Vol 22 No 4 April 2023

IJLTER.
ORG
International Journal
of
Learning, Teaching
And
Educational Research
p-ISSN: 1694-2493
e-ISSN: 1694-2116
Vol.22 No.4
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
(IJLTER)
Vol. 22, No. 4 (April 2023)
Print version: 1694-2493
Online version: 1694-2116
IJLTER
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research (IJLTER)
Vol. 22, No. 4
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VOLUME 22 NUMBER 4 April 2023
Table of Contents
The Reconstruction of Blended Learning Teaching Model for Full Online Learning System: A Study on English
Education Department in Islamic Universities in Indonesia ............................................................................................ 1
M. Arif Rahman Hakim, Reko Serasi, Yashori Revola, Nur Ilianis Adnan, Ade Riska Nur Astari
The Impact of Online Self-Assessment on Learning Outcomes and Self-Assessment Skills Among Grade 11
Students in Vietnam ............................................................................................................................................................. 21
Tran Thi Ngoc Anh, Nhi Thi Nguyen, An Thi Tan Nguyen
Developing Skill of Using Feedback in Learning-outcome Assessment for Future Teachers .................................... 36
Khuu Thuan Vu, Nguyen Thi Viet Nga
Examining the Relationships between Academic Adaptation and Life-Domain Issues among Working University
Students in Estonia ............................................................................................................................................................... 58
Mohammad Abu Sayed Toyon
Effectiveness of Teacher and Peer Feedback in EFL Writing: A Case of High School Students ................................ 73
Paul Gonzalez-Torres, Cristhian Sarango
Influence of Organizational Innovation Climate on Creativity and the Mediating Role of Feedback-Seeking
Behavior—A Case Study of University Teachers in Hebei, China ................................................................................. 87
Tao Du, Yuan-Cheng Chang
A Mediation Model of the Effect of Visionary Leadership on Teachers’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior .... 104
Widodo Widodo, Irvandi Gustari, Rahayu Permana
Perception of Religious Lecturers of Higher Order Thinking Skills and Students’ Academic Performance in
Online Learning .................................................................................................................................................................. 124
Indah Wigati, Mardeli ., Mardiah Astuti, Yuniar ., Zulmi Ramdani
Research Writing Readiness of Graduate Students in a Philippine State College...................................................... 141

Willow F. Pangket, Sylesia Kaning K. Pangesfan, Johnny P. Cayabas, Geraldine L. Madjaco
Developing Early Graders' Collaborative Skills through Group-Work, Play-Based Pedagogy ............................... 160
Martin Chukwudi Ekeh
Challenges of First-Year Extended Curriculum Programme Students at a University in South Africa .................. 178
Funmilola Kemi Megbowon, Makhetha-Kosi Palesa, Kavi Bongi, Mayekiso Siphokazi
ESL Pre-university Learners’ Needs Analysis for Web-based English Academic Vocabulary Learning Resource
............................................................................................................................................................................................... 195
Farah Amirah Mohd Fisal, Nur Ehsan Mohd Said
‘One day I will make it to university’: Students from Refugee Backgrounds in University Pathway Programs .. 217
Snjezana Bilic, Teresa Thai
Matthew Effect and Achievement Gap in Rwandan Basic Education ......................................................................... 242
Jean de Dieu Habyarimana, Abdou Mugabonake, Emmanuel Ntakirutimana, Theogene Hashakimana, Emmanuel
Ngendahayo, Faustin Mugiraneza, Ke Zhou
Being a Teacher in China: A Systematic Review of Teacher Identity in Education Reform ..................................... 267
Xiaoyi Liu, John Trent
Sociolinguistic Pedagogical Implications of EFL Issues: A Case Study of Saudi Universities ................................. 264
Omer Elsheikh Hago Elmahidi, Mohammed AbdAlgane, Ibtesam AbdulAziz Bajri
Formation and Consolidation of Research Seedbeds: A Systematic Literature Review ............................................ 286
Beatrice Avolio, Luz María Paucar-Menacho, Pretell Carolina
Metasynthesis of Classroom-Based Assessment Implementation: Impact and Issues .............................................. 310

Hairul Faiezi Lokman, Norazilawati Abdullah, Mazlina Che Mustafa, Saniah Sembak, Vijaya Letchumy Baskaran
School-Based Positive Behavior Support for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: Implementation
and Teachers’ Experiences ................................................................................................................................................. 326
Aini Mahabbati, Edi Purwanta, Budi Astuti
Teacher Strategies for Providing Access to Learning for Students with Special Needs in Elementary Schools .... 345
Hermanto Hermanto, Bayu Pamungkas
Evaluation of Psychosomatic Symptoms Associated with Stress in Teachers after Returning to Face-to-Face
Classes .................................................................................................................................................................................. 362
Edwin Gustavo Estrada Araoz, Judith Annie Bautista Quispe, Benjamín Velazco Reyes, Wilber Cesar Calsina Ponce,
Duverly Joao Incacutipa Limachi, Victor Soto Aquino, Yolanda Paredes Valverde, Rosel Quispe Herrera
Products Evaluation of Environmental Education Curriculum/Program Implementation in the University of

Calabar, Nigeria .................................................................................................................................................................. 377
Chris-Valentine Ogar Eneji, Benard Diwa Otu, Caroline I. Ita, Usang Nkanu Onnoghen, Aganyi Asu Ojong, Stella Bassey
Esuabana, Janets Sunday Petters, Lucy Obil Arop, Cecilia Kori Essien, Ettah Ettah Omini, Monity Flora Michael Monity
Implementing an Internal Quality Assurance System to Enhance Elementary School Education Quality ............ 414
Nan Rahminawati, Tedi Supriyadi
Professional Development Needs and Challenges Faced by K-12 Teachers in Delivering Effective Online
Education in the United Arab Emirates ........................................................................................................................... 434
Hamdy A. Abdelaziz, Ahmed Ankit, Abdurrahman G. Almekhlafi, Semiyu Aderibigbe, Athra Alawani, Apollos Bitrus
Goyol
Patterns of Character Education for Vocational School Students through Non-Academic Programs: Paradigm and
Implementation ................................................................................................................................................................... 459
Amilda ., Dian Andesta Bujuri, Muhammad Uyun, Dindin Nasrudin, Junaidah .
A Gender-Based Comparison of the Effects of Face-to-Face and Online Learning on Student Performance in
Introductory Computer Science Courses ......................................................................................................................... 478
Ali Alshammari
Assessment of Math Teachers’ Dispositions to Improve Urban Teacher-Leaders’ Growth and Effectiveness ...... 494
L. L. Moore, W. Steve Lang
Barriers Towards the Implementation of E-portfolio in Education Based on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory
............................................................................................................................................................................................... 512
Sameh Said Ismail
Social Media Influenced Lexicons: A Child’s Vocabulary Production in Talk-In Interactions ................................ 541
Jollibee Angchangco Aharul
Knots and Bolts of Online Teaching Internship amid the COVID-19 Pandemic ........................................................ 557
Feleeh De Leon Enanoza, Maria Nancy Quinco Cadosales, Ethel De Leon Abao
1

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 1-20, April 2023
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.4.1
Received Feb 21, 2023; Revised Apr 4, 2023; Accepted Apr 22, 2023
The Reconstruction of Blended Learning

Teaching Model for Full Online Learning
System: A Study on English Education
Department in Islamic Universities in Indonesia
M. Arif Rahman Hakim
Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Fatmawati Sukarno Bengkulu
Bengkulu, Indonesia
Reko Serasi
Bengkulu, Indonesia
Yashori Revola
Bengkulu, Indonesia
Nur Ilianis Adnan

Universiti Teknologi MARA Penang Branch
Penang, Malaysia
Ade Riska Nur Astari

Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Syari’ah Nahdlatul Ulama (STIESNU) Bengkulu
Bengkulu, Indonesia
Abstract. The aim of this research was to construct a teaching model that
was intended as a standardization and benchmark for lecturers in the
online class teaching and learning process during the COVID-19
pandemic in the English Education Department of Islamic religious
universities in Indonesia. This problem was identified from the results
of pre-observation research which indicated that in Indonesian Islamic
religious university institutions, especially in the English Language
Education study program, there was not yet clear standardization for
conducting full online learning. The product of this research study is in
the form of a teaching model developed using the ASSURE method that
consists of analyzing the participants’ needs, stating the objectives,
selecting appropriate strategies, utilizing a technological approach,
requiring learners' participation, and evaluating the final product of this
study. In developing this research product, the researchers also
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
2
conducted a validation process with experts in the field of English

teaching strategies. The validation is related to the teaching model,
model design, and contextualization. The product of this research has
been revised and improved based on the advice from the experts.
Furthermore, at the stage of requiring students’ participation, the
product also underwent trials involving 10 lecturers and 100 students
from five different English Education Departments. The results obtained
from the trial process were also used by the researchers for perfecting
the model so that the teaching model based on blended learning would
be an appropriate educational tool to be used in teaching and learning
during online learning in the English Education Departments of
Islamic religious universities in the future.
Keywords: learning model; blended learning; online learning; COVID-

19 pandemic
1. Introduction
In early 2020, the world was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which
impacted on all sectors, including the economic and government, as well as the
educational sector. Specifically in the world of education, the COVID-19
pandemic affected policies, educational practices and strategies, among others
(Contreras et al., 2021). This forced the educational practices at academic
institutions in Indonesia, including in universities, to transform completely into
a virtual learning-focussed system. The benefit was that although education had
been moving towards technological transformation, the pandemic escalated its
immediate adoption. Nonetheless, this does not mean the process was seamless
or without complications because not all the universities in Indonesia were
prepared for or capable of accommodating these changes (Firmansyah et al.,
2021).
On May 2nd, 2020, on National Teacher's Day, the Minister of Education and
Culture emphasized the need for innovation in education during the pandemic
COVID-19 to ensure the quality of education in Indonesia (Ministry of Education
and Culture, 2020). This included the importance of English language
proficiency among students, especially in the context of online learning.
Proficiency in English is crucial for students at all levels, particularly in higher
education and for those studying English as a foreign language (EFL), as it is
essential for understanding English as a medium of education and
communication in the era of the fourth industrial revolution in the field of
educational technology. This, in turn, would contribute to the development of a
technological advancements in education and enable Indonesia to compete more
effectively in various global fields. Therefore, to improve the English
communication ability of EFL students during and after the COVID-19
pandemic, a research study was conducted to develop online teaching models.
Several courses in the English education study program were selected as
subjects for which the teaching models would be developed. Some of the courses
developed were selected based on the needs analyses conducted by the
researchers.
http://ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter
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However, before carrying out the research process, observations were

conducted for one semester of the lecturers’ and students’ teaching and learning,
respectively in the six subjects taught in the English education study program.
These lecturers and students were randomly selected from five Islamic religious
universities in Indonesia. Based on the results of interviews conducted with
lecturers and student representatives of the English education study program, it
appeared that they were all taken by surprise by the new approach in the form
of a full online course. Moreover, this was suddenly being implemented in the
middle of their teaching and learning courses in 2020. As far as the lecturers
were concerned, they were not fully prepared to provide online lectures because
both the lesson plans for one semester as well as the teaching materials that they
had distributed among their students were books or materials intended for face-
to-face learning.
Initial observations in the form of interviews were also conducted by the

researchers with 10 student representatives in the English education study
program who had also undergone the online lecture process for almost three
semesters during the pandemic. The results of interviews stated that, in general,
teaching would continue by means of online lectures. However, the students felt
that online learning was not running optimally because there were still various
challenges such as limited teaching materials, high students’ expectations,
assigning assignments and inadequate support systems. This was also
acknowledged by the lecturers of the English education study programme who
felt that they were not yet fully prepared to face the online learning challenge.
Therefore, the purpose of this research was to develop online-based teaching

models as solutions for lecturers and students in the English education study
programme in the online teaching and learning programme during the COVID-
19 pandemic in the Islamic religious universities in Indonesia. The model was
specifically necessary in the English Education Departments which did not yet
have a standardized teaching model; therefore the output of this research would
be an innovation in this field.
2. Literature Review
The phrase ‘blended learning’ refers to learning methodologies that incorporate
elements of integration or the amalgamation of one learning methodology with
other learning methodologies. Blended learning is a contemporary educational
topic that has emerged owing to the advancements in globalization and
technology. Numerous institutions or professionals have formulated and
presented definitions in their respective languages based on the classification of
blended learning practices. There are currently four generally accepted
definitions of blended learning (Bruggeman et al., 2020): (a) Blended learning is
a process of learning that utilizes a mix of diverse Internet-based technologies to
attain academic objectives; (b) Blended learning is a fusion of multiple learning
methodologies (e.g. constructivism, behaviorism, and cognitivism) designed to
achieve maximum knowledge acquisition, whether through technology-based
education or not; (d) Blended learning is also a combination of varied learning
technology formats, such as videos, online training, and films, with in-person
4
instruction; and (e) Blended learning is also a combination of learning

technology with real-life assignments to impact both learning and teaching
positively.
In line with some of the explanations above, Graham (2013) and Heilporn et al.
(2021) mention other definitions of blended learning that are often suggested as
those that combine several kinds of teaching and learning media modalities;
those that integrate several kinds of teaching and learning methods, learning
theories, and elements of pedagogical dimensions; or those that integrate the
online teaching and learning process with the face-to-face learning process.
Based on these definitions, the blended learning method (BLM) can be
considered as a combination of the characteristics of traditional learning and
electronic learning (e-learning) (Hrastinski, 2019; Smith & Hill, 2019).
Furthermore, the BLM is a learning activity that combines face-to-face learning
processes with e-learning activities through aspects of learning theory, learning
approaches, and learning models to achieve the desired learning objectives.
The advantages of the blended learning model can be an answer to the

weaknesses of each of the face-to-face learning and e-learning methods.
Moreover, each of these learning models has several advantages. The main
advantage of face-to-face lectures is the direct interaction between teachers and
students and between students and students. This interaction can create a
stronger feeling of connection between students and teachers, both
psychologically and emotionally. However, in terms of the weakness of face-to-
face learning, the learning process that is carried out is limited by space and time
so that learning is felt to be less than optimal from the educator's side (Cancino
& Carpedoni, 2020).
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia in early 2020 had an effect
on many sectors, such as the world of education where the central government
issued policies to local governments to suspend classes at all educational
institutions and replace them with online learning (Yunus et al., 2023). This was
done as an effort to prevent the transmission of the Coronavirus in Indonesia.
It was hoped that, since no Indonesian educational institutions were carrying
out face-to-face activities, the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Indonesia would
be minimized. Since various countries globally were also exposed to the
COVID-19 virus disease, the lockdown or quarantine policy was one of the
efforts to reduce the interaction of crowds in order to curb the spread of this
virus (Subarao & Kadali, 2022).
The policies adopted by many countries globally, including Indonesia, extended

to the educational process by means of shutting down all educational activities.
Educational institutions then had to come up with alternatives and solutions
related to continuing the educational process for students who could no longer
attend face-to-face classes at their educational institutions. Some of the
education-related measures implemented by the government of the Republic of
Indonesia regarding the COVID-19 case was online learning for school level
students, online lecturing for university students, cancelling the national exams,
5
withdrawing the computer-based test for the Joint Entrance Test for State
Universities (UTBK SBMPTN) and reviewing the National Selection for State
Universities (SNPTN) application (Hasniati, 2022).
The adjustment of the policy on the implementation of education during the

COVID-19 pandemic was no exception; it also affected policies at religious
universities in Indonesia. This led to the leaders of Islamic universities in
Indonesia making various efforts in preventing the spread of COVID-19
(Corona) on their respective campuses. One of the steps taken was to change the
face-to-face lecture system into distance learning or online lectures from March
2020 to 2022 (Fauzi & Asri, 2021). These steps taken by the leaders of Islamic
universities were also fully supported by the Ministry of Religious Affairs which
issued a letter No. 697/03/2020 regarding changes to the letter of the Director
General of Islamic Education No. 657/03/2020 regarding Efforts to Prevent the
Spread of the COVID-19 virus within the Islamic Universities. It stated that all
lecturing would take place online until the end of the even semester (December
to May) of the 2019/2020 academic year at all Islamic religious universities, both
state and private (Hidayat et al., 2021).
Regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector, it was
necessary for teaching and learning activities during the pandemic era to be
conducted online and independently since teachers and students had to remain
at home. Some of the direct effects related to this situation were that teachers
were forced to adapt to and participate in redesigning the existing learning
media as innovations by adjusting to online systems and the use of media. This
was also in accordance with the decision of the Minister of Education and
Culture of the Republic of Indonesia regarding the Letter Number 4 of 2020
concerning the Implementation of Education Policies in the Emergency Period
during the Spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Restian, 2020). The pandemic
had resulted in extraordinary changes to the world of education, as every
educational institution at all levels was forced to transform at very short notice
so that students could adapt to learning from home using online media.
This was certainly not easy, considering that in general the technological
preparedness of educational institutions in Indonesia was still limited.
According to Munastiwi and Puryono (2021), one of the main problems in
Indonesian education related to this was the lack of uniform learning processes
and models, both in terms of standardization and the quality of the desired
learning targets. This problem was a challenge for both the teachers and
students, but especially for educators who are always required to be creative in
their teaching and learning process and who now had to adjust the delivery of
the teaching material to online learning media. For most of these teachers this
was a new experience.
3. Methodology
This study used a research and development (R&D) design in the field of
education which aimed to develop an online-based teaching model for the
English Education Department of the Islamic Religious University in Indonesia.
6
In particular, the research development model adapted in this study is the

ASSURE (Analyze learner; State standards and objectives; Select strategies,
technology, media and materials; Utilize technology; Require learners'
participation; and Evaluate and revise) model (Hakim et al., 2020). The ASSURE
model has a constructivist philosophical approach, namely behaviourism and
cognitivism, therefore it is relatively easy to implement and can be easily
developed by every educator in the R&D process (Affandi et al., 2022).
The participants in this study were 100 students of the English Education
Department from five Indonesian Islamic religious universities who, until the
time of the research implementation process, were still participating in online
learning methods, and 10 lecturers who oversaw 10 different courses in the
English Education Department. The participant requirements for inclusion in
this research were students and lecturers who had experience in the
implementation of the face-to-face teaching and learning process (before the
COVID-19 outbreak) and who were also currently either teaching or learning
online courses.
In this study, participants were involved in the observation stage and initial
needs analysis, for which the results of this process were used as the main basis
for designing and developing the research products, as suggested by Zubaedi
et al. (2018). Furthermore, participants were also involved in the product trial
phase to gather input from the field trial process.
For the interview process in the needs analysis and observation stage of this
study, the researchers used the semi-structured interview method with 10
lecturers and 10 students as representatives of the research population. This
approach allowed for more open and flexible data collection, as semi-structured
interviews consist of both pre-designed questions and additional questions
based on the context, as mentioned in studies by Kallio et al. (2016), Adnan et al.
(2020), and Hakim et al. (2021). This type of interview is considered easier to use
as it can be adapted to the respondents' needs.
In terms of data processing for this study, the researchers utilized technical
triangulation and source triangulation. Technical triangulation involves using
multiple data collection techniques, such as observation, interviews, and
documentation, to obtain data from the same source, as referenced in studies by
Walsh and Mann (2019), Sileyew (2019), and Natow (2020). The research
instrument used for the interviews was a question list, while field notes were
taken during the observation and documentation processes.
In this study, a thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data,
drawing on the works of Flick (2014) and Daghigh and Rahim (2021). The
analysis process started with the researchers familiarizing themselves with the
data by transcribing the interviews, which had been conducted in English as all
the participants were English lecturers with ELT qualifications. However, some
participants occasionally used Bahasa Indonesia when they were unable to find
suitable words in English to convey their ideas. Transcribing the interviews
7
provided the researchers with their initial understanding of the data. They then
read through the entire dataset and assigned notes or codes to each statement,
representing the content or meaning of the participants' statements. This process
was recursive and involved constant back-and-forth movement among the entire
datasets. The same procedure was followed for all twenty interview transcripts.
Subsequently, the researchers created a 'codebook' that contained the coding list
from the interviews, which was categorized and classified into themes. To
maintain ethical considerations, codes were used throughout the discussion to
refer to each participant, as suggested by Hidayat et al. (2023), in reporting on
this research.
4. Result & Discussion

In this development research, the researchers chose the ASSURE model based on
several considerations, one of which was that the ASSURE development model
was more system-oriented, thus an option for the researchers in producing good
learning model designs. Therefore, in accordance with the ASSURE theory, the
research was focused on reconstruction, the process of designing and
developing learning models for English Education Department programs in
Islamic religious universities in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. From
all the research design processes that were created and modified for the
development of the ASSURE model by several experts, some of the steps taken
by the researchers in developing products follow, some of which are described
or designed based on an analysis of research needs. These steps were taken to
determine the characteristics of the students, which involves identifying the
students' aptitude, mindset, background, and preferences
Analyzing learners
The initial stage of the ASSURE model is the evaluation stage. This stage
involves an evaluation of students, environment, and instructional resource
requirements.. Moreover, it entails establishing the desired educational
outcomes that need to be met to cater to the specific needs of the students. The
needs analysis stage is carried out by first analyzing the circumstances and
conditions of learning as the main source of information in the learning process.
It relates to the implementation of learning, especially during the COVID-19
pandemic. At this stage, researchers made suggestions related to ongoing
teaching and learning activities for one semester at the English Education
Departments in Islamic universities. The use of observation and field note
instruments enabled researchers to analyze the data and describe the actual
conditions.
In addition, the researchers also interviewed 25 students representing the

English Education Departments of five different Islamic universities. Their aim
was to ascertain the procedures and stages of learning in the classroom during
the COVID-19 pandemic. They wished to determine whether the students were
quite satisfied with the methods of learning as applied by their lecturers. Most
of the students indicated that the learning methods of the lecturers differed
considerably and there seemed to be no special rules or standards. The students
added that some of their lecturers made use of face-to-face virtual lectures
8
every week by using the Zoom or Google Meet applications. On the other hand,
some only used WhatsApp as a teaching and learning tool without any face-to-
face meetings at all, while yet others combined the two methods, by using both
a virtual face-to-face process and a chat application. Thus, students often felt
confused by the differences in the learning processes and suggested their
lecturers and universities establish a clear standardization of the teaching and
learning process.
This was in line with the results of the analysis conducted by the researchers
with lecturers at the English Education Departments of Islamic religious
universities. From the results of interviews with five lecturers who teach in the
English Language Study Program at five different Islamic universities, it was
established that they did have different ways of teaching during the COVID-19
pandemic era. Furthermore, there was no official standardization laid down by
their universities or the Ministry of Religious Affairs. According to them, despite
their willingness to undertake the fully online teaching process at the beginning
of the COVID-19 pandemic, they felt they were not fully prepared for it, both in
terms of human resources (HR) and in terms of supporting facilities. Therefore,
what they had done for two semesters was more about survival since they were
determined that the teaching and learning process should continue. Therefore,
the lecturers also hoped that there would be an official learning model and
standard that they could apply as their guide for teaching and learning in
situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stating standards and objectives

The next stage was the process of determining the objectives of the research and
the design of the product development. At this step the researchers began to
design standardization and learning models based on the results of the needs
analysis that had been conducted previously. Furthermore, the researchers
drafted the design by determining the elements needed in the learning model
such as compiling a classification of the needs of the teaching and learning
process and the conditions experienced by students, lecturers, institutions
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers also collected references that
could be used in developing learning models. From the findings of the previous
stage, the researchers determined that in designing this research product it was
necessary to have a synergy during face-to-face learning which could not be
done physically. Therefore, the concept was changed to face-to-face meetings
conducted virtually and supported by the learning process, using applications
which were already familiar to both lecturers and students. This basic concept
was the initial standardization and establishing of objectives formulated by the
researchers at this stage.
At this stage the researchers also developed an instrument that would be used to
assess the learning model that had been developed. This concept is also
supported by the connectivist learning theory that focuses on expanding the
connection and networking activities (Chang et al., 2022). The instrument was
prepared by considering aspects of the model assessment, namely the feasibility
of using it in learning, the feasibility of the technology used, the feasibility of
9
conforming to circumstances and conditions, and the suitability of the approach

used. The instruments were arranged in the form of model evaluation sheets
(See Tables 2, 4 & 6).
Selecting strategies, technology, media and materials

The third phase of this development research comprises determining the
strategy applied to the learning model. This is also supported by the
determination of the media and materials involved in the ongoing research and
development process. This development step is the product realization stage at
which the learning model is developed in accordance with the design that has
been established in the previous stage. After that, this research development
product was validated by experts who were judged to have competence in the
field of curriculum and English teaching strategies. In the validation process, the
validators used instruments that had been prepared in the previous stage with
the main assessment criteria being the suitability of the strategy to the current
conditions, the suitability of media technology for the teaching process and the
compatibility of the media as well as the material in the product developed,
namely the teaching model, with the needs of analysis results and the conditions
of the educational institution that was the subject of the research. The details of
the teaching models as a result of this research can be seen in Table 1:
Table 1:The construction of teaching model of blended learning for full online
learning
Meeting Activity Teaching-Learning
Media
1 Introduction of the course with face-to-face Zoom/Google Meet
virtual meeting
2 Delivery a lecture & giving some contextual YouTube/Instagram
examples related to the learning topic
3 Group discussion about specific topic and WhatsApp group/
giving individual project Telegram
4 Continuing the group discussion and project WhatsApp group/
reflection Telegram/online
academic campus
portal
5 Face-to-face virtual meeting and project review Zoom/Google Meet
6 Holding quizes by maximizing features on WhatsApp group/

Google Classroom Telegram/Google
Classroom
7 Group discussion WhatsApp group/
Telegram
8 Mid- Test Google Classroom/
Zoom/Google Forms
9 Delivering a lecture about general topic YouTube channel/
Instagram
10 Face-to-face meeting and mid-test feedback Zoom/Google Meet
11 Deep discussion related to specific topic and WhatsApp group/

giving a group project Telegram
10
12 Holding quizes by maximizing features on Yahoo website

Yahoo
13 Group discussion about specific topic and group WhatsApp group/
project reflection Telegram
14 Continue the group discussion about specific WhatsApp group/
topic and group project review Telegram
15 Virtual face to face meeting and all topics review Google Classroom/
Zoom
16 Final Test Google Classroom/
Zoom/Google Forms
Utilizing technology
The fourth stage of the research process relates to the use of technology in the
research development process. Based on the needs analysis, the objective of this
research was to develop a product in the form of a teaching model that could be
applied during learning in the COVID-19 pandemic. From first-hand
experience it has been established that technology is the main supporting
element on which online teaching and learning are based (Mariano-Dolesh et
al., 2022). The use of technology in the research process of developing this
product was thus imperative. In developing this teaching model, the technology
used included Zoom, WhatsApp, Google Classroom, the YouTube channel and
the academic system (SIAKAD). These applications were the most suitable
options for the online teaching and learning process during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Requiring learners' participation

During the next phase, the lecturers applied the teaching model in their
respective classes. They included several important aspects related to the field
notes. This process is essential for establishing the actual conditions and serves
as input for the next step of the research (Weng et al., 2022). After the
completion of the trial process, five lecturers and 25 students as representatives
of the trial participants were interviewed. The interviews were related to the
suitability of applying the teaching model for seven meetings, the level of
difficulty, activity steps, learning variations and the application of online
learning applications, and the effect on their motivation and understanding of
the material being taught.
11
Instructional Online Steps &

Learning Variations (Familiar…
Learning variations (Really nice)
Activity steps (Different Lecturers
Atmosphere)
the level of difficulty Easy to Students
follow)
Attractiveness of the teaching
model (Impressive/ Very good)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Figure 1: The result of preliminary analysis from students and lecturers

After conducting interviews with the students, it was unanimously agreed that
the teaching model created was highly appealing. This was because the teaching
and learning methods used by the lecturers was not only focused on one
strategy or application but included a variety. The teaching and learning process
thus felt more real even though they were using a full online system. This view
was also expressed by the five lecturers who had participated in the trial
process, namely that the attractiveness of the teaching model that had been
developed was impressive. They claimed that this teaching model had
introduced new variations to the teaching process and had been proven to
increase the participation of the students during classes.
On the aspect of the level of difficulty in applying the teaching model to

teaching and learning activities, the lecturers stated that the teaching model that
had been developed was not too difficult to implement and relatively easy to
follow. However, when the researchers asked whether there were parts that had
been e difficult to apply during the trial process, the lecturers stated that in some
ways they felt they had to be more active and busier than in face-to-face classes.
Nevertheless, they understood that it was essential to pay more attention to the
students. The students also expressed the same view when asked about the
level of difficulty of this teaching model. However, they were not really
concerned as they benefitted from more attention from the lecturers. Despite the
online learning, they nevertheless experienced a learning atmosphere that
closely resembled the face-to-face teaching and learning process. However,
some had previously felt the lectures were too monotonous and not varied
enough; therefore the online learning process seemed more rigid and they
missed the face-to-face learning process.
Regarding the instructional steps and learning variations in the teaching model,
the lecturers indicated that the activities and organization of the model were
well-designed, with logical and coherent sequencing of steps, and the utilization
of various platforms and applications to support the learning process. Similarly,
none of the students reported any dissatisfaction with the steps or organization
of the teaching model. This indicates that the researchers were successful in
12
meeting the needs and expectations of both lecturers and students, as identified
through the needs analysis conducted.
In terms of applying online learning applications and their effect on students'

learning motivation, the lecturers and students responded well. Because the
lecturers themselves admitted that previously they had mostly only focused on
using one or two online platforms in teaching classes during the COVID-19
pandemic. The main reason was that there was no official online learning
process guide or standardization applied by the institution. As a result, most
lecturers followed the same teaching and learning process during the COVID-
19 pandemic, making only a few adjustments. Therefore, when using the
model developed in this study, the lecturers felt that their teaching methods
were more varied by using a combination of several platforms such as Zoom,
Google Classroom, WhatsApp, the YouTube channel and YouTube, without
reducing the essence of the learning process. On the other hand, the students
indicated that they appreciated the lecturers using this teaching model because it
increase their motivation in learning and enhanced their understanding of the
teaching material presented. They expressed the hope that the lecturers would
continue to use the same teaching model until the end of the semester.
Evaluating and revising

The final stage of the study involved both formative and summative evaluations.
Formative evaluation took place during the development stage of the teaching
model, while summative evaluation occurred at the end of the development
process using the ASSURE stage, as described by Aktas and Ozmen (2020). As
part of the evaluation, a validation process was conducted to assess the
feasibility and construction of the developed product. Validators, who were
experts in the fields of curriculum as well as the development of teaching
materials, and technology in teaching English, were asked to provide an
assessment of the learning model's feasibility and offer suggestions and
comments on the design. This would serve as a benchmark for revisions and
improvements to the final product. The validation process was carried out
through virtual meetings with the expert validators, and the data obtained from
the model evaluation results were analyzed to determine the validity of the
teaching model, as suggested by Asiyah et al. (2018). The instruments used for
evaluation and validation included a checklist and a suggestion column. The
teaching model's content, design, and context were the three main aspects that
were validated by the expert validators. The researchers collaborated closely
with the expert validators to ensure that the teaching material modules were
adjusted based on their recommendations before they were validated. The
results of the expert validation assessment regarding the contents of the
development module can be seen in Tables 2 -7:
13
Table 2: Teaching model content validation instrument

No Indicator Assessment Remarks
5 4 3 2 1
1 The reasonableness between instructing  Acceptable
substance and standard as well
as fundamental capability.
2 The reasonableness between the  Incredible
instructing demonstrates substance and
the study goals that will be accomplished.
3 The reasonableness between the title and  Acceptable
the fabric talked about.
4 Potential definition of the substantial ? 
5 Chronological and efficient course of  Incredible
activity of the teaching appear ?
6 The instructing show can encourage  Acceptable
students' comprehension of education.
7 Precision in utilizing terms.  Neutral
8 Precision in utilizing innovation.  Acceptable

9 The educating demonstrate can encourage  Acceptable
understudies in Internet based-education.
10 The instructional approach can promote  Acceptable
face-to-face online meeting between
lecturers and learners.
11 The instructional approach can encourage  Acceptable
interaction between lecturers and learners
in a virtual education process.
12 There is input within the assessment  Acceptable
displayed.
13 The reasonableness of the curriculum and  Acceptable
instructing model.
Total 10 40 3 Incredible
Percentage 81, 54 %
(Adapted from Asiyah, 2019)
Table 3: Data analysis results from model validation

Validator Total Optimal Result % Qualification Additional
Item Score
1 13 65 53 81,54 Incredible Have to be
changed
Based on the results of the development that was carried out, the validation
result of the blended learning teaching model during the COVID-19 pandemic
was 81.54%. Therefore, from the results of the validation, it can be concluded
that the teaching model developed during this research is feasible to use and try
out on students during the teaching and learning process (Sartono et al., 2022).
14
The second expert validation process is related to the design of the teaching
model that has been developed. The detailed results of the validation carried out
by expert validators can be seen in Table 4:
Table 4: Result of the teaching model design validation design validation process by
expert validator
No Standard Assessment Remarks
5 4 3 2 1
1 The appeal of the pedagogical approach.  Acceptable

2 The lucidity of the instructions for  Acceptable
utilizing the teaching methodology.
3 The appeal of the packaging of the  Incredible
teaching model.
4 The visual appeal of the instructional  Acceptable
approach model presented.
5 The instructional model empowers  Incredible
students to conduct self-evaluation.
6 The instructional approach embodies the  Incredible
intended outcomes of the syllabus.
7 The numerical values employed in every  Acceptable
educational task.
8 The teaching model is amenable to self-  Acceptable
directed study.
9 The simplicity of operating the teaching  Acceptable
model (intuitive).
10 The instructional approach can serve as  Incredible
autonomous learning materials.
11 The pedagogical approach offers the  Incredible
objective of the instructional process.
12 The pedagogical approach offers  Acceptable
comprehensive educational prospects
(autonomous).
13 The pedagogical approach is in line with  Acceptable
the advancement of science and
technological development (flexible).
14 The pedagogical approach can enhance  Incredible
the virtual instructional process.
Total 30 32 Incredible
Percentage 91, 43 %
Table 5: Result of data analysis from teaching model design validation

Item Score
2 14 70 63 91,43 Incredible Have to be
changed
15
The second characteristic that was evaluated and validated was the teaching
model design (Dwijayani, 2019). The percentage of validation results carried out
by design expert validators for blended learning teaching models during the
COVID-19 pandemic was 91.43%. Thus, based on the results, it can be concluded
that the developed model is feasible to use for experimentation on learners
during their educational journey.
Table 6: Context appropriate validation of teaching models

No Standard Assessment Remarks
5 4 3 2 1
1 Clarity of instructions  Acceptable

2 The adherence to language conventions  Acceptable
3 The efficacy of sentences  Acceptable
4 The ability to convey messages  Acceptable
5 The utilization of terminology and icons  Acceptable
6 The comprehensibility of queries in the  Acceptable
collaborative project section and personal
practice drills
7 The comprehensibility of visuals presented in  Acceptable
every web-based study action
8 The comprehensibility of the recapitulation,  Acceptable
queries, and discourse
9 The appropriateness for the students' academic  Neutral
level
10 The appropriateness for the students' emotional  Acceptable
maturity
11 The precision in the application of punctuation  Neutral
12 The uniformity in the use of the term ‘clarity of  Incredible
instructions’
Total 5 36 6 Acceptable
Percentage 78, 33 %
Table 7: Data analysis of the context suitability validation process

Item Score
3 12 60 47 78,33 Acceptable Have to be
changed
The final stage in the validation process comprised evaluating the suitability of
the context of the teaching model resulting from the development research.
Based on the data above, the percentage of suitability context validation from
expert validators was 78.33%. In this case, an expert validator stated that the
suitability of the context offered in the teaching model resulting from the
development research was generally good. Therefore, it was believed that there
was no suggestion that was over-emphasized in this section. Based on the
results of validation, evaluation, and input from three expert validators, it was
16
necessary to make revisions based on corrections and suggestions from the three
experts so that the final product of this research would be much improved.
Revising product development results

After the validation process by the students, lecturers and experts had been
completed, the teaching model was revised based on the corrections and
suggestions from the experts. This stage was important in order to ensure a
quality final product of the development research (Zalazar et al., 2021).
Revisions made by the researchers relate to changes in teaching models that
were not in accordance with the needs of the students and lecturers, spelling
errors, structures that are not in accordance with the applicable curriculum, and
suggestions to use more familiar platforms in teaching online. They stated that
the aim of these revisions to the teaching model that had been developed were
to ensure its efficacy and that it would meet the required standards in
accordance with the objectives of this research. The model was intended as a
guide for the learning process in English language study programs in particular
and for all lecturers within the Islamic religious and other public universities in
Indonesia in general.
Furthermore, all suggestions from the experts such as revising the context,
exercises and level of difficulty of the final product were very useful in
improving the learning model to develop a better quality product. After passing
all these stages, the teaching model was ready to be tested by lecturers in the
actual learning process of the students of the English Education Departments of
the Indonesian Islamic religious universities.
Final Product
The last stage in this study was to revise the blended learning teaching model
over the pandemic or full online learning period as a result of development
research. This was compiled based on some comments and inputs given by
lecturers and students’ representatives during the trial process to produce
teaching material products in the form of teaching models. This was considered
to be a good solution for the full online learning system during the pandemic.
This was also conveyed by three expert validators who recommended the
process of improving this teaching model after trials had been carried out so that
this teaching model would be excellent in terms of content. Hence, the authors
are optimistic that the instructional model resulting from this advancement
investigation would be beneficial not only to students in the English Education
Departments at Indonesian Islamic religious universities, but also to a wider
range of students enrolled in all universities throughout Indonesia.
17
Figure 2: Stages of the blended learning teaching model for the full online learning
system during the pandemic in the English Tadris Study Program
5. Conclusion
This research activity was focussed on lecturers and students of the English
Education Departments of five Islamic religious universities in Indonesia. The
output of this study is in the form of a teaching model that is intended as a
standardization and benchmark for lecturers in the teaching and learning
process in fully online classes during the pandemic. The product of development
research in the form of a teaching model was developed using the ASSURE
method. In addition, the study suggests that the fully online learning process in
the English language study program in the Islamic religious universities in
Indonesia during a pandemic needs to be re-constructed. Clear learning models
and guidelines would facilitate the teaching and learning process for lecturers
and students, respectively.
Therefore, blended learning is a solution and plays a major role in the

reconstruction of this teaching model. However, what needs to be understood is
that blended learning, known as a direct face-to-face learning process, has
been interpreted as virtual face-to-face learning during a pandemic. Hence, the
value of blended learning applied to this teaching model is that it is a virtual
face-to-face medium. In addition, the maximum use of technological devices has
been utilized as the main support system in the entire teaching process that is
also supported by connectivist theory. Therefore the product of this research is
expected to be able to make a contribution as an alternative teaching model that
18
can be applied by lecturers in teaching and learning at Islamic religious

universities, especially in the English Education Departments, when faced with
a fully online learning situation as experienced during the previous pandemic.
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21

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 21-35, April 2023
The Impact of Online Self-Assessment on

Learning Outcomes and Self-Assessment Skills
Among Grade 11 Students in Vietnam
Tran Thi Ngoc Anh*
University of Education, Hue University, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
Nhi Thi Nguyen

Vinh University, Nghe An, Vietnam
An Thi Tan Nguyen

University of Education, Hue University, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
Abstract. The application of information technology to self-assessment

has received a lot of attention in recent years. Several previous studies
have discovered a positive relationship between online self-assessment
and academic performance. This study aimed to confirm the relationship
between online self-assessment and learning outcomes and self-
assessment skills among grade 11 students in Vietnam. With a total of 160
students, this research had been designed as quasi-experimental. The two
groups did the self-assessment in different ways over the six weeks of
impact implementation. To perform an online self-assessment, the
intervention group employed interactive online exercises that delivered
instant feedback on Liveworksheets. Throughout this period, the control
group engaged in traditional self-assessment. The study found that the
intervention group’s final test scores (7.7) were higher than the control
group’s (6.3), and their self-assessment skills were more developed at the
end of the study. The study confirms the positive relationship between
online self-assessment and learning outcomes and self-assessment skills
among grade 11 students in Vietnam. The findings suggest that online
interactive exercises with immediate feedback can improve learning
outcomes and that regular online self-assessment can enhance students’
self-assessment skills. Conceptually, this study contributes to the growing
body of research on the application of information technology in
education and gives insight into the potential of online self-assessment as
a promising tool to promote student learning and development. The
results of this study can serve as early data to investigate the effectiveness
of online self-assessment in diverse educational settings.
*
Corresponding author: Tran Thi Ngoc Anh, tranthingocanh@dhsphue.edu.vn &
tranthingocanh@hueuni.edu.vn
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
22
Keywords: interactive online exercises; learning outcomes; online self-

assessment; self-assessment; skill
1. Introduction
Self-assessment plays a crucial role in self-regulated learning (Andrade, 2019;
Garrido Astray et al., 2019; Yan, 2020). While not a new concept, self-
assessment has been identified in numerous previous studies as the learners’
ability to plan, monitor, and control their thoughts, feelings, and actions
(Hadwin et al., 2015; Karmaker, 2020; Punhagui & De Souza, 2013; Schumacher
et al., 2013; Steuber et al., 2017; Wolters & Benzon, 2013). In education, self-
assessment refers to learners’ capacity to evaluate and monitor their
understanding of a specific subject area (Boud et al., 2015). Alternatively, self-
assessment is defined as a cyclical process that enhances learners’ skills by
detecting the gap between present ability and desired ability (Yew et al., 2016).
A critical aspect of the learning journey is the process of self-assessment, in
which individuals engage in a reflective evaluation of their learning, abilities,
and skills to determine their areas of proficiency, as well as limitations, and
establish objectives for personal growth and improvement. It not only
promotes better self-awareness in learners but also enables them to take charge
of their academic advancement. As a result, self-assessment is extremely
important as an integral element of the learning process since it allows students
to get a full awareness of their cognitive capacities and take responsibility for
their growth and development.
Several studies have found that self-assessment empowers students to become
owners of their learning (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Luo et al., 2021; Mäenpää
et al., 2020; Oh et al., 2021; Rini et al., 2020; Rizk, 2016; Wiliam & Leahy, 2020);
other studies describe it as making learners co-owners of the learning process
by having them critically reflect on their learning while addressing the needs
of the learning task (Fletcher, 2016; Muñoz-Escalona et al., 2018). This process
allows learners to review previous course content, assess their knowledge, and
identify their weak points (Elkhatat et al., 2021), motivating them to learn
actively (Styers et al., 2018) and influencing their self-regulated learning
(Papanthymou & Darra, 2018).
Whether the student is a “owner” or a “co-owner”, self-assessment requires
that learners be aware of the goals of a task and monitor their own progress
toward them. The act of self-assessment, that is, engaging in a self-reflective
process that enables individuals to discern their own unique learning styles,
preferences and needs, is a crucial aspect of the pedagogical journey.
Through self-reflection, learners can gain a more profound comprehension of
their own cognitive faculties, enabling them to identify the modalities and
approaches that are most efficacious for their learning. Consequently, the
process of self-assessment becomes an invaluable tool for learners, providing
them with the ability to optimize their academic output and achieve their goals
in a more expeditious manner. Additionally, by engaging in self-assessment,
students are better equipped to identify their areas of difficulty, enabling them
23
to seek out the necessary assistance from their instructors or peers, and
ultimately overcoming any obstacles that may hinder their academic success.
Therefore, self-assessment is an indispensable component of the learning
process, contributing to the growth and development of learners, and
promoting a culture of self-directed and autonomous learning. As a result,
learners must develop the ability to analyze task requirements, set learning
goals, and track their understanding, as they actively participate in the learning
process (Meusen-Beekman et al., 2016; Ratminingsih et al., 2018; Tur et al., 2019;
Wallin & Adawi, 2018; Wanner & Palmer, 2018). Self-assessment can also help
students develop critical thinking skills, as they learn to evaluate their own
work and identify areas for improvement. By setting goals and tracking their
progress, students can become more motivated and engaged in the learning
process.
The role of self-assessment in the learning process is to provide students with
a tool to evaluate their own learning and identify areas where they need to
improve. Self-assessment can also help teachers identify areas where students
may be struggling, and provide targeted support to help them overcome those
challenges (Alseddiqi et al., 2012; Childress et al., 2020; Ishikawa et al., 2021;
Rick & Phlypo, 2019). In order to be effective, self-assessment should be an
ongoing process that is integrated into the learning environment. Students
should be taught how to self-assess and given opportunities to practice and
refine their skills. Teachers can also provide feedback and support to help
students develop their self-assessment skills. Overall, self-assessment is a
valuable tool for students to take control of their own learning, identify areas
where they need to improve, and set goals for future growth and success.
With the trend of incorporating information technology into teaching, self-
assessment is not insusceptible to this influence (Borg & Edmett, 2019; Chang
& Wu, 2018; Christensen & Knezek, 2017). The transition from traditional
paper-based self-assessments to online self-assessments on mobile devices is
taking place (Ching-Ter et al., 2017; Scherer et al., 2015; Valtins et al., 2020).
Online self-assessment has been shown to be an effective self-regulated
learning method in a variety of subjects (Fan et al., 2021; Koehler & Meech,
2022; Lawson et al., 2012).
Online self-assessments can be accessed anytime and anywhere, making it
easier for students to complete them. Students can complete assessments on
their own devices, reducing the need for paper-based assessments and making
it easier to keep track of their progress. Automatic scoring of online self-
assessments reduces the time and resources required to grade assessments
manually. This can also provide students with immediate feedback, allowing
them to address areas of weakness more quickly. Many studies show that
online self-assessment has a positive impact on student learning and
motivation (Nikou & Economides, 2016).
Additionally, online self-assessments can be more engaging than traditional
paper-based assessments. Multimedia elements, such as videos, images, and
interactive activities, for example, can be incorporated into online assessments
24
to make them more visually appealing and interactive. Therefore, students are
less stressed as a result of taking online self-assessments (Stančić, 2021). When
students feel at ease taking an assessment, their participation in the assessment
process increases, which promotes self-efficacy (Seifert & Feliks, 2019).
Furthermore, it is used to increase student motivation in a variety of learning
contexts, such as flipped classroom courses or online courses (Broadbent et al.,
2021; Cacciamani et al., 2021; Lock et al., 2021). Learners can easily
communicate with classmates and teachers through social networks and
communities at any time and from any location in order to assess their
knowledge and receive immediate feedback using the online assessment
system (Lesage et al., 2015; Y. N. Lin et al., 2019).
Online self-assessments can provide valuable data for teachers to analyze.
Teachers can use this data to identify trends and patterns in student
performance, and to adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. As a result,
teachers can focus more on activities that require students to interact physically
while teaching in the classroom. Academic performance, student motivation,
and engagement in blended learning and online learning have piqued the
interest of researchers in recent years (Azizan et al., 2014; X. Chen et al., 2020;
Lo et al., 2020; Paniagua & Simpson, 2018; Tsai et al., 2020).
Students in Vietnam have had little experience with online self-assessment,
even though, previous to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of information
technology in teaching and assessment was widespread across many schools
and subjects (Anh et al., 2021). However, it was not until the post-COVID-19,
normal period that synchronous and widespread digital transformation in
teaching activities was implemented. The current literature on the impact of
online self-assessment on academic performance and self-assessment skills
lacks research conducted in Vietnam. Existing findings may not be applicable,
as the country’s educational system and cultural values differ from those of
other countries where similar studies have been conducted. As a result, the goal
of this study was to create an online self-assessment tool for grade 11 physics
students and to investigate the impact of online self-assessment outside of
classroom hours.
Given the potential benefits of online self-assessment, it is important to
investigate whether it can improve students’ learning outcomes and self-
assessment skills in the Vietnamese context.
Therefore, this study aims to address the following research questions:
1. What is the relationship between online self-assessment and learning
outcomes among grade 11 students in Vietnam?
2. Can online interactive exercises with immediate feedback improve
learning outcomes compared to traditional self-assessment methods?
3. Does regular online self-assessment enhance students’ self-assessment
skills?
Liveworksheets is a platform designed to assist teachers in creating interactive
worksheets that can be completed by students online (Bārdule, 2021). These
worksheets incorporate various question types commonly used in self-
25
assessments, such as multiple choice, drag and drop, pairing, fill in the gaps,
and others. The platform is a tool for producing interactive worksheets that
present material in different formats and question styles (Rudenko et al., 2021).
Liveworksheets provides various customization options, including the
integration of multimedia elements, such as audio, videos, and images, that can
enhance the engagement of students during self-assessments. Additionally, the
platform allows teachers to effortlessly share the worksheets with their
students via email, messaging apps, or a learning management system.
By using Liveworksheets, teachers can create interactive exercises that offer a
more dynamic and engaging self-assessment experience for students. The
ability to personalize the worksheets with multimedia elements and the ease of
sharing them make Liveworksheets a valuable tool for educators seeking to
facilitate student learning and self-assessment.
With Liveworksheets, teachers can input conventional exercises in the form of
PDF or Word files and transform them into interactive online exercises in
several formats. This application simplifies the process of creating engaging
and interactive exercises that can aid in student learning and self-assessment.
The use of Liveworksheets is an innovative approach to online learning. It
allows for real-time feedback and interaction between the students and the
teacher, which can improve the effectiveness of the learning process.
In this study, we used Liveworksheets, an online platform that provides
interactive activities and immediate feedback to students. Liveworksheets is
effective in promoting student engagement, motivation, and learning
outcomes in previous studies (Daher et al., 2022). The use of Liveworksheets in
this study represents a novel approach to online self-assessment in Vietnam.
This study’s focus on grade 11 students and their self-assessment skills adds to
the existing literature by examining a specific age group that has received
limited attention in the literature. Furthermore, the study’s use of the quasi-
experimental method, with a control group, helps address the limitations of
previous studies in this area. Finally, this study’s findings can provide valuable
insights for educators and policymakers on the potential benefits of online self-
assessment in promoting student learning outcomes and self-assessment skills
in Vietnam and other similar contexts.
2. Material and Methods

The study utilized a quasi-experimental design that involved two groups: an
intervention group and a control group. The study’s population consisted of
grade 11 students in Vietnam, and the sample size was 160. Participants were
selected using a purposive sampling technique to ensure that they met the
inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria included being a student in grade 11,
having access to a computer with an internet connection, and giving informed
consent to participate in the study. All students were informed that their
Liveworksheets online self-assessments and academic results would be
recorded, and that their personal information would be anonymized for
research purposes. This policy was accepted by all participants.
26
The two groups were then randomly assigned to either the intervention or
control group. After each lesson, both the control and intervention groups
completed self-assessment exercises related to the week’s content outside of
class time. The intervention group received interactive online exercises that
delivered instant feedback on Liveworksheets based on the links or QR codes
provided by the teacher, while the control group engaged in traditional self-
assessment. During the online self-assessment, students carried out different
assignments as required and obtained instant feedback on their responses
upon completing each task. At the same time, the teacher received email
notification of the outcomes. We explicitly stated that students’ performance
on the online self-assessments would not impact their final test scores to
discourage any attempts to cheat or seek answers from study materials during
the assessment. At the end of the six weeks, both groups completed a post-test
to assess their learning outcomes and self-assessment skills.
To measure students’ learning outcomes, a pre-test, and a post-test were
administered to both groups. The test comprised of multiple-choice questions
that assessed the students’ understanding of the topics covered in the self-
assessment. The test was scored out of 10, and the student’s scores were
recorded for analysis.
To measure the students’ self-assessment skills, a self-assessment rubric was
developed. The self-assessment skills of students in the intervention group
were compared before and after participating in the intervention. The self-
assessment skills’ scale consisted of eight criteria, which were as follows:
1. Recognizing assessment and self-assessing learning outcomes.
2. Collecting and processing information on learning outcomes.
3. Establishing learning objectives and tasks.
4. Comparing learning outcomes with established objectives and tasks.
5. Creating and revising study plans.
6. Implementing the proposed study plan.
7. Reflecting on personal strengths and weaknesses.
8. Developing a plan for personal capacity enhancement.
Each criterion was scored on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 representing the lowest
and 3 representing the highest level of attainment.
The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, were used to
summarize the data. Inferential statistics, such as independent samples t-test
was used to compare the final test scores between the intervention and control
groups, and ANOVA was used to compare the pre- and post-intervention self-
assessment skills of the intervention group. The p-value was set at 0.05, and all
statistical tests were two-tailed.
Overall, the study’s quasi-experimental design was robust and allowed for a
thorough investigation of the relationship between online self-assessment and
learning outcomes and self-assessment skills among grade 11 students in
Vietnam. The selection of participants, the random assignment of participants
27
to groups, and the use of pre- and post-tests and a self-assessment rubric all
contributed to the validity and reliability of the study’s findings.
3. Results
The study aimed to confirm the relationship between online self-assessment
and learning outcomes and self-assessment skills among grade 11 students in
Vietnam. The study involved 160 students and was conducted over six weeks.
The intervention group employed interactive online exercises that delivered
immediate feedback on Liveworksheets for online self-assessment. The control
group, in contrast, engaged in traditional self-assessment.
The statistical analysis conducted to support these findings included the use of
the t-test and ANOVA. SPSS software was used to analyze and compare the
learning outcomes of the control and intervention group. Table 1 shows the
results of the statistical test of the difference between the intervention and
control groups’ final test scores.
Table 1: A summary of the test’s average statistical parameters
Levene’s Test for

Equality of Variances Sig. (2-
Group n M SD
tailed)
F Sig.
Intervention 80 7.7 0.28
1.824 0.161 0.005
Control 80 6.3 0.34
The results of Levene’s test for Sig = 0.161 > 0.05 show that the variance of the
test mean between the intervention and control groups is not different. The test
results on the difference between the two mean values of the tests between the
intervention group and the control group had Sig = 0.005 < 0.05. As a result,
there is a difference in the mean score of the test between the intervention and
control groups. The intervention group’s mean test score was 7.7 points higher
than the control group’s mean score of 6.3. This demonstrates that there is a
difference in learning outcomes between the intervention and control groups
after the impact of online self-assessment via Liveworksheets. It also shows a
positive relationship between online self-assessment and learning outcomes.
The intervention group’s self-assessment skills were analyzed and compared
using pre- and post-test data. The average scores of the criteria of self-
assessment skills of students in the intervention group are shown in Table 2
based on statistics of points according to the level of each criterion:
Table 2: Student self-assessment skills in the intervention group
Pre-test Post-test
Criteria
M SD M SD
1 1.48 0.64 2.49 0.68
2 1.44 0.59 2.35 0.73
28
3 1.68 0.73 2.50 0.62

4 1.54 0.64 2.15 0.64
5 1.36 0.58 2.34 0.67
6 1.38 0.58 2.25 0.72
7 1.61 0.70 2.63 0.56
8 1.50 0.57 2.44 0.74
Table 2 displays the average scores and standard deviations for each criterion
of self-assessment skills for students in the intervention group in two
evaluations, prior to and after the pedagogical experiment. The findings show
that after six weeks of impact, students’ self-assessment skills improved in all
criteria, more or less.
As a whole, the study confirmed the positive relationship between online self-
assessment and learning outcomes and self-assessment skills among grade 11
students in Vietnam. The findings suggest that interactive online exercises with
immediate feedback can improve learning outcomes, and regular online self-
assessment can enhance students’ self-assessment skills.
4. Discussion
One novel finding in this study is the effectiveness of interactive online
exercises with immediate feedback on Liveworksheets in improving learning
outcomes and self-assessment skills among grade 11 students in Vietnam.
This study builds upon previous research that has found a positive relationship
between online self-assessment and learning outcomes (Prisacari & Danielson,
2017) but goes a step further by demonstrating the specific benefits of
interactive online exercises with immediate feedback. This finding is
particularly relevant in the current educational landscape, where many schools
are turning to online and blended learning models due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The use of interactive online tasks with immediate feedback can
help educators facilitate self-assessment and improve student learning
outcomes, even in virtual environments. This finding is consistent with
previous research that has shown the effectiveness of online self-assessment
tools in promoting self-regulated learning and improving academic
performance (Alanzi, 2021; Hsu et al., 2022; Pinto-Llorente et al., 2017).
Online self-assessment allows students assess themselves whenever and
wherever they want, which helps to alleviate the anxiety and pressure that
some students feel when using traditional assessment methods (Tay, 2015;
Yang et al., 2022). Furthermore, technology-based self-assessment tools
frequently include features that encourage learners to interact with the system
and motivate them to learn (Rodríguez et al., 2019). Motivation is a critical
factor in student learning (Azar & Tanggaraju, 2020; Lin et al., 2017; Luo et al.,
2021; Mäenpää et al., 2020; Oh et al., 2021; Rini et al., 2020; Tokan & Imakulata,
2019). Furthermore, the features of assessment tools via interactive online
29
exercises encourage students to view self-assessment as an enjoyable task that

they can master. This leads to increased academic engagement and success.
Because COVID-19 required many teaching activities to be conducted online,
educators were looking for ways to improve student learning through the use
of online tools (Katsarou & Chatzipanagiotou, 2021; Strauß & Rummel, 2020;
Yusof et al., 2022). Many studies have been conducted on the use of information
technology in the teaching of physics in high schools; however, very few
studies have been conducted on the impact of online self-assessment on
student learning outcomes in Vietnam.
In most cases, self-assessment is an important learning characteristic because it
allows students to accurately reflect on their work and progress. Effective self-
assessment is frequently associated with high scores, which is an intriguing
discovery to share. As a result, our case study on the relationship between
online self-assessment, self-assessment skills, and academic performance raises
critical issues for future practice and research.
Nevertheless, there were several limitations to this study that should be
considered. One of these limitations was the small sample size, which may
limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations and contexts.
Future research could replicate this study with a larger sample size to increase
the external validity of the results. Additionally, this study did not control for
other factors that may have influenced the development of self-assessment
skills, such as prior knowledge and motivation. Further research could
investigate the causal mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of
Liveworksheets for promoting self-assessment skills by using intervention
designs that control these factors.
Furthermore, the role of the teacher in the use of Liveworksheets should also
be considered. Although Liveworksheets can be an effective tool for promoting
self-assessment skills, the teacher’s guidance and feedback are essential in
helping students develop these skills. Teachers should provide clear
instructions on how to use Liveworksheets for self-assessment, as well as
timely feedback on students’ self-assessment performance.
5. Conclusion
The online self-assessment on Liveworksheets is not only appropriate for
improving learning efficiency but also for objectively assessing learners’ self-
assessment skills. These findings are useful for learning analytics researchers
and practitioners interested in using online self-assessment for learning. Using
multimedia resources in conjunction with immediate feedback is an
appropriate solution for creating an online self-assessment environment for
learners, contributing to digital transformation in educational activities, and
meeting the current trend of globalization.
Despite several limitations, this study adds to the growing body of research on
the effectiveness of online self-assessment tools and provides a foundation for
future research in this area. It is hoped that the findings of this study will
encourage educators to explore the potential benefits of using Liveworksheets
30
and other online self-assessment tools in their teaching practices and to

continue to develop innovative approaches to enhance student learning and
performance.
Acknowledgment
This research is funded by the University of Education, Hue University under
grant number NCM.T.23-03.
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36

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 36-57, April 2023
Developing Skill of Using Feedback in

Learning-outcome Assessment for Future
Teachers
Khuu Thuan Vu
Department of Education, Quynhon University, Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Viet Nga*

Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, Vietnam
Abstract. Feedback is an integral part of students’ learning-outcome

(LO) assessment. To ensure that students understand what they did well
and what needs improvement, teachers must give them clear and
detailed feedback on their accomplishments and shortcomings.
Therefore, in teacher training, it is essential to help Future Teachers
(FTs) have the skill of providing and using feedback (feedback skills) in
LO assessment (besides skills in teaching, building assessment
tools, organizing learning activities, scientific research, ...). This
study aims to identify the factors that affect feedback skills in LO
assessment of FTs, thereby providing measures to develop this skill in
FTs. This study uses a quantitative research method and a questionnaire
design as a data collection tool. Simultaneously, the study uses the
impact method to assess the FTs’ changes in the performance of skills
before, during, and after the training process. The results show that the
main factors affecting the development of FTs’ feedback skills are:
classroom experience; feedback culture; pedagogical training;
mentorship; confidence. While there are four types of feedback:
Feedback about the task; the processing of the task; self-regulation; self
as a person. When testing the impact on developing FTs’ feedback skills,
the results also show the effectiveness of the feedback skills training
process based on experiential learning. The process consists of 4 stages:
Concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization,
active experimentation. This study has theoretical and practical
implications for educators of pedagogical universities in training
feedback skills in LO assessment for teachers and FTs.
Keywords. feedback; future teachers; learning outcome; assessment;

experiential learning
*
Corresponding author: Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, nguyenthivietnga@hpu2.edu.vn
©Authors
37
1. Introduction
Assessment of learning outcomes is the process of assessing a student's
proficiency in the skills, knowledge, and competencies required to complete
academic tasks. (Mrunal and Manvinder, 2017) confirmed LO assessment is
critical in education because it allows teachers, students, and parents to know a
student's strengths and weaknesses as well as provides the information needed
to improve their learning. However, teachers’ feedback on students’ LOs is a
critical factor for those involved in the assessment to receive these values.
(Hardavella & et all., 2017) have proposed, when giving feedback, teachers must
keep a few essential points in mind. First of all, feedback should be provided
positively and encouragingly. If students feel that the teacher is uninterested in
their progress, they may lose interest and motivation to continue their efforts.
Second, the feedback needs to provide detailed and authentic opinions about the
students’ LOs. This helps students better understand what they did well and
where to focus on improving. Feedback should also provide suggestions and
advice to assist the student in improving their academic performance. Finally,
feedback needs to be provided in a complete and timely manner. If students
have to wait too long to get a response, they can lose motivation and forget
about their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, teachers should provide
prompt feedback so that students can use it to develop their skills further and
improve their LOs. As such, feedback on students’ LO assessment is critical to
helping them better understand their achievement and improve on their
weaknesses. By providing positive, detailed, and timely feedback, teachers can
help students make great progress in their learning.
Training professional-pedagogical skills for future teachers in pedagogical
universities is undoubtedly influential in the career development process. Many
universities have conducted training for future teachers in assessment skills.
However, in Vietnam, in the context of educational innovation, teachers and
future teachers must have the skills of giving feedback to stakeholders about
student learning outcomes. This study has the following research questions:
1. What factors affect the effectiveness of future teachers in developing feedback
skills? What is the level of influence?
2. What measures will improve the effectiveness of developing future teachers'
feedback skills? How to do that?
2.1. Theory of feedback in learning-outcome (LO) assessment
Since the 1970s of the 20th century, there have been many researchs interested in
the relationship assessment and education, emphasizing the function of
assessment in supporting, regulating and improving the quality of education
(assessment for learning). That has led to many studies focusing on feedback in
assessment.
Arguing about the function of feedback in assessment, (Joughin, 2009) analyzed

the close relationship among learning, feedback, judgment, and classroom
assessment. Many authors confirmed that feedback production and reception is
the fundamental basis to help teachers and students build effective strategies to
38
regulate learning activities (Shute & Kim, 2014) (Dolin & et al., 2018) (Winstone
& Boud, 2022), thereby improving students’ learning (Black & Wiliam, 2018).
Discussing the content of feedback, Many authors confirmed that the feedback is
most complete and effective in learning orientation when it shows students both
correct results and their errors or limitations, explains the reasons for those and
gives specific instructions to help students adjust and improve their learning
(Lee, 2011), (Havnes & et al., 2012), (Ní Chróinín D. & Cosgrave C., 2013), (Shute
& Kim, 2014), (Dawson & et al., 2019)... confirmed. In addition, feedback should
focus on student tasks, especially criteria related to learning objectives
(Henderson & Phillips, 2015); (Diefes-Dux, 2019); (Brooks & et al., 2019); and,
more importantly, guide students to direct their learning activities in the future
(Boud & Molloy, 2013); (Merry & et al., 2013); (Gamlem & Smith, 2013);
(Dawson & et al., 2019). In terms of forms, feedback should be expressed as
constructive dialogues or discussions, especially when assessing complex
objectives at high cognitive levels (Brookhart, 2017); (Tekian & et al., 2017);
(Winstone & et al., 2017); (Carless & Boud, 2018), feedback should be informative,
specific, easy to understand, but not overly detailed, lengthy, unfocused or
commanding, which make students overwhelmed or annoyed (Hargreaves,
2013); (Brookhart, 2017)
Hattie and Timberly have proposed a fairly complete model of feedback in
teaching, in which feedback is information generalized from students' current
learning outcomes and accompanied by suggestions and guidance to improve
those learning outcomes (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). The purpose of feedback is
to bridge the gap between the student's recent learning outcomes and the set
learning objectives. By providing feedback, students have a clearer
understanding of their learning outcomes, form motivation, and develop more
effective learning strategies to enhance their learning outcomes under the
direction and supervision of the teacher. To promote effective teaching, feedback
needs to answer three main questions:
1. Where am I going? (What learning objectives are expected of students?):
Teachers need to clarify and repeat the learning objectives that students need to
achieve according to the requirements of the program or the subject.
2. How am I going? (What progress is being made towards the goal?): Teachers
need to determine the student’s current positions and levels of achievement of
their learning objectives.
3. Where to next? (What are the activities that need to be undertaken to make
better progress?); Teachers give directions for students to improve their learning
outcomes to achieve expected objectives, including teachers' suggestions and
instructions or specific tasks and requirements that guide students to self-
regulate their learning activities to achieve objectives.
The model also identifies four types (levels) of feedback:
1. Feedback about the Task (FT): Feedback focuses on correctness and limitations
in task results, accompanied by instructions for students to supplement and
adjust information and knowledge, indicating the correct results.
2. Feedback about the Processing of the task (FP): Feedback focuses on the
progress and strategies (methods) to process the task (such as metacognitive
strategies, learning process, problem research,…), accompanied by instructions
39
on how to correct mistakes, adjust skills, way to implement the task and choose
strategies or techniques when implementing the task.
3. Feedback about self-Regulation (FR): Feedback does not focus on process or
task results instead, it requires students to self-assess strategies, processes, and
results of the tasks, so that they can make adjustments while implementing the
task.
4. Feedback about Self as a person (FS): Feedback focuses on praise or criticism,
general blame with no or very little specific information about the process or the
results of the task.
Generally, while FS has low effectiveness in supporting learning, FT is suitable
for guiding students to supplement their knowledge and improve cognitive
competency; FP and FR are quite suitable for directing students to practice
competencies in science inquiry, knowledge-skills application and the other
(self-study, problem-solving,...). Furthermore, FR also helps to practice self-
assessment and self-regulation and strengthen students' confidence in their
competencies.
From the perspective of many researchers, it is possible to systematize the basic
requirements to ensure effective feedback in improving learning as follows (
(Nitko & Brookhart, 2013); (Henderson & Phillips, 2015); (McMillan, 2021),
(Cambridge Assessment International Education, 2018), (Voelkel & et al., 2020);
(Heritage, 2021) : Content of feedback focuses on students' expressions related to
learning objectives, contains specific, easy-to-understand, and clear information
for students to adjust even defines a detailed roadmap to direct students to
achieve small objectives towards the big goals; Feedback is suitable for the
students that receive (feedback for fairly good students does not need to be too
detailed like low-level students, feedback for student groups needs to focus on
the group's results instead of individual errors); Avoid praise, criticism in
general, judgment, and blame students, not only focus on mistakes and
limitations but also emphasize specific expressions of students’ effort and
progress; Ensure fairness, while ensuring individuality and differentiation,
avoiding comparison of achievements between students; At the right time, in
time for students to self-regulate (right when students have taken formative
assessment and as soon as possible when they have taken summative or
summative-based formative assessment).
Through the analysis of roles, purposes, content, method to give feedback, etc., it
is necessary to make teachers aware that feedback in teaching activities is an
application of system control model theory, in which the feedback is the
"rudder/vector" that drives the teaching activities to the correct goals. To avoid
the harmful effects of the "trial-error-redo" method, which is still encountered in
education, it is necessary to control the teaching activities with adequate and
timely feedback through the assessment activy
2.2. Skill of using feedback in LO assessment to support teaching and learning
After conducting an assessment, teachers must use the results of these
assessments to make decisions toward one or both purposes: confirming student
learning outcomes and supporting and improving teaching and learning
activities. Scott A. Schartel stated “Feedback is an integral part of the educational
40
process. It provides learners with a comparison of their performance to

educational goals to help them achieve or exceed their goals” (Scott , 2012). Skills
of providing and using feedback to support teaching and learning are teachers'
ability to use assessment results to make informed decisions, to inform, adjust and
improve their teaching activities (on the part of teachers themselves) and develop
learning activities (on the part of students), to improve the quality of teaching and
learning in the next learning period.
Description: When giving and using feedback, teachers need to make flexible and
reasonable application of the following factors:
1. Knowledge: teachers need to develop a correct and sufficient awareness of the
theoretical basis of feedback, the roles of feedback, and the uses of feedback in
supporting teaching and learning activities, besides their basic understanding of
the rules of using assessment results to grade students.
2. Skills: teachers need to acquire skills in giving feedback and using them to
support teaching and learning activities (based on the instructions in documents
(Hattie & Timperley, 2007), (Heritage, 2021), (Walvoord & Anderson, 2010),
(Mertler, 2014). Specifically:
a) From the current assessment results (cause analysis has been done), combined
with the analysis of lesson objectives – teaching contents in the next period
b) Identifying the basic and central problems that exist in students' learning
outcomes which can be potentially improved in the next period (including
expressions of qualities and competences that have not yet been well achieved)
c) Setting specific objectives of improvement to be attained (which are fit to
students’ current levels of qualities and competences and feasible regarding the
teaching content that follows)
d) Proposing supportive solutions:
Supporting students' learning activities: Supportive solutions need to be

concretized into several immediate or long-term tasks and requirements that
students need to implement in the next learning period. These solutions should be
reflected students along with the information about current assessment results.
Supporting teacher's teaching activities: Supportive solutions need to be
concretized into immediate adjustments in teaching activities or adjustments
planned for the next period (including adjustments in setting learning objectives,
building learning content, selecting methods and organizational forms of teaching,
designing teaching and assessment activities).
3. Attitudes: teachers are fostered and trained to have a positive and delicate sense
of giving feedback, making sure that the assessment is educational and
developmental; demonstrating an objective, responsible and cautious attitude
when making decisions related to students and the regulation of teaching
activities.
41
3. Methodology
3.1. Subjects, context, and time of research
The subjects of the survey and experimental study of the measure are 110 FTs
who have trained for bachelor's degrees in Biology Education at Quynhon
University, Vietnam. The FTs participating in the study were all in the 4th year
of their training course; they had been trained with modules of Theory and
Methodology in Biology teaching and had been equipped with basic knowledge
of Psychology, Pedagogy, and specialized knowledge in Life Sciences.
Experimental contents and measures to develop the skill of using feedback in the
learning-outcome assessment are conducted when FTs participate in the module
"Assessment in teaching Biology." Experimental time in the years 2019, 2020, and
2021.
Table 1: Subjects, background, and time of the study
Experiment
Time of
round Class of FTs Number of FTs
experiment
Biology Future Teacher K38, 2015-
1 53 2019
2019
2 33 2020
2020
3 24 2021
2021
3.2. How to collect data on factors affecting feedback skills in assessing

learning outcomes
The study used questionnaires to collect data on future teachers' perceptions and
attitudes about feedback in learning-outcome assessment. The survey was
conducted for 110 Biology future teachers selected from the above sample. The
questionnaire consists of two parts: part I asks about demographic information,
and part II asks about factors that affect the effectiveness of future teachers'
feedback skills training. Part II uses a five-point Likert scale. Respondents are
required to be serious, responsible, and honest in answering the questions posed
in the questionnaire.
The consistency of scores in each criterion is determined by reliability. Therefore,
it is necessary to analyze the data obtained through the survey by percentage
and frequency to find the reliability value. Cronbach's alpha measures the
consistency of a research instrument's reliability. This study determines the
reliability of the questions through Cronbach's alpha value. The higher the
confidence, the more accurate data can be obtained to produce quality results.
Typically, a Cronbach's alpha value higher than 0.60 is said to have a moderate
confidence level. With such variables having Cronbach's alpha value, it can be
used as an indicator to measure the device's reliability. On the other hand,
Cronbach's alpha values less than 0.60 are considered low confidence and
should not be accepted. Therefore, variables with Cronbach's alpha value must
be deleted or modified.
42
3.3. How to collect data on the effectiveness of feedback skills training in the
assessment of learning outcomes
Research layout plan: the study uses the impact method and evaluates the future
teachers’ change in the expression of feedback skills before, during, and after the
training process.
Method of conducting the study: The study was carried out three rounds, each
round including the following stages:
1. Pre-impact phase: During the first week of study, the lecturer receives the
class, introduces the subject and the training program to the future teachers, and
conducts the first assessment (input assessment). the pre-impact test.
2. Stage in impact (During-impact phase): Carrying out training feedback skills
in learning-outcome assessment when teaching the module "Assessment in
teaching Biology". At the same time, evaluate the training process two times at
two points:
Second assessment: through the results of the experential skill exercise/task
(when the future teacher is in step 3 of the procedure).
Third assessment: through the results of practical skill exercise/task (when
future teachers are in step 5 of the procedure).
3. Post-impact phase: evaluate the results of feedback skills training in learning-
outcome assessment to future teachers after having finished the lessons in the
course program (output assessment) by the post-impact test.
After each impact and assessment of the future teachers’ skills, from the
assessment results, the research team will edit the training measures and the
evaluation criteria for feedback skills. However, the research team edited the
sentences to make them easier for learners to understand.
How to assess experimental results:
At all times, the future teachers’ training demonstrations are evaluated based on
the system of assessment criteria (Table 3). Scores of all future teachers are
processed by descriptive statistical parameters and tested for the difference in
mean values by the Paired-Sample T-test tool to verify the progress in the
expression level of skills between assessment times (2nd time – 1st time, 3rd time –
2nd time, 4th time – 3rd time, and 4th time – 1st time). The test was conducted with
two hypotheses:
H0: there is no difference between the assessment (the expression level of the
skill does not change).
H1: there is a difference between the assessment (the expression level of the skill
changes).
Where: If the value Sig. (2-tailed) < .050: reject hypothesis H0, vice versa: accept
hypothesis H0 (with  = .050).
Simultaneously, the study also conducted qualitative observation and analysis
of the future teachers’ performance during the experiment to draw some
conclusions confirming the effect and meaning of the measure to practice
feedback skills for future teachers.
43
Table 2: Criteria for assessing the skill of using feedback in learning-outcome

assessment
Skill Level Manifest in each level
Level 1 Failing to indicate or indicate incorrect feedback
information and solutions to improve students' learning.
1. Providing Indicating feedback information incompletely, suggesting a

feedback and Level 2 few subjective solutions to improve students’ learning.
guiding
students to Indicating feedback information completely, suggesting
improve their several basic and systematic solutions to improve students’
learning Level 3 learning.
activities
Indicating feedback information completely, suggesting
solutions to improve students’ learning which is specific,
Level 4 systematic, well-ground and fit to certain situations
Level 1 Failing to suggest or suggesting incorrect solutions to self-
regulating teaching activities
2. Level 2 Suggesting a few solutions to self-regulating teaching

Constructing activities which are incomplete, unsystematic or subjective.
solutions to
improve Suggesting several basic and systematic solutions to self-
teaching Level 3 regulating teaching activities
activities
Suggesting solutions to self-regulating teaching activities
Level 4 which are specific, systematic, well-ground and fit to
certain situations
4. Findings and discussions

4.1. The effectiveness of feedback skills training in the assessment of learning
outcomes
From survey data collected from 110 students of Biology pedagogy, we
calculated the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to determine the factors affecting the
feedback skill in assessing learning outcomes. Table 3 shows the conversion
coefficients of Cronbach's alpha in surveying factors affecting feedback skills in
assessing learning outcomes.
Table 3: Cronbach’s alpha values in the pilot study
No. Variable Cronbach’s alpha values
1 Pedagogical Training .849
2 Classroom experience .960
3 Mentorship .789
4 Confidence .759
5 Feedback culture .899
Regarding the factors affecting feedback skills in assessing learning outcomes,

the Cronbach’s alpha value of the first variable, the classroom experience factor,
is .960. The second and third variables, namely feedback culture and
pedagogical training, recorded Cronbach’s alpha values of .899 and .849,
44
respectively. The last, the Cronbach’s alpha values for the 4th and 5th variables,
mentorship and confidence, are .789 and .759, respectively.
The survey shows the factors that must be affected to develop feedback skills in
learning-outcome assessment. From there, the research is oriented to the
experimental arrangement of the feedback skills training process based on
experiential learning experience and content to practice skills training for future
teachers.
4.2. The procedure of training feedback skills based on experiential learning
Skills are only developed and demonstrated through the subject's activities in
specific situations and real-world tasks by applying knowledge and skills
flexibly following the problem context. Therefore, to develop the skill of user
feedback, it is necessary to create conditions for FTs to experience situations and
contexts that reflect actual assessment activities. When FTs are placed in specific
cases, actively implementing teachers' feedback activities in real-life simulations
will stimulate them to apply their knowledge and skills differently, depending
on their cognitive abilities and social experiences.
To meet the basis of experiential learning, the research developed a procedure

for training skills by using feedback for FTs based on applying D. Kolb’s model
of experiential learning (Kolb, 2015). The basic concept of this model is that
learners' learning activities must come from actual experiences, through actions
and feelings, to form experiences, thereby selecting and transforming these
experiences together with existing knowledge to create new knowledge, from
which learners develop cognitive and application competencies. Accordingly,
the procedure of training skill of using feedback in learning-outcome assessment
is based on an experiential learning cycle with four stages: concrete experience,
reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.
Table 4: Experiential learning activities to practice feedback skills in the

assessment of learning outcomes
Features of each stage Corresponding activity in the
Stage (primarily learning procedure of training skills of
activities) using feedback
Experiencing specific Mobilizing personal
activities or manipulations experiences, experiencing
1.Concrete
directly, forming initial feedback activities that
experience
experiences simulate real-world situations.
Contemplating, reflecting Discussing to reflect and share

on the activities and the process and experience
2.Reflective experience results, results, analyzing the
observation analyzing and evaluating experiences with the lecturer’s
experiences direction
Generalizing acquired Building models of skill

experiences to build procedure, generalizing
3.Abstract
theories (turning principles and strategies,
conceptualisation
experience into knowledge) meeting the requirements
when implementing the skill
45
Using theories in Applying developed procedure

conducting practical and strategies to practice in
4.Active
activities for positive training tasks with similar or
experimentation
verification, application, new situations.
and adjustment
The training of skills in giving and using feedback in the learning-outcome

assessment is executed through the following steps:
1. Step 1: Research background knowledge.
The lecturer asks future teachers (FTs) to repeat the basic functions of
assessment in teaching → Places emphasis on two primary purposes when using
assessment information: confirming students’ learning outcomes and supporting
teaching activities to improve student’s learning outcomes.
Lecturer directs FTs to focus on studying the use of assessment information to
provide feedback and support teaching and learning activities → Asks FTs to
study curriculum materials and apply learned knowledge to analyze the roles of
feedback in assessment → Lecturer introduces to FTs the model of effective
feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) → Lecturer redirects FTs to the experiential
task to learn how to build effective feedback according to the above model.
2. Step 2: Experiencing the skill
Lecturer assigns the task to a case study:
Study the teacher's assessment activity when teaching the topic "Photosynthesis in
plants" (Biology, Grade 11), using the exercise "Groups of pigments that make up colors
in plants” on the worksheet when consolidating and practicing at the end of lesson 1.
After synthesizing the obtained assessment results, the teacher needs to do the following
things:
a) Determining the time to give feedback, the object receiving the feedback, and the
appropriate form of feedback (spoken and written) to be used in these activities.
b) Determining the necessary contents of the feedback to students in these activities

(Hint: What will you say/write to help students see their learning outcomes and support
students to adjust and improve their learning outcomes?).
c) Reviewing the teaching-assessment plan of the topic "Photosynthesis in plants,"

thereby proposing several solutions to improve teaching activities and improve students'
learning outcomes in the remaining time of the topic (Hint: The answers may require
adjustment of some objectives, content, teaching methods and techniques, even planned
assessment activities).
FTs receive the task and join group discussions to complete it. The lecturer
should suggest FTs connect the content of learned background knowledge in
step 1 to implement the tasks in the above situation: For the time and form of
feedback, please use past experiences to predict the teacher's conduct in this
situation (Note: explain the basis for making those predictions); For the feedback
content, apply the theory of Hattie – Timberly and answer three questions
yourself: Where are students going? How are students going? Where to next?;
For the proposal to improve teaching and learning activities, analyses should be
noted: After those assessment activities, what content will students continue to
46
learn on the topic? Are there any opportunities for improvement when learning
the following content? How to improve (what should students do, must teachers
do...)?
3. Step 3: Reflecting on the results of skill implementation

Lecturer organizes groups of FTs to present the results of the experiential tasks,
then asks FTs to comment on and compare the results among the groups. The
lecturer asks the groups to observe the suggested answers (the feedback, the
solutions developed by the teacher in the situation) so that the FTs can compare,
contrast and reflect on their group's results.
Lecturer asks FTs to exchange and share about the process of implementing the
experiential task through suggested questions:
Based on which theoretical basis did you develop the feedback and propose
solutions to adjust teaching and learning activities? Were there any other bases?
Were there any difficulties in the process of doing those jobs?
What do you think about your group's results (compared to other groups and
compared with the results given by the teacher in the situation)? What are the
strong and weak points of the results (accuracy, granularity, specificity of the
feedback, scientificity, and ability to implement improvement solutions…)?
What experiences have you learned from the analysis of the teacher in the
situation and other groups?
4. Step 4: Generalizing the implementation procedure of the skill
Lecturer directs FTs to synthesize lessons and experiences analyzed from
experiential tasks → Generalize theoretical contents related to the craft of using
assessment feedback to support teaching and learning activities (the
implementation procedure and requirements, notes... during implementation to
ensure effectiveness). Lecturer leads FTs to use the built-in theories to
supplement and complete the results from the above task.
5. Step 5: Practicing training the skill

Lecturer assigns practical exercises to FTs, requiring them to give feedback and
use the results of the assessment to support teaching and learning activities in
other situations.
FTs receive the tasks and implement the tasks in groups within a certain amount
of time allotted (inside and outside class). During that process, the lecturer
monitors, allows the groups to report the preliminary exercise results, and gives
further instructions to the groups to complete the tasks before completing the
final report.
6. Step 6: Assessing the results of skill training
Lecturer has groups of FTs report on the results of practical exercises, using the
assessment sheets for groups’ self-assessment and peer-assessment among
groups.
4.3. Results of training feedback skills in assessing learning outcomes for
students
The study assessed future teachers' skills four times in testing the content and
measures to develop feedback skills in assessing learning outcomes. The
following results:
47
Criterion D1 – Feedback and guide students to adjust learning activities
Table 5: Quantitative assessment results for criterion D1 – Feedback and

recommend students to adjust learning activities
Number and percentage (%) of FTs that reached at levels of
Total
Assessmen criterion D1
number
t time Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
of FTs
No % No % No % No %
1st time 110 92 83.64 18 16.36 0 .00 0 .00
2nd time 110 33 30.00 77 70.00 0 .00 0 .00
3rd time 110 23 20.91 54 49.09 31 28.18 2 1.82
4th time 110 19 17.27 49 44.55 36 32.73 6 5.45
100
90
80
70
60 Level 1
50 Level 2
40 Level 3
30 Level 4
20
10
0
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Figure 1: The graph shows the variation in the percentage of students meeting
the criteria levels D1 – Feedback and guide students to adjust learning activities
The results presented above show an improvement in criterion D1 during

competency training. In the first assessment (before the experiment), most future
teachers only met criterion D1 level 1 (83.6%), clearly because they did not have
enough knowledge and experience on the feedback topic. After studying the
theory of feedback model in assessment, future teachers were able to present a
part of the feedback content following the experience situation based on the
theory, so the percentage of future teachers reached the high level of 2 (reaching
70.00 %). Next, after the process of reflection and learning from experience, some
future teachers made better progress in the 3rd assessment, moving from level 2
to levels 3 and 4. However, the percentage of future teachers who reached levels
3 and 4 is generally low and does not change much in 2 assessments 3rd and 4th;
many future teachers are still at level 2 and level 1. It shows that criterion D1 is
tricky for future teachers; the theory provision must also increase opportunities
to practice real-life feedback situations to improve training effectiveness.
Criterion D2 – Develop measures to adjust teaching activities
48
Table 6: Quantitative assessment results for criterion D2 – Developing standards

to adjust teaching activities
Number and percentage (%) of FTs that reached levels of
Total criterion D2
Assessment
number
time
of FTs Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
No % No % No % No %
1st time 110 87 79.09 23 20.91 0 .00 0 .00
2nd time 110 29 26.36 81 73.64 0 .00 0 .00
3rd time 110 20 18.18 52 47.27 34 30.91 4 3.64
4th time 110 16 14.55 46 41.82 39 35.45 9 8.18
100
90
80
70
60 Level 1
50 Level 2
40 Level 3
30 Level 4
20
10
0
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Figure 2: The graph shows the variation in the percentage of students meeting
the criteria levels D2 – Developing measures to adjust teaching activities
For criterion D2, the improvement in future teachers’ performance through

training has a similar increase as criterion D1. Specifically, at the second
assessment after theoretical research, the percentage of future teachers reaching
level 2 quickly prevailed (73.64%), then some future teachers continued to show
progress through learning from the experiential situation and move to level 3,
and 4 in subsequent assessments. At the time of after training (assessment 4), the
percentage of future teachers achieving levels 3 and 4 is somewhat higher than
the corresponding rates in criterion D1 (35.5% and 8.18%, respectively) even
though the percentage of future teachers at level 2 is still the largest (41.82%). It
can be seen that there is a certain correlation in the expression trend of two
criteria D1 and D2; when future teachers identify measures to adjust students’
learning, it will also be easy to identify adjustments in teaching activities on the
part of teachers.
However, to verify the true development level of future teachers during 3 years
of experiment, we conduct a year-by-year analysis and use the Paired-Sample T-
tool to analyze the difference in mean values.
49
Table 7: Results of future teachers' feedback skills assessment in round 1 (53 4th-
year future teachers, 2019)
Assess
criteria
Criteria ment
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
time
No % No % No % No %
1. Providing 1st 43 81.132 10 18.868 0 .000 0 .000
feedback and
conducting 2nd 14 26.415 39 73.585 0 .000 0 .000
students to 3rd 12 22.642 26 49.057 14 26.415 1 1.887
improve
learning 4th 9 16.981 28 52.830 15 28.302 1 1.887
activities
1st 41 77.358 12 22.642 0 .000 0 .000
2. Constructing
solutions to .000
2nd 13 24.528 40 75.472 0 .000 0
improve
teaching 3rd 9 16.981 24 45.283 18 33.962 2 3.774
activities
4th 8 15.094 21 39.623 21 39.623 3 5.660
Intuitively, the data in Table 7 is plotted on the graph of the percentage of future
teachers achieving the levels in each criterion across four times of assessments as
follows:
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Level 4
50%
Level 3
40%
Level 2
30%
Level 1
20%
10%
0%
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Criterion D1 Criterion D2
Figure 3: Chart about results of future teachers’ feedback skills assessment in

round 1 (53 4th-year future teachers, 2019)
Table 7 and figure 3 show that the skill training results of future teachers have
changed positively through the assessments before, during and after the
experimental process. In the pre-impact test, 100% of future teachers only
achieved levels 1 and 2 in all criteria. However, later on, the percentage of future
teachers achieving levels 3 and 4 increased and accounted for a high rate.
50
To check the actual development level of future teachers in each criterion, the
research performed a statistical hypothesis test to compare the average value of
the scores achieved through the assessments using the Paired Sample T-test. The
test results are summarized in the following table (here only two indicators are
presented, the mean difference – Mean and the tested coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)):
Table 8: Results of testing the difference in the average value of skill training
scores across assessments of 53 future teachers in 2019
Criteria Comparison Comparison Comparison Comparison
2nd time – 1st 3rd time – 2nd 4th time – 3rd 4th time – 1st
time time time time
Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2-
Mean Mean Mean Mean
tailed) tailed) tailed) tailed)
D1 .547 .000 .340 .000 .075 .376 .962 .000
D2 .528 .000 .491 .000 .113 .277 1.132 .000
Analysis of the above results draws some trends:

When comparing the average score of achieving the criteria in the following
assessments with the previous ones, the indicators of mean difference (Mean)
are all positive (Mean > 0), showing that all scores increase through assessments.
Sig. (2-tailed) calculated from 6/8 tests have a value less than .050, showing that
in most of the comparisons, the difference in the mean value of the following
score from the previous score is statistically significant (with 95% confidence),
which indicates that training results have indeed increased.
There are 2/8 tests with Sig value. (2-tailed) have a value of more than .050,
indicating that the training results did not improve in 2 criteria at the 4th
assessment (compared to the 3rd assessment). This is explained because feedback
skills require future teachers to perform complex operations, including applying
unfamiliar theoretical basis, and making the connection between learning
outcomes to current/ next objectives to identify opportunities and strategies to
improve student’s learning outcomes through teaching and learning. In the short
training process, future teachers do not have much time to reflect and learn from
the results of practical exercises.
However, in general, the coefficient of Sig. (2-tailed) compared the post-test
scores (4th assessment) to pre-test score (1st assessment) are less than .050. It
confirms that the difference in future teachers’ feedback skills after and before
training is statistically significant.
Table 9: Results of future teachers' feedback skills assessment in round 2 (33 4th-
year future teachers, 2020)
Asse Number and percentage (%) of FTs that reached levels of
ssme criteria
Criteria
nt Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
time No % No % No % No %
.000 .000
1. Providing 1st 28 84.848 5 15.152 0 0
feedback and
2nd 13 39.394 20 60.606 0 .000 0 .000
conducting
students to
improve 3rd 8 24.242 16 48.485 8 24.242 1 3.030
51
learning
4th 7 21.212 13 39.394 11 33.333 2 6.061
activities
1st 28 84.848 5 15.152 0 .000 0 .000
2. Constructing
solutions to .000 .000
2nd 10 30.303 23 69.697 0 0
improve
teaching 3rd 7 21.212 16 48.485 9 27.273 1 3.030
activities
4th 4 12.121 16 48.485 11 33.333 2 6.061
The data in Table 9 is also shown visually on the graph of the percentage of
students achieving the levels in each criterion through 4 times assessment as
follows:
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Level 4
50%
Level 3
40%
Level 2
30%
Level 1
20%
10%
0%
Figure 4: Chart about results of future teachers' feedback skills assessment in the
second test (33 4th-year future teachers, 2020)
The results from table 9 and figure 4 also show the trend of progressive change
in the training results of future teachers through this training process, reflected
in the percentages of future teachers achieving levels 1 and 2 in criteria are
decreasing, even then, the percentages of future teachers achieving levels 3 and 4
are increasing and accounts for a high rate through the experimental
assessments.
To check the actual development level of future teachers in each criterion, the
research performed a statistical hypothesis test to compare the average value of
the scores achieved through the assessments using the Paired Sample T-test. The
test results are summarized in the following table:
52
Table 10: Results of testing the difference in the average value of competency
training scores across the assessment times of 33 students in 2020
2nd time – 1st 3rd time – 2nd 4th time – 3rd 4th time – 1st
time time time time
Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2-
Mean Mean Mean Mean
D1 .455 .000 .455 .000 .182 .136 .091 .000
D2 .545 .000 .424 .000 .212 .090 .182 .000

When comparing the average score of achieving the criteria in the following
assessments with the previous ones, the indicators of mean difference (Mean)
are all positive (Mean > 0), showing that all scores increase through assessments.
Sig. (2-tailed) calculated from 6/8 tests have a value less than .050, showing that
in most of the comparisons, the difference in the mean value of the following
score from the previous score is statistically significant (with 95% confidence),
which indicates that training results have indeed increased.
There are 2/8 tests with Sig value. (2-tailed) have a value of more than .050,
indicating that the training results did not improve in 2 criteria at the 4th
assessment (compared to the 3rd assessment). Specifically, in comparison of the
4th assessment score to 3rd score, the Sig values. (2-tailed) in 2 criteria D1 and D2
are .136 and .090 respectively, smaller than the corresponding values in round 1,
but still greater than .050. This results from adjusting the procedure of training
feedback skills, specifically in steps 5 and 6, to increase the duration of activities
to guide future teachers in self-assessment as well as encourage them to share
and exchange experiences. However, the results of the above statistical analysis
still show that future teachers still have not improved their feedback skills
conspicuously.
However, as a whole, the coefficient Sig. (2-tailed) compared the post-test scores
(4th assessment) to pre-test score (1st assessment) are less than .050 (similar to
results in round 1). It proves that the difference in the scores of future teachers'
feedback skills after and before training is statistically significant.
Table 11: Results of future teachers' feedback skills assessment in round 3 (24 4 th-
year future teachers, in 2021)
Asse
criteria
Criteria ssmen
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
t time
No % No % No % No %
.000 .000
1. Providing 1st 21 87.500 3 12.500 0 0
feedback and
.000 .000
conducting
2nd 6 25.000 18 75.000 0 0
students to
improve .000
learning 3rd 3 12.500 12 50.000 9 37.500 0
activities
4th 3 12.500 8 33.333 10 41.667 3 12.500
2.
1st 18 75.000 6 25.000 0 .000 0 .000
Constructing
53
solutions to
improve 2nd 6 25.000 18 75.000 0 .000 0 .000
teaching
3rd 4 16.667 12 50.000 7 29.167 1 4.167
activities
4th 4 16.667 9 37.500 7 29.167 4 16.667
Figure 5 also visually shows the results in Table 11 as follows:

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Level 4
50%
Level 3
40%
Level 2
30%
Level 1
20%
10%
0%
Figure 5: Chart about results of future teachers' feedback skills assessment in

round 3 (24 4th-year students, in 2021)
The data from table 11 and chart 3.5 above also show the trend of improvement
in future teachers' training results through round 3; when the percentages of
future teachers achieving levels 1 and 2 in the criteria gradually decrease, while
percentages of future teachers achieving levels 3 and 4 is increasing and
accounts for a high percentage through 4 assessment times. To check future
teachers' actual development in each criterion, the research continues to test
with the Paired Sample T-test. The test results are summarized in the following
table:
Table 12: Results of testing the difference in the average value of competency
training scores across assessments of 24 students in 2021
2nd time – 1st 3rd time – 2nd 4th time – 3rd time 4th time – 1st time
time time
Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2- Sig.(2-
Mean Mean Mean Mean
D1 .625 .000 .500 .000 .292 .030 1.417 .000
D2 .500 .000 .458 .001 .250 .036 1.208 .000
54

The indicators of mean difference (Mean) are all positive (Mean > 0), showing
that the scores have increased over the assessment times. This is similar to the
experimental results in the previous two rounds.
Sig. (2-tailed) calculated from 8/8 tests with a value less than .050, showing that
in all comparisons, the difference in the mean value of the following score from
the previous score is statistically significant (with 95% confidence). Especially,
the difference between the 4th assessment score compared to the 3rd showed a
substantial improvement in statistics. This expresses the effectiveness of
improving the procedure of training feedback skills in steps 5 and 6, which is
aimed to enhance the future teachers’ self-assessment and experience sharing.
The results from all three rounds of pedagogical experiments in the above three
years of research show that developing feedback skills in learning-outcome
assessment is effective.
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, this research describes the factors affecting feedback skills in the
learning-outcome assessment of future teachers, which are analyzed based on
the answers to the questionnaires of the future teachers in the pedagogical
university. The results show that the classroom experience is the most influential
factor (of the factors: classroom experience; feedback culture; pedagogical
training; mentorship; confidence) in developing future teachers' feedback skills.
Since then, the research has proposed and tested measure to develop this skills
for future teachers, which is geared towards skill training based on experiential
learning. Specifically, future teachers go through a process that includes the
following steps: Researching background knowledge; Experiencing skills;
Reflecting on the results of skill implementation; Generalizing the
implementation procedure of the skill; Practicing training the skill; Assessing the
results of skill training. The experiment was quantitatively analyzed through the
statistical indicators of the future teachers’ training results before, during, and
after the experiment, proving that the method used by the research was
compelling. Changes in measures to train pedagogical skills, especially feedback
skills in assessment based on experiential learning, need to be implemented
effectively to suit learning in the 21st-century environment. The findings of this
study can be implemented and applied in future teacher training programs.
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Scott , A. (2012). Giving feedback – An integral part of education. Best Practice & Research
Clinical Anaesthesiology, 26(1), 77-78. doi:10.1016/j.bpa.2012.02.003
Shute & Kim. (2014). Formative and stealth assessment. In e. a. Spector, Handbook of
research on educational communications and technology (pp. 311-321). New York:
Springer. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_25
Tekian, A., & et al. (2017). Qualitative and quantitative feedback in the context of
competency-based education. Medical teacher, 39(12), 1245-1249.
doi:10.1080/0142159X.2017.1372564
Voelkel, S., & et al. (2020). Students tell us what good written feedback looks like. FEBS
Open bio, 10(5), 692-706. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-
5463.12841
Walvoord , B., & Anderson, V. (2010). Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment in
college. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://www.wiley.com/en-
us/Effective+Grading:+A+Tool+for+Learning+and+Assessment+in+College,+2
nd+Edition-p-9780470502150
Winstone, N. E., & Boud, D. (2022). The need to disentangle assessment and feedback in
higher education. Studies in higher education, 47(3), 656-667. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1779687
Winstone, N., & et al. (2017). Supporting learners' agentic engagement with feedback: A
systematic review and a taxonomy of recipience processes. Educational
psychologist, 52(1), 17-37. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.20
Appendix 1
Factors that affect the effectiveness of feedback in teaching
Instrucstions: Mark (x) in the column provided for each item based on the score
chart in the table below
Level Score
‘’Strongly Disagree” (FTS) 1
“Do not agree’’ (TS) 2
“Not sure’’ (TP) 3
‘’Agrees’’ (S) 4
‘’Strongly agree’’ (SS) 5
57
No. Question Score

1 2 3 4 5
A. Pedagogical Training
1 Pedagogical training has a significant impact on
the quality of feedback I give to students
2 I need training on feedback skills in performance
assessment
B. Classroom experience
1 My classroom experience affects the type of
feedback I provide to students
2 I feel comfortable giving feedback to students in
the classroom
C. Mentorship
1 Mentorship has played a role in developing my
feedback skills
2 The mentor helps me practice and correct my
skills
3 The mentor helps me assess my skills
D. Confidence
1 My confidence in providing feedback affects its
effectiveness
2 I feel that my confidence level has improved over
time with more experience in giving feedback
E. Feedback culture
1 The culture of feedback in my
workplace/educational institution has a strong
impact on my approach to providing feedback
2 My school or organization I work for values
feedback and encourages its use
3 I feel that the feedback I provide to students is
well received and valued by them
58

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 58-72, April 2023
Received Feb 27, 2023; Revised Mar 30, 2023; Accepted Apr 18, 2023
Examining the Relationships between Academic

Adaptation and Life-Domain Issues among
Working University Students in Estonia
Mohammad Abu Sayed Toyon*
Estonian Business School, Tallinn, Estonia
Abstract. Juggling work, personal responsibilities, and academic

obligations can be challenging for many students, who work while
studying, potentially leading to difficulties in adapting to the academic
demands and compromising academic success. This study aims to
evaluate the relationship between life domain (e.g., work, personal, and
university) obstacles and academic adaptation among working university
students in Estonia. Using the data from the Eurostudent-VII survey, the
study estimated quantitative measures of association. The findings
suggest that work-related issues negatively affect academic adaptation,
while concerns related to childcare and the financial situation did not
have any statistically significant impact. In contrast, issues with
unsuitable and demanding academic programmes were found to
significantly affect academic adaptation for working students. This study
sheds light on the challenges faced by working students and the manner
in which these obstacles can affect academic experiences, underscoring
the need for support for employed university students in Estonia. Such
knowledge can be put to further research use, and it can also inform
initiatives aimed at assisting students, who are simultaneously working
and pursuing higher education.
Keywords: academic adaptation; Eurostudent survey; life domain;

student employment; working student
1. Introduction
The issue of working students struggling to balance employment, personal
responsibilities, and academic obligations has become increasingly prevalent due
to the rise in the cost of living and the introduction of fee-based education
(Kroupova et al., 2021). As a result, investigating the relationships between life-
domain difficulties and academic adaptation among working, students have
become an important topic of research (Applegate & Daly, 2016). Job-related stress
and weariness can make it challenging for working students to maintain a healthy
*
Corresponding author: Mohammad Abu Sayed Toyon, mohammad.toyon@ebs.ee
©Authors
59
work-life balance, thereby making it harder to identify the sources of academic

challenges (Kremer, 2016). Given that working students come from diverse
backgrounds and have various resources at their disposal, it is crucial to
understand how their work and academic commitments affect their academic
outcomes (Beerkens et al., 2011; Dham & Lauterbach, 2016). However, research on
the effects of work, personal, and university obligations on academic adjustment
among working students in Estonia is rather limited.
Estonia has undergone significant changes in its higher education system since
gaining independence in 1991, resulting in a more diverse student population and
an increase in working students (Beerkens et al., 2011; Vinter, 2021). With over
60% of adults aged 25-64 having completed some form of higher education (Aug,
2022), it is important to examine those factors that may affect academic
adaptation, particularly for working students. Understanding academic
adaptation among Estonian university students could inform policies and
interventions aimed at supporting working students academically.
To address this issue, this study uses Eurostudent-VII data and several measures
of association metrics to examine the interplay between work, personal, and
university obligations and academic adaptation among Estonian working
students. The study extends previous research in this area and sheds light on the
difficulties experienced by working students; and on how they saw difficulties
could affect academic adaptation. The rest of the work is structured into four
parts: the literature review, the method, a discussion, and finally, the conclusion.
2.The Literature Review

2.1. Conceptual Clarification
Academic adaptation is an essential component of academic success and the
process of becoming familiar with those capable of meeting the educational
requirements (Gonta & Bulgac, 2019; Orlov et al., 2018; Shamionov et al., 2020). In
this study, academic adaptation refers to the process by which students become
accustomed to the academic environment of a university, including academic
standards, expectations, and the rigours of higher-level coursework. Among the
many psychological, social, and academic aspects it covers are the maturation of
one’s study abilities and accomplishments, the expansion of one’s social circle,
and the integration into the university’s unique academic and cultural milieu
(Yerken & Luu, 2022).
Study work integration, also known as juggling study and work, is the
combination of work and education for university students; this might include
working either part-time or full-time, while attending university (Kroupova et al.,
2021; Mitola et al., 2018). As the definition of working students can vary from
country to country and from law to law, and as it would be impossible to include
all aspects in the context of this study, working students are defined for the
purposes of this study as university students who work, while pursuing their
higher education.
60
Life domains refer to various aspects of an individual’s life that can include
personal factors, such as physical and mental health, relationships, financial
stability, family and living conditions, as well as societal and cultural factors, such
as employment, social support, and access to resources (Gonta & Bulgac, 2019;
VanderWeele, 2017). In the context of this research, life domains relate to those
various personal and societal factors that can affect Estonian university students’
ability to adapt to the academic demands of their studies. To be more precise, this
study examines the life domain from three vantage points, including work,
personal, and academic contexts. Through the perspective of work difficulties,
such as weekly working hours and job obligations, it is feasible to comprehend
the time and energy demands placed on students outside the classroom.
However, personal difficulties, such as financial responsibilities, childcare, and
pregnancy can cause significant stress and hinder students’ ability to fully engage
in their academic activities. Lastly, university concerns. such as scheduling
conflicts, mandatory attendance requirements, and demanding academic
programs, with rigorous exams and papers, can impede students’ ability to
properly adapt to academic life. By considering these three perspectives, this
study can provide a more thorough picture of the academic adaptation issues
faced by such working students.
2.2. Previous Studies and Hypothetical Formulation

There are several factors to consider while analysing the relationship between
employment and academic success, including working hours and difficulties in
the workplace (Kroupova et al., 2021). It has been argued that students who work
more hours per week have lower grades, are less likely to persist in college, and
are more likely to drop out than students who work less hours per week (Pusztai
et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2019). Academic performance and the likelihood of
encountering academic problems were shown to be lower among students who
worked more than 20 hours per week, when compared with those who worked
less than 20 hours per week (Applegate & Daly, 2016; Zhang & Yang, 2020). In
addition, students who work more hours per week are more likely to have
difficulty balancing their work and academic responsibilities, which can have
negative effects on students’ academic performance (Kroupova et al., 2021; Tyler,
2003; Zhang & Yang, 2020).
Problems at work can have a significant effect on a student’s ability to concentrate,

motivation, and well-being, all of which can have knock-on effects on the
student’s ability to adapt academically (Beatson et al., 2021; Kroupova et al., 2021).
Researchers have found that working students, who experience work-related
difficulties, such as conflicts with supervisors or co-workers, are more likely to
experience stress and have lower levels of academic achievement (Bhui et al., 2016;
Schaufeli & Taris, 2005). Work-life conflict is associated with lower academic
attainment and an increased likelihood of burn-out among adult students
(Kremer, 2016). Researcher (Kremer, 2016) also found that adult students who
experience work-related difficulties are more likely to have lower levels of
engagement in coursework, which can further influence academic performance.
In the light of the afore-mentioned literature, at least two hypotheses can be
proposed:
61
Hypothesis 1: There is an association between working time per week and

academic adaptation, such that increased work duration (more than 20 hours per
week) is associated with decreased academic adaptation among working
students.
Hypothesis 2: There is an association between work responsibilities and academic

adaptation, such that increased difficulties due to the obligation of a paid job are
associated with decreased academic adaptation among working students.
Personal factors, such as work-family conflict and family obligations, have been
theorised by researchers to have a negative impact on academic life (Roy et al.,
2018). For working students, the additional responsibilities associated with family
obligations, such as childcare or managing a pregnancy, can make it even more
challenging to balance academic and personal obligations. In addition,
researchers (Broer et al., 2019) have discovered a link between students’ socio-
economic status and their adaptability to new environments, suggesting that
financially struggling students may find it harder to learn new material.
Additionally, research by Robotham (2009) suggests that students who work
while studying may have lower academic success. These arguments indicate that
personal factors of working students, such as childcare or managing pregnancy,
financial pressures, and limited access to resources, may be related to their
academic adaptation. Therefore, the following hypotheses have been proposed:
Hypothesis 3: There is an association between family obligation and academic

adaptation, such that increased difficulties stemming from the obligation to
provide child-care are correlated with decreased academic adaptation.
Hypothesis 4: There is an association between academic adaptation and personal

situation, such that increased difficulties due to financial challenges, are
correlated with decreased academic adaptation.
For the academic adaptation of working students, another life-domain aspect to

consider is the nature of their academic program, such as an academic attendance
requirement, the number of students in each class, and the crowded classrooms
may all lead to low academic achievement (Willems et al., 2021). Students who
struggled to keep track of their schedules and other school needs tended to have
poorer levels of academic adaptation (Gonta & Bulgac, 2019). Students in
overcrowded courses do worse academically; and they are less satisfied with their
educational experiences (Shirley, 2017). In addition, the transition to the rigours
of higher education presents its own specific difficulties, as has been
demonstrated by the prior research (Knoster & Goodboy, 2020). Similarly,
research (Zhang & Yang, 2020) indicated that working students had a harder time
juggling employment and school, which in turn created challenges for them to
adapt to the rigours of their programs. Exams and papers, which are staples of
rigorous academic programs, can be particularly taxing on working students, who
are already struggling to juggle their employment and school responsibilities.
Based on the aforementioned research, two hypotheses can be proposed.
62
Hypothesis 5: There is an association between academic adaptation and

unsuitable academic programme, such that increased difficulties due to the
organisation of the schedule, space restrictions in classes, and mandatory
attendance are correlated with decreased academic adaptation.
Hypothesis 6: There is an association between academic adaptation and a

demanding academic program, such that increased difficulties due to the
standard of work in the study program (e.g., demanding exams, papers, etc.) are
correlated with decreased academic adaptation.
3. The Method
3.1. The Source of the Data
This study utilises Estonian data from the Eurostudent-VII survey (Cuppen et al.,
2021). The survey received a total of 2760 responses from students in Estonia, of
which 1902 were working university students. The Eurostudent survey is a valid
and reliable source of data regarding the social and economic circumstances of
higher education students in Europe, including Estonia (Cuppen et al., 2021;
Hauschildt et al., 2021). It is a large-scale survey that has been regularly
conducted, and it gives useful information on numerous aspects of student life,
such as academic performance, socio-economic background, living conditions,
and student mobility.
In Estonia, statistics on the relationship between adaptation and the life-domain

difficulties of working students are scarce. Eurostudent data can assist and
address this void by giving statistics on the prevalence of employment among
university students, the types of employment they have, and the extent to which
their employment interferes with their education. Data from eurostudents can
also be used to detect the unique obstacles faced by working students, including
work-family conflicts, financial difficulties, and a lack of access to resources,
which can have an impact on their academic adaptation.
Table 1 presents the characteristics of the working student sample used in this
research. For example, in terms of age, the majority of working students are over
30 years old (35.9%), followed by those aged 22 to under 25 years (24.3%), those
aged 25 to under 30 years (21.3%), and those up to 21 years old (18.5%). In terms
of gender, the majority of working students are female (76.9%) and male working
students that account for 23.1% of the total. In terms of education level, more than
half of the working students have a Bachelor’s degree (57.7%), followed by those
with a Master’s degree (36.6%), and those with a lengthy national degree (5.6%).
In terms of academic disciplines, the most common are in the social sciences,
journalism and information (13.3%), business, administration and law (19.3%),
and health and welfare (15.4%). Other academic disciplines include education,
arts and humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, ICTs,
engineering, manufacturing and construction, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and
veterinary services.
63
Table 1. Sample Characteristics

Demographic variable Frequency Percentage
Age
up to 21 years 351 18.5
22 to <25 years 463 24.3
25 to <30 years 405 21.3
30 years or over 683 35.9
Gender
Female 1463 76.9
Male 439 23.1
Education level
Bachelor 1098 57.7
Master 697 36.6
Long national degree 107 5.6
Academic Disciplines
Education 212 11.1
Arts and humanities 316 16.6
Social sciences,
journalism & 253 13.3
information
Business, administration
367 19.3
& law
Natural sciences,
mathematics & statistics 122 6.4
ICTs 151 7.9

Engineering,
manufacturing & 95 5.0
construction
Agriculture, forestry,
fisheries & veterinary 15 0.8
Health & welfare 293 15.4

Services 75 3.9
Total 1899 99.8
No answer 3 0.2
Total 1902 100.0
Source: Calculated by author based on empirical data
3.2. Analytical Technique

Cross-tabulation, also known as a contingency table or cross-table, is a method
used in statistics to investigate the relationship between two or more categorical
variables (Stockemer, 2019). Somers’s and Kendall’s tables are both also measures
of association in cross-tabular data, which are used to determine the strength and
direction of the relationship between two variables (Metsämuuronen, 2020).
Somers’s is a non-parametric measure of association that is used to quantify the
strength of the relationship between two categorical variables. Both of these
measures range from -1 to 1, with values close to 1 indicating a strong positive
64
association, and values close to -1 indicating a strong negative association, and

values close to 0 indicating a weak or no association. Kendall’s table is another
non-parametric measure of association that is used to quantify the strength and
direction of the relationship between two ordinal variables. The Chi-square test is
an inferential statistical technique used to determine whether there is any
significant association between the two categorical variables; and it is commonly
used to test hypotheses about the relationship between two variables, such as
whether there is a difference between two groups, or whether there is a
relationship between two variables.
Table 2. List of Variables

Item Relevant items utilised in
Variable name
code operationalisation
Academic Assessment of the study’s setting and
adaptation content: It is often hard to discover
Y
what is expected of me in my current
study program
Work duration per Number of hours students working.
X1
week
Work Difficulties due to the obligations of
X2
responsibilities paid job
X3 Financial obligation Difficulties due to financial difficulties
Family Difficulties due to child-care
X4
obligations/pregnancy
Inapt academic Difficulties due to organisational issues
program at HEI (e.g., organisation of schedule,
X5
space restrictions in classes, mandatory
attendance, etc.)
Demanding Difficulties due to standard of work in
X6 academic program study program (e.g., demanding
exams/papers, etc.)
Source: Derived from Eurostudent-VII (Cuppen, et al., 2021)
3.3. Operationalisation
In order to operationalise the role of life domain (e.g., work, personal, and
university program) issues on academic adaptation among university students, it
is necessary to define a number of variables from the Eurostudent-VII survey. For
the sake of simplicity in describing the variables, they were coded as Y and X (see
Table 2), where Y represents academic adaptation and X represents different life-
domain challenges. All of the variables provided in Table 2 are categorical
variables, with their respective categories listed in Tables 3 and 4. The
computations were conducted by using a Statistical Program for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 23.
4. The Results
4.1. Life-domain issues faced by working students.
Figure 1 displays the percentage distribution of responses to survey questions
identifying problems in working students’ current study programmes, as a result
65
of several life-domain issues. The difficulties are grouped into five distinct types:
difficulties related to paid job obligations, financial difficulties, child-care
obligations, organisational issues at the higher education institution, and the
standard of work in the study program. The responses are divided into two
categories, ‘‘No’’ and ‘‘Yes’’, indicating the presence or absence of student
challenges in each category.
Figure 1. Life-Domain Challenges Faced by Working Students (N= 1902)

Note: All the data tables are in the percentage form
Figure 1 reveals that the highest percentage of ‘‘Yes’’ responses were for
difficulties related to paid job obligations (48.1%), followed by organisational
issues at higher education institutions (37.0%), difficulties related to the quality of
work in the study program (36.4%), financial difficulties (23%), and child-care
obligations/pregnancy (7.6%).
4.2. Assessment from Hypotheses

The result (see Table 3) of the first hypothesis test, Chi-square = 5.057 with 4
degrees of freedom and a p-value of 0.282, suggests that there is no statistically
significant difference between the groups of working students with varying
weekly work hours. A high p-value (more than 0.05) indicates that the difference
is likely to be due to chance, and the finding does not support the prediction that
students who work more hours per week would demonstrate less academic
adaptability. The negative values of both statistics (Somers’s = -0.049 and
Kendall’s tau-b = -0.045, respectively) imply that the amount of academic
adaptability decreases slightly as the number of working hours per week grows.
The p-values of 0.074 for both statistics, however, shows that the association is not
statistically significant. Hence, there is insufficient evidence to accept the
hypothesis that there is a relationship between work duration per week and
academic adaptation, such that increased work duration (more than 20 hours per
week) is related to decreased academic adaptation among working students.
Table 3. Association between Life Domain Issues and Academic Adaptation
66
Y
Don’t
X Strongly Total Measures of
- - - agree
agree association
at all
1- 47 124 126 224 152 673 χ2 = 5.057, df = 4,
20h 7.0 18.4 18.7 33.3 22.6 100% p = 0.282;
X1 Somers’s = -0.049,
>20 90 226 261 371 231 1179
p = 0.074;
h 7.6 19.2 22.1 31.5 19.6 100% Kendall’s tau-b =
Total 137 350 387 595 383 1852 -0.045, p = 0.074
7.4 18.9 20.9 32.1 20.7 100%

No 63 166 207 313 230 979 χ2 = 13.442, df =
6.4 17.0 21.1 32.0 23.5 100% 4, p = 0.009;
X2 Somers’s = -0.087,
Yes 80 188 188 293 165 914
p = 0.001;
8.8 20.6 20.6 32.1 18.1 100% Kendall’s table-c
Total 143 354 395 606 395 1893 =
7.6 18.7 20.9 32.0 20.9 100% -0.087, p = 0.001
No 101 266 302 474 313 1456 χ2 = 5.638, df = 4,
6.9 18.3 20.7 32.6 21.5 100% p = 0.228;
X3 Somers’s = -0.066,
Yes 42 88 93 132 82 437
p = 0.32;
9.6 20.1 21.3 30.2 18.8 100% Kendall’s table-c
Total 143 354 395 606 395 1893 =
-0.047,
7.6 18.7 20.9 32.0 20.9 100% p = 0.032
No 130 329 368 553 370 1750 χ2 = 2.980, df = 4,
7.4 18.8 21.0 31.6 21.1 100% p = 0.561
X4 Somers’s = -0.016,
Yes 13 25 27 53 25 143
p = 0.746;
9.1 17.5 18.9 37.1 17.5 100% Kendall’s table-c
Total 143 354 395 606 395 1893 =
7.6 18.7 20.9 32.0 20.9 100% -0.004, p = 0.746
% within X
Source: Calculated by author based on empirical data
In support of the second hypothesis, the metric (see Table 3) shows a statistically
significant difference between the groups of working students experiencing and
not experiencing work-related issues (Chi-square = 13.442 with 4 degrees of
freedom and a p-value of 0.009). Somers’s and Kendall’s table c indicates a
negative correlation (-0.087) between work challenges and academic adaptation.
This implies that as problems at work intensify, students’ adaptability to the
curriculum may decrease. The p-value of 0.001 for the two statistics supports the
claim, indicating that there is a significant association. Thus, the findings provide
sufficient support for the hypothesis that there is an association between work
responsibilities and academic adaptation, such that increased difficulties due to
the obligation of a paid job are associated with decreased academic adaptation
among working students.
67
Regarding the third hypothesis, the results (see Table 3) show that there is no
significant difference between the groups of working students with and without
child-care obligations (Chi-square = 5.638 with 4 degrees of freedom and a p-value
of 0.228). The result does not lend support to the hypothesis that the presence of
difficulties derived from the obligation to provide child-care work would reduce
academic adaptation, and the p-value is large (p > 0.05), suggesting that the
difference is likely to have occurred by chance. Both the Somers’s and Kendall’s
table-c statistics show a weak negative correlation between child-care obligations
and academic adaptation (-0.066 and -0.047, respectively). Consequently, the
findings do not give sufficient evidence to accept the hypothesis that there is an
association between the difficulties of child-care obligations and academic
adaptation, such that the presence of difficulties stemming from the need to
provide child-care assistance would reduce the need for academic adaptation.
With regard to the fourth hypothesis, the results (see Table 3) show that there is
no significant difference between the groups of working students experiencing
varying degrees of financial difficulty (Chi-square = 2.980 with 4 degrees of
freedom and a p-value of 0.561). The findings do not support the hypothesis that
working students with financial challenges would show less academic
adaptability (p > 0.05). Both the Somers’s and Kendall’s tau-c statistics have values
close to zero, suggesting there is little to no correlation between socio-economic
status and academic adaptation. Both measures’ p-values of 0.746 suggest that the
correlation is not significant.
For the fifth hypothesis, the results (see Table 4) show that there is a statistically
significant difference between the groups of working students experiencing
varying degrees of difficulty with schedule of organisation, space restrictions in
classes, and mandatory attendance (Chi-square = 109.789 with 4 degrees of
freedom and a p-value of 0.000). Working students who struggle with scheduling,
class size, and mandatory attendance are predicted to show a poorer level of
academic adaptation; and this finding is supported by a p-value (less than 0.05),
indicating that the difference is highly unlikely to have occurred by coincidence.
In the same manner as the previous four hypotheses, the Somers’s and Kendall’s
tble-c were both calculated. The results of -0.278 and -0.259 show a moderate to
significant negative correlation between an inadequate academic program and
academic adaptation, respectively. The p-values less than 0.05 for both statistics
suggest that the association is statistically significant. Therefore, based on the
results, there is sufficient evidence to accept the hypothesis that there is an
association between academic adaptation and an inadequate academic
programme, such that increased difficulties due to the organisation of the
schedule, space restrictions in classes, and mandatory attendance are correlated
with decreased academic adaptation.
The results (see Table 4) for the sixth hypothesis show that there is a statistically
significant difference between the groups of working students experiencing
varying levels of difficulty as a result of the standard of work in their study
program (Chi-square = 68.621, 4 degrees of freedom, p < = 0.001). The two
measures of association (Somers’s = -0.211 and Kendall’s table-c = -0.196) between
68
a demanding academic program and students’ academic adaptation are

moderately negative. Both measures of association have p-values less than 0.001,
indicating thereby that they are statistically significant. Therefore, the results
provide credible evidence to accept the hypothesis that there is an association
between academic adaptation and a demanding academic programme, such that
increased difficulties due to the standard of work in the study program (e.g.,
demanding exams, papers, etc.) are correlated with any degree of decreased
academic adaptation.
Table 4. Association between Life Domain Issues and Academic Adaptation

Y
Don’t
X Strongly Total Measures of
- - - agree
agree association
at all
No 60 182 223 411 316 1192 χ2 = 109.789,
5.0 15.3 18.7 34.5 26.5 100% df = 4,
X5 p < 0.001;
Yes 83 172 172 195 79 701
Somers’s = -0.278,
11.8 24.5 24.5 27.8 11.3 100% p < 0.001;
Kendall’s tau-c =
Total 143 354 395 606 395 1893 -0.259,
7.6 18.7 20.9 32.0 20.9 100% p < 0.001
No 65 195 243 389 309 1201 χ2 = 68.621, df =
5.4 16.2 20.2 32.4 25.7 100% 4,
X6 p < 0.001;
Yes 78 159 152 217 86 692
Somers’s = -0.211,
11.3 23.0 22.0 31.4 12.4 100% p < 0.001;
Total 143 354 395 606 395 1893 Kendall’s tau-c =
-0.196,
7.6 18.7 20.9 32.0 20.9 100%
p < 0.001
% within X
Source: Calculated by the author based on the empirical data
5. Discussion
This study aimed to examine the relationship between life-domain issues (e.g.,
work, personal, and academic) obstacles and academic adaption among working
Estonian university students. In order to attain this objective, six relevant
hypotheses were examined. The pertinent explanation regarding the relationship
between these factors and their academic adaptation follows.
5.1. Weekly Working Hours and Work-related Issues

Based on the rejection of the first hypothesis, it is possible to say that the number
,of working hours per week has no significant effect on students’ academic
adaptation. This result is contrary to prior research (Applegate & Daly, 2016;
Pusztai et al., 2022). There may be better ways to help working students achieve
academic success than through efforts that try to reduce students’ work hours (20
hours) per week. Nonetheless, the acceptance of hypothesis two indicates that
work-related concerns negatively affect the academic adaptation of working
students. This implies that it is essential to address and mitigate the work-related
challenges faced by working students; and such measures can include promoting
69
work environments that are accommodating to the needs of these students, as well
as providing support and resources to help working students to balance work and
university.
5.2. Childcare and Financial Issues

The rejection of the third hypothesis suggests that the presence of difficulties
resulting from the responsibility of providing childcare does not have any
significant association with the academic adaptation of students; and that a more
holistic approach that addresses a number of obstacles experienced by working
students with children may be necessary. The rejection of the fourth hypothesis
suggests that there is no correlation between academic adaptation and personal
circumstances, such that increased financial difficulties are not associated with
decreased academic adaptation. Nonetheless, it may still be essential that policies
address financial obstacles that may impede students from achieving their
academic aspirations and provide support to those in need (Broer et al., 2019).
5.3. Inadequate and Demanding Academic Programs

The fifth hypothesis is accepted, which implies that working students who
struggle with the arrangement of their schedules, space limitations in classrooms,
and mandatory attendance requirements are likely to have poorer academic
adaptation levels. It suggests that efforts to enhance the academic prospects
available to working students might take into account the unique challenges that
these students face, such as the need to juggle work and school responsibilities,
and to make exceptions, such as more adaptable attendance strategies and the
provision of time-management resources. Acceptance of the sixth hypothesis
argues that working students who struggle with demanding academic programs;
and that they are likely to have lower levels of academic adaptation. This implies
that solutions to improve working students’ educational experiences may focus
on the problems presented by their academic programs and include tutoring,
study groups, or extra time for preparation and revision. Working with academic
departments to modify course requirements may also fall into this category and
may entail adjusting the scope of assessments or assignments or making them
more academically adaptable for working students.
6. Conclusion
This study has uncovered the association between life-domain concerns and
academic adaptation among Estonian university students. The findings
emphasise the significance of giving support and resources to working students,
in order to assist them in achieving academic success and their academic goals.
This research makes an important contribution; since it calls attention to the fact
that working university students in Estonia need academic-adaptation support.
The research sheds light on the difficulties encountered by working students and
the manner in which these difficulties can affect academic experiences by
illuminating the relationship between life domain concerns and academic
adaptability. Such knowledge can be utilised to improve policies and practises;
and it can also help direct the creation of initiatives geared towards helping
students who are also working while attending university.
70
However, this study has a few limitations. As a case study, Estonia was chosen
for this research, which may provide insight into the cultural setting in which the
findings were gathered. Given that the institutional and labour market conditions
in other European nations may be more favourable than those in Estonia, it may
be useful to draw upon the experiences of working university students in those
countries in future studies. One more limitation is that the research is based on
self-reported information, which can be interpreted as subjective perceptions. The
exploratory nature of the study and the use of correlational analysis indicates that
different analysis techniques could be employed in future research, controlling for
variables including age, gender, field of study, and other academic adaptation,
factors.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 73-86, April 2023
Effectiveness of Teacher and Peer Feedback in

EFL Writing: A Case of High School Students
Paul Gonzalez-Torres
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
Cristhian Sarango
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
Abstract. The aim of this study is to assess and compare the effectiveness
of three types of EFL writing feedback: teacher direct, teacher indirect,
and peer feedback, while also exploring student perceptions of the
feedback they receive. For this purpose, a mixed-method approach was
used, combining a quasi-experimental and a survey design. Eighty-two
EFL learners (aged 17-18 years old) were divided into four groups (three
intervention groups who received feedback and one control group who
did not) and practised EFL writing skills for a two-month period. After
the intervention, the students from the intervention groups (62) answered
a questionnaire related to their perceptions about the feedback received.
The results of pre- and post-tests showed an improvement in EFL writing
skills in all the groups. Likewise, there was a statistically significant
difference in the results of the post-test between the groups who received
feedback and those who did not, which means that feedback was
effective. However, when comparing the three types of feedback, there
were no statistically significant differences among the intervention
groups. As for the perceptions of the feedback received during their EFL
writing practice, students believed that feedback was a positive aspect of
writing instruction. They thought that feedback was important for their
learning, and they would like to receive a combination of teacher and peer
feedback. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion around the
effectiveness of different types of feedback on EFL writing skills.
Keywords: written corrective feedback; direct feedback; indirect

feedback; peer feedback; writing skills
1. Introduction
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is part of the curriculum in Ecuadorian high
schools. However, students face difficulties in reaching the required English
proficiency level set by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education upon completing
high school (El Comercio, 2017). Teaching EFL is a challenging task for teachers
who often lack the necessary resources and training, particularly in public high
©Authors
74
schools (Gonzalez et al., 2015). This problem is also evident in the teaching and
learning of EFL writing skills, which are difficult for students, even in their mother
tongue.
In the context of teaching EFL writing skills, feedback is regarded as an important

part of the learning process (Shen & Chong, 2022). However, the effectiveness of
written corrective feedback depends on several factors, such as the frequency,
strategies employed, class size, and proficiency level of students (Ferris &
Hedgcock, 2014). Given the importance of feedback in the EFL teaching-learning
process, it is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the strategies used to
provide feedback. It is also essential to understand students’ opinions about the
feedback they receive.
Previous studies have shown the efficacy of different forms of feedback (e.g.,
Mirzaii & Aliabadi, 2013; Saukah et al., 2017; Deng et al., 2022; Tan &
Manochphinyo, 2017; Yang et al., 2006). Other studies, however, have questioned
the effects of feedback over time (e.g., Truscott & Hsu, 2008; Karim & Nassaji,
2019). This controversy has captured the attention of numerous researchers in the
field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) because of some diversity in the
results of the studies conducted. For these reasons, the present study focuses on
studying the effectiveness of teacher and peer feedback on L2 writing in an
Ecuadorian context; thus contributing to the debate regarding the effectiveness of
different types of feedback in EFL teaching, specifically writing skills.
2.1 Relevance of EFL writing skills
Writing is a complex process in language that requires time and effort to learn and
teach. Language programmes must acknowledge the multi-dimensional nature of
writing, given its importance as a core component of language (Harmer, 2004). In
other words, writing is a fundamental but challenging skill in language
production.
Writing is a basic building block for life, leisure, and employment. Basically, it is
a crucial skill in academic and professional success (National Commission on
Writing, 2004), which becomes even more challenging when it comes to writing
in a second or foreign language (Li, 2013). The cognitive process of writing skills
involves memory, thinking ability and verbal skills, so proficiency in writing is an
indicator of effective learning in a second language (Hyland, 2019).
As English is regarded as a universal language, the rise of globalisation and

technology have intensified the relevance of English writing (McKinley, 2022). In
the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), writing skills are also
challenging, although they are a fundamental component of EFL programmes. In
these programmes, grammar and vocabulary are considered essential elements in
the development of all EFL skills (Cabrera et al., 2021) since grammar allows
students to build accurate sentences (Mart, 2013), and vocabulary facilitates the
use of structures and functions that enable communication (Cook, 2013). It is
worth mentioning, however, that other elements, such as coherence, cohesion,
75
unity, and mechanics are also essential in writing. In addition, the purposes of
EFL writing programmes include tasks such as writing letters, stories, or reports
(Harmer, 2007).
The relevance of EFL/ESL writing has led to an increase in current research in this
field (Bui et al., 2023; Algburi & Razali, 2022). This research benefits from various
approaches that have been employed for writing (e.g., psychological, pedagogical,
linguistic, psycholinguistic) (Nation & Macalister, 2020).
2.2 Feedback on L2 writing

One of the main interests of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research is
understanding how individuals learn a second language, with the aim of aiding
learners in overcoming errors made during language acquisition. Recently, the
role of errors and their treatment has been a prominent area of research in SLA,
leading to an interest in written corrective feedback as a subject of study
(Bitchener & Ferris, 2012).
The provision of feedback in classroom assessment is deemed crucial as it offers

insights into the students' learning, performance, knowledge, or understanding.
Nonetheless, it does not always prompt self-correction and improvement among
students (Lee, 2017). According to Kim and Emeliyanova (2021), the feedback
provided is believed to be beneficial in enhancing the learners' linguistic
knowledge, thus improving their accuracy writing skills. In essence, written
corrective feedback refers to information given to students to enhance their
writing abilities (Alvira, 2016).
In terms of feedback strategies, there are various approaches that can be

employed. Lee (2017) asserts the importance of involving students in the learning
process through the use of the three main types of feedback: peer feedback,
technology-enhanced feedback, and teacher feedback.
Extensive research has been conducted on the use of peer feedback in L2, which
requires learners' training before its implementation. Peer feedback offers several
benefits, such as enhancing students' awareness of their writing strengths and
weaknesses, promoting critical thinking, and fostering learners' autonomy.
However, some drawbacks include the limited L2 proficiency of learners and the
size of the class.
In L2 contexts, the teacher is often considered the primary source of error

correction. While teacher feedback research has been conducted primarily in
university settings, our understanding of teacher feedback in L2 school contexts
is limited. This type of feedback has mainly focused on language form rather than
other aspects, such as content or organisation. Teacher feedback is the most
common method of supporting students as they attempt to apply newly acquired
knowledge (Borup et al., 2015). In this type of feedback, two primary strategies
can be identified: direct feedback and indirect feedback (Westmacott, 2017). Direct
feedback entails providing learners with the correct form, whereas indirect
76
feedback involves hinting at the presence of an error without explicitly providing

the correct form (Sheen, 2011).
It is important to understand the impact of different types of feedback on learners’

writing performance. In this respect, there have been studies on the effect of
different types of feedback on students’ L2 written work. In what follows, we
briefly discuss the results of this research.
Previous work on peer feedback for L2 writing has demonstrated that this type of
feedback is an aid to improve learners’ written production, provided that they
receive appropriate training in providing feedback and the strategies are
appropriate (e.g., Levi Altstaedter, 2018; Yu & Lee, 2016).
On the other hand, research on teacher feedback for L2 writing has found that
certain forms of teacher feedback can be more effective than others. For instance,
indirect feedback has been shown to be more effective than direct feedback (e.g.,
Ghandi & Maghsoudi, 2014; Tan & Manochphinyo, 2017). This may be because
amending is a more active process (Westmacott, 2017). However, some studies
suggest that direct feedback is more effective than indirect feedback (e.g., Mirzaii
& Aliabadi, 2013), while others that have found no significant difference between
these two types of feedback (e.g., Elola et al., 2017). It is worth noting that direct
feedback can yield better results than indirect feedback when students have lower
L2 proficiency levels (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014).
With respect to indirect feedback, we can have two subtypes: coded and un-coded
feedback. Research regarding this topic has demonstrated that indirect coded
feedback could be more effective than indirect un-coded feedback (e.g., Salimi &
Valizadeh, 2015; Saukah et al., 2017).
Research has also demonstrated that focused feedback (focusing feedback on

particular linguistic features) is generally more effective than unfocused feedback
(the correction of all types of errors) (e.g., Deng et al., 2022), although a few studies
have found no difference between these two types of feedback (e.g., Frear & Chiu,
2015).
When it comes to the comparison of teacher and peer feedback, which is the focus
of our study, we address some related research in the following section.
2.3 Previous work on teacher versus peer feedback

Studies that have compared the effects of teacher and peer feedback on writing in
ESL/EFL contexts, and relevant research related to the theme of the present study
are summarised below.
Yang et al. (2006) compared peer and teacher feedback in an EFL writing class to
address the small amount of feedback provided in large classes at a university in
China. The participants included 79 Chinese students from an EFL writing class,
who were divided into two groups. Both groups worked on three rounds of multi-
draft compositions for the same writing tasks. The data for the analysis was
77
collected from three sources: textual and questionnaire data from both groups, as
well as video recordings and interviews with 12 students. The results revealed
that teacher feedback had a greater impact on student’s writing skills and was
more likely to be considered. Conversely, peer feedback was associated with
increased student autonomy.
Zhao (2012) conducted case study research to analyse how learners utilised and
comprehended teacher and peer feedback in an English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) writing course at a university in China. The participants involved were 18
second-year English majors who participated for 16 weeks. To investigate the use
of feedback, the researcher applied content analysis of the first and revised drafts
of 26 writing assignments (e.g., letters, poems, arguments). Recall interviews were
used to examine the learners' understanding of feedback. The findings indicated
that teacher feedback resulted in more changes in learners' subsequent drafts than
peer feedback. However, the recall interviews revealed that the students
internalised peer feedback more effectively.
Demirel and Engínarlar (2016) evaluated the effectiveness of combining teacher

and peer feedback to enhance students' writing skills when working on multiple
drafts. For this purpose, 57 Turkish learners of English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) worked on writing activities for 15 weeks. Learners in both the intervention
and control groups received different types of feedback on their drafts, after
which they revised their written work. The results showed that there were no
statistically significant differences between peer and teacher feedback in terms of
the number of revisions and writing quality. Nevertheless, a combination of the
two types of feedback was more beneficial when obtaining positive reactions from
students regarding peer feedback and self-revision.
A study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of peer feedback versus teacher

feedback for improving writing revision quality in EFL students involved 56
Chinese EFL students who were given either peer or teacher feedback before and
after a peer feedback training period (Cui et al., 2022). Over five writing
assignments, feedback conditions were changed within and between the class
sections. The findings revealed that peer reviewers were better able to provide
meaning-focused feedback than teachers were, and the quality of revisions
improved after the peer feedback training period. Additionally, it was found that
peer feedback with appropriate training can have an impact on revision
comparable to that of teacher feedback, particularly in situations where there is a
high workload.
Sun and Wang (2022) investigated the impact of teacher intervention on students'
utilisation of various forms of peer feedback and self-revision skills. They
employed a quasi-experimental design, in which two groups were exposed to
direct correction from the teacher for incorrect peer feedback or symbols denoting
inaccurate feedback, whereas the control group received no teacher intervention.
The sample consisted of 110 graduate students who were not majoring in English
and who participated for one and a half months. During the study, the students
produced two essays, conducted peer feedback, and revised their drafts based on
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the received feedback. The results showed that the groups that received teacher
intervention made more accurate revisions in their subsequent essays than the
control group did.
Previous research has reported mixed findings on the effectiveness of teacher

feedback, peer feedback, or both, on EFL writing performance. However, these
studies have not been conducted in Latin-American Spanish-speaking contexts,
and specifically in Ecuador, which must meet significant challenges in EFL
teaching and learning (Ecuadorian Ministry of Education, 2023). This study aims
to address this research gap by comparing the effectiveness and students'
perceptions of two common types of teacher feedback (direct and indirect) and
peer feedback in an Ecuadorian high school setting. The results of this study will
contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to improve the EFL teaching and
learning process in Ecuador by identifying effective feedback strategies that can
be incorporated into EFL writing instruction.
Based on the above, the research questions to be answered are:

1) How effective is direct feedback, indirect feedback, and peer feedback for
improving the written production of Ecuadorian EFL learners?
2) What are the students’ perceptions of the feedback provided on their written
work?
3. Method
3.1 Setting and participants
A total of 82 senior high-school students from a public school in Ecuador
participated in the present study. Their ages ranged from 17 to 18 years old and
their English proficiency levels varied (A1, A2, and B1), based on the Common
European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2020). These
students were enrolled in the Second Year of the Diploma Programme and were
divided into four classes, each with a similar number of students. Three of these
classes were intervention groups (62 students in total) for the three types of
feedback applied (direct feedback: 21 students; indirect feedback: 21 students;
peer feedback: 20 students). One group (20 students) was the control group that
did not receive any teacher or peer feedback.
3.2 Instruments
Students were administered a writing pre-test and post-test that consisted of short
descriptive essays (minimum 120 words and maximum 150 words) in which they
had to write about their favourite vacation (pre-test) and their favourite movie
(post-test).
Furthermore, a questionnaire was given to students from the intervention groups.

