Problems of Education in The 21st Century, Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022

Problems of Education in the 21st Century, Vol. 80, No.
3, 2022
ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)
PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION
IN THE 21st CENTURY
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Dr., Prof. Saleh A. Alabdulkareem, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Monica Baptista, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Dr., Prof. Martin Bilek, Charles University, Czech Republic
Dr., Prof. Andris Broks, University of Latvia, Latvia
Dr., Prof. Marco Antonio Bueno Filho, Federal University of ABC, Brazil
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Dr., Prof. Vladimir S. Karapetyan, Armenian State Pedagogical University named after
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Dr., Prof. Kuo-Hung Huang, National Chiayi University, Taiwan
Dr. Milan Kubiatko, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
Dr., Prof. Miroslaw Kowalski, University of Zielona Gora, Poland
Dr., Prof. Lay Yoon Fah, University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Dr. Todar T. Lakhvich, Belarusian State Medical University, Republic of Belarus
Dr. Solange W. Locatelli, Federal University of ABC, Brazil
Dr. Eleonora Melnik, Petrozavodsk State University, Republic of Karelia, Russia
Dr., Prof. Danuše Nezvalova, Palacky University, Czech Republic
Dr. Osman Pekel, Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey
Dr., Prof. Yuriy Pelekh, Rivne State University of Humanities, Ukraine
Dr., Prof. Raffaele Pisano, University of Lille, France
Dr., Prof. Katarzyna Potyrala, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland
Dr. Costin Pribeanu, Academy of Romanian Scientists, Romania
Dr. Agneta Simeonsdotter Svensson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dr. Uladzimir K. Slabin, University of Oregon, USA
Dr. Laima Railienė, Scientific Methodical Centre „Scientia Educologica“, Republic of Lithuania
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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Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022
Contents 391
Editorial
MARGINAL TOPICS IN THE RESEARCH OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

Milan Kubiatko ........................................................................................................ 392
Articles
SAUDI TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND THEIR

ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMPROVING SAUDI STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Badr Alharbi ..........................................................................................................395
MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ ACCEPTANCE OF ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING:

AN EXTENDED TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL
Yarhands Dissou Arthur ...............................................................................................408
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF BRAZILIAN

MEDICAL STUDENTS
Ingrid Dorea-Bandeira, Vanessa Gusmão de Oliveira, Mariana Araújo-Pereira, Bruno Bezerril Andrade,
André Nogueira Nazar, Luiz Fernando Quintanilha, Katia de Miranda Avena ................................ 426
EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICUM IN TURKEY THROUGH

EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Yasin Ozturk, Merve Gangal ........................................................................................ 438
PERSONALITY EMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN THE SUBJECTIVE PROJECTION

OF THE UNEMPLOYED YOUTH WITH HIGHER EDUCATION
Yurii Pelekh, Oleh Rudiuk, Viktor Demianiuk .....................................................................456
ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF HOMESCHOOLED VERSUS CONVENTIONALLY SCHOOLED

CHILDREN PURSUING THE ACCELERATED CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN KENYA
Fredrick Mwanyumba Tweni, Lydia Wamocha, Pamela Buhere ................................................474
Information
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS .............................................................................. 487
NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION / GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS ............................... 489

This is an open access article under the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License
PROBLEMS
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Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022
392
MARGINAL TOPICS IN THE RESEARCH OF
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Milan Kubiatko
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
E-mail: mkubiatko@gmail.com
The researchers all over the world are focused on different topics. Many of them have got
a character of “mainstream”. When the reader is searching for science education journals, it is
possible to find some research areas typical for every science subject (physics, chemistry, etc.).
One of the topics is the problems connected with wrong ideas/preconceptions/misconceptions
among different age groups, from elementary school pupils through high school pupils till
university students and adult population. The areas of research are different, for example, nature
of matter (Budimaier & Hopf, 2022), different aspects of chemistry – chemical equilibrium
(e.g., He et al., 2022). Also, in biology subject the research about conceptions is very popular,
the research studies are focused on the photosynthesis, botany, physiology of animals and
plants, zoology, ethology, evolution, etc. (e.g., Sandoval et al., 2022). Another common topic
presented in scientific educational journals are curricular articles regarding the whole subject,
where the reform activities are described, and also authors presented impact of reforms on the
education, on society, and also positive and negative sides are shown of the curricular reform
on policy (e.g. Caramaschi et al., 2022; Wei, 2019). In some cases, curricular aspects of some
topics are presented. For example, Ward et al. (2014) in their study presented curricular reform
regarding biology, with focusing on the botany and how reform in this biological discipline
could change educational process. However, this kind of curricular studies are in lower level.
It is also possible to find another topic, which is typical for scientific educational research,
and it is research of school textbooks, where they are examining type of tasks, difficulty
level, comparison of difficulty, scientific level of textbooks from different publishing houses,
illustrations, etc. (e.g., Vojir & Rusek, 2022). In some cases, among accepted articles scientific
educational journals also included some studies, which are focused on the opinion of pupils/
students on different scientific phenomena. For example, Prado et al. (2022) were focusing on
the interest of future teachers toward insects. Authors in these kinds of studies are using a scale
and quantitative approach which are typical for them. As it was presented in above mentioned
study, the focus is sometimes very specific (e.g., insects), but some studies focus on attitudes
toward subjects, for example Wahyudiati et al. (2020) presented attitudes toward chemistry
among university students. Some years before, the concept of inquiry-based learning started as
a significant method, which could lead into the higher interest and better attitudes of pupils and
also students toward science subjects. On the basis of this fact, many researchers tried to prove
the effect of inquiry-based learning on the pupils’ assessments and also views of science subject
(e.g., Rokos & Zavodska, 2020).
The paragraph, which is presented above, included research studies, which are focused
on the most preferred topics in science education. On the other side there are some studies,
which are very rare, and they are marginal for researchers. These kinds of studies are not
focused only on problematic of didactic issues, but the other disciplines are joined. So, the
scientific disciplines like psychology, sociology, philosophy are part of these research studies.
For example, we could observe, that some studies focus on the perception of different aspects of
science subjects, for example, knowledge about plants, perception of animals and other topics.
However, the authors examined the effect of other variables, which can influence the perception
https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.392 ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)

Milan KUBIATKO. Marginal topics in the research of science education
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Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022
of knowledge about different phenomena. These variables would be from different fields of 393
study, for example like happiness scale or satisfaction with live or perceived vulnerability
(Fancovicova et al., 2020). These studies are minimally presented in the scientific journals,
regarding to science education. It is also possible to notice that problematic of environmental
education and environmental literacy are presented mainly in the journals focused on the
environmental problematic. However, this topic belongs to science education. The environmental
problematic includes nature, scientific subjects, and also pedagogical concerns regarding to
scientific subjects like biology is. For the science educational journals, it could be important
and interesting to classify these issues in terms of their content. These topics also could bring
some new ideas into curriculum of science subjects, mainly biology. It could help to include
ecological activities among pupils and children. This kind of research is possible to read in the
studies from authors like Cincera et al. (2020) or Winklerova et al. (2018). There are also many
topics, which are focused on different aspects of science education with the variables, which are
from different scientific disciplines. It is possible to mention motivation toward learning, which
is connected with many examinations, which are regarding to science education research. Also,
in some articles, which were published, it was possible to notice personality traits.
However, it is important to say, that marginal topics could also be in the interest of
classic scientific educational journals. This age is not focused separate disciplines, but it is time
for connection between various scientific disciplines. The results and findings could lead to
new conclusions, which could aim to better understanding of this how children/pupils/students
perceive scientific subjects and how the change could be performed.
References
Budimaier, F., Hopf, M. (2022). Students’ ideas on common experiments about the
particulate nature of matter. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 21(3), 381-397.
https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.381
Caramaschi, M., Cullinane, A., Levrini, O., & Erduran, S. (2022). Mapping the nature of science in the
italian physics curriculum: From missing links to opportunities for reform. International Journal
of Science Education, 44(1), 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.2017061
Cincera, J., Simonova, P., Kroufek, R., & Johnson, B. (2020). Empowerment in outdoor environmental
education: Who shapes the programs? Environmental Education Research, 26(12), 1690-1706.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1814205
Fancovicova, J., Szikhart, M., & Prokop, P. (2020). Learning about mushrooms is
influenced by survival processing. The American Biology Teacher, 82(8), 529-534.
https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2020.82.8.529
He, P., Zheng, C., & Li, T. (2022). Upper secondary school students’ conceptions of chemical equilibrium
in aqueous solutions: Development and validation of a two-tier diagnostic instrument. Journal of
Baltic Science Education, 21(3), 428-444. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.428
Prado, B. G., Puig, B., & Evagorou, M. (2022). Primary pre-service teachers’ emotions and interest
towards insects: An explorative case study. Journal of Biological Education, 56(1), 61-76.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2020.1756896
Rokos, L., & Zavodska, R. (2020). Efficacy of inquiry-based and “Cookbook” labs at human physiology
lessons at university level - is there an impact in relation to acquirement of new knowledge and
skills? Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), Article
em1909. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9124
Sandoval, V., Simo, L., & Lagaron, C. (2022). Revisiting the landscape roaming metaphor to understand
students’ ideas on mammals’ and birds’ thermal regulation. Journal of Biological Education,
56(1), 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2020.1748894
Vojir, K., & Rusek, M. (2022). Opportunities for learning: Analysis of Czech lower-
secondary chemistry textbook tasks. Acta Chimica Slovenica, 69(2), 259-370.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17344/acsi.2021.7245
ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online) https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.392

Milan KUBIATKO. Marginal topics in the research of science education
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394 Wahyudiati, D., Rohaeti, E., Wiyarsi, A., & Sumardi, L. (2020). Attitudes toward chemistry, self-efficacy,
and learning experiences of pre-service chemistry teachers: Grade level and gender differences.
International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 235-254. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.13116a
Ward, J. R., Clarke, H. D., & Horton, J. L. (2014). Effects of a research-infused botanical curriculum on
undergraduates’ content knowledge, STEM competencies, and attitudes toward plant sciences.
CBE—Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 387-396. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-12-0231
Wei, B. (2019). Reconstructing a school chemistry curriculum in the era of core
competencies: A case from China. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(7), 1359-
1366. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00211
Winklerova, K., Cincera, J., Krepelkova, S., & Kroufek, R. (2018). The GLOBE program: Long-term
memories of program-relevant experience. The Journal of Environmental Education, 49(5), 400-
410. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2018.1466772
Received: June 12, 2022 Revised: June 15, 2022 Accepted: June 20, 2022
Cite as: Kubiatko, M. (2022). Marginal topics in the research of science education. Problems
of Education in the 21st Century, 80(3), 392-394. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.392
Milan Kubiatko PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Preschool and Primary Education, Faculty
of Education, J. E. Purkyne University, Pasteurova 1, 400 96 Usti nad Labem, Czech
Republic.
E-mail: mkubiatko@gmail.com
Website: http://fwww.kubiatko.eu
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4343-9609

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SAUDI TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF 395
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND THEIR

ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMPROVING SAUDI
STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Badr Alharbi
University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: Ba.Alharbi@uoh.edu.sa
Abstract
Saudi teachers are unsure how to include critical thinking into their classrooms.This study aimed at
identifying the knowledge of Saudi teachers regarding critical thinking skills and exploring their attitudes
towards improving Saudi students’ critical thinking skills. To identify if there are statistically significant
differences at the level of significance (0.05) between the response averages of the study sample members
about the degree of assessment of Saudi teachers about their knowledge of self-critical thinking skills due
to the variables (specialization, experience, and gender), the quantitative approach was used employing
a three-part questionnaire as the study’s instrument to achieve objectives. The first part gathered the
demographic information of the participants focusing on three variables: “specialization,” “years of
experience,” and “gender. The second part was designed to assess the participants' critical thinking
abilities. The third part was to determine the participants’ attitudes about improving students’ critical
thinking skills. The sample of the study consisted of (408) teachers (male and female) who were teaching
at secondary school level in Hail City, Saudi Arabia during the academic year 2020-2021. The results
revealed that the level of Saudi Teachers’ knowledge of critical thinking skills was high and that their
attitudes towards improving students’ critical thinking skills were positive. Statistically, there were
significant differences in favor of the “sciences specialization” versus the “humanities specialization” in
the questionnaire’s two objectives. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences
in the “gender” and “years of experience” variables. For future research, there is still a need to further
examine Saudi teachers’ critical thinking skills and their attitudes towards improving Saudi students’
critical thinking skills. Its relevance to e-learning and adaptable settings is also discussed. Future
research could look into the many interactions between different learning methods and strategies utilized
in the development of camel thinking.
Keywords: attitudes towards critical thinking, Critical Thinking (CT), Critical Thinking Skills (CTS),
Saudi Teachers (ST)
Introduction
Educators see CT skills as crucial skills which students should be taught. The Partnership
for 21st Century Skills has recognized critical thinking as a core competency to prepare
students for progress in the workforce. Educational scholars argue that CT skills are essential to
today’s complex and swiftly-altering world (Costa, 2001; Lipman, 2003). To better prepare our
students for the issues they will confront, teachers must clearly teach critical thinking strategies,
giving young people with twenty-first-century skills (Hove, 2011). According to NACE (2017),
employers believed that CT and problem solving were the most essential competencies that job
seekers should possess. Thus, to prepare learners for future career life in various fields and to
meet marketplace expectations, it is crucial to enhance learners’ cognitive skills (Gashan, 2015).

Badr ALHARBI. Saudi teachers’ knowledge of critical thinking skills and their attitudes towards improving Saudi students’ critical
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396 In addition, learners need scientific as well as logical knowledge in tackling the challenges of
the current world while making sound decisions with the fewest mistakes (Sarigoz, 2012, 5315).
If CT skills are essential in today’s world, they need to become an educational priority.
To provide an environment where learners can develop skill sets that will help them succeed
in a changing and complex world, schools are at risk of becoming isolated if they are not
redesigned to meet this objective (Coughlin, 2010). Sadiq and Najjar (2017) asserted that
students’ possession of CT is a necessary educational goal that educational systems seek to
achieve in an era where technological developments and information flow are increasing.
Such an era according to Halpern (2014) entails that students are taught to be critical and
effective thinkers. CT also enables students to face the requirements of the future, and these
requirements will not be met only by gaining information and facts but crucially by acquiring
logical methods of deduction and interpretation. As a result, most education systems across the
world are focusing on developing and improving learners' higher mental processes such as CT
and problem-solving skills (Ashraah et al., 2012). In Saudi Arabia, researchers and educators
are increasingly arguing for enhancing students’ thinking skills. Suzan (2018) claimed that
Saudi students suffered from a lack of thinking skills and of the opportunity to practice them in
classrooms.
Consequently, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education has recently begun to question the
quality of education provided to future Saudi students. These concerns include curriculum
development, teaching strategies, assessment methods, enhancing students' values and skills,
and improving the educational environment. In 2020, the Saudi Ministry of Education revealed
that it was working on preparing courses in CT before officially including them in the education
system for the 2021-2022 academic year. The CT course in the elementary stage focuses on
developing students’ awareness of the meaning of thinking in general before it moves to the
comprehension of the meaning of CT. After that, it tackles the understanding of the application
of CT standards, skills, and mechanisms such as asking questions. Next, it addresses some of
the CT applications like reading, image, and media. The course then moves to extracting the
value of logical thinking as a criterion of CT. It gives learners information about the principles
and foundations of logical thinking and gradually progresses to the types of inference (induction
and deduction). Finally, it analyzes the applications of logical thinking in daily life. In the
secondary stage, the CT course continues to develop students' capabilities in CT procedures
and applications through several carefully-built lessons such as problem solving and decision
making, dialogue, debate, and arguments. Then it moves on to distinguish CT from creative and
scientific thinking. It also contains basic lessons such as examining the relevance of evidence,
revealing logical fallacies, and avoiding such fallacies.
Thinking is a natural process, and students can naturally gain CT skills. Is it necessary
for them to be taught CT skills? CT "is a natural process, but when left to itself, can frequently
be skewed, distorted, partial, misinformed, and potentially prejudiced; quality in thought must
be nurtured," according to Choy and Cheah (2009, 198). As a result, teachers must strengthen
these abilities. Teachers must have "personality" and become role models for youngsters in
order to improve students' CT skills. In other words, they should think in a fluent, flexible, and
genuine manner" (Zeteroglu et al., 2012, 3137). Furthermore, teachers' CT knowledge could be
crucial in helping students improve their CT skills. If teachers do not have a strong background
in CT, they will be unable to help students think critically. "Teachers may not teach something
they believe they cannot explain," according to Stedman and Adams (2012). Their purpose may
be to educate at a higher level, which would entail CT, when their understanding of the subject
is actually incomplete." (p.10). Teachers' CT concepts understanding is crucial and has an effect
on learners. The advancement of students' CT abilities would be hampered if teachers lack
adequate knowledge of CT capabilities (Kowalczyk, et al., 2012; Gashan 2015). As a result, if
teachers lack CT skills, they will be unable to teach these skills to their students.

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Research Problem 397
There are few studies that have been conducted to determine not only the attitudes of
teachers about developing students’ CT skills but also teachers’ knowledge of CT skills. The
results of the Previous studies (Gashan, 2015; Al-Qasim, 2014; Hachlaf, 2018) showed that the
teachers had a low level of CT skills, teaching CT to pre-service teachers should be a productive
process that equips them with a profound understanding of CT, teachers lacking in applying
CT skills is a result of not being sufficiently trained. In addition, given the fact that CT is a
relatively new addition to the Saudi education system and that there is lack of information about
teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards enhancing CT among students, very little research
has been conducted on this particular issue so far. To shed more light on this issue, the present
study aims at exploring the knowledge that ST have of CT as well as their attitudes when it
comes to developing students’ CT skills.
Research Focus
Various studies have attempted to examine the most effective strategies for teaching CTS,
including various methods and activities that should be employed to help learners develop their
CTS. However, as far as the researcher is aware, there are only a few studies that aim to explore
teachers' awareness of CTS and attitudes toward increasing students' CTS. Gashan (2015)
conducted a survey to analyze the understanding and views of CT among Saudi pre-service
teachers. Teachers have insufficient awareness of CTS, according to the report. It was also
shown that teachers were enthusiastic about the benefits of teaching CT. Al-Qasim study (2014)
aimed to explore teachers’ level of CT and to determine the effect of experience, specialization,
and the instructional stage on their level in CT at Taubah University. To achieve this objective,
the California CTS Test “CCTST” was applied to 85 teachers. The results of the test showed
that the teachers had a low level of CT skills.
Teachers' perceptions of CT instruction were examined in another study conducted by
Asgharheidari and Tahriri (2011). The teachers were surveyed on their attitudes toward CT and
its role in their career path. According to the findings of the study, most teachers understood
the concept of CT and believed that improving students' CT was an important part of their
job as teachers. Anastasiadou and Dimitriadou (2011) studied how prospective teachers at
the University of Western Macedonia's School of Education perceived CT. According to the
study, teaching CT to pre-service teachers should be a fruitful process that provides them with a
thorough understanding of CT. Hachlaf (2018), on the other hand, explored pre-service science
teachers' perceptions of CT in science instruction and lesson planning in UAE schools. The
study discovered that pre-service science teachers lacked the ability to apply CT skills due to a
lack of training.
Furthermore, Almalakawi (2019) examined the level of CT among art educators and
discovered that female teachers had a higher level of CT than their male counterparts. Another
study, conducted by Alwadai (2014), concluded that CT is a concept that few Islamic education
teachers in Saudi Arabia are familiar with, let alone know how to teach. As they were unaware
of CT, these teachers were viewed as a barrier to promoting CT in students.
Other research done by Al-Kindi and AL-Mekhlafi (2017) explored post-basic English
teachers’ practice of CT skills. The study found that teachers rarely used strategies that helped
students develop CT skills and that there were no significant differences between male and
female teachers. The study of Shahrebabaki and Notash (2015) studied the attitudes of teachers
and learners towards the inclusion of CT skills in the English as a foreign language (EFL)
syllabus in Iran. The study revealed that while learners improved and were motivated, teachers
were not in favor of incorporating CT components into the syllabus.

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398 The study of Al-Faqih and Al-Kilani (2018) aimed at identifying the degree to which
Islamic education teachers at the secondary stage in Amman, Jordan practiced CT skills in
relationship to gender, academic qualifications, and educational experience variables. The
results revealed that the teachers’ practice of CT skills was at a high degree with no statistically
significant differences attributed to gender, academic qualification, or educational experience.
Almulla (2018) studied the perceptions of secondary-school teachers in Saudi
KSA Arabi about the strategies they used to help their students develop CTS, as well as how
consistent their classroom practices were with their perceptions. It was concluded that the best
teaching practices for improving students’ CT skills were performance-based tasks, open-ended
questions, and the comparing and contrasting of various perspectives. It was also suggested that
in addition to teaching strategies, other educational factors, such as the availability of school
resources, influenced the development of CT capabilities. Al-degether (2009) explored the
knowledge of female college teachers in CT, their opinions about it, and the teaching methods
they used to improve students’ CT skills. The participants were surveyed, and their responses
were analyzed to achieve the objectives of the study. It was concluded that while the participants
did not have a full grasp of CT elements, they had positive opinions about it and occasionally
utilized CT methods in teaching. Al-Sanafi (2008) attempted to assess Kuwaiti social studies
teachers' knowledge in CTS and the extent to which they practiced them from their point of
view. The results of the study revealed a low level of knowledge of CT skills with statistically
significant differences attributed to gender, experience, and specialization.
The findings of the research cited above suggest that teacher’s knowledge and perceptions
of CT play a vital role in enhancing students’ academic achievement and quality of thinking.
Therefore, there is an ongoing need for investigating how teachers’ knowledge of CT reflects on
their attitudes towards improving students’ CT skills through formal instruction.
Research Questions
This study attempted to answer the following questions:

1- What is the level of Saudi Teachers’ knowledge of CTS?
2- What are the teachers’ attitudes towards improving students’ CTS?
3- Are there statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05)
between the means of the responses to (the level of knowledge in CTS) due to the
variables “specialization,” “experience,” and “gender”?
Research Aim
1- Identifying the Saudi teachers’ knowledge of CTS.

2- Explore the attitudes of Saudi teachers’ about improving students’ CTS.
3- Finding out statistically significant differences at the level of significance
(0.05) between the means of the responses to (the level of knowledge in CTS) due to the
variables “specialization,” “experience,” and “gender”.
Research Methodology
General Background
Based on the nature of the study and the information to be obtained, the researcher relied
on the descriptive method, which means collecting data about a particular phenomenon and
analyzing that data to reach the final result of the study, where the descriptive method studies
the variables as they are found in nature. Therefore, this study used a quantitative approach

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to determine Saudi teachers' knowledge of CTS and their attitudes toward improving their 399
students' CTS in first academic term of 2021. This approach, according to Stedman and Adams
(2012), was appropriate for such a study.
Sample
The sample of the study consisted of (408) Teachers (male and female) who were teaching
at secondary school in Hail City, Saudi Arabia during the first semester of the academic year
2021. Cohen (1988) approach used to select participants for t-test (p = .85, df = .6, a = .05,
n = 41) and f-test criteria (u= 1, p=.99, f=.1, n= 789), researcher used the mean of those two
samples 41 and 789, it was equaled 415. Seven students withdrew from the study due to ethical
concerns.
Notes: U= producers; f=effect size; n= sample size; p= power analyses, a= level of significance;
and df= degree of freedom.
The participants were chosen at random because "it is very difficult, if not impossible, to
list all the members of a target population and select the sample from among them (Ary, et al.
2010, 154). The participants were distributed according to the variables of the study, which are
“specialization,” “experience,” and “gender” as shown in Table (1(. The study sample met with
the researcher, who explained the research's objectives and motivations, as well as the fact that
all of their responses are secret and will only be used for research purposes, and that they can
withdraw at any time.
Table 1
Distribution of Study Participants According to The Study Variables
No Variables f % Total
Humanities 308 75.49
1 Specialization 408
Sciences 100 24.50
Less than 5 years 36 8.82
2 Experience 5 to 10 years 104 25.49 408
More than 10 years 268 65.68
Male 268 65.68
3 Gender 408
female 140 34.31
Total 408
Notes: f= Frequency; and %= Percentage.
Instrument and Procedures
Data were collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed based on
previous studies related to CTS (Al-Qasim, 2014; Almulla, 2018; Almalakawi, 2019; Gashan,
2015). The instrument included three parts. First part handled the demographic information of
the participants, namely specialization, years of experience, and gender. Second part measured
the participants’ knowledge of CT; it consisted of ten skills adopted from Elder et al, (2007);
Al-degether (2009); and Stedman and Adams (2012). Participants were asked to identify the
concepts they believed were related to CT by selecting "belong" if they believed the skills
concepts were among CTS, "not belong" if they believed the concepts were not of CT, or "I do

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400 not know" if they had no answer. Third part sought to determine the participants’ attitudes about
improving students’ CTS. This part was comprised of fifteen 5-point-Likert-scale statements
ranging from one (Strongly Agree) to five (Strongly Disagree).
Data Analysis
Data analysis: IBM SPSS software v.20 had been used to test the internal consistency
by Cronbach’s alpha, frequencies, percent, mean, and standard deviation for item analysis.
Independent sample t-test was used to test the differences between Humanities and science
colleges in subscales. ANOVA test was used to test the differences between years of experiences
levels in two subscales.
Content validity of the questionnaire:

To test its content validity, the questionnaire, in its initial form, was presented to a group
of nine professors specialized in the field of psychology from the Faculty of Education at the
UOH in order to express their opinions on the following:
1. The items’ suitability for the objective (the objectives of the second and third
parts of the questionnaire).
2. The appropriate wording of the items.
For the second part of the questionnaire (measuring the teachers’ knowledge of CT
skills), the specialists approved of items’ suitability for the objective with percentages that
ranged from (88.8% - 100%) while the approval for items wording ranged between (66.6% -
100%). A minimum approval of (75%) was adopted. Accordingly, the wording of statement
No. (8), which had an approval percentage of (66.6%), was modified while the rest of the items
were kept unmodified.
As for the third part of the questionnaire (determining the teachers’ attitudes about
improving students’ CT skills), items’ suitability for the objective had approval percentages
above the adopted minimum approval of (75%) while the approval for items wording ranged
between (66.6% - 100%). As a result, the wording of items (8) and (10), which had an approval
percentage of (66.6%), was modified while the remaining items were kept unmodified.
Reliability: To verify the reliability of the questionnaire, it was applied to 50 teachers,

and the Cronbach's Alpha was used to calculate the internal consistency for its items as in Table
2 below.
Table 2
Internal Consistency Coefficients (Cronbach's Alpha) for the Items of the Questionnaire
Number of Cronbach's alpha

Parts of the Questionnaire
items value
The Second Part: Saudi Teachers’ Knowledge of CTS 10 .753
The Third Part: Saudi Teachers’ Attitudes towards Improving Students’
10 .784
CTS
Table (2) states that the value of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the internal consistency
of the second part of the questionnaire was (0.753) while the third part had a value of (0.784).
These, being high values, indicate confidence in the results of the questionnaire. The search tool
was corrected using the Likert quintet scale by selecting one of five options (Strongly Agree,
Agree, Somewhat Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree) in each of the questionnaire items,
and it was corrected on a scale of one to five (1, 2,3,4, and 5).

