impact evaluation.
Introduction
Education plays an important role in establishing the quality of human resources in

order to have capability to compete the challenges and the development of 21st century era. In
Indonesia, as stated in Law No. 20 Year 2003 (the Republic of Indonesia, 2003), education is
aimed at developing the capability of learners to become religious, healthy, knowledgeable,
capable, creative, and independent human beings as well as democratic and responsible citizens.
The goal requires a balance between the cognitive ability and affective ability of learners. In
other words, education in Indonesia is oriented not only to the development of thinking ability
but also the development of learners’ behaviour or characters.
The balance between cognitive ability and positive character of learners is one of key
factors that determine the success of learners. Previous research results showed that by having a
good character, learners can improve and implement the moral values and noble character, and
then apply them in everyday life (Nurhasanah & Nida, 2016); they are able to take responsible
decisions (Ryan & Bohlin, 1999), and realize the rights and duties of a good citizen (Çubukçu,
2012; McElmel, 2002). With a good character, learners would have a tendency to improve

ZURQONI, Heri RETNAWATI, Ezi APINO, Rizqa D. ANAZIFA. Impact of character education implementation: A goal-free evaluation
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882 the academic achievement (Nurhasanah & Nida, 2016). This suggests that a good character
contributes not only to the development of social-emotional aspects but also to the cognitive
aspects of learners.
It is widely considered that an educational policy known as character education can
help strengthen and develop character values of learners. Abu, Mokhtar, Hassan, and Suhan
(2015) stated that in the last decade, character education has been always considered in every
educational design. Moreover, there is also an increasing interest in finding out a correlation
between character education programs and social and academic achievements (Chang &
Muñoz, 2007). As defined by Çubukçu (2012), character education is a planned and systemic
approach to educate learners to become good citizens with self-respect, responsibility and
honesty. It is also defined as the deliberate attempt to influence the behaviour of students
through customizing repeatedly (Abu et al., 2015), school-based process to promote personal
development through the development of virtues and moral values (Pattarro, 2016). Character
education is also defined as a certain curriculum that develops students’ understanding of the
qualities and characteristics of good character (Almerico, 2014). Thus, in general, character
education can be viewed as an effort made by educational institutions to make the values of
positive characters for learners.
The purpose of character education is to enable learners to understand the moral values,
understand and do the right and good value, and understand the purpose of life (Battistich,
2005, Skaggs & Bodenhorn, 2006), and improve the education quality of implementation and
output in schools that lead to achieve the character building and noble character of learners
as a whole, integrated, and balanced in accordance with applicable competency standards
(Nurhasanah & Nida, 2016). Character education also has a positive correlation with academic
and affective aspects, as well as the establishment of positive social perceptions (Diggs & Akos,
2016; Thompson, 2002). A study by Tannir and Al-Hroub (2013) also reported that character
education has contributed to the improvement of the students’ self-esteem. The purpose of
character education reflects the importance of character education to support the success of
learners, both in academic and social life.
Regarding the important role of character education, many countries have strengthened
the implementation of character education in the respective educational systems. In Taiwan,
character education is part of the curriculum through special programs called Moral and
Character Education Improvement Program (MCEIP) (Lee, 2009). In the United States,
character education is implemented through American Character Education Programs (Watz,
2011). In Sweden, character education became part of the curriculum and integrates in classroom
learning (Skolverket, 2011). Meanwhile, in Turkey, character education is implemented through
life sciences, social studies curriculum and hidden-curriculum (Demirel, 2009). In Indonesia,
character education has been intensively implemented since the enactment of Competency
Based Curriculum in 2004. Recently, character education continues to be implemented
based on the Presidential Regulation No. 87 of 2017 (President, 2017) on Strengthening the
Character Education. This Presidential Regulation certainly aims to further strengthen the role
of character education in Indonesia. Technically, character education is conducted through
formal, non-formal, or informal education. In formal education, the technical implementation
of character education is included in the curriculum. Curriculum 2013 is the latest curriculum
implemented in Indonesia and has integrated the content of character education into a learning
process as stated in the Content Standard of Curriculum 2013 (the Regulation of the Minister of
National Education, Number 21 of 2016). Similar to the previous curriculum (Educational Unit
Level Curriculum), Curriculum 2013 also regulates the technical implementation of character
education in detail.
Although the implementation of character education has been systematically arranged and
included in the educational curriculum, the results of character education are not immediately