The seven items of this instrument were designed to gather information about
students’ thoughts and opinions regarding the feedback that they had received.
Before distributing the questionnaire to all students, it was tested on a randomly
selected group of 30 students from the intervention groups, and the results
showed a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was 0.832). To
79
prevent any confusion among students with lower English proficiency, the
questions were translated into Spanish.
3.3 Procedure
The present study employed a mixed-method approach that integrated a quasi-
experimental design (based on pre-test and post-test) and results of questionnaire
responses. A quasi-experimental design study involves non-random sampling to
evaluate the impact of an idea, practice, or procedure on a particular outcome
(Creswell, 2015). In this instance, the students were chosen according to the class
in which they were enrolled. This means that we used purposeful sampling in the
selection of the groups of students since these students had the characteristics
required for the study.
Before starting the writing practices, students took a writing pre-test to evaluate
their writing skills at the beginning of the intervention. The pre-tests were graded
jointly by two teachers and were based on a rubric developed for the pre-test and
post-test. The score assigned was out of 10 points.
The students from the four groups, who usually took five hours of General
English a week, worked on a weekly writing activity for eight weeks. Two of those
five hours per week were devoted to practising writing informal e-mails, blog
entries and short essays (with a minimum of 120 words and a maximum of 150
words). The students from the control group did not receive any teacher or peer
feedback on their tasks; however, learners from all of the four groups participated
in short weekly sessions with the whole class in which common writing errors
were pointed out and addressed.
Owing to the relevance of grammar and vocabulary in EFL writing (Cabrera et al.,
2021; Mart, 2013; Cook, 2013) and the effectiveness of focused feedback in
comparison to unfocused feedback (Deng et al., 2022), the students from the
intervention groups received feedback on grammar and vocabulary that they
were either already familiar with or were studying in class. As focused feedback
was provided, it did not address content, mechanics, or style. In the teacher direct
feedback group, the teacher underlined the errors and indicated the correct form
using arrows and comments. In the teacher indirect feedback group, the teacher
used codes that had been previously indicated in class. These codes were related
to grammar (verbs, wrong order, prepositions, etc.) and vocabulary errors (false
cognates, misspelling, calques, incorrect meaning, etc.).
With respect to peer feedback, students received two hours of training before
providing feedback. They worked in pairs and used oral communication and a
peer feedback rubric to implement this type of feedback. The feedback was
provided in the form of indirect feedback in which students had to circle the errors
related to grammar and vocabulary. If the students who received feedback were
unsure about the error, they asked their classmate to clarify their doubts.
The intervention groups revised their drafts based on the feedback provided (by
their teacher or peer) and submitted their final products. After receiving feedback
80
on their drafts and revising them, students were given a qualitative grade (very
good, good, needs improvement) for each revised task.
At the end of the intervention, the students took a writing post-test, which was
used to obtain data about their progress after the writing lessons. Like the pre-
test, the post-test was graded jointly by two teachers (out of 10 points) based on a
rubric. The students in the intervention groups also answered a questionnaire
about their perceptions of the feedback received in their writing sessions after the
intervention period.
The statistical analysis of the scores obtained in the pre- and post-tests in each
group was performed by using the paired t-test, as the data came from the same
group of students. This was done to determine whether there were statistically
significant differences in the results of the pre- and post-tests in each of the four
groups.
To compare the results of the pre-tests and post-tests of the four groups, we used
one-way ANOVA and the Tukey post-hoc tests in order to determine if there were
significant differences in the scores. First, we ran the one-way ANOVA with the
results of the pre-tests to compare the scores of the writing tests among the four
groups. Then, ANOVA was used to find significant differences in the scores of the
writing post-test after receiving the different types of feedback.
4. Results
4.1 Effectiveness of the different types of feedback used
Below (Table 1) we present the mean scores (out of 10 points) obtained by the
students in the pre-test for each group. There is no statistically significant
difference in the results of the writing pre-tests among the four groups (p-value >
0.05).
Table 1: Results of the pre-test

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Indirect Direct Peer feedback No feedback
teacher teacher
feedback feedback
Mean 5.4286 5.2857 5.325 5.55
Standard 1.3536 1.1244 1.4075 1.3268
deviation
p-value (ANOVA) = 0.916 F=0.17
Table 2 displays the mean scores (out of 10 points) obtained by the students in the
post-test. The p-value obtained after running the ANOVA test indicates
statistically significant differences among the four groups. However, the Tukey
post-hoc test shows statistically non-significant differences, except for Groups 2
and 4, so there is a statistically significant difference in the scores obtained by the
direct teacher feedback group and the no feedback group.
81
Table 2: Results of the post-test

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Indirect Direct Peer feedback No feedback
teacher teacher
feedback feedback
Mean 7.2143 7.4524 6.525 6.425
Standard 1.0905 1.1822 1.0939 1.2904
deviation
p-value (ANOVA) = 0.012328 F=3.87
In both Tables 1 and 2, it is evident that there was an improvement in mean scores
for all groups at the end of the intervention (Group 1 mean score improvement =
1.7857; Group 2 mean score improvement = 2.1667; Group 3 mean score
improvement = 1.2; Group 4 mean score improvement = 0.875). Application of the
paired t-test to compare the pre-test and post-test scores in each group showed
that the improvements from the pre-test to the post-test were statistically
significant in all four groups (p-value < 0.0001). Moreover, groups that received
teacher feedback showed higher improvements in mean scores than those who
received peer feedback or no feedback at all. However, there was no statistically
significant difference when comparing teacher and peer feedback.
4.2 Students’ perceptions of the feedback provided

After receiving feedback, the three intervention groups completed a questionnaire
based on a Likert scale containing 7 items. Table 3 shows the percentages of the
answers provided by the 42 students who received teacher feedback and the 20
students who received peer feedback (total = 62 students). The majority of
students in all three groups tended to agree or strongly agree with the statements.
As presented in Table 3, the majority of students in the three groups believed that
the feedback they received helped them improve their written production (Agree
= 42 students; Strongly agree = 12 students). They also felt comfortable with the
feedback provided on their work (Agree = 29 students; Strongly agree = 33
students) and thought that feedback had helped them identify errors they had not
noticed before in their writing (Agree = 25 students; Strongly agree = 37 students).
The students also felt motivated after realising that their work improved owing
to the corrections (Agree = 45 students; Strongly agree = 9 students), and
considered that the corrections were related to the grammar and vocabulary
studied in class (Agree = 43 students; Strongly agree = 14 students). Finally, the
students expressed a preference for combined feedback from both the teacher and
their classmates (Agree = 36 students; Strongly agree = 29 students). They
regarded this feedback as crucial to their learning process (Agree = 26 students;
Strongly agree = 36 students).
82
Table 3: Students’ answers to the questionnaire (percentages)

Statement Disagree Partially Agree Strongly
agree agree
1) My English written production has 0% 12.9% 67.74% 19.35%
improved because my English
teacher/classmate helped me with the
corrections.
2) I felt comfortable when my 0% 0% 46.77% 53.23%
teacher/classmate corrected my written
work.
3) The correction of errors provided by my 0% 0% 40.32% 59.68%
teacher/classmate helped me to identify
errors that I did not notice before.
4) I felt motivated when I saw that the texts 0% 12.9% 72.58% 14.52%
I wrote improved after receiving feedback
from my teacher/classmate.
5) The corrections that I received were 0% 8.06% 69.35% 22.58%
related to the grammar and vocabulary
that I have studied in the classroom.
6) I would like to receive feedback from 0% 0% 53.23% 46.77%
both my teacher and a classmate.
7) I think that the error correction provided 0% 0% 41.94% 58.06%
is important in my learning process.
5. Discussion
First of all, the EFL writing skills in the four groups under study are similar, as
demonstrated by the mean scores and p-value (>0.05) obtained in the writing pre-
test. This is an important basis for the comparability of the groups.
Once the instruction period finished, all the groups obtained higher mean scores
after the eight weeks of training, which means that the four groups improved their
use of grammar and vocabulary in EFL writing. This is reflected in the results of
the post-test. However, the intervention groups showed greater improvement in
their mean scores when the results are compared with those obtained in the pre-
test. There are statistically significant differences between the teacher direct
feedback group and the control group, which means that the direct feedback was
much more effective in this sample of students, perhaps because their English
proficiency level was low. This finding is consistent with the research conducted
by Ferris and Hedgcock (2014), which suggests that direct feedback on writing can
be more effective than other types of feedback, especially for students who
struggle with L2 proficiency. Based on these results, it is evident that teacher
direct feedback is a more effective approach for teaching students with lower
levels of English proficiency. This finding underscores the importance of tailoring
teaching approaches to the specific needs of individual students to maximize their
learning outcomes.
No statistically significant differences were found when comparing the other

groups, suggesting that the improvements after receiving indirect teacher
feedback and peer feedback are not significant in comparison with the control
group. There were no significant differences among the three types of feedback
83
either. These results seem to be different from other, similar studies that compare
types of feedback in which indirect feedback is more effective than direct feedback
(e.g., Ghandi & Maghsoudi, 2014; Tan & Manochphinyo, 2017), and more in line
with literature that has not found significant differences between these two types
of feedback (e.g., Elola et al., 2017). In other words, the results indicate that
indirect teacher feedback and peer feedback may not be the best alternative for
teaching students with a low English proficiency level. This has important
implications for determining the circumstances under which direct or indirect
feedback should be provided.
When it comes to comparing teacher and peer feedback, the results of the present
study are not completely aligned to studies that have found that teacher feedback
is more effective than peer feedback (e.g., Yang et al., 2006; Zhao, 2012) or studies
that favour peer feedback (Cui et ak.,2022). The results of the present study are
more in line with literature that shows no statistically significant difference
between teacher and peer feedback (e.g., Demirel & Engínarlar, 2016).
Regarding the students’ perceptions, students from the intervention groups seem
to have a positive attitude towards the feedback received on their written
production. In fact, feedback is considered helpful in improving learners’ writing
skills (Kim & Emeliyanova, 2021). Furthermore, the students would like to receive
a combination of teacher and peer feedback in L2 writing, which would be an
ideal scenario in teaching EFL writing.
Overall, this study offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of different
feedback types in improving the writing skills of students with low English
proficiency levels. The findings can assist teachers and educators in designing
effective feedback strategies for their students. However, it is important to note
that further research is needed to fully test the effectiveness of these types of
teacher and peer feedback with larger samples of high-school students across
different English proficiency levels.
Therefore, it is recommended that the feedback provided considers students'

English proficiency and that a combination of teacher and peer feedback, with
appropriate preparation, is used. Additionally, continuing research in this area
with students from different English proficiency levels and education levels can
further improve EFL writing instruction.
6. Conclusions and Implications

The results of this study suggest that receiving feedback, either from teachers or
peers, is more beneficial for improving writing skills than not receiving feedback.
Specifically, the group that received direct feedback showed a significant
improvement in their writing skills compared to the control group, indicating that
this approach may be more effective for students with lower English proficiency
levels. However, when comparing direct teacher feedback with indirect teacher
feedback and peer feedback, the improvement in writing skills was not
significant. This suggests that the students’ proficiency level may not have been
sufficient for providing peer feedback and working on the corrections given by
84
the teacher, especially in the case of indirect coded feedback. In terms of students’
perceptions, they hold positive opinions about written corrective feedback. They
favour receiving both teacher and peer feedback, as well as a combination of both
types of feedback. They feel that feedback is a helpful strategy that helps them
identify errors that they usually do not notice, and improves their writing skills.
Students also feel comfortable and motivated when receiving feedback related to
the content studied in the EFL classroom.
To sum up, the findings of the present study indicate that providing written
corrective feedback does help students to improve their written production in a
foreign language. Nevertheless, some factors must be taken into account when
providing this type of feedback, including class size, L2 proficiency level,
frequency, and strategies. It is also crucial to know how students feel about the
feedback received in order to determine if the teacher can continue implementing
the feedback strategies in the EFL classroom. Finally, it should be noted that the
sample size for this study was not large enough, and therefore, studies with larger
groups and a fully experimental approach would be recommended in future
studies.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 87-103, April 2023
Influence of Organizational Innovation Climate

on Creativity and the Mediating Role of
Feedback-Seeking Behavior—A Case Study of
University Teachers in Hebei, China
Tao Du
Department of Education Management, Chinese International College
Dhurakij Pundit University, Thailand
Yuan-Cheng Chang
Department of Education Management, Chinese International College
Dhurakij Pundit University, Thailand
Abstract. The organization of an innovative climate is essential for the

development of creativity. This study investigated the impact of an
innovative climate on creativity among university teachers in Hebei,
China, and examined feedback-seeking behavior as a mediating variable.
An intermediary model was built to test the mediating role of feedback-
seeking behavior in the relationship between an innovative climate and
creativity, using AMOS software to analyze the questionnaire data of 356
university teachers in Hebei. The mediating model consists of three
variables, which are an innovative climate, feedback-seeking behavior,
and creativity. This study examines the relationship between an
innovative climate, feedback-seeking behavior, and creativity among
university teachers in Hebei, China. The study found that a positive
innovative climate was significantly associated with higher levels of
creative teaching and research skills among university teachers in Hebei,
and that this relationship was partially mediated by feedback-seeking
behavior. In conclusion, this study highlights the crucial role of an
innovative climate and feedback-seeking behavior in promoting
creativity among university teachers in Hebei and offers practical
implications for higher education institutions to cultivate a more
innovative and creative culture.
Keywords: university teachers; organizational innovation climate;

development of creativity; feedback-seeking; mediation
1. Introduction
The context of this study is the higher education system in Hebei, China. In recent
years, the Chinese government has emphasized the importance of innovation in
©Authors
88
driving economic and social development (xiu, 2022). As part of this, the Hebei
province has implemented innovation-driven development strategies where the
development of "double first-class" colleges and universities has become a major
priority (Lian et al., 2021). However, to achieve this goal, the presence of creative
teachers who can effectively promote innovation in teaching and research are
required (Deng et al., 2020). Furthermore, in the context of higher education,
creativity is not only important to drive innovation and development but also to
promote the quality of education (Lian et al., 2021). Creativity is rooted in a
complex interaction between environmental factors and personal characteristics
(Thatrak, 2021). Compared to a creative personality and mindset, environmental
factors such as management practices produce perceptible effects in a short period
of time. Through this, they considerably impact the generation and development
of innovative behaviors (Corradini et al., 2022). Therefore, university
administrators should create an environment that promotes organizational
innovation and strive to improve teachers’ creative teaching and research
capabilities.
An organizational innovation climate is comprised of innovative orientation and

internal organizational support for innovation (Schindler & Lilienthal, 2022). It
can cultivate innovative thinking, trigger work motivation, and improve the
creativity of members (Shen et al., 2021). It plays a significant role in supporting
and promoting the creative activities of individuals and organizations (Nwangwu
et al., 2021) and also connects individual and organizational creativity (Chen & Li,
2010). A robust organizational innovation climate encourages mutual
collaboration, information exchange, and interaction among members, in addition
to providing adequate guidance for members to participate in organizational
innovation (Aldabbas et al., 2021). Furthermore, the sense of psychological
security generated among members under an organizational innovation climate
can help provide the mental and emotional support required for creative activities
(Emery et al., 2021).
The lack of a favorable environment that inspires creativity limits the creative
behavior of individuals (Zhang et al., 2011). This highlights the significance of
creating an organizational innovation climate in the context of increasingly fierce
competition in higher education (Muftahu & Jamil, 2021; Sharma et al., 2021). A
friendly (Stinkeste et al., 2021), tolerant (Y. Wang et al., 2021), cooperative
(Thomas & Khalil, 2022), and safe organizational climate (Whlert, 2020) can
enhance knowledge sharing and generate a stronger sense of psychological
security (Whlert, 2020), help realize the objectives of workplace excellence and
exceptionality, and encourage teachers to pursue innovation in education and
research (Dean et al., 2021).
Although the majority of studies have focused on the outcomes of creativity

(Daikoku et al., 2021; Kumar & Shukla, 2022; Thomas, 2022), knowledge about
specific strategies during the creative process is limited (Mavri et al., 2021) and
the key variables for the generation and development of creativity are poorly
understood (Atatsi et al., 2022; Baker et al., 2022; Marín et al., 2022). Further, there
is currently no effective interpretation of the process that produces creative results
89
(Thomas, 2022). Therefore, exploring the individual self-regulation process in

creativity development is crucial to understand the development of creativity
among organizational members (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2020). According to Son
and Kim (2016), feedback-seeking behavior is a valuable resource, a constant
search for self-evaluation and improvement (Krasman, 2010) through information
exchange (Kumar & Shukla, 2022), and considerably influences the relationship
between organizational innovation climate and creativity.
A supportive organizational innovation climate that is agile, open, and innovative
can facilitate individuals' proactive responses to creativity requirements, leading
to idea generation for innovation (Lv et al., 2021). Therefore, sustained and
focused efforts should be made towards fostering creative development within
the organization.
2.1 Theoretical Basis

Theoretical foundations play a crucial role in understanding the factors that
contribute to creativity in teacher education and higher education institutions.
According to Kozbelt et al. (2020), motivation for creativity is key to the
transformation of potential creativity into actioned creative behavior and
outcomes. Creative motivation is essential for generating novel ideas and content,
solving problems, and achieving targets in teaching and research activities (Kime,
2015). Additionally, creative motivation can enhance interest in educational
activities and tasks and influence engagement levels in the classroom and in
research projects (Sternberg, 2020). Therefore, creative outcomes in education
depend not only on creative ability and skill, but also on creative motivation
(Kozbelt et al., 2020).
According to Thomas (2022) , synergistic extrinsic motivation is an external factor

for creativity development (Cerasoli et al., 2014). In the organizational innovation
climate, various factors support individual autonomy, ability, and task
commitment (Chaubey et al., 2021). Thus, according to Kaufman and Sternberg
(2020), an organizational climate supportive of innovation facilitates individual
creativity. Deng et al. (2020) determined that in an excellent organizational
innovation climate, teachers exhibit increased creative teaching and research
capabilities. Further, during the preparation and confirmation stages of creativity
development, feedback-seeking behavior can provide constructive information,
encourage creative consciousness, and improve creative ability (Minnikin et al.,
2021). Thus, feedback-seeking behavior can help inspire creative thinking and
promote the development of creativity (Trudeau et al., 2021). According to the
theory of creative motivation, the incentive to be creative and external
collaborative motivation can drive creative behavior and outcomes. Hence,
research on organizational innovation environment, creativity, and feedback-
seeking offer relevant theoretical foundations and guidance to help foster
teachers' creative development, improve educational quality, and increase
innovation capacity.
90
2.2 Organizational Innovation Climate and Creativity

Studies have shown that individuals perceive an external organizational
environment to conclude whether it is conducive to facilitate creative activities
(Lv et al., 2021). Individuals also examine the perception of innovation orientation,
features of and support for innovation in the organization (Schindler & Lilienthal,
2022), as well as the results of interactions between individuals and the
environment (Phankhong et al., 2020). An environment that lacks creativity limits
individuals’ creative behavior (Zhang et al., 2011). One way to enhance creativity
is to reduce the effect of external constraints (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2020).
In the specific organizational context, an organizational innovation climate offers

a strong and supportive environment for developing individual creativity and
innovation (Chaubey et al., 2021). In addition, it positively influences intrinsic
motivation and is a synergistic extrinsic motivator (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2020).
Creativity is attributed to the interactions between an individual’s qualities and
the surrounding environment Thomas (2022). Thus, an organization's innovation
climate can significantly impact its members' creative activities and ultimately
lead to success in innovation (Aldabbas et al., 2021). In colleges and universities,
creating an innovative climate has a significant and positive impact on the
improvement of teachers’ creativity (Deng et al., 2020). Specifically, such a climate
can reduce external constraints, provide a supportive environment, and positively
influence teachers’ intrinsic motivation, thereby encouraging their participation
in creative activities. Therefore, it can be concluded that an organizational
innovation climate significantly enhances the creativity of university teachers in
the Hebei province.
2.3 Feedback-Seeking Behavior and Creativity

Feedback-seeking behavior is essential, allowing individuals to obtain valuable
information from their peers and supervisors and regulate their behavior in
specific contexts (Déprez et al., 2021). By seeking feedback, individuals can avoid
uncertainty and ambiguity and enhance role clarity, thereby correcting wrong
behaviors and improving their overall performance (Minnikin et al., 2021). This
behavior modification tool and motivation strategy can also promote individual
and organizational development by facilitating knowledge transfer (Wang et al.,
2021) and generating innovative thinking through reflective thinking (Rdulescu,
2013).
Research has shown that feedback-seeking behavior is associated with better

creative performance and is especially significant in a creative environment where
members actively seek feedback and have a lower risk perception (Stobbeleir et
al., 2011). In addition, individuals who take initiatives for self-adjustment tend to
exhibit better creative performances (Dygert & Jarosz, 2020), and the significance
of reflective thinking increases with the accumulation and complexity of
knowledge (Cho & Seo, 2021; Mavri et al., 2021; Minnikin et al., 2021).
Therefore, actively seeking feedback is a valuable tool that can significantly

improve teachers' creativity. It not only helps individuals obtain useful
information but also facilitates knowledge transfer and generates innovative
thinking. Overall, feedback-seeking behavior is a crucial aspect of individual and
91
organizational development that should be encouraged and fostered in a creative

and supportive environment.
2.4 Organizational Innovation Climate and Feedback-Seeking Behavior

An innovative climate can promote a culture of feedback and support feedback-
seeking behavior (Prilop et al., 2021). Organizational support is a critical factor
that can influence an individual's willingness to seek feedback (Minnikin et al.,
2021). It can encourage individuals to feel confident in seeking feedback and
improve their ability to clarify work standards, job cognition, and judgment
(Phankhong et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2021; Zhao & Wu, 2021).
Moreover, an innovative climate can also alleviate psychological pressure and

enhance autonomous motivation, which empowers individuals to engage more
in creative activities (Saraf et al., 2021) This environment provides a space for
individuals to adjust their emotional states, feel relaxed and safe, and share new
ideas (Bledow et al., 2013; Chaubey et al., 2021). The feedback obtained from a
robust organizational innovation climate is usually credible, high-quality,
accurate, and useful, which helps strengthen the confidence and kinetic energy of
an individual when seeking feedback (Saraf et al., 2021).
In summary, an innovative climate can positively influence feedback-seeking

behavior by promoting a feedback culture and providing organizational support.
Organizational support can encourage individuals to seek feedback, clarify work
standards, and improve their job cognition and judgment. A robust organizational
innovation climate can also alleviate psychological pressure, enhance
autonomous motivation, and provide a relaxed and safe environment for sharing
new ideas.
2.5 Mediating Role of Feedback-Seeking Behavior

The literature suggests that organizational innovation climate plays a critical role
in enhancing individuals' perception of creativity and their creative performance
(Sun & Tao, 2020). However, the mechanisms underlying the generation and
development of individual creativity remain poorly understood (Chaubey et al.,
2021). To this end, Saraf et al. (2021) proposed that feedback-seeking behavior can
serve as a means to promote personal and organizational development. As an
important context variable, organizational climate can convey information about
innovation expectations, clarify roles and tasks, and motivate individuals to seek
feedback, thereby promoting their creative abilities and development (Brycz,
2021; Whitaker & Levy, 2012).
In particular, the exchange of information and knowledge among university

teachers can lead to the establishment of communication, relationships, mutual
trust, and support within an organization (Garivani et al., 2016). Such a process
not only meets fundamental psychological needs but also creates a sense of
belonging among teachers, ultimately promoting creativity (Carmeli et al., 2015).
In summary, organizational innovation climate can enhance creativity by
encouraging feedback-seeking behavior, helping one clarify roles and tasks,
motivating individuals, and promoting individual creative abilities. Through the
exchange and sharing of information and knowledge, teachers can establish
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communication and trust, meet their psychological needs, and create a sense of
belonging. Therefore, feedback-seeking behavior serves as a crucial factor linking
organizational innovation climate and creativity.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Objective
The aim of this study is to assess the current state of creativity among university
teachers in Hebei and to identify effective development strategies to improve their
competitiveness. The study intends to promote innovation and reform in teacher
management to meet the challenges of changing times. The research participants
were selected using convenience sampling from three universities in Hebei, and a
total of 356 university teachers took part. The findings of this study will aid in
cultivating teachers’ creativity, integrating their skills, abilities, and mindsets into
teaching reform, and promoting innovation-driven development in Hebei's
universities. Ultimately, this study aims to cultivate more talented individuals
with creative mindsets to address the evolving needs of the education sector.
3.2 Research Tools

A questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze the collected sample data. The
research tools utilized were the Organizational Innovation Climate Scale,
Creativity Scale, and Feedback-Seeking Behavior Scale.
3.2.1 Organizational Innovation Climate Scale

The Organizational Innovation Climate Scale developed by Wang et al. (2017) was
used in this study to measure teachers' perceptions of the organizational
innovation climate (refer to Table 1). The scale consists of 10 items that measure
three dimensions: job autonomy, teamwork, and organizational motivation.
Respondents were asked to rate each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = "totally
disagree", 2 = "disagree", 3 = "uncertain", 4 = "agree", and 5 = "totally agree"). The
total score of the scale was obtained through the sum of the scores of each item. A
higher score indicated a higher perception of organizational innovation climate.
To establish the validity and reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha coefficient
was calculated, and indicated good internal consistency at 0.867. The deletion of
any item did not significantly improve the Cronbach's alpha coefficient,
suggesting that 10 items contributed to the scale's reliability. A confirmatory
factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity of the scale. The
results showed satisfactory fitting indices, with χ2/df = 3.654, which is below the
threshold of 5. Other fitting indicators, including RMSEA = 0.086 (below the
standard value of 0.1), SRMR = 0.053 (below the standard value of 0.8), and CFI =
0.962, NFI = 0.936, GFI = 0.944, TLI = 0.955, all exceeded the recommended
threshold of 0.8 (Watkins, 2018).
Overall, the results indicate that the Organizational Innovation Climate Scale has
good validity and reliability and is a suitable tool for measuring teachers'
perceptions of organizational innovation climate.
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Table 1: Organizational Innovation Atmosphere Scale

Dimension Question item
1. I can arrange my work schedule freely
Autonomous
2. I was able to decide how to execute the work plan
working
3. I have room for independent play in my work
4. Colleagues often communicate and discuss the problems at work
Teamwork 5. My colleagues will actively help me to complete my tasks
6. I feel the support and care from my colleagues
7. Schools will reward teachers who have innovative ideas
8. The incentive system of schools makes teachers innovative and
Organizational
enthusiastic
incentive
9. Schools encourage teachers to develop creative ideas
10.The school's incentive system effectively enhances the work innovation
3.2.2 Creativity Scale

The Creativity Scale developed by Zhou and George (2001) has 13 items and
comprises one dimension (refer to Table 2). Each item was scored on a 5-point
Likert scale (1 = "totally disagree", 2 = "disagree", 3 = "uncertain", 4 = "agree", and
5 = "totally agree"). To assess its reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was
computed. The value of Cronbach's α for this scale was found to be 0.924,
indicating a high internal consistency among the items. The deletion of any item
did not significantly improve the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, suggesting that all
13 items contributed to the scale's reliability. Additionally, confirmatory factor
analysis was conducted to assess the scale's validity. The fitting indices were
satisfactory, with χ2/df = 2.331, RMSEA = 0.061, SRMR = 0.034, CFI = 0.996, NFI
= 0.990, GFI = 0.991, and TLI = 0.993.
Table 2: Creativity Scale

Question item
1. I am able to propose a way to achieve a purpose or goal
2. I am able to come up with new and practical ideas to improve my performance
3. I am able to search for new ideas related to technology, procedures, and products
4. I am able to propose new ways to improve quality
5. I am a great source of ideas
6. I am not afraid to take risks
7. I am able to promote and support the ideas of others
8. I am able to show my creativity at the right time at work
9. I am able to make appropriate plans and schedules to achieve new ideas
10. I often have new ideas
11. I am able to propose creative solutions
12. I often have new ways to solve problems
13. I am able to propose new ways to perform work tasks
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3.2.3 Feedback-Seeking Behavior Scale

The Feedback-Seeking Behavior Scale, developed by VandeWalle et al. (2000), is
a unidimensional scale consisting of five items scored on a 6-point Likert scale (1
= "totally disagree", 2 = "disagree", 3 = "uncertain", 4 = "agree", 5 = "comparatively
agree", and 6 = "totally agree") (refer to Table 3). A higher score indicates a greater
need for seeking feedback. To assess the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha
coefficient was calculated and found to be 0.894, indicating good internal
consistency. The deletion of any item did not significantly improve the Cronbach's
alpha coefficient, suggesting that all 5 items contributed to the scale's reliability.
Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the
construct validity of the scale. The results indicated that the scale had a good
model fit with χ2/df = 2.747, RMSEA = 0.070, SRMR = 0.019, CFI = 0.991, NFI =
0.986, GFI = 0.985, and TLI = 0.983.
Table 3: Feedback-seeking Behavior Scale

Question item
1. I often ask my superiors and colleagues about my professional skills
2. I often ask my superiors and colleagues about my role orientation and expectations for
my work
3. I often ask my superiors and colleagues about my views on my overall work
performance
4. I often ask my superiors and colleagues about my social behavior
5. I often ask my superiors and colleagues if my behavior and attitude align with the
school values
3.3 Statistical Analysis Method

In the present study, structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to analyze
the relationship among organizational innovation climate, creativity, and
feedback-seeking behavior, which helped better understand the research results.
SEM is a comprehensive statistical method that combines linear regression
between dependent variables, the correlation between covariates, and the
structural relationship between variables, and it helps quickly and accurately
analyze the relationship between different variables (Roger et al., 2021). In SEM
analysis, the structural equation model was first checked for conformance to the
general fitting indices. Then, the relationship between the three variables was
identified depending on whether the path coefficient was significant, and the
Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effect. The Bootstrap method is
a simulated sampling method that estimates the distribution of certain statistics
through repeated sampling to accurately analyze the mediating effect. The
confidence interval was set to 95%, and if the confidence interval was not 0, the
mediating effect was considered to be significant (Hayes, 2013).
4. Results
A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed and 384 were collected, of which
356 were valid, resulting in an effective response rate of 89%. Data collation and
analysis were carried out on the collected research samples. The sample
95
comprised 227 men (63.76%) and 129 women (36.24%); 143 had a bachelor’s
degree (40.17%), 177 had a master’s degree (49.72%), and 36 had a PhD (10.11%).
Variable Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

Table 4 shows the mean and standard deviation for each variable. The results are
as follows: organizational innovation climate (M = 3.672, SD = 0.594), creativity
(M = 3.647, SD = 1.027), and feedback-seeking behavior (M = 3.617, SD = 0.687).
Each variable was in the upper middle performance level, and there were
significant positive correlations among all the variables. The coefficients of
correlation among the observed variables were in the range 0.547–0.638, with all
being significant (p < 0.001), and there was no problem of collinearity (Adewoye
et al., 2021).
Table 4: Variable descriptive statistics and correlation analysis
Variable M SD OAI1 OAI2 OAI3 OAI CA SFB

OAI1 3.577 0.769 1
OAI2 3.793 0.641 0.487** 1
OAI3 3.617 0.770 0.497** 0.407** 1
OAI 3.672 0.594 0.810** 0.730** 0.850** 1
CA 3.647 1.027 0.465** 0.445** 0.473** 0.574** 1
SFB 3.617 0.687 0.441** 0.412** 0.459** 0.547** 0.638** 1
Note: ** p < 0.01；OAI, CA, and SFB denote Organizational Innovation Climate, Creativity, and
Feedback-Seeking Behavior, respectively. OAI1, OAI2, and OAI3 refer to independent learning,
teamwork, and organizational motivation, respectively.
A structural equation model was constructed to examine the relationships among

organizational innovation climate, creativity, and feedback-seeking behavior. The
model fit indices presented were satisfactory and in line with general SEM
research standards, indicating a good fit: χ²/ df=0.207, RMSEA=0.076,
SRMR=0.047, CFI=0.915, NFI=0.969, GFI=0.988, TLI=0.983.
As shown in Figure 1 and Table 5, organizational innovation climate has a

significant positive impact on creativity (β=0.302, p<0.001), i.e., as the teachers’
perception of the organizational innovation climate improves, their creativity is
enhanced. Feedback-seeking behavior also has a significant positive effect on
creativity, i.e., with higher feedback-seeking behavior among teachers, their
creativity is higher. Further, organizational innovation climate has a significant
positive effect on feedback-seeking behavior (β=0.545, p<0.001), i.e., as the
teachers’ perception of organizational innovation climate improves, their
feedback-seeking behavior is enhanced.
Table 5: Summary of model regression coefficients

Path SE CR p SPC
OAI→SFB 0.066 14.211 0.000 0.545
SFB→CA 0.027 11.154 0.000 0.453
OAI→CA 0.047 7.431 0.000 0.302
Note: → indicates the path influence relationship；***p ＜ 0.001.
96
OAI1
0.545***
SFB
0.545*** 0.453***
OAI2 0.316***
0.505*** 0.302***
OAI
OAI CA
OAI3
Figure 1: Structural Model of Organizational Innovation Climate, Creativity, and

Feedback-seeking Behavior
Referring to the study by Xie (2021) , the Bootstrap sampling method was used for
repeated sampling (5,000 times) to test the mediating effect of feedback-seeking
behavior. As shown in Table 6, the 95% confidence interval (0.200, 0.308) of the
indirect effect of organizational innovation climate on creativity did not include
0, which indicated that the mediating effect was significant. The total effect was
0.645 and the mediating effect accounted for 44.01%, thus verifying the partial
mediating effect of feedback-seeking behavior to imply that the organizational
innovation climate of university teachers in Hebei significantly and positively
affects creativity and can indirectly affect teachers’ creativity through feedback-
seeking behavior.
Table 6: Bootstrap mediating effect analysis
Path Effect Result S. E. 95% LLCI 95% ULCI

Direct effect 0.361*** 0.047 0.260 0.462
OAI→SFB→CA Indirect effect 0.284*** 0.023 0.200 0.308
Total effects 0.645*** 0.044 0.549 0.740

*** p < 0.001
5. Discussion
The results of our study showed that the organizational innovation climate of
universities has a significant positive impact on teachers' creativity, which is
consistent with previous research results (Aldabbas et al., 2021; Daniel et al., 2021).
Further, Zelenski and Desrochers (2021) opined that a dynamic and interactive
relationship exists between behavior and the environment, and that synergistic
extrinsic motivation can enhance creativity (Daikoku et al., 2021). Innovation
involves continuous attempts to bring about change and break monotony, and
these actions carry risks by increasing unpredictability for an organization
(Michael et al., 2012). Organizations should allow individuals to make mistakes
and encourage them to engage in risky creative activities; this can improve their
97
willingness to take risks and engage more in creative activities (Peng et al., 2021).
An organizational innovation climate encourages the diversity of opinions
through the flow of information, which may lead to a higher probability of
conflicts in terms of beliefs, assumptions, possibilities, and new facts (Chaubey et
al., 2021). Through feedback-seeking behavior, increased interactions are more
likely to generate more creative ideas and solve practical problems at work
(Thatrak, 2021). Therefore, organizations’ focus on job autonomy, teamwork, and
organizational motivation can strengthen the sense of psychological security of
their members to break away from convention and creatively solve problems,
which is conducive to innovation.
Our results reveal the mediating role of feedback-seeking behavior between

organizational innovation climate and creativity. This aligns with previously
reported research which found that feedback-seeking behavior significantly
affects creativity (Cho & Seo, 2021; Mavri et al., 2021; Minnikin et al., 2021).
According to the creative motivation theory, synergistic extrinsic motivation can
enhance intrinsic motivation by improving engagement in tasks (Lin & Wang,
2021). The relationship between feedback acceptance and individual creativity is
strengthened when the organization has a better innovation climate (Chaubey et
al., 2021). Synergistic extrinsic motivations such as individual rewards, well-
defined work objectives, constructive work feedback allowing individuals to
engage in activities of their interest, and increased autonomy can facilitate the
development of creativity (Thomas, 2022). Therefore, feedback-seeking behavior
can help realize collaboration between teachers, build robust relationships, and
generate mutual trust (Garivani et al., 2016), thus meeting the fundamental
psychological need of innovation and improving teachers' creative motivation
(Carmeli et al., 2015).
6. Conclusions
This study investigated the impact of innovation culture on the development of
creativity among university teachers in Hebei. The survey research revealed that
a strong innovation culture is critical to developing creativity among Hebei
university teachers, as it positively affects feedback-seeking behavior and has a
significant positive impact on creativity development. Specifically, feedback-
seeking behavior has a large and statistically significant effect on the development
of creativity among Hebei university teachers and partially mediates the
relationship between innovation culture and creativity. Moreover, our findings
suggest that organizational motivation is a more important factor than job
autonomy and teamwork in inspiring teachers to be creative, explore new
avenues and methods, and enhance their confidence in innovation within the
organizational innovation climate of Hebei universities. These results highlight
the need for specific institutions to emphasize the importance of organizational
motivation and create a positive work environment that encourages innovation to
inspire feedback-seeking behaviors among teachers, which can facilitate the
generation and development of creativity. Overall, this study contributes to a
better understanding of the factors that promote creativity among university
teachers and provides insights that help develop effective strategies to cultivate
creativity in higher education institutions.
98
7. Limitations
This study selected university teachers in Hebei as the research object. The
geographical location and questionnaire distribution method limited the
universality of the research result. To improve external validity, future research
can expand the sample scope to different regions. Moreover, the research results
may be biased as the research is based on cross-sectional data, lacks regular
follow-up with the participants, and does not involve periodic follow-ups. Future
studies may consider using periodic and phased long-term follow-up research to
collect sample data. Qualitative research and experiments can also be used to
explore the mediating role of other variables between organizational innovation
climate and creativity.
8. Recommendations
8.1 Practical Recommendations:
Managers of Hebei universities should establish an innovation platform that
allows teachers to share their ideas, learn from each other, and cultivate their
creativity. This platform can serve as a resource for teachers to access innovation
models, tools, and techniques.
Managers of Hebei universities should encourage creativity from teachers by

providing a space for innovation, empowering teachers to implement their ideas,
and creating an enjoyable experience harvested from innovation. This can be
achieved by creating a favorable climate for promoting innovation and teachers’
creative consciousness and replacing the traditional discipline-based culture with
a relaxed environment for teachers that can facilitate their creativity development.
Managers of Hebei universities should establish a reward mechanism to

encourage university teachers to seek feedback. A performance appraisal
environment can also be created to recognize and reward teachers for their
feedback-seeking behaviors, which can help enhance the development of their
creativity. Furthermore, communication with teachers should be strengthened to
enable them to have a comprehensive understanding of their work and share their
experiences with their peers, thereby enhancing creativity.
8.2 Research Recommendations

To improve external validity, future research can expand the sample scope to
different regions of China or even other countries. Future studies may consider
implementing periodic or phased long-term follow-up research to collect sample
data. This would help capture the dynamic relationship between organizational
innovation climate and creativity over time and provide a more comprehensive
understanding of the underlying mechanisms surrounding this strategy.
Qualitative research and experiments can also be used to explore the mediating
role of other variables between organizational innovation climate and creativity.
For example, future studies could investigate the role of psychological safety,
leadership, or team dynamics in facilitating creativity among university teachers.
99
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 104-123, April 2023
A Mediation Model of the Effect of Visionary

Leadership on Teachers’ Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
W. Widodo*
Social Science Education Department, Postgraduate Faculty,
Universitas Indraprasta PGRI, Jakarta, Indonesia
Irvandi Gustari
Lecturer in Doctoral Program in Economics, Postgraduate School,
Pancasila University, Jakarta, Indonesia
Rahayu Permana
Social Science Education Department, Postgraduate Faculty,
Universitas Indraprasta PGRI, Jakarta, Indonesia
Abstract. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is necessary in

overcoming emergency conditions, including learning difficulties such as
experienced during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, this
research explored the visionary leadership effects of teachers’ OCB
through quality of work-life (QWL) and organizational commitment, and
developed a new empirical model of the mediation mechanism. A
quantitative approach with a survey method was used in this research,
where Likert-scale questionnaires were distributed to 387 social sciences
teachers in Indonesia. Using structural equation modeling (SEM)
analysis, it was found that visionary leadership, QWL, and organizational
commitment have a significant effect on OCB; visionary leadership
significantly influences QWL and organizational commitment; and
visionary leadership has a significant effect on OCB through QWL and
organizational commitment. This evidence promotes a new model
regarding the effect of visionary leadership on teachers’ OCB mediated
by QWL and organizational commitment. It not only confirms several
previous studies as the basis for developing this research hypothesis, but
is also an antithesis to previous research with contradictory conclusions.
With such conditions, the new model provides theoretical and practical
contributions which require in-depth and critical discussion before it is
adopted or adapted as a model in improving teacher OCB via visionary
leadership supported by QWL and organizational commitment.
*
Corresponding author: W. Widodo, widmag@gmail.com
©Authors
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Keywords: mediation model; organizational citizenship behavior;

quality of work-life; teachers; visionary leadership
1. Introduction
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) makes a vital contribution to personal
and organizational life and as such garners interest from researchers as a topic of
research from time to time. In a personal context, OCB determines job
performance (Hermanto & Srimulyani, 2022; Suswati, 2022), including contextual
performance (Widodo & Yusuf, 2021) and task performance (Bastian & Widodo,
2022; Yang & Chae, 2022). Meanwhile, in an organizational context, OCB
positively impacts on organizational performance (Huynh & Nguyen, 2022).
OCB is positive behavior displayed by employees (Hermanto & Srimulyani, 2022).

It refers to extra-duty behavior which is not regulated formally in the
compensation system (Yang et al., 2022). OCB also reflects employee behavior
outside the call of duty which goes beyond formal job duties and aids in the
survival of the organization (McShane & von Glinow, 2020). Earlyanti and Hamid
(2023) stated that OCB is related to individual behavior that can freely and
explicitly encourage organizational functions to be more effective and efficient.
Thus, OCB can be described as extra-role behavior which is beyond the formal
duties carried out voluntarily by employees but contributes to the organization’s
effectiveness and efficiency in realizing its goals.
OCB comprises five indicators. The first, altruism, relates to helping others, for
example colleagues who are facing obstacles in completing work or who are
having trouble solving personal problems. Second, conscientiousness is related to
the awareness of doing good or making extra efforts beyond organizational
expectations. Third, sportsmanship reflects a tolerant attitude towards inadequate
organizational conditions. Fourth, courtesy reflects the willingness to foster social
relations with others as best as possible to minimize interpersonal conflict. The
fifth and last indicator, civic virtue, refers to acting responsibly towards
organizational survival (Organ et al., 2006).
In the context of school organizations, OCB is needed mainly to overcome

emergency conditions, including learning problems, such as experienced both
during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In such conditions, the school needs
extra-role behavior (OCB) from all its stakeholders, especially teachers as the main
actors in the online learning process, which greatly determines the quality of
schools and education. When Covid-19 became endemic, the teacher’s central role
was to oversee the learning transition process from online to hybrid (online and
offline) learning. This means that OCB is vital for students, teachers, and schools,
so it is essential to always pay attention to it, including through research,
especially to uncover the factors that influence it.
Previous studies have shown that OCB is affected by visionary leadership

(Nikookar-Gohari et al., 2021), quality of work-life (QWL) (Darwin et al., 2022;
Widodo & Yusuf, 2021), and organizational commitment (Al Difa & Claudia,
2022). Besides affecting OCB, QWL and organizational commitment are also
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influenced by visionary leadership (Utomo et al., 2022; Yulius, 2022). However,

other studies have indicated inconsistent results. For example, Isma et al. (2018)
demonstrated that visionary leadership does not significantly affect
organizational commitment. Dewi et al. (2022) also indicated that leadership does
not significantly impact OCB. In addition, Al Difa and Claudia (2022) revealed
that QWL does not significantly affect OCB. Furthermore, the latest investigations
by Sumarsi and Rizal (2022) and Novianti (2021) proved that organizational
commitment does not significantly affect OCB.
The inconsistency of these research results creates a research gap that requires
scientific clarification. The relevant research question relates to the problem of
how QWL and organizational commitment mediate the effect of visionary
leadership on teachers’ OCB. Based on this urgent matter, this research explores
how visionary leadership affects teachers’ OCB through QWL and organizational
commitment, and develops a new empirical model of the mediation mechanism.
2.1 Visionary Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Visionary leadership is becoming increasingly popular and not without reason.
Prior studies have demonstrated that visionary leadership affects different
domains, such as creativity (Chen & Yuan, 2021; Makhrus et al., 2022), and
stimulates followers to pursue the same vision (Kehr et al., 2022). It also increases
adherents’ ability to take charge (Liu et al., 2022) and to engage in citizenship
behavior (Ismail, Irani, & Kertechian, 2022; Luo et al., 2021). In addition, it
improves followers’ job outcomes (AlKayid et al., 2022; Zhou et al., 2018) and job
performance (Esfarjani et al., 2020; Kurniadi et al., 2020). Finally, visionary
leadership determines enterprise development (van der Voet & Steijn, 2021) and
enhances the capacity of the organization (Khoiri, 2020).
Visionary leadership is the activity of a leader in influencing other people or

subordinates to be interested in creating and articulating a vision that is realistic,
credible, and attractive to improve current conditions (Robbins & Coulter, 2020).
It is focused to consistently realize the vision for a better change (Ates et al., 2020;
Utomo et al., 2022). Accordingly, visionary leadership describes how leaders find
new ideas or ways of managing problems by empowering subordinates to achieve
stated goals (Kadir et al., 2020). This means that visionary leadership is concerned
with efforts to create, introduce, and realize the vision of the organization by
inspiring, persuading, and involving subordinates optimally.
Within this framework, visionary leaders need to have several specific

characteristics as measurement indicators. These are: having high standards and
ideas; clarifying direction and goals; inspiring spirit and commitment; having
effective communication; reflecting competencies and organizational uniqueness;
and having a strong desire to pursue goals (Anshar, 2017; Joseph, 2007). Leaders
with these characteristics tend to strongly stimulate the growth of OCB among
their subordinates. For example, subordinates are aware of doing good or making
extra efforts beyond organizational expectations, and act responsibly towards
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organizational survival. In the school context, principals with solid visionary

leadership tend to stimulate teachers’ OCB.
Previous studies by Ismail, Kertechian, and Blaique (2022), Nikookar-Gohari et al.

(2021), and Widodo and Yusuf (2021) also found that visionary leadership affects
OCB. Dedic et al. (2022) also demonstrated that leadership style leads to OCB.
These findings give rise to the first hypothesis (H) of this research:
H1: Visionary leadership positively affects OCB
2.2 Quality of Work-Life and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

QWL relates to the extent to which employees can meet essential needs based on
their personal experience in the organization (Daniel, 2019). Therefore, QWL
refers to various aspects of the work experience (Widodo & Yusuf, 2021) which
make employees feel comfortable at work (Hermawati et al., 2019), such as
working conditions, wages, work environment, perceptions of work, support, and
relationship with the leadership (Eren & Hisar, 2016).
According to Risla and Ithrees (2018), QWL is related to employee attitudes

towards their workplace, especially social interactions between employees and
their work environment. Bateman (2018) comprehensively lists several aspects of
QWL. These include: a healthy and safe work environment; jobs that provide
opportunities for the development of employee potential; the availability of
opportunities for personal growth and security; a conducive social environment;
the existence of constitutionalism that guarantees the right to privacy, reciprocity,
and differences of opinion; clear work roles; and the existence of organizational
social responsibility.
Furthermore, QWL is related to workforce management to increase employee

commitment and organizational performance as a manifestation of organizational
effectiveness functions which enable the organization to grow sustainably (Diana
et al., 2022). Due to this, QWL is not only crucial for employees, including teachers
who work in school organizations, but remains necessary for them to support a
peaceful and pleasant work atmosphere (Widodo & Yusuf, 2021). QWL impacts
work, contextual performance, and organizational effectiveness (Chaturvedi &
Saxena, 2017; Daniel, 2019; Thakur & Sharma, 2019). QWL also encourages
employee appreciation, changes organizational culture, and enhances employees’
psychological and physical health (Arief et al., 2021). Moreover, scholars have also
claimed that QWL significantly affects OCB (Moestaina et al., 2020; Ojo et al., 2020;
Purwani & Sukestiningsih, 2022; Rivera et al., 2019; Ulfa et al., 2021).
Teacher OCB can be stimulated where schools provide a safe and healthy social
environment and opportunities for personal growth as well as become learning
organizations responsible for all stakeholders. This shows that teachers’ OCB will
likely increase if they are supported with good QWL, such as a safe, healthy, and
conducive work environment; clear and transparent work roles; tolerance for
differences of opinion; and opportunities for the development of employee
potential. The second research hypothesis has been developed accordingly:
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H2: QWL positively affects OCB
2.3 Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Organizational commitment as an individual internal factor remains attractive
and popular today, because of its significant contribution to employees and the
organization. At the personal level, especially for teachers and in the school
context, organizational commitment has proven to significantly affect teaching
creativity (Widodo & Gunawan, 2021). It also impacts job performance (AlAntali
& Zuraida, 2023; Nawangsari et al., 2023) and productivity (Sutarman, 2022).
Organizational commitment also plays a vital role in reducing turnover intention
(Zhu et al., 2022) and burnout (Laily et al., 2022). Meanwhile, at the organization
level, organizational commitment is an important determinant of organizational
performance (Stackhouse et al., 2022).
Organizational commitment refers to the willingness of employees to voluntarily

accept the values and goals of the organization, and to then identify those values
and goals in their job responsibilities (Suharto & Hendri, 2019). For Syarif and
Lina (2019), organizational commitment is related to the strength of employees in
determining their involvement in parts of the organization. In addition, it also
reflects a feeling of belonging to the organization (Diana et al., 2022). Islam et al.
(2018) viewed organizational commitment as a function of attitude, behavior, and
management in the workplace.
From a social perspective, organizational commitment reflects the strong desire

of individuals to offer their concrete efforts and loyalty to the system (Yao et al.,
2019). Thus, organizational commitment is linked to employee approval and
acceptance of organizational values (including vision, mission, goals, policy
objectives, and organizational strategy) and active involvement in efforts to
realize these values as a manifestation of a sense of belonging and being part of
the organization.
Meyer and Allen (1991) identified three components as indicators of

organizational commitment. The first, affective commitment, is related to solid
cohesion and active involvement of employees in various organizational
activities. Second, normative commitment concerns loyalty to the values and
norms of the organization, as a manifestation of the will to remain and be part of
the organization. Third, continuance commitment reflects the feeling of loss when
the employee leaves the organization.
In adequate conditions, these three indicators can stimulate an increasing teacher

OCB. That is, teachers displaying OCB need an internal predisposition in the form
of a spirit of being actively involved in various school activities, a strong desire to
obey and uphold the values of the school organization, and a solid determination
to survive and be part of the school for the betterment of the school. Recent studies
by Soesanto and Nasikh (2022) and Azmy (2021) also indicated that organizational
commitment significantly affects OCB. Hence, the third hypothesis is proposed:
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H3: Organizational commitment positively affects OCB
2.4 Visionary Leadership and Quality of Work-Life

Apart from influencing OCB, there are indications that visionary leadership is
related to QWL. For example, the research results by Kesumayani et al. (2020)
show that visionary leadership is related to work-life balance. In addition, the
study of Kurniawan and Susita (2020) also indicated that leadership affects QWL.
These two studies have shown that visionary leadership has the potential to
influence QWL in the context of school organizations.
As an illustration, school principals with high work standards will try to condition
QWL in good schools so that all school members can work comfortably and
enthusiastically to realize the set work standards. This means that school QWL
requires the visionary leadership of school principals. An example is how school
principals clarify school environmental health and safety standards so that school
members can follow these standards so that the school environment is always
healthy and safe. Form the above, the fourth hypothesis has been formulated:
H4: Visionary leadership positively affects QWL
2.5 Visionary Leadership and Organizational Commitment

Recent studies have also indicated that visionary leadership influences
organizational commitment. For example, Yulius (2022) and Basri et al. (2021)
demonstrated that visionary leadership significantly affects organizational
commitment. Wang and Rashid (2022) also proved that strategic leadership is
related to organizational commitment. This suggests that visionary leadership is
a good predictor of organizational commitment, including in school
organizations.
As an illustration, principals who have a good, inspiring spirit and commitment;

communicate effectively; reflect competencies and organizational uniqueness;
and have strong determination to realize ideals tend to stimulate the teachers to
be more actively involved in various school activities. That is, the principal’s
visionary leadership is needed to trigger and spur teacher organizational
commitment. For example, the ability of a school principal to inspire teachers by
using speech appropriate to the teachers’ condition is very useful for encouraging
teacher participation in various school activities. Therefore, the fifth hypothesis
has been formulated as follows:
H5: Visionary leadership positively affects organizational commitment
\
2.6 Mediating Role of Quality of Work-Life and Organizational Commitment

Some of the research results discussed above show that QWL and organizational
commitment can mediate the causal relationship between visionary leadership
and OCB. It has the potential to occur because apart from affecting OCB (Azmy,
2021; Purwani & Sukestiningsih, 2022; Soesanto & Nasikh, 2022; Ulfa et al., 2021),
QWL and organizational commitment are also influenced by visionary leadership
(Basri et al., 2021; Kesumayani et al., 2020; Kurniawan & Susita, 2020; Yulius,
2022).
110
There is a lack of research specifically investigating the effect of visionary

leadership on OCB mediated by QWL and organizational commitment. This
situation opens opportunities for novel discoveries in this regard, hence the need
to investigate. Based on the results of previous research and the arguments above,
we promote the following hypotheses:
H6: Visionary leadership positively affects OCB mediated by QWL
H7: Visionary leadership positively affects OCB mediated by organizational
commitment
3. Methodology
3.1 Respondents
The research respondents were 387 social studies teachers in Indonesia spread
across three provinces, namely Jakarta, West Java, and Banten. As presented in
Table 1, the majority of the respondents were female (66.7%), had a bachelor’s
degree (92.3%), and were married (79.8%). Regarding age, 32.3% of respondents
were 36-45 years old, 26.1% were 26–35 years, and 25.8% were 46–55 years.
Concerning work experience as a teacher, 30.8% of respondents had more than 16
years, 25.6% had 11–15 years, 24.3% had less than five years, and 19.4% had 6–10
years.
Table 1: Profile of research respondents

Profile n Percentage (%)
Gender
1. Male 129 33.33
2. Female 258 66.67
Age
1. < 25 years 32 8.27
2. 26−35 years 101 26.10
3. 36−45 years 125 32.30
4. 46−55 years 100 25.84
5. < 56 years 29 7.49
Education
1. Diploma (D3) 14 3.62
2. Bachelor (S1) 357 92.25
3. Postgraduate (S2) 16 4.13
Marital status
1. Married 309 79.84
2. Unmarried 78 20.16
Teaching experience
1. < 5 years 94 24.29
2. 6−10 years 75 19.38
3. 11−15 years 99 25.58
4. > 16 years 119 30.75
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3.2 Procedures and Materials

This study used a quantitative approach, with a survey conducted online via
email and WhatsApp. It used a Likert-scale questionnaire with five choices,
ranging from strongly disagree/never (score = 1) to strongly agree/always (score = 5),
and was designed in Google Forms format. The questionnaire, which was
developed by researchers, refers to the theoretical dimensions/indicators of the
experts.
The indicator of visionary leadership comprises high standards and ideas (HSI);
clarifying direction and goals (CGD); inspiring spirit and commitment (ISC);
having effective communication (HEC); reflecting competencies and
organizational uniqueness (RCOU); and having a strong desire to pursue goals
(SDPG) (Anshar, 2017; Joseph, 2007). QWL indicators are a healthy and safe work
environment (HSWE); jobs that provide opportunities for the development of
employee potential (JPDE); the availability of opportunities for personal growth
and security (APGS); conducive social environment (CSE); the existence of
constitutionalism that guarantees the right to privacy, reciprocity, and differences
of opinion (EC); clear work roles (CWR); and the existence of organizational social
responsibility (EOSR) (Bateman et al., 2018). Furthermore, organizational
commitment indicators consist of affective commitment (AC), normative
commitment (NC), and continuance commitment (CC) (Meyer & Allen, 1991).
Finally, indicators of OCB include altruism (Altr), conscientiousness (Cons),
sportsmanship (Spor), courtesy (Cour), and civic virtue (CV) (Organ et al., 2006).
The sections on visionary leadership and QWL in the questionnaire consistsed of

12 and 16 items, respectively. Meanwhile, organizational commitment and OCB
had 10 items each. Before being used for research, the questionnaire was
preliminarily tested on 30 social sciences teachers to determine its validity and
reliability. The results show that all items were valid because they had a corrected
item-total correlation coefficient of more than .361 (Widodo, 2021). In addition,
alpha coefficients were also reliable because they were more than .70 (Hair et al.,
2018; van Griethuijsen et al., 2015). This indicates that the research instrument was
valid and reliable and thus appropriate for conducting the research.
In addition, to anticipate the possibility of common method bias (CMB) problems

due to using a single source in research, a statistical test was carried out in this
study to detect this possibility. Conceptually, CMB manifests the calculated
difference between the observed relationship and the actual correlation produced
by the common method of variance (CMV). According to Spector et al. (2019),
CMV has the potential to increase the apparent correlation compared to the actual
correlation. To reduce CMB, Fuller et al. (2016), among other scholars, suggested
a statistical approach. Accordingly, this study used statistical approaches
commonly used to detect the occurrence of CMV/CMB, namely the correlation
test (Tehseen et al., 2017) and Harman’s single-factor test (Malhotra et al., 2017).
112
The correlation test results show that all correlation coefficients between variables
were less than .90 (Tehseen et al., 2017). Furthermore, Harman’s single-factor test
obtained a total variance extracted score of 38.282%, which is below the tolerance
threshold of 50% (Kock, 2020). Therefore, this indicates that there is no CMV
(CMB) in the data of this study. The findings generated from this research data
should therefore not be disputed.
3.3 Data Analysis

The research data obtained from the 387 respondents were processed using two
statistical tools. First, SPSS version 22 was used for validity, reliability, CMB, and
descriptive and correlation analyses. Second, LisRel 8.80 was used to test the
hypotheses of causal relationships between latent variables using a structural
equation model (SEM) approach. SEM is a technique or approach considered
more powerful for analyzing the relationship between observed and latent
variables (Hair et al., 2018).
4. Results
4.1 Descriptive and Correlation Analyses
The results of the descriptive and correlation analyses processed using SPSS are
presented in Table 2. In general, the mean values range from 7.96 to 17.86, which
are greater than the standard deviation values (SD), which range from 1.004 to
2.136. This reflects a good overall representation of the data and deserves further
analysis. Meanwhile, the results of the correlation analysis between indicators for
all constructs (variables) as a whole are significant at p < .01, with a correlation
coefficient value range of .13–.79. This shows that all indicators have a reciprocal
relationship with other indicators. However, this relationship does not indicate
symptoms of multicollinearity, because the value of the correlation coefficient
obtained is not more than .8.
4.2 Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The measurement model estimate by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is
displayed in Table 3. The CFA results are useful in providing values to assess the
validity and reliability of measurements. The factor loadings value of .60 indicates
that all indicators represent latent variables (Hair et al., 2018). The factor loading
obtained from the CFA is in the range of .57–.89. This shows relatively good
validity because only one indicator is smaller than .60. In addition, reliability can
be seen from Cronbach’s alpha (CA), composite reliability (CR), and average
variance extracted (AVE) values. CA and CR values above .70 and AVE values
more than .50 are acceptable (Hair et al., 2018). The CA and CR values obtained
are in the range of .84–.96 and .74–.93, respectively; the AVE values are in the
range of .50−.69. This indicated good reliability and acceptable convergence.
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Table 2: Descriptive and correlation statistics results

Descriptive Correlation
Indicator
Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Visionary leadership (X)
1. HSI 8.64 1.470 1.00
2. CGD 8.87 1.320 .74** 1.00
3. ISC 8.86 1.348 .74** .79** 1.00
4. HEC 9.07 1.176 .56** .66** .73** 1.00
5. RCOU 8.76 1.316 .69** .70** .78** .66** 1.00
6. SDPG 8.84 1.347 .64** .66** .68** .57** .76** 1.00
Quality of work-life (QWL) (Y1)
7. HSWE 17.86 2.077 .30** .36** .43** .45** .39** .37** 1.00
8. JPDE 8.74 1.199 .41** .34** .45** .39** .36** .37** .73** 1.00
9. APGS 9.05 1.042 .18** .22** .19** .21** .17** .16** .46** .48** 1.00
10. CSE 9.04 1.051 .26** .26** .29** .27** .26** .27** .62** .53** .67** 1.00
11. EC 8.65 1.133 .32** .25** .29** .37** .34** .32** .55** .58** .42** .56** 1.00
12. CWR 8.69 1.227 .27** .22** .30** .38** .25** .22** .58** .61** .46** .55** .60** 1.00
13. EOSR 8.22 1.400 .32** .25** .29** .25** .31** .32** .47** .54** .42** .46** .53** .65** 1.00
Organizational commitment (Y2)
14. AC 12.06 1.809 .17** .21** .15** .13** .17** .15** .38** .43** .27** .32** .36** .34** .43** 1.00
15. NC 13.05 1.602 .17** .25** .24** .20** .18** .19** .46** .41** .32** .44** .34** .45** .33** .43** 1.00
16. CC 16.53 2.136 .15** .23** .17** .21** .19** .22** .46** .47** .31** .42** .44** .50** .53** .56** .47** 1.00
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) (Y3)
17. Altr 8.01 1.304 .24** .17** .16** .15** .15** .23** .28** .34** .30** .34** .40** .38** .35** .28** .34** .41** 1.00
18. Cons 8.15 1.271 .17** .16** .18** .15** .14** .20** .27** .28** .21** .21** .26** .33** .30** .26** .16** .42** .56** 1.00
19. Spor 7.96 1.198 .31** .21** .25** .24** .27** .31** .19** .29** .21** .26** .42** .30** .33** .29** .29** .36** .54** .59** 1.00
20. Cour 9.07 1.004 .18** .23** .21** .32** .21** .21** .36** .31** .14** .30** .25** .31** .24** .29** .49** .44** .32** .40** .41** 1.00
21. CV 8.33 1.337 .35** .22** .21** .23** .29** .31** .24** .23** .21** .20** .24** .22** .31** .33** .28** .38** .43** .44** .54** .50** 1.00
Note: ** p < .01
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Tabel 3: Results of the measurement model

Construct Indicator Factor loading CR AVE CA (α)
HSI .82
CGD .87
Visionary ISC .89
.930 .691 .904
leadership (X) HEC .77
RCOU .84
SDPG .79
HSWE .79
JPDE .80
APGS .65
QWL (Y1) CSE .75 .896 .553 .958
EC .74
CWR .78
EOSR .68
AC .72
Organizational
NC .60 .744 .505 .887
commitment (Y2)
CC .78
Altr .69
Cons .73
OCB (Y3) Spor .79 .821 .511 .839
Cour .57
CV .67
4.3 Goodness of Fit

The goodness of fit (GOF) statistical analysis results showed that eight of the
eleven criteria were a good fit, while the other three did not fit the criteria (poor).
The eight criteria met are goodness, normed, non-normed, adjusted goodness,
comparative, relative, parsimony normed of the fit index, and normed chi-square.
In contrast, the three criteria that were not fulfilled are chi-square, significant
probability, and root mean square error of approximation. In this regard, Hair et
al. (2018) stated that the chi-square test can be used for large samples, that is more
than 200 subjects, as in this study (387 respondents). Even so, the results of the
GOF test can still be valid (fit) because most (eight out of eleven) fit the criteria.
4.4 Hypothesis Testing

As visualized in Figures 1 and 2 and summarized in Table 4, all the hypotheses
were supported (significant) at α < .05 and .01. In particular, visionary leadership,
QWL, and organizational commitment positively affect OCB with path coefficient
(/β) and p value, respectively ( = .19, p < .01; β = .10, p = .05; and β = .56, p = .01).
In addition, visionary leadership positively affects QWL ( = .50, p = .01) and
organizational commitment ( = .27, p = .01). Finally, visionary leadership
significantly affects OCB through QWL (β = .05, p = .01) and organizational
commitment (β = .15, p = .01).
However, visionary leadership impacts organizational commitment more than

QWL and OCB. Meanwhile, organizational commitment contributes more
significantly to OCB than visionary leadership and QWL. As a consequence,
115
organizational commitment has a stronger mediating effect than QWL. This

indicates the critical role of organizational commitment in mediating the effect of
visionary leadership on OCB.
Figure 1: Standardized structural model
Figure 2: t value structural model
116
Table 4: Hyphotesis-testing results

Hypothesis / t value Decision
H1: Visionary leadership (X) on OCB (Y3) .19** 3.12 Supported
H2: QWL (Y1) on OCB (Y3) .10* 1.77 Supported
H3: Organizational commitment (Y2) on OCB (Y3) .56** 7.74 Supported
H4: Visionary leadership (X) on QWL (Y1) .50** 9.08 Supported
H5: Visionary leadership (X) on organizational
.27** 4.39 Supported
commitment (Y2)
H6: Visionary leadership (X) on OCB (Y3) mediated
by QWL (Y1)
H7: Visionary leadership (X) on OCB (Y3) mediated
by organizational commitment (Y2)
* p < .05; ** p < .01
5. Discussion
Generally, this study found that visionary leadership, QWL, and organizational
commitment positively affect OCB; visionary leadership positively influences
QWL and organizational commitment; and visionary leadership positively
impacts OCB through QWL and organizational commitment. In particular,
visionary leadership affects OCB, indicating that visionary leadership is a crucial
predictor of OCB. This shows that school principals who intensely apply visionary
leadership can ultimately encourage an increase in teacher OCB. For example, a
school principal with high standards and ideas, who clarifies direction and goals,
inspires spirit and commitment, and also communicates effectively will
encourage teachers to be aware of doing good or making extra efforts beyond
school expectations and having responsibility towards school survival. This
evidence is similar to previous studies by Nikookar-Gohari et al. (2021) and
Widodo and Yusuf (2021) that visionary leadership affects OCB.
This study also revealed that QWL influences OCB. It indicated that QWL is an
essential determinant for OCB. Therefore, if the QWL conditions in schools are
improved, it can have implications for increasing teachers’ OCB. As an
illustration, schools that guarantee and make teacher work an instrument for
developing teachers’ capabilities and providing the widest possible opportunities
for teacher self-development will increase teachers’ awareness of making extra
efforts beyond school expectations. It will also increase teachers’ awareness of
being tolerant towards inadequate school conditions and being responsible
towards school survival. These empirical findings align with scholars’ claim that
QWL significantly affects OCB (Ojo et al., 2020; Purwani & Sukestiningsih, 2022;
Ulfa et al., 2021).
This study also demonstrated that organizational commitment impacts OCB. This
proves the empirical fact that organizational commitment is a vital predisposition
for OCB. Thus, teachers’ OCB can be increased through the improvement of
organizational commitment. For example, teachers with solid cohesion and active
involvement in various school activities will be aware of doing good or making
extra efforts beyond school expectations as a manifestation of their sense of
responsibility to the school. The finding is consistent with the research results of
117
Soesanto and Nasikh (2022) and Azmy (2021) that organizational commitment
significantly impacts OCB.
Another finding of this study is that visionary leadership positively impacts QWL
and organizational commitment. This indicates that visionary leadership is a
substantial antecedent for QWL and organizational commitment. This means that
improving visionary leadership practice can increase QWL, such as a healthy and
safe work environment, jobs that provide opportunities for the development of
employee potential, and the availability of opportunities for personal growth.
Besides this, it can enhance teachers’ organizational commitment, for example,
through their active participation in various school activities and obedience to the
norms that apply at school. This empirical evidence aligns with prior studies by
Yulius (2022), Basri et al. (2021), and Kesumayani et al. (2020) that visionary
leadership influences QWL and organizational commitment.
Finally, this study found that visionary leadership positively affects teachers’
OCB through QWL and organizational commitment. This indicates the crucial
mediating role of QWL and organizational commitment on linked visionary
leadership with teachers’ OCB. Hence, increasing teacher OCB through the
principal’s visionary leadership will be more effective if supported by QWL in the
school and teachers’ organizational commitment.
This finding promotes a new empirical model regarding the effect of visionary
leadership on teachers’ OCB mediated by QWL and organizational commitment.
It thus provides a theoretical contribution to leadership and organizational
behavior studies in various contexts, such as educational management and
organizational psychology. In addition, it contributes to leadership practice in
school organizations, especially regarding improving QWL in the school and
enhancing teachers’ organizational commitment and OCB.
6. Limitations and Recommendations

Even though this research was carried out with strict scientific procedures, it had
several limitations that require improvement in the future. First, it only involved
a single data source (teachers); therefore, other data sources are needed in future
research, for example, principals or students. Second, it also did not accommodate
all theoretical dimensions/indicators; accordingly, other researchers can augment
this research in this regard. Third, it only used a quantitative approach and did
not cover qualitative motives that underlie the causal relationship between
variables. Therefore, future research should consider using mixed methods, that
is quantitative and qualitative, with the support of different analytical tools, such
as SmartPLS.
7. Conclusion
Teachers’ OCB is needed primarily to deal with learning problems in abnormal
conditions, for example as experienced both during and after the Covid-19
pandemic. Accordingly, this research explored how visionary leadership affects
teachers’ OCB through QWL and organizational commitment. The results show
that visionary leadership significantly affects OCB, directly and indirectly, via
118
QWL and organizational commitment. This evidence confirms a new empirical

model showing that visionary leadership affects teachers’ OCB through the
mediation mechanisms QWL and organizational commitment.
The research not only confirms several previous studies as the basis for the
development of this research hypothesis but also refutes and becomes an
antithesis for previous research claims that leadership does not significantly affect
organizational commitment and OCB, QWL does not significantly affect OCB,
and organizational commitment does not significantly affect OCB. With such
conditions, the new empirical model provides a theoretical and practical
contribution that requires in-depth discussion before it is adapted or adopted as
a model for improving teacher OCB via visionary leadership supported by QWL
and organizational commitment.
Practically, this research finding will inspire school management to apply the
visionary leadership style more because it potentially increases QWL in schools
and improves the quality of teachers’ organizational commitment and OCB.
Furthermore, the massive application of the visionary leadership style will enable
schools to have a visionary culture that is much needed by school members in
Indonesia, especially to face future challenges whose direction is increasingly
difficult to predict. However, applying visionary leadership requires adequate
soft skills support, such as psychological capital, cultural intelligence, and social
skills (intelligence). In addition, theoretically, the findings of this study will
inspire and motivate researchers to be more passionate about conducting
research, especially to respond to some of the weaknesses of the study findings.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 124-140, April 2023
Perception of Religious Lecturers of Higher

Order Thinking Skills and Students’ Academic
Performance in Online Learning
Indah Wigati , Mardeli , Mardiah Astuti and Yuniar

UIN Raden Fatah Palembang, Palembang, Indonesia
Zulmi Ramdani
UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract. Higher order thinking skills are an important element in

facing the challenges of the 21st century. The application of higher order
thinking skills in religious materials has been a significant concern.
However, the lack of knowledge about the importance in religious
learning has not been widely studied, especially in lecturers perception.
This present study examined the lecturers' perceptions of implementing
higher order thinking skills and the relevance to student academic
performance in online learning. It employed a descriptive quantitative
approach and engaged 33 lecturers and 63 students selected using a
purposive sampling technique. All respondents who were involved
consciously agreed to become research participants. Furthermore, the
data collection instrument used a Likert scale consisting of 11
statements, documentation of test questions used in learning, and
student learning outcomes. Instrument validation involved two experts
with a reliability score above 0.7 and was declared valid. The learning
outcomes instrument uses questions at the end of the semester for
lecturers in Islamic education courses. Data were analyzed using SPSS
25. The results showed that 65.3% of lecturers applied higher order
thinking skills in making question items. However, the document
analysis showed contradictory data in which the items were categorized
as lower order thinking skills, in line with students' low learning
outcomes of 55.56%. These findings indicated a discrepancy between
religious lecturers knowledge and higher education expectations for
students of religious education programs. This research contributes to
the development of higher order thinking skills concept in online
learning practices.
Keywords: academic performance; HOTS; lecturer’s perception; online

learning; religious lecturers
©Authors
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1. Introduction
The skill of applying Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in learning is very
important in the 21st century but there has been confusion among religious
lecturers about implementing HOTS in online learning in College (Zhaffar et al.,
2021). As stated by Mispani et al. (2021), that the questions in learning in tertiary
institutions are not yet HOTS-based so this is a challenge for a lecturer to
analyze this situation. Therefore, it becomes a challenge for lecturers to analyze
such a situation (Mokhtar et al., 2020; Sekwena, 2023). Purwasih (2020) and
Ibrahim et al. (2020) also explained that they have weaknesses in preparing
HOTS questions, one of which is the lack of knowledge and low universities'
expectations of religious learning materials. Meanwhile, they improve lives and
address social, political, and religious issues. Lubis (2018) stated that religious
education learning materials are the basis for building good, honest, virtuous,
responsible, trustworthy, and disciplined individual characters.
Lecturers should develop HOTS in online learning to make it more exciting and
easily understood (Sutarto et al., 2020). The success of online education affects
the ability to think, brings up independence, and provides new experiences in
ease and flexibility (Alchamdani et al., 2020; Singh & Thurman, 2019). Therefore,
students need to be familiarized with HOTS-based learning for more complex
life in the future (Sofyatiningrum et al., 2018). Improving HOTS capabilities
requires different teaching methods and strategies to transfer information and
knowledge easily and quickly (Chun & Abdullah 2019). Several positive impacts
of online learning are strongly influenced by the lecturer's HOTS in teaching
(Setena et al., 2021; Shah & Udgaonkar, 2018).
Based on previous study, the items of religious education materials in the

selection process of college admissions made by lecturers were still categorized
as LOTS (Mispani et al., 2021). Therefore, the number of compositions and
quality of HOTS questions should be improved to obtain good quality input
from religious education study program students. Qualified and globally
competitive universities should also have qualified lecturers. This is because the
excellent quality of learning can undoubtedly produce outstanding students
(Abrori & Nurkholis, 2019). In this highly competitive era, students are expected
to think at a higher level to solve a problem in dealing with a complex life in the
21st century (Sofyatiningrum et al., 2018).
Various fields of science, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics,

have developed HOTS-based test questions (Afandi et al., 2019; Njurumana et
al., 2020; Sari & Cahyaningtyas, 2020). However, it has not been widely carried
out in university religious education study programs. Hamidon et al. (2021)
emphasized the importance of understanding HOTS, specifically in teaching
verses of the Qur'an, and this did not disclose the creation of question items. In
addition, a different argument believes that the improvement can be indicated
by the mastery of skills and a deep understanding of learning materials instead
of merely by the questions categorized as HOTS (Abdullah et al., 2015). Another
study found that educators experienced problems implementing HOTS in
religious education (Assaree & Al-Khalidi, 2021; Hakiman et al., 2021; Zhaffar et
al., 2021).
126
Study by Zhaffar et al. (2021) that HOTS is not taught directly in the learning
process at Islamic tertiary institutions. The use of learning methods in Islamic
tertiary institutions has not been able to build students' critical thinking skills
(Abdulbaki et al., 2018; Alghamdi, 2018; Saira et al., 2021). Therefore, this study
focuses on the analysis of the suitability of the HOTS skills of religious lecturers
and their implications for student learning outcomes. HOTS is a thinking ability
that demands creative thinking, being able to express opinions, make analyzes,
and convey conclusions. This contrasts with studies conducted by Tamuri (2016)
and Hashim et al. (2017) that HOTS learning is proven to be able to improve
students' critical thinking skills. Therefore, HOTS abilities are very important for
lecturers to be able to develop various concepts and methods in solving learning
and assessment problems in Islamic tertiary institutions (Saputra, 2016). For this
reason, this study aims to look at the perceptions of religious lecturers about
HOTS and their relevance to student academic performance in online learning in
tertiary institutions.
2.1. The Implementation of HOTS in Higher Education
HOTS includes logic, reasoning, analysis, evaluation, creation, problem-solving,
and judgment (Brookhart, 2010). In addition, it requires thinking skills that are
not merely recalling, restating, or referring (Widana, 2017). Students are
expected to possess these skills in the 21st century, and improving HOTS can be
accomplished by educators through creating appropriate assessment
instruments (Hanifah, 2019). Gong et al. (2020) stated that students' learning
motivation directly impacts their computational thinking skills in the classroom.
These include creativity, algorithmic thinking, cooperation, critical thinking, and
problem-solving. In contrast, Di et al. (2019) reported that students' motivation
does not affect HOTS in an intelligent classroom environment.
The importance of HOTS has been emphasized by policymakers, educators, and

the general public (Abosalem, 2015; Elfeky, 2019). Based on the analysis of
previous study, Hwang et al. (2018) identified three HOTS abilities of problem-
solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Problem-solving involves identifying
problems, gathering and analyzing relevant information, and implementing
appropriate solutions. Critical thinking covers the ability to analyze information
objectively, think clearly and rationally, and make reasoned judgments.
Meanwhile, creativity deals with the capability to create new objects and
develop innovative ideas by elaborating, refining, analyzing, and evaluating the
existing ones.
The cognitive process dimensions are divided into six levels based on Revised
Bloom's Taxonomy, namely remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing,
evaluating, and creating (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). Brookhart (2010)
categorized the process of analyzing as breaking down information or objects
into several parts and making connections between each piece and the overall
structure. Evaluating is defined as making judgments based on criteria and
standards, namely quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency. The final
level of cognitive process dimensions is creating, which entails assembling
pieces to make a cohesive or functional whole. The details can be seen Figure 1.
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Figure 1. Modifications made based on the Cognitive Levels in the Revised

Bloom's Taxonomy (Yoke et al., 2021)
2.2. The Urgency of Perception in Learning

Perception is the process of a person's assessment of a particular object, which is
considered to see, integrate, and evaluate physical and social objects as
something good (McDonald, 2011). In humans, perception describes how
sensory stimuli are interpreted into organized experiences. Therefore, it is a
complex process in which a person utilizes information from the surrounding
(Al-Naim et al., 2023).
The teacher's perception affects the learning process and student motivation. In
capturing information and events, it is influenced by factors of objects and
events (Qiong, 2017). Perception in learning affects the memory system and is
influenced by beliefs that are believed (Afandi et al., 2018). Additionally, it arises
because everyone has the sense to penetrate surrounding objects and events.
Perception can influence people's way of thinking, working, and attitudes
because they have to adjust attitudes, thoughts, or behaviors in acquiring
information from their environment. The teaching and learning process is
undoubtedly the same age as humans on earth.
2.3. Online Learning and Religious Education in Higher Education

Online learning is an experience in a synchronous or asynchronous
environment, utilizing devices such as cell phones, laptops, and internet. In
addition, students can be anywhere to learn and interact with instructors and
other students (Singh & Thurman, 2019). Online education requires several
elements, including (a) video conferences with students, (b) discussions with
students, (c) a good internet connection, (d) accessible learning, both on mobile
phones and laptops, (e) watchable learning recordings, and (f) students'
feedback that can be achieved and assignments that can be taken (Basilaia, 2020).
128
Implementing online learning is a new experience that provides convenience

and flexibility for higher education students who do not necessarily come to
campus (Alchamdani et al., 2020). Online education emerged as a solution amid
the pandemic, making this model qualified and important (Affouneh et al.,
2020). Online teaching and learning methods can provide good quality
education (Carey, 2020).
E-learning has weaknesses in communication between students and educators,

in which direct contact and human touch are lost (Littlefield, 2018). Users might
face technical difficulties that hinder and decelerate teaching and learning
(Favale et al., 2020). In addition, online education has various obstacles,
including (1) insufficient internet network access that makes communication and
instructions unclear, (2) different economic conditions for the provision of
internet quotas for inhibiting student participation in attending online lectures,
and (3) excessive workload that decreases students' concentration (Alchamdani
et al., 2020).
In addition, lecturers also play an important role in improving the quality of

learning. This role aims to improve intellectual development which includes
mentality, attitude, personality, and skills in implementing learning (Rahayu et
al., 2022). Teaching is the act of a person who provides skills, knowledge, and
examples. In teaching and learning, lecturers explain the topic taught using a
simple method. Likewise, a good lecturer gives explanations that students can
comprehend and should select good teaching techniques.
Policies on online learning stimulate religious education study program

educators to adapt and innovate in preparing the process by selecting and
designing learning models and using appropriate, effective, and efficient media
(Indrawati, 2020). In the learning process, strategies and methods play an
essential role in making activities run effectively and efficiently (Gafur et al.,
2021). In integrated Islamic education, religious online learning strategies
include expository, inquiry, contextual, and comparative models. Among them
are the Self Organized Learning Environment (SOLE) and Project-Based
Learning (Dahmayati et al., 2021). Online learning conditions cope with different
challenges and characteristics compared to face-to-face. Furthermore, teachers'
professionalism in managing the process is demonstrated (Rahayu & Kejora,
2022).
Religious education is a conscious effort to improve and enable students to

understand religious teachings properly and correctly, ultimately making
religion a way of life (Nurdin et al., 2022). In higher education, religious
instruction is vital to creating a mentally and spiritually strong generation
applying science, art, and technology (Sastramayani & Sabdah, 2016). In
addition to actualizing mastery, it is also aimed at realizing the value of religious
understanding in daily life, such as responsibility, discipline, honesty, and
maintaining friendship to bring out an open mind for students and lecturers
(Hambali & Asyafah, 2020; Rahim, 2018). Online religious learning in
universities can run well by engaging educators, students, learning methods,
129
teaching materials, and learning facilities. These components are interrelated to

achieve learning objectives (Gafur et al., 2021).
3. Methods
3.1. Research Design
The current study design was quantitative, incorporating a descriptive method
to describe, explain, predict, or control the investigated phenomenon associated
with statistical or numerical data (Airasian, 2012; Behforouz et al., 2023). The
object was the application of HOTS in the religious education study program
through the perspectives of lecturers and students. This research has been
approved by the research ethics commission at the research and community
service institute at UIN Raden Fatah Palembang with a registration number B-
400/Un.09/PP.06/11/2022.
3.2. Participants
The subjects were lecturers with the following characteristics: (1) actively
teaching in the religious education study program, (2) possessing the status as
the Permanent Lecturer, and (3) comprehending HOTS-based learning.
Meanwhile, students involved as study participants actively participated in
lectures in the religious education study program. They also attended the
courses taught by the lecturers engaged as participants. Accordingly, they were
selected using a purposive sampling technique, namely a deliberate choice
considering the participants' qualities. It was a non-random sampling technique
without requiring a theory underlying the number of participants. In other
words, studies could decide what they needed to know and then started looking
for people who could and were willing to provide information based on their
knowledge or experience (Etikan, 2016). This sampling method does not require
researchers to get a definite number of subjects at the beginning of the research
data, so that the number of subjects selected according to the characteristics is
justified as a representative sample. The subjects involved in this study totaled
96 people consisting of 33 lecturers and 63 students.
3.3. Data Collection and Technique

The data collection instrument employed to reveal lecturers' perceptions of
HOTS administered 11 modified statements taken from Wilson and Narasuman
(2020) in the form of a Likert scale. The instrument was approved by the subject,
both lecturers and students, and distributed via Google Form with five answer
choices, namely strongly disagree, disagree, somewhat disagree, agree, and
strongly agree. Furthermore, it had a reliability score above 0.7 and a validity
test involving two experts declaring it valid. Documentation of question items
was utilized to uncover the use of HOTS in learning, and these items were
identified based on the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy to obtain the indicators of
operational verbs used in the preparation process. Meanwhile, data on students
were collected incorporating their scores after participating in lecture activities
with the involved lecturers, and they were calculated using the SPSS 25.
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4. Results
The findings of this present study showed that the subjects involved were 96
respondents, 33 lecturers and 63 students. For more details, see the
demographics of lecturers in Table 1 and students in Table 2.
Table 1. Distribution of Lecturers as Study Subjects
Variable Information Percentage

Gender Male 39.4%
Female 60.6%
Age 21-30 years 30.3%
31-40 years 42.4%
41-50 years 21.2%
51-60 years 6.1%
Education Master Degree 84.8%
Doctoral Degree 15.2%
Length of Employment Below 5 years 60.6%
6-10 years 27.3%
11-15 years 9.1%
16-20 years 3.0%
Based on Table 1, the distribution of the subjects could be described as follows

and there were 39.4% male and 60.6% female lecturers. According to their age,
30.3%, 42.4%, 21.2%, and 6.1% of lecturers were between 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, and
51-60, respectively. For education level, 84.8% of lecturers were graduates of
master's degrees, and 15.2% were doctoral. The percentage of lecturers who
worked below 5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years, and 16-20 years was 60.6%, 27.3%,
9.1%, and 3.0%, respectively. In addition, the number of students whose learning
outcomes were observed was 63 people who attended courses in the Islamic
Religious Education study program.
Table 2. Distribution of Students as Study Subjects
Variable Information Percentage

Gender Male 7,93%
Female 92,07%
Age 20-21 years 84,13%
22-23 years 15,87%
Study program Islamic education 100%
Based on Table 2, the distribution of the subjects could be described as follows

and there were 7.93% male and 92.07% female students. According to their age,
84.13%, and 15.87% of students were between 20-21 and 22-23. All students
come from the Islamic religious education study program.
131
4.1. Lecturers’ Perception of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Strongly Disagreed 3.00% 3.00% 0% 3.00% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Disagreed 0% 0% 0% 0% 6.10% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Somewhat Disagreed 3.00% 3.00% 6.10% 3.00% 6.10% 3.00% 0% 3.00% 3.00% 0% 3.00%
Agreed 69.70%66.70%66.70%63.60%66.70%69.70%66.70%66.70%69.70%48.50%63.60%
Strongly Agreed 24.20%27.30%27.30%30.30%21.20%27.30%33.30%30.30%27.30%51.50%33.30%
Graph 1. Lecturers’ Perception of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
Graph 1 on lecturers' perceptions of HOTS illustrated a quite high percentage.

Of the eleven existing instrument items, the following results were obtained:
65.3% of respondents agreed, 30.3% strongly agreed, 3.02% somewhat disagreed,
0.55% disagreed, and 1.09% strongly disagreed. Furthermore, the documentation
results to determine the cognitive level of the mid-term exam question items
prepared by the lecturers on the learning process were described in Graph 2.
5
Question Items
4 C1
3 C2
2 C3
1 C4
C5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233 C6
Respondents
Graph 2. Cognitive Level of Mid-term Exam Question Items
The percentage of cognitive level of mid-term exam question items, from highest
to lowest, was C1 (remembering), C2 (understanding), C3 (applying), C4
(analyzing), C5 (evaluating), and C6 (creating). The average items were
categorized as LOTS, precisely at levels C1 to C3, up to 31 subjects. Meanwhile,
those included in the HOTS category, at levels C4, C5, and C6, were only 2
subjects. The cognitive level of question items only focused on the bottom three
aspects of Bloom's Taxonomy, namely C1 (remembering), C2 (understanding),
and C3 (applying). Therefore, it was concluded that the cognitive level of critical
132
thinking skills was still in the LOTS category. The findings on the cognitive level
category of final-term exam question items on the learning process can be seen
in Graph 3.
4
Question Items
C1
3 C2
2 C3
C4
1
C5
0 C6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
Respondents
Graph 3. Cognitive Level of Final-term Exam Question Items
Based on Graph 3, the average final-term exam question items were categorized
as LOTS, precisely at the levels of C1 (remembering), C2 (understanding), and
C3 (applying), with a total of 32 subjects. Meanwhile, those classified into HOTS,
at the level of C4 (analyzing), were only 1 subject. It indicated that the lecturers'
critical thinking skills were classified into LOTS.
4.2. Relevance of Lecturers' Perception of HOTS on Students' Academic

Performance
According to Widoyoko (2014), the criteria for the average score of learning
outcomes are 80-100 (excellent), 75-79 (good), 70-74 (fair), 65-69 (poor), and 0-64
(very poor).
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63
Graph 4. Students’ Learning Outcomes
Based on Graph 4 on academic performance, 20, 8, 11, 9, and 15 students were

found to have "excellent", "good", "fair", "poor", and "very poor" HOTS abilities,
respectively. Students in the high and low category were 44.44% and 55.56%,
respectively. Therefore, more students were considered to have LOTS abilities.
133
5. Discussion
The results of lecturer perceptions in learning were found to have implemented
HOTS as much as 65.3% with indicators C4 and C5. As Hwang et al. (2018)
identified three HOTS abilities, namely problem solving, critical thinking, and
creativity. However, the findings on the mid-term and final-term exam question
items' documentation showed different and contradictory reports. Students'
academic performance also indicated that their learning outcomes were
classified as LOTS.
The demands of the 21st century require lecturers to have various skills.
According to Ariyana et al. (2018), lecturers should have 4C skills, namely
critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, to improve their
HOTS abilities. The higher education level requires solving more complex
problems, requiring the application of learning to engage HOTS. Therefore,
lecturers are vital in making various forms of HOTS-based evaluation. They
should be able to carry out their obligations and responsibilities and master all
the materials provided to students (Winarno et al., 2017). In addition, they
should have particular skills related to the assessments based on HOTS.
Lecturers had low abilities to prepare question items because they were not
creative in developing their skills and were not very independent in exploring
knowledge. The other factors were low motivation in reading and a lack of
understanding of the HOTS concept. To increase the knowledge categorized as
LOTS, they should be accustomed to compiling HOTS-based exercises and
assignments. The management of HOTS should be trained and improved to
organize learning materials and conduct the process optimally and consistently
(Ramdiah et al., 2019).
Documentation of lecturers' question items contradicted their perception as they

were categorized as LOTS, including C1-C3. The difficulties encountered in
preparing these questions were caused by an understanding of HOTS that had
not been maximized, the absence of analysis results, the preparation of sentences
in the question items that missed the analysis stage, and the scarcity of training
in discussing various methods leading to the patterns of HOTS (Halim et al.,
2021). Widyaningrum (2020) stated that the lecturers had low abilities on HOTS
because they were not trained to prepare test questions requiring high analysis,
evaluation, and creativity. They needed HOTS abilities to combine and convey
information, explain, draw conclusions, and interpret ideas (Armiati, 2018).
Religious education requires several strategies to improve learning quality and

develop HOTS abilities, such as analyzing, evaluating, and integrating the
prepared question items (Prihantoro & Suyadi, 2021). Yoke et al. (2021) asserted
that cultivating thinking skills demands the suitability of teaching materials and
cultural changes oriented towards critical thinking. Mustapha et al. (2019)
revealed that an online education environment employing an inquiry learning
model had the potential to solve problems related to HOTS. Johansson (2020)
studied the use of e-assessment tasks focused on HOTS. Meanwhile, Setyarini
and Ling (2019) employed storytelling activities to promote HOTS to teenagers.
Various related strategies were engaged, such as asking questions, mind
134
mapping, brainstorming, role-playing, discussing, and creating new ideas.

Learning models were essential in improving students' HOTS (Manik, 2020).
Students' academic performance was classified into the low category, more than
50%, due to various factors. Lecturers should facilitate students to become better
thinkers and problem solvers by providing particular circumstances or issues to
apply HOTS (Wahid & Karimah, 2018). Haroun et al. (2016) discovered that a
lecturer's beliefs and experiences affected learning design and implementation
(Belo et al., 2014; Muhtarom et al., 2019). The level of students' thinking
competence was reflected in their abilities to understand concepts, generate
knowledge, and solve problems (Yoke et al., 2021). Furthermore, the different
abilities in cognitive aspects were considered logical and reasonable due to the
influence of reasoning, environment, teachers' learning media, learning models,
and learning facilities (Arifullah et al., 2020).
The novelty in this study shows that student academic performance is

influenced by lecturers' HOTS skills in the learning process. Implementing
HOTS-based learning in Islamic religious education could improve learning
quality to be more effective, efficient, fun, meaningful, and impact achievement
(Ahmad et al., 2020). Besides that, to get maximum learning results,
collaboration between lecturers and students is needed. Hamzah et al. (2018)
emphasizes that collaboration between lecturers and students is important for
developing students' thinking so they are able to think critically and creatively.
In addition, lecturers must also be able to connect learning material with
everyday life so that students are comfortable doing higher-order thinking
activities.
Therefore, the learning implementation process should be directed at developing

critical, creative, collaborative, and communicative thinking skills to improve
students' HOTS abilities Lecturers and universities are also expected to be
committed to implementing a HOTS-based learning and assessment process.
They should be trained to prepare HOTS question items, and the curriculum
needs to be reviewed involving lecturers' learning outcomes. Halim et al. (2021)
stated that every educational institution is expected to consider curriculum
design, teaching strategies, and learning evaluations leading to authentic
decision-making or problem-solving.
6. Conclusion and Limitation

This study concluded that lecturers already had a good perception of HOTS,
indicated by their high scores on the perception instrument. However, it was
contrary to most question items in the LOTS category. These findings were in
line with students' academic performance, as depicted by their low abilities to
answer questions.
The implications of this research can improve lecturers' abilities in making

midterm exam questions, final semester exams, lecture assignments, HOTS-
based learning media. This research also contributes to the development of the
HOTS concept in online learning practices.
135
This present study confirmed that it was important for lecturers to improve
HOTS abilities in online learning, including the presented materials, the
implementation of learning, and the quality of exam questions. Meanwhile,
good HOTS abilities could improve students' critical thinking skills in higher
education. The limitation lies in the data collection, which only focused on two
universities as study samples. The practical recommendation for future studies
was to engage more subjects with a broader scope and involve learning
strategies that might improve the output quality of religious education students.
Estimation of the number of respondents is also a serious concern in the future
so that it can make research results more representative.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 141-159, April 2023
Research Writing Readiness of Graduate

Students in a Philippine State College
Willow F. Pangket , Sylesia Kaning K. Pangesfan ,
Johnny P. Cayabas and Geraldine L. Madjaco
Mountain Province State Polytechnic College, Philippines
Abstract. The demands of research in graduate school make it imperative

to assess the readiness of graduate students to conduct research, whether
as a requirement for their subjects, or the type of thesis or dissertation. In
this study quantitative and qualitative methods were employed, namely
a survey questionnaire, interviews, and document analysis, to examine
graduate students' readiness in thesis writing and the difficulties they
face. The findings reveal that students often struggle with research and
statistical tools in the comprehensive exam. Additionally, the students'
ability to articulate their knowledge and ideas significantly affects their
exam results. Study findings also indicate that students are only
moderately prepared regarding research readiness, scoring lowest in
identifying research problems and writing literature reviews. As a result,
some students abandon their research projects or cannot complete them
on time. The data from the interviews further support the quantitative
results, indicating that the students lack research skills and face multiple
workloads, which impact their ability to complete their research. To
address these challenges, the Graduate School in their research
programme should offer seminars on developing research skills for
students every semester.
Keywords: research readiness; writing; research skills; graduate students;

academic writing
1. Introduction
Research is a crucial component of the academic curriculum in both
undergraduate and graduate programmes. Understanding the writing process is
critical for all researchers, particularly junior graduate students. Throughout their
degree programmes, they are assigned several writing projects (De Faoite et al.,
2013; Holzmueller & Pronovost, 2013). At graduate level, research is a
requirement for theses in the master’s programmes and dissertations for doctorate
programmes as well as various subjects, and students are expected not only to
possess vast knowledge but also to generate new ideas and explore the link
between theory and practice through research. The new policy set by the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) requires of graduate students to
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142
publish at least one research article before receiving their degree (CHED Memo,
No. 15, Series 2019). This memorandum aims to strengthen innovation, research
and development. With this directive, graduate students are expected to conduct
research during their academic courses, not only when they write theses or
dissertations. This puts pressure on graduate students to perform well in research.
The demands of research in graduate school highlight the need to evaluate the
student's readiness to conduct research. They may need to familiarize themselves
with the necessary skills, such as using information technology, conducting
literature reviews, and analysing and interpreting data. Upon enrolment in
graduate school, students are expected to gain expertise in their chosen field of
study and to participate in creating new knowledge through research. With these
expectations, several challenges and problems are faced by graduate students at
the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC), a state college in the
northern Philippines. Some students complete their academic requirements on
time but experience problems with writing their theses or dissertations, while
others lack skills to write coherent and cohesive research proposals. These issues
are evident in classes that require students to produce research proposals or
complete research papers. Given these persistent problems, it is imperative to
assess the research readiness of students and provide appropriate interventions
to address these concerns.
This study explored the research readiness of the MPSPC graduate students in the
hope of creating a basis for the Graduate School to design a development
programme to be implemented in every academic year, for improving graduate
students’ research skills. In the study we considered the research profile of the
students to establish whether they ever had attended any seminars or training,
either provided by the institution or from outside, or if they ever had conducted
research during their residency in the Graduate School. Another criterion for
determining the research readiness of students, is the results of their
comprehensive examination since three areas are evaluated: the foundational or
major courses, research knowledge, and presentation. Some academic courses in
the Graduate School require of students to submit a research proposal or
completed research report as a final paper in their courses. Hence, this is also
included. When students are ready to conduct research, the success rate in
finishing theses or dissertations is high, and they complete their research on time.
With the recurring problems MPSPC graduate students face regarding research
report writing, this study was aimed at exploring the research readiness of
graduate students, especially when they embark on thesis writing. Hence, this
study endeavoured to answer the following questions:
1. How do graduate students perform in the comprehensive exams?
2. What is the graduate students' level of research writing skills?
3. What are the challenges that graduate students encounter in conducting
research?
2. Review of Related Literature

A graduate student's academic journey culminates in major research report
writing, namely thesis or dissertation writing. This major research work is
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considered a traditional passage to post-graduate education (Burke & Snead,

2014). Before this, however, the student must pass a comprehensive oral or written
examination that tests the graduate student’s ability to relate theory learned to
practice. The inability to pass the examination satisfactorily ensues in the student
not proceeding to thesis or dissertation writing. In the same way, the inability to
satisfactorily submit and defend a thesis or dissertation results in the student not
getting awarded the degree. It is not a surprise that graduate students experience
high levels of stress and anxiety during these stages of their academic journey
(Casanova, 2021; Kuther, 2019; Burke & Snead, 2014). This negative attitude
toward research potentially may affect their acquisition of research knowledge
and skills (Kakupa, 2019). Ultimately, this affects the process they undergo as they
embark on actual research writing.
2.1. Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive examinations cover a broad base of material, including course
knowledge, knowledge of the proposed research area, and general knowledge of
the field (Kuther, 2019). Students sit for this examination at the end of the
coursework, and passing it allows the student to move on to the next level of
study: thesis or dissertation writing. Burke and Snead (2014) cited numerous
studies on the advantage of conducting comprehensive examinations at the end
of programme assessment. For instance, it allows students to demonstrate
mastery of knowledge, literature, and research in a discipline. It also hones their
problem-solving abilities and fosters creative, critical thinking.
Conversely, issues on reliability and validity, the vagueness of purpose, vague

guidance on how to prepare, the considerable study time and effort, and the high
stress and anxiety levels induced by the process are among the disadvantages of
comprehensive examinations. In their study, Burke and Snead (2014) found that
the academic staff realised that students did not test well in the comprehensive
examination. Although it was relatively standardized for students and across
terms, it was not a good measure of student success in the programme.
Whereas plenty of studies can be cited on what comprehensive examinations are

and how students feel about these, overwhelmingly few studies took cognisance
of the areas in the examinations in which graduate students fared well and fared
poorly. This study was aimed at contributing to the field as it had the aim of
identifying and understanding the areas or domains in which graduate students
fail in comprehensive examinations. According to Bittner (2019), graduate
students’ failure to convey their understanding of their intended research is the
reason for them failing the comprehensive examination. Aligned with that, is the
negative impact of students not being able to view their research in the broader
context of their field. Bittner (2019) also notes that being unable to answer simple
questions related to the research field, and putting in minimal effort carve the path
to failing the exam.
2.2. Preparedness for Research Writing

Several studies identified specific areas in research writing where graduate
students show weaknesses. For example, Meerah (2010) investigated graduate
students’ preparedness in terms of five lines of research skills: pre-search, search,
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quantitative skills, interpretative skills, and report writing. Up to the point of

writing a thesis or dissertation, graduate students are assumed to already have
the basic skills in research writing. However, studies by Kakupa (2019) and
Meerah (2010) revealed that graduate students still have to attain the level of
research skills required for searching and sifting through the information, and
analytical skills to process data. Graduate students must have high-level
information skills to complete a major research project like a thesis or dissertation.
Though almost everyone uses the internet frequently, some students are not
aware of the web-based packages that university libraries provide for all students.
Students also were not confident about the quantitative research skills, that is,
their statistical analysis ability required in the research process. They felt anxious
dealing with statistics. On a more positive note, Meerah (2010) found that
graduate students were fairly satisfied with their ability to write their reports but
had difficulty reading in English. The study of Casanova (2021), on the other hand,
showed the high performance of master's students in the various stages of writing
up research, from formulating a research title to formulating the conclusions and
recommendations. Though the author noted that the students had done well in
formulating the significance of the study, the hypotheses of the study, the
definition of terms, and the statement of the problem, the students still needed
improvement in developing research tools and instruments and analysing the
data. Meanwhile, in the study by Manchishi et al. (2015), it is noted that master's
students committed mistakes in writing their thesis. These include broad and
unclear topics, failure to state the problem, failure to identify the gap in the
literature, using the wrong methodology, misunderstanding research
terminologies, wrong citation style, and plagiarism.
2.3. Challenges in Writing Research

Research writing comes with problems for graduate students who have to go
through the process. They relate several challenges that they have to overcome
should they wish to finish their degrees. The most common challenges that
graduate students face are academic language, topic selection difficulties, time
management, selection of suitable research methodologies, the identification of
under-researched problems or topics of interest, lack of motivation, and
relationships with supervisors (Casanova, 2021; Turmudi, 2020; Lestari, 2020;
Puspita, 2019; Qasem & Zayid, 2019; Manchishi et al., 2015). According to
Casanova (2021), graduate students ranked some statements as moderate
challenges, such as, sourcing relevant material for the research topic, the
complexity of the topic, the inadequacy of funds to support the study, and the
nature of their jobs or tight schedules in their place of work. Studies by Manchishi
et al. (2015), Tiwari (2019), and Bayona-Oré and Bazan (2020) revealed that among
the challenges graduate students encounter in the research process are negative
comments from supervisors and the unavailability of advisers for consultations.
The study of Komba (2016) also revealed the challenge of inappropriately
presenting different research chapters and a lack of academic writing skills.
El-Freihat (2021) categorized challenges encountered by graduate students into

three domains: infrastructure, communication, and time management. Although
the study participants rated all items under the three domains as moderate, some
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were consistent with the findings of previous studies. Specifically, students hold
that the absence of scientific laboratories, the non-provision of scientific materials
for experimentation, and the dearth of equipment essential for completing the
thesis, were critical challenges under infrastructure. Although in the setting of
undergraduate students, Altikriti (2022) found similar challenges that students
face in writing their research papers as a prerequisite for graduation. The study
findings revealed that the most important problems were a lack of academic
prerequisites, namely teaching the techniques of how to write a research paper, a
lack of knowledge of the research writing process, a lack of resources, and a lack
of methodology.
However, given the challenges highlighted in several studies, interventions also

were suggested in these studies. For one, students should be profoundly involved
in writing research papers apart from their theses or dissertations. Altikriti (2022)
further expounds that students should be introduced to collecting data from
authentic resources to deviate from mostly depending on the internet for general
information. This also relates to not conveying the assumption that graduate
students already know the research rubrics. Meerah (2010) contends that to
address the enthusiasm of graduate students and help them overcome challenges
associated with research writing, university supervisors must closely pay
attention to students' research abilities and preferably present research clinics that
offer specialist advice and aids. Casanova (2021) also posits possible steps such as
linking mentoring research advisers with budding researchers, conducting
seminars, and supporting graduate students in mastering coping skills to handle
challenges frequently encountered.
2.4. Conceptual Framework of the Study

This study was grounded on the frameworks developed by Pival et al. (2008) and
Ivanitskaya et al. (2004). Pival et al. (2008) designed their study framework after
reviewing existing literature on research preparation, research self-efficacy,
research motivation, research anxiety, and factors influencing graduate student
success. According to them, the concept research preparedness is a complex
construct comprising multiple interconnected components, such as research self-
efficacy, research motivation, research anxiety, and other aspects contributing to
graduate student success. Other characteristics, such as academic preparedness,
time management skills, and social support also are recognized as contributing to
graduate student performance and research readiness. Additionally, Ivanitskaya
et al. (2004) posit that research readiness is a multidimensional construct
considering individual and contextual elements influencing students' research
preparedness. Knowledge, skills, and attitudes are identified as three major
components of research preparedness in the conceptual framework. The
conceptual framework recognizes contextual elements that contribute to students'
research preparation in addition to these individual factors. These characteristics
include institutional support, mentoring, and access to research resources.
These frameworks are essential to this study because they provide a clear
perspective on the complicated nature of research readiness and the numerous
aspects that contribute to it. It presents a comprehensive approach to measuring
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research preparedness in terms of individual and environmental characteristics.

The framework recognizes the complex nature of research preparedness, and
gives a more nuanced view of the factors contributing to it by considering
individual and contextual influences.
3. Method
This research used qualitative and quantitative methods. A quantitative method
was used to identify the research skills of the respondents using a survey
questionnaire. The qualitative method (interview) was used to look into the
performance of the graduate students during their comprehensive examination
and the challenges faced by the students in research writing.
3.1 Research Context

This study was conducted at the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College
(MPSPC) Graduate School during the academic year 2021-2022. MPSPC is the only
state college in the Mountain Province, Philippines. The MPSPC Graduate School
offers ten graduate programmes: seven master’s programmes and three doctorate
programmes. However, only programmes with enrolees in Thesis Writing 1 and
Dissertation Writing 1 were considered. These were the Master of Arts in
Education, Master’s of Arts in Teaching English, Master of Public Administration,
and Master of Business Administration. There was no enrollee in Dissertation
Writing 1.
3.2 Participants in the Study

The participants in the study were 18 students from the five master's programmes
enrolled for Thesis Writing 1 during the academic year 2021-2022. Their profiles
indicated that the participants had experience reporting group research at
undergraduate level, since it was a major requirement for the course. As to
seminars and training, those in the Master’s of Arts in Education and Master’s of
Arts in Teaching English programmes attended one training session on reporting
on action research, provided by the Department of Education. However, when
asked about their output, only a few had submitted action research proposals to
their department. Regarding the Master in Public Administration and Master in
Business Administration programmes, the participants did not attend seminars in
writing research reports, since it was not part of their work. Their experience in
writing research reports was limited to submitting a research proposal when were
enrolled in the Research Methods programme. As for the requirements from their
other major courses, they were required to submit term papers, reports, and
others, but not research reports.
3.3 Instrumentation
Document analysis was used to examine the comprehensive exam results of the
students enrolled in Thesis Writing 1. This study also used a self-survey
questionnaire (Appendix 1) that included questions about students’ research
experience during their residency in the institution, the seminars related to
research writing they attended, and their perceived levels of confidence about
their skills for thesis-based research. For the perceived levels of their research
writing skills, a 4-point Likert-type scale was used, ranging from Not able (1),
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Slightly Able (2), Able (3), and Very much Able (4). The content of the questionnaire
was validated by two research experts from the institution. Based on the
validators' corrections and suggestions, the questionnaire indicators were revised.
The interview was used to inquire about the challenges encountered by
respondents in reporting on research. The interview with the participants was
conducted during the students' consultations with their course professor in Thesis
Writing. Consent to access their comprehensive exam result was also acquired
from the participants before the interview proceeded.
3.4 Data Gathering Procedure

Before the questionnaire was administered, its content was validated by two
research experts in the institution to establish whether the questions captured the
topic under investigation. Double-barrelled, confusing, and leading questions
were dropped/amended. After the questionnaire had been content-validated, it
was pilot-tested with students enrolled in the subject of Methods of Research. The
pilot data were collected and analysed. After the validation stage, letters of
request to conduct the study were sent to the Dean of the Graduate School and
the course facilitator in Thesis Writing for approval. The questionnaire was
handed out to the respondents after they had signed the informed consent form.
An interview followed after the initial results from the quantitative data were
summarized. This helped the researchers to ask questions or obtain clarification
from the participants. For the documents needed in this study, like the
comprehensive exam results, a letter of request was sent to the Dean of the
Graduate School and the participants for approval. Only the information needed
for the study was extracted from the comprehensive exam results. The gathered
quantitative and qualitative data were collated and analysed.
3.5 Treatment of Data

Content analysis was used to answer the first research question, which delved
into the comprehensive exam results of the participants. To answer the second
question, the data gathered from the questionnaire were statistically treated using
the weighted mean. The weighted mean used the following scales:
Table 1. Mean range, verbal interpretation, and description

Mean Range Qualitative Descriptor Description
3.26-4.0 Very Much Able (VMA) I am very confident in this skill and
ready to undertake a thesis/dissertation.
2.51-3.25 Able (A) I have a workable knowledge of this
skill, and I am ready to undertake a
thesis/dissertation.
1.76-2.50 Slightly Able (SA) I know a little about this skill, but I have
reservations about whether I can
undertake a thesis/dissertation or not.
1-1.75 Not Able (NA) I don't know about this, and I am not
ready to undertake thesis/dissertation.
To answer the third research question, the data gathered from the interview was
analysed qualitatively, employing thematic analysis. The data from the interviews
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were transcribed. The researchers created a set of initial codes. The initial codes
were then collated and the codes were
grouped into themes. Similar themes were merged during the review of themes.
4. Results
At the peak of their academic journey, graduate students are mandated to take the
comprehensive exam before a panel. When they pass such an exam, they are
allowed to take thesis writing or dissertation writing. However, these culminating
requirements prove to be more gruelling for the graduate students than they
expected.
4.1 Performance of Graduate Students in Comprehensive Exam

The MPSPC Graduate School comprehensive exam assesses students in three
areas: Foundation and Major Courses, Research and Statistics, and Delivery. In
the Foundation and Major Courses, students are tested on their comprehensive
knowledge of the subject matter. They are expected to demonstrate confidence by
accurately and completely explaining key concepts and theories, and applying
these to real-world scenarios with insightful interpretations.
Students must be able to demonstrate the relationship between theories and their
field of specialization. Another important area of the comprehensive exam is
Research and Statistics, where students are evaluated on their understanding of
research processes, statistical tools, and data analysis and interpretation. This
section also assesses the student's readiness to undertake research. Lastly,
students are graded on Delivery, including clear articulation, vocabulary,
grammar, and appearance in a formal academic setting.
Findings reveal that students often find the area of Research and Statistics
problematic. Based on the panels' comments and recommendations, students are
advised to improve their knowledge of research processes and statistical tools.
Some students lack familiarity with the components of the research process and
are unable to explain their intended study or the appropriate tools for data
gathering and analysis. In such cases, the panel provides hypothetical problems
and asks students to identify the research problem, design, and statistical tools.
This approach works for some students, but those who cannot understand the
concepts still struggle. Interviews with participants showed that this is due to
them having forgotten the key points from the Research Methods and Statistics
courses, which they typically take in their first year of graduate school.
Students who fail in the Foundation and Major Courses often cannot articulate
their ideas clearly and/or cannot establish links with their field of specialization.
In such cases, the written examination focuses on the specific subjects that caused
them problems. Lastly, students who lack confidence in expressing their ideas
clearly are impacted in the delivery area and the other two areas. In most cases,
these students are asked to take the written examination.
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4.2. Level of Research Writing Skills of Graduate Students
Table 2. Level of research writing skills of Graduate Students

No. Research Writing Skills Mean QD
Determining and writing research problem
1 Conceptualize a researchable problem 2.41 SA
Determine a problem that can be the subject of action
2
research 2.41 SA
Differentiate a descriptive problem from an inferential
3
problem 1.94 SA
4 Choose between a quantitative and qualitative study 2.47 SA
5 Write the statement of the problem
A. General Problem 2.24 SA
B. Specific Problems 2.18 SA
2.27 SA
Writing the Review of Literature
6 Review literature related to the proposed study 2.41 SA
Identify research problems to be studied from the literature
7
review 2.12 SA
Prepare a framework for the study based on reviewed
8
literature 2.35 SA
Draw a paradigm of the study showing the relationship of
9
variables in the study 2.39 SA
2.32 SA
Writing the research methodology
10 Choose the appropriate research design for the study 2.24 SA
11 Choose the location of the study 2.75 A
12 Identify the population of the study 2.71 A
Decide whether to use sampling or total enumeration in
13
determining the respondents/participants of the study 2.41 SA
14 Compute sampling size, if needed 1.47 NA
15 Choose the appropriate sampling technique 2.53 A
16 Select the data-gathering procedures to be used in the study 2.59 A
Prepare the data-gathering tool needed to find answers to the
17
problems stated for the study 2.29 SA
18 Gather the needed data 2.65 A
2.40 SA
Interpreting data
Identify the appropriate statistical tool to be used in the study
19
when needed 1.76 SA
Present gathered data using the appropriate method (text,
20
table, graph/chart) 2.35 SA
21 Interpret gathered data 2.00 SA
22 Analyse results 2.53 A
23 Formulate conclusions 2.47 SA
24 Forward recommendations that can be implemented 2.41 SA
2.25 SA
Referencing and citation
25 Write the reference list using the APA format 2.47 SA
26 Cite sources in writing the manuscript 2.35 SA
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2.41 SA
Report Writing
Prepare a publishable article based on the results of the
27
study 2.00 SA
Presentation
28 Prepare ICT-based material to present the results. 2.53 A
29 Present results of the study to an audience 2.29 SA
2.41 SA
Grand Mean 2.30 SA
The questionnaire consisted of 29 questions, categorized into the following areas:

Determining and Formulating the Research Problem, Writing the Review of
Literature, Selecting and describing the Research Methodology, Interpreting Data,
Referencing and Citation, and Report Writing. It is essential for graduate students
to master these skills before writing a research paper successfully. The results
show that graduate students possess a "Slightly Able" (SA) level of research
proficiency, with a grand mean of 2.30. The weighted mean of each category
showed that determining and writing the research problem had the lowest mean
score of 2.27, according to the participants' self-assessment. Many students found
it challenging to develop a specific research topic at the start of the writing process
and they required guidance from their professor. During the title defence of their
theses, some research problems were rephrased, removed, or rejected, requiring
students to present a new title at a later date. The problematic nature of
identifying a potential research problem was also observed among students who
previously found this a stumbling block during their comprehensive exams.
Another area of research skills students struggle with is Writing a review of related
literature, as evidenced by their self-assessment, rendering a mean score of 2.32.
Participants agreed that accessing information was not an issue due to the
availability of the internet, but the challenge lay in sorting, evaluating, and
synthesizing research reports. This was also reflected in their proposal defence
manuscripts, as the panel often commented on the section on the review of the
literature. Eight of the 18 participants were unable to propose a thesis in the first
semester of the academic year 2021-2022. This is a recurring problem in the
MPSPC Graduate School. Formulating a research problem and writing a literature
review are the first stages of a research proposal, but many students drop the
subject due to problems they experience when attempting to write the rest of the
paper.
The results of Writing the research methodology showed that graduate students
could choose and describe the location of their study, identify the population,
choose appropriate sampling techniques, select data gathering methods, and
explain procedures to be used. However, students experience problems with
computing the sample size. The second lowest mean was choosing the
appropriate design for the study, regardless of whether the tools used were
quantitative or qualitative. The participants also admitted confusion when having
to select the appropriate data-gathering tool, such as a questionnaire, interview,
or documents, due to their inability to see the relationship between their research
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questions and the research design and instruments. During the proposal defence,
panel members often asked for clarification on the data to be collected, and
students often could not provide satisfactory answers. It is worth mentioning the
consistently low means across various indicators in research skills, such as not
being able to differentiate between a descriptive and an inferential problem,
computing sample size, and identifying the appropriate statistical tool to be used.
This consistency confirms the students' low mastery of statistics, as evidenced by
their incompetence during comprehensive exams.
Concerning interpretation of data, the results show that the participants had a
slightly above-average ability to make statements in this category. However, the
data indicate that the lowest mean is found in the participants’ ability to identify
the appropriate statistical tool for their study. Participants reported that this task
was difficult, especially for those who chose a quantitative design. They also
stated that they depended on their statisticians heavily. When it comes to
interpreting and analysing data, the participants indicated that they could
interpret the data, but their ability to analyse data was only slightly above
average. During the interview, the participants maintained that data analysis was
easier for them than interpretation, as the latter involved explaining and giving
meaning to the analysed data. In their interpretation of the data collected, the
participants found it difficult to integrate the data collected with the literature
they previously had reviewed. They often only gave tabular presentations of data,
without explaining what the figures or statements in the tables represented.
Graduate students have difficulty articulating the findings of their studies,

whether quantitative or qualitative. This problem is especially prominent in
qualitative studies. The results also indicated that the participants could barely
formulate conclusions and recommendations. During their final defence, the
panel members often ask participants to revise their conclusions and
recommendations, as they are not based on the study findings. Additionally, the
participants had difficulty in linking their findings to their conclusions. Most of
the time, their conclusions merely were a repetition of their results.
Regarding referencing and citations, the results indicated that the participants had
a ‘slight ability’. MPSPC uses the APA 7th edition format for referencing and
citations, but the participants admitted that they were confused or lacked
knowledge about this format. Proper referencing and citation are important in the
evaluation of student research manuscripts, and many students' scores are
negatively affected because they do not properly cite their sources, and some
sources are missing from the reference section of the manuscript. The results show
that citation has a lower mean compared to referencing. This is also evident in the
research manuscripts, where most sources were not properly cited or, in some
cases, not cited at all. Some sources were copied, rephrased, or summarized
without proper citation. Participants admitted that when reading other sources,
they copied and included the exact statements in their papers. In the reference
section, panel members asked the graduate students to revise their reference list
based on their citations in the manuscript.
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Regarding report writing, the results indicated that the participants were "slightly
able", with a mean score of two (2). When asked if they could prepare a
publishable article from their study results, the participants admitted that they
still required guidance in this area. Despite guidelines being available to them as
a requirement in the MPSPC Graduate School in addition to their thesis, they still
experienced a need for further guidance in writing a research article. They
explained that they found it difficult to condense the 100 or more pages of a thesis
into just 10-15 pages for a publishable article. The problems they face when
attempting to write a publishable article is one of the reasons why students face
delays in submitting their final papers, as they need to revise their research paper
and prepare a publishable article simultaneously.
4.3 Challenges that Graduate Students Encounter in Conducting Research

4.3.1 Deficiency in Research Skills
The study results highlighted a persistent deficiency in the research skills of the
respondents, despite having taken research subjects as part of their master's
programme. The participants struggled with identifying their research topic,
conducting a comprehensive literature review, understanding research
methodologies, revising their research manuscripts, and they performed poorly
in research and statistics during comprehensive exams. Many students are
employed in organizations that do not emphasize the importance of research,
leading them to view a thesis or writing as merely an academic requirement rather
than an opportunity for intellectual growth. Furthermore, the College lacks
mechanisms to develop students' research skills.
4.3.2 Multiple Workload of the Advisers and the Advisees

The respondents' inability to meet deadlines in submitting their research outputs
is a recurring issue evident in their enrolment in Thesis Writing. This is
particularly true for those working full-time in government agencies, like teachers
enrolled in Graduate School. The respondents expressed difficulty in balancing
their heavy teaching load and other responsibilities with their graduate studies.
Their work obligations sometimes require them to render service even during
class days. The same challenges are faced by thesis advisers who also have a full-
time teaching load alongside their advising responsibilities. Subsequently, there
is a lack of available time for either the adviser or the advisee to meet and work
together on the research project, resulting in a delay in completing the task at
hand. These challenges that the respondents shared, align with the findings of El-
Freihat (2021), which suggest that communication difficulties have significantly
impacted students' progress in completing their research. Requests for changing
advisers also have been reported. The main reason for this issue is that some
advisers fail to provide adequate mentorship and guidance, while some advisees
rely excessively on their advisers to do the work.
In light of the above-mentioned findings, the conclusion has been reached that the
new Policy, Standards, and Guidelines of CHED that requires of students to
conduct and publish research poses great pressure to the students. Yet this
expectation of CHED will not be realized if the graduate students continuously
fare poorly in their research endeavours. The CMO emphasizes its goal to
contribute to knowledge acquisition through generation, sharing, and exchange
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processes. To do this, means honing the graduate students’ research skills so that
they can conduct research to complete their thesis or dissertation confidently. The
CMO and the results of this study on the readiness of graduate students to
conduct research show a discrepancy between the expectations of the
Commission and the realities of the students’ research skills. Although a
limitation of this study is that it does not propose measures that may rectify the
situation, but it does emphasize what may be done for the students in light of
these findings.
5. Discussion
5.1 Performance of Graduate Students in Comprehensive Exam
The results of this study indicate that many students face difficulties in studying
Research and Statistics. As suggested by the panel's feedback and advice, students
should enhance their understanding of research methods and statistical
instruments. Some students lack knowledge of the key elements of research and
find it difficult to articulate their study objectives or select suitable techniques for
collecting and analysing data. The lack of prior knowledge or expertise in research
methodology and statistical analysis is a significant challenge graduate students
face. These findings corroborate with those of Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2005),
who found that many graduate students lacked awareness of fundamental
research principles and procedures, which is only one study that has brought this
issue to light. Relative to these findings is the study of Bakkalbasi et al. (2006).
They found that many graduate students had problems comprehending the
assumptions behind various statistical tests and in using statistical software.
Choosing acceptable study ideas and methodologies can be difficult for some
graduate students. These difficulties include challenges in formulating research
questions and hypotheses, adopting suitable sampling techniques, and selecting
the proper statistical tests for data analysis. This is similar to the findings of Karsli
and Ucar (2014) and Akyürek and Afacan (2018), namely that many graduate
students found it difficult to choose suitable research designs and methodologies;
and had limited knowledge of research methodology, which also affected their
research process negatively.
Students who fail in the Foundation and Major Courses often struggle with
articulating their ideas and showing clear connections to their field of
specialization. Students who lack confidence in expressing their ideas clearly are
impacted not just in the delivery area but also in other areas. Graduate students
frequently struggle with a lack of confidence in properly explaining their views.
Relative to this finding, Hadi and Muhammad (2019) found that students' self-
efficacy, learning motivation, and study environment have a significant influence
on their academic performance. Additionally, the study found that self-efficacy
had the strongest direct effect on academic performance. Comprehensive exams
carrying such high stakes pose
still another difficulty. Graduate students could experience pressure to succeed
in these tests, which can heighten anxiety and make it harder for them to express
their views clearly.
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5.2. Level of Research Writing Skills of Graduate Students

The study revealed that graduate students have a grand mean research
proficiency score of 2.30, considered "Slightly Able." This implies that the
respondents had difficulty in writing research reports as they had not been
prepared to do this. This finding corroborates with Meerah's (2010) study that
examined graduate students' research abilities and discovered that many lacked
the investigative and analytical abilities to finish a sizable research assignment.
The over-reliance on the internet was said to be the cause of poor information-
seeking abilities. Despite having studied the subject in depth throughout their
undergraduate and doctoral degrees, Meerah also discovered that some
participants needed refresher training in research techniques. Graduate students
need to develop their research skills, notably in finding and analysing material
(Kakupa, 2019). Studies by Meerah (2010), Casanova (2021), and Manchishi et al.
(2015) identified weaknesses in graduate students' research writing abilities.
According to Meerah's research (2010), graduate students were generally satisfied
with their ability to write reports, but they struggled to read in English and
needed advanced mathematical and information-seeking skills. Master's students
did well in several stages of research writing, but according to Casanova, they still
needed to improve in terms of creating research tools and instruments and
conducting data analysis. Manchishi et al. (2015) noted certain common errors
master's students made in their theses, including selecting wide and confusing
subjects, failure to state the problem, and plagiarism. Shahsavar and Kourepaz
(2020) found that most postgraduate students were not aware of the importance
of the literature review. They believed that the literature review section should
only summarize other works. The study indicated that many students did not
know how to develop and apply their literature review findings.
5.3 Challenges that Graduate Students Encounter in Conducting Research

5.3.1 Deficiency in Research Skills
The findings of this study are in line with other studies that have shown that
graduate students struggle with various aspects of the research process, from
determining a researchable problem to writing their results and findings. This lack
of research skills significantly burdens graduate students, hindering their
progress toward completing their degrees. This finding corroborates the studies
of Casanova (2021); Turmudi (2020); Lestari (2020); Puspita (2019); Qasem and
Zayid (2019); and Manchishi et al. (2015) who found that some of the challenges
that graduate students face in reporting research, include selecting appropriate
research methodologies, and identifying under-researched problems or topics of
interest. Komba (2016) also found that a lack of academic writing skills is one of
the challenges that graduate students experience in writing research reports.
Mayyas and Alzoubi (2022) found that a considerable lack of awareness and
knowledge of manuscript writing advice and various scientific misconduct
practices are some of the difficulties students experience when endeavouring to
produce research publications. Furthermore, there are various impediments to
producing papers, such as a lack of mentorship support, a lack of research
experience throughout undergraduate studies, and a lack of training workshops.
According to Hussain et al. (2020), training workshops are one of the most
successful ways to increase students' writing skills and ethical awareness. Their
study investigated the influence of workshops on researchers' writing skills and
155
capabilities and discovered that the training workshops substantially impacted

the participants' knowledge. Arrazola et al. (2020) found the significance of
mentorship in the quality of research manuscripts of students.
5.3.2 Multiple Workload of the Advisers and the Advisees