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Research Results 401
To answer the first Question, the responses of the participants to the second part of the
questionnaire were analyzed. The participants were surveyed about their knowledge of CTS.
The results of their responses are presented in Table 3.
Table 3
The Level of Saudi Teachers’ Knowledge in CTS
Item (CT concept/ Belong Don't belong I do not know Evaluation

No M SD
skill) f % f % f % Score
Identifying similarities
1 and differences in 324 79.4 84 20.6 ‫ـــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــ‬ 2.79 0.40 High
opinions and ideas
The flow of meanings
2 from various 284 69.6 124 30.4 ‫ــــــــــ‬ ‫ــــــــــ‬ 2.69 0.46 High
experiences or data
Evaluating the
importance of a piece
3 324 79.4 84 20.6 ‫ــــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــ‬ 2.79 0.40 High
of information, an idea,
or a point of view
Judging the credibility
4 of information or the 284 69.6 124 30.4 ‫ــــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــ‬ 2.69 0.46 High
proposed idea/s
Reaching the
similarities and
5 324 79.4 84 20.6 ‫ـــــــــ‬ ‫ــــــــــ‬ 2.79 0.40 High
differences in opinions
and ideas
Guessing what will
6 happen in the future 232 56.9 176 43.1 ‫ــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــ‬ 2.56 0.49 High
from existing data
Excluding viewpoints
that appear to be wrong
7 228 55.9 180 44.1 ‫ــــــــ‬ ‫ــــــــ‬ 2.55 0.49 High
or incompatible with
society
The gradation in the
method of solving
8 questions or problems 308 75.4 100 24.6 ‫ــــــــ‬ ‫ــــــــــ‬ 2.75 0.43 High
to reach a single
answer or solution
Setting subjective
criteria for thinking,
9 308 75.4 100 24.6 ‫ـــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــ‬ 2.75 0.43 High
evaluating, and dealing
with controversial topics
Reaching new ideas
10 336 82.4 72 17.6 ‫ــــــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــــ‬ 2.82 0.38 High
and visions
Notes: M = mean, SD= standard deviation; f = Frequency; and % = Percentage.

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402 Table (3) presents the results of Saudi teachers’ knowledge of Saudi teachers’ knowledge
of CTS. The overall mean for this part of the study was (2.72) which indicates a high level of
knowledge of CTS. Item 10 (Reaching new ideas and visions) ranked first with a mean of (2.82)
while item 7 (Excluding views that appear to be wrong or inconsistent with society) was last
with a mean of (2.55) which is still at a high degree.
To answer the Second Question, the participants were asked to give their opinions on
improving students’ CTS. The results in Table 4 were analyzed.
Table 4
Teachers' Attitudes towards Improving Students' CT Skills in Hail City, KSA
Strongly Strongly
Agree Neutral Disagree Evaluation
No Items Agree Disagree M SD
Score
f f % % f % f % f %
I believe CT
encourages
1 196 48.0 132 32.4 36 8.8 44 10.8 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.17 0.98 High
students to become
independent.
I believe CT helps
2 students become 164 40.2 152 37.3 60 14.7 32 7.8 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.09 .92 High
active learners.
I see CT as a way of
thinking that helps
3 160 39.2 164 40.2 40 9.8 44 10.8 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.07 .95 High
students enjoy the
learning process.
I believe CT helps
to think carefully
4 before making 184 45.1 164 40.2 40 9.8 20 4.9 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.25 .82 High
any judgment or
decisions.
I think that acquiring
CT skills helps
5 students in the 192 47.1 148 36.3 44 10.8 24 5.9 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.24 .86 High
decision-making
process.
I believe I have the
skills to enhance
students' CT while
teaching.
I prefer CT to be a
separate course and
7 116 28.4 124 30.4 84 20.6 84 20.6 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 3.66 1.09 High
not to be included in
all courses.
I think CT gives
opportunities to
explore ideas, keep
options open, and
imagine what could
be.
I think that CT makes
9 students evaluate 132 32.4 180 44.1 80 19.6 16 3.9 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.04 .82 High
information.
I feel that CT makes
10 students look for 132 32.4 192 47.1 52 12.7 32 7.8 ‫ــــــــ ــــــــ‬ 4.03 .87 High
evidence.
Notes: M = mean, SD = Standard Deviation; and f = Frequency; % = Percentage.

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When analyzed, the results in Table (4) reflect the teachers’ attitudes about improving 403
students’ CT skills Hail City. The overall mean for the responses to this part of the study was
(3.82) which indicates a high degree. This shows that the teachers’ attitudes about improving
students’ CT skills were positive. Item number 4 (I believe CT helps to think carefully before
making any judgment or decisions) came first with a mean of (4.25) while item number 7 (I
prefer CT to be a separate course and not to be included in all courses) ranked last with a mean
of (3.66).
To answer the Third Question, the t-test was used to calculate the differences between
the means of responses and the standard deviations. It was also used to calculate the t-values
and their statistical significance for the variables “specialization” and “gender.” On the other
hand, the analysis of variance, F-test, was used to calculate the differences between the means
of responses, the standard deviations, and the F-values with their statistical significance for the
variable “years of experience”. This analysis is detailed as the following:
The First Variable, “Specialization.” Table (5) below shows the differences between the
means of the participants’ responses, the standard deviations, the t-values, and their statistical
significance in the second and third parts of the questionnaire which are attributed to the
“specialization” variable.
Table 5
The t-test; and Statistical Significance for the Differences in the Questionnaire According to
Specialization (Humanities - Sciences)

Part The Group f M SD t p
Second Part: Saudi teachers’ knowledge of Humanities 308 27.06 2.30

-3.142- .01
CT Skills
Sciences 100 27.76 1.78
Third Part: Teachers’ Attitudes about Humanities 308 56.40 7.67

Improving Students’ CT Skills in Hail City, -6.014- .01
Saudi Arabia Sciences 100 60.64 5.52
Notes: M = mean, SD = Standard Deviation; and f = Frequency.
It is clear from Table (5) that the t-value for the differences between the humanities
and sciences specialization in the second and third parts of the questionnaire were statistically
significant at the level (0.01). The t-value for the humanities specialization was (3.142) while
it was (6.014) for the sciences which shows that the differences were in favor of the sciences
specialization. This means that teachers specialized in sciences had a higher level of CT
knowledge and had more positive attitudes towards improving students’ CT skills?
The Second Variable, “Gender.” The t-value for the differences between males and
females in the two parts of the questionnaire was (0.217), (0.863) respectively which is not
statistically significant. This result means that there is no correlation between the gender of
teachers and CT skills.
The Third Variable, “Years of Experience.” The F-value for the differences due to the
variable “years of experience” in the two parts of the questionnaire is not statistically significant.
This reveals that the CT skills of secondary school teachers were not affected by the difference
in their experience.

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404 Discussion
To summarize, the findings of the study's first two questions demonstrated a high level of
knowledge of CT abilities among secondary school teachers, who considered that these skills
were important in teaching and useful to students' CT development. The findings revealed that
secondary school teachers have a high level of self-esteem in terms of their CT abilities, which
may be due to their full understanding of their roles and responsibilities in developing their
students' CT abilities and skills in accordance with current learning requirements in the twenty-
first century. The findings of the second question suggested that teachers in Hail have a positive
attitude toward enhancing pupils' CT skills. This could be due to the fact that secondary school
curricula are well aware of the nature of secondary school curricula, which provide a vast field
for developing CT abilities to a great degree, as there is rarely a significant lesson from them.
Its nature was to provide examples to clarify an idea, or to connect past and new experiences, or
to identify the main points in it, or to give a brief presentation of the group of ideas contained
in it, or to give a summary to determine the extent of its understanding and comprehension, and
to draw conclusions based on those practices, and this is what they focus on. It is more effective
than other methods for teaching them.
The teachers themselves appreciate the nature of the secondary school curricula, which
constitute an ample field for practicing CT skills to a high degree. There is hardly a lesson
without it, whatever its nature, from providing examples to clarify an idea, linking past and
new experiences, identifying the main points in it, or presenting a summary. For a set of ideas
contained in it, or to provide a summary to determine the extent of its understanding and
comprehension, and to draw conclusions based on those practices, and this is what they focus
on while teaching more compared to other skills.
The above results of the study are consistent with those of Asgharheidari and Tahriri
(2011); Anastasiadou and Dimitriadou (2011); and Al-Kindi & AL-Mekhlafi (2017) which
concluded that most teachers had a good grasp of the concept of CT and believed that it was an
important part of their job to enhance learners’ critical thought. However, this result differs from
the findings of Al-Sanafi (2008); Al-Qasim (2014); Hachlaf (2018); and Alwadai (2014) in which
teachers were found to have a low level of CTS and therefore were considered a barrier against
improving students’ CT. The results of this study are most likely attributed to the change in the
school curricula in Saudi Arabia. The new curricula focus on educational development and pay
great attention to thinking in general and CT in particular. Therefore, teachers need to keep up
with educational developments and innovations in the field of curricula and teaching methods
so that they could employ CT effectively in teaching. Teachers’ high level of knowledge in CT
may also be a result of the continuous training courses offered by the Ministry of Education
which provide teachers with various training opportunities in CT teaching.
As for teachers’ specialization, the results indicated that it was a significant factor as there
were statistically significant differences between the humanities and sciences specialization.
Teachers specialized in sciences ranked higher in the level of CT knowledge and had more
positive attitudes towards improving students’ CT skills. This difference can be explained
by the fact that while CT skills can be affected by individual capabilities and dispositions, a
person’s specialization plays a significant role. The nature of scientific specializations influences
students’ mindset. Studying sciences requires a high level of comprehension, causal analysis,
and innovation. It also requires the application of mathematical rules, conducting scientific
experiments, and providing logical explanations. The nature of scientific specializations,
therefore, dictates that a student must depend on logic and deductive reasoning to obtain and
verify information. In doing so, a student will ultimately become an independent thinker, and
CT is the cornerstone of independent thought. In contrast, the field of humanities relies heavily
on memorization and receptiveness where students are mainly taught through lecturing. Such
an environment can be limiting when it comes to fostering CT abilities.

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Teachers' gender, however, was found to be insignificant, as there was no effect of 405
teachers' gender on CTS. This finding, even so, contradicts Almalakawi (2019), who discovered
that female teachers had higher levels of CT than male teachers. The study's findings can be
understood in the context of the environment in which both male and female teachers share.
All teachers, regardless of gender, are influenced by the same professional and educational
atmosphere where there is no differentiation between males and females. In addition, societal
equality between males and females affects mental abilities and skills including the perception
of CT skills. In societies where there are no gender-based differences, individuals share
responsibilities and aspire to achieve the same level of psychological and mental growth.
Furthermore, the equality in learning and access to information is an educational approach
supported by educational institutions in Saudi Arabia, and this gender equality in education
plays an important role in neutralizing the effect of gender. The lack of significance for gender in
teachers’ CT knowledge is in keeping with their positive attitudes towards improving students’
CT skills.
Like gender, teachers’ variation in the years of experience was inconsequential. This
result is in keeping with Al-degether (2009) who showed that there was no correlation between
the years of experience and teachers’ attitudes about improving students’ CT skills. The result,
however, differs from those of Almalakawi (2019), Al-Sanafi (2008), Al-Qasim (2014), Hachlaf
(2018), and Alwadai (2014) where there were significant differences due to teachers’ length
of experience. The insignificance of experience as a variable can be attributed to the fact that
the majority of the teachers who participated in this study had long experience (65.68% more
than ten years of experience and 25.49% more than five years) which means that they shared
a lot of the same capabilities and skills. It can also be seen as a result of teachers’ educational
and professional training which shapes teachers’ abilities and practices without relying on
experience. The Ministry of Education is keen on teachers’ development through training
courses in CT skills where they receive the same level of attention to improve their teaching
skills and expertise.
The findings revealed that secondary school teachers have a high level of self-esteem
in terms of their CT abilities, which may be due to their full understanding of their roles and
responsibilities in developing their students' CT abilities and skills in accordance with current
learning requirements in the twenty-first century. Given the fact that CT is a relatively new
addition to the Saudi education system, there is a lack of knowledge of ways to employ and
enhance CT skills among students in the classroom and that there is a need to explore and
shed more light on how to develop thinking skills through a stand-alone course and in classes
dedicated to him, which is one of the directions of developing thinking skills, contrasted
with another trend of developing thinking skills by including them in the school curriculum
and presenting them in all courses and from different teachers, so that those skills are jointly
reinforced through their teaching practices, learning activities and various assessment methods,
rather than being limited to limited sessions and isolated from the rest of the day.
Given that CT is a relatively new addition to the Saudi educational system, there is a
need to explore and shed more light on how to build thinking abilities through a stand-alone
course. In contrast to another approach of growing thinking skills by including them in the
school curriculum and presenting them in all courses and from different professors, in classes
dedicated to him, which is one of the paths of developing thinking skills. Rather than being
limited to isolated sessions and segregated from the rest of the day, those abilities are jointly
reinforced through their instructional techniques, learning activities, and multiple assessment
methods. As a result, there is still a need to shed more light on this critical topic, as well as
its implications for the need to prepare teachers before and throughout service to deal with
thinking skills and teaching tactics.

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406 Conclusions and Implications
CT is a necessary skill that goes beyond education. It is an important part of human

cognitive abilities and a valuable asset in life. In general, the findings of this study revealed
that ST possessed a high level of CTS. This outcome is consistent with their positive attitude
toward improving students' CTS. A teacher would not be able to train their students in profound
thinking unless he/she possesses that kind of thinking. A teacher’s role is not constricted to
only familiarizing student with thinking skills, it transcends to applying these skills, including
analysis, deduction, as well as managing and evaluating information.
One of the educational objectives of KSA Vision is to promote learning and thinking in
general, and improving CT is an important part of this objective. KSA Vision also highlights
enhancing teachers’ competencies and enabling them to use effective teaching strategies which
help foster students’ thinking skills. Accordingly, educational policy makers need to prioritize
teachers’ professional development and provide them with training opportunities that focus
on developing students’ CTS. Future research should focus on Saudi teachers' CTS and their
attitudes toward improving Saudi students' CTS in primary and elementary schools. Future
studies must study CT and its relevance to e-learning and adaptable settings is also discussed.
Future research could look into the many interactions between different learning methods and
strategies utilized in the development of camel thinking.
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Arabia. Journal of Educational and Psychological Sciences, 4(19), 229-258.
Received: April 14, 2022 Revised: May 25, 2022 Accepted: June 18, 2022
Cite as: Alharbi, B. (2022). Saudi teachers’ knowledge of critical thinking skills and their
attitudes towards improving Saudi students’ critical thinking skills. Problems of Education
in the 21st Century, 80(3), 395-407. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.395
Badr Alharbi PhD, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education,
University of Ha’il, 234 AlnoQra, Hail City (55212), Saudi Arabia.
E-mail: usama_mas@yahoo.com, Ba.Alharbi@uoh.edu.sa

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408
MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ ACCEPTANCE
OF ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING:
AN EXTENDED TECHNOLOGY
ACCEPTANCE MODEL
Yarhands Dissou Arthur
Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and
Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana
E-mail: day1981boyy@gmail.com
Abstract
The research sought to assess mathematics teachers’ acceptance of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) integration into teaching and learning at the secondary schools. This study was a
cross-sectional survey that gathered data with structured questionnaire. The population was mathematics
(core and elective) teachers of secondary schools within the Ashanti region of Ghana. Purposive sampling
was used to select mathematics teachers from 41 secondary schools in the region. In all, there were 207
usable questionnaires for the study. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was run in Amos (v.23) to
estimate the path coefficients of the various hypotheses, using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The
study established that perceived ease of use predicted both perceived usefulness and attitude towards
use; perceived usefulness predicted attitude towards use and behavioral intention; attitude towards use
of technology predicted the behavioral intention to adopt technology in teaching and learning, while
behavioral intention also predicted actual usage of ICT in teaching and learning of mathematics. As an
extension to the original TAM, the study found school related factors as percussor to perceived usefulness
and perceived ease of use. Similarly, ICT training was found to greatly influence perceived usefulness and
perceived ease of use.
Keywords: ICT, mathematics education, structural equation modelling, technology acceptance model
Introduction
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is defined as the software, computers,

networks, satellite links, and other similar systems which enables humans to access, analyze,
generate, share, and utilize data and information (Barakabitze, 2019). In the educational sector,
the integration of ICT is regarded as a very critical tool for improving educational quality
(Teeroovengadum et al., 2017). The adoption of ICT in education helps to improve the learning
and teaching process, and this has been keen interest for governments worldwide. By reason
of this, national governments of various nations have invested heavily in ICT integration in
education. In Ghana for example, practical steps are being taken by successive governments
to favor the spread of ICT in schools. The ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) policy
for example, was adopted in 2003, as a framework upon which ICT will be used to enhance the
educational sector of the country (Republic of Ghana, 2003). ICT4AD sought to provide quality
life-long learning opportunities to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their geographical location. In
2011, the government of Ghana started the distribution of free laptops for students and teachers
at the secondary and tertiary institutions. Successive governments have followed suit, although
it has not been an all-encompassing policy to provide for all students. In 2017, the government of
Ghana also introduced the free Wi-Fi policy for second cycle institutions, although this project

Yarhands Dissou ARTHUR. Mathematics teachers’ acceptance of ICT in teaching and learning: An extended technology acceptance
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has mainly benefited schools in urban areas because they have the supporting infrastructure 409
(Communications Bureau, 2017).
The emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic has even added to the numerous
reasons for the integration of ICT in education to create a blended or hybrid teaching and
learning approach. Social distancing was one of the key measures in curbing the upsurge of
COVID-19 which made institutions to re-strategize work schedules for staff to work from
home, with the assistance of communication technology (Rachmadtullah et al., 2020). The
educational sector was not left out as many schools closed their doors for physical student-
teacher interactions and started providing educational services through online platforms
(Prokopenko & Berezhna, 2020). Although physical distance is a constraint in online delivery,
teacher’s creativity in learning activities helps to make the online delivery as efficient as face-
to-face delivery (Han & Sa, 2021). Teacher’s acceptance of technology in teaching and learning,
thus, becomes paramount for the success of ICT integration in education. The present study,
therefore, focused on teachers’ acceptance of ICT in studying and teaching of mathematics in
the secondary educational institutions in Ghana.
Extant literature has demonstrated diverse approaches and strategies in enhancing the
educational quality and improving the overall learning process (Arthur et al., 2021; Alayoubi et
al., 2020). In the context of mathematics education, the same has been experienced with studies
focusing on learning conditions, parental involvement, school curriculum, teacher training,
and standardized testing (Lazarides & Buchholz, 2019; Lazarides & Schiefele, 2021). This
notwithstanding, not much is explored on the adoption of technology in studying and teaching
of mathematics (Marbán & Mulenga, 2019).
Studies have demonstrated ICT as a powerful tool which facilitates inclusive education,
as well as a well-integrated educational curriculum (Chen & Wu, 2020). Salam et al. (2018),
however, have observed that changing from traditional mode of teaching to an ICT integrated
teaching, is not an easy task and demands effective strategies to successfully integrate ICT in
public schools. The integration of technology in learning and teaching of mathematics leads to
a more student-centered teaching strategy, since the student-teacher interaction and the mode
of content delivery are fundamentally altered (Lau & Yuen, 2013). These changes have been
realized to improve mathematics teaching and learning processes (Barakabitze et al., 2019). The
adoption of ICT into mathematics education, increases students’ accessibility to mathematics
education, develops the problem-solving skills of students, enhances students’ comprehension
of mathematics concepts, facilitates higher levels of mathematical thinking by students, and
enhances general performance of students in mathematics (Chen & Wu, 2020). Despite the
potentials of ICT in mathematics education, it has been realized that not many teachers integrate
ICT into their teaching of mathematics, especially in developing countries (Agyemang &
Mereku, 2015). Past studies have identified beliefs and attitude of teachers toward the adoption
of ICT as key barriers in the use of ICT in education (Marbán & Mulenga, 2019; Ottenbreit-
Leftwich et al., 2018). This current study, therefore, used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
(Davis et al., 1989) in assessing the adoption of ICT into the teaching of mathematics.
The use of TAM in assessing the adoption of ICT in educational setting has been studied
by a number of researchers. Sánchez-Prieto et al. (2019) measured teachers’ acceptance of
AI-driven assessment in e-learning, included AI anxiety and relative advantage as added
variables to the original TAM. Dele-Ajayi et al. (2017) added external factor (ICT experience)
as an extension of TAM in assessing digital educational games acceptance by teachers. Hong
et al. (2021) assessed technology acceptance by pre-school teachers’ during COVID-19, by
adding perception of external control, computer self-efficacy, and job relevance, as extension
of the original TAM. Specifically in mathematics education, Mailizar et al. (2021) examined
the behavioral intention of teachers towards use e-learning in the teaching of mathematics, by
using prior experience in ICT as an added variable to the original TAM, similar to Marbán and

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410 Mulenga (2019) who assessed the teaching style and attitude of pre-service primary teachers
towards the adoption of technology in mathematics education. Perienen (2019) also considered
frameworks for ICT integration in teaching of mathematics. This current study is a further
contribution to the theory of TAM by including two new variables deemed to be crucial in
providing a wholistic view of TAM. First, the study considered school related factors such as
the support from management, availability of ICT infrastructure such as internet, computer
labs, etc. The school related factors when favorable could influence teachers’ assessment of
ICT’s usefulness and ease of use. ICT training is also a useful variable which could potentially
determine teachers’ perception of ICT’s usefulness and ease of use.
Theoretical Review and Hypotheses Development
TAM is a behavioral psychology theory which was propounded by Davis et al. (1989),
using two existing theories, which were, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985)
and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein et al., 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). TAM
used five factors in explaining the adoption of a precise technology, which were, perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards use, behavioral intention, and usage of the
technology. Perceived ease of use was explained as “the degree to which the prospective user
expects the target system to be free of effort” (Davis et al., 1989, p.985). That is, teachers of
mathematics have higher propensity to integrate technology into mathematics teaching when
they perceive the integration of technology as stress-free (Mailizar et al., 2021). Perceived ease
of use is found to positively affect perceived usefulness and the attitude towards the use of the
technology. Perceived usefulness represents “the consideration that using a specific application
system will increase his or her job performance within an organizational context” (Davis et al.,
1989, p.985). That is, mathematics teachers at the secondary schools are more likely to integrate
technology into mathematics teaching, when they consider ICT as useful in their job execution
(Marbán & Mulenga, 2019). The attitude pertaining to the adoption of ICT is formed by the
individual’s belief regarding the technology, and this is jointly influenced by perceived ease of
use and perceived usefulness (Weng et al., 2018). The attitude of mathematics teachers towards
the adoption of technology is a key hindrance towards the success of ICT integration (Ertmer
et al., 2012). Studies have identified attitude towards use as greater predictor of behavioral
intentions (Prestridge, 2012). A positive attitude towards technology will lead to higher ICT
adoption in teaching and learning, while a negative attitude will discourage the integration of
ICT (Sangcap, 2010). The adoption of ICT in learning and teaching of mathematics is only
feasible when teachers accept that technology will improve students’ motivation towards
mathematics learning, will improve mathematics learning of students, and enhance students’
confidence in solving mathematics problems (Perienen, 2020). Similarly, when teachers accept
that the adoption of technology will retard students’ ability to solve mathematical problems,
they are more likely not to integrate it (Lau & Yuen, 2013). The fourth factor in the TAM
is behavioral intention which is affected by perceived usefulness and attitude towards the
adoption of ICT (Sánchez-Prieto et al., 2020). Behavioral intention has to do with purposeful
decision-making to adopt the use of ICT (Prieto et al., 2014), which forms the basis of actual
usage or adoption of the ICT (Lazim et al., 2021). Intention to change the old ways of doing
things and integrating ICT into one’s activities is determined by attitudes and beliefs (Tay et al.,
2012). Behavioral intention is found to highly determine the actual usage of the technology. In
mathematics education, teachers’ behavioral intention will lead to the adoption of technology
in learning and teaching of mathematics (Teeroovengadum et al., 2017).
Past studies have identified some limitations in the use of TAM as predicting the adoption
of a technology. This resides in the fact that there was no external variable in the original TAM,
which determined perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Mailizar & Maulina, 2021).