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apparent. Chang and Muñoz (2007) argued that the impact of character education can only 883
be seen through the evaluation of a comprehensive model of character education in schools.
Currently, the impacts of character education implementation, both on educational environment
(school) and the surrounding community have not been clearly apparent. This is because
character education is a lifelong process and continuously strengthened by real-life situations
(Sprinthall & Sprinthall, 1997). Thus, the character education implementation in the education
process in Indonesia needs to be evaluated, in order to obtain accurate information related to
the extent of the achievement.
Another reason for conducting evaluation of character education implementation was the
challenge faced in the implementation of character education itself. The challenge might come
from both internal and external factors. Internal challenges are from educational personnel (Lee,
2009, Santosa, 2014) and educational software (mind set, policy and curriculum) (Almerico,
2014). Meanwhile, the external challenges are related to the global social environment that
changes the values, norm, and culture of the nation (Triatmanto, 2010; Huda, 2012; Sultoni,
2016). Other challenges include the loss of educational networks involving families (parents),
schools and school environments, and communities (Huda, 2013), the use of classroom learning
methods and evaluation patterns associated with the complexity of the assessment system that
is not always easily agreeable to all (Sumintono, Tahir, & Rahman, 2012), lack of facilities
and infrastructure, unequal proportion between teachers and students, and students’ different
backgrounds (Santosa, 2014). Indeed, these challenges need to be discussed in order to find
solutions.
The challenges indicate the difficulties faced in the implementation of character
education. They have a big impact on the achievement of the goals of character education.
In relation to this issue, evaluation of the impact of character education implementation in
Indonesia needs to be immediately conducted. Impact evaluation or known as Goal-Free
Evaluation (GFE) is defined as an evaluation model in which the evaluator intentionally avoids
the predetermined goals of the program or the evaluator conducts an evaluation without any
knowledge or reference regarding the initial objectives of the program being evaluated (Youker,
2013; Youker, Zielinski, Hunter, & Bayer, 2016). The aim of GFE is to control the bias that
usually occurs in goal -based evaluation-a bias affects the evaluator’s ability to see the actual
results of the program and the actual achievements. Thus, the impact evaluations are more
independent or free from any intervention, and the results of the evaluation are more objective.
Problem of Research
Impact evaluation or GFE of a character education program is conducted to strengthen the

implementation of character education in Indonesia. This evaluation is expected to give actual
recommendations related to the implementation of character education that is more independent
and objective. In addition, the evaluation results can be used as input for the government and
related parties to take policies to strengthen the character education in Indonesia. Based on
the background, this research aimed to describe the impact of the implementation of character
education in Indonesia and discuss the contributing factors in successful implementation of
character education and the components in character education that need improvement. The
results of this research were expected to give a contribution to the development of character
education in Indonesia and could be used as input for other countries that currently focus on
strengthening character education.

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884 Research Focus
A study conducted by Lee (2009) has described the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of character-based school culture projects in Taiwan. Meanwhile, Chang and Muñoz
(2007) conducted a study focusing on the impact of character education in terms of school
personnel. Several previous studies related to character education, for example Demirel (2009),
Agboola and Tsai (2012), Tannir and Al-Hroub (2013), Abu et al. (2015) also only focus on
uncovering obstacles and strategies in the implementation of character education based on the
local context and the characteristics of students in their respective countries. This research was
particularly focused on the overall evaluation (all aspects involved in the implementation of
character education) based on the context of education in Indonesia. The use of the goal-free
evaluation model in this research was intended to make evaluations “free” from any intervention
or interest and the results are truly objective and independent based on the actual facts.
General Background
This research was evaluation research using a goal-free evaluation model (impact
evaluation) with a qualitative approach. As proposed by Rossi and Freeman (1985), impact
evaluation is an evaluation that measures the achievement level of a program in making a
change. According to Youker (2013) goal free evaluation or evaluation of impacts consists
of four steps: 1) identifying relevant impacts to examine without any reference to the goals;
2) identifying what occurs without prompting the goals; 3) determining what occurs and can
be logically attributed to the program or intervention; 4) determining the level of the impact
(positive, negative, or neutral). The scope of the research included impacts of character
education, occurring in character education, implementation, evaluation, and coordination, the
activities giving impacts in character education, the improvement of the students’ characters, and
things that need to improve in character education. The research was conducted in Indonesia,
in January-July 2018.
Participants

This research was conducted at senior high schools in Indonesia that integrated religious
education into learning. There were nine schools involved in this research; three senior high
schools from Special Region of Yogyakarta which represents the western part of Indonesia,
three senior high schools from East Kalimantan which represent the central part of Indonesia,
and three senior high schools from West Nusa Tenggara which represent the eastern part of
Indonesia. The three schools from each province represented three types of qualifications
including high, medium, and low level.
In each school, there were nine teachers, two parents, and six students involved as the
research participants, so the total participants from nine schools were 81 teachers, 18 parents,
and 54 students. The teachers were directly involved in the implementation of character
education at schools–including the principal, the vice principal of the curriculum, the vice
principal of the student department, civic education teachers, religious teacher, and guidance
and counselling teachers. They were purposefully selected because they were the spearhead of
character education at senior high schools as stated in the Curriculum 2013 (the Regulation of
the Minister of National Education, No. 21 of 2016). The parents involved in this research were
the representative coordinators at schools who knew exactly about their children’s character
development. Meanwhile, the students were also involved as they were the subjects or doers in
character education.