This study found that respondents' inability to meet deadlines in submitting their
research outputs is a recurring issue in Thesis Writing, particularly for those who
work full-time in government agencies. The same challenge was revealed in
Casanova's (2021) study, showing that graduate students regarded the nature of
a job or a busy work schedule as a moderate challenge. Additionally,
communication difficulties have been shown to significantly impact students'
progress in completing their research. According to a recent study by El-Freihat
(2021), time management is a problem when reporting research. The respondents
in this survey maintained that they experienced difficulty in contacting their
academic supervisors during a crisis. They believed that the supervisors did not
get in touch with them when there was a disagreement. They also maintained that
no set hours existed for communicating with the supervisors, which was another
obstacle to their progress in producing their research papers. The supervisors also
had heavy workloads. One of the main challenges for the students was that they
could not contact the supervisors. This hampered the student’s path toward
writing research reports, as it caused a conflict between the student’s schedule
and the supervisor's, which ensued in students finding it difficult to arrange
scheduled meetings with the supervisor.
6. Conclusion
The results of this study indicate that graduate students find it difficult to master
the skills required to write up (report) research. These difficulties, along with the
challenges usually faced in the research reporting process, make it challenging to
complete theses successfully. The findings have significant implications for
institutions, highlighting the importance of providing support and resources to
graduate students to help them develop the necessary research skills. The findings
also imply the need to consider incorporating research as a required component
of their courses, with close monitoring and guidance provided by academic staff
members. Additionally, the results emphasise the need for the Graduate School
to offer seminars to graduate students over the duration of a semester, during
which time mentoring groups can be established. In these groups, faculty
members can guide and support students as they navigate the research process,
whether it is aimed at a thesis or at satisfying an academic requirement. It is
important to note that these mentoring groups would serve as additional support,
but cannot replace the student advisor in completing research reports (theses).
7. References
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https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v16i6.6321
Hadi, N.U. & Muhammad, B. (2019). Factors Influencing Postgraduate Students'
Performance: A high order top-down structural equation modelling
approach. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice.
Holzmueller, C. G. & Pronovost, P. J. (2013). Organizing a manuscript reporting quality
improvement or patient safety research. BMJ Quality & Safety, 22(9), 777-785.
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workshop: An invoking pilot study on enhancing cognitive research capabilities
in health sciences institutes of Pakistan. Cureus, 12(6), e8802.
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Assessment. Journal of Library Administration, 41, 167 - 183.
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students at a Chinese normal university. Educational Process: International Journal,
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research. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 3103-3107.
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challenges faced in research proposal writing by University of Zambia
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Appendix 1
Survey Questionnaire
Dear Respondent:
In an effort to determine how the Graduate School of Mt. Province State Polytechnic
College will be able to help its students enrolled in Thesis writing and Dissertation Writing
courses in conducting research studies, the Graduate School would like to survey the
research skills of its students. In this regard, we would like to request that you fill up the
following questionnaire. Rest assured that the data gathered will be solely used for
research. Thank you for your time.
Survey of Research Skills

I. Profile of Respondent. Please provide the information requested.
Name: (optional)
Doctorate program: ________________________________________

Master’s program: ___________________________________
Bachelor’s Degree: _________________________________
Agency/ Company: ___________________________________
Status of employment (Regular, Part-time): ________________________________
Years of experience: _________________________________
Seminars Attended related to research in the past five (5) years

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Research Experience (Write any research studies, individual or collaborative, that you
have conducted before or during your residency in MPSPC)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
II. Self-Survey on Research Skills

Level of Research Skills. Please indicate your level of skill using the following scale on
the table.
4 – Very much able – I am very confident in this skill and able to teach others
3 – Able - I have workable knowledge on this skill and able to use it in doing a research
study
2 – Slightly able - I know a little about this skill but not confident to put it to use
1 – Not able - I don’t know about this; thus, not able to do it
Research Writing Skills 4 3 2 1

Determining and writing research problem
1. Conceptualize a researchable problem
2. Determine a problem that can be the subject of an action
research
3. Differentiate a descriptive problem from an inferential problem
159
4. Choose between a quantitative and qualitative study to

conduct
5. Write the statement of the problem
A. General Problem
B. Specific Problems
Writing the Review of Literature
6. Review literature related to the proposed study
7. Identify research problems to be studied from the literature
review
8. Prepare a framework for the study based on reviewed
literature
9. Draw a paradigm of the study showing the relationship of
variables in the study
Writing the research methodology
10. Choose the appropriate research design for the study
11. Choose the locality of the study
12. Identify the population of the study
13. Decide whether to use sampling or total enumeration in
determining the respondents/participants of the study
14. Compute sampling size, if needed
15. Choose the appropriate sampling technique
16. Enumerate the data gathering procedures to be undertaken in
the study
17. Prepare the data gathering tool needed to answer the
problems of the study
18. Gather the needed data
Interpreting data
19. Identify the appropriate statistical tool to be used in the study
when needed
20. Present gathered data using the appropriate method (text,
table, graph/chart)
21. Interpret gathered data
22. Analyse results
23. Formulate conclusions
24. Make recommendations which can be implemented
Referencing and citation
25. Write the reference list using the APA format
26. Cite sources in writing the manuscript
Report Writing
27. Prepare a publishable article from the results of the study
Presentation
28. Prepare ICT-based material to present the results
29. Present results of the study to an audience
For the Interview part:

1. What are the challenges that you encountered in writing up research?
2. What specific activities would you like the department to offer to improve
your skills in research?
160

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 160-177, April 2023
Received Jan 10, 2023; Revised Mar 7, 2023; Accepted Mar 15, 2023
Developing Early Graders' Collaborative Skills

through Group-Work, Play-Based Pedagogy
Martin Chukwudi Ekeh*
Department of Childhood Education, Faculty of Education
University of Johannesburg
Abstract. This study aimed to develop early grade learners' collaborative

skills through group work and play-based pedagogy because
collaboration is among the twenty-first century's core skills needed
among learners. Thus, its development among early-grade learners is
paramount, if they are going to fit seamlessly into the twenty-first
century. Participatory-action research, as a research design and
professional development workshop, guided this study. Three public
primary schools (n = 3) and nine teachers (n = 9), who were purposely
sampled, constituted the sample for the study. The study was conducted
in the Owerri Education Zone, and the data were captured by using semi-
structured interviews and learners' performance-rating scales.
Respondent validity was employed through member checking to ensure
the validity and reliability of the research instrument. Thematic data
analysis was used to determine the results and the indings of the study.
It was discovered that teachers' knowledge of group work play-based
pedagogy was inadequate, thus hampering the development of
collaboration skills among early-grade learners. Professional
development workshops were mounted to solve the problem through
teachers' capacity to use group play-based pedagogy to develop
collaborative skills. Among the proffered recommendations was
continuous in-service teachers' professional development of current
collaborative pedagogical practices that encourage the active
participation of early-grade learners.
Keywords: Early-Grade learners; Primary schools; Pedagogical practice;

participatory action research; professional development workshop;
Group Work play; Collaboration Skill
1. Introduction
Collaboration skill is among the indispensable skills needed for effective
functionality in the twenty-first century. In present-day living, many people
continue to depart from communal and collaborative living that characterised the
past of a more individualistic and virtual society (Ogihara, 2023; Castells, 2014).
*
Corresponding author: Martin Chukwudi Ekeh; mekeh@uj.ac.za
©Authors
161
Although this trend is heavily supported by technological advancement, the value

associated with physical collaboration remains indispensable, especially for early-
grade learners.
Collaboration is one of the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, critical thinking,

and creativity) in the twenty-first century's core skills (Ahonen, & Kinnunen, 2015;
Valtonen et al., 2017). It entails a team of two or more individuals working
effectively to achieve a common goal or task (Ciampa, 2014; Johnson & Johnson,
2013). It is a skill cherished in the workspaces; as it enhances performance,
creativity, and productivity in any organisation (Ciampa, 2014; Johnson &
Johnson, 2013). Young learners who are prepared to fit into the workspace in the
future, they must develop collaborative skills in their early years. Although
collaboration can be physical or virtual, learners must develop collaborative skills
with their peers, since learning will always progress from the concrete to the
abstract, known to unknown, and simple to complex (Wood, 2013). Any learning
facilitated in the twenty-first century devoid of this skill does not adequately and
efficiently prepare learners to engage in their present-day society (Valtonen et al.,
2017). Collaboratve skills are a factor in developing interpersonal skills among
early-grade learners; when this skill is overlooked, learners become hostile to
themselves, their teachers, and everyone around them; because there is a gap in
their relational (interpersonal) development. Hence, teachers are tasked with
utilising their appropriate teaching pedagogy, such as group work play-based
pedagogy, in order to improve their collaborative skills among twenty-first-
century learners.
Teaching pedagogy remains a viable means of educating humans. Moreover,

teachers are critical in determining a pedagogical strategy to facilitate their
learning (Ahmad, 2016; Victor-Akinyemi, Uyanne, Udoji, & Oladele, 2021).
Teachers are inarguably one of the critical actors that determine the pedagogical
strategies to use in facilitating the learning of any learning community (Sellami,
Ammar, & Ahmad, 2022). This is why teachers' approaches to learning are crucial
to avoid colossal damage to learners. Nevertheless, teachers face various
challenges that impede the effective delivery of their lessons, especially in a
dynamic society, where approaches to teaching and learning are not static. In
recent decades, Nigerian early-grade classrooms have continued to experience
content and teacher-centred pedagogical approaches to learning (Ahmad, 2016;
Victor-Akinyemi, Uyanne, Udoji, & Oladele, 2021). However, in recent years,
there has been a relative departure from this pedagogical approach because of the
passive characteristics of learners to a learner-centred approach that actively
involves learners in their learning (Ahmad, 2016; Victor-Akinyemi, Uyanne,
Udoji, & Oladele, 2021). However, teachers' inadequate resourcefulness in
upgrading their knowledge of current research on active teaching and learning
pedagogies impedes learners' interpersonal performance, which ought rather to
enhance their collaboration and skills (Ekeh, 2020). This situation requires
teachers' professional development to enable them to function effectively in their
classrooms.
162
Equipping teachers for optimal performance is paramount in discharging their

duties, especially for teachers who have been in the teaching service long after
they graduated from a training College or University. Tuncel and Çobanoğlu
(2018) mentioned that in-service teachers must continuously update their
knowledge of new research on their learners' teaching skills, curricula, and
pedagogy. Osamwonyi (2016) contended that the absence of in-service training
results in teachers' professional retardation. Teachers would also be stunted in
meeting their professional demands and productivity levels because of career
gaps (Osamwonyi, 2016). Many researchers; and education stakeholders have
underscored the importance of professional development programs for teacher
improvement, including workshops, conferences, seminars, classes, and
exhibitions (Mahmoudi & Özkan, 2015; Osamwonyi, 2016). In this study, it is
imperative to prioritise professional development programs for early-grade
teachers to develop learners' collaborative skills through group-work and play-
based pedagogy.
The need to prioritise professional development for teachers is due to teachers’

dominance in the classroom. As teachers dominate the teaching and learning, it
renders learners inactive in the learning process. Teachers constantly use the
chalk-and-talk method to teach learners who deny learners the opportunity of
collaborative learning. Learners become apprehensive and intolerant among
themselves because teachers are not deliberate in creating the learning
atmosphere that encourages collaboration among learners. In most Nigerian
early-grade classrooms, the traditional sitting arrangement of learners (sitting in
rows and facing the chalk board,) which has not changed, is a pointer to a failure
to enable a learning environment for collaborative learning. When young leaners
grow without the adequate acquisition of collaborative skills, they will find it
difficult to adjust to the twenty-first century society; because collaboration skills
remain one of the survival core skills in the twenty-first century. However,
teachers role in bridging this gap and in encouraging learners’acquisition of
collaborative skills remains significant. It is for this reason that the researcher has
undertaken this study tq enable teachers to develop early graders collaborative
skills through group work and play- based pedagogy.
In this study, group work play-based pedagogy was considered ideal for
developing learners' collaborative skills; because it affords learners interpersonal,
engaging, and social experiences, leading to deep learning. Group-work play-
based pedagogy is among the teaching and learning strategies that enhance
learners' collaborative skills and develop their leadership and critical thinking
skills; hence, the researcher's choice for this study. Nonetheless, teachers who
facilitate learning by using this pedagogy must be equipped to achieve an optimal
performance level. Therefore, the researcher opted for professional development
to capacitate teachers in using - work play-based pedagogy, in order to facilitate
collaboration among young learners. Specifically, the researcher aims to
determine what group work play-based pedagogy teachers use to facilitate
collaborative skills, and how the professional development of teachers in group
work play-based pedagogy fosters collaborative skills among young learners.
163
2. The Literature review

Today's work life depends heavily on education to raise a commensurable
workforce that meets the functional requirements of operating in the workspace
(Ramsaroop, & Petersen, 2020; Valtonen et al., 2017). Among the functional
requirements are information analysis skills that lead to knowledge creation
(Valtonen et al., 2017). This skill is harnessed effectively and timely when
individuals work as a team, in groups or collaborate on ideas yielding a more
desirable outcome (Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, & Ramalingam, 2020; Valtonen et
al., 2017). According to Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, and Ramalingam (2020),
collaboration exceeds working with individuals in groups to an action where two
or more learners bring their knowledge, resources and expertise to achieve a
common task or project. Similarly, in this study, the author considered
collaboration as partnering and uniting with two or more early-grade learners to
jointly accomplish or produce a common task. As early-grade learners work
together to achieve a common goal, they interdepend on one another's strengths,
as they share their resources, experiences, and skills (Ruys, Van Keer, &
Aelterman, 2014). Based on this premise, skill acquisition remains an excellent
asset in human life. Hence, the acquisition and development of skills at any level
are targeted at solving a problem and improving the current state of living
(Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, & Ramalingam, 2020; Valtonen et al., 2017). To this
end, collaboration skills are worth developing for early-grade learners.
Collaboration skills are among the skills that propose effectiveness in working in
groups to achieve common goals, tosolve problems, and to create social bonds
(Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, & Ramalingam, 2020; Valtonen et al., 2017).
Consequently, collaborative skills have been beneficial in reassuring
accountability through probing questions, justifying responses, and reflective
skills among learners (Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, & Ramalingam, 2020). There
are two significant forms of collaboration: synchronous and asynchronous
(Strang, 2013). Whereas synchronicityy takes place in real time, asynchronicity
takes place in the cloud. However, the critical elements in facilitating collaborative
skills include communication, sharing, co-ordination, support, transparency,
trust, problem-solving, accountability, diversity, open-mindedness, and conflict
resolution (University of Waterloo, 2018). These critical elements of collaboration
are necessary skills that early-grade learners must acquire for their holistic
development.
Collaborative skills position learners to accomplish more tasks, boost their
commitment and enthusiasm, and to plunge them into brainstorming ideas that
lead to innovation (Hutchings & Quinney, 2015). When early-grade learners work
collaboratively, they develop the ability to acknowledge the varying perspectives
of their team members, to balance competing demands, and to show a sense of
dependability and trust (Hutchings & Quinney, 2015). Nonetheless, the role of a
teacher in facilitating these skills’ development among early-grade learners is
paramount to learners' successful development of collaborative skills (Kaendler,
Wiedmann, Rummel, & Spada, 2015; University of Waterloo, 2018). Teaching
early-grade learners how to collaborate to avoid unaccomplished tasks, or to
become exhausted in executing their group tasks is crucial for teachers to facilitate
collaborative skills. Hence in doing this, teachers have to clearly state the
164
instructions, the learning objectives, the purpose or goals and to acknowledge the
strengths and the weaknesses of each learner (Kaendler, Wiedmann, Rummel, &
Spada, 2015; University of Waterloo, 2018).
Thet teacher must provide adequate learning resources, promote openness and a
culture of communicjation, in order to celebrate achievement and to utilise the
mistakes, as a resource for learning opportunities (Kaendler, Wiedmann,
Rummel, & Spada, 2015). Undoubtedly, some teachers still struggle to facilitate
learning when using the most appropriate learning pedagogies (Walton, Nel,
Muller & Lebeloane, 2014). However, competent teachers with twenty-first-
century pedagogical prowess are central in facilitating collaborative skills
(Ramsaroop & Petersen, 2020). This is because collaborative skills are among the
core skills of the twenty-first century; hence, teachers' pedagogical approach plays
a crucial role in their realisation (Kaendler, Wiedmann, Rummel, & Spada, 2015;
Ramsaroop & Petersen, 2020). Play-based pedagogy is a well-appreciated twenty-
first century teaching and learning pedagogy for early-grade learners (Ekeh,
Venketsamy, Thuketana, & Joubert, 2022; Pistorova & Slutsky, 2018). Hence,
early-grade teachers are encouraged to use it to facilitate collaborative learning
among early-grade learners.
Although some educators may consider play among learners to be a waste of time
in school while emphasising academic rigour with a focus on cognitive
development, many educators consider play to be an essential role in early-grade
learning and development (Pistorova & Slutsky, 2018; Pyle & Danniels, 2017).
Play-based pedagogies are teaching and learning strategies that use fun and
activity-based learning to capture and sustain early- rade learners' attention and
interest in learning (Pyle & Danniels, 2017; Wood, 2013). According to Danniels
and Pyle (2018) and Pyle et al. (2017), play-based pedagogies are divided into
child-directed play activities (free play), mutually directed play activities (teacher-
and learner-designed play), and teacher-directed play (mostly play during the
game period). However, this study focuses on group work play-based pedagogies
that harness collaborative skills among early-grade learners. This implies that
both mutually directed and teacher-directed play are essential in this study
(Lynch, 2015).
Group-work play-based pedagogy is among the primary components of co-
operative learning, as it involves two or more learners learning from each other
through play (Brame, Director & Biel, 2016; University of Waterloo, 2018).
Through group work play-based pedagogy, learners engage in dialogue
constructively, thereby understanding complex concepts; and they reach a
consensus on the tasks they are working on (Brame, Director & Biel, 2016;
University of Waterloo, 2018). In contrast to the regular classroom setting, the
group-work play-based pedagogy classroom environment is inclusive, as the
learners are all involved (Hedges & Cooper, 2018; Lynch, 2015). There are
numerous flexible group work play-based activities that teachers can adapt to
their classroom practices (University of Waterloo, 2018). Among these, fishbowl,
think-pair-share, rotating trios, circle of voices, jigsaw, learning teams, and
snowball groups; however, most teachers are unaware of these play activities and
how they are to use them (University of Waterloo, 2018; Walton, Nel, Muller &
Lebeloane, 2014). Due to teachers' inability to utilise most of the twenty-first-
165
century group work and play-based pedagogy to facilitate collaborative skills

among early-grade learners, professional development workshops for in-service
teachers became necessary.
According to Amadi (2013), teachers' professional development involves training
for educators to enhance their skills and knowledge for personal and career
advancement. Amadi further states that such training incorporates various
learning opportunities, from college modules, conferences, pockets of learning
opportunities at the workplace, consultations, coaching, and community practices
(Amadi, 2013). Similarly, according to Amadi (2013), in-service training is
constantly needed for teachers, because their learning is dynamic and never static.
Next, most teachers are reluctant to engage in research to improve their classroom
practices. Moreover, for teachers not to be unbraced with classroom innovation
and practices, their professional development becomes a bridge that helps
capacitate them in current best-classroom practices. Nevertheless, teachers are
constantly faced with classroom challenges that are best addressed by
professional development workshops (Le, Janssen & Wubbels, 2018; University of
Waterloo, 2018).
Le, Janssen, and Wubbels (2018) showed that teachers encounter challenges in
facilitating collaborative learning. Indeed, these challenges are not different from
teachers’ challenging experiences in facilitating collaborative skills among early-
grade learners. These challenges impact teachers' effectiveness, the organisation
of classroom activities, and learners' assessment (Le, Janssen & Wubbels, 2018).
Teachers encounter challenges in organising collaborative learning, structuring
and learning activities, managing learners' behaviour and time, providing
relevant learning materials, and assigning roles to group members and individual
learners (Le, Janssen & Wubbels, 2018; University of Waterloo, 2018). In their
research on the preparation for collaborative activities, Ruys et al. (2014) indicated
that teachers inadequately facilitated collaborative learning because of insufficient
attention from the students. Furthermore, researchers state that teachers show
uncertainty and ambiguity in monitoring group-work activities; as students are
left to work without proper guidance, thereby leading to poor productivity (Le,
Janssen & Wubbels, 2018).
The proper assessment of each learner's performance within the group is another
challenge that teachers encounter when facilitating collaborative learning (Le,
Janssen & Wubbels, 2018; Ruys, Van Keer, & Aelterman, 2014). Some scholars
believe that teachers are challenged by the ambiguous nature of assessing or
measuring the learning performance of each learner because of a lack of
transparency and concreteness (Forsell, Forslund Frykedal & Hammar Chiriac,
2020; Ruys, Van Keer, & Aelterman, 2014). It is uncertain how teachers will
determine each learner's level of work, or the input required to assign, measure,
or grade it, nor is there any concrete template for measuring each learner's
commitment to the group. However, this study used a learner's performance-
rating scale to determine each learner's level of performance and commitment in
group-work play-based pedagogy.
166
3. The Methods
Research approach Sampling technique

and design and research site
Instrument for data

collection and data Ethical procedure
analysis procedure
The participatory
action research (PAR) Discussion of findings
procedure
Figure 1: Flow chart on research methods (created by author)
3.1 Research approach and design

The qualitative research approach was used in the study because of its capacity to
generate in-depth data from participants on the research phenomenon
(MacDonald, 2012; Morales, 2019). Participatory-action research design was
considered suitable for the study because it allowed the teacher-participants to
collaborate with the researcher and take those actions that would bring about the
desired change in teacher participants and young learners (MacDonald, 2012;
Morales, 2019).
3.2 Sampling technique and research site

A professional development workshop that lasted three months was mounted
with nine teachers as participants, who were purposely selected for the study.
These teachers were deliberately selected because the researcher considered
specific criteria (Creswell, 2020). The criteria included that they must be teachers
with at least three (n=3) years of teaching experience, either in the pre-primary or
junior primary (primaries 1-3 or grade 1-3) school levels. Next, public primary
school teachers must be within the Owerri Education Zone of Imo State, Nigeria.
Similarly, three public primary schools (n=3) were randomly selected to ensure
fairness in selecting schools within Owerri’s educational zone. In summary, three
teachers (n = 3) represented each school selected for the study, for a total of nine
teachers (n=9). However, at the time of the appraisal of the implemented program,
two teacher participants were indisposed and dropped out of the study, leaving
seven (n=7) participants to complete the study. However, this did not affect the
study because the remaining seven participants were sufficient for the qualitative
study to provide the required response.
The research site for this study was located in the Owerri Education Zone of Imo
State, Nigeria. The state has three (3) major education zones: Owerri, Orlu, and
Okigwe. The Owerri Education Zone was more appropriate for the study because
the researcher needed an educated elite city as the baseline. The implication is
that, as the Owerri zone underperforms in the research, other education zones
167
may be behind concerning the research in focus, because the Owerri zone is
considered more advantaged because of the state capital that is in the zone.
3.3 Instrument for data collection and data analysis procedure

The semi-structured interview and learners' performance-rating scale for the three
(n=3) pedagogical strategies used comprised the means of the data collection for
the study. The validity of the research instrument was done via the respondent
validity. In doing this, the researcher employed member checking resulting in the
trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability) of
the research project. Teacher participants were interviewed to enable the
researcher to understand how knowledgeable teachers were about group-work
play-based pedagogy and their practice of fostering collaborative skills among
young learners. Their responses necessitated workshops in which they were
capacitated on group-work play-based pedagogy that developed learners'
collaboration skills. The workshops lasted for three months (n=3); and they were
conducted after school hours, so that the learners were not disadvantaged in their
learning during school hours.
The data for this study were analysed by using a thematic data-analysis
procedure. In doing so, the researcher acquainted himself with the data,
transcribed the data, and generated initial codes that were translated into themes.
The themes were further modified until they were coherent and repeated the
patterns that were reported. In particular, semi-structured interviews were
conducted. After the teacher participants were capacitated at different workshops,
they returned to implementing the pedagogical strategies learned in their classes.
After three (3) weeks of implementation, they reconvened to appraise and analyse
the implemented pedagogical strategies. Their appraisal and analysis formed part
of the analysis used in this study, as the results were built into the findings.
3.4 The ethical procedure

The researcher secured written consent to participate in the study. This was
obtained from all the participants. This was to ensure that the participants, of their
own free will had volunteered to take part in the study. They were also informed
that they were free to disengage from the study at any time when they wanted to,
without explaining their reasons for doing so; and that such a decision would not
have any consequences for them as teachers. Pseudonyms, such as T1, T2, and T3
were used to conceal the participants' true identities, thereby ensuring
confidentiality and anonymity. The Research Ethics Committee of the University
of Pretoria granted ethical approval for this research study. However, there was
no vested interest from any individual or public in the research; as it did not
receive any public funding or grants.
4. The participatory action research (PAR) procedure

The researcher and the teacher participants collaborated in three (3) professional
development workshop trainings, in which group work play-based pedagogies
(jigsaw, think-pair-share, and buzz group) were used to facilitate the collaboration
skills. In applying these pedagogies, the researcher ensured that the PAR cycle
168
was well-incorporated, in order to ensure that the teacher participants grasped

the teaching strategies to enable the proper implementation in their classrooms.
Figure 2 describes the actions taken in each phase of the professional development
program for the teacher participants.
Through semi-structured interviews, the researcher and the teacher participants

appraised the teachers' pedagogical status quo in Phase 1. Their responses led to
the identification of problems in Phase 2 of Figure 2. The researcher and the
teacher-participants proceeded to develop workable solutions in Phase 3. The
development of a workable solution in Phase 3 led to the inclusion of the three (3)
groups of work-play-based pedagogies (jigsaw, think-pair-share, and buzz-
groups) used in the study. In Phase 3, the researcher trained the teacher
participants to facilitate their collaboration skills by using each pedagogy. In
Phase 4, the teacher-participants were released into various classes to replicate
what they had learnt in Phase 3. As they carried out the implementation in Phase
4, the researcher visited their schools to observe the implementation process. In
Phase 5, the researcher and the teacher-participants evaluated the implementation
of pedagogy. At this stage, all the various pedagogies were successfully
implemented; hence, there was no need for adjustments or repetition of the
program in Phase 6.
Appraisal of the
status quo
Phase 1
Adjustments made Identification of the

where necessary problems
Phase 6 Phase 2
Evaluation of Development of
implemented solutions workable solutions
Phase 5 Phase 3
Implementation of
solutions
Phase 4
Figure 2: The participatory action research (PAR) cycle (Ekeh, 2020)
4.1 Jigsaw group-work play-based pedagogy

Like every other familiar teaching strategy, the teacher-participants effectively
planned and prepared their teaching content and learning materials, while
synchronising them with a jigsaw as a learning pedagogy. A jigsaw is most
suitable for topics with multiple sub-contents. Most topics with sub-learning
content may last for two to three weeks. However, in this study, the teacher-
169
participants and the learners were able to handle the two-week learning content
in a single class session; and the learners comprehended the content because they
were involved in the learning process. How does it work?
4.1.1 Introduce the home groups: The teacher-participants were divided into three
learning groups called the "home groups". Each home-group member became a
representative of the expert group. They became responsible for discussing and
noting any new knowledge gained by the expert group. For example, a home
group had three (3) teacher-participants, and these three (3) teacher participants
were given numbers 1, 2, and 3. Breaking into the expert group, all the teacher-
participants number 1 were regrouped into expert group 1; while those with
number 2 were grouped into expert group 2. The same procedure applies to the
teacher- participants 3.
4.1.2 Breaking into expert groups: At this point, the teacher-participants settled for
group learning in expert groups 1, 2, and 3. Different mathematical puzzles were
given to the teacher- participants in their expert groups to solve them within a
given time-frame. Teacher participants were asked to return to their home groups
when the allocated time was over.
4.1.3 Regrouping at the home group: regrouping in their home groups, group-
members were allowed to share and learn from one another how they had solved
the mathematical puzzles presented to them in their different expert groups. The
implication was that each representative of the home-group became a teacher to
other group members in their home groups; as they shared their learning
experiences with the home group. For instance, Group Member one (1) shared
and taught other members what she had learnt in the expert group. Home group
member number two (2) also shared and taught other members in the sub-topic
that she had learnt in her expert group; the same applies to group member number
three (3).
4.2 Think-pair-share play-based pedagogy

Although this play-based pedagogy helps develop learners' critical thinking, the
researcher considered it beneficial for facilitating collaboratve skills among the
young learners. This strategy makes learning enjoyable and fascinating. Using
think-pair-share, the teacher participants were presented with a learning task,
allowing them to individually think through and process the learning task with a
possible answer. They were then paired to correspond with their answers and
with their peers.
For example, to facilitate word generation in the English language, the teachers
were presented with the word "GENERATION" and they were asked to generate
30 words within 25 minutes. Examples of words generated include GENERATE,
IT, ON, NATION, NO, NET, TEN, RAT, NEAR, RATION, and GEAR. Individual
teacher participants had to "think" and generate words within 25 minutes.
Afterwards, they "paired' themselves and "shared" the answers they had
generated with their peers. After the first pairing, they changed and paired with
another learner to crosscheck the answers the participants had received. In this
170
process, they increased their vocabulary by adding new words that they had
obtained from their peers' answers to that which they already had after having
compared notes with their peers.
4.3 Buzz-group work play-based pedagogy

The buzz-group work play-based pedagogy uses small discussion groups of to 3-
8 young learners to help them develop and generate ideas, to solve problems, and
to think critically (Balslev et al., 2015; Clarence, 2018). Donald Philips from
Michigan State University was the first to use the buzz-group technique. He
applied this approach by dividing his class into clusters of six learners; and the n
asking them to discuss specific problems within six minutes.And this was very
effective.
This group-work play-based pedagogy was applied in the teachers' professional

development workshop by splitting the teacher participants into groups of three;
while asking them to identify one word that fits into the four blank spaces
presented in a task. For example, A rich man wants _______; a poor man has
_______. If you eat _______, you die; when you die, you can take ______ with
you. The task was meant to foster collaboratve skills among the teacher
participants; and the outcome was positive.
Professional
development
workshop 2
Jigsaw
Professional Professional
development development
workshop 1 workshop 3
Think-pair-share Buzz group
Group work
play-based
pedagogies
Figure 3: The study's professional development workshops (Ekeh, 2020)
5. The Findings
Overall, group-work play-based pedagogy developed early grade collaborative
skills. The teachers were not well-informed about the twenty-first century
pedagogies that enhanced collaboration skills among the early-grade learners.
The researcher believed that this was a significant gap in teachers' pedagogical
practice in developing collaborative skills in the early grades. The two main
themes that emerged from the study were teachers' perspectives on facilitating
group work play-based pedagogy and fostering collaborative skills among early-
grade learners.
171
5.1 Teachers' perspectives on facilitating group-work play-based pedagogy

In Phase 1 of PAR, the researcher appraised teachers' understanding of group-
work play-based pedagogies. This appraisal aimed to ascertain what group-work
play-based pedagogies teachers used in their classroom practice. Below are their
responses.
In their interview responses, T1, T3, T4, and T6 indicated that they "use storytelling,
singing, dance and drama" as group work play-based pedagogy. However, T3
explained that she prefers story-telling because "Children like stories and they like
playing. So, if you start teaching them with playing and storytelling, you will find out
they will be reacting to them, answering the question you asked them, and bringing their
idea because all of them come from a home. So, when you're talking to them: playing and
telling the story, they will grab it quickly". According to T6, "I use singing and dancing
to expose teaching materials, pointing out those drawings on the diagrams, and allowing
the children to pronounce them in their own words".
T2, T5, T7, and T8 mentioned using the "playway method.” T2 indicated that she
uses the playway method because "it woull enable the children to remember what they
have been taught". Similarly, T7 mentioned that she used it because "the children
learn more and faster through the playway method. Yes, because they play, they will play
with the teacher and their classmates, using all those teaching materials. Eeh, you will see
them holding play materials. They will be saying things in their language, and you will
see them smiling with happiness. They put more interest in their work while I stand aside,
looking at them".
In the words of T8, "the children love playing, and as they are playing, you are to use
the play-method to teach them, which will help them. They will not forget that lesson
because they will recollect their role and what they did then and be able to do I againt. T9,
in her description, said, "anyway, I use class discussion, grouping the pupil then
engaging them in discussion. Why do I like this? Iit is because the idea had come from
them. Likewise,the answer will come from them also. That's why I like the discussion".
According to the University of Waterloo (2018) and Brame et al. (2016), group-
work play-based pedagogies are among the co-operative learning strategies that
involve learning in groups of two or more through play. Teacher participants,
while responding to the group work play-based pedagogies that they used,
showed a reasonable understanding of having used dance, drama, and story-
telling; consequently, they were not completely in the dark regarding play-based
pedagogy. Although some teacher-participants mentioned using the play-way, as
a pedagogical strategy, they were not specifically referring to the group-work
play-based pedagogy that they had used. Walton, Nel, Muller & Lebeloane (2014)
and the University of Waterloo (2018) mentioned that most teachers are not
knowledgeable about twenty-first century group-work play-based pedagogies.
Pedagogies include fishbowl, think-pair-share, rotating trios, circle of voices,
jigsaw, learning teams, and snowball. Apart from T9, who mentioned grouping
the pupils and engaging them in discussions, it is understandable from Phase 1
that teacher participants' knowledge of group-work play-based pedagogy was
inadequate.
172
This interview formed a baseline assessment for the researcher to identify the gap
in teachers' pedagogical practice and to proceed with planned professional
development for teacher participants, as indicated in Figure 2, which was done
according to Figure 2. The following section discusses the theme of developing
early-grade collaboration skills.
5.2 Fostering collaboration skills among early-grade learners

The researcher used a learner performance rating scale to appraise the
performance of early- grade learners through their classroom teachers, who had
implemented the programs in their classrooms. Generally, early grade learners'
performance in collaboratiive skills have been significantly developed and
enhanced.
Table 1: Learners' performance-rating scale in developing collaborative skills

Collaborative skills appraised after program implementation Early Grade Learners Rating Scale
Very poor
Excellent
Good
Good
Very
Poor
1. Jigsaw
i. Early grade learners integrated into the group successfully. 1 2 4

ii. Early grade learners enjoyed interacting with group members. 1 2 4
iii. Early grade learners shared working materials appropriately. 2 4 1
iv. Early grade learners worked together in a group as friends. 3 4
v. Early grade learners negotiated during group work. 1 1 3 2
vi. Groups of early grade learners learnt from their mistakes. 1 3 3
vii. Groups of early grade learners achieved the common goal set 1 3 3
out for them.
2. Think-pair-share
i. Early grade learners integrated into the group successfully. 1 3 3
ii. Early grade learners enjoyed interacting with group members. 2 5
iii. Early-grade learners shared working materials appropriately. 4 3
iv. Early-grade learners worked together in a group as friends. 3 4
v. Ear-y-grade learners negotiated during group work. 1 4 2
vi. Groups of early-grade learners learnt from their mistakes. 4 3
vii. Groups of early-grade learners achieved the common goal set 3 4
out for them.
3. Buzz-groups
i. Early-grade learners integrated into the group successfully. 3 4
ii. Early-grade learners enjoyed interacting with group members. 3 4
iii. Early-grade learners shared working materials appropriately. 2 3 2
iv. Early-grade learners worked together in a group as friends. 4 3
v. Early grade learners negotiated during their group-work. 1 1 3 3
vi. Groups of early-grade learners learnt from their mistakes. 1 2 2 2
vii. Groups of early-grade learners achieved the common goal-set 1 3 3
out for them.
173
Responding to Table 1:1, all the teacher-participants noted a remarkable

development of collaborative skills among early-grade learners. In their response,
they mentioned that early-grade learners successfully collaborated, interacted,
shared learning material, resolved conflicts through negotiation, and learned
from each other, in addition to achieving their set-out tasks. However, T2 reported
that a few learners had struggled to integrate into their group, while one group
was slow to achieve their group tasks. However, the poor performance recorded
in Table 1:1 for the T2 classroom was insignificant; because it was only noted in
items (i) and (vii). Additionally, poor performance may be attributed to the
challenges of managing learners' behaviour and facilitating their collaborative
learning (Le, Janssen & Wubbels 2018). Nevertheless, the findings corroborated
the claims of Brame, Director, and Biel (2016), who found that group-work play-
based pedagogy enables learners to reach consensus, engage in dialogue
constructively, and comprehend complex concepts. Scoular, Duckworth, Heard,
and Ramalingam (2020) also noted that when learners work as a team and
collaborate in ideas, they accomplish desirable learning objectives.
T1 noted that while facilitating collaborative skills by using think-pair share, some
learners could not negotiate and integrate successfully with their peers, as shown
in Table 1:2. This finding was mainly linked to T1. This could imply that the
performance may not be unconnected to the assertions of Kaendler, Wiedmann,
Rummel, and Spada (2015) and the University of Waterloo (2018), who noted that
teachers must coherently state learning objectives and instructions to their
learners when facilitating group work play-based pedagogy. However, other
teacher-participants agreed that think-pair-share implementation was
significantly successful in their classrooms, as learners responded positively to the
performance-rating scale.
The findings imply that the learners were receptive, adapted to new learning,
showed mutual support, and collaborated. This confirms that teachers play a
significant role in successfully facilitating collaboration skills (Kaendler,
Wiedmann, Rummel, & Spada, 2015). According to Ciampa (2014) and Johnson
and Johnson (2013), collaborative capacitates team members to support one
another and unite to accomplish a task in a win-win situation.
The teachers’ responses in Table 1:3 indicate a substantial impact of buzz-group

play-based pedagogy in developing the collaborativr skills of early-grade
learners. All the teacher participants agreed that learners achieved their learning
objectives, learned from each other, related, and interacted positively among
themselves, shared learning materials, and appropriately adjusted in their group.
Although T4 agreed with the other teacher- participants on all items except for
items (v and vi), she disagreed that the learners in her class did not negotiate
during group-work, or learn from their mistakes. However, the findings
correspond with the views of Scoular, Duckworth, Heard, and Ramalingam
(2020), who maintained collaboration to mean sharing knowledge, resources, and
expertise to realise the team goals. Similarly, Kaendler, Wiedmann, Rummel, and
Spada (2015) noted that learners achieve team goals when teachers provide
adequate learning resources, celebrate learners' achievements, and utilise
mistakes as a resource for learning opportunities.
174
6. The Results
The study aimed to determine which group-work play-based pedagogy teachers
could use to facilitate collaborative skills, and how the professional development
of teachers on group work play-based pedagogy fostered collaborative skills
among young learners.
The findings from the study showed that think-pair-share, jigsaw and buzz-group
pedagogies facilitated collaborative skills among young learners. It was also
discovered that teachers had inadequate knowledge of these group work play-
based pedagogies, which aided the development of collaborative skills in the early
grades. Next, teachers' professional development workshops are necessary, in
order to upskill in-service teachers in various group-work play-based pedagogies.
Professional development workshops are indicators that the teachers' community
of practice is a viable means for cross-breeding various ideas among teachers. The
findings also showed that early-grade learners’ collaborative skills were enhanced
after teachers were capacitated on the use of group-work play-based pedagogy in
teaching early graders. The study also showed that early-grade learners are
flexible in learning; and they can adapt to any teaching strategy. Early-grade
learners' collaborative skills were adequately enhanced when using various
group-work play-based pedagogies as mentioned earlier.
7. Conclusion
There were pockets of research evidence that reflected early-grade classroom
pedagogical practice as being teacher-centred, in addition to the researcher's first-
hand evidence. Such pedagogical practices hampered the development of
collaborative skills among early-grade learners. This was the pivot among the
motivations leading to the research "developing early- grade collaborative skills
through group work play-based pedagogy.” In determining the group work
play-based pedagogy teachers use to facilitate collaborative skills among learners,
the researcher adopted a participatory action-research approach as a professional
development strategy.
It was discovered that most teachers were not knowledgeable about using twenty-
first century group-work play-based pedagogies to facilitate collaborative skills
among early-grade learners. The contribution of the study was eminent in that,
learners’collaborative skills were significantly improved after teachers had been
capacitated in their various training workshops. Teachers who received the
training formed a community of practictitioners to assist in educating their
colleagues on using group-work play-based pedagogy to facilitate learning.
The implication of the study is that, many teachers who continue to use the
teacher-centred teaching approach are doing so because they are not
knowledgeable on how to facilitate learning by using the twenty-first century
learning strategies. Learners who are taught by such teachers are disadvantaged
because they are not exposed to the twenty-first century survival skills.
Additionally, this implies that the government needs to organise professional
workshops, in order for teachers to upskill their knowledge on twenty-first
century skills
.
175
This study is limited to a few early-grade teachers who were selected in the
Owerri Education zone. It was further limited to early-grade teachers who teach
the nursery/kindergarten up to primary/grade 2. There is a need to conduct
studies to include other grades and levels of education on the use of these
strategies within the educational zone.
8. Recommendations
From the findings of this study, the researchers recommend continuous
professional development training for early-grade in-service teachers in group-
work play-based pedagogies. Trained teachers may organise a community of
practice among teachers of proximity to assist in capacitating them in learning
pedagogies. Teachers should be encouraged to participate in research, in order to
improve their classroom teaching pedagogies. Teachers must play down the use
of teacher-centred pedagogies and concentrate on the use of pedagogies that
encourage active learning among learners. Teachers must have adequate
preparation to facilitate collaborative skills in the early grades.
Acknowledgement: I am thankful to my PhD supervisors at the University of

Pretoria, South Africa, for their guidance in collecting the data used in this
research.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 178-194, April 2023
Received Nov 14, 2022; Revised Mar 18, 2023; Accepted Apr 7, 2023
Challenges of First-Year Extended Curriculum

Programme Students at a University in South
Africa
Funmilola Kemi Megbowon
University of Fort Hare, East London Campus, South Africa
Makhetha-Kosi Palesa , Kavi Bongiwe and Mayekiso Sipokazi

University of Fort Hare, East London Campus, South Africa
Abstract. The Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) is an academic

foundation programme established and supported by South Africa’s
Department of Higher Education and Training as a route and an
enabling environment for educationally disadvantaged, underprepared,
unprepared, and at-risk students to access and succeed in higher
education. However, beyond the academic concerns for students
enrolled on this programme, there are social issues that could hinder the
success of the enrolled students. This study examines the challenges of
students enrolled in Extended Curriculum Programme in a selected
university in South Africa. Using a qualitative research method, data
was collected following a focus group discussion comprising twelve
groups in the Faculty of Management and Commerce ECP first-year
students. This study found that students face a number of challenges
including information asymmetry, mismatch between high school
subjects and university courses, transitioning from high school to
university setting, inadequate and unequal academic support, and
stigmatization. The findings imply a need for guidance and counselling
in the choice of a future career at high school level, an awareness about
ECP, and strengthened support beyond academic support by improving
social integration and boosting ECP students’ self-confidence.
Government and institutions need to introduce educational anti-stigma
interventions to correct individuals’ and society’s misinformed
perceptions about ECP programmes and to promote awareness about
the potential and possibilities of the programme.
Keywords: Extended Curriculum Programme; Foundation; Higher

Education; Teaching and Learning; Challenges
1. Introduction
Education, which is one of the human capital development components
alongside health, is an important factor that promotes socio-economic
©Authors
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development. Investment in education has been identified as crucial for

individual and household wellbeing as well as for the attainment of a country’s
desired economic growth target. Looking back, it can be said that the
contemporary situation of the South African education system cannot be
discussed outside the role of the previous apartheid system of government. One
of the key features of South Africa’s education system during the apartheid
regime was pronounced education inequality and fragmentation (McKeever,
2017). The system, prior to 1994, was that of a racially divided system of
schooling; there were differences in learning materials and learners’ assessment;
there was an imbalance in education funding that favoured the minority white
community. This inequality was effectively promoted by the then Bantu
Education Act of 1953. Thus, one of the many goals of the post-apartheid
governments in South Africa, since the political transition in 1994, has been to
address the historical disadvantages of racial minorities in accessing quality
education at various levels of education. However, irrespective of the efforts of
the government, the education system is still bedevilled by various
contemporary challenges.
The two main contemporary challenges in the South African higher education
are access and throughput rates. Access to higher education is an aspiration of
every youth in the country who views this as a pathway to a brighter future
(Jappie, 2020). In South Africa, the students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds find it challenging to gain access to higher education for various
reasons, such as poor schooling, and many students are unable to meet the
minimum requirements for admissions and funding (Jappie, 2020).
According to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET, 2020),

there has been a decrease in dropout rates, but throughput rate is still very low.
For instance, for undergraduate three-year degrees through contact mode, only
31.9% and 32.2% of intakes in 2015 and 2016 graduated in their third year,
respectively, and 56.3% of intake in 2015 graduated in the fourth year. Also, only
47.3% and 63% of those that enter undergraduate degree qualify after the fourth
and fifth year, respectively, for four or more year-undergraduate qualifications
(DHET, 2020). This implies that less than 50% of those who enrol for a degree
through the e-learning mode of tuition or contact never graduated (DHET, 2020).
This is a great challenge for the system because the substantial investment in
subsidies does not result in graduates. Furthermore, the cost is not only a
monetary one, there is also a cost in human terms, as these young people leave
the system without getting their degrees (DHET, 2020). Thus, there has been a
concern about the low graduation output of various comprehensive South
African universities (Petersen & Arends, 2018; Uleanya & Rugbeer, 2020).
One of the suggestions to prevail over these challenges is the introduction of

Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs). According to the Council on Higher
Education (2013, the foundational provision is designed to help students from
underprivileged educational backgrounds build solid academic foundations to
succeed in their programmes of study, facilitating equitable access and the
desired outcomes (Department of Education, 2007). The Extended Curriculum
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Programmes (ECPs) started in the 1980s as academic support programmes

aimed at increasing access and opportunities for talented but inadequately
prepared students to achieve sound foundations for success in higher education
(Council on Higher Education, 2013). Currently, a number of South African
higher education institutions (SAHEIs) offer ECPs which aim at providing
students with further academic support in order to improve the pass rate and
success of students in Computer Literacy, English language, Mathematics, and
others. This programme has been offered to diploma and regular degree
students, and leads to an additional one year of study. Considering the
contemporary dynamic changes in the teaching and learning space, problems
experienced by students in Higher Education (HE) appear to be on the rise, and
as such, this study explores the contemporary ECP students’ challenges in their
first year. Though several studies have explored first-year university students’
experiences, few of these studies have concentrated on the experiences of some
of the students enrolled in the Extended Curriculum Programme or Foundation
experience more broadly as part of their HE experience. The objective of this
study is to assess the ECP students’ challenges in a rural South African higher
education institution. This study is premised on the assertion by Freire (1993)
and Godsell (2017) that the experiences of learners are worth more attention
through listening to their voices for policy purposes.
Higher education as a tool to level opportunities has necessitated the
government’s investment in education. Massification of programmes and
broadening access to and participation in higher education has increased the
dynamics of characteristics of students in higher education environments. These
characteristics include first-generation students, students from low socio-
economic status households, rural and disadvantaged environments, under-
prepared students, as well as those entering higher education with low previous
academic performance. Consequently, this has brought a new dimension to
higher education challenges. As a result, governments and institutions
specifically invest in first-year experience to promote persistence, and for future
academic performance and achievement (Schreiner et al., 2020; Sterling, 2018).
The first year of undergraduate in HE is a critical period, not only because it is

when commencing students establish a foundation for their future learning
outcome, but also because it is a central enabling time for ongoing student
engagement, learning success and retention (Nelson et al., 2014). Equally,
considering the increasing cost of delivering higher education amid limited
resources and the need for higher personal, economic, and social returns to
education, it is imperative to understand student challenges and experiences to
enable or to promote good experiences.
Several studies (Edjah et al., 2019; Baik et al., 2019; Ganss, 2016; Cheung et al.,
2020; Uleanya & Rugbeer, 2020) provide detailed insight into the experiences
and challenges (positive or negative) of first-year student groups in different
national and institutional contexts. A study conducted in Ghana established that
registration for courses, separation from family, movement on campus,
181
adjusting to lecturers’ way of teaching, swapping between lecture theatres,

coping with roommates and making new friends were the prominent challenges
found among first-year students (Edjah et al., 2019). Baik et al. (2019) reported
that freshmen with low tertiary admission scores in Australian colleges
experienced less enjoyment of their courses, lower levels of academic
engagement and engagement with their university communities, difficulties in
comprehending subject material, and worries about finance. Gaps in
expectations and the reality of college life (disconnect in expectations of
academic rigour, study habits and extra-curricular involvement; Ganss, 2016;
Kuh, 2011, difficulties with new friendships and involvement in opportunities
due to lack of social skills were the experiences identified by Ganss (2016)
among first-year students from rural Oregon communities in the United States.
In Hong Kong, Cheung et al. (2020) reported the experience of various levels of
depression, anxiety and stress among first-year community transfer students,
mainstream students and international students. In South Africa, studies have
also established that poor social integration, stigmatization, lack of acceptance,
inability to work independently, lack of critical thinking skills, lack of self-
confidence, as well as accommodation and transport challenges are experienced
by first-year students (Uleanya & Rugbeer, 2020; Lekena & Bayaga, 2018; Pillay
& Ngcobo, 2010). According to Kukkonen, (2020), student experiences cover the
total engagement with the university right from first contact, through
recruitment, learning, arrival, and university experience such as graduation,
employment, and experience as alumni. Others include student accommodation,
living arrangements, security and safety, as well as social inclusion.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design and Data Gathering
The research approach used in this study is a qualitative research method to
understand the perceptions and challenges of ECP students. Qualitative research
is a technique that is adopted to make sense of feelings, experiences, social
situations or phenomena as they occur in the real world (Blanche et al., 2006).
Data was gathered through focus group interviews, with a total of 12 focus
groups of five participants in each group. Focus groups were used to provide a
platform for cross-checking individual and social construction and multiple
realities associated with notions that have tendencies to create controversy
(Vicsek, 2010). The focus group discussion was conducted and recorded through
Microsoft Teams and the recorded interview transcribed. In addition, content
analysis was used as a tool for making sense of the data (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005;
Neuendorf, 2011). This study adopts a summative content analysis method
(Silverman, 2001) which enables researchers to prudently scrutinize data in
order to discover the rate of recurrence of views, themes and contextual
reflection of these views and to observe emerging forms. Researchers were keen
to discover the strength of the participants’ views and opinions and considered
it useful to use the summative approach because of the benefits it brings to the
analysis.
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Participants and Sampling Procedure

The participants for this study are first-year students of Extended Curriculum
Programme in a university in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The
majority of these students are black South Africans, from previously
disadvantaged groups. The undergraduate ECP offers a four-year Bachelor’s
degree instead of a three-year degree, planned to provide a curriculum response
to enhance students’ access to the university and eventual success. The study
utilized a purposive sampling to select 60 students from the Faculty of
Management and Commerce who are currently enrolled in the ECP. The ECP
students considered in this study generally registered in the Faculty of
Management and Commerce Extended Curriculum Programmes Qualification:
B Com, BCom (Accounting) and BCom (Information Systems) at the university.
According to the curriculum design, the three-year degree is extended over a
longer period of time. The students who enrol in these programmes will do their
studies over four years, instead of three years, allowing them more time to do
their foundation courses in the first two years. The fully foundational courses
have a year, which is fully preparatory for regular first-year level courses in the
subject concerned. Extended curriculum courses blend regular course material
alongside substantial foundational material and, as a result, are considerably
longer in duration than a pure, regular course.
Ethical consideration
Ethical clearance was obtained from the University’s Research Ethics Committee
(UREC, 2022), and a written informed consent form was obtained. These
students gave their consent after being informed about the study. Participants
were well-informed that their involvement in the study was non-compulsory.
4. Results and Discussion

Five thematic challenges were identified based on the data gathered from the
focus group discussions that were conducted for this study. These five themes
are: asymmetric information about ECP, mismatch between high school subjects
and ECP courses, transitioning from high school setting to university setting,
stigmatization, and inadequate and unequal academic support.
Information asymmetry about ECP

Information asymmetry is defined as a situation of imperfect or incomplete
information among economic agents that would enable them to make efficient
decisions (Lee, 2016). Information asymmetry is important in the education
sector in the areas of school, programme, and module selection. Beyond the
desire to be enrolled in higher education, students need to have sufficient
knowledge about the course they are to be enrolled in, the criteria, duration, and
the demands required of them by the programme, among others. Existing
studies (Watson et al., 2010; Amani, 2016;) have shown that feasible choice and
decision-making depend on knowledge and information. According to Flood
and Parker (2014) a lack of adequate awareness of students about a university’s
programme can demotivate them and constrain them from seeing the potential
in the programme. Incomplete information could also reduce motivation, reduce
academic performance and increase dropout when the unexpected begins to
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show up during the programme. This theme is deduced in the responses of the
students in this regard:
“Actually, no one told me about the foundation programme, this was how I got into the
programme; I was initially admitted for business management for mainstream, but when
I got to the university, I could not register for it because it was already full. So, I was
given the alternative to register for information systems, the foundation programme.”
“I heard about the programme as a walk-in student, so when I arrive, they said because
of my point I have to be a part of the foundation and that's when I heard about
foundation programmes. (I did not qualify for mainstream and was told that there are
spaces in commerce and management foundation programme).”
“I don’t know anything about the programme, I was just told to apply for it.”
“A friend from home told me about the programme and encouraged me to apply. Right
now, I didn’t quite know anything at the moment about the programme.”
“Basically, I know a little bit about the programme. I am not fully informed about the
programme.”
“I have never heard about the programme. I saw it on the board that I can apply for the
programme.”
Plausible reasons for information asymmetry are inadequate awareness about

the programme prior to their enrolment, and poor participation during
orientation programme. Meanwhile, knowing about the requirements of a
programme, the advantages, opportunities, disadvantages, conditions for
success and prospects in different lines of work are essential for decision-making
(Sharf, 1992). Consequently, there is a need to improve the level of awareness
and the methods used in providing information to prospective students about
ECP.
Mismatch between high school subjects and ECP courses

One of the notable attributes of the High School Curriculum is that every single
student in the contemporary era is well-prepared for their future career and
equipped to face challenges. The success of this preparation can be measured by
the alignment of the high school leavers’ subjects and the course they enrolled in
at the university. Corazon et al. (2020) found that when there is a gap between
high school subjects and courses enrolled into in the field of study at university
level, some students are stressed and no longer have an interest in a university
education, as was reported by the students interviewed for this study. Their
responses clearly indicate that their courses at ECP do not build on the subjects
done at high school. For instance, some of the students are enrolled in
management and commerce courses which are not associated with their track of
high school subjects, as deduced from the following responses of participants:
“My background is different from what I am currently doing. What I did in high school
is actually different from what I'm doing now, because the subjects that I did in high
184
school are not equivalent to what I'm doing now, and it is challenging for me. I am a
social science student.”
“…most of the modules have been challenging while others have been manageable.
Learning courses I have never done in high school has been quite stressful.”
“Since I registered as a student in the programme, it was not easy for me to understand
the courses because I was a science student in high school. I had no idea of business-
related subjects.”
“As a person who did social science subjects in high school, I was shocked to find out
that AMB is basically pure Mathematics. It has been difficult and stressful; it has taken a
toll on my mental health because I sometimes feel stupid in comparison to others, and
with Economics module as well also being new to me, it has been extremely hard for me
to cope.”
“Since from the first time I registered as a foundation programme student, it was not
easy for me to understand because I was doing sciences in high school.”
“It was hard for me to adapt in commerce during the first semester, because, in high
school doing science, so I had challenges because I had no clues in business.”
It can be inferred from these responses that misalignment is present between the
high school subjects and the university courses of the ECP. A student’s
knowledge of his/her career path and desire for the career path determines
what course he or she will take at the university. This implies that a student who
is knowledgeable about what he/she wants to become will choose subjects at
high school that align with his/her university’s courses and career choice.
According to Coles (2021), desire defines the reason someone acts or behaves in
a certain way, thus a strong desire for a specific career path determines what
courses a student will take in college. In addition, students who have a strong
desire in their career can choose a better pathway in college as they will have
chosen strands that align with their current college courses. This is important
because the interest of students plays an essential role in strands and courses;
students become involved in a curriculum which they are interested in; they
tend to study and work better when they are not excluded. The existence of this
mismatch underscores the importance of career guidance in high school. Studies
(Upoalkpajor, 2020; Savickas, 2015) have shown that career guidance enables
students to align what they learn with their aspirations, interests, and capacities,
and test these with existing opportunities. Career guidance also helps an
individual to know about the available training and educational opportunities
and the requirements for admission, as well as the choice of a suitable field of
study.
Transitioning from high school to a university setting

Transitioning from high school to a higher education is widely recognised by the
greater number of students as an important step to an independent private and
academic life (Murtagh, 2012; Young et al., 2020). This transition phase can lay
the foundations for success in the university and future endeavours (Thompson
185
et al. 2021; Krause and Coates 2008). Equally, it has been acknowledged in the
literature (Hassel & Ridout, 2018; Lekana & Bayaga, 2018) that such a transition
is a concern for students as some transition experiences could lead to dropping-
out or poor academic performance if not properly managed. Lekana and Bayaga
(2018) noted that limited or poor preparation for change, and overwhelming
new responsibilities and challenges make the move from high school to
university a difficult one. The experience of transitioning from high school to
university is often difficult to process because transition itself is difficult and
needs time and effort for emotional and social adjustment to minimise the
impact of the problems encountered during the process. Leaving high school for
university can be a time of increased vulnerability because the youths entering
university have to take on a new academic part, navigate adult roles, economic
responsibilities, and build new social networks (Laursen & Collins, 2009;
Aquilino, 2006). Transition challenges are revealed in the form of academic
expectations, technology adoption, and socialization. Quoted excerpts below are
the experiences of the first-year ECP students who were interviewed in this
study:
“I have experienced difficulties trying to adapt to the university system. When I started
the programme, I got overwhelmed because I didn't know what to expect in the course
that I'm doing and don’t know anything about the programme. Everything was difficult
for me.”
Studies by Turner and Brown (2010) and Thomas and Whitten (2012) identified
social support as an important source of social integration and well-being during
the transitional period. In addition, the supposed social support in the first year
of university is linked with other sides of emotional welfare such as motivation,
less insecurity, lower expectancies of dropping out, and a greater sense of
belonging (Rosenthal et al., 2011). It is necessary for these students to learn the
coping mechanisms for transitioning from high school to a higher institution of
learning, such as personality traits, perceived support, environmental and
individual resources (Wood, et al., 2008; Turner & Brown, 2010). Students in the
transitioning phase need the support of lecturers to feel comfortable and
motivated. Many said that:
“I have experienced difficulties trying to adapt to the university system.”
“Maths is a difficult module and most of us don't get it because we've done maths
literacy in high school, and now that we are trying to adapt to pure maths, it's quite
difficult.”
In terms of technological adoption, it is known that even before the Covid-19

pandemic, there had been an increasing incorporation of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) elements into university education, but with
Covid-19 and the current Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) drive, ICT
(computer-based learning) in education has become an indispensable
combination. In education, ICT is evident as remote lectures (attending online
classes), submitting assignments online, taking assessments online, searching for
materials online. Consequently, ICT skills are imperative for any higher
186
education students’ academic success in the university. A transition problem

arises in this case when a student who has not been exposed to the use of ICT
tools at high school or private life is expected to utilize the tool for learning in
the university setting. This ICT adoption transition challenge is clearly alluded
to in the comment below which emerged during the focus group interview
conducted for this study:
“I didn’t have experience in using laptop. At first, I could not keep up with the use of
Blackboard, I couldn’t login to join classes, it was a struggle using the computer.”
“We are first-year student and not exposed to the use of technology.”
“Everything was difficult, I didn’t know about Blackboard. It was very hard completing
my assignment since I am not familiar with Blackboard.”
This problem of transitioning to ICT adoption is also reported in the study by

Mbodila et al. (2016) who noted that institutions in rural areas of South Africa
are flooded with first-year students who are considered to be underprepared
and had no access to computers before their enrolment. Also, most students
from the rural areas usually lack knowledge of computers when they arrive at
the university which accounts for their difficulties when searching for study
materials, typesetting their assignments and submitting them online, as they
have had no experience in the use of this technology at high school. This
shortcoming speaks to the level of digital readiness of high schools in South
Africa and their students in the era of 4IR, and the reality of the undeniable
digital divide among South Africans. This reality is in line with the allusion by
Faloye and Ajayi (2021) that students from underprivileged schools encounter
challenges with computer application programmes and hardware components.
Apart from a rural background, the socio-economic background also promotes
this digital divide. However, the digital divide and its effects on students could
be limited if high schools are ICT enabled and compliant, and continual training
is offered to needy students.
Stigmatization
Stigma is a perceived or actual violation of another person’s identity (Maringe
and Jenkins, 2015). It is also an extreme discontent or disapproval of a person for
reasons of attributes that differentiate them from other members of a society.
Maringe and Jenkins (2015) opine that stigma is not only derived from other
people’s disapproval, it also comes from how the disapproved feel about their
state. Studies (Zhang et al., 2021; Goffman 1963) have acknowledged sources of
stigmatization in the society include race, disability status, colour, gender, age,
language, sexual orientation, nationality, legitimacy, ethnicity, and health
condition, among many others. Specifically, there are three categories for
examining sources of social stigma: personal traits sources, tribal stigmas which
relate to real or imagined traits, and visible external sources (Goffman,1963).
These identified sources can be continuous or discontinuous sources of social
stigma. When they are continuous, it implies that these sources will possibly
include various forms of the same phenomenon. According to Sartorius (2007),
stigmatization may affect people’s feelings of loss of identity, feelings of being
187
socially excluded, discriminated against, prejudiced, all of which have been

considered as a major causes of depression. In this study, participants
interviewed during the focus group discussion mentioned their experience of
stigmatization and how they felt excluded, alienated, and under-rated in the
university. Relevant excerpts below are quoted to support this claim:
“The senior students told me I am still in high school and that I will only start my first
year at the beginning of the next year.”
“I have seen posts on social media where people wrote on social media that people who
are doing foundation programme are still in their high school, and some others make
negative comments on social media about us. They do not know how I found myself in
that situation.”
“I have met some students who look down on me when I tell them what I am doing in the
university and that makes me feel like I am not really doing a productive course since I
am not in the mainstream.”
“I always ask myself; so, there are people who are doing mainstream and I'm here doing
something else. I think it's been me who is feeling weird about it. But at the end of the
day I told myself it is okay.”
“Some of the students I have met make me feel like an external person, an outcast, there
is no sense of belonginess, someone who doesn’t belong in the university.”
Ostensibly, stigmatization of students is one of the experiences or challenges

faced by ECP students as mentioned by the participants interviewed in this
study. Studies (Ogude et al., 2019; De Klerk et al., 2006) found that students who
enrolled for extended curriculum degree programmes are stigmatized. One of
the motives of the programme is to give access to inadequately prepared and
previously disadvantaged students (Dhunpath & Vithal, 2012), which may be
the reason why mainstream students perceive that students who enrol in the
programme are academically inadequate. Also, the ECP students are smaller in
number than the mainstream students within the general population in the
university, and they can easily be side-lined and seen as inferior to the
mainstream students. It is important that students have a sense of belonging, in
order for them to successfully achieve their academic outcomes (Bradley &
Graham, 2000).
Inadequate and Unequal Academic Support

Support of students is vital to student life and academic success in a university.
This support could be academic, social or emotional. Academic support refers to
a variety of academic intervention plans such as educational services and
instructional methods provided to students in order to help them improve their
learning progress, meet the teaching and learning standards, catch up with their
peers, and succeed in the university. Also, academic support consists of a variety
of teaching and learning styles, and academic counselling such as tutoring study
skills, assignments and test-taking skills (DoE, 2003). This support covers a wide
range of educational strategies and includes tutoring services, teacher advisors,
188
social support, supplemental courses, extra-classroom activity programmes, and

volunteer mentors, as well as instructing and counselling students. Academic
support can be provided to all students in a school, individual students, or a
specific student (Brophy, 1998). Studies (Balfanz et al., 2002; Ammigan and
Drexler, 2022) have shown that providing academic support services to students
increases academic success; hence, many institutions of learning have
implemented support service programmes to increase the retention rate of their
students. Effective tutoring programmes provide direct instruction, individual
attention, motivation and correction of errors which may increase students’
academic skills . In this study, inadequate support is not the only issue identified
by the participants; unequal support is also identified, as some of the
participants reported that there are differences in the level of support received
by ECP students across the university. They said:
“We don’t have much support because they always have that mentality, that this is
university and by now we should know.”
“We don’t have much support structure as foundation students. We need support
groups around us both mentally and academically.”
“I have not received any support from the programme.”
“Umm. For example, accounting students mainstream, they get extra classes on
Saturdays. So that means that will boost their performance and they also get extra things
like free voucher for airtime, they also get book allowance from another bursary. They get
more support. They prioritize them, more especially their mental health.”
“And I'm pretty sure that if one of the students from accounting mainstream has the
problem, I'm sure they have that one person they can call or make an appointment with.”
The population and diversity of students enrolled in the ECP programme

heightens the need for academic support services in order to efficiently serve the
needs of these students. The issues of social inclusion were raised by some of the
participants interviewed, as well as unequal distribution of academic support
across the programme. According to O’Shea (2016), first-year students,
especially those who did not meet the university admission requirements, face
greater difficulties fitting into the university’s culture. These students have
feelings of alienation, loneliness, isolation, inadequacy, and have different
academic experiences from the mainstream students, as is the case of ECP
students. Hence, the need for support programmes (academic tutoring, peer
support, and training) which will help their smooth transition and adaptation to
the university’s culture. Since ECP specially admits students with lower
academic ability, support services are imperative during their first year at the
university to enhance academic success. It is important for ECP students to be
provided with all the necessary and equal support in an environment in which
they can feel comfortable.
Some students might feel that the degree or the university was not their first
choice, but although they were not accepted elsewhere, with proper student
189
support they can feel at ease with the transformation process. It is the
responsibility of the institution to ensure that students receive the necessary
support, and are provided agencies that will respond to their unique situations
and implement ideas that afford the individual’s uniqueness necessary to scale
the rigours of academic life (O’Shea, 2016; Gyamera, 2018). It is therefore
imperative for the management of the institution to reflect continuously on the
curriculum development and design of the programme which provides the
essential learning tools for these students as a managerial strategy. The amount
of support provided to these students in their first year and the sustainability of
the process of their learning depend on the interventions designed during
continuous reflection (Slabbert & Friedrich-Nel, 2015). These challenges are
essentially academic and social-related challenges, in accordance with a number
of studies (Wangeri et al., 2012; Prelow et al., 2006; Sanoff, 2006; Jemal, 2012).
5. Conclusion, recommendations and future research

Access and throughput rates are some of the challenges facing the South African
higher education, and to increase access and throughput rates, the Extended
Curriculum Programme was designed. The programme is meant to help
students from underprivileged schooling backgrounds build solid academic
foundations to succeed in their various programmes of choice, facilitating
equitable access and outcomes, thereby increasing throughput rates. There is an
increase in the difficulties experienced by various categories of students in
higher education, including ECP-enrolled students, as a result of dynamic
contemporary changes in the teaching and learning space across the world and
in South Africa. These challenges appear to differ across groups of higher
education students. While several studies have examined first-year students’
experiences and challenges in higher education, a number of these studies have
concentrated on the difficulties some of the students enrolled in the Extended
Curriculum Programme or Foundation programme experience more broadly as
part of higher education experiences. A continuous understanding of the
dynamic challenges of this group of students is necessary to achieve the aim of
the ECP in the country.
This study used a qualitative research method and information gathered

through 12 focus group discussions to examine the challenges of ECP students in
a rural-based, higher education institution in South Africa. The summative
content analytical technique adopted in the study showed that ECP students face
a number of challenges which include information asymmetry, the mismatch
between the choice of high school subjects and university courses, transitioning
from the high school setting to the university setting, stigmatization, and
inadequate and unequal academic support. These challenges were shown to be
distressing to some students whose academic performances have been
negatively affected and to others who may feel that their present academic
performances are directly tied to their success at the university and later life, and
perceived future opportunities.
190
Therefore, based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations

are suggested:
I. There is a need to establish and organise a guidance and counselling unit
or programmes, as it may influence the choice of a future career at the
high school level. This can increase career focus and correct the identified
mismatch between high school subjects and the university courses.
II. Interventions and programmes that will increase awareness of concerned
students and the public about ECP are imperative. This has the potential
to correct society’s misinformed perceptions about the ECP programme,
promote awareness about potential and possibilities through the
programme, and boost ECP students’ social integration and self-
confidence among other groups of higher education students.
III. There is a need to strengthen institutional support for ECP students
beyond academics.
Future research needs to use a longitudinal research design to examine whether

the challenges faced by ECP students remain the same in their second year and,
likewise, investigates the coping strategies employed by these students in
mitigating these challenges.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 195-216, April 2023
Received Jan 31, 2023; Revised Apr 14, 2023; Accepted Apr 24, 2023
ESL Pre-university Learners’ Needs Analysis for

Web-based English Academic Vocabulary
Learning Resource
Farah Amirah Mohd Fisal and Nur Ehsan Mohd Said
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Abstract. A needs analysis will assist ESL practitioners in designing

instructional materials more efficiently by filling in the gaps where
language learning is lacking. By adapting Hutchinson and Waters'
(1987) needs analysis model, this study investigates ESL pre-university
learners’ English academic vocabulary learning needs as regards their
attitude, learning experience, preferred learning method, and preferred
content for a web-based learning resource. A questionnaire survey was
distributed to 117 ESL Life Sciences Foundation students from a
foundation studies centre in Kuala Lumpur. The quantitative data
collected were analysed descriptively using SPSS Version 26. The
findings showed that the learners had positive attitudes towards
learning academic vocabulary. Even so, they faced language issues
rooted in their lack thereof, particularly in productive skills, such as
academic speaking and writing. Their current implicit ways of acquiring
academic words and limited resources need to be revised. They also
displayed high interest and readiness to explore other learning means,
such as a web-based learning resource. The learning needs in the
resource include presenting academic words in contexts through sample
sentences and by using basic English words, such as synonyms.
Additionally, learners need various vocabulary learning exercise types
and multimedia. The study informs ESL practitioners on the criteria and
elements to be considered to design, develop, and successfully deliver
academic vocabulary instruction that is effective, practical, and
contextualised.
Keywords: English academic vocabulary; needs analysis; ESL pre-

university learners; web-based learning resource
1. Introduction
Malaysian postsecondary institutions demand a greater emphasis on academic
language due to its usage in the classroom as part of instructions, reading,
discussions and assignments. Academic vocabulary is the key component of said
language (Truckenmiller et al., 2019). According to Charles and Pecorari (2016),
academic vocabulary refers to commonly used words in academic discourses,
©Authors
196
but less frequently used in general English. Thus, its mastery would necessitate
learners' ability to accurately comprehend and produce academic discourses
(Nation, 2013), especially for those pursuing university-level programs in
English-medium settings (Coxhead, 2021). Over the years, numerous studies
have shown the role of academic vocabulary knowledge in improving learners’
academic reading comprehension (Lawrence et al., 2022), academic writing
(Csomay & Prades, 2018; Therova, 2021), listening comprehension (Dang, 2022;
Ha, 2021), speaking assessments, such as presentations or debates (Smith et al.,
2020; Yunus et al., 2016) as well as overall academic accomplishments (Skjelde &
Coxhead, 2020).
However, Malaysian English as a Second Language (ESL) tertiary learners have

gained little to no academic word knowledge and awareness, as shown by past
studies (e.g., Abmanan et al., 2017; Choo et al., 2017; Harji et al., 2015; Sulaiman
et al., 2018). One possible cause is the lack of exposure and opportunities to learn
academic vocabulary during their schooling, as school textbooks rarely include
such words (Manan et al., 2013; Noorizan et al., 2017). Thus, many school leavers
begin post-secondary education with a substantial deficit in academic words.
Pre-university level students wishing to continue their studies must take the
Malaysian University English Test (MUET), a national English language
proficiency test. However, Karnine et al. (2022) found that students often need
help with the test due to their lack of vocabulary knowledge. Although learners
may anticipate formal instructions on academic vocabulary, as they progress
through higher education, the reality may not, however, meet their expectations.
Terpstra-Tong and Ahmad (2018) noted an apparent disconnect between high

school education and university requirements in Malaysia, particularly
regarding the lack of independent learning experience and insufficient English
proficiency. At the pre-university level, English language learning often involves
activities that require learners to read academic materials independently, with
the expectation that they will acquire academic words through reading.
However, ESL learners may struggle to identify which words to concentrate on
while reading, as they cannot comprehend words' importance or usage
frequency (Kaur, 2020). This results in heavy reliance on their lecturers for
lexical input, leading to the passive acquisition of vocabulary and hindering the
retention of new lexical input due to the minimal depth of processing and
engagement (Kaur, 2013, 2020; Mutalib et al., 2014). Therefore, incidental
academic vocabulary acquisition among ESL post-secondary learners may not be
impactful enough. Hence, institution-recommended approaches, curricula or
resources do not necessarily correspond to learners’ needs.
In this regard, it is necessary to adopt a more direct, explicit and purposeful and
systematic approach to academic vocabulary learning among ESL post-
secondary learners (Aldawsari, 2017; Coxhead, 2021; Yunus et al., 2016). Taking
into consideration the Malaysian Education Blueprint's 7th shift regarding the
use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) (MOE, 2015), it is apt for
explicit academic vocabulary instructions to integrate technology. In this sense,
developing online supplementary materials would allow learners to practise
vocabulary independently, whilst increasing their motivation for continued
197
learning (Krishan et al., 2020; Wu, 2015). Therefore, technology has increasingly
become more appealing to the current Gen Z post-secondary learners, who are
familiar with the use of digital technology and the internet.
While many studies have focused on using technological tools to facilitate

practical vocabulary learning for language learners, less attention has been
placed on researching the potential of self-instructed web-based learning
resources (WBLR) for the English academic vocabulary. When learners
experience language learning difficulties, providing instructional intervention
that can address the specific learning issue affecting the targeted learners is
necessary. However, developing specific instruction or materials for a particular
group of learners should not solely rely on past experiences and preconceived
conceptions (Mahzan et al., 2020). Additionally, Terpstra-Tong and Ahmad
(2018) found that Malaysian first-year students in the transition period also
experience adjustment issues related to research, time management, and critical
thinking. Therefore, the proliferation of a WBLR for academic vocabulary
learning could potentially facilitate their acclimatisation academically.
Thus, this research is preliminary research with the intention of designing and
developing a supplementary academic vocabulary WBLR for ESL pre-university
learners. It seeks to investigate the needs of ESL pre-university learners in
learning English academic vocabulary, as the initial focal step before developing
the resource. The data acquired through needs analysis would provide a solid
foundation for the design of the resource. Since this study is only the first stage
of a larger developmental research project, the design and development stages
of the instructional product to address the underlined learning difficulties are
outside the scope of this article.
2.The Literature Review

2.1 Needs Analysis
Needs analysis has become essential to English Language Teaching, especially in
the material development process (Misesani et al., 2020). It is thought to be a
prerequisite to developing instructional materials (Ibrahim, 2020; Suriaman &
Tahir, 2019). In order to create effective course materials and activities for
language learning, it is vital to recognise what the learners need (Sönmez, 2019).
Needs analysis, or needs assessment, refers to activities involved in gathering
the information done prior to, and as the foundation of curriculum or material
development, in order to meet the learning requirements of a particular group of
students (Brown, 1995; Hariyadi & Yanti, 2019).
While designing intervention materials, needs analysis results inform designers

of learners' current knowledge, learning perceptions, learning styles and
interests. By considering these elements, learners can fully engage in their
learning, thereby increasing their motivation and task engagement (Mahzan et
al., 2020). Nevertheless, many teachers lack the necessary expertise in the
methodology and design processes; and this might lead to insufficient learning
opportunities for their learners (Garreta-Domingo et al., 2018). Conversely,
teachers can make reliable and accurate assessments of learners’ present
language proficiency, linguistic needs and wants, and discover any learning
198
barriers when they have sufficient knowledge on how to carry out a thorough
needs analysis.
Previous studies have conducted needs analysis to identify learners’ needs in

learning English. Mahbub (2018) discovered that the English teaching methods
used in an Indonesian vocational high school could have been more productive;
since they failed to meet learners’ expectations. Menggo et al. (2019) and
Suriaman and Tahir (2019) conducted a needs analysis to create academic-
English-speaking materials. They found that students needed materials to
prepare them for future studies and career needs, particularly in effectively
communicating in English. In order to improve learners’ English language
competency, Destianingsih and Satria (2017) and Mahzan et al. (2020) conducted
a needs analysis research to develop digital or web-based learning materials.
They found that learners had poor vocabulary levels and wanted to learn
English mainly through online learning materials. Kakerissa and Lengkanawati
(2022) analysed non-English department students' needs. They discovered that
they lacked vocabulary knowledge and that lecturers needed to be aware of
learners' wants and needs, in order to prepare materials that catered to those
needs. Essentially, these studies enlighten ESL practitioners on the significance
of considering the targeted learners' needs, in order to develop and successfully
deliver effective instructions or materials.
According to Diana and Mansur (2018), there are four models of needs analysis
recognised by scholars, namely: Target-Situation Analysis, Present Situation
Analysis, the Hutchinson and Waters Model, and Dudley-Evans and St John’s
Model of Needs Analysis. Target-Situation Analysis (TSA) focuses on students’
needs at the end of the language course (Robinson, 1991). Present-Situation
Analysis (PSA) identifies the gap between the present and the target situation by
determining the students’ language proficiency and strengths and weaknesses at
the start of the language course (Robinson, 1991). Meanwhile, Dudley-Evans and
St John's (1998) Model of Needs Analysis provides personal information on the
learners, language information of the target situation, professional information
about learners, learners’ lack, learners’ needs from the course, language-
learning needs, and how to communicate in the target needs.
Finally, Hutchinson and Waters' (1987) Model defines needs analysis by two
main aspects: (i) Target Needs and (ii) Learning Needs. The former refers to
what learners are required to do in the target situation; while the latter refers to
what the learner needs to do in order to learn. Target Needs consist of
necessities, lacks and wants. 'Necessities' are what learners must know to
function effectively in the target situation. 'Lacks’ refers to the gaps between the
learners' target proficiency and their existing proficiency. 'Wants' fit into the
subjective needs of what the learners want to learn.
2.2 Challenges in Learning the Academic Vocabulary

Academic vocabulary learning has consistently been overshadowed by other
language skills in university English proficiency courses, even as early as pre-
university. This is evident in the scarcity of emphasis, input, exposure or direct
instructions on academic words in the existing classrooms (Choo et al., 2017;
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Sulaiman et al., 2018; Yunus et al., 2016). As a result, learners cannot effectively
learn the academic vocabulary; and they lose awareness of the significance
thereof. Learning vocabulary is frequently tricky due to the vast number of
words, but it is even more complicated when learners do not meet a specific
vocabulary size. Malaysian ESL tertiary learners typically acquire only 3500-6000
word families (e.g., Ibrahim et al., 2016; Lim & Rashid, 2021; Tan & Goh, 2017),
which is significantly lower than what is required for university-level academic
success, as noted by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010). As a result, learners
may struggle to acquire academic words, especially considering that academic
words are impossible to be gained through everyday language (Townsend et al.,
2012).
In most cases, ESL post-secondary learners are expected to acquire academic

words incidentally through reading activities. Albeit providing good lexical
input (Nation, 2013), reading academic materials alone may not be very reliable
for ESL learners to learn academic words (Aldawsari, 2017; Gallagher et al.,
2019; Sulaiman et al., 2018); since this incidental approach has a low pick-up rate
(Schmitt, 2008). Moreover, textbooks often include words that appear once
without repetition, a vital element for vocabulary acquisition (Nation, 2013).
Since explicit or intentional vocabulary learning benefits ESL learners more
(Schmitt, 2010), many strategies for academic vocabulary learning in past studies
have also stressed explicit ways (Goodwin et al., 2012; Knežević et al., 2020;
Sibold, 2011; Sulaiman et al., 2018; Tan & Goh, 2020).
Furthermore, according to Gallagher et al. (2019), ESL learners are less likely to
benefit from the incidental instruction of academic words. Hence, it is
imperative for ESL pre-university learners to learn academic words explicitly by
direct instructions, practices, and feedback.
2.3 The Use of Web-based Learning

ESL learners may find conventional vocabulary teaching methods boring and
ineffectual (Srivani et al., 2022). Due to the demanding nature of traditional
methods, web-based learning has emerged as a useful facilitative tool. Web-
based learning is defined as learning experiences via the use of some technology
(Moore et al., 2011). It can be utilised to carry out various learning activities,
which can be integrated into a curriculum and thereby to supplement traditional
courses.
Mundir et al. (2022) found that integrating online instruction is more effective
than traditional instruction. Similarly, using online tools was found to be more
enjoyable for students than traditional teaching methods; and it helps learners to
retain words better (Poláková & Klímová, 2019). Hence, there are many reasons
why ESL learners perceive the integration of web-based learning in a traditional
classroom for vocabulary learning positively. For instance, multi-media
materials are noted to increase the effectiveness of learning new words by
assisting learners in developing self-learning methods for active and deeper
learning (Fayaz & Ameri-Golestan, 2016), leading thereby to higher vocabulary
gains (Knežević et al., 2020).
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In post-secondary education, learners are trained to become independent

learners gradually. In this regard, web-based learning can remove the
sovereignty of a teacher-centred approach, giving learners more space to engage
in vocabulary practices (Knežević et al., 2020). Teachers' absence is essential; as it
forces learners to actively process newly learned words, instead of passively
receiving them. Additionally, according to Al-Johali (2019), learners value
learning both in and outside of class because it extends their time studying the
materials. In essence, past studies have concurred with the contributions of web-
based learning towards learners’ vocabulary gains and positive perceptions and
attitudes, consequently outperforming conventional teaching methods (e.g.,
Alhujaylan, 2021; Altiner, 2019; Bashori et al., 2021; Hajebi et al., 2018). Thus, this
method is also feasible for application to struggling ESL pre-university learners.
3. Methodology
3.1 The Research Design
This paper is part of a larger developmental research project that aims to design,
develop and evaluate a web-based academic vocabulary learning resource for
ESL pre-university learners. The overall research project follows a mixed-
method research approach (Creswell & Guetterman, 2021), with Design and
Development Research (DDR) Type 1 (product and tool) (Richey & Klein, 2007)
as the research design. DDR is the systematic study of design, development and
evaluation processes to establish an empirical basis for creating instructional and
non-instructional products (Richey & Klein, 2007). The ADDIE (Analysis,
Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) instructional design (Branch, 2010) is
utilised as the research framework to guide the development of the overall
research project. ADDIE is integrated into the three main phases of DDR, which
comprise the Analysis Phase (Phase 1), the Design and Development Phase
(Phase 2), and the Implementation and Evaluation Phase (Phase 3).
This paper only reports on Phase 1, the Analysis (A) Phase, which involves
gathering information, such as learning problems or an environment that can aid
the development of materials that meet the learning requirements of a particular
group of learners. In order to identify the ESL learners’ academic vocabulary
learning needs, this study adopts Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) model of needs
analysis, which emphasises learners’ target needs (necessities, lacks, wants) and
learning needs. The model is adopted as it is specific, with clear target goals; and
it is workable for identifying the needs of adult learners at the tertiary-level
(Intan Baizura, 2014). A cross-sectional survey design was deemed appropriate
for the current study. Therefore, a quantitative data collection method is utilised
via a survey questionnaire. The data gathered serve as a basis for subsequent
phases of the research project.
3.2. The Research Question

1. What are the learning needs of ESL pre-university learners in their English
academic vocabulary learning?
3.3 Participant
117 Life Sciences ESL Foundation learners from one Centre of Foundation
Studies in Kuala Lumpur were deliberately selected for this study (Gay et al.,
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2012) based on a pre-determined selection of criteria from its total population of

570. At the time of the data collection, they were in their first semester
(Academic Session 1 2022/2023) and enrolled in the semester’s compulsory
English proficiency course within their foundational program. To enter the
program, they must achieve a minimum B grade (upper-intermediate) for the
Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) [Malaysian Certificate of Education] English
paper, a national examination sat for by all fifth-form secondary school students
in Malaysia before pursuing their pre-university studies.
3.4 The Research Instrument

A needs analysis questionnaire survey is utilised to identify ESL pre-university
learners' academic-vocabulary learning needs. The questionnaire comprises 52
items (see Appendix 1). The first three items (Part A) aim to elicit background
information, such as the personal and educational backgrounds of the learners.
Meanwhile, the remaining items focus on their academic vocabulary learning
needs, based on Hutchinson and Waters' (1987) needs analysis model. The
model consists of four key elements, namely: necessities, lacks, wants, and
learning needs, which are represented in the questionnaire as follows:
Table 1. Construct in needs analysis questionnaire

Elements Construct in Questionnaire Part No. of Item
Necessities Attitude Towards Learning Academic Vocabulary B 7
Lacks Experience in Learning Academic Vocabulary C 11
Wants Opinion Towards the Use of Web-based Learning D 14
in Learning Academic Vocabulary
Learning Favourable Content for the Web-based Learning E 17
Needs Resource
As seen in Table 1, Part B of the questionnaire aims to identify learners'

perceptions of learning academic vocabulary. Part C seeks to gather information
about their experience learning academic English or academic vocabulary in the
classroom. Part D focuses on their perceptions of using web-based learning to
learn academic vocabulary. Part E aims to identify learners’ preferred content for
the suggested WBLR for academic vocabulary learning. All questionnaire items
were adapted from several studies (e.g., Destianingsih & Satria, 2017; Krishan et
al., 2020; Moiinvaziri, 2014; ’Izzati, 2019; Mahzan et al., 2020) and added by the
researchers. Each item is presented on a five-point Likert scale, depending on the
purpose of each construct.
3.5 Validity and Reliability

The draft version of the questionnaire was modified following suggestions from
two content validation experts, one English language lecturer (UPM) and one
Teaching English as a Second Language lecturer (UiTM), to ensure its validity. It
was then piloted with 30 randomly selected ESL Foundation learners to test its
reliability. Cronbach's Alpha would determine the reliability of the instrument.
Table 2 shows the rule-of-thumb for assessing Cronbach's Alpha value (George
& Mallery, 2003) utilised in this study.
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Table 2. Cronbach’s alpha

Cronbach’s Alpha Internal Consistency
α ≥ 0.90 Excellent
0.80 ≤ α <0.90 Good
0.70 ≤ α < 0.80 Acceptable
0.60 ≤ α < 0.70 Questionable
0.50 ≤ α < 0.60 Poor
α < 0.50 Unacceptable
Cronbach's alpha value is obtained for the four constructs during pilot testing; it
is above 0.7 (0.845, 0.711, 0.851, 0.935), which is an acceptable reliability
coefficient. The questionnaire was revised accordingly; and then it was
administered to the actual respondents. The reliability testing yielded a
Cronbach's alpha value of above 0.7 (0.716, 0.779, 0.829, 0.844) for all the
constructs, demonstrating thereby the high level of consistency between the
respondents' answers.
3.6 The Data Analysis

During the research process, the researcher communicated with the English
language teachers at the Centre. The researcher shared Google Form links to the
needs analysis questionnaire and consent form with the teachers, who then
helped administer them to their students. The data collected were stored on a
personal laptop, encrypted and pass-word-protected. Only the main authors
have access to the data. Descriptive statistics to generate frequency, percentage,
mean, and standard deviation of the data collected from the needs analysis
questionnaire were conducted via SPSS Version 26 to determine the academic
vocabulary learning needs of the ESL Foundation learners. The study reports the
results in the form of mean and standard deviation. For this purpose, the mean
interpretation is based on Wiersma (2000), as seen in Table 3.
Table 3. Interpretation of mean range value

Mean Score Level
1.00 to 2.33 Low
2.34 to 3.67 Moderate
3.68 to 5.00 High
4. The Findings
4.1 Demographic Information
The distribution of a Google Form link to the needs analysis questionnaire
among the Life Sciences ESL Foundation students yielded 117 responses for
analysis. Part A required respondents to fill in their background information.
The analysis of their background information showed that most of the
respondents (67.5%, n=79) are female, while 32.5% (n=38) are male. Since they
belong to the same academic cohort, almost all the respondents (98.3%, 115) are
18 years old. Only 0.9% (n=1) of the respondents are 17 and 19 years old,
respectively (M=18). Regarding their educational background, all the
respondents had taken the SPM English Language paper, with 42.7% (n=50)
scoring an A+ score, 53.8% (n=63) scoring an A, and the remaining 3.4% (n=4)
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scoring an A-. The scores show that the respondents have a similar upper-
intermediate proficiency in English.
4.2 ESL Pre-University Learners' Academic Vocabulary Learning Needs

This section summarises the findings obtained from the needs analysis
questionnaire based on the four key constructs. The report on the findings of
these constructs determines the Life Sciences ESL Foundation students’
academic vocabulary learning needs. Table 4 presents the mean score for each
construct in the questionnaire survey.
Table 4. Overall mean scores of constructs in the needs analysis questionnaire

Std.
Part Construct Mean Interpret
Deviation
B Attitude towards learning English academic 4.52 .361 High
vocabulary
C Experience in learning English academic 2.91 0.521 Moderate
vocabulary
D Opinion of the use of web-based learning in 4.27 0.440 High
learning English academic vocabulary
E Favourable content for the web-based 4.21 0.456 High
learning resource
Overall mean score 3.98 .267 High
In Part B, the ESL learners displayed a high attitude towards learning academic
vocabulary (M=4.52, SD=.361). They considered academic vocabulary important
and knew its crucial role in learning various academic English skills, especially
in academic writing (M=4.80, SD=.420). They also expressed a positive attitude
towards having moderate to extensive practice with academic words (M=4.15,
SD=.478). This indicates the 'necessity' of learning the academic vocabulary in
their context.
However, in Part C, they had a moderate agreement on their experience of

learning the academic vocabulary (M=2.91, SD=.521). Although the lack of
academic vocabulary caused medium linguistic difficulties, particularly in
academic speaking (M=3.43, SD=1.020) and academic writing (M=3.30,
SD=1.053), the current teaching strategies, such as using a predetermined
textbook, were highly inadequate in providing adequate and engaging academic
vocabulary learning opportunities (M=3.88, SD=.939). Although few students
used resources other than the textbook to learn the academic vocabulary
(M=2.18, SD=1.014), many are still uncertain whether they are learning enough
academic vocabulary input in the classroom (M=2.53, SD=.877). These findings
indicate the inadequacy of their current classroom practices as regards academic
vocabulary learning.
To fix these shortcomings, learners expressed their 'wants' for an alternative

method in Part D. They showed a high level of agreement in using web-based
learning for the learning of the academic vocabulary (M=4.27, SD=.440). They
preferred learning academic vocabulary on web platforms rather than
traditional methods (M=3.62, SD=.814). Additionally, they were equipped with
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technology access (M=4.57, SD=.486) and the online skills (M=4.41, SD=o.618)
required to access and utilise WBLRs with ease and efficiency. They also
expressed a willingness to use WBLR for future academic vocabulary learning
(M=4.48, SD=.583). These findings indicate an alignment in the learners'
preferences, access and skills, which points to the suitability of using web-based
learning to fulfil their 'wants' in learning academic vocabulary. Subsequently,
this method would enable learners to learn the academic vocabulary
independently and ubiquitously.
Building on their preferences and skills, the learners identified their 'learning
needs' for the proposed WBLR in Part E. They showed high agreement on the
favourable content for the WBLR (M=4.21, SD=.456). Regarding vocabulary
learning input, the learners favoured various word aspects, such as sample
sentences, word definition, pronunciation and spelling (M=4.38, SD=.573).
Regarding vocabulary learning exercises, the learners favoured various exercise
types, such as synonyms, multiple choices, matching words to definitions,
games and quizzes (M=4.25, SD=.584). Regarding media types, the learners
favoured multimedia, such as images, videos, audio and texts (M=4.01, SD-
0.616). These findings indicate that learners require these types of content in
order for them to learn academic vocabulary. Hence, the resource should include
these elements, in order to capture and retain learners' interest and motivation.
In summary, these findings showed that the Life Sciences ESL Foundation
students perceived their academic vocabulary learning needs are high (M=3.98,
SD=0.267). Therefore, researchers have to ensure that the ESL learners’ needs are
met to ensure adequate and successful academic vocabulary learning.
5. Discussion
5.1 Necessities
ESL pre-university learners' attitude towards learning academic vocabulary is
positive, as they consider it essential in all aspects of academic English, albeit to
varying degrees. This finding concurs with Choo et al.'s (2017) study, where ESL
tertiary students deemed AWL knowledge necessary in academic reading,
writing, speaking and listening. Nonetheless, the learners in this study especially
pointed out academic vocabulary knowledge’s usefulness for improving
academic writing. Thus, most learners communicated their expectations towards
a moderate to extensive academic vocabulary practice. This supports Choo et
al.'s (2017) claim that the AWL should be emphasised in Malaysian tertiary
English language education, given the lack of prior exposure during schooling
(Manan et al., 2013; Noorizan et al., 2017). Hence, it is ‘necessary’ for ESL pre-
university learners to learn academic vocabulary to improve their academic
English.
5.2 Lacks
However, learners' experience in learning academic English is not fruitful; since
they face difficulties in academic speaking and academic writing, stemming
from their limited academic word knowledge. This supports Karnine et al.'s
(2022) study indicating that ESL tertiary learners struggle with MUET because of
their limited vocabulary knowledge. According to Laufer and Ravenhorst-
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Kalovski (2010), 10000-word knowledge is necessary for dealing with linguistic

problems and the needs of higher-level studies. Nevertheless, past studies
indicated that Malaysian ESL tertiary learners have inadequate academic words
(e.g., Abmanan et al., 2017; Harji et al., 2015; Kaur, 2013; Sulaiman et al., 2018),
hindering their comprehension or production of academic discourses accurately.
Although their teachers frequently use textbooks, many learners find them
insufficient for learning the academic vocabulary. This aspect is in tandem with
Nation's (2013) claim that learners are unlikely to learn from textbooks that
include terms that appear only once, as repetition is vital for vocabulary
acquisition. The inadequacy of textbooks as the primary resource in the
classroom is a significant limitation. As found by Therova (2021), reading
resources play a vital role in the acquisition of new academic vocabulary items.
Consequently, the learners resorted to alternative sources to gain lexical input,
although many are still determining whether they are gaining any. Notably,
Choo et al.'s (2017) study showed that many ESL learners exhibited minimal
familiarity with academic word lists, thereby calling into question their
comprehension of this lexical knowledge. Next, the learners in this study also
find their current ways of learning academic words unengaging. This concurs
with Hiew's (2012) finding that learners perceive textbooks-based vocabulary
instructions as non-interactive and discouraging. These results are congruent
with previous studies, thereby indicating that the academic vocabulary is not
directly taught or emphasised in current English proficiency classes (Sulaiman et
al., 2018; Yunus et al., 2016). Therefore, it is evident that the ESL classroom and
its resources are 'lacking' in providing enough academic vocabulary input and
learning opportunities for learners, which impedes their academic English
performance.
5.3 Wants
To address the earlier shortcomings, the learners conveyed their opinions about
using web-based learning for academic vocabulary. They showed a positive
inclination towards this approach, stating that it is motivating and convenient
compared to traditional methods. This corroborates previous studies, which
posit that while learning vocabulary through traditional classroom instruction
can be restrictive, online resources provide more accessible and engaging
practices that can boost learner motivation for continued learning (Ali, 2018;
Krishan et al., 2020; Tan & Goh, 2020). Learners’ preference for web-based
learning rather than traditional methods aligns with numerous past studies (e.g.,
Alhujaylan, 2021; Altiner, 2019; Bashori et al., 2021; Mundir et al., 2022).
Moreover, the learners in this study possessed sufficient technological access,
online skills, and interest in ubiquitous resources that should enable them to use
and navigate a self-instructed WBLR efficiently, anywhere, at any time. This is
significant, when given the emerging need for tertiary learners to extend their
vocabulary learning independently beyond the classroom settings (Kaur, 2020;
Sulaiman et al., 2018). Indeed, the learners 'want' to use web-based learning as a
means to acquire academic vocabulary.
5.4 Learning Needs

Next, the learners expressed their preferences for the content of the proposed
WBLR. They highlighted the importance of introducing academic words using
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synonyms like general English words and within comprehensible contexts like
sample sentences. This finding backs up Nguyen's (2020) assertion that although
students could simply utilise contextual clues to infer meaning when reading
academic textbooks, doing so is very challenging, especially when many other
unfamiliar terms surround an unfamiliar word. Furthermore, the learners in this
study preferred various vocabulary exercises. Past studies have shown that
repetitive exposure to target words through different exercises can result in
meaningful learning and better retention (Hashemzadeh, 2012; Mohd Tahir &
Mohtar, 2016). Lastly, the learners expressed a preference for multimedia
elements, particularly visuals. This is aligned with the findings of Bashori et al.
(2021), who found that learners value coloured-backgrounds, images and
visually-engaging user-interface, in order to enhance their vocabulary results. In
sum, incorporating these preferred elements into the WBLR would help learners
learn the academic vocabulary better.
6. Implications of the Study

The results of this study bear significant implications for the development of a
web-based learning resource intended to assist ESL pre-university learners in
learning the academic vocabulary. Firstly, learners found the academic
vocabulary knowledge particularly useful for academic writing, as this is an area
where they encounter the most language problems, due to their limited
academic vocabulary. Moreover, they expect moderate to extensive frequency of
academic-vocabulary practices. Thus, the WBLR should align with this
frequency and include activities that necessitate the application of newly-learned
academic words in writing sentences. Secondly, the learners in this study
preferred web-based learning to traditional teaching strategies, thereby
underscoring the relevance of including online resources in ESL classrooms that
are often limited in vocabulary instructions. Thirdly, learners preferred
academic words to be introduced, using synonyms like general English words
and within comprehensible contexts, like sample sentences. Additionally, they
preferred numerous interactive vocabulary activities and the inclusion of
multimedia components.
These findings imply that to aid and improve learners' experience in learning
academic vocabulary, developers of web-based academic vocabulary learning
resources should emphasise the inclusion of these preferred elements. In
addition, the study's focus on the necessity of independent academic vocabulary
learning outside of the classroom highlights the significance of developing
resources that permit ubiquitous access and self-navigability. By considering the
learners' needs and preferences, developers can develop a more efficient and
exciting web-based academic vocabulary learning resource to help ESL pre-
university learners attain their academic English goals.
7. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

Despite the potentially significant implications, several limitations of this study
must be highlighted. Firstly, the generalisability of the findings is limited, due to
the study's small sample size. Secondly, the study was carried out in one
Foundation institution only. Thus, caution is needed when drawing conclusions,
207
because these findings might not be generalisable across foundation-level

student populations at other foundation institutions.
In order to overcome the limitations of this study, future research would benefit
from using a broader and more varied sample of Foundation-level students from
various institutions. Future research could also consider how well the preferred
learning approaches identified in this study help students learn and retain their
academic vocabulary. Besides, the effect of linguistic and cultural diversity on
students' preferences for WBLRs should be explored in further studies. Next, to
meet the needs and preferences of different students, the incorporation of
artificial intelligence or personalised learning strategies into web-based
academic vocabulary learning resources could also be investigated. Finally,
using different data collection methods, such as interviews and classroom
observation, is also advised in order to obtain more productive data.
8. Conclusion
The study has revealed some significant points for consideration when
designing a WBLR to meet ESL pre-university learners' academic vocabulary
learning needs. Firstly, acknowledging the usefulness of academic word-
knowledge; learners expect frequent practices in their program. Secondly, they
believe their academic writing and speaking skills are impacted by their lack of
academic words. Thirdly, they are dissatisfied with the classroom's current
academic vocabulary learning approaches, which involve implicit vocabulary
acquisition through reading textbooks and other sources. Shortcomings include
a lack of engagement in their current approaches and a lack of opportunity to
develop their academic vocabulary using the textbook. Thus, learners require
web-based academic vocabulary learning; as they prefer this explicit non-
traditional method; and they have sufficient technology access and online skills.
Finally, the learners prefer content that includes multiple facets of a word,
various vocabulary-learning exercises and multimedia. Among the key details
are to present academic words in contexts through sample sentences and to use
basic English words as synonyms, in order to aid learners' word comprehension.
The study's findings provide instructional developers with valuable insights and
raise the awareness of the significance of learners' needs analysis to enhance
their learning. It is a tool that provides instructors with a clear grasp of the
learners' target and learning needs. In conclusion, acknowledging learners'
needs allows material designers to comprehend their needs and shortcomings to
bridge the gap between their current and the target proficiency.
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Appendix 1
NEEDS ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE

(Respondent: ESL PRE-UNIVERSITY LEARNERS)
Dear students,
I am Farah Amirah Fisal, a PhD student (TESL) from the Faculty of Education, UKM. I
am conducting a study to design, develop and evaluate a web-based learning resource
(WBLR) for English academic vocabulary learning among ESL pre-university learners.
This survey aims to identify your ENGLISH ACADEMIC VOCABULARY LEARNING

NEEDS. Your responses will help me better design the proposed WBLR.
Your participation is anonymous and voluntary. It is hoped that you will be able to
respond with sincere answers. This survey may take at most 10 minutes to complete.
Thank you.
PART A: PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Please tick [✓] in the boxes.
1. Gender:
Male
Female
2. Age:
18 years old
19 years old
20 years old
Others: _____________
3. English Language Grade in the SPM examination:
A+
A-
B+
C+
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PART B: ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

This part focuses on your perceptions of learning English academic vocabulary in your
context. For the following statements, please indicate your level of agreement based on
the scale:
1 2 3 4 5
Strong Disagree (D) Neutral (N) Agree (A) Strongly
Disagree (SD) Agree (SA)
SD D N A SA
1. English academic vocabulary is useful for me to 1 2 3 4 5
understand academic texts.
improve the quality of my academic writing.
listen to class instructions better.
participate in formal class debates and
presentations.
help me get good grades.
improve my English language proficiency for
future job purposes.
7. How much practice in the academic vocabulary do you expect to get? Please circle
your answer.
1 2 3 4 5
None Very minimum Minimum Moderate Extensive
PART C: EXPERIENCE IN LEARNING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

This part contains two sections. Read the instructions carefully.
SECTION 1: This section focuses on your language learning experience in the classroom
about academic vocabulary knowledge. Please circle your level of frequency towards the
statements based on the scale:
1 2 3 4 5
Never (N) Rarely (R) Sometimes (S) Often (O) Very Often
(VO)
(i) Language-use experience

How often do you experience the following? N R S O VO
1. I find it hard to understand the meaning of written 1 2 3 4 5
academic texts due to limited academic
vocabulary.
2. I find it hard to understand class instructions due 1 2 3 4 5
to limited academic vocabulary.
3. I find it hard to listen to academic audio content 1 2 3 4 5
due to limited academic vocabulary.
4. I find it hard to do academic writing due to 1 2 3 4 5
limited academic vocabulary.
215
5. I find it hard to speak formally in debates and 1 2 3 4 5

presentation due to limited academic vocabulary.
6. I find it hard to perform non-academic activities in 1 2 3 4 5
English due to limited academic vocabulary.
SECTION 2: This section focuses on your experience with learning/acquiring academic
vocabulary in the classroom. Please circle your level of agreement towards the
statements based on the scale:
1 2 3 4 5
Strong Disagree (D) Neutral (N) Agree (A) Strongly
(ii) Learning Problem SD D N A SA

7. The instructor uses a textbook at all times. 1 2 3 4 5
8. Learning academic vocabulary from the main 1 2 3 4 5
textbook only is not enough for me.
9. I do not use other supplementary resources to 1 2 3 4 5
learn academic vocabulary other than the
textbook.
10. ESL classroom lessons do not provide enough 1 2 3 4 5
academic vocabulary input for me.
11. The current ways in which I learn academic 1 2 3 4 5
vocabulary are not engaging enough.
PART D: OPINION ON THE USE OF WEB-BASED LEARNING IN ACADEMIC

VOCABULARY LEARNING
This part seeks your perceptions of an alternative method of learning, web-based
learning technology, for learning English academic vocabulary. Please circle your level
of agreement of the statements based on the scale.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree (D) Neutral (N) Agree (A) Strongly
SD D N A SA
Preference
1. I prefer studying academic vocabulary on a web 1 2 3 4 5
platform than from books.
2. I prefer doing web-based exercises than on paper 1 2 3 4 5
exercises.
3. I prefer to carry smartphones and laptops rather 1 2 3 4 5
than books to the classroom.
4. I feel more motivated to learn academic 1 2 3 4 5
vocabulary on a web platform than from books.
Technology Access
5. I have access to electronic devices (e.g. computer, 1 2 3 4 5
laptop, netbook, tablet, smartphone, home PC,
etc.).
6. I have internet access on my electronic devices. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I am allowed to carry electronic devices to the 1 2 3 4 5
classroom.
8. My learning institution has Wi-Fi accessible to 1 2 3 4 5
students.
216
Online Skills
9. I have the basic skills to operate a computer. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I have the knowledge to look for information on 1 2 3 4 5
the internet.
11. I am comfortable when using a computer several 1 2 3 4 5
times a week to participate in a learning activity.
12. I have experience in using electronic devices with 1 2 3 4 5
internet for language-learning purposes.
Future Use
13. If there is a web-based learning resource to learn 1 2 3 4 5
academic vocabulary, I will use it.
14. I want to be able to learn the academic vocabulary 1 2 3 4 5
at any time and anywhere.
PART E: FAVOURABLE CONTENT FOR THE WEB-BASED LEARNING

RESOURCE
This part presents a list of suggested content to be included in the web-based learning
resource. Please indicate your preferences for these contents if they were to be included
in the web resource by circling your level of preferences based on the scale.
1 2 3 4 5
Least Preferable Slightly Moderately Prefer (P) Most
(LP) Preferable (SP) Prefer (Mp) Preferable
(MP)
LP SP MP P MP
Vocabulary Learning Input
1. Academic word list 1 2 3 4 5
2. Definition of word 1 2 3 4 5
3. Spelling 1 2 3 4 5
4. Pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5
5. Sample sentences
Types of Vocabulary Learning Exercises
6. Multiple choice 1 2 3 4 5
7. Matching words to definitions 1 2 3 4 5
8. Word building 1 2 3 4 5
9. Synonym & antonym 1 2 3 4 5
10. Fill-in-the-blanks 1 2 3 4 5
11. Crossword puzzle 1 2 3 4 5
12. Vocabulary memorisation games 1 2 3 4 5
13. Quiz 1 2 3 4 5
Type of Media
14. Text 1 2 3 4 5
15. Image 1 2 3 4 5
16. Audio 1 2 3 4 5
17. Video 1 2 3 4 5
Thank you for answering this survey.
217

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 217-241, April 2023
Received Dec 28, 2022; Revised Apr 3, 2023; Accepted Apr 13, 2023
‘One day I will make it to university’:

Students from Refugee Backgrounds in
University Pathway Programs
Snjezana Bilic
University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Teresa Thai
University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Abstract. Australian universities have received an increasing number of

students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs) over the last few decades.
However, programs adapted for the successful transition of this cohort
remain relatively scarce. Therefore, there is a critical need for programs
and strategies supporting SfRBs meaningful participation and success in
their studies. This empirical paper reports on a project conducted at
UniSA College. The research explores cultural and learning experiences
of SfRBs in a university pathway program. This paper utilises data from
a student survey, focus group, and interviews conducted with Peer
Support Officers to explore students' aspirations, challenges they face and
recommendations for the university and the enabling pathway program.
The findings highlight that despite aspiring to obtain university
qualifications, SfRBs encounter serious barriers including challenges
associated with English language proficiency, as well as with navigating
university and academic culture, managing family and work
commitments whilst facing social exclusion and racism. For successful
engagement of SfRBs education institutions need an all-encompassing
approach consisting of culturally responsive efforts and peer-led support
systems for students.
Keywords: students from refugee backgrounds; pathway programs;

culturally responsive
1. Introduction
Australian classrooms have become increasingly diversified with the arrival of
students from Middle Eastern and African refugee backgrounds over the past
couple of decades (Hattam, 2018; Earnest et al., 2010). The education system is one
of the first institutions they encounter upon settlement and yet universities have
been slow in developing support for the specific needs of students from refugee
backgrounds (SfRBs) (Joyce et al., 2010; Lenette, 2016; Ramsey & Baker 2019) or to
218
improve their retention and transition to higher education studies (Kong et al.,
2016; Molla, 2022).
Research on SfRBs in higher education is relatively scarce (Baker and Irwin, 2021),
revealing significant gaps in knowledge about the experiences of this cohort of
students at university and even less is known about SfRBs in university pathway
programs. The emerging studies about SfRBs’ experiences at university find that
- despite aspiring to obtain university qualifications (Lenette, Brough, & Cox,
2013; Clark and Lenette, 2020; Naidoo, 2021) - many SfRBs face considerable
challenges in higher education. Given the significant gaps in knowledge about
this cohort of students in enabling pathway programs, it will be paramount to
investigate student experiences at university by focusing on the following:
• Factors that influence SfRBs to enrol and attend university pathways
programs?
• What are the challenges that SfRBs experience at university?
• How SfRBs experience UniSA College in academic and social terms?
• SfRBs’ perspectives on culturally competent social and academic support
activities that UniSA College can provide to enrich their university
experience?
This paper discusses a Federal Government Grant sponsored project at University

of South Australia (UniSA) College which was established to explore cultural and
learning experiences of SfRBs in a university pathway program. In order to
contextualise the students’ education experiences, this paper firstly explores their
aspirations. Following on from this is a discussion concerning the challenges
students experience in higher education. Finally, this paper offers some
recommendations about culturally responsive approaches to student learning as
a good practice that universities can implement to meet the complex needs of
SfRBs.
1.1 Students from refugee backgrounds in Australia

Accessing education opportunities is vital for SfRBs, ensuring that the newly
arrived can effectively integrate into the host country and in turn obtain better
employment, contribute to the country and access to services (Naidoo et al., 2015;
Ager & Strang, 2008). The existing literature also highlights the positive impact
that participation in higher education can have on SfRBs, and their families, as
well as the host society (Ramsey & Baker, 2019) and yet this cohort of students
face many barriers to education (Molla, 2022). Some of the specific challenges,
noted across the higher education sector for SfRBs include: English language skill
development; academic skills and concepts; stigma; standardised testing;
uncertainty; expectations of family and friends; competing priorities; funding and
policy; difficulties navigating the university system; socialisation; guidance; time
management; poverty; issues of safe housing; family dislocation; and
employment opportunities (Earnest et al., 2010; Harris & Marlowe, 2011; Lawson,
2014; Fagan et al., 2018; King & Owens, 2018; Naidoo et al., 2018).
Resonant with previous research, the data in this paper highlight students’
experiences that reflect ‘institutional, pedagogical, linguistic and cultural
219
misrecognitions’ (Fagan et al., 2018, p. viii). We argue that endorsing culturally

responsive approaches and developing appropriate cultural and social settings
are vital for meaningful participation of SfRBs in higher education. The purpose
of this it is to help with the realisation of their potential and full development of
their capabilities.
2. Method
This project was carried out in the form of a pilot study aiming to better support
transition and success of SfRBs at universities. The study was conducted in UniSA
College. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the University
Ethics Committee prior to starting this project.
The approach adopted was mixed method whereby the quantitative approach
incorporated a student survey while the qualitative approach included focus
group and individual interviews with PSOs. The quantitative part of the project
involved a consultative approach by surveying 59 Humanitarian Visa students
studying at the UniSA College. The purpose of the survey was to identify
concerns and issues this cohort of students experiences as well as matters
pertaining to their engagement, academic integration and learning needs. This
student-led approach then informed the specific project focus and helped to
identify discrepancies in support services for students from refugees
backgrounds. Student voices were consulted in an attempt to involve students as
participants as well as stakeholders. As Halilovich (2013) argues, research with
refugees must ‘take a more pro-active role in speaking along with, not on behalf
of, those they research’ (p. 132).
After the survey, students were invited to be part of the focus group. The informal
focus group was attended by 10 SfRBs. These students were recruited from an
email call-out for participants and through staff networks with students. In the
focus group the participants discussed the following themes: the moments they
were most proud of; the challenges they face; the careers and goals they were
aspiring to have; and their own recommendations for the university on how to
best support SfRBs.
Finally, data was obtained through informal semi-structured interviews with

PSOs who assisted the SfRBs. In the informal interviews, we aimed to identify the
additional support that SfRBs required at this university, and the challenges that
SfRBs students experience as well. The findings were then used to improve
academic integration and outcomes for this cohort of students.
Thematic analysis of all the data was undertaken using the process promoted by
Braun and Clarke (2006; 2021). This process enables the researchers to identify the
themes that emerge from such research. In order to analyse the data, we
transcribed the data from the survey1, the focus group as well as from the
1
While the survey was grounded in quantitative research methods, some questions about student motivations,
caring commitments, challenges and study supports they require at university, included open-ended questions.
Subsequently, the students’ responses to these were thematically analysed.
220
individual interviews with PSOs. Given that ‘researcher subjectivity is bias’ and
therefore a ‘potential threat to coding reliability’ (Braun & Clarke, 2021, p. 39),
each researcher read the transcripts and ascribed codes for central meaning-based
concepts, which were then combined into categories revealing the final themes.
We also reconvened with the PSOs to discuss our reading of the data from the
interviews for them to validate and cross-reference. The participants in the focus
group and in the survey were offered to have the findings sent to them for cross-
referencing, but none opted for this suggestion. The last stage of data analysis was
defining and interpreting themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006), using the links between
research objectives and key themes in order to provide explanations. These
themes are presented in the ‘Findings and Discussion’ section.
2.1 Participants
The students participating in the survey included 59 Permanent Humanitarian
Visa students enrolled in 2019 at UniSA College’s pathway programs. The student
data is included in the table below. A total of 16 students participated in the
survey. Their responses were anonymous. The data was also collected from an
informal focus group attended by 10 students. The participants were from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq. Additional participants were the
two PSOs working with SfRBs at the College. PSOs are previous College students
aged 19-25 who were eligible for the position. One is a female student from
Afghanistan, and the other is a male from Liberia.
Table 1: Student Demographics

Gender Male = 29
Female = 30
Age of Students 0-21 = 40
22-24 = 8
26-29 = 4
30-49 = 6
50-59 = 1
Language spoken Arabic, Burmese, French, Nepali, Pashto, Persian,
at home Swahili
Country of Origin Afghanistan, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Pakistan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania,
Zambia
Program of Diploma in Arts = 2
Student Diploma in Business = 2
Diploma in Health = 6
UniSA Foundation Studies = 49
3. UniSA College Pathway Programs

UniSA College is a school which is located within the University of South
Australia, delivering equity pathways and enabling programs. Enabling
programs are an essential feature of expanding participation in higher education
incentives that cater for a range of social groups who may not have been able,
financially or due to lack of prior education qualifications, to enter university via
221
traditional pathways (Hattam & Weiler, 2021). Enabling programs are different to
credit-bearing undergraduate programs in two ways: (1) there are minimal entry
requirements; and (2) they are Commonwealth supported so there is no tuition
fees requirement.
Given the nature of the open-access programs, the student cohorts entering
university via enabling programs are very diverse. This includes a large
percentage of students from equity groups, many who are first-in-family at
university and with no prior knowledge or experience of tertiary education. Over
1000 students now study at the College and students from low socio-economic-
status (SES) backgrounds constitute half of the College student population
(Hattam and Weiler, 2021). Similarly, English as an Additional Language or
Dialect (EALD) students comprise one fifth of the College enrolments (Stokes,
2014), and anecdotally most are SfRBs. 2
4. Findings and Discussion

4.1 Factors that influence SfRBs to enrol and attend university: Student
aspirations
Achievement and aspirational features are central in the student’s construction of
their identities. As Pastoor (2015) observes, education and learning achievements
are strong motivational forces that contribute to how students construct their
identities, and ensure that they successfully transition into a new life. This was
evident in this research project. In the focus group, the participants reflected that
they are attending the pathway program because 'high school didn't go well’ and
they ‘weren’t getting good grades’ and they felt that ‘Uni provided better support’
and that they were achieving ‘higher grades at the College’ (Student comment,
Student focus group 2019). Some participants spoke about being ‘proud to be
offered position as a student (in a university)’. One participant reflected how
important access to education was to her as she said she was proud to ‘step out
and push to try something new’. She outlined that ‘coming from another country,
all (of her) confidence was lost due to starting from scratch’. She felt that “no one
wanted to listen to someone from a 3rd world country with ‘limited ideas’” and
she outlined that ‘finding her place in the community is her proud moment’
(Student focus group, 2019).
The results from the student survey resonate with the above discussions. With
regards to main motivations and aspirations to study at university, most
participants commented that one of the main reasons they are at university is ‘to
improve English’. As Figure 1 below indicates, the participants also specified that
they choose to study at university because they ‘want to get a job in their chosen
career’ as well as ‘to create more opportunities’ for themselves. The majority also
responded that additional motivating factors to study are to ‘build social
2 Self-identification of the refugee status is compounded with stigma. Given this and the perceived lack of
services for SfRBs at the University, many students choose to not identify with the ‘refugee label’. Some of the
reasons for this include stigma associated with the ‘refugee’ label as well as the perceived lack of services for
SfRBs at the University (Fagan et al., 2018). Furthermore, by coming to university, the displaced youth also
associate with a new sense of belonging: unlike the identity of ‘refugee’, which is ‘heavy with loss’, the identity
of ‘student’ is positive, it is ‘hopeful with possibility’ (Ferede, 2018, p. 8; as cited in Molla, 2022, p. 482).
222
networks and meet new people’. Some have added that they are also at university
‘for their family’ and ‘to give back to the community’.
Figure 1: Student aspirations to attend University

Source: UniSA College
Many participants have also commented that they study because they want to
develop their talent and creativity, but they are also enrolled to study out of
‘interest’. Education pathways offer opportunities for SfRBs to rebuild their lives
in a new society. As Baker et al. (2020) highlight, a significant challenge is the need
to ‘make up’ for lost time. In their research, participants were eager to make good
use of their time, and they communicated being hopeful that their participation in
higher education (HE) would lead to significant improvements in their lives
(Baker et al. 2020). Furthermore, as highlighted in Figure 2, ‘status’ and ‘respect’
are considered key features of achievement for SfRBs and their families, with
education and career prospects as the process required to achieve this (Walker et
al., 2005; King and Owens, 2018). SfRBs’ resettlement journey is strongly founded
in this sense of purpose and determination.
223
Figure 2. Student aspirations to attend University

4.2 Challenges students from refugee backgrounds face in Higher Education

SfRBs face many barriers to education (Baker et al., 2020). The existing research
highlights challenges related to English language skills, academic literacies,
obstacles with participation in group activities and workshops, difficulties with
navigating the university terrain, not knowing what services exist, as well as
external obligations and commitments (Earnest et al., 2010; Baker et al., 2020).
Similar results were reported in this project (see Figure 3).
224
Question 17
Other. Please specify
5% Limited English
I have trouble asking language skills
for help 18%
11%
Limited social
networks e.g. I fear I
may struggle making
I don’t know much new friends in a new
about university environment and
support services e.g. culture
what they are or 5%
where to find them
11%
Navigating university
and academic culture
10%
Meeting family
expectations to
succeed at university Learning about
5% Australian culture
5%
Lack of material and
financial resources Managing my
and pressure to timetable e.g. feeling
financially support overwhelmed with
family members study, family, work
11% and other
My motivation levels e.g. I’m unsure
about whether I want to be at commitments
11%
Figure 3. The most common challenges identified by the participants

English language proficiency featured prominently in students’ reflections on

their experience in Australian tertiary education. The language difficulties can
seriously undermine students’ overall learning experiences. Language barriers
were identified by one of the PSOs and they also discussed how SfRBs experience
language barriers in terms of finding it ‘difficult to start a conversation’:
Peer Support Officer 1: The challenges SfRBs experience was, you
know, language problem, which is pretty obvious. Yes, I spoke to one
student, you know, he really sort of break it down to me in another way,
he said ‘most of the students, they're from refugee background, language
is a problem but another thing is that let's say they go to like to the Study
Help Pals, or Uni Mentors or PASS3 for help with an assignment, that's
sort of like starting a conversation. Yeah, that is what they are lacking…
to start a conversation, especially like not even related to learning, but like
in a public gathering let's say for example, on the Orientation Day or you
3
At UniSA College we have created Peer Assisted Study Support (PASS) sessions which students utilise regularly and
receive peer assisted support with their academic writing and referencing.
225
know meeting new people, social gathering, you know, to start off the
conversation with different people is difficult.
Interviewer: Do they feel that they lack confidence due to the

language issues?
Peer Support Officer 1: Yes, and also they fear that, you know, others
may not understand what they say and that's probably based on their
previous experiences
Yeah, it’s like that too in places like (where they have a) major
responsibility (examples of these places included state-based
institutions like hospitals or courts).
In particular, PSOs highlighted that students expressed fearing that ‘others may
not understand what they are saying’ and this, in turn, may undermine their
confidence when writing assignments or speaking in class. Furthermore, the
survey participants expressed that despite arriving in Australia 5 or 6 years ago
and completing some secondary education in Australia, they would still list
‘limited English language skills’ as one of the main challenges they face. For
example, one male participant arrived in 2014 from Burundi and another female
participant who arrived from Afghanistan in 2013, despite completing some
secondary education in Australia, they still listed having ‘limited English
language skills’ as one of the main challenges they deal with. This is, in part,
because many SfRBs are not familiar with Western concepts of schooling and
discipline, and due to their frequent clustering together as a homogenous group,
this results in creating stress for themselves and the specific schools and areas
(Fagan et al., 2018).4 Furthermore, for SfRBs who are new to the Australian
education system, this is compounded with the effort needed to decipher the
hidden curriculum of academia.
In the survey, students also outlined that they struggle with ‘managing the
timetable, feeling overwhelmed with study, family and work’. These themes will
be addressed separately. This, together with ‘navigating university and academic
culture’ and ‘not knowing much about university support services’ were
identified as some of the most pressing challenges.
4.3 Difficulties navigating university and academic culture

The participants in the survey overwhelmingly reported challenges navigating
university and academic culture. One of the first reasons for this is privileging of
Western knowledges and failing to recognise the assets and knowledge that SfRBs
bring with them. As Fagan et al. (2018, p. vii) assert, ‘what lies at the centre of
many of the challenges experienced by SfRBs are tacit, implicit, assumptions by
policymakers, institutions and educators that privilege Western knowledge and
misrecognise what SfRBs bring with them to Australian educational spaces’.
Furthermore, for many students, both SfRBs and Australian-born students who
are new to higher education, understanding and uncovering the hidden
4
Fagan et al. (2018) outline the language and literacy needs of SfRBs are lacking adequate support systems in schools. This
is because standard English as an Additional Language/ Dialect (EAL/D) approaches do not address former disrupted
schooling and the literacy instruction necessary for meaningful participation.
226
curriculum is challenging. In addition, all of the assessments at the university are

predominantly based on writing and effective communication in institutionally
endorsed ways is vital for successful completion, so not adhering to these
guidelines leads to attrition and failure (Baker, 2018; Fagan et al., 2018). This
implies that students, for whom English is an additional language, are already at
a disadvantage and for SfRBs this is even more so. SfRBs often come from
significantly different education backgrounds as well as academic cultures, and
their education experiences are compounded with additional complications of
resettlement, trauma-related psychological issues, and disrupted learning (Harris
& Marlowe, 2011; Naidoo et al., 2015; Lenette, 2016).
In terms of the challenges of navigating university, the PSOs also commented that
some students did not know how to navigate university in that they: ‘weren’t really
aware of the structure (of the university) and I think it links back to not knowing which
services were available’ (PSO A, 2019). They also mentioned the students reported
‘not understanding the assignments properly’ and that they would complain
about ‘receiving late submission penalty due to other commitments they had’.
Settlement obligations and time-limited assessment procedures that make

invisible the linguistic translation efforts were also challenges that SfRBs
experience. As one of the PSOs reflected, students reported struggling with
‘drafting and re-drafting of assignments’ and complained about ‘not receiving
explicit feedback’ (PSO A, 2020). Similarly, difficulties with cultural assumptions
about the uniformity of the student experience embedded in the course content
were echoed in Fagan et al. (2018). Students reported challenges in
comprehending and conveying academic material and requirements related to
implicit university processes, such as, submitting assignments on time. Echoing
the existing research (see Fagan et al., 2018; Naidoo et al., 2015; Earnest et al., 2010),
the PSOs contended that students reported struggling with multiple assignment
deadlines. They also noted that students expressed frustration in drafting their
work many times and feeling that they were not receiving adequate feedback. For
SfRBs, their family or community may not have this implicit knowledge of the
university to adequately support or advise them. Consequently, some SfRBs, who
struggle but do not defer their enrolment, find themselves in a vicious circle of
receiving unsatisfactory grades and discontinuing their studies.
4.4 Social exclusion and racism

While the ‘refugee experience’ is by no means homogenous (Matthews, 2008;
Lenette, 2016; Molla, 2022), the lack of feeling socially included was outlined as
one of the most common challenges that SfRBs face. This was outlined by PSOs.
Peer Support Officer A: The first biggest challenge is social inclusion.
Many of them feel like they don’t, you know sort of mix, in their tutorially
classes especially when they are new, after the Orientation and Starting
Strong.5 Yeah in their first class they don't really feel comfortable unless,
5
Orientation and Starting Strong are introductory orientation events that are run at the start of every Study Period at UniSA.
While Orientation is a UniSA-wide event for students, the Starting Strong program is an orientation session specifically for
UniSA College students. In the Starting Strong session we provide preparatory information about university, introduce the
students to the teaching staff. We also include segments on academic conventions like paraphrasing, summarising and
227
they see somebody that is from a similar background and they go and sit
next to them and try and get involved.
This is echoed in the findings from the focus group discussions. One participant
asserted that she struggled because this was the ‘first time she attended Uni’ and
she felt ‘nobody wanted to talk to her’ (Student focus group, 2019). Similarly,
respondents from the Curtin University study reported that the lack of
socialisation and stigma impacts on SfRBs feeling socially isolated at university
(Fagan et al., 2018). As Fagan et al. (2018, p. 8) highlight, SfRBs have ‘a unique
habitus (ways of being and doing) that are shaped by the shame and
embarrassment they feel as a result of their refugee status, and by the negative
public and policy discourses around refugee and asylum seekers’. Another
significant challenge that compounds the experience of social exclusion is racism.
Many SfRBs report the ongoing incidents of racism (Watkins, Noble and Wong,
2018) and racism hugely affects their capacity to ‘fit in’ (Yak, 2016). In the
education environment, being treated as the 'other' when starting university is
often conveyed by African and Muslim students (Lawson, 2014). Similar
circumstances were reported by Onsando and Billett (2009) in their examination
of African refugee students' experiences of learning at Australian Technical and
Further Education (TAFE) institutions. Their findings highlight that, despite being
in a safe environment, the students still encounter racism and social exclusion.
Racism was also identified by PSOs in our research:
Another challenge is racism. Yes it is not, explicit, like for example, one of
the students, she was in the tutorial, you know, everyone is speaking but
when it was her turn to speak, she was cut short. Or maybe it was time
for her to contribute yet she didn't say what she wanted to say and they
just moved on (PSO A, 2019).
This was echoed in the focus group discussions too. One of the participants in the
focus group outlined that she finished the first semester ‘with no new friends’,
and she felt people were actively avoiding her and felt that the ‘Muslims are
terrorists-stereotypes’ which affected her social life (Focus group discussions,
2019). These testimonials attest that once they arrive, SfRBs do not slot neatly into
the multicultural diversity of the Australian landscape. Rather the figure of the
‘refugee’ is delivered into ‘pre-existing racialised discourse, and contemporary
power/knowledge regimes that circulate and establish disparaging and
contradictory representations’ (Matthews, 2008., p. 42). As McWilliams and Bonet
(2016, p. 167) argue, this is particularly cruel for people from refugee backgrounds
who have often escaped conflicts that are ‘painfully visible’, as they are also
entering economic/ideological conflicts that are ‘actually more pernicious as
refugee youth and families come to understand that [educational institutions] that
allegedly promise hope, are not what they seem’.
referencing as well as demonstrating academic integrity. In these events students are also introduced to university-wide
services including counselling, the learning advisors and the career services.
228
4.5 Managing the timetable, family responsibilities and work commitments

The survey findings also reveal that students find navigating the complex
university terrain challenging. More precisely, students reported ‘struggling with
managing their timetable’ and ‘having trouble asking for help’. This further
compounds the academic and language challenges SfRBs experience in higher
education.
Family responsibilities constituted another obstacle reported by the participants

in the survey. All but one respondent reported that they lived with their family
and 9 out of 15 declared that they ‘have to care for their family’. The
overwhelming nature of family responsibilities is represented in a comment by
one female participant who arrived in 2019, in response to the question: ‘do you
have to care for other people?’ She answered ‘yes’ and added ‘a lot’.
Family responsibilities also feature strongly in other literature (Fagan et al., 2018;
King and Owens, 2018; Baker et al., 2020). In Fagan et al.’s (2018) report they
outlined that family responsibilities are often tied to cultural expectations. This
may include an expectation to financially support the family overseas, and to care
for children without relying on formal child-care, which all impacts on study time
– a similar situation is reported in our study, as well.
Although many university students work while studying, for SfRBs, having a job
is vital as the income is then used to support their immediate family. In our
survey, some reported the ‘lack of material and financial resources’ and they
highlighted feeling ‘pressured to financially support family members’. Similarly,
all three projects in Fagan et al.’s (2018, p. 22) report also highlighted the
responsibility to financially support family in Australia and family back home can
constrain student engagement and participation at university (see also Harris &
Marlowe, 2011; Lawson, 2014). As one of the PSOs in our study explained:
The challenge I think is the work and study balance. Some of them are
working very hard. Yes, then coming to school, you know the next day
and they are tired. Some of them have siblings and they have to balance it
all. And they look for jobs to provide support for their studies and also for
their families as well. Some of them are trying to get a job in the
disabilities and aged care (PSO A, 2020).
PSOs also commented that some of the students have also asked about ‘help with
paying their fees’ and others have opened up about ‘commitments between work,
university and family’:
Some of them were able to open up about family situations, you know,
avoiding having to face back home and in uni. Yes, some of them were
having to do with work and study and some of them didn't have a job and
needed to work, (they were wondering) where to get support, some of them
you know, they had the issue of how to interpret the documents to parents
when they go home, or whatever they learned at Uni, they had to interpret
that to their parents (PSO A, 2020).
229
For SfRBs the difficulties of navigating complex university terrain are deepened
with challenges of balancing work, study and attending to family responsibilities
and settlement obligations.
4.6 On study support services students need at university

The survey also asked the participants about the study support services they need
at university. In their responses the majority of participants identified ‘Workshops
on academic literacy skills: paraphrasing, summarising and referencing’ as the
most important study support they need. This was followed by the need for
‘research skills workshops’, ‘essay writing workshops’ and ‘workshops for
developing conversational English’ (see Figure 4).
Essay writing Question 18I don’t know what

workshops services I need
2% Workshops for
17%
developing
conversational
English language skills
Research skill
14%
workshops
17%
Workshops for
developing
grammatical
knowledge, sentence
structure, vocabulary,
punctuation etc.
Math and numeracy 10%
support workshops
5%
Workshops focusing
on academic literacy
Interpreting and skills: Paraphrasing,
understanding how to Summarising, Reading
write short answer Strategies,
questions for science Referencing etc.
courses Peer Assisted Study Sessions 21%
12%
Figure 4. The study support services students feel they need at University
These student selections are in line with findings from existing research (Fagan et
al., 2018; Naidoo et al., 2015; Earnest et al., 2010). For instance, the data from Curtin
University (Fagan et al., 2018) highlight that, for some students, academic
literacies like referencing and essay writing were new concepts for them.
Furthermore, participants in the Curtin University and Macquarie University
studies also reported a preference for additional assistance with checking and
correcting their assignments. Similarly, in our research PSOs reported that a
common challenge students experience is not knowing where to access university
230
resources like the enrolment help, counselling services, as well as online resources
such as Studiosity, or Study Help-Pals. The only online resources students knew
how to access was the library site.6
The PSOs also outlined that most students are not aware of the student learning
support services that are available through Uni-Mentors and PASS programs at
UniSA College.7 Instead, PSOs found that students get most of their learning
support through drafting work and meeting the lecturers during consultation
hours. Apart from needing help with ‘navigating the university’, participants also
reported needing assistance with ‘seeking employment and resumé writing’, ‘help
with Centrelink’ and ‘help with visa and citizenship protocols’. This highlights
that for SfRBs navigating complex university terrain is exacerbated with
challenges of seeking employment or government assistance as well as needing
assistance with the complex process embedded in seeking visa renewal or
citizenship (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. Other services students need at university

4.6. Importance of peer support and informal networks

Face-to-face provision of services that were accessible and available was reported
as essential in helping students progress with not only academic and language
practices, but also for their social and cultural networking. Our findings echo the
existing research (Fagan et al., 2018; Earnest et al., 2010) highlighting the need for
formal and informal support networks. The student survey responses
overwhelmingly reported that students mostly seek help from friends and fellow
6
Library and research skills are taught at one of our core courses called University Studies. In this course students are taught
academic literacies as well as how to reference and conduct a literature review.
7
At UniSA College we also have Uni-Mentor program where previous College students mentor new students
231
students (see Figure 6). This warranted an employment of the two PSOs. The role
of the PSOs, in their words is, ‘to have a face-to-face interaction with new students
from refugee backgrounds, direct them to different services and just be there, you
know, as their …as someone that they can talk to and someone they can trust that
whatever they say…(they) can be an advocate on (their) behalf’ (PSO A, 2020).
Figure 6. Seeking support with navigating university

Since the establishment of their roles at UniSA College, PSOs report that they see
about five or six students per week during the Study Period and that some of them
need ‘mainly a direction to learning support sentences. They might be working on an
assignment, yet don’t know where to go for help. Because most of the time the only place
they know is the consultation hours for the lecturers but they don’t know about PASS
(peer assisted study support) (PSO A).
During the interviews PSOs outlined how significant these peer-led approaches
were for the students:
Peer Support Officer A: Yes some of them, they feel happy, when they
go to the common room with an assignment and they look right and look
left and see the lecturer and they see they are busy and then they see us
come to them and we start a conversation and they feel happy, especially
those that are refugee backgrounds, similar to see they feel more like they
can relate.
Interviewer: Did the students ask you about your own experiences
at university?
Peer Support Officer A: Yes, they want, they ask you like ‘how did you
go with this assignment, what did you do? That’s how I start to direct
them to the different services. So I tell them if you go to the Uni mentors
they will help you with this.
And one of them, at another consultation time one of them came back and
he was like, thank you for directing me to like the PASS, all along I’ve
going to the Study help Pals or Uni Mentors but not really getting the
232
extra help. After receiving the PASS (advice) they were really happy that
yes, he helped him with that.
Similar motivating factors were also highlighted in previous research (Vickers et

al., 2017; Earnest et al., 2010; see also Silburn et al., 2010). SfRBs participating in
Earnest et al.’s study (2010) mentioned the significance of one-to-one contacts,
such as mentors, lecturers and tutors who were reassuring and helped them to
persevere during challenging times. As Baker et al. (2018, p. 1) in their research
suggest, SfRBs do not perceive the ‘cold’ (unfamiliar-formal) institutional support
as something that is ‘for them’. Instead they prefer the ‘warm’ (familiar-formal)
support offered via ‘trusted’ people who act as literacy/sociocultural brokers or
‘hot’ (familiar-informal) support of their grapevine of other students (past and
present) or knowledgeable community members.
4.7 Accessing mental health services at University

Issues with mental health and mental health services were not raised in the survey
by any of the participants and yet as the interviews with PSOs show, and in line
with the existing research, mental health is another area requiring attention. As
PSOs’ comments reveal, SfRBs perceive these services as lacking in cultural and
refugee competence, and subsequently they: firstly, find them unrelatable; and
secondly, also feel that the practitioners may not possess an understanding of
what they had gone through. As PSOs outlines:
Peer Support Officer A: Mostly the students use like their learning
support service….and the counselling and stuff they are not really aware
of it… and most students are going through a lot but most of them, they
feel like when they go to the services, they won’t really get that support,
and also they fear that it will be held against them that they will be quoted
in them.
Interviewer: Can you please elaborate on what you mean you
when you say that students go through a lot?
Peer Support Officer A: Yeah, like what I mean is they have to balance
work and study that’s just one problem by itself and sometimes, you know,
they are confronted with domestic issues like violence or trauma from the
past or even like, (lack of) social inclusion at uni. All of those things play
on their mind and some of them they may not even want to come to Uni,
but because of the pressure from their parents, they are here and they're
trying to do their best and when they come, they face obstacles. Yes, all of
those things are sort of weighing them down, they don't even talk about
it but if they don't talk about it, they will not, you know, have the right
support.
Addressing emotional needs was also highlighted by the other PSO when she
outlined a recommendation for ‘working with different areas of the College to
embed different strategies and support for the emotional needs of SfRBs’.
The help-seeking behaviours of SfRBs are shaped by the cultural norms and
attitudes (Pastoor, 2015) and this makes it challenging for participants to disclose
mental health issues or try to find treatment for these (Jack et al., 2019). Student-
participants in Fagan et al.’s (2018) study highlighted their availability to talk
233
about mental health is hindered by the stigma associated with mental health in
their cultural groups. Yet trauma and traumatic personal histories (death of family
members, loss of home and personal property, displacement, physical violence
(King & Owens, 2018) can significantly affect one’s ability to adjust, concentrate
and achieve academically (Grant & Francis, 2011). Overcoming trauma
accompanied with the competing settlement-related priorities and acculturation
make it very difficult for SfRBs to focus entirely on their studies.
5. Recommendations: On culturally responsive student support

Challenging the deficit views of SfRBs who have been traditionally under-
represented in higher education was the central point of discussion in the student
focus group. When asked about their personal recommendations for the
university and the enabling sector, one of the students said that she would like
the university to know that: ‘all students from all backgrounds are strong in their
own ways and have valuable knowledge that all students can learn from’.
Another participant also said that it is important to ‘spread the message about
refugee students to all students’, while another commented that it would be nice
if people remembered ‘how to spell (their) name’ (Student focus group, 2019).
When PSOs were asked about how to best support SfRBs, their recommendation
is to form a social platform which includes the student voice:
Peer Support Officer B: It is important to continue creating a social
platform where students can express their views on different aspects of
learning, challenges they are facing and how it is affecting the emotions
and well-being. Setting a safe and vulnerable environment for these
students to express their emotional needs will be essential to the
institution in providing services to cater for those needs (PSO B).
Addressing the emotional needs of SfRBs was also outlined by the PSOs:
Peer Support Officer B: For example: The counselling service, tutors
and other learning support services can run workshops, focus group and
different events with students from refugee backgrounds. All these
emotional needs that will be mentioned during the social gathering events
can be discussed with people in different roles of support services. This
discussion can be focused on how to cater for these emotional needs of
students (PSO B).
These recommendations seem pressing given the existing research which

highlights social and academic support (both formal and informal) from peers,
teachers, university programs and family as significant contributory factors to
academic progress (Baker, 2020; Fagan et al., 2018; Earnest et al., 2010). In order to
improve academic success of SfRBs an adoption of culturally responsive strategies
and teaching approaches are required.
Numerous scholars have proposed culturally responsive practices as a useful

framework to help promote equity, inclusivity and respect in schools and
universities. In the US, these approaches have predominantly looked at culturally
diversifying the connection between learners’ communities and schools (Bottiani
et al., 2018), endorsing learners’ cultural backgrounds from an asset-based view
234
and as ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll et al., 1992) and being culturally responsive in
multicultural schools (Nieto, 2013; Phillippo, 2012; Toldson & Lemmons, 2013). In
the Australian context, culturally responsive pedagogies (CRPs) ‘refer to those
pedagogies that actively value, and mobilise as resources, the cultural repertoires
and intelligences that students bring to the learning relationship’ (Morrison et al.,
2019, p. v). Particularly relevant is Rigney and Hattam’s (2018) thesis: toward an
Australian culturally responsive pedagogy which they utilise for improving
education outcomes for Indigenous students. In their more recent work, Morrison
et al. (2019, p. v) argue that given ‘the current conditions of super-diversity in
Australian classrooms, culturally responsive pedagogy offers a hopeful approach
to improving the educational experiences of all students’. Together, the existing
work on Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP) illuminate that in order to
promote student engagement and learning, we must endorse students’ cultural
differences as an asset to be encouraged by schools, rather than as a challenge that
needs to be managed (Bottiani et al., 2018).
Culturally responsive approaches also resonate in the recommendations of

previous research on enabling SfRBs to participate meaningfully in higher
education (see Ben Moshe, 2008; Earnest et al., 2010; Lawson, 2014; Molla, 2021).
These recommendations principally promote the need for a holistic approach in
which institutions take into account ‘socio-economic and cultural circumstances
and provide general life education services beyond the usual remit of an
education provider’ and provide cross-cultural training for all staff (Ben-Moshe et
al., 2008, p. 7). As Molla (2021) asserts: ‘culturally, socially and historically
responsive pedagogy is transformative in the sense that it prepares students to
effectively navigate their worlds, reflect on their position, and envision alternative
futures’ (p. 10).
Some of the culturally responsive practices that we have developed at UniSA

College include student support as well as culturally responsive education
training for all our staff. In terms of supporting SfRBs, we have dedicated student
officers or Peer Support Officers who carefully monitor students’ progress and are
often involved in communicating key enrolment dates to them. PSOs are also
trained to assist with the students’ social support and academic referrals as well
as to refer the students to a range of university-wide services. As the data revealed
in this paper shows, PSOs help improve students’ social and cultural capital
ensuring they develop competencies. This requires the ability to navigate the
academic environment. Another resource developed as part of the student
support initiatives is Peer Assisted Study Support (PASS) where students receive
ghelp with their academic writing and referencing. Finally, to further facilitate
peer connections, the PSOs have created UniSA College Refugee Club, which is a
student-run University association for SfRBs.
With regard to the staff support and training needs, the project has resulted in
some incentives which enhance staff knowledge (both academic and professional
staff) of SfRBs’ requirements. This culturally responsive approach is reflected in
the tutor training sessions which include modules educating the staff about SfRBs
at UniSA College. These modules consist of professional development workshops
235
for staff to deconstruct the tacit presumptions and stereotypes about SfRBs, and
to highlight the aspirations and assets that SfRBs convey in the classroom.
Since this research was a pilot study, its scope was limited. Nevertheless, this
article contributes to the much-needed body of knowledge on the experiences of
SfRBs in university pathway programs. As noted previously, research on this
cohort of students is still emerging. This study resonates with the findings
highlighted in current literature on SfRBs and reiterates that universities need to
go ‘beyond literacy supports and involve changing the campus ethos to one of
inter-culturality and socioeconomic inclusivity’ (Naidoo, 2021, p. 193). Future
research addressing in more detail how and where CRPs are applied to create
more inclusive university environments for SfRBs, as well as investigating how
CRPs are experienced by SfRBs would be of both benefit to SfRBs and universities
in Australia.
6. Conclusion
This paper reported on the UniSA College project which aimed to build the
capacities of SfRBs which they will need in order to succeed in higher education.
This paper explored the aspirations as well as challenges that SfRBs experience in
order to assist with their needs, aspirations and education dreams. The data from
the focus group, the survey and the PSOs interviews highlight that higher
education plays a central role in the lives of SfRBs. Universities are uniquely
placed to provide SfRBs with transformative education prospects that help with
the realisation of their individual hopes and ambitions. For successful
engagement of SfRBs, education institutions need an all-encompassing approach
consisting of culturally responsive efforts, and peer-led supports for students.
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Appendix A
Survey questions for students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs)

1. Are you male, female or non-gender specific?
2. What is your country of birth?
3. b) When did you arrive in Australia?
4. Which language do you speak at home?
5. Are you a Humanitarian Visa Holder?
6. How many courses are you studying this study period?
7. Did you undergo secondary schooling or VET, TAFE study before UniSA
College?
8. Do you live with family here in Adelaide?
8. a) What are your main motivations for studying at university? Choose any
that apply to you from the list below:
- I want to improve my English
- I want to get a job in my chosen career
- I want to build a better life for myself
- I am doing this for my family
- I want to give back to the community and be an active participant
- I want to create more opportunities for myself
- I want to build my social networks and meet new people
- I want to ‘try-out’ university to see if it’s the right path for me
8. b) Do you have any other motivations for studying at university? Please
specify
- Continue in an area already started
- Did not get first preference
- Develop talent and creativity
- Gain entry to another degree program
- Interest
- Recommendation of teachers / counsellors
- Other
9. a) Do you work?
9. b) If yes, how many hours per week do you work?
- 0-4 hours
- 4-8 hours
- 8-12 hours
- 12-20 hours
- 20+ hours
10. Do you receive Centrelink assistance?
11. Do you pay for your accommodation?
12. Do you care for people, i.e. children, parents, siblings, other family
members?
13. Do you have any other commitments not including work e.g. sporting clubs,
cultural/religious commitments, other hobbies or volunteering roles? If yes,
please specify.
240
13. a) On average, how many hours per week do you spend caring for family or
other commitments such as sport, hobbies, etc.)
0-1 hour
1-2 hours
2-5 hours
5 + hours
14. What are some challenges that face while studying at the College? Mark
those that are most applicable to you.
Limited English language skills
Limited social networks, e.g. I fear I may struggle making new friends in
a new environment and culture
Navigating university and academic culture
Learning about Australian culture
Managing my timetable, e.g. feeling overwhelmed with study, family,
work and other commitments
My motivation levels, e.g. I’m unsure about whether I want to be at
university.
Lack of material and financial resources and pressure to financially
support family members
Meeting family expectations to succeed at university
I don’t know much about university support services, e.g. what they are
or where to find them
I have trouble asking for help
14. b) Are there any other challenges that worry you? Please specify.
15. What study support services do you feel you need at the College?
Workshops for developing conversational English language skills
Workshops for developing grammatical knowledge, sentence
structure, vocabulary, punctuation, etc.
Workshops focusing on academic literacy skills: Paraphrasing,
Summarising, Reading Strategies, Referencing, etc.
Peer Assisted Study Sessions
Interpreting and understanding how to write short answer
questions for science courses
Math and numeracy support workshops
Research skill workshops
Essay writing workshops
I don’t know what services I need
16. What other support services do you feel you need at the College?
Help with seeking employment and resumé writing
Help with seeking accommodation
Help with Centrelink
Help and Guidance with Visa and citizenship protocols
Help with navigating university and studying
241
16. b) Are there any other services you require? Please specify.
17. Who do you see for support with navigating university and your studies?
Friends
Family
Fellow students
College teachers
17. b) Other, please specify.
18. Do you know where to seek help if you need it? Please mark the services you
are aware of:
Learning advisors: helping with assignments
Student Engagement Unit: student counselling
Student Engagement Unit: helping with accommodation
Student Engagement Unit: helping with employment
19. Do you feel comfortable seeking help when you need it?
If yes, what have sought help with previously?
If not, why not? Please elaborate
Appendix B
Questions for individual interviews with peer support officers (PSO)
1. How old are you?