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In meeting this limitation, some studies have considered the ICT experience of the adopter, 411
as a percussor to perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Sukendro et al., 2020). This
present study proposed two variables, school related factors and ICT training, as percussors to
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Teeroovengadum et al., 2017). School related
factors such as the support from management, strategic ICT policy of the school, available ICT
infrastructure, etc., are key elements in determining mathematics teachers’ perceived usefulness
and perceived ease of use of ICT integration in the learning and teaching of mathematics (Dele-
Ajayi et al., 2017). Good institutional support available to the mathematics teachers in the
use of ICT will greatly determine the rate of ICT integration. Instructional support, effective
leadership, support from cooperating teachers, accessibility to ICT infrastructure, technical
support, availability of technical staff and the availability of up-to-date software and hardware,
are very important in teachers’ adoption of ICT (Deshpande et al., 2012).
It is also expected that training teachers on the use of ICT will also determine their
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Training and development make teachers
skillful in the use of ICT, and therefore makes the use of ICT less stressful (Lau et al., 2013).
The ability to easily operate a technology influences one’s judgment on its perceived usefulness
and perceived ease of use (Barakabitze et al., 2019). This training may have been conducted
inhouse by the school or done privately by the mathematics teacher. The purpose of ICT training
is to enhance the ICT literacy of the teachers and prepare them in the adoption of technology
in learning and teaching. The ICT skills of teachers represent key factor in the success of ICT
integration in schools. Some studies have shown that ICT literacy was a key determining factor
in ICT integration by teachers. ICT training will enhance mathematics teachers’ competencies in
using specialized ICT tools for mathematics lessons in the classroom (Peeraer & Van Petegem,
2012). The technical skills of teachers have been found to greatly influence the integration and
success of ICT adoption in teaching and learning (Fathema & Sutton, 2013).
Figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study. From the above discussions,
the study hypothesized that:
H1: School related factors have direct positive effect on perceived ease of use by
mathematics teachers.
H2: School related factors have direct positive effect on perceived usefulness by
H3: ICT training has a direct positive effect on perceived ease of use by mathematics
teachers.
H4: ICT training has a direct positive effect on perceived usefulness by mathematics
teachers.
H5: Perceived ease of use has a direct positive effect on perceived usefulness by
H6: Perceived ease of use has a direct positive effect on mathematics teachers’ attitude
towards the use of ICT.
H7: Perceived usefulness has a direct positive effect on mathematics teachers’ attitude
towards the use of ICT.
H8: Perceived usefulness has a direct positive effect on mathematics teachers’ behavioral
intention toward the use of ICT.
H9: Mathematics teachers’ attitude toward the use of ICT has a direct positive effect on
their behavioral intention.
H10: Mathematics teachers’ behavioral intention has a direct positive effect on the actual
usage of ICT in teaching and learning.

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412 Figure 1
Conceptual Framework
Research Design
There are two main approaches to research; deductive and inductive. This research was
deductive in approach, as it was founded on well-established theory or model; Technology
Acceptance Model. The hypotheses of this research were also derived from literature. The
research was also quantitative, as data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data
analysis was also quantitative in approach, as the study used Structural Equation Modelling
(SEM). The data collection took place in July 2021.
A survey research design was adopted for the research. Saunders et al. (2015) explained
that surveys usually go with deductive research and are normally conducted by adopting
questionnaire as the research instrument. Surveys help researchers to study a sample and make
generalization to the population, by conducting inferential and descriptive statistics. This
research studied a sample of mathematics teachers, for the purposes of generalizing the study to
all mathematics teachers in Ghana. Surveys are also quantitative in nature.
Sample and Data Collection
The study targeted mathematics teachers of secondary schools in Ashanti region of

Ghana. The sampling technique was purposive, as the study specifically targeted mathematics
teachers from selected secondary schools. In all, 219 questionnaires were received, but 207
were usable. In all, the mathematics teachers were selected from 41 secondary schools in the
region, the second biggest region in Ghana (in terms of population and economic activities).
The list of secondary schools in the region was obtained from the website of Ghana Education
Service (Scoutafrica, 2021).
The region had 128 upper-secondary schools (Scoutafrica, 2021). However, due to
resource limitations, the researcher targeted 70 schools. The researcher employed six trained
field assistants to help in the process. The researcher together with the field assistants contacted
70 secondary schools within the region, out of which 41 agreed to be involved in the study.
All mathematics teachers of the 41 consenting schools, thus, constituted the sampling frame
for this study. Depending on size, some schools had more mathematics teachers than others.
Thus, the questionnaires were distributed according to the number of mathematics teachers in
each school. The questionnaires, together with postage pre-paid envelopes were posted to the
secondary schools using Express Mail Service (EMS) for speedy delivery. The management of
the schools administered the questionnaires and returned 219 to the researcher using the postage

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pre-paid envelopes. The entire data collection process also took about 4 weeks (July 2021). Out 413
of the 219 returned questionnaires, the usable (appropriate completed) questionnaires were 207
which were used in the data analysis.
A number of steps were taken to address ethical considerations. The researcher,
being a lecturer at Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial
Development (AAMUSTED), obtained an introductory letter from the AAMUSTED. The
introductory letter, together with a personally written cover letter for the research, were sent to
the selected 70 upper-secondary schools. Out of the 70 schools, only the 41 consenting schools
were involved in the research. The questionnaire had a brief introduction, which provided
definitions for some key terminologies, detailed the purpose of the study, assured respondents
of confidentiality and non-disclosure, and the fact that withdrawing as a participant (even after
reading the questionnaire) attracted no penalty.
Measures and Questionnaire
The research focused on the TAM, which had 5 original variables (perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, attitude towards use, behavioral intentions, and actual usage of the
technology). The measurement items for these 5 constructs were developed from Weng et al.
(2018) and Mailizer et al. (2021). This study added 2 extra variables which were school related
factors and ICT training. The measurement items of school related factors were developed from
Teeroovengadum et al. (2017), while the measurement items of ICT training were developed
from Dele-Ajayi et al. (2017). A sample statement under Perceived Ease of Use was “It would
be easy for me to become skillful at using ICT for teaching”; that of Perceived Usefulness was
“Using ICT in my work will help me to accomplish task more quickly”; that of Attitude Towards
Use was “Using ICT (tools or software) in class is favorable”; that of Behavioral Intention was
“I intend to use ICT in my future teaching”; that of School Related Factors was “I am supported
and encouraged by my school head to use ICT in teaching”; that of ICT Usage Training was “I
undertake personal training about ICT integration in Mathematics”; while that of ICT Usage
was “I use ICT in teaching of mathematics”. The statements had 5-point Likert scale responses
(1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Undecided, 4=Agree, and 5=Strongly Agree)
The measurement items were adapted to suit to current study which focused on teaching of
mathematics. The researcher also pilot tested the questionnaire using 20 mathematics teachers,
and their feedback was used to fine tune the questionnaire. This helped to remove any ambiguity
from the statements on the questionnaire. The study was pilot tested using mathematics teachers
because Hyman et al. (2006) indicated that a validated questionnaire is most preferable when
the environment of the validated questionnaire is similar to that of the new study environment.
Validity and Reliability Analysis
To assess the validity and reliability of the dataset, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)
was run using Amos (v.23) software, as done in previous studies such as Dogbe et al. (2020).
Maximum likelihood estimation was used in running the CFA with results indicated in Table
1. The minimum acceptable factor loading was .5, without which the measurement item is
supposed to be deleted. The CFA results presented showed the least factor loading of .657 for
school related factors, .641 for ICT training, .644 for perceived ease of use, .679 for perceived
usefulness, .684 for attitude towards use, .673 for behavioral intention, and .695 for ICT usage,
which were all larger than .5.
The reliability of the measurement items was assessed by running Cronbach’s Alpha
(CA) analysis using SPSS (v.23) software. To claim internal reliability (internal consistency)

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414 of the measurement items, the alpha coefficient should be at least .7. This study had all alpha
scores being greater than .7, and therefore, internal consistency was achieved. As indicated
in Table 1, the CA score for school related factors was .801, for ICT training was .874, for
perceived ease of use was .871, for perceived usefulness was .864, for attitude towards use was
.835, for behavioral intention was .843, while that of ICT usage was .721.
Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was also used in assessing the convergent validity
of the observed variables. Convergent validity is said to be achieved when the AVE score is at
least .5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Composite reliability (CR) was also expected to be at least
.7. These were achieved for this study as the least AVE was .503 for school related factors, and
the least CR was .779 for ICT usage.
As part of the model fit indices, CMIN/DF (Chi-Square/Degree of Freedom) should be
less than 3, CFI (Comparative Fit Index) and TLI (Tukey-Lewis Index) should be larger than .9,
RMR (Root Mean Square Residual) and RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation)
to be less than .08, while P-Close should also be greater than .05 (Hair et al., 2010). These were
all achieved as presented in Table 1.
Table 1
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Model Fitness: CMIN=997.336; DF=548; CMIN/DF=1.820; TLI=.919; CFI=.906; RMSEA=.068; Std. Factor
RMR=.072; P-Close=.089 Loading
School Related Factors (Sch_Fact): CA=.801; CR=.835; AVE=.503
SRF1 .691
SRF2 .707
SRF3 .712
SRF4 .657
SRF5 .774
ICT Training (Training): CA=.874; CR=.852; AVE=.536
UT1 .664
UT2 .641
UT3 .761
UT4 .778
UT5 .803
Perceived Ease of Use (Ease): CA=.871; CR=.878; AVE=.548
PEU1 .794
PEU2 .682
PEU3 .801
PEU4 .791
PEU5 .715
PEU6 .644

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415
Perceived Usefulness (Useful): CA=.864; CR=.883; AVE=.558
PU1 .734
PU2 .692
PU3 .748
PU4 .823
PU5 .794
PU6 .679
Attitude Towards Use (Attitude): CA=.835; CR=.852; AVE=.536
ATU1 .736
ATU2 .697
ATU3 .751
ATU4 .789
ATU5 .684
Behavioral Intention (Behavioral): CA=.843; CR=.846; AVE=.523
BI1 .673
BI2 .736
BI3 .745
BI4 .738
BI5 .722
ICT Usage (Usage): CA=.721; CR=.779; AVE=.541
IU1 .775
IU2 .735
IU3 .695
The descriptive statistics and discriminant validity are shown in Table 2. From the
results, behavioral intention had the largest mean score of 4.339, indicating the willingness of
the teachers of mathematics to integrate ICT into the teaching of mathematics. The least mean
score was 2.678 (˂ 3.0, the theoretical mean score for a 5-point scale) which was for school
related factors. This implies that there is not enough conducive environment for teachers to
adopt technology into mathematics teaching. Since the variables were measured on a 5-point
Likert scale of 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree, the highest possible mean score is 5.
The study determined the discriminant validity of the latent variables by measuring the
square-root of the AVEs (√AVEs) with the correlation coefficients. While convergent validity
considers the extent to which observed variables on the same construct corelate with each
other, discriminant validity measures the extent to which measurement items are uncorrelated
with measurement items on different constructs (Trochim & Donnelly, 2002). As could be seen
from Bamfo et al. (2018), discriminant validity is achieved when the smallest √AVE is bigger
than the biggest correlation coefficient. As could be seen from Table 2, the smallest value for
√AVE was .709, which was larger than the biggest correlation coefficient of .554. This implies
that, discriminant validity was achieved, that is, the measurement items uncorrelated with

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416 other measurement items on different constructs. It was further concluded that there was no
multicollinearity in the dataset, as the highest correlation coefficient of .554 was less than .8.
Table 2
Descriptive Analysis and Discriminant Validity
Std. Dev.
Variables Mean (x̅) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(s)
Sch_Fact (1) 2.678 1.145 .709
Training (2) 3.467 1.122 .346** .732
Ease (3) 3.878 .843 .284 **
.249** .740
Useful (4) 3.983 .868 .364 **
.243 **
.367** .747
Attitude (5) 4.128 .803 .414 **
.280 **
.350 **
.554** .732
Behavioral (6) 4.339 .743 .352 **
.227 **
.511 **
.466 **
.543** .723
Usage (7) 3.767 .819 .488 .365** **
.299 **
.399 **
.465 **
.421** .736
√AVE are bold; ** ~ p-value significant at 1% (.01)
Research Results
SEM was run in Amos (v.23) to estimate the coefficients of the 10 paths hypothesized for
by this study. Table 3 presents the results of the path coefficients, while Figure 2 also presents
the structural model (in diagrammatic form) for the study. Results on the hypothesized paths
indicated that school related factors had a positive and significant effect on perceived ease of
ICT use (). That is, enhancing school related factors caused 37.9% positive change in perceived
ease of ICT use among mathematics teachers. H1: School related factors have direct positive
effect on perceived ease of use by mathematics teachers was thus supported. The effect of
school related factors on perceived usefulness of ICT was identified to be significant positive
(). That is, an enhancement in school related factors caused about 34.1% increment in perceived
usefulness of ICT among mathematics teachers. H2: School related factors have direct positive
effect on perceived usefulness by mathematics teachers, was thus supported.
The effect of ICT training on perceived ease of ICT use was identified to be significant
positive (). This represented the largest coefficient among all the estimated coefficients, which
shows the great extent to which ICT training influenced the ease of using ICT. The coefficient
implies that an increase in ICT training activities increased perceived ease of ICT by about
84% increment in perceived ease of ICT among mathematics teachers. H3: ICT training has a
direct positive effect on perceived ease of use by mathematics teachers was thus supported. The
results pointed out that ICT training significantly and positively affected perceived usefulness
of ICT (). That is, an enhancement in ICT training caused about 26.5% increment in perceived
usefulness of ICT among mathematics teachers. H4: ICT training has a direct positive effect on
perceived usefulness by mathematics teachers was thus supported.
The presented results indicated that perceived ease of ICT use had a significant and
positive effect on perceived usefulness of ICT among mathematics teachers (). This coefficient
thus indicates that increased perceived ease of ICT use increased perceived usefulness by about
52.7% among mathematics teachers. H5: Perceived ease of use has a direct positive effect on
perceived usefulness by mathematics teachers was thus supported. It was further established
that perceived ease of ICT use, positively and significantly affected on the attitude towards ICT
use among mathematics teachers (). This coefficient thus indicates that increased perceived
ease of ICT use increased mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT in teaching

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mathematics by a margin of about 24.4%. H6: Perceived ease of use has a direct positive effect 417
on mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT was thus supported.
Paths coefficients as presented showed that perceived usefulness had a significant
positive effect on attitude towards ICT use among mathematics teachers (). This indicates that a
rise in perceived usefulness will lead to an enhanced attitude of mathematics teachers towards
the use of ICT in teaching mathematics by a margin of about 54.8%. H7: Perceived usefulness
has a direct positive effect on mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT was
thus supported. It was further established that perceived usefulness of ICT had a positive and
significant effect on behavioral intentions among mathematics teachers (). The coefficient means
that perceived usefulness of ICT by mathematics teachers enhanced behavioral intentions by a
margin of about 41.3%. H8: Perceived usefulness has a direct positive effect on mathematics
teachers’ behavioral intention toward the use of ICT was thus supported.
It was further identified that mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the adoption of
technology into teaching and learning had a positive and significant effect on their behavioral
intentions (). This implies that an increase in mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the use of
ICT enhanced their behavioral intentions in the use of ICT in teaching by a margin of about
73.8%. H9: Mathematics teachers’ attitude toward the use of ICT has a direct positive effect
on their behavioral intentions was thus supported. Finally, it was concluded that mathematics
teachers’ behavioral intention towards the adoption of technology into learning and teaching of
mathematics had a significant positive effect on actual usage of ICT (). The coefficient indicates
that an enhancement in mathematics teachers’ behavioral intention towards the integration of
ICT in teaching and learning of mathematics actually increased the chances of ICT usage by a
margin of about 3.1%. H10: Mathematics teachers’ behavioral intention has a direct positive
effect on the actual usage of ICT in teaching and learning was thus supported.
Table 3
Path Coefficients
Direct Paths UnStd. Estimate Std. Error C.R.

Sch_Fact → Ease .379 .078 4.859**
Sch_Fact → Usefulness .341 .067 5.090**
Training → Ease .840 .158 5.322**
Training → Usefulness .265 .105 2.524*
Ease → Usefulness .527 .129 4.098**
Ease → Attitude .244 .096 2.546*
Usefulness → Attitude .548 .111 4.947**
Usefulness → Behavioral .413 .109 3.789**
Attitude → Behavioral .738 .238 3.103**
Behavioral → Usage .301 .083 3.612**
**
~ p-value significant at 1% (.01); * ~ p-value significant at 5% (.05)

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418 Figure 2
Structural Paths
Discussion
TAM has been widely used to assess technology adoption or acceptance within the
educational sector. This present study also considered how TAM could be used to explain the
integration of ICT into the teaching and learning of mathematics among secondary school
mathematics teachers. The computer software usually used by the mathematics teachers
included drill and practice software, search engines, word processing packages, presentation
software, and spreadsheets. Some teachers exploited the used advanced software such as Flash
presentations, simulation programs, Java applets, and graphical applications which provide
greater opportunity for higher order thinking (Keong et al., 2005).
The first contribution of this study is the introduction of school related factors as
precursors to perceived ease of ICT use and perceived usefulness within the TAM. School
related factors, which could also be considered as enabling environment, represent the school
environmental factors which facilitate the adoption of technology mathematics teaching (Dele-
Ajayi et al., 2017). These factors include hardware and software availability, time, internet
access, human and technical support, management support, support from colleagues, etc. This
current study identified school related environment to positively affect perceived ease of use and
perceived usefulness. Findings from this current study were somewhat in line with Teo (2010)
who identified that facilitating conditions of an educational institution significantly influenced
perceived ease of integrating ICT. Panda and Mishra (2007) also indicated that poor facilitating
condition was a key challenge to the adoption of ICT into teaching and learning.
Similar to some past studies (such as Farahat, 2012; Fathema & Sutton, 2013), this research
found ICT training to significantly influence mathematics teachers’ perception of the ease of
ICT usage and the perceived usefulness of integrating ICT into the teaching mathematics. ICT
training is crucial in helping mathematics teachers leverage on the benefits of ICT in teaching
and learning (Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2012). ICT training could boost teachers’ self-efficacy
in the use of ICT which greatly influences their perception on the ease of using ICT (Holden &
Rada, 2011), and usefulness of ICT in terms of enhancing mathematics pedagogy (Kundu et al.,
2020). The present study, however, contradicts studies such as Jimoyiannis and Komis (2007),

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who explained that the effect of ICT training on ICT adoption in teaching of mathematics will 419
be insignificant when the training is not directly related to mathematics applications. Ottenbreit-
Leftwich et al. (2012, p.400) enumerated three items which help teachers to find ICT useful
in teaching and learning namely, “knowledge of instructional problems that technology can
help solve, knowledge of specific technology that can solve those instructional problems, and
knowledge of how the technology can help solve those instructional problems within their
own specific educational contexts”. The acquisition of these kinds of knowledge is however
achieved through ICT training. Greater knowledge on the use of ICT in teaching and learning
exposes teachers to what new practices look like (Barakabitze et al., 2019).
Perceived ease of use represents the extent to which mathematics teachers believe that
the integration of ICT into teaching and learning was less stressful (Sánchez-Prieto et al., 2019;
Weng et al., 2018) and was found to positively influence both perceived usefulness and teachers’
attitude towards the use of ICT. The findings were similar to that of Hamid et al. (2016) who
also identified that perceived ease of use significantly predicted attitude towards the use of ICT
in teaching and learning. Similarly, perceived ease of use was identified by Lee et al. (2013)
as an influencer of teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT in teaching. Perceived usefulness
is concerned with the extent to which mathematics teachers believe that the integration of ICT
into teaching and learning will improve their productivity (Sánchez-Prieto et al., 2020; Lazim
et al., 2021) and this was found to directly influence teachers’ behavioral intention to use ICT
in teaching and learning. Mou et al. (2017) also found perceived usefulness to significantly
predict attitude towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning. Perceived usefulness was also
identified in some past studies (Al-Gahtani, 2016; Elkaseh et al., 2016; Tarhini et al., 2016) to
positively influence behavioral intentions. Similar conclusion was drawn by Holden and Rada
(2011) who found a positive effect of perceived usefulness on the attitude towards the use of
ICT.
Mathematics teachers’ attitude towards the integration of ICT into teaching and learning
positively influenced their behavioral intention towards ICT integration. This fell in line with
other previous studies (such as, Hussein, 2017; Taat and Francis, 2019) that also identified
attitude as an intrinsic motivation variable which predicts behavioral intention in the use of ICT.
Similarly, Farahat (2012) found that the effect of attitude towards usage of ICT significantly
and positively predicted the behavioral intention of ICT usage. Behavioral intentions on the
other hand, were found to positively predict actual usage of ICT or its adoption into learning
and teaching of mathematics. This supported the findings of other researchers such as Wang
and Wang (2009) who ascertained that behavioral intention positively influenced the adoption
of ICT. Basically, findings from the current study aligned with TAM (Davis et al., 1989), who
identified that perceived ease of use predicted both perceived usefulness and attitude towards
use; perceived usefulness predicted attitude towards use and behavioral intention; attitude
towards use of technology predicted the behavioral intention to use the technology, while
behavioral intention also predicted actual usage of the technology.
The following managerial recommendations were made. School related factors are
also very important in the success of ICT integration into teaching and learning, especially
mathematics. ICT infrastructure, technical support, managerial support, peer support, etc.
are essential for the success of ICT integration into teaching and learning. Management must
demonstrate commitment towards ICT integration into teaching and learning, while also
encouraging increased interaction among teachers on the use of ICT. When teachers have a
common vision on the use of ICT, it is easier for individual teachers to also adopt, and they
could readily seek help from colleagues. Schools must also make technical support available
to teachers, as well as well-equipped ICT infrastructure such as internet, ICT lab, software for
teaching specific subjects, hardware, etc.