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As part of the research ethical procedures, the participants were given the opportunity 885
prior to the research to discuss the details about the research and their involvement in this
research with the researcher. To ensure anonymity, all the participants were identified with
pseudonyms and all the data were kept confidential. Their participation and personal responses
during this research had no effect on their academic standing and future career.
Instrument and Procedures
The data were collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and interviews.
According to the initial plan, the FGDs were intended to be conducted parallel at once in three
provinces. However, it might not seem feasible to carry out this plan due to a long distance
between one school and the others in every province. The principals and teachers also had
tight schedules which did not allow them to have the FGD together. Finally, the FGDs were
conducted parallel in nine schools from February until March 2018 (one FGD in each of the
schools). The participants were the principals, the vice principals, nine teachers, and two parents.
The teachers invited in the FGD were those who were directly involved in the implementation
of character education in each school including religious teachers (as homeroom teachers),
civic education teachers, and guidance and counselling teachers. The topics for FGD were
developed based on the theoretical studies related to character education and adapted to the
four stages in a goal-free evaluation. The topics included the impact of character education,
the things occurred in character education; evaluation and coordination in character education;
activities that impacted on character education; prominent characters of students; the factors for
successful character education; and things that needed to be improved in character education.
The data collection was also supported by interviews in order to sharpen the results of
the FGD and at the same time allow triangulation to occur. The interviews were conducted with
six students in each school as the subjects being educated in character education. The topics
addressed to the students in the interview were related to the impact of character education,
implementation; activities that impacted on character education; the factors for successful
character education; and the programs of character education that needed to be improved.
Data Analysis

For the data analysis, a model suggested by Bogdan and Biklen (1982) was used in this
research to find out the interrelations among themes and generate a detailed understanding. The
analysis model consisted of three stages including data reduction, data display, and conclusion
drawing. After the data were reduced into a simplified form, they were grouped based on the
similarity of aspects and themes. The next step was to determine the interrelations among
these themes to obtain in-depth understanding. The analysis results were then used to draw
a conclusion of how much the impact of character education, i.e. positive, neutral or negative
impacts. The results of the data analysis were also used to discuss many relevant topics in the
implementation of character education, the improvement in students’ characters and also to
make recommendations related to the implementation of character education.
Results of Research

The data analysis results were categorized into seven topics including the impacts of
character education, the things that occurred in character education, implementation, evaluation
and coordination in character education, activities that impacted on character education, the
improvement in students’ characters, and things needed to be improved in character education.
The data analysis results for each topic are presented in the following.

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886 The Impacts of Character Education
In general, character education contributed to students’ behaviour changes. Based on the

policy, the character education program provided schools with the opportunity to create policies
aiming to maintain a balance between academic achievement and social aspects of students.
Thus, character education affected not only the students but also the schools as educational
institutions. In detail, the impacts of character education are presented in Table 1. Based on
Table 1, the character education in schools had a positive impact on the development of student
behaviour, especially in the aspects of religiosity, confidence, responsibility, cooperation,
courtesy, and nationalism. The improvement in students’ religiosity was shown by the increasing
number of students who were engaged in daily worship at school.
The students also stated that their self-confidence increased compared to when they were
in the previous educational level. For example, they were confident to express opinions, make
presentations, follow the competition, and criticize inappropriate school’s policy. In this case,
the teachers facilitated the students to develop a sense of confidence through learning activities,
extracurricular activities, and interaction with others in the surrounding community.
Table 1. The impacts of character education
Interrelations among
The Impacts of Character Education Theme
themes
Students were more disciplined in practising daily prayers. The impacts of
Students were more diligent in practising daily prayers. character education
Students acted with honesty. Improvement in the implementation were
Students showed kindness and sensitivity. students’ religiosity apparent in the students’
Students were encouraged to think positively and became improvement in religio
role models of good manners. sity, self-confidence,
Students were brave to express and share their opinions. responsibility, coopera-
Students were brave to perform presentation in front of the tive, and nationalism.
class.
Students were brave to criticise inappropriate school’s Improvement in the stu-
policy. dents’ self-confidence
Students interacted more easily with the surrounding com-
munity.
Students were brave to compete with one another.
Students were disciplined in tasks’ completion
Students were more responsive and eager to get involved
in the school activities, such as fundraising and voluntary Improvement in the
work. students’ responsible
Students were encouraged to show leadership (leading his/ attitude
her friends and coordinating with other schools)
Students cooperated with one another in completing the
organizational duties or jobs. Improvement in the stu-
Students reminded each other to practice good manners. dents’ cooperative ability
Students were more open and communicative.
Students were more sociable and mingled in organizations,
both in intracurricular and extracurricular activities.
Students started to reduce their selfish attitude.
Students collaborated with one another through activities of
sharing and peer teaching.
Students showed more respect to teachers and staff. Improvement in the stu-
dents’ politeness attitude
Students showed respect to their parents and elders.
(courtesy)
Students cared about their environment Improvement in the
Students loved domestic products.
Students kept the school environment clean and tidy. students’ nationalism