2. What is your country of origin?
3. How long have you been in Australia?
5. Are you the first in the family to study at University?
6. How many students were you seeing per week? What sort of help did they
need from you?
7. What do you feel were the biggest challenges that students from refugee
backgrounds you saw in your role as a PSO face?
9. Do you feel you were adequately prepared to respond to students’ inquiries?
10. Please describe the most difficult student situation you encountered as a
PSO?
11. Please describe the most rewarding student situation you encountered as a
PSO?
12. To create an ideal situation, what advice would you give to the institution
(UNISA College) on how we can best support students from refugee
backgrounds?
242

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 242-266, April 2023
Received Jan 23, 2023; Revised Mar 14, 2023; Accepted Mar 22, 2023
Matthew Effect and Achievement Gap in

Rwandan Basic Education
Jean de Dieu Habyarimana
Henan University, Henan, China
Abdou Mugabonake
Mount Kenya University, Kigali, Rwanda
Emmanuel Ntakirutimana
University of Technology and Arts of Byumba, Gicumbi, Rwanda
Theogene Hashakimana
Catholic University of Rwanda, Huye, Rwanda
Emmanuel Ngendahayo
Shanxi Normal University, Xian, China
Faustin Mugiraneza
Mount Kenya University, Kigali, Rwanda
Ke Zhou*
Henan University, Henan, China
Abstract. Education is considered a vital cog in a country’s economic

engine in terms of training, research and development. Accordingly, a
formal education system remains a mode of rationing opportunities,
differentiation and the allocation of individuals into various positions
within a society’s social stratification structure. Certainly, the obtainment
of educational credentials has been linked to occupational, trajectory,
income, and attendant life chances. In light of this, the achievement gap
remains an important issue since an education provided in a more equal
and equitable manner could be an important tool to bridge the gap
between the rich and poor citizens within a country. This study aimed to
ascertain the Matthew effect and its contribution to students’ academic
achievement gap in the basic education schools of Rwanda. The study
was guided by descriptive and correlational research design, stratified
and systematic random sampling as well as purposive sampling were
*
Corresponding author: Ke Zhou, 10180055@vip.henu.edu.cn
©Authors
243
used to select 350 participants, including 51.4% males and 48.6% females,
mostly aged 30 to 40 years. Quantitative and qualitative data were
collected through questionnaire and interviews. The collected data were
descriptively analysed using IBM-SPSS 21. The study established that
socio-economically disadvantaged students mostly enrol in under-
resourced and low-performing schools i.e. public and government-aided
schools. Furthermore, the study identified that private and international
school students outperform their counterparts enrolled in public or
government-aided schools. Moreover, a significant (p-value .011) low
degree of positive correlation (r= .159) was established between the
students’ academic achievement and their parents’ socio-economic
category. In conclusion, the Rwandan aim of ensuring access to quality,
equitable and effective education for all is facing a bleak foreseeable
future due to the existing academic achievement gap influenced by the
Matthew effect. Recommendations were therefore formulated with a
view to eradicating the Matthew effect in the basic education schools of
Rwanda.
Keywords: Matthew effect; academic performance; achievement gap;

high achievers and low achievers; basic education schools; socio-
economic status; government spending in education
1. Introduction
The Matthew effect refers to a popularised gospel verse from the bible (see
Matthew 25:29 and Matthew 13:12 in the King James version), which states that
those who are richer than others will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The
paraphrased verse says: “to everyone who has, much will be given to him and he
will be given abundantly. However, for the one who has less, it will be taken from
him.” This was adopted by Robert Merton in his 1968 publication titled The
Matthew effect in Science, in which he discusses the concept through a scientific
lens. For example, he observed that a scientific contribution is paid more attention
when it is introduced by a renowned scientist, whereas it would be given less
value or attention if it was introduced by a junior scientist, despite the fact that
the contribution might be more worthy than the one introduced by a renowned
scientist. In the scientific reward system, much more awards and accolades are
given to famous scientists compared to up-and-coming scientists, regardless of
the particular value of their contribution to science or research (Merton ,1968).
Similarly, it has been noted that parents’ financial ability to get their children
enrolled in advantageous schools corresponds to their children’s high academic
achievement, leading to the added value of entering white-collar jobs in a global
economy, a fact that is conversely applied to their counterparts from poor
households.
Moreover, the term ‘Matthew effect’ was adopted for use in education by an
American psychologist, Keith Stanovich, who confirmed that children who easily
acquire basic early reading skills more easily acquire advanced reading skills in
the future. He found that children who perform well in reading at a young age
also perform well in reading as adults. Differences in children’s reading ability at
an early age signal negative consequences for slow learners, since both teachers
and parents tend to give more opportunities to quick learners, thereby enhancing
244
their phonological awareness (Stanovich, 1986). This argument has lately been
discussed by various researchers (Walberg and Tsai, 1983; Romeo et al., 2018;
Huang et al., 2014; Rigney, 2010; Van, 2021; Ergül et al., 2022), who found that the
Matthew effect may exist in any educational system, school and classroom if it is
not well understood and controlled during the education process. As a case in
point, Herbert Walberg and Shiow-Ling Tsai, in their publication titled Matthew
Effects in Education, found that certain factors may influence academic
performance in science or mathematics; those factors include ethnic and
socioeconomic groups, environment, prior education and motivation. Perhaps
surprisingly, one who is advantaged in one specific factor may be advantaged in
another one, with those having a high quality prior education performing well in
their current educational activities (Walberg & Tsai, 1983). In the current study,
the achievement gap, influenced by the Matthew effect, was not only examined in
students’ reading skills but across the entire subjects of literacy, numeracy and all
learning attainment expected from school leavers in the national examinations
undertaken at the end of elementary and secondary schools.
An in-depth analysis of the above quoted gospel shows that the Matthew effect is
a cross-sectional applied concept in people’s lives around the globe, which
promotes inequalities between countries, communities and individuals living
apart or together. One example might be seen in the education systems of different
countries, whereby policy makers introduce policies and programmes that benefit
already advantaged schools and communities instead of uplifting the
disadvantaged. A similar analysis may be taken on the most harnessed 21st
century ICT skills that have been translated into education policy across the globe
while less consideration and emphasis have been given rural-remote
disadvantaged schools with untrained teachers, without access to electricity or the
basic skills to operate the computers and other ICT tools that are dumped in their
schools (Hashakimana et al., 2022). Such education policies have been identified
as exemplifying the Matthew effect as less is being done to advance the overall
teaching and learning conditions in disadvantaged schools, particularly in rural
areas, reflecting a serious gap in education policy implementation.
According to Bush (2013), access to technology in education is causing a digital
divide in some parts of the world, including Asia and Africa, where policy makers
refer to the best schools that are already advantaged with trained teachers,
students from wealthy, educated families and other beneficial resources instead
of emphasizing measures that could improve the potential of schools in remote
areas. To implement the policies, Bush quoted a biblical passage which says that
all things are possible, but – he added – for education, they are possible when the
elephant’s ability is not tested in competing with a monkey to climb a tree. This
means that policy makers should not expect the magic to happen in schools or in
any education system when computers are dumped in schools without
considering their connectivity to electricity, internet, teacher training and other
factors that may boost technology inclusion in education. The Matthew effect in
this study will therefore be characterised by parents’ socio-economic category
(UBUDEHE categories) and the types of schools enrolling their students. Bush
(2013) advises policy makers to think of the Matthew effect that may come with
the implementation of each policy during the policy design stage to ensure that
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the policy does not advantage the advantaged and disadvantage the
disadvantaged.
Relevant to the above research topic, the terminology referred to as achievement
is students’ attainment against pre-set ultimate goals of education at a specific
educational level and this is scientifically proven through a course of systematic
assessments and/or examinations (Education Evolving, 2016). Thus, an
achievement gap in education is confirmed when a specific group of students
outperforms another group during their levelled systematic assessment intending
to weigh the two groups’ performance against that assessment (Steinmayr et al.,
2014).
The ultimate goal of education is to equip all people, regardless of gender, age or
circumstances, with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to develop their
talents and for them to participate fully in the life and work of their society
(Power, 2015). Thus, the most obvious and important consideration is the
overarching goal of post-2015 education agenda, which aims at achieving
equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030
(UN, 2015). Similarly, Rwandan education aims at ensuring access to quality,
equitable and effective education for all Rwandans (Ministry of Education
[MINEDUC], 2010).
Unfortunately, the citizens’ ability to pay tuition fees and other related costs of
education in a given school determines the extent of achievement available to their
students. In this regard, Mbabazi (2020) and Nzabihimana (2015) reported that
students enrolled in private schools perform better than their counterparts in
public schools. In this specific instance, it was also noted that almost all of the top
10 excellent primary schools in terms of national examination attainment, as
recognised by the national board in charge of national examinations, were private
schools (Nzabihimana, 2015).
Consequently, this pushes a big number of citizens into extreme poverty and
insecurity. In essence, Power (2015) ascertains that viewing education and
knowledge as a private good weakens the foundations of democracy and
international solidarity. With that, the hopes and expectations of the millions of
people who cannot afford to pay for an empowering education of good quality
vanish, along with any pretence that human rights or the common good matter.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct the current study to explore the
contribution of the Matthew effect to students’ achievement gap in Rwandan basic
education schools.
There was little existing data regarding student’s achievement gap in the region
or in Rwanda, where the research was being conducted, but the world Bank
group confirmed a Matthew effect in education and the economy that remains the
main cause of social inequality. Indeed, 90% of children from the top 10% poorest
families attend primary school compared to 99% of children from the top 10%
richest families, whereas attendance in secondary school remains low and is
highly influenced by family living conditions, with only 11% of children from the
10% top poorest families attending secondary school compared to 78% children
from the 10% top richest families (World Bank, 2015). The achievement gap in this
study was characterised by high achievers (students who had passed the national
246
examination with the highest aggregate i.e. 5-30 classified under Division 1&2)
and low achievers (students who had passed or failed the national examination
with a low aggregate i.e. 31-45 classified under division 3&4 or Unclassified).
The theoretical basis of this study was derived from Maslow’s theory of
motivation, which emerged as an important descriptor of factors influencing
success at school. Its founder, Abraham Harold Maslow (1954), an American
psychologist, introduced the idea of a strong correlation between effort and
motivation while discussing human behaviour. Maslow’s theory of motivation
was adopted in this study due to its significant applicability in addressing the
contribution of parents’ socioeconomic categories determining the provision of
required needs (physiological needs, cost of education, safety needs, etc.) to their
children and the level of the students’ attention/effort in the classroom, which in
turn determines academic achievement. In essence, the immediate needs
determine the immediate action of the students. To clarify, when students become
worried about their basic needs, such as food, sleep, health and clothing, their
focus/attention is directed to such distractions and studying and accomplishment
lose their importance. In the context of this study, the theory is therefore that
parents’ ability to pay school fees and other related hidden costs in a given type
of school determines the degree of achievement of their children, a contention that
correlates to the Matthew effect and its contribution to students’ educational
achievement gap.
As far as Ubudehe is concerned in Rwanda, Ubudehe refers to the economic-based
culture of categorising Rwandan citizens into different categories according to
their current economic standards. It has largely modernised and introduced social
protection policies and programs in Rwanda since 2002 (Local Administrative
Entities Development Agency [LODA], 2016). According to LODA (2016), there
are four categories expressed in terms of the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, which remain
valid to date.
Thus, category 1 represents those citizens without a residential house or who have
proved unable to rent a home. The ability of such citizens to find food and satisfy
other basic needs remains quite perplexing (LODA, 2016). Following this is the
second category, representing those citizens who seldom eat twice a day and often
depend on temporary wages. More advantaged is the third category, representing
those who are employed or employers, and businessmen, while the fourth
category includes the highest earners from big companies, industries, and those
in high public and private positions. To clarify the close link that exists between
students’ academic achievement and the economic level of their parents,
UNESCO (2002) substantiates that academic performance is strongly correlated
with the occupations and economic status/category of the students’ parents,
irrespective of differences in the extent of such a relationship between countries.
However, 16%, 29.8%, 53.7% and 0.5% of Rwandans are still categorised under
Ubudehe categories 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively (LODA, 2016). Thus, there is a need
to explore the academic achievement of students from all these categories.
In terms of types of schools (basic education schools), there are four types of
schools in Rwanda: public schools, government-aided schools, private schools
and international schools. In this study, these four types were summarised into
two main groups: public and government-aided schools, which are mainly public,
247
free and compulsory; as well as private and international schools, which are
mainly private and fee-paying. Generally, public schools aim at increasing
academic achievement for public benefits; particularly, preparing youth for active
citizenship in a democratic society. Conversely, private schools emphasise
individual or private economic benefits, such as preparing youth for good jobs in
a global economy (Centre on Education Policy [CEP], 2007). At the same time, it
is important to note that when the government of a given country loosens its
efforts in maintaining public education, this favours the emergence of many types
of private schools. This situation leads to great inequities and the exclusion of
disadvantaged families from education (CEP, 2007). There is a claim that students
enrolled in private and international schools outperform their counterparts in
public and government-aided schools (Damien, 2015; Joan, 2020). Given that
there are 3931 public and government-aided basic education schools, compared
to 706 private and international basic education schools in Rwanda (NISR, 2019),
there is a rationale for this current study to explore the degree of achievement
provided by each type of Rwandan basic education school.
The existing literature related to variables of the Matthew effect and students’
achievement has been reviewed. The arguments of various scholars and
researchers’ findings report a significant relationship that exists between the two
variables (Islan & Khan, 2017; Chandra & Azimuddin, 2013) but, to the best of our
knowledge, no study has yet established the level of such a correlation. Despite
such a relationship existing between the two variables of this current study, the
previous studies have revealed socio-economic category (UBUDEHE) as being a
main factor contributing to the decision of parents regarding the type of basic
education school in which to enrol their children. The evidence suggests that
socio-economically disadvantaged students are mostly enrolled in low
performing schools (OECD, 2017; World Bank, 2011; Boyd and Macneill, 2020,
Weber, 2018), which are also under-resourced, a fact indicating the presence of the
Matthew effect in education. Due to the paucity of literature on the variables of
this current study in Rwanda, a conclusion that the Matthew effect exists in
Rwandan basic education schools should not be drawn. Therefore, this current
study ascertained the relevant information on the impact of the Matthew effect on
educational attainment in Rwanda.
Based on a review of the existing related literature, the degree of correlation
between parents’ socio-economic category (UBUDEHE) and students’
achievement in Rwandan basic education schools remains unstudied.
Furthermore, no research has yet been conducted to determine students’
educational attainment compared to their parents’ socio-economic category
(UBUDEHE) and their related basic education schools. Rather, only the claims of
parents and the wider community in Rwanda suggest that there are privileged
basic education schools enrolling students from privileged families whose
performance in national examinations outshines economically those
disadvantaged students who end up graduating from under-resourced schools
with low achievement. Moreover, this problematic situation has been identified
as perpetuating inequality through the allocation of individuals into various
positions within the social stratification structure, thereby decelerating fairer
socio-economic development across the country. The aim of this study was
therefore to shine a new light on these debates through an examination of existing
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Matthew effects in terms of students’ achievement gap in basic education. This

study aimed to answer three questions of particular concern: a) What kind of
schools enrol students from each socio-economic category (UBUDEHE) in
Rwanda? b) What is the degree of educational attainment provided by the
different types of Rwandan basic education schools? c) What is the relationship
between parents’ socio-economic categories (UBUDEHE) and students’
educational achievement?
2. Methods
This study was guided by a descriptive research design that involved: a) cross-
sectional research design (Aleksandar et al., 2021; Wang and Cheng, 2020;
Zangirolami-Raimundo et al., 2018) to explore the first and second objectives and
b) correlational research design (Khidhir, 2021) to describe the degree to which
the Matthew effect correlates to students’ educational achievement gap. Stratified
random sampling technique and purposive sampling were used to select a total
of 20 schools across the country for data collection in this study i.e. five strata
containing all basic education schools across four provinces and Kigali City were
formed. From these five strata, four schools were selected from each province and
Kigali City. In each province one district was purposively selected; that is to say,
five districts in total. In each selected district, two primary schools and two
secondary schools – one representing public and government-aided schools and
another representing private and international schools – were purposively
selected, respectively.
With respect to participants, a systematic random sampling technique was used
to select a total of 350 participants, i.e. 70 participants; 38, 6, 21, and 5 from primary
public and government-aided schools; primary private and international schools;
secondary public and government-aided schools; and secondary private and
international schools, respectively, were proportionately selected according to the
number of schools and candidates enrolled therein from the school year 2018
(MINEDUC, 2019; NISR, 2019; MINEDUC, 2018a). Ultimately, however, 257
(51.4% males and 48.6% females) participated in this study due to some
respondents being exempt from the study.
The sampled population was comprised of the parents of children enrolled in
sixth grade from both elementary and secondary education. The parents were
selected for data collection due to their possession of accurate data (family socio-
economic category, academic performance of their children i.e. academic
performance in national examination). Head teachers of selected schools were
selected to participate in this study because they were in a good position to
provide the researchers with accurate information concerning students’ academic
performance and the contact information of their parents for further information.
District Directors of Education (DDE) from the selected districts were selected to
supply additional information complementing the quantitative data. On the other
hand, the students were not selected for data collection because they are entering
different schools across the country and, in the case of secondary school leavers,
are engaging in different sectors of work or entering different universities across
the country or abroad, meaning that it could be difficult to reach them given the
time and financial constraints of this study.
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Additionally, it is important to note that the class of 2018 was selected due to its
normal teaching and learning process before the COVID-19 pandemic led to
education processes becoming significantly hampered. To complement the
quantitative data collected from the class of 2018, qualitative data was recently
(from 16th -20th Jan. 2023) collected from five District Directors of Education
purposively selected from the selected districts.
A questionnaire for parents and an interview for the District Directors of
Education were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data concerning the
participants’ socio-economic categories, the types of schools in which their
children were enrolled for the 2018 national examinations in primary and
secondary schools, and their academic achievement (national examinations
results). Descriptive and correlational analysis through IBM-SPSS 21 was
performed to analyse the collected data.
In view of establishing the validity of the parents’ questionnaire used for data
collection in this study, the expert-judgement technique was used. The
questionnaire was given to two experts in the field of education to evaluate the
relevance of each item and rate each item on a 4-point Likert scale of very relevant
(4), quite relevant (3), somewhat relevant (2), and not relevant (1) (Wynd et al.,
2003). Validity was established using the Content Valid Index (C.V.I.)(C.V.I. =
Item rated 3 or 4 by both judges divided by the total number of items in the
questionnaire (n/N)) (Zamanzadeh et al., 2015). Therefore, since the C.V.I. was
0.81, the validity of questionnaire was assured provided that C.V.I. > 0.79
(Zamanzadeh et al., 2015).
To establish the reliability of the research instrument, the test-retest technique
(Weir, 2015) was used, whereby the research questionnaire used in this study was
twice used for 30 subjects purposively selected from a district that was not
included in the study sample. In the first instance, the research instrument was
used for these subjects and their answers were recorded. After a period of six
weeks, the research instrument was also used with the same respondents and
their answers were again recorded. Having collected this data, the Spearman rank
order correlation coefficient was computed to measure the correlation of results
from the data collected in two different time intervals. The formula of the
Spearman rank order correlation coefficient used to calculate the coefficient is
R=16Σd2/ (n (n2-1)), where R: Spearman’s correlation coefficient; n: size of the
sample; Σd: the sum of the difference between ranks. Thus, based on the reliability
of the questionnaire for parents being 0.78, the research instrument was deemed
to be reliable provided that the Spearman rank order correlational coefficient was
not less than 0.75 (Orodho, 2009).
3. Results
This research study sought to ascertain the Matthew effect and its influence on the
students’ achievement gap in Rwandan basic education. To answer the three main
questions of the study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The
results are therefore presented in tables, indicating the responses to the questions
asking participants’ social economic categories, the type of schools in which their
children were enrolled and their corresponding academic attainment.
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3.1 The Matthew effect and the achievement gap in the basic education of Rwanda
3.1.1 The type of schools and the students with their corresponding socio-economic category
The first objective of this study was to determine the schools’ enrolled students
from each socio-economic category (Ubudehe) in Rwanda. To achieve this
objective, quantitative data were collected from 257 respondents (parents of the
elementary and secondary school students completing these levels). A research
questionnaire was used to collect data, presented in Table 1. This shows that the
majority of the students were enrolled in public schools (206/257) at either the
elementary (118) or secondary (88) level.
Table 1. Schools’ enrolled students from each socio-economic category in Rwanda
Socio-economic category Total
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Primary public school 8 48 54 8 118
Primary government -
0 3 5 0 8
aided school
Schools' enrolled Primary private school 0 2 27 11 40
candidates in the Secondary public school 2 28 46 12 88
school year 2018 Secondary government -
0 0 0 2 2
aided school
International secondary
0 0 0 1 1
school
Total 10 81 132 34 257
With respect to the type of basic education schools and students enrolled therein
with their corresponding socio-economic category, the results shown in Table 1
establish that the majority of students (candidates entered for national
examinations i.e. primary leaving examinations and senior six national
examinations) were from the third category (132/257). A particular concern was
the fact that 126 elementary school candidates were enrolled in either public
schools or government-aided schools, with 59 i.e. 46.8% from the first and second
categories while 67 i.e. 53.2% came from the third and fourth categories.
Furthermore, of the 90 candidates sitting secondary examinations enrolled in
public and government-aided schools, 30 i.e. 33.3% came from the first two
categories compared to 60 i.e. 66.7% from the last two categories. The results of
Table 1 also show only two i.e. 5% primary leaving examination candidates from
the first two categories compared to 38 i.e. 95% from the last two categories who
were enrolled from primary private schools and only one candidate from fourth
category enrolled from a secondary international school. In a similar vein, of the
results collected from DDEs through interview, all five i.e. 100% confirmed that
the parents’ socio-economic category determines the schools enrolling their
children. For example, one interviewee said:
“There is no basis of UBUDEHE category while enrolling students but what is
practically observed is those from rich families attend private schools and those
from poor families attend government and government-aided schools from pre-
primary to primary schools and the children from poor families attend day schools
(9-12YBE) and the rich attend boarding (school of excellence) in secondary
schools as observed…”
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A possible explanation for this is that students from socio-economically

disadvantaged backgrounds attend under-resourced schools while the rich ones
attend schools equipped with adequate resources that can facilitate their learning
even though no formal regulation dictates this phenomenon.
3.1.2 Degree of academic achievement from basic education schools in Rwanda
The second objective of this study was to assess the degree of academic
achievement provided by the various types of basic education schools in Rwanda.
To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was used to collect data on academic
performance (national examinations results), considering the different types of
basic education schools that exist in Rwanda, from 257 respondents. The results
obtained are summarised in Table 2. This result clarifies that 147/257 i.e. 57% of
candidates passed their national examinations with excellence (classified in the
first or second division).
Table 2. Academic achievement from basic education schools in Rwanda
Results obtained from national examinations in 2018 Total
Division I Division II Division III Division IV Unclassified
(Agg 5-15) (Agg 16-30) (Agg 37-37) (38-41) (42-45)
Primary public school 32 34 50 1 1 118
Primary government -
0 6 2 0 0 8
aided school
Type of school
Primary private school 19 15 3 1 2 40
enrolled by child
Secondary public school 6 32 36 14 0 88
in the school
year 2018 Secondary government-
2 0 0 0 0 2
aided school
International secondary
1 0 0 0 0 1
school
Total 60 87 91 16 3 257
In terms of identifying the level of academic achievement from the basic education
schools of Rwanda, the results shown in Table 2 illustrate that of the 126
candidates from primary public and government-aided schools, 72 i.e. 57.1%
candidates passed with excellence (classified in divisions I and II), whereas among
40 candidates from primary private schools, 34 i.e. 85% passed with excellence
(classified in divisions I and II). As far as secondary schools are concerned, the
results in Table 2 show that 90 candidates were enrolled from secondary public
and government-aided schools, with 40 i.e. 44.4% scoring high marks and
classified in divisions I and II. Furthermore, the results in Table 2 show that one
candidate i.e. 100% from an international secondary school scored high marks i.e.
classified in division I. Further analysis showed that all five DDEs participating in
the interviews validated that private schools outperform public and government-
aided schools. Talking about this issue, an interviewee said:
“The public and government-aided schools perform less than private primary
schools according to the previous national examinations results, [and] the private
and government-aided (day schools) perform less than boarding schools (schools
of excellence). The achievement in private primary schools is higher than the rest,
while the achievement in boarding schools (government or government-aided
boarding schools) achieve higher than the rest...”
A recurrent theme in the interviews was a sense amongst interviewees that
primary private schools outperform the public and government-aided schools but
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the most striking result to emerge from the interview data was that public or
government-aided boarding schools (schools of excellence) outperform the
private and public day secondary schools. One possible reason behind this finding
is that the majority of the best performers come from private primary schools who
are financially able to afford the high cost of education from those boarding
schools.
3.1.3 Relationship between parents’ socio-economic categories and students’ academic
achievement
In order to establish the relationship between the parents’ socio-economic
category and their children’s academic achievement, as outlined in the third
objective of this study, the Pearson correlation coefficient was computed. The
results obtained are summarised in Table 3.
Table 3. Relationship between parents' socio-economic category and their children's
academic achievement
Correlations
Socio- Results obtained

economic from national
category examinations in
2018
Pearson Correlation 1 .159*
Social economic category Sig. (2-tailed) .011
N 257 257
Pearson Correlation .159* 1
Results obtained from national examinations in 2018 Sig. (2-tailed) .011
N 257 257
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
The results in Table 3 show that the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between
parents’ socio-economic category and their children’s academic achievement from
basic education schools is r = 0.159, with a significant level p-value of 0.011; this
remains < 0.05 level (2-tailed). This reveals that a significant weak degree of
positive relationship exists between the parents’ socio-economic category and
their children’s academic performance in the basic education schools of Rwanda.
Increasing evidence for this correlation was found from the DDEs interviewed,
who confirmed that such a relationship exists. One interviewee, when asked about
this relationship, said:
“There is a significant relationship between parents’ socio-economic relationship
and their [children’s] achievement because the schools that require much fees and
materials (expensive) are the ones performing well at all levels of education in
our district and they are only joined by students from families that are financially
able.”
A common view amongst the interviewees was that the schools that are fee-
paying with a high tuition cost are those using adequate teaching and learning
materials, infrastructure, well-paid competent teachers and therefore these
schools perform better than the public ones providing free and compulsory
253
education. This therefore indicates an apparent relationship between socio-

economic background and academic performance.
4. Discussion
The overall purpose of this study was to ascertain the Matthew effect and its
impact on students’ achievement gap in the basic education schools of Rwanda.
To answer the three guiding questions of this study, both quantitative and
qualitative data were collected and descriptive analysis was carefully computed
using IBM-SPSS 21. The findings of this study therefore revealed the type of
schools enrolling students considering their socio-economic category, the
students’ academic performance achieved from different types of basic education
schools and finally the correlation that exists between students’ academic
achievement and the socio-economic category of their parents was established.
The synthesis of such findings justified the contribution of the Matthew effect to
the achievement gap in Rwandan basic education schools.
The first set of analysis determined the type of schools enrolling students from
each socio-economic category in Rwanda; it was found that 53.2% of candidates
from socio-economic categories 3 and 4 were enrolled in primary public schools
compared to 95% of the candidates from 3 and 4 socio-economic categories
enrolled from primary private schools. Similarly, 66.7% of senior six examination
candidates were from socio-economic categories 3 and 4 whereas one i.e. 100% of
candidates enrolled in a secondary international school was classified in socio-
economic category 4. This finding reveals that the majority of students from the
disadvantaged socio-economic categories rely on public and government-aided
schools while their counterparts from socio-economically advantaged
backgrounds enroll in private or international schools. Further analysis of the
interview data showed two additional themes emerging: public secondary day
schools enroll students from economically disadvantaged families and
public/government-aided boarding schools (schools of excellence) mostly enroll
students from economically advantaged families. A key fact is that the former are
free and under-resourced while the latter are fee-paying and equipped with the
necessary resources. In accordance with the present findings, previous studies
have demonstrated that students from disadvantaged socio-economic categories
are more likely to be enrolled in schools with a lower level of self-regulation and
with a negative association to school outcomes (Miech et al., 2001). This finding is
also consistent with the contention articulated by OECD (2017), which asserted
that students from low socio-economic categories attend lower quality schools.
Since the majority of students depend on public or government-aided schools
purporting to increase academic achievement for public benefits, with a particular
concern of preparing youth for active citizenship in a democratic society (CEP,
2007), it is hereby recommended that the government of Rwanda should empower
public and government-aided schools’ capacity in terms of acquiring sufficiently
qualified and competent human, material and financial resources to effectively
serve their purpose.
In terms of the second objective of this study, which assessed the degree of
academic achievement provided by Rwandan basic education schools, the
findings established that 85% of candidates enrolled from primary private schools
scored high marks qualifying them in the 1st and 2nd divisions, while 57.1% of their
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counterparts enrolled in primary public or government-aided schools qualified

for the same divisions (1st and 2nd). Further analysis concerning secondary level
also revealed that one candidate i.e. 100% enrolled in secondary international
school scored high marks, qualifying him/her for the 1st division, compared to
44.4% of students in free education who qualified for the 1st and 2nd divisions. One
of the more significant findings to emerge from the interview data is that students
from secondary public/government-aided boarding schools (schools of
excellence) perform better than their counterparts from secondary day schools
(Twelve Years Basic Education [12YBE]). This finding indicates that students
enrolled in prestigious schools perform better than those in free and under-
resourced schools in Rwanda. It is important to note that this current finding is
consistent with the results of a previous study undertaken by Nzabihimana
(2015), which found that students enrolled in private and international schools
outperform their counterparts enrolled in public and government-aided schools.
Increasingly important, this finding is consonant with the previous report of
MINEDUC (2018b) which substantiates that 99% of private school candidates
scored highest marks that qualified them in 1st and 2nd division while only 12%
from public and government-aided schools were qualified in the 2nd division.
Certainly, this finding supports the previous study of Kerckhoff and Glennie
(1999), which reports that American students from high school curricular gain
higher academic attainment, while students from low school curricular gain lower
achievements than those from middle school curricular.
This current finding could indicate that the Rwandans’ ability to pay school fees
and additional costs such as meals, transport, books, etc. in certain private or
international schools determines the degree of academic achievement provided to
their children. The increasing evidence upon which this assertion is based is the
fact that public and government-aided schools in Rwanda are free and
compulsory while those entering private and international schools pay tuition
fees and other related costs of education that are not affordable for the majority of
citizens (LODA, 2016). In pursuit of this fund collected from parents, competent
teachers are hired; they are well paid and provided with adequate teaching and
learning aids as well as an infrastructure that can motivate both teachers and
students (Mbabazi, 2020). Despite the recent slight increase of basic education
teachers’ salary, it is recommended that the government of Rwanda should
further increase its spending on education as a percentage of total government
expenditure and GNI to the recommended figures that can help in improving the
public school infrastructure, teachers’ motivation, teaching and learning materials
and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for in-service teachers,
particularly in areas other than Kigali City (Habyarimana et al., 2022), which have
proven to be lagging behind in terms of quality education.
In the last instance, this study sought to establish the relationship between
parents’ socio-economic categories and their children’s academic achievement.
The findings identified a significant weak degree of positive relationship between
these two factors. This implies that the influence of the Matthew effect on
students’ academic achievement in Rwandan basic education schools continues
to be low. Consequently, the achievement gap in terms of high and low achievers,
given their socio-economic status in Rwanda, is low. This finding is congruent
with the findings of a study conducted by Vanneman (2009), which identified an
255
achievement gap of 23% in Mathematics between white and black students due to
various factors, including parents’ literacy level, income, and the poverty level of
such households. These findings also support the report of World Bank (2015),
based on EICV 2015, which reveals a 9% and 67% difference in school attendance
between the top 10 poorest families and the top 10 richest families in primary and
secondary education, respectively. However, the current finding is in contrast
with the previous report published by UNESCO (2002), which declared a strong
relationship between students’ academic achievement and their parents’
economic status, irrespective of the different levels of such a correlation among
countries. This last exception could therefore be applied to the current situation
of Rwanda. The government of Rwanda is therefore recommended to exert a full
effort in all projects purporting to increase citizens’ socio-economic status in order
to provide students with the necessary basic needs that influence students’
attention and effort in learning, thereby ultimately determining their academic
achievement, as Maslow (1954) suggested that immediate need determines the
immediate action of the students.
5. Conclusion
This study ascertained the Matthew effect and its contribution to students’
academic achievement gap in the basic education schools of Rwanda. The findings
established that the majority of students who enter public and government-aided
schools, which afford them little opportunity to access enhanced educational and
economic/job opportunities or attendant life chances, are those from
disadvantaged socio-economic families, while private and international schools
enroll students from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds. The findings
revealed at the same time that students enrolled in private and international
schools achieve higher scores in national examinations than their counterparts
from public and government-aided schools. Finally, the study established that a
significant weak positive relationship exists when assessing students’ academic
achievement compared to their parents’ socio-economic status, a fact indicating a
low positive contribution of the Matthew effect on students’ academic
achievement in Rwandan basic education schools. In view of these findings, a
conclusion was therefore drawn that the Rwandan aim of ensuring access to
quality, equitable and effective education for all Rwandans is facing a noticeably
bleak foreseeable future due to the existing academic achievement gap, influenced
by the Matthew effect. Thus, recommendations were suggested with the aim of
eradicating the Matthew effect from the basic education schools of Rwanda.
Nevertheless, the study experienced four major limitations within data collection
which could affect its results: a) some respondents were not prepared to indicate
their socio-economic category (UBUDEHE); b) a small number of private or
international schools were found from rural areas (provinces) whereby some
children from advantageous families are displaced to find those schools in Kigali
City, a challenge therefore to find data related to these schools considering zoning
factor; c) some respondents opted not to offer information about their schools,
particularly those in private and international schools; d) some respondents were
not prepared to offer responses for data collection unless they were paid for so
doing. Further studies on this topic should therefore find another research method
that can help in collecting data on socio-economic categories, which seems to be
matter of secrecy for Rwandans, as well as a method that can help in increasing
256
respondents’ consent to participate in order to acquire the required information

from private and international schools. Additionally, further studies on the same
topic should explore the Matthew effect on students’ academic achievement by
ascertaining other influencing factors beyond parents’ socio-economic status;
these could include, for example, the parents’ literacy level, or prior education.
Conflict of interest
The Authors declare no conflict of interest.
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259
Appendix
APPENDIX I: Questionnaire for parents
SECTION 1: Background information
1. Gender of respondents (Tick with √)
Male
Female
2. Your age group
20-30years old
30-40years old
40-50years old
Above 50yers old
3. Your status
Parent by blood
Parent as your adopted child
Guardian
4. Your living province
North
South
West
East
Kigali City
Section II: Indicate your socio-economic category and the school which has
been enrolling your child, his/her examination grade, and his/her results
obtained in school year 2018 (Tick with √)
5. What is your category of UBUDEHE?
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
6. Which kind of school was enrolling your child in the school year 2018?
Primary public school
Primary government aided school
Primary Private School
International Primary School
Secondary Public school
260
Secondary government aided school

Secondary private school
International secondary school
7. Which level of examination did your child sit for in the school year
2018?
Primary Leaving Examination
Senior Six National Examination
8. What was his/her results obtained from Primary leaving examinations
in 2018?
Division I (Aggregate 5-15)
Division II (Aggregate 16-30)
Division III (Aggregate 31-37)
Division IV (Aggregate 38-41)
Unclassified U (Aggregate 42-45)
9. What was his/her results obtained from senior six national examinations in
2018?
Grade Point value Aggregate
A 6*3 18
B 5*3 15
C 4*3 12
D 3*3 9
E 2*3 6
S 1*1 1
F 0 0
Maximum aggregate: 73
Minimum aggregate: 0
Please indicate his/her aggregate in the box provided
261
APPENDIX II: Interview guide for district directors of education

Describe your perception about the types of schools enrolling the basic
education students from four different categories of UBUDEHE in your
district/province.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………....
How do you judge the degree of achievement provided by different types of
Rwandan basic education schools in your District/province?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………
Describe the existing relationship between the parents’ socio-economic status
(Ubudehe category) and their students ’achievement in your district/province.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………....
What measures do you intend to initiate in the types of basic education schools
proven low achievement from their graduates in your district/ province?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………
Thank you so much!
262
Respondent: DDE A. District

district/province.
In our District we are having private schools and public schools and among the
public schools we have the full public schools that are owned by the government and
the Government aided schools that owned by Churches and Non-Government
organisations in partnership with Government, in regard to the enrolment
according to their UBUDEHE category, there is no basis of UBUDEHE category
when in enrolling students but what is practically observed is those from rich
families attend private schools and those from poor families attend government and
government aided schools from pre-primary to primary schools and the children
from poor families attend day schools (9-12YBE) and the rich attend the Boarding
(schools of excellence) in secondary schools as observed.
The public and government aided primary schools perform less than private primary
schools according the previous national exams whereas the private and Government
aided (Day schools) perform less than Boarding schools (schools of excellence). The
achievement in private primary schools is higher than the rest whereas the
achievement in Boarding schools (government and Government-aided Boarding
schools) achieve higher than the rest.
There a tangible relationship between parents’socio-economic relationship and their
achievements because students from poor families usually join primary schools that
performing less within the national examination and this degrade their chances of
joining the Boarding schools which can help them to well at the end the national
exams in senior six.
- We have started emphasizing on the school feeding program to ensure all
students in primary schools are fed at school to improve students ‘concentration
and retention in times of studies to help those from poor families benefiting from
the school feeding program.
- We will put much energy in controlling and monitoring within the government
and government aided schools to the teaching and learning processes are
standardized as required
- We are recommending the central government to let all the primary education
be owned by the government so that all the efforts can be put together to ensure
equity and quality is provided to the poor and the rich.
Thank you so much!
263
Respondent: DDE B. District

district/province.
Those of category one and two attend less performing schools, there is no basis of
UBUDEHE category when enrolling students but what is observable is that those
from rich families attend private schools and those from poor families attend
government and government aided schools from pre-primary to primary schools and
the children from poor families attend day schools (9-12YBE) and the rich attend
the Boarding (schools of excellence) in secondary schools which are highly
performing at the end of national examinations.
schools according the previous national exams whereas the private and Government
aided (Day schools) perform less than Boarding schools (schools of excellence). The
achievement in Boarding schools (government and Government-aided Boarding
schools) achieve higher than the rest.
There a remarkable relationship between parents’socio-economic relationship and
their children’s achievements because students from poor families usually join
primary schools that performing less within the national examination and this
degrade their chances of joining the Boarding schools which can help them to well
at the end the national exams in senior six.
- We will encourage competition between public and government-aided schools
by awarding the best performing.
Thank you so much!
264
Respondent: DDE C. District

district/province.
what is on the ground is that those from rich families attend private
schools and those from poor families attend government and government
aided schools from pre-primary to primary schools and the children from
poor families attend day schools(9-12YBE) and the rich attend the Boarding
(schools of excellence) in secondary schools as observed.
- Prob: do you have any international school within your District?
- R: No, we only have private and public schools but public schools are subdivided
into full public and Gov-aided at all levels.
- Prob: what do parents base on when their enrolling the children.
- R: their financial capacity and schools ‘academic performance.
The private primary schools perform better than public and government aided
primary schools within all evaluations conducted while boarding schools in
secondary levels perform better than day schools whether their owned by
government or private.
There is significant relationship between parents’ socio-economic relationship and
their achievements because the schools that require much fees and materials
(expensive) are the ones performing well at all levels of education in our District
and they are only joined by students from families that are financially able.
- We are recommending the central government to let all the primary education
be owned by the government so that all the efforts can be put together to ensure
equity and quality is provided to the poor and the rich.
Thank you so much!
265
Respondent: DDE D. District

district/province.
what is observed is that those from rich families attend private schools and those
from poor families attend government and government aided schools from pre-
primary to primary schools and the children from poor families attend day schools
(9-12YBE) and the rich attend the Boarding (schools of excellence) in secondary
schools as observed..
The private and international schools perform higher than public and government
aided schools at all levels and their graduates are easily employed than those
graduates of public and government aided schools.
There a meaningful relationship between parents’ socio-economic relationship and
their achievements because students from poor families usually join primary schools
that performing less within the national examination and this prevent them from
joining best secondary schools.
- We will strengthen the school feeding program within public schools to sustain
the attendance and concentration of children from poor families.
standardized as required.
Thank you so much!
266
Respondent: DDE E. District

Describe your perception about the types of schools in which students have been
enrolling within the basic education in relation to the four different categories of
UBUDEHE in your district/province.
In our District we are having private schools , public schools and international
schools From Pre-primary to secondary school, among the public schools we have
the full public schools that are owned by the government and the Government aided
schools that owned by Churches and Non-Government organisations in partnership
with Government, in regard to the enrolment in relation to their UBUDEHE
category, there is no basis of UBUDEHE category when enrolling students but
what is practically observed is those from rich families attend private schools and
those from poor families attend government and government aided schools from pre-
primary to primary schools and the children from poor families attend day
schools(9-12YBE) and the rich attend the private and international schools while
the children from middle class families attend Boarding schools(schools of excellence
in Secondary Schools)
schools and international schools according the previous national exams whereas
the private and Government aided(Day schools) perform less than Boarding
schools(schools of excellence) and international schools in secondary schools. The
achievement in Boarding schools (government and Gov-aided Boarding schools)
achieve higher than the rest. However, students from the international schools
perform better and gain costly international scholarships than others.
It is typically related because the children from poor families join the pre-primary
and primary schools with no adequate teaching and learning resources with less
skilled teachers while their counterparts from rich families join well-resourced
schools(private) and this create a long time negative impact because the first nine
years of education are very important to boost future academic performance.
- We are currently focusing on professional teachers’ development and
recruitment.
- We will also focus on controlling, monitoring and evaluation within public and
government-aided schools.
Thank you so much!
267

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 267-293, April 2023
Being a Teacher in China:

A Systematic Review of Teacher Identity in
Education Reform
Xiaoyi Liu*
Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering
Foshan, China
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
John Trent
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Abstract. Education reform is expected to change teacher’s identity is

expected to undergo changes, which in turn may influence various
aspects of their professional life. As such, teacher identity in education
reform context has received strong attention in the literature in the last
decade or so. This article provides a systematic and critical review of the
empirical research published after 2010 on Chinese teachers’ identity
construction. It conceptualizes teacher identity construction in times of
education reform and the factors mediating this process. A thematic
synthesis was adopted to undertake the review of 28 articles. Teacher
identity categories in K12 and tertiary education were extracted from the
studies to give a contour of teacher identity trajectory. Teacher identities
as thriving, as survival, and as exclusion emerge as the three main
teacher identity categories. Guided by Wenger’s identity theory, we then
discuss three types of teacher identity trajectories: contrive to thrive,
adjust to survive, and alienate to wither; and three distinctive factor
themes: power relations, agency, and emotion. This contextualized
review unfolds stories and mediators of teacher identity construction
against the backdrop of education reform in China through which
implications for enhancing strong teacher identities are drawn.
Keywords: teacher identity; education reform; systematic review
*
Corresponding author: Xiaoyi Liu, s1142495@s.eduhk.hk
©Authors
268
1. Introduction
Education reform has become a global phenomenon. Sahlberg (2016) uses the
term Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) to describe the spreading
education reform orthodoxy. Neoliberal market principles of decentralization,
competition, performativity, and accountability are manifest in GERM (ibid.). As
GERM spreads and evolves, it exhibits contextually specific nuances created by
different jurisdictions and reform drivers. In China, since the market-oriented
economic reform launched in the late 1970s, the government has introduced a
series of education reform policies designed to foster socioeconomic
transformation and enhance the nation’s international competitiveness. For
example, the 1980s witnessed the decentralization of educational governance,
with greater autonomy given to provincial educational authorities and stronger
accountability for education institutions and teachers (Committee of the
Communist Party of China [CCCPC], 1985). In the 1990s, education reform
aimed to shift from exam-oriented to quality-oriented education (CCCCP and
the State Council, 2022). From the 2000s onward, training “socialist builders and
successors” with “all-round development” and “strengthen(ing) moral
education for cultivating people” have been persistently prioritized in education
policies (Xue & Li, 2021, p. 135). Focusing on higher education, in 2016, China
initiated a plan for building “world-class universities” and “disciplines” to boost
its core competitiveness (The State Council, 2015). This strategic decision is
“reform-based performance-related” (Peters & Besley, 2018, p. 1075), as the plan
writes, “using performance as a lever ... (to) encourage fair competition,
strengthen target management ... perfect evaluation system for world-class
universities and disciplines”. Overall, Chinese education reform is a fusion of
GERM features and Chinese characteristics, propelled by the state’s need to
compete globally and support socialist modernization domestically.
Education reform changes teacher identity (TI) which affects how reform
policies “are received, adopted, adapted and sustained or not sustained” (Ball,
2003; Day, 2017, p. 26). Against the ongoing education reforms, considerable
attention has been given to how teachers in China, at both K-12 and
post-secondary levels, construct, sustain, and enhance their identity over the
past decade (e.g., Jiang & Zhang, 2021; Lee et al., 2013; Trent & Liu, 2023).
Beauchamp and Thomas’ (2009) examined the definitions of TI and the factors
shaping it. Over a decade, TI reviews have become increasingly specific in their
reviewed aspects (e.g., focusing on approaches to TI inquiry) and teacher groups
(e.g., TIs of student teachers) (Liu & Yin, 2022; Rodrigues & Mogarro, 2019),
reflecting the growing TI research with sophisticated research paradigm and
nuanced understanding of TIs. Yet, no TI review closely related to education
reform, a site of TI struggle and tension. Beauchamp and Thomas (2009) point
out that education reforms “particularly affect” TI “because of the high level of
emotion involved” (P180). Moreover, none of the previous TI reviews focus on
the Chinese context. Filling these gaps, we attempt to situate the current TI
review against the backdrop of education reform in China, providing insights
into how teachers construct TIs and what mediating factors are involved. By
doing so, this review can contribute to a deeper understanding of the intricate
269
interaction between education policies, institutions, and teachers; meanwhile,

engender suggestions for policymakers, administrators, teacher educators, and
teachers for positive TI construction. This review is guided by the following
questions:
1．How do teachers in China construct their TIs within times of educational
reform?
2．What factors have mediated their TI construction?
2. Teacher identity
TI is “dynamic, multifaceted, negotiated, and co-constructed” in social milieux
(Edwards & Burns, 2016, p. 735). TI negotiation and construction occur when
external forces (e.g., education policies) assign desired TIs to teachers whose
claimed, practiced, or imagined TIs may or may not align with those imposed or
ascribed by others (Reeves, 2018). Wenger (1998) recognizes identity “as a pivot
between the social and the individual” (p. 145) and proposes three sources of
identification: engagement, imagination, and alignment. Through engagement,
teachers involve in the “mutual processes of negotiation of meaning” (p. 192).
Employing imagination, they create unconstrained images of themselves and
their teaching trajectories through time and space by extrapolating from their
experience. Alignment coordinates teachers’ energy and activities to “fit within”
and “contribute to broader enterprises,” such as promoting quality education (p.
174). According to Wenger (1998), policies (e.g., education reform policies) are
reifications that require people’s “intense and specific participation to remain
meaningful” (p. 67). Within changing education reform discourses, TI “provides
a framework for teachers to construct their own ideas of ‘how to be’, ‘how to act’
and ‘how to understand’ their work and their place in society” (Sachs, 2005, p.
15). Therefore, whether and how teachers engage in and align with education
reform agenda are shaped by TIs (e.g., Yang et al., 2021b; Ye & Zhao, 2019). As
“one of the most powerful theories of identity formation” (Tsui, 2007, p. 659),
Wenger’s (1998) theory illuminates the TI construction analysis for the current
review.
3. Method
3.1 Literature search and screen
We aim to understand TI construction within education reform in China. The
following inclusion criteria were used to select studies to review: (1) published
in English, (2) published in peer-reviewed journals, (3) focusing on in-service
teachers, (4) focusing on TI construction, (5) located in Chinese mainland; (6)
empirical studies; (7) covering the reform period from 2010 to the present.
Confining source type to academic journals or articles, we entered search terms
(TI = (teacher identity OR professional identity OR identity) AND Topic (i.e.,
title, abstract, and keywords) = (China OR Chinese) AND AB = (teacher AND
identity)) into three databases in May 2022: Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC,
yielding 316 hits. 186 articles remained for screening after removing duplicates.
The first phase screening excluded 154 articles with reasons listed in Figure 1. 32
studies remained for full-text screening to further appraise their rigor and fitness
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for our review. In the second phase, six studies were eliminated. To maximize
exhaustiveness, we opted to use Google Scholar to search broadly in the same
timeframe, entering the terms “teacher,” “identity,” “reform,” and the like. Only
two eligible articles were captured, indicating the comprehensiveness of the
current data pool. 28 articles were retained for review. Figure 1 shows the search
and screening process, excluded article numbers in each phase, and the reasons
for exclusion.
Figure 1: Flow diagram of the study selection process
3.2 Data analysis

In vivo codes of TI categories were extracted from articles to generate
preliminary contours of TI trajectories. For example, the participant in Huang’s
(2019) study began as an “opponent,” transitioned to a “conformist,” and ended
as a “pragmatist” towards the exam-oriented teaching model, which embodies a
trajectory imbued with adjustment modulated by the external force (i.e.,
high-stake examinations). We then adopted thematic analysis “for identifying,
analyzing, and interpreting patterns of” TI construction and its influencing
factors (Clarke & Braun, 2017, p. 297). Thematic coding in this review is both
deductive and inductive, driven by Wenger’s (1998) theory and the empirical
data of included study. Wenger’s (1998) three modes of identification provide a
theoretical lens and constitute a codebook (Table 1), linking to the first research
question. The “codebook” was used as a “structured coding framework for
developing and documenting” the TI construction analysis (Braun & Clarke,
2021, p. 6). Code examples are shown in Table 1. Meanwhile, two authors
engaged in inductive coding through iterative reading and analysis of studies’
findings, creating new themes pertaining to TI construction. We then progressed
to compare the descriptive synthesis for refined TI trajectory patterns resulting
from different TI work. To address the second research question, inductive
coding was applied to synthesize the influencing factors by extracting in vivo
codes from articles. Codes were then sorted into seven categories: personal,
interpersonal, disciplinary, institutional, community, cultural, and sociopolitical
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factors.
Table 1: Codebook for analyzing TI construction in reviewed studies
Code name Definition Examples
engagement “active involvement in mutual “Ping started to learn new
processes of negotiation of meaning” pedagogical concepts, like
(Wenger, 1998, p. 173) constructivism, collaborative
learning, and inquiry-based learning,
etc. Meanwhile, Ping actively
employed new pedagogical methods
in her teaching ...” (Wei, 2021, p. 7)
alignment “coordinating our energy and “...these policies further increased
activities in order to fit within her enthusiasm for STEM
broader structures and contribute to education... Sunjie diligently and
broader enterprises” (Wenger, 1998, enthusiastically explored how to
p. 173) implement integrated STEM
teaching ...” (Jiang et al., 2021, p. 12)
imagination “creating images of the world and “... I get depressed wondering if I can
seeing connections through time and really fit back into this school in the
space” (Wenger, 1998, p. 174) long term ... I see myself as
displaced...” (Trent, 2020, p. 325)
4. Findings
Table 2 and Table 3 synthesize TI categories teachers had formed at the time of
research and their imagined TIs. They fall into three categories: TIs as thriving,
TIs as survival, and TIs as exclusion. TIs as thriving are agentive, integrated, and
committed, embodying negotiation-oriented TI development. TIs as survival are
contradictory, compliant, and expedient, following utilitarianism-orientated TI
building. TIs as exclusion are unable, invisible, and silent, orienting towards
alienation. How the three types of TIs are constructed is reviewed and analyzed
in detail in the discussion section.
Table 2: TI categories in K12 context
Studies TI categories
TIs as thriving
Lee et al. ⚫ a “reform leader”
(2013) ⚫ “active explorers”
Xu (2013) ⚫ “a learning facilitator” (pre-service imagined TI)1
⚫ “a responsible educator” (in-service imagined TI)
Yuan and ⚫ a “fishing coach”
Burns (2017) ⚫ a “teacher researcher”
⚫ a “collaborator”
⚫ a “change agent”
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⚫ a teacher “invest(ing) in AR (action research)” and living out

values (in-service imagined TI)
Ye and Zhao ⚫ a teacher “spread(ing) knowledge and love” (pre-service imagined
(2019) TI)
⚫ “a representative of the state’s will”
⚫ “a subject teacher leader”
⚫ a “municipal-level” “mathematics master teacher” (in-service
imagined TI)
⚫ head teacher and subject teacher with “relative stability and
balance”
⚫ a teacher investing time and effort to make “relationship with her
students” “special for her” (in-service imagined TI)
Li and Craig ⚫ “a researcher”
(2019) ⚫ a “peaceful” teacher “fostering inner-self”
⚫ “an integrated being”
⚫ a “committed teacher”
Wei et al. ⚫ a “reform-minded teacher”
(2020) ⚫ an “inquiry-oriented teacher”
Wei (2021) ⚫ an “almighty teacher” (pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ a “teacher researcher”
⚫ a “learner researcher”
⚫ a “reform pioneer”
⚫ a “flourishing teacher”
⚫ a tree “grow(ing) with the children” (in-service imagined TI)
Xu and Huang ⚫ an “agentive practitioner”
(2021)
Jiang et al. ⚫ “one of the first STEM teachers in my hometown” (in-service
(2021) imagined TI)
⚫ “a courageous explorer”
⚫ “a model STEM teacher in her district”
⚫ “an excited but unsatisfied mentor”
⚫ “an excellent mentor” of STEM (in-service imagined TI)
Liu and ⚫ a teacher without “meaningfulness” (pre-service imagined TI)
Sammons ⚫ an “active problem solver”
(2022) ⚫ a “decision maker”
⚫ a “student-centered teacher”
⚫ an “assertive self”
⚫ “a growing tree” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ “a leader that can help and influence many people and make a
change in education” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ “a determined professional”
⚫ a teacher who can “exert a positive influence on children”
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⚫ a “role model”
TIs as survival
Lee and Yin ⚫ “the losing heart accommodators”
(2011) ⚫ “the drifting followers”
⚫ “accessories of the reform machine”
⚫ “spare part(s) of the reform engine”
⚫ “cynical performers”
⚫ “an actor”
Xu (2013) ⚫ a teacher valuing “consolidation of the learnt” (pre-service
imagined TI)
⚫ student’s “spiritual guide” (pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ a “teacher busy catching up with the schedule”
⚫ a “routine performer”
⚫ “a worker working on a machine”
Lee et al. ⚫ “contradictory performers”
(2013) ⚫ “novice strugglers”
⚫ a “manual worker”
Huang (2019) ⚫ an “opponent” to the exam-oriented education model
⚫ a “conformist” to the exam-oriented education model
⚫ a “pragmatist” toward exams
Wei et al. ⚫ a teacher who “follow(s) the crowd”
(2020) ⚫ an exam-oriented teacher who “highlight the testing points”
⚫ a teacher “long(ing) for change and innovation” (in-service
imagined TI)
⚫ an influential teacher “making a difference in the practical work”
(in-service imagined TI)
⚫ a teacher “constrained by textbooks”
⚫ a teacher with “weakened determination” in innovation
Trent (2020) ⚫ a “transformative” teacher (pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ a teacher who is “conforming”
Xu and Huang ⚫ “a common follower”
(2021) ⚫ “passive listeners”
⚫ “routine players”
⚫ “flexible accommodators”
⚫ “test-score pursuers”
⚫ “lonely wanderers”
TIs as exclusion
Xu (2013) ⚫ a “language expert” (pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ a “language attrition sufferer”
Trent (2020) ⚫ a teachers sharing “knowledge and skills with colleagues”
(pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ “a silent teacher”
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⚫ a “rejected” teacher
⚫ an “integrative” teacher (pre-service imagined TI)
⚫ an “excluded” teacher
⚫ a “displaced” teacher (in-service imagined TI)
Xu and Huang ⚫ an “invisible middleman without functions”
(2021)
1. Some included studies track and examine TI construction spanning between

pre-service and in-service periods. Imagined TIs in pre-/in-service periods are marked
in parentheses; the rest not marked are TIs constructed.
Table 3: TI categories in tertiary education context
Studies TI categories
TIs as thriving
Liu and Xu ⚫ a “self-motivated” teacher
(2011) ⚫ a “free thinker”
⚫ an “innovative researcher”
Xu (2014) ⚫ “a self-contented established researcher”
⚫ “a productive associate professor”
Huang and ⚫ a “capable college English teacher-as-researcher”
Guo (2019) ⚫ “an educator who cultivates the ‘whole person’”
⚫ “a researcher who conducts ‘real’ research”
Yang et al. ⚫ a teacher who “keeps innovating”
(2021a) ⚫ “a real expert teacher” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ a teacher who is “constantly changing”
⚫ “a conscientious life coach”
Gao and Cui ⚫ a “boundary explorer” and “connector”
(2021) ⚫ “a pioneer fearlessly jumping across hurdles and ditches”
⚫ “a giver with an empty container or a big bucket”
⚫ “a learner”
⚫ “a self-trainer who engaged in agentive self-cultivation”
Jiang and ⚫ “a boundary-crosser”
Zhang (2021) ⚫ “collaborator”
Yang et al. ⚫ “the strenuous accommodator”
(2021b) ⚫ “the fulfilled integrator”
Bao and Feng ⚫ “a prolific ‘academic’” (in-service imagined TI)
(2022) ⚫ “a famous scholar” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ “fulfilled research practitioner”
⚫ “agentic researcher-teacher”
⚫ “confident teacher-researcher”
Jiang (2022) ⚫ “an expert ESP teacher” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ “a learner and a cross-boundary collaborator”
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TIs as survival
Xu (2014) ⚫ “a struggling periphery research practitioner”
⚫ “a passive would-be researcher”
⚫ a teacher who is “forced to do research”
⚫ “a researcher” (in-service imagined TI)
Long and ⚫ teachers who “struggle with whether to do research or not”
Huang (2017) ⚫ conformist to “the university’s promotion benchmarks”
Tao and Gao ⚫ a teacher who “make more contribution to the society” (in-service
(2018) imagined TI)
⚫ teachers ““caught in the middle” between ESP teaching and
mainstream language research”
Wang (2020) ⚫ “a mechanical clock”
⚫ a “teaching robot”
⚫ “marginalized teachers”
Yang et al. ⚫ “the miserable follower”
(2021b)
Zeng and ⚫ “inferior CE teachers”
Fickel (2021) ⚫ “marginal pedagogic researchers”
⚫ “illegitimate, second-class researchers”
Yip et al., ⚫ “an independent teacher” (in-service imagined TI)
(2022) ⚫ a teacher who “have more freedom” (in-service imagined TI)
⚫ “a follower of the leaders’ wish”
⚫ “lower-level factory worker”
⚫ “a technical worker”
⚫ “a score monitor”
TIs as exclusion
Liu and Xu ⚫ an “overwhelmed teacher”
(2013) ⚫ a “torn” teacher self-excluding from the community
Xu (2014) ⚫ “a disheartened non-researcher”
Huang and ⚫ a teacher “being excluded in the field”
Guo (2019) ⚫ a teacher “being thrown out of the right track”
⚫ a member of “the most invisible group in the department”
Yang et al. ⚫ “the disheartened performer”
(2021b)
5. Discussion
5.1 TI construction
Consistent with three types of TIs, three patterned TI trajectories emerge:
contrive to thrive, adjust to survive, and alienate to wither. Three different
trajectories manifest three distinct TI construction process: teachers contriving to
thrive engage in meaningful negotiation, aligning their actions with broader
communities or enterprises; teachers adjusting to survive engage in restricted or
wavering actions regulated by the dominant discourses in situated contexts;
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teachers alienated or self-alienating themselves in communities fail to adjust,

engage, and align. In what follows, we delineate the three scenarios of TI
construction.
Scenario 1: constructing TIs as thriving - contrive to thrive

Nineteen studies report cases of TIs as thriving (See Tables 2 & 3). Their
construction is first and foremost through engagement. Engagement entails
meaningful negotiation arising from “participation and reification,” the
interplay of which supports alignment and constructs robust TIs (Wenger, 1998,
p. 52). Participation refers to the process of doing. Reification means
participative “experience and practice are congealed into fixed forms,” such as
textbooks or awards (ibid., p. 59). Literature shows that teachers who thrived
exerted agency to learn, to experiment new education theories and resolve the
gaps arising therefrom, and to do research. These actions “produce, interpret,
and use reification” (ibid., p. 66).
The new teaching philosophy and requirements brought by education reform

demand and direct teacher learning that contributes to sustainable and robust
TIs . Within times of reform, teachers engaged in learning new education
theories and policies (e.g., Wei, 2021), cross-disciplinary knowledge (e.g., Jiang &
Zhang, 2021), and (teaching) research methods (e.g., Bao & Feng, 2022) to
weather and adapt to the changing education environment. Constructing
vigorous TIs, teacher learning is not static but “the very process of being
engaged in, and participating in” teaching and researching (Wenger, 1998, p. 95).
Experimenting reform or innovative ideas in teaching is the at the core of

spiral-up TI construction. Reviewed studies indicate that teaching experiments
initiate the iterative processes of teachers’ experiencing, exploring, and erasing
the gaps between theories and actualities, driving reforms forward and
constructing vigorous TIs. For example, a STEM teacher, in experimenting the
integrated STEM teaching advocated by the MoE, met mismatches between
STEM features (e.g., inquiry-based learning) and teacher-centered classroom
culture (Jiang et al., 2021). This teacher bridged the gap through reflection,
regulation of negative emotions, and continual exploration informed by the
expert advice, students’ needs investigation, and students’ feedback. The process
of “persistent climbing” to reify strategies to push STEM teaching reform
forward shored up her TI as “an enthusiastic explorer” and deeper alignment
with the STEM reform enterprise (p. 12). Another study (Wei, 2021) reveals a
similar storyline. School teacher Ping (Wei, 2021), a “pioneer” in experimenting
new pedagogies, experienced the gaps between reform ideas and high-stakes
exams. She negotiated the gaps through reflecting upon her TI as an “agentive
subject,” upholding her morality of responsibility, and conducting the
“research-informed exploration” which reified into a “school-based curriculum”
(p. 7). The process of using agency to experiment theories and close the
gaps—claiming the ownership of meaning—not only advances the local
interpretation of polices but also confirms and consolidates her TIs as a “reform
pioneer” and “learner researcher.”
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Besides contextual gaps, knowledge gaps within teachers emerged as an evident

tension during experiments. All studies about TIs in ESP (English for Specific
Purposes) reform highlight CE (College English) teachers’ deficiency in
subject-specific knowledge and ESP teaching skills, triggering emotional
tensions and feeble TIs as an “unqualified teacher” or “an active giver without
much to give” (Gao & Cui, 2021, p. 6; Jiang & Zhang, 2021, pp. 278-279; Jiang,
2022; Tao & Gao, 2018). Lacking institutional support for ESP reform exacerbates
the gap (Jiang & Zhang, 2021). Teachers who constructed solid ESP TIs took
parallel actions to narrow the gaps. Besides self-learning, they crossed the
boundary and engaged in a “collaborative” and “expansive” learning process
involving CE teachers of different specialties, disciplinary colleagues, and
students as “knowledge co-constructors,” compiling teaching materials, doing
ESP research, and experimenting improved ESP pedagogies (Jiang & Zhang,
2021, p. 277; Jiang, 2022, p. 7). This process “eliminated the conflicting elements”
(e.g., emotional turmoil) and built TIs as boundary
crosser/collaborator/explorer vital to the success of ESP reform (Gao & Cui,
2021; Jiang & Zhang, 2021, p. 278; Jiang, 2022, p. 6). TIs are, thus, constantly
strengthened in the process of experiments and narrowing emerging gaps, a
process of alignment through participation in meaning negotiation.
Apart from teaching, engaging in research has become indispensable in higher

education which is now infused by a research-output-oriented culture (Huang &
Guo, 2019). Three studies (Bao & Feng, 2022; Huang & Guo, 2019; Xu, 2014)
demonstrated that CE teachers constructed confident researcher identities
through participating in doctoral or visiting scholar programs, not in an
institution-based way. It confirms the “under-recognized status” of CE teachers
in Chinese higher education academic system, where they act as “isolated
members” and “have limited access to research resources” (Yang et al., 2021b, p.
250; Zeng & Fickel, 2021, p. 651, p. 662). By building solid researcher identities,
teachers maintained “intrinsic motivation” and firm belief in the “mutually
reinforced relationship between teaching and researching,” aligning their
research actions with teaching practice, which elicited positive emotions,
facilitated the congruence of institutional demands and professional
development, and integrated teacher and researcher identities (Huang & Guo,
2019, p. 6; Yang et al., 2021b, p. 247). Reifying research endeavors, such as
getting papers published, fed CE teachers’ imagination of connections with the
academic world, and motivated them, provided a sense of achievement, and
experience of “regimes of competence,” strengthening their TIs as
teacher-researcher and legitimate members of the academic communities (Xu,
2014; Wenger, 1998, p. 251).
In times of reform, reification, “tokens” of teacher agency, competence, and

alignment, is from participation (Wenger, 1998, p. 61). One distinctive theme
about reification is “recognition.” In Chinese sociocultural context, recognition
by students, experts, institutions, and the state through reifications, such as
awards, model lessons, quality courses, and designated roles as “a model reform
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teacher,” “teacher leader,” “mentor,” “backbone teacher,” or “teacher’s

representative” has become an integral part of TIs as thriving (Lee et al., 2013, p.
279; Wei, 2021, p. 7; Ye & Zhao, 2019, p. 42, p. 44). It sustained and nourished
teachers’ agency and motivation in continual engagement and alignment with
reforms (e.g., Ye & Zhao, 2019). Moreover, using such reifications, teachers
crossed the boundary, accessed, constructed, or led communities of practice,
further advancing their thriving trajectories. A schoolteacher in Ye and Zhao
(2019) reified her TI as a “math teacher leader” by participating in various
related practices, such as teaching competitions. The reification provided her
with the “membership of a community for pursuing excellence in teaching” and
more resources for professional development (p. 44). Four studies documented
that teacher with recognized reifications engaged peers in the reform enterprise
and shared their resources and expertise (Jiang, 2022; Jiang et al., 2021; Lee et al.,
2013; Wei, 2021). The experiences of constructing and leading communities of
practice brought them growing recognition, fresh insights, and like-minded
peers, and prompted them to learn more, reflect more, reify more, and influence
more, sustaining fulfilled and vigorous TIs, as one teacher said being in the
community as an “old” teacher and mentor “makes me a flower that blooms
again” (Jiang et al., 2021; Wei, 2021, p. 8). The mutuality of “giving and
receiving” in communities of practice thus reaches into thriving TI construction
(Wenger, 1998, p. 193).
Interestingly, few studies reported cohesive and transformative

institution-based communities of practice. Instead, institutional communities are
often associated with high accountability (Li & Craig, 2019), “unsupportive and
non-collaborative,” “obedient” and “collectivistic culture” (Lee & Yin, 2011, p. 41;
Yang et al., 2021b, p. 246), or “a tool of enslavement” (Liu & Xu, 2013, p. 179).
One telling example is from Liu and Xu (2011), which reported that a CE teacher
constructed strong TIs only when she was excluded from the workplace
community of practice where meaningful negotiation was denied. The exclusion
engendered liberation for her to reify the meaning of pedagogical reform with
greater motivation and autonomy. Therefore, it is not uncommon nor surprising
that some teachers traversed situated communities to construct desired TIs in
“boundary trajectories” (Wenger, 1998, p. 154). Nine studies demonstrate that
teachers crossed the boundary to construct robust TIs. Such communities are
accessed through teachers’ participation in Ph.D. or postgraduate programs
(Huang & Gao, 2019; Xu, 2014; Ye & Zhao, 2019), visiting scholar programs (Bao
& Feng, 2022; Yang et al., 2021), AR projects (Yuan & Burns, 2017), extramural
training activities (Xu & Huang, 2021), research groups or projects (Liu & Xu,
2011; Ye & Zhao, 2019), or virtual online communities (Bao & Feng, 2022; Li &
Craig, 2019). Teachers’ active engagement in communities created “an
experience of identity” and strengthened “the identity of participation,”
enabling desired TI construction (Wenger, 1998, p. 215). For instance, having
joint doctoral or visiting scholar programs, CE teachers formed burgeoning
researcher identities to defend their value “within the managerial context” by
investing themselves in relations with members of academic communities,
participating in the “knowledge construction and academic practice” in the
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communities, and learning how to do research through doing it (Bao & Feng,
2022, p. 8; Huang & Guo, 2019, p. 6).
All the mentioned engagement reflects and supports some alignment. Three
kinds of alignment were identified: aligning with teachers’ “telos” (i.e., “ultimate
goal” “of teachers’ teaching selves”), such as self-growth (Jiang, 2022, pp. 8-9; Li
& Craig, 2019); aligning with the values of broader teacher or teaching
communities, such as “improving language teaching and learning” (Yuan &
Burns, 2017, p. 740); aligning with the ideals of reform policies, such as quality
education (e.g., Ye & Zhao, 2019; Wei, 2021). These alignments direct teachers’
engagement in a larger spatiotemporal context, fostering and sustaining
integrated and committed TIs (Wenger, 1998).
Engagement and alignment spring from, boost, or actualize TI imagination. Nine

studies show that positive imagination is the constituent of TIs as thriving (See
Tables 2 & 3). Yang et al. (2021a) elucidated the mechanism with empirical
evidence that imagined TI provided “self-related goals” within current TI and
“signal(ed) the direction” for actions (p. 8). The gaps between imagined and
current TIs, while triggering emotional tensions, drove constructive engagement
and alignment to achieve congruence. There are studies corroborating this
analysis. For instance, a teacher actively participated in activities deemed useful
to realize her imagined TI as a “master teacher” and devoted herself to
“nurturing and educating students,” a policy requirement “internalized well” by
her (Ye & Zhao, 2019, p. 43). Engagement and alignment recognized, in turn,
drew her closer to the imagined TI. Bao and Feng (2022) testified that the
discrepancy between practiced TI (e.g., a “worker bee”) and imagined TI (e.g., “a
prolific ‘academic”) became a driving force for teachers’ investment in the
academic communities (p. 9). One study (Liu & Sammons, 2022) illustrated how
a teacher’s negative imagined TI transformed into positive TIs through reflection
and solving conflicts, which suggests the fluidity of TI imagination shaped by
actions and experiences.
In brief, TIs as thriving arise out of the combination of engagement, alignment,

and imagination in a reciprocal and integrated manner. Their construction is
strenuous process of meaning negotiation, consequential of teacher agency.
Scope for negotiation exists; otherwise, “coordinated, relevant, or generative
meaning” (Wenger, 1998, p. 65) would not be produced, and desired TIs could
not be constructed. Agency, communities of practice, recognition, and positive
imagination are proven significant to TIs as thriving.
Scenario 2: Constructing TIs as survival - adjust to survive

Fourteen studies report cases of TIs as survival (See Tables 2 & 3). TIs as survival
imply asymmetric power relations in alignment through stiff reification, such as
“top-down mandates” (Yang et al., 2021b, p. 245). The implementation of
policies is mediated by teacher factors (e.g., teacher beliefs) and cultural factors
(e.g., exam culture, resulting in teachers’ restricted or wavering actions in TI
construction.
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One recurring theme portraying TIs as survival is teachers’ “powerlessness”

towards reforms and the institutional system they were stuck in. Teachers
suppressed desired TIs, adjusted their “roles,” “minds, emotions, and
behaviors,” forming TIs as “followers” or “accommodators” of the dominant
discourses to survive (e.g., Lee & Yin, 2011, p. 37; Huang, 2019, p. 315; Wang,
2021, p. 12). Discursively, they positioned themselves as teachers who “could not
make any difference,” “had no power in decision making” (Lee & Yin, 2011, p.
36, p. 38), “got no (other) choice” (Huang, 2019, p. 315; Xu, 2013, p. 83), “don’t
have any power to change” (Trent, 2020, p. 324), or “‘forced’ to do research” (Xu,
2014, p. 252). Besides, they compared themselves to “a technical worker” (Yip et
al., 2022, p. 8), “a worker working on a machine” (Xu, 2013, p. 84), or a “manual
worker” (Lee et al., 2013, p. 279). Metaphorically, teachers used inanimate
objects to express their TIs, including “parts” or “accessories” of the reform
machine” (Lee & Yin, 2011, p. 37), “a mechanical clock” or “a teaching robot”
(Wang, 2021, pp. 9-10). Teachers’ emotion (i.e., powerlessness), belief (i.e.,
having no power), and self-images (i.e., obedient) give us a revealing glimpse of
the context where their TIs were constructed － the context “with little
opportunity for shared experience and interactive negotiation” (Wenger, 1998, p.
65). Within it, teachers’ actions in TI construction fall into two main categories:
restricted actions and wavering actions, shaped by varied internal and external
factors.
Seven studies documented that teachers’ determination, passion, and action for
innovation or desired TI construction were frustrated by different institutional
constraints, including stipulated daily routines, assigned heavy workload, fixed
teaching arrangements, standardized textbooks, rigid evaluation system, and
obeying school culture (Trent, 2020; Wang, 2021; Wei et al., 2020; Xu, 2013; Xu &
Huang, 2021; Yang et al., 2021b; Yip et al., 2022). Particularly depressing were
teachers’ innovative actions or ideas incurring leaders’ criticism and denial, such
as “disrupting the normal teaching order” (Wei et al., 2020, p. 694) and “teachers
are irresponsible for discussing teaching issues related to the reform” (Xu &
Huang, 2021, p. 105). “With coercion being the dominant mode of alignment”
(Tsui, 2007, p. 673), this cohort of studies found that for “utilitarian purposes”
(e.g., “academic rank,” securing the job), teachers had to make adjustment, such
as abandoned their valued beliefs and practice, minimized “communications
with leaders,” stifled their idealistic imagined TIs, and performed new roles to
“follow the crowd,” the rule, and the told (Wei et al., 2020, p. 691; Yang et al.,
2021b, p.245). Being compelled to engage in restricted actions “based on
compliance rather than participation in meaning” (Wenger, 1998, p. 187), they,
consequently, formed passive TIs such as “routine performer” and “miserable
follower” to get by (Xu, 2013, p. 83; Yang et al., 2021b, p. 235).
Admittedly, in some cases, aligning with institutions’ discourses requires strong

agency, but alignment driven by imposed rules tends to be vulnerable. For
instance, the research-output-oriented appraisal system constantly reinforced CE
teachers’ belief in the equation of research and researcher TI with high-ranking
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publications. Their engagement in research and alignment with institutional

discourses were thus easily undermined and undervalued when they failed to
publish. Xu (2013) observed that not having any publications impeded CE
teachers’ academic journey and promotion, giving rise to TIs as a “passive
would-be researcher” (p. 252) or “struggling periphery research practitioner” (p.
250). Similarly, Zeng and Fickel (2021) reported that, lacking publications, CE
teachers self-positioned as “illegitimate, second-class researchers,” despite their
active engagement in pedagogical research (p. 664). Trapped in power relations,
teachers imagining to be researchers to survive in the performative evaluation
regime in higher education restricted their actions to those beneficial for the
construction of TIs required and recognized by institutions, such as obtaining
doctoral degrees and focusing on publishing papers (Long & Huang, 2017; Xu,
2013; Zeng & Fickel, 2021). These findings confirm that aligning with
institutional discourses is “a very profound aspect of how we define ourselves,”
and certain TIs can be frustrated or belittled when meaning is owned,
interpreted, and imposed by institutions (Wenger, 1998, p. 196).
Another strand of research reveals that teachers embroiled in conflicts between

reform mandates and practical constraints engaged in wavering actions.
Overwhelmed by the gaps, teachers were found to swing between the required
and the desired practices. State-level education policies, as Ye and Zhao (2019)
rightly noted, are “numerous and mostly remain symbolic,” leaving “ample
room” for identification, interpretation, and exploration (p. 47). Thriving TI cases
prove that entering that “room” to experiment and negotiate the gaps is essential
for TIs to blossom. Nevertheless, squeezed between reform ideologies and
high-stakes exams, teachers working “baselessly without support” (Lee & Yin,
2011, p. 37) experienced mass unresolved confusion in their TIs and teaching,
and thus adopted an uncertain stance and wavering actions in terms of reforms.
Lee and co-researchers (2011, p. 38; 2013) described that teachers “pa(id) lip
service” and deliberately performed the policies for utilitarian purpose －
impressing external inspectors and administrators, then swung back to
exam-oriented teaching practices in regular classes. Such superficial engagement
in reforms stemmed from teachers’ beliefs in the decisive role of exams and their
insignificant role in reforms. Even the teachers embracing reforms wavered in
their actions for practical reasons. Huang’s (2019) ethnographic study
demonstrated that a schoolteacher, implementing her education ideal of
“all-round-development” “with a low-key attitude” (p. 322), gradually became a
pragmatist engaging in test-oriented practices and aligning with exam-oriented
ideology, fear of losing the trust and support from parents and the school when
her class’s test performance repeatedly ranked the bottom. These findings reveal
that ostensible alignment with reforms, forming TIs as “actors” or
“pragmatists,” was mediated by the baton of exams, the power of external
supervision and recognition, accountability, and teachers’ beliefs and
experiences (Lee & Yin, 2011, p. 39; Lee et al., 2013, p. 277; Huang, 2019).
Another distinct case of teachers’ dilemma leading to wavering actions was

illustrated in Tao and Gao’s study of ESP teachers (2018). Engaging in ESP
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reform made teachers feel fulfilled by virtue of their firm belief in the usefulness
of ESP. Yet, their ESP TI negotiation was undermined due to the peripheral
status of ESP discipline in the institution and mainstream language research,
cutting off their sense of belonging. Under the pressure of publication and
promotion, they chose to engage in ESP teaching while disengaging in ESP
research, a “subtle mix of participation and non-participation” (Wenger, 1998, p.
196).
In a nutshell, alignment with dominant discourses can be coerced, ostensible, or
optional, mediated by asymmetrical power relations, entrenched exam culture,
teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and multiple utilitarian purposes. Restricted
actions based on compliance, rather than meaning negotiation, led to passive TIs.
Wavering actions reflecting teachers’ confusion and predicaments in education
practices and professional development resulted in simulated or fragmented TIs.
Imagined TIs can be crushed by stiff reifications, but dominant discourses can
also yield imagined TIs subscribing to those discourses, such as TIs as
researchers.
Scenario 3: Constructing TIs as exclusion - alienate to wither

Seven studies report cases of TIs as exclusion (See Tables 2 & 3). TIs as exclusion
signal TI crises caused by teachers’ unwillingness or failure to engage in and
align with the dominant institutional discourses, leading to alienation in
communities and bleak extrapolation of TI trajectories.
Xu (2013) and Liu and Xu (2013) noted that unfair experiences regarding
granting awards and opportunities—reifications of recognition, demoralized
and disillusioned teachers. A teacher in Xu’s (2013) study felt “indignant”
because awards and opportunities to participate in competitions were based on
seniority rather than competence and performance (p. 83). She was unwilling to
align with such organizational culture, which completely contradicted her belief
and imagination in the teaching profession, so she quit. Similarly, teacher Feng,
who engaged in and chaired the pedagogic reform, was rejected in the
nomination of the best teacher award and the opportunity to study abroad due
to the lack of publications and age bias, making her feel “betrayed” and
disappointed (Liu & Xu, 2013, p. 187). Such experiences dissolved her
“designated alignment” with reforms (p. 184), replaced by her “self-selected
exclusion” from the reform community and “non-participation” in reforms (p.
190). These studies corroborate the significance of fair recognition, the absence of
which might frustrate engagement and put teachers on “an outbound
trajectory,” such as quitting or retreating from the reform stage (Wenger, 1998, p.
154). Besides emotional needs, Chinese teachers’ care for external recognition
resides in its associated resources and opportunities for moving upward
professionally and personally, as shown in the thriving TI cases. Another form
of unfairness leading to feeble TIs was revealed in Xu’s (2014) study, where a
contracted teacher was treated unfairly compared with tenured ones. Not
allowed to apply for the associate professor as a contracted teacher, he
“alienated himself from research,” becoming “a disheartened non-researcher” (p.
253). Shared among these cases are teachers’ experiences of rejection
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operationalized in power relations, stifling their passion and actions in meaning

negotiation on imagining a miserable picture if aligning with the dominant
discourses, such as “more sacrifices” with little return (Liu & Xu, 2013, p. 187)
and “a waste of time” doing research (Xu, 2014, p. 253).
Situated in contexts performance and accountability, two papers illustrated that
CE teachers were torn between TIs as researchers and teachers (Huang & Guo,
2019; Yang et al., 2021b). Institutions’ research-oriented discourses clashed with
their self-position as ordinary teachers with limited roles and exposed their
incompetence in research, leaving them both unwilling and unable to participate
in research activities and align with academic communities. Feeling
“depressed,” “helpless,” and “hopeless” results in teachers’ “reaction of
dissociation and a consequent identity of non-participation” (Huang & Guo,
2019, p. 7; Wenger, 1998, p. 195; Yang et al., 2021b). Teachers were then forced or
opted to exclude and detach themselves from organizationally desired TIs,
meanwhile living with constant burnout, tensions, and self-doubt.
Lacking negotiability in TI building engenders no alignment, resulting in an

“inability to adapt to new circumstances” (Wenger, 1998, p. 206). Trent’s (2020)
longitudinal research reported that teachers taught in schools where their
meaning contributions were never accepted, developing “an identity of
non-participation that progressively marginalizes them” (Wenger, 1998, p. 203).
Unwilling to compromise and align with institutional discourses triggered
self-alienating actions such as “never try to share,” and TIs as “rejected” or
“excluded” teachers (Trent, 2020, pp. 324-325). Similarly, one teacher in Xu and
Huang’s (2021) study changed from an active physics teacher to an “invisible
middleman without functions” in reforms when the leader detailed and decided
the things to do for test-taking purposes, which contradicted his beliefs in
physics teaching.
Overall, when institutional discourses and practices grossly violate teachers’

beliefs in and imagination of teaching and TIs, they stir strong emotional
responses and block further engagement and alignment. Unwilling or unable to
adapt to the dominant discourses, teachers are alienated in or self-exclude from
situated communities, developing an identity of non-participation and dim
imagination of their TIs.
5.2 Influencing factors

Table 4 lists identified influencing factors in TI construction from the studies that
we reviewed. Enabling factors include internal properties (e.g., agency) and
external support from others, institutions, communities, or policies, the absence
of which might constrain TIs. In many cases, however, it is difficult to label a
factor as enabling or constraining. For instance, negative emotions (e.g.,
frustrated) can drive teachers to grow or compel teachers to go, resulting in
strong or feeble TIs (Jiang, 2022; Trent, 2020). Therefore, TI influencing factors
work together intricately, and a single factor’s nature is hard to define. Three
salient themes surfaced from data analysis (i.e., power relations, agency,
emotion), which are intertwined with one another and with other factors listed
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in Table 4. The remainder of this section discusses these factors.
Table 4: Influencing factors of TIs
Categories Sub-categories
personal factors agency, belief, competence, career phases, disposition, emotion,
experiences, imagination, morality, motivation, qualification, role,
employment status (i.e., contracted teacher or bianzhi teacher1)
interpersonal factors teacher-students, teacher-parents, teacher-colleagues,
teacher-models, teacher-mentors, teacher-experts, teacher-leaders,
community members’ relationships (e.g., supporting, indifferent)
disciplinary factors status of the teaching discipline, cross-disciplinary collaboration
institutional factors institutional discourses (e.g., policies, regulations), institutional
management, institutional leadership
community factors existence/absence of communities, support/recognition/rejection
from communities
cultural factors exam culture, institutional culture, publication culture, Confucian
culture, cultural artifacts
sociopolitical factors national education policies, power relations, life pressure
1. bianzhi refers to the number of established posts in all state-financed schools, colleges,
or universities.
Power relations
Reviewed literature reveals that coercive power relations discourage self-desired
and coherent TI construction by imposing rigid rules on teaching, research, and
promotion; nevertheless, teacher engagement as a “dimension of power”
potentially enables TI negotiation and reconstructs power relations (Wenger,
1998, p. 175). Cases of TIs as survival and exclusion display suppressive power
relations in which decision-making and ownership of meaning are largely or
totally at the hands of institutions, squelching teacher agency, triggering
negative emotions, and blocking robust TI construction (e.g., Trent, 2020; Wang,
2021; Xu & Huang, 2021). Whereas, in cases of TIs as thriving and some cases of
TIs as survival (e.g., Tao & Gao, 2017), despite constraints in institutional power
hierarchy, teachers’ agentive actions were clearly observed to defend and align
with their values, ideals, or enterprises within the structure (e.g., Bao & Feng,
2022; Jiang et al., 2021). Particularly, agency was activated when national
education policies added “new discourses and power dynamics” to teachers’
situated contexts and became an external power they could effectively harness
for professional development (Jiang, 2022, p. 3). Some flourishing teachers
received support and recognition from leaders and experts for their agentive
reification endorsed and advocated by policies, accessing, or constructing
communities of practices and altering the power relations by accumulating and
gaining “competent interpretation” and “ownership of meaning” in terms of
reforms (e.g., Jiang et al., 2021; Wenger, 1998, p. 201; Wei, 2021; Ye & Zhao, 2019).
Yet, if institution leadership adopts policies superficially and uses power to force
unified policy implementation for more political resources, it frustrates TI
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construction, as some teachers described their leaders acting as “social climbers”

rushing through the curriculum reform like “a political mission” “to please the
official,” shaping TI as a “follower of leaders’ wishes” instead of an agentive
explorer (Wang, 2021, p. 13; Yip et al., 2022, p. 9).
Cultural factors add complications to TIs developed in power relations. Shared

cultural norms in teachers’ beliefs influenced their behaviors. Positively,
culturally influenced beliefs in teachers’ duties, such as caring about students,
enhance teachers’ allegiance to the state’s discourse emphasizing the moral
aspect of education, which was used to justify their values within the
increasingly harsh neoliberal discourses (Huang & Guo, 2019). Negatively, cases
reported that the entrenched cultural norm of being subservient to the senior
and collective interests made teachers lead or implement reform in power-laden
environments, even though they lacked competence and understanding in it,
leading to ostensible alignment and fragile TIs (e.g., Liu & Xu, 2013; Wang, 2021).
Chinese institutional culture valuing balance (Xu, 2014), harmony (Wang, 2021),
or collectivism (Lee et al., 2011) could evoke feelings of powerlessness as
individual teachers and further trap them in the system, resulting in conformity
and subordination to dominant discourses with potential TI vulnerability and
crisis. One recurring theme relating to power relations alludes to the publication
culture at home. The unfavorable publication culture (e.g., the necessity of
connections) implicating the unseen power relations keeping the gate of core
journal publication, discouraged teachers’ research engagement, and were at a
disadvantaged when it came to meaningful negotiation within institutions
prioritizing high-ranking publications in teacher appraisal linked with
promotion (e.g., Long & Huang, 2017; Xu, 2014; Zeng & Fickel, 2021).
Agency
Agency anchors in teachers’ engagement, alignment, and imagination. Ye and
Zhao (2019) remarked that Chinese teachers’ agency “is fully embedded in the
institutional structure of the state” (p. 48). Indeed, institutional discourses
shaped by and aligning with national education policies have proven to
influence the direction of teacher agency, orientation of TI construction, and
development of TI trajectories in a significant and distinctive way (e.g., Bao &
Feng, 2022; Jiang, 2022; Wei, 2021). When teachers’ beliefs and value aligned
with policies or when teachers strived for self-development within the system,
they exerted agency to construct a “self-institutionalized self” (Ye & Zhao, 2019,
p. 46) by doing what the institutions and policies desired and required them to
do. Notable examples include university teachers’ engagement in research and
imagination to be researchers to align with institutional discourses regarding
research shaped by the national initiative of building “world-class universities
and disciplines” (e.g., Long & Huang, 2017; Yang et al., 2021b). Whatever
institutional system, scope, and opportunities for exercising agency are
indispensable for robust TI construction. As immediate contextual influences,
suppressive and obedience-oriented institutional discourses and practices that
lacked negotiability are observed as the most direct factor in eroding potential
thriving TIs by constraining teachers’ agentive actions (e.g., Trent, 2020; Xu &
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Huang, 2021).
Two facets emerged as closely linked with agency in TI construction:

imagination and emotion. As evidenced in cases of thriving TIs, positive
imagined TIs which function as “goals,” “direction,” or “driving force”
energized teacher agency in practice to negotiate the gaps between imagined
and current TIs (e.g., Bao & Feng, 2022, p. 9; Yang et al., 2021a, p. 8). Besides,
agency is a resource and means to foster emotional resilience when tensions and
challenges arise (Yang et al., 2021b). Cases of TIs as thriving illustrated that
agentive actions could alleviate or eliminate negative emotions, making it
possible for teachers to develop and sustain strong TIs (e.g., Huang & Guo, 2019;
Jiang & Zhang, 2021).
Emotion
Emotion has been increasingly recognized as central to TI construction,
supported by the reviewed literature. Teachers wrapped in the changing
educational environment and competing discourses experienced mixed
emotions in flux, informing TI construction (e.g., Lee et al., 2011). Strong
emotions that transform TIs were triggered by critical events in teachers’
professional lives, such as the enactment of relevant education policies (e.g., Wei,
2021); and they could also be stirred by daily experiences and pervasive
discourses in the workplace, such as heavy workload and stringent
performativity evaluation (e.g., Long & Huang, 2017; Wang, 2021). Teacher
emotions touch off and bridge teachers’ judgment, thoughts, imagination, and
actions toward their situation and teaching lives, reframing TIs. For instance, CE
teachers’ experiences within neoliberal institutional discourses engendered
heterogeneous emotions (e.g., anger, shame) that prompted their reposition,
revaluation, imagination, and actions regarding their TIs, forming a
non-participation TI or striving for an organizational-desired TI as a
teacher-researcher (e.g., Huang & Guo, 2019; Yang et al., 2021b). Congruence
between external requirements and teachers’ beliefs, competence, and agentive
actions brought positive emotions, facilitating integrated and confident TIs
thriving (Ye & Zhao, 2019); whereas dissonance between external and internal
forces evoked negative emotions that discouraged engagement, contributing to
weak TIs with tensions (e.g., Yip et al., 2022). It is noteworthy that growing
research demonstrates that negative emotions induced by demanding
socio-institutional environments could be conducive to teachers’ agentive
actions for survival, self-growth, and success, enhancing TIs (e.g., Jiang et al.,
2021; Yang et al., 2021a).
Closely connected to the emotion theme, interpersonal relationships acting as a

buffer or generator of emotions, are found to have a direct bearing on TIs.
Interpersonal relationships that alleviate negative emotions and elicit positive
ones feature cooperation, communication, support, affirmation, trust, and
shared vision (Bao & Feng, 2022; Gao & Cui, 2021; Jiang & Zhang, 2021). In the
process of constructing desired TIs amidst constraints and setbacks, such
relationships became a source of emotional support to sustain teachers’ agentive
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endeavors and strengthen solid TIs (e.g., Yuan & Burns, 2017). In contrast,
interpersonal relationships that stirred negative emotions are characterized by
estrangement, competition, surveillance, denial, and distrust, frustrating actions,
and eroding TIs (Huang & Guo, 2019; Li & Craig, 2019; Trent, 2020; Wang, 2021).
Particularly, the pervasive neoliberal discourses are observed to have
complicated and jeopardized interpersonal relationships in which teachers and
leaders “live an existence of calculation” (Ball, 2003, p. 215). It is reported that
some teachers experienced negative feelings (e.g., anger, fear, anxiety), seeing
colleagues’ (academic) achievements, being judged by students’ test
performance, or being forced to implement certain practices, which triggered
actions such as compliance, compromise, and struggle (Huang, 2019; Li & Craig,
2019; Wang, 2021; Yang et al., 2021b). This finding resonates with Ball’s (2003)
view that institutions’ neoliberal demands affect relations and engender
individuals’ negative feelings.
Taken together, power relations, agency, and emotion stand out from the
reviewed studies as central mediators in TI construction, which can be combined
as a triangular prism to understand the complexity of TIs in reform contexts.
6. Implication
In this review, we made a crucial observation that teachers’ agentive, strenuous,
and fruitful participation aligning with policies and dominant education
discourses is implicit in thriving TIs with more positive emotional experiences.
Underneath is the power of the state and institutions, embedding alignment
with system’s regulations and enterprises in teacher evaluation and promotion,
profoundly shaping the direction of teacher agency and orientation of TI
development. Not exclusive to Chinese teachers, teachers around the world
“face unprecedented national pressures to comply with policy agendas through
increasingly interventionist systems of surveillance” of the orientation, quality,
and impact of their professional work (Day, 2017, p. 2). A more dialectical view
of education reforms is perhaps desired, as thriving TI cases have verified that
teachers’ actions initially driven externally brought a sense of fulfillment when
they developed competence, gained ownership of meaning, and received
recognition (e.g., Bao & Feng, 2022; Jiang, 2022; Wei, 2021). It was the process of
exerting agency and reifying certain TIs, albeit externally motivated, that
brought fresh perspectives and meaningful experiences to teachers,
reinvigorating their passions, inspiring their imagination, and promoting their
TIs. However, greater sensitivity should be given to the affordance of teacher
agency that is largely contingent upon their situated environments and internal
competence and beliefs. Several studies reveal that institutional environment
forbidding space for negotiability and agency deprofessionalized teachers with
fragile TIs (e.g., Wang, 2021); while the clash between external requirements and
internal forces tormented teachers by feelings of insecurity, vulnerability,
inferiority, and indignation, damaging their TIs (Huang & Guo, 2019; Yang et al.,
2021b; Zeng & Fickel, 2021). Therefore, we argue for teacher empowerment that
enhances strong TIs in such a turbulent era when teachers are wrapped in
ever-changing reform discourses and socio-institutional environments.
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Teacher empowerment－“teacher’s power to participate in decision-making”

(Zembylas & Papanastasiou, 2005, p.432)－is essential since TIs are constructed
“as a lived experience of participation” (Wenger, 1998, p. 151). The leadership
and sociocultural environment valuing and allowing teacher participation in
decision-making should be fostered and guaranteed in the first place. At
institutional and national levels, besides offering support to develop teachers’
understanding and competence in reforms, engaging teachers in (collaborative)
learning, reflection, articulating frontline experiences, feelings, and suggestions,
exerting agency, and critical thinking is crucial. In other words, teachers’
knowledge, thoughts, needs, experiences, emotions, agency, judgments, and
expertise should be respected by the top and produce genuine impact on the
decision-making outcomes in the end. Without teachers’ sufficient participation,
their relations to the reform enterprises “tend to remain literal and procedural”
(Wenger, 1998, p. 187) out of innermost resistance and oftentimes mechanical
compliance and implementation, portending TI conflicts, bringing little changes
on education practices, and even counteracting the improvement of teaching and
researching quality if teachers use “cunning manoeuvers” for survival (Huang &
Guo, 2019, p. 10). Further, empowering teachers emotionally is necessary since
reforms are found to intertwine with teacher emotions. Institutions’ humane
attitude and practices for facilitating teacher growth, recognition from
significant others, and positive interpersonal relationships yield emotional
strength that nurtures agency and enables TI development (e.g., Bao & Feng,
2022; Xu, 2014; Ye & Zhao, 2019).
Despite the necessity of external empowerment, teacher empowerment－the

“process that generates growth and enablement” (Carl, 2009, p. 3)－is truly
activated when teachers believe their abilities and possibilities to participate, to
change, and take actions to navigate and balance the conflicting identities and
demands in reforms (e.g., Gao & Cui, 2021; Wei, 2021). One important caveat we
would like to add is that teachers’ passion and action for excellence within
neoliberal discourses encapsulating teachers’ values in a set of auditable criteria
should be viewed critically (Ball, 2003). While some teachers or scholars
perceived such discourses as opportunities to activate agency, facilitate
development, and build powerful TIs (Huang, 2019; Huang & Guo, 2019), the
fear, anxiety, TI tensions, ethical dilemmas (e.g., whether to publish papers via
agencies), and obsession with external recognition (e.g., awards) experienced by
many teachers call for sober judgment and closer examination as to whether and
how the neoliberal culture might enable teachers or cripple them in the long run
and from the perspective of the whole education ecology.
Given the complicated education environments, teacher empowerment －

developing “competence to take charge of their own growth and resolve their
own problems” (Myrick Short et al., 1994, p.38)－starts from the pre-service
period via “identity-oriented teacher education” that allows student teachers’
experience of negotiating identities, bridging gaps between theory and practice,
and claiming ownership of meanings through identity-oriented activities, such
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as critical autoethnographic narrative, and reflective pedagogy (Meihami &

Husseini, 2020; Yazan, 2019). Moreover, as a critical mediator in TI construction,
teacher emotion sees relevance to teacher education. Training sessions on
emotional intelligence are necessary and can be effective in developing student
teachers’ awareness, management, and regulation of their emotions (Vesely et al.,
2014), which were proven essential capacities to sustain agency and enable TIs
negotiation and integration in the reviewed literature (e.g., Jiang et al., 2021).
7. Conclusion
Drawing from Wenger’s (1998) identity theory, our systematic review has taken
stock of empirical studies focusing on Chinese teachers’ TIs in times of reforms
since 2010. This review has shown that education reforms could result in both
challenges and opportunities for teachers, constraining, enabling, or orienting
their TIs. Under the three scenarios of TIs are teachers’ unique professional
stories, the development of which are constantly mediated by myriad factors,
such as emotions, beliefs, agency, moral stance, institutional environment,
culture, and power relations. How these interrelated factors interact to shape TI
construction and reconstruction under education reform policies warrants
further investigation from multiple perspectives. Particularly, TI conflicts and
crises caused by neoliberal reform discourses call for more research. Suggestions
for enhancing strong and positive TIs are put forward, which point to the
necessity of teacher empowerment from the broader socio-institutional context,
teacher themselves, and teacher education. We hope to see more contextualized
TI reviews and enlightening TI research against the global education reform
trend in the future since different sociopolitical, economic, and cultural
environments influence countries’ education policies and teachers’ responses to
them.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 264-285, April 2023
Sociolinguistic Pedagogical Implications of EFL

Issues: A Case Study of Saudi Universities
Omer Elsheikh Hago Elmahidi

Department of Languages & Translation, College of Science and Arts, Alula,
Taibah University, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed AbdAlgane*
Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics
Department of English & Translation, College of Science and Arts,
Ar Rass, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia
Ibtesam AbdulAziz Bajri

Department of English Language, College of Languages and Translation,
University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abstract. In this study, the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) issues in Saudi universities have
been considered. Future EFL instructors require education that
acknowledges linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical
aspects. Areas of improvement in explaining instructors' vital role in
changing language education are highly concentrated in language
proficiency and technology. Investigating in the significant influence of
sociolinguistic characteristics on the educational context and the growth
and use of EFL results in raising social and cultural awareness, enabling
students to know how to interpret the surrounding environment. In this
study report, we describe the close relationship between social and
educational settings, and the classroom environment as suitable factors
for fostering sociolinguistic competence in EFL learners. The desired
outcomes were to explore whether culture and education could be
viewed as two inseparable independent parameters and whether EFL
learners needed to master the cultural rules of use and rules of discourse.
EFL instructors believe that teaching a language in its natural context is
the best way to teach the language. The authors used a questionnaire to
collect data from Saudi university staff members. A significant
conclusion was reached about the sociolinguistic pedagogical
implications of EFL issues. Responses to the questionnaire were analysed
by SPSS. The use of a socio-pedagogical approach to teaching EFL can
have a positive impact on EFL issues. It is recommended that EFL
instructors in Saudi universities take a socio-pedagogical approach to
*
Corresponding author: Mohammed AbdAlgane; Mo.mohammed@qu.edu.sa
©Authors
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teach the language and that universities provide teachers and students
with adequate resources to help them understand the language.
Keywords: EFL issues; language proficiency; sociolinguistic

competence; socio-pedagogical approach
1. Introduction
This study dealt with the topic of sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) issues by applying a case study conducted
at Saudi universities. Exploring various factors and the effect of the social context
on EFL learners' English aptitude at the tertiary level reflect that social
competence helps learners gain more than academic competence. Non-native
speakers frequently encounter misunderstandings in the cross-cultural
implementation of communicative acts, which are typically caused by their
improper use of pragma-linguistic and socio-pragmatic skills. Not making an
effort to recognize and understand the aspects of the language-use situations that
influence the rules of language usage cross-cultural differences may lead to
misconceptions and major communication breakdowns between the speech
participants. The rules of speaking can be learned gradually by the language
learners as they become more and more ingrained in the culture of the target
language; however, this process takes time, and many rules may go years without
being noticed or, worse yet, never be learned at all. Communication is a significant
area of challenge for EFL learners.
English is a global language with the right to global ownership since it is widely
learned and used by people of all ethnicities with different mother tongues and
cultures. As a communication solution for multilingual and multicultural
situations, it is unsurprising that distinct variants originate and exist across
geographic regions according to Jenkins (2015) and Galloway and Rose (2018).
Akkakoson (2019), and Ambele (2021) stated that the existence of this trend
should be acknowledged and understood by educators working in the English
language teaching (ELT) sector. Their objectives need to be reprioritized, and their
ELT frameworks need to be rethought. The major educational emphasis should
no longer be on adhering to Standard English, such as British English or American
English. Priority should be given to strategies that address communication
success in cross-cultural contexts and the new linguistic landscape (Jenkins 2015;
Galloway and Rose, 2015). English's sociolinguistic landscape has changed and
become more diverse, causing the language to be less tied to particular English
varieties or ethnic groupings like British and American, according to Jenkins
(2015) and Galloway and Rose (2018). As a result, the uses and applications of the
language quickly transcend racial, social, and geographic borders.
The main challenge of this study was to find the sociolinguistic pedagogical
consequences of EFL difficulties. The eventual goal of language education is to
develop social-linguistic competence, therefore teachers' crucial involvement in
this change is still a huge concern. Education that considers linguistic, socio-
historical, cultural, and pedagogical issues is necessary for future EFL instructors.
At the same time, this was considered taking cognisance of the impact of variables
and the social setting on tertiary-level English proficiency in EFL learners that was
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thoroughly explored in this study, together with examining how sociolinguistic

traits substantially impact the educational environment, and the development
and use of English as a foreign language. This study was concerned with
examining the connection between social and educational contexts, as well as the
characteristics that make a classroom environment conducive to building
sociolinguistic competency in EFL learners and the intended outcomes. English as
a foreign language (EFL) is the language used by students from non-English
speaking countries. It is used for education, business, communication, and travel.
It is also the language used in most international academic studies. The purpose
of this article is to look at the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of the EFL
issues in Saudi Arabia and how they affect EFL learning in universities. English is
used as a lingua franca in many countries and is the language of instruction in
many universities. The demand for English in Saudi Arabia has increased due to
the country's economic growth and its need for international trade. This article
will explore the sociolinguistic implications of the EFL issues that affect EFL
learning in universities. The problem stated for the study was to determine the
sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of the EFL issues. Because attaining
social-linguistic competence is the end goal, instructors’ vital role in changing
language education is still a major concern. Future EFL instructors require
education that reflects linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical
aspects. This study aimed to explore the effect of specific factors and social
contexts on EFL learners' English aptitude at the tertiary level and to investigate
the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on the educational
context and the growth and use of English as a foreign language. This
investigation was the leading step toward exploring the close relationship
between social and educational settings and the classroom environment as factors
that foster sociolinguistic competence in EFL learners and the desired outcomes.
1.1. Statement of the Problem
English is used as a lingua franca in many countries and is the language of
instruction in many universities. The demand for English in Saudi Arabia has
increased due to the country's economic growth and its need for international
trade. This article explores the sociolinguistic implications of the issues that affect
EFL learning in universities. The problem stated for the study entails determining
the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of EFL issues. Because attaining
social-linguistic competence is the end goal, instructors’ vital role in changing
language education is still a major concern. Future EFL instructors require
education that considers linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical
aspects. This study was aimed at exploring the effect of factors such as social
context on EFL learners' English aptitude at the tertiary level, and investigating
the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on the educational
context and the growth and use of English as a foreign language.
1.2. Research Objectives
This study was aimed at raising the awareness of language teachers for the
sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of EFL which can be applied in a
language learning classroom. This article offers recommendations on how to
develop a pedagogy that teachers can use to teach and learn EFL in addition to
studying the typical close interaction between social and educational contexts
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from parts of sociolinguistics and cultural research. Accordingly, this study aimed
at attaining the following objectives:
1. Determining the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of EFL.
2. Explaining instructors’ vital role in changing language education.
3. Proving that future EFL instructors require education that considers linguistic,
socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects.
4. Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on the
educational context and the growth and use of EFL.
5. Describing the close relationship between social and educational settings and
the classroom environment as suitable factors for fostering sociolinguistic
competence in EFL learners and attaining the desired outcomes.
1.3. Research questions

In this study, researchers addressed the following questions:
1. What are the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of the EFL issues?
2. What are the instructors’ vital roles in changing language education?
3. What do future EFL instructors require from education that considers
linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects?
4. How do sociolinguistic characteristics influence the educational context and
the growth and use of English as a foreign language?
5. How close is the relationship between social and educational settings and the
classroom environment as suitable factors for fostering sociolinguistic
competence in EFL learners and the desired outcomes?
2.1. Sociolinguistic Pedagogical Implications of EFL Issues
The study of language in its social context is known as sociolinguistics. It looks at
the way language is used in different social settings and the different ways in
which language can be used to communicate. The term ‘socio-pedagogy’ refers to
the use of sociolinguistic approaches to teaching and learning. Socio-pedagogical
teaching focuses on teaching language in its natural context so that students are
able to understand and use the language correctly. Sociolinguistic pedagogy has
implications for the teaching and learning of EFL in Saudi universities. Various
sociolinguistic issues need to be addressed to ensure effective teaching and
learning of a language. These include the use of the native language, the use of
dialects, the use of non-standard language, the use of slang, and the use of code-
switching.
2.2. Overview of the EFL Issues in Saudi Arabia

According to the researchers in this study, the use of the native language is an
important issue in Saudi universities. Many students do not have a strong
command of English, so they rely heavily on their native language to
communicate and understand information. This can lead to confusion and
misunderstanding in the classroom. The use of dialects is another issue that needs
to be addressed. Saudi universities have students from different regions of the
country, and each region has its dialect. This can lead to misunderstandings and
difficulty in communication. The use of non-standard language is also an issue.
Many students use non-standard languages, such as slang or colloquialisms, to
communicate and to show their familiarity with the language. This can lead to
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confusion and difficulty in comprehension. Finally, code-switching is an issue that

needs to be addressed. Code-switching is the use of two languages in one
conversation. This can lead to confusion and difficulty in understanding the
conversation.
2.3. The Impact of Sociolinguistic Pedagogical Implications on EFL Issues in

Saudi Universities
Ofodu (2012) found that factors such as gender, age, and religion have a minor
effect on the English aptitude of secondary school students while studying the
usage of English as a Second Language in the classroom. Therefore, parents
should be more concerned about their children speaking their native language
and should offer maximum support in this area. According to Faizin (2015), the
conditions presented here are not limited to the specific context of Portuguese
language instruction. Methods for collecting sociolinguistic information were
addressed during the first part of the study. After that, phonology and grammar
are scrutinised to see whether there is a discrepancy between real-world language
use and typical teaching materials and how that might be fixed. The intention of
this section on interactional norms is to shed light on a topic that is often
overlooked in more conventional training materials. To tackle these foundational
concerns, Vlack (2011) looks at language from three separate but interconnected
theoretical perspectives. His studies include sociolinguistics, discourse analysis,
and cross-linguistic pragmatics (to a lesser extent). By taking this route, he hopes
to provide students with a broad introduction to and a solid grounding on how
language is researched, evaluated, and taught, with an eye on their future
language acquisition. He integrates fundamental SLA theory with real-world
linguistic data. The students have been pushed to prepare lesson plans that might
be used in a formal education setting.
2.4. Sociolinguistic Factors Influencing Both the Acquisition and Instruction of

English
Sociolinguistic factors play an important role in acquiring and instructing a
foreign language and need to be considered.
2.4.1. The Social Climate

The phrase ‘social context’ encompasses a wide variety of language-learning
environments, such as home, neighbourhood, school, and community. Experts
like Pavlenko (2002), Hall and Walsh (2002), and Lesaux and Siegel (2003) have
recently shown that historical, political, and social factors, as well as
psycholinguistic aptitude, all play a role in the process of switching from one's
home language to a second or foreign language. This result is in line with studies
from the 1980s that demonstrate the importance of the social context for any
attempt to understand second/foreign language acquisition (Beebe & Takahashi,
1989; Sridhar and Sridhar, 1986; Heath, 1983). A learner's motivation, goal, the
functions a second/foreign language is expected to perform in the community,
the availability of input to the learner, the variation in input, and the proficiency
norms acceptable to that speech community are all influenced by the learner's and
teacher's social context. Learning a new language is impacted by the context in
which it is first encountered, such as at home and at school. Learners of a second
or foreign language and native speakers have more opportunities to interact due
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to social considerations, as noted by Muftah (2022). Shenk (2014) has found that
the social and discursive context in which instructional intervention is offered
significantly affects the success of second/foreign language students in school.
The social setting determines not just the status of the target language within a
given speech community, but also the kind of linguistic resources available to
language students. The sociolinguistic characteristics of English language
acquisition and its use in India, West Germany, and Japan, as illustrated by Nunan
(2003), show how these countries have significantly different influences on the
growth and use of English as a second or foreign language.
2.4.2. The Educational Setting

There is a close relationship between social and educational settings. The study of
educational settings in educational psychology sheds light on the
interdependence and mutual influence of educational institutions and
environments where teaching and learning occur (Bloome & Green, 2015). The
educational system has a significant impact on language planning, policy, and,
most importantly, the instructional resources made accessible to second-language
students. “The experiences that participants bring to the classroom are shaped not
only by the learning and teaching segments they have encountered in the
classroom, but also by their larger social, economic, educational, and political
environment, so it is impossible to separate classroom life from the dynamics of
political, educational, and societal institutions”, as argued by Kumaravadivelu
(2006).
Tollefson and Tsui (2014) claim that the educational context is crucial in
determining both the nature and the goals of language learning programmes for
English language learning (ELL). For instance, the educational setting affects the
connection between the native tongue and the language of instruction, as well as
the development of ‘standard’ and ‘nonstandard’ linguistic norms. Official
decisions in the field of education will allow students learning a second language
to choose between additive and subtractive forms of bilingualism. Additive
bilingualism allows second-language learners to develop functional proficiency
in a second language without abandoning their first language. Subtractive
bilingualism describes the phenomenon in which second language learners lose
their native language as their ability and confidence in the target language
improves. Norton and Toohey (2011) state that “[e]ducation can affect how non-
native speaker status, race, gender, class, age, and social standing mediate access
to linguistic and interactional resources, and how discourses appropriated by
second language learners are linked to power and authority" (cited in Pavlenko,
2002:291).
In addition, there are two perspectives when investigating the function of

language in society. The first is the study of the societal effects on language or
linguistic sociology. Sociology is the study of how language affects social
interactions. Field surveys and studies have shown that they are inseparable
despite widespread assumptions to the contrary. Because of how closely language
and culture are linked, it is fairly complicated to examine each independently.
Sociolinguistics and the sociology of language are synonymous fields, with
sociolinguistics existing just as a convenient ‘one word’ in comparison to the many
270
other names under which the study of language has been known before World
War II. Learners' unique traits have a major bearing on how quickly and well they
acquire a language, thus teachers should not ignore them.
2.4.3. One's Age
It is generally agreed that one's future linguistic ability is impacted by the age at
which one first begins learning a foreign language. Lenneberg and Lenneberg
(1967) argue that learning a second language before reaching puberty is optimal
since after this age, linguistic growth slows down. Younger is better, according to
Krashen (1981), but he also proposed that children and adults may use different
processes when learning a second language, with children relying on the same
innate properties of language acquisition as with first language acquisition and
adults relying on general problem-solving skills. For others, however, ‘older is
better’ because of the benefits for second-language acquisition of increased
cognitive and reading abilities that come with age (McLaughlin, 1987; Snow,
1983). These data demonstrate that maturation influences L2 (second language)
learning.
2.4.4. Acquiring Sociolinguistic Competence through Instruction

Two primary approaches exist for imparting and showcasing sociolinguistic
skills. Two examples are incorporating speech acts as situations in which students
must use language with consideration of socio-pragmatic factors like the hearer's
social status, the degree of imposition, or the content of the request, and using
cultural models in which students are taught cultural elements embedded in
language use, either explicitly or implicitly. There are several factors that could
make a classroom environment unsuitable for fostering sociolinguistic
competence in students, one of which is a lack of authenticity in instructional
materials. The majority of NNS who teach English confront difficulties in
establishing sociolinguistic expertise, as stated by Izumi (1996). These difficulties
include the NNS's personal lack of comprehension, current curriculum
requirements, varying teaching goals, and evaluation and motivating systems.
Developing a socially acceptable lexicon is less of a priority for the majority of EFL
students than mastering the grammatical rules and sentence construction of the
target language. As stated by McGregor (2019), there is always room for
improvement in the socio-pragmatic use of language among EFL students. She
argues that the ability to utilize a foreign language effectively as measured by
sociolinguistic competence is not implied by proficiency. Izumi (1996) argues that,
despite the challenges of teaching and learning sociolinguistic competence,
students can be helped to promote and achieve sociolinguistic competence by
increasing their understanding of sociolinguistic language usage standards, as
articulated by Ellis (1991).
There are three main reasons why sociolinguistic competence is not generally
recognized as a separate issue and an integral part of language instruction, as
outlined by Omaggio (2001):
a) Due to time limits imposed by the curriculum, many language teachers feel
they cannot adequately provide students with sociocultural training.
271
b) Sometimes educators do not feel confident in their own abilities to

adequately address students' cultural backgrounds while they (the
students) learn a second language.
c) When attempting to help students grasp the rationale and relevance of the
target culture, teachers sometimes find it incredibly challenging to address
student opinions.
Yu (2006) agrees that there are not enough communicative contexts in which
students use language, and she argues that it is unrealistic to expect students to
use authentic and natural language in the classroom, where most second-
language learning takes place. Yu draws attention to the challenges associated
with teaching and learning sociolinguistic competence. Due to a lack of L2
sociolinguistic competence, transmission from L1 includes the transfer of L1
sociocultural patterns into L2 sociolinguistic rules of language usage. According
to Holmes and Brown (1987), it seems simpler to explicitly teach grammatical
rules, segmental level pronunciation, and lexical items, while the sociocultural
components of communicative competence are viewed as incidentally learned.
This is a false premise since familiarity with linguistic conventions and the correct
method to pronounce and interpret individual words do not necessarily translate
into familiarity with the contexts in which those words are used.
Social context and cultural milieu shape how linguistic forms are understood by
speakers of a given language. In actual communication, forms have roles and
socio-pragmatic meanings that are intertwined with one another. Classroom
interaction with native speakers is essential for teachers to help their pupils
develop their communicative skills. Teachers need to be well-versed in the topic
of sociolinguistic competence if they are to aid their pupils in developing this skill.
Most teachers either do not cover the material which they do not know much
about or do a poor job of covering it since they have inadequate training in
sociolinguistics during their own education. An effective response is needed to
the problem of teachers lacking sociolinguistic abilities. To accomplish this, it is
necessary to either provide instructors with a well-structured educational
programme designed specifically for them, or to provide them with ample
opportunities to interact with native English speakers so that they may acquire a
more nuanced understanding of English culture and proper language usage.
Altering curricula and syllabi to make room for instruction in this area can also
help in resolving the aforementioned problems. Learners' purported inability to
overcome pre-existing linguistic and cultural hurdles will also be addressed in the
final results of the analysis of the qualitative data.
2.4.5. Education in English Language and Familiarity with Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistic competence is often cited as a desirable outcome for students of
English as a second or foreign language, although it has never been properly
defined within the ELT paradigm. Indonesia's English as a foreign language
curriculum has systematically incorporated sociolinguistic competence.
Sociolinguistic competence is reflected in the teaching goals for English as foreign
language classes increasingly including authentic communication practices, with
an emphasis on communicative-oriented tasks and environment-relevant
272
language abilities. As a result, it is crucial to discuss how best to measure students'

progress toward sociolinguistic competence in the classroom.
Even though there is a wealth of information available in the academic literature

on sociolinguistic competence, language instructors must be able to effectively
incorporate basic ideas into their own classroom practices. Educators need to be
aware of the shift in the definition of sociolinguistic competence from a set of
linguistic skills to one that is fluid and adapts to the speakers’ environment
through their use of a variety of linguistic resources and communicative
opportunities afforded by geographical and social mobility (Blommaert, 2014).
Therefore, it is essential that teachers of English as a foreign language learn how
to incorporate different semiotics and literacy practices into their lessons. It shifts
our focus from the conventional definition of sociolinguistic competence, which
places greater value on suitability and cultural fit (Canale and Swain, 1980). In
light of the shift in EFL instruction's focus from correctness to learner autonomy,
teachers should promote additional activities that aim to boost student
involvement and provide more opportunities for students to build language skills
(Li, 2020).
However, improvements in teaching methods are needed to create an atmosphere

conducive to learning a new language, particularly in combining academic and
recreational work. EFL teachers need to constantly reframe the ideas behind
communicative language teaching regarding how language is being used today.
It has been suggested that EFL teachers do this by scrutinizing the students'
regular patterns of speech and engagement. Moreover, modern English speakers
may be hampered in their expressiveness by concerns over social decency
(Xamidullaevna, 2020). To build a useful and engaging EFL classroom milieu, it is
necessary to re-evaluate current pedagogical approaches to language, including
those that emphasize linguistic diversity, satisfying local needs, and the
importance of learners' experiences (Pennycook, 2014; Richards, 2006; Savignon,
2006).
The crucial role of teachers in modifying language education is still a primary

concern because acquiring social-linguistic competence is the end aim. Future
English teachers need training that considers cultural, linguistic, socio-historical,
and pedagogical factors (Sarimsakova, 2021). Consequently, it is crucial that
teachers of English as a foreign language grasp the concept before it can be used
in a formal EFL environment. If teachers and students have the same assumptions
about what it takes to develop sociolinguistic competence in the classroom, it
would be much simpler to run a smoother, more productive learning
environment. According to Munandar and Newton (2021), EFL educators are
staunch in their adherence to pedagogical beliefs regarding the importance of
culture and intercultural competence in the classroom. Teachers' convictions will
serve as a springboard for their intellectualization of commitments, which in turn
must rest on a firm grasp of the underpinnings of the discipline (Richard, Gallo &
Renandya, 2002).
Accordingly, classes should not do away with discussing students' sociolinguistic

competence. It establishes a theoretical and practical framework for analysing,
273
incorporating, and assessing students' sociolinguistic skills in the classroom

setting. Teachers who are conversant with such concepts will also have a leg upon
which to stand when it comes to students’ grasp of foundational knowledge
(Putra, 2019). To what extent do ideas and deeds, which are inextricably linked,
influence the potential and originality of those who practise communicative
language teaching? As part of developing students' sociolinguistic competence,
instructors of English as a foreign language emphasize linguistic and cultural
differences between their students' home languages and the target language, have
them translate polite expressions into the target language, and to practise having
a natural conversation through role play.
Littlewood (2013) advocates creating communication-focused, context-sensitive

language instruction as one solution to the problems highlighted. By providing
engaging educational opportunities, communicative language teaching helps
students improve their communication abilities. Therefore, activities and
exercises must be planned according to the curriculum and regarded as an
integral part of the educational process (Littlewood, 2013). Teachers of English as
a foreign language in Indonesia are obligated to incorporate sociolinguistic skills
into their lessons using several methods, including different strategies, activities,
assignments, and evaluations. The implementation of the K–13 curriculum (2013)
in Indonesia's formal EFL classroom has greatly improved students' chances of
achieving sociolinguistic competence. Previous studies have shown that EFL
educators are interested in students' language and cultural backgrounds. For
instance, Zaenul (2016) recommends four strategies for students dealing with
adults to whom they look up. The problem will not go away as long as teachers
show little enthusiasm for, or outright reject, the concept of change in the
classroom. A sustainable shift in EFL pedagogy can only occur if the focus on
sociolinguistic competence is maintained throughout the teaching and learning
processes. For output priority in language learning, it is essential to devote more
attention to the junction of sociolinguistic competency and English education
(Zhang and Wang, 2016).
2. Methods and Study Population

In this study, SPSS was used to evaluate data collected from a questionnaire
issued to a random sample of 49 tertiary-level instructors who teach English as a
foreign language at different Saudi universities. The instrument for collecting data
was a seven-item questionnaire administered via Google Forms. All responders
teach English in a formal context as their area of expertise and as a foreign
language. Validity and reliability have been examined. The questionnaire was
submitted to five experts to validate its content and was amended based on the
responses of the referees. The purpose of the instrument was to assess the
attitudes of respondents regarding the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of
EFL issues. Each item of the questionnaire required a response based on a five-
point Likert scale used to gauge attitudes. The instrument for collecting data was
a seven-item questionnaire administered via Google Forms. All responders taught
English as a foreign language in a formal context as their area of expertise. Validity
and reliability have been examined. The questionnaire was submitted to five
experts to validate its content, and amended based on the responses of the
referees. The purpose of the instrument was to assess the attitudes of respondents
274
regarding the sociolinguistic pedagogical implications of EFL issues. Each item of

the questionnaire required a response based on the five-point Likert scale used to
gauge attitudes.