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420 The study ascertained that ICT training was an important variable in determining
perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of ICT integration, which subsequently
determined attitude towards ICT, then behavioral intention, and finally, the actual adoption
or usage of the ICT. It is therefore recommended to the management of secondary schools,
to intensify ICT training for teachers in general and mathematics teachers in particular. The
training should be tailor made to suit the unique needs of teachers depending on the course they
teach. For mathematics teachers, they must be introduced to graphical visualization tools. For
example, in mathematics, the concepts of graphs and functions are abstract. However, the use of
graphical visualization tools will provide multiple ideas to be demonstrated to students. Online
demonstrations such as Java applets are useful for learning mathematics online and should
thus be introduced to mathematics teachers. ICT workshops should be routinely organized for
teachers.
Colleges of education which are responsible for training teachers, must also be well-
equipped with ICT support systems, so they can train the pre-service teachers on the computer
applications relevant to the areas of specialization before they graduate. This will help fill the
gap in less-endowed secondary schools, which may not have the technical support readily
available. When the teachers are already skilled before being posted, they will need less support
or training to integrate ICT into their teaching. ICT-based pedagogical practices must therefore
be key in the curriculum of the colleges of education. When teachers are well-equipped in the
use of ICT, introducing a blended learning model becomes easier to achieve. There will be
less resistance from teachers because they are knowledgeable on the use and benefits of ICT
integration. In this era of COVID-19, where many services have been moved fully or partially
online, including education services, well-trained teachers are a great success factor in the
introduction of blended learning (mix of face-to-face and online teaching).
Finally, the government through the Ministry of Education, could update the national
professional standards for secondary school teachers. This update should include a requirement
to possess and adequately demonstrate practical ICT skills, necessary for individual teacher’s
area of specialization. When teachers enter the profession well-equipped, it will be easier for
them to integrate ICT into teaching and learning.
Conclusions and Implications
TAM has been widely used by researchers, and this present research made two notable
contributions. Firstly, the research included school related factors as an added variable to
TAM, and secondly, the research included ICT training as another added variable to TAM. The
research concluded that both school related factors and ICT training for teachers, positively
and significantly enhanced the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of ICT by
mathematics teachers. The research further tested applicability of the original TAM in teaching
of mathematics studies. The research further concluded that perceived ease of use, had significant
positive effects on both perceived usefulness and attitude towards the use of ICT in teaching
of mathematics. Also, perceived usefulness had significant positive effects on both attitude and
behavioral intentions. Attitude further had a significant positive effect on behavioral intentions,
while behavioral intentions also had a significant positive effect on actual usage of ICT in
teaching of mathematics. Based on these conclusions, the following recommendations were
made for future research.
The study focused on only the direct paths as was done in the original TAM without
testing for potential mediating or indirect effects among the variables. Therefore, future studies
could limit attention on the direct effect, and focus more on the potential mediating effects
among the variables. Secondly, the study focused solely on data generated in Ghana, which
happened to be a developing country. While results from the study will be much of interest

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to other developing countries, generalizing the study to other categories of countries should 421
be done with caution. Future studies could thus focus on more advance economies with well-
developed ICT infrastructure.
Also, this study focused on teachers; however, future studies could focus on students.
Future studies could ascertain how ICT tools like tablets and computer games, e-readers, etc.,
could enhance students’ performance in mathematics. Finally, in line with many past studies,
this study assessed the TAM using quantitative approach. Future studies could, however,
use qualitative approach, to assess if results will be different from what the majority of the
quantitative studies portray.
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intention to use technology among pre-service teachers: A structural equation modeling of
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Trochim, W. M., & Donnelly, J. P. (2002). Research Methods Knowledge Base (Vol. 2). Atomic Dog
Publishers. http://www.anatomyfacts.com/research/researchmethodsknowledgebase.pdf

model
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Wang, W. T., & Wang, C. C. (2009). An empirical study of instructor adoption of web-based learning 425
systems. Computers & Education, 53(3), 761-774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2009.02.021
Weng, F., Yang, R. J., Ho, H. J., & Su, H. M. (2018). A TAM-based study of the attitude towards
use intention of multimedia among school teachers. Applied System Innovation, 1(36), 2-9.
https://doi.org/10.3390/asi1030036
Received: November 30, 2021 Revised: January 08, 2022 Accepted: May 05, 2022
Cite as: Arthur, Y. A. (2022). Mathematics teachers’ acceptance of ICT in teaching and
learning: An extended technology acceptance model. Problems of Education in the 21st
Century, 80(3), 408-425. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.408
Yarhands Dissou Arthur Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial
Development, Ghana.
E-mail: day1981boyy@gmail.com

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426
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: ATTITUDES
AND PERCEPTIONS OF BRAZILIAN
MEDICAL STUDENTS
Ingrid Dorea-Bandeira, Vanessa Gusmão de Oliveira
University Center FTC – UniFTC, Brazil
E-mail: ingriddoreabandeira@gmail.com, vanessa-oliiveiira@hotmail.com
Mariana Araújo-Pereira
Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil
E-mail: araujopereira.mariana@gmail.com
Bruno Bezerril Andrade

Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil
E-mail: bbezerril.ssa@ftc.edu.br
André Nogueira Nazar

E-mail: anazar.ssa@ftc.edu.br
Luiz Fernando Quintanilha

Salvador University (UNIFACS), Brazil
Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Brazil
E-mail: quintanilha.lf@gmail.com
Katia de Miranda Avena

E-mail: katiaavena@hotmail.com
Abstract

Academic misconduct during medical school is common, with multifactorial causes, and can negatively
impact the training and professional performance of future physicians. This study investigated factors
linked to academic misconducts among medical students during their training. It is a transversal,
quantitative, and analytical study that assessed the perception of 240 students from five medical courses
in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. A virtual, semi-structured, anonymous, self-completed questionnaire was
used, with sociodemographic and academic variables recorded. Behavioral patterns were analyzed using
hypothetical situations based on medical students' code of ethics, and the data were compared based on
participant and institutional characteristics. Results showed that medical students reported that ethical
attitudes were maintained during graduation (98.3%) and the majority claimed to know the student code
of ethics (89.2%). However, there was a high frequency of academic misconduct, especially "recording
classes without authorization" (72.9%), "cheating on tests" (67.9%) and " improperly sign attendance
lists" (65.0%). We observed a higher association of females with actions such as "cheating on exams"

Ingrid DOREA-BANDEIRA, Vanessa Gusmão de OLIVEIRA, Mariana ARAÚJO-PEREIRA, Bruno Bezerril ANDRADE, André Nogueira
NAZAR, Luiz Fernando QUINTANILHA, Katia de Miranda AVENA. Academic misconduct: Attitudes and perceptions of Brazilian
medical students
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and taking "pictures with anatomical parts and dummies". In addition, posting pictures with patients 427
and taking on duty without medical supervision occurred more frequently among students from private
schools. Although the students considered themselves to be ethical, a high frequency of inappropriate
behavior in academic situations was evidenced. This scenario points to the need for greater attention to
training based on moral and ethical commitment in academic activities, with a view to future professional
performance.
Keywords: cross-sectional studies, higher education, medical education, medical ethics, medical students

Introduction

Medical students, according to the National Curriculum Guidelines (NCG), should be
trained to act with "professional ethics based on the principles of Ethics and Bioethics, taking
into account that the responsibility of health care does not end with the technical act " (Bra-
zil, 2014). For this purpose, higher education institutions (HEI) should reflect on the teach-
ing-learning process, ensuring that ethical reflection is longitudinally present in the institutional
and academic spheres, in interpersonal relationships, and in medical practice (Chazan et al.,
2015; Brazilian Council of Medicine, 2018, 2019).
From this perspective, among the teaching strategies used to promote professional and
ethical development are presentations, lectures, and discussions of real cases, which can gen-
erate reflection on the subject (Azim & Shamim, 2020; Ghias et al., 2014; Shamim et al.,
2020). More recently, in line with methodological changes in higher education didactics, new
strategies, such as simulation-based learning, have also been tested in order to contribute to the
ethical formation of students (Shamim et al., 2020). Besides formal academic activities, there is
evidence that the hidden curriculum can impact this training, since attitudes and behaviors that
prevail in the academic environment interfere with student learning (Liu et al., 2020; Zulkifli
et al., 2018). Nevertheless, academic misconduct such as plagiarism, cheating on tests, individ-
ual use of collective academic material, and unauthorized recording of classes are commonly
observed (Anderson & Obenshain, 1994; Gitanjali, 2004; Sousa et al., 2016). These attitudes,
during the training phase, can be associated with inappropriate behavior in clinical-professional
settings (Rafati et al., 2020; Satterwhite, 2000). Thus, the teaching of ethics in medical training
is still a topic of global concern, since it is potentially harmful to the professional behavior of
future physicians (Mubeen et al., 2017; Sousa et al., 2016).
The fact that, nowadays, technological innovations and the popularization of social me-
dia have favored and multiplied these types of behaviors among students is aggravated. Deal-
ing with the professionalism manifested by digital means has been, therefore, a challenge for
educators. Besides being something new and constantly evolving, the misuse of these tools can
generate harmful consequences, both for offenders and for society (Kaczmarczyk et al., 2013;
Rosenstein, 2011; E. S. Souza et al., 2017).S. Souza et al., 2017).
The above-mentioned factors pose academic misconduct in the epicenter of the critical
discussions in different departments of medical schools. Solutions focused on dampening
the prevalence of unethical behavior of medical students involve understanding the triggers
of these attitudes, although there are many challenges to assess such sensitive information
while interviewing students. Given the relevance of this theme and the need for ethical and
moral reflection in medical education, this study aimed to evaluate the perception of students
regarding their behaviors and practices in the academic environment during their medical
training to identify biological, epidemiological, and socioeconomic characteristics associated
with the occurrence of academic misconduct. Profiling the characteristics and self-perception
of the students about the behaviors that may be considered, misconduct is critical to guide
institutional decision-making strategies to mitigate this prevalent problem.


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428 Hypotheses

Although largely disregarded, academic misconduct (i.e., plagiarism, cheating on tests
and individual use of collective academic material) is highly prevalent among Brazilian medical
students with probable future association with inappropriate behavior in clinical-professional
settings.

General Background

The actual research took place in the first semester of the 2021 academic year (January-
June 2021). A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the perception of students
regarding their behaviors and practices in the academic environment during their medical
training. The main objective was to identify biological, epidemiological, and socioeconomic
characteristics associated with the occurrence of academic misconduct. To perform this
assessment, potential respondents were invited to participate by using a non-probability method
sampling technique, in which the first participants recruit new respondents among their pairs
through student networks and social media. From these groups, other students were invited to
take part in the study by answering a semi-structured electronic survey.
The study was descriptive and analytical, with a quantitative approach in students from
five different medical schools in Salvador, Brazil. Considering an estimated population of 6360
students, 95% reliability and a 5% margin of error, the sample was composed of 240 medical
students older than 18, regularly enrolled in public and private medical schools in the city.
Among the study participants, 72.1% were female, 48.3% white, with an average age of 24.3 +
4.9 years, and 75.4% from private educational institutions.
The present study is under Resolutions 466/12 and the Brazilian Research Ethics
Committee (CAAE: 40128020.4.0000.5032) approved 510/16 of the Brazilian National Health
Council. The participants' autonomy, confidentiality, and privacy were respected. All study
participants were informed about the research objectives and method and signed the Informed
Consent Form.
Instrument and Procedures
Respondents were invited to take part in the research through the snowball method, a
non-probability sampling technique in which existing study subjects recruit future subjects.
The first subjects were members of the Health Education Research Group (GPEDUCS) who
recruited new respondents through their groups in messaging applications comprising medical
students in the city.
An invitation and an electronic semi-structured form were sent. It contained questions about
the sociodemographic profile (age, gender, race, presence of medical family members, desired
specialty) and academic profile (administrative modality of the higher education institution,
academic cycle [basic - from the first to the fourth semester; clinical - from the fifth to the
eighth semester; internship - from the ninth to the 12th semester] and existence of scholarship
or student financing).
In addition, the respondents' perceptions of hypothetical academic situations were
examined, based on the Medical Student Code of Ethics (Brazilian Council of Medicine,
2018). For each of the proposed situations, a 5-point Likert scale was used (totally or partially
agree; neither agree nor disagree; totally or partially disagree). The responses that were in strict
disagreement with the Medical Student Code of Ethics misconduct.


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Data Analysis 429

The data were tabulated in Excel and analyzed by Graph Pad Prism 8.0. For categorical
data, the Pearson’s chi-square test was used, and differences with p-values <.05 were considered
statistically significant.
Research Results
Sample Characteristics
Most participants believed they were ethical (98.3%) and reported knowledge of the
Medical Students' Code of Ethics (89.2%). However, only 2.9% of these students claimed to
have full knowledge of its content (Table 1).
Table 1
Profile of the Medical Students and Their Perceptions About Academic Ethics.
Sample
Category
(n=240)
Gender, n (%)
Female 173 (72.1)
Male 65 (27.1)
Not answered 2 (.8)
Age (Years old)
Mean + Standard Deviation 24.3+4.90
Minimum 18
Maximum 46
Institution Type, n (%)
Private 181 (75.4)
Public 59 (24.6)
Academic Cycle, n (%)
Basic 47 (19.6)
Clinical 127 (52.9)
Internship 66 (27.5)
Scholarship, n (%)
Yes 59 (24.6)
No 181 (75.4)
Do you consider yourself ethical? n (%)
Yes 236 (98.3)
No 4 (1.7)
Do you know the Medical Student Ethical Code? n (%)
Yes 214 (89.2)
No 26 (10.8)
How much do you know about the Medical Student Ethical Code? n (%)

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430 Know completely 7 (2.9)

Know a good part 69 (28.8)
Know a little 122 (50.8)
Don´t know 42 (17.5)
Note: Absolute Number; %: Percentage; HEI: Higher Education Institution.
Regarding the academic situations, we observed a high prevalence of misconducts

performed by medical students, the most frequent being "recording classes without authorization"
(72.9%), "cheating on tests" (67.9%), "signing the attendance list by a classmate" (65.0%)
(Figure 1).
Figure 1
Frequency of Academic Misconducts among the Medical Students
Factors Associated with Academic Misconduct
When analyzing misconducts according to sociodemographic and academic variables,

we observed a greater association of females with actions such as "cheating on tests" and
“taking pictures with anatomical parts or dummies". In addition, “posting photos with patients”
and “taking on duty without medical supervision” occurred more frequently among private
school students. It was also found that “using the public health system for personal benefit”
occurred more frequently among boarding school students, while “recording classes without

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permission from professors” showed an association with students who had a scholarship or 431
student funding (Table 2).
Table 2
Analysis of the Academic Conducts According to the Profile of the Medical Students
Conduct p-value and

Academic Status, n (%) statistical
Inadequate Adequate significance
"Cheating on Tests"
Female 142 (82.1) 31 (17,9) χ2 = 6.924
df = 1
Male 43 (66.2) 22 (33.8) p = .0089
"Pictures with Anatomical Parts or Dummies"
Female 75 (43.4) 98 (56.6) χ2 = 8.260
df = 1
Male 15 (23.1) 50 (76.9) p =.0041
"Posting Photos with Patients"
Public HEI 17 (28.8) 42 (71.2) χ2 = 12.97
df = 1
Private HEI 101 (55.8) 80 (44.2) p =.0003
"Taking Over Duty without Supervision"
Public HEI 9 (15.3) 50 (84.7) χ2 = 9.739
df = 1
Private HEI 67 (37.0) 114 (63.0) p =.0018
"Used Health Care System for Their Own Benefit"
Basic 3 (6.4) 44 (93.6) χ2 = 9.720
Clinical 21 (16.5) 106 (83,5) df = 2
Internship 19 (28.8) 47 (71.2) p =.0078
"Recording of Classes without Authorization"

With Funding/Scholarship 53 (89.8) χ2 = 6.093
6 (10.2)
Without Funding/Scholarship df = 1
135 (74.6) 46 (25.4) p =.0136
Note: Absolute Number; %: Percentage Within Each Variable Category; HEI: Higher Education Institution.
Discussion
Although there is a perception of adequate training and ethical behavior among medical
students (Elzubeir & Rizk, 2003; Satterwhite, 2000; Yadav et al., 2019), some evidence
contradicts this impression (Anderson & Obenshain, 1994; Feudtner et al., 1994; Gitanjali,
2004). This paradox is confirmed in the present study, where it was shown that although there
is a high frequency of inappropriate behavior in the academic environment, all participants
consider themselves ethical and report knowing the Medical Student Code of Ethics (Brazilian
Council of Medicine, 2018).
This scenario suggests that attempts to develop theoretical-practical models to encourage
ethical behavior in medical school should be developed (Madani et al., 2020). For this purpose,
among the needs for changes in the teaching model are (i) rethinking the education offered to
change attitudes, (ii) rethinking the regulations and processes to favor ethical practice, and (iii)
conducting more comprehensive and systematic studies (Madani et al., 2020). It is important

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432 to emphasize that, despite the recommendations of NCG, there is stagnation in the number
of specific disciplines that address medical ethics, with a low workload and reduced number
of exclusive professors (Dantas & Sousa, 2008). It is necessary to take a critical look at the
teaching of ethics by professors regarding the preparation of these students (Dantas & Sousa,
2008). In this context, there has been an increase in the number of studies that evaluate non-
professional behavior. However, a considerable number of them still lack methodological
robustness (Damiano et al., 2019).
The present study raises a reflection about the academic misconduct practiced by medical
students during their training. The sample analyzed was composed of students from five medical
schools in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, mostly female, from private institutions, and of
white and brown race. These characteristics agree with other studies and with the trends showed
by the census of medical students in Brazil, (National Institute of Educational Studies and
Research Anisio Teixeira, 2020; Martins et al., 2013; Phillips & Austin, 2009; Souza et al.,
2020) reinforcing the idea that the results reported here have enormous potential to infer what
occurs at regional and perhaps national levels.
Upon further analysis, we noted that some student characteristics were associated with
misconduct during undergraduate study. Our data evidenced, for example, a female predomi-
nance in actions such as "cheating" on assessments. These results are worrisome and may reflect
the great burden of self-charge and stress associated with women during undergraduate studies
to ensure a better performance in their professional careers (Sadir et al., 2010). In line with
this, a recent study of 395 Iranian nursing students found a higher prevalence of professional
misconduct among women and a positive correlation with perceived stress (Rafati et al., 2020).
The publication of photos with models and anatomical parts in class labs was also sig-
nificantly more prevalent among female students. It is possible that the greater representation
and involvement of women in social media may induce students to make excessive records of
their daily academic life (Andreassen et al., 2017; Melo et al., 2004; Rocha & Castro, 2014).
Therefore, educators should know the excesses, because there is a concern that potentially in-
appropriate behaviors, such as taking photographs and videos of anatomical parts, may become
publications of unauthorized images by patients, violating the privacy criteria (Ghias et al.,
2014).
Although the effect of interest in and use of social media on the professional behavior of
physicians remains inconclusive, some data support the need for greater attention. Potentially
unprofessional use of social media has been demonstrated, as well as a lack of guidance on their
use during clinical training (Sterling et al., 2017).
Regarding the administrative category of the HEIs, it is known that in Brazil, the medi-
cal courses are offered by mostly private educational institutions. This data is important, since
it may represent significant differences in the structure, performance model, and profile of the
faculty and students. In this scenario, when analyzing the academic conduct of students and the
administrative nature of the HEIs, it was observed that students from private institutions act
professionally and without supervision more regularly. A strong tendency towards the commer-
cialization of medical education is perceived in view of the high monthly fees. This behavior
may induce students to resort to illegal conduct to obtain financial resources to make their
training viable. Moreover, practice environments can often be opportunistic, creating scenarios
that are permissive to the occurrence of unprofessional conduct (Santos et al., 2020; Zulkifli et
al., 2018).
Regarding the use of the health system for their own benefit, it was shown that this oc-
curs more regularly in the last years of medical school. This behavior may be associated with
the ease of access to these services, considering the insertion of these students in the internship.
Moreover, it was observed that this behavior is progressive, increasing its intensity throughout
training. It has been reported that as students advance from the basic cycle to the internship;

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they become less sensitive to the decline in ethical behavior (Feudtner et al., 1994; Zulkifli et 433
al., 2018). The progressive adherence of these students to the health system during graduation,
associated with the large network of contacts in clinical practice, may also be responsible for
the diverse possibilities of insertion into the benefits.
The perception of the naturalness of academic misconduct during medical school is on
the rise (Feudtner et al., 1994). Corroborating this finding, they demonstrated that the percep-
tion regarding derogatory comments about patients made by resident physicians was signifi-
cantly higher among third-and fourth-year students when compared to first-year students (Sat-
terwhite, 2000). These findings suggest that the medical course may favor the loss of perception
of ethical-professional behavior throughout training (Satterwhite, 2000).
Ethical decline in medical students can sometimes arise in subtler ways, such as when
they record classes without the professor's permission. In the present study, this situation was
more frequently observed among students who reported having a scholarship or student financ-
ing. This fact may be associated with the pressure suffered by these students to maintain good
academic performance during the validity of institutional scholarships or government funding.
On the other hand, there are data associating the existence of scholarships with better earnings
in several areas of knowledge, including Medicine (Kaczmarczyk et al., 2013; Mulyaningsih et
al., 2022; Nasu & Sasso, 2021).
Other misconducts worth mentioning are signing the attendance list for someone else and
performing procedures without supervision. It is suggested that the hidden curriculum enables
non-professional behaviors as alternatives for dealing with excessive workloads, self-charging,
exacerbated competitiveness, and an abundance of responsibilities (Chung et al., 2019). There-
fore, academic misconduct can be adopted as an alternative to overcome obstacles inherent in
the course and achieve full curricular training. These impressions can be the basis for further
reflection on a better composition of the medical curriculum. Does the larger the curriculum,
the better the professional training?
In this scenario, it is assumed that medical schools are being tolerant of academic and
professional misconduct by faculty and administration, which contributes to a hidden curricu-
lum that can negatively impact the ethical training of their students (Gitanjali, 2004; Vidal et al.,
2015). In addition, it is known that professors still have great difficulty in dealing with student
misconduct, and in this context, they face barriers such as lack of institutional recognition and
contact with specialists (Muhaimin et al., 2021), making moderation attitudes difficult.
In a survey of deans of American and Canadian medical schools, 94% of respondents
considered ethics courses mandatory for all students. Additional studies reveal that 66% of
academics reiterated their desire to learn more about ethics and 84% considered medical ethics
to be fundamental to good clinical care (Brazilian Council of Medicine, 2019). Regardless of
specialty, physicians are tasked with caring for patients in delicate and vulnerable situations,
where they will encounter various ethical dilemmas throughout their career. Therefore,
strengthening the moral and ethical foundation in medical training is of utmost importance.
For this reason, there is still discussion about medical ethics courses and their challeng-
es regarding content, method, course evaluation, and evaluation of the students themselves
(Spooner et al., 1989). There is no consensus on how these ethical and moral principles should
be developed in the academic field, but it is suggested that their contents permeate the entire
medical curriculum, favoring ethical reflection. In addition, it is recommended that teaching be
based on clinical examples and that an assessment of student learning is performed, since this
drives the educational content, method, and, more particularly, the students' priorities (Spooner
et al., 1989).


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434 Conclusion and Implications

This study established a reflection on the unethical academic behaviors practiced by
Brazilian medical students during their training. It has been shown that, although medical
students considered themselves to be ethical, a high frequency of academic misconduct
was observed. In the academic environment, behaviors such as “recording classes without
authorization,” “cheating on test” and “improperly sign attendance lists” were strongly present
among Brazilian medical students. In the professional sphere, emphasis was given to “posting
pictures with patients” and “taking on duty without medical supervision.”
This scenario shows an urgent need for ethical and moral reflection throughout medical
education. The ongoing discussion about academic misconduct in medical training environments
is a challenge, but it is a strategy necessary in order to prevent inappropriate behavior in clinical-
professional settings. Greater investments in training based on ethical and moral commitment
in academic and professional activities can support the development of professionalism, and
this should be a central objective in medical training.
Despite these relevant findings, further research is needed to understand the triggers of
these inappropriate attitudes. These future investigations could help to implement solutions that
mitigate the prevalence of unethical behavior among medical students.