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The data presented in Table 1 also indicated that character education helped to 887
promote students’ religiosity, self-confidence, responsibility and cooperation. In addition,
students were more encouraged to get involved in school activities, especially those which
might not be explicitly connected to academic learning. These activities proved effective in
developing leadership skills in the students, a sense of responsibility to perform the tasks/jobs.
The improvement in cooperation attitude was shown by the students’ ability to communicate
effectively with others. Their good communication skills supported their improvement in
collaboration skills in student clubs and organizations. These collaboration skills were also to
help achieve the success of learning. The students learned together through sharing and peer
teaching to help their friends comprehend a certain implemented learning material.
Character education also had impacts on the improvement in polite behaviour and
nationalism. The polite behaviour was shown with the students’ respect towards teachers
and parents. According to the interviews with the students, however, the courtesy among the
student interaction still needed improvement. There was also an increase in nationalism among
the students. They showed more awareness of preserving the environment by keeping their
surrounding environment clean and tidy. Moreover, the students preferred to use and love
domestic goods/products. This attitude clearly reflected a sense of pride to their homeland
(country).
The Things Occurring in Character Education
The next topic emerging from the data analysis was related to occurring in the
implementation of character education in schools. The FGD and interviews revealed many
school activities conducted by schools to strengthen the character education. These activities
certainly involved a lot of expense. To anticipate the costs of the activities, the school obtained
funding from its school committee, the government, and alumni donations. The details of
occurring in the implementation of character education in schools are presented in Table 2.
The character building in students was facilitated by various activities as presented in
Table 2. In general, these activities consisted of intra-curricular and extracurricular activities,
control by the school policies and regulations, and reinforcement. The intra-curricular and
extracurricular activities were organized according to the potential, talents, and interests of
students. In this way, the students were given options to join in any activity they preferred.

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888 Table 2. The things occurring in character education
Interrelations among the

The things occurring in character education Theme
themes
Activities were conducted
The school conducted activities to build and develop by schools to instil and
character education in students, such as students’ develop good characters in
orientation, achievement motivation training, state students with the funding
defence programs, student organization, the Indone- from the school committee,
sian Red Cross, scouting, counselling groups, training the school alumni, and the
programs in internet utilization etc. government.
The school conducted specific activities to strengthen
religious beliefs in students.
Activities were conducted
The school provided the students with the opportunity in school to instil and
to get involved in creating and revising the school develop good characters in
regulations and policies, every year. students.
The school gave rewards and punishments for student
behaviour.
The school conducted a regular reflection on the
school programs (weekly/monthly).
The school participated in social activities such as
police schooling and drug abuse counselling.
The school organized competitions among student
organizations.
The school strengthened the implementation of
character education through funding from the school The main funding support
committee. for character education
The school obtained funding for activities to support activities was obtained
character education from the government. from the school committee,
The school obtained funding for the implementation the government and the
of character education by seeking donations from the alumni.
alumni.
The support for character education was given by the school committee through the
application of school rules and policies. In practice, the school rules and policies were evaluated
regularly, especially in determining the sanctions for violations. The evaluation aimed to find
out the effectiveness of the implementation of the school rules and policies associated with
character development of students. Some schools even involved their students in creating the
school rules and policies.
In addition, reinforcement techniques were used by the teachers and other members of
the school community to strengthen character development in the students. Giving rewards
and punishments was considered an effective way to reinforce good characters in students.
Rewards were given for the students who showed outstanding achievement both in academic
and non-academic learning. Moreover, personal praise from the teachers was also given to
the students as a strategy to provide positive reinforcement. For example, the teacher praised
the students when they helped their friends to solve problems in learning. In contrast, when
the students engaged in inappropriate behaviour, the teacher imposed punishments based on
the current school regulations. Another reinforcement used by the schools was conducting
weekly and monthly reflection activities that facilitated by guidance and counselling teachers.
In addition, the school also organized activities such as social activities, police schooling, drug
abuse counselling, and competitions/races among the student organizations to strengthen the
students’ characters.

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Another important finding was related to operational funding support. The programs 889
planned by the school required adequate operational costs in order to run optimally. When dealing
with limited funding support, however, the schools attempted to maximize the implementation
of cost-effective programs and obtain funding by seeking donations from the alumni.
Implementation, Evaluation, and Coordination in Character Education
This part addressed teachers’ understanding of character education and technical

implementation of character education in schools. It also explored evaluation and coordination
conducted by school management in the implementation of character education. The details
about implementation, evaluation, and coordination in character education are presented in Table
3. Based on Table 3, the teacher’s knowledge of character education in general was sufficient.
Some of the teachers even integrated character education into the subjects they taught.
Table 3. Implementation, evaluation, and coordination in character education.
Theme
Implementation, evaluation, and coordination in character Interrelations among
education the themes
All of the teachers had sufficient knowledge of character educa- The teacher’s The teachers received
tion and integrated it into the subjects. knowledge of training in character
character education education, used role-
In practice, some teachers had difficulty in integrating character
needed to improve modelling in character
education into learning activities in the classroom.
education and integrated
The teachers received training in (curriculum training), whereas character education
the character education materials were only included in the into learning; evaluation
training. of the implementation
The sharing session conducted by the principals and supervisors of character educa-
provided the teachers with relevant knowledge about character tion; coordination was
education. conducted through vari-
The teachers were empowered through teacher forums to imple- ous techniques among
ment the local cultural values. teachers, principal, and
supervisors.
The teacher used role-modelling in character education.
There was no specific evaluation of character education carried Evaluation of the
out at school; evaluation was usually integrated with learning. success in character
education
Evaluation was conducted to assess and monitor to monitor the
students’ character development every month.
Evaluation was conducted through teacher meetings to identify
problems in each class.
Each guidance and counselling teacher reported the progress of
each student in character development.
Teachers guided students whom hadn’t done a good manner.
Evaluation related to students’ character development was
conducted in each semester.
Coordination was performed periodically and incidentally. Coordination among
The principal performed coordination tasks with the teacher in the teachers, prin-
regular meetings. cipals and school
The supervisors provided updated information on character supervisors
education.
The school held a special workshop on character education.
The teachers obtained feedback from the students related to the
implementation of character education.