Based on the study objectives and the statement of the problem, the data collected
by means of the questionnaire were analysed and the following charts show the
results. In general, this research is considered significant because sociolinguistics
has close links to anthropology through the study of language and culture, and to
sociology through the study of the function that language plays in structuring
social groups and organizations. It is also linked to social psychology, particularly
with respect to the identification of in-group and out-of-group actions and the
expression of views and perceptions. Knowledge of the social environment in
which language is used, the roles of those involved, the information exchanged,
and the purpose of the contact is important in understanding the sociolinguistic
pedagogical implications of the challenges of EFL. Teachers, textbook writers, and
educators can benefit from this study. This study has looked at raising language
teachers’ awareness of the sociolinguistic Pedagogical Implications of EFL which
can be applied in a language learning classroom. The findings reflect developing
pedagogies that teachers can use to teach and learn EFL and the close interaction
between social and educational contexts from parts of sociolinguistics and
cultural research. Accordingly, and based on the study objectives, this study has
concluded that there are:
4.1. Areas of improvement in explaining instructors’ vital role in changing

language education
Areas of improvement in explaining instructors’ vital role in changing language
education are highly concentrated in language proficiency and technology,
among others.
275
Chart 1. Areas of improvement inf explaining instructors’ vital

role in changing language education
25
20
20
16
15 14
13 13 13
12
11 11 11
10 10 10
10 9
8 8 8
5 5
5 4
2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0 00
0
Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly diagree
Figure 1: Areas of improvement in explaining instructors’ vital role in changing

language education
Based on Figure 1, which shows areas of improvement in explaining instructors’

vital role in changing language education, the majority of the participants (20%)
‘strongly agree’ that ‘language proficiency’ is a vital role, 5% ‘agree’, while 2% of
the participants are ‘uncertain’. Regarding ‘pedagogical knowledge and skills,’
13% ‘strongly agree’ that it is important, 8% ‘agree’, and 2% were ‘uncertain’. With
respect to ‘the student's understanding’, 12% ‘strongly agree’ that it is vital, 10%
‘agree’, while 2% of the participants are ‘uncertain’. A number of the participants
(11%) ‘strongly agree’ that there should be ‘a balance between explicit and implicit
teaching’; 10% ‘agree’, while 2% were ‘uncertain’. Furthermore, with regard to
‘membership in the teaching community’, 8% of the participants ‘strongly agree’,
10% ‘agree’, while 5% of the participants were ‘uncertain’. In the category ‘engage
in lifelong learning’, 13% of the participants ‘strongly agree’, 8% ‘agree’, and 2%
were ‘uncertain’. Regarding ‘the use of technology’, 16% of the participants
indicated ‘strongly agree’, 11% ‘agree’, while 1% of the participants indicated
‘uncertain’. Regarding ‘promoting student participation’, 8% of the participants
selected ‘strongly agree’, 10% ‘agree’, 5% were ‘uncertain’, and only 1% indicated
‘disagree’. Lastly, in the ‘protecting their own health’ category, as shown in the
chart, 13% of the participants selected ‘strongly agree’, 9% ‘agree’, and only 1%
indicated ‘uncertain’.
276
4.2. Future EFL instructors require education that considers linguistic, socio-
historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects
Future EFL instructors require education that considers linguistic, socio-
historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects, indicating that EFL instructors
should be aware of their own background, culture, and identity.
Chart 2. Future EFL instructors require education that considers linguistic, socio-
historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects
16
14
14 13 13 13 13
12 11
10 9 9 9 9
4 3 3
2 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
EFL instructors should EFL instructors should EFL instructors need to EFL instructors should be EFL instructors need to
consider and understand have an understanding of consider the cultural aware of his/her own cultivate the relationship
the relevance of the the socio-cultural differences of the background culture and between belief and
learning environment in background of the learner. students in implementing identity. practice to ensure better
the teaching/learning activities in the classroom. language learning
process. Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly diagree outcomes
Figure 2: Future EFL instructors require education that considers

linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects
According to Figure 2, which shows that future EFL instructors require education
that considers linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects, 13%
of the participants ‘strongly agree’ that ‘EFL instructors should consider and
understand the relevance of the learning environment in the teaching/learning
process’, 9% ‘agree’, while only 1% of the respondents were ‘uncertain’.
Regarding ‘EFL instructors having an understanding of the socio-cultural
background of the learner’, 13% of the participants ‘strongly agree’, 9% ‘agree’,
and only 1% were ‘uncertain’. For the statement ‘EFL instructors need to consider
the cultural differences of the students in implementing activities in the
classroom’, 13% of the participants ‘strongly agree’, 9% ‘agree’, and only 1%
indicated ‘uncertain’. Furthermore, 14% of the participants ‘strongly agree’ that
‘EFL instructors should be aware of their own background culture and identity’,
11% ‘agree’, and 3% indicated ‘uncertain’. Lastly, 13% of the participants ‘strongly
agree’ that ‘EFL instructors need to cultivate the relationship between belief and
277
practice to ensure better language learning outcomes’, while 9% and 3% of them

selected ‘agree’ and ‘uncertain’, respectively.
4.3. Exploring Factors and the Effect of social context on EFL Learners’
English Aptitude at the tertiary level
Exploring the effect of specific factors and social context on EFL learners' English
aptitude at the tertiary level shows that social competence helps learners gain
more than academic competence, and context can support students to appreciate
the relevance of disciplinary knowledge and skills, increasing their motivation
and engagement.
Chart 3.Exploring factors and social context's effect on EFL learners'

English aptitude at the tertiary level
16 15 15
14
14 13 13 13
12 12
12
10
4
2 2
2 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
Social situations are shaped Social competence helps Context can support The way a teacher chooses
by contextual factors and learners gain more than students appreciate the to manage the daily
contextual cues are academic competence. relevance of disciplinary concerns of teaching that
important for interpreting knowledge and skills, indirectly shapes the
social situations increasing their motivation perceptions of learners
and engagement
Figure 3: Exploring the effect of factors and social context on EFL learners' English
aptitude at the tertiary level
Shown in Figure 3 are responses about the effect of factors and social context on
EFL learners' English aptitude at the tertiary level. 13% of the participants
‘strongly agree’ that ‘social situations are shaped by contextual factors and
contextual cues are important for interpreting social situations’; 13% ‘agree’, and
2% are ‘uncertain’. It was found that 15% of the participants ‘strongly agree’ that
‘social competence helps learners gain more than academic competence’, while
12% ‘agree’ and only 1% indicated ‘uncertain’. Moreover, 15% of the participants
‘strongly agree’ that ‘context can help students appreciate the relevance of
disciplinary knowledge and skills, increasing their motivation and engagement’;
12% indicated ‘agree’; and only 1% selected ‘uncertain’. Additionally, 14% of the
participants ‘strongly agree’ that ‘the way a teacher chooses to manage the daily
278
concerns of teaching indirectly shapes the perceptions of learners’, 13% indicated

‘agree’, and 2% ‘uncertain’.
4.4. Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics

on the educational context and the growth and use of English as a
foreign language
Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on the
educational context and the growth and use of English as a foreign language result
in raising social and cultural awareness so that students will know how to
interpret the surrounding environment.
Chart 4. Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic

characteristics on the educational context and the growth and
use of English as a foreign language
18 17
16 14 14 14
14 13
12 12
12 10
10
8
6
4 2 2
2 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
Sociolinguistics provides EFL Cultural norms, expectations, Raising social and cultural Instructors need to be aware
learners with the appropriate and context affect the way awareness so students know of the sociolinguistic factors
rules of speaking and writing language is used. how to interpret the do exist in the teaching and
and raises their awareness of surrounding environment learning process in the
the sociocultural differences classroom such as race,
across languages gender, class, native
language, and where the
student is seated, among
others.
Figure 4: Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on

the educational context and the growth and use of English as a foreign
language
In investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic characteristics on the

educational context and the growth and use of English as a foreign language, as
shown in Figure 4, 14% of the participants ‘strongly agree’ that ‘sociolinguistics
provides EFL learners with the appropriate rules of speaking and writing and
raises their awareness of the sociocultural differences across languages’; 12%
‘agree’, and 2% of the respondents were ‘uncertain’. In addition, 13% of the
participants ‘strongly agree’ that ‘cultural norms, expectations, and context affect
the way language is used’, while 14% of them ‘agree’, and only 1% of the
respondents were ‘uncertain’. Furthermore, it is found that 10% of the participants
‘strongly agree’ that ‘raising social and cultural awareness so students know how
279
to interpret the surrounding environment is important’; 17% ‘agree’, and only 1%

of the respondents were ‘uncertain’. Finally, 12% of the participants ‘strongly
agree’ that ‘instructors need to be aware of the sociolinguistic factors that do exist
in the teaching and learning process in the classroom, such as race, gender, class,
native language, and where the student is seated, among others’, while 14% of
them ‘agree’, and 2% of the respondents indicated ‘uncertain’.
4.5. Describing the close relationship between social and educational settings
and the classroom environment as factors suitable for fostering
sociolinguistic competence in EFL learners and the desired outcomes
By describing the close relationship between social and educational settings and
the classroom environment as factors suitable for fostering sociolinguistic
competence in EFL learners and the desired outcomes, we explored whether
culture and education are two inseparable parameters although they are
interdependent and whether EFL learners need to master the cultural rules of use
and rules of discourse.
Chart 5. Describing the close relationship between social and

educational settings and the classroom environment as suitable
factors for fostering sociolinguistic competence in EFL learners
18 and the desired outcomes
16 16
16 15 15
14
14 13
12 11 11
10
10
8
8
4
2 2 2
2 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
Culture and education Social interaction plays Social interaction plays EFL learners need to The emphasis is on the
are two inseparable an important role in an important role EFL in master the cultural rules appropriateness of
parameters and they learning. learning by performing of use and rules of communicative acts and
are interdependent. learning tasks. discourse. the naturalness of
speech within given
Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly diagree socio-cultural contexts.
Figure 5: Describing the close relationship between social and educational settings and
the classroom environment factors suitable for fostering sociolinguistic competence in
EFL learners and the desired outcomes
Figure 5 describes the close relationship between social and educational settings
and the classroom environment factors suitable for fostering sociolinguistic
competence in EFL learners and the desired outcomes. It is shown that ‘culture
and education are two inseparable parameters and they are interdependent’, with
280
which 16% of the participants ‘strongly agree’, 11% ‘agree’, and only 1% was
‘uncertain’; ‘social interaction plays an important role in learning’, with which
11% of the participants ‘strongly agree’, 15% ‘agree’, and 2% of the participants
were ‘uncertain’; ‘social interaction plays an important role in EFL learning by
performing learning tasks’, with which 13% of the participants ‘strongly agree’,
14% ‘agree’, and only 1% of the participants were ‘uncertain’; ‘EFL learners need
to master the cultural rules of use and rules of discourse’, to which 8% of the
participants responded ‘strongly agree’, 16% ‘agree’, 2% ‘uncertain’, 1%
‘disagree’, and 1% of the participants reacted with ‘strongly disagree’. Lastly, for
‘the emphasis is on the appropriateness of communicative acts and the
naturalness of speech within given socio-cultural contexts’, 10% of the
participants responded with ‘strongly agree’, 15% with ‘agree’, 2% were
‘uncertain’, and only 1% indicated ‘strongly disagree.’
5. Conclusion
The research shows that the use of a socio-pedagogical approach to teaching EFL
in Saudi universities can have a positive impact on the EFL issues in the country.
It is recommended that EFL instructors in Saudi universities take a socio-
pedagogical approach to teaching the language and that universities provide
teachers and students with adequate resources to help them understand the
language. By taking these steps, universities can ensure that their students are able
to effectively use the language and avoid confusion and misunderstanding. The
research results demonstrate that the instructors have a positive view of the EFL
issues in their universities and that their teaching has a positive impact on EFL
issues. The instructors believe that teaching the language in its natural context is
the most effective approach to teaching the language, and the students report that
the instructors’ teaching has a positive impact on their understanding of the
language. This indicates that these sociolinguistic issues should be addressed in
the teaching of EFL in Saudi universities.
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Appendix
The Questionnaire:
Areas of improvement in explaining instructors’ vital role in changing language
education
Item Strongly Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
Language proficiency
Pedagogical knowledge and

skills
The student's understanding
The balance between explicit

and implicit teaching
Membership in the teaching

community
Engage in lifelong learning
The use of technology
Promoting student
participation
Protecting their own health
Future EFL instructors require education that considers

linguistic, socio-historical, cultural, and pedagogical aspects

Agree disagree
EFL instructors should consider

and understand the relevance
of the learning environment in
the teaching/ learning process.
EFL instructors should have an

understanding of the socio-
cultural background of the
learner.
EFL instructors need to

consider the cultural differences
of the students in implementing
activities in the classroom.
284
EFL instructors should be

aware of their own background
culture and identity.
EFL instructors need to

cultivate the relationship
between belief and practice to
ensure better language learning
outcomes
Exploring factors and social context's effect on EFL learners'

English aptitude at the tertiary level

Agree Disagree
Social situations are shaped by

contextual factors and
contextual cues are important
for interpreting social situations
Social competence helps

learners gain more than
academic competence.
Context can support students to

appreciate the relevance of
disciplinary knowledge and
skills, increasing their
motivation and engagement
The way a teacher chooses to

manage the daily concerns of
teaching that indirectly shape
the perceptions of learners
Investigating the significant influence of sociolinguistic

characteristics on the educational context and the growth and
use of English as a foreign language

Agree Disagree
Sociolinguistics provides EFL

learners with the appropriate
rules of speaking and writing
and raises their awareness of
sociocultural differences across
languages.
Cultural norms, expectations,

and context affect the way
language is used.
Raising social and cultural

awareness so that students
285
know how to interpret the

surrounding environment
Instructors need to be aware of

the sociolinguistic factors that
exist in the teaching and
learning process in the
classroom, such as race, gender,
class, native language, and
where the student is seated,
among others.
Describing the close relationship between social and

educational settings and the classroom environment as
suitable factors for fostering sociolinguistic competence in
EFL learners and the desired outcomes

Agree Disagree
Culture and education are two

inseparable parameters, and
they are interdependent.
Social interaction plays an

important role in learning.
Social interaction plays an

important role in EFL learning
when performing learning
tasks.
EFL learners need to master the

cultural rules of use and rules
of discourse.
The emphasis is on the

appropriateness of
communicative acts and the
naturalness of speech within
given socio-cultural contexts
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 286-309, April 2023
Formation and Consolidation of Research

Seedbeds: A Systematic Literature Review
Beatrice Avolio*
CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School, Lima, Peru
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
Luz María Paucar-Menacho

Departamento de Agroindustria y Agrónoma, Facultad de Ingeniería,
Universidad Nacional del Santa, Nuevo Chimbote, Ancash, Perú
Carolina Pretell
CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School, Lima, Peru
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
Abstract. Formative research, in the context of the teaching-learning

processes of higher educational institutions, is a pedagogical strategy in
which professors and students participate, using research as a teaching
strategy for students to develop discovery-based learning. Formative
research includes various strategies, such as the implementation of
research seedbeds. Research seedbeds are communities of
extracurricular learning and voluntary participation, wherein students,
through a guided and progressive exercise, develop competencies for
research through training activities, extracurricular workshops and
research projects. This systematic literature review focuses on research
seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy within the context of the formative
research of higher educational institutions. Using the Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
methodology, this paper covers 17 articles published in Scopus and Web
of Science databases. The analysis of the current state of knowledge about
research seedbeds allows the identification of the critical factors for the
formation and consolidation of research seedbeds. Based on the literature
review, these factors have been grouped into the following dimensions:
(i) factors related to the formation of research seedbeds; (ii) factors
related to the organization of research seedbeds; (iii) factors related to the
dynamics of the management of research seedbeds; and (iii) factors
related to the stakeholders of research seedbeds (institution,
professor/tutor and students). Additionally, the study suggests several
directions for further research in this domain.
*
Corresponding author: Beatrice Avolio, bavolio@pucp.pe
©Authors
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Keywords: Research Seedbeds; Systematic Literature Review; Formative

Research
1. Introduction
Science, technology and innovation are necessary elements for the social and
economic progress of the world (Organization of Ibero-American States for
Education, Science and Culture, 2012). In this context, research, as a social process
that aims to discover new knowledge from evidence, forms the basis of progress.
In many countries, research is developed, disseminated and used through various
organizations and institutions that make up national innovation systems. A
national innovation system can be defined as “the set of organizations and
institutions of a country that influence the development, dissemination and use
of different types of knowledge and innovations” (Colciencias, 2016, p. 5).
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) (1997), the performance of a system of science, technology and innovation
is the result of complex relationships among its stakeholders, whereby the flows
of knowledge and technology among people, companies, higher educational
institutions and research institutes are essential for innovation and technological
development processes. Thus, the governing institutions of science, technology
and innovation systems are not only expected to guarantee the quality and socio-
economic relevance of research, but also to be able to create opportunities to
improve interactions among the stakeholders at national and international levels
and promote competitiveness by building capacities in strategic areas (Science
and Technology Options Assessment, 2014). One of the fundamental stakeholders
in the system of science, technology and innovation is the higher educational
institutions, which play a fundamental role in the creation of new knowledge
through scientific, technological, humanistic and social research. To meet this
goal, higher educational institutions must develop the research skills of their
professors and students, through the incorporation of research as a differentiating
element of learning within the curriculum and the institution (Lopez et al., 2022).
Research, in the context of the teaching-learning processes of higher educational

institutions, can be analyzed considering two large dimensions: formative
research and productive research of knowledge (also called “research training”)
(Campos, 2020; Peláez & Montoya, 2019). The productive research of knowledge
aims to generate scientific knowledge in order to contribute to the knowledge of
different disciplines, a responsibility that falls mainly on the research professors
of educational institutions. Formative research is a pedagogical strategy,
developed as part of the teaching-learning process, in which both professors and
students participate; research is used as a teaching strategy for students to
develop discovery-based learning (search, construction, organization and
construction of knowledge) (Restrepo-Gómez, 2007).
Formative research is mainly used to "train professionals with self-development

skills, which allows them to continue learning throughout their lives so they can
use research methods to problematize and assume critical and creative thinking
towards reality" (Peláez & Montoya, 2019, p. 22). According to Calderón (2015),
formative research is carried out under the supervision of a research professor, as
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students participate actively and proactively in the construction of their own

knowledge. Moreover, formative research is a space for research training that is
orientated towards reflection and problem solving. For Arenas et al. (2021), the
objective of formative research is to strengthen the skills necessary to build
scientific knowledge. In this way, higher educational institutions benefit from
formative research since it is a means by which the curriculum and practical
pedagogy complement the research through a variety of strategies (López et al.,
2022). Many authors agree that students must be the protagonists of their training
process, and that the curricula must contain, besides the specific competencies of
the academic program, competencies that aim at strengthening students’ research
capacity (Rubio et al., 2015). A significant aspect of formative research, besides the
training in research-related competencies, is the ability to identify potential
researchers and link them to research processes, through research incubators or
seedbeds. Formative research includes various strategies for its implementation.
These can include, for instance, the development of class sessions based on
Problem-Based Learning, the inclusion of research-related subjects in the
curricula, the establishment of links between professors and students through
projects and extracurricular spaces, case study, exploration of bibliography, the
development of research competencies through research seedbeds, active
learning, project-based learning and many others (Silva et al., 2008).
The present study focuses on research seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy within

the context of formative research in higher educational institutions. Research
seedbeds are working groups comprising of a research tutor with proven research
experience and a group of students, with the aim of developing one or more
projects, within a certain line of research (Garza et al., 2021). The research
seedbeds form communities of extracurricular learning and voluntary
participation, wherein students, through a guided and progressive exercise,
develop competencies for research by completing training activities,
extracurricular workshops and research projects. A seedbed promotes early
formation in research, through an alternative model whereby the student is the
protagonist. According to McErlain (2020), the participation of university students
in research projects through research seedbeds forms the “pedagogy of the 21st
century” (p. 2).
Despite the relevance of formative research in the field of teaching-learning

processes and scientific seedbeds, as a strategy for students to develop the
research skills of students under the leadership of a research professor, the subject
has not been widely developed in the academic literature. Thus, there is a need to
identify the current status of the existing scientific knowledge on this topic and
propose recommendations for future research. In this context, the objective of this
literature review is to analyze the current state of research seedbed studies and
identify the critical factors for the implementation of research seedbeds in the
context of formative research in higher educational institutions. Specifically, this
systematic literature review aims to answer the following research questions:
RQ1. What is the current state of research seedbed studies, as a formative strategy
in higher educational institutions, in the literature up to December 2022?
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RQ2. What are the key factors for the formation and consolidation of research
seedbeds? A literature review can be described as a way to collect and synthesize
previous research (Knopf, 2006), which is especially useful for integrating
perspectives and facilitating theory development (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012). The
literature review is not only a report that summarizes articles from a specific line
of research; it also provides a description and critical evaluation of a line of
research (Parajuli, 2020). Furthermore, they can help to identify knowledge gaps
and provide recommendations for future research.
To the best of our knowledge, this article is the first literature review applied to
the study of research seedbeds. This article is expected to serve as an input for the
development of strategies of formative research based on scientific seedbeds, as
well as providing recommendations for future research on this topic. The rest of
the article is structured as follows. Section two presents the definition of research
seedbeds. Section three explains the methodology applied to the literature review
and section four presents the results of the literature review. Finally, the
conclusions and recommendations for future research are discussed.
2. Theoretical Foundation
Research seedbeds are defined in different ways in educational institutions. Some
also refer to them as scientific seedbeds or research circles. According to García (2010),
the research seedbed “is an alternative training space to the curriculum…that uses
the professor-book-student triad methodology” (p. 265). Research seedbeds
involve activities based on reading, speaking, writing, attendance at conferences
and academic and cultural events, the organization of events, the construction of
joint projects and other proposals for reflective intervention. For Molineros (2010),
they are “groups that acquire instruments for the development of research, in a
space that promotes conversation and dialogue and where new knowledge and
learning methods are discovered” (p. 212). Giraldo (2002) explains that the
seedbeds are interdisciplinary learning communities that converge in the
formation of a research culture and the promotion of the scientific spirit in the
educational field.
Seedbeds promote a space in which students and professors from different

disciplines can converge with the same research purpose (Pavón & Carrillo, 2018).
The research seedbeds are a strategy based on methods that allow students and
professors to participate, prioritizing freedom and innovation to develop learning
more effectively than formative work in the classroom. In particular, this strategy
allows professors to conduct research with the support of young researchers
while, at the same time, developing competencies that will help students
strengthen their research skills (Medina, 2018).
In terms of their formation, research seedbeds usually have the same structural
and functional form. They are comprised of (i) a research tutor (in charge of
supervising and guiding students in research activities); (ii) a coordinator-student
(who supports the research tutor and maintains close coordination with the
students of the seedbed, consistently supporting them in the fulfillment of the
duties assigned during the research project); and (iii) members (students who
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carry out projects or other research activities within the seedbed and who are the
main stakeholders seeking to develop their potential for scientific contribution).
Based on the literature, scientific seedbeds have various objectives. According to

Molina et al. (2012), they are “groups that promote research capacity, interaction
between professors, researchers and students to strengthen academia, scientific
and social development of the community, promote discipline, teamwork,
interdisciplinarity and participation in research networks” (p. 212). For Giraldo
(2002), the seedbed “is an alternative of integral formation, based on motivation,
participation and learning of the theory, practice, research methodology and other
related knowledge, in order to train its members in a culture of research…” (p.
58). Similarly, Pepper and Terán (2019) stated, “the seedbeds are ideal spaces
where students understand the daily work of a researcher, who acts as a tutor,
create together learning communities around a research topic” (p. 272). The main
objective of these learning communities is:
To educate political, ethical, critical and reflective citizens, through the
establishment of new relationships with knowledge, to change the passive-
traditional role of the learner to a participatory-critical role. These spaces
also promote scientific and research culture, building scenarios for
research training. (Universidad de Antioquía, 2019, p. 29-30)
Moreover, research seedbeds aim to identify talents among students and train
new researchers, so that students and professors “learn research by doing
research”. Seedbeds are organized as academic communities for the research
systems of the higher educational institutions, through their link with the research
groups, making them the training cells of the generational change of researchers.
Similarly, they are linked to students, since their work areas are derived from the
interests that arise in students in the formal development of their studies, always
framed in the institutional lines of research. Appendix 2 provides three examples
of the characteristics of scientific seedbeds in Latin America (Colombia and Peru).
3. Methodology
In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify, synthesize
and analyze previous studies using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and the Meta-Analyses methodology (PRISMA, 2020). According to
Pahlevan-Sharif et al. (2019), the PRISMA checklist represents one of the most
comprehensive checklists to assess current and future trends in any field. It sets
out the necessary steps to conduct a literature review that is replicable for other
researchers and that generates reliable data. In addition, the application of the
PRISMA checklist contributes to a clearer picture of the execution, quality and
rigor of systematic literature reviews. The PRISMA methodology has four stages.
In the first stage, the researcher determines the objectives of the review and
formulates research questions. In the second, the researcher establishes the
literature review protocol, which includes the definition of databases, search
terms, and literature selection criteria. In the third stage, the researcher performs
the search in the databases, and the search results are filtered according to the
selected criteria. In the fourth stage, the results are analyzed to collect relevant
information, and prepare summary tables and a map of the literature and
references. Finally, the researcher carries out the thematic analysis methodology,
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which is “a form of pattern recognition within the data, where emerging themes
become the categories for analysis” (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006, p. 82).
3.1 Literature Review Objective

This systematic literature review explores the way in which research seedbeds
have been previously researched in terms of the authors, journals, research
design, population and geographical location. Additionally, this literature
addressed the following research question: What are the critical factors for the
formation and consolidation of research seedbeds?
3.2 Literature Review Protocol

In terms of the protocol used in this study, the search was conducted in the Scopus
and Web of Science databases. The study protocol considered the term “research
seedbeds” in all fields. The search strategy included academic articles published
in English and Spanish up to December 2022. The search identified 60 papers (52
in Scopus and 8 in Web of Science), which were individually reviewed in detail.
We discarded duplicated papers as well as others according to the
acceptance/rejection criteria listed in Table 1. The result was 51 articles (45 in
Scopus and 6 in Web of Science).
Table 1: Article acceptance and rejection criteria

Criterion Acceptance Rejection
Year of publication Publication of journal None
articles up to December
2022
Language English or Spanish Other languages
Type of reference material Journal articles and Reviews, books
conference papers
Article topic Research seedbeds as a Other topics related to
formative strategy research seedbeds
3.3 Literature Screening

The article selection process was conducted in April 2023. We carefully analyzed
the 51 articles identified and made the decision to include three further articles
identified from the references of those papers. Figure 1 depicts the flowchart of
the literature screening process adapted from the PRISMA flowchart (PRISMA,
2020).
292
Identification
Studies identified through databases (n=52
in Scopus / n= 8 in Web of Science)
Studies after duplicates removed (n=58)

Screening
Screened studies (n=45 Scopus / n=

Excluded studies (n=37)
6 Web of Science)
Eligibility
Full-text studies considered for eligibility

(n=14)
Additional studies identified

Eligible studies (n=14) (n=3)
Included
Studies included in synthesis

(n=17)
Figure 1: PRISMA Flowchart of the article selection process
3.4 Synthesis Analysis

We analyzed the articles using the Analyze Results Tool by Scopus (i.e. research
fields, journal, years, authors, and citations). In addition, an in-depth review
process of the 17 papers led us to conduct the analysis of the authors, the journals
with the greatest number of publications, research designs and type and
geographical locations of the population. Appendix A provides detailed
information on the 17 articles.
The results revealed a small number of research works related to scientific

seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy, but with a noticeably growing interest in 2022
(Figure 2). Of the 17 articles, 12 are focused on studying the experience of
educational institutions in Colombia. This greater interest in the educational
institutions of Colombia for studies related to research seedbeds is possibly due
to the fact that this country has pioneered the consolidation of research seminars
as a strategy to promote research education (Bolívar et al., 2015). Research
seedbeds have existed in the universities of Colombia since the 1990s. They differ
from teaching groups in that their development is based on the meeting of groups
integrated into research networks and in the fact that they have achieved the
consolidation of political exercises and conversations with government entities.
They have also woven community processes and have an important presence in
the Colombian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Gallardo-Cerón
& Duque-Castaño, 2022). Moreover, Colombia founded the Colombian Network
of Research Seedbeds, a pioneering organization in formative research processes
that generates a movement on a national scale to promote scientific culture among
young university students (López-Ríos et al., 2016).
293
As for academic journals, the 17 articles were published in 16 journals. The only
journal that includes two publications is the Estudios Pedagógicos Journal, which
aims to contribute to the understanding of pedagogical phenomena. In the case of
the Estudios Pedagógicos Journal, both publications had 14 citations. The rest of
the journals account for 15 publications with 11 citations. The most cited article
was that by Arenas et al. (2021) (12 citations in Scopus). These authors described
the characteristics of the formative research process among students, professors
and coordinators of industrial engineering. They showed that the formative
research process has improved the perception of the quality of academic
programs, for the specific case of industrial engineering. In addition, they
demonstrated a significant increase in scientific production. Martinez-Daza et al.
(2021), who studied the perceptions represented in the attitudes, knowledge and
uses of ICTs in students ascribed to the research seedbed in a virtual business
administration program, and Garza et al. (2021), who studied the processes of
knowledge management in research seedbeds based on an analysis of the
experience of the leaders of the research seedbeds, had three citations each.
Finally, Vega-Monsalve (2019) had two citations. This author analyzed the
formation and consolidation strategies used by two undergraduate research
seedbeds and found that the success of the process lies in the execution of four
moments. These moments are motivation, work dynamics, the performance of the
leader-professor, and institutional support. Finally, the author proposed some
strategies for other scenarios. In terms of the number of publications, only
Martínez-Daza (2022, 2021) participated in the publication of two articles among
the articles included in the analysis.
As for the study population, we identified articles that focused on analyzing the
experience of people linked to the social structure and evolution of the seedbeds,
including students, coordinators, professors and, in some cases, entrepreneurs. In
some papers, the study only focused on students, while in other cases, multiple
units of analysis were considered in the same study.
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2002 2010 2016 2019 2020 2021 2022
Figure 2: Number of publications per year
4. Findings
4.1 Research Seedbeds as a Formative Strategy
The first studies on research seedbeds were essays about the dynamics of a
specific seedbed in a particular educational institution (Corpas-Iguarán, 2010;
García, 2010; Giraldo, 2002; Villa et al., 2020). Later, new qualitative research
294
studies appeared. One study was based on the case study and ethnography
strategy on the research seedbed in Public Health and Epidemiology of the
Universidad de Antioquia. The authors analyzed the identity (history of the
seedbed, evolution and strategic direction), significant learning (experiences,
motivations, fears and research culture, work methodology and academic
progress of the managers of the seedbeds) and challenges (reflection of the work
and perspectives of the seedbeds) (López-Ríos et al., 2016). Another focused on
the characteristics of the training research process in a seedbed in the field of
industrial engineering in the I.U. Pascual Bravo (Colombia) (Arenas et al., 2020).
A further study analyzed the formation and consolidation strategies used by two
research seedbeds at the Universidad de Manizales (Colombia) (Vega-Monsalve,
2019). Furthermore, one study described an experimental laboratory model that
linked the students and researchers of the university with public and private
organizations, NGOs, communities and people who required technologies to
solve their problems (Chang & Alvarez, 2019). More recently, Valerio (2022)
described how research seedbeds are a tool used to generate research culture in
the Universidad Hispanoamericana de Costa Rica. They found that, as the hotbed
transformed over time, the students developed investigative skills and made
improvements in terms of “cooperative learning, leadership, responsibility,
computer skills, and even conflict resolution” (para. 19).
The previous literature includes only three quantitative studies. The first of these,
with a clearly descriptive scope, identified the perception of nursing students
regarding formative research at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
in Peru (Rivas-Díaz et al., 2020). The second, based on the hierarchical clustering
technique, analyzed the perceptions represented in the attitudes, knowledge and
uses of ICTs in students ascribed to the research seedbed in a virtual business
administration program (Martinez-Daza et al., 2021). The third one studied a
purposive sample of 102 students in Perú to analyze the effectiveness of formative
research in strengthening their enquiry competences, using a pre- and post-test
approach (Campos-Ugaz et al., 2022).
More recently, the literature has evolved from descriptive studies to studies that
seek to conceptualize the work developed in the seedbeds, as is the case with
Garza et al. (2021). These authors analyzed the processes of knowledge
management in the research seedbeds based on an analysis of the experience of
the leaders of research seedbeds in different academic programs of the
Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios (Colombia) (Garza et al., 2021). The
authors proposed a knowledge management model for research seedbeds that
facilitate their implementation in higher educational institutions that develop this
teaching-learning strategy. In addition, Gallardo-Cerón and Duque-Castaño
(2022) analyzed research seedbeds focused on creating a space for the recognition
of people with outstanding abilities (with high potential for creative and
productive practices oriented to the common good). Finally, Martinez-Daza (2022)
systematized the pedagogical strategy and evaluation of a virtual research
seedbed through five stages: planning, design, implementation, tutoring and
evaluative monitoring.
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Previous literature demonstrates that research seedbeds have several advantages

as a pedagogical strategy. For example, González and Villalba (2017) reported that
seedbeds allow their student members “a real, controlled and guided
participation of the teaching-learning binomial that prioritizes freedom, creativity
and innovation for the development of new mental schemes and learning
methods” (p. 9). Similarly, seedbeds promote an early training in research,
through an alternative model whereby the student is the protagonist (López-Ríos
et al., 2016). Garza et al. (2021) stated that students develop research, cognitive,
collaborative, methodological-professional and ICT skills through the seedbeds.
Finally, Rodrigo et al. (2019, cited by Garza et al., 2021) highlighted that the
inclusion of integrative projects as a pedagogical strategy (integration,
socialization of knowledge, cooperative learning, leadership, responsibility,
conflict resolution) demonstrates that the student who participates in the project,
as a protagonist of discovery and creation, is an individual who reaches a level of
commitment to the truth and knowledge that is not noticed in other conventional
pedagogical methods (p. 165).
4.2 Critical Factors for the Formation and Consolidation of Research Seedbeds
While there are diverse experiences of scientific seedbeds, no scientific research
has yet systematized all of the knowledge. According to Garza et al. (2021),
“…seedbeds are a permanent and interdisciplinary space that changes over time
and self-manages based on the continuous learning of the cohorts of students that
are part of it” (p. 161); thus, it is necessary to know the knowledge management
process in the research seedbeds. For this reason, based on the systematic
literature review, the present study aims to identify the critical factors related to
the formation and consolidation of the research seedbeds, enabling them to
generate the expected results, based on the experience of different cases presented
in the literature. It is also important to consider that the optimal results of the
research seedbeds depend on the commitment and “coordinated gearing” of the
leading professor, the students and the institutional support of the university
(Vega-Monsalve, 2019). These factors have been grouped into the following
dimensions:
(i) factors related to the formation of research seedbeds; (ii) factors related to the
organization of research seedbeds; (iii) factors related to the dynamics of the
management of research seedbeds; and (iii) factors related to the stakeholders of
research seedbeds (institution, research tutor and students). Figure 3 summarizes
the factors identified, which are explained below.
296
Figure 3: Critical factors for the formation and consolidation of research seedbeds
Factors related to the formation of research seedbeds

The literature suggests the following critical factors for the formation of research
seedbeds (Vega-Monsalve, 2019):
a) Have a work path that guides the meetings and poses challenges and
indicators for evaluating the group’s progress.
b) Be clear with the students. Present them with the project scope, the time
invested in their participation, and the benefits that are perceived when
participating.
c) Invite them to a group meeting in which information about the process is
explained and all their questions are answered.
d) Clearly establish the profiles of the members of the seedbed.
e) Take advantage of the introductory research courses to present the final
research reports made by the students who participated in the seedbed.
f) Tell students about the achievements of the seedbeds, to increase their
interest in the topic when the opportunity arises.
g) Ensure that information about upcoming opportunities to participate in a
research seedbed is disseminated through several channels and well in
advance.
Factors related to the organization of research seedbeds

The literature suggests the following critical factors related to the organizations of
research seedbeds:
a) A clear organizational framework and institutional recognition. For a
seedbed to achieve its objectives, it must comply with clearly designed and
disseminated parameters: organizational framework, size, agreements,
roles, physical environment, external and internal dynamics (López-Ríos et
al., 2016).
297
b) Seedbed planning and operationalization. There must be a clear planning

of the work to be carried out, through the planning of the teaching, student
guides, call guides for the registration of the seedbed members, registration
forms, commitment models, qualification formats, academic performance
reports and expected research products (Martinez-Daza, 2022).
c) Implementation of the seedbed. It is essential to prepare a theoretical-
practical course whereby students who are part of the seedbed can learn
and internalize the scientific method, including the research methodology,
the methodological design, the literature review and the scientific writing
(Martinez-Daza, 2022).
d) Pedagogical design of the seedbed. Oriented to formulate the instructions
and learning activities from the design of research tasks (Martinez-Daza,
2022).
e) Mentoring and monitoring. The professor should design a work plan,
based on the needs of the students and the research (Martinez-Daza, 2022).
f) System for measuring the results of the seedbeds. The results of a seedbed
can be analyzed from several points of view: individual effects such as life
experiences, positioning, stability and productivity achieved over time
(López-Ríos et al., 2016), as well as the identification of promising young
talent for generational change in research (López-Ríos et al., 2016). It is
essential to design an evaluation system that recognizes the formative
nature of the seedbeds rather than focusing only on the productive nature
(Vega-Monsalve, 2019).
g) Connection to institutional research projects. Final projects may be related
to memoirs, working papers, book chapters, academic papers, and
participation in academic conferences (Martinez-Daza, 2022).
Factors related to the dynamics of the management of research seedbeds

Based on the literature, the following factors related to the management of
research seedbeds are seen as critical:
a) Motivation, sense of belonging, commitment and responsibility of its
members. Professors consider that a lack of motivation and responsibility
in students affects the correct development of the seedbeds (Garza et al.,
2021). The success of the seedbed requires that students, professors and
researchers commit to adopting the approach of learning research by doing
research (López-Ríos et al., 2016). Generate discipline, commitment and
dedication, promoting permanent communication and interaction among
the research tutors. Keeping this dynamic is considered a challenge to
create a research culture and a sense of belonging (López-Ríos et al., 2016).
b) Team building and leadership. The agreement, dialogue and guidance of
people with a vocation and research expertise, but especially with an open
mind, are essential elements for the seedbed. Each seedbed contributes to
the creation of a space and a special dynamic, whereby collaborative work
and interaction for the construction of knowledge prevail (López-Ríos et
al., 2016). Teamwork and leadership are characteristics that professors
consider necessary for both their students as well as themselves. However,
occasionally, the work might be done individually, which does not allow
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the generation of teamwork and leadership processes between them (Garza

et al., 2021).
c) Horizontal participation model. The seedbed has a horizontal model of
participation and management that reaps great benefits because students
can work with the research tutors, as collaborative peers (López-Ríos et al.,
2016).
d) Monitoring and permanent support. Students report that they need
professors who motivate them to feel connected with the process, give
reviews and provide feedback in real time. Students not only expect
dedication during face-to-face meetings but also through virtual media.
Remembering assignments and checking the quality of projects submitted
by students are key in the process (Vega-Monsalve, 2019).
Factors related to the institution, research tutors and students

The literature suggests the following critical factors related to the stakeholders of
research seedbeds:
a) Student motivation (students). The literature shows that the motivation of
students to be part of a seedbed is related to the "sense” that they give to
the activities of the scientific seedbed. Students expect to complement their
academic careers with more studies or related research (Vega-Monsalve,
2019). Previous students have also identified a feeling of pride with a sense
of belonging to a research group (Vega-Monsalve, 2019).
b) Voluntary participation and freedom of choice (students). Be aware that
not all the members of the research seedbed continue their formation as
researchers, which implies a process of experimentation and free decisions.
That is another substantial value of this formative experience in terms of
freedom of choice (López-Ríos et al., 2016). Students enter and remain
voluntarily in a seedbed based on the motivations, findings and learning
experiences generated in them (López-Ríos et al., 2016).
c) Recognition and incentives (students). The study of Sánchez-Lascano et al.
(2018) reported that the students did not participate in the research tasks
"because they did not have an incentive that accredits them as researchers;
they wanted to be recognized after some time performing these tasks” (p.
45). Similarly, Vega-Monsalve (2019) found that it is important for the
institution to promote “privilege” and recognition for students who are
part of the seedbeds, such as discounts on tuition, scholarships and
economic bonuses, among others.
d) Profile of the research tutor (professor). Design a special profile for the
professors who will be in charge of this work, recognizing that it is not only
necessary that they have training and research experience, but also that
they enjoy dealing with students and transmitting their knowledge (Vega-
Monsalve, 2019).
e) Research skills of the research tutor (professor). It is essential that the
leading professors of seedbeds have a sound understanding of various
research methodologies, and know when to use them (Garza et al., 2021).
f) Commitment of the leader (professor). The role of the research tutor as the
leader of the process is a key factor related to the “passion” for research
and personal commitment of the group.
299
g) Research culture at all levels of education (institutional). For the training of

research talent, the university needs to make a commitment and overcome
the idea that research training is reserved only for graduate levels (in
graduate and doctoral programs), which is a situation that requires a
critical view and demands an alternative approach (López-Ríos et al., 2016).
h) Research culture in teaching development (institutional). The management
of new knowledge should not focus on few professors; research should be
an intrinsic part of the academic activity (Garza et al., 2021).
i) Integration with the curriculum (institutional). The experience of the
seedbeds must be integrated with the courses that offer research training
in the curriculum (Vega-Monsalve, 2019).
j) Financing of seedbeds (institutional). Financing is related to the
participation in events, inclusion of specific budgets, funding for
publications, and even economic allocations for those students who are
members of the seedbeds.
k) Effective communication channels and visibility of the seedbeds
(institutional) (Arango & Gomez-Giraldo, 2019).
l) Institutional incentives for the development of research (institutional).
Research must be a fundamental component of the development plan of
professors; remunerations must be based on the production and research
experience; teaching contracts must include sufficient time to conduct
research (Garza et al., 2021); the professor's schedule must allow for the
monitoring of student groups (Vega-Monsalve, 2019).
m) Physical and digital infrastructure (institutional). Virtual and physical
spaces are needed for the seedbeds to promote meetings and the
development of activities (Garza et al., 2021).
5. Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Research

This systematic literature review aimed to know the current state of research
seedbed studies as a formative strategy in higher educational institutions, as well
as to identify the key factors necessary for the formation and consolidation of
research seedbeds, based on previous studies.
The results showed that research is scarce on this topic and the existing studies
identified have mainly been developed in higher educational institutions in
Colombia. The review allowed us to conclude that, although there are various
experiences of scientific seedbeds in higher educational institutions in the Latin
American region, no scientific research has systematized all the knowledge. The
studies available in the literature show qualitative case studies and ethnography
regarding the experience and significant learning of certain research seedbeds. We
identified only three quantitative studies. Two of these had a clearly descriptive
scope and the third was based on the hierarchical clustering technique to identify
the perceptions represented in the attitudes, knowledge and use of ICTs in
students ascribed to a research seedbed in a virtual business administration
program. Recent qualitative studies have analyzed the processes of knowledge
management in the research seedbeds and the systematization of the pedagogical
strategy of the seedbeds.
300
Based on the literature review, the study identified the factors that are most critical
for the implementation of research seedbeds, which have been grouped into the
following dimensions: (i) factors related to the formation of research seedbeds; (ii)
factors related to the organization of research seedbeds; (iii) factors related to the
dynamics of the management of research seedbeds; and (iii) factors related to the
stakeholders of research seedbeds (institution, research tutor and students).
The relevance of research seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy within the context

of the formative research of higher educational institutions leads us to propose a
series of recommendations for future research. First, we suggest conducting
qualitative exploratory studies (phenomenological, ethnographic and case study)
to know the experience of the research seedbeds in different higher educational
institutions. The phenomenological studies could be oriented to understand the
experience of the three key stakeholders of the scientific seedbeds: the educational
institutions, the research tutors and the students participating in the seedbeds.
Ethnographic studies could be oriented towards understanding the research
culture of scientific seedbeds as a working group. Case studies should be oriented
to understand the pedagogical strategy of the seedbeds within the formative
research to understand the fundamental elements that lead to their achieving
better results in research. Moreover, we suggest studies aimed at analyzing and
measuring the achievement of the research skills of students through longitudinal
studies. On the other hand, we also recommend deepening research related to the
systematization of experiences, knowledge management processes, processes
related to the management of the seedbeds, and institutional frameworks that
have a greater impact on the seedbeds with better results. Furthermore, we
suggest experimental studies that compare the results of the research
competitions of the students participating in the seedbeds with those who did not
participate in the competition. We also recommend quantitative studies that
explain the behavioral intention of those students and research tutors who
participate in the scientific seedbeds, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior
(Ajzen, 2002), considering attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral
control. Finally, we suggest carrying out quantitative studies that validate the
critical factors to obtain superior results through the research seedbeds identified
in the present study. In short, there remains a wide field to be developed in terms
of scientific research related to research seedbeds as a pedagogical strategy within
formative research in higher educational institutions, both at undergraduate and
graduate levels.
Funding
This work was not supported by any specific grant from funding agencies in the
public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no potential conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
The data source for this paper is secondary data and no human experiments
were conducted.
301
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Appendix 1. Studies in research seedbeds
Reference Research topic Unit of Analysis Country Method

Dynamics of the research seedbed of Information Science and Universidad de
1 Giraldo (2002) Colombia Essay
Librarianship Antioquía
Universidad de
2 García (2010) Use of Historic Documentaries that Stimulate Formative Research Colombia Essay
Antioquía
Corpas-Iguarán
3 Virtualization of research seedbeds Not applicable Colombia Essay
(2010)
López-Ríos et al. Experience, history, culture, difficulties and challenges of a Universidad de
4 Colombia Ethnography
(2016) research seedbed in public health Antioquía
Vega-Monsalve Formation and consolidation strategies used by two research Universidad de
5 Colombia Case study
(2019) seedbeds Manizales
A model developed by the College of Electrical Engineering at the
Chang & Alvarez Universidad Tecnologica de Panama with the objectives of Universidad Tecnologica
6 Panamá Qualitative
(2019) strengthening and incrementing research activities among de Panama
undergraduate students.
Guerrero
Tecnológico Nacional de
7 Hernandez et al. Experience in an engineering research seedbed México Essay
México
(2019)
Rivas-Díaz et al. Universidad Nacional
8 Perception of nursing students about formative research Perú Quantitative
(2020) Mayor de San Marcos
Arenas et al. Characteristics of the training research process in a seedbed in the Institución Educativa
9 Colombia Case study
(2020) area of industrial engineering Pascual Bravo
Universidad de
Arago & Gómez-
10 Experience in a research seedbed Antioquía Seccional Colombia Qualitative
Giraldo (2021)
Oriente
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
306
Perceptions represented in the attitudes, knowledge and uses of

Martinez-Daza et Higher education
11 ICTs in students ascribed to the research seedbed in a virtual Colombia Quantitative
al. (2021) institution
business administration program
Processes of knowledge management in the research seedbeds Corporación
12 Garza et al. (2021) based on the analysis of the experience of the leaders of research Universitaria Minuto de Colombia Qualitative
seedbeds Dios
Universidad de
13 Villa et al. (2022) Pedagogical experiences in a research seedbed Colombia Essay
Antioquía
Gallardo-Cerón &
Analyze research seedbeds based on a space for recognition of Universidad de
14 Duque-Castaño Colombia Qualitative
people with outstanding abilities Manizales
(2022)
Corporación
Martinez-Daza Systematize the pedagogical strategy and evaluation of a virtual
15 Universitaria de Colombia Qualitative
(2022) research seedbed
Astuarias
Campos-Ugaz et Analyze the effectiveness of formative research in strengthening
16 University students Perú Quantitative
al. (2022) enquiry competences in university students
Universidad
Costa
17 Valerio (2022) Research hotbeds as a research tool to generate research culture Hispanoamericana de Qualitative
Rica
Costa Rica
Appendix 2. Examples of Scientific Seedbeds in Latin America
Universidad Nacional del Santa (Peru)
Carry out research on important issues for regional and national development, promoting formative research at
Objectives
the Universidad Nacional del Santa.
Scope University community.
Required formation One responsible professor, one student coordinator and a maximum of four students.
307
Activities Work meetings, updates, research projects, dissemination of results and activities, academic interaction.
Incentives Funding in internships, papers and highly specialized events, publication of scientific.
The university considers within its budget the funds for the projects, which include undergraduate or thesis
Financing
work, as well as the expenses demanded by the research and the incentives of the professors and students.
EAFIT
a) Promote formative research and actual research among students.

b) Promote questions in the university, inside and outside the classroom, that contribute to the development
of a learning culture.
c) Strengthen the relationship between academia and research, fostering multidisciplinary interaction among
students, professors and researchers.
d) Generate research culture in the university through the creation of spaces that bring students closer to
Objectives research and present it as one of their professional options.
e) Generate mechanisms that allow the connection of students with research groups as part of the process of
generational replacement of professors and researchers.
f) Form and facilitate the emergence of a network of research seedbeds at EAFIT University, which also
participates in national and international networks.
g) Be the channel of interrelation of the research seedbeds with other institutional programs and their partners
in the social field.
EAFIT university community and the people outside of it, as long as they are connected to the seedbed from an
Scope
inter-institutional agreement.
They must have at least one adviser-professor, one coordinator-student and three students who are listed as
Required formation
members and who must be active.
Working meetings, study groups, research projects, dissemination of results and activities, academic interaction,
Activities
research days, research forums, seedbed meetings, participation in events.
Incentives a) Annual research award

b) Support the dissemination of research results derived from the work of the seedbeds
308
c) Research excellence scholarship

d) Certificate of attendance
e) Mention in the annual seedbed
f) Training
g) Use of laboratories
a) Support the dissemination of research results derived from the work of the seedbeds
b) Research excellence scholarship
c) Certificate of attendance
Financing d) Mention in the annual seedbed
e) Training
f) Use of laboratories
g) Finance research proposals with annual validity
Universidad de Antioquía (Colombia)
a) Promote the research capacity of students

b) Change the learning culture
c) Debunk research
d) Educate reflective and critical citizens
e) Contribute to the solution of the social problems of our country
f) Articulate teaching-research
g) Qualify professor-researcher-student interactions
Objectives h) Strengthen academic excellence
i) Overcome the academic “elitism” of research
j) Create a point of convergence, strengthening and developing the research seedbeds as the objective of the
RedSIN UdeA.
k) Encourage the research work and the integral formation of the academic community as the objective of the
RedSIN UdeA.
l) Form the generational change of professors, academics and scientists
309
Scope University community
Required formation One coordinator-professor and students
Research projects, supervision of the training of students, networking, search for funding sources, meetings
and events, exchange of experiences, feedback on the work done, open chairs, meetings with seedbed
Activities
coordinators, journal articles, presentations, exhibitions, cultural exchanges, strengthening of reading and
writing skills
The information related to funding and financial support for the projects is presented in each call promoted by
Financing
the university.
310

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 310-325, April 2023
Received Feb 20, 2023; Revised Apr 15, 2023; Accepted May 3, 2023
Metasynthesis of Classroom-Based Assessment

Implementation: Impact and Issues
Hairul Faiezi Lokman
National Child Development Research Centre
Faculty of Human Development, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia
Norazilawati Abdullah
Mazlina Che Mustafa

Saniah Sembak
Ministry of Education, Malaysia
Vijaya Letchumy a/p Baskaran

Ministry of Education, Malaysia
Abstract. Classroom-based assessment (CBA) is continuous assessment

of the teaching and learning process by applying summative and
formative elements aimed at student development, progress, and
achievement. A metasynthesis study was conducted on previous
scientific studies to explore two main objectives, namely the inherent
positive impact, and issues in the implementation of CBA. A total of seven
articles were selected based on in-depth screening using Scopus, Science
Direct, and Springer search agents. Two keywords were employed for
data screening, assessment and CBA, and the article publication period
was from around 2018 until 2022. The findings of this study show that
CBA had increased the self-achievement of students, and developed
assessment and pedagogy practices of teachers. Among the positive
impacts of CBA are increasing student motivation and achievement and
holistic learning. The findings also explain the issues in knowledge, skills,
and implementation of CBA. The findings of this metasynthesis study
highlight the positive impacts of CBA on student self-achievement,
motivation, and holistic learning, while emphasizing the need for checks
and balances in implementation. These insights have significant
implications for education practitioners, and call for informed decision-
©Authors
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making and ongoing professional development in assessment literacy to

optimize the effectiveness of CBA in supporting student outcomes.
Keywords: metasynthesis; classroom-based assessment; teaching and

learning; implementation; pedagogy practices
1. Introduction
Classroom-based assessment (CBA) has been used for a long time in education
systems all over the world, in most countries, to assess and evaluate students
holistically (Arumugham, 2020). Scriven (1967) was the first to introduce
formative and summative assessment. CBA is driven by the fundamental factors
and principles and goals of an education system and has undergone several
phases of evolution in terms of the form in which it is implemented. These changes
have been brought about by shifts in education policy (Lewkowicz & Leung,
2021). To guarantee effective CBA implementation, which benefits students, a
variety of initiatives and frameworks have been developed (Brandmo et al., 2020),
of which some are assessment literacy frameworks, assessment for learning
frameworks, formative assessment frameworks, and CBA frameworks. These
frameworks provide guidance and structure for educators to effectively design,
implement, and evaluate CBA practices in the classroom, and to, ultimately,
enhance student learning and achievement. Different countries have modified the
application of CBA to accommodate their particular policy requirements. For
instance, in the year 1980, the United Kingdom established the Task Group on
Assessment and Testing (TGAT) to resolve issues that had arisen concerning
student assessment through public examinations based on statutory curriculum
specifications and education-oriented assessment. Therefore, government ought
to provide guidance for making decisions about the learning needs of students,
which should emphasize formative assessment, as recommended by TGAT
(1987).
Because the goal of CBA is to improve a country’s education system, it can be

implemented in various ways, which helps to make it a dynamic type of
assessment. Most education systems recognize that a student's ability should be
developed through their potential, space, and opportunity (Climie & Henley,
2016) and that the system should not only measure the achievement of an
individual. According to Hawe and Dixon (2017), CBA is implemented to make it
possible for students to take control of their learning. Throughout the entirety of
the learning session, CBA takes the development of students' abilities into
account, thereby empowering students to develop these abilities. According to
Lewkowicz and Leung (2021), CBA is an effort to ensure that the goals and
intentions of the evaluation are successfully implemented and that the students'
final achievement is meaningful. In other words, CBA is an effort to make sure
that students have a purposeful educational experience. Therefore, if the concept
of CBA is effectively implemented, students will be evaluated holistically and, as
a result, their potential will be increased.
In a broader sense, CBA can be understood as an assessment that is split into two
distinct parts: academic and non-academic. The purpose of a test is to evaluate a
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subject's cognitive (intellectual), psychomotor (physical), affective (emotional and

spiritual), and social capabilities (Omar, 2019). According to Hopfenbeck (2018),
CBA is connected to formative assessment in the sense that it was first
implemented many years ago. Researchers in Malaysia who are involved in
education discovered that formative assessment has been given more weight in
that country's education system for some time now. Prior to the implementation
of CBA, school-based assessment already had this component built in as one of its
components. The Malaysian Ministry of Education divides the academic part of
CBA into two constituent parts — central and school assessments — to serve
students better. In turn, the non-academic part of assessment is broken down into
subcategories, such as physical assessment, sports assessment, co-curricular
assessment, and psychometric testing (Curriculum Development Division,
Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2019).
Assessment practices in the classroom have been a subject of ongoing debate and
research in the field of education. Nichols and Gianopulos (2021) argue that
assessment plays a critical role in evaluating student learning outcomes and
informing instructional practices, and further research and debate on the topic of
classroom assessment are needed as contributions to ongoing discourse in the
field of mathematics education. Classroom assessment of English language
learners (ELLs) is the topic of investigation of Clark-Gareca (2016), who conducted
a study on teachers' implementation of accommodations for ELLs during routine
maths and science tests. Clark-Gareca found that teachers' implementation of
accommodations was influenced by various factors, including their beliefs about
ELLs' abilities and language proficiency, their understanding of accommodations,
and contextual factors in the classroom.
Regarding Chinese primary school mathematics teachers, Zhao et al. (2017)

reviewed teacher-written papers on classroom assessment practices. The authors
found that Chinese primary school mathematics teachers had varying
perspectives and practices related to classroom assessment, which were
influenced by cultural, contextual, and educational factors. Assessment literacy
and practices of teachers were examined in the field of writing pedagogy by Acar
(2023), who proposes genre pedagogy as a writing pedagogy to help second-
language writing instructors enact their classroom writing assessment literacy
and feedback literacy. Lam (2019) surveyed the knowledge, conceptions, and
practices of classroom-based writing assessment of Hong Kong teachers, while
Barnes et al. (2020) explored teachers' epistemic cognition of classroom assessment
in situ.
In recent years, multimodal digital classroom assessment has attracted attention.

Fjørtoft (2020) examined the use of multimodal digital assessment in the
classroom, and Alloway et al. (2009) developed a classroom-based behavioral
assessment of working memory, the Working Memory Rating Scale, to measure
students' working memory abilities. Furthermore, studies have explored
assessment practices in other specific contexts, such as that of in-service EFL
teachers (Lan & Fan, 2019) and early childhood education (Thorpe et al., 2020).
These studies highlight the importance of understanding assessment practices in
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diverse education settings and the need for ongoing research and development in
the field of classroom assessment. Alloway et al. (2009) discuss the development
and application of the Working Memory Rating Scale and provide insights into
potential uses of this assessment tool in education settings. They consider it to be
relevant for measuring and the supporting working memory skills of students.
Based on a metasynthesis study of research, this study investigated the problems

inherent in implementing CBA, as well as the extent to which those problems have
an impact. Future CBA-focused researchers may find the findings of this study to
be helpful references. The issues analyzed and their impacts could provide
guidance and make recommendations for the successful implementation of a
CBA. The objective of this research was to demonstrate that implementing CBA
does not always result in problems, or a negative impact. This study presents a
discussion and a critical analysis to assist education system practitioners to realize
the benefits of CBA and to improve their CBA-based practices.
Based on a metasynthesis study of research, this study offers a novel approach to

investigating the inherent problems of CBA implementation and the extent of the
impact of these problems. This research fills a gap in the literature by providing a
comprehensive analysis of the issues associated with CBA implementation and its
implications. The findings of this study can serve as a valuable reference for future
researchers focused on CBA and could provide guidance and recommendations
for successful implementation of CBA. By critically examining the problems and
impacts of CBA, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of CBA-based
practices and offers insights for education system practitioners to further enhance
the benefits of CBA and improve its implementation. This research challenges the
notion that implementing CBA frequently has negative impacts and presents a
unique perspective to inform future research and practice in this field.
2. Purpose and Research Objectives

This study reviewed several studies on CBA. The objectives of this research were
as follows:
1. To identify the positive impact of the implementation of CBA.

2. To identify the inherent issues in the implementation of CBA.
3. Research Methodology
Metasynthesis is a qualitative research method that involves systematically
reviewing and synthesizing findings from multiple qualitative studies to generate
new insights or understandings. It includes stages such as defining the research
question, identifying relevant studies, extracting data, synthesizing findings, and
interpreting the results to generate new insights or theoretical frameworks (Walsh
& Downe, 2005). In the context of this metasynthesis study, the findings of other
studies were analyzed qualitatively. According to Hass and Springer (1998),
metasynthesis studies have the potential to increase the benefits of research by
providing in-depth narrative descriptions, and allow extensive exploration.
Scopus, Science Direct, and Springer were some search agents used for data
collection. The data that were obtained were subjected to a screening based on
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two keywords: assessment and CBA. Other criteria for inclusion were that articles
had to have been published between 2018 and 2022 and had to report on
evaluations carried out in schools.
The research methodology of this metasynthesis study involved systematically

reviewing and synthesizing qualitative findings from multiple studies using the
method proposed by Walsh and Downe (2005). Data gathering involved screening
articles based on keywords and other criteria, and the instrument used for data
extraction was thematic analysis. Qualitative validation techniques, such as
triangulation and member checking, were employed to ensure validity. The
methodology allowed for the development of in-depth narrative descriptions and
extensive exploration of the research question, in accordance with the potential
benefits of meta-synthesis studies highlighted by Hass and Springer (1998).
4. Findings
Based on the article search screening, seven articles were selected for analyis in
this metasynthesis study, as summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Meta-Analysis Findings
Title Author/s Year Journal

Classroom-based assessment Lewkowicz & 2021 Language Teaching, 54(1), 47-57.
Leung https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261
444820000506
Teachers' views on Puad & Ashton 2021 Asia Pacific Journal of Education,
classroom-based assessment: 41(2), 253–265,
An exploratory study at an https://doi.org/10.1080/02188
Islamic boarding school in 791.2020.1761775
Indonesia
Implementing classroom- Yan et al. 2021 The Asia-Pacific Education
based assessment for young Researcher, 30, 541–552.
EFL learners in the Chinese https://doi.org/10.1007/s4029
context: A case study. 9-021-00602-9
Bridging classroom Brandmo et al. 2020 Assessment in Education:
assessment and self- Principles, Policy & Practice, 27:4,
regulated learning 319-331,
https://doi.org/10.1080/09695
94X.2020.1803589
Classroom assessment as the Andrade & 2020 Assessment in Education:
co-regulation of learning Brookhart Principles, Policy & Practice,
27(4), 350-372,
https://doi.org/10.1080/09695
94X.2019.1571992
Classroom assessment Vlachou 2018 Cogent Education, 5(1), 1455633,
practices in the middle https://doi.org/10.1080/23311
school science lessons: A 86X.2018.1455633
study among Greek science
teachers
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Teachers' approaches to DeLuca et al. 2018 Assessment in Education:

classroom assessment: A Principles, Policy & Practice,
large-scale survey 25(4), 355–375.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09695
94X.2016.1244514
Positive impacts of CBA implementation

The implementation of CBA can have various positive impacts. For example, the
results of the metasynthesis study reveals that CBA increases students' self-
achievement, improves teachers' assessment and pedagogy practices, increases
student motivation and achievement, and it encourages holistic learning. Figure
1 depicts the positive impacts of the implementation of CBA.
Classroom Exploration
Increased Student Self-
Achievement
Self-Implementation
Various Forms of
Assessment
Teacher Assessment
Practices
Teacher Productivity in
Assessing
Teacher Productivity in
Delivery Methods
Teacher Pedagogy
Practice
Positive Impact
Different Teaching
Approaches
Results
Improve Student
Achievement
Students Achieve
Learning Goals
Comprehensive
Holistic Learning
Learning
Increase Student Increased Interest in

Learning Motivation Learning
Figure 1. Impact of Implementing CBA
316
Through a deeper and more comprehensive examination of the topic at hand,

from a variety of perspectives, it was found that CBA helps students become more
self-sufficient. Students can participate in learning in a manner tailored to their
individual requirements, areas of interest, and levels of aptitude (Lewkowicz &
Leung, 2021). When CBA is applied, students learn via self-regulated learning,
because CBA requires them to perform tasks that have been planned, while they
adjust the activities in the classroom to achieve the intended learning objectives.
Whether CBA is successful is dependent on a number of factors, including
educators' attitudes and beliefs about learning, and their confidence in their
abilities as teachers (Brandmo et al., 2020). Because CBA has the ability to improve
students' levels of self-achievement, it also has the potential to improve teachers'
assessment practices. This is clear from the various assessment methods
implemented by educators, who each emphasize continuous and repeated
processes to develop student knowledge and abilities (Brandmo et al., 2020).
When they implement CBA, teachers are responsible for determining the
following aspects of CBA: the purpose of the evaluation; the assessment process;
the fairness of assessment; and measurement theory (DeLuca et al., 2018).
Additionally, when applying CBA, teachers frequently use opportunities for

impromptu assessment, such as questioning and observational sessions. The
primary purpose of closed-ended questions is to elicit specific information or to
determine the general comprehension of an individual student or the entire class
(DeLuca et al., 2018). This kind of questioning practice allows educators to adjust
their lessons as required. Educators usually offer students some form of
descriptive feedback about their evaluation of students' progress, to assist
students to recognize and correct errors. Educators can guide students, through
oral questions, to recognize and correct errors (Yan et al., 2021). Educators can
employ CBA as a standard against which to measure their productivity in the
classroom, and to develop more effective lesson plans (Vlachou, 2018). CBA
provides a meaningful learning experience for students and helps teachers to
develop their own potential in a broader range of aspects of teaching.
CBA has also contributed to improved pedagogical practices among educators, as

evidenced by their increased use of various instructional strategies and practices
to ensure students meet the desired academic goals (Vlachou, 2018). DeLuca et al.
(2018) categorize teachers who use CBA into three distinct groups: novice
teachers, who will implement CBA in accordance with the standard approach;
intermediate teachers, who will use a fair approach; and experienced teachers,
who will use a variety of CBA approaches. The pedagogical approaches that
teachers use significantly impact how teachers engage in assessment education
and incorporate that education into their teaching practice (DeLuca et al., 2018).
In addition, CBA learning is holistic, which means that it takes into account the
constructive exploration of the instructor, as well as the utilization of a variety of
methodological components to ensure that the learning goals and vision can be
implemented perfectly (Brandmo et al., 2020). Students receive additional
motivation from the implementation of CBA. Students with low achievement
levels can be motivated to improve their achievement by considering their
existing successes based on their summative performance (Yan et al., 2021). In
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addition to using elements of reward, Yan et al. (2021) used their research to
motivate students to achieve positive results.
The final positive impact that the implementation of CBA has, and one that is
highly effective in the education system, is to increase students' academic
achievement levels. Teachers will gain a better understanding of their role of
managing learning sessions to assist students to achieve the learning goals that
have been targeted through CBA. In addition, teachers will assess students' levels
of comprehension, in order to ensure that every student benefits from the learning
experience (Vlachou, 2018). Consequently, students are incentivized to improve
their academic performance at school, which could narrow the gap between
students with high, medium, and low levels of achievement (Vlachou, 2018).
According to Puad and Ashton (2021), students' behavior and attitudes can be
improved by implementing CBA, and by emphasizing resiliency and seriousness.
In addition, CBA generates excitement among students about the potential for
their academic performance to improve during the learning session.
Inherent issues of CBA implementation

Through the metasynthesis analysis, several inherent issues of CBA
implementation were identified. The three main issues underlying the
implementation of CBA are knowledge, skills, and implementation, as shown in
Figure 2.
Knowledge About Lack of Exposure

CBA Regarding CBA
Confusion in
Implementation
Skills in CBA
Ambigous CBA
Issues Implementation
Implementation of
Various Complex
CBA Approaches
Peer Assessment
Issues
Implementation of
CBA
Infrastructure
Views that Exam

Takes Precedence
Figure 2. Inherent issues of CBA implementation
318
The first problem concerns an individual’s level of knowledge regarding CBA. A

study found that teachers lacked the knowledge and exposure necessary to
implement CBA successfully. For instance, the Educational Assessment Course in
Greece included preservice training for new teachers, and the professional
development continuum program did not specifically include CBA (Vlachou,
2018). Despite the fact that this finding focused on Greece, findings in countries
concur. According to a study conducted by Yan et al. (2021), teachers are not
provided with the professional knowledge and skills about CBA associated with
assessment literacy training when they pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in
education. Even though a study by Yan et al. (2021) stated that some teachers did
not directly receive CBA training during the in-service teacher education
program, CBA was not included as the primary component of the lesson syllabus.
As a consequence, teachers were uncertain on how the interaction process should
take place between teachers and students during the implementation of the CBA
process; as a consequence, meaningful learning was not achieved (Lewkowicz &
Leung, 2021). In addition, instructors found it difficult to determine the role
students should play in the evaluation process and how peer evaluation should
be carried out effectively in the classroom (Lewkowicz & Leung, 2021).
The second problem is a shortage of the skills needed to implement CBA.

According to the findings of this study, educators were uncertain about how CBA
was to be carried out. The teachers were unable to explain the goals and standards
for success required by the evaluation of students. CBA sessions used various
assessment methods; teachers relied more on formal assessments than
assessments involving students, such as oral reading tasks and textbook exercises
(Yan et al., 2021). Additionally, educators were confused when administering the
CBA to students, because educators were more dominant in the classroom setting
than the students themselves (Vlachou, 2018). Because of this, students played a
passive role in the student-centered assessment process, preventing it from being
implemented in a manner consistent with the purpose of CBA. While
implementing CBA, teachers gathered evidence of student achievement but did
not work to address deficiencies that surfaced throughout the learning session. As
a result, students did not improve the quality of their work (Vlachou, 2018). CBA
is a process that takes place continuously over time, beginning before, continuing
throughout, and concluding after a learning session (Campbell, 2013).
Competition among students is strongly encouraged within the context of the
implementation of CBA. However, competition also has negative effects, because
of the confusion of implementation, which occurs when teachers compare the
achievements of different students to such an extent that students' self-confidence
and their social relationships suffer (Yan et al., 2021).
The third problem pertains to the actual application of CBA. It is considered

difficult to implement because various pedagogical ideas and learning theories
need to be viewed simultaneously. The utilization of CBA places restrictions on
the practicability of the preeminent psychometric paradigm when it is applied to
summative evaluation. As a result of the activities carried out, educators must
implicitly discover their students' abilities using CBA. It also requires teachers to
be more sensitive; if they fail, it will be detrimental to both students and teachers
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(Lewkowicz & Leung, 2021). In addition, the problem of peer evaluation was also
addressed by other research. According to Puad and Ashton (2021), students may
not fully understand the material being taught. As a result, they have difficulty
evaluating the work of either themselves or their peers. In addition, Puad and
Ashton (2021) found that one of the reasons teachers give students homework in
the classroom is to observe students' responsibilities in their effort to complete
their work this was found to be one of the reasons teachers give students
assignments. However, there are concerns regarding responsibility when putting
CBA into practice.
The issue of CBA implementation is also mentioned by Yan et al. (2021), who
discuss the difficulty of implementing CBA sessions due to infrastructure factors.
The typical number of students enrolled in a single classroom in some countries
with a high population density, such as China, is very high, averaging between 40
and 50 individuals. As teachers found it difficult to put together a variety of
strategies and tasks, CBA could only be used on an ad hoc basis. The large number
of students made it difficult for teachers to provide students with detailed
feedback and prevented teachers from consistently observing large numbers of
students on an individual basis. In fact, according to Yan et al. (2021), researchers
consider the implementation of CBA to be unimportant, because examinations
have been commonly practiced, and summative marks do not play an essential
role in students’ lives. In other words, CBA is deemed to be irrelevant. Most
teachers used a grading system that involved assigning points to students' work,
to prepare them for high-stakes exams. In addition, in the context of the education
system in Chinese schools, the culture of focusing on examinations has affected
the CBA practices of teachers. The schools put a significant amount of weight on
the summative grades. The examination structure was divided into two parts: the
first was continuous assessment, which included aspects such as student
performance and in-class assignments; the second was the final examination.
These two sections of the assignment were used to determine students' overall
performance, based on the summative marks they received. Even though teachers
participated in formative CBA activities with their students, such as self and peer
assessment and descriptive feedback, teachers remained committed to the
examination system. It was a significant hurdle for the process of putting the CBA
into effect.
5. Discussion
According to the findings of the metasynthesis study, CBA is regarded as a
valuable assessment that has beneficial effects on both students and teachers. In
spite of the inherent problems that were brought to light by this research, CBA is
still capable of producing a variety of beneficial effects overall. In this discussion
section, the inherent problems are broken down into minute details of their
components.
The primary issue that was discovered by this research pertains to the knowledge
component. Due to its significant impact on the actual implementation of CBA
and its intended purpose, the role of knowledge must not be taken lightly. Failure
to implement CBA due to a lack of knowledge will result in failure. Fullan (2005)
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repeatedly emphasizes the importance of alterations to educational practices in

tandem with fundamental facets of knowledge. Sadly, a significant number of
educators were unable to comprehend the whole idea behind CBA.
Misconceptions regarding assessment lead to educators having the impression
that CBA will add a new burden to their workload. Officials, such as education
officers who are responsible for implementing CBA, are still not knowledgeable
about it, due to ambiguous information regarding the implementation of CBA.
The relation of CBA practices to education officers may suggest that these officers
are involved in the implementation of CBA in educational settings. Officers’
shortcomings regarding knowledge of CBA may negatively impact assessment
results, as it may lead to improper or inconsistent implementation of CBA, which
can affect the accuracy and reliability of assessment outcomes. Further research
and investigation is needed to explore in more detail the specific relationship
between education officers, CBA practices, and the impact of their knowledge
weaknesses on assessment results.
The topic of expertise also emerged in this investigation. Expertise has a close
connection to knowledge foundation, which is the primary pillar. Nevertheless,
this problem can be solved, by providing persistent training to educators on
implementing CBA in their classrooms (Randel et al., 2016). Selecting trainers to
guide educators will ensure that skills can be improved and that confusion in the
implementation of CBA can be overcome (Christoforidou & Kyriakides, 2021).
The third issue emphasized throughout this investigation is the application of

CBA. According to a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, the problem
of application constitutes a significant barrier to the application of CBA. Teachers
need to adapt to a dynamic and varied education system, which will create
inconsistency in the CBA's priority policy, and may result in the policy
occasionally being empowered or becoming a side issue. This inconsistency
ultimately results in a situation that is neither stable nor certain and, consequently,
CBA is not given priority by the education system. Furthermore, the problem of
inadequate or nonexistent infrastructure is an essential topic of discussion among
educators. CBA cannot be implemented perfectly in a classroom that lacks
conducive conditions, and which is overcrowded with too many students because
of these factors (Marais, 2016).
Even though CBA has some problems, it has a number of positive effects on the
education system as a whole, especially on the students and the teachers. CBA can
help students achieve more in their own lives. Participating in CBA will teach
students how to achieve their education goals through healthy competition. As is
well known, the concept of CBA calls for an ongoing and thorough evaluation,
which may be verbal, written, or observational feedback. Students can improve
their achievement levels using these three assessment strategies. This self-
accomplishment can be evaluated using observational assessment. It may include
skills in areas such as attitudes and behavior, practical, manipulation, social,
kinesthetic, computer literacy, and creative abilities (Curriculum Development
Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2019). In general, the seven facets
mentioned above refer to the efforts that students make on their own to improve
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their overall performance. The purpose of observation that is part of the

assessment involves looking at each student's efforts to improve all the skills
taught to them by the instructor throughout the process of teaching and learning,
through learning with other students (Hopfenbeck, 2020). This facet is evaluated
by the number of students demonstrating positive changes and improvements in
their achievements.
Self-assessment, shaped by beliefs about its nature, has the potential to influence
students' attitudes and behaviors. Proficient students can act as mentors, and can
foster social skills and interactions. By applying prior knowledge and engaging in
creative problem-solving, students produce unique outcomes. Self-assessment
promotes holistic development and enhanced learning outcomes by developing
processing skills and creativity. Self-achievement also has the potential to mold
each student's attitudes and behavior. A student who possesses a particular skill
or a good level of mastery could act as a guide and mentor to a student who lacks
these qualities. It helps the student's social skills and interaction with others in a
roundabout way. There is room for development in the students' processing and
creative abilities. Students apply the prior knowledge they have gained through
teaching and learning to a process of generating and refining ideas, ultimately
working towards producing something superior to and distinct from what their
classmates have produced. CBA affects not only students, but also benefits
teachers, particularly the way they approach pedagogical practices. The skills of
a teacher to select and employ pedagogy appropriate for the student group can be
trained and improved through the use of CBA. In their role as educators, teachers
are required to recognize the proper pedagogy to be applied during the teaching
and learning process. This is necessary, because each student comes equipped
with unique knowledge, skills, and areas of weakness. Educators are encouraged
to vary the pedagogy they implement for teaching and learning. It is essential that
they choose an appropriate pedagogy to ensure that each student masters the
material. Differentiated pedagogy refers to selecting a learning strategy
appropriate for each student to meet learning goals and objectives.
Integrating assessment perspectives in teachers' practices can greatly improve the
overall quality of education. Traditional methods of evaluation that are based
solely on academic performance may not fully capture the diverse needs and
abilities of students. However, with the help of CBA, teachers can adopt a more
comprehensive approach to assessment, which takes into consideration students'
attitudes and behaviors, in addition to their academic performance.
One of the key benefits of incorporating CBA in teachers' practices is that it

enables them to select the most appropriate type of pedagogy based on the
individual needs and interests of their students. By understanding the unique
characteristics of their students, teachers can tailor their instructional methods
and applications accordingly. Doing so helps teachers to create a more engaging
and inclusive learning environment, in which students are motivated to learn and
where they actively participate in the educational process.
Furthermore, CBA encourages teachers to think creatively and innovatively about

the types of assessments that are most suitable for their students. CBA goes
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beyond the traditional methods of assessment and encourages teachers to develop

a wide range of assessment strategies that cater to the diverse abilities and
strengths of their students. CBA promotes a student-centered approach to
education, where the focus is on understanding the individual needs of students
and providing them with appropriate opportunities for learning and growth.
The adoption of CBA in teachers' practices also aligns with the recommendations
of education experts such as Fullan (2005), who emphasize the importance of
educators, including teachers, for generating ideas and insights related to
assessment. It empowers teachers to take an active role in shaping the assessment
practices in their classrooms, based on their professional judgement and expertise.
This promotes a culture of continuous improvement in education, where teachers
are encouraged to reflect on their practices and adapt them to meet the needs of
their students better. In addition, using CBA in teacher practices promotes a
holistic approach to assessment, which goes beyond academic performance and
considers students' attitudes, behaviors, and abilities. Doing so helps foster a more
well-rounded and comprehensive evaluation of students' progress, and provides
valuable insights into their overall development and growth.
To implement CBA effectively, teachers must be equipped with the necessary

knowledge and skills in assessment design, implementation, and interpretation.
Professional development opportunities and training programs can be provided
to support teachers to enhance their assessment practices and to ensure that they
align with the principles of CBA. Collaborative efforts among teachers,
administrators, and policymakers can also be encouraged to create a conducive
environment for the integration of CBA in teachers' practices. In conclusion, the
integration of assessment perspective in teachers' practices, particularly through
the use of CBA, can greatly enhance the quality of education. It empowers
teachers to adopt a student-centered approach, fosters creativity and innovation
in assessment strategies, promotes a holistic evaluation of students' progress, and
aligns with the recommendations of education experts. By leveraging the power
of assessment as a tool for learning and growth, teachers can improve their
instructional practices and create a more engaging and inclusive learning
environment for their students.
6. Conclusion
CBA is a crucial process that evaluates students' knowledge, skills, and abilities
in the classroom through various methods, such as tests, quizzes, projects, and
observations. Its purposes include providing feedback to students, guiding
instructional planning for teachers, monitoring student progress, evaluating
teaching strategies, and informing parents about their children’s academic
performance. Effective CBA requires educators to possess the necessary skills and
knowledge related to content standards, learning levels, and teaching syllabus
performance standards. CBA plays a significant role in facilitating student self-
assessment, guiding instructional planning, monitoring progress, and evaluating
teaching effectiveness. It provides valuable feedback to students, helps teachers
enhance instructional strategies, allows monitoring of student progress, and
evaluates teaching effectiveness. CBA also informs parents about their child's
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academic progress, and enables them to provide support at home. By analyzing

student performance data, teachers can assess the success of their instructional
methods and make the necessary adjustments. Overall, CBA has practical
applications in various aspects of education, by serving as a valuable tool for
enhancing student learning, improving instructional practices, and promoting
parental involvement in the educational process.
In conclusion, CBA is a critical process that evaluates students' knowledge, skills,

and abilities in the classroom. It requires careful implementation by educators
with the necessary skills and knowledge to align assessment methods with
learning objectives. CBA serves multiple purposes, including providing feedback
to students, guiding instructional planning, monitoring progress, evaluating
teaching effectiveness, and informing parents. Recommendations for future
research and stakeholders include establishing clear guidelines for assessment
purpose, design, administration, scoring, and feedback, providing adequate
training for teachers and stakeholders, fostering a collaborative approach
involving students, considering contextual factors, addressing validity and
reliability issues, and promoting balanced assessment approaches, continuous
monitoring and evaluation, research and innovation, and collaboration between
researchers and practitioners to improve CBA implementation.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to extend their gratitude to the Research Management and
Innovation Centre (RMIC), Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), for the
University Special Interest Group Research Grants (code: 2022-0034-106-01) that
helped fund the research.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 326-344, April 2023
School-Based Positive Behavior Support for

Students with Emotional and Behavioral
Problems: Implementation and Teachers’
Experiences
Aini Mahabbati* , Edi Purwanta , Budi Astuti
Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Abstract. Schools often need to implement the school-based positive

behavior support (PBS) framework, especially if the school has students
with emotional and behavioral problems. Teacher experiences in PBS
provide precious information for the formulation of fidelity and
sustainability in PBS. This case study research explored inclusive school-
based PBS implementation, challenges, and needs regarding teachers’
experiences. A focus group discussion was used as the data collection
method. Eight teachers from five different inclusive schools that provide
behavior support programs and who have students with emotional and
behavioral problems were involved as participants. Data analysis
procedures included open coding with Microsoft Word assistance, and
then conducting in-depth analysis on each subtheme identified. Data
analysis resulted in four findings. 1) Teachers can identify the behavioral,
emotional, and learning behavior problems of students as part of their
routine activities. 2) Teachers provide behavior support to students with
emotional and behavioral problems in accordance with school policies or,
if necessary, based on their own initiatives. 3) Tasks that pose a challenge
for teachers include accurately assessing emotional and behavioral
problems of students, dealing with severe behavioral problems, and
collaborating with colleagues and parents. 4) Teachers need to develop
their assessment skills to understand students’ emotional and behavioral
problems, come up with behavior support strategies, and collaborate with
parents. The research results can serve as both theoretical and practical
guidelines for determining how teachers’ skills and school resources align
with the successful implementation of PBS.
Keywords: inclusive schools; positive behavior support; students’

emotional and behavioral problems; teachers’ experiences
*Corresponding author: Aini Mahabbati, ainimahabbati.2020@student.uny.ac.id /

aini@uny.ac.id
©Authors
327
1. Introduction
Emotional and behavioral issues are persistent issues that make it hard for an
individual to live a normal life (Ogundele, 2018; Vaughn & Bos, 2014). Research
has shown that Indonesia has cases of students with emotional and behavioral
problems (Kumara et al., 2017; Saputra et al., 2017; Umami & Turnip, 2019).
Emotional problems present as anxiety, feelings of sadness and hopelessness, high
levels of fear, low self-esteem, and difficulty controlling emotions. Observed
behavioral issues include hyperactivity, conflict, theft, rule-breaking, and lying.
Social problems include being lonely, not having friends, having difficulty being
accepted in a friendship, and other serious interaction issues.
Emotional and behavioral problems can harm individuals. These problems

impact cognitive distortions, such as self-harm, anxious thoughts, and self-
regulation difficulties (Kumara et al., 2017). It also affects language abilities,
inattention, memory, learning commitment, and mood disorders (Marsh et al.,
2019). Social problems can be seen among children in poor communication and
social skills, a lack of concern for their surroundings, and making friends with
other children with similar problems (Marsh et al., 2019). Frequent absences, rule-
breaking (Finning et al., 2020), low learning engagement, and low commitment
are repercussions of learning behavior issues (Mattison, 2015). Furthermore,
research in Indonesian inclusive primary schools has shown that emotional and
behavioral issues among students affect their school connectedness (Mahabbati
et al., 2022).
Teaching emotionally and behaviorally disturbed students is challenging.

Teachers struggle to use appropriate behavior interventions, involve students in
learning, collaborate with colleagues, undertake professional development, and
communicate with parents (Raudeliūnaitė & Steponėnienė, 2020). These students
also increase teachers’ anxiety (Mason & Matas, 2015), disrupt their well-being,
and make them feel unqualified to handle difficult situations (Breeman et al.,
2014). Because it is hard to understand the characteristics of these students,
Indonesian teachers have used trial and error to address issues (Hapsari et al.,
2020). The presence of these students has been linked to teachers and schools’
struggles to maintain a good school climate and is positively correlated with
school connectedness problems (Mahabbati et al., 2022).
Based on these issues, behavior support is needed in schools. Behavior support, a

framework which is referred to as positive behavior support (PBS), is an
important part of education for students with emotional and behavioral problems
(George et al., 2013). PBS can transform a troubled school into a place where all
students develop healthy social relationships and enjoy learning (George et al.,
2013). The multi-tiered PBS system manages behavioral problems from
prevention to cure (Mitchell et al., 2019; Swoszowski et al., 2013). PBS reduces
behavior interventions and conduct issues (Gage et al., 2018; George et al., 2013;
Lewis et al., 2017), school discipline violations, and poor academic performance
at all levels (Lee & Gage, 2019). Multi-tiered PBS increases student proactiveness
and obedience in learning, reduces disruptive behavior, and increases school
belongingness (Allen et al., 2021).
328
Several studies in Indonesia have examined the experiences of schools that

utilized PBS with programs involving living-values education (Apriani & Ariyani,
2017), class activities that provide emotional support for students (Anafiah &
Andini, 2018), natural support for learning (Sartono, 2018), and anti-bullying
(Prastowo, 2017). Positive behaviors learned include regard for diversity and
social care (Sartono, 2018), respect for others and friendship (Anafiah & Andini,
2018), and anti-bullying conduct (Prastowo, 2017). School leaders who follow
these programs provide an opportunity for teachers and staff to improve
professionally (Sholikhah & Purwanta, 2020). Unfortunately, however, teachers
still struggle to comprehend the emotional and behavioral problems of their
students and how to intervene (Kartikawati et al., 2018). The studies discussed
here explored service programs and teacher difficulties, but few examined
teachers’ PBS experiences.
The purpose of this study was to obtain comprehensive information about how
behavior support is used in inclusive elementary schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia,
and what teachers’ experiences are of providing the service. This research
explores several aspects. These include the characteristics of behavioral and
emotional problems in students that can be identified by teachers, the
implementation of school-based PBS regarding students’ needs, teachers’
experiences and challenges in providing daily behavior support to students with
emotional and behavioral problems, as well as teachers’ needs in implementing
behavior support.
The study’s findings can be used as a reference for future research and practice in
developing behavioral support services, especially for schools with students who
have behavioral and emotional problems. This is particularly relevant when
considering the requirements for services that are in accordance with the
characteristics and severity of the students’ behavioral and emotional problems,
improvement of procedures and strategies, teacher competencies, school support
capabilities, and collaborative efforts.
2.1 Emotional and Behavioral Problems
Emotional and behavioral problems persist in children with excessive intensity,
frequency, and/or duration for at least six months (Ogundele, 2018). This disorder
is characterized by a pattern of severe emotional and behavioral problems that
interfere with intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social interactions (Ogundele,
2018) and can impair the academic and personal performance of children
(Mitchell et al., 2019).
Internalizing and externalizing problems, as types of emotional and behavioral

problems, are classified by how they affect others (Ogundele, 2018). Internalizing-
problem behaviors, such as stress, worry, and social phobia, impact the
individual. Externalizing-problem behaviors, such as aggressive behavior,
fighting, and rule violating, can influence others.
329
2.2 Positive Behavior Support

PBS is an integrated school system with individually tailored intervention levels
for behavior and social-emotional intervention (Horner & Sugai, 2018; Sugai &
Horner, 2020). PBS is not a curriculum, technique, or program; rather, it is a
framework that guides the implementation of a service so that it is accurate,
sustainable, and evidence based (Sugai & Horner, 2020).
The implementation of school-based PBS involves a multi-tiered support system.

This system can provide preventive and curative interventions and address
behavioral treatment needs (Mitchell et al., 2019; Swoszowski et al., 2013). The
primary level is for all students, the secondary level is for those at risk of
emotional and behavioral issues or with mild disturbances, and the tertiary level
is for those with moderate to severe disorders (Mitchell et al., 2019).
PBS procedures incorporate data-driven decision-making and principles of

continuous service implementation (Sink et al., 2016). The procedures consist of:
1) identifying and assessing individual behavior; 2) developing clear and
measurable behavior expectations; 3) implementing continuous services; and
4) enhancing behavior through monitoring and evaluation (Sink, 2016; Weist et
al., 2018; Zaheer et al., 2019).
2.3 Teachers’ Roles in Positive Behavior Support Implementation

Teachers play crucial roles in the implementation of PBS, from identifying and
evaluating needs to planning, implementing, and evaluating services. PBS
features that are systematic, procedural, and data-driven can assist educators in
providing services. PBS is defined by outcome, process, and service content (Lane
et al., 2014).
Teachers act as teacher-mediated interveners in PBS services (Vaughn & Boss,

2014). The teacher directs implementation services that employ multiple behavior-
based approaches to learning, including direct instruction, modeling, role-
playing, social storytelling, and others.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
This qualitative study used an exploratory case study to investigate the research
phenomenon (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), and facts were explored to determine
fascinating dynamics that answered the “how” question (Yin, 2018). As a dynamic
phenomenon, the implementation of inclusive school-based PBS for students with
emotional and behavioral problems and teachers’ experiences thereof is an
interesting topic to explore. This research describes the occurrence and cannot be
generalized (Crowe et al., 2011).
3.2 Participants
This research took place in five inclusive schools (one public school and four
private schools). The five schools were selected based on previous research and
initial interviews with the school principals, who confirmed that the schools have
students with emotional and behavioral problems and that they provide behavior
support for them.
330
Criteria listed in an application to the principals to recruit participants included

that participants had to be teachers at inclusive elementary schools with students
with emotional and behavioral problems and who offer a behavior support
program for them. Based on this, this research involved five support teachers and
three classroom teachers as participants.
To ensure anonymity, the names of participating schools and teachers were coded
as part of the informed consent for the research. The school codes are School A,
School B, School C, School D, and School E. Participants’ names were coded based
on their position and their school’s name (e.g., CA is the classroom teacher from
School A, SA is the support teacher from School A etc.). The demographic details
of the participants are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the participants

Teaching
School School Particip- Participant Male/
Age experience
code status ant code position female
(years)
CA Classroom teacher Female 25 2
School A Public
SA Support teacher Female 25 3
School B Private SB Support teacher Male 27 4
CC Classroom teacher Male 28 5
School C Private
SC Support teacher Male 34 11
School D Private SD Support teacher Female 33 10
CE Classroom teacher Female 41 15
School E Private
SE Support teacher Female 23 1
3.3 Data Source and Data Collection

In September 2022, all participants participated in WhatsApp group focus group
discussions (FGDs) for two days that lasted four hours each. The FGD procedures
included: 1) an introduction explaining the rules, research objective, and informed
consent; 2) participant completion of the attendance list and demographic
information; 3) questioning participants in accordance with the research theme;
and 4) providing participants with a choice of responses via text or voice note.
Procedure no. 2 was repeated on day two of the FGDs, and unanswered guiding
questions were discussed.
3.4 Data Analysis

As a qualitative data analysis method, open coding was used to examine the data
(Blair, 2015). The FGD data that were transcribed were coded. Direct participant
data were used to avoid bias from presumptions or the researchers’ prior
knowledge of the research theme (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Multiple data
sources, improved references, and research team discussions increased research
reliability. Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis in Microsoft Word and
Excel was used for coding. This method categorizes raw data in multiple ways
and codes all selected data (Ose, 2016). The coding process involved six steps.
1) FGD audio and text were transcribed using Microsoft Word. 2) Data were read
carefully to identify important sentences and remove unnecessary information.
This reduction focused the study, increased data precision, sorted the data, and
arranged it to support the findings (Blair, 2015). 3) The new “Comment” function
331
of Microsoft Word in “Review” was used to highlight and code important

statements. 4) The coding results were put into a table in Microsoft Word with
columns for “Page”, “Code”, “Text”, and “Date” using the “View” → “Macros”
→ “View Macros” → “Extract Comments To New Document” → “Run”
commands. Indonesian to English translation followed. 5) Researcher-created
Excel tables were imported, with “School”, “Page”, “Code”, “Text”, and
“Subtheme” used as column headings. 6) Microsoft Word was used to analyze the
subthemes in more depth after sorting them into topics.
Table 2 shows an example of the Microsoft Word tabulation as used for the data
coding.
Table 2: Sample of data tabulation from coding

Code
School Theme Text (researcher translation) Keywords
/subtheme
Characteristics Behavioral “child displayed aggressive Hyperactive
of students problems behavior like yelling, striking, or and
A with emotional pulling their teachers or friends” aggressive
and behavioral
problems
School-based Multi-tiered “teachers have a duty to Primary-level
PBS system of emphasize agreements established PBS
B
implementation school- for activities in class and outside
based PBS of class”
Teachers’ Teachers’ “Parents are tough to work with, Collaboration
experiences in challenges so the behavior program only with parents
C implementing works at school”
school-based
PBS
4. Findings
This study explored how teachers implement school-based behavior support for
students with emotional and behavioral problems. Table 3 presents the themes
and subthemes yielded from data coding and analysis.
Table 3: Themes and subthemes resulting from data coding and analysis
No Theme Subthemes
Characteristics of students’ Behavioral problems
1. emotional and behavioral Emotional problems
problems Learning behavior problems
School-based PBS Identification and assessment of students’
implementation emotional and behavioral problems
2.
Multi-tiered system of school-based PBS
Program monitoring and evaluation
Teachers’ experiences in Direct support from teachers provided to
implementing school-based students
3.
PBS Teachers’ challenges
Teachers’ needs
332
4.1 Characteristics of Students’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Participants from all five schools reported that their schools had students with
emotional and behavioral problems, which can be categorized into three
categories: behavioral problems, emotional problems, and learning behavior
problems.
4.1.1 Behavioral problems

Participants reported on the following behavioral problems:
1. Hyperactive and aggressive behavior: “The child exhibits behavior problems
like hyperactivity, aggression ... He spends about two to five minutes walking
around the study area during the lesson. At times, the child displayed aggressive
behaviors like yelling, striking, or pulling their teachers or friends” (SA); “The
child occasionally enjoys hitting their peers without cause” (SB).
2. Destructive behavior: “Even at the library, the kid disobeyed the rules by
scribbling on tables, messing around on the teacher’s computer, throwing books
into the trash, failing to return books that had been taken, and spilling markers”
(SB); “When he doesn’t receive what he wants, he may easily erupt, screaming
and throwing things at those nearby” (SC).
3. Disruptive behavior: “Child with initials A has behavior disorders such as being
ignorant to their friends” (CC); “The child also liked to go to other classes during
class time” (SB); “The child showed curiosity about the other sex, which made
some friends—particularly male friends—uncomfortable. The child enjoys
peering out the window during some lessons to visit her classmates in other
classes” (CE).
4. Forcing others to do what they want: “If he wants to see a friend’s toy, he
snatches it, which damages the toy” (SD); “The child would ask the teacher for
permission, and then shout after a friend was given permission to drink or use the
restroom. If she were denied, she would scream until her request was
granted” (SE).
4.1.2 Emotional problems

Emotional problems also appeared in behaviors, as indicated by participants:
1. Angry and irritable mood: “Problem behavior experienced by the child includes
unstable emotions, hyperactivity, social disturbances, mood swings ... Sometimes
children show aggressive attitudes such as screaming, hitting, or pulling friends
or teachers” (SA); “... they frequently miscommunicate, the kid is emotional, and
he acts out frequently at school” (SC); “Kid (K) with emotional and behavioral
problems. If something does not go according to his wishes, he will frequently and
excessively yell and wail” (SD); “One of the child’s unstable emotions was shown
by an angry expression, shouting at friends, and asking for a fight” (SE).
2. Feeling of anxiety: “Student K had a severe fear of failing. The kid always adds,
‘I lived in pain,’ when he doesn’t complete the homework precisely” (SD).
333
3. Self-blame and hopelessness: “When faced with challenges on assignments,

Student K becomes very worried and constantly refers to himself as ‘dumb, idiot,
and suicidal’ if he doesn’t complete the task perfectly” (SD).
4.1.3 Learning behavior problems

Meanwhile, some students in each of the schools struggled with learning behavior
problems, as explained by participants:
1. Breaking the rules: “[Student] did not follow the rules, difficult to adapt to the
situation …” (SA); “In academic pursuits, the child did not want to follow
directions, and they frequently disobeyed teacher instructions” (SB); “We hope
the child will not be ignorant and will focus, but he always misbehaves” (CC).
2. Off-task behavior: “Child often ignores teacher directions and instead does what
he wants, including playing by himself, painting, writing on surfaces, disturbing
other students during sports and other class activities, and playing in the library”
(SB); “The kid walked around the study room for two to five minutes while
learning ...” (SA).
3. Inattention: “Student has trouble focusing and paying attention during

classroom learning activities; he is frequently distracted” (SC); “The child was
not focused on participating in learning” (CE).
4.2 School-Based Positive Behavior Support Implementation

4.2.1 Identification and assessment of emotional and behavioral problems
According to participants, identification and assessment of students’ emotional
and behavioral problems in school start at the beginning of the school year:
“[Identification] was accomplished by observing students’ behavior at school. By
coincidence, Yogyakarta’s psychological service has assessed our students having
emotional problems” (SA). Similarly, a teacher from School C stated: “[Identification
is carried out] when students start enrolling in school as new students or transfer
students” (CC). According to CE, the initial assessment is conducted by asking
parents if they have received the student’s psychological diagnostic results.
Furthermore, some participants made it clear that ongoing identification and

assessment would take place in school. According to SA, they are already using
“observation to see the progress of the student’s behavior”. SD said: “[We] discuss with
the class educator or parents the development of children’s behavior.” This process was
described by the teacher from School B as “reassessment”.
Many participants described the identification and assessment processes,

although their descriptions lacked sufficient clarity and specificity. For instance,
SB explained that “the steps are identifying the child’s problems, observing sufficiently
to see the progress of the child’s behavior”. Furthermore, CC stated: “[In identification
and assessment,] student data, parent readiness, and psychological diagnostic data are a
few of the requirements that must be satisfied. The potential of each child’s abilities is then
explored through interviews and observations of all students.”
Psychologists’ assessments of emotional and behavioral problems are used by

some schools (Schools A, C, and E). Furthermore, Schools C and A investigate
334
students’ data through parent interviews and observations of students’ behavior

in class (CC, SA).
4.2.2 Multi-tiered system of school-based positive behavior support

PBS is often implemented in all participating schools using a multi-tiered support
framework. The primary-level programs were expressly mentioned by
participants from all schools, such as: promoting school-based programs in daily
activities (Schools A and C), implementing positive behavior in daily activities
(Schools A, C, and E), and implementing learning accommodations (Schools A
and E).
The anti-bullying, kid-friendly, and culturally based activities are among the
school-based programs offered by School A. SA said: “Child-friendly schools
promote acceptance of individual diversity in order to foster a friendly atmosphere free of
bullying. Smiles, hellos, civility, and manners [are school attributes]. Students are
instructed in good behavior and mutual respect.” Self-protection education is taught
in School C as a school-based curriculum combining moral and ethical learning
(CC, SC). Teachers from School E also mentioned that School E promotes self-
protection education, literacy day, living values, and multicultural events
programs.
Regular school events such as morning meetings and weekly assemblies serve to
remind all students about the school-based program (Schools A, C, and E).
Concerning this, participants stated: “Principal and teachers are promoting many
topics, such as anti-bullying behavior, in the classroom and during morning assemblies”
(SA); “[The program is reminded on] the morning carpet and day carpet by discussing
class dynamics related to rules and positive attitudes” (CC); “[The program is
reminded by] focusing children’s attention on the morning and day carpets” (SE); “[The
program is reminded during] assembly, which include instruction on a particular
contextual subject” (SC).
Participants mentioned employing simple behavior modification techniques,

including behavior contract (CA, CC, SC, CE, SE) and class rewards (SE). Behavior
contract is given to students during regular activities on the morning and day
carpets (CC, SC, CE, SE) and at the weekly assembly (CE, SE).
Schools A and E adopt learning accommodations. Examples of accommodations

offered include groupwork in project-based learning (SE, CA); and favorable
learning habits and chances for all students to share their ideas and work are
provided at School A.
Teacher-led positive behavior at primary-level PBS is carried out at School A:

“Every morning the teachers are on duty to welcome students, [direct students to]
practice the habit of shaking hands with teachers during daily assembly” (SA). It is
likewise practiced in School B: “teachers have a duty to emphasize agreements
established for activities in class and outside of class” (SB). Schools B, C, D, and E
implemented the primary level of PBS that involves peer-mediated behavior
promotion, such as selecting “angel” friends who help to remind them of positive
335
behavior (School D), peer tutoring and developing cooperative learning activities
in the classroom (Schools B and C), as well as student-led conferences (School E).
All participants said their schools use secondary or tertiary PBS without a system
to differentiate. All schools provide tailored interventions for serious behavioral
and emotional problems, but few identify tertiary or secondary intervention
processes. Secondary/tertiary PBS begins with identification and assessment
(Schools C and E). School C supports teachers assessing students through initial
observation, document analysis, and discussions with classroom teachers, the
vice-principal for student affairs, and the principal. Assessing and identifying
students’ problem behavior were stressed by School E’s classroom teacher and
support teacher.
All participating schools offer PBS individually for moderate and severe problems.
Special class services are provided to students who need intensive behavior and
emotional support (SA, CC, SC, SD). SD explained: “[School] provides clear
boundaries of things that [students] are allowed and not allowed to do.” “Any violations
relating to bullying will be immediately followed up by the vice-principal for student
affairs in the counseling room” (SA). According to the participating teachers from
School E, serious cases are handled individually.
School psychologists (Schools B and E) and family psychologists (Schools A

and C) assist students who need more services. School psychologists start with a
teacher’s report, a clinical assessment, and psychological intervention for serious
behavior issues. School B has intensive psychological services for students, as
stated by SB: “The school psychologist team accepts reports or complaints about students
with serious behavioral issues.”
All schools encourage teamwork. Participants from Schools A, C, D, and E

emphasized parents’ involvement in tertiary services. Parent–school collaboration
includes sharing student psychological information, agreeing on program
implementation, and discussing student development. All schools encourage
special and general teachers to collaborate on assessments, case conferences,
interventions, and student progress.
4.2.3 Program monitoring and evaluation

FGD data show that PBS monitors student performance and program use. Many
participants mentioned student development evaluation: “Psychologists come to
speak with classroom teachers and special teachers about child development at school”
(SA); “The teacher conducts assessments, making adequate observations to see how
children’s behavior develops. If a child needs additional help, the school team can provide
reassessments, intervene, and provide evaluations” (SB); “The principal supervises
teachers monthly and discusses student development in each class with classroom teachers.
(??); Teachers especially discuss children’s behavior development with classroom
educators or parents” (CC). The stakeholders involved in monitoring and
evaluating are school principals (School C), classroom teachers (all schools),
special education teachers (all schools), professionals (all schools), and parents
(Schools D and E).
336
To ensure that interventions are effective, monitoring and evaluation of program

implementation-related areas are carried out, as stated by participant SA:
“monitoring and evaluation is carried out by the teachers involved, ensuring that the
interventions that have been carried out are”. Moreover, program monitoring and
evaluation are conducted to reflect on and improve services: “evaluation and
training are also given to classroom teachers in enriching learning approaches that
promote positive behavior” (SC); “The school makes attempts to supervise programs that
focus on developing students’ positive behavior” (CE).
Only the School C classroom teacher mentioned monitoring and evaluation.

School C’s principal monitors PBS implementation monthly. Student behavior
and learning dynamics are discussed weekly. They discuss student achievement
and programs with all teachers and staff once a semester. School B monitors
student behavior development using an assessment.
4.3 Teachers’ Experiences in Implementing School-Based Positive Behavior

Support
Participants shared their experiences with students’ behavior support needs.
Experiences in this regard include how they support students, and what their own
challenges and needs are.
4.3.1 Direct support from teachers

Emotional, cognitive, and social support help students with emotional and
behavioral problems. School A teachers helped students express and
communicate their emotions. School C teachers supported emotional and anxious
students by acknowledging their feelings, listening to their concerns, and giving
them time to calm down. SA explained that they help students to think about their
behavior by teaching rules and proper behavior.
School B teachers let students choose activities and accompanied them when they
are down. School C teachers encouraged students to express their ideas or needs,
take initiative, be aware of their emotional state, focus and develop life skills based
on their interests and talents (SC); assisted them in social activities (CC); and
instilled social values in learning and social interaction (SC).
4.3.2 Teachers’ challenges

Identifying and helping students with emotional and behavioral problems,
working with other teachers and parents, and managing psychological discomfort
are some of the challenges participants have experienced. School A’s teachers said
that it is hard to understand students’ feelings. School E’s teachers faced
difficulties with behavior assessment tools and clinical data. “We still haven’t found
the right way to accompany and facilitate teaching and learning activities,” said
School B’s teacher. “Difficulties are felt when a child cannot be controlled using the
techniques we have taught for emotional regulation,” said the School D teacher about
implementing intervention techniques when students have emotional outbursts.
Participants also experienced difficulties with intervention consistency (SE).
The next challenge experienced by participants is collaboration with classroom

teachers or other teachers. In this regard, SB said: “Other teachers have class
337
supervision duties and cannot focus on that child.” CE stated that getting all teachers
to support and agree with the behavior intervention was difficult. “Parents are
tough to work with, so the behavior program only works at school,” said SC. The School
D teacher struggled with parent collaboration. The school teachers said parents
were less forthcoming about their child’s condition.
The FGD results also revealed psychological issues. The School B teacher said
managing students, especially those with emotional and behavioral problems,
was exhausting.
4.3.3 Teachers’ needs

All participants agreed that PBS services for emotional and behavioral problems
needed collaboration. They felt that teachers and parents had to participate in
assessment, evaluation, and monitoring to collaborate in school. The School D
teacher suggested collaboration on student assessment systems, intervention
designs, and school support policies.
In addition, Schools A, C, and E teachers said that they needed more training on
behavioral and emotional problems and effective interventions. In this regard, SA
said: “We need teacher training to understand students with emotional disorders.”
Furthermore, SC said: “Training is needed for classroom teachers and support teachers
regarding children with special needs and how to handle them.”
5. Discussion
The participants’ explanations of student behavior and emotional problems
demonstrate their understanding. Teachers must identify students with emotional
and behavioral problems because they work with students the most and influence
their growth and behavior (Farmer et al., 2011). Although the accuracy of
identification and behavior assessment has not been thoroughly researched,
elementary schools must provide intensive assistance based on these techniques
(Maggin et al., 2016). Identification and assessment teams must also be considered
(Horner & Sugai, 2018). Teachers, especially at Tiers 2 and 3, need identification
and assessment training and mentoring (Lewis et al., 2017).
The study found that at all five participating schools had students with behavioral,
emotional, and learning behavior issues. Internalizing-problem behavior, which
depends on the student’s emotional state, is harder to recognize (Mitchell et al.,
2019; Ogundele, 2018). Problem behavior can impair students’ learning and their
personal and functional abilities (Mitchell et al., 2019). Emotional and behavioral
problems need to be identified using the appropriate instruments. This
determines whether a student needs secondary (moderate) or tertiary (severe)
treatment (Lane et al., 2014).
All participating schools implemented a PBS framework, even though School A

(public school) did not explicitly mention it. The four private schools stated
explicitly implementing PBS. PBS is a framework for student-centered behavior,
social skills, and academic services (Sugai & Horner, 2020). PBS implementation
338
meets students’ needs for services, program continuity, resources, and quality
execution (Lindstrom Johnson et al., 2020).
Furthermore, every participating school promoted anti-bullying, a child-friendly

school atmosphere, culturally based behavior programs, self-protection, living
values, and multicultural activities. Elementary school students who follow
school values behave better (Nelen et al., 2020; Sugai & Horner, 2020). All teachers
should teach social and emotional learning behavior expectations (Nelen et al.,
2020; Oliver et al., 2019). Social-emotional programs reduce classroom bullying
and improve students’ social skills (Yang et al., 2020). Furthermore, school
engagement and student behavior are strongly correlated (Mahabbati et al., 2022).
Many of the participating schools used learning accommodations for classroom

management as PBS intervention. School-based PBS relies on the proactive and
preventive measures of the classroom management system (Nelen et al., 2020;
Oliver et al., 2019). A well-run classroom fosters good student relationships,
teaches social skills, has clear and reinforced behavior expectations, and enforces
good behavior (Oliver et al., 2019).
None of the participating schools clearly distinguished between secondary and

tertiary PBS implementation. However, participants mentioned a variety of
secondary and tertiary services, such as guiding students in personalized services
classes, setting up behavior contracts, and providing social and emotional
support. In addition to the teacher’s individual services, tertiary-level intensive
services require professional assistance (Sugai & Horner, 2020). Participants also
said that school psychologists (private schools) or family psychologists (public
schools) provided individualized services. Students who show early signs of
emotional and behavioral problems and are at risk of developing more severe
problems receive behavior support at the secondary level, while those with
clinically diagnosed disorders receive it at the tertiary level (Arora et al., 2019;
Lane et al., 2014). Secondary interventions are most likely to be used in class and
meet students’ small-group needs (Cho Blair et al., 2021). Schools need a system
to monitor student behavior to determine if they need level-appropriate or more
intensive interventions (Cho Blair et al., 2021). Continuous behavior support
improves teachers’ behavior management skills (Lewis et al., 2017).
Participants also described their challenges, which included identifying behavior

problems. Teachers’ ability to identify and assess behavior problems is essential
when making data-based decisions and setting measurable behavior goals (Nelen
et al., 2020; Sink, 2016). Service success requires assessment (Lewis et al., 2017;
Nelen et al., 2020; Sink, 2016). Assessments are used for screening, placement, and
intervention (Weist et al., 2018) and sustainable data collection (Zaheer et al.,
2019).
Participants struggled with behavior intervention, especially for severe behavior

problems. Inefficient treatment by teachers often contributes to the problem (Cho
Blair et al., 2021). Thus, teachers’ integrated classroom services greatly influence
students’ positive behavior (Cho Blair et al., 2021; Oliver et al., 2019). Teachers can
339
consider school support, problem behaviors, and their own issues, such as anxiety
and stress, when choosing treatments (Egan et al., 2019). The competences of
teachers, along with interventions, students’ needs and issues, classroom
suitability, and school support, would affect PBS performance (Cho Blair et al.,
2021).
Collaboration with the school team was also a challenge for the teachers in this
study and a big issue in the PBS framework. Disagreements among teachers on
behavior management could impede PBS (Mitchell et al., 2019). Schools often
prioritize setting up services inside the school over working with outsiders (Nelen
et al., 2020). In addition, parent cooperation is crucial to PBS success. Schools and
parents must communicate about student-behavior expectations at home and at
school (Strickland-Cohen et al., 2021). The interactive collaboration between
school ecological stakeholders affects how well PBS is implemented for all
students (Opartkiattikul et al., 2014). Conversely, the lack of support from these
stakeholders is an obstacle to the success of PBS (Mitchell et al., 2019).
Implementation fidelity measures PBS success. PBS implementation and meeting

all requirements measure fidelity (Nelen et al., 2020). Initial screening and
behavior assessment assist those implementing PBS in comprehending cases;
setting clear, measurable behavior expectations; providing dependable and
consistent services; developing programs; and modifying student behavior
through observation and evaluation (Sink, 2016; Zaheer et al., 2019). PBS fidelity
begins with aligning student behavior with the knowledge and competency of
teachers and school teams (Lewis et al., 2017). Strong government support and
appropriate school leadership traits and policies guarantee the effectiveness of
PBS (Cho Blair et al., 2021; Opartkiattikul et al., 2014).
This study advanced the knowledge of how to formulate school-based behavior

support programs, especially for schools with students who have behavioral and
emotional issues. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers can employ the
findings of this research to develop school-based behavior support programs.
These programs will include the appropriate procedures and strategies, the
characteristics and levels of emotional problems and behavioral problems in
students, the development of teacher competencies in assessment and service
provision, the school system support, and the collaboration needed among
parents and other experts.
6. Limitations
The study had limitations regarding the small sample of participants, which
consisted of only eight teachers from five schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Participant status might not sufficiently represent the variety of schools and
situations for teachers in other settings. As a result, it is not appropriate to
generalize the findings of this study to other settings. It would be preferable to
explore in depth other ways of collecting data, such as in-depth interviews and
observations, to gain more authentic data. In addition, another study limitation
was the data gathering method employed, where data were collected using FGDs
only. Further research with a broader setting coverage that reflects the variety of
340
school settings and representative methodological variances is required. In

addition, it is necessary to conduct more research with a focus on how to develop
behavior support programs for schools that are appropriate for the particulars and
needs of the designated study setting.
7. Conclusion
All the participating schools in this study used behavior support to respond to the
emotional and behavioral problems of their students. The various types of
problems that were identified by participants include behavioral problems,
emotional problems, and learning behavior problems. The participants’
experiences show that they support students who exhibit emotional and
behavioral problems with their behavior, either in accordance with school policy
or, if necessary, though improvisation. The implementation of school-based
behavior support programs includes identifying and assessing the emotional
and/or behavioral problem, setting strategies and procedures into practice within
a multi-tiered system of support with less structure, and monitoring and
evaluating how students progress over the period of the intervention. Teachers
struggle to manage severe behavioral problems, assess students precisely,
collaborate with other teachers, and work with parents. PBS must be used as an
intervention framework by all stakeholders. However, this study indicated that
managing school-based PBS requires a system that is adapted for all school
conditions and needs. Every school should develop the consistency of PBS as a
systematic and procedural framework for behavior intervention. They should also
develop the standard of the school system’s policies focusing on behavior support
plans; and the quality of cooperation between the school, the parents, and other
experts such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and special education professionals.
8. Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Resource Center and Disability Service Unit of the
Department of Youth Education and Sport in Yogyakarta for their support with
this research. The Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and
Technology is also acknowledged for providing funding through a national
doctoral research grant.
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Appendix
Questions discussed in the focus group
1. What kind of emotional and behavioral problems have students ever faced,
or are facing in class, or among the students you support? Please identify
one or more of the students that most impressed you in terms of emotional
and behavioral issues.
2. In what ways do emotional problems and student behavior appear in detail?
3. Is there a school policy on behavioral support for students in your school?
4. How does the behavioral support policy address and deal with students'
emotional and behavioral issues?
5. Do you have your own way, outside of the school's behavioral support
policies, to address and respond to students' emotional and behavioral
issues? Please elaborate.
6. How is the implementation of behavioral support aimed at all students?
7. How can school behavioral support practices be tailored to the level of
student emotional and behavioral problems?
8. How are the results of behavioral support practices in your school
monitored and evaluated?
9. What are the challenges you face in implementing behavioral support
practices for students with emotional and behavioral problems?
10. What do you need for your tasks as a teacher to provide behavioral support
programs for students with emotional and behavioral problems in school?
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 345-361, April 2023
Teacher Strategies for Providing Access to

Learning for Students with Special Needs in
Elementary Schools
Hermanto Hermanto
Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Bayu Pamungkas*
Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Abstract. The presence of children with special needs in society

automatically requires service education that suits their needs so that they
can develop their full potential. The teacher plays an important role in the
learning component, as the teacher’s role is not only limited to teaching.
The teacher is also a guide, developer, and manager of the learning
activities and can thus facilitate student learning activities for the purpose
of achieving the goals set. The purpose of this study was to investigate
teacher strategies used as part of providing access to learning for students
with special needs in 25 elementary schools that provide inclusive
education in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Qualitative research methods were
used in this study, including observations, interviews, and
documentation as data collection techniques. The informants in this study
were 100 elementary school teachers providing inclusive education
selected using purposive random sampling. The collected data were
analyzed through data condensation, data presentation, and drawing
conclusions. The results of this study show that there are various teacher
strategies for providing access for students with special needs in inclusive
elementary schools, including providing physical and non-physical
access to learning based on the special needs of the students. Training in
the context of increasing teacher competence and increasing the role of
the parents means that experts from various related disciplines are
expected to be able to support the implementation of inclusive education.
Keywords: inclusive education; special needs students; teacher strategy
1. Introduction
The acceptance of new students is part of the process of acquiring students in
schools, both at the kindergarten and high school levels. Since 2017, the process
of accepting students in Indonesia has implemented a zoning system, as
*
Corresponding author: Bayu Pamungkas; bayu.pamungkas@uny.ac.id
©Authors
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strengthened in Regulation of the Minister of National Education and Culture of

the Republic of Indonesia number 17 of 2017 (Republic of Indonesia, 2017). Since
2017, the selection of new students for admission in Indonesian schools has
emphasized being objective, accountable, transparent, and non-discriminatory,
which encourages increased access to educational services. Moreover, schools
managed by local government are required to accept prospective students who
live in the closest radius zone to the school, with at least 90% of the total number
of students being accepted.
The zoning-based new student acceptance policy in Indonesia is still in effect

today, although only a percentage of this zoning policy has been strengthened by
the Minister of Education and Culture just before the acceptance of new students
based on zoning started taking place. The acceptance of new students in 2019
based on zoning is still valid, as can be seen from the basis of the laws that regulate
it. Regulation of the Minister of National Education and Culture of the Republic
of Indonesia number 20 of 2019 concerning Amendments to Minister of Education
and Culture Regulation number 51 of 2018 which concerns the acceptance of new
students in kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools,
and vocational high schools continues to strengthen the acceptance of new
students based on zoning (Republic of Indonesia, 2019). However, here, the
percentage has changed to 80%. There is increasing emphasis on the opportunities
and rights of the residents to obtain education in the nearby schools. The
acceptance of new students considering the criteria of priority according to
capacity is based on the provisions of the student group, considering the distance
from the residence to the school in accordance with the zoning provisions.
The aim of zoning-based acceptance of new students is to strengthen the

implementation of inclusive education in regular schools on a large scale. This
supports the government policies as stated in the Regulation of the Minister of
National Education of the Republic of Indonesia number 70 of 2009 concerning
inclusive education for students with disabilities and potential intelligence
and/or special talents (Republic of Indonesia, 2009). The enrolment of children
with special needs in regular schools, referred to as inclusive schools with a
zoning system, is unavoidable. Jannah and Hermanto (2022) explained that the
presence of children with special needs in society automatically requires service
education that suits their needs so that they can develop to their full potential.
However, developing the potential of children with special needs to the fullest is
not an easy task. Therefore, the government has also issued Government
Regulation number 13 of 2020 concerning adequate accommodation for students
with disabilities (Republic of Indonesia, 2020). To prepare the system, there is an
emphasis on providing inclusive education courses for prospective teacher
education programs. Schools must be prepared for diversity, and inclusive
education is a mandatory program and policy that must be properly prepared,
including on the part of the teachers.
Inclusive education is a service model for children with special needs. Inclusive
means that children with special needs can follow the learning and participate in
regular schools in the nearest environment. Children with special needs can
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participate as much as possible in the regular learning curriculum and other

activities with their classmates who do not have special needs. All components
must contribute to providing optimal results due to the learning services for
children with mild intellectual disabilities so that they are in accordance with the
vision of inclusive education itself, where schools adjust in terms of the
curriculum, educational facilities, and infrastructure. The learning systems are
adapted to the individual needs of the students (Asep et al., 2020).
Inclusive education certainly does not only involve the learning process and the
potential of children with special needs. It also relates to the diversity of students
in the classroom and at school. Based on the diverse abilities of students,
differentiated learning is needed. Differentiated learning is a learning practice in
which the teacher conveys learning with adjustments to meet the students’
abilities, as well as the students’ readiness, interests, and learning styles. Teachers
can modify their teaching strategies based on the content, processes, and learning
products. Evertson and Weinstein (2011) discussed four aspects of inclusive
education. First, the implementation of inclusive education guarantees presence,
as every student can be present simultaneously in every activity carried out by
the school/teacher. Second, acceptance (acknowledgment) is where every student
has the right to be accepted without discrimination. Third, participation is where
every student can participate in every activity carried out in the class or school.
Lastly, achievement relates to each student achieving according to their abilities.
The teacher plays an important role in the learning component, their role not
being limited to teaching only. They are also a guide, developer, and manager of
learning activities to facilitate student learning activities as part of achieving the
goals set. Teachers must be prepared for various challenges and demands as well
as being at the forefront. The teacher must continue to innovate to develop the
potential of diverse students. The current diversity of students started with the
new student acceptance process which facilitated the diversity of students,
including the presence of children with special needs in regular schools. There is
a demand for teachers to have the ability to plan and implement a quality learning
process. By understanding the various demands and challenges faced by teachers
today, and the presence of diversity of students as required in Regulation of the
Minister of National Education of the Republic of Indonesia number 16 of 2007,
this has now become a reality (Republic of Indonesia, 2007).
This research will answer questions on how teachers employ strategies to fulfill
access to learning for students with special needs in elementary schools. To
answer this question, we employed a descriptive research design to describe the
teacher strategies used when providing access to learning involving 100 teachers
from 25 elementary schools that provide inclusive education in the city of
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A qualitative approach was used with a descriptive
research design to comprehensively describe teacher strategies in each school
providing access to learning for students with special needs in their class. It is
hoped that the results of this study can provide an overview of the strategies that
can be implemented by teachers in inclusive schools who have been confused
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about providing access to learning for students with special needs in the
classroom.
2.1 Inclusive Education
Inclusive education has the goal of providing equal opportunities for all children
to learn and develop in an inclusive environment. However, several challenges
and obstacles must be faced in its implementation. According to de Beco (2017),
the problem is that even though the right to create inclusive education is fully
given, there are limitations when it comes to taking the steps needed to create an
inclusive education system. In short, there is a gap between the concept and
practice of inclusive education. On the other hand, there is still uncertainty about
whether inclusive education should be the standard in every situation. The United
Nations (2006) in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
recognized that if the general school system fails to meet the needs of all
individuals with disabilities, special education may be an option, but there should
be a focus on preparing students for education within the general school system.
Although special education is linked to the goals of inclusive education, there are
still opportunities for temporary exclusion from the general environment.
UNESCO (2017a) listed and discussed the challenges and obstacles encountered
in inclusive education. The first is limited resources: Inclusive education requires
adequate resources to support all students, including students who need special
attention. However, not all schools or education systems have sufficient resources
to support these programs. Second, there is lack of training and knowledge: Many
teachers and education staff have not received adequate training or knowledge
about inclusive education and how to support students with special needs. This
can be a barrier to supporting students who need special support. The third
challenge is stigma and discrimination: Students with special needs often
experience discrimination and stigma from society and even from their peers at
school. This can make them feel unappreciated and neglected and interfere with
their ability to learn and develop. The fourth is lack of parental support: Parents
of students with special needs often feel that they are not heard or understood by
education staff and the public. This can discourage them from engaging in
inclusive programs and a lack of support from parents can hinder the students’
progress. Fifth, there is lack of supportive policies and regulations: Lack of
support from the government and a lack of oversight can make inclusive
programs ineffective. To overcome these challenges and obstacles, it is necessary
to carry out sustainable efforts. These include increasing the support and
availability of resources, increasing the training and knowledge of education staff,
promoting equality, reducing stigma and discrimination, and developing policies
and regulations that support inclusive programs.
2.2 Duties and Roles of Teachers in Inclusive Education

Teachers in inclusive schools have complex tasks and roles because they have the
responsibility to provide teaching and support to all students, including those
with special needs. UNESCO (2017b) stated that teachers in inclusive schools must
create a friendly environment for all students, assess and monitor student
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progress regularly, and identify students who need additional support. The duties
and roles of teachers in inclusive schools by UNESCO (2017b) are further
elaborated as follows. First, teachers in inclusive schools must provide differential
teaching so that all students can access the curriculum and learn in a way that
suits their needs. Second, teachers must form collaborations between students and
encourage students to support and learn from each other. Finally, teachers must
also build positive relationships with the parents of their students and involve
them in their children’s education. Therefore, teachers in inclusive schools have a
very important role to play in creating an inclusive learning environment and
providing support to all students.
When designing service delivery models for students in inclusive schools,

teachers need to apply the principles of effective learning. Anaby et al. (2018)
mentioned that one of the strategies that is often used is training and information
exchange. This helps when implementing the principle of support among the
teachers and school staff. Using this strategy is expected to increase the capacity
and competence of school-based personnel through strengthening concepts and
fostering knowledge. This also helps to empower and increase the competence of
the school personnel, including when handling students with special needs in
schools providing inclusive education.
2.3 Types of Access to Learning for Special Needs Students