Declaration of Interest
Authors declare no competing interest.
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Received: May 10, 2022 Revised: June 02, 2022 Accepted: June 24, 2022
Cite as: Dorea-Bandeira, I., Oliveira, V., Araújo-Pereira, M., Andrade, B. B., Nazar, A. N.,
Quintanilha, L. F., & Avena, K. M. (2022). Academic misconduct: Attitudes and perceptions
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https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.426

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437
Ingrid Dorea-Bandeira Medical Graduate Student, University Center FTC – UniFTC, 8812 Luís
Viana Filho Avenue, Salvador, Bahia 41741-590, Brazil.
E-mail: ingriddoreabandeira@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9137-219X
Vanessa Gusmão de Oliveira Medical Graduate Student, University Center FTC – UniFTC, 8812 Luís
E-mail: vanessa-oliiveiira@hotmail.com
Mariana Araújo Pereira Assistant Professor, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
(FIOCRUZ), Salvador, Brazil.
E-mail: araujopereira.mariana@gmail.com
Bruno Bezerril Andrade PhD, Professor, University Center FTC – UniFTC and Gonçalo Moniz
Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador, Brazil.
E-mail: bbezerril.ssa@ftc.edu.br
André Nogueira Nazar PhD, Professor, University Center FTC – UniFTC, 8812 Luís Viana Filho
Avenue, Salvador, Bahia 41741-590, Brazil.
E-mail: anazar.ssa@ftc.edu.br
Luiz Fernando Quintanilha PhD, Professor, University Center FTC – UniFTC, Salvador University
(UNIFACS), Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), 8812 Luís
E-mail: quintanilha.lf@gmail.com
Katia de Miranda Avena PhD, Professor, University Center FTC – UniFTC, 8812 Luís Viana Filho
(Corresponding author) Avenue, Salvador, Bahia 41741-590, Brazil.
E-mail: katiaavena@hotmail.com

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438
EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENT TEACHING
PRACTICUM IN TURKEY THROUGH
EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING DURING
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Yasin Ozturk, Merve Gangal
Trabzon University, Turkey
E-mail: byozturk@gmail.com, mervegangal@gmail.com
Abstract
Turkish early childhood pre-service teachers had to follow their student teaching practicum courses
through emergency remote teaching on the online platform available to them during COVID-19 pandemic
like in most countries. The pre-service teachers were experimenting with this new form of student teaching
practicum by building up new knowledge and experiences without being present in the school context and
having no interaction with the children. This study aims to analyse early childhood education pre-service
teachers' experiences of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey
and explore how these experiences shape their professional development to meet the quality standards
and preschool teacher competencies. Doing a content analysis of the codes through a qualitative data
analysis software program (NVivo 12) and making a constant comparison between codes and categories,
three themes as a result of this study after doing a content analysis of the data, have emerged: (1) Early
childhood education pre-service teachers’ practices in ERT supported only certain competencies. (2)
With its natural structure of distance education, ERT restrained pre-service teachers' field experiences to
enable them to gain the necessary competencies and qualifications for early childhood education (3) the
pre-service teachers perceived ERT as insufficient for their placement experiences. There is a need for a
regulation on how the practice in teacher education should be done in ERT since pre-service teachers'
field placements have a crucial role in their training and there is a missing gap for practice during
distance education.
Keywords: Early childhood education, emergency remote teaching, COVID-19 pandemic, preservice
teachers
Introduction
Preschools for children are not just an ordinary learning environment where education is
given in a certain period, but also educational institutions that offer young children an educational
atmosphere equipped with rich materials (Atiles et al., 2021). It is almost impossible to provide
these opportunities with distance education and this issue has become one of the most prominent
problems globally since The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the existence of the
COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020 (WHO, 2020). All countries started to take necessary
measures by declaring a national pandemic which has changed people's daily life dramatically.
It has also changed education and schooling with its stakeholders such as teachers, children,
students, and parents. Children were affected both physically and psychologically by the closure
of schools and entire cities (Pascal et al., 2020; Szente, 2020). To reduce the adverse impact
of the pandemic and to carry on educational activities, the countries sought various solutions
for this change. There were two options: the first one was to suspend ongoing education and
close down all schools to get ready for online education for an uncertain period. The second
option was to shift traditional, face-to-face education to ERT (Emergency Remote Teaching)
through an online mode of delivery. In Turkey, the total duration of school closures caused

Yasin OZTURK, Merve GANGAL. Early childhood student teaching practicum in Turkey through emergency remote teaching during
the Covid-19 pandemic
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by COVID-19 has been 49 weeks since the pandemic began (UNESCO, 2020). The Council 439
of Higher Education (CoHE) which regulates tertiary education in Turkey had taken certain
measures for COVID-19 during the first wave of lockdowns (March-July 2020). All Turkish
universities which had distance/online education capacity migrated to ERT on March 23rd,
2020. On the one hand, educators had to rethink everything related to all educational activities
such as course materials, assignments, requirements, and students' class attendance. On the
other hand, the students had to migrate the online distance education urgently from their regular
order. First of all, they had to return to their homes from their dormitories and housing. In chaos,
panic, anxiety, insecurity, and uncertainty, they were locked in the news from their universities
(Kidd & Murray, 2020). Eventually, many countries applied emergency remote teaching to their
educational services for all students.
Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and Learning
ERT is a temporary change of teaching method from face-to-face continuing education

to another model (online platform) in a crisis (Hodges et al., 2020). The courses offered through
“distance education” should not be considered the same as ERT courses converted to online
in case of a crisis. The whole program regarding the courses given in distance education has
been planned down to the last detail. The students who enrol in a distance learning course have
their preparation and dedication according to distance learning requirements and necessities.
Each student has already set up the necessary infrastructure (computer, the internet, etc.)
and each is orientated on the online platform to be used for distance education. Through the
syllabus of the courses, the students know beforehand what content and responsibilities they
will encounter during the process. Heirdsfield et al. (2007) found out that online learning and
teaching supported early childhood teacher education students and it did not create any barriers
to their learning. At the same time, they argued that technology could not replace the human
factor in university education.
Different from distance education, there is an unusual situation in ERT, and it can be
considered an approach within the standard teaching system. In the design of education and
training programs, the ERT approach should be considered as a plan B that can be used in
crises. Researchers initially reacted to study mostly on the issue of how the pandemic impacts
education, more specifically student learning and online teaching by addressing the advantages
and disadvantages of ERT (Abu Talib et al., 2021).
Most college students including early childhood pre-service teachers could follow their
courses in distance education on the online platform available to them. Unlike face-to-face
education, online distance learning has some advantages and disadvantages for them. In their
study, Shim and Lee (2020) found that college students were satisfied with ERT due to the
comfortable educational environment, time utilization, smooth interaction, social distancing,
easy access to course resources, and academic achievement. They were dissatisfied with ERT
due to network instability, unilateral interactions, constraints on practice or experiments,
constraints on assignments and group works, and unprepared class design. For example, some
students complained that they had problems attending classes at home and that they could not
create a suitable learning environment because other family members they lived with disturbed
them during the lesson (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020).
Not all students have negotiated the challenge successfully that they faced during the
pandemic. In their quantitative research, Aguilera-Hermida, et al. (2021) studied how the
university students perceived the abrupt migration to emergency remote teaching in four
different countries (Mexico, Peru, Turkey, and the USA) by looking at the students' perceptions
regarding relationships of different variables including attitude, affect, motivation, behavioural
control, and cognitive engagement. They found that there is a strong relationship between

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440 self-efficacy and cognitive engagement. The students with a higher level of self-efficacy are
more likely to challenge themselves successfully with online learning difficulties. Similar to
college students' cases, ERT put an enormous burden on parents' shoulders since they were also
involved in ERT to technically support their children's participation in distance lessons (Stites
et al., 2021; Yıldırım, 2021). They were worried about their children's exams, homework, and
school tasks assigned through online education (Lau & Lee, 2020). They believed that the
exams did not assess properly the students' learning and homework was not followed promptly
for useful feedback (Mısırlı & Ergulec, 2021). They were highly concerned about the increased
screen time which was the main tool for the education and socialization of children. These
concerns, advantages, and disadvantages have also impacted directly early childhood pre-
service teachers' training and placement during the Pandemic.
It should be noted here that teacher education has a very important role in developing
effective teachers and well-trained teachers are needed for effective and qualified education
(Ammentorp & Madden, 2014). The teacher education programs not only change the beliefs,
attitudes, and knowledge of pre-service teachers but also improve their teaching skills with
practical experience in the field (Dorfman et al., 2006). Many countries give more importance
to field practice in teacher training programs in order to increase the quality of education. For
example, in the USA, as the NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education)
report argues, teacher preparation should "transform into programs that are purely clinical
practice and interwoven with academic content and professional courses" (NCATE, 2010, p. ii).
Early childhood student field placement or practicum is an important part of teacher
training or initial teacher education, and it has a pivotal role in the provision of quality teacher
education (Kidd & Murray, 2020). The pre-service teachers can practice their knowledge and
they have a chance to improve their teaching skills through the practicum (Dorfman et al.,
2006). During these early practices, they get feedback from both mentor teachers and supervisor
faculty members and enrich their teaching skills and professional learning. The more the pre-
service teachers stay in the field and do hands-on, face-to-face activities with the children,
the more they will gain professional teaching skills. Even some distance education programs
require a certain duration of field experience for teaching credentials (For example, a distance
education program requires 90-day professional experience in an early childhood education
setting) (the Queensland University of Technology, n.d.).
With the pandemic, the practicum in a school setting for preservice teachers evolved into
a new form. It disappeared as a "practicum vacuum" or "disembodied placement" as in England
(Kidd & Murray, 2020; p543). Instead of practicum in school contexts, "new forms of practice"
were attached to the online platform. This new form of practicum was moved to a new space.
Now teacher educators need to adjust themselves to this new form. The online learning space
led to the development of basic pedagogical principles in different disembodied spaces. Teacher
educators have had a new dilemma to solve even after the pandemic (Kidd & Murray, 2020;
Shim & Lee, 2020).
Stephens and Curward (2021) studied how teacher educators negotiate an immediate
shift to ERT during tumultuous conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. According
to teacher educators, the transition to emergency remote teaching was so fast and sudden that
it affected the quality of their seminars. They were unprepared to use online platforms for
ERT (Trust & Whalen, 2020). They state that these platforms offered by the universities are
insufficient to provide teacher values and pedagogy. They might be powerful tools, but not for
education and training (Stephens & Curward, 2021). There are limitations in teaching essential
content and values in teacher education.
Something is missing in teaching without interacting and without touching hearts. It
is necessary to teach the course by building up personal connections on the online platform.
Most of the time, the pre-service teachers in ERT log into the system but do not turn on their

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cameras, which makes the synchronous lesson asynchronous (Stephens & Curward, 2021). 441
A study in Chile investigating how teaching practice with ERT takes place has shown that
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher candidates perform their practice synchronously
and asynchronously. The pre-service teachers answered the students' questions in the 45-minute
synchronous lessons and gave them feedback. In asynchronous lessons, pre-service teachers
prepared short videos, handouts, and worksheets on related topics for students and sent them via
email (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020). The pre-service teachers were experimenting
with this new form of practicum by building up new knowledge and experiences. However, they
were not present in the school context, and they had a lack of direct interaction with the students.
This embodied practicum has increased their anxiety and decreased their motivations (Kidd &
Murray, 2020; Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020). Missing practicum causes preservice
teachers to be deprived of a very critical step for their education and professional development
(Kidd & Murray, 2020). Like many other higher education students, early childhood teacher
education students are also faced with this dilemma in the most important period when they
need to practice (Alan, 2021; Carrillo & Flores, 2020; Murphy, 2020).
The early childhood teacher education program in Turkey has been designed according
to the Turkish Core Competencies for Early Childhood Education teachers in Turkey (See Table
1). The teachers are expected to be competent in both knowledge (about child growth and
development, family involvement, assessment) and practice (about communication, creativity
and aesthetics, and school and community partnership. They need to build strong professional
development (Ministry of National Education, n.d.).
Table 1
The Core Competencies for Early Childhood Education Teachers in Turkey (Code List of The
Study)
Domains (Categories) Competencies (Codes) Competency Indicators (Sub-Codes)

Activity planning
Program planning Child base planning
İndoor and outdoor activities
Learning centres
Learning environment
Outdoor learning environment
Child appropriate materials
1) Child growth and
Educational materials Safe materials
development
Rich classroom materials for activities
Child safety
Time management
Meet individual needs
Carrying out educational activities
Including all children
Supportive teaching
Children’s enjoyment
The effective transition between activities
Multiple teaching methods

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442 Building communication with families

Communicating with families
2)Family involvement Using different communication tools
Planning parent education activities
Carrying out family involvement
Implementing and evaluating family involvement
Daily assessment
Curriculum assessing
Monthly assessment
3) Assessment Multiple child assessment tools
Ongoing measurement of child
progress Standard and non-standard measurements for
children
Eye contact with children
Active listening to children Enough time for listening to each child
4) Communication Role model to children for active listening
Awareness of other feelings
Empathy with children
Role model to children for empathy skills
Using gestures and body language
Effective communication skills
Communicate through various methods
Using information technologies in Introducing IT to children
daily life Using IT with children
Researching, discovering, and Encouraging children’s creative thinking
generating alternative solutions Guiding children to discover and investigate
Support children’s imaginations
Creating unique artifacts
5) Creativity and aesthetic Promoting children’s unique products
Arranging children’s learning environment
aesthetically
Aesthetic sensibility
Using art instruments in the learning environment
Appreciating the aesthetic of children
Child involvement in cultural
6) School and community festivals
partnership Planning and participating in
cultural festivals
School partnership with community
Self-assessment
7) Professional
Seeking carrier opportunities
development Determining
Improving professional identity
The content of the teacher education program should be especially considered for a more
qualified student field experience. The more compatible the teacher education program and the
teacher's placement in the field, the more qualified preservice teachers will develop. For example,
ongoing and assessment-based field experiences support preservice teachers' assessment
competencies (Dorfman et al., 2006). Thus, these competencies should be taken into account
in the implementation of the teaching program designed according to teacher competencies.
Pre-service teachers' perspectives toward emergency remote teaching and experiences with
struggles and satisfaction they have encountered during this period are also important to create
a strong teacher training program. In the Turkish context, The Ministry of National Education
(MoNE) regulated ongoing teaching for different age levels through various distanced education
solutions including the internet platforms and national TV channels (TRT EBA TV). On the one

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hand, MoNE streamed pedagogical television programs for preschool children. On the other 443
hand, MoNE required the preschool teachers to do 2-hour-online activities daily with the kids
by using Zoom, the internet platform. All participating pre-service teachers in this study did
their placement in public preschools and they were subject to the above regulations.
Research Problem
Early childhood education teachers in Turkey are trained in education colleges of

universities. Pre-service teachers are entitled to receive a teaching diploma upon completion of
4 years of university education. The curriculum of early childhood education teacher education
programs is determined by CoHE and implemented by university colleges (CoHE a, n.d). This
program is updated and changed from time to time (CoHE b, n.d). Pre-service teachers graduate
from this program after earning a total of 141 credits (professional knowledge-50, general
culture-27, field education-64). In their senior year, they have to take a teaching practice course
in both the fall and spring semesters. This course has two components: a class component and
a field component that requires working with children (between 3 to 6 years old). Pre-service
teachers practice 6 hours a day each week under the guidance of a mentor teacher in a preschool
education institution. Then, pre-service teachers discuss their activities under the supervision of
a university advisor for two hours a week.
With this study, it is aimed to analyse the pre-service teachers' experiences with ERT.
The main research question of this study is how early childhood student teaching practicum in
Turkey builds the pre-service teachers’ professional development to meet the Turkish Teaching
Core Competencies for Early Childhood Education (TTCCECE) (Table 1) through emergency
remote teaching. It is important to reveal these experiences to directly impact future teachers’
quality of experience in teaching in the training program.
The sub-questions of the research are:
1. Which early childhood education teacher competencies were included in the
pre-service teachers’ practices through ERT?
2. Which early childhood education teacher competencies were included in the
pre-service teachers’ activity plans they designed?
3. What did the pre-service teachers do to contribute to their professional
development according to the early childhood education teacher competencies?
4. How did Turkish early childhood pre-service teachers perceive ERT in their
teaching practice?
Many countries have aimed to carry out teacher training in the most qualified way during
the pandemic process. Each country has tried to find a remedy with different approaches,
according to their own conditions, against the disadvantages of the pandemic crisis. The
experiences gained from different applications will be very valuable in case of a possible crisis
that may be experienced next. Therefore, the results of this study will help other countries in the
international context on their way out of the crisis.
In current studies, the researchers looked at the views of pre-service teachers (Sepulveda-
Escobar & Morrison, 2020), the teachers (Alan, 2021; Trust & Whalen, 2020) and the university
teacher educators (Kidd & Murray, 2020) regarding ERT process during COVID-19 pandemic.
However, this study examined early childhood preservice teachers’ activity plans they designed
and the lesson videos they made during the ERT process in addition to their views. The use of
different data sources is very important and unique for the in-depth study of this case with a
multifaceted perspective. For example, this study scrutinized the synchronous and asynchronous
lesson videos of preservice teachers separately, which would shed light on the complexity of the
student teaching practicum in the ERT process.

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444 Research Methodology
Research Design
This study was conducted through an instrumental case study approach which is a
qualitative research design to provide insight into issues of early childhood students’ teaching
practicum (Stake,1995). The general purpose of this study is to understand how ERT during
the pandemic affects early childhood pre-service teachers' student teaching practicum, how
ERT contributes to the pre-service teachers' teaching competencies, and what meaning the pre-
service teachers attributed to online teaching activities. For this purpose, the study was carried
out with 10 early childhood preservice teachers in Turkey. The duration of the study was six
months starting from April 2021 to September 2021.
Participants
The participants of the research were 10 final year students who were studying at an
early childhood teacher education program in a state university in Turkey. These students
attended online courses and did their student teaching practicum through emergency remote
teaching during the pandemic. In the first stage of the data collection process, 61 volunteer
pre-service teachers participated in the 18-question open-ended questionnaire developed by the
researchers. In the second stage, activity plans and lesson videos were requested from these 61
pre-service teachers, and 26 students responded. At the last stage, 10 pre-service teachers (2
males and 8 females) formed the study group. The participants were selected from volunteer
pre-service teachers who agreed to openly share their experiences. Pre-service teachers’ names
were anonymized throughout the presentation of findings.
Procedures
In the study, different data collection methods including open-ended questionnaires,

observation, and document analysis were used. These multiple, three sets of data were provided
doing data triangulation and making data comparisons on our issue (McMillan, 2004). The first
part of the data is derived from an open-ended online questionnaire that was applied through
web-based applications. The questionnaire is an appropriate way to reach out to participants
during pandemic conditions and it has the potential to provide fast and high-quality data to
researchers (Creswell, 2009; James, 2007; Meho, 2006). The questionnaire consisted of two
parts that aimed to examine pre-service teachers' demographic information and their views
on teaching practice at ERT. The 18-question open-ended questionnaire was submitted to
the approval of the ethics committee after receiving expert opinion. The approved form was
prepared on the web and answered by the pre-service teachers online. After the questionnaire,
activity plans and lesson videos prepared by the pre-service teachers participating in the study
in ERT were requested. The second data collection method was to examine the synchronous
and asynchronous practice records of pre-service teachers. In this context, we requested video
recordings of synchronous and asynchronous lessons from each of the pre-service teachers. 20
asynchronous lesson videos with an average duration of 15 minutes, a total of 254.5 minutes,
and 10 synchronous application videos with an average duration of 30 minutes, a total of 285.6
minutes were examined. While it is aimed to obtain detailed and versatile data on the practices
of pre-service teachers with video recordings, investigators tried to benefit from the features of
reflecting gestures and interpersonal interaction. Multiple viewings, re-watchability and post-
event analysis of the videos provided support during the data collection process in pandemic
conditions (Griffin, 2019). The last method of data collection was examining pre-service

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teachers’ daily activity plans. Each teacher was asked to share 2 daily training plans designed 445
and implemented for teaching practice in ERT in order to triangulate the data obtained from the
open-ended questionnaire and application videos (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008).
Data Analysis

Three sets of data were analysed through a content analysis research technique and this
analysis was done with a qualitative data analysis software program, NVivo 12. The process
started with separating and categorizing data that focus on and ignore the dense data set (Creswell,
2013). All the data is transferred to the software program and then, both transcribed and visual
data are coded on the software program. Structural coding enables us to make the dense data
into smaller useful categories according to the similarities, differences, and relationships of the
data set used (Saldana, 2009). The codebook of the study was created based on Teaching Core
Competencies for Early Childhood Education (See Table 1) determined by the MoNE before
we started the analysis. The coding process was carried out with 19 codes and 43 subcodes
under 7 categories in our codebook. Close connections were maintained between categories
(codes) and the data, and the data was compared and coded in the same way to develop a
theoretical elaboration by doing the constant comparison. Eventually, the themes that emerged
from the comparisons reached out.
Validity, Reliability, and Ethics
Before the study for internal validity/credibility, expert opinion was obtained for the data
collection tool and voluntary participation of the participants was ensured. Data triangulation
was also performed using multiple data sources. Coding reliability was provided for consistency
and intercoder reliability was checked through the NVivo 12 program. In order to ensure
coding reliability, we aimed to eliminate the individuality of the researcher by recoding the
study data by two of the authors. Miles and Huberman (1994) stated that there should be at
least 80% consistency between coders for coding reliability and the internal consistency of
the study. Both researchers coded the data separately on the NVivo 12 program and after the
simultaneous coding, the coder reliability was checked through the program twice. Since there
were some disagreements at the first check, two researchers analysed the data together, resolved
any disputes on codes, and modified codes as necessary. They eventually came to a consensus
with their coding. After the second check, the intercoder agreement was 97.5% and the coding
process was consistent. Ethical approval was obtained from the researchers’ University Human
Research Ethics Committee to access and interview participant pre-service teachers. The
participants were assured to have the right to withdraw from the research at any time and their
names have remained anonymous.
Research Results

During the ERT process, the pre-service teachers were responsible for planning and
implementing some of these plans for children remotely, both synchronously and asynchronously.
We analysed the data obtained from these practices and the open-ended questionnaires to answer
the question of what preschool teacher competency domains are effective in ERT placement.
There are 7 competency domains of the core competencies for early childhood education
teachers in Turkey (Table 2). These are child growth and development, family involvement,
assessment, communication, creativity and aesthetics, school and community partnership, and
professional development.

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446 Table 2
Codes Distribution According to Preschool Teacher Competencies During student teaching
practicum in ERT
Open-ended Asynchronous Synchronous Activity plans

questionnaire practices practices
1- Child growth and development 102 99 104 48
2- Family involvement 28 2 2 18
3- Assessment 21 11 6 16
4- Communication 44 33 32 16
5- Creativity and aesthetic 2 37 24 19
6- School and community 0 5 0 0
partnership
7- Professional development 43 0 0 0
In Table 2, it is seen that ERT is mainly effective in the competency field of child growth
and development. The pre-service teachers emphasized the importance of this comprehensive
competency domain by expressing more opinions in the child growth and development
competency domain than the ones in other domains. They have given more place to child
growth and development in their synchronous-asynchronous practices and activity plans they
have prepared compared to other competence domains.
In the open-ended questionnaire, the pre-service teachers emphasized that family
involvement is important and beneficial for early childhood education. Likewise, they included
this competence domain in their activity plans, but they rarely included the implications related
to this competence domain in their synchronous-asynchronous practice. The limited number of
codes obtained from the data related to the assessment competence domain shows the limited
effect of ERT on this domain. The pre-service teachers gave significant place to the competency
field of communication in their synchronous-asynchronous practices and activity plans, and they
emphasized that this field is important in communication with children and parents in the open-
ended questionnaire. While the pre-service teachers included a significant amount of space for
the competencies of creativity and aesthetics in asynchronous-synchronous implementations
and activity plans, they expressed rarely these competency domains in their opinions. There
are not any codes in the school and community partnership competency domain. This result
can show that the ERT was not effective in this competency domain. Although the pre-service
teachers did not show any performance in their practices and their plans, they expressed their
views on professional development in the open-ended questionnaires.
The competency domain of child growth and development includes certain competencies
regarding program planning, designing a learning environment, using appropriate educational
materials, and carrying out educational activities (Table 3).

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Table 3 447
Competency Domain of Child Growth and Development
Opinions Practices
Synchronous Asynchronous
Individual Activity
practice videos plans
Program Planning 44 2 6 6
Activity planning 27 0 2 1
Child base planning 17 0 1 3
İndoor and outdoor activities 0 2 3 2
Learning Environment 9 2 7 1
Learning centres 9 0 5 1
Outdoor learning environment 0 2 2 0
Educational Materials 12 14 14 7
Child appropriate materials 6 5 3 0
Safe materials 3 0 1 1
Rich classroom materials for activities 3 9 10 6
Carrying Out Educational Activities 37 86 72 34

Child safety 0 1 1 0
Time management 5 4 0 0
Meet individual needs 7 1 0 0
Including all children 6 20 13 2
Supportive teaching 7 21 19 6
Children’s enjoyment 1 13 13 10
The effective transition between activities 0 11 16 6
Multiple teaching methods 11 15 10 10

Total 102 104 99 48
The pre-service teachers have planned their educational activities according to the
children's developmental level. They emphasized the importance of learning centres in children's
classrooms as learning environments. They included various activities for outdoor learning
environments in synchronous and asynchronous implementations. Again, they emphasized the
importance of child-friendly and safe educational materials regarding this competence domain,
and they used materials suitable for children in synchronous-asynchronous implementations. In
their synchronous and asynchronous implementations, enriched classroom materials were
meticulously included by the pre-service teachers. However, the child safety was not taken part
in the implementation of educational activities in their ERT placement. The pre-service teachers
expressed their views on the importance of teacher's competencies on time management,
children's individuality, participation of all children in activities, and supportive teaching.

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448 However, they used more competencies of including all children, supportive teaching, children's
enjoyment, and effective transition in both synchronous and asynchronous implications. As
a result, the pre-service teachers show a great amount of performance on the competencies
of including all children, supportive teaching, an effective transition between activities, and
children's enjoyment of the ERT process. They show a limited amount of performance on
the competencies of time management, child safety, learning centres, and indoor and outdoor
activities. They expressed a significant number of views on these competencies, albeit they
show a very limited degree of performance on the competencies of activity planning and child
base planning.
The competency domain of professional development includes self-assessment, seeking
carrier opportunities, and improving professional identity. Through the ERT process, the
pre-service teachers did not include any activities regarding competencies on seeking career
opportunities and improving professional identity in their activities.
Table 4
Competency Domain of Professional Development
Opinions Practices
İndividual Activity
Determining 43 0 0 0
Self-assessment 35 0 0 0
Seeking carrier opportunities 0 0 0 0
Improving professional identity 8 0 0 0
Total 43 0 0 0
They expressed their views on self-assessment and evaluated themselves regarding

planning and implementation. They expressed their views on the issues of the limitations and the
potential of professional development. It has been indicated from the data that the pre-service
teachers have certain ideas on how they improve their teaching skills, some expectations of how
they will become teachers, and vivid plans regarding the professional development competency
domain since they have discussed these issues in their other courses. However, they had not
reflected any of these competencies in their implementations.
Berna, one of the pre-service teachers, expressed her opinion about the "Professional
development" category as follows:
"I also feel incomplete in classroom management. Even in the online environment, I have
problems responding to the requests, speeches, and questions of children. I think that this
problem will be more common when I start teaching face to face. I need to develop my teaching
skills."
Consequently, the pre-service teachers expressed their opinions on the competencies

of self-assessment and improving professional identity, however, they did not show any
performance on the competencies of self-assessment, seeking carrier opportunities, and
improving professional identity in the ERT process.