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890 The group discussion with the teachers revealed that character education was indirectly
implemented by the teachers in the learning process. Nevertheless, some teachers stated that
they still had difficulty in implementing the character education. Activities conducted by the
teachers during the learning process might imply the instilment in the students of the following
values: discipline, confidence, responsibility, cooperation, etc. Meanwhile, to strengthen
another character value such as nationalism, the teachers involved the students in more special
activities, for example, a flag ceremony and other patriotic actions.
Role-modelling was admitted by the teachers to be effective in instilling character
values. In this way, the teachers consistently practiced what they advised based on their current
knowledge of character education. It appeared that relevant teacher training in character
education helped the teachers deepen their understanding. In addition, the sharing session
conducted by the principals and supervisors also provided the teachers with relevant knowledge
of applying character education in accordance with their capacity and ability. However, the
teachers still needed further training in how to integrate character education into the school
subjects.
As admitted by the teachers and principals, there was no specific evaluation conducted
for character education. The evaluation in this context was simply integrated with the
implementation of instructional evaluation in each subject, contained in the assessment of
attitudes. Another technique of evaluation was conducted through coordination meetings led by
the principal that discussed various issues in schools including student character development.
The evaluation was also conducted by the guidance and counselling teachers by monitoring the
character development of the students with behavioural problems.
Regarding the discipline and sanctions, the students were involved in formulating
the regulations stated in the school policy by giving inputs and suggestions. The students’
involvement in this context indicated that the school succeeded in promoting justice and
eliminating arbitrariness. However, the students’ involvement was controlled and limited only
to the regulation of minor violations.
The Activities Having Impacts on Character Education
The implementation of character education was integrated not only with the learning
process in the classroom but also various activities outside the classroom. The activities
contributing to character education are presented in Table 4.
Table 4. Activities having impact on character education.
Activities having impact on character education Theme
the themes
Role-modelling by the teachers at school. Role-modelling by the
Role-modelling by the parents at home. teachers at school,
parents at home, and
Role-modelling by the seniors in daily life and organizations. The characters were
seniors
instilled through role-
All school activities and programs had an impact on building modelling by the teachers
the students’ character. at school, parents at
The activities and home, and seniors, and
The character education programs are mutually supportive programs in schools to strengthened by school
and competitive extracurricular activities. strengthen the students’ activities and programs
characters
The school regulations were consistently implemented to
strengthen the student characters.

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Based on Table 4, role-modelling was very influential in developing the students’ 891
characters. In the school, the teachers were the role models for students. So, the behaviour
and gestures of the teachers were observed, imitated and followed by the students. Thus, the
teachers should maximally show a positive attitude in daily life, especially at school. Role-
modelling by the seniors also greatly influenced the students’ characters in daily interaction
and school organizations. The students’ character development was also strongly influenced
by parents’ role-modelling. At home, the parents played a role in monitoring and guiding their
children to strengthen the character values practiced at school.
Besides role-modelling, various activities were also used to facilitate the students in
developing their characters. In general, the school-programmed activities were conducted to
strengthen the implementation of character education in religion, sports, and culture. Various
activities were also organized in the form of intracurricular and extracurricular activities to
facilitate the students’ interests and talents and also to build the students’ characters.
Other data revealed the activities conducted in the school which implied the instilment
of character values in the students. For example, activities using religious theme played an
important role in building religious characters in the students. It appeared that the students
became more diligently engaged in daily prayers after following religious activities routinely.
Next, the students were engaged in practices of the local wisdom values, such as wearing local/
traditional costumes and local batik clothes on special days (e.g. Independence Day, National
Education Day, etc.). This practice helped to introduce the local/national customs and culture
and also promote nationalism. From this fact, it can be understood that the schools were aware
of the importance of developing nationalistic characters in the students. Thus, the appreciation
of cultural values as a way to build the character needs to be strengthened. In addition, other
schools might follow such practices.
Significant Improvement in the Students’ Characters
As mentioned in a previous part, one impact of character education was the improvement
in students’ characters and behaviour. This reflected that the teaching of character values to the
students was successful or in other words, the students made improvement in their characters.
From many character values taught to the students, several characters were increasingly
apparent in the student behaviour as presented in Table 5.
Table 5. Significant improvement in the students’ characters.
The most noticeable characters Theme
the themes
Spirituality Spiritual/religiosity
Self-confidence
Responsibility Personality The improvement in the