Each student with special needs has different characteristics and needs an
individual education strategy. Some students may have physical barriers,
whereas others may have different sensory or developmental barriers. It is
important to design individual strategies that focus on the needs and potential of
each student. The right approach when designing an inclusive education strategy
for students with special needs is a needs-based approach. The focus of this
approach is to understand the unique needs of each student and to create
appropriate educational strategies to enable them to achieve their maximum
potential.
Individuals with visual impairments may require different levels of assistance

with their vision, ranging from those requiring only glasses to those who are
completely blind. Children with visual impairments may also have problems in
relation to cognition, mobility orientation, and social interactions. According to
Handoyo (2022), the limitations of blind children are not the result of their low
intellectual ability but a lack of exposure to cognitive experiences. These
experiences can be fostered during the learning process by combining tactile
activities and involving the sense of touch to facilitate the acquisition of
knowledge.
Students with physical disabilities usually do not face significant problems in

terms of their cognitive abilities, so in the educational process, general methods
can be used with more accessible environmental conditioning. The teacher needs
to provide emotional assistance and support. Psychosocial motivation and
support can help these students become more confident to have positive social
contact and feel supported by their surroundings. This can improve the
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psychological condition of students with physical disabilities to enable them to be

more positive than before (Fajar, 2020).
According to Rokhman (2020), students with Asperger’s syndrome exhibit unique

traits, such as a tendency to focus intently on specific topics and performing
activities in a consistent manner. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome also
commonly exhibit poor social skills, a preference for routine, and an aversion to
change. These characteristics can be utilized to guide these individuals towards
specific activities that match their abilities and interests.
Children with hearing impairments have the same adaptive abilities as children
who can hear, as long as the communication modalities they use at home and
school are appropriate (Fisher et al., 2021). These capable cognitive abilities help
children with hearing impairments to undergo the education process with some
modifications, such as the simplification of language and the use of sign language
in the communication system.
3. Methodology
A qualitative approach with a descriptive research design was used in this
research to describe strategies teachers use in providing access to learning in
elementary schools that provide inclusive education. This method was chosen so
that the data obtained in this study could fully and comprehensively explain how
access to learning is provided for children with special needs as the research focus.
The stages carried out in this study included determining the research informants,
collecting the data, and analyzing the data collected. The informants in this study
consisted of 100 teachers from 25 elementary schools with students with special
needs who were selected through purposive random sampling from a total pool
of 625 teachers. The data collection in this study was carried out using
participatory observation techniques and semi-structured interviews, as well as a
documentation search related to providing access to learning for children with
special needs across the 25 elementary schools.
The successfully collected data were then tested to determine its credibility using
a member check. Sugiyono (2013) explained that member checks are used to
determine the credibility of the data provided by the research informants. To
analyze the data collected, we used analytical induction techniques, namely
reducing the data, displaying the data, and drawing conclusions and verifying the
data (Creswell, 2008). For data analysis in this study, we used techniques from
Miles et al. (2014), which consisted of four activity flows for analyzing the data,
namely data collection, data compaction, data presentation, and drawing
conclusions.
In the early stages, we conducted interviews to obtain data on the provision of

physical and non-physical accessibility. After that, we conducted observations to
analyze the teachers’ strategies for each type of specificity related to the students
with special needs. In the final stage of the data collection, we conducted a
documentation study related to the learning tools that support the two previously
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collected data sets. All the data from the interviews, observations, and
documentation obtained were analyzed to determine if there were patterns of
similarities and differences in the strategies for fulfilling learning access for
students with special needs. We eliminated any residual data pieces that appeared
as though it was not related to the research focus. Furthermore, the data from the
analysis were presented to describe the various teacher strategies used for
providing access to learning for students with special needs.
4. Results
Analysis of the research data shows that there are various teacher strategies for
providing access to learning for students with special needs in elementary schools
that provide inclusive education, which is the focus of this study. Table 1 presents
a description of teacher strategies categorized according to the provision of access
to physical and non-physical learning in schools.
Table 1: Provision of access to learning in inclusive schools
Physical accessibility Non-physical accessibility
1. Fulfillment of accessible facilities and 1. Implementation of a suitable

infrastructure in schools assessment program
2. Provision of media and learning 2. Management of differentiated learning
resources according to student 3. Provision of special services as needed
learning needs 4. Implementation of individual learning
programs
5. Establishment of collaboration with
parents and related agencies
6. Planting character values in the
students at school
The data in this study also show that various teacher efforts are made when
providing access to learning according to the students’ learning needs. Table 2
contains a description of the teacher assistance efforts based on the type of
specificity and the constraints of the students with special needs when learning.
Table 2: Teacher strategy per type of student special needs
Type of special needs Teacher strategy
Intellectual barriers 1. Modify the learning objectives

2. Provide individual programs to the students
3. Check the students’ intellectual abilities with the nearest
psychologist
4. Emphasize functional academic learning
5. Apply the drill method to several skill materials
Emotional and 1. Modify behavior according to problematic behavior, one

behavioral barriers method of which is using the token economy
2. Give students who have anxiety when doing
assignments more time to complete assignments
3. Give enrichment assignments to students with above
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average abilities but who experience hyperactivity

4. Let students with learning motivation disorders
intensely establish communication with their parents
5. Pay more intensive attention to the students with a
personal approach
6. Give students space with the other students when the
students have tantrums
Hearing impairment, 1. Give exercises in the form of short reading activities

language, and speech 2. Pay attention to each phrase that will be given to the
impairment students
3. Visualize the teaching materials
4. Try to communicate more often
Visual impairment 1. Optimize the child’s sense of hearing in learning by

providing recordings
2. Modify the learning evaluation technique from a written
test to an oral test
Specific learning 1. Adjust the learning objectives to the students’ abilities

difficulties 2. Provide an explanation of the learning material by first
repeating the previous material
3. Conduct individual teaching on aspects where the
students experience difficulties
4. Utilize various learning media
Based on the data in Tables 1 and 2, teachers who provide access to learning for
students in elementary schools providing inclusive education employ various
strategies for providing physical and non-physical access tailored to the special
needs of students.
In providing various strategies for fulfilling learning access for students with
special needs, the teacher must go through many stages that require time and
energy to work. By involving many parties, including the school principal who
supervises through to experts in other disciplines who become referrals when
they need a more complete analysis, informants admitted that they feel very
helped and that they are not struggling alone when providing these services.
According to informants, the implementation of these strategies has shown
significant results, although in practice some of the aspects of service delivery still
need to be improved. These include clinical diagnostic services that teachers
cannot obtain free of charge, up to the fulfillment of physical accessibility
developments that must wait for funding from the government through the
Education Office.
5. Discussion
The results of the study show that the management of physical and non-physical
accessibility is an important factor in the successful implementation of inclusive
education. In terms of managing physical accessibility, the provision of
infrastructure and media as well as various other accessible learning resources is
very much needed. According to the United Nations (2006) in the Convention on
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the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it is argued that all persons with disabilities
should have the same access as other people to the physical environment,
transportation, information, and communication, as well as other public services
and facilities. An accessible environment is one that enables everyone, including
those with disabilities, to access public places and services in the same way as
people without disabilities (World Health Organization, 2011).
Although there are various definitions, interpretations, and terms, inclusive

education basically aims to remove various intentional and unintentional
obstacles by modifying the facilities and infrastructure to increase the learning
opportunities and social interactions for all students, including those with
disabilities (Ackah & Danso, 2018). The physical space of the school, the place
where the learning and social interactions take place, is very important for the
success of inclusive education. The environment plays a critical role not only
functionally but also in relation to the social, psychological, cultural, and ethical
aspects. It is very important to ensure that the rooms in the educational facilities
are fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Heylighen et al. (2017) suggested
that designing a building space is not a responsibility reserved only for architects
but that it is the duty of all individuals involved in making design decisions that
affect others, including paying attention to the presence of persons with
disabilities.
The provision of media and learning resources that are in accordance with the
abilities and needs of the students is one of the teacher’s strategies to fulfill
physical accessibility in the implementation of inclusive education in schools,
especially in the learning process. Students with disabilities need media
differentiation and learning resources to facilitate more effective and efficient
learning. Media and learning resources are two different concepts in education
(Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Learning media include the various technologies and
physical objects used to help the students learn the material, such as textbooks,
audio, video, and the internet. Learning resources include all the information that
the students use to study the material, including textbooks, journals, and other
sources. The differentiation of media and learning resources in education is
related to the level of readiness and the abilities, interests, and learning styles of
the students. These conditions affect their approach to learning activities. Some
students excel in terms of their visual, auditory, or mixed skills. To adjust for these
differences, educators must expand their delivery methods and allow students to
access material using their preferred method. Various learning strategies, such as
learning centers, graphic organizing, graded reading and writing, and graded
assignments, can be implemented to achieve this goal (Mahoney & Hall, 2017).
Differentiated learning, which is also a teacher-made effort when managing

inclusive education, cannot be separated from the efforts to differentiate the
media, and learning resources. The differentiation of media and learning
resources also needs to be followed by differentiated instruction. Collinson and
Keith (2012) explained that differentiated instruction is a modern approach in
developing and delivering learning that meets the unique needs of each student.
Differentiated instruction involves rearranging the way that the learning is
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delivered in class and using various learning strategies to provide different

information access options to students (Siam & Al-Natour, 2016). The goal is to
provide students with different choices to help them understand the content,
process ideas, understand meaning, and achieve the learning outcomes. In other
words, this student-centered teaching approach takes the differences between
students into account.
Analysis of the research data collected show that in general, there are three aspects
of learning that are adjustable, namely learning objectives, material adjustments,
and evaluation as an implementation of differentiated learning that is carried out.
Tomlinson and Imbeau (2023) explained that in differentiated learning, the
aspects that are adjusted are the content, process, and product components. The
efforts made by the teacher reflect the application of the teacher’s pedagogic
competence in managing the inclusive classroom. Rudiyati et al. (2021) explained
that the efforts to meet the needs of students, especially those with special needs
in inclusive schools, can be carried out by teachers as a form of implementing their
pedagogical competencies. This includes the mastery of student characteristics for
identification and assessment, mastery of the theories about learning methods,
and the strategies for determining the learning methods and approaches used in
the learning process.
The findings of this study also show that teachers are trying to provide special
services according to the conditions of students with special needs through
differentiated learning. This has previously been explained through the
implementation of an assessment program. Assessments are the main key for
teachers as part of providing appropriate educational service programs for
students with special needs. The information obtained from the assessment is
used to determine the educational services needed by students with special needs.
This is so that the scope of the assessment does not only include the student’s
constraints but also the modalities (potential) that the student has and what is
needed by these students in the future (Nurfadhilah et al., 2022). In terms of
carrying out student assessments, the role of experts from other disciplines,
including psychologists, also has a significant influence when it comes to
obtaining complete and in-depth assessment data. Teachers and school
psychologists need to assess and help the students assess their potential using an
alternative/dynamic approach. A thorough psychological evaluation can provide
information about the different educational plans that provide appropriate
support for a student’s area of competence, with additional support or
accommodation for areas of weakness (Al-Hroub & Whitebread, 2019; Maddocks,
2020).
The results of the assessment of students with special needs will determine the
teacher’s next strategy. Hanks (2011) explained that the strategy for fulfilling
student learning access in schools providing inclusive education is based on two
key assumptions. The first is that the ability of students in schools is the result of
the interactions between the students and their learning environment. Second,
teachers can properly accommodate students in the classroom by analyzing the
factors that become their learning needs and the specific demands of the
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classroom environment. Friend and Bursuck (2018) explained that the results of
the assessment can help teachers implement the INCLUDE strategy. That is:
identify (identify the classroom demands), note (note the advantages and learning
needs of students), check (check areas for potential student success), look (look for
areas of potential problems), use (utilize information to find ideas for learning
diversity), differentiate (good practices of differentiating learning), and evaluate
(evaluate the student learning progress).
Inclusive education in elementary schools needs to receive more attention

considering how elementary school students still need intensive attention from
educators coupled with the presence of students with special needs. Of course,
this is not easy to achieve in relation to the learning goals (Mardiana & Khoiri,
2021; Nurwan, 2019). The various services provided by teachers in inclusive
classes as determined by the results of this study indicate that special services can
be provided for students with special needs in inclusive classes, while still paying
attention to the existence and needs of students who do not have special needs.
Yunita et al. (2019) explained that inclusive education programs have been
implemented that are service-oriented to children, so that the needs of every child
are met. Nurhaqy (2022) explained that inclusion practices are based on sharing
the responsibility for service delivery in various settings. With this principle in
mind, educators should regard special education as a service, not as a place. Thus,
the role of the special educator can be conceptualized as an individualized
education program (IEP) coordinator, not as a single service provider. This is
because the IEP serves as a tool for planning and implementing services in a
variety of settings. It is important for all stakeholders to play a meaningful role in
their development.
Inclusive education programs are not only implemented for students who have
special needs but for all students, because every student has different
characteristics. For students with intellectual disabilities, it was found that the
teacher often lowers the depth level of the material. The complexity of the material
for students with intellectual disabilities is simplified and emphasized through
more functional material if possible. Yunaini (2021) explained that the learning
materials for students with special needs are not found in the academic field only.
Teachers also need to provide functional knowledge. Anjarsari (2018) explained
that the material, curriculum, and legal learning media must be modified. This is
done with the aim that students with special needs can follow along with the
existing material according to their abilities and characteristics.
Managerial implications that must be anticipated when schools are determined to

be inclusive institutions include maintaining warm class communication and
respecting diversity, applying heterogeneity in curricula, interactive teacher
preparation for teaching, consultation and collaboration between teams, and
parent/family involvement in program planning (Efendi, 2018). Other special
services for students with special needs can still be provided in inclusive classes
according to their specificities. These include behavior modification for students
with emotional and behavioral barriers, the application of the principles of
visualization, the plotting of front seats for students with hearing impairments, as
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well as personal approaches for students who have low learning motivation. The
implementation of inclusive learning in each school has its own provisions
depending on the determined needs (Hartadi et al., 2019).
In this regard, the findings of this study indicate that character education is also
an urgent matter in the implementation of inclusive education policies.
Pamungkas (2016) explained that the success of the education process for students
with special needs in inclusive schools cannot be separated from the acceptance
of other students who do not have special needs. Through character education,
general students who attend inclusive schools are expected to have high tolerance
and concern so that they can accept their friends who have special needs and can
assist the teachers in providing optimal educational services.
Character education, such as respecting diversity and empathy, can help reduce
discrimination and strengthen diversity in an inclusive school environment. This
is in line with UNESCO (2015), who compiled the educational concept of
“learning to live together”. This is an approach that focuses on developing
individual abilities to help people live together with others in culturally,
ethnically, and religiously diverse societies. This concept prioritizes the values of
unity, harmony, and cooperation between individuals and groups. Education
“learning to live together” was developed by UNESCO as a response to world
developments that are increasingly complex and global. This approach to
education aims to develop a better understanding of cultural diversity, respect for
human rights, and promotion of social justice. UNESCO (2016) explained the
concept of education in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, saying that
education is seen as an important human right and the key to achieving
sustainable development goals. The concept emphasizes the importance of
inclusive and just education as well as education that promotes peace, gender
equality, and tolerance. Education is considered to improve the quality of life of
individuals and communities, as well as helping to tackle global problems such
as poverty, inequality, and climate change.
The results of this study also show that collaboration between teachers and the
parents of students with special needs is an important factor. Hermanto and
Pamungkas (2023) explained that collaboration between teachers and parents to
meet the special needs of students can start from the learning planning stage
through to the evaluation stage at the end of the learning process. Besides that,
coordination and communication with various related parties also need to be
carried out. Qomarudin et al. (2019) explained that schools that run inclusive
education programs must be able to involve both parents and the community
throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation stages. Building
collaboration between schools and the community is a challenge for inclusive
school managers. Kurniawan and Aiman (2020) explained that collaborative
relationships between the government, schools, parents, and the community are
the main capital for the formation of a professional inclusive education paradigm
so that students with special needs can participate in realizing the national
education goals in Indonesia.
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Collaboration between parents and teachers, as well as related agencies, is very

important as part of facilitating the learning process of students with special needs
in inclusive schools. This collaboration can help to identify individual student
needs, develop effective learning strategies, and strengthen the social and
emotional support for students in inclusive schools. Goodall (2017) proposed the
concept of a parent-teacher partnership that is actively involved in supporting the
student’s learning processes, with both parties appreciating the knowledge they
have and engaging in authentic discussions. This partnership involves a mutually
supportive collaboration between parents and teachers where both respect each
other’s roles and contributions in the child’s education. This vision describes a
collaborative relationship that aims to create a supportive learning environment
for children. In much of the research on making learning environments more
welcoming and accepting of diversity, district leaders, principals, teachers,
parents, and close friends worked together (Ryndak et al., 2007) to improve the
systems in place and to create more inclusive learning environments. They seek
to create plans to accommodate each condition, remove special classes, discuss the
roles of teachers and assistant teachers, appoint special teachers to teaching teams,
create schedules for collaboration, acquire additional resources, change the way
that the assessment is done, and continually improve their plans over time
(Billingsley & Banks, 2019).
6. Conclusion
As part of the teacher’s strategy in providing access to learning in the
implementation of inclusive education in elementary schools and at other levels,
differentiated learning by adjusting the content, process, and product components
has become integral. The differentiation made must be based on the results of
previous student identification and assessments. While still paying attention to
the needs of other students who do not have special needs, special services and
individualized learning programs need to be implemented as curriculum
modifications and adjustments to other learning components. The role and
involvement of parents and related disciplines can optimize the implementation
of ideal inclusive education. Equally important is the inculcation of character
values in the students to accept diversity in school, including the special needs of
other students. The provision of access to learning will be complete if it is
supported by an environment with accessible facilities and infrastructure as well
as appropriate media and learning resources. The involvement of related parties
is highly expected in the implementation of inclusive education programs.
Training in the context of increasing teacher competence is an important facet to
carry out to equip the teachers in schools that provide inclusive education. In
addition to the role of parents, experts from various related disciplines are
expected to be able to support the implementation of inclusive education starting
from the assessment stage through to the fulfillment of services related to the
special needs of students, including fulfilling the accessibility of physical
supports. The Education Office is expected to be able to facilitate teacher
competency improvement training in inclusive schools, including the provision
of assistance for the parents of children with special needs in inclusive schools.
This research is limited to describing teacher strategies when providing learning
access for students with special needs in inclusive schools. It is hoped that further
358
research can be initiated, and efforts made to optimize each strategy described in
this study.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 362-376, April 2023
Evaluation of Psychosomatic Symptoms

Associated with Stress in Teachers after
Returning to Face-to-Face Classes
Edwin Gustavo Estrada-Araoz*
Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado, Perú
Judith Annie Bautista Quispe

Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno, Perú
Benjamín Velazco Reyes

Wilber Cesar Calsina Ponce

Duverly Joao Incacutipa Limachi

Victor Soto Aquino

Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Selva Central Juan Santos Atahualpa
La Merced, Perú
Yolanda Paredes Valverde

Rosel Quispe Herrera

Abstract. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the

psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress in Primary and
Secondary Education teachers after returning to face-to-face classes. For
that purpose, a quantitative approach was used; the design was non-
experimental, and the type of research was cross-sectional descriptive.
The sample consisted of 301 teachers who responded to the
Psychosomatic Problems Questionnaire, an instrument with adequate
*
Corresponding author: Edwin Gustavo Estrada-Araoz, gestrada@unamad.edu.pe
©Authors
363
levels of content validity and reliability. Data analysis was performed at

both descriptive and inferential levels. The descriptive analysis was
accomplished using the distribution of percentages. Inference analysis
was developed using the Student's t-test, which made it possible to
determine whether there were statistically significant differences in
terms of the presence of psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress
according to the sociodemographic variables. The results revealed that
45.2% of the teachers displayed psychosomatic symptoms associated
with stress at a moderate level; 33.9% were at a low level; and 20.9%
were at a high level. The most frequently reported symptoms were
extreme tiredness, headaches, and a feeling of not wanting to get up in
the morning. At the same time, it was determined that there were
statistically significant differences regarding the presence of
psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress related to the gender
and employment status of the teachers. It was concluded that the
teachers rated the psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress at a
moderate level. The present investigation represents a contribution to
the psychological health and emotional well-being of teachers, since it
allows for the determination of psychosomatic symptoms associated
with stress. Therefore, it is important that the relevant educational
authorities provide services and strategies for the care, prevention,
protection, approach and recovery of the mental health of teachers.
Keywords: psychosomatic symptoms; teacher stress; regular basic

education; post-pandemic; face-to-face classes
1. Introduction
The health emergency caused by COVID-19 has marked a turning point in the
history of humanity. After the announcement made by authorities in Wuhan
(China) regarding the existence of a new type of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the
situation became complex, since the virus subsequently spread quickly across
China and throughout most of the countries around the world (Osman et al.,
2022). This scenario understandably engendered high levels of concern among
society, as people felt anxious about their health and did not want to become
infected, due to the impact on the respiratory system increasing the potential
risk of death (Lin et al., 2020).
Thus, in order to deal with this context, the World Health Organization (WHO)
characterized this disease as a pandemic (Estrada, 2022), a decision that caused
health, social, economic, cultural and, of course, educational repercussions
throughout the world (Estrada et al., 2023). Particularly, in the educational field,
the virtuality of lessons was established with the purpose of avoiding crowds
and reducing the spread of the virus, while giving continuity to the educational
service. However, the limitations of connectivity and accessibility of the
educational community, that had already been perceived several decades ago,
became more critical and made this transition more difficult (Huanca-
Arohuanca et al., 2020).
The closure of educational institutions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and

the consequent virtualization significantly affected students, since many of them
364
did not have the same opportunities, accessibility, or connectivity to continue

learning during this period. On the other hand, a lack of support from many
parents was noted due to their low sociocultural levels and the weak
methodology of some teachers in terms of developing classes both
synchronously and asynchronously during the pandemic.
From the first quarter of 2022, the rate of infections and deaths caused by
COVID-19 decreased significantly worldwide, mainly due to vaccination
campaigns (Taborda et al., 2022). As a result, many activities that had been
previously carried out virtually were able to take place in person once more.
Thus, in Peru, the Ministry of Education (MINEDU) instructed that classes
would also return to face-to-face lessons from March 2022, after following
certain biosafety protocols.
However, the work of teachers became significantly more complex after the
return to face-to-face classes. This is because the academic performance levels of
the students were no longer in line with those established in the National
Curriculum for Basic Education. In other words, the learning achieved through
virtual classes had been insufficient. For this reason, since March 2022, teachers
have been making tremendous efforts, including providing a greater focus and
increased support, in an attempt to bring the students up to the standard level.
This necessitates an increase in their workload, and much of it must take place
outside their working hours. Similarly, the anxiety, discouragement, and
frustration of returning to face-to-face work is draining their emotional
resources while increasing their levels of mental and emotional tension. In other
words, an already recurrent phenomenon among teachers has been growing
more acute: stress.
It is well known that teaching is one of the main professions in which employees
can develop stress-related symptoms. The job requires a significant amount of
time and effort, both inside and outside the classroom, which can lead to neglect
of other personal areas due to work overload (El-Sahili, 2011). Additionally, it is
a profession that faces constant stressors, as environmental factors such as noise,
high numbers of students, behavioral issues, constant friction from educational
authorities and parents, among others, generate more complex situations that
can significantly affect the quality of life of those who perform this work
(Peralta, 2018).
The word “stress” derives from the word “anguish”, meaning “pain or
affliction”. Stress is now considered the disease of the 21st century (Rojas et al.,
2021) and is a behavioral response of the body to various internal and external
pressures. This is because it is an adaptive and emergency process and therefore
crucial for survival (Whiting et al., 2021), as well as being a result of the
relationship between the individual and his environment (Casimiro et al., 2020).
From the same perspective, it is often argued that stress is the automatic
response of an organism to any event that is imposed on it and which feels
threatening (Uribe et al., 2015). This response causes the nervous system to be
stimulated and the individual reacts involuntarily, producing both
psychological (mental) and physiological (physical) changes; this occurs in a
particular way between the person and the situation (Alvites, 2019).
365
There is an interactional stress model that provides a conceptual framework for

understanding the antecedents, mediators, and possible consequences of stress
(Lazarus & Folkman, 1986). This concept states that stress occurs when
environmental interactions are deemed a threat. Thus, different situations and
incentives assume the nature of stressors when they are considered dangerous
for maintaining wellbeing. The greater the potential perceived environmental
harm, the lesser the individual's ability to cope with them and therefore the
negative impact of stress is greater.
Likewise, the demands are conceived as environmentally implicit or explicit

pressures that cause the person to act in a specific manner. When these demands
are not met with the available physical, psychological, social, or material
resources, and when the demands conflict with personal goals, beliefs, and
expectations, they are a significant source of stress (Vargas & Oros, 2021).
Given the cognitive, psychological, and emotional demands required for the
development and fulfillment of various activities, psychosocial risk factors can
be developed, which considerably diminish one’s state of health (Vieco &
Abello, 2014). Although it was initially believed that stress was something
exclusive to work organizations, the World Health Organization has recognized
that other environmental factors can lead to the breakdown of associated
pathologies (Peralta, 2018). Regarding this, Uribe (2010) distinguishes seven
psychosomatic factors directly related to stress development: pain, anxiety,
depression, sleep disorders, gastric disturbance, neurotic and psychosexual
issues; these can significantly affect the physical and mental health of those who
suffer from any of them.
Stress negatively impacts teachers’ lives, which can reduce life satisfaction and
therefore cause a potential reduction in work commitment and job satisfaction,
which also negatively affects students (Ahmed, 2019; Ozamiz et al., 2021;
Minihan et al., 2022). In addition, the stress has a negative impact on the
person’s mental health, as it increases the risk of psychological and behavioral
disorders (Cladellas et al., 2018).
Therefore, in order to control the experience of stress, a person should try to

alter their environment or learn how to modify their ways of reacting to a
specific situation. Thus, the attitude of dealing with stress is produced to reach a
point of adaptation between the person and the environment (Cardozo, 2016).
Conversely, Lazarus & Folkman (1984) devised the transactional theory of stress,
which explains the associated symptoms using a frame of reference. This theory
considers Sandín's (1999) process model, which states that people can become
stressed depending on their self-perception, perceived social support, and an
assessment of the situation. Similarly, other symptoms can occur when suffering
from stress, including emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses
(psychosomatic symptoms such as pain in the stomach, back, arms, legs, head,
or chest; dizziness, shortness of breath, constipation, and indigestion) (González
& Landero, 2008).
366
In Peru, teachers’ working conditions are terrible. According to the National

Education Council, 60.5% of teachers had no educational materials, which
limited their pedagogical practice. They were also working approximately 12
additional hours per week outside of their designated working hours preparing
classes and materials, and holding meetings with parents. As for their
remuneration, 66.3% of them were dissatisfied with their salaries, causing them
to look for alternative jobs to satisfy the basic needs of their families (Estrada &
Gallegos, 2021). The factors described above exacerbate these problems and
increase the levels of dissatisfaction and demotivation of teachers regarding their
work.
In the current context of returning to face-to-face classes, very few studies have
been carried out to evaluate the psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress
in teachers, which increases the need to investigate this topic and gives it greater
relevance. The described finding is aligned with the report by Estrada et al.
(2022), who determined that teachers were presenting with psychosomatic
symptoms related to stress upon returning to face-to-face classes. The main
symptoms were feelings of extreme exhaustion, the feeling of not wanting to get
up in the morning, some nervous tics or blinks, and headaches. Similarly, this
corresponds to research carried out in Japan, where researchers analyzed the
mental health of teachers who were working in person after the reopening of
educational institutions; they found that the teachers were suffering from
moderate levels of stress and anxiety due to the fear of becoming infected and
due to the educational lagging (Wakui et al., 2021). Similarly, in Mexico, an
investigation was conducted to evaluate the mental health and psychological
impact on teachers and students of the return to face-to-face classes; it was found
that there were moderate levels of psychological distress, stress and anxiety due
to possible infections and readaptation to this form of teaching (Armenta et al.,
2023). On the other hand, some investigations have determined that the presence
of psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress is greater in women
(Guayasamín & Ramos, 2020; García, 2020) and in those with temporary
employment contracts (Estrada & Gallegos, 2020; Alvites, 2019).
Consequently, this research is relevant and topical in the post-pandemic context,

since it will allow the Ministry of Education as well as local government to
establish national, regional, and local policies that can improve the working
conditions in which teachers operate. Furthermore, the management teams of
educational institutions will be able to develop preventive and corrective
programs to promote the well-being of teachers and their consequent quality of
life. In that sense, it should be noted that currently there are very few
educational policies that seek to revalue the teaching career. The situation is
much more complex in rural areas, where teachers face an adverse context and
limitations in terms of infrastructure and logistics.
Therefore, the research problem is: How do teachers in Primary and Secondary
education evaluate the psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress after
returning to face-to-face classes? Thus, the objective of this research is to
evaluate the psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress in Primary and
Secondary Education teachers after returning to face-to-face classes.
367
2. Methodology
2.1 Research Design
The research has a quantitative approach because the data collection was carried
out in order to answer the research question and because statistics was applied.
A non-experimental design was employed, as the study variable was not
intentionally manipulated, but rather observed as it occurred in its natural
environment, for later analysis. With respect to the type of research, it was
descriptive - cross-sectional, since the properties and characteristics of the study
variable were described and because the data collection process was carried out
in a single moment (Hernández & Mendoza, 2018).
2.2 Population and Sample

The research was carried out in the city of Cusco (Peru) and included teachers
who worked in public educational institutions located in urban and peripheral
areas. The population comprised 1377 regular basic education teachers (Primary
and Secondary levels). The sample was made up of 301 teachers, who were
obtained through probability sampling with a confidence level of 95% and a
significance level of 5%. As an inclusion criterion, teachers who worked in
educational institutions were considered. On the other hand, as exclusion
criteria, teachers who did not agree to participate in the research and those who
incompletely developed the data collection instrument were excluded. As can be
seen in Table 1, 58.8% of the teachers were female and 41.2% were male.
Regarding age, 54.8% were between 21 and 40 years old and 45.2% were
between 41 and 64 years old. In terms of their level within the educational
system, 60.8% were from Primary Education and 39.2% from Secondary
Education. Regarding their labor condition, 67.4% had a permanent employment
contract and 32.6% had a temporary one. With regard to their working hours,
63.8% worked in the morning and 36.2% in the afternoon.
Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics of the sample

Sociodemographic characteristics n= 301 %
Male 124 41.2
Gender
Female 177 58.8
Between 21 and 40 years old 165 54.8
Age group
Between 41 and 64 years old 136 45.2
Level of Educational Primary Education 183 60.8
System Secondary Education 118 39.2
Temporary employment contract 98 32.6
Labor condition
Permanent employment contract 203 67.4
Morning 192 63.8
Working hours
Afternoon 109 36.2
2.3 Instruments
The technique used was the survey and the instrument of data collection was the
Psychosomatic Problems Questionnaire, which was originally designed by Hock
(1988) and adapted to the Peruvian context by Mogollón and Muñoz (2018). Its
purpose is to evaluate the most recurrent psychosomatic symptoms associated
with stress, for which participants must indicate how frequently they have
manifested in the last three months. This questionnaire is a single factor and
368
consists of 12 items to be answered on a Likert-type of scale (0=never,

1=sometimes and 2=always). Its psychometric properties were determined in a
previous study through the processes of content validity and reliability (Estrada
et al., 2022). In this sense, it was determined that the questionnaire had adequate
levels of content validity (Aiken's V= 0.921) and reliability (α= 0.949).
2.4 Procedure
The data collection process was carried out between the months of April and
July in the year 2022, when all of the educational institutions of regular basic
education were providing in-person educational. For this purpose, the
respective authorization was requested from the Local Educational Management
Unit of Cusco. After that, the permission of the management staff of each
educational institution was requested and a coordination meeting with the
teachers was arranged to define the days to apply the in-person data collection
instruments.
2.5 Data Analysis

The descriptive analysis was accomplished using the SPSS V.25 Software.
Regarding the inferential results, they were obtained using the Student's t-test,
which allowed us to determine whether there were statistically significant
differences regarding the presence of psychosomatic symptoms associated with
stress according to gender, age group, level of educational system, employment
status and working hours.
2.6 Ethical Considerations

This study had the endorsement of the institutional ethics committee. Similarly,
the teachers were informed about the purpose and nature of the research and
provided their informed consent, guaranteeing the anonymous and voluntary
nature of their participation.
3. Results
As Figure 1 shows, 45.2% of the teachers perceived that the presence of
psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress was moderate, 33.9% perceived
that it was low, while 20.9% perceived that it was high. The described finding
indicates that the teachers were experiencing certain emotional, cognitive, and
physiological reactions that affected their health and were likely caused by the
high workload and other demands that were placed upon them following the
return to face-to-face classes.
369
Figure 1: Psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress
Table 2 details the responses of the participants to the Psychosomatic Problems

Questionnaire. As illustrated below, the most frequently reported symptoms
were the feeling of extreme tiredness, headaches, and the feeling of not wanting
to get up in the morning. On the other hand, the less frequent symptoms were
the tendency to eat, drink or smoke more than usual, difficult in falling asleep
and feelings of pins and needles in different parts of the body.
Table 2: Answers to Psychosomatic Problems Questionnaire

Standard
Items Mean
deviation
1. Difficulty in falling asleep. 0.743 0.332
2. Migraines and headaches. 1.113 0.455
3. Indigestion or gastrointestinal discomfort 0.768 0.394
4. Feeling extremely tired or exhausted. 1.134 0.446
5. Tendency to eat, drink, or smoke more than usual. 0.675 0.221
6. Decrease of sexual interest. 0.831 0.360
7. Shortness of breath or choking sensation. 0.942 0.341
8. Decreased appetite. 0.842 0.402
9. Muscle tremors (nervous tics or blinking). 1.026 0.503
10. Pins and needles in different parts of the body. 0.747 0.298
11. Reluctance to get up in the morning. 1.103 0.679
12. Tendency to sweat or palpitations. 1.052 0.458
Table 3 shows that the arithmetic mean of the general scores among females was
higher than those of the males. Similarly, it can be seen that the p-value of the
Student's t-test was below the level of significance (p<0.05), which indicates that
the differences found were statistically significant. For instance, women
presented with more psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress compared
to men.
370
Table 3: Comparison of the means of assessment of psychosomatic symptoms

associated with stress related to gender of teachers
Men Women
Variable Standard Standard t p
Mean Mean
deviation deviation
Assessment of
psychosomatic symptoms 0.843 0.173 1.196 0.204 3.723 0.000*
associated with stress
Note= *Statistically significant difference.
It can be seen from Table 4 that the arithmetic means of the general scores of
teachers who were between 21 and 40 years old was slightly higher than those of
participants between 41 and 64 years old. However, it is observed that the p-
value of the Student's t-test was higher than the significance level (p>0.05),
which indicates that the differences found were not statistically significant.

associated with stress related to the age group of the teachers
Between 21 and 40 Between 41 and
years old 64 years old
Variable t p
Standard Standard
Mean Mean
deviation deviation
Assessment of
psychosomatic symptoms 1.072 0.213 0.975 0.188 1.440 0.057
According to Table 5, the arithmetic mean of the general scores of Primary

Education teachers was slightly higher than those of Secondary Education
teachers. However, it is observed that the p-value of the Student's t-test was
higher than the significance level (p>0.05), which indicates that the differences
found were not statistically significant.
Table 5: Comparison of the means of the assessment of psychosomatic symptoms

associated with stress related to the level of educational system
Primary Education Secondary Education
Variable Standard Standard t p
Mean Mean
deviation deviation
Assessment of
psychosomatic
1.011 0.196 1.002 0.206 4.649 0.083
symptoms associated
with stress
As can be seen in Table 6, the arithmetic means of the general scores of the
temporarily employed teachers was higher than those of the permanently
employed teachers. Similarly, it can be seen that the p-value of the Student's t-
test was below the level of significance (p<0.05), which indicates that the
differences found were statistically significant. Therefore, the teachers who have
temporary employment contracts showed more psychosomatic symptoms
associated with stress than those with permanent employment contracts.
371

associated with stress related to the duration of the employment contract of teachers
Temporary Permanent
employment employment
Variable contract contract t P
Standard Standard
Mean Mean
deviation deviation
Assessment of
Note= * Statistically significant difference
Table 7, below, shows that the arithmetic means of the general scores of those
teachers who worked in the afternoon was higher than the scores of the teachers
who worked in the morning. However, it can be seen that the Student's t-test p-
value was higher than the significance level (p>0.05), which indicates that the
differences found were not statistically significant.

associated with stress related to the teachers' working hours
Morning Afternoon
Variable Standard Standard t P
Mean Mean
deviation deviation
Assessment of
4. Discussion
In recent years, research focused on the mental health of teachers has increased
significantly, since psychosocial variables, such as stress, are determinants of
emotional state and psychological well-being, which are necessary factors for
adequate performance. However, the return to face-to-face attendance since the
health emergency caused by COVID-19 is causing work overload for many
teachers. Therefore, the present investigation sought to evaluate the
psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress in Primary and Secondary
Education teachers after returning to face-to-face classes.
It was found that teachers perceived a moderate presence of psychosomatic

symptoms associated with stress. This indicates that the teachers were
experiencing emotional, cognitive and physiological reactions that affected their
health, caused by the large workload and new demands typical of the post-
pandemic context, arising from the return to in-person education. This finding is
a cause for concern, since the presence of stress affects not only the work
performance of teachers, but also their physical and emotional health, at
personal, family, and social levels.
This study’s finding aligns with that of Estrada et al. (2022), who determined
that teachers were experiencing psychosomatic symptoms related to stress upon
returning to face-to-face classes. The main symptoms were feelings of extreme
exhaustion, a reluctance to get up in the morning, some nervous tics or blinks,
372
and headaches. Similarly, research carried out in Japan analyzed the mental
health of teachers who were working face-to-face after the reopening of
educational institutions and found that they were suffering from moderate
levels of stress and anxiety due to the fear of being infected as well as the
educational lagging (Wakui et al., 2021). Furthermore, in Mexico, an
investigation was carried out to evaluate the mental health and psychological
impact on teachers and students of returning to face-to-face classes and reported
that there were moderate levels of psychological distress, stress and anxiety due
to possible infections and readaptation to this form of teaching (Armenta et al.,
2023).
It was also found in the present investigation that the symptoms teachers
reported most frequently were those of extreme tiredness, headaches and a
feeling of not wanting to get up in the morning. This resulted in a moderate
presence of psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress, which affects
pedagogical practice and, consequently, educational quality. The result
described partially agrees with the report of an investigation carried out in
Ecuador, where they determined that the main psychosomatic reactions
presented by teachers were irritability, restlessness, headaches, neck pain, back
pain, sweating, sleep disorders and gastrointestinal problems (Basurto et al.,
2020).
A person who is exposed to stressful situations begins to secrete chemical

substances that cause physical symptoms that considerably affect his/her
personal well-being due to physiological and psychological changes (Peralta &
Villalba, 2019). Among the main symptoms are sleep disorders, pain, anxiety,
neurotic disorders, gastric disorders, psychosexual disorders, and depression
(Uribe, 2010). The situation could worsen because high levels of stress can also
lead to excessive consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and psychoactive substances.
Another interesting finding indicates that women are experiencing more

psychosomatic symptoms compared to men. This finding aligns with previous
research (Guayasamín & Ramos, 2020; García, 2020) and could be explained by
the fact that women may tend to express emotional and physiological
manifestations more frequently in stressful contexts (Vidal et al., 2018). On the
other hand, in addition to their professional responsibilities, women often
assume additional tasks at home, such as family responsibilities, childcare and
other domestic activities (Rodríguez et al., 2019).
Another finding of this study is that teachers who have temporary employment
contracts presented greater manifestations of psychosomatic symptoms than
those with permanent ones. This can be explained by the fact that teachers with
permanent employment contracts enjoy job security, which provides them with
peace of mind. In contrast, teachers with temporary contracts are often worried
about retaining their jobs and finding new employment once their contract
period expires. Furthermore, additional undesirable responsibilities may be
allotted to temporary employees, which some of the teachers with permanent
contracts may refuse to assume. The described finding concurs with that of some
investigations carried out in Peru (Estrada & Gallegos, 2020; Alvites, 2019).
373
It is necessary to specify that no statistically significant differences were found

regarding the presence of psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress
according to age group, level of the education system or working hours. This is
due to the fact that an increase in their workload and the challenges of teaching
students with low academic performance are perceived in a similar way by both
young and older teachers, as well as by those who teach at different educational
levels and those who work at different times of the day. This would explain the
homogeneity regarding the teachers' perceptions of the symptoms associated
with stress.
Despite the fact that the present investigation addressed a topic associated with
mental health, which is very relevant and resulted in important findings, it is
necessary to specify some limitations. First, the data obtained from the teachers,
who detailed the psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress, were based
on a self-reported instrument; therefore, the results could be overestimated or
underestimated. Second, the sample size is relatively small and is also
homogeneous, which implies that caution must be taken when interpreting the
findings. Consequently, it is recommended that future research should use data
collection instruments that complement the questionnaire to give greater
objectivity to the entire process. Similarly, the size of the sample should be
increased, including teachers from rural contexts and diverse sociocultural
characteristics.
5. Conclusion
The psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress are considered to be risks
for the health, well-being and quality of life of those people who suffer from it.
In the present investigation, it was concluded that basic education teachers rated
their psychosomatic symptoms associated with stress at a moderate level when
they returned to face-to-face classes. The most frequently reported symptoms
were feeling extremely tired, headaches, and not wanting to get up in the
morning. Furthermore, it was determined that there were statistically significant
differences regarding the presence of psychosomatic symptoms associated with
stress related to the gender and employment status of the teachers.
To reduce stress levels in teachers, it is crucial that the relevant educational
authorities establish national, regional and local policies to improve the working
conditions under which teachers must operate. On the other hand, the
management teams of educational institutions must develop preventive and
corrective programs to promote teacher well-being and consequently protect
teachers’ quality of life.
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377

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 377-413, April 2023
Received Dec 15, 2022; Revised Mar 10, 2023; Accepted Mar 31, 2023
Products Evaluation of Environmental Education

Curriculum/Program Implementation in the
University of Calabar, Nigeria
Chris-Valentine Ogar Eneji*
Department of Environmental Education, Faculty of Arts and Social Science
Education, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Benard Diwa, Otu and Caroline I. Ita

Department of Educational Foundations, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Usang Nkanu Onnoghen and Aganyi Asu Ojong

Department of Environmental Education, Faculty of Arts and Social Science
Education, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Stella Bassey Esuabana , Janets Sunday Petters and Lucy Obil

Arop
Department of Guidance and Counselling, Faculty of Educational
Foundation Studies, University of Calabar
Cecilia Kori, Essien

Department of Continuous Education and Development Studies, Faculty of
Arts and Social Science Education, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Ettah Ettah Omini

Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Educational
Management, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Monity Flora Michael Monity

Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Faculty of Education
Foundational Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria
Abstract. This study evaluates the implementation of the environmental

education curriculum in the Department of Environmental Education,
University of Calabar, Nigeria. Using the expost facto research design,
nine objectives were pursued. These include: 6 strategic objectives, the
*
Corresponding Author: Chris-Valentine Ogar Eneji; vcogareneji@gmail.com,
vcogareneji@unical.edu.ng
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0
378
curriculum content, career prospects of graduates, and lecturer’s

pedagogic knowledge and problems militating against the effective
implementation of Environmental Education (E.E). A sample of 969
graduates of Environmental Education from 1997-2021, were the
respondents. The researchers used an open and closed ended
questionnaire with a modified four-point Likert scale response options
that they designed as an instrument to collect information. Simple
percentages were used for data analysis. The results of the analyses
show that the curriculum content of Environmental Education as in
force today is not adequate. The knowledge and awareness acquired
when they studied E.E. did not help them enough to solve their
community environmental problems. However, Environmental
Education built their skills and prepared them well to actively
participate in solving current environmental problems. Some of the
lecturers who taught these respondents at undergraduate levels have
the requisite pedagogic knowledge of the subject matter but, the
government who is a signatory to the implementation of Environmental
Education is not serious about engaging these graduates. Overall,
Thirteen problems were identified as factors hampering the effective
implementation of Environmental Education curriculum, and 13 feasible
solutions were proffered by the respondents. It was concluded that
Environmental Education in the University of Calabar has achieved
some level of success, despite the fact that there are some issues that
needs to be addressed to get the complete success anticipated by the
crafter of the program’s objectives. It was recommended among others
that a regulatory body should be created to regulate the practice of
Environmental Education in Nigeria.
Keywords: Environmental Education; curriculum evaluation; products

evaluations; career prospects; curriculum overhauling; challenges to
curriculum implementation
1. Introduction and background to the study

The knowledge of environmental perception and human behavior has shown
that the world environment has been under serious environmental threats from
both anthropogenic and natural causes. These threats are caused as a result of
human’s quest to feed his teeming population, improve their livelihoods and
living conditions and to elongate their life expectancy. These threats to the
global environment are revealing very tormenting adverse effects on both man
and the living component of the environment, including the earth planets and all
its resources (Eneji et al., 2017; Ardoin et al., 2020). Worried by the prevalence of
these threats and the unending unsustainable production and consumption
patterns adopted by humans, scholars and development partners came
togetheto design the best approach to address these environmental malaises,
(Punzalan, 2020; Seo et al., 2020; Onnoghen et al., 2020). One of the most feasible
approaches to address this plethora of environmental problems was the
introduction of the course Environmental Education. Environmental Education
is a learning process designed to develop in the learners the skills and attitude
that will help in reducing existing issues regarding the environment, while
attempting to avoid creating new environmental issues. Androin et al., (2020)
379
defines Environmental Education as a knowledge exchange which tries to

develop in the learners, new attitudes, capacities, skills, the commitment that
prepares the learners and the society to work either as a person or as a
community to carry out sustainable environmental actions and activities.
However, it is sometimes used more broadly to include all effort and processes
to educate the public, individuals and other audience including print materials,
websites, media campaigns etc to explore environmental issues, engage in
problem solving, and takes responsible actions to improve the environment.
Moreover, Freire, (1996 in Pirrie et al., 2006) observed that the effectiveness of
environmental education is dependent on multidimensional perspective of
information dissemination acquired through education as a whole, thereby,
involving shared knowledge between indigenous education systems already
possessed by the rural communities and the social realities on ground. Based on
these perspectives, individuals who have acquired environmental education
should have the thorough and effective understanding of our environmental
challenges, while also possessing the requisite skills, capacities and knowledge
to address these environmental issues accordingly. This will guide them to make
informed decisions concerning the extent of participation to address these issues
so identified.
Gruenwald, (2004 in Eneji, 2017a) and Ford Foundation, (2005 in Eneji, 2017a)
defined Environmental Education as the process of learning that improves
human knowledge and awareness concerning the environment, with its
numerous problems, developing people’s attitude, and that gives them the
motivation and commitments to make valid and reliable decisions to take
sustainable actions in tackling these environmental issues so identified. The
Tbilisi conference of 1972 defined Environmental Education as a learning
process that help the students develop positive attitudes, skills, belief,
knowledge, capacities and the commitment to work as a learner or as a
community to address current environmental issues and avoiding new
environmental issues.
Most often than not, people make the mistake of using Environmental Education
and Environmental Science interchangeably, while both focus on environmental
problems, they have a thin line of differentiation. The duty of the environmental
scientist is to bring out facts concerning the environment, while that of the
Environmental Educator is to pass the message through education and
awareness creation to the public.
2. Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives of Environmental Education

After the United Nation Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE) held in
Stockholm in 1972, the United Nation Educational and Scientific Organization –
United Nation Environment Programs (UNESCO-UNEP) conference in Belgrade
in 1975 drafted the concept and vision of Environmental Education. Another
conference themed Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education
held at Tbilisi in 1977crafted the goals, vision, mission and objectives of
Environmental Education, which were as follows:
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Vision: To develop a people who will use the environmental knowledge so

acquired to engage in environmental stewardship.
Mission: Ensure that Environmental Education, based on sound science and
effective education practices, is used as a tool to promote and protect human
health and the environment and to encourage student academic achievements
and active participation in solving environmental problems (Tbilisi, 1972).
2.1 Objectives of Environmental Education

The Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education (the Tbilisi,
1977) has the following as the objectives of Environmental Education:
a) Awareness—to help social groups and individuals acquire awareness
and sensitivity to the total environment and its allied problems.
b) Knowledge—to help social groups and individuals gain a variety of
experience in, and acquire a basic understanding of the environment and its
associated problems.
c) Attitudes—to help social groups and individuals acquire a set of values
and feelings of concern for the environment and the motivation for actively
participating in environmental improvement and protection.
d) Skills—to help social groups and individuals acquire the skills for
identifying and solving environmental problems.
e) Participation - To provide individuals, groups and societies with
opportunities and the motivation to be actively involved at all levels in creating
a sustainable environment. This participation includes the individual taking up
careers in environmentally related organizations where the skills and values
acquired can be used to solve environmental problems, while preventing the
occurrence of new ones (Tbilisi, 1977).
2.2 Nigeria’s Environmental Education perspective

The foundation stone for what became Environmental Education (E.E.) today
was the visit of the King of Edinburgh to the Chief of Oban clan in the Oban
Division of the Cross River National Park, though a tropical rainforest then. The
major actors behind the growth of E.E were the World Wildlife Fund for Nature
(WWF) championed by Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in the late 1980s.
These organizations contributed a great deal of efforts towards the development
of EE curricula for secondary schools as well as community conservation clubs.
Unfortunately, the curriculum has not been implemented in secondary school
curricular till date.
In Nigeria in 1988, the unprecedented efforts of the Nigerian Conservation

Foundation (NCF) pushed for the introduction of some topics in environmental
education into some school subjects like in the curriculum of general study
courses in some universities, for example,the citizenship education. In 1990 the
UNESCO sponsored a national workshop on curriculum review tagged
‘’National Curriculum Review Conference’’ where it was agreed that
environmental education topics should be integrated into school subjects and
other teacher development programs in the country.
381
The first Environmental Education program in Nigeria was anchored by the

Nigerian Conservation Foundation sponsored by WWF and domiciled in the
Institute of Education, University of Calabar in 1992 with the Diploma in
Environmental Education as the first program. This was possible through the
efforts of some Nigerians who went to Glasgow for the initial training, and upon
their return, they held conferences and developed the initial curriculum for the
new course. As time went on, the degree program in Environmental Education
was introduced; this was followed by the post graduate diploma in
Environmental Education and the Master’s degree program in Environmental
Education.
All these programs were domiciled in the Institute of Education, University of

Calabar. The bachelor’s degree programs initially offered are in two streams, B.
Env. Edu with teaching subjects and B. Env. Edu with areas of professional
specializations. Areas of specialization in the teaching subject streams include
Geography, English Language, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry,
History, French, Political science, Social Studies, Economics, etc., while in the
specialization, six broad areas are offered: Pollution and Waste Management
(EPW), Forestry and Wildlife Management (EFW), Women and Environment
(EWE), Population and Resources Management (EPR), Tourism and Eco-
management (ETE) and Community Environmental Services (ECS). The Women
and Environment (EWE) was later changed to Gender and Women Studies.
Later in 2005, there was a decentralization of programs, where Environmental

Education was given to the Department of Curriculum and Teaching in the
Faculty of Education, with this transfer, the bachelor’s degree awarded in
Environmental Education became B. Ed in Environmental Education. It is
worthy to note that, while University of Calabar was busy growing in leaps and
bounds, other universities were lagging behind. Today, most universities have
Environmental Education still at diploma level, while only about four or six
universities have Environmental Education as a course in combination with
other courses at the degree level. These are the University of Calabar, the
University of Abuja, the University of Benin, the University of Nigeria Nsukka
(UNN),the University of Lagos, and the Michael Okpara University, Umudike
among others.
In 2014, the current Department of Environmental Education was detached from

the Department of Curriculum and Teaching as a substantive department with
both programs streams growing higher every day. The department has
produced more than one thousand five hundred bachelor’s degree graduates,
more than four hundred Master’s degree and more than five hundred
postgraduate diplomas. The PhD program in Environmental Education just
enrolled the first set of students who had since begun their lectures. University
of Calabar is the first in the whole country to run the PhD program in
Environmental Education. Other universities are running the program in
combination with other subjects like UNN; it is done under Geography and
Environmental Education, while at the University of Abuja, it is called Science
and Environmental Education. It is assumed that most of the graduates of the
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program are working in well-established agencies, parastatal in government,

and in private companies and organizations across the country and in many
countries across the world.
The environmental education program now has Pollution and Waste

Management Education, Population and Resource Management Education,
Gender and Women Education, Forest and Wildlife Resources Management
Education, Tourism and Eco-Management Education and Community
Environmental Services Education. The fact that the department based on
National University Commission’ (NUC) recommendations had changed the
outlook of the program, does not limit our graduates from working in other
environmentally related disciplines outside teaching.
3. Environmental Education Program Curriculum evaluation

Broadly speaking, a curriculum is the totality of all the learning experience a
learner is expected to cover in the course of an educational program, be it
primary, secondary or tertiary level. It can be defined as the total experience
which a learner faces in the educational process. This is often referred to as a
planned and guided sequence of instruction for student’s experience in terms of
the school’s instructional goals. Curriculum could also be seen as a planned
interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources and
processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives and goals.
Curriculum is all written and unwritten experiences which a learner must go
through in the course of his or her studies to qualify for a particular certification
or program. Basically, curriculum is divided into several classifications name:
explicit, implicit (including the hidden curriculum), the excluded and the
extracurricular also known as co-curricular curriculum. Curriculum is a learning
which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried out in groups
or individually, inside the school or outside the school (Blatt, 2013; Catalano et
al., 2018). Curriculum is made up of its foundation based on the philosophical,
historical, psychological and social foundations, and domain of knowledge, as
well as the research theories and principles. As an area of study, curriculum
should be scholarly and theoretical.
Studies have shown that in curriculum development, there are four major
approaches to the theory and practice; these approaches include:
a) Curriculum is a body of knowledge to be transmitted from one person to
another or from one generation to another.
b) Curriculum is an attempt of helping learners to achieve educational goals.
c) Curriculum is a process which is systematic and outlined activities by the
school for the wilful and guided learning of students.
d) Curriculum is praxis (Murray et al., 2015; Bilbao et al., 2008; Maria del
Carmen & Sanchez, 2010; Hancock et al., 2012).
A good curriculum should comprise three major characteristics:

❖ Humanistic (Bloom’s affective domain) orientation involving human
feelings, development and growth (Bloom’s affective domain)
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❖ A behaviorist also known as psychomotor domain; which is concerned with

performance, doing, using physical activities to practice what has been learnt
by responding to stimulus outside of the learner.
❖ A rational cognitive (cognitive domain) orientation which deals with
memory, recalling, reciting among others, (Bloom’s cognitive domain)
(Gooder and Cantwell, 2017; Harrison, 2020; Yuxuan et al, 2022).
Gooder and Cantwell, (2017); Harrison, (2020); Yuxuan et al, (2022) respectively
posited that the evaluation of curriculum is an attempt to measure and give
judgement on the extent to which a curriculum has met the objective of the
school. It is used to measure and judge the curriculum in terms of the courses
planned, the program to be assessed, the activities presented to the learners and
their participation in the learning process including the opportunities used in
the formal school curriculum., to make an objective decision in the school
process, the curriculum evaluation helps to guide the school in the
implementation of such curriculum. Not only does the curriculum helps to
guide program implementation, it also help the schools and the managers of the
process to evaluate whether the goals and schedule of responsibilities of those
assigned to implement the process were actually carried out as laid down in the
curriculum process and have the goals set out in the curriculum been achieved.
It is an activity which looks at the process to identify any potential defects or
challenges in the implementation process of the curriculum, while it also tries to
make a comparative analysis of the outcomes with the stated objectives and the
entire curriculum implementation process. This also helps look at the
effectiveness of the worth of the curriculum implemented (Gooder and
Cantwell, 2017; Harrison, 2020; Yuxuan et al, 2022). The major concern of this
paper is to evaluate the Environmental Education curriculum implemented and
the products there from in the University of Calabar, Nigeria. Therefore, our
concern is primarily centered on the evaluation of the curriculum implemented,
the process, and the products of the program from its inception at the University
of Calabar, Nigeria.
Petegem et al., (2007 in Mbilinyi and Msuya, 2018) posited in their study that to
evaluate the implementation of Environmental Education from two Flemish
(Belgian) teacher education college, two curriculum design approaches were
studied, one with a long history of cross curricular education and another with a
straight curriculum. The authors reported that at some points, the two
curriculum models stagnated because of organizational and personal
interference or obstructions. The authors then reported that after incorporating
Environmental Education into the curriculum for pre-service teachers’ education
and in the job description of the participating teachers, the implementation goals
improved considerably. Based on this finding and discovery, the authors took
the initiatives and made progress through the institutionalization of
Environmental Education. The implication of this result is that like in most
schools, the implementation of EE is not yet made a standalone subject, but EE
topics are rather infused into other subjects like Integrated Sciences, Biology,
Agriculture, Geography, Economics etc. This has also made the
institutionalization of Environmental Education to be slow and given a second
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fiddle priority (Harder et al., 2014; Lewis et al., 2014; Eneji et al, 2017b; Thomas
et al., 2018; Astutik & Widiaty, 2018; Stevenson et al., 2019).
Ardoin et al., (2013) posited that several factors have played against the proper
implementation of EE in most schools, some of these factors include: funding,
facilities, EE inclusion in conventional school curriculum, teacher apathy and
attrition, absence of proper regulatory bodies, variations and differences in
curriculum content and practices among others. Others include poor career
prospect, poor teacher’s pedagogic knowledge of the subject Environmental
Education among others (Ana et al., 2009; Gonzaga, 2016; Marpa & Juele, 2016;
Raman, 2016; Astutik & Widiaty, 2018; Sotiriadou et al., 2019).
These authors further opined that very few institutions of higher learning have
actually begun the implementation of Environmental Education programs. They
further stated that in most schools, Environmental Education is domiciled in
Faculties of Education, in some under faculties of Social Sciences, while in others
in Development Studies (Yusof et al. 2011 in Kelani & Khourey-Bowers, 2012;
Godin et al., 2015). These faculties where the programs are domiciled are not the
problem, but the course content of what Environmental Education should be is
hampered by the thinking and specializations within where the program is
domiciled (Ardoin & Heimlich, 2013; Ardoin et al., 2015; McKinley et al. 2017;
Seo et al., 2020). The University of Calabar is one such university where the EE
program has adequately been implemented, and their curriculum content has
been adjudged by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation
team as one of the best in the country, being in operation for well over thirty (30)
years now.
What then are the challenges facing the implementation of Environmental

Education programs in the University of Calabar? Authors like Carleton-Hug
and Hug (2010); Camp and Fraser, (2012); Barnosky and Hadly (2016) listed
funding, near absence of universally accepted curriculum, inconsistent and
incoherent curriculum content, poor commitment and space among others as the
factors militating against the effective implementation of Environmental
Education curriculum. While others looked at school classroom facilities, office
spaces and practicum facilities, poor army of unqualified teachers, lack of
regulatory bodies for the program, and absence of conference for teachers of
Environmental Education to cross fertilize ideas on current trend among
teachers of EE (Petegem et al., 2007; Crohn and Birnbaum, 2010; Eneji et al., 2019;
Ardoin et al., 2018; Adroin et al., 2020).
The positions of Wang et al, (2010) as cited by Carleton and Hug, (2010) was
further affirmed by Knight et al., (2017) whose study on challenges and
opportunities for evaluating Environmental Education programs listed poor
funding and facilities for the implementation of the program, student’s apathy
and attitude to lecture attendance and doing of assignments, their commitments
to studies, institutional based prejudice and administrative bottle necks, poor or
near absence of Environmental Education regulatory agencies, absence of the
program in primary, secondary and final qualifying examination bodies like
385
West African School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), National Examination

Council (NECO) National Board for Technical Education (NABTEC) among
others.
Other scholars also posited that Environmental Education like other new courses
like Business Education, Integrated Science, Introductory Technology, and many
others are left halfway because these are not written in the final qualifying
examinations by these examining bodies (Amirshokoohi, 2010; Kelani &
Khourey-Bowers, 2012; Kelani, 2015). Kelani and Khourey-Bowers, (2012)
further posited that there is the need for serious professional development for
the teachers of this new program (McDonald and Dominquez, 2010; Krasny et
al., 2010; Kuhar et al., 2010; Bull, 2013;Lemos et al., 2018). Most of those teaching
this new course have disjointed certificates, some read science related courses,
and others studied pure education (Curriculum and Teaching, Biology
Education, Guidance and Counselling, Physical and Health Education, Sport
Psychology, Agricultural Education, Forestry and Wildlife, Chemistry, Physics,
Biological Sciences, Geology, Medicine and Nursing Sciences amongst others).
These according to some authors could only teach borrowed courses, but not
core courses (Amirshokohi, 2010; Okhakhu and Evawoma-Enuku, 2011; Kelani
& Khourey-Bowers, 2012; Kelani, 2015; Monroe and Krasny, 2016; Monroe et al.,
2017; Yoni and Dasining, 2018; Mellish et al., 2019).
On the issue of career prospects for Environmental Education graduates, authors

Kelani and Khourey-Bowers, (2012) observed that Environmental Education is
an almighty course which has solutions to nearly every human problem on
earth. To these authors, learning Environmental Education and specializing in
the course is like having the antidote to most of human problems. This position
is so held because every human activity takes place on the earth planet. Once the
problem of the earth is solved through the knowledge acquired during the
period of taking up courses in Environmental Education, the problems can
greatly be mitigated or solved. These authors summarized their thesis by
insisting that graduates of Environmental Education program should be enabled
and employed to work in environmentally related discipline or organizations to
enable them translate what was taught to them in the classroom into practical
situation, where their knowledge can be used to tackle these environmental
problems (Ballard and Belsky, 2010, Ballard et al., 2017; Catalano et al., 2018;
Knight et al., 2019; Punzalan, 2020).
While adding credence to this study, Blatt (2013), writing on the roles
Environmental Education specialists and graduates should play and where they
should work to solve environmental problems, posited that the essence of
introducing the course Environmental Education is to work to forestall the
creation of new environmental issues, while mitigating the already existing
problems. In Blatt’s (2013) work on exploring environmental identity and
behavioral change in an environmental science course, the author said those
who become committed to the course should be trained in values, skills, attitude
and belief to have the necessary commitment to work towards solving
environmental problems. This is a challenge that is in line with the goals and
386
objectives of Environmental Education. This is the crux of the whole essence of

Environmental Education which is educating the populace to have the
awareness, skills, attitude, knowledge, belief and values with the right
commitments to work individually and collectively towards solving the current
environmental problems while preventing the creation of new ones. Where then
do these Environmental Education graduates of the University of Calabar since
the establishment of the department and program work? Have the goals of
Environmental Education as envisaged by the crafters and designers of the
program been achieved? What are the factors militating or otherwise working
for or against the achievements of these goals and objectives? However, the
major focus of this paper is to evaluate the product of Environmental Education
program in the University of Calabar from inception till date. Our focus is
primarily on the Bachelor’s degree and Master’s program from 1993-2021.
Evaluating the implementation of Environmental Education program and the

product there from became important because for close to thirty years, the
Environmental Education program has been running with more than 1900
graduates produced from the various program under the two streams of
Environmental Education in the University of Calabar, has the program goals,
objectives and mission or vision been achieved or are they being achieved? This
research therefore looks at three aspects of the broader goals of Environmental
Education.
The program implemented – the input and resources

The product of the program implemented- the output
What is the career prospects of the program so implemented –the outcome
(where are these graduates working, are they in environmentally related firms
or organizations?)
What are the challenges to the program? Have they met the objectives of
Environmental Education, what about the broader goals?
a) Awareness—
b) Knowledge—
c) Attitudes—
d) Skills—
e) Participation –
3.1 Research objectives

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the products of the environmental
education curriculum program implemented in the University of Calabar.
Specific objectives include assessing the extent of awareness, knowledge,
attitude, skills and participation of graduates of environmental education in
providing solutions to environmental problems in their communities, places of
work or wherever they find themselves. Other objectives include adequacy of
the curriculum contents, lecturer pedagogic knowledge of subject matter, career
prospects of graduates of environmental education and problem militating
against the effective implementation of environmental education program in the
University of Calabar, Nigeria.
387
3.2 Research questions

1. How does the curriculum content of environmental education as used in
Unical meet the objectives of the course?
2. How has the knowledge gained in studying environmental education
assisted in solving environmental problems in your community or place of
work?
3. How has studying environmental education improved your level of
environmental awareness?
4. How has the knowledge gained from studying environmental education
brought about a change of attitude towards environmental problems?
5. How have you deployed the skills you acquired from studying
environmental education to participate in solving environmental problems in
your community, office or residents?
6. To what extent are the lecturers of the department of environmental
education abreast of the pedagogy of environmental education including their
knowledge of subject matter, lesson delivery and evaluation?
7. How has the component of environmental education job prospects been
achieved?
8. What are the problems militating against the effective implementation of
Environmental Education curriculum in the University of Calabar?
9. What are some feasible solutions to effectively implement Environmental
Education curriculum in the University of Calabar?
4. Research design and methods

The research approach adopted for this study is the expost facto using the
survey inferential design. This approach is most suitable because the
phenomenon under study has already occurred. The duty of the researchers was
to collect data from a representative sample for an in-depth study to evaluate
whether the goals and objectives of environmental education have been
achieved or not and if not, what is responsible for the objectives not being
achieved?
4.1 Study area: The study was carried out in the Department of Environmental
Education University of Calabar. University of Calabar is located in the Calabar
Municipality between latitudes 40 15ꞌ and 50 00 North and longitude 80 15ꞌ and 80
23ꞌ East. The students who graduated from the department between 1997-2021
are our research subjects. The reason for choosing these sets of graduates is
because that was when the department began graduating students with first
degree and for the 2021 session, this was the last sets of students who graduated
before this study was carried out. According to the list of graduates found in the
department’s archive, the department had produced about one thousand, nine
hundred and thirty-eight (1938) graduates, (1,455 Bachelor’s degree graduates
and 483 Master’s degree graduates). This population excludes ordinary diploma
and post graduate diploma in graduates of environmental education. The
collection of data took the researchers well over eight months for the
administration of the instrument.
388
Since the location and residents of most of these graduates are not known, the
graduates from the department have an alumna WhatsApp’s platform where
issues concerning the department are discussed. Incidentally, some of the
researchers carrying out this research are graduates of the department and are
also members of the alumna platform. A sample of 50% of the research subjects
(969) were purposefully selected for the study. A researcher design closed and
open-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was
validated by three lecturers in the department of test, measurement, and
evaluation and three lecturers from the Department of Environmental
Education. The instrument was administered through the online platform,
where the instrument was posted on the WhatsApp platform. Some respondents
filled directly while others who could not fill them online, printed a copy, filled
them and mailed them back to the researchers. Others, are located within
Calabar, filled the hard copies and returned them to the researchers in the
department.
Those filled online were printed out, where the hard copies were all coded,
analyzed and result interpreted. Simple percentage was used for data analysis.
Results are presented on tables.
5. Results and discussions

Based on the simple percentage analysis of the result on table 1, three hundred
and forty-one, respondents representing 35.2%, strongly agreed that the
curriculum content of environmental education as taught to them during their
undergraduate as students in environmental education is not adequate. Two
hundred and twenty five respondents (23.21%) agreed that the content was not
adequate enough as compared to what is obtainable in other climes. Two
hundred and thirteen respondents, representing 21.98% disagreed that the
curriculum content during their undergraduate days was adequate, while, one
hundred and ninety respondents (19.61%) strongly disagreed to support the
position that the curriculum content was adequate.
Further, summary shows that a total of five hundred and sixty-six respondents,
representing 58.41%, strongly agreed that the curriculum content is not
adequate, while four hundred and three, representing 41.59%strongly disagreed
that the curriculum content is adequate. Based on the percentage and response
options obtained from this analysis, the curriculum content as in force today is
not adequate and therefore needs urgent overhauling and review.
The results show that, three hundred and fifty-four respondents, representing
36.53% strongly agreed that the knowledge they got from studying
environmental education cannot afford them the ability to solve environmental
problems in their communities, two hundred and one respondents representing
20.74%agreed that the knowledge they obtained has not helped them much in
solving community environmental problems.
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Table 1. Respondent’s opinion on Environmental Education curriculum content in

Unical
S/N Environmental Education SA A D SD Total
Curriculum contents
1 The courses I was taught as a student 199 201 298 271 969
in the department was in line with
global environmental curriculum
contents
2 The courses I took as a student, 321 268 144 236 969
helped me to become an
environmentally conscious person
3 About 50% of the courses we took 411 98 251 209 969
were not relevant to the achievement
of the objectives and goals of
Environmental Education
4 The courses taught in Environmental 144 298 378 149 969
Education are in line with what is
obtainable in other universities we
have visited or seen
5 Even at that, there is the need for 452 201 227 89 969
serious curriculum review or
modification to meet with current and
modern realities
6 All the courses in the areas of 324 266 115 264 969
specializations should be used as core
courses for the entire Environmental
Education program
7 There are too many general Education 433 211 188 137 969
courses than core Environmental
Education courses
8 More core Environmental Education 443 256 102 168 969
courses should be introduced, while
some general Education courses
should be reduced
Response options based on scoring 2727 1799 1703 1523 7752
Number of respondents and their 341 225 213 190 969
response
Percentage response 35.2 23.21 21.98 19.61
566 58.41 403 41.59
While, two hundred and two respondents, representing 20.85%, agreed that the
knowledge they received has helped them to solve some community
environmental problems, two hundred and twelve respondents, (21.88%)
strongly support the position that the knowledge has help them so much in
solving some environmental problems in their communities. A further
summary shows that five hundred and fifty-five respondents representing
57.3% strongly opposed the fact that the knowledge they acquired could not
help them to solve environmental problems, while four hundred and fourteen
respondents agreed that the knowledge they received helped them solve some
environmental issues in their communities.
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Table 2. Knowledge of Environmental Education and solution to environmental

problems in the community
SA A D SD Total
The courses I took in Environmental Education 388 206 164 211 969
has improved my environmental skills for action
to protect the environment
During and after leaving school, I have used the 143 221 371 234 969
skills acquired from Environmental Education
program to solve most environmental problems
in my neighborhood and community
Unfortunately, the courses we were taught did 344 257 182 186 969
not give us specific skills to solve any
Environmental Education problem
Where I work, designing and solving 59 45 402 463 969
environmental problem is one of my core area of
duties
During my days as a student, we do not have the 452 244 150 123 969
necessary facilities and equipment’s to give us
the practical skills needed to solve environmental
problems
Even the available whether station within the 471 211 88 199 969
department could not be used to teach us how to
collect weather data
We were rather forced to go for teaching practice 454 222 135 158 969
instead of industrial attachment, where practical
skills on how to solve environmental problems
could have been taught.
Environmental Education students should be 521 204 123 121 969
exposed to a full year industrial attachment for
practical experience instead of teaching practice.
Number of respondents and their response 354 201 202 212 969
Percentage response 36.53 20.74 20.85 21.88 100
555 57. 414 42.7
Based on the opinion of respondents, the knowledge they acquired when they
studied Environmental Education did not help them enough to solve their
community environmental problems. The result of simple percentage analysis
on table 3 shows that two hundred and twenty-three respondents (23.03%)
strongly agreed that the environmental awareness level created during their
studies was enough to enable them to solve environmental problems in their
society or community, two hundred and thirty three respondents, representing
23.99%, agreed that the environmental awareness created in them as students of
environmental education gave them the leeway to help in solving
environmental problems within their communities and where they work,
whereas, two hundred and seventy seven respondents (28.64%) disagreed that
the quality of environmental awareness created in them was not sufficient
enough to give them all it takes to help in solving community environmental
problems, while, two hundred and thirty six respondents (24.34%) strongly
disagree that the environmental awareness they got as students in the
391
department of Environmental Education could not afford them the needed

knowledge and skill to work individually and collectively in solving
community environmental problems.
Summarizing further, it was discovered that four hundred and fifty six
respondents, representing 47.02%, strongly agreed that during their period of
studies in the department of Environmental Education, the awareness they got
was enough to help them solve community environmental problems,
individually and collectively, while, five hundred and thirteen respondents
strongly disagreed that the awareness during their studies in the department
was not sufficient to help them solve community environmental problem,
whether at home or in their places of work.
Given the number of respondents who disagreed with the questions, we

conclude that the awareness created during their study period was not good
enough to help them solve community environmental problems.
Even though the numbers of those who ticked against having higher level of
environmental awareness than those who ticked for, the margin is slim,
implying that some said they got awareness enough to help in solving their
community environmental problems, other said they did not get enough
environmental awareness to help solve community problem. Even at this, most
of the graduates’ attitudes are influenced by the course they studied.
From the result of the simple percentage analysis shown on table 4, three
hundred and six respondents representing 31.5% strongly agreed that the
course which they studied had brought about a change of attitude towards
environmental problems in their community and work place, two hundred and
twenty eight, 23.5% of the respondents, also agreed that the environmental
education they studied had brought a reasonable change of their attitude
towards environmental problems in their community and their work place. Two
hundred and forty eight respondents (25.7%) disagreed that the course they
studied did not have any positive influence on their attitude towards
environmental problems in their work place or community, while one hundred
and eighty seven (19.3%) respondents, strongly disagreed that the course
environmental education as studied did not change their attitude towards
environmental prevention or creation.
Table 3. Respondent’s opinion on environmental awareness for solving community

environmental problems
Questionnaire items SA A D SD Total
Enough environmental awareness was created 969
243 299 300 127
during our days as students in the department
I have been using the environmental awareness 969
knowledge I acquired from the department to
143 222 361 243
help advise and solve some environmental
problems in my community
Since I left school, I have engaged in a lot of 969
266 298 183 222
environmental awareness campaign individually
392
and with some organizations

In my place of work, we carry out different forms 969
122 98 421 328
of environmental awareness
When I notice environmental issues, I draw the 969
attention of the people around, including the
244 211 235 279
relevant authorities to act in order to solve such
problems
Since the government and the people around are 969
not concerned, I ignore any environmental issue I 321 267 165 216
notice around
456 47.02 513 52.98
A further summary of the result indicates that five hundred and thirty four
respondents representing 55% agreed that the education they studied
contributed so much in changing their attitude positively towards finding
solution to the existing environmental issues, while avoiding the fermenting of
new environmental issues, while four hundred and thirty five respondents
(45%) disagreed that the environmental education they studied did not have any
positive influence on their attitude towards providing dependable solution to
the existing environmental issues, while avoiding the fermenting of new ones.
By inference therefore, the course as taught to these graduates has contributed
positively to influence their attitude towards providing dependable solution to
the existing environmental issues while avoiding the fermenting of new
environmental challenges. This therefore means this objective of Environmental
Education is being achieved, though gradually.
Two hundred and thirty three respondents (24.1%) agreed that their studying
environmental education has built their skills to actively participate in working
to provide solution to the existing environmental concerns. Two hundred and
seventy nine respondents again ticked that they agreed that the course improved
their skills to actively participate in finding solutions to our environmental
issues. On the other hand, two hundred and fifty respondents (250, 25.8%) and
two hundred and seven (207; 21.3%) disagreed and strongly disagreed
respectively that the environmental education they studied did not contribute to
build their environmental skills to participate in finding solutions to the
environmental challenges currently being felt by humans. A further summary of
the simple percentage analysis on table 5 shows an aggregate score of five
hundred and twelve respondents representing 52.9% who strongly agreed that
the course which they studied built their environmental skill positively to
empower them to actively participate in providing solutions to the existing
environmental issues, this will help them to avoid creating new environmental
concerns. Four hundred and fifty seven respondents representing 47.1% strongly
disagreed to the postulation that the environmental education they studied did
not improve or develop their skills to provide feasible solution to the current
existing environmental challenges, not to talk of avoiding the production of of
new environmental issues.
393
From the results on table 5, enough evidence abounds to show that the
introduction of environmental education as studied by these sets of graduates
shows that the course built their skills and prepared them well to actively
participate in solving current environmental problems, while preventing the
creation of new ones. Therefore, Environmental Education as introduced in
University of Calabar, has met this objective too.
Table 4. Environmental Education and attitude towards environmental problems

People around me have very negative

attitude towards environmental 322 344 189 114 969
conservation
People throw waste indiscriminately 451 244 201 73 969
Because I am an environmentalist, I
try to discuss people’s negative
359 331 83 196
attitude to waste disposal and
management with them 969
Because of the nature of my job, I
hardly have time to participate in any
368 228 128 245
environmental activity in my office or
my neighbourhood 969
Since people in my neighborhood
throw waste indiscriminately, I also 245 112 350 262
throw my waste like that too 969
Every now and then, I mobilize
youths within my neighborhood for 133 211 389 236
environmental activities 969
After my graduation, I have
encouraged a lot of people to take up 261 127 400 181
courses in Environmental Education 969
Number of respondents and their 969
306 228 248 187
response
534 55 435 45
Table 5. Showing response for Environmental Education skills and graduates’

participation in solving environmental problems
SA A D SD Total
Since I graduated from the
SKILLS / PARTICIPATION
department, I usually participate in a 235 441 159 134

lot of environmental activities 969
I carry out personal environmental
activities like planting trees, cover
156 232 355 226
crops and work to prevent erosion in
my neighborhood 969
I carry out personal sanitation
regularly in my compound and 324 298 189 158
neighborhood 969
I carry out awareness creation about 154 212 311 292 969
394
environmental issues within my

community
I participate in every environmentally
related activities carried out both in 344 289 229 107
my work place and my community 969
I enjoy joining voluntary
organizations and community self-
help activities to carry out
187 201 256 325
environmental mitigation activities
within my work place and
community 969
Number of respondents and their 100
24.1 28.8 25.8 21.3
response
Percentage response 233 279 250 207 969
512 52.9 457 47.1
In order to address the question of the extent to which lecturers in the

Department of Environmental Education are abreast of the pedagogy of
environmental education including their knowledge of subject matter, lesson
delivery and evaluation? Table 6 shows respondents’ opinion on this question.
Table 6. Respondents opinion on the lecturer’s pedagogic knowledge of

Environmental Education
Our lecturers were just wonderful in
188 208 299 274 969
their relationship with their students
Most of our lecturers are grounded in
102 111 325 431 969
environmental issues
Our lecturers came from different
LECTURER’ S PEDAGOGIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
background, so they are not core 324 432 135 78 969

environmentalists
Most of our lecturers cannot teach
environmental concepts to our 299 397 65 208 969
understanding
Some lecturers are just there for being
322 266 177 204 969
there
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
We have very good lecturers who can

188 232 199 350 969
teach environmental concepts very well
Most of our lecturers are core
155 125 355 334 969
Environmental Educators
Some of our lecturers are very harsh
288 389 155 137 969
and unaccommodating to students
Because of this attitude towards
students, most of our students are
344 287 251 87 969
scared going close to ask questions for
clarification
Our lecturers are robust when it comes
to teaching Environmental Education 151 133 289 396 969
courses
395
Number of respondents and their

236 258 225 250 969
response
494 51.0 475 49.0 100
The result of the simple percentage analysis on table 6 revealed that two
hundred and thirty six respondents (24.4%) strongly agreed that the lecturers
that taught them as undergraduate students have the pedagogic knowledge of
the subject matter, two hundred and fifty eight respondents (26.6%), also greed
that most of the lecturers that taught them have the pedagogic knowledge of the
subject matter. Two hundred and twenty five respondents (23.2%) disagreed
that most of the lecturers who taught them do not have the pedagogic
knowledge of the subject matter, while two hundred and fifty respondents (250,
25.8%) strongly disagreed that most of the lecturers who taught them do not
have the requisite knowledge to teach.
Further summation of respondents opinion posits that four hundred and ninety
four respondents (51.0%) shows that most of the lecturers who taught them
during their undergraduate days have the requisites pedagogic knowledge of
the subject matter, while four hundred and seventy five respondents (475;
49.0%) strongly disagreed that most of the lecturers who taught them do not
have sufficient pedagogic knowledge of the subject matter. Deducing from the
result on table 6, it therefore stands to reason that some of the lecturers who
taught these respondents at undergraduate levels have the requisite pedagogic
knowledge.
Table 7. Respondent’s opinion on career prospect of Environmental Education

Because of admission situation, some of us just
found ourselves in the department of 256 299 287 127 969
Environmental Education.
I never actually liked Environmental Education 93 143 351 382 969
I did not apply to study Environmental
56 33 451 429 969
Education
Since I graduated from Environmental
Education, I have a fulfilled career in an 156 234 299 280 969
CAREER PROSPECTS
environmentally related job

It is because I studied Environmental Education
356 102 341 170 969
that I got this job I am doing now
Because I studied Environmental Education, I
used the knowledge and skills acquired from 156 133 472 208 969
there to establish my current occupation
The work I am currently doing is not because I
215 133 298 323 969
studied Environmental Education
I am teaching in a secondary school as a
graduate, but I am not teaching 212 156 399 202 969
environmentally related courses
Most persons who studied Environmental
Education have nowhere to work, so they work 422 313 146 88 969
in mostly unrelated areas to Environment
396

386 39.9 583 60.1
The result of the simple percentage analysis shown on table 7 indicates that 214
respondents (22.1%) strongly agreed that the job they are current doing is as a
result of the course environmental education which they studied, 172
respondents, agreed that the course they studied help them to get the current job
they are doing, while 338 respondents representing 34.8% disagreed that the job
they are doing is not because they studied environmental education, but because
they are graduates, the remaining 249 respondents (25.3%) strongly disagreed
that the job they are doing now is not because they studied environmental
education, but because they have somebody somewhere who assisted them to
get the job. The implication of this result is that most of the graduates got the job
they are doing not because they studied environmental education, but because
they have somebody who assisted them to get the job just because the job was
meant for graduates. A further look at the result again shows that 386
respondents, representing 39.9% agreed that the current job they are doing is
because they studied environmental education, while 583 respondents,
representing 60.1% vehemently disagreed that the job they are doing is not
because they studied environmental education. The implication of this result is
that most of the graduates of environmental education are not employed
because they studied environmental education, but because they are just
graduates. This therefore means that even the government who are signatory to
the implementation of environmental education are not even serious about
engaging these graduates where they actually should be or belong.
What are the problems militating against the effective implementation of

Environmental Education curriculum content in Nigerian universities?
Seven issues raised as factors militating against the effective implementation of
Environmental Education curriculum in University of Calabar include:
Environmental Education is not a subject written in the final secondary school
certificate examination, poor funding to implement environmental education
curriculum, facilities, laboratory, libraries, studios), no uniform Environmental
Education curriculum implemented across universities offering the course, poor
or near because of qualified lecturers to teach the course, no regulatory body
(ies) to regulate the implementation and practice of Environmental Education
curriculum in tertiary institutions, poor job prospect/ poor employment of
professional graduates of Environmental Education and the delay in the
computation and graduation of students in the department were identified as
possible militating factors against the implementation of Environmental
Education curriculum.
Looking at the result on table 8, it was discovered that three hundred and eighty
six respondents (39.8%) strongly agreed that the seven factors listed above are
militating factors working against the effective implementation of
environmental education in the University of Calabar, three hundred and thirty
397
six respondents (34.8%) agreed that the seven factors listed militates against the
effective implementation of environmental education as a course. While, one
hundred and sixty six respondents, representing 17.0%, disagreed that these
factors listed do not in any way militate against the implementation of
environmental education, whereas, eighty one respondents (8.4%) strongly
disagreed that these seven factors do not act as militating factors against the
implementation of environmental education. A further analysis found that seven
hundred and twenty two (74.6%) agreed that the seven factors listed are some of
the militating factors working against the effective implementation of
environmental education, while two hundred and forty seven respondents, (247:
25.4%) disagreed that the factors listed here may not be responsible for the poor
implementation of environmental education curriculum. From the result of
simple percentage analysis on table 8, it is clear that the factors listed above are
militating against the implementation of environmental education curriculum.
Table 8. Problems of the implementation of Environmental Education curriculum

contents in Nigerian universities
Because Environmental Education is not
written in the final certificate exams,
369 315 166 119 969
most secondary schools do not offer it as
a subject
Funding to carry out Environmental
PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Education implementation is not always

378 382 127 82 969
available to implement it in secondary
schools
Most tertiary institutions running
Environmental Education program do 330 312 200 127 969
not have a uniform curriculum content
In most schools, there hardly have
377 289 212 91 969
qualified lecturers
There is a near absence of regulatory
bodies to regulate the practice of 332 431 155 51 969
Environmental Education in Nigeria
Because most graduates of
Environmental Education are hardly
399 333 202 35 969
employed, most persons are discouraged
from studying the course
From the experience of previous
students, the delay in the preparation of
result for student’s graduation is one
521 288 100 60 969
major issue affecting the taking up of
Environmental Education by prospective
students
Number of respondents and their
969
response 386 336 166 81
Percentage response 39.8 34.8 17.0 8.4
722 74.6 247 25.4
398
On the way forward, the open-ended questionnaire which involves the listing of
feasible solutions by the respondents were summed up and the scores are listed
on table 9. Thirteen suggestions were made from the respondents as feasible
solutions to the problems of implementation of environmental education
curriculum in the University of Calabar: funding from both federal and state
government and other relevant agencies, retraining of teachers of environmental
education, curriculum overhauling in line with modern realities, formation of
statutory regulatory body and including environmental education in the
primary and secondary school curriculum. Others include writing
environmental education in final secondary school certificate examination like
West African Senior School Certificate Examination, National Examination
Council and National Board for Technical Education and the Basic Certificate
Examination (BCCE).
The simple percentage analysis on table 9 shows that thirteen feasible solutions
were filtered from the list of suggested solutions to the problem of
implementation of environmental education curriculum and the products in the
University of Calabar. Three hundred and fifty seven respondents (36.8%
strongly agreed that the solutions suggested can correct the issues of the
curriculum implementation, two hundred and ninety seven (30.7%) agreed that
the feasible solutions identified by the respondents are capable of solving the
problems militating against the implementation of environmental education
curriculum.
Table 9. Captured some feasible solutions to the problem militating against the
effective implementation of Environmental Education curriculum in the University of
Calabar from the respondents.
S/N Suggested solutions SA A D SD Total
1 Both the federal government and the 452 255 42 220 969
relevant authorities should make
adequate provision of funding to run
the program
2 Training and retraining of 512 311 21 125 969
Environmental Education lecturers
within and outside the country
should be encourage through
sponsorship from TETFUND and the
federal government
3 Redesigning the curriculum in line 344 352 180 93 969
with current realities is a sure way to
go
4 Formation of standard regulatory 488 211 255 15 969
body for EE must be done as a matter
of urgency
5 Collaboration with authorities to 433 343 120 73 969
include EE in final examination board
curriculum like WASSCE, NECO,
NABTEC, etc
6 Creating more awareness on the job 235 322 388 24 969
prospect of EE Graduates can go a
399
long way to help

7 Provision of functional school 433 323 123 90 969
facilities (libraries, laboratory,
weather station, classrooms etc
8 Teaching practice for EE students 256 288 183 242 969
should be abolished and replaced
with a compulsory one year
industrial attachment in relevant
agencies and ministries
9 Ministries of Environment and other 189 288 299 193 0969
agencies and departments should
compulsorily send their staff to the
department for on the job retraining.
10 Only graduates who have studied EE 345 322 180 122 969
in Undergraduates and Master degree
program should be employed to teach
EE, not just people within relevant
degree.
11 As a professional course, separate 122 155 431 261 969
lecture venues should be built and
designated for Environmental
Education including functional
libraries and state of the art facilities.
12 The regulatory body should convoke 388 352 106 123 969
a national conference for
Environmental Education, where the
curriculum content of Environmental
Education can be overhauled and
standardized to have one uniform
curriculum across the country for the
program
13 Student’s results should be prepared 441 344 98 86 969
as soon as scores are sent from
lecturers for fast graduation of
students with their colleagues in
other departments.
Number of respondents and their 357 297 187 128 969
response
654 67.49 315 32.51
One hundred and eighty seven respondents, representing 19.3%, disagreed that
these solutions suggested cannot solve these problems, while another one
hundred and twenty eight (13.2%) strongly disagreed that these list of possible
solutions as identified by the respondents cannot solve environmental education
curriculum implementation as identified by the same respondents. Others
include reinvigorating the awareness on the job prospects of graduates of
environmental education, provision of functional school facilities like well-
furnished lecture theater, libraries, laboratories, weather station among others,
and teaching practice for environmental education students should be replaced
with a full session’s industrial attachment in environmentally related
400
establishments. The feasible solutions suggested also include line ministries

related to environmental management should always send their staff to the
department for refreshers courses.
It was further suggested that only graduates of environmental education from

first degree to master’s degree and above should be recruited to teach
environmental education courses. There should be separate lecture theaters,
classrooms, libraries, laboratories and weather station for the course. Finally, it
was also suggested that the regulatory body, federal ministries of education,
environment, agriculture, tourism and national orientation agencies with the
national universities’ commission in collaboration with universities
(departments) offering environmental education should as a matter of urgent
national interest convoke a curriculum conference to overhaul the curriculum
content of environmental education to be in line with current realities and come
out with a uniform curriculum contents for environmental education across all
universities in Nigeria, and above all, departments should compile students
result as soon as there are marked and submitted for students to graduate on
record time like their colleagues in other departments in the university. This
result is clear that these feasible solutions as suggested by these respondents
could go a long way to ameliorate these problems if properly handled.
A further observation of the result of the analysis on table 9 further revealed that
six hundred and fifty four respondents representing 67.49% agreed completely
that these feasible solutions suggested has the magic wand to solve the problems
militating against the effective implementation of environmental education
curriculum, while three hundred and fifteen respondents (32.14%) disagreed
that these solutions proffered here cannot solve the problems of the
environmental education curriculum implementation in the University of
Calabar. From this analysis therefore, these thirteen suggested solutions are
feasible.
6. Discussion of findings
Judging from respondents’ opinion from the result of the simple percentage
analysis on table1, it is submitted that five hundred and sixty six (58.41%)
respondents strongly agreed that the curriculum contents of environmental
education as it is presently in force is not adequate, while four hundred and
three (41.59%) strongly disagreed that the curriculum contents as is used in the
department of environmental education is adequate. The simple percentage
analysis points that the environmental education curriculum content is not
adequate, these respondents in their response posited that there are more of
education courses in the curriculum contents than core environmental education
courses. Reasons adduced by the respondent’s shows that most of the lecturers
teaching the courses were not very grounded in the pedagogic content of
environmental education; rather they were in some other courses, which they
insist on including making them relevant and staying in the department.
Some said because of the few hands in the department, most lecturers are
borrowed from other departments, so they design the curriculum to suit their
401
needs and qualifications. This result is in agreement with those of Ana et al.,
(2009) and Ardoin et al., (2013) whose work found that the introduction of
environmental education into many schools is still being impeded by the
shortages of manpower. These authors in their respective positions stated that
there are disjointed curriculum contents based on the design brought by those
who are not very grounded, but because they have participated or taken short
courses in the subject, want to teach these courses. In situations like this, facts
presented are at times distorted, teaching methods used are wrongly applied
and teaching and learning becomes boring and redundant. When situations like
this occurs, especially if schools float such programs without adequate qualified
teachers with the basic pedagogic knowledge of teaching and subject matter, the
course at best will be minimally beneficial to the students. Practical are skipped
or are haphazardly done, these practical’s including fieldwork (trips) carries a
larger chunk of the knowledge these students would have learnt, and this will in
turn destroy rather than make the course a lucrative and an enjoyable one.
Specific attention is drawn to questions item numbers 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8. In item 1,

respondents posited that the courses they were taught are not in line with global
best practices in terms of curriculum contents: 400 respondents agreed that the
curriculum contents is adequate, while 569 respondents strongly disagreed that
the curriculum contents is not adequate. In item 5 of the instrument on this
variable, 653 respondents strongly agreed that the current curriculum contents
were in line with global best practices, while 316 respondents disagreed that the
curriculum contents is not in line with global best practices. These respondents
posited that the curriculum needs very serious over hauling and review. Again
item 6 of the instrument posited that all the courses in the areas of
specializations should be converted to core environmental education courses,
590 respondents agreed that these courses should be actually converted, while
379 respondents did not agree to this position. In items 7 and 8 of the
questionnaire, 644 and 699 respondents respectively averred that there are too
many general education courses in environmental education curriculum than is
necessary, so there is the need to reduce some general education courses and
add more of core environmental education courses, while 325 and 270
respondents respectively did not support the reduction of too many general
education courses and introducing more of core environmental education
courses. The curriculum content of every course must be in line with the best
practice and must be uniform across board. Unfortunately, the curriculum
content of environmental education in the University of Calabar is over loaded
with core education courses, instead of core Environmental Education courses.
The result of this analysis has come to confirm the earlier finding of Ballard
and Belsky, (2010); Ardoin and Heimlich, (2013); Ardoin et al., (2015) who in
their respective works found that the curriculum contents of every course
introduced in any school setting must meet the Basic Minimum Academic
Standard (B-MAS). Basic minimum academic standard in terms of content,
coverage, practice and delivery systems including facilities and staff to
implement such course content. From data gathered from the field, it is
unfortunate that respondent’s opinion suggested otherwise about the
402
curriculum content. These respondents completely disagreed that the current

environmental education curriculum content as taught in the University of
Calabar needs a serious over hauling and redesigning.
This result again confirmed the earlier works of Bull, (2013) and Ballard et al.
(2017) whose researches concluded that the content of any curriculum must
address the course objectives, thereby striving to meet the current challenges
and realities in the profession. It is on this premise that it was revealed that
many courses produce half-cooked, half-baked and poorly trained graduates,
because most of the core courses that make such course what it should be are
either ignored completely or are played down because there are no core
specialties in that area to teach such courses. To address these imbalances in
curriculum content delivery, we suggest that grants should be provided for
further training outside the university where they are employed to teach such
courses. We recommend that foreign staff or qualified experts could be brought
from outside the university (either from other universities or ministries) with
qualified staff to handle such professional areas.
On the question of knowledge gained in studying environmental education, the

result on table 2 indicates that five hundred and fifty-five respondents
representing 57.3% strongly opposed the fact that the knowledge they acquired
from studying environmental education could not help them to solve
environmental problems, while four hundred and fourteen (42.7%) respondents
agreed that the knowledge they got from the studies of environmental education
helped them solve some environmental issues in their communities. From this
result, the respondents held strongly that the knowledge acquired in studying
Environmental Education is not helping them enough to solve environmental
issues in their community and offices where they work. Further observation of
the data generated after analysis shows that most of the courses as stated in the
curriculum content were educational courses and very few were core
environmental courses.
Attention is again drawn to the respondent’s opinion on items 3 on the

instrument, 601 respondents agreed that unfortunately, the courses they were
taught as undergraduates in the department did not give them the specific skills
to resolve environmental problems in their communities or places of work, while
368 respondents said the courses were specific on skills to resolve environmental
problems. Item 4, 696 respondents averred that during their days as
undergraduates’ students in the department, they did not have the facilities and
equipment’s for practical skills to solve environmental issues, while 273
respondents did not agree with the statements of no facilities and equipment to
teach them practical skills to solve environmental problems. Item 5 said even the
available weather station, within the department which is a shared facility was
never used to teach them anything. 692 students agreed that the weather station
was not used for even a day to teach them how to collect basic weather data,
while 287 respondents disagreed that this was not true as stated. Item 7 showed
that 676 respondent said they were rather forced to go for compulsory teaching
practice exercise instead of industrial attachment to enable them learn through
403
practical experience, while another 725 respondent said industrial attachment

should be made compulsory for environmental education for a full session
instead of teaching practice, whereas 293 and 244 respondents respectively said
they are conformable with teaching practice instead of industrial attachment for
Environmental Education students.
The implication of this result therefore is that most of the respondents were not
satisfied with the knowledge they acquired from studying environmental
education in the University of Calabar. This result is in line with the results of
Bilbao et al., (2008) and Maria del Carmen & Sanchez, (2010) who found a
correlation between deficiency in curriculum and graduate knowledge level. In
their respective researches, they observed that when curriculum contents are
either staggering or disjointedly implemented or handled by non-experts
without the basic knowledge of subject matter and poor pedagogic knowledge,
the course is poorly implemented and haphazardly carried out, at this point,
students who passed through such deficient process will themselves be deficient
in knowledge, skills and values and may hardly have the required capacities to
replicate, practice or participate in solving community problems.
Knowledge is acquired based on some factors such as the teacher’s pedagogic

knowledge, the knowledge of subject matter, classroom management, the
student’s preparedness to learn, the learning content, learners chronological and
mental age, the learning environment, peer influence and the student’s home
factors. But within the school setting, the teachers hold a greater percentage of
what the students learn and how knowledge can be learned by the student.
Based on these factors, it is true that some of the students may not really
understand the content of the subject they learnt, hence their environmental
knowledge could be limited, while some who were serious minded went outside
the box to do more research, these group have improved knowledge of
environmental issues and how to tackle them.
Looking at the extent to which the course environmental education studied

improved their level of environmental awareness acquired in their community
after graduation, four hundred and fifty six respondents representing
47.02%strongly agreed that the course they studied actually improved their
environmental awareness knowledge enough to assist them carry out the
solving of environmental issues in their respective communities, while five
hundred and thirteen respondents strongly disagreed that the course they
studied as environmental education graduates did not give them enough
environmental awareness to become conscious of environmental issues and how
to solve these issues. It is concluded from this result that the course which these
students studied did not give them enough awareness to help them solve
environmental issues in their respective communities. This result shows that the
respondents who were students of the department were not satisfied with the
level of environmental awareness they got from the department as students.
This also has affected how they perceive environmental problems in their
community and how they could not do anything to solve these problems as a
result of the limited knowledge they acquired from the department.
404
This result partly may be blamed on both students and the school system
including the lecturers who either out of laziness did not do enough for the
students or the students who refused to work extra to acquire enough of this
knowledge. An analysis of the result shows that about 47.02% of the students
said they acquired enough environmental awareness when they were students.
Could this be blamed on these groups of students who claimed not to have
acquired enough environmental awareness? This reasoning is buttressed out of
the fact that they were taught by the same group of lecturers, while others are
claiming to have adequate knowledge. Hancock et al., (2012) in their study had
earlier said despite all efforts put by the school system to make reasonable
learning possible for the students, the students must give excuses for failure.
These were blamed on the poor facilities, near absence of practical experience
from industrial attachments, field trips, excursion, and field work. These
practical exercises are introduced to give the students firsthand information in
the real world on how to identify, manage and solved most environmental
problems in the real practical situation and not in theory as is the case.
In a related research by Carleton-Hug and Hug (2010) and Camp and Fraser,
(2012), we assessed the environmental awareness level of college students after
been exposed to some piece of instruction and their reaction to a physical
environmental situation. Their result shows a positive correlation between the
student’s exposure to practical awareness on environmental issues and their
demonstrated skills based on the awareness they were exposed to during the
instructional process. These results are a confirmation of these studies, where
student’s level of awareness were lower towards understanding environmental
issues and how to proffer feasible solutions to these problems in their local
communities.
The result on table 4 shows that five hundred and thirty four respondents
representing 55% agreed that the course they studied contributed so much in
changing their attitude positively towards providing solutions to the
environmental issues already in existence, while helping them t avoid causing
more environmental problems, while four hundred and thirty five respondents
(45%) disagreed that the environmental education they studied did not have any
positive influence on their attitude towards providing tangible solution to the
existing environmental issues, talk less of helping them to avoid causing new
ones in their homes or work place. This implies that the course as taught to these
graduates has contributed positively to influence their attitude towards solving
current environmental problems, while preventing the creation of new ones.
This therefore means this objective of environmental education is being
achieved, though, gradually but steadily.
This result is similar to the result of Barnosky and Hadly (2016) whose result
shows a positive perfect correlation between environmental education
knowledge and people’s attitude toward environmental issues. This result has
also confirmed the result of an earlier research by Eneji et al., (2017) on people’s
attitude towards waste management and disposal methods. The authors found a
405
positive correlation between the environmental knowledge they acquired and

their attitude to waste and how they manage and dispose their waste in urban
centers. This result affirms the earlier result found by Harder et al., (2014); Lewis
et al., (2014), Thomas et al., (2018) and Stevenson et al., (2019).
Looking at the summary of the simple percentage analysis on table 5, it is

revealed that five hundred and twelve respondents (52.9%) strongly agreed that
the course environmental education which they studied built their
environmental skill positively to empower them to actively participate in solving
environmental problems. Four hundred and fifty seven respondents (47.1%)
disagreed and held that the environmental education they studied did not
improve or develop their skills to solve environmental problems nor to prevent
creating new environmental issues.
The implication of this result therefore is that the introduction of environmental

education as studied by these sets of graduates had built their skills, not only
that, but had also prepared them well to actively participate in solving
environmental problems within their communities. This means that this
objective of establishing the course is being achieved. This result is a
confirmation that environmental education as it were has built the skills of these
young graduates who studied the course to prepare them for working to solve
environmental problems. This result is also in line with the earlier finding of
Sotiriadou et al., (2019). These authors found that when any instructional
curriculum is properly covered by teachers with the right pedagogic knowledge
of the course, proper assessment is also made. This will help guide the teacher in
using every form of evaluation, especially diagnostic evaluation, or assessment
to identify the knowledge gap of these students after a piece of instructional
process. This is to bring in remedial process to fill the missing gap in the
learners. Once this is done, student’s empowerment in terms of knowledge,
skills and capacities are guaranteed. This result found that the skills of the
students, as well as their capacities were developed enough to help them fit in
properly into the society and to help society solve their current environmental
problems.
The results found by Mbilinyi and Msuya, (2018) on knowledge and strategies
for controlling plagiarism in universities, Eneji, et. al., (2019) gave credence to
this current study based on their work on lecturer’s strike actions and the
performance of students of environmental education in terms of their academic
achievements. They found that teaching students under an acceptable learning
environment, while considering the necessary factors which influence human
learning imbues in the learners the needed skills, knowledge, strategies, and
methods to transfer such knowledge into practical situations. If this is done by
universities, students would always transfer theories in classrooms into practical
solutions to society’s problems. Eneji et al., (2019) cited schools in Finland,
Norway, etc where the authorities believe more in practical than theoretical
knowledge in their dispositions. Schools, especially universities and the
management authorities should provide all enabling environment, including
functional classrooms, facilities, and teachers to teach these courses that are the
406
basic needs of the society. It therefore stands to reason that with this knowledge
so acquired from practical experiences, they can solve community problems.
The result on table 6 revealed that four hundred and ninety four respondents
(51.0%) shows that most of the lecturers who taught courses in environmental
education have the requisites pedagogic knowledge of the subject matter of
environmental education, while four hundred and seventy five respondents
(49.0%) strongly disagreed that most of the lecturers who taught courses in
environmental education at their undergraduate level do not have sufficient
pedagogic knowledge of the subject matter of environmental education. The
conclusion here is that most of the teachers who taught these students do have
the requisite pedagogic knowledge while some too do not have the requisite
knowledge to teach these courses they picked to teach.
In considering the quality of teachers to be employed to teach at any level of our

educational system, the teachers must have basic characteristics and
qualifications before such persons can be appointed to teach the courses.
Basically, the teacher’s qualification, his pedagogic knowledge of subject matter,
his teaching methods and lesson delivery, the relationship between students and
the teacher, the classroom management skills, knowledge of individual
difference and the choice of instructional methods to be adopted when teaching
different topics is a compulsory requirement to pick teachers, unfortunately, it
appears when these lecturers were picked to teach these courses, it was done on
the people available. This has created some knowledge gaps ab initio.
A further look at the items on table 6 which looked at lecturer’s pedagogic

knowledge of environmental education subject matter, contents, delivery and
evaluation, 756 respondents suggest that these lecturers came from different
background, so they are not core environmental educations, 213 said even
though they came from different backgrounds, they were core environmentalist.
Based on item 4, 696 respondents said most of the lecturers cannot teach
environmental concept to their understanding, 273 respondents said they can
teach environmental concepts to their understanding. Item5 said some lecturers
are just there for being there, 588 strongly agreed that most of their lecturers are
just there for being there, while 381 respondents disagreed that the lecturers
know their onions. Item 6 tries to describe lecturer’s relationship with their
students, 677 students strongly agreed that some of these lecturers were too
harsh with the students, while 292 respondents disagreed that some of the
lecturers are very homely and friendly with their students.
Following these figures, it appears some of the lecturers are really harsh to their
students. This could be one of the major reasons for graduate’s poor quality of
the knowledge, skills, and awareness about environmental issues. One major
characteristics of a good subject teacher is to be accommodating, homely and
friendly, and giving student’s access to approach him/her anytime they have
issues, especially concerning the course(s) they teach these students. Access to
the teacher, accommodation, and warm reception of students by the lecturer is
407
one of the characteristics of a good environmental education lecturer (Eneji,

2017).
Eneji et al., (2017) and Toomey et al., (2017) found that research in most
universities, especially in the third world countries where anything goes to
satisfy political leaders has had significant impact on the quality of graduates we
produce from our tertiary institutions, especially in countries where the will
power to fund education is grossly lacking. Countries like this hardly engage in
teacher education funding to produce the best hands for the job. This boils down
to Bab Fafunwa’s popular quote’’ the quality of any nation’s educational system
cannot grow above the efficiency, competence and established pedagogic
foundations of her teachers’’. The result obtained in this study is a true reflection
of this dictum and the earlier assertion of Eneji et al., (2017). This is a true
reflection of the quality of teachers that were used at that initial stage to teach
these courses, when it was newly introduced. However, in recent times, it
appears much improvement has been recorded as there is an astronomical rise in
the number of qualified lecturers in the department now.
Result on table 8 shows that seven issues were raised as factors militating
against the effective implementation of the environmental education curriculum
in the University of Calabar, these issues are:
A. Environmental education is not a subject written in the final secondary
school certificate examination,
B. Poor funding to implement environmental education curriculum,
C. No uniform environmental education curriculum implemented across
universities offering the course,
D. Poor or shortage of qualified lecturers to teach the course
E. No regulatory body (ies) to regulate the implementation and practice of
environmental education curriculum in tertiary institutions,
F.Poor job prospect/poor employment of professional graduates of
environmental education
G. The delay in the computation and graduation of students in the department
A summary of the result on table 8 indicates that of the total number of

respondents (969), seven hundred and twenty two (74.6%) agreed that the seven
factors listed are some of the major factors working against the effective
implementation of environmental education in the University of Calabar, while
two hundred and forty seven respondents, (25.4%) disagreed that the factors
listed here may not be completely responsible for the poor implementation of
the curriculum. From the result, these factors are the major issues working
against the effective implementation of the curriculum. In Onnoghen et al.,
(2020) studies on school environment and environmental education lecturer’s job
performance, the authors posited that the school must be provided with
functional facilities including human resources to teach and implement the
curriculum of environmental education to achieve the goal it was meant to
achieve. These authors listed three major issues as determining the functionality
of any educational program: the school factor (management and funders), the
teacher factors (lecturers and partners) and the student’s factors (home
408
background, readiness to learn, peer influence among others). These three

factors summarized by Onnoghen et al., (2020) had elaborately settled the issues
with the factors militating against the effective implementation of environmental
education curriculum in the University of Calabar.
To remedy the problems listed as working against the effective implementation

of the environmental education curriculum, thirteen feasible solutions were
suggested to include: funding from both federal and state government and other
relevant agencies, retraining of teachers of environmental education, curriculum
overhauling in line with modern realities, formation of statutory regulatory
body, including environmental education in the primary and secondary school
curriculum, and writing environmental education in final secondary school
certificate examination like West African Senior School Certificate Examination,
National Examination Council and National Board for Technical Education and
the Basic Certificate Examination (BCCE). Others include reinvigorating the
awareness on the job prospects of graduates of environmental education,
provision of functional school facilities like well-furnished lecture theater,
libraries, laboratories, weather station among others, and teaching practice for
environmental education students should be replaced with a full session’s
industrial attachment in environmentally related establishments.
The feasible solutions suggested also include line ministries related to

environmental management should always send their staff to the department for
refreshers courses, only graduates of environmental education from first degree
to master’s degree and above should be recruited to teach the courses, there
should be separate lecture theaters, classrooms, libraries, laboratories and
weather station for the course. Finally, it was also suggested that the regulatory
body, Federal Ministries of Education, Environment, Agriculture, Tourism and
National Orientation Agencies with the National Universities’ Commission in
collaboration with universities (departments) offering Environmental Education
should as a matter of urgent national interest convoke a curriculum conference
to overhaul the curriculum content of environmental education to be in line with
current realities and come out with a uniform curriculum content for
environmental education across all universities in Nigeria, and above all,
departments should compile students result as soon as there are marked and
submitted for students to graduate on record time like their colleagues in other
departments in the university..
This study used Tyler’s and Enukoha’ curriculum evaluation models for
evaluating the environmental education curriculum implementation in the
University of Calabar. The resources used (the input), the processes of
curriculum implementation, the output and the impact which the environmental
education curriculum implementation has produced reasonable success as
indicated in the study. Despite this success recorded by these models and its
applicability in this study, there are some works which the result of this study
has come to nullify, works like those of Kelani, 2015; Marpa & Juele, 2016;
McKinley et al., 2017; Kuhar et al., 2019). While their studies found that the
implementation of environmental education in their various levels of schools
409
were not positively correlated with the success of implementation of the

objectives of environmental education curriculum, this study rather found a
positive result on the successes recorded so far on the products of the curriculum
implemented in the university of Calabar, Nigeria.
7. Conclusion
The study identified six objectives of environmental education as envisaged by
the curriculum designers and planners for which it set out to achieve, career
prospect, problems working against the effective implementation of
environmental education curriculum and the feasible solutions to these
problems were listed as the purpose of this sturdy. The study discovered that
the basic objectives were being achieved, but there are still some aspects lagging
behind for which it was discovered that the issues listed to include no uniform
curriculum, poor funding, delay in result computation and compilation,
shortage of qualified lecturers, poor facilities and weather station, forcing
students to go on compulsory teaching practice instead of one year industrial
attachment among others were responsible for the lagging behind. It was also
discovered that most of the teachers brought to compliment the core
environmental education teachers actually lack the basic pedagogic knowledge
of the subject matter of environmental education, while some students who
could not get admission into the university, saw environmental education as
introduced as an avenue to get into the system.
Having enumerated all these, the curriculum as implemented has achieved some
encouraging degree of success (62%), but more needed to be done to effectively
implement the curriculum. This must be followed by a commensurate awareness
of the job prospects including convincing and liaising with final examination
bodies to make the course an external examination subject. This will improve the
employment of environmental education graduates to be teachers of the course
in the lower educational rungs.
The objectives of this study wwas successfully achieved, it is therefore

concluded that environmental education curriculum program as implemented in
the University of Calabar is achieving some desired result based on the products
of the curriculum implemented, despites some hick ups here and there. The
management is therefore urged to look into the areas of staff development,
infrastructure developments including facilities provision to enhance student’s
practical hands on knowledge in finding dependable solutions to our
environmental problems as graduates of environmental education.
8. Recommendation for policy direction:

Already as stated in the work, problems working against the effective
implementation of the environmental education curriculum were identified and
feasible solutions to correct these problems have also been identified, these
solutions serve as the recommendations for policy directions.
410
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 414-433, April 2023
Implementing an Internal Quality Assurance

System to Enhance Elementary School Education
Quality
Nan Rahminawati*
Universitas Islam Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia
Tedi Supriyadi
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract. An education quality assurance system is intended to enhance

education quality and establish a quality culture in schools; however,
some elementary schools in Indonesia still struggle with its
implementation. Hence, this research aimed to suggest action steps as an
option to enhance the implementation of the education quality assurance
system in elementary schools. This research employed an action research
design to investigate this issue and identify alternative solutions. The data
were collected using a survey and semi-structured interviews with staff
at one private elementary school in East Kalimantan province, namely a
school principal, 31 teachers and two school foundation administrators.
The findings produced nine action steps: 1) Building management
commitment, 2) Setting up a quality improvement team, 3) Engaging in
communication and socialization, 4) Building quality awareness, 5)
Forming a quality control circle, 6) Mapping quality education, 7)
Preparing a mapping instrument, 8) Collecting mapping data, and 9)
Processing and analyzing mapping data. This research concludes that
new school quality standards improved every year on being compared
with eight points on the national education standards, and the national
examination results exceeded the average national examination score at
the provincial level. The increase in the average values of Standard 1–8
ranged from 0.6 to 1.5. In other words, these nine steps had an impact on
obtaining school accreditation with a superior rating.
Keywords: internal quality; assurance system; elementary schools;

education policy; action research
*
Corresponding author: Nan Rahminawati, nan@unisba.ac.id
©Authors
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1. Introduction
In the past decade, one of the strategic efforts of countries to enhance education
quality at the elementary, middle and higher levels has been to implement quality
assurance systems (Kadhila & Iipumbu, 2019; Podgornik & Vogrinc, 2017).
Policies on quality assurance for education in Indonesia at the levels of primary
and secondary education are regulated by the Minister of Education Regulation
No. 28 of 2016, which aims to ensure that the entire process of education provision
is in line with national education quality standards (Pannen, 2021; Sampul et al.,
2020; Susilana & Asra, 2018). However, many Indonesian elementary schools have
not fully implemented policies for quality assessment and assurance through self
and external evaluation.
Quality classification of elementary school education according to the National

Education Standards (SNP, Standar Nasional Pendidikan) in Indonesia was
conducted by Harwanti and Rumiati (2021); the exercise involved 142,294 (100%)
elementary schools in Indonesia, and it was found that a total of 63,477 schools
(45%) were included in SNP. Another 44,680 (31%) elementary schools fell in the
satisfactory category for meeting the SNP, 31,487 (22%) elementary schools did
not fully meet the SNP, and 2,650 (2%) elementary schools did not meet the SNP.
Harwanti and Rumiati used their findings to do city clustering by ranking.
Clusters A, B, and C are schools that meet the SNP, schools that satisfactorily meet
the SNP and schools that do not meet the SNP respectively. Schools in Clusters B
and C are mostly located on Kalimantan Island of Indonesia (Figure 1).
Figure 1: City Cluster Visualization (Harwanti & Rumiati, 2021)

Note. Islands numbered as follows: 1. Sumatra; 2. Kalimantan; 3. Sulawesi; 4. Maluku; 5.
Java
Figure 1 shows that Kalimantan island is dominated by Cluster B and C schools.