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The competency domain of school and community partnership has three competencies 449
which are child involvement in cultural festivals, planning and participating in cultural festivals,
and school partnership with the community.
Table 5
Competency Domain of School and Community Partnership
Opinions Practices
İndividual Activity
Child involvement in cultural festivals 0 0 3 0
Planning and participating in cultural festivals 0 0 2 0
School partnership with community 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 5 0
Through the ERT process, the competence domain of school and community partnership
has the least number of codes. This reveals that the ERT has a very limited impact on this
competency domain.
Turkish early childhood education pre-service teachers' perception of ERT in their teaching
practice
The pre-service teachers state that ERT has negative effects on their professional skills.
All of the pre-service teachers stated that the teaching practice at ERT has had a negative impact
on the processes of getting to know the children and communicating with them. Elif, one of the
pre-service teachers, expresses this situation as follows:
"I think that we are lacking in classroom management and that it also affects the achievement of
the purpose of the activities since the interaction is not fully achieved. I think that being face-to-
face will enable me to improve myself in classroom management, the chance to observe whether
the activities are applicable, and most importantly, the sincere relationship we will establish with
the children will increase my interest and passion for the teaching profession. "
The majority of pre-service teachers also state that they were deficient in gaining
classroom management skills, and they felt that this disembodied practicum negatively affected
their ability to respond to children’s needs properly and to intervene practically in different
situations in a preschool classroom. At the same time, they emphasized that the disembodied
practicum decreased their professional passion and interest. Fatma used the following statements
about the process:
"I think I am inadequate in classroom management. If it was face-to-face, it would be more

beneficial as I would take an active role in the process. I would have the opportunity to observe
what I should and should not do. When I was appointed in the future, I would have a wealth of
knowledge and experience, which would have contributed to me. "

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450 Most of the pre-service teachers stated that the teaching practice process in ERT only
contributes to the ability to plan educational activities and write an activity plan and actively use
web-based applications. Ali expresses the contribution of teaching practice at ERT as follows:
"It contributed to my improvement in activity planning. I can literally say that I learned how to
write an event plan. "
Another pre-service teacher, Derya, expressed her contribution to ERT, unlike the other
candidates in the study group, as follows:
"I have attended many conferences on distance education. When there was face-to-face education,
it was very costly to bring well-trained people to the university, but thanks to distance education,
I was able to attend such training very easily. "
The pre-service teachers stated that the field placement they did without being in the
same environment with the children was a missing part of their teacher training. Without face-
to-face interactions with the children in a classroom, they underlined that they would not be
able to be a good role models for the children in their language and social development.
Discussion
During the Pandemic, early childhood education pre-service teachers continued their
training through ERT, and they did their field placements away from classroom experiences
and without face-to-face practices, they could have done with children. This disembodied
placement, which did not include potential situations in the school and classroom environment,
has given them limited experiences. Like other studies, this study has also revealed that this
limited experience causes a lost practice process and may cause a lack of professional skills
and competencies in pre-service teachers (Kidd & Murray, 2020; Stephens & Curward, 2021).
As a result of this study after doing a content analysis of the data, three themes have emerged:
(1) Early childhood education pre-service teachers’ practices in ERT supported only certain
competencies. (2) With its natural structure of distance education, ERT restrained pre-service
teachers' field experiences to enable them to gain the necessary competencies and qualifications
for early childhood education (3) the pre-service teachers perceived ERT as insufficient for their
placement experiences.
Firstly, the aim of the student placement in ERT focused primarily on ensuring that
distance education was used in the fastest and most appropriate way to pursue courses. Although
online learning or distance education would not create any barriers for early childhood education
pre-service teachers (Heirdsfield et al., 2007), ERT, which is different from typical distance
education, caused a gap in student placement that certain teacher competencies were regarded,
and some others were ignored in ERT. Among seven competency domains, child growth and
development, communication, creativity, and aesthetics were taken into account by the pre-
service teachers. However, school and community partnership and professional development
competency domains were not embodied in the student placement practices. The field placement
course in teacher education is considered a process that aims to provide pre-service teachers
with a real classroom experience, enabling them to learn by observing and encountering crises
(Ammentorp & Madden, 2014; Dorfman et al., 2006). It is expected that pre-service teachers
will be able to demonstrate their professional competencies of pre-school teachers with the
education they receive. However, this study shows that pre-service teachers in ERT pre-service
teachers were not active in all of the professional competency domains during their placement
performance such as planning, asynchronous and synchronous practices.

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Secondly, the majority of the pre-service teachers emphasized that this disembodied 451
placement process, which did not include face-to-face practice with children, provided very
limited professional support for them and that they did not feel to be ready for their profession.
For example, the pre-service teachers considered that they were lack of professional skills
in classroom management and interaction with children. These deficiencies were eventually
reflected in their asynchronous and synchronous lessons. It has also been revealed by studies
on synchronous and asynchronous activities. The pre-service teachers had experienced a
completely new placement process and this process negatively affected their professional skills
and development (Kidd & Murray, 2020; Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020). Due to the
nature of ERT such as a sort of distance education, the pre-service teachers had experienced
some difficulties affecting their placement practices. For example, they had to get their practices
done on the screen, which was totally different from the way it should have been. They were
expected to actively implement the activities they planned, following the pre-school education
program (National preschool curriculum by MoNE) while carrying out these jobs, each of
which required different expertise in themselves. How they would conduct the process and how
they would behave in front of the camera created a new kind of stress and anxiety in all pre-
service teachers (Kidd & Murray, 2020; Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020).
Many of the pre-service teachers in ERT experience disadvantages in terms of access
to technology, educational environment, and online educational tools (Shim & Lee, 2020).
These disadvantages forced pre-service teachers to improve themselves at different points. In
the open-ended questionnaire, pre-service teachers stated that they had improved themselves
a lot in technology and computer applications in order to carry out the practices. However,
they did not have any opportunities to merge this improvement with the prominence and
development of teaching professional skills in ERT. As in other countries and even in some
distance teacher training programs, the Turkish Early Childhood Education Program, which is
a national curriculum for state preschools, has been prepared to be implemented face-to-face
with the children in early childhood education classrooms. The activity plans according to the
program are designed to be used for hands-on learning and face-to-face interaction with the
children individually or as a group. In their teaching practice at ERT, the pre-service teachers
were expected to carry out the same practices by using the online platform, but this expectation
has not been accomplished without social interaction, social play, and interactive play with
educational materials in the classroom. Therefore, the pre-service teachers missed qualified
student field experiences which were essential aspects of their training (Dorfman et al., 2006).
Thirdly, the study showed that the pre-service teachers perceived ERT as insufficient for
their placement experiences since they could not fulfil to gain quality teaching competencies.
They hold a very low level of positive perception about doing their field placement through
ERT. Considering the strong relationship between self-efficacy and cognitive engagement in the
ERT education process (Aguilera-Hermida et. al., 2021), this low-level positive attitude toward
ERT can probably cause reluctance to challenge themselves successfully with online learning
difficulties and eventually give rise to certain constraints of their teacher training practices such
as feeling unable to plan for children and to manage a preschool classroom. Pre-service teachers
were also unprepared and not ready for this new form of education (Trust & Whalen, 2020). This
new form of education, ERT, and technology could have been used in the best interest of the
pre-service teachers, but this was not always the case. For example, this study also revealed that
the family involvement, which is one of the important domains of core competencies of early
childhood education, has not been reflected adequately in pre-service teachers’ field placement
practices during ERT although the family involvement in ERT was higher than it was before the
pandemic. In this new form of educational practice, the families were at the centre of ongoing
education by supporting their children’s technological struggles and organizing the children’s
educational settings with stressful, anxious, and uncertain feelings (Stites et. al. 2021; Yıldırım,

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452 2021). Without any collaboration with them, it is difficult for educators to ensure the success
of ERT. Thus, the absence of family involvement competencies in the student placement might
leave a vast professional gap in the pre-service teachers’ training.
ERT provides a good opportunity to continue education by using technology in crises.

Different from distance education, ERT had been a remedy during the pandemic for the abrupt
change in the delivery mode of education from the traditional classroom to online education.
This sudden change had caused many other problems in education including teacher education,
specifically pre-service teachers' field placement. This case study is important in terms of
understanding how the student placement process in a teacher education program takes place in
ERT and the problems that the pre-service teachers encounter. This study clearly shows in which
competence domains student placement in ERT is effective and in which competence domains
it is not. While early childhood education pre-service teachers are active in content knowledge-
based competencies such as planning, development, and communication with children in the
ERT process; they could not be active in practical knowledge competencies such as family
involvement, professional development, and observation-based evaluation. Moreover, pre-
service teachers believed that they were not ready for ERT, and they considered that they were
inadequate about the problems encountered during the process.
This study revealed that there is a need for a regulation on how the field placement for
pre-service teachers should be done in any emergency circumstances through ERT since it is
not surprising anymore for the world to face a new outbreak, natural disaster, or something
else. During the ERT process, online field placement practices should be organized to fulfil all
competencies and qualifications in order to increase the quality of student placement. There
should be close attention to competencies that might be left out or disregarded by ERT. For
example, academic supervisors in colleges and mentor teachers or practicum could prepare
extra activities or content for the pre-service teachers related to left out core competencies such
as learning centres and meeting individual needs. The pre-service teachers would not have any
chance to organize or decorate a learning centre with educational toys and materials, but their
mentor teachers can share their experiences on how to organize a learning centre and how to
consider the developmentally appropriate materials. ERT should aim to support pre-service
teachers' field placement to get ready for their profession by covering all competency domains
including school and community partnership and professional development. This holistic
approach will ensure a high-quality teacher training program. Eventually, this regulation will
help pre-service teachers support their professional competencies during the ERT process
without causing any further worry or reservation about their field placement.
This study points out there should be certain regulations for teachers on how a preschool
education program can be implemented in the case of an emergency. It is important to have
a backup plan so that preschool activities designed for face-to-face practice can be adapted
to ERT and implemented effectively. The planned education and the educational platform to
be used must be suitable for young children and the necessity of an education process with
smooth transitions and a rich communication environment in the pre-school period should be
considered in ERT planning.

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ogretim_dairesi/Yeni-Ogretmen-Yetistirme-Lisans-Programlari/Okul_Oncesi_Ogretmenligi_
Lisans_Programi.pdf
CoHE b (n.d) Teacher training program. https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Kurumsal/egitim_ogretim_
dairesi/Ogretmen-Yetistirme/okul_oncesi.pdf
Yildirim, B. (2021). Preschool education in Turkey during the Covid-19 pandemic: A phenomenological
study. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49, 947–963. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01153-w

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Cite as: Ozturk, Y., & Gangal, M. (2022). Early childhood student teaching practicum in
Turkey through emergency remote teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. Problems of
Education in the 21st Century, 80(3), 438-455. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.438
Yasin Ozturk PhD, Assistant Professor, Fatih School of Education, Trabzon University, A
(Corresponding author) Blok Kat 3 Akcaabat, 61300 Trabzon, Turkey.
E-mail: byozturk@gmail.com
Merve Gangal PhD, Assistant Professor, Fatih School of Education, Trabzon University, A
Blok Kat 3 Akcaabat, 61300 Trabzon, Turkey.
E-mail: mervegangal@gmail.com

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456
PERSONALITY EMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN
THE SUBJECTIVE PROJECTION OF THE
UNEMPLOYED YOUTH WITH
HIGHER EDUCATION
Yurii Pelekh, Oleh Rudiuk, Viktor Demianiuk
Rivne State University of the Humanities, Ukraine
E-mail: pelekhyurii@ukr.net
Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to examine the employment crisis among the unemployed youth
with higher education. In particular, the research investigates the subjective experience of the youth
representatives (n = 188) in the situation of job loss or inability to find it. For this purpose, the research
uses the method of ranking social and psychological spheres of the youth by the criterion of frustration
in the situation of job loss or inability to find it, as well as the method of multidimensional scaling to
determine cognitive constructs used by the youth in interpreting individual situations of professional
exclusion or unclaimed labor.
According to the results of ranking social and psychological spheres of life of the unemployed youth
with higher education, such social spheres of life as “inability to use the profession” and “difficult
financial situation” are most frustrated in the situation of job loss or inability to find it. The research
also found that such psychological spheres of the youth as “uncertainty in the future” and “feelings of
dependence on external circumstances” are most frustrated in the situation of professional exclusion or
unclaimed labor. The scaling of social and psychological spheres of life of the unemployed youth with
higher education allowed empirical explanation of cognitive constructs as a system of latent categories of
the subjective experience, which determines the character of experiencing a personal employment crisis.
These categories include “social assessment”, “professional identification”, “self-doubt – dependence
on others “lack of perspective – feeling of inferiority “.
The results of the research allowed reconstructing the latent categories of the subjective experience of
the unemployed youth with higher education who are experiencing a personal employment crisis in a
situation of professional exclusion or unclaimed labor, which provides more favorable conditions for
optimizing the process of psychological support and assistance to the unemployed youth taking into
account the specifics of the subjective and psychological profile of their personality.
Keywords: youth, professional exclusion, unclaimed labor, personality employment crisis, cognitive
constructs
Introduction
The structural transformation of the employment market is characterized by a high degree

of dynamism and contradiction, which, in the realities of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2,
is manifested in trends of uncertainty, unpredictability and crisis of its development (Raimo et
al., 2021). Total restrictive measures imposed in recent months by most countries have had a
very negative impact on the operation of all labor market subjects, sometimes causing a crisis
of a more global, psychological nature – the loss of a sense of certainty and transparency about
their own future, deprivation of basic needs, professional and social marginalization, and loss of
the meaning in life (Trógolo et al., 2022). There are also problems concerning the employment
crisis that arose in previous periods. For example, there are issues related to the employment

Yurii PELEKH, Oleh RUDIUK, Viktor DEMIANIUK. Personality employment crisis in the subjective projection of the unemployed
youth with higher education
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of non-manual employees comparing to manual workers who are more advantageous for 457
short-term employment, even though they are at risk, because the employer spends less (costs
associated with special training, sick pay, etc.) (White, 1991; Goldthorpe, 2007). It can be stated
that in the new life circumstances, the majority of the working population is acutely frustrated
by such a defining personality need as employment. Therefore, the situation in the modern
employment market requires from psychologists to conceptualize and empirically analyze a
specific class of phenomena in the structure of the personality life path, which are due to the
inclusion in the dynamic and contradictory relations of employment (Giorgi et al., 2015).
The most obvious manifestation of the employment crisis is unemployment, which
in the conditions of permanent social and economic deprivation accumulates both possible
opportunities for the development of the adaptive potential of the individual and the most
dangerous risks to its holistic and full functioning. Accompanied, as a rule, by the loss of social
status, material wealth, the usual circle of communication, unemployment has become for many
today a source of acute crisis. This crisis is also accompanied by the loss of life of loved ones
due to COVID-19 (Blustein et al., 2020).
The predicted change in risks at the beginning of the 21st century did not reduce
unemployment (Beck, 1999), but increased it (Breen, 1997; Kalleberg & Von Wachter, 2017).
Today we can reasonably categorize the situation of radical restructuring, disruption, deformation,
destruction or loss of significant ties and relationships of the individual with the institution
of employment as a special kind of life crisis – personality employment crisis. Particularly
specific is the employment crisis associated with the professional exclusion (unemployment)
or underemployment of the youth, which requires a special approach in explaining the relevant
negative social and psychological effects.
It should be noted that the conceptualization of crisis phenomenology in the field of
employment relations has a rich theoretical and empirical experience of development. The most
relevant for this research are the works (Darity, 1993; Dooley et al., 1991; Feather, 1992; Fryer,
1992; Graversen & van Ours, 2008; Hanisch, 1999; Jahoda, 1981; Kanfer, 2001; Liem & Liem
1990; Saks, 1999; Warr, 1984; Winefield, 1992).
In terms of analyzing the characteristics of the unemployed youth employment crisis,
an interesting pattern is illustrated by the results of the current research: in contrast to the adult
unemployed, the unemployed university graduates have significantly higher rates of thoughtful
job search and lower rates of chaotic search. It can be explained by the fact that many of them
are not yet responsible for their own families and are calmer about their life situation and
finding a way out of it.
An important factor to consider when studying the experience of the unemployed youth
personal crisis of employment is the crisis of professional identity of students, which takes
place in the domestic higher education system (Varban, 1999). It is expressed in certain ways of
adapting students to educational and professional activities, in increased anxiety and self-doubt.
A number of researchers point to three main personality variables that affect job search
and employment status of university graduates and are indirectly related to the employment
crisis: a feeling of control over possible job search results, self-efficacy in job search and overall
self-esteem (Saks, 1999). The research proved that the personal parameter “self-efficacy” is the
most predictive factor of the employment status of graduates at the time of graduation.
Studying the ways to overcome the employment crisis, a number of researchers point
out that resuming employment and finding a first job are different processes due to the age
differences, life experience and other factors (Barber et al., 1994). To describe the dynamics of
job search by graduates, the authors used three models: sequential (transition from extensive to
intensive search), learning (changes in search mode due to personal experience and observing
other people’s successes) and emotional (changes related to frustration and accumulation of
stress from failures). All three models were tested on samples of university and vocational

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458 school graduates. According to the research, the sequential model has the greatest prognostic
potential: if a student fails to find a job by the time of graduating and remains unemployed for
several months, he/she returns to the extensive search.
The study of the career development of university graduates found that six months
after graduation, the psychosocial stress of the employed graduates was higher than that of the
unemployed graduates (Chen & Zeng, 2021).
The works of European researchers convincingly proved that the low-skilled adolescents
and youth belong to the so-called risk group, which is likely to join the category of the
unemployed and unclaimed labor (Caliendo & Schmidl, 2016).
Despite the high effectiveness of the research efforts, there have been no attempts to
conceptualize this problem through the prism of analyzing the patterns of cognitive-sense
determination of the experience of the employment crisis among the unemployed. Moreover,
despite the representative theoretical and empirical experience of studying the problem of
employment crisis of the individual, in fact, there is no research on the study of the peculiarities
of its experience by the youth.
Recent trends in the employment market emphasize the increase in the share of the
unemployed (European Dara Portal, 2020). The specificity of the youth employment resource,
which has the optimum of physical energy, the desire for rapid self-realization, self-affirmation,
self-determination in life, is that the youth at the same time (due to lack of sufficient labor,
professional and social experience) are one of the most vulnerable social strata and, as a result,
less competitive. Diversity and uncertainty of social and professional choice, low starting
opportunities for labor and professional mobility, and the unguaranteed nature of employment
determine the need for fundamentally new strategies for the formation and implementation of
labor potential of the youth (Ramaci et al., 2021).
The study and solution of such problems requires a special, scientifically grounded
approach, methods and techniques that can explore operational analogues of those phenomena
and problems that are presented at a deep personal (subjective-psychological) level and cannot
always be explained and represented by means of traditional psycho-diagnostic tools (Pelekh &
Kukla, 2019). In fact, the empirical explication and “reconstruction” of latent categories of the
subjective experience of the unemployed are of interest to many practical psychologists, because
it allows providing more favorable conditions for optimizing the process of psychological
assistance to the unemployed taking into account the specifics of their subjective psychological
personality profile (Proudfoot et al., 1999).
This approach found a clear concretization in the empirical study of cognitive-sense
constructs of the unemployed youth, through the prism of which it is possible to deeply
“reconstruct” the subjective phenomenological representation of their crisis experiences.
Moreover, the possibility of empirical fixation of individual (subjective-psychological) forms of
personal transformation during the employment crisis, especially in a situation of professional
exclusion (unemployment), provides a basis for a more thorough study and understanding
of psychological conditions and patterns of constructive overcoming its negative effects and
consequences.
Problem Statement
The problem of this research is determined primarily by the fact that not every
representative of the unemployed or professionally unclaimed youth with higher education
has an internal psychological resource to overcome the negative psychological effects and
consequences of losing a job or inability to find it. Under certain unfavorable conditions or
negative circumstances of life, it can provoke an acute crisis condition, up to the manifestation
of a personality employment crisis. In such a situation, a youth representative needs qualified

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psychological assistance from a specialist who may provide favorable conditions for the 459
development of internal psychological resources of constructive experience and overcoming
crises in a situation of job loss or inability to find it. Obviously, the effectiveness of such
psychological care depends on the understanding by psychologists-practitioners of the content
of crisis of the unemployed youth with higher education, the specifics of cognitive components
of the subjective projection of professional exclusion or unclaimed labor.
This research solves the problem of empirical explication and reconstruction of latent
categories of the subjective experience of the unemployed youth with higher education –
cognitive assessments and cognitive constructs that the youth consciously or unconsciously
use in interpreting an individual situation of job loss or inability to find it. The results of this
research can be used by psychologists to optimize the process of psychological assistance to
the unemployed youth with higher education, taking into account the specifics of the subjective
psychological profile of the personality.
Research Focus
The purpose of this research is to study the cognitive and sense components of
experiencing a personal employment crisis among the unemployed youth with higher education.
The main tasks solved in this research include:
1) The study of cognitive assessments of the individual situation of professional exclusion
and unclaimed labor among the unemployed youth with higher education.
2) The study of cognitive-sense constructs of the unemployed youth with higher
education.
General Background
In order to carry out an empirical study of the problem and taking into account the
identified objectives, two research lines were identified. The first research line examined such
empirical correlates of experiencing a personal crisis of employment by the unemployed youth
as cognitive assessments of their individual situation of occupational exclusion (unemployment)
and unclaimed labor. At the pilot stage of the implementation of the first research line, a
representative randomized sample of 50 unemployed youth representatives from among the
participants in the empirical study was formed. They were asked to analyze the individual
situation of professional exclusion or unclaimed labor and describe those areas (factors) of
life that were most frustrated by the loss of work or inability to find it. The research made
an expert assessment of the responses of the unemployed youth with higher education and
identified a number of areas of life that caused the greatest degree of frustration due to the loss
of employment or inability to restore it. As a result, a list of spheres of life was identified (which
were most often found in the answers), which meaningfully reflects the two levels of frustration
of the unemployed youth with higher education – social and psychological.
At the final stage of the first research line, all participants were asked to rank a separate
list of social and psychological factors according to the criterion of the greatest frustration due
to the loss of employment or inability to restore it. Thus, the results of the implementation of the
first research line revealed the most frustrated due to the professional exclusion and unclaimed
labor social and psychological spheres of life of the unemployed youth with higher education.
The second research line provided the definition of cognitive-sense constructs of the
unemployed youth as latent categories of their subjective experience, which determine the
content and modality of experiencing a personal employment crisis. The study of cognitive and

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460 sense constructs of the unemployed youth, which determine the way of experiencing a personal
employment crisis, was conducted on the basis of ranking social and psychological factors of
life, frustrated by the loss of employment or inability to restore it. As a result, two matrices of
the results of ranking the social and psychological factors of life of the unemployed youth were
analyzed using the method of multidimensional scaling (Nasledov, 2004).

Research Sample
The empirical study, which was conducted from the end of 2019 to the middle of
2020, involved 188 unemployed youth representatives with higher education. The number of
respondents who made up the research sample was determined by the number of the unemployed
youth representatives with higher education who were officially registered as unemployed at
that time in a specialized state center for retraining the unemployed – Rivne City Employment
Center (Rivne, Ukraine). The distribution of the main socio-demographic and occupational
characteristics of the unemployed youth with higher education is presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Socio-demographic and Professional Characteristics of the Unemployed Youth with Higher
Education

Gender Female – 120, male – 68
Age Aged 20-24 – 58, aged 25-29 – 89, aged 30-35 – 41
Family status Unmarried – 73, married – 88, divorced – 27
Education sphere Humanities – 97, technical – 58, natural sciences – 33

When characterizing the sample as a whole, it should be noted that the research involved
three categories of the unemployed youth with higher education:
1) youth representatives who, after graduating from higher education institutions, due
to objective reasons (for example, lack of vacancies in the specialty) cannot get a job in the
specialty (47 people);
2) youth representatives with higher education who worked for some time (professional
experience for this group does not exceed 4 years) in public and private sector enterprises
and due to objective reasons found themselves unemployed (liquidation or restructuring of the
enterprise, reduction of staff) (89 people);
3) youth representatives with higher education who, after working for some time
(professional experience for this group does not exceed 3 years) at public and private sector
enterprises, on their own initiative decided to change their profession through the state system
of retraining (52 people).
Common for these categories of the unemployed youth with higher education is the fact
that they are experiencing a personal employment crisis, but the modality of such experiences
among different categories has different features due to the cause of retraining (forced or
voluntary).