Honesty and sincerity students’ characters were
Discipline apparent in the aspects
Learner autonomy of spirituality, personality,
Cooperation and togetherness social attitudes, and com
Respects to older Social attitude petitiveness
Politeness
Motivation for making progress
Competitive spirit Competitive attitude
Communication and empathy

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892 Role-modelling in various activities had a positive influence on developing the

students’ characters. The most noticeable characters of students were apparent in the aspects
of spirituality, personality, social attitudes, and competitive spirit. The improvement in
spiritual values was indicated by the increase of students’ motivation to practice daily prayers.
Meanwhile, the improvement in personality and social attitudes were greatly supported by the
habits developed at the school such as complying with the school regulations and participating
in various activities. Competitive spirit and attitudes were reflected by the students’ high spirit
of competition. The students’ communication ability also increased along with their empathy
for others.
The Contributing Factors in Successful Implementation of Character Education
The significant increase in students’ character indicated that character education had
a positive impact on the students. The successful implementation of character education was
indeed influenced by several factors as presented in Table 6.
Table 6. The contributing factors in successful implementation of character

education.
The contributing factors in successful implementation Interrelations among

Theme
of character education the themes
The well-planned activities Contributing factors in

Continuous and consistent commitment from the school successful implementa-
community Commitment from tion of character educa-
Support from the leaders, parents and communities educational components tion included commitment
from the school communi-
Support from the students and surrounding environment ty, role-modelling, positive
Role-modelling from the teachers, seniors and parents activities, coordination
and evaluation.
Continuous guidance from the teachers to the students Role-modelling and
The activities within school organizations organized to ac- positive activities
commodate the students’ talents, interests and potential
The continuous coordination among the principal, teachers,

parents and other members of the school community.
Self and peer assessment for the students

Coordination and evalu-
Report on the students’ achievement both in character and ation
academic performance
Monitoring the implementation of character education

periodically
Based on Table 6, the successful implementation of character education was influenced

by a strong commitment role-modelling, positive activities, coordination and evaluation. The
implementation also needed cooperation among the educational components including teachers,
principals, and school committees. The character education planning also required support from
the students, parents, and school environment. Role-modelling by teachers, seniors and parents
was also considered as one of the most effective ways which positively contributed to the
success of character education implementation.

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The successful implementation of character education was closely related to the 893
coordination and evaluation that involved all the educational components at the school.
The teachers played an important role in monitoring the students’ character development
periodically in order to know the students’ progress or problems that might occur. The students
also participated in monitoring and evaluation by completing self-monitoring sheets. The
coordination with the parents is also important.
Components in Character Education that Need Improvement
Although the implementation of character education had a positive impact on improving

the students’ character, a number of things needed improvement. These things seen as the
weaknesses of the implementation of character education today are presented in Table 7.
Table 7. Components in character education that need improvement.
Components in character education that need im- Interrelations among the

Theme
provement themes
Components that needed im-
Planning and implementing the programs
Planning and support provement included planning
Support and coordination between the parents and school and support, short-course,
from educational
committee evaluation and follow-up.
stakeholders
Operational funding support
Activities in teacher training and workshops on character
education
Regulation of simplification in reporting the result of
Short-course activities
character education
and regulation of
Integration material in character education of local content report simplification
subjects
Continuity in evaluation and follow-up Evaluation
Based on Table 7, the things that needed to improve related to the implementation of
character education included planning components, support from education stakeholders, teacher
training, regulatory simplification, and continuous evaluation. In the planning, some activities
were not implemented effectively because of the budget limitation. The implementation also
lacked support from the stakeholders as it was only dominantly managed by the teachers in
the schools. Meanwhile, the involvement of the surrounding community and parents was not
optimal. The teachers also complained about the lack of training and complicated regulations.
Regarding the evaluation, character education was spontaneously evaluated without the
scheduled time. For that reason, the policy of character education evaluation needs to be re-
evaluated in the near future.
The Level of Impacts of Character Education (Positive, Neutral, or Negative)
The results related to the level of impacts of character education obtained from FGD and
interviews are presented in Table 8.

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894 Table 8. The level of impacts of character education (positive, neutral, or

negative).
Interrelations among the

Level of Impacts of Character Education Theme
themes
The students’ character de-
All participants stated that character education had posi-
velopment was positive, but
tive impact, especially for the development of students’ The degree of impact
the complexity of teachers’
behaviour.
tasks increased
The increasing
The teachers had much more tasks as they were required
complexity of teachers’
to integrate and assess character values in learning.
tasks
Based on Table 8, the impacts of character education implementation in Indonesia