Thus, schools located there need special attention to encourage the
implementation of a quality assurance system. Gvaramadze (2008), Hillman and
Baydoun (2019), Silaeva and Semenov (2018) affirm that a quality assurance
system can enhance education quality and build a quality culture in education
institutions. Hence, an in-depth investigation is needed into the implementation
of the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture No. 26 of 2016 in
elementary schools, and to formulate action steps to enhance the quality of
elementary schools on Kalimantan Island.
Noda et al. (2021) applied Elken and Stensaker's (2018) theoretical framework to
internal quality assurance (IQA) in Japanese and Taiwanese universities,
416
highlighting the importance of a quality assurance system for achieving learning

outcomes. Podgornik and Vogrinc (2017) studied quality assurance in Slovenian
schools and found that self-evaluation was given more weight by the school than
external evaluation was, with the majority of education professionals recognizing
the importance of self-evaluation for their profession. The attitudes of school
principals, teachers, and school counsellors towards self-evaluation, school
climate, research, and professional development strongly influence the
implementation of self-evaluation policies.
Rahmania et al. (2020) explored the implementation of the IQA system (SPMI,
Sistem Penjaminan Mutu Internal) at SMP Negeri 21 Malang, Indonesia, to
improve the education quality carried out during the 2016–2019 period. They
identified five stages for implementing a quality assurance system in schools: (1)
quality mapping, (2) quality fulfillment planning, (3) implementation of quality
fulfillment, (4) evaluation, and (5) standard setting, which lead to improved
learning outcomes and contributed to the school's culture and character. This
implementation resulted in the school being ranked fourth in the 2019 Computer-
Based National Examination, which positively impacted the quality of graduates.
This research aimed to formulate action steps for implementing an IQA system
in elementary schools – a topic that has not been explored in previous studies.
The research question focuses on the steps necessary to enhance education
quality through this system. We propose nine steps, based on the 14 Steps of
Quality Improvement Program initiated by Philip Crosby (1979). This research
contributes to the formulation of effective efforts and strategic steps for
improving an IQA system. These steps can be replicated by institutions, both in
Indonesia and in other countries with similar problems.
2.1. Quality Assurance as Culture
Quality assurance is an activity that consists of quality monitoring, evaluation,
or review (Gambescia & Early, 2017). Quality assurance activities concentrate on
processes that foster trust by ensuring that minimum requirements or standards
are met, whether input, processes, or results as expected by stakeholders
(Ingvarson & Rowley, 2017; Sumsion et al., 2018). In the education field,
assurance is a way of managing all educational activities and resources with the
aim of achieving customer satisfaction (Anwar, 2018; Ijah et al., 2021; Mahmud,
2012; Widodo et al., 2020).
Quality culture (QC) is a tool that promotes organizational quality by

establishing a culture of quality in all activities, and it is closely related to other
elements of organizational culture. According to Jensen et al. (2006), QC consists
of two components: (1) A shared set of values, beliefs, expectations, and
commitment to achieve excellence, which refers to understanding, perception,
participation, expectations, and emotions; and (2) Established structure and
management factors for improving the quality of implementation and
coordination efforts, which refer to individual and collective duties and
responsibilities. Therefore, QC is an organizational value system that aims to
foster a conducive environment for building and enhancing quality in a
417
sustainable manner (Harvey, 2006; Legemaate et al., 2021; Rahnuma, 2020). In the
context of education, QC involves values, beliefs, and practices, and aims to
improve the quality of education provided, which can be done by focusing on
student learning outcomes, encouraging active involvement of staff in lifelong
learning, and having a strong evaluation system.
2.2. Internal Quality Assurance

In primary and secondary education in Indonesia, the implementation of
education quality assurance is carried out by internal and external parties
(Menteri Pendidikan, 2016). SPMI is a set of policies and processes that are used
by elementary and secondary education units to ensure that quality education
meets or exceeds SNP, while external quality refers to policies and processes used
for accreditation to evaluate the feasibility and quality achievement levels of
these units. SNP sets minimum criteria for the education system in all
jurisdictions of the Republic of Indonesia (Menteri Pendidikan, 2016).
Based on the above explanation, IQA is basically a self-assessment of the overall

quality of educational institution activities (Do et al., 2020). Self-assessment is
essential for an IQA system, as it provides comprehensive information about all
education institution activities (Batool & Qureshi, 2007; Buzdar & Jalal, 2019; Jalal
et al., 2017; Jawad et al., 2015). Furthermore, through IQA activities, self-
assessment provides a fairly comprehensive assessment of the activities of
education institutions. Thus, IQA demands transparency, accountability, the
right strategy, and the ability to determine the scope of a person's capacity in all
activities throughout the institution (Julia et al., 2020; Karkoszka, 2009;
Matsebatlela, 2015; Mohamedbhai, 2006). IQA activities ensure and improve the
quality and accountability of processes in educational institutions. In contrast,
external quality assurance (EQA) involves an external entity, such as a quality
assurance agency or another organization that is independent of the institution,
and which evaluates the organization’s performance or that of its program to
verify whether it meets the established standards (Banji, 2011). In other words,
IQA is conducted by schools as part of their evaluation efforts, or for reflection
on education implementation, while external quality assurance involves an
authorized, state-appointed party to monitor or assess schools.
2.3. Impact of Internal Quality Assurance

Studies have shown the positive impacts of quality assurance activities on the
development of structural and organizational processes and procedures. These
studies have resulted in a new monitoring system and data handling activities
for education performance and quality (Nguyen, 2018; Stensaker et al., 2011;
Westerheijden et al., 2007). Academic work rationalization and clarity can
increase stability and transparency in education institutions. (Cardoso et al., 2013;
Huusko & Ursin, 2010; Skidmore et al., 2018). A study by Elbadiansyah and
Masyni (2021) reveals that IQA can determine how education institutions
conduct internal quality audits, assess learning processes, monitor student loads
and learning, and assess SOP (standard operating procedures) for semester
plans, lesson plans, and lecture schedules.
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However, several studies mention the potential of quality assurance reducing

academic freedom (Biggs, 2001; Cartwright, 2007; Harvey, 2006; Hoecht, 2006;
Newton, 2000, 2002; Watty, 2006). Huusko and Ursin (2010) state that, instead of
clarifying work practices, quality assurance systems can easily increase
bureaucracy. Studies suggest that bureaucracy, standardization, and control can
be detrimental to teaching and learning processes, as they divert educators from
crucial issues, such as learning (Legemaate et al., 2021; Rahnuma, 2020; Tavares
et al., 2017). According to Hoecht (2006), administrative work might cause quality
improvement activities, such as teaching preparation, to be sacrificed. However,
Watty (2006) claims that these issues have no impact on teaching and learning.
3. Method
3.1. Research Design and Collaboration
To attain the research objectives, and considering the nature of the study, that is,
a self-reflection question aiming to investigate practical problems and to develop
solutions, action research was chosen as the design for this research (Creswell,
2012). This research design is in line with the research aims, namely to find
solutions for improving education quality in elementary schools through quality
assurance implementation. In addition, this design has been widely used to solve
problems in the education context (Abdussalam et al., 2021; Jefferson, 2014; Kaye
et al., 2021; Netcoh et al., 2017; Supriadi et al., 2022), which is also characterized
by collaboration (Bleicher, 2014; O’Siochru et al., 2021; Somekh, 2010).
To establish collaboration, Heil’s (2005) method was used: We asked what was
needed and who had interest in this project. The research was conducted from
February 2020 to December 2022 through both physical visits and virtual
methods (e-mail, WhatsApp and phone calls), which gave ample time to collect
data from various sources and analyze it for publication.
3.2. Participants and Site

The research was conducted at a private school in East Kalimantan, Indonesia,
involving one elementary school, a principal, 31 teachers and two administrators
of foundation, who manage the school. This school was selected because it was
included in either Cluster C or B, as referred to by Harwanti and Rumiati (2021)
(see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Research Site
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3.3. Research Procedure

Before conducting the research, we obtained approval from institutional and
school authorities, and provided information to participants about the objectives
and procedures of the study, and potential risks and benefits of participating. The
research was carried out in three stages: pre-action, action implementation, and
evaluation. During the pre-action stage, we analyzed the implementation of IQA
in an elementary school through surveys and interviews. In the action
implementation stage, we designed and implemented nine action steps to
improve education quality. Finally, we evaluated the research activities to
compare the initial and final conditions.
3.4. Research Instrument

To measure the education quality at the school, this research used a set of eight
education standards, based on regulations by the minister of Education and
Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, as presented in Table 1.
Table 1: National Education Standard

National
STANDARD INDICATORS
Score
1. Graduate 1. Having behavior that reflects the attitude of
Competence people of faith, noble, knowledgeable,
Standard confident, and responsible in interacting
(Regulation of effectively with the social and natural
Ministry of environment according to the scope of
Education and education level.
Culture No. 54 of 2. Having factual, conceptual and/or
2013) procedural knowledge and also
metacognitive knowledge about science,
5.5
technology, art and culture in the
perspective of humanity, nationality,
statehood and civilization related to
phenomena and events according to the
scope of education level.
3. Having the ability to think and act
productively and creatively in abstract and
concrete realms as expected at every level of
education.
2. Content Standard 1. Content in accordance with the design of
(Regulation of the national curriculum.
Ministry of 2. The design of the subjects and the study
Education and load provide sufficient free time to develop
Culture No. 64, 67– 5.2 various attitudes, knowledge and skills.
70 of 2013 & No. 61 3. School-based curriculum (KTSP, Kurikulum
of 2014) Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) compiled by
education units in accordance with the
national curriculum.
3. Process Standard 1. Learning encourages students to find out.
(Regulation of 2. Learning based on various learning
Ministry of resources.
6.0
Education and 3. Learning as a process to strengthen the use
Culture No. 65 of of a scientific approach
2013) 4. Competency-based learning.
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National
STANDARD INDICATORS
Score
5. Integrated learning.
6. Learning with answers whose truth is
multi-dimensional.
7. Learning towards acquiring applied skills.
8. Improvement and balance between physical
skills (hard skills) and mental skills (soft
skills).
9. Learning that prioritizes cultivating and
empowering students as lifelong learners.
10. Learning that takes place at home, in
schools, and in the community.
11. Learning that applies the principle that
anyone is an educator, anyone is a student,
and anywhere is a class.
12. Utilization of information and
communication technology to increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of learning.
13. Recognition of individual differences and
cultural background of learners.
14. Learning plans are prepared in accordance
with the KTSP
4. Assessment 1. Valid, objective, open, authentic, systematic,
Standard accountable and educative assessment
(Regulation of process.
Ministry of 5.8 2. The education unit applies authentic
Education and assessment.
Culture No. 66 of 3. The form of the assessment document is in
2013) accordance with the applicable regulations.
5. Teacher and Staff 1. Number and qualifications of educators
Standard according to standards.
(Regulation of 2. Qualification of the head of the education
Ministry of unit according to the Standards.
Education and 3. Availability of the head of administrative
Culture No. 13, 16 staff.
of 2007, 24–26 of 4. Availability of administrative affairs.
2008) 5. Availability of library heads.
6. Availability of library implementing staff.
7. Availability of the laboratory head.
8. Availability of laboratory implementing
4.0
technicians.
9. Availability of laboratory assistants.
10. Competence of the head of education unit
according to Standards
11. Competence of the head of administrative
personnel according to Standards.
12. Competence for implementing
administrative affairs according to
Standards.
13. Competence of the head of the school
library according to the Standards.
421
National
STANDARD INDICATORS
Score
14. Competence of school library staff
according to Standards
15. Laboratory technician competencies
according to standards
16. Laboratory competence according to
Standards.
6. Facilities and 1. The capacity of the education unit is in
Infrastructure accordance with the Standards.
Standard 2. Number and condition of educational
(Regulation of facilities and infrastructure according to the
4.0
Ministry of Standards.
Education and
Culture No. 24 of
2007)
7. Management 1. Program planning is carried out in
Standard accordance with Standards and involves
(Regulation of stakeholders.
Ministry of 2. The implementation of the program is
Education and carried out in accordance with Standards
Culture No. 19 of and involves stakeholders.
5.2
2007) 3. The education unit carries out supervision
and evaluation of the implementation of the
program regularly.
4. Head of educational unit performs well.
5. Education unit that manages information
systems.
8. Financing 1. Minimum non-personnel operational costs
Standard according to standards (total education unit
(Regulation of budget minus investment costs and salaries
Ministry of of educators and education personnel
5.4
Education and divided by the total number of students).
Culture No. 69 of 2. Management of funds for education units is
2009) carried out in a transparent and accountable
manner (reports, accessible and auditable).
Mean 5.14
In Table 1, the national score is the minimum average score each standard must
achieve for each education unit. The instrument used in this research to assess
each indicator was validated through focus group discussions with two
education management experts and one education administrator. The
assessment used a scale of 1–7, with the standard score indicating how well
schools meet SNP.
3.5. Data Collection and Data Analysis

Data were collected in stages. Initially, a survey was conducted to gather
information on participants’ insights and experiences, by using a Google Forms
survey as recommended by Mahmudi (2018) and Simanjuntak & Limbong (2018).
The Google Forms survey was disseminated by colleagues who had access to
participants through several WhatsApp groups (Cruz & Harindranath, 2020;
Nitza & Roman, 2016). The second stage involved in-depth semi-structured
422
interviews to investigate the survey results. The data were analyzed thematically,
coded, evaluated, categorized, and analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus software. The
findings of the analysis were discussed and crosschecked by experts.
4. Findings
4.1. Pre-Action Analysis
At this stage, we conducted a survey of 34 participants (one school principal, 31
teachers, and two staff of school foundations). Participant responses involved
their assessment of the eight standards on a Likert scale, based on their
perceptions. These eight standards were used to measure school performance of
each school in every education unit. Table 2 presents the survey results.
Table 2: Frequencies for Survey Results of the Eight Education Standards

Responses on a Likert scale
Standard
1 2 3 4 5
1. Graduate Competence Standard 32 2
2. Content Standard 30 4
3. Process Standard 34
4. Assessment Standard 6 28
5. Teacher and Staff Standard 5 29
6. Facility and Infrastructure Standard 19 15
7. Management Standard 12 22
8. Finance Standard 15 19
Note 1: Does not meet SNP; 2: Does not fulfil the SNP yet; 3: Uncertain whether it
meets SNP; 4: Meets the SNP; 5: Exceeds the SNP
Table 2 above reports that 32 (94.12%) participants stated that the graduate
competency standards met national standards, while 2 (5.88%) said that the
school involved in this study exceeded the standards. UN results, final exam
reports and teacher assessment were used to assess the graduate competency
standard. A total of 30 (88.23%) participants stated that the content standards met
national standards and 4 (11.76%) participants stated that the result exceeded the
standards. Regarding the process standard, 34 (100%) participants stated that
they met the national standard. Regarding assessment, 6 (17.64%) participants
stated that they doubted whether they met the standards and 28 (82.35%)
participants stated that they met the standards. For the teacher and staff
standard, 5 participants said they doubted that they met the standards and 29
participants said they met the standards. Regarding the facilities and
infrastructure standard, 19 (55.9%) participants said they doubted they met the
standard and 15 participants said they met the standard. In terms of management
standards, 12 participants said they doubted that they met national standards
and 22 participants said they met national standards, and for financing
standards, 15 participants said they doubted they met standards and 19
participants said they met standards. After the answers had been analyzed, three
standards that were believed to meet SNP had been identified, as were five
standards that participants believed they met or were doubtful about.
To follow up, we interviewed a school principal and two school personnel who
served as the quality assurance team in a semi-structured manner at a separate
time and different space. We asked them, “What makes you sure that Standards
423
1 to 3 meet national standards?” Participant 1 answered “This can be seen from the
average national standard final exam results where every year students got scores above
the average national standard exam scores.” Participant 2 answered, “The results of
our analysis of student national exam results increased every year and the scores were
above average.” Participant 3 answered, “This is evidenced by our school’s national
final exam score that reached 100% graduation rate and the scores obtained by students
were above the national average score.”
On standards on which participants were uncertain whether they were met, we

asked, “What makes you doubt that some of the standards meet the national standards?”
Participant 1 answered, “Some facilities were not yet supported.” Participant 2
stated, “There are several teachers whose education are not linear,” while Participant
3 stated, “Inadequate class capacity.” The results of the survey and interview
indicates that there were several indicators among the eight standards that did
not meet the SNP. However, these statements need follow-up evidence.
An extensive school investigation was conducted by verifying data on eight SNP,

as shown in Table 1. The results show that: (1) In three indicators of Standard 1,
the mean was 5.2, while the national score was 5.5; (2) In three indicators of
Standard 2, the mean was 5.3, while the national score was 5.2; (3) In 14 indicators
of Standard 3, the mean was 5.7, while the national score was 6; (4) In three
indicators of Standard 4, the mean was 5.7, while the national score was 6; (5) In
16 indicators of Standard 5, the mean was 3.1, while the national score was 4; (6)
In 2 indicators of Standard 6 the mean was 3.5, while the national score was 4; (7)
In five indicators of Standard 7, the mean was 4.2, while the national score was
5.2; and (8) In two indicators of Standard 8, the mean was 4.5, while the national
score was 5.4. Findings on Standards 1 and 2 indicate they meet SNP, while
Standards 3 to 8 still do not meet national standards – this is indicated by the
mean score of each standard, which is still below the national score. Overall, the
mean score was below the national average, and there were specific areas that
needed to be maintained and improved.
From the pre-action analysis, four mapping documents were obtained. The first
document is the average scores of the national exam, which tended to fluctuate.
The national exam score in 2015 was 8.59, in 2016 it was 8.7, in 2017 it was 8.52,
in 2018 it was 8.2, and in 2019 it was 8.3. To compare, the two accreditation
assessment data in 2003, 2011 and 2013 achieved good results, even though not
every teacher in the school was fully certified. Of the 31 teachers, only 14 (45%)
had obtained certification.
4.2. Action Implementation

Based on the results of the pre-action evaluation that was carried out, nine steps
were formulated for implementing a quality assurance system to achieve the
national standards for schools. The nine steps are as follows.
Step 1: Building Management Commitment

In this step, the school management developed a policy based on the school
foundation’s leadership on SPMI implementation, formed a school management
team, and signed a “joint commitment pact” to execute the SPMI program
through the establishment of a quality assurance agency (BPM, Badan Penjamin
424
Mutu) under school foundation management. This resulted in policy documents

and job descriptions for each management member, who had a complete
understanding of and strong commitment to enhancing school quality assurance.
Step 2: Setting up a Quality Improvement Team

In this step, we suggested that the school foundation create a quality
improvement team consisting of a quality assurance manager and a quality
assurance agency to implement SPMI in schools. The BPM team was formed to
control the process professionally, with designated coaching and mentoring
responsibilities. This resulted in the development of a SOP document (POB,
Prosedur Operasional Baku) that outlined the flow of the IQA system.
Step 3: Communication and Socialization

To implement a new concept, communication and socialization are important.
Schools created communication forums, social media groups and SPMI manual
booklets, and held workshops, quality control group (GKM, Gugus Kendali Mutu)
discussions, weekly leadership meetings, and parent–student meetings, and did
visual promotions using banners to facilitate the communication and
socialization processes, and which were facilitated by school administrators,
effectively.
Step 4: Building Quality Awareness

The main objective of implementing SPMI is to build a quality culture and to
make quality part of the school. SPMI was implemented to build a quality culture
and promote quality as a part of the school. Strategies included creating social
media groups, conducting workshops, and holding regular GKM discussions to
raise the awareness of management and other employees. These steps helped
educators and other staff to adapt to the programs being implemented.
Step 5: Forming a Quality Control Circle

To implement SPMI in schools, forming a Quality Assurance Group (GKM,
Gugus Kendali Mutu) is important. In this study, nine GKMs were formed
focusing on a specific program. This increased participation and motivation of
all school elements, and formed a culture in each cluster to provide the best
results.
Step 6: Mapping Quality Education

Mapping education quality involves data collection and analysis to evaluate and
understand the quality of education in a region or institution, and is used to
inform decision-making and develop appropriate strategies. Important factors to
consider in this process include the availability and quality of educational
facilities, teaching quality, students’ academic performance, the effectiveness of
evaluation and monitoring systems, and the quality of professional development
programs for teachers and education support staff.
Step 7: Preparing Mapping Instruments

The instruments used to map education quality should consider obtaining
physical evidence. Schools and BPM developed instruments covering all
standards and indicators per SNP, which were developed into indicators with
425
reference to literature. Doing so makes the mapping process easier and ensures
all involved components have a clear understanding, to direct decision-making.
Step 8: Collecting Mapping Data

Systematic data collection is crucial in mapping education quality, and various
sources are prioritized, such as teaching and learning documents, assessment
data, evaluations from education committees, unit head assessments, and
feedback from parents and students. The approach to data collection depends on
the instrument used, to ensure a controlled, sustainable, and productive mapping
process.
Step 9: Processing and Analyzing Mapping Data

The data that was collected as evidence were analyzed to compare the current
education quality with the SNP. Questions were developed based on the
standard indicators in the instrument, to draw conclusions about the education
quality mapping. The analysis presented strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats faced by education units according to the mapping focus indicators.
4.3. Post-Action Analysis

The nine steps that were implemented resulted in significant improvements in
national exam results, accreditation scores, teacher certification, and school self-
evaluation from 2020 to 2022. The school was graded as superior, with 18 out of
31 teachers (58%) being certified (Figure 3).
Pre Action Post-Action Improvement

6.8
6.7
6.3
5.9
5.7
5.6
5.6
5.5
5.3
5.3
4.6
4.5
4.2
4.2
3.5
3.1
1.5
1.1
1.1
1.1
0.7
0.7
1
0.6
Figure 3: Achievement of Improvement in Each Standard
Figure 3 shows that there was an increase in the achievement of all standards.
Assessment of compliance to each standard after implementing the nine action
steps showed that the school involved in this study achieved the SNP.
5. Discussion
The nine quality improvement steps proposed proved to be an effective strategy
for enhancing the education quality assurance in a selected school in Kalimantan
426
Island, Indonesia. The proposed nine steps were a simplification of the 14 steps of
a quality improvement program initiated by Philip Crosby (1979). Three school
commitments, namely (1) establishing a school foundation trustee policy; (2)
school reorganization; and (3) signing a joint commitment pact, were followed up
rigorously through regular management meetings, where this commitment was
renewed and refreshed, to keep it up to date. These commitments are closely
related to the concept of total quality management (TQM) (Jasti et al., 2022;
Nogueiro et al., 2022; Olaguer & Bertillo, 2023). TQM requires long-term
commitment by senior management, but it can also be a potential obstacle to its
implementation (Sallis, 2014). Commitment is crucial for implementing TQM, as
it involves all members of the organization in a continuous improvement process.
In schools, all members must commit to improving service and learning quality,
and collaborate to achieve common goals (Oakland et al., 2020). Periodic
evaluations of teacher and student performance can identify potential problems
and provide appropriate solutions for TQM implementation in schools.
The quality assurance team formed by elementary schools needs to be fully

empowered to work effectively. The head of BPM and the team need to complete
their previous tasks immediately to focus on the SPMI implementation program
and education quality mapping. This is the second step of Crosby’s quality
improvement program, namely building a quality improvement team on the
basis of commitment (Crosby, 1979). By applying the TQM concept and
strengthening school commitment, schools can improve the quality of services
and learning, improve management efficiency and effectiveness, and increase the
satisfaction of all school members. This can have a positive impact on student
achievement and the overall reputation of the school (Bastas & Liyanage, 2018;
Oakland et al., 2020). Considering that every function in the organization has the
potential to be a contributor to quality, but also has the potential to damage
quality and cause failure, every part of the organization must participate in
quality improvement efforts. The quality improvement team has the task of
organizing and directing programs to be implemented throughout the
organization. This team does not do all the quality-related work, since the task is
a joint responsibility of all elements in each department. Regular meetings are a
crucial aspect of enhancing quality awareness at schools, as they promote
coordination, understanding of school goals and vision, quality of teaching, and
communication with parents and students, and facilitate information sharing,
feedback, and issue resolution among staff and teachers (Alauddin & Yamada,
2019; Mukhopadhyay, 2020). Similarly, Cardoso et al. (2019), Hou et al. (2018), Li
(2023) and Stalmeijer et al. (2016) refer to the importance of a quality assurance
team in school management, which can be done by consistently adopting good
quality standards, monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of school
management, and implementing a data-driven management system.
Communication and socialization activities carried out by schools for SPMI

implementation are adequate, but need improvement through training and
recognition, considering its fundamental role in the implementation process.
Furthermore, to build quality awareness, the elementary school in this research
carried out six activities. Building quality awareness is the fifth step in Crosby’s
path to quality (Anastasiadou, 2015; Crosby, 1979; Jasti et al., 2022). To implement
427
the quality improvement team's program, regular meetings between

management and employees are necessary, which requires school leadership to
raise awareness and discuss and resolve specific issues. Management’s
commitment to being a leader in education can strengthen and improve the
school’s position, build trust and support from stakeholders, and help achieve
long-term goals (Huseyin, 2018; Liu & Watson, 2020) and a constant sequence of
events (Crosby, 1979).
GKM formation intends to enhance participation and motivation of school

elements in SPMI implementation, with each GKM submitting a program
proposal for the quality improvement program. The GKM concept originates
from the concept of total quality control (integrated quality control) (Chakraborty
& Tan, 2012; Chukwulozie et al., 2018; Smith, 2011). GKM supervises and controls
the quality of processes and products, and can also improve education services
and community participation by identifying problems and developing effective
strategies. GKM makes better use of all the assets owned by companies/agencies,
especially its human resources, to improve quality in a broad sense. The specific
benefits that can be obtained are increasing customer satisfaction, and enhancing
the effectiveness and efficiency of school management (Ijah et al., 2021; Seyfried
& Pohlenz, 2018). By understanding the needs and expectations of the
community, organizations or institutions can design programs or activities that
are more relevant and effective in increasing community participation (Alauddin
& Yamada, 2019; Ijah et al., 2021; Mukhopadhyay, 2020).
The mapping instrument prepared by the school in this study was indicated as
complete and in accordance with the Guidelines for Implementing Quality Assurance
of the Education Unit issued by Dikdasmen Kemendikbud (2016a, p. 41–54) and
the Toolkit of Mapping Quality of Elementary and Secondary Education issued by
Dikdasmen Kemendikbud (2016b). The success of these guidelines is based on
three indicators: outcome (the ability of the education unit to carry out the entire
quality assurance cycle and the existence of an education quality assurance
organization in the education unit), result indicators (whether the learning
process and the management of the education unit are running according to
standards), and impact indicators (the establishment of a culture of quality in the
education unit, as well as an increase in the quality of learning outcomes)
(Raharjo et al., 2019).
Lastly, the data processing of school self-evaluation (EDS, Evaluasi Diri Sekolah)
was carried out through an application system accessed on the website
pmp.dikdasmen.kemendikbud.go.id using the DAPODIK access account. The
analysis of education quality mapping data was carried out on the output of EDS
results that were extracted from the system, which resulted in the following
documents: (a) National examination results, (b) Accreditation results, (c)
Certification results, and (d) School self-evaluation results. These documents
indicate that there was improvement, except for the certification results, as more
than half the teachers are yet to be certified. This shortcoming was the result of a
waiting list to join the certification program managed by the government.
428
6. Conclusion, Limitations, and Suggestion

A education quality assurance system is a means to improve the quality of
education and promote a culture of quality at schools. Although it is a mandatory
policy in Indonesia, some elementary schools are struggling to implement it. This
research sought to identify alternative steps that can be taken to improve the
implementation of the system at elementary schools. Nine steps were followed
in mapping the education quality (SPMI) at an elementary school on Kalimantan
Island, Indonesia. The nine steps were 1) Building management commitment, 2)
Establishing a quality improvement team, 3) Building quality awareness, 4)
Doing communication and outreach, 5) Forming a GKM, 6) Preparing
educational quality mapping instruments, 7) Collecting mapping data, 8)
Processing and analyzing mapping data, and 9) Compiling mapping results
documents. In spite of issues relating to teacher certification, the results of SPMI
implementation implies that the achievement of new quality standards improves
every year, which is evidenced by better national examination results,
improvement in school accreditation, increase in the number of teachers being
certification, and also improvement in self-evaluation results.
The findings of this study indicate that school quality standards are improving
every year, as demonstrated by the EDS results, which show an increase of 8
points compared to the SNP. There was an increase in the average value of
Standard 1, by 1.1, Standard 2 by 0.6, Standard 3 by 1.1, Standard 5 by 1.5,
Standard 6 by 0.7, Standard 7 by 1.1, and Standard 8 by 1. Additionally, national
examination (UN) scores improved, surpassing the average score at the
provincial level. As a result, schools have been able to obtain superior
accreditation ratings. In other words, the nine steps had an impact on obtaining
school accreditation with a superior rating.
This research focused on improving education quality at the elementary school

level in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The steps formulated can be
developed further for wider coverage and other education levels. They can serve
as a reference for improving elementary school education quality in other regions
and countries too. However, this research focused only on the quality of
education at the elementary level, thus, those who are interested in undertaking
similar, related research can choose other education level, involve a greater
number of school participants, or use different standard.
This research resulted in nine action steps that can be applied to enhance the
quality of elementary school education, as a real effort to realize and appreciate
government policies to achieve SNP. Therefore, it is recommended that these
nine actions steps are implemented and developed by policymakers and
education actors to enhance the quality of elementary school education.
Specifically, the applied and research department of the Indonesian education
system can adopt these action steps to enhance the quality of elementary
education in Indonesia.
Acknowledgment
Thanks go to the Institute for Research and Community Service at the Islamic
University of Bandung for providing funding for this research project (No.
429
100/B.04/LPPM/XII/2020). We hereby declare that we have no conflicts of

interest regarding the research.
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434

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 434-458, April 2023
Professional Development Needs and Challenges

Faced by K-12 Teachers in Delivering Effective
Online Education in the United Arab Emirates
Hamdy A. Abdelaziz*
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, United Arab Emirates
& Affiliated with College of Education, Tanta University, Egypt
Ahmed Ankit
Abdurrahman G. Almekhlafi
Semiyu Aderibigbe
University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Athra Alawani
Emirates Schools Establishment, United Arab Emirates
Apollos Bitrus Goyol

Ajman University, College of Business and Administration, Ajman, UAE
Abstract. During the COVID-19 outbreak, online mode of education,

schooling from home and the absence of any fully operational educational
facilities became the new norm of the education sector, mainly when the
pandemic reached its peak. The transition to online teaching for the K-12
teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was made seamless. The
Ministry of Education (MoE) extended its full support to schools,
nationwide. For the transition to be sustainably effective, there was the
need to examine the professional development needs of the K-12 teachers
and the possible challenges that they may confront. This study, therefore,
explored the challenges of adopting online education and professional
development (PD) needs of K-12 teachers in the UAE. The study
employed a descriptive research design using a well-developed and
validated survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data involving
1,110 teachers and focusing on their shared and subjective views. Data
analyses were done using a variety of descriptive statistics for the closed-
ended questions and thematic coding of the open-ended questions. The
*
Corresponding author: Hamdy A. Abdelaziz; H.Abdelaziz@hbmsu.ac.ae
©Authors
435
results reveal significant differences between the surveyed teachers’ as

they recognized their needs, the application of emerging trends in online
education, and perceived challenges due to the teacher’s grade levels
(educational level). The study suggests the need to customize
professional development training for K-12 teachers based on their grade
levels, exposing them to cutting-edge technologies and other mentoring
schemes, as a method of preparing them to combat the challenges.
Keywords: online education; professional development needs and

challenges, public school teachers, online pedagogical trends, UAE
1. Introduction
One of the pillars of the National Agenda in accordance with the UAE Vision 2021,
is providing world class and state of the art educational systems. The UAE
strategic vision l is to enable their students rank among the best in the world in
reading, mathematics, science, and Arabic language proficiency. The role of a
teacher, whether it is in a face-to-face or online teaching environment, is
undoubtedly to create an immense impact on the learners. Several studies during
the pandemic revealed the role of a teacher as acting as a motivator in creating a
positive impact on students’ learning abilities (Aderibigbe, Dias, & Abraham,
2021; UNESCO, 2020). The creativity and innovativeness toward adopting
innovative teaching and learning methods for coping in different educational
landscapes demand that the teachers remain lifelong learners open to the concept
of their professional development (PD).
In the COVID-19 era, online education seems to be the only viable option to cope
with such unforeseen events. However, the transition to online teaching requires
specialized skills, which need to be learned and practiced, thereby strengthening
the proficiency of the teachers to be able to incorporate the new educational
technologies. As the literature indicates, successful online education requires
special skills such as creating creative and innovative e-content, timely and
appropriate planning, and the capability to use the technology (Adnan, 2017;
Nachimuthu, 2012). The transition to online education in schools and higher
education institutions due to COVID-19 posed several challenges for teachers and
students worldwide. Philippakos et al. (2022) discusses challenges related to
online instruction, including student participation, engagement, and motivation,
lack of resources, and limited access to professional development. The article
highlights the importance of teacher preparation programs to adequately prepare
teachers to effectively deliver instruction online and select appropriate tools for
their learners. The impact of prior training and experience with online instruction
on teachers' efficacy and readiness to provide remote instruction is also discussed.
These challenges and the need for teachers' PD skills during and after the
pandemic have been noted in the literature, including in studies conducted in the
UAE (Kamble et al., 2021). Therefore, it is crucial for educational planners and
stakeholders in the UAE to develop strategies that address these challenges and
enhance teachers' PD skills in online education.
The literature review had shown evidences that the effort for a smooth transition
to online teaching and learning modes have been noticeable in the UAE. To cite a
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few examples, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program (MBRSLP)
focused on providing the latest technology for creating smart learning
environments in the UAE schools. It also provides resources, including smart
interactive whiteboards, tablets for students, and access to high-speed 4G
networks (Gokulan, 2014). Buckner et al. (2016) also found that teachers in the
UAE have high participation rates in their PD activities. Enhancing teachers’ PD
skills and reducing challenges in online education during pandemics require
research-driven and evidence-based practices.
Against this juncture it is imperative to mention that this research explored the K-
12 teachers’ PD needs and the challenges faced while delivering online classes
during COVID-19 in the UAE context. The authors contend that this study
provides insights for developing a framework to address teachers’ PD needs and
challenges that have the possibility to hinder their effective online teaching in
emergencies. The study also complements the existing body of literature and
knowledge globally on issues surrounding online education and teachers’ PD
needs during a pandemic.
2. Objectives of the Study

With the help of this study, the researchers aimed to gain an in-depth
understanding of the PD needs of K–12 teachers and the challenges they may face
in online education settings. The objectives of the study are:
1. Identify the PD needs of K–12 teachers in the UAE context.
2. Explore the extent to which the K–12 teachers in the UAE are familiar with
the emerging trends and applications in online education.
3. Examine the challenges teachers may face when adopting online
education models in the UAE’s K–12 settings.
4. Determine the extent to which the K-12 teachers’ educational levels impact
their PD needs, familiarity with emerging trends in online education and
challenges they may face in online education.
3. Research Questions
With the evolution of innovative teaching techniques, and platforms due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of PD needs special attention. Efforts should be
exerted to train teachers in acquiring the required technological skills, as the
COVID 19 has exacerbated the gaps in the teaching and learning methods and
that of PD needs of teachers. This study was conducted to answers to the
following questions:
1. What are teachers’ professional needs required to deliver effective online
education in the UAE’s K–12 contexts?
2. To what extent are the teachers in the UAE’s K–12 settings familiar with
the contemporary trends in online education?
3. What challenges hinder the effective adoption of online education by the
K-12 teachers in the UAE?
4. Are there any significant differences between teachers’ perceptions of their
PD needs based on their educational level (grade level)?
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4. Significance
Although teachers in the UAE are generally exposed to PD workshops organized
by schools, educational zones, and sometimes by the Ministry of Education, these
workshops need to be regularly revised in line with the changing needs and
contexts of teachers and their students. Thus, efforts need to be intensified in
unravelling the different needs of teachers and providing a variety of training
opportunities for teachers in line with their needs and teaching contexts. For the
programs to be effective, program planners ought to contextualize the
information clarifying the specific needs of the teachers. This study provides
information on which training conducted by the program planners can customize
development initiatives for public school teachers in the UAE.
As the educational landscape evolves, teachers need to be supported to keep pace

with innovative technologies that would lead to success in technological
integration, conforming to technological models such as Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge, (TPACK), Substitution, Augmentation,
Modification (SAM), and Analyze Learners, State Objectives, Select Methods,
Utilize Media and Materials, Require Learner Participation, and Evaluate and
Revise, (ASSURE). This endeavour is crucial as blended and online learning and
teaching have become integral parts of the educational system and have gained
paramount importance. This study also offers training planners the insights and
information for organizing development training to adequately assist teachers
with the technology and pedagogical skills needed in such an environment.
Online education refers to teaching and learning using the internet, enabling that
all teaching materials are provided to students online (Kisanjara, 2020; Yusuf &
Jihan, 2020). The shift from traditional teaching to online learning is challenging
for teachers and curriculum designers alike; however, it could even result in an
opportunity that teachers may benefit from (Ortiz, 2020). Needless to say, it is also
recognized as a teaching model that promotes dynamic learning approaches
(Yusuf & Jihan, 2020) and has gained the attention of many institutions due to its
numerous advantages (Dwiyogo & Radjah, 2020; Limperos et al., 2015). As a
pedagogical approach, online education is growing at a fast rate at the K–12 levels
(Barbour & Harrison, 2016; LaFrance & Beck, 2014). Despite such rapid growth
the success of the online mode of teaching depends on the teachers’ skills to use
this approach efficiently and effectively (Yusuf & Jihan, 2020).
Teachers are thus required to master their skills through PD activities, including
workshops and independent learning (Sulisworo et al., 2016; Zhou et al., 2020).
There are numerous PD programs that are helping teachers to prepare for their
jobs. Successful components of PD programs may additionally enhance teachers’
competencies since they have become imperative for online learning (Candice,
2019). Online learning can only be achieved when the teacher can: ‘(a) convey
knowledge with limited face-to-face contact, (b) design and develop course
content in a technology-based environment, (c) deliver content in a way that will
engage students, and (d) use assessment measures to ensure that students are
enable to master the content’ (Archambault & Kennedy, 2018, p.221).
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As online education continues to grow, so are the rewarding opportunities for

continuing PD for K–12 online teachers (Farmer & West, 2019). Teachers’
acceptance of and readiness to adopt ICT in classroom practices has shown a
gradual increase (Alawani, 2019; Ghavifekr et al., 2013). Despite this, teachers’
effective use of ICT may be severely impaired if they are not provided with
adequate PD training and support (Alawani, 2019; Almekhlafi & Almeqdadi,
2010; Aubusson et al., 2009). According to Barbour, Miron and Huerta (2017)
teachers’ effective preparation for online teaching is the only solution to ensure an
effective online delivery mode of instruction. This is because research evidence
studied in the literature review indicated that students in a virtual setting tend to
underperform compared to their counterparts in the face-to-face mode. Based on
Philippakos et al.'s (2022) findings, there is a widespread perception that online
classes do not measure up to the face-to-face classroom experience. However, the
authors suggest that this perception can be overcome by comprehending the
inherent nuances between the two environments. The technology provides both a
platform and an opportunity for learning activities to take place in an online
environment to achieve the same learning objectives. As such, it is possible for
students to perform well in a virtual setting if the necessary support and resources
are provided.
Researchers have proposed strategies to succeed in online teaching. Hertz (2020)
proposed the Hertz Quality Teaching Attributes teaching model, it guides
teachers to use an entire set of different tools and not to think about it merely as a
change of medium of instruction. Tertiary courses using learning management
systems tend to be teacher-centred and lecture-based (Vercellotti, 2018). To avoid
this in online classes, Awasthi (2020) suggested initiating more than one online
channel to communicate with students might be a solution to such an issue. He
further suggested that teachers and students should dress formally as they would
in conventional classes. Teachers might use a Bluetooth headset and mic to give
the students an impression of being active and energetic. The importance of
building positive relationships with students comes into play when teaching
online. Students may be given a break after every 30 or 40 minutes to engage in a
conversation about their well-being, helping them feel relaxed and thereby
building a positive relationship with them (Awasthi, 2020; Hertz, 2020).
Borup et al. (2014) suggested six elements to improve student outcomes in online
learning. These elements include designing and organizing learning activities,
facilitating discourse with students, parents and other teachers, providing
students with one-on-one instruction, nurturing a safe and caring learning
environment, motivating students to engage in learning activities, and monitoring
student behaviour and learning as a close-knit cohort.
Barbour and Harrison (2016) mentioned teachers’ perceptions of the K–12 online
learning and that the K–12 school administrators and other stakeholders do not
have sufficient knowledge or are themselves prepared to support the K–12 online
learning. Teachers, showed enthusiasm about developing the skills required for
implementing online teaching. Husain, Natasya and Basri (2019) found that the
teachers believed that online education assisted them and their students in
developing ICT competencies. Drawing on their study, they suggested
conducting continuous training to increase their ICT competencies including
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skills to conduct successful and effective synchronous and asynchronous sessions

once the pandemic is over. With the increased demand on adopting and applying
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent tutoring systems in the educational and
in the training contexts, teachers and faculty may face challenges if they are not
prepared or trained professionally and effectively (Abdelaziz, 2019; Abdelaziz &
Al Zehmi, 2020).
As teachers may not possess adequate knowledge, skills, and confidence to use
the available technologies effectively or efficiently to support technological
integration into the learning environment, PD activities becomes crucial and
essential (El Fadil, 2015; Ferdig & Kennedy, 2014; Somera, 2018). Essentially,
teachers’ PD needs should be met by focusing on their ability to know why, where,
when, and how technology tools can be used to achieve teaching objectives and
facilitate students’ learning (Gu et al., 2012; UNESCO, 2002).
6. Methods
Research Design
The study employed a descriptive research design as it helped in exploring an
existing condition and situation of individuals within a specific context (Creswell,
2014). Specifically, this research design assisted in exploring K-12 teachers' shared
and subjective understanding of the issues related to their professional
development needs and the challenges experienced by them during COVID-19.
Research Instruments
The research team adopted a multi-rating scale questionnaire to collect
information for addressing the research questions in the study. The questionnaire
consisted of four parts, with the first section devoted to the demographic data of
the participants and consisted of five main items. In the second section of the
survey (Professional Needs Assessment), a four-point Likert scale was used to
assess the felt need of the participants. Response choices were: 1= No need at all,
2= Low level of need, 3= Moderate level of need, 4= Highly needed, 5= Extremely
high need. In the third section of the survey, participants were given a list of
challenges that may or may not apply to them. They were asked to select the
challenges that apply to them. This section was followed by an open-ended
question to give the participants to add other challenges, if any. In the fourth
section of the survey (Emerged Digital Learning Trends), a four-point Likert scale
was sued to assess the awareness level of the participants. Response choices were:
1= Not familiar, 2= Familiar but I have not tried it, 3= Familiar but I need support
to Adopt it, and 4= Familiar and Adopt it. The distributed survey has been
showcased in Appendix A.
Population and Sample
The study targeted all schools that had migrated to an online mode of education
due to the spread of COVID-19. According to the UAE Ministry of Education
(MoE), the total number of public school teachers in 2020 was 21,153, representing
619 schools (MoE, 2020). The study targeted a sample of 1400 teachers. Purposive
and random sampling techniques were used to reach out to teachers with relevant
experience. All teachers were offered the chance to participate and share their
thoughts on the issues under exploration. A total of 1,110 public school teachers
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responded and completed the survey. Table 1 shows the demographic

characteristics of the participants.
Table 1. Participants’ Demographic Characteristics and Size (n = 1110)
Variable Sample Size
Gender N
Male 421
Female 689
Level of Education
Pre-school (kindergarten) 114
Elementary Education 231
Primary Education 291
Secondary education 474
Field of Specialisation
Math 187
Science 212
Art 35
Drama 7
Arabic 186
Islamic Studies 61
Social studies 54
English 108
Business studies 10
Other 250
Years of experience
Fewer than 5 years 175
Between 6 and 10 years 207
More than 20 years 302
Qualifications
Bachelor 396
Bachelor’s in education 311
Postgraduate Diploma in Education/Teaching 97
Master’s degree in Education 97
Master’s degree in other fields 138
PhD or Ed.D in Education 25
Other Degree 46
As can be seen from Table 1, most participants were female (62%). The number of
participants from secondary education was higher than that of participants from
other grade levels. Science education teachers represented approximately 20% of
the sample. It is evident in the table, that participants were from all streams.
Similarly, participants had varied years of teaching experience extending from 5
to 20 years. Regarding the education qualification of participants, 36% had BA
degrees, while 2% had doctoral degrees.
Data Collection
An electronic version of the questionnaire was sent to all the public-school
teachers in the UAE through the MoE using its teachers’ management information
441
system platform. The MoE portal was used due to its potential to help reach out
and collect data from as many teachers as possible. However, teachers were not
mandated or forced to participate in the study and other ethical factors were
considered, as clarified below.
Reliability and Ethical Considerations
The research instrument (questionnaire) was validated through an iterative and
collaborative process of reviewing and revising the questionnaire’s contents
among the researchers. In doing this, the first author crafted the initial draft and
then shared it with the other authors, who read and provided feedback to validate
the questionnaire items. To establish the content reliability, the survey was
distributed to a random sample consisting of 141 public school teachers. The
Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.929, which indicates that the survey is reliable and has
the required consistency to accurately collect data.
All procedures involved in this study were conducted following scientific
organizations’ ethical practices and approved by both the MoE and the
Institutional Research Ethics Committee of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart
University (Ethical Clearance Code). The participants’ consent to participate and
confidentiality in the data collection process were recorded.
Data Analysis
As mentioned earlier, 1,110 K-12 teachers responded to the survey. Partial
responses were included for only the questions answered, with no further
treatment of missing values. Of the two possible open-response questions,
question one was answered by 860 respondents, yielding 573 responses after
initial data cleaning. The data cleaning criteria were: exclude the survey with
missing response to a survey item in the dataset, and through review of any data
entry errors. The second open-response question was answered by 685
respondents, generating 351 responses after the initial cleaning.
After cleaning and sorting responses by question, the researchers conducted a
range of descriptive and inferential statistical analyses using the SPSS. Tables of
frequencies and percentages were used to present categorical variables; means,
independent sample t-test, One-way ANOVA were used to test for the differences
between pairs of categorical variables. Qualitative coding of themes was
conducted based on the responses to the two open-ended questions, following an
inductive process (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Saldana, 2015). The following stages
were followed: open coding, axial coding and selective coding to ground the
major patterns and themes addressing other PD needs felt and perceived by the
public-school teachers to deliver and assess effective online education in the UAE
K–12 educational contexts.
7. Findings
Findings related to question 1
To answer question 1 ‘What are the teachers’ PD needs to deliver effective online
education in the UAE K–12 contexts?’, the researchers computed the frequencies,
percentages, means and weighted means for each item included in section two in
the survey. As shown in Table 2, the respondents indicated a range of PD needs
for public school teachers to deliver and assess effective online education in the
UAE’s K–12 educational contexts.
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Table 2. Percentages and Means of The UAE Teachers’ Professional Development

Needs
# Items Rating Scale* Mean Means
No need Low Moderate High Extremely Weight
at all (1) need (2) need (3) need (4) high need
(5)
1 Design and manage 5.2% 15.1% 32.4% 31.8% 15.4% 3.37 67.4%
the interactive
learning environment
to encourage learners’
engagement
2 Use next-generation 7.0% 13.5% 33.5% 30.0% 16.3% 3.36 67.2%
online learning
pedagogy
the online
collaborative learning
environment
4 Use online 9.7% 16.0% 30.0% 27.7% 16.7% 3.26 65.2%
assessment tools with
immediate built-in
feedback feature
5 Use cloud computing 10.0% 16.0% 29.3% 30.0% 15.0% 3.24 64.8%
and open learning
spaces to manage
learner’s files and
projects
effective online
assessments and
activities
7 Encompass state-of- 9.3% 17.2% 31.2% 26.0% 16.3% 3.23 64.5%
the-art online
learning platform and
Learning and Content
Management Systems
(LCMS)
8 Design and deliver e- 8.6% 15.8% 34.1% 28.0% 13.6% 3.22 64.4%
content in small
micro-objects
9 Create and manage 8.0% 16.5% 36.2% 26.3% 13.0% 3.20 64.0%
personalized learning
environment
10 Create and manage 11.6% 16.7% 30.4% 24.6% 16.7% 3.18 63.6%
digital teaching
portfolio
11 Integrate open 9.6% 17.3% 33.3% 25.7% 14.1% 3.17 63.4%
educational resources
12 Integrate new 8.1% 18.7% 36.7% 22.2% 14.2% 3.16 63.2%
innovative mobile
technologies into
classroom teaching
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# Items Rating Scale* Mean Means

No need Low Moderate High Extremely Weight
at all (1) need (2) need (3) need (4) high need
(5)
13 Use social media 18.4% 20.0% 27.8% 20.0% 13.8% 2.91 58.2%
networks to promote
learning
To effectively identify the critical PD needs for the K-12 school teachers in the
UAE, and to deliver effective online education and transfer to a distance learning
model, the researchers suggested a hypothesized cut-off point of 60% for the
weighted means. If the weighted mean for each item in Table 2 is equal to or
greater than 60%, then the PD need is critical. More than 50% of the surveyed
participants feel they need to be trained in how to master this competency.
According to the weighted mean values for each item shown in Table 2, 12 critical
PD needs are considered essential by the public-school teachers in this study.
To complete the answer to research question 1, the researchers performed
qualitative coding of themes based on the responses to the first open-ended
question attached to section 2 in the survey. This open-ended question states
‘Please use this space to tell us about any other PD needs you feel are important
for you, that we did not mention in the above list’. This question was answered
by 860 respondents (77% of the sample size), yielding 573 responses. The
subthemes (patterns) and major themes yielded from this analysis are presented
in Table 3.
Table 3. The Patterns and Major Themes of the Open-Ended Question #1 (Other
Professional Development Needs)
Patterns, How to… Major themes Professional
development
tracks
Use differentiated online learning strategies Differentiated Effective e-
Develop responsive learning objects that address learning styles and learning
Personalize the online learning experience personalised e- pedagogy
Use online learning platforms for learners with special needs learning design
and strategy
Manage online learning classroom and online learners’ behaviour Managing
Manage online collaborative and distributed problem-solving online
Motivate and encourage parents’ involvement in online learning classroom and
collaboration
Develop educational gamification and animation in specific subject Utilization and Effective e-
areas integration of content design
Use online instructional tools and resources such as Nearpod or interactive and learning
Wordwall, Edushare technology technologies
Use AI educational applications application in
Use Blender software for creating animations teaching and
Use augmented reality in content-specific areas/subjects learning
Design experiential learning for content-specific online pedagogy Design
Integrate online field trips and virtual labs in the daily lessons interactive and
Create a step-by-step video bank (objects) on guided instruction experiential e-
Develop agile e-content/lesson content/lesson
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Collect and analyze online assessment evidence Design and Effective online
Use learning analytics to track and improve students’ discussion effective online assessment
quality and quantity assessment strategies
Design online test- and assessment-based standards
Use/implement online students’ progress tracker

To answer question 2, ‘To what extent are the teachers in the UAE’s K–12 familiar
with the contemporary trends in online education?, the researchers computed the
frequencies and percentages for each item included in Section four in the survey.
Section 4 has 18 items addressing the most frequently mentioned online and
digital learning trends in relation to the literature that was reviewed of the last
three years. It outlined the important training needs and tracks for teachers and
faculty in schools and higher education institutions worldwide. The frequencies
and percentages of the UAE public school teachers’ level of familiarity with online
and digital learning trends are as shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Percentages of Adoption and Non-Adoption of the Online and Digital

Learning Trends
# Digital Learning Trends, Rating Scale* Total
Techniques and Tools Percentag
Not adopted Adopted
e of Not
not familiar but familiar, but I familiar adopted
familiar have not need support and and
tried it training to adopt it adopt it
1 Hybrid (blended) courses 4.5% 13.1% 27.1% 55.3% 44.7%)
(with over 50% delivered
online and in-person)
2 Augmented reality (AR) 11.7% 16.1% 34.1% 38.1% 61.9%
3 Virtual reality (VR) 6.0% 15.0% 35.1% 43.9% 56.1%
4 Experiential e-learning 6.1% 7.7% 30.6% 55.6% 44.4%
5 Avatar-based coaching 17.6% 12.0% 36.4% 34.1% 65.9%
6 Agile design for e-lessons 16.2% 9.6% 33.7% 39.7% 60.3%
7 Adaptive electronic testing 7.7% 10.5% 33.6% 51.4% 48.6%
and Assessment
8 Intelligent tutoring systems 14.3% 7.7% 35.6% 43.3% 56.7%
(ITS)
9 Automated pedagogical 20.8% 9.2% 36.7% 33.3% 66.7%
agents (APA)
10 Multi-tasks learning objects 10.1% 8.6% 30.0% 51.4% 48.6%
11 Machine learning 25.0% 13.3% 34.2% 25.4% 74.6%
12 Learning analytics 15.7% 12.4% 36.8% 35.1% 64.9%
13 Seamless learning 20.7% 11.7% 31.0% 36.7% 63.3%
14 Crowd learning 21.0% 12.6% 33.9% 32.5% 67.5%
15 Learning by making/design 26.5% 16.4% 35.2% 21.9% 78.1%
16 Create an e-learning profile 20.1% 13.6% 38.0% 28.3% 71.7%
and aptitudes inventory
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17 Infographic presentation 19.6% 14.6% 38.6% 27.2% 72.8%

design software
18 Online learning 4.9% 7.7% 23.3% 61.0% 39%
communities
*The rating scale for this section is as follows: 4 = Not familiar at all, 3 = Familiar but have not tried
it, 2 =Familiar but I need support to adopt it, 1 = Familiar and adopt it
For effective analysis based on the available data and responses collected for
question 2, the researchers did the following:
1. Combined the first three points in the scale: Not familiar, Familiar, but I
have not tried it, and Familiar, but I still need support and training to
adopt it to address the trends that are not adopted (non-adoption) by the
public-school teachers in the UAE.
2. Compute participants’ response frequencies and percentages on each
item.
3. Suggest a hypothesized cut-off point of 60%.
4. Compare the percentage of familiarity and adoption with the combined
percentages of non-adoption. If the total percentage of non-adoption is
equal to or greater than 60%, then the contemporary trends of online and
digital learning are critical since more than 50% of the surveyed
participants infer that they need to be trained in it.
5. Identify and prioritize the trends that the majority of public-school
teachers in the UAE are not adopting.
According to the data presented in Table 4, one can conclude that out of the 18
critical trends of online and digital learning; there are 11 trends that the UAE
public schools’ teachers are neither familiar with nor adopting into teaching and
learning. Thus, they feel that they need to be trained in how to master them. These
11 trends are: Learning by Making/Design (78%), Machine Learning (74.6%),
Infographic Presentation Design Software (72.8%), Creating an e-Learning Profile
and Aptitude Inventories (71.7%), Crowd Learning (67.5%), Automated
Pedagogical Agents (APA) (66.7%), Avatar-based Coaching (65.9%), Learning
Analytics (64.9%), Seamless Learning (63.3%), Augmented Reality (AR) (61.9%)
and Agile Design for e-Lessons (60.3%).
To answer question 3, ‘What challenges hinder the effective adoption of online
Education by public sector teachers in the UAE?’, the researchers computed the
frequencies and percentages for each item included in section three in the survey.
The frequencies and percentages of the challenges of adopting online and digital
learning perceived by the UAE public school teachers are shown in Table 5.
Table 5. Frequencies and Percentages of Challenges That Hinder the Effective
Adoption of Online Education
Challenges Yes, Applies to Me No, It Does Not Apply
to Me
N % N %
1 Getting students to complete 752 68% 358 32%
assignments
2 Getting students to complete 742 67% 368 33%
the online activities on time
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3 Ensuring that students 711 64% 399 36%

understand what it takes to
succeed online
4 Structuring learning activities 705 63% 405 37%
that foster student–student
interaction
5 Keeping students engaged 695 63% 415 37%
throughout the online course
6 Identifying and supporting 693 62% 417 38%
struggling students
7 Gathering feedback from 675 61% 435 39%
students to improve the
learning experience
8 Using specific strategies to 670 60% 440 40%
create an instructor presence
in the course
9 Structuring my course for best 652 59% 458 41%
online experience
10 Familiarity with effective 627 56% 483 44%
pedagogy for online teaching
11 Giving students constructive 623 56% 487 44%
feedback in a timely manner
12 Developing an online lesson 610 55% 500 45%
or course can be complicated
13 Inadequate time to learn 546 49% 564 51%
about online teaching and
assessment
To effectively identify the critical challenges that hinder the effective adoption of
online education perceived by the public school teachers in the UAE, the
researchers suggested a hypothesized cut-off point of 60% of the participants. If
the challenge is seen by at least 60% of participants, it addresses a critical issue.
According to the data presented in Table 5, one can conclude that eight major
challenges were perceived by the majority of the public-school teachers in the
UAE that inhibited them from the effective adoption of online education.
To complete the answer to research question #3, the researchers performed
qualitative coding of themes based on the responses to the second open-ended
question attached to section 3 in the survey. This open-ended question states
‘Please use this space to tell us about any other challenges you think you are
facing, that we did not mention in the above list’, was answered by 685
respondents (62% of the sample size), yielding 351 responses after initial data
cleaning. The subthemes (patterns) and major themes yielded by this analysis are
presented in Table 6.
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Table 6. The Subthemes and Major Themes of the Open-Ended Question #2 (Other
Challenges and Barriers)
Subthemes (Patterns), How to… Major Themes/Challenges
Increase students’ engagement in online Students’ and Parents’ Motivation and
sessions Engagement
Increase students’ parents’ interaction
Motivate learners to complete activities and
assignments on time
Promote Parents/Teachers/Learners’ presence
Manage time of online sessions Time and Online Classroom
Use behaviour management strategies during Management
the online lesson
Strike a balance between work and life for well-
being
Monitor the learning of individual learners
during the lesson
Apply micro teamwork and collaboration
during the time frame of a session
Deal with learners’ individual needs
Support online learners when they face Online Learning Support
interaction problem
Promote self-paced learning skills among
online learners
Overcome isolation and student attendance
issues
Interact with special needs learners (with
learning disabilities)
Reduce learning load
Ensure authentication of exam and work done Online Learning Assessment and
remotely Authenticity
Collect evidence about students’ performance
Measure online learning effectiveness
Give individual constructive feedback to
students whose parents are doing the work for
them
Apply student self and peer assessment
Prepare interactive lesson e-Content Pedagogical Design
Redesign and align the curriculum for effective
online learning
Use specific strategies for effective online
learning
Search for and integrate professional and
subject-specific open educational resources that
support teachers and learners
Overcome language barriers in online learning Technical and Language Challenges
environments and Barriers
Solve technical and platform access limitations
and problems
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To answer question 4, ‘Are there any significant differences between the teachers’
perceptions of their PD needs based on their educational level (grade level)?’ the
researchers conducted a one-way ANOVA test. The researchers limited the
analysis to one demographic characteristic, which is the level of education (grade
level) among the teachers, since this variable has not been completely addressed
in the previous literature.
Table 7. One-Way ANOVA Investigating the Relationship Between Grade Level and
PD Needs, DL Trends and Perceived Challenges Among Public School Teachers
Dep. Ind. Variable: Descriptive Statistics One-way ANOVA Test Results
Variable Grade Level N Mean Std. Sum of df. Mean F P
Squares Square Value
Teachers’ Pre-school 114 40.904 11.195 Between 3 576.136 3.644 0.012
PD needs (Kindergarten Group =
1728.408
Elementary 231 42.680 12.499 Residuals = 1106 158.097
Education 174854.731
(Cycle 1)
Primary 291 43.447 11.978
Education
(Cycle 2)
Secondary 474 40.612 13.259
Education
Familiarity Pre-school 114 39.105 14.066 Between 3 499.505 2.993 0.030
with (Kindergarten Group =
Emerging 1498.514
Trends Elementary 231 36.926 14.152 Residuals = 1106 166.901
Education 184592.229
(Cycle 1)
Primary 291 35.175 12.183
Education
(Cycle 2)
Secondary 474 35.719 12.434
Education
Perceived Pre-school 114 16.895 4.027 Between- 3 120.761 6.132 < .001
Challenges (Kindergarten Groups =
362.282
Elementary 231 18.030 4.454 Residuals = 1106 19.694
Education 21781.852
(Cycle 1)
Primary 291 17.852 4.465
Education
(Cycle 2)
Secondary 474 18.719 4.506
Education
Table 7 demonstrates the results of a one-way ANOVA test to identify the

differences between the UAE public schools’ teachers according to their grade
level (Pre-school (Kindergarten), Elementary Education, Primary Education, and
Secondary Education). The independent variable was the grade level with four
categories. The dependent variables were: Teachers’ PD needs level, familiarity
449
with emerging trends and applications of online education and perceived

challenges hindering effective adoption of the online education mode in the UAE
public schools.
This analysis revealed a significant effect for participants’ grade level on their PD
needs level, F (3, 1106) = 3.644; p = 0.012. The Tukey HSD (Post Hoc) test showed
that teachers in Primary Education (Cycle 2) scored significantly higher than
teachers in Secondary Education (p = 0.013). There were no significant differences
between teachers in the Pre-school (Kindergarten), teachers in the Elementary
Education (Cycle 1), and teachers in the Secondary Education.
This analysis also revealed a significant effect for participants’ grade level on their
familiarity with emerging trends and applications of online education, F (3, 1106)
= 2.993; p = 0.030. The Tukey HSD (Post Hoc) test showed that teachers in the pre-
school (Kindergarten) scored significantly higher than teachers in the primary
education (Cycle 2) (p = 0.031). There were no significant differences between
teachers in the pre-school (Kindergarten), teachers in elementary education (Cycle
1) and secondary education.
This analysis also revealed a significant effect for participants’ grade level on their
perceived challenges hindering effective adoption of online education, F (3, 1106)
= 6.132; p <0.001. The Tukey HSD (Post Hoc) test showed that teachers in the
secondary education scored significantly higher than teachers in pre-school
(Kindergarten) (p <0.001) and teachers in the primary education (Cycle 2), (p
0.044). There were no significant differences between pre-school teachers
(Kindergarten) and teachers in the elementary education (Cycle 1).
8. Discussion
The analysis of quantitative data related to question 1 revealed that 12 critical PD
needs were considered vital by the K–12 public school teachers in this study. The
highly ranked PD needs identified by 65% of the public-school teachers for
effective delivery of online education are: 1) design and manage interactive
learning environments to support learners’ online engagement; 2) use next-
generation online pedagogy; 3) design and manage online collaborative learning;
4) use online assessment tools and 5) use cloud computing and open learning
spaces to manage learners’ files and projects. This finding is in line with the
generated themes from the first open-ended question. Most of the surveyed
teachers who answered this question felt they need professional and practical
training on the following: Managing the online classroom and collaboration;
Designing and managing effective online assessment; Designing interactive and
experiential e-content/lessons and utilizing personalized e-learning design and
strategy. These findings reinforce the need for PD endeavours for teachers in
technology-enabled teaching and learning contexts (El Fadil, 2015; Ferdig &
Kennedy, 2014; Somera, 2018). For effective and customized PD activities, one can
conclude that over two-thirds of respondents in this study identified ‘promoting
learners’ engagement through interactive online learning space, smart and
personalized pedagogy, online assessment techniques, and online collaborative
learning strategies’ as areas in which they want PD. These results were consistent
with other studies emphasizing that online teachers in the context of K–12 schools
must be able to design and develop content in a technology-enabled learning
450
environment (Archambault & Kennedy, 2018; Awasthi, 2020; Somera, 2018; and
Sulisworo et al., 2016). Beyond this, they must also be able to deliver content
through dynamic pedagogies and approaches that promote students’
engagement, use assessment measures to ensure that students master content,
while utilizing more than one online channel to communicate with students and
their parents (Archambault & Kennedy, 2018; Awasthi, 2020; Somera, 2018; and
Sulisworo et al., 2016). Thus, stakeholders like MoE who are leading the
workshops, and other agencies need to consider designing training programs
capable of assisting teachers to develop the skills identified in this research. As
situations change, PD facilitators will need to regularly explore teachers’ needs to
ensure adequate and contextually relevant training and that the required support
are provided to them.
The quantitative data analysis related to question 2 revealed that more than 60%
of the surveyed teachers are not adopting some of the new trends in online
learning. They identified the following as critical and challenging trends:
Making/Design (78%), Machine Learning (74.6%), Infographic Presentation
Design Software (72.8%), Creating an e-Learning Profile and Aptitudes Inventory
(71.7%), Crowd Learning (67.5%), Automated Pedagogical Agents (APA) (66.7%),
Avatar-based Coaching (65.9%), Learning Analytics (64.9%), Seamless Learning
(63.3%), Augmented Reality (AR) (61.9%) and Agile Design for e-Lessons (60.3%).
This result was found to be surprising since most of the trends mentioned above
needs extra infrastructure and smart technology solutions such as advanced
virtual labs, and big data analysis software. At the same time K-12 teachers who
are not pursuing postgraduate degrees and collaborative research with university
researchers may not be familiar with the trends or consider them relevant to their
context. These are new areas for further training as critical competencies for online
teachers regardless of contexts. These results were consistent with other studies
(Barbour et al., 2017; Hertz, 2020; Husain et al., 2019; Nachimuthu, 2012). They
emphasised that the quality of online teaching needs more research to understand
evidence-based practices that require the use of an entirely different set of tools
and an innovative medium of online instruction and tutoring so that students
achieve the experiences they deserve. These new trends are causing huge
disruptions in learning design and technology. They are also creating a new line
of competencies and PD learning opportunities for the teachers and faculty
members (Farmer & West, 2019).
The analysis of the quantitative data related to question 3 revealed that over 60%
of public school teachers in the UAE are facing critical challenges in adopting
online and distance learning strategies, especially in the following areas: Getting
students to complete assignments (68%); Getting students to complete the online
activities on time (67%); Ensuring that students understand what it takes to
succeed online (64%); Structuring learning activities that foster student–student
interaction (63%); Keeping students engaged throughout the online course (63%);
Identifying and supporting struggling students (62%); Gathering feedback from
students to improve the learning experience (61%) and using specific strategies to
create an instructor presence in the course (60%). This finding is in line with the
themes generated from the second open-ended question. Most of the surveyed
teachers who answered this question felt they are facing challenges in promoting
451
students' and parents’ motivation and engagement; managing large online

classrooms; providing online support; ensuring online assessment authenticity;
designing effective online learning pedagogy and; overcoming technical and
language barriers. These findings are not entirely unique to the UAE context as
scholars reported similar challenging situations in other systems (Awasthi, 2020;
Borup et al., 2014; Compton, 2009; Hertz, 2020; Husain et al., 2019). Thus, PD
training provided for the K-12 teachers in this context can enhance teachers’
preparation for changes to facilitation mode, online education to reduce their
challenges (Barbour, et al., 2017).
The results of the current study reveal that there were significant differences
between the surveyed teachers’ recognized needs, the application of emerging
trends in online education and perceived challenges due to their grade levels
(educational level). Concerning the perceived needs, primary education teachers
(Cycle 2) scored significantly higher than teachers in secondary education).
Therefore, teachers in primary education need more training than their colleagues
in secondary education. Meanwhile, teachers in pre-school (Kindergarten) scored
significantly higher than teachers in primary education (Cycle 2) about the lack of
application of emerging online learning trends. Therefore, kindergarten teachers
are less likely to apply new online education trends. The findings re-echo the view
that moving from traditional to online education and embracing the new trends
can be challenging even though it offers new and innovative learning
opportunities (Ortiz, 2020). Failure to recognize the variation in teachers’
preference and ability by PD planners may result in an ineffective training as the
success of online education depends on the skills of the teachers’ (Yusuf & Jihan,
2020).
9. Conclusion, Recommendations and Future Studies

The COVID-19 crisis has had and will have a long-term impact on society, schools,
and higher education systems. In reducing the adverse effects of the pandemic on
the teaching and learning process, this study sought to identify the K-12 teachers’
PD needs and perceived challenges in online education. The results from this
study suggest that the UAE K-12 teachers need additional professional and
guided training in multiple areas to best support their students in this online
learning and digital transformation era. In particular, the student engagement and
motivation on which effective online pedagogical design and assessment is
needed.
Given that most the UAE public school teachers received training during the
school lockdown period, yet they faced the challenges mentioned above. They felt
that there are still sets of emerging and critical training needs among 60% of the
target population. Therefore, a professional training policy and ecosystem
supporting contemporary skills development are highly recommended and
needed so that no teacher or school is left behind.
While this study indicates that the pre-school (Kindergarten) teachers are facing
challenges in adopting online learning pedagogy and assessment more than their
colleagues in primary and secondary education, considerable attention and
training priority should be given to this cohort by identifying and applying
452
mentorship training programs based on the personalized training and at the same
time measure its impact on improving the practices in the field.
Since the data collected were limited to public school teachers in the UAE, the
results may not be the same in the private school context. The survey could,
therefore, be administered to the private school sector to determine whether
different contexts lead to different results, given that the findings in this study
rely on self-reported data. Respondents may have forgotten some of the rigorous
training they received earlier. Future research may investigate the alignment
between teachers’ reported challenges and those observed by the school principal,
their line manager or independent observers. Future studies could also focus on
how to plan, design, develop, implement and evaluate technological trend-
oriented PD programs for public school teachers in the UAE context.
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455
Appendix 1
Professional Development Needs of the UAE Teachers for the Transition to
Online and Distance Education
https://forms.gle/sokRqDmVNfHDupdQ6
Dear Participant,
At Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, as part of our research-driven
culture, a team of dedicated researchers has come together to conduct institutional
research. The objective of this research is to explore the professional development
needs of the UAE teachers in order to effectively implement the shift to online and
distance education. In order to achieve this objective, we would need to collect
information focusing on your professional development needs to help you with a
smooth transition to online teaching and learning.
The results of this survey will be confidentially used for research purposes only.
If you would like to have a copy of this research results, please let us know and
communicate with the research principal investigator
Section one
Please select from the following what applies on you:
Gender:
- Male
- Female
Educational Level:
- Pre-school (kindergarten)
- Elementary Education
- Primary Education
- Secondary education
Major (Field of Specialization):
- Math
- Science
- Art
- Drama
- Arabic
- Islamic Studies
- Social studies
- English
- Modern Languages
- Business studies
- Other (Please specify :……………………………………….….)
Years of experience:
- Less than 5 years
- Between 6 and 10 years
- More than 20 years
456
Qualifications
- Bachelor
- Bachelor in education
- Post Graduate Diploma in Education/Teaching
- Master Degree in education
- Master degree in other fields
- PhD or Ed.D in Education
- Other Degree (Please specify…)
Section Two
Reflecting on your own professional development needs, please indicate the

extent to which you have the below needs. The rating scale for this section is: 1 =
No needed at all, 2 = Low level of need, 3 = Moderate level of need, 4 = Highly
Needed, and 5= Extremely needed
# Items Rating scale
No Low Moderate Highly
needed level level of needed
at all of need
need
1 Integrate new innovative
technologies (mobile devices,
virtual/augmented reality, mobile
apps, gamification, etc.) into
classroom teaching
2 Create and manage personalized
learning environment to support
your learners
3 Design and manage Online
Collaborative Learning
environment to support your
learners
4 Encompass state-of-the-art online
learning platform (e.g., Learning
Management system)
5 Design and manage Immersive
Learning Environment (such as
simulations, role play, virtual and
augmented reality ) to support
your learners’ online engagement
6 Design and deliver e-content in
small micro segments
7 Use social networks to
communicate effectively with your
students and their families
8 Create your own digital content
for teaching and learning purposes
(videos, presentation, etc.)
9 Use online assessment tools with
immediate built-in feedback
feature
457
10 Design and manage online

effective assessments and activities
to assess your learners’
performance and progress.
11 Use cloud computing to store your
learners’ files and projects
12 Use next generation online
pedagogy (e.g., intelligent
pedagogy, distributed pedagogy,
engaging pedagogy, agile
pedagogy, and situated pedagogy)
13 Search, allocate and use Open
Educational Resources (OER)
Open ended
Please use this space and tell us about any other professional development needs
you feel as important for you and we did not mention in the above list……
Section 3
Challenges
The following are a list of challenges that may or may not apply on you, please
select the challenges you are facing.
Challenges
▪ Getting students to complete the course online activities
▪ Getting students to complete assignments
▪ Keeping students engaged throughout the online course
▪ Identify and support struggling students
▪ Familiarity with effective pedagogy for online teaching
▪ Inadequate time to learn about online teaching and assessment
▪ Developing an online lesson or course can be complicated
▪ Structuring my course for best online experience
▪ Structuring learning activities that foster student-student interaction
▪ Giving students constructive feedback in a timely manner
▪ Gathering feedback from students to improve the learning experience
▪ Using specific strategies to create an instructor presence in the course
▪ Ensuring that students understand what it takes to succeed online
Open ended
Please use this space and tell us about any other challenges you think that you
are facing we did not mention in the above list……
458
Section 4
Emerging Digital Learning Trends

The following are a list of emerged trends and applications in Digital Learning
that can support the shift to online and distance learning in your school. Please
answer the following questions as appropriate and applicable to you. The rating
scale for this section is: 1 = Not familiar at all, 2 = Familiar but have not tried, 3
=Familiar but I need support to Adopt it, 4 = Familiar and Adopt it.
Topological Trend, techniques, and tools Not Familiar Familiar but I Famili
familiar but have need support ar and
not tried to Adopt it Adopt
it
Hybrid (Blended) Courses (with over 50% delivered
online and in-person)
Augmented Reality (AR)
Virtual Reality (VR)
Experiential e-Learning
eAvatar-based Coaching
Agile Design of e-courses
Adaptive Electronic Testing and Assessment
Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS)
Automated/Animated Pedagogical Agents (APA)
Multi-tasks Learning Objects

Machine Learning
Learning Analytics
Seamless Learning
Crowd Learning
Learning by Making/Design
eLearning Aptitude Profiles
Infographic presentation software.
Online Learning Agency
459

Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 459-477, April 2023
Patterns of Character Education for Vocational

School Students through Non-Academic
Programs: Paradigm and Implementation
Amilda* , Dian Andesta Bujuri , Muhammad Uyun
Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia
Dindin Nasrudin
UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Junaidah
Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan, Lampung, Indonesia
Abstract. Some Indonesian students, including vocational school

students, often perform negative behavior. This study aims to reveal the
good practice of character education patterns through non-academic
activities in a vocational school in Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia.
This study uses an explanatory case study method that explains a
phenomenon in depth and detail. The study data are obtained through
interviews, observation, and documentation. There are 11 informants
involved in this study. They are the vice head of the school for student
affairs, the supervisor of extracurricular activities, the head of school
administration, the coordinator of the counseling guidance unit, Islamic
spiritual advisors, teachers, and five students. The research procedure
includes data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and
conclusions. The result of this study indicates that to shape student
character, schools should not only conduct this through learning activities
but also design well-planned non-academic activities. The pattern of non-
academic character education is implemented through two activities. The
first is habituation activities including a routine smiling day program,
operasi semut (ant operations), reading Al-Qur'an, flag-raising ceremony,
and short-term Islamic boarding schools. The second is doing
extracurricular activities including scouting, choir, dance and drama,
scientific creativity club, etc. These non-academic activities have a
positive impact on the formation of students' positive character. Students
are accustomed to practicing religious values such as honest, tolerant,
disciplined, hard-working, creative, independent, democratic, curios,
homeland-loving, communicative, peace-loving, environmentally caring,
socially caring, and responsible in daily activities. Further research is
*
Corresponding author: Amilda, amilda_tarbiyah_uin@radenfatah.ac.id
©Authors
460
required to test the effectiveness of this non-academic approach to

character education in other schools.
Keywords: character education; non-academic programs; paradigm and

implementation; patterns; vocational schools
1. Introduction
The vocational high school (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan) is one of the levels of
formal education in Indonesia. The purpose of education at this level is to prepare
students, and especially to prepare them to work in certain fields (Pambudi &
Harjanto, 2020). Therefore, at this type of school, students can choose various
majors or fields of study that are suitable to their interests and the skills they want
to develop.
A vocational high school is more unique than other Indonesian high school types.
The number of male students is greater than female students. For example, the
number of students in South Sumatra in the academic year of 2020-2021 is 125,183
with 72,661 (58.04%) males and 52,522 (41.96%) females (Kemendikbud, 2021). In
the same year, SMK Negeri 2 Palembang consists of 85% male students and 15%
female students. This condition becomes a challenge for the school in educating
students, especially in the aspect of good character.
This male dominance at SMK N 2 Palembang causes the intensity of character

education to be higher than in other general schools because male students tend
to perform more negative actions than female students (Amin, 2018). This finding
is also supported by previous research which shows that boys display more
aggressiveness, compared to girls with a ratio of 5:1 (Guvendir, 2015; Lee, et al.,
2015; Yani & Retnowuni, 2019; Hutomo & Ariati, 2017). Some of the negative
behaviors done by male students are brawls, smoking, and even drug abuse
(Evren, 2014; Reyes, et al., 2014; Wardhani et al., 2017).
SMK Negeri 2 Palembang designs and creates a non-academic program in the

form of character education to anticipate negative deportment among students.
The result of the initial interviews with the principal shows that the program aims
to shape the students' good character. The school intends to train the students to
have a good personality, social skills, empathy for others, self-confidence,
tolerance, loyalty in friendship, patience, sincerity, and creativity. The character
education programs of SMK Negeri 2 Palembang are carried out through non-
academic activities such as habituation activities for disciplined behavior and
extracurricular activities such as scouting, spiritual development, et cetera. These
programs have proven to be effective in shaping students' good character and
minimizing their negative behavior. Due to the importance and values of this
good practice, this study aims to describe the patterns of student character
education comprehensively through non-academic activities at SMK Negeri 2
Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia
461
Schools have a prominent role in the development of character education
(Mahmud & Manda, 2016). The proactive role of schools in shaping the character
of students is very much needed in addition to the role of parents and the social
environment (Sugiarti et al., 2022; Pala, 2011). In addition, character education is
one of the goals of education (Shields, 2011). Therefore, the character of students
can be formed through programmed activities in schools (Smith, 2013). At their
schools, students receive education through academic activities (learning
activities) and non-academic activities (extracurricular and routine activities).
Character education is a programmed effort to build student’s positive attitudes

and behavior (Aquami, et al., 2020; Fadhilah & Nurahman, 2021; Frasandy, et al.,
2022; Pane & Patriana, 2016). Character education, through both academic and
non-academic programs, facilitates students in improving their achievements in
terms of knowledge, skills, and behavior or character. Through character
education, students are expected to have positive values including religious,
honest, tolerant, disciplined, hard-working, creative, independent, democratic,
curious, nationalist, homeland-loving, appreciative, academically good, friendly,
peace-loving, bookish, environmentally caring, socially caring, and responsible
(Wahid & Pamungkas, 2019).
The formation of student character through academic activities is carried out by

integrating character values in intra-curricular and co-curricular activities. In
intracurricular activities, character values are integrated into teaching materials,
learning processes, and the curriculum (Birhan et al., 2021; Saputro & Murdiono,
2020; Pradana et al., 2020). In co-curricular activities, character values are
integrated into material deepening activities. In addition, the integration of
character values in learning can also be performed on models, strategies, and
learning methods (Kim, 2015; Lidyasari, 2014; Ucus, 2015).
The formation of student character through non-academic activities is character

education that is integrated into extracurricular activities and routine activities.
Extracurricular activities are carried out through educational activities outside of
subjects to help the development of students that matches their needs, potential,
talents, and interests through activities that are specifically organized by
competent and authorized educators and education personnel in schools (Siregar
et al., 2020; Farb & Matjasko, 2012). Extracurricular activities can be a facility to
develop children's non-cognitive skills (Carolan, 2018; Nitu, 2011). In
extracurricular activities, character values can be integrated through activities to
expand interests and talents in student organizations, scouting, religious
activities, and others.
Character education can be applied through various methods. Character

education can be applied through three methods. The first is the knowing method,
that is, providing knowledge about the importance of practicing positive
character values. Through this method, character education can be packaged
through the delivery of information at every opportunity and can be integrated
into learning. The second is the practice method, that is, the direct practice of
462
character values. The last is the habituation method, that is, continuous and
routine practice of character values in daily activities (Asnawan, 2020; Rijal et al.,
2023; Roseth, 2015).
Previous research shows that there are several patterns of character education
through academic and non-academic programs such as through the
implementation of local wisdom-based learning models (Anggraini & Kusniarti,
2017), contextual learning (Rahmawati et al., 2019), the provision of role models,
interventions, consistent habituation, and reinforcement (Zurqoni et al., 2018),
and through traditional games (Hafina et al., 2022). This research reveal another
approach to implementing character education in SMK.
3. Methodology
This study uses a qualitative approach with an explanatory case study method
that aims to explain the phenomenon in depth (Zainal, 2017). This study is
conducted to describe the facts regarding the patterns of character education
through non-academic activities at SMK Negeri 2 Palembang, South Sumatra,
Indonesia. To test the validity of the data, the researcher conducts repeated
interviews, does intensive observations in the field, and confirms the data from
the interviews, the observation data, and research documents as well.
Participants
The researcher directly selects representative informants who are considered to
know much about the research problem. This is intended to obtain accurate and
informative data. Eleven people become the informants. They are the vice
principal of student affairs (informant 1), the coordinator of the counseling
guidance unit (informant 2), supervisor of extracurricular activities (informant 3),
head of administration (informant 4), spiritual advisor (informant 5), teachers
(informant 6), and five students (informants 7, 8, 9, 10, 11).
Table 1. Informants and Obtained data

Informants Obtained Data
Vice principal of student School policy on patterns of character education in
affairs school.
Coordinator of the Counseling programs and activities for students in
counseling guidance unit school.
Supervisor of extracurricular Character education through extracurricular activities.
activities
Head of administration Character education program in school.
Spiritual advisor Character education through religious activities.
Teachers The role of the teacher in building the character of
students.
Five students Students’ response regarding character education in
schools. Student character in the aspect of paradigm,
attitude, and behavior.
463
Data Collection Methods

In the first step, the researcher conducts a qualitative document analysis, that is,
conducting a study on school work program documents, school activity reports,
students' non-academic reports, student counseling guidance documents, and
student work programs (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018; Chu & Ke, 2017). Then, the
researcher conducts in-depth interviews with the informants to clarify the
documents (Goodel et al., 2016; Roshenthal, 2016). After that, the researcher
conducts observations on students' activities upon their arrival at school, during
rest time, and in extracurricular activities. Observations are carried out naturally.
The researcher plays the role of a participant and observer (Moen & Middlethon,
2015). The researcher is also involved in several extracurricular activities.
However, in extracurricular activities, the researcher's role is just as an observer
in other activities.
Data Analysis Procedures

The data obtained were analyzed using the data triangulation method which
combines data from interviews, observations, and documentation (Miles &
Huberman, 2018; Moon et al., 2019). The researcher recorded, summarized,
classified, analyzed, and interpreted the data in depth, presenting the obtained
data in a narrative form, and concluded each of the research data that were related
to the patterns of student character development through non-academic activity
programs at SMK Negeri 2 Palembang.
4. Findings
The research findings reveal that there are two patterns of character education
implemented by the school; a habituation program involving extrinsic motivation
and is initiated by the school, and an extracurricular program involving intrinsic
motivation and is based on students’ hobbies and interests. Both approaches can
be categorized into non-academic programs.
Program Planning
The character education program at SMK Negeri 2 Palembang is under the
supervision of the vice principal of student affairs who supervises several fields,
as shown in Figure 1.
464
Figure 1: Organizational structure of the program and their responsibilities
Both the habituation program and the extracurricular program have been
carefully designed and well prepared. The researcher found the concept and
design of the systematic program in school documents. According to the vice
principal of student affairs, who is the person in charge of the program, these two
activities are considered to have a positive impact on student's mental
development.
"In addition to cognitive abilities, character building becomes one of the
main goals in the educational process in schools. Character education
cannot be successfully done only through learning activities, but also
must be carried out in non-academic activities through special disciplined
development activities and by optimizing extracurricular activities
(informant 1).
Each unit is obliged to make a program for one academic year in consultation with
the vice principal of student affairs and make a report to the principal. The
program for each unit is shown in table 1.
Table 2: The Patterns of Character Education at SMK Negeri 2 Palembang

Units Program Description
The daily program is considered the most influential media
in instilling students' discipline. This daily activity is a
program designed and agreed upon by all the stakeholders.
The daily program focuses on three main activities. The first
is the smiling day program. It is carried out by doing
Counseling
Daily "saluting, smiling, and greeting" activities. This program

program aims to help students accustomed to doing positive habits
in building good relations with others (hablun min annas).
The second is “ant operation” program. This activity is
intended to build students’ positive habits of keeping the
environment clean. This activity is a manifestation of
establishing good relations with the surroundings and
nature (hablum ma'al alam). The third is reading Al Qur'an.
465
This activity aims to draw students closer to God, The

Almighty (hablum minal Allah).
The weekly program is carried out by performing flag-
raising ceremonies every Monday and on certain national
days. This activity aims to familiarize students with
Weekly neatness, discipline, and responsibility. This activity has
program been scheduled for each academic year. All classes are
ensured to get their turn to become flag-raising ceremony
officers. This activity is used to instill several values such
as trust, gratitude, and love for the homeland.
Character education intended to train students' mentality is
also carried out through an annual routine program. The
program is a short-term Islamic boarding school. This
activity is carried out in the Islamic month of Ramadan.
These activities include congregational prayers, tadarus
(reciting Al Qur'an), Islamic preaching (tausiyah), breaking
Annual the fast together, and cooperation in cleaning the mosque
program and school areas. On the closing day, the school holds
various religious competitions such as adzan (the Islamic
call to prayer), Al Qur'an recitation, iqamah (the shorter
version of adzan), an Islamic preaching competition, and so
on. Through this activity, students are accustomed to
practicing religious values, responsibility, and caring for the
environment.
The incidental program can be in the form of sudden
inspections that are intended to supervise and track classes
at certain hours to check students' conditions and activities.
Incidental If students commit violations such as wearing their uniform
program improperly or skipping flag-raising ceremonies, they can be
immediately reprimanded and advised. This activity is a
form of routine evaluation of the implementation of
character education programs.
There are many extracurricular activities offered by the
school. Some of them, such as scouting, are mandatory for
all students, especially those who are in their first year.
Other extracurricular activities are choir, dance and drama,
Extracurricular Activities
scientific creativity club, debate, band, marching band,

Islamic spirituality club, futsal, basketball, wall magazine,
Weekly badminton, volleyball, martial art, karate, and clean and
routine green club. These programmed activities are carried out
program routinely every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday after the
end of learning hours, or around 3:00-5:00 pm local time.
Every extracurricular is fostered and guided by teachers as
competent trainers or mentors in their field. Some of the
extracurricular activities also involve trainers or mentors
who are outsiders. However, they must have certificates of
expertise in their fields.
Program Implementation
1. Habituation Activities and Mental Discipline Building
466
Mental building activity for the students of SMK Negeri 2 Palembang is carried
out through daily programs such as the smiling day program and reading Al-
Qur'an, weekly programs such as the flag-raising ceremony on Mondays, and the
annual program such as short-term Islamic boarding school as stated by
informant 2, the head of the discipline of the counseling Guidance Unit.
"Human character likes to change, including the students' and ours.
Schools are responsible for creating programs that facilitate teachers and
students to maintain their faith in God. In the daily program, we create
the smiling day program. It aims to help students and teachers to be
accustomed to smiling to everyone they meet. The program starts earlier
before classes begin around 06.30 in the morning. All students must be at
the school at that time and do "saluting, smiling, and greetings". In the
program, all students who pass the school gate must greet all the teachers,
especially the counseling guidance teachers, who are ready to welcome
students in front of the gate. After that, students automatically carry out
the "ant operation movement". In the program, students do the cleaning
in the school environment or in their workshops. After that, students
enter the class at 07.00. After the class captain leads the prayer, the
students read Al Qur'an (tadarus). In the weekly program, we do mental
discipline training by performing a flag-raising ceremony every Monday
morning. All students must gather at the schoolyard before 07.00. In the
annual program, we have prepared a short-term Islamic boarding school
program that is in the month of Ramadan." (Informant 2)
The counseling guidance unit assisted by several counselors and Islamic religious
advisors leads the implementation of the habituation program. Counselors and
religious coaches are selected from teachers who have an educational background
and expertise in counseling and religion. They work on a scheduled basis and in
their respective task areas, as stated by the vice head of student affairs. In
implementing students' discipline effectively and efficiently, the school divides
tasks among several people. Those who are in charge of doing their tasks have the
responsibility of conducting scheduled coaching based on certain classes.
"We fully support school policies in disciplining students. All related
needs will be facilitated. In the habituation and discipline section, six
people serve as counselors. They are given scheduled assignments to carry
out coaching in classes. Consulting services can be carried out in
classrooms, offices, or spaces outside classrooms. The counseling services
provided are very flexible. It means students can consult whenever they
want. We are always ready to serve.” (Informant 4)
The school always involves the students' parents in every process of the program
and has discussions with them to ensure that the program runs smoothly. At the
beginning of the learning activities, the school invites the students' parents to
discuss the program design and sign an agreement regarding the program
implementation. The students and their parents are asked to sign a letter of
agreement regarding the rules and regulations that must be obeyed by the
students. This is done so that the guardians of the students know and agree on the
coaching programs implemented in the school. This agreement is also a
collaborative effort between the school and the guardians in educating students.
467
The school gives sanctions for any violations of the rules as a form of student
discipline control. Sanctions are given based on the level of the violation. At this
level, schools are committed to upholding discipline that adheres to the principle
of "being forced and accustomed". There are three types of violations committed
by students. They are serious violations, moderate violations, and minor
violations. The explanation of the violation points can be seen in table 2.
Regarding the supervision of student discipline, the school makes a schedule for
teachers to carry out supervision effectively, especially during activities outside
the classroom and during school breaks. This supervision aims to ensure that no
students commit violations such as fighting, skipping classes, smoking, and so on.
Students who commit violations will get punishment to prevent them from
repeating the same violations in the future.
“We apply the principle of ‘being forced and accustomed to doing good
behavior’. This is actually to train and increase the students’ awareness
to be able to control their behavior.” (Informant 1)
"The forms of punishment we give to students who commit violations are

gradual. They start from verbal reprimand, a written agreement, a
summons of parents, to being expelled from the school if the violation
belongs to the serious one such as drug abuse." (Informant 6)
Table 3: Scale points of student discipline
No. Types of Violation Points

SERIOUS VIOLATION
a. brawl 150
b. carrying, storing, or consuming liquor 250
c. carrying, storing, or consuming drugs 250
d. carrying, storing, or using sharp tools for crimes 200
e. smoking, storing, carrying, or buying cigarettes 250
1 f. skipping classes 100
g. storing, carrying, or sharing porn movies 150
h. sexual harassment 150
i. aiding and abetting stealing school property 200
j. involved in a brawl among students (provocateur) 250
k. involved in actions which are against the law 250
468
MODERATE VIOLATIONS
a. Signature forgery 20
b. Entering and exiting the school through illegal exits or 20
entrance doors
c. Stealing class-owned finance or financial abuse 20
d. Being outside school/classroom during study hours without 15
permission
e. Instigating friends to perform negative behaviors 15
f. Playing basketball or volleyball during other lesson time 20
g. Coming late for classes 20
h. Being absent without any notice or with no permissions 25
2 i. Having long hair of more than 3 cm or having untidy hair for 20
male students
j. Having a tattoo or tattoos 30
k. Using nail polish for male students 20
l. Wearing earrings/piercing for male students 30
m. Damaging school property such as school supplies, chairs, 30
tables, benches, blackboards etc.
n. Forcibly asking other students for money 30
o. Wearing more than a pair of earrings for female students 30
MINOR VIOLATIONS
a. Giving no greetings when meeting teachers 3
b. Disobeying flag-raising ceremony regulations 5
c. Skipping flag-raising ceremony 10
d. Doing other activities instead of focusing on teaching- 10
learning activities during classes.
e. Buying food or drink during classes 10
f. Wearing no student council badge, chest name tags, and 5
school badge.
g. Wearing no standard school uniform, socks, or belts 5
h. Wearing no standard shoes and shoe laces 5
i. Wearing school uniform improperly 8
3 j. Wearing no school uniform 8
k. Wearing non-standard skirts for female students 8
l. Wearing no chest name tags or wearing other students’ chest 5
name tags
m. Wearing shoes improperly 5
n. Dying hair 5
o. Wearing accessories improperly 5
p. Wearing colorful contact lenses 5
q. Being against classroom regulations 5
r. Littering 5
s. Spitting improperly 5
t. Using toilets or bathrooms improperly 5
u. Making noise during teaching and learning activity 8
Source: Document of the Counseling Guidance Unit at SMK Negeri 2 Palembang
469
Although most of the students are males, the school has never carried out physical
sanctions on them. The school gives punishment in the form of social sanctions
that are more educational, as stated by the following informant:
"If students violate unwritten rules, we never do physical punishment.
We just give a reprimand with the principle of 'extended discussion and
a sense of love. Besides, teachers should not get bored reminding students
not to break the rules, especially during the flag-raising ceremony every
Monday. We always remind the students of the rules and regulations
every Monday. In addition, in controlling students' discipline, sometimes
I can be very angry even though I can be very gentle more often. By doing
those things, students' behavior can change quickly." (Informant 2)
On one occasion, during an observation activity during resting time, the

researcher saw a teacher who was cutting a male student's long hair in front of his
classmates. This was a form of regulation at this school. Male students were
prohibited from having hair longer than 1 cm. The regulation has been mutually
agreed upon. If students violate the regulation, teachers will give an initial verbal
warning. If the reprimand is ignored, then the teachers will cut the student's long
hair (figure 2).
Figure 2: The implementation of haircut discipline for long-haired male students

(researcher's personal document)
At SMK Negeri 2 Palembang, the disciplinary violation services have regulated

procedures. In general, violations that occur in the schools for "problematic"
students are immediately handled by the guidance & counseling unit (BK), but
not in this vocational school.
Several stages must be carried out to implement the disciplinary violation

services. First, the student who commits a violation can be referred to the
homeroom teacher, staff, teachers, or class teacher. This is done based on the types
of violations and their occurrence time. For example, if students leave school
without permission during resting time, teachers on duty will handle the
470
problem. After that, the coordinator counseling guidance unit will do the rest:
identifying the problem, providing counseling services, and conducting an
evaluation.
If the coaching carried out does not produce results (or the student repeats a
similar violation), the case will be handled by the vice principal of student affairs
to be discussed in the case trial. The results of the trial will provide
recommendations for the subsequent actions: giving students another
opportunity to improve or asking the students to resign voluntarily.
2. Extracurricular Activities
In addition to disciplinary training activities, the school also conducts character
education programmatically by strengthening extracurricular activities. The
students are free to choose the type of activity they want to take based on their
interests and preferences. The researcher discovered that the vocational school has
15 types of different extracurricular activities.
“There are 15 kinds of extracurricular activities at this school. Students
are free to join whichever activities they like. I handle religious activities.
I accompany students who become members of the Islamic spiritual club.”
(Informant 5)
"Based on the school principal decree, each particular extracurricular has

an appointed coach and a trainer, chairpersons, and members. The coaches
or trainers must have certificates in their field of expertise. The coaches or
trainers can be from the teachers or outside the school members. For
example, the basketball club has an outsider as a coach. He can be the
basketball trainer after showing his certificate. The rule is also for other
extracurricular activities such as scouting and dance club. Thus, if there
is an extracurricular activity, I just need to contact the coach and the
chairperson. I usually give the students an opportunity to handle the
activity. It means that the students are active in the activity. After that, I
will ask them to make a report." (Informant 3).
Field data shows that of the 15 extracurricular activities at the vocational school,
scouting has the most activities such as learning how to do rigging, learning
emergency first aid skills, learning pioneering dexterity, practicing Morse and
semaphore skills, learning how to read scouting codes, exploring nature with
certain signs and directions, learning how to do useful wander, learning how to
march, and directional skills. This activity is carried out to build the character of
discipline, tolerance, responsibility, discipline, hard work, creative,
friendly/communicative, and social care.
There are various responses given by the students regarding the implementation
of the character education program. Some of the interview excerpts are as follows.
“The school has strict rules. I have to hurry to arrive at the school on time,
especially in the morning or on Mondays.” (Informant 7)
"In my opinion, this regulation is made so that we can be better people. I

agree on that." (Informant 8)
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“What I like here is the extracurricular activities, especially the band. I

like to sing. I can express myself and sharpen my talent here” (informant
9)
“I have been studying at this school for 2 years. There are many ups and
downs. However, I also get many positive things. I get used to cleaning
the environment, both at school and at home” (informant 10)
"I agree with the school on this program and it should be continued, but
the teachers should not be grumpy. (smiling) (informant 11)
Program Evaluation
The implementation of character education programs is evaluated regularly. It is
done either weekly, monthly, or yearly. All reports from each field are well
recorded and documented. This includes the types of violations committed by
students and their approach to solving the problems.
Character education, especially through extracurricular activities, has produced

many outstanding students and received certificates of appreciation. Apart from
being a source of pride for the school, this achievement is also a motivation for
new students who have just been admitted to the school.
5. Discussions
The school has a paradigm stating that character education will not be sufficient
to be taught only through learning and academic activities. Schools must also
carry out character education through non-academic activities in the form of
disciplinary development activities and extracurricular activities. This paradigm
makes the concept of character education comprehensively implemented.
Character education with this paradigm is complete and comprehensive character
education. This paradigm is relevant to the goal of national education which is
not only a place for knowledge transfer, but also a place for the formation of
attitudes, behavior, and character (Rokhman et al., 2014). With this paradigm,
character education becomes a priority program and is one of the main goals of
the education process in schools.
The facts show that the implemented extracurricular activities have a positive
impact on the character-building of students. It means that extracurricular
activities are quite effective in shaping the character of students. In their research,
Covay & Carbonaro (2010) states that extracurricular activities have a positive
effect on behavior. Marini (2017) concludes that extracurricular activities are quite
effective in shaping students' character. Another study indicates that
extracurricular activities have a positive effect on the formation of student
character (Saleh, 2021). This fact shows that the strength of the concept determines
the success of character education programs in schools.
Referring to the previous research findings, character education through non-

academic activities is quite effective in shaping students' character (Hastasari, et
al., 2022; Mahmud & Manda, 2016; Putro & Suryono, 2019). Although most SMK
472
Negeri 2 Palembang students are males, most of them have good character. The
visible evidence is that the students can dress neatly, salute others politely, smile,
and greet teachers and other people when they meet. They are also accustomed to
reading the Qur’an, participating in flag-raising ceremonies as a form of love for
the homeland, and being responsible for the mandate and tasks either from their
teachers or from extra-curricular activities. The success of this program is strongly
influenced by the role of the vice head of student affairs who represents the
principal as well as the person in charge of the program. Therefore, leadership is
another factor that supports the success of this character education program
(Fackler & Malmberg, 2016).
The field data also shows that the results of the recapitulation of violations
committed by students are minimal, especially in 2021. Of the total students, only
three students committed serious violations, twenty-three students committed
moderate violations, and twelve students committed minor violations. This fact
explains that the violations that occur in this school are minor compared to the
total number of students, that is, 2830 students in the 2020-2021 academic year.
The number of students who violated the school regulations is only four. It is
1.45% of the total number of students. The success of this program is, of course,
supported by the synergy of all school members and organizations such as the
school counselors and spiritual coaches in the counseling guidance unit. Besides,
trainers and teachers who handle the extracurricular units also give their great
contribution. This shows that the strength of the organization as a system runs
well and properly.
The successful formation of the students’ character is due to the integrated

character values in the disciplinary development programs and extracurricular
activities that run well under the guidance of competent teachers and mentors.
Competence and the role of a good teacher are needed in this activity (Tahira et
al., 2013). In addition, teachers must have a high awareness of character value
education (Tadege et al., 2022). Teachers should not only teach learning materials
theoretically, but they need to be direct models in practicing character values
(Hastasari et al., 2022). Thus, students can imitate directly what is taught and
practiced by teachers or mentors at their schools. This clearly shows the
importance of the competence of all parties including counselors, teachers,
trainers, and other parties involved in this program.
Finally, the practice and habituation methods that are applied through
disciplinary and extracurricular activities in schools enable students to apply
character values directly and continuously in their daily activities, especially in
the school environment. The habituation method is the right method for shaping
students’ character. The habit of practicing values of good character regularly
becomes a habit for students. Finally, the character values that are practiced are
internalized in students and become their permanent characters (Hidayat &
Bujuri, 2020). This success, of course, is also influenced by the support of the
students’ parents. It is proven by their readiness to fill in the agreement and
support the school programs.
473
6. Conclusion
This research proves that the patterns of student character education through non-
academic programs in vocational high schools have a positive impact on shaping
the students’ character. The applied principle of "being forced and get accustomed
to" turns out to be successful in making students accustomed to practicing positive
characters. Through disciplinary development and extracurricular activities,
students are trained to directly practice character values, including religious,
honest, tolerant, disciplined, hard-working, creative, independent, democratic,
curious, homeland loving, friendly/communicative, peace-loving,
environmentally caring, socially caring, and responsible consistently and
continuously. The success of the character education program at SMKN 2
Palembang can be seen in several ways, such as the program strength factor
(concept), leadership factor, system factor, competency factor, and support factor
of students’ parents and other stakeholders. This study has limitations in
describing other factors that cause the formation of the students’ character. In
addition, further research needs to be done on the causal factors for students who
still commit violations that reflect negative characters at school.
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https://doi.org/10.23887/jfi.v1i1.13973
Anggraini, P., & Kusniarti, T. (2017). Character and Local Wisdom-Based Instructional
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https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/35461
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 478-493, April 2023
Received Jan 31, 2023; Revised Apr 17, 2023; Accepted Apr 25, 2023
A Gender-Based Comparison of the Effects of

Face-to-Face and Online Learning on Student
Performance in Introductory Computer Science
Courses
Ali Alshammari
University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
Abstract. Introductory computer science courses help students,

regardless of their majors, keep up with the rapid pace of change in the
workplace. However, such courses are commonly perceived as being
difficult. Although many studies have discussed the importance of online
introductory computer science courses, there is a dearth of studies
investigating the effectiveness of this delivery mode when the same
assessment tools are used as in the traditional delivery mode. Moreover,
it is unclear how students of different genders perform in both online and
traditional face-to-face introductory computer science course sections
when they receive the same instructional content. The purpose of this
study is to expand the existing literature by examining the academic
achievement of students in an introductory computer science course
through the evaluation of grades obtained from online and traditional
face-to-face course sections. Additionally, the study aims to explore any
gender-based variations between the two delivery modes. The sample
size included 589 first-year students in an introductory computer science
course at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The participants were
selected randomly from different sections. The results confirm the
findings of previous studies suggesting that there are no gender-based
differences in students’ performance in introductory computer science.
Additionally, this study makes a valuable contribution to the existing
body of literature by demonstrating that students who receive
introductory computer science instruction through online delivery mode
achieve significantly higher performance than students who receive the
same instruction through traditional face-to-dace delivery mode.
Moreover, this study found that both female and male students who
receive introductory computer science instruction through online
delivery mode perform significantly better than male students who
receive instruction through traditional face-to-face delivery mode,
indicating that online learning may be a more effective mode of delivery
for students of both genders.
Keywords: Computer Science; Gender studies; Introductory Computer

Science teaching; Online Learning
©Authors
479
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of the Study
Computing is for everyone, not just for those who major in computer science (CS).
In an age characterized by a high-tech economy, many jobs, regardless of whether
they are computer-related occupations, require basic to advanced computer skills.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021), the workforce engaged in
computer-based occupations is expected to grow rapidly between 2020 and 2030
due to the strong demand for computer-related skills. Currently, computing is
deeply linked to other STEM disciplines (Pereira et al., 2018); as a result, new
computing subfields, such as bioinformatics, computational statistics,
computational chemistry, and computational biology, have been created (Pappas
et al., 2017). Therefore, computer science education is important for a 21st-century
workforce.
Due to the importance of computer science, many universities offer introductory

computer science courses under different names depending on the specific focus
of the course, including Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Computer
Science, Introduction to Computing, or Computer Science 101 (Srivatanakul,
2022). These courses usually cover different fundamental computer science topics
and prepare students for the digital workplaces of the future. Introductory
computer science courses offer a foundation for exploring specialized areas of
computer science, such as computer literacy, key programming concepts and
valuable technical and soft skills necessary for success in a constantly evolving
digital world.
As a discipline, computer science is facing many pedagogical challenges

(Gülbahar & Kalelioğlu, 2017). Despite the importance of computer skills, there
remain students who lack digital literacy (Bresnihan et al., 2021; Daungtod, 2019),
and this issue exists worldwide. Moreover, introductory computer science courses
are known to have high drop-out rates (Long & Harrington, 2019). Another issue
is the gender-based differences in students’ perceptions and academic
achievements (Alshammari, 2018; Finlayson, 2020). However, with effective
pedagogical practices, and by taking advantage of modern technology, these
challenges can be overcome.
Due to the increasing importance of online learning in higher education, and its
several advantages and benefits, many universities offer introductory computer
science courses online. This mode of course delivery has become increasingly
popular as it provides a flexible way for college students to learn the essential
concepts and skills of computer science from anywhere and at any time.
1.2 Purpose of the Study

Although online learning has been shown to be effective, there is a dearth of
studies investigating the effectiveness of online introductory computer science
courses for students, especially when the same assessments are used as for a
traditional delivery mode. Moreover, it is unclear how students of different
genders perform in online and traditional face-to-face courses if they are taught
in the same way. Therefore, this study aims to expand the existing literature by
480
examining the academic achievement of students in an introductory computer

science course through the evaluation of grades obtained from online and
traditional face-to-face course sections. Additionally, the study aims to investigate
any gender-based differences between the delivery modes.
2.1 Computer Science Education
Computer science education is a field of study that focuses on the pedagogical
practices involved in teaching computing. The field has emerged from other
disciplines, such as education, psychology, engineering, and computing
(including computer science, information technology, information science, and
computer engineering) (Lunn et al., 2021). The importance of computer science
education extends beyond the field of computing as it enhances students’ abilities
to solve problems and be creative; it also supports project management,
supervision and communication, and interpersonal interactions (Pappas et al.,
2017). It is currently unclear which topics should be the focus in computer science
classes, but such classes usually cover programming and computational thinking
skills (Burbaitė et al., 2018). Regardless of the different topics covered in computer
science classes, course content is usually taught using individual-centric
pedagogy.
There are some organizations that have set standards for computing education
and digital literacy, such as The Global Digital Literacy Council, The Computing
Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE), and the National Coalition of Certification
Centers (NC3). Moreover, SkillsUSA has set the neutral vendor standard called
the IC3 Digital Literacy Certification (IC3) (Daungtod, 2019). Such standards can
be used as key performance indicators (KPIs) for student performance levels.
Many instructional methods can be used to teach computer science which have
been identified in the previous literature, such as Computer Science Unplugged
(Sendurur, 2019), direct instruction, project and free work. Learning forms for
computer science instruction can also vary and include subject-related,
interdisciplinary, and self-directed learning approaches (Zendler & Reile, 2018),
and the Mastery Learning Model (McCane et al., 2017). In their research, Hao et
al. (2018) found that the implementation of active learning methods, such as team-
based learning or problem-based learning, had significantly positive effects on
students’ learning outcomes. Other emerging methodologies in computer science
education include parallel and distributed computing (PDC) (Ghafoor et al., 2019),
creative computation (Xu et al., 2018), computational creativity exercises
(Peteranetz et al., 2019), and the use of blended learning, which has been shown
to be important for reducing the number of students who drop out of courses
(Förster et al., 2021).
In terms of teaching methods, Khan et al. (2020) conducted a study on the

effectiveness of inductive teaching on students’ performance in introductory
computer science courses and found this method to be significantly effective
compared to deductive teaching. In their study, Malik and Zhu (2023) found that
using project-based learning, hands-on activities, and flipped teaching increased
students learning and motivation in introductory computer science courses.
481
2.2 Introductory Computer Science Courses

Introductory computer science courses are very important for undergraduate
students. These courses usually cover different fundamental computer science
topics, such as programming, computer literacy, algorithms, data structures, and
computer systems. The main goal of such courses is to provide students with a
strong foundation in computer science principles and techniques, enabling them
to pursue more advanced topics in the field. They help students, regardless of
their majors, keep up with the rapid changes in the workplace (Daungtod, 2019).
Introductory computer science courses focus on knowledge acquisition and
retention, training, and comprehension (Jiang et al., 2018; Hao et al., 2018).
However, introductory courses are commonly perceived to be difficult (Long &
Harrington, 2019; Narasareddygari et al., 2018) with a high number of students
dropping out.
2.3 Challenges in Introductory Computer Courses

Introductory computer science courses can be considered in the context of several
challenges. In general, introductory computer science courses are difficult for new
students (Brown et al., 2018), especially for non-CS majors (Dawson et al., 2018;
Pereira et al., 2018). However, research in this area is still limited in terms of
providing recommendations to enhance their effectiveness.
Previous exposure to computer science can also determine student performance
in introductory courses (Wilcox & Lionelle, 2018). The literature demonstrates that
students with previous experience in computer science subject will perform better
than inexperienced students (Alvarado et al., 2018; Wilcox & Lionelle, 2018).
Introductory courses are often taught using a one-size-fits-all approach to all
students regardless of their prior computing experience (Dawsonet al., 2018), and
the literature indicates that combining novice students with students with prior
programming experience may negatively influence the performance of novice
students (Ott et al., 2018). Therefore, some educational institutions give students
a placement test in computer programming and separate them into two groups
according to their abilities, offering one course for students with prior
programming experience and another for students without prior programming
experience.
In terms of gender considerations, female students in many countries are known

to underestimate their abilities and rate themselves lower than male students,
despite the fact that they often perform better (Finlayson, 2020). Wilcox and
Lionelle (2018) found that female students with prior experience in programming
performed better than male students in all areas. Although this confirms a
recognized issue, performance differences only occur in specific circumstances
(McBroom et al., 2020).
Introductory computer science courses are known to have high drop-out rates
across many different institutions and countries (Long & Harrington, 2019). There
is a dearth of literature about effective and ineffective behaviors of students in
introductory computer science courses (Robins, 2019). Bennedsen and Caspersen
(2019) conducted a study in 2007 on failure rates in introductory computer science
courses and repeated the same study in 2017. The findings revealed that the failure
482
rates had reduced slightly from (33%) in 2007 to (28%) in 2017. However, the
difficulty of such courses and the drop-out rates still need to be addressed. It is
reasonable to assume that students drop out of introductory courses due to poor
performance in the courses, but this assumption ought to lead to a better
understanding of the assessment strategies used in such courses. Adkins and
Linville (2017) conducted a study on the relationship between the number of
exams and students’ grades in the courses. The study found no significant
differences in students’ performance, even though students wanted more exams
to reduce exam anxiety.
Coffman-Wolph and Gray (2019) identified another challenge in the area of

computer science learning, namely that students are unaware of what computer
scientists do. Computer science education research most often relies on the
assumption that all students have access to computers and other required tools
(Moissinac et al., 2020). This assumption sometimes negatively impacts the
validity of many studies conducted on the predictors of student performance in
computer science courses.
Other challenges facing students taking introductory courses include the typical
teaching–learning process utilized in the delivery of such courses, which makes
the course content difficult to learn (Narasareddygari et al., 2018). An examination
of the evolution of introductory computer science courses indicates significant
changes in the topics from 1970 to 2018. Some topics have disappeared as they are
no longer relevant, while new topics such as gender and diversity in
programming have become a new trend (Becker & Quille, 2019).
There are many different designs for introductory courses, such as massive open
online courses (MOOCs) (Duran et al., 2020), microcontroller unit (MCU)-based
courses (Brown et al., 2018), online courses (Shirai et al., 2021), and traditional
(face-to-face) courses. Regardless of the delivery mode, however, interaction
among peers is an essential component of many active learning strategies (Hao et
al., 2018). Moreover, it is necessary to identify which factors play a significant role
in student performance in introductory computer science courses.
Many studies have listed factors related to student success in introductory
courses, such as student motivation, attitudes, domain identification,
(Alshammari, 2018) and self-efficacy (Lishinski & Yadav, 2021). Another factor
that can help to determine student success is student–instructor interaction
(Blaney & Stout, 2017).
2.4 Online Introductory Computer Science Courses

Most often, introductory computer science courses are designed to be taught
through lectures, with student learning supported by labs. The results are not
satisfactory—approximately 30% of students fail such courses, and the majority
do not even acquire basic skills (Watson & Li, 2014). Current students need more
active learning opportunities, and enhanced teaching strategies need to be
adopted to meet their needs. However, enhancing introductory courses with
active learning strategies is not easy. With the growth of online learning in the
past few decades, many universities currently offer their introductory computer
science courses online.
483
In Saudi Arabia, for example, many universities offer fully online introductory
computer science courses. There are many examples of such courses being
delivered in blended formats, or in traditional formats supported by online
instruction materials (Mason et al., 2019; Kortsarts et al., 2020; Förster et al., 2021;
Bigman et al., 2021). Zeuch et al. (2019) investigated the impact of supporting
traditional face-to-face introductory computer science courses with online
learning resources and they demonstrated a positive impact on students’
performance. Moreover, Kanika et al. (2020) recommended that computer science
students should access massive open online courses (MOOCs). Although students
may perceive online learning to be helpful (Marasco et al., 2018), a recent study
found no differences in student performance and perceptions between students
in a fully online introductory computer science course when compared with a
traditional face-to-face version of the same course (He, 2020). Both delivery modes
have advantages for students’ learning. While students benefit from face-to-face
interaction and feedback, students in online introductory courses benefit from the
flexibility offered by online learning (Srivatanakul, 2022). Despite this, teaching
introductory computer science courses fully online can be difficult, with more
attendant challenges than are encountered when teaching traditional face-to-face
courses.
3. Research Questions
RQ1: Are there any statistically significant differences in student performance in
introductory computer science courses between face-to-face and online delivery
modes?
RQ2: Are there any statistically significant gender-based differences in student
performance in introductory computer science courses based on course delivery
mode?
4. Methods
In this quantitative study, the sample size included 600 first-year students in an
introductory computer science course at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The
participants were selected randomly from different sections. All sections were
taught the same course content, either online or via traditional face-to-face
delivery mode. It was a requirement for all students, across different colleges and
majors, to take the introductory computer science course for a total of 15 weeks.
The course focuses on a variety of topics, such as Microsoft Office, essentials of
information technology, and fundamentals of operating systems. The students
who were enrolled in online sections participated in synchronous learning during
each lecture. Although there were two different delivery modes, all students took
their mid-term examinations and final examinations face-to-face regardless of the
way in which they had been taught.
This study analyzed students’ performance as evaluated according to grades

collected from different course sections. The data cleaning process included
detecting and removing outliers from the dataset. As shown in Figure 1, the
boxplots showed that there were no outliers after removing 11 observations from
the dataset. Therefore, the final sample size becomes 589 first-year students.
484
Figure 1: Boxplots of student performance before(left) and after(right) removing the

outliers
5. Data Analysis and Results
5.1 Phase #1: Checking Assumptions
From the histogram (Figure 2), it is noticeable that the data follow a non-normal
distribution; therefore, several normalizing transformation techniques were used,
as shown in Table (1), and the best was selected based on the Pearson P/df value.
The histogram in Figure 3 shows a normal distribution after implementing the
normalizing transformation.
Figure 2: Histogram of student performance before data transformation
Table 1: Selecting the best normalizing transformation techniques

Method Pearson P / df
arcsinh(x): 3.4202
Box-Cox: 2.1039
Center+scale: 2.5723
Exp(x): 57.9665
Log_b(x+a): 3.4202
orderNorm (ORQ): 1.5081
sqrt(x + a): 2.7566
Yeo-Johnson: 2.1442
Estimation method: Out-of-sample via CV with 10 folds and 5 repeat
485
Figure 3: Histogram of student performance after data transformation
The qq plot and the density plot (Figure 4) support the validity of the normality
assumption for these data. Homogeneity was assessed using the Bartlett test of
homogeneity of variances to ascertain whether the variances were equal, and the
null hypothesis was tested against the alternative hypothesis that the variances
were not equal. Based on the results in Table 2, we accept the null hypothesis; it
was, therefore, assumed that the populations were homoscedastic.
Figure 4: Checking the normality assumption for these data
Table 2: Bartlett test of homogeneity of variances

Bartlett test of homogeneity of variances
Bartlett's K-squared df p-value
0.3702 1 0.5429
5.2 Phase #2: Answering the Research Questions

To answer the first research question, a Welch Two Sample T-test was performed
to determine if there were significant differences in achievement in an
introductory computer science course between students who were taught online
and students who were taught face-to-face (F-2-F). The T-test was conducted to
test the following hypotheses:
H0: µOnline = µF-2-F
Hα: µOnline ≠ µF-2-F
From Table (3), the results reveal statistically significant differences between the
groups (t = -3.7023, p value = 0.0002364). Therefore, the null hypothesis was
rejected. From the means of the groups and the boxplot (Figure 5), there were
486
significant differences in achievement in an introductory computer science course

between students who were taught online and students who were taught in a
traditional face-to-face delivery mode, with the former students demonstrating
higher achievement.
Table 3: Comparing student performance in the introductory computer science course:

Face-to-Face vs. Online Delivery Modes
Welch Two Sample t-test
DF t p-value
524.48 -3.6405 0.0002991
Face-2-Face vs. Online Sample Estimates
Delivery Modes F-2-F Online
-0.1150707 0.1645384
Figure 5: Boxplot chart of student performance in the introductory computer science

course across the delivery modes
To answer the second research question, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was

performed. The boxplot (Figure 6) shows the gender-based differences in
achievement in an introductory computer science course between students who
were taught with two different delivery modes (i.e., face-to-face and online). The
interaction plot (Figure 7) shows an interaction between gender and the mode of
course delivery. Therefore, type III sums of squares were used to test the following
hypotheses:
H0: There is no interaction between course delivery mode and students’ gender.
Hα: There is interaction between course delivery mode and students’ gender.
487
Figure 6: Boxplot chart of gender-based differences in student performance in the

introductory computer science course across the delivery modes
Figure 7: Interaction plot for gender-based differences in student performance across

the delivery modes
To examine the gender-based differences in student performance based on the

course delivery mode, ANOVA with Tukey adjustment was utilized for pairwise
comparisons. Table 4 shows a significant interaction between student gender and
mode of delivery.
Table 4: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of student performance in introductory

computer science courses
Df Sum SQ F Value Pr(>F)
Intercept 1 0.14 0.1692 0.68099
Type 1 2.14 2.5058 0.11397
Gender 1 4.15 4.8548 0.02796 *
Type:Gender 1 3.96 4.6373 0.03169 *
Residuals 585 499.8
488
Table 5: Pairwise gender differences in student performance across delivery modes

Tukey multiple comparisons of means
95% family-wise confidence level
$Type
Online-F_2_F diff lwr upr p adj
0.2796091 0.1266337 0.4325844 0.0003586
Gender
M-F 0.09063369 -0.2469699 0.06570248 0.2553289
Type:Gender
Online:F-F_2_F:F 0.1511341 -0.09484989 0.39711811 0.3891363
F_2_F:M-F_2_F:F -0.2199284 -0.47709432 0.03723757 0.1234874
Online:M-F_2_F:F 0.2927807 0.04485850 0.63041997 0.1152968
F_2_F:M-Online:F -0.3710625 -0.64150753 -0.10061743 0.0024776*
Online:M-Online:F 0.1416466 -0.20621319 0.48950645 0.7205468
Online:M-F_2_F:M 0.5127091 0.15685429 0.86856393 0.0012852*
The Tukey multiple comparisons of means show significant differences in student

performance between male students who were taught using the face-to-face mode
and female students who were taught using the online mode. In this comparison,
female students performed significantly better than male students. Although
there are no significant differences between male and female students when the
mode is not considered, the comparison indicates that male students who were
taught online performed significantly better than male students who were taught
face-to-face.
6. Discussion
There has been exceptional growth in online learning globally in recent years, and
it has become the learning mode of choice for many students since it can allow
some of the limitations of traditional face-to-face courses to be overcome. While
there is evidence that there are no differences between students’ perceptions of
online introductory computer science courses and traditional face-to-face courses
(He, 2020), the current enhances the existing body of research by analyzing the
academic performance of students in an introductory computer science course.
The analysis involved comparing the grades of students from both online and
traditional face-to-face course sections. Moreover, the study adds to the literature
by investigating gender-based differences in student performance between the
two delivery modes when the assessment methods were the same.
In general, the current study confirms the findings of previous studies in

indicating that there were no gender-based differences between students with
regard to learning computer science (Alshammari, 2018; Drabowicz, 2014; Sáinz
& López-Sáez, 2010). Since performance differences occur in specific
circumstances (McBroom et al., 2020), this study adds to the literature by
demonstrating that students who were taught introductory computer science
online perform significantly better than those who were taught in traditional face-
to-face delivery mode. With regard to gender-based differences, both female and
male students in online introductory computer science course sections perform
better than male students receiving instruction in a traditional face-to-face
489
delivery mode. Such findings suggest the need for an important shift towards
leveraging the powerful features of online learning for both male and female
students in introductory computer science courses.
7. Conclusion
In conclusion, online learning has become the norm for many of today's students
taking introductory computer science courses. Many universities offer
introductory computer science courses online, which raises the question of
whether online learning has a significant impact on students’ academic
performance. The current study provided empirical evidence to support the effect
of online learning on students’ academic performance in introductory computer
science courses. Moreover, the study analyzed the gender-based differences in
student performance based on course delivery mode. The findings from this study
provide insights into the effectiveness of online learning in introductory computer
science courses and inform educators on the gender-based differences in students’
performance across the delivery modes.
8. Future Work
The role that introductory computer science courses play in introducing students
to the field is critical, although these courses are commonly perceived to be
difficult. The current study yielded interesting findings about the differences in
student performance between the two modes of delivery for the same course (i.e.,
face-to-face and online). A follow-up study is needed to analyze the factors that
play a significant role in the effectiveness of online learning in introductory
computer science courses and that can be used as predictors of student
performance. Moreover, it is important to perform a qualitative study to identify
which elements of introductory computer science courses result in them being
perceived as difficult and therefore negatively affect male students’ performance.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 494-511, April 2023
Assessment of Math Teachers’ Dispositions to

Improve Urban Teacher-Leaders’
Growth and Effectiveness
L. L. Moore
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida
W. Steve Lang*
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida
Abstract. This paper focuses on the dispositions of in-service math teacher-

leaders, as defined in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium (InTASC) Standards by the Council of Chief State School
Officers (CCSSO) on 10 sets of critical dispositions. Teachers (N = 281)
were assessed using versions of two instruments developed as part of the
Disposition Assessment Aligned with Teacher Standards (DAATS)
battery. One instrument is a self-report questionnaire called Beliefs About
Teaching 2 (BATS2), and the second is a guided reflection, the Experiential
Teaching Questionnaire (ETQ2). Item analysis and scoring were done
utilizing the Rasch model of item response theory and scaled on a
modification of the original Krathwohl affective taxonomy. A discussion
of the validity and reliability of these versions of the instrumentation is
included, along with a qualitative review of sample responses illustrating
the scoring. Finally, there is a discussion of the standards, indicating that
the participating math teacher-leaders were consistent with the InTASC
Standards. One conclusion is that math teacher-leaders have a lower than
expected ability to value diverse learners in valuing diverse learners.
Keywords: math teachers; teacher dispositions; teacher-leaders; Rasch

model; urban education
1. Introduction
For national accreditation purposes in the United States, educator preparation
programs (EPPs) are required to demonstrate that their graduates are competent
in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC)
Standards developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO, 2013).
These standards establish the knowledge, skills, and dispositions found to be
important across the 50 states, and include a set of critical dispositions. The
*
Corresponding author: William Lang, lang@usf.edu
©Authors
495
accreditation review is conducted by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator

Preparation (CAEP, 2016), and the requirement to use the InTASC Standards is
found in CAEP’s first standard. This study is part of a series of studies (Lang,
Moore et al., 2018) to investigate the assessment of teacher dispositions and the
implications of the findings. In this case, the effort studies the dispositions of
mathematics teacher-leaders, pilots a new instrument, and offers improvement to
staff development.
2. Rationale and Background

2.1 The Importance of Educator Dispositions
Educators are in a position in which the expectation is to provide support to
students that covers a wide range of diversity, abilities, beliefs, attitudes, and
values. Culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) is a method of focus towards not
only instruction but interpersonal interactions with students to better gauge how
to support them in a way that is culturally inclusive (Warren, 2017). In urban
schools, there are challenges and barriers in which a traditional method of
teaching would not particularly aid in a student’s academic journey. The work of
CRP is crucial in assisting educators by recognizing the potential negative
outcomes present because of a standardized set of behaviors educators may abide
by (Warren, 2017). With the knowledge that students in urban schools are
typically subjected to trauma and otherwise toxic environments, empathy and
acknowledgement of experiences go a long way in the efficacy of an educator.
Empathy is the vehicle in which educators take part in understanding the
sociocultural aspect of the students they are entrusted to help guide. In this way,
educators are developing an interpersonal relationship with students that
embodies trust, as opposed to punishment for atypical behavior. This method is
important in constructing a more open and safe learning environment for
students, particularly marginalized groups.
Educator dispositions can be explained as trends which encompass the local

school setting (Warren, 2017). If students are subjected to more toxic
environments, such as harsh verbal and non-verbal behaviors that disconnect
them from engagement, coping may become more difficult and lead to a range of
negative outcomes that affect the student and community alike. An educator’s
values, beliefs, and attitude are integral to the articulation of responses to
culturally diverse students. In urban schooling, educators’ values are uniquely
important for the 80% of minority students in the United States who have majority
teachers (Sleeter, 2016).
Educators that are not part of a specific culture tend to face obstacles in navigating
responses and treatment to students that are diversely different from the
experiences of the educator themself. For instance, if a White educator is
imagining themself in the position of one of their students of color, the educator
may rely on their experiences and simply attribute the blame for poor
performance or behavior on the student rather than taking into consideration the
unique experiences of the student. Evidence points to success when educators
affirm racial diversity viewpoints, take the time to educate themselves on the
496
pathways in which students of color learned most effectively, and maintain

knowledge of the students and community in which they teach (Warren, 2017).
2.2 Influence of Educator Disposition on Mathematics

Educator disposition is essential for the facilitation of a safe and beneficial
learning environment, which is particularly true when considering students of
color. As mentioned by Tan (2017), when educators’ attitudes shift towards
students with different learning preferences, mathematics becomes more
inclusive and engaging. Mathematics curricula for students of color are most
beneficial when there is a collaboration between educators and students and their
parents to construct the most beneficial and understandable subject matter for
everyone (Tan, 2017). Since educator dispositions largely rely on the personal
experiences and beliefs of the individual educator (Warren, 2017), room is left for
misaddressing obstacles, or behaviors, by students that do not have similar
experiences to their teachers. Evidence has shown that educators with affirmative
viewpoints on racial diversity educate themselves on pathways most effective for
Black students to learn and continued to gain knowledge and understanding of
students and the community, thereby helping students achieve more (Warren,
2017). The disconnect in relation to educator dispositions based on personal
experience may become a large obstacle for educators in the field. Mathematics is
often taught with low-cognition assignments for certain students, rather than
assignments that highlight strengths and preferences of individual students. A
collaborative effort by educators, students, and parents is essential when devising
a plan for the neediest student population (Tan, 2017). The need for restructuring
urban schools is rooted in the notion that all students, regardless of color,
socioeconomic status, or disability, deserve to be provided with a safe, beneficial,
and overall quality education.
2.3 Teacher Preparation is Pivotal

An original sociology study by Barone (2006) indicated that teacher quality is
integral to the students’ academic success. The U.S. Department of Education
(Snyder & Dillow, 2015) revealed that Black/African American students continue
to exhibit learning gaps that require intensive intervention. Schools should also
incorporate stronger strategies to close the racial-achievement gap in
mathematical computations. Unfortunately, the prominent issue of teacher
persistence remains and will continue to remain until specific attention is given to
enhance preparation programs and schoolboard onboarding processes that
evaluate individual teacher dispositions. Researchers have argued that when
preparation programs focus on dispositions, schools and districts are more likely
to sustain and retain such teachers (Williams et al., 2016); those teachers are more
committed and more likely to persist (Lang et.al, 2016). When teachers feel a
connection to their students, families, and community in which they teach, they
are more likely to continue to review, revise, and develop their dispositions as
teacher-leaders and learners, thus reducing the massive exodus experienced in
most urban schools (Lang, Moore et al., 2018). According to Williams et al. (2016),
there remains a disparity between theory and practice. Therefore, deliberate
attention must be placed on teacher dispositions. Williams et al. (2016) found that
“[c]ritical to becoming an effective mathematics teacher for diverse learners is a
combination of content knowledge, dispositions, and pedagogical knowledge that will
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support student’ mathematical thinking and learning as well as their home culture”
(p. 18).
2.4 The Importance of Teacher Dispositions in Urban Schools and Classrooms

A disposition is a habitual tendency to behave or react in a certain way to a certain
stimulus due to a certain belief. A disposition may also be thought of as someone’s
values or character. Many teachers, or people for that matter, would tell you that
context does not matter and that they would reach the same conclusion to a
situation no matter what circumstances are in play. However, countless studies
over time have shown that people’s intentions and their actions often differ
(Truscott & Obiwo, 2021). A recent study has shown how context is an important
defining factor in how future preservice teachers and teachers alike react to
situations in the urban school classroom.
Through CRP, the Math Teacher Leader Institute (PCS Teaching, 2018) partnered
teacher-leaders and school-based administrators with University of South Florida
(USF) and trained school district experts. These USF and trained district personnel
guided the teacher-leaders and administrators through a dispositional survey
process, as captured by Lang, Moore et al. (2018). This study has yielded very
promising results that suggest that CRP can be used as a tool that could guide
future generations into a more understanding and respectful society through
education about culture and understanding. CRP acts as a lens for preservice and
in-service teachers, teacher-leaders, and administrators which examines their
beliefs and dispositions about practice. Between mentorship and real-world
application, pre- and in-service teachers, teacher-leaders, and administrators can
learn and immediately apply the information. One of the greatest takeaways from
the Math Teacher Leadership Initiative (MTLI) participants consisted of
awareness of their personal dispositions and how to use CRP as a mathematical
learning tool. Teacher-leaders and administrators also reported that they were
able to recognize that not all urban schools are the same and that their students
do not respond the same way to the same types of practices and professional
development previously learned (Truscott & Obiwo, 2021).
2.5 Math Teacher Dispositions Related to Students with Disabilities

Math teacher dispositions are important when instructing Black students in urban
educational environments (specifically Black students with disabilities). A
negative attitude can lead to anxiety about the subject, convincing the student that
math may not be meant for them (Paul, 2021). The National Center for Learning
Disabilities (2020) conducted an online study to gain an idea of what learning
disabilities the general population knows about and the learning disabilities the
population had not heard of as much. Ninety-one percent of the respondents
indicated the belief that a learning disability makes it difficult for the individual
learner. However, 66% of these respondents had never heard of such challenges
such as dyscalculia (Paul, 2021). Dyscalculia is a learning disability that makes it
difficult for the individual to solve arithmetic problems. It is unique to arithmetic
and is like dyslexia in the sense that arithmetic operations become impossible for
the individual to complete. Research in this field has suggested that students are
able to be successful in mathematics when their needs are accounted for in the
lesson planning.
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Teacher-leaders that are unclear of how their personal dispositions, beliefs, and
attitudes affect student learning may see the use of a calculator as a crutch or
cheating mechanism (PCS Teaching, 2018). They may believe that students need
to know the computations without the use of a calculator. Most importantly for
students with dyscalculia, it is important to break down the computations into
smaller steps and provide individual feedback, helping the students and guiding
them exactly where they went wrong. For students in urban schools, this process
may take more time and effort from the teacher-leader. Teacher-leaders who
understand their students’ beliefs and values also understand that giving partial
credit is more beneficial than no credit for equations that were partially correct
but failed to reach the end number. This explains that success comes in steps and
with practice.
Students in urban schools often become frustrated with teachers that do not
understand or attempt to understand their cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes
towards math (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2020). Students with
dyscalculia may get frustrated after trying for some time and give up, so it is
important for math teachers to model each step exactly as well as each step where
the student went wrong. All these practices benefit not only individuals with
dyscalculia but also those with other learning exceptionalities and mathematical
anxieties. Therefore, math teacher dispositions are crucial in instructing students
with exceptionalities.
As it relates to urban schooling, there remains an urgent need to acknowledge and

address the role of teacher and student dispositions, and the inequities
experienced by urban schools that ultimately affect the students and
communities’ job market, social statuses, and income (Carlson, 2017). In addition
to disparities in relation to race, there are also disparities in the way urban schools
educate Black students in general education and exceptional education. No longer
can stakeholders allow the school district and policy-makers to require and
implement professional development that typically restricts and segregates
teachers from their beliefs, values, and attitudes. These historical dispositional
disconnects between teachers and students only perpetuate school failure and an
increase in the likelihood of prison (Annamma et al., 2018).
2.6 Teacher Accreditation and Dispositions

The Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP, 2022) dictated
assessment that “relies on relevant, verifiable, representative, cumulative, and actionable
measures to ensure interpretations of data are valid and consistent” (Standard 5.2, Data
Quality). Five CAEP Standards include critical dispositions. Standard 1 includes
the InTASC Standards adopted by the CCSSO (CCSSO, 2013). InTASC has 10
standards, and each standard includes a list of critical dispositions. CAEP
Standards 2, 3, and 4 demand assessment of dispositions as part of accreditation
and require evidence of valid and reliable measures. The early development of
assessments of dispositions indicated that validity required more than one
instrument and typically involve different item types (Wilkerson & Lang, 2007).
Originally, institutions assessed dispositions with an observation form. Some
older, simple observation instruments include the Eastern Teacher Dispositions
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Index (Singh & Stoloff, 2008) and the Clinical Experience Rubric (Flowers, 2006).
These efforts suffered psychometrically.
The CAEP Standards validation of the use of multiple measures combined into a
single calibrated ruler for assessing teacher candidates has been demonstrated
(Wilkerson, 2012). Brindle (2012) also recommended the use of different
assessment devices to measure dispositions, such as giving students feedback,
using self-reflection, and prescriptive remediation. The Disposition Assessment
Aligned with Teacher Standards (DAATS) battery has always included multiple
measures (Lang et al., 2016; Lang, Moore et al., 2018; Lang, Wilkerson, Gilbert et
al., 2018; Lang, Wilkerson, Moore, & Fields, 2018; Wilkerson & Lang, 2006), noting
that in a parallel to knowledge and skills, one should not depend on a single
moment in time or score.
The current effort pilots a new edition of disposition assessments originally called
DAATS. The DAATS battery measures the consistency of teachers and teacher
candidates to the InTASC-based dispositions of teaching and was originally
proposed in a book by Wilkerson and Lang (2007). The original version of DAATS
was built on an earlier edition of the InTASC Standards but without the emphasis
on a taxonomy. The earlier DAATS battery had well-established construct and
predictive validity and excellent reliability (Wilkerson & Lang, 2006) but only one
form of each instrument. Later studies included rater accuracy when judges
(scorers) use the Rasch model (Rasch, 1960/1980) of item response theory (IRT)
(Lang et al., 2014) to estimate judge error.
3. Disposition Assessment Aligned with Teacher Standards v2

(DAATS2)
The implications of dispositions for teacher education (Wadlington &
Wadlington, 2002) have not changed from conceptualization decades ago, but
assessment is still lacking. The first DAATS was a battery of five instruments
developed based on the 1992 InTASC Standards (Wilkerson & Lang, 2007). The
five item types include: 1) a Thurstone scale (Thurstone, 1928) called Beliefs About
Teaching (BATS), 2) an apperception projective called the Situational Reflection
Assessment (SRA), 3) a children’s focus group called the K-12 Impact Dispositions
Survey (KIDS), 4) an observation report form called Candidate Dispositions
Checklist (CDC), and 5) a guided reflection called Experiential Teaching
Questionnaire (ETQ). All instruments in the DAATS battery measure the
consistency between teachers and the critical dispositions of the InTASC
Standards. When the InTASC Standards were revised (CCSSO, 2013), the DAATS
battery became a target for revision. In addition to standards alignment, the new
DAATS2 instruments have the same item types, but the revised instruments have
at least two forms for each instrument and short forms for time-utility. As may be
expected, the short forms sacrifice some psychometric power in return for utility.
In this study, BATS2 Form B was combined with the short form of ETQ2 Form B
for the assessment of math teacher-leaders.
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3.1 Beliefs About Teaching Scale 2 (BATS2)

BATS2 is a Thurstone agreement scale of 50 items, constructed to measure each of
the 10 InTASC Standards along a continuum of commitment based on a
modification of the original affective taxonomy (Krathwohl et al., 1973; Wilkerson
& Lang, 2011). Responses are scored using the Rasch model with Winsteps
software (Linacre, 2023). Evidence of the validity and reliability has been
presented previously for both versions of the scale. (See, for example, Englehart
et al., 2012; Lang et al., 2014; Lang, Wilkerson, Gilbert et al., 2018; Lang, Wilkerson,
Moore, & Fields, 2018; Wilkerson, 2012.)
The two forms allow multiple measurements without repeating the same items.
All items were developed from the InTASC critical dispositions statements. Each
item was aligned with both Krathwohl levels and critical dispositions. For
example, Standard 2, Learning Differences, includes: “The teacher respects learners
as individuals with differing personal and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities,
perspectives, talents, and interests.” The BATS2 items ask a student to agree/disagree
with statements such as:
• I usually think about children’s home life and environment so that I
can tell if something is wrong. (Taxonomy level: valuing)
• I have a rule in my classroom: “We all speak proper English and
ignore gestures, slang, or foreign languages.” (Taxonomy level:
unaware)
BATS1 and BATS2 use a Thurstone (Linacre, 1998) format of agree/disagree

items. Thurstone’s items are a forced-choice, dichotomous decision
(agree/disagree only), while Likert items are a continuum creating a rating scale,
typically five points, from strongly agree to strongly disagree, with a neutral
midpoint. Roberts et al. (1999) studied the connection between Likert and
Thurstone agreement scaling, recommending the Thurstone scale model when
extreme positions (e.g., high/low levels of commitment) are of interest.
Every item is coded for analysis by InTASC Standards (10), Core Area (4), and
Krathwohl Taxonomy (6). A modification of the taxonomy (Wilkerson & Lang,
2011) classifies student affect into six levels: unaware, receiving, responding,
valuing, organizing, and characterizing, since the original taxonomy was
designed for instruction and not assessment, omitting the possibility that
respondents might have no commitment. Examples of the levels are presented in
Table 1.
Table 1: Modified Krathwohl taxonomic levels used by DAATS instruments

DAATS taxonomic level Typical teaching behaviors at each level
Has not considered the value in any meaningful way
Unaware
May be opposed to the value
Recognizes or is aware of the importance
Receiving Is beginning to consider the value, but not acting on the value
May promise to apply the value without evidence of doing so
Tries to act on values
Responding
Expresses commitment or satisfaction to acting on the value
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Accepts the value and expresses personal or collective

Valuing positivity for related actions
Commits to the value despite interferences or required effort
Plans and schedules to ensure application of the value
Expresses the relationship between knowledge/skill and the
Organizing
value
Takes a leadership role with others concerning the value
The value is at the center or driving force for many life efforts
Characterizing Expresses or lobbies for the value even in the face of social or
institutional opposition
3.2 Experiences in Teaching Questionnaire 2 (ETQ2)

The ETQ2 is a guided reflection like those often used in clinical settings in
education. The ETQ2 includes short-answer questions aimed at the critical
dispositions listed in the InTASC Standards. The items can also be grouped into
four categories of standards identified by InTASC: 1) the learner and learning, 2)
content knowledge, 3) instructional practice, and 4) professional responsibility.
There are two parallel forms of the revised ETQ2 (A and B) with ten items in each
form representing the 10 InTASC standards. The ETQ2 can also be given as a short
form by choosing one item from each of the four categories of InTASC for a four-
item instrument. The ETQ2 is scored by judges, and it is harder to fabricate
responses compared to the Thurstone agreement BATS2, which is self-report.
Responses are scored using a rating scale based on the Krathwohl affective
taxonomy. Each response to items is assessed from low (unaware or receiving) to
high as to the quality level of values, with the expectation that average practicing
teachers will score at the valuing level (3). Ratings of 4 and 5 (organizing and
characterization) are rare among preservice teachers.
The ETQ2 takes more time to score than BATS2 or the CDC2, but, as a constructed
response assessment it provides assessment of dispositions that is hard to fake,
and a view of what the teachers really believe. Individual questions can be used
to finetune the evaluation of a teacher on an individual InTASC standard
(Wilkerson & Lang, 2012). In this case, we used a short form of ETQ2B with four
reflective items with one item representing each of the four InTASC categories.
For example, an InTASC critical disposition is: “1(h) The teacher respects
learners’ differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information
to further each learner’s development.” The associated ETQ2 reflective question
would be “Think about a lesson that did not work as you had hoped it would. Did
the students perform lower than you expected as a group or just several? Did you
deal with some students individually? If it happens again, would you do
something differently?” Typical scores for responses to this item are shown in
Table 2.
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Table 2: Example scoring for an item in ETQ2, Form A
Taxonomic
Paraphrased sample response from teacher-leaders
level
My students performed lower than expected because they weren’t

Unaware paying attention, so I had to repeat the instructions several times
I did not set goals or expectations for the class at the beginning of the
Receiving
lesson, so that’s something that I should do differently for next time
Students preformed lower than wanted. As remediation for these

Responding students, I would work individually with them, and I would aim my
instruction towards their individual learning styles.
I remember a lesson that did not go over as I expected. I concluded

that it was a subset of students who struggled with some ideas. To
remediate, I created groups based on their problems and worked with
Valuing
these students individually and in small groups to ensure mastery.
When this occurs again in the future, I will use the strategy of
prescriptive learning and monitor progression closely.
My students always enjoy group projects. Working together with

other teachers and having students see this and creating lesson plans
for them that integrate learning is always something that I do in my
Organizing classroom, whether it’s a small project or a big project like a PBL
[Performance Based Learning]. Collaboration with others brings in a
positive vibe in my classroom. Then students push aside their
differences, and it shows through their work.
My lesson plans are very much geared toward different types of

learners, because I teach very high-level learners, and I also teach a
lot of students with learning challenges. So my lessons are almost
always geared toward all types of learners, with extra help provided
during study hall for some of the students. We do team planning at
my school, and I have altered lessons for my class to be small group
Characterizing
and differentiated to better support individual groups of my
students. My school district provides models for each lesson and
standard. I will read over each module and lesson accompanying the
provided material. If differentiation or modification is necessary, I
will do so to meet the needs of my student. Additionally, I will work
to create more engaging lessons.
4. Math Teacher-Leaders
The teacher-leader project described in this paper was developed as a strategic
partnership between an institution of higher education and a southern urban
school district. Thirty-two passionate educators in one large urban school district
applied and were to participate in a new district-wide initiative based on
readiness to fully dedicate their energy to the program. Administrators applied
and were expected to fully participate in every school. Three teachers were
selected from each school by the principal based on the given criteria. Our target
population was all elementary schools that do not receive regular mathematics
coaching. MTLI members are expected to act as on-site math support from the
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classroom for schools that typically do not receive much coaching support.
Schools were selected based on their request to participate each year and on
administrator enthusiasm and school readiness. Teacher-leaders were selected by
principals based on these criteria: respected by peers, demonstration of high-
quality teaching practices, use of data to inform instruction, and interest in
participation.
The MTLI (PCS Teaching, 2018) was developed to support and replicate strategies
of current school-based reformers. These educational reformers act from a set of
values that guide their professional decision-making. As passionate individuals
who persist, they place high professional development expectations on
themselves, often finding ways, outside the school district, to get what they need.
The teacher-leaders in the MTLI provide mentoring to others, while staying
focused on students and their learning. The MTLI focuses on teachers who
demonstrate resilience, are able to take charge, solve problems, and find
opportunities which may positively add to the school in important ways that
support student achievement, increase teacher leadership, and strengthen the
school’s overall success.
The goal of the MTLI is to develop strategic mathematics leadership teams at

elementary schools in a southeastern (USA) school district to improve the
knowledge, skills, dispositions, teaching, and communication of teacher-leaders
and school-based administrators who have demonstrated the ability to work
effectively with students and colleagues in their own classroom and beyond.
University professors, district math supervisors, and math coaches collected data
while investigating strategies used by urban teachers to build their personal
leadership dispositions. Thirty-two persistent teacher-leaders and administrators
from one urban district reported student achievement equal to or higher than the
state average on standard tests of mathematics.
The administrative leaders focused on the importance of their teacher-leaders’

professional development experiences. This was done while cultivating each
participant’s expertise and desire to communicate, collaborate, and develop a
consensus while co-creating new learning experiences – which would be
interwoven into their teaching and reflective skills. Administrative leaders
(principals and assistant principals) provide ongoing, direct, facilitated support
to ensure that the role of the teacher-leader is not downplayed within the overall
school setting. When teacher-leaders and school-based administrative leaders
have clear converging views about the MTLI goals and the initiative’s connection
to the school vision and mission, the MTLI would be more efficacious.
5. Research Design and Analysis

This research design has two parts that are connected. The first involves the use
and psychometric analysis of new versions of two DAATS instruments aligned
with the InTASC Standards. This part of the research examines the validity and
reliability of the instruments through IRT. The second part comprises examination
of the resulting scores from in-service math teachers to validate responses but to
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also plan improvement in the programming of staff training for MTLI

participants.
5.1 Instrument Analysis

The ability of individuals (in this case the consistency of teacher-leaders with the
InTASC dispositions) and the difficulty of items (the value level of each item)
influence each other. This is called conjoint measurement. IRT models envision a
ruler of knowledge, skills, or dispositions that can be measured concurrently (or
conjointly) without regard to a particular sample. The units of measurement are
called “logits” and the scores are called “measures”. One of the most well-known
uses of Rasch modeling is the Lexile Reading Scale (Stenner & Wright, 2004). Bond
and Fox (2007) summarized the model and uses of this type of item analysis.
This analysis using Winsteps software was completed in a single calibration for
both people and items. This is described by Linacre (2003, p. 18) as:
Log { Pnij / Pni(j-1) } = Bn – Dig - Fgj
Where
Pnij is the probability that person n encountering item I is observed in category j,
Bn in the “ability” measure of peron n,
Di is the “difficulty” measure of item i,
Fj is the “calibration” measure of category J relative to category j-1.
In this study, the analysis followed the guidelines provided in Smith and Wind
(2018). The raw data were calibrated using the Rasch model rating scale and
incorporating Winsteps software. IRT differs from classical test theory, which is
sample dependent, while the Rasch model is not.
5.2 Sample
Two hundred and eighty-one (N = 281) math teacher-leaders were administered
the BATS2 Form B and the ETQ2 short form simultaneously. All the participants
were in-service teachers or administrators in a large urban school district in the
southeastern United States. The sample was selected through convenience
sampling, with the participants representing a wide span of experience, prior
education, and demographics. The participants agreed to participate, and the
research met all relevant human subject considerations.
6. Findings
6.1 Quantitative Results
All analyses were generated using Winsteps software (Linacre, 2023) (see Tables
3 and 4). In the initial calibration of a modest sample size (N = 281), the real item
separation = .98, which suggests that the scale discriminates between the persons
adequately. The real person separation = .69 (Cronbach alpha = .71), indicating a
reasonably defined variable. The outfit MNSQ = .99 (expected value = 1.0) and
outfit ZSTD = -.11 (expected value = 0.0), indicating that the data variability fit the
Rasch model.
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Table 3: Initial Rasch model calibration: Summary of 281 measured persons

Total Standard Infit Infit Outfit Outfit
Count Measure
score error MNSQ ZSTD MNSQ ZSTD
Mean 42.0 54 66.96 3.58 .95 -.18 .99 -.11
SEM .3 0 .41 .01 .03 .07 .04 .06
P. SD 5.5 0 6.84 .13 .50 1.22 .71 1.02
S. SD 5.5 0 6.85 .13 .51 1.22 .71 1.02
Max. 58.0 54 86.77 3.98 3.53 4.45 5.21 4.04
Min. 21.0 54 42.96 3.23 .42 -1.68 .19 -1.54
Model RMSE = 3.58; true SD = 5.83; separation = 1.63; person reliability = .73
Cronbach alpha (KR-20) person raw score “Test” reliability = .71
MNSQ is the mean-square fit statistice with expectation = 1
ZSTD is the MNSQ standardized to a theoretical normal with mean = 0 and mean = 1
Table 4: Initial Rasch model calibration: Summary of 54 measured items

Total Standard Infit Infit Outfit Outfit
Count Measure
score error MNSQ ZSTD MNSQ ZSTD
Mean 218 281 50.0 2.02 .98 .10 .99 .27
SEM 7.5 0 2.15 .14 .01 .18 .04 .23
P. SD 54.6 0 15.67 1.04 .11 1.34 .27 1.66
S. SD 55.1 0 15.82 1.05 .11 1.35 .27 1.68
Max. 278.0 281 86.96 5.84 1.23 6.33 1.85 6.01
Min. 81.0 281 19.21 .81 .64 -2.73 .36 -2.20
An examination of the Krathwohl scoring scale indicates ordered thresholds as

expected. There were no scores in the highest rating (5; characterizing) in this
sample. The results are shown in Table 5, confirming the expected category
structure and thresholds.
Table 5: Summary of category structure for judged ETQ2 items