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Instruments and Procedure 461
The list of the most frustrated social spheres of life among the unemployed youth
due to occupational exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor included “inability to
use the profession”, “difficult financial situation”, “reduction and loss of social contacts”,
“deterioration of family relations”, “change of attitude on the part of others”, “loss of social
status”. The most frustrated psychological areas of life of the unemployed in a situation of
loss or absence of job were “uncertainty in the future”, “bad mood, depression”, “feeling of
helplessness”, “feeling of inferiority”, “insecurity, inability to present oneself”, “feeling of
dependence on external circumstances”.
The main task of the first line of the research – the study of cognitive assessments of the
individual situation of professional exclusion and unemployment among the unemployed youth
with higher education – was solved using a formalized questionnaire “Study of the intensity
of emotional experiences and cognitive assessments among the unemployed” (Rudiuk, 2011).
According to the results of the pilot stage of the first research line, a list of factors (spheres)
of life was identified, which meaningfully reflects two levels of frustration of the unemployed
youth with higher education due to the loss of employment or inability to restore it – social and
psychological.
The list of the most frustrated social spheres of life of the unemployed youth includes
“inability to use the profession”, “difficult financial situation”, “reduction and loss of social
contacts”, “deterioration of family relations”, “change of attitude on the part of others”, “loss
of social status”. The most frustrated psychological areas of life of the unemployed youth
with higher education include “uncertainty in the future”, “bad mood, depression”, “feeling
of helplessness”, “feeling of inferiority”, “insecurity, inability to present oneself”, “feeling of
dependence on external circumstances”.
At the final stage of the first research line, all participants (n = 188) ranked a separate list
of social and psychological spheres of life according to the criterion of the greatest frustration
due to the loss of employment or inability to restore it. The first rank was assigned to the most
frustrated sphere of life from each list of factors, the last rank to the least frustrated sphere. The
participants’ assessment of social and psychological spheres of life according to the criterion
of frustration due to the loss of employment or inability to restore it was conducted using an
ordinal scale. The first rank was assigned to the most frustrated sphere of life from each list, and
the last rank to the least frustrated sphere.
The main task in the implementation of the second research line of research – the
explication of the subjective scales-criteria, or cognitive-sense constructs that are consciously
or unconsciously used by the unemployed youth with higher education in interpreting the
individual situation of professional exclusion or disability – was solved by scaling two matrices
of ranking social and psychological spheres of life of the unemployed youth with higher
education, obtained within the first research line. The multidimensional scaling method was
used for this purpose (Nasledov, 2004).
Data Analysis
To determine the degree of consistency in the ranking of social and psychological

spheres of life by the unemployed youth, the Kendall’s W Test concordance coefficient was
used, which is defined as the ratio of the real distribution of ranks to the ideal – when the ranks
of all participants coincide (Nasledov, 2004). In this research, the high value of the concordance
coefficient (p ≤. 05) indicates a high degree of coordination of the attitudes of the unemployed
youth with higher education in relation to the most frustrated social and psychological spheres
of their lives due to the loss of employment or inability to restore it.

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462 Determination of cognitive-sense constructs used by the unemployed youth in the

interpretation of the individual situation of occupational exclusion (unemployment) or
unclaimed labor was carried out using the method of multidimensional scaling (Nasledov,
2004). The initial empirical basis for multidimensional scaling were the results of ranking the
most frustrated areas of life of the unemployed. The main task of multidimensional scaling is the
“reconstruction” of the psychological space of the subjects of choice, given by a small number
of subjective scales. Each scale of the resulting space is interpreted through objects at opposite
poles of the scale. For the analysis, this research used the model of subjective preferences
(Euclidean distance model), in which the initial data are the results of ordering by each subject
from the group of incentive sets according to the criterion of preference. This model allows
obtaining a group psychological space of stimuli in the axes of essential signs-criteria. The
procedures for calculating the Kendall concordance coefficient and multidimensional scaling
were implemented using the SPSS 19.0 computer software package.
Research Results
The study of cognitive assessments of the individual situation of professional exclusion

revealed some trends important for understanding the subjective patterns of the employment
crisis among the unemployed youth, thus providing a basis for the explication of its cognitive-
sense constructs.
If to analyze the percentage of the unemployed in relation to frustrated social factors of
life due to occupational exclusion and unclaimed labor, it becomes obvious that the inability to
implement the acquired professional knowledge and skills is the most frustrated social sphere
of life that worries the youth, because 38.2% of all the unemployed put it on the first rank (see
Table 2).
Table 2
Frustrated Social Factors of Life of the Unemployed (in % of the total number of respondents
for each rank)
Ranks of social factors

Content of the social factor
1 2 3 4 5 6
Inability to use the profession 38.2 32.5 17.2 12.1 – –
Difficult financial situation 26.8 26.4 33.6 13.2 – –
Reduction and loss of social contacts – – – 17.2 44.3 38.5
Deterioration of family relations 14.7 23.9 31.2 12.9 7.2 10.1
Change of attitude on the part of others – – – 10.1 44.3 45.7
Loss of social status 20.4 17.2 17.8 34.6 4.3 5.7
If to take into account the aggregate indicator of the factor “inability to use the profession”
in the first two ranks, the vast majority of the unemployed youth (70.7%) gave priority to it. This
testifies to the content determinism of the processes of professional identification among the
majority of the youth and, as a consequence, the subjective significance of possible professional
disqualification due to occupational exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor. It can be

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argued that the experiences associated with the inability to use education and skills are among 463
the specific effects of unemployment.
Financial difficulties, which are naturally and logically related to unemployment, are
relevant for 53.2% (in the sum of the first two ranks) of the unemployed youth. Being of the
factor “difficult financial situation” among the first places is natural. For the unemployed, this
is the main source of fears and anxieties, because material deprivation changes the usual way of
life, the content of goals and aspirations, forms a different culture of consumption, and makes
people more anxious, irritable, emotionally unstable. Material deprivation can be classified as a
generalized, nonspecific effect of unemployment.
Taking into account that the youth, acting as a specific social stratum with extremely
dynamic social needs and limited resources for their implementation, seek to realize their
personal and professional potential in the situation of prevailing values of material prosperity
and financial well-being, it is logical and natural to have a high level of frustration in a situation
of occupational exclusion (unemployment) or unclaimed labor.
Social life factors associated with feelings of change or loss of status (“loss of social
status”) and changes in the role structure of the family, distortion of the sustainable balance of the
family hierarchy, deterioration of the family microclimate (“deterioration of family relations”)
are singled out as the most frustrating, respectively, 37.6% and 38.6% of the unemployed youth
(the sum of the first two ranks).
It is natural that employment, being an independent value for a person, indirectly
ensures the safety of many other value components of life. In the case of its deprivation, there
is a violation not only of financial, material, social and professional, but also of interpersonal,
social-target, social-identification, and social-motivational ties of the individual (Purc &
Laguna, 2019). In this case, it can be stated that the interference of the above factors creates
in the individual psychological projection of the unemployed youth background of permanent
emotional stress, which manifests itself in the form of an acute crisis.
Accordingly, the decline in social communication (“reduction and loss of social
contacts”) (82.8% of the unemployed youth by the sum of the last two ranks) and the
deterioration of attitudes from the part of others (“change of attitude on the part others”)
(90% of the unemployed youth by the sum of the last two ranks) are not particularly frustrated
among the unemployed youth. The relatively low level of frustration of these social spheres of
life among the unemployed can be explained by an extensive social network, a more flexible
system of social compensation mechanisms, lack of strict determination by the professional
environment, and age norms and social moratorium that require from the youth less personal
responsibility.
Thus, in general, the ranking of the most frustrated social spheres (factors) of the
unemployed youth in a situation of occupational exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed
labor allowed to obtain logical and consistent results that fully represent the system of their
most pressing social needs that do not find adequate realization.
The assessment of the level of psychological frustration of the unemployed youth is
reflected in the results of ranking the most frustrated psychological factors of life in a situation
of the occupational exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor. The results of ranking the
most frustrated psychological factors of life among the unemployed are indicative in terms of
understanding the most pressing psychological needs and the consequences of the impossibility
of their implementation by the youth who find themselves in a situation of losing professional
employment (see Table 3).

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464 Table 3
Frustrated Psychological Factors of Life of the Unemployed
Ranks of psychological factors

Content of the psychological factor
1 2 3 4 5 6
Uncertainty in the future 44.0 22.4 29.3 4.3 – –
Bad mood, depression 5.7 17.2 4.6 56.6 10.1 5.7
Feeling of helplessness – – – 10.1 61.7 28.2
Feeling of inferiority – – – 5.7 29.6 64.7
Insecurity, inability to present oneself 11.8 29.6 46.8 11.8 – –
Feeling of dependence on external circumstances 38.5 30.7 19.3 11.5 – –
Note: (in % of the total number of respondents for each rank)
The tabular data allow stating that the most frustrated factors are “feeling of dependence
on external circumstances” (69.2% of the unemployed youth by the sum of the first two ranks)
and “uncertainty in the future” (66.4% of the unemployed youth by the sum of the first two
ranks).
These results can be quite logically explained using the theory of M. Jahoda (Jahoda,
1981). It identifies five latent functions of employment, which are clearly manifested in a
situation of job loss or inability to find it. 1) Due to its regularity and a certain time schedule,
a job structures the daily life of a person, makes it orderly, and fits it into the rhythms of wider
social communities. 2) Employment involves regular interaction with colleagues and other
people, which creates the preconditions for establishing professional and friendly contacts,
expanding the social horizon of a person. Interaction with colleagues not only expands the
experience of communication, but also acts as a shock absorber of many problems that arise
in professional activities and beyond. 3) Job is a means of involving a person in collective
goals, as it not only forms the content of individual labor goals, but also connects them with
the goals of other people and organizations. It makes human work meaningful and maintains a
person’s sense of general competence. 4) Employment shapes a person’s social status, as it is
associated with the performance of certain roles in certain positions in the social structure of the
society. On the one hand, it affects the formation of personal identity and self-esteem, and on
the other hand, affects the social status of other family members and the family as a whole. 5)
Employment encourages regular activity, thus maintaining a high level of vitality.
The results of this research allow supplementing the list of these latent functions with
at least two more. On the one hand, the integration of a person into the field of employment
allows not only to ensure transparency and certainty of professional prospects, but also to
maintain a sense of confidence in the future in general, on the other – employment as the main
means, prerequisite ability to meet the most fundamental personal (social and psychological)
needs, forms a person’s sense of confidence and independence from external circumstances
and other people. It is logical that their deprivation in a situation of professional exclusion
(unemployment) or unclaimed labor cause psychological effects, which are recorded in this
study. However, there is a possibility that these functions are specific only to the stratum of the
unemployed youth.

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According to the results of the research, the least pronounced are the psychological 465
factors “feeling of helplessness” (89.9% of the unemployed youth in the sum of the last two
ranks) and “feeling of inferiority” (94.3% of the unemployed youth in the sum of the last
two ranks). This confirms the fact that the youth have the optimal adaptive resource that can
provide a high level of social and personal identity and personal integration in the situation
of unemployment. In this case, the lack of a passive strategy for the youth to respond to the
situation of possible professional disqualification may be due to the age characteristics of the
unemployed in general and the specifics of the sample in particular.
Determining of the degree of consistency of the positions of the unemployed youth in
relation to their most frustrated social and psychological spheres of life confirmed the validity of
the results of this stage of the empirical study. The concordance coefficients calculated separately
for the ranked list of social (W=0.98; p<0.001) and psychological (W=0.710; p<0.001) spheres
of life of the unemployed youth give grounds to assert the authentic nature of the differences of
their average ranks, and thus – a high degree of consistency of their positions in relation to the
most frustrated social and psychological factors of life in a situation of occupational exclusion
(unemployment) and unclaimed labor (see Table 4).
Table 4
Ranks of the Most Frustrated Social and Psychological Factors of Life of the Unemployed
Life factors of the unemployed
Social Psychological
Change of attitude on the part of others
Reduction and loss of social contacts
Insecurity, inability to present oneself
Feeling of dependence on external

Deterioration of family relations
Inability to use the profession
Difficult financial situation
Uncertainty in the future
Feeling of helplessness
Bad mood, depression
Loss of social status
Feeling of inferiority
circumstances
Average rank 2.08 2.29 5.22 2.85 5.37 3.19 1.95 3.64 5.15 5.59 2.61 2.05
The result of the next stage of the research is the explication of cognitive-sense constructs
of the unemployed, which underlie the processes of their subjective-sense interpretation of the
individual situation of professional exclusion or unclaimed labor and determine the content of
the employment crisis.
Based on the application of appropriate statistical procedures, the research obtained
optimal two-scale solution for two groups of indicators: the most frustrated social and
psychological spheres of life of the unemployed. It should be noted that in this research such
a differentiation of the spheres of life of the unemployed into social and psychological is
conditional, because in reality, they are elements of their holistic subjective space, but in terms
of empirical development of the problem, this differentiation is very important. Let us move
on to the interpretation of the content of certain cognitive-sense constructs of the unemployed
youth.

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466 The model of subjective preferences concerning the most frustrated social factors for the
unemployed allowed obtaining a group space of incentives in the axes of essential criteria (see
Figure 1).
Figure 1
Object Configuration Chart of Social Factors for the Unemployed
Dimension 2
The results of scaling the social factors of the unemployed allow an unambiguous
interpretation of the group criteria of preferences by the coordinates of the objects. The
first scale is represented by two pole factors: “change of attitude on the part of others” and
“deterioration of family relations”. In our opinion, it reflects the effects of social response and
public assessment of the fact of professional exclusion and unclaimed labor in the minds of
the unemployed youth. Such a response among the immediate environment of the unemployed
(family) and in the public consciousness (society) gives grounds to single out the cognitive-sense
construct of “social evaluation” and interpret it as a predictor of the content of experiencing a
personal employment crisis among the unemployed youth.
The second scale is represented by two pole factors: “inability to use the profession” and
“reduction and loss of social contacts”. Unlike the criteria presented by the first scale, which are
external in nature, the criteria underlying the second scale are internally determined, as they are
the basic elements of the process of professional identification of the unemployed youth. The
high level of professional identification (80.7% of the total number of the unemployed youth),
the chosen profession and the specialty obtained during training were so deeply integrated
into the professional self-consciousness of the youth that the devaluation of professional status
due to professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor were for them a loss.
Realization and development of professional potential are possible only under the condition of
active integration and inclusion of the youth in the system
2 of labor and professional relations,
which is impossible outside the professional space. Therefore, the pole factor “reduction and
loss of social contacts” illustrates the frustration of professional contacts as a form of social
contacts and as a necessary mechanism for the formation of professional identity. This gives
grounds to single out another cognitive-sense construct of the unemployed – “professional

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identification”, which underlies the pattern of their subjective reactions to the situation of 467
professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor and largely determines the
resulting effect of experiencing a personal employment crisis.
Interpretation of the results of scaling the psychological factors of the unemployed
youth, although not particularly difficult in our case, is not an easy task, because in real life, it
is very difficult to distinguish between “pure” and derived psychological effects of professional
exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor.
The model of subjective preferences for the most frustrated psychological factors of
life of the unemployed youth also allowed obtaining a group space of incentives in the axes of
essential criteria (see Figure 2).
Figure 2
Object Configuration Chart of Psychological Factors for the Unemployed
The first scale is represented by two pole factors: “insecurity, inability to present oneself”
and “feeling of dependence on external circumstances”. The logic of explaining this result lies,
in our opinion, in the age and personality characteristics of the unemployed. The factor of
age and, accordingly, current experience is an important prognostic factor that determines the
strategy of responding to the situation of professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed
labor among the unemployed youth.
In this case, the age specifics and experience of professional development of the youth
can be a source of effects that, on the one hand, acts as facilitators of an active (effective)
strategy to respond to a critical event, and on the other hand, its inhibitors. An inhibitor of the
effective response to the situation of professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed
labor is the high stress potential of the unemployed against the background of the youth’s
lack of experience in solving related psychological problems (“insecurity, inability to present
oneself”).

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468 On the other hand, most of the youth undergoing retraining in a specialized employment
center are characterized by a pronounced internal locus of control. Expressed internal attributions
of the unemployed youth inhibit the actualization of active behavioral adaptation strategies
(independent job search, active involvement of social resources to restore employment, etc.) and
facilitate emotionally focused strategies to overcome the employment crisis via the activation
of meaningful sense-transforming processes in their subjective experience. To some extent, this
can exacerbate the youth’s feelings of dependence on circumstances and other people (“feeling
of dependence on external circumstances”).
A possible explanation for the obtained results may be that the situation of professional
exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor actualizes in the unemployed youth paternalistic
strategy of behavior, the rudimentary remnants of which were internalized from parents (family)
and in the minds of the younger generation show some inertia. In any case, a more thorough
study of this issue may be the subject of separate research.
Taking into the account the above, the selected cognitive-sense construct can be called
“self-doubt – dependence on others”.
The poles of the second scale were psychological factors “uncertainty in the future”
and “feeling of inferiority”. This has a natural explanation, because the prospect of life self-
realization of the youth is closely correlated with the possibility of professional and labor
self-realization, which acts as a kind of standard, a measure of life success. Frustration of
opportunities in the realization of professional prospects radiates to a broader plane of life
self-realization. The lack of perspective in assessing one’s own future (professional and, more
broadly, life in general) due to the pronounced maximalist characteristic of this age stratum
becomes especially acute in the experiences of the youth leading to the feeling of inferiority.
Although ranking of psychological factors indicates opposite trends (the factor of “feeling of
inferiority” was the least frustrated for the unemployed youth), it should be interpreted as the
result of the use of psychological protection mechanisms by the unemployed.
Taking into the account the above, the selected cognitive-sense construct can be called
“absence of life prospects – experiencing the feeling of inferiority”.
If we compare the explicit cognitive-sense constructs with each other, it can be seen
that when scaling the frustrated psychological factors of life of the unemployed youth, they
are formed by dichotomy factors “cause-effect”. This may indicate a high probability of the
existence of causal relationships between the selected psychological pole factors. For a more
thorough examination and clarification of this assumption, it is appropriate to conduct additional
research.
Discussion
The well-established tradition of studying crises determined by a complex set of factors

relevant to the phenomena of professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor
often appeals to the idea that crisis experiences of job loss or inability to find it arise due to the
frustration of basic social and psychological needs of an individual. The source of satisfaction of
such needs is individual’s professional employment (Kalleberg & Von Wachter, 2017; Blustein
et al., 2020).
The research strategy implemented in the empirical study was also based on the idea
of cognitive-sense determination of experiencing an employment crisis by the unemployed
youth. This research presents only a small part of the possible directions and approaches to
studying the problem of the employment crisis of an individual, demonstrating its relevance and
exceptional importance not only in terms of fundamental but also practical and applied analysis.
It is obvious that the processes and effects of structural transformation of the domestic
sphere of employment require special study and analysis because they cause radical

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restructuring, disruption, deformation, destruction or even loss of significant ties and relations 469
of the individual with the institution of employment and may lead to the loss of integrity and
autonomy. Often, the inertia of individual behavior (due to the ideas and experiences gained in
the previous social reality) causes a crisis because of the lost ability to be adequate to new social
circumstances. The latter is true for the youth part of the working population, which today is the
least “protected” by state guarantees of employment and has found itself face to face with new
challenges of the “pandemic” reality.
It should be noted that the crisis employment market as a subject of psychological
analysis has long been on the periphery of scientific interest in domestic psychology, and its
systematic study in modern theoretical and empirical research is uneven and fragmented. This
can be explained by several reasons.
First, it is the natural delay in the theoretical understanding of changes in employment
in our society. Second, it is the lack of psychological generalizations of the processes that take
place in the field of employment and in the domestic labor market. Third, it is the lack of relevant
research traditions and, consequently, the lack of conceptual tools by which psychologists could
allocate the crisis employment market into an independent field of study. Fourth, which requires
a separate study and some scientific conclusions, it is the impact of force majeure on the
functioning of the labor market (COVID-19 and related unknown detrimental effects, such as
unforeseen job losses, accompanied by psychological crises: loss of loved ones, mental cases,
and depression of various levels of complexity, including suicidal states) (Blustein et al., 2020).
Due to this conceptual deficit, a number of phenomena relevant to the situations of professional
exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor among the youth, being empirically obvious,
are still insufficiently understood theoretically. The most productive way out of this situation
is to find, construct and operationalize new concepts that in the context of current trends in
the employment market will be able to describe and explain those phenomena (e.g., personal
employment crises, individual strategies to restore employment). These phenomena cannot be
psychologically “reconstructed” by means of traditional conceptual schemes, which are valid
mainly for the description of functional or individual styles of activity of a person limited by
one profession. These concepts are able to “place” an individual in economic and living space
broader than a specific job. It is not a coincidence that in recent years the concepts of “career”,
“labor mobility”, “labor consciousness”, “professional life path”, etc. have been assimilated
into the conceptual and categorical apparatus of psychology (Kobus, 2017; Demin, 2004;
Uusiautti & Määttä, 2015). Another reason for that is the neglect of interdisciplinary contacts
and generalizations. It is difficult to study the field of employment and the psychology of the
unemployed not based on economic or sociological concepts and models. These problems are
complex and cannot be solved solely by psychological means, especially when it comes to
macroeconomic phenomena – unemployment, poverty, etc., the determination and consequences
of which lie not only in the field of individual experiences and interpersonal relationships.
There is a need for a theory that could take into account the development of careers in addition
to personal characteristics and social and economic factors. Today, interdisciplinarity is an
attributive quality of psychological knowledge (Fabian, 2021). The history of foreign research
in the field of employment well confirms this thesis and demonstrates the importance for
psychology of such concepts as “employment institution”, “material deprivation”, “social
functioning of an individual”, etc., as well as the importance of psychological concepts “self-
esteem”, “motivation”, “attribution style” for economic analysis. The fifth reason is the emphasis
of the academic attention on the problems of self-realization and personal development as a
consequence of the general humanistic pathos of domestic psychology, especially relevant in
the last twenty years of its development. Psychologists have focused their attention on the
possibilities of personal development, without attaching much importance to its limitations
(including in the field of employment). Taking into account recent publications on this issue,

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470 some progress can be stated – gradually the vector of research priorities of the academic
(psychological) community shifted to the analysis of personal correlates of behavior regulation
in critical life situations (including those related to unemployment) (Ajzen, 2012; Chen & Lim,
2012; Brynza, 2000; Fernández-Valera et al., 2020; Infurna et al., 2016; Pavlov, 2006).
Thus, new circumstances in the domestic employment market actualize for psychologists
the problem of conceptualization and analysis of a specific class of phenomena in the structure
of the life path of an individual, which are due to the inclusion in the dynamic and contradictory
employment relationship. Primarily, this is a class of phenomena that are determined by the
logic of crisis experiences and individual behavior in a situation of impossibility to realize the
potential in the field of employment relations, or employment crisis.
Today, professional exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor of an individual,

being complex social phenomena, are an indicator of the disease of the society as a whole,
of the imperfection of many state institutions, including the profession-training education
system and its inconsistency with the practical needs. In the absence of a state guarantee of
employment, the inertia of the vocational school, the surplus of the specialists of a certain
profile, usually inconsistent with the professional needs of society, and the lack of others, the
most professionally demanded, the share of the unemployed youth is growing. Profession-
training school is slow to respond to the changes in the labor market, resulting in training not
professionals but potential unemployed.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that having the optimum physical energy, the desire
for rapid self-realization and self-affirmation, the youth, due to lack of necessary professional
and social experience, are “superfluous” and uncompetitive in today’s labor market. Therefore,
the unemployed youth is a potential risk group (professional marginalization, deviant and
delinquent orientation, addictive behavior), and the consequences of professional exclusion
should not be underestimated.
It is important to understand that the study and solution of such problems requires a
special approach, methods and tools that can describe and explore operational analogues of
those phenomena and problems that are presented at a deep personal (subjective-psychological)
level and cannot always be explained and represented by means of traditional psycho-diagnostic
tools. In fact, such explication and “reconstruction” of latent categories of subjective experience
of the unemployed are of particular interest to us, because the study of them will provide more
favorable conditions for optimizing the process of psychological support and assistance to the
unemployed youth, taking into account the subjective psychological profile of their personality.
This idea was concretized and converted into a research idea, which was to study the
features of cognitive-sense determination of the experience of the employment crisis among
the unemployed youth. In particular, this research examined the empirical correlates of the
experience of the employment crisis by the unemployed youth – cognitive assessments of the
individual situation of occupational exclusion (unemployment) and unclaimed labor, as well as
cognitive-sense constructs.
The study of cognitive assessments of the individual situation of professional exclusion
and unclaimed labor among the unemployed youth showed that they are most acutely frustrated
by social (“inability to use the profession”, “difficult financial situation”) and psychological
(“uncertainty in the future”, “feeling of dependence on external circumstances”) factors
(spheres) of life.
The scaling of the social factors of the unemployed made it possible to single out
two cognitive-sense constructs used by the youth in the process of subjective interpretation
of the individual situation of professional exclusion – “social assessment” and “professional

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identification”. Two more cognitive-sense constructs, which underlie the processes of 471
determining the content of the experience of the employment crisis by the unemployed youth,
have been made explicit in the process of scaling their most frustrated psychological factors of
life – “self-doubt – dependence on others” and “absence of life prospects – experiencing the
feeling of inferiority”.
When scaling the most frustrated psychological factors (spheres) of the unemployed
youth, it was found that the explicit cognitive-sense constructs are formed by dichotomy factors
“cause-effect”, which probably indicates the causal nature of the interdependence between the
selected psychological pole factors.
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Cite as: Pelekh, Y., Rudiuk, O., & Demianiuk, V. (2022). Personality employment crisis
in the subjective projection of the unemployed youth with higher education. Problems of
Education in the 21st Century, 80(3), 456-473. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.456
Dr., Professor, Rivne State University of the Humanities, St. Bandery 12,
Yurii Pelekh 33000, Rivne, Ukraine.
(Corresponding author) E-mail: pelekhyurii@ukr.net
Associate Professor, Rivne State University of the Humanities, 33000, Rivne,

St. Bandery str., 12 Ukraine.
Oleh Rudiuk
E-mail: o.w.rudiuk@gmail.com
Associate Professor, Rivne State University of the Humanities, St. Bandery