according to most of the teachers are positive, especially in developing the students’ character.
But, the weakness of character education today is the increasing teachers’ task but is not
following with the increasing on in their welfare. It is certainly necessary to have a serious
concern from the Indonesian government to solve the problem.
The level of impacts of character education is the final conclusion of character education
evaluation, in accordance with the Goal-Free Evaluation procedure. The positive impacts
of character education, as stated by the respondents (teachers and school management) are
independent. It means that there is no intervention or interest for teacher in giving the statements,
or intervention or interest of the researcher as the evaluator. The relevance of research findings
with previous research findings and their implications for education will be described in the
discussion section.
Discussion
The results showed that character education in Indonesia had a positive impact on
developing the students’ characters. They also provide support to the finding of a study by
Agboola and Tsai (2012) that the implementation of character education in schools yields
positive outcomes; decreases the number of dropouts and negative behaviour. Dodds (2016)
found that character education decreased negative behaviour and increased the students’
understanding of the values/characters. Character education also affects teachers’ perceptions
related to the importance of character education, school policies, and students’ perceptions. This
is relatively consistent with the findings of a study by Chang and Muñoz (2007) that character
education programs have a positive impact on teacher assessment and school assessment, as
well as students’ perceptions.
Many factors contribute to the successful implementation of character education in
Indonesia. One key factor here is the teacher as the role model in giving good examples and
teaching good values to the students. According to Abu et al. (2015) many studies have reported
that teachers should become good role models for their students. In addition, Thornberg and
Oğuz (2013) and Lumpkin (2008) state that the main method in character education is role-
modelling by teachers in interaction with students. Thus, the character reinforcement begins
from the teacher. It means that teachers need to improve their own characters, before they
become a role model for their students. Teachers as role models in character education should
not show a negative image in front of the students, because it will give a bad effect on the
students’ character development. When bad behaviour occurs among the teachers, the students
might imitate it and make a habit of it. Therefore, in any circumstances, especially in schools,
teachers should always provide a good example for students.

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The next contributing factor in the success of character education implementation is 895
character habituation conducted by the schools through positive activities. Although some
students felt forced to participate in the school programs at the beginning, they gradually
became more diligent in following the activities. The character habituation was conducted not
only through school activities but also the application of learning models aimed to strengthen
the student characters. A number of studies reported some learning models used to develop
character values such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) model (Schuitema, Dam, & Veugelers,
2008; Jailani, Sugiman, & Apino, 2017). According to Schuitema et al. (2008), problem-based
learning provides students with the opportunity to make dialogues and engage in intensive social
interaction. Other problem-based learning models such as Creative Problem Solving (Apino &
Retnawati, 2017) and Cooperative Learning (Matchett, 2009, Zakaria, Chin, & Daud, 2010)
are used by teachers as alternatives to teach character education. Another model called Higher
Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) can be used as an alternative strategy to improve the students’
character, because HOTS-oriented learning can enhance the students’ active participation in
learning (Retnawati, Djidu, Kartianom, Apino, & Anazifa, 2018). The improvement in students’
active participation can increase the students’ curiosity, collaboration, and responsibility.
The school regulation is another important aspect which plays a prominent role in
supporting character education in school institution. The success of character building such
as school discipline and other values depends very much on the consistency in the school
regulation enforcement. School discipline in particular, is a type of intervention by the school
to develop positive character within the students. This is relatively consistent with the finding of
a research by Miller, Kraus, and Veltkamp (2005) that students who got academic intervention
might experience social competence improvement. This social competence improvement
indicates an increase in students’ character development.
Regarding the strategies in implementing character education, the planning component
is considered as a key factor. This is in accordance with the statement by Lee (2009); Zurqoni,
Retnawati, Arlinwibowo, and Apino (2018) that the success of moral education programs is
influenced by planning, in terms of activities/programs learning processes. The planning of
activities or programs to strengthen character education should begin with a study of social
phenomena, existing in the society and school community. Thus, it is necessary to improve
the sensitivity of policy-makers or stakeholders of the school management in understanding
relevant phenomena. The character education planning in classroom is usually designed by
teachers based on applicable curriculum. The lesson plans not only contain the sequence and
systematic delivery of the material (transfer of knowledge), but also integrate the character
values in the process of knowledge transfer.
Although the implementation of character education in Indonesia today impacts on
the students’ character development quite considerably, it still has some weaknesses. In this
case, the limited number of teacher training programs and workshops on character education
is the main problem which needs to be immediately solved by the stakeholders. As argued by
Budiarta, Artini, Seken, and Santosa (2018), intensive training and workshops are needed for
teachers to improve the quality of character education implementation. Furthermore, giving
more attention to financial support is also urgently needed because the program might not run
optimally without adequate financial support and resources.
To find out more about the weaknesses in the implementation of character education,
research-based evaluation should be performed continuously and regularly. As the study of
students’ character values or behaviour is very dynamic, continuity is much needed to improve
any relevant program. Moreover, the outcome of character education is always encouraging
for preparing the future leaders continually, and thus requires more studies especially in areas
of equality/difference in character education and moral education (Agboola & Tsai, 2012).
Teachers should also conduct an integrated character education evaluation through affective