Category Average Infit Outfit Andrich Category
Score
label expected MNSQ MNSQ threshold measure
0 0 -20.3 .63 .80 None -17.41
1 1 -16.6 .61 .41 10.48 -8.99
2 2 -13.0 .77 .55 -20.77 -2.58
3 3 -9.42 .75 .56 -1.88 6.83
4 4 -6.39 1.15 1.07 12.17 24.70
An examination of the mean scores by InTASC Standards (see Table 6) indicate

that the math teacher-leaders scored least consistent with Standard 2 (Learning
Differences), with a scale value of 34.08, and most consistent with Standard 10
(Leadership and Collaboration), with a scale value of 65.84.
Table 6: Comparison of math teacher-leaders on InTASC Standards:

Extreme and non-extreme item scores
Mean Model Tru
Item S.E. P. Media Model RSM Mean
measur separatio e Code
count mean SD n reliability E outfit
e n SD
54 49.25 2.25 16.36 16.51 48.05 3.09 .91 5.04 15.56 *
9 50.50 5.55 15.71 16.66 50.51 3.65 .93 4.15 15.15 1
6 34.08 5.14 11.49 12.59 33.57 1.26 .61 7.14 9.01 2
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5 45.20 4.83 9.67 10.81 45.12 2.13 .82 4.11 8.75 3

5 58.81 5.34 10.68 11.94 57.25 4.02 .94 2.58 10.36 4
5 45.50 8.38 16.75 18.73 40.48 3.08 .90 5.18 15.93 5
6 52.42 4.25 9.51 10.42 50.81 2.79 .89 3.21 8.95 6
5 57.56 6.93 13.87 15.51 60.25 4.61 .96 2.94 13.55 7
6 38.56 6.75 15.10 16.54 40.58 1.50 .69 8.39 12.55 8
3 51.89 15.20 21.50 26.33 65.57 3.36 .92 6.12 20.61 9
4 65.84 6.61 11.44 13.22 63.66 4.94 .96 2.27 11.22 10
A pairwise test of differences between InTASC Standards indicate significant

contrasts between InTASC Standards 2 and 10; 8 and 10; 2 and 4; 2 and 6; 2 and 7;
4 and 8. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 7.
Table 7: Comparison of math teacher-leaders on InTASC Standards

In TASC
Standard Mean diff SE t df Prob.
contrast
1 2 16.42 7.57 2.17 12 .051
1 3 5.30 7.36 .72 11 .487
1 4 -8.31 7.70 -1.08 10 .306
1 5 5.00 10.05 .50 7 .634
1 6 -1.92 7.00 -.27 12 .788
1 7 -7.06 8.88 -.79 8 .450
1 8 11.94 8.74 1.37 10 .202
1 9 -1.39 16.18 -.09 2 .939
2 3 -11.12 7.06 -1.58 8 .154
2 4 -24.73 7.41 -3.34 8 .010*
2 5 -11.41 9.83 -1.16 6 .290
2 6 -18.34 6.67 -2.75 9 .023*
2 7 -23.48 8.63 -2.72 7 .030*
2 8 -4.48 8.49 -.53 9 .610
2 9 -17.81 16.05 -1.11 2 .383
3 4 -13.61 7.20 -1.89 7 .101
3 5 -.30 9.67 -.03 6 .977
3 6 -7.22 6.44 -1.12 8 .295
3 7 -12.36 8.45 -1.46 7 .187
3 8 6.64 8.30 .80 8 .447
3 9 -6.69 15.95 -.42 2 .716
4 5 13.32 9.93 1.34 6 .229
4 6 6.39 6.83 .94 8 .377
4 7 1.25 8.75 .14 7 .891
4 8 20.25 8.61 2.35 8 .047
4 9 6.92 16.11 .43 2 .709
5 6 -6.93 9.39 -.74 6 .489
5 7 -12.07 10.87 -1.11 7 .304
5 8 6.93 10.76 .64 8 .537
5 9 -6.39 17.36 .37 3 .737
6 7 -5.14 8.14 -.63 6 .551
6 8 13.86 7.89 1.74 8 .121
6 9 .54 15.78 .03 2 .976
7 8 19.00 9.68 1.96 8 .085
7 9 5.68 16.71 .34 2 .766
8 9 -13.32 16.63 -.80 2 .507
507
10 1 15.33 8.63 1.78 7 .119

10 2 31.75 8.37 3.79 6 .009*
10 3 20.64 8.19 2.52 5 .053
10 4 7.02 8.50 .83 6 .440
10 5 20.34 10.67 1.91 6 .105
10 6 13.41 7.86 1.71 5 .149
10 7 8.27 9.58 .86 6 .421
10 8 27.27 9.45 2.89 7 .023*
10 9 13.95 16.57 .84 2 .489
*p<.05
6.2 Qualitative Results

Below are four contrasting responses as examples with a subset of teacher-leader
comments taken from their ETQ2 reflections (edited to protect identity) that
illustrate the differences from lower consistency to higher consistency with
InTASC. These examples come from Category 4, Standard 10. The ETQ2 prompt
in this case was: “Describe your participation in your school and professional
community. Can you name a time that you worked with families of your
students? Did different beliefs or backgrounds create challenges? How do you
interact with colleagues and families to enhance practice or support students?”
“All the time, daily. I make it a point to know all my students and their
families. I am aware of their homelife situations and their needs. It comes
with the territory of my job and the population of the students I work with.
I must build positive relationships with my students and their families in
order to be successful, otherwise I will get nowhere. Relationships are key
with my students and families.” (Rating 3, valuing)
“I message and meet with families as needed. Every year, I have one or two
families that need a lot of interaction, which I always do. Struggled a little
with one student whose mother didn’t speak English this year.” (Rating
1, receiving)
“I hosted a multi-cultural fair at our STEAM night. I had several families

volunteer to work at one of the countries represented. I didn’t have any
challenges, except I didn’t plan for an adopted student from China to work
at the China station. I felt foolish for not automatically placing him there,
but made a quick change so he could. I have a multi-cultural club at my
school that meets twice a month during lunch. We plan culturally/socially
significant school-wide activities and events to promote tolerance. This
year, I invited ALL of our ESOL students to participate in an effort to get
them involved in a club to promote leadership.” (Rating 4, organizing)
“Attending community events or sports events in my neighborhood or the

neighborhood of my families.” (Rating 0, unaware)
508
7. Conclusions
7.1 Disposition Instruments
One purpose of this research effort was to pilot a new forms of the BATS2 self-
report scale (Thurstone items) and a short form of the ETQ2 (reflection). The
Rasch item analysis estimated separation reliability and fit statistics within
expected parameters, and no items in this sample appeared misfitting. This
supports the scale use for consistency with the InTASC Standards as measures.
In addition, the item estimates ranged in difficulty, while the person scores
appeared normally distributed. This reinforced use of the BATS2 with samples
of in-service teachers as DAATS was intended. As such, there is a strong
conclusion of support for the instrument’s psychometric qualities for similar
samples.
The qualitative examination of responses in the ETQ2 reflection revealed several

conclusions. The judges were able to score responses on the modified Krathwohl
taxonomy. This pilot did not perform an analysis of judge error, which would be
a suggestion for future research. Nonetheless, nothing in the results from this
sample indicated misfitting or disordered categories due to rating confusion. At
worst, an analysis might reveal that some judges may have been harsher or more
lenient than others. Again, the conclusion would be that the ETQ2 worked as
expected to assess teacher consistency with the InTASC critical dispositions.
7.2 Math Teacher Leadership Initiative (MTLI) Dispositions

There are provocative results in the assessment of the math teacher-leaders in that
there was lower consistency of dispositions related to Learning Differences and
higher consistency with Leadership and Collaboration. The math teacher-leaders
were in-service teachers, principals, and assistant principals. The higher scores for
Standard 10 (Leadership) might be expected, but the lower ratings for Standard 2
(Learning Differences) were problematic. The critical dispositions of interest are
indicated below:
• 2(l) The teacher believes that all learners can achieve at high levels and
persists in helping each learner reach his/her full potential.
• 2(m) The teacher respects learners as individuals with differing personal
and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities, perspectives, talents,
and interests.
• 2(n) The teacher makes learners feel valued and helps them learn to value
each other.
• 2(o) The teacher values diverse languages and dialects and seeks to
integrate them into his/her instructional practice to engage students in
learning.
It is likely that an additional follow up with more detailed assessments would be

useful, not to mention some thinking about interventions. Clearly, there needs to
be some thinking about the learner and differing learners as a target for
development or intervention on the dispositions of math teacher-leaders.
Generally, Standard 2 on learners would be a strong point for experienced
teachers. The math teacher-leaders were surprisingly less consistent with InTASC
on this standard than desirable. It is unknown whether this is a characteristic of
509
the content specialty (math), the sample of teachers from an urban setting, or some
other variable. The results offered an immediate target for discussion in the MTLI
as the results were revealed to participants.
7.3 Implications
The assessment of teacher dispositions is still relatively new in teacher
preparation. It remains to be seen if university programs, accreditation, or
certification will emphasize such measures in the future, but any proposals will
clearly require valid and reliable instruments. That is one of the primary reasons
that creating and piloting such devices is a precursor to training changes or
research on effective teaching regarding dispositions. Even in this one pilot with
a homogeneous sample, there were findings that could alter the planned training
and served as eye-opener to participants.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 512-540, April 2023
Barriers Towards the Implementation of E-

portfolio in Education Based on the Diffusion of
Innovation Theory
Sameh Said Ismail*

Collage of Education, SQU, Oman
Faculty of Graduate Studies for Education, Cairo University, Egypt
Abstract. The current research aims to identify the barriers faced by the
candidates during the implementation of the e- portfolio in an
educational environment. How to implement the e-portfolio at the
College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University in light of the theory of
diffusion of innovation. The research sample consisted of 122 out of 233
field-training candidates from undergraduate students in all disciplines
at the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University. The research
applied the descriptive approach, and the research tool is a questionnaire
consisted of 39 items entitled "Barriers of Application of the e-portfolio".
Statistical treatments were performed as the mean, standard deviation, T-
test, and ANOVA by using SPSS. The results indicated that there are
barriers during the implementation of the e-portfolio related to
candidates and other related to educational environment. The results also
indicated that there are statistically significant differences at the level of
significance (0.05) attributable to each of the two variables of
specialization, and technological skills in identifying barriers related to
candidates and the educational environment. According to the results, the
research recommends integrating the e-portfolio into all courses, using
special platform for applying the e-portfolio uniformly.
Keywords: barriers; diffusion of innovation; E-portfolio; high education
1. Introduction
The College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) obtained
institutional academic accreditation in 2016, and is now preparing to renew
accreditation in its second cycle 2023 from the Council for the Accreditation of
Educator Preparation (CAEP). It is a foundation where applicants are subject to
an evaluation aimed at verifying that they met five criteria. The E-portfolio is
considered evidence of the first standard, Content and Pedagogical Knowledge of
CAEP standards. In light of this, the College of Education sought to integrate the
* Corresponding author: Ismail, Sameh, samehsaid@squ.edu.om
©Authors
513
e-portfolio in teachers’ preparation programs for undergraduate degrees for the

following reasons: the benefits of thinking and reflecting on the experiences
gained, promotion of learning, assessment and evaluation, an professional
development (Batson, 2011); (Poole et al., 2018) and strengthening the evidence
required for the first standard of CAEP.
Therefore, the College of Education, SQU worked on integrating the e-portfolio

into the teacher’s preparation programs for the undergraduate degree to meet the
academic accreditation requirements. Barrett (2004) indicated that the e-portfolio
could be designed or interspersed to meet the needs of the programs or the
institutions. After studying the plans for various bachelor's programs at the
College of Education, SQU, it was noticed that the number of credit hours is 125,
which does not allow adding a course related to the e-portfolio within the
student’s plan. Accordingly, the e-portfolio has been integrated as one of the
activities in the student teaching course, so the students should be familiar with
the e-portfolio in a number of previous educational courses for the student
teaching course.
It is worth mentioning that the student teaching course is the last station in the
student’s journey at the College of Education. Candidates of genders male and
female apply all the experiences gained during their studies and includes them in
the e-portfolio. In addition, the candidates also collect some evidences that
confirm his readiness to be a teacher during the previous academic years.
However, when the candidates applied the e-portfolio, we noticed that the
candidates faced many barriers. These barriers prevent them from applying the e-
portfolio, which leads to poor assessment, lack of integration of knowledge,
inability to identify previous learning and link it to new learning, inability to
identify strengths and weaknesses in their learning, and loss of many professional
documents. The barriers that could be classified as barriers related to candidates
and barriers related to the instructional environment.
The research focused on the e-portfolio, where it aimed to monitor and analyse
the barriers faced by candidates when applying the e-portfolio effectively, and to
examine the possibility of applying the e-portfolio. It is known that when
implementing any new idea, 50% of users (laggards & late majority) have a
negative impact on adoptions for various reasons (Kaminski, 2011). We
encountered this in the College of Education when trying to incorporate e-
portfolio as a new practice. Therefore, the current research suggested using the
stages diffusion of innovation theory to support the adoption of integrating e-
portfolio into the teacher preparation program at the College of Education, SQU.
The first section of this research deals with the literature review to what is the e-
portfolio, its advantages, its components, the barriers that prevent its smooth
implementation. The second section of this paper describes the methodology used
and an analysis of the difficulties from the candidates’ point of view. The final
section of the research deals with the findings, conclusions, and recommendations
on how to face the barriers of applying the e-portfolio in the College of Education.
Specifically, this paper addressed the following research questions:
514
- What are the barriers that candidates of the College of Education face when
applying the e-portfolio?
- Are there statistically significant differences facing candidates while
applying the e-portfolio and are attributable to the following variables:
(gender, disciplines, level of technological skills)?
2. Literature review
Many previous studies addressed the issues of the e-portfolio extensively during
the previous years (Tosun & Baris (2011); Jenson & Treuer (2014); Beckers et al.
(2016); Alajmi (2019); Mahasneh (2020)). Generally, the published research focuses
on investigating the following questions:
- What is the e-portfolio?
- What is the importance of the e-portfolio?
- How to implement the e-portfolio?
- What are the barriers to its implementation?
- Is the e-portfolio a learning tool, or education tool?
- Is it an assessment tool or one for evaluation?
In this part of the research, we will shed light on the e-portfolio by summarizing
a set of selected literature that the researcher monitored in three dimensions,
namely:
- What is e-portfolio and what is the importance of e-portfolio in teacher
education programs?
- Barriers to e-portfolio implementation.
- Diffusion of the e-portfolio application culture.
2.1 E-portfolio in teacher education programs

In light of the cognitive explosion, educational strategies were concerned with
constructive thinking that depends on the learners' performance, including what
is going on in their mind in the learning situation, and the importance of
employing it for previous learning, and linking it to new learning. The e-portfolio
is one of the educational solutions that focuses on constructive learning and
developing students thinking in practice, linking knowledge with life, and paying
attention to developing all aspects of the learner’s growth. It provides a platform
for students to reflect on their learning experiences, showcase their achievements,
and assess their own progress, promoting metacognitive skills (Chen & Crook,
2020; Jafari & Ghavifekr, 2021). They can develop digital literacy skills and foster
essential 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication, creativity,
and collaboration (Ardito & Costabile, 2021; Huang & Liang, 2021). The e-
portfolio provides the educators with a more comprehensive and holistic view of
student learning beyond traditional tests or exams (Muñoz-Carril & Fernández-
Martínez, 2020; Picciano & Steiner, 2021). Furthermore, it facilitates the feedback
and communication between the students and teachers (González-Rivera & Mena,
2021; Huang & Liang, 2021).In addition, an effective learning tool contributed to
creating new learning outcomes through achieving what is called meaningful
learning (Butler, 2006). The studies conducted by Buyarski & Landis (2014);
Tubaishat & Lansari, (2013) confirmed that the e-portfolio provides strong
physical evidence of the occurrence of learning through the various activities
515
necessary to build it. They require candidates to organize their learning process
and define their educational goals in different stages of its construction. It helps
candidates have a deeper understanding of the topics they have studied and to
reveal their talents and creativity. It also reflects the candidates' learning style, the
way they approach various educational topics and ideas, and their ability to
organize, arrange and create (Chang et al., 2013).
The concept of the e-portfolio is the development of a document portfolio as it

allows students to collect and display their work in digital format (Barrett, 2007);
(Basu, 2015). The e-portfolio is distinguished from a document portfolio by the
multimedia available in it, including pictures, animations, videos, and sounds. In
addition, it is different due to the ease of organizing the information contained in
it, retrieving it through hyperlinks, and the ease of sharing or sharing parts of it
with others on a large scale. This helps to form Personalized-learning networks
PLNs that support lifelong learning (Oakley et al., 2014). E-portfolios use
techniques that allow students to collect and organize evidence in a variety of
formats to produce it. Using an e-portfolio has several advantages: (1) Increased
technological knowledge and skills; (2) ease of publishing, distribution and
sharing; (3) storage of many professional documents; and (4) increased
accessibility. It also shows its role in the professional development of candidates
associated with the use of technology (Kocoglu, 2008); (Ngui et al., 2020). Harun
and others (2021) added that the e-portfolio does not need a long time to be
developed compared to the traditional portfolio, which development requires
reproduction or the production of large part of it. However, its development
requires an integrated design to facilitate the process and avoid the formation of
impractical effort for both teachers and candidates.
The definition of the portfolio according to Shulman (1998) is the “…structured

documentary history of a set of coached or mentored acts of teaching,
substantiated by samples of student portfolios, and fully realized only through
reflective writing, deliberation, and conversation” (Cited in Pennington, 2011, p.
37). In another definition, Lorenzo and Ittelson (2005) defined the e-portfolio as
“personalized, Web-based collections of work, responses to work, and reflections
that are used to demonstrate key skills and accomplishment for a variety of
contexts and time periods” (p. 2). Also Butler (2006); (Matra & Rukmini, 2017)
confirmed that the e-portfolio is a set of evidence that is collected systematically
to show candidates through their learning journey, and to demonstrate the
abilities they possess in a particular discipline or those that they have acquired in
their lifelong learning, which would contribute to the development of their
cognitive management behaviour. The e-portfolio should contain the candidates'
reflections on the evidence gathered, the reasons for selecting them, and what they
learned from it. This evidence indicates learning over time by demonstrating the
knowledge and skills that the candidates possess (Sherman & Byers, 2011). The
researcher agrees with Matra & Rukmini (2017) definition of an e-portfolio.
The importance of the e-portfolio lies in identifying the acquired and interrelated
experiences that the candidates have accumulated. It can be used as a tool for
assessment and evaluation, documenting learning, determining the level of
516
progress to enhance personal growth, as well as in marketing the candidates

themselves to obtain job opportunities (Butler, 2006); (Sipacio, 2015); (Shepherd &
Bolliger, 2011); (Strudler & Wetzel, 2005). It is beneficial in identifying previous
learning linking it to new learning, and identifying their strengths and
weaknesses. It also allows them the freedom to think and express themselves by
including them in the works that they prefer to include in it. In addition to the
above, the e-portfolio is expected to increase students' ability to self-organize and
monitor their learning, thus developing their meta-cognitive awareness, abilities,
and aptitudes for lifelong learning and learning how to learn (Butler, 2006);
(Robles, 2012).
In light of the above, the goal of the e-portfolio is to use it as a learning tool as it
relies on candidates to build their learning and experience. In addition, it is an
evaluation tool as one of the alternative evaluation methods for candidates’
activities, and a tool in which candidates document their works and experiences.
It allows them to access their works anytime and anywhere (Yastibas & Yastibas,
2015); (Buyarski & Landis, 2014).
Literature has identified many characteristics of the e-portfolio (Yastibas &

Yastibas, 2015), which we summarize in the following:
Authentic: Candidates are responsible for their learning and improvement, and
for organizing their e-portfolios, reflected in their learning and results.
Controllable: Candidates can organize e-portfolios, make the necessary
adjustments to them continuously through their learning, and assess processes
according to their reflections and in light of the supervisors' evaluations.
Communicative and interactive: Candidates communicate and interact with their
peers, supervisors, and co-teachers to improve their learning.
Dynamic: The self-assessment, self-reflection, and improvement of learning
processes that are done continuously work to continuously restructure the e-
portfolios in terms of organizing content, collecting, and selecting evidences.
Evaluative: It also includes their self-assessments, peer reviews, co-teachers, and
supervisors. Through it, teachers evaluate their teaching performance. Moreover,
educational institutions can evaluate their courses, programs, and departments
through it.
Inclusiveness: The e-portfolio includes candidates' works in all courses during
their learning journey.
Integrative: E-portfolios make connections between candidates’ lives and what
has been studied.
Motivational: It gives candidates ownership of their learning and improvement
of their performance and skills.
Multi-purposed: It can be used for learning and creating experiences, teaching,
assessment, evaluation, and organizing the learning process and its activities. It is
also useful in maintaining the impact of learning, professional development,
documenting achievements, lifelong learning, and in marketing candidates to
themselves for obtaining job opportunities in the future.
Multi-sourced: The candidates' work includes texts, pictures, graphics, audios,
videos, and hypermedia (Robles, 2012).
517
Personalized: Candidates depend on themselves to innovate their own e-

portfolios.
Reflective: The e-portfolio requires candidates to apply reflective, critical and
creative thinking skills in their learning processes.
In light of what was presented about the concept, importance, and characteristics
of the e-portfolio, and to emphasize the necessity of its application, it was
necessary to identify the barriers that stand in the way of the candidates applying
it.
2.2 Barriers to e-portfolio implementation

Attitudinal Barriers, is “are pervasive negative perceptions and value systems that
focus on a person's disability rather than their ability and other valued
characteristics. Attitudinal barriers may exist in societies, communities or specific
individuals” (Preedy & Watson, 2010, p. 4150). The research describes attitudinal
barriers as the situations, events, systems, or attitudes that prevent a person from
actively engaging in learning or training. Based on this definition, determined the
number of barriers for the application of the e-portfolio. The first barrier is that
the students and teachers need to adapt and deal with cloud storage media to
store artifacts. The second barrier related to develop the students' skills in
collecting, storing, uploading, and downloading artifacts. These two barriers are
similar to what was mentioned by (Ochola et al., 2015). There are also other
barriers facing students and teachers related to the availability of hardware,
software, and web applications needed to produce the e-portfolio, the necessary
maintenance to solve the problems facing them, and the weakness of the
infrastructure and the consequent poor internet coverage. In addition, the
production of the e-portfolio requires a large amount of time for its production
and follow-up by the teacher (Poole et al., 2018). To overcome these barriers,
various forms of training must be available for the students to know how to use
technology in the production of the e-portfolio. Smith & Tillema (2003); Darling
(2001) confirmed that the lack of specific instructions and structure needed to
produce the e-portfolio along with examples lead to confusion and concern from
students about the nature, importance, value, and how to implement it. Recently,
research have pointed out other types of barriers. For example, Paulson and
Campbell (2018) mentioned that students lack knowledge of the rules and laws
related to storing and displaying digital content. Poole et al. (2018) stated that the
lack of time required following up intellectual property rights in what students
quote from the Internet and the lack of feedback from teachers to improve their
learning are also barriers that need to be considered.
In spite of the many barriers mentioned, studies confirm that there are vigorous
efforts to use and integrate it into learning, presentation, evaluation, and
employment (Alajmi, 2019); (Nasseif, 2021); (Händel et al., 2020). Some of these
barriers are due to the inability to adopt a new idea or technology. Many studies
Blevins (2013); (Nasseif, 2021) have sought to rely on the diffusion of innovations
theory, which seeks to understand the social process that community members
engage in to adopt or reject an innovation, which contains a number of stages
explaining how to integrate the e-portfolio into the College of Education, SQU.
518
The next section shows this theory and explains how to apply it in producing the
e-portfolio.
2.3 Diffusion of the e-portfolio application culture

Diffusion of Innovation theory is one of the theories used when adopting a new
technology (June Kaminski, 2011). It is a term that refers to the process that occurs
as people adopt a new idea, practice, or technology. Sahin (2006) confirmed that
diffusion of innovation is the most appropriate for investigating the adoption of
technology in education. Rogers defined Diffusion as “the process by which an
innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the
members of a social system” (p. 14). We find that innovation, communication
channels, time, and social system are the components of the diffusion of
innovations. Rogers (2010) presented the stages of the innovation-decision process
and described it as “an information-seeking and information-processing activity,
where an individual is motivated to reduce uncertainty about the advantages and
disadvantages of an innovation” (p. 15). This process consists of five steps:
knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation (Rogers,
2010). Figure 1 show the five stages of the diffusion of innovation theory.
Figure 1: A Model of Five Stages in the Innovation-Decision Process

Source: Diffusion of Innovations, Fifth Edition by Everett M. Rogers, 2003
(Sahin, 2006)
The Knowledge Stage: In this step, the individual knows about innovation and
seeks information by trying to answer the following questions: "What is the
innovation?" "How does it work?" and "Why does it work?'' These are the main
concerns of an individual once he is aware that innovation exists, Rogers
identified three types of knowledge on innovation.
1. Awareness-knowledge is the information that an innovation exists.
2. How-to-knowledge consists of the information necessary to use an
innovation properly?
3. Principles-knowledge consists of information dealing with the functioning
principles underlying how the innovation works (Rogers, 2010).
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The persuasion stage: This follows the knowledge stage in the innovation-
decision process. The knowledge stage is centered on cognition (or knowing),
while the persuasion stage is more focused on the affective (or feeling). The degree
of uncertainty about the innovation performance and social reinforcement from
others (colleagues and peers) affects the individual's views and beliefs about the
innovation. The self-assessments done by close colleagues on the innovation
usually reduces the uncertainty about the innovation outcomes and are more
credible for an individual.
The decision stage: Individuals choose to adopt or reject the innovation. Rogers
(2010) defined the adoption process as the mental process through which an
individual pass from first hearing about an innovation to final adoption. An
individual may choose to adopt “full use of an innovation as the best course of
action available,” (Rogers, 2010, p. 21) or rejection that means, “Not to adopt an
innovation” (Rogers, 2010, p. 21). Sahin (2006) referred that if there were previous
attempts to innovate, then it would be quickly adopted and vice versa. Rogers
(2010) indicated two types of rejection: active rejection, which means that the
individual thinks about adopting the innovation, but decides not to adopt it; and
passive rejection means not adopting the innovation at all.
The implementation stage: When an innovation is put into practice, there is still
uncertainty about the innovation outcomes (Lin, 2008). According to Rogers
(2010), the implementer needs help to reduce uncertainty about innovation
outcomes, and the innovation decision process may end negatively. Re-
innovation is an important part of the implementation stage and it means “the
degree to which an innovation is changed or modified by a user in the process of
its adoption and implementation” (p. 35).
The confirmation stage: A decision is made to innovate. The individual may seek
support for his decision and move away from destructive views of adopting
innovation. Rogers (2010) indicated that an individual might reflect upon his
decision about adopting innovation in two cases: the first refusing innovation to
adopt another better innovation, and the second, refusing innovation due to an
unsatisfactory performance, as it does not meet needs.
To summarize the literature review, it is worth mentioning that many studies

have dealt with the e-portfolio from different perspectives. Most of the reviewed
literature have explored its concept and importance in teaching, learning,
assessment, and evaluation. Some other research studies addressed the e-portfolio
as a means of storing and retrieving students’ data and assignments. Another
research concluded that the e-portfolio impacts retaining and employing the
learned experiences in new learning situations and in professional growth.
Moreover, the necessity of integrating the e-portfolio into the higher education
was emphasized, and many professional organizations included the it in their
standards as The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Many studies have addressed the barriers that face the application of the e-
portfolio. Although some of the barriers were shared among several studies, but
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there are other barriers differed according to the educational institution in which
the e-portfolio is applied. This situation applies to the College of Education, SQU,
where the candidates are facing other barriers in implementing the e-portfolio due
to the way of the application as well as the mechanism of preparing candidates
and academics for the application of the e-portfolio.
This situation stimulated the researcher to identify the barriers facing the
candidates in the College of Education at SQU. The research suggests ways to
overcome by following the diffusion of innovation theory stages, which concerns
with spreading modern innovations, as a basis for applying the e-portfolio in the
College of Education.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The research utilized a descriptive analytical method. This approach was selected
as it is the most appropriate to answer the questions of this research. It depends
on designing a questionnaire aimed at identifying the barriers facing the
candidates during the application of the e-portfolio. The barriers have been
classified into two dimensions, barriers related with the candidates and those
related to the instructional environment. The diffusion of innovation theory has
been followed in the research methodology. The diffusion of innovation theory
consists of five stages: (1) The Knowledge Stage, (2) The persuasion stage, (3) The
decision stage, (4) The implementation stage, and (5) The confirmation stage. The
researcher adopted the use of the theory of innovation diffusion when there is a
need to spread a new idea, practice or technology such as the e-portfolio. The “A
proposal for Implementation of the e-portfolio” section explains in detail the
application of the diffusion of innovation theory at the College of Education, SQU.
3.2 Participants and Settings

The research community consists of all final-year candidates at the College of
Education at SQU for the second semester of the 2020 academic year, because the
e-portfolio is applied in the final year, second semester based on the study
program. The sample used in the current research is a random sample of
candidates in all departments at the College of Education, consisting of 122 out of
233 students, 28 males and 94 females (see Table 1), from two different cohorts,
2015 and 2016. This was emphasized because the employment of graduates of
teacher preparation programs in the Sultanate of Oman in schools is done
according to gender. The small sample size of participants was a result of the
exceptional circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic that have affected education
in the world. The epidemiological situation has negatively affected the interaction
of the candidates. That was the reason for their non-response to the questionnaire,
despite repeatedly urging them to respond to and interact with it to identify the
barriers that impede their application of the e-portfolio. The sample students
included eight different majors (Islamic Education, Arabic Language, English
Language, Science Education, Math Education, Physical Education, Art
Education, Instructional and Learning Technologies) in the College of Education,
SQU. They registered in Student Teaching course because it is an essential
requirement in the College of Education.
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Table 1. Shows the distribution of the research sample.
Technologies
and Learning
Instructional
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Language
Language
Physical
English
Science
Islamic
Arabic
Math
(ILT)
(ME)
(AL)
(AE)
(EL)
(SE)
(PE)
(IE)
Art
22 21 17 11 11 14 10 16
3.3 Instrument
In light of the literature reviewed, in particular e.g. (Butler, 2006); (Paulson &
Campbell, 2018); (Alonso et al., 2019); (Payne et al., 2020); a research instrument
was self-developed by the author of this study as questionnaire entitled “Barriers
of Application of the e-portfolio”. The instrument was designed using Google
Forms and it was based on a five-point Likert scale measurement (coded as
‘strongly disagree=1’, disagree=2’, to some extent=3’, agree=4’, strongly
Agree=5’). The instrument consisted of two sections. The first section consisted of
two dimensions, dimension of “the barriers related to candidate” has 31 items
(self-developed), and dimension of “the barriers related to the instructional
environment” has 8 items (self-developed). The total items in the instrument is 39
items (see appendix 1 for instrument’s items). In addition to participants’
demographic variables, the first variable is gender (1=‘male’ and 2=‘female’). The
second variable was related to the discipline (1=‘Islamic education’, 2=‘Arabic
Language’, 3=‘English Language’, 4=‘Science education’, 5=‘Math Education’,
6=‘Physical Education’, 7=‘Art Education’, 8=‘Teaching and learning
Technology’). Moreover, the third variable is technological skills level (1= ‘Weak’,
2= ‘Medium’, and 3= ‘Good’) These variables were included in the instrument to
identify the barriers that candidates face while applying the e-portfolio. The
second section consisted of two open-ended questions, and was devoted to provide
more freedom to the candidates in expressing their perspectives and thoughts regarding
the implementation of the e-portfolio. The first question was about the barriers related
to candidates and the second one was about the barriers related to the
instructional environment (see appendix 1).
The content and criterion validity was judged by five experts specialized in
teaching methods and educational technology with several years of teaching
experience. All experts were asked to check the correctness of the dimensions and
the items, the relations between the items and dimensions, and the
appropriateness of the questionnaire items to the Omani context. The experts'
notes included reformulating some words and phrases, deleting repeated phrases,
deleting phrases related to the supervisor, and transferring some phrases from the
dimensions of barriers related to the instructional environment to the dimensions
of barriers related to the candidate. Then the instrument was modified
accordingly. The agreement between the experts was measured and it was 90%.
The instrument was tested in a pilot study and the reliability was calculated using
the coefficient of Cronbach alpha (α). The value of α= 0.82 was acceptable,
meaning the instrument is reliable.
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4. Analysis
The researcher distributed the instrument to all candidates in the College of
Education in the 2020. The data were collected using electronic means and
analysed using SPSS to provide answers for research questions. The following
briefly shows the statistical methods used in the research methodology:
1. To determine whether there are barriers facing the candidates when
applying the e-portfolio, the mean, standard deviation of the barriers, the
mean scores of the questionnaire as a whole and each dimension of the
questionnaire were calculated. Then, the means were compared to the mean
values for each scale by increasing 0.5 to the starting value for each rank to
rank (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5).
2. To determine whether there are barriers facing students when applying the
e-portfolio that are attributable to the gender variable, the T-test was applied
for two independent groups of different numbers.
3. To determine whether there are barriers facing students when applying the
e-portfolio that are attributable to the variables of Discipline and the level of
technological skills, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was
applied.
Regarding the open-ended questions part in the instrument, which represents

the qualitative analysis, the main objective of this part was to provide more
freedom to the candidates in expressing their perspectives and thought
regarding the implementation of the e-portfolio. The following steps were
followed to perform the qualitative analysis:
1) Placing the interview transcripts into MS word in two-column format, one
column for the transcript and one column for coding.
2) Using line-by-line technique to define and categorize the codes of the
transcripts.
3) Using the AntConc corpus analysis software package to create frequency
list of words, which is a two-column table, the word and the number of times
each word occurred. The word frequency list identified the most frequently
occurring words in the transcripts.
4) The words were grouped into eight categories based on the data. The
following table (2) summarizes the candidates' perceptions and insights that
resulted from the analysis of their feedback
Table 2. Feedback Categorization

Category Feedback example
General e-portfolio “the e-portfolio is a good idea; it has many positives and
feedback barriers”
“lack of persuasion of the e-portfolio, because it is not in
Purpose and motivation the interest and needs of the candidates as its goal is to
meet the requirements of academic accreditation”
“the necessity of training them in the technological skills
necessary to implement the e-portfolio early and avoid
Training and skills
the delay in training skills on the application of the e-
portfolio until the final semester”
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“the limited knowledge provided to them about the e-

portfolio and what the e-portfolio is”
Knowledge and
“lack awareness of the necessity of preserving their
understanding
works for inclusion in the e-portfolio, that has resulted in
the loss of many evidences”
“there is no prior knowledge of how to write specialized
Reflective papers and general reflective papers, and the delay in writing
them until the last semester”
“the score assigned to evaluate the e-portfolio is
Evaluation and scoring
insufficient”
“feeling of overload due to some supervisors requesting
Time management and a hard copy and e-copy of the e-portfolio, and the lack of
workload support and encouragement by some academic
supervisors”
“the candidates affected by the alumni' negative opinions
and desire to reduce the work included in the e-portfolio,
Collaboration and alumni
but that they lacked collaboration with the alumni and
support
exchange of knowledge and skills related to building the
e-portfolio”
5. Results
The initiative of current research dealt with the barriers that candidates faced in
the College of Education at SQU during the implementation of the e-portfolio.
These barriers prevent candidates from applying the e-portfolio, which leads to
poor assessment, lack of integration of knowledge, inability to identify previous
learning and link it to new learning, and loss of many professional documents.
The barriers identified in the research could be classified as barriers related to
candidates, and others related to the instructional environment.
The first question: What are the barriers that candidates of the College of
Education face when applying the e-portfolio?
The questionnaire was applied to the research sample and the mean scores of the
students' responses were calculated for the questionnaire as a whole as well as for
the first and second dimensions of the questionnaire. The value corresponding to
the value of each mean score was determined consequently. Table (3) shows the
mean scores of the students' responses and the corresponding values
Table 3. Shows the descriptive statistics for the barriers that candidates face during
the applying of the e-portfolio that related candidates.
(2.A) Barriers related to candidate
Barrier’s N. Mean Std. Deviation Barrier’s N. Mean Std. Deviation
1 2.8689 1.19192 18 2.7951 1.30440
2 3.1230 1.17535 19 3.2623 1.22510
3 3.0902 1.33611 20 3.5738 1.27867
4 3.3033 1.08246 21 3.6148 1.25604
5 2.6721 1.30126 22 3.8770 1.16830
6 2.6885 1.17186 23 4.2705 1.01262
7 3.4590 1.09957 24 3.7213 1.24158
8 3.2623 1.36547 25 3.2951 1.19702
9 3.4180 1.32266 26 3.8525 1.11097
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10 3.7541 1.18748 27 3.4180 1.08209

11 3.1557 1.11356 28 4.0082 1.10966
12 3.2869 1.32665 29 3.8607 1.15934
13 3.4426 1.16455 30 3.7623 1.19263
14 3.3525 1.14215 31 3.5902 1.29688
15 3.1311 1.08293 32 2.9836 1.25299
16 2.8852 1.25439 33 3.6639 1.15430
17 2.7049 1.31544 Total 111.1475 24.11394
(2.B) Barriers related to the instructional environment
34 3.6885 .91887 38 3.9098 .98756
35 3.4016 1.11088 39 3.9918 1.10218
36 3.5328 1.12216 40 3.9754 1.12421
37 3.6148 1.14594 41 3.8197 1.17843
Total 29.9344 6.11425
The results shown in Table 3 indicate that all means values of the responses of the
sample members suggest that there are barriers facing the candidates when
producing the e-portfolio. The means of responses on the first dimension related
to the barriers facing the candidates was 111.147 out of 155. As for the second
dimension of the barriers related to the instructional environment, the mean was
29.934 out of 40. Moreover, from the result is the first dimension barriers 10, 20,
21, 22, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 each has obtained means of the responses with
a "high" degree. The notable means were obtained by the barriers 23 and 28 where
the values reached 4.27 and 4.00 respectively. In addition, the second dimension
barriers 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41 where each obtained a mean above 3.5 as well.
Based on that, all the means obtained by the barriers in the first and second
dimensions confirmed that there were high level barriers facing candidates when
implementing the e-portfolio.
The results confirm that there are a number of barriers candidates face when
implementing an e-portfolio. This might be derived from the results of 16 barriers
of the first dimension that have obtained means equal or greater than 3.0. These
barriers are 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 25 and 27 from the first dimension
and barrier 35 from the second dimension. The barriers 1, 5, 6, 16, 17, 18, that
obtained means above 2.5 which refers to an “average” score, also supported the
fact that there are barriers facing candidates when implementing the e-portfolio.
In the open-end questions of the questionnaire, the candidates emphasized the

following:
- The e-portfolio is a good idea; it has many positives and barriers.
- The necessity of training them in the technological skills necessary to
implement the e-portfolio early and avoid the delay in training skills on the
application of the e-portfolio until the final semester.
- The limited knowledge provided to them about the e- portfolio and what the
e-portfolio is. In addition, how to build it in light of the conceptual framework
of the College of Education, INTASC standards, Discipline standards, and the
outputs of the teacher preparation program.
- There is no prior knowledge of how to write specialized and general reflective
papers, and the delay in writing them until the last semester.
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- Lack of knowledge of how to select evidences related to the college's conceptual

framework.
- The score assigned to evaluate the e-portfolio is insufficient.
- Feeling the lack of time and the large number of tasks involved in the e-
portfolio.
- There is no prior knowledge of how to write specialized and general reflective
papers, and the delay in writing them until the last semester.
- Lack awareness of the necessity of preserving their works for inclusion in the
e-portfolio, that has resulted in the loss of many evidences.
- The candidates affected by the alumni' negative opinions and desire to reduce
the work included in the e-portfolio, but that they lacked collaboration with the
alumni and exchange of knowledge and skills related to building the e-
portfolio.
- There are not enough e-portfolio forms to guide candidates.
- Feeling of overload due to some supervisors requesting a hard copy and e-copy
of the e-portfolio, and the lack of support and encouragement by some
academic supervisors.
- Lack of persuasion of the e-portfolio, because it is not in the interest and needs
of the candidates as its goal is to meet the requirements of academic
accreditation.
The second question: Are there statistically significant differences facing

candidates while applying the e-portfolio that are attributable to the following
variables: gender, disciplines, level of technological skills?
Gender variable: To identify the significance of the existence of statistically
significant differences facing candidates that are attributable to gender; the degree
of the responses of the male and female members of the research sample was
monitored, and the T-test was applied to two independent groups of different
numbers.
Table 4. Descriptive statistics and (T) values for the sample according to the gender
variable
Mean Std. Deviation
Dimension T Sig.
Male Female Male Female
Barriers related to candidate 110.357 111.383 26.387 23.54 0.197 0.844
Barriers related to the
28.535 30.351 7.12 5.758 1.384 0.169
instructional environment
Total 138.892 141.734 32.896 28.118 0.451 0.653
The results shown in Table 4 indicate that the means of the responses on the first
dimension were 110.357 and 111.383 for males and females respectively. As for
the second dimension, the means of the responses were 28.535 and 30.351 males
and females respectively. It also shows the (T) value of the difference between the
average responses of males and females were 0.197 on the first dimension, 1.384
on the second dimension, and 0.451 to the questionnaire as a whole.
This result confirms that the difference between the mean of the males’ responses
and the mean of the females’ responses on the first and second barriers
dimensions, and the total of the responses on all the questionnaire barriers are not
526
statistically significant. The value of (T) in both the first and second dimensions,
and the total of the questionnaire barriers, are not statistically significant at the
level of (0.05), and this means that there are no differences attributable to the
gender variable when determining the barriers of applying the e-portfolio of the
candidate or the instructional environment.
Disciplines variable: To identify the significance of the existence of statistically

significant differences faced by candidates that are attributable to the disciplines
variable, the responses of the research sample were collected for each discipline.
Then, the equation of the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied.
Table 5 shows the results of the analysis.
Table 5. Results of ANOVA test for first dimension

Disciplines N Mean Std. Deviation F Sig
IE 22 115.8636 17.30757
AL 21 114.7619 23.80106
EL 17 123.8235 18.89522
SE 11 116.4545 22.37572
ME 11 93.9091 23.53064 5.648 0.00
PE 14 117.2143 25.41102
AE 10 116.7000 20.59153
ILT 16 85.8750 20.25792
Total 122 111.1475 24.11394
Table 5, indicate that the value of (F) for the first dimension of the questionnaire
is 5.648, which is statistically significant (0.00). To reveal the reasons for the
significance (F) among disciplines, the Scheffe test was used for the post
comparisons, and the results of the test are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Scheffe test for post comparisons according to the disciplines variable of first
dimension
(I) (J) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval
Std. Error Sig.
Discipline Discipline (I-J) Lower Bound Upper Bound
IE -29.98864-* 7.03365 .016 -56.8976- -3.0797-
AL -28.88690-* 7.10382 .027 -56.0643- -1.7095-
EL -37.94853-* 7.45646 .001 -66.4751- -9.4220-
ILT SE -30.57955- 8.38467 .076 -62.6572- 1.4981
ME -8.03409- 8.38467 .996 -40.1117- 24.0435
PE -31.33929-* 7.83424 .032 -61.3111- -1.3675-
AE -30.82500- 8.62953 .089 -63.8394- 2.1894
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
The results shown in Table 6 indicate that there are statistically significant
differences in the barriers facing candidates when producing the e-portfolio
according to the variable of disciplines. The directions of differences were
between groups ILT and IE in favour of IE, between ILT and AL in favour of AL,
between ILT and EL in favour of EL, and between ILT and PE in favour of EL. PE.
It be concluded that the barriers identified by IE, AL, EL and PE disciplines were
of greater statistical value and significance than the barriers identified by ILT. As
for the other disciplines, there are no statistically significant differences.
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Table 7. Results of ANOVA test for second dimension

Disciplines N Mean Std. Deviation F Sig
IE 22 31.5455 4.73817
AL 21 29.0000 7.08520
EL 17 34.3529 5.08602
SE 11 32.4545 4.84487
ME 11 26.8182 3.76346 5.350 0.00
PE 14 31.0714 5.46970
AE 10 28.9000 5.34270
ILT 16 24.3125 5.73549
Total 122 29.9344 6.11425
As in Table 7, indicate that the value of (F) for the second dimension of the
questionnaire is 5.350, which is statistically significant (0.00). To reveal the reasons
for the significance (F) among disciplines, the Scheffe test was used for the post
comparisons, and the results of the test are shown in Table 8.
Table 8. Scheffe test for post comparisons according to the disciplines variable of
second dimension
95% Confidence Interval
(I) (J)
Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig. Lower Upper
Discipline Discipline
Bound Bound
IE -7.23295-* 1.79566 .030 -14.1027- -.3632-
AL -4.68750- 1.81357 .468 -11.6258- 2.2508
EL -10.04044-* 1.90360 .001 -17.3231- -2.7577-
ILT SE -8.14205- 2.14057 .053 -16.3313- .0472
ME -2.50568- 2.14057 .986 -10.6950- 5.6836
PE -6.75893- 2.00005 .134 -14.4106- .8927
AE -4.58750- 2.20308 .739 -13.0159- 3.8409
The results shown in Table 8 indicate that there are statistically significant
differences in the barriers facing candidates when producing the e-portfolio
according to the variable of disciplines. The directions of differences were
between ILT and IE in favour of IE, and between ILT and EL in favour of EL. It be
concluded that the barriers identified by the IE and EL disciplines were of greater
value and statistical significance than those identified by the ILT. As for the other
disciplines, there are no statistically significant differences.
This difference confirms the importance of raising awareness of the e-portfolio in

advance and uniformly among all disciplines to avoid the barriers that some
candidates were exposed to.
Technological skills level variable: To identify the significance of the existence

of statistically significant differences facing the candidates due to the
technological skill level variable, the responses of the research sample were
collected at the level of technological skills (weak, medium, and high). Then the
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equation of the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied. Table 9

shows the results of the analysis.
Table 9. Results of ANOVA test for the technological skills level variable for the first
dimension of the questionnaire.
Technological skills level N Mean Std. Deviation F Sig
Weak 62 122.8387 20.92390
Medium 20 109.0000 17.54393
23.947 0.00
High 40 94.1000 21.25161
Total 122 111.1475 24.11394
As in Table 9, indicate that the value of (F) for the first dimension of the
questionnaire according to the technological skills variable is 23.947, which is
statistically significant (0.00). To reveal the reasons for the significance (F), the
Scheffe test was used for the post comparisons, and the results of the test are
shown in Table 10.
Table 10. Scheffe test for post comparisons according to the technological skills
variable of first dimension
(I) (J) 95% Confidence Interval
Mean Std.
Technologica Technological Sig. Lower Upper
Difference (I-J) Error
l skills level skills level Bound Bound
Medium 13.83871* 5.28002 .035 .7501 26.9273
Weak
High 28.73871* 4.16403 .000 18.4166 39.0609
Medium High 14.90000* 5.62303 .033 .9612 28.8388
The results shown in Table 10 indicate statistically significant differences in the

barriers of the first dimension facing candidates when producing the e-portfolio
according to the variable of technological skills. The directions of differences were
between groups weak and medium in favour of weak, between weak and high in
favour of weak, and between medium and high in favour of medium. It concluded
that the barriers related by candidates with low technology skills were of greater
statistical value and significance than those related by candidates with medium
and high technology skills. In addition, the barriers related by candidates with
medium technology skills were of greater statistical value and significance than
the barriers related by candidates with high technology skills
Table 11. Results of ANOVA test for the technological skills level variable for the
second dimension of the questionnaire.
Technological skills level N Mean Std. Deviation F Sig
Weak 62 32.4839 5.45546
Medium 20 28.9000 4.51780
14.70 0.00
High 40 26.5000 6.04258
Total 122 29.9344 6.11425
Table 11 indicates that the value of (F) for the second dimension of the
questionnaire according to the technological skills variable is 14.70, which is
statistically significant (0.00). To reveal the reasons for the significance (F), the
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Scheffe test was used for the post comparisons, and the results of the test are
shown in Table 12.
Table 12. Scheffe test for post comparisons according to the technological skills
variable of second dimension
95% Confidence Interval
(I) Tech (J) Tech Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig. Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Medium 3.58387* 1.41975 .045 .0645 7.1033
Weak
High 5.98387* 1.11967 .000 3.2083 8.7594
The results shown in Table 12 indicate statistically significant differences in the

barriers of the second dimension that face candidates when producing the e-
portfolio according to the variable of technological skills. The directions of
differences were between groups weak and medium in favour of weak, and
between weak and high in favour of weak. It concluded that the barriers related
by candidates with low technology skills were of greater statistical value and
significance than those related by candidates with medium and high technology
skills.
Finally, it was confirmed that candidates decided to apply the e-portfolio in light
of the positive experiences presented to them, and that it is a mandatory
requirement. Therefore, they avoided destructive opinions that indicate the
existence of barriers that hinder their implementation of the e-portfolio. However,
some candidates refused to apply the e-portfolio according to the ideas presented
to them in previous experiences and adopted a new method for applying it based
on the dimensions of the conceptual framework.
6. Discussions
This research explored the perceived barriers that face candidates of the College
of Education during the implementation of the e-portfolio. In addition, it explored
if these barriers are related to variables gender, disciplines, level of technological
skills. The researcher discussed the results according to the study questions, as
follows.
The first question: “What are the barriers that candidates of the College of
Education face when applying the e-portfolio?”
The results in Table (3) showed that the research sample agreed on all the barriers
included in the questionnaire are 41 barriers (as shown in Appendix 1). The
number of barriers that got a mean of more than 3.00 were 35 barriers, while the
number of barriers that got a mean of more than 2.5 were 6 barriers, which
confirms that the candidates agreed upon all the barriers included in the
questionnaire on the e-portfolio. The candidates indicated that the e-portfolio is a
good idea and it has many positives, but they agreed that there were some barriers
to the implementation process; this was confirmed by Aldhafeeri (2017).
In the following, we will discuss the expected barriers to implementing the e-

portfolio in light of the stages in the diffusion of Innovation theory.
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From the candidates' responses to the questionnaire, there are barriers related to:
At the knowledge stage, in their responses, the candidates emphasized in
statements 1, 9-14 in the questionnaire the limited knowledge provided to them
about the e- portfolio and how to build it in light of the conceptual framework of
the College of Education, INTASC standards, specialization standards, and the
outputs of the teacher preparation program. They also emphasized in the open
part lack of knowledge of how to write reflective specialized and general papers
and how to select evidences related to the college's conceptual framework, and
the inadequate score assigned to e-portfolio evaluation. This result could be
explained by the need for introducing the e-portfolio concept, its content, and how
to build and link it the standards to the candidates through including these
subjects in some courses that related the e-portfolio before producing it. This is
consistent with the e-portfolio application success criteria indicated by Steele
(2009) such as familiarizing candidates with the concept and rationale for creating
an e-portfolio as well as briefing them with the types of evidence selected and how
to evaluate this evidence. Aldhafeeri (2017) confirmed that the e-portfolio was
imposed on the students without introducing them to it or providing any training
on its use.
Candidates in statement 29 identified the lack of time required to produce the e-

portfolio as one of the barriers due to the delay of knowledge related to the
implementation of the e-portfolio until the last semester that was confirmed by
candidate responses in statement 21. Other barriers identified by the candidates
are the large number of tasks involved in e-portfolio and the unavailability or loss
of many evidence/works that should be included in the e-portfolio as in
candidates’ responses for statements 23 and 14 respectively. Moreover, the delay
in writing the specialized and general reflective papers is also identified by the
candidates as a barrier in the open part of the questionnaire. These results might
be due to the candidates' lack of awareness of knowledge related with producing
the e-portfolio.
In light of the above, it is important to overcome the numerous barriers that the
candidates face related to the knowledge stage due to its important role in
educating the candidates with the knowledge necessary to apply the e-portfolio.
This was confirmed by Fong et al. (2014) in that prior knowledge of the e-portfolio
plays an effective role in shaping perceptions of usability and effectiveness. This
research suggests defining a special course for the e-portfolio in which knowledge
is presented. Another option would be to specify a number of courses in the
student’s plan to provide knowledge, and to implement the application of the e-
portfolio gradually so its application is not delayed until the final semester and
work accumulates on the candidates.
As for the barriers related to the persuasion stage, the candidates confirmed in
the open part of the questionnaire that they were affected by the opinions of the
graduates. This extent of influence is revealed through the candidates’ desire to
reduce the work included in the e-portfolio even before starting any
implementation steps, and this may be due to the effort made by graduates during
the implementation of the e-portfolio. Additionally, statement #17 indicated that
531
they lack cooperation and exchange of knowledge and skills related to building
an e-portfolio. In this regard, Syzdykova et al. (2021) emphasized that candidates
should improve their collaborative skills as their cooperation with graduates may
contribute to giving them positive attitudes towards the e-portfolio. The
difference in the e-portfolio components among candidates of same discipline,
and other disciplines, is one of the barriers identified by the candidates, which is
expected to prevent them from being persuaded to implement the e-portfolio.
This could be justified by inconsistency of the evidence produced in the academic
curricula because of the differences of the faculty members who teach them, as
stated in statement 38. Aldhafeeri (2017) indicated that some instructor interested
to apply the e-portfolio while others not interested, and this difference between
instructors is one of the reasons for the resistance of students the e-portfolio.
At the decision stage, candidates are expected to make the decision to start
implementing the e-portfolio and are positively influenced by the models
presented to them by graduates about the e-portfolio. This is matched to Abrami
& Barrett (2005) conclusion who confirmed the possibility of accepting candidates
to implement e-portfolio by providing examples of previous e-portfolio and
demonstrating their effectiveness in achieving learning. However, candidates also
revealed there are not enough e-portfolio forms to guide them because the
graduates usually cancel sharing their e-portfolio with their supervisor after
completing their studies. Based on that, the need for a special platform to produce
the e-portfolio and preserve the graduates’ work could be confirmed. The
candidates agreed in statement 37 of the questionnaire that “the college does not
have an electronic platform in which the e-portfolio is produced” is one of the
barriers to producing the e-portfolio. Several studies have concluded the
importance of using a special platform for e-portfolio implementation such as
Chang et al. (2013); Galvin Fernandez et al. (2017); Taylor (2021). In addition, the
decision to apply for an e-portfolio is a mandatory requirement for all candidates
to achieve the requirements for academic accreditation. This explains why some
candidates are not convinced of the e-portfolio as stated in the open part of the
questionnaire. Fong (2014), Aldhafeeri (2017) have confirmed the candidates’
resistance to applying the e-portfolio increases if they are forced to implement it.
In the implementation stage, candidates may continue to feel uncertain about

their ability to implement the e-portfolio as its relevance to previously completed
and evaluated work may make them feel bored. Such an undesired feeling might
be a result of losing some evidence, not knowing the need to preserve it, and
lacking knowledge of the importance of the e-portfolio, which was indicated by
statements 14 and 19 in the questionnaire. The negative attitudes towards e-
portfolio obtained from some graduates results in feeling of difficulty in
implementing the e-portfolio. Statements 3, 5, 8, 25, 33, and 37 of the questionnaire
confirm the existence of barriers related to technology among the candidates, and
this is due to the fact that the only one technological course dedicated for the
candidates in the college of education does not include in-depth knowledge of the
production of the e-portfolio. Basu (2015); Oakley et al. (2015) emphasized in this
regard that technology is one of the barriers affecting the successful
implementation of the e-portfolio. The absence of follow-up and guidance by
532
supervisors along with their weak feedback provided on the candidates’ work are
the reasons behind the candidates’ feeling of uncertainty about their ability to
implement the e-portfolio as statement 16, 26, 32, 36, 40 of the
questionnaire. Other reasons confirmed by statements 24 and 28 of the
questionnaire are the preoccupation of some candidates with studying other
courses accompanying the student teaching and also the low grade allocated to
the e-portfolio compared to the amount of work required to complete it. The
opinions of the students in the Aldhafeeri (2017) are similar to the opinions of the
candidates in the current research, as they confirmed the lack of interest and
guidance of some supervisors in the e-portfolio. Moreover, some supervisors
demand hard and soft copy of the e-portfolio, which increases the burden on
candidates. It could be concluded that the barriers facing candidates in the
implementation phase are due to the delay in providing knowledge, the delay in
applying the e-portfolio until the final semester, and the lack of support and
encouragement for candidates by some academic supervisors. The researcher
believes that having a special course for the e-portfolio will solve many of the
barriers that the candidates faced during their application.
During confirmation stage, candidates are expected to put a lot of efforts into
implementing the e-portfolio and to stay away from the destructive opinions that
hinder their implementation of the e-portfolio. The candidates indicated in
statements 16 and 18 of the questionnaire that the weak feedback of some
supervisors and the candidates’ unacceptance of their feedback may remain
among the barriers that hinder the e-portfolio. This is consistent with what Steele
(2009) emphasized on the need for supervisors to encourage and support their
students while implementing the e-portfolio as a new experiment.
Some candidates indicated in their responses to the open part of the questionnaire
that the e-portfolio is not needed (no need to innovate) because it conflicts with
their needs and interests. Statement 28 of the questionnaire indicated that some
candidates were preoccupied with studying other courses accompanying the
student teaching course, which reduces the effort expended in implementing the
e-portfolio. This agrees with Aldhafeeri (2017), who confirmed that the
preoccupation of students with studying other courses is the reason behind
refusing the e-portfolio. Therefore, candidates should be urged to avoid studying
other courses simultaneously with the student teaching course that the e-portfolio
is applied in.
Individuals usually tend not to expose themselves to thoughts that conflict with
their interests, needs, or attitudes. According to his research findings, the
Individuals rarely expose themselves to innovation-related ideas unless they
initially feel the need to innovate. Moreover, if individuals were exposed to
innovative ideas, the exposure would have little effect unless they perceive that
innovation is closely related to their needs and corresponds to their current
attitudes and beliefs (Rogers, 2010; Ozen, & Koc, 2021). The statements 1, 19, and
35 confirmed that the research findings agreed with Rogers' theory that the
ambiguity of the purpose for applying the e-portfolio and its insignificance led
the candidates to not feel the need for it.
533
The researcher believes that having a course on the e-portfolio will solve many of
the barriers that the candidates will face during the implementation of the e-
portfolio as the course includes teaching practical skills required to build the e-
portfolio. The supervisor is fully responsible for the course and independent of
the partner departments and colleges in regard to the correcting reflective papers.
A proposal for the implementation of the E-portfolio

The implementation of the e-portfolio at the College of Education at SQU has
become imperative for two reasons. The first is its importance as a tool for
learning, assessment and documentation, while the second is the necessity
imposed by CAEP academic accreditation requirements. Figure 2. Shows the
stages proposed to implement the e-portfolio in the College of Education at SQU.
Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation
Figure 2. Stages proposed Implementation of the e-portfolio in the Collage of

Education at SQU
©The figure was designed by Sameh Said Ismail (The Researcher)
The process begins with introducing different types of knowledge about the e-
portfolio (innovation) to answer the first question what is innovation? Students
learn about the nature, importance and types of the e-portfolio, and emphasizing
the need to include the most important works they produced in it. Then
introduces the candidates to another level of knowledge related to the second
question: How does innovation work? Where it trains candidates on the sites
necessary to produce the e-portfolio, and introduce them with the standards on
which it is built, which are the dimensions of the conceptual framework of the
College of Education, the InTasc standards, and the outputs of the teacher
preparation program. Finally, another level of knowledge is introduced related to
the answer to the third question, why we make an innovation? At this level,
candidates are introduced to the importance of the e-portfolio, and how they can
collect and reflect on their best work. Which proves that they have acquired many
experiences.
Candidates’ application of the e-portfolio is influenced by the opinions of their
colleagues who have previously applied it in terms of: (1) Its feasibility, (2) Its
usefulness, (3) Ease and difficulty of its application, (4) Adequacy of the
knowledge provided to them and necessary for their application, (5) The time
available to them to apply it, and (6) The amount of effort expended in its
production, and its suitability to the grade assigned to it.
In the previous light, it is necessary to work on providing positive opinions from
colleagues who have implemented the comprehensive e-portfolio, as the decision
of candidates to adopt the e-portfolio application is influenced by the self-
534
evaluation of colleagues. If the self-evaluations are positive, the candidates make

the decision to implement the e-portfolio (innovation) and vice versa.
Candidates' e-portfolio application is affected by the successful attempts

presented to them with the aim of showing good examples of the work of previous
colleagues, and encouraging them to apply an e-portfolio. It is difficult for
candidates to make a decision to refuse to adopt an e-portfolio application, as it is
a mandatory requirement in the College of Education to meet the academic
accreditation standards. Accordingly, the decision to adopt has become
mandatory and is sought to be supported by good templates.
While implementing an e-portfolio, candidates may feel uncertain about their

ability to implement it. This confirms that candidates faced frustrations,
challenges, and barriers when creating their first e-portfolio. Candidates may
need the help and support of their supervisors and colleagues to overcome the
barriers they face during implementation.
To reduce candidates' uncertainty about e-portfolio outcomes (innovation), the

graduate students are invited to showcase their e-portfolios and talk about the
positive journey of its production. As a result, some candidates may make
decisions to re-apply the e-portfolio in a different way than planned. In addition,
a praise was given by some academics to the efforts of some graduates in
producing the e-portfolio efficiently and presenting their work as models for all
college candidates in their different specializations. This praise has helped
candidates decide to re-apply the e-portfolio.
The second question: “Are there statistically significant differences facing

candidates while applying the e-portfolio that are attributable to the following
variables: gender, disciplines, level of technological skills?”
Gender variable: There are no statistically significant differences between the

mean scores responses of males and females to the barriers in the first and second
dimensions of the questionnaire. One possible explanation for this result is that
the candidates have completed all pre-courses required for taking the student
teaching course in which the e-portfolio is implemented. This proves that male
and female candidates have studied the same content and pedagogical knowledge
and skills preceding the e-portfolio implementation. Karami et al. (2018); Alzouebi
(2020) confirmed that there is no significant difference between males and females
in the use and implementation of the e-portfolio. This result can be explained that
the male and female candidates faced same degree of common barriers in the
implementation of the e-portfolio, which made the levels of both genders
equivalent despite the general permanent female advantage. Moreover, what
prompted the current research to study the gender variable is the difference in the
work place after graduation, as all of them work in one gender schools. Also, the
results of females in all courses are almost higher than the results of males.
Accordingly, the research tried to clarify whether there are different barriers
identified by females from males according to their academic level.
535
Disciplines variable: The results of multiple comparisons for the first dimension
of the questionnaire shown in Table 6 indicated that there were statistically
significant differences between the mean response scores for ILT discipline and
the responses of candidates from other disciplines except for SE and ME and AE.
In addition, that multiple comparisons for the first dimension of the questionnaire
shown in Table 7 indicated that barriers identified by the disciplines of IE and EL
were of greater value and statistical significance than the barriers identified by the
ILT. As for the other disciplines, there are no statistically significant differences.
This result could be explained by that the ILT and EL disciplines have previously
implemented the e-portfolio before other disciplines, which means that they have
been exposed to the barriers that candidates face while implementing the e-
portfolio before other disciplines. On the other hand, disciplines ILT, SE, ME and
AE have technological skills due to the nature of the major that deals with many
technological applications. Candidates in the ELT and ME disciplines have the
technological skills needed to apply the e-portfolio as they previously designed
educational websites on WIX. In addition, the mathematics discipline uses
technology to teach subjects. Cahyono & Ludwing (2018) emphasized the use of
digital technology to support mathematics teaching and learning.
Technological skills level variable: The results of multiple comparisons for the
first dimension of the questionnaire shown in Table 10 indicated that the barriers
related by candidates with low technology skills were of greater statistical value
and significance than the other barriers. In addition, the barriers related by
candidates with medium technology skills were of greater statistical value and
significance than the barriers related by candidates with high technology skills.
Moreover, the multiple comparisons for the second dimension of the
questionnaire shown in Table 12 indicated that barriers related by candidates with
low technology skills were of greater statistical value and significance than the
barriers related by candidates with medium and high technology skills. This
result can be explained by the necessity of training candidates on technological
skills in general, and the skills necessary to implement the e-portfolio in
particular. In this regard, Barrett (2007) emphasized that the use of an e-portfolio
requires a high level of technological skills and a support system.
There are limitations for this research, and these are:

- The study has been conducted in an Arabian country, the Sultanate of Oman.
Accordingly, the educational system and the local culture related to the Arabic
language were taken into account.
- The participants were only students of one semester registering student
teaching course offered at the College of Education, SQU.
- The research sample is not large due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The response to the questionnaire was not as expected. All schools and
universities in Oman were closed. Thus, the researcher suggests replicating the
study on a larger sample in various educational contexts to generalize the
results.
- The responses are the candidates’ personal opinions about the barriers to
applying for the e-portfolio. Thus, the researcher suggests a need for
536
descriptive research that includes interviews with candidates to understand

the challenges better.
7. Conclusion
Many barriers that could hinder the application of e-portfolios in the institutions
of higher education have been identified in the literature. Obviously, the existence
of barriers affects the candidates’ construction of the e-portfolio, causes a lack of
integration of knowledge among them, and perhaps lead to loss of many
professional documents. This research aimed to identify and analyse such barriers
in College of Education, SQU, and to implement the e-portfolio in light of the
diffusion of innovation theory. To achieve the research goals, the research
explained the concept, importance, and characteristics of the e-portfolio. The
research designed an electronically distributed questionnaire to identify barriers
during the implementation of the e-portfolio related to the candidates and the
instructional environment. After applying the questionnaire, it was confirmed
that there are two classes of barriers during the implementation of the e-portfolio,
barriers related to the candidates such as the specialization and technological
skills and barriers related to the instructional environment, such poor supervision
and the consequent delay in providing knowledge, skills and feedback related
with the e-portfolio.
The contribution of this research is identification of barriers faced by the
candidates of candidates of College of Education, SQU during the implementation
of their e-portfolio. In addition, the research proposes an approach to implement
the e-portfolio and confront the barriers based on the diffusion of innovation
theory.
The research recommends integrating the e-portfolio into all courses. However,
this requires spreading continuously the knowledge and skills necessary among
the candidates to create their e-portfolio. Moreover, following up the creation of
e-portfolio, assessing its content, and providing proper feedback to the candidates
are very crucial. The research also recommends integrating the e-portfolio into
other courses during other semesters rather than making it limited to courses in
the final semester. Finally, based on some comments from the candidates, the
research recommends the importance of having an e-portfolio and a special
platform for its production uniformly.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 541-556, April 2023
Social Media Influenced Lexicons: A Child’s

Vocabulary Production in Talk-In Interactions
Jollibee Angchangco Aharul
Cebu Normal University, Cebu City, Philippines
Abstract. Social media has become a prominent medium of communication

and has been used by all generations, including the youngest members of
society. It has emerged as a powerful communication medium that makes
interactions rapid, simple, and sensible. Youngsters also use social media to
have fun, form and maintain connections, share and discover hobbies, explore
identities, and grow familial ties; it is a continuation of their in-person and
offline encounters. There is an assumption that with their exposure to modern
gadgets, internet connectivity, and various online networking sites, children's
daily talk-in interactions are influenced by social media languages. Utilizing
a qualitative-descriptive research design, conversation analysis, Vygotsky's
theory of language development and an interactionism approach, the purpose
of the study is to provide an elaborated academic account of a child’s
vocabulary production in casual conversations and list down the emerging
social-media-influenced lexicons generated from a child, which were
classified according to six-word categories: slang, colloquialism, alphabetism,
neologism, loan words, and pseudowords. Findings show that the trends in digital
exchanges on social media platforms have prevalent occurrences in a child’s
everyday language, where some words and phrases possess critical
meanings, as the child’s denotations and social-media connotations have a
contrastive nature. As children develop their productive lexical skills using
social media, the study highlights Vygotsky’s assertion on the importance of
a child’s "more knowledgeable other" in language acquisition, production,
and development.
Keywords: children’s language production; conversation analysis; language

acquisition; lexical development; social media-influenced languages
1. Introduction
A child's capacity to communicate and develop requires language abilities.
Children who possess these abilities can interact with others, learn from their
surroundings, and succeed in society. For children to develop language abilities,
they must learn the rules for stringing words together in a way that will allow
them to convey their thoughts and feelings, as well as the significance of both
spoken and written language. And language learning, whether natured or
nurtured has already been long debunked by language experts' several theories
©Authors
542
and principles. One of them is Vygotsky's theory of language development which

says that social interactions help children develop their ability to use language
(Morin, 2012). And since children's ability to learn a language is a crucially social
process and the degree of learning is dependent on the quality of interaction being
established with others, face-to-face interactions can definitely optimize the
children's language potential.
But in recent years, with the thriving technology innovations in the digital world,
communication with and access to any services through any systems and devices
have already encompassed human connections. In this regard, social media
becomes a prominent medium of communication and has been used by all
generations, including the youngest members of society. It has emerged as a
powerful communication medium, allowing conversations to become quick, easy,
and reasonable. It has taken over business, education, government, health care,
religion, and all other spheres of society. Its massive use over the last few years is
constantly reshaping today's human interactions. And the trends in digital
exchanges have a profound impact on children's development.
Currently, there are extensive studies about how social media and various
networking sites affect the health conditions and behavior of children. Other
research focused on enhancing the existing methods on how to develop children's
skills in communication and language and exploring how the emerging social
factors affect their biological foundations on their language capacity. But
investigations regarding the influence of social media on children's literacy
development, particularly on language aspects are very limited. Specifically, there
is a diminutive amount of works of literature that provides comprehensive lists
and descriptions of specific languages that children acquire at a specific period of
their life while exposed to virtual interactions.
This study presents an academic account of social-media-influenced lexicons used

by an eight-year-old Cebuano- English speaking child in casual conversations.
There is an assumption that with exposure to various online networking sites,
social media language is dominant in the children's daily talk-in interactions, and
that various lexicons acquired from different social media platforms are salient in
the child's interaction with his/her 'significant others'. The main objective of this
study is to investigate the influence of social media platforms in the lexical
production of a Cebuano-English-speaking child's talk-in conversations. The
following are the sub-questions guiding the study: 1) What social media-
influenced lexicons are salient in a child’s talk-in interactions?; 2) What are the
word classifications of the social media-influenced vocabularies? ; 3) What are
the different social media platforms and their respective contents that greatly
influence the vocabulary production of a child in conversations? ; and 4) How
does a child develop his/her vocabulary competence using social media?
Anchored primarily on Vygotsky's theory of language development and

interactionism approach, the findings and discussions are anticipated to offer
opportunities for further observation and analysis of language dimensions in
social media that are critical to be mastered or evaded by children independently
or with assistance before they reach puberty age. The data can also pave the way
543
for more exploration of children's dynamics and mechanisms in language

acquisition using gadgets and the internet, especially in local contexts.
Additionally, the information of this study may offer a collection of real data that
can be included in a corpus that represents the digital language used by younger
generations in online social networking settings. The paper first discusses the
related kinds of literature and the research method used to collect and analyze the
data. Thereafter, it presents findings and discussion, followed by a conclusion.
2. Review Of Related Literature Sources

Social Media and Children
According to the most recent social media figures, there were 4.59 billion social
media users globally in 2022, and this number will continue to increase over the
following several years (Dixon, n.d.). More than half of the world’s total
population are now on social media. 75.5% of its users are teenagers, 13 years of
age or older (Chaffey, 2022). And in 2021, 62% of kids between the ages of 3 and
17 have their own profile on at least one social media app or website
(Charmaraman et al., 2022). Clearly, social media is now the new world for almost
everyone. It is used by billions of people worldwide to connect and share
information. The society is enticed with these digital platforms as they give
personal freedom to interact with loved ones, learn new things, explore new
interests, and entertainment which is likewise true enough for children.
Youngsters use social media to have fun, form and maintain connections, share
and discover hobbies, explore identities, and grow familial ties. It is a continuation
of their in-person and offline encounters. Children enjoy the easy access and the
various convenience brought about by the numerous social media contents be it
educational, personal, or entertainment. During the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic and community lockdowns, media use became a coping strategy for
many, including children. Youngsters turn to social networking sites and engaged
with media sharing networks to remain socially connected with peers, to discover
new hobbies and interests, and even to pursue learning educational contents.
There was a considerable increase of about 50–70% in internet use during the
COVID-19 pandemic, and this includes a massive portion from children aged 13
and below (Pandya & Lodha, n.d.). Thus, there is no doubt that media use has
completely taken the human interaction scenes. This is the new world where
almost all individuals all over the world are involved, and children are no
exception. And with their exposure to social media, there is no doubt that there is
a profound impact on young people's interaction in the digital world.
Extensive studies were conducted to investigate the overwhelming effects of

social media use to children. Existing studies reveal that modern gadgets and
internet connectivity can be largely beneficial for child development (Rodriguez,
2016). Since social media can also aid in increasing children's social contact, it
provides a more relaxed setting where youngsters can start new interactions
without feeling awkward or uneasy. This enables the young children to feel more
at ease communicating with and interacting with people. Moreover, aside from
social skills, reports also indicated that social media can actually make kids
smarter. Social media can aid in the development of cognitive skills like memory,
544
comprehension, critical thinking, and problem-solving techniques. While children

are informed and updated on relevant news events, they also learn how to
evaluate information critically and determine what is and is not beneficial. Also,
by being part of social networks, children get the feeling of belonging that builds
their self-belief, confidence, responsibility, and connection, all of which definitely
help them mitigate negative emotional states such as stress, anxiety, and
depression (Rodriguez, 2016).
Because of the advantages brought about by digital networking, quite a number

of schools already integrate social media into education. Social media platforms
are used directly in classrooms to send out students the updates and alerts, to host
conversations and broadcast live lectures, to serve as a bulletin board for the class,
to present portfolio and pictures in a visually appealing manner, to make a crisis
management plan, and to post students’ essays or other brief pieces for personal
blogs (West, 2023), with massive improvement on students’ writing performance
when highly exposed to social media platforms (Aharul & Tanoc, 2019).
Evidently, social media can bring numerous advantages not only for children’s
social skills and personal development but as well as in their academic
performance.
Likewise, the critical drawbacks of social media use, particularly for children, is
something that should also be taken noticed of. Overuse of digital media may
cause children to have irregular sleep patterns, an obesity tendency, delays in
learning and social skills, poor school performance, problematic behaviors, media
addiction, exposure to violence and sexual content, and cyberbullying
experiences (Healthy Children's Org, n.d.). A significant number of case studies
have been conducted to investigate the detrimental long effects of social media on
children. Kids under the age of 11 who use Instagram and Snapchat are more
likely to engage in hazardous digital behaviors including making online-only
friends and viewing websites that their parents would find objectionable. They
are also more likely to experience online harassment (Charmaraman et al, 2022).
Another study conducted by Heyman et al (2021), indicated youngsters who use
TikTok are more likely to experience tic-like attacks and to develop tics. They have
a movement problem brought on by stress and worry, which is probably being
exacerbated by the epidemic and youngsters' increased use of social media.
Children's daily conduct at home may change in addition to their harmful internet
practices such as increased irritability, elevated anxiety, and inadequate self-
esteem.
In terms of vocabulary production specifically, social media can also have a

negative impact on children. According to research, social media sites frequently
promote visual material, emoticons, and acronyms, which may deprive kids of a
rich linguistic environment and stunt their vocabulary growth. Swan (2017)
discovered that social media has drawn a lot of criticism for its detrimental effects
on students’' grammar and spelling. The usage of online lingo (such as BRB, BTW,
and LOL), according to some respondents, is also problematic. Using social media
affects the students’ official writing, according to the majority of respondents, and
informal contractions on social media, such "gonna," "whatcha," and "gimme,"
545
have an impact on their manner of speaking and writing. Many of the posts are
informal and vary from one another—different from the academic writing the
students use in language learning setting. (Derakshan & Hasanabbasi, 2015).
The impact of social media and the related issues on gadget and internet use are
expected to increase as human beings continue to become compliant with the
nature of interactions in the digital world. Thus, along with the continuous
evolution of social interactions and human nature, whether real or virtual, there
should be a progressive quest to provide children with the accurate ways and
means for sustainable learning development.
3. Methodology
This study utilizes a qualitative-descriptive research design. The research subject
is an eight-year old Filipino girl who was born in Cebu, Philippines, but whose
first and primary language is English. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where
learning mode was only delivered online, the child has had open access to
different social media platforms. The child’s screen time and digital media
exposure is about 8-10 hours a day since the beginning of the community
lockdowns.
The data gathering procedure, which was conducted for two weeks, involved the
audio recording of the one-on-one daily turn-taking conversations with random
topics, facilitated by her mother at home. The course of action was done for two
weeks, twice a day for about 30 minutes per session. The utterances were
transcribed manually. The use of online transcription software was deliberately
avoided to ensure the accurate records of the child’s natural speaking occurrences
in conversations. After transcribing, data was checked, and some parts of the
conversation were selected based on the child’s emergent vocabulary and put
them as the data of this research. To identify and examine the social-media
influenced lexicons in the child’s talk-in interactions, the frameworks of
Conversation and Content Analyses were utilized.
4. Results and discussion

4.1 Child’s social-media influenced lexicons in conversations
From the data collection process, 25 items were managed to be collected
throughout this research to be analyzed. Table 1 shows the child’s words, phrases,
and expressions with their corresponding meanings in the social media contexts
as well as the platforms where the lexicons got popularized.
Table 1: Analysis of child’s social-media influenced lexicons in talk-in interactions

Social-media influenced Meaning Social Media Platform
lexicons Origin
1. emotional damage emotionally distressed TikTok

2. sus / sussy/ sussy suspicious ‘Among Us’ video game
baka
3. uwu/ewew/ uwu cute, happy, pretty, Anime fanfiction
girl sweetly childlike girl websites
546
4. yamete kudasai Stop it! / Can you please YouTube/ Meme

stop it?
5. preppy stylish ‘TikTok’ video
6. luh expression of surprise or Facebook Messenger
disbelief
7. sosyal/sossy classy YouTube
8. lolz Fun/funny/ laughter Snapchat
9. bebs/ bebe Endearing alteration of Facebook Messenger
babe/ nickname for a best
friend
10. IK I know Snapchat
11. FR? for real Facebook Messenger
12. IRL in real life Facebook Messenger
13. kawaii cute Manga and Anime
videos
14. istetik/aesthetic beautiful Instagram
15. material gworl a girl with lots of stuff, ‘TikTok’ mobile app
showing off in social
media
16. slimy gooey Instagram and Youtube
17. ameyjing amazing YouTube
18. konichiwa hello YouTube
19. berrylicious sexy Facebook
20. bing chilling ice cream Tweeter / Meme
21. chupapi munyayo no meaning at all, a TikTok
pseudoword
22. hashtag to emphasize a topic Facebook
23. poser fake person/pretender Facebook
24. OML Oh My Lord! Snapchat
25. cringe/cringey embarrassing YouTube
Notably, of child’s talk-in conversations are informative and the social-media

influenced lexicons that saliently emerged from the her utterances are subject-
related which are either single or compound words. They are specifically used to
either mean or describe something. The child opens new topics to her mother, and
those topics contain words and phrases that need to be paid attention to due to
their familiarity in pronunciation, usage, and meaning.
As part of speech, another interesting thing to note is that, most of the child’s
words and phrases function as adjectives or adverbs to modify or describe what
the child wants to express. In her conversations with her mother, the child often
describes a situation or a person and repeatedly uses the words to attribute to
what is being talked about such as “sus person”, “uwu girl”, “sosyal girl”, “istetik
chair”, “slimey tummy”, “you’re berrylicious”, and “that was cringey”.
Some of the items may sound familiar but are used differently by the child based
on the topic being shared in the conversation. Words like “emotional damage”,
“material gworl”, and “aesthetic” may have been meant as what they commonly
known are, but the word function in a statement (‘emotional damage’ instead
of emotionally damaged to mean the person being affected); and pronunciation or
spelling (“istetik” instead of [iːsˈθɛtɪk] and “gworl” instead of [ɡɜːl] for material
girl) are also modified.
547
It can also be noticed that child is able to present the different variants of lexicons
such as “sus / sussy”, “uwu/ewew/uwu girl," “bebs/bebe," and "sosyal/sossy."
These variants in the child’s oral communication may indicate the frequency of
the child’s exposure to those words, and the child may have heard or learned them
in different ways from various online utterances.
4.1.1. Social-media language classifications

The research subject’s utterances are combinations of statements ranging from
simple to complex in structure. She can make comprehensible statements all
throughout and is able to convey her ideas without difficulty. She can speak
fluently, but repetitions and self-corrections are also noticeable. At her age, she
already has a wide enough vocabulary and can already discuss a variety of topics
at length. The social-media-influenced lexicons extracted from the child’s
utterances are classified according to five word categories: slang, colloquialism,
alphabetism, neologism, loan words, and Pseudowords.
a) Slang
Internet slang has greatly infiltrated different languages, including those in the
digital world. Slang is a kind of language that is characterized by words and
expressions that are highly informal, more frequently used in speech than in
writing, and usually specific to a certain setting or group of people. It has brought
numerous changes to the way digital nomads communicate. From the analysis,
the following items are identified as internet slang: “emotional damage,"
“sus/sussy baka”, “uwu/ uwu girl”, “preppy”, “luh”, “poser”, and “lolz”. Slang
is used by individuals who are close friends as well as those who are in the same
social group, that is why many slang words may sound offensive or too direct
when heard by others who do not belong to a certain setting or the same speech
community.
b) Colloquialism
Colloquial language is the informal language used by people in everyday speech.
Common parlance or vernacular language are all examples of colloquial
language. It is more formal than slang because it does not sound as vulgar. It is
more appropriate in speech or conversation. In most of her talk-in interactions,
the child always starts her greetings with “Hey, mom!” or “You know, mom?”.
She also often uses “wanna” instead of "want to" or “gonna” instead of "going to,
to mean specific information. These are some examples of colloquialism that are
dominant in the child’s speech. Colloquialism becomes prevalent in social media
due to the widespread use of informal languages popularized by various speakers
who are evident with language variations from different sides of the world.
c) Alphabetism
Alphabetism or also known as abbreviation also dominantly takes the scene in
social media interactions both in writing and speaking. Computer-mediated
communications are designed to provide fast and easy access to users. Texting
acronyms and abbreviations are frequently used and are intended to speed up
discussions by shortening them so that the user doesn't have to spell out words,
expressions, or sentences, even if many of them appear to be misspelled,
548
grammatically incorrect, or incomprehensible. The same is true in speaking; the

use of “IK” instead of I know, “FR” for for real, OML for Oh My Lord! , and “IRL”
to mean in real life, offers a great deal of convenience for a child in speaking. The
fewer number of syllables from words or phrases that are alphabetized or
abbreviated sound easy and appears to be more casual and conversational.
d) Neologism
The term "neologism" describes a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or
phrase that may undergo the process of entering common usage but that has not
yet been fully accepted into language. It refers to a freshly produced word that
accommodates the usage of a language at a specific moment (Plauc & Čilić, n.d.).
“Material gworl”, “slimey/slimy”, “berrylicious”, “hashtag”, “selfie”, “lol”, and
“cringey” are examples of neologisms. Neologisms can take many forms, and may
be entirely new, or formed of existing words. are generally drawn on word
formation processes like affixation, compounding, conversion, reduplication,
clipping, and blending.
e) Loan Words
Loanwords are words that speakers of one language borrow from speakers of
another language (the source language). Loanwords can be modified to fit the
morphology, spelling, phonology, and phonotactics of the destination language.
A loanword can only be recognized from native terms of the target language when
it has fully assimilated to its new rules. Majority of the loan words produced by
the child are Japanese such as “yamete kudasai”, “kawaii”, and “konichiwa”. The
popularity of Japanese anime shown in television and online entertainment sites
allow younsters to be introduced with Japanese words and expressions that are
not translated. While it is true that there are words that are normally
untranslatable due to its association with experiences unique to a given culture or
society, others believe that introducing the native terms to foreigners is one way
of penetrating the identity to global recognition.
f) Pseudowords
A pseudoword – a kind of non-lexical vocable – is piece of text or speech that looks
to be a real word in a language but actually has no definition. These words may
be the product of (the interpretation of) a completely random signal, with no
meaning in any given language or occurrence in any text corpus or dictionary, but
there is frequently an underlying predictable cause. “Sussy baka” and “chupapi
munyayo” are examples of a pseudoword. Although the phrase“sussy baka”
became a viral trend and has been known to many as “suspicious”, “sussy baka
isn’t actually a real word; it is just “rather a combination of video game slang “sus”
and Japanese lingo “baka”” (Raschella, 2022). The same as true for the absurd
phrase “chupapi munyayo”. Although some references online may
commonly provide definitions like “suck my d**ck papa!”, The origin of this gibberish
language itself remains a bit of a mystery (Soumya, 2022); which includes the item
to the pseudoword category.
549
4.2 Social-media platforms and their outcomes on children’s vocabulary production

Generally, studies demonstrating that media can sometimes be beneficial for
children run counter to society's and parents' concerns about the consequences of
media use on child development. Numerous studies demonstrate that preschool-
aged children may learn from excellent educational media, notably in the areas of
language and early literacy abilities (Penuel et al., 2012; Mares and Pan, 2013 as
cited in Dore et al.,2019). There is also proof that playing exercise games like Wii
Fit or Just Dance can help kids become more physically fit and active (Flynn et al.,
2018; Gao et al., 2019 as cited in Dore et al., 2019). And multiplayer video games
like Minecraft may also encourage imagination and teamwork (Lane & Yi, 2017).
In line with these ideas, the majority of parents believe that media use improves
kids, especially in the areas of learning and creativity. But Linebarger and Vaala
(2010) emphasized that different media experiences may promote language skills
more or less than others, and may have good and or bad effects.
Social media is equipped with multifaceted words and phrases that may harm
youngsters when not guided. And children always have the tendency to absorb
learning without conscious effort, naturally, and spontaneously, as they
experience a period of intense mental activity (Access, 2018). Findings show that
some of the social media-influenced lexicons used by the child have suggestive
meanings. Table 2 shows the extracted social media-influenced vocabulary items
with critical definitions.
Table 2. Child’s words and phrases with critical meanings
Social-media influenced Child’s denotations Social-media connotations

lexicons
uwu girl cute, happy, pretty, Seductive girl /

sweetly childlike girl sexualized girl
yamete kudasai Stop it! / Can you please erotic term related to
stop it? Hentai (perverse sexual
desire) culture
Slimey/slimy something gooey / close a person who appears to be
friend friendly but cannot be
trusted and is not sincere
material girl/ gworl a girl with lots of stuff, a gold-digger woman
showing off in social
media
chupapi munyayo no meaning at all, a an act of oral sex
pseudoword performed on a man
In this study, it is apparent that social-media-influenced vocabulary is salient in

the child’s conversations. As can be seen from Table 1, the majority of the items
originated from instant messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and
Snapchat, social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and social
media entertainment apps such as TikTok and YouTube. These online platforms
serve as one of the social origins of the child’s language, and the content creators
and subscribers to the websites’ with whom the child interacts are the "potentially
more knowledgeable other" (MKO) who should have a better understanding and a
550
higher ability level in the use of language. They pass on their language to the child
through their social media contents, and as expected, the child absorbs the
lexicons naturally and without conscious effort through her constant online
engagements, and applies her learned languages from social media in her
communication. She converses with ease and transmits the information
spontaneously, as if she has a total grasp of the full meanings of the social media
words and phrases.
According to the Stages of Reading Development (Chall, 1983), by the age of 7–8
years old, children’s decoding skills become advanced and their wide reading
reaches an independent level, which enable them develop language, vocabulary
and concepts. The said competencies are clearly exhibited by the research subject.
Her fluency in speaking using the social-media inflicted words and phrases imply
her sufficient exposure to such lexicons in a long period of time. Vygotsky posits
that language was a “psychological tool” (Ehrich, 2006) and that this tool when
used, resulted in a number of internal or mental changes, such as the growth of
higher cognition and conceptual understanding. Hence, the child has the ability
to repeat or rephrased her statements and use the lexicons according to her
understanding.
However, Table 2 presents the social media-influenced lexical items with

connotations that are obviously unknown to the child. The occurrence of these
words and phrases from an eight-year-old girl, confirms the child’s need to be
assisted by a “significant other” to properly apply the acquired learning. Five out
of the 25 lexical items contain suggestive meanings that the child is unaware of.
The child’s unworldliness in the sexual connotations of the languages in social
media suggests that the child is in her zone of proximal development (ZPD),
where proper guidance is essential to improve her comprehension of the language
use. If there is instructional scaffolding from a mentor (Gowrie Marketing, n.d.)
who can provide adequate language processing, a child will be able to have a
better comprehension of the words and their backgrounds, thus can avoid them
from using dangerous languages when communicating.
The subject of this study who is unconsciously using inappropriate language in

her communication while operating within her ZPD may experience emotional
and social consequences, as well as moral and ethical concerns in the long run.
Parental or educational interventions during the child’s current developmental
and potential level can promptly address her language use and provide
appropriate support and guidance to help her develop nourished and age-
appropriate communication skills.
When children do not receive the proper assistance in language learning while
they are on their critical period of literacy development, there is a tendency that
the acquired language will be established and will be part of his or her natural
speech. Moreover, failure to acquire proper “scaffolding” or the absence of MKO
while children are on their ZPD, will lead to breakdowns of the suitable
understanding of knowledge domains or development of complex skills. The
negative outcomes will eventually be evident in child’s poor behavior and
551
performance, decreased motivation, and low self-esteem, and rippling effects can
manifest in children’s social interactions. No one wants to see our children become
vulgar, obtrusive, sexist, racist, and the like in society.
Rather, language sensitivity in communication is one of the skills, we hope our

children to develop as they continue to explore and obtain their literacy
development. Lexical competence should be embedded with the abilities to apply
respectful, supportive, and caring language in conveying information. This can
improve the quality of the message and delivery by being sensitive in
communication and attentive to how the other person is interacting with in the
conversation. Communication sensitivity enables the communicator to strike the
ideal balance in each and every one of our interactions with others (Explearrning,
LLC, n.d.). Thus, utmost support from MKO and quality social origin of language,
as children develop their productive lexical skills is deemed necessary.
4.3 The child’s mechanism in social media towards lexical development

The two main ways that people learn are through social interaction and language,
according to Vygotsky. Language significantly improves people's capacity for
social connection and experience sharing. A child’s vocabulary development
relies heavily on who he or she exchanges communications with. Some studies
indicate that the home learning environment, which includes both resources and
chances for contact, has been connected to children's development and learning
across a range of subjects, including language and literacy (“Child Care and
Mother-child Interaction in the First 3 Years of Life. NICHD Early Child Care
Research Network,” 1999; Barnett et al., 2012; and Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2012 as cited
by Dore et al., 2020). However, despite the fact that media consumption is a
common pastime for kids in the twenty-first century, it is frequently overlooked
in studies on the family environment (Dore et al., 2019). According to Mostafavi
(2021), among kids aged 7-9, one-third use social media apps on their gadgets to
interact with others. And if not for peer interaction, young children’s online
activities are mostly for entertainment. Based on the report of The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as cited by Legner (2021), children ages 8
to 10 have an average of six hours of screen time daily while 67% of youngsters
aged two to five and 75% of those under two are not meeting international screen-
time guidelines (Most 5-Year-Olds Spend Too Much Time Online, Survey Shows,
2022). And during the COVID-19 pandemic, kids have been watching nearly three
times as much screen time as is suggested. However, despite the fact that media
consumption is a common pastime for kids in the twenty-first century, it is
frequently overlooked in studies on the family environment (Dore et al., 2019).
Social media platforms have been the “home inside a home” for most children.
This where they get refuge and comfort especially when they feel alone and need
companies. Children use these digital platforms to to have fun, make and keep
friends, share and find hobbies, explore identities, and strengthen family ties. It is
an extension of their face-to-face and offline interactions. Children appreciate the
simple accessibility and multiple conveniences provided by the numerous social
media contents, whether they are instructional, individualized, or entertaining.
Many people, especially children, used media as a coping mechanism during the
552
COVID-19 outbreak and community lockdowns. Children use social networking

websites and media sharing platforms to stay in touch with their friends, find new
hobbies and interests, and even to pursue learning instructional materials. With
their exposure to social media, there is no doubt that there is a profound impact
on youngsters’ lexical acquisition, production, and development through their
social interactions in the digital world.
The time spent on social media platforms implies the interest and enthusiasm the
children dedicate to consuming the contents of such websites. The more
interactions the children establish with the internet community, the more they
will utilize its language in their daily interactions. In this study, the child learns
the social media language through online interactions, where there is an exchange
of messages for instant messaging apps such as Snapchat or Facebook Messenger;
the reading and writing of comments for social networking sites like Facebook,
Instagram, or Twitter; and watching the online entertainment contents from TikTok
and YouTube. Other children who are habituated with video game streaming sites
are enticed with synchronous communications with players.
To put it simply, a child’s lexical development can take place by using different
social media apps in messaging and calling friends and family, watching random
online videos, playing synchronous online games, reading photo captions such as
in memes, conversing with people and including the social-media influenced
lexicons in their productive communication skills. Any online content with
linguistic features can contribute to children’s lexical development. The various
social media lexicons are absorbed and used by children to communicate their
ideas, their needs, and even their desire.
5. Limitations of the Study

The study's findings might not adequately represent the larger population of
children from varied origins or in similar situations because there was just one
participant. Furthermore, the single participant sample size may not have enough
variation in language use and vocabulary production to adequately represent the
intricacies of social media's impact on lexicons. It is possible that the results from
a single participant do not accurately reflect the variety of vocabulary production
patterns and language usage behaviors that may be seen in a bigger sample. The
generalizability of the results may also be hampered by the participant's unique
background as an eight-year-old Filipino girl born in Cebu, Philippines, whose
first language is English.
Furthermore, as the impact of social media on lexicons may differ among

languages, cultures, and age groups, the findings might not be applicable to
children from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds. The participant may be
influenced by a variety of factors outside of social media, such as her family's
linguistic preferences, educational background, and social surroundings, which is
another potential constraint.
And while the study provides insights into the vocabulary production of a single
eight-year-old Filipino girl whose first language is English, the limited sample size
553
and specific participant characteristics may limit the generalizability and external
validity of the findings to a broader population. Future research with larger and
more diverse samples would help to overcome these limitations and provide a
more comprehensive understanding of the influence of social media on lexicons
in children's vocabulary production.
6. Conclusion
Social media language is prominent in the eight-year-old child's talk-in
interactions. Various lexicons are acquired from her social media interactions on
social networking sites, video sharing and streaming platforms, instant messaging
apps, etc. Interaction online with friends and family as well as engaging with
various digital activities contribute a great deal to the acquisition and production
of a new language. Digital media social interactions can also be a good avenue for
language production and development, wherein children can learn a wide range
of vocabularies, terminologies, and expressions. However, the evident use of
lexicons with suggestive meanings may also hamper a child’s ability to produce
quality language and literacy in due time. This lexical acquisition problem may
cause a later ripple effect on children’s personality and attitudes toward others.
Thus, this study emphasizes Vygotsky’s assertion that language is an extremely
potent psychological instrument that builds the groundwork for fundamental
thinking structures later in a person's development, and that frequent joint social
media engagement by a child and his or her MKO is strongly recommended.
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Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 557-575, April 2023
Received Dec 27, 2022; Revised Apr 24, 2023; Accepted May 2, 2023
Knots and Bolts of Online Teaching Internship

amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Feleeh De Leon-Enanoza* , Maria Nancy Quinco-Cadosales

and Ethel De Leon Abao
Cebu Normal University,
Osmena Boulevard, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines
Abstract. The use of an online learning modality during the COVID-19

pandemic has become widespread. This paper aimed to ascertain the
“knots and bolts” of teaching internship, utilizing both the quantitative
and qualitative methods of research. With the eighteen (18) student
interns of the Cebu Normal University academic year 2020-2021, a
survey was employed to gather data on the influence of their personal,
family, and academic backgrounds on the areas of lesson planning,
teaching modality, communication skills and classroom management. In
addition, an unstructured interview was conducted to solicit their
experiences. Results revealed that among the factors of influence, the
school background engendered the “knots” or greatest motivating
influence on their online student internship. On the other hand, the
online modality with intermittent connectivity issues as well as the
young learners’ behaviors has proved to be the greatest challenge,
namely the “bolts”. The teaching interns’ sustaining powers were rooted
in their belief in the Supreme Being, self-confidence, and the
encouragement of significant others. It was therefore concluded that
online student internship during the pandemic was both an opportunity
and a challenge. The opportunities may be enhanced and the challenges
may be examined by allowing the teacher education institutions to
repackage the teaching internship programs’ teaching and learning
modalities.
Keywords: motivation; demotivation; teaching interns; online teaching;

internship; experiences
1. Introduction
Teaching internship is a leadoff stage towards a profession for a lifetime. It is an
important component towards becoming a teacher as it provides experience to
*
Corresponding authors: Feleeh L. Enanoza, enanozaf@cnu.edu.ph
©Authors
558
teaching interns in the actual teaching and learning environment (Msanya,

2016). A key component of teacher education programs, teaching internship
seeks to expose teaching interns to a variety of long-term, practical classroom
experiences (Rupp & Becker, 2021). Every college education student who
earnestly wishes to become a teacher, needs rigorous preparation before
undertaking the formal official stage of their vocation. Academic preparation in
particular together with personal background is taken into consideration
towards the actual teaching internship experience.
In the Philippines, teaching internship is based on the Commission on Higher

Education Memorandum Order (CMO) 104 s. 2017. It is the ultimate step in pre-
service professional training for education majors. It comprises an essential
practical experience that provides teaching interns with a variety of activities to
aid in the development of their knowledge and abilities in dealing with learners
in real-world circumstances.
In teacher education institutions, academic internship serves as a link between

theory and practice by enabling students to participate in supervised and
scheduled work. These internship programs not only increase students' personal
talents, but also help them advance professionally (Gault et al., 2010). According
to Cadosales et al. (2021), the efficiency and effectiveness of various teaching
internship approaches for teaching interns across countries result in the
development of a potentially beneficial teaching internship program. Further,
internship programs, according to Anjum (2020), have an impact on the
professional growth and skills of Pakistani business students, enhancing their
personal development, skills, and competencies. It is therefore viewed as the
climax to a teaching intern's preparatory experience, as Anderson and Stillman
(in Goldhaber et al., 2020) noted.
In similar vein, Kumar and Ratnalikar (2005) asserted that because of the current
changing and challenging world, teachers should be provided with a range of
skills, knowledge, attitudes, and relevant educational experience that enables
them to cope with these challenges.
Therefore, Young (2022) contends that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a
significant impact on the lives of the entire global population. Its immense
impact, especially in the field of education, has been increasingly felt. Meeting
the educational needs of students, especially the young children, during a global
crisis during which instructional delivery was done online, presented
remarkable challenges. Hence, early childhood educators recognized their
critical role in ensuring that every child’s development remained a priority
despite their distance from the physical classroom. Teachers of young children
were trained to be engaging, culturally competent, and to recognize the
importance of teaching young children.
Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact, not only on how the young
learners were taught remotely, but also on how preservice teachers (student
interns) were trained to became relevant and competent future teachers as well.
To this end, the professors collaborated among themselves on the transition
559
from in-person to virtual instruction. Similar to the conventional framework,

this includes lesson planning, online teaching modality vis-à-vis the selection of
instructional materials, classroom management and communication skills.
This mode of teaching, which is still conducted in a virtual class has noticeably
challenged the teaching interns in the preparation as well as the implementation
of their teaching activities among the early childhood learners. It is therefore in
this context that this study aimed to find out the “knots and bolts” (motivating
and demotivating factors) of online teaching internship in the identified areas in
the framework and how their personal convictions, family support and school
input have influenced their online teaching internship.
2. Research Objectives
The study aimed to ascertain the “knots and bolts” of online teaching internship
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this examined how the teaching
interns’ personal, family, and academic backgrounds influenced their teaching
experiences as regards lesson planning, online modalities, classroom
management and communication skills during online teaching. Individual
accounts were likewise noted to validate the findings. Determining their
personal and academic backgrounds together with their teaching proficiency
would help validate their individual accounts.
3. Research Methodology
This study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. As
Creswell (2014) mentioned, quantitative methods may use a survey design to
provide a numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a sample of a
population. In this study, the survey method was used to determine the profile
of the participants in terms of personal, family, and social background. The
qualitative research method was further employed by conducting an
unstructured interview to validate individual accounts. The thematic analysis of
Braun and Clarke (2006) was used to treat the qualitative responses.
The participants of the study were the 18 teaching interns enrolled in the
Bachelor in Early Childhood Education course of the Integrated Laboratory
School, in a State University in Region 7, Philippines during the first semester of
the academic year 2020-2021. The teaching interns were teaching various
subjects at the preschool level.
The research employed stratified random sampling with 18 teaching interns in

three preschool classes to gather the required data through test administration
and unstructured interviews.
Data was obtained on the degree of influence of the factors that have affected
their teaching internship experiences as regards lesson planning, teaching
strategies, classroom management and communication skills, For this a test
questionnaire compiled by the researcher was utilized. Further, to validate the
individual accounts of these teaching interns, an unstructured interview was
conducted.
560
In the gathering of data, proper procedure was observed. Written permission

was secured from the Office of the Supervisor of the Integrated Laboratory
School in a State University. Upon approval, a written consent from the
participants was obtained prior to the unstructured interview.
To gather the required data, the questionnaires were distributed to and

answered by the participants. The unstructured interview was scheduled based
on the availability of the teaching interns. This was done during their free time
or after school hours to avoid disruption of classes. Subsequently, all the data
were collected, consolidated, and analysed according to their relevance to the
study.
It was necessary that ethical issues be discussed and understood in the context of
the research process. The ethical considerations required for this research
undertaking included honesty, quality, legality, integrity, informed consent,
voluntary participation, beneficence, confidentiality, anonymity, incentives, and
compensation, among others.

The following data on the teaching interns’ profiles as well as their performance
and teaching experiences were gathered to determine how these variables have
affected their teaching performance, either positively or negatively:
Table 1: Profile of the respondents
Profile frequency Percentage
Age
21 1 5.56
22 10 55.56
23 7 38.89
Civil Status
Single 18 100
Gender
Male 2 11.11
Female 16 88.89
Father’s occupation 15 83.33
Mother’s occupation 7 38.89
Gadget available at home 18 100

(Cell phone, Laptop,
Desktop)
561
As presented in Table 1, the age of the teaching interns ranges between 21 and 23
years old and were all single. This denoted that they were on schedule as
regards their scholastic engagements. This was a manifestation that their
significant others, family, school and community, have positively influenced
them regarding their education, deferring their plans for marriage. The data
relating to these participants in the Bachelor in Early Childhood Education
program revealed that the number of females (16) outweighed the male teaching
interns (2). This is an apparent indication that females loved teaching young
learners, pointing to their roles as “nurturing mothers” of the future. As
generally noted, their parents are employed and are therefore able to support
the needs of their children since they considered their children’s education a
priority. This was manifested in their having instructional materials at home:
cellular phones, laptops or even desktops. This was an indication of their
parents’ care and concern for them. According to Crocker (1997), the professions
have traditionally underestimated the magnitude of parental contributions to
the success of a child’s studies. The love of parents for their children is
immeasurable.
The subsequent data present the factors influencing the teaching performance of
teaching interns in a virtual instructional engagement in terms of lesson
designing, online teaching modality or pedagogy, classroom management and
communication skills. In each component, these teaching interns identified their
sources of knowledge, ”knots” (motivating experiences) as well as the “bolts”
(demotivating experiences).
Table 2: Factors influencing the teaching interns’ performance
Preparation for Teaching Engagement

According to the findings, it can be noted that 72% of the teaching interns
indicated that their knowledge of lesson designing was learned from online
sources such as Google, and YouTube. Eight (44%) noted that they learned
lesson planning from their teachers or mentors, classmates and from books. This
implied that in the era of technology, these teaching interns, apart from the input
facilitated by their teachers, mentors and the sharing of ideas with classmates,
found it convenient to access this specific need on lesson planning either on
Google or YouTube since these sources were readily available any time of the
day.
562
Furthermore, the “knots” or motivational experiences that they encountered as

regards lesson planning are ascribed to mentors and students (44%), their
families (38%), learners, and videos on YouTube (27%), and expected outcome
(5%). On the other hand, this paper likewise looked into the “bolts”
(demotivational factors) of these TIs based on their lesson design experiences.
The majority of these TIs (61%) indicated that distractions and procrastination
demotivated them. Furthermore, the rest mentioned that household chores and
poor Internet connection (38%) also contributed to their demotivational
experiences. These negatively affected their virtual facilitation with the learners.
It could therefore be deduced that lesson planning was an essential aspect in the
lives of the teaching interns. For them to keep going, the positive influence of the
aforementioned factors, especially of the family, needs to be afforded careful
consideration. According to Liu and Chiang (2019), parents influence children’s
educational outcomes by adopting class-based patterns of parental involvement
and providing cultural resources that impart educational benefits to their
children (Calarco, 2011; DiMaggio, 1982; Lareau, 2011).
Teaching Modality amid the Pandemic

In terms of online teaching modality or pedagogy, the findings revealed that the
teaching interns significantly (77%) acquired their knowledge from their college
professors as well as mentors. Gupta and Sengupta (2021) indicate that the
common practice of the chalk-and-talk method is no longer the only
recommended method of pedagogy. As a result, blackboards are gradually
being replaced by digital smart boards and LCD screens which allow both
traditional and technological modes of teaching.
The factors that motivated the learners to engage proactively in online teaching
were primarily related to their eagerness to learn as well as their animated
responses (77%). Their obvious enjoyment motivated the TIs to continue despite
their numerous challenges. Moreover, their professors’ and mentors’ guidance
inspired them as well (11%). Real-life application of knowledge (11%) and
personal growth (5%) gave them the assurance that these challenges could be
overcome if everyone was conscientious in carrying out their responsibilities.
Despite these ”knots” or motivational aspects, the participants noted, however,

that certain aspects have been considered as “bolts” (demotivation) in the online
teaching modality. These TIs mentioned that sudden interruptions of Internet
connectivity as well as the passivity of learners with their short attention span
(56%) dampened their enthusiasm somewhat. The noisy surroundings and their
inability to plan or initiate online activities for the learners (37%) have also been
identified as demotivating factors. In the study of Siripol and Wilang (2021), the
demotivating situations in synchronous online class settings were related to the
self-determination theory such as familiarity with the platform, students’
attention and control, and teachers’ own beliefs towards teaching and learning.
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Orderly Academic Facilitation

The teaching interns acquired their knowledge of classroom management from
the college professors and mentors (77%), YouTube information and
demonstrations (38%), as well as their own experiences (27%). The data denoted
that as regards classroom management, helpful and relevant input from the
professors as well as mentors enabled them to be equipped with theories and
practice on appropriate and relevant classroom management. Understandably,
the value of classroom management in instructional facilitation plays a pivotal
role in any successful academic engagement.
Marzano and Marzano (2003) posit that research has shown that teachers'
actions in their classrooms have twice the impact on student achievement as do
school policies regarding curriculum, assessment, staff collegiality, and
community. Moreover, it is common knowledge that one of the classroom
teacher's most important jobs is managing the classroom effectively. In support
of this finding, Liu, and Chiang (2019) stated that by using research-based
strategies combining appropriate levels of authority, cooperation and an
awareness of student needs, teachers can build positive classroom dynamics.
In the realization of good classroom management, certain aspects were

considered as ”knots” or motivation, such as the learners’ adherence to the rules
and guidance from the mentors (61%) and self-discipline regarding time
management (33%). These data show that the behavior or response of the
learners, the focus of the educative process, motivates the STI’s to find more
animating ways to engage them. They believe that in doing so, learners’
attention will be captivated, and they will not become unruly. In support of this
finding, Liu and Chiang (2019) stated that by using research-based strategies
combined with appropriate levels of authority, cooperation and an awareness of
student needs, teachers can build positive classroom dynamics.
Despite the ”knots” or motivations, there were “bolts” or demotivations which

were encountered by these participants. These were the unpredictable behavior
of the learners (27%), unexpected interruptions by parents during class
engagement (16%), and intermittent connectivity (5%). These show that the
participants were somehow distracted, which they believe had detracted from
their teaching performance. It is hoped that these distractions will be addressed
as these can deter them from instructional improvement if not promptly
responded to.
Comprehensibility of Oral Transaction

Communication, the channel of the facilitation activity, needs to be clear and
comprehensible. According to Zlatovic (2018), whether a teacher, an educator,
or a parent is helping a child with homework, this gives the child an
opportunity to hear and comprehend the material as it is presented. Hence, as
regards the communication skills of the teaching interns, it was evident based on
the findings that they acquired their knowledge and skills from Grammarly and
from certain online sources, videos movies and books (61%), from their
professors or mentors (44%), by self-assertion (33%) and from family members
(5%).
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On the other hand, there were “bolts” or demotivating factors in the practice of
the target language, especially in the delivery of instruction. As noted, these
participants expressed that their limited vocabulary and grammatical errors
(77%) somehow prevented them from freely expressing their thoughts and ideas.
This was supported by their statement that anxiety (11%) crept in along the
way, thus making them self-conscious and awkward in their communication.
Their successful imparting of ideas to the learners depended on their own levels
of fluency. In certain cases, they also felt somewhat demotivated if the learners
could not answer their questions. For them, this was confirmation that learners
did not clearly understand their instructions or input.
All these emphasized the value of communication skills, especially while

teaching because this served as a potent driver of understanding and applying
the knowledge learned. Misbah (2017) contended that learning English, being
the global lingua franca, needs to be well facilitated by the teacher in the
classroom, whether virtually or in-person. In today’s ever-changing world, the
English language is regarded as one of the most important languages in
communication, as well as the main medium of instruction in education
worldwide.
These four factors (Lesson Designing, Online Teaching/Learning Modality,

Classroom Management and Communication Skills) from which the teaching
interns have generally gained their knowledge created ”knots” or motivation in
their teaching internship despite the “bolts” or demotivating factors they
encountered. Positively, they were gradually able to turn the “bolts” into
”knots” in the process of learning as guided by their mentors and significant
others.
Experiences of Teaching Interns

The teaching interns indicated that there were challenges as well as
opportunities in their online teaching internship.
Challenges in Online Teaching Internship

Theme 1: Dealing with Personal Issues
Personal issues were the concerns, challenges, and problems encountered and
discussed on a personal level. These reflected the opinions of the teaching
interns in the bachelor’s program in early childhood education in their teaching
demonstration experience via online platforms. This proved to be a significant
challenge since their experiences vary regarding their concerns about
conducting an online delivery of instruction with the diverse set of learners
given the sole modality used in the school.
Self-Confidence. This was a common concern of teachers in the conducting

online or virtual classes. Teachers needed to develop self-confidence as it is a
prerequisite in the profession where one faces the whole class with the
command of authority centered in them. In confidence research, two trends can
be distinguished. Within one trend confidence is viewed as “certainty in being
able to handle something” (Stajkovic, 2006) and the other trend focuses on the
565
“accuracy of judgments about a perception or an outcome”. The teachers tend

to pretend that they have mastered the competency of the lesson that they are
teaching. However, the experience of the teaching interns during the teaching
demonstration was the opposite owing to self-doubt: they were anxious about
what they were saying and that led to their forgetting what was to follow. The
challenge was more about the exposure of teaching interns to a large group
during the pandemic time where there was no face-to-face interaction.
Being Demotivated. Motivation plays an important role in the teaching-learning

process. It was not unusual for the teaching interns to feel demotivated instead
of being encouraged to do their best to deliver a good lesson. Being demotivated
leads to failure; thus effective teaching would not take place. As shared by one
intern:
“I felt unmotivated during my internship because every time I was having my live demo,
I got disconnected due to intermittent connectivity. Our place was very known for
having slow Internet connection. I was sad that though I have given my best to do with
my lesson plan I end up doing nothing in times of demonstration.”
According to Dornyei and Ushioda (2013), demotivation is “specific external

forces that reduce or diminishe the motivational basis of a behavioural intention
or an ongoing action”. It further denotes that demotivation does not only entail
connectivity issues in teaching but also affects the way of doing things.
Moreover, demotivation was not caused by more attractive options nor by
stronger distractions, gradual loss of interest, or internal processes of
deliberation without the influence of specific external triggers.
Theme 2: Meeting the Demands of Teaching

The teaching profession requires more understanding regarding its demands
and conditions. One of these includes competence in the use of technology in the
different modalities of teaching. Along with these demands were some
challenges with which the TIs also had to contend. Connectivity issues was one
significant challenge for both teachers and students as they could be
disconnected any time during the day. With the mantra that learning continues
despite the pandemic, academic engagements in all levels were solely done
virtually. As it had drastic global implications, many were unprepared,
especially the learning institutions. Students and teachers experienced an uphill
battle towards a sudden shift of the education landscape.
The challenges experienced by some of the teaching intern participants were

evident in their feedback:
“During my internship journey, I've been given the chance to explore and know my
strengths and weaknesses. I couldn’t perform well during my demo because of my
connection, there were times that I could no longer attend the synchronous.
Similarly, another teaching intern further said that:

“The challenges that I have encountered when my Internet connection was not stable
and when my laptop got hanged and the most unforgettable one was during my off
campus, an hour before my demonstration, someone edited my presentation. I was so
nervous that time, good thing I got to retrieve the files.
566
These comments revealed that the TIs were obviously disturbed by the Internet
connectivity problems. Apart from these, another concern regarding low or no
electrical power supply also surfaced:
“I almost cried when there was a sudden brown out in the middle of my activities. The
children enjoyed it a lot but due to no power, everything stopped.”
Moreover, TIs added:

“I was embarrassed when I experienced fluctuating electrical current because I didn’t
know what to do. One good thing was my mentor contacted me to stay because she
would continue to facilitate”.
These encounters emphasized that Internet connectivity as well as good

electrical power supply were essential for successful virtual academic activity.
Asemah (2021) shared similar thoughts, namely that poor as well as erratic
electric power supply being experienced across the country was one of the
challenges that rendered online teaching programs useless in Nigeria. Rahman
et al. (2017) then stipulated that students need enhanced Internet usage for
their studies and further suggested that the university should provide Internet
facilities and a digital environment for students. They added that the
unavailability of proper digital tools, Internet or WiFi connections caused
considerable setbacks which led to many students losing out on the learning
process.
The mode of teaching was also considered as a significant challenge. It is

described as the delivery of instruction by the teacher to the students in either
synchronous or asynchronous sessions. According to Ali (2020), for both
students and teachers globally, online distance learning has become a necessity.
Meanwhile, in the study of Bao (2020) he indicated that regardless of the
problems encountered and the short time for planning, moving all current
courses online was a significant and disruptive adjustment. This was pointed
out by one of the interns when she said that:
“From my experiences, at first, I had trouble dealing with my students. I'm on the stage
of adjusting and adopting the new modality of teaching and learning”.
The use of instructional materials should also be varied in the teaching and
learning. It can be defined as a collection of tools that enables teachers to educate
successfully, making the learning process easier for the learners (Savery, 2015).
In the process, teachers utilized several resources apart from the traditional ones
to meet needs of the present.
This is demonstrated by a teaching intern when she said that:

When I make a PPT, I have a theme to make it more interactive since children have a short
burst of energy. From 3rd grading to 4th, I was also challenged to find more videos since
we also spoke different languages like Cebuano in the third grading and Filipino in the
fourth grading.”
It is explained further by another teaching intern that:

“Also have trouble making a more engaging topic, design, and activities for my students.
I searched a lot of videos on how to make my PowerPoint more engaging to the students.”
567
As a further guide in the delivery of instruction, teachers use various online

learning applications to ensure learners are actively engaged in the learning
process. Culatta (2011) posited that to improve education and promote learner
engagement, multimedia technologies are employed. Internet or web-based
applications are among the types of technology most frequently employed by
instructors to support instruction (Rolando et al., 2013; Kale & Goh, 2014), as
well as online classes (Martin & Parkerm, 2014), and applications based on
games (Wang, 2015).
Theme 3: Handling the Behaviors of the Preschoolers in a Virtual Class

Facilitating academic engagement with the preschoolers is fundamental. It can
be both exciting and challenging. This entails thorough preparation on the part
of teachers, especially in relation to consideration of the learners’ stage of
development. According to Grantham et al. (2007), this age is the critical period
when the brain as well as intellectual, physical, emotional, and behavioral
processes develops rapidly, and the brain development is determined by the
quality of the environment. More precisely, the student teaching interns who are
assigned to preschool education should preferably possess the qualities of a
teacher who can support and address the needs of the preschoolers.
In the virtual preschool class activities, certain encounters such as pupils’

tantrums and boredom challenged the teaching interns. Since these learners are
starting to expose themselves to a learning environment, especially a virtual
learning environment, some, if not most, of these learners exhibited either a
flamer (dominating) or lurker (non-participant) mode of learning behavior. The
STIs had to deal with these types of behavior. In the course of their teaching-
learning activities, the following were encountered by the various TIs:
The first one was having to encounter a child who was spoiled and threw tantrums so
easily. As I was starting my class, I like to begin with a prayer and then with an
energizer just so the learners would not feel sleepy. Now what happened was when I
asked them if they felt energized, this kid answered me that it was boring for him and
instead of making him energized and ready for class, he said it made him even more
tired.”
The second teaching intern added that:

“…during my Nursery 2 class one learner was already crying because he thought it was
a Chinese class and he even explained that he didn’t want to attend the class because he
couldn’t understand anything. “
According to Enanoza (2022), disciplining the learners is not a significant

problem in this case since everyone was receiving attention.
These experiences are manifestations that despite the challenges, teaching

interns were undaunted in carrying out their tasks and responsibilities. This
dedication is considered praiseworthy. According to Lorena (2015), temper
tantrums are considered as outbursts displayed by young children towards their
parents or guardians. These behaviors can be considered normal and a reflection
of immaturity as the child strives to accomplish age-appropriate developmental
568
tasks. Tantrums can become less frequent and even be prevented by not giving
the performer an audience and by not giving into their demands. Furthermore,
Eguico et al. (2022) concluded that parents as co-teachers contributed to the
success of their children during their homeschooling with the onset of the
COVID–19 pandemic and were highly engaged in attending to the learning
needs of their children (Hinggo et al., 2022).
All these challenges motivate teachers to be better with every teaching

opportunity. Any teacher therefore who is determined to succeed
conscientiously needs to turn challenges into opportunities.
Opportunities in Online Teaching Internship

According to Young (2022), the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on
the lives of the entire global population. The devastating impact on the lives of
students, teachers, and staff was increasingly felt in the field of education.
Meeting the educational needs of young children during a global pandemic
presented unique challenges. Early childhood educators recognize the
significance of teaching and learning in a child's development. Teachers of
young children are trained to be engaging and culturally competent, and to
recognize the value of teaching children. In this study on the experiences of
teaching interns in online teaching during the pandemic, some opportunities
such as personal preparedness, teaching preparedness, and the value of the
mentor-mentee relationship are highlighted.
Theme 4: Transitioning to Personal Preparedness

The teaching interns need to be personally prepared when they want to succeed
in their internship journey. Reflecting on one’s strengths and weaknesses allows
student teaching interns to focus on their strengths in overcoming the challenges
they may face along the way. Once a student teaching intern is personally
prepared to tackle the various teaching-related tasks, then they will be ready to
deliver their actual teaching demonstrations. As a teaching intern (TI 15)
claimed:
“I reflect on what went right and what went wrong in my teaching and how I could
improve from my teaching experience”.
A variety of research articles are outlined in the literature review by Morris et

al. (2017), demonstrating that teachers who feel well-prepared for the classroom
are more likely to give a positive assessment of their own abilities.
Self-regulation is a component of the personal preparation for teaching interns.

Getting started in the teaching internship program requires a great deal of
planning, carrying out many teaching-related duties, and overcoming hurdles
associated with degree completion. Therefore, regulating oneself assists teaching
intern in maintaining their composure and attention. As a teaching intern (TI 6)
shared, “Self-management is the key to unlocking all the sub-skills of being a teacher.”
Another teaching intern (TI 3) reinforced that:
“I overcome teaching-related obstacles by being disciplined and staying on track with my
goals and objectives”.
569
Also, the teaching intern (TI 1) emphasized that:
“I remained calm and patient in dealing with learners with attention problems”.
Along these lines, Russell et al. (2022) revealed the circumstances that enable
teachers to promote student self-regulated learning considering the difficulties
they encounter. Vijaya et al. (2022) also concluded that learners should be
scaffolded to concentrate on their strengths rather than on their weaknesses,
educated in time management skills, and given strategies for dealing with
stress.
As they fully immerse themselves in the internship program, the teaching

interns' ideals are important. Their optimistic mentality affects how they approach
their teaching duties and maintain their focus while working toward their own
objectives. The teaching intern (TI 1) mentioned that:
“My first teaching demonstration made me realize that I can achieve anything if I put
my mind into it”.
Another teaching intern (TI 8) emphasized that:

“My thoughts become my reality that is why I will always think positively. I will
always remember to work smarter rather than harder”.
Moreover, TI (14) posited that:

“I was able to surpass the challenges because I kept pushing myself as long as I know I
am on the right path and still capable of doing so. I am persistent enough and continue
to think positively as I complete the teaching internship”.
The teaching interns encountered numerous difficulties when providing the

essentials of online instruction. However, they were able to manage the risks
and challenges of online teaching by relying on their beliefs, exercising self-
control, being accountable, being resilient, and maintaining their commitment.
In a similar context, Williams et al. (2022) emphasized the importance of
fostering resilience in educators in order to increase their self-assurance in the
face of challenges. According to Baruani et al. (2021), resilient teachers use a
variety of efficient coping mechanisms, such as collaboration, social contact,
protective strategies, and professional growth to manage the stress associated
with their line of work as teachers. On the other hand, their research revealed
that in the case of teachers who are not stress-resistant, poor performance and
job unhappiness result in accidents and absence.
The strengths of the teaching interns were rooted in their faith in God. As
teaching interns, their faith gave them the strength to confront life's challenges.
Teaching interns indicated that:
“I asked help from the Lord that He would help me continue the class I was teaching (TI
1). God always listens and provides the answers and guidance (TI 8). Prayer is my main
key in overcoming all the challenges. It gave me the strength to continue (TI 15).
Workplace spirituality influences teachers' organizational citizenship behavior

both directly and indirectly by influencing their affective commitment, as Al-
Mahdy et al. (2022) found in their study, which enhances school performance.
570
Thus, attention to an employee’s spiritual needs must be prioritized (Astakoni et

al., 2021).
Theme 5: Teaching Preparedness

The teaching interns acknowledged that their exposure to online teaching
internships helped them to be prepared for the numerous roles and
responsibilities in teaching. They reported that online teaching presents various
challenges. However, the feeling of being excited and thrilled to make teaching
meaningful overflowed in them. They considered these feelings as opportunities
that motivate them to give their best in teaching. As a teaching intern described:
I am thankful for all my teaching experiences because I grow independently and become
more resilient in all forms of struggles” (TI 11).
The online instruction gave teaching interns the chance to improve their
interaction with students. Teaching intern (TI 3) said that:
“I practice interacting with pupils while I hone my teaching abilities. When I see the
pupils learn and progress, I get inspired to teach and enhance my passion to teach”.
According to Perry (2022), motivated students are emotionally invested in their

learning and can maintain focus on a single task for extended periods of time.
Additionally, Salas-Pilco et al. (2022) conducted a systematic review on student
involvement in online learning. The teaching interns reported that the online
teaching offers opportunities in providing engaging collaborative activities.
Teaching interns shared that:
“My teaching internship provided me with the opportunity to learn and experiment with
various teaching techniques (TI 3) to make my lesson more interactive (TI 7) so that
students will be more interested (TI 5)”.
The study of Kristianto and Gandajaya (2022), found that students' participation
in offline and online problem-based learning (PBL) results in scores that are
similar but not significantly different. This is made feasible by the PBL structure,
which calls for students to participate actively in learning, work cooperatively in
teams, and interact with lecturers and other students. In the same vein, Gamage
et al. (2022) asserted that engaged students are more likely to achieve their
academic goals. Additionally, during COVID-19, Fabian et al. (2022) examined
the elements affecting online learners' participation and engagement in study
skills. They found that study skill engagement is influenced by e-learning capital
and transactional distance between students and teachers as well as between
students themselves.
As a result, online teaching is an opportunity for the interns to be creative in

teaching. The teaching intern revealed that:
“My teaching internship journey is an opportunity for me to discover and learn
different teaching strategies and techniques; write better lesson designs; and formulate
SMART learning objectives (TI 18)”.
“I overcame the hindrances related to teaching demonstrations by creatively finding

ways on how to solve the problem (TI 12)”.
571
According to Starko (2021), creative teaching refers to a teacher's efforts to use

innovative strategies. As the teaching interns ventured into online teaching
demonstrations, they designed the lesson guides and employed the appropriate
strategies as well as the assessment to be used. In this study, the teaching interns
mentioned that being creative in teaching entailed the ability to integrate
technology in teaching. They highlighted the advantage of tech-driven online
teaching. Congruently, the literature review conducted by Tang et al. (2022)
supported the revelation of the teaching interns in this study where digital
technology impacts students’ creativity owing to the integration of teaching
strategies.
Theme 6: Anchoring on Mentor-Mentee Relationship

The teaching internship mentors played a significant role in the overall
performance of the teaching interns. Their assistance enabled the teaching
interns to reflect on their teaching performance. Thus, the teaching interns
valued the mentors’ constructive feedback. They commented that:
“My mentor provided guidance, feedback, attention, and models professionalism” (TI 9).
“My mentor provided endless effort in giving advice for my professional growth for my
holistically development (TI 14). I am thankful to my mentor who motivated me to
improve my teaching skills and continue doing my best (TI 16).
The study of Rodriquez et al. (2022) emphasized how preservice teachers' skills
develop gradually during teaching practice in teacher education according to
the viewpoint of school mentors. The findings indicate that the preservice
teachers' personal skills have been evaluated more favorably by the school
mentors than their professional competences. On the other hand, Michos et al.
(2022) concluded that the scaffolding provided by mentors helped student
teachers build their motivational orientations.
The mentors' assessments of the knowledge and abilities that mentees bring to
school were generally favorable, according to the research. The mentors also
acknowledged their high level of satisfaction with their own understanding of
their mentoring position and competencies. The researchers concluded that the
effectiveness of mentor-teachers influenced teacher-trainees' teaching practices
in a positive way (Radulović et al., 2022). In the same vein, Cadosales et al.
(2021) conducted a meta-synthesis on the potential effectiveness of a teaching
internship program. They found that the mentor played an important role in the
success of the teaching interns through coaching and feedback.
5. Conclusion and Recommendations

Based on the findings, this study concludes that teaching internship involves
both the ”knots” (motivating) and “bolts” (demotivating) factors which make
STIs’ experiences fruitful and meaningful. Their personal, family, school and
other factors corroborate the positive influence on their teaching performance. In
the same vein, the prevalent challenges encountered were turned into
opportunities, especially with the guidance of the teaching internship mentors.
This concurs with the contention of Goldhabber (2020) regarding the importance
of the mentor teacher who supervises this placement, as teachers tend to be
more effective when the student teaches with a mentor who is more experienced
572
teacher. As the school takes a primary role towards a meaningful teaching

internship journey, it is therefore recommended that the identified ”knots” be
sustained and enhanced. On the other hand, to address the “bolts”, the STIs may
be given more opportunities to teach and attend relevant training and seminars
in order to minimize their social-emotional pressure gradually. It is also worth
mentioning how the teaching interns develop a positive outlook by being
flexible in dealing with the students and how they have made their approach
more personalized. Likewise, issues on Internet connectivity on blended
instruction may be addressed in a partnership with the academic institution (in-
person modality) and the local government units (work-from-home scheme).
Although it may seem difficult, one should never cease to take on new learning
challenges.
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Knots and Bolts of Online Teaching Internship Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
A. Teaching Intern’s Profile
Name (Optional): _________________________
Age : __________
Civil Status: ____________
Gender: _______________
Father’s Occupation : ___________
Mother’s Occupation : ___________
Gadgets available at home: ________
Teaching Intern’s Performance Rating: ) On-campus _______, Off-campus ______or NA ___

(Second Semester, 2021-2022, general average _______, for profiling)
B. Factors Influencing the Teaching Interns’ Performance
(What is the source of the factor/s? From whom/what?)
Factors Source of Knots/ Bolts/

Knowledge Motivational Demotivational
Experiences Experiences
(From
whom/what?) (What motivated (What demotivated
you?) you?)
Lesson Designing
(online)
Online Teaching
Modality / Pedagogy
Classroom
Management
Communication
Skills
C. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR THE TEACHING INTERNS’ EXPERIENCES
(freely narrate your answers)
1. Cite the most unforgettable experience/s you have encountered as a teaching intern (both
the challenges and opportunities)
Challenges Opportunities
2. How did you cope/respond/solve with those challenges / difficulties?
3. Identify your strength/s as a teaching intern. How will you apply them to your actual
teaching experiences in the future?
Strength/s How to apply your strength in the future?

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IJLTER.

Society for Research and Knowledge Management

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

Aims and Objectives

The main objective of this journal is to provide a platform for educators,

Indexing and Abstracting

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

We are very happy to publish this issue of the International Journal of

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

We are grateful to the editor-in-chief, members of the Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is composed of renowned people from across the

We will endeavour to ensure the reputation and quality of this journal

Editors of the April 2023 Issue

Research Writing Readiness of Graduate Students in a Philippine State College...................................................... 141

Metasynthesis of Classroom-Based Assessment Implementation: Impact and Issues .............................................. 310

Products Evaluation of Environmental Education Curriculum/Program Implementation in the University of

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

The Reconstruction of Blended Learning

Nur Ilianis Adnan

Ade Riska Nur Astari

conducted a validation process with experts in the field of English

Keywords: learning model; blended learning; online learning; COVID-

However, before carrying out the research process, observations were

Initial observations in the form of interviews were also conducted by the

Therefore, the purpose of this research was to develop online-based teaching

instruction; and (e) Blended learning is also a combination of learning

The advantages of the blended learning model can be an answer to the

The policies adopted by many countries globally, including Indonesia, extended

The adjustment of the policy on the implementation of education during the

In particular, the research development model adapted in this study is the

4. Result & Discussion

In addition, the researchers also interviewed 25 students representing the

Stating standards and objectives

conforming to circumstances and conditions, and the suitability of the approach

Selecting strategies, technology, media and materials

6 Holding quizes by maximizing features on WhatsApp group/

11 Deep discussion related to specific topic and WhatsApp group/

12 Holding quizes by maximizing features on Yahoo website

Requiring learners' participation

Instructional Online Steps &

Figure 1: The result of preliminary analysis from students and lecturers

On the aspect of the level of difficulty in applying the teaching model to

In terms of applying online learning applications and their effect on students'

Evaluating and revising

Table 2: Teaching model content validation instrument

8 Precision in utilizing innovation.  Acceptable

Table 3: Data analysis results from model validation

1 The appeal of the pedagogical approach.  Acceptable

Table 5: Result of data analysis from teaching model design validation

Table 6: Context appropriate validation of teaching models

1 Clarity of instructions  Acceptable

Table 7: Data analysis of the context suitability validation process

Revising product development results

Therefore, blended learning is a solution and plays a major role in the

can be applied by lecturers in teaching and learning at Islamic religious

mathematics teachers in an online learning environment. International Journal of

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

The Impact of Online Self-Assessment on

Nhi Thi Nguyen

An Thi Tan Nguyen

Abstract. The application of information technology to self-assessment

Keywords: interactive online exercises; learning outcomes; online self-

2. Material and Methods