12, 33000, Rivne, Ukraine.
Viktor Demianiuk
E-mail:vic.demianuk@gmail.com

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474
ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF
HOMESCHOOLED VERSUS
CONVENTIONALLY SCHOOLED CHILDREN
PURSUING THE ACCELERATED
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CURRICULUM
IN KENYA
Fredrick Mwanyumba Tweni, Lydia Wamocha, Pamela Buhere
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
E-mail: mwanyumba13@gmail.com, lwamocha@mmust.ac.ke,
pbuhere@mmust.ac.ke
Abstract
In recent times, the Kenyan education sector has experienced increased cases of students' indiscipline in
schools. However, the potential of homeschooling as a possible solution to such indiscipline has not been
explored. Whereas critics of homeschooling posit that homeschooled children are inferior academically,
proponents of this form of learning don’t think so. Therefore, this research compared the academic learning
outcomes of homeschooled children and children in conventional school settings. The subjects in which
scores were compared were math, English, and social studies. This research was anchored in the systems
theory’s input-output model developed by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy and adopted the causal-comparative
research design. The target population was children pursuing the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE)
curriculum. A sample of 316 children was drawn, out of whom 272 participated in the research. Data
were analyzed using independent samples t-tests. Results revealed that homeschooled children achieved
significantly higher math, English, and social studies scores than children in conventional schools.
The research concluded that homeschooling as an alternative form of education enhances children’s
academic learning outcomes equally well and probably better than conventional schools. Therefore, the
education sector in Kenya should consider legalizing homeschooling as an alternative form of education
for some parents who want to detach their children from indiscipline cases that are majorly witnessed
in conventional schools. Despite this research stating the case for legalizing Homeschooling in Kenya,
a significant limitation was the reliance on the ACE curriculum and academic scores derived from one
term’s performance. Therefore, future studies should consider panel data that caters for comparisons
across diverse curricula over time.
Keywords: academic outcomes, homeschooling, conventional schooling, comparative research, ace
curriculum
Introduction
For educational success, Astin’s theory of involvement identifies academic achievement

as one of the critical indicators (Astin, 1984). While conventional schools have primarily
been associated with improvement in academic performance, the home environment features
significantly in studies probing antecedents of academic achievement (Anthonia, 2019; Jain
& Mohta, 2019). Several covariates of academic performance, some of which strengthen the
importance of the home environment, have been highlighted. Notable among these covariates
are learning strategies (Veas et al., 2017), family participation in learning (Wilder, 2014), access

Fredrick MWANYUMBA TWENI, Lydia WAMOCHA, Pamela BUHERE. Academic outcomes of homeschooled versus conventionally
schooled children pursuing the accelerated Christian education curriculum in Kenya
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to and utilization of technologies (Garcia-Martin & Canton-Mayo, 2019), and the learning 475
environment (Santos et al., 2013).
Recent research into alternative forms of education, mostly undertaken in the western
countries like the United States of America (USA) and Canada, has acknowledged the
importance of the home environment and the role that parents play in children’s learning through
the homeschooling movement (Thomas, 2016; Ray, 2017). Homeschooling is perceived as a
progressive movement through which parents take responsibility for their children’s education
at home instead of taking them to public or private schools (Carpenter & Gann, 2016). Several
reasons have been advanced as to why families opt for homeschooling, including the fear
that the conventional school structure does not guarantee children's progression, divergent
educational experiences or religious philosophies, and dissatisfaction with educational options
available (Ray, 2017).
While acknowledging homeschooling as an option for education in Kenya, the
constitution does not explicitly address homeschooling in the law. This lack of recognition of
homeschooling has been exacerbated by implementing of the Basic Education Act (No. 14 of
2013), which some school and government officials have used to criminalize Homeschooling
(Tendu, 2020). And even then, institutions offering the homeschool curriculum in Kenya use
British or American curricula, such as Kidato, which offers the British National Curriculum,
Caplora based on the Cambridge British curriculum, and the Accelerated Christian Education
(ACE), which uses the US curriculum.
Critics of Homeschooling have often blamed academic achievement by claiming that
research on homeschooling is inconclusive regarding test scores or academic achievement
(Johnson, 2005; Smith, 2010). However, more recent research indicates a positive effect of
homeschooling on academic achievement (Lubienski et al., 2013; Ray, 2015; Ray, 2017).
Besides, research has shown that most families who choose to homeschool do so because
problems such as drugs and bullying, youth fights, and juvenile delinquency emerge in schools
and are not adequately handled by teachers, some of whom are less professional (Cetin, 2015;
Damayanti et al., 2020; Purwaningsih & Fauziah, 2019; Ray, 2016).
Recent events in the Kenyan education sector that have seen escalated arson cases in
secondary schools have created a blame game among stakeholders. Some have apportioned
blame to teachers for not being able to address indiscipline cases. Others have blamed the
school calendar, drug abuse, curriculum overload, stress, and poor relations between students
and teachers (Yusuf, 2021). The moral state of the country (Ngugi, 2021) and how protests and
politics are handled (Cooper, 2014) have also come into the spotlight regarding arson cases in
schools. Yet, the potential of homeschooling as a viable option for some parents who may not
wish to expose their children to such arson cases remains unexplored.
Therefore, this research explored homeschooling as a viable alternative to conventional
education in Kenya and the panacea to emerging challenges in the education sector by
comparing academic outcomes of homeschooled and conventionally schooled children
pursuing the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum. Specifically, the research
compared homeschooled and conventionally schooled children’s Math, English, and Social
Studies outcomes.
Literature Review and Hypotheses Development
This research was anchored on the input-output model embedded in the systems theory
and developed by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (Von Bertalanffy, 1967). According to this model,
organizations transform inputs from the environment into outputs. Consequently, the choice of
the input-output model for this study was based on the assumption that homeschooled children
were inputs drawn from the home environment with parents creating the “Life as Education”

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476 (LaE) environment ideal for diverse learning experiences (Kunzman, 2013). Therefore, the
presumption was that diverse learning experiences could transform children through academic
outcomes.
Homeschooling
Homeschooling, also known as Elective Home Education (EHE) or home education,

is a concept advanced by liberalists. These liberalists argued that the state needs to consider
the differences in families’ moral beliefs and values; and desist from offering a single mode
of education (Oliviera & Barbosa, 2017). Consequently, homeschooling was perceived as
a progressive movement that allowed some parents to educate children at home (Carpenter
& Gann, 2016). The homeschooling movement was made famous by authors agitating for
reforms in education to allow for alternative forms (Gaither, 2017). Liberalist theorists regarded
homeschooling as a parental avenue to express liberty through the right to choose the ideal way
to educate their children (Merry & Karsten, 2010).
In recent literature, many factors have been associated with the homeschooling
evolution. They include safety standards in schools (Kunzman & Ganther, 2020; Neuman,
2019), declining academic standards due to unsuitable pedagogy (McCabe et al., 2021; Ray,
2015), integration of religious beliefs and values (Bartholet, 2020), family ethos (Belanova
et al., 2016; Thomas, 2016), and social values (Mincu & Sarbu, 2018). Besides, comparative
studies have demonstrated that homeschooling develops academic skills equally well (Ray,
2017) and that homeschooling hones moral values better than conventional schooling (Vaughn,
2015).
Homeschooling has gained acceptance in several nations such as the USA (Hirsh,
2019), the United Kingdom (Holloway et al., 2010), Australia (Conejeros-Solar & Smith,
2021), Canada (Brabant & Diamond, 2017), Norway (Washell, 2016), and New Zealand
(Jackson, 2017). However, the concept has been slow in permeating African Countries. For
instance, countries such as Uganda, Botswana, and Kenya are witnessing small numbers of
parents pursuing homeschooling for their children (Olatunji, 2014). The argument posited by
governments across these African nations is that progression in education is facilitated by the
traditional schooling system (Moreau, 2012). Critics point to the lack of capacity for parents
to master pedagogical skills required for the homeschooling curriculum (Nayir & Savi, 2021),
social inequality propagated by the system (Merry & Karsten, 2010), and denial of children of
opportunities to progress in adult life (Fineman & Shepherd, 2016). Therefore, to understand the
significance of Homeschooling in Kenya, it was necessary to explore its impacts on academic
excellence by comparing the academic outcomes of homeschooled and conventionally schooled
children pursuing the ACE curriculum.
Homeschooling and Math Learning Outcomes
Mathematics education, especially in elementary school, is perceived as a foundation for

later academic achievement and a flourishing adult job market (Kim et al., 2018). It is argued
that despite mathematics being challenging, it is also fun and rewarding and offers a variety of
opportunities, including logic, creativity, and employment (Masitoh & Fitriyan, 2018). Several
skills are associated with mathematics excellence, including critical thinking, problem-solving,
communication, quantitative reasoning, time management, analytical thinking, manipulation
of precise and intricate ideas, logical arguments, independence, and teamwork (Azikovitsh &
Cheng, 2015).
Parental involvement in their children's schooling has positively impacted their academic
success (Wilder, 2013). It has been reported that the most positive benefits are associated with

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parents' development and maintained communication with children and their high expectations 477
of children’s achievement (Castro et al., 2015). Yet, research demonstrates mixed results
when parents involve themselves in their mainstream schooled children’s mathematics. For
instance, Cai (2003) determined that supportive parents helped schoolchildren score higher
in mathematics problem-solving tasks than non-supportive parents. On the contrary, parents
who exhibited mathematics anxiety had little Impact on their children’s scores (Maloney et al.,
2015).
Moreover, mixed results have also been reported in mathematics outcomes among
homeschooled children. Whereas Wilkens et al. (2015) found that students learning from home
outscored their conventional school counterparts in college Calculus, Cooper (2005) and Qaqish
(2007) demonstrated that homeschoolers scored below average in mathematics. Based on this
background, the question was whether math outcomes compared equally among homeschooled
and conventionally schooled children leading to the postulation that:
H01: There was no significant difference in math outcomes between homeschooled children
pursuing the ACE curriculum and children in conventional ACE schools.
Homeschooling and English Learning Outcomes
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are basic English language learning skills that
require scaffolding (Wilson, 2016). Through these skills, children can develop communicative
competence and think critically (Doulik et al., 2016; Pisova & Kostkova, 2011). According to
Klimova (2014), language skills were either productive (writing and speaking) or receptive
(reading and listening). Consequently, teachers need to employ exercises that promote these
skills among pupils (Sebestova et al., 2011). Yet, Klimova (2014) recognized that identifying
activities that integrate diverse language skills was difficult due to the differences in the
communicative process required.
Research on homeschooling and the development of children’s literacy skills remain
inconclusive. For instance, some studies have reported a positive effect of homeschooling
on letter-word, word attack, and comprehension (Martin-Chang et al., 2015), reading (Ray,
2010), and language and reading (Ray, 2015). Yet, other scholars reported a negative impact
of homeschooling on literacy skills (Aram et al., 2016) and reading comprehension (Guterman
& Neuman, 2019). With such contradictory results, the question was whether Homeschooling
in Kenya would be comparable to conventional schools in developing English language skills.
Therefore, the researcher postulated that:
H02: There is no significant difference in English language outcomes between homeschooled
and traditional schooled children.
Homeschooling and Social Studies Learning Outcomes
The Social studies discipline is perceived as an educational programme that scientifically

and psychologically organizes educational materials drawn from humanities and social science
for educational purposes (Soemantri, 2001). According to Nurcahyo and Hartono (2011),
social studies is one of the subjects in primary education that prepares pupils to cope with the
changing global society. Social Studies as a subject subsumes knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
values (Permatasari, 2019). Under the knowledge domain, Permatasari (2019) has identified
disciplines such as history, geography, anthropology, politics, economy, and socio-psychology
as disciplines that enable pupils to understand themselves and their environment. Meanwhile,
attitudes focus on social and intellectual behavior.
Although social studies are recognized as a critical subject in elementary education, it
features minimally in homeschooling research at the expense of social studies outcomes. For

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478 instance, Ray (2010) focused on science instead of social studies when examining the effect
of homeschooling on academic learning outcomes. This scarcity of studies on social studies
learning outcomes led to questions about whether Homeschooling in Kenya elicited learning
outcomes in social studies compared to conventional schooling. Therefore, the researcher
presupposed that:
H03: There is no significant difference in social studies learning outcomes between homeschooled
and traditionally schooled children.
Based on the postulations made, the research adopted the conceptual framework in
Fig.1 that conceptualized the direct effects of homeschooling on the various academic learning
outcomes.
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

Study Design
This research adopted the causal-comparative research design to compare and contrast
groups (Bloemraad, 2013; Esser & Vliegenthart, 2017). Consequently, this design compared
academic learning outcomes between children pursuing the ACE curriculum from home with
children in conventional ACE schools. Through this comparison, the research expected results
that would increase an understanding of the impact of homeschooling on children learning and
create a foundation for investing in homeschooling to address emerging issues in the education
sector in Kenya.

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Study Sample 479
The study targeted children pursuing homeschooling under the ACE program in
Kenya who, as of March 15, 2016, were 1788. The study utilized a sample of 316 children as
determined from the Krejcie and Morgan sample size table. The pooled sample comprised 158
homeschooled and 158 children from conventional schools computed using a formula suggested
by Dattalo (2018) to cater to comparative research designs when the sample standard deviation
is unknown. That is . Where n was the required sample size for each group, z was the confidence
interval, which was a 95% confidence level in this study. E was the desired margin of error, set
at 5% for this study, represented the pooled estimate of the variance of the dependent variable
in each comparison group. Sampling was done through stratification by grade and a simple
random sample for respective numbers per grade.
Data Collection
A document analysis checklist was developed and used to collect children’s performance
scores in math, English, and social studies. Performance data for conventionally schooled and
homeschooled children were collected from records kept at the ACE center. Therefore, two sets
of academic scores in the three disciplines representing conventional and homeschoolers were
prepared, consistent with the required sample sizes.
Data Analysis
The independent sample t-tests compared the mean scores in Math, English, and Social
studies between children in conventional schools and homeschooled children to determine if
the scores differed significantly. Under this approach, the assumption was that there were no
significant differences in the mean scores of Math, English, and Social studies between the two
groups.
Research Results
Descriptive Results
After data screening and cleaning, 272 scores were analyzed. Table 1 gives the summary
statistics of the children’s learning outcomes in the three subjects. On average children pursuing
the ACE curriculum scored highly in math (M = 93.55%, SD = 5.29%), English (M = 93.01%,
SD = 5.45%), and Social studies (M = 93.32%, SD = 5.40%). The minimum score posted
in the three subjects was 80%, while the maximum score was 100%. The small standard
deviation scores depicted consistency in the high achievement across children pursuing the
ACE curriculum
Table 1
Learning Outcomes for Children Pursuing ACE Curriculum
Subject Minimum Maximum M SD

Math 80 100 93.55 5.29
English 80 100 93.01 5.45
Social studies 80 100 93.32 5.40

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480 Comparing Math Learning Outcomes
Table 2 reports the mean math scores across the two groups, the mean differences in
scores, and the significance levels. Ignoring children’s background characteristics, children
in home schools reported higher math outcomes (M = 96.34, SD = 3.585) than children in
conventional schools (M = 92.63, SD = 5.443). Equal variances assumed, homeschooled
children demonstrated significantly better math scores, t (270) = 5.26, p < .001.
Table 2
Math Learning Outcomes
Category of school M SD SEM

Home 96.34 3.59 .44
Conventional 92.63 5.44 .38
t-test for Equality of Means
t df Sig.(2-tailed) MD SE
5.26 270 p <.001 3.71 .71
These results imply that homeschooling was an equally effective form of education that
imparted high math skills to children. Through this form of learning, homeschoolers elicited
higher math learning outcomes that reflected efforts by parents to be supportive or bring onboard
supportive caregivers.
Comparing English Learning Outcomes
Table 3 reports the differences in mean English scores between homeschooled and
children in ACE conventional schools. Ignoring background characteristics, children in home
schools reported marginally higher scores in English (M = 95.29, SD = 4.40) than children
in conventional schools (M = 92.25, SD = 5.563). Equal variances assumed, homeschooled
children again demonstrated significantly better English scores, t (270) = 4.107, p < .001.
Table 3
English Learning Outcomes
Home 95.29 4.40 .53

t df Sig.(2-tailed) MD SE
4.107 270 p<.001 3.05 .74
These results imply that children pursuing the ACE curriculum schooling from home
scored higher in English than those from conventional schools. These results add to the
existing discourse on homeschooling by confirming that it possesses the capacity to be a viable
alternative form of education. The higher scores reported by homeschoolers in English may

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be due to access to technology which enabled them to gain exposure to an array of English 481
language opportunities.
Comparing Social Studies Learning Outcomes
Table 4 reports the estimated differences in social studies learning outcomes between
homeschooled and conventionally schooled children pursuing the ACE curriculum in Kenya.
Ignoring children’s background characteristics, homeschooled children reported higher mean
scores in Social studies (M = 95.82, SD = 4.17) than conventionally schooled children (M =
92.48, SD = 5.51). The mean difference in social studies scores was statistically significantly
different, t (270) = 4.58, p < .001.
Table 4
Social Studies Outcomes

Home 95.82 4.171 .506
.t
df Sig. (2-tailed) MD SE
4.58 270 p<.001 3.342 .730
The reported results confirm that homeschooled children’s social studies achievements
were not significantly different from children in conventional schools and were probably better.
The study finds that social studies skills for homeschooled children were consistently better
than those for conventional schools. These findings demystify the claim that homeschooling as
a concept is bad for the collective good. The results demonstrate that homeschooled children
can achieve high outcomes in social studies, perhaps due to leveraging virtual and interactive
technology accessible to them.
Discussion
Through the descriptive and inferential results, this research confirmed the capability
of homeschooling to foster academic learning outcomes. The analysis revealed that children
pursuing the ACE curriculum by schooling from home achieved marginally higher Math,
English, and Social studies outcomes than children in conventional ACE schools. The
research corroborated previous findings showing similar findings (Purwaningsih & Fauziah,
2019; Brewer, 2021; Ray, 2021). The result that homeschoolers achieved higher in math than
children in conventional schools underscored parents' vital role in helping children make sense
of the world while taking cognizance of moral and religious values. Research demonstrates
that parents’ control for demographics and homeschooling considerably vary in the way
they implement math activities (Elliott et al., 2020). This ability to control demographics is
perhaps the main benefit that accrues from homeschooling, given that providing for individual
differences has remained a concern in today's inclusive conventional classrooms (Dubois &
Adolphs, 2016). Therefore, parents are in a vantage position to promote a good beginning in
math in early childhood by leveraging interactive digital technology that exposes children to
many mathematical games. These arguments explain how homeschooled children could report
higher learning outcomes than children in conventional ACE schools.

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482 In finding that homeschoolers reported higher learning outcomes in English than children
in conventional schools, this research signified the importance of the home learning environment
in the systems theory’s input-output model. Such an environment allows the inputs, which
are children, to play and interact with books, objects, and role models for enhanced English
learning outcomes seen as outputs. This finding echoed a previous conclusion that the home
literacy environment was differentially associated with letter knowledge, English vocabulary,
reading skills, and phonological awareness (Lau & Richards, 2021). Consequently, exposing
children to homeschooling allows them to experience such differentiation in English language
learning. Besides, research has shown that the home environment, especially in low-income
families, supports language development and paves the way for future academic achievement
(Tamis-LeMonda & Rodriguez, 2008).
Meanwhile, the finding that homeschoolers also reported higher learning outcomes in
social studies than children in conventional schools justifies emerging digital technologies that
have interconnected today’s world, making it easier to access information. Such interconnection
allows homeschoolers to interact with people of diverse cultures and communities. Besides,
given that social studies focus on social relationships and societal functioning, it is inevitable
that homeschoolers who interact more with parents and other members of society have
a better understanding of their society and the world. Such closer interaction explains why
homeschoolers would achieve higher in social studies than children in conventional schools.
This research is significant in several ways. Besides contributing to the emerging
interest in homeschooling and its impacts and motivations at the individual and society levels,
it highlights the contributions of digital technology to the successful implementation of
homeschooling. By leaning towards the ACE curriculum, this research demonstrates that in
addition to developing academic and social outcomes, homeschooling is also the hope of parents
to develop moral and religious values while at the same time offering a comfortable atmosphere
for children to maximize learning experiences. The study further suggests that homeschooling
holds the promise to stop the increasing cost of education that accounts for more children from
low-income families dropping out of school. Therefore, the focus should be on popularizing
homeschooling in developing countries to attain the global goal of “Education for All” (EFA).
Although this research builds the case for legalizing Homeschooling in Kenya, it relies
only on the ACE curriculum in comparing the two sets of children. Besides, the study used
academic scores recorded for only one term. This research, therefore, failed to control variability
in time frames, age, and grade adequately. Future studies should consider cross-sectional data
that caters to time and across grade variability. Further future studies should consider running
robust tests to control other potential covariates. Structures should also be put in place to reduce
the cost of technology to enhance access to homeschooling among low-income families.
The following conclusions were drawn from this research's descriptive and inferential
findings and the discussions afterward. This research confirmed that homeschooling is a
viable alternative form of education that enhances children’s academic learning outcomes.
Homeschooled children pursuing the ACE curriculum achieved at the same level or even better
than children in conventional ACE schools, making a solid case for homeschooling in Kenya.
Homeschooling exposes children to varied learning experiences through interactive games for
Math and virtual tours globally. These games and tours boost homeschoolers' achievement in
Math and Social studies. However, the need for digital media makes this form of education
more expensive. Homeschooling provides an ideal environment for children to improve their
English learning outcomes by enhancing interaction with parents, siblings, and other members
of society.

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The finding that homeschooling produces children with academic outcomes comparable 483
to children in conventional schools has many implications for the education sector in Kenya.
Challenges such as learner indiscipline that the sector experiences can be addressed by making
provisions for homeschooling. Such provisions would see parents take a prominent role in
controlling their children’s upbringing and education. The research showed that homeschoolers
rely mainly on technology to source information and make virtual tours. It is incumbent upon
educational stakeholders to maximize the potential inherent in technology to provide enriched
learning environments in conventional schools. In advocating for homeschooling as a viable
solution to the challenges experienced in Kenya's education sector today, this research argues
that the government of Kenya should target policies that support homeschooling among families
with the children’s learning and upbringing solely under parents' control.
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486 Wilson, K. (2016). Critical reading, critical thinking: Delicate scaffolding in English for academic purposes
(EAP). Thinking Skills and Creativity, 22, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.10.002
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html
Cite as: Mwanyumba Tweni, F., Wamocha, L., & Buhere, P. (2022). Academic outcomes of
homeschooled versus conventionally schooled children pursuing the accelerated Christian
education curriculum in Kenya. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 80(3), 474-486.
https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.474
Fredrick Mwanyumba Tweni Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Webuye, Kenya.
(Corresponding author) E-mail: mwanyumba13@gmail.com
Lydia Wamocha PhD, Professor, Department of Educational Planning and Management,

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Webuye, Kenya.
E-mail: lwamocha@mmust.ac.ke
Pamela Buhere PhD, Department of Education Planning and Management, Masinde Muliro
University of Science and Technology, Webuye, Kenya.
E-mail: pbuhere@mmust.ac.ke

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487
GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
ISSN 1822-7864 /print/ ISSN 2538-7111 /Online/
General Information
The publication language is English. All authors must take care of the
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PROBLEMS
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488 Acronyms
Acronyms should be defined the first time they appear.
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Notes
Note 1: Manuscripts in which references are not in the APAstyle will be returned without review.
Note 2: References to online sources should include the type of medium (such as “serial online”
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Note 5: All papers are checked by CrossCheck system.
Editorial Board
Updated: July 2018
Website: http://www.scientiasocialis.lt/pec/

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Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022
GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS 489
NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

ISSN 1648-939X /Print/, ISSN 2669-1140 /Online/
Dear colleagues,
GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS / NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION – is a periodical, peer reviewed,

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Problems of Education in the 21st Century,
Vol. 80, No. 3, 2022
Compiler Vincentas Lamanauskas

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Problems of Education in the 21st Century, Vol. 80, No.

ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)

MARGINAL TOPICS IN THE RESEARCH OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

SAUDI TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND THEIR

MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ ACCEPTANCE OF ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING:

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF BRAZILIAN

EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICUM IN TURKEY THROUGH

PERSONALITY EMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN THE SUBJECTIVE PROJECTION

ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF HOMESCHOOLED VERSUS CONVENTIONALLY SCHOOLED

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS .............................................................................. 487

NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION / GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS ............................... 489

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https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.392 ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)

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SAUDI TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF 395

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND THEIR

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Research Problem 397

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This study attempted to answer the following questions:

1- Identifying the Saudi teachers’ knowledge of CTS.

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Instrument and Procedures

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Content validity of the questionnaire:

Reliability: To verify the reliability of the questionnaire, it was applied to 50 teachers,

Number of Cronbach's alpha

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Research Results 401

Item (CT concept/ Belong Don't belong I do not know Evaluation

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Second Part: Saudi teachers’ knowledge of Humanities 308 27.06 2.30

Third Part: Teachers’ Attitudes about Humanities 308 56.40 7.67

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406 Conclusions and Implications

CT is a necessary skill that goes beyond education. It is an important part of human

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is defined as the software, computers,

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Theoretical Review and Hypotheses Development

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Sample and Data Collection

The study targeted mathematics teachers of secondary schools in Ashanti region of

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Measures and Questionnaire

Validity and Reliability Analysis

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Direct Paths UnStd. Estimate Std. Error C.R.

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Conclusions and Implications

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