PROBLEMS
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IN THE 21st CENTURY
Vol. 76, No. 6, 2018
896 domain assessment. Currently, the ability of Indonesian teachers in conducting an attitudinal
assessment needs to be improved (Retnawati, Hadi, & Nugraha, 2018) because teachers are as
the actors and role models of character education for students.
Conclusions
The implementation of character education in the education system in Indonesia that has
been running for the last two decades has made positive impacts on the development of students’
characters. The character values have been significantly developed in students including
religiosity, personality, social attitude, and competitive attitude. This development is supported
by several factors such as role modelling by the teachers in schools and by parents at home,
character-oriented activities, and moral and material support from the educational stakeholders.
However, the implementation of character education in Indonesia still needs improvement in
terms of training for teachers and operational funding.
As character education is believed as a way to develop qualified human resources,
its implementation should be strengthened both in local and global contexts. Strengthening
character education can help promote peace and harmony in the country. For that reason,
support from the government such as providing training for teachers related to the technical
implementation of character education is urgently needed. In addition, the education budget
sector, especially for character education also needs to be increased in order to support the
implementation of character education programs. The implementation of character education in
Indonesia today can be a lesson for other countries in strengthening their character education.
Moreover, research on implementation of character education also needs to be improved and
adjusted to the current social phenomenon in order to obtain best practice in character education.
For further researchers, it is highly recommended to conduct studies related to character
education in much broader contexts. Teacher training models for improving teachers’ competence
in implementing character education need to be carefully addressed. It is also necessary to
conduct more careful research about the implementation of monitoring and evaluation including
the development of evaluation models of character education, funding models, activities and
instruction needed to instil good habits of character development in students. It is expected that
those similar research studies can help achieve the goal of character education in improving the
quality of human resources.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express great appreciation to the Ministry of Religion of the
Republic of Indonesia for financial assistance for this research. The deepest gratitude also would
go to all parties involved in this research, especially the participating schools in the Province of
Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (Special Region of Yogyakarta), Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa
Tenggara), and Kalimantan Timur (East Kalimantan), Indonesia.
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Vol. 76, No. 6, 2018
Received: August 15, 2018 Accepted: November 18, 2018 899
Zurqoni Zurqoni Dr., Associate Professor, State Islamic Institute of Samarinda, Jl. H. A. M. Rifaddin,
Harapan Baru, Kec. Loa Janan Ilir, Kota Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur 75251,
Indonesia.
E-mail: zurqoni@iain-samarinda.ac.id
Heri Retnawati Dr., Associate Professor, Yogyakarta State University, Jl. Kolombo Karangmalang
Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
E-mail: heri_retnawati@uny.ac.id
Ezi Apino M. Pd., Alumnus, Yogyakarta State University, Jl. Kolombo Karangmalang Yogya-
karta 55281, Indonesia.
E-mail: apinoezi@gmail.com
Rizqa D. Anazifa M. Pd., Alumnus, Yogyakarta State University, Jl. Kolombo Karangmalang Yogya-
karta 55281, Indonesia.
E-mail: rizqa2011@gmail.com

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Problems of Education in the 21st Century, Vol. 76, No.

Scientia Socialis, Ltd. in cooperation with SMC „Scientia Educologica“, Lithuania,

Emerging Sources Citation Index PubGet

Address: Scientia Socialis, Ltd.

TEACHING HOW TO LEARN

RECOGNITION OF INDICATORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COGNITIVE

BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS USING SANDWICH MAKING COMPUTER

EMBRACING IDENTITIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING:

IN-CLASS AND OUT-OF-CLASS ANXIETY IN SPEAKING TURKISH

THE ROLE OF ETHNOPEDAGOGY IN SHAPING POSITIVE ATTITUDES

PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF MATHEMATICS

COGNITIVE LOADING DUE TO SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING, COMPLEX QUESTIONS

IMPACT OF CHARACTER EDUCATION IMPLEMENTATION: A GOAL-FREE EVALUATION

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS ............................................................................. 900

QUALITY ISSUES AND INSIGHTS IN THE 21st CENTURY ..........................................903

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Received: November 27, 2018 Accepted: December 08, 2018

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Following research hypotheses were verified:

In the historical context, the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives is considered

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Table 1. Characteristics of respondents in relation to the field of study.

Gender Intelectual Level (absolute Acad.

This research was conducted in four phases.

Analysis of educational content of Corporate Economy and assessment of the subject

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Design of learning objectives and model of the problem-based process

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Table 2. A Model of problem-based learning and cognitive dimension in the

Cognitive dimension Contents of curriculum Logical reasoning

Property and Capital Development of Busi- definition of the problem;

Information functions of the balance sheet definition of the problem;

Expenses, Revenues, Profit and Loss – definition of the problem;

definition of the problem;

definition of the problem;

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770 Distribution of research tools for data collection

Data Analysis and Testing of Dependency

Table 3. Measures of location and measures of dispersion. 771

Cognitive dimension Mean Median Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum Range

The original Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and

Exploratory Factor Analysis

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Analysis of the Relation between Quantitative Variables

Table 5. Tests of normality.

IQ value .111 70 .034 .971 70 .109

Factor 2 .089 70 .200* .976 70 .206

Furthermore, the correlation between quantitative variables was researched. These

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774 Table 7. Correlations – Pearson correlation.

Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 IQ value Achievement in Corporate

The research of indicators of the development of cognitive dimensions in students of a practically

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Received: September 07, 2018 Accepted: November 22, 2018

QUALITY ISSUES AND INSIGHTS IN THE 21st CENTURY ..........................................903